Business - Management Advice

November 1, 2011

Interview with Dan Roam, author of the book Blah Blah Blah: What To Do When Words Don't Work

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Mike Carruthers:
When we’re talking with people socially or professionally our ideas and the stories we tell are simply a string of words.

Dan Roam:
The problem is that unless those ideas are really, really crystal clearly formed they’re just kind of like big fluffy clouds. We talk about this one for a moment and then it passes away and the next one comes along and we completely forget about the previous one.
 

October 24, 2011

Interview with George Anders, author of the book The Rare Find: Spotting Exceptional Talent Before Everyone Else

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Mike Carruthers:
Anyone who’s ever had to hire someone for a job in an office or a housekeeper or a babysitter you know that hiring is tough and here’s why…

George Anders:
We tend to latch onto the superficial and we get impressed by degrees and we get impressed by people who meet us well and often those are pretty much irrelevant for the job at hand.
 

September 2, 2011

Interview with Jamie Showkeir, author of the book Authentic Conversations: Moving from Manipulation to Truth and Commitment

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Mike Carruthers:
If you had to describe the nature of the typical boss/employee relationship, it's similar to a parent and child.

Jamie Showkeir:
Because the premise on which our organizations of today were founded was generated well over a hundred years ago by people who were looking at non-skilled labor, as folks who could not be trusted and had to be told what to do.
 

June 6, 2011

Interview with Doug Conant, author of the book TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments (J-B Warren Bennis Series)

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Mike Carruthers:
Interruptions, you might consider them an unwanted nuisance but actually interruptions have become a big part of our day.

Doug Conant:
Basically the average knowledge worker is interrupted every 11 minutes by some interruption or another. Basically we’re living in the interruption age.
 

April 7, 2011

Interview with Scott Christopher, co-author of the book The Levity Effect: Why it Pays to Lighten Up

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Mike Carruthers:
The work you do may be serious business but the work environment doesn't have to be.

Scott Christopher:
We've found that those who possess a sense of humor (or at least an ability to appreciate humor) climb the corporate ladder quicker and they actually end up making a little more money.
 

March 24, 2011

Interview with Kevin Coyne, author of the book Brainsteering: A Better Approach to Breakthrough Ideas

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Mike Carruthers:
In order to problem solve or come up with new ideas organizations have meetings and the larger the meeting the less people participate.

Kevin Coyne:
The group dynamic in a large group is always – you put any group of 20 people together, 17 think they’re supposed to not talk.
 

November 4, 2010

Interview with Josh Klein, author of the book Hacking Work: Breaking Stupid Rules for Smart Results

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Mike Carruthers:
The typical workplace is not keeping up with and effectively using technology.

Josh Klein:
So your 12 year old can go online and get more information faster, more accurately, and collaborate better with his peers than you can in the office – that’s a problem.

September 30, 2010

Interview with Paul Marciano, author of the book Carrots and Sticks Don't Work: Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT

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Mike Carruthers:
We may need to rethink the traditional ways we motivate and reward employees.

Paul Marciano:
As an example we talk about the importance of teamwork and yet in these kinds of employee of the month programs there’s usually only 1 winner.
 

July 1, 2010

Interview with Nancy Lublin, author of the book Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business

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Mike Carruthers:
Not for profit organizations and charities have often been criticized for not acting more like a real business.

Nancy Lublin:
But I also think businesses need to behave more like not for profits. There are things that we do to stretch a dollar and stretch our team that businesses could really learn from.
 

June 18, 2010

Interview with Ruth Klein, author of the book Time Management Secrets for Working Women

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Mike Carruthers:
Being productive without getting stressed - how do the experts do it?

Ruth Klein:
I have to work at it. So for example, first thing in the morning - I know that is a real pivotal point and there are pivotal triggers throughout the day.