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TQT: Apologizing
Today's Tuesday quick thought is about apologizing. I came across a study conducted in 2008 by Dr. Jennifer Robbennolt published in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. The topic at hand was medical errors and how doctors respond, and it honed in on one particular type of response: an apology. One of the reasons I really like this study is that it intersects a number of…
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What the 2016 presidential election teaches us about bias - and how to control it
No man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment... - James Madison, Federalist No. 10 ~5 minute read~ In case you missed it, we held an election here in the United States on Tuesday. Our once-every-four-years exercise in democractic-republicanism at the federal level took place in a rather tumultuous time - not only here in the States…
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TQT: Change
(Today is election day! Don't forget to vote!) 'The only thing that never changes is that everything changes.' Louis L'Amour Today's quick thought is about change. It's finally fall, at least here in the South. It has been hot and brutally dry down here, but the season is finally changing. That change got me thinking about change in general. I was recently at some training for a utility…
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Improve Your Company's Morale, Culture, Productivity, and Engagement by Understanding and Utilizing 'Driving Forces'!
A great new tool to help you hire, manage, and develop your most important asset: your people. We always want to keep you updated on the products and resources we have available. Many of you are already familiar with our behavior assessment, the DISC. Created and distributed by Target Training International, widely recognized as a pioneering leader in professional development and the science of…
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Saigon, 1965 and the Case for a 3rd Party Viewpoint
~10 min read~ As the Vietnam war began to escalate throughout 1965 and '66, the Department of Defense reached out to a California based consulting firm known as the RAND company, and tasked them to gather intelligence about the Viet Cong, the communist faction that had taken over Northern Vietnam. The result of their work was the Viet Cong Motivation and Morale Project (VCMMP), consisting of over…
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TQT: What do you really value?
This week's quick thought is about corporate values. I've heard many times from Pamper that 'your mission is why you work, and your values are how you work.' That was recently reinforced as I read an article about Netflix for a post I'm working on. Netflix has a unique corporate culture. To reinforce that culture, they have a presentation that lays out their cultural maxims. The first one is…
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Millennial Expectations for Customer Service
~5 min read~ I recently read an article at INC. titled '5 ways millennials are reshaping customer service everywhere.' In it, the author asked a number of customer service leaders in a variety of different fields and companies (Chick-Fil-A, Hireology, Anytime Fitness, etc.) a couple of questions and recorded their responses. In some ways, we don't really associate customer service with millennials.…
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TQT: A Trust Building #LifeHack
This week's quick thought is about trust. Actually, it's a life hack for building trust. I read an article on Business Insider about 'pratfalls' - small, minor mistakes that can increase people's appeal. Based on a study from the 60's, the 2015 book 'Friend and Foe' picks up this idea. The idea is that highly competent people can appear more approachable and 'human' with an intentional…
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What we can learn about communicating in a crisis from Samsung and Volkswagen
~5-6 min read~ We've had the chance recently to take a look at how some very large, multi-national organizations deal with significant crisis. Being located in Chattanooga, the home of the Volkswagen North America plant, it was a blow when it was revealed that their company had intentionally violated emissions standards. Also, over the past month, we've been seeing Samsung deal with the fallout…
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TQT: #StartUpWeek
~1 min read~ Last week was start-up week here in Chattanooga. I had the opportunity to sit on a panel and interact with a number of businesses starting up around town. I took the opportunity to talk a little bit about how what we do - hiring, managing, and developing people - is vitally important for a start up. Think about it. Easily the most expensive thing about a start-up is it's human…
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Building a Supervisory Toolkit
Recently, one of our clients approached us about creating a 'Supervisory Toolkit.' They are undergoing some change, part of it being a restructuring of the director level, so there is going to be more supervising of employees. They wanted a kind of one stop shop where their supervisors could easily access information in order to make conversations more productive and less stressful. Let's all…
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TQT: Multiple Streams of Data
Today's quick thought is about using multiple tools to gather data. I went to hear Michael Gurian, a leading neurologist and social scientist who studies the neurological and psychological makeup of boys, a week or so ago. He was talking about his research and drawing some broad conclusions about his findings. He noted after one such thought, "Remember, this is in general. We are taking a…
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TQT: Workplace Flexibility
Today's quick thought is about flexible work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 58% of the U.S. workforce works an hourly wage job. So I'm talking to the 42% of you who don't. Flexible work schedules are on the rise in that 42% for a number of reasons: 1) Work flow and communication changes: instead of working slowly over 8 hours, many employees work in bursts of high productivity,…
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Is Tony Hsieh Hurting Zappos' Corporate Culture with Holaracy?
This is a repost of an article that ran earlier in the summer. We'll return to new content next week. ~6 minute read~ For the past couple of years one of the hottest names in leadership has been Tony Hsieh. He is the CEO of Zappos, a pioneer in online shoe sales and distribution. For the past decade they have been a staple of the Best Places to Work list, generally ranking in the top 10. A few…
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TQT: The Real Cost of Employee Turnover
This week's Tuesday Quick Thought is about employee turnover. SHRM reports that a single bad hire can cost up to 5 times the position’s salary. HBR states that 80% of turnover is due to bad hiring decisions. Do you know the costs of your bad hires? Well here is a little exercise to help you figure it out. Enter the appropriate numbers in the categories below and, when finished, add them together…