On May 20th, Beverly Kaye joined Howard Morgan to present “Engaging the Kept-On Workforce.” We believe the session was informative, practical and timely.
The topic of this webinar was engagement and retention, an aspect of leadership and management which, as Bev reinforced in her presentation, is even more critical today because of our tough economic times.
After all, workers who are being neglected by their managers because of the crisis at hand, or who are stressed out by traumatic organizational changes, or who are feeling guilty about surviving the latest cutbacks and layoffs are often passive and even resentful. This can mean a double blow to organizations in need of strong discretionary efforts right now.
As Bev put it, workers who are engaged look for what they can give. Workers who are disengaged look for what they can get.
What’s more, talent is always at a premium, and neglected talent can quickly find a new home. And even workers who appear satisfied with less engagement in a prolonged crisis are actually honing their resumes, their resentments and their network, and are getting ready for the upturn to seek greener pastures. Continue reading » »
We bring leading authors and thinkers to elite audiences inside corporations and organizations. Using webinars, telepresence broadcasts, and virtual meeting rooms, the authors we select provide convenient, cost-effective, timely knowledge that keeps organizations going and growing.
|
 |
As economic conditions continue to deteriorate, workplace leaders not only face having to deliver bad news at times, but they also face the consequences of the increased anxiety caused by today’s market conditions. A recent Gallop survey indicated that a majority of workers are not worried about being laid off, which is a good thing. But a closer look at the data indicates a very high level of stress is being carried by workers everywhere.
 Economic climate places additional stresses on workplace leaders Even if the “majority” are not worried about being laid off in the near future, having nearly 1/3rd of respondents answering affirmatively to the first four of these five survey questions has to be pressing on workplace morale and productivity. How leaders respond to this anxiety and steer the nervous energy into productive outcomes, while not hiding the threats or economic realities, will go a long way in determining which firms survive and prosper.
The publishing world continues to collapse. Ads down, reviews folding, imprints getting swallowed, and editors being spit out. I talked to an agent friend about all this yesterday, and mentioned that I thought a subscription book-buying model, much like emusic offers music consumers, or some kind of digital shopping option will be the savior of the industry.
But he thinks e-readers suck, and no one will ever ever want to use one to read a book.
I disagree. I think it’s coming. I think people in publishing – like record executives before them – may perhaps be the last ones to see the light. But that issue – is the technology ready to really convert the masses, and will it ever be – remains a tremendous sticking point.
Here’s a dissenting view about the quality of e-readers from a technophile source. As one comment notes, and I paraphrase: “I just want a book with real paper to carry around. The same book all the time, but different content depending on what I’m reading.”
In other words, the book experience needs to be virtually replicated if e-readers are ever going to replace books.
I buy that.
Lots more on the Kindle out there, with the launch of Kindle 2. Some reports marvel about how sleek and neat the new version is. Others mention how Kindle / Amazon is getting the kind of ga ga reviews for its launch formerly reserved only for Apple. (I wonder if car companies look at these launches and think… I remember when….)
But there are also some naysayers doing a little backlashing.
There always are… those open code types are never happy.
Interestingly, even with its launch, Amazon is releasing its e-books to other platforms, compatible with its own competitors. It’s as though Apple launched the iPod and immediately opened iTunes to other MP3 players – which definitely didn’t happen. I think Amazon’s strategy is smart business, however. Unlike music, the market for e-readers remains small. If this new way of reading is to become successful, the habits have to be adopted in a mass-market way. With only 500,000 Kindles out there, that leaves a couple hundred million Americans alone yet to be converted. In other words, there’s room enough for options, and Amazon is wise to compete on the quality of its own product. This isn’t just benevolent marketing, however. Amazon also gets a cut from those e-books whether they’re downloaded to Kindles, iPhones, or that chip implanted in your fancy sunglasses.
Finally, Thomas Friedman, writing from India, his home away from home, mentions the possibility that Silicon Valley could one day go the way of Detroit. Does that mean their football team will suck, too? I forgot… maybe the Raiders and the Niners are leading indicators.
|
|
