THIS ISN'T WORKING
by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog
“YOU’RE FIRED!” seems to be Donald Trump’s favorite phrase. He makes it sound easy, as if he has a hair trigger and an itchy trigger finger. But for most of us it’s not that easy. In fact it’s downright difficult – so difficult in fact that we tend to put it off...
IT’S NOT JUST WHAT, IT’S WHY
by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog
Training without explaining is like trying to program a computer. The computer will only do what it’s been programmed to do. It will not know why it’s doing it and its approach to the job will be limited to what it’s been directed to do. That approach to training...
““IT’S NOT THE JOURNEY OF 1,000 LEAGUES THAT WEARS DOWN THE MIGHTY SOLDIER, BUT THE TINY PEBBLE IN HIS SHOE”
by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog
No matter what kind of business you think you’re in, you quickly find out you are in the personnel management business. With careful hiring, mentoring, recognition, and compensation plans, your people can be your greatest asset. Recurrent, personnel issues can be a...
“SHE’S ON TOP OF IT”
by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog
People ask us how to know when administrative people “own” their jobs. What behavior convinces us that we can depend on them? How do we know when they take responsibility for the outcomes related to their performance? When can we stop worrying about them and stop...
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
by Michael Houlihan & Bonnie Harvey | Business Blog
We’ve spent over two decades in sales, and it’s true – nothing happens until the sale is made. We have a friend who described her sales job as “conveying the value proposition of (her) product to (her) buyers.” There are many books written on the subject of...