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Using the Sandwich Method to Deliver Info

Using the Sandwich Method to Deliver Info

Management

At 40 plus years old, the memories I have from my days in high school have become more nostalgic and faded. There are many life lessons I learned during that time period of my life, some that I still use today, such as something I learned at a D.A.R.E. Program in our high school gym.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, the D.A.R.E. program brought police officers to tell us kids in school the danger of drugs. I was a pretty straight-laced goofy kid and too scared to try any type of drug, so this program didn’t really speak to me. BUT there was one thing that they said during the program that I still use today, the Sandwich Method.

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How to Keep Meetings on Track

How to Keep Meetings on Track

Management

In an earlier blog, we talked about keeping your teams connected and discussed the need to have meetings, formal or otherwise to be able to keep the team connected. For most of my professional career I have been lucky enough to always work with relatively small businesses. It’s just the type of person I am. I … Read more

Connecting Your Team

Connecting Your Team

Customer Service

You must connect your team! The other day while I was waiting in line at the security checkpoint for my flight, my co-worker made a very good point about the seeming lack of communication between the airline and the TSA. The airlines know exactly how many people they have coming to the airport for a flight … Read more

Things I Learned Today

Things I Learned Today

Self Help

Here are 2 great things I learned today. 1) The Power of “Not Yet”. So much better than noting failures without hope, just try another day. This fits nicely with the parenting style of praising the effort and the process not the result. Via Ted Talk by Carol Dweck 2) 3 things that can optimize … Read more

Ups and Downs of Working From Home

Ups and Downs of Working From Home

Small Business Marketing

Having run my own small business and having other positions where I worked from home, I have thought about the ups and downs of working from home. I also understand that working from home is sometimes the most affordable way to get your small business off the ground, so I know that many of you reading this most likely work from home.

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How to NOT do customer service

How to NOT do customer service

Customer Service

I continue to read about companies large and small who are struggling in this rough economy. Even some of the titans of the American economy like Sears are struggling (See this article by Tiffany Hsu in the LA Times about Sears being dropped from the S&P 500). I know our economy is down, but many companies are actually thriving so what sets them apart?

So when I recently had an issue with a purchase from Sears.com, I was shocked at the level of service (or lack thereof) that I received. I thought to myself, “no wonder Sears is struggling”. I used to view Sear as my go-to place for all sorts of items, but now I have decided to never shop there again. I wonder how many other people have decided that and then I wonder if that is truly the reason that they are struggling. Let me chronicle a couple of key points of what not to do and then also give you some of my thoughts on what to do.

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Skype Chat with A&E Magazine on Awards and Sublimation

Sublimation

February of 2014, I was ask to do a Skype interview with the folks over at A&E Magazine about Awards and Sublimation and they had some really great questions laid out for me. I went ahead and wrote out all of my answers to best be prepared and I thought I would share my answers with all of you. We did not have time to get to all of these things in the interview so some of this will be “Bonus” material. Check out all of the Q and A items below about Awards and Sublimation and at the end check out the video.

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