DO YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS LOOK LIKE THIS? By Joe Zente Fast-forward 12 months. The year is winding down and it’s time to reflect on 2012. The presidential election recently concluded and you are wondering if the new knuckleheads in Washington will continue to spin wheels and create even more chaos and uncertainty than the [...]

FIVE FUNDAMENTALS FOR OPTIMIZING MARKETING STATS WITH MEASUREMENT AND ANALYTICS By Laura Patterson The Institute for Supply Management recently bottom lined a business confidence and economic update report by stating, “Slow growth – if any – remains a top concern among American businesses.” With forecasts like that, it’s not surprising that the leadership team’s expectations [...]

BEST PRACTICES ON COMPENSATION – FROM THE CUBICLE TO THE CORNER OFFICE By Marsha Cameron In the past two years, modest compensation increases in the U.S. reflected improvements in business results, while here in Texas, economic growth exceeded other parts of the country. Texas CEOs indicate there are continuing concerns about the economy, which impacts [...]

TURNING LIFE’S SETBACKS INTO TANGIBLE PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS A Commentary By Veronica Edwards I literally failed first grade because, according to my teacher, I wasted valuable classroom time daydreaming out the window, talked too much and was unable to color within the lines. My future career prospects at the age of seven were bleak. I did [...]

A GUIDE TO CIRCUMVENTING POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT LAW LANDMINES By Mike Maslanka Employment law often makes no sense. Because of its counter-intuitive nature, up is down and down is up. So let’s play “lawsuit or no lawsuit” and match our wits versus the law. Employee gives birth. She is later terminated. She sues, claiming a violation [...]

MAKING THE CASE FOR CFOS TO BE A CEO’S PRIMARY INFLUENCER By Jerry Dilettuso According to CristKolder Associates, a search firm specializing in C-suite searches, the number of Chief Operating Officers is in decline and has been since the year 2000. In that year 47.5 percent of all companies on the Fortune 500 and S&P [...]

WHETHER BY SUCCESSION OR SEARCH, BOARDS NEED TO BE READY FOR A CEO CHANGE By Jamie Ferguson One of the most commonly overlooked responsibilities by Boards of Directors is a strategically planned and executed succession plan. Surprisingly, as governance is one of the board’s most crucial responsibilities, 60 percent of large U.S. companies’ HR Directors [...]

5 MUST ASK QUESTIONS TO IDENTIFY THE BEST TALENT FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION By Amy Hardin No amount of sales management and training will make up for hiring a weak sales person – unfortunately, it happens too often. Interviewing sales professionals is especially challenging.  Really liking a candidate is not enough because most sales professionals are [...]

WHY INVESTING IN THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION NOW IS SMART LEADERSHIP By Sharon Birkman Fink It’s time for businesses and other organizations to stop trying to recruit leaders and instead to start building them. Companies should discover that the best leaders are invested in the organization through more than just stock options. They understand the culture [...]

UNDERSTANDING AVAILABLE EMPLOYMENT TAX CREDITS By Thomas Jones, Jr. Our nation’s unemployment rate hovers at nine percent and monthly job losses continue to rise. That has generated discussions in Washington about innovative fiscal policy instruments, such as job creation tax credits, to help stimulate labor demand. In 2010 Washington took action and signed the Hiring [...]

6 STEP ACTION PLAN TO STRENGTHEN EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT By John Casey The market for talent has turned this year in North Texas. Every day there are more new jobs and fewer quality candidates. Some company CEOs have already been affected by the growing war for talent and many more will be impacted by this change [...]

WHEN IT COMES TO HEALTH CARE BENEFITS SAVINGS – THINK LONG TERM, NOT WEIGHT A Commentary By Ragen Chastain It’s New Year’s Resolution time. If this year’s resolution involves saving money on employee benefits and helping employees be healthier and more productive then a focus on healthy habits is the key. It has become increasingly [...]