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 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 >

Maybe we should leave this article for another time… Workplace procrastination is the worst kind of self-fulfilling prophesy. It’s de-motiving, demoralizing, and cripples the culture you’ve worked so hard to build. If you are actively procrastinating then you may find you do your best work with the clock ticking down to the final seconds as Read More >

We’ve begun another long business year. Many employees will be stuck in the work week cycle until the forth of July rolls around, so it’s no wonder faces tend to get longer during the early months. It’s tempting for bosses looking to spark productivity to tighten the bolts, pressuring employees with hard and fast goals, Read More >

Marketing is like sex, writes Steve Tobak of CBS. He explains his analogy further, writing, “Everyone thinks they’re good at it.” The “cut-and-paste” style of marketing made possible by emails, recorded telephone calls and old-fashioned postal mail completely misses the point, he laments. Customers recall businesses that communicate with them on a personalized basis, and Read More >

“What kind of manager do you want to be?” This is a question that’s becoming increasingly popular with hiring and HR managers during the interview process. The reason is simple: They want to get a feel for how in-touch the candidate is with the expectations of employees, and they’re looking for fit within their corporate Read More >

Trust is something we all want. We desire to give it to those with whom we are in relationships while striving to earn it with the same. It’s expected in almost every aspect of daily life, from the person who takes care of our children to the person who handles our dry cleaning. It should Read More >

Sometime ago there was a Harvard Business Review article titled, “Coaching the Alpha Male,” that reviewed the challenges people face working with very talented and extremely assertive male executives. If, however, you think that “Alpha Males” are difficult to deal with, wait until you’ve been sucker-punched by the passive aggressive executive. At least with the Read More >