Our content is reader-supported. Things you buy through links on our site may earn us a commission

Empathy in Crisis Management

View things through your audience’s eyes and gain valuable crisis communications insights It’s become fairly accepted that, when found to be in the wrong, organizations should explain what happened, how they plan to set things right, and how they plan to prevent the same issue from occurring again. One critical factor that’s often missing, however, …

Even Better than Awesome: How to use Superlatives

Years ago when I was in the recruiting or “headhunting” business I had a colleague who used to swear his candidate was “perfect” for the client’s position. When the client raised an objection or two, my colleague would then swear he had another candidate, who was “even more perfect.” Call it sick humor, but the …

Talent versus Performance and More

Truly commentary. In a recent comment, I promised that my next blog would focus on talent and performance. Some see talent as something you have or you don’t. I don’t see it quite so black and white. I believe someone can have inherent talent (or a natural ability) and others have to work hard at …

Scale Isn’t Everything…

The notion of “scale” gets a great deal of attention in the social enterprise world. It seems to suggest fast growth from taking a successful model to expanded size, locations and social impact, all at warp speed. Social capital, business competitions, even funders often talk about scale as if it were the ultimate goal for …

Association boards and conflicts of interest – a dilemma

Ursula is a director on of an industry association. Although they use terms such as ‘Councillor’ and ‘council’ it is constituted as a board and the members have the same duties and responsibilities as directors under the corporations act. All directors are nominated by companies within the industry and serving on ‘The Council’ is seen …

How to Set Clear Agreements

Many times my executive coaching clients express frustration because others do not meet their expectations. When you set clear agreements at the beginning of a project or new work relationship, you can avoid pitfalls and misunderstandings. Here are some questions to help you set clear agreements in an effective and collaborative “coach approach” manner. What? …

Words of Wisdom

During my career, I have been given a few nuggets of wisdom from people with whom I have made contact. Upon truly understanding their meaning, those words shaped a paradigm shift in my thinking that transformed the way in which I did my work or lived my life. Other pieces of wisdom I heard simply …

Creating Connections That Matter

We all know that the relationships in our lives are so important. In fact, motivational speaker Brian Tracy said that 80% of our success in life really depends on our relationships. Yet how many of our relationships are really connections with people that go deep, that matter? With all the social media outlets, we are …

Knowing What to Record – Because Minutes are Not Minute

How perfect is your memory? When you leave a group meeting, do you walk away remembering everything discussed and decided? If not, keep that pen and pad with you. And, if you’re the one facilitating meetings, it’s especially important for you to record the results of the meeting to keep the group’s commitment and follow-through. Meeting notes are more important than you think, and in fact, looking beyond just meeting minutes, facilitators need to be responsible for the meeting documentation. The documentation from a facilitated session serves as the official record of the results of the meeting. So, how do you know what to record?

Rich Products Does Recall Crisis Management

Nearly 11 million pounds of frozen foods pulled from shelves According to USA Today, Rich Products has called for the recall of nearly 11 million pounds of frozen mini cheeseburgers, sandwiches, quesadillas, pizzas and other snacks sold under the Farm Rich, Market Day and Schwan’s brands because of potential E. coli contamination. So often when …