Accentuate the Positive

Every firm has its ups and downs, and that can have a major effect on morale. If times get tough or the firm has to drastically cut expenditures there’s often a negative emotion that grows until it pervades the enterprise. We’ve all seen places like that...

Coaches Do It By the Rules

As long as there has been a need for improvement there have been coaches to provide it. Two thousand years ago the Roman army had coaches to develop skills in such critical areas as fighting battles, defending a fortress, setting up an encampment and how to manage...

Coaching is Coaching

The term “coaching” is used a lot these days. We hear about “personal coaching” and “business coaching” as often as we hear about coaching in the field of sports, but are we really talking about such different things? Leaving aside...

Easy Time Management

Every person in every organization is well aware that by adopting even the most basic time management techniques they can become more effective, and hence more productive. Even if they don’t actually do it. For professional service firms it is especially...

Effective Delegation — It’s an Art

Almost every business owner has too much to do and not enough time to do it in. But there is a solution – let your team members take some of the weight off your back by learning how to delegate effectively. Are you taking work home every night? Do jobs pile up...

Empower Your Team Members

“Empower” is one of those words we see a lot of these days, but what does it really mean to a business owner? It doesn’t mean giving up your authority. It doesn’t mean shuffling off all the responsibilities of ownership onto the shoulders of...

Feedback Should Be Clear and Actionable, Not “Nice” and Vague

This tip is adapted from “Are You Sugarcoating Your Feedback Without Realizing It?,” by Michael Schaerer and Roderick Swaab Many managers sugarcoat tough feedback, either to avoid retaliation or to protect employees’ feelings. But research shows that managers tend to...

Leadership – Give it a Try

When the leadership is right and the time is right, the people can always be counted upon to follow to the end and at all costs. – Harold J. Seymour We often use expressions like “A born leader” without worrying too much about just what a leader is....