Montgomery Community Media

This week’s news contains a report that dozens of Air Force officers entrusted with maintaining U.S. nuclear missiles are accused of cheating, or turning a blind eye to cheating, on a competency test. Because it’s nuclear-related, this story is likely to stay in the news cycle for several days. Whatever the truth turns out to […]

A New Year’s Reflection Sometimes we feel a sense of unease at the motivations of others. Often, that sense is justified. Our instincts kick in, and we know something is a little bit “off”, even if we can’t identify what. Why am I the CEO of Team Results USA, why do I write books and […]

“Reward your Staff”. That’s what all the books say. All very well in theory, but how do you do it when you have no budget for awards or bonuses, and no ability to give valuable gifts? Increasingly, that’s the new reality. And even if you do still have some budget, it’s worth taking a good […]

Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is coming – and with it, the annual round of office parties and invitations. For some, this is simply a time to enjoy being together outside work. But for many, end-of-year functions are fraught with traps and contradictions. How do you socialize in a human way with people who may be […]

A reliable survey (see here) says that morale in the Federal workforce has been nosediving since 2012. Which sucks for you if you work for the Fed, but other than that, who cares, right? Civil servants should just be glad they have a job, in this economy. Wrong. Taxes buy civilization, even to this small-government, […]

“Toyota is a business – not a school.” Sam Komori, former President of Toyota There’s a tendency in some workplaces to confuse people development with academic pretension.  If that’s happening in your workplace, it’s something to look out for. There is nothing wrong with academic training, and indeed this blogger has an advanced degree and […]

After the bloodletting – now what? Business shrinking?  Contracts diminishing? If you’re rightsizing or downsizing your company in this economy, make sure you don’t stop with the job half done. You obviously have to do what the finance person or the Excel spreadsheet tells you.  Nobody can run a business at a loss, and if […]

How do you get people enthusiastic again after the shutdown? Any psychologist will tell you that work – having a job and getting paid for that job – is one of the best things you can do for your mental health. It follows that being thrown out of work, especially when it’s done unfairly and […]

Sandra from Rockville writes: “Dear Workplace Gripe Guy, I am sick to death of women being passed over for opportunity in my company.  I’ve been trying to break into sales for four years, but every time, the jobs go to one of  “the boys” and there’s always a “good reason” – it’s never because I’m […]