Archive for the ‘2010’ Category
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Tuesday, December 7th, 2010
 This is a favorite time of the year for me, not just because of the holidays, but because it’s a time for looking back and reflecting on the year about to close. As usual, there were wins and there were losses, that’s a given, but the real value in looking back is learning.
Reflecting on the ups and downs of the year just past gives us the opportunity to build on the positives and adjust to the negatives. We can learn a lot from the past; we just can’t linger there. 2010 is (almost) history and, like yesterday, it will be gone forever. What 2010 will leave behind, though, will be experiences.
Someone once said “good judgment comes from bad experiences.” True enough, but growth and development come from learning how to use good and bad experiences to our advantage.
So, find a quiet place, a hot cup of coffee or tea, and spend 15 or 20 minutes reflecting on the following ten questions about 2010:
What was your biggest success?
What was the best decision you made?
What was the most important lesson you learned?
What is your biggest piece of unfinished business from last year?
What were you most happy about completing last year?
What was the biggest risk you took?
What was the biggest surprise of the year?
Who were the three people who had the greatest impact on your life in 2010? Why?
What important relationship improved the most?
What one word best sums up and describes the year’s experience?
Think over your initial answers to this review of 2010. Next week, I’ll ask you to create a preview of coming attractions for 2011. Peter Drucker said: “The only way to get the future you want is to create it.” So, let’s put together a plan for success and achievement for the year ahead – starting next Tuesday.
Tags: achievement, decision, experiences, future, impact, lesson, negatives, positives, reflecting, reflection, relationship, risk, success, surprise, year, yearend
Posted in 2010, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
 The most popular definition for management is “Getting things done through people.” While I personally take issue with this description as the primary role of management, it’s certainly a significant part of the manager’s job.
I’d argue the primary role of the manager is to contribute to the success of the enterprise. Managers make this contribution in a number of different ways. They organize work, they set objectives, they measure, they motivate, they communicate and they develop people, including themselves.
In the process of doing all of these things, managers can also inhibit the growth of the enterprise. Here are ten common management mistakes that stifle company growth and employee development.
1. Spreading the workload too thin – forcing one person to do the jobs of two or more people, resulting in long workdays and taking work home.
2. Not supplying sufficient administrative help or clerical support, forcing managers to use their time copying, stapling, collating, filing and performing other clerical duties.
3. Being too slow to raise salaries/wages. These are tough times but…
4. Not allowing the rank and file to offer input on operational decisions that will affect their areas of responsibility.
5. Constantly changing direction. Employees want stability in the workplace. Changing for the sake of change creates instability.
6. Not taking the time to clarify organizational strategies and objectives.
7. Showing favoritism, especially when it comes to training or promotions.
8. Relocation. Generally speaking, employees consider their cubicle or work area their home away from home. Give thought and seek input before moving work areas.
9. Promoting someone who lacks training and/or the necessary experience to supervise or manage. This is the fast track to losing employee respect.
10. Creating silos – encouraging departments to compete against each other while at the same time preaching teamwork and cooperation.
Any one of these ten management mistakes can, and often does, result in employee turnover. Interestingly, any of the ten can be prevented through improved management practices. People skills are critical to effective management.
Tags: administrative, business, departments, employee, growth, management, manager, motivate, organization, relocate, success, teamwork, workload
Posted in 2010, manager's minute | 1 Comment »
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Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
 “You can have anything you want – if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.” (Abraham Lincoln)
Strategic planning is not a scary proposition. In fact, I’d argue, you actually do it more often than you think you do. David Allen, is his blockbuster book, “Getting Things Done,” says humans are actually “planning machines.”
Let’s face it; we start planning the moment we wake up in the morning. We start planning our day, what we’ll have for breakfast, what we’ll wear to work, and so on. Planning is both a conscious and subconscious act. We plan on purpose, and we often find ourselves planning unconsciously.
So, because we’re going to plan anyway, let’s take a few minutes and look at a planning model that will work for any occasion or circumstance. What makes this model even better is that it can be accomplished on a single sheet of paper.
This particular model asks and answers five fundamental planning questions:
1. What do I want to accomplish?
2. Why do I want to do it?
3. How will I bring my plan to fruition?
4. What will I measure to gauge my progress?
5. What tasks will I need to complete to accomplish my goals?
What do I want to accomplish? This is your VISION for what, specifically, you want to accomplish. Notice I said “specifically.” The clearer you can be in describing what you want to accomplish or achieve, the greater the chances you’ll make it happen. Your mind functions best when it’s very clear on what you intend to do.
Why do you want to do it? This is your MISSION. Written succinctly, it will provide the motivation and the inspiration you need to keep moving toward your vision. Your mission makes clear why you do what you do. It describes the grand purpose for your efforts or your enterprise. The mission statement for the Disney Corporation is simply: “To Make People Happy.” Notice it doesn’t describe a product or service, just a purpose for why they do what they do.
STRATEGIES describe how you’ll go about fulfilling your vision. A strategy is a general plan of action. It simply states, in general terms, the steps you’ll take to make your vision a reality. Strategies describe such activities as sales, marketing, and process improvement. Personal strategies might include health, exercise, nutrition, improved education. Strategies do not have to be measurable. Goals do.
GOALS ask: How much? By when? If my strategy is to sell more stuff this year than I did last year, then the sales goal should clarify how much more stuff you intend to sell and in what time frame. Goal: Sell 1,000 widgets by 12/31/11. If your strategy is to lose 12 pounds, then your goal might be to lose two pounds per week for the next six weeks.
ACTION PLANS are very similar to goals but with a shorter time frame. To really ramp up your progress, keep your action items right in front of you – all the time. In order to sell 1,000 widgets within a 12-month time frame, you’ll need to sell 83 a month, 20 a month and – enter action plan – five a week.
I think you can see the power of this simple but powerful planning process. Hey, you’re already a planning machine; David Allen said so! So, why not add on a little One Page Plan methodology and really ramp up your progress?
Tags: accomplish, achieve, goals, inspiration, mission, motivation, planning, purpose, strategic, strategy, vision
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
 Glad the election is over? Me too! I can’t remember a more contentious and mean-spirited election cycle. Don Henninger, publisher of the Arizona Business Journal, cites an analysis of election data by the Wesleyan Media Project, which says the 2010 election, was “the most negative campaign in recent history by both sides.”
I think one of the reasons for the nastiness this time around was a perceived lack of leadership in government – at just about every level imaginable.
Now that the election is over, it’s time for those elected to office to take up the mantle of leadership and do what leaders do. Lead!
Henninger also lists several traits of a leader, as Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group have identified them. While the list is debatable, I think you’ll agree the leadership traits cited are important ones – for every leader – in any venue.
Eleven Leadership Traits
1. Honest…
“Displaying sincerity, integrity and candor in all actions. Deceptive behavior does not inspire trust.” In fact, quite the opposite.
2. Competent…
Actions based on sound reason and moral principles, not childlike emotion.
3. Visionary…
Having a clear vision of the future, and setting goals to get there. Effective leaders know where they’re going and how they’re going to get there.
4. Inspiring…
Effective leaders are confident in what they do. This confidence inspires trust and sets the example for their followers.
5. Intelligent…
Leaders are readers. They study leadership, understanding that leadership is a skill and, like other skills, needs to be developed.
6. Fair-minded…
Showing fair treatment to all they work with. “Prejudice is the enemy of justice.” Leaders understand this fundamental truth and work toward the well-being of everyone they lead.
7. Broad-minded…
Leaders understand the value of all people, regardless of ethnicity, age, education or gender.
8. Courageous…
Confident and calm under stress. Obstacles and challenges are seen for what they are, and faced with persistence and perseverance.
9. Imaginative and 10. innovative…
Today’s problems won’t be solved with yesterday’s solutions. New challenges require new thinking and determined actions.
11. Blame Game
Finally, leaders don’t play the blame game. They accept difficulties as part of the territory, roll up their sleeves and get about the business of leading.
Leadership isn’t for the faint of heart. I hope those ascending to leadership positions in the public sector understand this. They will be tested. Their values will be challenged. Their character as a leader will be plain for all to see.
(Excerpts from Don Henninger’s Business Journal article “Will Winners Act Like Leaders? November 5, 2010)
Tags: business, character, competent, courageous, elected, election, future, government, honest, inspire, intelligent, leaders, leadership, media, vision, visionary
Posted in 2010, Uncategorized | No Comments »
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Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
 We live in a very situational environment, individually and organizationally. We expect quick service, quick delivery and rapid responses. We don’t think we have time to wait and we mistakenly decide we don’t have time to plan.
Recent surveys indicate that an alarming number of small businesses have neither a business plan nor a strategic plan to guide their daily actions. If you asked these small business owners why they don’t have such a plan, they would more than likely say they’re too busy to write one. I don’t need to tell you what the failure rate is for small business across the country. Do you see the pattern developing here?
I suspect the statistics for personal strategic planning would be equally low and the consequences just as disturbing. How many baby boomers standing at the door of retirement today have been following a financial plan that has them ready to walk away from businesses or careers and enjoy their golden years? Right. Not many.
The Missing Link
Strategic thinking is the missing link between an individual or an organizational vision for a preferred future, and making the vision a reality.
Both vision casting and strategic planning are admittedly intuitive. In both instances, we’re looking into the future and seeing what could or should be, but that’s the way of change. Look around the room you’re in right now. Everything you can see or touch was, at one time, nothing more than an idea in someone’s mind. First came the vision of what could be, then came the product.
But, we must connect the dots between the vision of what we want to achieve and the actual product. That connection results from strategic thinking and planning.
It Isn’t Brain Surgery, It’s Planning
Developing strategy is simply the first step of a three-step process for achieving what we want to achieve. Improving performance or increasing productivity will result from developing strategies (plans) that will frame goals and focus activity.
Strategy + Measurable Objectives + Actions = Preferred Change
This simple formula can create phenomenal change in the life of an individual or an organization. There are just three pieces to this little puzzle and, when they’re connected, you’ll have a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish, what you’ll need to measure along the way, and the specific work that has to be done to make it happen.
It’s one thing to have a vision; it’s quite another thing to make the vision a reality. Visions are a dime a dozen. Everyone has a vision for something better. Very few individuals or organizations have a specific plan for converting their dream to reality.
Strategic thinking is necessary, precisely because it forces us to look beyond the present and, specifically, beyond the current crisis. Strategic thinking is important because:
· It serves as the arbiter for our decision making. It provides the perspective we need to make good decisions. · Based on our vision, mission and values, we have context for why we’re doing what we’re doing. · It serves as a beacon – warning us when we’re in danger of drifting off course. · It helps us make principle-based decisions.
• It serves as the arbiter for our decision making. It provides the perspective we need to make good decisions.
• Based on our vision, mission and values, we have context for why we’re doing what we’re doing.
• It serves as a beacon – warning us when we’re in danger of drifting off course.
• It helps us make principle-based decisions.
Without strategic thinking, unpredictable circumstances and day-to-day challenges would cause us to lose track of our overarching purpose.
Having a plan, or at least going through some type of planning process is often the difference between success and failure – personally and professionally.
Tags: action, change, dream, failure, future, goal, objectives, plan, reality, strategy, success, vision
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Friday, October 22nd, 2010
 When it comes to improving your performance and productivity, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Chances are, much of what you’re doing makes you pretty productive – like reading this eCARD, for example.
If this is the case, then I suggest you do this quick little productivity gut-check to make sure you stay on the right track. Here are five key questions to consider, regarding your current productivity or performance:
What’s Working?
What are you doing that seems to be working just fine, when it comes to getting those few things done that have the greatest impact on your productivity?
What Makes It Work?
Whether it’s creating a short “To Do” list or creating a “Stop Doing” list, what keeps you productive? There may be a few things, or just one, that, when done consistently, ramp up your productivity. What are they, or what is it?
What’s Not Quite Right?
Perfection is hard to come by, so even those things that seem to be working well could most likely be improved upon. Remember the concept of Kaizen (“Continuous improvement” in Japanese)? They get credit for taking the concept to the automotive industry, but didn’t invent it. Improving on something that already works is just the next step on the road to excellence – always has been – always will be.
What Would the Ideal Look Like?
If all the stars were aligned, and you had everything you needed, what would the ideal look like? As we all know, beginning with the end in mind is a good place to start the improvement process.
What Resources Do I Need to Make It Better?
You knew it was coming, didn’t you? Relax. I’m not necessarily talking about spending money. What I’m suggesting is that, as you take a look at what’s not quite right, you consider what you may need to make it right. It may just involve a new way of thinking or a slight change in a process. Often, seemingly insignificant adjustments can make striking changes in the status quo.
Performance improvement doesn’t require reinventing the wheel, but probably will involve looking at the wheel from a different point of view. Asking the right questions leads to finding the right answers.
Tags: improve, kaizen, performance, productivity
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Thursday, October 7th, 2010
 Getting the right things done is the mark of effective managers. As we’ve discussed on many occasions, it’s not the quantity of work one accomplishes in the course of a day but rather the quality of the work that determines value and real productivity. In order to make sure our focus is on achievement and not activity, we have to understand the pure value of time.
We can obtain quantities of every other resource except time. Time is our most limiting resource, so time management is foundational to getting the right things done. Getting the most important things done in those precious hours and minutes we’ve been given is the key to valued performance and real productivity.
Because our time is so valuable, it only makes sense to maximize the time we have each day. We do so by focusing on those vital few things that make the greatest contribution to the success of the organizations we work for. Getting things done through people is the common definition of the manager’s role. I would argue the primary role of the manager is to make those important few contributions that help move our organizations forward.
Toward that end, it’s critically important to identify what those critical contributions are. Let’s do a little reflective thinking for a moment and try to determine what we need to focus time, attention and resources on – in order to contribute to organizational success and achievement.
1. What am I getting paid to do?
2. What should I be paid to do, if I’m being paid for getting the right things done in my position?
3. Am I doing things I shouldn’t be doing?
It’s question number three I want to focus on right now. Knowing what not to do is at least as important as knowing what to do, if we want to maximize performance and productivity. Creating a “Stop Doing List” is one of the most effective ways we can narrow our focus and zero in on those few things that move our performance and our organization forward.
Create Your Stop Doing List
In an effort to eliminate or reduce those activities that do not contribute to your effectiveness, identify three things you could stop doing – right now – that would enable you to focus on those things that really matter.
Notice I said “…things you could stop doing.” Creating a “Stop Doing List” doesn’t necessarily mean the task or project won’t get done; it just means you won’t be responsible for making it happen. Warning! We often find ourselves doing things – just because we always have – things that really have no meaningful effect on performance, productivity and results. We do them because we’ve always done them. That’s a bad plan!
Set yourself apart from the crowd by clarifying your most important tasks and eliminating those things from your schedule that rob you of your most precious resource – time. Create a “Stop Doing List” and keep it in front of you all the time.
Tags: achievement, done, effective, managers, projects, schedule, time
Posted in 2010, manager's minute | No Comments »
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Wednesday, September 29th, 2010
 One of the most effective tools you can add to your performance improvement arsenal is to become an active listener. Notice I said “active listener.” Studies show the average person will only remember somewhere between 25-50 percent of what he or she is hearing. Those are startling percentages when you consider how much time you spend each day listening to others, and sharing your words of wisdom as well. If you’re hearing only 50 percent of what your boss, spouse or friend is saying, your ability to respond effectively is severely limited.
If how you perform your job or how you manage key relationships is important to you, then improving your ability to actively listen is a skill you’ll want to improve upon.
Here are three ways to become a more active listener:
1. Practice the skill of active listening.
This will involve a little self-discipline, but the payoff will be huge. In your next conversation, make a concerted effort to hear not only the words being spoken but also listen for the complete message being sent.
This means you’ll have to learn to block out what else may be going on around you. Most of us are too easily distracted. Whether other conversations are going on around us, or we’re looking at the pictures in someone’s office or cubicle, it’s way too easy to lose focus on the conversation at hand. Focus is the key. Maintain great eye contact and take in both the words and the larger meaning of the conversation.
Active listening will also force us to break the nasty habit of preparing a pithy response to what’s being said. This may be the single most common barrier to becoming a more active listener.
2. Be physically engaged in what the speaker is saying.
Eye contact is critical but so are facial expressions to show you’re listening. Nod every now and then. Tell the speaker you understand the message. If not, share that as well. Simply saying, “Let me make sure I understand what you just said,” will go a long way in maintaining the objective of being actively involved in the conversation. Smiling at appropriate points will also help the speaker know you’re really listening. In other words, provide feedback to the speaker.
3. Defer judgment on what’s being said until you’re sure you fully understand the full context of the message.
Maybe the right words or correct terms aren’t being used, but allow the speaker to finish anyway. Put your personal opinions aside for the moment and just take in the information. Constantly interrupting or editorializing are real conversation killers. Avoid both at all costs.
Becoming an active listener is one of the best ways I know of for boosting your performance and productivity. Most of us are as verbal as we are visual. We spend our day in multiple conversations, many of which are critical to our personal or professional growth and well-being. Increasing our ability to become active listeners, and significantly increase our understanding of what others are really saying, can only improve performance and, more importantly, build relationships.
Tags: eye contact, job, listener, performance improvement, relationships, verbal, visual
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
 As managers, one of the primary roles we fill is to be a problem solver. Whether it’s a challenge we’re facing on our own, or more a problem our team is challenged with, we often find ourselves problem solving.
While there are a number of ways to problem solve, one of the most practical methods I’ve found is to use the “5 Whys” technique. I like this method because it’s a great way to cut to the chase, identify the root cause of the problem, and not waste time dealing with symptoms.
Made popular by Toyota more than three decades ago, the “5 Whys” strategy was used by its production teams to problem solve. Once a problem was identified, the manager would gather the production team together and ask the simple question “Why?” Predictably, the first “why” prompted another “why,” and so on, until they were able to zero in on the root cause of the problem. As you can see, this methodology is easy to learn and easy to apply, so from a management standpoint, it’s a very useful tool.
Begin with the end in mind
This is wise advice, popularized by Stephen Covey in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” but in fact was used by good managers long before that. Starting with the desired result, and working backward to determine the root cause, will work in almost every circumstance.
Here’s an example of how to use this effective problem solving technique:
1. Why is our client unhappy? Because we didn’t deliver his widgets when we said we would.
2. Why were we unable to meet the agreed-upon schedule for delivery? Production took much longer than we thought it would.
3. Why did it take so much longer? Because this particular widget was more complex than others we’ve made for them.
4. Why did we underestimate the complexity of the job? Because we made a quick estimate based on previous orders, and failed to identify the individual stages needed to complete this particular project.
5. Why didn’t we fully understand the scope of the project? Because we were running behind on other projects. We clearly need to review our time estimation and specification procedures.
The “5 Whys” methodology is a simple but powerful tool for determining the root cause of almost any problem. Like everything else though, it does have its limitations. The “5 Whys” technique is best used in situations requiring an intuitive response. Technical problems, for example, might require a more sophisticated technique.
Tags: business, challenge, effective, management, manager, problem, problem solver, solution, solver
Posted in 2010, manager's minute | No Comments »
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Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
 We live in a time when we think we’re productive based on the number of items we can check off our to do lists. Most of us are on the run from the time we wake up in the morning until late in the evening when we click off the late night news. Our days are a blur. Our weeks become a blur as well. Even though we find ourselves being extremely busy, we realize we’re not very productive.
We all agree that being busy and being productive are not the same thing, yet we continue to crowd our calendars with one activity after another. Or, worse yet, we don’t even have a calendar, we just go, responding to one crisis after the other.
Busy people do have options regarding their time and, specifically, what they do with the precious minutes and hours in their day. We can have more control over our days and our time that we give ourselves credit for. When we do, good things happen; we’ll have more productive lifestyles; we’ll lower our blood pressure; and we’ll have heightened self-esteem.
Here’s how to take control of your day:
Understand the difference between urgent and important.
Urgent tasks are typically those things that must be done right now or within the immediate future. An unexpected project from the boss, for example, is a good illustration of an external source of an urgent task, but urgent tasks can be self-inflicted as well. Putting off a project or a report until the last minute creates urgency. Being busy makes us feel important. The downside to living in the world of urgency is we’re worn out at the end of the day and frustrated because we let the really important tasks slide – again.
Important tasks are seldom urgent, and there’s the rub. Because they aren’t urgent, these tasks are superseded with busywork or with something we’d rather do first. Important work moves our lives and businesses forward. Focusing on the important requires long-range thinking, as well as taking a hard look at the current realities. As a result, focusing on important matters often forces difficult decisions. Doing those things that matter most just isn’t as sexy or as much fun as running around at 900 miles an hour with our hair on fire looking real busy.
Taking Control
1. Take the time to compile a list of those things that matter most. On a personal basis, such a list might involve health or nutrition issues, more time with the family, or getting control of finances.
2. Professionally, the list of important projects might involve the development of a business plan, or a performance plan for your key employees. It might involve think time for new products or services.
3. Make time in your daily schedule to work on one aspect of an important project. Important tasks typically can’t be done in one fell swoop. They need to be broken down into a series of incremental tasks. Turn off the cell phone and shut down email and Facebook; both are tremendous distractions and real productivity killers.
4. Tell a friend or colleague what you intend to do in terms of becoming more productive and less busy. Ask them to help hold you accountable. Start slowly. Pick one important project – break it down into five one-hour tasks and schedule time during the next five days to attack the project.
You’ll be amazed at the results!
Tags: activity, busy, calendar, important, productive, results, urgent
Posted in 2010 | No Comments »
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