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Building a Career is a Stepping Stone, Not a Bungee Jump

Imagine arriving in New York as a young man from small-town U.S.A. with dreams of becoming the next Wall Street superstar.  What happened next was not an instant leap to success but a slow slog toward achieving a vision.  In this age of “instant” everything – instant data, instant entertainment, instant friends – we learn to expect “instant success.”  But …

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Stop, Think, and Plan Before Mandating a Coronavirus Vaccine!

Finally – the long-awaited fix for the devastating COVID-19 is here!  Businesses large and small are breathing a collective sigh of relief with the hope that when all their employees are inoculated, everyone can get back to congregating and collaborating in person.   You might be writing that company-wide memo even now, telling people how, when, and where to get …

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An Effective Diversity Policy Means Never Having to Say You are Sorry

It hasn’t been a good year for Goodyear.  COVID concerns disrupted operations, second-quarter sales were down 41% from a year ago, and to add insult to injury, last week, company officials found themselves in crisis management mode.  A slide from a Topeka diversity training session, labeled “Zero Tolerance,” itemized two columns of permitted and banned symbols and phrases on apparel worn at work.  Among …

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How to Inspire Serendipity Despite a Remote Workforce

Talking with a friend about the advantages and disadvantages of remote work, I was struck by his observation that what he missed most about working with colleagues in the office were the serendipitous ideas shared during face-to-face interactions.  While isolation does not necessarily dampen creativity, smart companies have worked hard to create novel, highly interactive, work environments to foster connections between …