The Leader's Fallacy lives! We subscribe to the Fallacy when we believe our enthusiasm over a particular leadership challenge is automatically reciprocated by the people we lead. If ignorance is bliss then leaders going around blithely adhering to the Leader's Fallacy have cornered the market on happiness. The truth is, it's more realistic to believe in INVERSE RECIPROCITY: i.e., whatever motivates you, "DE-motivates" the people. That's especially so for leaders who are trying to motivate peo More..

Bar Charts Brought to Life: Index of Interactive Information for HTML and PDF

Bar Charts and the Information Challenge Whether one is an unknown entrepreneur or Donald Trump, an elementary school teacher or a university president, a 6th grader researching other countries or a government leader visiting them, each person in any capacity has at least one thing in common: information. Let me explain why I use bar charts as an example. Whether information is being acquired or distributed for business or educational purposes, the challenge that arises is how to compile all o More..

6 Shared Factors of Successful Executives

These factors where determined by interviews with and books from very successful people. FacÃ‚Âtors which eminently successful people conÃ‚Âsidered essential were collected and classified. They were gathered from talks with big men, from personal letters, from printed interviews, and from books? the end result being ideas of thirty-one of the most successful people of our country. Although their ideas differ, yet certain factors are listed by each of these men; and seventeen qualities are men More..

Creating Advisory Boards

There is no substitute for soliciting the opinions of the executive team, the people who will be most affected by change or its absence. However, often the answers to complicated questions don't lie within those most affected. Frequently the CEO will need to look outside the organization for advice and wisdom. Sometimes this comes for a Board of Directors, a body of individuals that has the duty of influencing a company's direction. Members of this board have a fiduciary responsibility to repres More..

Dont Hire Squirrels to be Your Top Dogs

Bad hiring decisions cost organizations, both in dollars and lost opportunities. But getting the right people in the right places doing the right thing is not easy. It requires painstaking efforts and objective information. Mergers, acquisitions, downsizing, and growth all require an unprecedented need for information about how to hire top performers and a framework for assessing the competencies required to lead people during extraordinary times. Therefore, hiring the right people involves more More..

Getting the Most from Appraisals

Does your organisation have one of those annual 'occasions' that few look forward to: the annual appraisal or performance review? How do you look forward to it? I wonder how people talk about it before and after? Are appraisals worth doing? If done properly - yes. If done poorly - no!!! Why have appraisals? When carried out properly they can achieve a number of benefits for all parties. The organisation, the manager and the appraisee can: establish current levels of performance, and the or More..

Coaching Can Get The Boss In Shape

Who tells the boss that they can improve their management or leadership? How do they look at themselves objectively and identify what areas they can improve and the benefits of doing so? These days many people have become more aware of the need to look after their bodies and their health. Not only do many join gyms or start participating in sports regularly - a number are using personal trainers. Why do they choose to do this? Consider top performers in the sports world, or areas such as drama More..

Why You Should Hold One More Meeting

If you are completely happy with where you and your business currently are then you can stop here. If growth and change aren't something you have any interest in, there is no need for you to read any further. I'm serious. You can move on. But if you do think there are new opportunities to explore, if you do think that there are ways to improve your results, then read on. I'm going to show you how scheduling a new meeting periodically can help make that happen. That's right, a meeting. The I More..

Unveiling the Value of Your Expertise

All of us have knowledge, expertise, and experience that others can benefit from. This is one of the reasons we play some of the roles in life that we play: leader, trainer, teacher, coach, mentor, and more. We all can contribute to other's success with our expertise. Unfortunately, some things keep us from doing this as successfully as we could. This article will outline several of the things that get in our way and suggest ways to improve our ability to succeed in having our expertise used su More..

Increasing the Return on Your Training Investment

Insightful leaders and organizations recognize that training is a valuable tool for personal and professional development and therefore set some sort of an annual training budget. Most everyone I've ever talked to has been to both excellent training (hopefully ours!) and training that was, well, not so good. In a perfect world we could connect the best training experiences with the best application back in the workplace. This would make the equation easy - pick great training, insuring that peo More..

When Business Becomes A Battlefield

"We have to be careful it's like a minefield out there" "I like to lob the odd grenade into the meeting to shake things up" "You have to watch your back all the time with her" "We need to attack whilst they are in a weak position" "There was blood all over the carpet after he had finished with them" What is your reaction when you are in situations where you hear these kind of messages? What sort of tone and atmosphere do you think they create? These words and phrases are becoming more co More..

The Thick Line Between Buddy and Boss

Q: One of my key employees is giving me trouble. He has started showing up late for work and has developed a bad attitude in general. The rest of my employees are complaining since they are having to take up his slack. I've tried talking to him, but he doesn't seem to listen. To make matters worse, he has become one of my best friends since I hired him five years ago, so firing him is out of the question. What can I do?-- Allen B. A: One reason I am so qualified to dispense sage business advice More..

Employee Turnover: Seven Reasons Why People Quit Their Jobs

There are many reasons why good employees quit and go to another company, perhaps even your competitor. Most of the reasons start with management and most are preventable. Good people don't leave good companies, they leave poor managers. Here are seven reasons. Are they prevalent in your organization? Management demands that one person do the jobs of two or more people, resulting in longer days and weekend work. This turns into a morale killer not only for the person but for the team. Managem More..

Employee Orientation: Get New Hires Off To a Great Start

The good news is that a new hire orientation program offers an opportunity to build a lasting impression of the new company. The bad news is that that is going to happen whether you plan it or not. So why not get new hires off to a great start? Here are seven ways. Celebrate the new hire's arrival. How come when an employee leaves, there's a party, but when she arrives, there is nothing to mark the occasion? Welcome new employees on day one and make them feel part of the team. Give the person More..

Performance Appraisal Checklist: Raise Not Just Appraise Performance

It's that time again! Perhaps the most dreaded management practice is the annual performance review. Whenever the subject comes up, out comes the groans from both managers and staff no matter what industry or type of company. Many say appraisals are like having a root canal - only more painful. It shouldn't be. The following checklist is designed to guide managers and supervisors in preparing, conducting and following through on employee performance appraisal discussions. The Preparation: Gi More..

Smart Hiring: What Makes the Right Employee?

Good hires do not happen by accident or luck. In this economy, employers are finding a large pool of available workers. But finding the right employee for a position is still a challenge. Few managers, when asked, can describe "right." Others can't agree on what qualifies one to be qualified, at least in measurable terms. Before hiring some, ask yourself these four critical questions. What are the three to five essential have-to's for this position? Are we looking for a person with great techn More..

Leadership Style: What Makes A Good Boss?

In today's competitive environment, companies realize that a good boss is one who can identify and build on the talents of the staff and knows how to retain top performing employees. Take this quiz and see if you are a good boss. Use the following scale to respond to the questions: Strongly disagree--1; disagree--2; uncertain--3; agree--4; strongly agree--5. My employees understand the connection between their team or department's actions and the success of the company. Each employee had clea More..

Quality Staffing: Stop Placing the Wrong People in the Wrong Jobs

You can possibly teach a turkey to climb a tree - but it is a lot easier to hire a squirrel. Quality staffing means selecting the right people with the right skills for the right jobs and at the right time. A good hire can take the weight of the world off your shoulders. A poor one can eat up your time and energy and weaken an entire team. So, why do so many leaders place so many people in so many wrong places? Here are five key reasons. Failure to prepare. When leaders are so busy dealing with More..

25 Great Ways to Find the Right People and Not Break the Bank

Are you trying to hire dozens of hourly workers or a senior executive? Where do you look and how do you get the word out? There are many ways to find the right people besides placing want ads. Here are 30 innovative and inexpensive ways to expand the pool of potential applicants. Pick and choose the ones that "fit" your company and your budget. Place ads on TV and radio, in the movie theater, at bus stations and airports, etc. Register to list your open positions with your state and local emp More..

Four Steps to Better Performance Reviews

Direct reports-people who need direction and leadership-rely on their leaders to give them feedback and mentoring, not just management and evaluations. However, these people who most need their boss's help frequently lack the guidance that would enable them move to the next levels of success-theirs, their team's and the company's. Too often leaders are not prepared or trained to conduct an appraisal that stretches performance and ensures their direct reports' development. Instead, the appraisals More..

Its Not Always What You Say

A major source of communication breakdowns is incongruence between the words that people say and the nonverbal signals that they send, largely because we lose sight of the fundamental truth: You cannot not communicate. Every second that we are in the presence of another, we are constantly sending and receiving messages, often silent, nonverbal messages that can either augment our communication effectiveness or detract from it. These non-word symbols are the first things we notice about others an More..

Make Them GLAD Youre Their Boss

Criticism has the power to do good when there is something that must be destroyed, dissolved or reduced, but it is capable only of harm when there is something to be built. --Carl Jung People won't leave if they're glad you're their boss. They will want to stay with a boss that does what it takes to create a culture that capitalizes on each individual's strength. However, bosses often don't know what they should do to contribute to organizational culture, or even to their small part of the cult More..

Resolve Differences

Resolving conflict doesn't come easily to too many people. Most of us want harmonious relationships and smooth interpersonal interactions. However, we know that disagreements and conflicts are part of any dynamic organization. They arise because people care about their jobs and want to produce good results. Conflict is not always negative, however. Sometimes it should be encouraged when discussion and debate can generate creative, innovative approaches to issues or decisions. Conflict is benefic More..

Read more About Dialogue vs. Discussion

Eliminate Performance Anxiety Forever

You've had many years of training in your craft as a performer, singer, actor etc. but if you still feel haunted by the ravages of Performance Anxiety your career may be in serious jeopardy. Performance Anxiety, that familiar nemesis to all performers is often experienced as some or all the following physical experiences: anxiety, tremor, loss of focus, poor concentration, tension, stammering, forgetfulness, fear of performing, avoidance of performing, self sabotaging behaviors prior to and dur More..

5 Ways of Increasing Business Profits

The economy may finally be turning around and showing signs of a rebound. Interest rates have begun to rise and the stock market is recovering from the lows it experienced in the last couple of years. Is your business ready to take advantage of these improving times? Can you translate these improvements into increased profits? You can. Read on? Wouldn't you like to see your profits increase? Sure, but in reality, what influence do you have over any increase? Create a forecast and have profits a More..

The Leadership Alignment Model

Some time ago we had the privilege of working with a major UK government department to help them redefine leadership and to reappraise how they develop and encourage leaders. Faced with considerable challenges by the environment in which they operate and by their political masters, this department has decided that leadership is one of the keys to the achievement of the vision laid down by its chief. We consulted widely with senior managers, and we shared the output of extensive enquiry amongst More..

Organizational Culture and Creative Blocks - the Similarities

Few Decision makers see the link between between creativity and innovation management, as performed by MBA's in firms, and creative endeavours such as screenwriting. In fact, there are very strong linkages. The problems that prevent individuals coming up with ideas, writing and then commercialising their screenplays are the very same as the problems that firms face when they attempt to motivate their people to come up with innovative ideas - whether it be innovation of product, process, paradig More..

Two Critical Success Factors in an ITIL Implementation

Any IT manager who wants to pursue the IT Service Management journey by implementing the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) needs to understand two very important factors well in advance. ? The first factor is to have dedicated, trained and committed process owners. If you want to have a successful Incident Management process which is under continuous improvement, you will need somebody who is ultimately responsible for it's success and who can dedicate the time and focus to More..

Creativity and Innovation - Large Firms Versus Small Firms

There is a pervasive assumption that small firms are more creative and innovative than larger firms. That is, they identify problems and generate ideas (creativity) and idea select, develop and commercialise (innovate) those ideas to a greater degree than larger firms. However, there is a large degree of untruth to this assumption: a) Small firms suffer from a different set of problems than larger firms. Small firms, for example, tend to lack resources whereas larger firms tend to have more res More..

Communicating When A Crisis Strikes

How would you handle communication if your business or practice got into a crisis situation? I was pleasantly surprised when my Internet service provider responded competently and quickly to a technical crisis. And, we can learn to communicate more effectively by studying its response. The crisis occurred when hackers attacked its system at the same time that the company was upgrading its systems to meet increased customer demand. And while customers experienced no dramatic shutdowns, some cus More..

Do Customers Like the Feel of Your Organization?

In two recent articles "Some Evidence of How We Are Spiritually Connected" and "Healing Dysfunctional Families" I reported on how individuals who live or work within a system or group are inherently connected at a level that goes beyond words. This realm of connection, which is largely spiritual or unconscious, may or may not be familiar to the more business minded person so I will take some time to explain the nature of this connection and then the wide reaching implications this idea has on th More..

Make a Difference - Sweat the Small Stuff First

My background is in retail management - yes, running stores, from tiny ones you couldn't swing the proverbial cat around in, to huge three floor jobs. Yet there are some guiding principles which, like Giuliani did for New York, that make a difference on a smaller scale. Guiding principles which make a huge, possibly unseen difference to your customers and no less so to your employees. I'd like to suggest that, on the basis of 20% of the focus gives you 80% of the return, acting in just two area More..

Stop Going to Meetings - 10 Questions to Ask Before Attending a Meeting - Get More Productive

We get invited to attend so many "meetings" but do we need to attend them all? Use these 10 questions to assess if you should attend that next meeting invitation. What is the agenda of the meeting? Don't attend a meeting without a clear agenda otherwise you are wasting time. Don't ever schedule a meeting unless you make it clear to your attendees what the purpose, timeframe and outcomes of the meeting will be. Who is attending the meeting? Ask the question to ensure the meeting set at the rig More..

The Top 5 Signals That Your Business Is Running You

Starting your own business is a great undertaking but running the day-to-day aspects of your business is the true challenge you will face as an entrepreneur. Do you find that the business you started to suit your lifestyle somehow taken over your life and home? If this sounds familiar, then your business is running you. Learn how to run your business again with these top five warning signs and helpful tips. Stop Complaining And Take Control. A common lament of the entrepreneur or SOHO business More..

Communication Mix-Up

My friend Delia is the owner of a small private school. This spring her school is experiencing the crunch of reduced enrollment for next September and all staff have been asked to take a six percent salary decrease. One staff member, much to Delia's horror, outright refused and resigned her teaching position at the school. Delia pleaded with her, telling her how valuable a teacher she was, how parents had come to count on her expertise, and essentially how the school couldn't operate without her More..

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