Ask: What is the unmet need of customers?

  • August 13, 2012

Don’t forget to ask the simplest question of all before you develop a new product or service for customers: What’s the unmet need? If you fail to learn the...

Difficult people killing your meetings?

  • August 10, 2012

A consultant who was running a daily meeting for 20 employees at an insurance company noticed that he had two ramblers taking his meetings off track. Solution? He...

PowerPoint presentations without a presenter

  • August 06, 2012

When we think about PowerPoint presentations, we usually imagine a speaker in front of the room with a projector and a screen. But many presentations are delivered by...

How to handle partial-day absences under FMLA

  • August 03, 2012

Sometimes, an employee needs just a few hours of FMLA leave to make a doctor’s appointment or to drive a relative to treatment. What if the employee wants to take...

‘Socratic Method’: Questions first

  • August 02, 2012

One of the greatest philosophers ever known was a master of asking questions. Instead of lecturing, Socrates posed a series of thought-provoking questions to his Greek...

Tribute to chief charlatan Peter Drucker

  • July 26, 2012

By definition, a leader has to be out front. That’s why in hindsight it’s so easy to see how Peter Drucker, the foremost management guru of the 20th...

You’re not as busy as you think

  • July 19, 2012

“There was a time, not so long ago, when I was busy, busy, busy,” says Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours. “At least I thought I was.” Then she...