Great Years Ahead for Business

Will the recently completed 2024 election affect the rise of new business and increased profits for existing companies?  The stock market seems to indicate it will, as everything moved upward after the president was voted in and the value of the U.S. dollar also went up. 

Can having a conservative in the highest office of the United States really make a difference for American business?  A"Yes" answer is more than possible since the new president (for Jan.2025-Jan.2029 ), Donald Trump, is more than a politician who proved his abilitiy to overcome obstacles during a prior (Jan.2017-Jan.2021) term, he has successful businesses himself.  Not only that has he surrounded himself with a team that plans to cut through the red tape of the bloated bureaucracies that are holding entrepreneurs and organizations back.  The new presedential team promises to remove regulations that prevent economic growth and/or facilitate inflation.  For both business and their product/service consumers (U.S.A. citizens), there is also the promise of less taxation, more available energy at lower costs, and reduced interest rates.  If that happens, it should bolster profits for business and savings for Americans, thus helping the economy for almost everyone.

Can they really recover from the years (2021-2024) of cultural decline and economic disaster and do that within a four year term?  Since their party now has a conservative majority, determined to make a difference for America, in both the House and Senate of Congress - the "Yes" is a higher probability if they will cooperate and work together.   It looks like America will be a great place for businesses again and better years are directly ahead for everyone.   

NOTE: Interesting post-election article on government leadership vs corruption and regulation: Trump’s Win Suggests We’re Nineveh, Not Sodom- Now It’s Time to Decontaminate the Place

Millennials in the Workplace: Social Awareness for Business Leaders

In the 15 minute video below, Simon Sinek explains some of the issues business leaders face with millennials n the workplace.  A lot of it is funny, bur the message is really serious.  Managers need to be aware of the social issues this generation faces due to the "everyone is a winner" attitudes they were raised in.  The instant gratification of social media has caused some problems with their perceptions and self-esteem than management and human resources has to work to overcome.  An unexpected key message - no cell phones in conference rooms!  Cell phones are a distraction that well working teams can not afford.  Want more on dealing with millennials in the workforce, visit Millennials in the Workforce: Learn To Use It or Expect To Lose It.

Career Transitions: No Job Too Small

I have heard people say you need to dress for the job you want.  I have also heard others say you should not settle for a job that is not in your desired career path as it will slow you down or prevent you getting there. 

I agree with the first statement as that has worked for me in the corporate world.  I dressed for the position I wanted, and eventually got there.  Although it may have been due more to having managers with open minds who saw my accomplishments, abilities, and potential rather than seeing me in my various suits.  (Thanks to all the really great supervisors and managers I have had over the years!)

My professional issue is with the second statement above.  You never know where a job will lead you to.  Sometimes what seems insignificant can result in skills that will be useful later on.  Never think you are too good for a task or that the job is too small to fit into your greater career plan.  Each job you do prepares you for the next one.  Skills acquired can usually be applied elsewhere, even into owning your own business.

Here are six examples I can provide from personal experience where something I learned at one job directly led to being hired for another job.

1.    In my teens, I went to work for fast-food chain, where I learned to serve customers with a smile, follow a process, provide quality products, handle money, and do a little bookkeeping.

2.    Before I hit 20 and because of money experience above, I moved to working in a retail store where inventory management was eventually added to my skill set.

3.    After working in retail, I was able to get office positions in companies doing fashion wholesale or car sales, where I learned:  filing, time management, contracts, and some accounting.

4.    Primarily because of my contract and accounting experience, I was able to move to a higher paying position in a financial organization within a technology company, where I learned computers as well as got more experience in: accounting, contracts, and regulations.

5.    Later, the computer experience I gained helped me get a position in another technology company working with programmers and engineers, plus into areas of: training, quality improvement, team-building, and management.

6.    The well-rounded experience gained in the corporate world led to freelance consulting and training.

Note:  I started out babysitting in my early teens.  It did not directly lead to another job, yet I did learn a lot that I could apply to other jobs throughout my career.

Is Good Enough Good Enough?

Recently I have been looking for a new creative person to join my development team. While going through the interview process I have been struck by an issue that has been part of all creative pursuits for years and is now appearing in a variety of business situations and projects of all types.

Is good enough good enough?

During the interviews I have been asking the interviewees to tell me about some recent projects they have completed where they had to utilize their knowledge, creativity, and skill. I ask them to walk me through their process including how they plan their projects, how they decide what information or content they need from the requestor, and how they work with others as a team. I want to hear how they process all of the incoming information, determine what to build, and decide if they successfully completed the project. Ultimately, I want to know whether the project met their own vision of success.

Separate from the interviews, I have also been in conversation with existing members of the development team regarding their desire to build great things and their feelings of frustration that, for a variety of reasons, they can’t build what they visualize. They want to know how they can grow their skills, expand their knowledge, and deliver great products if they are constantly having to work under a variety of constraints. These constraints range from requests with short delivery timeframes to bandwidth challenges to limited budgets.

Noting the similarities in these two situations, I have added a question to my interviews.

“Is good enough good enough?”

And I have begun to ask my existing team the same question with a slight twist.

“When is good enough good enough?”

The answer in both situations turns out to be, it depends.

For the interviewees, while their initial answer is no, good enough is not good enough, when pressed to discuss the constraints that existed during their project development, they reveal that given the constraints that existed, their real answer turns out to be, it depends. Many times the situation dictated that good enough was enough because it had to be.

And my existing team acknowledges the same conclusion. Based on the business situation and the “Quality, Cost, Price” matrix (triangle) which states that you can typically only have two of these items in play at any one time, the situation will dictate when good enough really is.

There is one additional thing that both my existing team and the interviewees agree on.

If good enough really is good enough, what do you if, for you, it is not?

You work beyond the limits.

You find ways to meet the business objective, hit the business timelines, and deliver the good enough product.

And then you work toward that great product you really want.

You do things such as:

• build a parallel deliverable with the desired features
• transition the project into phases with the additional phases scheduled after the initial project due date
• share the workload or project across the team with different team members handling different sections based on their skill set
• show the requestor what could be and asking for more time to make it happen.

So what do you think? Is good enough good enough? Or do you have some additional suggestions for working toward great?

OPW-Make More Money and Enjoy Your Life Part 3

You are back after reading parts one and two and ready to invest in OPW (other people’s wisdom) in a big way. You now know that having your life account full and growing is a very wise investment on your part for your greater productivity, income growth and life enjoyment. That is a wise recognition and you are on the right path. Let us continue.

You are aware that the wise counselors mentioned in part 2 are your mentor(s) and your Master Mind group. Let us enlarge and expand the detail and clarity of who they are. In future posts, we will give you five important tips on how to enlist their assistance.

A mentor is simply a wise advisor or counselor. Here is some insight: both genders work; older or younger works too; skin color or culture is irrelevant; formal education is nice but not necessary; proximity can be very helpful but is not mandatory; socio-economic status is also irrelevant. Those are a few of the issues that should not be a big barrier if there is a willingness and readiness for both parties. Take down the old traditions or self-imposed boundaries and broaden your horizons.

Having more than one mentor can be especially helpful. Going back to the first post, I make it clear that having ‘others’ (plural) who you trust is the imperative in enjoying and benefiting from OPW. Trust is the foundation and starting point for a worthwhile relationship developed slowly, carefully and over time. Our world is more complex and changing faster than ever before and being able to draw from 2, 3 or more qualified, diverse and specifically unique advisors is extremely helpful in adding to your “life account.”

Recognize this too; a mentor may be there for a reason, a season or a lifetime. There are no standard time commitments nor is there a “perfect” mentor that will endow you with the holy grail of wisdom. Mentors (like protégés) are people and with each person there comes both the good and the bad. Choose wisely.

A Master Mind group, defined by Napoleon Hill who originated the term over 73 years ago, is the “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people for the attainment of a definite purpose”. Actually, you have the beginning of a Master Mind when you and your mentor come together in this type of relationship. But in most cases the more people you add to your group who can and will work in a harmonious way the quicker and better will be the results for all. A group of four to eight people chosen carefully will bring a ‘multitude of counselors’ to your aid giving you more OPW than you can imagine.

Fill up your life account with OPW and watch your productivity soar, your income grow and your life enjoyment flourish.

OPW-Make More Money and Enjoy Your Life Part 1

Here is an educated guess. You are not reading this blog for entertainment, spiritual enlightenment nor for your lack of something else to do. You are here looking and expecting to gain something of value or worth. Right?

Now that we have your basic reason for being here perhaps this title titillated your interest enough to cause you to begin a quick scan of the content. So that brings you to here, and our next educated guess. You are probably asking, “what is OPW’?”

OPW is other people’s wisdom. Today our society, our culture and our world is spinning so fast and furious we can not possibly try to keep up with even the bare necessities without the qualified and able assistance of ‘others’ whom we trust.

Here are the facts. Data is free, just like air. It is every where, and although polluted like the air, it is around us 24-7-365. Information is cheap, just like gum used to be. With the web and our information rich society we have some reasonably good quality information attainable quickly, cheaply and with little effort. So where does that leave us? Ah yes, wisdom.

Wisdom, that is golden, that is valuable and that is worth seeking. The way the wisdom literature defines wisdom is ‘knowledge applied’. The famous Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said, “Wisdom and right action are the same thing.” You get wisdom when you apply knowledge and with it comes understanding. What a package!

We turn to the TV, the radio, the web or the company water-cooler to get all the relevant daily news we need. We go to certain specialist like our primary physician, our dentist, our accountant or our hair stylist to give us the insights and updates on how we are doing in health or hair categories. But where do we turn for wisdom? Again, the wisdom literature points us to ‘wise counselors’.

So where are these wise counselors? How do we find these men and women of wisdom who can give us good counsel to be more productive, make more money and enjoy our life? Actually, they are all around us if we will only start looking and listening for them.

They are found in the pages of great books or other good learning materials. You may meet some walking the halls of companies in your city and others are in places of worship or education. Occasionally you will even find one of these wise counselors in a humble and unexpected place like your circle of friends or family. Amazing, is it not?

You can find your own wise counselor or even assemble your own wisdom team with just a little work. In our next post we will show you why it is important and how to do it.

It's Conference Season - You're there, now what?

Happy Holidays. I hope this post finds you enjoying time with family and friends. Let’s continue with our discussion on how to make this upcoming conference season fruitful. I discovered that a successful conference follows a comprehensive plan. Last month I started us off with some pointers for good preparation before you go. Now I want to continue sharing some tips for while you are there and for when you return home.

While you are there

When you first get to the conference you are going to be excited and raring to get moving. There are a few things you want to do right away.

You will want to:

1. Make sure you know the relationship between your hotel room and both the restaurants and the convention rooms. Plan your travel time accordingly.
2. Register after you have checked into your hotel room. You will miss some of the registration lines, and you won’t have to lug your suitcase all over the hotel/resort.
3. Read through the conference handouts, noting any updates and changes. Pay special attention to your name badge as it will be your entry pass to everything.
4. Note the changes to events or sessions you want to attend.
5. Locate each planned session on the conference room map.
6. Use the conference provided backpack or other bag to carry your stuff. make sure you mark it so you know which one is yours.
7. Download the free conference App for your Blackberry or iPhone if there is one. Many conferences are now using technology to enhance the experience of their attendees. These apps allow you to manage your time more effectively.
8. Plan to use the free WiFi connection if the hall is set up for access. You can get conference information, email, Twitter access, etc. throughout the day.
9. Connect with any people you met through the pre-conference online system.

After you return home

Once the conference is over the fun begins. How are you going to take all that great new information you just learned and apply it. There are several things you can do to make sure you don’t lose the new insights you gained. some of them include:

1. Set up time in the first week to review the notes you took in the different sessions. FInd a place to record them for future use.
2. Meet with at least three people and share something new you learned. Try to make it relevant to each person.
3. If you work with a team, or have a team, schedule a training session within the first month to walk the team through some new insight you acquired.
4. Gather all the business cards you collected and document any conversations you had with those attendees for later connection.
5. Make sure all the new connections are added to your LinkedIn account (or address book) as soon as possible. You do have a LinkedIn account, right?

Well, you should be well prepared to attend that next conference. Let me know if you have any additional tips that others could use to successfully navigate the conference season.

It's Conference Season - Are You Ready?

It’s that time of year. Conference season. And you have decided that you should attend one. You have done the homework and found the one that meets your needs and convinced your boss that it makes sense for you to go. Now what?

Recently I attended a conference in my field. As I started the process, I realized that it had been a while since I last attended one. I decided to document my experience and share a few things I learned along the way. By following these ideas I was able to turn it into a successful event.

The primary thing I learned was to have a plan. This plan should be comprehensive and should focus on three key areas. It should start before the conference begins, cover the time while at the conference, and review how you will incorporate your new learning and connections into your daily world.

I will use the next two posts to share my insights. This month I will focus on Before You Go.

Before you go

Before you head out to the conference, here are some things you will want to do.

You will want to:

1. Determine the registration process. Obviously, you don’t want to get there and find out you’re not registered. More importantly you want to take advantage of any early bird registration periods. Typically you can save money by registering before a certain date.
2. Check to see if the conference has a relationship with a hotel. Typically the conference promoter will partner with a hotel and offer a block of rooms for a discounted rate for attendees. You will need to register early to insure you get a room. This is especially important if the conference is being held at a convention center instead of a hotel/resort. You could find out the only rooms left are at another property miles away.
3. Visit the conference web site frequently. You will find information on the sessions, the keynotes, the after-hours events, and even local happenings in the community. Some conferences are even creating facebook type sites where you can connect with other attendees before the conference begins.
4. Review the session program guide thoroughly. Learn all you can about the different sessions and determine which sessions appeal to you. Talk with your peers to see if there are any sessions that may be of interest to them. Take advantage of new technology and download the session guide app. Note that some conferences now allow presenters to post podcasts describing their upcoming session.
5. Put together a list of sessions you will want to attend each day. You can always change your mind once you get there but having the list in advance saves time and allows the actual event to go smoother.
6. Plan your evenings, especially if you want to do anything outside the conference, such as connect with friends.

So you are now ready to go. Oh, did I mention, don’t forget to book your travel? Next month I will continue with sections on While You Are There and After You Return Home. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Tips for Supporting Training Initiatives

One of your employees approaches you and asks if they can attend this upcoming training workshop.

Your training department announces they have just launched a new course they believe will help your employees maximize their productivity.

The other day your boss dropped by to suggest you take advantage of the end of year budget surplus to send your team through some training classes.

You are excited at the different offerings. You support providing relevant training for both ongoing productivity and career advancement. You are motivated to help your team stay on top of their game.

Just one concern. How do you ensure your people will be able to apply the lessons learned?

Recently a colleague called to discuss this very topic. We talked through some ideas for working with our team both prior to and after they attend training.

Here are some of the ideas we discussed.

Before the class

When thinking about sending your employee to a training class, here are some things to do to help them prepare for the class.

1) Review your business strategy and check to make sure this class is in alignment with your objectives.

2) Review the agenda for the class so you have an understanding of what will be covered.

3) Sit down with your employee and discuss both of your expectations for the class.

4) Talk with your employee about what they will do once they have returned from the class. This may include sharing what they learned with their teammates.

These ideas should prepare your person for the class.

After the class

Next you need to prepare for how you will help coach them once they have returned and are back to work.

Here are some ideas for later.

1) Set up a time to meet with your employee once they have returned. Your goal is to see if they a) learned something and b) felt the class was useful to them.

2) If relevant, have your person discuss their learning at one of your upcoming team meetings.

3) Again if relevant, have them teach someone else on your team what they learned. Teaching someone else is one of the best ways to cement the learning.

4) Ask your employee to put together an action plan for how and when they will incorporate the lessons into their daily activities.

5) Think through a coaching plan for how you will help them apply their learning. Work with your training team if you need help putting together a coaching kit. The kit should contain items such as:

• Questions you can ask relating to each section of the agenda.
• Scenarios with role play exercises you can use to practice with your employee.
• Topics for discussion at a team meeting.

Providing training for your employees serves both a productivity and a employee morale purpose. I hope these tips will help you help them apply what they’ve learned. Feel free to share any additional tips you might have in the comments

"THE GIFT" of change?

Helping someone change when they want to change can be challenging. Trying to change someone who doesn't really want to change can be dangerous, if not impossible. Consider the following story.

An older man named Ralph rode his bicycle to work each morning. He had grown accustomed to the old-fashioned pedal braking system, the wider seat, and the slightly crooked handle bars that were a testimony to an accident from years ago. Although it was an older bike, Ralph never complained to any of his friends or neighbors about his transportation because it was just part of his daily lifestyle.

Ralph had a hard time pedaling up some of the steep hills between home and work because this bike had no gear system and only one speed...that of the rider. Despite the age and lack of modern improvements on the bike, he appreciated its rugged simplicity and plain character similar to his own.

One day a young man who lived nearby saw Ralph struggling through his daily route going back and forth to work. Being a caring individual he wanted to do a nice deed and thereby developed a plan with several of the other neighbors.

Without consulting Ralph they jointly picked out a brand new bike with all the latest equipment and made the purchase. At Christmas time they gathered together and enthusiastically presented this new and improved luxury to their neighbor. Ralph was stunned and very reluctant to accept the gift but after much encouragement and a little pressure he succumbed to their wishes.

The very next work day Ralph hesitantly climbed onto this newfangled piece of equipment. Riding a bike with a totally different design, a new braking system, a thinner harder seat and straight handle bars he felt like a fish out of water.

Ralph’s feelings and his apprehensions were rewarded in the worst kind of way. He lost control of the bike on his way to work and had a bad accident. It put him in the hospital for three days and gave him some huge medical bills. His physical pain and financial strain led to a deep resentment towards his "kind neighbors". He had been reluctant to accept their gift and blamed them for the terrible outcome of their form of generosity.

Before we try to help others change (or as we see it, ‘improve’) we should consider the cost. We might also remember the personal challenges we all face when trying to change ourselves. Some people seem to thrive on change and welcome it as part of positive growth and everyday life. Others are slower to change and much more cautious about anything that upsets the status quo.

Both behaviors lend value and balance to the broader perspective of this thing we call life. Remember...the best place to begin with change is you.

Ultimately you are the only one you can change. And that’s a gift you can live with.

Have you checked all aspects of your business for alignment with your vision and plan?

Recently I had the opportunity to observe a great business. In the process, I learned lessons around planning and execution that I want to apply to my own business. I want to share one of those lessons with you now. In building and implementing your plan, make sure you have included a process for checking all aspects of the business on an ongoing basis and insure they stay in sync with the vision.

While on vacation in California, I happened upon an outstanding BBQ restaurant. Right from the start I was impressed. With flyers in the hotel lobby, top billing on the recommended list in the room, a "Ya gotta check it out" from the desk clerk, and an "Ooh, Yeah" from our friends, it became a must do part of our trip.

The next night we changed plans and went for ribs. We become instant fans. The lot was full. The place was festively decorated, Live blues streamed from the building. And the doors opened as we approached with a smiling hostess welcoming us. Just inside the door, the take-out counter had a line. This was going to be special.

It was obvious the owners had put a lot of thought into this. They recognized which aspects were critical for success and mastered the implementation of each. They had a great neighborhood marketing campaign. They understood the benefits of good ambiance and relevant decor. They knew how to play to their concept.

We were quickly seated and greeted by a friendly waiter. He explained the restaurant's history and suggested options for maximizing the menu. We discussed how great the place was and we hadn't even ordered.

The food came, and all I can say is, Wow!! It was some of the best barbeque ever. Even my non-meat eating friend ordered a half-rack to take home.

We were thrilled, and yet, as we paid the bill and walked out, we couldn't help reflecting on one element of the night. One facet of the service was so bad, we left, not talking just about the great food, but rather also the bad service. And it was only one person. Was it possible for one person to ruin an otherwise excellent time?

As good it seemed, as much as they had thought things through, this one person could have ruined the experience. This person was so bad, the great work done in advertising, marketing, decor, cooking, and ambiance was almost overwhelmed by her impact. While the overall service was excellent, this one person, through her attitude, her performance, and general rudeness, caused us to walk out, not raving about the great ambiance and food, but rather her rude behavior. When recounting the trip later, we couldn't get through the story without adding our view of this person's performance.

These leaders had thought of everything. They had set a great vision. They had built a nice plan. They had put it all in play. They forgot, however, to inspect all aspects of the business, and insure that everything, and everyone, was in sync with the vision. They forgot that one person, or process, or issue, could undermine all their other efforts.

What about your business? Have you inspected all facets? Have you checked to insure that all parts are in sync? If not, get to it. The ribs are waiting.

Tweet with reference: http://bit.ly/1Gnzt6

My Manager Never...

We've all had great managers and not so great managers. Even if we've always had a great manager, I'm sure you've heard these types of statements from others:

"My manager never communicates"

"My manager never recognizes me"

"My manager is never fair"

If you are not getting the response from your manager that you would like, then step back and take a fresh look at what and how you are communicating. After all, what do you think is easier, changing someone else or changing yourself? Most people will answer, changing themselves. Even if you do not have the most communicative manager, there are positive actions you can take to feel more satisfaction in your position. What do you think is easier, changing someone else or changing yourself? Most people will answer, changing you. Here are a few change ideas that will improve the way you communicate with your manager:

· Schedule an Expectations Meeting – The purpose of this meeting is find out what your manager expects. During this meeting you can ask: 1) What your manager sees as the key challenges for you and your department, 2) How your performance and the performance of your team will be measured, and 3) The communication preferences of your manager (how often, what form email, in person etc.)

· Frame Communication in WIIFM – WIIFM stands for "What is In It For Me". In this case the WIIFM is from your manager's perspective. You learned about your manager's expectation during your meeting, now you can frame your communication based on what you learned. High level executives are usually concerned about 1) the impact on the results of the organization, 2) money, either making it or saving it, and 3) reputation of the company in the marketplace.

· Be Prepared, Confident and To the Point - Most executives are busy people and prefer short, to the point communication. Your discussions should reflect that you have considered the topic from a strategic point of view. If they do want details, it is important that you can answer their questions confidently. Typical key questions they will ask are: "what are the costs, what is the projected return-on-investment, and what controls are in place to track the project or initiative?" Voice tone and facial expression should express confidence and competence with good eye contact. Be confident enough to take a stand and make a considered recommendation.

By changing your communication methods, you may change your manager's communication. He/she will know your interactions will be worth the time because you are thinking in ways that will benefit for organization and use your time and his/hers wisely. You will then gain the time and attention you need to feel successful in your job.

Tweet with reference: http://bit.ly/utfni

Hire For Smiles

Think about the last time you were a customer. What impression did you get about the service provider and what he or she was thinking?

1. I do not care about you…why are you interrupting me?
2. Going through the motions…is it 5:00 yet?
3. They trained me to smile and make eye contact whether I want to or not
4. I genuinely like people and want to assist you

If you had a number 4 employee…you were in luck. Were you also surprised? Would you have settled for anything more than a 1 employee and happy if you had a number 3? I had several number 4 experiences recently and was pleasantly surprised.

The first one was at Bed, Bath and Beyond. When the clerk realized they didn't have the item I needed, he suggested two other stores. That certainly was above and beyond. The second was at the Marriott in Costa Rica. The servers were trained to learn customer names and they memorized ours quickly and greeted us like we were long lost relatives when they saw us.

Talk to anyone and they probably can tell you about a poor customer service story. They are much more prevalent than good customer service stories. It makes me wonder if people are hired that way or develop poor attitudes towards customers after they have worked for the company awhile.

It all begins with hiring the right critical skills for the position. A customer contact position should logically be filled with someone who genuinely likes people and wants to provide a service. Hire for smiles is a good phrase to remember when interviewing service personnel. A few techniques to determine if your candidate has the right skills:

· Observe Facial Expression and Body Language: During the interview did the candidate smile frequently? Did their facial expression show interest in what you were saying? Chances are that if they smiled easily at you they will smile at your customers.

· Ask Behavior Based Questions: Ask your candidate for specific examples of how they supplied superior service to customers. Ask for what they specifically did to help the customer and the results of their actions.

· Review Resume: Review their resume for a track record of positions where they served customers. Ask for more detail of their duties and responsibilities related to customer contact. How do they answer your questions? Do they appear happily animated when describing contact with customers or annoyed?

What happens when your team members lose their smiles? There are many reasons for this but quite often it is because they have not been given the tools or training that will help them help your customers. If smiles disappear, ask your employees what they need to serve customers better.

The Perils of Productivity

Can't you just see the airline senior staff meeting around the conference table with the American Airlines chairman reveling in this cost reduction? Some eager beaver in accounting is proudly announcing how he has carved out more savings from the AA passengers. Just an olive here and a can of Coke there back in coach and pretty soon, we're talking about real savings. The AA press release proudly trumpets these savings and receives wide attention and publicity. This is good - right?

Actually - no. First, consider all the first class airline passengers reading that article and angrily considering how some nerd in accounting has just cheated them out of an olive they paid dearly for. Whether they left the olives on their plates or not, customers don't like services taken away.

Then think about the much larger group of passengers who would love to fly in first class but now see it diminished in value. The question all passengers must ask is if they cut out the olive, where else have they cut corners. On-Board Service? Maintenance? Back office? In fact, as I was flying to DC last week, seated in humble Row 9, with the hoi polloi, I was tempted to sneak into First Class and poll the denizens there as to which of their food items we could remove to cut costs. I would suspect not many would be swayed.

What I think we can learn is that programs that cut services to customers probably have only a short-term value to an organization. Customers remember, and when they do, they make other choices. Or if not choosing other companies to do business with, often regard the offending company with suspicion and disdain.

What we have to remember in productivity is what happens with the programs and processes we initiate. The key words to consider are ""efficient and "effective". Consider this definition of efficient.

In the 80's, we liked to think that we were "efficient". Consolidations were rampant and CEO's spouted out phrases like "redundancy deleted" and "economy of scale efficiencies accomplished." The result was the merger of unlikely companies where holding companies suddenly owned divisions that made air conditioners and produced food items. Tasty eh?
Our run for "efficiency" left staff and customers confused and often underserved. In luxury retail, we cut back on our service staff and found that customers still expected a hand to carry big packages to their cars. When store general managers had to leave meetings to do carry out, we took a second look at that efficiency.

Then in the 90's, we began to discover "effective" and what we found was that programs that served customers "effectively" left them feeling well served while still providing cost reductions. The era of computer availability at the consumer level was now easily accessible and customers jumped in with both feet. So we accomplished a lot in this transition.

But, you have to be careful with words like "accomplished". Do you want your savings initiative to be the "missing olive" equivalent of standing on an aircraft carrier and stating "mission accomplished"?

Consider the guiding words of the dictionary regarding effective and you can see the difference. For me, I would rather be effective and know that the plans I have made encourage growth and service. And that would be the best plans I could make.

Be Sure the Solutions You Implement Solve the Right Problem

In these times of economic uncertainty, we are faced with tightening our belts and coming up with innovative solutions to new problems. And yet, we sometimes find ourselves with a sense of "spinning our wheels". We get that feeling that no matter what we do, things just seem to stay the same. We know we are implementing new solutions, but somehow the same old problems seem to be around. What is going on?
In my experience both as a manager in a large corporation and as a management consultant, I often found that our employees would use a great deal of creative zeal to solve a problem. The solutions were indeed "out of the box" and they were elegant in their intent and effort. But, more often than not, people jump to solutions too quickly. They have plenty of solutions to bring forward, often never knowing just what the problem is that needs to be solved. I will never forget a training program I did early on in my consulting life. It was a terrific program and the participants liked it just fine. Trouble was, I solved the wrong problem! What a lesson I learned from that experience!
Often times, our employees do the same thing because they don't necessarily know how to define the true problem at hand. Below is a model that I have used over the years with my own staff and with my clients. It is quick and eliminates what I call the "situational noise" that so many of our current problems hide behind. To help identify the real problem, consider these steps:

1. Describe the situation. What is happening? What are the facts? Who is involved? When and how did something occur? In this step, do not try to analyze or solve, just focus on what you know or what you can investigate further in order to know.
2. Determine what should be happening. What is the desired outcome or output? What would the "perfect world" look like? How would you know you were successful? In this step, you can push the envelope a bit and go for the "Cadillac". Later, you will apply the realistic test to it.
3. Identify the consequences. What would happen if problem went unsolved for a period of time? What would happen if you do nothing? Who would be impacted? How would the business suffer, or would it? Will a time frame be important here?
4. State the problem, in terms of "How". Only at this step are you ready to define the problem. And you must be able to state it in terms of a question beginning with "How", such as "how can we eliminate overhead in the back office support operation?" If you are unable to do this, you are not yet at the problem definition stage and need to go back to the situation, outcome, and consequence steps.
5. Create your solution set. Now, that you have stated the problem clearly and succinctly, without the he said/she said "noise", you are ready to come up with your solutions. Get as creative and energetic here as you like. You have earned it! An odd (but wonderful) thing happens at this step. With the problem clearly defined, the solutions are almost easy to imagine. And, the decision on which solution to pick seems to also pop out quickly. In very complex problems, additional research may be needed to choose between one or more possible solutions, but more often than not, this easily identified and completed as well.
6. Finalize your decision and set your implementation plan. At this last step, you are ready to move from planning to action. You may also find that moving into full project management is easier now too.

You can use a Problem Solving Model like this one in a variety of situations, from work processes to employee development.

Will you finish the year well?

Years ago, I attended an association meeting in sunny California. Many speakers inspired us with their stories. But one man's message still rings in my ears. "Whatever you decide to do, whatever you agree to do, whatever you embark upon doing... do it to the best of your ability!" He received a standing ovation that afternoon. The message had touched all of us. That evening, over dinner, there was an excitement as each person animatedly told of their plans for the coming year.

The years have come and gone since that speech. Yet, to this day, those words always come to my mind at the end of every calendar year. Some of us let up. Some of us take the foot off the gas pedal. Some of us slow down toward the finish line. A popular best-selling book teaches that "finishing the race and not wearing down at the finish line" is the only way to win. Sometimes we hear people in the winter years of their life say: "I wish I had...." or "I always wanted to..." Leonardo Da Vinci said, "Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do."

Run the race - finish well. I think this means, in every day life, some of the following:

• If I am a friend, then be a good one to the end!
• If I have good health, then protect and nurture it to the end!
• If I am surrounded by family, then gather together to the end!
• If I have a good job, then do the work "all the way"!
• If I don't have a job, then use all of my abilities to find one!
• If I am learning, then truly absorb all the lessons!

What happens when you don't finish well?

• You give up.
• You can't "get over" a past hurt.
• You leave things undone.
• You make a mess for someone else to clean up.
• You leave hard feelings behind.
• Your self-esteem slides downward.
• You do not focus on helping others.
• You "wear thin" on those around you.

It's possible you feel that you're in a tentative position right now. Can you finish strong in times like these? Yes! Yes, you can! In fact, a younger generation needs to see us model strength, perseverance, creativity, innovation, and hope - until times get a little easier. Don't quit before you're finished. Your and my legacies will be counted by all the things that we finish!

Dreaming is good. Planning is necessary. But finishing is best. Get results on the job. Build a marriage that demonstrates everlasting love and durability. Nurture business relationships that grow stronger through the years. Feed friendships so they outlive decades of trials and tribulations. Be an inspiration to those coming behind you! With just one life to live, live it fully and finish well!

Staying Optimistic in Troubling Times – Emotions and Performance

It’s difficult to avoid all the negative news right now – the economy, nasty politics, international threats, organizational failures, and many disappointments with our business and government’s leadership. I know of no one not touched in some way by all this.

During times of such stress and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to manage your emotions, your attitude and your focus. It is too easy to get caught up in the cultural drift of fear-based thinking and speaking. If you do, you risk becoming less effective and your business will be in even greater danger.

Tom Peters, during the 1980’s recession, said, “Sales people make 25% less phone calls during an economic downturn.” It was the sales person’s emotional reaction to the economic news which led to less activity and therefore lowers sales. The sales reduction was not caused by the recession itself.

We cannot control the outside market condition, but we can control our own ability to be proactive, as Dr. Stephen Covey, famed author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, taught us. With this in mind, our focus this month is on the emotional intelligence competency that fuels one’s ability to be proactive, and that is Optimism, the ability to look at the brighter side of life and to maintain a positive attitude, even in the face of adversity. Optimism assumes a measure of hope in one’s approach to life. It is a positive approach to daily living.

Psychologist Martin Seligman, in his classic book, Learned Optimism, offers a useful look at how our negative thoughts feed our emotions in a stressful situation. Using the acronym ABC:

A is for Adversity – trouble hits.

B is for Belief – you start explaining to yourself why this is happening – this tends to be negative, and often inaccurate. For many of us, when something bad happens, our pessimistic explanatory style tends to pick the worst possible reason for our worry. Our inner voice tells us that we are a failure and we’ll always be a failure. Psychologists call it “awful-izing,” an over-reaction that puts you in an emotional spin.

C is for Consequence – you are impacted by these negative beliefs and you feel stressed, anxious, scared, hopeless, and depressed. As your emotional response system kicks in, you are not able to think clearly or realistically and you are immobilized. Buying into these beliefs leaves you vulnerable to the ups and downs of life, and ill-equipped to generate powerful responses to inevitable leadership challenges. Developing your ability to be optimistic is a way to stay centered and in control.

Caution: many people are naturally predisposed to optimism, and as in any strength, it can be over-used. This can lead to less than proactive behavior when a leader ignores danger and is too “Polly-Anna,” or out of touch, only to be blind-sided, exposed and unprepared. Optimism must be balanced with another Emotional Intelligence competency, called, Reality Testing. Reality Testing is the ability to assess the correspondence between what is experienced and what objectively exists. In simple terms, it is the ability to accurately “size up” the immediate situation, without taking it personally.

You can use the ABC method to see things as they really are. Then you are ready to fight back, adding D and E.

D is for Disputation - all beliefs are subject to question. When we dispute our assumptions, often formed in childhood, we usually find they are unfounded. Challenge your own automatic and habitual beliefs and look for alternative explanations.

E is for Energization - you observe and nurture the energy that arises naturally when you throw out your negative assumptions and start to follow a new course.

Check my next post for an application idea for staying optimistic.

Dress for success, business casual, and interview attire

A few months ago I had a post on the code of dress for success verses fashion trends. For those needing or wanting visual information to go with the text presented there or for ideas you can show to your staff, read on. Below are a few free options that are acceptable for business-related viewing. Please note that some of the suggested outfits are a little flashy color-wise and perhaps too trendy for some types of business, but most are not inappropriate for some companies today. If yours in a more formal office, then use only the classic style examples shown for formal rather than causal options.

• Video examples of business casual and interview in Dress for Success from YouTube (3:12 minutes)
• Video Suggestions for interview dressing and low to mid-level managers Dressing for Business Success on BNet.Com (7:24 minutes)
• Mostly text slide show containing hints and with a few snapshots for Dress to Impress on You-Tube (4:31 minutes)

If you plan to share a video link from above, pick the one that best fits your corporate environment. Hope this helps many with the dressing for success at work and every professional’s issue related to what is really considered business casual. Business casual is acceptable work attire, not bad copies of bad outfits seen on fashion runways. Let the kids in school dress outrageously, but let those in the workforce learn to dress appropriately for their current job or desire future promotion. Remember, no matter how qualified or experience you may be, you might not get the job if you don’t look the part.

Success Law 4: The Law of Expectation

Seven Laws that Guarantee Your Career and Business Success

Have you ever looked closely at a beautiful oriental tapestry? These masterpieces are made up of many different threads of various colors and shades all carefully, artfully and painstakingly woven together to make a well designed and eye catching visual. Although all the threads are different they may have very similar and complementary colors to make the collective masterpiece an integrated whole. The same is true for these seven laws that we will continue reviewing now.

Each law is different, yet may relate closely to and support another so that they are like identical twins. Twins that are very similar in looks, yet unique in their own way. With that in mind lets look at more laws that can dramatically impact your career and business success.

What you expect strongly and confidently is what you receive. The law of expectation is closely related to the Law of Belief that we previously reviewed. The comedian Flip Wilson used to say, “what you see is what you get”, and the law of expectation holds a similar truth. In most situations, what you expect is what you get even if it isn’t really what you want.

Successful people have a confident and self assured level of expectancy and they typically see, enjoy and live what those expectations bring them. They expect to do well in their career and business life, they expect to be healthy and enjoy life, they expect to have good relationships and they are seldom disappointed. You know people like that and perhaps you are one of those people.

Likewise, those with a negative expectancy also live out and receive what they expect. If they expect trouble, conflict, problems, ill health, poor relationships these are typically what they find, bearing out their expectations, even if they desperately want something better and different. You probably know people like that too. They are all around us.

Who Wove Your Mental Tapestry? The expectations of those around us, especially in our younger years, have a profound impact on our lives and what we manifest. There are at least four areas (people) where expectations mold and shape you either consciously or subconsciously. They are your parents; your teachers or boss; your expectations of others, including siblings, spouse, children and those you manage at work; your expectations of yourself. Let’s examine one of the most important of those four.

If your parents expected you to do well and voiced and lived those expectations with you their actions positively and powerfully shaped who you became. Likewise if they had negative expectations or no clear expectations these attitudes and the following actions shaped you just as well. These expectations tend to have a life of their own and will many times live on even after the deaths of our parents. They are like threads of thought woven into our mental tapestry shaping, coloring and determining who we are and what we become.

You can, however, reshape your expectations over time. Coaching and mentoring clients I have worked with have seen almost miraculous results by using positive affirmations and visualizations on a consistent basis. This isn’t because of my brilliance, but a resounding witness of these laws working for those who work them. This type of change is within your control and direction but you must make a concerted and consistent effort to consciously reframe old negative expectations with those that are new, positive and truthful.

Check back soon to review law five on the attractor factor. Happy weaving until then.

Has the code of dress for success changed with fashion trends?

I’m often amazed by the fashion trends I see and the reactions to them. For instance many of the trends that my nieces are wearing are very similar to the type of things I wore in high school, but their parent’s reactions to them are different. My nephews dress way differently than my brothers did at their age, yet some accept it as the way they dress these days while others call it sloppy. Just so you know, from seventh grade up my brothers were really into stonewashed or torn jeans. So why is there always the continual generational fuss on acceptable personal dress codes?

What about business dress codes? Some towns in my state are trying to change the way others dress in order to give the town a better look to attract more interest from the business world. We want to attract new business and more jobs after all so let’s spend town budget on an advertising campaign to promote a better dress code. Some of these town leaders may be reacting to what their citizens want and others may just have been raised like me in the “dress for success” era. What do you think; do we need a dictated dress code?

Do fashion trends set what is acceptable business wear? In other words, is showing fancy colored straps hanging out of tops or proudly displaying plaids, paisleys and prints via pushed down pants ok at work? Should it matter where one works or is professionalism in attire not matter anymore? Do we only need to look good for interviews or is it still important for job advancement? What ever happened to dress for the success code of dressing for the job you want? Does wearing an office uniform of jeans and a T-shirt mean we no longer want to be managers or is it meant to denote the creative types and geeks from the rest of the work force? Do we still have white collar and blue collar uniforms, if we do – what do the colors really mean in today’s work force? Are logo-embossed polo shirts in matching colors a work uniform or just an identifier at conferences?

Did casual Friday kill dressing professionally or did it boost moral and creativity as was expected? Does your company have a dress code? Does this code make it easier to work or restrict you in some way? Let me know what your company is doing and what you think about it. Give me your perspectives on my other questions and fashion related ramblings too. Thanks for reading this and hopefully it did not cause you too much physical strain from excessive eye-rolling.

NOTE: Ehow Editors offer how to dress for a job interview tips to men and women.