Tuesday 26 February 2013

9 proven ways to boost employee performance

Seth Godin and many others are talking a lot today about the connection economy.

Here is an excellent short video from Graeme Codrington about this.

Connection is all about who we are. It's about our true selves meeting other people's true selves.

There is nothing more important than who we all are when it comes to boosting employee performance.

Below are 9 ways to really connect with your employees and as a consequence boost performance

Employee engagement is an outcome of human connection.  We must be engaging before engagement is even remotely possible.

1) Only recruit people who live your values or whose personal values are aligned with yours.

2) Professionally induct people into your culture, the way you do things.  Sometimes called onboarding you are looking to be so engaging with people that they quickly become onboard.

3) Celebrate what's working as well as what's not.  Authenticity, candor, honesty, and openness are the currency of the connection economy.  They lead to trust which is the bedrock of true collaboration.

4) Help people identify and cultivate their unique gifts/talents. This is your number one role as a leader.  When people are bringing who they truly are to their work on a consistent basis high performance is a natural consequence.

5) Co-create with people their unique piece of your strategy execution map.  Most strategies fail to get executed because employees, the chief executors of strategy, havenʼt yet bought into the strategy or as is more often the case, they donʼt yet understand or own their unique piece of the execution map.

6) Fulfill the promises you made to employees when you employed them and make it simple for your employees to fulfill the promises they have made to you and that are articulated in their unique piece of your strategy execution map.

7) Co-create a culture with your employees where appreciation and accountability conversations are integral to daily work.

8) Agree with your employees on what continuous improvement means in the reality of everyday work and never deviate without a shared-view about possible change/s.

9) Ensure that everything you do and how you do it means your employees have continuous opportunity to enhance their gifts and live happier lives.

I have made it simple for you to enact these 9 in my Enhancing Their Gifts System - the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.  You can experience the system first hand here through a complimentary 3 lesson trial.  Straight away you get to download my Changing What's Normal book.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian


Sunday 24 February 2013

Let go the status quo when same no longer serves you or humanity

This Sundays sparkenation - Let go the status quo when same no longer serves you or humanity.

The great folk at Tomorrow Today began there most recent newsletter with the following

"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the story present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our situation is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves if we are to save our country."
Abraham Lincoln, December 1862

My favourite is

"Dogma is living with the results of other people’s thinking."
Steve Jobs

Make this week the first of many where you let go the status quo when same no longer serves you or humanity.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian

More sparkenations here.


Thursday 21 February 2013

Extinction or distinction?

My focus in a number of posts recently has been to help you to stand out which in many ways is the holy grail in today's world.

The Hard, Simple and Joyfulness of Great Work

The simplicity and significance of standing out.

and this week Your purpose is value creation and
The pull of purpose.

 I am a long term fan of Scott McKain
Scott says “Your only options are distinction or extinction. Which do you choose?”

Scott very generously has offered this workbook. 
Inside are some really great questions for all of us serious about standing out to answer.
The future of our organisations may depend on our answers!

Become distinct!
Ian
Creator of the Enhancing Their Gifts System™
- the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.
Easy to implement.
People focused.
ROI tangible, not just talk.

Experience the Enhancing Their Gifts System™ first hand here.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Your purpose is value creation

My thanks to Paul Dunn Chairman of B1G1 an organisation that clearly knows it's purpose (and one I am honoured to partner with) for the quote below after reading my post yesterday The Pull of Purpose.

"My body cannot exist without me producing red blood cells. But the purpose of my life is not to produce red blood cells. Similarly a business cannot exist unless it makes a profit. But its most important purpose is value creation for its inter-dependent stakeholders."
John Mackey co-CEO of Whole Foods Markets

What value are you creating for your inter-dependent stakeholders in ways no one else is or in ways that are better, different or more unique than others?

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian
Creator of the Enhancing Their Gifts System™
- the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.
Easy to implement.
People focused.
ROI tangible, not just talk.

Experience the Enhancing Their Gifts System™ first hand here.

Tuesday 19 February 2013

The pull of purpose

Most people are pushing to grow their businesses.  Social media is a great example where it seems everyone and their dog is pushing for people to buy their products/services.

Pulling is simpler and more attractive.  And nothing pulls like purpose particularly if you are pulling in a clearly defined niche or niches.

A lot of people still think that profit is the reason for being in business.  In the 21st century having profit as the reason for the existence of your organisation is a recipe for going broke.  And it is a sure sign of pushing.

Profit is not a reason for being in business, never has been.  Profit is a result of being good at business.

When I made the above statement to a group of CEO’s in 1992 there was laughter in the room.  No thinking person is laughing any more.

Are you confusing reason with result?
And are you pushing or pulling?

Making a profit is one measure of being successful.  There is nothing evil about profit.  If profit is your reason though it drives you and confuses your customers/clients. As Simon Sinek exclaimed in a great book Start With Why “people don’t buy what we do they buy why we do it.”

Why do you do what you do?  What is your reason?

Reason is another word for purpose.  There is power and pull in purpose.  It draws people like a magnet to us.

Recently I added Randy Gage’s great book Risky is the new safe to my recommended reading list.  Randy refers to a leading expert in the field of purpose Ian Percy who says “You can’t have peak performance without first having a peak purpose.”

What is your peak purpose for being in business?

Randy proposes three great questions to help us find our real reason (purpose) for being in business.

“What do I love?
What makes me cry?
What is the injustice I want to right?”

What would be your answers to these questions?

In one of my most read articles since I began sharing my thoughts in 1991 I wrote the following about purpose:

“The Macquarie Dictionary defines purpose “the object for which anything exists or is done, made, used etc; an intended or desired result; end or aim; intention or determination”

Poet and writer Gita Bellin said “success depends on where intention is.” This is a very powerful statement. To change an outcome we must modify or change behaviour, because continuing to do the same old thing expecting a different result is a good definition of stupidity! In my experience before behaviour change is lasting we must first modify or change our thinking and to do that we often must modify or change our feeling and to do that we often have to modify or change our intention or purpose!

So what is your purpose? What was your aim when you got up this morning? What were you feeling and thinking literally? If you are like me the answers to these questions can be elusive and often the day is over before it really seemed to begin.”

The above is from my article A pathway to achieving possibility.  You can read the full article here.  I propose a formula in this article

Principle before passion; passion before purpose; passion and purpose during practice = possibility

I recommend this formula as one way to really zero in on your purpose.

Find your purpose and you will be able to pull more than push.  You will stand out.  And soon people in your niche or niches will be coming to you in droves.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian

Sunday 17 February 2013

Think big, take small actions, inspire other people to join you, help other people achieve what's important to them

This Sunday's sparkenation - Think big, take small actions, inspire other people to join you, help other people achieve what's important to them.

Most big results happen through many small actions taken by many people over time.  I have been observing a major above ground freeway being built.  There was nothing at the start except the big idea and the plan.  For a long time there seemed to be little progress, lots of people beavering away with little to show for their work.  And then ...

Your work is like this.

What’s your big idea?  What is your plan to achieve it? What small actions will you take next?  Who has their shoulder at the wheel with you?  Who can you inspire to join you in turning your dream into reality?  How many people are you helping to fulfill their dreams?

Be the difference you want to see in the world.

Ian

Author of Changing What’s Normal

Creator of the Enhancing Their Gifts System
 - the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.



Experience the system first hand here.

More sparkenations here.





Tuesday 12 February 2013

Lack of Truth To Power at the core of Hastie Group collapse - guest post by Gary Ryan

This is a guest post by Gary Ryan accredited mentor of the Enhancing Their Gifts System.


Gary is my very special guest on the next changing what's normal candid conversation at 10 am Melbourne time on March 7th.

We will be discussing candor and high performance.  Details here.



"It was a culture of 'no bad news' within this company that was at fault". Hastie Group CEO Bill Wild is quoted as saying in The Age.

Truth to Power is reflected in the regularity with which people lower in an organisation's hierarchy provide honest opinions and/or data to more senior people in the hierarchy. When it is low, danger looms. It can even cause the loss of at least 2,300 jobs which is the current scenario at the Hastie Group.

Just yesterday when I was working with a management team I asked them their view on whether or not it is easy for people to provide Truth to Power. "No" was their collective response.

"Is that a potential problem for you?" I asked.

A resounding "Yes" was the reply.

If you consider a multi-layered organisation, imagine if Truth to Power is low at the 'lower' levels of the organisation. Imagine if it is also low at the middle levels of the organisation. Then imagine if it is low at the more senior levels of the organisation.

If you were the 'head' of such an organisation, how much truth would you be hearing? Very little!

And that is dangerous - it could even sit at the heart of an organisational collapse.

Candor lies at the core of Truth to Power.  This means that at all levels of an organisation people are encouraged to say what they believe is going on, understanding that there perspective is only part of the picture.  But an important part nonetheless.

Truth to Power is diminished when the 'messenger is shot'. When 'bad things' happen to people who provide an honest opinion or highlight 'scary' data in an organisation, other people learn very quickly 'not to put their head up'.

This means that managers and leaders have to learn how to handle hearing things they don't like to hear, especially when the 'truth' might relate to an issue that the manager believed had been resolved some time ago.  Managers also have to have the courage to speak with their colleagues when they see evidence that they are damaging Truth to Power through their lack of engagement with their direct reports.  Saying, "Bob's always been like that, he never listens to his people" is not satisfactory.  In fact it highlights managers accepting the unacceptable behaviour of their colleagues and the simple truth is that such behaviour can place everyone's jobs at risk, including the managers themselves.

Truth to Power does not mean it is 'open slather' for employees to say what they like just for the sake of saying it.  Part of truth to power includes the messenger taking responsibility for what they are saying, so their view is genuine and not an effort to 'have a go' because they can.

How healthy is Truth to Power in your organisation?

Gary Ryan works with Senior and Developing Leaders to enhance their capacity to achieve high performance through fully utilising the talents of their team members.

He can be contact on +61 417 136 731.


Please join Gary and myself for the next changing what's normal candid conversation at 10 am Melbourne time on March 7th. 

We will be discussing candor and high performance.  Details here.

You might be interested in my article Is candor the new competitive edge?

Best wishes
Ian
Author of Changing What’s Normal
Creator of the Enhancing Their Gifts System
- the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.
Easy to implement.
People focused.
ROI tangible, not just talk.

Experience the system first hand here.



Sunday 10 February 2013

Google+ is more than a social network

This Sunday's sparkenation - Google+ is more than a social network.
More sparkenations here.

Google+ Content Strategies with gratitude to originator Maria Peagler for making it possible to share the infographic.

I think Google+ is way ahead of the other social networks and as Maria says in this article, "Google+ isn’t only a social network. It’s the very backbone (and future) of Google itself."


Best wishes
Ian
Author of Changing What’s Normal
Creator of the Enhancing Their Gifts System
- the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.
Easy to implement.
People focused.
ROI tangible, not just talk.

Experience the system first hand here.


Friday 8 February 2013

Why putting people first matters more than ever in the 21st Century - guest post by Mike Lowe.

This is a special guest post from Mike Lowe one of the accredited mentors of the Enhancing Their Gifts System - the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.

“Everybody has accepted by now that change is unavoidable. But that still implies that change is like death and taxes — it should be postponed as long as possible and no change would be vastly preferable. But in a period of upheaval, such as the one we are living in, change is the norm."  — Peter Drucker

Change is one of the few things we can be certain of. What is new, at the start of the 21st Century, is the rate of change.  In the words of John Kotter,  ‘It’s increasingly going up not just in a linear slant, but almost exponentially.  And as things speed up, that means more stuff gets changing out there, and organisations, to prosper, have to react to that. You can’t still do things the way you’ve done in the past and grab opportunities or avoid hazards that come at you.’

Technology plays a major part in this.  In his book The End of Business as Usual, Brian Solis refers to ‘Digital Darwinism, the evolution of consumer behaviour when society and technology evolve faster than the ability to exploit it.’  Corporate social responsibility (applied to supply chains as well as ‘cradle-to-cradle’ product development), marketing and customer service all look vastly different in the age of the Reputation Economy.

But other factors are at work too.  The converging trends of Peak Oil, Climate Change and unsustainable levels of debt (leading to financial chaos) are described by Paul Gilding as ‘The Great Disruption’ which will spell the end of ‘Economic Growth version 1.0’ and usher in a new model of growth based on collaboration and meeting human needs.

The workforce is also changing rapidly.  Today it is more culturally diverse and with radically different expectations of work/life balance than even 20 years ago.  No wonder, then that ‘failures in talent management are an ongoing source of pain for executives in modern organizations’.

At this time of unprecedented change in so many areas of management, what was once ‘best practice’ no longer holds true.  Best practice is, by definition, past practice. The way forward doesn’t consist of an updated set of manuals.  The problems lie at a deeper level in the way we understand business.

Ever since Henry Ford and the introduction of the assembly line, business has been conceived as a machine – a set of processes which, following the laws of cause and effect, lead to a predictable outcome.  The emphasis has been on understanding the system, perfecting it and then ensuring compliance with specified standards for each stage of the operation.

This model has served well in times of relative stability and simplicity.  But in a chaotic and unpredictable world a different model is needed, and it comes from complexity theory. Professor Dave Snowden, one of the leading thinkers in this space, refers to three management paradigms.

The first, Scientific Management, (developed by Frederick Taylor over a century ago) focuses on control of function. It is hierarchical, bureaucratic and designed for an age of mass-production and commoditisation.

The second paradigm, Systems Thinking, (Popularised by Peter Senge) emphasises management of information.  It is outcome focused (define a future state and design a process to get there) and designed for an age of mass customisation and mass communication.

Jokes from the era of the Soviet Union abound.  One is the story of a tourist who came across two workmen by the side of the road.  One was digging holes and the other one came along after and filled them in. ‘What are you doing?’ asked the incredulous traveller.  ‘We’re a three-man tree-planting team,’ they replied, ‘but the comrade who places the trees is off sick.’
This absurd story illustrates a fundamental flaw with Scientific Management (which was enthusiastically adopted by Lenin) – its inability to adapt.

Both Scientific Management and Systems Thinking are based on the premise that the future can be predicted through understanding the chain of cause and effect.  Snowden proposes a third paradigm, which he calls ‘Sense-Making’, based on complexity.  Rather than the machine metaphor, complexity borrows ideas from evolution and the natural world.  Some key concepts are ‘self-organization’; ‘emergence’ (rather than defined outcomes); ‘proximity’ (putting decision-makers in direct contact with the raw data instead of going through intermediaries); and ‘coherence’ (rather than compliance).

Software development was one of the first areas to embrace complexity.  As technology advanced, it proved impossible to predict how users would use it, or what features they would want, until they got their hands on the products.  Facebook, YouTube and smartphones, for example, are used today in ways which could not possibly have been predicted before they became available.  In response, Agile software development emerged as a movement with dramatic success in delivering better outcomes at lower costs for major software projects.  ‘It grew out of the discontent with the many failures of the deterministic approach to software development, where tight control, upfront design and top-down planning resulted in many intensively managed but disastrously performing software projects.’

The Manifesto for Agile Software Development reads:

We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others to do it.

Through this work we have come to value:
   •    Individuals and Interactions over processes and tools
   •    Working software over comprehensive documentation
   •    Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
   •    Responding to Change over following a plan.

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

Accompanying this, Jurgen Appelo has coined the term ‘Agile management’ following some of the same principles.

At the heart of this new paradigm for business is the flesh-and-blood individual human being in all their potential – realised and unrealised.  Rather than trying to force people to be cogs in a machine, successful organisations will encourage employees to bring their best game, their unique gifts to work, and empower them to make the right decisions as circumstances change.

An example of this comes from SouthWest Airlines. In his book Do the Right Thing, James F Parker, former CEO of Southwest Airlines writes:

I recall one snowy night in the Midwest.  It was the night before Thanksgiving.  When one of our planes landed in Chicago, it had one more flight scheduled for that evening, to Detroit. In Detroit, the plane would sit in the snow and the crew would seek the warmth of a hotel room until Thanksgiving morning.

In Chicago, all the Chicago-bound passengers got off – all except for one young girl who was confused about where she was. The plane reloaded and took off for Detroit with the young girl still on board. When it arrived, all the Detroit-bound passengers got off-except for the young girl, whose family was now in a panic in Chicago wondering where their daughter was.

It was our mistake, no doubt about it. And when the captain figured out what had happened, he knew what he was going to do about it. He didn’t ask for permission; he just did it. He asked his flight crew to jump back on the airplane and told the Detroit station to call Chicago to let the girl’s parents know their daughter was coming. I don’t know how much money that unscheduled round trip between Detroit and Chicago cost us that night, but I sure was proud when I heard the story. Once again, our people did the right thing.

By way of contrast, United Airlines drew massive negative publicity in 2012 from an incident when they ‘lost’ an unaccompanied minor between flights, and none of the staff felt empowered to respond in a human way. The one staff who did respond appropriately did so in her own time, after her shift had finished.

While the old management paradigms see people as a problem to be ‘performance managed’ in or out,  the new paradigm places the greatest value on individuals, relationships (networks & ecosystems) and meaning.  Only by nurturing, growing and tending these (note the shift in language from machine metaphors towards organic metaphors) can we adapt in times of complexity and rapid change. 

As it turns out, it’s the desire to be accepted, respected, and connected that really pulls at human heart strings.  And as far of the rest of us are concerned—managers, parents, and coaches—learn how to co-opt this awesome power, and you can change just about anything.

Organisations that get this right will not only survive and thrive, but will be able to attract and retain top talent, do more good in the world with less resources, and have more fun while doing it.

Find out more about Mike Lowe, one of the accredited mentors of the Enhancing Their Gifts System here.  And please contact Mike for references pertaining to this article.

Put people first
Ian
Author of Changing What’s Normal
Creator of the Enhancing Their Gifts System
- the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.
Easy to implement.
People focused.
ROI tangible, not just talk.

Experience the system first hand here.

Wednesday 6 February 2013

Now you can watch the Enhancing Their Gifts System Demonstration Clinic at your leisure

Until I recorded this Enhancing Their Gifts System Demonstration Clinic with accredited Mentor Paul Lange you had to register for or schedule a clinic.  Now you can watch at your leisure.



Please contact Paul or any one of the accredited mentors or myself after you watch to arrange a Q & A.

You can also watch this recording or register for a short 3 lesson trial that enables you to experience the system first hand, including downloading the PDF version of my Changing What's Normal book with my compliments here.

Best wishes
Ian
Author of Changing What’s Normal
Creator of the Enhancing Their Gifts System
- the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.
Easy to implement.
People focused.
ROI tangible, not just talk.


Tuesday 5 February 2013

"To Sell Is Human" and "Becoming a category of one"

I finishing reading these two great books at the weekend, adding both to my recommended reading list.

There is a lot of synergy between these two books.

I have long been a fan of Daniel Pink and To Sell Is Human is a great companion to his previous works of Drive - the surprising truth about what motivates us and A Whole New Mind.

I have known of Joe Calloway for many years and got his book Becoming a category of one - How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison on the recommendation of Rage Gage whose book Risky is the new safe I recommended in a previous post.

I bought both Daniel and Joe's books on Amazon for less than $20. How easy it is to educate ourselves and learn and share in the 21st century!

Please download my full reading list here.

To your learning
Ian
Author of Changing What’s Normal
Creator of the Enhancing Their Gifts System
- the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.
Easy to implement.
People focused.
ROI tangible, not just talk.
Experience the system first hand here.

Monday 4 February 2013

The simplicity and significance of standing out

I am in no doubt that success in business has a lot to do with standing out from the crowd in our niche/s.  Niche/s are key.  As my friend and colleague Gihan Perera says Niche guys finish first!

Who are you serving?  Who is your tribe?  Who is your niche?

My niche is open-hearted and open-minded business owners and leaders who

*Truly believe that when you look after your people they will look after your organisation.
*Know intuitively that helping people achieve their personal goals leads to people better helping your organisation achieve its goals.
*Value authenticity and candor.
*Admit that at least in some areas you are stuck in the status quo (normal) and want to change what’s normal.
*Recognise that people outside your organisation do inspiring and innovative work that can greatly enhance what you are doing.

Answering the question Who is your niche/s? is the hardest part of standing out (assuming you have products/services people in your niche/s want).  And perhaps you have a belief hurdle to overcome first - a belief that you are not worthy or that it is a “sin” to standout.  Overcoming our belief hurdles can be hard too.  The rest of the standing out equation is simple!

All change is personal first.  You are not your beliefs.  You are the one-of-a-kind human being who has decided to believe what you believe.  You can decide to change what you believe any time you choose.  This is often not easy yet it is simple.

You may find the following helpful about beliefs.

I change what I believe in regularly as new evidence and personal experience dictates (I once believed in politicians for example).  I have not changed my philosophy of life for me though, the why of what I do.  My philosophy of life is We get what we gift.  Implicit in my philosophy is giving without attachment to getting back.

What is your philosophy of life, your why of what you do? 


Answering this question is a key to finding your niche/s because people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. 

In a very insightful statement Oscar Wilde once remarked
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Are you taking this seriously.  Out of 100 billion people who have lived on planet earth there is only one you.  To not be all you are capable of being is the only “sin” which actually means to fall short of the mark.

Strategic positioning (standing out) in your organisation

Strategic positioning is simple. It’s
Doing what others don’t do or doing what others do just better, differently, or more uniquely, and segmentation (niches).

Achieving strategic positioning is also simple and has everything to do with feeling valued, delivering value, and living values.

Feeling valued

Do you truly value yourself?  If not please reread above!

If I was to ask your employees do they feel valued at work would the majority say yes?

If you feel uncertain or know that the majority of your employees would answer no, then we need to talk immediately if not sooner.

When people feel valued they perform accordingly.

Delivering value

Are you delivering the value to all your stakeholders that they demand, desire, and feel that they deserve?

If you feel uncertain or know that the majority of your stakeholders would answer no, then again we need to talk immediately if not sooner.

Living values

What your values are is important however how you live them is what really matters.  Are the values on your wall lived in the hall?

My story below may help you to be certain of your answer.



I finished reading a great book about standing out last weekend.  It inspired this article. It’s called Becoming a category of one - How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison by Joe Calloway.  I bought this book via Amazon Kindle for $9.99.  In the book Joe provides a great case study of the Tractor Supply company.  Joe says “At Tractor Supply their values are the rules of the road for how they do everything, every day, all day long.”  There you have it in a nutshell.  Anything less is hurting you.

Employee performance is the great barometer of standing out. The performance of your employees means you’re either standing out or slipping away. There is no standing still in the 21st century.

Standing out is simple and the most significant path to success in your organisation.  It’s about doing what others don’t do or doing what others do just better, differently, or more uniquely, and segmentation (niches).  The keys are people feeling valued, delivering value, and living your values.

Please standout.  The world needs you to and so too do you.

Best wishes
Ian

My Enhancing Their Gifts System will help you to stand out. Find out more here.

PS To standout maybe you even have to be ridiculous.  Seth Godin says Ridiculous is the new remarkable.  His article here worth a read.


Sunday 3 February 2013

Trust is power only if your intention is not about power

This Sunday's sparkenation - Trust is power only if your intention is not about power

Last week, in an attempt to take away speculation and focus on policies, the Prime Minister of Australia announced our election will be on September 14th.  She said the actual election campaign wouldn’t begin until August when writs would be issued.  Yeah right.

The Opposition Leader immediately came out and said that the election would be about trust. Yeah right.  No one in politics here has demonstrated in my experience that they can be trusted and this is not going to change anytime soon that I can see.

Think about this in every transaction and interaction in your organisation and all of your relationships - Trust is power only if your intention is not about power.

More sparkenations here.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian
Creator of The Enhancing Their Gifts System
- the simple framework that profoundly unleashes employee talent.
Easy to implement.
People focused.
ROI tangible, not just talk.

Experience the system first hand here.