GETTING PERSONAL: IVANS HEART by Jack Burke 'If you have a touch-tone phone, press 9 hellip; To file a grievance, hang up and call someone who cares.' Ever feel as though ...

Ever since independent agencies were invented, their owners have wondered how to find, motivate, and keep good producers. But according to one consultant, most principals still aren't getting a good deal.

'Across the United States, more employee producers are overpaid yet underproduce,' says Jeffrey Wodicka. Wodicka is president of a consulting firm called Directions Agency Management Resources Limited of Rockville, New York, as well as principal of The Greystone Agency, also of Rockville.

GOOD COMPENSATION PLANS ATTRACT GOOD PEOPLE by Mark Shlien Many agencies have had to change their approach to compensation during the recession. Faced with declining revenues and profits,...

GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS by Mike Manes Before the days of political correctness, there were great 'good news and bad news' jokes. 'Did you hear the one about the doctor who told t...

GOOD TELEPHONE SKILLS MEAN SUCCESS by Jack Burke Nearly 20 years ago, as manager of a growing automotive leasing company, I was researching specialty bus manufacturers to represent. It ha...

GOT NOVOCAIN WITH THAT CALL LIST? by Chris Burand A study by Sandler Sales Systems (May 19, 2010, Reuters), identified cold calling as worse than giving speeches, and celibacy was prefe...

GREAT BUSINESS REQUIRES GREAT PEOPLE by Emily Huling Regardless of a firms size or location, every organization can develop people who will take the business to higher levels of ...

GROWTH-LOADED PRODUCER COMPENSATION by Al Diamond Use this plan to give your producers an incentive to target growth, while protecting the agency from financial losses. Ev...

GUIDELINES FOR FIRING EMPLOYEES by Don Phin When employers ask if they can terminate employees, theyre really asking, If I fire them, can they sue me? Before y...

If you’re a Microsoft Office user who touch-types, you might prefer the keyboard to the mouse for entering commands. However, chances are you wind up using the mouse, because Windows and Office keyboard shortcuts are difficult to remember, and trying to find them is like searching for hidden goodies in a treasure hunt. Once found, though, shortcuts can be invaluable time-savers.

This isn’t a list of every shortcut in Windows and Office. We’ve concentrated on the most helpful and won’t delve into the shortcuts you probably know already, such as those that copy (Ctrl-C), cut (Ctrl-X), or paste (Ctrl-V) objects.