Minions Leadership

Our blog post on Minions Leadership was written for the Continuum Managed Services MSPblog and can be found here.

Sucker!

Please forgive me for sending another thought this week, but my calling is to (1) Help you avoid my mistakes;  and (2) Teach you the systems I have learned and created to be an effective leader.

I learned something this morning and just can't wait to share it.  Please do not tune-out if you are offended by the "G" or "J" word.  This incredibly important insight can be applied as a principle of life devoid of any belief in a higher power, or as an act of faith in a kumquat if you so desire.

QUESTION:  How many times have you been suckered into something that seemed so good, but it did not work out?  And maybe cost you dearly...

Do you want to stop being a sucker?  Do you want to have the discipline to overcome temptation when "the stars seemed to be aligned in your favor" or "God seems to be leading you a certain way"?

For instance, I know a conservative, analytical businessman who has been incredibly successful.  He was part of a management team that grew a company to over 4,000 employees and hundreds of millions in revenue.  Earlier this year he felt led by God to take a leadership role at another company even though he was comfortably retired.  Everything seemed to line-up...  until he joined the company and found out quickly it was a mistake.  He left in less than two weeks.

These things happen to all of us.  I have made too many mistakes this way to count, and they have been VERY painful.  Consider this insight to help you develop habits that limit how often you get suckered into something that "seems right," but often there is a quiet voice in you saying, "RUN AWAY!".

Steve Carter at Willow Creek provides daily advice via email in their Rivals series.  (The weekend message series via podcast is great too!)  His commentary today hit me hard as he talked about how David was given an opportunity to kill King Saul, but chose not to do it.  DO NOT MISS this...

Steve says, "...The circumstances even suggested that God had delivered Saul into David's hands.  But David chose to let Saul go, knowing his own life would continue to be at risk..."  David's devotion to and trust in God led him to choose to sacrifice what appeared to be a quick win.  Instead he chose to stay true to his principles (faith in God).

Consider just some of the facts that would lead most of us to kill someone who was trying to kill us:

1. David was annointed to be king years earlier.
2. Saul had been trying to kill David for years, and hunting him right at that moment.
3. David now had Saul alone, 1:1, without Saul's army to protect him.  Saul did not even know David was there.  Not only that, but Saul was going to the bathroom, which is not exactly a strong fighting position...

3strands LEADERs have the difficult task of developing the habits and discipline to choose to live by their principles and/or faith, rather than choose a shortcut. Shortcuts almost always fail, and when they fail, shortcuts cost money, waste time, and often hurt important relationships.

I hope this insight from Steve Carter inspired you as much as it did me.  Stop being a sucker.  Just because something looks or sounds good does NOT mean it is the best decision.  Stay true to what you believe, and your life will be more prosperous long-term than you ever imagined.

Policies Kill

The Client called with a problem.  Your employee responded that your company policy does not allow him to give her what she wanted without paying for it.  Six months later the Client informs you they are not renewing their services agreement with you.  They chose another company.  You are shocked.  You did not realize there was a significant problem with the account.

Your employee did what they were taught to do, but not what we teach in Dave's Charm School.  He followed your company policies, which gave him responsibility for the client experience but not the authority to do what it takes to meet or exceed their expectations.  The result was a seed of discontent planted in the mind of your former Client.

John DiJulius wrote recently in his blog about the importance of having guidelines instead of policies.  I agree.  Policies can be very restrictive, while guidelines allow your employees to go the extra mile during Client interactions.

Learn from the pros:  How much money can a Ritz Carlton or Nordstrom employee decide to refund, spend, or write-off to keep a customer happy? I mean any employee.  It could be a sales person on the floor of Nordstrom's women's shoe department, or a guest associate working the registration desk of a Ritz Carlton.  It's $2,000.  Without asking anyone.

What is the average cost to the Ritz Carlton of this policy, or guideline, per refund, expense spent, or write-off? $25 on average.  Twenty-five dollars!  That's a bargain!

Too often we try to save $100 here and there, instead of focusing on doing whatever it takes to retain a profitable Client.  There are some Clients we need to let go.  I am not talking about those.  We NEVER want to lose a good Client.  But we are lying to ourselves when we try to penny-pinch our way through customer service.

The alternative is for leaders to develop a self-motivating work environment where employee responsibilities match their authority.  You have to learn how to put aside the tyranny of urgency each week to focus on becoming a better leader and building your company.

LEARNING POINTS

1. Have guidelines for serving Clients, not iron-clad policies.  Those rigid policies kill Client and employee relationships, which is extremely costly.
2. Even with guidelines, your leaders still need training.  This Thursday we kick-off our third round of Certified LEADER training sessions.  It lasts six months so new habits can be developed.  Learn more and sign-up here.

The Thrill Ride to Nowhere

Space Mountain is a favorite at Disneyland.  Opened on May 27, 1977, it was the second roller coaster opened at Disneyland in Anaheim, California (there are three other Disneyland parks in Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong).  Everyone appreciates a good roller coaster.  The experience is the pinnacle of excitement at theme parks.  But that's where the experience should stay.

Unfortunately, I've worked with a number of leaders who did not realize that their leadership style was like a constant roller coaster ride for their employees.  It can be very chaotic!  Have you considered how your leadership style could be stunting the growth of your company?

Consider this analogy: 

It's time!  You are at Disneyland.  You make your way to Space Mountain.  AWESOME!  This is going to be great.  You rush to get in line ahead of others.  You wait anxiously as the line works its way to the front.  There are lights going off and on all around you.  The screams of people on the ride and the sound of the roller coaster cars echo through the hallways.  You look ahead to see how much longer you have to wait.

Finally you can see the loading zone and the ride attendants (ahem. I mean Cast Members).  You hope you don't lose your cell phone or your glasses resting on your head (I did that).  You block out the body odor and bratty kids to focus on the pending ride.  You start to feel a bit nervous, but you reassure yourself that the ride will be great!

After you sit down in your roller coaster car, the ride starts.  You let the click-click-click of the chain pulling you up reinforce your anticipation of FUN!  The jerkiness of the ride adds to your anticipation.  You are not in control.  It gets darker around you.

Then you race to the darkest reaches of outer space and seem to bounce back-and-forth between earth and oblivion.  You can barely see a thing, lights everywhere, you do not know where you are going, although you see shadows of others on their journey around you.  You leave your stomach somewhere back on turn 6 or 7...And then it is over.  The ride slows down and gently brings you back to the launch pad for you to exit, and new fools to take your seats.  You exhale.  You remember the thrill.  You smile, hopefully.

You feel good, although maybe a bit dizzy or queasy.  You banter with your friends and/or family about the parts of the ride you found most fun, and laugh with them about their experience.

How many years have you taken your employees, and your pocketbook, on the same up and down ride in your business...  only to end up where you started again?

You started the year (got on the ride) thinking you knew where you were going.  It seemed like a BETTER place... but there were twists and turns, times of impatience or joy, some thrills and at other times queasiness.  In the end, you were back at the beginning.  You lost that year, or those years.  I have done that WAY TOO OFTEN.  The big question is how do you avoid it?

Why not be a better leader BEFORE you do anything else so the next year of your career or business is not a theme park ride that drops you off where you started (or worse), but actually gets you somewhere meaningful?

I suggest you work with me 1:1 in our Certified LEADER program that starts next week, or our LEADERSHIP Essentials Service.

The Secret Sauce of U.S. Navy Seals

Last week we discussed the core attribute of a 3strands LEADER.  It was good character.  Unless you have good character, at the end of the day nothing else matters.

I was struck this past week by an article on the Navy SEALs approach to training by Michael Schrage at HBR.   He believes business training needs a makeover to be more like U.S. Navy SEALs training.  Too much training in business today is weak.

Years ago the Navy decided they needed to improve their SEAL training.  Before Brandon Webb's radical redesign of the curriculum, SEAL sniper school participants had an average attrition rate of 30% (3 out of 10 dropped out or failed).

After they changed the curriculum, "the course standards got harder, if anything", but the graduation rate increased from 70% to 95% and held there.  Why?

I believe one reason is the motivation behind the learning experience moved beyond HOW to do things like operating firearms or executing a mission plan to WHY the training was important.  The ability to perform in any situation demanded more training on WHAT to expect in combat situations and an in-depth explanation of HOW their equipment worked.  They also paired everyone up with a mentor to increase accountability. 

The four attributes of the new SEAL training that we are working to incorporate into our Certified LEADER program:

1. Product Excellence - Not "Above Average"
2. Incentivize Excellence, Not Competence
3. Incorporate New Ideas From The Ground
4. Lead by Example

Schrage does not endorse my 3strands LEADER system, but consider how the Systematic Power of training more thoroughly engages your employes in Meaningful Work.  Also, mentoring/encouraging them like SEALs communicates you value them as team members (Sincere Gratitude).

These are the three attributes of a 3strands LEADER.

Ponder this wisdom during your weekly Sanctuary time, or take up to a day in seclusion to assess how you could better apply it in your organization.  While not all of us can be trained by the best, we can still learn from them.

The one thing 3Strands leaders do

As we approach our third semester of Certified LEADER training where I train people who have never been mentored on leadership how to hire, manage, develop, and retain great people as a 3strands LEADER...  I am struck by this question:

What is the one thing a 3strands LEADER does that average leaders do not?  What is the one behavior that cannot be bought somewhere else or provided by another person - it has to be the leader who delivers it?  

Stay with me now...  Consider two examples.  First, think of a marriage.  What is the one thing that holds the marriage together?

Love.  True love motivates every other blessing of the union.  Everything else you have in a marriage, such as cooking, cleaning, paying bills, etc. can be purchased and the quality of the service is about the same as you get from a spouse.  However, you cannot buy true love that adores you, forgives you, and continues to hope with you no matter how long the "tough times" last.  

Second, there is one leader who has more followers than any other in history.  It does not matter whether you agree with his teachings or how people apply their logo to their personal lives or business, and then violate the core essence of what he taught. The bottom line is this guy blows away the competition every time.

Did he achieve this greatness through force, by threatening people, or  achieving great wealth?  No.  He taught many things, but when it came down to how people will recognize leaders who fully comprehend his wisdom he said, "... love one another.  By this, people will know you are my students, if you love one another."

So again, it is love.  True love cannot be bought.  It can only be given.  The impact of sincere love is everlasting, in friendship, marriage, and in business (love properly expressed at work). 

Does this mean love is the #1 behavior of a 3strands LEADER? Not necessarily.

You can be the most loving leader ever and fail miserably at hiring, managing, developing, and retaining great people on your team.  Love is great and proper "love" is part of the third strand of 3strands LEADERs - Sincere Gratitude, but it is not the top requirement. 

GREAT people, who are truly 3strands LEADERs have one behavior in common:  They consistently demonstrate good character.  Here are 7 aspects of good character based on our Dave's Charm School training on it:

1. Integrity - 3strands LEADERs take their responsibility of being a role model for others seriously, and thus make decisions with a degree of caution so they do not violate their standards.
2. Follow-up - 3strands LEADERs consistently follow-up and follow-through as promised.
3. Wisdom - Did you know that all character is learned?  3strands LEADERS are active learners who carefully evaluate information and apply what is consistent with their life standards.
4. Humilty - 3strands LEADERs may be confident, but they are not egotistical.  They balance a healthy self-esteem with a good understanding of their weaknesses to serve others.
5. Energy - 3strands LEADERs demonstrate good character by doing whatever it takes, within reason, to achieve top results.  They work 50-60 hours weekly with great energy and focus.
6. Inspiration - 3strands LEADERs with good character inspire others to be their best and enjoy what they do.
7. Courage - 3strands LEADERs have the courage to make the difficult decisions.  We all get tempted.  Sensing and acting upon promptings of warning is a powerful habit to develop.

Why did I write a training on Character as part of the soft skills program, Dave's Charm School?  Because your employees need it. By the way, this month only we have a special price for Charm School for Ingram Micro Community members, contact us for details.

In closing, please focus on your character when making decisions.  Long term this creates the most opportunities for meaningful work and joy.

Go for the highest ROI with your leadership team

I was recently asked, "How do I know when I've overloaded my managers?" The challenge is not overloading them.  The burden is the discipline of setting clear, easily measurable objectives and following up.  Especially how you follow-up.

Follow-up is a critical habit I help service managers, owners, sales leaders, controllers, and other leaders develop in our Certified LEADER program.  The next group starts the week of July 6 and finishes at year-end so your leaders close 2015 stronger, and are in top form for 2016. (Click here for the brochure or sign-up on our website before  its too late.  Save 10% as an Intronis partner - use coupon CL-Intronis1).

Too often executives wait too long to improve the skills and results of a service manager, sales manager, controller, or other company leader. The results on your bottom line are devastating.  What are the key criteria of top performing leaders you want on your team so your managers are achieving the highest possible ROI?

1. Talent Match:  The core behaviors and motivators of the individual must match the position.  We confirm this with our Talent Assessments.  It is VERY difficult to be highly effective in all the key responsibilities of a role if the person is not a match.
2. Passion:  Is the person a 9-5er?  Not a match.  We need leaders who wisely meet the needs of the position while not over-working themselves into burnout and/or poor personal lives.
3. Relationships:  How well does the person get along with coworkers and behave with Clients?  There must be a time limit for resolution and/or improvement when there are behavioral issues.
4. Performance:  Is  the person achieving the goals you set together with them?  If not, then for how long?  It is important to recognize low performance within a week and immediately start to work more with them to improve.  If lackluster results extend to one month or one quarter then you probably have to replace them. In rare cases you might extend the time frame for improvement by 1-3 months, but the burden of follow-up and accountability remains on YOU.  It starts with identifying their early failure before it grows into major pain and cost;  then stay on top of it, be consistent, and give them plenty of opportunity to succeed.
5. Trust:  Last, but arguably first, is do you trust this person 100% to always do their best and represent your company in ways that are consistent with your company culture cornerstones (mission, vision, and values, with accountability).   Trust issues must be resolved quickly and fully because often you have only seen the "tip of the iceberg" when you have a concern.

What is the ROI of a leader performing at their best who is a match with the job, passionate about their work, good with people, meeting or exceeding goals, and is totally trustworthy... Compared to someone who fails to meet one or more of those standards? HUGE.  $100,000 minimum a year, often millions.

Disagree? Contact us and let's talk about your managers who are not performing.  They might be a candidate for habit and skill improvement in our Certified LEADER program.  For example, today I recommended a manager be replaced and the person on the call with me is not even a Client.  We were just discussing his options.

Go for the highest ROI with your leadership team.  It is crucial to the long-term success of your organization.

Join Us for NO DRAMA - How to Avoid and Resolve Conflict in Your Workplace

Attention Ingram Micro Community members!  Join us for an exclusive webinar on Jun 23, 2015 at 2:00 PM EDT.

Register now

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8592309904102364161

Do your employees need better soft skills?  YES.  This is a unique opportunity for Ingram Micro community members to experience one of the 12 soft skills training courses of Dave’s Charm School for I.T. geeks and other team members.

In this one-hour program you will see how David Russell, “The Leadership Guy” of the I.T. managed services industry, teaches soft skills to leaders and work groups so their organizations thrive.

You will learn what workplace drama is, how to avoid it, and ways to identify conflict before it escalates into full-blown war.  You will discover what happens to your brain when your anger is triggered, and how to develop new habits to catch yourself before you damage crucial work relationships. There are cycles to comprehend, steps to save the day, and systems to virtually eliminate conflict / drama from your company culture forever.

Join us to find out how you can better avoid and resolve conflict.  There is something here for everyone.

This is an exclusive opportunity for you to experience Dave’s Charm School and then decide if you want to own the entire Charm School library for unlimited internal use.  The special price for Ingram Micro community members is only available through June 30, 2015 so don’t miss this webinar.

Your people need better soft skills.  Everyone does.  Register now to set the time aside in your calendar.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

A great business should have a great website

Think about it:  What do you do when a job candidate looks interesting?  You search for them online to see if their online data matches or exceeds your expectations.

The same applies in reverse:  Job candidates and prospective Clients are checking you out.  You need to have a well-designed company website and an up-to-date LinkedIn profile.  This is critically important to communicate the value of your leadership and company culture.

If you are using a template, then it should be customizable.  We like Wordpress sites because we can customize them (after doing major edits on my copy) and I can add content (it is so easy).  But there are tons of options out there, including building your own site from scratch.

If you are fresh out of ideas, consider 99Designs for a cool design (not for something BORING) or a design shop.  Even if you don't find a design you love, just having a few extra ideas will pay off.

No, we are not selling design services.  We have our hands full developing and designing our own software, services, and website.  But as part of our leadership consulting and company culture makeovers we often provide advice and critique of our Clients' digital "face".

Here are some sites that we consider when updating our site:

Apple

Basecamp

Grove Made

Highrise

The Hobbit - The Battle of the Five Armies

Lunar Gravity

Microsoft - watch out Apple!

Salesforce

Stripe

Supercell

Tao Studio Design - lots of ideas on one site, and maybe you want to hire one of these designers!

Wall Mob

Zendesk

There are others, but this is a good part of our list.  In contrast, I cannot think of a single managed / I.T. services provider website that inspires me.  Why not?  Maybe the cobbler's children don't have the best shoes... Have you seen one?  Please tell us about it!

3strands LEADERS focus on the details that lead to significant growth.  Our company websites are more important than most of us make them.  They are our digital ID cards, our online billboards, our virtual storefronts.  Cost effectively update your website, engage a competent SEO firm to help drive traffic, and you will see a solid ROI on the investment.

A different kind of webinar on June 10th

I invite you and other leaders in your company to join me for a webinar at 2:00 p.m. EST next Wednesday, June 10th, sponsored by Intronis.

This is a different webinar because it is designed for you to ask questions and I do leadership consulting on-the-spot.  I just did this workshop at Autotask Live two weeks ago and it was incredible...  because of the questions the audience asked.

Join us to ask questions, or register to have access to the recording if you want to gain some leadership insights.  Here is the description of the event:

Client Loyalty is Dependent on Your Leadership and Culture

Attention all LEADERS!  Ask questions, listen to live consulting, or do not attend.  This is NOT your typical webinar where you can tune-in the audio while you do email.

We want all participants to ask questions, to pepper Dave with personnel performance pitfalls, passivity, peculiarities, and... other CHALLENGES. You have to focus solely on this event to keep up with the conversation!

Our intent it to be a catalyst for your epiphany: "I have to do things differently NOW."  Give us your full attention and you will be inspired to FINALLY invest the time to improve your company culture and fully engage your employees.

According to the Gallup organization only 18% of managers are effective.  Could you be a better leader/manager? If yes, then every day you postpone your leadership development costs you a lot of money.   Join us to consider how to grow your leadership skills to the next level.

This webinar enables you to evaluate your leadership in the 10 critical areas of employee engagement so you increase Client loyalty (and profitability).  Register here.

Have a great week!

2 Questions that can change your life

Would you like to sell more? Would you like to work more effectively with Clients, coworkers, vendors, your spouse, children, those relatives of yours/hers/his? Would you like to be a better leader?

Greg Koukl in his book, Tactics, asks two questions to help you think better, increase your knowledge, make wiser decisions, and improve how you relate to others:

1. We (you and me) rarely use these questions verbatim / exactly as written them below.  You adapt them based on the situation.
2. We ALWAYS ask these questions sincerely, respectfully, in a tone of voice, and with body language that communicates we care.
3. There are other aspects to our conversations with others beyond these two questions, but these questions are a wonderful way to better understand someone and encourage them to explain what they mean.
4. Greg's focus is helping Christians discuss their faith in a more loving and respectful way, but we can apply his questioning technique to improve our relationships with anyone!  His book is fabulous, but it does have a lot of the "J-word" (Jesus) and Christian perspective to it.

I believe Tactics is one of the best leadership, company culture, and sales training books ever written. No matter what your spiritual beliefs are, you should consider reading it. Here are Greg's two Columbo-like questions:

1. What does that mean?
2. Why do you believe that? 

Three quick examples of how you can put this into practice at work:

EXAMPLE #1

A Client says you did not fix their tech problem. You might respond "I'm sorry.  What is happening now?" and discuss the problem.

Then you might say, "Well it sounds like we need to re-open this ticket.  Let me confirm what I'm hearing you say.  My understanding is we were asked to do X.  The notes on the ticket indicate the work was done, and the problem was not recurring in testing.  Is there anything else happening now that makes you think the work was not completed?"

EXAMPLE #2

A sales prospect says your price is too high. You might respond "Oh, it shouldn't be.  Let's walk through my quote so I can understand specifically where our pricing appears to be uncompetitive."

Then you might say to a specific complaint: "That's interesting.  Why do you believe that price is high?"  Your response to their answer varies based on what they say, but it might be a series of value explanations with questions to confirm they agree.

EXAMPLE #3

An employee says they think one of your company policies are wrong / should be changed. You might respond "Great.  What do you think it should be instead?" and discuss the policy.

Then you might say:  "I think I see where you're coming from.  Help me understand specifically how your approach is better than what we are doing today."

-

Inspirational 3strands LEADERS ask great questions.  I love Greg's approach because it sincerely seeks better understanding and truth.  Every leader can benefit from developing these questions as a habit.

I also love helping companies implement these approaches to improve their productivity and client experience.  Do you need help? I work with entrepreneurial leaders to develop NEW habits to overpower their less productive ones.  Our work often extends into company culture and employee training to "make price irrelevant."  Contact us if you'd like to talk.

Learn from my worst mistakes - #2

My mandate is to help people learn from my PAST mistakes.  Let me share #2 of 2 of my biggest mistakes:  Not quitting. That's right, there was a time when I should have cut my losses.

I do much better in this area now, but... let me give you an example of one of my first BIG "not quitting" mistake.  It was the Fall of 1983.  I had just produced my first national trade show in the computer industry, The National Software Show in San Francisco.

Attendance was light.  It was not profitable.  I had an offer to buy the company for $300,000.  At this price all bills were paid and I had lost only my time.  I was 26 years old...  need I say more?

I convinced family members and friends to invest about $60-70,000 and kept the company going.  A year later the company failed.  It was a financial wreck personally and professionally.  Yet it did not have to happen.

I was an unrealistic optimist.  By the way, pessimists feel all optimists are unrealistic, but history shows this is not true.  Both optimists and pessimists can be unrealistic.

Lesson Learned:  There is always another opportunity.

If you have a business that has stalled, then you have two choices:

1.  Get IN:  Identify the problem and fix it within a defined time frame.

2.  Get OUT:  Merge, sell or close it down.  Take what you learned and apply it elsewhere.

I am NOT saying you should always quit.  Sometimes you have to stick it out, but if you do, then define a date by which the situation has improved.  If you miss that date then you have to move on.

What if you have problems with your business partner?  Do your best, but do not stress out about it.  Get help.  Listen to counsel.  Be the best partner you can be, and then relax.  Whatever happens will create a new opportunity for you - with your existing business partner, or something else.

What if your marriage is not meeting your expectations?  Then be a better spouse, get help, listen to counsel, and give it time.  Marriages affect others... like KIDS.  All marriages go through seasons where it is challenging, but most can emerge better.  (Of course do NOT stay in a marriage if you are being abused.)  

What's one reason people (like me, a High D) do not quit? Selfishness.  I do not want to lose.  I am afraid of being out of control.  I...  I...  I have been working on the "I" thing for some time now.  How about you?  If you are stuck, then as Father Thomas Brindley once told me, "You have to do things differently, or you have to do something different."

Get out of the fast lane and think about that one.  Get some advice from people who only have your best interests at heart.  How can you think differently, come up with a lean process of change, and try to rekindle the dream?

Learn from my worst mistakes - #1

My mandate is to help people learn from my PAST mistakes, even though some of those temptations continue...

Let me share #1 of 2 of my biggest mistakes:  Keeping information or decisions hidden.

Let me give you an example:  It was the Spring of 2001 and my dot-com company had lost its funding.  Someone had joined my company who was going to turn it around.  I just had to trust him...  I committed to personally guarantee company debt without involving my wife in the decision.  The company tanked.  My personal guarantee cost our family well over a hundred thousand dollars.

What do we call this behavior?  WIMPY

Lesson Learned:  If I am unwilling (afraid?) to discuss an issue with one or more of my trusted advisors and/or people who will be affected by my decision, then I actually already know that I am wrong.  Always.

Let me give you some examples that may apply in your life: 

1.  You quote a price without confirming your estimate of hours or profitability with your service team, buyers, and/or controller.

2.  Your behavior is contrary to your personal values or faith, but you refuse to discuss it.  This is particularly challenging when you make the mistake of emailing, texting, or voicemailing your communication.  This kind of sets your "oops" in stone...

3.  You over promise because you are afraid of the other person's response if you fail to meet their expectations.

4.  You make excuses when you know you are wrong.

5.  You tell half-truths (withhold incriminating information) when trying to "sell" someone else on your idea / decision, or when you are rationalizing a decision already made.

6.  You fail to inform people who will be affected by your decision in-advance of your thoughts or even the decision.

7.  You justify your behavior and/or decision because your intentions or end-goal are basically good.

Simple Truth:  When you are right it is easy to bring full information into the light.

When we are wrong then full disclosure to appropriate people is uncomfortable at best, and scary at worst.

Our BIGGEST FEAR when tempted to hide information should be the consequences of a bad decision.  Relationships get hurt, our future is set back, and we lose valuable time.  This is much worse than the relatively minor discomfort of bringing everything into the light.

I made a choice to no longer be wimpy.  Although it can be painful, I work diligently to bring everything appropriately into the light with the people who will be affected to make decisions together.

It hurt recently to hear my new friend, Jens Hoj, who is one of the founders of Krave Jerky, tell of risking everything they had to start the company.  He said he made the decision with his wife, because without her approval, he NEVER would have gone ahead.  They recently sold the company to Hershey for a reported $250 million.  (I could only think of what a fool I had been to not make all of my major financial decisions with my wife.  I envied his total integrity and repeated my commitment to myself to never go back to that mistake again.)

Avoid the pain.  Call your fear what you want.  I encourage you to NEVER GO BACK to hiding information and/or mistakes.  Life is too short to make mistakes that can be avoided.

Let's be leaders, not wimps.

3 Powerful Tips to Resolve Conflict

I just finished production of our Charm School library to train soft skills to your help desk, systems engineers, sales people, operations folks... EVERYONE needs better soft skills.

Use coupon code DavesDone for a 50% discount - LIMITED TIME OFFER.  Visit www.MANAGEtoWIN.com/CharmSchool to learn more.

The final course I created is on conflict.  WOW!  Apply what you learn in this one session and you will increase your profits by 10-100X the cost of the entire library.  Here are some quick highlights:

1.  Inflammatory Thinking:  When someone "pulls one of your triggers" to move into fight or flight mode, your mind instinctively shifts into inflammatory thinking.  This is blame-based thinking that blocks your ability to solve problems.  This is one reason why people get stuck in conflict.

2.  Emotional Flooding:  If you allow your inflammatory thinking to continue it causes emotional flooding.  Your heartbeat increases, breathing gets shorter and more rapid, your stress level intensifies in seconds, and your urgency to do something NOW screams at you to take action.

One author, Anna Maravelas, concludes this triggers a Cycle of Contempt.  Everything you focus on defends your actions and blames the other party.  Problem-solving is gone.  It actually shortens your life according to certain studies.  Your entire focus is on winning and/or defending yourself rather than resolution.

I think in the future a better term for me that describes this cycle is a Cycle of Self-Focus.

3.  So what's the alternative?  Maravelas suggests you have to choose a Cycle of Courage.  In a Cycle of Courage the primary objective is saving the relationship or a shared objective (other authors/experts) rather than win / serve self as your primary goal.

Moving forward I might call this a Cycle of Relationship-Focus.  I am growing to prefer the Self vs. Relationship terms more than Contempt-Courage, but go with what you want. 

The bottom line is almost all conflict is due to failed systems and processes - such as weak leadership - rather than incompetent people... and I suggest, our bad habits.

I cannot cover everything that is in the No Drama training on conflict here.  You can improve your conflict resolution skills by being more aware of when someone hits your triggers and you start emotionally flooding.  If you catch it, then you can refocus all your energies on preserving / improving the relationship more than protecting yourself.  This helps you avoid more conflict, and resolve drama when it occurs much more effectively.

If you feel your team could demonstrate better soft skills - don't miss our Charm School library while the sale lasts!  Remember to use coupon code DavesDone to save 50% before the sale is over.

We help entrepreneurial leaders develop NEW habits to overpower their less productive ones.  Our work often extends into company culture and employee training to "make price irrelevant."  Contact me  if you would like to become the leader you were designed to be and more positively impact the lives of others.

Leadership Aptitude

The definition of aptitude from Dictionary.com:

noun

1.  capability; ability; innate or acquired capacity for something; talent

2.  readiness or quickness in learning; intelligence 

I recently finished reading The Customer Service Revolution by John DiJulius.  He has some good ideas, I recommend the book.

HOWEVER, John refers to Leadership Aptitude, but his emphasis is on the client experience while I believe it applies to how to create a completely engaging company culture.  FIRST you need Leadership Aptitude, then you, your people, your entire company can have Service Aptitude.

What is your Leadership Aptitude and how well are you applying it? Are you developing your individual strengths as a leader? Each leader has a unique set of skills and it is essential to polish them.

Here are some thoughts from the book:

1. "What employees experience, Customers will."  Correct.  Our Clients will never have the best experience if we do not first fully engage our employees.  (80% of employees are NOT fully engaged.) 

2. "Make price irrelevant."  I totally agree.  Great leaders accomplish this through their employees, Clients, vendors, and community.

3. "Leaders of great companies are obsessed over their company's Customer experience, down to the smallest detail."   Again, I think the emphasis here should be their obsession is first with their employees' experience, and second with the Client experience.

4. "What are we teaching" (our employees)?  We must be role models.

5. "What is more important:  Hiring, or training?"  John believes 75% is training.  I disagree.  You have to weight them equally.  If you fail in either area your employees cannot consistently deliver a superior Client experience.

6. "...make sure every employee walks in the shoes of their Customers."  I totally agree.

7. "Don't ask the Customer what they want;  give them what they can't live without."  Too many leaders get stuck evaluating the status quo (tactics) rather than breakout growth strategies.  Of course John and me want you to ask clients lots of questions, but do not stop there.  Use that data to see what they do not see because "Customers can only think in terms of what they have previously experienced." 

8. "Customer Service Vision Statement and Supporting Pillars."  This is an interesting adaptation of how I develop company culture cornerstones (mission, vision, values, accountability) with Clients.  There is something here to consider...  you can link your vision and your values more tightly.

9. Never and Always lists.  I got the idea of Always/Never Standards from John years ago.  He encourages shorter statements, which in many cases (not all) is beneficial.

10. I never agree with anyone 100%.  John has a lot of advice that is great, but my approach would be different in certain areas.  Maybe this is because of my decades of experience with I.T. resellers and service providers.  Nevertheless, if you want additional inspiration on improving your client experience, you will enjoy John's book.

The challenge is, how to implement what appeals to you. We help entrepreneurial leaders develop NEW habits to overpower their less productive ones. Our work often extends into company culture and employee training to "make price irrelevant."

Ultimate Competitive Edge

First, consider these conclusions from Gallup...

64% of managers and executives are NOT engaged

(consider the cash drain from the employees that report to them)

and

When you develop the leadership skills of your managers then you DOUBLE the # of engaged employees on their team.

Run the numbers and consider (1) the % of productivity per manager in your company, (2) the % of productivity per employee (how well they perform vs. how well they could perform if they worked smarter and/or harder), and (3) multiply that times the additional profit, revenue, cost savings, opportunities gained, etc. that will occur when they become their best. 

The amount you calculate is the potential upside you can monthly as your MANAGERS hire, manage, develop, and retain top performing employees better.

Your estimates are probably low. The upside is much higher. We have only 3 spots left in our Certified LEADER program.  Let me improve your managers.  Sign-up on our website or download the brochure. 

What about the Ultimate Competitive Edge?  Here it is: 

1.  A strong company culture, reinforced weekly, if not daily.  Most of you know this already, but only a few of you do this weekly or daily.

2.  3strands Leadership - every owner, executive, manager, and team leader is operating a peak capacity AND LOVING IT!  Is this true at your company?

3.  Build Relationships - the person must be more important than the transaction.  Starting at the first contact with a sales prospect and following through to every interaction with people in your company.  EVERY time an employee, client, vendor, person in your community, spouse or family member of an employee... ANYONE interacts with your company, it is relational first, not transactional.  Some of you do this instinctively, others have no idea what this looks like.  That's why we created our Charm School training :).  There is ALWAYS room for improvement!

No managed services / I.T. solution provider consistently does all three well.  Some are pretty good, and others are terrible - yet the odd thing about human behavior is many of us are more comfortable losing money because of our bad habits than improving them.

I have been there, done that.  I fight every day to not go back.  I am committed to developing leaders and applying leadership systems - first myself, and then others.  I build relationships naturally.  It is what I love best about my career. 

This is the ultimate competitive edge.  You can embrace it and invest in it, or lose to it.

Why?  Because the ultimate competitive edge forces existing clients and sales prospects to BELIEVE they must seek your advice before making a significant technology investment.  If they believe this about your competitors but not you, then you start the sales race "in a bad lane" and the odds of you winning the race are less favorable. 

Why not improve now?

The ROI of Developing True Leadership Skills Webinar

In today’s competitive business environment, you can’t underestimate the value of leadership skills. Real leaders with the expertise and know-how to motivate, lead and set a course for profitable growth are in high demand.

This webinar was sponsored by Autotask!

Learn the key points covered in the MANAGEtoWIN Certified Leader program, including how to:

• Identify and address common organizational challenges
• Resolve issues in a cost-effective and productive manner
• Create positive business outcomes and reach your company's goals

You’ll also hear how using leadership dashboards can help you keep track of what’s working, what isn’t and what you need to do to grow and succeed all at a-glance in real-time.

Growing companies cannot afford to miss this webinar.

Check out our Certified Leader program to learn why your most important career asset is your leadership skills.   To compete in today's crowded marketplace you must move beyond being an "okay" manager to becoming a powerfully effective leader.

When YOUR Game Stands Tall

Don't forget to sign-up your managers (and you?) for our Certified LEADER program that kicks off the week of April 6.  Email me for comments from companies who have their managers in the program.

I watched the movie, When The Game Stands Tall, recently with my young kids.  This is a story about football coach Bob Ladouceur (played by Jim Caviezel), who took the De La Salle High School Spartans from obscurity to a 151-game winning streak that shattered all records for any American sport.

I recommend it highly, not only for you but that you consider it for a team event and discussion.  Here is why:

1 - Meaningful Work:  "Winning a lot of games is doable.  Teaching the kids there's more to life, that's hard." - Coach Ladouceur

Lots of people can build a company and make a lot of money.  Selfish jerks do it every day.  Lost people do too.  Until you focus on WHY you do your work - WHY it is meaningful to you personally and a life changing effort, then you are incomplete.  Your success is momentary and one day you will feel empty.  Instead, focus on how you can change lives TODAY for your work and personal life will thrive.

2 - Perfect Effort:  "We're not asking you to be perfect on every play.  What we're asking of you and what you should be asking of each other is to give a perfect effort from snap to whistle."  - Coach Ladouceur

We leaders must be role models of people who give 100% effort in everything we do.  This "perfect" emphasizes "complete" effort.  It is the 100-zero effort we have discussed before.  Every moment of our work day we must model this to our employees.  Only then can we require it of them.

3 - Define You:  "...Don't let a game define who you are.  Let your lives do that." - Assistant Coach Terry Eidson

De La Salle loses, yet Coach Eidson (correct spelling) makes a critical point:  When you as a leader fail, how do you respond in a 100/zero way so you demonstrate a setback does not define you or your company?  How are you teaching your people to say "I can do this" at their darkest moments?  How are you responding to their mistakes?

Mistakes do not define a 3strands LEADER.  Mistakes refine us.  We welcome them as a rock climber does a new cliff to climb.

4 - Goals Always:  "Our goal is to give the perfect effort on every play." - Coach Ladouceur

Every member of the De La Salle Football Team has goals at the start of the season.  They announce them to the team.  They report into the team how they are progressing towards achieving them until they do achieve them.  They are clear on what means "success" to them individually, and how that contributes to team wins.

If Coach Ladouceur can do this with young men in high school, they why can't you and your managers consistently pursue goals in your adult daycare center of a business?  (This is a habit issue.  We can help.  Sign-up for our Certified LEADER program today!)

5 - Team Effort:  "It's not about the record.  It's about the team." - former player Cam Colvin

How are you modeling a team effort?  How well do you delegate?  How often do you train?  How consistently do you follow-up?  How often do you keep your commitments?  How SINCERELY do you encourage EVERY employee?

Or... are you trapped in bad habits that lead you to gossip, focus on the negative instead of the positive, and hurt relationships with people on your team rather than build them up?  Get real about your habits so you can improve.  Everyone can improve.

6 - Responsibility:  "It's not about the game, it's about when you go out into the world that you are someone others can depend on." - Coach Ladouceur

Are we modeling and teaching our people how to be leaders others can depend on?  HOW?  I guarantee if you develop your people's ability to be trustworthy, fully responsible team players who others know they can count on no matter what...  that you business will thrive.  And you will be satisfied in your soul.

7 - Commitment:  "Our tradition begins with a commitment.  There is a qualitative value we place on that word - commitment.  If I had to choose just one lesson a student would learn from participating; it would be  learning how to make a commitment." - Coach Ladouceur (see What is a Spartan)

Do not confuse hard work and long hours with commitment.  Leaders must demonstrate commitment means to work SMART first, for the team second, and hard third.  Is this what you are  demonstrating... or are you stuck on #3?

This movie has a lot of great content for discussion.  I encourage you to see it and consider what you might want to discuss with your team.  Here are some quick links to consider:

What is a Spartan
40 Leadership Lessons...
7 Business Lessons...

Invest the time and effort to make your game stand tall.  Work to develop leadership habits that replace your bad boss habits.  You will achieve this goal when you make the commitment to improve, engage others to help, and have accountability.

We help entrepreneurial leaders develop NEW habits to overpower their less productive ones.  Contact me if you would like to become the leader you were designed to be and more positively impact the lives of others.

Webinar coming up! ROI of DEVELOPING your leaders

Hi everyone! 

Join me at 11:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, March 12 for a webinar explaining the ROI of developing your leaders - especially the ones you promoted into management but they have NEVER been trained how to lead others.

You need every one of your leaders to have leadership SKILLS, not just leadership attributes.

Click here to register and learn more.

Contact us if you have any questions.

Life-Changing Advice

Years ago one of my mentors gave me this life-changing advice:  

You either have to do things differently, or you have to do something different (for a living).

At the time I was spending too much money developing our software and the result was our company was struggling financially.  (I chose to do things differently and it has been a huge blessing.)

Take this quick test to see if you need to "do things differently" in one of the two most common areas most leaders fail.  My experience is LEADERS FAIL most often to:

1 - Set clear, measurable goals

2 - Follow-up

Consistent follow-up to build and sustain relationships is the harder of the two.  Take this quick test to assess how well you follow-up.  Then add-up your score and consider how you "have to do things differently" or not.

Ask yourself:  How well do I follow-up with:

1.  The commitments I make to my boss?

2.  The commitments I make to my peers in my firm?

3.  The commitments I make to people reporting to me, including accountability on their goals, career path, responsibilities...?

4.  People whom I ask for help - after I seek their advice, do I respond when they follow-up as I requested?

5.  Employees I should be training and/or mentoring?

6.  People with whom I miss a meeting or phone call?

7.  To God, however I define the creator to be?

8.  My spouse?

9.  My kids?

10.  My commitment to myself to replace my bad habits with new ones so my life is more fulfilling (healthy?) for me, and the most important lives I touch daily?

Give yourself 10 points for any follow-up you do consistently well, which is 90-100% of the time.  I suggest the following assessment:

90-100 points - You are a person of integrity, enjoying life, skilled at saying "no" to avoid overload, and have strong relationships with others.  You may be working too many hours, but that is another issue.

70-80 points - You are a good person, well-liked, but you let people down, struggle with productivity weekly, have 1-3 bad habits that are hurting you, and you wish you could do better...  but think you are too busy to deal with your bad habits.  (Big mistake.)

50-60 points - You are letting too many people down.  Although you may be productive, you are working too many hours, not delegating well, and your leadership is totally inconsistent.  As a result work and home relationships struggle.

40 points or below - Too painful.  Get help from a consultant / coach like me, mentor, or if your issues are related to wounds of your childhood, a past relationship, or something you cannot identify then talk with people you trust to identify a professional who can help you deal with the past so you can be fulfilled in your future.

If you do not follow-up with integrity then your leadership impact is a fraction of its potential.

We help entrepreneurial leaders develop NEW habits to overpower their less productive ones.  Contact me if you would like to become the leader you were designed to be and more positively impact the lives of others.