Recent Articles
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How to get paid without alienating your customers
Yasmine Bachir Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementFor any business, getting paid on time is essential. Without income, you can't make a profit, which is (for most companies) the entire point of operation. If you have cash going out regularly but can't ensure you're being paid on time, a cash-flow gap will develop that could result in bankruptcy if left unresolved.
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Maybe we should eat those carbs after all
Bambi Majumdar Food & BeverageIn the film "The Devil Wears Prada," Anne Hathaway's character Andy is admonished by a colleague because she eats carbs. The line was meant to be funny, but what it actually represented was a whole generation of people shunning an entire group of foods.
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Emotional intelligence: Rethinking police‑community relations
Mark Bond Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityThe current overall perception from the public is that American law enforcement has a problem with community relations and race relations — especially in urban neighborhoods in which there are high crime rates. Criminal violence is an acceptable norm in many of these communities, and the police often feel like an "eight-hour occupational army" in many violent neighborhoods.
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‘Oh, I forgot to mention ...’
Jeffrey Dobkin MarketingIt's your reason to call. It's what you didn't tell them in your letter, postcard or your last phone conversation. Sure, you're continually mailing your best prospects to get them to call you — or at least that's the primary objective of the mailing pieces I create for my clients. And you're mailing to customers all the time to make sure you keep up your relationship with them, where your calling goals lean toward continually building their confidence and loyalty.
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Problems at work? Maybe it’s you
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementMy coaching colleagues and I were talking the other day about the challenges we have when we suspect it is our client causing the problems they are trying to overcome at work. It can be just as challenging for an outsider to identify the root of a problem as it is for an individual to realize that they are the problem.
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3 church social media mistakes
Mark MacDonald Religious CommunityWe all have limited minutes to accomplish all the demands on our time. Clearly, we need to be strategic while questioning what we're doing during our busy schedules. It comes down to our return on investment. Not necessarily monetary investment, but our time too. Social media is important, but if it's not successful, why continue?
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Wooing and helping manufacturing at the federal and state level
Alan Kelsky ManufacturingOn May 7, the Obama administration announced that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is part of the U.S. Commerce Department, approved 16 advanced manufacturing grant proposals totaling $7.8 million. The approvals were announced in Gaithersburg, Maryland, by NIST's Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia (AMTech).
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Play: Far more than purposeless activity
Debra Josephson Abrams EducationSome whisper, some laugh and guffaw, some argue. They gesture wildly, demonstrate their ideas with their hands or drawings. From the air, from their minds, from their partners, they search for the English words they need. They are furiously engaged in play, and they have forgotten that I — the teacher — am in the room. It is just as education should be.
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Easing the transition to past president
Robert C. Harris Association ManagementThe past president, or former chair of the board, can be an invaluable position in the association. They have the experience and knowledge to support sustainability of programs and leadership. Regrettably, upon passing of the gavel, some presidents disappear with a sigh of relief.
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Why travelers are now taking more short road trips
Linchi Kwok Travel, Hospitality & Event ManagementImagine we are going to take a long vacation in a place far away from our home. That sounds superb, doesn't it? Well, it really seems like a good idea until we have to think about all the logistics of the trip. If everything goes smoothly, the reality is probably like this.