OptiInsights
What Is Fractional HR and How Do I Know If I Need It?
A business owner tried to book time with me three times this month, and each time she had to push it back. Something came up with her team. Someone gave notice. Someone needed a conversation that couldn't wait until Monday. Another issue landed on her desk that...
Your Business Grew. The Way You Run It Didn’t.
You're driving along and you start to hear a rattle. Something you've never heard before. So you pull into a gas station, pop the hood, and look inside. And if you're anything like me, you have no idea what you're looking at. Nothing's smoking, nothing's on fire,...
What Broke While You Were at the Lake
The out-of-office reply said she’d be back on August 3rd, and to contact Karen with anything urgent. Karen’s auto-reply said she’d be back on the 10th. I wish I were making that up. It came from a company of about forty people, and for nine days in July, every...
A Screen Full of Black Boxes
I was running a virtual leadership training for one of my clients a few weeks ago, and the first thing I noticed was that not a single person had their camera on. Just a screen full of black boxes with names floating in the middle of them. I'll be honest, I find...
When to Promote from Within vs. Hire Externally
A client called me last week about a Director role he needed to fill. Growing company, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone. He had two paths in front of him: promote a manager who'd been with him for four years or run an external search for someone with...
The Art of the Exit Interview: How to Turn a Resignation into an Opportunity
I was on a call with a client a few months ago when she mentioned, almost in passing, that her operations manager had just given notice. She'd been with the company for four years. She was one of their best people. And when my client asked her why she was leaving,...