Ten Ways to Waste Money....

This article written by Dave Bertolini is one of the best I've seen for organizational growth. See the entire article go to http://reliabilityweb.com/index.php/articles/Top_Ten_Ways_to_Waste_Money/

But here is the first Three to give you a flavor of his truth laced with humor.

Number 10: When engaging with a consultant, ensure you ignore what they recommend. You’re only paying them to advise you. After all, what is it they know that you don’t already know?


Ideally, you have formed a partnership with your consultant and the total focus is on your organization’s success. A wise person once told me if you can’t solve a problem in three days, get someone from the outside to look at the issue, because you’ll never solve it on your own. It requires a leap of faith to place your trust in “an outsider,” but if you have chosen your partner wisely, mutual respect and trust can quickly be achieved and real results can happen. Remember, at the end of the day you’ve engaged with this individual to guide and advise you based on his/her knowledge and past experiences. More importantly the things you see and do every day are natural to you, but perhaps you can’t see the forest through the trees… when they might be able to. We all need someone to come by and pull our heads out of the mud puddle and tell us which way they went once in a while.

Number 9: Only empower and engage a small number of employees. It’s easier to manage and you won’t have to deal with a large group trying to change and move too
quickly.

If there was ever an adage that would fit nicely here it would be, “The more, the merrier.” Engage all you can. Empower people to make a change. The key to successful change is to paint the picture of the future, give them the tools to get there, and reward for the right results. A change initiative was once described to me that it’s like a big, long, fully loaded train. Once it gets up the steam and starts moving don’t try to stop it, because you can’t easily get it started again. The best thing one can do is to ensure the tracks are clear and the switches are set for the proper routing, and then enjoy the ride to the destination.

Number 8: Don’t waste money on training people. There are tons of free books at the library that people can check out to obtain the necessary skills to improve their performance and knowledge.

Does anyone really think when we hire an employee that they have signed on with all the skills they will ever need for their tenure within the organization? Hopefully not, however, most organizations end up treating people that way. Evaluate your training program; if there isn’t one, establish one. If not, you will always get what you have always gotten. Remember, all roles within the organization require some level of training to improve upon their fundamental skill sets. I heard a great saying somewhere along the way: “Remember, ignorance can be corrected through education; however, stupidity is forever.”

It's Time to Speak.....

I have never been much of a movie guy, but this week my wife and I went to the            theater to view a powerful story, "The King's Speech." For me, it was more than a story

about King George VI and his tormented difficulty with stammering speech. Earlier in the week I had listened to a radio program discussing the book "White House-Ghosts",

Presidents and their speech writers.

Both of these encounters highlighted a specific topic which reinforced, for me, one of the most important practices for Organizational/Personal/Professional success there is i.e. the ability to SPEAK.


When you read most Leadership Books, or attend Leadership Seminars you will hear about integrity, vision, mission and a host of topics which are basically the same, just warmed over differently. Seldom will you hear anything about the importance of public speaking. You'll hear about "communication", but little emphasis is given to the art, science and skill of standing before people with oratory mastery. It is not enough to have the gift of gab, and I'm not talking about motiviation speakers who deliver flowery words. You must have substance with words. The great leaders of history were not men or women of superior intellect, rather they were eloquent in transferring their ideas, passion and vision from their head and hearts to the masses.

> England would have fallen had it not been for the radio talks Winston Churchill gave to the people admonishing them to "Never Give Up!" Had it not been for his ability to speak, we might all be speaking German today.

>Martin Luther King did not say anything different than thousands of black men before him, but he is credited with changing race relations in America when he described, with brilliance, in his speech that "I have a dream!"

>Adolf Hitler stirred his country into World War II with his fiery rhetoric.

>John the Baptizer was described as a VOICE in the wilderness.

>John Kennedy gives credit to his speech writers (who he called his intellectual life blood) in the evolving phrases like "Ask NOT..." speeches and his ability to deliver with imagination and passion.

>If we still had LP's we could have FDR's greatest hits from his fire side chats which are often quoted today.

>And on his 100th birthday celebration, the "Great Communicator" Ronald Reagan is revered for his captivating challenge to communism "Tear Down This Wall!"

How important is the issue of public speaking ability?
It is still rated as one of the most important abilities employers are looking for in leadership/management candidates.

It is still rated a #1 on the most feared thing among adults in America. (Death is 3rd).
Many of the companies I work with have great managers who are terrible at speaking before those they are required to lead. If I had my way, every business student in college would be required to go through public speaking classes before they could graduate. ( It was my most dreaded class in college, and the most important I ever took.) If I had my way, every manager would be required to attend Dale Carnegie or a public speaking course at the community college before being promoted. It's that important...it's that rare.

I often quote the following...(author unknown)

"The man who knows how will always have a job and will always make a living.

But the man who knows WHY, and can communicate it effectively will always be his boss and will always be his leader."

You can manage with out being a good speaker, but you will never accomplish the highest level of leadership until you can inspire, motivate, paint pictures in the heads of those following you through linguistic articulation.

Think about it...and then SPEAK!



Are you still working with your people the same ole way?

As I sit in my hotel room beginning my 21st year as a professional business coach/consultant, I’am preparing to perform one of the tasks necessary for assisting one of my good clients. It’s a task I’m not particularly excited to do (for a lot of personal reasons) but a task that is probably one of the most important things I do which contributes to their ongoing success. As a result, I do get excited with the positive results which will occur from this task.


I've talked with many managers over the years who have a deep and sincere desire for their employees to become engaged with the company and to become more than just workers who show up every day and do work for a pay check. They want their employees to genuinely feel like part of the company willing to give ideas, contribute at a higher level and to feel good about the organization they give so much of their life to.

Remember years ago, as part of the Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in order to drive home the importance of the major issue they declared “it’s the economy stupid?" Well, when executives tell me they just don’t know how to motivate their people to become engaged in the organization. I often want to explain loudly “it’s a PROCESS stupid." It’s not a motivation speech. It’s not the latest training course given once to a select group of people. It’s not a pep rally or an opinion survey. It is an ongoing process which causes change to happen. Consistently and continually.

Common problems which hinders organizational growth are:

1. Lack of a clear and consistent communication process.

2. A coherent direction and purpose by the leadership.

3. An established "What's in it for me?" for all stakeholders.

4. Gaps in all the "programs" they are going, or have gone, through i.e. not connecting the dots.


5. Absences of a planned process. Process to cause positive things to happen. You can't tell people to become engaged. You must make a way for them to become engaged.


6. Providing the time and money to make all of the above happen.

        Steven Covey in his book "7 Habits of Highly Successful People" very accurately describes where management chooses to spend their time and efforts.

1. Urgent/Important- Crisis-Fire Fighting (This makes us feel important and needed.)

2. Not Urgent but Important - Prevention - Causing something NOT to happen..

3. Urgent but not Important -Interruptions/Meetings

4. Not Urgent not Important – Busy Work/Time Wasters

This week, my task is properly placed in the 2nd quadrant. Education for the masses. It is time consuming, modestly disruptive to the operational flow, a financial investment in the people, but absolutely critical for the successful on going process. It not only informs,but more importantly it causes engagement. Developing your organization for the future is not an event. More than ever before, in the world market we live and do business in, we better be planning a process for the future.

On a personal note..Thanks!! for 20 years of working around the globe with many of you.I have encountered many wonderful people along the way..I am blessed!