Welcome to Misti's Insights
Are You Tired of Repeating Yourself?
"Imagine if, rather than complaining about complacency, lack of collaboration, and lack of enthusiasm, leaders made an effort to consistently communicate their passion." — Misti Burmeister Do you get tired of talking about your passions? About your vision, or the...
Why Customer Service Training Is a Joke
"Rather than waste money trying to fool your customers, why not take exceptional care of the people who interact with your customers?" — Misti Burmeister Most leaders know that customer service is key to retaining a solid customer base. In fact, companies spend...
Why Most Rewards Don’t Work
"The most effective rewards, incentives or opportunities we can give to our employees are the ones they truly want."— Misti Burmeister What’s the best way to reward an employee who has gone above and beyond? The short answer: It depends on the person. A quick Google...
Why Passionate Employees Quit
"To discover the values you represent, take time at the end of each day to ask yourself the following question: How did I spend my time today?"— Misti Burmeister Shaun Callahan is a passionate, music-loving “people person” with strong connections in Baltimore,...
How the Affordable Care Act Can Strengthen Your Business
"People want to be part of courageous companies. They want to follow leaders who are willing to show their cards and ask for help."— Misti Burmeister With the start of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) looming, most business leaders are fretting about the financial impact...
Don’t Get Stressed—Get Inspired
"Sometimes the greatest gift we can offer others (our family, friends, teams and customers) is to invest our time and resources into developing our own abilities."— Misti Burmeister While I keep hearing, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year,” I think the...
The Ties That Bind: The No. 1 Way to Connect With Your Team and Customers
"Shared experiences, particularly those that are especially meaningful to us, create trust, teamwork and community."— Misti Burmeister I’ve always wanted to serve food at a homeless shelter on Thanksgiving, but on the rare occasions I haven’t been traveling during the...
Pancakes and Praise: The Key to Problem Solving
"If you know about a challenge and don’t share it, no one can help you discover solutions."— Misti Burmeister After braving the Black Friday crowds, my three shopping partners and I stopped for breakfast at IHOP. Just before the hostess seated us, I noticed they were...
Why Volunteers Quit
"Leaders, in both non-profits and for-profits, lose out when they fail to align assignments with the talents, interests, and needs of their teams."— Misti Burmeister Soon after retirement, Bebe found herself bored and incredibly lonely. Seeking to “be with people,”...
Are You Saying “Sorry” More Often Than “You’re Welcome?”
"When we focus on money over mission, we risk losing both our customers and our talent."— Misti Burmeister In my recent blog post, “Give Your Customers a Reason to Thank YOU," I discussed how the little things we give or do for our customers translate into exceptional...
Are You Waiting for Someone Else to Do Your Job?
"Leaders who provide clear feedback end up provoking greatness."— Misti Burmeister When someone needs help, it's easier to stay out of it, to mind your own business and not get involved. But is that the best thing to do? I recently found myself stuck in traffic at a...
Give Your Clients a Reason to Thank YOU
"When leaders show gratitude and generosity to their teams, the excitement trickles down to customers, and everybody wins."— Misti Burmeister Each Thanksgiving, we kick off the holiday season considering what we have to be thankful for. For leaders, this is a great...
Not Worth My Time: Which Employees Deserve Your Attention?
"Become a committed, loyal, dedicated leader, and you’ll pull out the same qualities in your team." — Misti Burmeister “My title is too big for this piddly crap,” said Paul, an executive in the education field. “It’s beneath me.” Paul sat across the short conference...
Do You Know What a Diaper Genie Is?
"Finding humor in mistakes is a valuable way to strengthen meaningful relationships." — Misti Burmeister Mistakes, misunderstandings, and snafus are part of life – at work and at home. The goal is to move forward … and maybe get a laugh or two at your own expense....
Not My Problem: The Key To Solving the Gov. Shutdown and Other Problems That Aren’t Our Responsibility
"People support that which they help to create, so if you make them part of the solution, they’ll be even more dedicated to seeing it through."— Misti Burmeister Do people really push harder to accomplish goals they help to create? Are they more dedicated to solving...
Do Rules Hinder or Help?
"Rules are meant to be broken, especially when they limit our humanity." — Misti Burmeister Rules often save lives. Roads have speed limits to minimize danger in the case of car accidents. Most states have outlawed texting while driving for the same reason. And...
Knock Some Sense Into This CEO
"If you want your employees to treat your customers a certain way, ask yourself: How am I treating my employees?" — Misti Burmeister While walking up a steep hill next to my old apartment building, I ran into a solid, orange beam – literally. I was moving at full...
Check Your Assumptions at the Door
"Instead of assuming you know your team, keep asking about what’s going on in their lives, as well as their goals and dreams and how those might have evolved since the last time you touched base."— Misti Burmeister It has been said that change is life’s only constant....