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Gail Wallace

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President, Bellwind Consultants

1232 points

Writer of business plans for companies that require no funding or need funding up to $100 million. Clients have included a prepaid debit card company, a bookstore chain, and a Romanian movie studio as well as sole proprietorships.

Consulting engagements ...

Writer of business plans for companies that require no funding or need funding up to $100 million. Clients have included a prepaid debit card company, a bookstore chain, and a Romanian movie studio as well as sole proprietorships.

Consulting engagements have included work for an international hotel chain, the US Geological Survey, oil and gas companies, and very small companies with fewer than 10 employees.

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WEB: 2 Women Entrepreneur

May 25, 2012

Gail Wallace and 5 other people answered this question at this roundtable

HR & Recruiting Blues in the News [5/22 @ 4 pm]

How involved should HR be in policing 'dating at work?' Should office romance be banned altogether?

Attempting to ban office romances is about as successful as trying to control Mother Nature. The sheer fact is that in today's world, people spend more time with coworkers than they do with anyone else. I believe also too much invasion of privacy
The unfortunate ... more

Human Resources

Talent Managment

May 24, 2012

Gail Wallace answered this question

What role does the grapevine play in organizations?

Unfortunately, the grapevine is a very poor choice to use as a means of informal communication. Remember the old game where someone started with a statement or opinion and each participant passed it on to the next? At the end, the message usually bore little ... more

General Management

Human Resources

May 23, 2012

Gail Wallace and 3 other people answered this question at this roundtable

HR & Recruiting Blues in the News [5/22 @ 4 pm]

Can the bad actions of the few really hurt the overall organization, making it hard to recruit & retain talent?

Absolutely. Whether it is a management style, a culture that does not encourage integrity and honesty, a lack of responsibility for quality in product or service thereby creating a bad reputation, or even bad hires, a company can be severely impacted by the actions of ... more

Human Resources

Talent Managment

May 23, 2012

Gail Wallace and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

HR & Recruiting Blues in the News [5/22 @ 4 pm]

What is HR's role when there's a scandal; who should be in charge of handling - CEO, HR, PR or Legal?

Where you recruit from seems to me to be completely off the subject and has little to do with HR's roles in a scandal. In many cases, HR has no business in trying to handle or even be involved with a scandal. At best their ... more

Human Resources

Talent Managment

May 22, 2012

Gail Wallace and 7 other people answered this question

What were the biggest emotional and mental challenges you faced when starting up your company?

For me the biggest mental challenge was creating a workable infrastructure including all the legalities and details needed to run the business as well as standards for the company.
The hardest emotional issue to deal with was family and former close friends who would state ... more

Entrepreneurship

May 22, 2012

Gail Wallace and 11 other people answered this question

Is "blame the sales people" or "poor sales" the real problem or just a "shadow symptom" for the real issue?

I agree with everyone's comments but there is also another area that can have a huge impact on poor sales and that is company culture. It really doesn't matter whether it is a carry over from bad management in the past or is the result ... more

Sales Management

May 17, 2012

Gail Wallace and 5 other people answered this question

If I was over payed on my bonus am I required to pay it back?

As stated in other posts, you may or may not be required to pay it back. However, if you don't, be prepared for the company to take a second look at you and you're basic honesty and integrity. Is the "found money" worth your potential ... more

Human Resources

May 16, 2012

Gail Wallace and 2 other people answered this question

How can I incorporate more problem solving into my marketing strategy?

All the suggestions are good but there are 2 areas that need more effort to create and constantly evolve a good marketing plan. The first is research. Get to really know your customers not only through observation and what they tell you but also through ... more

Inbound Marketing

Lead Generation

May 14, 2012

Gail Wallace and 2 other people answered this question

Why we are still complaining about "companies" not teams?

While complaining about a team sounds good in theory it simply does not work that way. Many smaller companies do not have teams. People may wear multiple hats and there are no formal teams. In larger companies, good luck finding out anything about a specific ... more

Human Resources

May 14, 2012

Gail Wallace and 6 other people answered this question

What is the best way to give employee feedback verbal or written?

I agree that both forms of communication are necessary to give appropriate feedback. What intrigues me is that the responses so far have targeted negative feedback. Do people actually think there is only negative/disciplinary/issues feedback? Have you ever said thank you or given a kudo ... more

Human Resources

Employee Feedback

May 11, 2012

Gail Wallace and 3 other people answered this question

Do employees learn strategic thinking/acting rather by working on strategic tasks than in seminars?

While the combination of a seminar and hands on learning are great, you have left out a significant portion of the population and how they learn. A seminar is largely an oral presentation with perhaps some visual aids and/or demonstrations. While many people do learn ... more

Human Resources

Strategic Thinking

May 4, 2012

Gail Wallace and 10 other people answered this question

In your opinion, what are the top qualities of a leader?

Vision - having a dream and how to make it a reality
Implementation - taking the steps to make the dream a reality
Integrity - acting ethically and with honesty in implementation and relationships with employees, customers and the community more

Human Resources

Leadership Qualities

May 3, 2012

Gail Wallace and 8 other people answered this question

What are some tips to making the most of my commute into work?

If you are driving then the best thing to do is to pay attention to your driving so that you arrive safely at work and then safely back home. Personally, I really don't want to be on the road with you if you are distracted ... more

May 2, 2012

Gail Wallace and 11 other people answered this question

Why do employees in an organization often resist changes?

Change can and does impact every level of the company. Even when management and employees are faced with change there is a natural tendency to want to stay with the known and within each person's comfort zone even if they understand the need for change. ... more

Human Resources

Change Management

Company Culture

May 1, 2012

Gail Wallace and 4 other people answered this question

How do you adhere to individual learning differences when training employees ?

I agree with Belldon that the concept of adhering to individual differences is incorrect.
Any training program or trainer does, however, need to understand the most common ways that people learn. Reading, listening and hands on are the prevalent ways most people learn. Some people ... more

Human Resources

Talent Management

April 27, 2012

Gail Wallace and 5 other people answered this question

How do you sell the value of adding internet service to a small business when they don't see a need?

Selling Internet service does not necessarily mean they need to have a webhsite which may be beyond their marketing budget. However, a case can be made for being able to see industry trends, what competitors are doing to grow and how they are selling their ... more

Internet Service

April 27, 2012

Gail Wallace and 12 other people answered this question

Would you interview employment candidates that have been unemployed for more than six months?

Companies who have these types of hiring practices are basically insulting every potential employee. It clearly demonstrates that the company really doesn't care about employees only about getting a job done. They are devaluing and dehumanizing all potential employees. They are sending a message that ... more

Human Resources

April 23, 2012

Gail Wallace and 2 other people answered this question

What is the best business to start during a recession?

Need is the operative word. A recession always denotes that consumers and even businesses have less disposable income to fulfill wants. They may even have trouble fulfilling basic needs. So pick a business that can fulfill a basic need at a lower cost, better quality ... more

Entrepreneurship

April 20, 2012

Gail Wallace and 9 other people answered this question

What are some key "red flags" to look for when interviewing candidates for regional sales?

One red flag for me is when a candidate offers to bring in some of his current/former clients to your company. While that might sound tempting, it means he is likely to try to steal some of your clients at some point in the future. ... more

Human Resources

April 20, 2012

Gail Wallace and 13 other people answered this question

What can we do as business people to help reduce the poverty in the United States?

Create new jobs or reopen old ones that were shut down the recession. Many employees found themselves doubling their work hours to keep their jobs. Stop taking that for granted and hire new or rehire laid off employees so more people have a job and ... more

Human Resources

March 19, 2012

Gail Wallace and 9 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Inside Look at Workforce Mobility [3/13 @ 4 pm]

Why do many companies spend so much more on external recruiting fees than on internal hiring & a focus on retention?

There are a couple of reasons that have not been mentioned for paying fees to recruiters and consultants. First of all, many companies actually discourage "poaching" within their own company for any reason no matter any benefits that might be derived from internal hiring.
Often ... more

Human Resources

Feb. 13, 2012

Gail Wallace recommends this answer by John Anderson

What's the most important thing new employees can do to ensure success in their new role?

The best way to enter a new position is to listen, listen and listen more. Read your environment. Get to know the feel and rhythm of the organization and the key people who you will need to succeed.
Build relationships with these people and others. ... more

Company Culture

Feb. 9, 2012

Gail Wallace and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

#TNLive: Inside Employment Branding with NPR [2/7 @ 4 pm]

Are "Best Places To Work" lists accurate sources to find good employers?

It can be a guide but the culture can really determine whether a person would fit in or not. A "button down" type person might find it very uncomfortable to work someplace like Google; while someone who needs a free wheeling culture might go crazy ... more

Human Resources

Employment Branding

Feb. 3, 2012

Gail Wallace and 7 other people answered this question

What are some of the worst things to say in a team setting?

I, I, I. When it is all about you and you show no respect for others, any team oriented work or project is almost inevitably doomed. more

Human Resources

Jan. 31, 2012

Gail Wallace and 7 other people answered this question

What are the challenges of a company growing from small to medium size?

It is essential that a company have the infrastructure in place to handle growth. That includes everything from physical plant to accounting systems and making sure that all state and federal compliance processes are in place. Identify employees with the potential to be promoted as ... more

Business Growth

Jan. 30, 2012

Gail Wallace and 12 other people answered this question

What alternatives to Quickbooks are there for the small business?

QuickBooks has become a standard but more and more features are becoming add-ons at additional expense. There has almost been some real scandal that the updates actually will disable some features to cause you to purchase them or to buy a new version. Unless you ... more

Accounting Software

Jan. 27, 2012

Gail Wallace and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Understanding Customer Service in 2012 [1/26 @ 1 pm]

How do you balance the need to cost effectively manage a large CS department - while maintaining a higher than average customer satisfaction rating?

I should have explained that no ratings response is considered an acceptable rating. So the CSR is not punished for no rating. You are right that people either respond when they are unhappy or extremely happy. Obviously the goal is to make as many customers ... more

Customer Service

Customer Experience

Customer Service Development

Jan. 27, 2012

Gail Wallace is now following Belldon Colme

Jan. 27, 2012

Gail Wallace answered this question at this roundtable

Understanding Customer Service in 2012 [1/26 @ 1 pm]

What are the best ways to gather feedback without annoying the customer and still gathering useful information?

Listen. Listen carefully not only to what is said but sometimes what isn't said can be just as informative. Then ask strategic questions. more

Customer Service

Customer Experience

Customer Service Development

Following 8 Topics

Customer Service

General Management

Human Resources

Information Technology

Following 11 People

Followed by 76 People

Knowledgeable in 107 Topics

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Human Resources

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General Management

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Talent Management

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#19 of 749

Customer Service

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Entrepreneurship

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Information Technology

#176 of 2263

Career Development

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#33 of 466

#51 of 822

#232 of 2156

#7 of 134

#24 of 268

#11 of 116

#72 of 636

#4 of 88

Customer Experience

#17 of 160

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#11 of 155

Business Intelligence

#41 of 246

Economy Payroll Tax

#2 of 31

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American Jobs Act

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Federal Government

#2 of 44

Customer Loyalty

#9 of 120

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#22 of 137

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Employee Engagement

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Company Culture

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Work Environment

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Global Leadership

#13 of 45

Work Life Balance

#12 of 51

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#18 of 80

Public Relations

#48 of 155

#79 of 194

Project Management

#76 of 254

Office Supplies and Equipment

#7 of 21

Customer Experience Management

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Market Research

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Entrepreneuership

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Small Business Strategies

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Change Management

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Financial Markets

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Brand Awareness

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Deficit Reduction

#49 of 67

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Corporate Culture

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Focus Interactive Summit

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Financial Services

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Contact Centers

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Marketing Strategy

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Customer Service Development

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Social Customer Service

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Small Business Consulting

#30 of 33

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Product Development

#68 of 79

Social Networking

#110 of 125

Conversion Rate

#23 of 23

Search Marketing

#127 of 129

Search Engine Optimization

#140 of 144