Our friend Rob runs his own family-owned business, and it’s been thriving for a couple of decades now. His brother Reed had been laid off, so Rob hired him to work at his company, putting him in charge of marketing. Reed tried, but somehow he just wasn’t giving the hours, commitment, time, or other responsibilities that went with his position. Rob didn’t know what to do with him! Sure, Reed did the job Rob had hired him for, but not as effectively as he could have. Still, Reed was a great guy with good intentions, so Rob let his emotional attachment convince him to keep Reed where he was. It even occurred to Rob that Reed might think he was entitled to the job simply because he was family! But Rob knew he shouldn’t have gotten into that situation to begin with, and he was becoming increasingly frustrated.

Everyone has goals, or so they say. I ask folks at my seminars, “Who here has goals?”  All the attendees raise their hands. Motivational coach Michael Wickett begs to differ: “No, Paul, they don’t have goals. They have dreams,” he explained.“Dreams are in your head. Goals are written down.” 

Mike was right. Many people daydream about how their lives will end up, but few people take the time to sit down and form detailed plans to make those dreams reality. The key is to act on our dreams and turn them into solid, achievable goals with specific steps to success.

Salary can be a sensitive subject, no matter who brings it up first in a job interview. The interviewer who asks, “How much money did you make last year?” gets interviews off to a rocky start, coming across as offensive and just generally setting a negative tone. The interviewer’s trying to cut to the chase and see if you, the candidate, will disqualify yourself, either by asking for too much money, or for so little that they will wonder why you’re willing to settle for a smaller salary; are you damaged goods?

Delegation isn’t just about handing off an unwanted task to a colleague or assistant. When you, as a manager, can delegate well, it empowers your team members to grow professionally and personally while making the best use of your company’s resources. Down the line, delegating effectively will cultivate your subordinates’ gifts so that when you get a promotion, they’ll be ready to take over your job.

Here are two steps to get started:

1.) Choose the right person. Match the strengths of each of your employees with the tasks that need doing. Ask yourself:

With the job market slowly coming back to life, many job candidates are so eager to land a position that they don’t stop to think about the corporate culture in their potential workplace. Interviewers have so much on their own plates, even they don’t always know where to start as they ponder whether or not a candidate will be a good fit for the job. In turn, candidates want to know what they’re walking into before they’re offered a job, so they don’t end up with the workplace equivalent of buyer’s remorse. That’s why job-hunters need to be fully engaged, interactive, and ready to ask pertinent questions that will help them make informed decisions about job opportunities.

These questions help job candidates to find out what the company’s corporate culture is really like, so they’ll have a better chance of finding a dream job instead of a rude awakening: