I am about to experience the most dramatic life change I have gone through so far. My wife and I are expecting our first child in September. The excitement and anticipation are beyond what I thought they would be. My wife and I are in our thirties and we meticulously charted our course to parenthood. As we make our final preparations for Emmett’s arrival we have crossed many taskes off our checklist: nursery—check, leave plans—check, day care—check, birthing classes—check, baby showers—check, mother/mother-in-law visitation schedule—check, work schedule to accommodate our little guy—uh oh!
I have always approached work with the attitude that I can make up for my weaknesses by simply working harder. Friends and family tire of hearing, “I have a work thing.” A typical week consists of three to five coffees (before 8:00), one or more board meetings (often in the evening), five business lunches, two or three dinners or evening events, and catch-up work on the weekend. I think a lot of you are in this boat. Fifty hours is now largely considered the regular work week and few will even blink when you say you worked sixty hours in a week.
As I prepare to take on my most important role in life, I have tackled this task in the same way that FlashPoint would recommend to a management and leadership development client.
Know yourself —I know that I can’t “spread out” things and need definite breaks to focus on one or the other. I also know that if I do not have a minimum of 30 minutes of “down time” before I try to sleep I will not sleep.
Prioritize commitments—What things am I willing to give up in order to be more effective with my other commitments?
Learn to say “no”—This is hard for me as I am motivated by helping others. Again, it is about prioritizing commitments.
Plan personal events as you would professional events—Spontaneity is great and should always be a part of life, but it doesn’t hurt to do a little planning. After all, we plan for the things we think are important.
Use your work calendar to block off your personal commitments—I learned this trick from a team member who does a great job keeping her personal and professional commitments. When personal commitments are on your calendar it provides you with a more realistic preview of all of your commitments.
While professional jobs may require more “time” to get all of the work done, many organizations (like FlashPoint) have flexible scheduling which makes it easier to integrate work and life commitments. It seems that the key is taking some time to prioritize and organize. For me, the test starts around September 19th—check back with me in October to see how I am doing.
Winners want the ball. Winners can work through pressure. Winners believe they are going to hit the shot. Why are they winners? They prepare more than the others! I have read nearly every superstar athlete’s book and with only one exception (Lawrence Taylor) they all discussed their unordinary preparation. Larry Bird used to hit every shot on the court AFTER a game so that when the time came during the next game he was prepared. Now let’s translate this for the business world.
Speaking publicly is feared above death. Speaking effectively is 75 percent of getting a job. Speaking probably has a larger impact on your career than any other trait. Yet we participate in meetings and we “wing it.” We think that a 30-minute presentation is quick and so we don’t prepare. Why? Only you can answer that question. For me, I don’t take a chance on any length presentation. I am frequently asked how I speak to groups of any size as if I’m having a conversation with my best friend. The answer is simple—I practice, a lot. Here are a few tips:
Preparing content:
Focus on your first 30-seconds as the audience will use that time to determine if they are going to pay attention to you. Plus, avoid spending those valuable seconds talking about yourself (let your program bio sing your praises).
Find average words and say the opposite. Avoid saying “good morning” or “well, let’s get started.”
Use words that your audience will understand and avoid confusing them with difficult vocabulary and industry jargon.
End with a bang! Tie your closing remarks back to your key messages.
Preparing for the presentation:
Practice, practice, and practice some more. Practice in front of a mirror, in the car, while your kids are watching, or in front of a friend or co-worker.
Anticipate questions from the audience and rehearse your response.
Film yourself; as uncomfortable as it is, you will learn more from this exercise than any other practice method.
Learn to tell stories effectively.
Leverage your strengths by using your sense of humor, your wit, your charm, your ability to describe something effectively, or your story-telling ability.
Greet every person as they enter the room. Personal greetings will make you more comfortable and will make audience members less likely to judge you (as you’ve already made a solid first impression).
Athletic coaches always say that pressure comes from lack of preparation. FlashPoint teaches the same thing in our presentation skills training. You can fool people on some things but public speaking is not one of them. I have received many funny looks while practicing presentations on the drive to a meeting. Turn off the iPod and listen to yourself. . .your audience will thank you!
We have all been placed on “teams.” Maybe it was a project team or a focus group team or even your new service team. Most of us can think of teams that completely fell apart or didn’t work well. Let me guess what happened:
One or more members of your team didn’t “pull their weight?”
One person tended to dominate
Not everyone felt included
A couple of people did the majority of the work
I was having a conversation with a CEO whom I respect a great deal and I told him that I was going to write a book titled, “Teamwork is Overrated.” He said it caught his attention. I explained that we place people on teams for EVERYTHING but often fail to help them succeed. A lot of times people don’t feel good about the team experience. Sometimes the whole purpose for developing the team is defeated because we failed the members who are actually on the team.
What can we do to ensure success? When creating teams, here are a few questions to consider:
Why are we forming a team? What is our purpose?
Do we have different perspectives in the group?
Do we have competing priorities?
Is the goal of the team well defined and tied to organizational strategy?
Who is leading the team?
How are individuals held accountable for the success of the project/goal?
Give your teams a chance. It is hard enough to go through the forming, storming, norming, and performing aspects of team development without the confusion of why they are actually there and what role they are expected to play. A truly aligned team is stronger than any individual. There is a “we” in awesome!
One of my favorite commercials is from Monster.com where a child states, “I wanna claw my way up to middle management.” I remember the first time I became an assistant manager. I was so excited to send my new business cards to my whole family (even though they live in Colorado and couldn’t do business with me) and I readily gave one to anyone who would take one. We all love the American success story about the person who started in the mail room and worked his way up to CEO—what a great story. Everyone should strive to accomplish that, right?
What happened to simply being “the best” at what we do? Why if we are considered “the best,” do we have to get promoted to feel valued? By that rationale, Peyton Manning should be the coach and not the quarterback. Imagine what would happen to the Indianapolis Colts if Curtis Painter took over and Manning was simply his coach? Do you remember when Magic Johnson tried to coach? He failed miserably, yet no one would argue that he is one of the greatest basketball players of all-time. The role of being a coach is different from being a player. Just like the role of being a manager is different from being a contributor. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of contributors who have what it takes to be a manager and I firmly believe that leadership can be taught; but, it is not for everyone and that should be ok.
So, what do you do? You can’t stop promoting from within your organization because you do not want employees to feel stagnate.
Here are some considerations:
How does a promotion impact your customers?
Think about how you show that you value your employees. Does everyone know how they contribute to the success of your business? What is their impact on your business?
Do a job analysis and consider job enrichment and/or enlargement versus simply promoting people into management. Few people want to do the exact same job each day, but it doesn’t mean the only way to change that is through promotion.
Consider a pay-for-performance compensation plan as many people want and take a management position simply because it pays more.
Ask employees how they feel about their contributions and their role within your organization.
There was a time in my career when I would have ranked advancement as the most important part of my job. As I have matured in my career, I value the impact I can have on an organization. It didn’t come naturally and it took a lot of work. I now chuckle a bit when I hear titles dropped in conversations. My current title will not raise the eyebrows that my CEO title once did, but I can tell you confidently that I would have a much larger impact on your organization today than I would have six years ago.
A couple weeks ago my wife and I purchased a new car as we needed something a little more “kid friendly.” If you haven’t purchased a car lately, you’re missing the exciting conclusion of every sale—the sales person explaining the survey that you will receive and that if they score less than perfect it is considered a “failure.” Well, my salesperson will likely receive a failure score. Failure not because she approached us as we were still exiting our car or used old school negotiation tactics or because she was working three deals at once (no signs of a weak economy at this dealership)—failure because of a missed opportunity the next day.
Here is the story. Our finance company was closed on Saturday so we didn’t know our exact payoff amount on the old car. I estimated it and told them I could make up the difference. The next day, I received a call from my salesperson who informed me that I was a whopping $66 under the actual payoff and could she come by—today—to pick up a check. I shared with her that I rarely write checks and asked if I could give her cash or my debit card number. She eagerly agreed and, after getting the number, hustled off the phone.
After I hung up I started thinking. The dealership didn’t give me even close to what I wanted for my car, it had leverage on the price of the new car because it’s a hybrid, and gas is $14 per gallon (not really but you get my point)—they can’t just pick up the $66 tab? Really?
When I facilitate customer service training, I always say, “The customer isn’t always right, but they are always the customer.” I have our salesperson’s business card but will I recommend her to any of my friends or colleagues? Probably not. Will I blast her company all over social media sites? No. Do I feel good about my experience overall. Not really. Do we love our new car? Absolutely.
Nordstrom has a loyal following (including me), largely because they give employees the ability to provide excellent customer service. They realize that customers will come back and they will tell their friends.
I won’t buy another car from that dealership or that salesperson. I might be tough but I work hard to provide the best customer service that I can and I want others to do the same for me.
I sat in my kitchen watching the television intently as Lebron (James) stated that he was “taking his talents to South Beach” and joining the Miami Heat, arguably the most talented basketball team currently assembled in the NBA. Sports radio could not leave the topic alone and the debate was not if they would win a title, but how many they would win and could they break the record for most wins in a season.
Reminiscent of the 2004 Dream Team II basketball team that shocked the world by winning only a bronze medal in Athens, the Heat started the season with a dismal 7-9 record. What was going on? You had three of the best players in the league on one team and you couldn’t buy a win. Then it happened. . .eleven wins in a row and now the Heat sit near the top of the NBA food chain.
What do I mean by “it” happened? They started playing as a team. They started to work within the game strategy (offensive and defensive systems), and stopped trying to individually create opportunities. They checked egos. They leveraged talents instead of trying to trump everything with talent. They started listening.
When I take FlashPoint’s message on the road I often state that great systems are better than great people. I say it in part to get people’s attention, but FlashPoint definitely believes that without a great system you will underutilize superstars and eventually lose them. A great system will also maximize the potential of your average worker by clearly explaining expectations and accountabilities.
What systems am I talking about? Here are just a few:
Even if you don’t have Lebron on your team, if you have great systems in place you can acquire the right talent for your business, maximize their potential, and ultimately make your business more successful.
Contributing to our local community through volunteerism is an important part of FlashPoint’s culture. Our team members are involved in many professional and community organizations, giving us the opportunity to help build strong boards, strengthen professional groups, and provide education. FlashPoint supports my involvement with Kiwanis International, so much so that the company got involved with the organization’s strategic planning.
Krista Skidmore and I recently received awards for Outstanding Contributions to the Kiwanis Club of Indianapolis. Here is an interview about FlashPoint’s community involvement with Kiwanis, as well as details about the unique award.
I can list several things that I love about my role at FlashPoint, but working in a culture that supports and encourages us to volunteer in our local community is my favorite. I have been to events where I’ve met powerful CEOs, politicians, and local celebrities—heck, I even got to chat with Peyton Manning at a Peyback Foundation event—but my passion is working with kids.
As a member of the Kiwanis Club of Indianapolis, I assist with a program called the Builders Club at IPS #56; there my fellow members and I work with middle school students to help them learn about leadership, community involvement, and service. As the business adviser for this group of future leaders, I have the opportunity to talk to them about topics that I feel are important. During the election of officers a few weeks ago, I noticed that all of the candidates referenced having “good leadership” so I decided that I’ll talk to them about leadership at one of the upcoming meetings. Choosing this topic was the easy part. What I’m going to actually say is the million-dollar question.
I plan to keep it simple by telling them of a few myths:
Myth #1—Leaders are born. In a sense, leaders are born because everyone is born. But leadership is not about talents as much as it is about your behavior. It is how you “show up” each day.
Myth #2—Leaders are charismatic. While being charismatic doesn’t really hurt you, it is more important to be trustworthy, visionary, and a good person. Remember, Hitler was charismatic.
Myth #3—Titles make you a leader. A leader is simply someone who can get others to follow him or her. It does not matter what your title is; it matters if you are respected, trusted, and followed.
I also plan to discuss what makes a good leader:
Be Trustworthy—Do what you say you will do.
Have Vision—Don’t think only about today; think about your future and base your decisions on that.
Model the Way—Set a good example for others to follow.
Set Goals—Understand that the difference between a dream and a goal lies in writing it down. If you don’t have a goal, how do you know where you are going?
Be a Good Person—Recognize that people will eventually see who is a good person and who is not. We generally do not follow bad people for the long term.
I’d like to tell these kids so much more about leadership, but I want to keep it simple with the hope that they’ll remember the lesson and think about their behavior on a daily basis.
What would you tell an 8th grader about leadership?
Jeremy King is business development manager at FlashPoint.
I did it! I went one full week without using my cell phone/PDA. No texting, no calls, no voice mails, no tweeting. Okay, I had a little help because I was out of the country on vacation, but I purposefully chose not to get a data plan while away.
My iPhone hiatus caused me to consider a few things:
How much do we rely on technology to stay connected to friends, family, or customers?
Most of us carry a cell phone; should people expect us to answer each time they call?
How much pressure are we under to stay connected 24/7?
How much time do we waste in a given week letting people know when we’re at the doctor or how many days until our next vacation?
Are we going to eventually lose our ability to hold a conversation?
Think about it. . . . How many times do you see a group at a table and at least one person is doing something on his or her phone? I should rephrase that: How many times do you NOT see a group at a table with at least one person doing something on the phone? It’s amazing how pervasive technology has become in our lives.
Don’t get me wrong. I love technology and use my iPhone for everything from paying bills to managing vacations to controlling the music in my house. I even tease my friends who have year 2000 flip phones or blackberries. As a human resources professional, however, I don’t want technology to replace the human touch, and as a “talker” I don’t want it to replace conversation.
Of course it doesn’t really matter what I think—but it does matter what customers think. Here are some customer service tips with regard to using technology at work:
Honor your commitments. If you have a one-hour meeting with someone, don’t pick up your phone during that conversation. (Life-threatening emergencies are the exception.)
Be honest about your communication needs. It’s okay to tell someone that you will be unavailable at certain times. If you’re expecting an important call, mention it beforehand to the person you’re with so you don’t come across as rude.
If you can’t go one hour without answering your phone, consider hiring additional team members and/or empowering your team to make decisions without you. Remember, if you’re too busy working in the business, you don’t have time to work on the business.
Sending text messages has become a part of regular business communications, but know your audience before you fire off a text (especially with a bunch of abbreviations). Does the person you’re talking with appreciate texts, or is there a better way to communicate?
As a parting thought, I must admit that during my cell phone hiatus I was much more relaxed than I otherwise would have been. And I found that I really didn’t miss out on much, other than learning that the Colts lost to the Texans (which, for the sake of those on the trip, it was probably best that I missed).
Have you ever woken on a Saturday and thought, “What a beautiful day; I think I will go for a run. I need to get in shape and there is no better time than today for me to get started?” So you lace up your shoes, do a couple of calf stretches and you are off . . . for about a half mile. At the half-mile mark the legs start tingling, the heart is pounding, and the brain finally catches up with the body so all you can think about is when you can stop. The next day you feel uncomfortably sore, don’t run again for quite some time, and do not get in shape. Don’t worry—you are not alone.
Many organizations take the same approach to learning and development. Perhaps an incident occurs, you read a good article or book, or you have an uncomfortable conversation that leads you to think, “Wow, we need some training.” You set up a two-hour training session and participants listen to a dynamic facilitator, toss a few balls around, and leave energized. You feel good about the effort, but you do not see any results or changes in behavior. Rarely does learning (like running) fail because of the event; it fails because of the lack of preparation and follow-through. You just wasted time, energy, and money. Don’t feel bad—you are not alone.
A few weeks ago some of my fellow marathoners and I decided that we should all do one last marathon together. We determined that we need to go BIG at a cool location, with all of us running together. We decided to run in Barcelona, Spain, in March 2011. The goal is set . . . done and done. Then reality set in. I haven’t run a marathon in seven years. My knees crack from years of athletic abuse, and I am now built more like an anti-cardio ex-football player who only does bench press and curls at the gym. The excuses come a lot easier these days for me (kind of like in business where we can blame the economy for all of our problems). The funny thing is, I know I will finish, as I know what it takes to run 26.2 miles—a goal, a plan, support, lifestyle changes, and lots of training.
Do you see the parallel to learning and development? The questions are very similar; all you have to do is substitute the “my” with “we” and put it in a business context:
What is my SMART goal?
What is my plan to achieve that goal?
What support or whose support do I need?
What lifestyle changes do I need to make?
What type of training do I need (just like with learning it isn’t just one “thing”)? How much time will it take?
What resources do I need to assist with my training?
Is this something I really want to do and am I willing to put in the work in order to achieve the results I want?
Developing your employees takes a serious commitment and a well-thought-out plan. A longtime client and friend, Cindy Allen-Stuckey (HR director at Knauf Insulation), has always said, “If training is the answer, what is the question?” If you can answer that question, then employee development will be easy, just like running a marathon.
Speaking publicly is feared above death. Speaking effectively is 75 percent of getting a job. Speaking probably has a larger impact on your career than any other trait. Yet we participate in meetings and we “wing it.” We think that a 30-minute presentation is quick and so we don’t prepare. Why? Only you can answer that question. For me, I don’t take a chance on any length presentation. I am frequently asked how I speak to groups of any size as if I’m having a conversation with my best friend. The answer is simple—I practice, a lot. Here are a few tips:
We have all been placed on “teams.” Maybe it was a project team or a focus group team or even your new service team. Most of us can think of teams that completely fell apart or didn’t work well. Let me guess what happened:
One of my favorite commercials is from Monster.com where a child states, “I wanna claw my way up to middle management.” I remember the first time I became an assistant manager. I was so excited to send my new business cards to my whole family (even though they live in Colorado and couldn’t do business with me) and I readily gave one to anyone who would take one. We all love the American success story about the person who started in the mail room and worked his way up to CEO—what a great story. Everyone should strive to accomplish that, right?
A couple weeks ago my wife and I purchased a new car as we needed something a little more “kid friendly.” If you haven’t purchased a car lately, you’re missing the exciting conclusion of every sale—the sales person explaining the survey that you will receive and that if they score less than perfect it is considered a “failure.” Well, my salesperson will likely receive a failure score. Failure not because she approached us as we were still exiting our car or used old school negotiation tactics or because she was working three deals at once (no signs of a weak economy at this dealership)—failure because of a missed opportunity the next day.
I can list several things that I love about my role at FlashPoint, but working in a culture that supports and encourages us to 
I did it! I went one full week without using my cell phone/PDA. No texting, no calls, no voice mails, no tweeting. Okay, I had a little help because I was out of the country on vacation, but I purposefully chose not to get a data plan while away.
ver woken on a Saturday and thought, “What a beautiful day; I think I will go for a run. I need to get in shape and there is no better time than today for me to get started?” So you lace up your shoes, do a couple of calf stretches and you are off . . . for about a half mile. At the half-mile mark the legs start tingling, the heart is pounding, and the brain finally catches up with the body so all you can think about is when you can stop. The next day you feel uncomfortably sore, don’t run again for quite some time, and do not get in shape. Don’t worry—you are not alone.
