Michael Feuer

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Articles

Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without’em.

Dec 2, 2024 | sbnonline.com | Michael Feuer

Here’s a quandary with which every CEO must deal at some point: an extremely challenging achiever who always exceeds expectations but not without inordinate baggage has become the bane of your existence. So, what’s the quandary? They happen to have a significant flaw that makes life miserable for you and for those around them.
It’s not a time for guessing, you need to have an action plan at the ready

Nov 4, 2024 | sbnonline.com | Michael Feuer

Unfortunately, when everything hits the fan, it won’t be at a time and place of your choosing, and it won’t be just one issue. Without warning, even when there are only a few clouds in the sky, suddenly you see a bolt of lightning and hear an ominous burst of thunder. Instantly you know it’s about to be showtime, requiring all-hands-on-deck. It may start with a phone call informing you that one of your worst fears has occurred.
A primer on spotting and dealing with time wasters, users and hangers-on

Oct 4, 2024 | sbnonline.com | Michael Feuer

We all know them. They are fairly easy to spot and, just like day-old fish, you can almost smell them as they close in on you. Who are these annoying and costly parasitic types? They are time wasters, users and various and sundry other types of hangers-on. They have a central commonality: they sap you of your valuable time and energy, and almost never provide a return. These wasters come in all sizes and shapes.
Don’t shoot the messenger

Sep 3, 2024 | sbnonline.com | Michael Feuer

I have two simple email rules for people who report to me. First, if someone has bad news, it must be delivered in person or, if that’s not possible, by telephone. Email is not an acceptable substitute. My reasoning is I want to the hear the bad tidings so I can look the individual in the eye and gauge how bad the bad really is by the amount of perspiration on his or her upper lip and how many times the person’s voice cracks. This also works on the phone.
Give some love, respect, and gratitude

Jul 29, 2024 | sbnonline.com | Michael Feuer

Every company on the planet is searching for an edge to stand out from competitors. Today, that may be an app, using an AI chatbot possibly smarter than the people in the company, but it “ain’t got heart,” and customers know it. For airlines, seats could be a few millimeters wider, or a cup of coffee might be free. Car rental companies let customers pick any car in the aisle without an attendant, and restaurants offer buy one/get one free desserts, but who wants the calories?
Every company must have these in its tool chest

Jul 1, 2024 | sbnonline.com | Michael Feuer

We’ve all seen our share of mass disaster TV and movie dramas focused on hospitals or calamitous accident scenes. When the unexpected happens, the heroic medical and first responders are all involved in rendering assistance to initiate appropriate triage protocols; the immediate object is to determine what aid is needed in order of seriousness to prevent the threat of death and further injuries and harm.
Campus Protests and Deferred Maintenance

Jun 25, 2024 | fathomjournal.org | Cary Nelson |Kenneth Waltzer |Stuart Kamenetsky |Michael Feuer

Michael Feuer argues that the eruption of protests against Israel after 7 October sounded the alarm of resurgent antisemitism, which was not only horrifying in its own right but also as Deborah Lipstadt warned, symptomatic of pathology that affects everyone, not ‘just’ Jews.
The more important the person, the faster the response

Jun 5, 2024 | sbnonline.com | Michael Feuer

Much like our readers, I send numerous daily emails and text messages — in reality, too many — but that’s the subject of a future column. For now, I want to focus on an interesting phenomenon I noticed, particularly of late, that I now use as an assessment tool. Don’t panic if you are one of those who fall outside my new criterion, but it might be worth thinking about it.
Measure twice, but only cut once

May 1, 2024 | sbnonline.com | Michael Feuer

Checking twice works for tailors, but three times is a charm for important emails and business communication. Doing this may also just save a career or two. I’ve been writing this column for almost 20 years, and many have said I’m a pretty decent writer. But those who know me have noted occasionally I might be the world’s worst proofreader. It’s astounding what damage an extra digit or a missing comma could cause in a document or email.
Work for the best, prepare for the worst and question overly friendly watchdogs

Apr 2, 2024 | sbnonline.com | Michael Feuer

Effective leaders must be optimists, pragmatists and skeptics all wrapped into one. They possess the same skills as fearless circus tightrope walkers who traverse a thin wire suspended high above the floor of the big top without letting the audience see them sweat. Experienced executives, like highwire-daredevils, have learned that accomplishing major goals requires balancing skills and having a safety net just in case they falter.