December 10, 2012

Ten Tips For Giving Gifts To Clients

Issue #260

To gift or not to gift, that is the question.  For the last five or six years, companies cut back on the quantity and value of corporate gifts given to clients.  It was understood that times were tough and businesses could scarcely justify giving gifts to clients when they were laying off staff, freezing hiring, cutting salaries and increasing workloads.  The economy could legitimately be blamed for a reduction in gift-giving.  After all, corporate profits in the first quarter of 2009 hit its lowest level in a decade. Continue reading →

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December 3, 2012

Does Practice Make Perfect?

Issue #259

The old adage of ‘practice makes perfect’ conveys the idea that with enough practice a person’s performance can achieve perfection.  Yet, the term ‘perfection’ itself seems to fly in the face of the essence of being ‘human.’  It is universally understood that to be human is to be imperfect.  So if that’s true, just how much can practice improve a person’s performance at any given task or skill? Continue reading →

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November 26, 2012

Preventing Human Error

Issue #258

It’s been said many times that ‘to err is human, to forgive divine.’  Few would argue that at least the first part of that statement is absolutely true.  No one is perfect.  To be human is to make mistakes.  Isn’t that why they put erasers on pencils?  But when people make mistakes at work, those errors can hurt business.  In fact, Marketwire reported in 2008 that human errors among employees cost businesses in the US and UK more than $37 billion in lost productivity.  While the vast majority of mistakes at work are minor and do little real harm, some mistakes are serious enough to reduce sales, damage customer relations, hurt the bottom line or even cause sentinel events — unexpected occurrences involving death or serious physical or psychological injury. Continue reading →

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November 19, 2012

Unknown Unknowns – When You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Issue #257

Knowledge is power.  That’s true in any society or culture anywhere in the world.  Knowledge empowers one to navigate a complex world in the best, most efficient, most effective way with the least amount of snags and waste.  This has been true since before recorded history.  In fact, the 13th century Persian-Tajik poet Ibn Yamin wrote about men and knowledge: Continue reading →

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November 12, 2012

Ten Strategies for dealing with Prolonged Stress

Issue #256

During a crisis, there is usually an initial period of intense stress for any individual involved. The body and mind achieve a heightened state of alert to deal with the situation. The heart pounds, chest heaves, and muscles tighten.  Senses sharpen. Time slips into slow motion. The body becomes impervious to pain.  This is the normal reaction. The human body responds to a stressful situation by flooding the body with endorphins and adrenaline to deal with the situation at hand. After the initial shock wears off, the body eventually returns to a state of equilibrium. However, when there is a stressful situation that is prolonged – whether it is a life-threatening illness, a terrorist attack, a natural disaster or some other ongoing event – the stress usually doesn’t end right away. In fact, the bigger the catastrophe, the more likely the stress will continue for a long time. Continue reading →

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October 29, 2012

How A Company’s Reputation Impacts Its Ability to Attract and Retain Top Talent

Issue #255

Coca Cola.  Google.  IBM.  Apple.  Starbucks.  Microsoft.  Mercedes Benz.  Zappos.  Amazon.  What do all of these companies have in common?  Besides having a global market following and a very healthy balance sheet, these companies have at least one other thing in common:  the ability to attract top talent just based on reputation.  Companies that attract top talent are likely to stay at the top of the Fortune 500 list because human potential is the one thing that cannot be forged, copied, imitated, duplicated or easily replaced.  So attracting top talent breeds success and success attracts top talent. Continue reading →

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October 22, 2012

Beyond Absenteeism – Part 2

Issue #254

Seven Workplace Solutions for Presenteeism

Presenteeism is a work issue that is more costly to businesses and more pervasive in workplaces than absenteeism and tardiness combined.  Estimates for business losses from presenteeism range from $150 to $250 billion annually and many think that it is as much as three times that.  Employers are only just starting to realize and contend with this HR issue.  Continue reading →

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October 15, 2012

Beyond Absenteeism – Part 1

Issue #253

The Cost of Presenteeism for Business

Absenteeism is a work behavior that every manager and Human Resources department deals with and dreads.  When an employee fails to report to work, it often creates a hardship for that employee’s coworkers, manager and — depending on the position — customers.  It is to be expected that employees may have to miss work occasionally due to all kinds of reasons.  But it is actually a fairly expensive problem that is on rise.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unplanned absences cost American businesses an average of 2.8 million workdays each year – equivalent to the loss of $74 billion dollars.  Others think the cost to business may be three times as high. Continue reading →

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October 10, 2012

The Cost of Employee Tardiness

Issue #252

Employees are every company’s greatest asset and resource.  Each worker brings his/her talents and skills to bear on behalf of the organization.  Ingenuity.  Creativity.  Problem-solving.  Writing.  Speaking.  Listening.  Coordination.  Instruction.  Persuasion.  Negotiation.  Judging.  Decision-making.  They provide a wealth of skills and talents that no computer or robot can perform as well.  Yet, human resources are also the most time-consuming, difficult to manage and maintain, and fluid of all company assets. Continue reading →

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September 24, 2012

What is Brand Social Currency?

Issue #251

In recent weeks, we looked at reputation, brand and brand value as variables that impact a company’s worth in the global marketplace.  We reviewed the various brand ranking reports that determine and monetize the value of the biggest brands in the world annually, including Interbrand’s 100 Best, Brandz’s Top 100 and Credit Suisse’s Great Brands.  Those annual lists use a myriad of criteria to assess each brand’s value. Continue reading →

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