Get More Done With Less
On February 28, 2010 in Thought for the Day
Today’s recession has forced many organizations to reduce their staffing. Headcount is down but workload is not. So fewer employees have to get more things done.
I am not talking about overworking employees; if you overwhelm them, they may stay for now but will leave as soon as things get better.
I am talking about having the right people in the right jobs – because when your employees are good at what they do and love doing it, performance soars.
The challenge for many organizations is the wrong people have been in the wrong jobs for a while. Today’s recession has created the need to make important changes throughout the organization to align talent to the right roles to better use the performance power of each employee. Each employee is now more critical; each must contribute his best. This can’t happen if they are in the wrong roles.
To start a meaningful realignment process, ask your employees these questions:
1. What are you great at?
2. What do you love to do?
3. What is your least favorite aspect of your job?
4. What is your favorite aspect of your job?
5. What do you wish you could do more of?
This gives you critical information about employee attributes and interests. Use this information to assess for employee “fit.” Realign as needed. Hire the right people from the outside from today’s extreme choice of unemployed talent if the talent you need does not currently exist. Create your A-Team – this team will need to get more done with less.
For more information see the resources and tools at www.LiveFiredUp.com
Don’t Let Little Things Become Big Things
On February 25, 2010 in Thought for the Day
Day in and day out little nuisance things happen to us – little things – you stumble, drop some papers, take a wrong turn, spill a cup of coffee or lose your cell phone connection. In our busy and over-scheduled lives, little events become big events. And when already frazzled, a truly large event now becomes completely unmanageable.
In 2004 Dr. Robert Sapolsky published a book titled, Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers. In it, he presents that animals and humans are equipped to handle both calm and danger. The parasympathetic system runs all of the routine internal body systems, day in and day out (periods of calm). The sympathetic system is designed to help us survive in a period of danger, stress or euphoria, and interrupts the parasympathetic system.
I am not a scientist, so here is my simple summary of his findings. When we are calm (we are not affected by the nuisance events), our internal maintenance systems respond – we stay healthy.
But when we get upset (the brain senses danger – big or small), it activates a fight or flight response. The body calls all its resources to be ready for something big, shutting down its focus on the daily support functions. We are now ready for a fight or a flight.
Here is the point. The body is designed to handle a temporary fight or flight response. Animals know this. And according to Sapolsky, when the lion gets his prey, or the zebra gets away, the fight or flight response ends and the body resumes its normal response. But humans are different. When we experience recurring nuisance events, we move our systems into a state of perpetual stress; we constantly signal to our bodies to be ready to fight or hit the road. And when this happens, the regular, healthy and maintenance functions of the body are interrupted. The result – a challenged immune system resulting in ulcers, cancer, diabetes and other illnesses.
How we perceive events activates emotions; emotions activate neurological and biological responses in our body. We must train ourselves to manage our emotional responses to all types of events – to know what is danger and what is only a nuisance- to stay healthy and sane.
So consider this:
1. Is this a nuisance and you should laugh it off? (Laughing is great for our health).
2. Is this truly serious and worth the attention?
Life throws out small tests to get us ready for larger ones. Manage your responses and use fight or flight only when it is needed – the body was designed that way. Learn from the zebras – they don’t get ulcers. They don’t let the little stuff get them down. That way, when they need to run, they are really ready – and they survive. And at every other point, they are loving life.
For more stay connected to the great things on www.LiveFiredUp.com.
Don’t Let The Little Become Big
On February 25, 2010 in Thought for the Day
Day in and day out little nuisance things happen to us – little things – you stumble, drop some papers, take a wrong turn, or lose your cell phone connection. In our busy and over-scheduled lives, little events become big events. And when already frazzled, a truly large event now becomes completely unmanageable.
In 2004 Dr. Robert Sapolsky published a book titled, Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers. In it, he presents that animals and humans are equipped to handle both calm and danger. The parasympathetic system runs all of the routine internal body systems, day in and day out (periods of calm). The sympathetic system is designed to help us survive in a period of danger, stress or euphoria, and interrupts the parasympathetic system.
I am not a scientist, so here is my simple summary of his findings. When we are calm (we are not affected by the nuisance events), our internal maintenance systems respond – we stay healthy.
But when we get upset (the brain senses danger – big or small), it activates a fight or flight response. The body calls all its resources to be ready for something big, shutting down its focus on the daily support functions. We are now ready for a fight or a flight.
Here is the point. The body is designed to handle a temporary fight or flight response. Animals know this. And according to Sapolsky, when the lion gets his prey, or the zebra gets away, the fight or flight response ends and the body resumes its normal response.
But humans are different. When we experience recurring nuisance events, we move our systems into a state of perpetual stress; we constantly signal to our bodies to be ready to fight or hit the road. And when this happens, the regular, healthy and maintenance functions of the body are interrupted. The result: ulcers, cancer, diabetes and other illnesses.
How we perceive events activates emotions; emotions activate neurological and biological responses in our body. We must train ourselves to manage our emotional responses to all types of events – to know what is danger and what is only a nuisance- to stay healthy and sane.
So consider this:
1. Is this a nuisance and you should laugh it off? (Laughing is great for our health).
2. Is this truly serious and worth the attention.
Life throws out small tests to get us ready for larger ones. Manage your responses and use fight or flight only when it is needed – the body was designed that way. Learn from the zebras – they don’t get ulcers. They don’t let the little stuff get them down. That way, when they need to run, they are really ready – and they survive. And at every other point, they are loving life.
For more great “Big Life” ideas go to www.LiveFiredUp.com.
Get Hired in 2010 – Week 4 of the Plan
On February 24, 2010 in Thought for the Day
I have been presenting a new way to get hired in 2010 – click here to see my full plan. Today – it is time to talk about fit.
Here is how it works: identify what you are good at and passionate about doing AND the hot industries or jobs that need your talents and passions. These are the jobs to apply for.
Let’s see an example:
Your talents: You are detailed-oriented, love being in charge and are focused on great results (these are your talents). Your passions include persuading others, organizing, leading things and making a difference.
Hot industries: Healthcare
Job possibilities:
o Medical office manager
o Security in medical facility/hospital
o Facilities employee/facilities manager/Spa management
o Hospital/health facility management
o Medical records management
o Personal trainer
Hot industry: Accounting/Regulation/Finance
Job possibilities:
o Accountant, financial analyst, tax specialist
o Compliance auditor, government auditor
o Researcher for investment company, demographer or trend analyst \
o Forensic accountant
o Actuary
Hot industry: Technology
Job possibilities:
o Geek squad
o PC application specialist
o Artificial intelligence engineer
o CAD technician
o Repair technician
o Network engineer
These are just ideas – see the process in action. Know you. Know your world. Find your fit. Use my list of Hot Jobs to help you consider what roles allow you to play to your strengths.
Go to www.LiveFiredUp.com for more tools – click on the For JobSeeker link.
Make Work “Personal”
On February 22, 2010 in Thought for the Day
If you want the best from your employees, they must feel personally connected to their work. This “personal” focus is new to the workplace; many businesses have not learned how to make work personal and it is showing in the results.
Here’s what I mean. When we were an industrial (make things) economy, workplaces were very impersonal. Your personality, interests, emotions and attitudes were kept out of the workplace; you had your procedures to do over and over – and that was work.
Today, our workplace is an intellectual and service workplace (much of manufacturing has moved offshore). Business happens in the relationships and connections our employees make with customers; employees are face-to-face and phone-to-phone with customers. Relationships, feelings, emotions and connection matter – in fact, these are today’s profit drivers. The humanity of your employees is what attracts and retains customers.
Consider the following ways to make your workplace more personal:
1. Spend time with each employee to learn his/her talents, values and interests. This will allow you to customize jobs around particular interests and strengths.
2. Ask employees not only what they think, but what they feel about events. Much of business is conducted on feelings; workplaces that encourage employees to be emotionally connected to their work encourage stronger customer relationships.
3. Appreciate each employee’s diversity. Think of your employees as M&M’s – you hire them for their thinking (the filling) but you celebrate and appreciate their diversity and culture (the candy coating). See my article “A Sweet Diversity Lesson.” Openly appreciating and celebrating employees’ diversity personalizes the workplace – they feel included.
Remember, how you treat your employees is how your employees treat your customers. Make it personal with your employees and they will make it personal for your customers.
To catch up and personally connect your employees, see the tools, resources and articles on www.LiveFiredUp.com, click “For Managers.”