Recent Posts by Jason Richmond

Every year LinkedIn publishes a “Top Skills” list, which analyzes its huge professional social network to rank which skills are in top demand yet low supply. LinkedIn Learning editor Paul Petrone wrote in a blog post that 57 percent of senior leaders on the platform say soft skills are more critical to their businesses than hard skills.  According to LinkedIn, the top five soft skills—for 2019, at least: creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, and time...

There’s a quote that I love attributed to Mary Kay Ash, founder of the Mary Kay Cosmetics empire: “A company is only as good as the people it keeps.” In some form, this statement has been made many times and in many different ways. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Inc., has a perspective that also rings true. “A company is a group organized to create a product or service, and it is only as good as its people and how excited they are about creating.” Fundamentally, any company is...

The rapid advance of technology has had a seismic impact on the ways companies do business—probably the equivalent of a 9.0 on the Richter scale. Just consider the impact of Wi-Fi, smartphones, tablets, laptops, and social media, and the ways they have not only dramatically changed business operations but also business culture. What are the positives and negatives of the high-tech environment? It’s an issue that can’t be ignored because technological capabilities will continue...

Executives considering any type of merger or acquisition do their due diligence. They pore over balance sheets, scrutinize operational procedures, evaluate budgets and forecasts, and conduct numerous other analyses. But how often do they pause to consider the people. Bringing together two companies also brings together two sets of people. And the corporate cultures within which these people operate may be significantly different. What can you do to overcome any differences and...

Diversity offers growing small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) many advantages. Diversity means your company is in sync with the market you serve. Diversity not only generates an atmosphere that encourages far-sighted, broadly-based, open-minded creativity and innovation, it also drives bottom-line results. A diversity of opinions and perspectives improves problem solving. It provides a steady stream of new ideas, fresh perspectives, and contrary points of view that are the...

The world is shrinking. Change has gone from fast to super-fast. International markets are opening up, and it’s easier than ever for a company (of any size) to expand beyond its own borders. Technology has helped level the playing field for small-to-medium businesses (SMBs), allowing them to successfully compete against huge multi-national corporations. We’re connected in ways that were totally unimaginable just a few years ago. For companies that are looking to grow, it’s...

The U.S. is a complex and diverse blend of races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and generations. When your corporate culture embraces diversity, your company is in sync with your market and more likely to succeed. Think of it this way: Success depends on inclusion, not exclusion. When growing small-to-medium businesses (SMBs), multi-national corporations, groups, and organizations embrace the contrasting perspectives of various work and life...

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a time-honored method to expand a business entity—so much so that companies dish out more than $2 trillion a year acquiring other companies. The word marriage is thrown around a lot two companies come together. But the bitter truth is that there is often not much love involved, and the ugliness of divorce frequently enters the picture. While 40 percent to 50 percent of human marriages don’t survive, astonishingly, anywhere between 70 percent...

Let’s assume you’re a company executive who understands that culture matters, and that you fully appreciate that you and your leadership team have an essential role to play in transforming your organization. You have taken a great first step, but taken alone, this understanding is not enough to keep failure at bay. The efforts you make in defining your new or revitalized culture, identifying and communicating your values, diagnosing your gaps, and designing well-thought-out...