TOP ONE

You can credit my wife for this one... What is your Top One, the basis for your decisions? Is it money?  God?  Prestige?  Service to others?  Something else? The reason I ask is many of us think we know the answer to this question, but we are wrong. For instance, your drive for results may be due to parents who intentionally or unintentionally loved you based on your performance. Your willingness to accept defeat may be due to someone important in your life telling you over and over again that you are wrong (or a "loser"). Your inability to trust or work with certain types of people is because you made a decision years or even decades ago that you would never be hurt by a person like that again.    THE BOTTOM LINE:  Figure out why you make the decisions you do.  You may have some work to do personally to become the leader you want to be. Are you ready for a game changer? Figure out what really is your Top One. Remember...

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Most people approach this process through personal counseling or coaching.  It is not a proper topic for company or team meetings, except to possibly encourage your people to: 1.  Take some time to think about what truly is the driving force behind the daily decisions they make. 2.  Suggest they discuss this with people who know them best. 3.  If they have concerns about their true motivations, or life just is not what they want it to be, I suggest talking with a great behavioral modification coach (like mine - you can email me for his contact info) or a good family counselor. One difference between the two is a coach tells you what to do and holds you accountable, whereas a counselor makes suggestions.  I suspect most leaders need the accountability.

MASTERMIND GARDENER

I just finished a two-day intensive CharTec Mastermind group meeting in Chicago. My role is coach and facilitator for each of the executives. Alex Rogers, CEO of CharTec, also actively participates and mentors the group. If you are a CharTec and ConnectWise partner, we have two openings left in the group. (Someone else is signing-up now - Alex and I can serve a total of 12 companies.) Contact us if you are interested. This is the only group Alex and I are leading. There is a lot of power in peer input, however our meeting content is confidential. Rather than share specifically what we discussed in the group, please consider this analogy to LEADERSHIP which relates to everything my team does to serve you: A GREAT leader is a lot like being a Master Gardener.Unfortunately, too many of us are poor gardeners. Here is a typical entrepreneurial approach to leading people using gardening as a metaphor: 1. You select a place to plant. 2. You dig a hole and prepare the soil to plant your vision. 3. You select living things and plant them carefully, initially loving them with water for life, fertilizer for food, and wood or wiring for support. 4. Then life happens. 5. You water inconsistently and in varying amounts, which damages the growth and health of your plants. 6. You fertilizer too often or too little. Too often or too much burns their roots so the plants become even more sickly. Too little stunts their growth and leaves them susceptible to disease. 7. Weeds grow as you fail to consistently maintain your garden in a manner consistent with your vision, and other living things invade your plants' space demanding attention. 8. You blame the plant for its lack of growth, failing to flower, and leaves that dirty the rest of your yard. 9. You remove some plants because you lose hope in them. 10. You start the process over again at #3, or in worse case scenarios, #1. Everything we do in our LEADERSHIP Essentials service,MANAGEtoWIN software, and other services are designed to help you become a Master Gardener of PEOPLE. If you are ready for a game changer, then contact us to learn more. If you want to explore this concept further on your own, then see the Meeting Idea. P. S. If you think I should expand on this analogy, let me know. Remember...

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Now let us remove the metaphor so you can gauge your leadership effectiveness. Are you a POSER Leader or a Master Gardener / GREAT Leader? Do this alone, with your leadership team, or entire workgroup or small company. Think through this carefully. Take the time to really THINK!  Here are some ideas. 1.  What are the top three objectives of our business, listed in order of priority? 2.  What are the top three reasons we chose to locate your business where it is, and what are the three most important aspects of our business that give it a unique value to our Clients? 3.  What are the three best things we do when hiring people? What are our three greatest weaknesses? What would happen to our company if we could more consistently hire superstars? 4.  What are the three most time consuming tasks we are doing instead of being the leaders we should be for our people? 5.  What are we inconsistently doing as leaders that is hurting, if not killing, employee productivity? NOTE: If we are uncertain, then we really need some outside help! 6.  How are our leaders being negative with employees so they forget our compliments and encouragement? 7.  What are the three primary employee distractions that are contributing to their failure to meet our expectations? 8.  What is the common thing we blame on employees that actually is our leaders' fault? 9.  What employees have we lost or fired that could have been good if not great performers? Will we ever know? Will we ever change? 10.  Is it time for a game changer? Or is our current method of leadership too much fun for the masochist in all of us? This is the work me and my team do every day. The impact on your bottom line and peace of mind is substantial. If you want to explore how we can help - no obligation - email us for a time to talk.

PLAN B

Rob Betzel, CEO of Infinity Networks of Macon, Georgia and the co-author of my latest book, The Company Culture Challenge, gave a great insight recently. Can you really provide a great client experience without having a "Plan B?" In our book I share story about a visit with my family to a major theme park that is rained out.  The refund/credit process was less than optimal even though this company teaches others how to provide excellent service. Rob's point:  When they gave me a credit to return to the park another day, the ticket folks should have been prepared to suggest what our family could do instead because the rain ruined our plans. Rob calls this "Going The Extra Mile."  It is like the movie, Miracle on 34th Street when Santa recommends a child buy something at another store because it is out of stock at his store. If we stop at the refund or credit or "Sorry, we are out of stock" statement, then we are primarily thinking of ourselves. In contrast, when we suggest a reasonable, thoughtful alternative then we demonstrate we truly care about our clients. The result:  Clients trust you, and then buy more from you. This takes planning, training, consistent examples from leaders, and accountability - a system for leadership rather than hopes or assumptions for employee behavior.  Discuss this idea with your team with the thoughts below in the Meeting Idea.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Most companies do not fully think like a client.  When you are unable to serve a client, then what are their options? Being prepared with suggestions - not "answers" - is a great way to build strong client relationships. Here are a few ideas to discuss with your team:    1.  Identify the three most common situations that occur when your company is unable to serve loyal clients. 2.  In each of those situations, what is the impact on the clientwhen you cannot meet their needs? 3.  Based on their needs, what are three options you can suggest they consider to meet those needs because you cannot help them? 4.  How can you make it easy for them to explore those options by providing contact information, driving directions, website addresses...? 5.  How can you pilot a program for 90 days to test offering these alternatives when your people are in one of these three situations where they cannot meet a client's needs? 6.  How will you train your people, allow them to provide daily feedback on the pilot, hold them accountable to offering the alternatives, and recognizing them when they serve clients in ways that provide a superior client experience? 7.  What metrics will you track to determine the success of this effort?

MIRROR

Alan had promised to take care of something for a client within two hours, but then another client needed something and a co-worker engaged him in a conversation about last night's game...  The result was a very unhappy client called Alan four hours later. Why did Alan drop the ball with the first client?    One key reason:  His boss does the same thing with him regularly.    Employee behavior mirrors their leader's behavior.  Your managers' behavior mirrors your behavior as an executive or owner.  Their direct reports behave like them.  It is a cascading effect that can be positive or negative. At this mid-year point I suggest you take a break by yourself and assess your performance as a leader.  Are you really doing the things you believe are most important? Here is a sample list of accountability questions to ask yourself.  You may want to create your own list based on your company's mission, values, and vision.  Keep the list to 10 or less questions.  Focus on what is most important. 1.  What have I done so far this year that reinforces our missionstatement?  How have I failed to demonstrate our mission?  2. What are the easiest company values for me to demonstrate consistently? Which of our values are difficult for me? 3.  What have I done this year to move us towards achieving ourvision?  Where have I allowed myself to be distracted and thus held us back from making the progress we should have? 4.  How am I doing on my 2012 goals? 5.  How consistently am I meeting with my direct reports to confirm their progress towards meeting their annual goals? 6.  Am I confirming my direct reports are meeting my expectationsfor their behavior, and I am meeting their expectations for mine, often enough so our company culture is as strong as it can be? 7.  What are my three biggest achievements so far this year and what is the impact of that work?  What are the three most important things I must do through year-end? IMPORTANT:  Be realistic about how and when you are going to improve.  Build in accountability.  Take time to do something fun to reward yourself for what you did right. As you look in the mirror on these seven areas of accountability, take the time to enjoy the process of holding yourself responsible for being the best you can be.  If everyone in your company mirrored your behavior over the last six months, what would have been the effect on your employees and clients...  and you? Be the example, the catalyst, the inspiration for your people.  Hold yourself accountable and teach your people to do the same.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

"Mirror, mirror, on the wall, am I achieving my destiny or headed for a fall?" After you walk through your list of questions ALONE and reflect on them, you may want to encourage your people to complete a similar exercise and then gather as a group to discuss everyone's conclusions. Here are a few ideas:    1.  Consider asking everyone to work from the same list of questions. 2.  Consider asking them to assess the performance of their peers. 3.  Demand 100% respectful honesty.  Encourage people to verbally communicate their assessment of the performance of others in terms in "I" statements, not "you" statements.  For instance, "My impression is..." or "Based on what I have observed..." or "I remember this one situation... and it leads me to believe..."  4.  Last week's newsletter may give you additional ideas. 5.  Build accountability into any decisions to improve. 6.  Thank everyone for their participation. 7.  Be prepared to reward people in some way, or at least have a barbecue or team event for fun.  Bond for a better year-end.

FAILURE

In the tech industry we often hear about how venture capitalists love to fund people who have failed. In business magazines we read that failure should be celebrated, encouraged, and even rewarded. Apply this in your business.  1.  When you hire a sales person, do you look for someone who never meets quota? 2.  When you hire a technical person, are you excited to consider a candidate who cannot pass a certification exam or has angered clients? I do not think so. The bottom line is NOT that failure is great, but mistakes can help people, processes and products improve when you intentionally and systematically learn from the situation.  Here is one approach: 1.  How did the person fail? 2.  What did they learn from it? 3.  What have they changed based on what they learned? 4.  How were their relationships with people who were involved in or hurt by the situation affected by the failure? #3 and #4 are most important for intentional leaders.  Do not assume your people learn from failure.  Follow-up with them in a positive, encouraging manner to confirm they are learning from their mistakes.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Failure, or making mistakes, is human.  We all do it daily.    Stop and think about that for a moment.  No one ever makes it through a single day with perfect behavior and thought, depending on your spiritual beliefs and/or moral code.    Therefore since failure is such a regular part of life, how can we gain from it intentionally rather than repeat mistakes too often?    Here are a few ideas:    1.  Develop and ask a set of open-ended questions specifically about failure during your hiring process. 2.  Make time in your quarterly employee meetings to discuss failures according to this 4-step method.  Maybe ask employees to discuss one of their mistakes this way so people can learn from open discussion of how others are growing through their mistakes.  SUGGESTION:  Managers should hear each employee's planned presentation beforehand to avoid any embarrassing or damaging discussion.  Or consider just doing this one-on-one with individual employees.  Remember to focus on building employees up through this discussion.  The objective should not be to have "gotcha moments" that are negative. 3.  Keep an evolving list of your "Titanic Top Ten" - the ten biggest mistakes you have made in your career or life.  Review weekly as part of your solitary weekly planning session to confirm your thoughts and behaviors are helping you avoid repeating those mistakes.

IN YOUR FACE

This is a follow-up to last week's email about stopping DRAMA in your workplace.  Here is a recent client example: A team of people are working together.  Each has different skills, experience, and value they bring to the team.  They work well together, but the relationships are new and so there are still things to work out for maximum productivity. One member of the group does something that bothers more than one other person in the group to the point that they complain about it to another member in the group. Did you catch the problem? They complained about the person's behavior to someone else, not the person who bothered them. This is totally unnecessary DRAMA.  Unproductive...  I could say more, but it might offend people. Here is my suggestion:  1.  Golden.  Although our work seems like "adult daycare" at times, please remember The Golden Rule:  Treat others the way you want to be treated.  If someone has a problem with you, do you want them the gossip about it to someone else, or tell you directly "to your face."  (It might be by phone, in-person... but directly.) 2.  Talk.  When you have a problem with someone, schedule time to talk with them rather than send a flaming email.  Email can be misunderstood and offensive.  Just pick up the phone, or use an email/text to schedule time to talk. 3.  Question.  Rather than start with a statement, try to start with a question.  For instance, "Did I hear you right that you ______?" or "Did I give you the impression that I _____?"  You may be wrong, so it is best to be respectful and start with a question rather than a judgment.  It may just be a simple misunderstanding.  Leave the drama (emotions, gossip...) out of it.  Do not let your negativity fester.  Just kindly, respectfully start a discussion to resolve it. 4. "I/me".  After you get past confirming some facts with questions, try to explain your feelings in "I" or "me" statements rather than "you" accusations.  For instance, "When you did _____, it made me feel like ____."  5. Zip It.  Once you have resolved the situation, do not discuss it with others in a negative way.  That is gossiping again.  Zip your lips shut about the matter. I encourage you to develop this communication style, or something like it, as a new habit to replace gossip.  It saves you time, stress, and helps you become a more effective leader.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Gossip may be an issue for you to work on before discussing it with your team.  Everyone is tempted to gossip or listen to gossip.  As leaders we have to set the best possible example. To be candid, twice today I have may have crossed the line and said a bit more about two business relationships with past clients than I should have.  I did not slam them, but I did participate in separate conversations where my responses were borderline. If you want to have an open discussion with your team about speaking directly with people who have done something to upset you, then here is one approach:    1.  Prepare three real-life examples in advance.  I suggest the examples should not include anyone in your group or team. 2.  Ask your people for estimates of how much time was wasted by the people involved directly or indirectly in the situation. 3.  Discuss how gossip hurts people personally and professionally, and can even destroy client relationships.    4.  Now go back to each example and discuss different responses (more than one) to each situation that follow a step-by-step approach like the one above. 5.  You can also ask your people for examples of gossip and talk through those.  Then define how you are going to hold each other accountable to developing this new skill.  REMEMBER:  Part of developing this habit involves asking others to speak directly with people who have bothered them (rather than you) and/or walking away when someone else is gossiping. If they say they talked with the person and it made no difference, encourage them to bring 1-2 others with them who have experienced a similar problem with that person and talk with the person again.  (Yes, this may be time to encourage their boss to help resolve the issue.)  Possibly the additional people will help them reconsider their conclusions.  Or it may work out that you have misjudged the situation and need to change your conclusions or response.  Approach the situation humbly and respectfully so you can benefit from either conclusion.

S.T.O.P. DRAMA

An employee does not meet your expectations.  You yell at them. An employee does not complete their work as promised.  You are sarcastic with them due to your frustration. An employee gossips about you...  so you gossip about them. The list goes on...  Situations in life followed by responses with DRAMA. STOP and think for a moment.  How much more effective would your leadership be without your drama? One of the www.Dictionary.com definitions of drama is:  a situation or sequence of events that is highly emotional, tragic, or turbulent. Drama begets drama.  In other words, your employees mirror your behavior.  If you act like a jerk, they will more likely do the same.  Unfortunately most of us have a "drama trigger" that others can pull that makes us speak more quickly than we should to say words that are less thoughtful, caring and productive than we would like. How do you avoid drama?  Here is a four-step process to S.T.O.P. DRAMA. 1.  Silent.  When you are confronted with a situation that makes you want to dramatize your response, BE QUIET - pause to refresh the goodness in your soul.  As your natural self roars commands to attack, slow your emotions to discern the quiet voice of your soul which is providing a healthier response. 2.  Tragic.  Remind yourself why the other person is misbehaving, at least according to your standards.  They are probably doing the best they can.  Whether they have childhood wounds, "a problem" at home, or just a bad day...  Avoid the tragedy of drama and instead be empathetic to their issues and cut them some slack. 3.  Outcome.  Remind yourself how your intentional response controls the outcome of the conversation, not their initial mistake. 4. Present.  Explain and ask for confirmation of your understanding of the facts without emotion.  Do not lecture. Keep it brief.  Then at that time, or some time later, offer ideas for a solution. Try it.  S.T.O.P. DRAMA helps personally and professionally.  Trust me, with four sibling foster children in our home ages eight and under...  I can tell you this works at home and in your adult daycare office environment.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Have an open discussion with your team about unnecessary drama in your workplace during the past week or month.  Here is one approach:    1.  Explain the concept of drama.  Discuss how it hurts people personally and professionally.    2.  Have a contest for $20.  Who has the best example of unnecessary drama in our workplace during the past week (or month)?    3.  Now go back to each example and discuss different responses (more than one) to each situation that would have been better for the drama major, the recipient of the drama, any other actors, and your company. 4.  Ask whether anyone is willing to test the S.T.O.P. DRAMA method for a week and report back at your next meeting.  Ask them to record when they intentionally avoid drama, and when they make the mistake of being dramatic. NOTE:  Ask others to write down when they see this person or these people avoiding drama, initiating drama, or responding with drama.  The others can report AFTER the participant in the meeting next week. 5.  Have a prize for participants who really try to do their best.  There can be more than one winner.  Get ideas from their Wish List or maybe purchase or create a certificate with these theater masks:

VISION

I work with a lot of companies that have no mission statement about why they are in business, company values defining howthey do business, or a vision projecting where they want to growas an organization. I help them write these Company Culture Cornerstones as part of our LEADERSHIP Essentials service.  (Email me if you want more information.) "The vision thing," as President George H. Bush referred to it, goes beyond your company.  Consider the power of having a vision for each individual employee. Actually you already do.  You have expectations for their daily behavior and an idea of where you see them growing in your organization. SO WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? If you want to visit a friend at their home, you go to their address, not their city.  If you just arrive in their city, you are not fully connecting with your friend.  Some would argue you are not connecting at all... In a similar way, unless your current vision for employees isintentional it is often: Based on your biases - positive or negative Based on false information about their performance Never discussed specifically with the employee so it is impossible for your employee to meet your expectations and for your employee to be fully engaged in their work   Your vision for employees needs to be specific and often, clear and measurable, so it matches their needs, desires, and dreams.  It also needs to be communicated, confirmed, and re-confirmed on a regular basis. This process does not have to be overwhelming.  We have a simpleFREE Expectations exercise that can help you.  If you want to go beyond that, our LEADERSHIP Essentials program helps you write a strategic plan for each employee's success.  This blows them away - in a positive sense. (Email me if you want more information.) Are you ready to experience the power of aligning your company's vision with the vision of each of your employees?

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.

MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

This is easy.  Just do our Expectations exercise.  Email me for the latest copy.  It is free. I recommend you follow one of the suggestions in the exercise.  You and your people should draft their expectations with one other person before the meeting.  This is between a manager and one of their direct reports, or two employees that work a lot together. Tell them to NOT share their drafts with the other person.  Then one pair of people at a time, ask one person to guess what the other has defined as their most important expectation and how it is weighted. It will amaze you how few people actually understand what the people they work with the most expect of them.  This is fun.  Try it. Email me for the Expectations exercise to learn more. Once you have their daily behavioral expectations confirmed, then working on their vision for growth within your company is easier.

BEAR IT

Here is another gem from David Spire of United Systems of Bradenton, Florida. Recognition and rewards have much greater impact when you personalize them to meet the individual employee's needs. I'll let him tell the story.

Over the years I've felt that I've always done a great job of showing and verbalizing my appreciation for each of my staff members. Well, as fate would have it, Jennifer, our Director of Operations was away from the office for several days, and while she was gone I was pitching in on a few of her duties to help offset the additional workload created in her absence.

As I performed many of the operational tasks that by the way, I had created, I found a few things that needed improvement. On the fly, I sent ideas to her on how we could improve in that area. Who wouldn't LOVE doing their job a little more efficiently?!

When Jennifer got back into town and to the office she appeared to be a wee-bit salty at me, and kind of bothered at my mere existence. I asked her if I had done something to upset or offend her (of course assuming she would say "no way boss, you're the best!").

Much to my surprise she WAS in fact a bit put off by me. My emails with suggested improvements made her feel I just don't appreciate all the things that she DOES do...

I was stunned. Hurt. Confused. I picked up my jaw from the floor and said, "Jennifer, I try to tell and show you all the time how much I appreciate the job you do for United Systems every day. 95% of the feedback I give you is reviews of glowing praise"

She simply replied, "It's the 5% that I remember."

Ouch! (insert cricket chirps in the room)

Well, what does a business owner do? We solve problems, and try and delegate when possible. So.... How do I delegate and automate my appreciation?

I went to Brandon Mall and bought a Build-A-Bear. I put one of those voice recorder inserts in the paw and recorded myself saying, "Jenny, you're a rock star... and I APPRECIATE YOU!"

I gave it to her for Christmas and let her know that any time she needs a pick-me-up, she is welcome to give it a squeeze.

Nowadays I just say, "Pinch the paw," and that's one of her reminders that she's invaluable to us.

Too often as leaders our corrections, suggestions, constructive criticism and sarcasm destroy the words and actions we take to build people up. Be intentional and systematic with the way you personalize recognition.

Do you have a "Bear strategy" for your team?

 

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

The book, The Carrot Principle, years ago included a survey that concluded 67% of employees said they did not receive a single compliment at work during the prior year. I believe this survey conclusion is wrong. Most if not all of those employees were complimented. The problem is many of the kind words were preceded or followed by a big BUTT... "You did a great job on that project, Sam, BUT if you had done ____________ then it really would have been better. Discuss this with your team. This is an issue of leadership and cause of friction among team members. Here are some ideas. 1. Make a list of the compliments you have received at work during the past 30 days. 2. Make a list of the corrections, suggestions, constructive criticism and sarcasm you have received at work during the past 30 days. 3. Consider reading The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People by Gary Chapman. Or at least discuss them and ask each person what is their primary language of appreciation. Chapman's 5 Languages are, in brief: Words of Affirmation Quality Time Acts of Service Tangible Gifts Physical Touch 4. Wish List II. Consider emailing me for our Wish List II. It is a simple survey for employees to let you know how they want to be recognized. 5. Commit to a System. Figure out at least one thing you can do better to recognize your employees and pilot it for 90 days. Refine, enhance, and establish as a long-term program to sincerely communicate how much you value your people.

Dictums

Coach Don Nava of The Totally Fit Life is working with me to shed some of my negative habits, develop my strengths, and learn new habits to become the man I would truly like to be. At 55 years old this work is a bit late, but I love it!

There is one aspect of this work that anyone can apply in their life: Dictums.

WHY should you care? Dictums can strengthen your ability to improve yourself as a leader and motivate your people to make decisions that are consistent with your company values.

We all have subconscious messages that encourage us to live with integrity and joy, or assault our desire to live a meaningful life with destructive lies. This one-on-one combat is ongoing and individual. Although we can learn from others how to win this contest day-in and day-out, ultimately we fight on our own.

For leaders, who impact the lives of hundreds, thousands, and even millions of other people, our "self-talk" can be the tipping point between living a life of purpose and one of despair. For instance,

When you wake up in the morning, what are your first thoughts?

As you are driving or walking, what messages are bursting into your brain?

When you are challenged with a decision, by a person, or involved in a situation requiring immediate action, what are you hearing your soul speak?

Coach Nava says: "A dictum is a positive statement used to reprogram your subconscious mind. Coach Nava will develop and amend dictums to address a participant's specific need to change any unhealthy thinking pattern and/or to reinforce specific life goals that they want to achieve. A new set of dictums are developed and provided every 10 weeks."

My suggestion is to use dictums as a way to reinforce the core messages of your brain so when you are challenged, your foundation is stronger and you thus can respond more capably. Dictums are read aloud each morning. Here are some of my Cycle 1 dictums from the Coach (I have removed the spiritual ones, which are very important):

I think about whatever is true

I choose to live in good health

I like myself

My body is strong

I work on my life goals daily

I think about whatever is pure

... (There are 21 Cycle 1 Dictums)

See the Meeting Ideas for application suggestions.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

The following is an outline you can use, or improve, to discuss the value of dictums for individuals on your team or as a group. The use of dictums should be voluntary. This discussion should be to inform and encourage, rather than mandate participation. 1. Contact Coach Nava directly for his brochure that lists his Cycle 1 and Cycle 2 dictums. You can share these with your group. 2. Discuss your company culture cornerstones - Mission (why you are in business), Values (how you do business), and Vision (where you are going as an organization). Could you and your people develop better habits so you all would live out your company culture cornerstones more consistently? 3. What are the key behaviors you want to develop? Step #1: Decide what types of behaviors you want to encourage. Coach Nava's list is Physical, Directional, Nutritional, Emotional, and Mental. These surround the core behavior, which is Spiritual. You decide what is your core and what surrounds it. Step #2: Create a list of up to 21 dictums that is a balance the positive statements you want to train yourself/yourselves to believe so in turn you develop "better" habits. 4. Do a pilot. Start by asking everyone to say your dictums aloud for a week. Maybe you will want to edit them before completing a 70 day pilot to evaluate how stating dictums aloud each morning helps people become more productive, profitable, and personally fulfilled in your organization. Let me know if you want help developing dictums for your organization. Or send me your drafts for comment.

FOCUS YOUR ENERGY

I was recently listening to an interview with Andy Stanley, leadership guru and church leader.  One thing he said JUMPED OUT to me and you need to consider this.

When he meets with his people (direct reports in particular), he schedules these meetings to occur during his high energy time.

Some leaders are morning people.  Others are afternoon people.  There are even top managers who are not at full speed until most of their staff has gone home for the evening.

What is your best time of day?

Schedule your employee meetings during your high energy time BECAUSE your energy - or lack of it - transfers to your employees.  They need your knowledge, opportunities to learn your skills, your support to overcome challenges... 

and possibly most important of all, your passion for delivering a fantastic client experience in every interaction.

Work with your people when you are at your best so they can do their best for you and your clients.  They will notice the difference and learn to make decisions more like an owner.

THE ALTERNATIVE:  Instead of powering up your people, you mig ht be sucking them dry as you transfer your stress, weariness, negativity, and/or multi-tasked distracted attitude rather than energy and positivity.

P.S.  This is also a great idea in your personal life.  Schedule time you spend with your spouse / special other, kids, close friends, and others when you have the most energy to give to them.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Discuss this with your leadership team. Here are some ideas for a discussion: 1. Ask everyone to confirm what time of day is their high energy, best time. 2. What were they doing during the past week during that time? 3. When are they typically meeting with their direct reports? 4. You may also want to consider when they are meeting with other important people, such as clients or vendors. 5. Pilot a program for one month, with weekly accountability, to have your direct reports meet with their key people contacts during their high energy times while scheduling other meetings during their less optimum energy times.

PAY CASH

A leader I was speaking with awhile back lamented that he paid his people bonuses and they did not even thank him for it. In at least one case, an employee did not even realize he had been given a bonus and it was more than $1,000!

How do you pay your individual bonuses? Team bonuses? Profit sharing?

I was speaking with  David Spire, a very successful IT solution provider in Bradenton, Florida today. He is a member of our CharTec Thriving Profit Peer Groups. He mentioned that he pays his profit sharing bonuses in cash.

Wow.

Not a new idea, but a good one in this case. You see, David's first quarterly profit sharing payout was in cash. It was very well received. The next one he paid by direct deposit and no one said anything. How many of you have paid a bonus and the employee(s) said nothing? Probably too many of you.

David went back to paying cash and it has been great for employee morale.

If your bonus program is not having the positive effect you are seeking, consider having one type of bonus paid in cash. Profit sharing could be the best option. Talk with your accountant about holding back some money for the mandatory taxes like social security and whether any other taxes should be held back. Also consider whether cash payments are a security risk.

Cash is a momentary motivator and always will be. Used in small amounts on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis, cash can reinforce how much you appreciate your people. It is not the best way to motivate people, but cash is one way to wake your people up to what a great place they work for.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

There are two key meetings you need to have for this idea. The first is with your accountant to confirm whether you even want to try a cash bonus, and if so, how do you do it in a way to avoid liability. The amounts paid are still taxable and need to be reported on employee W-2 forms. The second meeting is with your leadership team. Discuss the pros and cons of a cash bonus, what type you might try in a pilot, and when. As always, if people like the idea, then try it one time as a pilot. You can always cancel it. The alternative is to find a way to communicate the bonus to people. I have some other ideas on that we can discuss another time.

HIRING INSIGHTS

I am hiring people and working for clients to help them hire employees. Here are some recent insights that have been interesting to incorporate into my 10-step  Hire The Best Avoid The Rest system:

1. Virtual Gatekeeper: One client, James Riley, has 13 questions he requires a job candidate to answer when providing their resume. If they do not answer the questions, or he does not like their answers, then he does not consider them. This is a big time saver.

2. Question Motivators: Someone I know asks candidates one of my questions: "Which is more important, results or money, and why?" The guy hired a sales candidate who answered "money." They guy lasted two weeks. Consider only hiring people who realize results is the answer because if they achieve results the money will take care of itself.

3. Real References: I did a reference check and the person was not the candidate's manager as their title indicated - he had been promoted after the candidate had left - and was a childhood friend of the candidate. He was pleasant, but offered no insights at all. If this is all you can get from a candidate, then do not hire them.

4. Real Background Checks: A client did a free preliminary background check on a candidate. It was perfectly clear. Wisely, before completing the hiring process he followed my advice and did a full background check. The guy was a felon, on the National Sexual Predators list, had a DUI... and more. If you want to setup an easy, online way to do background checks, complete this form to work with our partner ESRcheck, one of the top firms in the country. One bad hire can destroy your company and the years you have invested to build it.

5. Multiple Addresses: The address on the candidate's resume did not include their street address. The address on their job application was a different city from the resume, and the address on another form they submitted was a third address. Do not hire them.

If you want to be more systematic in your hiring, then purchase my Hire The Best Avoid The Rest hiring system. It has video, audio, and written information plus sample documents to define a step-by-step process to hire better people more consistently. Save 50% this week as one of my newsletter subscribers!  Click here for details and use the coupon code HireBEST when ordering.

My March Book Club selections are:

Business:  Guerrilla Remix Marketing 

Personal: The Founding Fathers Guide to The Constitution 

I hope you join us for some great insights from these authors... 

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Define a step-by-step process for hiring people to save time and money - LOTS OF TIME AND MONEY. 1. Consider my 10-step hiring system,  Hire The Best Avoid The Rest, or another process. 2. Ask your people for input. How do you customize your example system, such as Hire The Best Avoid The Rest, so it fits your company culture? 3. Define the system in-writing and train your people on it. 4. Assign responsibility for following the process to someone who has the authority to stop a hire that has not completed the process. 5. Pilot your hiring system for 90 days. Make any edits and then make it your standard operating procedure. 6. Send me your best ideas, funniest (most painful?) stories, and other hiring insights so I can help others avoid the mistakes you are making as well as my own. Have fun!

HABITS

You could argue our habits determine our success. Consider this:

According to NY Times reporter Charles Duhigg, author of a new book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, 40% of our daily actions are based on our habits rather than intentional decision-making.

Duhigg says: "This process (habits) within our brains is a three-step loop. First, there is a cue, a trigger that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and which behavior to use. Then there is the routine, which can be physical or mental or emotional. Finally, there is the reward . . ." (19)

The trick is to analyze the habit and then change the routine.

For instance, here is his story: "...Take, for instance, a bad habit I had of eating a cookie every afternoon. By learning how to analyze my habit, I figured out that the reason I walked to the cafeteria each day wasn't because I was craving a chocolate chip cookie. It was because I was craving socialization, the company of talking to my colleagues while munching. That was the habit's real reward. And the cue for my behavior - the trigger that caused me to automatically stand up and wander to the cafeteria, was a certain time of day.

So, I reconstructed the habit: now, at about 3:30 each day, I absentmindedly stand up from my desk, look around for someone to talk with, and then gossip for about 10 minutes. I don't even think about it at this point. It's automatic. It's a habit. I haven't had a cookie in six months."

This book will be our April Business Book Club choice. For now, I suggest you start developing a list of the three top habits you want to change in:

1. You

2. One of your employees or peers

3. One or more clients

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

I encourage you to discuss this concept with your team. Grab a couple of the reviews from Amazon's page on the book to peak their interest.  Agree to identify three habits of your clients that if you could motivate a change in those habits, your company would increase client satisfaction and sales. You can also ask them to identify 1-3 of their own habits, or habits within your organization that would benefit from a change... Have fun!

Fake

Darren Whitehead's January 8th talk on family is super and one of his points really applies in business too.

His early illustration is about Christmas cards. Christmas cards are great, but he complains they do not always communicate the truth.  For instance, some services offer a "head swap" where you can swap the head(s) of kids who are not smiling with another "head" that is smiling into your best photo so it appears everyone is part of one big, happy family.

He suggests the Christmas cards of the "perfect" family sharing their accomplishments for the year are kind of fake.  Their stories leave out the struggles and reality.  The cards are depressing because...
 

"You compare what you do know about your family with what you don't know about someone else's family. You're just sort of looking at the facade..."

We tend to give too much credit to some of our competitors, and great companies like Disney, Apple, and the Cheesecake Factory.  QUESTION:  Are we making the same mistake when considering our employees and client experience (company culture)?
 

Is it only our people who are not entering time in ConnectWise, Autotask, or other program daily so we can bill clients?
 
Is it only our tech who yells at a client?
 
Is it only our employees who do not have annual goals or any documented accountability to achieving significant results - just management-by-nagging?  ("Management-by-nagging" is intermittent whining, complaining and/or threatening employees rather than systematically managing them.)

THE GOOD NEWS:  Your competitors have the same company culture problems that you do, no matter how good they appear.  They are doing "head swaps" to look their best.  They are vulnerable.  You can beat them.

THE BAD NEWS:  You are not as perfect or as good as you appear to be at times.  You are vulnerable.  You can be beaten.

THE OPPORTUNITY:  Systematically improve your strengths so in those areas you are unbeatable.  Work on your weaknesses to eliminate them or at least make them competitive.

See Meetings Ideas for one approach.  Why fake it?  Do you really need "head swaps" to compete?  Overcome your company culture challenges by being an intentional, systematic, servant leader.

Don't miss our upcoming webinars.
 

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

As a leader, be careful to compare what you know about your employees' performance with what you do not know. Also, be careful NOT to compare what you know from personal experience as a shopper of your company's products or services with what you really do NOT know about how your clients are being treated by your people. Here are some ideas on how to discuss this with your team: 1.  What three areas of our client experience are our greatest strength, and why?  How can we confirm this without bias?  (In other words, if you feel your tech support is great, how can you listen in on a call without your people knowing you are there so you truly experience the quality of your services?) 2.  What three areas of client experience are our biggest weaknesses?  What is one thing (or a maximum of three) that we can do to instantly improve in this area? 3.  How can the changes we make to improve our strengths and weaknesses be measured and people held accountable moving forward? 4.  What are the three ways we make you, our employees, feel most valued?  How can we do those even better? 5.  What are the three things that make you believe the work you do for our company is meaningful to you personally?  What would make your work even more meaningful? If you need help, contact me.

It's Complicated

Early in the movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Part 1 was boring;  Part 2 was great), Harry is questioning Mr. Ollivander.  The wand maker responds, "It's complicated."

Months ago I asked my spiritual mentor, Father Thomas, a question and he had responded, "It's complicated."

As we start the new year, I suggest you more fully comprehend that much of what you do as a leader has complications.  Therefore there may be value in responding at times, "It's complicated."  It is certainly an understatement when you consider your responsibilities as a leader.

Here is why an "It's complicated" response may have value:

1.  It buys you time to think.  Maybe minutes.  It might be days.  Time also gives a situation the opportunity to develop further, emotions to subside, and new insights to reveal themselves.

2.  A delay in providing an answer can encourage the other person or people to think, and suggest their own solution or perspective.

3.  Starting with, "It's complicated," gives you the opportunity to teach multiple sides of an issue.  For instance, from the client's perspective, your company's objectives, and the desired result of the person asking the question.

Too often leaders allow themselves to forced act like a computer even though we have more control over our environment than a tool.  You enter a question in a computer and it instantly gives an answer.  Yes, often a quick answer is needed...  but is it ALWAYS needed immediately?

Have you ever considered how often the answer from the search on your computer is wrong?

That is because getting to the best answer is often complicated.

So maybe this week you should try answering a few questions with, "It's complicated.  What do you think?"  Then provide some perspective and encourage additional thought before deciding upon an action to take.

Don't miss our upcoming webinars.
 

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Part of being an effective leader, whether you are the top dog or just a puppy getting started in business, is how you respond to people's demands on your time and authority. The "It's complicated" approach can be effective at many levels of your organization if it is used sparingly, sincerely, and the answer requested is provided within the timeframe promised. Here are some ideas on how to discuss this with your team: 1.  What questions or demands could a client make where an "It's complicated" response could provide a more positive experience?  What would that process look like?  Should you try it for a day, week or month? 2.  Think of a situation during the past week when someone has asked you a difficult question.  Could an initial response of, "It's complicated," have helped to better frame the conversation and possibly bring about a more positive resolution? 3.  Discuss recent situations that have seemed simple, yet are actually quite complex.  Although you may have had a "simple" or quick solution, there is a lot more going on.  Did your fast approach eliminate an opportunity to provide a better client experience, close additional sales, or identify a way to gain a competitive edge? If you need help, contact me.

Big Deal

This will be brief (holiday week).

I did a company culture SWOT with a great client last week in Reno, IQ Systems.  They are an impressive organization for many reasons, but I found it interesting that their management team last year made a group commitment to lose weight.  We did not dwell on how they did it, but it was clear the group accountability helped several of them to each  lose more than 50 pounds.

Are you tired?  Stressed out?  Do you want to live longer?  Maybe losing weight should be a top priority for you (and your team?) in 2012.

Zig Ziglar, the great salesman and motivational speaker, talked about his weight problem decades ago.  He made a commitment to lose one quarter of a pound a day.  He also dedicated himself to running or walking one more block for exercise each day.  (I don't know how long his route got before he stopped expanding it.)  He lost over 60 pounds and is still going strong.

Arlin Sorenson of HTG has lost 50 pounds over the past year and encourages others to do the same.  Wendy Gauntt of CIO Services lost 70 pounds in 2011.

I encourage you to make your health a #1 priority in 2012.  You are too special to let this situation slow or stop your ability to live life to its fullest.

Don't miss our upcoming webinars.
 

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Whether it is weight loss, exercise, stopping smoking, alcoholism, or another health issue, put it on the table with your people as you finalize your key goals for 2012. An open conversation followed by commitment, accountability, and encouragement is how life transformation occurs when people are faced with this type of situation.  Here are a few brief ideas. 1.  Identify a potential issue you want to work on, but have an open discussion with your team.  Your people may want to focus on a different health-related challenge.  However, if you feel something is negatively affecting your people, then drive an optional program for them to embrace positive change in that area. 2.  Find people who have successfully overcome the issue and consider having them speak to your team over a series of meetings. 3.  Have a discussion with your employees.  If they were to choose one area of their health that they would like to focus on improving in 2012, what would it be? Have a great New Year's! If you need help, contact me.

Wonderful Life

I encourage you to watch the Christmas movie classic, It's a Wonderful Life, this week with your family and/or friends.

The storyline can be considered from many perspectives, including as a newer version of Dickens' story, A Christmas Carol.

My point is this:  When George Bailey is ultimately challenged to prove his worth or wealth as an individual it comes down to relationships, not money.

Our success as a leader is dependent on relationships more than anything else.  This starts with our faith, a relationship with God, however we define that to be, or our belief we all evolved from nothing.  Then our spouse and/or family.  Then friends, and I suggest fourth is work relationships.

As you approach 2012, what are you going to do differently to build stronger relationships?  In the end, that is all we have.  I suggest we focus on doing one thing more consistently, lovingly, creatively... BETTER than we did in 2011 with our key relationships.

If you are interested in the questions I am asking myself to commit to improving my relationships in 2012, see the Meeting Ideas below.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays!

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

I hope you enjoy the movie, even if you have seen it dozens of times like me.  Too often relationships take a back seat to temporary stuff of lesser value.   Here are some thoughts to explore the idea of making relationships a key priority in 2012: 1. One of the greatest blessings we have in America is the freedom to pursue a faith in God as we individually define God (or not). This belief is the foundation for how we discern truth, ethics, and meaning in life. What is one thing to do differently in this area to make 2012 a year that is more meaningful to you? 2. What is the one behavior you can change that will make your relationship with your spouse or special other even better? 3. What can you do to create great memories with your children or other family members? 4. What is one action you can take to improve relationships with your direct reports at work?  What about with other coworkers? 5. What is one activity you can do to improve client relationships? You can add more questions, but keep in mind it is better to do a great job in a limited number of regular activities than an average or poor job on a longer list.     If you need help, contact me.

You Are Not Qualified

He was self-educated.  He failed in business.  As a matter of fact, he was still paying off debts when he died.  He lost elections to the U.S. Senate.  He had a relatively quiet demeanor.  His wife was a nut case.

Would you hire this guy?

This man was Abraham Lincoln, who served as the 16th President of the United States of America and is widely respected as one of the three greatest leaders we have ever had.

Why do I bring this up now, during Christmas?

Because President Lincoln could have believed others who said he was unqualified to be a great leader, but he did not.  I believe Lincoln took the time to clarify his vision, reinvigorate his healthy passion for his country, and maintain his perseverance on what would drive the greatest results.

Did President Lincoln know from experience how to stop slavery?  No.

Did President Lincoln know from experience how to reunite a nation that split and was amidst a civil war?  No.

Did President Lincoln know from experience how to persevere under extremely stressful conditions?  Yes.  Because the foundation of his vision for America was his faith in the Christ child of this season.  Based on his faith, he had a sacrificial love for his country and a vision to leverage the talents of others to reunite America against all odds.

1.  As you prepare for 2012, remind yourself of your passion to serve your clients, employees, and/or business in general.

2.  Decide what you love to do the most that can help your company achieve your vision to serve others.  Set clear, measurable Goals That Work, and plan now to prioritize time in 2012 to leverage your strengths.

3.  PAUSE and THINK:  You may not be qualified to achieve your 2012 vision, but you will succeed because of your preparation, passion, and persistence.

THE OTHER QUESTION:  Which of your employees is not qualified based on their past, but with mentoring you could tap their full potential? 

Maybe these people should be part of your leadership team's 2012 plan too.
Don't miss our upcoming webinars.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

Get away to think on your own.  Then meet with others to get input on your plans.  Do not rush this process.  It is not a one hour pause.  It is a day or more without distractions. Here are some ideas for your individual Sanctuary time (alone time) or meeting with your group to confirm your 2012 objectives. 1.  Make certain your team understands how to write Goals That Work.  See my recent book, The Company Culture Challenge or email me. 2.  Confirm your passion to serve others - who, what, why, and how. 3.  Confirm what you like to do the most that enables you to transform the lives of clients, employees, vendors, and your community. 4.  What can you realistically achieve that you are "not qualified" to accomplish in 2012?  Why and how? 5.  Who at your firm should be mentored because they have the aptitude to succeed even though they may not have the experience or successful past you prefer. 6.  You only can accomplish so much in 2012.  Narrow your list to 3 BIG WINS.  They can be professional and personal.  Either way those wins will probably drive other successes. 7.  Offer your goals as "drafts" to your team.  Ask how the goals can be more realistic, clear, or measurable.  Seek how they can help.  Get them to take part-ownership in your pursuit of this meaningful work in 2012. Then enjoy the journey. If you need help, contact me.

Ticked Off Journal

A friend and mentor of mine keeps a Ticked Off Journal so when he is frustrated he can let off steam.  His journal is growing and he enjoys looking back on what made him angry.  (Are there trends?)  It is a positive experience for him, but is it the best use of his time?

What do you do when you are upset about something?  For example, I love politics but do not believe any of our presidential candidates have a real vision how to save our nation.  I jot notes on ideas or things I read that relate to how my vision could restore America's future.  A guy I used to know worked out at the gym (he got really big when he got divorced).

How do you move from Ticked Off to Positive Transformation?  What do you do to turn frustration into energy of integrity, new ideas, breakthrough visions, and game changing experiences that enable you to become a better leader and more personally fulfilled?

I suggest the answer varies based on the person, but as we approach 2012 there is something to gain when you consider and possibly adjust how you learn from frustrating situations.  Here are some quick considerations:

1.  Perspective:  What is the other person who upset you feeling?  How did they arrive at the conclusion (their version of truth) that led them to upset you?  What parts of their conclusion are correct that can help you?  Can you encourage them politely and respectfully to consider to someone else's content that has led you to a different conclusion?

2.  Learning:  What can you learn from this situation and apply for your benefit?

3.  Situational:  How can you avoid this type of situation in the future?

4.  Personal:  Should you avoid this person to save yourself time and aggravation?  (This might be difficult.  If you cannot avoid them, then you can be positive and try to communicate in the way the other person prefers to receive information.)

5.  Focus:  How can you stay focused on your key objectives for today and major goals for the year, rather than be distracted by something that ticks you off?

Don't miss our upcoming webinars.

Be an Intentional, Systematic, Servant Leader.

David Russell, CEO

Success With People, Inc.
MANAGEtoWIN, Inc.

MEETING IDEAS

This meeting idea is simple.  Consider the impact of situations that tick you off.  Is your response helping you grow personally and/or professionally, or is it negatively affecting you in any way? Consider this on your own, with a mentor, and then lastly, as a group discussion. If you need help, contact me.