The Workstar Library

Fixing that Overwhelming Feeling

2011-03-05T13:28:00.001-07:00

As I have worked with executives and others over the years, the occasional feeling of being totally overwhelmed has been a very common complaint. It is a symptom of being out of balance, when the tasks, troubles and challenges of the day reach the point where we simply don't cope well.

The staff at ThyBlackMan.com have put together an excellent piece on handling the overwhelming feelings we seem to get so often. They recommend setting aside two 30 minute periods each day. In the first, the advise that we simply stop and stay quiet. Clearing the mind and soul are critical to success in finding balance.

The second 3o minute period is all about doing something that you really enjoy. It could be exercise, reading, playing with the kids or whatever. But having quiet time and then time doing something of your choosing each day makes the sense of being out of control and overwhelmed somehow less debilitating.

This is a great article, and I really enjoyed doing something I like to do - checking out websites with lots of practical advice for life. And ThyBlackMan.com is one of those classic sites that brings a lot to the table in our daily living of life.

Nigel Marsh on Work Life Balance

2011-03-03T13:28:00.000-07:00

Nigel Marsh, the author of Fat, Forty, and Fired gave a great talk recently on work life balance. He said, among other things, making small changes in life is the best approach to work life balance. Variety being the spice of life, Marsh recommends that we work to bring many aspects of our lives into balance rather than trying to focus on one big thing that is out of balance.

Watch his speech and then add your comments about what makes work life balance work for you!

The Lesson of the Red Horse

2010-11-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

John Reh is the guide for the Management site at About.com, and is one of my favorite writers on management and leadership topics. I ran across his article on The Lesson of the Red Horse. I don't want to steal John's thunder by tipping off too much of the analogy, but suffice it to say that often in leadership, we get exactly what we ask for--no more and no less. Clear expectations, being sensitive to the strengths and weaknesses of our people, and setting performance standards are all important in motivating our people to realize their potential and contribute to the overall mission of the organization. Thanks, John, for a memorable analogy that will certainly help me in my management and leadership efforts.

Three Strengths of A True Strategic Leader

2010-11-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

I am a big fan of leaders who focus on strategic direction. This article from Forbes by Katherine Colarelli Beatty offers some excellent guidance to leaders who want to be more strategic. The three strengths are:

Being grounded in a strong understanding of the complex relationship between the organization and its environment
Taking decisive action that is consistent with the strategic direction of the organization
Building commitment to the organization's strategic direction by inviting others into the strategic process, forging relationships inside and outside the organization, and navigating the political landscape.

This is a great article and one I recommend to anyone who wants to enhance their strategic focus. If you like the article, you might want to check out the book Becoming a Strategic Leader: Your Role in Your Organization's Enduring Success , co-authored by Katherine Colarelli Beatty.

Halloween at the Office

2010-10-05T20:59:00.000-06:00

As many know, I am a site guide at About.com focusing on fatherhood issues. One of colleagues, Jon Reh, hosts the Management site at About.com. He has written a great article on having Halloween fun at work and building a team culture using at Halloween time. Just a couple of excerpts:

You can use Halloween at the Office to build morale and teamwork. At the same time it can help you spot creative and participative talents among your employees. Your people have a little fun in the office, which builds morale. Groups of employees work together on fun projects, which helps build teamwork. Employees from different departments share a common activity, which improves communication and inter-departmental cooperation. You get to identify the people in your organization with hidden talents, skills like creativity, team leadership, and cooperation, in a non-hierarchical setting.

Some shy employees feel unable to fully participate in group activities at the office. They worry about appearing silly or being embarrassed. Halloween may provide a good opportunity for these employees to join in. It's a great time for shy people to show off their talents at the office while hiding behind a costume.

Read and enjoy Jon's article and see what kind of fun you can have with Halloween at the office.

The Future Goes to the Fast

2010-09-16T18:07:00.001-06:00

I had an opportunity today to listen to futurist Jim Carroll at a conference I attended. He talked about innovation and his view of what is happening and likely to happen in organizations in the future. Among the many notes I took was the idea that change would be happening even faster as time moves on, and I feel like I am barely keeping up!
I found this video at Jim's website and thought it reflected very well the idea that we had better get ready for even more and faster change in our lives and organizations.

The Wind and Waves

2010-08-03T08:47:00.000-06:00

Several years ago, I was on a strategic visioning committee for a public sector organization with a leader that I admired greatly. She was visionary and was taking her own organization to new heights. One day a small group of our committee met in her office, and on the wall of that office was a picture of a ship being tossed on large waves. Across the bottom of the picture was inscribed the words, "The wind and the saves are always on the side of the ablest navigator."

That was a revelation to me, and I have thought about that concept often as I have worked my way through adversity, personal and professional.

Recently, I read an article about dealing with change written by Jim Clemmer. Let me share an excerpt with you and then I will post a link to the entire article.

For the past few years, I have been using a simple concept to discuss our choices in dealing with difficult problems. Surveys and feedback from my workshop or retreat participants, continually point to the few minutes we spend on this basic model as the most powerful part of our time together. It may be basic and seem obvious, but many of us seem to need constant reminders and help because it is so easy to sink "below the line."

There are grey areas slightly above and slightly below the line. This is "survivor" mode. When this is our response to a difficult change or problem, we're sitting on the fence to see what might happen, or we are waiting for someone else to do something. There are times when waiting in survivor mode and not acting immediately is quite wise — as long as we are above the line.

Examples might be when we need more information and have to do some research, or to see whether a change is going become a trend, or which way the new boss, government, or customer is going to go. The top of the graph — well above the line — is proactive "navigator" mode.

Jim's entire article can be read here. It is a wonderful and accurate perspective of how we deal with change and how important it is to be an able navigator.

The Bottom Line for Employee Retention

2010-07-20T09:05:00.000-06:00

Susan Heathfield is the Human Resources Guide at About.com and does a phenomenal job educating managers on human resources issues. This week I ran across her article on the importance of effective supervision on employee retention. Her article is just excellent and I recommend it to anyone concerned about employee retention. A couple of quotes:

It is not enough that the manager is well-liked or a nice person. Sure, a nice, likeable manager earns you some points with your employees. A draconian, nasty, or controlling manager takes points away from your organization. So will below market benefits and compensation. But, a manager or supervisor, who is a pro at employee retention, knows that the quality of the supervision is the key factor in employee retention.

Almost every manager can increase her ability to retain employees by developing her management skills. Teaching a manager about how to value people can be more challenging. Particularly if the manager doesn't already value people and their contributions in her mind and heart, it will be a leap for her to change her values.

What Employees Need from Leaders

2010-06-23T15:47:00.005-06:00

Just ran across an amazing little article from the Harvard Business Review entitled What Employees Need from Leaders. It was written by Dr. Cleve Stevens of Owl Sight Intentions Inc. I thought it was a great summary. In short, employees need:

To love and be loved--defined as focused concern and action
To grow
To contribute
Meaning

This list certainly resonates for me, and I can do better at helping the employees I work with find those needs better met with my leadership.

The Butterfly Effect

2010-06-15T08:18:00.003-06:00

I first heard this physics concept several years ago. The idea is that a butterfly moving through the air displaces molecules, which displace other molecules and in the right circumstances could precipitate a major wind storm half a world away. Author and motivational speaker Andy Andrews has a new book out, published by Simple Truths, about the Butterfly Effect and it's implications for people, teams and organizations.

Getting your Business on the Web

2010-05-31T21:43:00.001-06:00

You have designed your business for success; now it's time to do the same for your business' presence on the World Wide Web. You have several options for making this major step forward. The intrepid business owner may consider creating and managing his or her website alone. Or he or she may seek out a qualified web designer and developer. In any case, getting your web site designed and operational is a significant task.

Identifying Your Web Needs

The first step in the process is to specify what it is you want from your web site. Do you want to attract customers? Establish a reputation? Show off? Provide references?

What should your web site mean to customers? If you want to attract customers, then you will be interested in selling on your site. Some web sites are designed to enhance communication with existing customers–giving the status of projects, allowing review of materials, promoting collaboration, and so forth. This requires different tools than simply putting your brochure on the web.

Do you intend to offer items for sale on your site? If so, you will be interested in security, banking relationships, etc. Will you enable your site for other forms of e-commerce?

What do you hope your site will mean to your suppliers? Do you intend to purchase items over the web? Will you be an affiliate or a wholesaler of the products of others? Do you want to allow web access to your accounts payables, allowing electronic invoicing and payment transfers?

How about competitors? You certainly don't want to share your trade secrets; but are there some things that you want your competitors to know about your firm and your products and services? Do you want a site that is competitive graphically or functionally with those of your competitors, or will you fill a very specialized niche that has little to do with competitors?

And finally, what should your site say about your commitment to community? Do you want a chat room or a message board? Are you looking for ways to build commitment to your industry, and should your web site play a role in building that interest?

If you want to do your own website, you should be able to answer the following questions honestly in the affirmative.

1. Are you computer savvy? Can you do more on a PC than just word processing or spreadsheets? Do you have some basic knowledge of computer programming in general? Are you comfortable with your PC and with the Internet?

2. Are you good at designing things? Can you tell the difference between a well designed web site and a poorly designed one. Check out the information at this web site and see if you are impressed with their highlighted web pages that are poorly designed. If so, you probably do not have an eye for design.

3. Are you willing to tackle a learning curve? Learning HTML and the associated programming skills for good web pages is a steep learning curve. Can you invest the time and energy in getting ahead of the curve?

4. Are you willing to invest in the tools? Purchasing an HTML authoring tool, a good graphics program and other hardware and software tools can be expensive for one web application.

If you do decide to do it yourself, or at least try it yourself, you should consider the following:

1. Learn your tools. HTML authoring tools have varying degrees of ease for the novice user. Microsoft FrontPage is one of the most heavily used tools. Another to consider is Dreamweaver. If you are looking for a freeware solution, check out First Page by Evrsoft. You will also want a good graphics program for creating web graphics.

2. Experiment with templates. There are many sites on the web that offer free or low cost web page templates that are designed with good taste and colors and graphics. Check out Free Site Templates, Free Web Templates, and Web Diner. There are also low cost CD-ROM's with a variety of web templates available.

3. Beware of copyrights. Most web templates and graphics found on the web are copyrighted by someone. In some cases, a link back to the author's page will be all that is asked. In others, you will need to pay for the use of the template or graphics. Check out these requirements to keep you out of hot water legally.

4. Look for web tools on the Web. Many web sites use tools provided by other sites, such as forms, surveys, message boards, chat rooms, etc. Some of the best sites are Bravenet, Webmaster 123 and Free Site Tools.

If you decide that the do-it-yourself approach is not for you, it is time to begin a search for a web designer or developer. Take the information you prepared by asking the tough questions about what you want your web site to accomplish for you and have it in hand as you begin.

Build a Vendor List. As you see web sites that impress you, make note of the web designer or developer. Normally, this will be listed as a "footer" on the home page, or there may be a credits page or an "about our site" page which will offer this information. You will also want to go to the International Association of Web Masters and Designers and explore its resources. This directory, as well as the home page of the designer, will often offer a portfolio of their work. Click through their portfolio to get an idea of their capabilities. You may also want to check out local resources for web designers. Using the About Web Design pages is a good place to start. But don't limit yourself to designers in your geographic area. Web design is universal enough, and the technology tools are sufficient to make location a relatively unimportant factor.

Interview. Once you have selected your vendor list, then begin visiting with those on your list. You will want to ask questions so that you can determine:

1. For the designer, what is most important: meeting your needs or using the bells and whistles of technology? It is possible to have a technologically superior web site without having the needed substance for your customers. A web designer must be able to write good copy, not just make great flash introductions.

2. Is the designer experienced with web sites of your scale and scope? Web sites can be fairly simple with just a few pages or can be very complex. Is your designer willing and able to work with a site like the one you envision?

3. How are fees calculated and charged? Will you be charged by the hour, by the page, by the word? Are the fees comparable with other designers you have interviewed?

4. Do you have a chemistry with the designer? Do you feel at ease or intimidated? Can you communicate effectively with him or her? Does the designer seem to understand your needs and concerns.

5. How do other clients feel about the designer? Make a few phone calls or send e-mails to other clients of the designer. What is their feedback? Are there any red flags?

Using these questions and concepts, you will find a web designer who meets your needs and will be able to get you established successfully on the Web.

Why Retreat?

2010-05-31T15:40:00.001-06:00

Frank Miles, a consultant hired to work with XYZ Corporation, is preparing to recommend to his client that they undertake a corporate retreat. His instinct and experience tell him that the corporate leaders need an opportunity to regroup, rethink, and solidify their business strategies. But Frank is concerned because of the perception of some in the business world that retreats are nothing more than expensive boondoggles–company-paid vacations for executives and their staffs.

In order to prepare the best recommendation possible, and one that is accepted by the client, Frank decides to ask some of his peers in the consulting field for their reasons why corporate retreats work when properly structured and used. The responses were varied, and each response gave a real benefit of retreats that he could include in his recommendation.

1. Retreats can help define and refine strategy. Getting away from the office, from telephones and email, can bring fresh perspective to corporate strategy. In a less structured setting, group participation and problem solving are enhanced. Rethinking the organization's mission, vision, goals and objectives are best when there is some space from the day-to-day grind of work and accomplishment. Retreats are excellent tools for clarifying or reaffirming the strategic direction of an organization.

2. Retreats can help review and identify trends. In the midst of regular business activities, it can be very challenging to take a broader look at your industry and competitors. Getting away from the office and into a more relaxed setting stimulates deeper thinking and helps identify issues and events and their relationship to one another. Looking as a group of executives or coworkers at the bigger issues that have impact on business direction can be a healthy experience. Using economists, consultants or others to help identify trends in the broader environment can be very helpful in seeing meaningful trends and doing something about them in a strategic way.

3. Retreats can help when there has been or will be a crisis. When business trends or events project a looming crisis, a retreat can help bring focus to the problem and identify possible solutions. And when a crisis has already occurred, a retreat can help debrief the organization's response and prepare for the future in the new environment. And dealing with these issues without the pressure of daily work and management can be a real plus for finding creative solutions.

4. Retreats can enhance teamwork. In the daily grind of organizational activity, relationships among coworkers are sometimes strained. While in many organizations, teamwork on the job is encouraged and rewarded, in some companies the emphasis is on individual performance. In those organizations, teamwork must be encouraged and stimulated in other ways. A retreat is an excellent way to build trust among coworkers, to enhance communication and to clarify roles and responsibilities.

5. Better ideas are generated at retreats. Changing the environment usually results in a change in the way people think and solve problems. There is more "outside the box thinking" when participants are outside their daily and routine "boxes" at work.

After working with his peers, Frank felt he had all the ammunition he needed to develop his recommendation. In a future article, Frank will share his outline for the XYZ retreat and his checklist for making a retreat successful.

Strategic Planning 101--Why Measure Performance?

2010-05-31T15:30:00.001-06:00

Paul Epstein, a noted author on performance measures has defined performance measures as "a systematic attempt to learn how responsive an [organization's products and] services are to the needs of the [customer] and the [organization's] ability to pay." Measuring performance offers an effective method of determining whether or not an organization is meeting its goals and achieving its mission.

Generally, performance measures fall into one of four categories. These are:

Inputs are the resources that an organization uses to produce goods or services, including human, financial, facility, or material resources (e.g., number of dollars expended or tons of material used).

Output Measures are tools, or indicators, to count the services and goods produced by an organization. The number of people receiving a service or the number of services delivered are often used as measures of output.

Efficiency Measures are indicators that measure the cost, unit cost or productivity associated with a given outcome or output.

Outcome Measures are tools, or indicators, to assess the actual impact of an organization's actions. An outcome measure is a means for quantified comparison between the actual result the intended result.

What Can Metrics Do For Me?

The accounting firm of Price Waterhouse has offered three main reasons for establishing metrics in an organization.

1. Measurement clarifies and focuses long term goals and strategic objectives. Performance measurement involves comparing actual performance against expectations and setting up targets by which progress toward objectives can be measured.

2. Measurement provides performance information to stakeholders. Performance measures are the most effective method for communicating about the success of programs and services. For example, in public education, states and school districts routinely issue "report cards" highlighting test score outcomes and other key indicators of educational performance. These have become centerpieces of attention among not only educators, but many other stakeholders.

3. Measures encourage delegation rather than "micro-management". Hierarchical structures and extensive oversight requirements can obstruct organizational effectiveness. Performance measures free senior executives for more strategic decision-making and selective intervention, while clarifying the responsibilities and authority of managers.

The Benefits of Performance Measurement

1. Performance measurement enhances decision making. The process of developing performance measures allows an organization to determine its mission, set goals for desired results, and identify methods of measuring how well the results are achieved. The data generated through performance measurement can be utilized in determining program effectiveness, in evaluating options for service delivery, and in charting long-term programs and fiscal plans. For boards of directors, performance measures can focus attention on outcomes, and can allow for solid evaluation techniques.

2. Performance measurement improves internal accountability. Measuring performance gives decision makers a significant tool to achieve accountability. Employees at all levels are accountable to upper level managers for their performance or that of their crew, and upper level managers are accountable to executives. This relationship becomes much more clear when outcomes and outputs are measured by a commonly accepted standard. Systems such as management by objectives (MBO) or pay for performance plans can be much more effective when teamed with a high quality measurement system.

3. Performance measurement supports strategic planning and goal setting. Without the ability to measure performance and progress, the process of developing strategic plans and goals is less meaningful. While there is clearly some benefit to thinking and planning strategically, the evaluation of such plans and goals cannot be objective without measuring performance and achievement. For example, one strategic initiative of secondary education might be to prepare non-college bound students to be effective in the labor market without higher education. If a high school were to set such a goal, and then not identify ways to determine how well prepared students were upon graduation, the school could not know how well its vocational programs were meeting the objective.

Organizational metrics are important for all organizations--public, private and non-profit. Working with employees, management, and affected stakeholders, organizations involved in strategic planning can develop measures of performance in the production of goods and services and in meeting the organization's most important objectives.

Strategic Planning 101--Goal Setting

2010-05-31T15:29:00.000-06:00

"We hope to improve our market position" or "We will have a market share of 25% by January 2005."

Which goal works better and why?

The development of goals is the third step in effective strategic planning. In earlier articles, we reviewed establishing a mission statement and defining organizational values.

Goals Must Be Built on a Foundation

Goals can be defined as a written target of where an organization or an individual wants to be within a specific time frame. But goals must be built on a secure foundation in order to be meaningful and to help the organization achieve its mission.

Hyrum Smith, founder of Franklin Quest, later Franklin-Covey, Inc. developed a model of goal setting which is instructive. Smith's "Success Triangle" puts governing values at the base of the goal setting process. Smith recommends that every goal be linked specifically to a governing value. For example, if diversity in the workforce is a value espoused by an organization, then there must be at least one goal which furthers diversity. Every goal should be linked to a governing value.

Do Your Goals Measure Up?

Effective goals have four common characteristics which, when followed, will make achievement more likely and planning more precise. These characteristics are

1. The goal must be specific. The more specific the goal is, the more likely the organization is to achieve it. Using the two goal statements above as examples, you can see that the first goal is very general. Even a 0.5% increase in market share would be an "increase." The second is much more specific and precise.

2. The goal must be measurable. There must be a way to determine whether or not the organization is making progress toward the goal, and there needs to be a way to clearly define the moment when the goal is achieved. Again, using the two goal statements above, the first is clearly not as measurable as the second. Precisely defining the goal as a market share of 25% allows the organization to measure its current position, and to determine over time whether the organization is getting closer to or further away from its goal. One can also determine trends and can identify which objectives make the biggest difference in reaching the goal as time goes on.

3. The goal must be targeted. Will the goal lead to the desired outcomes? Does the goal accomplish the mission of the organization, or at least contribute meaningfully to the mission? When evaluating the two goals mentioned earlier, we would have to examine the company's mission statement. For example, increasing market share may be wholly inappropriate for a food pantry for the homeless.

4. The goal must be time specific. Tying a goal to a deadline is critical. It allows the objectives which flow from the goal to address both direction and speed. Goal achievement is usually based on a specific time frame, and accountability for achieving the goal is significantly enhanced when it is linked to a deadline. Our second sample goal above is very time specific; the first one is not.

Additional Goal Setting Tips

Here are some additional ideas in making goals effective.

1. Avoid contradictory goals. Sometimes goals are set which are in conflict with one another. Be cautious to evaluate the relationship among goals before finalizing them. You are setting the stage for failure somewhere if two or more goals are mutually exclusive.

2. Write goals in the positive, not the negative. Focus on what you hope to achieve, not what you want to leave behind. For example, the goal "We will be in the upper 50% of similar companies in terms of revenue by 2004" is better than "We will not be ‘cellar-dwellers' any more."

3. Set high goals. Don't be concerned if a goal is not immediately achievable. Experience suggests that progress will be greater on a goal that is just beyond the reach of reality than on one that is too easy to achieve.

For good examples of corporate goals that meet these criteria, visit the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Plymouth State College, and the School of Library Science at Catholic University.

Putting your energies into developing effective goals that link to values, that are measurable, specific, targeted and time sensitive will pay huge dividends as you work to achieve your corporate mission.

The Benefits of Using Headhunters

2010-05-31T15:25:00.000-06:00

The imagery is unmistakable: an aboriginal cannibal on the prowl for his next meal. When we use the term "headhunter," this, for many people, is the conjured image. But this term, in common business usage , is also a not-so-affectionate nickname for the executive search professional. But truly, executive search professionals are more accurately described as "matchmakers."

Why would an organization turn to an executive search firm as opposed to using the experienced in house human resources staff? There are a number of services and philosophies that an executive search professional brings by way of his or her expertise in the recruiting field and his or her specialization in a given industry.

1. Hiring the right key person is too important to leave to chance. Search firms are best when they are utilized for finding the most key employees in an organization. The organization with the strongest executives is usually best poised for a competitive market environment. In any case, it is clear that people are the most important resource of any organization, and the executives and significant technicians are those who will likely make or break the organization's success.

2. Search firms can reach candidates not currently in the job market. Normal recruitment strategies really target those who are in the job market or who are nearing the edge of the market. Traditional advertising, even extended to the Internet, reaches only those who are looking for new employment. Executive search firms work to find those who are already happy and successful in their current jobs–people who usually are not reading the want ads, trade journals or online job search services.

3. Search firms can operate confidentially. Many times, an organization may not want to disclose their search publicly for strategic or competitive reasons. Search firms can operate confidentially and behind the scenes in these case, using existing networks of professionals to find executive talent.

4. Executive hiring mistakes are expensive. Traditional recruiting is based on a short job description and limited advertising resources. Often hiring mistakes are due to miscommunication about job expectations or requirements. Search firms remove this guesswork from the equation by better identifying a job and its requirements early in the recruiting process.

5. The executive search process casts a wider and more precise net. Generalist human resources professionals are well equipped to handle more routine and general recruiting needs. But in an executive or highly technical recruiting, the specialized nature of executive search firms allows better pinpointing of resources to specific recruiting techniques and in expanding the recruiting network beyond the typical marketplace of a given organization.

6. References are likely to be more reliable. Recruiters who simply check the references given them by candidates will simply hear the best about that candidate. After all, would a candidate list a critic as a reference? But recruiters use their professional network to get the straight story on a candidate from reliable and usually more realistic sources. And references are usually more likely to be honest with a professional recruiter than with someone who will be the candidate's employer and could at some point inadvertently disclose their sources.

7. Search firms assist also with the offer and negotiation process. Typically, in house human resources professionals are not as well acquainted with the employment market for specialized staff and executives because they deal with relatively few of them in any one organization. Search consultants are better able to stay in touch with the market and offer advice to the client about the compensation and benefits offered by competitors.

Conclusion

Executive search firms fill a critical need in the recruiting process for executives and technical specialists. While their services are often not inexpensive, the benefits of their services to an organization generally outweigh the costs by several fold for those critical executive and technical staffs. A future article will address the executive search process and what a consultant will provide to an organization under an executive search contract.

Understanding and Managing Conflict

2010-05-31T15:23:00.000-06:00

The recent story of aggression between "hockey dads" should help us understand the need to have good conflict resolution skills. At a pickup hockey game in Reading, Massachusetts, two hockey fathers, Thomas Junta and Michael Costin, were arguing about the level of body checking going on between the players. When the confrontation escalated into physical violence, Mr. Costin was assaulted by Mr. Junta, and died from injuries sustained in the fight two days later. Junta was arrested and charged with manslaughter, and is pleading self-defense.

While many news stories have focused on what is wrong with youth sports, the issue of resolving conflict effectively has been very lightly treated. In all of the hand-wringing over violence in sports, and particularly among parents of young athletes, who has heard calls for greater skills in managing conflict? Can good conflict resolution skills be applied at home, in the workplace, and in the arena?

Defining Conflict

It has been said that the chinese symbol for conflict is a combination of the symbols for "opportunity" and "danger." This suggests that, at least in the chinese culture, conflict includes the opportunity for resolution, and carries significant consequences if it is not resolved. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines conflict as the "competitive or opposing action of incompatibles : antagonistic state or action (as of divergent ideas, interests, or persons)." As conflict increases, it usually results in an increased desire by the parties to "win," an increased desire to save face, and a heightened concern for vengeful actions.

The Levels of Conflict

Conflict generally falls into one of three levels. Each level is unique and brings its own set of challenges and possible strategies for managing the conflict that exists in that level. The levels are:

Level 1. Can't We Just Get Along? At this level of conflict, the parties involved are able to discuss issues and share opinions without threats of reprisal. Coping strategies for this lowest area of conflict tend to involve one or the other party either giving in or avoiding conflicts. In this case, the "live and let live" approach usually works best. At this level, the most important goals are harmonious ones--fitting in and belonging by both parties.

Level 2: I Intend to Win. At this stage, the attitude of competition takes over; trust levels decline and a "win-lose" mentality becomes paramount. The self-interest of each party takes precedence. Resolving Level 2 conflicts can be very challenging and frequently require the intervention of a third party. The third-party role is one of opening discussion on the issues and seeking middle ground. This intervention takes the form, most typically of mediation. Mediation is a dispute resolution process that uses an independent person called a mediator who assists disputing parties reach a mutually agreeable settlement. The work of a mediator is generally not binding, but relies on the goodwill of the affected parties.

Level 3: I Will Make You Hurt. At this stage of conflict, the focus shifts from winning to "annihilating" the other party. Both parties tend to lose their perspective of the issues and hand and move to a win-at-all-costs approach. The strategy for resolving this level of conflict requires meaningful third party mediation or arbitration. Normally, the ability to the parties to reach agreement has been exhausted without litigation or binding arbitration. Arbitration is a process by which an independent person called an arbitrator is appointed to decide a dispute after hearing from the people in dispute. The decision of the arbitrator is final and the results can be filed in court and enforced like a court decision

Finding Third Party Intervenors

Identifying the right third-party intervenor, whether an attorney, a mediator or an arbitrator, is the most critical part in predicting the success of a conflict resolution process. Suggestions for finding just the right intervenor include:

1. Ask Around. With the growth in the alternative dispute resolution profession, many professionals will have experienced it at one time or another. Work your network to get references.

2. Check with the Bar Association. Your local bar association may be able to recommend attorneys or non-attorney intervenors with experience in your specific dispute.

3. Look On-Line. Some excellent resources include the Society of Professionals in Dispute Resolution, the National Association for Community Mediation, and Mediate.com.

By understanding the basics of conflict resolution, and by implementing the strategies appropriate to the situation, a person in conflict can find ways to successfully resolve the conflict and take the "danger" out of the Chinese character, leaving an "opportunity" for growth and learning.

Ten Steps to Greater Self-Confidence

2010-05-31T15:22:00.000-06:00

Consultants often live on one of those great "merry-go-rounds" of life. When we are busy, helping our clients, and making money, we are on top of the world. When times are not so great, we struggle with why and how bad times happen.

No matter what your current level of self-confidence, you can learn to improve it. There are many self-help books out today focusing on confidence building and self-esteem. This article focuses on ten key strategies for keeping your self-confidence high and your outlook bright.

1. Know what you do well. Sometimes in the bustle of daily life, we tend to dwell on our weaknesses rather than our strengths. When you break the chain and start giving yourself credit for the things you do well, you will find more confidence in working on difficult issues.

2. Please yourself. Business professionals often fall into the trap of trying to please others. However, it is a truism that you cannot please all the people all the time. The most important person to please is yourself. Make more time in your schedule for doing things that you do well and enjoy. And never compromise your values. You are more likely to feel confident when your behavior is congruent with your values.

3. Reward yourself. Look for ways to reinforce confident behavior. When you finish that big project on time and on budget, treat yourself to a favorite leisure activity. When you reinforce the good, your subconscious can help you do it right the next time.

4. Look for small victories. Let's face it: the big successes only come around once in a while. It you can't count a small accomplishment as a victory, you will be waiting a long time for success. Even if things seem to be crashing down around you in one area of accomplishment, look for successes in another.

5. Learn from your mistakes. When the inevitable failure happens, realize that the situation was a failure; you are only a failure if you fail to learn. See mistakes as a learning experience. Let them improve your wisdom about yourself and the world.

6. Look confident. Regardless of how you might feel when you get out of bed in the morning, dress and groom yourself as you would if you felt at 110%. Stand tall, walk purposefully, and maintain eye contact when you speak to others. Exude confidence, and it will tend to develop in you.

7. Sound confident. Practice using positive terms rather than negative ones, regardless of your doubts and concerns. Avoid using tentative phrases like "but" or "maybe." Affirm your abilities in your commitments.

8. Prepare for discussions. Even with small buildings, the plans are created on paper before the first footing is excavated. Plan your business discussions with the same care an architect takes in designing a building. Write notes, research and anticipate concerns. When you are prepared, there is no need to fear the outcome.

9. Initiate conversation. Don't wait for people to talk to you; take the initiative and start up a conversation with someone you meet, whether you know them or not. Starting a conversation is an evidence of self-assuredness, and will be perceived that way by your conversation partner.

10. Imitate self-confident people. My guess is that the people you admire the most have an innate sense of self-confidence. Watch what they do, how they walk and talk. Select a visible behavior and model it in your own life.

Take these suggestions and make them yours, and watch that confidence quotient rise!

Strategic Planning 101--Developing a Mission Statement

2010-05-31T13:25:00.000-06:00

"To provide economy and quality minded travelers with a premier, moderate priced lodging facility which is consistently perceived as clean, comfortable, well-maintained, and attractive, staffed by friendly, attentive and efficient people"

This mission statement, developed by the Courtyard by Marriott chain, is one of the best examples in business and industry of an effective and powerful mission statement. The development of such a mission statement is a critical component to any organization, and the fundamental step in the strategic planning process.

The Reasons for a Mission Statement

Developing a mission statement is a challenging process if done well. Organizations need to make a commitment to the process, but the benefits are well worth the effort. The following benefits can be realized by an organization embarking on the mission development path.

1. Missions promote unity. A well-written and understood mission statement can rally the entire organization around a core set of values and reasons for being. Focusing on the most important purposes of an organization brings clarity to expectations.

2. Missions help allocate scarce resources. No organization has all the resources it could use, whether financial, environmental or human. Resource allocation decisions are among the hardest, but linking those decisions to an organization's mission makes them more reasoned and defensible.

3. Missions help move from ideas to action. Undertaking the strategic planning steps of goal setting, developing objectives and defining measures are impossible without the critical step of defining the mission. This applies to the organization as a whole as well as to subunits and individuals.

4. Missions establish culture. The culture of an organization emanates from the entity's mission and from its leaders. The effort to modify organizational culture can be daunting, but the acceptance of an organizational mission statement can ease the task and help overcome resistance to these changes.

The Characteristics of a Mission Statement

According to the CCH Business Owner's Toolkit, a mission statement should have the following four attributes to be successful.

1. Elicits an emotional, motivational response in employees. The rank and file should be able to identify with the mission statement, using it to make decisions and focus their energies.

2. Be easily understood and be transferred into individual action. The mission statement should be a practical tool to allow employees to see how their part of the organization relates to the greater whole of the mission. At its best, a mission statement breathes daily in the lives of the employees.

3. Is a measurable, tangible goal. Employees, managers, shareholders and other should be able to measure the organization's performance against its mission. Lofty, ethereal missions are less effective than measurable, quantifiable ones.

4. Is rooted in the competitive environment. Each organization is in competition for something; even monopolies have to maintain value in their product. There is not much value today in having a monopoly in buggy whips. Measuring the competition and linking your mission statement to competitive advantage works.

One Way to Craft a Mission Statement--The Q&A Model

While the development of a mission statement takes time and effort by many factions, the effort normally should center around getting answers to three vital questions, and then building those answers into the mission statement. The questions are:

1. What is our most significant market? Whom do we serve? Who makes our business worthwhile? Which part of the market is our target?

2. What is our contribution to the market? What value do we add to the customer's life and work? How are the members of our target market better because of us.

3. How do we rise above the competition in making that contribution? What distinguishes our product or service from our competitors? What SHOULD distinguish us? What is our unique niche?

As these questions are evaluated, a mission statement will start to evolve. Look at the Courtyard by Marriott statement at the beginning of this article. Let's see how it measures up.

At Courtyard, the significant market is economy and quality minded travelers. Courtyard contributes premier, moderate priced lodging facilities to their market. True, but so do many other hotel chains. Courtyard's distinction is that its properties will be perceived as clean, comfortable, well maintained and attractive, with friendly, attentive and efficient people.

By following these guidelines, your organization can work to develop its own powerful and effective mission statement, and receive the significant benefits that follow this critical process.

In future articles in this series, we will cover issues such as establishing organizational vision, goal setting, developing action plans, and using performance measures.

The Seven Laws of Teaching for Consultants and Trainers

2010-05-31T12:41:00.000-06:00

For over one hundred years, students in the field of education have studied John Milton Gregory's Seven Laws of Teaching. Published in 1884, this tome is one of the most enduring descriptions on the art of teaching.

Consultant trainers certainly meet the standards set for teachers in our profession. Gregory's Laws seem to apply equally well to trainers and presenters in today's society as they did to teachers a century ago. Let's consider these laws and apply them to the world of training and consulting.

Law 1:The Law of the Teacher: Know thoroughly, clearly, and familiarly the lesson you wish to teach. It is certainly true that a presenter must know his material backwards and forwards. It is an old wives tale that those who can, do; those who can't do, train. Knowledge gives power to a trainer to be enthusiastic and prepared.

Law 2:The Law of the Learner: Gain and keep the attention and interest of the pupils on the lesson. Do not try to teach without attention. Good trainers know that a rapport with the audience is essential to success. Keeping the interest of the trainees requires interactivity, varied presentation techniques and making the information relevant to their needs.

Law 3:The Law of the Language: Use words understood in the same way by the pupils and yourself. Using common language is very important. Good presenters should avoid jargon and acronyms that may not be familiar to participants. Using visuals and images to illustrate points can enhance commonality. And always keep it simple!

Law 4:The Law of the Lesson: Begin with what is already well known to the pupil about the subject, and proceed to the new material by single, easy, and natural steps. Experienced trainers understand the importance of linking new information to what the audience already knows. Help audiences see ways in which the new material you provide them will apply to their real life experiences and challenges.

Law 5: The Law of the Teaching Process: Teaching is arousing and using the pupil's mind to grasp the desired thought or to master the desired art; therefore, stimulate the pupil's own mind to action. Keep his thought as much as possible ahead of your expression, placing him in the attitude of a discoverer and anticipator. One beneficial training technique is to focus on self-learning and discovery. Bringing the topics home to a learner's life will make the learning truly meaningful.

Law 6:The Law of the Learning Process: Require the pupil to reproduce in thought the lesson he is learning--thinking it out in its various phases and applications until he can express it in his own language. The real learning comes from doing, not just hearing. Use role-playing, interactivity and practical exercises to stimulate future action with the material presented. People who can do in the training setting will more likely be comfortable doing that same thing in their real lives.

Law 7:The Law of Review and Application: Review, review, review, reproducing the old, deepening its impression with new thought, linking it with added meanings, finding new applications, correcting any false views, and completing the true. Experienced trainers see the value in reviewing at the conclusion of their presentation. When there is a point to emphasize, remember the old adage--the third time is the charm. Repetition is the father of retention.

By applying these seven laws in our training and consulting, our learners will learn better and will come to apply what they have learned. And we will be successful as trainers and consultants in effecting change in organizations and in lives.

Strategic Planning 101--Identifying Your Organizational Values

2010-05-31T03:42:00.000-06:00

"Honesty and Integrity, Excellent Customer Service, High Performance, Openness and Teamwork, Respect for Diversity, and Forward Thinking."

These are the core values of the City of Yuma, Arizona, as articulated in their Strategic Plan. This is a great example of a statement of values, the second critical step in the strategic planning process.

In this second module of Strategic Planning 101, we examine the value of values. Why is value identification important and relevant to strategic planning? And how do we identify them in an organization?

The Purpose of a Values Statement

Values are the set of beliefs held by the organization; every organization has them. Values are the underlying principles that guide operations, decisions and staff. They are what drive the priorities of employees and managers and how they act within the organization. They are the basis of the ethical standards in dealing with employees, customers, vendors and competitors.

A values statement is essential to good strategic planning because values underlie the decision-making process. Ignoring the cultural values of an organization is disastrous for a strategic plan because regardless of the plan, major and minor decisions alike will always align with the culture but not necessarily with the mission. Identifying and incorporating the values into the planning process will assure that goals, objectives and strategies will be achievable.

How to Define Values

In any organization, there are two sets of values. There are the real values that drive current decision making. In addition, there are preferred values, which an organization believes should be real, even if they are not. It could be, for example, that an organization hopes to value diversity, when the past behavior of the organization suggests otherwise.

A consultant should identify both real and preferred values in his work. This will help articulate not only what the organization desires to be, but the capabilities of the organization to meet that ideal.

In identifying values, a very open and inclusive process should be followed. Employees, managers, customers, stakeholders, and the broader community should have the opportunity for input. It is not enough to brainstorm with senior management. Because this process is so pivotal to the whole strategic planning process, there must be broad ownership of the final product. The more and broader the input, the easier the final plan will be to sell.

A values survey is a good empirical way of at least narrowing the options. Open ended questions can usually help identify values. Consider questions such as:

When deciding how to solve a particular problem, what factors enter your mind?
If presenting a recommendation to your boss, what questions will he likely ask?
If this organization were considering a major strategic shift, what factors would it take into account before acting?

Additionally, the survey might contain a listing of potential values, asking for a rating as to which ones enter into the decision-making process, and which ones should but do not. Those with high rankings in both real and preferred values could form the basis for a values statement.

Individual interviews and focus groups with various stakeholder groups would allow for additional clarification. Issues such as "What do we mean in this organization when we say that we respect our employees?" and "How do you know when this organization puts customers first?" can be the topic for interviews and group discussions.

When discrepancies are identified between actual behavior and preferred values, these can form the basis for goals and objectives for the organization.

A well-crafted statement of organizational values can form a strong foundation for the strategic planning process. A thorough and inclusive process led by an independent third party consultant can bring objectivity and meaning to that process and its end result.

Unlocking Your Personal and Professional Potential

2010-05-31T03:20:00.000-06:00

All of us remember (some more fondly than others) opportunities in our youth to be acquainted with a great coach. He or she may have been involved in coaching a youth soccer, baseball or football team. Some of us may identify with great coaches represented in the media or in movies like Hoosiers or the recent Remember the Titans.

Often, the things we remember about coaches involve things like how they helped us push ourselves toward excellence, how they cared about us as individuals, how they were "there for us." We might recall that they were great teachers, or great motivators, or simply great role models.

Some of us with less than positive experiences might remember coaches who did not contribute to our self esteem–those who belittled us or made light of our abilities (or lack thereof). While these people might have had the title of "Coach," they do not compare favorably with coaches who were more positive influences.

And, in some cases, the greatest coaches were not called by that title at all. Sometimes they were teachers, big brothers or sisters, music teachers, scoutmasters or clergymen. But in all cases, those who truly merited the title "Coach" were those who lifted us, taught us, and helped us be better than we could have been without them.

The new consulting specialty of personal and professional coaches seeks to provide people today with a similar mentor: a "coach" in the true sense of the word. In this article, we examine the new coaching profession and how it fills a special niche in management consulting: consulting not for an organization, but for individuals.

Definition

According to Eric Parsloe, the director of the Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring, coaching is "a process than enables learning and development to occur and thus performance to improve. To be a successful coach requires a knowledge and understanding of process as well as the variety of styles, skills and techniques that are appropriate to the context in which the coaching takes place."

The Coaching Fact Sheet at Coach U defines coaching similarly, as a "powerful, collaborative relationship between a coach and a willing individual which enables, through a process of discovery, goal setting, and strategic actions, the realization of extraordinary results."

How Coaching Works

For an individual, a coach is a mentor, motivator, planner and consultant rolled into one. The coach works privately with an individual, typically in person or by telephone. They usually begin with a personal strategic planning process, in which the coach assists the individual in assessing his or her strengths and weaknesses, exploring opportunities for success and inherent challenges that threaten success. The individual, led by the coach, sets goals, personally and professionally. The coach then periodically meets or consults with the individual in reaching their goals. The coach will assist in eliminating doubts and removing barriers to peak performance.

Modern coaches may use various technological means to manage the success process including telephone, e-mail, web interfaces and accountability mechanisms. In any case, the value of personal and professional coaching is in the ability to have an external impetus to internal focus; accountability and flexibility are keys to successful coaching.

Corporate Coaching

Applying the coaching model to various levels of an organization can improve organizational performance by improving individual development. Establishing a core group of people in an organization with coaching competency and using their skills can enhance morale, improve motivation, stimulate productivity and reduce turnover. Coaching is more than training, however; it is the practical application of the training process.

Conclusion

As Timothy Gallwey, the author of The Inner Game of Tennis, observed, "Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them." Coaching is designed as a way of unlocking potential through a systematic approach to success. It has shown great promise in the lives of individuals and organizations in improving productivity and programming for success.

Spit-Shining Your Resume

2010-05-30T15:02:00.003-06:00

So here I am in the middle of recruiting an Industrial Engineer, doing the last thing that I really want to do: reviewing resumes. Let me step back a few paces. I began my search using technical outplacement firms, you know, these shops that find you qualified candidates for about a 25% slice of the first year’s salary pie. They take care of everything, soup to nuts. I won’t have to run a classified ad or anything else, right? Problem: I got slim pickings early on from the headhunters. Since I had a time limit on my position, I ended up running the ad anyway. That brings us up to the present, with me sitting behind my desk wading through the career histories of every jabrone who ever said the word engineer. It’s actually not that bad. In fact, I’m seeing some pretty good resumes. If the candidates are as good as their dossiers, I’ll have the success problem of picking the best of the best. Between this experience, being on the other side of the application desk, so to speak, my past experience in concocting my resume, and the couple of books I’ve read on the subject, here’s my quick two cents on what separates the winners from the losers.

Focus. When it comes to resumes, it’s not a one size fits all world. Employers have specific requirements and expect you to tailor your resume to them. There was a time when this was a genuine pain in the neck, but word processors and mega-megabytes of hard drive space have made it a technical snap. For example, as a consultant I am heavily involved in sales, project management, and my technical field. If the position I am applying for is in technical sales, I’d minimize the engineering and project management stuff, just enough to show I’m a well-rounded guy, and concentrate on sales accomplishments.

Positioning. Think of your resume like a professional baseball line-up. There’s a reason that the number 9 hitter hits number 9. He’s the weakest link in the chain. Don’t put your weak points first, lead off with your strengths, just like those first four or five hitters in the line-up. This is particular to the age old resume-writing question, What comes first, education or experience? If you’ve got tons of experience but little in the way of degrees, highlight the experience up front. Most employers will place a premium on your real-world history anyway. If, however, you have achieved tremendous things in the world of higher education and don’t have so many good years in the working world, place education first. Your objective is to impress enough to get an interview. I’m not saying to leave out one section or the other, because both are important. If you’re right out of school, you still list your co-op and part-time jobs as experience. Conversely, if you’ve got twenty years of great experience and no degree, list courses that you have taken or CEUs (continuing education units) that you’ve acquired.

Impact. In the case of the Industrial Engineer I was looking for, the winning resumes that I received told me specifically what the results were of the things the candidates did at each position, not just their job responsibilities. The difference between reduced design department expenses by 12% annually over three years and responsible for managing design department is the difference between Godzilla and a Gecko. Be specific as to what you accomplished in each task (provided it is accurate and verifiable) over simply what you did. Bottom line: How did you help the company make or save money? This points to another tip to use for your entire career. In order for you to make these claims about your work experience in the future, it’s critical that you document the results of what you are doing today.

Professionalism. I feel guilty even mentioning this one. There are a million resume formats that you can use what comes first, do you include personal hobbies, etc. but whatever you do, make sure your copy is neat, clean, and free of typographical errors. Insulted? Don’t be. In the hurry to curry-comb the job market, this is the first place that professionals will demonstrate negligence. I just received a resume that was an obvious photocopy, and a bad one at that. If it was from a headhunter I’d be forgiving, but it was from a direct respondent to my advertisement. Where do you think it ended up? If you said the circular file, you win a prize. Oh Karl, don’t be ridiculous! How can you tell anything about a person from a simple mistake like that. Well, I can tell this if that person didn’t have enough common sense and respect for me to get me a clean copy of his resume, there’s a good chance that he may impress a client the same way, and that would cost my company money. Cyanara, Amigo! It’s a very competitive job market out there, people. Don’t automatically disqualify yourself by being careless.

You. Prospective employers will see hundreds of resumes, all from people who may have read this article and know the first four points. Everybody’s copy is tailored and seems a match for the job. What are you going to do to distinguish yourself from the pile? This is where I look for little tidbits in the so-called less-important resume headings. How can I learn about the candidate’s character and work ethic? Your job is to mention these differentiators. Do you have military service? Eagle Scout? Haven’t missed a day of work in eleven years? Do you sit on the board of directors of any charities? Maybe it’s the interviewer’s favorite one. If it says something positive about you, the person, mention it somewhere! Hell, even mention in your opening statement, usually headlined Career Goal or something similar, that you are a hardworking, conscientious person who wants to use your skills to help your employer succeed. Remember, they’re considering hiring you for their benefit, not yours. Show that you know it.

Review. OK. Back to basics again. Make sure that you review the finished copy of the resume, not only for grammatical errors but for flow. Does it move smoothly from one item to the next? Does it tell a positive and accurate story about you? If you can’t answer Yes to these questions, regenerate your copy until you can. Most importantly, get one or two other people to review it for you to see if they get the warm fuzzies too. Your spouse or sweetheart is acceptable. Even better is a work associate in your field who’s had some hiring responsibility in her lifetime. Best is a human resources professional who has seen hundreds of resumes and can tell the ripe from the rotten whether it gets picked or composted.

The rocket scientists in the crowd may recognize that the Walinskas resume method outlined above Focus, Position, Impact, Professionalism, You, and Review, forms the memory pneumonic F-P-I-P-Y-R. This of course stands for, For Professional Improvement Polish Your Resume.

There are plenty of handbooks to tell you the appropriate style of resume, some even by industry. The points above are to help you spit-shine your copy so that you communicate your history to prospective employers in a positive light. The job you do will affect your marketability, your self-esteem, and ultimately your income. Seems to me that that’s a job worth doing right.

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Karl Walinskas is a professional engineer, speaker and freelance writer in Pennsylvania who owns and operates a communications development company called The Speaking Connection. He is a frequent contributor to business publications across the country. He can be reached for questions or suggestions at 570-675-8956 or by email at topspeaker@pobox.com.

Seven Keys to Successful Resumes

2010-05-30T15:02:00.001-06:00

While there are many arguments in the human resources field about resumes, they remain today the most common denominator in the process of screening job applicants. The form resumes take may vary, from the traditional resume or curriculum vita, to the electronic resume used by online job services, to the multimedia website or compact disc, the significant elements of all are essentially the same. The keys discussed in this article apply equally well to all models.

The screener that will review your resume will be looking for some key points. If you are to successful in getting the interview for the position you want, you need to know what the screener will be looking for and respond to his or her needs.

Key 1: Use Action Terminology. An applicant's resume should be action oriented. Avoid terminology such as "I was assigned to..." or "My job responsibilities included..." Instead, use action verbs at the start of bullet points under each job or skill area. Consider ideas such as "Initiated a project which saved a client $200,000 annually" or "Streamlined a complex process for a client which resulted in saving six steps and in decreasing customer response time by 20%." Terms such as developed, managed, and implemented are good terms to use to help screeners understand your successful track record.

Key 2: Write Concisely. Avoid being too wordy in your resume. Use short sentences and bullet points. Long paragraphs of text may work well in writing for publication, but will cause a screener to get lost.

Key 3: Allow for White Space. Leave lots of white space in your resume. Screeners often make notations in the margins, and if you fill the paper edge to edge, these marginal notations will be awkward. Additionally, good use of white space can make a resume look balanced and professional. Even if your resume is on the Internet, create the webpage so that it allows white space when printed.

Key 4: Keep the Typefaces Simple. Using more than one or two typefaces may look interesting and unique, but they tend to distract from the content of the resume. You may want to use bold and italic types for emphasis, but avoid mixing too many at a time. Be very selective.

Key 5: Explain Time Gaps. Gaps between jobs are not as critical as they once were, given our rapidly changing economy. Resume reviewers even anticipate some gaps. But explain what you did during the gap. If you did some freelance work, highlight your accomplishments. If you are silent about the gap, the screener will often assume the worst, not the best. Frame the gap in the best way possible.

Key 6: Customize. With the wide availability of word processors and HTML programs, there is no reason not to customize a resume. Research what the potential employer wants and needs, and then target your resume to those needs. Use a carefully customized cover letter as well to make the application very relevant to the employer's needs and desires.

Key 7: Be Honest. In our high-tech world of business, it is becoming less expensive and easier to verify information on a resume. Never list a degree you didn't earn or embellish your accomplishments. Make certain that if an employer checks the facts on your resume, he will not find anything questionable. If a team accomplished a project, say that you were part of that team, not that you did it on your own. Nothing will sink an applicant faster than something untrue on a resume.

Following these seven keys to successful resumes, whether they are high-tech or decidedly low-tech, will open doors to opportunities to find that all-important job.

Job Interviews: the ABC's

2010-05-30T15:01:00.002-06:00

Steve just hung up the phone from a corporate recruiter at Amalgamated Consulting. He was to come to Baton Rouge for an interview for a position as a senior consultant. He is excited at the prospect and at the same time terrified--it has been six years since his last job interview. Most professionals can relate to Steve's conflicting emotions.

Fortunately, Steve has a mentor in his profession to whom he can go for confidential advice. He calls Glen on the phone and arranges to meet him for lunch the next day.

Glen is happy to offer his advice to Steve. He has been on the hiring side of the interview table many times, and knows that Steve has great credentials and experience--his intent is to help him learn how to present that experience and skill positively. He sees that this would be an excellent career move for Steve, and wants to help.

"Steve, having a successful job interview experience is not as hard as it seems," Glen related. "Actually, it is as simple as ABC."

For the next hour, Glen shared with Steve a simple formula for success in a job interview. His ideas centered around what to Always do in an interview, things to Beware of, and things that will cause the interview to Crash and burn.

Always:

1. Research the company with a focus on customers and competition. Ford Harding, an executive recruiter and author, writes, "Too often, prospective employees spend too much time focusing on their functional skills. Employers are looking for individuals who understand the value of their work from the customer's perspective as well as the dynamics in today's competitive marketplace."

Research can be conducted on the Internet, by reading annual reports, and by talking with credible industry observers.

2. Provide examples of when you have successfully worked in team environments. More and more, organizations are relying on interdisciplinary teams to accomplish their missions. A strong commitment to team play and a solid track record as a leader and a participant of work groups make an applicant a top contender.

3. Demonstrate creativity and responsibility. Focus on your interesting accomplishments in previous employment and how those projects supported the organization's mission. While functional skills are clearly important to an employer, so is the ability to get things done.

Beware of:

1. Having an "I" attitude. Most prospective employers are interested in what you have done, but realize that they will likely check with your previous employers and colleagues. Overstating your accomplishments or your role in them will nearly always backfire. Be honest when explaining what you have done.

2. Negotiating too early. Discussing salary and job benefits during an interview can send a message that you are more interested in the money than in the job. And, from a negotiating standpoint, you want to wait and discuss salary after you are sure that you are the first choice. That is your true position of strength.

3. Being too casual with the interviewer. Many interviewers have learned that prospective employees tend to drop their guard when the interviewer stops taking notes. Recognize that the job interview starts when you first arrive, and does not end until you are out of the office and on your way.

Crash and Burn:

The following behavioral faux-pas will almost certainly eliminate an interviewee from consideration:

1. Displaying bad manners. Poor etiquette and boorish manners send a message to an interviewer that you will behave that way with their clients and customers. Be on your best behavior (and be careful where you scratch!)

2. Demeaning your current or past employer. Hanging your bad attitude about another employer like wallpaper will brand you as a potential problem. Stick to your own experience and accomplishments. It is a very small world, and reputations are made and broken on the basis of sometimes unknown relationships.

3. Being dishonest. Making up stories about holes in your resume, claiming a degree you do not have or fabricating accomplishments may sound good in an interview, but can be easily checked and verified. An interview should be a time to put the best spin possible on your career, but not at the cost of your integrity.

Conclusion

"Job interviews seem to bring out the best and worst in us," Glen concluded. "But they are our opportunity to sell ourselves to a future employer, and like any salesperson, we must believe in our product and help the buyer understand its advantages." The ABC approach can help any interviewee make a positive impression and line him or herself up for career success.

Great Cover Letters

2010-05-30T15:01:00.001-06:00

OK, so now your networking, personally and on-line, has helped you find the job of your dreams. Your resume is ready and has been reviewed for accuracy, writing and punch. Now, a simple cover letter thanking the recruiter for reading your resume, and it is off in the mail. Right?

Wrong! A recent survey of 150 executives found that 60% of these executives believe that the cover letter is more important than the resume when screening applications. Cover letters really do matter!

How Can I Get My Cover Letter Read?

1. A cover letter must be conversational, not too formal nor too casual. The toughest part of preparing a cover letter is getting the tone right. Too casual and recruiters tend to think that the applicant is not very sincere. Too formal and the applicant will sound stilted. The best way to review the tone of a cover letter is to ask a trusted adviser to read it and critique it.

2. A cover letter should be concise. I will never forget the time I received a four page cover letter and a six page resume from a candidate for a managerial position. I read the first few paragraphs and realized that this applicant seemed so impressed with himself; he would never understand a need for me to look any further. A good cover letter will never be more than one page, with two "meaty" paragraphs. Again, it needs to be just right. A cover letter that essentially says, "See my resume, attached." is a wasted opportunity. One that goes on for pages is overkill and can lead to the wrong conclusion.

3. A cover letter should be correct. Grammatical and spelling errors in a cover letter are unforgivable. A recruiter reading a poorly crafted cover letter punctuated with spelling and grammar errors will see poor organization, carelessness, and that the applicant doesn't care enough to give the application his or her best effort. Proofread carefully, and ask someone whose writing style and talent you admire to correct it before it goes out. Many recruiters indicate that they see the cover letter as an example of the applicant's writing skills; don't waste the opportunity to impress them by making critical mistakes.

4. A cover letter should reflect research into the employer. The cover letter should include references that reflect that the applicant has done his homework. Indicate how your experience and strengths would relate to the specific job. To do this, you need to know more about the job than what appears in a want ad. Also, express confidence in the potential employer by letting him or her know in the cover letter that you know something about the employer, his business, and his competitive position in the marketplace. Information can be obtained from the employer's website, business publications that are local to the area, or industry publications. Spend some time learning the business environment before you write the cover letter.

What About Students or Career Changers?

If you are a student or a career changer, emphasize your experience in light of the employer's need. Often freshly minted graduates or perhaps retiring military personnel moving to the private sector will be rejected out of hand for a job in a new career field. Use the cover letter to highlight projects, research, or other experiences which show competency in the field, even if the job history would not reveal it. Consider an internship in the competency area. Share success stories about working with people or solving tough problems.

The opportunity provided by a cover letter to catch a recruiter' attention, to showcase your writing skills and to show your interest in the employer and the position is an opportunity to often wasted by ignorant job seekers. Use this chance to show your stuff and to make the impression that will lead to a successful job interview.

Why Should My Firm Have a Student Intern?

2010-05-30T15:00:00.001-06:00

About this time every year, several thousand undergraduate and graduate students alike begin the search for summer internships. Your consulting firm will likely be approached by a number of students, or perhaps by faculty members from a local university or your alma mater. Why should you say yes when the calls begin to come? What should you be prepared to pay, or can you find a free intern?

What Are Interns?

Students who are seeking an internship opportunity are usually looking for a real-world chance to apply what they have learned in their studies for a fraction of what they will earn after they graduate. This student will work full-time or part-time with an organization over the summer months and may, if circumstances allow, continue on a part-time basis when school resumes in the fall.

The role of the intern is to take on assignments that are commensurate with his or her skill level and experience and provide relatively inexpensive professional help for an organization. The intern gains job experience in his o her chosen field, some good fodder for a recent graduate's resume, and an opportunity to test the theories and skills they have gained to date. And typically, in exchange for the experience, they are willing to accept a wage that is far less than they might accept in another setting.

Why an Intern Can Be Good for An Organization.

There are a number of reasons why organizations might want to consider offering an internship experience.

1. Cheap Labor. Interns normally bring to an organization a number of important skills that under other circumstances might be very expensive. Usually, they have good research skills that they have gained in college. They often have good writing skills as well and can add value to an organization's product.

2. Fresh Ideas. Interns coming from academia often bring some of the latest concepts from their coursework and research. The offer a fresh perspective in what can at times be a stale organization. Many consulting professionals try to stay current with trends and research, but have a tough time given their workload and schedules. Using a bright student who has read and researched during their academic work can offer insights that would not be available eslewhere.

3. Academic Partnerships. Working with a local university on an internship program can enhance the organization's relationship with that institution. This may pay dividends in working with faculty members on projects or publications, identifying sources of research for a client at lower cost, or connecting with potential clients who have connections with the university.

4. Finding New Associates. Firms who hire interns for the summer can evaluate that student's skills and his or her potential as an employee of the firm. This "trial period" can be a good way of identifying new talent and testing it before making a long-term commitment. Many star consultants today started with their firm as a student intern.

5. Enhanced Reputation. Even if an intern does not become a permanent part of a firm with which he or she works, the intern's experience with the firm often shapes his or her career, at least in the early stages. Having a cadre of interns from one's firm working in other organizations brings a level of recognition to the firm that is of value.

6. A Contribution to the Profession. Every consultant recognizes that the profession is strengthened for all by bringing good new practitioners into the marketplace. Providing a quality internship experience returns something of great value to the consulting profession, and gives us an opportunity to mentor and help those wishing to enter and make a contribution.

What Does an Intern Cost?

Generally, the college or university will offer guidelines for intern compensation. As in anything else, you get what you pay for. If you want to attract the best qualified interns, you should be prepared to pay the going rate. However, some interns will work for free, with the firm providing work and supplies. In addition, most colleges and universities offer work-study programs in which grants or endowments may provide a portion of the cost. Explore all options.

What Makes a Great Internship?

Here are a few ideas for making internship experiences meaningful.

1. Provide meaningful work. Give the intern some projects that make a significant contribution to a client or to the organization. Do not look at the intern as a clerical person and ask them to reorganize filing systems. Interns are great at research; many have very good quantitative analysis skills and could be used to evaluate survey results and so forth.

2. Let them see the real world. Don't shelter them in a cubicle during the entire internship. Take them to meet with clients. Let them make presentations of their work. Give them a well rounded experience.

3. Look for resume-enhancing work. Interns are usually looking for projects that will look good on a resume and will have a finished product. Think about projects you have to which they can contribute and have a good experience doing.

4. Let them network. Interns appreciate the chance to be "in the loop." Let them meet with a variety of people in the organization. Take them to lunch and let them ask lots of questions. Invite them to staff meetings. Bring them into discussions when their skills could be used. Meeting lots of people gives the intern a chance to grow and learn.

Conclusion

So when that call comes from a student, a faculty member, or a university official seeking an internship opportunity, give it careful thought and find a way to offer that opportunity to a bright student. It will be of benefit to your organization, to the intern, and to our profession.

The Intern's Guide to Success

2010-05-30T14:59:00.000-06:00

Congratulations! You have decided that an internship is the way to go as a stepping stone to your new career in consulting. You have found a firm that is willing to use your services for the summer and/or part-time during the school year. What can you do to ensure that your internship experience will meet your needs and also meet the needs of your new organization?

1. Define your goals. Knowing what you expect from an internship will help you have the experience you want. Do you want the internship to posture you for full-time employment at this firm? Are you looking to build a reputation that will help you elsewhere? Are you hoping to refine your skills? Do you want to identify things you lack to be competitive in the marketplace? Whatever it is, start out with the end in mind. Use good goal setting techniques and write down what you hope to achieve.

2. Define your employer's expectations. Meet with the person who selected you for the internship and with your immediate supervisor. Identify what it is that they hope for you to achieve. See where your goals and theirs overlap and focus on those areas.

3. Be professional. Act and look the part of a good intern. You should dress the way you see the regular professional employees dress. In most organizations, that will be a step or two up from what you wear to class at school. Speak with some polish. Avoid slang and especially vulgarity. Speak respectfully to others in the office setting. Treat them better than you would treat your peers at school.

4. Take initiative. Do more than is expected by your supervisor. Come early and stay late when possible. Look for opportunities to contribute. If you are good with quantitative analysis, offer to prepare a good analysis for one of your coworkers. Volunteer for the projects that no one else seems to want and do them well.

5. Bring the right attitude. Being successful in your internship will depend to a large extent on the attitude you display. Have a high energy level. Be upbeat and positive. Look for ways to help and to contribute to the firm's bottom line. Be friendly with others, but stay focused on your work.

6. Network as much as possible. Look for opportunities to meet and interact with as many people as possible. Many firms with younger employees have brown bag lunches from time to time–ask to be included. Go with a consultant on a client visit and use the time to network. Attend professional association or civic club luncheons and meet many people. Networking is an excellent learning experience, and the contacts you make networking will be helpful later as you look for full-time employment and begin your career.

7. Build your portfolio. Look for assignments that will result in a finished product and ask if you can keep a copy for your portfolio. When you write a memo or prepare an analysis or a presentation, maintain a copy in a file that you can use later to showcase your work. But remember that much of what you will do will be proprietary for the firm, and they may want to remain confidential. But where you can, document your experience. 8. Keep a journal. At the end of each day, jot a few notes in a notebook about what you did that day, who you met, and what experiences you had. Keeping a good record will greatly enhance the internship experience and will help you remember the people you met while networking.

9. Prepare a final summary. Near the end of the experience, compile from your journal a summary of your experience. Focus on the skills you gained, the work you completed, and your contribution. Submit a copy to your supervisor at the firm and to your graduate advisor, and keep a copy for building your resume.

10. Send thank you letters. After the internship experience, send a well written thank you letter to everyone who contributed to your experience. Remember your supervisor, the clerical staff, coworkers, recruiters and others. This step alone will set you apart from many of the other interns who are faceless and nameless a few months later. And it is an incredibly professional and courteous thing to do.

Remembering these few rules of thumb will make your internship a successful experience for you and for your employer, and will pay big dividends in the future when you are looking for that first full-time consulting position.

Successful Team Management (Part II)

2010-05-30T14:58:00.000-06:00

In Part I, we discussed the stages of team development and how consultants can help groups determine their purpose and direction. This part deals with enhancing groups' skills in achieving their purpose.

Decision Making

In my experience in consulting and leadership, reaching a decision through consensus can be most difficult, but, in my opinion, worth the trouble. The business world seems to program employees with a "win-lose" mentality. Group members can often, without intervention, polarize into camps based on this paradigm, and never reach consensus. Some ways consultants can help groups reach a decision making point are:

The Thumbs-Up Method: All group members are asked to vote when a decision point appears to be approaching. Members are asked to vote with a "thumbs-up" if they can live with the decision, even if it is not their first choice. If they cannot bring themselves to live with the decision, they must vote with a "thumbs-down." The group has not reached a decision if all parties cannot vote affirmatively.

Pro and Con Evaluations: In this scenario, a group leader assists in posting all pros and cons in a given decision as given by group members. This process can happen in person, in writing, or via electronic means. Then the group meets to evaluate and score the pros and cons on a scale of 1 to 10. The totals are then tallied, and the group can make a decision based on the scores. This process helps prioritize the positives and negatives of any given course of action, and brings more logic and less emotion to the table.

Communication

How can a group leader manage conflict between two or more headstrong individuals with differing views? Often these types of conflict can plunge a group into frustration and inaction. In my experience, these steps have proven effective in resolving these differences.

1. Meet individually and privately with the group members in the conflict. Seek to understand their position and feelings. Try to narrow the focus of the conflict: is it over ideas, implementation, or personalities? Often, just the process of getting the concerns out in the open with the group leader will be enough to defuse the hostility.

2. Use open-ended questions in your facilitation. Forcing positions with questions such as "Don't you agree that...?" or "Will you support this option?" often put people into uncomfortable corners. Instead, use questions that give freedom to participants to express their concerns for the whole group. You might consider themes such as "How do you feel about...?" or "What are the pros and cons of this course of action?"

3. Develop and explore a worst-case scenario. Examine the risks associated with a given decision and its implementation. As this process occurs, participants often come to understand objections that seemed unreasonable before.

Team Leadership

While one of the recent buzzwords of management is "self-directed teams," the truth is that teams eventually need someone to emerge as a leader. Some ways for formal or informal leaders to steer group work include:

1. Focus on roles. Help the group members understand the various roles of group members (creativity, organization, strategy and reality-checkers) and to see that each role is important. There is a place for every member.

2. Demonstrate how team effort builds on prior efforts. If all members are important to the group process, a leader or facilitator must help the team members understand their interrelationships.

3. Use good listening skills. Follow the recommendation of Steven Covey to "seek first to understand, then to be understood." Only when a member is satisfied that he or she has been understood in his or her intended context will the member feel valued and involved.

Conclusion

The principle of synergy is the idea that groups together functioning properly can accomplish more than the sum of the efforts of the individual members. Synergistic groups should be the aim of every consultant, and by using many of the tools outlined in this article, synergy can be an achievable goal.

Successful Team Management (Part I)

2010-05-30T14:57:00.001-06:00

Many years ago, I was asked to be chairman of a team which was tasked with developing a proposal which would be controversial. The results were something less than ideal. I learned through sad experience in this setting the importance of understanding team process and the stages of team development.

Much of the work which management consultants do involves working in teams, or supporting teams used by our clients. A basic understanding of team development and how successful teams succeed is critical to success as a management consultant. This article addresses the processes of successful teams and also discusses helping teams set proper purpose and direction.

In the mid-1960s research done by Bruce Tuckman of the Naval Medical Research Institute explored group dynamics and explained how teams develop and mature. Tuckman's research led him to conclude that groups develop through four stages. He identified in the stages as forming, storming, norming, and performing.

Forming is the stage in which the group first comes together and begins to become a team. The behavior of team members, prompted by a their feelings of excitement, anxiety, and dependence, raise issues which must be resolved if the team is to become productive. This is a stage of turmoil , and therefore teams at this stage usually do not make much progress on their task.

In storming, the second stage of team development, team members begin to realize the amount of work that will be required and often start to panic. They begin to see the disparity between the their initial hopes and the reality of the work ahead. Successful conflict resolution techniques are needed in this stage to help the team resolve its differences.

Stage 3, identified as norming, helps members get used to working together. They start helping each other rather than competing. Most of the conflict begun in stage two has been resolved. During this stage, the task of the team leader is to help the team adjust to its newfound identity and develop members' self-confidence.

The final stage is the performing stage, in which team members have developed a comfort level with each other and with their assignment. At this stage, they are an effective working unit, and the team begins to perform competently. In this stage, the main task of the leader is to help members develop group maintenance skills.

By understanding these four stages of team development, a consultant may assess how the team is functioning and what needs to happen in order for the team to be successful.

Purpose and direction

When team goals and are not clear, teams often get bogged down as individuals pull in different directions. Members may be unclear as to the team's mission, or they can be uncertain about the urgency attached to reaching a specific goal. Conversely, teams become so caught up in "getting along" that nothing is accomplished.

Odette Pollar, the founder of Time Management Systems, recommends four steps in helping groups solidify purpose and direction.

Step 1 is to summarize the progress of the group to date in a non-threatening, non-evaluative manner. In this way, group members will see the consultant's perception of their current status and be able to evaluate its accuracy.

In the second step, the consultant should ask for an assessment of the current situation. Pollar recommends the question, "We seem to be unable to reach clear decisions. What part has our team building process or our structure or played in this?"

The consultant should then determine the group's perceptions and review them with the group.

In step four, the consultant should suggest changes in group structure or process to improve the situation. These suggestions, as well as team's specific goals, should be written down. They should be distributed to members and posted throughout the following meetings to help focus the group.

No work done by consultant is more important than helping groups reach their potential. As management consultants sharpen their skills in this area, they will better serve their clients and their profession.

A Blueprint for Effective Presentations

2010-05-30T14:56:00.002-06:00

Presentations skills are the lifeblood of a successful consultant. No matter how good a consultant is technically, if he cannot communicate his qualifications to be hired or his findings once retained, his success will be limited.

Effective presentations start with effective preparation. As Steven Covey often states, all accomplishments are first created mentally before they are created physically. Architects and contractors understand that a good set of blueprints (the mental creation) are a prerequisite to a good building project (the physical creation). A good presentation is no exception to this rule. The following keys to good presentations will help develop the "blueprint" for a successful experience as a presenter.

1. Develop an Outline. The outline is the initial framework for a presentation. It is the equivalent to the structural design portions of a blueprint. The outline should lead logically from point to point, constructing the logic as it goes. Take the time to develop a good outline and you will see the benefits in both preparation and delivery. Directing the preparation with an outline keeps the logic of the presentation flowing; recalling the outline during the presentation will keep you focused and on track.

2. Prioritize. Clearly identify your key points in the outline and emphasize them. Often, even with good preparation, time can run short. If your points are prioritized and the most critical ones are highlighted, a presentation can be shortened without significant damage to the goal.

3. Focus on Time. Every architect must develop his design plans to fit within the owner's available resources such as money and land dimensions. To fail to so plan will result in the architect going hungry! So must presenters work within their allotted time–the audience's most precious resource. No audience appreciates a long-winded speaker. It is a sign of poor preparation and disorganization–and what consultant wants to communicate that message?

4. Prepare a "Script" for Some Points. While preparing a "word for word" script for an entire presentation generally results in a presentation that is too "stiff," you should consider a more precise presentation for the most important or complicated parts of your message. But beware of overdoing it–you want to seem natural and prepared without being perceived as being arrogant or stilted.

5. Carefully Select Audiovisual Tools. Remember that audiovisual tools are just tools; they are not the presentation itself. Prepare the presentation, and then enhance it if appropriate with audiovisual tools such as Powerpoint, Corel Presentations , or overhead transparencies. If you choose these tools, use them wisely. If you are not a graphic designer, use predefined templates so that the colors and graphics you select don't distract from your message. And make sure that the presentation venue can support your AV tools. There is nothing worse than depending on a venue's digital projector only to find out it doesn't work with your laptop!

6. Utilize Handouts. Effective handouts can be a real asset to a presenter. Well constructed handouts can help keep an audience focused and with you; not too far ahead or behind. Consider using handouts that encourage note taking by your audience members. The "fill in the blanks" model works well and is often used by the best known presenters. Avoid simply printing the slides of your electronic presentation, however. Audience members tend to jump ahead and miss much of your message.

7. Refine Your Presentation. Never, never use your first draft of a presentation. Construction design concepts are always refined multiple times before they become workable blueprints. When your preparation is done, review it carefully for clarity, content and organization.

8. Practice! Always review and rehearse the presentation. Just like builders understand that it is better to measure twice and cut once instead of measuring once and cutting twice, presenters should rehearse prior to the actual presentation. Consider recording a practice run on video or audio tape and then critiquing your own performance. Ask a trusted advisor who will be honest with you to comment candidly on your rehearsal.

If you plan well by developing a blueprint for a presentation, you can craft that product into your own masterpiece!

Monkey Management

2010-05-30T14:56:00.001-06:00

Imagine one day that you are walking down the hallway at your organization, and a subordinate approaches you with a problem about one of his subordinates. "I cannot believe how Jane is acting toward our customers. She is curt, unfriendly and sometimes downright difficult. I have told her several times that her behavior is just not acceptable, but it doesn't seem to help. Can you visit with her and see if she takes it better from you?"

As a manager, you have a number of choices. Which is the right choice for you, for the supervisor, and for Jane?

In a classic article in the Harvard Business Review in 1974, authors William Oncken, Jr., and Donald L. Wass offer a theoretical framework for seeing this situation in its true light and making the right decision. In the article "Who's Got the Monkey?" the authors tell the tale of an overburdened manager who allows his employees to delegate upward. When a manager takes an unsolved problem from his subordinates, he is allowing a figurative monkey to leap from the employee's back to his back. When a manager has too many monkeys, he is increasing his own load, failing to develop his subordinates, and probably not solving the problems effectively in the final analysis.

Oncken and Wass offer a well defined basic law for managing monkeys. It is:

At no time while I am helping you will your problem become my problem. The instant your problem becomes mine, you will no longer have a problem. I cannot help someone who hasn't got a problem. You may ask my help at any appointed time, and we will make a joint determination of what the next move will be and who will make it.

Refusing to accept problems that subordinates try to delegate upward, and instead giving them opportunities to meet with you to "feed the monkey" is the best choice for both the monkey and for its keeper. The employee who is closest to the problem usually has the knowledge and skill to solve the problem, if empowered to do so. Consultations with the manager will serve to broaden perspective and offer new ways of seeing the problem. And as the employee feeds and eventually solves the problem, he or she learns important skills that make them more valuable to the organization and to the managers.

In addition to the law of monkey management, the authors list six rules of managing monkeys that are instructive to managers. These include:

1. Monkeys should be fed or shot. No one likes the consequences of a starving monkey. They tend to be very disagreeable and squeal and raise a ruckus. Monkeys must be fed periodically; in this analogy, the problem must be dealt with between the manager and the employee with the problem on a regular basis. If the monkey can be shot (the problem solved quickly), then feeding times are not necessary.

2. Every monkey should have an assigned next feeding time and a degree of initiative. After a feeding session, the manager should select an appropriate time for the next feeding and should have a number of action steps for the employee to take. "Can we meet next Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. to see how things are going and what we should do next?"

3. The monkey population should be kept below the maximum number that the manager has time to feed. The authors suggest that it should take 15 minutes to feed a monkey, and that managers should keep the list of problems that are in various stages of solution at a manageable number.

4. Monkeys should fed by appointment only. Allowing employees to bring problems to you on their timetable increases the chances that the monkey will move from the employee to the manager. By setting specific times for addressing the problem, managers empower employees to make interim decisions about the problem, and still report back.

5. Monkey feeding appointments may be rescheduled but never indefinitely postponed. Either party, the manager or the subordinate, may reschedule a feeding appointment for any reason, but it must be scheduled to a specific time to avoid losing track of the monkey.

6. Monkeys shall be fed face to face or by telephone, but not in writing. Holding feeding sessions via e-mail or memo transfers the monkey to the manager. An employee can pass the monkey to the manager by simply requesting a response. Feedings that take place in person or on the phone require the monkey to remain with the employee unless the supervisor takes an affirmative step to take it.

Proper delegation skills, properly applied as suggested in this creative approach, can help managers better solve problems and develop their employees' problem solving skills. Visualizing each problem as a monkey that is impatient and noisy can help managers see problems as they really are and address them in the best possible way. Beware of the monkeys that may come into your life today!

Negotiating: Your Own Peace Summit

2010-05-30T14:55:00.001-06:00

As Middle East tensions rise, as they periodically do, we find U.S. and other world leaders intervening in the negotiation process between Israeli leaders and the Palestinians to broker a peace agreement. The process of reaching a settlement between parties with divergent interests can be very delicate and the parties often have very significant vested interests.

In organizations, the process of negotiating between two competing parties is just as delicate, although most often not as public as an international peace accord. The processes are similar, and reaching a solution that is a "win-win" for all parties concerned is often a true managerial challenge. The following actions and attitudes, when used by both parties, can result in a mutually beneficial experience and conclusion. But in any case, if one party follows these guidelines, the process can still be significantly enhanced.

1. Be prepared. Understand the issues and interests that each party is likely to bring to the negotiation process. This is undoubtedly the most important single step in effective negotiations. Come with a tight grasp of the key issues that will be discussed. Understand the environment in which you and the other parties will operate.

2. Understand your interests and the interests of the other parties. Take the time to thoroughly research your interests: what do you hope to gain through the process and what are you willing to do or to give up to reach your principle objective. Do you understand what the other parties bring to the table and what they hope to gain? Do you know what questions to ask to get to the "bottom" of the interests of all parties?

3. Always be honest. Credibility is the most important value that any party brings to the negotiating table. Fabricating facts, or shooting from the hip without all the facts only serve to undermine your ability to communicate and to deliver on commitments. Avoid making promises that you are not sure you can keep.

4. Focus on fairness. For most parties, the polar star of negotiating principles is fairness. Fairness is receiving every advantage you are entitled to, but no advantage that you don't deserve. If all parties agree to work fairly and equitably at the table, there is a solid chance for a win-win solution. If fairness is not a given, then mutual distrust will minimize the chance for settlement.

5. Be creative. Look for different ways to achieve your objectives in the negotiating process. Look for opportunities to make trade-offs and for areas in which the parties can be flexible. Often, the best solution to an impasse is a solution that neither party thought of in the beginning.

6. Focus on objectives, not on victory. In seeking for a win-win arrangement, negotiators must avoid the win-lose mentality. The process of negotiating is not about winning; it is about crafting a solution that works effectively. Identifying common interests and working to meet them can help avoid the win-loss paradigm.

7. Know when to quit. A sure way to sabotage a negotiation process is to become greedy. Particularly if things seem to be going your way, avoid the temptation to reach for too much. If a party to negotiations is seen as being unreasonable or uncompromising, then a lasting agreement can be difficult. Be aware of the feedback of the other party, and you will know when you have achieved all you reasonably can in one process.

8. Finally, beware of damaging ongoing relationships. If the other parties in the negotiations are part of a long term relationship (employee groups, clients, business partners, etc.), remember that the future of your ability to get along with the other party is more than winning or losing one isolated negotiation. Souring relationships for the future is rarely a good outcome, even if in one negotiation, you feel successful.

Just like the parties in the Middle East conflict, parties to effective negotiations must work toward a mutually satisfactory solution and preserve the ability to peacefully coexist in both the short term and the long term. Focusing too tightly on the immediate issues and ignoring the need to meet all parties' critical interests will doom the process to failure. But effectively working toward a win-win solution will build relationships and result in a positive and meaningful solution.

Managing by the Grid

2010-05-30T14:54:00.001-06:00

Managing projects requires the best skills that managers have to offer. Keeping all resources coordinated toward achieving the project's goal can often be a significant managerial challenge. How can understanding the different attitudes of managers toward the human resources and the other resources involved make project management a little easier?

In 1964, two academics in the field of management, Robert Blake and Jane Mouton, published their landmark book The Managerial Grid: Key Orientations for Achieving Production Through People. The theory behind the managerial grid has been used for 35 years is training managers about working with people. But the Grid also has significant implications for managing projects. A review of the Grid and its underlying assumptions can help project managers look at managing projects and resources more effectively.

In general, the Managerial Grid measures a manager's biases toward the two major elements of success in organizations: the concern for people and the concern for production. Plotting these concerns on a grid and then identifying five different management styles based on the relationship between these two elements is the basis for the Managerial Grid theory. A representation of the Grid is as follows:

Managers with a high concern for people and a low concern for production are identified in the Grid as practicing Country Club Management (grid position 1,9). These managers have a tendency to give thoughtful attention to the needs of the people involved in the organization and in creating a comfortable, friendly atmosphere. We all know of some Country Club Managers: these are the ones who have lots of social interaction, may put company sports teams or service projects high on his list.

Those who operate at the other extreme are identified as authority-obedience managers (grid position 9,1). These managers focus on productivity with little concern for individuals. They focus on streamlining operations so that the human resources interfere as little as possible with the other resources. Many of us also know these kinds of managers, and frequently label them as "tyrants" or "slave-drivers." They get the work done, but at the sacrifice of some of the human resources.

The impoverished manager (grid position 1,1) tends to focus on doing no more than is the absolute minimum to get the required work done, and keep his superior off his back. He or she tends to have very little concern for either the human element or the production level of the team. Impoverished managers don't last long in responsible organizations.

The 5,5 manager is categorized as the Organization Man. This is a manager who is constantly trying to balance the concerns of the workforce and the concern with getting out the work. He or she constantly tries to compromise between the two competing forces, keeping morale reasonable but not excellent and production close to expectations without significantly exceeding them. He or she tends to burn out rapidly as they keep both elements neither happy nor unhappy.

The ideal manager is identified by Blake and Mouton as the Team Manager, with a grid position of 9,9. The team manager understands that need for high concern for both the human and the other resources of the organization; these managers work toward helping their people improve their commitment, developing relationships of trust and respect with employees and others, and in enhancing productivity through a focus on common vision and mission.

Implications of the Grid for Project Managers

1. No one style works best all the time. While many would agree that the 9,9 management style is ideal, it would not work in a crisis. When a building needs to be evacuated, there is not always time to be sensitive to morale issues. Project managers should be sensitive to their situation and modify their style as needed based on the circumstances.

2. Working with people is half the battle. The Managerial Grid model validates that at least half of the manager's role is to manage people. At times in the project management process, we find ourselves spending more time managing easier resources. Focusing half our energy or more on managing the human resources can yield positive results.

3. Don't just manage the measurable. Money, time, equipment costs and the like are easy resources to measure; they come with built in measurement. Human resources are more challenging to measure, and are more complex to understand and to allocate. Avoid putting your faith in the resources that lend themselves well to metrics, and devote time and focus to the human resources that sometimes defy measurement.

By using and understanding the Managerial Grid, project managers can focus more on the human side of the management equation, and can identify ways to modify their managerial strategy based on resources and circumstances.

Developing Your Charisma

2010-05-30T14:53:00.002-06:00

Several years ago, I left an executive position under fire. This was a difficult personal experience for me; I had never really failed at anything before. I thought I was pretty adept at weathering political storms, but this situation caught me entirely off guard. During the four months in which I sought new employment, I began to lose perspective and my positive view of humanity.

That all changed when I applied for and secured a position working for an executive that I had admired from afar, but with whom I had had little first hand experience. This executive was Utah's former Governor and former US Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt. For me, working for Governor Leavitt was at once challenging and inspiring. I was captivated by his philosophy of government and governance, and by his innate ability to be led by and to be true to principles and values. He embodied for me the traits I have since come to recognize as charisma.

While Mike Leavitt was neither the first nor the last leader who has impressed me with his charisma, he is one whom I observed closely during the time I was on his staff and have followed closely since then. Ever since that first experience, I have wanted to emulate his style, his commitment to values and his uncanny ability to inspire and motivate others. While my sphere is significantly more limited than his, I have tried to be as committed, as optimistic and as principled in my sphere as he is in his.

What is Charisma?

I suspect that all of us know what charisma is, but may have difficulty defining it adequately. Generally, we tend to define charisma in terms of the people who have it. While Mike Leavitt defines charisma for me, many others may define it by recalling John Kennedy , Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , or Mahatma Gandhi.

Dr. Tony Alessandra defines charisma as "the ability to influence others positively by connecting with them physically, emotionally, and intellectually." He also quotes Harvard anthropologist Charles Lindholm's definition: "Charisma is, above all, a relationship, a mutual mingling of the inner selves of leader and follower."

Can Charisma Be Learned?

I believe that charisma can be developed; that it is not a genetic trait. To some extent, much of the profession of coaching is based on the premise that effective leadership skills, including charisma, can be developed in people. The expression, "Leaders are made, not born" is a mantra of the coaching profession. If in fact a person can become more charismatic, what are the foundational steps to achieving personal charisma?

The three dimensions cited by Dr. Alessandra seem to provide a useful framework: physical, emotional and intellectual. Let's explore some possibilities of skills to learn and develop within each of these three areas.

Physical. Some people simply have a commanding presence. I recently attended a seminar which was led by a trainer who was 6'8" tall and weighed 280 pounds. He clearly had a commanding presence, which contributed something to his charisma. Now, I can't grow seven inches onto my stature (with enough high fat foods, I could probably get to 280 pounds, however!), but I can improve my physical skills to enhance my charisma. Physical ideas might include:

Improving my overall health and vitality
Enhancing my ability to look people in the eye
Developing a firm yet non-bone-crushing handshake
Investing in a better tailored wardrobe for business activities
Carrying myself better–holding my head erect (not looking at my feet all the time!)
Learning to smile more

Emotional. The connection we tend to most identify with charismatic leaders is the emotional. I never saw the real Mahatma Gandhi, but his words and story have inspired me for years. His actions were persuasive. Ways I can connect emotionally to others in a more charismatic fashion might include:

Enhancing my oral communication skills, including persuasion and public speaking
Enhancing my ability to communicate effectively in writing
Focusing more on those with whom I communicate and less on myself
Learning to listen better
Being more aware of body space and body language
Work on being more optimistic
Improve my relationships with a few close friends (including my spouse or significant other)

Intellectual. Charismatic leaders also engage the minds of their followers. Their ideas and ideals tend to raise our vision above the mundane. We have a sense that while charismatic leaders are not always the smartest among us, they think deeply about things and communicate those ideas and thoughts in meaningful ways. To enhance my intellectual prowess I might consider:

Reading widely and deeply (don't just stuff those journals in my bottom desk drawer!)
Taking a class in a subject I don't know enough about
Continuing my professional development
Learning about personality types
Develop a better vocabulary
Volunteer to teach or train others in my field of expertise

Charisma is an important trait for a leader in any organization. By focusing on the three key dimensions of charismatic leadership, we can enhance our charisma and use it to benefit ourselves, our organizations, our families and our communities.

United They Fly, Divided They Fall

2010-05-30T14:50:00.000-06:00

A relative of mine is an expert in physics, and has long appreciated the way that the principles of physics operate in nature. His attention was captured one day as he watched geese flying in formation as they migrated south. Flying in a V-formation, the geese seemed to move so effortlessly through the air, even with a headwind.

His curiosity was piqued, and he made a trip to a local aviary to learn more about migrating geese. While he learned enough to make some calculations about the efficiency of the V-formation, he also learned about the instinctive behavior of these geese and how they have learned to work as a team.

He discovered from the experts at the aviary that geese fly in a V-formation because as the bird in front flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird behind, making his flight more efficient. In fact, he calculated that geese flying in the proper formation will expend 70% less energy flying the same distance as compared to a bird flying alone.

Thus, in this natural setting, geese have been conditioned to work as a team in order to work more efficiently. But what was most startling to him was the "rules" of V-formation flight that naturalists have observed over many years of observation and study, and the real life applications of those rules for the vastly inferior human teams to which we all belong.

Consider the following:

1. Given the laws of physics, whenever a geese falls out of formation, it experiences the natural resistence of the air currents that it avoids if it stays in formation. This is true also in human groups. In order for teams to be effective, each member must carry his or her own load. When a maverick leaves the formation of the group, it is usually the maverick that pays the price.

2. Whenever the goose that has been at the apex of the V begins to tire, he or she finds a place elsewhere in the V and allows another goose to fly in the lead. In human teams, leaders often tire or burnout. It is to the benefit of the entire group for the group to avoid burnout for any member, and rotating leadership, or at least spreading the workload around makes the team more efficient.

3. The naturalists my relative spoke with observed that most of honking of the geese occurred from the geese in the back of the V, while those up front focused more on flying and less on honking. You may be thinking that this sounds a lot like a team you know where the folks doing less of the work have more time to complain. But in the V formation, the lead geese tend to be encouraged by the honking, and it becomes a positive force. In human teams, we should look for opportunities to encourage the members of the team, especially those that are bearing the heaviset burdens. Members of effective teams support each other, in both obvious and more subtle ways.

4. Finally, my relative asked the naturalists what happens when a goose becomes incapable of staying the with the formation. What if one is wounded, sick or unable to keep its role in the team? The answer also startled my relative. When a goose fails to stay with the team, two other geese in the team leave the formation and follow the slower goose down. They remain with the goose until he is either able to fly again or until he dies, then they either begin their own formation or catch up with the group. Again, here is a lesson for human teams. Each member is important; each member knows that he will be supported in time of need. This attitude in a human team breeds loyalty and compassion, and knowing that one is a valued member of the team makes one more willing to give his own loyalty and compassion to the others.

Often, nature is stranger than fiction. But the lessons in teamwork from the world of nature in observing migrating geese offer some excellent recommendations for improving the functioning of teams in the workplace, in the home and in many other team settings.

The Eight Keys to Project Management Failure

2010-05-29T15:34:00.000-06:00

Project managers are always looking for success in their projects. No matter how simple or how complex, the project must be designed for success. But sometimes, in the execution of the project, we forget to maintain the path toward success.

But if, by chance, a project manager wants to fail, these are the keys! If you want to succeed instead, then use this list as a checkpoint to make sure that what you are doing doesn't appear on this list.

1. Take Your Time. Project managers who are bent on failing should let their team know that there is no rush. Letting the project become the victim of competing priorities for team members is a step toward disaster.

2. Give Responsibility But Not Authority. Project managers are adept at taking responsibility, but not delegating authority to them as well invites failure. Having to check at every step along the way with superiors for resources and to make decisions will so hamstring the manager as to make his or her job nearly impossible,

3. Project Sponsors Must Be Passive Participants. To attempt to engage sponsors, stakeholders and others in the implementation of the project is too open and communicative. Sponsors should be kept in the dark all along the way in order to keep a project destined for collapse.

4. One the Project Starts, Stop Planning. For a project to flop, the planning process should stop when the project begins. To continue to modify the project plan based on realities during implementation is too flexible. To ensure difficulties, refuse to adjust the plan to reality.

5. Focus on Process, Not People. It does not take good people to doom a project. They are only essential if you want to succeed. Find the poorest people you can, and then put stumbling blocks in their way to test their abilities. Making the process cumbersome and spending valuable time on bureaucratic procedures is a project death knell.

6. Forget About Quality. Everyone knows that project are all about time and budget. Do whatever it takes to meet these factors, and ignore the need for a quality output. Quality is tough to measure, anyway. Measuring inputs is easy and defensible.

7. Avoid Being Specific as to Outcomes. If you are vague in your definitions of the projects deliverables, you cannot be held accountable for not meeting them. Scrimping on the time to give definition to the project up front will give you more time to correct mistakes later.

8. Operate in a Vacuum. With multiple projects underway in an organization at any given time, a project team may be pulled in many different directions. By ignoring these other projects and working the one that is most important to you will engender resentment and inaction for the team members with multiple duties. When your project is unresponsive to others, it also will be the lowest priority.

Operating in this way will ensure that project managers have projects that fail, and that they will not be asked again to manage an important project. Success has always been vastly overrated anyway!

Writing Winning Proposals

2010-05-28T15:38:00.000-06:00

So, you've received and reviewed the Request for Proposals from a prospective client, or one of your clients has described a project to you in detail and asked for a proposal. How do you prepare a proposal that tells your story effectively and gives you the best chance to get the contract?

Preparing proposals that sell your services and that give the right professional impression can often seem like a daunting task. The written proposal is the one best chance to make a good impression in writing and to communicate to the client that you are the best choice. How it is organized, how well it is written, how well it addresses the client's needs and how it appears can make all the difference in the world. And all four elements need to be addressed; failing to be effective in any of these areas can spell doom.

These tips should help you overcome your concerns and get to work producing a first rate proposal.

Organization

The organization of your proposal requires careful thought. You will hope to lead your reader step by step through your vision of the project. A well organized proposal communicates that you have the organizing skill to accomplish this complex and critical project. After all, if it weren't either complex or critical (or both), your client would do it without your help. A good proposal format should include:

An executive summary
An abstract of the project
A detailed project description
A summary of the background of the project
A review of the need for the project and the benefits of doing it
A thorough scoping of the project, including objectives and performance measures
A description of the methods you propose
A detail of the deliverables of the project–what the client will actually get
A schedule of the project
A project budget and the expected economic return from that investment
A list of references of similar projects you have accomplished
A copy of your proposed legal contract for services

Meeting Your Client's Needs

A proposed project will, after all, be paid for by your client. Understanding that client's needs, and then making a proposal that addresses them, is your best chance at success. The following recommendations would be in order:

1. Be sure you understand the project. If you are working from a formal request for proposal, take the time to really understand the requirements. The RFP will hopefully be detailed enough for you to prepare a first draft. If there is no RFP, then work closely with your client to ensure that you have a complete understanding of his needs and expectations. But if you have questions, make sure that you ask.

2. Meet with the decision maker. Even if you have a perfect RFP or a good understanding, it is helpful in preparing your proposal to meet with, or at least confer with, the client. Ask all the questions you have. Make sure that the client sees you as responsive. A cold proposal given without consulting in some way with those who will be making the decision simply leaves too many stones unturned.

3. Don't overkill. I remember once in my career soliciting proposals for a trainer on a specialized topic. One of the proponents, who never bothered to call or confer with us, proposed doing a comprehensive employee and customer survey to determine our training needs, and prepared his proposal around that theme. What we really wanted was a capable contract trainer, and that is the person we hired.

4. Know your competition. If possible, get a list of all those to whom the RFP was sent, or ask your client others who will be proposing. Knowing your competition will help you sell your unique strengths and capabilities.

Write it Well

There is no room for careless error in a professional proposal. Grammar and spelling must be impeccable. Never, ever misspell a name of a decision maker. Utilize your best skills at writing, and proofread thoroughly. In addition,

1. Make sure your executive summary sells your proposal. The executive summary, which should immediately follow your cover page and table of contents, is the one-page sales portion. It is not just a summary, but a tightly edited one that offers a review of the need, the benefits, and the objectives of the project, and sends the message that you are the best proponent. In many cases, the key decision makers will read the executive summary and a review of the proposal by the staff.

2. Justify the project in terms of need. Explain why the project needs to be carried out. Give concrete facts, examples and information to justify the project's inputs.

3. Be clear on measuring success. Carefully elaborate on how the project's success will be measured. Use clear and convincing criteria, and specify the evaluation method you will be using.

4. Thoughtfully define the project scope. This is often the biggest challenge to a proponent. You must explain exactly what the project will include, and more importantly, what it won't. Offer details about the project such as time frame, sample sizes, and studies involved. Your treatment of the scope will define what it is for which you as the consultant will be accountable.

5. Offer a realistic schedule. Be careful about being overly optimistic about time frames. Use a good project management software program to prepare a PERT chart for your project; one that you can defend and live up to.

6. Finally, define your unique qualifications to be the consultant on this project. Up until now, you have been demonstrating your understanding of and approach to the project. Now comes your opportunity to define why it is that you are the best choice. Include the results of similar work you have done. Define the resources that you bring to the project. Let your qualifications shine through.

Design It Professionally

A proposal should be graphically pleasing and should exude professionalism. Here are some recommendations on design:

1. Use a common theme. If you have an attractive logo, use it as a watermark or in a footer or header throughout the document. Consider using your client's logo on your cover page as well. Make sure that pages are numbered throughout.

2. Use a common typeface. Limit your use of fonts to one or two in the document. Using one font with different treatments (bold, italics, different sizes) is even better. Keep it simple and readable. Your message and content must be paramount.

3. Color or Monochrome? Whichever your choice, make sure that the final product photocopies well. Using multiple dark colors in a chart or graph will often not show distinctions in a black and white copy. If you use monochrome, consider using some grey scales for variety.

4. Allow lots of white space. Don't fill every page from side to side and top to bottom with text. Allow room for marginal notations by your client. And more white space is more appealing to the eye.

Conclusion

Your proposal speaks volumes about you and your professionalism. A proposal that addresses your clients needs, is well organized, well written and attractively designed communicates a professional and effective approach to your work. Following these recommendations will help you create a proposal which will market your skills and qualifications to clients and will result in more and better projects for you and your firm.

Organizing a Corporate Retreat

2010-05-27T15:39:00.000-06:00

The executives of the XYZ Corporation were somewhat ambivalent when their consultant first recommended a retreat. While they recognized the benefits that can come from such an experience, they also were concerned about the retreat being either too expensive or too unproductive.

Their consultant reassured them that with his experience with corporate retreats, he could craft an agenda that would not only be cost effective but very productive.

Successful retreats require careful planning in order to be of benefit to the organization and its leaders. What follows are the recommendations of experienced retreat consultants and facilitators, and are based on a history of successful retreats.

1. Carefully select the site for the retreat. The environment of the retreat is critical to its success. Retreats can be either on site or off site. On site retreats tend to be less expensive and provide convenient access to business resources. Off site retreats can promote more creative and expansive thinking and reduce the distractions of day to day business issues.

2. Define the retreat's objectives. Articulating what you hope to achieve by the retreat forms the foundation for the retreat's agenda and direction. Some of the issue you may wish to address in your planning include:

What is the mission of our organization? Should we consider other missions?
In what direction are we currently headed? How are current trends, both in our market and in the broader community, affecting our direction?
What is the image and perception of our organization, and are we succeeding in creating the right image?
What are our corporate objectives? Are we meeting them and can we tell from our measurement systems?
Do our current organizational systems support our goals?

Sometimes, retreats are more about team building than about strategic direction. If the goal is to build teamwork, consider these issues:

What are our communication patterns and how effective are they?
Do our incentive systems encourage teamwork or individualism?
How is teamwork at the various levels of the organization? Are we setting a good example at the top?

3. Develop the retreat agenda. Consider carefully based on your objectives how to structure the retreat. Is it best to make this a high-octane event that is all work and no nonsense, or should the retreat include some play? The idea of "Work-Play-Work" is an approach to consider for many retreats to allow some diversion and encourage creativity. Make sure that you circulate the retreat agenda prior to the retreat so that participants arrive eager and not apprehensive.

4. Use a facilitator. This is not just a pitch for consulting services, but an independent facilitator is essential to a successful retreat experience. The facilitator can assist the participants in gathering data, can use his or her skills in enhancing group participation, and can be an objective leader without any vested interest in the outcome.

5. Watch the meals. Be aware of any special dietary needs or preferences of the participants. And be particularly careful to avoid heavy meals at lunch and before retreat working sessions–keep the meals light and your participants will stay awake!

6. Create new ways of looking at old problems. Seeking the same old solutions for the same old problems could be done at the office. A retreat is the chance to see things differently. Consider some group exercises to stimulate creativity and change perspectives. One excellent resource is the popular book, A Whack on the Side of the Head.

7. Keep a good record of the event. Make sure that there is a record keeper present to preserve the outcomes of the event. The retreat facilitator may be able to provide a record keeper, or one of the participants might provide an executive assistant for this purpose. One of the major benefits of the retreat is something beyond process, while process itself can be a significant achievement. The record of decisions made, goals and objectives set, and assignments given can bring closure to the event and create a record that will be useful in the implementation phase.

8. Evaluate the retreat. Make sure to solicit honest and direct feedback on the retreat and its outcomes. Ask the tough questions to ensure that there is adequate participation. Don't be afraid of negative feedback. It may clear the air on some issues, and will certainly be helpful in crafting the next retreat.

9. Keep the process alive. Generally, there is an upswing in organizational morale and in the individual commitment of employees. Provide a continuous feedback loop after the retreat to capitalize on these benefits. Provide periodic reports as the implementation proceeds. If there was a team building approach, consider taking pictures and publishing them for the participants and others in the organization.

Effective planning and careful execution of the plan for a corporate retreat will bring significant benefits to the organization and its leadership. Look forward to your opportunity to get a fresh perspective, to strategize and to build your team–the major functions of a well executed retreat.

Planning for Successful Project Management

2010-05-27T15:35:00.000-06:00

Stan and his associates in the engineering department were in a real crunch. Their director had just organized them as a special team to implement one of their company's most important and lucrative projects ever. The time frames were tight, but the rewards could be awesome if the project was done right. As team leader, Stan must now focus the group's energies and get this project organized.

Experienced project managers know the exhilaration of completing a project on time and on budget, especially a project that is really meaningful to their organization. But they also know that their success was largely determined by the effort that was put into the planning stage.

The steps of project planning are sensible and logical. But in many cases, project managers believe that they can skip some of these important steps in an effort to conserve time and money. Failing to plan effectively creates the seeds of project failure. Let's explore these key steps in project planning.

1. Create the blueprint.

This step represents the results of an environmental scan, as the strategic planners call it. The process requires the asking of lots of hard questions about the project and the organization's ability to achieve it and the available resources. Some of the questions that must be asked at this stage include:

Will our customers support the outcomes of the project?

How will this project affect our competitiveness and our competition?

What changes will be required in the organization as a result of this project?

How will we measure the successful completion of this project?

What level of resource commitment will be required?

What cross-functional efforts will be required and are the parties prepared to work together?

What will be the authority structure involved in implementing the project plan?

2. Create the Work Breakdown.

Once the overall direction is determined and the organization commits to the project fundamentals, it is time to begin the detailed planning. This process involves identifying the key steps in the process, determining the relationships between these steps and the timing involved. The major questions to be answered in this stage of the planning include:

What are the discrete tasks involved in this project?

Which of these tasks are most important and which must be done before or after others?

How long will the various tasks take to complete?

What resources can be assigned to this project and at what stages?

What will the project cost?

What is the overall time taken by the project?

Can we meet the deadline recommended in the project charter?

3. Chart the Project Plan.

Take the information developed in the work breakdown and chart it graphically in a PERT chart and determine the critical path. Then display the recommended implementation schedule in a Gantt Chart. Make good use of project management software in creating these detailed planning documents.

4. Fine Tune the Project.

Based on your task breakdown and project plans, go back and fine tune them based on the vision of the overall project. Ensure that you are meeting the guidelines established when the project was assigned. If not, then negotiate new expectations. Particularly, the project manager should look at the trade-offs. What things will not be done if this project is done well? Will other priorities suffer, and if so, is the result what the organization wants?

5. Establish the Monitoring Program.

This part of the process involves determining how the project will be tracked and how resource usage will be monitored. Often, the monitoring programs for projects only look at time and money. But culture and human process should also be monitored and the people rewarded along the way. The parties responsible for monitoring must also have responsibility for adjusting the project plan based on unforeseen delays or opportunities for efficiencies along the way.

Taking the time and investing the energy in excellent planning will have significant impact on the quality of the final result of the project. "Beginning with the end in mind," as Steven Covey suggests in his Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, will bear fruit in the project management process.

Keys to Successful Networking

2010-05-25T15:33:00.000-06:00

As consultants and trainers everywhere have learned, the most important personal marketing we do is networking. Making ourselves known to potential clients, referrals or vendors is a delicate but most critical business. Too pushy and you are branded as an opportunist at best or arrogant at worst. But if you fail to make an impression, you lose a chance for recognition. Those who do it best know its value. What can we learn from the masters of networking?

These ten tips, gleaned from years of personal experience and from research into the best practices of top marketers, will, if practiced, help any consultant put his or her best foot forward in these networking opportunities.

1. The desire to network is the first key. It is no coincidence that the word "networking" includes the word "work." It is work, and it requires attention and focus. However, the most successful personal marketers try to have fun at it! Look forward to the opportunity to meet new people.

2. Project a professional image. Dress professionally and look the part of the expert in your field. Use professional and high quality business cards; project the best image you can afford. Consider using the new CD-ROM based business cards if you are in the high-tech arena. You might also want to consider a small investment in a quality name tag; it can generate conversation if done tastefully.

3. Prepare for networking. Think through and develop a succinct and interesting personal introduction. Practice it and polish it with people who will give you an objective view. Carefully work in comments that would elicit a question or two from your contact. But avoid name dropping as a technique; it is offensive to most.

4. Take every opportunity. Don't limit yourself to the traditional professional organizations and Chamber of Commerce events. Look at waits in line, rides in an elevator, or chats at a party as networking opportunities,

5. Set a weekly goal. Start slowly, but start! You may want to target only 1 or 2 contacts a week at the beginning, but grow the goal as opportunities grow.

6. Think sources and resources. You will want to be seen as a resource to your contacts. Think of what you can offer them (ideas, newsletters, articles) and of what your contact could offer to you as a resource (referrals, other contacts, business services). If you look at networking from this perspective, you will use opportunities to your best advantage.

7. Jot notes on your contacts. Set up a system for tracking your contacts. Consider software options, a Rolodex or other methods. But keep track of these contacts. It will make follow-up much easier.

8. Follow-up is absolutely essential to successful networking. Keep in touch with your contact list. Consider developing a periodic newsletter, either in print or electronically. Call you contacts periodically to remind them that you are there and that you can be of service to them or to their contacts. Statistics show that you will generate four sales leads from your follow-up efforts for every one lead that comes from your contacts' initiative.

9. Just Start Now. Procrastinators do not make good networkers. Begin today and take a first step. Prepare your self-introduction. Order new business cards. Find a name tag supplier. But do something today.

10. Smile. It sounds trite, but a cheerful attitude will go a long way toward making networking a pleasant and rewarding experience.

Internet Etiquette

2010-05-20T15:32:00.000-06:00

All good sales people know that you only have one opportunity to make a first impression. We have a long history of learning to make a good impression in person or on the phone, and there have been entire volumes written on business etiquette in these situations. But with the growth of information technology, and specifically the Internet, it is more difficult to learn and grasp the intricacies of "netiquette".

This article summarizes the rules of the road for Internet users who hope to make a good first impression on those with whom you do business.

Using E-Mail

- Know your e-mail address. How often do we all meet people who have e-mail, but cannot remember their address? It is easy for the "newbies" among us to mix up our email address and our website. Putting your email address on your business card is a modern necessity.

- Beware of long or complex email addresses. Some businesses will have a long email domain, and require you to use long user names. For example, nathangwinterbottom@ americansocialanalystsinc.com is a little overwhelming. If this is your plight, consider using an e-mail forwarding service like cjb.net or @less.com , and getting a shorter and more memorable email, such as nate@asainc.cjb.net. It can also shrink the size of your business card!

- Get permission before sending cutesy-mail. While many people enjoy and actually look forward to emailed photos, jokes, inspirational quotes, etc., not all enjoy it and some are actually forbidden by company policy from receiving them. Make sure you check first with a recipient before adding them to your email list for such mailings. It is just common courtesy.

- Verify mails before sending them. Make sure that your email program has a spell checker and use it. You would never want to send out a resume with an obvious misspelling--how would you feel if you were the potential employer? Be sure that your email is professional and accurate. Also, employ a virus scanner on your computer. Even if it is inadvertent, an infected attachment can spell doom for a recipient.

Your Website

- Remember the purpose of your site. While the coolest colors and the niftiest animated GIF's are fun, they may or may not convey your message. Always develop your site with an emphasis on content, and less on the bells and whistles. Be careful to keep colors balanced so that text can be read. Light blue text on a light green background may be tasteful, but not readable.

- Keep content fresh and links live. Nothing communicates more poorly about a business than a site that is not properly maintained. Add new content periodically to encourage return visits. Have a news page that lists current accomplishments, projects and recognitions. Check your links regularly to make sure that they still work and lead you to the right site. Sometimes the difference between xyz.com and xyz.org can be like night and day.

- Be prepared to sell your site. Could you tell a potential customer or client what is on your site right now? Keep up to date with your site's content and offerings, and be conversant about it.

Using the Internet to market your services can be a low cost and effective way to share information and to make a good first impression. Using the basic skills of online etiquette will help you do this with style and good taste.

Facilitating Success

2010-05-20T15:26:00.000-06:00

More often than not, consultants are given (or assume) the role as group facilitator at some point in a consulting engagement. The dictionary defines "facilitate" as to make easy or easier. The function of a facilitator is to make things easier. In particular, consultants often make arriving at a decision or solving a problem by a group easier than it would have been without them.

What are the skills essential to good facilitators? What have experienced facilitators found to be the most important talents and techniques for helping groups achieve their mission in an easier way?

Rate yourself on the following skills and see how you measure up as a facilitator.

1. Preparation. Effective facilitation begins long before the group first assembles. Good facilitators invest a great deal of time and energy in preparations. Recommendations for first rate preparation include:

Articulating a clear objective for the group. For example, a clear objective might be, "Identify five viable options for reducing the turnaround time for accounts payable by 25%."
Determining the problem-solving processes that will be used. Whether it's brainstorming, flow charting, force field analysis, SWOT analysis or other techniques, determine in advance which work best for the objective, and prepare to explain the model to the group.

2. Setting the Stage. Once the group begins its process, the facilitator must set the tone and direction. Ideas for effective stage setting include:

Establishing ground rules early. As facilitator, part of your role is to set and enforce ground rules to improve group process. Lay them out clearly and completely to the group and assess their comprehension before proceeding.
Posting the Objective. Put it on the wall where participants can see it and refer to it. If the group begins to stray from the purpose, the facilitator can remind them of the objective and bring them back on track.
Starting with a specific participant. To begin the process, call on one person to start. This focuses attention quickly and starts in the right direction. If you sense that the called-upon participant is reluctant, quickly call on someone else.

3. Going For Results. The facilitator's job is to make getting to results easier. Stay focused on achieving the outcome of the group. Ways to keep on track toward results include:

Asking open ended questions. Rather than using questions that will elicit simple "yes" or "no" answers, choose questions which elicit more. Try starting questions with "How..." or "In what ways..."
Encouraging examples. If a participant makes a suggestion or an observation, ask for an example from real life. This helps clarify issues and stimulates discussion.
Watch for "plops." When a person advances an idea and no one responds and the discussion moves on, this circumstance is called a "plop." Make certain that all creative ideas and thoughts are heard and given credit. Groups will often move too quickly past good ideas.
Ask participants to "tell me more." These three magic words will often bring clarity and definition to an idea, and usually stimulate more discussion and consideration from others.
Remain neutral. Remember, the facilitator is not a decision maker. When the facilitator begins to champion an idea, he or she loses credibility with the rest of the group.

4. Handling the Domineers. In almost every group, a few will tend to dominate the discussion at the expense of the more quiet. I remember once teaching a college course, I had the class involved in a group problem solving exercise as a way of teaching group dynamics. It was a smaller class and I had ten students in the group and three observers. One of the ten participants was a very quiet young lady who seemed to be intimidated by the other group members. But our observers noted that she had solved the problem on paper on her own about ten minutes into the exercise. The group process took over 50 minutes, and the group never solved the problem. Had someone noticed her in the process, the problem could have been solved much earlier and with much better results. So, how should a facilitator deal with dominating group members?

Direct questions to others. Be specific in asking others who are not active participants to be involved.
Ask the domineer to "hold that thought." Treat him or her respectfully, but keep the process moving.
Never criticize a group member. As soon as you are critical of one, the others will begin to wonder when you will attack them. Stick to the mission, and don't analyze or criticize personalities.
Take the domineer aside. If nothing else works, visit privately with the domineer during a break. Tell him or her that the input offered is valuable, but that you sense others are reluctant to participate without that person assuming a lower profile.

5. Managing Conflict. Groups operating under a problem-solving mandate may often see conflict arise. Being able to handle conflict positively and diffusing hostility is one of the most important functions of a facilitator. Some keys for effectively managing conflict include:

Diffuse the pressure. When two or more members are mowing toward conflict, ask other members to restate the dilemma. Often involving others in clarification can cause those in the conflict to moderate their positions.
Look for commonalities. Rather than focusing on differences, which is the point of conflict, look for common threads in the two differing points of view. Start with the things that united, and then work to resolve the things that divide.
Encourage active listening. Steven Covey calls this "seek first to understand, then to be understood." Ask one party to the conflict to articulate his position and have the other party restate it to the first person's satisfaction. When one point is thoroughly understood, ask the parties to change roles. Often, when both parties fully understand the other, the conflict is narrowed if not eliminated.

6. Coming to Closure. Now that the group has identified alternatives, it is important for the facilitator to bring them to their objective. Consider the following techniques for reaching closure.

Summarize. Give the group a set amount of time to review the ideas submitted and ask any needed clarifying questions.
Use the $100 spending limit. Tell each member of the group that they have $100 in play money to spend on the different ideas. They can spend it all on one idea, or spread it around based on their attitude about the ideas. This will begin to bring focus to the best ideas and identify the level of support.
Narrow further. If this sort of exercise doesn't get to a top five ideas, narrow the field by eliminating the lower ranked ideas and have the participants vote again. Continue to narrow until you reach your goal.

7. After Care. Just like patients who are healed or cured need some follow up to make changes to their lives, group members need after-care to assure that the results are real and accurate. Follow-up ideas include:

Record the process. Make a permanent record of the process. If you used flip chart pages for recording ideas, have them typed up to keep. Add annotations as needed to make them clear for posterity, and do this soon so the process and results are fresh.
Summarize the findings. Prepare a written summary of the results to present to the decision makers. Again, annotate these as well with the rationale and the process by which they were determined.
Keep the record. File the records of the process in a way that they can be accessed again easily in case the results are unacceptable or the process is challenged. Be prepared to defend the process and its results.

Conclusion

Good process and results from a group are the results of good facilitation skills and active participation and ownership by the group. Using best practices in group process as discussed in this article will help improve the process and indeed, as the facilitator's mandate suggests, make it easier.

Communications Model

2010-04-25T13:26:00.000-06:00

Giving the Right Holiday Gifts

2009-11-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

This year, according to industry reports, businesses will spend over $2 billion on corporate gifts. The giving of gifts to business associates has been a time-proven tradition for centuries. But the rules of corporate gift giving have changed substantially over time, and are changing even now.

It is almost unthinkable now, in light of concerns about sexual harassment, to give the calendars with pictures of scantily clad women as were popular only a few short years ago. Other gifts of Christmases past would be equally inappropriate in today's politically correct business environment.

So what is a consultant to do? How can we navigate the uncertain waters of corporate gift giving today?

Why Gifts?

Corporate or business gifts serve important purposes in today's business world. Hillary Feder, the Owner of Hillary's Gifts, has written: "The giving and receiving of gifts is often the unwritten protocol that builds relationships, internally and externally, the glue that helps connect companies with clients, associates, vendors, and others who are essential to their success."

1. Gifts help build relationships. Gifts given to employees can help them feel appreciated and valued as contributors to the organization's mission. Properly given, they can send a message of warmth and concern to valued colleagues. And, with clients, they can express appreciation for their confidence in you and for their business and referral of other potential clients.

2. Gifts can distinguish you from the "pack." Properly chosen gifts can help you rise above your competitors. Tailoring a gift for a client can communicate respect and genuine appreciation. One company I know uses food as a gift, but provides several options for its sales associates including fresh apples, chocolate, gourmet cocoa and English muffins, allowing them to cater to the specific tastes of specific clients. Giving gifts that are native to or produced in your geographic area can help set you apart from the competition.

1. Be socially conscious. In an era of political correctness, gift recipients will often appreciate gifts which demonstrates a commitment to favorable causes. Environmentally friendly gifts or those that might benefit community causes are appropriate and welcome.

2. Beware of ethical issues. Many clients have policies which govern the acceptance of gifts. Make sure that you ask someone in the organization about their policies. Many governmental agencies are governed by conflict of interest laws which set maximum value of a gift to a government official. Effective alternatives to expensive gifts in these cases might be a charitable contribution in someone's name or a gift subscription to a trade journal or other appropriate publication.

In an era of economic growth, sometimes there is a tendency to try to demonstrate one's appreciation for business or referrals with gifts of largesse. While these may seem appropriate, they may not pass the "smell test" and be interpreted as a bribe. An appropriate question to ask might be, "If the truth of this story were included on the front page of the local newspaper, would I feel good about it?" If not, consider another gift alternative.

3. Giving food and drink. Often, business people will want to give gifts of food or drink. Never give alcohol as a gift. You never know how the gift will be perceived, and it is too uncertain whether alcohol sends the wrong message. Giving sweets to a diabetic or a person with weight to lose can also be read as insensitive. Sticking with fruit baskets, muffins and the like are safer alternatives.

4. Consider personalization. Most business people like seeing their name in print. Gifts such as pad holders, business card cases or business cases with a person's name or initials are usually appreciated. But make sure that the predominant personalization is the gift recipient, not the giver. Save the gifts with a big corporate logo for trade shows.

Conclusion

Corporate gift giving can bring significant rewards to a business if done appropriately and ethically. But if done improperly, it can do much more harm than good. If the gift is usable by the recipient, if it reflects well on your company, if it is in good taste, and if it helps the recipient remember your company in the right way, you have gone a long way toward choosing the right gift for your clients, employees, vendors and friends.