Lessons from Whoville

The Mean One, Mr. Grinch, was a bad banana with a greasy black peel. But, even with garlic in his soul, he managed to revise his vision, change his course and "his heart grew three sizes that day.  No one is as foul as the great Grinch, but we’ve assembled the Top Ten Tips on personal improvement to keep you far, far away from the king of sinful sots. Do the most important and hardest tasks first. They are easier to accomplish when you are fresh and rested. Write down your plan, in several places. Writing things down makes them feel more important, necessary and easily accessible. Make midcourse adjustments as needed. Recommit to exercise, a relationship, learning something new or a worthy cause and get excited about it. Make small attainable goals a part of your plan. Remember, today is the only day you have. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is not here yet. Make the most of today by focusing on what is right, not what is wrong. Deal with your setbacks. Everyone has them, but letting them steal your confidence, is not the answer, you must continue to persist through setbacks. Reward yourself when you achieve one of your goals or meet a deadline and be thankful for what you have and what you have achieved. Don’t worry what other people think about you. They are so wrapped up in their own lives that they are not thinking about you. Keep a smile on your face and surround yourself with positive people. A good attitude and people who share it are great gifts you can give yourself. Block out all the noise and concentrate on the things that you can control, like staying organized so things don’t fall through the cracks. Work at staying healthy. Without your health nothing else really matters. Happy Holidays!!!

The Robot Life

When I was a kid watching Saturday morning cartoons, I figured by the time I grew up, every family would have a housekeeper like Rosie the Robot from the television show The Jetsons.

Fast forward to today. Everyone has a smart phone, but no domestic robots...yet. However, many of us live a robot life from one time to another. We get so comfortable in our daily routine, that we just keep going, doing the same thing day after day – moving, but not going anywhere. Like we get up each morning and push REPLAY. Ideally, this is when our brains should start sending off a signal, a beeping noise of some sort, warning of the danger of a robotic phase.

When we don’t step out of our comfort zones, we get stuck in a rut, which is just a grave without the dirt kicked in. We might be frantic and busy, but not productive. We might be unhappy, but unable to stop the drudgery causing our discontent. When we do a lot of activities without thinking about them, our brains begin to die off because we are not challenging ourselves.

Take a few minutes, stop and look at the things you are doing and why you are doing them? And then make a plan for the next day to have a purpose, not to just get up and let the robot life begin again.

Shake things up.  What do you want to change?

Do you want to be more positive?

Do you want to make your spouse feel more appreciated?

Do you want a different job?

Do you want to work less?

Do you want to save more money?

You have to take the first step toward that goal sometime, why not tomorrow? You can start by just changing something small to get used to the idea of change. Keep your goal in mind and set up baby steps to get to it. One thing is sure, time does not stop. So even if it takes 2 years, or 5 years…at least you are moving forward toward that goal. Without starting now, in 2 years you could be in the same place you are today, looking back wishing you would have done something.

Humans don’t come preprogrammed with a set of if-then commands. We’re not robots, step out of your comfort zone, take a chance, get results.

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan

The Boys of Fall

 I saw a movie this weekend that was based on a true story  (and a book) about a football team in Concord, CA: When the Game Stands Tall. From 1992 to 03, the De La Salle Spartans, coached by Bob Ladouceur, did not lose, not one game in 12 years making for a 151 game winning streak! 

 

The movie picks up where the streak ends…just before the team’s first heartbreaking loss. It’s a little cheezy and clichéd, but no one can deny this coach, and his team-building legacy are an incredible, real-life demonstration of an inspirational leader.

 

Ladouceur says he was never concerned with the wins or the streak, but rather with building his team into men who could be depended on in their life after high school. The sorts of employees many managers are scrambling to find every day.

 

Coach Lad (as they call him) stood for more than winning, he stood for commitment, accountability and love among his team. He is described as cerebral in his coaching style, in sharp contrast to coaches who may be more intimidating in their techniques.

 

"Preparation is a high priority," Ladouceur said. "I tell the boys that in order to succeed you have to be working to get yourself into a position where success is possible.

 

He never expected perfect games, but rather requested players to give  their personal best, what he called a “perfect effort” during each game.

 

The night before a game, the players wrote down their goals for the game on a commitment card, and shared them aloud with the other players, pledging their goals to a particular teammate. The goals were always challenging, but attainable; and the week after the game teammates were responsible for following up on the goals that had been pledged to them.

 

A few member of the De La Salle teams from 2003 and 2004 have shared their look back on high school football and their time with Coach Lad, 10 years later.

 

"My experience playing football at De La Salle taught me how important work ethic, accountability, and mental toughness is in succeeding. To this day, I find these three traits to have the biggest impact on my successes and failures." – Chris Biller

 

"I know that my time at De La Salle is what set me up for success. I learned how to push myself to accomplish things I never thought possible, both individually and as part of a team. Being pushed to act with integrity and unwavering determination on and off the football field made this possible. These high expectations are what set DLS apart, in my opinion, and I wouldn't be the man I am today without having gone there.” – Britt Cecil

 

"DLS taught me important life lessons I believe will make you successful: accountability, respect, the ability to make a commitment, always being committed to hard work, and understanding the importance of being a quality teammate." – Steven Fujimoto

 

Whether they are football players, or customer service reps, or investment professionals; teams that are willing to sacrifice, commit, and hold each other accountable are fighting for a bigger mission and shared vision -- winning will be a byproduct. 

Is your workplace G-rated?

Every generation has their movies, their music, their heroes, their trendy hairstyles, clothes, TV shows and gadgets – all of which link people of a certain era together with a bond of memories.  

 

We can often quickly connect to someone who remembers Blazing Saddles, Dallas, Seinfeld or Saved By the Bell. However, when people of different generations are teamed together in the workplace, the variations between the generations can cause JR and Screech to butt heads.

 

The Traditionalists become annoyed the Millenials are constantly checking their phones and social media feeds; and Gen Xers think the Baby Boomers should be more open to changing the way they run meetings. Issues arise which could cause tempers to flare, inhibiting any fantasies of teamwork.

 

However hopeless it seems for people from ages 20 to 70 to work together productively, managers should focus less on the differences and find similarities to encourage working together across age groups.

A University of North Carolina Chapel Hill study on generation gaps, found that employees of different age groups actually have more in common than we might assume.  Every generation wants to work on challenging projects; be competitively compensated for their work; have opportunities for learning, growing and advancement in their jobs; be treated fairly; and be able to establish work-life balance.

 

Everyone also agrees the ideal leader leads by example; is accessible; helps others see how their role contributes to the organization; acts as a coach and mentor; provides challenges; and holds others accountable.

 

What can HR and talent management professionals do to help draw out commonalities and foster a spirit of teamwork and communication across generations?

• Offer employees opportunities to learn and develop so they can be more successful.

• Develop strong and genuine leadership programs to improve existing leaders’ skills and abilities; part of which includes finding and fostering future leaders within the organization.

• Offer coaching and mentoring programs to mix things up across the generational divide. Communication and career satisfaction will improve.

• Create employee reward systems that acknowledge employee contributions, so everyone who innovates or saves money gets recognized -- young, mature, and somewhere in the middle.

• Develop processes which help employees at all levels cope with a rapidly changing workplace. New computer system requires training for all!

• Clarify expectations about how different generations define work-life balance, professional behavior and workplace engagement, thus eliminating speculation.

• Offer work-life balance programs that meet employee’s needs at every life-stage.

People really aren’t that different, no matter their age. But where differences occur, view them as strengths.

Stephen Covey recognized this in describing his 6^th habit – synergy. He said it involved creative collaboration. “People bringing all their personal experience and expertise to the table. Together, they can produce far better results that they could individually. Valuing differences is what really drives synergy."

 

"Differences," said Covey, "add zest to life.” 

Hello, I Forgot Your Name

High school students do it, managers do it, grandmothers do it, office assistants do it...everyone lights up and walks taller when they are greeted with their very own name, especially when it comes from someone they barely know. 

It's your first morning at a new job, someone (whose name you probably do remember) is taking you around the office introducing you to your new co-workers. People are smiling, they are shaking your hand, greetings are coming in rapid fire... and names, so many names are being heard by your ears, but will they be recovered later today or tomorrow when you meet again at the microwave or the color printer?

Put your brain to work helping you to remember names:  

• Do your very best to focus 100 percent concentration on the new person when you meet them. Don't think about your lunch, don't think about social your social network. Think about their face and their name, that is all.
• Be absolutely certain you heard their name correctly. Ask again if necessary, and if it's unusual, you can even ask them to spell it, but always end with a compliment about how memorable, beautiful or meaningful their name is once you hear their story. 
• Repeat the name silently to yourself. When you leave the room, tell them it was great to meet them and use their name when you do. Think about their face and their name as you leave. Use the name in conversation occasionally. Either conversations with them or with someone else, it will help your brain make the connection between that person, their face and their name. 
• As soon as possible, write the person’s name down after your meeting. If you have a photo or can find one online, find their picture as well. Writing also helps stimulate memory recall.  
• When you meet a person if they look like someone else, or if they evoke anything vivid or visual in your mind use that association to help with your recall. This can be added to your notes when you write down their name.  
• Think of yourself as the ACE of names. Come up with something Action-oriented about a persons name, a verb; think of something Colorful about them; and finally, maybe something exaggerated. So William, isn't just William, he's Whispering, Wise (like an owl),  William.

Watch William smile when you greet him in the hall the next day!

Mending Meeting Misery

Do you cringe and groan and try to squirm your way out of invitations to meetings? I would rather run out of gas on a hot day in the middle of nowhere than attend a boring meeting with no agenda or purpose. Meetings are necessary, and can be motivating and productive…here’s how:

• Make a plan, have an agenda --  Determine the point of the meeting using words like decide, plan or choose, to convey action. If someone goes off topic, steer them back to the agenda item.

• Get to the point – Administrative information should be kept very brief and targeted, two minutes or less.

• Keep it lean --  Large groups aren’t usually productive. Invite only those necessary to achieve the goal of the meeting and make sure everyone participates, even if you have to call on them to do so.

• Encourage ownership of the meetings -- Assign roles and responsibilities to different team members for some of the agenda items in advance.

• Start with the end in mind -- Have meetings early in the day or just before lunch so they will start and end on time.

• Stress the positive -- Start and end every meeting with positive inspiration. Be generous in your appreciative feedback. If you have anything negative about an individual share it with them privately.

• Don’t do boring things – Going over new forms, company policy, personal disputes and what went wrong might be better in another format. Figure out a better, faster way to communicate.  Try this: Have an instruction sheet for a new form and pass it or email it out.

• Present solutions – Don’t present problems, unless you have soluions to go with them. This rule applies to everyone in the meeting. It gets your team solution oriented!

• Do fun things and motivate -- Give awards and share success stories. Create a contest among staffers to make motivation more fun.

• Do things to develop your team – Something that helps them learn more about their profession, practice skills to make them better at their job.

• No griping -- Remember, challenges must be matched with potential solutions.

• Share success stories – What is working with people? Coach them to share the specific skills they used that helped them see success..

• Summarize action items - What was decided and what was assigned? A quick review helps everyone remember the highpoints.

 

“Excellence is the gradual result of always

striving to do better.” -- Pat Riley 

Visit our New and Improved website at www.chadcarden.com

Six Manager Slip-ups & How to Fix Them

1.    SLIP-UP: Meet sporadically, or not at all for one-on-one communication with team members. FIX: Consistent meetings give each team member goals to work toward and deadlines to meet, keeping them motivated and on task.

2.    SLIP-UP: Always develop their own ideas and strategies without ever asking team members to provide input or allow them to be part of the discussion. FIX: Seek input and creativity from team members. Let them contribute and they will be more invested in projects and outcomes.  3.    SLIP-UP: Fail to clearly communicate what they expect of their team members; leaving them to wonder what is most important, what they should be working on or where their priorities lie. FIX: Set crystal clear expectations with team members so they know at all times exactly what is expected of them, and how to set themselves up for success.

4.    SLIP-UP: Fail to monitor team member’s work and give feedback on it. FIX: Stay in contact with team members on projects and deadlines and give them feedback on how they can improve their performance. Inspect what you expect.

5.    SLIP-UP: Provide feedback in a destructive way by criticizing, insulting or micromanaging. FIX: Give feedback that is goal-oriented, constructive, corrective and appreciative.

6.    SLIP-UP: Neglecting to transfer acquired skills to their team and trying to do everything themselves.   FIX: Train team members in skills and strategies so they can be better equipped for success and improve their performance.

Learning to March in April

Every soldier and high school band member learns to march. You start off on the right foot and focus on putting it down on the beat to keep leading you onward. The left foot will fall into place, often without really knowing how it got there.

Can you do the same? Can you focus on what is right and positive instead of getting caught up in what is wrong? It certainly is not easy, especially if those surrounding you are doing the opposite.

There are three little ways to achieve this lofty goal. And the littlest things make the biggest difference.

1. Be grateful. Negative events loom large unless you consciously balance them out. To help your brain store positive events, reflect on what you're grateful for and why, at least once a week. Write down your blessings, such as the opportunity to pursue a career you love or a family that supports you. If you prefer to do it daily then keep a log or discuss it with your family over dinner.

2. Coach yourself positive. It’s a proven fact the more often you hear a message, the more likely you are to believe it. The same goes for messages about who you are and what you are capable of doing. Repeating positive affirmations out loud or to yourself makes them more real.

Some examples: “I can handle whatever comes my way,”, “There is plenty of time,” or “I'm getting better every day.”

3. Challenge negative thoughts. Every time something negative comes up, we make a choice with our response. Our brains might like to dwell on the negativity and make it seem bigger or more significant than it really is. Separate yourself from those negative thoughts by looking at them and finding a way to grow from them.

If you have a complaint, meet it with at least two solutions for the problem.

Starting and ending on the right foot can keep the whole day in step.