Employees sometimes spend several hours each year in training classes. Many times, these classes get the same reception as the performance review. The two have some similarities. Both are often dreaded experiences that can turn into a pleasant surprise or a nightmare. Most likely each of you can relate to both experiences for both items.

Guest post from Claudia Vandermilt: As a project manager, your teams rely on your leadership skills to guide and encourage productivity and project success. When provided with quality leadership, team members often respond positively; they build stronger relationships and rise to project challenges brought forth by their leader. Arm yourself with these five critical leadership …

The basis of marketing is understanding what your target market wants or needs. So, how do you do this? How do you go about understanding your target market? Understanding your market is really a blend of science and art. The key is to collect the data. I believe it is important to do this through …

Is it time to strengthen your supervisory muscles? Here are insights from years of working with managers, teams, and new leaders on the realities of supervision. For some of you it may be “old hat”; for others an “ah’ha”. In either case, know that the moment you start taking things for granted, you stop being …

If you’re getting a new boss in your existing job, consider getting ‘hired’ all over again. How many bosses have you had in your present job these past couple of years? I’ve asked this question in my career management and personal branding workshops. I heard everything from “my boss seems to hang on” to several …

My perspective of spirituality in the workplace has changed over the years. I used to view it solely as integrating my spirituality at the workplace. Now more than ever, I look at is as putting my spirituality at work, wherever I’m working, with whoever I’m working with, doing whatever kind of work. This new perspective …

Control your story online As it stands today, crisis management is very much entwined with social media. Whether you like it or not, when trouble hits you’ve got to quickly meet your stakeholders in the places they frequent in order to maintain control of your story, and that means being ready. In an article for …

The following list was graciously contributed by Marc Bonnemains, and is from a LinkedIn discussion about project management. The following items are referred to as frameworks and models. Many people distinguish between the two, and might explain that a framework is a structure within which an activity occurs, but a model also describes the functioning …

Bad move sends Food Network star scrambling for crisis management The Make-A-Wish Foundation is heralded as a fine organization, and celebrities and athletes are more than happy to spend some time making dreams come true. Well, most of them are. Apparently Ina Garten, star of the Food Network’s “Barefoot Contessa” doesn’t have much care for …

Understanding your target market will give you the information needed for an effective promotional plan. Your target market needs and buyer behavior are the basis for the plan. The market needs dictate your positioning and possible competitive advantage while buyer behavior will determine who you need to sell to and where you need to have …