“Nothing endures but change” - Heraclitus-540 B.C.
What we are facing (economic turbulence) is not at all unprecedented. Simply put, there are good times when things are going well and it’s easy to make money, and there are bad times, when it’s much more difficult to make money. Prior to 2008 we had a run of good times that exceeded most of our expectations. I have often said that it didn’t take a genius to make money during that run. However, “Profit covers many sins.” That means that many of us got a little complacent. Maybe we didn’t quite run our business following absolute best practice. Maybe some of us overlooked less than the best performance expected from our employees. Maybe we were a little too compassionate regarding employee effectiveness and as a result we haven’t “weeded the garden” to allow our good employees to flourish.
A historic shift must be created by you and your executive team. Employee morale and buy-in must increase every day. Don’t forget the cardinal rule. “There is no room in your organization for loyal, yet incompetent people.” Gardening must become a way of life. Continuous pruning will keep you on track as your team rises or falls to the occasion. If an assessment of the company and your team was performed properly, pruning will be a non-issue. If you made mistakes, pruning will become an active initiative.
Confidence in execution means you are on the winning side of turmoil and confusion. More importantly, you know what it takes to succeed in this economic environment. You now have the vehicle, the process, the initiative and the team to execute. Your leadership has provided the following:
• A clear plan with clarity of purpose and participation of the employees
• A raised bar with relevant accountability
• A definitive marketing and sales strategy
• Best practices and determination to reside in the upper quartile for performance once recovery is secure
• A measurement of success through activity management and customer satisfaction formally
You are now in a position to execute your initiatives. You attacked your sales process first. The sales process is at the heart of your success. It is both complex and subjective because it deals with both customer management relationship activities and contingency-recovery initiatives.
You have asked and answered the following questions in creating your sales plan. You must take action based on those answers.
• What determines a profitable customer?
• What methods and processes do you use to identify customers?
• What is new in the external environment?
• What are your competitive advantages?
• What are your competitor’s competitive advantages?
• What are the methods used for gathering competitive intelligence?
• What changes have taken place externally or with your competitors that offer opportunity?
• What initiatives do you have to improve highest delivered value?
• What initiatives do you have to reach the goal of low cost provider?
• What types of customers and segments do you want to do business with?
• Who decides what customers you target?
• What types of customers are the most profitable?
• Have you identified target markets?
• How do your sales representatives spend their time?
• How often do you plan formal business reviews to compare expectations to results?
• How do you measure costs?
• Who reviews and is responsible for customer profitability?
• How do you measure customer retention?
• How do you track lost business and lost customers?
• How do you determine which customers to fire?
• How do you prospect?
• How do you identify critical success factors?
• How many and which customers represent 80% of your revenue, your profit?
• Has your average order size increased or decreased?
• What single thing has the biggest impact on your profitability?
• What are your competitive strengths?
• What volume does the top 10% of your customers represent?
• What do your sales representatives claim the key obstacles to their success are?
• What support could be added to your sales effort to increase revenue producing actions?
• What is your current market share?
• How do you measure growth?
• How do you maximize account penetration?
• What is the role of your inside sales staff?
• Do inside sales proactively solicit business?
• How do you define supplier performance?
• How do you forecast usage?
• How do you analyze your warehouse operations?
• What are your inventory turns?
• Do you measure your cash to cash cycle?
• What metrics are you using for supplier performance?
• Have you defined and analyzed your logistics initiatives?
Check out Rick’s new CD series and workbook “Unlocking the Secrets to Amazing Sales” @ http://www.ceostrategist.com/resources-store/unlocking-the-secrets-to-amazing-sales-incredible-profits.html It is a must addition for your sales training initiatives. Order today and get a bonus copy of Rick’s book “Turning Lone Wolves into Lead Wolves ----56 ideas to maximize sales.
www.ceostrategist.com – Sign up to receive “The Howl” a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. – Straight talk about today’s issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com. Don’t forget to check out the Lead Wolf Series that can help you put more profit into your business.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Leadership -- Check Your Ego at the Door
Leadership ----Check Your Ego at the Door
A leader’s role is to serve those people that report to him. He or she is not a dictator --- their ultimate role is to serve, to allow those people to achieve their goals. It’s a style that starts by asking: What do you want to accomplish, rather than telling them what you want them to accomplish.Effective leaders demonstrate a respect for employees recognizing their value as their most precious asset and the innovative use of planning and control systems demonstrates a unique ability to balance predictability with simplicity.
Effective Leaders are consistent, explicit and concise and they command a presence when they walk into a room. But, they are not arrogant and ego driven. When they move on, others want to go with them. Their openness and honesty creates a legacy which people admire and look up to. They gain commitment and foster trust.
Check your EGO ---- Don’t be Arrogant ---- Follow these tips:
• If you start to believe you are special and nobody is as good as you, just look at the number of people in your industry, in your state, in your country. Then ask yourself how many of this grand total of people even know your name. Unless you’re Tom Cruise or Angelina Joline, chances are not many people really even know who you are let alone actually care how good you think you are.
• Arrogance is often just a mask that hides your personal self doubt. Try to figure out what is causing your insecurity and work on improving that area. But first you have to be honest with yourself.
• Speak clearly about other people in a positive sense. Make a special effort to ask questions concerning other people’s activities and lives. Take the “I” out of your vocabulary and only answer specific questions about yourself but keep your answer short, brief and to the point.
• Make it a point to listen at least twice as much as you talk.
• Model yourself after the most respected people in your industry. Note, I said respected not the most successful. Success does not necessarily mean respect. It depends on how success is achieved and how success is defined.
• Create a leadership survey and ask your peers and subordinates to actually rate your performance. E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com if you would like a template.
You are the only person that can affect a change in your thinking or your attitude. Your thoughts are powerful. They are energy. How you feel and how you act depends on your thoughts. Master your thoughts and you control your attitude. So how do you create a leadership model you can be proud of, one that speaks volumes about who you are and not what you accomplished? The answer begins by taking an inventory of your personal values. Your core beliefs and how you treat other people will speak volumes about who you are. It also reflects the size of your ego.
Check out Rick’s new CD and workbook Real World Leadership Kit --- “Learning to Lead So Others Will Follow”http://www.ceostrategist.com/resources-store/real-world-leadership.html
www.ceostrategist.com – Sign up to receive “The Howl” a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. – Straight talk about today’s issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com
A leader’s role is to serve those people that report to him. He or she is not a dictator --- their ultimate role is to serve, to allow those people to achieve their goals. It’s a style that starts by asking: What do you want to accomplish, rather than telling them what you want them to accomplish.Effective leaders demonstrate a respect for employees recognizing their value as their most precious asset and the innovative use of planning and control systems demonstrates a unique ability to balance predictability with simplicity.
Effective Leaders are consistent, explicit and concise and they command a presence when they walk into a room. But, they are not arrogant and ego driven. When they move on, others want to go with them. Their openness and honesty creates a legacy which people admire and look up to. They gain commitment and foster trust.
Check your EGO ---- Don’t be Arrogant ---- Follow these tips:
• If you start to believe you are special and nobody is as good as you, just look at the number of people in your industry, in your state, in your country. Then ask yourself how many of this grand total of people even know your name. Unless you’re Tom Cruise or Angelina Joline, chances are not many people really even know who you are let alone actually care how good you think you are.
• Arrogance is often just a mask that hides your personal self doubt. Try to figure out what is causing your insecurity and work on improving that area. But first you have to be honest with yourself.
• Speak clearly about other people in a positive sense. Make a special effort to ask questions concerning other people’s activities and lives. Take the “I” out of your vocabulary and only answer specific questions about yourself but keep your answer short, brief and to the point.
• Make it a point to listen at least twice as much as you talk.
• Model yourself after the most respected people in your industry. Note, I said respected not the most successful. Success does not necessarily mean respect. It depends on how success is achieved and how success is defined.
• Create a leadership survey and ask your peers and subordinates to actually rate your performance. E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com if you would like a template.
You are the only person that can affect a change in your thinking or your attitude. Your thoughts are powerful. They are energy. How you feel and how you act depends on your thoughts. Master your thoughts and you control your attitude. So how do you create a leadership model you can be proud of, one that speaks volumes about who you are and not what you accomplished? The answer begins by taking an inventory of your personal values. Your core beliefs and how you treat other people will speak volumes about who you are. It also reflects the size of your ego.
Check out Rick’s new CD and workbook Real World Leadership Kit --- “Learning to Lead So Others Will Follow”http://www.ceostrategist.com/resources-store/real-world-leadership.html
www.ceostrategist.com – Sign up to receive “The Howl” a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. – Straight talk about today’s issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Arrogant State Trooper
March was a pretty busy month. I had to spend time in Arizona, Canada, Chicago and Boca Raton Florida. It was on the trip to Boca Raton that Tracy and I encountered the Arrogant State Trooper.
Boca Raton is about a four hour drive from The Villages where we live. I had an appointment scheduled for Friday and we intended to spend a couple of extra days in Boca since it is a beautiful area. On the drive down we stopped several times at a different Turnpike Oasis. On the second stop we both had to use the restroom pretty bad. As we entered the Oasis, we split up both in search of our respective restrooms.
As I approached the “Men’s Room” I noticed that a trash cart was positioned in front of the door. My first thought was that the facility must be in the process of being cleaned. As I arrived at the opening to the restroom, I put my hand on the trash cart to look in. I wanted to ask the attendant how long it would be before I could use the facility. There were no signs indicating any reason for the cart being parked at the opening.
No sooner had I placed my hand on the cart, that I heard this enormous roar from behind me.
“Can’t you see that the toilet is out of order?”
I turned around and no farther than five feet from me stood a grey haired, pudgy, six foot two inch State Trooper staring at me with the meanest, ugliest glare that I haven’t seen since going to my last horror film when I was a teenager.
“Excuse me”, I replied. “You don’t have to scream at me.”
“I’ll do what I have to do,” he screamed again in the same arrogant obnoxious voice that he used the first time.
“Look,” I said. “You don’t have to be disrespectful. There is no sign – Ya know.”
“I’ll do what I have to do. It should be obvious. Can’t you see the water on the floor,” He screamed at me again. This last roar caused me to lose my patience.”
“Obvious”, I replied. “Water on the floor”, I asked inquisitively. “I thought maybe you just couldn’t hold it any longer. What should be obvious to you is the fact that just because you have a gun and a badge doesn’t make you a King.”
I could see the anger build in his eyes. As his mouth opened to scream at me again some drool slithered out of the corner of his mouth and started running down his chin leaving a glistening trail. Just as his face started to turn a crimson red and he was about to take a step toward me, Tracy grabbed my arm almost jerking it out of the socket as she dragged me away at quite a rapid pace. Although I felt pain in my arm I realized that she probably just saved me from being arrested and thrown in jail.
I turned to look at him as Tracy dragged me out the door to the car but I couldn’t make out what he said. I can tell you that the jowls on his face were quivering and his arm was extended with his finger pointed in my direction shaking furiously.
Tracy didn’t say a word and though it was my turn to drive she jumped behind the wheel and we sped out of that rest stop like Bonnie and Clyde.
She wasn’t totally convinced that I didn’t do anything wrong since she didn’t hear the entire conversation but I personally believe I was very patient and didn’t deserve to be screamed at in that fashion. I think the trooper must have been having a bad day but needed to consider retirement. He sure looked a lot older than me anyway.
“Effective Leaders NEVER let position or power go to their Head!”
Boca Raton is about a four hour drive from The Villages where we live. I had an appointment scheduled for Friday and we intended to spend a couple of extra days in Boca since it is a beautiful area. On the drive down we stopped several times at a different Turnpike Oasis. On the second stop we both had to use the restroom pretty bad. As we entered the Oasis, we split up both in search of our respective restrooms.
As I approached the “Men’s Room” I noticed that a trash cart was positioned in front of the door. My first thought was that the facility must be in the process of being cleaned. As I arrived at the opening to the restroom, I put my hand on the trash cart to look in. I wanted to ask the attendant how long it would be before I could use the facility. There were no signs indicating any reason for the cart being parked at the opening.
No sooner had I placed my hand on the cart, that I heard this enormous roar from behind me.
“Can’t you see that the toilet is out of order?”
I turned around and no farther than five feet from me stood a grey haired, pudgy, six foot two inch State Trooper staring at me with the meanest, ugliest glare that I haven’t seen since going to my last horror film when I was a teenager.
“Excuse me”, I replied. “You don’t have to scream at me.”
“I’ll do what I have to do,” he screamed again in the same arrogant obnoxious voice that he used the first time.
“Look,” I said. “You don’t have to be disrespectful. There is no sign – Ya know.”
“I’ll do what I have to do. It should be obvious. Can’t you see the water on the floor,” He screamed at me again. This last roar caused me to lose my patience.”
“Obvious”, I replied. “Water on the floor”, I asked inquisitively. “I thought maybe you just couldn’t hold it any longer. What should be obvious to you is the fact that just because you have a gun and a badge doesn’t make you a King.”
I could see the anger build in his eyes. As his mouth opened to scream at me again some drool slithered out of the corner of his mouth and started running down his chin leaving a glistening trail. Just as his face started to turn a crimson red and he was about to take a step toward me, Tracy grabbed my arm almost jerking it out of the socket as she dragged me away at quite a rapid pace. Although I felt pain in my arm I realized that she probably just saved me from being arrested and thrown in jail.
I turned to look at him as Tracy dragged me out the door to the car but I couldn’t make out what he said. I can tell you that the jowls on his face were quivering and his arm was extended with his finger pointed in my direction shaking furiously.
Tracy didn’t say a word and though it was my turn to drive she jumped behind the wheel and we sped out of that rest stop like Bonnie and Clyde.
She wasn’t totally convinced that I didn’t do anything wrong since she didn’t hear the entire conversation but I personally believe I was very patient and didn’t deserve to be screamed at in that fashion. I think the trooper must have been having a bad day but needed to consider retirement. He sure looked a lot older than me anyway.
“Effective Leaders NEVER let position or power go to their Head!”
Monday, February 23, 2009
Now is the Time for Action….NOT… Panic
Now is the Time for Action….NOT… Panic – Ten Immediate Steps to follow in 2009
Profit covers many sins.
We have all ridden the wave of prosperity for the past five years prior to 2008. Let’s face it, it didn’t take a genius to be profitable. You may have ignored small indiscretions, less than stellar performance, even incompetence. You may also have ignored structural issues, process issues, family issues and even corporate executive issues. “Profit does cover many Sins.” So…… Now is the time to take action if you want to maintain market share or increase it during the economic crisis we are facing in 2009.
1. Make sure all your assets are deployed effectively -
2. Find and Shoot your “Loser Customers”. The easiest way to do this is to raise prices and quit giving away free services to the losers.
3. Recommit and focus on profitability – cost control. Don’t scrimp on revenue producing functions or process.
4. If you have to make cuts – start at the top – kill the sacred cows. Take a close look at your executive team.
5. Business survival comes first – compassion second and family nepotism last
6. Invest in developing your structure, your process & your key people. Don’t cut training for key people.
7. Make managing your cash flow a priority. Understand and manage your cash to cash cycle.
8. Focus on increasing market share by going back to basic best practice in sales effectiveness (targeting, goal setting, action planning & sales management vouching)
9. Seek out opportunities in recruitment, vendor negotiations and exploit the competitions weaknesses
10. “Weed the Garden” --- Upgrade your workforce by replacing those employees that have never lived up to expectations.
This is Not the Time to Panic
Yes, there are economic problems, but there are also opportunities! Leadership during these tough economic times is about not panicking, and that's exactly the message I want to get across... don't panic! Panic causes knee jerk reactions, and they're rarely correct. This Economic Panic that could be caused by “Media Sensationalism” can create a knee jerk reaction that negates effective leadership.
www.ceostrategist.com 352-750-0868
Profit covers many sins.
We have all ridden the wave of prosperity for the past five years prior to 2008. Let’s face it, it didn’t take a genius to be profitable. You may have ignored small indiscretions, less than stellar performance, even incompetence. You may also have ignored structural issues, process issues, family issues and even corporate executive issues. “Profit does cover many Sins.” So…… Now is the time to take action if you want to maintain market share or increase it during the economic crisis we are facing in 2009.
1. Make sure all your assets are deployed effectively -
2. Find and Shoot your “Loser Customers”. The easiest way to do this is to raise prices and quit giving away free services to the losers.
3. Recommit and focus on profitability – cost control. Don’t scrimp on revenue producing functions or process.
4. If you have to make cuts – start at the top – kill the sacred cows. Take a close look at your executive team.
5. Business survival comes first – compassion second and family nepotism last
6. Invest in developing your structure, your process & your key people. Don’t cut training for key people.
7. Make managing your cash flow a priority. Understand and manage your cash to cash cycle.
8. Focus on increasing market share by going back to basic best practice in sales effectiveness (targeting, goal setting, action planning & sales management vouching)
9. Seek out opportunities in recruitment, vendor negotiations and exploit the competitions weaknesses
10. “Weed the Garden” --- Upgrade your workforce by replacing those employees that have never lived up to expectations.
This is Not the Time to Panic
Yes, there are economic problems, but there are also opportunities! Leadership during these tough economic times is about not panicking, and that's exactly the message I want to get across... don't panic! Panic causes knee jerk reactions, and they're rarely correct. This Economic Panic that could be caused by “Media Sensationalism” can create a knee jerk reaction that negates effective leadership.
www.ceostrategist.com 352-750-0868
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Curiosity Killed the Cat but It Can Make You a Better Leader
Several years ago the consulting firm I worked for did a study that included interviewing eight of the most successful CEOs in the country that were within a year of retirement. The requirement to be within one year of retirement on either side was to insure that none of them would pull any punches regarding being totally open with their answers to our questions. This was quite an enlightening experience and in fact I believe you can still purchase DVD’s of these interview from NAW (National Association of Wholesalers)
Each one of these leaders had a different leadership model. Of course there was some commonalities but for the most part each one had a clearly defined personal leadership model. However, a personal character trait that really stood out to me in these interviews was the fact that every one of these CEOs had an incredible sense of curiosity. They were all passionate about it and each one had a new innovative project going on every year.
My personal assessment after spending hours listening to these interviews numerous times is that they came by this curiosity naturally. It’s like they had this “need to know” their entire lives. I have personally known CEOs that have that same sense of curiosity that have told me at times that need can seem so overpowering that they consider it a curse instead of a blessing. But, curiosity leads to new ideas, creativity and innovative thoughts.
Keep this point in mind ------ Most new ideas are simply a combination or rearrangement of old ideas and facts. What that tells us is simply the more we study a topic or situation and the more knowledge we gain about anything specific, the more likely it becomes that we come up with new ideas. Your ability and willingness to explore, study and learn is directly related to your level of curiosity.
If you don’t feel that instinctive curiosity then you need to take deliberate action everyday to improve your knowledge foundation. One very quick and easy way to accomplish this is to read. Read at every opportunity; on the airplane, at home at night, in the doctor’s office. Take every opportunity to read every chance you get. Reading someone else’s version or opinion on something will prompt your thought process and give you your own ideas and versions of the subject at hand. Replace at least one hour a night of television with one hour a night of reading.
Have the curiosity of a cat and ---- it could change your entire life.
www.ceostrategist.com – Sign up to receive “The Howl” a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. – Straight talk about today’s issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com
Strategic Leadership in Wholesale Distribution
CEO Strategist LLC
rick@ceostrategist.com
tel: 352-750-0868
Each one of these leaders had a different leadership model. Of course there was some commonalities but for the most part each one had a clearly defined personal leadership model. However, a personal character trait that really stood out to me in these interviews was the fact that every one of these CEOs had an incredible sense of curiosity. They were all passionate about it and each one had a new innovative project going on every year.
My personal assessment after spending hours listening to these interviews numerous times is that they came by this curiosity naturally. It’s like they had this “need to know” their entire lives. I have personally known CEOs that have that same sense of curiosity that have told me at times that need can seem so overpowering that they consider it a curse instead of a blessing. But, curiosity leads to new ideas, creativity and innovative thoughts.
Keep this point in mind ------ Most new ideas are simply a combination or rearrangement of old ideas and facts. What that tells us is simply the more we study a topic or situation and the more knowledge we gain about anything specific, the more likely it becomes that we come up with new ideas. Your ability and willingness to explore, study and learn is directly related to your level of curiosity.
If you don’t feel that instinctive curiosity then you need to take deliberate action everyday to improve your knowledge foundation. One very quick and easy way to accomplish this is to read. Read at every opportunity; on the airplane, at home at night, in the doctor’s office. Take every opportunity to read every chance you get. Reading someone else’s version or opinion on something will prompt your thought process and give you your own ideas and versions of the subject at hand. Replace at least one hour a night of television with one hour a night of reading.
Have the curiosity of a cat and ---- it could change your entire life.
www.ceostrategist.com – Sign up to receive “The Howl” a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. – Straight talk about today’s issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com
Strategic Leadership in Wholesale Distribution
CEO Strategist LLC
rick@ceostrategist.com
tel: 352-750-0868
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Lead Wolf Leadership Tips
Success in any organization often depends on leadership ability to adjust quickly to a changing environment both internally and externally. Trends, regulations, competition and yes the economy may force organizational change. This change has a direct impact on employees often creating a decrease in morale which can lead to complacency and apathy. To circumvent these consequences leaders must justify, communicate and explain the long term benefits to the company and the employees. Sometimes it may simply mean survival. But, even survival can be positive when it relates to maintain security for the employee.
Timing is a critical component that the leader must recognize. Reacting too late on any situational change can lead to panic and fear. Both of these traits can paralyze the leader’s ability to solve problems and create solutions. Stuff happens but effective leaders --- Lead Wolf Leaders react quickly and appropriately. Follow these Lead Wolf Tips and improve your chance for success even in the most difficult circumstances.
1. Plan Carefully --- Planning saves time and money. It also prevents knee jerk decisions that are often wrong. Shooting from the hip may work in normal times but in times of crisis any risk should be calculated, thought through and executed diligently. Always consider down side consequences and create a detailed time table for execution.
2. Anticipate Resistance --- Consider motivation regarding any anticipated resistance to change. Resistance is often a result of fear – fear of losing status, power or security. Communicate with individual employees. Discuss their position and contribution honestly. Talk about their continued career paths or new career paths. Define and discuss the reasons and justifications for the change. Express appreciation for past and continued performance.
3. Communicate Openly & Honestly ---- Don’t make false promises. Honest communication is a must. Most resistance to any change is due to the lack of information. As a result employees make things up in their own minds that are predominantly extremely worse than the real situation. Put on your sales person hat because change, new ideas or any type of organizational change requires you to sell the idea.
4. Employee Buy-in ---- Getting employees involved in the early stages of change has several advantages. First and foremost, it is often amazing what employees can do if you just let them. It is often amazing what ideas employees can come up with if you just listen to them. Most of the time we overlook the incredible knowledge and talent that is at our finger tips. Getting employees involved creates ownership, minimizes mistakes and expensive consequences. People that are being effected directly by change often have the best insights on how to manage that change.
5. Trust and Respect Your Employees ----- I often repeat the phrase – “Employees won’t start trusting you until you starting trusting them.” “Employees won’t start respecting you until you start respecting them.” Credibility based on your past relationships with your employees will play a key role in creating success.
6. Execution --- The golden grail ---- nothing happens unless you execute. Create a D-Day kickoff and set up specific, timely accountability sessions to insure that everyone stays on point. Individual initiative related scorecards are a great tool to support execution. The more painful the change or challenge the more it necessitates quick action. Postponement only adds further complications.
7. Understand Contingency Planning ---- Regardless of circumstance, all Lead Wolf Leaders understand and prepare for contingencies. When times are really good we often call it scenario planning. This is nothing more than “What if Brainstorming Sessions”. However, during tough economic times it is imperative to actually create a contingency plan that outlines specific actions that may become necessary based on circumstance.
Check out Rick’s new CD and workbook Real World Leadership Kit --- “Learning to Lead So Others Will Follow”http://www.ceostrategist.com/resources-store/real-world-leadership.html
www.ceostrategist.com – Sign up to receive “The Howl” a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. – Straight talk about today’s issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com
Timing is a critical component that the leader must recognize. Reacting too late on any situational change can lead to panic and fear. Both of these traits can paralyze the leader’s ability to solve problems and create solutions. Stuff happens but effective leaders --- Lead Wolf Leaders react quickly and appropriately. Follow these Lead Wolf Tips and improve your chance for success even in the most difficult circumstances.
1. Plan Carefully --- Planning saves time and money. It also prevents knee jerk decisions that are often wrong. Shooting from the hip may work in normal times but in times of crisis any risk should be calculated, thought through and executed diligently. Always consider down side consequences and create a detailed time table for execution.
2. Anticipate Resistance --- Consider motivation regarding any anticipated resistance to change. Resistance is often a result of fear – fear of losing status, power or security. Communicate with individual employees. Discuss their position and contribution honestly. Talk about their continued career paths or new career paths. Define and discuss the reasons and justifications for the change. Express appreciation for past and continued performance.
3. Communicate Openly & Honestly ---- Don’t make false promises. Honest communication is a must. Most resistance to any change is due to the lack of information. As a result employees make things up in their own minds that are predominantly extremely worse than the real situation. Put on your sales person hat because change, new ideas or any type of organizational change requires you to sell the idea.
4. Employee Buy-in ---- Getting employees involved in the early stages of change has several advantages. First and foremost, it is often amazing what employees can do if you just let them. It is often amazing what ideas employees can come up with if you just listen to them. Most of the time we overlook the incredible knowledge and talent that is at our finger tips. Getting employees involved creates ownership, minimizes mistakes and expensive consequences. People that are being effected directly by change often have the best insights on how to manage that change.
5. Trust and Respect Your Employees ----- I often repeat the phrase – “Employees won’t start trusting you until you starting trusting them.” “Employees won’t start respecting you until you start respecting them.” Credibility based on your past relationships with your employees will play a key role in creating success.
6. Execution --- The golden grail ---- nothing happens unless you execute. Create a D-Day kickoff and set up specific, timely accountability sessions to insure that everyone stays on point. Individual initiative related scorecards are a great tool to support execution. The more painful the change or challenge the more it necessitates quick action. Postponement only adds further complications.
7. Understand Contingency Planning ---- Regardless of circumstance, all Lead Wolf Leaders understand and prepare for contingencies. When times are really good we often call it scenario planning. This is nothing more than “What if Brainstorming Sessions”. However, during tough economic times it is imperative to actually create a contingency plan that outlines specific actions that may become necessary based on circumstance.
Check out Rick’s new CD and workbook Real World Leadership Kit --- “Learning to Lead So Others Will Follow”http://www.ceostrategist.com/resources-store/real-world-leadership.html
www.ceostrategist.com – Sign up to receive “The Howl” a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. – Straight talk about today’s issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Ten Tips to Avoid Micro Management
Micro managing may make you feel in control but in reality you are only hurting yourself and the company. It only limits an employee’s ability to be innovative and creative. This can cost the company thousands of dollars because it is the creativity and innovation of your employees that maximize the profitability of your company. Micro Management is often just a symptom of ineffective planning, too much compassion and the inability to judge performance and develop bench strength.
Developing a strategic plan for your company is a very effective way to address any or all of these challenges. I often tell my clients that the most valuable part of a strategic plan is the development process itself. Running a company with a shoot from the hip mentality often encourages micro management and does not allow employees to develop their skills and maximize their potential. One of the many warning signs is a high turnover rate. The reason is simple; good employees just won’t tolerate micro management and they will leave to find employment that will challenge them and help them grow.
1. Try to understand your lack of delegating skills. If you keep things too close to the vest because you fear losing control, you may need personal coaching to help you understand that empowerment and delegation will actually increase your control as it provides you with more time to plan and work on strategic issues.
2. If you lack trust in your employees remember the statement --- “Employees won’t start trusting you until you start trusting them”. If you absolutely can not let go; ask yourself why you hired the employee. In the end if you can’t trust them you need to replace them. If you find you can’t trust any of your employees than you need help in developing your leadership skills.
3. Create a skills assessment inventory for every key employee. Supplement that exercise by creating a training and development matrix to improve the overall competency of the organization. Include yourself in the assessment. Communicate the purpose in a positive fashion to the employees.
4. Consider doing a 360 review that includes you as a leader or create an anonymous survey for employees to rate the entire management team, including you, and the company culture itself.
5. Utilize your skills assessment to make sure you have the right people in the right seats and identify future potential leadership.
6. Stop answering questions and start asking them. When an employee asks you what they should do, ask them what they think they should do.
7. Search for projects, issues or challenges that you would normally tackle and create a project team or empower an individual to solve the problem. Do this even if you think you have the answer.
8. Let your employees fail. The hardest thing to do is to watch an employee make a mistake. But, unless the mistake is life threatening or is going to cost the company thousands of dollars, it is a better learning process if the employee learns from his own mistake.
9. Provide more than just skill training and product training. Create an employee development program for those employees that show potential for future stardom. This development program must be based on empowering these employees to make tough decisions. Intern programs are also effective as a platform for development.
10. Results happen in various ways. Remember, you may have a specific way of doing things but it may not be the only way. As long as the employee is getting the results expected, give them praise. Your way may not be the best or only way.
Developing a strategic plan for your company is a very effective way to address any or all of these challenges. I often tell my clients that the most valuable part of a strategic plan is the development process itself. Running a company with a shoot from the hip mentality often encourages micro management and does not allow employees to develop their skills and maximize their potential. One of the many warning signs is a high turnover rate. The reason is simple; good employees just won’t tolerate micro management and they will leave to find employment that will challenge them and help them grow.
1. Try to understand your lack of delegating skills. If you keep things too close to the vest because you fear losing control, you may need personal coaching to help you understand that empowerment and delegation will actually increase your control as it provides you with more time to plan and work on strategic issues.
2. If you lack trust in your employees remember the statement --- “Employees won’t start trusting you until you start trusting them”. If you absolutely can not let go; ask yourself why you hired the employee. In the end if you can’t trust them you need to replace them. If you find you can’t trust any of your employees than you need help in developing your leadership skills.
3. Create a skills assessment inventory for every key employee. Supplement that exercise by creating a training and development matrix to improve the overall competency of the organization. Include yourself in the assessment. Communicate the purpose in a positive fashion to the employees.
4. Consider doing a 360 review that includes you as a leader or create an anonymous survey for employees to rate the entire management team, including you, and the company culture itself.
5. Utilize your skills assessment to make sure you have the right people in the right seats and identify future potential leadership.
6. Stop answering questions and start asking them. When an employee asks you what they should do, ask them what they think they should do.
7. Search for projects, issues or challenges that you would normally tackle and create a project team or empower an individual to solve the problem. Do this even if you think you have the answer.
8. Let your employees fail. The hardest thing to do is to watch an employee make a mistake. But, unless the mistake is life threatening or is going to cost the company thousands of dollars, it is a better learning process if the employee learns from his own mistake.
9. Provide more than just skill training and product training. Create an employee development program for those employees that show potential for future stardom. This development program must be based on empowering these employees to make tough decisions. Intern programs are also effective as a platform for development.
10. Results happen in various ways. Remember, you may have a specific way of doing things but it may not be the only way. As long as the employee is getting the results expected, give them praise. Your way may not be the best or only way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
