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April 2, 2005 14:06 - 5 Questions Great Managers Ask (and they aren't hard!)
Remeber the Pareto Principle. Aka the 80:20 rule. Well, here's something much, much easier! Answer these questions every day. Consider your responses thoughtfully, or with your team maybe. Or with your coach, or trusted friend.However hard we try, we seem... (Read Article)
April 2, 2005 14:08 - How to Get the Best from Outsourcing
To maximise profits, it has become fashionable to place some of your support
requirements with 'experts', to allow you to focus on core activities. Especially for small businesses this can work well, but with larger organisations, unless you get it just right,... (Read Article)
April 2, 2005 14:10 - Feeling Brave?
Yesterday I spent a morning with a great bunch of people. I had been asked to facilitate a brainstorming session with them around how their young, vibrant and rapidly expending company could move on to the next level. To grow strongly, within their own values, beliefs and purpose.
It was a brave move.
It took a lot of courage for the business owner to make that shift from being an entrepreneur, to a business owner. To seek out what his people needed from him and, no less important, what he needed from them. They are a very bright bunch, full of enthusiasm and passion for the business, but nonetheless, showing some frustrations too.
What we had was the most rich debate about the issues they are facing, great openness of conversation (even down to who was who's boss!) and an energy which, with the timetable of next steps and action points they generated, would continue into the forseeable future.
Many businesses aren't brave enough to take these steps. Many bosses show a level of distance, some would say arrogance, to feel such airing is not required in their business. Many employees would not show the courage to speak out when things need changing, for them to do their best for the business. They did.
And this can be in 10 person businesses as this was, or in teams of 10, 12 even 15 within bigger organisations.
It was a very constructive and revealing day and I applaud them for their passion and conmmitment.
So, I have two questions for you
What is it that you need to do, with your people, to take your business, your team to the next level.
What do you need to know, that you aren't even aware of and how will you find out - fast?
And you know what - such was the contribution they all made to their futures, that I had a great day with them too!
April 3, 2005 15:38 - Confidence - The Elusive Pearl
In 'The Sound of Music', when Julie Andrews, playing the part of Maria, realises that she is to become the governess of a 'Captain and Seven Children', she feels a song coming on....
Oh, I must stop these doubts, all these worries.
If I don't I just know I'll turn back
I must dream of the things I am seeking
I am seeking the courage I lack
The courage to serve them with reliance
Face my mistakes without defiance
Show them I'm worthy
And while I show them
I'll show me
So, let them bring on all their problems
I'll do better than my best
I have confidence they'll put me to the test
But I'll make them see
I have confidence in me
This touches on a fundamentally important thing most of us find, whenever we are going into new situations (or even just the day to day wobbles we all have!), we get a bit apprehensive about ourselves, pretty well all of us. We have that little 'gremlin' sitting somewhere in our brain telling us all sorts of fibs, seemingly just to wind us up.
The way round it is to collate all the evidence around us - the feedback we've had, the kind words of encouragement others give to us and say hey, am I doubting all these great folk? How am I the best judge of me - I'm maybe, just maybe too close to it.
Having confidence in ourselves, believing what we are told, about the great work we do and the evidence that we truly have is the biggest gift we can give ourselves.
Question for this week is:-
"Who could you be if you listened to the good others make of us, instead of the doubts we make of ourselves
Come on now, really, who could you be?"
And this isn't a 'spoonful of sugar' sort of thing (ooops, wrong movie!) - this really is possible!
April 4, 2005 21:31 - Thinking - the Blue Sky Type
If you have an interest in a great coaching opportunity, click through the new link at the top of the page. Intercept is a fascinating way of coaching, which accelerates progress and focuses on a client's unique skills, whilst sharpening up those areas where the greatest opportunity appears. More will come from the link over the next couple of weeks, so keep popping back for a look!
In a great article today in The Independent, there was a load of interesting information about thinking outside the box, the room, the house, world and even the universe! It was about how we can be so much more creative when we think more about what we aren't thinking about, than when we impede ourselves by tying our own shoelaces together and keep us from harm.
A great question to test myself has always been, "What would happen if I did the exact opposite of my first thought?"
You might be surprised to find out the answers to that little poser.
Busy, busy week, so I'll leave it there for tonight.
April 5, 2005 11:32 - It's Black and White - isn't it?
After the sheanigans last weekend with the two Newcastle players fighting each other on the pitch, it's been par for the course (to mix sporting metaphors) to speculate what would have happened if they had behaved that way in a 'real' job.
In fact it would have been really tricky, unless it had been fully observed by a manager (as it was at St James' Park) - even then I think it would have been challenging to deal with, on the six of one and half a dozen of the other basis.
Actually, employee discipline issues are far easier to deal with when one individual behaves badly. It can be considered carefully in the light of the disciplinary procedures of the organisation, facts established and the matter dealt with appropriately (and with, no doubt, some reference to the HR professional available to give an overview).
When two people are involved, it is more challenging to deal with either or both appropriately - especially when one may have been more at fault than the other, as Graham Souness seems to believe in this latest case of football hooliganism.
The truth of the matter is, that whatever the circumstances, with highly paid young men, 52,000 watching and the not insignificant £ value of these players, there is some rot in the Newcastle FC barrel of apples. If a manager doesn't be very honest with himself, deal with matters as they arise and resolve them however unpalatable that might be, there will always be the risk of people letting you down as emotions defy logic.
Newcastle is a fabulous place, with fabulous people, but on this occasion they are in disrepute. Graham Souness has a very challenging job, for which he is, no doubt, suitably paid. Now he needs to get a grip, or it will only get worse.
April 7, 2005 21:48 - Perception is All - Well Nearly All
My business partner and I did a workshop yesterday. We were innovative and creative and worked our socks off to ensure the participants had a valuable day. At the end we had our evaluations back and received one which we were really, really surprised at. We, in fact I, had 'not paid attention to the body language of participants'. It was very negative. We haven't had such a negative evaluation sheet actually ever. So it was quite a good thing, to keep us on our toes. Still, we were a little miffed and puzzled.
Yet part of our workshop was about perception - about seeing the big picture and not just that little corner where you are when things seem to be going way wrong. We told the group how important it was to be very realistic and to get real with yourself. yet there we were, sitting in a Cafe Nero on Edgeware Road, feeling sorry for ourselves.
I resolved to find out more, so I sent an e-mail to the one who had given us a poor score asking for more information (we had also been encouraging the group to seek feedback, even though it might be challenging to do so - now, was the time to walk our own talk!)
Later this afternoon I had an e-mail from another of the participants to say how much he had enjoyed the day and to aplogise for being less participatory, quieter than others, but that was how he learned best.
Truth is, I still want to know what we might have done differently, yet now, with that next bit of positive feedback, I can get my own perspective back and realise that sometimes, just sometimes, it is down to individual perception and, to be truthful, that sometimes defies logic, especially when two different people are doing the perceiving.
And my partner and I have taken stock, learnt quite a few lessons and will benefit. So, I'm truthfully glad to have been stirred up a bit, even shaken:-)
April 8, 2005 11:13 - New Entries
When this website was being developed, I felt there were about 40 'people skills' areas that might be useful for anyone, be they junior supervisors, to senior executives and business owners. There may be more, possibly even a few less. But the goal was 40.
I'm delighted to say that all 40 are now completed as a resource for you, my readers and indeed any of your people to access, whenever you want to use as you want, with my best wishes.
There may be several more that occur (ideas anyone?) and become permanent features and if that happens, they will come.
The latest two pages, Staff Discipline and Building Self Confidence are now complete.
With the last one, there is a click through near the bottom of the page where you can download the Adobe Acrobat document for your own use and, if you wish, to be forwarded on. The rest of the key pages will have this link over the next few months. All I ask is that you leave the acknowledgement on the page, so that wherever it gets to, recipients will be able to access the site and find out more of what they need to do a great 'people management' job..
The purpose of this website is, of course, to build traffic and share my understanding and knowledge to make managing people of value to you, your great employees and the organisation/business that you run. If I go some way to achieving this, then that is a good thing. And by building traffic, I feel sure that there may be occasions where maybe some help is needed and so the consulting, coaching and seminar work I offer may be of interest, so do feel free to contact me here.
In addition there are published works to come, with one e-book pretty well ready and a couple more in the pipeline too. So I look forward to sharing these with you just as soon as ther are ready to roll. You will be the first to know. Many more Articles are available and will be added step-by-step, with a goal of well over 100 by the end of the year.
Thank you for your very positive comments and support so far. Over 2000 people visited the site last month and, in my view, there is much more to go at - because, people who 'manage' others, are probably the most influential people in the world. Helping them do their work in a way which enables their people to feel valued, engaged and encouraged is a pretty challenging and yet worthy goal for us all.
April 9, 2005 06:59 - Employee Motivation Checklist Ten Measures of Success
Employees become motivated - it is much more difficult to 'make them' motivated. It is a state of mind that comes only when there are certain conditions met and here are ten major conditions you need to work on with your people.
In the form of a simple easy... (Read Article)
April 10, 2005 09:54 - How Would You Feel
I've been writing pieces on Motivation recently, (see the article below) and perhaps because of that, I'm a little more sensitised to issues that potentially happen, related to this whole area.
So when a friend was telling me the story I'm about to relate, I'm thinking of how important it is to get the 'micro' bits of the work environment right. Because what's really, really 'micro' to a business or organisation (and maybe seems much less important), is really a very big issue at the receiving end.
Her daughter works in customer service, and very good she is too. So, she undertakes a level of training which enables her able to do extra things for her customers, without referring to her Supervisor. It's a business win/win. The training takes about 6 months altogether and has a small, but to her significant, salary increase.
She had, by last December been doing the training for 9 months, because her manager consistently found other things more important. At that point a relief manager completed the observation of her on the job and sent the paperwork off to Head Office.
Nothing was heard.
A new manager came along and checked what was happening and was told that Head Office had never received the paperwork necessary to complete the certification. So the new manager told my friend's daughter that she would review her coursework and send it off, but that she would not be able to give her backpay to when the course was completed, so, only from last week would she be paid what she was due.
- How does my friend's daughter feel about the company she works for?
- What is her level of commitment now, compared to when she started her training?
- How would you feel if you had been treated this way?
The importance is in the detail. And the detail is vitally imnportant to the recipient, moreso than the remote roles many layers above. It is, after all a culture thing, not something that can be easily fixed with Band-Aid.
April 11, 2005 18:20 - How to Make the Most of Redundancy
For many people, the fear and worry of losing their job is a huge blow to them. Yet more and more people are seeing such a challenge more as the kick in the butt they needed, to enable them to achieve much more from their life than they ever thought possible.Even... (Read Article)
April 11, 2005 18:26 - Hearing Things Differently
I was, at one time in my career, an HR manager. I had a shiny new laptop, a company car and a team of HR professionals working with me. It was a good team.
I've always been pretty sharp with IT and if I didn't know how, I rather easily found out how to do things. Being a shring sort of chap, I also liked to help others out too. Especially when I could do a knight in shining armour sort of thing.
So this is what I sent:-
'Here are the zipped self-extracting files for CoreSkills6 and updated CoreSkills Extended (those after the first six). The files are self extracting and they will unzip themselves. If you want to save it, make sure the unzipped version goes somewhere you know where it is - and not to a Windows temporary folder as these are cleansed every time you switch off your laptop. A good place is Mywork in the 'D' drive and then create folders to suit you. Suggest you detach them and put them there. Any Q's don't be afraid to ask.
Coreskills6 is the first 6 coreskills (EMM, RACI etc.) and the second one is the rest, including HPT and much, much more! The ones dated '01 are the new ones and include Belbin & Coloured Thinking etc. (Process mapping looked a funny format so I've fixed that and attached separately - you may wish to ditch the .prz file which will unzip from one of the .exe files, to save any confusion in the future).'
Results?
Action: Some understood and took action, some didn't understand and asked for help from other people, 2 came back to me and asked for my help and some were totally put off and ignored it!! Those who didn't come back to me, I would not have known that my message was not clear to all. I later reflected upon this feedback and remembered that I'd been in a hurry and hadn't considered my audience.
Hint of the day therefore....
Think about the audience (every one of them) and how they will interpret what you have tried to communicate.
April 12, 2005 14:08 - Easy Peasy Simple Things
In this month's UK Management Today, they list the winners of the Management Consultancies Association awards for Best Management Practice, in a special supplement.
The business that won the overall award (as well as that for Best Operational Performance) was a company called Boxwood, who were engaged by Metronet, a consortium who won a major (£17 billion!) contract to upgrade 2/3 of the London Undergrounds infrastructure.
Boxwood's role was to help with a performance-improvement programme, initially in replacing individual damaged sleepers. The first phase of the programme was literally to watch workmen and women, to see how they did things.
Some of the learnings could be quite simple, like having a light on their helmets (underground after the power had been turned off at night - duh!). Other things that Boxwood proposed after this initial investigation improved productivity by 51%! In fact, in working within a process that I've listed below, Boxwood achieved productivity improvements of 250% for sleeper replacement and 329% for track renewal, saving Metronet £4.9 million!
Shown as 'Take-home Tips', this was the (much) simplified process that Boxwood used in helping Metronet make these major savings and (here is the most impressive bit) trained and coached more than 60 staff in performance improvement, thus accelerating productivity improvements throughout the workforce.
The process they used was as follows:-
- Engagement
Explain clearly the purpose of the exercise
- Discovery
Find out what can be done better
- Concensus
Agree what is going to be done about it
- Mobilisation
Do it, measure it and embed it
A model that is a great example to us all.
Want to read the whole article and the other winners? Left click here to read or right click and 'Save as' to save. Note. It is an 18 page .pdf, so you'll need Acrobat Reader - but it is worth the read!
April 13, 2005 20:26 - Balance and Desire
I have a friend, in fact it was someone I employed, years ago, it seems. She has a wanderlust. She has a sense of adventure - big time. Just a couple of months ago, she sold everything, lock, stock and barrel and set off, via Prague, Moscow, the Trans-Siberian express and now Beijing. She just took off. This is what her e-mail yesterday said:-
"In Beijing, having a wonderful time!! Retail therapy was good but you can't buy a lot, when you have to carry it!!!
Its the best decision I have EVER made!! Life is just wonderful at the moment and have no desire to come home."
Now isn't that fantastic, Sarah took her chance and went for it and, its sounds like she is having quite a ball.
You can follow her antics at her blog, which can be found at:-
www.sarahwsjourney.blogspot.com
Don't blame me if just one or more of you feel the time is just right to take some time out to spend on well, what life is really about, experiencing life (but do let me know!).
Makes you think.
For a few other thoughts about how best to 'get a life' outside the day job, checkout this page on the site Your Other Life
April 14, 2005 11:25 - Terrible Meetings - Ten Ways to Spot Them!
Meetings are valuable components of organisations. Yet they need process, discipline and leadership/facilitation to work best. Working at getting them right is one of the most value-creating activities any organisation can embark on. But it doesn't always... (Read Article)
April 14, 2005 12:22 - What's Morale Like Here Then?
I meet a guy out walking sometimes - for those who have been with me long enough, it's the guy with three dogs, all with slightly different characters (if you are interested, checkout this and go to December 11th!).
Oooops, I digress.
He works at a place where they have been laying off their employees and bringing in contractors, because, according to my friend, it's a lot cheaper.
But then when they asked for volunteers to be made redundant, they told those over 50 that "this will be your last chance".
Then six months later they came back and did the same again. Some people, who had taken the earlier option missed out on valuable pension rights because they left earlier.
Now, oh wise readers, I woinder how you think those still employed feel about their employers?
Morale is low, there is no trust and as my friend says, all we do is go in and do the least we can take out pay and get our enjotyment out of walking our dogs.
What a sad testament to that company and little wonder that they are struggling.
But then, like the disgraceful MG Rover fiasco, I bet the fat cats at the top aren't short of a few bob.
April 15, 2005 11:33 - Top Ten Things You Would Never Hear a Coach Say (or then again...)
Just for fun and yet with some real insights to how a coach works, this list is an indication of culture and style. It will vary. From coach to coachee; to the relationship between them. None of these are wrong as such, though some might be decidedly odd... (Read Article)
April 15, 2005 11:43 - Procrastination and JDI!
Getting better information makes for the more correct decisions. Yet the fear of 'getting it wrong' sometimes means that we use collating information and all sorts of other seemingly completely valid tactics as a good excuse for being slow to decide.
In... (Read Article)
April 15, 2005 11:45 - Fairness, Justness and The World We Live In
I walk a lot. Most mornings - as many of you will know.
But the place I walk has been earmarked for months to build 1500 new houses and offices and factories. All, I suppose, if I'm honest, needed in the country we live in - though it hurts me a little to admit it. We are all part of the society which absorbs consumer goods and want a nice place to live etc. So although I grump about it, it probably is inevitable (grump, grump etc.)
So earlier this week, as I walked along over the site, on my usual walk (about 45 minutes), where I hear skylarks singing, kestrels soaring and occasionally surprise a green woodpecker, who chatters off in his undulating flight (I think I wrote about this somewhere too!), I was really put out when they had put a fence around where they are next going to build.
They are taking big bites out of the site and this is the next one. But, it was how they had placed the fence. It was placed precisely so that they cut off the one circular route, which hundreds of people who walk their dog, postmen and schoolboys take a short cut and for me, I get my little chunk of adventure, exercise and nature each day (three of my top values).
Now whether there is a wilfulness about this, to create an issue, or whether it is just a couple of thoughtless fence-builders, I'm not sure. But it requires a letter to the local press I think. I want to stave off the inevitable as long as possible - then 'nimby' it, and move.
Thanks for supporting the blog - we go from strength to strength. here are a couple of articles for the weekend.
If the weather holds, I'm off in a balloon tomorrow - a belated birthday excursion from last year. Have a good weekend yourselves :-)
April 16, 2005 08:58 - Sue Kennedy
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Just got to tell you about Sue Kennedy, who runs Blue Eyes Photography out in Harlow, Essex. Sue has some amazing landscape photos for sale all at very reasonable prices and a quality that is wonderful. Even if you don't want to splash out on her big pictures, she has a fab card sampler, that I got to send to clients when They have done a great job maybe and to celebrate. As long as I remember. But, some of the pictures are so great, I feel a little reluctant...and hang on to them maybe longer than I should...
I'm not an affiliate, I just like to share great things in art, as well as stuff you can use in your work.
Click here or the photo and enjoy browsing Sue's lovely site!
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April 16, 2005 22:39 - Our Philosophy
I wonder if anyone can identify which organisation the following belongs to?
The Corporate tenets, which will allow our team to succeed in our mission, are as follows:
- No task has priority over safety.
- Hire the best in every facet of the operation.
- Empower our Employees; rectify issues and solve problems on the spot.
- Reward excellence; retain the best.
- Never cut corners; do it right the first time.
- Strive for continuous improvement; learn from our mistakes.
And what the likelihood of success this organisation might have, given they commenced business in 2002?
Tomorrow I'll give you another clue to help you see if you can spot who they are!
April 18, 2005 13:26 - Teamwork at Leisure
I was lucky enough to enjoy a balloon flight on Saturday. After a lot of tick-box safety advice, up we went (very quickly too!) and I spent a great hour above the Cotswolds with a couple of glasses of champagne (and 14 other people!).
When we landed, upright, thank goodness, the 'pilot' got a couple of the passengers to pull the top of the balloon rope to ensure it fell away from the basket and then we all got out. The pilot busied himself in the basket for ages, so everyone got on with tidying the balloon up and started to fold it and get the air out. Until it was done, we couldn't go home.
Sad though I may be, I recognised this as a great team event, albeit a bit expensive. All the main characters of a team were there, some on the big flashy jobs at the top end of the balloon, some getting the last bit of air out at the very bottom and tying with ropes. Some generally managing the others (though there wasn't much of a strategy actually!), and me, well I was able to stand back and watch - well, they seemed to be doing such a good job! So no change in my role there then!
I think this was a great example of a self-managed team, working on the fly and doing really, really well.
I wonder if anyone else out there has come across team building outside a business or sports environment?
Follow up to yesterday.
Here is the 'Mission Statement' from the yesterday 'Corporate tenets'
Our Mission
xxx's goal is to become yyy’s most popular and trusted leisure airline. We will deliver a professional, yet relaxed experience to our customers, while ensuring compliance with rigorous safety standards.
How does this sit with what went yesterday, somewhere either above or below, depending on which version of this you read (the 17th anyway).
Go take a look here.
April 19, 2005 08:52 - Ten People Skills You Need to Build a Dynamic Business
What does it take to make businesses perform extremely well? It's when your people work together in incredible ways, to create far more than you might expect. It's where they are in a special place when they work together. And to get there, they have to be... (Read Article)
April 19, 2005 10:35 - Ten Top Tips on How to Get the Best from Changing Situations
Change is thrust upon us every hour of every day - in a radically and rapidly changing world, you just have to get over it! There are ways to do this - common sense ways which when we get into turmoil with ourselves, we lose track of. Here are a few reminders... (Read Article)
April 19, 2005 10:38 - Getting All Creative
Creativity and ideas are the most vital elements of developing and growing your business or organisation. Yet sometimes in the cut and thrust of day to day work, it seems such a distance to go - to give yourself space to be lateral; to have 'out of the box' thinking; to be radical.
In 'The Imagineering Way', an excellent book of essays by Disney's 'Imagineers', the people who create all the fabulous stuff that has made Disney so famous, there are many, many ideas which I'll try to share with you over the coming weeks and months.
For now, one that really resonated with me, because it has been my experience, is the following comment, by Bill Willcox, Principle Engineer, Ride Mechanical Systems (hardly an immediately obvious creative/ideas generator!). Bill says, almost as a throwaway comment,
"Generalists are more likely to discover creative solutions than specialists"
I was once leading a small team who were trying to sort out a motivation problem. We had met three times and struggled around the challenge, getting pretty well, nowhere. In the group was one person, definately a generalist (I think he was goods receiving), who had said nothing at all in the previous two meetings.
Maybe I was a little slow as a facilitator, but towards the end of the third meeting, I realised he had been quiet, so I asked him if he had anything to add. He said he had just three points to make. All three were stunning and way, way different than the ideas that had come up so far and which were in the main, very understandable, if rather obvious possibilities.
He, the generalist, the quiet one, had been able to put a very different pair of spactacles on when he was looking at the situation.
In fact, he saved our asses on the challenge we had.
April 20, 2005 15:40 - 6 Simple Steps to Dealing with Difficult Managers
Managing teams is tricky enough, but when you have a challenging manager to deal with as well - I guess you could do without it. But a structured approach can mean success for all sides.
The challenge of managing difficult managers can be rather daunting,... (Read Article)
April 20, 2005 15:42 - 11 Ways to Get What You Want - Be a Clever Customer!
There is so much about 'customer service' in the media these days and, well, yes, maybe things aren't what they were. But you can do more, much more as a customer, to get the best results for yourself. It's in your hands...We all want great service, whether... (Read Article)
April 20, 2005 15:45 - Leadership is Challenging - or is it?
I'm a great believer in simplicity. In fact, I reckon that if you get any job, any activity even, down to ten key things, then you are pretty well on the route to success.
So when I was reading Monday's copy of The Independent, a paper I only usually get on a Saturday, I noticed the 'media' section too. I almost binned it - it's an area I know nothing about and starts to make me glaze over a little (or a lot!).
But being a curious sort of guy, always expecting something interesting or unusual to come up when I do something unusual, or at least out of the ordinary (and I got stuck in traffic, for ages, so illegal too), I started reading the media bit, for the heck of it. And then I came across this article, by Ian Burrell all about David Jones, head of Euro RSCG New York - a mega big news media agency, who have just sealed contracts with Jaguar and Charles Schwab. Pretty impressive huh? Under his leadership, Euro RSCG have pulled in contracts worth more than $500M in the last six months!
But it was one little paragraph that caught my eye. Jones said this:-
"The key to success in this business, is that you put together a team who will work really well together, whose strengths and weaknesses complement each other and who are going to have a whole bunch of fun"That simple.
If you want to read the full article, which is exhilarating, click here
April 21, 2005 21:03 - Customers eh? What will they want Next?
So it's April. And I want a hat. It's my birthday and I have a little money to spend on myself (gift from son - I'll choose!). As I walk a lot and I lost my blue thermal hat a few weeks ago, I've been walking around with a rather girlie coloured one since then, so I want an new sort-of manly one!
So I go into my local Field and Trek and they don't have any out as it's Summer now - but, the guy says, we have some upstairs and as soon as the manager gets back from break I can go up and get you them. Excellent. I have other shopping to do and 'I'll be back' I say.
Up the road, I don't know what made me do it, but I go into another outdoor store nearby and the rather bored assistant asks me if she can help. 'Woolly hats', I say. 'Sorry, they've all gone back to the warehouse'. End of story.
Now, interestingly, Field and Trek are my favoured store. I rather like them and their attitude anyway, so I'm glad I've been proven right. So when I go back, there are three hats on the counter.
'The black one is the nearest quality to your jacket' she says, very helpfully, 'But that's the cheapest', I say. And she smiles and says, 'Yes, it is'. I try them all on and in fact buy the next most expensive - it fits better.
Happy, I go off with my birthday present, a (Summer!) catalogue and a faith in Field and Trek reinforced. I'll shop there again.
April 22, 2005 07:40 - Nerves of Steel - Or?
I'm reading an old book at the moment ('The Parasites' by Daphne Du Maurier) which is partly about an actress, who shares her description of first night nerves. She is beside herself with the pain and anguish of the morning before, the afternoon, the taxi to the theatre etc. In the morning, her father, a well known stage singer, expresses his support, having been there many times himself, with these words:-
"Go on. Be nervous. Be ill. Be sick down the lavatory pan. It's part of your life from now on. You've got to go through with it. Nothing's worth while if you don't fight for it first, if you haven't a pain in your belly beforehand."
And it struck me about how true it is in life for all of us, be it in business or in our home lives. Whatever they say, there is some pain to experience for valuable gain.
Of course we can do many, many things to give ourselves the Self Confidence to break through that pain - but the experiencing of the pain and valuing the significant gain are such opposites that the gain becomes all the sweeter. If we take the challenge up, then we will, of course, learn for the future.
That it's not really so painful after all.
April 22, 2005 20:49 - Better Management Performance - The Easy 3-Step Way
Managers make three mistakes when they try to run businesses. They do too much, they don't trust their people and they don't have enough skills. Here we explore an easy 3-step process to get your business back on track and get a life.
Managers work in... (Read Article)
April 22, 2005 20:54 - Build Rapport Fast - Eight Easy Steps!
Build rapport fast, to instantly create excellent relationships for your business success. In this article you will find eight easy skills to get your realtionship building skills off to a great start!
Building rapport is all about creating a relationship,... (Read Article)
April 22, 2005 20:59 - 'Don't Mention the War' - The Alan Titchmarsh Link
I am not much of a gardener. I rather like sitting in them, but things tend to grow way too fast for me, so I mow the lawn to stop it coming in the house and then I look at it. My wife looks after it a lot more than I do. I'm rather an aesthetic gardener. I appreciate it a lot.
Anyway. I'm watching Alan Titchmarsh on TV on Friday night, really because he's on about the heritage of the Royal Gardens and how they evolved.
During the first world war, all the men went off to fight the 'war to end all wars' as it was so incorrectly described. And all the Royal gardens had no-one to work in them.
So they had to get creative.
But it wasn't till after the war that Eric Savill, Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park, was given a free rein to create a small garden (0.25 acre) which would require a lot less effort. This he did and then he was rewarded with a far bigger ball to play with.
King George V and Queen Mary gave him 32 acres in Windsor Great Park to extend his ideas and create what is still known today as the Savill Garden, though it took till the early 50's to complete it (that other war got in the way).
Now wasn't that a creative solution to a 'management' problem.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend. Here's another couple of articles to take a look at, below.
April 24, 2005 09:02 - Career Development - When It's Time for a Change
Your career might be going great guns - or it might not. You may be 27 or 47; you might be at the top of the tree or you might be just a couple of years into your career. Male or female, pfahh, it doesn't matter a single jot! You don't feel right - you just... (Read Article)
April 24, 2005 09:11 - Competency Based Interviews - 6 Steps to Success!
More and more organisations are using a competency based framework for interviewing. Here are 6 steps to help you make the best impression - and get the job!
Competency based interviews are intended to get the best from you, the candidate, whilst also fulfilling... (Read Article)
April 24, 2005 09:13 - Taking the Slow Lane
Some time ago, in another e-zine I write, I speculated on the values of driving at the speed limits. Not faster, but at, where safe.
Anyone who knows me will tell you that getting to places on time is not a strength, so I'm usually in a bit of a hurry and, although I wouldn't admit it on the record, mostly a '70 mph speed limit' and 'me' are not words that sit comfortably together.
But yesterday, I was off somewhere and realised that I'd set off early. So I set the cruise control I have in my aging Mondeo to 70 and sat back to take in the countryside.
It's remarkable what you see when you take your time. When you pace yourself.
You'll be expecting an analogy here - and who am I to disappoint :-)
Taking time off to absorb, to observe, to take things in, in business, is a bit of a luxury. But it's worth it. next week make a date with yourself to take a half hour to stop doing - and start absorbing. You will find it a very valuable exercise.
April 25, 2005 16:52 - What a Complicated Life we Lead
I blame Margaret Thatcher, such a dear as she was (she certainly brought character to politics, much better than the lot we have now), for introducing competition and hence way, way, way (I really mean this!) too much choice. Especially in simple things as well.
Take sandwiches. Once upon a time (I may be going back further than some of you can remember here, but stick with me), you could get a ham or cheese (occasionally together) or beef and dripping sandwich and you were perfectly satisfied (unless you were a veggie (did they have them back then?) and then it would be cress - yum).
Now, you have the choice selection from hell. If it's been a stressful morning back at the office, you need a break - so you pop down to your local Boots or Marks and Spencer and face the most stressful experience of the day - what sandwich to have for your lunch. Is it crazy or what? 56 sorts of sandwiches, then you get to the 'Meal Deal', whereby you can mix a range of products together for a fixed rate. But is it ever clear what can go with what?
And then there is electricity, gas, credit cards. It is getting just so complicated, that it must be time for a time-out and chill out. maybe it's time tio stick with what I know and even bring a ham sandwich from home sometimes.
And in business, people have so many choices today - which is a good thing, don't get me wrong - but with such choices, will people take the time to get absorbed in their work - will they need extra encouragement to stick around? And if they do, what can any of us do to help them see us as worthwhile enough? What uniqueness will we have for the people we manage, to make us different enough to hang around with?
It's a choice we have and they have, so maybe there's a little less 'churn' of employees when we take time to really get them eh?
Meanwhile, back with the sandwiches, if enough of us brought from home, maybe the choices would become less - which might not be a bad thing at all.
Hey, to my good friend Janet Henson-Webb (checkout her website here (Janet is a whiz HR consultant and fellow Intercept coach)), thanks again for the sterling work on the Succession Planning Toolkit! You have been a star for me today - and I said I'd mention you:-)
April 25, 2005 22:51 - Know Your Client - The First Rule of Business Coaching
Coaching is currently expanding as a development tool in businesses and organisations and it is beginning now to show clear proof of remarkable successes. Careful preparation, with close attention to the required outcomes, means that the coach and client are... (Read Article)
April 26, 2005 19:15 - Seeing Clearly
I've started swimming again. It's a date with my daughter, each Tuesday afternoon at 4.30. And it's going well. I've managed 250, then 300 and today 400 metres, which is 16 lengths of the pool we have here.
Today though, was more interesting than just my ability to swim a bit further. It was new, well fitting goggles, so that you don't get the chlorine in your eyes.
Seeing clearly makes a big difference to being able to enjoy a swim - at least to me it does. But it has it's downsides too. There seemed to be rather a lot of 'bits' in the water and I don't think they were just bubbles. I didn't want to see quite that clearly!
Sometimes it would be nice to get clarity when we are working in our business. The nature of this site is that it would be nice to understand all of our people fully - maybe ourselves as well even. But I wonder what that extra clarity would bring, that is less than helpful. In fact definitely not pleasant. I wonder maybe do we even avoid seeking clarity for what it might throw up.
April 26, 2005 19:24 - One More Thing
Here at Coaching Businesses to Success we have had an unprecedented growth in visits already this month - especially to the blog, so I know that those of you who come along often, are finding the site useful. So, I have two requests:-- Firstly, can you tell me what else would help you on the site - click the comments tab below this posting or e-mail me directly using the contact button on the button on the left.
- Secondly, would you really leverage the visitors this month by sending the link to five people you know? Five people who this might prove useful to
No rewards, except that I pledge to carry on writing things which catch my eye and I feel you would value.
Thanks everyone for your tremendous support. I'll post the traffic figures after the month end - and the 'Succession Planning Toolkit' will also be available, with a special price to you guys on the blog visits - by the end of this week too!
Normal service is resumed below, with an interesting blog and nice little article too!
April 27, 2005 18:16 - Ten Top Ways for Managers to Motivate Their People
Motivating people is a sure way to get the best from them - yet it is not something for a to-do list. Motivation comes from consistent cultural shifts from within.
Managers are the ones who can show behaviours which will make the difference and lead to a... (Read Article)
April 27, 2005 18:21 - Building Trust Through Language
When you are working with people it is easy to go either side of building or destroying trust and the relationship as a whole.
Take these approaches:-
"What are you doing?"
"How are we doing today?"
You may need to give me a little licence here, but how would you respond if your boss said either of these to you?
If you are like me, then the first would raise your hackles and the second would encourage me to tell them.
Try these two, following a 'mistake':-
"Why did you do that?"
"Tell me more about what happened."
In the first, you are so defensive, you're looking round for a shield and coat of armour. In the second, you are keen to share with someone who is interested in helping you learn.
And within these day to day, different, supportive, encouraging, interested interactions, drip by drip, trust and relationship is founded - and that's the core of getting the best from every one of your people.
Sound too easy? Try it and see what happens in your work with people over the next couple of days. If anyone has any to share, let me know and I'll post them.
April 28, 2005 21:11 - Lose the Monkey
In Ken Blanchard's great little book, the One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey, he describes those times when there is a 'next step' in a situation. Where someone, and not always the 'boss' has to agree what is going to happen next, and by when - who indeed is 'accountable'.
Too often, when things need to happen, say in meetings, as a good example, there is no structure for making someone 'take the A' as we used to say when I was back working in an organisation who had learned these things.
Tanking the 'A' is all about someone being accountable, clearly (published even) for ensuring that something gets done in an agreed timeframe. It doesn't mean that they, themselves actually do it - they are allowed to pass the monkey to someone else's shoulders - perhaps more suited to the job, or in an enlightened organisation, as a developmental activity perhaps.
Whoever holds the monkey makes sure it comes with a watch and a definite plan - otherwise, nothing gets done.
A manager in this situation neds to make sure they have the tenacity and focus to ensure that action happens and by when it was agreed.
Then progress happens. The monkey has found a home.
April 29, 2005 17:41 - The Top 10 Ways for Managers to Build Rapport through Listening (and stuff!)
Working with people, whoever they are and at whatever level, requires great relationships. Managers can build rapport easily and quickly and great relationships follow. Team building is accelerated and what follows is a synergy of creative spirit to build great... (Read Article)
April 29, 2005 17:51 - Building Trust in Your Business Relationships
Trust is formative in how you do your business. Your people will reflect your behaviours with them and at the end of the day, your customers and clients will be on the receiving end of the values of your business or organisation.
Where to start.
There are some simple things you can do with your people to ensure that they start to trust you. As a letter from Mike Emmott of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK says, in April 2005's UK Management Today says:-
"Our surveys show that only one in four employees trust senior management to look after their interests"
Is that not appalling? How on earth can businesses develop, survive and above all hang onto their best people if they are seen to be untrustworthy?
It's horrible.
There is an article below which talks a little about 'Rapport Building', but to supplement that, here are Ten Tips to help you build trust with your people.
- Keep Your Promises
If you can't keep a promise, then don't make it in the first place - it is a big negative emotion being let down in this way.
- Never Tell Lies
Why would you? And if you have to, it's much, much more about you. Your people will really lose faith in you fast.
- Keep Confidences
Sometimes people will tell you things that they don't want broadcast - they need you to hear them sometimes. But keep it to yourself. Do not be the instigator of gossip and rumour.
- Communicate as Fully as Possible
Keep as little from your people as you can. Communicate as openly as possible. Sometimes you have to hold some information back - it happens, but think really carefully about it.
- Have No Favourites
Treat all of your people equally and show no favourites. I know this is tough - I found it tough, but it needs to be right. Have agreed principles and standards that everyone works to - sorry, but no exceptions.
- Challenge the Behaviour - Not the Person
People make mistakes, do things wrong and need to be told. It's the thing they did, not the person they are. "You're useless", is not a good way to build trust, but, "That wasn't what I would expect of you usually, tell me more about what happened", works better.
- Follow Through
If you say you are going to do something. Do it! Your people will love that you do what you say (or apologise at least if you find you can't). And it sets a great example.
- Listen Attentively
There's a whole piece about this, but safe to say if you don't pay attention to people fully, they will not trust you. It's rude and it diminishes the relationship.
- Forgive Mistakes
Be generous. It is a value-creating action. People hate to get things wrong - they expect a 'bollocking' (as they say!). Help them with a learning from the mistake. "What might you do next time?", is far more valuable.
- Don't Talk Behind Backs
If you do this with anyone, they will always wonder what you say about them when they aren't there - and what are they saying about you - it's a bad habit.
Building trust is vital if you, your people and your business are going to excel. Working on it is just a discipline. These points will help you.
April 30, 2005 18:22 - Is it the Behaviour or is it You?
In a book by Alice Miller, called "For Your Own Good: Hidden Cruelities in Child Bearing and the Roots of Violence", and quoted in "Bradshaw on the Family" by John Bradshaw, there is an interesting 'false belief' that parents often visit on their children (Miller quotes 17 of these) :-
"The way you behave is more important than the way you really are"
Intended to be a sort of false truism that parents impose on their kids as they grow up, it struck me that behavioural change is what coaches (that's me!) and trainers often bang on about with our clients and workshop attendees. "Work on changing your behaviours", is often a goal in how we encourage people to manage their people better. Often that is a bit of an uphill task. Some people find it hard to change. Funny that.
Here's where the second bit of the quote kicks in and so I'll quote it in reverse, because this is the real truth.
"The way you are is more important than the way you behave"
How does that feel? And how am I going to dig myself out of the hole that one of the things I'm here to do is to help you change your behaviours - eh? Truth is there are three sorts of managers in my eyes:-- The really good ones, for whom managing people is a doddle.
- The potentially good ones - where we trainers can do our bit.
- The square pegs - who are desperately trying to fit round holes all their management career.
The truth for them is that they need encouraging, for everyone's sakes - especially their own - to find something else to do in their career.
In fact, "The way you are is more important..."
By struggling on for months, often years and even decades to fit their square peg in a round hole is very painful, distressing and unhealthy - for them and for everyone they attempt to manage.
What we are trainers, coaches and managers of others for, is to support these folks in not battling to improve their behaviours, but to find a 'square hole position' for their career direction to move towards. It's a very humane thing to do...
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