David Skipton

Pictures and illustrations showing the effect of leadership styles Most companies underestimate how much money they lose because leaders don’t understand how their leadership style affects the people they manage. When productivity drops, we often look at technology, processes, training, or employee performance. This matters, but leadership behavior and the culture it creates often determine whether any of those improvements actually work. Leadership style influences whether employees take...

Have you ever needed to make a decision FAST, only to discover later that you didn't have all the information you needed? When I was helping raise our kids, I ran into this situation more than once. You walk in the door, and before you have a chance to find out what is going on, somebody needs an answer. Right now! Making hiring decisions can be a lot like that. You've got a position that needs to be filled. Maybe an employee has left unexpectedly. Maybe your business is growing and you need...

A bad franchisee rarely fails quietly. They miss calls. They ignore systems. They hire poorly. They upset customers. They argue about fees. They drain field support. Then, when the relationship breaks down, the franchisor is left cleaning up a mess that costs far more than the original franchise fee was ever worth. Franchisors often think of franchisee recruitment as a growth function. More qualified candidates should mean more units, more fees, more royalty income, and more market coverage....