Clickbaiting is an online term for a practice that has long been followed in offline traditional media. The term has something of a negative connotation because the practice has been abused, but it is a legitimate means of attracting an audience if done correctly and ethically. Clickbaiting Definition Clickbaiting is a series…

Local businesses must learn how to promote a business online in order to attract customers, grow sales and stay profitable. It is easy to imagine that most businesses will find that local online advertising is both necessary and even quite inexpensive to do. The hard…

Vision and strategy are important, future-focused and long-term concerns, especially for company executives. But sometimes they take a back seat to present-day pressures on the job, especially for middle managers. They have important tasks to tackle today, tomorrow or next week. The priorities of next month and next year may…

Effective leaders use both rewards and punishments, carrots and sticks with employees in order to motivate them. But good leaders nudge and nurture their employees as much as possible with carrots. Bad leaders hammer too much with sticks. Rewards and punishments both belong in any manager’s toolbox. But how much…

Political leaders put country first and party second. Political hacks put party first and country second. Consider the following two statements: “This is not about policy, this is not about partisanship, this is about our duty as Americans.” “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President…

The annual budget process leads to worry, stress and job insecurity for many managers, especially when executives have aggressive demands. Middle managers with a staff of two people have a budget. Regardless of whether they own it or have it inflicted on them, that budget reflects the cost of their…

Conflicts abound in a management career. Managers inevitably will have conflicts with staff, bosses, peers, customers and other departments or divisions. Resolutions often depend quite a bit on two key principles in negotiations and interpersonal relations. I have seen countless management conflicts during four decades in management and management consulting…

A strategy is a plan. The concept is that simple. But developing a good plan isn’t simple at all. Even middle managers have or should have strategies because strategies arise from the rivers of information that flow their way. They have budgets, guidance from bosses, feedback from clients and employees…

Leadership style is a dry abstract for young and inexperienced managers. It becomes concrete with time and maturity. Business experts go into great detail about various leadership styles. The list includes: Autocratic Bureaucratic Coach Democratic Paternalistic Servant Transactional Transformational Visionary But no mature leaders follow just one style. They act…