About Mike Schmitz

Mike is the President of the Conover Company, an assessment company that focuses on transition, social/emotional learning, and independent living skills.

The Importance of Having a Positive Attitude

You can't always control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond to it. Your attitude, positive or negative, will set your course. It's been said that your attitude determines your altitude, or the level at which you live your life. This is especially true during the job [...]

By |2019-09-30T15:17:52-05:00May 10th, 2016|Corporate, Education, Soft Skills|Comments Off on The Importance of Having a Positive Attitude

Accepting Criticism

  You know the feeling - the embarrassment, self-doubt and hint of anger that all seem to swell up when you’re confronted with criticism over your performance or results on a project. Criticism can be hard to receive without taking personally. The truth is that everybody in the [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:21-05:00April 25th, 2016|Corporate, Education, Emotional Intelligence, Soft Skills|Comments Off on Accepting Criticism

[Video] Keeping Your Focus

    Being able to maintain focus may be one of the hardest soft skills to matter. It seems like it actually gets harder every day also. With smartphones, smartwatches and most jobs requiring computers, opportunities for distraction are everywhere! Being able to focus will make you a more efficient [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:21-05:00April 7th, 2016|Soft Skills|Comments Off on [Video] Keeping Your Focus

Organization in the Workplace

  Organization is crucial to meeting deadlines, keeping track of important documents, and keeping your work station clutter free. In this video, a manager needs an important document quickly. Listen to their conversation. After watching the video think about the following things; What happened to cause the employee [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:21-05:00March 28th, 2016|Corporate, Education, Emotional Intelligence, Soft Skills|Comments Off on Organization in the Workplace

Trust and Communication

  Trust is central to every interaction we have as human beings. The level of trust you want in these interactions can vary. Think of how much confidence you invest in your best friend when you share a secret with him or her. Compare that to how much [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:21-05:00March 15th, 2016|Soft Skills|Comments Off on Trust and Communication

Controlling Your Emotions

  At 9 AM, you find out your favorite baseball team signed a great player. On your lunch break, your brother calls you and tell you he lost his job. Around 4:00 PM, your coworker announces she got the promotion you’d been working late hours to try and [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:22-05:00March 4th, 2016|Corporate, Education, Soft Skills|Comments Off on Controlling Your Emotions

Planning Ahead

  Effectively planning ahead can not only keep an individual on track, but ensure the entire team is on track to complete team goals.  Planning ahead takes organization and strategy by the individual. In this video, a manager needs help from one of his employees to cover part [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:22-05:00March 2nd, 2016|Corporate, Education, Soft Skills|Comments Off on Planning Ahead

Teamwork in the Workplace

  Teamwork is crucial to workplace success! Great teamwork means strong communication, collaboration, and transparency. It can be challenging to remain honest, especially if you’ve made a mistake; however, honesty and trust go a long way for teamwork in the workplace. In this video, a manager isn’t sure [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:22-05:00February 18th, 2016|Corporate, Education, Soft Skills|Comments Off on Teamwork in the Workplace

[Video] Using Devices at the Office

    Devices can be extremely useful at the office. When used properly, devices can help employees organize, manage, or even work on their tasks. However, devices in the office can be distracting or misused. In this video, an employee asks her manager if she may use to device during [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:22-05:00February 15th, 2016|Corporate, Education, Soft Skills|Comments Off on [Video] Using Devices at the Office

Communication During Meetings

  Meetings provide teams with a chance to exchange ideas, share information, and learn new tools to be successful in the workplace. If a team communications effectively during meetings they will have higher productivity and successful projects. Poor communication during meetings can lead to wasting company’s resources and [...]

By |2017-04-30T16:18:22-05:00February 8th, 2016|Corporate, Education, Soft Skills|Comments Off on Communication During Meetings
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