Quick Tips to Improve Your Resume

The main goal of a resume is to create enough interest for a hiring manager to want to speak with you. Usually, this is your first opportunity to demonstrate how you present yourself. Companies don’t hire based on your resume; they choose to interview you based on your resume. You want to impress the hiring authority […]

How to Keep Your Sales Team Motivated

In the metal distribution industry, you need a motivated team to reach sales quotas and keep profitability high. However, everything from work culture to leadership can have a negative effect on employee engagement. To keep your sales team motivated, you must understand what matters to them; and you have to understand what factors interfere in their […]

Essential Management Soft Skills

Soft skills often get overshadowed by all the technical skills that are needed to thrive in automated workplaces today. But they are more important than ever, especially among sales managers in the plastics industry. Leaders can leverage interpersonal skills to improve company morale and their relationships with salespeople to help keep them thriving. Although you might […]

How to Become a More Focused Leader

Leaders have so many distractions to contend with throughout the day. Although technology has helped the metals industry evolve, a potential drawback is that these new tools and communication methods can make it difficult for you to stay focused. It’s common to be distracted by countless email alerts, text messages, and calendar notifications pinging your phone […]

Time Management Tips for Improved Productivity

Workplaces have become more fast paced, which has led to an increase in multi-tasking and distractions. Over time, this can cause burnout and take a toll on overall productivity. Developing time-management strategies is one of the best ways to handle competing demands throughout the day. Below are some time management tips for improved productivity. Review Your […]

Onboarding Tips to Ensure Success and Retention

Onboarding is one of the most important aspects of any hiring strategy. When you hire a new professional in the metals industry, whether it’s a quality manager or director of business management, you want to ensure the new hire has the support and training they need to succeed. These onboarding tips can help employees start off […]

How to Use Good Leadership to Overcome Conflict in the Workplace

Workplace conflict can reduce productivity, create a toxic work environment, and even contribute to workplace injuries. One of the most important roles that leaders in the plastics industry have is managing conflict. Below we’ll cover how to use good leadership to overcome conflict in the workplace and to foster a more harmonious work environment. Communication You can’t […]

3 Things You Should Never Say in An Interview

A main goal of an interview is to communicate to the hiring manager that you can provide more value to the company than all of the other applicants. It’s important to show yourself in the best possible light. This means you should avoid making some common mistakes. Here are three things you should never say during […]

How Working with a Recruiter Can Accelerate a Company’s Growth

For a company to thrive, it needs a team of talented employees who are motivated to succeed. Working with a recruiter who specializes in the plastics industry can help your company accelerate its growth by finding you the talented team players who share your drive and dedication. Here are some ways that working with a recruiter […]

The Positivity Pledge

The subject line of this article may already have you rolling your eyes; of course we all know the power of positivity. We recognize we should always look on the bright side, turn a frown upside down, and keep our chins up. But we all have bad days that just seem like it would have been a better idea to never leave the house, and we all have frustrated moments where we need to blow off steam.

Be the Diamond

Times of adversity shape who you will become, but also expose who you are now. Diamonds are just chunks of coal that did well under pressure. In times of chaos, be the diamond.

Life after Outside Sales – Where Do I Go from Here?

Sales professionals often reach a point in their careers where they start to wonder what’s next. For some, there might not be a need to look for a life after sales; yet others will want to expand their horizons. Here are some options for professionals considering life after outside sales.

How Settling for Mediocre Talent Is Costing Your Business

The cost of settling for mediocre talent might be more than you think. At worst, mediocre talent can sink your whole business. At best, mediocre talent will harm your brand and reputation. If you have talent who are not performing, it may be time to rethink your hiring process.

How to Effectively Work with a Recruiter

Working with a recruiter has a variety of benefits when it comes to your job search in the metals industry. Developing a relationship with a recruiter will help you expand your network and help you find a job that aligns with your skills and values. The key is to make sure the time you spend working […]

How to Effectively Work with a Recruiter

Working with a recruiter has a variety of benefits when it comes to your job search in the metals industry. Developing a relationship with a recruiter will help you expand your network and help you find a job that aligns with your skills and values. The key is to make sure the time you spend […]

Why Should You Take A Recruiter’s Call?

Taking the call of a recruiter can help you find a job that fits your skills and professional interests. But first you must understand how the recruiting process works and how you can leverage the recruiter to make the most of your job search. Here’s why it is a good idea to take a recruiter’s call […]

Why Should You Take A Recruiter’s Call?

Taking the call of a recruiter can help you find a job that fits your skills and professional interests. But first you must understand how the recruiting process works and how you can leverage the recruiter to make the most of your job search. Here’s why it is a good idea to take a recruiter’s […]

Be the Diamond

Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” – John Maxwell There are times in life, both personally and professionally, where circumstances can change at such a rapid speed that our opinions, perspectives, and course of action can change by the day, if not by the hour. When faced with such circumstances, there are generally three groups […]

The Positivity Pledge

The subject line of this article may already have you rolling your eyes; of course we all know the power of positivity. We recognize we should always look on the bright side, turn a frown upside down, and keep our chins up. But we all have bad days that just seem like it would have […]

The Illusive Work-Life Balance

As we approach the mid-year point, hours of daylight increase, outdoor activities and vacations are abundant, yet the demands at the office do not wane. The subject of providing an environment for work-life balance often resurfaces during the summer, but the topic is one that should be addressed on an ongoing basis within an organization. […]

Continuous Advancement and Perpetual Growth

One of the strongest value propositions a leader can give to an employee is the ability for that individual to perpetually grow in all dimensions. Obvious dimensions include professionally as well as personally, but do not overlook the importance of financial, mental, and spiritual growth as well. In nature, plants either grow or decompose; they […]

Fostering Fear

“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” Reflect on that statement for a moment. You may even have an immediate connection to it, with your own delinquent “to-do’s” catapulting to the center of your attention. It was entrepreneur, author, and investor Timothy Ferriss who most recently voiced this assertion […]

Deliberately Designing your Corporate Culture

Over a career spanning nearly half a century, Harvard University psychology professor J. Richard Hackman garnered widespread esteem and accolades for pioneering the study of team dynamics. Following the events of 9/11, Hackman led a team designed to evaluate what makes intelligence units effective by surveying, interviewing, and observing hundreds of analysts across 64 different […]

The Stress Test

Countless articles have addressed one of the most important tasks given to senior leadership within any organization: the ability to identify the next generation of future leaders within the firm. We look for passionate individuals who wake up each day craving success, but who can channel that passion into actions and results. We seek out […]

Selecting People Who Make a Difference

On the surface, conducting an interview can seem like a simple enough task, yet it is one that few are formally trained to do – even when promoted into a role that involves the evaluation and acquisition of talent. Shake hands, make the prospect feel welcome, ask questions, answer questions, and evaluate the candidates. How […]

Desire to Inspire

Motivate and inspire. The two words are often used interchangeably, echoed perpetually in the minds of any leader trying to spearhead the charge. However, view the two as the same and you are missing a critical component in your evolution as a senior executive. Why? Motivation is of the ego, while inspiration is of the […]

Professional Attention Deficit Disorder

In the manufacturing economy, time was the currency. Systems were designed for maximum efficiency, and effectiveness was simply how much time could be dedicated to the process. The assembly line is a perfect example! In today’s information environment, directing our attention in the right places for the right amount of time and focus is the […]

Opportunistic Outsourcing

Business coach Peter Drucker was known for dispensing some sage advice that still rings true decades later: Do what you do best and outsource the rest. What comes to mind when you hear that mantra? An immediate list likely appears of all the tasks you know are not the greatest use of your efforts and […]

The Treasure of True Grit

“Tell me about a time when you failed, and what you learned from that experience.” Think of the most successful employees you’ve ever worked with, or the individuals you’ve mentored who excelled the most, or the leaders you’ve studied who seem to achieve every goal they set for themselves.  Undoubtedly, a common thread between all […]