A friend of mine recently started a new job with a large organization. The job is completely remote causing her to be isolated in her home all day, each day.  She often feels disconnected and she has little opportunity to become acquainted with her peers.  Loneliness is a challenge employers need to be aware of for their remote workers. For […]

When I was a young banker, I worked in a very controlled environment with strict lending limits. My individual loan authority was only $15,000.   When I switched banks one of my first questions was the size of my loan authority. When my new boss said I could make loans up to $250,000, I was stunned.   Over time I learned to […]

While interviewing a new job applicant, I invited our team to join the interview. Later in the interview our applicant had some questions of her own.   She specifically wanted to know if we would be “micromanaging” her. A couple of our staff members chuckled at her question.   One team member told her, “We hire good people then let them do […]

Peter Rex, a technology investor, wrote a Wall Street Journal article about the lack of faith in Silicon Valley. He references a 2018 survey which discovered that 50% of tech workers are either atheists or agnostic.  Furthermore, a recent Napa Legal Institute report found that social-media platforms increasingly censor religious believers who oppose abortion, assisted suicide and transgender ideology. This makes […]

Recently, I was teaching a men’s group on the value of using their areas of giftedness. One person shared with me that he and his son had just discussed giftedness the day before. They came to a profound conclusion: Giftedness, without strong character, can have a very bad ending. Bernie Madoff, who died in prison last year, was a great […]

One of the challenges facing many business leaders who have a large staff is actually hearing the truth. So many people believe that they need to share only what their boss wants to hear that they rarely share what their boss needs to hear. For several years I worked for a boss who punished people who delivered hard truth. His […]

Kathy and I have frequented a car repair business over the years that has been extremely customer friendly. Recently, however, this business felt different. For efficiency, they began routing our calls to a call center and instituted other new procedures. Also, some of our past contacts are now gone, leaving us feeling disconnected. We later learned that this business is […]

As I’ve reviewed dozens of job applications lately, it’s not uncommon to see applicants with five jobs in just a three-to-five-year period. Brevity of time on a job reflects in part our cultural changes to loyalty. There was a time when loyalty was valued by both the employer and the employee. My father was loyal to General Motors for his […]

There’s an adage that “the customer is always right.” Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Sometimes customers are just mean and unreasonable. This year we have seen an unprecedented number of assaults on airlines as tensions seem to skyrocket. Many flight attendants have been cursed and even assaulted for trying to do their jobs, especially their legal requirement to enforce […]

George Washington left his American legacy with a great reputation. Even though the famous story of George Washington chopping down a cherry tree and not lying about it, may not be true, this story speaks to people’s belief about his character. George Washington once said, “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is […]