Petey’s Blog

Waves of negative quarterly reports. Lightning-fast layoffs and cutbacks. Winds of bad news. We’ve been in economic downturn cycles before. But slowly, finally, things are slowly starting to look up. Here are my thoughts on how to prepare for smoother sailing as well as stay the course in rough waters: Think like a newbie. If someone approached you with a business plan for your existing company, what would you tell them? This is a good time to bring in coaches who can offer a fresh perspective on achieving your company’s vision. Act like an entrepreneur. What do Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Disney have in common? According to Bankrate.com, they all started… Continue Reading

Eight-track tapes to cassettes to CDs to MP3s to streaming online. In roughly 40 years, music has stayed the same but the delivery medium has changed. Madonna, the musical mother of reinvention, has experimented with her musical style so many times that she’s now on her third “greatest hits” CD!

“I’ll work till I drop” used to be a cliché. But with depleted retirement savings and as 401(k) dropping and more than 14 million people in the job market, it looks like more American workers are delaying retirement indefinitely

The perfect salmon filet at a local café. A product packaged in the perfect shade of blue. People have positive buying experiences every day. Customer service, in a nutshell, is influence translated into delivery and execution. I know everyone’s company is fantastic and everyone customer loves them.

I’ve been in the business world as a keynote speaker and consultant for a long time. I’ve learned a lot – both what to do and what not to do! It’s time to share my perspective with you, as well as offer my comments on today’s issues and headlines.

“Love means never having to say you’re sorry…” Sadly, that truth only exists in the movies! As long as we’re working with people, there will always be the need to apologize. Apologizing is like a “room freshener” for your company’s culture:

The workplace has long been familiar with the notion of flextime and telecommuting. Now, there’s ROWE: Results Only Work Environment. ROWE was created by two former Best Buy employees who wanted to reshape their company’s culture. Now Gap Outlet has adopted the practice for its more than 137 employees.

OK, we get it: It’s bad and we know it. More than 7.2 million jobs have been lost since the beginning of this recession. The average growth rate in annual earnings has dipped to 2.5%. With a steady news diet of layoffs, price increases, and other issues, it’s easy to turn into a corporate Cowardly Lion.