Today's blog is a story that I love. I've heard it from numerous people, but the one that tells it the best, is my favorite story-teller, Zig Ziglar. Zig Ziglar tells the story of Emmanuel Ninger. In 1887, Ninger walked into the local grocery store to buy turnip greens. He gave the clerk a …
Respect
Quick tips on how to build trust in teams
Identifying the issue Last week we discussed staying in your lane. In the article, we mention that trust and respect are some of the causes. For example; if your engineering manager doesn't trust the sales manager to follow through, you may see him butting in to this area of the business. Why isn't …
Motivators vs. Consequences!
You layout the new policy … your team will adapt their daily work habits and put it in place. If they do this the company will have; higher efficiency, more effectiveness, improved customer satisfaction, and they all will be treated to an additional week off with full pay after the results are …
What is the definition of fair?
"Fair is when one side gets exactly what they want and the other side gets just enough to stop complaining." - John Dutton, Yellowstone Although this is a great life lesson, it should never be your intent when you are negotiating. What ever happened to Covey's 7 Habits? If Covey had written …
Make this years goal setting process easy
Mondays' have always been my day. I loved them. It was time to put my plan into action. That plan was different every week, but it was the same. It always revolved around sales, accounts, territories, products, management, building the team, internal and external meetings, traveling, putting …
Is it systemic?
We just recently wrote about Vision and Action to change culture. Before we look at changing it, we might want to first identify where it is today. The graphic above is a great picture that can determine if it's your organization or individuals that are the problem. There are four main areas that …
Tip: Hard Work is Irrelevant
If you could design the best compensation plan, would it be based on hard work, or output? I once heard a story about a locksmith. During his apprenticeship, he would take hours to work on a project. His customers would come and see him pour his heart and soul into his work. Quite a few would …
Tips: You can build trust …
Do you have to trust someone in order to work for them? When you have trust issues with a colleague, leader, or subordinate, you are not standing on solid ground with them. At times, you may feel like you are sinking, and in the extreme circumstances, you fall into a sink hole. Trust, as a …
You thought it was good enough
The famous Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had an intern working for him. It was early afternoon on a Thursday and Secretary Kissinger asks the intern to write a position paper on a certain topic. The intern is all pumped up, and spends the next three or four hours writing this paper. He …
How to benefit, by postponing pleasure
Are you the type that wants it NOW? Can't wait for Christmas morning, so you open up just "one" on Christmas Eve? Maybe you're a live for the moment, or only live once type of person. Why delay gratification? Most of us have heard about the study by Stanford Professor, Walter Mischel. He …