Stop Winging It

Somewhere beyond the roles and responsibilities of a standard bookkeeper is the art and practice of making sense of all the financial movement happening in your organization. It's not general payroll or data entry, it's what can we forecast for? What's our budget to expand? Will our cash flow support our growth? What is the cost of adding more people, equipment, systems? Who do you talk to today who can be a sounding board with experience in these areas to help you make the next best financial decision possible? That's where we want to meet you and become your Wingman, so you can grow, invest and budget confidently. This Q&A answers many of the basic questions when it comes to understanding the difference between what you may be doing today and what you could be doing.

In this last of the series on Work-Life-Balance, we put into perspective the reasons why it's important and what the studies say about the benefits of being "in balance." We've talked about working to live or living to work and what that looks like. How do you know when you're out of proportion in one area or another, and not just for a moment in time, but all the time? What do the experts say are the benefits of having some balance and order in your life? Tune in for a few minutes to cement what you probably already know. The question is, will you take the necessary steps to change anything or will the status quo remain the same? Remember, there is the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. What do you want to experience in your life?

The second part of this series is on life this week. We ask lots of questions to get you to think about what's important outside of work and why. Are you living to work or working to live? About a third of your existence is not working or sleeping--what's important to you?

For the next 3 episodes we're breaking down work-life-balance to see what's behind this cultural shift. Today we're focusing on the work portion. We all need to make money somehow in order to live. What we do should line up ideally with what we value. What do you value? Why do you work? If we spend a third of our time working, another third playing and the last third sleeping, then what do you want your work life to be. A means to an end or the end itself? Listen in as we try to give you something to consider when it comes to this all-important area of your life.

It is inevitable that a difficult conversation will arise in the #workplace. But how do you #navigate that effectively? How do you have a conversation with an #employee who is not performing to the set standards? What about discussing #management styles with a new #manager who cannot get things under control? There are many situations where you will have to have a #ToughConversation, but getting through it effectively is the #goal. So how do you do that? Follow along in this short series where we talk about where, when, and how to have those tough conversations in the workplace.

There are thousands of books and talks on what makes a good or poor boss.  In this short video we break down some of the key characteristics and look at both sides of the equation.  Where do you fall?  What kind of boss are you and what kind do you aspire to be?  What is most effective when leading a team or organization?  Do you see yourself in this video or do you work for one of these?  What would or should you change?

It's going to happen if you're a leader or manager of people.  You'll have to let someone go.  Is there a way to do this without the drama and anxiety?  How can everyone retain their integrity?  Listen in for a few tips to help keep your heart rate down and stay true to your core values.

It's not just about how much you pay someone.  The total compensation package includes the intangibles like benefits, company perks and other non-monetary items.  Still, overall culture will dictate much of these are valued.  Regardless of how much people make, they will still walk if the culture or their boss is bad.  When the pain of staying is greater than the pain of change--people will vote with their feet.  As a business owner or CEO, is your total compensation AND culture attracting and retaining great talent or do you continue to chase?

You want to attract top talent, not chase it all the time.  If you've done a great job of hiring the right person, now what?  What will keep them engaged, fulfilled and wanting to make this a career instead of just another job on their resume?  It's a lot of little things and a few big rocks.  Give us 5-6 minutes as we review some of the basics when it comes to retention and building a culture that is attractive to top talent.

In this first of a 4-part series on People Management, we provide an overview of what it takes to attract great talent vs. chasing them.  It includes processes, learning from the past, being objective and tying back to the organization's Core Values and Mission.  Great reminders in a short format to keep you focused on the main thing, which is hiring the right people for the right position--the first time.