Do you know how fast the world is moving?

If you think the internet/technology growth and the changing times are not important to your business or career – you might want to think again! Take 5 minutes and play the video below called “Did you know?” and see what is here now and coming soon!



If you can not get video toplay, go to this URL to review - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o9nmUB2qls

Listening: The Cure for Ongoing Conflict

What happens during conflict? Usually people stop listening while each person tries to convince the other person, and/or other people that their position is the correct one.

Wikipedia defines conflict as the: “actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests.” Interesting that the definition includes the word perceived. Quite often we’re so busy trying to state and restate our own point of view, we neglect to listen and if we did, we would find that maybe we are really on the same side, just stating it differently.

Put any two or more people together day in and day out and there is bound to be conflict. Conflict does not always have to be a negative event. By questioning the status quo and having an alternative point of view, positive change can occur. How we handle conflict is the key to whether conflict is constructive or destructive to our relationships. The author Max Lucade, says: “Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.” We have a choice on how we handle conflict and how much time we spend talking and how much time listening.

Consider the following conflict situation between two executives. One manages the quality function and one the operations department. There is a natural built-in conflict between these two groups which provides the checks and balances which are important for an organization. But in this situation, the two leaders let their personality differences interfere with their ability to listen and resolve differences. They were in an endless cycle of finding fault with the other’s ideas and actions. After a while they involved other people in their conflict by criticizing each other in company wide meetings and with each of their employee groups, forcing people to “take sides.” Six months into the conflict the organization now had two “camps” each trying to find things to complain about the other department in an endless game of “I am right and you are wrong.”

After several coaching sessions where each leader learned and practiced listening and conflict resolution skills, they jointly developed an action plan on how they would interact in the future. At the conclusion of our rather short session, since they both agreed so easily, one manager asked: “is that really all there is?” The solution seemed so simple. When they started listening and supporting each other, the destructive pattern of behavior had stopped.

Here are a few of the skills they learned:
· Manage Nonverbal Behaviors Effectively – Be aware of body language, inflection, tone, and facial expression. Do you appear open to other ideas? Remember it is not just what you say but how you say it.
· Benefit of the Doubt Approach – Giving someone the benefit of the doubt means that you don’t draw conclusions about what was said or did until you truly understand the situation. This helps to defuse defensive reactions.
· Inquiry Methods – Encourage others to explain their data, assumptions, and reasoning. Ask probing questions to make sure you understand their point of view before stating your own.

The two leaders are now in the process of becoming listening role models and coaches for the employees on their teams.

How Strong is Your Foundation?

You have probably heard the old saying about the foundation for success in building a retail store or food service operation…location, location, location. With the advent of the internet and the changing world of business this old axiom may need to be rethought.

But there is another saying that is still very true for the foundation of success for any business. It states the obvious yet sometimes forgotten importance of the human side of business…relationships, relationships, relationships.

When people ask what I do in my role as a business owner and entrepreneur my reply is simple; we help organizations attract, develop and retain their leaders of tomorrow.

Do we provide training programs, coaching and consulting? The answer is YES! Do we sell and service a well-known and highly respected line of learning products that augment and build on the programs we deliver? YES! Do we provide a wide variety of human resources, valuable information and e-technology to meet the needs of our clients? The answer is again, YES! But most importantly, all of what we do revolves around thriving relationships that begin with personal or shared benefits for all people involved.

What does that mean? It doesn’t mean going into a formal documentation nor a legal agreement of how we will interact and relate to one another. It doesn’t mean I won’t spend time with someone if I don’t quickly see some kind of personal benefit for me in it either.

What it does mean is that I am constantly looking for ways that I can bring benefit to the other person without bringing harm, loss or problems to myself. It does mean I have to consider what is ‘the ultimate good’ for both of us so that a short term or front end sharing doesn’t turn into a long term ‘being used’. We’ve all experienced that and it’s not something we want to repeat.

With all good relationships there are two people who must share some common goals and/or values and have a reason for starting and continuing in the relationship. There can be a variety of types of relationships; some business and some personal. Some will lead to long-term relationships that are extremely profitable, and more than just in a monetary sense. Some might be short term but nonetheless of benefit to both people.

The bottom line of any relationship is akin to the sage advice handed down to me many years ago. A very wise and prosperous business and life mentor said, ‘a good deal must be a good deal for both people or it’s not a good deal’. The same principle holds true in any relationship.

The question and challenge comes with “how to make it a good deal” for both people over the long term so that the relationship grows, deepens and enriches itself with time.

How that is accomplished could be the focus of a future posting on this same subject. Keep reading and come back often.

Can the neighborhood reading club complement training initiatives

Companies are downsizing and focusing on cost containment and reduction. Team members are seeing their workloads increase as they see their pay decrease. Training organizations are shrinking and limiting what they offer. Managers are searching for new ways to educate their team.

Sound familiar? It should, and yet as leaders in our organizations, we still must keep our people educated and motivated.

As a training leader, I have peers ask me all the time for ideas that don't require travel, don't require multiple days, and aren't always web-based. One idea we have been testing actually goes back decades. I remembered it as an option while speaking with my mother. It sets up as a nice complement to more formal training.

A while back I received a call from my mom. During our conversation she mentioned that she had just attended her monthly reading group. As she excitedly talked about the latest book they were reading, it occurred to me that this concept would also work in a more formal setting. In fact, not long after that call, a management team I was part of, used this concept as a way of addressing some issues we faced with employee retention and team building. We selected a book, assigned chapters and discussion leaders, and spent time reviewing each chapter and its applicability to our world. It was informative, educational, and inexpensive. The only expense was buying copies of each book for everyone.

I took the concept and implemented it with a group of fellow leaders in a monthly leadership study group. We follow the same process. We select a book, establish a timeframe for completion, and set aside time at each meeting to discuss what we have learned, its relevance to us, and how we have or will apply the lessons learned.

So, does this idea work in a corporate environment? Can it serve as a supplement or complement to more formal training offerings? And, in times like these, can it substitute for some missing elements of the formal process?

My answer is yes. With the thousands of books available on the hundreds of business topics, there is a book that will work to address a particular issue you might be facing.

Here is what you need to do. First, determine the challenge or issue you want to address. Then select a book that addresses the issue. Buy a copy of the book for each person who will be participating. Note that some books include a separate workbook. Break the book into reasonable segments and assign them to a calendar. Pick discussion leaders and schedule when you want to meet for review. Have everyone read the book and come to the meetings prepared to share how they are going to, or have, applied the lessons learned in their role.

Try this and see if it works for you. So far it is working for us, especially for assisting fellow managers.

Who and what has your team meetings hung up?

When I speak on moving meetings from boring to productive, I get lots of questions about how to handle various meeting problems due to groups of people or the behavior of one particular individual. I have written a few articles that explain how to handle the some common problems people seem to ask me about most. I have linked to some of those articles in this posting.

In my book R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizard's Approach, I talk about the ways in which people can derail a meeting as various attributes or common phrases related to animals. I tell the reader the behaviors they might see, what the reasons behind the behaviors may be, and what might be done by others in the meeting to change the behaviors in both current and future meetings. Below, for your information, is the list of nine meeting beasts and a short definition adapted from my book.

Sly Fox is the person who tries to manipulate what others say as support for their own opinion or idea.
Timid Mouse is the person who sits quietly during the meeting without participating much in the team discussions without being prompted.
Sleeping Possums refers to those moments when prolonged silence falls upon the group.
Darting Deer is the person that comes late to meetings or goes in and out during the meeting timeframe.
Growling Bears are people who argue during a meeting and possibly stress out the other attendees.
Repeating Crow is the person who just keeps saying the same thing over and over during the course of the meeting.
Wise Owl is the expert who provides so many details that the meeting gets bogged down in information processing.
Rabbit Trails occur when meeting members jump around from subject to subject and get the meeting off-track.
Wolf Packs are pairs or a small group of people within the meeting who follow their own agenda rather the common agenda for the meeting.

You can learn to handle a few of these beastly problems by checking out the linked articles in this post. Another problem might be absenteeism due to potential attendees not recognizing the importance of the meeting. If you have a recurring beastly problem that I haven’t yet covered in an article, let me know and I might write an article or you can check-out my book for a quick answer. If you have an idea that I haven’t already presented, please share it in the comments section of this post so we can all learn from one another.

NOTE: If you are running a non-profit group using volunteer committees to do much of your work, check out the article Ideas to Generate Participation in Committees on the Free Management Library website.

Leadership to Recession-Proof the Culture and Position for Recovery

Organizations are suffering from the economic fallout. The dynamics of business are in a state of change. Workers and managers alike are struggling to make sense of what they must do to survive the recession. In 2009, some organizations may consider reducing or eliminating training as a way to reduce expenses, but the reality is that training is the last thing organizations should cut. It is the one thing that can help current and future leaders adapt so they can emerge from the recession sound. Training is about leveraging the present in order to build a future. The recession may be the best time to focus on leadership training.

Organizations should be positioning themselves for recovery. Studies reveal that firms that come out of the recession in a more advantageous position will be more likely retain that position far into the period of recovery. Strategies for building leadership talent should be embedded throughout your organization. Train your managers and supervisors to help employees understand where the company is going and how they fit in with the company goals. Leading employees effectively helps avoid the economic distractions and keeps them engaged in the business of serving customers, remaining proactive and performing as a productive member of the team. Employees then are more likely to apply the proper decisions and skills in their day-to-day jobs.

Another theme on which leadership in organizations must focus is communication. When times are tough, leaders should openly discuss the issues and challenges employees face. Leaders should do this often and in many ways to reduce anxiety, stabilize the environment and support positive morale. Communication becomes the glue that binds together the culture of the organization, making it more resistant to the pressures of recession, such as unwanted turnover, the ability to achieve more with less, disenfranchised teams and loss of productivity --- or what I call "recession overload."

Do your managers have the adaptability they need to lead their teams through the economic downturn? Look to your training organization and training professions now for flexible and adaptive programs. Programs such as a blended learning can transform your managers and supervisors into recession-proof leaders. In addition to training, what are you doing to position your organization for recovery and to recession-proof your leaders?