Work Smart, Live Well Blog

MEETING IDEAS

At your next meeting with your team consider working with them to identify the soft skill training they need to enjoy their job more and better serve clients.

Here are some ideas to consider:

Review together any data you have on negative client experiences. Ask for additions to the list. Where are your clients struggling to do business with you?
Group the issues under similar topics. For instance, shipping issues may have several related problems for clients.
Ask your people for feedback on how they could work more effectively together. Consider potential training topics related to improving the working relationships of your team.
Prioritize the list and schedule dates for when the training will occur. One a month with follow-up exercises or observing people in action may be all you can handle.
Purchase materials from a company like ours or develop your own. Make certain your trainings have role-playing, games, exercises and other interactive components so you can see people demonstrating the skills they are supposed to be learning.

Always Recruiting

Success With People, Inc. — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:26:00 +0000

The third step of my Hire The Best Avoid The Rest hiring process includes a key encouragement: YOU are a full-time recruiter. Here is an example of one way a top company demonstrates this:

I was in a Starbucks the other day. In the area where they offer cream, sugar, etc. there were business cards from the district manager (not the store manager). Here are some interesting things about the card design:

1. His title, "district manager," is in lowercase letters.

2. Below his title is a small icon, possibly like coffee leaves, and the title, "Coffee Master."

3. It lists his cell phone number, a corporate toll-free phone number and his e-mail address.

4. The full list of contact information is:

Cellular
Fax
His toll-free corporate voicemail
His email address
www.starbucks.com/careers

5. The left side of the card as the Starbucks logo, company name and address of that location.

6. The back of the card is most interesting. It says:

We are looking for people we can call partners.

That's what we call ourselves. If you ask partners why they enjoy working here, they'll probably tell you it's the people, the experience and the great benefits for those who qualify, which may include:

Medical, dental and vision coverage
Tuition reimbursement
Paid vacation
401(k) savings and stock programs
Discounts on our great coffee

Apply online at www.starbucks.com/careers

Starbucks is an equal opportunity employer committed to hiring a diverse work team.

Often your best source of great people to hire is from your most loyal customers. They are, if you have not noticed, already raving fans of your company. If you are hiring this year, why not brainstorm with your people how to better reach people who already believe in your company?

Be an Intentional Leader.

MEETING IDEAS

Take my last suggestion and apply it in a meeting. How can we increase the number of people who know we are hiring so we can attract new team members from people who already believe in us (customers, people who read our blog, vendors…)? Should we add a hiring message to:

1. The back of our business cards (similar to Starbucks’)

2. Every company employee’s email signature

3. Every thank you note to clients, vendors and community

4. Every business review meeting with key clients (not that we want to hire you, but “If you hear of anyone, we are hiring people for the following positions…”)

5. Should we try to get an article placed in our local newspaper describing the hiring process we go through, how difficult it is to hire qualified people…” (Maybe team up with 3-4 other businesses and everyone shares their story.)

They Are Lying To You

Success With People, Inc. — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:42:00 +0000

Name three activities you do every month, if not every week, to serve others. Here is why:

“In a way, the world is a great liar. It shows you it worships and admires money, but at the end of the day it doesn’t.

It says it adores fame and celebrity, but it doesn’t, not really.

The world admires, and wants to hold on to, and not lose, goodness. It admires virtue.

At the end it gives its greatest tributes to generosity, honesty, courage, mercy, talents well used, talents that, brought into the world, make it better. That’s what it really admires.

That’s what we talk about in eulogies, because that’s what’s important. We don’t say, ‘The thing about Joe was he was rich!’

We say, if we can … ‘The thing about Joe was he took good care of people.’”

This is from two slides that Tom Peters discussed on February 15th of this year at the National Business Growth Summit in Sydney, Australia said. He credited Peggy Noonan, “A Life’s Lesson,” on the astounding response to the passing of Tim Russert, The Wall Street Journal, June 21-22, 2008. (I changed the formatting for emphasis.)

This is one key reason why we work to have Success With People and a great company culture. Improving the lives of our coworkers, clients, vendors and community, which in the process positively touches our personal relationships. What are you doing to make certain this is what you and your company are known for?

Be an Intentional Leader.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

(http://www.tompeters.com/docs/TLBTSynopsis_48__BIG_.pdf)

MEETING IDEAS

The commitment to serve others is one of the most important you can make as a leader, whether your responsibilities are that of an executive managing others or an individual team member.

Here are some ideas for how to apply this wisdom:

1. First “look in the mirror.” How are you doing in this area? Take a break on your own. Tech Out (turn off all technology - let your people/family know in advance where you will be).

List the names of the primary 3-10 people you want to positively impact. (If you can serve them effectively, then the habits you develop will help others too.)
What specific activities are you doing weekly or monthly to serve these people - consistently and systematically?
How are you helping them think better and learn how to make great decisions on their own, rather than just giving them the answers?
Are there activities you could be doing that would have more impact than these?
How can you schedule time to make certain you are preparing for and doing these activities to the best of your ability and on a consistent basis?

2. Ask your people to do the same thing (#1) on their own.

3. At your next meeting have each person share what they learned and what they are doing. Encourage people to make suggestions to one another on how to improve in these activities, and people to be open to considering their suggestions.

4. Commit to “pilot” a more consistent schedule of actions you will take to improve the lives of others for 30 days. Have a check-in where people share how they are doing. Possibly extend the “pilot for 60 more days.

20 Years - Never a Compliment

Success With People, Inc. — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:16:00 +0000

Imagine This:

A guy works for an organization for 20 years. He tries to be creative and feels like he’s made a real contribution… but he feels no one cares.

As a leader, I try to use the 5 Languages of Appreciation with people. You and your people will benefit from doing the same. Learn about it - https://www.christianleadershipalliance.org/?page=SRbookdiscussion

NOTE: Don't shy away because this article is. Learn from anyone, even groups that are different than your beliefs. If it is truth, if it is logical, if it can help you become a more effective leader, then consider piloting their recommendations for 30 days to see if it improves your company culture.

Engaging Gen Y

Success With People, Inc. — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:48:00 +0000

Last week I was asked by a client:

"We have a candidate for a summer intern position that is graduating from high school this year with a 3.3 grade point average. We think he is very smart. He completed most of his high school curriculum early and has been taking college courses and currently works in the high school IT department.

"When he was asked about his 3.3 grade point average, he said that he is really good at taking the tests but doesn't complete the homework if he finds the class boring.

"What is your impression of this? Does this throw up a red flag for you?"

My response, which you may want to consider when hiring young people:

Not in this case. Much of public school education these days is a waste of time, particularly at the high school and college level. It is one of many reasons our nation is in decline. Very correctable, but our leaders lack vision, guts and... I've said too much already.

On the contrary, this lets you know that he needs to understand WHY he is doing something and WHERE he can grow in your organization. This should be constantly reinforced (with all employees). He will work for a PURPOSE more than a paycheck. To test my conclusion you could try the following:

1. Tell him 3-5 stories of problems clients had, how you solved them and how that enabled the clients to positively impact the lives of others. Touch his heart. If he seems bored or disinterested during these stories then do not hire him. At the end ask him to describe a situation where he has had a similar impact as part of his role in the high school IT department. Does he tell a story or explain why he works there in a way that demonstrates passion and/or purpose?

2. Ask him what he wants to be doing in 5 years. He may not know. 2 years? If he likes working for you then will he want to continue during college? Try to define a rough "career path" of learning, not titles, for the next two years if he stays with you. Does this excite him?

3. Give him 1-3 typical scenarios he might face on the job as homework. Ask him to solve them and bring them to his next interview.

Be an Intentional Leader.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

(Above quotes are from www.thinkexist.com.)

MEETING IDEAS

When a job candidate, employee or client makes a comment, try to understand the "disease" rather than the "symptom." In the example above the young man was not doing his homework in boring classes. That is a symptom. What is the disease? Being asked to learn things he feels he will never apply in his life.

Here are some ideas to discuss this in your next staff meeting:

1. Read the story from my client and ask your people to answer their question. Have an open discussion and do NOT jump on anyone who says something you do not like. Remember, that is a symptom. Be wise and consider what disease is causing that symptom (response).

2. Read my ideas, one-by-one, and ask for their thoughts. They may disagree. (If you get some good feedback, please let me know. I am still learning too!)

3. How can we do a better job at helping our employees understand WHY we do our work?

4. How can we do a better job at helping our employees understand WHERE they are growing in our company?

5. How can we do a better job at helping our employees understand our PURPOSE - how we apply our mission and values daily to achieve our vision of improving people's lives? (your vision may be different)

The Eclipse

Success With People, Inc. — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 01:10:00 +0000

Sam has always approached his work as though he is a partner in the company, although, he is only an employee. He loves the challenges of his job, interacting with clients and helping them solve problems. The flexibility of his workday enables him to attend his children's sporting events yet he still works as long or longer than anyone else.

Lately however Sam is not happy with the direction the company is taking with their product line and packaging. He is starting to feel that their products are a reasonable value instead of the best. He thinks the new retail packing design will cost him his largest client. (He is right. It will.)

Sam is clearly disengaging. What is happening?

I call this an employee eclipse. It is when the employee has lost sight of the meaning in his work and has become disengaged just as an eclipse of the sun or moon temporarily hides that celestial object. Sometimes there is a valid reason, such as Sam's situation. Other times the individual has become disengaged due to something at work or in their personal life. It can make you (leaders and managers) question their loyalty.

I really like what Reed Hastings of Netflix says about loyalty in his PPT deck about the Netflix Freedom & Responsibility Culture:

· Loyalty is good as a stabilizer

· People who have been stars for us, and hit a bad patch, get a near term pass because we think they are likely to become stars for us again

· We want the same: if Netflix hits a temporary bad patch, we want people to stick with us

· But unlimited loyalty to a shrinking firm, or to an ineffective employee, is not what we are about

Do not let an eclipse cause permanent damage to your employee relationship. Intentionally engage someone when the first hint of the eclipse starts to darken their performance. You may notice something and then allow yourself to justify postponing action. Do not wait. Often your instincts are correct.

When you save someone from "going dark" on you permanently it is a huge savings to your company and demonstrates your company values. Then again, you may find the individual has already checked-out of your company but the lights are still on (they are still collecting a paycheck). In that case you can limit your loss.

Be an Intentional Leader.
David Russell, CEO
Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

THE ECLIPSE is often an unexpected event and leaders are so busy that we talk ourselves out of engaging people to discuss our concerns. Possibly a retention interview will help you discern whether you need to re-engage the employee or encourage them to move on to a new opportunity with another company.

Consider meeting the person one-on-one or with another employee outside of the office in a coffee shop, restaurant, on a walk or other non-business settings. Do not allow any interruptions from cell phones, tablet PCs or other technology. Your total focus should be on the employee and understanding their needs, desires and dreams for your organization.

We have a more detailed description of how to do retention interviews for our Customer Champions Club Members, but here is a sampling of questions you might ask:

1. What do you like best about your job?
2. What is the most fun you have had on the job in the last three months?
3. Are there any challenges you are having where I can help?
4. In the past you have seemed more fully engaged. Is there anything going on that you would like to discuss?

Change

Success With People, Inc. — Tue, 31 May 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Leaders change things. Regularly. For the better. To build upon strengths. Consider these perspectives:

Be the change you want to see in the world.” - Gandhi

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” - Maria Robinson

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” - Keri Russell

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” - Reinhold Niebuhr (the Serenity Prayer)

“Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.” - Arnold Bennett

Change takes guts. Briefly here is my understanding of the story of Caleb and other scouts who reported to Moses on the promise land. The other scouts, except for Joshua, were scared because the inhabitants of the land were big people and it would be difficult to overcome in battle on their own.

Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

Why could Caleb see “change” and opportunity when the others saw disaster?

1. Caleb’s values were based on the power of God, not people.

2. Caleb had the facts. To make the right decision about what to change you need to have the facts straight.

3. He had the right attitude. In this case, he trusted God to protect them and fulfill His promises. As leaders we have to have the right attitude as defined by our personal values and our four company culture cornerstones (mission, values, vision and accountability).

4. Caleb stated his vision/conclusion clearly, and the action they should take. Truth often stands against popular opinion. At times leaders have to stand alone for truth.

Consider this equation when considering change in your personal or professional life:

Values + Knowledge + Action = Change

Food for thought.

Be an Intentional Leader.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

(Above quotes are from www.thinkexist.com.)

MEETING IDEAS

Change is a great topic for discussion with team members because often they do not feel included in significant decisions. Here are some ideas on how to discuss change with your people.

1. Identify 1-3 changes you could make in your organization, product/services, team structure, policies or other area that either resolves a recurring problem or builds upon your strengths to grow your company.

2. Discuss each of the quotes above individually by asking how does it apply to each of the changes you would like to make.

3. Discussed each of the changes you would like to make in this sequence:

- What changes can we make so the way we handle this situation is totally consistent with our values and for company culture cornerstones?

- What additional information do we need to gather to have all the facts?

- What actions can we take to develop a better approach to this situation?

- How can we pilot change for 90 days to test our assumptions?

- How can we build in accountability for the changes that pass our 90 day test so people are trained in how to deliver this change and our entire organization consistently demonstrates this improvement?

- Should we structure some type of regular recognition or celebration for successfully implementing this change?

One Tip

Success With People, Inc. — Sat, 28 May 2011 14:58:00 +0000

I always try to be brief in these posts. Please take about 2 minutes to watch this video interview of Verne Harnish with Greg Brenneman, the former CEO of Continental and Burger King:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh6tLeUelVg]

He talks about creating and daily/weekly communicated a one-page plan for the business that has a theme at the top and then:

Market plan
Financial plan
Product plan
People plan

He also believes as leaders we need to make certain, without being inappropriately personal, to let people know we care about their life of faith, family and friends too.

Be an Intentional Leader.

MEETING IDEAS

Simple:

1. Create a one-page plan for an individual, workgroup, division or your company.

2. Structure how you will follow-up.

3. Hold people accountable to your plan.

Nigel Marsh - Work/Life Balance

Success With People, Inc. — Thu, 26 May 2011 19:37:00 +0000

Gotta love TED talks ladies and gentleman.. this is an invaluable talk about remembering what's really important in life.

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

Great Leaders

Success With People, Inc. — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:48:00 +0000

Great leaders do two things consistently well:

Set clear, measurable objectives
Follow-up (and follow-through)

Here is a simple test for you to evaluate your leadership in these two areas:

1. Have you set goals for your company, yourself or your people for 2011 and not followed up to confirm progress is on track on a weekly or biweekly basis?

If you are not following-up, then how can you require your people to follow through consistently?

2. Do you make commitments to your staff that you will complete something by a certain date and then miss those due dates?

If you miss your commitments to your people, then how can you require them to fulfill all their commitments to you and your clients?

3. Have you met with an employee about a problem and agreed to follow-up with them, but you have not followed-up as expected (yet)?

What does this communicate to the employee, and how do they mirror your dysfunctional behavior to clients and coworkers?

4. Have you identified an issue that is hurting your company and procrastinated on making a decision?

If you procrastinate when making important decisions, then how can you expect your employees to be decisive?

OUCH. These two skills are second only to holding yourself strictly accountable to being a person of integrity and good character. When you fully develop these two skills into consistent habits then you will be more effective than 81% of other leaders.

So why not start today? Contact us if you want coaching to help you accelerate the process.

Be an Intentional Leader.