Entries by Q4iNetwork & Partners

Strategic Planning: How to Do it Right

Many businesses have jumped on board the strategic planning train, which is great! When done right, strategic planning can help you focus your time, energy and resources, develop your team and processes, and achieve your organizational goals. Unfortunately, there are plenty of business leaders who embark on their strategic planning adventure without much thought or […]

Word of Mouth Marketing: Are You Giving Them Something to Talk About?

It used to be that marketing consisted of things like TV and radio commercials, billboards, and print ads. And while these things still exist, it’s in a world where countless other marketing tools and outlets are available simultaneously. In this new marketing reality, customers have enormous amounts of information literally at their fingertips. They also have […]

Why Getting Rid of Your Annual Reviews Won’t Work

You want to get rid of your annual performance reviews— and rightfully so. Nobody looks forward to those stressful, once-a-year meetings. But simply getting rid of annual reviews isn’t a good idea. You’ve got to replace them with something better. The “good” old days The annual review process is clunky and antiquated, harkening back to the […]

Compliance: It’s Not Just About Avoiding Risk

Some businesses think staying in compliance is all about reducing risk and staying out of trouble. But companies that approach compliance as a way to help achieve their overall business objectives will do far more than avoid fines. They’ll build organizations that produce happy and productive employees, loyal customers, and a healthy bottom line. The […]

Are Self-assessments a Waste of Everyone’s Time?

Ugh. The dreaded self-assessment! Employees hate filling them out and managers aren’t quite sure what to do with them. Many on both sides will find themselves wondering if employee self-assessments are a useless, redundant activity. If you’re in the yes camp on this one, it’s understandable. But perhaps you might want to start seeing them […]

Got Business Risk? Here’s How to Mitigate it.

Knowing what risks and exposures your business faces is a good start to building a solid risk management strategy. But just being aware of the threats to your business isn’t enough. Effective risk management requires thinking and planning ahead. Waiting to see if bad things happen before attempting to mitigate losses is a reactive strategy […]

How to Tackle Your LinkedIn Summary

Not many people enjoy writing summaries. Or bragging about themselves online. It’s no surprise that the idea of creating a LinkedIn summary is terrifying to a lot of people, but if you want to establish a professional online presence, that’s a fear you’re going to have to face. And we’re here to help. What is […]

Spending Too Much on Coffee? There’s a Business Lesson Here.

Did you start your day with a stop at your favorite coffee shop? Let’s stop for a moment and think about the experience— and the reasoning behind it. It’s about more than coffee You could have made your coffee at home, saving time and money in the process. So what made you go to down […]

Keeping Your Marketing Efforts on Track

Is your marketing based on a detailed, well-thought-out strategy and plan? Or are your efforts simply a compilation of random marketing activities you think you should be doing? Random activities will keep you busy for sure, but will they keep you focused and get you where you need to go? Or will they just result […]

20 Things That Matter to Your Employees

It’s no secret that many businesses are struggling to find and keep good employees. A common refrain is that this is due to a strong economy and low unemployment rate. And these factors are most certainly at play. But at the end of the day, employees choose to stay or leave for a variety of […]

Just Be a Better Healthcare Consumer, Will You?

As healthcare woes continue for businesses and individuals alike, there’s growing sentiment from some benefits brokers that patients just need to become better consumers of healthcare. But there are others who realize it’s not that simple, and who are committed to shouldering some of that responsibility— and making a difference. Common healthcare consumer advice sounds […]

Is Your Need for Speed Holding You Back?

Getting stuff done is great, right? Checking those little boxes feels super productive, and super validating. You’re happy because you’re cooking through your To Do list, and your boss will be really happy because surprise! You’re done already! Except that you could be making more work for everybody on the team. The myth of productivity […]