Although it’s been a couple of decades, I still remember my first hire. In those days, I was definitely not an expert. When I think back to those days, I have to smile because I was so naïve about the hiring process. Fortunately, I had a mentor who patiently taught me, and I learned the[…]
“If you’re going to play the game, boy you gotta learn to play it right,” sang Kenny Rogers in his song The Gambler. This song popped into my head as I ate lunch in a restaurant while observing two families with small children who had very different definitions of good behavior for their children. In[…]
Every day I hear business owners lament the fact that they can’t find good employees. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had hundreds of qualified applicants to choose from? That sure sounds awesome, but when it comes to recruiting, you can have too much of a good thing and that creates a daunting and[…]
A few weeks ago, I spent a weekend celebrating the 150th birthday of Renovo, a small town in Pennsylvania. I visited the town’s historical museum and their town hall, both filled with the history and memorabilia documenting the community’s legacy. I talked with the people who call the town home, attended the parade, and[…]
You’re not listening. How many times do we hear that phrase every day? We think we’re listening, but what we’re really doing is trying to solve the problem, fix the person, or move on to the next thing on our long list of things to do. I participated in a leadership challenge last week and[…]
Running a business is a lot like a reality TV show. You have an ultimate goal or mission and a time frame in which to achieve it. A group of people are thrown together and the fun ─ or chaos ─ begins. In business, you hope for the fun and do your best to prevent[…]
Work doesn’t have to be so serious. I love adding fun in unexpected places like this little rhyme to remind managers complete their employee performance reviews. It gets the point across, don’t you think? Where is that review you said was done? Here’s a little poem for you To remind you that a review is[…]
One of my favorite quotes from Brian Tracy, motivational speaker and author, is “People are not your most important asset. The right people are.” Finding the right people isn’t easy, and I know many of you struggle every day with hiring great employees. You wish you could find the secret recipe other companies use or[…]
Happy April Fools’ Day! This is no April Fools’ joke just a little something to help you avoid wasting valuable time and money on a candidate who fools you with a perfect resume. On a recent flight from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach, my seat mate rushed to get in a last phone call before takeoff.[…]
Hiring employees can be a time-consuming and frustrating process for many small businesses. You can tame this big, hairy monster by using this list to research and plan a successful hiring process. Hiring the wrong people can be one of the most expensive things your business does; hiring the right people saves you time, money,[…]