There's an Emergency at Your Business!

The situation:  Your billable resources are hitting your projections fairly consistently.  Your team is operating well and people are generally happy.  You are incredibly busy, so everything must be okay, right?

Wrong.  There is a hidden financial catastrophe occurring.  Chris Pickard and the team at Xylotek, the top scoring Canadian company in the recent Best Tech Workplaces survey, were not thinking there was an emergency last spring when we started working together.  They just wanted to put some talent management systems in place and become better leaders.

Chris signed-up for our Intentional Leadership coaching program.  We have worked together for a few months focusing on implementing the core systems of fully engaging Xylotek employees.  The management team, particularly Chris and Jenn, have diligently moved ahead with some of our ideas.

Could their Best Tech Workplace be experiencing a financial emergency?  It depends on your perspective.  They have had plenty of work this year.  In July, with a similar workload yet  now with some of our proven talent management processes and a new twist on compensation, the company increased their billable hours in one month by 270 hours.

270 hours x $150 per hour billing rate = $40,500 (Canadian).  IN ONE MONTH... and potentially every month thereafter.

Now if you were losing that much potential gross profit, would you call it an emergency?

Yes.  You are busy.  You always will be.  So why not adjust your priorities so your company does not forfeit its true profit potential.

My schedule can fit about 3-5 new Intentional Leadership clients starting next week (order here or email me).  We also have our Level 5 Leader Certification program class starting on September 14 (sign-up here - discounts for two or more people).  Invest in leadership skills - yours and training your managers - and the financial results can be astounding.

Be an intentional leader.
 

David Russell
david@managetowin.com

 

MEETING IDEAS

EMERGENCY is about deciding to be the best you can be.  It is comprehending how much money you are losing every month because you refuse to accept THE FACT that you are primarily in the PEOPLE BUSINESS.  You are not primarily an IT company, solution provider, VAR, insurance firm, lawyer, janitorial firm or whatever.  You are in the PEOPLE BUSINESS.  Focus on your systems for hiring, managing, developing and retaining great people and the rest of your business will succeed.  Here are two quick ways to assess just a fraction of the losses your company is experiencing due to inconsistent leadership: 1.  We estimate it costs you 10 minutes a day per employee to manage people who are not fully engaged and thinking like owners.  Losing 10 minutes daily means you are losing a distracted, stressed and frustrated 40.83 hours a year per employee. Do the math:  The number of employees in your organization multiplied times 40.83 hours is the time you lose each year due to not having your employees fully engaged.  (The actual number is probably much higher.) 2.  We estimate it costs you $50-$200 a day in lost gross profit when your people are not fully engaged and thinking like owners.  Be conservative and just estimate $50 a day.  A passionate owner who is in sales can close $50 more in gross profit daily.  A billable resource who thinks like an owner can bill 20-30 minutes more a day.  (See the Xylotek example above - your billable resources often can do much more than this.)  Losing $50 daily in gross profit means you are losing $12,250 a year per employee. Do the math:  The number of employees in your organization multiplied times $12,250 is the money you lose each year due to not having your employees fully engaged.  (The actual number is probably much higher.) 3.  Now multiply both of those numbers times ten.  This number is either your loss over the last ten years or your loss this year through 2019.  If your company grows then the number is even higher. Why wait?

Teflon Leader

"Our employees just do not get it.  They do not take responsibility.  They lack passion.  They do not follow through..." (The list goes on.)

Not to be confused with the "Teflon Don" John Gotti, (although there are some parallels) the "Teflon Leader" makes mistakes because they are human, but they are allergic to blaming themselves for anything.  For a time some of them can retain a leadership role without blame, but their lack of performance always catches up with them eventually.

Rather than serving their employees, clients and partners, the Teflon Leader is consciously or subconsciously driven to impress other people to earn their approval.  The thought that something is wrong with them makes them uncomfortable.  They instinctively react to situations by trying to focus on who made the mistake, except themselves.

Part of the learning process to become a great leader is to gain knowledge from your mistakes. Unfortunately the Teflon Leader misses these opportunities to develop competitively effective leadership skills because they do not accept responsibility for their errors. 

Sometimes even without knowing it they become, as the movie character Dirty Harry concluded about the serial killer, "... a legend in their own mind."  Unfortunately that is not reality.

This self-justification eliminates their ability to be a Level 5 Leader who can sustain growth and profits over time. 

How about you?  Are there times when you have missed opportunities to grow because of your unwillingness to accept responsibility for your share of a mistake?

ADVERTISEMENT:  Sign-up for our Level 5 Leader Certification program that starts on September 14, 2010. For more information, click here.

Be an intentional leader.
 

David Russell
david@managetowin.com

MEETING IDEAS

Our discussion of a Teflon Leader is a challenge for you to consider whether you or a member of your management team is too effective at avoiding blame or responsibility for their mistakes.  Consider these questions to help your team to take responsibility for both their success and mistakes in your workplace, starting with yourself: 1.  During the last 24 hours have you failed to use a fully professional, positive tone of voice in a conversation with another person?  How could you have communicated differently?  Do you need to apologize?  Should you work on pausing before responding in more conversations, and in particular with this individual? 2.  Describe the last time someone suggested that you admit a mistake and you refused to take full responsibility.  How can you replace that reaction with a more thought-out response in the future? 3.  Before you conclude you need to confront someone else about their Teflon Leader tendencies, please do a thorough evaluation of your own actions and motivations; and then confirm your conclusions with people strong enough to hold you accountable. 4.  If you are a person of faith, then consider how to adjust your thoughts and behaviors so you seek the approval of God rather than people.  Accepting full responsibility for your mistakes and sincerely repenting creates opportunities for learning and enables you to become less upset by other people's offenses against you. Proverbs 27:21:  The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives.

Rainbow Leaders

Bob is the owner of a 20-person IT solution provider who is moving into managed services.  He is responsible for sales and has two service managers, one for the break-fix business and one for the managed services.

Bob works hard, often investing time daily in the business resulting in regular 60-70 hour workweeks.  His schedule is full.  His workload... well, he never catches up.  He is constantly pushing his people to move faster, but here is the problem: They struggle to move faster because every month, and often it seems to be daily, Bob comes up with something new for them to do.

Today it is a new product.  Yesterday it was a new service.  The week before it was three new marketing ideas.

The problem:  Bob is always looking up and chasing a new rainbow.

He could be always looking down and getting analysis paralysis like some of his technical team, but that would be equally ineffective.

Fast is not always better.

Getting work done fast often means you miss the details.  When speed is our top priority it is difficult to fully consider all options and risks. Bob needs to step off the roller coaster to gain perspective.  He needs to look forward, with occasional glances up or down.  He needs to develop new habits that focus his time on critical objectives and building systems for sustained growth rather than the "Idea of the Week Club" which is distracting him and his team from being their best.

He needs to become a Level 5 Leader.  How about you? Our next class and year-long coaching program to develop you into an effective executive starts on September 14, 2010.  Click here to learn more.

Be an intentional leader.
 

David Russell
david@managetowin.com

MEETING IDEAS

RAINBOW LEADERS is about balancing your desire to move quickly with the wisdom to consider all options so you maintain your focus on your most critical objectives. Here are some ideas on how to discuss this with your team: 1.  What are the three ideas that distracted us the most during the past 30 days? 2.  How many of these ideas did we follow-through to completion? 3.  What process can we agree upon that will postpone consideration of new ideas until our current objectives are complete? 4.  What work have we rushed during the past 30 days? 5.  How much did we spend to correct mistakes in that rushed work? 6.  What process can we agree upon to avoid rushing work in the future - either prior to beginning the project (having a more realistic timeframe or doing better project scoping), during the project or during testing?.

Gold or Platinum

In Matthew 7:12 Jesus teaches us to "...do to others as you would have them do to you."  The Jewish Torah, prophet Mohammed, Confucius and even Homer's ancient manuscripts share similar advice.

But what did Jesus mean when he said it, since his version is possibly the most widely quoted?

Consider Jane and Sally.  Jane wants to close a sale.  She goes to Sally in technical services and tells her what the client wants so Jane can close the sale. She hopes Sally will agree to all of the client's requests, but instead Sally is quiet.  After about 30 seconds Jane, not knowing what to do, walks away frustrated.  She says under her breath that she will never be able to make any money in this company;  Sally and everyone else hate her;  and she does not know why she puts up with all this garbage anyway because she could have...

A coach who works with leaders in the company is asked to help out.  She meets with Jane and Sally separately, and then together.  The coach explains that Jane is a driven person who wants answers immediately.  In the situation where Jane asked Sally for help with the client's requests Sally was not being rude.  She was just thinking.  She has the opposite behavioral style of Jane. Sally is an analytical.  Jane makes decisions quickly whereas Sally likes to think about it first.

Jane has an inspiration.  She decides to work with Sally based on the way Sally wants to be treated rather than expecting her to prefer Jane's behaviors.  She now goes to Sally to explain a client's request and then says, "I'll come back in ten minutes."  Then Jane turns and walks away.

The result:  Sally and Jane are not only more productive on the job, they also have become personal friends.

The Golden Rule, which is a paraphrase of Jesus' teaching, states that we should treat others the way we want to be treated.  However do you want to be "treated" based on your preferences, or the person who is trying to engage you?  The answer is, your preferences. 

So the next time you try to work with someone, communicate something or interact in some other way, consider the true meaning of the Golden Rule:  Treat others the way they want to be treated.  (Some people call this the Platinum Rule.)

Be an intentional leader... not a counterfeit! 

David Russell
david@managetowin.com

MEETING IDEAS

GOLD OR PLATINUM is about thinking before you act.  Think first of the other person's preferences and then engage them based on that understanding rather than your natural behaviors. Here are some ideas on how to discuss this with your team: 1.  Ask people to guess the natural strengths, or core behavior, of each other person in the room. The four types of natural strengths as exhibited by your behaviors are:          HIGH D:  Dominance -  How you handle problems and challenges          Tend to be very active and aggressive in gaining results.  Not afraid of problems, but often miss details.          HIGH I:  Influencing - How you interact with other people          Tend to be extroverted, outgoing, social, very verbally persuasive.          HIGH S:  Steadiness - How you handle pace and work environment          Tend to prefer a more secure situation evidenced by a structured, predictable environment.          HIGH C:  Compliance - How you respond to rules and procedures set by others          Very analytical and precise.  Tend to follow rules and avoid mistakes, but can suffer from "analysis paralysis." 2.  Ask for stories of when someone treated someone else based on that person's behavioral preferences rather than their own. 3.  Ask everyone to try to pause before approaching someone during the next week to consider their behavioral preference and then to approach them the way they want to be treated. Report back at the next meeting.

Counterfeit Leaders

How do you think currency experts spot counterfeit bills?  Do they spend the majority of their time studying how counterfeiters design and manufacture false currency?  No.  My wife told me, and she is rarely mistaken, that she read years ago experts can spot a counterfeit bill because they spend the majority of their time studying real money.

 

 The currency experts understand every intricate detail of a real dollar bill in any amount.  They are experts about what is right so they can avoid (or identify) what is wrong.  The result of fully understanding what it means to be a true dollar bill is they can spot any counterfeit.

How well do you know what it means to be a true leader instead of a counterfeit? 

How much time are you investing to develop your leadership skills and the skills of your management team?

Part of the reason true Level 5 Leaders deliver consistent results is because they regularly invest in developing the leadership skills of their management team as well as their own.

For instance, when Jack Welch was CEO of General Electric he invested 50% of his time in developing leaders.

How much of your time this month has been invested in developing your people?

Probably not enough.

 

If you have a Counterfeit Leader on your team (or a Poser or Buddy Leader) then it is your fault.  The question is, what are you going to do about it?  You can fire or demote your weak leaders, but then you have to hire and train replacements...

Do you have the content to train you leaders?  Do you have the time to teach them?  Do you have the time to coach them on learning the content?  If not, then outsource the heavy lifting of leadership development to us.

The R.O.I. is typically 60-90 days.

Sign-up your management team for the Success With People Level 5 Leader Certification program.  Space is limited for our August 2nd class.  Contact me if you have any questions.  Sign-up today!

Be an intentional leader... not a counterfeit! 

David Russell
david@managetowin.com

MEETING IDEAS

COUNTERFEIT LEADERS is about assessing your skills and the capabilities of your leadership team.  Consider these questions alone or as a team.  I can give you lots of attributes of Level 5 Leaders, but let's just focus on five.  Take a moment to consider whether you know a counterfeit leader by comparing the simple actions of a true Level 5 Leader to a Counterfeit Leader. Counterfeit Leader:  A strong ego that enjoys being in the spotlight, but a poor listener. Level 5 Leader:  A humble, yet confident, good listener. Counterfeit Leader: Does not set and/or manage goals for themselves and their people. Level 5 Leader:  Sets clear, measurable goals for themselves and their people. Counterfeit Leader:  Does not consistently follow-up or follow through on their commitments.Level 5 Leader:  Consistently follows-up and follows through on their commitments. Counterfeit Leader:  Does not invest their time in developing their people.  (Notice I am making a distinction between investing money versus time.)Level 5 Leader:  Invests 20-50% of their time in developing their people. Counterfeit Leader:  Does not consistently deliver results, but has reasonably good sounding excuses.Level 5 Leader:  Consistently delivers results. Discuss the financial impact of investing a small amount of money to transform a Counterfeit Leader into a Certified Level 5 Leader.  The Level 5 Leader Certification program helps you break old, ineffective habits and develop new ones so you can live the career of your dreams.  Why not give it a try?  There is a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee.  Sign-up today while space is still available.

Posers

Have you ever had a bad boss?  I ask this question often in my talks and so far I believe everyone has said, "YES!" 

 

Although I work with a variety of businesses, most of my time is spent serving people in the computer industry.  These leaders are typically strong sales or technical people who got promoted to management or started their own company, but have never been trained how to manage people.

My background is similar.  I entered the industry by starting a company called Raging Bear Productions.  We did tradeshows back in 1982-85.  I grew the company to about ten full-time people.  I thought I had leadership skills, but later learned it was only leadership tendencies.  I was unknowingly a poser. 

On Dictionary.com in the Slang Dictionary area it defines a poser as, "someone who pretends to belong to a group only by affecting the attributes of the group."  A poser leader is someone who has the title, but unfortunately does not know how to lead people.  Their desire may be sincere and their effort may be Herculean, but their results are inconsistent or even regularly poor.

The poser has some leadership attributes, but lacks a systematic approach to fully engaging people for their fulfillment, the leader's benefit and for their company to achieve its goals.  The result is poser leaders work too hard for the results they accomplish.

Think about it.  How many poser leaders can you identify, including... you?

NOTE:  The following is an advertisement.  We have the cure for unintentional posers and to help good leaders become GREAT leaders:

Starting August 2, 2010 Success With People is leading a one-year Level 5 Leader Certification program to develop your habits as an effective, intentional, systematic leader so you more consistently achieve top results.  Space is limited because each person is individually coached to fully earn their Certification.  

Consider the comprehensiveness of this program:

Leadership Intensive (2 months)Weeks 1-6
- Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays:  Online training (recorded for viewing at convenience plus homework per session)
- e-Books and study guides provided to support online training
- Fridays:  Class coaching call for questions
- Weekly individual coaching calls (approx. 30 minutes) to review homework and help develop each person's Level 5 Leader habits

Weeks 7-8- Certification Prep Q&A call for the class
- Certification Test - 100 or more questions
- Coaching call to review Certification Test results
- Certificate is awarded upon passing the Certification test

Level 5 Leaders Club (10 months)- Two coaching calls monthly (develop Level 5 Leader habits)

- Level 5 Leader Strategy of the Month (additional skill training)

- Monthly Level 5 Leader Teleseminar with live Q&A (with Dave)

- Monthly Level 5 Leader Development (book reading & discussion)

- 10-user MANAGEgoals site (track goals, career paths, best practices)

- Champions training library (25 crucial business soft skills)

- Access to our private Level 5 Leader Member Site (for additional learning)

For more information download our Level 5 Leader Certification brochure.  Space is limited for our August 2nd class.  Contact me if you have any questions.  Sign-up today!

Be an intentional leader... not a poser! 

David Russell
david@managetowin.com

 

MEETING IDEAS

POSERS is about coming to grips with your weaknesses as a leader and helping your management team develop the skills of superior managers.   This may be an ego check for you.  Are you intentionally learning how to work more systematically so you achieve more in less time and fully engaging your team?    Consider these questions alone or as a team.  The issue is could better leadership of people have changed these outcomes?  If so, then why not invest in developing your leadership skills so you will better achieve your goals? 1.  Have we lost good employees we wanted to keep during the last year?  Who are they and why did they leave? 2.  Have we lost sales or clients that we could have won during the last year?  Who are they and specifically why did we lose?  3.  Is everyone working their best, or as the Gallup Organization estimates, are up to 75% of our employees not fully engaged?  Try to consider why each person is not giving their best.  Estimate the cost to you, and separately to your organization. 4.  How meaningful is your work and working for your company to others in your firm?  Do you and others feel like your work is making a difference in people's lives?    The Level 5 Leader Certification program helps you break old, ineffective habits and develop new ones so you can live the career of your dreams.  Why not give it a try?  There is a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee.  Sign-up today while space is still available.

Resume Riting

Have you ever received a resume with poor spelling or grammar in the cover letter, resume or follow-up correspondence?

 

Sometimes I make errors, even in this post.  (The title of this post is purposefully written as an error.  It should be Resume Writing.)  I am not recommending that you require perfection but consider some key attributes to consider in a resume.  (Or how to write one.)

 

1.  Cover letter:  The email which has a resume attached has replaced most cover letters.  Most of us scan the email rather than concentrate on its depth like a good novel.  Ina ddition to formatting, spelling and grammar, look for three key points:

     #1:  Why is the person contacting me or my company?  Look for a brief mention of how they heard about the position and/or your company.

     #2:  What is their passion (career-speaking)?

     #3:  1 + 2 = 3:  How do they believe their passion can be fulfilled at your company so they help you achieve your objectives, and/or why they are the best candidate for the job.

2.  Resume:

 

     - It should list specific accomplishments rather than general duties.   

     - Formatting should be professional.  A good design impresses people.

     - A smiling, headshot photo of yourself is typically good.  NOTE:  I am against video resumes.

     - Possible content areas: Objective (or Summary); Passion (hire people who are passionate in areas that make them a valuable team member);  Career History (not job history);  Skills;  Education;  References available upon request. 

 

Of course, you need to be fully prepared for job candidates with a Team Member Strategic Plan.  (Go to the Free Stuff area of www.SuccessWithPeople.com for a sample.)  I am doing a brief workshop on this as part of the XChange Americas event in Dallas on August 22-25.

Be an intentional leader... and have fun!
 

David Russell
david@managetowin.com

 

 

MEETING IDEAS

RESUME RITING is quick thoughts on how to evaluate resumes that are submitted to your company.  This is NOT an exhaustive step-by-step discussion, but rather some tips to consider not overlooking.   Here is one way to discuss resume evaluations with your team: 1.  Ask people to submit samples of the best resumes they have seen.  NOTE:  Do not review the worst resumes received, however if people do not use candidate names you could have a contest for quotes of the worst or funniest statements made on resumes submitted.  Just have someone confidentially check the actual resumes to confirm the statements. 2.  Discuss what made those resumes so effective. 3.  Is there something in a great resume that you have overlooked and it should be added to someone's team member startegic plan or job description? 4.  What passions, personal and professional, do you appreciate in job candidates?  Is there somewhere you should be networking to find more of these people?

CONCENTRATION

I recently received a book written by Christian D. Larsen titled Concentration that was published in 1920 by Thomas Y. Crowell Company of New York.  The book belonged to my grandmother, Marjorie MacPhee, whom we knew as, "Buddie."

Could these insights help us today?  Maybe.  For a change of pace here is a quick glance at what Mr. Larsen recommended in 1920:

1.  One Thing.  "Concentration in general may be defined as an active state of mind wherein the whole of attention, with all available energy and talent, is being applied upon the one thing that we are doing now." It sounds like multitasking was unproductive even before it became a word...

2.  Interesting.  Concentration increases when the subject is interesting.  So what if it's not interesting?  See #3.

3.  Relate It To You.  Ask questions, and lots of them, to learn more about the subject and identify where it relates to your interests.  The act of looking for how it might interest you increases concentration and develops a perspective of interest within you.

4.  Do not be superficial.  Go deep into the subject so you actually enter the comprehend the process and its end result.  "...We may, when concentrating in a superficial manner, secure some slight results temporarily, but it is those deeper, finer, more penetrating currents that produce real results.."

5.  Will Power.  Apply your will power to go deep in concentration.

6.  Desire.  Develop a real desire to understand the subject, which relates back to #3.  The deeper your desire the more thoroughly you can concentrate.

7.  Imagination.  Use your imagination to increase your concentration.

8.  Use your entire brain.  "When we think, we should not simply think with the brain, but think with every force and element in the entire personality..."

9.  Focus.  Control the focus of your mind so there is a balance between concentrating on the subject and being open to inspiration around you.

10.  Dream.  Nothing is impossible to those who develop the skill of concentration.

Be an intentional leader... and have fun!

David Russell
david@managetowin.com

MEETING IDEAS

CONCENTRATION is about pausing to consider if you are fully concentrating when you work.  If you allow distractions or you are rushing so much that you do not fully consider a topic, then consider reflecting on some of these points from 90 years ago. Here is one way to discuss concentration with your team: 1.  What is one project, activity, responsibility... that recently we completed at less than our best? 2.  What are the reasons we did less than our best?  (After you list them, reorganize the list in order of impact on the work with the biggest hindrance at the top.  Weight each item for what it contributed to the poor outcome, with the total weight for the list being 100%.) 3.  How did our ability to concentrate, or not fully concentrate, contribute to this project's average (or worse) outcome? 4.  What is one behavior each of us could work on over the next 90 days to develop a new or improved habit that enables us to concentrate more fully? 5.  How can each of us be held accountable to develop this habit? Give it a try.  If you are not improving then you are wasting time.  Commit yourself to develop one new habit that will help you fulfill your responsibilities more superbly so you can be one step closer to achieving your dreams.

IT'S THE CULTURE, SUPERSTAR

Bill Clinton galvanized his 1992 election team against George H. Bush to focus on the economy rather than other issues with the statement, "It's the economy, stupid."

Slow yourself down so you can think deeply about this challenge even if you scan my comments.

S l o w   d o w n . . .

When Tony Hsieh joined Zappos in 2000 was he passionate about shoes?  Marketing shoes online?

No.  He did not even primarily wear shoes at the time.  He wore sandals.  He decided to build a superior company culture so his people would take more responsibility for the success of the organization.

Ten years later he sold the company to Amazon for $1.2 BILLION.

You and I have just invested 10 years in our career.  Did you build a $1.2 billion company? Neither did I, but I did learn how to build a $100 million company (maybe more) and can teach you.

I RARELY meet a company owner or executive who demonstrates the habit of building a superior company culture. Instead they are scrambling to complete tasks themselves while employees are less than fully productive.

I asked someone the other day, "So how much more time would you have if _______ (one of their direct reports) was fully productive?"  The response:  This one unproductive employee costs this owner 5 hours a day.  So the plan was to hire more people.  I told the client we need to fix this situation first.

Even if the answer had been a loss of "only" 15-60 minutes a day per employee the time you waste on unproductive people adds-up quickly.  PLEASE NOTE:  The time loss due to less than stellar employee productivity is probably more than you estimate.

What's the difference between an effective leader versus an ineffective leader? 

Effective leaders commit to habits that ineffective leaders never get around to.

I coach people to develop the habits of an effective leader.  Contact me if you want to learn more.

Be an intentional leader... and have fun!

David Russell
david@managetowin.com

MEETING IDEAS

IT'S THE CULTURE, SUPERSTAR is a challenge.  How much longer will you work without investing in yourself and your people?  I am not talking about spending money on technical certifications because you want to charge more for people's time. You need to invest in developing the soft skills of yourself, and your people.  (The comma is in the prior sentence to emphasize the focus on YOU.)  Take the challenge.  Consider these questions alone or with your team: 1.  What is a habit of someone on your team that is unproductive?  What could they do to develop a more productive habit?  (It is typically easier to consider how someone else can improve rather than yourself.)  Are you making the same mistake? 2.  Albert Einstein once said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."  Name three habits you have that are not productive, yet you keep doing them because you consider yourself too busy to develop a better habit. 3.  It takes at least three months of repetition and accountability to develop a new habit. Consider the three poor habits you identified in #2.  Rank them in order of priority, with the easiest to change listed first.      -  How much does that bad habit cost you?  (Contact me if you want to walk through this one together...)     -  What is the habit you need to develop so this bad one stops damaging your productivity?     -  What are the steps you need to take to develop this new habit?     -  How will you hold yourself accountable?  4.  Repeat #3 with the second and third bad habit on your list AFTER you successfully develop a new habit for the first bad habit on your list.  Start with the easiest.

THEY ACTUALLY CARE

One of the 12 Desired Results of my Success With People system is Understand How You Make a Difference ("Meaningful Work").  Based on almost 35 years of business experience and 8 years of consulting, I believe helping your people to understand why their work is meaningful is the most important thing a leader can do. Ben Arntson of ProIT, a division of the Ray Morgan Company, told me recently that his company has actually closed a couple of major sales to government clients in part because of the points they gained in the evaluation from handing the prospective client their laminated mission statement.     Their mission statement fits on a business card.  The front states: Focus On our Customer's Ultimate Satisfaction The back side provides their mission statement, toll-free phone number and Ray Morgan logo with slogan and Customer Excellence since 1956 to demonstrate they have been around a long time proving themselves. Your mission statement is only one piece of helping your employees understand why they are doing Meaningful Work, but it is important.  Consider the Meeting Ideas to possibly strengthen the influence of your mission statement on employee, client and vendor perceptions of your company. Be an intentional leader... and have fun! David Russell david@managetowin.com

MEETING IDEAS

THEY ACTUALLY CARE hopefully reminds you to not write a mission statement and then pay no attention to it.  At the end of your career you will be left with your integrity, or character.  Part of how you will be perceived and your satisfaction with your career will depend on whether you felt the work was meaningful. Consider asking your people these questions during your next one-on-one or team meeting to explore your mission statement: 1.  Can anyone state our company mission statement by memory?  (If not, this indicates it may be too long.  Consider a shorter, simpler statement.)  2.  Does our mission statement, as a company or if we have one just for our work group, accurately communicate what we believe is meaningful work?  If no, then why not?  If yes, then how? 3.  Give me examples of how we meet or exceed the standard(s) communicated in our mission statement. 4.  If you could be doing anything as a career right now, what would it be?  (What is your dream career?) 5.  How does your answer in #4 relate to our mission and your current job duties?  What could be done to better relate your work to your dream career or realign your responsibilities so your work for our company is more meaningful to you?

Goals That Work

I just talked with another person who had such a challenging 2009 that they did not set goals for 2010.  The focus of their work became survival rather than growth.  A lot of people were in that boat last year... 

Whether you have 2010 goals or not, here are 5 quick tips to define clear, measurable objectives to pursue for the balance of the year:

1.  Decide on the format to write your goals.  Absolutely required areas:  Goal Measurement (a TARGET - see below or SMART statement that is clear and measurable), Goal Description (steps to achieve the goal), Due Date and Weighting for importance.

2.  Write the Goal Measurement as a TARGET statement and then drop the initial "to."

         T      To (the preposition)
         A     Action verb
        RG     Realistic Goal to be achieved
         E      Effectively measure whether the goal has been achieved
         T      Time or date for the goal to be completed

Here is an example:  (To) Close $5 million in sales by December 31, 2010.

3.  Assign only three goals for the company and individuals.  One relates to finance, another to customer satisfaction and the last to professional development.  You can list specific areas of measurement under the goal, such as:  Technicians are booking 78% billable time;  Achieve a 15% net profit margin; Managed services represent 55% of overall sales...

NOTE:  I did not know this when I came up with my idea to limit yourself to three goals, but Jim Collins (author of Good to Greatand other top selling books on leadership) once said, "If you have more than three priorities then you don't have any."

4.  Have everyone's goals link through their boss to the company goals.

5.  Follow-up.

Email me if you would like a copy of my e-book, Goals That Work - how to effectively manage goals in your business.

Be an intentional leader.
David Russell
david@managetowin.com

MEETING IDEAS

GOALS THAT WORK is a process of setting clear, measurable goals for your organization, yourself professionally and even yourself personally. Consider asking your people these questions during your next one-on-one or team meeting: 1.  What are our company goals?  How are they clear and measurable? 2.  What are your professional goals?  How are they clear and measurable? 3.  How does each employees' goals link through their supervisor to our company objectives? 4.  How could we follow-up on our goals to better confirm we are on track to completing them? 5.  What do you need to achieve or exceed each of your goals this year? Now, just for you:  Imagine what would happen to your career if everyone on your team achieved or exceeded their goals so you achieved or exceeded yours?  THAT IS WORTH an investment of your time to accomplish.  If you need my help, email me to schedule time to discuss your challenges.  My calendar is getting extremely full, but there are still a few openings...

Breaks For Champions

In my book, Success With People, I recommend taking regular Sanctuary breaks during your workday because studies have proven this makes you more productive (and healthy).  Here are four quick examples:



1.  When SAS Institute was only #20 in the ranks of the 100 Best Companies To Work For (August 17, 2009 issue of FORTUNE Magazine) they were still very popular.  (In 2010 they become #1 on the list.)  SAS employee Mary Simmons, principal software developer, shared one reason she works there:  "At lunch I will go out and bike 20 miles.  Then I'll get back and all of a sudden a thought comes to my brain, and I solve something I was struggling with. (Jim) Goodnight (the founder and CEO) understands the innovative process, and there's time built in for it."

2.  When I am stressed out one of the best things I can do is swim laps.  Because I count the laps and do different strokes, my brain cannot focus on work anymore. This clears my mind, removes my stress and occasionally, opens my mind to a new inspiration.

NOTE:  I do pray daily and often do small prayers throughout the day, however, except in rare situations, prayer alone does not clear my stress.  I wish it would.  I'm confident this is a flaw with me, not the practice of prayer.

3.  Jack LaLanne, who was exercising on television when I was a kid and is now still going strong at 95 years old briefly shared his secrets for long life and business success in INC. Magazine(Dec.'09-Jan.'10).  Let me share two of his thoughts:  "In 1936, when I opened my first gym in Oakland, I had doctors telling people, "If you start working out with Jack LaLanne, the women will start looking like men, and the old guys will die of heart attacks." They thought I was just a dumb, musclebound guy. Now every doctor wants you to exercise and eat more fruits and vegetables."  

I recommend light exercise and a healthy snack.  Now what does Jack have to say about food?  "There is no wealth like health.  The food you eat today makes you what you'll be tomorrow.  So if man makes it, don't eat it.  And if it tastes good, spit it out."

4.  This just announced today in the Harvard Business Review:  The grades of college students who do 20 minutes of vigorous exercise daily are an average of 0.4 points higher on the 0-to-4 grade-point scale than those of students who don't exercise, according to a study led by Joshua Ode of Saginaw Valley State University.  If it works for college students, exercise works for the rest of us too!

TAKE YOUR BREAKS!  You deserve them. Then return to work with greater focus and energy.

Be an intentional leader.
David Russell
david@managetowin.com

MEETING IDEAS

BREAKS FOR CHAMPIONS is a reminder to take care of yourself and in the process, improve your ability to perform like a champion.  Ideally you should take a morning and afternoon break of 10-20 minutes after about two hours of work.  Here are some ideas to test: 1.  If you work at home, take breaks in the morning and afternoon.  Wear a wide-brimmed hat.  Do some weeding.  Work in the vegetable garden.  Water some trees, plants or flowers.  Take your dog for a short walk.  Make yourself a fruit smoothie (low calorie, high energy). 2.        If you work in an office, take the same breaks.  Go for a walk. Stretch (this could be HUGE for you).  If you walk with a friend then make certain to be back at your desk on time. 3.        At home or at a corporate office.... You can wait until lunch and then do something longer and more intense.  Pray.  Meditate.  Leave behind your iPhone/PDA, pager, cell phone so your Sanctuary can be uninterrupted. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE: Remove yourself totally from your work so you can return refreshed, re-energized and refocused. Let me know how it goes by posting to my blog at http://worksmartlivewell.blogspot.com/.