By Pamela A. Scott

Today’s meeting with a client yielded some interesting results.

Joseph manages a staff of 35 or so. He’s built up his department from scratch. He’s a go-getter and problem solver. That’s where the problem comes in.

Joseph is able to see problems and a way to fix them immediately, in any given situation, and regardless of whether anyone else thinks there’s a problem. He recently was on a Scout trip where the boys were fixing up homes in a very poor neighborhood.

In Joseph’s mind, they were there to fix ALL the problems—and he could see plenty. There were broken windows to replace, gutters that had fallen down, doors that didn’t close, and lots that needed to be painted.
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By Pamela A. Scott

It is true that what once was old is now new again. The business buzz these days is about setting office hours.

You remember when you were in college. The professors had certain hours that they committed to being in their office and available for you to stop by. If you needed to talk to a professor, your best chance came during his office hours.

Now company execs are setting office hours for when they will be available for employees and office hours for when they are available for their customers.
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By Pamela A. Scott

Joseph manages a staff of 35 or so. He’s built up his department from scratch. He’s a go-getter and problem solver. That’s where the problem comes in.

Joseph is able to see problems and a way to fix them immediately, in any given situation, and regardless of whether anyone else thinks there’s a problem. He recently was on a Scout trip where the boys were fixing up homes in a very poor neighborhood.

In Joseph’s mind, they were there to fix ALL the problems—and he could see plenty. There were broken windows to replace, gutters that had fallen down, doors that didn’t close, and lots that needed to be painted.
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By Pamela A. Scott

Recently our kids, 20 and 22, ran their first half-marathon, a great accomplishment for anyone, but especially so for these two non-runners. They set their goal. They trained. They even cleaned up their eating habits. And they crossed the finish line.

“One thing that really helped was all the people cheering us along the way,” my son said. “All that encouragement really helped us keep going.”

So easy to give. Too seldom done.

This past week one client was bemoaning how seldom people in his company give “atta-boys” to staff. He included himself in that group—giving praise and positive feedback doesn’t come naturally to him.
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By Pamela A. Scott

Did you know that your communication style can create a first impression, just like your clothing does? Are you into grunge, high fashion, or business casual? What does how you communicate say about you?

An executive team and I were sitting at their conference table talking about people’s communication styles and abilities. Joe chuckled to himself. Fred looked at Joe, smiled, and said, “I know who you’re thinking of, right?”

“Yep,” said Joe. “Henry.”

At that, they all chimed in with stories about how Henry can’t communicate. It seems Henry is one of those folks who writes really long emails and apparently believes people read them—all of them, all the way to the end.
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