Strong Suit 184: Is Each One of Your Employees a Snowflake?
Each of your customers is unique, with different needs. You likely personalize your products, services, and approach accordingly. So too with your employees. Yet, most companies treat their people all the same. Shame. Dorri McWhorter knows better. She’s CEO of YWCA Chicago, where she’s transforming the 140-year-old social service agency into a 21st century social […]
Strong Suit 183: Yes, Even Rockstars Derail (Here's How to Prevent It)
How do your Rockstar employees derail? As their manager, can you prevent it or get them back on track? What are the early warning signs? Carter Cast knows. My friend – and fellow Kellogg professor – derailed early in his career… and recovered (Bigtime!) Carter started as marketing manager at PepsiCo. Then he moved to […]
Strong Suit 182: Brand New Bersin/Deloitte Research Reveals the Recruiting Practices that Drive High Performance
It’s not often that I get to unveil hot-new research on our Podcast. Bersin by Deloitte is THE go-to firm when it comes to talent acquisition. They just released a brand new research study, years in the making. This is big. My guest today Robin Erickson is VP Talent Acquisition, Engagement, and Retention Research. She […]
Strong Suit 181: Why the Rockstar You Just Hired Will Bomb (& Why its Your Fault)
I. Was. Nervous. When you finally meet one of your business idols, you find yourself tongue-tied. And it shows in this episode. His book changed my life 25 years ago. You’ve heard this word: Onboarding. If you hire a fast-learning Rockstar, you shouldn’t need to. Just throw them in the pool, right? Wrong. Michael Watkins […]
Strong Suit 180: Here's the People Part of Private Equity
When a PE firm invests in a new portfolio company, one of the primary areas of focus is the people part of the business. Often, the company hasn’t put in place the right (or any!) processes to ensure that it recruits & keeps rockstar talent. That’s where today’s guest comes in. Mark Rittmanic is CEO […]
Strong Suit 179: Why Middle-Managers are Likely Your Company's Missing Link
Let’s get real. If you’re going to be a great leader, you can’t do it on your own. You need to develop a team of great leaders, who can in turn recruit & energize their teams of Rockstars. Unfortunately, the managers who report to you likely haven’t been trained & developed when it comes to […]
Strong Suit 178: Your Company's Growing. Will Your Culture Grow With It?
How do you ensure that your firm’s culture thrives & doesn’t get diluted as it grows? You know what I mean… 10 people, then 100, then 1,000. The more you hire, the more that rare precious culture can become diluted. So I tracked down an expert on how to prevent that syndrome. Josh Bersin is Founder […]
Strong Suit 177: Does the Birth of Your Business Mean the Death of Your Waistline?
Business is tough. And particularly tough on our bodies. The hours. The stress. The 6-packs…of soda. Is it even possible to build a healthy business, while building a healthy body? Ryan Lee is widely considered one of the world’s most influential “lifestyle entrepreneurs.” In fact, he started his first fitness website in 1999. As a […]
Strong Suit 176: If Your 2018 Recruiting is Sick, I Found the Doctor
The war for talent is on! 2018 will bring 3.5% unemployment for the first time in 50 years. Are you ready? If you’re posting your job descriptions on job boards, good luck. It’s just not enough. So I tracked down Jeff Dickey-Chasins… he’s (literally!) known as The Job Board Doctor. Jeff is a veteran of […]
Strong Suit 175: For the New Year, Resolve to Improve Your Board's Diversity
If your Board of Directors s comprised of old white men, don’t be surprised when you employee base mirrors it. David Chun is CEO of Equilar, which he started at the bottom of the dot-com bust in 2000. Since then, he’s built the preeminent provider of board intelligence solutions. Companies of all sizes rely on […]
