Every service business has had one: the dreaded problem client. These clients seem to bring more trouble than their business is worth, and dealing with them can quickly become a time sink. When dealing with a problem child, you need to implement solutions and be prepared to sever the relationship if those solutions don’t pan out. Here’s how:

Economists refer to it as the agency problem: The incentives of executives are misaligned with the incentives of the company. If you have stock options that vest in five months, who cares what happens in five years?

From your customer service representatives to your sales team, your staff’s day-to-day decisions on the job quite literally make or break your brand experience. Which means, at the end of the day, your brand is only as strong as the crew you’re letting run the ship. So how do you hire a cultural fit? 

A calm and graceful response to any negative publicity is the best way to maintain control over your own narrative.

Most board members join an organization for the right reasons, but many fail to make a meaningful impact. Meanwhile, executive directors complain their board lacks engagement and makes unreasonable demands. Obviously, a disconnect exists, but this scenario has a solution and can be fixed. Here’s how:

When car accident totaled Pedro Avila’s beloved ‘87 Volkswagen Cabriolet, he found himself desperate for money to repair the damage. A transportation industry veteran, Avila came up with Road Finch: eco-friendly and interactive marketing — by bicycle.

I’ve noticed some of my coworkers becoming quite relaxed about their work schedules. I’d like to speak to HR and have the issue reported anonymously to management, as I would not want to alienate my coworkers and be known as a snitch. Can I ask my HR rep to keep the conversation confidential?

Scenario: You open the refrigerator to find a near-empty milk carton. What would you tell your partner or roommate? Whether you would say, “Get milk when you go out,” or something more like, “Hey, we’re out of milk,” can tell you a lot about your communication style.

Every company’s brand collateral begins with the best intentions. There’s usually a business card, maybe some letterhead and envelopes, possibly a brochure. Then it all just gets away from you until one day you find yourself standing in your office’s storage room staring at boxes of mismatched promotional items. Before this spins into a business identity crisis, take charge and detox your branding collateral.

We live in a world of tribes. On a macro level, we discover that every organization is a tribe, a cadre of people involved in formal and informal levels of engagement. The existence of these tribes has major implications for today’s leaders in their quest to create world-class teams, businesses and companies that make a difference.