“Red tape. Infighting. Office politics. Employee morale. Can\’t get things done. Lack of communication. Layers of bureaucracy. Not valued. Rude, difficult people. Indecision. Lack of support. Inconsistency. No clear direction.” These are sample answers from readers to a Winning at Working survey that asked about the biggest problems at work. And then we wonder, as supervisors and managers, why employees aren\’t motivated? Working with a client on a consulting engagement recently, the issue came up again and again, “How can I motivate my employees?” My answer... Read More

In the late 17th century, Lord Chesterfield, an English writer and politician, wrote to his son, “Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.” Three hundred years later, we still heed this advice from the fourth Earl of Chesterfield. Yet doing it well doesn\’t mean doing it perfectly. The 21st century workplace requires more than doing something well. More accurately, today\’s adage should be: “Whatever is worth doing, is worth doing.” That\’s the secret people who are winning at working know. It\’s action, not inaction, practice not theory,... Read More

Many boomer women get so excited about parlaying their passions into sustainable businesses that they sometimes forget to do the legwork needed before jumping into entrepreneurship. While this process may seem tedious at first, and something that is simply delaying your dream, evaluating the marketplace, your skill set, and how the two fit together proves to be empowering, illuminating, and undoubtedly saves you lost time, energy and money. When you think you\’ve done enough research, do some more. You simply can\’t ask enough questions or do enough digging when it comes to starting... Read More

When faced with catching a fly ball, Lucy missed again. “The past got in my eyes,” she told Charlie Brown, “I thought I had it, but suddenly I remembered all the others I\’d missed.” In two decades in management, I\’ve known hundreds of workplace Lucys. People who let their past get in the way of their future; who self-determine what they\’re going to do, can do, or might be able to do by what they didn\’t do, haven\’t done, or even failed at. They stay aligned to their past like a Peanuts comic strip philosophy. Past-focused people sabotage... Read More

Because a solid foundation is essential to a strong entrepreneurial start, months and sometimes even years of preparation are critical for any budding entrepreneur, let alone a savvy boomer woman such as yourself. From building up financial reserves to crafting a well-researched business plan, boomer business owners must dig the well long before they\’re thirsty. Thinking they were eventually planning on starting a business some day anyway, all too often boomer women get fed up with office politics, jump the corporate ship, and land amid the initial icy waters of entrepreneurship. With no... Read More

Traveling over the holidays to visit family outside of Denver, we were fortunate to arrive after a blizzard stranded thousands at the airport, and depart before the cancellation of flights for a second storm. However, our holiday presents were not as fortunate. Okay, things happen. Following up on the undelivered gifts we were informed by a customer service representative, “Your packages are scheduled to arrive on the 26th.” No packages arrived on the 26th or the 27th or the 28th or the 29th … you get the point. Yet each time we called back, we were told they should be delivered... Read More

I had just finished commenting to my husband how much I liked the use of copper in the Parade of Homes\’ kitchen we were touring, when I overheard another woman telling her husband how much she disliked the look. It made me laugh. It\’s funny how we see things differently. Work is like that too. It\’s fraught with differences of opinion. One of the more confusing areas can involve your performance. Early in my career, my boss told me my communication skills needed improvement. Five months later, a new boss heralded the same skill-set as a significant strength. While one might... Read More

He was concerned with the direction a decision was leaning, Jon said on his voice mail. Could I meet him for lunch in the cafeteria before Friday\’s meeting to talk it through? As peer managers involved in policy implementation, our departments would be impacted by any direction taken. Friday\’s meeting was with the decision makers; a discussion of pluses, minuses, timetables and resources needed for three options under consideration. Over lunch, we discovered our alignment. Option one required mandatory overtime, organizational changes and significant resources to implement. I felt... Read More

Financial guru Suze Orman taught us to look at our first “money memory” from childhood to help us understand how we view and handle money in our adult lives. Now, let\’s take a look at your “childhood entrepreneur” memory, and get a sense of what your now-boomer self can learn from her inner entrepreneur. The more successful business owners I talk to, the more I see clear evidence of an entrepreneurial spirit as far back as elementary school. Rather than a simple stroll down memory lane, there is something to learn from looking back as you continue moving forward. When... Read More

In the Black Hills of South Dakota, carved in granite, the six-story faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt create a grand impression viewed from a distant, or standing on the national monument\’s viewing terrace. Visiting Mount Rushmore on vacation, I found the documentary of its making fascinating. Weeks later, one story stayed with me. It turns out the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, planned to have the figure of Thomas Jefferson on George Washington\’s right. But after painstakingly carving a portion of the massive face, Borglum reached... Read More