We launch our series on dignity with this double-length episode. Honoring dignity can transform your workplace–and you. Donna Hicks’s work on dignity inspired this series. Learn more here. And stay tuned for our future episodes about what happens when we violate dignity–and how to overcome it. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark. …
How to prioritize employee retention strategies
Remember when companies were hellbent on getting foosball tables and other Fun Activities in order to keep employees motivated and employed? It was nice, but as employee retention strategies go, it was pretty weak. Some employees really believed this would help employee retention. But not a single employee stayed for games. (If they did, they might have been the wrong …
Podcast 65: Special Episode: Coaching Mark on seeing his tribe
Another live-coaching example! Periodically Mike and Mark provide examples of what coaching looks like. Tune in to hear Mike coach Mark on the teams-vs.-tribes principle from Episode 64. What is the tribe for Mark’s classics-focused business, Hip Socket? We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify.
Podcast 64: Do you need a team … or a tribe?
Mike and Mark are back to discuss teams–this time, in comparison with tribes. Which do you need? And how do you identify if you have a tribe? Mentioned in the podcast: “Tribes” by Seth Godin. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike and Mark. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify.
What a black cemetery teaches us about self control
Plot twists ahead I read that this photo is one of a kind: the only surviving Civil War portrait of a black soldier with his family. As of 2010, it belongs in the Library of Congress archives. And, according to Rockcastle’s Mount Vernon Signal, the soldier has now been identified as Sergeant Samuel Smith, United States Colored Troops. The grave …
Are you growing or just changing?
Business trends How many trends have you participated in since you started your career? Here’s an example: In the olden days, companies strove for good customer service. When I was young, J.D. Power pushed statistically driven customer satisfaction efforts. Social media brought customer engagement to the fore … and now we talk about CX, customer experience. There were things to …
Sometimes you do NOT need a coach.
“We should have taken a long rest but, in those days, we couldn’t.” Sometimes you don’t need a coach. Sometimes growing is not the best option. Put another way: How many Everly Brothers hits would you sacrifice if you knew it meant the brothers could keep their sanity? They were often in conflict (mainly about politics, I gather). But boy, …
Podcast 62: Just-in-Time Feedback: why, what and when
Subscribe and listen on Spotify or Apple … or watch below. Just-in-Time Feedback has benefits for the employer and the employee. But how do you give feedback so frequently? Mike and Mark share what works. We mention the AID method, which you can learn more about in episode 16. We would love your questions and comments for future episodes: Email Mike …
Employees who THINK! (like Lincoln did: thanks to geometry)
“They just don’t THINK!” Almost every manager and business owner I’ve served has, at some point, complained that employees are just not thinking clearly. They are going through the motions. Or acting emotionally. Or making bad assumptions. Or just not considering consequences. If there is one U.S. president who kept himself free of such problems, it has to be Abraham …
Podcast 59: Three things you need for your coaching to succeed: Trustworthiness
Subscribe and listen on Spotify or Apple … or watch below. There are many coaching methods out there … but what do you need for any of those methods to work? The first of three things: trustworthiness. Tune in to learn the elements of trust–and, more importantly, how to demonstrate them. Questions or ideas for the podcast? Email Mike and Mark.