Dealing with difficult customers

June 1, 2024  |  Business, Markets

Every business at some point is forced to deal with difficult customers. Perhaps they are unhappy with the level of service, the product or a member of your team. Or maybe their expectations are just unrealistic. Understanding how to navigate challenging interactions, however, can turn a negative si…
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Succession planning for transitioning your family business

April 1, 2024  |  Business, Markets

I began working with business families in the late 1990s with RSM McGladrey in its family business consulting practice. I was working on my doctoral degree and hoped to gain experience working with leadership development in the “real” world. Then, as my journey continued, I worked with business …
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How to mitigate the online security risks of outsourcing

February 1, 2024  |  Business, Markets

What we now call “hacking” has been around almost as long as humans have existed. Today’s version focuses on technology, but the behavior takes many forms that even go back to the story of the Trojan horse. Hacking is simply the act of exploiting a weakness to gain access to something, whether…
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Develop a business culture of creativity

October 1, 2023  |  Business, Markets

I was recently speaking with one of my coaching clients and the subject of professional curiosity came up. Curiosity is a catalyst for creativity, problem-solving and continuous improvement. By creating a culture of curiosity, we can tap into the collective creativity of the people who work with us …
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The future landscape of the workforce

August 1, 2023  |  Business, Markets

Organizations need to be thinking about tomorrow and, more specifically, how the future of work, the workforce and the workplace will be dramatically different from what we know today. And more important, from what it has been in the past.
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Tips for keeping warehouses safe, organized and profitable

May 1, 2023  |  Business, Markets

Today’s warehouses are no longer just for storage. From being a showroom of products to providing a space for drying operations to housing all facets of inventory, today’s warehouses are multipurpose spaces that require well-defined organization and management to keep processes streamlined and e…
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Leadership and management: Both are necessary for success

April 1, 2023  |  Business, Markets

Leadership and management are closely related; however, despite often being spoken of in the same breath, they are certainly not synonymous. If we use those terms interchangeably, we tend to behave as if these roles are interchangeable and equivalent. Doing so means we miss critical components of ex…
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The lighter side of OSHA

February 1, 2023  |  Business, Markets

When most of us hear the word “OSHA,” we instantly conjure up images of ticket-writing cops invading our workplace. And these aren’t the $35 tags that grace our windshield when we linger in a parking spot too long. These citations can easily hit the four- or five-digit mark depending on the se…
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Keys to preventive maintenance

January 1, 2023  |  Business

Don’t you hate it when things don’t work in the warehouse? You jump on the forklift, ready to unload a 40-foot trailer, and the battery is dead. As you are cursing your misfortune, you grab the pallet jack and the hydraulic pump is shot. The thoughts of creeks and paddles are now dancing through…
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Implementing CRM systems

December 1, 2022  |  Business

Most businesses use a few different software packages. Email and calendars are typically bundled together in services like Gmail and Outlook. Documents are typically handled with Microsoft Word and arrays of data with Excel.
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