The Gallup Q12, as it’s commonly called, is a set of 12 questions designed to measure employee engagement. Not satisfaction. Engagement. Why is that distinction important? Because satisfaction is surface-level—think free snacks in the breakroom—but engagement digs deeper. It’s about your team’s emotional connection to their work and their belief in the purpose of what they’re doing. These questions came …
DiSC: How to work with anybody
Mike and Mark kept meaning to record an episode on DiSC, and Mark had a request for the very same thing after a recent speaking engagement. Two questions! That’s all it takes to tap into a system used to describe and make use of our differences for, literally, millennia. (If you’d like to take Wylie’s excellent DiSC assessments, drop us …
What do you meme?® Shocking reactions from “Triangle Factory” workers … which one are you?
Introducing our new series on memes that are going viral with employees–and have something to say about their engagement and your leadership. How informed are your workers? If they are not proactive about getting informed … are you the reason? Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or your team? We’d love to hear from you! Email …
Never assume that people want to win as much as you do
“You know, we’re just not reaching that guy.” -Gary Larson’s The Far Side Mike shares the story of a client who had a huge opportunity to take sales and performance to the next level. He did all the right things … why weren’t his people doing the right things? Interested in coaching or training on these topics for you or …

Hey Boomer: Don’t tell your hard workers McDonald’s is hiring
Mark shares a true story about Baby Boomers misunderstanding Millennial hard workers, and the disastrous results of not addressing negative feedback. If you care about employee retention, this one’s for you. Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes … or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
Freedom and responsibility: Booker T.’s message for us
American hero Booker T. Washington told the story of the freeing of the slaves by relating the other side of the coin: responsibility. If you plan to grow yourself or to empower others, it’s a lesson you must embrace. More on slavery and American history: Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes … or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark.
A Genius on intentionality: Why and how some achieve more–and how you can too
We love featuring geniuses on It Doesn’t Take a Genius! Herb Mast’s book “Intentionality for Leaders” has been praised by the likes of Boeing and Ford CEO Alan Mulally and leadership great Patrick Lencioni. Mark asks Herb to share some of the insights in the book that helps you go “beyond mere talk, actionless goal setting and good intentions to …
Managers, you are not measuring what matters
Most teams and individuals have goals. Tracking progress on those is the easy part. What are you doing to measure and focus on the activities that lead to the goal? Questions? Comments? Ideas for future episodes … or interview subjects? Email Mike and Mark. Listen here … subscribe on Spotify, Amazon or Apple … or watch below the text.
Can you delegate to your busiest team members?
If you are a lone wolf with no direct reports, the last episode revealed how you can “delegate” some of your less important tasks so you can focus on your priorities. But what if you DO have a team … and that team is too busy to receive more tasks delegated from you? There is an answer, and it is …
How to “yell” at someone
It’s kind of hard to take this CNN headline seriously: For some strange reason, my gut is telling me that if I, say, raped one of my kids, it would be worse for their development than if I, say, yelled at them. But we do need to take verbal abuse seriously. The study was commissioned by a charity called Words …