Tom’s Tips – Catching Them Doing Something Right

You cannot listen to any successful coach motivating his team for long without hearing the phrase “just do your own jobs!” This is a deceptively simple statement that can have nearly universal impact and benefits. In sports, what the coach is saying is simply that when everyone on the team does what is expected of…

When presenting unique design ideas to your customer, always remember the saying “the whole is worth more than the sum of its parts”. Too often I hear a shortsighted salesperson say something to the effect of, “I don’t make enough commission on a few feet of ceramic listellos to merit the time spent”. Or, “I…

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…

There is a saying “if written directions alone would suffice, the library wouldn’t need to have the rest of the school attached”. This should serve as a clear reminder to all in management who are guilty of directing novice staff members with comments such as “it’s in your manual” or “the information is online”. While…

Certain executive and administrative employees are exempt from being paid for overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). One of the requirements is that the executive and administrative employee must be paid a minimum fixed salary. Effective December 1, 2016, the minimum salary requirement will be increased from $23,600 to $47,476. As an…

One great benefit of being in the training field is that I come in contact with many successful business owners and managers. Some of their stories are truly remarkable. To reach the levels of both sales volume and longevity that their firms have attained, they have obviously done a great deal of things well in…