The office holiday party was a huge success. Was it just a way to thank your workers for a job well done this past year? Or do you expect it to have the lasting power to motivate your people for the next twelve months? I’m not trying to be a Scrooge or put a damper …

Before we had all of our gadgets, even television and radio, we had to amuse ourselves with books; we learned by tutors unless there was an established school, but for the rich, we turned to mostly tutors, learned men of the day. Different subjects for different sexes, too. There were subjects considered too manly for …

“Many managers make poor staffing decisions. By all accounts, their batting average is no better than .333. At most, one-third of such decisions turn out right; one-third are minimally effective; and one-third are outright failures. In no other area of management would we put up with such miserable performance.” – Peter Drucker, management icon. I …

It was a while there and I couldn’t speak–so upset was I that countless, thoughtless bloggers were telling us the Worst and Best Degrees–and we’re already feeling an uncertain future. I’m calm now. Okay, I’m back and re-posting. I had to go count, name all the Presidents, then all the State Capitols until I stopped …

Recently I spoke to a talented young software engineer who had been fast tracked into a management position. In a very short period of time, he went from a self-fulfilled, highly competent individual producer to a stressed out leader. He found that he did not enjoy confronting under performers; didn’t know how to motivate or …

I saw this question as a search question for training and while I don’t know the reason behind the question, it seemed logical to try to answer it. This may not be the answer people want to hear, but it is an alternative. I’ve actually addressed the question of icebreakers before. I don’t like them …

I am seeing a trend here, where TW=BA=UX. Multitalented roles of Technical Writers are now becoming more involved within organizations. They must know the business as well as Business Analysts, and they are also becoming our Usability Experts. They are a versatile, adaptable, resourceful group of writers, mainly because their function is in knowledge transfer. …

HR is full of different roles and responsibilities and there are a ton of buzzwords that we love to throw around in organizations. We also love to use creative titles for people in HR. Companies do this for a variety of reasons, but mostly is a marketing campaign. We need some good marketing in HR, but we also need to realize the best marketing is providing a service that people want and need. Results happen and a key to HR success is tying all that activity we do to business impact. Below are some of lessons I was reminded of this year tied to the importance of HR and what we do. There a few buzzwords and rhymes thrown in for fun.

Our topic today has nothing to do with an eccentric or detestable person, happily. Although some project managers may not agree, a more prevalent pest to be avoided in projects is “scope creep”: additional scope that creeps in, without anyone in the project team noticing. Before you know it, there is an expectation that the …

“Managers who coach their people become known as good managers to work for, developers of talent, and achievers of business results. They also become better leaders in the process.” Jack Welch, Former CEO General Electric Why Is Coaching Important? Good managers regularly keep their people and team informed about work performance so that they can …