Success Connections

Turning Good People Into Top Talent

If you’re a leader responsible for developing people in your organization, you should know that Bob Moore is releasing a new book today. 

Turning Good People Into Top Talent:  Key Leadership Strategies for a Winning Company

Bob has condensed his 30+ years of expertise into seven keys for visionary leaders.  Here’s a snippet from the chapter on Coach-Based Management:

“Becoming an effective coach-based manager requires a stretch for many managers and a major shift from the role of an autocratic boss or demanding supervisor.  The organizational culture also needs to move from reward problem-solving behaviors to rewarding problem-prevention.  This means including employees in a more proactive, collaborative approach that considers what could go wrong, how to prevent problems, and developing contingency plans should surprises occur.  Today’s information workers may actually know more about how to do their jobs than their managers do.”

This is what John Stephanek, Manager of Organizational Development had to say:

“Bob has nailed it!  What you need to do to climb the management ladder is blueprinted in these pages.  Master the skills in the chapter on “Coach-Based Management” alone and you will double your value as a leader of people”

What I like best about the book is that each chapter ends with a recap of key points, questions to ponder, action plans, and assignments.

Order the book before midnight, November 1, 2007, and you get 13 additional supplemental resources from experts like Keith Ferrazzi, Michael Angier, Kevin Eikenberry, and yours truly, Lora Adrianse.

Add Turning Good People Into Top Talent:  Key Leadership Strategies for a Winning Company to your leadership library today.

Book Review: Leading People The Black Belt Way

Leading People The Black Belt Way

By Timothy H. Warneka
Black Belt Consulting Group

If you’re looking for a goldmine of timeless leadership treasures, you’ll want to add Leading People The Black Belt Way to your collection.  This book is unique because Warneka weaves his vast knowledge of eastern philosophy through the basic principles of emotional intelligence.  It’s thought provoking and loaded with plenty gems of wisdom.  He highlights key points with bolding, for easy reference later.  Each chapter ends with a summary and a learning experiment to help you implement the key concepts.

The book’s content is written around the framework of The Seven Solutions of Black Belt Leadership:
1.    Know the Five Core Problems of Leadership
2.    Understand Leadership as a Relational Process
3.    Seek Harmony in Leadership
4.    Lead People Rather than Pushing or Pulling Them
5.    Cultivate Emotional Engagement
6.    Practice Embodied Leadership
7.    Follow The Black Belt Cycle of Leading People

Don’t worry if you don’t really understand the meaning from this list.  Warneka thoroughly defines “what is meant” at the beginning of each chapter. 

This book is a great investment because it’s jam packed with hidden gems.  It’s so content rich that he could have easily broken it down to several smaller, simpler books.  Warneka clearly put his heart and soul into this piece of work.

I’m an avid business book reader and I have to say that I found it to be on the difficult side to read.  Each chapter is prefaced with an eastern philosophy based story, which I personally found a bit distracting.  If you’re going to read it cover to cover, consider taking it in bite-sized chunks to maximize the benefits.  Read one chapter every 2 – 4 weeks, complete the experiments at the end, and give your self plenty of time to sift, sort, and learn from the material.

If you couldn’t put down Daniel Goleman’s books on emotional intelligence, you’re likely to be thrilled with this book.  On the other hand, if you found Goleman’s books to be great reference material versus engaging and inspirational, you’ll likely feel the same way about this one.

Regardless, it’s a great addition to your business book library.

Leading People The Black Belt Way

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due

I’ll never forget the day I walked into a small department of spirited women.  Their mission within the HR department is the mundane task of managing the employee records database.  From the moment I entered their little corner of the room I realized that this group found plenty of opportunity to have a little fun with their work.

As they buzzed around full of energy and laughter, I felt as though I could be the victim of a hilarious prank at any given moment.  As I looked around I saw cartoons posted on the walls, colorful mascots on the desks, and then I noticed something really extraordinary. 

A uniquely designed and carefully crafted hat made of tin foil was perched prominently on the top shelf of every cubicle.  I couldn’t help but ask, “What’s with the tin foil hats?”

There was a moment of silence as they looked around at each other.  No one wanted to respond, so I prodded a little deeper.  “C’mon you guys.  I love these hats!  Tell me what inspired them.”

Finally one brave soul grabbed her hat (a robin hood knock off) and put it on her head.  She looked at me and said, “We use them to protect our ideas.” 

After a little more prodding they finally confided that their manager had a habit of stealing and taking credit for their ideas.  They went on to tell me about time after time the manager would take their ideas, pass them on to his boss or others (as his own), and leave them feeling neglected and unappreciated.

They knew that they didn’t have the power to change the self-absorbed manager, so they decided to change what they could.

They simply decided to stop sharing their ideas with him.  And they decided to create the hats in case he tried to steal the ideas out of their heads.  In other words, they decided to have a little fun with a difficult situation.

I took away several lessons from that brief encounter.  Here are some of them:

• When people aren’t given the credit that they deserve, they shut down.
• When you’re the boss and you steal credit from your direct reports, they know, you lose all credibility, and you can become the brunt of an inside joke.
• You can steal people’s ideas, but you can’t steal their spirit.

What other lessons do you see in this story?

This post was inspired by Marshall Goldsmith’s latest book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There

The Boss And You: A Survival Guide - CIO.com

CIO.com has an excellent resource at their website called, The Boss And You: A Survival Guide.  While some of the articles are written specifically for technical executives, there are several that contain valuable tips for working with almost any company leader.

I’ve sifted through some of the best for you.  Check them out here:

The Tone Of Communication  (Is Your Message Getting Through?)

Who's The Boss (Tailor Your Messages)

How To Write A Memorable Memo

How To Talk To The Boss

How To Be A Mind Reader

Managing Expectations - Of You

Working For A Toxic Boss (several articles)

The End Of Suffering By Tim Sanders

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share an excellent post by Tim Sanders from his blog.  He references one of my favorite principles of all time, " become part of the solution instead of part of the problem". 

I believe that if we're not part of the solution (to any problem), we ARE part of the problem.  Suffering IS optional!

Noodle it.  Read Tim's article below.  Tell me what YOU think!

One year ago, I gave a talk at ADP's annual sales rally in Las Vegas. The talk was for about 600 sales professionals. There are a great bunch of people. They want to make a difference in the world, just like you and I do. I decided to adapt the following essay into the talk. Now, many of them think about themselves as "pain killers" that reduce the anxiety, waste and other forms of suffering that take place inside business operations. This thinking can apply to your business too -- and help create a common mission worth getting up for every morning.

THE END OF SUFFERING

I believe that our mission in life is simple: Participate in the end of suffering. If we reduce suffering in the world, we enable the positive. We make a difference. You cannot make people happy and you cannot make them like you. You can, however, be a part of the solution instead of being part of the problem. Suffering is everywhere waiting to be addressed. It comes in physical and mental forms from hunger to uncertainty.

Happiness is like a ray of light that sits just beyond the dark clouds of suffering. When those clouds part our joy shines through. We only get glimpses of this light because there is so much suffering in our lives.

Think about it, your greatest energy comes from your innate desire to end suffering. If you are bored, you find great energy to deal with that. If someone you care about needs something, you find it in yourself to give her your very best. This mission I suggest, the end of suffering, comes from your true nature as a compassionate being.

It is truly possible to unify our intentions and to align with others based on the mission we select in life. Currently, we have so many varied (and often selfish) missions that it is no wonder we think we are not like "them" and find ourselves largely divided.

When you choose the right mission, it gives you advice at every turn of your life. At work, your mission should tell you the difference between right and wrong and where to spend your time (and energy). Trying to achieve a vague professional mission is like trying to operate a business without a plan. It is difficult for you to separate your mission between personal and professional. How you are successful during the day is who you become in the evening. Conversely, your personal mission should guide your behavior towards your family, friends and acquaintances. If you find one mission that successfully guides you throughout your whole life, you have a blueprint for success. If your mission is aligned with others, you have a blueprint for community and cooperation.

It is my informed opinion that the most effective leaders in the world focus efforts towards the end of suffering. They are first are foremost happy and proactive in defending that happiness. They are sensitive to others' feelings and possess a connected form of emotional intelligence.

Think about this over the next few days. Ask yourself, "Do I have a unifying mission that guides me?" Then question, "Can I offer something towards the end of suffering or do I mostly create suffering?" You may decide to join me in my mission.

If you accept this mission, you must first address suffering in your own life. You need to make room for the needs of other people by dealing with your own. This is the road to self-reliance and peace. If you accept this mission, you will find yourself opting out of behaviors that could make others suffer, because you would "know better" as a result of your new focus on the end of suffering. If nothing else, just do an inventory in one week of how much suffering you created versus how much you addressed. The better you do, the more you are living on purpose.

Your friend, Tim Sanders

Please pass this on to your friends and colleagues as it can change their life.

Validate Your Assumptions

I've received some good feedback from the March issue of Relating@Work.  I don't normally make a habit of posting info from the newsletter here (so people don't get duplicate information), but this time I thought there may be value.  You can register for your own copy of Relating@Work here.  It's a free quick read, focused on one monthly strategy, and includes 3 - 4 support links for additional reference.  You can expect it just once (the first week) every month.  This month's topic...Validate Your Assumptions

Amy is a concierge for a prominent hotel in town.  She has a reputation for "pulling rabbits out of hats"…for making the impossible…possible. 

Last week one of the hotel's preferred guests put her skills to the test.  He wanted 10 tickets to a sold out concert at the local arena.  She assured him she would do everything possible.  In her own mind she thought, "I've pulled this off before, it's no problem." 

After a few calls she found that one of the corporate suites was open.  Within the next 2 hours she had the deal nailed down.  The only thing left to do was communicate to the guest.

Now that turned out to be the real challenge.  After several attempts to reach the guest she was starting to get stressed.  Her daughter's dance recital started in an hour, and she vowed not to miss it.

She decided to turn the job over to the hotel desk manager.  After all, she knew him well, and he always came through for her in a pinch.

This situation turned into a nightmare.  The front desk manager couldn't reach the guest either.  He finally assumed the guest would stop by and ask about the tickets.  In the meantime, the guest assumed that Amy couldn't get the tickets; after all he hadn't heard from her.  Although he wasn't happy about it, he made other plans.

The next morning Amy realized what happened.  She was infuriated.  After all, her reputation that was on the line.  After she chewed up and spit out the front desk manager, she immediately jumped into her "damage control" mode.

Can you pick out the assumptions that contributed to the issue here?

§           Amy assumed that the front desk manager would follow through for her.

§           The desk manager assumed that the guest would check on the tickets.

§           The guest assumed that Amy couldn't get the tickets.

In this case, 3 people made assumptions but didn't bother to validate them.  What could the assumptions cost the hotel?

§           The preferred guest didn't get what he wanted, and he's likely take his business elsewhere.

§           Amy is so angry with the desk manager that she's not speaking to him.  There is tension between them and they're not communicating.  Tension and lack of communication can cost the company plenty in terms of wasted time, lower productivity and possibly even poor service.

People avoid using the word "assume" because they know too well that it can lead to trouble. Often an assumption is hiding beneath by a statement like, "I thought you were…"

It's human nature to assume.  Most of us make several assumptions every single day.  Great people in companies make assumptions.  Smart people validate their assumptions. 

Are you ready to take the challenge?

Take Action Challenge:

My challenge to you over the next week:

1.       Start listening to yourself very closely

2.       Notice how often you need to explain something that didn't go as expected

3.       Catch yourself every time you start thinking or saying, "I assumed…" or "I thought…"

4.       Start asking yourself, "What am I assuming here?"

5.       Practice validating your assumptions before things go wrong

6.       Notice what's different for you

7.       Share your experience with me

What Good People Do To Bad Bosses

Life is way too short to put up with bad bosses.  Take a look at how one group of employees in Vancouver took matters into their own hands.  Right here!

Caution!  If you're sensitive to colorful language, don't read the comments section.

Let me ask you this...How do you handle bad bosses?

A Very Public Display Of Selfishness - Randall The Apprentice

If you've been following Donald Trump's show "The Apprentice", you've probably already heard about Randall's first big decision as the new Apprentice.  Trump offered to hire Rebecca (the first runner up) for another project he had in the works.  He left the final decision up to Randall, his new Apprentice.  Randall's response..."There is only ONE Apprentice Mr. Trump...".  From there he finished his denial by using some conjured up word he called the "Apprenti" (referring to more than one Apprentice).

Trump honored Randall's decision, but the internet continues to buzz about it.

Randall's first decision as the Apprentice ...a totally selfish move...and one he made publicly in front of the entire country.

It makes me wonder...if Randall will make such a selfish decision so early in the game, in what other circumstances will he choose selfishness over selflessness?  How might that impact the Trump organization?

Let me ask you this...what's your take on this?

Google: Ten Golden Rules

Many of us have been standing back and watching Google take the world by surprise.  I for one have been intrigued on how they do what they do!

In case you haven't seen it, Newsweek did a little digging and got Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google to share his secrets.  In essence...what Google does to get the most out of knowledge workers.

Here's the short list of Google's Ten Golden Rules:

• Hire by committee
• Cater to their every need
• Pack them in
• Make coordination easy
• Eat your own dog food
• Encourage creativity
• Strive to reach consensus
• Don't be evil
• Data drive decisions
• Communicate effectively

Take a minute to read the full article!  It's a great read! You can find it right here:

Google:  Ten Golden Rules