As a hybrid and blended workplace keynote speaker, I don’t believe the business environment has ever been more uncertain and confusing. The most common mistake I address as a motivational speaker on the topics of hybrid workplaces and blended workforces is that employers often treat their workforces as a homogenous group. There is nothing homogenous about the group at all, save for the facts that they work for the...
Last week, speaking in Charlotte, North Carolina in my role as a workplace safety motivational speaker, a sales person in the trade show area casually asked why everyone always made “such a big deal” about common sense stuff. “After all,” he said, “stupid mistakes get rid of stupid people, and there’s too many as it is.” Rather than challenge him, I nonchalantly asked him about his background. “I sold...
Over the past year, I became convinced that Charlotte, NC and throughout the whole country, 2023 will be known as the year of negotiation. As a Charlotte Negotiation Skills Speaker and Charlotte Negotiation Technique Consultant the ability to negotiate has never been more important. In November, 2022, the Workplace Learning Trend Report was released, and researchers found that “Persuasion” was the number one skill Charlotte, North Carolina sales professionals...
The most important thing to remember about change in 2023 As a Charlotte-based change management keynote speaker, I understand that 2023 could present itself as the most challenging period of change in the last several decades. Whenever I speak on change management to my Charlotte, North Carolina audiences, I stress the power of connections and work friendships. What does happiness have to with change? As I was recently delivering...
We all know that learning is cyclable. As a change management speaker, I have observed that most people understand that the best way to teach people is to be willing to learn, however, a lot of people have difficulty putting that into practice. As a result, the cycle of learning is often broken. When an organization is going through a change, it is as important to share perspectives as...
Anger to Change is not a Good Look As a change management speaker and change management consultant, I realize there are no end to theories about how individuals in a company react to change. Jennifer Herrity writing for Indeed.com (September 15, 2021) listed many of these models, all championed by psychologists, management consultants, business schools and the like. However, in speaking to groups on change management, in real time...
Culture Connects, What Covid Divided As a hybrid workplace negotiation skills speaker, I understand that a hybrid workplace means much more than “two days (or so) in the office, and three days (give or take) out of the office.” Hybrid is more than a need for a sense of scheduling but more so, the need for communication, connection and a “celebration” of what makes any organization unique. Hybrid encourages...
Your Change Management Motivational Speaker Mike Hourigan says the following. “The McKinsey consulting group reports data that 70% of all change management efforts fail. A 30% success rate is troubling, particularly when considering the associated costs in the form of loss of competitive position, confidence of the workforce in leadership, and quality improvements and anticipated costs reductions.” It is called change fatigue, it’s a real thing, and no one...
As a change management workplace speaker, I am often surprised by how easily organizations miss the obvious and run to the exotic. For example, while presenting at a recent seminar, I asked the group: what do you think is the hottest trend in change management? I received several great responses including the so called “digital-first” trend; the hottest of hottest buzzwords. Then there was the expected, “end to the...
As a risk management safety speaker, who has spent many years talking to risk management professionals, I am asking you to take a leap of faith. And, I suppose I ask this not as a safety speaker who speaks on risk management, but as a someone who began his work life in steel mills and manufacturing. In a real sense, my trip up the corporate ladder was sometimes on...
As a hybrid workplace motivational speaker, I would like to encourage you to read the latest Gallup Poll on employee disengagement. The top-line results are disturbing and offer a pessimistic view of the future of work. Speaking to audiences on the dual concepts of hybrid workplaces and blended workplaces, I have noted a serious trend for the past few years. Research has only verified what has been troubling me...
Whatever Happened to Bandwidth? As a negotiation skills speaker with long-term experience in understanding hybrid workplaces, virtual and remote meetings, I must be keenly aware of what I call “the language of organizations.” Recently speaking in-person at a conference on the topic of negotiation skills for hybrid workplaces, an attendee asked me, “Whatever Happened to Bandwidth?” I laughed. In those ancient days of 2019, pre-COVID, supervisors and work teams...
As America’s hybrid workplace motivational speaker, I was recently delivering a keynote speech on the new hybrid way of working to an association when I said, “You know, the hybrid workplace is going to get more complicated.” A collective groan went up through the in-person and remote office. Then I added, “Unless you do this one thing.” They demanded to know the answer. “It’s simple,” I said. “Negotiate.” My...
Why you want to hire a Safety Day Speaker for your company‘s Safety Day Event Hiring a Safety Day Speaker at your company's safety day is a great opportunity to educate employees on the importance of safety in the workplace. By having a Safety Day Speaker, you can guarantee that your employees are getting the most out of the event. When it comes to choosing a Safety Day Speaker,...
Learn about the hybrid workplace and how to best manage a sales team in this rapidly changing environment. What is the hybrid workplace? A hybrid workplace is a work environment that is a mix of both remote and in-office work. With the rise of technology, more and more companies are offering their employees the ability to work from home, at least some of the time. This can be a...
As America’s Hybrid Workplace Keynote Speaker, I understand that telling everyone in a pre-pandemic, in-person office that they must now go hybrid is filled with challenges. As I do so much research in this area, let me quickly recommend a Harvard Business Review piece from February 2022, that does a great job of touching on five of the challenges. In speaking on the “new” hybrid workplace as a motivational...
At no time in recent memory as a negotiation skills speaker, has the economy been more fragile than it is now. I make that statement based on my 30-years’ experience as a negotiation skills speaker, negotiation skills consultant and book author. If the hybrid workplace wasn’t confusing enough, we have inflation (with the looming possibility of recession), supply-chain issues, shortages of everything from computer chips to wheat, and most...
Speaking to groups across the country as a stress and safety speaker, I realize that among the many effects of the COVID pandemic, was the amount of stress ratcheted up on workers in construction, manufacturing and transportation. The problem with stress is that it diverts awareness. That fact may not mean much in an accounting office or insurance agency, but to a person driving a forklift in a busy...
As a negotiation skills speaker and negotiation skills consultant, a frequent question that comes up in the Q&A sessions on negotiation is if the act of negotiation is just to reach agreement on contracts or the dialog between a sales organization and client. The question was far more meaningful than we might imagine especially in the present day where it is difficult to hire and retain exceptional people. The...
As a negotiation skills keynote speaker, I often have audience members ask questions such as, “How do I resolve conflicts?” or “How do I cool down an emotional meeting?” In speaking to executives about sales and negotiation skills for more than 20 years, I stress the same negotiation skills used between manufacturer and supplier, are applicable to delivering bad news to a client or employees. The need to reach...