Mar 17 2014

Have you had a good scare lately…

by Michael J. Ferraro | Comment

Scary things are all around you – movies, the stock market, recent weather patterns, the cost of health insurance, driving on the highway. Being scared – your heart races, your adrenaline pumps, and you get that momentary thrill of being surprised – is usually not a big deal if it doesn’t last long or if it doesn’t cost you a lot of money, and in the case of a movie, if it is all make-believe.

For real-world scares, however, nothing is more frightening to a business leader than hiring someone who appears to be a perfect fit for the job, only to quickly discover that, underneath the winning smile and the navy blue suit, he or she is a workplace nightmare:

  • they’re never on time.
  • they’re unable to do the job.
  • they’re unwilling to do the job.
  • they’re unprepared.
  • they’re dishonest, disinterested, and disgruntled.

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May 26 2013

I’m Speaking in Denver on June 18th, 2013…

by Michael J. Ferraro | Comment

I’m excited to say I have been chosen to be one of the 70+ Colorado area experts who will be speaking at the Revenue North Business Growth Summit on June 18 at the Marriott-Tech Center. The topic of my presentation will be the Powerful Act of Coaching Employees.

Here is a little more about my subject:

There are some tasks that we can take care of once a year, like paying taxes or going to the doctor for a checkup. There are other tasks that we need to perform more often, sometimes even daily. Ensuring superb performance from all of our employees falls into the latter category, especially during times of economic turbulence. Fortunately, managing—or coaching—our employees so that they can perform at the highest levels is more enjoyable than most annual tasks, and it results in increased organizational value.

I have free passes for anyone who has never attended a Revenue North Summit. 

Register NOW at www.revenuenorth.com using my promo code: D32MZ4

There are 72 breakout sessions with the latest strategies and techniques in sales, marketing, customer retention, access to capital, leadership and much more, making this one of the largest business growth conferences in the history of the Denver and Colorado area! You can visit the Revenue North website to see the list of speakers and topics.

Feb 28 2013

Have you read the operating manual…

by Michael J. Ferraro |

As an engineer, the standing joke was that if there was an operating manual, we weren’t going to read it.  As the world gets more complex, it is now the first thing I read when I get something new.  Did you know that you can get an “operating manual” for every new and existing employee in your organization??  Use the Profiles Performance Index (PPI) assessment.

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Jul 26 2012

Get help when you interview…

by Michael J. Ferraro | Comment

Hundreds of studies reveal the profound limitations of the traditional interview. Interviews favor candidates who are attractive, sociable, articulate, and tall.  They also favor manipulative candidates, or ones who know how to make a positive impression even in a brief interview.  But those aren’t always the best job performers.

We all know of instances in which a poised, charming job candidate turned out to be a disaster on the job.  It can be difficult for an interviewer to see past attractiveness and flattery to predict how a person will actually perform once hired.  The challenge of picking the best person is especially hard in the current difficult job market, when advertised openings often receive hundreds or thousands of applications.  Conducting so many interviews is time consuming.  But the bigger problem is that traditional job interviews are simply not very good at selecting the best candidates.  In fact, research shows traditional job interviews are as effective as a coin toss for picking the best person for the position.

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Mar 21 2012

How important is culture…

by Michael J. Ferraro | Comment

Great leaders (like you) know they should invest in their people.  Those companies who are committed to a strong workplace culture tend to perform well, and now they are featured prominently in a new ranking recently released by Great Place to Work Institute (Top 25 Multinational Companies ).  A recent study by Burson-Marsteller reported in a Harvard Business Review blog dated December, 2011, teamed up with the Great Place to Work Institute to ask senior executives from top-ranked companies about the value of a positive work environment. The survey garnered responses from 20 of the top 25 companies in the global workplace ranking.

Here’s what those companies have in common — they recognize that culture is critical to talent retention. When asked which elements of workplace commitment most benefit daily operations, companies ranked culture at 80 percent and recruitment/retention at 70 percent. Competitiveness, customer loyalty, innovation, and productivity — while critical to daily operations — trailed behind with each under 20 percent. In a world where competition for talent is global, star performers seek companies with values that mirror their own.

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