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Brands are valuable. And organizations spend nearly half a trillion dollars every year to introduce, promote and manage their brands. In 2012, Procter & Gamble spent over $4.8 billion on advertising. Selling is an expensive proposition. But it doesn’t have to be. Brands are finally starting to reap

Serving in the military is incredibly honorable. Service members learn so many useful skills and have the ability to perform well under intense pressure. Transitioning to civilian life can be an adjustment though. Veterans may have picked up desirable skills along the way, but it's not always easy t

We now live in a world where consumers are more connected than ever before, and a small customer complaint can go viral. As a result, companies need to be just as connected to not only their customers, but also to their own employees to stay ahead. This is the basis of a book I recently read, “The C

We all do it at work - check our personal email, make a doctor's appointment, or make dinner reservations. Though small interruptions, these personal matters distract from our work in a given day. These are acceptable, within reason, at most workplaces. Some say the flexibility to handle personal ma

Startups and small companies don’t always have dedicated HR resources who can stay on top of employment law or enroll a lawyer to help with HR matters. To help understand common hurdles and trends for startups and small businesses related to employment law, we recently touched base with Rebecca Sign

It’s no surprise that recruiting is evolving, and even changing as I write. Gone are the days when a simple newspaper ad brings in qualified candidates. Technology is making it easier to connect with and understand people. We have more access to data and people than ever before. This week’s roundup

While this year's Super Bowl ads are leaning toward thecuteness factor, the game is all about the competition. Fromsports talk radio to trash talking reporters, winning predictions, potential stars and placing betsdrive our obsession with the game. Scores, statistics, pre-game tape reviews: teams st

I am a (older) milliennial. So that means I’m adaptable, enthusiastic, entrepreneurial, a multitasker...as well as lazy, entitled, and a job hopper. I’d say some of those traits ring true to me personally. I also know some Gen Xers and Baby Boomers who have some of these tendencies too. A recent stu

Bosses get a bad rap. Let's face it, they're in tough spots - managing upwards, downwards, sideways, crossways. Needless to say, they juggle a lot. We’ve all had experiences with both bad and good bosses - those who could care less what you did on the weekend, and those who go the extra mile to advo

Many people will insist that the most important part of having a corporate recruiting team is to have a clearly defined structure, utilize metrics to drive business decisions, and to gather as much buy-in as possible throughout the organization to move initiatives forward. Most of that is absolutely

A recent Wall Street Journal blog post talked about the fight for talent at startups. The blogger, Neil Blumenthal (Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Warby Parker), said, “The first step toward finding the right people is to have a deep understanding of your company’s identity.” This coul

When talking to a new client, the conversation often begins with tools. "We need to better reach candidates--what tool should we use?" or "We want to strengthen our performance review process, what system should we buy?" We tend to gravitate towards execution first. After all, technology has capture

Harry Houdini. Henry Ford. John Wayne. Winston Churchill. My grandpa. What's the common bond? They were all Freemasons. From fraternities and Freemasons to the Girl Scouts or Rotary, membership really does have its privileges: belonging. We join groups, teams, clubs and even companies to feel a part

While I do adore online shopping and its convenience, I don’t think I could give up an afternoon of walking into physical retail shops – feeling the clothes, smelling the perfumes, or testing out make-up – it’s part of the experience that stimulates the senses. Part of what makes me enter into some

We've hit a new business journalism trend: when Zappos implements something new, we consider it Gospel. Reporters go wild. And suddenly there's a hot new business trend.  Such is the case with holacracy, a management technique that removes hierarchy from organizational structure to strengthen commun

Another year, a fresh perspective, a renewed chance to think about the role people play in your organization. If you're thinking about rebooting your culture in 2014, stop and pay attention to the pieces we've found this week to help jumpstart that process. Remember, culture isn't just a list of val

It’s that time of year where you reflect on what worked and what didn’t in the previous year, and you begin to think about what’s ahead of you in this next year. This is the perfect time for feedback, formally or informally. Or is it? Is there a reason we look at a new year as a clean slate? I do

Let’s face it, culture’s hot right now. From Zappos and Netflix to Hubspot and Google, founders are eager to create their own manifestos and espouse a cool culture. I’m constantly reminding clients that it takes more than a list of values to create a culture. The values have to become part of the ev

We got caught up in the holiday season last week too. But it's not too late to think about sending that last great thank you message and/or message of thanks.  So for our last weekly update of the year, we're reminding you to say thanks and check in on your employees end of year. A "how are you?" or

A few weeks ago, we talked about a better way to quit your job when you just can’t handle it, rather than making a scene or spectacle. Spectacles aside, what if the reason you leave isn’t necessarily because you can’t stand your current job? As I dig into my first few weeks at exaqueo, I can’t help

There’s nothing worse than a busy season to test the mettle of a startup. Excessive orders, customer service wrinkles, products out of stock, you name it. And when something goes wrong the problem usually lies with…you guessed it, the people. When we help clients build cultures, we talk about the im

With the end of the year approaching, you're thinking about wrapping things up or budgets for next year. What if instead, you started thinking innovation? If you've struggled this year making a name for your company in the talent market, it's time to determine what you can do differently next year t

We talk culture all day long, but there's a beginning, a place it all started. And you might be in the place. Considering the role culture plays or even trying to convince your founder or leadership team it matters. This week we've compiled some varying insights on ways to learn about culture and ge

When we started exaqueo at the end of 2011, the goal was to rethink the way we value employees. When companies wait until they get too big to create a culture and hire to that culture, disengagement ensues. We're passionate about helping startup and high-growth companies and pleased to grow our team