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“We had a new chief executive officer, a new chief financial officer, and some really big decisions to make.” How the commitment to employee engagement helped PeoplesBank prosper during turbulent times. It took PeoplesBank 123 years to reach one billion dollars in assets. That was 2007 and things were going well. But when the financial crisis hit, […]

Southwest Airlines Executive Explains Circle of Success The perky attitude of Southwest Airlines employees is no accident. It’s part of the company’s commitment to a culture of success, one of its top executives explained in a keynote address at a recent Top Workplaces event in Houston. Ginger Hardage, the airline’s vice president of culture and […]

Lee, the “Reluctant CEO’s” trusted lieutenant, had contacted me six weeks earlier to defend his boss and object to my conclusion that their company’s poor performance was directly related to the organization’s poor employee engagement scores. I asked, “If you dramatically cut the salaries of your employees—or even stopped paying them altogether—would any of them […]

The call was from one of the “Reluctant CEO’s” trusted lieutenants who had been asked by his boss to contact me. “I don’t get it, Dan,” he said. “Our CEO is a great guy. I know dozens of people here who would walk on hot coals for him. Sure, he can be loud and demanding. […]

The “reluctant CEO” called me a few weeks later and invited me to spend the day with his managers and employees. “Listen to them and see if you can tell me what’s wrong,” he said. He repeated his position. “These folks just need to grow up.” The point of my earlier visit, I offered, was […]