If you’re in charge, your team or organization will inevitably look to you for direction to help lead them down the correct path. And depending on the talent on your team and the type of organization, that might not take much. For example, when you have a lot of strength above and below you, it’s often much easier to make good choices and set a course you feel confident about. Other times, the next steps just aren't as straightforward. more

We’re well into the new year, and by now, you certainly have some sense of what you want to accomplish in 2023. I know because it seems like everyone has been forced to identify some goal, direction or thought for the year. But setting up a goal, or “strategic objective,”  is not the same thing as executing one. more

If you're running a business, in all likelihood, you don't have the opportunity to give out big rewards like hotels and airlines do — with free suite upgrades or first-class seating. But there are probably steps you can take to attract repeat customers and establish some brand loyalty. Ask yourself what you can do to give someone that little extra reason to come back. more

In this 165th episode of “E&P Reports," we review this year's contributions to Editor & Publisher Magazine from consultant Dough Phares's "The Corner Office, his monthly advice column for c-suite executives. Topics we cover include how to better onboard and retain quality talent, increasing productivity with what he calls a "Big Mac Presentation," and how to bolster sales by "Getting to the no," increasing a manager's self-awareness by asking, "Are you managing or doing?" And there's much more. more

I’ll give you some business advice you probably don’t get a lot: Stop. Stop already! Your business is trying to do too much at once; you’re trying to do too much. Stopping is often viewed as a failure or, at the very least, a lack of success. But “not winning right this second” and “losing” are very different things. But how do you tell what’s worth your time? more

Like it or not, unexpected situations are going to keep happening. Whether it’s a hurricane, a snowstorm, a tornado, a power outage or a new pandemic, the “unexpected” seems to be coming at an increasing rate. So, with that cheery thought buzzing around in your brain, what can we do about the big, scary unknown? As often happens in these columns, Doug Phares makes one simple suggestion: Be prepared. more

Just a couple of months ago, everyone was talking about the Great Resignation or the Big Quit. Whatever industry you were in, whether you were hiring a barista or a senior sales executive, suddenly everyone was desperate and hiring much more generously. Better salaries, better benefits, better everything. And hopefully, you got yourself into a stable position, because we’re entering a new era on the job market — the Big Regret. more

It's important for managers to take stock of what percentage of their time they spend leading versus doing. By leading, this means managerial tasks like project management and enabling your team to do the work. By doing, it means completing the vital functions that keep revenue flowing. more

If you’re reading this and your organization is still standing — congratulations! The worst of the pandemic, physically speaking, is behind you, and you’ve managed to navigate an unforeseeable global crisis for over two years. And your reward is an oncoming recession. more

The timeless pursuit of contracting experts to give new insights is a fairly standard practice in the business world. And whether it’s a consultant, a subject matter expert or anyone else, it’s vital in these situations to think of why you brought someone in to look at the situation and give their assessment. And, once you have someone you’re confident can help you, you have to listen to them! more

When sharing your financials with your team, try to not give people more information they need to perform their jobs. Isolate the things that are high-impact and they can control. For example, instead of issuing that 47-line sheet, offer routine updates with three items that they have the most control over on the revenue side and four items that they have the most control over on the expense side. more

Businesses used to pay newspapers obscene amounts of money to run help-wanted ads; then, job seekers paid for access to where the employers were. But monopolies rarely last forever, and like with every other facet of life, the internet came in and disrupted the traditional dynamic. So, what’s the alternative to a dating app culture becoming the way we hire people? more

Sales can get a bad rap, but there are fundamental elements of selling that can be useful at any level in an organization. In fact, I'd argue that many of the core tenets of sales are really just good management skills. And the higher up the corporate ladder you are, the more essential sales skills could be for you. more

If you’ve received any business advice in the past, say, 50 years, I’m willing to bet that it came with the assumption that you wanted to expand. We hear that advice all the time — make it bigger and better, scale this area, try these new strategies for growth and similar ideas. But should growing always be the ultimate goal of every business venture? more

Here are a few ideas of ways you can work on yourself and, by extension, your organization in 2022. more

There is something to be said for one particular philosophy from 1991’s “City Slickers.” The grizzled old ranch hand, Curly, relays the secret to life — to focus on “one thing. Just one thing.” As you're starting 2022, pick one single thing to focus on. If you can't pick one big thing, try to find four things you can give your attention to in 2022. Then, rank them in order of when you think you could reasonably roll them out during the year. more

Managing is a constant juggling act, where you’re trying to get your organization, your team and yourself to the place you want them to be. And as you work on getting to that place, you’ll often find that that goal you’ve been working toward isn’t actually what you want. more

Plenty of brands promise a certain standard and then fail to deliver. It's in your interest to take stock and make sure you and your people deliver what you promise to your customers. more

We’re well past the halfway point for the year, and in many ways, it’s starting to feel like the new normal is setting in. It’s not quite what most of us were used to, but as new buying habits, new patterns, new products, and new services have changed everyone’s lives, we’re starting to see groves form as the baseline for “normal” shifts. more

When was the last time you called your own phone system? If you don’t remember, now is the time to make that call. Literally, stop reading right now and call your own main number—not somebody’s office, call the one that rings to your auto attendant. more