My seven expectations of you

Linda LaitalaBusiness, Career, Employees, Leadership, ManagementLeave a Comment

Who comes to mind when you think of famous business leaders? Warren Buffett?  Indra Nooyi? Bill Gates?  Sheryl Sandberg? Each leads a great organization and has changed lives. My vote goes to an individual closer to home. He helped shape the culture at East Central Energy, and his legacy of leadership continues. Steve Shurts was the CEO of East Central Energy for 10 years. When

Business Lessons in Junior High

Linda LaitalaBusiness, Career, Employees, Marketing, Sales, WorkLeave a Comment

In seventh grade, I learned one of my most important business lessons: the benefits of clearly communicating a message to an audience. Picture a geography class full of 13-year-olds. Our assignment was to create a diorama about building the pyramids. We were divided into teams, given a shoe box and our assignment. My team was diligently painting and gluing, all

Hello! Hello! Hello! – The echo effect

Linda LaitalaBusiness, Employees, Leadership, WorkLeave a Comment

Echo effect

Have you ever had the opportunity to shout and listen to your voice bounce back at you? Pretty cool! Masters of communication often make good use of this echo effect. They’ve learned that listening and repeating back the words they hear makes people feel more comfortable. This mirroring and clarification of language brings a better understanding of the other person’s concerns

Your first job

Linda LaitalaBusiness, Career, Career, Employees, Management, WorkLeave a Comment

Do you remember your first “real” job? The first job where you had to be at work for certain hours, performing certain duties AND you received a real paycheck! Over the years, I’ve employed a number of interns, high school students who want to learn about some of the aspects of office/administrative work. Our latest intern, Emma, with her enthusiasm

So Many Good Ideas-How Do You Choose the Right One?

Linda LaitalaAround The Table, Business, Career, Employees, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Sales, WorkLeave a Comment

Sean and Dave are brothers and business partners. They’ve built their company by working hard, paying attention to the numbers, and listening to customers. Their business had been stable and successful for years. But changes in technology along with increasing competition have begun to threaten the status quo.