Workforce Echoes

Twitter.. Why do I need to know this?

2011-05-02T13:50:00.000-04:00

Why Do I Need to Know This?

Do you ever get that question when helping your students learn or helping your children understand their homework? I have a daughter who is in college. She recently went to a seminar about Twitter. This seminar was given by an invited speaker at a business fraternity meeting. She says she was bored stiff. In the end, the speaker mentioned that this was the first time he had ever given this particular talk to college students. He said that he normally taught 40-50 year olds. My daughter says that she realized the problem immediately. He had spent an hour telling them, step by step, how to use Twitter when they all could have figured it out on their own in about ten minutes. What they wanted to understand was why they’d want to use Twitter and how it would help in their career. I saw this as a wonderful example of how kids learn differently these days and how some teaching methods need to switch gears. This speaker’s baby boomer audience wanted step by step instructions. His college audience was bored by that.

I ended my last blog by mentioning my need to teach my son about transient and intransient verbs. He too asked the question, “Why do I need to know this?” I have to admit that I struggled with the answer. It was clear to him that I’d made it through life without this knowledge so he figured he could too. It definitely created a blockage in his desire to learn.

Switching gears, school administrators may also want to consider answering, “Why?” when they introduce new rules, procedures, curricula, etc. People don’t really like change unless there’s good reason for it. If you can successfully convince faculty and staff why change is needed, you’ve won half the battle for that change to be successful. Similarly, if teachers can successfully explain the, “Why?” to today’s students, I think they’ve won half the battle as well.

Organizational Values / Echo Principle #4 Make People Feel Important

2011-04-12T00:04:00.000-04:00

I was watching “A Bug’s Life” with my sons over the weekend. For anyone who hasn’t seen this Pixar movie, it’s essentially about a battle between domineering grasshoppers and hard working ants. The grasshoppers rule over the ants until the very end of the show. The ants finally realize the power they have when they join together. It helps that they outnumber the grasshoppers by a huge margin. As a united team, the ants fight off the over controlling grasshoppers, and live happily ever after.

Watching this movie made me think about all the unhappy employees out there with over controlling bosses. They, like the ants, feel as if they have little power to make big changes. As a result, they just try to mind their own business, do their job, and get their paycheck. Does that sound familiar to anyone? I tend to write blogs for those few people at the top of an organization, the grasshoppers, who can actually make major changes to the work environment if they set their mind to it. But employees outnumber bosses and in reality they often have MORE power to influence the work environment than even their boss. Think about the new policy that no one follows unless the boss is watching!

Our Echo 4 principle is about the value of making people feel important. This principle is based on the notion that if I don’t feel important, I’m not going to try very hard. Clearly there are things a manager can do to make every employee feel like an important part of the team, but even if you don’t manage a large team, you still have tremendous power to change the work environment. Rather than settle for a boring job that has little meaning to you, here are a few ideas to consider.

· Think of something about your job that you really dislike. If you were the boss, what would you do differently? Gather ideas from others. Research the topic. Formulate a plan that clearly shows how this idea will improve customer service, profit margins, or something else equally important to the boss. Present it with a positive attitude. Offering solutions will serve you better than offering complaints. Even if the boss doesn’t go for your plan, you can develop a reputation as a creative problem solver and perhaps you’ll be considered for that next raise or promotion.

· Make your boss look good. Consider the people whose advice you are willing to take. Are they the people who criticize you behind your back or try to come across as being much smarter than you? Probably not. Put yourself in the manager’s shoes and try to offer helpful advice and assistance. Building a trusted relationship will make it much more likely that the boss will let you run with that next great idea.

· If you’re bored in your job, maybe there’s something more exciting you could do. Perhaps there’s a better way to do the same old thing. Maybe there’s a new twist on an old product or service. Take some time to learn. Many of us focus on proving ourselves in what we do well rather than on developing ourselves and learning more. The more you learn, the more ideas you’ll develop and the more opportunities you’ll recognize.

Feeling powerless in your work environment is certainly a good way to zap all your energy and enthusiasm. I don’t think that any of us is ever truly powerless; we just choose not to act. But life can get kinda miserable and boring when we feel that way!

Organizational Hiring / Outstanding Customer Service is an Outstanding Result (4 in a series on hiring)

2011-03-11T11:27:00.000-05:00

All businesses have to define the results they strive to achieve. These targeted results help everyone focus their efforts and work as a team. As I sat down to write this article about defining results, I couldn’t help but think about the consistently horrible customer service I’ve received this week. No matter what business you’re in, even if you work for a non-profit, there are always customers (or members or students) to serve. So, it seems like the “right” results would always have something to do with offering excellent customer service. Actually, as I think back on all the businesses I’ve dealt with over the week, I truly think that the key to soaring above the competition is simply to offer an outstanding customer experience.

In today’s ever changing world, it’s challenging to think of ways to be different in business. Your competition is watching and new ideas, new services, or new products can be copied. Remember when Beanie Babies came out? Soon stores were filled with copycat beanbag animals. Look at all the imitations that came after the iPhone. How about reality TV? Once producers noticed it was a popular concept, it took over our TV channels. As soon as you make something successful, that something will be copied. But here’s something that no one can copy. No one can copy how YOUR TEAM treats YOUR CUSTOMERS. That customer experience is what will make you memorable. Simply hiring friendly people is a good way to start! You can’t train people to be friendly. I also believe that employees treat customers similar to how the boss treats employees. For example, if the boss has no time to pay attention to employees and make them feel valued, employees will find little time to pay attention to customers and make THEM feel valued.

Watch for our new book, coming out in April, titled “Inside Out: Creating Work Environments That Lead to Exceptional Customer Service.”

Organizational Hiring / Right Way - Right Results (3 in a series on hiring)

2011-03-10T23:16:00.004-05:00

Right Way – Right Results

The Echo 3 Principle stresses the importance of doing things the right way to lead to the right results. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, actually it is often overlooked. The employee who achieves the “right results” is often allowed tremendous flexibility with methods. The boss will overlook those occasional infractions because, well, they achieve results. Keep in mind that accepting certain behaviors or methods that SHOULD be unacceptable, is building a lousy culture for your organization.

What about the “Right Way Wrong Results” employee? Have you ever dealt with someone like this? This is the person who is kind, caring, and follows all the rules. Everyone likes them. However, they are ineffective. They don’t achieve needed results. The boss may overlook this problem as well because the person is just “so nice.”

Here’s an idea. Take a look at your performance appraisal process. Make some changes so that “right way” and “right results” are clearly outlined. If you want a high performance values based culture, both must be defined and both must be important. The employees you reward and promote, your superstars, should be only those who achieve the right results the right way.

Management Training ($100 referral fee)

2011-02-10T11:38:00.000-05:00

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Organizational Hiring / Policy and Procedure Overkill! (2 in a series on hiring)

2011-01-27T22:18:00.003-05:00

NEW PROBLEM NEW RULE

Picture this. A small local business has a total of 25 employees. One of those employees is consistently late to work. The boss has mentioned it a few times, but nothing changes. One morning the employee comes in late on a particularly bad day for the boss. The boss has had enough. She orders a time clock for the office, and writes a new policy that everyone must clock in and out. A few weeks later the boss notices a customer standing around waiting for help. Another employee, who should be assisting the customer, is distracted because she’s on her Facebook account. The irritated boss writes another new policy. Employees are no longer allowed to go on any social networking sites while at work.

This scenario points out a very common habit; rather than deal with an employee problem, the boss writes a new policy and expects the problem to be resolved. With each new policy, your star employees are further punished and left wondering why the policy is needed. Over time, this habit leads to restrictive environments and rule books that are too large to memorize.

Organizational values can help. If you hire, fire, train, reward and communicate towards defined strategic values, restrictive and detailed rules are no longer needed. The “right way” is known without the rule book. Here’s an example. Let’s say that ambition is one of your core business values. One of the ways you’ve defined this to employees is by stating that everyone is expected to practice exceptional time management skills. You explain the “why” behind this. It’s discussed in interviews and new employee orientations. It’s listed on job descriptions. Employees are rewarded for exceptional time management practices, and training to improve this skill set is provided. When an employee consistently comes to work late, you don’t need a new restrictive rule or a time clock. They are not meeting the expectation, made very clear, of exceptional time management. They are not adhering to the core value of ambition. Now deal with it. Similarly, when an employee’s time on Facebook leaves a customer standing around with no help, that’s not practicing exceptional time management either. You don’t need a new rule; you just need to deal with the problem. An added benefit is that employees are more willing to accept expectations that are tied to values, than they are to accept a constantly growing rule book brought on by unresolved problems.

Organizational Hiring / Make Three Right Turns - The Right People! The Right Way! The Right Results! (1 in a series on hiring)

2011-01-19T12:51:00.001-05:00

Minimum Qualifications: Helpful or Harmful?

I was reading through some job descriptions recently written by a client, and the idea for a blog posting came to me. It’s an exciting topic; minimum qualifications. Yeah, sounds boring, but I’ll keep this short and hopefully make you think carefully before your next recruitment efforts.

When we create job descriptions, we so often just make up some minimum qualifications such as requiring two years experience or a college degree. I realize that for some jobs, there are legal and safety reasons for requiring certain educational and experience backgrounds. I’m not talking about those positions. I’m talking about those jobs where success is highly related to having certain attitudes, natural talents, or personality characteristics, rather than a very specific background. If you can get someone who likes to learn, who is enthusiastic, and whose values fit in well with your organization, you often can train them to do their specific job duties. I’d rather hire someone whose attitude is great and who can learn needed skills, than someone who has learned specific skills yet has a lousy attitude. My point is that if you haphazardly define minimum qualifications, without careful evaluation, you may greatly reduce your best applicant pool, and may end up focusing your attention on the wrong things during interviews.

Here’s an example. Colleen Barrett just recently retired from Southwest Airlines. She was the President. She never attended college. Have you ever seen an executive position advertised, for a multi-billion dollar corporation, that didn’t require AT LEAST a Bachelor’s Degree? Colleen learned everything she knew with on-the-job experience. She loved to learn and had the right values and attitude.

To find out what it really takes to be successful in a certain job, talk to someone who already is. Better yet, have them help you do the interviews. Minimum qualifications are important; just make sure they are truly related to job success.

www.workforceechoes.com

Organizational Values (4 in a series)

2010-12-27T14:36:00.000-05:00

Moving Together In The Right Direction

Our last three blog postings have been about organizational values. Before I switch to another subject, I think it’s important to make one more point about values. Organizational values define the “right way” for how things should be done in your workplace. With any goal, there is the “right way” to do things and the “right results” to achieve. We have all worked with people who do what they are asked to do, but perform in a manner that ends up being destructive to the organization. For example, consider the sales person who bad mouths other sales team members with the goal of making all of the sales on his own. He ends up having a high sales volume, the “right results,” but his methods were not the “right way.” When only the results are made clear, and values are not well defined, people will use whatever behaviors work for them to achieve the goal. This can create an unengaged work environment and a bad reputation for your company.

TEAM: Together We Achieve More!

Behaviorally-based value systems take the "wiggle room" out of interpreting the “right way.” Once organizational values are defined, expected behaviors to display those values are also outlined. For example, we value collaboration and therefore expect all team members to consider others’ ideas, and to have drafts and finished products reviewed by at least one other team member. These expected behaviors are communicated to all team members. Team members can use a variety of methods to achieve goals, as long as they stick to behaviors that fall in line with our value of collaboration.

It’s just as important to build a great reputation for your organization as it is to work towards defined sales or productivity goals. A solid reputation is built when all employees understand and adhere to expected behaviors that communicate organizational values. The “right way” must be understood.

Organizational Values (3 in a series on values)

2010-12-13T10:23:00.002-05:00

ORGANIC VS. STRATEGIC VALUES

By Jeff Sullivan

Whether or not you choose to create a strategic well communicated set of values, your organization will make decisions and take action on a set of values. Absent a deliberate plan, these values will grow organically and most likely represent the personal values of the people who can help or hurt you the most. In larger organizations this can mean that you have competing sets of values that are at odds with one another, creating a serious distraction and wasting valuable resources. For example, if an employee knows that the CEO values “no mistakes” but her direct supervisor values “creative ideas” she will often find herself in conflict between the “sure bet” way to no mistakes versus taking a risk and trying something new. Similarly, if the direct supervisor values high profit margins but an employee’s major client values integrity, the two values may at times collide, and the employee will not know the “right thing to do.” Successful organizations run a single value system imbedded into all of its people practices. These well communicated and integrated values serve to reduce distractions and conflict and make decision-making easier.

Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple Computer, put it well. “The only thing that works is management by values. Find people who are competent and really bright, but more importantly, people who care exactly about the same things you care about.”

Organizational Values (2 in a series on values)

2010-12-06T20:14:00.001-05:00

What exactly are values? Values are the core set of principles that drive your decisions and behavior. They are "valuable" in the sense that they are an important compass for us as we cycle through life. A well understood value system becomes most valuable in ambiguous circumstances--times when you cannot find the answer in a book, the Internet or the law. I'm talking about situations that compel you to make a judgment call in unfamiliar territory. When you are experiencing something for the first time, you don’t have past experience to rely on in making a decision. Values are the guide. These same issues exist within organizations as well. Having a deliberate and clear set of organizational values is essential for success in the world we operate in today.

As a manager you have two choices. You can attempt to write a policy and procedure manual that covers what to do in every possible situation, or you can integrate values into your people practices and rely on employees to make “good” choices based on those values. The first alternative is all too often tried, but always fails. Employees can’t memorize volumes of policy and procedure and often end up feeling as if they can’t move without checking the policy manual first. They can however learn expected behaviors as they relate to clear organizational values. The most successful organizations have followed this path leading to a values based and well-known organizational culture.

By Jeff Sullivan

Organizational Values (1 in a series on values)

2010-11-30T23:36:00.002-05:00

Values Determine Behavior

Do you ever step back, look at your life, the decisions you've made and the things that you have done and wonder why? Why do you consistently follow a pattern when reacting to the world around you? If you did step back, you would likely see certain patterns. Fear of certain things, the tendency to gravitate to similar types of people, or always avoiding certain situations, are examples of behavior patterns. Mostly likely, you are using your own set of personal values to guide your behavior. Your values are formed by the environment you grew up within--parents, teachers, significant events etc. These events and experiences lead to certain beliefs which then serve to form your values.

Organizations behave similarly. Whether an organization has declared values or not, values WILL determine behavior in all organizations. Successful organizations have a set of strategic values integrated into all people practices. This forms the foundation for the business ecosystem. Values impact how employees behave and respond to customers, what goals are set and reached, what policies and procedures are followed, how managers treat employees, and how employees treat each other. Just watch behavior. You can also determine an organization’s values by finding out where time and money are spent. Organizational leaders have a choice: allow any old values to naturally grow, or create, communicate and integrate strategic values that purposefully move the organization forward. What values are controlling behavior in YOUR organization?

Organizational Culture (4 in a series)

2010-11-23T10:36:00.001-05:00

Friendships in the Ecosystem

I am continuing one more week with our ecosystem analogy. Today I want to make the point that you create a work environment in hundreds of ways. When we think of all the people systems within the work environment, the typical thoughts go to hiring, rewarding, performance appraisals, and communicating expectations. Yet it goes way beyond this. Trust, freedom, supplies and equipment provided, procedures, space, colors, moods, signs, newsletters, emails, and on and on all have an impact on the environment you grow.

For this week, I want to focus on the impact of friendships on the environment. Think of how different the culture of an organization will be if employees get along well and maybe even like and respect each other! You can’t force friendships. But you can hire right. You can provide time and places for socializing with colleagues. You can learn about and implement team building practices. You can take personality into consideration when making specific job assignments. You can resolve performance problems immediately, and treat people fairly so that resentment doesn’t build. There are many things you can do to help build trust, respect, and friendships within your environment. A Gallup study proved that one of the key ingredients to employee engagement was having a close friend at work. When people get along well, they WANT to help each other because that’s just what you do in a cohesive community. They care about each other and it will show in their behavior and actions. The company doesn’t have to dictate the rules as much because behavior is impacted so greatly by positive emotion, friendships, and relationships.

I use the term “touch points” to mean all of the various ways, both small and large, that employees are impacted by policy, procedure, their boss, colleagues, employees, customers, and the overall work environment. Everything that impacts an employee’s attitude towards work in general and each work day are touch points. What makes their day pleasant? What makes their day frustrating? It helps if you focus on your own work day, and the multiple ways in which your own mood is impacted by policy, procedure, and people. These are the touch points and should be your focus as you work towards creating a positive work environment.

Organizational Culture (3 in a series)

2010-11-15T12:05:00.000-05:00

The Answer is an Absolute “Yes!”

As an American who has grown accustomed to a fast paced life and the need for fast food, I’ve also developed my expectations for the service I’ll receive in these fast food restaurants. I know that the employees who work in these establishments are paid very little. I know that many of the employees view this as a temporary job. I know that most of the front line staff work there for one purpose only; to make money. This is how I justify the poor customer service I’ve grown accustomed to. It never surprises me to deal with seemingly grumpy staff, to rarely receive a friendly smile or even eye contact, and more often than not, to have my order be wrong. Despite this, I keep going back for more.

Our last two blogs have focused on viewing the business environment as an ecosystem. So, if we are saying that managers can create this ecosystem, is it possible to create a friendly and engaged environment at a fast food restaurant? The answer is an absolute “YES!” As an example, there is a Chick Fil A in Edgewater Maryland. The manager here must deal with the same elements that other managers of fast food restaurants must deal with. That is, the difficulty in recruiting quality people, the low pay, the attitude of this job being temporary, and the fact that the front line employees rarely have a purpose in working there other than a pay check. Yet this particular manager has created a friendly and engaged environment. I go there more often than I care to admit. Every single time, consistently, I am greeted with enthusiasm, a smile, an attitude that says “what can I do to help you?” and always a very friendly “thank you.” I always feel that my business there is appreciated. This manager has created an engaged work environment and it is noticeable to every customer.

Environments are created. Cultures grow. No matter your workforce, no matter your industry, it is possible to create a positive environment. Examine your hiring practices, reward practices, performance management systems, communication habits, expectations, and goals. Examine all the ways you and the business impact employees. It takes time and patience, but with some determination, you can begin to change the work environment and allow desired culture to grow.

Organizational Culture (2 in a Series)

2010-11-08T09:34:00.000-05:00

For this week’s blog I’m going to continue with the garden analogy from last week; i.e. that being a manager is similar to growing a healthy garden. This analogy enables managers to view behavior as logical rather than random. The focus this week is on performance problems, the weeds in your garden.

Some gardeners tend their garden regularly. Weeds don’t have time to take over and when even a single weed pops up, it is noticed immediately and yanked out. A beautiful and healthy garden is allowed to flourish. In the business world, managers who handle people problems on a regular basis, and who do not allow problem behavior to go unnoticed, are able to grow an environment of engaged and productive employees that is noticeable to anyone observing this team. On the other hand, a manager who focuses on performance issues only once per year at the annual review, will have a garden that has been so taken over by the weeds that it seems overwhelming. Problem behavior becomes the norm, and desired behavior will get choked out. When you stand back and observe this team, you will observe conflict and chaos.

If your work environment is currently filled with conflict and chaos, there is hope! It is a lot more work than plucking a single weed, but it CAN be done. Clearly state expectations and goals. Monitor behavior and progress daily. Deal with problems immediately. This will be equivalent to a large scale climate change in the environment, and you should expect it to take a while for the ecosystem to settle and become sustainable again. When it does however, you’ll find that desired behaviors become the norm. The environment change will eventually change the organizational culture.

Organizational Culture (1 in a Series)

2010-11-01T09:07:00.000-04:00

Managing is just like gardening. I did a simple Google search on “planning a garden” and, on the first page of search results alone, was quickly able to find the following quotes:

“A well-planned garden is easier to care for. It saves time in the garden and is more productive than an unplanned garden.” http://urbanext.illinois.edu/tog/planning.cfm

“When getting started, carefully planning your garden now can save a lot of trouble in the future.” http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=74

“A vegetable garden should do what you want it to, so ask yourself what your desired outcome is.”
http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/plan-a-vegetable-garden.html

Do you notice the analogy? Just like the first quote, a well planned business is easier to care for. Planning saves time and is more productive than an unplanned business strategy. Have you defined specific goals? Can you visualize what your garden, I mean business, will accomplish and produce? The second quote also applies. Carefully planning your business goals now can save a lot of trouble in the future. The third quote can equate to both planning and hiring. Are the employees you’ve hired able to do what you want them to do and achieve the desired outcome? In the business environment, people you hire replace the seeds in a garden. What have you planted in your business environment? What type of person and what talents will help the business achieve defined goals? A haphazard hiring system is equivalent to throwing out a package of mixed up unknown seeds and then feeling frustrated that you’re not growing roses. Take a moment to sit back and analyze the garden you’re growing. If you find business articles boring to read, perhaps a good book on gardening could help you produce a winning team!! We will continue this analogy with our next several blogs. Stay tuned.

Find Your Focus

2010-09-11T11:55:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had the feeling that you work your tail off but accomplish very little? It’s like you see this long road ahead, and you run and run, but the end never seems to get any closer. I go through these phases sometimes but if I take the time to think everything through, the reason is typically crystal clear. I’m usually just too busy to do anything about it!
One of the major reasons I find for working hard and accomplishing little is a lack of focus. I know I’m in trouble when I can no longer set priorities. I’ll sit down at my desk, piled high with half complete projects and ideas, and have no idea what I should be working on. I also can’t tell the difference between distractions and productive time. Everything just blends together.

If you feel like you’re spinning your wheels but accomplishing little, possibly it’s time to take a day or two off just to think. Why did you take this job or open this business in the first place? What was your purpose? What do you like to do best? What changes could be made and what decisions are needed? What tasks could be put aside for a while? Take charge and make a change. People often take a couple days off and try to put work completely out of our minds. Sometimes you need this. But if you’ve lost your focus, you need to spend time away from the chaos just thinking, talking to someone, and planning. Otherwise you head right back into the busy schedule and continue to accomplish little.
Here are some other ideas to help you gain focus:

• Turn off your computer and work with paper and pen for a day. Draw, visualize and map out ideas without the distractions of Email, web browsing, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Talk to people instead of email. Communication is far better that way.
• Break larger goals down into smaller tasks. Focus on achieving one task at a time. You can clearly see progress which helps you maintain your focus and motivation to keep moving forward.
• Set and keep deadlines for yourself. We all need accountability.
• Keep a time tracking journal. What exactly are you doing every day? Where is time being wasted?
• Stop trying to do everything well and pick one thing to do really well instead. Even if this is just temporary, focus time on accomplishing one important goal rather than working towards 10 at the same time.

In my experience, the longer I get off course, the longer it takes to get back on course. It’s like driving aimlessly for weeks versus a couple hours before remembering where you were headed in the first place. No one likes working hard with seemingly little progress. Take those couple of days off to think. Turn on your internal GPS. Remember what you like to do, how you like to do it, and what you hope to accomplish by this time next year. Then plan your course. The added benefit is that priorities will be clearer and you’ll be able to recognize distractions for what they are. We all need a distraction every now and then; it’s just nice to be able to recognize them.

KEEP YOUR CANDLE BURNING BRIGHT

2010-07-03T01:18:00.001-04:00

I’ve titled this article after one of my favorite quotes. The quote is about the potential negative repercussions of comparing ourselves to others.

“Don’t blow your candle out because someone else’s is shining brighter.”

It is human nature to compare ourselves to others. Yet it is crazy how often we allow this to steel our joy and motivation. She has a bigger house than mine so suddenly my perfectly nice house seems pathetic. He has a degree from an Ivy League school so suddenly my degree seems insignificant. The business down the road has five times as many employees as mine, so my business isn’t as good.

This phenomenon is important for anyone in a leadership position because it can have a huge impact on your team’s creativity, motivation, and ultimate success. Over the next few weeks, try to keep the candle quote in mind and notice how frequently it impacts behavior. Take note of the quiet employee who may feel intimidated by other members of the team. Pull him or her aside, and listen to their thoughts and ideas. Take note of when your own attitude and words make other’s feel not as smart as you and thus not motivated to offer ideas. Take note of that employee who didn’t receive proper training and now her confidence is going down the drain. You need your entire team to feel motivated and energized and taking note of when and why people are losing that motivation is a first step to fixing the problem. If you notice and react to these situations quickly, the “fix” is a lot easier than if you wait till you have a fully disengaged team.

If you’re in a leadership position, one of the common ways we let our candles fade is when comparing our business to the competition. Sometimes, especially when you’re just starting out or just heading down a new path, this can be discouraging. The competition may have come out with an innovative new product you never thought of. They may be bigger and better established. They may have more clients. Attitude is a choice. We can get discouraged, which will infect your entire team, or focus on what your team does really well. Maybe you can’t produce a new product as fast as that business across town, but perhaps your product is better. Maybe you have 10 employees on your team instead of 500, but you may offer better customer service, and decisions can be made significantly faster. Maybe you have five clients instead of 100, but you offer customized solutions rather than a cookie cutter approach. When you focus on what you do well and the talents of your team, this confidence will shine through to potential clients and customers.

As a business owner or team leader, one of the major secrets to success is finding, hiring, and managing extraordinary people. Keeping everyone’s candles burning bright is key. You can’t control the attitudes of others, but your CAN focus on what your team does and could do well. You CAN encourage and point out when someone blows out their own candle for ridiculous reasons. You CAN give everyone an opportunity to be heard and to find ways to use their talents to achieve business goals. Most importantly, your own positive attitude and belief in your team will be contagious. It’s amazing what a motivated and energized team of people can accomplish, no matter how many candles are shining brightly around them.

ENGAGEMENT LEADS TO PROFIT

2010-05-28T01:05:00.001-04:00

Many large scale studies have proven the connection between employee engagement and financial performance. The correlation is undeniable. If you are running your own business now, or just starting up a new company, do a little research on employee engagement. As Herb Kelleher, founder of Southwest Airlines said, “There is one key to profitability and stability during either a boom or bust economy: employee morale.” As the saying goes, “the soft stuff brings hard results.” Are your employees engaged?

If you don’t know exactly what is meant by “employee engagement” just do a little experiment. For the next week, take careful note of the behaviors and attitudes of employees in any business you walk into wherein YOU are the customer. Are employees helpful? Are they complaining about having to work or are they engaging in friendly conversation with customers? Do you get ignored or do employees seem to WANT to help you? If you have a question or request, are you able to get a satisfactory answer? Do employees seem more anxious to get off of work or to meet your needs? Can you even find someone to answer your question? It’s hard to put your finger right on employee engagement but you definitely can feel when it’s there and feel when it’s not. What are customers feeling when they walk in YOUR business?

How many times have you been in a customer service situation where you’re frustrated by the fact that the employee you are dealing with is clearly powerless to do anything but follow rigid rules? More importantly, they don’t seem to care that they cannot meet your needs. Rigid rules do not engage employees and frustrate customers. Let me give an example. The other day I was at Subway, the fast food chain restaurant across from my office. My sister asked for a bowl of soup and requested some bread to go along with the soup. As we looked at the employee we could see about 500 loaves of bread in racks behind her. However, we were told that she could NOT serve bread with soup, only with a sandwich. To make matters worse, the employee came across as if she was irritated by the request. She didn’t smile or make eye contact or do anything to indicate she cared about customer service. She was just earning a paycheck. We ordered a turkey sub minus the turkey, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise…….and soup. Unengaged employees who must follow rigid and ridiculous rules make customers like me tell everyone I know about the stupid rule and then post a blog about it.

Try to experience your business from a customer’s perspective. I was in a Walmart a couple days ago and can only hope that if the manager had witnessed the incredibly poor customer service and unengaged attitudes I dealt with there, several employees would be fired. If you aren’t paying attention to employee engagement, you’re losing customers and losing money. You may not be measuring this, but it IS happening.

In our next blog posting, we will continue with some easy to implement employee engagement techniques.

How Engaged Are Your Employees?

2010-04-26T09:30:00.004-04:00

One of the most frustrating aspects of being a manager is dealing with an under performing employee. Often it seems like the easiest thing to do is ignore the situation and have someone else pick up the slack. After all, you’re busy and don’t have the time or patience to deal with these annoying problems. It’s the old problem solving choices of fight or flight. Ignore the problem until you completely lose your patience, then deal with it ineffectively. The bad news is that this problem avoidance tactic is building a culture of low performance and mediocrity in your organization.

Most businesses have their superstar employees. Those are the people who will pick up that slack and do whatever it takes to get the job done right. They are the people who help you reward the low performer for his or her lack of motivation. The low performer can spend time chatting with friends or searching the web knowing that there will be little or no repercussions. The superstar picked up the slack and at the end of the day the tasks were completed and the boss is happy. How long will it take before other’s notice that it’s okay to not work really hard? How long will it take before that superstar employee gets tired of picking up the slack and unexpectedly quits? The easy way out of ignoring the problem is actually not an easy way out at all.
If you have one of these under performing employees, first decide whether they aren’t doing the job because they CAN’T or because they WON’T. Under the category of “can’t” you may have problems such as unclear expectations, insufficient resources, or a lack of knowledge or skill in completing the job at hand. Under the category of “won’t” you may have problems such as being inadvertently rewarded for low performance, or different priorities, or a lack of agreement on how things should be done. As a manager you have to understand why they aren’t meeting expectations before you can resolve the problem. Determining whether you are dealing with “can’t” or “won’t” is a good first step.

Wouldn’t it be great if all employees just came to work excited and motivated to reach important goals? One of the basic building blocks to reaching that highly motivated workforce is to deal with performance problems early. There are only a handful of employees who are naturally motivated no matter the environment. There is another handful that are naturally unmotivated no matter the environment. The vast majority is in the middle and can go either way depending on the culture that you, as the manager, build. What is considered normal and acceptable behavior in your department or business today? What culture are you building?

Titles and Job Descriptions

2010-03-01T11:37:00.006-05:00

TOSS OUT THE BOXES – TRY A NEW APPROACH

By Jennifer Good

This article was inspired by a lengthy debate I had with my co-founder, Laura Sita.
She won.

JOB ADVERTISEMENT

Title: Team Member

Duties: Must be able to type 90 words per minute, answer all in-coming phone calls, manage large filing system, act as time management coach for our CEO, serve as a member of the Executive Committee for Marketing Strategy, and any other talent you can bring to the table.

Just for a moment, toss aside your preconceived notions of typical job titles, job descriptions, and hierarchical boxes on the organization chart. It is not that far-fetched to think that an organization might have the exact list of needs as described in the job description above. Yet we probably would not advertise a job such as this because, well, it just doesn’t fit a standard job title. What box would this job fit into? Would it be low on the totem pole due to the typing and filing? Would it be right next to the CEO as an assistant? Would it get buried somewhere in the middle of the marketing department?
While you might not advertise a job exactly as listed above, this particular set of duties could easily evolve in the right organizational culture. First we must be willing to accept the notion that there are superstar talents hidden within employees at all levels of the organization. These talents go untapped simply because they do not fit within the person’s assigned role. It would make more sense to be flexible and remember that job descriptions are not written in stone. They should not prevent talents and skills from shining through.

Imagine a person who has just one very strong talent. Perhaps it is coaching. Talking to his prior supervisors reveals many complaints: doesn't understand marketing tactics, disorganized, doesn't understand technology, etc. These shortcomings will keep this talented coach from rising in the hierarchy of the organization. His single superstar talent doesn’t fit the needs of a complete box on the organization chart. Never mind that this person gets people to move forward with innovative ideas. Never mind that he puts enthusiasm into the team and creates success through his unique coaching ability. We are willing to pay for a laundry list of mediocre talents but not for someone with a single superstar talent simply because it doesn’t fit all of the needs of a standard job title.

Too often, job titles, standard job descriptions, and our own preconceived notions are obstacles that get in the way of the free flow of communication and ideas. With these obstacles in place you may never know that the best winning sales strategy lies in the imagination of your graphic artist. You may never know that your annual conference could be twice the success if you tapped into the event planning talents of your accountant. We are in an age of creativity and innovation. Successful companies are finding out that rigid bureaucracies, three levels of approvals, and ignoring ideas that don’t come from the right box are not on the path to sustainable success. Our old approach creates waste; talents untapped and opportunities lost. We can no longer turn away talent because it doesn’t fit our mold.

There are many ways to identify the talent pool within an organization. Surveys might be helpful but generally we have to witness talents first hand to truly appreciate someone’s capabilities. Providing opportunity is the key. Open up the lines of communication and create networks rather than organization charts. Invite employees from all levels and departments to offer ideas and assist with projects. Talents can also be identified by listening to your team, through interviews, and by talking to managers who pay close attention to their employees.

The talents within your company, no matter who has them, are your greatest competitive edge. Successful businesses must have continual and easy access to the talents and knowledge needed given the problem they are trying to solve or the opportunity they are trying to create. Be willing to rewrite job descriptions, to create
communication networks, and to view everyone as an equal and important part of the team.

I have worked in human resources for many years and am fully aware of the challenges this new way of thinking creates. How do we compensate people that don’t fit in a neat little box? How do we benchmark their position against the rest of the industry? Who would they report to and how would you measure success? These are not insurmountable problems, especially considering the benefits to both individuals and organizations in doing a much better job of utilizing talents in the workforce. Research has clearly tied motivation and productivity with employees being allowed and encouraged to do what they do the best. Your business will be able to adapt faster, be the first with innovative ideas, and will benefit from the improved performance of a motivated workforce.

Take a close look at your team or department or company as a whole. What talents are you ignoring simply because they aren’t paired up with another important talent? Whose ideas are you ignoring because they aren’t high enough on the organization chart? Great managers do not have all the answers; but they do know where to find those answers.

Toss aside that organization chart, ignore job titles, and search for talent. You may be surprised at what you find.

Behavior Changes! What do You Need, Knowledge or Desire?

2010-02-16T18:49:00.000-05:00

My last blog posting was about motivation. Most of what I write about and most of my work in my business has to do with behavioral topics such as this. Here’s the problem however. I am providing information; but so many of our problems in life and business are NOT due to a lack of information, but rather are due to us not using that information. We have the knowledge, we just won’t use it.
Maybe some examples will help illustrate this point. Think about time management. Perhaps this is something you aren’t good at, and not being good at it is holding you back from achieving important goals. Is it really because you don’t know the standard techniques of effective time management? Probably not. Plenty of information is available at your finger tips: plan your time, learn to say “no,” differentiate between urgent and important. All of these bits of information would help you. You have the knowledge, but will the behavior change?
Conflict and anger management are another good example. Is conflict taking the joy from your days? Do you have trouble controlling your temper? We all know how ineffective we are at resolving problems when we’re really angry. This isn’t rocket science. Again, these types of problems are usually not due to a lack of knowledge. Just Google “anger management tips” and you’ll get over a million hits. Take a “time out.” Avoid the person who makes you angry until you can deal calmly with him or her. Get some exercise. Change your expectations. Talk it out with someone you trust; how is this person or situation making you feel and why? Listen to different perspectives, and then let it go; anger is hurting you more than the other person. Don’t scream; it causes an adrenaline rush that takes away all reason and logic. These are just a few tips I found in a 60 second search on the internet. Handling conflict well requires knowledge for sure, but knowledge doesn’t always improve behavior.
Here is a final example. Are you overly accommodating? Do you give in too easily but feel frustrated inside? Is it because you haven’t been told how to be more assertive? Again, probably not. You’ve probably had at least one boss or friend or relative give you a much needed “how to” lecture. No, it’s not because you don’t know how, it’s because you won’t.
I’ve been dealing with someone with an alcohol problem over the past many years. I am so often frustrated by his behavior. I often complain that he’s been to rehabilitation and countless A.A. meetings and certainly knows what he needs to do to say sober. But he doesn’t. It’s dragging down his life quickly, but he just won’t use the knowledge he’s been given. You might think, well that’s different, it’s a disease. Yes, I know; but what is it called when one of our own behavior problems is causing huge problems in our life yet we don’t stop? Isn’t it just a little bit the same? We can’t blame it on a disease, so what is it? Stubborn? Even when we have great advice and know exactly what we SHOULD do to improve our behavior, we don’t.

I’d like to make it clear that I do know it is possible to improve behavior; it happens all the time. Workforce Echoes is in that very business. The article is about the problems we complain about but do NOT fix. For those people that do successfully and regularly strive to improve themselves, I know that you need constant reminders and encouragement. Maybe the occasional blog posting will help!! Here is my challenge to both myself and to all of you. Choose a behavior you want to improve. Think of all the good reasons to improve that behavior. Then, write down 2-3 methods you will use to make that improvement. Knowledge is everywhere, maybe even in your own head!! Think back to all the advice you’ve ever heard, all the things you know, and everything you’ve ever read on the subject. Then, armed with the knowledge and goals, JUST DO IT.

When Motivation Takes a Nose Dive

2010-02-10T17:09:00.001-05:00

As a business owner, manager, or team leader, you are expected to stay motivated and set a positive example for those working for and with you. What happens however, when your motivation and attitude take a nose dive? It’s impossible to stay upbeat 100% of the time. We all have bad days. Missed deadlines, stress, unhappy customers, set-backs and people not pulling their weight are just a few of the problems dealt with on a regular basis. However, if you’re leading a team, you better be really good at picking yourself up, dusting off, and moving forward. You cannot stay down for long or you might just pull the business with you.

Here’s another worthwhile saying; “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” We are responsible for our own attitudes. One thing I find helpful is to look beyond the problems of the day and keep my eye on the bigger picture. Why did I go into business for myself anyway? If my reason was to not have to answer to anyone but myself, or to make lots of money, or to work less, I’d better think again. I need a bigger reason. I need a purpose, a passion, a drive to improve or change something. I must fully believe in my products and services. I am more likely to achieve financial success if I’m working to make some difference in the world rather than only to make money. The money will follow.

This is not to say that extrinsic motivators, like making money, are not helpful. Just take a look at Howard Schultz who grew Starbucks from four stores to the world wide company it is today. He once had a goal of building 2,000 stores by the year 2000. (He beat that goal by a long shot.) This is obviously a financial type of goal; an extrinsic goal. Yet Schultz had intrinsic motivators working as well. Schultz was quoted on many occasions as saying that his vision for Starbucks was to become a national company with values and guiding principles that employees could be proud of. He wanted Starbucks to become the most respected brand name in coffee and for the company to be admired for its corporate responsibility. Along the company’s route to success he offered employee benefits and incentives unheard of in most businesses and started many foundations to support worthwhile causes.

So, are you having a bad day? Get over it quick! The costs of a bad attitude are just too high. Read a motivational book. Spend a day relaxing and thinking and talking to someone you trust. Take a day or two to learn something new that might help you with your current setback. Then, get up, find your motivation, and keep moving forward. Think strategically and make your vision a reality one small step at a time.

I’ve listed below a few websites with helpful advice and resources for small business owners.

www.Howtostartup.com

http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/index.html

http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizstartups/index.html

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH SMART PEOPLE

2010-02-03T10:22:00.000-05:00

"We don’t know a millionth of one percent about anything." - Thomas Edison

“Surround yourself with smart people” is advice you will hear many times over in the business world. It does not necessarily mean to find people with higher IQs than your own. It is much broader than that. Emotional intelligence also plays a huge factor. In addition, the advice refers to surrounding yourself with people who have different talents, skills, experiences and abilities from your own. Why? One of the most important lessons you will learn as a business owner, or manager of any team, is that you don’t know everything! That’s a hard pill for some to swallow. It doesn’t matter if you have the highest IQ of anyone in the country, you still will not have had all the experiences nor have all of the talents and skills to make the best decisions about every topic every time.

I can offer so many examples of this in my own business that it is hard to even know where to start. Let me just briefly describe three examples that have occurred just in the past week:

I was signing up to attend a training course to become certified in a certain personality/behavior profiling instrument. The certification training would have cost $2,500. I had researched many other profiling instruments and felt that I had made a good choice. However, before scheduling my travel arrangements I sent a quick email to a friend who is certified in many of these types of personality and behavior profiles. I asked his opinion about the certification I was about to attend. He sent back a message that completely changed my plans. His experiences with both marketing and delivering this particular profile far surpassed my own knowledge. Had I not sought his advice, I would have wasted $2,500.

I am developing the outline and content for a team building presentation. I brought my plan to my business partner who handles all the design for our presentations. Despite the fact that she handles design and I handle content, we always bounce ideas off one another. In this particular example, she made several comments about the flow of the presentation that improved it many times over. Together we produce a better presentation than one of us alone could do.

Last year we made a big investment on computer equipment, software, and software training. This week, after a two hour demonstration at the Apple store, we realized we made some bad choices in the equipment and training that we chose. In total this was about a $10,000 mistake, not including the time we could have saved by having the right equipment and software that would have significantly increased our productivity over the last year. If we had brought in the expertise last year that we sought this past week, we could have avoided this mistake.

REACH OUT! Talk to people, listen to people, and learn from other’s experiences and talents. The smartest people are “smart” because they take full advantage of the talents, knowledge and experiences that surround them

GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH?

2010-01-25T22:32:00.001-05:00

In our last blog we told a story about a gourmet bakery that turned into a pizza shop. Today we take a look at what went wrong.

To begin with, if your one and only goal is to make money however it can be made, then perhaps turning your dream bakery into a pizza shop is no big deal. “Go with the flow” may be your philosophy. There is nothing wrong with that if it works for you; but in the previous story, the owner ended up shutting down. He had not intended to become a pizza shop! It happened slowly with seemingly small daily decisions. He was focused on solving the problem of the day rather than looking into the future.

So what went wrong for this new business owner? First, the owner noticed his sales from the bakery items dropping. Instead of doing some research, talking to customers, and brainstorming with employees, he got busy making pizza. He was so busy that he never found time to look beyond what had to be done today.

Secondly, the owner did not make his decisions based upon his vision or long range goals. Instead, he made a decision based on what would help him out immediately. This decision making method may relieve some stress for the day, but tends to create problems in the future. His concern that sales were dropping made him jump at the first opportunity that arose. It solved an immediate need, but destroyed future opportunity. More importantly, the most successful business owners like what they do. They have a vision for their lives and their work and they work towards this every day. When an opportunity comes along that does not fit their vision, it doesn’t bother them to say “no.” They are willing to be creative and adapt, but always with an eye towards their vision.

What do you like to do and what is the vision for your company or department? This vision or purpose is what will keep you motivated. Consider whether today’s decision will keep you on course towards your vision or take you on a completely unchartered path you did not intend.

Just starting a business? I highly recommend reading The E Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber.

Surviving or Thriving?

2010-01-19T11:45:00.001-05:00

Surviving or Thriving?

Frank left his high power executive’s position to open a bakery. It had always been his dream and finally he was prepared to make the leap. After six months of hard work, his new bakery opened. Breakfast pastries, desserts, and wedding cakes were his specialties. Business was great for the first three months but then fell off significantly. Frank quickly grew very concerned about his small and declining profit margin. What was going wrong?

His bakery had been open for five months when a man came into his shop and asked if Frank made pizza. Frank answered “no, we are a bakery.”

The man replied “Yes I do love your pastries. However I need someone to make 125 pizzas for me every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s for large groups of teens we regularly host for training programs. Our training center is right across the street and I was just hoping you could help us out. We may need orders on occasional Saturday’s as well.”

Well, Frank’s eyes lit up as he calculated the profit he could make on a regular basis. He hated pizza, had no interest in making it, but after some discussion, he agreed. At least it would bring in some profit while he figured out how to make his bakery work.

The pizzas were a big hit. The teens loved them so much that they frequented Frank’s bakery asking for pizza! Frank had to add them to his menu. Pretty soon, 70% of his revenues were from pizza. He and his staff were so busy making pizza that little time was left to focus on the bakery items. Customers that did come in for bakery items were disappointed at the slim selection. Frank was so busy keeping up with the pizza business that no time was left for the planning, creative problem solving, and marketing needed to get his bakery back on track.

Six months later, Frank shut down his bakery turned pizza shop. He hated making pizzas. It was not his dream.

What went wrong? Actually Frank never took the time to determine what went wrong when his bakery sales dropped.

Is your business a gourmet bakery turned pizza shop? Is your business focused on surviving rather than thriving? Our next blog postings will focus on what went wrong and how to avoid this all too common problem.

Workforce Echoes Changing

2010-01-13T22:20:00.000-05:00

ECHOES OF OUR BUSINESS
This posting marks the official beginning to a totally new format and purpose for our blog. We’ll save the informative articles for our newsletter. As of today, this blog will focus on the challenges of opening and managing a business. Our blog will offer real experiences, practical advice, ideas, and stories of successes and failures. We’ll also provide links to great articles, recommendations for books, and links to resources that may be helpful for entrepreneurs, business owners, managers, or those of you who simply get bored easily and like to hear new ideas.

We will also keep you up-to-date on an important company goal. As a business, we value creativity and NOT doing something simply because it’s the way we’ve always done it. The world is changing too fast for that mindset. Plus, we get bored easily! We also value continual learning and our motto is “keep moving forward.” So, for Workforce Echoes we’ve challenged ourselves, as a business, to do at least 12 completely new things this calendar year. We’re looking at our annual goals, at new learning opportunities, new technology, new services, new certifications, new blog formats (!!) and all sorts of other potential NEW things to try. Some might be good, some might not work out as planned. We’ll live and learn and describe the experiences. Do you have any ideas for something new? Send them our way or let us know your own experiences.

Stay tuned!

Time Management

2009-12-06T01:05:00.000-05:00

As the holidays approach, I find it more and more difficult to keep all the balls in the air and manage my time well. Time management skills are one of those skill sets we assume are innate to all of us; it isn’t taught in schools and is rarely taught in the workplace. You’re just supposed to know how to do it well. Unfortunately, many people do not and I think I know one of the reasons why this is so.

All too often, as employers or as parents, we expect the most important life skills to just develop by osmosis. We are willing to teach math, and grammar, and science and technical skill. But how much effort do we, as parents or as employers, put into teaching time management, conflict management, presentation skills, and communication? The skills we neglect to teach are the same skills that can make or break a person’s career in any field.

Consider how we teach children conflict management skills. How often do you hear both parents and teachers alike saying that kids need to learn how to work their problems out on their own? So, I guess this means we expect them to learn something from fighting, screaming, or withdrawing? How exactly does this teach them how to do it right?

Let’s just take a look at my youngest son. He is 11 years old. He is supposed to do his assigned homework 5 nights per week. He is also supposed to spend one hour per week, any time he wants, on a math website to practice math facts. He has to complete three pages in his spelling book each week and turn them in on Friday. He has at least 3 tests or quizzes to study for each week. He is also supposed to read 30 minutes per day, five times per week. That is just his school assignments. He also has daily chores in the house and he is supposed to practice his guitar 4 times per week for 30 minutes. Now, how is he being taught time management? He isn’t! I am on his case constantly, reminding him what he is supposed to do and making sure that he doesn’t forget anything. I am his time management brain. There is so much for him to do and remember that I just assume I need to watch over him hourly. But what exactly am I teaching him? Just as importantly, how many employers are STILL doing this for their employees?

So, what’s the answer? Well Workforce Echoes just happens to have courses available for many of these important but often neglected life skills. Taking time to learn these skills can go a long ways towards successfully keeping all those balls in the air and continuously moving forward. As a parent, well, I’ve decided to start teaching our courses at home as well!

Communication Timing

2009-11-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

Timing is everything; even when it comes to communication. I was having a really bad day yesterday and it seemed to coincide with the day that EVERYONE wanted to talk to me. My Blackberry was not working properly, my internet was down, my computer froze, and I had someone who owed ME money telling me that I owed THEM money. I had twice as much work to finish as I could possibly complete. It was just one of those generally irritating days. In the midst of this, my phone rang off the hook with problems. People I haven’t talked to in months decided that yesterday was the day to call. My husband, mother, son and daughter all called within 30 minutes of each other. They all had problems I needed to resolve. During several of these calls I was sitting in a lengthy traffic jam. As the problems piled on, my patience grew shorter. It was not a good day to get my undivided and positive attention.
This all reminded me of the importance of timing when it comes to effective communication. Don’t you hate walking into the office in the morning and have someone hit you with a problem before you even make it to your desk? That’s bad timing. How about if you want a raise; would you ask your boss when she is clearly in a terrible mood? Would you decide to interrupt and begin explaining some detailed assignment to your colleague when he is fully engaged in another project? Here’s a favorite; how about waiting until you are fighting mad to resolve an important conflict with your co-worker? We all know that anger makes us stupid, yet we choose to battle our most important battles when we are angry.
If you ignore timing, you may present a fantastic idea, with all the right facts and emotion, yet still have it shot down. If you had waited a day, the same idea might have been approved. People do not make purely logical decisions. That would be too easy! Our emotions often take over our reactions. So if you present an idea to me when I’m having a bad day, I am likely to find all the potential problems and holes with your plan. On a good day I might view your idea as interesting and inspiring.
Good communication involves some logical thought and curbing impulsiveness. Consider the other person’s current state of mind, time schedule, and emotions. It is in YOUR own best interests to wait till the timing is right. Don’t let a bad day spoil a great idea.

Too Busy To Be Innovative and Creative!

2009-11-09T21:43:00.000-05:00

Years ago we began to see the words “creativity” and “innovation” appearing throughout business research, articles, and books. We have witnessed how fast that even a huge corporation can go out of business without creative strategic planning. Look at Blockbuster. Consider Tower Records. Think about the future fate of bookstores as more and more people are into downloading their books. On-line education is becoming ever more popular which may soon even impact our K-12 schools. Cell phones, computers, and cars are continuously being improved upon. The list goes on and on. Companies must not only HAVE great ideas these days, but must be faster than everyone else in implementing the ideas. Yet all too many businesses are struggling to get on this creative and innovative bandwagon.
Our economic problems have made creativity and innovation all the more challenging. Businesses are cutting back everywhere and employees are over-worked. Perks have been taken away. Incentives have been put on hold. There is little or no time for training or conferences or extra time off.
The problem here is that we are now too busy to think. A hectic environment, with “to do” lists several pages long is counterproductive to creativity and innovation. Stress also zaps creative energy. Creativity doesn’t just happen. It requires time, freedom, a break from routine, and a continuous exchanging of ideas.
I recently attended a conference for which I had to travel away from my office for a week. As usual, I came back from the conference filled with great ideas. I actually had time to think while I was away. Everyone I talked to at this conference felt the same way; that is, they always leave conferences or training programs ready to implement something new. But then the inevitable begins to happen. No time to think. There is so much work to be done that those new ideas begin to take a back burner, and, if you aren’t careful, will be forgotten. Keeping those new ideas moving forward takes concerted but worthwhile effort.
What’s the answer here? Simple. Setting aside time for creative thought should be viewed as a method to improve business rather than as a couple of hours wherein work is not being done. Brainstorming sessions are NOT a waste of time. I like to take every idea that is tossed out and, rather than thinking why it can’t be done, think through how it COULD be done. Set aside negative thinking and let imaginations prevail. Put together cross-functional teams, from all levels of the organization, and have them come up with a solution to a problem and a workable implementation plan. Monitor and encourage progress. Set up systems that foster the exchange of ideas.
You might think that you and the rest of your team just don’t have the luxury of extra time to be creative. But think again. It may actually be that you don’t have the luxury of NOT taking time to think. The economy will eventually begin to bounce back. If your business is going to be one that participates in the expansion, now might be a good time to allow creativity and innovation to become a normal part of your organizational culture. Put together an innovation team and let the ideas flow.

Presenting Ideas To A Difficult Manager?

2009-10-27T11:13:00.000-04:00

It is frustrating to have creative, marketable and potentially lucrative ideas that go nowhere because you can’t seem to communicate with your manager. Maybe she doesn’t listen well. Maybe she is a micromanager and likes her own ideas better. Whatever the reason, I would not suggest giving up easily. Here are three suggestions.
First, keep your emotions in check. Yes it is possible to be honest and polite at the same time. Focus on your end goal for the conversation and don’t give up. If you start throwing in comments like “I can’t ever get you to listen” or “your plan makes absolutely no sense” then be prepared for defenses to go up and the conversation to end poorly. Use “I” statements rather than “you” statements. Emotions will flare if you attack personality traits in any way. Stick to the facts as much as possible.
Second, take a few moments to consider your manager’s communication style. Does she prefer facts and figures or does she make decisions on gut reactions and an emotional pull? Does she prefer when people get right to the point, or does she like to hear all the details? Perhaps your natural communication style just doesn’t mix well with hers. Adapt. Provide the type of information that you know is important to her. Is she all about the bottom line? Do your research and have estimated bottom line projections. Adapting to your audience is always critical with persuasion.
Third, remember the dynamics of what goes on in people’s minds during potentially confrontational situations. If your manager begins to feel threatened or annoyed by your idea, her defenses will quickly go up. Don’t ignore this. Stop pushing your ideas and focus on her. Why is she feeling defensive? Ask questions, clarify, and bring the conversation back into the safety zone. Once things are back under control, continue delivering your plan.
Developing your great idea is the easy part. Gaining buy-in for the idea and then making it happen are the challenges. Learning to effectively present those great ideas will have a huge and positive influence on your career. It is worth the effort.

Entrepreneur's Rise!

2009-10-19T23:15:00.000-04:00

Are you getting nowhere in corporate America? Do you have dreams of starting your own business? Whether this is a distant dream for you or you’ve already started down the path of self employment, I’d like to offer some brief advice that I’ve learned the hard way.

First, find your strongest talents. It is so easy to begin a business and try to be a jack of all trades. In order to clearly define your strongest talents, talk to people who know you well. Also think about the types of projects that get you excited to head off to work. Fine tune what you do well and focus on that aspect for your business. It might mean turning down work that doesn’t fit your talents, but you will be more believable to your clients and more successful in the end.

Second, have a plan! Take the time to complete a business plan. Every successful business owner will tell you that a plan is essential, yet the lack of a creative plan is why so many businesses fail. Without the clear directions that a plan defines, you may not be happy where you end up. Remember that the world is changing fast and you must also take time to continuously fine tune long term plans. Do your goals still make sense given the changes that may have occurred in the past six months? If you do not set aside regular time to evaluate, you risk getting tunnel vision and missing great opportunities.

Third, network, network, network. Join associations and attend conferences. You will meet people who have successfully accomplished what you are trying to accomplish. You will get fresh ideas and meet people who could help you down the road AND who you can also help. Just like with so many things, running a business is all about relationships. Build them, everywhere. I have found that sometimes the most valuable aspect of attending a conference is the people that I meet. We share ideas and experiences and it has helped tremendously.

I often hear that “small is the new big” these days. In other words, small companies are taking over business in many ways. Small companies can adapt quicker and maintain lower overhead. There are also so many ways to market a business now at low or no cost that small companies are able to compete with large business. Expensive print and TV advertising is no longer a must.

One thing I know for sure. Everyone I talk to who is successfully self-employed, would never go back into the corporate world. That says a lot. Good luck!

Got Anger?

2009-10-07T23:25:00.001-04:00

I was out doing errands a couple of days ago and encountered two VERY ANGRY drivers; both of whom seemed to be angry at ME! First, I had the nerve to stop at a yellow light. Often I do view yellow lights as a signal to speed up. But this time, I decided to do the safe thing and slow to a stop as the light turned red. As I did this, the man behind me leaned on his horn, swung around me, opened his window, shook his fist and screamed some obscenity as he ran the red light.

A few minutes later I was driving through a parking lot searching for a parking space. I saw a space ahead on my right. I drive a big van so I have to swing a bit to the left in order to pull into the right hand space. I swung to the left and some car comes barreling around the corner and nearly hit me head on. I guess I was on her side of the road. She actually got out of her car with arms flailing around in order to scream and tell me what an x%$j*@ I was. Nevermind that she was driving 40 MPH through a parking lot.

It would be nice to think that I’ve never been as ridiculously angry as these two people. But, we’ve all had those days. May as well take our aggression out on strangers!

Here’s some advice. SOLVE THE REAL PROBLEM! Stop yelling at the wrong people! In any conflict situation you have three choices; you can ignore it, you can handle it poorly, or you can handle it well. You DO have a choice. Perhaps you are choosing to ignore too many problems. This often leads to resentment and increased anger. Handling a problem poorly will also escalate conflict. You get mad, scream and insult the other person, and then realize that the problem is now larger. Problems just seem to crop up all over the place. Then you get in your car, run red lights, and scream uncontrollably at innocent people on the road.
Here are three tips for controlling anger.

• First, remember that it IS a choice. You can choose to walk away and calm down first.
• Second, always remember your goal. Why are you having the conversation? What do you want? Is the relationship important to you? Focus on your goal in order to control emotion and allow logic to come back into focus.
• Third, remember that when you allow anger to take over, all brain power is lost. You WILL regret it. Choose to handle the situation well.
When you ignore too many problems, or handle problems poorly, you’ll find more and more reasons to be angry. That anger then destroys relationships, creates more problems, and even makes complete strangers want to hit you!! Remember that you do have a choice.

RULES, RULES, RULES!!!

2009-10-02T09:18:00.000-04:00

In your organization, how many of the rules and policies are in place because of problem employees? For example, let’s say you are allowed to send personal Emails from work. You don’t take advantage of this, but you do occasionally send a personal message to a friend or relative. You also get your job done. This all works really well until Mr. Problem is hired. He takes advantage of this use of Email. Every time the boss walks by his desk, Mr. Problem is sending personal Emails. What happens next? The boss writes a strict policy controlling the use of Email for the entire company.
Do you remember the freedom you felt when you went to college? You went from having MANY rules to follow from both parents and teachers. Be home by 11:00. Clean your room every Friday. No cell phones in class. If you’re late for class, you get detention. THEN, you go off to college. If you don’t want to clean your room, you don’t. If you want to carry a cell phone, you do. If you don’t want to go to class, you don’t. HOWEVER, you ARE held accountable in that if you flunk out, you’re out. No two ways about it. That freedom college students feel, yet also being held accountable, may be one of the reasons so many people think that college was one of the best times of their lives. The students with good habits and judgment rise to the top and the students with the worst habits and judgment flunk out.

Nordstrom, the famous upscale department store, used to hand ONE rule to new employees. It was given to them on an index card. The rule was:
Rule #1: Use good judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.
In recent years Nordstrom has added to those rules, most likely because problem employees took advantage of the “no rule” policy.

In most organizations, especially big business, rules are definitely needed. But the lesson here is to examine those unnecessary rules and policies. Which ones are in place because SOMEONE didn’t handle an employee problem well? Often, effective performance management practices can eliminate the need for a controlling rule or policy that zaps the joy out of work for the employees who DO have good habits and who DO use good judgment.

Employee Engagement?

2009-10-01T13:28:00.000-04:00

What’s all this talk about employee engagement? Why is it important? Employee engagement is the extent to which employees are fully involved and committed to their work, care about their organization and colleagues, and are willing to go the extra mile for their company to ensure its success. Managers with an engaged workforce understand that commitment outranks control.

In our last blog we discussed those employees with the “can do” attitudes. These are your engaged employees. Although some employees are naturally more motivated than others, there ARE some things you can do as a manger to improve engagement.

Remember a common sentiment most of us share; if I don’t matter, you don’t matter. If employees don’t feel that they are noticed and important in their company they are not likely to be “engaged.” We all want basically the same things. We want to be included, respected, and involved. Employees must feel that their jobs matter AND their opinions matter. Great leaders make everyone feel that they matter. You make them FEEL as if they matter by making them matter! There is no room for pretending here. Take time to listen to their opinions and ideas. Sometimes your way may not be the best way if it results in unmotivated and disengaged employees.

Managers should also offer challenge and, where possible, freedom. A challenge makes life interesting. Challenging work assignments have been directly linked to positive employee engagement. Without an occasional challenge, boredom and complacency set in. Studies have also proven that engagement increases when employees are given freedom to learn and choose how to best accomplish their assigned goals. Offer this wherever possible. Engagement pays off in the end!

Learn more about motivation in our course “Clocked In But Checked Out” at www.workforceechoes.com.

Want Productivity?

2009-09-16T12:36:00.000-04:00

IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE, ASK THE BUSIEST PERSON YOU KNOW!!

This is a lesson I grew up hearing from my mother, a very busy woman. I didn’t fully understand the truth in the statement until many years into my working career. If I need help, I do indeed tend to call very busy people. They are the ones who will enthusiastically help me out. They manage to accomplish many goals and still take on that extra task, attend that extra meeting, help a friend, offer a new idea, or plan that new event. Now, we all know people who SAY they are really busy, but don’t seem to accomplish much of anything. These are your “pretend” busy people. They either don’t have the motivation to do much of anything, don’t understand what “busy” really means, or are just busy running in circles. Either way, these people are not the ones to count on when you need something done.

At Workforce Echoes we have done extensive research on motivation and time management; two important ingredients to getting things done. Watch our blog over the next couple of weeks for tips on hiring, developing and retaining those “can do” employees who you can always count on for help

Job Hunting?

2009-09-09T22:59:00.000-04:00

I met a nurse today while at a doctor’s office. I overheard her complaining that she couldn’t get Craig’s List to come up on her computer. Long story short, she was looking for a job. Red flag!! How many employees in your organization are looking for a new job on company time? More importantly, if you’re the manager, you might want to find out WHY they are looking for another job. The nurse I met today said she was leaving because of a new employee with a bad attitude. She gave me all sorts of examples of how this new employee had insulted her and provided poor customer service to patients. The supervisor in charge of the office had no idea any of this was happening. This nurse didn’t want to complain, so she just planned to find a new job and leave.

A key missing ingredient in this situation is communication. You can’t manage a problem that isn’t communicated to you. This lack of communication leads to clients, like me, getting an earful from disgruntled employees. I wonder how many people this nurse talked to, describing how awful it was to work in this doctor’s office. Not only might good customers walk out the door, never to return, but you may also have good employees walk out while the problem employees stay. Open, honest and frequent communication is vital in ANY business. Maybe tomorrow you could walk around your own office and find out what’s going on. See if Craig's List is up on anyone’s computer!!

Parent or Manager?

2009-09-01T23:08:00.000-04:00

Have you ever noticed how similar parenting is to managing employees? In fact, I think that an outstanding parent could be a great choice for your next management vacancy!

In both your family and work settings, performance management is an on-going process. Do you wait to talk to your kids till the year-end performance appraisal? Hopefully not. How many children will keep their room neat and tidy if parents don’t monitor it? In turn, how many employees will go that extra mile if no one notices? Similarly, in management or parenting, there must be repercussions when expectations aren’t met. There must also be rewards for outstanding accomplishments and behavior. In both settings you must be sure that your rewards actually motivate and your repercussions actually deter. Just think about the kid who chooses to NOT come home by his curfew since staying out late with his friends is far more rewarding than the one minute of yelling he’ll hear from his mom. In the business setting, think about the employee who would rather sleep late and arrive late to work, since it’s likely no one will notice, than to get up earlier to arrive on time.

How about training and development? Well, again, good parenting practices cross over with good management practices. Many managers will opt to do things themselves rather than take the time to teach an employee, or provide training, so that he or she can do something better on their own. This leads to an over-worked and stressed out manager. At home we’ll see the parent who does EVERYTHING for their child. Again, this leads to over-worked and stressed out parents. Effective parenting AND effective managing involve taking the time to teach and coach on a daily basis. It might seem time consuming now, but it saves time down the road.

There are many more examples. I’ll leave you with my favorite. Your relationship with your child or employee is the key. Destroy that, and everything else will follow. Once trust and respect are gone, your child or employee will no longer be open to your advice, coaching, or guidance.

The next time you’re hiring a manager, you might consider an experienced and effective parent!

Employee Motivation and Budget Cuts

2009-08-27T21:47:00.000-04:00

As I review the business headlines each day, and read my various human resources magazines and newsletters, I am beginning to see a theme. It seems that since the economy is bad, businesses are figuring out all the possible ways to suck the joy from employee’s jobs. Layoffs are requiring additional work for many. No bonuses this year, pay cuts instead of raises, no training, no conferences, and no Christmas parties. I have even read about some businesses that now count the number of pencils each employee is given. If you need more than 3 in a month, bring your own.

I am a business owner too, and am well aware of the need to tighten the budget, buckle down and do what we need to do to make it through bad times. HOWEVER, don’t forget the value of motivated and satisfied employees. You might tighten the budget so much that productivity takes a nose dive along with the economy.

Most people are motivated by many factors other than money. Find those free or inexpensive methods to help employees feel appreciated and keep that motivation high to weather the storm. Is your training budget cut down to zero? This is a good time to start an in-house mentoring program. No money for bonuses? Give everyone an extra day off. No money for the annual Christmas party? Have a potluck dinner in the office.

Check out our guide on putting enthusiasm back into the workplace. It is filled with no cost or low cost ideas for adding fun into the daily work day.

Realize Your Great Idea!

2009-08-19T16:57:00.000-04:00

We all have those occasional great and creative ideas. But how often do they go nowhere? Often we’ll start trying to sell our idea before we’ve actually thought through all the details. Then everyone begins pointing out all of the obstacles and why your idea won’t work. Next time, try something different. Keep the idea to yourself a little longer. Research it a bit. Put together a short presentation and think ahead about how to work around potential obstacles. Think of every possible "NO" and find the answers that will make it a "YES." A well planned persuasive, inspiring and informative presentation, even if very short, may get your further than a half thought out idea mentioned over lunch. Use stories, they are more memorable than facts. Use pictures rather than wordy slides and bullet points. Also, don’t forget to REHEARSE! At Workforce Echoes we develop executive presentations for our clients and have found rehearsal to make the difference between selling your idea and stumbling through a presentation.

If you want to learn how to build inspiring and memorable presentations, check out the PowerPoint Live conference in October in Atlanta. We highly recommend this conference.

http://www.betterppt.com/powerpoint_live/

Speaking of Innovation!

2009-08-14T10:56:00.001-04:00

What’s all this talk about innovation?

Is YOUR company innovative? We hear more and more about this topic because today the world changes more in a year than it used to change in 50 years. Technology, medical advances, communication, science and other areas are developing at exponential rates. It used to be that being creative and innovative helped your business stand out from the rest. Now it is the difference between surviving or getting run over.

Given our poor economy, many businesses prefer to look for quick solutions, low risk solutions, or the “low hanging fruit.” Leaders become risk averse. I read a great book related to this topic, “Blue Ocean Strategy” by Kim and Mauborgne. The authors contend that too many industries compete in over-crowded territory. The key is to find uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant. Think about all the huge corporations today that didn’t even exist 20 years ago. Cell phones, social networking, Ipods, and a long list of other once innovative thoughts have changed the way we live and communicate. Innovation is about seeing the opportunities in a problem rather than just the obstacles. Are bookstores going out of business? Not if they think outside the box, find opportunities, and change the way they do business. “We’ve always done it this way” just doesn’t cut it anymore.

What's your strategy and goal for your business, school or association over the next 3 to five years? How do you want to be positioned in the marketplace? Are you paying attention to the trends in your industry, the met and unmet needs in your customer base?

Begin by encouraging new ideas and thoughts from all employees; then act on the best of those ideas. Hold a brainstorming session, evaluate the ideas, then put plans in place to turn the best ideas into action.

You can find Blue Ocean Strategy on www.amazon.com.

You Should Have Listened To ME!

2009-08-12T10:00:00.000-04:00

Do you ever feel this way? Like, if everyone would just LISTEN to you, the world would be a better place. The subject could be politics, religion, family matters, or how to run a business. I do sympathize with you and know that indeed it is exhausting to always have the answers but not the power of persuasion. You might like one of George Carlin’s quotes:

“The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.”

Let me make a suggestion that might help you out. I’ll start by admitting that I don’t really have all the answers. Actually, I’ve realized that the more I learn, the more I think I need to learn.
George Carlin’s quote seems just perfect for many situations. But every now and then, try something new. Consider Stephen Covey’s famous quote:

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

One of the keys to communication, including persuasion, is to LISTEN. Often, there is not one best answer. I know it often seems like there is only one answer, but this mindset shuts down communication., and that won’t help you much at all. What seems “right” depends on your perspective, assumptions, experiences, skills, personality, family background etc. etc. You already know what YOU think. Trying being quieter and asking questions. Listen, really listen, rather than search for weaknesses in their argument. Instead, let your goal be to understand. The understanding and information you gather will help you formulate your own comments that will greatly increase your power of persuasion. If you truly practice the art of active listening, you might even alter your opinion on the topic. Maybe not! But, it’s a possibility. You will also have made the other person feel heard and hopefully understood, which makes them more open to listen to YOU.
Remember also that famous saying:

Wise men (and women) are quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

Check out our communication and conflict management courses
www.workforceechoes.com

Jerks At Work, Good, Bad, Or Both?

2009-08-07T17:00:00.000-04:00

Have any of you ever had the unfortunate experience of working with a jerk? Robert Sutton has written a book on this subject that is receiving a lot of attention. The problem with jerks is that often their abrasive personalities are tolerated because they seem to “get results”. We measure their sales for instance, but don’t measure the costs associated with this “jerkish” behavior. Customers are lost. Good employees leave. Other employees hate coming to work because they have to deal with the jerk.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, in Time Magazine, defends jerks at work. See her article at this link:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1601864,00.html

She asks what American Idol would be like without Simon?

“Good point” you might think. But the American public loves tuning in to watch Simon and most respect his opinion. He makes about a hundred gazillion dollars a season for all those associated with American Idol. The benefits clearly outweigh the costs and I doubt there are many on the American Idol staff that want to see him leave. This is not your typical “jerk at work” story.

What do you think? Our suggestion is to identify and focus on specific unacceptable behaviors rather than telling the employee to stop being a jerk. We also highly recommend dealing with unacceptable behaviors immediately, before being a jerk becomes contagious in your organization. This isn’t to say that all jerks are lost causes. By focusing on specific behaviors that need improvement, perhaps you’ll get lucky and turn the jerk into a star employee.

What is the purpose of coaching?

2009-08-06T17:09:00.000-04:00

What is the purpose of coaching? Can we define that for the world, or should each business define the goals of their coaching program and strategy? I think the later. A recent article titled “Coaching, does it add value” by Maurice Duffy seems to offer an opposite point of view.

Duffy believes that too often, coaching is implemented “to address specific personal development needs, and becomes a 'soft' patchy interaction that meanders for months, making the coach money and the individual happy” but producing no measurable benefit.

Perhaps your coaching program was put into place in order to address personal development needs; assuming these needs meet the needs of the organization. Perhaps it is put into place to improve “soft skills” such as interpersonal communication. While I believe Duffy takes too harsh of a viewpoint on coaching, it IS important to fully define the purpose of your coaching program before investing a dime.

Read Duffy’s full article at: http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2009/07/14/51419/coaching-does-it-add-value.html

Budgets Cuts Are Taking A Toll On Employee Engagement

2009-08-05T10:08:00.000-04:00

A survey released today by Marquette University’s College of Professional Studies and The QTI Group found that Milwaukee-area companies are concerned that recent budget cuts in travel, employee training, educational reimbursement, and charitable contributions are taking a toll on employee engagement and recruiting efforts. Did we really need a large scale survey to find out this information? By now it should be common sense. The problem is that some people still want to see additional data showing that investments in employees truly pays off.

"Companies and organizations who recognize that their employees are their only truly sustainable resource will add value by continuing to offer education and professional development opportunities. The smart organizations will be well positioned for the coming economic upturn with an educated workforce," commented Dr. Robert Deahl, Dean of the Marquette University College of Professional Studies.

See the article at: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=166201

E-learning?…. What's Hot!, What's Not!

2009-07-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

What do you hate about all of the current e Learning websites and options? Employees make plans to spend time on an e Learning program, but do not give it the priority they give to a conference or training seminar they sign up to attend. They allow other things, almost ANYTHING, to take precedence and the learning gets put off, week after week. Tracking completion and offering incentives for completing e Learning programs should be high priority. Even better, offer incentives for improved performance that results from the e Learning program.