Gen Y What?

BusinessWeek has their Best Places to Launch a Career issue out and the gold I mined is a mention of Why New Grads Love Cisco. The reason I love this is because Cisco has changed the game.

According to the article, 2,500 Recent college grads have gone through an onboarding process at Cisco since 2006. It's like a fraternity/sorority rush rather than the typical hiring process because the new hires choose their manager. 98% are still at Cisco after 2 years. Compare this to BW's #1 pick - Deloitte, who loses 50% in three years...

Cisco's approach is a great idea that may lead you to change parts of your onboarding process so you can increase intern and new employee productivity and retention. Although this article refers to Gen Y'ers, the benefits should apply to all types of new hires.

Meeting Ideas

Gen Y What? is about considering ways to do an extreme makeover of your intern or new hire onboarding process. "Onboarding" is the steps a new hire goes through to begin work at your company.

Here are some potential questions for your next staff meeting to challenge your people to consider how to improve your onboarding process:

• What is the most disappointing part of our onboarding process? What can be done to improve it?

• What is the best part of our onboarding process? How can we make it even better, or at least extend it?

• What part of the Cisco onboarding process could we implement at our company?

• How can we cut the time it takes for someone to be fully productive by 25-50%?

Grow Not Go

I was speaking with Bret Dalton of the Dalton Group and he made a great point:

It's not always a good idea to promote the COO to CEO.

This applies at all levels.

Too often people focus on how to get promoted when their current job may be the best opportunity to align their natural strengths with their job responsibilities.

Bret mentioned that when Jesus sent out His disciples it was two-by-two. He thinks this is because none of us alone has all the skills to complete work competently. So Jesus paired them up so the skills of one compensated for the weaknesses of the other and vice-versa.

COO's are not necessarily great CEO's. The skill set is often quite different, but when matched properly they can be a powerful mix. (Bret should know because he is one of the most highly respected executive recruiters in the country for Christian ministries.)

For instance, the success of an American president is greatly affected by their chief of staff. Larry Ellison was tremendously successful with Ray Lane as his COO... Bill Gates balanced Steve Ballmer...

That's why we work in teams. Sometimes it's two of us. Other times it's many more.

The bottom line: Considering focusing on how to

Grow

to become the best you can be in your current position. It may be much more fulfilling than trying to

Go

to the next promotion.

I am not against getting promoted. I am just suggesting if you focus on Grow then you will achieve greater results and create more Go opportunities to consider in the future.

Be an intentional leader.

Staff Meeting Questions

Grow Not Go

is about becoming the best you can be in your current role and then considering new opportunities that align with your natural strengths.

Here are some potential questions for your next staff meeting to challenge your people to consider how they are growing in your organization:

• What three actions are you taking this week to increase your skills, knowledge or professional relationships?

• What are your three greatest natural strengths, starting with your top strength first?

• What are the three greatest natural strengths of the 1-3 people with whom you work most often, starting with their top strength first?

• What is one way you could exchange work with someone else because your current task is better suited to their natural strengths?

• What work could they give to you because it better aligns with your natural strengths?

For more on natural strengths, consider Talent Assessments.

Employees Have The Best Ideas

Stop moving so fast. Slow down and talk with your people.

Howard Schultz is the driving force who made Starbucks successful. Recently he took charge of the company again. He's at his best when he thinks like an underdog, according to a recent BusinessWeek article. (The last page of the article has my favorite insights.)

So how does he get ahead? He's paranoid, like Andy Grove of Intel. He says, "I love being the underdog." Then he listens to and inspires his people. He concludes with passion, "...It's not marketing, research, consultants, it's just the experience."

So he gives some employees a small budget and asks them to open a store to compete with Starbucks. It's called 15th Ave. Coffee & Tea and it opened on July 24.

BIG IDEA: Think about it: What's the best competitor you can have? Answer: One you own.

Will it be successful? It depends how you define success. It has stimulated a positive rush of emotion for Starbucks employees who either developed the concept shop or know about it. It's like, "We're back. We not done yet. Watch out."

The bottom line: Your employees have your best ideas. What are you doing to encourage, develop and fund them... before they get frustrated and compete with you, or a competitor gets the same idea and hits you where it hurts.

Meeting Ideas

Employees Have The Best Ideas is about challenging your people to practice LOI: Live It - Observe It - Improve It. Engage your people to motivate them to be their best and to learn from them so your company achieves its best.

Here are some potential questions for your next staff meeting to challenge your people to identify your next business thrill ride:

• Consider the way we deliver products or services - what could we do differently that would thrill our clients?
• What are the three aspects of our business model where competitors succeed most often?
• What is one product or service we could add that would benefit existing clients and also attract new clients?
• How could we lower the cost, shorten the time and/or improve the quality of three internal processes?
• If you could have any idea fully funded, what would you pursue with the next 3-12 months of your life?

As always, consider inexpensive awards from their Wish List for great ideas.

Think Again

Consider how this story applies to your business.

Last week I stayed at the Doubletree Hotel Santa Ana/Orange County, 201 East MacArthur Blvd., Santa Ana, California to participate as a sponsor of the MSP University Boot Camp.

The hotel staff is incredible. The Doubletree, like many hotels, has a notice hanging on the towel rack that states, "Help protect our environment. A towel on the floor says 'Please replace with a fresh one.' A towel on the rack says, 'I will use it again.' Save water etc. (No other instructions.)

Now I want to save water and the environment so my first morning I put my towels on the rack and... like every other hotel I've stayed at, they replaced the towels anyway.

I studied the card. There are no other instructions. My second morning I tried something different. I put my towels on the rack and placed the "Save the Environment" notice on the counter in front of the sink. The result: They did not replace my towels, and furthermore, the person (maybe a different maid) laid out my toothpaste, etc. nicely on a Kleenex tissue. She took pride in cleaning my room.

So this gave me an idea. The front desk people are great, especially one woman whose smile lights-up the room. I remembered to explain what happened to them and made the following suggestions, which could save them thousands of dollars:

1. Re-word the notice to instruct people to place the notice on the sink counter if they plan to use their towels again.

2. Hang the notice on the faucet or put it on the toilet rather than just hang it on the rack so it has greater visibility.

3. Compliment the person who made-up my room.

What process do you have that people are not following which if they did, would result in more revenue or cost savings? What minor, low-cost or no-cost action can you take to achieve that benefit?

Be an intentional leader.

Do This For YOU

Can you perform your best without any training or reinforcement?

No. Have you EVER been trained the best way to:

• Resolve conflicts

• Manage meetings

• Delegate work

• Give engaging presentations

• Set and pursue goals

• Manage your time

• Work more productively with co-workers

MANAGEtoWIN is sponsoring the release of Success Scenarios, which teaches these skills and 17 other critical behaviors/habits you and your people need to develop to save time and achieve your career goals.

Success Scenarios is pre-recorded webinars, mp3 files, PowerPoint summaries, e-books, study guides and weekly insights via email. It teaches and helps make certain you apply what you learn. It is designed to help you as an individual or your team (each subscription supports up to 100 people).

Be intentional. Everything you need to develop 24 critical business soft skills is included in Success Scenarios so you can become the best you can be. Every day you wait costs you time and money.

Not Funny

We are completing the Success Scenarios soft skills training library this week. It teaches how to delegate, manage meetings, do engaging presentations, get along better and more productively with co-workers.

There are 24 different disciplines taught in Success Scenarios. One of the topics within the Verbal Communication scenario (and in the one on Legal Liabilities) touches on why we should avoid inappropriate humor in our workplace.

In September 2008, SHRM's HR Magazine reported on a February 2008 telephone survey conducted by Novations Group, a Boston-based consulting firm. Here are two of the key findings:

• 45% of men and 38% of women heard sexually inappropriate comments at work in 2007

• 38% of employees between the ages of 18 and 34 heard age-related ridicule while only 16% of workers over age 55 heard similar comments

Is your objective to get sued? The EEOC fined companies over $300 million last year, and part of it might have been silly stuff like this. Aside from the legal risks, which are significant, bad jokes lead to other unprofessional behavior.

We labor in an increasingly diverse workplace. A joke that might seem hysterical with your friends may humiliate or anger someone at work. Be very careful with your humor in the workplace.

Be intentional. Act like a leader.

Too Many Ideas

Are you like me? I am having so much fun helping people becoming more effective leaders that I'm overwhelmed with ideas to improve the way people are managed on the job.

Some of you struggle to come up with new ideas. Sorry. I can't relate. If that's your issue then consider teaming-up with an idea generator.

However having too many ideas is a curse as well as a blessing. How do you manage the "Idea of The Moment Club" going on in your mind and still get work done? Here are a few tips:

Define your system for idea management

I have replaced my paper file folders with computer folders and MS-Word documents for long-term ideas so I can add to them easily. When I get an idea then I write it or add the link to the Word document. Links do go away so you may want to copy and paste info from the website into your document. Big ideas get a folder so I can add PDF's and other digital documents. I add to short-term ideas as a Microsoft Outlook Task (no reminder).

THE BENEFIT: Ideas are not lost. It is quick and easy. Over time ideas develop into something valuable or fade.

Work within boundaries

Idea chasing can waste hours of each day. Jot down the inspiration and toss it aside until you can enter it in your system. Do not start searching the web to validate or expand upon your ideas.

THE BENEFIT: Your important work gets done, which creates opportunities to pursue more ideas!

Be thankful and humble.

Be thankful you get ideas. Living in the past is an easy way to go nowhere. Living in the present is a blessing. Having a vision for the future is exciting! Balance your thanks with humility. Skeptics, analyzers and others question the value of our ideas and their perspective often has value. Be a good listener. The "fertilizer" they throw at you may be just what your idea needs to grow.

THE BENEFIT: Enjoy the thrill of new ideas and listen carefully so you can leverage the naysayers' perspectives to improve your vision.

Keep thinking!

Nice vs. Confront

I was reminded this week of how many people steal time or assets from their company without considering their behavior to be wrong.

A year or so ago I had a footnote about Acts 13:10 in my Bible jump off the page at me. It says, "There is a time to be nice and a time to confront. Ask God to show you the the difference and the courage to do what is right."

The economy is clearly trying to stabilize and move forward, but the pressure on many leaders has been intense for a year or more. Although contracts and cash may become easier to secure, leaders are still faced with challenging decisions.

One of these decisions involves clearly defining and enforcing acceptable standards of integrity in your workplace. If you have not already done so, then now is an excellent time to have a candid discussion with employees about their integrity on the job. For those people who do not share your company values, stop being nice and confront unprofessional behaviors in a positive yet firm manner.

Give them an opportunity to improve by discussing your concerns verbally and in writing, including your specific expectations for their behavior. Have them sign the document confirming they have been notified of your concerns and if they do not improve then it could result in discipline up to the loss of their job. Work with them in an encouraging manner for a period of 30-90 days.

If they cannot improve, then maybe it's time to give them a negative disruption in their life: Fire them.

Sorry to be the bad guy. I personally avoid confrontation, however there is a time to be nice and a time to confront. The economy is starting to turn and you cannot afford to lose business due to unacceptable behavior by your employees.

What's Going On?

I opened the newspapers this morning to read that the "son of a (local) porn king" beat the 29-year old mother of his one-year old daughter to death in my hometown, and in Florida as many as seven men murdered the adoptive parents of 13 special needs kids in an apparent robbery attempt.

What is going on in society today?

As much as I love to talk about how to save the world, my message today is simple: As leaders it is vital to the health and motivation of our people that we stop to reflect, re-energize and then re-emerge in our workplace with renewed passion to do our best.

Take your team out of the office. Go on a picnic at the beach, in the mountains, near a river or anywhere that has a breath-taking view at a certain time of day when you slow down enough to appreciate it!

Bring treats that your people like, not just what you like. Include their favorite non-alcoholic drinks.

Here is a potential agenda:

1. Explain that it just seems like a wise move to take a break to review your team's recent achievements, thank them and dream. There is so much negative news in the world right now that you don't want them to overlook the positive of "what is going on" in our lives.

2. Share stories of recent customer success. Be specific about the actual benefits to the clients. For instance, do not focus on an installation of a new mail server, but rather the problems that went away when the project was completed.

3. Thank people individually and specifically for what you appreciate about them. Your business is all about people! Ask others to add what they appreciate about each person before moving on to the next. (Engage 1-2 people before the meeting to ask them to be ready to add at least one compliment about a person if no one speaks up.)

4. Ask them what your company will be accomplishing in five years if they are living their dreams and what they would be doing as part of the team.

5. If you make commitments to help them live those dreams, or anything else, set a specific schedule for follow-up and live-up to your responsibility.

What's going on? Something good at your company. Do not let your people miss it.

Be a Catalyst

I was driving down the freeway last week to a meeting in Silicon Valley. In central San Rafael the traffic slowed in an area that should be without delays. I joined the crowd of vehicles about 200 yards out from the traffic jam and it was difficult to discern what the problem was.

As I got closer the problem was clear. A truck had dropped 15-20 rocks that were about 12-18 inches in diameter. They were strewn across all four lanes. The problem occurred probably 10 minutes earlier and people were weaving their vehicles around the rocks.

This seemed illogical to me. I worked my way from the third lane to the shoulder on the right of the freeway to park my car. I got out of my car in my dress slacks and pressed shirt to start rolling and carrying heavy, dusty rocks to the shoulder of the road.

An interesting thing happened.

Two other vehicles pulled over behind me along with a motorcylce in the fast lane into the center shoulder. Guys jumped out and started moving rocks off the road. We were done in two minutes.

My point is NOT to tell you about my good deed, but rather to share how being a catalyst motivates others to do what is right and/or their best. After the rocks were moved some people waved their thanks to me as they passed. The best part was the look in their eyes, particularly from my brothers who helped.

Be ready. At any moment you may have the opportunity to make something better for a family member, co-worker, client, vendor... or even people you do not even know. It's an old American core value: Working for the common good.

Be ready to serve others humbly. It can be a powerful catalyst for positive change, even if it's just moving some rocks so people can drive safely.

Early Birds Rock!

In today's hectic world you have three choices to get productive work done:

1. Stay late to work

2. Arrive early to work

Schedule Sanctuary time is where you turn-off all communication and interruptions to get work done (Sanctuary can also be a total break from work to exercise, have a healthy snack and clear your mind.)

My preference and strong recommendation is to arrive early, but let me come back to that in a moment. All three of these intentional behaviors help you get more work done than during the majority of your typical work day. Here is why.

1. No phone calls, emails, instant messaging, texting or Twitter - and if there is, you should turn them all off

2. No distracting voices in the background

3. Nobody appears at your desk to ask a question

4. Quiet

Here is why I strongly recommend being an "early bird":

1. You gain a feeling of accomplishment to start the day, which reinforces a positive, can do attitude

2. Start early and quit early, or at least on time so you have hours with your babe, kids, family and/or friends

3. You are more likely to complete tasks that lead to your achieving your key annual objectives

Early birds rock! When I used to work on the floor of the stock exchange in San Francisco I was in at 5:30 a.m. and off by 2:30 p.m. My tennis game was never better and my wife looked great in her outfit. We loved it. How about you?

Consider being more intentional with some of your work time so your most important activities get done without overworking.

Be Memorable in Meetings

You are a leader. Why not be a memorable one?

An important part of being memorable as a leader is listening well, making certain your people feel valued and having meetings that are productively interactive. However there are some little things you can do to increase your memorability in meetings also. Here are some ideas:

Gifts. I often bring hard-cover copies of my books to meetings as a gift. It helps them get to know me and our work better. It is thoughtful because the book retails for $29.95 and can be helpful. Yes, it also is a great business card. $10-$15 gift cards are an alternative that can be effective, especially if you match them to the interests of each meeting participant.

Treats. Consider bringing high quality treats such as See's Candies chocolate (high quality, not some cheap brand), brownies or other treats from a classy bakery, or anything that is classy but not too expensive. No doughnuts!

Examples. For instance, if you are talking about the importance of branding then bring some samples of great brands to give away after you explain why they are unique. (You don't have to bring a Macintosh computer, just an iTunes card...) Maybe give the examples as prizes for people who have innovative ideas or answers to your questions.

Tell great stories. If you are on a tight budget then be prepared with one or more great stories to tell. If you think others tell stories better than you, work with your storytellers before the meeting and weave their participation into your agenda.

Life is way too short! Be memorable.

Hang Loose in Balance

As a result of our business is taking off I have to prioritize my time more effectively. I can no longer do everything I want to do, but must rather focus on my real needs.

How about you? I remember years ago I contacted Guy Kawasaki. At that point he was getting over 700 emails a day. How do you keep up with 700 emails a day? What about instant messaging? Texting on your PDA/phone? Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter? Whatever else...?

Get real people! Forget Internet bandwidth. You do not have the bandwidth to actively participate in most of these venues.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Focus on 1-3 key objectives each day, or if that is a struggle, just 1-3 each week.

2. Respond to every email or phone message. REALLY! Guy Kawaski responded to me in 1-3 words... not sentences or paragraphs. Have the foresight to treat others the way you want to be treated, even if they are in sales. Just keep it brief. If they push it, then politely cut the conversation short or do not respond.

3. Focus on one key objective each day. (See #1 above.) Once you get good at that, then focus on achieving two key objectives each day. If you can hit three a day then you are maximizing productivity or setting objectives that are too easy. That's your call.

4. Let it go. Do not stress. Be realistic on what your absolute needs versus what you want to accomplish. If you are getting the most important things done, then you will find a way to delegate, postpone without damage, or drop other activities.

I call this, "Hang loose in balance," because you are still driving to accomplish great things at work but now you can enter into personal activities with less stress. You are letting go of some wants to achieve all of your needs.

Life is way too short! Just let it go.

Moving Away From Helicopter Drops

"Helicopter drops" are when leaders rush-in and rush-out for a brief chat, to follow-up on something, provide a "bonding moment" or other brief interlude... but the interaction is a one-time event when more regular interaction is required to fully engage the individual.

Helicopter drop events do not build or sustain the momentum necessary to fully engage employees - and NOT fully engaged employees is the biggest drain on your profits.

The Gallup Organization estimates 75% of your employees are NOT fully engaged. Consider the additional profits available just by systematically engaging your employees... it's HUGE!

Think of the impact if all of your employees matched the top performer profile in the recent Watson Wyatt 2008-09 WorkUSA Survey that defined how top performers behave on the job. Do not do a helicopter drop and scan the list! Pause to reflect on each behavior for 10 seconds - how would it affect your bottom line?

• 26 percent higher employee productivity
• Lower turnover risk
• More likely to attract top talent
• Twice as likely to be top performers
• Miss 20 percent fewer days of work
• 75% exceed/far exceed expectations in most recent review
• More supportive of organizational change initiatives

Then avoid helicopter drops and become more systematic in your interactions with coworkers so you develop momentum in your professional relationships that is mutually rewarding.

Achievements Are Temporary

This is a scary thought. (From a BusinessWeek article, 5/25/09 issue.)

It is also a great meeting topic for conversation. We focus a lot on the pursuit and accomplishment of clear, measurable goals but we do not talk often about what to do after you succeed.

Your activity following success determines future success. For instance is a:

• Hit product hiding the fact more work needs to be done?
• Team of people totally in agreement actually indicating key improvements are being overlooked?
• Comfort level of success lowering employee productivity - no hunger?
• Busy work environment distracting you from the realities of the economy - good or bad?

One reason to use MANAGEtoWIN is our system provides a platform that develops momentum so your company is building upon success instead of basking in it.

Achievement is temporary and I say, "Thank God!" Life would be really boring if all we had to do was accomplish one thing and then kick back. Therefore seize each day, stay alert and be systematic in leading your people so achievements grow into sustained success.

Promotion Problem

Think about this NOW, not in January 2010. Here is a typical situation.

Your company promotes people or just moves them into new responsibilities. Being an incredible leader, you now have new people reporting to you. The problem is you only manage these people for three months and then you have to give them an annual review covering the last 12 months!

The answer involves using software like MANAGEtoWIN as your foundational system to more effectively manage your people. Then, should you inherit employees you have instant access to their:

• Annual goals with notes on progress
• Notes on significant activities outside of their goals
• Past performance reviews
• What they are doing to pursue education, volunteer work, certifications, memberships/awards...
• Compensation, attendance, benefits...
• Behavioral assessments, feedback from others...

The bottom line is MANAGEtoWIN provides a system for maintaining a complete, accurate, real-time picture of every employee in your organization. Leaders can better understand the capabilities of their people and thus more fully engage them in achieving their best.

My thanks to Yolanda Underwood of LeadershipOne for sharing how some of her clients did not have any records of employee performance when they inherited people.

What's Your One?

When I did a keynote talk at the ConnectWise conference last September they asked attendees to focus on, "What's Your One?" It may be a good time to consider this ourselves.

Attending a good conference to learn new ways to improve your business can be like drinking water from a fire hose. ConnectWise was encouraging attendees to improve their ability to benefit from the conference by focusing on:

• Idea to contemplate
• Initiative for your business
• New process to implement
• Forward step to take

This is one of the reasons the ConnectWise conference was a great success. They provided lots of opportunities yet encouraged focus. Today most companies - not all - are working through the challenges of lowering costs and incresing sales. We have about 45 days until mid-year. So I ask you:

What's your one? What is the one thing you need to accomplish by the end of June to start the second half of the year stronger than you are today?

Go Beyond Wishes

For awhile now I have encouraged clients to ask employees how they would like to be rewarded when they do something right. The process is to ask each employee to write a Wish List containing five ways they would like to be rewarded.

I do not recommend you send them to Europe or buy them a new car, but many people would like a specific gift card, one-on-one lunch with the boss, or something else that does not cost a lot of money, but is meaningful because it shows you gotten to know them as an individual.

In the last two weeks I spoke at the HTG Summit and THRIVE 2009. In both cases someone from the audience shared their firm has gone beyond Wish Lists to have a fun questionaire that gains personal insight to their employees. They ask questions about their favorites, such as their favorite cartoon character, non-alcoholic drink, automobile, person in history, activity or hobby... you get the idea. Any silly but politically correct question is okay.

One young woman at THRIVE shared they have appointed a Sunshine Committee which regularly recognizes employees with something from their list. For instance, when the employee arrives at work in the morning they may find their favorite cartoon character on their computer screen. They keep track of what they do for each employee to make certain they are recognizing all employees equally. Of course the members of the Sunshine Committee are naturally optimistic extroverts.

I suggest you give it a try to increase the fun factor and team vibes at your office.

Goal Warm-up

The objective of Goals That Work is to set clear, measurable goals and follow-up more often so results are achieved.

I recommend you warm-up your goals this week in your meetings with direct reports and/or staff by speaking positively about their potential for achieving each key objective. Whether your people are doing well or struggling, give them a vision of success.

Words are powerful. Use your sincere words, body language and follow-up after the meeting to build-up your people. But do not stop there. Cast the vision, or reinforce it, and then help them understand the tasks they need to complete during the upcoming week to move one step closer to achieving each goal.

That's why I suggest it's time for a goal warm-up. One third of the year is gone. Let's make the final two thirds of the year our best ever!

Don’t Show Me The Money

According to 84 percent of 1,200 U.S. adults age 18 and older who participated in a new poll from the Washington, D.C.-based Center for State & Local Government Excellence, health insurance is the most important factor in choosing a job. (Reported by SHRM.)

Check out where pay lands - 10th! (You’ve heard this from me many times. Compensation has only been the primary reason someone chooses a job in one survey that I’ve seen over the last 5 years. Effective leaders engage employees based on results and relationship, not strictly rewards.

The rankings were:

• Health insurance plan, 84 percent.
• Job security, 82 percent.
• Environment with clear policies and procedures, 82 percent.
• Retirement or pension plan, 76 percent.
• Flexible, family-friendly workplace, 71 percent.
• Getting quick decisions on work issues, 69 percent.
• Working with talented managers, 68 percent.
• Potential for promotions, 66 percent.
• Being creative and intellectually stimulated, 66 percent.
• Amount of total compensation, 65 percent.
• Making a contribution to society, 64 percent.
• Reasonable work commute, 63 percent.
• Having independence and personal autonomy, 57 percent.
• Working with others from diverse backgrounds, 50 percent.
• Amount of vacation time, 46 percent.