Tag Archives: employee

Give People A Reason Not To Forget You

Today I traveled up to Utah State University in Logan Utah to give the keynote speech to several hundred incoming freshman students to kick-off Orientation.  The event was held in a big auditorium and the students filed into the auditorium in their different orientation groups.  As the program began the emcee let everyone know he […]

How A Great Leader Melts The Iceberg Of Ignorance

“Only 4% of an organization’s front-line problems are known by top management, 9% are known by middle management, 74% by supervisors and 100% by employees…” Sidney Yoshida calls this “The Iceberg of Ignorance” in his study that was presented at the International Quality Symposium. Front-line employees that are working in the trenches are always going […]

We Have The Meats? A Tale Of Customer Service

Today I drove up to Utah State University to speak on a panel to the MBA students and then to be a judge for USUs annual Shark Tank business competition.  This is an event I look forward to every year because I absolutely love the students up at USU! They are awesome students who are […]

If you stand in the light you don’t have to worry about other people’s shade

I am a person who appreciates honesty more than anything, and I believe that one can always deliver that honesty in a respectful way.  I also believe that honesty is more than just being willing to speak words that are true, it is also recognizing that hidden truths are unspoken lies. If a person speaks […]

Find that thing that brings you JOY!

Back in 2011, as a Christmas gift, my son Dalton who was a freshman in college at the time, decided to write a blog for me one night so I could take a night off from writing. It was posted back when my blog was only for my employees so none of you got to […]

What It Takes To Be A Great Employee: The Parable Of The Oranges (Forbes Article)

Being a great employee pays off with better positions, higher pay, and more frequent promotions. But some workers struggle to know exactly what it takes to become a truly great employee. As an Entrepreneur and CEO one of the most important elements of having a successful company is having a workforce of great employees. That […]

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself. Avoiding Self-Sabotage At Work (Forbes Article)

I was standing in the security line at an airport when a TSA worker came walking alongside the line yelling out in an animated way, “No liquids, no aerosols, no gels or creams on the airplane…You better check yourself before you wreck yourself!” I couldn’t stop myself from laughing out loud. As the CEO of […]

Successful Companies Don’t Just Have A Brand Identity, They Create A Total Brand Experience (Forbes Article)

Successful companies don’t just have a brand identity, they create a total brand experience. A total brand experience causes people to FEEL their brand, and I can’t think of a finer example of a Company who has mastered creating a total brand experience then Disney.   Several years ago I was asked to come out to Disney […]

Service Your Way? Say WHAT?!!!

Great Customer Service – we’ve all heard of it, but nowadays actually getting it is as rare as spotting a Yeti laying out on a beach getting a tan! #realtalk Today I was drowning in wedding planning and I had called ahead to some rental companies that rent wedding chairs and dance floors to see […]

Learn To Be Comfortable Saying ‘No’ Or You Won’t Be Available To Say ‘Yes’ When It Really Matters (Forbes Article)

“It’s only by saying “no” that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.” – Steve Jobs Saying “No” can be awkward, uncomfortable, and downright difficult. After all, it is human nature to want to be liked, and what better way to be liked then to make people happy by saying “Yes” when […]

“Resentment Is Like Taking Poison And Waiting For The Other Person To Die.” (Forbes Article)

A boss or a manager ticks you off, an employee makes you angry, or a friend or family member upsets you. Holding a grudge and harboring resentment are about as beneficial as…well…nothing. As Malachy McCourt once said, “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” Grudges do no good whatsoever […]

Charity Is Expecting The Best Of Each Other

“Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down or resisting the impulse […]

A Bad Boss Can Make You Sick…Literally! (Forbes Article)

Life is short but apparently it can become a lot shorter if you spend your days dealing with a bad boss. In a recent study performed by Keas.com they found that 77% of employees experienced physical symptoms of stress from bad bosses and workers who had inconsiderate or uncommunicative managers were 60% more likely to suffer […]

You Hate Your Job But You’re Scared To Quit  (Forbes Article)

You wake every morning miserable because you can’t stand the thought of going to the office to do a job you hate.  You moan and groan so much about the job you hate that not only are you miserable, but everyone around you is as well.  You get through each day of misery only to […]

“Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time.”

I decided long ago that anything I was going to do in my life, I was going to give it 110%. I never wanted to put my name on something that I couldn`t feel proud of doing. And I felt that if I wasn’t willing to give something my all then why even do it?  I can […]

Happy or Sad, Good or Bad, Love It or Hate It, It’s All in How You View It (Forbes Article)

As a business leader, one of the many lessons I learned was that employees often viewed the world around them in ways that were completely different from what was actually going on. I observed time and time again employees who interpreted something one way when the reality was actually totally different. I learned that when […]

5 Unique Recruiting Ideas That Paid Off Big Time (Forbes Article)

Attracting the best and the brightest people to join your company is the goal of any good leadership team, but finding those people requires serious creativity in your recruiting efforts. Typically the strongest talent out there is going to be gainfully employed somewhere else. So the challenge becomes finding the people who are not out […]

Success Follows The Incurable Optimist

The most powerful personality traits to develop in one’s quest for success are incurable optimism and integrity. Optimism is defined as “the belief that good things will happen to you and that negative events are temporary setbacks to be overcome.” (-Mayo Clinic).   Integrity, as I would define it, is “doing the right thing, at the […]

People Do Business With People They Like (Forbes Article)

People ultimately choose to do business with people they like, and everyone likes someone who appreciates them. I once read a quote by the ever so brilliant writer known as Anonymous. It states, “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”  […]

Admitting You Were Wrong Doesn’t Make You Weak – It Makes You Awesome! (Forbes Article)

It takes tremendous fortitude to utter the words “I was wrong, and I am sorry”.  I love that word: fortitude. I could list the dictionary definition of fortitude, but let’s be honest, why go to that trouble when Bill Gates blessed us with Microsoft Word’s single click to see its synonyms, which are: strength, courage, […]

Getting the Right People into the Right Seats on the Bus is Essential to a Company’s Success (Forbes Article)

Behind every company, whether it’s a multinational corporation or the smallest startup, is an intersection of talent. Each person is uniquely capable of performing their job: the company spokesperson is a gifted public speaker; the administrative assistant is a master multi-tasker; and the CEO is excellent at setting the vision and leading the team. Every […]

Becoming a Great Leader is a Lifelong Quest, but One Well Worth Pursuing (Forbes Article)

I have spent many years as the leader of several companies. I hope that during that time I have learned a bit about what it takes to become a great leader. Many of the lessons I am still learning, but I wanted to share a few of the things I have come to learn thus […]