Employee validation is a business imperative

Employee validation is a business imperative | Frontline managers need more love | M&A is big right now, but why? Created for {EMAIL} | [Web Version] November 30, 2016 CONNECT WITH SMARTBRIEF  [LinkedIn] [Facebook] [Twitter] [Google+] [SmartBrief on Leadership] [SmartBrief on Leadership] Innovative Ideas. Ahead of the Curve. [SIGN UP] ⋅ [FORWARD] Leading Edge [Employee validation is a business imperative] [Employee validation is a business imperative] (Vimeo/Chris Edmonds) Most employees feel underappreciated at work, which is a correctable problem with tremendous upside for people and the business, S. Chris Edmonds says in this blog post and [video]. Be active in seeking out good news, and be specific, timely and frequent in your praise. [SmartBrief/Leadership] (11/29) [LinkedIn] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Google+] [Email] [Frontline managers need more love] Companies are quick to develop executives but often neglectful of frontline managers, writes Vikram Bhalla and colleagues from the Boston Consulting Group. Instead of conceptual training, they suggest companies identify priorities and "offer real-world tools and solutions that can be incorporated into managers' daily and weekly routines." [The Boston Consulting Group] (11/21) [LinkedIn] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Google+] [Email] FREE EBOOK: The Smart App To succeed in today's competitive app economy, marketers and product teams need to define success and ROI at the beginning of a project—not the end of it. [The Smart App] explains how to use mobile analytics to guide your app development from day one. ADVERTISEMENT Strategic Management [M&A is big right now, but why?] Mergers and acquisitions help companies stay on top of a competitive technological landscape without having to innovate themselves, says Saikat Chaudhuri, executive director of Wharton's Mack Institute for Innovation Management. Other factors driving M&A these days include low interest rates, sizeable cash holdings and, potentially, a pending stock-market bubble. [Knowledge@Wharton] (11/29) [LinkedIn] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Google+] [Email] Why Platform Matters When Choosing an ERP System In order to survive, grow, and compete in the digital age, organizations need an ERP that is highly flexible and able to adapt. So, what are the tough platform questions you should ask yourself when shopping for an ERP? [Download the report to find out!] ADVERTISEMENT Smarter Communication [Business is not war, so why do we talk like that?] Using war metaphors to describe business can create a "zero-sum" environment where other parties are enemies, writes Mark Chussil, CEO of Advanced Competitive Strategies. "We behave one way when we see enemies, targets, costs, and roles, and another when we see people like us," he writes. [Harvard Business Review online (tiered subscription model)] (11/24) [LinkedIn] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Google+] [Email] [Advice for tuning in to others] The word "channel" has several meanings, but in all cases a channel exists to focus and direct something, writes Michael Ray Hopkin. He offers advice on applying that mindset to strong communication channels. [Lead on Purpose blog] (11/28) [LinkedIn] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Google+] [Email] Get with the flow. How payment processing affects cash flow. Cash flow is the lubricant of business. Without a healthy cash flow, business dries up. It stops. It can't function. Which is why it is vital to keep the revenues coming in as the expenses go out. But there's one aspect of cash flow that many of us are not aware of. It is how managing credit cards and other such non-cash payments affect cash flow. Turns out it has a huge affect. [Download the free guide today]. ADVERTISEMENT Customers First A weekly look at serving customers better [Customer service greatness isn't built in a day] Excellence in customer service requires a concerted effort and the right employees, writes Micah Solomon. He offers several characteristics of great customer operations and notes the foundational qualities of warmth, empathy and teamwork. [Forbes] (11/28) [LinkedIn] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Google+] [Email] In Their Own Words [CEO: Don't fight human nature] Brint Ryan, CEO of Ryan LLC, says one of the lessons he's learned as a leader is that "you can harness [human nature] and leverage it to great success, but if you fight it or try to change it, you will fail." [D CEO magazine (Dallas)] (12/2016) [LinkedIn] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Google+] [Email] Daily Diversion [Why is "like," like, used so much?] The frequent use of the word "like" is often depicted as another problem with young people, in that they avoid making definitive statements. John McWhorter explains how, contrary to that perception, the term has three distinct applications and is not limited to the verbiage of young people. [The Atlantic online] (11/25) [LinkedIn] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Google+] [Email] Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus. Alexander Graham Bell, scientist and inventor [LinkedIn] [Twitter] [Facebook] [Google+] [Email] [Sign Up] [SmartBrief offers 200+ newsletters] [Advertise] [Learn more about the SmartBrief audience] Subscriber Tools: [Manage Subscriptions] [Update Your Profile] [Unsubscribe] [Send Feedback] [Archive] [Search] Contact Us: Jobs Contact - [jobhelp@smartbrief.com] Advertising - [Laura Thompson] Editor - [James daSilva] Mailing Address: SmartBrief, Inc.®, 555 11th ST NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20004 © 1999-2016 SmartBrief, Inc.® [Privacy policy] | [Legal Information] Â