Developing a Culture of Accountability: What to Do

From BizActions.com

Harry Truman’s definition of accountability is perhaps the best: “The Buck Stops Here.” It was the message on a sign the President had on his White House desk to remind himself and others who entered his office that he took responsibility for making decisions.

As Truman said in his farewell address in January, 1953: “The President – whoever he is – has to decide. He can’t pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That’s his job.”

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Recycle the White Pages!

For the last five years, the only reason I picked up the white pages phone book that was dropped on my doorstep was to see if my name was still in it. Come to think of it, I have not looked up a business in the yellow pages either for at least four years. So, why do we keep receiving these costly books that fewer and fewer people are reading? To use as a booster seat so small children are sitting higher up to more effectively eat their meal?

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9 More Must-Reads for Business Owners

By Marc Kramer | MainStreet.com

Looking for inspiration to help get you through turbulent markets and weak revenue in the coming weeks?  Here are nine recently released books that offer recession-worthy insights on management, sales and marketing. 

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Captain Phillips showed he CARED

We were recently riveted to the news for the unfolding pirate drama being played out in the Indian Ocean. Somali pirates had seized control of the Maersk Alabama. Captain Richard Phillips, in the ultimate demonstration of leadership, negotiated the release of his ship and crew, in exchange for his life as a hostage. Negotiations stalled while Captain Phillips floated adrift in a powerless lifeboat, with limited food and water, held captive by the pirates. On the fifth day, highly trained Navy SEAL snipers shot the pirates and successfully rescued the Captain, unharmed.

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Listen to Peter’s Interviews with Brent Clanton of CNN 650 Radio

Click here to listen to Peter Stark discuss his newest book, Engaged! How Leaders Build Organizations Where Employees Love to Come to Work.  Peter shares his ideas for leading an engaged workforce in an interview with Brent Clanton of CNN 650 Radio, giving tips for both employees and leaders on not only how to survive these tough economic times, but end up positioned for success, thriving where others may have given up.

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Lay-offs are not ending anytime soon!

Last week, the economic downturn showed it was effective at impacting three very different industries.  Johnson & Johnson cut 900 jobs in it US pharmaceutical division, Walt Disney Co. cut 1,900 jobs across its US theme parks and 3M cut its global workforce by 1,200 jobs.   According to Forbes.com, 6,461 people lost their jobs within just the first nine days of April.  With these types of press releases bombarding us on a daily basis, many managers and employees in just about every industry worry that they will be next. Worry and fear are two of the most powerful emotions that can distract people from staying focused and getting the work done. If you are one of the people who has not been laid off, the following tips will help you increase your chances of staying gainfully employed.

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New Business Books Offer Recession Help

TheStreet.com

Looking for inspiration to help get you through turbulent markets and weak revenue in the coming weeks?

Here are nine recently released books that offer recession-worthy insights on management, sales and marketing. Engaged! How Leaders Build Organizations Where Employees Love to Come to Work (Bentley Press 2009) by Peter Barron Stark and Jane Flaherty. This book offers real-world examples.

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Project Management On-Line Interview

Project Management On-Line

Peter Stark has trained thousands of managers and employees around the world on how to increase morale and create places where employees love to come work. His new book, Engaged!, focuses on how, in this troubling economy and anxiety filled job market, do managers get employees to stay engaged?

Peter took the time to speak with us about his new book, insight to his research, and his favorite engagement strategies.

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Make Your Workplace A Happy Place, Even Now

Forbes.com

These days it feels like we should be grateful just to be employed. But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to go into the office–especially in the aftermath of layoffs and the midst of uncertainty. Peter Barron Stark and Jane Flaherty, the authors of several books about corporate leadership, have just written Engaged: How Leaders Build Organizations Where Employees Love to Come to Work. In it, they offer advice on how managers can get their staffers enthusiastic about being on the the job–and doing their best work…

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Keeping Employees Engaged During Tough and Not So Tough Times

YourHRdigest.com

There may be 50 ways to leave a lover but there are only 2 ways an employee leaves an organization: physically, as in moving on to a competitor, which is manageable and the company hires a great employee to take over the job; or mentally. It is this second one that strikes fear into the heart of every manager: the employee who mentally quits, but stays with the organization…

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Remain a Valuable Employee Amid Lay-offs

BendWeekly.com

Although workers can’t control the economic downturn, they can try to keep a positive attitude and play a part in the optimistic influence needed to maintain a company’s success.

Peter Barron Stark — author of the forthcoming book, “Engaged: How Leaders Build Organizations Where Employees Love to Come to Work” — recommends that workers attempt to envision what can be controlled in the office: the results from assignments, work relationships…

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Workers Scramble for Safer Jobs

Reuters.com

With layoffs happening all around her, automotive worker Ellen Whittington is doing what many worried Americans are doing: trying to find a safer, better job before she loses the one she has.

Strange as it may seem, changing careers or trying to upgrade jobs amid a recession and millions of layoffs may be just the thing to do — to jump before you get pushed.

“Some organizations use downturns to go out and capture the top talent in the industry from competitors that are hurting,” said Peter Stark…

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What Does it Take to Create a Workplace That Breathes Engagement

ManageSmarter.com

No matter how troubling the times are, the bottom line rules business and motivated employees move the bottom line.

Why? Motivated employees improve your product and your service, they want to come to work. Even better, their positive attitude is contagious. These workers achieve results, which earns money for your company. Furthermore, they want to stay with you because they feel fulfilled in their work. You are their employer of choice. Employees with an above-average attitude toward their work will generate higher customer satisfaction, higher productivity and higher profits for their organizations…

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Leading After Lay-offs – How to Keep Employees Engaged

IndustryWeek.com

According to a study in 2007 by the Manufacturing Performance Institute, over 70% of the 984 manufacturers surveyed expected their revenues to increase. What a difference two years can make! Today, manufacturers are one of the leading industries dealing with managing labor costs in an economy experiencing headwinds that most of us have never seen before. With health care and retirement benefit costs increasing, consumer and business demands for products decreasing, and the challenge of gaining credit and raising capital, lay-offs have become the best viable business option for many manufacturers.

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Keep Sales Staff Engaged During Hard Times

1to1media

There is no denying times are tough. Consumers and businesses are less likely to open their wallets as freely as in the past. For salespeople, this reality comes with the added stress of more clients saying “no” even as quotas remain constant. How do you keep a sales force motivated and positive in such challenging times?  Read the article . . .