Placing Our Challenges in a Time Capsule

December 29, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Time Capsules. Why would anyone in 2110 be interested in what we did or thought in 2010 if no one seems to care about what we’re thinking or doing right now. “That? We did that.” “Been there, done that.” “Oh no, not that!” Are they likely to be intrigued by the artifacts of our technology? Influenced by the incivility of our interactions? Impressed by the chaotic management of our business processes? We haven’t done a Continue reading →

How to Make Team Building Effective

December 15, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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A manager says he’d like us to conduct team building programs for his employees. “You know, something where you take them outside and teach them how to work together”. “Why?” we ask. “What do you want to accomplish?”  Hesitation. “I want them to work together better than they do now. They barely talk to each other, and when they do, it sounds more like sniping than conversation. Worse than that, they line up at my Continue reading →

Hats Off to Those Leading the Nonprofit Sectors

December 8, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Here’s to you who direct non profit agencies. Your challenge is Herculean. You’re called upon to be all things to all people and to smile beatifically while you’re doing it. You are supposed to lead, manage, empower, empassion, conceptualize, sanitize, systemize, and fund raise on a shoe string budget and a strung thin staff. The boss is your board, the public is your client, and you are your most severe critic. And that’s just part Continue reading →

Fences Make Good Neighbors…Sometimes!

December 1, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Good fences make good neighbors. Sometimes. I’ve been living at the same address for over twenty years. The fence moved in before I did. It was sturdy, redwood, interwoven, and taller than I am. I knew my back neighbors only by the top of their hats: baseball in summer and woolen in winter. They couldn’t have known me by much more. One day we met, kind of. The top of my head spoke with the Continue reading →

You’ll Get the Outcome You Have in Mind

November 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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What outcome do you have in mind? You need to know, because that’s the outcome you’re going to get. By means of illustration, I have a story for you. It’s called, “The Pineapple.” One day Alice (I’ve changed the name to protect the bold) went to her favorite grocery store to buy a pineapple. She took it home and sliced it open. It was one bad piece of fruit. Rotten to the core. She called Continue reading →

Is Organizational Change Taking Your Breath Away?

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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If the rapid rate of change in your organization is taking your breath away,  read the late Isaac Asimov’s take on the situation: “If the last 50,000 years of man’s existence were divided into lifetimes of approximately sixty-two years each, there have been about 800 such lifetimes. Of these 800, fully 650 were spent in caves. Only during the last seventy lifetimes has it been possible to communicate effectively from one lifetime to another – Continue reading →

Feedback Can Create the Ultimate Win-Win Situation

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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“When I give performance feedback to employees, I want them to listen to what I’m saying. If they argue, get defensive, or give me body language that indicates a bad attitude, I’m not going to waste any more of my time. If they mess up again, I’ll just fire them.” Is that the gospel according to Donald Trump or is it Simon Cowell sounding off on American Idol?  Neither. It’s your garden-variety supervisor, manager, or Continue reading →

Economic Shifts and Challenges

September 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Like it or not, employed or not, you’re in the middle of the busiest business intersection you’re likely to experience. It’s hard to know whether to wait for traffic to clear, cross against it, or jump in and go with the flow. One thing’s for sure, you can’t stay in one place for long, so what do you do? Let’s look at the possibilities. Wait for traffic to clear: The last time the economy went south Continue reading →

The Benefits of Social Capital in the Workplace

September 17, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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When Harvard University professor Robert Putnam authored the book “Bowling Alone” in 2000, he wrote that social capital (the collective value of all social networks) had seriously declined, that we weren’t visiting as much, joining as much, gathering as often at our churches, lodges, PTA’s and community socials. As a result, we weren’t as trusting, sharing, or cooperating. Several weeks ago his concerns were echoed in national surveys that sounded the same notes of concern: Continue reading →

Meeting the Basic Needs of Your Employees

September 3, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Whether you’re fifteen or fifty, the new recruit or a veteran of employee wars, you have needs as basic as they are essential: A sense of worth, physical security and productivity; a sense of relatedness and responsibility:  a need for challenge and affirmation. If your needs are met, you feel in balance; at one with yourself and the place where you work. If they aren’t met, with consistency, you fight burn out. To assess your Continue reading →

Is 20 Seconds Really Enough?

June 2, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Making a great impression in the first 20 seconds of an interview could be one of the most important goals for the applicant.  On the other hand, the first 20 seconds should not discover a “winner” for the job.  This isn’t a horse race, and if it were, you wouldn’t know the outcome unless you stayed around long enough to see who’s in first place when crossing the finish line. It’s true. Some applicants start Continue reading →

Overcoming Obstacles in the Workplace

May 16, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Do you work with these people? “He wears me out. No matter what I position I take, he takes the opposite. Don’t get me wrong, I like honest disagreement, but he takes it too far” “She blocks, obstructs, you name it, she’s in the way of progress. Ten of us agree and she’s the lone dissenter. I’d fire her, but she’s right more times than she’s wrong. ” “She nods agreeably whatever the subject. I Continue reading →

Keys to Customer Service

May 14, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Don’t you love it when you receive great customer service? You feel good about the company and want to continue doing business with them. Conversely, few things can be as frustrating as a bad shopping experience. You feel angry about how you’ve been treated and are sure to take your future business elsewhere. Sales and service providers say the public is getting harder to please, and customers say good service is getting harder to find. Continue reading →

Take Time to Evaluate the Well-being of Your Employees

January 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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According to formal and informal workplace surveys employees are staying where they are, not because of loyalty to their bosses or love of their work. They’re staying because they’re concerned if they initiate a search: They’ll be found out and dismissed, before they are able to find work. An aggressive and talented field of job seekers can easily replace them. There aren’t any jobs out there that are more secure, satisfying, or promising than the Continue reading →

Two Views of Post-Interview Communication

January 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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“Joyce, I read your column regularly.  I would like you to touch on the subject of employers who do not inform potential employees of the outcome of interviews. With high unemployment rates, I can understand that they cannot possibly respond to everyone who sends them a resume. However, no employer should ignore someone who has interviewed with them for a position. It’s just plain rude to keep someone’s hopes alive if there is no offer Continue reading →

Interviewing Etiquette

December 22, 2008 by Joyce Richman
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A number of job seekers have called wanting to know the basics of interview- etiquette, for the interviewer as well as the applicant. They asked, they said, because they felt that they weren’t treated fairly by the process. Here are several different examples they provided.  See what you think: “I was kept waiting for more than half an hour.” “I was told after arriving at the meeting site that the interview had been canceled.” “My Continue reading →

Don’t Sell, Interview

December 13, 2008 by Joyce Richman
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“I get everything I interview for, everything! The problem is, I can’t keep any of those jobs more than a few months. I’m sure I need fixin’, I just don’t know what’s broke!” How’s that for an enviable problem? It’s not an exaggeration, either. There are folks who are so personable they blend into every situation they find themselves. They are so perceptive, they seem able to read the minds of those who interview them, Continue reading →

The Case for Networking

December 13, 2008 by Joyce Richman
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What are three reasons that applicants and organizations benefit from networking? Each has opportunity to learn more about the other without jumping too quickly or rejecting an opportunity prematurely. Each begins with a level playing field, putting more emphasis on the job challenge and what it takes to meet it than looking for individual differences and exceptions. Each can present and respond with greater candor and less concern of rejection.

What to Achieve in an Interview – From Both Sides of the Desk

December 13, 2008 by Joyce Richman
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What are three things the applicant wants to achieve by the interview’s close? You want to have understood the challenges the company faces and how you can make a difference for them, going forward. You want to have made your case, presenting your track record of accomplishments as they relate to the position you seek. You want to have learned how working for the company can advance your career goals and objectives. What are three Continue reading →