Several posts have had a focus on behavior and giving frequent specific feedback.
These things are among the wisest a leader can do, and yet they can be quite uncommon. Here are five posts that deal with these issues, and the “plus one” is one of my favorite sources on the topic…
Here we are at Avonlea Village (for you Anne of Green Gables fans) on our last trip to Canada in 2009.
As I wrote this, I was preparing for family vacation to Manitoba. Yes, that’s right, Manitoba. That’s where we were when this was going to get published on June 29. Unfortunately, I goofed up the scheduling, so we went a week without the blog; reminder: during this busy summer season, I’m taking a break from original posts and instead, sharing “greatest hits.”
Anyway…
Why Manitoba? We try to do a family road trip to someplace different than where we’ve been before. Last summer, it was Natchez, Mississippi. This year, Winnipeg and Wasagaming.
Everyone loves stories. Stories inspire and motivate and help things “stick” so much better than facts, data, and research findings.
Some of us enjoy the tidy list. Nice to have as a touchstone, though if we’re serious, we’ll dig deeper. Regardless, here are two for your consideration.
The first is seminal for me –
Sometimes when I bowl, I make it my goal to bowl fast and loud. I accelerate my approach, and fling the ball as fast as I can. The result? It’s really loud when the ball hits the pins (if it hits the pins) and my game ends more quickly. My score is also lower. If the goal is to be fast and loud, I win! If the goal is to win, I lose. I am efficient, but not effective.
In high school chemistry, my lab partner (Steve Uslabar, for you curious old cronies) and I had a motto: “Accuracy is not important; speed is of the essence.” We were both fairly good at chem, and would rather get a B and goof off part of the period, even though we were capable of an A. Efficient, not effective.
“Learn from your mistakes.” Nonsense!
It is good to be efficient, yes. It is also good to be comprehensive.
Sometimes, however, those two things don’t work well together.
Since starting this business, most of my work helping groups has been through 4-8 hour workshops.
There is a demand for leadership training that can be delivered in much shorter periods of time, though.
T=r+d
…where T is “trust,” r is “reliability,” and d is “delight.”
I attended EntreFest 2011, and one of the best sessions I attended was
In light of the earlier posts regarding generational differences, this article adds nicely to those thoughts: Why Gen Y-ers are Better at Customer Service : The World :: American Express OPEN Forum.
As a guy obsessed with maxing out potential in groups and individuals – and one who believes the person at the top is the one most responsible for making it happen – I was pretty fired up about the concept of Undercover Boss. In each episode, a CEO goes undercover, in disguise, to work next to front-line employees.
The format got tired quickly – boss leaves fancy home and doting family, stays in fleabag hotels, realizes he/she is totally inept at frontline tasks, discovers that employees are (gasp!) real people with real problems, cries (most episodes), promises to change, and gives lavish rewards to the episode’s featured employees.
What a great concept – and what a disappointment in a show.
At the entrance to the service bay of Toyota of Des Moines is a small, plastic, a-frame sign that says simply
“SERVICE ENTRANCE”
and then, toward the bottom,
“Welcome.”
Last week,