It’s Not Business, It’s Just Personal

Ever noticed when a major business win is achieved everyone touts the people and relationships that made it happen. Contrarily, when tough decisions with damaging consequences are made these same people quickly hide behind the proverbial skirt of “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” This phrase is most often said to someone who will be personally affected by the recent decision.

“We’ve decided to buy from another company”

“You weren’t selected for the promotion”

“We won’t be accepting your offer”

“You’re being let go”

“We chosen another candidate for the position”

“Your request was denied”

Businesses aren’t the products or services they sell. Businesses are an intertwined web of employees, vendors and customers. It is the people that make business… well business.

Yes, hard business decisions are constantly being made. The decisions themselves are made by individuals whose personal experiences, opinions and biases go into each and every choice. People’s lives are affected by these so-called business decisions and the ripple effects are far reaching – never downplay that fact.

Celebrate the human element that comprises today’s business environment and stop saying “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” After all, it’s always personal and never just business.

 

 

Photo by Photostock

Thoughts Shared with Partnership Marketing

Recently I was asked to talk with our Partnership Marketing Division and share some thoughts on how to achieve success at our company. I believe these tips can apply to most anyone at any company.

Be a Consumer.

Hopefully the product or service your company offers is something you’re a fan of. Therefore, you should be a consumer of the product or service where possible. At Access, we offer card-linked rewards to bank cardholders and we built local, regional and national discount programs. The more I use these deals and discounts, the better I do my job. I think like the customer because I use the program like our customers do.

Be Willing to do the Hard Stuff.

Every job has difficult “stuff” to do. People willing to dig in, get their hands dirty and do the hard stuff, are perceived to be more valuable to the company. Often I’ve noticed that the hard stuff usually becomes the easy stuff, once a few people (with the right work ethic and attitude) begin working on it.

Keep Learning.

Increasing your knowledge and skills every chance you get. This may be through a college degree and formal education. It may be through seminars and conventions. Daily articles, blog posts, webinars are great resources. Audiobook, ebooks and good old-fashion paperback books are excellent for increasing knowledge. Who knows, you might even be able to convenience your manager to buy the book for you.

Here are a few books I recommend:

• Strengths Finder 2.0 – by Tom Rath
• Getting to Yes – by Roger Fisher and William L Ury
• Ditch, Dare, Do – by William Arrunda and Ded Dib

 

Regardless of role, title or responsibilities you’ll be happier and more successful if you treat your work like a Career (not just a job) even if you’re not going to do it for the rest of your life.

3 Ways I’ve Screwed Up

Making mistakes is part of any career. Benjamin Franklin said “Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.” Learning from mistakes and changing is the difference between good and great leaders. I’ve made more than my fair share of blunders; I’m sure my coworkers will attest to that. I’m not speaking of epic and utterly catastrophic failures. I’m talking about patterns of errors made over and over, that result in repeated negative consequences.

Here are 3 ways to screwed up and what I’ve learned from each:

Avoid Confrontation: I’m confrontation averse, always have been. A couple years ago a young woman in my division came into my office and fully called me out “You really hate confrontation don’t you?” I was taken aback by her brutal openness. It was true though. She’d been struggling in her job and we both knew it. My avoidance of the issue had made it worst. Once we had open dialog on the matter we were able to create solutions.

Learned: It’s always better to address issues openly and directly. Avoidance is worst.

Email Instead of Talking Face-to-Face: Email is a quick, efficient communication tool. Email has weaknesses though; primary, tone and emotion can easily be misread. On more than one occasion I’ve fired off a seemingly harmless email only to learn that the tone of the email was completely misinterpreted. It wasn’t the receivers fault. It was my fault for emailing when a simple conversation would have been more effective.

Learned: Pick up the phone or better, walk down the hall and talk. This allows for better communication and less likelihood for causing overreaction.

Hire When Your Gut Tells You Not To: Most companies use some sort of structured process for interviewing and hiring. Processes are in place to aid hiring managers in making the best possible hiring decision. Hiring is still a gamble though. Managers make their best assessment based on information gathered during interviews and reference checks, and then take the leap and go with their instincts. I’ve had interviews go well and reference checks too, but still had a nagging feeling saying “it’s not right.” Every time I went against that feeling I ended up regretting it.

Learned: Trust your instincts.

 “Do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.”

–       Benjamin Franklin

To err is human, but that’s not an excuse for not learning and improving. If you haven’t made mistakes… pay a little more attention I’m sure you’ll find some.

 

What mistakes have you made? What have you learned from them?

5 Reasons Why You Don’t Want an All-Star Team

Bigger is not always better

All-Star teams are exciting; gathering the most talent individuals onto a single super team. There will be no holding them back. The team will be unstoppable. The competition will tremble in their presence. People will flock from the world over to marvel at the team’s greatness. Yes, creating an All-Star is an excellent idea… in theory.

Most sports team All-Star games barely pass as a scrimmage and probably resemble horsing-around more than anything. It’s a nice break for players and boosts already sky-high egos. Winning is nice, but rarely is there an urgency to do so.

In America’s Major League Soccer (MLS) a different approach has been taken to the All-Star game. For the past several years the MLS All-Stars play a foreign club team. Earlier this week the All-Star festivities concluded with the All-Stars playing Italian club AS Roma. AS Roma is a decent club that finished in the top half of the Italian Serie A league last season.

So how’d the game turn out? AS Roma dominated with a 3-1 win. The All-Stars only scored in the waning moments of the game. Some people will argue that even the best talent in the US league doesn’t match the average talent in Italy. I disagree. It’s not a league or talent issue; it’s an All-Star issue.

Whether it’s a sports team, your sales team, or the staff at your office attempting to put together an All-Star team might not be the best idea.

Here are 5 reasons why you don’t want an All-Star team:

1. All-Star teams are not teams at all. They are simply a group of big-name players.  Yes, very talented players, but a bunch talented people does not make it a team. You will always have to balance personalities, strengths and weaknesses, but to have a truly effective group it needs to be a team and managed as a team.
2. All-Star teams have no role players. You need role players. Not everyone can take the final shot of the game. Every team needs good, solid role players. Role players are crucial to the success of the team’s overall success even if they play a lesser role in achieving team goals. This doesn’t mean role players aren’t valuable. It just means they have a different function on the team.
3. All-Star teams are not sustainable long-term. When everyone is a super star with super ambitions and desire for recognition, people soon want more. It doesn’t take long before everyone wants to go somewhere else where they can get more recognition, more money, more… whatever.
4. You’re not the Yankees. Most teams, companies and businesses don’t have unlimited budgets. Paying an entire staff of All-Star players simply costs too much.
5. All-Stars win games but not championships. Championships are won not by a single spectacular game, but by consistently being the best team over a long period of time. Whatever the proverbial championship is that you’re trying to “win” it will be accomplished by having a great TEAM and not by just having a bunch of All-Stars.

It’s awesome when you find an amazingly talented person to hire. You should only hire that person however if they also contribute to the team culture and chemistry you are working to build. Finding the best team player will pay off far more than just finding the most talented All-Star.

Learning from The Apprentice

In our home we’ve gone nearly a year without cable or satellite television. Admittedly, I still go through TV withdrawals. I miss The Amazing Race and The Apprentice more than any other shows. Both are fascinating to watch as people compete to win grand prizes, both teach valuable real-world lessons too.

In The Apprentice two teams compete in projects – one team wins. The winning team receives a reward. The losing team has someone fired from the show; a fairly simple concept. After all the firings take place a single contestant emerges and is hired as the apprentice.

So what can be taken away after sifting through the emotions, drama and hair pieces?

1. Reward Immediately: As soon as the winning team is announced they immediately receive their prize. In the show the reward is often being whisked off to some amazing event or experience. This allows the winning team to enjoy their reward while the excitement of the win is fresh.  The feeling of winning is great, reinforcing the win by rewarding right away helps increase its value. Reward now, don’t delay.

• Delaying the reward may result in less excitement or willingness the next time a contest arises.

1. Discipline Later: In contrast, the losing time returns to their apartment and is called into the boardroom only later in the day. Yes, this helps build the show’s drama as participants begin placing blame and coming up with strategies for saving their own hide. In the real world a delay creates time. Time for cooler heads to prevail. Time for more rational and less emotional thinking. Time to understand the cause of the mistake or failure. Disciplinary actions taken in the heat of the moment are often regretted later.

• Disciplining immediately could result in poor decisions or lamentable actions that weren’t well thought out.

Hopefully you are rewarding far more than disciplining. It’s a lot more fun (for everyone) to hear “You won!” or “You’re Hired” than to hear “You’re Fired!”

From Where You’re Sitting

My favorite piece of décor in my simple office at work is a painting I picked up in Hong Kong a couple years ago. My most cherished items are the pictures of my wife and four children. Adorning the walls are also a few leadership certificates, company awards, a sword (a story for another time), and a white board.

A couple years ago my operations manager sat in one of the two chairs in front of my desk and commented how one corner of my office was bare and quite drab. Spinning my chair around 180 degrees I saw that she was right. The small corner was plan with nothing on the walls. I turned back to her and replied “Yeah, but it doesn’t bother me, because I’m never looking in that direction.”

After a rather tiring day this week I walked down the hall with several work issues on my mind. I entered my office and instead of sitting in normal computer chair, dropped into a chair in front of my desk. As I lifted my eyes off the floor, the unadorned corner and remembrance of her words shook me from my thoughts. Wow! Almost two years later and I’d done nothing about it. The purpose for decorating in the first place was to make the space more inviting. For numerous co-workers who interact with me on a weekly basis, the main focal point of what they see has the exact opposite effect. And I’ve done nothing about it – because it didn’t bother me.

How aware are we of what everyone else is seeing and experiencing?

• What things do we only view from our perspective not that of our clients, customers and co-workers?
• How is our marketing being received and interpreted?
• How do our customers perceive our brand? Customer service? Product offering?
• How is our leadership style being received?

Reality is, as long as I only sat on my side of the desk – I would only see things from that point-of-view. I had to physically sit where my co-worker sat to gain a better understanding.

• Marketers need to leave their computers and mingle with prospective customers and target audiences
• Business owners need to get out from behind the counter – walk around to where customers are sitting, standing in line or shopping
• Leaders need to walk away from their desk and see what’s going on in the trenches

There is a lot to be learned from seeing the world from the eyes of others!

 Hmm, the only question now is what should I do about the empty corner of my office? – Comments and suggestions welcome.

Markers are Mightier than Money

English Author Edward Bulwer-Lytton apparently coined the phrase “The pen is mightier than the sword.” A replica version of the sword Excalibur sits on a stand in my office, a gift from my team, but motivating people with cold, hard steel is not really effective in the workplace. Believe me, I’ve tried. In today’s highly competitive business environment it’s not about words (the pen) or force (the sword) but money that is generally known to be highly motivating. Everyone on my team has goals and objectives to work towards and financial incentives for achieving them. Money is a nice incentive, but I’ve noticed something else is a far better motivator.

Just outside my small office a large whiteboard hangs from the wall used to track team results and personal contributions. A slew of markers are in place for individuals to chalk up their daily or weekly contributions. Within seconds anyone walking by can see who the top performers are (and who is struggling) – a simple, but very visible leader board.

No one sees your paycheck or bonuses, but everyone sees you stand up, walk over to the whiteboard and chalking up your results. This simply act provides a subtle rush of emotion – accomplishment, pride, success. The rest of the team takes note and renewed determination kicks in. It’s fascinating to watch.

Over the years it’s become quite clear that the act of marking down your successes is far more powerful than any financial incentive. No one is saying that if the markers go dry total mutiny would occur, but probably something not far off. People like being praised and recognized. Visible demonstration of achievements and physical proof that everyone can see is mightier and more motivating than money.

Stop Hiding Behind Your Open Door

While working on my undergraduate degree in Behavioral Science I took a Child Psychology class. At the time there was (and may still be) a lot of debate around quality time vs. quantity time with children. The argument was that although quality time is important, being around and interacting on a frequent basis could me more important to child development, compared to meaningful, quality time, if it only occurs on an infrequent basis. My belief was, and still is, that deeper child-parent relationships are forged when quantity time occurs.

Leaders and team managers are extremely busy. Weeks often fly by in a flurry of endless meetings and a plethora of emails. To ensure engagement regular team, staff or division meetings are conducted to ensure the leader spends quality team with the team discussing everything from weekly activities to revenue to future goals. Weekly meetings along with monthly or quarterly performance reviews are great quality time.

How often do you hear someone say “I have an open door policy”? I hear it all the time. The open door policy unofficially allows employees a chance to talk with a manager or leader anytime. In theory, this creates a culture of trust and transparency. The open door policy is an attempt at quantity time, meaning the leader is available any time and all the time.

Having an open door policy sounds good, but in practice it may not be accomplishing much. One challenge is that it puts all the responsibility on the employee and none on the leader. That creates a certain level of risk on the part of the employee; most employees are risk averse. The other problem is that most leaders aren’t always available (remember the never-ending meetings and emails mentioned above).  The open door policy could be creating less transparency and weakening employee-manager engagement.

So what can be done about it?

Stretch Your Legs: Stop expecting everyone to come and see you (your office is not that impressive). Stand up, stretch your legs, go walk around and just talk to people. Spending just a few minutes walking around and interacting can go a long way. Make it casual and informal – don’t micro-manage what people are doing.

Go Eat: Invite others to join you when grabbing a bite for lunch or making a quick drive to buy a Diet Coke. Even just a 10-minute Coke run provides a chance to talk about interests, hobbies, and family; in other words, things not work related.

Clear a Path: Too many performance reviews end with “let me know if there’s anything you need from me”. Here’s a novel idea, find ways to clear the path and help people achieve their job better (quicker, easier, more efficiently) without being asked. Look for ways to offer solutions without being asked.

Close the Door: Invite individuals into your office just to talk, or ask them questions and bounce ideas of them. Make them a part of something bigger than mere day-to-day tasks. Talking in your office behind closed doors will seem like a normal part of their job. By doing so, they will feel more comfortable coming to you the next time they have a question, concern or need.

Don’t wait for people to come to you, reach out. A culture of transparency and trust can be fostered more quickly through frequent and varied interaction. That’s the power that great leaders can harness through quantity time.

I love to hear your thoughts: Quality Time vs. Quantity Time.

Blitz Day

November 1, 2012 is being designed a “Blitz Day” in our side of the office. Sales, operations, support staff and managers participate in this one-day office event that embraces the Work Hard, Play Hard mindset. The goal is to dedicate a day to a high-level of productivity by being extremely focus. This isn’t to say people don’t work hard and aren’t productive on other days; Blitz Day however is about taking it up a notch (or three). The problem is daily workload, multiple tasks and various projects often weigh us down. Meetings, emails, and task jumping make focusing difficult. Most of us have a variety of responsibilities that require our attention making it challenging to get things accomplished. Then there’s the issue of multitasking that can slow and even halt productivity all together (just ask author Dave Crenshaw).

Blitz Day is the opposite of taking a vacation, but can have the same effect. Vacation time should be used to relax, take a break and enjoy yourself. The effect is to regenerate and refresh. Blitz Day is a lot of work, but with an undistracted laser-like focus that allows a stretch goal to get completed that may otherwise take weeks. The sense of accomplishment is refreshing and energizing. A specific goal is set beforehand to define exactly what will be achieved on this day.

• Example: A sales team might use the day exclusively for prospecting and making new decision maker presentations. This means no meetings or follow-up calls. It’s all about finding new prospective clients. The goal is quantifiable – something that can be measured.
• Example: A manager might use the day to finalize all quarterly reports and knock out the first draft of new strategy he or she has been contemplating. Normally a few hours would be set aside over several weeks for this task, but it can all get completed it a single day with the right concentration.

Besides the main goal I have three Blitz Day sub-goals:

1. Instill Work Hard / Play Hard Attitude

• If everyone normally works at a fast speed, we’ll call it Mach 3 – then Blitz Day is about going Mach 5. Going Mach 5 for a day is exhilarating; doing it every day would burn people out.

1. Build Team Unity through healthy competition

• Set a goal that challenges the status quo. Whether several people are competing to do better than each other or an individual is competing against their own personal best – this is a day to instill healthy competition.

1. Break the Routines and Daily Grind

• We all get into routines. Routines bring familiarity and consistency to our work. Ditch it all – for a day! Cancel all meetings and minimize office emails. Use the out-of-office reply to let people know you’ll be in, but not checking email, just for a day. This alone makes Blitz Day worth it.
• Bring in drinks and snacks throughout the day and provide lunch. This keeps people onsite, no need to run to Starbucks or to the gas station to grab a Coke. It also shows appreciation for the added effort people are putting in.

 

Preparation is crucial to success. Goals need to be determined in advance, meetings rescheduled, and notification sent to other divisions. Everyone participating should be part of the process. Employees should establish the goal so they’re committed and invested in achieving it. Managers should clear the path to minimize distraction and ensure success.

It sounds like all work and no play, where does the play come in? I’ll admit a Blitz Day is a lot of work – that should be the expectation. To infuse an aspect of play designate a few times throughout the day for everyone to take a break. I’m a big fan or Guy Fieri so we take a page from his show and play a couple Minute-to-Win-it games. These games are easy to set-up, quick to do and a ton of fun. It gets people off their chair, away from the desk or out of their office and gets the blood circulating. A bit of fun and humor is appreciated (by most people) and is quite therapeutic. Give the winner of each game something simple like a $10 iTunes card. Spent a bit more and you’ll see how a $25 restaurant certificate does wonders to get the competitive juices flowing.

Make the work itself fun by rewarding results. Throughout the day pay attention to accomplishments and achievements. Then, during the designated breaks recognize individual successes. Make it feel more valuable with gift cards and prizes – It doesn’t take much. Recognition combined with a feeling of self accomplishment is a powerful motivator. Make it public and make it positive!

When it’s all said and done everyone should feel a huge sense of accomplishment. Yes, it will be exhausting, but worth it.

At the time I post this, our Blitz Day has less than 2 hours left. People are still cranking thanks to a strong will to win and determination to succeed – and possibly fueled on by a steady flow of Rockstar Energy drinks, pizza and chocolate. My goal was to write a blog post about my Blitz Day concept and strategy – goal accomplished! And to ensure the rest of the team has a successful Blitz Day as well – we’re looking good so far!

Why Should Employees Cheer for You?

The 2012 London Olympics are only a few weeks away. I am a big fan of the Olympics. I love cheering for team USA and our athletes. It’s awe-inspiring to learn about astonishing athletes from all across the globe and see the passion fans have for their country. Most athletes are not rich superstars (unlike the US Men’s basketball team). Most athletes are playing for the love of country and competition.

10 years ago Salt Lake City, Utah welcomed the world during the 2002 Winter Olympics. The spirit and passion of the Olympics was felt first hand. For those of us living in this area at that time, it was an amazing experience. The Olympic cauldron still stands as a reminder of those games. The execution of the Olympics was credited to hundreds of hundreds of people, mostly volunteers. Like many of the athletes, these volunteers were everyday people who took time off work and away from their families to help make this epic event, magical. (My one regret is not taking the time to volunteer).

Most of us are not going to star on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. We don’t go to work each day for fame, glory or extreme recognition. In my experience most people work hard for their family, personal growth, professional development and to achieve a comfortable living. Executive management teams envision direction and strategy, but employees are the ones that truly get companies to their destinations and achieve their goals.

Like fans supporting their country, employees can support a company. To instill that fandom companies must offer products and services that employees want to stand behind and a culture that employees embrace. People want more than just a paycheck; a good company can be a cause worth cheering for. It won’t just happen on its own. Executives and managers need to create that environment. Volunteers said the Olympic Games were a ton of work, but were totally worth it. Are employees saying the same about working for you and your company?

Side Note: As we celebrate America’s independence let’s cheer for the men and women who selflessly defend our country. Thank you for all you do! Let freedom ring, over the land of the free and home of the brave!

Go Team USA: http://www.teamusa.org/