Some of the greatest business successes have come not from winning the game, but from changing the rules. As a core business strategy, innovation is what makes a company stand out from the competition. Learning from the masters just got easier with The New York Times bestseller, Blue Ocean Shift: Beyond Competing, a follow-up to the breakthrough title Blue […]
Continue reading »Storytelling for Teambuilding
I’ll never forget my first day training as a Starbucks barista in 2009. Angela, my manager, walked me through the coffee tasting process, presenting me with a row of short cups of coffee, each with a different flavor. As part of the exercise, she asked me to describe the flavors I recognized. “Coffee,” I responded, […]
Continue reading »How To Tell If Employees Are Disengaged – And What to Do About It
Research shows businesses with high levels of employee engagement experience more positive strategic outcomes than those where employees are not engaged. The term “employee engagement” is really a measure of how much interest and respect employees have for their job, how proactive they are and how well they gel with the team. Studies on employee […]
Continue reading »Learning to Lead
Once promoted, many new managers find that the qualities and skills that earned them the position do not really measure up to the leader they want to be. These managers are often powerhouses of information with the hard skills needed to drive the company’s success. And they are also ideal candidates for leadership training. The […]
Continue reading »Finding the Corporate Soul
Satya Nadella rose to CEO of Microsoft in 2014. While some critics view Apple and Google as the ultimate winners in tech company competition, Microsoft has no shortage of recent successes. The Xbox, for example, dominates its niche, netting profits in the billions as the company continues to research and develop cutting-edge gaming technologies. After 43 years […]
Continue reading »How Cognitive Diversity Strengthens Teams
Does the phrase “diversity training” make you cringe? Given the history of failed diversity training programs in the U.S., it’s no wonder the mere mention of the topic can make eyes roll. The wrong approach to diversity training can create the opposite of the intended effect, alienating colleagues instead of inspiring better relationships. When diversity […]
Continue reading »Framing Issues for Effective Problem-Solving
Remember the days in math class when your teacher handed out an assignment of word problems? You thought: “Will I ever use this stuff in real life?… And why are we … “ Then the mouthy kid blurts it out for you: “Why are we working with words in math class?” Delighted at the expected […]
Continue reading »Is Teambuilding a Legitimate Training Strategy?
By Jessica Genereaux Have you ever told your staff you’re about to take part in a team building program, only to see a few of them rolling their eyes, convulsing in pain or banging their heads against a wall? If so, chances are their last experience probably didn’t go so well. Or maybe they just […]
Continue reading »Training in Diversity & Business Etiquette
As the world shrinks, corporations around the globe are facing diversity in the workforce like no time ever in history. Employers now have easy access to vast resources such as Linked-in and Glassdoor, and Headhunters at corporate recruiting firms are tech-savvy and globally connected in ways never before possible. Diversity in all its forms is reflected in the […]
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