Bad News Doesn’t Get Better With Age
by Tony Yost
This is another truism from “The Book of Tim“.
Let’s say you are working on a project and “something bad” happens. Should you keep it to yourself and wait and see if your boss or the customer finds out about it? There’s nothing you can do about it anyway, why be the messenger of bad news?
Well, first of all, it shows your leadership skills and acceptance of responsibility when you let the appropriate people know. You gain respect.
Second of all, it gives everyone time to try and see what can be done to minimize the damage. (Just ask any military officer about that one).
Another example… due to some unforeseen issues, your project is not going to be ready by the scheduled due date. Should you tell your customer or just wait for the due date hoping some miracle will happen?
If you said “just wait”… well, how’s that been working out for you? Still waiting for those miracles? Most likely, the due date came, everyone worked crazy hours, and either the project was delivered with lower quality which will make you look bad for a long time, or the project was still not done and everyone is now demoralized. And that leaves the customer trying to explain to his boss what happened.
If you let the customer (or your boss) know the facts as soon as you are sure of them, you are a whole lot more likely to have a better outcome. And more respect.
Thanks, Tim!
Leadership – How to Cultivate your Team’s Confidence
by Mark Shead
As a leader you need to cultivate and build your team’s confidence. Your team should have confidence in them self as well as confidence in your leadership skills. In general people will judge the probability of future success based on past performance. As you work with your team you will build a consistent history based on past successes and failures. If you maintain a good track record of success you will create a sense of optimism that future projects will also be successful. If you have a record of disappointment, your team will probably view any new projects as having a high chance of failing.
It is the job of the leader to select projects that will contribute to an overall sense of success within his team. By starting with projects that the team all believes will be successful a leader is able to raise the level of confidence for the next project. Over time the confidence of a team can be built to a point that it can complete a project that would have been a failure previously. A series of projects can be completed easily and successfully when they are ordered in such a way to build confidence while the same projects can all be complete failures when done in a different order.
The first project should very easy. Historically nations have built monuments to remind them of their success. While it might not be appropriate to create a sculpture or triumphal arch for every project, some projects serve as trophies themselves. Once a team has had some success, the difficulty of their projects can increase drastically. When leadership attempts to paint a failure as if it was really a success or just hide it completely it often amplifies the failure instead of minimizing it.
Ignoring this gradual approach to more and more difficult projects is on of the major reason leaders fail. Obviously the market forces and other driving factors of an organization may make it impossible to do things in the best possible order. But the skilled leader should be able to take larger projects and break them down into tasks that are very doable. In this way you can achieve the organizations immediate goals and still give your team the ability to build confidence even when you don’t have complete control over what needs done next or enough ramp up time to do things in the way you would prefer.
Article Source: Weboid Article Directory
Getting To Know People In Seconds
by Sam Crowley
Most everyone belongs to some kind of a club or group. Perhaps it is a civic group, or a service club, or a church group, or even a family group. How often have you attended a “meeting” of your group, and not spent any time getting to know the people in the group? Too often groups are only concerned with agendas, reports, useless chitchat and weather reports, or getting business done. Life is too short to miss the opportunities to get to know people better and foster meaningful relationships.
People love to talk about themselves, their interests, their families and their life experiences. And, if you listen carefully, you can learn a lot about them as they share these things. The problem is that unless they are asked, they probably won’t tell. Then there is the additional issue of limited time in most club or group meetings. Good news… it can be done, if done briefly and regularly.
One president of a Kiwanis club (a community service club) uses a very effective “exercise” in the beginning of the club’s meeting. To officially start the meeting, the members are asked to all stand, do the pledge to the flag, have a brief prayer (some clubs follow with a song), then sit down and proceed with the meeting. But, before letting the members sit down, this leader had them ask one or two people a specific question, or had them tell someone a certain something about themselves. And, low and behold, the members started learning things about one another… and relationships started developing.
So, here are some suggestions for the types of directives and questions to use.
Things related to certain times and seasons:
What was your most memorable Christmas?
What was your most embarrassing birthday surprise?
What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving?
Where were you on 9/11?
Tell someone your favorite summer vacation.
Tell someone about the hottest day you remember – where you were and the temperature.
Tell some one your favorite time of year, and why.
Things related to people and places:
What is your favorite color, and why?
What is your favorite food?
Who are you most like… your mom or dad?
Where did you meet your spouse?
Who is your “hero” and why?
If you could be someone from the past, who and why?
Tell the funniest statement you’ve heard from a child (maybe it was you).
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
If you could “fix” or change one thing in the world today, what would it be?
Tell someone your middle name, and why it was given to you.
Tell the funniest joke (keep it clean) you can think of.
Using these to get you thinking, and a little creativity, you can come up with many more. Think about the things you would like to know about those with whom you associate. Think about what you would like to tell others, if they would only listen… then start asking and telling.
You can see Sam’s home business at www.DefendYourDream.com.
Sam’s mission is to create ten millionaires in the next five years.
Article Source: Weboid Article Directory
Ten Ways to Retain Quality Employees
by Tom Perkins
There is no question that employee turnover has a significant impact on the financial performance of an organization. It is estimated that, on average, a company will spend up to one-third of a new employee’s salary to replace a departing employee. There are experts who believe the costs for membership-based businesses could even be higher. In the fitness industry, employee turnover has a recognizable impact on a member’s decision to renew or discontinue a membership.
Here are ten things employers can do to retain quality employees:
¨ Provide employees with a clear set of standards before the employee sets foot on the floor. Do not make an employee “guess” or speculate about what you expect them to do. This wastes valuable time and increases their frustration level.
¨ Provide a comprehensive on-the-job training program. Take the time to train the employee on each aspect of your business. It may take time, but this investment will elevate the employee’s comfort level and provide you with a well cross-trained employee.
¨ Provide employees with a genuine role model. As a manager/business owner, you have a responsibility to set the tone and expectation for your organization. If you want your employees to follow it, make sure you are not just paying lip service.
¨ Provide opportunities for professional development. Consider sending employees to training seminars or providing them with other types of educational incentives. This provides for individual growth and brings added benefit to the organization.
¨ Provide ongoing feedback. Do not wait until review time to praise an employee or to point out potential areas of concern.
¨ Provide employees with appropriate forums to express their ideas and to voice their concerns. Consider setting aside a portion of your staff meetings to brainstorm new ideas or to address concerns. Make sure the forums are non-threatening and conducive to constructive discussion.
¨ Provide recognition and reward. If an employee is doing a great job, let them know it! Reward it. The reward does not have to be monetary. Consider providing small tokens of appreciation such as cards, flowers, certificates of accomplishments, gift certificates, tickets to movies, concerts, or sporting events. It’s the little things that tell an employee you recognize and appreciate their efforts.
¨ Provide employees with an organizational culture that is open, trusting, and fun. Celebrate your successes and milestones with the people who helped make them happen. Let them know they are an integral part of the team.
¨ Provide open lines of communication. Whether your organization is doing well or experiencing growing pains, keep your staff in the loop. By keeping your staff informed, you are communicating to them that they are a valuable part of the team. In return, most employees will go the extra mile for you.
¨ Provide your employees with respect. Show your employees that you care about them, not only as workers, but as people. Practice the golden rule: do onto others as you would have others do onto you.
If you follow these simple ideas you will start to see an improvement in employee morale, productivity, and retention.
Send an email to [email protected] to receive the Essential Business Success Checklist. Or visit his website at www.fitnessindustrysolutions.com.
Article Source: Weboid Article Directory
Are You Selling Your Soul to the Corporate Life?
by Richard Cox
We spend most of our lives working, usually far away from the ones we love and really want to be with. Are you letting the “way things are” at work make you feel cynical, unhappy, run down, unfulfilled? If so, you are not alone, that is for sure.
It is very easy to find yourself in the above situation. Many company cultures support that way, and without intervention it can really become a serious personal problem. First it starts off with mild discomfort, then perhaps a deeper attachment to proving we are good enough for the position we are in, followed by the need to make more money and keep the level of security we have in our lives.
Unattended to, these mild behavioural patterns can lead to more serious issues. Sitting at a desk, with mounting levels of stress, always needing to have more, do more, and be more. Day in, day out, doing work that is unfulfilling, because it needs to be done. Not taking care of the physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual concerns that each human being has, every day of their lives. Investing the large majority of our lives in something we do not really care that much about in the long run, other than our own income and security. A bit depressing isn’t it. Then we eventually blame the company, and move to another organisation, with the hope that it will be better next time.
You may be fortunate enough to have a manager or boss that takes care of you really well and pays attention to your needs and requirements to help you work at your peak performance (without burning you out!). Transformational Leadership is one of the ways that this can occur, as usually the transformational leader is fairly awake, interactive, caring and takes into consideration the individual’s needs, as well as providing some intellectual stimulation.
Other ways that you might be able to overcome some of the issues outlines below is to get a personal life coach, or results coach to assist you in focussing your results in an area that has meaning and significance for you.
One more idea you might want to consider – exploring what your life purpose is. This will awaken you to what you are really here to do. This can inject a level of energy and purpose to your daily life, which can help you make the changes that you have been wanting, perhaps for a very long time.
It might be that you are happy working in the corporate environment, and maybe there are some changes that you want to make to the “way that you do what you do”. Someone once said, “A change is as as good as a haircut”. We all need a certain level of change and refreshment in our lives.
The question is, will you make the changes that you know you want to make?
www.transformationalleadership.net is dedicated to unlocking your transformation and leadership potential. Developing Tomorrow’s Transformational Leaders Today.
Article Source: www.bizhelp.info
You Are Worth More!
by Tony Yost
You are worth more than you are being paid!
Does that come as a surprise to you? Have you felt that you couldn’t possibly find another job that would pay you as well? Have you been doing everything your boss asks you to do, no matter how unreasonable, like working so much that you never see your family?
Please don’t get me wrong… Taking pride in your work and “going the extra mile” on occasion is a very good thing, and it may be one of the reasons that you are worth more than you are being paid. But if you are constantly missing the important events in your life because you feel like you have to, maybe it’s time for you to create more balance.
How do I know that you are worth more than you are being paid?
It’s very simple. You are still employed. See, the difference in what you are being paid and what you are worth, is called “profit” by your employer. And profit is the whole reason for your company’s existence. If your employer was not making more money from your work, than you are getting paid, then you wouldn’t be there.
Make no mistake. Profit for your employer is a good thing. That’s what keeps the wheels of industry turning. Just don’t let their values override your own. Go see your child in that Christmas play. The work will still be there when you get back. And you’ll be much happier doing it.
And if you are an employer, note that your employees will be much more able to concentrate on their jobs if they don’t have family issues to worry about.
To give credit where credit is due, I got the basic idea for this from Pat O’Bryan in his book Your Portable Empire
Who Is Going To Let Me?
by Tony Yost
Yesterday, Buz McGuire had in his blog a link to “12 Lessons from Top Business Masters”.
For me, one quote really stands out.
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”
by Ayn Rand.
Isn’t that powerful? That should be the motto of everyone who wants to succeed.
I have been a huge fan of Ayn Rand ever since I read the book Atlas Shrugged.
It absolutely changed the way I think about business and money. I highly recommend this book. I won’t spoil the plot for you, but you will also find the answer to “Who Is John Galt?”.
Introducing Positive Expectations
by Tony Yost
This is another lesson I learned working for Tom. I was a computer consultant and Tom was a (very successful) business owner. He would call me with computer issues.
When I arrived, if there was someone I didn’t know, Tom would introduce me as a computer EXPERT. He would tell them at some length that I could, without a doubt, fix whatever was wrong, and that their computer issue was as good as solved.
Well… after an introduction like that, how could I let him down? I would do whatever it took to solve the issue as quickly as possible, and make us both look good.
THAT is positive motivation. It cost Tom nothing extra (in fact, it actually saved him money because I charged by the hour). It made a great working relationship. And I would (and still do) recommend Tom when situations present themselves.
You might consider this when you introduce employees…or even when you introduce your family. Consider how the words you use affect your child when you introduce him or her. Do you tell people that they are “winners” or do you tell people “Here is my little trouble-maker”?
How about your spouse? Do you tell people, “Here is the sunshine of my life…” or “Here’s the ol’ ball and chain…”?
Set positive expectations, and most of the time, that’s the way it will work out. You’ll both come out better off.
