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5 ways to leverage your introverted networking energy

Michelle Tillis Lederman Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Why do we have a visceral reaction to the word networking? I often hear the mental machinations that hold us back like, "I have nothing to say." or "They don’t want to talk to me." The other roadblock is how it feels… yucky! I have heard people refer to networking as manipulation, pasting on a smile, or schmoozing. Our energy ebbs and flows during different times of day, in different situations, locations, and atmospheres. Once we understand the nature of our networking energy, we can use it to create opportunities that work with our natural and preferred style.

4 tips for onboarding a new project team member

Deborah Ike Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Most projects that last more than a few months will involve onboarding new team members as you move into a new phase of the project. Part of your role as the project manager is to ensure that new team members acclimate to the project as quickly and as smoothly as possible. That won't happen without planning for their arrival in advance. Here are several tips for how to get new team members onboard and into a productive mode ASAP.

Who sits next to you at the board table?

Robert C. Harris Association Management

The caliber of directors serving on the board impacts governance and outcomes. I asked a leadership class, "What qualities do you expect of fellow directors when you join an association board?" One of the participants offered, "You are the average of the five people you associate with." These future leaders said they wanted to be surrounded by board members who exhibit the specific qualities listed in this article.

Is there a guaranteed annual income in your future? — Part 1

Patrick Gleeson Civil & Government

Nominally nonpartisan banking institutions like the World Bank have long held that a job "is the fastest way out of poverty." This view has been vigorously supported by conservative economists like Arthur Laffer, who has also maintained that lowering taxes, even at the expense of social services, ultimately benefits workers because employers in a low-tax environment create more jobs. The resulting increased labor demand, according to the Laffer theory, will raise both employment levels and workers’ wages, thus creating more wealth for everyone. Two relatively recent developments call these views into question. Instead, there is a new emphasis on this very old idea, a financial guarantee that provides at least a subsistence-level income for all.

Is ‘temp before perm’ the new hiring strategy?

Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Resumes, cover letters, and interviews can tell you a lot about job applicants. But unless you have a crystal ball, there’s no way to know beyond a shadow of a doubt if you’re making the right hiring decision. That’s why Elaine Varelas, managing partner at Keystone Partners, a career management and leadership development consulting firm, believes that 2019 will be a year of major changes in how companies approach recruitment and hiring. "Companies will hire all new employees as a contract hire through a staffing firm on a contract basis for the first year to eliminate the risk of bad hires," Varelas predicts.

Surprising strategies to boost consumer happiness

Lisa Mulcahy Marketing

As a marketer, it's your ultimate goal to make every consumer happy with your product once they get it home. But did you know that the specific amount of personal happiness that a consumer feels at the time of potential purchase has a surprising impact not only on whether they buy but how they'll feel about the product down the line? Science has taken a fascinating look at this phenomenon. Use these cutting-edge strategies to build upon their research and ensure that consumer joy has a positive effect on your profit margin.

The real way social media helps interior design businesses

Catherine Iste Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

Marketing isn't the only thing Pinterest and Instagram can help designers do. The ease of posting amazing images, inspiring design boards and our portfolios makes both sites great tools for sharing more about our work, approach and style. On the flip side, both sites can wreak havoc on our productivity, self-esteem and may not directly help our marketing. There is more to these impactful platforms, and it is time to better understand and take advantage of the real ways social media helps our design businesses.

During flu season, facility managers should make extensive preparations

Scott E. Rupp Facilities & Grounds

For weeks now, the flu season has been upon us, with 41 influenza-associated pediatric deaths occurring during the 2018-19 season so far, as reported recently by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Despite these deaths, research seems to indicate that Americans are conscious of the flu's potential impact on their health and are taking preventive measures to combat it. As many as 75 percent of people say they are more vigilant about their hand hygiene in response to virus outbreaks. On this note, they wash their hands more frequently and even more thoroughly and longer, according to a national survey conducted by Bradley Corporation. However, despite the vigilance of employees, employers should prepare for the flu season, too.

Let’s not kid ourselves: The real reason for employee turnover

Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk Management

I recently received a call from a CEO who was concerned about the sudden increase in employee turnover in his organization. He couldn't understand why anyone would leave his firm. He then went down a laundry list of perks he recently added. I let him speak and then said, "Tell me something. Is this turnover happening throughout the organization or is there a particular area where you've noticed a spike?" He thought about it and said, "It seems most of the turnover is taking place in Bob's department. There are a few leaders in his operation who can be a bit abrupt at times — maybe even a bit abusive, but they're hitting their numbers." Boom! There you have it.

5 tips to create blog posts that get shared on social

Emma Fitzpatrick Marketing

If you're already spending the time creating good content on your blog, you want to do everything you can to get more eyes on it. One of the best ways to do that is by creating blog posts that answer the questions you hear most from your customers and leads. Of course, you’ll want to sprinkle a bit of long-tail keyword research in there for good measure! It can be as simple as typing in the phrase you think you want to write about into an incognito browser and seeing what other search terms arise. From there, a few tweaks to how you format your content, write your title or determine your word count could be just what you need to increase the social shares for your blog posts.

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