Walk Your Talk

A few years ago I was invited to spend some time with Ken Blanchard at his lake home in upstate New York. Over the last 20 years Ken has probably sold more books than any other business author. His classic, The One Minute Manager, has sold over 10 million copies. He has also built a large training company with the focus on servant leadership and customer service.

I've had the good fortune to meet many successful businessmen, authors, and speakers during my career, but I've never met anyone that "walked the talk" more than Ken. He gets it. The first night of my visit to Ken's lake home, we were sitting on the deck with Humberto, his son-in-law, talking about some ways we could work together. It was about 10 p.m., when all of a sudden Ken jumped up and asked to be excused. He returned about 10:20 and Humberto asked "What happened?" Ken said, "I can't believe it; I forgot to call Dorothy on her birthday."

Later that night, after Ken had gone to bed, Humberto told me that Dorothy is an 85 year old part time employee for the company. It then dawned on me that at 10 p.m. Ken left to spend almost 20 minutes talking to Dorothy and inquiring about how she had spent her special day. However, after spending more time with Ken over the next year, I came to realize that this was no fluke. This is who he is. The last time while visiting him at his San Diego office, I learned that one of his employees who worked in the warehouse had recently passed away. On that day, Ken had invited the employee's wife to come to his office. When she arrived, he spent an hour walking around with her carrying a tape recorder to record all of the wonderful memories that other employees had of her husband. When the wife left she said it was a day she'd never forget.

You see, what many leaders would have considered a waste of time, Ken saw it as an opportunity to serve and to thank his people. He doesn't do it because it's expected of him, he does it because he truly cares. It comes from his heart, and his people love him for being the servant leader that he is.

This is an old Chinese poem that offers wonderful advice for any leader:

GO to the people
LIVE among the people
LEARN from them
LOVE them.
START with what they know,
BUILD on what they have.
But of the BEST leaders,
When their TASK is accomplished,
Their WORK is done,
The PEOPLE will remark,

"WE HAVE DONE IT OURSELVES."

An Excerpt from: You Can't Send a Duck to Eagle School
Mac Anderson / Founder, Simple Truths

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Retention? Who Needs to Worry About That?

Effective employee recognition is timely and meaningful, says Tommy Lee Hayes-Brown, AIC, a certified recognition professional and member of the Multicultural Sales & Service Team with MetLife Auto & Home, a division of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

Local Control a Key

Each MetLife office is given a recognition budget and the discretion to decide who will be recognized and how, according to Hayes-Brown. "It's all left to the individual office," he says, adding that they did not want a "big mandate" from corporate.

Employee involvement in the recognition process is critical, he says. It has to be driven by the employees and modeled by the leaders. "Then you know it becomes part of your culture."

Three Tiers of Recognition

Following the "rebirth" of its employee recognition programs 6 years ago, with help from Recognition Professionals International (RPI), MetLife Auto & Home started offering three tiers of employee recognition:

1. Day-to-Day Recognition

"The day-to-day recognition is probably the most important," says Hayes-Brown. "It allows you to give employees constant feedback and encourage them to repeat that behavior."

Day-to-day recognition includes a pat on the back for a job well done, leaving a thank-you note on an associate's desk, or giving someone a roll of Life Savers candy for helping out and being a "life saver," he says.

Employees also can nominate a co-worker for recognition on a third-party vendor website, where they can describe what the associate did and identify a category the behavior falls into, he says.

The categories are tied to the company's core values. For example, this year's categories are innovation, learning, caring, and collaboration, Hayes-Brown says.

Local recognition committees—made up of local peers—review the nominations from the vendor website and decide the level of award. Employees selected for an award are directed to a website where they have access to a certain level of merchandise from which to choose.

2. Informal Recognition

This type of recognition includes celebrations of service milestones as well as team-oriented accomplishments. Associates and management determine what accomplishments are worthy of celebration and plan appropriate activities.

The type of activity varies widely, and has included themed parties, managers washing associates' cars, and the entire office participating in volunteer work together, he says.

3. Formal Recognition

Toward the end of each year, the company accepts nominations for formal recognition. Again, employees nominate on the vendor website.

A corporate recognition team, with representatives from every division, reviews the nominations and picks "the best of the best," Hayes-Brown says. Only about 2 percent to 5 percent of the employee population is selected.

Those employees are invited to a gathering where they meet the company president, attend "elegant dinners," and participate in teambuilding activities and focus groups, he says. "Not only are they recognized for what they did back home, but they are asked to help us move forward."

When employees are recognized and feel valued, "It creates a better working environment, which then creates a better customer experience, which creates more opportunities for us in the marketplace."

Hayes-Brown's Tips for Recognition Success

Here are a few tips to help strengthen employee recognition programs:

• Be Strategic. Reinforce employees for behaviors that are consistent with your core values, your goals, and/or your mission statement.
  
• Get Employees Involved In the Recognition Process. "It shouldn't be an HR program, nor should it be a management program," he says. "Everybody should own it. Everybody should have a piece of it. That's how you build it into your culture."

 Thanks to HR Daily Advisor

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Give Value To Relationships

A man stopped at a flower shop for ordering some flowers to be sent as a gift to his mother who lived two hundred miles away.

 

As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."

 

The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose." He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers.

 

As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."

 

She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the gifting order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.

 

At times we take many such relationships with our family and friends for granted. Learn to value them.

 

Best Wishes for Mothers Day!.

 

Thanks to PravsWorld

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5 Keys to Improving Worker Safety Attitude

1. Take Safety Seriously

Every employee must take safety seriously in order to:

• Avoid accidents that can cause fires, explosions, or other dangers
• Avoid accidents that can cause job-related injuries
• Avoid exposure to hazardous substances that can lead to serious illness
• Comply with OSHA safety and health regulations
• Comply with company work rules, policies, and procedures

2. A Positive Safety Attitude Makes the Most of Company Safety Tools and Training

When you take safety seriously, you take advantage of the protections available on the job. The safety procedures, equipment, and information employers provide include:

• Engineering controls such as ventilation
• Work procedures such as lockout/tagout
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, hard hats, and protective eyewear
• Emergency planning and response programs such as alarms, evacuation plans, and eyewashes
• Safety information such as chemical labels and material safety data sheets
• Training on how to do your job safely

3. Carelessness Is the Most Common Cause of Workplace Accidents

Unsafe acts are often a factor in accidents. They result when people take attitudes like these toward safety:

• Complacency. After performing a job many times without an accident, you may believe you're experienced enough to skip safety procedures or steps. That's exactly when an accident happens.
• Being Upset Or Angry. You can't let emotions get in the way of doing your job correctly. Distraction can be dangerous.
• Fatigue. Being tired can slow down your physical and mental reactions, causing your mind to wander.
• Recklessness. Taking chances with tools, machinery, chemicals, or work procedures is foolish and dangerous.
• Being Afraid to Ask Questions. Training and work procedures cover a lot of ground--sometimes too much to remember. Always ask when you're not sure what to do or how to do it. It shows you're smart enough to know what you don't know.

4. Take a Positive Attitude Toward Safety

• Take personal responsibility for your own safety and that of your co-workers.
• Pay attention to training.
• Follow every step in every job every time.
• Know and follow safety rules.
• Use required personal protective equipment.
• Give work your full attention.
• Keep an eye out for hazards. Always ask, "What could go wrong here?"
• Put your personal feelings and problems aside while you're working.
• Urge your co-workers to follow safety procedures.
• Know what to do in an emergency.
• Ask questions about any procedure or precaution that's not clear.
• Report any safety hazards you can't fix.
• Save fooling around for your personal time.

5. Look for Opportunities to Improve Workplace Safety

Demonstrate that you have the right attitude toward safety by:

• Volunteering for safety committees
• Taking an active role in safety meetings and training sessions
• Proposing safety improvements through the suggestion system
• Cooperating with safety inspections and monitoring
• Setting an example of a good safety attitude for others, especially new employees

 Thanks to Safety Daily Advisor

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Crucial Conversations for Uncertain Times

Your 401K has been decimated, and you've been told neither you nor the workforce you manage should expect a raise this year. So, understandably, you're a little concerned. Wondering if your company will make it through this one?  Clues to your organization's future already have been set before you, according to "Financial Agility: The Four Crucial Conversations for Uncertain Times," a newly released study from VitalSmarts. The research findings show there are four crucial moments that predict an organization's ability to respond effectively and quickly to financial threats. Here are key points from the study: 

• There are four behaviors (and resulting conversations) of uncertain times:

1. Denial: Often, employees question the severity of financial crises and resist change. Unable to overturn doubts, leaders make across-the-board cuts or get bogged down in endless discussions.
2. Silence: During financial crises, people often fail to hold teammates accountable to commitments made by the whole group. Companies that encourage people to speak up and hold others accountable to agreed-upon plans experience steady, rapid, and unified action.
3. Protection Of Pet Projects: In many companies, employees half-heartedly engage in cost-cutting decisions. The most obvious and necessary cuts often are the boss' pet projects, but suggesting cuts there could be politically unwise.
4. Irrational Slashing: Leaders often hastily conclude they can't trust their team to offer up real reduction opportunities, and consequently, they impose deep, across-the-board cuts. These companies emerge from recessions cynical rather than nimble and vital.

• Some 60 percent of the more than 2,000 managers, leaders, and executives polled for the study say their bosses may offer potential solutions "but genuinely challenge the team to candidly discuss other possible options" when they have to respond to immediate budget constraints.
• Fifty-two percent of respondents say their company tends to make "appropriate and intelligent adjustments in a very short period of time" when the organization's leaders are required to respond to significant changes in financial outlooks.
• Some 40 percent of respondents say disagreements "rarely" occur among team members and the boss about how severe or urgent a financial issue is. Thirty-four percent say these disagreements arise "occasionally," and 11 percent say they "never" occur.
• Forty percent of respondents say their peers talked to each other, but not with the person who was failing to act at times when people on the team failed to take the kind of rapid and decisive actions needed.
• Forty percent also say it took their team "somewhat longer than ideal—a few weeks" to respond in an effective way to their financial challenge.
• Twenty-seven percent say they "spoke up in a professional way and shared all of their criticisms of the organization's norms or practices" when faced with a time when the biggest savings would require taking on an entrenched cultural norm or practice. "Others added their perspectives, and the issue was fully discussed by the team," these respondents agreed.
• Nearly half of respondents are satisfied with how their organization responded to the financial crisis. Forty-seven percent report: "We miss a few opportunities, but generally do O.K."

Thanks to Training Maganize

 

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A Lesson in Ordinary Greatness

One of the side effects of my constant travel schedule is arriving at hotels in new cities late at night. Unable to sleep, I turn on the TV. Late-night TV is mostly a wasteland of infomercials and B-movies, but one of the bright spots has been Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC. It could always be counted on for a laugh. It was interesting to see recently that Conan has aired his final show, as he will be succeeding Jay Leno as Tonight Show host when Jay steps down later this year—according to Conan, a dream of his come true.

 

Conan's 'Career Path'

Conan's career path also contains many lessons for leaders, I believe. You see, when Conan was offered the role of host of Late Night in 1993 (after being encouraged to audition by the legendary producer of Saturday Night Live Lorne Michaels), he was following the very successful David Letterman, and Conan was a complete unknown. He had been a successful writer behind the scenes on The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live, but he had no show-hosting experience.

Many experts in the entertainment field were quite surprised and maybe even a bit offended that someone they did not know well had been chosen to host Late Night. In fact, NBC even acknowledged this perception in a radio ad that aired shortly before the show's debut that had O'Brien telling the story of someone who recognized him on the street and said, "Look, honey, there's the guy who doesn't deserve his own show!"

And his tenure was not without its bumps. For example, during the first 3 years, NBC insisted on renewing the show for only 2 weeks at a time. But then Conan and his staff began hitting their stride. The shows became consistently funny, ratings improved, and the show developed a loyal following.

This provided some comedic fodder for O'Brien on his 10th Anniversary Special. Mr. T appeared on the special to give O'Brien a gold necklace with a giant "7" on it. When O'Brien tried to point out that he's actually been on the air for 10 years, Mr. T responded, "I know that, fool ... but you've only been funny for 7!"

What I Learned from Conan

What's the lesson for leaders? Well, first of all, greatness in others is not always readily apparent. Sixteen years ago, no one was predicting that Conan would be such a successful host with such a legion of fans that he would actually be the next host of the Tonight Show. He appeared to be an ordinary man, the "guy who doesn't deserve his own show.' It took a visionary like Lorne Michaels to see the "ordinary greatness" in Conan.

Second, the lesson is that people need time. It might take a while to see ordinary greatness in others—don't give up. You might have to keep an eye on things weekly as the NBC folks did, but the results will be there.

So tonight, before you watch Late Night or go to bed early, be sure you have recognized greatness somewhere around you. Oh, and be sure to not just recognize it, but to tell someone you have. Here are some phrases to get you started:

• I haven't told you this in a while, but thank you for ...
• You might think that no one noticed when you...
• Thank you for making my job easier when you ...
• Thank you for always taking such good care of our customers.
• I know they don't always say thank you, so let me.

There is ordinary greatness everywhere you live. If it's not apparent, you might have to be open to it and give it time. But the return on your investment will make it worth it, and you might find the next Conan!

Thanks to Just My E-pinion / By Brian Jones / HR Daily Advisor

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Guide To All Future Parents

 

 

Origin Of Famous Names

There are many companies / brands / products whose names were derived from strange circumstances.

 

Mercedes
This was actually the financier's daughter's name.

 

Adobe
This came from name of the river Adobe Creek that ran behind the house of founder John Warnock.

 

Apple Computers
It was the favorite fruit of founder Steve Jobs. He was three months late in filing a name for the business, and he threatened to call his company Apple Computers if the other colleagues didn't suggest a better name by 5 O'clock.

 

CISCO
It is not an acronym as popularly believed. It is short for San Francisco.

 

Compaq
This name was formed by using COMp, for computer, and PAQ to denote a small integral object.

 

Corel
The name was derived from the founder's name Dr. Michael Cowpland.. It stands for COwpland REsearch Laboratory.

 

Google
The name started as a joke boasting about the amount of information the search-engine would be able to search. It was originally named 'Googol', a word for the number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros. After founders- Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page presented their project to an angel investor, they received a cheque made out to 'Google'

 

Hotmail
Founder Jack Smith got the idea of accessing e-mail via the web from a computer anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia came up with the business plan for the mail service, he tried all kinds of names ending in 'mail' and finally settled for hotmail as it included the letters "html" - the programming language used to write web pages. It was initially referred to as HoTMaiL with selective uppercasing.

 

Hewlett Packard
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett..

 

Intel
Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company 'Moore Noyce'but that was already trademarked by a hotel chain so they had to settle for an acronym of INTegrated ELectronics.

 

Lotus (Notes)
Mitch Kapor got the name for his company from 'The Lotus Position' or 'Padmasana'. Kapoor used to be a teacher of Transcendental Meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

 

Microsoft
Coined by Bill Gates to represent the company that was devoted to MICROcomputer SOFTware. Originally christened Micro-Soft, the '-' was removed later on.

 

Motorola
Founder Paul Galvin came up with this name when his company started manufacturing radios for cars. The popular radio company at the time was called Victrola.

 

Oracle
Larry Ellison and Bob Oats were working on a consulting project for the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). The code name for the project was called Oracle (the CIA saw this as the system to give answers to all questions or something such). The project was designed to help use the newly written SQL code by IBM. The project eventually was terminated but Larry and Bob decided to finish what they started and bring it to the world. They kept the name Oracle and created the RDBMS engine. Later they kept the same name for the company.

 

Sony
It originated from the Latin word 'sonus' meaning sound, and 'sonny' a slang used by Americans to refer to a bright youngster.

 

SUN
Founded by 4 Stanford University buddies, SUN is the acronym for Stanford University Network. Andreas Bechtolsheim built a microcomputer; Vinod Khosla recruited him and Scott McNealy to manufacture computers based on it, and Bill Joy to develop a UNIX-based OS for the computer.

 

Yahoo!
The word was invented by Jonathan Swift and used in his book 'Gulliver's Travels'. It represents a person who is repulsive in appearance and action and is barely human. Yahoo! Founders Jerry Yang and David Filo selected the name because they considered themselves yahoos.

 

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Looking For the Good

Have you found yourself facing one challenging situation after another, posing a threat to your happiness, hopefulness, and peace of mind? Would you like to find another way to deal with those challenging situations? If so, let Johanna in the following story be your guide.

 

I Can't Wait To See What Good Comes Out of This Situation

Johanna woke up one morning feeling very sad because she and her boyfriend had broken up the night before. She somehow knew that he was not "right" for her, but she had been unable to end their relationship. She had also been told a week ago that her company was downsizing and, as a result, she would be laid off. As she was lying in her bed pondering the situation, her eyes fell on a framed cross-stitch piece that her deceased mother had made for her.

The piece quoted her mother's favorite saying, "I can't wait to see what good will come out of this situation." Johanna's mother was very wise and lived her short life in peace and contentment. Johanna found immediate comfort in the quotation, knowing that the words held power that could change a negative attitude into a positive one. She allowed the saying to permeate her mind as she rose and prepared for her day.

Johanna's day was to get more challenging. Her car would not start and she was going to be late for a job interview. As she stood staring helplessly at her "dead" car, the words again come to her... "I can't wait to see what good is going to come out of this situation."

As she was contemplating what she was going to do, she was approached by her next door neighbor, a very kind (and single) gentleman who offered her assistance. She accepted a ride from this man who she knew only by sight and to whom she had never spoken. As he was driving her to her appointment, she explained her job situation and the need to find another position. It happened that his company was looking for someone with her skills and background. Johanna interviewed with his company, and she accepted a position in her "dream job." She also entered into a very meaningful relationship with her "rescuer."

As Johanna was contemplating her good luck in finding a job and a relationship, she realized that she had been open and receptive to the good that would come out of the unfortunate situations in which she found herself. She learned the power of those words, "I can't wait to see what good is coming out of this situation."

It may be difficult to look for the good in those trying or devastating situations in which we may find ourselves. However, if we will take the time to review the wondrous events in our lives, we may find that many of them had their roots in adverse situations. In fact, if it were not for those challenging events, we may not have been the recipients of the good fortune that we received as a result of the adversity.

Affirmation:
"I will look for the good in every challenging situation that occurs to me this week. I will change my life by changing my thinking about challenging events. I will claim the good, knowing that it will come to me." 
 
By Mary Rau-Foster

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Superb Test to Upgrade a Boy

First-grade teacher, Ms Neelam (Age 28) was having trouble with one of her students

The teacher asked, "Boy. What is your problem?"

Boy. Answered, "I'm too smart for the first-grade. My sister is in the third-grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the third-grade too!"

Ms Neelam had enough. She took Boy to the principal's office. While Boy waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms Neelam he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the first-grade and behave. She agreed.

Boy was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"

Boy.: "9".

Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"

Boy.: "36".

And so it went with every question the principal thought a third-grade should know. The principal looks at Ms Neelam and tells her, "I think Boy. can go to the third-grade."

Ms Neelam says to the principal, "I have some of my own questions. Can I ask him?"
The principal and Boy. both agree.

Ms Neelam asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of ?"

Boy., after a moment "Legs."

Ms Neelam: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"

Boy.: "Pockets."

Ms Neelam: "What starts with a C and ends with a T, is hairy, oval, and delicious and contains thin whitish liquid?"

Boy.: "Coconut"

Ms Neelam: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft And sticky?"
The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer, Boy. was taking charge.

Boy.: "Bubblegum"

Ms Neelam: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?"
The principal's eyes open really wide and before he could stop the answer...

Boy.: "Shake hands"

Ms Neelam: "Now I will ask some "Who am I" sort of questions, okay?"

Boy.: "Yep."

Ms Neelam: "You stick your poles inside me. You tie me down to get me up. I get wet before you do."

Boy.: "Tent"

Ms Neelam: "A finger goes in me. You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first."
The Principal was looking restless, a bit tense and took one large Patiala Vodka peg.

Boy.: "Wedding Ring"

Ms Neelam: "I come in many sizes. When I'm not well, I drip. When you blow me, you feel good."

Boy.: "Nose"

Ms Neelam: "I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver."

Boy.: "Arrow"

Ms Neelam: "What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' that means lot of heat and excitement?"

Boy.: "Fire truck"

Ms Neelam: "What word starts with a 'F' and ends in 'K' & if u don't get it u have to use ur hand."

Boy.: "Fork"

Ms Neelam: "What is it that all men have one of it's longer on some men than on others, the pope doesn't use his and a man gives it to his wife after they're married?"

Boy.: "SURNAME"

Ms Neelam: "What part of the man has no bone but has muscles, has lots of veins, like pumping, & is responsible for making love?"

Boy.: "HEART."

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and said to the teacher, "Send this Boy. to Harvard University, I got the last ten questions wrong myself!"

Why Sexy Isn't Better: How Sexual Behavior Can Submarine Your Career

Women who wear short skirts that display a lot of leg may be overlooked for promotion and pay increases. So says a recent study conducted by Tulane University. Overt sexual behavior at work, whether men and women are consciously aware of it, or not, can submarine your career.

Tulane professor Arthur Brief and colleagues Suzanne Chan-Serafin, Jill Bradley and Marla Watkins searched recent studies and literature and found little about the consequences of sexy dressing and sexual behavior at work. (Most available research studied sexual harassment.) So, they conducted their own study that will be presented at the Academy of Management annual meeting.

The study sought to measure whether sexy dressing and sexual behavior negatively impacted the careers of women - and the researchers found that they did. According to the article in USA Today⁶, "in the first study to make plain the negative consequences of such behavior, 49% of 164 female MBA graduates said in a survey that they have tried to advance in their careers by sometimes engaging in at least one of 10 sexual behaviors, including crossing their legs provocatively or leaning over a table to let men look down their shirts."

Consequences of Engaging In Sexual Behavior and Sexy Dress

The researchers found that the women who claimed that they never engaged in such sexual behavior had earned an average of three promotions. Women who stated that they had engaged in flirting and other overt sexual behavior had only earned two promotions. Women who did not engage in the sexual behavior earned, on average, in the $75,000 to $100,000 income range; the women who did earned, on average, $50,000 to $75,000.

While these results are new and the study may not reflect the results of additional research, the results are striking for two reasons. First, the percentage of women who admit they have engaged in sexual behavior such as sending flirty or risqué emails; telling a coworker that he looks "hot;" and emphasizing their sexuality while at work by the way they dress, speak, and act, is remarkable. Second, the negative impact of the behavior on the women's careers taps into the gut feeling I have held for years.

Recently, in a sales office, a young woman wearing low rider pants and a short, tight, stylish top leaned over her briefcase to remove her computer. Half of her back was displayed to the whole office, and the people surrounding her cubicle had all eyes focused on her. My entrance caused several to look away with guilty expressions and all were noticeably embarrassed.

In another office, an applicant for a managerial position, asked me why several young women were wearing lingerie to work. A newly hired manager, in the same office, came to me and suggested that a dress code would be a good idea. She had been embarrassed taking a customer to her office.

Recommended Actions to Address Sexual Behavior and Sexy Dress at Work: Individual

Now that the negative consequences of sexual behavior and sexy dressing at work have been demonstrated, if you are an individual, take a look at how you dress for success in your work place. Tops that cling and show cleavage belong on the beach or in a dance club. If you are uncomfortable sitting where your legs are in view, chances are, your skirt is too short for work. Tank tops belong on the beach or in the exercise room.

Additional ways of dressing, while not sexually provocative, are still ill-advised if you want career success. Capri pants, according to Cynthia Nellis, the Fashion Guide¹⁵ at About, look good on no one. Flip flops or casual sandals don't work in the office either. In addition to being a safety hazard, (dropped items, stubbed toes) who wants to look at a bunch of bare feet in a professional work setting?

Sloppy, dirty, unpressed, and torn clothing present an image that will never earn a promotion for you. Even if "everyone else" is wearing trendy, tight tops and T-shirts, dress for the job you want to have next. Decision makers will appreciate your efforts to dress professionally. See my recommended business casual dress code¹⁶ for more information.

Examine Your Actions at Work. Do you send inappropriate emails, view inappropriate material online, call people "hot" or "sexy", display your physical self inappropriately, or touch other employees? Your actions could submarine your career. The people who make decisions about promotions, customer contact, and pay raises are watching your behavior.

Appearances matter. If you see your own actions in any of this material, do they matter enough to you to make the changes necessary for career success? After all, the statements measured in the Tulane study were taken directly from behavior that individuals had witnessed at work.

Recommended Actions to Address Sexual Behavior and Sexy Dress at Work: Employer or Manager

The cited research gives you factual information you can use to improve the professional behavior and dress code in your office. While people from different cultures and in different parts of the country have different ways of dressing for work, sexy is generally out. Sexually provocative behavior can also bring charges of sexual harassment or hostile work environment, so it behooves you, as an employer, to address professional dress and actions.

I recommend you take these actions.

• Make sure you have appropriate policies in place. A sexual harassment policy is required. A formal complaint process is essential. A non-fraternization policy is important as well as a nepotism policy. A code of employee conduct that defines professionalism provides additional support.
  
• Develop a dress code that is well-supported by your managers and supervisors. They will have to enforce the policy when their reporting staff members dress sexily or unprofessionally for work.
  
• Hold training sessions on the policies recommended in the first two points, especially on what constitutes sexual harassment. Marianne Newton, an HR Generalist at a Dexter, MI-based firm, ReCellular, Inc, suggested holding an employee fashion show so employees could see what clothing is appropriate for business casual or professional dress.
  
• You may need to speak directly to employees that engage in sexual behavior. Managers who have good relationships with their employees, assisted by Human Resources staff, when needed, can point out to people the error of their ways. Sexual behavior must be corrected to maintain a work place culture that is comfortable and not harassing for all. Recently, a California court found that the preferential treatment of an employee with whom the boss was having an affair had constituted sexual harassment for several other employees. This is just another example of why, as an employer, you need to address inappropriate behavior.
  
• Be prepared that you may need to talk with people individually who consistently break the dress code. Some companies send inappropriately dressed employees home. Others use progressive disciplinary action when needed to enforce the policy.

I'd like to think that a well-written, broadly developed dress code, along with training in what constitutes sexual harassment or a hostile work environment, will send your employees a clear message about what is appropriate at work.

The Tulane study reinforces the need for and the professionalism required of your policies, particularly for women seeking career success. Sexual behavior and sexy clothing at work are not only an employer's potential harassment nightmare. Sexual behavior and sexy clothing at work would appear to submarine promising careers, too.

By Susan M. Heathfield

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The Words You Use Make A Difference

The following excerpt is from Dr. Denis Waitley

The key to authentic leadership is to listen to your followers, and then open the door for them to lead themselves. The secret is empowerment. The main incentive is genuine caring and recognition.

• The five most important words a leader can speak are: "I am proud of you."
• The four most important are: "What is your opinion?"
• The three most important are: "If you please."
• The two most important are: "Thank You."
• And the most important single word of all is: "You!"

Lesson: Be a Caring Listening Leader By Using Words That Nurture Trust.

Thanks to Listening Leader                                

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Holistic Workforce Management

With layoffs and restructuring in the works to keep afloat in an economy with the power to sink you, "holistic" may bring to mind nothing more than the hope you can keep your company together. But for some training and human resources practitioners, the term means a new approach to managing permanent and contingent staffs. Instead of seeing them as disparate entities, a recent report from The Human Capital Institute and TAPFIN Process Solutions describes a new approach that integrates the two. Here are highlights from the report, "Integrated Resource Fulfillment":

• HR and talent management departments are making solid, if only gradual, progress toward holistic talent management, the report states. Even when an organization cannot necessarily identify its top performers or always align individual goals and rewards with corporate objectives, HR professionals are at least aware of the issues and, in most cases, are working toward solutions.  
  
• According to research conducted by HCI in 2009, 94 percent of U.S. organizations use contract talent. Broadly defined, contract talent (where consultants, outsourced talent, contractors, professional services, and temporary workers are included) already accounts for at least a quarter of the country's workforce and is growing at between two and three times the rate of the traditional workforce.
  
• Ninety percent of respondents expose high-potential employees to special assignments sometimes or frequently, and 82 percent agree it is important to deploy and assign top performers to the organization's most important initiatives. Thus, the study concludes, "it is important for organizations to know who top performers are, not only to ensure more informed downsizing where necessary, but to fill key positions and assignments internally in a manner that maximizes performance and develops future leaders."
  
• The fact that 72 percent of organizations use a human resources management system, and more than half use an applicant tracking system, provides evidence that few organizations practice total workforce management, the study's researchers point out. "HR, as custodians of HR technologies, tends to use those tools to better manage the traditional, full-time workforce only, despite the size and importance of the contingent workforce."
  
• A study interviewee described his organization's efforts to track the performance of new recruits over time so recruiters might gain insights into which sources of talent are better than others depending on the position. "By integrating performance management and total workforce acquisition, the potential to transfer intelligence is enormous," the study notes. "This organization also is able to inform those responsible for leadership development which junior managers are best suited to take the next step up, and to which stretch assignments they are best suited."
  
• "Key decisions," the study points out, "about whether to hire externally versus deploy internally, whether to staff assignments with contract talent versus full-time employees, about who to develop into the next generation of leaders, about how to motivate the workforce to drive corporate objectives, about how and who to retain, rely on linkages between the components of HR and talent management, and on a view of the entire workforce, including contract and other non-traditional workers."

By Training Magazines

 

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There Is Strength In Unity

Have you noticed how much easier and more fulfilling it is when we work together to accomplish a task? Do you recall working with a group on a dreaded project, only to conclude with a positive experience and outcome? Was there a time of crisis when you and others put aside any differences and worked together to help others in need? There is strength in unity. When we gather together to tackle a problem with the desire to create an effective outcome, we may often find unexpected success.

An old man at the point of death summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice. He requested a bundle of sticks and said to his eldest son, "Break it." The son strained and strained, but in spite of all his efforts was unable to break the bundle. The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful.

"Untie the bundle," said the father, "and each of you take a stick." When they had done so, he said to them, "Now, break," and each stick was easily broken.

And... "A house divided against itself cannot stand."

One of the United State's most beloved and revered presidents, Abraham Lincoln, made this point in a speech that he gave in Springfield, Illinois on June 16, 1858 when he was campaigning to become an Illinois Republican senator. At that time the country was divided in its belief as to whether slavery should be abolished.

Although the challenges that we encounter in our lives today may be trivial by comparison, we may find our workplace and communities divided when we pull against each other. There is strength when we draw together at work or at home. When we are facing challenges, we will find greater rewards if we work together to achieve our goals.

The idea presented by Lincoln in 1858 remains true even today. "We shall not fail -- if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later, the victory is sure to come."

At home or work, look for ways to unite to resolve issues and solve problems. It may involve compromise, negotiation or a willingness to give up personal agendas for the good of the organization, family or community, but the success that can flow from these actions can often be more positively impactful than we could ever have imagined.

Affirmation:
"I will strive to be part of a solution instead of part of the problem, by uniting with others to bring about a better outcome." 
 
 By Mary Rau-Foster

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Dynamics of Decision Making

Making Better and More Consistent Decisions

As a valued team member in your organization, you probably make decisions every day. Some decisions are relatively straightforward and simple: Who should serve on the quality assurance committee? Others are quite complex: To improve quality, should we switch to a new manufacturing process?

The first decision will impact people's workloads, and some people might be disappointed when they aren't chosen. However, you know the strengths of individual members of your team, so you can put together a good committee.

On the other hand, changing a manufacturing process is a very complicated decision. You will have to consider what new processes are available. How much will the change cost? When will you see a return on your investment? How large will that return be? How long will it take to train people to use the new system? What impact will there be on our customers? And how will this affect our supplier relationships?

Simple decisions usually need a simple decision-making process. But difficult decisions typically involve issues like these: 

• Uncertainty - Many facts may not be known.
  
• Complexity - You have to consider many interrelated factors.
  
• High-risk consequences - The impact of the decision may be significant.
  
• Alternatives - Each has its own set of uncertainties and consequences.
  
• Interpersonal issues - It can be difficult to predict how other people will react.

With these difficulties in mind, the best way to make a complex decision is to use an effective process. Clear processes usually lead to consistent, high-quality results, and they can improve the quality of almost everything we do. In this article, we outline a process that will help improve the quality of your decisions.

A Systematic Approach to Decision Making

A logical and systematic decision-making process helps you address the critical elements that result in a good decision. By taking an organized approach, you're less likely to miss important factors, and you can build on the approach to make your decisions better and better.

There are six steps to making an effective decision:  

1. Create a constructive environment.
   
2. Generate good alternatives.
   
3. Explore these alternatives.
   
4. Choose the best alternative.
   
5. Check your decision.
   
6. Communicate your decision, and take action.

Here are the steps in detail:

Step 1: Create a Constructive Environment

To create a constructive environment for successful decision making, make sure you do the following: 

• Establish the Objective - Define what you want to achieve.
  

• Agree On the Process - Know how the final decision will be made, including whether it will be an individual or a team-based decision. The Vroom-Yetton-Jago Model (member only) is a great tool for determining the most appropriate way of making the decision.
  

• Involve the Right People - Stakeholder Analysis is important in making an effective decision, and you'll want to ensure that you've consulted stakeholders appropriately even if you're making an individual decision. Where a group process is appropriate, the decision-making group - typically a team of five to seven people - should have a good representation of stakeholders.
  

• Allow Opinions to be Heard - Encourage participants to contribute to the discussions, debates, and analysis without any fear of rejection from the group. This is one of the best ways to avoid groupthink (member only). The Stepladder Technique is a useful method for gradually introducing more and more people to the group discussion, and making sure everyone is heard. Also, recognize that the objective is to make the best decision under the circumstances: it's not a game in which people are competing to have their own preferred alternatives adopted.
  

• Make Sure You're Asking the Right Question - Ask yourself whether this is really the true issue. The 5 Whys technique is a classic tool that helps you identify the real underlying problem that you face.
  

• Use Creativity Tools from the Start - The basis of creativity is thinking from a different perspective. Do this when you first set out the problem, and then continue it while generating alternatives. Our article Generating New Ideas will help you create new connections in your mind, break old thought patterns, and consider new perspectives.

Step 2: Generate Good Alternatives

This step is still critical to making an effective decision. The more good options you consider, the more comprehensive your final decision will be.

When you generate alternatives, you force yourself to dig deeper, and look at the problem from different angles. If you use the mindset 'there must be other solutions out there,' you're more likely to make the best decision possible. If you don't have reasonable alternatives, then there's really not much of a decision to make!

Here's a summary of some of the key tools and techniques to help you and your team develop good alternatives. 

• Generating Ideas
  
  

  • Brainstorming is probably the most popular method of generating ideas.
    

  • Another approach, Reverse Brainstorming, works similarly. However, it starts by asking people to brainstorm how to achieve the opposite outcome from the one wanted, and then reversing these actions.
    

  • The Charette Procedure is a systematic process for gathering and developing ideas from very many stakeholders.
    

  • Use the Crawford Slip Writing Technique (member only) to generate ideas from a large number of people. This is an extremely effective way to make sure that everyone's ideas are heard and given equal weight, irrespective of the person's position or power within the organization.
    

• Considering Different Perspectives
  
  

  • The Reframing Matrix uses 4 Ps (product, planning, potential, and people) as the basis for gathering different perspectives. You can also ask outsiders to join the discussion, or ask existing participants to adopt different functional perspectives (for example, have a marketing person speak from the viewpoint of a financial manager).
    

  • If you have very few options, or an unsatisfactory alternative, use a Concept Fan to take a step back from the problem, and approach it from a wider perspective. This often helps when the people involved in the decision are too close to the problem.
    

  • Appreciative Inquiry forces you to look at the problem based on what's 'going right,' rather than what's 'going wrong.'
    

• Organizing Ideas
  
  This is especially helpful when you have a large number of ideas. Sometimes separate ideas can be combined into one comprehensive alternative.
  
  

  • Use Affinity Diagrams to organize ideas into common themes and groupings.

Step 3: Explore the Alternatives

When you're satisfied that you have a good selection of realistic alternatives, then you'll need to evaluate the feasibility, risks, and implications of each choice. Here, we discuss some of the most popular and effective analytical tools.  

• Risk
  
  In decision making, there's usually some degree of uncertainty, which inevitably leads to risk. By evaluating the risk involved with various options, you can determine whether the risk is manageable.
  
  

  • Risk Analysis helps you look at risks objectively. It uses a structured approach for assessing threats, and for evaluating the probability of events occurring - and what they might cost to manage.
    

• Implications
  
  Another way to look at your options is by considering the potential consequences of each.
  
  

  • Six Thinking Hats helps you evaluate the consequences of a decision by looking at the alternatives from six different perspectives.
    

  • Impact Analysis (member only) is a useful technique for brainstorming the 'unexpected' consequences that may arise from a decision.
    

• Validation
  
  Determine if resources are adequate, if the solution matches your objectives, and if the decision is likely to work in the long term.
  
  

  • Starbursting helps you think about the questions you should ask to evaluate an alternative properly.
    

  • To assess pros and cons of each option, use Force Field Analysis, or use the Plus-Minus-Interesting approach.
    

  • Cost-Benefit Analysis looks at the financial feasibility of an alternative.

  • Our Bite-Sized Training session on Project Evaluation and Financial Forecasting (member only) helps you evaluate each alternative using the most popular financial evaluation techniques.

Step 4: Choose the Best Alternative

After you have evaluated the alternatives, the next step is to choose between them. The choice may be obvious. However, if it isn't, these tools will help:  

• Grid Analysis, also known as a decision matrix, is a key tool for this type of evaluation. It's invaluable because it helps you bring disparate factors into your decision-making process in a reliable and rigorous way.

• Use Paired Comparison Analysis to determine the relative importance of various factors. This helps you compare unlike factors, and decide which ones should carry the most weight in your decision.

• Decision Trees are also useful in choosing between options. These help you lay out the different options open to you, and bring the likelihood of project success or failure into the decision making process.

===================================================

For group decisions, there are some excellent evaluation methods available.

When decision criteria are subjective and it's critical that you gain consensus, you can use techniques like Nominal Group Technique (member only) and Multi-Voting (member only). These methods help a group agree on priorities, for example, so that they can assign resources and funds.

The Delphi Technique (member only) uses multiple cycles of anonymous written discussion and argument, managed by a facilitator. Participants in the process do not meet, and sometimes they don't even know who else is involved. The facilitator controls the process, and manages the flow and organization of information. This is useful where you need to bring the opinions of many different experts into the decision-making process. It's particularly useful where some of these experts don't get on!

===================================================

Step 5: Check Your Decision

With all of the effort and hard work that goes into evaluating alternatives, and deciding the best way forward, it's easy to forget to 'sense check' your decisions. This is where you look at the decision you're about to make dispassionately, to make sure that your process has been thorough, and to ensure that common errors haven't crept into the decision-making process. After all, we can all now see the catastrophic consequences that over-confidence, groupthink, and other decision-making errors have wrought on the world economy.

The first part of this is an intuitive step, which involves quietly and methodically testing the assumptions and the decisions you've made against your own experience, and thoroughly reviewing and exploring any doubts you might have.

A second part involves using a technique like Blindspot Analysis (member only) to review whether common decision-making problems like over-confidence, escalating commitment, or groupthink (member only) may have undermined the decision-making process.

A third part involves using a technique like the Ladder of Inference (member only) to check through the logical structure of the decision with a view to ensuring that a well-founded and consistent decision emerges at the end of the decision-making process.

Step 6: Communicate Your Decision, and Move to Action!

Once you've made your decision, it's important to explain it to those affected by it, and involved in implementing it. Talk about why you chose the alternative you did. The more information you provide about risks and projected benefits, the more likely people are to support the decision.

And with respect to implementation of your decision, our articles on Project Management and Change Management (member only) will help you get this implementation off to a good start!

Key Points

An organized and systematic decision-making process usually leads to better decisions. Without a well-defined process, you risk making decisions that are based on insufficient information and analysis. Many variables affect the final impact of your decision. However, if you establish strong foundations for decision making, generate good alternatives, evaluate these alternatives rigorously, and then check your decision-making process, you will improve the quality of your decisions.

Thanks to James Manktelow / Mindtools

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Shout

'Why do we shout in anger?' A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?'

His disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.'

'But, why do you shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you're angry?'

Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint.

Finally he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.'

Then the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small...'

The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two
people are when they love each other.

'MORAL' said the saint: 'When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return!'

 

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Name It and Use It

A couple went on their honeymoon to a cottage in a peaceful and lovely mountain setting. Unfortunately, the peaceful atmosphere was upset by an annoying woodpecker, which kept pecking away on the roof of the cottage. The young groom tried a number of times to chase the woodpecker away, but he kept coming back. The young couple decided to make the most of the situation and they named the bird, "Woody Woodpecker."

It just so happened that the young groom was a cartoonist and he decided to create a cartoon series about "Woody Woodpecker." The young man pitched the idea to a couple of Hollywood movie studios and met with rejection, and finally acceptance. This young man, by the name of Walter Lantz, worked hard on creating the cartoon character named after that pesky woodpecker. For over sixty years now, that loveable character has entertained millions of people who have watched the star of his own cartoon series.

How often does an annoyance in our lives turn into an opportunity for us? How often do we chase away the annoyances without stopping to really look at them? Is it possible that there are "Woody Woodpeckers" that present themselves to us, ready to be used to bring riches, enjoyments and pleasure to our self and others?

How would we identify one of those opportunities that presents itself to us? To answer that question, we can look to many of the products and services that we use and enjoy that arose out of some lack or annoyance in our lives. What about books that have been written by people who are attempting to heal some aspect of them self, and by writing about it have helped millions of others.

When faced with a recurring irritation in your life, take a moment to reflect upon how you might use this situation to your advantage. Name it, claim it, and use it to the benefit of yourself and others.

It is not what happens to us that is important. It is what we do with each situation in our life that matters.

Affirmation:

"I will remain vigilant to opportunities, which come to me disguised as irritations. I will tame each situation and make good use of it." 
 
Have a week filled with insights!

By Mary Rau-Foster

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