One of the philosophies of companies which attract, retain and motivate high performing employees is a positive attitude toward individuals and a belief that valuing them is key. In this era of acquisitions, increased change, and lay-offs, it is quite easy for top management to see employees as expendable resources to be hired and fired at will according to the current short-term business plan. Employees get …

It seems like I can’t watch, listen to or read the news right now without being surrounded by doomsday forecasts about the economy and fear about how the world markets will respond. At the local level, we are seeing less dramatic turndown compared to the rest of the nation, but that does not mean we shouldn’t prepare our business for possible future events.