To be successful in a new year, keep these tips in mind to have an effective start to 2020: Make professional contacts and network Practice professional courage: step out of your comfort zone at work and speak up Listen more than you talk Take up a new hobby Track your to-do list Most importantly, keep… Read More

It’s almost a new year (and decade!) and you have a task to do! Your insurance provider has no doubt reminded you, often, to keep clear and accurate records of all your valuables both at home and at work. Easier said than done. But those records could save you thousands and thousands of dollars should… Read More

The holiday season can be the busiest time of year, and then we will say goodbye to the decade. In spite of our best laid plans, nothing of great importance seems to get done. Oh yes, there are times when we have a big push to complete a special project or mission, but for the… Read More

NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), has tracked Santa’s flight on Christmas Eve for 62 years; all thanks to a happy accident! The tradition began in 1955 after a Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put… Read More

The myriad of things we can/should/might/ do to make our company successful can be overwhelming. Technology, finances, employees, insurance, customer service, marketing, customers – too much to do and too little time to do it. The order of this list is not random, but rather in the likely order of the demand on your time.… Read More

Tis the season of organization! For the past month, store ads have been touting racks, bins, boxes and software that will help us eliminate clutter and accomplish more – rather than spending time looking for things. We know it is not always easy to make sure things stay organized. Finding information easily is one reason we suggest… Read More

Web and mobile-based communications are taking over as our primary means of contact. Statistics revealed by Forbes magazine indicate that 80 percent of callers who reach voice mail don’t leave messages because they don’ think they’ll even be heard. Speech technology vendor, Nuance Communications, recently conducted a survey with Research Now and found that 95 percent of… Read More

Buildings crumble without adequate foundations. So do marketing efforts. For the inaugural edition of my marketing column, I wanted to lay a foundation for all the future articles. That foundation – both for this column and for all marketing initiatives – is your website. It’s neither hyperbole nor overstatement to suggest that every aspect of… Read More

“I’d probably use your services, but I know you’ve got a lot of plumbers on your service, how do I know my calls will come to me and not accidentally go to my competition?” asked a fellow I met at the Chamber meeting. From time to time this question comes up and I can proudly say… Read More

Whenever someone new comes on board, whether an employee or a customer, a great policy is to wait a few weeks and then ask, “Is our service exceeding your expectations? Is there something you don’t understand or that we could do differently that would make our service work better for you?” Such valid questions, and such varied… Read More