Listening is a powerful tool in any business setting and a critical skill that can enable a business to understand what its employees need, what they desire in their work, and how the business can become more successful. Listening, however, can be challenging for many business owners and managers who are often focused on the bottom line, meeting targets and achieving … [More]
Listening Is the First Step
Business leaders need to listen to their employees and to their business
Use an Advisory Board to Benefit a Business
Seasoned, impartial experts add market strength
We can probably all agree that many businesses often operate with scarce resources and limited expertise, sometimes making it challenging to navigate complex business decisions. However, if a business owner had the opportunity to solve this problem by consulting a team of experts solely dedicated to providing guidance based on previous experiences, wouldn’t they take it? I am … [More]
Andy Fegley Steers Reinvention of Valley Real Estate Association
Evolving with the times, Phoenix REALTORS® becomes benchmark among industry associations
Associations are often slow to embrace change, but it’s crucial for them to adapt and grow to thrive. In fact, many organizations may get stuck in a rut when they become complacent and fail to adapt to changing market conditions, resulting in stagnant growth and a lack of innovation. These are the truths that have guided Andy Fegley, chief executive officer of Phoenix … [More]
Global Economy Could Benefit from More PMPs
There will be a global need for 25 million new project management professionals (PMPs) by 2030. The Project Management Institute warned the gap could result in a possible loss of up to USD$345.5 billion in global GDP. What is a project management professional and why do they have such a huge impact on the economy? And is a project manager different from an industry … [More]
Ahmad Alatrash Has the Mesquite Touch
Expanding Mesquite Fresh Street Mex to a broader brand
Ahmad Alatrash’s entrepreneurial journey with his most trusted business partner, his brother Nas, began when he was 18 years old. Nas, who is five years older, was familiar with Old Town Scottsdale and its potential for an investment opportunity. He recognized a need for the area: quality food venues that were open late for partiers, students, shift workers and first … [More]
Making Work Work
In Making Work Work, an internationally recognized leadership consultant offers solutions for creating a more positive professional environment using kindness and mutual respect. Shola Richards had reached the end of the road: After nearly two years at a toxic job, he felt numb and suicidal. So, he quit and focused on inspiring current and future leaders in all stages of their … [More]
Navigating Murky Waters?
‘Sacred Six’ principles will help you succeed like a shark
Whenever we open a news app, we’re inundated with headlines on foreboding topics. Looming recession. Political turmoil. Social unrest. Climate change. It seems there’s no end to the doom and gloom. In times like these, the path toward success isn’t just murky; it seems to have fallen away altogether. How can leaders navigate the challenges ahead — and come out on top — if we … [More]
Build a Culture of Safety and Human Reliability
Seven practical steps that take good ideas from talk to action
A technician spills a toxic chemical. She isn’t injured, but easily could have been. The Hazmat cleanup costs more than $10,000, and shuts down a critical building for a week. An electrical engineer flips the wrong switch in a substation control room. He isn’t injured. But within seconds, a $50,000 transformer is destroyed. Three financial clerks in two different … [More]
Build Strength in Your Business through Stakeholder Engagement
Organizations build a sense of community while promoting their brand reputation
Often, we arrive at a business idea and approach and decide: This will be our business, our mission, our purpose. The excitement of the opportunity and our depth of knowledge encourage us to move forward with the belief that we have all the knowledge and resources internally to succeed. Often, that may not be the case, and in the rush to create, we overlook a key component: … [More]
Todd Sanders: Embracing Change and Diversifying Fuels Growth
Strengthening the Phoenix Chamber and community businesses
As a leader, I don’t fear change. Since assuming the role of president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Chamber in 2009, at the height of a recession, I have spent the last 13 years helping thousands of companies across Arizona anticipate, prepare for and, ultimately, thrive through change. The recession in 2008 was a wakeup for me that the Chamber had to become more dynamic. … [More]
Exposing Pay
Should employees be allowed to discuss their pay with other employees? Should managers explain the logic underlying pay structures and decisions to employees? Should companies disclose more information on pay for particular positions or even an individual’s actual pay? Pay equity has become a hot topic in recent years with pay transparency viewed as an important way to narrow … [More]





























