business Archives - Liz Kislik

In Forbes: Why You Need A Board Of Directors To Help Stabilize Your Business

This post originally appeared on Forbes. It might seem as if privately-held companies, whether multigenerational family businesses or start-ups, can operate in any way they choose. But they will run more effectively if they have... Continue reading

Want Improvements? Help Your Boss Feel Safe Enough to Try the Better Way

It can be quite startling to recognize how often leaders and other people with authority and status behave ineffectively. Their difficulties can be interpersonal, as when a leader shows favoritism to specific individuals or groups... Continue reading

If You Want a Productive Culture, Focus on the People and What They Do

Leading and developing an organizational culture really means leading and developing the people within it. Culture doesn’t change according to your directives while you’re sitting comfortably in your corner office. It’s not enough to espouse... Continue reading

“That’s The Way (I Like It)”: When Customers Sing the Wrong Song

Perhaps we’ve trained customers to believe that they’re always right or “king” so thoroughly that some of them feel “special” enough to violate institutional norms with impunity. Some of the behavior I witnessed during a... Continue reading

What Your Customer Can’t (and Shouldn’t Have to) Do For You

It is not your customer’s job to… …make you feel good or comfortable or safe, …know the constraints you labor under, …understand what you wish they would say or do, …figure out your business model,... Continue reading

Can You Be Happy at Work? Should You Be?

Consider these scenarios, each from a different organization, and the unfortunate, but logical, conclusions that can be drawn from each one: A lowest-level manager is disparaged by the other managers in her group because her... Continue reading

A Question of How to Say “No”

When I did a webinar, “Self Management in Frantic Times”, the most popular question that attendees sent in advance had to do with how to say “No.” No, because the request was illogical or unworkable.... Continue reading

Stop the World…

Humans weren’t so different five years ago, but many of the conditions of life seem to be. Too much to do too many places to be not enough time not enough help not enough energy... Continue reading

When the Going Gets Tough…

There is no “business as usual” any more. Do you know anyone who isn’t a little more urgent and intense than they were three years ago? Senior people who relied on secretaries and minions now get... Continue reading

Workplace Wisdom Blog

Tag: business