In the lightspeed world of technology startups and commercialization, confusion is more than just a hurdle—it is a critical threat that can stifle innovation, delay product launches, and erode trust with both customers and investors. Confusion can silently kill momentum and drain valuable resources, whether it is an unclear product message, a misaligned team, or […]
Category: Business
The Great Exit Interview Debriefing: Best Practices
As the saying goes, employees don’t quit companies, they quit managers. And when those departures happen, savvy organizations make a point of conducting insightful exit interviews to learn why people are really leaving and what could be improved. Done well, the exit interview is a treasured opportunity to receive candid feedback from someone with an […]
How to Effectively Onboard New Employees with a 90-day Roadmap
Hiring the perfect candidate is only half the battle – ensuring they ramp up quickly and become a productive, engaged member of the team is equally crucial. An effective 90-day onboarding plan can make all the difference in setting new hires up for long-term success. A well-designed roadmap covers everything from their first-day welcomes to […]
Kent Lewis, Anvil & pdxMindShare Founder, Shares Career Resources
Since 1999, I’ve helped students and professionals build their careers through pdxMindShare. I never turn down a coffee meeting to learn individuals’ stories and goals and offer my advice and experience. While long overdue, I felt it was time to create a blog post incorporating helpful links to those looking to enhance their careers in […]
Smash The Funnel: A Book Summary for Sales Professionals and Business Executives
As a member of the Portland Chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization, I participate in a book club. This quarter’s book is “Smash the Funnel” by Eric Keiles and Mike Lieberman. For those not lucky enough to have a copy on hand, or lack the time to read the book before we discuss it as a group, […]
Eleven Best Practices for Crafting an Effective Careers Section for Your Corporate Website
For the majority of the 22-year history of my company, I paid little attention to our Careers Page. It was a place to post jobs, as far as I was concerned. In 2013, I restructured my digital marketing agency, which required aggressive recruiting and a re-evaluation of our Careers section. It took years to fine-tune […]
Creating Effective Stay Interviews to Improve Employee Engagement and Retention
Employee engagement and retention are both costly and common among organizations. Fortunately, there is one affordable and effective strategy companies can implement proven to dramatically increase both employee retention and engagement: stay interviews. Stay interviews are structured conversations between managers and their direct reports to understand what motivates employees to stay with the company. They […]
Employee Bonuses: Effective Options for Driving Engagement, Retention and Performance
Many businesses have completed their annual strategic planning for 2024, including setting goals and associated key performance indicators (KPIs). Unfortunately, a meaningful percentage of those businesses will struggle to achieve their goals due to a lack of employee buy-in. One potentially effective way to align employees with leadership is via a bonus structure. In this […]
Introducing The New 2.0 Sales Funnel
In the early 2000s, one of my favorite shows on television was “CSI: Las Vegas.” I appreciate how the producers have made something as tedious as forensic science both sexy and compelling. As a marketer, our job is to “sell” sexy, yet we must rely heavily on data and process to achieve the desired ROI. In […]
Internships vs. Externships
Internships vs. Externships What’s Best for You? We’ve all heard the saying that we need to “pay our dues” before. Simply put, we all have to put in the time and effort to begin our careers or break into something new; we all start at the beginning. For most, the beginning is an internship […]
