Monthly Archives: August 2012

Get a Grip!

By Guest Blogger Kevin Lewis

I am sure you have heard this phrase before.  Maybe you have said it to someone (or to yourself).  I recently had to when we were dropping our last child off at college.  With my wife, youngest daughter and her older sister in full weeping mode, I realized that I needed to “get a grip” and keep my emotions somewhat in check (somebody had to keep it together).  Otherwise it would have likely been a full meltdown (which, by the way, was already happening inside my gut).

You … Continue reading

Email Action!

Have you ever sent an email to a staff member or a client which required some action on their part and nothing happened?  If that’s happened to you, I’ve got a great tool that might help you with your future communications.  You can apply this in many situations.

Each day we’re hit with messages competing for our attention.  Every message has to work very hard to get noticed.  This isn’t exclusive to advertising alone; your reports, presentations and emails are trying to get your audience’s attention.  Use basic advertising principles to make sure your… Continue reading

SWOT!

Swot isn’t just the sound when going after a fly (that sound is actually spelled swat).  A SWOT analysis is a helpful tool to assess your organization, department or even you as an individual.  It’s a good exercise to start the planning process for the short term or long term.  Go through the following exercise for your  business or yourself – you might be surprised what you come up with.

Instructions:  prepare the following analysis.  You may want to discuss this with others on your team.  Once you identify five areas under each… Continue reading

Vendors

It makes a lot of sense to outsource certain tasks for you personally and professionally.  I’m amazed that many businesses and associations don’t take the time to perform due diligence on vendor services.  Someone’s brother-in-law provides technology, a friend of a friend uses a certain marketing firm, or you meet someone who provides cleaning services and seems nice so you sign up.  It can work out great and it can work out poorly.  You might get the best price or end up paying three times the going rate.  If you’re looking for a vendor, personally… Continue reading

Great Job Candidates Ask Great Questions

Currently I have several clients that are looking for new opportunities.  Most are looking around because they don’t like working for whom they are working.  When they do leave their jobs, most likely their supervisor will attribute their leaving to a multitude of other factors – completely leaving off the most important factor, how they managed.  Today’s blog is dedicated to those in search of the opportunity.  Inc. Online had an article about the 5 questions great job candidates ask.  I’ve doctored it up a bit, with my own spin.

Candidates many times ask questions… Continue reading