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Credit this: Big banks step up loan approvals to small business owners
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementBig banks, those with assets of $10 billion or more, are feeling the love for small businesses. Loan approval rates with large banks rose in February versus January, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index. "Overall, the cost of capital is relatively low," said Biz2Credit CEO Rohit Arora, in a statement. "Small businesses are looking to secure funding, and for many companies, recent financial performances have made them creditworthy borrowers." Biz2Credit's monthly research comes from over 1,000 small business credit applications on the firm's online lending platform.
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4 ways you are apologizing wrong
Stacey Hanke Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementApologies are something we love to receive and hate to give. They are especially tough as a leader. They require a great deal of humility, which challenge your pride and ego. They are an open admission of failure and wrongdoing, but when delivered with sincerity, they hold power with your team. Unfortunately, too many leaders give superficial apologies loaded with excuses and blame. Here are four ways you are apologizing wrong and how to make sure you don’t make these mistakes in your next, "I’m sorry."
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Are you being served? What about your customers?
Linda Popky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementWho do you know who would purposely understaff an airport rental car location at a major resort locale so customers are kept waiting for two hours for pre-reserved, prepaid rental cars? When would you set up an interactive voice-response system so confusing that customers are forced to spend long periods of time to navigate their way into the right queue — only to then be disconnected? Not many of us would ever want those things to happen to the customers of our businesses. And yet, much too often, they do.
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The real truth about learning
Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementI was recently asked to coach an executive who was having a difficult time assimilating into her new leadership role, even though her company had invested a ton of money sending her to an executive leadership program. She confided in me that she could barely recall what she had learned six months ago. I'm not surprised. I'm going to let you in on a secret that will save your organization millions of dollars a year. Real learning takes place in real time. Think about it. You can't learn how to ride a bike by reading a book or attending a two-day session on the theory of bike riding
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Tips for onboarding new employees
Deborah Ike Religious CommunityFor many churches, by the time you're able to hire someone, you're already feeling the strain of not having anyone in that role. While it's tempting to toss a mile-long to-do list at a new employee as soon as he arrives for his first day in the office, that's not going to set him up to win long-term. Instead, it's best to complete an organized onboarding process for each new team member. Here are several steps to consider when planning to get a new employee fully on board.
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March Madness may be good for the workplace
Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementMarch Madness is a boon for TV and streaming media ratings, and the NCAA earns over $1 billion per year during the tournament between ticket sales and broadcast rights. There's one stat that doesn’t increase during this time frame: employee productivity levels. But is this necessarily a problem? According to some estimates, corporate losses during the yearly NCAA Tournament are close to $4 billion. Companies may be losing the productivity game, but according to two recent studies, they may be winning in another important area.
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The 411 on the latest updates for top social platforms
Emma Fitzpatrick MarketingIf you've been handling your company's social media marketing for some time, you've surely developed a system for how to juggle the many moving parts. But the downside of having a go-to routine is how easily you can miss changes on the social platforms you regularly use! Luckily, we're here to help you take full advantage of all the platforms' offerings and latest happenings. Read on to discover the changes to the big social media platforms that you can't afford to miss.
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Brain breaks for English learners increase focus, motivation, and engagement
Erick Herrmann EducationWe have all experienced those moments in the classroom where our students are noticeably sleepy, overwhelmed, or beginning to get disengaged. Often, these times come when we are presenting complex information, when students have spent significant time with students in one place, or towards the end of the day when students are tired from having been focusing on learning throughout the day. For our English learners, this cognitive exhaustion may be compounded by the fact that they are not only learning a lot of new information, but also learning that information in a new language. All students, but perhaps English learners in particular, can benefit from "brain breaks."
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Improve your writing: Avoid nominalizations in your proposals
Maryann Lesnick Civil & GovernmentOne of the best ways to improve your writing is to use active verbs instead of nominalizations. What is a nominalization, anyway? A nominalization is a verb converted into a noun. Nominalizations come in two forms. Those that have endings such as -ment, -tion, -sion, -ing, and -ance, and those that link with verbs such as achieve, effect, give, have, make, reach, and take. For example: "The last step is the collection of data for the monthly report," is longer and less clear than: "The program manager collects data for the monthly report." Eliminating a nominalization often reveals passive voice and enables you to correct that as well.
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Taking 10 minutes to escape a rut
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementWhether it has been a frustrating quarter or the job itself is not as interesting as it once was, as leaders we all face times that challenge our ability to be inspiring. Yet, our teams and organizations depend on us to bring our best regardless of challenges. While it does not work to pretend to be perfect, it does work to have tricks up our sleeve we can easily pull out when needed. Here are a few simple ways to get out of a rut and back into the leadership groove.
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