October 7, 2026
It's Kind to Be Kind
February 17, 2026
Respect
December 5, 2025
Ghost and the Machine
You’ve probably noticed it. It’s likely been happening since the dawn of time, but it feels like it’s ramped up in recent years. Many of us hoped the world would become kinder and gentler after Covid - but in many ways, the opposite has happened.
Everyone’s “busy.” Everyone has too many priorities, too many choices. It’s become a comfortable excuse when we simply don’t want to do something.
My mom had a vivid phrase for when we went back on our word, she’d threaten to tan our hides. If you said you’d take the job and show up on time, you did exactly that.
If you or anyone you know works in fast service, you’ve probably heard the stories - people not showing up for shifts. When I was a kid, that was unthinkable. You did what you said you were going to do.
Sorry, I’m Busy
Now to the big one: ghosting. You start a promising conversation with a potential client, things seem to go well - and then they vanish. No replies, no calls, no explanation. No one is that busy after the third or fourth follow-up. Maybe they hope you’ll give up - and often, that’s exactly what happens. But here’s the thing: it’s not about being busy; it’s about being respectful.
Difficult conversations are difficult. But if you’re too afraid to say no, don’t say yes or maybe in the first place. The old saying holds true - a fast no is far better than a slow maybe… and miles ahead of an unprofessional ghosting.
Leave a message after the beep.
October 23, 2024
Burn Baby Burn?
April 20, 2021
Burning Bridges
March 3, 2020
Company Culture | Seven Step Program
Here are seven considerations to make your company a great place to work;
Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.
Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.
Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.
Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.
Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts.
Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.
Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.
Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of authentic respect and trust.
Then watch what happens.
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June 7, 2018
Trustworthy Respect
Respect and trust are earned but can’t be expected. Something to think about with your business. Great service is what we want yet we're blown away when we get it. But we can't expect if we're not prepared to give it.
The Gift of Being Honest
This is especially critical in personal relationships. If you want her to trust you, be trustworthy. If he is dishonest, especially without remorse, it's probably time you exclude him from your life. You deserve honest people in your life if you are prepared to be honest with them. If they don't hold up their end, get rid of them.
Does this mean trust and respect are only present when it's convenient? Can one argument tarnish a relationship like a bad experience with a plumber? I’d like to think we try our level best to remember why we have the people in our lives that we do and earn their trust and respect.
That's the bedrock of any relationship.
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January 29, 2018
Collaborative Culture
Here are seven areas to consider in making your company a great place to work.
Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.
Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.
Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.
Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.
Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.
Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.
Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.
Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.
Or work on your foosball skills
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May 23, 2017
The Importance of Trust
Respect and trust are earned but can’t be expected. Something to think about with your business. Great service is what we want yet we're blown away when we get it. But we can't expect if we're not prepared to give it.
The Gift of Being Honest
This is especially critical in personal relationships. If you want her to trust you, be trustworthy. If he is dishonest, especially without remorse, it's probably time you exclude him from your life. You deserve honest people in your life if you are prepared to be honest with them. If they don't hold up their end, get rid of them.
Does this mean trust and respect are only present when it's convenient? Can one argument tarnish a relationship like a bad experience with a plumber? I’d like to think we try our level best to remember why we have the people in our lives that we do and earn their trust and respect.
Without it, there is no relationship.
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April 28, 2017
A Dozen Ideas for Leaders
• Don’t avoid difficult conversations and have them with respect and compassion
• Keep meetings to 30 minutes and on topic
• Allow all voices to be heard
• Be clear on expectations
• Don’t play favorites
• Be of service to your team/department/company; not the other way around
• Allow creativity to flourish
• Don’t evade conflict
• Remember every person on the team is just as important as any other person
• Hold yourself and others accountable
• Show up when things get difficult
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January 18, 2017
Look Closer See Me
This is a poem attributed to a man named Dave Griffith. Some have claimed a dying man in a nursing home wrote it. What's important is what we learn from it.
What do you see nurses? What do you see?
What are you thinking, when you're looking at me?
A cranky old man, not very wise
Uncertain of habit with faraway eyes
Who dribbles his food and makes no reply
When you say in a loud voice, I do wish you'd try
Who seems not to notice the things that you do
And forever is losing sock or shoe
Who, resisting or not, lets you do as you will
With bathing and feeding the long day to fill
Is that what you're thinking? Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse you're not looking at me
I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still
As I do at your bidding as I eat at your will
I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother
Brothers and sisters who love one another
A young boy of sixteen with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now a lover he'll meet
A groom soon at twenty my heart gives a leap
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep
At twenty-five now I have young of my own
Who need me to guide and a secure happy home
A man of thirty my young now grown fast
Bound to each other with ties that should last
At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone
But my woman is beside me to see I don't mourn
At fifty, once more, babies play 'round my knee
Again, we know children my loved one and me
Dark days are upon me, my wife is now dead
I look at the future, I shudder with dread
For my young are all rearing young of their own
And I think of the years and the love that I've known
I'm now an old man and nature is cruel
It's jest to make old age look like a fool
The body, it crumbles, grace and vigour depart
There is now a stone where I once had a heart
But inside this old carcass a young man still dwells
And now and again my battered heart swells
I remember the joys I remember the pain
And I'm loving and living life over again
I think of the years, all too few gone too fast
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last
So open your eyes people, open and see
Not a cranky old man,
Look closer, see me
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December 25, 2016
Happy Christmas
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December 13, 2016
Great Culture in Seven Steps
Here are seven areas to consider to make your company a great place to work.
Give – No matter the survey, compensation always makes it into one of the top reasons people stay or leave a company. But if money is the number one concern of employees, you have a serious issue. Pay people properly.
Define – What makes people want to bring their best every day and feel appreciated? If you can’t explain it in a sentence or two, dig deeper.
Value – What does your company stand for and what won’t it do? Two significant questions that seem easy enough to answer yet most struggle with them. We want to be a part of something that aligns with our values.
Open – Not all decisions can be made by committee. In fact most people want leadership to guide the way, but keep communication open enough for people to feel you genuinely want their input and ideas.
Stretch – Departments are created for a reason. Sales focuses on revenue while product design improves the offering. But don’t box people in so they can’t offer input to areas where they might not be subject matter experts. Some of the best ideas may come from the most unexpected places.
Lead – From small companies with a handful of employees to the Fortune 50, the relationship people have with their direct report and the people closest to them in their day-to-day work experience, will be the single biggest reason they stay or leave. Model the behavior you want from others.
Together – Teamwork and collaboration are a core elements to great culture. We want to belong and contribute so afford everyone the chance to do both.
Like trust, respect is earned not mandated by an org chart. So if you want great company culture, create an atmosphere of respect and trust and watch what happens.
Or you could order the latte machine and hope for the best.
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October 19, 2016
My Priority not Your Emergency
John Percy once said “We judge others by their actions but ourselves by our intent.” This is important if you manage people or own a company. You can threaten life or limb but if someone doesn’t want to be on time for the sales meeting, they will not be on time for the sales meeting.
Who am I to say?
If you're a parent, you may not fathom why someone would be angry that you must leave the shareholder’s meeting to pick up kids from day care. Your passion may be golf and you could be outraged that someone bought the land at your favorite club to build homes for hundreds of families.
You can't worry about everything you enjoy in your life because others suffer. But you can be compassionate and understand that life is a lot more that all the crap we spent far too much time obsessing about.
To each their own which is the magic of life.
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September 22, 2016
Wisdom and Inspiration
Show me and I may remember.
Involve me and I'll understand.
Chinese Proverb
The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people,
but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.
John Buchan
Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
Steve Jobs
Don't waste a single second.
Just move forward as fast as you can and go for it.
Rebecca Woodcock
The price of greatness is responsibility.
Winston Churchill
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
concerned citizens can change world.
Margaret Mead
Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers,
who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer
a solution everybody can understand.
Colin Powell
If you want anything said, ask a man.
If you want anything done, ask a woman.
Margaret Thatcher
Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.
John F Kennedy
Never hold too closely to your idea but be open to change and innovation.
Jean Chong
The led must not be compelled; they must be able to choose their own leader.
Albert Einstein
When you accept a leadership role, you take on extra responsibility
for your actions toward others.
Kelley Armstrong
If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.
Tom Peters
Take successes and failures as they come,
since things often change at a moments notice.
Juliette Brindak
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more,
do more and become more, you are a leader.
John Quincy Adams
The road to success is always under construction.
Lilly Tomlin
Leadership is the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard;
the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.
Peter Drucker
Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
Mother Teresa
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December 25, 2015
Happy Christmas
Wesołych Świąt. Fröhliche Weihnachten. Merry Christmas. Vrolijk Kerstfeest.
Hyvää Joulua. Buon Natale. Feliz Natal. Boldog Karácsonyt. Namaste.
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Credits: Walt Disney, Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, Marilyn Manson, Sting, Brian Sezter, Dropkick Murphys
October 17, 2015
13 Ways to Improve as a Leader
• Don’t avoid difficult conversations and have them with respect and compassion
• Keep meetings to 30 minutes and on topic
• Allow all voices to be heard
• Be clear on expectations
• Don’t play favorites
• Encourage new ideas and don't keep people in boxes
• Be of service to your team/department/company; not the other way around
• Allow creativity to flourish
• Don’t evade conflict
• Remember every person on the team is just as important as any other person
• Hold yourself and others accountable
• Show up when things get difficult
I can help you with all of these. Send me an email - knealemann@gmail.com - and we can book a 30-minute complimentary call.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
New Book out in 2016 – Details soon!
July 10, 2015
Respect and Trust
When we think of certain industries, we often begin from a place of mistrust because someone we know had a bad experience with a lawyer. You got ripped off by a landscaping firm that didn’t do what they said they’d do. My cable provider keeps saying my intermittent internet service is my fault. The stories are plentiful and painful.
"If there is no trust, there is nothing."
Rob Thurman
It got me to think about my relationships and frankly me. Am I trustworthy? Do I strive to respect others every time? I’m human, I mess up, but I certainly do strive. If you're doing renovations, it’s clear you want to stand up for yourself and protect your investment. How do we navigate personal relationships from the same perspective?
I had a stressful situation happen this week with a close friend. They are going through a lot and the conversation got heated. And as we stupid humans often do, the kitchen sink was brought out. Yeah, but last September you said this. Yeah, but you did that last January. It’s human and it’s crappy. Communication without blame can solve it but as we know, that's sometimes easier said than done. Thankfully we worked it out.
"When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others."
Dalai Lama
In a work environment, everyone is under a lot of stress. Words are spoken. Blame is heaved. Accusations are lobbed. If we step away for even a few minutes, we can remember the relationship – work, life, wherever – is built on respect and trust and can withstand those types of interactions.
Respect and trust are earned but can’t be expected. Something to think about with your business. If you can show both and do what you claim you'll do, you will crush your competition. Great service is what we want yet we're blown away when we get it.
Does this mean trust and respect are only present when it's convenient? Can one argument tarnish a relationship like a bad experience with a plumber? I’d like to think we try our level best to remember why we have the people in our lives that we do and earn their trust and respect.
Something to cherish with our relationships.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
March 2, 2015
It’s a Dirty Job and We All Have to Do It
His point was that I was not to close any doors or hold myself back. I was 13! All I wanted to do was play hockey. I had no clue what I wanted to do for a career and this guy was laying all this heavy stuff on me. I didn’t get it then, but got it many times over the decades after that chat.
Follow Your Passion?
I’ve done a lot of reflecting lately – about work, passion, relationships, careers, and life. The conversations with friends and colleagues have been rich with these topics and my guidance counselor was right – we shouldn’t limit ourselves or close doors.
But there’s one critical element missing. And that is to understand what limits mean. I have spent decades on this planet thinking they mean reach, stretch, and go for more. Mike Rowe – host of Dirty Jobs – lends a wider perspective that we need to heed in his TEDTalk from a few years ago.
The first part may be tough to watch but keep watching. Mike makes some outstanding points about work, life, following our passion, and most of all, respecting each other.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit
TED | Mike Rowe
January 28, 2015
Accepted Behavior
Glen is late again for the weekly sales meeting. It’s the third week in a row. He says there’s a lot going on in the morning with day care and school buses and making lunches for the kids and traffic. So the sales manager surveys the team and discovers four other members are dealing with similar issues. She carefully asks the entire team – so to not hinder those who don’t have kids – whether it would help if the meeting was moved to 8:30. Everyone agrees.
8:42 Tuesday morning – four weeks later
Glen is late for the third time. What would you do as sales manager? Most fall into two categories – yell at Glen or ignore it and hope it goes away. Neither is wise. People have kids, families, life outside of work as they should, but the sales meeting is 8:30 Tuesday mornings – moved because Glen couldn't make it for the original 8am time – and if everyone else can make it, so can Glen. There will always be exceptions, but the sales manager and Glen should deal with it and not inconvenience the team again. Or Glen may need to have his future freed up to find somewhere else to meet.
I was speaking with a colleague this week about deadlines. She says a member of her team is habitually late on projects. I asked for clarification whether it was every deadline and she said yes. Every time her colleague is given a target, she misses it.
Several Options
First, you could fire her, which is a bit rash. Second, you could create fake deadlines that are ahead of the real ones so the rest of the team isn't negatively affected by the person who is always late, which is a bit ridiculous. Third, talk to her and tell her if she is late again, refer to the first option. Or fourth, dig deeper on why she’s late – what is the deep rooted reason for this behavior?
It’s easy to say she doesn't respect the fact she’s holding everyone up by being late, but there could very well be a deeper issue here. One thought, she may have never been reprimanded for missing deadlines so her motivation isn't there. It's hard to believe she simply doesn't respect the rest of the team but that can't be ruled out either. Or she may think deadlines are for others and not her.
Two Perpetrators
The person missing the deadline and the person who accepts the behavior own this situation. We don't have difficult conversations because they are difficult but while avoiding a firm chat with one member of the team, the rest will know you’re avoiding the issue and may decide to miss a deadline or two themselves since it doesn't seem to be important. That would be a shame and create a much bigger issue.
Years ago I had to finally let a team member go after he was late seven times. He showed up on that last occasion with a fresh take-out coffee which was a nice touch.
The behavior we accept is often what we continue to receive.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Progress
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