HR Vitamin

Behind Motivation

2012-02-06T22:13:00.001-05:00

"Start with good people, lay out the rules, communicate with your employees, motivate them and reward them. If you do all those things effectively, you can't miss." --- Lee Iacocca

There is nothing more frustrating in business than to have a talented, unmotivated employee. Nothing is more detrimental to your business either. An employee that is not motivated will eventually bring down other team members working close by.
Its been said that it is easier for someone on the floor to pull down someone standing on a chair than it is the other way around.

But, a leader that creates an environment where the vision and purpose of the business, as well as the work itself, oozes with a culture of motivation will find strength in numbers. The magical motivational factor will begin to take shape.

There are many factors that can be applied when embarking on developing a culture of motivation. Here are three that can be implemented immediately:

1.) Tell the story. We've listened to leaders complain about this employee or that one that is just not giving their all. We've heard, "They don't seem motivated and don't care about the business like I do." This is usually true and it is no wonder, they don't have much to get excited about when the leader isn't communicating what there is to get excited about. True, you are motivated and on fire to make the business extremely successful, but your team members have no clue what you are feeling. They haven't heard the war stories of how much blood, sweat, and tears came out of you to get the business where it is today. Take the time to tell your story. Let them know how passionate you are about the business because of where you see the business going. Believe me, they do not know.

2.) Show the way. After you've painted a picture of where you've been and how you feel, now show them where they are going. Let them know repeatedly the destination of the journey as well as the course that will be taken to get there. If you don't, your team members are floundering in the water and after a while they lose steam. To keep them motivated, constantly communicate to them where you are taking them and remind them that they are in the driver's seat as well.

3.) Celebrate the journey. Company parties shouldn't be just for the major holidays. Celebrate as many successes in the company as possible. Celebrate the lives of your team members. If an employee closes a sale, recognize it and celebrate it. If an employee has a baby, celebrate it. If a project is completed on time, a customer sends in a note of appreciation, the leaking faucet in the bathroom gets repaired--- CELEBRATE!

Adopt these three right way and watch the culture begin to change. You are on your way to a more motivated workforce.

Leading Like Joe Paterno

2012-01-23T12:30:00.002-05:00

"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd." --- Max Lucado

You've probably heard that Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State football coach, died this past weekend. If your only knowledge of him was that he coached and was fired as the result of a scandal involving one of his assistant coaches, then have missed out on some good lessons on developing and leading people.

In a 2010 Sporting News interview, Paterno was asked what it is that he tries to communicate to his recruits, Paterno responded, "It's a great opportunity for a kid. Get a good education, understand what football can do for them, a sense of loyalty, commitment, how as a group you can get some things done, good things. But, most of all, they better go to class." JoePa's coaching style was not winning games at all costs, but using the football program to help kids develop discipline and instill hard work for winning in life.

There are many takeaways that can be gleaned from analyzing JoePa's coaching style we can apply to our businesses, but let's look at four strong ones:

1.) Leading like Joe Paterno requires caring. Joe Paterno and his wife, Sue, used to open up their modest home to tutor players who were falling behind in their studies. Paterno once said that there are many pro football players playing today that sat at his kitchen table every morning to get help from Sue. Paterno cared for his players. He felt a responsibility for them. Not just so they would do well on the football field (not just so your employees will do well on the job), but so they will achieve individual success. Your concern for your team member's success only enhances their potential and their success in your business. Some side benefits include loyalty and dedication to their jobs.

2.) Leading like Joe Paterno requires sharing. Paterno gave not only of his time, but he gave a huge chunk (in the millions) of his income to Penn State. He could not legally give money to his players, but when in want he used his network to get the help his players would need--- whether it was assistance for a player's family or helping a player with gainful employment after graduation. Sharing your resources, including paying top dollar for top performance, increases chances for your team's success.

3.) Leading like Joe Paterno requires sacrificing. When Paterno was coaching Penn State, he would often bench a star player for an infraction. This would often cost the team in terms of performance, but Paterno knew that if a team member wasn't working toward the team goals, that player would eventually act as a cancer destroying morale throughout the team. Paterno was willing to sacrifice in order to mold particular players into the full potential he knew they were capable of. There are times when the player (employee) must be cut free. It is a sacrifice and you may even have to step in and take some of that employee's workload, but the alternative may be too costly.

4.) Leading like Joe Paterno requires patience. Paterno knew he had a foundation of players to work with, but that a championship win would only come if everyone came together as a strong team. He knew that took time. He was willing to work with each team member in order to get them to a level that both he and the player knew they could be. In business, cutting loose an employee too early is costly. If your hiring process is solid, you know the potential of the person you are bringing on board. Don't give up on them until you are certain there is no way they will ever fit on the team. Developing a good team requires patience.

Always Learning

2012-01-10T18:28:00.007-05:00

"Miss a meal if you have to, but don't miss a book." --- Jim Rohn

We so often expect our team members to stay abreast of new developments and new trends that affect our business. We may offer trade magazines or email links to various sites and news bulletins and then expect all of that information to be absorbed to be used when the need arises. This is a good thing and may help in some situations. But what about long term? Is there an approach we can take for our employees that will help to build a desire for continual learning?

I may have the answer. While conducting a job analysis for a client, I was interviewing an employee who confessed to me that she has never read a book. This employee was in a key position that required her to stay informed regarding timely information about financial markets.

Now, I know a lot of people who would rather read magazine articles and short snippets on the internet, but this employee was in a sales position that I would have assumed at least read some sales books that could help her in her job. She told me, "I think I would have a difficult time getting through a book and would probably find it boring."

I found this astonishing, so we did a informal survey while continuing with the analysis and found that many more of my client's employees do not read books. It is not that a business cannot succeed without its employees reading books, but I do believe it will help accelerate the success. As a side road to the project I was hired to perform, I suggested to the client that he create a business library for his employees. This suggestion started a discussion that extended for several days and eventually included six of his team members.

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." --- Groucho Marx

We encouraged them to start a book club that can meet twice a month to discuss various business, sales, philosophy, communication, and personal development books. The client wants to create a team that is always learning, always stretching to be more so they can do more and the business and the employees can earn more.

Learn more to earn more... works for me! For some suggested reading, check out the Shelfari bookshelf on the right side of this page.

Natalie Wood Uncovered

2011-12-12T14:27:00.001-05:00

"Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable." --- George S. Patton

More than thirty years after actress Natalie Wood was found dead, floating in the water near Catalina Island, CA, the case of her death, which was ruled an accident in 1981, has been reopened. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's department wants to review more evidence uncovered by author Margaret Rulli in her book, "Goodbye Natalie Goodbye Splendour."

This is an interesting story not just because of all the glamour that surrounded Wood in her Hollywood heydays, but because of the evidence uncovered and that can be used 30 years later.

In your business, what will your past bring forth that might cause anxiety or pain? Is there an unresolved issue with a disgruntled employee? Were there bridges burned that might now need to be rebuilt? And finally, are there lessons from way back there that you can resurrect that will apply to today's challenges?

Let's explore all three with some tips on how uncovering the past might be a good thing. You might not find Jimmy Hoffa or Spanish medallions, but you will get other nuggets of value.

1.) Is there an employee that made threats or left disgruntled from your organization? If so, blow off the dust from his files and make sure that all of your documentation is up to date. Did he sign for your employee handbook? Did he receive training in areas of his job description? Was his I-9 form properly handled from start to finish?

These are the questions you want to ask yourself or your HR person. Obviously, you need to have all documentation up to date for all employees, but take extra precautions for those employees sending up red flags based on their actions or their reasons for leaving.

This is also a good time to ensure that all documentation is up to date on every team member. You don't want the past to come back to haunt you because you didn't take the time to do the simple things now.

2.) It is never too late to look up old contacts that may have dropped off of your radar because of burned bridges in the past. Perhaps there was a parting with a vendor over pricing issues, deliveries or just plain stubbornness on the part of both parties. Now is the time to look to see if that relationship can be mended. You may both be able to profit from a new beginning.

Maybe there is a prospect you gave up on years ago. Hopefully, you kept a good customer relationship management record and can call on him or her again. There might be a competitor you refused to associate with long ago. Look that business up and find out what they are doing. They might be able to partner with you on a project or perhaps they are under new management and want to send some business your way.

3.) Finally, what mistakes from the past did you learn valuable lessons from that you could apply to your business today? Sometimes, we forget the bumps and bruises along the way and bury them in the past. Those lessons learned the hard way are wasted if left in history. Take time to think about the stumbles you've had and use them to teach your team members. A good story after work or at lunch goes a long way in letting your team know what you've learned, how you learned it, and how it sets the foundation for your company's mission today.

Occupy This

2011-10-24T15:00:00.002-04:00

And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures survival of the fittest in every department. --- Andrew Carnegie

While the media is in a frenzy covering "Occupy Wall Street," and "Occupy Any-Other-City-That-Brings-Attention," businesses are moving forward doing what businesses do... making things and providing services that satisfy a need in the community, that creates jobs for people in that community, and pays taxes for public services rendered to that community.

For all the hoopla surrounding the brouhaha of occupying things, it seems that the interests of the public can bests be served by occupying the workplace. I'm certain that some of the participants of these demonstrations have some real issues that bug them, but as business leaders, perhaps we can help our team members to stay focused on real production by keeping them occupied with their calling of duty.

For example, a good way to keep team members engaged is to find out what it is that keeps them on fire in their work. Hopefully, most of this was accomplished at the interviewing, hiring, and orientation level, but still some employees may find that their reasons for being has changed over time and now it is time to help them find their groove.

If an employee was exceptional at one time, but now his or her performance seems to be going downhill, take the time have a chat with this team member. It may be some personal issues they don't wish to share with you, it may be health issues, or it may be that they are simply getting bored with their jobs.

There are three things you can do today with this person to help them find out what they are best suited for within your organization:

1.) Ask them what it is they really want to do. Communication is the first step in determining is your team members are content in what they are doing. Find out if they understand what the mission of the business is and how what they are doing contributes to the overall success of the company and how that helps them to be successful. Use this interviewing time to see where the hurts are. Jot down key words and phrases they use to describe their work environment and their job satisfaction.

2.) Help them to determine what it is they want to do. It may be a simple lateral move to a new position or it could be as drastic as helping them to find a job with someone else. Using tools such as the DISC profile as well as others can help the employee hone in on what it is that makes them tick and that makes them happy in their job and therefore more productive in their work.

3.) Place them into what it is they want to do. Don't just take the time to interview the employee and then not use that information to make productive changes. Place the employee into a position that is available and that suits their strengths, desires, ability, and knowledge. Again, you may have to cut this employee loose, but do so with understanding and assistance from you. Use this experience as a learning tool for you and the employee. Let this team member know that you want them to be successful and happy in what they do.

These three steps will help to ensure that your employees are occupying positions that propel them and the company forward.

Band of Brothers

2011-09-13T21:50:00.003-04:00

"Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and can be of service to him. And blessed is he who loves his brother as well when he is afar off as when he is by his side, and who would say nothing behind his back he might not, in love, say before his face." --- St Francis of Assisi.

There are five boys and one sister in my family. Three of us boys run our own businesses that are in entirely different industries. We have on occasion helped one another when help was needed and it always amazes me how well we work together. We understand each others strengths and weaknesses (though they would say they have no weaknesses--- Ah, the friendly jabs of a brother), and we adjust the task assignments based on our personalities.

The success of our projects depends on the harmony of our work together. Our working together smoothly with great focus and as one unit didn't happen overnight. Nor did it come about because we attended a one-day seminar on team building. No, this type of in-sync workflow happened because of years of developing an understanding of each others personality type, plus years of being taught the importance of hard work by caring parents.

Where one brother may lack a particular personality trait, the other brother picks up the slack and runs with it. If one brother slips, another is there to break the fall, pick up the pieces, or carry him home.

It should work the same in every business. There should be a "Band of Brothers" mentality throughout the company and the good news is that it won't take years to develop that kind of workforce. There are three things that you can start this week to develop a tighter, more harmonious team:

1.) Oh Brother Where Art Thou?- Open the channels of communication between coworkers and allow them to know each other better and learn how they can rely on one another. Shorten communication channels to make this possible. Encourage face-to-face contact whenever possible and drop the texting and emailing unless absolutely necessary.

Share job descriptions of employees working closely together, especially those who are holding another accountable or are accountable to another, so that they can learn how their work processes fit into the scheme of the business.

2.) Brother to Brother- Incorporate a personality test into the hiring process of your business and allow team members to learn who they are as well as who they are working with. Tests such as DISC and Meyers Briggs are good for determining a basis for knowing thyself. They are eye-opening tests that let employees better understand why coworkers act, react, work, and think like they do.

3.) Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?- Finally, challenge team members to seek opportunities for helping a coworker with a task. This is best started using role playing and mock exercises to illustrate the importance of picking up a brother when he (or she) is down. By allowing (empowering) another team member to pick up the slack increases the reliability on that person. Both parties benefit from the action. The helped, because he knows now that he can rely on another and the helper, because he is stretched while at the same time serving another.

They both now know each other through better communication and understanding personalities. The harmonious workflow experienced with my brothers can be duplicated by adopting the above three steps and reinforcing the importance of all three on a regular basis.

Great Expectations

2011-08-08T11:52:00.002-04:00

"We tend to live up to our expectations." --- Earl Nightingale

The production factor of an employee shoots skyward when that employee knows what is expected of him. It increases even more when that employee knows how their part in the production process contributes to the overall bottom line of the business.

Here are four steps you can use to make sure that your employees know what is expected of them:

1.) Communicate what -- Whether it is a new hire or a seasoned employee, communicating what needs to be done is a given. It seems too obvious to even list here, but so many employers allow their employees to take off running without giving them direction on what needs to be done. The basic tool to explain the "what" begins with a well-written job description. Beyond that, employees need to have either a fellow employee or supervisor to serve as mentor until the what becomes second nature.

2.) Communicate how -- The "how" of the what can and should also be included in the job description. This too is a critical area that the mentor or trainer can train and educate the employee on the best practices to follow for the best outcome of the job.

3.) Communicate when -- Parameters should be spelled out clearly in the employee handbook as to when the employee is to report to work, the times of breaks and lunch periods, and when the shift will end. Beyond these boundaries, the employee will need precise and clear instructions on the time limits of special projects he or she might be required to complete.

4.) Communicate why -- Probably the most neglected and for sure one of the most important elements of communicating expectations is the "why." Communicating the why is so important because it gives the employees the sense of being a part of the cause. Knowing the why seals the deal for them in that it causes the employee to take ownership of the work process or project. It is the icing on the cake of the what, how, and when.

Remember that when communicating with employees, it is helpful to state your expectations (the what, how, when, and why) several times and in several different ways. I recommend communicating both verbally and in writing and then repeat the communication again over time using different styles.

Uncovering Talent

2011-06-26T21:35:00.002-04:00

"A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said, "I love your pictures -- they're wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera." He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: "That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove." --- Sam Haskins

As the economy continues to heal from its scratches and bruises, we've seen business leaders getting creative in discovering the strengths and skills of their employees and the impact that has on the bottom line. We see the smart players rewarding those employees wearing different hats and saving the business leader from having to hire a new employee. But, we've also seen some leaders let the good ones get away.

It is estimated that a employee departure can cost an organization between 30% to 150% of their salary. That will put quite a dent into the balance sheet, but even more so when you consider the unnoticed and untapped talent that is also walking out the door.

Today we'll address five best practices for recognizing talent, getting them on board, and keeping them:

1.) Recruiting -- A new hire should be someone that has invested in themselves, made good career decisions, understands why they want to be a part of your organization, is an excellent communicator and a team player. Don’t hire quickly based on gut feel, but rather take time in the interviewing process to let the candidate get a feel for your culture and your company. Don't oversell the company and be sure to disclose all the problems and weaknesses of the organization so that the new hire can make a good, sound decision.

2.) Training -- I cannot stress this practice enough: You must conduct ongoing training in order to keep your team seeking the same objectives and working toward the same goals. In order to create a homogeneous culture and to have a continuity of messaging everyone, regardless of experience, needs to go through the same training process. Training and continuing education programs need to be available to encourage and stimulate professional growth. Training programs is one area where you begin to uncover hidden talents.

3.) Leadership -- Leaders can and should serve as mentors. Mentoring can include coaching, troubleshooting, inspiring, motivating and leading an employee to achieve success. Often, poor performance is indicative of poor leadership and can stifle true talents. Good leaders uncover and assist in developing real talent.

4.) Support -- Retaining talented employees is largely an issue of building a platform and culture that positions your employees for success. If your employees are not given the administrative, marketing and leadership support necessary to successfully thrive in their role, then you have set them up to fail. Talented employees, the ones that you want on your team, will not stay with you very long if there is not information sharing as well as the freedom to use their talents in a way that best serves your business.

5.) Recognition -- Recognition includes everything from compensation, working environment, advancement/promotion, ownership, participation, and internal and external awards. If your culture doesn’t reward your employees for their contributions they will close up their talents like a clam and not share their efforts toward your goals. Take time to offer a handshake (sometimes with a $20 or $50 in it!), a genuine "Thank You," a dinner for two, or anything creative that shows how much it means to you that they used their talents for the good of the company. You might be surprised how many other uncovered talents show themselves in the future.

Five Steps for Handling Employee Conflict

2011-06-12T20:29:00.000-04:00

Mark Twain said, “Always acknowledge a fault frankly. This will throw those in authority off their guard and give you opportunity to commit more.” Too bad more employees have not learned to confess when they are at fault. There is no doubt that most conflicts would resolve themselves if this were the case, but since the opposite is true, we need to educate ourselves and implement best practices to be followed when the time calls for it.

There are five basic steps an employer can take to resolve dissonance in the workplace within safe legal territory:

1.) Acknowledge the conflict

- This seems obvious at first glance, but more often than not, the employer or HR manager may sense the tension in the office or shop, but with so many fires to put out, they usually hope that the dispute simply fizzles out. Inaction is likely one of the worse and costlier choices.

2.) Meet, Share and Agree

- Meet with the parties involved and have them list situations in which they must work together. Ask both parties to carefully listen to what the other says and repeat it in their own words to make sure both sides are communicating and understanding each other. This can take time, but it defines the issue and builds the foundation for resolving it.

Legendary communicator, Dale Carnegie, said "Seek first to understand and then to be understood." That is the foundation of step number two. Get agreements on the type of behaviors employees will exhibit in order to get their tasks accomplished. Behind closed doors, let both parties agree in the process and also emphatically let them know what's at stake: no one wants to be perceived as a trouble maker or as difficult to handle.

To some extent, expectation defines the result. If you indicate, by your actions, content, or voice tone, that you expect less than full adult behavior, that's what you are likely to get. Remind them that words, even idle chitchat, have meaning and consequences.

3.) Create an issue resolution process

- This fundamental tool for reducing wasted time spent on what is often frivolous quarreling should be incorporated into your employee handbook. Several templates to accomplish this task are available through SHRM and other online resources. Giving appropriate praise to employees willing to navigate this process within a positive frame of mind will divert the attention they get as either the victim or perpetrator.

At Delta Faucet, in Jackson, Tenn., it is understood that team leaders should not be involved in refereeing disagreements on the team because it takes time away from important tasks. Instead, employees are trained in conflict management and required to follow a specific course of action when conflicts arise. Perhaps not all companies have the time to invest in this kind of training, but having a process in place is an acceptable runner up to achieve the desired result.

4.) Focus on behaviors, not personalities

- This is a crucial tool that helps others understand that their entire person is not coming under scrutiny and that the challenge at hand is solely based on one or more particular behaviors instead. By understanding this concept employees walk out of meetings feeling engaged instead of defeated.

5.) Strike an open-door policy balance

- Encourage accountability and growth and let employees know that open door does not mean "open dumping ground." But also remind them that you are available to coach them on how to work through specific situations. This will give them a sense that they truly are your most valuable asset and will ignite a desire to self-arbitrate future challenges.

It's been said that conflict is inevitable and resentment is optional. Protecting your business begins with creating a culture that understands this and values conflict management. In addition to including conflict-resolution action steps in your employee handbook, be sure to clearly communicate that management or HR must always be notified of and involved in certain types of conflicts. Particularly those in which there are indications of physical violence, harassment, theft, or illegal substance use.

Conflict is not always the evil it is made to be. In fact, when teams learn to capitalize from this friction is when groups take positive action, reexamine decisions, and ground-breaking ideas are born. A good fire is impossible without friction; it is up to you and your leadership teams to funnel this friction into a catalyst for innovation and productivity.

It's Not My Job!

2011-05-25T10:57:00.002-04:00

How many times have you heard an employee pass the buck when asked about an unfinished project? Or, if not actually heard this from an employee, at least witnessed it expressed through their actions. This employee is limited to do their job barely to the extent of their job description and no more. "It's not my job," is their motto and it is this type of attitude in an employee that can spread like a cancer to other members of your team causing harm to your business.

Ultimately, it is your responsibility to remedy the situation and to either get this team member back on board and 100% in the game or to send this person on their way to finding a job elsewhere.

"Too many leaders act as if the sheep.. their people.. are there for the benefit of the shepherd, not that the shepherd has responsibility for the sheep." ---Ken Blanchard

There are three critical steps that you as a business owner or leader can do to ensure that all of your team members are willing to give their all for the future of the organization as well as for their future success:

1.) Create Ownership -- It is a proven fact that your employees will be more productive, more into the game as a team member, and more on board with helping the business achieve its goals if you allow them to own their job. After you've sunk so much time and so much money into finding the key personnel for your business, doesn't it make sense to allow them to do what they were hired to do? If you have to babysit them and micro-manage every aspect of their job, didn't you mis-hired. You didn't really trust your gut on this one. You wasted your time and their time.

Coors Brewery had a strong union at one time. The union members fought with management for years for decent wages, good working conditions, and a chance to get supervisors off their backs. The tension was at a constant high day in and day out.

Then, something changed. Management began to treat employees with respect. They began trusting those they hired to get the job done. Over time, the employees of Coors voted to no longer be represented by a union.

Don't allow a union mentality to develop in your business. Once you hire a person, let them do their job. Provide guidance and help when needed, but let them own the job. If they fail, let everyone learn from it and then move on. Give them the freedom to work.

2.) Share Ownership -- If you really want your employees to shine, give them a piece of the pie. Profit-sharing or other forms of sharing of the business gives the employee a sense of pride that shows in their work. No longer will you see or hear, "It's not my job," but you will witness overlapping where one employee will stay late to assist another with a project. While on location at a client's business, I witnessed a member of the office staff pick up a piece of trash in the parking lot on her way to lunch. She took pride in the appearance of "her" business.

Sharing the company with employees gives them the opportunity to see how their work impacts the greater good of the business and that what is good for the business is good for their bottom line as well.

3.) Take Ownership -- Finally take ownership of your business. You probably have more blood, sweat and tears put into the business than anyone else working there. If you find an employee that can't pull their weight or won't do their job, it is time to re-train them or let them go. As my good friend Tim says, "If they tell you they won't or they can't, believe them." In other words, don't try to fight them if they are not willing to change. Believe them and wish them well in the future endeavors.

You don't have to keep an employee who does not want to be on your team. So many employers are afraid to fire an employee. News stories about lawsuits and employees with a team of lawyers scares the britches off of some business leaders. Don't let it! If you've kept good records, treated the employee fairly, but the fit just isn't there, send them down the road.

If They're Not With Us, They're Against Us

2011-05-09T21:48:00.000-04:00

There is a lot of "team player" talk from management gurus and consultants like me. Our intent is to get everyone on board and believing the mission statement and living the vision statement. While the phrase leans too much toward a generality and is becoming one of those overused, outmoded phrases in the same vein as "at the end of the day," and "no news is good news," (particularly when used during performance reviews), the concept is vital to the success of your business.

Having employees on the team and really playing their part on the team, is crucial to business success. Most businesses can't afford the luxury of leaving a bench warmer on the team just because he is a nice guy or she is the relative of one of the owners. As painful as it is, and being a business leader has its painful moments, the non-performers must go.

Determining to make every member of your organization a true team player starts with a good delivery of the team's mission.

"We want passion for our business.. workers who can interpret and execute our mission, who want to build a career, not just take a temporary job." --- Howard Schultz

If you have clearly communicated the direction of the business, and continue to make that communication a daily priority, you'll either have devoted team members, or those who are not devoted. The decision then is simple: get rid of the un-devoted!

Employees answered a call when you were hiring for your business. They saw a fit and an opportunity to earn money, advance in their career, fulfill a calling, and a half dozen other reasons. They depend on your leadership to continually reinforce the reason for the business and how their position contributes to that reason.

There are three things that you can begin doing this week to either improve on or validate the reasons for your team members to be a part of your team:

1.) Dust off your mission statement (or write one today if you don't have one!) and either through company face-to-face meeting (preferred), or electronic communication, explain what that mission statement means and how it is one of the driving forces the propels the business.

2.) Do the same with the vision statement, but in this case, create a committee of employees to assist with developing the vision statement. Have the committee get input from all stakeholders including customers and vendors. Make it a company-wide creation so that everyone owns it.

3.) Come up with a company slogan that can be easily memorized. Make it a contest to come up with the best slogan. The winner gets dinner for two someplace nice or some other worthy award. Print bumper stickers or have coffee mugs made up with the slogan. Make the slogan have a meaning that incorporates both the mission and vision statements and what the organization is all about.

Get at least these three things started and watch a team concept develop. You'll begin to see cohesion and individual ownership take place. Yes, you'll still have non-players, but they will become easier to recognize. You're not getting rid of the ones who didn't participate in your slogan rally or statement creations, but the ones who don't believe in the direction of the business.

3 Things We Can Learn from Charlie Sheen

2011-03-05T19:05:00.001-05:00

We've probably all seen or at least heard news of the ranting of actor Charlie Sheen. Executives canceled his show, Two and a Half Men, after witnessing his behavior on and off the set. Some of the interviews of Charlie Sheen show an actor (employee) awaiting for show executives to come begging for him to come back to his job.

There are many lessons that can be gleaned from this, but three shout out for attention:

1.) An employee's action can bring down the house. While employers should take responsibility for their employees, there comes a time when you must sever the relationship. When an employee's actions away from work are not in line with the core values of the employer, it is time to make a change. The reputation of the business is carried with every person employed with that organization. There is room for change and forgiveness, but only if it is permanent and sincere.

2.) An employee's attitude can ruin a team. From what I've heard Charlie Sheen say in interviews, it appears that he believes he is the cat's meow. The top hat. The head cheese... you get the picture. He believes that the show cannot go on without him and that any success for the writers, producers, etc. was due to him. Attitudes like this can cause a team to suffer. Team members begin to distrust not only that person, but also leaders that allow that person to remain on the team.

3.) Outrageous activity gets attention. This third and final nugget is different from the other two in that it is a positive outcome of the Charlie Sheen circus. As soon as Sheen opened a recent Twitter account, he received a million followers the first day. Because of his mega-media coverage, whether good or bad, Sheen is in the spotlight. Obviously, you don't won't bad publicity for your business, but what about getting folks attention by announcing free lunch to the first 100 customers next Tuesday, or bring in a massage therapist to offer free neck and back massages from 1:00 to 3:00 (or whatever your slow time is). Create a buzz using your imagination. You don't have to shun off rehab, say that Alcoholics Anonymous is a cult and doesn't work, and have some porn stars move into your house to raise your kids to get attention. We're looking for positive ideas here.

Training Wheels: 3 Reasons Not to Train

2011-02-15T17:13:00.017-05:00

I'm often asked, "Why should I train my people when they will only take all that I give them in knowledge and skills and go somewhere else?" Good question. My answer is always the same, train them anyway.

If you've put the time in for finding the right person and going through the hiring process (in some places, that includes drug testing, background checks, etc.), why not make sure that once you get them, you conduct continual training to ensure that they provide the best in quality services and products and the very best in customer service?

Here are the three top reasons most employers want provide continual training:

1.) Training is too costly. Actually, the cost of training is minimal compared to the benefits. With proper planning, a team of 25 employees can be put through a week-long training program covering most subjects for what it costs to lose just one client due to poor customer service.

2.) Training takes too much time. There are many training programs available online that can be taken at the employee's pace. There are also programs that can be customized to fit in or around the business' hours.

3.) Training won't make a difference. Studies from the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), as well as from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) show that even a little training goes a long way. A receptionist trained on the proper techniques of handling calls can significantly improve the bottom line of a business. A salesperson with only a few hours of good listening skills training can lead the sales force in existing and new sales quotas.

There are other excuses given from employers, but there are the smart players that implement training as a business practice and continue with veteran employees as well as new hires.

5 Ways To

2011-02-15T16:57:00.000-05:00

Training Wheels

2010-12-13T15:07:00.007-05:00

Training is one of those functions often discussed in leadership circles, but seldom fully implemented. This is not being negative because of what is seen in practice (or not seen) or because of poor customer service experience obviously based on lack of training. No, I'm just stating a fact: while well-intended, continued training of employees is one of those tasks that is kept in the back rooms of the mind. It is "something that we'll get around to soon."

Some professionals believe that procrastination is the result of fear. It is the fear of not properly completing a project that causes us to not even begin. In his book, Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy states that if we eat a live frog first thing in the morning, that is the worse thing we will do all day and the rest of the day will be a breeze. The point is that if we tackle that one thing that we've been procrastinating, (translated: FEAR), we will build confidence to improve on that project and to go on and complete several others with ease.

If training were made a priority we would probably choose to complete it first. If we knew the outcome of the efforts of our training, we would put more effort into getting it done. It seems to reason then that we need to know the benefits of training so that we can appreciate the immediate need.

Conducting an analysis of job performance is a great place to begin. Discovering from various resources such as employee reviews, customer feedback forms, vendor feedback, sales tracking, and many more can help to determine where training is needed. In the case of sales, if a salesperson's performance has slipped, it is a good idea to find out why and then fix it. If you discover that the salesperson needs training in managing prospects, and you know that the outcome will be that the training will improve sales for the salesperson and the business, then training becomes a priority: TRAINING TO MANAGE PROSPECTS = $$$. Now you have a reason to train. The only other fear now, or reason for procrastinating is the "how" of training.

How we train is so vital to the outcome of our training that we don't want to mess it up. In the example of the salesperson and managing prospects, the trainer should have some knowledge in sales and business, but a lot of knowledge in managing prospects. The trainer should know how to train various personalities, how to measure effective training outcomes, and how to construct ongoing training materials.

Stay tuned for the next segment of "Training Wheels."

For the Love of People

2010-08-16T16:04:00.005-04:00

Working for improving the people side of business is not always that easy. Frankly, people can be... well... people. You know, frustrating, aggravating, whiney, selfish, hard-to-please, and down-right annoying! But, that is, at the same time, the beauty of working with people--- interviewing them, hiring them, and training them--- that makes the work so interesting. Let me explain. If the people that you hired are all the same, made from the same mold, say the same things, dress the same, etc., then you don't have not put together a winning team.

Don't get me wrong. You don't have to have people that disagree with you or that rub you the wrong way and don't fit your company's culture. But you should look for those folks who will add "spark" to your business. Those people who may not look the part, but who offer creative insights into areas of the business that you or others on your team have not seen before. You may have to overlook some aspects of their personalities in order to allow much stronger points to flourish.

Think about it. You may need to rethink your hiring process and the criteria for the people that you are looking to bring on board.

Pursuing Engagement

2010-04-27T20:39:00.002-04:00

How difficult it is to get someone fired up about a feeling you experienced. What I mean is that if I saw a great movie or hit a terrific golf shot, or felt totally relaxed on the beach, I can't really explain that so clearly that someone else can feel the same excitement, same warmth of the sun, same exhilaration of a good shot. I know there are people that can. You can experience that while reading a book by a good author or hearing a story from a great communicator. I just know that I have a hard time doing it.

What about trying to get your employees engaged in their work? How difficult is that? Some business leaders are naturals at it. Some just give up and experience high turnover as they fire unengaged employees and hope that the next one they hire will be totally fired up about their job.

Getting employees motivated and engaged in their work requires good communication skills (doesn't have to be great), a passion for the business, and a little creativity. The communication skills is for getting the message across to your team what is expected of them and how their jobs contribute to the overall mission of the business. Without sharing this information, employees simply go through the process of their job descriptions without true umph (a rarely used HR term).

A good business leader must have a passion for their business. As a leader, you naturally have people to lead or followers. Are they following a grumpy, stick-in-the-mud or a leader who is passionately on fire about the direction of the organization and the steps needed to get there? Your passion is seen, felt, and passed on to your team members. They feed off of it. It is now a natural process for them to get engaged in their own jobs.

Good business leaders are creative. They think of ways to make even the most mundane job fun to perform knowing how critical it is to the overall process. Creative thinking leaders are always looking for ways to spice up the work either through contests, company parties, job rotation, etc. Creativity keeps the business young in spirit while growing wiser daily. Being creative engages those around you and inspires others to creatively think of solutions in their job performances.

Pursue engagement today!

How To Stay Out of Trouble in 5 Easy Steps

2010-04-22T18:32:00.005-04:00

Managing a business is one thing, managing people is another. Wait a minute. Aren't they one in the same? Well, yes, if you have employees. There are some entrepreneurs who have made a good living without hiring help, but that is for another discussion

For those of you who have employees, bookmark these 5 steps for staying out of trouble when it comes to the many, (some unnecessary!) labor laws:

1.) Use all available resources for communication. While there still exists some controversy over the use of communication tools such as employee handbooks, policy manuals, and job descriptions, it has been my experience that you are better off having these in place and updating them on a regular basis. These tools help you first to communicate your passion, your mission, and your ideas of where the business is heading. The tools help you to clearly explain the course of the business and the business values while explaining the culture of your business. They also communicate to the team what is expected and what is not expected as far as conduct, dress code, using the internet, etc. Use these tools to stay out of trouble.

2.) Be responsible. I've seen it over and over again. Employers get in trouble when they have the attitude that people are tools to be disposed of when they are no longer needed or if they get broken. My comment is always to "Man-up!" or woman-up if that fits. In other words, take responsibility for the person you hired. In most cases, you spent a lot of money to hire that person and letting them go without trying to salvage them is just plain bad business. From the moralistic point of view, you as another human being, in a Western culture need to show compassion for another. If the employee continues to mess up, and you've tried all that you can do, then by all means fire their fanny, but only after you've tried all that you could try to help them, nurture them, train them, feed them, whatever it takes to keep them. The bonus to this is that no court will won't to punish you for terminating someone after you've exhausted all efforts.

3.) Document everything. A good example from step #2 is that if you've tried to keep the employee and worked with that person from every possible angle, please document your efforts. Even jotting down dates and times on a Post-It Note becomes a legal document. Write down every occasion that the employee was late, did not perform well, smoked dope, whatever it was, jot it down. Your memory is not that good. Document, document, document.

4.) Don't go it alone. If you have to have a closed door meeting with an employee over a discipline situation, bring another person in with you. This helps to keep the story straight when you document the incident afterward. It also helps to avoid any accusations by the employee later on. I once terminated a female employee who began crying and stated that her husband was going to kill her. My heart went out to her. I closed the door and approached her to put my hand on her shoulder (this was really early in my career). I came to my senses, realized my mistake and immediately called in another female to assist me with the meeting. Bring someone in with you.

5.) Stay informed. There are so many new laws affecting the way employers are treated that it is difficult to stay on top of everything. Notice that I said affecting employers and not employees. That is because the laws seem to favor employees with a huge burden on the employer. You need to know about these. While your job is to do whatever your business creates, produces, and provides, you still need to keep abreast of laws that affect the outcome of how you handle employee situations. There are great resources available online or you can simply sign up for my monthly e-newsletter at www.DuncanConsult.com

Seeing Green

2010-04-12T14:14:00.007-04:00

It's not easy being green, although it is popular. In fact, consumers look for the green label on everything from toilet paper to power cords to ice cream (seriously! saw it on a ice cream carton myself!) But what does it cost to go green and who sets the standard for green? Well, it all depends on your industry, who talk to, and what the general public opinion is regarding green.

There are really good reasons for going green today, but most of the businesses I follow are going green, or stating that they are going green, in order to increase the bottom line of their business. In other words, they want our business based on the shade of green of their business.

Before getting all greenish to help the sales of your business, perhaps we should all step back and look at what really brings in the biz. Customers want good customer service. Notice that I wrote "good" and not "great" customer service. Most customers are willing to settle for average service because they see so much poor service today. I hear from customers of some of our clients who state that the good customer service they receive is almost a shock. They are stunned that a salesperson actually made eye contact with them and seemed to care about the needs of the customer. Their face didn't look like they fell into a tackle box (way too many piercings), and they could speak the Queen's English without nonsensical slang. They seemed to understand that their pay is based, in part, on providing a good customer service experience.

Do you want to go green? First, make your competitors grow green with envy when they see that your business is stealing customers because of the great service that you provide.

What Am I Doing Here?

2010-03-13T13:53:00.005-05:00

Have you ever had one of those times when you walk into a room in your house or office and then ask yourself, "What I am doing here?" For some unknown reason you cannot remember why you went there. Some folks call it a senior moment. My theory is that we have way too much information swimming around in our brains that we let the small things escape us.

While observing a group of employees for a client, I overheard one of them ask to no one in particular, "What I am doing here?" Interesting question.
What if it were one of your employees? I imagine you might be upset. Fire them? Yell at them? Throw them in the stockade?

There are many ways to handle this situation, but probably only a few good legal ones.

First, your employees need to know why they are there and what their job roles are. If they don't, it is usually not your team members who are at fault. It is either you or the leadership that you put in place. Communication is lacking at some point. Either when you hired the person, your expectations were not communicated. Perhaps there was a glitch in your orientation program. Maybe your employee handbook is not communicating what is expected of them. How about your job descriptions? Are they up to date and have they been read by your employees?

You should be able to go to any employee and ask them what their role is in the organization and they have a good answer that just rolls off their tongue. The should know how their job fits in the overall success of the business as well as the definition of success for the business.

If you have an employee that is overheard asking, "What am I doing here?" let it be because they are experiencing a senior moment and not because they don't have a clue about why they are there.

Wishing you a profitable Spring!

HR Guy

LIGHTING YOUR (TEAM'S) FIRE

2010-02-03T17:21:00.003-05:00

We often underestimate the power of that which goes beyond motivation. Beyond what one could possibly instill into one's team (and one's own psyche), it goes beyond mind-games and above what might translate into a handsome quarter end bonus.

It is what literally makes us get up every single morning and what we dream of doing, if it is something other than the roles we perform every day.

Sometimes it might not even fully or directly relate to our jobs. For me these days it is the taste of a long (and long-awaited) trip to a different continent.

But why should anyone invest any time thinking about this?

Even for the luckiest of us, the ones who get to pursue their passion every single day, sometimes the light goes into pilot, and the roaring, crackling fire that once propelled us dims every so slightly. That's when it is important to remind ourselves that work-related stuff is never the only dangling-carrot at the end of the race and let our copilot (our other dreams and aspirations) take control of the wheel and let those motivations re-ignite our bonfire.

That's why it is so important to get to know your team-members. Know who's working to pay for their parent's dream vacation, know who is working to adopt a child, know who is working to buy a boat or to get a degree...you get the idea.

Getting to know your people is not always as easy as it sounds. It has to be done sincerely, tactfully & graciously. One has to invest time for conversation to flow, for barriers to break down, for trust to build. But in the end, it is one of the simplest and most important conversations you can ever have with anybody in your team.

When someone is down because they could not close a deal, or things simply did not go as expected, softly remind them "Hey, think about that boat, think how worth it it all will be in the end. Think about lazy fishing Sundays!"

This, of course, is no exact science, but adding a human touch to the quotidian surely it has never hurt relationships...or business.

WHAT LIGHTS UP YOUR FIRE?

2010-01-04T15:57:00.001-05:00

≡ YOU SHOULD SEE IT FROM OUT HERE! ≡

2009-12-14T17:58:00.011-05:00

There are plenty of laws and HR guidelines that dictate how one should legally and ethically behave during a religious celebration. The laws are there to respected and follow. But let us not forget that common sense is always the best defense to avoid conflict in the work place, particularly during "the holidays" (We all know how I feel about that blanket statement so I'll spare you my soliloquy).

All the corners of the world have entrenched beliefs, cultural traditions and religions that they celebrate at one point or another during the year. One big difference between most of the world and us is that we've become sissyfied. And by that I mean that, in most religions, be it of the Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or any other tradition, there is a pride and inner peace with one's beliefs. Of course, radical or extremist groups aside.

Recent polls show that 92 per cent of Americans believe in God (or a 'higher power'). We are a nation that has been born in the Christian tradition. Our very foundation is that of one country under God. I don't understand how we are steadily losing respect for what we have the right to celebrate and cherish.

At one point we are all going to be so consumed by worry about offending someone else that this in itself will be found offensive by a sue-happy employee. I can almost hear it happening: "Do you think I am so weak that you need to baby my every feeling? I resent that."

So what is there for a team leader to do? Well, just like in the movie clip below, take a metaphorical step outside the door, take a good look at any situation as an outsider, and analyze it with a critical eye. Let common sense reign, don't make anyone feel forced to partake on any religious celebration or feel ostracized by it. Respecting other people's beliefs goes without saying, of course. And just as important, know the laws that apply in your state to help keep employees engaged and your business away from law suits.

Let's hope for a de-sissyfication of America for this Christmas, no more double standards, and overall respect for what each of us believes in.

Here is a good link to learn more about religious freedom in the workplace.

Merry Christmas!!!

≡ FLUFF? ≡

2009-12-08T13:14:00.012-05:00

Kindness.

Goodwill.

Empathy.

What do these words evoke in you as you sit in your office up to your neck in deadliness and unreturned phone calls?

How about these words?

Metrics.

Productivity.

Deadline.

Do the latter sound more realistic and business-like? Am I hitting a nerve? Am I reminding you of something? Or are you already in tune with the softer side of you?

What prompted all this fluff? You may ask...After all, this is a business-related blog, right?

It all started when a friend was telling me about a bad event at his workplace and he finished the narration by saying "And to do such a thing during the Christmas season! How could they?"
Or as the politically correct would say "And to do such a thing during the Holiday season! How could they?" I am not politically correct so Christmas stands in this story.

At any rate, allow me to politely disagree with every cell of my being at the allusion of any festivity as the basis for us being more human and kind-hearted. After all, if you think about it, at any point during the year it is someone's time to celebrate, whether it be Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Earth Day. So why let outside events dictate who and how you'll be, how you'll lead your team and when you will deal with a bad situation?

"Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." -Mark Twain

And more importantly, where did we get the notion from that we have to be more humane during a common celebratory time? Why not behave humanely all year round?

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle."--Plato

A long time ago, while working for a large brokerage company, I attended a training where we all had to take part on role-play exercises. One person was the client the other the broker. Different scenarios played out for the entire team to see and evaluate. Scenario one: client wanted to understand his holdings and accounts and get some guidance on saving for his child's college. Scenario two: wife lost his husband and called to straighten out all of the brokerage accounts. Scenario three: son of a client was excited about opening his first account and wanted some educational help.

One thing immediately jumped out from all the scenarios. The tone. The broker's tone and inflexion when speaking with the widower was warmer and it addressed best the client's need. To which the trainer, arms up in the air, suddenly embodying an old Baptist minister & yelled out: "DOES SOMEBODY HAVE TO DIE FOR US TO BE EMPHATIC & KIND?"

That always stuck with me. A death is a sad, sad thing and it requires a special touch...but then again, don't we all go through small deaths and meaningful successes, rebirths if you will, through our days that we wish others were more in tune to?

Here are some simple practical applications for your work place:

Listen & ask questions
Be genuinely interested
Drop your crown-- if you go get yourself something to drink or eat offer to bring it to somebody else as well.
Offer to help someone who is in a bind or a tight deadline
Bring someone their favorite snack and put it on their desk without them knowing
Give that sincere compliment you've been meaning to for a while
Criticize behind closed doors
Take an interest in learning more about who the people you work with are
Avoid gossip, or anything that might be perceived as such
Have an accountability partner, someone whose feedback you trust
Be a mentor
Cultivate good motives in everything you do

As you carry on with your week, please remind yourself that tuning into your soft skills does not equal you becoming weak or wimpy. Au contraire, mon ami: ""Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but manifestations of strenght and resolution." --Kahlil Gibran.

With these ideas in place watch your metrics be outstanding, your productivity soar and your deadlines be met...in advance.

FAILURE & MISTAKES

2009-11-13T11:15:00.002-05:00

A quick & refreshing video to remind us that quitting and standing still are not viable options in business nor in life.

Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else's can shorten it. --Cullen Hightower

Also, a good way to remind us that we ought to encourage and empower each other to act boldly and be creative. Mistakes will surely be made but since most of our life is spent learning the art of fixing and capitalizing from our errors... why stop when we cross our work threshold? Why is it that many of us became different people when we sit at our workspace? Perhaps we are so deeply afraid of peer-ridicule that we just freeze our inner creative selves?

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. --George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

Judgement calls are prime real estate for error. Particularly when these snap decisions must be made faster than one's neurons can fire warning signals to each other. "He/she has good business instincts," we sometimes say of someone else...but if anyone ever takes the time to ask and dig deeper I am positive we'll find a plethora of mistakes in their past. The difference is that they choose not to wallow in despair and capitalize from every single crumb of a failed action or decision.

While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior. --Henry C. Link

Empowering employees, teammates and oneself can only lead to valuable learning and experience. Even when your employees might not have the ability to make a final decision all the time, teach them how to think and act as business owners, that is the only way that customers will stop finding excuses to bypass your staff and talk to you every single time. This will give your team a sense of ownership and accomplishment and will leave you with the necessary time to plan and achieve more.

The expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field. --Niels Bohr (1885-1962)

It is time to take our decision-making training-wheels off and fly.

≡ BUSINESS PHONE ETIQUETTE ≡

2009-10-30T18:59:00.008-04:00

If we were to put a group of random professionals in a room and asked them what their top three business pet peeves are surely the unreturned phone call would be in their short list.

Ironic, since the telephone was created with the hope of improving communication, not making it more frustrating.

"An amazing invention-but who would ever want to use one?" --Rutherford B. Hayes, after making his first phone call upon its invention

Personally, the unreturned phone call is in my top three most disliked habits when dealing with people in a personal or professional level. Although, I am the first to say mea culpa for my own behavior which can, at times, be less than exemplary. But this behavioral flaw is constantly under my radar and I am working on improving. I find that one of the best potions against the forgotten call is keeping each other accountable in the office, forming unofficial alliances if you will.

"People who are funny and smart and return phone calls get much better press than people who are just funny and smart." --Howard Simons

One of the cloudy areas, where phone call responsibility often gets lost, is the confusing way in which we sometimes approach the "I'll call you/you'll call me?" moment. This could be because we are rushed, experience pangs of first-date-nerves, or simply have our heads already in the next meeting. So, just like one is to be in the moment when first meeting someone, one must remain in the moment until the time comes to bid farewell. This means, setting clear expectations of who will call whom and by what time/date. Don't be wishy-washy about this and take control of the situation by recapping when necessary.

You can hit all the right buttons during a business meeting. Be concise, focused, engaging. charming, cool, calm and collected, but if you don't follow up as promised an uphill battle awaits you. Don't undermine yourself.

"If The Phone Doesn't Ring, It's Me."--Jimmy Buffet

It is said that people will forget many things about you, your clothes, your hair, even your handshake, but they will always remember how you made them feel. At the risk of walking the slippery high-rope of the Feelings Territory, while momentarily stepping away from Manly Man County, I'll be the first to say it: an unreturned phone call can make others feel disrespected and under appreciated. This, needless to say, won't make things easier the next time you are trying to close a deal with said individual & it surely won't get you unsolicited recommendations. So make life easier for you, and others, and don't be a Parrothead, or at least not when it comes to business.

"The telephone is a good way to talk to people without having to offer them a drink."--Fran Lebowitz

Lastly, when you are returning that call as promised, remember to not get distracted with other office issues. Act, that is talk and listen, as if the call's recipient was there with you. In other words, act as if you could offer them a drink. Body language can be read on the phone almost as much as in person, and it is just as impactful. I think we all can use that reminder, so perhaps this is as good a time as ever to refresh your team's memory about making those call backs, not being a parrot head, and having that metaphorical drink ready to be offered during their next call.

:: WHEN THINGS GO RIGHT ::

2009-10-17T12:03:00.005-04:00

We, at Duncan Consulting, cannot say enough positive things about making the work environment as fun as possible...here is more proof on how the fun stuff has the power to change attitudes and, when properly executed, the positivism spills over and sticks to those around us like fuzz on Velcro.

:: WHEN THINGS GO WRONG ::

2009-10-16T14:06:00.008-04:00

A man has no more character than he can command in a time of crisis. -Ralph W. Sockman

When I think of leadership in times of crisis two people come to mind, Rudy Giuliani and Chesley "Sully" Sullenberg III. Regardless of whether we share their perspective and view points in other areas of their careers, wouldn't we all want to have such visceral response in a time of crisis?

I am positive experience plays a huge role in these two leader's responses to a time of crisis, but even those of us that at times still feel a bit green have hope. There are many things us, mere mortals, can do to be ready and it all boils down to preparedness, good instincts & a cool head.

Preparation involves lots of planning, training, repetition, educating and even-the often despised-role playing. Only via the conscious use of these tools we'll be able to make it so our reaction becomes nothing but what looks like an instinctual (but well thought of) response...like a karate move. Sharp and decisive. But to achieve this as a team you'll have to become your team's Mr. Miyagi.

Leaders won't always be perfect, they'll make mistakes, and-provided they have decent people skills-most times they will be forgiven for their faux pas. However, in a crisis, if a leader is not a quick-thinker and an even faster-doer, no forgiveness will follow. Too much is at stake when a crisis pays us a visit.

Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, makes it his own. -Charles de Gaulle

Some questions to ask yourself:

* How prepared are you to face a sudden and unforeseen financial, personnel, or physical crisis?

* How prepared is your team to work as one?

* Who are your natural leaders? Are they training others?

No matter how you choose to prepare yourself and your team for a crisis remember the oriental wisdom of Chinese culture. They have two characters that comprise the word crisis: one represents "danger", the other "opportunity."

:: MAXIMIZING WORK TIME ::

2009-09-28T16:32:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite questions to ask employees is "Do you feel content and challenged in your role?"

If their answer is indicating in any way boredom the conversation usually follows with more open-ended questions about why the associate gets bored and what he/she is doing about it.

One of my least favorite answers to hear is "When my work is done, there is nothing else for me to do." What does that mean exactly? Does it mean team members truly lack the clarity to see that there always is something to do?

When team mates don't have the inherent vision to see their role's infinite possibilities it is time to break down the communication to the most basic of levels.

These question and answer exercises might seem simple but simple fixes have the power to avert huge mistakes. Think about the hospitals that have given 100 grams instead of 10 of a prescribed medicine, or more recently, the embryo implant mix-ups. Simple errors, sometimes with fatal results, abound not only in the medical but also in the corporate world. No streamlining of methods or processes that will help your productivity, safety and morale is ever too small.

Ideally, we'd all hire solely go-getters, but the reality of it is that sometimes people have to be taught to be seismic thinkers, sometimes people need a bit of a shake up to shape up, and many times with a little positive Q&A leadership people will surprise you with performances high on the Richter Scale. So go ask. Find out if the boredom is justified or not...but above all remind them to not to wait until you ask & give them the tools to fix and outgrow these challenges.

Here is a sample list for those times when there's "nothing to do":

■ Document patterns observed

Based on the premise that most processes can be improved at one time or another a good question to ask is, "When was the last time you got frustrated with another department?" Well, there it is! you have plenty to do. Spend time improving communication processes, if you repeatedly ask a department/co-worker to answer all of your questions and invariably some answers are missing, then perhaps you need to establish a system that everyone will follow when communicating in written form.

■ Document proposed solutions to patterns observed

Teach them, if necessary, to view all "issues" as growth opportunities.

■ Mentoring

To follow up on the prior point: even better, instead of teaching them yourself, pair them up by empowering someone to be a mentor and help others develop untapped skills.

■ Improve job description & requirements

Because of the rushed pace of the workplace the clear, written delineating of the day-to-day basic activities falls through the cracks and people learn as they go. Why not take a quick moment to jot down things that will save time and be helpful to others following in our footsteps?

■ Advance own skills by doing tutorials (online, books, etc.)

■ Present info learned from tutorials

This will enhance your team member's ability to communicate with larger groups and instill leadership qualities in the process.

■ Job performance update

■ Job shadowing

■ Goal documenting & updating

■ Clean up of computer files (email, Word docs, etc.)

This will help all your systems run more smoothly and avert technical problems.

■ Organize physical work materials

■ Offer assistance to a co-worker or department

It might not be a bad idea to customize a list to your associate's roles, print it and post it in a prominent area of their work space. Let's make today and all of the days to come No Excuses Day.

:: PARTNERING & PAIRING ::

2009-09-19T15:07:00.013-04:00

TWO SIMPLE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. Did you ever have a job where the mere act of walking in would

make you feel that you could not breathe?

2. Do you ever stop to consider how many people in

your team could be feeling that way right now?

I bet all I have that question #1 made you go back in time & clench your teeth even at the brief resurfacing of those old feelings.

Remember the frustration?

That frustration that invariably leads to an increased employee issues, wasted time and sooner rather than later productivity loss? Well, just because it is not happening to you right now it does not mean that those feelings are not lingering in your workplace's corridors right as you seat reading this coffee in hand.

Funny thing is how much of this can be solved by the simple act of listening. Not the plain old listening, but the kind of intent listening that must take place during team meetings and any other gatherings, the kind of listening that does not involve the ears. The body language- listening, the results-listening, and the listening for one's team intrinsic mood.

If something does not sound quite right, to your ears, your eyes, or your intuition then action is a must. One of the key issues we find arise during this intent listening sessions is team construction and pairing.

The magic of pairing. So underrated. We insist that people must be able to work with anyone and be flexible at all times. True. Ideally that should work, and so should communism.

But the reality of it is that if you put two people that usually don't see eye to eye to work together for an extended period of time this won't translate into rewards of any kind. No matter what level of maturity, skill and professionalism is at work, if the heart and collaborative spirit is not there, you lose, and so will your company and your bottom line. History shows us that good partnering is essential to any great achievement, why ignore such tried and true wisdom?

While it is true that working with folks who have different points of view is likely to enrich us, if philosophies and personalities are diametrically opposite, the enriching part won't ever matter, because personal issues will inevitably blindfold & undermine more positive attributes.

The right pairings and team building won't take place overnight. This is an art with almost no science to it. So listen. Ask questions. Take the time to re-evaluate who sits next to whom, who seems unhappy to work with whom, what pairs/teams feed of each other's ideas and energy, and begin taking into account your team member's input when designing groups that will work side by side, departments, and shifts.

And why not go as far as to take more drastic measures and even consider having your current employees interview new hires that they'll work with? Studies show that companies that invest on that initial time to get to know potential new hires have a much lower turnaround than companies using more traditional interviewing/hiring methods.

Something to think about.

The most successful pairings occur naturally.

Don't get in the way of what works.

Photographs courtesy of GSN

Much more than physics-smarts...

2009-08-17T12:47:00.009-04:00

How timely, here is Albert Einstein's take on hard times.

A good one to pass around the office and spark a solid motivational discussion.

“Let’s not pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things. A crisis can be a real blessing to any person, to any nation. For all crises bring progress.

Creativity is born from anguish, just like the day is born form the dark night. It’s in crisis that inventiveness is born, as well as discoveries made and big strategies.

He who overcomes crisis, overcomes himself, without getting overcome. He who blames his failure to a crisis neglects his own talent and is more interested in problems than in solutions. Incompetence is the true crisis.

The greatest inconvenience of people and nations is the laziness with which they attempt to find the solutions to their problems.

There’s no challenge without a crisis. Without challenges, life becomes a routine, a slow agony.There’s no merit without crisis.

It’s in the crisis where we can show the very best in us.

Without a crisis, any wind becomes a tender touch. To speak about a crisis is to promote it. Not to speak about it is to exalt conformism.

Let us work hard instead. Let us stop, once and for all, the menacing crisis that represents the tragedy of not being willing to overcome it.”

Midday Slump

2009-08-09T14:03:00.002-04:00

If your once-a-day-sluggish-mode is as predictable as Florida’s afternoon summer storms read on.

Creativity. Productivity. A focused mind. These days we want it all, all the time, 100%.

But how we go about achieving it is no standard formula. To combat sluggishness some reach for the coffee, some go for the sweets, but not that many of us go for a little exercise.

I wonder why.

After all, we all remember the first time we ever did something physically demanding or out of the ordinary, like skiing, riding a roller coaster, sky diving, having a faster than usual run or bike ride, etc.…how could we forget? That feeling of I CAN DO ANYTHING-ness mixed with James Cameron’s Oscar acceptance King of the World-ness. Why would we not want to recapture it daily?

What ever happened to us that we taught ourselves to compartmentalize so neatly our humanness and its needs inside and outside of the office? If our bodies have reached a slump why not get creative and truly look for what works for each of us?

"If it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever." David Letterman.

Coffee, water, sodas, and sweets may do the trick –momentarily- for most of us (after all, Bach wrote his famous Coffee Cantata under the influence of, what else but caffeine...), but why not get friendly with natural endorphins all over again? Exercise causes these morphine-like compounds to naturally be released into the blood stream. Endorphins, in turn, enhance creativity and productivity. And, best of all, you don’t have to jump out of a plane to experience this natural high, something as simple as a brisk walk will do the trick.

My wife and I are runners and, since we run at a different pace, we often meet and share our ‘running thoughts’ during our cool down walk. These thoughts are usually the most creative of the day and often the catalyst to major ideas for our business and our lives.

Besides the obvious, how does this information affect you as a leader in your place of business?

Well, these days more and more companies are encouraging their employees to take measures to stay healthy (thus productive and creative), some build gyms on site, some offer free or discounted gym memberships, many have showers on site to accommodate those who ride to work, and a few go as far as remunerating their team members to stay fit and healthy. This is a win-win investment as studies show that, within the companies that advocate fitness and prevention, absenteeism is down and so are their overall health care costs.

So, if you are feeling sluggish, gray, unfocused and unproductive stop pushing yourself through that quick-sand pace and, instead, set the example and try something different. Take a walk, run or even grab a cup of Joe if that’s what works best for you. But when you come back to your desk share your running (or coffee) thoughts, they are likely to be some of the best of your day.

Write about what you know...

2009-07-09T17:28:00.013-04:00

...that is what people say in literary circles.

During the last few weeks I have acquainted myself with blog procrastination.

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. ~William James

I'd like to think that this is not a habit of mine. After all, I have been quite busy and these activity- filled days felt like the absolute opposite of procrastination. Busy analyzing job descriptions, meeting clients, planning...busy with life. So I never got around to posting anything in this site. I let it go into hibernation for almost a month, and now the process of waking it up has forced me to re-examine the true root cause of this dormant period.

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.

~Don Marquis

All roads lead to Rome, and all my thoughts lead to the P word, as much as I hate to admit it. But I'd humbly argue that not everything we call procrastination is necessarily so.

In this case I'd like to think that I simply had more important items to tend to (like clients and writing assignments deadlines). So, yes, it is a form of procrastination that sprouts only after well-thought analysis. Some would simply call it prioritizing. But whatever you call it, in this instance, it is a good thing. Likewise, working with team members that can independently discern, prioritize and act in a manner that improves your company's productivity and engagement is something rare these days. It is also something tinted with what is known as common sense, and this is mighty hard to teach. So be sure to ask the right questions during your hiring interviews so that you won't find yourself doing the thinking for your team all the time.

If it weren't for the last minute,I wouldn't get anything done. ~Author Unknown

On the other hand, if I had chosen to push back my blogging because I went golfing, then that's just poor choice. That'd fall under what is, by definition, 100% pure procrastination.

What may be done at any time will be done at no time. ~Scottish Proverb

As a leader, when confronted with a true procrastination situation, you might be required to micromanage individuals who are simply not pulling their weight. As much as we all dislike being looked at over our shoulder or being the one doing the looking, some situations call for step-by-step analysis of a team member's daily routine. After the bad habits have been identified, it is a good idea to have the talk. After that, agreeing to a few specific action steps (e.g., job-shadow someone whose prioritizing and decision-making faculties aren't comatose) might do the job.

A year from now you may wish you had started today. ~Karen Lamb

There are many other reasons procrastination may knock on your team's door. Fear is the most pervasive root cause. As an employee, have you ever felt under trained to fulfill a project? I can remember being very young and having to analyze stats for an important meeting. The idea of presenting the results to the company's management made my stomach curl. I was frozen with fear. I had no idea what I was doing, but at least I had the common sense to talk to my boss and explain that unless somebody trained me for this assignment I'd have to defer the job to someone. The moral of the story is: you can unknowingly create procrastination for your workforce. This highlights, yet again, the importance of asking questions and truly listening to the answers. Something as simple as asking "Have you been properly trained to complete this task?" can save your company time, money, and keep your people's engagement high.

Other possible ways in which leadership may cause procrastination include: unrealistically high expectations, perfectionism, lack of motivational skills, poor listening skills, and work overload.

Just to clarify: laziness is not a form of procrastination. Laziness is a long loud yawn: highly contagious. Again, it all goes back to making it easier for yourself to focus your efforts in the goals that matter most to you and your company. Hiring the right people and asking the right questions during the first interviews is key.

There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back. ~Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister

I must go now. I have the nagging feeling that I should be doing something else at this very moment.

What's your personality's weather?

2009-06-08T17:29:00.009-04:00

When it comes to leading your team, and as cliche as this may sound, are you a half-full or half- empty type of leader?

Have you ever gave this some thought?

This is important in that, whatever our true nature is, it will bleed through our words and actions like cheap marker's ink. That is, unless we make a daily conscious effort to remain in the half-full mode at all times.

Your personality's weather is contagious, so here is a quick quote to help lead your team through the day in positive consciousness:

"We may be powerless to alter certain events, but we remain free to choose our attitude towards them, and it is in our spontaneous acceptance of necessity that we find our distinctive freedom."

Alain de Bottom, from The Consolations of Philosophy.

The Simple Art of the Apology

2009-05-26T17:22:00.017-04:00

"Sorry, I did not mean what I said."

We've all been on the receiving end of this line. I wonder how many of us were ever satisfied by its meaning, or lack thereof. I wonder how many man up enough to actually speak the truth and say "I am sorry because I meant what I said."

Sincere apologies are hard to come by and hard to offer, we all know.

But just like there is an art to public speaking, to writing, to cooking, etc. there is also an art to the apology. And it is pretty simple.

Keep it short.

Own it.

Mean it.

Offer to do whatever it takes to fix the situation.

Keep it short--Most times a heartfelt "sorry" will do. Seriously. Once we start adding to it we run the risk of adulterating the meaning of it. These add ons mimic the artificial colorings of the culinary world. They may look good, but are completely unnecessary.
I once read this smart quote "Don't ruin an apology with an excuse." I think nothing could explain better than that what the offended party hopes to hear.

Own it--If you offended someone, then the apology should always start with "I." Not "we" not "they" and no passive voice (e.g., "The mistakes made had negative repercussions."). Don't insult the offended party further by resorting to these ways of hiding behind someone or something else.

How is this relevant to your business? An absurd amount of time is lost to workplace friction, most times due to one or more parties refusing to admit their wrong-doings. If it is necessary to walk your team through the art of the apology as part of a mini-training, do it. The rewards in time, money, productivity and overall work experience will be immense. In addition, a sincere apology is quicker as it does not allow for much he said she said, it is the first building block to repair a fractured relationship, and best of all, it makes feelings of frustration and resentment vanish on both sides. When a simple "I was wrong" is offered, even in the worse of situations, forgiveness is usually instantaneous and mutual respect is regained.

Here are some examples of how not to do it:

"I am heartsick about my personal legal situation and deeply sorry for the pain and difficulties it has caused our employees."
Martha Stewart

"The Duke of Edinburgh regrets any offense which may have been caused by remarks he is reported as making earlier today. With hindsight, he accepts what were intended as light-hearted comments were inappropriate."
Buckingham Palace, on Prince Philip saying a fuse box looked "as though it was put in by an Indian."

"If I caused anybody, including myself, any pain about the comments I made earlier, then I want to apologize to myself and Senator Obama and any of his supporters."
South Carolina's Senator Robert Ford's quasi-apology after being asked why he endorsed Hillary Clinton and replying, "Every Democrat running on that ticket next year would lose because he is black and he's top of the ticket. We'd lose the House and the Senate and the governors and everything."

In lieu of more effective apology examples, just remember chemist-inventor Orlando Battista's thought: "An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it," and a good ol' apology is usually the best first step.

Training Strategy: should you choose to include an apology section in your communications or customer service training, discussing what is actually wrong with each of the above referenced apologies will be an effective way for your team to self-discover why following The Art of the Apology principles is the best way to go.

Safety in the Workplace

2009-05-09T20:21:00.000-04:00

Safety in the workplace is not just a matter of following OSHA guidelines, (though OSHA does provide great resources for keeping your employees safe). No, safety in the workplace includes keeping your team safe whether on a forklift, climbing a ladder, driving to pick up mail, or sitting in the office. Workplace safety includes proper lifting techniques, prevention of workplace violence, internet safety, and much more.

This post serves as an invitation to list your most pressing safety concerns as well as safe remedies. From the mondane (tipping water cooler over and crushing foot) to the extreme. Included are safety videos for you to use in your business.

Why Employee Satisfaction is the Wrong Metric

2009-04-09T19:12:00.000-04:00

By Rodger D. Duncan

With more than two decades of experience observing and measuring a wide range of workplace issues, my bottom line advice on such metrics can be distilled into two simple maxims.

First, ask the right questions.

Well, of course, you say! Anybody knows you have to ask the right questions.

But the second maxim may not be so obvious: Avoid asking the wrong questions.

When you ask the wrong questions, you still get plenty of information. Then the information spawns charts and graphs and an endless stream of PowerPoint presentations. And you chase the wrong rabbits.

I frequently hear business people talk about the importance of “employee satisfaction.” They conduct surveys that purport to measure the extent to which workers are happy with their jobs.

These are interesting questions, but often the wrong ones.

If an employer provides free day care, company cars, liberal vacation policies, short office hours and hefty bonuses, workers are likely to be “satisfied.” But being “satisfied” is not necessarily the same as being productive. Even a bankrupt company can have “satisfied” employees.

The right metric to use does not target satisfaction, it targets engagement.

For yesteryear’s command-and-control leader, the paradigm was about compliance. For today’s enlightened (and more effective) leader, the paradigm is about commitment. Commitment does not thrive in an atmosphere of giving and taking orders. Commitment thrives in an atmosphere of mutual purpose, mutual respect, and high levels of psychological ownership.
In other words, engagement.

Workers are engaged when they feel part of decisions that affect them. When they feel trusted. When they feel free (safe) in speaking up about issues that matter.

Truly engaged workers eschew the “subordinate” mentality that says someone else is in charge so the success of the enterprise is someone else’s worry. Instead, genuinely engaged workers adopt the “steward” paradigm. A stewardship is a job with trust. Stewards are proactive, resourceful, and assertive. They provide discretionary excellence – doing the right thing for the right reasons, even when nobody’s watching.

Engaged workers have the will and the willingness to adapt swiftly to changing conditions.

At this point you may be thinking, Wait a minute. I have a business to run. All this stuff about engagement and commitment sounds nice, but it requires too much time and effort.

For those who suggest that the cost of engagement is too high, consider the price of disengagement.

A study by the Gallup organization shows that “actively disengaged” employees – that is, workers who are fundamentally disconnected from their jobs – cost the U.S. economy up to $355 billion a year. The researchers calculate that nearly 25 million U.S. workers are actively disengaged, each year resulting in about 86 million days absent from work, less productivity, more stress, and poorer health for both themselves and for their organizations.

The Gallup conclusions are based in part on its national Q12 survey. The survey takes it name from 12 core questions that Gallup asks workers. The questions are designed to measure the linkage between levels of employee engagement and productivity, growth and profitability.

Some of the questions are “Do I know what is expected of me at work?” “Is there someone at work who encourages my development?” “At work, do my opinions seem to count?”

When The Duncan Company studies culture and performance in an organization, we ask similar questions aimed at measuring engagement. We want to know the extent to which workers seem more interested in accomplishing excellent work than in who gets the credit. We want to know how much employees can see the linkage between their own work and the organization’s “core doctrine” of mission, vision, and values. We explore communication practices, accountability practices and other culture components that reinforce (or undermine) the social contract between worker and organization.

In his fine book Terms of Engagement, Richard Axelrod discusses the principles and practices that result in an engaged workforce. He correctly points out that in high-engagement organizations you will find that

People grasp the big picture, fully understanding the dangers and opportunities facing the enterprise.

There is urgency and energy as people become aligned around a common purpose.
Accountability is fully distributed throughout the organization as people come to understand the “whole” of the system.

Collaboration across organizational boundaries increases because people are connected to the issues and to each other.

Performance gaps are quickly identified and decisively dealt with.

Creativity is sparked when workers from all levels and functions (along with other important stakeholders) contribute their best ideas.

Capacity for future changes increases as people develop skills and processes to meet not just the current challenges but future challenges as well.

So, am I suggesting that employee satisfaction is unimportant? Of course not. Employee satisfaction is often one of the most noticeable hallmarks of a high-performance organization. But employee satisfaction is more often the result of high performance than an overriding cause. The most common cause of high performance is high engagement.

It goes back to the two maxims: (1) Ask the right questions. (2) Avoid asking the wrong questions.

You can rent a person’s back and hands, but you must earn his head and heart. And when you earn his head and heart (engagement!) you’ll tap into a reservoir of energy and commitment that can make all the difference.

Article from The Duncan Report. For more information please click on their link.

Boredom at Work

2009-03-19T23:11:00.000-04:00

Some maintain that boredom is a vehicle to creativity. Some, would argue that in work environments where creativity isn't fostered, boredom spreads like dandelions in a Spring lawn.

Whatever your own take on the issue is, the truth is that at one point or another boredom at work affects us all. Nobody is immune.

You know what I am talking about.

The days when time just doesn't pass fast enough to get away from work, the days when our neurons need Drano to let one squalid thought get through, when our eyes are like magnets to any time telling device, and our fingers are Velcro on your car keys.

Probably the difference between man and the monkeys is that the monkeys are merely bored, while man has boredom plus imagination. Lin Yutang.

Psychologist Stephen Vodanovich of the University of West Florida says that, "The most common way to define boredom in Western culture is having nothing to do." No definition is ever without flaw, and this in my humble-non-psychologist-view is no exception. Boredom, as I have observed and experienced it, has more to do with things like frustration and blahness, than with lack of things to do. It is more closely related to a lack of willingness to overcome what has paralyzed us to begin with.

I am partial to a piece Fritz Redl wrote based on children's boredom and behavior:

"Boredom will always remain the greatest enemy of school disciplines. If we remember that children are bored, not only when they don't happen to be interested in the subject or when the teacher doesn't make it interesting, but also when certain working conditions are out of focus with their basic needs, then we can realize what a great contributor to discipline problems boredom really is. Research has shown that boredom is closely related to frustration and that the effect of too much frustration is invariably irritability, withdrawal, rebellious opposition or aggressive rejection of the whole show. "

Now change the word children to bored adults at work...shockingly it all makes sense, right?

So what's a mere mortal to do? What is a leader, motivator, manager, team associate to do to get out of the bore-funk?

It is always a good idea to try and figure out how we got there in the first place before setting out to change a behavior. Keep that in mind (as some strategies might not apply to you or your team members) as you read on.

You'll find boredom where there is the absence of a good idea. Earl Nightingale

Boredom has very few positives, and mostly will affect your work place by increased absenteeism, lack of engagement, low productivity, Internet abuse, errors, and verbal and physical aggression. So here are a few points to help you fight the boredom-blues:

Ask questions & listen- Too often boredom is not identified quick enough. It is like a loud radio playing in the background, we know something is bugging us but we can't quite put our finger on it. Most times we fail to recognize feelings of boredom until it evolves into something else (generally something worse), and engagement surveys don't usually address this topic. Remember that while under performing employees might share their frustrations, highly driven employees can appear engaged and be bored at the same time. Neither of you may notice the boredom as the work is still getting done well...you will only learn about it when you see your valued employee walk away into more exciting territory...elsewhere. So take time during your one on one meetings and point blank ask: "Do you feel bored with your activities?" or "Is there any part of your role here you think you are bored with?"...you get the idea. Be candid. Listen. Find solutions together.

Challenge yourself and your staff- And more importantly, teach them how to self-challenge, e.g., learn a new skill, teach others something one has mastered, etc. Put your ear down the railroad tracks of past mistakes and, instead of merely punishing, take the time to teach and retrain.

Energize yourself and others- This begins with your morning greeting, and no, not being a morning person is not an excuse for grumpiness or being short with one another. Surprise someone with a morning snack and five minutes of random conversation. Smile. Seriously. Smiles can do wonders, didn't you know? Oh, and a sense of humor never hurts...

As much as possible avoid repetitive tasks- Be as creative as the job allows. Allow team members to switch tasks, take a breather, give them a learning hour or day, encourage them to shadow other roles (this is a great investment to see how other departments can work better together...think old SouthWest Airlines business model).

Avoid the status quo & make lists- That's right, whenever something frustrates you (or your associates) write it down and later (when frustration wore off) think about ways in which you can avoid this in the future. Each moment of frustration experienced enhances your chances to contribute to the company's success and your own. But only if these moments are capitalized on. So go ahead, try it, write it down and watch perspectives change.

Leading at The Speed of Trust

2009-03-09T21:25:00.000-04:00

by Rodger Dean Duncan

At this time of economic upheaval and political transition, trust is an issue that’s front and center.

Everybody’s in favor of trust. We all know it’s important. But a lot of people seem to regard trust as soft and intangible, a social virtue that’s nice to have but impossible to quantify.

Yet trust is much more than that. Trust is a hard-edged economic driver. Yes – trust is indeed a character trait. Trust is also a competency that can be taught, and learned, and improved.

My associate Stephen M.R. Covey has written a best-selling book on the subject. It’s called The Speed of Trust.

So what’s the big idea?

The big idea is simply this: Low trust is a tax. High trust is a dividend. It’s true in a relationship. It’s true on a team. It’s true with a client or customer. It’s true with every kind of stakeholder.

When trust is low, you pay a “tax” – because everything requires more time to accomplish and everything costs you more. When trust is high, you receive a “dividend” – because you’re able to get things done faster and at a lower cost.

This dividend is real. It’s not just a feel-good factor. It’s an actual economic dividend. And the data on it are overwhelming.

For example, a Watson Wyatt study showed that high-trust organizations outperformed low-trust organizations by 286% – that’s nearly three times – in total return to shareholders.

Every year Fortune magazine – in conjunction with the Great Place to Work Institute – publishes a list of “The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America.” Trust is the primary defining characteristic required to get on that list: trust between management and employees, trust between and among work teams.Trust factors comprise more than half of the criteria.

So, how do these high-trust organizations do? They outperform the S&P 500 by 416% in terms of their economic return.

A similar phenomenon occurs in education. We all know there’s a correlation between learning and the relationship between student and teacher. And as you’d expect, trust is an important component of that relationship. A national study shows that students in high-trust schools are three-and-a-half times more likely to increase their test scores than are students in low-trust schools.

Regardless of the industry, the research data are overwhelming: The low-trust tax is real. The high-trust dividend is real.

I frequently tell my clients that the second most expensive thing that can happen with regard to their employees is when smart and capable people quit and leave. But the number one most expensive thing that can happen is when their smart and capable people quit and stay.

Disengaged employees are enormously expensive. Engagement flows out of trust, and trust flows out of engagement. They are mutually reinforcing.

Studies by the Gallup organization show that 96% of engaged employees trust their leaders, while only 46% of disengaged employees trust their leaders. Gallup puts a conservative price tag of $300 billion per year on disengagement in the U.S. alone

So which comes first – the distrust or the disengagement? Both. And that’s the point. Trust affects everything.

Consider something like innovation. The Financial Times studied the 100 top companies on their list. They compared the top 20 innovators to the bottom 20 innovators. High trust was the number one differentiating factor.

Think about it. Innovation flourishes and thrives in an environment of high trust. Try innovating in a low-trust culture. People clamor for credit. They point fingers of blame. They tell each other a lot of victim, villain, and helpless stories. Because low-trust environments are not safe, it’s hard to make strides with innovation. You want to increase innovation? Increase the trust.

Consider teamwork. Our entire global economy – from the factory floor to relationships between nations – is based on collaboration. Genuine collaboration thrives or dies based upon trust.

Without trust it’s impossible to collaborate. You might be able to coordinate or you may cooperate. But genuine collaboration requires trust.

What about partnering? Partnering is an absolutely critical element in the industries represented here today. Partnering can take many forms, from outsourcing help with outages to installation of major hardware needed to operate a nuclear plant.

What about outsourcing? A study by the Warwick Business School in the UK focused on outsourcing contracts over a ten-year period. They found that companies that managed their outsourcing relationships based on trust – as opposed to relying on the fine print of service contracts – outperformed low-trust organizations by 40%. They call it the 40% dividend.

Studies in every industry validate the notion that trust is king. Whether you’re talking about execution, loyalty, sales, accelerating growth, or any other metric – high trust is a dividend. Everything – all the execution strategy, all the innovation, all the partnering, all the collaboration, all the growth and performance improvement – all of these things are tied to trust.

Now, let’s dig deeper into this idea of trust being a competency.

When we see the importance of trust we experience a paradigm shift. When we begin to speak the language of trust, it signals to others that we are committed to earning the dividends of trust.

When we behave in ways that build trust we actually earn those dividends and minimize the trust taxes we may have been paying.
It is then that we’re best able to achieve the sustainable high results we want.

Now, all of this may seem like a blinding flash of the obvious. Unfortunately, as we all know, common sense is often not common practice. And in the case of trust, the common practice seems to be to distrust.

Distrust is reflected in the silo mentality we often see in organizations. The surface relationships may be cordial, but right underneath the top veneer there’s often doubt or outright suspicion.

Fragile trust is often reflected in relationships between management and union members, between companies and suppliers.

Even when many of the other performance metrics seem to be okay, fragile trust can be a hidden variable – lurking beneath the surface as it slows down processes and drives up costs.

Why does this occur? I suppose there are many reasons. And I believe a primary reason is that most people still regard trust as just a nice-to-have social virtue and don’t yet understand trust as an issue they can do something about explicitly, deliberately, and quantitatively.

At one time, most of us didn’t understand the effects of cholesterol. But now there’s plenty of information available and we can make informed choices about our eating and exercise behaviors. There’s also plenty of quantitative information available on the effects of trust.

So let’s consider some of the informed choices we can make to earn trust, to maintain trust, and to extend trust.

Stephen M.R. Covey has identified 13 specific behaviors exhibited by leaders who consistently enjoy the benefits of high trust. Some of these behaviors are Character-based. Some of them are
Competency-based. And some include both Character and Competency components.
One Character-based behavior of people who earn high levels of trust is Straight Talk. They not only communicate clearly enough to be understood, they communicate so clearly that it’s difficult to misunderstand them. They use simple language.

There’s an old Chinese proverb that says “the beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.” Trustworthy people call things what they are. They do not “spin” the truth. They’re careful not to leave false impressions.

Of course the opposite behavior would be to lie or to deceive. Honest people don’t lie or deceive. However, honest people do sometimes engage in what can be called “counterfeit” behaviors. With regard to Straight Talk, counterfeit behaviors include “beating around the bush,” withholding information, selectively divulging only the information that supports our position.

And the granddaddy of them all: “corporatespeak” – that convoluted mass of euphemisms that puts a rosy spin on even the most negative of events. Nobody appreciates “corporatespeak” and spin. They’re not only not credible, they’re insulting. Yet they are very common.

Trustworthy people talk straight.

A Competency-based behavior that builds trust is to Confront Reality.

Trustworthy people step up to the tough issues and deal with them head-on. They engage others openly so they can tap into the creativity, ingenuity, and synergy that make for better decisions and better outcomes.

This has a powerful effect on both speed and cost.

Of course the opposite is to simply ignore reality or to act as though it doesn’t exist. We have a multitude of case studies on ignoring reality in the in the political arena, in the aerospace industry, in the healthcare industry, and certainly in the financial industry.

A counterfeit behavior is to pay lip service to dealing with the tough stuff, while really just tinkering with superficial symptoms rather than focusing on root causes.

Confronting reality requires courage and can be very uncomfortable. But it’s not nearly as uncomfortable as suffering the consequences of Pollyanna nonchalance.

An important trust-building behavior that has both Character and Competency components is to

Listen First. Trustworthy people listen first to understand, not to judge.
Genuinely listening first is harder than it may sound. Trustworthy people listen not just with their ears, but also with their eyes and their hearts. They’re very cautious about making assumptions. They don’t presume to have all the answers – or even all the questions.

A counterfeit behavior is to merely pretend to listen … just waiting for your turn to speak, or looking for holes in the other person’s position so you can attack theirs and bolster yours. That’s not dialogue. That’s debate.

Trustworthy people are not afraid of having their own positions challenged. Trustworthy people are eager to learn, even when it involves changing their minds. They Listen First.

And finally, an important way to earn and maintain trust is to Extend Trust.

Trustworthy people have a propensity to trust others. We’re not talking about blind trust or gullibility. We’re talking here about “smart trust” that’s based on a reasonable assessment of risk. Trustworthy people tend to extend trust abundantly to those who have earned it. They extend trust conditionally to those who are still earning it. But their first inclination is to trust.

A counterfeit behavior is to extend “fake trust.” This often comes in the form of giving people responsibility for results but withholding the authority or resources needed to achieve the results. In other words, giving someone a job but then “snoopervising” or hovering over them.

Micromanaging is perhaps the most common form of “fake trust.”

People tend to behave the way they’re treated. If you want people to trust you, extend trust to them. Otherwise, you simply contribute to the downward spiral of distrust and suspicion that imposes low-trust taxes and pushes aside the opportunity for high-trust dividends.

One of the many myths about trust is that it’s only about integrity. Trust is actually equal parts Character and Competence. Both components are required. The big idea here is that even if the superficial relationships in an organization are cordial and friendly, fragile trust under the surface can impose a number of expensive, low-trust taxes on overall performance.

Conversely, organizations that appreciate the real, economic effects of trust – and that explicitly and deliberately teach trust behaviors and build cultures of trust – enjoy the benefits of high-trust dividends. Believe it. You, too, can enjoy the speed of trust.

Article from The Duncan Report. For more information please click on their link.

2009-02-23T16:44:00.000-05:00

2009-02-20T17:34:00.000-05:00

IQ or EQ?

2009-02-20T17:06:00.001-05:00

This is another of our recurring themes at Duncan Consulting, Emotional Intelligence, a term coined by Daniel Goleman and the title to one of his best selling books.

One of our goals is to start posting more original articles and thoughts, but this time it really is not worth trying to reinvent the wheel, thus I resort again to the wisdom of Rodger Duncan. Please invest a few minutes and read through the article below this promises to shed new light into how maleable you and your staff can be in managing and improving one of your most valuable assets: EQ.

How's Your Emotional Intelligence?
by Rodger Dean Duncan

Pick up any newspaper and notice the headlines. From day to day it’s pretty much the same cast of characters. In the political and diplomatic arena you see George W. Bush, Colin Powell, Ariel Sharon, Yasser Arafat, Tony Blair. In the technology arena it’s Hewlett-Packard’s Carly Fiorina, eBay’s Meg Whitman and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. In religion, the current spotlight is on Pope John Paul II. In the world of terrorism, Osama bin Laden is in a category all his own.

For good or ill, these people have one thing in common: they are leaders. Whether elected, appointed or self-anointed, they make headlines because they have the ability to influence others to embrace their cause – sometimes even to the point of death.

Leadership – or lack of it – is at the core of most everything good or bad in our world. Yes, of course there’s the issue of individual agency and the right to choose one’s own behavior. But an individual’s choices are closely linked to the kind of leadership to which he’s been exposed.
I’ve spent much of my life studying leadership.

As a young journalist, I covered politics and business and saw examples of both the best and worst of leadership behaviors.

As a university professor, I noticed that the art of "politics" is not confined to Washington or the state capitol. I also noticed that in addition to being fine teachers, the best educators are also great leaders.

As a consultant to people ranging from White House occupants to corporate chieftains, I’ve witnessed the full range of vision, short-sightedness, courage, cowardice, empathy, arrogance and all the other characteristics that make or break a leader.

Because of that mix of experience, I’m often asked the question "Are great leaders made or born?"

My response is, "no!" and "yes!" No, I do not accept the false dichotomy embedded in the question, and yes, I do believe great leaders are both made and born.

Organizations spend billions on leadership development. While some of the training (and follow through) are questionable, I have no quarrel with the motive. Leaders can be made.

Some people are also born with leadership qualities. Just like other human traits, the gifts associated with leadership – vision, imagination, empathy, courage, etc. – come to some people as naturally as freckles and curly hair. And even for these "natural" leaders, improvement is always possible.

Leadership is so much more than conducting meetings and making presentations. Good leadership involves affirmation and encouragement. It involves teaching and correcting and coaching. It involves planning and coordinating and executing. It involves a wide range of skills, all of which are marshaled to bring out the best in others and enable them to produce great results.

It is true, of course, that great leaders tend to make the most of their God-given gifts. It’s also true that the best leaders among us deliberately search for ways to be better and to do better.
Aside from personal integrity, what quality is most critical to effective leadership? In my view, that quality is something called emotional intelligence.

In recent years much has been said and written about emotional intelligence, notably in Daniel Goleman’s best-selling book of that title. Goleman’s latest book, Primal Leadership, addresses the power that emotional intelligence brings to a person’s leadership behaviors.

The importance of emotional intelligence applies to every leadership role. Here’s the way Goleman describes the dimensions of emotional intelligence and the associated competencies. See how relevant you think these are to the style and service of someone who’s assigned to teach, coach and judge you.

Self-Awareness

Emotional self-awareness: Attuned to one’s guiding values, able to see the big picture in a complex situation, able to be candid and authentic, able to speak with conviction about one’s guiding vision.

Accurate self-assessment: Knowing one’s strengths and limits, exhibiting a gracefulness in learning where improvement is needed.
Self-confidence: A sound sense of one’s self-worth and capabilities.

Self-Management

Emotional self-control: Able to stay calm and clear-headed under stress, able to stay unflappable even when confronted by a trying situation.

Transparency: Authentic, open, honest, trustworthy. Willing to admit own mistakes and faults. Willing to confront unethical behavior in others rather than turn a blind eye.
Adaptability: Able to juggle multiple demands without losing focus or energy. Comfortable with ambiguities. Nimble in adjusting to fluid change.

Achievement: The drive to improve performance to meet high standards. Continually learning – and teaching – ways to do better.

Initiative: Ready to act and seize opportunities.

Optimism: Seeing the upside in events and the best in other people.

Social Awareness

Empathy: Able to sense the felt, but sometimes unspoken, emotions in others. Able to understand other people’s perspective.

Organizational awareness: Reading the currents, decision networks and other dynamics at the organizational level.

Service: Recognizing and meeting the needs of others.

Relationship Management

Inspirational leadership: Able to articulate a shared mission in a way that inspires others to follow.

Influence: Persuasive and engaging when addressing others.

Developing others: Adept at cultivating the abilities of their followers in the context of their followers’ goals, strengths, and vulnerabilities.

Change catalyst: Recognize the need for change, challenge the status quo.

Conflict management: Able to draw out all parties, understand the differing perspectives, find a common ideal that everyone can support.

Teamwork and collaboration: Generate an atmosphere of friendly collegiality. Able to draw others into active, enthusiastic commitment to the collective effort while building spirit and identity.

Wow! If a leader can do all that, plus bake bread and make his own clothes, he’s only a step away from perfection. Of course even the most effective leaders acknowledge they have plenty to learn. (In fact, that very acknowledgement is one reason they’re already so effective.)

Continuous learning is a hallmark of great leadership.

The best leaders I’ve observed are very good about providing unvarnished feedback on the performance of others. Their feedback is specific and relevant.

At the same time – and this is a key differentiator – the best leaders I know frequently solicit feedback on their own performance. They are open to critiques of both their ideas and of their leadership. On occasion, they actively seek "negative" feedback, valuing the voice of counter thinking. (By contrast, less effective leaders – if they solicit feedback at all – most often solicit confirming feedback.)

The most effective leaders I know are careful to break through the information quarantine that sometimes surrounds them. They actively seek negative feedback as well as positive. They understand that in order to perform better they need a full range of information – even when the information doesn’t feel good to hear.

Last summer my wife Rean and I were on a drive. It was a hot day and I stopped at a convenience store. I returned to the car with two bottles of cold water and two Snickers candy bars. My wife thanked me for the water and said it was thoughtful of me to be concerned for her thirst.

"And did you notice that I bought your favorite candy bar?" I asked. To which Rean replied: "Honey, Snickers is your favorite candy bar. I never did like Snickers. My favorite candy bar is Milky Way."

So here I was – married to a wonderful woman for 35 years – and I somehow never noticed that her favorite candy bar was not the same as my favorite.

Think how easy it must be to miss the cues and clues from the people we serve. Are we providing what they really need? Are we really reaching them? Are we really lifting them?
If we’re not accustomed to asking, they’re probably not very accustomed to telling. So we need to ask, then ask some more. And listen.

The bad news is that not everyone is born with emotional intelligence competencies. The good news is that the competencies can be learned and practiced.

Sometimes our best coaches are the very people we’ve been asked to serve.
It’s not called "servant leadership" for nothing.

Article from The Duncan Report. For more information please click on their link.

IQ or EQ?

2009-02-20T17:06:00.000-05:00

Take a breather

2009-02-11T23:00:00.001-05:00

With all the commotion around us, remember to make it a point to take a moment, take a step back, observe, practice some deep breathing or simply enjoy being as empty of thought as you want to be. It won't be long until you'll have to give it your all again.

Whether you are in a resting or attention position remember that the most important thing is to be in the moment. 110% in the moment, that is. That is when you get both the best rest and the best results.

Take a breather

2009-02-11T23:00:00.000-05:00

Can you hear me now?

2009-02-11T21:53:00.001-05:00

Funny, right? Unless it's you who is not being listened to.

Most of us listen to about 25% of what is being communicated to us. I know, I know, listening and communication are common threads in this blog, but there never was a more pressing time to start working on our listening skills (afterall, we do want to keep our jobs and progress in our careers, right?). So do what you can, and if you feel you are not meeting your own expectations try again, try harder and try smarter.

I have a good friend whom I always thought had the touch for changing people's mood around. The type who, after a sales person has been openly rude to him, replies "How is your day going?" Not in a sarcastic way but in the most caring and compassionate tone possible. It always amazes me to watch the results: even the rudest most abrasive people make eye contact (sometimes for the first time) and then the magic happens: that moment when an frustrated associate actually sees the person in front of him as a human being.

Besides the obvious results my friend always gets (things done right the first time, a more pleasant person to do business with, quicker service, a discount, etc.) the most everlasting result is that he's likely to have made a positive impact on that person's day and attitude.

So go ahead laugh at the cartoon. Remember all the jerks who mistreated you and vent about it.

But also remember that a graceful human being helps situations by showing, not by telling.

If your listening and empathy skills leave something to be desired, read a book on the subject, ask friends and coworkers to be honest with you and provide you feedback, practice deliberately not interrupting or thinking about what you are going to say next while your spouse, friend or coworker is talking to you, take a class (Rollins College has a fantastic class on the subject)...and most of all, when you think you are done learning...well, then it's time to start all over again.

And remember, the fact that most of us run at 25% capacity that doesn't mean that's the way it has to be. Not if you want to achieve exceptional results anyway.

Can you hear me now?

2009-02-11T21:53:00.000-05:00

Funny, right? Unless it's you who is not being listened to.

So go ahead laugh at the cartoon. Remember all the jerks who mistreated you and vent about it.

But also remember that a graceful human being helps situations by showing, not by telling.

And remember, the fact that most of us run at 25% capacity that doesn't mean that's the way it has to be. Not if you want to achieve exceptional results anyway.

2009-01-12T19:44:00.001-05:00

During a recent conversation with a former colleague about the staggering decline in customer service, as well as employee & customer satisfaction many businesses are experiencing, we found ourselves using feel words. Yes, two mature, objective, career- oriented, type-A business folks using feel words.

We were most amazed by the palpable loss of pride and passion for one’s work. Particularly in these tough times and in spite of this clearly being in an employers market. We exchanged ideas about my prior post (“You can’t fire me!”) and agreed that ignorance is not really bliss.

Ignorance is what propels, otherwise cognitively-aware adults, to overspending money, resources and time. Ignorance has entire populations ‘nurturing’ their bodies with what, in places like Europe, would be banned foods and a host of Genetically Modified Organisms whose consequences nobody seems to know and we remain oblivious to. Ignorance, more times than not, is at the root of wars. And ignorance is the currency poorly performing employees are banking on to keep sucking the life and profitability out of your business.

I cannot tell you what to eat, what to think, how to spend your money, resources, and time. But I can remind you the importance of two key areas for the health of your business:

1. Knowledge of at least the basics of HR Law in your state
2. Knowledge of how your good employees feel about changes and your company’s mission, vision, and long-term direction

In fact, you will notice as you browse through the blog that these are recurring themes for us. And for good reason. We’ve seen businesses hurt their bottom line due to lack of basic prevention, knowledge and simple good use of empathy. We’ll dissect these issues and share some ideas on how to shed some light on them in upcoming posts.

Meanwhile, read, learn, and if you have no time to do either, be sure to contact an HR specialist to hold your hand through the ins and outs of the HR world.

2009-01-12T19:44:00.000-05:00

You Can't Fire Me!

2009-01-06T22:17:00.001-05:00

One of the great things about working with a new client is learning the background of their employees and discovering some of the reasons behind the culture.

Recently, I was conducting a job analysis for a client in order to put together a strategic plan for utilizing her team members more productively when during an interview one employee told me that he could never be fired. He said that he knew the laws of the state (this was Florida) and that it would take something more than poor performance for him to be fired. Well, I assured him that I was not there to fire him or cause him to be fired. He insisted on trying to convince me that although he was not a top performer, there was no way he was losing his job.

I try to keep the employee interviews that I do confidential so I asked the client who her top performers were and who were some of the team members she thought needed improvement. As I suspected, the employee who assured me he could not be fired turned out to be not only one of the poor performers, but was at the bottom of the list and was a problem employee.

The client showed me a file with a history of documented performance issues for the man who could not be fired. The client was hesitant to fire this employee because of the threats he had made stating that he has attorney friends and that the law is on his side. I volunteered to review the employee's file and made the recommendation that he be terminated immediately.

What from the outside appears to be an open and shut case to most of us is a fearful and confusing one for the employer. It is sad that a small business owner cannot concentrate on planning and producing to create a profitable business to provide for their families, provide income and security for employees, and contribute to the local economy because some knuckle-headed employee is determined to take a free ride at the company's expense. Most employment laws are needed to protect both the employee and employer, but there are some, (most often mis-understood), laws that scare the daylight out of employers and are commonly used by employees, armed with only a touch of the correct interpretation of the law, to threaten the very person who gave them a job with "I will do as I please and you can't fire me!"

You Can't Fire Me!

2009-01-06T22:17:00.000-05:00

We need a hard recession...

2008-12-17T13:45:00.001-05:00

...Or so I the staff at Dillard's would have me believe.

Last week I went to buy some shoes. Once I stepped into the shoe department at Dillard's everything about me screamed 'buyer.' Not potential buyer. I was a sure bet, yet the three staff members kept discussing something much more important, ignoring me, hidden under an imaginary tent in plain sight.

People cringe every time I say that we need a good recession or even a depression. But if the current state of affairs has not made people value their jobs I don't know what will. I sent all the right signals, yet nobody came to assist me. Once I approached them they seemed slightly annoyed at my presence, yet one of the sales people finally handed me ONE shoe on my size. "I am sorry, I was born like this, with two feet," I blurted sarcastically as I extended my hand for the other shoe.

What will it take for us to proactively offer the two shoes in everything we do?

Is it a lack on the leadership side?

Perhaps poor benefits or wages?

A manager with poor people and communication skills?

Or, could it be, that employers still hiring the wrong people?

In my consulting business, one of the most common inquires I get from small business owners is about finding ways to fire (why beat around the bush with kinder verbiage?) poorly performing employees without facing a lawsuit. That is why I consider taking the time to hire above average employees & using all available resources to do so, is one of the biggest investments an employer should make. Thankfully, it is one of the highest yielding ones as well.

One would thing that what would follow such a diatribe would be key points to take into consideration prior to extending your handshake and employment offer to a potential candidate.

Well, not exactly. Not in this case. Why? The info is out there online, in magazines, in books, for everyone to benefit from it.

If they really wanted to.

I believe that if we only try to follow a guideline to hire the best we’d be taking a simplistic stance on this matter. I also believe we might be making the cardinal mistake of omission by forgetting to ask ourselves the following seven questions:

1. Do we really want to hire the best?

2. When looking at our current balance sheet, are we in the red or are we in the black profitable pool perhaps due to not paying top dollar to hire and keep the best?

3. Would the prodigious employee, seemingly experienced beyond his years, fit in with our current team or will his presence stir things up to the dreaded point of profitability losses?

4. Are our managers prepared to manage someone who may outshine them?

5. Are we conscioiusly or unconsciously trying to maintain the status quo by enjoying our marginally profitable mediocrity?

6. Are we planning ahead and taking the time needed to hire the best, or are we simply taking the stance of worrying about the urgent while ignoring the important?

7. Do we care more about the way we can market and present our team’s accomplishments, even if a thick makeup layer is needed to create the desired perception, or do we truly embrace hiring someone who might shake things up?

For some companies, in their own narrow, horse-blinder wearing view, it might not be as profitable to hire the best employees they possibly could.

In the end, it truly boils down to the fact we sometimes simply lack the cojones (pardon my Spanish) to surround ourselves by the best.

And the main reason is simply fear.

We need a hard recession...

2008-12-17T13:45:00.000-05:00

What will it take for us to proactively offer the two shoes in everything we do?

We need a hard recession...

2008-12-08T16:33:00.001-05:00

Or so I the staff at Dillard's would make me believe. Last week I went to buy some shoes. Once I stepped into the shoe department at Dillard's everything about me screamed 'buyer.' Not potential buyer. I was a sure bet, yet the three staff members kept discussing something much more important, ignoring me, hidden under an imaginary tent in plain sight. People cringe every time I say that we need a good recession or even a depression. But if the current state of affairs has not made people value their jobs I don't know what will. I sent all the right signals, yet nobody came to assist me. Once I approached them they seemed slightly annoyed at my presence, yet one of the sales people finally handed me ONE shoe on my size. "I am sorry, I was born like this, with two feet," I blurted sarcastically as I extended my hand for the other shoe. What will it take for us to proactively offer the two shoes in everything we do? Is it a lack on the leadership side? Perhaps poor benefits or wages? A manager with poor people and communication skills? Or, could it be, that employers still hiring the wrong people? In my consulting business, one of the most common inquires I get from small business owners is about finding ways to fire (why beat around the bush with kinder verbiage?) poorly performing employees without facing a lawsuit. That is why I consider taking the time to hire above average employees & using all available resources to do so, is one of the biggest investments an employer should make. Thankfully, it is also one of the biggest yielding ones as well. One would thing that what would follow such a diatribe would be key points to take into consideration prior to extending your handshake and employment offer to a potential candidate.

Well, not exactly. Not in this case. Why? The info is out there online, in magazines, in books, for everyone to benefit from it. If they really wanted to. I believe that if we only try to follow a guideline to hire the best we’d be taking a simplistic stance on this matter. I also believe we might be making the cardinal mistake of omission by forgetting to ask ourselves the following seven questions:
1. Do we really want to hire the best?
2. When looking at our current balance sheet, are we in the red or are we in the black profitable pool perhaps due to not paying top dollar to hire and keep the best?
3. Would the prodigious employee, seemingly experienced beyond his years, fit in with our current team or will their presence stir things up to the dreaded point of profitability losses?
4. Are our managers prepared to manage someone who may outshine them?
5. Are we unconsciously trying to keep the status quo by enjoying our marginally profitable mediocrity?
6. Are we planning ahead and taking the time needed to hire the best, or are we simply taking the stance of worrying about the urgent while ignoring the important?
7. Do we care more about the way we can market and present our team’s accomplishments, even if a thick makeup layer is needed to create the desired perception, or do we truly embrace hiring someone who might shake things up?
The truth is, that for some companies, in their own narrow horse-blinders wearing view, it might not be as profitable to hire the best employees they possibly could.
In the end, it truly boils down to the fact we sometimes simply lack the cojones (excuse my Spanish) to surround ourselves by the best, and the main true reason is simply fear.

We need a hard recession...

2008-12-08T16:33:00.000-05:00

Why?

2008-11-10T20:42:00.001-05:00

Why? That is a powerful question. However, as important as it is to ask questions, as we grow up, we simply forget to make the simplest inquiries, and instead assume we know the answers and make costly mistakes.

Take a moment to read the article below and as your week progresses make it a habit to ask probing questions and carefully listen to the answers. You might be surprised at the doors this dialogue may open.

The Power of Smart Questions
by Rodger D. Duncan

Few things are as delightful – and thought-provoking – as the innocent questions of a child:
“What color is thunder?”
“Do cows get bored? Do they care?”
“Does the Fairy Princess know she’s not real?”
“How old is dirt?”

Good questions are the sign of a fertile mind, and we should cultivate our own question-asking skills as adults.

Good questions stimulate thinking.

When we get stuck in a particular pattern of thinking, it’s often because we keep asking ourselves the same questions. Change the question and you’re more likely to come up with a more practical answer.

Sixty years ago, Edwin Land was walking along the beach with his young daughter. He stopped to snap a few photos with his Brownie camera. Impatient for the results, his little girl asked an intriguing question: “Daddy, why can’t we see the pictures right now?” It was a problem in search of a solution, and from that innocent question came the development of the Polaroid Land camera and the ability to see a completed photograph only seconds after it was taken.

Decades later, Arthur Fry was singing in his church and noticed that fellow choir members marked their places in the hymnbooks with small strips of paper. When they opened their books to a new page, the slips of paper often fell to the floor. Fry, who worked for the 3M Corporation, had a colleague who had developed a high quality adhesive that adhered instantly but less tightly than other adhesives. It was a solution in search of a problem. And it was just the answer for Fry’s question “How can I make a bookmark that will stick to the page but won’t tear the paper when I move it somewhere else?” The result was the ubiquitous Post-It¨ Note.

In some ways, we live in the age of the reluctant thinker. Original thinking is not always rewarded. Despite a lot of lip service about the value (and necessity) of frequent change, many corporate cultures cling tenaciously to the status quo. People who question “the way things have always been done” are often branded as troublemakers rather than as innovators.

In our “just do it” society, thinking is often viewed as unproductive. When economic times get tough, one of the first budget items to go is training. Good training involves good questions and good answers, which lead to good thinking, which leads to productive people. But many short-sighted managers don’t have the big picture. So they cut the training and development, then wonder why their people seem stuck in the old ruts. It’s sort of like “I don’t have time to stop and get gas because I’m too busy driving!”

Good questions lead to valuable information.

Truly effective people tend to be questioning detectives. Remember Columbo, the television cop who always solved the crime by asking (in his famously offhand manner) just one more question? We should be more like Columbo, asking that extra question to probe and clarify until we’re sure we understand what we need to know or do.

Good journalists, good detectives, good thinkers focus on five W’s and an H – Who, Where, What, When, Why and How. They ask questions that march them down the path to the information or understanding they seek. They know that not everyone volunteers information, so they ask. They know that some people speak in generalities, so they ask for specifics. They know that assumptions can be faulty, so they question assumptions – beginning with their own. They know that effects have many masquerades, so they dig for root causes. They know that words and phrases can mean different things to different people, so they seek for clarity and common ground.

Even in this age of Internet search engines and other means of instant information, we can never know everything. And even when we do find answers, we only generate more questions. For generations, scientists struggled with the question “How can we prolong life?” Today we have the technology to keep people alive long after their bodies cease to function on their own. So now one of the questions has become “Should we prolong life?”

Good questions help us gain control.

Just like there’s bad cholesterol and good cholesterol, there’s bad control and good control. The bad kind of control has to do with manipulation of others. The good kind of control has to do with managing a situation and, especially, managing ourselves.

We can help manage our own physical vitality by asking the right kind of questions of our doctors, dentists, pharmacists and other health care providers. We can manage our own financial health by asking the right questions of our brokers, accountants, attorneys, insurance people and financial planners. We can manage our own home maintenance by asking the right questions of the plumber, the electrician, the landscaper and the guy at the hardware store.

The best conversationalists are usually people who ask good questions. They don’t interrogate, they simply ask meaningful questions that other people are willing to answer. People who seem to do best in job interviews are those who come prepared with questions of their own.

Good questions, coupled with genuine listening, enable us to be in control without appearing to be controlling, to be assertive without being aggressive.

Although effective communication usually has a spontaneous feel to it, a bit of planning is often in order.

Lewis Carroll’s book Alice in Wonderland offers some pertinent lessons. You may recall the exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat about the importance of setting goals. Consider this passage in which Alice asks the Cheshire Cat for advice on which direction to go.
“Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to go,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where—” said Alice .
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “—so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

It really takes no effort to get somewhere. Just do nothing, and you’re there. If you want to get somewhere meaningful, however, you must know where you want to go. Then you need to make plans on how to get there. Thoughtful questions can provide a good roadmap.

Good questions stir people to open up.

Ask routine questions and you’ll likely get routine, minimalist responses.
“How was your day?
“Fine.”
“Was the traffic any better?”
“About the same.”
“Did your presentation go okay?”
“Pretty much.”

I practice my questioning habits with my granddaughters. Why? Because they’re among my all-time favorite people and because their answers usually lead to delightful, self-revealing conversations.

The questions that jump-start these great dialogues are designed to provoke thought and are not conducive to routine answers. Some of them don’t even end with a question mark.
“What was the funniest thing that happened to you today?”
“What part of today would you like to happen again tomorrow?”
“Tell me how participating in the spelling bee can help you in other subjects.”
“What important thing have you learned since we last talked?”
“How can you help me be smarter?”
“In what ways were you a good friend today?”
“Who are the characters in the book you’re reading? What do you like about them?”

There’s really nothing complicated about thought-provoking questions. They simply require thought – your thought in asking them, and the respondent’s thought in answering them. And they are appropriate in any venue.

Rather than ask a client to tell me generally what’s going on in his company, I may ask “What kind of day-to-day business situation has the power to keep you awake at night?” Or “If you could wave a magic wand over your business, what would you change? Why?” Or, “Whose leadership style do you most admire? How is your own style different or similar?”
While good questions can stir others to open up, it’s our own genuine listening that helps persuade them to stay open with us. A comic once said that authentic communication is 50 per cent sincerity, and then you just fake the rest of it. That line may get a chuckle, but it’s a dangerous practice. Genuine listening is much, much more than eye contact and an occasional “uh-huh.” Genuine listening involves connecting heart to heart and working to understand the other person’s viewpoint even if you don’t agree with it. Good questions can pave the way.

Good questions cause people to persuade themselves.

A secret to persuasion is to encourage or enable people to come up with their own solutions to problems. Said another way, we can persuade others by helping them persuade themselves.
It’s a fact of human nature that many people have more confidence in what they say than in what you say. When people come up with their own answers and when they say something in their own voice, they’re much more likely to take ownership of the idea.
The best coaches I know – athletic coaches, speech coaches, music coaches, business coaches – invest most of their time and effort in asking pertinent questions that result in focused feedback.
For example, let’s say a speech coach is helping a business executive prepare for an important presentation to employees. Rather than simply prescribe a step-by-step approach to drafting and rehearsing the presentation, the coach is likely to ask a series of targeted questions:
“Specifically who are your audience members?”
“Based on the feedback you receive, what seems to be their view of your own performance?”
“In what ways can you help your people ‘catch the vision’ of the company’s possibilities?”
“How can you genuinely differentiate your business from your competitors?”
“What kind of data will meet the information needs of your audience, and how can you package the data in a fresh, compelling way?”
“How can you show your audience the linkage between the company’s success and their own personal best interests?”
“How can your presentation come across as a friend-to-friend chat on subjects of mutual interest rather than as a hollow pronouncement from the big guy in the corner office?”
These are pertinent questions, and the answers have a lot more influence when they come from the person being coached.
Self coaching.
Of course the coaching that’s always available to us is self coaching. Self coaching requires the willingness to seek honest feedback from others and the discipline to translate that feedback into deliberate improvement. Unfortunately, many people have fallen into the “been there, done that” rut. They forget that self criticism – when it’s honest and balanced – is a critical ingredient in personal improvement. Effective people tend to ask themselves questions like these:
What went well yesterday that’s worth repeating today? How can I make it happen?
How can I prepare for this meeting so my participation will add real value?
This interesting solution doesn’t quite fit the problem. Can it be applied to another problem? (Remember the story of the Post-It¨ Notes.)
What things is my spouse, child, colleague or friend genuinely interested in? What questions are most likely to trigger an interesting conversation?
What specific activities – right now – are most likely to advance me toward my goal? (Yard by yard it’s hard, but inch by inch it’s a cinch.)
What have I learned from a recent mistake or missed opportunity? How can I put that learning to good use?

Smart questions are not complicated. In fact, they’re deceptively simple. And using smart questions to make yourself even smarter is a practice that’s – well, it’s as old as dirt.

Article from The Duncan Report. For more information please click on their link.

Why?

2008-11-10T20:42:00.000-05:00

Listening--Why Bother?

2008-10-23T20:54:00.001-04:00

Below is an article that summarizes some key points to help us understand why listening is so important for success. Listening, communication, core values & principles are key aspects of HR Remedies's true North. That is why you will continue to see these as recurring themes in our blog.

The article was written by Bruce Wilson, executive coach & trainer and featured on the business listening site.

Practical Benefits of Better Listening for Leaders and Teams

Besides the deep implications of listening for leadership explored in decades of leadership models, listening has a number of direct, practical benefits for executives, managers, and team members.

Experienced management trainer Madelyn Burley-Allen identifies the following immediate tangible benefits from listening in the work place:

A Bond of Respect. Genuine listening generates respect, rapport and trust between talker and listener. In particular, employees like, and respond better to, supervisors who they think are listening to them.

Productivity. Productivity will be higher and problems solved more rapidly if people working to solve problems are encouraged to explain problems and start working though solutions out loud before "advice-giving" begins

Cooler Heads. Focusing on listening helps both the talker and the listener stay cool--and helps them cool down--when dealing with a crisis or discussing an emotionally charged topic.

Confidence. A supervisor who listens well will tend to have better self-esteem and self-image because they will get along better with others.

Accuracy. Better listening leads to better recollection of important facts and issues later on, resulting in fewer miscommunications and fewer mistakes. Thus, attention to good listening technique is even more important when complex issues are involved.

Parts of this section were inspired by the book Madelyn Burley-Allen, Listening, The Forgotten Skill. A Self-Teaching Guide (Fireside (Simon and Schuster), 1995 (Second Edition)) (>Amazon.com), with interpretation and analysis by Bruce Wilson.
Other motivational benefits of listening in the work place:
Innovative solutions to problems and new production methods are incubated by listening. When a leader tells someone exactly how to do something, or tells them to stop thinking and just keep doing it the way it's always been done, the organization misses out on any improvements that someone might discover by applying their fresh eyes and unique background to solving the problem.

From a different perspective, by not listening to the people who have to get the job done a leader not only chills innovation but also de-motivates by reducing feelings of responsibility, control, and importance.

Finally, it bears noting that Six Sigma, the latest system for total quality management, explicitly recognizes not only the value of the employee viewpoint, but the value to the employee of being listened to. Listening makes employees feel better about themselves and the problems they are working on seem more within their control.

Aren't some of us just too darn effective already to rely much on listening? Even General George S. Patton, the flamboyantly egocentric but highly effective U.S. Army tank commander during World War II, once said:

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."

Cultivating the Work Environment. At IDEO, the company's leaders seek out the creative voice of team members and encourage team members to listen to one another in order to build an office environment that promotes cooperative teamwork and inspired problem-solving.- IDEO uses empathic listening to discover ways to make the work environment comfortable and attractive in order to recruit and retain top people.- IDEO treats the work environment as one of its product development projects. They brainstorm, prototype, and take feedback from team members to zero in on what works.- This approach to work environment encourages a flow of creativity and problem solving rather than focusing team members on barriers and obstacles in their path, such as "who's getting a window office."

Encourage Prototyping. Like brainstorming, prototyping is a way to solicit input from team members and develop empathy with customers. Prototyping is the process of creating and experiencing multiple early versions of your products of services, perhaps with alternative features, before your "final" version is ready for sale.

For example, when facing a one month deadline, try to come up with 5 different flavors of primitive outlines or prototypes after the first week and get feedback from team members about the prototypes to see what directions look most promising. Then prepare a final version. Don't begin by preparing a final version of "best guess" for completion and delivery on day 30, then get feedback after its too late.

Prototyping early and often breaks log jams, builds momentum, and allows course changes before smacking straight into obstacles.

Listening--Why Bother?

2008-10-23T20:54:00.000-04:00

Dealing with adversity as a true leader

2008-10-01T17:20:00.001-04:00

The following is part of the Listening Leaders Newsletter sent by Dr. Lyman K. Steil & Dr. Richard K. Bommelje. If you'd like to subscribe or check past newsletters please visit their Listening Leaders site.

"Listening Leaders® regularly face the two-edged challenge of simultaneously attempting to accept and address adversity that enters every listener’s life. Adversity resides around every corner in a period filled with worldwide financial turmoil, a downturn in the world economy, excessive unemployment, real-estate foreclosures, health care challenges, international armed conflict, terrorist threats, energy shortages, excessive individual and national debt, and a contentious political season. Danger lurks everywhere, and Listening Leaders® must learn to accept and address adverse moments as they find them.

Obviously, different people deal with moments of adversity in different ways. However, all listeners will be wise to remember the wisdom of the Roman philosopher Lucretius who wrote, “Look at a man, in the midst of doubts and danger, and you will learn in his hour of adversity what he really is. It is then that true utterances are wrung from the recesses of his breast. The mask is torn off; the reality remains.” The ultimate test of listening may reside in how well one listens when the world around them seems to be falling apart in front of their eyes and ears. As we know, it is easy to listen when one is coasting downhill with the wind at our back and the sun in our face. The greater challenge is meeting the task of readiness for the moments when the road turns steep and rocky, and the wind and the rain are in our face. For it is in these moments when Listening Leaders® multitude of honed skills of listening truly pay-off.

Accepting and addressing all moments of adversity becomes easier if one listens with planned preparation, an understanding of relevant listening principles, and practiced listening skills. Preparation is critical as adverse events often appear when one may least expect them. Simply put, wise listeners plan and are prepared for the unexpected. They project negative possibilities and create strategies for rational processing and responding. In the process, Listening Leader’s® build solid foundations from which they can address adverse events.

In addition, the challenges of dealing with adversity require a deep understanding and application of Listening Leader® Principles. Assuming “Primary Responsibility” for effective listening becomes heightened in all adverse moments. Moreover, difficult times demand that listeners “Find and Align the Purpose” of every communication. One cannot run from, or ignore, any significant challenge of the moment.

Finally, listeners will find it easier to address any adverse issue if they develop their skills of effective listening through extensive Practice of “Identifying and Using Structures, and Identifying and Controlling Distractions and Emotions.” The adage, “perfect practice makes perfect” holds great significance in moments of adversity. Prepared listeners who have developed practiced skills will always trump the unprepared and un-practiced listeners. For as the Irish poet, W. B. Yeats observed, “We begin to live when we have conceived life as a tragedy.”

In times of adversity, Listening Leaders® will profit by accepting and adopting the simple observation of the Australian poet, Adam Lindsay Gordon, who wrote: “Life is mostly froth and bubble. Two things stand like stone, Kindness in another’s trouble, Courage in your own.”

So as we continue our quest of “Advancing listening leadership throughout the world,” we challenge all Listening Leaders® to accept and address adversity where you find it.

LISTENING LEADER® KNOWLEDGE NUGGET: Listening Leaders® accept and address adversity.

In the Winter of 1776-1777, Thomas Paine endured the travails of adversity in the dark hours of the Revolutionary War. Conditions were brutal, yet Paine established an invaluable and timely road map for all Listening Leaders® facing moments of adversity.

Paine wrote: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.

I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state: up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake.

Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and repulse it. Say not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, but ‘show your faith by your works,’ that God may bless you.

It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor, will suffer or rejoice alike. The heart that feels not now, is dead: the blood of his children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man who can smile in trouble that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”

Two hundred and thirty-two years later, Thomas Paine’s invitation continues to hold value for present day distressed Listening Leaders® everywhere.

LISTENING LEADER TIP OF THE WEEK: Embrace moments of adversity.

GOLDEN CIRCLE LISTENING LEADERS QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

Adversity introduces a man to himself ~ Anonymous

It never rains but it pours ~ Proverb

Prosperity doth best discover vice: but adversity doth best discover virtue ~ Bacon

When sorrows come, the come not single spies, but in battalions ~ Shakespeare

We are all strong enough to bear the misfortunes of others ~ Duc de la Rochefoucauld

We are always in the forge or on the anvil ~ Henry Ward Beecher

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials ~ Chinese Proverb

Dealing with adversity as a true leader

2008-10-01T17:20:00.000-04:00

Being Accountable for Accountability

2008-09-17T16:36:00.001-04:00

By Rodger Dean Duncan

Everywhere I go in my consulting practice, performance "accountability" is among the top two or three concerns of senior executives.
Accountability has various definitions, but the word is usually used to denote personal responsibility for getting desired results. It's an admirable idea, and all good managers and leaders want their people to be "accountable."
Of course accountability doesn't apply only to rank and file employees. Managers and leaders should be accountable for holding others accountable. After all, isn't getting good results with and through other people the very reason we have managers and leaders?

I recently visited a client organization that employs about 1,300 people. By some standards, an employee population of only 1,300 isn’t a big company. But in this particular highly specialized, highly technical industry, 1,300 is about average.
I was called in to work with the senior management team on “communication” issues. At dinner one evening, I asked one of the top executives a pointed question:

“Last year, how many of your 1,300 employees received a ‘Needs Improvement’ performance appraisal rating?”

“Six,” my friend answered.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “My question must not have been clear. Of all of your 1,300 employees, how many of them …”

My friend interrupted me in mid-sentence. “Your question was painfully clear,” he said. “Last year, only six of our people received a ‘Needs Improvement’ rating.”

He went on to describe his organization as similar to Garrison Keeler’s mythical Lake Wobegone community where all the men are handsome, all the women are beautiful, and all the children are above average.

“We’re good with technology,” he said, “but we’re not at all good at the straight talk that’s necessary for consistently high performance. Sometimes we dance around or even ignore issues that cry out for attention.”

My friend’s assessment of his organization was right on target. And it underscored the common need (1) to define what accountability really means and then (2) to engage people in ways that win their hearts, minds and commitment.

Some of my clients address the matter with something called the Ladder of Accountability.

At the lowest rung on the ladder, people are simply “Unaware” or “Unconscious.” They don’t even know there’s a situation that needs attention.

The next rung on the ladder is the “Blame Others” level. Here’s where we see a lot of finger pointing. When something goes wrong, or fails to go right, people at this level are quick to censure their colleagues. This is the behavior we frequently see on “The Apprentice,” Donald Trump’s television show in which young professionals fight it out for a big job opportunity. Rather than fixing problems, most of the contestants invest their energy in fixing blame.

Just above the “Blame Others” rung on the Ladder of Accountability are the “Personal Excuses” and “I Can’t” levels. The behavior we see here is sort of an adult version of “the dog ate my homework” syndrome. People talk themselves into believing, for a wide range of imaginative reasons, that they are simply unable to accomplish the task at hand. It’s never their fault, of course, because (they genuinely believe) they are controlled by circumstances.

Next we have the “Wait and Hope” level. Although waiting and hoping are better than blaming and making excuses, this is still a mind set that places the obligation for results on someone else. In fact, all of behaviors on these lower rungs on the Ladder of Accountability are victim behaviors. People who languish at these levels of performance (or non-performance) seem to believe that things happen to them.
So let’s consider the more productive rungs on the Ladder of Accountability.
At the “Acknowledge Reality” level, people at least have their heads out of the sand. They see the situation for what it is, sort the facts from the fiction, and accept the certainty that something needs to be changed.

An even higher rung on the ladder is the “Own It!” level. People operating at this level admit their own role in the problem, then accept ownership of the situation. People who psychologically “own” a problem are much more likely to solve it than people who merely acknowledge that a problem exists. The symptoms of psychological ownership are intense interest, passion, determination, and the persistent investment of energy. Psychological ownership reminds us of the old joke about ham and eggs. The chicken is merely involved, the pig is truly committed.

Just above the “Own It! level is the “Find a Solution!” rung on the Ladder of Accountability. Solutions are spawned by commitment to results.

And the highest rung on the Ladder of Accountability is the “Make It Happen!” level. People who operate at this level don’t just talk about results, they get results. Their commitment is relentless (I didn’t say ruthless, I said relentless.)

These “Make It Happen!” people sometimes make the hand-wringers uncomfortable. They not only tend to think outside the box, they often refuse to accept the notion that “the box” even exists. They don’t take no for an answer. They gain special satisfaction in solving problems that others regard as impossible or just too difficult. They’re worth their weight in gold because they know that things happen because of them, not to them.

This is not to suggest that “Make It Happen!” people are renegades or organizational vigilantes. They not only feel accountable for results, they also feel accountability to their colleagues. Good “Make It Happen!” people are very big on mutual respect and mutual purpose.

Of course with mutual respect and mutual purpose comes a willingness to account for one’s own performance. This includes accepting responsibility for personal performance shortfalls as well as accepting credit for personal performance triumphs.

In an earlier column I talked about how top performers deliberately seek feedback, and not just the pat-on-the-back variety. (See ”Feedback: Breakfast of Champions”.)

The notion of feedback highlights a key component of performance accountability: dialogue.

In Crucial Conversations, a best-selling book by four of my colleagues, dialogue is defined as the free flow of meaning between two or more people. Notice that the definition doesn’t mention agreement. It focuses on the free flow of meaning. My version of good performance may not square with yours. So if we are to work together productively, both of us must be comfortable enough to put our own meaning into the shared pool. Only then can we make each other smarter, concur on mutual purpose, and produce a result that satisfies us both.

A “crucial conversation” is defined here as an interaction with high stakes, varied opinions, and at least the potential for strong emotion. What could fit that definition more closely than a conversation about someone’s performance?
All of this presupposes that people in successful accountability relationships (like managers and direct reports) must be able to talk with each other openly and honestly, early and often.

Of course for some people open and honest communication is a bit like having a baby: it’s easier to conceive than to deliver.

A set of five extremely helpful skills in Crucial Conversations is captured in a handy acronym: STATE My Path.
STATE stands for Share your facts, Tell your story, Ask for others’ paths, Talk tentatively, and Encourage testing.
In a conversation about someone’s performance, it’s always best to begin with the facts. And be very careful not to allow stories to masquerade as facts. Facts are observable and verifiable. Conclusions, attributions, and judgments are the feelings we have and the stories we tell ourselves about the facts.

Which is a better start?
“I’m fed up with you.” (feelings)
“You’re totally irresponsible.” (story)
“On the past seven projects you’ve missed your production deadline five times and exceeded budget on six. Each time you apologized and promised to do better with the next project.” (facts)

Sharing your facts – first – is less controversial. Facts are less insulting because, well, facts are facts.

I’m not suggesting that crucial conversations about someone’s performance are necessarily easy. Sometimes they are quite uncomfortable. But not nearly as uncomfortable as the certainty of unresolved performance issues.

After you have briefly Shared your facts (don’t pile it on), Tell your story. Explain the conclusions and judgments you’ve drawn from the facts you just shared. This might be expressed as simply as “I’m beginning to wonder if you’re not as committed to our success as you had led me to believe, of if something else is going on.”

Asking for the other person’s path (how he got the results he’s now getting) can be as simple as saying “How do you see it?” This opens the door for the other person to put his meaning into the pool, to tell you how the world looks from his vantage point. This includes making it safe for the other person to share new ideas and to challenge your facts.

These first three skills are called the “What” skills. The “How” skills are Talk tentatively and Encourage testing.

Talking tentatively does not mean expressing false doubt, tip-toeing through issues, or sugarcoating your views. It merely means that you don’t try to ram your perspective down someone’s throat. “The only reasonable option …” is too forceful and usually not as effective as “I propose that you consider …” “You’re completely incompetent …” is likely to trigger a response very different from what you might get with “I’m wondering if a bit more coaching would be helpful.”

Encourage testing is the “how” skill of inviting others to challenge your own thinking. If your goal is to convince, compel, or control, you’ll likely do a good job of expressing your view but a lousy job of encouraging others to express theirs.
I heard one manager make a mockery of this skill when he said to his staff “I think any smart engineer can see that my approach is the right one, but, hey, if any of you want to challenge my way, take your best shot.” So much for dialogue.

When performance accountability is important – and when is it not? – a good place to start is with open dialogue about mutual purpose and mutual expectations.
What does great performance “look like” to you? What does it “look like” to the person to whom you’re delegating?

What are your mutual expectations on deliverables, timelines, budgets, and all the other parameters of the task?

Where, when, and how will the accountability sessions occur?

Consistently effective managers and leaders find that it helps to be explicit about what kind of performance they stand for and what kind of performance they will not stand for. They recognize victim, villain, and helpless stories when they see them, and they disabuse their people of any notion that the blame game is acceptable.
Consistently effective managers and leaders are accountable for holding others accountable.

(To learn more about your own default tendencies during crucial conversations, click on Style Under Stress for a free self-assessment with instant results.)

Article from The Duncan Report. For more information please click on their link.

Being Accountable for Accountability

2008-09-17T16:36:00.000-04:00

Imagination & Creativity at Work

2008-08-18T15:07:00.001-04:00

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” --- Albert Einstein

In his book, Benjamin Franklin, An American Life, Walter Isaacson reveals the mind of one of America’s most controversial figures. Ben Franklin is described as America’s best writer, inventor, media baron, scientist, diplomat, and business strategist. It is obvious to see throughout the book that Franklin had a great (sometimes wild) imagination. His response to problems and obstacles was not one of despair but of determination and hope for a solution.

Just as in Franklin’s day, we too face obstacles that threaten to stifle the progress of our businesses. Thankfully, most of what we encounter is not new to the modern world and most solutions exist for us to simply apply to the situation. Sadly, many businesses are crippled because of a lack of energy or imagination to apply even the simplest of fixes.

“The real source of wealth and capital in this new era is not material things.. it is the human mind, the human spirit, the human imagination, and our faith in the future.’ --- Steve Forbes

Some theorist believe that as time marches on, our culture becomes more complacent and content with modern comforts that we no longer have the hunger or drive to use our creativity muscles. Our imagination station becomes Jell-o and we settle for “it is what it is.”

In order to progress in business, we have to resort back to those juices that once flowed in the playground as kids. Like in the movie Big, with Tom Hanks, we need to ask the question “why?” and state “I don’t get it,” until we do get it.

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” --- Mark Twain

Tom Hanks could get away with the kid’s stuff because his character in the movie, Josh Baskin was a kid, just in an adult body. You have to be careful so that your spouse or co-workers don’t put you in a special padded cell. However, you can still be a kid within your imagination. It is there that your creative ideas are hiding and waiting to be released.

“The only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.” --- Anthony Robbins

Ben Franklin didn’t have any more advantages than me and you. In fact, we have more than he ever had. He lived to be 84 years old, which is rare for his time period. Many “experts” contribute his longevity to his constant use of his mind. (Plus he had to walk greater distances than we do!) Franklin was always questioning, always creating, and always wondering. We need to do the same.

“Live out of your imagination, not your history.” --- Stephen Covey

If you are stuck-in-a-rut today with business problems coming out the wazoo, then try this: Escape to a place where your imagination can go wild. If you need to get quiet, then go to a park or library. If you need excitement, go to a Chuck E. Cheese. Just get to where you don’t focus on the problems, but you allow your mind to imagine. Write on the sidewalk with chalk with your kids or roll in the lawn with the dog. Weird, I know, but it works. Your mind begins to think goofy things that lead to creative things, which lead to solutions. Imagine that!

“I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.” --- Pablo Picasso

Imagination & Creativity at Work

2008-08-18T15:07:00.000-04:00

What do your employees really want?

2008-07-28T16:10:00.001-04:00

Article by Pam Pumarino, regular contributor to our blog. She holds degrees in business & psychology, and has an extensive background in Customer Service training.

For a while I worked at a Fortune500 HR call center where they did a big hoopla about motivating employees. One of their last attempts was their ‘Fall Challenge.’

Let me say that again, Fall Challenge. Yes, the name alone destined the festivities to the land of despair.

The rules where rather simple, do something right (aka do what you are being paid for at least some of the time) and you’ll get a ticket for a raffle at the end of the busy season.

Great idea, right? Not so fast. The bottom line was that attendance during busy periods did not increase. Morale did not increase. Productivity did not increase. Instead, resentment grew like rampant summer weeds, as good employees watched others--who did one thing right one time--walk away with big prizes.

Why didn’t it work? Well, employees were not asked what they wanted as a reward. Employees were not asked for input for establishing the guidelines. There was a lack of flexibility…one reward seldom fits all—for me it might be money, for you time off might be as good as gold. It created resentment amongst coworkers. It did not take into consideration people who missed work due to important circumstances (kid got chickenpox and husband got foot stuck in the toilet, dog ate shoes, lost both ears rendering self unable to listen to phone calls, etc.).

So what is the lesson learned? Don’t waste valuable time at a corporate table with other managers to figure out what banana you’ll throw your monkeys. Instead, talk with your people, treat them like people, and most importantly LISTEN to what they have to say, as well as what they are not saying. There is no other way for you to find out their wants, needs and motivational hooks. You’ll find that, often, the mere fact of having you truly listen to them might just be what they wanted all along.

LISTEN , LISTEN, LISTEN

Listening is the one activity you do more in life than any other activity except to breathe. How much time and energy do you exert in developing the communication skill that has been with you since birth. Self-leaders capitalize on the power of listening. They listen for what people say, what they don't say, and what they would like to say but don't know how to put into words. When is the last time that you were either involved in or observed a situation in which their was a cost due to a listening breakdown? Most people can identify several recent examples in their own life. The costs can be staggering. SELF-LEADERS LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN.

Excerpt from Dr. Bommelje’s Listening Leaders’ website.

What do your employees really want?

2008-07-28T16:10:00.000-04:00

Improvising Your Approach to Improvement

2008-07-18T09:41:00.001-04:00

Improvising Your Approach to Improvement
by Dr. John C. Maxwell

Our well-being and happiness are tied to the notion that our lives can improve. We hope for a better future for our company, our kids, and ourselves. We dream of a tomorrow that's better and brighter than today.

Here are a few improvements many of us desire to see:

We hope to lose weight and improve our fitness
We hope to earn more money and improve our financial standing
We hope to argue less with our spouse and improve our marriage

Over the next year, if we knew our health would deteriorate, our economic situation would worsen, and our closest relationships would unravel, then we'd be depressed. In fact, even if we knew our lives would stay the same, most of us would feel unsatisfied. We're always looking to improve the quality of our lives - it's human nature.

Unfortunately, many of us never go beyond hoping for improvements to actually making them. In this lesson, I'd like to share some insights to help you improvise your approach to improvement.

Develop Habits
The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. Leaders who make successful improvements share a common denominator: they form habits of daily action that those who fail to improve never develop. As my friend Andy Stanley says, "Your direction determines your destination." The steps you make each day, for good or ill, eventually chart the path of your life.
Consider the analogy of saving for retirement. Financial advisers counsel us to invest for retirement early in our careers and consistently throughout life. If we do, we can quit working at 65 with a sizeable nest egg. However, if we neglect funding our 401(k) each month, then we end up with nothing. We may still "hope" to win the lottery and secure our financial future, but we've lost the ability to control our fate.

Befriend Discipline
We live in the ultimate quick-fix culture. Everyone wants to be thin, but few people eat healthy and exercise. Everyone wants financial stability, but many refuse to be bothered by a budget. Rather than trouble ourselves with discipline, we opt for diet fads or speculate in the stock market. When we don't see long-term improvements, we discard one fad in favor of another.
In life, there are two kinds of pain: the pain of self-discipline and the pain of regret. The pain of self-discipline involves sacrifice, sweat, and delayed gratification. Thankfully, the reward of improvement softens the pain of self-discipline and makes it worthwhile. The pain of regret begins as a missed opportunity and ends up as squandered talent and an unfulfilled life. Once the pain of regret sets in, there's nothing you can do other than wonder, "What if?"

Admit Mistakes
When trying to improve, we not only risk failure, we guarantee it. The good news is that mistakes generally teach us far more than success. There's no sense pretending we're perfect. Even the best of the best have moments of weakness. That's why it's important to be honest when we fall short, learn from the mistake, and move forward with the knowledge gained.

Measure Progress
You cannot manage what you cannot measure. Identify the areas in which improvement is essential to your success and find a way to track your progress. Keeping score holds you accountable and gives you a clear indicator of whether or not you're actually improving.

Change Continually
Continual change is essential for improvement. One of the great paradoxes of success is that the skills and qualities that get you to the top are seldom the ones that keep you there. The quest to improve forces us to abandon assumptions, embrace innovation, and seek new relationships. If we're complacent for too long, we'll fall behind the learning curve. Once this happens, it's a steep, uphill climb to get back to the top.

The desire for improvement has a degree of discontent in it. Personal growth requires apparently contradictory mindsets: humility to realize you have room to grow but also confidence that improvement is possible.

SUMMARY
Tips for Attaining Improvement:
1. Develop Habits
2. Befriend Discipline
3. Admit Mistakes
4. Measure Progress

5. Change Continually

This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter, "Leadership Wired," available here.

Improvising Your Approach to Improvement

2008-07-18T09:41:00.000-04:00

We hope to lose weight and improve our fitness
We hope to earn more money and improve our financial standing
We hope to argue less with our spouse and improve our marriage

SUMMARY
Tips for Attaining Improvement:
1. Develop Habits
2. Befriend Discipline
3. Admit Mistakes
4. Measure Progress

5. Change Continually

This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter, "Leadership Wired," available here.

The Strangest Secret

2008-07-18T09:13:00.001-04:00

"The Strangest Secret"
In 1957, Earl Nightingale, speaker, author andco founder of the Nightingale-Conant Corporation,recorded his classic motivational record "TheStrangest Secret." "The Strangest Secret" soldover one million copies and made history in therecording industry by being honored as the firstGold Record for the spoken word. Nightingale,known as the "dean of personal development,"concluded that life's "strangest secret" is that webecome what we think about all day long.

Your belief system, like your computer, doesn'tjudge or even question what you input; it merelyaccepts your thoughts as the truth, the whole truthand nothing but the truth. Think thoughts of defeator failure and you're bound to feel discouraged.Continuous thoughts of worry, anxiety and fear areunhealthy and often manifest in the body as stress,panic attacks and depression.

At the core of Earl's message, he reveals the incrediblepower of positive self-talk, belief and expectation. Whatyou vividly imagine and hold in your subconscious mindbegins to out picture as your reality. Your belief systemnot only defines your reality, but it also shapes yourcharacter and determines your potential.

The Placebo EffectThe ability of the mind to cure a disease even whenthe medicine is known to be worthless is known as the"placebo effect." This occurs in medical trials wheredoctors give patients sugar pills, but tell them they willcure their illness. Often it does, even though the pillscontain nothing of medical benefit. The only thing ofvalue in these medical trials is the patient's own beliefthat the sugar pills will cure them. It's the power of thepatient's belief and expectation alone that produces theimprovement in his or her health.

I recently read a remarkable story about a group ofcancer patients who thought they were being treated withchemotherapy, but were actually given a placebo. Beforetheir treatment began, the patients were informed aboutthe complications associated with undergoing chemotherapytreatment, such as fatigue and loss of hair. Amazingly,based on nothing more than their belief and expectation,nearly one third of the patients who were given the placeboreported feeling fatigued and actually experienced hair loss!

The Power of Affirmation and Positive Self-talkIf you had access to a powerful tool that would enhance yourself-esteem and allow you to reach your full potential wouldyou use it?
A good way to create positive self-talk is through affirmations.An affirmation is a positive statement that represents yourdesired condition or outcome. Interesting enough, yoursubconscious mind doesn't know the difference between areal experience and a vividly imagined "mental" experience.

When he was a struggling young comedian, late at night JimCarrey would drive into the hills overlooking Hollywood andyell at the top of his lungs "I will earn ten million dollars ayear by 1995." When 1995 finally arrived, Jim was the starof the movie "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls", for whichhe was paid twenty million dollars!

World-class athletes understand the value of affirmation andrecognize the impact of their mental preparation on theirphysical performance. They use the power of positiveaffirmation to reduce anxiety and increase their expectationof achievement. To be of maximum benefit an affirmationmust be simple, encouraging and stated in the present tense.By repeating an affirmation over and over again it becomesembedded in the subconscious mind.
To be effective your affirmation must be stated aloud...

1. In a positive manner with the focus on what you want. Whenyou catch yourself saying or thinking something negative aboutyourself, counteract the negative self-talk with a positiveaffirmation. Start your affirmation with words like "I am..." or"I already have..."
Example:"I close sales with little or no resistance."
"I take good care of my customers and they show theirappreciation by referring their friends to me."

2. In the present tense. Your subconscious mind works in thepresent tense, so avoid words such as can, will, should or could.
Example:"I love doing my work and I am richly rewarded creatively andfinancially."

3. With strong emotion and conviction.

4. Repeatedly. I suggest you read your affirmations eachmorning upon awakening and again each night just beforefalling asleep. Close your eyes and picture the end result.Feel the emotions associated with the affirmation.

Here are some of my favorite affirmations:
"Every day in every way I'm getting better and better!"
"Everything comes to me easily and effortlessly!"
"I love and appreciate myself just as I am!"
"I love doing my work and I am richly rewarded creativelyand financially!"
"I now have enough time, energy, wisdom and money toaccomplish all my desires!"
"Infinite riches are now freely flowing into my life!"
"I am relaxed and centered!"
"I feel happy and blissful!"

Do affirmations really work and can they be used to propel aperson to achieve greatness? As a young boy growing up inLouisville, Kentucky, 12-year-old Cassius Marcellus Clay dreamedof someday becoming the heavyweight boxing champion of theworld. When working out in the gym, Clay would continuouslyaffirm to all within earshot that he was indeed the greatest boxerof all time! While many felt he was brash and boastful, few peopleactually took this 89-pound youngster seriously. Mohammad Aliused his affirmation to become the undisputed heavyweight boxingchampion of the world and arguably one of the most popular andrecognized sports figures of all times!

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Choose yourwords, for they become actions. Understand your actions, for theybecome habits. Study your habits, for they will become yourcharacter. Develop your character, for it becomes your destiny." - Anonymous
You show me a salesperson with high self-esteem, a positiveattitude and a healthy work ethic and I'll be able to predict hisor her success in advance... I guarantee it.

John Boe presents a wide variety of motivational andsales-oriented keynotes and seminar programs for salesmeetings and conventions. John is a nationally recognizedsales trainer and business motivational speaker with animpeccable track record in the meeting industry. To haveJohn speak at your next event, visit orcall 877 725-3750.

The Strangest Secret

2008-07-18T09:13:00.000-04:00

Independent Contractor vs. Employee

2008-05-10T10:58:00.001-04:00

I've been asked a lot to explain the difference between an Independent Contractor and an Employee. Here is some information that quickly gives an overview of the differences:

Independent Contractors vs. Employees

Are your workers independent contractors or employees? Always a confusing topic which is probably due to the fact that the IRS sets the rules. Nonetheless, the answer can have a profound impact on how much tax you pay as a small business owner.

Knowing whether your workers are or are not employees will affect the amount of taxes you must withhold from their pay. It will affect how much additional cost your business must bear, what documents and information they must provide to you, and what tax documents you must give to them. Employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors can end up with substantial tax bills as well as penalties for failing to pay employment taxes and failing to file required forms information.

Generally, whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor depends upon how much control you have as a business owner. Basically, if you have the right to control or direct not only what is to be done but also how it is to be done then your workers are most likely employees. If you can direct or control only the result of the work done, and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result, then your workers are probably independent contractors.

Before you can determine how to treat payments you make for services, you must first know the business relationship that exists between you and the person performing the services. The person performing the services may be -
An independent contractor
A common-law employee
A statutory employee
A statutory nonemployee

In determining whether the person providing service is an employee or an independent contractor, all information that provides evidence of the degree of control and independence must be considered.

In general, someone who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done.
The courts have considered many facts in deciding whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee based on these three categories:

1.) Behavioral Control – direct or control how the work is done. Facts that show whether the business has a right to direct and control. These include:
Instructions - an employee is generally told:
When, where, and how to work
What tools or equipment to use
What workers to hire or to assist with the work
Where to purchase supplies and services
What work must be performed by a specified individual
What order or sequence to follow
Training – an employee may be trained to perform services in a particular manner.

2.) Financial Control – direct or control the financial/business aspects of the worker’s job. Facts that show whether the business has a right to control the business aspects of the worker’s job include:

· The extent to which the worker has unreimbursed expenses
· The extent of the worker’s investment
· The extent to which the worker makes services available to the relevant market
· How the business pays the worker
· The extent to which the worker can realize a profit or loss

3.) Type of Relationship – relates to how the workers and the business owner perceive their relationship. Facts that show the type of relationship include:

Written contracts describing the relationship the parties intended to create
Whether the worker is provided with employee-type benefits
The permanency of the relationship
How integral the services are to the principal activity
For a worker who is considered your employee, you are responsible for:
Withholding Federal income tax,
Withholding and paying the employer social security and Medicare tax,
Paying Federal unemployment tax (FUTA)
Issuing Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, annually,
Reporting wages on Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.
Example of an Independent Contractor:

Vera Elm, an electrician, submitted a job estimate to a housing complex for electrical work at $16 per hour for 400 hours. She is to receive $1,280 every 2 weeks for the next 10 weeks. This is not considered payment by the hour. Even if she works more or less than 400 hours to complete the work, Vera Elm will receive $6,400. She also performs additional electrical installations under contracts with other companies, which she obtained through advertisements. Vera is an independent contractor.

How should I report payments made to independent contractors?

You may be required to file information returns to report certain types of payments made to independent contractors during the year. For example, you must file Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, to report payments of $600 or more to persons not treated as employees (e.g. independent contractors) for services performed for your trade or business.

Who is a Common-Law Employee (Employee)?

Under common-law rules, anyone who performs services for you is your employee if you can control what will be done and how it will be done. This is so even when you give the employee freedom of action. What matters is that you have the right to control the details of how the services are performed.

To determine whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor under the common law, the relationship of the worker and the business must be examined. All evidence of control and independence must be considered. In an employee-independent contractor determination, all information that provides evidence of the degree of control and degree of independence must be considered.

Facts that provide evidence of the degree of control and independence fall into three categories: behavioral control, financial control, and the type of relationship of the parties.

Example of an employee:

Example: Donna Lee is a salesperson employed on a full-time basis by Bob Blue, an auto dealer. She works 6 days a week, and is on duty in Bob's showroom on certain assigned days and times. She appraises trade-ins, but her appraisals are subject to the sales manager's approval. Lists of prospective customers belong to the dealer. She has to develop leads and report results to the sales manager. Because of her experience, she requires only minimal assistance in closing and financing sales and in other phases of her work. She is paid a commission and is eligible for prizes and bonuses offered by Bob. Bob also pays the cost of health insurance and group-term life insurance for Donna. Donna is an employee of Bob Blue.

Statutory Employees

If workers are independent contractors under the common law rules, such workers may nevertheless be treated as employees by statute ( statutory employees ) for certain employment tax purposes if they fall within any one of the following four categories and meet the three conditions described under Social security and Medicare taxes , below.
A driver who distributes beverages (other than milk) or meat, vegetable, fruit, or bakery products; or who picks up and delivers laundry or dry cleaning, if the driver is your agent or is paid on commission.

A full-time life insurance sales agent whose principal business activity is selling life insurance or annuity contracts, or both, primarily for one life insurance company.
An individual who works at home on materials or goods that you supply and that must be returned to you or to a person you name, if you also furnish specifications for the work to be done.

A full-time traveling or city salesperson who works on your behalf and turns in orders to you from wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels, restaurants, or other similar establishments. The goods sold must be merchandise for resale or supplies for use in the buyer s business operation. The work performed for you must be the salesperson s principal business activity. Refer to the Salesperson section located in Publication 15-A, Employer s Supplemental Tax Guide for additional information.

Statutory Nonemployees

There are two categories of statutory nonemployees: direct sellers and licensed real estate agents. They are treated as self-employed for all Federal tax purposes, including income and employment taxes, if:

Substantially all payments for their services as direct sellers or real estate agents are directly related to sales or other output, rather than to the number of hours worked and
Their services are performed under a written contract providing that they will not be treated as employees for Federal tax purposes.

Independent Contractor vs. Employee

2008-05-10T10:58:00.000-04:00

I've been asked a lot to explain the difference between an Independent Contractor and an Employee. Here is some information that quickly gives an overview of the differences:

3.) Type of Relationship – relates to how the workers and the business owner perceive their relationship. Facts that show the type of relationship include:

Who is a Common-Law Employee (Employee)?

Statutory Employees

Statutory Nonemployees