Bob Rosner

If once bosses felt that they worked in the Taj Mahal, today they feel more like guests at Beirut's Commodore Hotel, where during the war visitors were asked to choose between "sniper side" and "shelling side."
There's no tougher time to be a boss: you're expected to do (lots) more with (lots) less, talented workers are harder to find and keep, and the legal climate is more confusing and treacherous than ever. And with millions of baby boomers hitting retirement, these changes will only magnify in the years ahead when there will be 32 million fewer experienced workers.

Which means that even if you're laying-off, you need to keep your top talent. In fact, tough times make hanging on to your best people even more important because research shows that your competitors are ready to snap them up. So how do you keep your best? By becoming a Retention Evangelist-the kind of boss people want to work for.

This shouldn't come as a surprise. You've probably had at least one boss who drove you out of a job-or kept you in one. Being a great boss has never been more important, yet for most of us it remains at the bottom of our daily "to do" list.

"12 Steps to Better Bossing," a variable length presentation, teaches managers and HR professionals how to use "better bossing" as their most powerful retention tool. It uses interactive exercises and humor to reinforce its twelve key points: the six "don't" behaviors that make employees want to leave, and the six "do" behaviors that make them want to stay. It combines the attitudinal changes required along with practical strategies that can be implemented on a day-to-day basis.

A second presentation, "The Top Ten Ways to Stay Out of Jail," outlines a path for bosses through the legal minefield.

"The Boss's Survival Guide" (McGraw Hill; 2001; $16.95) identifies 65 of the most vexing problems that bosses struggle with, including "how to screen out the jerks in a job search," "how to change problem behavior," "how to let people go fairly and legally," and "how to keep your people motivated." It's perfect for keeping the experienced boss current on the law and provides a foundation for the novice boss.

Following the success of The Wall Street Journal and Amazon business best seller "The Boss's Survival Guide," Bob decided it was time for something completely different. "Gray Matters: A Business Survival Guide" is the first illustrated business book that combines comics and real business content-think Dilbert with a solution. Working Wounded: Advice that adds insight to injury, Bob's weekly advice column, is internationally syndicated and appears in the LA Times, ABCnews.com, Globe & Mail.com, Chicago Sun-Times, etc. As a recognized observer of workplace trends, he's been featured in People Magazine, Glamour, Business 2.0, The Wall Street Journal and on NPR, CNN, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, Talk of the Nation, etc. He's also a former adjunct professor to MBA students.