Vivian Blade 
Even though unemployment is low, companies are still restructuring. Companies are facing uncertainty in healthcare, new business models in grocery retail, and new competition in other industries. In order to remain competitive and take out cost, companies turn to restructuring their workforce with approaches such as layoffs or early retirement offers. My husband’s employer offered … Read more
What usually happens when you leave something to the last minute? It never turns out as good as it could. The same goes for your leadership talent readiness. Leave it to the last minute, and your company’s leadership talent is not as good as it needs to be. The problem is that companies wait to … Read more
One of the biggest challenges for professionals is gaining the experience needed to land the next position in their career. This mirrors one of the biggest challenges for companies – a pipeline of experienced professionals ready for the leadership positions they are hired into. A recent Deloitte study* confirms this ‘readiness gap’, with twenty-eight percent … Read more
For more information on building a quality professional network, check out Chapter 8 of the book “FuelForward: Discover Proven Practices to Fuel Your Career Forward“. Available on Amazon. “This is a relationship culture, but it’s hard to break in. There’s a closed network of people who have known each other for a long time. Or, because … Read more
As a leader, you’ve lived through it before — the final push at the end of the quarter or year. It’s all hands on deck to make the numbers in what seems like a wild frenzy to meet customer needs and financial commitments. And don’t forget, the regular work doesn’t stop during this time; you still have … Read more
As you move up into leadership roles, more is demanded of you. There’s so much flying at you each day. And, the demands on you are different than they were as an individual contributor. In the leadership development training I facilitate, I hear rising leaders talk about the challenges of balancing these demands. Once these … Read more
We’ve all had them — the times we’ve tried to delegate and things turned out all wrong. I recently had three days to turn around a focus group report for the executives of a client. I hired a virtual assistant to transcribe the discussion. The report I got back was missing segments of the meeting … Read more
“I work to live.” You’ve probably heard that phrase uttered among millennials you know. For this generation, working is a means to be able to live the lifestyle they want, which means, they will move to the job that supports their lifestyle. Big jobs and big pay are lesser priorities for many in this generation. … Read more
“Hard to Find: Workers With Good ‘Soft Skills’,” was the focus of a recent article published in the Wall Street Journal. According to this article “companies across the US say it is becoming increasingly difficult to find applicants who can communicate clearly, take initiative, problem-solve and get along with co-workers.” Other research shows similar trends. … Read more
“Hard to Find: Workers With Good ‘Soft Skills’,” was the focus of a recent article published in the Wall Street Journal. According to this article “companies across the US say it is becoming increasingly difficult to find applicants who can communicate clearly, take initiative, problem-solve and get along with co-workers.” Other research shows similar trends. … Read more
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