Every year as the fourth quarter approaches, capacity planning kicks off. With the speed of business we tend to try and cram in as many projects into a year as possible. We can’t risk falling behind, so we figure out how to implement every great idea. Often we get caught in the trap of believing we can just use staff augmentation to offset the greater capacity needs extra projects create. When doing capacity planning, don’t forget these other big hitters: Continue reading
The Great American Spirit
Today’s job market is volatile. As job elimination occurs, many people approach their careers differently and many start their own companies. Whether an entrepreneur or someone with a corporate job, it’s important to be running your career like it’s your business. You should always be building your brand and your network. That way, when you need it, you aren’t starting from scratch.
We had George Krueger and Mary-Lynn Foster from Bigg Success on the show this week. Here are a few tips for those who are thinking of taking the entrepreneurial plunge. Continue reading
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Be Dispensable
Ever wanted a promotion? How about going on a vacation without work tagging along? Want to learn a new position at work? The key is to be dispensable. For ages people have tried to make themselves indispensable, attempting to avoid lay-offs or seeking ways to be worth more to the company. This strategy doesn’t work, as companies have proven time and time again, everyone is replaceable. And if you try to be irreplaceable, that’s all the more reason for companies to try and replace you. This starts off my first point about being dispensable: Continue reading
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Wind beneath My Wings
I’m sure that song elicits either a whimsical memory or a gagging reflex. Regardless of how you feel about the song, recently I have come to understand its meaning and its power. Do you have someone who is the wind beneath your wings? Are you someone else’s wind? Continue reading
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Is This Thing On?
Have you ever suffered from the case of “I shouldn’t have said that” or “That’s not what I meant?” It’s tough to say the right thing, at the right time, in the right way. We had Rebecca Barth from She Shares Ministries on the show this week talking about how to communicate for maximum impact. And while we talked about the different ways to communicate, from senior leaders to direct reports, I want to expand more on the topic of communicating with our peers. Continue reading
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Are You Social Enough?
Everyone has a social media brand whether they like it or not! From companies to individuals, your social media presence is becoming more and more important. And if you aren’t on social media, that tells people a lot about you as well! Social media levels the playing field: anyone can create and potentially communicate to vast audiences. Oftentimes the first place people go when researching a company or a potential employee is out to the web to see what they can find. Gina Schreck, social media guru and Chief Hooligan at SocialKNX, and all-around one of my fave people, was on the show this week, giving tips to both entrepreneurs and those employed in the corporate world. Continue reading
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The Secret Isn’t in the Sauce
I’m not sure why I got a BS in International Business and an MBA in Finance. Almost all the valuable business skills I learned, I learned at Chick-fil-A. When I began looking for a job at 16, I swore I would not work at fast-food. I was determined to find a job at Mervyn’s or another big department store. A friend was working at Chick-fil-A, so my mom decided to pick me up an application. Reluctantly I filled it out. I began turning in my applications, and when I got to Chick-fil-A, the owner asked to interview me on the spot. That’s lesson number one: Continue reading
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She Said What?
“I got this. I understand it the best.”
“Wow, you look fabulous with your new haircut!”
“With looks like that, who needs a resume?”
I’m sure at least once a week you hear something that raises your eyebrows and makes you wonder what the person really meant by the comment. Cross-gender communication is even more challenging. All the way to the psyche, men and women are different. This week we had Amanda Johns Vaden, gender differences expert, on the show to help us improve our communication in the work place. Continue reading
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Bob Daretta once said, “The higher you go in your career, the less you will need your technical skills; the more you will need leadership and speaking skills.” Most likely, at the start of your career, it was a lot of doing. The more you did and the better you did it equated to success. As you become a leader, it’s no longer about doing things yourself; instead, it’s doing things through others. Continue reading
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How Relationships Change Everything
“People, process, or place?” That was the question I was asked when identifying the root cause for opportunities within my department. Are they people problems, process problems, or location problems? Every time, I boiled it down to people issues. People are the drivers for success, but they are also the drivers for failure. This week, Deanna Landers was on the show, and we talked about how understanding our personalities and how they relate to others’ can make a big difference when trying to improve a department. Continue reading
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