I’ve had the pleasure to participate in mock interviews over the last few years with both high school and college students.

My husband and I recently had the opportunity to build a new home in the area. We love our new home, but what we have not loved has been the lack of customer service that we received from many of the vendors we worked with.

The Cedar Rapids/Iowa City flood of 2008 changed my perspective on a lot of things. Our building was under 4 1/2 feet of water.

What do you allow employees to do in terms of personalizing their work space in the greater scheme of your place of business?

How can you transform the way you work while also changing the way people view you? Try starting with “yes.”

What is high performance? It seems this would be a simple question to answer. It’s not. Ask 10 managers how they define high performance and you’ll probably get 10 different answers — unless they’ve discussed it together.

Stellar work. Well done. Outstanding. Can you remember the latest instance when someone gave you recognition for great work? When was the last time you praised a member of your team?

As more businesses embrace the idea of allowing their employees to work remotely and independent contractors, small-business owners, entrepreneurs, freelancers and those between jobs take over coffee shops, better options are needed.

Change is pervasive today in many businesses, especially as the economy prompts layoffs and reorganizations.

The financial crisis has affected everyone. Consumer spending is down, companies have cut back and government has scrambled to intervene. Businesses and individuals have taken a hard look at how they spend, save and invest. Tough choices will be made and tough times will be the result. The companies that make the right choices and [...]