Overcoming A, B, C Employee Ratings: Response to Wall Street Journal Article from 2/21/07
The Wall Street Journal article is greatly appreciated because it highlights what occurs when an employee rating system is poorly implemented and used in organizations.  However, it was an incredibly simplistic perspective.  The perspective was that of someone who has only taken a cursory look at this approach, and we see this from newer employees and rookie leaders who have not thought through ratings systems properly in the past.  It did not explain how powerful this approach can be if […]
Leading A Small But Effective Team
  We believe that great teamwork is essential to an organization. It enables businesses to achieve goals that an individual working alone cannot. Employees can achieve a higher level of contentment and becoming part of something greater is the very fuel for happiness. In order to create an effective team, we have identified four necessary attributes: Have The Purpose, Value or Charter In Writing If you are going to achieve success, you must start by identifying your purpose, values, or […]
Winston-Salem Businesses Model the Power of Embracing Organizational Change, With or Without a Catastrophe
On November 8, a number of Winston-Salem business owners were forced to reevaluate the safety of their stores when two armed robbers entered the local Family Dollar Store, demanding money. While the employees on duty complied with the robbers’ demands, one of the robbers fired his gun anyway. He injured two employees and left an entire local business community shaken. The attack didn’t just affect the Family Dollar Store and its employees. Neighboring business owners also reeled from the shock. […]
Are You Carrying a Lazy Man’s Load?
  In the day to day operation of a business, at times you may find that there are tasks that need to be done that aren’t complicated but they are necessary. You may be inclined to push through them quickly without much thought, planning or care. We encourage you to be sure that you aren’t carrying a lazy man’s load, meaning you pile these tasks on and hurriedly go about accomplishing them haphazardly in a rush to get them done. […]
Six Different Approaches to Bonus Programs
The goal of a bonus program is to motivate employees to achieve results in valuable way for everyone. In other words, they should be designed to get everyone from the receptionist to management to leadership to owners all “rowing the boat in the same direction”. Sometimes though, bonus programs are poorly set up, measure the wrong results, set people against each other and/or do not communicate what is happening until after the fact Below is a brief history of bonus […]
Bowling With Your Boss: Evaluation Cruelty
Imagine bowling with your boss… You throw the ball down the lane, but your boss has a sheet between you and the pins. You hear something happening, lots of noise, but no idea of what actually happened. How many pins are left standing? Where are they? Was that perhaps a gutter ball? You then ask how you are doing and the response is, “don’t worry about it, I will tell you at the end of the year.” Imagine this happening […]