No matter what business you’re in, there will be times when things go wrong when serving your customers. From forgetting to process an order to selling a product that doesn’t meet the customer’s expectations, you’re going to let your customers down. Customer service failures don’t have to define you. It’s how you RESPOND to service […]
One of my personal pet peeves is people who don’t reply to emails, voicemails, or text messages in a timely fashion – especially when I KNOW they received the communication. Case in point – I sent an email 2 weeks ago to a group of people for whom I had ordered t-shirts for an event. […]
Over the past eight years or so, I’ve fostered more than 700 animals for my local animal shelter and some that I’ve taken in through my nonprofit animal rescue, Starlight Outreach and Rescue. In fact, to continue to do this “labor of love,” we sold our home of almost 20 years last year and moved […]
Last week, I shared some common mistakes many meeting facilitators make when conducting meetings and I shared tips on how you can avoid them. For those of you who are tired of reading about meetings, you’ll be glad to know this is my third and final reason your meetings are not as effective as they […]
Without even realizing it, you may have let wimpy words and powerless phrases sneak into your vocabulary. These words and phrases tell others that you’re unsure of yourself, your ideas, and your position. The result? They’re likely zapping your personal power and credibility at work. If you want to project confidence and authority and need […]
In my workshops for new supervisors and business owners, I’m often asked if it’s “okay” to be friends with your employees? My quick answer is NO. However, it depends on how you define friendship. If you define friendship as a mutually beneficial relationship where both parties support each other in achieving their goals, then yes. […]
From facial expressions and body language, to our vocal qualities, clothes, and even how we use or misuse time, our nonverbal communication speaks “loud and clear,” whether we want it to or not. Here’s why: First, it is our primary mode of communication. Before you could speak, you “communicated” how you felt using body language, […]
As a trainer, I often get calls from leaders who want me to teach them how to “fix” employees, or worse, want me to “fix” their worst employees myself. One of the main purposes of training is to help people learn new skills. If the person needs new skills, I’m in. However, training cannot fix […]
The first step in bridging the workplace generation gap is understanding that you have one and how extensive it is. By identifying your employees’ generations (no, don’t ask how old they are), you can take the first steps toward bringing your team together. From Harvard Business Review to Inc Magazine, articles about “Generations in the […]
When it comes to getting feedback on how you’re doing as a leader, manager, or business owner, the saying, “It’s lonely at the top,” was never more true. Too many leaders have no idea what their employees think of them and their leadership until an employee leaves the organization and decides to take a few […]
