Bill Lisowski's Blog

Tough Times Require Much More "Honey"

Bill Lisowski — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:58:00 GMT

When times are tough and when employees and business partners are stressed out, managers can create tremendous motivation and loyalty simply by showing appreciation in the workplace, or so believes author Kristin Tillquist, author of Capitalzing on Kindness...(read more)

Tips on Avoiding Hiring Mistakes

Bill Lisowski — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:07:00 GMT

Many people trust their gut when hiring new people for their organization (even when they are hiring senior executives). Unfortunately for them, they usually find out pretty quickly that their guts were wrong. How can you do a better job of finding the...(read more)

3 Critical Keys to Leadership

Bill Lisowski — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:26:00 GMT

Jack & Suzy Welch offered an interesting perspective on Barack Obama's successful campaign to win the presidency, illustrating the 3 successful leadership principles used during the campaign. Those three factors (BusinessWeek, Nov. 17, 2008):...(read more)

Lessons Learned by a Leader

Bill Lisowski — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:44:00 GMT

Here are some of the guiding principles that helped Christen Day, CEO, Lululemon Athletica (Fortune magaizine, Nov. 10, 2008): Learn to live with criticism; learn to be in the spotlight. Efficiency isn't always effectiveness. Sometimes by making something...(read more)

Advice on Grooming and Keeping Talented Employees

Bill Lisowski — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:26:00 GMT

Every organization shares this common problem: developing talented individuals for bigger responsibilities while at the same time guarding against the very real possibility that these efforts will be wasted because they are lured away by a better opportunity...(read more)

Reasons People Choose to Work For Your Company--and Stay!

Bill Lisowski — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 13:09:00 GMT

While paying highly competitive salaries may seem like a way to prevent high turnover of a workforce, many other factors are involved to create employee loyalty. And with the 5-year retention rate of employees down to 52.8% (from 55.4% in 2007), here...(read more)

Managing Your People During a Tough Economy

Bill Lisowski — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:06:00 GMT

Economic downturns offer at least one bright spot--savvy leaders can find much less expensive talent to add to their organizations, espcially as other organizations layoff people or as smart workers look elsewhere for more promosing opportunities. to...(read more)

Share Information During Bad Times

Bill Lisowski — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:47:00 GMT

Today's unnerving economic times are having an unanticipated impact in the work place itself. Employees are so uncertain about their company's future, and their own, that over 70% polled would welcome some kind of communication from senior management...(read more)

Digging for Information

Bill Lisowski — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:41:00 GMT

What happens to the sensitive information on your company cell phones and laptops when they are replaced? Does your organization have a defined process to totally erase your company's secrets? Researchers from British phone company BT Group recently...(read more)

Control Labor Costs Through Location

Bill Lisowski — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:57:00 GMT

Does your office need to be located in the area it is? If not, moving it could help you reduce your labor costs. Many parts of the country, and many parts of your local area, can allow you to tap into lower cost labor alternatives. When looking to move...(read more)

Are You an Agent of Change?

Bill Lisowski — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:13:00 GMT

"True change agents have a track record of seeing around corners, and their visions of the future will not let them rest." This statement from Jack and Suzy Welch (BusinessWeek, Oct. 20, 2008) illustrates a major factor that makes change agents...(read more)

Tips on Running Great Meetings

Bill Lisowski — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:06:00 GMT

Everyone spends part of their week in meetings--some short some long, some good, some dreadful. What follows are some tips for running great meetings ( Fortune magazine, Oct. 27, 2008): Diane Bryant, CIO, Intel: To ensure effective and efficient meetings...(read more)

Incentive Progam Pitfalls

Bill Lisowski — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:10:00 GMT

"When you try to measure people's performance, you have to take into account how they are going to react," believes Joel Spolsky, columnist with Inc. magazine (October 2008). "Inevitably, people will figure out how to get the numbers...(read more)

Success through Asking the Right Questions

Bill Lisowski — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:39:00 GMT

Bill Marriott, Chairman and CEO of Mariott International, shared with readers of Fortune magazine (Oct. 13, 2008) that the best advice he ever received was that success came from asking the right questions and making people feel they were participating...(read more)

Tips on Giving Great Presentations

Bill Lisowski — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 09:54:00 GMT

At some point in everyone's career, you will face the prospect of giving a presentation to an audience larger than your work group. When that time comes to give a keynote talk or something similar, here are some pointers to make a great impression...(read more)