Each spring, the International Franchise Association and FRANdata, a leading market research firm, produce an annual Franchising Economic Outlook. Among the findings in 2022, Arizona ranks third in predicted franchising growth, with the number of establishments expected to reach nearly 20,000, a 3% jump over 2021. But that’s not all. The report also predicts the number of … [More]
Beyond Cyberattacks: Ransomware Readiness and Recovery
There were seven people seated around the table: the CEO, the VP, the CFO, the Special Agent from the FBI, the owner, the forensics technician and the company’s CISO (Chief Information Security Officer). “Don’t pay,” was the CEO’s vote. Same for the VP. “Pay it,” was the owner’s response. The CFO nodded in agreement. “Paying could be a violation of federal law,” … [More]
Hiring for Sales ‘Just Doesn’t Work Like That’
Finding talent right now is hard, and those difficulties are well documented. But when it comes to hiring sellers, some companies are making it even harder on themselves. The problem? Hiring sellers is simply a completely different — and unique — challenge from any other position in your organization. There are three obstacles that exist only in the selling role that get in … [More]
Nine Reasons Your Company Should Create a Mentoring Program in 2022
Companies face numerous challenges going into the new year: a shortage of skilled workers, employee churn, economic aftershocks from the pandemic and shifting consumer behaviors, just to name a few. While there’s no one-size-fits-all fix, there is a powerful tool that can help leaders successfully navigate many of the obstacles 2022 might throw at their business: … [More]
Elevated Marketing – Empowering a Brand with Enchantment
When people face a world that is too complex to understand, constantly changing in unexpected ways and unclear, they put up barriers of distrust and caution. This environment creates debilitating distress, and most people don’t have the tools or training to deal with it. This affects decision making and can lead to irrational choices driven by fear. Sound familiar? From the … [More]
Design for Productivity
Business owners need to find ways to boost employee productivity from time to time. Redesigning the office is a great way to do this. Creating a stylish and accessible office keeps employees focused and motivated. Here are a few of the most impactful design elements to freshen up an old office space. Design multiple workspaces. Employees have different working styles. Some … [More]
New Realities of Today’s Workforce
The impact and effects of COVID-19-related policies has accelerated the coming demographic change in the labor market. Many have written on and studied the working habits and behaviors of millennials. While an admitted generalization, millennials value their personal freedom, seek a cause to serve and have less loyalty to a long-term employment position than previous … [More]
Light This Candle: Strategic Partnerships Can Change the Game for Industries
On April 12, 1961, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. One month later, Astronaut Alan Shephard’s Freedom 7 space capsule sat atop a Mercury-Redstone Rocket awaiting launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Technical problems caused flight delays and at some point Shephard grew impatient, extolling, “Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this … [More]
Why Businesses Shouldn’t Lower Their Standards when Hiring Salespeople
As the economy (finally) heats up, hiring managers are desperately trying to fill sales openings. Faced with stiff competition for a small pool of applicants, they might be tempted to compromise on the quality of new hires. It’s easy to rationalize: Thanks to the pandemic, the nature of sales has changed. The role is less forward-facing than it used to be, and anyone can give a … [More]
Don’t Let Metrics Myopia Drive Away Your Talent
“Employee engagement” has been a boardroom buzzword for quite some time. We’ve long known engagement matters. Still, the unspoken “but” has always been that metrics — especially those of the performance and financial ilk — matter more. Now, with the talent shortage at a 10-year high, according to a 2010 survey by ManpowerGroup, the time is right for a major shift in this … [More]
Seven Ways Social Media Can Revitalize Small Business Competition
Economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic could very well continue to play out over decades. Change is a forerunner to growth, and businesses across the nation were forced to pivot over the past two years. Perseverance was tested, resilience was built and the presence of small businesses on social media, or lack thereof, was noticed. Small businesses, which account for 99% … [More]
An American Businessperson in a Global World
In the American business world, there is a generally accepted, and often unspoken, etiquette that most businesspeople follow: Be on time, dress professionally, use a firm handshake, make eye contact, show initiative, be respectful of one’s superiors and so on. Look around the world, however, and there are widely diverse protocols that can quickly lead to cultural barriers, … [More]
Could the U.S. Really Move to a Four-Day Workweek?
The pandemic is responsible for opening our eyes to the importance of “quality of life.” We were all confined to our homes in the blink of an eye, and the requirement for a drastic increase in remote work saw 42% of people working from home in 2020, according to the American Time Use Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the time, the labor force was able to … [More]
Three Hacks for Creating an Effortless Customer Experience
Most every company strives to be “easy to do business with.” But as common as that mantra is, it remains a rarity to come across a business that is consistently effortless to patronize. One reason: Most organizations aren’t detecting the pain points that drive their customers away. Sure: the 30-minute call center wait or the poorly designed website — these are examples of … [More]
The Best Leaders Know How to Set a Vision
Among the many challenges that leaders face is maximizing performance. How can they get the best out of their people? What can they do to grow the business? What innovative products and services can they bring to the market? Although these questions are critical to a company’s success, the first thing the senior leadership team must do is get clear on their vision. Setting the … [More]
Handling Difficult Conversations Remotely
No one could have accurately predicted that one day just about the entire world would go remote. But that’s precisely what happened when the coronavirus hit and pretty much brought everyone to a standstill. Within days of the official announcement of a pandemic, employers shut down their offices and sent workers home, leaving no time to train leaders on how to best manage … [More]
4 Skills Everyone Needs to Thrive in a Digital Future
There’s a lot of talk these days about disruption and the constant change we all seem to experience at faster and faster speeds. In the past decade, every industry worldwide has been impacted by the rise of technology, people and interactivity coming together to create an explosion of new products and services that did not even exist 10 years ago. Who could believe that one day … [More]
Performance Management Techniques for Managing Remote Workers
Remote workers are here to stay, so business leaders need to know how to get the most out of their team. Statistics show that 4.7 million people in the United States work remotely at least half the time. With these numbers — which are still growing — it is important leaders understand different techniques so they can get the best performance from their employees. Scheduling … [More]
