Make A Friend And A Sale

Even if you are an experienced executive, it’s likely very difficult for you to advise other people where they need to improve. Many bosses delay criticism until an employee’s scheduled employee review. That’s seldom effective. Neither is stockpiling problems, waiting for the “right moment” to bring them up. By doing so, chances are the employee…

With the stroke of a pen in July 2015, former Secretary of Labor Tom Perez issued an “Interpretation” of the test to determine if an individual is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The new interpretation determined that “most workers are employees.” Under this interpretation, independent flooring installers…

An exercise that I find surprisingly few companies doing effectively is conducting regularly scheduled staff meetings. In my experience, these businesses are letting a great opportunity go unrealized, as this is often the only hour of the week that everyone is gathered together to “get on the same page” with each other. Think of this…

As I return again from Surfaces, I have a renewed optimism that our industry is regaining some lost momentum. While attendance figures are not yet announced, traffic in both the showroom and educational events seemed to me to be significant. One observation stands out in my mind. I feel that the personal appearances shown by…

From an early age, many of us can remember a parent, teacher or coach reminding us that, “if you don’t practice, you’ll never be very good!” Sound familiar? My question is, at exactly what age did we begin to believe that this is no longer true? Much of my professional effort is focused on presenting…

We continue to see the independent contractor classification under attack. Recently, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry issued a new policy making construction employers responsible to furnish upon demand proof that its subcontractor have the required licenses. The Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Compliance (VOSH) inspectors will enforce this new policy during periodic inspections….