An acquaintance of the great philosopher Socrates came one day to tell him what he had just heard about a friend. Before allowing him to tell his stor...
In Quebec, we have BIG winters! We get ready for the snow and cold. We take out our coats, our scarves, our mittens and our boots. We also take out ou...
Statements such as "I just work here”, "It’s not my responsibility" or "I’m just following orders" are the worst kind of ethical excuses since work et...
Patience is not only a virtue; it is a necessary skill in order to deliver excellent service. If you deal with customers on a daily basis, be sure to ...
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them — work, family, health, friends and spirit and you’re keep...
When we want to influence, we absolutely should not be using strategies to deceive others because, in the long run, it hurts our reputation. We must p...
Feedback shouldn’t be a judgement on personality. It should be an objective message on behavior and its consequences – be it on a job well done or a s...
It’s easy and natural to want to tell a customer they are wrong in what they are saying. However, this won’t help you in your efforts to diffuse a cus...
When feeling overwhelmed, it’s tempting to respond by working harder. But humans are "cyclical" so working more doesn’t just make you miserable, it ma...
If customers get angry or start yelling, employ calming techniques to defuse the situation. Keeping your tone of voice even can compel someone who's s...
If speaking in public causes you anxiety and concern, make an effort to stop thinking about yourself, your nervousness, and your fear. Instead, focus ...
It's just about impossible to convince a customer that he's wrong. To argue until the customer says, "I was wrong and I will change my mind." It is mo...
When decisions aren’t made, procrastination kicks in, nothing gets done and time is wasted. Avoidance uses up more time than actually making the decis...
Diversity is much broader than ethnicity, race or gender. Diversity is otherness or those human qualities that are different from our own and outside ...
Stress makes your body release out two hormones: cortisol and adrenaline. These chemicals put your body into fight-or-flight mode, ratcheting up your ...
John never includes the proper documentation when submitting his requests to accounting. Sam at shipping never answers the phone from customer service...
To work together successfully, team members must demonstrate a sense of cohesion. Cohesion emerges as team members exhibit the following skills: Openn...
They ask you to give a presentation to your customers, peers or superiors because you have the knowledge in the subject; you do it every day, you mast...
At the beginning of each training day I ask participants what they want to walk away with at the end of the training – Their objectives. Often I get r...
Quitting slowly doesn't serve you well. At work or in anything else you do, people will remember how you ended things. Too often, we gradually back of...
Although you may not be in a position to have control of a meeting, you can always have control of your own time. The next time you are asked to atten...
If you treat yourself as a professional, you will see yourself as one. If you see yourself as a professional, it will be more natural for you to act l...
« It’s not so much that we are afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it’s that place in between that we fear… It’s like being between ...
Are you always saying "yes" to everyone else’s priorities instead of focusing on yours? You can’t protect your time unless you know how to decline req...
Customers who complain are actually giving you another opportunity to prove them that you really offer quality service despite a shortfall. Be prepare...
Try spending a few minutes organizing your thoughts before you begin writing that email. Though it will take a few minutes longer to do this, it will ...
It’s not politically correct to judge a person by how they look, but we should give our appearance as much preparation time as we do our speech for th...
When you write things down during a conversation, you put yourself in a proactive role. You send a message that not only you are listening (and not on...