The best roadmap to the future sometimes looks strangely like the past. This is particularly relevant in the discussion on classroom vs. online training. Almost a decade ago, one of my friends who worked as an HR manager for a large, Fortune 50 manufacturing company lamented the difficulty his organization was having with employee acceptance and use of a new, online learning service that had just been purchased from an outside vendor. He said, “You know, Paul, sometimes there’s nothing quite like good, old ‘butt-in-the-chair’ training”. Looking through the lens [...]

I have a habit of saying “sorry” all the time. I am not sure why. I wonder if it has something to do with growing up female in this society or that I lived in London for a time and people are always saying “sorry” when they bump into you on the tube. Or could it be that I’m overly emotional? Whatever the reason, saying, “I’m sorry” when necessary is probably a better tactic. Admitting when we are wrong is a tough action for many of us. It may seem that we are weak [...]

It’s no secret. We live in a me-centered society. All you have to do is turn on the TV and watch this in action in a myriad of reality shows. Or open up your favorite social networking site and read other people’s posts. Technology has made it easy to surround ourselves with people and ideas like us. We can now filter what we see, hear and even who we engage with, so we don’t have to interact with people or ideas different from us. Even as technology has allowed us [...]

When someone is talking to you, do you listen? You’ll probably say, “of course!” But are you really hearing them? It seems that with so many distractions in our lives today and in the office that active listening is slowly slipping into extinction.  Too often, we are so absorbed with ourselves and thinking about when we need to pick up the kids, what we are having for dinner, etc that we don’t actively listen when someone is talking. We’ve all done it, so you are not alone! What can you [...]

Do you think you know what respect is? The dictionary defines it as: the condition of being esteemed or honored. In this short video, Paul Meshanko explains how we define it and also how this relates to you and your organization. It might just change your idea of what respect is and what respect isn’t. How do you define respect?

Today’s tip, like last week, is a simple one. Be kind to everyone you encounter. What  happens when you do this consistently Would you notice a difference in the way people treated you? Would it make you feel better? All of these might actually happen. Kindness does improve the chances that someone will be kind back to you. And kindness has been shown to improve your health. But above all, being kind to everyone – from the person who empties your trash can to the person in the corner office [...]

So here’s a scenario for you to consider: It’s based on recent political entanglements. You sit on a board that has the power to make decisions for the entire company, but you dislike the President of the company. Even though both of you claim to want the best for the company, you continually block all the President’s initiatives, because you disagree with them. You’ve been with the company longer than the President, so you believe you know more than him on these issues. The President has asked for your input, but you [...]

Today we begin a new weekly feature, where we suggest a respect tip for you to use in your workplace and daily life. Often these tips will seem obvious, but as everyone’s daily lives become busier, these ‘niceties’ are often the first thing we forget and are also the most important to fostering an environment of respect. When we think about respect, we usually remember how we felt when someone treated us with respect – or disrespect! That feeling will stay with us and the next time that person needs [...]

A direct outgrowth of diversity training in the workplace – the desire to learn Spanish for work – is slowly finding its way into the corporate psyche. The benefits of workplace Spanish seem to be well worth the effort, since efficient communication on the job is critical when there exists a large number of Spanish-speaking employees who have difficulty communicating in English. Of course, workplace English classes help bridge the communication gap tremendously too, and many companies are choosing to incorporate English language instruction on the job. However, far less [...]

I was talking to a client recently about a local HR conference she had attended. When I asked her for her thoughts she said that the main theme that emerged for her was a variation of how we are all going to have to work harder, smarter, better and faster if we want to be successful. Now I don’t know about you, but if I have to work any harder, smarter, better or particularly faster, I’ll need to break into light speed. The pace of change we are all dealing [...]