“Now, who is your momma?” As a proud Kentuckian, I’ve always smiled at Neil Rackham’s classic “SPIN Selling” describing the differences of doing business in the North vs. the South: I remember once watching a southern banker in Kentucky selling trust services to a customer who looked like Colonel Sanders’s twin brother. In this case the Preliminaries took up almost …
Podcast 100: Culture trickles downhill–3 degrees of difficulty
Last time Mike and Mark discussed the tension to manage in your organization’s culture: relationship vs. results, treating people well vs. performing well. This episode unpacks the first of four statements to help you manage that tension. There are three ways you should trickle culture downhill … each with a different degree of difficulty. We would love your questions and …
Podcast 99: Do you have a culture … or a cult-?
There is tension in your organization’s culture. And it is most definitely a tension to manage, not a problem to solve. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark. Listen here … subscribe on Spotify, Amazon or Apple … or view below.
Anxiety, screens, social media … and great books
Hip Socket exists to help clients grow more organized, more confident and more influential. And that growth only happens after they wrestle. Wrestle with what? We’ve spent a lot of time on this blog discussing what we are up against. Sometimes it’s acknowledging how burnout is a huge part of the modern condition. It’s why screen time is so dangerous. …
Podcast 96: The Workplace Book Club – ”Nothing beside remains”
What will be your legacy? Your organization’s legacy? On this week’s Workplace Book Club, we look at a poem. (Just like AMC did for the sake of a hit TV show.) Even in the workplace, are there things that last? Mike and Mark are #twoguyswithoutlookswithbooks. The excerpt and study guide for this episode, “Nothing beside remains,” is available for free …
Podcast 95: The Workplace Book Club — No shame in tears
Charles Dickens has some thoughts on crying. He makes some blanket statements about the three ways expressing negative emotions improves you. Does it apply to the workplace? Mike and Mark are #twoguyswithoutlookswithbooks. The excerpt and study guide for this episode, “No shame in tears,” is available for free download. We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for …
Podcast 94: The Workplace Book Club — Clothes make the man
Should looks matter? Do they? What about criticism? What’s the appropriate response to getting it? Shakespeare gives his 2 cents via Hamlet, and Mike and Mark are #guyswithoutlookswithbooks. The excerpt and study guide for this episode, “Clothes make the man,” is available for free download. We would love your questions and comments (and book ideas!) for future episodes: Email …
Every team member can enhance the customer experience
A colleague shared with me this speech clip from Susan Salgado, director of culture and learning for Danny Meyer’s famous Union Square Hospitality Group. The group includes Shake Shack among many other brands. The clip is a short story about a hospital nurse who took some clever steps to ensure patients received quick and efficient care. What will impress you …
Redefining a good job, honoring one willing to work
“I’m looking for people who want a career, not a job.” I’ve had many clients, especially car dealerships, say that to me. I get the point. They want someone who is investing in their future. Looking at the big picture. Not just punching the clock and going through the motions. And while they look for those types of employees. … …
Podcast 91: How do you handle toxic high producers?
From our case files: dealing with THPD (Toxic High Producer Dilemma). How do you measure someone’s negative effects on your culture against their positive effect on your bottom line? What options do you have? What will you have to commit to to handle it? All this and more on today’s episode. We would love your questions and comments for future …