Plan Every Day in Advance

What a fantastic guest blogger I have today. Brian Tracy has been a huge influence to so

many people in achieving personal and business goals. His 3rd edition (out this week) of Eat That Frog is just one part of that mold. Here's a great book that's going to help you to stop that procrastinating. Admit it. We all do it. With Brian's book, with 2 new chapters, you'll learn that you don't need to do everything to be successful and that in trying to you lose focus and begin to drop the ball. Share this book with your entire team.

Plan Every Day in Advance

By Brian Tracy

The following post is an excerpt from chapter 2 of Eat That Frog.

A word about frogs… It has been said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long. Your “frog” is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.

Plan Every Day in Advance

You have heard the old question, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer is “One bite at a time!”

How do you eat your biggest, ugliest frog? The same way: you break it down into specific step-by-step activities and then you start on the first one.

Your mind, your ability to think, plan, and decide, is your most powerful tool for overcoming procrastination and increasing your productivity. Your ability to set goals, make plans, and take action on them determines the course of your life. The very act of thinking and planning unlocks your mental powers, triggers your creativity, and increases your mental and physical energies.

Conversely, as Alec Mackenzie wrote, “Taking action without thinking things through is a prime source of problems.”

Your ability to make good plans before you act is a measure of your overall competence. The better the plan you have, the easier it is for you to overcome procrastination, to get started, to eat your frog, and then to keep going.

One of your top goals at work should be to get the highest possible return on your investment of your mental, emotional, and physical energy. The good news is that every minute spent in planning saves as many as ten minutes in execution. It takes only about 10 to 12 minutes for you to plan your day, but this small investment of time will save you up to two hours (100 to 120 minutes) in wasted time and diffuse effort throughout the day.

You may have heard of the Six-P Formula. It says, “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.”

When you consider how helpful planning can be in increasing your productivity and performance, it is amazing how few people practice it every single day. And planning is really quite simple to do. All you need is a piece of paper and a pen. The most sophisticated Outlook system, computer app, or time planner is based on the same principle. It is based on your sitting down and making a list of everything you have to do before you begin.

One of the most important rules of personal effectiveness is the 10/90 Rule. This rule says that the first 10 percent of time that you spend planning and organizing your work before you begin will save you as much as 90 percent of the time in getting the job done once you get started. You only have to try this rule once to prove it to yourself.

When you plan each day in advance, you will find it much easier to get going and to keep going. The work will go faster and smoother than ever before. You will feel more powerful and competent. You will get more done faster than you thought possible. Eventually, you will become unstoppable.

Brian Tracy is one of the top business speakers in the world today. He has designed and presented seminars for more than 1,000 large companies and more than 10,000 small and medium- sized enterprises in 75 countries on the subjects of Leadership, Management, Professional Selling, Business Model Reinvention, and Profit Improvement. He has addressed more than 5,000,000 people in more than 5,000 talks and presentations worldwide. He currently speaks to 250,000 people per year. His fast-moving, entertaining video-based training programs are taught in 38 countries.

In addition to Eat That Frog, Brian has written more than 80 books that have been translated into 42 languages, including Kiss That Frog!, Find Your Balance Point, Goals!, Flight Plan, Maximum Achievement, No Excuses!, Advanced Selling Strategies, and How the Best Leaders Lead. He is happily married, with four children and five grandchildren. He is the president of Brian Tracy International and lives in Solana Beach, California. He can be reached at briantracy@briantracy.com.

Got Leaders?

So who's an author whose books I most look out for? Mark Miller is right about the top of

the list. His new book, Leaders Made Here, was just released and I happen to be hosting his blog this week.

So many leadership books talk about theories . . . sorry, dozed off there for a second. Mark writes in a way that keeps your interest and makes it easier to sink in. Want to learn quickly? Tell stories. That's exactly what Mark does. Through parables, he tells leadership stories that strike a cord. Here, we learn about building leaders - not one at a time or as needed - so there's always a leadership pipeline . . . a real culture of successful leadership.

My favorite quote from the book sums it up and goes like this: "A leadership culture exists when leaders are routinely and systematically developed, AND when you have a surplus of leaders."

Got Leaders?

Mark Miller - originally published on GreatLeadersServe.com

What do you talk about at work? Recently, I’ve come to appreciate how many conversations I have every week about leadership issues… dozens, scores – probably thousands of these discussions over the past decade.

What do you believe about a leadership pipeline? Do you think this is something only big companies do? Do you wonder why you don’t have one? Do you want to know the secret to creating a never-ending supply of qualified leaders? Keep reading…

I’m more convinced than ever when it comes to leadership, an organization has only two real choices: Hire leaders or grow leaders. And, over the long haul, I believe the right answer is a combination of the two.

I want to address the more challenging and probably more productive method – Grow your own.  Here are a few questions for your consideration if your current pipeline is not producing enough leaders to satisfy demand.

How do you define leadership? This is the most common mistake I see in organizations struggling to develop leaders. Without an agreed upon operational definition of leadership, creating a pipeline is virtually impossible. What do you want your leaders to be able to do? What character traits are you looking for in leaders? These are non-trivial questions! They represent the foundation for any legitimate attempt to systematically grow leaders.

Who are your emerging leaders? You cannot, nor should you, invest equally in the development of all your people. Targeted and strategic investments will pay the greatest dividends. Where do you place your bet? Emerging leaders. Before you can move forward with this approach, you must know who they are.

What stretch assignments can you give them? After you’ve identified emerging leaders, you can begin to shape their development. One powerful approach is to match individuals with appropriate stretch assignments. If selected carefully, these can be opportunities to test and strengthen future leaders.

What experiences do you want emerging leaders to have? When we think about developing leaders, our first thought is often about the skills of leadership. This is important. However, experiences can add depth to a leader’s resume and contribute greatly to his or her confidence. Experiences can include such diverse situations as working in a union environment, turning around a struggling division, launching a start-up, and more. You decide.

Who can you ask to mentor or coach emerging leaders? I am a fan of mentoring and coaching. There is something that happens in the context of a relationship that rarely happens when we attempt to go it alone. When done well, coaching and mentoring can unlock vast reserves of untapped potential in people. I realize you may not be able to afford external coaching for all your people, but you can assign an internal mentor to guide, challenge and encourage emerging leaders. You’ll be glad you did. Oh, before I finish here, I did promise you the secret to a successful leadership pipeline…Leadership.

You will never find a successful leadership pipeline without leadership. A vibrant process for developing leaders will not emerge spontaneously. When leaders decide to make leadership a competitive advantage and invest accordingly, that’s the day the construction of your pipeline begins.

How strong is your process for growing leaders?

Mark Miller is the best-selling author of 6 books, an in-demand speaker and the Vice President of High-Performance Leadership at Chick-fil-A. His latest book, Leaders Made Here, describes how to nurture leaders throughout the organization, from the front lines to the executive ranks and outlines a clear and replicable approach to creating the leadership bench every organization needs.

Who Are Your Employees Playing For?

This week, we're celebrating the paperback release of the 2014 best-seller, Why

Motivating People Doesn't Work...and What Does, by Susan Fowler. I liked it so much when it first came out that I just got done reading it again. The "traditional" ways of motivation just don't cut it anymore. Through real life examples and process Susan shows us how to understand the reasons people are motivated and to capitalize on them.

Today, I have the honor of hosting Susan Fowlers blog post, Who Are Your Employees Playing For? I know you'll get as much out of it as I did.


Who Are Your Employees Playing For? by Susan Fowler

As the young man ducked his head getting into the elevator, I recognized him immediately as a new face on my favorite pro basketball team. I don’t seek out celebrity sightings and have never asked for an autograph, but like most people, I think it’s fun to see someone in person that you’ve watched on television.

I couldn’t help but ask him about the dismal circumstances of his team. “You must have been thrilled to be drafted by such a legendary franchise to play with the most winning coach in history,” I began. “But what’s it like now that he’s been replaced with a different coach, to have a losing record, and to learn this week that your teammate, who was known as the heart of the squad, has been traded to a conference rival?”

After a pause, where he must have been considering the risks of being honest, he told me, “It’s hard. You tell yourself it’s just a game and have fun. But, it’s also a business and my life and livelihood. My family depends on me.”

“How do you keep up the physical and mental energy needed to be a professional athlete under these circumstances?”

As the elevator stopped at the lobby, he shook his head as he ducked getting out, and said, “To tell you the truth, you stop playing for the name on the front of your jersey and you play for the name on your back.”

Of course, on the front of the jersey is the team’s name. On the back of the jersey is your own name.  I often think of that promising young player, caught in a situation he couldn’t navigate effectively. Currently, he’s playing on teams overseas, unable to take advantage of his untapped potential in the NBA.

I was reminded of this chance encounter again last week. I was on a coaching call, listening to an employee describe changes going on in her organization and how her sales territory is being rearranged and her clients being parceled out among other reps. I asked how she was handling her frustration, and she said, “I’m just playing for the name on the back of my jersey, not the front.”

My heart sank. I could hear the anguish in her voice. It is in our human nature to thrive through meaningful work in concert with like-minded people. Feeling alienated or unable to trust her tribe was threatening her sense of well-being.

As leaders, we need to help employees understand the reasons for their anguish. Then, we need to help them satisfy their psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Employees can’t thrive when their psychological needs are thwarted at work. When employees don’t thrive, they suffer–and so does the organization. Disengaged employees, who are so overwhelmed by circumstances that they simply give up and begin looking after their own best interests, are costing organizations billions of dollars every year.

As our coaching call continued, three lessons emerged that might help you deal with a disenfranchised employee.

1. This employee’s sense of autonomy was nonexistent. She felt she had no control over the changes “being done to” her. My question to her was, “What do you have control over?” We identified three areas of her role where her choices would make a difference in the quality of her experience.
2. She felt her sense of relatedness with the organization was compromised. She didn’t trust her company or the reasons for the changes being made. When I asked her why, she replied, “The changes are unfair.” Nothing erodes an employee’s psychological need for relatedness like injustice. My question to her was, “Have you discussed why the changes are taking place with your manager? Have you asked for a rationale so you can understand the reasons for the changes?” She admitted she had not. Should her leader have provided the rationale for change? Sure. But, even the best-intentioned leaders usually share an organizational perspective. People need a personal rationale–they need to understand why the changes are “being done to” them, their job, role, and world. I encouraged her to be a self-leader and seek out the answers she needed. With information in hand, she could then determine if the reasons for the changes were unjust or just unclear.
3. The employee’s sense of competence was diminished because she didn’t know how to navigate through ambiguity and uncertainty. But, she realized that identifying ways to refocus her autonomy and relatedness needs already made her feel more confident about moving forward.

I will continue tracking her progress. My hope is to hear about the success and flourishing that both she and her organization experience as she plays for more than the name on the back of her jersey.

*****

Susan Fowler implores leaders to stop trying to motivate people. In her latest bestselling book, she explains WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN’T WORK… AND WHAT DOES: The New Science of Leading, Engaging, and Energizing. She is the author of by-lined articles, peer-reviewed research, and six books, including the bestselling Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager with Ken Blanchard. Tens of thousands of people worldwide have learned from her ideas through training programs such as the Situational Self Leadership and Optimal Motivation product lines. For more resources, including a free Motivational Outlook Assessment with immediate results, visit www.susanfowler.com.

Surprise Me!

Chip Bell has done it again! I so anticipate getting his newest book releases in the mail

and his newest, Kaleidoscope: Delivering Innovative Service That Sparkles, was worth waiting for. Chip's writing style of giving us inspiring stories of actual people and organizations getting customer service right makes reading interesting and thought-provoking. Even if you're not in the customer service industry, you'll find this book worth a good read.

Today, I have the privilege of hosting a Chip Bell blog post.

Surprise Me! by: Chip R. Bell

How would you like receiving a birthday present without any wrapping or colorful bow...just a Post-it note on the present with handwritten: “Happy Birthday?”  What would an Easter egg hunt be like if the location of all the eggs were clearly marked with a red flag?  How exciting would a treasure hunt be if some else did if for you and just brought you the bounty?

Customers today live in an over-stimulated, highly entertained world and love surprise. Unfortunately, we have so automated, programmed and managed surprise that it is now assumed when it was once upon a time enchanting.  Remember a time when a front desk clerk, rental car agent, airline gate attendant, merchant or waiter enchanted us with an unanticipated value-added something.  It had a neighborly, old-fashioned feeling when we got an extra.  The mechanic fixed something broken while servicing our vehicle and wrote “no charge” on the invoice.  We heard words like, “It’s on the house” or “we’ll comp it!”

Then, the world of unexpected extras pretty much came to an end.  Easily blamed on the tough economy, the shift was more subtle.  Extras were not actually taken away, they were managed away.  The extremes of a “no variance” philosophy from TQM and Six Sigma got pushed way beyond its rank and pay grade requiring the frontline to hand over their spontaneous generosity to the computer.  Now, the computer, not the gate agent, decides if you get that first class seat upgrade based on your frequent flyer status and seat availability.  Getting upgraded to the concierge level at a hotel is a  computer-driven decision based solely on availability and affinity program status and not the judgment call of the desk clerk.

And, the customer, robbed of that Jack-in-the-box feeling of surprise, has simply built the expectation of an extra into their criteria for satisfaction much like the cleanliness of a hospital or the security of a bank.  Value-added has become value-assumed and no longer a loyalty-creating value at all.  Proof that it has become a given not an extra is how easily the customer is disappointed when he or she fails to get what was once presented as a true surprise.

It is time to bring back the trust and authority the frontline needs to be both generous and ingenious.  If the Ritz-Carlton can trust a housekeeper to responsibly spend up to $2000 to make sure a guest leaves happy, the waiter can be trusted with the decision to comp a dessert for a loyal customer. Employees who can successfully manage a family budget, juggle soccer, tutoring and baseball practice schedules, and shop for groceries can figure out ways to surprise customers without jeopardizing the unit standards or the bottom line. 

Turning ho-hum service into a compelling story customers are eager to share requires bringing back a setting lined in trust; a place filled with joyful innovation.  It takes leaders who are as courageous as they want their employees to be creative. It calls for leaders in search of invention, not obedience.

Chip R. Bell is a renowned keynote speaker and the author of several national best-selling books. His newest book is the just-released Kaleidoscope:  Delivering Innovative Service That Sparkles. He can be reached at chipbell.com. 

A Leadership Kick in the A**

Do leaders sometimes need a kick in the ass? You bet they do . . . even if they don’t think

so. I’m referring to the new book, A Leadership Kick in the Ass, by Bill Treasurer. It's been awhile since my last post but a perfect time to start up again. I’ve been waiting months to be able to read this book, and I was NOT disappointed.

Bill’s book should be a wake-up call and a learning experience for any leader. You’ll learn a lot about yourself and how to make much-needed corrections (kicks) to become the leader you were meant to be.

In addition to realizing that mistakes are GREAT opportunities to learn from and to improve, there are other things to look at. Case in point is Bill’s definitions of two types of leaders, Pigheads and Weaklings. We all know those people, and we probably fall into one or both categories at least on occasion. Sometimes we need a kick to get realigned. To fall into one of these categories causes damage to yourself, your team, and your organization. In addition to discussing all of the ins and outs of each, Bill gives us types of “butt kicks needed”.

Pigheads

• Kicks that shatter the oversized ego.
• Kicks that instigate humility.

Weaklings

• Kicks that expose the withheld potential.
• Kicks that inspire assertiveness.

This should be an eye-opener for some of you or people you work with. Realize what went wrong, fix it, learn from it, move on.

No matter where you are on the organizational ladder, this book WILL open your eyes. Do you have a book club where you work? This would be an excellent read to be able to share with others.

Embrace Millennials as the Opportunity They Are

Today's guest post comes from Dan Negroni, author of the new book, Chasing Relevance. Check out my Monday blog for my great review.

Embrace Millennials as the Opportunity they are

            A massive shift is taking place in the workplace and marketplace. Millennials—currently representing 36% of the workforce—will be 75% of your employees and customers by 2025. This change is creating a huge gap. Boomers and Gen Xers grew up with structure. Millennials have grown up with flexibility and the freedom to say what they want, when they want, simply by sending a tweet or a snap. They want feedback 24/7. They collaborate and create influence through network and community. They work way differently than previous generations. This difference is causing what you might label a “problem” in the workplace. There is a clear disconnect between expectations and work style.

            But what if you challenged yourself to view this generational gap not as a problem to be solved, but as an opportunity to be embraced? Millennials control $660 billion in spending and will soon be leading the workplace, if they’re not already. Be the solution and embrace this generational “shift,” you can “shift” your perspective on this gap and win the millennial race! Millennials hold a tremendous opportunity for your workplace to excel in the future. Here are 3 millennial “problems” that are actually opportunities to be embraced.

1.)They constantly seek feedback.

            Millennials grew up in an era of instant gratification, so they expect feedback all the time. While this classic millennial trait may seem annoying or ridiculous, it offers you an incredible opportunity to actually communicate and connect. The” problem” isn’t just that they want feedback, they are scared to ask for it and don’t know what to do with it or how to react..

Use this opportunity to be a mentor and guide for your millennials. Be real, be honest, be a teacher.  Show appreciation when they do a good job, and let them know when they make mistakes and how they can improve. Ask them questions on a regular, weekly basis so you can create a two-way relationship. If they see you, their boss, asking questions, being vulnerable and caring, they will mimic your behavior and develop confidence. Use feedback the way it is intended, as a give and take. . 

2.) They want flexible or their “perfect” schedule

            It may seem like a pain to offer a flexible schedule to your millennial employees. You may think, “Why can’t they just work 8 hours straight like I did and not complain about it?” Well, technology has changed the world and millennials can get work done remotely as well as in an office. Millennials tend to seek a perfect work/life balance. By allowing a flexible schedule, you provide your millennials the opportunity to fulfill other activities that make them happy and keep them fulfilled and engaged.

            If your millennials are engaged in the other areas of their life, they will be more inspired to do more great work for your company. By caring about their needs, they are happier, therefore so are your customers and you also create more success of your company.

3.) They have wild ambitions and ideas

            “They all want to create the next Facebook.” The initial reaction to millennials’ wild ambitions may be that they’re entitled and expect success overnight. But what if you could focus their ambitions within your own company? As a manager, you can motivate your millennials to learn and grow within your company. You can provide opportunities for them to excel, create and innovate…a win-win that would benefit your company. Don’t suppress your millennial worker’s ambitions, but guide them so they can flourish and excel both personally and professionally.

            Where one sees trash, another sees treasure. The millennial shift is happening…its inevitable. However, it’s up to YOU how you view it…as an opportunity to be embraced!

Need help understanding, engaging, and retaining your millennial workforce?  Dan Negroni, Author, Speaker, Attorney, Kick butt business consultant, coach, and proud Dad of a few Millennials delivers actionable solutions.  Different from all other millennial experts, Dan's empowering business approach at Launchbox, creates quick value and seamless connections with millennials and management each on their own terms.   Using unique content and delivery methods that audiences respond to immediately he leverages results from the inside out.   Allow millennials to be your secret weapon and maximize your commitment to them to innovate, create a culture of engagement and grow your businesses today.    To start click here to grab your copy of Chasing Relevance: 6 Steps to Understand, Engage and Maximize Next Generation Leaders in the Workplace or call them at 858.314.9687 for a free Coaching Assessment

Chasing Relevance

So this may be one of the most important business books of the year - Chasing

Relevance: 6 Steps to Understand, Engage, and Maximize Next-Generation Leaders in the Workplace, by Dan Negroni.

Today we live in a world of multi-generational workforces. As Dan says, by 2025 the number of millennials in the workforce will grow to 75%. That's a BIG number and leadership must begin learning from and teaching them now.

Two things struck a cord with me outright. First is his profile of a millennial:

• Days filled with scheduled activities.
• Trophies for everyone on the team.
• Families of all different shapes and sizes.
• Socially connected every minute to everyone.
• Information at their fingertips.
• Multitasking is the norm.
• Center of attention.
• Family technologists.

As soon as I read this, the wheels immediately began turning. This is a great starting point for understanding how millennials fit into our society and office staff.

The second thing that hit me outright is the B.R.I.D.G.E model. Using this model will "build genuine and caring relationships that increase engagement, productivity, innovation, results, and profits". To bridge the gap, the B.R.I.D.G.E model consists of:

• Bust Myths - to break through assumptions.
• Real Deal - to create authentic relationships.
• I Own It - to become personally responsible for results.
• Deliver Value - by understanding and mentoring.
• Goals in Mind - with shared vision.
• Empower Success - with feedback and recognition.

If you're a new supervisor . . . or even a baby-boomer supervisor, you're going to want to read this book and implement the ideology. There's a big difference between the 55+ era and the millennial era. Now is the time to take hold of the reigns.

Leaders Ready Now

Last week saw the launch of a highly anticipated (and deservedly so) book, Leaders Ready Now: Accelerating Growth in a Faster World, by Matthew J Paese, Audrey B. Smith, and William C. Byham.  If you get half out of what I did, you'll be well on your way in your growth as a leader.

My guest blogger this week is actually by three.  The three authors of this great new book.

Why Are You Pursuing Acceleration?

The business reason for acceleration is often summarized like this: “We’re running

desperately short of leaders, and if we can’t get more of them—good ones—very soon, we’ll be in trouble. It’s not an option to buy talent from the outside, so we have only two options: grow from within or fail.”

This usually causes management to sit up straight and pay close attention to the next part of the meeting: How to solve this? What most executives are thinking at this point is basically what’s going through their heads when the organization faces a quality problem or a service problem or a cost problem: We need to analyze the causes, develop solutions, and execute a plan.

Except that acceleration is different. An organization can fix a quality, service, or cost problem with new and better processes that people learn to execute with discipline. But a leadership shortage will be filled only with energy for growth—fear and excitement—which then fuels the process and discipline that an acceleration system also requires. So, aiming to solve the talent problem demands a plan to solve the energy problem.

Energy will grow as you take on more risk with developing your people. But bigger risks require bigger whys. Why grow? Why accelerate? For management, the why is the business case for acceleration. In the absence of a strong one, it is difficult to convince senior executives to take any risks (much less big ones) with development. In fact, acceleration isn’t appropriate for every organization (e.g., companies in rapid start-up mode may need to emphasize talent acquisition, while others may be stocked with so much talent that the main challenge is retention).

For individual leaders, the why is the personal case for acceleration. Without one, it is difficult to convince individuals to take big chances with their own development. The typical conversation with an individual leader highlights the potentially exciting, lucrative, and influential future that acceleration can bring; the leader can—if the process works—learn, earn, and determine much more in the organization. For most, this would be enough to garner full interest and enthusiasm for whatever may come next. But interest and enthusiasm are simply not enough. Remember that the most powerful learning experiences— the ones that truly transform leadership capability—are characterized less by design than by necessity. When asked how they came into their moments of rapid learning, leaders routinely report reasons such as, “They needed me, and I was the only one available who could do it,” or “I thought I could make a big difference,” or “My boss believed I could do it, so I agreed.”

When it comes to creating energy for acceleration, there is a vast difference between “You could benefit from this” and “We need you.” To create a more powerful why for both management and individual learners, it is insufficient to make a case on behalf of only the business or the person. You will need to appeal to both. “We (the business) need you (the person) to take a big chance.” Your case must be compelling to both management and each individual, conveying why the organization needs leaders to step up, what it needs from each leader, and why it’s worth taking big risks to achieve faster, more significant growth.

*****

Matthew J. Paese, Ph.D., is Vice President of Succession and C-Suite Services for Development Dimensions International (DDI). Matt’s work has centered on the application of succession, assessment, and development approaches as they apply to boards, CEOs, senior management teams, and leaders across the pipeline. He consults, coaches, speaks, and conducts research around all those topics and more.

Audrey B. Smith, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President for Global Talent Diagnostics at DDI. Audrey's customer-driven innovation and global consulting insights have helped shape DDI's succession, selection, and development offerings, from the C-suite to the front line. She has been a key strategist and solution architect, encompassing technology-enabled virtual assessments and development aligned to current business challenges.

William C. Byham, Ph.D., is Executive Chairman of DDI. He cofounded the company in 1970 and has worked with hundreds of the world's largest organizations on executive assessment, executive development, and succession management. Bill authored Zapp!® The Lightning of Empowerment, a groundbreaking book that has sold more than 3 million copies. He has coauthored 23 other books, including seminal works on the assessment center method.

Some People Change

"Here’s to the strong, thanks to the brave don’t give up hope some people

change.
Against all odds, against the grain love finds a way, some people change."

These are some words from a Kenny Chesney song called, Some People Change. In the leadership world, do you think it's possible to change? I do.

I've seen some of the most in your face, micro-managing people become leaders that everyone wants to work for. It takes desire. It takes belief. It takes help. It takes time. That's where a good leadership development program comes in.

A good leadership development program is going to open the doors to new ways of thinking. It's going to show those in need of an overhaul just how things could be. A good program will be able to help transform managers into leaders by providing tools and resources to become a better person. And with follow up, will help people to continue to grow and improve on what they've learned. Reading is fantastic and should be practiced by everyone, but you get the most benefit when you're able to discuss and learn with (from) others.

Leadership development programs will grow your leaders, grow your employees, and grow your organization.

Remember - people don't typically leave an organization, they leave their manager.

Get Up and DO

It's so easy to get into a rut. Especially when you're in between jobs. The worst

thing that you can do is sit and wait. But sitting at a computer, day after day, applying for jobs is not going to get you by. You have to be more active.

Sitting and waiting for something to happen is going to weaken you. It will weaken your skills, your knowledge, your ability to interact socially, and most of all your motivation. You have to get up and get moving.

I'm currently in between jobs and was falling down that hole. I did two things to help me stay towards the top, allowing me to feel better about myself and my outlook of things to come. The first is volunteering.

Volunteering is actually good for you. It provides physical and mental rewards. It helps you gain other types of professional experience. And the biggie - YOU make a difference.

The other thing I did was . . . I got a job. It isn't the type of work I'm looking for, nor making the money I need, or even has the possibility of continuing. But it is pulling in some money and keeping me busy. Plus I'm able to help out a friend (grateful to that friend). Cleaning boats is not a career choice, but it's keeping my mindset in the work world. It also shows me how lucky I am to be here and reminds me of the successes I've had.

So if you're out of wack and in that rut, get out and DO. It's quite the pick me up.

Paying People to Quit

As launch week, for the new book Under New Management, is drawing to a close, I have

the honor of hosting a guest blog by author David Burkus. Under New Management has been wildly successful this week and I encourage you to get a copy today.

Paying People to Quit: The Cost of an Unengaged Hire

Possibly the most counterintuitive process to appear in recent years is the idea of paying people to quit their jobs. Not only are some leaders finding it beneficial to company performance, but research suggests these incentives may even have a positive effect on the people who stay.

One benefit of paying people to quit is obvious: it screens out people who would probably end up quitting anyway. In a purely logical world, as soon as people figure out that they've made a bad decision in coming to work at a company, they would leave. However, humans are not logical creatures. As such, we’re subject to a cognitive glitch that makes it difficult to quit the things we start. Economists often refer to this as the 'sunk costs fallacy.' Sunk costs represent the time, money, or effort we’ve already invested in a course of action. Money has already been spent, and there’s no getting it back whether we continue down the same course or break away and go our separate way.

Rationally then, the moment we realize we’ve made a mistake, we should change our course of action. But we don’t do that. In one of the original studies on sunk costs, Hal Arkes and Catherine Blumer (both of Ohio University at the time) asked undergraduate students to envision the following scenario and make a choice:

Assume that you've spent $100 on a ticket for a weekend ski trip to Michigan. Several weeks later you buy a $50 ticket for a weekend ski trip to Wisconsin. You think you'll enjoy the Wisconsin ski trip more than the Michigan ski trip. As you're putting your just-purchased Wisconsin ski trip ticket in your wallet, you notice that both trips are for the same weekend! It’s too late to sell either ticket, and you cannot return them. You must use one ticket and not the other. Which ski trip will you choose?

Surprisingly, the majority of students choose the more expensive Michigan trip even though the Wisconsin trip would be more fun. Despite the fact that the full $150 was spent and couldn’t be recouped students were influenced by how much had been spent on the trip and that led them to make a less enjoyable choice. We’re biased toward throwing more money or more effort at a less enjoyable — or doomed — cause if we’ve put significant effort or money behind it already. Jobs are no different.

It takes time to find a job, and when you’re hired, if you suddenly realize the job isn’t right for you, your sunk costs exert pressure to ignore that realization and continue. Offering a quitting bonus can help offset the sunk costs building up in the mind of the future underperformer. 

For both the employee and the employer, sunk costs make it difficult to end a doomed relationship. Companies that pay people to quit are acting rationally and ignoring sunk costs. They realize they can’t really head off a future problem by investing more time and money in someone who isn’t a good fit. When a company pays an employee to quit, it’s often doing so in the belief that even if they accept the offer, the company is getting a good deal. By giving the employees most likely to be disengaged the option to leave, companies save a lot in the long run. According to research from the Gallup Organization, disengaged employees are less productive, more likely to steal from their employer, skip work, and negatively influence customers and other employees.

At companies that have implemented this policy, only about two to three percent of people who get the offer take it. When people stay, not only does the company get to keep the money, but they might even get a more engaged and productive employee. So what happens to everyone who stays? The answer to that question points to the second reason why paying people to quit works: cognitive dissonance.

'Cognitive dissonance' is the term psychologists use to describe the discomfort you feel when two ideas conflict in your mind, as well as your attempts to reconcile them. The theory of cognitive dissonance was first proposed by Leon Festinger, a social psychologist who worked at a variety of universities, from MIT to Stanford.

Jack Brehm, another social psychologist, built on Festinger’s theory with a phenomenon he labeled 'post-decision dissonance.' Brehm theorized that after we make certain decisions, we modify our beliefs to strengthen the validity of that decision. In a famous experiment, Brehm asked 225 female students to rate a series of common household appliances. The students were then asked to choose between two of the appliances they’d rated to take home as a gift for participating. Brehm followed up with the students and asked them to complete a second round of rating the same appliances. Oddly, the students’ ratings had changed. In the second round, most of the participants rated the appliance they’d chosen as a gift higher than they’d rated it in the first round, and likewise rated the rejected item lower than they had before.

While it may seem counterintuitive, offering disengaged or unsuitable hires the opportunity to self-select out can lead to greater engagement and productivity from the employees who remain, as well as increased profitability for the company as a whole.

*****

David Burkus is the author of the new book, Under New Management. He is host of the Radio Free Leader podcast and associate professor of management at Oral Roberts University. Please visit his website at www.davidburkus.com.

Under New Management

Times and technology are always changing. With these changes must come

process and management style changes. The problem is, that what we need to do to keep up doesn’t always happen. A new idea here and there is too slow and dispersed.

A number of things that I see in David Burkus’s new book, Under Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual, I’ve seen before. But what’s great about it is that he gathers these things - and much more - shows great examples, and puts them into one easy to read, understand, and implement reference.

Including research and case studies, Burkus presents examples of organizations that have successfully implemented each of these practices. Zappos paying people to quit. Whole Foods hiring as a team. Wegmans putting customers first. Adobe eliminating yearly performance appraisals. McKinsey & Company celebrating employee departures (and keeping contact).

This is the book to read if you’re ready to make a positive change in your organization or even if you’re just starting out and building from scratch. Leave the past in the past. Let go of the old ineffective methodologies. Create an organization that will provide the base for success.

I don't know . . . but I'll find out

Anyone who has worked in customer service has heard the phrase, “I don't

know . . . but I’ll find out.”  It's a wonderful phrase that will help keep

customers happy and coming back.  You shouldn’t have a problem saying it, as nobody expects you to know everything. How long will this movie be showing? What are the requirements? Is there an age limit?  You should never leave them wondering.  

But there's another side to this phrase.  Saying “I don't know, but I'll find out”, benefits you also.  If you don’t know something, you need to find out even if it’s not for this customer.  Someone is eventually going to want to know - and BAM, you already have the answer and you don’t have to spend valuable time finding it.

Now take that phrase and apply it to your everyday work, or hobbies, or whatever.  Learning never ends.  Not after college, job orientation, or even relationships. How can I utilize Google Docs? Why do we do it this way? What problems have people run into before me?  Saying this phrase, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out” to yourself, will make you continue to seek out knowledge.  It keeps your imagination and curiosity flexible.

Personally embrace this phrase to learn and explore areas that lead you in new directions.  You’ll never become stagnant.  You’ll never be bored.

The Missing Dab

Well, I'm sure you've seen it by now. I'm talking, of course, about Carolina Panthers QB,

Cam Newton's post-game press conference. It was the perfect example of an inexperienced leader. It's all fun and games while he's winning, but talk about a 180 when he loses.

Keep in mind that Newton was drafted just five years ago and although he's had some great success on the field, he still has much experience to gain in the off-field leadership arena. He's the face of not only his own brand but of the Panthers. What he displayed, no matter how painful, was the wrong picture. I've seen high school state championship losers act better.

A leader can't dab and dance while things are going well and then turn over when things don't go your way. That sets the tone for the rest of the team. The people that look up to you and respond off of your cue's. A leader is a role model, which can go either way, positively or negatively.

So hopefully Newton learns a lot from this experience - his first of multiple Super Bowls - and takes some cue's from QB's that "aren't like him, such as Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and even rookie Jameis Winston (I've been totally impressed with his attitude during his first year). The Super Bowl is a HUGE stage and no matter what happens, sometimes, as a leader, we just have to suck-it-up.

BTW. Congratulations to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

The Serving Leader

The newly updated edition of The Serving Leader: Five Powerful Actions to Transform

Your Team, Business, and Community, by Kenneth R. Jennings and John Stahl-Wert is one for your bookshelf.  Better yet, keep it on your desk.  It’s a small (154 pages) read with a big message.

The authors take you through their leadership model via parable, stopping throughout to discuss in more detail the five actions of transformation,

• Upend the Pyramid - You qualify to be first by putting other people first.
• Raise the Bar - To serve the many, you first serve the few.
• Blaze the Trail - To protect your value, you must give it all away.
• Build on Strength - To address your weaknesses, focus on your strengths.
• Run to Great Purpose - Arrange each person in the team to contribute what he/she is best at.

This all adds up to becoming the serving leader.  It’s time to step away for self-centeredness.  The book provides the traits and actions that are needed.  All that needs to be done is take it all to heart (there’s a lot of heart in this book) and put it into play.  This is a caring and sharing book for your team, family, and colleagues.