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Taming committee reports at board meetings

Bob Harris and Dana L. Saal Association Management

Committee reports can use up valuable time at board meetings. Directors sit through a litany of reports and updates; the average is 15 to 17 per meeting. Too often they start with, "Our committee didn’t really meet but I can give you an update on how we’re doing…" (There goes another 15 minutes!) Listening to or reading reports is not good governance. Below we have described three ways to tame committee reports at board meetings.

Bringing healthy behavior to the workplace in the new year

Connie Ulman Medical & Allied Healthcare

It’s the new year and many are thinking about being healthier. You can start your journey at home and continue it in the workplace. To help you bring healthy behavior into the workplace, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association have created a Healthy Workplace Food and Beverage Toolkit. I find that when I am working on a healthier me, it is easier to accomplish my goals if I work with a team. It is important to have a support team in place. Your team can be made up of friends, family and co-workers.

No thanks — I have enough customers

Anne Rose Retail

A business has to walk a delicate line between serving existing customers and prospecting for new ones. It’s hard enough when you have a big company with distinct departments to handle the unique needs of each. But when you’re a mom-and-pop operation or a solo entrepreneur, those challenges are magnified. And if you decide you can’t take care of your customers and solicit new ones at the same time, the repercussions for ignoring one of those constituencies are negative. Choose to serve existing customers only, and you’ll find, one day, you have no fresh pool of people who needs your services.

Labor unions ring in new year with lawsuits, strikes, and more

Michelle R. Matisons Civil & Government

It’s 2019 and the year is so new that everyone wonders what it has in store. One thing is for certain. U.S. labor unions are starting off the new year swinging. Whether they are opposing GM plant closures, contesting the no pay provision of the current government shutdown, or planning a large urban teachers strike, 2019 has already started off as a year filled with strong labor voices amidst record-setting partisan rancor.

NMITS opportunity: A $2 billion small business IDIQ

Brenda Crist Civil & Government

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Mission Information Technology Services (NMITS) opportunity is a $2 billion-plus small business Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quality (IDIQ) contract designed to help NOAA meet its IT requirements. The NMITS RFP will be released in FY Q2 2019 and awarded in early 2020. It will have a five-year base period, five one-year option years and the ability to award tasks up to 60 months past the end of the ordering period — for a total of 15 years.

Meaningful marketing: Use wise words and avoid wimpy ones

Fred Berns Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

So, you're a designer with an "intuitive eye for scale and proportion." Or, you're a showroom manager who sells furniture that "connects people, technology and space." So what? What does that mean? What’s in it for me? Those are the questions that all your prospects ask, all of the time. And those are the questions that so many design professionals and industry partners fail to answer on their websites, in their social networking, and in their marketing materials.

3 of the worst work behaviors and how to beat them

Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Imagine a workplace where we all said what we meant, kept an open mind and consistently cooperated to advance the organization. It happens, these work environments do exist. However, even in the best environments, some undermining behaviors can sneak in the door. Here are three of the most challenging and some tools to deal with them.

U.S. payrolls add 312,000 jobs as unemployment rises to 3.9 percent

Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Nonfarm employers added 312,000 new hires in December, and the number of jobless workers increased 276,000 to 6.3 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The December rate of unemployment rising to 3.9 percent from 3.7 percent in November "happened for the ‘right’ reasons as more workers entered the labor force — the labor force participation rate ticked up 0.2 percentage points," according to Elise Gould, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

Improve the way your employees see you

Lisa Mulcahy Business Management, Services & Risk Management

As a manager, you try to be fair, clear and helpful to your employees. Yet what's your real reputation as a boss? You might not have a clue as to how your employees truly see you. What's more, you may be making key mistakes that hamper their connection to the person you really are, making you less effective as a supervisor than you ultimately can be. Use these research-driven tips to accurately convey your real personality to your staff — and improve the way you relate to them so they can work better with you.

New year, new skin for your spa clients

Elizabeth Donat Retail

Our clients will certainly be setting goals and New Year's resolutions for 2019: starting a new exercise routine, a dietary cleanse, or perhaps a goal to finally give themselves the skin that they always wanted. We, as spa industry professionals, should be several steps ahead of them and ready to guide them in the right direction when it comes to making major improvements in their skin for this upcoming year. Follow my expert tips below and help your clients transform their skin in 2019.

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