Richard Branson Shows Boredom Can Be Good

Richard Branson, the king of Virgin, gets bored easily. According to a recent blog by Gary Bourgeault, Branson channels this "problem" into a positive by "getting himself into numerous businesses that he can spread himself around in." It hasn't held him back too much.

It makes me think, what other "weaknesses" or problems can leaders turn into positives?

A recent article by Mark Thompson confirms that the ability to overcome personal challenges - or turn your weaknesses into strengths - is critical to leadership and entrepreneureal success.

- Charles Schwab was dyslexic and almost flunked out of Stanford, having failed English twice. In business, he overcame this reading problem by speaking from the heart (nixing the need for reading and writing long memos and speeches).

- Cisco CEO John Chambers was also dyslexic, so he relies on memorized speeches and interacting personally with people as much as possible.

Branson's story hits home for me. Not many people know this about me, but I failed high school and got into college with a GED. I was bored and questioned everything. I thought something was wrong with me...until I found a way to channel my "weakness" into a positive. As a consultant, it's my job to question the status quo and help solve problems. I now get paid for what I got punished for in the past. Go figure!

What is your biggest personal struggle or challenge - and how can it work for you as a strength?

© 2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved.

Performance Reviews: Is Nobody "Average" Anymore?

An article in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer aptly titled, "A's and B's for Everyone", just goes to show how important it is to clearly define performance expectations, measurement methods and rating scales in performance management systems. It also shows what goes awry when you don't get clear.

The article quotes surveys in which Americans rate themselves on a variety of areas. Here's a sampling of results:

- 83% percent of Americans believe they are above-average workers.

- 74% percent of American adults believe they have above-average common sense.

- 58% percent of Americans believe they have above-average IQs.

- 94% percent of university professors say they are better at their job than their average colleague.

- 60% percent of men age 20 to 39 believe they are better than average in bed. (I threw this one in just for fun.)

Either lots of people are fooling themselves, or mostly above-average people respond to these surveys.

This just goes to show you how a simple word like "average" can be perceived differently by so many people. Of course, some things are easy to prove or disprove. For example, it's not hard to find out that an "average" American IQ is between 90 and 110, so you could say you're above average if you're over 110.

What about some of the other "average" measures? In work and life, these are harder to measure objectively. Take the term "above average common sense." What does that look like - and who decides what "average common sense looks like?" Obviously 74% of us can't be above average in common sense, but who among us thinks we're better than we are?

Take this as a lesson, managers and employees. When you're discussing performance expectations at the start of your performance management cycle, remember that:

- Vague words like "average" and "better" need to be defined. How are you going to measure "average"? Better than what? And who decides what "better" looks like?

- People often think they're better than they are. Both managers and employees should be accountable for providing specific data and behavioral examples to support ratings. It's not enough to say, "I think you're below average in X area." Support your rating by saying, "Here are some examples of why I'm rating you below (or above) average."

- Make it OK to be average. Angela Hayes (played by Mena Suvani) in American Beauty, says "I don't think there's anything worse than being ordinary." Unfortunately, lots of people feel this way - and corporate cultures often encourage this thinking. Not everyone can be above average or the best. And certainly not at everything. So make it OK for people to be average in some areas. How can an organization have candid discussions about leveraging strengths and professional development, if individuals feel pressured to inflate assessments of themselves?

TLG's Performance in Action solutions teach managers and employees how to clarify performance expectations and reach a "meeting of the minds" about what success looks like in jobs. Click here for more...


© 2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved.

How to Lose a Salesrep in Ten Days

Last night I watched the cute Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughy film, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. It's not The Godfather or Citizen Kane, but it's light and mindless. In it, Kate Hudson is writing a fluff magazine article on things women do that push guys away. You'll have to see the movie yourself to see some of the chic-sins she commits (like moving personal belongings into his apartment after a first date). The funny part was (gasp) that we've ALL done some version of these stupid things in some relationship - we were just too close to the relationship to see it at the time.

So in the spirit of that movie, and for all of us who have done stupid things to push people away without realizing it, this blog is a10-day primer for sales managers. Read on to find out how to LOSE A SALESREP IN TEN DAYS!

Day 1:
Give the rep a sales goal that's way out of reach. Confide in the rep, "I know it's way too high, but it was handed down to me by someone at the top. I think they pull these numbers out of a hat...and we get stuck with them!"

Day 2:
Forget to ask about his kid who broke his leg on the playground yesterday.

Day 3:
When he gives you that 20-page Excel report you asked him for last month, say with a look of surprise, "Oh, you were still working on that? We dropped that project a few weeks ago. Hope you didn't spend too much time on it!"

Day 4:
Schedule a performance review meeting with him. Miss it. Then email later saying you're sorry - and that you got called into an important meeting.

Day 5:
Give him feedback and tips for how he can improve his sales performance. You haven't been in the field with him for months.

Day 6:
Call in the evening during his family dinner to ask why a big deal didn't close that day.

Day 7:
When he tells you proudly that he just closed a big account he's been working on for months, tell him, "It's about TIME."

Day 8:
When he tells you proudly that he just closed a 20k deal, ask him, "Why only 20?"

Day 9:
Ride along in the field with him (finally...you've been meaning to). Jump in on all of his calls and close deals for him, because you miss the thrill of the sale (and you're really good at closing)!

Day 10:
The rep just closed a few big sales and is well on his way to meeting goal. Congratulate him and in the next breath, say, "Since you're doing so well this month and the rest of the team is down, we're going to up your goal. I know you can do it because you're so good!"

Salespeople are guilty of committing "sins" too. If you want to discover some of the more common and deadly ones, see a great article by Steve Martin in ManageSmarter.

© 2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved.

Sell to Who You Hire...and Who You Don't

I just read a great BusinessWeek article that reminds companies that their recruitment and selection processes are marketing tools. More companies should remember this.

You can enhance or erode your company's brand by the image you convey at each step of the recruitment and selection processes. Think about it. Every prospective candidate is a customer. You're evaluating them, and they're forming impressions about your company. Ask yourself (and others), "What does our process say about our company?"

Here's something we at The Loyalty Group did to build our brand with prospective job candidates. One of the things we value is giving back to the community. We want to work with people and companies who care about others and our society. To send this message, in our recruitment advertisements, we advertised as a benefit that we donate $500 at the end of each year to each employee's charity of choice. Of course, we must approve each charitable cause and won't allow anything political, religious or highly controversial. The point is - it's imporant to our company - and we wanted to hire people who valued "giving" and social responsiblity as a benefit.

It's amazing how many job candidates told us how excited they were to interview with us, specifically because of that benefit. We heard over and over again that it "said a lot about our company." Even those who weren't hired by us left the process knowing what our company stands for.

Think about your employment brand. What is your hiring process saying about your company?

Delta's New Customer Service?

It looks like the threat of a hostile bid from US Air has scared some customer service into Delta. Last week I flew Delta from Los Angeles, to Charlotte, to Altanta, then back home. Thursday night, trying to get to Altanta, I got stuck in the Charlotte airport for about eight hours (at least I wasn't sitting on a plane for hours like those poor JetBlue passengers). My first flight at 4:30 was canceled due to mechanical problems, then weather delays in Atlanta kept inching back our takeoff time.

What made the whole thing bearable was the Delta employees customer service.

• At the gate, agents gave us regular, candid updates on where our inbound plane was and what the expected delay should be. No horsing around, no game playing, and with a sympathetic smile. It's hard to get mad at a gate agent who appears genuinely sympathetic and is patient enough to listen to everyone's complaints.
• On the plane, the pilot came on the speaker and apologized sincerely for the delays, and acknowledged that we'd all been sitting in the airport for hours.
• Before we landed, flight attendents walked through the aisles with customer feedback surveys. They actually encouraged us to fill them out. One attendant said, "I know you've been delayed and that you've had a rough night. We want to know how we handled it. Please give us some feedback."

I hope that this type of customer service commitment doesn't wear off after the sting of an acquisition threat fades!

Libby Trial Reveals "Inner Workings Gone Bad"

How would you describe the "inner workings" of your organization or team?

Commenting on the Scooter Libby trial and guilty verdict, a USA Today reporter observes:

"...the trial offered a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the White House.
It showed Cheney's eagerness to discredit a war critic, the Bush administration's policies on talking to reporters and its strategies for dealing with a crisis."

I take the term "inner workings" to mean the unoffical ways that things get done in organizations.

In healthy companies and teams, these inner workings are positive forces. For example, FastCompany.com ran an article on "working the grapevine" that argues that company grapevines, or informal communication networks, can be used positively to communicate messages through companies. And we all know "go-to" people in our companies; those seasoned experts who don't have position power, but whom you can always count on for advice or support. Informal mentoring relationships is yet another example of an unoffical but healthy method of achieving goals in organizations.

In unhealthy organizations, inner workings are devious and self-serving. The grapevine is used to spread malicious information and make others look bad. Communication is indirect. Rather than speak candidly about difficult subjects, people allow rumors and backstabbing to flourish. People jockey for position by developing cliques and favoring those who share their views or are "good soldiers".

What are your company's "inner workings?" If reporters were covering the inner workings of your company or team, what would they say? Are they healthy?

Six Steps to Build Accountability Today!

All of us have been in these situations before:

- Everyone talks about ideas in a weekly meeting…and by the next week it’s apparent that nothing has happened.

- Something goes wrong on a project… and there is a chain of emails about who was to blame and what they should have done.

- A manager identifies a major need in his division…yet no one really wants to step up and do anything about it.

These scenarios are all symptoms of a culture that lacks accountability. Managers often try to force accountability by instituting new metrics, policies and inspections; yet these actions are like applying a BAND-AID^® to a broken bone. Tools like these don’t work if people aren’t bought in to the idea of accountability and are not willing to be accountable.

Here are ways you can build a culture of accountability in your organization:

Hire for Accountability. Accountability can’t be taught; you have to hire for it. The next time you’re interviewing a job candidate, ask:

– “Tell me about a time when you stepped up and took ownership of a project that wasn’t really your ‘job.” (Listen to distinguish whether they took the initiative themselves or if they were asked to take on this project by someone else.)

– “Tell me about a time when you dropped the ball on a project.” (Do they own up to their mistakes? What did they do to fix it or make things better?)

– “Give me an example of a time when you were responsible for something that you didn’t have complete control over.” (What checks and balances did the person put in place on the front end to help ensure success, even when they didn’t have complete control over outcomes? Listen for signs of "victim mentality". Do they blame someone or something else for their inability to succeed?)

Address the “why’s” in advance. Its human nature to want to know "why" (think of children..."Why is the sky blue?”) . When assigning goals or new projects, make sure you explain the big picture (the why) to your team. It’s easy for a leader to simply lay out all of the to-do’s that they had thought about before a team meeting and simply ask others to take on tasks. Engage your employees by having an initial discussion about the big picture or overall strategy of your department. Give some background and talk about your vision to help set the stage. This helps employees understand the “whys” behind certain tasks.

Let others help with the details. Most people don’t like to be told what to do. Employees are much more likely to eagerly work on an issue and think of creative solutions when they feel as though they had a hand in shaping the project themselves. As a leader, ask more questions and listen to others’ ideas before contributing your thoughts.

Turn “we” statements into “I” statements. The next time you are in a meeting, listen for “we” statements. They sound like this: “We should be…” “We could…” “We need to be…” When a “we” statement comes up, pause and ask who specifically will take ownership of that task, define the results as a team and talk about realistic timelines. Write these out on a whiteboard, flip chart or record them in follow up minutes to be sent out immediately after the meeting. The goal should be to turn a list of verbal ideas into written tasks that have a defined owner, desired results and attainable deadline.

Avoid “should” conversations. When something goes wrong on a project, teams often spend a lot of time talking about who was responsible and what “should” have been done. This often leads to a chain of who “should” have done xyz first…and is often an attempt to try and shift the blame (and the negative attention) to someone else. In the middle of a crisis, avoid the past and focus on what can be done about the problem now. Think back to the original desired results and discuss who can take on what steps to achieve those goals. After the project is completed, schedule a team debrief so that everyone can learn best practices and what to avoid next time.

Don’t expect a year-end review to make people be accountable. A performance review, in and of itself, can’t make people take accountability. If you are working in an environment that currently lacks accountability, first think about what you can do to model accountability to those you lead throughout the year, not just at year-end.

Building a culture of accountability means realizing that all the mission statements, standards, expectations and directives in the world won’t make a difference unless individuals choose to make a commitment to them. By taking steps to make your team want to be accountable, rather then forcing them, you will be well on your way to a culture of accountability in the workplace

Imagine the power of everyone in your organization working smarter and focusing on a common vision…Check out TLG's Performance in Action solutions to learn more.

© 2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved.

Accountability Run Amuck

Can an organization be too focused on accountability? Too much of a good thing is always bad. Below are some examples of accountability run amuck and its unintended negative consequences. See if your organization suffers any of these symptoms.

The “Ask for Forgiveness Later Syndrome”

Are there people in your organization who seem to think that saying “I’m sorry” or “I’m responsible” on the back end makes everything better?

When talking about accountability in your culture, make it clear that saying “I’m sorry” doesn’t give you carte blanche to behave however you want. Let everyone know that accountability starts on the front end, before you act. Accountability means taking responsibility for your words and actions, not just owning up to them after the fact.

The “I Gotcha” Syndrome

When things go wrong, do people blame and finger-point? Do managers try to catch employees doing things wrong, instead of doing things right?

While it is important for individuals to own their mistakes, too much focus on placing blame can create a “police state”. This is a distrusting, punitive environment in which more time is spent asking “Who did it?” versus actually fixing the problem. Remember, don’t let accountability interfere with getting good work done.

The “Track Everything” Syndrome

Has your organization gone “metrics happy”? Do people spend so much time tracking and measuring that they can’t get their work done?

These organizations are so concerned with being accountable and measuring everything that they lose focus. People in the organization forget to ask “Why are we tracking this?” As a result, everything gets tracked, even things that just aren’t that important.

Figure out what is most important to track and measure, and focus on those. Eliminate reports, tracking systems and accountabilities that aren’t critical to business success, like Home Depot's new CEO, Frank Blake, is trying to do. Who knows…when your employees start spending less time tracking and more time thinking, you might discover a whole new level of innovation in your business!

© 2006 The Loyalty Group. All Rights Reserved.