Power is not a topic that is spoken about openly in the workplace. But almost every person, task and transaction is affected by it. By definition, power is the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. And as you well know, some people in an organization clearly have more power than others.

It often takes three weeks or more to hire a new employee. That’s three weeks of lost productivity, revenue, and innovation. Plus there’s the time other employees have to spend training the new hire. Managers and hiring professionals strive for low turnover to alleviate these potential losses, but low turnover isn’t always a positive for organizations, says David Shanklin, managing director of culture solutions at the culture management company CultureIQ.

Billions of dollars and untold hours are spent luring new customers into an organization so that they can spend their hard-earned dollars for goods and services. That transaction is at the heart of capitalism and without it, economies begin to sink precipitously, and eventually fail altogether. Entire creative organizations exist to come up with a catchy jingle or compelling spokesperson (or emu, duck, etc.) to get our attention in an ever more distracted world. Companies sink or swim based on the ability of these campaigns to attract dollars and eyeballs. The money is spent, the creative geniuses go to work and the campaign plays out, hopefully with great success. People hear about us. They come to our establishment or find us on the internet or give us a call. So far, so good, right? -

“Agility” has become a hugely popular management buzzword. But what does it really mean?