In a two-part series on The Tougher Workplace, Los Angeles Times reporter Alana Semuels takes a look at how the recession has negatively impacted working conditions for both hourly and salaried employees. One of the main themes of her story is that businesses are asking employees to work harder without providing the kinds of rewards—financial…
Organizations around the world have been forced to change the way they do business. The worldwide recession, downsized workforces, and value-conscious customers have created a new set of expectations. A just-released white paper from The Ken Blanchard Companies identifies key strategies for leaders. Here are four of my favorites to get you started on positioning…
An in-progress, online survey by Sean Silverthorne of Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge newsletter shows that 82% of respondents indicate that “Yes, the crisis is sapping my enthusiasm.” (Econ Crisis Making Middle Managers Miserable) Silverthorne also reports that 27% of middle managers find their current roles less meaningful and exciting than before the economic crisis,…
Join Dr. Dick Ruhe, Senior Consulting Partner and co-author of Know-Can-Do right here on LeaderChat beginning at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time for a 30-minute Q&A session. Dick will be stopping by immediately after he finishes his WebEx sponsored webinar on We’re Still Here … Now What? In this special event, Dick will be sharing six…
McKinsey & Company just published the results of a series of interviews with 14 CEOs and chairmen of major companies (including 3M, Cardinal Health, Travelers Insurance, Pepsi Bottling Group, Procter & Gamble, Macy’s, Sysco, and Northrop Grumman) asking them to reflect on the current recession and previous challenges they had faced in a turnaround or…
It’s been 12 months since the American investment banking system collapsed, starting a domino-like financial crisis that eventually spread around the world. The good news is that the worst appears to be over. The bad news is that the hard work of rebuilding your business still lies ahead. This shift from immediate survival to planning…
Recently, the media has been reporting on more upbeat economic news. The general feeling is that we are starting to see some improvement in the business environment. What does the economy look like from your perspective? Are things improving, getting worse, or staying about the same? Take a minute and share your thoughts in our new poll…
What’s the best way for leaders to impact their organizations after a layoff, merger, or acquisition? If you had to choose between focusing on your people, financials, or customers, where would you begin? We asked that question to 700 frontline, mid-level, and senior executives who attended our webinar on Revitalizing the Downsized Organization this past…
The debate between what’s better for company’s experiencing a downturn in sales, layoffs or pay cuts, continues to draw differing opinions. In today’s US edition of The Wall Street Journal, columnist Cari Tuna reports that while 65% of companies resort to lay offs when faced with economic short falls, a growing percentage are choosing mandatory…
There are a couple of different measures that always matter. Productivity is one of them. You have to hold people accountable to deliver upon the goals and tasks that they are asked to accomplish. The other piece that is not as heavily managed is people’s discretionary energy. That’s part of what I found out…