Day 122 | What About You?

Do you know someone who could behave better?  They hurt your feelings, are not productive, or... whatever?

The bottom line is they need to change.

That may be true, BUT what happens when you apply the same judgmental standard to yourself?

Very often, the honest answer is that in this area you need to improve too.

I suggest you try this discipline this week:

1. When someone's behavior bothers you, pause and consider how you can improve in that area.  Maybe this means you have to make a note on your phone so you make time later to consider the truth about your behavior in this area.
2. Even when their behavior is OBVIOUSLY much worse than yours, work on improving yourself and then address theirs later when it does not need immediate attention.

Apply this even with people you do not like.  Surprisingly, you may realize behaviors you have in common with people who bother you.

Consider John Ortberg's series on The Truth About You that he began on March 9.  I do not agree with the way his team did a "fishbowl" exercise because it only focused on the negatives, but John brings up many intriguing challenges.  His approach is thought provoking and worth the listening time during your commute or workouts.

DISCLAIMER:  This is not a spiritual recommendation.  This teaching encourages self-reflection and growth rather than instinctively focusing almost all of our time judging others.  If you hate Christians, John actually challenges people to be more loving.  His standard of Christian behavior extends to many other beliefs and are areas where everyone can easily agree.

Self-reflection based on truth is one of the greatest challenges for leaders.  This is a good investment of  your time.

The truth is that it is easy to judge people.  It is difficult to lead them to the best of your ability.  Focus more on developing yourself to be a humble 3Strands LEADER and you will judge people harshly, ineffectively and/or incorrectly less often.

It is Monday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!

1. Did you take Sanctuary time over the weekend to improve your focus?
2. How did you do on your 3Strands last week?
3. Have you defined your 3Strands for this week?
4. By 9:00 a.m. this morning you should have 3Strands emails from each of your direct reports.

Stay on track.

Fire All of Them

Let me build on something you have heard before, but have not recently taken the time to fully consider over a cup of hot chocolate, coffee, tea or a healthy smoothie...

Here is what you need:

1. A list of all your employees
2. Their written 2014 goals
3. Your answer to this question:  If I fired every one of my employees, who would I be excited to hire back?

Then you have to ask yourself two additional questions:

1. How much is it costing me monthly to keep the people I would NOT hire back enthusiastically?
2. Is the problem the employee(s), or me, or both?

Take 30-60 minutes to do this exercise today or over the weekend.  You will be glad you did.  If you need help confirming letting someone go is the right decision, how to put them on a performance improvement plan, or creating a better environment that hires superstars and motivates people to perform their best...  contact us.  We can help.

It is Friday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!  

1. How did you do on your 3Strands this week?
2. At the end of today or at least before 9:00 a.m. Monday take Sanctuary time and hold yourself accountable to this week's 3Strands and define your 3Strands for next week?

Stay on track.

Time to Confront

One of my weekly prayers is:  

There is a time to be nice and a time to confront.  Please give me the wisdom to know the truth and the courage to do what is right.

As we wrap-up the first quarter this is an important consideration.  There are areas of our lives and our leadership where we are procrastinating about positive change.  This delay is negatively affecting our lives, the lives of others, and the profits that fuel our growth.

Where do we need to be nicer, and what areas of business need hard decisions?

SUGGESTION:  If you struggle to be more appreciative and positive with others, or more systematically holding people accountable, then use the old "good cop - bad cop" negotiating approach to overcome your hesitation to act.

Start with "what is true" and make that the bad cop.  We have to do what is true because that is the only path to doing what is right or best for the business.

For instance, you have an employee who could be performing better and you have not addressed it effectively.

What is true?  The person's performance must improve.

How?  Need to define clear, measurable performance objectives, behavioral expectations, possibly test for natural strengths and motivators (Talent Assessment), AND follow-up regularly for 90 days. 

When?  Now.  Assess the daily cost.  Multiply by your number of work days or hours.  The cost is too high to continue your procrastination AND you are hurting the employee.

See the meeting ideas for an outline of additional ideas.

Meeting Ideas

Here are some ideas to more fully explore the challenge of being nicer or confronting an issue.

1. Nice
   • How consistently do you recognize others?
   • Do you know your employee's preferred rewards?
   • What is each employee's definition of meaningful work?
   • Do you believe your employees should be more thankful for what you do for them?  (Then we should talk...)  START HERE before working with others to be nicer.
2. Confrontation
   • Yourself:  Your hiring system is weak or non-existent
   • Yourself:  You do not manage others consistently
   • Yourself:  START HERE...  Confront yourself to make certain you are meeting or exceeding your standards.  Then being nice or confronting others is much easier.
3. Confrontation: Confronting someone can be empathetic and positive, or angry and aggressive.  If you are too confrontational, or not enough, get some help to be systematic in confrontation.  Learn to use the truth as the "bad cop" to help the other person engage in a solution more easily.

Day 120 | Mirror, Mirror...

The enchanted mirror in the story of Snow White cannot lie.  It answers the question of the evil queen, stepmother to Snow White, when she asks, "...who is the fairest in the land?"

It's almost as if part of the enchanted mirror's response is to reflect back on the vanity of the wicked queen.

You and I are leaders.  It may surprise you, but we have "enchanted" leadership mirrors that reflect the effectiveness of our leadership systems to hire, manage, develop, and retain top performing employees who love their career with our company.

Our leadership mirrors do not lie.  Our leadership mirrors are called employees.

"Mirror, mirror in my company, tell me what you truly think of me?"

Our employees' behavior mirror the effectiveness of our leadership systems.

If we have employees who are unproductive, and/or gossips, and/or error-prone, and/or unwilling to follow our processes, and/or have other difficulties - DO NOT BLAME THEM.  Often our leadership systems are broken.

Their issues are our fault.  We hire them...  We manage them, or not...  We develop them, or not...  and worst of all, we retain them too long when some people will never be successful in our company culture.  

Our LEADERSHIP Essentials and All-In LEADERSHIP systems develop the habits of 3Strands LEADERS.  If you do not want to learn from us, please learn from somebody!  Time passes too quickly not to be the best leader possible.

It is Monday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!

1. How did you do on your 3Strands last week?
2. Did you take 20 minutes or more for Sanctuary time this weekend to improve your focus on what is most important?
3. Are you starting this week with 1-3 clearly defined MAJOR OBJECTIVES - your 3Strands for this week? (Look at them each morning.)

Stay on track.

Day 119 | Chronic Inconsistency

Do some of your people suffer from chronic inconsistency?

Most leaders would agree, but if asked whether they suffer from the same bad habit, they would either deny it or downplay it as less frustrating than their employees demonstrating the same problem.

Chronic inconsistency...  isn't that a great description of a HUGE PROBLEM?

It reminds me of the old proverb:

He that leads when no one follows is out for a walk.

Have you been spending too much time on that walk?  Our LEADERSHIP Essentials systems develop the habits of 3Strands LEADERS which are just the opposite:  You demonstrate a chronic consistency.  You are reliable.  People trust you.  People like you.  Work is more FUN.

WHY GO TO BEDFORD?:  I said this to a Client this week and want to pass it along.  The primary reason you should attend our LEADERSHIP Essentials Academy in Bedford, New Hampshire on June 5-6 is because the event occurs at Mainstay Technologies.  Ryan Barton, the visionary CEO of Mainstay is someone you need to meet if you want to see how a 3Strands LEADER extends his passions throughout his organization.

Space is limited.  We slashed the price of our LEADERSHIP Essentials Academy to just $295 monthly per company for online content, and only $295 per person for two days of in-person LEADERSHIP Essentials training.

1. Join our Academy here (includes access to Dave's Charm School for I.T. Geeks soft skills training)
2. Confirm your seat here for our June 5-6 Academy in Belmont, New Hampshire.

It is Friday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!  

1. How did you do on your 3Strands this week?
2. At the end of today or at least before 9:00 a.m. Monday take Sanctuary time and hold yourself accountable to this week's 3Strands and define your 3Strands for next week?

Stay on track.

Is It Fair?

Do you live on the East Coast?  Don't miss our LEADERSHIP Essentials Academy at Mainstay Technologies in Belmont, New Hampshire on June 5-6.  Our workshop will be a great learning experience for you, and the Mainstay folks are an example of a best-in-class firm.

It's only $295 per person for our Academy members.  Join here.

Is it fair that I start my newsletter with that reminder?

As leaders we have to be careful how we behave.  That last word you spoke or action you took, was it fair? Most people would respond, "Yes," without thinking... but are they correct?

According to the book, Your Brain At Work, fairness is a need of our brains.  If we start to focus on fairness, then we judge it everywhere.  Fairness can often be more important than money to our brains, and therefore is a big motivator.

BUT...  but we rarely hold ourselves to the same standard.

Many people, especially our employees when we are not fully engaging them, can be upset because they assume they are being treated unfairly or there is a threat to their status.

For instance, employees might incorrectly believe they are...

• Underpaid
• Overworked
• Not appreciated
• Given less benefits than other firms provide
• Managed too strictly

Intentional 3Strands leaders are consistent in helping employees understand how they are doing meaningful work and that they are appreciated.  These leaders are also transparent.

Employees with 3Strands Leaders typically feel their management practices and company policies overall are very fair.  They are happy and thankful to work there.

What do you think that does to their self-motivation and productivity? And how do your employees feel?

HINT:  An employee's opinion may not be fair, but it is a true feeling.  One of your responsibilities as a leader is to consider what is true and then make a decision about what is "the right thing to do."

I suggest the place to start is with what your employees are thinking, even if you believe they are wrong.  Next, you have to figure out what to do about it because if your employees feel you are not fair, then you are losing tens of thousands of dollars annually.

Meeting Idea

Here are some ideas to consider how your people feel about you and/or your company.

1. Ask:  They will probably not give you a complete answer, if an honest answer at all.
2. Confidential Survey:  We can do this for you.  It is similar to a best workplace survey.
3. You Already Know:  You already know they think you are not fair.  Then the question is what to do about it.  Procrastination is too expensive, these issues need to be dealt with.  Contact us if you need to talk through some ideas or get advice.

Day 118 | Power of Dictums

A dictum is an authoritative statement of truth.  Some people start each day reading or repeating dictums.

Question:  What is one key value of dictums for leaders?

Answer:  To overcome negative self-talk by reprogramming your brain.

For example, behavioral modification Coach Don Nava encourages his clients to use different dictums each morning as they grow through his program.  Some examples are:

• I think about whatever is true.
• I like myself.
• I put others first.
• I exercise daily.
• I choose to live in good health.
• I work on my life goals daily.
• ...

Another friend of mine has a similar yet different approach.  He keeps a journal of how God has encouraged him.  This can be words of affirmation from others, a powerful thought, or Bible verses that jumped off the page at him.  Each morning he walks in his home study area and reads these words of positive reinforcements aloud.  It makes a difference in his day.  Jack is an encourager.

We all have pain from past mistakes and/or undeserved pain from others.  As leaders we must be healthy and have a sincere, positive attitude that inspires the people around us.  I have tried dictums in the past and found them a helpful reminder or guide.  You may want to give them a try.

It is Monday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!  (You should have done the following, at a minimum, in your Sanctuary time since late last Friday.)

1. Review your 2014 goals.
2. How did you do on your 3Strands last week?
3. If you have defined your 3Strands for this week?

Stay on track.

Day 117 | Bring or Give?

Robert Morris did a guest talk at Willow Creek on March 2 that gave me a new perspective and renewed dedication in an area of my life that has been reasonably strong...  but could be stronger.

Apply this test to your leadership:  One point that he made was that you never "give" a tithe, but rather you "bring" a tithe because you cannot give something that does not belong to you.

Where is your ego a bit too strong because you feel you are giving something to your employees, whereas in reality you are simply bringing the basic requirements that are mandatory for owners and leaders?

For instance, you want:

To be the leader, but you do not want to invest time managing, developing, and retaining certain employees;

Employees to achieve more, but you do not help them define clear, measurable goals and achieve them; or

To maximize profits, but customer loyalty is less than it could be because you are not fully engaging your employees.

Maybe you need to stop getting frustrated because you feel you are giving so much, and start focusing on really bringing your best game.  Email me if you want help on focus and improving your Systematic Leadership.

To remind you, we slashed the price of our LEADERSHIP Essentials Academy to just $295 monthly per company for online content, and only $295 per person for two days of in-person LEADERSHIP Essentials training. Click here to join our Academy (includes access to Dave's Charm School for I.T. Geeks soft skills training)

And confirm your seat here for our June 5-6 Academy in Belmont, New Hampshire!

It is Friday. ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!

1. How did you do on your 3Strands this week?
2. At the end of today or at least before 9:00 a.m. Monday take Sanctuary time and hold yourself accountable to this week's 3Strands and define your 3Strands for next week?

Stay on track. 

Make History

Bill Johnson says in one of his books (page 180),

Making history is a two-step process:

First, we "make history" by the learning and decisions we make when no one is looking, however...

Second, the history "we make" through others is always dependent on the habits, experiences and integrity we develop on our own and in-private with our mentors.

You are "making history" whether you like it or not.

Many of your employees never forget the positive or negative way you inspired them.  Many of the people working at your clients are positively or negatively affected by your interactions and services.  Your peers, community, and others are often influenced by your behaviors.

And the way you have changed their behaviors then extends out through these people to thousands of others, which then extends out to....

You are "making history" whether you like it or not.  So please consider the three aspects of making history that Bill Johnson suggests are foundational to our outcomes in the MEETING IDEAS below. 

Why make less money because you have leadership tendencies instead of GREAT leadership skills, systems and focus?

Your employees "make history" that reflects your leadership.

Meeting Idea

Here are some ideas to discuss with your leadership team and/or company as a whole to improve your ability to leave a legacy that is consistent with your good intentions.  

Habits:  I just finished the book The Power of Habit (see below).  I strongly recommend it.  Our habits control how we spend our time.  Bad habits never go away, they're just overpowered by stronger habits that we develop.  

I suggest that you evaluate your work habits in three areas:

1. Leadership systems:  Systems provide consistency, improve performance, and develop trust.  If you are not systematic in your leadership then you are costing your firm thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars, and negatively impacting others too often.
2. Time management:  The discipline of managing your time  affects your ability to achieve your key career objectives.  We spent too much time at work not to regularly evaluate and improve the way we manage our schedules.
3. Company culture:  Your company culture exists whether you focus on it or not.  It can be a weed that grows uncontrollably and fools some into thinking it is a flower as it invades and overpowers good parts of your garden.  Or it can start as the seed about beautiful flower or strong tree that is intentionally planted, fed, watered, pruned, and encouraged to bring lasting beauty and positive impact to your garden. Your habits determine whether you are growing weeds, or stunning flowers and an awesome forest.

Experiences:  Your work as a leader is full of choices.  The longer your career and more successful you are, the more choices you have.  Choose wisely how you spend your time and who you associate with so that what you learn through your experiences enables your history to more positively impact the lives of people.

Integrity:  I suggest integrity is taken for granted too often.  Too many people assume they have integrity rather than demonstrate it consistently.

Jesus told a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) that reminds me of how many people assume their integrity is perfect when it is flawed:

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed:  'God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance.  He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'..."

If you truly want to be a person of integrity then it is a journey of holding yourself to a standard far above what you demand from others.  It is a road of realized mistakes, apologies, redirecting yourself back onto your path, tenacity, and undying hope.

Why?  Because making history, maximizing profits, and becoming the best you can be is hard, long work.

MAKE HISTORY!

I look forward to hearing about the wonderful things you are achieving.

Day 116 | Can Everyone Agree?

What is one purpose, not a 2014 goal, that everyone can agree upon in your organization?

This might be confidential.  For instance, I am not sharing what ours is because it is a competitive advantage.

For Alcoa under Paul O'Neill it was safety.  Focusing on worker safety increased their stock price 200% and at one point 82% of their manufacturing facilities reported no worker injuries for an entire year.

Think about it.  Do not underestimate the power of a laser focus on one simple aspect of your business.

P.S. I apologize for not writing more last week. I got buried. Lots of GREAT things happening.

It is Monday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!  (You should have done the following, at a minimum, in your Sanctuary time since late last Friday.)

1. Review your 2014 goals.
2. How did you do on your 3Strands last week?
3. If you have defined your 3Strands for this week?

Stay on track.

Day 115 | Your Academy Awards

Whether you watched the Academy Awards last night or not (like me), have you ever considered organizing your own "Academy Awards" that coincides with the timing of the real event?

Recognize your employees.  Applaud your Clients.  Mimic the momentum of the real Academy Awards by sending out advance notices, sneak peeks, and other creative ticklers.

THE BOTTOM LINE:  Do you have a person who would be great at organizing this type of activity?  Someone take responsibility for it because consistency is critical to its success.  If you have that person, then it would be a shrewd move to identify a quarterly national or international event to mimic or celebrate.  Have FUN.

It is Monday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!  (You should have done the following, at a minimum, in your Sanctuary time since late last Friday.)

1. Review your 2014 goals.
2. How did you do on your 3Strands last week?
3. If you have defined your 3Strands for this week?

Stay on track.

Day 114 | Southwest Airlines

Late last year I returned to Southwest Airlines after flying United as a top flyer for several years.  I now lean towards Southwest, but am not fully committed to any airline. 

Airlines can do such a terrible job of interacting with and serving customers, yet Southwest consistently does a great job.  How do they do it?  You should find out.

I encourage you to fly Southwest Airlines during the next three months just to study the entire experience from online purchasing your tickets to email updates to check-in to boarding to the flight experience and departure.

If you keep your eyes and ears fully open there has to be at least one idea you can gain and apply to your business for at least $10,000 in additional revenue or profits this year.  

Why not learn from the best?  They spend millions of dollars perfecting their client experience.  You can learn from them for free (you are going to the destination anyway).

REMINDER:  We slashed the price of our LEADERSHIP Essentials Academy to just $295 monthly per company for online content, and only $295 per person for two days of in-person LEADERSHIP Essentials training.

Join our Academy here (includes access to Dave's Charm School for I.T. Geeks soft skills training)

Confirm your seat here for our March 20-21 Academy in San Rafael, California or our June 5-6 Academy in Belmont, New Hampshire.

It is Friday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!  

1. How did you do on your 3Strands this week?
2. At the end of today or at least before 9:00 a.m. Monday take Sanctuary time and hold yourself accountable to this week's 3Strands and define your 3Strands for next week?

Stay on track.

Love or Fear

There are two basic emotions in life that motivate our emotions, actions, and words we speak:  Love and fear.

Building a company on love creates a lasting legacy of improving the lives of others.

Growing at company on fear makes our work or temporary and limits our expansion, in addition to hurting people instead of helping them.

You know this.  So what is my point?

I encourage you to consider where your company is broken in relationships.  Prioritize what needs healing and where you should invest greater effort to better engage your employees, retain your Clients, and better serve your key vendors.

If your employees just "do not get it," then you need a new perspective on how to better engage them.  It can be me, my team, or someone else, but every day you delay costs you significantly.

Your employees are not the problem.  Your leadership skills and systems are the issue.

BE a 3STRANDS LEADER

Systematic Leadership, inspiring others in Meaningful Work, and consistently expressing Sincere Gratitude to people around you. 

Meeting Idea

Meeting ideas around the issue of driving your company in love or based on fear can be a long list.  Certainly you may have to consider specific situations or individuals on your own first before discussing the issue with others.

Here are some possible situations that may be holding you back:

1. Your employees just "do not get it."  It is an "us" versus "them" environment, even if it is not hostile.  Is it possible that they are reflecting back your inability to demonstrate better leadership skills or a stronger company culture?
2. You have an employee in a key role who is not performing, yet it has been months or over a year that you have let this go on.  This is a leadership issue more than the employee's fault.
3. You unexpectedly lose a good Client.  This should never happen because of something under your control. 
4. Your company does a lot of business with a vendor, but you are not getting any sales leads or support to drive new business with them.  This means you are losing a lot of money that you should be earning.  The amount grows each day.
5. You are working too much, so much that you have not had a date night with your spouse in weeks, months, or maybe over a year.  Your children are growing up without spending enough time with you when you are not ever looking at your phone or computer.

TIME FOR A CHANGE!

Day 113 | Poor Performers Are Right

The Harvard Business Review recently quoted a study of poor performers who think they are right 70% of the time.

In reality on the testing they were right 0% - none of the time.

What is the problem?

Bad Bosses.  These leaders:

1. Hired the poor performers.
2. Failed to manage them to achieve and hold them accountable.
3. Did not develop the poor performers natural strengths or appeal to their key motivators.
4. Retained them even when they were not performing well.

If you are struggling in any of these areas, email me.  A lot of the work I do is getting employees back on track... or out the door.

It is Monday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!  (You should have done the following, at a minimum, in your Sanctuary time since late last Friday.)

1. Review your 2014 goals.
2. How did you do on your 3Strands last week?
3. If you have defined your 3Strands for this week?

Stay on track.

Day 112 | Meet at Academy

We slashed the price of our LEADERSHIP Essentials Academy to just $295 monthly per company for online content, and only $295 per person for two days of in-person LEADERSHIP Essentials training.

Join our Academy here (includes access to Dave's Charm School for I.T. Geeks soft skills training)

Confirm your seat here for our March 20-21 Academy in San Rafael, California or our June 5-6 Academy in Belmont, New Hampshire.

True or Right Thing To do?

It is only February 19, but this may be the most important lesson I share with you in 2014.

This past Valentine's Day I got hit across the forehead with a 2 x 4 of wisdom.  It stopped me in my tracks.  Let me know if this also rocks your world.

I was meeting with Donna Kramer, "Mama Donna" to some, a friend to me.  We were about to wrap-up after close to two hours of conversation at a local Starbucks.  She loosely quoted something from a friend, David Williams, regarding his approach to discerning wisdom and making decisions.  She simply said (not her exact words):

People often get themselves in trouble when they first try to make decisions based on what is right, rather than what is true.

The reason is the definition of "what is right" is very subjective.

WOW!  The vast majority of my poor decisions were based on trying to "do what was right" rather than the facts / truth.  (This is because I am a High Traditional in our Talent Assessments.)

Starting my decision-making process and staying primarily focused on sincerely trying to "do what was right" left me tempted by personal bias, emotions, and wounds.

It is sad to think how many decisions I would have made differently if I had STARTED with what is true. This would have focused me on objective data and concrete elements as I worked to resolve my problems.  The END RESULT would have more consistently been "what was right."

Too often I have unfortunately started with conclusions that were based on good intent rather than reality.  Ouch.

Unfortunately, there is no going back.  We cannot change the past.  We live in the present and we live to achieve our full potential in the future.

The good news is over the past five years I have already started on a journey to develop a new habit of making decisions based on truth FIRST.  Donna's wisdom has helped me take a big step forward.  Her advice gives me tremendous clarity, and I am very thankful.

What does it look like to make decisions based FIRST on trying to "do what is right?"  Here are some examples:

• Hiring a great actor instead of a top performer
• Retaining an employee who is not performing well
• Not being an effective leader (too many "what if's" here)
• Staying in a relationship that is unhealthy
• Keeping a business or product line going that needs to die

If you need help to make some tough decisions because you professionally want to reach your full potential, or have your company do so, then email me.  Maybe we can help.

I hope you enjoyed this insight.  I am thrilled to be applying it more often in my life today.

Meeting Idea

Unfortunately the process of evaluating how you made poor decisions based on Sincerely trying to "do what is right" rather than what is true can be painful.

You may need to evaluate your past decisions confidentially with someone you trust such as a good friend, mentor, or consultant.

Separately you can also challenge your team to consider your decision-making process and many of your past decisions by the same standard.

1. Meet with your team and ask them to identify the 5-10 most recent significant decisions that you have made as an organization, or they have made individually. NOTE:  You can do a mix of the five most significant decisions your organization has made, and each individual shares the three most major decisions they have made.
2. Explain the insight of making decisions FIRST based on what is true rather than doing "what is right."
3. Candidly and without laying blame on anyone, evaluate the major organizational decisions that have been made.  Consider the alternatives that you would make today if your team had better considered what was true FIRST, and "what was right" later.
4. Again, not with a focus on blaming people for mistakes, explain each of your three major decisions that you have made recently and how those conclusions might have been different if you had focused FIRST on what is true.
5. Now that you have set the example, encourage each member of your team to consider their recent major decisions and their approach.

STAY ENCOURAGING!  Have fun.  Learn.  And move on.

Day 110 | Review Process

Many of you are wrapping-up your 2013 employee performance review process.  Here is the simple yet comprehensive review process that we develop with our Clients.  I recommend you follow it in 2014:

1. Practice Sanctuary weekly (see my January 29 blog post).
2. Define a strategic plan for each employee that includes clear, measurable goals;  behavioral expectations;  and a career path (and more, but those are the "moving parts.")  Job descriptions are dead, static documents.  Engage people with strategic plans for their success.
3. Require each direct report to submit their 3Strands to you weekly and hold them accountable to it.
4. Automate your annual review process in MANAGEtoWIN.  (There are several unique things we recommend in regards to designing your annual performance review form also.)

If you are not doing this, then make changes NOW so you fully engage your people throughout 2014.

There are other activities that are important to be an inspirational and effective 3Strands LEADER, but this system replaces the once-a-year agonies of painful employee performance reviews with motivational Halftime Reviews.

It is Friday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!  

1. How did you do on your 3Strands this week?
2. At the end of today or at least before 9:00 a.m. Monday take Sanctuary time and hold yourself accountable to this week's 3Strands and define your 3Strands for next week?

Stay on track.

Why David and Goliath?

This past Monday I shared that I recently finished Malcolm Gladwell's book, David and Goliath.  I did not recommend it, but that is because it is not a typical business book.  You may want to buy it anyway.

Here are the key things I got from Gladwell's analysis of "Underdogs, Misfits, and The Art of Battling Giants:"

1. (Gladwell)  (1) Much of what we consider valuable in our world is based on the greatness and beauty resulting from overcoming overwhelming odds;  and (2) We consistently misinterpret our weaknesses and strengths as we face our greatest challenges.
2. Underdogs win more than they lose.  How?  They compete by disregarding protocol so they can compete based on their strengths.
3. Underdogs are told they are wrong.  Their courage comes from living through tough times and being belittled, yet they emerge with an intense drive to do what they believe is right.

As a High Traditional in our Talent Assessments, and someone who's been told I am wrong many times, I relate to David.

Therefore the question is (for me and for you):  What am I doing differently that my opponents cannot match?

The parts of this book that I enjoyed helped me clarify that our company is on the right track.  It actually gave me a laser focus that is EXCITING:

1. We gave 50% of the equity and half of the net profits of MANAGEtoWIN to EmancipateME, a nonprofit dedicated to help local nonprofits eliminate the travesty of human trafficking.  No other HR/employee performance management software company will do that.
2. We focus on ConnectWise and Autotask partners.  We have a unique value to provide these organizations because of my 32 years in the industry.  These companies are too small for other HR/employee performance management software companies to pursue, or understand.
3. We have some things that we are going to do with our software and services that are revolutionary because of #1 and #2 above.  Even in a very crowded HR/employee performance management software market, we can battle the giants for reasonable market share...  and more importantly, meaningful work.

The question for you:  How do you break the rules to give your company an advantage that is both unfair, and unexpected?

Meeting Idea

Read Gladwell's book, but focus on the chapters that have the most meaning to you.

This process should give you more clarity.  Most likely you will gain even more clarity by discussing your reaction to the book with others, whether that is your team, mentors, or some nut like me.

The bottom line:  The value of this exercise is to identify how to play by a different set of rules (legally and ethically) so that you have an unfair an unexpected advantage against your competitors.

Day 109 | Are You David or Goliath?

I just read the book, David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell.  It was interesting and I will speak to it this week, but I cannot recommend it.  More on Wednesday...

As you start this week, consider whether you are David or Goliath, using part of Gladwell's definition:

David:  Rule breaker who adjusts his battle tactics to take advantage of the weaknesses of his opponents, plays to his strengths, courageous, humble yet confident because of his faith, and totally without fear to do what is right.

Goliath:  Strong and overpowering when in "single combat," confident based on past victories, courageous, but needs opponents to play by his rules to win.

To grow as a leader you have to play to your strengths with Empirical Creativity, Fanatic Discipline, and Productive Paranoia (Jim Collins' attributes of a 10Xer).  David did this.  Goliath overestimated himself.

The question:  In what ways are you like David and where are you more like Goliath?  

It is Monday.  ACCOUNTABILITY TIME!  (You should have done the following, at a minimum, in your Sanctuary time since late last Friday.)

1. Review your 2014 goals.
2. How did you do on your 3Strands last week?
3. If you have defined your 3Strands for this week?

Stay on track and BE a 3STRANDS LEADER.

Systematic Leadership, inspiring others in Meaningful Work, and consistently expressing Sincere Gratitude to the people around you.

5 Steps to Avoiding a Recruiting Nightmare Webinar

Here it is in case you missed it!  Our first webinar of the year was on January 14th with Todd Billiar of VARstaffing and CEO David Russell.

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