What better way to increase revenues than to give everyone a stake in the bottom line? That’s what Akron General LifeStyles Health & Fitness Center did, and it worked.
LifeStyles’ Gainsharing Compensation Program offered financial incentives to all of its employees for reaching or exceeding set goals, both financial and otherwise. This incentive promoted the idea that employees don’t have to be at the management level to be motivated to improve service. Continue reading
If you’re like most entrepreneurs, you silently curse the World Wide Web every time you try to search for something. But you have little right to complain if you haven’t taken the time to learn the most effective methods.
ALSO: Read Donna Fisher’s full-length interview from April 2002, No One Is Working — How Do I Network Now?
OnTheMove
Networking Can Help You Realize Your Dreams
By Catherine Wright
People were not designed to work as islands. We work best with others on our life team. It’s through others that we see our own greatness. It’s the encouragement of others that has let me get to the blue sky when all I could see were the clouds. Continue reading
BUSINESS GROUPS
Ellen Volpe, president, American Business Associates
1. This is the time of year to express gratitude. Take inventory and communicate your feelings. This does not have to be an expensive proposition. People want to feel appreciated, and it feels good to pass it along. Informal get-togethers add to the sense of community and give you an opportunity to develop more rapport. Be outgoing and interested in other people. Ask them about themselves and learn something new. This is also a great time to analyze your database. Reconnect with great customers, prospects, and referral sources with whom you may have lost touch. Spend your social capital, and it will pay you dividends. Continue reading
When Telefonica de Espana proposed higher rates for local telephone calls last August, it sparked an Internet protest that picked up like fire on dry wood, quickly spreading to at least 13 countries on three continents. Continue reading
PUBLIC SPEAKING
American Public Speaking Training
1. Recognize that every holiday event is a potential networking possibility. Take advantage of every office party, neighborhood event, and extracurricular church activity to be a promoter of your business. What a great way to meet people and let them know who you are. You’ll meet new people, solidify relationships, and do something good all at the same time. Also, be careful how much you drink at Christmas parties. You never know what kind of damage you can do by acting inappropriately at an office party or other function. Continue reading
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Kirby Tepper, president, American Public Speaking Training
1. Recognize that every holiday event is a potential networking possibility. Take advantage of every office party, neighborhood event, and extracurricular church activity to be a promoter of your business. What a great way to meet people and let them know who you are. You’ll meet new people, solidify relationships, and do something good all at the same time. Also, be careful how much you drink at Christmas parties. You never know what kind of damage you can do by acting inappropriately at an office party or other function. Continue reading
To do my own tracking, I’ve been using the “Stanford Netnews Filter” for the last few months (you can find it on the Web at http://woodstock.stanford.edu:2000 or can access it via e-mail by sending a message to netnews@db.stanford.edu). It took me only minutes to set up my ‘tracking profile.’ Continue reading
To a small businessperson, the Internet can seem dark and mysterious, full of techno-babble and confusing terminology.
Many small business executives wonder, “what can the Internet do for me?” Plenty of things — it can save you money, it can help you track topics that you are interested in, and it can be a method by which you provide customer and client support. Continue reading
To show you how to make the most of this holiday season, we asked top professional-networking experts whom we interviewed during 2002 to return for a repeat performance. This time we asked the experts just two questions:
What are your top networking tips for the holiday season?
What’s your top networking tip for the new year? Continue reading