Mick's Business Column

Mick writes a weekly business column for the Green Bay Press Gazette that is picked up by other papers in the Gannett family of newspapers.

Mick's articles provide great how-to's relating to everyday business issues from performance management techniques to effective customer service and service management practices. His commentary is thoughtful, concise and timely.

Please feel free to e-mail him with ideas or questions.

Archives 2006
Archives 2007

Engaging workplaces drive up bottom lines••January 7, 2008
Employees want: · To advance and grow within the organization. · A work environment characterized by high levels of collaboration among all employees. · The necessary tools for performing effectively. So what can leaders do...  
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Create an engaged workplace to benefit all••January 14, 2008
An integral part of workplace engagement includes creating an emotional attachment for employees and keeping negative emotions in check. The four key areas for doing that are...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Policies reflect how employees are viewed••January 21, 2008
Are you working for a Theory X organization? According to Douglas McGregor, managers tend to look at their people from either a Theory X or Theory Y perspective. A Theory X perspective views people as hating work and being fundamentally lazy. As a result people must be coerced, controlled and directed to put forth a minimal amount of effort. A Theory X organization is characterized by relentless rules and procedures that are put in place for total control. The assumption is that "if...  
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Income gap, not gender gap, explains differences••January 28, 2008
Are women really earning 75 cents for every dollar a man makes for performing the same work? The answer is no! The gender pay data used for such arguments has been misunderstood, misused and misrepresented. When women in the U.S. are compared across the board to men there is no question women's incomes are lower. Any time generalizations are made about comparative data, without closer analysis there is always the chance for misinterpretation. Such is the case with the gender
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Leaders should aim to excel in 4 skill areas••February 4, 2008
What does it take to become a well-rounded leader? According to the "skills mix model," which has been in management books for years, there are four major skill areas a leader must focus on: technical, human relations, conceptual and decision-making skills. Two of these skills, human relations and conceptual skills are the most critical. Technical skills are those skills a person uses to get something accomplished. This would include almost anything from running a
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Leaders: boost HR skills with these tips••February 11, 2008
Last week's column covered the four key skill areas leaders need to work on: technical, human relations, conceptual and decision-making skills. This week the focus is on improving the most critical leadership skill — human relations. So how does a leader go about improving his human relations skills? By constantly seeking out training opportunities in the following areas: · Presentation skills: the ability to present clearly and concisely to any
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Conceptual, human relations skills make or break leaders••February 18, 2008
Human relations and conceptual skills are two of the most critical skills of successful leaders. Human relations skills were the focus of the last column, developing the necessary conceptual skills to move up in an organization is the focus here. So, what are conceptual skills? Those skills that help an individual understand the "big picture" and how the pieces of the puzzle come together. Effective leaders need conceptual skills to understand and fully represent...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Excellent leaders are exemplary listeners••February 25, 2008
What is it like walking into your organization first thing Monday morning? Is there an inviting and engaging feeling or is there a sense of foreboding? Either way, the responsibility for "how it feels walking in" is the responsibility of leadership. Excellent leaders create an environment that is warm and inviting, resulting in a truly engaged workplace. This isn't some "touchy feely" idea they dreamed up, it is cold hard strategy
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Maintain your chain of command••March 3 , 2008
Hey, "Big Bosses," if you have an open-door policy, please close it. There's a bit of a draft coming from all the leaders reporting to you who are sighing in disbelief at how you're destroying their credibility and authority. You're a truly caring leader, right? You keep your door open to "everyone" so they feel the true depth of your concern for them. Well, OK, so what you're saying is...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Lousy leadership causes unionizing ••March 10, 2008
"If you have a union, you deserve it!" These are the words of Robert Townsend, who as president of Avis Rent a Car in the early 1960s turned the company completely around. Townsend wrote...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Ultimately, unions don't represent individuals••March 17, 2008
Is your union looking out for you? Probably not! There is a common misconception that a union represents the "working man" and that's simply untrue. The union represents the masses, the contract, precedent and itself — it doesn't represent you as an individual. An example: the company threatens discipline for some infraction. You rightfully file a grievance and are represented by the union in a meeting with management. The union brings…
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Charisma counts in leadership••March 24, 2008
Everyone loves charismatic leaders. We pin our hopes and dreams on them. We want to believe they will improve our organizations and our work lives. Charismatic leaders can do wonderful things for organizations. One need only look to Lee Iaccoca at Chrysler in the early '80s to see what he did with a dying automobile company. His character, charisma and belief changed the perception of the company in everyone's eyes thus turning it around. What is a charismatic…  
To obtain the entire article please visit.
Businesses need to face Internet head on••March 31, 2008
The Internet is an extremely powerful business tool. Entire businesses are completely Web-based. It has literally changed lives by reducing prices and putting goods "only a mouse click away." One of the newer entries to the Web is hearing aids. Typically the hearing-aid business required a brick-and-mortar establishment and a licensed audiologist. Now the building is gone and a Web site has replaced it. The profession remains. The Web has created an interesting…
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Embrace Internet business••April 7, 2008
The article last week was about the huge impact of the Web on businesses. The issue was how a brick-and-mortar hearing aid business should respond to Internet competition. The competition on the Web is selling hearing aids for as much as one-half the price charged by local providers. Some have responded by saying: "If you buy it on the Web, we won't service it!" This approach will cost them customers. Why? Because price matters, and...
To obtain the entire article please visit.
Turning off computer best way to manage••April 14, 2008
The other day, I ran into a reader who wanted to talk about today's younger managers. Please understand this guy was really old (50) and had been around the block a few times. He was frustrated by how younger managers act and how they just don't do things the way they were done by good leaders in the past. In the past, his supervisors "were out walking the floor" and knew what was going on. "Today, these guys sit in their office…
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Meander your way as a good manager••April 21, 2008
MBWA (em-bwah) is an old language that has been used by leaders for thousands of years. People who know MBWA are likely to be considered excellent leaders who have absolute credibility with their followers. MBWA is the breakfast of champions and its power grows stronger the more it's used. So really, Mick, what is MBWA? OK, it isn't an old language, but it has been used for a long time by the best leaders. In fact, Alexander the Great used it extensively and historians…
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Wandering around can be productive technique••April 28, 2008
The last few columns have focused on MBWA (managing by wandering around) and making a case for doing it. Here are some more things to think about. Top 10 reasons to get out on the floor and spend time with the folks closest to the action: · Your credibility as a hands-on, know-what's-going-on leader increases. · You can generally learn more in five minutes on the floor than in hours spent in meetings making up charts and graphs.  The …
To obtain the entire article please visit.
Online passwords can be too complex••May 5, 2008
So how many hoops do you have to jump through to get into your online accounts? Is the password creation process reasonable, or do you have to use some really crazy combinations of letters and symbols for your passwords? Recently, my financial institution decided that using six to 10 combinations of letters and numbers wasn't adequate for their system. Now, as near as I can tell using a combination of 26 possible letters and 10 digits gives you 263,130,836,933,693 (now add 21 zeros)...
To obtain the entire article please visit.
Younger workers ready for reality••May 12, 2008
Recently, I spoke to a very special group of students at Green Bay East High School. Denise Burkel, a teacher at East, asked me to come in to talk with the students after reading a number of columns I had written about young people and attaining success in life. The topic was "Reality 101" and included some powerful advice about hard work, discipline and success. Clearly, I walked into the school and the classroom with a number of assumptions: · These…
To obtain the entire article please visit.
Graduates should keep these things in mind••May 19, 2008
Hey, all you 2008 graduates, congratulations! Here's a list of things they probably didn't teach you in college that will help you be successful at work and in life: · Your grades and your degree really aren't important to an employer. What you do for them matters most. · "Fair" may exist in school but not in the real world. For some, fair means being given the same no matter the contribution. This is…
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Greatest Generation deserves utmost respect•• May 26, 2008 
Dear readers, each week my goal is to provide you with new and original information. Today is an exception — it's a reprint from Memorial Day 2007. More than 1,000 World War II veterans from the greatest generation die every day in this country, and each passing represents the loss of so much wisdom, experience and courage. Please take time today to thank a veteran or active service member for his or her willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for your freedom.  
To obtain the entire article please visit.

'Big box' stores may fall short in service••June 2, 2008
Can a smaller business compete with the "big box" stores? Big box includes the warehouse-sized home improvement, tire and department stores. Before answering the question, let's look at the big box business model. · They focus on volume in order to sell on price, resulting in volume discounts from manufacturers. · They constantly focus on economies of scale and keeping costs down, which affects the quality of people they hire...
To obtain the entire article please visit.
Be honest if you don't want to be a leader••June 9, 2008 
The other day, a reader came up to me to share his extreme frustration with his boss. Apparently, his boss arbitrarily decided that he should become a leader and the boss was going to start "grooming" him. There was only one problem with the situation; he didn't want to be a leader. He simply wanted to show up every day, do his job effectively and go home. No hassles, no extra responsibility, no having to deal with management headaches. My advice to him...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Not everyone wants to be leader••June 16, 2008 
Last week's column was about saying no to becoming a leader at work when you truly don't want the headaches and responsibilities of leadership. A reader wrote to me right after the article came out with some extremely powerful comments. I am going to step aside and let you read what this individual wrote, I couldn't have said it any better. "I can tell you that where I work it is not OK for me to 'settle' for the No. 2...
To obtain the entire article please visit.
Not all are meant to be leaders••June 23, 2008
A few weeks back, I wrote about a person who didn't want to be a leader in his organization and yet his boss insisted he become a leader because "everyone is a leader in today's organizations." As a person who has trained leaders over the past 20 years I couldn't disagree more. We need to quit allowing people to diminish the importance of good leadership. Everyone is not and cannot be a leader! The reason everyone isn't...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Survey helps hold leaders accountable••June 30, 2008 
Over the past 20 years, I have had the honor of working with award-winning organizations. Winning organizations take the role of leader extremely seriously. Some take it so seriously that they use an Employee Satisfaction Index survey to measure management effectiveness. The following 10 items are from an ESI survey — a survey in which employees rate their leaders. Take a look. How do you measure up as a leader? How does your boss measure up? · Decision making: How...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

One style of leadership doesn't fit all••July 7, 2008
Recently, a reader asked me if it's possible to successfully use two leadership approaches for employees within the same workgroup. She manages some who "just want a paycheck and have no plans for advancement" and others "with a passion for improving the profession and attending college." The first group "responds well to directive leadership, but how do I lead the other group without being accused of being...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Customer care is priority No. 1••July 14, 2008 
I am amazed by the number of times I hear of situations where an organization absolutely falls down when it comes to providing basic service and simple respect for customers. Let me share with you an example that's personal. The other night I was calling around for a filter for my digital SLR camera and happened to call an electronics department store. The person at the main number who answered the phone was courteous and helpful until I indicated that I wished to speak directly...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Don't encourage employees to tattle on each other••July 21, 2008 
Recently, I came across an interesting article on "defusing the ticking workplace time bomb." The focus was on the various signs manager/ workers can use to identify a "ticking time bomb" co-worker. Most interesting was the fact the author seemed to be suggesting that anyone who isn't happily singing the company song is somehow a "disgruntled employee" and that it's up to fellow workers to identify...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Thompson showed weakness as leader••July 28, 2008   
Mr. Thompson, I've been watching how you've handled the "Favre Situation" over the past few weeks, and I want to share some unsolicited advice with you. Let me be clear, Mr. Thompson, I am a not a "wild and crazy" Packers fan like most here tend to be. I grew up in Green Bay, have respect for the team and its history and am proud to call this place home. Furthermore, I am not taking sides here, whatever the outcome is...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Protect, but don't scare employees••August 4, 2008
This whole workplace violence issue bothers me and not for the reasons you might think. A lot of consultants and so-called experts are benefiting financially by suggesting the workplace is far more violent today than ever and that employers need programs and plans to deal with this apparent violence problem. You will find these same folks lined up to provide consultation and training services to the very organizations they seem to be scaring. The services they're selling seem to...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Helping readers be better leaders is rewarding••August 11, 2008 
It's been two years since I started writing this column and it's time to deviate from business as usual and share some personal thoughts. This column started humbly on Aug. 7, 2006, and has been a joy to write, a source of good conversation and a chance to help folks do a better job of leading. My hope is that you, the reader, believe that I have given you food for thought and tools for managing a business just a little bit more effectively — after all that...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Letting employees telecommute is a challenge••August 18, 2008
With the 35 percent increase in gas prices since last summer, there's been a lot of chatter lately about telecommuting to save money and satisfy employees. In the age of Internet telecommuting, it's a great idea that deserves a good look by employers. The challenge with allowing employees to telecommute anywhere from one to five days a week is in knowing which jobs are best suited for this purpose and which employees can handle it. Let's be clear...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Figure out if employees are suited to telecommute••August 25, 2008
As an organization you might be considering allowing some of your most trusted and competent employees the privilege of telecommuting. So what are the key issues for allowing workers to telecommute? First of all, your most important issue is not whether they have a proper space at home in which to work. Here are some things to think about: · Has the employee completely mastered the job and has he demonstrated a high level of trustworthiness? I'll say it again, "Slackers need not apply!"...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Electronic commuting has pluses if run well••September 1, 2008 
The last several columns have focused on key issues facing an organization considering the telecommuting option for its most competent and mature workers. So what are the benefits of telecommuting for an organization? · Employee retention: Telecommuters are more loyal to their employers, which results in higher retention rates. · Reduced recruitment costs: Telecommuting is a very attractive perk for potential employees; until it becomes the norm it will set a company
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Cater to growing markets••September 8, 2008
According to the most recent census figures, between 2005 and 2015, the 18 to 44-year-old population will decrease by 1 percent and the 55-plus population will increase by 21 percent. It only makes sense when you think about it; the baby boomers account for the largest demographic in the country and they're getting older. So what does this mean to you if you're looking to expand your business or start one? It means you have to go against the prevailing wisdom that the...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Manufacturing sector has seen changes••September 15, 2008 
NEW North has been working hard lately to educate people — especially young people — about what it's like working in manufacturing in Wisconsin. As someone who has worked extensively with manufacturers over the past 20 years, I would like to add another brick to the wall. Manufacturing at one time was dirty, dingy, difficult work and wasn't very appealing; those days are long gone. Working in a manufacturing job today is safe, clean and certainly...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Hard work lifts people up, not handouts••September 22, 2008 
Once upon a time there was a local businessman who had sent his daughter off to college. When she returned home after her first year, he asked how she had done. His daughter proudly shared that she had worked very hard and did very well, earning a 3.8 grade-point average. Needless to say, he was proud of his daughter. As the father and daughter were talking, she shared some concerns about some of the less-fortunate people she met at college. She indicated that one of her closest friends came...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Don't pin blame on bankers alone••September 29, 2008 
So how do you make sense out of what is happening on Wall Street and the banking industry? It isn't easy. Too many politicians were busy affixing blame and politicking instead of hunkering down and working to solve the problem — making it even harder to figure out the truth. In the simplest terms, there are a lot of big banks out there that have a liquidity crisis. They are running out of money because people aren't paying off their mortgage debts as they...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Reinvesting in business is good for everyone••October 6, 2008 

So what happens when a small business has a good year resulting in extra cash? Your first thought might be that the business owner will immediately take the money out of the business for personal use. My bet is that’s generally not the case. The owner has a strong incentive to invest the extra cash back into the business to make it more viable long-term.
To obtain the entire article please visit.