Carl Robinson, Ph.D., copyright 2004 Current research into factors that contribute to business success provides some interesting insights… some of which are surprising and ironic. “Firms going public that place high value on employee energy, corporate culture, rewards and organization structure outperform their peers on stock price growth, sales growth and size when measured as Read More >

by Carl Robinson, Ph.D., copyright 2004 Does organizational “virtuousness” pay? Does treating your employees with respect improve performance or just make them soft? Some other questions I’ve heard include, “How do you help executives change their behavior when they have been successful being a jerk?” Why would they change their behavior if it has worked Read More >

By Carl Robinson, Ph.D., copyright 2004 During a recent dinner meeting with a group of bio-tech CEOs where I was the invited speaker, one of them complained about people who she characterized as, “Yes, but-ers.” Her complaint must have resonated because the other CEOs clamored to chime in with their examples of what I will Read More >

By Carl Robinson, Ph.D., copyright 2006 Do you want your employees to be more innovative? Yes, of course. Who doesn’t? However, spurring innovative thinking and action is not easy, otherwise everyone would be creating Ipods, Google, and Post-its. In this briefing I’ll offer some tips on fostering a more innovative workplace drawn from my own Read More >

By Carl Robinson, Ph.D., copyright 2007 Bribing employees to be content and to remain your employees by giving them bonuses, stock options and other monetary incentives is the dominant retention strategy used by corporate America. Unfortunately, that works best in emerging fast growth businesses and during a rising stock market or boom as Microsoft was Read More >

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. – William James   Morale suffers at the hand of layoffs, job cuts and dips in profits.  Since low morale is linked to low productivity, it can lead to continued disappointing profits—a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Read on to learn ways of boosting the spirits Read More >

Happy Employees = A Healthy Business Do your employees enjoy working for your organization? If they do, they are in a narrow majority. According to a survey of 5,000 households by the Conference Board research group, only 45% of Americans are satisfied with their work–the lowest number ever recorded by the organization in its 22 Read More >

Whether you are handling a baby boomer who is frustrated with the work ethic of a Gen Xer or you are mentoring an impatient Gen Y employee who has lost his cool with the technical skills of older team members, at some point the white flag has to go up and work must proceed. The Read More >

Why Does Culture Matter? “Culture eats strategy for lunch.” ~unknown   The culture of your organization determines communication styles, how priorities are set, and how things get done. In the words of Ed Schein, cultural management expert, “Culture is much more than just the way we do things around here.” The particular ways that people Read More >

“The employees [who] come in with the most call center experience, we have the hardest time trying to get them to unlearn what they have learned to be able to grasp the latest initiative or embrace a new workplace culture.” Roger Dana, Zappos.com Your organization likely attracts, hires and develops employees based (at least in Read More >