Exact Staff News

Want to grow as a professional? Improve your management skills? Give your career a proverbial shot in the arm? You could: read a book listen to a podcast watch a Ted Talk attend an industry conference …or, you could just binge-watch a little TV! Television has definitely earned its reputation as the “idiot box,” but…

You’re busy with your family. You’re busy with your career. You’re busy taking care of your house, your lawn, your pets, your car… We all are – which is why it’s no wonder it’s so tough to make friends as an adult! As a kid, your parents and teachers helped find playmates for you. In…

Improving productivity in your organization isn’t just a “nice thing to try”; it’s a business imperative. From coast to coast, employers are frustrated with the gap between what great people can and do accomplish on the job. Case in point? A March 2018 VitalSmarts study found that: A whopping 88% of managers have at least…

You show up 15 minutes early each morning. You’re loyal and hard-working. You meet your deadlines and annual objectives. Coworkers think you’re great to work with. Well, guess what? Nobody’s impressed by that. This is your job, and if you’re merely fulfilling the basic requirements, don’t expect anything more than the basic paycheck. If you’re…

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”   The author of this quote may be dubious (it’s commonly –…

“I’m going to be an amazing leader, starting today.” If only becoming a great boss or manager were as simple as making a declaration like this. We all know that building effective leadership skills takes much more than uttering a single sentence. It takes passion. Commitment. Great decision-making and communication. And yes, courage. While some…

Or are you an ostrich with your head stuck in the proverbial sand? There’s a reason so many idioms about “facing the facts” exist: Sometimes, it’s really, really hard to do! But as Eric Barker so astutely observed in his recent post, “4 harsh truths that will make you a better person,” denial is a…

“Oh, I try to reserve judgment until I really get to know a person.” “Me? I’m not judgmental by nature; I keep an open mind when I meet someone.” Heard statements like these before – or maybe uttered them yourself? We all have! We’re humans, after all, and humans simply cannot keep from making snap…

When you address your employees: Do your words motivate or intimidate? Is your criticism constructive or merely negative? Are you inclusive or authoritarian? Obviously, you want to aim for the former in each of these examples. Because, as we mentioned in an earlier post, the language you use at work can inspire, inform, persuade and…

When you’re a small business owner, your time is valuable – and extremely limited! The same goes for your team. Employees wear multiple hats, and their list of to do’s likely grows by the minute. Too bad you can’t grow more time to get everything done. Or can you? There are still only 24 hours…