Not everyone can Walk
See
Hear
or Talk.
It is amazing how Far they can go,
how much Vision they have with no sight
how much they Listen to
and how well they Communicate.
Maybe those of us who can Walk
See
Hear
and Talk
should pay more attention to
whom we are Walking ON,
how we Look at people and situations
what and who we Listen to
and how we talk About others.
What do you think?
– John Slimp
It’s Blackberry Season! Have you ever been blackberry picking? If not you need to go. WARNING: wear a thick long sleeve shirt and jeans. The thorns are long and sharp!
There is a strategy to picking blackberries. You have to search out where the best berries are and where the best patches are. The berries like to try and fool you. On the edge of the patch will be the small stems. They look innocent enough and they are an easy pick. But as you look further into the patch you see bigger plants with bigger berries. You need to wade into the patch, enduring some scrapes and scratches along the way.
You find yourself in the middle of a gold mine! Berries, berries and more berries! You pick and pick. Everywhere you turn, more berries. Which ones do you harvest? You will want to go after the ones that look big and juicy. Sometimes looks can be deceiving. The biggest ones can be a prize, but sometimes they can just be big and showy with no substance or flavor. Sometimes the smaller, less impressive ones are sweeter and tastier.
When you think you have picked all of the desirable berries in that area you turn around and start to head out. Surprise! More berries in the same area you thought you just worked! They like to hide under the leaves. You walked right past them the first time and didn’t see them. What’s up with that? Sometimes the good ones are right in front of your face. You can be so focused on finding that perfect berry, looking here, there and everywhere that you fail to see the ones right in front of you.
I went picking last week. I got enough to make 16 jars of jelly and 5 pies! What a sense of accomplishment you feel as you sit and eat a homemade warm blackberry pie! The satisfaction is amazing. You successfully picked the best berries and had a yummy dessert!
As I was picking it occurred to me that searching for and picking blackberries is a lot like searching for and picking employees.
First you have to search out the perfect patch. What companies or other businesses will have the kind of employees you would like to have? You can’t just stand on the edge of the patch, on the sidewalk looking in. You have to wade into the thick of things.
Which employees will you try to harvest? You will tend to go after the ones that look, sound or act impressive. Sometimes those are good ones, and sometimes bigger, bolder, louder is just that and not really better.
Just like berry picking you have to go back and check the patch again. Good employees sometimes hide. Maybe they were in the backroom the day you went in; maybe they were off that day. Maybe you just didn’t see them even though they were right in front of your face.
When you get back to your own business look around and see if you don’t have your own patch right in your backyard. Has the perfect berry, the perfect employee been hiding right under your nose in plain sight? Sometimes we are so busy looking all around us that we don’t see what is in front of us.
Remember where the good employees came from. If you got one good employee from them maybe there are others.
The satisfaction is amazing. You successfully picked the best employees and had a yummy team!
With berries and employees it is essential that you tend to your garden. Others will come looking for your berries and your employees. Don’t let the good ones slip out of your hand!
With picking blackberries you can stand on the edge and say boy those look good, but it looks like too much work to go and get them.
With picking employees you can say the same thing.
If you want to make a great tasting blackberry pie it takes work.
If you want to make a great, strong, efficient and functioning team, well that takes work too. It drives me crazy in this day and age, with this economy, with this unemployment when I hear people say they are short staffed or can’t find good employees. Apparently you aren’t looking under the right leaves!
Where do you look for employees? How often do you look? How hard do you look? Are you willing to take some scratches and scrapes to find the good ones? What do you do with them when you find them? Is it time to take some of the less productive ‘berries’ and replace them with a new fresh crop? Are you willing to put in the necessary work to have a great pie or a great team?
I cannot know what you are thinking unless you tell me in the comment section below!
Done successfully you will be very satisfied and fulfilled!
Happy picking!
There is always a lot of talk about Good Customer Service. Everyone always boast about their company and the high level of service they provide to their customers. Where is it? Has customer service become a thing of the past becoming nothing more than a catch phrase? What does Good Customer Service really mean and what does it look like?
What is your definition of Good Customer Service?
What impact do the leaders of an organization have on Customer Service?
Does your company have a Customer Service and/or a Sales Training program, and do you think it is effective?
Does your company provide follow-up to see if the Customer Service training is actually being implemented in the stores?
Do the leaders of your organization display and practice the Customer Service training they expect the employees to follow?
Are there double standards regarding Customer Service as in the leadership following the ‘do as I say and not as I do’ philosophy?
Do you think Customer Service is better at small companies, small businesses or large ones?
I am looking for some good news; can you give examples of companies that truly provide Good Customer Service at all levels of the organization? Have you experienced Good Customer Service and where?
Whether you own your own business or you work for a major corporation what do you personally do to provide Good Customer Service?
I would like to focus attention on this matter for until we admit there is an issue and address the issue we will not be able to solve the issue. I believe Customer Service must start at the top of any organization and be taught, implemented and followed up on at all levels of the organization.
I need your thoughts, ideas and opinions.
Please use the comment section below to give me your thoughts. Your email address will NOT be displayed. If you don’t want to use your real name you can make one up like Cleopatra, Tiger, Snow White or one of the 7 Dwarfs!
I recently received this question:
“What do you recommend as far as developing a direct report that is constantly looking at what is wrong instead of seeing the progress. This is my road block at work!!”
I am certain we have all experienced this road block at one time or another in our careers no matter what line of work you are in. To take a detour only avoids the issue, takes you out of your way and postpones you getting where you want to go and what you want to achieve; having a solid cohesive functioning team. There can be dangers if you proceed with caution but it is the fastest most direct path to your goal. To solve the problem I would first suggest the 2×4 Plan A approach. Get a 2×4; you can pick one up at your local home improvement store. Grab the 2×4 as you would a bat. Ensure the direct report is standing within 4 feet of you. Swing, and swing hard! If for some reason your H.R. Department is opposed to this approach you might want to proceed to Plan B.
Plan B. I would recommend the following steps; Evaluate, Plan Ahead, Discuss, Resolve, Give Support and Always Follow-Up.
Evaluate. You first need to evaluate the current and potential contributions of the employee to the organization. Are they a valued employee for their productivity and knowledge but their negativity gets in the way or holds them back? If so you need to work to help them change their mindset. If they are just plain negative, a cancer to the rest of the organization, then maybe you need to work on an exit strategy.
Plan Ahead. You need to plan and schedule a private meeting with the individual. Give them about a weeks’ notice. Tell them you want to discuss ways that you can improve the workplace and that you would appreciate their input and suggestions.
Discuss. You never know what is going on in a person’s life until you sit down and discuss it with them. Perhaps they are struggling for some reason personally which is distracting them at work. Often time’s people will take out their frustrations at work, even though we know this is inappropriate. Leave your personal business outside is often easier said than done. Perhaps they don’t feel valued at work and this is causing their negativity. Maybe they feel under-utilized and unchallenged at work and this is causing them to not perform to their potential. Ask for their feedback, ideas and suggestions to improve the workplace which in turn will improve their performance.
Resolve. You need to have an open mind and really listen to and hear their concerns. If it is a home issue you can suggest places they can go or people they can talk with for help and support. If they don’t feel valued you can discuss all the positive things they have contributed, support their efforts and thank them. If they don’t feel challenged you can give them a new or different assignment that will give them more opportunities. If they have given you suggestions either explain the reasons that you cannot implement them, or take them under consideration as possibilities. Never just dismiss their ideas.
Give Support. Give them the support they need to be a positive influence on others and to perform to the best of their ability. Often time’s people focus on the negatives and on what is wrong because they don’t feel that they are being supported. Children sometimes act out just to get attention. Employees do the same thing! Support the fact and show your appreciation for all that they shared with you.
Always Follow-Up. Schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss their performance and to discuss and evaluate the improvement you have seen. This is essential if you want to continue seeing an improvement. If you don’t follow-up, the employee will easily think it was all just talk; they will feel foolish, or feel that you don’t really have a sincere interest in them or their performance.
Our employees, associates, teams just want to feel appreciated and valued, and to know that they are making a contribution to the organization.
Sometimes acting out is nothing more than a cry for attention. Give them the attention they need and deserve!
If this doesn’t work go back to the 2×4 Plan A!!
Remember that a detour can waste your time and delay your success and only avoids the issue. You must deal with negativity with deliberate head-on caution!
Please use the comment section below to share with our readers.
Have you experienced such a Road Block in your career?
What was the situation and how did you handle it?
Would you have done something differently?
What advice would you give to those in a Road Block situation?
In response to my blog Be Happy and Be Powerful! I received this question;
“How do we develop “positive” focus John, i.e. on our strengths rather than weaknesses? How do we control our limiting and negative beliefs which rob us of focus?”
This is a great question and one that I think all of us struggle with from time to time. It is human nature I think to allow ourselves to fall into negativity, to concentrate on our weakness, our inabilities and our failures.
Unfortunately there is no easy answer, no magic, no way to achieve the positive in our lives without practice and hard work. It sounds trite but just say no; no to the negative in your life. I like to think of life as a 100 item buffet. If you like fried chicken you will be drawn to the pan with all of those delicious golden brown pieces. But it is important that you try new things. We should all have the positive attitude of my 93 year old Aunt, Sr. Lois. She would say “I’m glad I tried that. I wouldn’t have it again, but I’m glad I tried it.” If you try liver and find you don’t like it then you don’t have to take any the next time. At least you will be making your decision based on firsthand experience. Just say no to the items you tried and don’t like and you can enjoy all that is there that you do like.
You also cannot think in terms of weakness but rather of opportunity. Your weakness is just another opportunity that we are granted to improve. Try, try and try again. You have to be the little engine that could!
There are things you do routinely every morning; get up, put on your glasses or put your contacts in, shower, get dressed, feed the dogs, or check your email. You have to add check your attitude. Is it positive, productive? Will you and the world be a better place today? You have the power within to make a positive difference. You have to choose to do so.
There are negative people whose job it is to bring you down. To point out everything that is wrong, the Chicken Little sky is falling type of people. Sometimes being positive means eliminating those people from your life or at least limiting your contact with them. In my post Your Swimming Pool, Your Life I talk about the power you have to control who is in your life. When you surround yourself with positive and powerful people, you become positive and powerful.
As human beings we respond to our surroundings. Being in an angry mob can swallow us up and get us angry even if we don’t know what we are angry about. Being in a group of happy people at a party can do the same thing, swallow us up and make us happy. You can choose which event you want to go to.
There are a lot of things we can be negative about; our jobs, our family, our friends or relationships, or our life in general. There are a lot of things we can be positive about; our jobs, our family, our friends or relationships, or our life in general. It is the old glass is half empty for some and half full for others. It is up to you and you alone as to how much is in your glass.
How do we develop positive focus? How do we control limiting and negative beliefs?
You and you alone have the power within you to put up your invisible force field that reflects negativity; negative people, negative activities and negative environments.
You and you alone have the power within you to be a magnet to attract good and positive; positive people, positive activities and positive environments.
Practice and concentrate on what is good and positive in your life!
What makes you perform at your peak? What makes you happy? You are at your best and perform with peak efficiency when you are happy in what you are doing!
Think about what makes you happy. Is it baking, running or reading, even work perhaps?
I am not a runner but you hear runners talk about getting” in the zone”. They just run. The adrenalin kicks in and they only things they focus on are running, their time and their style.
Have you ever gotten so absorbed in a book you couldn’t put it down? You read and read turning page after page. You are completely committed to that book. Suddenly hours have gone by. That is being in the moment!
You will have happiness and power when you focus on doing what you are doing when you are doing it. Say that 3 times fast!
When you drive a car while thinking about other things like work, the baseball game, what you have to get from the store, your reaction time is slower. You fail to see potential problems and you are more likely to have or cause an accident. Inattention is the primary cause of auto accidents. There is no auto pilot on your vehicle.
Daydreams and distractions ruin your job performance. You try to go on auto pilot, do things out of habit or routine; you lack joy, make mistakes and therefore do not have power. Because you are not giving your best, you produce less and what you do produce is not up to the standards that you are capable of.
The ability to devote 100% of your attention to a task is difficult, at first. Yet when you start to live your life in the immediate present, in this exact moment of time, with little or no attention on the past or future, you feel more alive, happier, more productive and more powerful. You have taken control of yourself and your destiny.
Imagine being able to focus all of your attention on everything you do as you do it, when you do it. This is happiness! This is power!
Staying in present time, in the moment unleashes extra amounts of natural ability. For example, just before you leave on a vacation, you on specific things you need to accomplish and quickly get them done. When you only daydream about a vacation, you slow down and become less effective.
Imagine how much more effective and productive your conversations would be if you stayed in the present. People would feel you understand them better when you are doing nothing but listening, with no other thought in mind.
The stronger your focus is, the greater your happiness and the greater your power!
Practice doing what you are doing when you are doing it and nothing else in all your activities.
Here are some suggestions:
Do a simple task at your desk such as clear off some paper or write a note. Do this right now. Do absolutely nothing else when doing it. Concentrate on clearing the paper not just pushing it to another pile. Concentrate on writing the note focusing on your penmanship, on the content. Practice this until your attention is more in the present than ever before.
The next time you are talking to someone, give him or her 100% of your attention. Think of nothing outside of the conversation. Focus on the person, the topic and the issue. Notice the person’s reaction. Notice the surprise and the appreciation they have for your attention.
Have you ever driven your car someplace and when you got to where you are going you realize you have no idea how you got there? What did you see along the way, what lights were red, what was the name of the road you turned onto? We don’t know these things because we weren’t focused on driving, we weren’t in the moment. The next time you drive your car; do what you are doing when you are doing it. Don’t listen to the radio, don’t talk on your cell phone and certainly don’t text, don’t eat a snack, don’t think about work or do anything besides drive. Extend your focus all around your car. Notice how alive you feel, in more ways than one!
At your job, spend a complete hour doing absolutely nothing but work. Nothing but work for a whole hour. A strange concept for some! Do exactly what you are doing when you are doing it. Ignore other thoughts, other acts and other tasks. Take no breaks. No miscellaneous conversations, no Facebook, no phone calls to your friends. Do nothing but work. How much more productive will you be?
Here’s a power tip from Lao-tzu, “He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.”
Have you mastered yourself? Doing what you love makes you productive, happy and powerful!
Are you happy with your relationship, your friends, your hobbies and your career? If not perhaps it is time you take control and make changes. You cannot be happy or powerful, you cannot achieve your greatness unless you are happy, and happy with yourself and your environment.
Don’t be too surprised when you learn how powerful you can be just by being happy and in the moment!
I recently received this question on Ask John:
“I have the unique and thrilling opportunity to create and launch a territory from scratch. Having joined the exciting and expanding retailer (Company ABC) I currently find myself composing a team for the first eight locations in (State ABC).
Knowing your leadership ‘style’ and your past experience in building a successful team, I surely found it necessary to ask your guidance.
Clearly, I must first staff, train, draw expectations and execute…but I want to launch us with a sense of desire, courage, and passion that can be felt in each building at every level.
What would be your suggestions as to how to go about this?”
This is truly a wonderful and exciting opportunity for this person! Getting to build a team from scratch, from the ground up is an opportunity that most people long for. No baggage, no bad habits, starting from the ground up under your direction!
Whether you are building an entire organization or staffing one location, or just hiring one new person my advice would be as follows:
This is indeed a unique and thrilling opportunity that comes along very seldom in one’s career! This is your opportunity to build a premier team of your choosing. There are so many things to be considered and there are a lot of Do’s and Don’ts!
I am going to start with the Don’ts.
Don’t hire everyone whom you think is just like you. As good as you are you want variety and diversity
Don’t be afraid to hire people who are better than you. A lot of people are afraid of this and that is a huge mistake. It is just as important for you to be able to learn from your team as it is for your team to be able to learn from you.
Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. It is going to happen and you will need a backup plan for when it does. We have all experienced the Ugly Twin situation. You may be thrilled with your selection when you make an offer, and when they show up for work you ask yourself ‘did I really hire them’? It happens!
Don’t rush the process. You certainly don’t buy the first house you look at so why would you rush on the hiring process?
Don’t rule someone out just because they don’t have every single qualification you might be looking for. Figure out where that person might fit into your organization.
Don’t hire everyone based on personality. You are running a business, not finding your best friend.
Don’t think your job is done just because you have the staff hired. This is where your job really starts.
Now let’s discuss the Do’s.
Do have a detailed plan as to what you need before you even go into the interviewing process. Building a team is just like building a house. You need a plan. How big, how many windows. How many bedrooms, 2 car garage or 3, what sort of cabinets, how many outlets do you need.
Do plan out the positions you need. I am not talking about Managers, Assistant Managers or Stock People. I am talking about needing someone who has a specific strength or aptitude in Operations, Merchandising, Recruiting, Training, an Idea person, an Executer, a Detailed person or a Big Picture person.
Do hire someone whom you can develop to be your replacement. If you want to grow and advance in your organization you will need someone who can take your place.
Do hire people whom you think can be an active and engaged part of the team. Yes you are the leader; you should not be the dictator.
Do use the first people you hire to help interview the other members of the team you might be interested in. This will do 3 things: it will give you a better understanding of the people’s ability, it will make them feel important and an active part of the building process, it will let the other candidates see that this is a group and team effort.
Do visit your candidates’ current place of employment. If you like what you see, great! If not, do not necessarily rule them out. Remember that people are chameleons. Perhaps they are not getting the direction they need or proper training.
Do use my Behavioral Based Assessments. OK, so I had to throw in a little self promotion!
When you are building your team it helps to think about sports. I know, me using a sports analogy, who knew? Think of a baseball team. The game is about to start and the team takes the field. All the players run out to left field because the coach only hired left field players. What do you think the chances are that the team will ever win a game? Nil to none!
A sense of desire, courage, and passion that can be felt in each building at every level comes from you. Desire, courage and passion are contagious; when the team sees that in you they will catch the fever. Constantly share and communicate with your team as this is vital for them to know and understand what is going on. A sure fired way to kill enthusiasm, excitement and commitment is for your team not to know what is going on.
There are two books that I would highly recommend and if you haven’t read them you should, both are by Patrick Lencioni; The FIVE Dysfunctions of a TEAM and The FOUR OBSESSIONS of an EXTRAORDINARY EXECUTIVE.
I would also suggest reading four of my previous blogs;
http://www.createawinningteam.com/inspiring-the-people-you-lead
How HARD is it? Just do it MY way!
http://www.createawinningteam.com/how-hard-is-it-just-do-it-my-way
http://www.createawinningteam.com/are-you-the-team-leader
http://www.createawinningteam.com/employee-engagement
Just ask yourself this one question; if I were paying these people out of my own pocket, and I was depending on them to put food on my family’s table, would they be working for me?
Remember that you are hiring your legacy. The team that you create will be a lasting representation of you. The history books will document the success you had and the greatness you created!
This will most certainly be one of the most exciting and challenging adventures of your career!
Please keep me updated as to your emanate success!
One day the employees of a company returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said: “Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the main conference room.”
At first everyone was sad to hear that one of their colleagues had died, but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be.
The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the conference room to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered: “Who is this person who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he’s no longer here!” and “I don’t know who died but I’m glad. Maybe now I can get that promotion I deserve!” “It’s probably that S.O.B. that has been holding me back!” “Maybe it’s one of the big bosses who only thinks of himself and never about me.”
One by one the employees got closer to the coffin and when they looked inside they suddenly became speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul, giving them the ultimate Key to Life itself.
There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: “There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.”
We all tend to blame everyone else because we haven’t gotten something that we want or think we deserve. We want to blame someone else for our failures, disappointments, setbacks and miss-steps. We don’t want to accept the responsibility for our own actions or behaviors. We fail to look in the mirror and see our flaws or opportunities. We want someone else to take control of our destiny, but we only want them to give us what we think we want or deserve.
You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.
The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself.
When YOU look in the mirror are you seeing the person that is holding you back? Or are you seeing the person that continues to encourage you and drive you towards your greatness?
It is Independence Day, the big 4th of July weekend. It is a time we celebrate our Independence as a Nation.
As leaders, shouldn’t every day be Independence Day? Shouldn’t we be concentrating on breaking the chains of old management styles that don’t work, changing the attitude that employees only exist to serve the needs of management?
As leaders, shouldn’t we be focusing on delivering our teams from oppression and bringing them into the light of participation? A successful Nation thrives on the people having a voice. A successful business or organization also thrives when the people have a voice.
Too often management thinks that they know what is best for the employees. Apparently the employees are not smart enough to know what works and what makes them more productive, so management decides how the employees should think and act.
A successful Nation, like a successful company will succeed when “all people are created equal,” and we give our employees the opportunity to show their greatness. Abraham Lincoln said “You can not build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.” Why would any company or any leader want to take away an employee’s initiative? Isn’t it initiative that has resulted in all of the great inventions we enjoy today? Hasn’t giving people the opportunity to think independently given us all of the advancements in science, medicine and technology?
To stifle a person’s independence stifles a person’s creativity.
On this Independence Day, as we celebrate with fireworks, hotdogs and parades, take a moment to think about the time when we can celebrate the independence of our employees. As a leader it is your responsibility to give your employees the independence they need to truly develop and display all of their character, courage, creativity, passion and greatness.
To whom will you grant Independence this week?
