Three Game Changers

I believe this is the first time I have ever recommended reading a magazine. I typically scan my TIME Magazine, but the October 18, 2010 issue has three articles that provide three different game changing ideas. Rather than keep these to myself, please consider whether what inspired me may inspire you.

ARTICLE #1: America From The Road (page 36) I think Joe Klein was very general in the article, injecting his beliefs into what could have been just reporting, but that is media today: More opinion than reporting of facts. It is still a good read. The game changer in this article comes almost at the end after he reports on an outdoor neighborhood dinner in Yuba City, California. Mr. Klein concludes: "...the things we have in common as human beings are more important that the things that divide us."

This is America's greatest problem and it also might be your company's greatest enemy: There is too much focus on what is wrong rather than what is right. We fall for the temptation to build ourselves up by putting other people down. The game changer is to reverse that trend and attack it instantly with reinforcement of the positive (much more to this, but start here).

ARTICLE #2: The GOP's Hottest Mad Man (page 46) The game changer is to consider how Fred Davis' approach could improve the way you market your business. We have to do things differently to gain mindshare in today's over-messaged markets.

ARTICLE #3: The New Challenge From China (page 52) America has failed miserably to meet the economic challenge of China, but this article explains what should be our greatest fear: China is investing in people and developing leaders. The game changer is that your only defense is to do the same. As a nation, America must make the tough choices in our government budgets, personal responsibility, education and other key areas because China, India and other nations are making those decisions and overtaking us. If we do not accept short-term pain, then long-term other nations will determine our destiny.

Again, I believe small business people like ourselves can help America build a stronger economy. If you want to help, I do not want your money. I need help convincing IT vendors to work with me. Contact me if you are interested in learning more.

Three game changers: Focus on what we have in common, market differently and invest in people.

Are you up to the challenge?

MEETING IDEAS

3 GAME CHANGERS is an opportunity to consider how to refocus yourself as a leader and your people in three areas that could significantly improve your business.

Discuss one or all of these articles with your team, possibly one each week for the next three weeks. Have contests for who can come up with the best ideas. (Have extra prizes on-hand in case there are great ideas from multiple people.)

1. Make a list of what your people have in common and why that makes you a better company.

2. Repeat the same exercise as #1 by considering what your clients have in common with your company.

3. Make a list of what you like about working for your company. (We all get paid, would you prefer that we NOT be paid? Oh... so we all like being paid for our work. That's benefit #1. Do we have safe company parking? Do we like having an easy, safe place to park? This is a Zig Ziglar technique that is very appropriate to remind people of all the benefits your company provides that they take for granted. Prepare your questions in advance before you do this one.)

4. What low-cost way could you more effectively market our company? (We are working with two clients now on unique ways to distinguish their business from their competition.)

5. What are the key skills your leaders need to more effectively engage the people on their team? How can they learn those skills?

Confrontation

"There is a time to confront someone and a time to be nice.  May God grant us the wisdom to know the difference and the courage to do what is right."

Too often confrontation is handled one extreme way or another:  It is avoided, or you confront someone too quickly, emotionally and/or unprofessionally.  I suggest you find a balance.

Confrontation is beneficial when it is:

1.  Thought out carefully in advance

2.  Based on facts, not emotions or your personal bias

3.  Measured against clear standards of performance that were communicated in-writing prior to the event(s) in question

4.  Communicated calmly, and first verbally, without insulting language.  Avoid writing flaming emails because they reflect more negatively on you as a leader than the recipient.  (Written confrontation is necessary when the situation is or may become a legal issue.  At that point it is even more important to be careful what you say.)

5.  Focused on being encouraging through a process of acknowledging the mistake, learning from it and motivating all parties to move forward with a well-thought out solution as a mutually respectful, co-dependent team.

Taking the time to be nice is beneficial when you:

1.  Recognize the issue is minor and can be corrected in an encouraging manner

2.  Take the time to help someone understand a better way to accomplish a task

3.  Notice someone doing something well and you sincerely compliment them

4.  Reinforce a company value or policy in a positive yet firm manner, and

5.  Help people see how they are exaggerating a problem beyond its actual significance

My hope is that you behave like an Intentional Leader who does not jump to conclusions based on assumptions, but takes the time to discern whether the situation requires respectful, professional confrontation or it is a time to be nice.

MEETING IDEAS

Too often the path to CONFRONTATION is one extreme or the other:  It is avoided or explodes.  Here are some ideas on how to discuss confrontation with your team, or to reflect on your own about how you handle confrontation:

1.  Think back to the last time you confronted someone.  If you wrote the confrontation, then read your correspondence.  Does it meet these standards:

 -  Was it respectful?

  -  Did you call anyone names?

  -  Did you take full responsibility for your mistake(s)?

  -  Was it emotional?

  -  Was the majority of the document focused on resolution, complaining or retaliation?

2.  When you confronted or were nice to someone, did you communicate to them based on their preferred communication style, or your own?  (It should be their style.)

3.  What steps could you take to more effectively gauge whether to confront someone, and when you do, to confront them in a more professional manner that moves everyone involved beyond the situation to a more positive outcome?

Our Tax Dollars Hard At Work

There is an email going around with a picture and the following words:

"House Minority Leader  Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, pictured standing, far right, speaks while colleagues Rep. Barbara Lambert, D-Milford and Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, play solitaire Monday night as the House convened to vote on a  new budget.” (AP)

The guy sitting in the row in front of these two....he's on Facebook, and the guy behind Hennessy is checking out the baseball scores.

These are the folks that couldn't get the budget out by Oct. 1, and are about to control your health care, cap and trade, and the list goes on and on.

Should we buy them larger screen computers - or - a ticket home, permanently

This is one of their 3-DAY WORK WEEKS that we all pay for (salary is about $179,000 per year).  I am ready to start from the beginning by voting out all elected officials and not letting any of them stay in office for more than two terms.  No more lifelong healthcare, retirement, voting in their own pay raises, taking perks on our taxes, etc."

Our own elected Congress members playing computer games while they are supposed to be figuring out how to fix our messed up government policies is not funny.  I sure hope the picture is fake.  If not, it's a great lesson for leaders on what not to do.

Triple Threat and 17 Minutes

I was speaking recently with Rob Betzel, President & CEO of Infinity Network Solutions.

Rob admits he is not perfect, but he does work hard to develop two habits that are consistent with my coaching. The first is to:

1. Schedule time daily where he turns off all technology by which people can contact him (cell phone, desk phone, email, IM...);

2. Shut his office door or leave the building so no one can interrupt him; and

3. Schedule himself out of other people's reach by setting the time in Exchange calendar so his people know not to bother him.

I call this Tech Out, Shut Out and Schedule Out (together a Triple Threat).  This powerful "cord of three strands" enables you to achieve a lot more in less time because you can be totally focused on a task.

Have you tried this yet?  Robin Robins calls it "Orange Cone" time and has even given some of her people orange soccer cones to place in front of their door to communicate to others that it is "do not disturb" time.  Try scheduling these focused times to achieve important tasks.  You will be pleased with the results.

A second habit Rob Betzel is practicing is to have a 17 minute huddle with his direct reports every day from 7:43 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.  The meeting starts promptly and ends on time. This is also consistent with what I teach people to do as Intentional Leaders.

These huddles are a brief opportunity to confirm what Do It Now objective(s) your people completed the prior day that will contribute to their achievement of their annual goals (Goals That Work);  and for them to define the key task(s) they will accomplish that day to move them closer to achieving one or more of their annual goals.

Rob and his people call-in to the meeting if they are not in the office.  It is totally mandatory.  He challenges people when they have nothing to say.  He holds them accountable.  The 17 minute time frame helps make it memorable (Zig Ziglar).  The power of the meeting is its simplicity, accountability and consistency.

My only suggestion is to require everyone who is in the office to stand-up during the meeting so they do not get too comfortable.

These are two powerful yet simple habits for Intentional Leaders. If they are not active in your professional life today, then I recommend you pilot these actions for 30 days immediately, and see how they positively impact your productivity first-hand.

MEETING IDEAS

17 MINUTES is a habit, just like the TRIPLE THREAT.  Both activities help you and your team perform your best.

Here are steps you can take to pilot these actions with your team:

1. Try both of these habits on your own for one month if you are skeptical.  You can even limit your 17 minute meeting to 7 minutes and only include yourself.  (It's better with your team, but if you are highly skeptical then you can try this on your own first.)

2. Explain these habits to your team.

3. Require your team to participate in a pilot of these actions for 30 days. This consists of daily meetings and working a minimum of 30 minutes of Triple Threat time three times each week.  Make certain coworkers and clients are aware of this change so their expectations are still met.  Be consistent.  Hold people accountable.  Be well-prepared to set a good example.

4. Extend the pilot to 90 days when you are seeing results.  This works.  If you are not seeing results then something is wrong.

5. Let us know how it goes.

Three Common Values

Leaders have to make tough decisions.  We have to respond, not react to situations because our instinctive reactions are often flawed due to incorrect data (even lies), emotions and personal bias (on our part and/or the part of others). 

We have to keep in mind that in America and much of the world today there are three common values:

1. It's all about me.  People are incredibly self-absorbed with an entitlement mentality that they have "rights" instead of opportunity.  Their decisions are not based on truth, but rather their feelings.  They shout for tolerance and equality, yet do not demonstrate the same for people of opposing views.

2. It's not my fault.  When something goes wrong some people feel it is never their fault.  They focus on the portion of the decision where they were right even though 98% of the problem was caused by how they were wrong.  These deadly three inward-focused values build upon one another, so when it is all about me then it cannot be my fault.

3. It's not my problem.  One of your employees is contacted by a client with a problem.  They immediately determine the problem was caused by someone else in the company.  They delay resolving the issue because it is not their problem, and pass off the situation to someone else.  The client correctly concludes your employees do not care about them as much as their other interests.

Do you want to be a leader?  Then reverse these values so your company culture is transformed.  In brief, consider:

1. It's all about you. Lead your employees by giving them structure, training, accountability and pay based on performance.  Serve them and your customers.  The result:  Work will become more fulfilling for everyone and your business will grow faster than ever.

2. It's my fault.  Take responsibility for your mistakes and the errors of your people.  Your team is comprised of humans who make mistakes.  Expect problems rather than be surprised by them.  The result:  Higher customer satisfaction through faster problem resolution.

3. It's my problem.  When something goes wrong for a client give your employees the authority to resolve it instantly.  Give your people authority that matches their responsibility and a commitment to keep customers happy. The result is higher profits because the cost of keeping a customer is less than the cost of losing a customer.  The same goes for your employees.

MEETING IDEAS

THREE COMMON VALUES suggests that many employees are motivated by the wrong perspective these days.  The good news is careful hiring and a positive company culture can help you develop a team of people who have positive values rather than negative ones.

Here are just a few suggestions of how to discuss this issue with your team:

1.  Explain the three common (negative) values.  Ask your people to provide an example of a coworker, client or vendor who has demonstrated these values as they have done business with you.

NOTE:  Emphasize that everyone has to respond to clients and vendors with poor values rather than react.  Over time the positive values of your company may help people to understand their poor values, but be patient.

2.  Now ask each person to describe one situation where they demonstrated one of these negative values.  My suggestion is that EVERYONE does it.  Hopefully your people make this mistake rarely, but we are all human.  Their answers will help you understand how well your people understand your company values and themselves.

3.  Discuss your company values.  Ask why these values are personally meaningful to them. Contrast each value to its opposite value and consider what your company would be like if your values were reversed.  (This can actually be quite funny.)

4.  Ask each person to provide a specific example of how they have recently demonstrated one of your company values. 

5.  Discuss why people explained examples of some of your company values rather than others.  Is your company not demonstrating the other values?

Watch Your Mouth

In the past I used to let someone get to me.  I would find myself working away and identify a mistake I made.  "You loser," I would say to myself.  Later I might make another mistake and say to myself, "This is never going to work..."  At times I would berate myself with negative thoughts and emotions.

My regular readers may not have noticed, but I had trouble through the recent economic hard times too.  My faith, Scottish blood and love from family and friends helped me to persevere. 

MY POINT:  Listen to how you talk to yourself. 

Briefly speaking, there are three types of self-talk and three time frames to which they apply.  I encourage you to listen and learn.  Give this some thought.  You may need to change your self-talk because it is holding you back from achieving your dreams.

SELF TALK TYPES

1.  Negative: Many people judge themselves more harshly than reality dictates.  You may discover that you are putting yourself down quickly and easily just as I was.  If so, then your conclusions are wrong and you are hurting your ability to develop better habits.  As humans we make mistakes.  This is true of everyone.  So learn from your mistakes, but do not beat yourself up about them.

2.  Reality: If you listen to your comments about yourself and they are realistic with a touch of optimism, then please continue.

3.  Exaggeration: If you keep telling yourself you can succeed yet you keep repeating a process that is failing, then you need to stop for a reality check.  If you think you can close a sale yet there are no buying signs, then you are wasting your time.  Being overly positive is just as disastrous as being too negative.

SELF TALK TIME FRAMES

1.  Past: Accusations of failure often are linked to mistakes in the past, i.e. "You failed before so you will fail again."  This is a lie because you can develop new habits and skills, and approach work differently so you achieve successful results.  Do not let accusers (including yourself) keep you in a dark moment of your past.  You have past success and moments of joy.  Focus on those because you can be there again, and consider replacing the phrase "I should have" with the phrase "next time I will"

2.  Present: If you focus your self-talk on being thankful in the present it can help you realistically assess the situation and your behaviors.  In part this deflects the self-focus to the how and why something happened.  Just do not be so thankful that you exaggerate the facts.

3.  Future: Negative future self-talk is worry.  Try not to explore every possible scenario of a situation because it is often a waste of time and energy. If the situation requires you to thoroughly explore every option, then remind yourself that all you can do is your best.  (Do not work in isolation.  Ask others for input.)  If things do not work out, you will get another chance.  This is the free world, my friend, and tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities.

MEETING IDEAS

WATCH YOUR MOUTH is a reminder to focus on the light at the end of the dark tunnel, even if the path looks long and treacherous.  Even if you work with others to add perspective, skills, knowledge and accountability, you still need to encourage yourself with thanksgiving and within reality.

I suggest this is an individual's exercise that may NOT be appropriate for a team meeting.  Here are some ideas on how to work through this concept:

1. Listen to yourself this week.  What do you hear?

2. It may, however be very appropriate for a discussion with your spouse, mentor or trusted friend.

3. Remember overly negative or positive self-talk needs to change.  Both are fantasy. Seek professional help if you need it.

4. Laugh.  Some of our self-talk is actually quite funny.

Think FAST

The project deadline was missed. You find out because you are copied on an email explaining how work is continuing rather than completed. This is work for your most important client or a critical, high visibility internal project. You want to rip someone's lungs out... figuratively speaking. What do you do?

A client emails you that your customer service, technical person or manager did not call them as promised. They are very upset. This client is not your largest, but they are important. This is not the first time this person has not followed through. You are livid. What do you do?

One team member tells you the sale at a prospect has the approval of a key decision-maker. Hours later another team member says that yesterday the prospective client added a requirement that might eliminate your company from consideration. Your numbers for this quarter depend on closing this sale. How can one person tell you the sale looks solid and another say it is doomed? You realize you should have taken that vacation when you had the opportunity. You think someone must be lying to you. Anger starts to seep from your pores. What do you do?

The reaction I would have in my younger years was not successful. Here is the approach I try to take today that more consistently delivers results and demonstrates the qualities of an intentional leader:

1. Pause and remain quiet. (This is possibly the most difficult part of the process. Once you master this, the rest is much easier.)

2. Breathe deeply into your stomach five, maybe ten times. Face it, the situation has already advanced enough to a point where waiting 60 seconds is not going to change the outcome.

3. Ask questions. You may find that:

   • (#1) The client approved an extension to the deadline because they added more work.

   • (#2) Your employee did contact the client, and even documented it in your PSA software. The client had not checked their Junk Mail folder.

   • (#3) Your employees are talking about two different sales opportunities.

Intentional leaders do not jump to conclusions, immediately react with emotion or make assumptions. Instead they ask questions to confirm the information, the real problem and to determine a solution that includes a process for avoiding miscommunication in the future.

How often have you gotten upset when it was unnecessary (and unproductive)? Start today by just being silent the next time a problem arises so you have time to think of questions instead of jump to conclusions. Think fast instead of talk fast.

Developing these three steps into a new habit will improve your effectiveness as a leader; relationships with other people; and increase retention of top performing employees (and much more). It is a cord of three strands that will carry you through many difficult situations.

Proverbs 17:27-28: A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue. 

Meeting Ideas

THINK FAST is an opportunity to learn a habit that can transform your professional and personal life. Too often we react to situations without thinking instead of responding to situations AFTER we confirm the facts. The objective is to respond in a way that is laser-focused on the problem rather than incorrect assumptions.

Here are some ideas on how to discuss developing this habit with your team:

1. Give me one example of when you reacted to a work situation rather than responded. What were your assumptions?

2. How did reacting based on assumptions waste time, lose money, hurt business relationships or cause other problems that could have been avoided if you had taken the time to THINK FAST as outlined in this discussion.

3. When you try to do Step 1, which is to "Pause and remain quiet," what will be your biggest challenge? What action can you take, such as excusing yourself and walking away for a couple of minutes, or extending your silence to collect your thoughts, will you have to take to stop yourself from reacting too quickly?

4. Is THINK FAST a habit you want to develop? If yes, then who will hold you accountable and how?

5. If THINK FAST is not a habit you want to develop, then discuss why. If this is your situation, consider whether the problem is that you just do not like to admit it when you are wrong. If this is the case, then think about this more and discuss it with a mentor or respected advisor. Another alternative is to try a blended approach that starts with thinking instead of action, but you accelerate your way of confirming information so you can take action more quickly.

There's an Emergency at Your Business!

Your billable resources are hitting your projections fairly consistently. Your team is operating well and people are generally happy. You are incredibly busy, so everything must be okay, right?

Wrong. There is a hidden financial catastrophe occurring. Chris Pickard and the team at Xylotek, the top scoring Canadian company in a survey, were not thinking there was an emergency last spring when we started working together. They just wanted to put some talent management systems in place and become better leaders.

Chris signed-up for our Intentional Leadership coaching program. We have worked together for a few months focusing on implementing the core systems of fully engaging Xylotek employees. The management team, particularly Chris and Jenn, have diligently moved ahead with some of our ideas.

Could their workplace be experiencing a financial emergency? It depends on your perspective. They have had plenty of work this year. In July, with a similar workload yet now with some of our proven talent management processes and a new twist on compensation, the company increased their billable hours in one month by 270 hours.

270 hours x $150 per hour billing rate = $40,500 (Canadian). IN ONE MONTH... and potentially every month thereafter.

Now if you were losing that much potential gross profit, would you call it an emergency?

Yes. You are busy. You always will be. So why not adjust your priorities so your company does not forfeit its true profit potential?

MEETING IDEAS

EMERGENCY is about deciding to be the best you can be. It is comprehending how much money you are losing every month because you refuse to accept THE FACT that you are primarily in the PEOPLE BUSINESS. You are not primarily an IT company, solution provider, VAR, insurance firm, lawyer, janitorial firm or whatever. You are in the PEOPLE BUSINESS.

Focus on your systems for hiring, managing, developing and retaining great people and the rest of your business will succeed. Here are two quick ways to assess just a fraction of the losses your company is experiencing due to inconsistent leadership:

1. We estimate it costs you 10 minutes a day per employee to manage people who are not fully engaged and thinking like owners. Losing 10 minutes daily means you are losing a distracted, stressed and frustrated 40.83 hours a year per employee.

Do the math: The number of employees in your organization multiplied times 40.83 hours is the time you lose each year due to not having your employees fully engaged. (The actual number is probably much higher.)

2. We estimate it costs you $50-$200 a day in lost gross profit when your people are not fully engaged and thinking like owners. Be conservative and just estimate $50 a day. A passionate owner who is in sales can close $50 more in gross profit daily. A billable resource who thinks like an owner can bill 20-30 minutes more a day. (See the Xylotek example above - your billable resources often can do much more than this.) Losing $50 daily in gross profit means you are losing $12,250 a year per employee.

Do the math: The number of employees in your organization multiplied times $12,250 is the money you lose each year due to not having your employees fully engaged. (The actual number is probably much higher.)

3. Now multiply both of those numbers times ten. This number is either your loss over the last ten years or your loss this year through 2019. If your company grows then the number is even higher.

Teflon Leader

"Our employees just do not get it.  They do not take responsibility.  They lack passion.  They do not follow through..." (The list goes on.)

Not to be confused with the "Teflon Don" John Gotti, (although there are some parallels) the "Teflon Leader" makes mistakes because they are human, but they are allergic to blaming themselves for anything.  For a time some of them can retain a leadership role without blame, but their lack of performance always catches up with them eventually.

Rather than serving their employees, clients and partners, the Teflon Leader is consciously or subconsciously driven to impress other people to earn their approval.  The thought that something is wrong with them makes them uncomfortable.  They instinctively react to situations by trying to focus on who made the mistake, except themselves.

Part of the learning process to become a great leader is to gain knowledge from your mistakes. Unfortunately the Teflon Leader misses these opportunities to develop competitively effective leadership skills because they do not accept responsibility for their errors.

Sometimes even without knowing it they become, as the movie character Dirty Harry concluded about the serial killer, "... a legend in their own mind."  Unfortunately that is not reality.

This self-justification eliminates their ability to be a Level 5 Leader who can sustain growth and profits over time.

How about you?  Are there times when you have missed opportunities to grow because of your unwillingness to accept responsibility for your share of a mistake?

Meeting Ideas

Our discussion of a Teflon Leader is a challenge for you to consider whether you or a member of your management team is too effective at avoiding blame or responsibility for their mistakes.

Consider these questions to help your team to take responsibility for both their success and mistakes in your workplace, starting with yourself:

1. During the last 24 hours have you failed to use a fully professional, positive tone of voice in a conversation with another person?  How could you have communicated differently?  Do you need to apologize?  Should you work on pausing before responding in more conversations, and in particular with this individual?
2. Describe the last time someone suggested that you admit a mistake and you refused to take full responsibility.  How can you replace that reaction with a more thought-out response in the future?
3. Before you conclude you need to confront someone else about their Teflon Leader tendencies, please do a thorough evaluation of your own actions and motivations; and then confirm your conclusions with people strong enough to hold you accountable.
4. If you are a person of faith, then consider how to adjust your thoughts and behaviors so you seek the approval of God rather than people.  Accepting full responsibility for your mistakes and sincerely repenting creates opportunities for learning and enables you to become less upset by other people's offenses against you.

Rainbow Leaders

Bob is the owner of a 20-person IT solution provider who is moving into managed services.  He is responsible for sales and has two service managers, one for the break-fix business and one for the managed services.

Bob works hard, often investing time daily in the business resulting in regular 60-70 hour workweeks.  His schedule is full.  His workload... well, he never catches up.  He is constantly pushing his people to move faster, but here is the problem: They struggle to move faster because every month, and often it seems to be daily, Bob comes up with something new for them to do.

Today it is a new product.  Yesterday it was a new service.  The week before it was three new marketing ideas.

The problem: Bob is always looking up and chasing a new rainbow.

He could be always looking down and getting analysis paralysis like some of his technical team, but that would be equally ineffective.

Fast is not always better.

Getting work done fast often means you miss the details.  When speed is our top priority it is difficult to fully consider all options and risks. Bob needs to step off the roller coaster to gain perspective.  He needs to look forward, with occasional glances up or down.  He needs to develop new habits that focus his time on critical objectives and building systems for sustained growth rather than the "Idea of the Week Club" which is distracting him and his team from being their best.

MEETING IDEAS

RAINBOW LEADERS is about balancing your desire to move quickly with the wisdom to consider all options so you maintain your focus on your most critical objectives.

Here are some ideas on how to discuss this with your team:

1.  What are the three ideas that distracted us the most during the past 30 days?

2.  How many of these ideas did we follow-through to completion?

3.  What process can we agree upon that will postpone consideration of new ideas until our current objectives are complete?

4.  What work have we rushed during the past 30 days?

5.  How much did we spend to correct mistakes in that rushed work?

6.  What process can we agree upon to avoid rushing work in the future - either prior to beginning the project (having a more realistic timeframe or doing better project scoping), during the project or during testing?.

Gold or Platinum

In Matthew 7:12 Jesus teaches us to "...do to others as you would have them do to you."  The Jewish Torah, prophet Mohammed, Confucius and even Homer's ancient manuscripts share similar advice.

But what did Jesus mean when he said it, since his version is possibly the most widely quoted?

Consider Jane and Sally.  Jane wants to close a sale.  She goes to Sally in technical services and tells her what the client wants so Jane can close the sale. She hopes Sally will agree to all of the client's requests, but instead Sally is quiet.  After about 30 seconds Jane, not knowing what to do, walks away frustrated.  She says under her breath that she will never be able to make any money in this company;  Sally and everyone else hate her;  and she does not know why she puts up with all this garbage anyway because she could have...

A coach who works with leaders in the company is asked to help out.  She meets with Jane and Sally separately, and then together.  The coach explains that Jane is a driven person who wants answers immediately.  In the situation where Jane asked Sally for help with the client's requests Sally was not being rude.  She was just thinking.  She has the opposite behavioral style of Jane. Sally is an analytical.  Jane makes decisions quickly whereas Sally likes to think about it first.

Jane has an inspiration.  She decides to work with Sally based on the way Sally wants to be treated rather than expecting her to prefer Jane's behaviors.  She now goes to Sally to explain a client's request and then says, "I'll come back in ten minutes."  Then Jane turns and walks away.

The result:  Sally and Jane are not only more productive on the job, they also have become personal friends.

The Golden Rule, which is a paraphrase of Jesus' teaching, states that we should treat others the way we want to be treated.  However do you want to be "treated" based on your preferences, or the person who is trying to engage you?  The answer is, your preferences. 

So the next time you try to work with someone, communicate something or interact in some other way, consider the true meaning of the Golden Rule:  Treat others the way they want to be treated.  (Some people call this the Platinum Rule.)

Be an intentional leader...not a counterfeit!

MEETING IDEAS

GOLD OR PLATINUM is about thinking before you act.  Think first of the other person's preferences and then engage them based on that understanding rather than your natural behaviors.

Here are some ideas on how to discuss this with your team:

1.  Ask people to guess the natural strengths, or core behavior, of each other person in the room. The four types of natural strengths as exhibited by your behaviors are:

HIGH D:  Dominance -  How you handle problems and challenges

         Tend to be very active and aggressive in gaining results.  Not afraid of problems, but often miss details.

HIGH I:  Influencing - How you interact with other people

         Tend to be extroverted, outgoing, social, very verbally persuasive.

HIGH S:  Steadiness - How you handle pace and work environment

         Tend to prefer a more secure situation evidenced by a structured, predictable environment.

HIGH C:  Compliance - How you respond to rules and procedures set by others

         Very analytical and precise.  Tend to follow rules and avoid mistakes, but can suffer from "analysis paralysis."

2.  Ask for stories of when someone treated someone else based on that person's behavioral preferences rather than their own.

3.  Ask everyone to try to pause before approaching someone during the next week to consider their behavioral preference and then to approach them the way they want to be treated. Report back at the next meeting.

Counterfeit Leaders

How do you think currency experts spot counterfeit bills?  Do they spend the majority of their time studying how counterfeiters design and manufacture false currency?  No.  My wife told me, and she is rarely mistaken, that she read years ago experts can spot a counterfeit bill because they spend the majority of their time studying real money.

 The currency experts understand every intricate detail of a real dollar bill in any amount.  They are experts about what is right so they can avoid (or identify) what is wrong.  The result of fully understanding what it means to be a true dollar bill is they can spot any counterfeit.

How well do you know what it means to be a true leader instead of a counterfeit? 

How much time are you investing to develop your leadership skills and the skills of your management team?

Part of the reason true Leaders deliver consistent results is because they regularly invest in developing the leadership skills of their management team as well as their own.

For instance, when Jack Welch was CEO of General Electric he invested 50% of his time in developing leaders.

How much of your time this month has been invested in developing your people?

Probably not enough.

If you have a Counterfeit Leader on your team (or a Poser or Buddy Leader) then it is your fault.  The question is, what are you going to do about it?

 You can fire or demote your weak leaders, but then you have to hire and train replacements...

MEETING IDEAS

COUNTERFEIT LEADERS is about assessing your skills and the capabilities of your leadership team. 

Consider these questions alone or as a team.  I can give you lots of attributes of leaders, but let's just focus on five.  Take a moment to consider whether you know a counterfeit leader by comparing the simple actions of a true Level 5 Leader to a Counterfeit Leader.

Counterfeit Leader

: 

A strong ego that enjoys being in the spotlight, but a poor listener.

Level 5 Leader

:  A humble, yet confident, good listener.

Counterfeit Leader

:

Does not set and/or manage goals for themselves and their people.

Level 5 Leader

:  Sets clear, measurable goals for themselves and their people.

Counterfeit Leader

: 

Does not consistently follow-up or follow through on their commitments.

Level 5 Leader

:  Consistently follows-up and follows through on their commitments.

Counterfeit Leader

: 

Does not invest their time in developing their people.  (Notice I am making a distinction between investing money versus time.)

Level 5 Leader

:  Invests 20-50% of their time in developing their people.

Counterfeit Leader

: 

Does not consistently deliver results, but has reasonably good sounding excuses.

Level 5 Leader

:  Consistently delivers results.

Posers

Have you ever had a bad boss?  I ask this question often in my talks and so far I believe everyone has said, "YES!" Although I work with a variety of businesses, most of my time is spent serving people in the computer industry.  These leaders are typically strong sales or technical people who got promoted to management or started their own company, but have never been trained how to manage people.

My background is similar.  I entered the industry by starting a company called Raging Bear Productions.  We did tradeshows back in 1982-85.  I grew the company to about ten full-time people.  I thought I had leadership skills, but later learned it was only leadership tendencies.  I was unknowingly a poser. 

On Dictionary.com in the Slang Dictionary area it defines a poser as, "someone who pretends to belong to a group only by affecting the attributes of the group."  A poser leader is someone who has the title, but unfortunately does not know how to lead people.  Their desire may be sincere and their effort may be Herculean, but their results are inconsistent or even regularly poor.

The poser has some leadership attributes, but lacks a systematic approach to fully engaging people for their fulfillment, the leader's benefit and for their company to achieve its goals.  The result is poser leaders work too hard for the results they accomplish.

Think about it.  How many poser leaders can you identify, including... you?

MEETING IDEAS

POSERS is about coming to grips with your weaknesses as a leader and helping your management team develop the skills of superior managers.

This may be an ego check for you.  Are you intentionally learning how to work more systematically so you achieve more in less time and fully engaging your team?

Consider these questions alone or as a team.  The issue is could better leadership of people have changed these outcomes?

 If so, then why not invest in developing your leadership skills so you will better achieve your goals?

1. Have we lost good employees we wanted to keep during the last year?  Who are they and why did they leave?

2. Have we lost sales or clients that we could have won during the last year?  Who are they and specifically why did we lose?

3. Is everyone working their best, or as the Gallup Organization estimates, are up to 75% of our employees not fully engaged?  Try to consider why each person is not giving their best.  Estimate the cost to you, and separately to your organization.

4. How meaningful is your work and working for your company to others in your firm?  Do you and others feel like your work is making a difference in people's lives?

Resume Riting

Have you ever received a resume with poor spelling or grammar in the cover letter, resume or follow-up correspondence?

Sometimes I make errors, even in this post. The title of this post is purposefully written as an error.

I am not recommending that you require perfection but consider some key attributes to consider in a resume.  (Or how to write one.)

1.  Cover letter:  The email which has a resume attached has replaced most cover letters.  Most of us scan the email rather than concentrate on its depth like a good novel.  In addition to formatting, spelling and grammar, look for three key points:

#1:  Why is the person contacting me or my company?  Look for a brief mention of how they heard about the position and/or your company.

#2:  What is their passion (career-speaking)?

#3:  1 + 2 = 3:  How do they believe their passion can be fulfilled at your company so they help you achieve your objectives, and/or why they are the best candidate for the job.

2.  Resume:

     - It should list specific accomplishments rather than general duties.   

     - Formatting should be professional.  A good design impresses people.

     - A smiling, headshot photo of yourself is typically good. 

NOTE:  I am against video resumes.

     - Possible content areas: Objective (or Summary); Passion (hire people who are passionate in areas that make them a valuable team member);  Career History (not job history);  Skills;  Education;  References available upon request.

MEETING IDEAS

RESUME RITING is quick thoughts on how to evaluate resumes that are submitted to your company.  This is NOT an exhaustive step-by-step discussion, but rather some tips to consider not overlooking.

Here is one way to discuss resume evaluations with your team:

1. Ask people to submit samples of the best resumes they have seen.  NOTE:  Do not review the worst resumes received, however if people do not use candidate names you could have a contest for quotes of the worst or funniest statements made on resumes submitted.  Just have someone confidentially check the actual resumes to confirm the statements.

2. Discuss what made those resumes so effective.

3. Is there something in a great resume that you have overlooked and it should be added to someone's team member strategic plan or job description?

4. What passions, personal and professional, do you appreciate in job candidates?  Is there somewhere you should be networking to find more of these people?

Concentration

I recently received a book written by Christian D. Larsen titled Concentration that was published in 1920 by Thomas Y. Crowell Company of New York.  The book belonged to my grandmother, Marjorie MacPhee, whom we knew as, "Buddie."

Could these insights help us today?  Maybe.  For a change of pace here is a quick glance at what Mr. Larsen recommended in 1920:

1.  One Thing.  "Concentration in general may be defined as an active state of mind wherein the whole of attention, with all available energy and talent, is being applied upon the one thing that we are doing now." It sounds like multitasking was unproductive even before it became a word...

2.  Interesting.  Concentration increases when the subject is interesting.  So what if it's not interesting?  See #3.

3.  Relate It To You.  Ask questions, and lots of them, to learn more about the subject and identify where it relates to your interests.  The act of looking for how it might interest you increases concentration and develops a perspective of interest within you.

4.  Do not be superficial.  Go deep into the subject so you actually enter the comprehend the process and its end result.  "...We may, when concentrating in a superficial manner, secure some slight results temporarily, but it is those deeper, finer, more penetrating currents that produce real results.."

5.  Will Power.  Apply your will power to go deep in concentration.

6.  Desire.  Develop a real desire to understand the subject, which relates back to #3.  The deeper your desire the more thoroughly you can concentrate.

7.  Imagination.  Use your imagination to increase your concentration.

8.  Use your entire brain.  "When we think, we should not simply think with the brain, but think with every force and element in the entire personality..."

9.  Focus.  Control the focus of your mind so there is a balance between concentrating on the subject and being open to inspiration around you.

10.  Dream.  Nothing is impossible to those who develop the skill of concentration.

MEETING IDEAS

CONCENTRATION is about pausing to consider if you are fully concentrating when you work.  If you allow distractions or you are rushing so much that you do not fully consider a topic, then consider reflecting on some of these points from 90 years ago.

Here is one way to discuss concentration with your team:

1.  What is one project, activity, responsibility... that recently we completed at less than our best?

2.  What are the reasons we did less than our best?  (After you list them, reorganize the list in order of impact on the work with the biggest hindrance at the top.  Weight each item for what it contributed to the poor outcome, with the total weight for the list being 100%.)

3.  How did our ability to concentrate, or not fully concentrate, contribute to this project's average (or worse) outcome?

4.  What is one behavior each of us could work on over the next 90 days to develop a new or improved habit that enables us to concentrate more fully?

5.  How can each of us be held accountable to develop this habit?

Give it a try.  If you are not improving then you are wasting time.  Commit yourself to develop one new habit that will help you fulfill your responsibilities more superbly so you can be one step closer to achieving your dreams.

IT'S THE CULTURE, SUPERSTAR

Bill Clinton galvanized his 1992 election team against George H. Bush to focus on the economy rather than other issues with the statement, "It's the economy, stupid."

Slow yourself down so you can think deeply about this challenge even if you scan my comments.

S l o w d o w n . . .

When Tony Hsieh joined Zappos in 2000 was he passionate about shoes? Marketing shoes online?

No. He did not even primarily wear shoes at the time. He wore sandals. He decided to build a superior company culture so his people would take more responsibility for the success of the organization.

Ten years later he sold the company to Amazon for $1.2 BILLION.

You and I have just invested 10 years in our career. Did you build a $1.2 billion company? Neither did I, but I did learn how to build a $100 million company (maybe more) and can teach you.

I RARELY meet a company owner or executive who demonstrates the habit of building a superior company culture. Instead they are scrambling to complete tasks themselves while employees are less than fully productive.

I asked someone the other day, "So how much more time would you have if _______ (one of their direct reports) was fully productive?" The response: This one unproductive employee costs this owner 5 hours a day. So the plan was to hire more people. I told the client we need to fix this situation first.

Even if the answer had been a loss of "only" 15-60 minutes a day per employee the time you waste on unproductive people adds-up quickly. PLEASE NOTE: The time loss due to less than stellar employee productivity is probably more than you estimate.

What's the difference between an effective leader versus an ineffective leader?

Effective leaders commit to habits that ineffective leaders never get around to.

I coach people to develop the habits of an effective leader. Contact me if you want to learn more.

MEETING IDEAS

IT'S THE CULTURE, SUPERSTAR

is a challenge. How much longer will you work without investing in yourself and your people? I am not talking about spending money on technical certifications because you want to charge more for people's time.

You need to invest in developing the soft skills of yourself, and your people. (The comma is in the prior sentence to emphasize the focus on YOU.) Take the challenge. Consider these questions alone or with your team:

1. What is a habit of someone on your team that is unproductive? What could they do to develop a more productive habit? (It is typically easier to consider how someone else can improve rather than yourself.) Are you making the same mistake?

2. Albert Einstein once said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Name three habits you have that are not productive, yet you keep doing them because you consider yourself too busy to develop a better habit.

3. It takes at least three months of repetition and accountability to develop a new habit. Consider the three poor habits you identified in #2. Rank them in order of priority, with the easiest to change listed first.

- How much does that bad habit cost you? (Contact me if you want to walk through this one together...)

- What is the habit you need to develop so this bad one stops damaging your productivity?

- What are the steps you need to take to develop this new habit?

- How will you hold yourself accountable?

4. Repeat #3 with the second and third bad habit on your list AFTER you successfully develop a new habit for the first bad habit on your list. Start with the easiest.

THEY ACTUALLY CARE

I believe helping your people to understand why their work is meaningful is the most important thing a leader can do.

Ben Arntson of ProIT, a division of the Ray Morgan Company, told me recently that his company has actually closed a couple of major sales to government clients in part because of the points they gained in the evaluation from handing the prospective client their laminated mission statement.  

Their mission statement fits on a business card.  The front states:

F

ocus

O

n our

C

ustomer's

U

ltimate

S

atisfaction

The back side provides their mission statement, toll-free phone number and Ray Morgan logo with slogan and Customer Excellence since 1956 to demonstrate they have been around a long time proving themselves.

Your mission statement is only one piece of helping your employees understand why they are doing Meaningful Work, but it is important.  Consider the Meeting Ideas to possibly strengthen th influence of your mission statement on employee, client and vendor perceptions of your company.

MEETING IDEAS

THEY ACTUALLY CARE hopefully reminds you to not write a mission statement and then pay no attention to it.  At the end of your career you will be left with your integrity, or character.  Part of how you will be perceived and your satisfaction with your career will depend on whether you felt the work was meaningful.

Consider asking your people these questions during your next one-on-one or team meeting to explore your mission statement:

1.  Can anyone state our company mission statement by memory?  (If not, this indicates it may be too long.  Consider a shorter, simpler statement.) 

2.  Does our mission statement, as a company or if we have one just for our work group, accurately communicate what we believe is meaningful work?  If no, then why not?  If yes, then how?

3.  Give me examples of how we meet or exceed the standard(s) communicated in our mission statement.

4.  If you could be doing anything as a career right now, what would it be?  (What is your dream career?)

5.  How does your answer in #4 relate to our mission and your current job duties?  What could be done to better relate your work to your dream career or realign your responsibilities so your work for our company is more meaningful to you?

Goals That Work

I just talked with another person who had such a challenging 2009 that they did not set goals for 2010.  The focus of their work became survival rather than growth.  A lot of people were in that boat last year.

Whether you have 2010 goals or not, here are 5 quick tips to define clear, measurable objectives to pursue for the balance of the year:

Decide on the format of your goals

Absolutely required areas:  Goal Measurement (a TARGET - see below or SMART statement that is clear and measurable), Goal Description (steps to achieve the goal), Due Date and Weighting for importance.

Write the Goal Measurement as a TARGET statement and then drop the initial "to"

T      To (the preposition)
A     Action verb
RG     Realistic Goal to be achieved
E      Effectively measure whether the goal has been achieved
T      Time or date for the goal to be completed

Here is an example:  (To) Close $5 million in sales by December 31, 2010.

Assign only three goals for the company and individuals.

One relates to finance, another to customer satisfaction and the last to professional development.  You can list specific areas of measurement under the goal, such as:  Technicians are booking 78% billable time;  Achieve a 15% net profit margin; Managed services represent 55% of overall sales...

NOTE:  I did not know this when I came up with my idea to limit yourself to three goals, but Jim Collins (author of Good to Greatand other top selling books on leadership) once said, "If you have more than three priorities then you don't have any."

Have everyone's goals link through their boss to the company goals

Enough said.

Then Follow-up

Meeting Ideas

GOALS THAT WORK is a process of setting clear, measurable goals for your organization, yourself professionally and even yourself personally.

Consider asking your people these questions during your next one-on-one or team meeting:

1. What are our company goals? How are they clear and measurable?

2. What are your professional goals? How are they clear and measurable?

3. How does each employees' goals link through their supervisor to our company objectives?

4. How could we follow-up on our goals to better confirm we are on track to completing them?

5. What do you need to achieve or exceed each of your goals this year?

Now, just for you:  Imagine what would happen to your career if everyone on your team achieved or exceeded their goals so you achieved or exceeded yours?  THAT IS WORTH an investment of your time to accomplish.

Breaks For Champions

In my book I recommend taking regular Sanctuary breaks during your workday because studies have proven this makes you more productive (and healthy).  Here are four quick examples:

1.  When SAS Institute was only #20 in the ranks of the 100 Best Companies To Work For (August 17, 2009 issue of FORTUNE Magazine) they were still very popular.  (In 2010 they become #1 on the list.)  SAS employee Mary Simmons, principal software developer, shared one reason she works there:  "At lunch I will go out and bike 20 miles.  Then I'll get back and all of a sudden a thought comes to my brain, and I solve something I was struggling with. (Jim) Goodnight (the founder and CEO) understands the innovative process, and there's time built in for it."

2.  When I am stressed out one of the best things I can do is swim laps.  Because I count the laps and do different strokes, my brain cannot focus on work anymore. This clears my mind, removes my stress and occasionally, opens my mind to a new inspiration.

3.  Jack LaLanne, who was exercising on television when I was a kid and is now still going strong at 95 years old briefly shared his secrets for long life and business success in INC. Magazine(Dec.'09-Jan.'10).  Let me share two of his thoughts:  "In 1936, when I opened my first gym in Oakland, I had doctors telling people, "If you start working out with Jack LaLanne, the women will start looking like men, and the old guys will die of heart attacks." They thought I was just a dumb, musclebound guy. Now every doctor wants you to exercise and eat more fruits and vegetables."  

I recommend light exercise and a healthy snack.  Now what does Jack have to say about food?  "There is no wealth like health.  The food you eat today makes you what you'll be tomorrow.  So if man makes it, don't eat it.  And if it tastes good, spit it out."

4.  This just announced today in the Harvard Business Review:  The grades of college students who do 20 minutes of vigorous exercise daily are an average of 0.4 points higher on the 0-to-4 grade-point scale than those of students who don't exercise, according to a study led by Joshua Ode of Saginaw Valley State University.  If it works for college students, exercise works for the rest of us too!

TAKE YOUR BREAKS!  You deserve them. Then return to work with greater focus and energy.

MEETING IDEAS

BREAKS FOR CHAMPIONS is a reminder to take care of yourself and in the process, improve your ability to perform like a champion.  Ideally you should take a morning and afternoon break of 10-20 minutes after about two hours of work. 

Here are some ideas to test:

1.  If you work at home, take breaks in the morning and afternoon.  Wear a wide-brimmed hat.  Do some weeding.  Work in the vegetable garden.  Water some trees, plants or flowers.  Take your dog for a short walk.  Make yourself a fruit smoothie (low calorie, high energy).

2.        If you work in an office, take the same breaks.  Go for a walk. Stretch (this could be HUGE for you).  If you walk with a friend then make certain to be back at your desk on time.

3.        At home or at a corporate office.... You can wait until lunch and then do something longer and more intense.  Pray.  Meditate.  Leave behind your iPhone/PDA, pager, cell phone so your Sanctuary can be uninterrupted.

THE MAIN OBJECTIVE: Remove yourself totally from your work so you can return refreshed, re-energized and refocused.

Lie To Me

This is one television show that can help your career.  Lie to Me, on Fox with new episodes starting on Monday, June 7 at 8/7 central uses entertainment to teach you how to read people's true emotions.

Because of watching the show I have been able to detect someone lying on more than one occasion.  Think how much that could help you when hiring, resolving employee issues, trying to sell someone or other interaction! 

The show is a drama series inspired by the scientific discoveries of a real-life psychologist (Dr. Paul Ekman) who can read clues embedded in the human face, body and voice to expose the truth and lies in criminal investigations.

As the show website describes, Tim Roth plays Dr. Cal Lightman, who is the world's leading deception expert.  If you lie to Lightman, he sees it in your face and your posture or hears it in your voice.  If you shrug your shoulder, rotate your hand or even just slightly raise your lower lip, Lightman will spot the lie.  By analyzing facial expressions and involuntary body language, he can read feelings ranging from hidden resentment to sexual attraction to jealousy.

Again, just think what this skill could do for your professional and even personal relationships.  It might be great, or it could cause problems as you start noticing reactions you previously overlooked.

MEETING IDEA

LIE TO ME is about learning a new skill in an entertaining way.  This is an opportunity for you and your people to learn how to better relate to others, unless it plays to their fears.

If nothing else I recommend you consider two content areas on the Lie to Me show site as interactive exercises to add to a meeting.  Here they are:

1.  Play a guessing game with a series of photos with descriptions of the key aspects of each micro expression (what to look for).  Copy the photos.  Add them to a PowerPoint deck.  Cover the answer in each slide and have people guess the answer.  Then show the answer.  Ask if they have seen that expression recently and if they care to share on whom... http://www.fox.com/lietome/gallery/index.htm#cid:lietome_s2_e0~id:001_thumb

2.  Access this site online to try some different games based on the show.  It's great for group interaction:  http://www.fox.com/lietome/lightmantests/

3.  Ask if anyone wants to volunteer to take Dr. Paul Ekman's course and report back to the group on what they learned.  If someone is interested, have your company pay for it as long as they report back to the group.