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One simple trick to boost workplace knowledge sharing

Gail Short Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Many experts say having a workplace culture of knowledge sharing raises productivity and creates a more positive work environment. Unfortunately, knowledge flow among employees doesn’t always happen. Worries about looking incompetent can keep struggling workers from asking for help. But in a new study in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Jason Sandvik, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business, and his co-authors discuss an innovative strategy for increasing knowledge sharing at work to boost performance.

Bring love to your leadership style

Jill Ratliff Business Management, Services & Risk Management

While "love" and "leadership" might sound like incompatible concepts, leaders who are unafraid to add love to their leadership style will find it motivates and engenders loyalty in their teams like nothing else can. Obviously, I’m not talking about hearts-and-flowers love or even familial love; those types of love are usually best left out of the workplace (family businesses aside). The kind of love I’m talking about is broader, more encompassing.

How to power up the consent agenda

Robert C. Harris Association Management

"We’ve been in this meeting for an hour and done nothing but listen to reports," said the board member. The standard board agenda includes a dozen reports and updates. Reading and listening to reports are not good use of board time. Meetings should concentrate on advancing the mission and strategic goals.

How to build an eco-friendly, sustainable brand through green tech

Nick Shaw Marketing

As we move further into the digital age, consumer groups are increasingly composed of millennials and Gen-Z buyers. These generations not only bring with them a switch to online mass consumerism but also an environmentally conscious target audience. This audience looks for brands with eco-friendly and sustainable ethics. It’s not enough to be aware of general e-commerce trends — you need to dedicate time to becoming eco-friendly.

Stay on track with your content marketing

Sheilamary Koch Marketing

Your content shouldn't give readers a déja vu feeling. Nor should they feel like they've stepped onto an automobile showroom. As you plan your content strategy or next piece of content, ask yourself three key questions: 1. Is my content relevant to my audience? 2. Does my content solve real problems? 3. Does my content offer something people can't get elsewhere? Here's how to answer a resounding yes on all three.

A massive no-no: Hiring to repay a favor, not because someone is the best…

Anne Rose Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Hiring an employee or appointing someone to take charge of an important assignment is a serious endeavor. Ideally, it’s one in which you critically assess the skills and character of the applicant before selecting the most suitable. Ideally. But sometimes such a decision isn’t so much a thoughtful, critical judgment as it is an emotional, visceral response to a perceived sense of obligation.

Is your spa menu optimized for 2020 and beyond?

Elizabeth Donat Retail

Sometimes it's easiest to overlook the things that you're used to seeing every day. Don't let your spa menu be one of those things. If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that we need to be prepared for change and to think on our feet. Many spas are dealing with restrictions on how many guests they are allowed to service in their space, and this is impacting the generation of revenue. Take this opportunity to optimize your price list to make sure that it's working for you.

Research paper: Small businesses lose big in COVID-19 closures

Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Social-distancing restrictions have been nothing nice for mom-and-pop shops during the pandemic. In the Journal of Economic Management and Strategy, professor Robert Fairlie takes a deep dive into the harm that COVID-19 unleashed on U.S. small-business owners. "These findings of early-stage losses to small businesses have important policy implications and may portend longer-term ramifications for job losses and economic inequality," he wrote.

Be kind to yourself — you’ll be healthier for it

Amanda Kowalski Mental Healthcare

You forgot your mom's birthday, you blew the presentation at work and you haven't worked out in a month — so you beat yourself up. If your best friend told you any of these things, you would talk them through it and make them feel better. Why is it so easy to be kind to your friends and even strangers, but so difficult to give yourself a break? A study published by Clinical Psychological Science shows that people who talked to themselves in a positive tone had lower heart rates and lower sweat response, which switches off the body's threat response and can lower the risk of disease.

A committee to review committees

Robert C. Harris Association Management

"We need a task force to review our committee structure," board members quipped. The issue in this association is the existence of 75 committees. They built up over decades without a review of purpose and effectiveness. Board members explained, "Committee chairs have held their positions for years and will not secede." "We tried to reduce the number of committees, but nobody wanted to give up their turf." "It’s too political to touch."

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