Tag Archives: management

What You Focus On Grows

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In life when we want something different than what we have we must undergo a shift in our thinking and behavior to get there. It’s the chicken and the egg.

What comes first? Most of us have to start from the bottom. To get from the bottom to the top, we have to drench ourselves in stories about the top. We have to see ourselves at the top. We have to visualize what it feels like to be at the top.

The reason for this is the law of attraction. In other words, what we focus on grows.

If a person is broke, it is most likely they are telling themselves a constant narrative about being broke. They feel broke. They think about being broke. Feelings become thoughts which become things. This person will tell everyone what they can’t afford. They will attract other people and events in their lives that have an aura of “scarcity.”

If all a person talks about is being stressed, sick, broke, tired, and taken advantage of–that’s exactly what will happen. A person will attract things that make them stressed, sick, broke, tired and taken advantage of.

Did you know we are essentially a blend of the five people we spend the most time with? Think about that for a minute.

If we are feeling fat it’s most likely that we will continue to exhibit behaviors that reinforce that feeling. We will eat unhealthy food, won’t push ourselves when exercising, and we will continue to tell a story of fat.

Basically to achieve what we really want–underneath layers of ego and denial–we have to tell ourselves we’re already there.

If we are not wealthy, we must tell ourselves we’re wealthy to create an aura of plenty. If we are not at our goal weight, we must do things that make us feel sleek and beautiful even if we don’t necessarily feel that way all the time.

We must act “as if.”

After months of telling a new story the texture of life will begin to change.

A journey of change is never a straight shot. We make progress and fumble taking a few steps back. Then we get back up and continue in the direction of the dream.

If you want to change your life, you need to change that story. Start by being 5% more aware of what you say out loud. Look at the events and people in your life, and your reaction to those events and people. What is your state? Our friend Tony Robbins says if you want to change your life you must change your state.

He’s right.

 

Living the Life You Dream

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Dear Readers

I wanted to formally announce that I currently have a coaching practice. I work with millennials–20 and 30 somethings–who are contemplating change in their careers. Whether it’s a career change, starting your own business or figuring out your own career path within your current company, I provide a roadmap and the tools to get you there.

I bring the clarity and direction to make the positive change you desire in your life.

I help you drive toward your desired destination–now, not some time off in the distant future.

If you’re someone who is looking to make a change in your life, and you’re ready to reach higher ground, you might consider working with me.

Who wants to do everything alone? Not me! You shouldn’t have to either. We ask the important questions, and together we find the right solutions. We make it simple, and we make it fun.

Here is a testimonial from one of my coaching clients Meagan H. who works in healthcare.

Because this was on LinkedIn, she lists top qualities: “Personable, Good Value, High Integrity.”

“Blake has provided some very thoughtful insights on how I can develop as a young professional. She has both a keen intuition and a well-developed knowledge base on what are effective steps for young women to achieve a lifestyle of success.”

Interested in a complimentary chat? Email me your phone number and I will be happy to call you. [email protected]

Walking Meetings? Pizza Parties? Fun At Work? Absolutely!

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I spent some time studying call centers-and when I did that I learned about what it meant to work in very difficult work environments. Call centers receive an inbound of negativity–and frontline staff has more pressure than anyone to absorb this negativity from customers. This is not just relevant to call centers, this is relevant for any company. It’s important to remember to be human.

The Corporate Social Strategist Can’t Move Fast Enough

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Recently Jeremiah Owyang released the Altimeter report “The Two Career Paths of the Corporate Social Strategist. Be proactive or become ‘Social Media Help Desk’.”

Owyang asked 140 Social Strategists what made them successful. 46% attributed their success to their “willingness to take risks.” One other noteworthy trait, and my personal favorite, was “ability to keep a cool head.”

Owyang’s report reminds us that getting support for social is no easy task. The person who does this has to basically have super-powers. It’s that hard. The issue must be attached from all angles.

Joie De Vivre–Joy of Life (can be found at work)

Last Sunday I found myself at the Samovar Tea Room for the Zappos delivering happiness event. There were a handful of guest speakers accompanying Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos and his Delivering Happiness crew. One stand-out speaker was Chip Conley, CEO of Joie De Vivre, also the author of Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo From Maslow.

Chip mentioned the Maslow hierarchy of needs–highlighted in his book–in his talk on Sunday. I can’t blame companies for not considering this hierarchy in managing average companies. It’s very easy to forget “the human condition” when you are trying to hit quarterly goals.

Owyang’s report on the “social strategist” reminds that the biggest hurdle in getting wide-spread adoption of social business is not the user friendly software. The challenge resides in legacy corporate cultures.

There are a few companies that don’t have this problem. Tony Hsieh of Zappos gets it.

When I say “it” I mean the fact that companies that recognize this hierarchy of needs see the return. We don’t need fancy consultants or expensive software programs to start experimenting with social. We just need a culture that’s ready.

After the Zappos event last Sunday on the Delivering Happiness bus I asked Tony Hsieh about social CRM. I told him how frequently his case study is cited.

He laughed at me. And he always laughs at me when I throw out fancy jargon generally used by our industry.

The concept “social CRM” is not complicated. It’s very simple. It wasn’t complicated for Zappos because social slid in easily with their culture. There is a culture war going on. And avant-garde leaders–literally meaning “out in front at battle”–like Tony–are changing the world. But most of us are still on the sidelines watching–a result of what is possibly performance anxiety–at the corporate level.

The Dark Side

When I asked an old friend–who was an executive director–what makes people show up for work, he told me fear. I politely disagreed and I still do. Fear paralyzes workers. It is demotivating. How many of you have worked alongside employees who don’t show up for work even when they do?

Knowledge work requires critical thinking, problem solving and focus. Companies with mentally checked-out employees see their sales will fail.

We’ve known this for a few years. A report released back in 2007 noted companies with low levels of engagement saw operating income drop more than 32 percent and earnings per share drop over 11 percent (Towers Perrin).

Legacy

One of the most cited management gurus in the world is Peter Drucker. I recognize that Drucker, during his time, had very forward-thinking ideas about management of knowledge workers. But the reality is today his management tactics are outdated.

His books don’t consider disruptive technologies.

Advances in collaboration technology throw out many of the legacy rules we are accustomed to.

For example, Drucker encouraged managers to model the military in leadership style. Simultaneously he preached companies should treat employees like volunteers, free to leave at any time. This is counter-intuitive to me.

You are either using fear tactics, or you are not. And those that use fear tactics are not even aware of it—it’s that ingrained in the culture.

It will take more than a few Jedi-mind tricks for change agents and social strategists to convince upper management of the value of social. We are years away from where we need to be in corporate America. Yesterday it was reported that Wal-Mart made 3.5 billion dollars in the third quarter–and most of this revenue came from overseas. With the state of the American economy, social business might save us–unfortunately it’s going to have to be much faster than we are currently moving.

This can’t happen fast enough.

The Three Attributes of A Charismatic Leader

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There are 874 results for an Amazon search on the words “leadership, charisma, books.”

Why? Becoming charismatic doesn’t seem to have a formula–some people have it, and some don’t. So as a leader how does one become charismatic? Is there a formula?

A recent article in O Magazine quotes professor Ronald Riggio PhD from at Clarmont McKenna College. Dr. Charisma says there are three main ingredients for charisma.

Three Attributes of Charismatic People:

1. Expressiveness (a talent for spontaneously striking up conversations and easily conveying feelings).
2. Control (the ability to fine-tine your persona to fit the mood and social makeup of any group).
3. Sensitivity (a gift for listening and sussing out other people’s mind-sets).

Some of the biggest CEOs in the tech world not only get to the top for being smart but also for being “charismatic.” If the main job of management is to know what motivates people, it’s understanding that and using it to inspire your team.

Management guru himself Peter Drucker early in his career did not have a rose colored view of charismatic leaders by the end of his life he  realized how important leadership was. He felt leaders should be marketers to set the tone for how the organization is viewed, and be its best representative.

According to above article Peter Drucker felt leaders should pay attention to non-monetary needs of works moving them from what he called “transactional motivation” to “transformational motivation.”

Everything old is new again–including old school Drucker.


an early picture of Steve Jobs

The word “empathy” has been controversial since President Obama included “empathy” in his criteria to pick a new Chief Justice. Call it “empathy” or a sixth sense, leaders have to know the needs of the marketplace in addition to that of his/her team.

Its [charisma's] magnetic power intensifies when you mix in mystery and contradiction…a supremely charismatic person has two sides. He or she is warm and tough, strong and vulnerable, down-to-earth and one of a kind. Think JFK or FDR…wounded yet stoic, ardent yet repressed…he throws his clients and colleagues off balance with his singularity alchemy of charm, irritability and laser-beam eye contact.

The charisma challenge (or opportunity) today arises when leaders are asked to be increasingly public. This includes live appearances in addition to the increasingly important webinars, executive blogs, podcast interviews and other media channels via the web.

In an age where everyone is a publisher, and posting content is very easy, leaders need to be engaging.  

Joseph Roach, PhD, Professor of theater and English at Yale was interviewed in the O Mag article as well. He said:

I once watched Bill Clinton enter a room at Yale, and he knew instantly who needed him most…It was like radar. Diana Princess of Wales had this too. She could walk into a hospice and know exactly who needed her, but–and this is the paradox that makes charisma so powerful-the suffering person knew that she, Diana, needed him or her, too. There’s an arc of mutual need underneath this magic.

So listening isn’t just for marketers. Leaders need to have big ears, open hearts and chameleonic personalities.

Make It A Sweet New Year for Attraction, Retention and Profits

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Last weekend I went to a dinner party at a friend’s house. Although the host went to great pains to cook decadent food, provide the perfect wine, and play great music, the party proved to be a disaster. The hosts of the party had two small children who were having a bad night. The misbehaving kids were severely disciplined in front of the guests. It made everyone uncomfortable and changed the entire mood of the meal.

Bringing in the Jewish New Year With Sweetness

I’m not saying that Jews don’t discipline their kids–they (we) do. But this week we focus our attention on all things sweet. We also focus on replenishing our palates.

In just under 24 hours Jews all over the world will bring in the new year and celebrate Rosh Hashanah by sitting around the dinner table and eating apples and honey. We indulge in apples and honey to bring in the Jewish New Year with something  sweet.

That makes sense to me–>Sweet food puts everyone in a good mood!

If you don’t believe me look at these numbers. Companies with high employee engagement had a 19 percent increase in operating income and almost 28 percent growth in earnings per share in 2007-2008. At the same time four out of five workers are not living up to their full potential or doing what it takes to help their organization succeed. As told to me by Jacob Morgan, employers are not harnessing the full power of their workforce and achieving the performance lift that high engagement delivers.*

Service With A Smile: Yes Please!

When you walk into a happy house (or switch that out for company, division, team etc) you can immediately feel the good energy.

Making your employees feel valued is important. Energy is important. VERY important. It leads to engagement.

I know when I went dress shopping this weekend-and the sales girl was chipper–dress shopping became fun. The sales girls  felt comfortable in the space they were selling in. They felt ownership over their selling process. They felt supported by the manager who was wandering the store letting her team do their thing.

It put them in a good mood. It put me in a good mood.

I now have a cute new rose colored dress, and they probably made their numbers for the night. Happiness has a domino effect. Just like most things it’s cultural and top-down.

Is your house warm and welcoming? If it isn’t perhaps you should bring your teams in something sweet this week to make them feel appreciated. May the new year be sweet for you, your employees and your customers.

The honey flows that way.

*Both research findings from Towers Perrin Global Report 2007-2008