It’s time to face the facts: millennials control your business
They’re 80 million strong and they’re rapidly taking over. Millennials, born between 1980 and 1995, are the most attractive — and business-transformative — customers and employees in play today. From cleaning product makers to mobile phone marketers, companies are scrambling to appeal to these young adults. But getting their attention isn’t easy. They’re very willing […]
The role philanthropy plays in business success can’t be understated
Research has demonstrated that giving money, time and effort for a worthy cause greatly enhances personal happiness and improves our world. We often forget, however, that philanthropy can also improve businesses’ bottom lines. We make ourselves feel great through giving back, but I’ll use some personal examples to illustrate how philanthropy can provide a surprising […]
How to analyze your print spend to cut costs and waste
Business print spend might not seem like something that needs to be managed. It’s just paper and toner cartridges, right? Wrong. Most companies could reduce their print-related costs by 20 to 30 percent by eliminating inefficiencies, according to Gartner research.
Cleveland Health-Tech Corridor gains first full-time director in Jeff Epstein
To some Greater Clevelanders, the MidTown Corridor may be merely a gap between downtown and University Circle, but what Jeff Epstein sees is an area ripe for development. Helping foster that development is one of Epstein’s goals as the first full-time director of the Health-Tech Corridor, which encompasses MidTown, as well as eight other Cleveland […]
Too small to succeed? How to project a ‘too big to fail’ persona
The term “too big to fail” is painfully ingrained in our memories since the Great Recession of 2007-2008. When Lehman Brothers and its brethren went belly up, other humongous companies just kept going because, as the pundits proclaimed, they were simply too large to tank. Most understand the economic ramifications of huge failures, even though […]
How to build a creative organization without any authority
Many great books on creativity and innovation have been written by professors and researchers, and I’ve read quite a few. The best book I’ve read by an actual CEO on how he personally developed a real-world creative organization is Ed Catmull’s recent work, “Creativity, Inc.” Catmull, founder of animated movie industry leader Pixar begins his […]
New programs needed to shrink gap between job openings and job seekers
One only needs to speak to employers, or to those seeking jobs, to realize that the skills gap is indeed evident in our region. It is also supported by the numbers: Ohio counted 316,000 unemployed residents in June, according to the Department of Job and Family Services. At the same time, more than 186,000 job […]
Putting together your senior team often sounds like you’re ready for some football
I ask: Who can resist the opportunity for a football reference in the fall? When the topic is administrative team building, it’s just too good of a metaphor to pass up (yep, completely intentional pun). Teams that win are successful because the organization rosters good players and the leadership knows how to leverage individual skills […]
Women leaders at executive levels are judged by men’s traits
I often have an opportunity to meet with executives across many organizations in any given month. The topics vary but the same underlining goal resides for many organizations: Increase the number of women leaders in the executive ranks. There is no lack of press or research on the numerous benefits of diverse and inclusive teams, […]
Play, work or hell — workplace activity is either one of the three: how to deal with them
Play work or hell: Your workplace is what you make it