Dark Is the Night An unkind social media post. Disrobing in a photo exchange. Arranging a meeting that results in addiction, or pregnancy. After 14 years of working with teens at my church, I have learned one thing: If they are going to have regrets, it will be because of something done online, after midnight. Any shock at their “online …
Horn Sections Make Rock Better: A New Series
I am slowly realizing this is my blog and I can do what I want. So I’m going to post rock songs that prove horn sections make rock better. Yes, I will define rock somewhat loosely.
How to Keep Employees
Some quotes over the years from my clients on their fight to keep employees. “If they can just pee in a cup, that’s all I ask.” “As soon as we train them, they leave.” “He just changed his mind once on the job.” “He probably wasn’t a good fit anyway.” (Years after the pee-in-the-cup statement:) “Frankly, I just don’t even …
FIRST SUNDAY: The Candle of Expectation
Plagued by Snakes My family moved just as the pandemic kicked off this year. Into a house with snakes. At first it was just a snakeskin in the attic. Then one in a crawlspace. As spring sprung, we repeatedly caught a 4-footer trying to sneak in the back door. Then we saw a baby slithering across the playroom in the …
Surviving the Stress of Retail Customers
Surviving the stress of retail customers even applies to soldiers. Glenn is a sales consultant for one of my clients. You immediately notice him because of his piercing blue eyes, hip-yet-effortless dress and calm demeanor. Spend enough time with him, and you’ll notice that he is a good listener, like all successful salespeople. In fact, a few years ago he …
“Change is hard, I should know”
“I want to make a career change and know I need to work on my mindset if I’m going to be successful.” “Our staff have to become truly responsive to customers.” “My marriage is in trouble if I don’t adjust how I run my company.” You get the idea. These are paraphrases of things clients have said to me over …
Announcing the Advent Series
Warning: Overtly spiritual message follows. I have felt a burden to share it, so here goes. I want to say the next sentence with as much empathy and care as I can: This has been a great year. Yes, I’ve had loved ones touched by the plague. Yes, I have mourned people who have passed away. Yes, my income took …
Ship it.
This post isn’t going to make sense unless you get in your head, right now, the thing you’ve wanted to introduce that you keep putting off. A presentation for the office. A project for your community. A process for your team. A book. For years, my father had a file folder on the desk in his home office. Scrawled in …
How promoting shopping carts and selling garbage applies to employee engagement
“I just wish they’d do what I ask them to do!” It’s one of the most common complaints I hear from clients. I don’t want to spoil the humor in Bernadette Jiwa’s TED talk (9 minutes). But if what she says is true for customers … how could you apply this to employees?
A team that grows–on purpose
My ears perk up for anything that discusses wrestling and/or growing. (Hint: Articles about teams that wrestle always feature teams that grow.) For years organizations have sought to become “great places to work.” For some of us, the phrase conjures images of foosball tables at Google. It seems silly. But that’s not why people work at Google, is it? They …