Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / How To Read A Resume

Day 76

Do you know what to look for in a resume?  Most people do not. 

Here are 10 things I look for in a resume.  If any of these are not there, then either the candidate is disqualified or I ask questions.

1.    Minimum 3 years per job

2.    No employment gaps (some are acceptable)

3.    Specific accomplishments listed rather than general job duties

4.    Accomplishments listed could be in their control

5.    No spelling or grammar errors

6.    Good formatting of the resume

7.    Time working in a family business

8.    Complete job history listed (older people may not list everything)

9.    Experience relevant to the position (same industry most of the time)

10.  The year(s) for diploma(s) entered and/or school is not mail-order/weak

Happy hunting for candidates.  If your hiring process is emotional rather than systematic, then let me know we can help.

  

IT IS FRIDAY...  How are you doing on your 3Strands this week?  Week-by-week accomplish your 3Strands to achieve your annual goals ---  and MANAGERS, this is the simple way to be there to help people when they need it, encourage people, and hold them accountable.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / We All Need Charm School

Day 75

Your people need better soft skills.  (We all could improve in this area...)  Your employees may be very strong technically, but they cannot succeed without the ability to treat Clients respectfully and work effectively with coworkers.

This is why soft skills are crucial to your success as an organization.  Without good soft skills your employees are:

Offending Clients

Missing incremental sales opportunities

Causing problems / inefficiencies with coworkers

Not as productive as they can be

And more issues...

Therefore next week we start the development of 12 comprehensive soft skills courses for I.T. entrepreneurs, including managed service providers.  

If you are interested in learning more about Dave's Charm School for I.T. Geeks, then email me the topics you want us to teach.

The initial topics planned are:  

• Managing Client Expectations During a Remote Service Call
• Relating to Clients During an Onsite Service Call
• Helping Clients Understand Their True Needs
• Processing a New Service Call / Ticket
• We are producing 8 more...  email me what you need!

 ACCOUNTABILITY:  It is Monday...

How did you do on your 3 Strands last week? What BOLD MOVES do you have planned for this week?

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts. 

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / A Takeaway from American Airlines

Day 74
 

Two days ago I wrote encouraging GREAT leaders to learn from a bad experience I had on American Airlines.  You can read it in my blog where we post my newsletters and more.

Let me give you three additional insights from this experience that we can assess against our own organizations:

1.  Keep The Door Open:  Make the product return, contract termination, or other Client-initiated end of our relationship for the moment as positive as their purchasing experience.  This is hard, but remember, they still need your services.  Nordstrom trains their employees to do this.

Keep the door open to them coming back, and encourage them to speak positively about you to others.  One of our Clients recently did this when terminating an employee.  He handled it so well the employee spoke positively about their organization to others immediately afterwards.

2.  Sincerely Care:  None of the American Airlines employees I approached about changing my flight cared about my concerns.  Why would I ever choose to do business with them again?  I do have other airlines who want my business.

This may seem simple, but some of your employees occasionally or often use words, a tone of voice, and/or gesture that tells your Clients they have "bigger" priorities than your Client's concern.  You have to teach your employees to develop this habit. 

NOTE:  We are about to develop soft skills training.  Email me if you want to learn more.

3.  Provide Options:  American Airlines' people said "no" to my requests.  They were cold, impersonal, and did not have the authority to override standard policy.

Give your people authority that matches their responsibility, and options when a Client is "backed into a corner" to help your VALUED Clients get unstuck.  They could have given me an upgrade or something.  Our Client relationships are a two-way interaction, not a "NO Factory."

And do not forget... IT IS FRIDAY!  A basic part of an Accountability Culture is following-up on your weekly 3Strands to confirm you made progress on your most important 2013 goals this week.  If you are using a daily W.I.N., then how did you do yesterday?  What's your plan today?

Do not forget to hold your people accountable too.

Let me know if you need help.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / The Big Delegate BUT

Day 73

To be an effective leader you have to delegate.  This is one of the key principles behind systematic leadership and Goals That Work, including my 3Strands process.

However, there is a

big BUT (that is one "t" in "but" although it is tempting to add the second).  What about the work that only you can do?

This morning, if you have not already done it, please consider:

1.  How well you completed your key objectives - 3Strands - for last week.  Avoid a to-do list.  Focus on your 1-3 most important objectives only and let the other stuff fit in where it can.

2.  What is the primary value you bring to your organization?  What do you do that is far above the natural skills or current ability of others?  This needs to be the focus of your 3Strands this week and moving forward.  

Do what only you can do.  Delegate the rest.

3.  Schedule time to train your people.  Not a helicopter drop passing a "hot potato," but rather scheduled time over a 30-90 day period to help people develop new habits.

WHY?  So you can delegate more and thus focus more time on the highest value you bring to your company.

Leaders are in management positions, but in strong organizations, many "leaders" have no one reporting to them.  This advice applies to all.

Define your 3Strands strategically.  Otherwise you spend too much time working for your business instead of on it, and you get stuck in rut that is not as fulfilling.

Let me know if you need help.  Click here to subscribe to my newsletters.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / It's All About YOU!

Day 72

Yes, it is Friday the 13th, yet ANOTHER GREAT DAY!

As a leader, you often get more respect, privilege, and authority than most others in your company.

It is all about you.

But wait, it is not that easy.  As you head into the weekend having achieved your 3Strands for this week (right?), please consider what this means:  To a certain extent, what you do on the job is all about you.

When you are inspired that your company, or a specific employee, needs to improve in a certain area...  REMEMBER:  It's all about you. Do you consistently demonstrate the skill you are about to require of your company or employee?  How well do you do it?

I encourage you to grow and participate in activities to learn new ways to be an effective leader as well as grow your business.  However, do not be deceived into thinking you have the gift of correction.  

As you become inspired to change, remember the first person to change is yourself.  In other words, the first test of whether one of your employees should behave a certain way is whether you consistently behave that way.

Also, the first place to prove the desired behavior is beneficial to your workplace is with yourself.  Here are some simple steps to take if you believe YOU need to improve your behavior so your team better comprehends how to be superstars:

1.  Clearly define the key attributes of the behavior you want to improve.

2.  Ask others whom you admire how they or their superstars live out this behavior.

3.  Confirm in-writing to yourself how you will demonstrate this behavior better.

4.  Pilot a behavioral improvement program by yourself for 30 days to see if you can meet your standards.  Evaluate yourself daily.  (Weekly is too long to wait.)

5.  Confirm others are seeing a positive change in your behavior.

6.  Get advice how to do it even better.

7.  Pilot your method for teaching the behavior with one person for 30 days.

Try this with one behavior.  Consider the impact on your company culture if you improved ONE BEHAVIOR a quarter, particularly when this new improved behavior reinforces your Company values.

Let me know if you need help.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / When Fired Upon, Advance!

Day 71

It is a new week.  How did you do on your 3Strands last week?  What BOLD MOVEShave you defined for this week's 3Strands?

One of General George Patton's ways to win could be summarized as, "When fire upon, advance!"

This week and through year-end you will be "fired upon."  Technology will fail.  People will let you down.  Unexpected problems will arise.  Yet it is your persistent focus on your Company Culture Cornerstones and core objectives that will enable you to not only overcome any short-term challenges, but also help your team avoid similar mistakes in the future.

Jim Collins, author of GREAT by Choice, recommends "shooting bullets, not cannonballs."  This means when you advance as General Patton encourages, that you move ahead in stages whenever possible.  You test your hypothesis.  You learn from small, strategic advances...  recalibrate your conclusions, focus, and approach...  and then "fire" again.

Sometimes you will have to move fast and there is no time to test.  This is why you build your arsenal of resources - people, cash, competitive tools, and effective processes.

Achieving your 2013 objectives with excellence will be a battle. Always seek to advance, but do so wisely.  Remain in control rather than let the emotions of the moment sweep you into danger.  Maintain Fanatic Discipline (Jim Collins 10X behavior) as you respond (not react) in carefully planned stages that limit risk while increasing your opportunities for more substantial success.

Bullets now, cannonballs later (apply lots of resources) once you have resolved an issue, proven your solution works, and now you need to put a process in place so that issue is never a problem again for your company.  (But the issue can overwhelm your competitors.)

Let me know if you need help.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Controlling Luck

Day 70

This 20 Mile Challenge webinar is the shortest (less than 17 minutes), but has some homework to scourge your firm of cancer.  I suggest you at least listen to the audio while commuting or working out.

If you are wondering what this is about... Jim Collins wrote an awesome book, GREAT by Choice.  I am teaching how to apply his principles as a managed service provider.  (Mr. Collins does not endorse this project.)

The title of this session is Controlling Luck Rather Than It Controlling Us.  This session is rich in material that can help your business today, and especially moving forward.

     1.  Watch the video (This video is only available free through Sunday;  then only available to our LEADERSHIP Essentials Academy members.)

20 Mile Challenge -- Controlling Luck

.

     2.  Listen to the audio by subscribing to the podcast:

             -  Open iTunes.

             -  Go to File | Subscribe to Podcast.

             -  Enter this link:  http://www.MANAGEtoWIN.com/20MC-podcast-rss.xml

     3.  Scan my key points in the PowerPoint deck.

No one can achieve a 20 Mile Challenge long-term without an Accountability Culturethat provides employees an environment where they motivate themselves to do their best.  Email me if you want to learn more.

Tomorrow I will continue with the 2nd of 5 steps to develop an Accountability Culture.

Let me know if you need help.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / More Than One Death Line?

Day 69

In Jim Collins' book, GREAT by Choice, he talks about defining the Death Line for your company.  This is the point in your finances, client satisfaction, etc. where if you cross it the situation could become deadly.

Collins puts it this way:  "The idea is simple:  If you ever hit the Death Line, you end the journey - the game is over."

WARNING:  Define your Death Line before it defines you.

I suggest this week, one of your 3Strands is to define three Death Lines for your business.  Here are some quick ideas for Death Lines:

• Product line
• Service
• Process (returns, new client onboarding...)
• Employee  

Pilot your three Death Lines through year-end and then discuss how best to apply Death Lines in your company for 2014.  Learn more about Death Lines in this 20 Mile Challenge presentation.

There are only four months left in 2013.  FOCUS - FOCUS - FOCUS.  Have your Sanctuary time this morning to consider what you got accomplished last week (month?) and confirm your 1-3 BOLD MOVES for this week - your 3Strands.

Let me know if you need help.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Accountability Essentials: Clients

Day 68

I suggested some Accountability Essentials for Individuals and then your Company Culture in earlier emails this week.  What about your Client Experience?

Have you ever defined in-writingyour PERFECT Client Experience?  Here is a summary of one way to do it from a chapter of my book, The Company Culture Challenge.

     1.  Live It / Learn From The Best.  Nordstrom, Amazon, and lots of other companies spend millions perfecting their client experience.  Have a team activity.  Give everyone some money and have them go buy something from companies known for great client service.  Bring back what you learn to the group, discuss it, and decide what to apply in your firm.

     2.  Observe It / Learn From Your Clients.  Watch how your clients buy from you.  There are several ways to do this, but no space to walk through it here.

     3.  Live It / Secret Shopper.  Buy from your company without them knowing it is you, or be with someone who buys from your firm.  Be challenging without being rude.  Test your people.

     4.  Employees Define It.  Ask your employees to define your PERFECT Client Experience.  They will hopefully be close, but they will rarely 100% correct.  Do steps #1-3 above for fun, team bonding, and insights you never dreamed of.

     5.  Confirm Your PERFECT Client Experience.  Work on understanding your Client Experience Cycle - each point they touch your company.  Discuss each step with your Clients.  Systematize each step for consistency.  Train it.  Role-play it.  Pilot new ways to do it.  Assess, revise, pilot, revise, repeat...

This is one of the first chapters of my book.  Email me if you want a copy of this chapter.

Client Experience issues are due to mistakes of leaders and employee management systems that need to be improved.  It is not just a single employee or process issue.  The problem is typically much larger than that.

Let me know if you need help.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Free 20MC Video/Audio/PPT

Day 67

Jim Collins wrote an awesome book, GREAT by Choice.  I am teaching how to apply his principles as a managed service provider.  (Mr. Collins does not endorse this project.)

Through this Sunday you can watch yesterday's 37 minute webinar that summarized Steps #11-14 of Discipline 3 of our 20 Mile Challenge:  How We Will SMaC Our Company Culture.  This session offers great tips from Mr. Collins on how to define your business so it can not just weather any storm, but take advantage of any disruption.

     1.  Watch the video (This video is only available free through Sunday;  then only available to our LEADERSHIP Essentials Academy members.)

20 Mile Challenge - Step 15 SMaC Our Company Culture

     2.  Listen to the audio by subscribing to the podcast:

             -  Open iTunes.

             -  Go to File | Subscribe to Podcast.

             -  Enter this link:  http://www.MANAGEtoWIN.com/20MC-podcast-rss.xml

     3.  Scan my key points in the PowerPoint deck.

No one can achieve a 20 Mile Challenge long-term without an Accountability Culturethat provides employees an environment where they motivate themselves to do their best.  Email me if you want to learn more.

Tomorrow I will continue with the 3rd step of Accountability Essentials.

Let me know if you need help.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Accountability Essentials - Culture

Day 66

Once you get beyond the Individual essentials of accountability, then consider your Company Culture Cornerstones.  I explain these in my book, The Company Culture Challenge, and help Clients define them as part of our LEADERSHIP Essentials Academy and Service.

1.  Mission:  This is why you are in business.  I prefer short statements that are memorable and spark a conversation.  Sometimes, not always, a mission can also serve as a slogan.

Examples  

Make downtime obsolete - Alvarez Technology Group

We enable Clients to achieve more than they would on their own - Rivercity Solutions

No bad bosses - MANAGEtoWIN

2.  Vision.  This defines whereyou are going as an organization.  It may be something accomplishable, such as a financial or market share number.  Or it can be a long-term aspiration.

Examples

No surprises - Rivercity Solutions

To grow our Clients' business rather than just meet their IT needs - Motor City Technology

To be the best leadership investment our Clients ever make - MANAGEtoWIN

3.  Values.  This is how we do business.  We suggest best practice is 3-10 values.  They can be a single word, couple of words, or a phrase.  There should be four statements defining each one, or 1-3 paragraphs.  Your values enable your people to make decisions on their own.

4.  Accountability.  Too often people write a mission, vision, and some values, but do not have any accountability to live them out.  This is where Systematic Leadership comes in.  Without accountability to live out your Company Culture Cornerstones you risk having your organization become a "strain of the Enron virus" - great values etched in marble, but not lived out.

Do you have these Accountability Essentials in your organization?

Let me know if you need help.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Accountability Essentials - Individual

Day 65

Summer is almost over so before we race into the 4th Quarter sprint for results, consider this week's focus on Accountability Essentials.  These are the basics, and quite frankly, too often we move beyond the Essentials before mastering them.

Today's focus:  The Accountability Essentials of an Individual.

1.  Character:  Demonstrate character, hire for character, reward for character, and do not be or tolerate a character.

2.  Strengths:  Know your natural strengths and those of your team so you align people's responsibilities with their strengths.  Natural strengths = on the job behaviors and values that drive those behaviors.  Consider our Talent Assessment Servicefor a low cost way to confirm the strengths of your team and job candidates.  Hold them accountable to achieving results based on their strengths.

3.  Passion:  Understand everyone's passion.  What makes the work they do for you meaningful?  Hold them accountable to doing that work, and/or regularly recognizing why their work is personally fulfilling to them.

4.  Hiring:  Hire systematically.  Consider my Hire The Best & Avoid The Rest system if you want to get systematic quickly.  One key tip:  Go beyond the "first date" experience where everyone is on their best behavior and get your job candidates to talk outside their script.

5.  Systematic Leadership:  Have a strong enough company culture where there is a balance between employees holding themselves accountable, and their manager providing encouraging, regular, systematic accountability.

Do you do practice these Accountability Essentials regularly?

If not, then you are leaving a lot of money "on the table" when you stop work each day.  You might want to schedule a free call with me to discuss your challenges.

Consistency requires systems.  I encourage you to check your Weekly 3Strands and/or daily W.I.N. today and every day to confirm your progress.  And to do the same with your direct reports 3Strands and/or daily W.I.N.

Let me know if you need help.

 

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

 

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Wisdom From James Dyson

Day 64

TIME Magazine has a one-page, 10 questions interview of James Dyson, inventor and billionaire, that should appeal to every ADD leader...  and others too.

Consider these three whiffs of wisdom that Mr. Dyson shares before they blow by.  You might want to incorporate them into your Systematic Leadership and LEADERSHIP Essentials:

He prefers to hire inexperienced engineers because they are "unsullied" (fresh;  willing to experience on something new...).

I have found this true also.  Sometimes you are better off hiring someone who has aptitude and passion rather than experience.

He was attracted to improve vacuum cleaners BECAUSE they are a "pretty tedious commodity product.

The Systematic Leadership challenge question:  How do you transform your services into something interesting and exciting that sparks passion and loyalty...  BEFORE it becomes mundane and uncompetitive?

What gets Dyson the billionaire up in the morning?  The love of "solving the insoluble problem.

If that is not the reason you are doing a "rise and shine" each morning, then maybe we need to talk..

ACCOUNTABILITY:  Are you checking your Weekly 3Strands and/or daily W.I.N. every day to confirm your progress.  And doing the same with your direct reports 3Strands and/or daily W.I.N.?

Let me know if you need help.

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurt.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Unmotivated Employees are a Blessing

Day 63

Check your 3Strands this morning.  How are you doing?

Last week Leo Stemp sent me a quote from Lou Holtz, the awesome leader and winning NCAA Football coach:

"Motivation is simple.  You eliminate the people who are not motivated."

Advice:  With the utmost respect for Coach Holtz, please never accept anything even GREAT leaders say without thinking.

My understanding from people a lot smarter than me is that you cannot motivate another person.  This conclusion supports Lou Holtz's statement above if we stop there.

However, my advisors add an important point:

You cannot motivate another person;  you can only create an environment in which people become self-motivated.

You should consider whether motivation is your employee's responsibility (problem) or an issue with your:

1.  Leadership

2.  Company culture

3.  Products and/or services

This list can go on, but you get the point.  Unmotivated employees are a blessing IF you act quickly to learn WHY they are not motivated, and systematically applywhat you learn so the mistake is not made again.

Let me know if you need help.

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Client Experience ... Starbucks vs. Peet's

Day 62

It's... MONDAY!  I love it.  I am so thankful to live in beautiful America, even with all its flaws.  Speaking of flaws, how about we stay with Client Experience for $200 after our Motorola Mobility Moto Xdiscussion last week.

Starbucks vs. Peet's coffee shops.  If you have not taken the time to experience and even test the client experience at these powerhouses, please do so before month-end.  Why?

These companies, particularly Starbucks, spend MILLIONS to have the best possible client experience.  You can learn from them for just a $1.95 cup of brew.

1.  Product:  The coffee seems the same to me at both places, but zealots will take sides.  My wife and I only started drinking coffee two years ago at age 54 after we adopted a sibling group of young kids.  I am not an expert.  

2.  Add-ons:  The sugar, cream, etc. selection are close to identical.  Meets people's needs.  Peet's has had great treats for awhile and Starbucks recently updated their assortment.  It is more competitive now.

3.  People:  They both hire great people in my area.  Very friendly and helpful.

NOTE:  The Starbucks I am working from just had its customer line grow to 18 people.  Incredible...  Just think what would happen to your business if you could take a commodity like coffee and convince people your brand is the best place to buy it.

4.  Internet:  VERY INTERESTING.  Until earlier this year Peet's made you get an internet code at the cash register that only worked for one hour whereas Starbucks provided free internet as long as you want.  I wrote Peet's on January 15, 2013 about this issue and they responded the same day (impressive).  It was four paragraphs basically explaining why my desire to have internet for more than one hour was wrong.

I guess more people challenged their one hour policy.  Recently Peet's realized their mistake and now no more codes at the cash register and one hour limits.  You can work at a Peet's as long as you work at Starbucks.

Even leaders of large organizations learn from their competitors.

5.  Atmosphere:  Great at both places, although my favorite atmosphere is Origin Coffee & Tea in Rocklin (northeast of Sacramento) where volunteers run the place and all profits are donated to stop human trafficking.  All of them seem to struggle with providing firm couches or padded seating.  That's one area for improvement.

NOTE:  Your Employee experience determines the success of your Client experience.

Make a positive step forward with both Employees and Clients by doing a team exercise to explore what it is like to buy from the best brands and consider what you can apply in your organization.

How did you do last week on your 3Strands?  Have you defined your 1-3 most important tasks for this week?

Let me know if you need help.

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

Thank you.

 

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / How Memorable Is Your Advice?

Day 61

As we close out the week and ACHIEVE OUR 3STRANDS...  I suggest you consider whether your coaching, mentoring, teaching... is being fully absorbed and applied by your team members, or not.

What's the trick?  Give them a memory that motivates the behavior.

Andrew McCart, in a recent talk referred to a story about a custodian.  I suggest this story, which you may have heard before, should challenge leaders (including me) how to more effectively teach others.  Here is the story: 

A certain private school in Washington, D.C. was faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.

Every night, the maintenance man would to remove lip prints, and the next day, the girls would put them back on the mirror. Finally, the custodian decided that something had to be done, so he reported the situation to the principal. 

The principal agreed, and she called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night.

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required to clean the mirror. So he took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet several times, and cleaned the mirror with it. 

Since then, no more lip prints on the mirror. 

Here is my suggestion for one of your 3Strands next week:  Choose one point you want to make to an individual or group, and figure a creative way to make that point morememorable.

Have an incredibly wonderful day.  Enjoy your Sanctuary time confirming the achievement of your 3Strands and planning next week's BOLD MOVES!

Let me know if you need help.

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Tension of Consistency and Change

Day 60

Yesterday I did our biweekly 20 Mile Challenge webinar.  The topic was The Tension of Consistency and Change.  This is the 14th of 20 webinars I am leading to discuss how to implement Jim Collins' book, GREAT by Choice as a managed service provider.

You can view this session's video on YouTube through Sunday, and then it is available only to our LEADERSHIP EssentialsAcademy members.

You can download the PPT deck here.

You can subscribe to the free iTunes podcast by (1) Open iTunes;  (2) Go to File / Subscribe to Podcast;  and (3) enter this link:  /20MC-podcast/rss.xml 

Please note:  Our 20 Mile Challenge program is not endorsed by Jim Collins... but we are having a blast considering how to apply his wisdom in our businesses!

This is a great discussion about how to apply Jim Collins' SMaC Recipe in your business.  It builds upon the session two weeks earlier.

I encourage you to develop a SMaC Recipe for your organization.

Did you look at your weekly 3Strands today to confirm you are on course?  I did, and realized the need to set aside time tomorrow in my calendar to work on them.

Let me know if you need help.

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Focus

Day 59

Everything we do as a Systematic Leader is to focus on the value we deliver to others rather than what we want for self-gratification or personal needs.

Systems to demonstrate we sincerely care about our employees.

Systems to prove we put our Clients' interests first.

Systems to reinforce to our vendors that we are their best partner.

GREAT leadership is consistent.

Consistency requires systems.  I encourage you to check your Weekly 3Strands and/or daily W.I.N. today and every day to confirm your progress.  And to do the same with your direct reports 3Strands and/or daily W.I.N.

Success is a journey one step at a time.  Don't wake up realizing you missed some beautiful stretches of the trail.

Let me know if you need help.

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / What are 3Strands and Daily W.I.N. ?

Day 58

The reason I am writing to you daily is because many people wanted more accountability than a once-a-week leadership insight.

Too many people write annual goals and then do not pursue them systematically each week.  

My weekly 3Strands and optional daily W.I.N. process is how to pursue your annual objectives systematically.

We recently posted this process online for you - Weekly 3Strands & daily W.I.N.

We teach this and much more in our LEADERSHIP Essentials Service and Academy.  Our final LEADERSHIP EssentialsAcademies this year are August 22-23 and October 24-25.  Attend if you want to learn the core essentials of systematic leadership.

 

I encourage Clients to look at their 3Strands daily to stay focused, and then take time in solitude ("Sanctuary") between Friday afternoon and Monday morning to review how well they did;  and define their 3Strands for the upcoming week. 

Why not try a pilot?  Define your 3Strands this week and try my process?

Let me know if you need help.

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

Thank you.

Daily LEADERSHIP Tip / Fools Part 5

Day 57

This is my Final Leadership vs. Fools Challenge before the weekend...

1.  Who do you hang out with at your office?

2.  Who do you interact with as a business sounding board or mentor?
3.  Who do you seek out for personal advice?

Consider this advice from ancient times that is 100% accurate:

 

"Walk with the wise and become wise,

for a companion of fools suffers harm."

Proverbs 13:20

 

Now let's return to the 3-point Challenge laid out above:

1.  Office:  I am NOT recommending that you spend your time in cliques or kiss-up to leaders and top performers, but it is true that top performers typically spend most of their time hanging out with other superstars.

As you spend time with other people with similar ambition, intelligence, and skill, they hone your abilities.  "...Iron sharpens iron..." whereas wood dulls iron.

2.  Business:  Fools seek advice from people who agree with them.  Wise people ask questions, pose scenarios, and ask for counsel from people who have achieved what you want to achieve andwill tell you when they feel you are wrong.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Wise Systematic Leaders still make their own decisions.  For many people a peer group is a helpful source of trustworthy feedback.  There are many options, such as Vistage, Convene, C12, HTG...  

Observation:  One has to be impressed that ConnectWise has fully supported HTG Peer Groups, which are for ConnectWise partners only, whereas their competitors have not made similar commitments.

3.  Personal:  Have you ever interviewed a "great" job candidate yet when you checked their online "friends" you discovered they were boozers, swingers, into drugs, or had some other habit that would negatively affect their job performance?

We develop habits from the people with whom we spend time.  Carefully choosing your personal friends, spiritual family, and others with whom you enjoy life - and the causes you invest in - is important.  Yes, this is personal, but the fact is you bring your full "person" to the job each day.  

People who live life to the fullest in their personal time typically give their best at work too.

It is FRIDAY:  Please complete this week's 3Strands and daily W.I.N., and encourageyour people to do the same.

Let me know if you need help.

Be a Systematic Leader - because inconsistency hurts

Thank you.