Fail Early And Fail Often, But Fail Forward

We’ve arrived at that period in the calendar that lends itself to looking to the coming year with anticipation at what we hope to accomplish, and sometimes to looking back at what was not achieved in the past year.  Goals not reached aren’t fun to contemplate, and certainly not something we like to talk about.  But the truth is, no one is immune from failure.  However, how we perceive it and what we do with it makes a huge difference. 

One of my favorite business stories involves a restaurant chain called Dick’s Last Resort.  We were in Myrtle Beach with some friends who insisted that we have dinner at Dick’s.  They warned us that the wait staff would insult us, put funny paper hats on our heads, and even throw things at us.  “But you’ll have a great time!” they insisted.  “Everybody goes there.”  Sure enough, the place was packed, and the service was exactly as described.  Intrigued, I did some research and learned that Dick’s Last Resort has its origins in a plan gone wrong.  The owners originally set out to create a fine dining restaurant, which ended in bankruptcy.  Instead of accepting failure, they decided to try again by taking the fine dining concept, turning it on its head, and “going sloppy.”  The result is a chain of 11 restaurants in major metropolitan areas across the US.

 The owners of Dick’s succeeded in large measure simply because they refused to give up.  They are a shining example of what author John Maxwell talks about in his book “Failing Forward”.  Maxwell asserts that people who are high achievers have a different perception of failure – they see it simply as the price that must be paid to achieve success.  The only way to get ahead, Maxwell says, is to, “fail early, fail often and fail forward.”  Successful people put things behind them and move on.  It’s not that they don’t get knocked down, it’s what they do after they get back up that makes the difference.

 Maxwell offers the following advice on failing forward:

Finalize your goal – the goal shapes the plan, the plan shapes the action, action achieves the results.

Order your plan – if you neglect to plan, you plan to fail.

Risk failing by taking action – don’t let yourself become paralyzed by the fear of risk..

Welcome mistakes – embrace the learning that comes with them.

Advance based on your character- there will always be times when giving up would be easier.

Re-evaluate your progress continually – learn and adjust.

Develop new strategies to succeed.  There will never be a perfect plan.  You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.

All of that said, here’s to a New Year filled with success.  Set a goal, make a plan, work the plan, and be persistent!

What’s the Cost of NOT Training Employees?

There’s a bumper sticker that reads “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!” Every time I’m asked how to measure the ROI of training, I think of that bumper sticker. I’ve seen many complicated formulae which claim to answer the question. In fact, I have a book on my desk that has a section of over 50 pages called “How to Measure Training and Development Values.” But none of it really gets to the key point.

Yes, good training costs money. And employees have to be away from their work to participate in training, which is inconvenient. It’s also true that maintaining vehicles, equipment and buildings is costly and inconvenient. In the short run, you could save money by not doing it. But what would the long term consequences be? How long would it take until the cost of repair and replacement would exceed the savings? Do you need to measure the ROI of preventive maintenance to be convinced you need to do it?

Those are really the types of questions that should be asked when thinking about the true cost of training vs. not training employees. Here are a few more:

What is the cost of time and money wasted because employees don’t work together effectively as a team or supervisors don’t have good people skills?

How many business opportunities are lost or missed due to poor customer service or product quality?

Would you promote your organization to prospective customers and clients by saying, “We spend less on training than any other organization in our field and we pass the savings on to you!”

Or how about an employee recruitment campaign that leads off with, “Come work for us. We won’t waste your time with training?”

Regardless of the field your organization is in, there’s lot’s of competition. In a tough marketplace, your people are the best competitive weapon you have. The better they are, the better your organization is, its that simple. Good training is the best investment you can make. You can’t afford not to do it.

Healthy Workforce = Healthy Profits

Wellness is much more than a means to health care cost control or a feel good HR initiative, according to a recent study by Right Management. Their findings suggest that when organizations address wellness using a strategic, whole systems approach, the results show improvement in employee engagement, productivity, and talent retention. According to their report, “Making wellness central to business strategy opens an important new avenue to increasing organizational effectiveness.”

According to the study, “Employees are eight times more likely to be engaged when wellness is a priority in the workplace. In organizations perceived as actively promoting health and well being, 55% of employees reported being engaged. In organizations not so perceived, only 7% of employees reported being engaged. Employee engagement is, of course, widely recognized as a driver of productivity.” In addition, the survey found that organizations where concern for employee health and wellbeing is high were four times more likely to keep talent over the next twelve months.

The key to achieving business gains is to approach wellness strategically and incorporate wellness into a broad organizational framework – strategic workforce wellness. Traditionally, wellness has been discussed in narrow terms of employee’s emotional and physical health. Strategic workforce wellness is defined as a state of well being that includes measures of engagement and other organizational factors such as retention as well as individual psychological and physical health.

Strategic workforce wellness addresses the issues at the level of people, structures, systems and processes. The results can be translated into measureable outcomes that identify root causes impacting workforce wellness and performance. The data can be used to design interventions such as training and coaching aimed at changing individual behaviors critical to organization performance. Finally, employee reviews and assessments can be used to measure how effectively employee behavior is aligned with organizational strategy and key objectives.

Strategic workforce wellness is a whole systems approach to health and wellbeing that results in measurable improvements in performance. In short, healthy workforce = healthy profits.

Understanding Cyber Bullying

Children and teenagers use cell phones and computers to share their most intimate   thoughts and feelings. By doing so, they open themselves in ways they wouldn’t consider doing on a face-to-face basis to all sorts of electronic predators, including cyber bullies. A recent survey by the National Crime Prevention Council indicated that 43% of teens reported experiencing some form of cyber bullying.

Cyberbully411.org defines cyber bullying as: threats or other offensive behavior sent online to a victim or sent or posted online about the victim for others to see (Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor et al., 2006). Examples include:

• A text message or posting to a social networking site from someone who is threatening to hurt your child.
• Rumors posted on your child’s online profile or spread online for others to see.
• The deletion of your child from a friend’s “buddy list” to make him / her feel left out.
• A profile made by someone pretending to be your child.
• Someone hacking into your child’s profile and writing comments pretending they’re from your child.

In general, cyber bullying is bullying or harassing that happens online. Much of it is similar to what children or teens experience in schools or elsewhere in the community, but has the additional aspect of including electronic media.

For children and teenagers, the impact of cyber bullying can be even more devastating than physical bullying. While physical bullying may happen in a dark hallway corner during the school day, cyber bullying can occur 24 hours a day via internet or cell phone. A child victimized by a cyber bully (or bullies) may feel like there is no safe time or place. Unrelenting cyber bullying may result in anxiety, loss of sleep, poor grades, social withdrawal, loss of self-esteem and depression.

Just as you would talk with your children about safe behavior before letting them go to a mall alone for the first time, you should talk with them about online safety. Keep lines of communication open and let them know they can always talk with you if they are having problems.

Cyberbully 411.org offers these suggestions that parents can pass along to their children:

• Ignore the person. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is to ignore the person and go on about your business.
• Log off if the harassment is bothering you.
• Block or delete the person. If harassment is happening at a site that requires a “friend list,” you can block users based on their usernames or delete them if they are in your friend list. You can also block text messages that you receive from specific phone numbers.
• Change your information. If someone has hacked into your profile, change your password. If someone repeatedly sends you messages like “add me to your buddy list,” consider changing your username or email address.
• If there is a profile that was created about you without you knowing, contact the company who runs the site to have the profile or language taken off.
• If you are upset about what is being said, talk to someone you trust. Don’t feel like you’re alone.

Source: http://www.cyberbully411.org

Need To Re-energize Your Organization? Try A Strength Based Approach.

It’s been tough. We had to downsize. Everyone’s been working longer and harder. Morale’s kinda down. People are tired.

Sound familiar? There’s a lot of this going around. The recession has been a long, tough slog. The recovery is coming, but it’s not here yet. How, in this environment, can you help people re-energize and find a reason to stay?

An approach that is working for some organizations is a relatively new methodology called Appreciative Inquiry. By applying the concepts of Appreciative Inquiry, or AI as it’s often called, leaders are seeing a restored sense of enthusiasm and commitment among their people.

AI is an organization development process that builds resilience an increases a group’s capacity for adaptability and change. Developed by David Cooperrider and others at the Case Western Reserve University, it is a strength-based philosophy and toolkit that enables leaders to build on the positive core that exists in every organization. That’s correct – in every organization, no matter how challenged and stretched.

AI is a highly participative process that strengthens relationships across functions and levels. It’s not training, and it’s not facilitation. It’s a process that engages employees in working collaboratively with each other to discover the very best about themselves and their team. It moves their thought process from negative, deficit-based traps to strength-based, possibility oriented positive energy. As one amazed AI participant stated, “Wow. Will you listen to us? We’re never this supportive. We usually put each other down and argue all the time. This is great!”

Appreciative Inquiry works because it recognizes that the people who give life to an organization are the greatest resource for creating a new and better future. It engages people with each other in relevant and positive ways, using their combined strengths and collective knowledge. It’s been successful in many different enterprises – manufacturing, healthcare, government, service and not for profit.

Here are some great books that can get you started with creating an appreciative regeneration in your organization.

Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change by David L. Cooperrider and Diana Whitney http://tinyurl.com/5rvs9aa

The Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide to Positive Change (Bk Business) by Diana Whitney, Amanda Trosten-Bloom, and David Cooperrider http://tinyurl.com/5rvqf4c

The Appreciative Inquiry Summit: A Practitioner’s Guide for Leading Large-Group Change by James D. Ludema, Diana Whitney, Bernard J. Mohr, and Thomas J. Griffin http://tinyurl.com/62qhnqk

The New Normal, Part 2?

A year ago, there was a lot being said and written about the New Normal. The Great Recession, as some are now calling it, was different than previous recessions in many significant ways. Two questions to ask ourselves are: Does that mean this recovery will look different? If so, what should leaders be thinking about to maintain and build their human capital?

Early indicators this year are that although unemployment is still high, hiring is on the rise. Organizations are feeling more optimism about the economy and seizing the opportunity to acquire new talent.

High performers are growing impatient. Pay has been flat and opportunities for promotion are few for at least two years. The combination of opportunistic hiring and restless employees could create a talent exodus for employers who are not alert and acting to retain their top talent.

This will be a critical time to invest in current employees you need to keep, and targeted additions to staff, taking advantage of the unique opportunity that currently exists to tap into the deepest talent pool that’s been available in decades.

Getting the right people on the right seat on the bus will be key to surviving and thriving in the changing landscape of the next new normal. Start by developing an accurate profile of the behaviors needed to succeed in each key job. Using a valid set of behavioral profiling tools will help zero this in with the highest degree of accuracy.

The job profile becomes the benchmark for candidate assessment. A great assessment tool partnered with the right job profile will predict the degree to which the candidate matches the behavioral requirements for the position, and identify the candidate’s strengths and challenges. See example below of a job profile.

Having a clear picture of an individual’s areas of strength and potential growth needs not only helps match candidates to open positions, it’s a great coaching tool to create development plans for current employees. People, especially star performers, whose employers are investing in them by helping them grow are more satisfied and less likely to exit.

2011 will be a critical year to invest in people. Organizations that do will be poised to outperform their competitors and take advantage of the next New Normal.

Are you ready for the New Normal, Part 2?

Are Your Employee’s Engaged?

In an article in the Wall Street Journal, Ram Charan warns CEO’s that they need to act to prevent an exodus of key employees  – see http://on.wsj.com/hynQOl .  The new normal will be one of talent management challenge and opportunity.  The opportunity will be to acquire some key performers who have been outplaced or become dissatisfied and restless during the recession.  The challenge will be to keep your high performers on board.  Four keys to building your workforce are selecting the right talent, challenging high performers with positive expectations and high quality feedback, and providing people with the resources they need to be successful. Doing these four things well creates a higher level of employee engagement.

The Engagement Cycle

Select

If the candidates who are being hired are not a match to the organization’s culture and values, and don’t posses the talent (defined as knowledge, skills and behavioral traits) needed to succeed, poor employee performance and high turnover are guaranteed! Not only will mis-matched hires under-perform, your good employees will not want to work with them.  Poor hiring decisions can result in the loss of high performers who prefer to work with competent co-workers.  Investing in best practice hiring techniques such as valid assessment tools and training supervisors to use behavior-based interviewing skills will yield returns many times the cost.

Expect

Ever try bowling with a blindfold on?  It’s not much fun not knowing where your target is and how many pins you knocked down.  High performers want to know what the goal is and how their doing.  Having clear expectations and working for a supervisor who provides positive reinforcement are motivating factors for employees who are hired based on their match to your culture, values and talent profile.  Don’t let them down, make sure they get the feedback they thrive on.  And make sure your organization’s total reward program, including compensation, benefits, recognition, and work-life factors, provides incentive and reinforcement for the discretionary effort that results in high performance and high profitability.

Connect

To your employees, supervisors and managers are the human face of the organization.  What does that face look like?  High performers thrive on positive feedback and recognition of their work.  They want to work for a person who conveys a sense of understanding and values them.  They seek a management team that is visible and accessible.  How are the “people skills” of your people leaders?  There’s an old saying that goes, “Employees don’t quit companies, they quit supervisors.”  Investing in the people leadership skills of supervisors and managers at every level is crucial to achieving an engaged workforce.  If leaders don’t make a conscious effort to create a sense of connection with employees, all the money the organization invests in compensation and benefits won’t raise the level of motivation.  People want to work for people, not abstractions, logos or brands.

Equip

Employees feel they are working for an organization that seeks to provide them with the resources they need to do great work, they tend respond accordingly.  This doesn’t mean throwing money away on the newest gadget, latest model, or “bleeding edge” technology.  It does mean making visible efforts to understand employee’s needs and the challenges they face in doing their work.  In most cases, employees simply need to know that management is listening and doing it’s best according to the organization’s financial ability, to give them what they need.  It also means sharing information.  Back to bowling while blindfolded – employees feel more a part of the organization when they are given a sense of the big picture, the goals and direction.  They want to know where the organization is going and what progress is being made towards achieving objectives.

Engage!

An engaged workforce is achievable when an organization has a talent management program that enables leaders to:

• Select the best candidates
• Provide clear performance standards, effective coaching and meaningful rewards
• Establish a sense of connection through superior people skills
• Create an environment where employees feel their concerns are heard and they are receiving important information about the organization and their jobs

The result of effective talent management is an improved bottom line for your organization.  The simple formula is Great People = Higher Profits.

 

When It’s Time to Hire, Hire Great People

August 1st, 2010 will be a red letter day when the history of the Great Recession is written. It was the tipping point when business leaders began saying, “We think this is a good time to begin making some key hires. There’s talent available, the end is in sight, and we’re going to selectively bring some people on board.”

Is this the right time for your organization to carefully begin building staff? It goes without saying that the financial house must be in order. With that in mind, here are a few points to consider on the people side.

Know which skill sets will add the most immediate value. Do an assessment of your organization’s talent infrastructure and get a quick two year SWOT analysis. Take a look at the emerging opportunities and the knowledge and skill gaps in your workforce, from top to bottom. What will you need to quickly move forward as the economy turns the corner – more capacity in sales, production, product development, supervision or perhaps somewhere else?

Check for burnout points that may be building in your workforce. As the economy headed downward into recession, employers did reductions in force. In 2010, things began to stabilize, and in some sectors, to improve. However, most organizations waited and waited, not wanting to add staff prematurely and jeopardize their slowly recovering bottom lines. Take a close, honest look at workloads. If there are hourly or salaried people who have been working extra hours for months, they are getting tired. Are you at risk of losing any key people due to burnout? If the answer is yes, it may be time to beef up staff a bit.

Hire the very best people you can. The right technical competencies – job related knowledge, skills and abilities – are critical, but don’t stop there. Really great employees are those who possess harder-to-measure behavioral competencies like teamwork, interpersonal skills, time management, strategic thinking, learning ability and others. They match your organization’s values and culture. Before you hire, map out the behavioral traits and skills required to excel in the position. Create competency-based behavioral interview questions. And use a proven, valid, reliable personality and leadership style assessment tool to determine each candidate’s fit to the position requirements.

Great people build great organizations and great organizations develop great people. Here’s hoping 2011 will be a building year for you and your organization!