$15 iTunes Cards For Great Boss Stories - MANAGEtoWIN

MANAGEtoWIN is offering a $15 iTunes card to the first fifty people who submit accepted stories about what their boss does that makes them a great leader at www.managetowin.com

Check out the press release!

You Are Awesome: The Power of Praise

Picture this:  Everyone's there.  One by one they stand up and share stories about how wonderful he is.  His major accomplishments are mentioned in awe and his personal moments with tears or laughter.  For once, everyone is focused on what he has done right!  No one remembers his mistakes.

The only problem is... he is dead.  It is his funeral.

Why do we wait so long to set aside competitiveness, anger, bitterness and busyness to appreciate people?  It is one of the great ironies in life that seems to reinforce how self-centered humans can be.

The guys who wrote the book, The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance, believe 67% of all employees have NOT received a compliment in the past year.  My guess is that most if not all of those employees did get complimented, but they also got 10-20 (or more) corrections, reprimands, sarcastic remarks or insults for every compliment so the good news was quickly forgotten.

What can you do?

You can have fun.  Engage a positive extrovert on staff (or on contract) to organize monthly recognition of your people.  Think of yourself as an employee.  How would you feel if one day you came to work and the following happened:

1. A banner across the reception area said "(your name) IS AWESOME!"

2. Many people had buttons on that said, "(your name)'s THE BEST!"

3. Your cubicle is decorated with something you love - nature, Dilbert comics, Star Wars toys

4. You were taken to lunch at your favorite restaurant by the president along with two people of your choice.

5. Something you have been waiting on is suddenly prioritized and completed for you.

6. Your boss calls your spouse to say the company is really happy to have you on the team and shares a story of your success.

7. You receive a scrapbook from www.picaboo.com with photos and stories from other employees about your great works, good character and friendship.

8. You get a crisp $100 bill to spend on yourself or a nice dinner with your spouse.

The point is, PLEASE do not wait until it is too late to say "You are great" to your employees. 

Meeting Ideas

You Are Awesome is a way to increase employee productivity, profits and personal fulfillment in working for your company.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next management (not staff) meeting to consider how your firm, at very low cost, can recognize people more regularly.

1. Determine why you want to recognize people.

2. Define how you want to recognize people.

3. Choose when you want to recognize people.

4. Decide who will be in charge of activities to recognize people.

5. Track recognition to make certain everyone gets appreciated.

Become A King

Over the last few days many people have celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  What are seven things leaders can learn from Dr. King, even if you (like me) have a fraction of his incredible intellect?

1.      Action:  Dr. King once said, "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."  He understood that if you do not act to correct what is wrong then you support it.

2.      Character:  Dr. King once said, "I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."  He tried to live what he believed and demonstrate integrity in his actions.

3.      Excellence:  Dr. King once said, "Whatever your life's work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better."  He gave his life for his work because it was meaningful to him.

4.      Humility:  Dr. King once said, "I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good."  He led with passion, wisdom and intellect yet he never forgot his goal was to serve not to be served. 

5.      Love:  Dr. King once said, "I have decided to stick with love.  Hate is too great a burden to bear."  He lived the one new commandment his Lord gave, which was to "...love one another as I (Jesus) have loved you."

6.      Right:  Dr. King once said, "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.  This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.  (and)  The time is always right to do what is right."  He did what was right instead of what was popular or easy. 

7.      Vision:  Dr. King once said, "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."  Dr. King knew he had to lead rather than be led.

            Quotes from Brainy Quote.

MEETING IDEAS

Become a King is about focusing on key strengths of someone who has demonstrated successful leadership.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next management (not staff) meeting to consider how you and your people can apply some of the leadership truths Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. demonstrated in his life.

1.      Action:  What are the three things most wrong with our company and what can we do to correct them?

2.      Character:  What are the three biggest temptations our employees face?  How can we help them avoid these temptations and recognize/reward them when they do?

3.      Excellence:  How can we make our work more meaningful for our employees?

4.      Humility:  Is there any area of our business where we have lost our humility and are creating risk?  How can we focus more on serving?

5.      Love:  Where is hatred, hurt or competition between employees holding us back from achieving our best?

6.      Right:  What shortcuts are we taking instead of following a complete process to do our best work?  Is there one area of our business where we could do things differently because it is the right way to do it?  Would this help differentiate our company from the competition?  Why should we care?

7.      Vision:  Who can say our vision statement from memory?  What does it mean to you personally and professionally?  Name three ways we are following the industry.  Name three ways we uniquely serve our clients.

Ft. Hood and Your Company?

Major Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 American Soldiers and wounded another 30 at Fort Hood recently.  People are debating whether he should have been fired long before shooting anyone.  Could your firm have workers that should be let go?

USA Today reports that doctors managing Hasan's medical training repeatedly voiced concerns over his strident views on Islam and his inappropriate behavior, yet here is the problem that may be occurring at your company:  Everyone continued to give him positive performance evaluations.

Why?

Hasan's behavior was totally inappropriate for an Army psychiatrist, but hindsight is always 20-20.  What about your company?  Do you have employees who are doing the job, but demonstrate behaviors or values that clearly conflict with their job?  Are they:

• Constantly late

• Do not regularly follow-through

• Rude and/or impatient with customers

• Rude and/or impatient with co-workers

• Not meeting your quality standards

• Not achieving your quantity standards

• Not... anything regularly

So what can you do?

1. Document their performance against goals, company policies and values instead of giving them verbal warnings which are not recognized in a court of law.

2. Give them a comprehensive, yet quick (20-30 minutes to write it) performance review for 2009.

3. If after 90 days of documenting their performance, fire them.  Or if you already have written or online documentation of their performance you can fire them now.  Why wait?

Often times the best solution for them as well as your company is to just let them go.

BOTTOM LINE:  Great employees can be hard to retain unless you are properly, but less effective employees seem to stay forever when you have not automated employee accountability.  Get them engaged or show them the door.  Let me know if you have any questions.

MEETING IDEAS

Ft. Hood at Your Company is about operating your business professionally so employees are fully engaged and people are held accountable for results.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next management (not staff) meeting to consider how you and your people can choose to recognize people for their contributions and hold people accountable for results.

1.      What are the top three actions our people take that grows our business?  (Maybe discuss this per department.)

2.      What are our company standards for these actions?

3.      Who is meeting or exceeding these standards and how?

4.      What can be done to recognize the performance of the people who are meeting our standards?

5.      Who is not meeting or exceeding these standards and how?

6.      What can be done to improve the performance of the people who are not meeting our standards?

BOTTOM LINE:  The quest to fully engage employees is a never-ending journey.  If you have people wandering from your path then free them to pursue the next step in their career.

What's Your One?

When I did a keynote at the ConnectWise conference in 2008, their focus at the event was “What’s Your One?” The concept was for attendees to leave the conference with one action to take that would improve their business.

How can this apply to you in 2010?

They did this because the information gathered at these events is like drinking water from a fire hose and then you return to the office only to find that within 24-48 hours you are back to old habits. Nothing has changed. None of your conference zeal has been implemented.

Sounds like most business days to a lot of people…

Computer Reseller News recently published its State of the Market survey results. Let’s look at one of their four key areas – the Top Business Priority responses to their survey (DO YOU NOTICE WHAT IS MISSING?)

28.8% Introduce a new technology to current customer base
19.9% Expand existing business to new vertical market/customer base
15.7% Continue further cost-cutting initiatives
14.4% Expand existing business to a new geography/market
8.7% Hire additional technical staff
5.8% Hire additional sales staff
4.2% Grow through acquisition or merger
2.6% Other

WHAT’S MISSING? Specific steps to better lead and/or develop people. Hiring adds to your staff, but too often people EXPECT the new people know how to perform and do not invest in developing them. Acquisition or merger is also often a desire to grow without doing the work of motivating and developing your people to work more effectively.

What’s the one thing you will do in 2010 to better lead or develop your people, including yourself? Feel free to comment below

Meeting Ideas

What’s Your One is about deciding one action you can take or behavior you can improve that will improve the productivity, profitability and/or personal fulfillment of your employees (and/or you) in 2010.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting to consider how you and your people can choose one action to regularly take or behavior to improve so you can achieve more of your dreams this year.

1. What was the most effective activity someone else did last year that improved their productivity, profitability and/or personal fulfillment in their job last year? (Everyone should receive feedback.)

2. Someone has identified something that worked for you in question #1. Explain why it worked for you.

3. How could that activity be even more successful for you in 2010?

4. If you think others overlooked your most productive activity or behavior, share what you think was better and ask for their candid feedback. Consider their feedback. You might be right… or wrong. How are you measuring success?

Bottom line: What’s your one? And how will you hold yourself accountable to it (at least through the first quarter)?

Invictus

If you want to be a different, more successful leader then go see the movie, Invictus, which was just released to theaters. It is directed by Clint Eastwood, and stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

Don't miss it. Here's why: The film is about Nelson Mandela after the fall of apartheid in South Africa during his term as president. Consider his leadership challenges:

1. Many of the black leaders who helped him when he campaigned for president wanted revenge against the white minority who had abused them for decades.

2. As he arrived to take office all the white office staff was packing-up to leave, assuming they had lost their jobs.

3. One of the greatest symbols of white oppression is the South African Sprinbok rugby team, and its green and gold colors.

Rather than do what is popular, Mandela chooses to do what he perceives to be right. This is the mark of a great leader and one virtue missing from the vast majority of political and business leaders today. Here are a few examples:

1. The biggest choice he makes is to forgive and seek reconciliation between blacks and whites. He realizes that only by working together can they achieve their economic goals.

2. While in prison for 27 years he prepared himself for greatness without knowing the opportunities he may have. He studied the whites to learn their ways, passions and values. He then used this wisdom to perceive a unique vision of how to lead them.

3. He worked long, long hours and gave himself a pay cut to demonstrate servant leadership. No one could question his dedication. Even today he is revered almost as a saint by South Africans.

BIG IDEA: While everyone emotionally debated black versus white issues, Mandela focused on how to develop a mutually respectful black and white community, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had done before him.

Mandela had an inspirational vision that eluded everyone around him: Bring the country together by winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which South Africa hosted.

Make it mandatory for your team to watch the movie and then discuss it during your next team meeting. It may give you new inspiration to motivate yourselves to achieve beyond your expectations in 2010.

Be an intentional leader.

Meeting Ideas

Invictus is about a lot of things, but mostly it is an opportunity to consider the vision truly great leaders are given and how they respond to it.

At one point in the film Mandela says he is supporting the rugby team because it is the right thing to do, and if he ever stops doing what is right then he is unfit to continue as president.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting to consider how your people can demonstrate a different, more positive type of leadership:

1. What character do we demonstrate in our actions? Nelson Mandela was not a perfect person. None of us are. However, when are we not demonstrating our company values through our behaviors and communications on the job?

2. Where could reconciliation increase opportunities? Your customers or vendors could be considered opponents. What could you do to improve your relationship with either group?

3. Where are we stuck in our thinking? Too often we get stuck between yes and no, them and us, higher and lower... What could we do that is unexpected, yet takes advantage of our strengths in a different way?

4. What is the right thing to do, but we are doing what is popular or easy instead? Even the best companies make mistakes by taking "the easy road" rather than doing their best. Can we name 1-3 areas where we are doing something that is not right because our current method is easier, popular or profitable?

5. Reality check: All of our ideas may be good, but what is one thing we can do extremely well? Let's get real. Answering the questions above could give you a list of ten or twenty actions to take. Achieving which one would offer the most significance in the lives of our employees, clients and/or vendors?

MSPU and MANAGEtoWIN Help MSPs Accelerate Growth

MSP University and MANAGEtoWIN are offering a webinar tomorrow to transform managed service providers into powerful profit machines by better leveraging vendor marketing dollars.

The 27-minute webinar, Spend More Vendor Money and Less of Your Own, explains how managed service providers can access thousands of dollars from vendors, implement their marketing campaigns with accountability and fully engage employees to achieve top results. There will be additional time for Q&A. This event occurs on Wednesday, Dec 16, 2009 from 11:32 a.m. - 12:17 p.m. PST.

“Most partners do not realize over $100 million dollars in co-op and MDF money went unspent this year,” David Russell, CEO of MANAGEtoWIN explained. “The objective of this event is to help our clients and MSP University managed service providers learn how to grow their business more rapidly. Part of this transformation requires them to see how to better implement vendor marketing campaigns so they can reach their clients more effectively, qualify for vendor marketing dollars, and hold employees accountable for world-class results.”

Host Erick Simpson, vice president of MSP University is joined by leadership expert David Russell, author and CEO of MANAGEtoWIN. David helps leaders overcome their addiction to poor management habits. He has been in the computer industry for over 28 years. Back in 2001 his company hosted over 1,800 online stores for partners and his people developed one of the first online Microsoft partner software licensing configuration tools. He coaches technology solution providers and works with vendors to better engage partners to accelerate growth. His clients include Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, ConnectWise, Catalyst Telecom, Vistage and the Entrepreneur’s Organization members.

About MSP University

MSP University is the premier authority on the development and growth of a successful IT and Managed Services practice. A comprehensive, vendor-neutral resource whose sole function is to collect and disseminate as much information as possible in best practices for IT business transformation and improvement and mentor its members on building, operating and growing a successful Managed Services Practice, MSP University specializes in providing Managed Services education, training, fulfillment, and consulting services to independent IT service providers, vendors and channel organizations worldwide.

Learn From Rommel

Field Marshall Erwin Rommel was a highly decorated officer in World War I. In World War II he became known as the Desert Fox because at the time he was the most skilled commander of desert warfare.

While we cannot and adamantly do not support Rommel's work for Hitler nor Hilter's desire to exterminate the Jews, Rommel was a unique leader among the German military. We can and should take the opportunity to learn from him.

1. He was extremely competitive. He studied hard so he could fight smarter than his opponents. Are you working harder, or smarter? The difference between the two is significant to your bottom line and personal fulfillment.

2. He innovated new ways to do battle. For instance, he developed tactics that were so much faster than typical armored divisions that he was able to surprise his enemies. They nicknamed his group the Ghost Division because his troops seemed to come out of nowhere. At times even German High Command did not know where they were. Are your competitors asking, "Who are those guys?" when you win business from them? If not, why not?

3. He was chivalrous and humane unlike other German officers. When he took over a town, he often visited the hospital first to make certain they were well supplied. He also ignored orders to kill Jewish soldiers and civilians. Do you do what is right, or what is popular? Doing the right thing always is the profitable choice long-term.

But like everyone, Rommel also was a flawed human being and leader. Let's also learn from two of his mistakes.

4. Rommel had a large ego and thus often took too much credit for his successes rather than spread the recognition around. This held him back from gaining greater support from his officers and others in the German Army who envied his success. So ask yourself: What have I done this quarter to recognize my people, vendors and clients compared to how much money, time and words I have lavished on myself?

5. Lastly, Rommel was a risk-taker who would fight if there was any chance to succeed. Yet there is a time to take risks and a time to be conservative. A wise person discerns the difference. After repeated successes in Africa the Germans could no longer provide Rommel with the resources to continue winning. At that point he should have devised ways to fight more conservatively, but he did not.

Rommel's success ended because his division did not have competitive supplies - tanks, trucks, personnel and a variety of other crucial needs to be competitive in war.

My question is, what does your supply line look like as we go into 2010?

Be an intentional leader.

Meeting Ideas

Learn From Rommel is about evaluating yourself as a leader to identify what makes you unique in your markets. I did not say "better," but unique. Consider your strengths and how to compensate for your weaknesses.

Also consider your supply lines for 2010. The economy appears to be growing, but slowly, so managing your resources profitably is critical to your ability to win new business and retain existing clients.

I suggest you evaluate yourself as a leader with a mentor, coach or peer who will be honest with you about both your strengths and weaknesses.

Do not stop there. Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting to strengthen your company's supply lines:

1. What is our recurring revenue stream today? How can we grow it so gross profits are 20-50 percent higher than expenditures on a monthly basis?

2. Can we develop additional revenue from existing clients? They are in the same situation - your clients want to lower costs and increase revenues. Identify 3-5 ways to significantly achieve either of these goals and close those sales!

3. How can we lower costs? If you really want to find out, then pay your people 30 percent of the savings on an ongoing basis for any cost savings that are clear, measurable and based on their performance.

4. How often is our story being told? As a leader you are the chief storyteller. You are the keeper of your company's gospel ("good news"). Are your employees hearing heart-touching stories of your company's success every month (better yet - every week)? What about your clients and vendors?

5. How are our people growing? Your greatest "supply" or asset is your people. If they are not growing professionally then you increase the risk of them going out the door to work for someone else. Make certain everyone has a career path or development plan for 2010 so they understand their bright future with your organization.

Be Careful What You Ask For

There is good and evil in this world, but also something else that's even more insidious than evil: Temptation.

Temptation confuses good people into making bad decisions.

Let me give you an example. I have a very close friend. He had a business a few years ago that was well-funded by a venture capital fund. Unexpectedly, the fund shut down. His company had no debt, but also no money. He was forced to lay-off all 40 employees in one day. He couldn't help it. He started to cry before he could finish the layoff announcement.

He did not want to quit. He tried a few more weeks to find a way for the business to survive. One of his past employees recommended he meet with a successful entrepreneur that the employee knew through his Bible study. My friend was hopeful this might be an answer to his prayers.

The entrepreneur met with my friend and said he could help my friend achieve his dreams. Basically... he told my friend what he wanted to hear. So my friend put aside his concerns about violating the trust his employees and vendors had put in him. He justified his selfish motivation with potential good intentions, but the bottom line was to move ahead meant he had to sacrifice his integrity.

About ten months later my friend's business was $1 million dollars in debt and losing more than $100,000 a month. The situation had moved from unhappy to ugly. And it got worse until the day he closed the company without being able to pay its debts.

Why do I tell you this story? Because the Christmas season focuses on relationships and hopes for the new year.

Question: After investing years of your life to demonstrate you are a person of integrity, are you being tempted to shortchange employees, vendors, family or friends who have trusted you just so you can increase your wealth or opportunities?

Don't answer too quickly. Consider the Meeting Ideas below.

Be an intentional leader.

Meeting Ideas

Be Careful What You Ask For is a reminder that we all are in the "people business." Our relationships with people determine our financial success and personal fulfillment on and off the job.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting about how to confirm your company and financial goals are as sincere as you think they are:

1. What goals have you set for your people to prosper? You are defining your December and 2010 goals. What do you want your people to achieve for their benefit? Yes, it may also help you succeed, but true servant leaders focus primarily on their people.

NOTE: My friend only set goals to prosper himself.

2. Are your goals in conflict with the goals you set for your people? Consider how your goals affect the relationships you have built-up over time:
• Employees (and possibly, their families)
• Clients
• Vendors
• Shareholders
• Your family
• Your friends
NOTE: My friend set goals to prosper himself. Although he talked with a number of people, he only paid attention to people who agreed with him.

3. Ask the people you trust for their opinion. This can include:
• Employees who report directly to you
• Mentors you do NOT want to talk with but who have been right in the past
• People who will tell you what they feel is right even when you do not want to hear it
NOTE: My friend only listened to people who agreed with him. If you are unwilling to talk with people who have given you good advice or employees who have served you well, then this is a major warning sign that the goals you are pursuing may jeopardize your integrity.

4. How do your goals serve God? (However you define God to be)

NOTE: This is a personal question you can ask yourself, but allow your people to answer this on their own. My friend knew he was violating his faith, but he justified it by thinking it would only be temporary. The effects of sacrificing your integrity are never temporary.

Intentional Leadership and Marriage

I heard Jim Burns of Homeword talk earlier this year about being intentional in marriage. This led me to talk more about being an intentional leader, which I am now hearing more often from other leadership experts.

Why not consider giving a Thanksgiving gift this year by becoming more intentional in your personal relationships? If you do, you will find many of these habits will also help you in your professional career.

BIG IDEA: If your marriage(s) and/or relationships have not been the success you had expected, do not focus on failure. I believe in your potential, more than your past. You should too. So join me in exploring how you can improve your existing and future relationships.

1. Choose to live a high maintenance, intentional marriage. The rewards of a long-term marriage far outweigh the single life according to every study I've see. Similar benefits apply to long-term, fully engaged employees.

2. One starting point is to review your marriage or key work relationships:

• What is right?

• What is wrong? (Give each equal time.)

• What is missing?

• What is confusing?

3. BIG IDEA

: Here is the killer idea. Jim Burns recommends three separate meetings with your spouse to have an intentional marriage:

Business meeting

- discuss finances, problems with kids or other people, home repairs, schedules... all the stressful items

Spiritual meeting

- discuss what each person is learning (spiritually)

• What was each person's greatest joy?

• What was each person's greatest struggle?

• Affirm each other

• Each person shares a wish or a hope

• Each person shares a physical goal

Date night

just enjoy each other.

Have FUN

! Postpone and "business" discussions to the business meeting. As long as you diligently have a business meeting weekly this is not a problem. Jim and his wife have proven it for 25 years!

In business three meetings might be a 5-10 minute daily confirmation of key objectives; a weekly innovation meeting to consider how your team is performing and identify ways to improve; and a weekly meeting with each direct report to coach them on a specific soft skill or opportunity.

Sorry I can't dive deeper on this one, but I have limited space in this newsletter. If you have questions, send me an email. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Be an intentional leader.

Meeting Ideas

Intentional Leadership and Marriage is about strengthening your most important personal relationship and applying what you learn in business.

I suggest you share how this can impact people's marriages, but do not discuss it as a staff. Even if people want to discuss it, marriage is personal and those thoughts are not proper in a business environment.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting about how to be more intentional as leaders:

1. Start with the review questions above to consider how intentional your leadership is, or the leadership of each member in the meeting:

• What is right?

• What is wrong? (Give each equal time.)

• What is missing?

• What is confusing?

2. If we were to have three meetings or three types of meetings weekly with our key reports, what meetings would have the most impact on fully developing our natural strengths and achieving results that are meaningful?

3. What distraction is holding you back from achieving your absolute best?

What habit can you start developing today to eliminate that distraction?

4. What is the most significant way you could become more intentional on the job?

What results will occur when this happens?

5. What is the number one thing you will achieve intentionally in 2010? How?

Why is this important to you?

Recession's Over - What Now? (Part II)

Last week we considered how the recession ending affects the ability of employers to retain and attract top talent like YOU. Now let's consider how employees should consider taking advantage of this change in the economy.

The Employee Perspective

You have been fortunate to have a job during the recession, no matter how good you are at it. Now as the economy turns consider tightening your career game plan so you maximize your opportunities.

Early in the year may be a good time to jump into a new job, but if you have a reasonably good future with your current organization then I recommend you focus on maximizing opportunities with your existing company. In brief, here are some ideas:

1. Review past performance - Consider your performance in 2007, 2008 and 2009. What are the strengths you have demonstrated and weaknesses you need to avoid? What have you learned? What do you need to learn? How can you build upon your strengths?

2. Results - The economy is turning, but it may not be a lasting recovery. Therefore you want to focus your efforts in 2010 on delivering results. Make certain your 2010 goals are realistic, yet stretch you. (You can set higher goals for yourself than the targets your boss defines.) Clearly define key action steps and milestones so at the end of 2010 you have followed your game plan to meet or exceed your boss's expectations.

3. Give back - Do not let 2010 be all about you. Consider giving back to your organization by mentoring someone else, serving on a committee (but not too many), helping to define a best practice that enables others to perform at a higher level, or in some other way.

There are opportunities everywhere. Make the most of your career in 2010 by understanding your strengths, defining the results you are going to achieve, giving back and then following-through on your plan.

Meeting Ideas

Recession's Over - Now What? (Part II) is about growing in your career during 2010 even if you are not going up a company organizational chart.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting to encourage you and your team to consider how to make the most of the upcoming year:

1. What happened in 2009 that helped you better understand your behavioral strengths?

2. What are your top three behavioral strengths in order of intensity?

3. What do you think should be your key objectives in 2010 and how do they leverage your strengths? (I recommend everyone have three annual goals. One that is revenue-related; one about customer satisfaction; and one involving their professional development.)

4. How do you plan to give back, or give to others during 2010 so your work is more meaningful and you are contributing to the overall health of our organization?

5. What is the number one thing you want from your company (or boss) in 2010? (Make certain they know and you both have clear expectations for one another. If you need guidance on how to set expectations, email me.

Recession's Over - What Now? (Part I)

I could write another book on what to do now that the recession is fading, but let's quickly consider the benefits of this change in the economy from the perspective of an employer this week. Next week we will consider how an employee should approach 2010.

THE EMPLOYER PERSPECTIVE

Hiring great people has been much easier and less expensive during the recession. Now the ceasefire in the talent wars is over. In brief, what can you do as an employer to have the best possible people working for you?

1. Retain your current people - Engage people with retention interviews; meet to clarify their expectations and yours; work with them to update their career paths; and make certain they know why their work is meaningful.

2. Increase productivity - Set clear measurable goals for all employees; give them an annual performance review; mentor them monthly to develop new skills; and compensate them more based on performance so they can increase their earnings along with your company's growth.

3. Keep networking for new talent - Clearly define your networking program to attract new people; train your people to network; consider rewarding them for new hires; and follow your hiring process to confirm the true capabilities of candidates.

Do not assume your people will stay with you. Reach out to them and engage them to comprehend the value of a future with your organization. This economy may be turning, but there is a significant chance the recovery will be slow and may even turn downward again. Help them understand how staying with you will be professionally and personally fulfilling... and a shrewd move. This will also motivate them to help you hire additional top performers.

Watch for next week's thoughts on three simple steps for employees to make the most of 2010.

Be an intentional leader.

Meeting Ideas

Recession's Over - Now What? (Part I) is about making certain you keep your best people and attract more top performers as the economy strengthens.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting to encourage your people to expand your team:

We are very happy to have you as employees. As we enter this new year we may be hiring again so we have some questions to ask you.

1. What do you like most about working here?

2. What story can you tell that best communicates why you like working here (employee-focused or customer-focused)?

3. When you were hired, you had certain expectations of us as your employer. How are we meeting or exceeding those expectations? (It's up to you whether you want to ask where you can do better.)

4. What do you believe are the best products or services we offer and why? How can we improve them?

5. We expect to be hiring (name positions) next year. We need your help to identify great candidates. Explain how you will find at least one candidate per job opening to help us with our hiring?

What's Perfect?

There must be something going on because this topic has come up several times during the last month. The complete question to ask yourself is:

If life were perfect, what would it be like? Try to be clear and measurable. For instance, if you define one attribute of your "perfect" life as having a great job, what does that mean? You can:

• Make a lot of money yet hate your work

• Love your work, but not be earning enough to pay your bills

• Love your work and be paid well, however you do not enjoy your co-workers or believe in the products or services of your company.

This is why you have to be clear and measurable when defining your life targets. Here are two tips:

1. Reflect on how the words "perfect" and "complete" are often synonomous. Humans are incapable of perfection, so what would your life be like if it were complete and thus more meaningful? What would life be like for you to say with 100% honesty and peace, "Wow, this is awesome! I am so thankful for what I have."

2. Define clear measurable statements for each attribute of your "complete" life. Here are some areas to consider:

* Spiritual

* Relationships (you may define multiple goals, such as spouse, each of your children, family, friends)

* Health

* Personal finances

* Career

* Service for others

I do not believe there is one specific number of attributes of your complete life to define. Some people have three, others five or six, and one person I read about recently had about one hundred.

Take a break this week to define the specific attributes of your fulfilling life. Then enjoy the positive life change of pursuing your life targets intentionally rather than just assuming you will reach your perfect destination someday.

Be an intentional leader.

Meeting Ideas

What's Perfect is about defining what you want from life before living the rest of your life. Why is this overlooked by so many of us? (Myself included.) Maybe it is time for a change.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting to encourage your people to define their "complete" life:

NOTE: Explain how to set life goals and discuss it in general terms, then encourage your people to set them on their own or with a spouse, friend or family member. Many of these goals are personal therefore are not appropriate for office discussion.

If everyone is interested in sharing their career-related life goals then do so AFTER making it very clear the discussion must be respectful at all times. For instance, if the warehouse person wants to be president of the company, then help them understand how to develop their strengths and skills so they can determine on their own whether their dream is realistic. It is NOT your job to stop others from pursuing their dreams.

1. What are your life goals? (Encourage people to be clear and measurable.)

2. Although the timeframe to achieve your life goals can vary, it is helpful to set realistic deadlines. Do each of your life goals have a specific target date to achieve them?

3. Do you have something clear and measurable you are seeking to achieve this year so you are on track to accomplish each of your life goals on the schedule you have set?

4. Are you celebrating the little successes that are leading to your perfect life?

5. How will you feel when you achieve these goals?

Non-Negotiables

The talent war ceasefire is over! Employees are asking for raises and bonuses even though company revenues have not returned to the level achieved prior to the recession. The bottom line: Take extra steps (separate of cash just for staying) to retain top performers and get ready to hire again.

John R. DiJulius III, Chief Visionary Officer of The DiJulius Group, was quoted recently as recommending that you cover you non-negotiable compny values in the first interview with a job candidate. If the person does not engage based on your company values, then move on because they will never be a long-term top performer.

The way it works is simple: The interviewer enthusiastically shares engaging stories that make your company values come to life. The candidate typically gets excited and interrupts, or gets glassy-eyed and bored. DiJulius hires only one of every 25 candidates, but his company has very long employee retention rates which makes them much more profitable. Like Zappos, they pay $500 (Zappos pays $2,000) for people to leave anytime during their first 30 days if they are not thrilled to be part of the organization.

Interviewing is just one step of our hiring system.

Meeting Ideas

Non-Negotiables is about confirming you are hiring people who share the same values of your company. You will almost always have a winner when you can match your values with a reasonably competent person.

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting to gather great stories that demonstrate your company values:

1. Pass out a copy of your company values to everyone.

2. Which of our company values have a client or vendor stated really impressed them? What exactly did they say?

3. What do you think is the most powerful aspect of our company values? Can you give me an example?

4. Tell me your greatest moment of demonstrating our company values on the job.

5. Try to gather 5-10 truthful, non-embellished stories. Document the stories and make certain everyone has a copy of your storybook so they all can evangelize why working for your company is so fun and personally fulfilling.

If these questions do not result in people sharing great stories, then you may want to contact me for advice. Either your values can be better, or your company is not living up to them.

What's Your Endgame?

How does it feel to drink water from a firehose? You should know because on too many days we allow ourselves to get overwhelmed with various forms of communication, work and activities. Let's consider the impact of better focusing our time so our work is more meaningful.

Your endgame is the final stages of an activity, event or time period. One question we must ask ourselves at the start, middle and end of each day is, "Is the work I am doing right now contributing to achieving my most important objectives?" A key objective for every employee that is often overlooked by leaders is how their work is making a meaningful contribution in the lives of others.

Lori Friedman, a cancer researcher at Genentech, has a tiny quote in an article titled, Encouraging Innovation, in Fortune magazine (October 12, 2009). She says, "People are very motivated to think of the endgame. How do we make the right drug? How is this going to help the patient? And I think it's that sense of mission that really brings people together in the community of researchers here."

It is important to achieve your most important objectives, but do not wait until you come to the end of your game to confirm you are doing meaningful work. Figure it out now and hold yourself accountable on a daily basis. The results can be both stunning and deeply personally fulfilling.

Be an intentional leader.

Meeting Ideas

What's Your Endgame is about confirming you're fulfilling your company's mission on a daily basis which in turn motivates you to make consistent progress towards achieving your key objectives.

(You may come to the conclusion you need a new mission statement.)

Here are some ideas for discussion during your next staff meeting to consider how motivated your people are by the mission of your organization:

1. Who can state our company's mission statement from memory?

2. Describe what happens with our client companies when we fulfill our mission?

3. How does our company's mission make your work personally fulfilling and meaningful? And if it does not, then why?

4. Explain something you have done in the past 30 days that powerfully demonstrates our company's mission.

5. Give me an example of what happens at one of our client companies when we do not fully demonstrate our company's mission in the products and services we provide.

6. Identify three ways you as an individual or we as an organization could demonstrate our company's mission more effectively.

Strategic People

Many of you are already immersed in 2010 strategic planning. Thoughts, discussions and even debates have begun on revenue and spending.

What about the people? What about YOU?

Consider making your number one priority an investment in developing your "technical" skills, people skills, knowledge and experience. Certainly you are going to set traditional company goals such as revenue, customer growth, manufacturing productivity or whatever, however do not stop there.

Next define clear, measurable objectives for you and your people to develop your abilities to achieve those traditional company goals. Grow yourself and your people so that you can achieve your company objectives more competently and consistently.

Lastly, after completing this exercise consider listing your professional development objectives at the top of your list of traditional company goals, rather than at the bottom where it typically resides.

Why? Because the success of your company next year depends more on your people than anything else.

They Are NOT Family

One of the most common excuses I get from leaders to not manage people systematically is, "We're like a family. Everyone knows what to do."

There are a number of reasons why this is one of the great lies of "leaders." It really says, "I don't want to deal with it."

Consider this simple math:

Leaders + laziness = LAWSUITS and/or lost profits, busyness yet low productivity, lost customers, employee turnover...

A "Stella Awards" email with false stories is making the rounds. Stella is the woman who sued McDonald's for giving her coffee that burned her when she spilled it on herself. It does not matter that McDonald's serves 24 million cups of coffee for each reported coffee spill that burns; or the fact they serve their coffee at the temperature recommended by the National Coffee Association; or even the fact Stella admitted to spilling the coffee on herself after she had left the restaurant. A jury awarded Stella $2.9 million.

The real Stella Awards should remind you that the people who file these lawsuits may be part of your work "family" (employees and/or customers). Employees can sue you and customers can sue you when employees make mistakes. Yuck.

These people may share two common values of many Americans: It's all about me and it's not my fault!

WHAT TO DO: (at a minimum)

1. Set clear, measurable objectives

2. Document progress towards achieving those objectives

3. Document significant employee behavior

4. Write annual performance reviews

Please do not gamble your company because you assume everyone is "like family." Consider MANAGEtoWIN or at least something as a way to quickly and easily document employee behavior regularly.

Meeting Ideas

They Are NOT Family is about professionally managing people, whether you are a company owner, executive, manager or even a co-worker delegating work to others.

It's great to enjoy the people you work with and have a sense of family or camaraderie. Just be realistic and professional: You still have to set clear, measurable objectives, pursue them ethically and competently, and hold everyone accountable to performing to your company standards.

Here are some potential questions for your next staff meeting to consider how systematically you are documenting employee performance:

• Are the key objectives we are pursuing as an organization and individually clear and measurable? (How?)

• When is the last time anyone documented in writing your progress towards achieving each of your 2009 objectives?

• When is the last time someone documented in writing something you did great or a mistake you made? Are your mistakes and achievements receive equal attention? (Why or why not? Yes, this question could be trouble. Use it carefully and wisely.)

• When was the last time you had an annual performance review? Did it strengthen your relationship with your boss? Did you leave the meeting with a clear understanding of how well you performed during the review period?

Systematic Power

Systematic Power increases team member engagement by defining, consistently following, and improving your company's best practice processes for hiring, managing, developing and retaining people.

Your system for completing work involves planning your tasks sequentially so you complete one before moving to the next, or multi-tasking to labor on multiple tasks simultaneously or at least shifting from one to another.

According to a free report by Mike Dalton, Managing Director, Guided Innovation Group, it is more productive to innovate by working sequentially. My apologies to all you Gen Y folks and the herd trying to multi-task with them, but Mike's conclusions are validated by research I've found elsewhere.

So what's this mean to you? Please consider the following:

1. FOCUS: Assign one project or task per person. For yourself, focus on one project or task at a time.

2. TECH OUT: I recommend, and Mike concurs, that you should limit technology interruptions - desk phone, cell phone, voicemail, texting, Twitter, instant messaging... his preference is twice a day. You can even put a Do Not Disturb sign on your door or cubicle for 1-2 hour periods during the day - just be specific as to when you will be available.

3. PROFIT: Ask youself, "Could we improve cash flow and/or profit by completing some work earlier than the deadline for the entire project?" For instance, working sequentially enables you to complete revenue-generating functionality earlier rather than delay them to be part of a multiple solution product/service introduction.

Yes, we live in a technology-information-work overloaded world. Divide and conquer. Eat the elephant one bite at a time. Whatever analogy you prefer, consider working more sequentially rather than multitasking yourself into confusion, stress and lower quality work than you are capable of achieving.

Systematic Power

Systematic Power is about being as systematic in the way you work with people as you are in accounting, sales, marketing, manufacturing or with technology.

We are all in the "people business" so becoming more systematic with people is in our best interest.

Choosing to be sequential in the way you pursue results is logical. It is also proven to be more productive even though the media hype about multi-tasking is seductive.

Here are some potential questions for your next staff meeting to consider how your people can be more systematic in pursuing results in innovation or any area of your business:

• Do you approach your work sequentially or by multi-tasking? Why?

• Identify three ways you could be more sequential or systematic in the way you work. Prioritize these in order of the impact each behavior has on your results and weigh the behaviors for how significantly they will affect the quality and quantity (results) of your work. (Total weighting should be 100%.)

• Are you willing to commit to doing the #1 behavior on your list for 90 days to determine if working sequentially helps you be more productive? (You can work on all three behaviors, but the first should have the most significant impact.)

• Are you willing to allow someone to hold you accountable to demonstrating this behavior that will help you work more sequentially during this 90 day period? Who?

• What project is our company currently pursuing that could be done sequentially so we could complete one revenue-generating part of the work prior to the overall project being completed?

• Can we agree on a project to test working sequentially; measure the results and adjust the way we approach future projects based on those results?

Make certain your people understand the personal benefits of working sequentially or systematically. Hopefully you pay them based on performance so it is a win-win opportunity.

What You CAN Do

Mother Teresa once said,

"We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things... with great love."

Too often our lives, and men in particular, are focused on stretching ourselves too far to grab the brass ring of significance. We work harder, longer and try to labor smarter... yet do we actually achieve something great.

What is "great?" It is doing meaningful work.

Let me suggest it can be the following:

Workers who enjoy working with you because they trust you to follow-through on your commitments and treat them fairly.

Customers who trust you to serve them rather than take advantage of them and to consistently meet or exceed their expectations.

Family and friends who experience your love because you treat them with A.W.E. - Affection, Warmth and Encouragement (Jim Burns).

Consider doing meaningful work by focusing on the small things that build strong relationships with fellow workers, customers, friends, and most of all, family.

Do one thing each day to build each of these relationships and you will live your dreams.

Be an intentional leader.

What You CAN Do

is about pursuing significant accomplishment by intentionally doing the little things each day that develop deeper relationships with other people.

In the work environment this means you are building trust by following through on your commitment in a timely manner and achieving the results expected of you.

Here are some potential questions for your next staff meeting to consider actions each person can take to daily do the small things that bring about significant results:

• What do you remember most about Mother Teresa?

• How did she accomplish her goals?

• What did she do that can be applied in our business to achieve our key objectives?

• What is one thing you can do daily to confirm you are on track to fulfill your commitments on time?

• What is one action you can take daily to build a better relationship with a client? Co-worker? Spouse, family member or friend?

• What is the most damaging thing you are doing to your customer relationships? What behavior or action can you change to build stronger relationships?

• How are your daily actions building loyalty with clients or co-workers?

• What is the number one action you take daily to build loyalty with others?

WOW Customer Experience

When I spoke last month at the Ingram Micro SMBA Invitational there was a talk by Justin Crotty, their Vice President of Services. He spoke about providing a great customer experience.

As leaders we need to be pushing LOI: Live It - Observe It - Improve It constantly to make our customer experience surpass our competitors.

Justin used an example of a wedding cake that sells for $5,000. Now does the person buying the cake ask to see the bill of materials to make the cake so they make certain the baker is not marking-up the cake too much? Of course not! The customer's concern is the experience and a great experience with the cake - great look, taste and freshness - justifies the cost.

He also talked about BMW. Although many people will argue a Beamer is a better car, in reality it is the experience of owning a BMW that keeps their sales and margins high.

Why don't we do that more often in our business? Why do we focus on price? It is simple really. We cannot adequately justify a higher price based on demonstrable ROI and a superior customer experience.

How can you significantly improve your customer experience? The same way you eat an elephant: One LOI step at a time. Why not start today?

Meeting Ideas

WOW Customer Experience is about leadership fully committing your organization to creating and consistently delivering a superior experience when your customers use your products and/or services.

Here are some potential questions for your next staff meeting to determine how you can improve your customer experience:

• What are the ten most common ways we fail to meet our customers' expectations?

• What are the ten most common ways our competitors deliver a great customer experience?

• What are the ten most creative ways any company in any industry are providing a superior customer experience?

• Looking at these lists what are ten ways we can improve our customer experience, listed in order of priority, weighted for importance, and estimate the time and cost it would take to implement each action item.

• Everybody take this data and think about it for a month. Each week we will discuss this again as part of our meeting. We want new ideas to consider and better ways to implement the ideas we have already listed. The company will recognize anyone who supplies one or more new or improved ideas with a gift from your Wish List - EVERY WEEK. Let's do this, people! (If you don't know what I mean by Wish List, then email me.)