Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger, Jim Canfield, President of CEO Tools. We hope you enjoy Jim’s wisdom and perspective.

At some point, all CEOs or managers have to ask themselves, “How do we get to the next level?”

The answer could cover a daylong workshop.

Luckily, seven simple steps or business tools, based on the book CEO Tools, provide a jump-start to finding those answers. Follow these and get what you need now to move your business forward.

It’s cold outside and many of us are taking our kids in an out of their car seats. Bulky winter coats can pose a serious threat when worn under the straps by creating too much space in between a child’s body and the harness itself.

During a crash all the material of a bulky winter coat will compress making the harness straps too loose on the child. When the harness straps are not snug on the child, they don’t do their job of securing a child during a crash.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Brad Galin, Director of Human Resources for Portage Public Schools. We hope you enjoy Brad’s wisdom and perspective.

In my role as the HR Director for a public school district, I receive emails on a weekly basis with articles that detail how teachers nationwide are burning out at a higher rate than ever. The articles frequently cite the same reasons and propose solutions that often require things beyond the control of the districts.

The thing is, this trend is not just limited to teachers. A quick search for almost any profession paired with the word “burnout” in Google will yield countless articles about the historically unprecedented burnout problem in these fields. In addition to those I receive about education, common ones we see include physicians, truck drivers, and police officers.

Burnout has become less of an outlier and more of a feature in the modern American workplace.

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Barbara Khozam, internationally recognized customer service speaker and trainer. We hope you enjoy Barbara’s wisdom and perspective.

A touchpoint is every single opportunity that customers and clients have of connecting with your business. And every touchpoint has the opportunity to turn great service into a BAD experience.

Real World Story: At a restaurant, touchpoints can include the hostess, cashier, waiters, busboys, and even the chef. At an insurance company, touchpoints can include the company website, call service agents, and even claims adjusters. At a hotel, touchpoints can include reservation emails, parking and garage attendants, bellboys, reception agents, and even the facilities manager.

So, do you know ALL your customer touchpoints? More importantly, do you know how well or badly each touchpoint meets your standards of delivering exceptional service?

We live in a society that is constantly evolving, changing, and growing for the better. However, it is important to take the time and effort to prepare for it.

A great analogy is that of building or adding onto a house. When thinking about building a new home, or adding onto a current home, it is exciting to dream about the perfect rooms and their accompanying lifestyle. In these moments, people tend to focus on the things that would make life easier and more enjoyable. For example, heated floors and a whirlpool tub in the bathroom, an extra fireplace in the master bedroom, or a bonus room with the 70” Smart Television for watching the game.

It’s said that most adults will spend one third of their life at work. That’s roughly 90,000 hours! Putting it in these terms provides a different context in which to view the employer-employee relationship.

Author Tom Peters says leaders need to accept responsibility for the role they play in employees’ lives. “Every leader has a moral obligation [today] to develop people so that when they leave, they are better prepared for tomorrow than when they arrived,” writes Peters.

That’s heavy. I care about our people a lot. I think about the 150+ families relying on our leaders to make good decisions with the best interest of our team at heart. Yet “moral obligation” is an even larger burden. And you know what? He’s right. We owe that to our team.

Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? Perhaps to go to the gym? Eat healthier? Your health and wellbeing are very important, but we’d also encourage you to consider some personal risk management resolutions this year!

Here are 4 suggestions to help you improve your risk management strategy this year:

As we wrap up another year of blogging, I'd like to share some thanks. To our guest bloggers - thank you for sharing your insight and wisdom with us throughout the year! And to all of our readers - thank you for reading and sharing these blogs with others!

Here are the most popular #WhatsTheRisk blogs of 2018:

From our employee-owners to you and your family, we wish you a safe and joyous holiday!

Today we’re sharing insight from guest blogger Ron Kitchens, Chief Executive Officer at Southwest Michigan First. We hope you enjoy Ron’s wisdom and perspective.

Whether at home, on the street, or in the office, all people want to feel valued and respected. Psychologists generally agree that appreciation is a basic human need, just like eating properly and getting enough exercise.

So, in the workplace, regular recognition is critical. Some well-timed words of encouragement after a job well done can make a world of difference. But if overlooked, a lack of recognition is detrimental. In fact, a 2017 Office Team study revealed that 66 percent of employees think about leaving their current position when they don’t feel appreciated by their manager—and when it comes to Millennials, that number is as high as 76 percent.

Your team will respond to your recognition of their hard work because it shows that you not only value their efforts but also value them as human beings. Respect is a two-way street; a few words can go a long way towards building a great working relationship of trust. (And as an added bonus, after some pointed praise, the entire office now has the perfect model to follow as an example!)