Understanding stress and the ability to manage stress is important. However, the broader questions are, “What can we do to reduce stress or even eliminate it altogether?” Here are some thoughts and ideas from Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff at Work by Richard Carlson that may help you take a different approach to eliminating stress […]

Realizing a compelling vision often means change, accepting new perspectives, and abandoning old habits and techniques. Many times the necessary changes require doing things differently. Lofty aspirations may involve outsourcing, merging, building strategic alliances, partnering, or acquiring other resources or organizations. It could mean selling off pieces of existing business that no longer fit strategically. […]

Many people are familiar with Yoda, a very wise Jedi Master from Star Wars, who was charged to train Luke Skywalker in how to use his “force.” This quote is from the scene where Luke was trying to mentally, by using his ‘force,’ pull his plane from the muck of a swamp. Luke told Yoda […]

\”The only difference between a rut and a grave … is in their dimensions.\” – Ellen Glasgow As Director of Research and Professional Development at the Center for Critical Thinking and Chair of the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, Dr. Richard Paul defines critical thinking as thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking […]

“Let us suppose that we were asked for one all purpose bit of advice for management, one truth that we were able to distill from the excellent company’s research. We might be tempted to reply, ‘Figure out your value system.’ Decide what your company stands for. Clarifying the value system and breathing life into it […]

Excellent customer service providers are in tune with the emotions of the people they deal with through awareness and empathy. They’re proficient at handling conflicts, and they have the ability to maintain positive attitudes while engaged in their work. However, a continual barrage of negative customer interactions can be a reality within the role of […]

Success is determined by our willingness to achieve and the spirit upon which we assume risk and responsibility.” Jan DeLory If you read this quote and focus on the words that were selected, it packs quite a powerful punch. Success is defined in very individual and personal ways. Some people define success financially, some by […]

Change in recent years has created far-reaching implications for anyone in the sales field. Globalization, technology, universal access to information, and the recent economy have changed everything. If you want to succeed in this turbulent arena, you will have to be more knowledgeable, more responsive and easier to do business with than ever before. You […]

According to Jeffrey Gitomer author of Customer Satisfaction is Worthless: Customer Loyalty is Priceless, the answer is very clear. “Satisfaction is no longer an acceptable measurement of customer service success. The standard and measure of success in this millennium are loyal customers.” The Gallop Organization’s research also concludes that no matter how satisfied an organization […]

Depending upon what research study you read, companies in the United States are spending upwards of 134 Billion dollars a year on employee training and development. However, according to a study on retention in The Journal of Economic Education, the annual rate of retention loss for employee training and development averages between 13 to 23%. […]