I wrote a post last fall about the importance of physical presence in our digital age. About the need for teams – even and especially virtual teams – to get together every now and then to share a meal, and discuss business and life beyond the daily…

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the power of startups — the passion, belief and herculean efforts that individuals put forward regularly when they’re working in an early stage company.  It’s not the exception, it’s the norm.  It’s appreciated.  But normal. So far, I haven’t found any studies on the “engagement levels” of startup team members (I’m still looking, if you happen to have any), but I have to imagine they’re high.  Like, high-high. (Scientific, I know.) But seriously, all you […]

Engagement is (understandably) one of the big focuses for 21st century businesses and teams.  When customers are demanding, competition is fierce and innovation is an essential part of “business as usual”, teams can only thrive (and survive, really), when they consist of a collection of dedicated, motivated individuals. From what I’ve seen with our clients, there are really four simple steps to building and maintaining that desired high level of engagement.  Here we go: 1.  Paint the picture People are […]

I think the fastest way to kill an idea in business is the question, “What’s the ROI?”  Not because it’s a bad question.  But because it needs to be one of many questions, not the only question.  After all, if we were only looking at ROI, you could ask… What’s the ROI of airbags in cars? What’s the ROI of hosting a Staff Christmas Party? Or my favorite, “What’s the ROI of your mother?” (Thanks to @garyvee for that one.  Apologies […]