The journey continues with Part II of Business Lessons I Learned From Dieting.  Last blog I talked about the first steps in creating a vision and a goal and how to measure these as you go along on your journey in finding success in business and dieting.  Read on to see what else I have learned on my journey.

Expect set backs. 

On my journey, there were several times I stepped on the scale only to discover that I had gained a pound or two.  These are the times I could have easily become discouraged and quit.  Obviously the body is more complex than simple input and output.  Business is just as complex.  We may be doing all of the right things, but not seeing any result or improvement.  This doesn’t mean we should stop the analysis, but don’t get discouraged and quit at the first negative measurement.

Don’t lie to yourself. 

When I log my calories or exercise, I am occasionally tempted to not log a particularly rich food item, or increase the amount of time I had exercised, which would certainly make me look good on paper.  However, the reality is I wouldn’t lose the weight and would only be hurting myself.  If you are lying to yourself, others will eventually notice the reality.  Be just as honest about where your business stands and how well you are working toward and attaining your goals.

Don’t blindly follow the experts. 

I don’t know about you, but I have seen my fair share of overweight dieticians or nutritionists giving advice on how to lose weight.  Or the doctor who reeked of cigarette smoke while telling folks to quit smoking (although blindly following this expert’s advice is still a good idea).  Just because someone hangs out a shingle doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is giving you the best advice.  Evaluate your consultants, coaches and mentors.  Do they practice what they preach?  Have they achieved success doing what they are telling you to do?

You will encounter barriers. 

Part of my exercise plan was riding my bike three times a week for 8 to 10 miles, and I was able to do this until mid December before we got snow.  I’m certain that this was helping my weight loss and in general improving my health.  Throughout the rest of the winter I have tried alternative methods, using our Wii Fit and a treadmill in the house, but I haven’t achieved the same results.  Now that spring has arrived, I’m looking forward to getting the bike out and riding again.  What do you do when you encounter barriers in your business?  Are you able to find alternatives?

Hitting the dreaded plateau. 

Anyone who has ever tried a diet has hit a plateau, and it can be very discouraging.  You are still doing everything the same as usual but it is no longer working.  Change something!  Remember that the definition of insanity is doing what you have always done and expecting different results.

I hit the 40-pound milestone today.  I have 26 more pounds to go to reach my vision.  I have established milestones for when my weight goes under 200 pounds: 196 will be 50 pounds, 186 will be 60 pounds and then – woo-hoo! 180!  I intend to be at my goal weight by August of this year, one year from when I started, with an average loss of 5½ pounds per month.  Best wishes for your diet or your business.

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During this journey I have discovered a process that directly applies to running a business.  Here is what I have learned.

(Official disclaimer: I am not a professional dietician or nutritionist, so my diet plan may not be the path you should take, but it is working for me.)

First, create a vision.  My vision is to weigh 180 pounds.  I wanted my vision to be a challenge – something I really needed to strive to achieve. 

Tell others about your vision. 

Frequently, business owners have a vision of where they want to take the business, but fail to share it with the people who can help them make it happen, such as employees or clients.  By telling others, this solidifies your commitment to do what it takes to make your vision a reality. 

However, it’s important to recognize that telling others about your vision does not make them responsible for its accomplishment.  You might expect support and encouragement from them, but don’t expect others to take responsibility for your success.  They should not become your spending or sales conscience – or your food police. You must take overall responsibility for your actions, which then allows you to take full credit for your successes.

Define success and reward yourself. 

Success can be ambiguous and different for every individual.  You have established your vision but you should also have milestones along the way to celebrate and keep you motivated.  For some businesses it may take years or even decades to accomplish their vision.  On a diet, remember that it took you a long time to put on the weight.  You cannot expect overnight results.  For me, I celebrate every 10 pounds I lose with a new article of clothing, or an indulgent meal or dessert.  For your business, you could celebrate certain revenue levels or sales targets on the path to achieving your vision.

Expect incremental improvement. 

Growing your business – and dieting – is not the lottery, there are no overnight winners.  It takes time and hard work.  All too often we want it now, and if we don’t get instant gratification we quit.  Not many things in life that are worth accomplishing come without effort.  And if they do, we generally don’t appreciate them.  Remember the tortoise and the hare?   The slow steady progress in the right direction will get us to the finish line.

Monitor and measure regularly. 

I weigh in every day or at least every other day, which allows me to make corrections if I’m going off course.  Measuring is an area that has several things you must keep in mind.  First, measuring should be easy.  If it is not part of your daily routine, and you have to take inordinate steps to obtain the measurements, there is a good chance you’ll stop measuring.  Second, measure consistently.  I get on the scale first thing in the morning.  This allows me to compare apples to apples.  In business, the way we measure often has us comparing apples and oranges.  We measure at different times of the day, or different shifts, or different times of the year.  Adding variables to the mix can make comparisons faulty or impossible.  Third, when you measure, make sure you take into account all of the other things that could be impacted.  For example, if you measure punctuality but not attendance, you could see punctuality improve because that is what you are focused on, but attendance could get worse because it is not being measured.

The journey will continue next blog post, stay tuned to see if I reached my goal and get more insight on the similarities between business and dieting.

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1.      Coaching – Most of the competitors at the Olympics have at least one coach.  Someone to monitor their performance and give them feedback on how they might improve, or to provide suggestions on how they might change their style or approach.  I believe everyone in the workforce could use a coach who is dedicated to giving feedback on how to improve performance.  Further, great performers often become coaches.  Do you have a coach or are you coaching a future star?

2.      Perseverance and persistence – If you fall down, get up and keep trying.  In the figure skating competition, many of the competitors fell down, but got up and completed their routine and received a score.  In other events – snowboarding, for example – if you fall, you receive no score for that event.  However, there are several examples in these Olympic games where competitors fell down four years ago, but came back this time to win a medal.   If you make a mistake, learn from it and move on.

3.      Play to the strengths – There are numerous Olympic events with similarities.  For example, in skiing you have alpine, freestyle moguls, cross country, jumping, etc.  Based on skills, competencies and passion, athletes compete in the event that takes best advantage of their strengths, and doesn’t promote areas of weakness.  How can we design jobs in the workplace that allow employees to focus on their strengths?  Too frequently, we spend too much time trying to turn an employee’s weaknesses into strengths rather than playing up the strengths and designing the job to allow the employee to be successful.

4.      Everyone has a story to tell – NBC has done a commendable job trying to highlight the human element of these incredible athletes.  The boy who was abandoned on the streets as a baby, the young man raised by a single immigrant father, or the figure skater who lost her mother that week and still went on to compete.  Too often we try to keep the personal element out of the workplace.  It’s just a job, get it done.  We have very diverse workplaces, with people of different backgrounds and cultures, which all comes together to create a variety of expectations and values.  Treat everyone fairly, but treat them as individuals.  Do not paint everyone with the same brush.  Frequently, when an employer has an employee who is a poor performer, or who shows up late or not at all, the employer may create a blanket policy dictating, for example, that any employee who shows up late will be terminated.  You owe it to yourself and your employees to hear their stories.

 5.      Sometimes the difference between winning and losing is very small – There are several Olympic events that the difference between a medal and no medal is a hundredth of a second or fraction of a point.  Not everyone can win a medal.  However, this does not diminish the effort, skills or abilities of those who tried and came up short.  In addition, there are numerous examples of athletes who came up short in the last Olympics, only to win a medal this year.  Often employers create a narrow definition of what it means to successfully complete a job, with no allowance for a bad day or a mishap.  I will be the first to tell you that many employers wait too long to terminate a problem employee.  However, what do we do to help those who are close to succeed in the future?  We need to be sure we have a positive performance appraisal process in place, with plans for improvement by the next appraisal.  Or create a mentorship program to help those who want to reach the next level. 

6.      Potential for an award inspires performance – Much has been written on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.  However, the potential for an Olympic medal can certainly cause the competitors to go beyond their personal best.  Do we create opportunities for our employees to want to perform beyond their personal best?  Do we know what motivates our employees?  Do we reward performance?

7.      Where you start does not determine where you end – I watched competitors in several events come from last place only to win in the end.  In fact, it seemed some athletes used it as a strategy.  They allowed their competitors to set the pace, only to cruise by them in the final lap or stretch.  Just because an employee starts his or her career on the loading dock, he or she is not precluded from someday becoming the CEO.  Do we have systems that allow and even encourage our employees to grow within our organizations?  I’ve seen too many organizations with barriers or roadblocks that prevent and even discourage employees from growing.

8.      Competition makes us try harder – Many athletes achieved beyond what they thought was possible because a competitor earned a higher score or set a faster pace.  Competition at work can be good, but it can also be destructive.  If you pit employees against each other it will certainly eliminate any potential teamwork.  Focus their competitiveness against the company’s competition: it is us against XYZ Company, we need to have better quality, products, customer service, or price than they have.

9.      Alliances can change quickly – In men’s hockey, teammates on the same NHL teams are now competitors in the Olympics.  The teammate an athlete would normally assist and celebrate with in scoring will now do everything in his power to prevent that goal.  Check this out: Sabres coach Lindy Ruff is on the coaching staff for the Canadian Olympic team, and Sabres goalie Ryan Miller is starting goalie for the US team.  Most commentators believe Ruff would provide insight to the Canadian players regarding Miller’s weaknesses to help them beat Team USA, even though it could be detrimental when those same players go back to their NHL team and play against Miller.  Likewise, if an employee goes to our competitor, he or she will quickly become part of that new organization, and will do what it takes to help the new employer succeed, even if it is detrimental to your company.

10.    Vision and Focus – Just about every medal winner has talked about vision.  I often describe vision as a dream with an action plan.  Are we providing an organizational vision for our employees?  Are we helping employees create and successfully accomplish their personal vision?  How do we help them stay focused on shared goals?

 I’m certain there are many more parallels between the Olympics and the workplace, and would enjoy hearing your observations.

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Hi back at you – thanks for following me. 

I have been a student of leadership for decades, and I’m still learning.  I teach graduate leadership courses at Daemen College and Medaille College.  I can be very opinionated when it comes to leadership and my opinions don’t always follow the mainstream opinion.  For example, I generally believe there is no difference between Leaders and Managers, but I’ll discuss this more in a future blog.

Back to my point.  I find it very interesting that on twitter there is no hierarchy – no one is designated as a leader of someone else.  Most organizations tend to have defined hierarchy: We are the “Leadership Team” and you must follow us.  Or I’m a leader and you are a follower.  Or I’m the boss and you are the subordinate.  Organizations often don’t find ways or even encourage people throughout the organization to step up to a leadership role.

On twitter, no one is designated as a leader, you are either following or being followed (hopefully not the same as being stalked).  You can choose to follow anyone you think might benefit you in some way.  That person can choose to allow you to follow them, or block you, or follow you back.  It kind of works this way in the real world.  I can choose to follow any boss, manager, or supervisor, or I can move on and find a different boss, supervisor or manager to follow.  This point is made frequently in surveys, that employees frequently leave their organization because of the relationship (or lack of) with their supervisor.  Ultimately in a work environment the follower has a choice.  Do I want to continue to follow this person, or block them and follow someone else?

The bottom line is that everyone is following someone and being followed by someone else.  I think it would take a lot of pressure off people in a work world if we eliminated the use of the term “leader.”  Instead we might say, “I have 10 employees who choose to follow me, and I choose to follow Mary.”  This changes the perspective entirely – who am I following (and why) and who is following me (and why)?  I certainly realize that this isn’t very practical in most organizations, but it sure is an interesting idea.  Instead of having someone anointed as a leader, we get to choose to follow.

So I would be honored if you choose to follow me at HRBuffaloBob.  I may even choose to follow you in return.  Happy following!

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9.   Not having any questions to ask of me, or asking superficial questions.

8.   Answering a cell phone.  This annoyance includes the cell phone ringing, or even vibrating.

7.   Knowing nothing about the company with which they are interviewing.

6.   Using foul language or telling inappropriate jokes.

5.   Dropping names, especially of people I don’t respect.

4.   Chewing gum or eating anything.

3.   Telling an obvious lie.

2.   Answering a question before I’ve finished asking the question.

1.   Taking over the interview or giving an answer so long that I forget what question I asked.

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10.  You enjoy being screamed at by everyone.

9.   You liked the idea of dealing with “people issues” (we’re out of toilet paper, you parked in the wrong slot, and supervisors asking you – what do you mean I have to evaluate their performance?)

8.   You want to be perceived as a “miracle worker.” Recruit the best, keep them forever, and pay them peanuts – works well since all of the applicants are monkeys.

7.   You thought that by being responsible for “Compensation and Benefits” that you’d have some input into “Compensation and Benefits.”  Especially your own.

6.   You love the idea of being able to inform employees that they now have a new source of income – it’s called unemployment.

5.   By the time you got to the front of the career selection line – all the good careers were already taken.

4.   You felt if you were in the department that did all the “Hiring and Firing” you’d have job security.

3.   You absolutely love stress.

2.   You wanted to learn how to resolve conflict between supervisors and employees – without getting them involved.

1.    Someone told you that in HR you always have a seat at the table and you thought they were talking about food.

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• They are touchy feely – what does that mean anyway? Are we all supposed to go around touching and feeling everyone?  I don’t think so!  Or does it refer to our vast understanding of the soft skills? Yeah right! This also brings into play the “I’m a people person,” but that is the subject for another blog.
• They aren’t very good with numbers.  I don’t know about anyone else – but I love numbers.  Especially when they are big ones and they are in my paycheck.  I got straight A’s in math and would much rather use a spreadsheet than a word processor.
• It’s a women’s profession – this probably stems from another stereotype that women are more touchy feely than men.
• I was recently at a social gathering with some HR practitioners as well as some other folks. (I was about to say normal folk)  Then the jokes started.  The non HR person looked at one of the HR people and said I probably shouldn’t be telling these in mixed company (sexual jokes). The HR person without asking blurted out – oh no – we are HR people we can take it.

 My point is stereotypes may be a way for humans to simplify complex things by grouping similar people into the same mold.  However, if there is one thing all HR people should know is that this can be a very dangerous practice.

 I believe we need to continue to work on developing the positive image of the Human Resource profession and start eliminating some of these stereotypes.  We also need to be cognizant of this bad habit when we refer to other professions or groups of people.

 Fill in the blanks – all engineers are____________, all computer people are ___________, all accountants are____________, all lawyers are___________, or all bosses are____________.  This may make for funny jokes or laughs in conversations – but are at the expense of a person.  It certainly doesn’t take a great leap to go to all Blacks are_________, all Hispanics are__________, and all Blondes are__________.  Not!!!!!

 We really need to be careful with that thought combination All (fill in the blank)___________  are__________.

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I frequently find managers who lament that their employees show no initiative, do not pay attention to details, or won’t solve problems.  Sadly, in almost every case, the manager has caused this problem.  Peter Drucker said: “The productivity of work is not the responsibility of the worker but of the manager.”

Here are several ways managers often cause their own problems.

 They recruit them: 

I had a conversation today with a manager (it was this conversation that prompted me to write this) and I asked her what her greatest joy was as a manager.  She told me she really enjoyed finding people she could help grow and develop.  On the surface this sounds okay.  However, I happen to know that the last four people she hired left the company within four months.  She is a fixer.  She sees opportunities in candidates to help them turn their lives around, and although this is admirable, it is also time consuming and has a low success rate.  Because of the low success rate, successes are that much sweeter, yet we still complain about how much time it took to get there.  There are numerous variations on this theme.  Here’s another one: I need someone right now, and I don’t have time to go through an extensive selection process, so I end up with a candidate that wastes more of my time.  I think you get the picture.

 They do it for them: 

I have watched too many managers do this.  An employee comes to the manager with a problem, any problem.  The manager then solves the problem for the employee.  Then the manager complains that the employees are not able to solve problems.  Can you see the self-defeating cycle here?  Instead of taking the time to coach the employees and instruct them to come up with potential solutions to problems, it is quicker and easier to provide the solution.  (It also allows the managers to show how smart they are!)  

 Managers have to learn how to let go.  Delegation is always a struggle – we all believe no one can do it as well as we can do it ourselves.  However, the reason the manager has a job managing others is that the job is now too big for just one person to handle.  As a manager, you need to let your employees learn to do for themselves, and in some cases they will make mistakes, which are also learning experiences.  If you want employees to show initiative, give them the opportunity to take the lead and in some cases fail.

 They Micromanage them: 

This is closely linked to the previous subject – a primary reason manager’s micromanage is they do not trust their employees to do it right.  Unfortunately, managers who micromanage will attract employees who like to be micromanaged – those are the employees who need close supervision and interaction to complete tasks.  Some employees like this because they are told exactly what to do and when to do it and do not have to accept any responsibility.  Successful managers train, coach and put systems in place so that employees learn how to do it right, and then trust their employees and let go. 

Summary

If you are having problems with the employees you manage, you might want to see if your management style is attracting a certain type of employee.  The flip side of this is looking at what type of employee you might be pushing away.  I do a lot of exit interviews and a large percentage of employees cite their manager as their reason for leaving.  I can often evaluate a company’s health by reviewing the caliber of employees that have left in the past six months.  The good employees are the ones leaving – they have the skills, confidence, and résumé to find work elsewhere.

And so if you find you are attracting moths, don’t look at the moths, check out the light bulb.

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The first concern is health care reform

The various versions of the bills (as they are currently written) will mandate to some degree that all employers provide health insurance and dictates how much employers must contribute toward that health insurance.  Another bill being considered is seven days of mandatory sick leave per year for all employees.

I’m not making a judgment about either of these bills, and we certainly don’t know what the final language will look like.  I do think that employers should be considering what their compensation and benefit strategy will be if they lose the ability to use these benefits as recruiting and retention tools.

On first blush it would seem this would put more pressure on using wages to compete, likely resulting in bidding wars.  So what other things can an employer use to gain competitive advantage with recruiting and retaining employees?

Reputation

The employer’s reputation is probably the biggest tool to consider.  Reputations are rarely ever in sync with reality, and it takes a long time and a lot of effort to turn around a bad reputation.  Boost your reputation by treating your employees, applicants and candidates better than the competition.  Strive to become recognized as one of the best places to work.

Another opportunity to improve your competitiveness is to have career development plans for all employees, including a formal mentorship program.

Finally, something that is mandatory, especially for retention of employees, is the development of your supervisory/management team.  Surveys continually indicate that one of the primary reasons employees’ leave an organization is because of their supervisor.  So if we want to retain more employees, we need to get our supervisors and managers involved in the solution.

Summary

All of these would be good things to do regardless of what happens in congress with the mandating of benefits.  These are also great strategies to employ if you are currently non-union and want to stay that way.  Once the final version of the Employee Free Choice Act (otherwise known as the Card Check Act) passes, you can be assured there will a lot of union organizing activity.  What is your strategy to deal with that?

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How do we define the use of social media for employees and monitor productivity – or loss of productivity – based on its use?

Many of my clients have expressed concern that employees are spending too much time on their cell phones, on the internet, texting, or emailing for personal (not business related) reasons. Since the employer is paying the wages of the employee they have the right to be concerned about the loss of productivity. Many employers have now established policies that clarify their expectations, including controls such as prohibiting cell phones in the workplace, and randomly checking internet and email activity. My personal preference is to let employees know your expectations, then treat them as adults, and if you find them not complying with your expectations, take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

How will we monitor social media for employees and ex-employees that may be saying negative things about the employer/management/products/services/clients, or revealing confidential company information?

There seem to be several approaches to this question. A recent survey indicates 54% of employers prohibit the use of social media – see the results at http://webmarketingblips.dailyradar.com/article/how-should-employees-use-social-media/. Some employers assign someone to monitor internet activity, or at a minimum, randomly audit social media activity. Then if something negative is discovered, the employer takes aggressive action such as discipline, termination or in some cases a lawsuit, to eliminate the offensive activity. Employers should then make an effort to learn the cause of the employee’s dissatisfaction – there could be a valid issue but the employee just used an inappropriate public venue to air their concern. Again, it makes a lot of sense to have a policy and tell employees your expectations and the consequences.

How do we minimize or prevent the use of social media for harassment?

Employers need to review their policies to ensure they include language against harassment through the use of any social media. A whole new area for concern is “textual harassment” – using texting or other media to threaten physical harm, communicate obscenities, or other inappropriate communication. According to a study by the U.S. Justice Department, 23-percent of harassment victims in 2006 reported being accosted via electronic communications such as text messages or e-mails, and attorneys say that text messaging in the workplace is turning into a growing liability for employers. Once you’ve updated your policies to include information and guidelines on this type of harassment, you need to train your employees and supervisors regarding the new policies.

How do we control time (especially away from work) that employees spend on work related social networking with regard to pay, overtime, and benefit purposes?

I have written a previous blog on this topic “Time spent on facebook, LinkedIn, or twitter are hours worked.” Be sure to read that blog for all the details, but the bottom line is that employers need to know and control the time spent on work related efforts, especially by non-exempt employees and pay for those hours when it’s appropriate.

To sum up, social media is not going away, so I believe employers need to consider these questions and develop solutions and policies that work for their company. There are many sample social media policies already circulating, including this one: “10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy” by Sharlyn Lauby (http://mashable.com/2009/06/02/social-media-policy-musts). As with all policies, it is not advisable to use someone else’s policy and force it to fit your situation. Policies need to be tailored to your specific company and industry and seek professional assistance if needed.

What kind of concerns do you have regarding social media? Please feel free to leave your concerns and thoughts in the comments section. For more info about what we do in the Buffalo area and beyond feel free to contact us.

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