I spent a summer working as a lifeguard and, I’ve got to tell you, it was a pretty great job! Mostly I would twirl my whistle around my fingers, first one way, then the other. When kids were running, I’d yell at them, “No running on the deck!” The whole summer, I didn’t have to…
On Tuesday we reviewed some reasons why you might want to reopen your office right away, today let’s look at some things to consider if you are not rushing back into the office. Giving folks the option to keep working from home makes room for those who still have challenges with childcare, or who might…
Which is worth more to your company; a great employee, or a perfect fit client. I think for most of us, the answer is simple; I’ll take a new client (revenue) over a new employee (expense) any day! But before you answer, think about one of your top team members; how much do they improve…
“Well this is garbage, we’ll have to start this over from the beginning…” When I heard my client, Trish, say that to one of her team members my heart sank. I immediately looked at the designer’s face and saw that she was barely holding back tears. Trish was trying to be helpful. She didn’t see…
I want you to think about the best team you’ve ever worked with. The team that had you engaged; that got the most out of you; where you accomplished more than you thought you could. Got it in your mind? I’ve asked a ton of people to tell me about their “best team,” and when…
“He’s been with us from the beginning. I think he was the fourth employee hired in the company!” This is how the conversation started with one of my clients who was telling me about his “problem employee.” “Things started great.” Joshua came to them through a friend, and when they met him, they could see…
As the boss, you get to see daily progress. When a deal closes, or a project finishes up, you know it. When a client is excited about the changes you made for them, you hear their praise. You have access to a lot of positive feedback that the rest of your team doesn’t see or…
I frequently tell business owners, “A CEO’s job is to break things. Just don’t break them faster than your team can fix!” I do believe that — someone in every organization has to push the limits to achieve the “next thing.” Someone has to call out the stuff that’s not done well and advocate for…
Driving to work, you reflect on your business – and it makes you smile. “I’m working with a terrific team that delivers excellent work and the clients are asking for more. It feels so good to have a strong team behind me,” you’re thinking. “When I don’t have to fight fires all the time, I…
Executive compensation can be a hard topic to tackle, especially for startups and other growing companies that need to attract experienced talent on a smaller budget. What you may not know is that base salary is the smallest component of executive compensation, generally outweighed by incentive pay. That is good news for growing companies with…