What Consultants Want You to Know (But You Never Ask)
I’ve been both a CEO and a consultant, so I’ve seen from both perspectives what goes right and what goes wrong when a consultant comes in to a company. Generally the CEO or the manager who hires the consultant tells the consultant what he or she...

Are you in AWE of your Employees?
Employers have become so concerned about seeming “unfair” or worse becoming the victims of lawsuits by unhappy ex-employees that they’ve stopped requiring minimum standards of employees. This can only lead to poor individual and eventually poor...

Five Essential Hiring Practices
Recruiting and hiring are often done in haste, leaving the company to repent in the long run. Today, there’s a reason to be concerned about negligent hiring. Negligent hiring means you and your company can be sued if one of your hires injures other...

Four Employee Behaviors That Can Kill Your Business
I found it important to clarify for employees what “deal-breaker” behavior was at my company. These are the things I insisted would not be tolerated and would lead to immediate or ultimate termination, depending on the nature of the infraction of...

What Your Employees Want You to Know (But You Might Be Afraid to Ask)
This is a challenge for every company owner and manager. You have tremendous plans for growth and expect a lot of your employees. But do you know if the company is meeting your best employees’ expectations? Are you providing the type of environment...

Five Steps to Increase the People Power in Your Business
Take some bold steps and help your employees and business partners open up to real change and help them start thinking again to the longer term. Send a message that you are ready to commit to new ways of thinking and that that includes a commitment...

Business is Business The World Over
If you are already in business it is hardly likely that you will agree with my title. Aren't all businsesses different? When you think in broader terms, yes, of course you're right. I want you, however, to look , for the moment, only at the...

How PR Helps Fiercely Competitive Managers
Fiercely combative business, non-profit and association managers use every PR weapon they can lay their hands on. Which means they employ strategic, rapid-fire print and broadcast tactics every day of their business lives. Still, many realize...

A Fast and Simple way to Update Your Business
You open your computer, the flashing button says, “We have a new update for your software program. Do you wish to update now or later?” You choose the Update Now button and immediately your computer begins to download a new version of the software...

The Hawk and the Mouse - Retirement Saving
There once was a hawk, ferocious and swift. He was young and agile with many years of life to hunt the open ranch lands. In a nearby field, a mouse scurried about the ground. The hawk saw the hurried motion and swept speedily toward the rodent.Just...

Bullet-Proof Your Business
Today’s business environment isn’t getting any easier, nor will it get easier anytime in the future. I’m not psychic but I have learned that business NEVER gets simpler. More competition, shrinking profit margins, increases in fixed and operating...

Finding Your True North
Okay Friends,It's time for a 'check up from the neck up'! It's time for an evaluation in each area of your life. Some of you may be saying 'I don't need one!' Well, you may be right. And you may not be. But you know what they say? The best time to...

Now Appearing: 9 Tips for a Well-Attended Event
When I made the decision to do free workshops and book signings for my latest book, Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer, I thought it would be easy to draw an audience. I had, after all, done all the right things to prepare for this big event:...

Anchors Away!
If we want to fill our heads with the doom and gloom society seems to thrive on, all we need to do is turn on the local news at night. To make that quantum leap toward personal happiness and success in life, sometimes we just need to do what so...

We Are Exactly Where We Choose to Be
The idea for this month's newsletter came from an unlikely encounter: I recently had lunch with a new friend named Rick Rockwell. You may remember him as the bachelor from the first-ever reality TV show, "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?"...

Life's True ROI
al debt load and ROI, whether the industry as a whole is in a slump, whether there are too many partner or legal problems, whether future demand will materialize and so on and so forth. While these questions are certainly relevant, the most...

Hiring and Retaining Good Employees
Hiring good employees is not only important to business, it’s essential. Employees are the heart and soul of a business; they are the mechanism that makes a business run; they are the breath of life that enables a business to be something more than...

3 Ways To Jumpstart Your Home-based Business
A lot of people do not realize that entrepreneurs play a big role in our society. When you put the total number of entrepreneurs together, they count as the biggest financial contributors to our nation’s wealth. If only politicians would...

7 Strategies for Handling Last Minute Meetings
Have you ever found yourself having to scramble to organize a meeting at the last minute? Wouldn’t it be nice that if and when this daunting situation arose, you were well prepared with all necessary information ready at your fingertips? That’s why...

Four Different Ways People Process Your Information
There are four different ways that audience members assimilate information. They are: visual, auditory, auditory digital, and kinesthetic. While all members of the audience will process information utilizing all four of these approaches at...

Outsourcing NOT Just for Big Business
Outsourcing has become a controversial issue and a hot topic among presidential candidates this year. But have you stopped to think how your business can benefit from the efficiency, functionality and cost savings of outsourcing? If you have, you...

Marketing the Government for Profit
Steps and tips on marketing your business to the government.Fact: Federal, state and local governments buy over $450 billion combined in goods and services each year.Part of that can be yours if you know how to get it.Fact: Federal procurements...

Belief Management - The Missing Ingredient?
"Joan, I'm working so hard and I'm not getting anything done!" I have heard some version of this cry of frustration by many an entrepreneur. It's a common complaint voiced by those of use who sought the freedom to have complete authority over our...

Why Business Owners Need Security
The main reason is to stop any potential lawsuits from happening! But do you know how many individuals I have talked to about this very thing? Many! Do you know what the majority have told me? They have locks and cameras, so they don’t need anymore...

Can’t Stand The Heat….
It seems that every day I turn on the TV and find a Poker game. Texas No Limit seems to be all the rage these days. I love watching it. When I discuss this with others, their response is always the same, “You should play.” Ah, but what they don’t...