Why creating a strong workplace culture should be your top priority
Posted On March 5, 2023
We’ve talked a lot in my podcasts about workplace culture. It’s always been an important piece of a successful business, but as we’ve emerged from the pandemic, it may now be the most important factor to long-term success. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” certainly thinks so. Richard Jolly is an associate clinical professor of management and organization at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Jolly, who is also a Director of the consulting firm Stokes & Jolly Ltd., says creating a positive workplace culture is more than a desire or a goal for… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work, Workplace
How to create an award-winning workplace culture
Posted On February 2, 2023
Building a strong workplace culture within your business has always been an important element of success. It may even be more important now, in a competitive job market where potential employees have the luxury of finding a workplace that best suits them. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” has shown a proven talent in building a strong workplace culture. Patrick Werrlein is the president and owner of Swagelok’s sales and service center in Birmingham, and his company was recently named one of Business Alabama’s Best Companies to Work For in Alabama. Swagelok specializes in… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
Auburn is at the forefront of RFID, a technology that’s changed how we live and work
Posted On November 13, 2022
Do you ever think about the technology behind hotel room key cards, or vehicle key fobs, or the wristbands you use to get into Disney World? Probably not. You use them, they work, and you go on about your day. Our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston” thinks about it a lot. Justin Patton is the Director of the RFID Lab at the Harbert College of Business at Auburn University. For the last 17 years, he’s been at the forefront of research and developing applications for Radio Frequency Identification, which is the technology behind so… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
Building better workplaces to compete with working remotely
Posted On November 6, 2022
Much of America’s workforce sent home to either wait it out or work remotely during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of those asked to work from home apparently liked it, since nearly 60 percent of workers who say their jobs can be done from home are still working remotely, according to a Pew Research Center study. What does that mean for traditional workplaces? And for the buildings in which they’re housed? It’s a question faced daily by our guest in the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston.” James Lomax is Vice President of Asset Management and… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work, Workplace
Harnessing the power of an inter-generational workplace
Posted On September 21, 2022
I have long been an advocate of Baby Boomer and Generation X CEOs and managers not only listening to their millennial employees, but learning from them and giving them an active role in the decision-making process. The unique perspectives and skills of millennials are valuable in today’s workplace and can help a business ensure it is reaching the younger segments of the marketplace in the most effective ways. In the latest episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” I spoke with someone who has taken that mindset a step further. Tanya Hart Little met Allison Johnston Frizzo while serving as… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Blog, Entrepreneurship, Generation Y / Millennials, Generations, Podcast, Real Estate, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
Social media and screen time: How will it affect the next generation in the workplace?
Posted On September 17, 2022
For today’s generation of young people, their smartphones are extensions of themselves. That’s how they communicate, how they entertain themselves, how they connect with others. One might even call it an addiction. Screen time predictably climbed noticeably during and after the pandemic, as recent studies show that young people spend an average of almost seven hours daily looking at a screen. How will that reliance manifest itself as this generation of young people enters the workplace? For answers, we turned to Kristi Bush, a licensed social worker, national education consultant and social media safety advocate, who joined us in the… Read More
Categories: Blog, iGen, Parenting, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
A Conversation with Ag Co-ops
Posted On September 15, 2022
Years ago an audience asserted that my content on generational differences in the workplace didn’t apply to rural communities and the people who work in those communities. “It wasn’t applicable,” he said, “because people in farming communities like ours know how to work.” I assured him that if it wasn’t applicable at the time, it was coming. Today in Nashville I presented to about 125 ag co-op workers and leaders at the request of a fertilizer manufacturer. Their struggle? Finding, hiring, and retaining next-gen workers. I followed an economist – nice slot to have. (Thanks Rich Tiller for the booking!)… Read More
Categories: Blog, Workplace
Forget what you think you know about managing Generation Z in the workplace
Posted On September 10, 2022
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The young people of today’s generation are only concerned about themselves. They have no loyalty. They are self-entitled and have no work ethic. It was said about Generation Xers. It was said about millennials. Now it’s being said about the latest generation to enter the workforce – Generation Z. And it’s not particularly true of any of them. According to Bruce Tulgan, one of the leading voices in generational workplace research, Gen Z is neither lazy nor self-entitled. They are simply reacting to the times in which they’ve grown up. Tulgan, our guest… Read More
Categories: Blog, Generations, iGen, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work, Workplace
Being nimble: What Navy SEAL training can teach us about building better business minds
Posted On July 22, 2022
The Navy SEALs are an elite fighting force, and it’s not by accident. They are trained to deal with anything, particularly the unexpected. Perhaps that’s why I’ve found that many of them have gone on to succeed in business. Whether it’s that the SEALs draw tough-minded people or it makes them tough-minded, former SEALs tend to be adept and thinking through complex problems in the business world as civilians. So it is with Marty Strong, our guest in a recent “What’s Working with Cam Marston” replay. Strong spent 20 years as a SEAL and then went on to make a… Read More
Categories: Blog, Podcast, What's Working with Cam Marston, Workplace
Is iGen the Impatient Generation?
Posted On January 9, 2020
“Take it slow and things will be just fine. All we need is just a little patience.” Axl Rose sang that back in 1989 on Guns N’ Roses’ second album. Some millennials weren’t even born back then, and iGen wasn’t thought of yet. Maybe if they had been, they’d be a little more open to his advice. The leading edge of iGen is entering the workforce, and they expect to move up quickly. The Wall Street Journal recently cited a survey by workplace-coaching firm InsideOut Development, which found that over 75 percent of iGen respondents believed they should be promoted… Read More
Categories: iGen, Workplace