Sun 19 Feb 2012

Only a Flight, but a World Away

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Two municipalities in my area share a building. One is housed on the second floor, the other is housed on the third floor. I have learned that the approach and service offered by these two municipalities is vastly different. Municipality “A” has working hours of 8:30am to 4:30 pm, Municipality “B” has hours of 9 am to 5 pm. OK. As I pulled up to hand deliver my tax payments to municipality “A”,  I noted I was 15 minutes before their posted office hours but people were entering the building. So, in I go. I climb the stairs to the third floor  past a group of two standing outside the municipally “B’ tax receivers office. Much to my surprise, when I get to the top of stairs, I notice that my tax receiver’s door is open and they are already helping customers. One of the clerks looks up, acknowledges me and says she will be right with me. As I step up to be helped,  I comment that they were open earlier than posted. Her reply was simple, ”we always open early and stay a little late on the last two days before taxes are due, we try to make it convent for our taxpayers”. I hand her my check, take my receipt and head down the stairs.

Here I over hear a conversation with an employee of municipality “B”. She remarks that the office does not open until later but she may be able to help them if they have checks. They taxpayer replied, “I know Iyou open at 9 am but I was just hoping someone would be here early because I have to get to work”.  Her response was, “you are just lucky I got here early or you would still be standing looking at the door”.

Although these two municipalities share the office building, their approaches in this case to their customers was a world, rather than a flight away. Do your employees respond like municipality “A”, respecting and supporting its customers in giving them money, or more like the one in Municipality “B”, who clearly lets the customer know it was their privilege to pay her?

 

Sun 12 Feb 2012

When The Unexpected Continues

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A few weeks ago,  we wrote about the unusual weather we were having i.e.,  snow at Halloween, 50’s around the December holidays, and how in the unexpected there is opportunity. Well, what do you do when the unexpected continues? We have a few days of near zero temperatures, followed by half a foot of snow, which is then followed by 50 degrees.

A quote attributed to Albert Einstein is “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” How many times do you do this in small or large ways at work or at home? I can think of a few examples quickly. I have a loose door now.  About once a week I hammer it back in place. I watch many businesses  over and over again claim they have no time for planning and  continue to get in their own way when it comes to improving their company or organization.

One potential solution is to stop, step back and take a look at your processes.  A good hard look. Where are you, and where do you want to be?  What really are the barriers that are getting in your way? Once you have gathered that list, think about the true causes of those barriers. Which causes when removed will remove the barrier? What steps can you begin to implement immediately that will make a difference towards you doing something different? Develop a time line for implementation of those steps. Then go to it. Take action to do something different.

We have most recently seen our customers make the decision to do something differently. They put together plans that will increase inrevenue and savings and result in over 1 million dollars and 150 thousand  dollars  in improvements to their bottom line. Wouldn’t it be great if you could do that too!

 

Sun 5 Feb 2012

The Informal Leader

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Have you ever been in a group and seen a great leader lead them to heights unexpected? We often work in groups with a designated leader. It is not uncommon,  however,  for an informal leader to emerge and push the group forward. What traits exist in the informal leaders that allow this to happen?

We differentiate between authority and power and this helps explain why the leader of a group does not have the title.

Authority is the right granted, often by an organization orother formal structure to rule or lead, control operations, settle disputes,and make decisions. Power is personal and is earned and developed over time. It is the ability to act in ways which influence others. The use of authority over and over diminishes personal power. The responses of others to it more often resembles a child rebelling against their parent. The use of power can make those times you must also use your authority more compelling.

How do these who have personal power earn it?

They follow these simple steps:

  1. They get to know others in the group. They are  sincere in asking questions and truly want to know the answer.
  2. They are consistent. They are not “hot” one day and “cold” the next
  3. They keep their word. If they say they will deliver or help you, they do.
  4. They deliver results. When working on any project, their presence influences the outcome.
  5. They look out for the best interest of those they collaborate with. You want to work with them because you know they will support you.
  6. They develop their skill of empathy and use it often. They truly try to understand others opinions.

Developing and using personal power can improve your ability to get results on the job and at home and help you become a stronger leader.

 

Mon 30 Jan 2012

Connections

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I continue to be amazed by connections and the “six degrees of separation” that exists.

A colleague in a local chamber of commerce’s best friend from home was my brother’s fraternity “brother”. Another colleague worked in my local “Y” when I was growing up. If I had only turned right into the computer room, I might have met her 20 years earlier. Someone just offered to introduce us to a potential referral source; it ends up that we know each other already, and did not fully understand her past life.

My LinkedIn profile boasts: Your LinkedIn Network 347 Connections link you to 4,975,092+ professionals

That is a connection of a connection and their connection’s connections. In theory, these are people I now have access to. That does not include the thousands of their connections that are members of the same groups as I am.

So what you say? We know the world is small and getting smaller.

Well, there is power in that knowledge if you act on it.

On the down side of a small world: It is important to remember that you do truly never know who you are talking to and who they know. This requires more rather than less formality in many situations. We have been slipping into a more casual world which works if you want to portray yourself, including yourself as a business professional that way. If not, keep this top of mind. Things have a way of traveling around.

On the up side, there is a mine of opportunities if you do maintain a professional attitude and develop relationships. As a colleague said yesterday, “what people know of you, is what they know of you” This applies across your business and personal life. Be authentic and trustworthy in all your interactions and you will be seen as authentic and trustworthy (of referrals) in all your interactions.

So work on shrinking the world, and let them all know about your gre t professional value.

 

 

Sun 22 Jan 2012

A Time to Refresh

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Now that we are well into the New Year, it is a time to make sure we have the energy, enthusiasm and motivation that will support us. The end of the year can be difficult. At work we have all those things to do that wrap up the year. We summarize what we did; we participate in planning for the next year. We communicate our plan to all staff. At home we have the holiday season. This may mean family and friends, over spending, overeating, or just plain overextending. Typically many end up feeling overwhelmed and fatigued. What can you do now to make sure you are in position to take full advantage of the opportunities offered to you in 2012? How can you rejuvenate yourself so people will continue to look to you for answers? Try these things:

Make sure you have recharging time. For those who are introverts, this may mean time alone, possibly with a good book, or a warm soak in a tub. For those who are extroverts, it may mean being with friends enjoying a long dinner, or participating in volunteer work with a group that means a lot to you.

Review your strengths and motivators. Check the activities you do and make sure they are aligned with your strengths and motivators. If they are not, see if you can reframe your way of thinking to include these things.

Align your personal goals with the goals you participate in at work. You spend a lot of time at work. If the work is not personally valuable, and you are just collecting a paycheck, it will zap your energy and you will not bring your best efforts to projects.

Use affirmations. We have mentioned these many times. The power of your mind to change your behavior is remarkable. Use this power to your betterment.

In the end, lets all make 2012 the best year ever.

 

Sun 8 Jan 2012

The Unexpected

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We have had some unusual weather here in the northeast. We had a wet, heavy 8 inch snow storm  before Halloween (New York City has received measurable snow before Halloween only three times since 1869 – and never more than one inch, as happened this year). Most of the week of Christmas and Hanukah it was in the mid 50’s. (about 15 degrees above average for that time of the year). While some were complaining about the snow, then enjoying the warm weather, many others (kids in particular) loved the early snow and an early chance to sled and build snowmen, while longing for  a “White Christmas” There were opportunities in each of these unexpected situations. What allowed some to take advantage of the opportunities offered?

What do you do when you have an unexpected event or a change that you did not foresee?  Whether your immediate response is positive (a potential prospect referred from where or when you least expected it) or negative (an unexpected survey, or delay in materials) how can you be prepared to make it work for you and your business?

We know that the most successful businesses are always prepared to move. They do this by creating an environment where innovation and creativity is the norm. Their senior leaders empower the managers and the managers in turn empower their staff. Everyone in the organization understands the goals and values of the organization and is prepared to work towards them,whatever situation arises.  Their behavior reflects engagement and the results in turn exceed expectations.

Consider those times what you least expected happened. What did you do? How did your employees react? What steps can you take to ensure maximal performance from your employees regardless of the circumstances? What can you do to develop your organization into a top performer?

 

Sun 1 Jan 2012

Starting 2012 Out Right

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By now, our clients have refreshed, updated, or completely revised or rewrittentheir strategic plans for the year. To do this they have reviewed their plans and the results they were looking for in 2011, and where they did not attain their goals, they examined the reasons that  happened.

Initially, most want to blame outside circumstances; regulations, laws, economic conditions, or even the weather. While there are things that did play a part in the success or failure, a well written plan and the goals that fall off it accounts for most of these. We find that greater than 85% of the time,the reason for failure of a plan is in the execution of those implementing the plan starting at the highest levels of leadership.

Senior leadership’s primary job in plan implementation is communicatingit to those that report to them. It is not as simple as handing them a piece of paper with the plan and goals written on it, but spending time to share some of the background that went into the plan, for those who did not participate in writing it.

Managers and supervisors are responsible for translating the overall goals into goals for their area (likely with input from some of their staff) that will help assure the accomplishment of the organization’s goals. Their next step is NOT to communicate that to the rest of the staff, but to first verify that the boss agrees that these goals are connected to the intent of the plan, and if attained will support it. Once that has been done, the attention goes to the next level of staff.

All staff, regardless of their job in a company should understand how their daily work is tied to success for their department and the company. They should understand the value of what they do in this way. If there is no value tied to the plan, maybe they should not be doing that work. They should have a say in explaining how they contribute, and again get agreement from their boss.

A well thought out plan that is communicated throughout each level of theorganization will guide decision making and increase the likelihood of achieving successful results.

 

 

 

Mon 26 Dec 2011

Why Aspire?

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Why “Aspire“?

This was a question posed to the CEO of an organization that we were working with.

In our words, we would say ”why develop your employees and why align organizational goals while improving processes and customer and stakeholder loyalty?”

Our customers answer when asked this question was: the Aspire work has helped them be better prepared to carry out … job duties and at the same time
gain a better understanding of ourselves and those we interact with both at work and in our personal lives.  With this improved insight our approach to management and the difficult issues we face routinely will result in improved outcomes. He then referred to a recent article in Hospital Impact which cited financial, clinical and marketing reasons.

Financial-Both Press Ganey and JD Power found that the more satisfied your customers, the greater your profit.

Clinical-In their 2011 study, Boulding et al. examined quality factors and patient experience, in this case measured by HCAHPS, patient experience was a distinct and measurable driver of readmissions, a key quality issue, and a significant financial issue for healthcare organizations

Marketing-There is significant power found in word of mouth. Jacqueline Zimowski shared in a 2004 article that a satisfied patient tells three other people about a positive experience. In contrast, a dissatisfied patient tells up to 25 others about a negative experience. The issue worsens, as for every patient that complains there are 20 other dissatisfied patients that do not. And of those dissatisfied patients who don’t complain, only one in 10 will return,

Are you reaching all your goals personally and professionally? Is your organization reaching its goals? What is preventing you from taking advantage of the opportunities that are available to you to make your business successful when the data is so compelling? How much longer can you afford to wait and watch from the side lines?

 

Mon 19 Dec 2011

A Shorter Way

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For the past 10 years, I have lived exactly 3.4 miles away from a good friend. In fact,when anyone asked if we lived near each other we both confidently answered “yes, about 3 miles”. We might have added that it was probably more like 2 miles as the bird flies. I learned yesterday that we actually live 1.6 miles away driving on different roads. I have had the occasion to make some more frequent trips there recently and as I was heading home one day I needed to make a stop at the supermarket, so I turned left at the end of the road instead of right. As I was driving, I passed a side road that would take me directly to my house. The light bulb went off and I realized that this would likely be a shorter way home than the one I had traveled for the last 10 years. Low and behold, the trip was cut in half.

How many times do we not even consider that there is a better way to do something because the current way is satisfactory? Maybe it is fast enough, maybe it is easy enough, maybe we get ok results. None of these things negate that there might be a better way.

Creativity comes from combining experiences and coming up with something new. In this case, I was not trying to be creative about getting home, but when the two familiar experiences were combined (leaving my friends house and going to the supermarket), it became obvious that there was a better way.

Might there be things that are so familiar to you that you assume they are the best way to do something? Try purposefully changing your routine for one thing a week. Maybe get up earlier, or later. Try your morning routine in a different order. What might you see if you parked at a different place at your job. How might things look or feel if instead of sending an email, you got up and walked down the hall to talk to a colleague? You never know what might happen if you turn left instead of right

 

Sun 11 Dec 2011

The Added Value of an Outside Facilitator

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During a recent meeting with a long term customer, I looked around the room and felt grateful for the opportunity to continue to work with this group of hardworking professionals. They had been open to change and had grown and were making significant inroads into area that have been barriers to success. Yet, they continued to ask us to participate with them, and facilitate specific meetingsfor them; often ones they felt might have high heat or ones that they knew theyneeded to be at their unbiased, creative best

As you think about your business and your desire to create one that is sustainable into the future, when would it be appropriate to engage an outside professional? An outside facilitator serves as a catalyst, might bring new ideas and best practices, and ensures that everyone is actively participating. The definition of facilitate is to make easier or less difficult; help moving forward. Most organizations we know have capable,
experienced individuals who can serve as facilitators for this process.  However, if internal resources are responsible for the facilitation, then by definition they cannot simultaneously
be active participants in the process.  If you use a senior leader as the facilitator, then that senior leader’s voice does not get heard in the process, since a good facilitator is listening and engaging others – not promoting his or her agenda. When senior leaders facilitate, the team will typically tell him/her what they think he or she wants to hear.

An experienced facilitator will foster collaboration, ensure participation, askgood questions, focus on outcomes and results, be mindful of agenda and timing,capture ideas, and be unbiased.

Other benefits of an outside facilitator include:

  • An outside facilitator allows all the employees to participate and focuson the plan and not worry about the process.
  • An outside facilitator will be able to challenge the whole thinking processof the group and/or the individuals much more effectively, as he/she does not have any agenda other than creating the best strategy the organizational team can come up with.
  • Teams can’t help but have a pre-conceived notion as to where they aregoing and how to get there. A lot of it will be based in organizationalhistory, some of it internal to the leadership’s concept of reality and personal goals. The outside facilitator has none of that, but can draw upon the collective experience when and if appropriate.
  • A facilitator who comes from outside and asks the right questions significantly increases the chances of generating breakthrough, innovative ideas.

Is an outside facilitator the right choice for some of your high heat or strategically critical meetings?

 

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