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Also, for those readers we have an eBook titled Controlling Emotions in the Workplace. Click here to download the eBook.

Be Well,

John & Bev

We have seen companies change their culture because they created chances and methods to recognize people. There is a diamond that a consulting company uses and it is simply put on someones desk by another employee to show appreciation. A slip a paper is put in a box to describe the “WOW” event. Once a month, during the monthly round up, WOWs are pulled from the box and half day Fridays are given out or lunch with an employee is gifted for a near by restaurant to the WOW creator. This is an easy, low cost, effective and fun program.

There can be flip charts in hallways or entrances to publicly recognize people. Be real. Be specific and be consistent. If you’re not the leader of your team and like the idea, mention it to your manager.

Here are some other easy recognition opportunities…

Anniversaries (employment and personal)
Awards won (personal and professional)
Significant achievements personal or professional
Birthdays
New children

But, how many times have we said consistent. Missing someone for something you’ve recognized before with another person could create some bad feelings. This is where you get the chance to apologize apologize.

Also… Remember to consider the personality of the person who’s being publicly recognized and how they’ll feel about it. If you predict a negative outcome, recognize them privately.

If you have other recognition opportunities ideas, I’d love to hear them (just call or email).

Our Curtain Call Cusine Guests

Bev and I love the Fountain Hills Theater, food, wine and entertaining friends. Recently we had an opportunity to combine all four by hosting a small dinner that was auctioned off as part of the Theaters fund raiser, Curtain Call Cuisine. It is our second year of hosting a dinner like this and it was a blast.

Friends Around the Kiva at Curtain Call Cusine 2010

Find a way to combine your interests so you can give just for the fun of it. Everybody wins and the fun clearly trumps the effort.

Enjoy the read and, please, pass it on to all your friends and colleagues who are struggling with being contemporary.

“ARE YOU WILLING TO BE CONTEMPORARY?
APRIL 17, 2012 · 1 COMMENT
Noticed this morning a Pew Research report that TWENTY PERCENT of adults in the United States will not use the Internet. Consider that for a moment…one in five are not online at ALL.

Take a look at your current practices…or, maybe there’s a new approach you feel is too expensive, too difficult, or a waste of time…could your procedures be a bit outdated simply because you are clinging onto past policy for no particularly good reason?”

Tells us what you think. Your feedback and comments are really important to us.

Be Well,

John & Bev

PS– Still a non-believer? Check this video out — Social Media Revolution 2012 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5Fn_Q10Tk

Google launched a study in 2009 to find out exactly the differences between a great boss and a bad boss at their company. The study results were a real eye opener. Its leaders thought that technical skills were the most important element of a great boss and that the employees just needed technical advice from time to time. Project Oxygen (as it was called), revealed insights that surprised Google’s leaders, but it fit with thousands of studies–including many that shaped Robert Sutton’s best selling book, Good Boss, Bad Boss.

Much to their amazement, “Technical skill” was at the bottom of ranked qualities when it came to analyzing great bosses at Google. Instead, as The New York Times reported, “What employees valued most were even-keeled bosses who made time for one-on-one meetings, who helped people puzzle through problems by asking questions, not dictating answers, and who took an interest in employees’ lives and careers.”

So, remember the Google study when you get slammed with hype about things are different and the definition of what makes a boss great has changed. Don’t believe it. Google is not the only company that has had these results. More than fifty years of research shows that to be a great boss you need to:

• respect employees
• encourage participation and suggestions
• actively listen

Mentoring is the process used by great bosses to bring out the best in people. Attend our complimentary webinar, Demystify Mentoring, to discover the most effective method to mentor. To register and learn more about how to Demystify Mentoring: The 6Q Mentoring Model, click the button below.

Leadership mentoring or coaching is the itch that needs scratching to wake up our potential. A great mentor has the sole purpose of bringing out the best in people – to inspire them to ignite the sleeping potential that resides in all of us.

Mentoring is not problem solving. It is uncovering and directing and sharing and supporting the greatness of others. And celebrating every success, big or small, that the mentee creates.

In mentoring future leaders, Contagious Leaders see themselves as a guide rather than a task master. They know how to communicate with each team member to maximize his or her performance. They learn how to ask rather than tell, request rather than require and suggest rather than demand.

The key, however, is to ask permission to mentor and it is necessary for several reasons:

1. Not every person wants to advance to the next level or is ready right now. Permission mentoring allows the individual to indicate personal readiness.
2. The person may not want your help. Asking prevents your intrusion where it is not welcomed. It saves your time and effort as well as theirs.
3. When given a choice about mentoring and we accept it, something powerful happens—we become serious about making a commitment to follow through.
4. Finally, as a leader we need to spend our precious time with those who simply want to be better.

Note: If you are offering a choice about permission mentoring, then you must also be prepared for the person to say, “No.” Please allow it.

As a Leaders you must create other leaders. The challenge with creating followers is that they follow. All too often, they follow mindlessly. They offer no suggestions, provide no feedback, develop no creative alternatives and never take risks. They just follow. And, the organization is in jeopardy because their leadership bench is shallow.
So, find those who want to want to progress, who want to step up to leadership and contribute to the success of the organization. Start to aggressively develop the leadership team who will take on the future with energy and enthusiasm!

As always, we’d love to hear your comments.

Bev & John

PS– Don’t forget to register for the webinar, Demystify Mentoring, by clicking the button below.

There appears to be a raging debate about the value of mastering “hard skills” verses “soft skills”. In some circles the conversation has become biased. Rarely do we hear people refer to “technical training or certification” as “hard skills”. On the other hand, they go out of their way to label anything not technical as “soft skills”. Somehow the reference makes this type of training seem less important. It is only “soft skills”, after all.

The fact is that we need both to thrive. You can have all the relationship, leadership, motivation and communication skills in the world but if you do not have the correct technical qualifications for a particular job, you are doomed. And visa versa!

More and more top leaders are beginning to recognize that the “hard skills” may get you a job while the “soft skills” will get you ahead. As a Project Manager, for instance, your PMP is essential for that job designation. Combine that certification with strong leadership, communication and relationship building talent and you set yourself to effectively direct the efforts of other Project Managers. And to get noticed as an achiever!

Soft skills are personal attributes that enhance an individual’s interactions, job performance and career development. They include communication skills, personal effectiveness, creative problem solving, team building, influencing (leading) skills, positive attitude, flexibility and managing emotional intelligence.

Unlike hard skills, which are about a person’s skill set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity, soft skills relate to a person’s ability to interact effectively with coworkers and customers.

Companies value soft skills because research suggests and experience shows that they can be just as important an indicator of job performance as hard skills and in some cases even more. For this reason, soft skills are increasingly sought out by employers in addition to standard qualifications.

Today’s service economy and the emphasis on work teams in large organizations puts a new light on people skills and relationship-building,” Portland-based Human resource expert Lori Kocon says. “And with business being done at an increasingly fast pace, employers also want people who are agile, adaptable and creative at solving problems.”

Kocon advises all job and promotion candidates — especially those who aspire to leadership positions — to get in touch with their soft sides. Kocon also advises that you focus on the skills most likely to interest the prospective employer or new boss and learn to demonstrate these skills through your resume, in an interview and conversations.

Some suggestions are:
Tell a story of how you successfully handled a crisis or challenge.
Mention honors you received
Bring along letters of thanks or recognition from a customer or teammate.
Talk about how you inspired volunteers of a charity project

So stop wasting your time in the hard skills vs soft skills debate…..and vigorously take on both!

By the way…….We are doing a Free Webinar on March 22. When we have done it in the past, participants have been amazed at how it helped them take on mentoring to get results in an organized, systematic manner. To register and learn more about how to Demystify Mentoring: The 6Q Mentoring Model, click the button below.

Beverly and I visited a number of great wineries in Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma and the California lakes region with some friends. One winery in the lakes region stood out, not for its wine, necessarily, but for how it miserably failed to deliver on a tremendous possibility.

Great Views, Great Wine, Really Bad Service

This was a breathtakingly beautiful property, right on the lake with a luxurious Spanish Hacienda-style structure. The wine maker had a rich history and an international reputation. The product (wine) was exceptional. The tasting room was well designed and inviting. And, it had an intriguing story around its organic and biodynamic grapes (biodynamic is like organic on steroids). It had all the makings of a winner.

On two separate days we visited the tasting room, only to find the same lackluster, disinterested, detached and unwelcoming people serving this terrific product in this distinctive setting. To say they dropped the ball would be a gross understatement. The experience made us wonder how many of our customers, how many businesses, are working so hard these days to make their mark in a challenging environment only to blow it by having the wrong people deliver the ultimate experience. Or, perhaps they have good people who just need some guidance, some training and some higher expectations relative to their impact on the customer.

This appears to us to be one of the simpler challenges for any business to handle hiring the right people, people with a positive attitude who have the capacity to demonstrate a modicum of gratitude that the customer took the time to stop by their establishment. With all the layoffs you would think it would be easier than ever to find people who enjoy their work, like serving customers and take pleasure in making customers feel welcome and appreciated.

This is apparently not the case, at least not at this winery. This is a sad example of a company doing 90% of the work brilliantly while ignoring the final, and most important, 10%, the ultimate customer experience.

We coach and speak about the need to be an Unforgettable Leader. We have said this before, but an average product in an average setting and delivered in an unforgettably positive manner will demolish the competition in most cases. Sadly, not even a wonderful product or beautiful setting can take the spotlight off horrible service.

Before you go home tonight give some thought to the people you have interacting with customers and prospects. Do they make your product and business glimmer like a high price diamond? If not you need to give that last, and important 10% your attention.

By the way…….We are doing a Free Webinar on March 22. When we have done it in the past, participants have been amazed at how it helped them take on mentoring to get results in an organized, systematic manner. To register and learn more about how to Demystify Mentoring: The 6Q Mentoring Model, click the button below.

“If mentoring is so darn important then why doesn’t someone teach me how to do it effectively?”

Great question! Frankly, we never had a great answer. Until now that is.

We decided to do the teaching. Watch the video below.

To register for the Free Webinar, Demystify Mentoring, click the button below.

By pruning our vine at Lawrence Dunham Vineyards every year we are, in fact, providing it with a clear vision of where we want it to grow and produce grapes during the growing season. Our friend, Lawrence Dunham Wine Maker Curt Dunham, says it’s just like leadership. We hire the best people (plant the best vines), explain our vision (prune them thereby telling them how to grow), and give them lots of love and feedback so they can produce the best results.

It’s a great metaphor because it is so uncomplicated, straight forward and clear. At the end of the day, clarity of vision always wins.