One of the philosophies behind Primi is that people are the core to their business and the importance of having people engaged, passionate and full of energy. They have adopted various slogans and words to emphasise their philosophy. One of them is “Work is Love made Visible’. The company believes that if they do everything with “love” it makes the whole customer experience better and makes their lives better as well.

The quote comes from a Lebanese man in 1920 who was living in New York. The full quote reads:

“Work is love made visible.  And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.” 

As leaders, it is our job to help people understand the need for passion in what they do. Without that passion, the work becomes a chore, it becomes something that is hard to achieve and it becomes an uphill struggle. However, when we find our ability to love what we do, our work becomes a demonstration of our love; the work is love made visible.

In Primi, I interviewed staff at all levels, in a number of locations and asked them about their work. The common answers to why they enjoyed working for Primi were, because of the energy, the vibe and the confidence it gives them.

‘Work is love made visible’ is a frame of mind that centres around what you bring to your work rather than what you take from it. It creates a sense of purpose and desire that raises everything around it. In other words, it improves quality, improves service delivery, increases productivity and of course all of this makes for a profitable business. The difference is the effort comes from within rather than from an external force pushing for improvements.

So this month I ask you to consider your business or your team and ask yourself:

Is my work an example of my love for what I do?

Are my actions a demonstration of how much I enjoy the work I do?

Do my people feel the passion I have for what we are trying to achieve?

If you can’t be an example of your work being your love made visible, then you can’t expect it of others.

So, assuming that you answer yes to the above questions, then how do you encourage others to see their work and be an example of their love for doing what they do?

Now I can hear the comments from people about this already. “The work my people have to do is not something that they can love. It is mundane, it is repetitive and it is not something anyone enjoys doing.” Yes, I understand that is often the case; but consider what we are saying.

It isn’t about love the work you do. The expression is, ‘Work is love made visible’. The work when achieved is an example of your love. You may not like changing your babies nappy, but you do it with love for the baby. You may not like making your children’s sandwiches for school but the love for your child ensures that the sandwich is made well. Your love for your children enables you to do things that you don’t enjoy doing, with love and passion.

That subtle difference is what we are referring to. So the questions are:

Do you encourage your people to find something they can love that will be reflected in their work?

Do you help them discover what they can love that will inspire them to do what they do with love?

Where can they find the love they need to make their work an example of the love they have and how can you facilitate that?

Primi was a wonderful example of an organisation that managed to do that with their people at every level. The results were energized people and a wonderful customer experience.

Have a great month and may you always produce work that is a manifestation of the love you have within you.

Best Wishes, Paul

The post Work is…Love Made Visible appeared first on PAUL BRIDLE.

What is ‘Folly’?

‘Folly’ is doing something that is disastrous in consequences but it is still done anyway. It isn’t disastrous in hind-sight. To be a ‘Folly’ it has to be clear that this is not a good idea in advance. The examples Barbara Tuchman uses are examples from history and include Troy and the Wooden Horse, the British losing America and the War in Vietnam.

In each case, it was obviously a bad idea and the events pointed to disastrous consequences to continue down this road, and despite this, all these signs were ignored!

We have ongoing examples of this happening now. The Iraq War is probably the most poignant of them all. People get so fully entrenched in their point of view that they ignore all the signs and march on regardless. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, they hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see.

Children do it all the time. When they want something, they become very creative about the reasons why this is so important to them. In fact, it is a must and it is urgent! We have all seen children becoming entrenched in this way and as a result of being focused in this way, they lose all sense of reason. You can probably remember when you did that yourself.

Many adults never get out of the habit! They go through life never learning how to be objective. They lack the ability to stand back and listen to all the evidence dispassionately and make a sound judgment.

The truth is, we all have a tendency to lapse back into this behavior pattern under certain circumstances. As a leader, our job is to make sure we keep this in check both in ourselves and in the people we lead. Being a leader means we are aware of the dangers of NOT being able to stand back and be objective. We cultivate the skills needed to ensure that ‘Folly’ cannot happen.

The truth is, no matter how good we are, we are all prone to ‘Folly’. I can assure you that there is ‘Folly’ happening in your organisation right now.

Let me give you some typical examples of the ‘Folly’ I see in organisations every day.

“People are the most important influence on the success of our business” __ and yet people are confused, lack training, lack support, get conflicting messages, etc.

“Having the right culture in the business is important” and yet people recruit against skills and not attitude, people don’t measure their culture, managers don’t act on situations where people have stepped outside the values, managers themselves don’t act within the values, etc.

“Customer care is a key to the success of our business”__ and yet processes and systems are in place that ensures customer care is not possible. Managers make life difficult so that employees take it out on the customer.

The key to ensuring that a leader is not drawn into ‘Folly’ requires specific characteristics. These include:

• Capable of being objective,
• Prepared to listen,
• Actively seeking alternative views,
• Having someone around that has a different point of view,
• Listening even more.

The next thing a leader needs is the ability to encourage others to be aware of ‘Folly’ and recognise it before it is too late. That means developing these characteristics in others and especially managers.

So this month I am asking you, are you embarked on ‘Folly’ and would you recognise the signs in order to take evasive action?

Consider the following:

• When you or your organisation have embarked on doing something, do you take the time to listen to alternative points of view?
• Do you actively seek alternative points of view?
• Do you encourage people with a different mindset to present their case so that you can hear a different point of view?
• Do you step outside your current mindset and try being the other person who does not agree with you? 
• Do you see what the world looks like from their position?

Consider what is happening in your organisation now. If you had embarked on Folly, what would make it obvious to you that you were heading in that direction?

A businessman said to me once, “I have you around Paul because you see things from a different point of view”. He valued a different perspective because it enabled him to be clearer about what he was doing.

Do you encourage this in your people?

You have seen the two people in an organisation that are always at each other’s throats. The trouble is often because they are both entrenched in their perspective and not willing to see a different point of view. In fact in many cases neither are wrong and neither is right. They just have a different perspective.

Think about your organisation at this moment. Do you have two people like that? Two people that are so entrenched in their perspectives that they only see the other as wrong. This is another form of Folly.

Rationally they know they are being foolish and that they are wasting valuable time. They know they are holding up progress or causing problems in the organisation. But they just can’t stop doing it! That is Folly. It is no different from bringing the wooden horse into Troy even though all the logic says it is a trap.

Let me tell you where this sort of Folly affects your business. It affects your organisation in two places. Firstly, it affects the customer. Secondly, it affects profits.

I hope this has been useful in getting you to stop and think as well as challenge you with questions to help you be more effective as a leader. 

Thanks for reading, Paul

The post What is Folly? appeared first on PAUL BRIDLE.

Severn Callis-Suzuki at 12 years old addressed the United Nations about climate. I listened with growing respect as this young girl spoke with clarity and simple logic. Her message was that we can’t afford to do anything and we need to take action and do it now.

There was a deeper message that struck a cord with me. She was also asking us to be congruent with the values we pretend to up-hold but in reality we don’t. This is what she went on to say:

“At kindergarten you teach us to behave in the world, you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share and not be greedy. Why do you go out and do the things you tell us not to do?”

That is a powerful question.

As leaders we need to be able to answer questions like this and we should be able to understand the importance of our actions on the people we seek to influence. As role models it is up to us to show what we are teaching others when it comes to attitude, behaviours and principles.

It reminds me of the tale of Johnny:

When Johnny was 6 years old, he was with his father when they were caught speeding. His father handed the officer a £20 note with his drivers license. – “It’s OK” his father said as they drove off, “everybody does it”.

When Johnny was 8, he listened to his uncle telling his father about the work he was doing for ‘cash in hand’. – “It’s OK” said his uncle, “Everybody does it”.

When he was 12, he broke his glasses on the way to school. His aunt persuaded the insurance company that they had been stolen and they collected £75. – “It’s OK”, said his aunt, “everybody does it”.

When he was 16, he made the high school rugby team. His coach showed him how to grab the opposing players shirt so that the official couldn’t see it. – “It’s OK” said his coach “everybody does it”.

When he was 17, he took his first job at the supermarket. His assignment was to place the over ripe strawberries at the bottom and the good ones at the top. – “It’s OK” said his manager, “everybody does it”.

When he was 18, Johnny and a neighbour applied for a scholarship. Johnny was a marginal student. His neighbour was in the upper 3% of his class, but he couldn’t play ‘right back’. So, Johnny got the scholarship. – “It’s OK” his parents said, “everybody does it”.

When he was 19, he was approached by an upper-classman who offered him the test answers for £30. – so he took them, “It’s OK, everybody does it”.

Johnny was caught and sent home in disgrace.

“How could you do this to your mother and me?” his father asked. “You never learnt anything like this at home.” his uncle, aunt, boss and coach were all shocked.

If there is one thing the adult world cannot stand, it’s a kid who cheats ….

This month the questions are very straight-forward:

• Are you the role model to others that you need to be? 
• Are you setting the example to those you lead, of what you want in them? 
• Are you the person you would be proud to know? 
• When people look at you, do they see the person you purport to be or the person that demands of others what they are not prepared to do themselves?

These stories remind us of what we stand for and what footprint we leave as we lead our people. 

• How do you want to be remembered? 
• Not only in the future but every day as people go home!

Have a great month and best wishes, Paul

The post Walking the Walk and the Footprints We Leave Behind appeared first on PAUL BRIDLE.

Let’s have the dictionary definitions:

To Know: to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty; to be cognizant or aware of; to be acquainted with.

To Understand: to perceive the meaning of; grasp the idea of; comprehend; to be thoroughly familiar with; apprehend clearly the character, nature, or subtleties of. 

To own: to have or hold as one’s own; possess; to acknowledge as one’s own; recognize as having full claim, authority, power, dominion, etc.

Here we see the three stages of development. To know is to be aware of. For example, I can know about the game of golf, or I can know what is required to drive a car. To understand means I appreciate what is needed to be a golfer, or what is needed to drive a vehicle. To own means I take responsibility for it. In other words, I have taken my knowledge and understanding and applied it and I own the results.

Here is my point, successful action comes from ownership. Successful action comes from being responsible for the results of how I apply my knowledge and understanding. Ownership means I am prepared to apply the knowledge and understanding in a way that achieves results.

Recently I opened a bank account and was faced with someone who did not ‘own’ the relationship between him and I.  He knew and understood the rules and regulations that the bank had, he was able to quote them to me and tell me what was not possible.  At no stage did he own the relationship with me.  He was unable to integrate his knowledge and understanding of the bank’s rules and regulations and marry them with his knowledge and understanding of my needs to create a solution that satisfied both of us, THAT is a lack of ownership.

So my questions for you are:

• Do your people know and understand the processes; rules and regulations in your business but don’t know or understand how to own them?
• Are your people rewarded for their knowledge and understanding, or do you reward them for how they own and apply what they know and understand?
• Is your training and development aimed at providing knowledge and understanding only, or does it encompass helping them and ensuring they own what they learn?
• How good are you at encouraging ownership in your people?
• How good a role model are you and your managers at taking ownership?

I go into many organistions where people know the aims and understand why they are there. They know the rules and why they are in place. However, the limiting factor is; they do not own them!

Without ownership, they will never be as effective, and motivation will always be an issue.

• What is your organisation good at?
• Is it good at providing knowledge?
• Is it good at giving understanding?
• Is it good at creating ownership?

I hope the understanding of the subtle differences between these will help you look at your organisation, your leadership style, and help yourself to be a better leader of your people as a result.

Have a great month and best wishes, Paul

The post To Know. To Understand. To Own. appeared first on PAUL BRIDLE.

Recently I was with a group of Chief Executives and one was in the stationery business. He was describing to me how the local supermarket chain had said to them that they no longer wanted to deal in small individual items such as pens, pencils and rubbers and would rather bundle products together and sell them in packages. The supermarket asked if they would put bundled products together and let them test it on the market. The Chief Executive was delighted. He was telling us that he had twenty thousand dollars of stock that was no longer moving and said he could incorporate it into the bundles and shift all his dead stock.

This is quite a common practice these days. If you go into a hardware store and want to buy a washer, nut and bolt or a single caster you would invariably have to buy a packet of items, many of which you will probably never use.

As we enter the era of environmental awareness, this raises the question, ‘how ethical it is to sell in this manner’. Should we be required to buy things that we do not need or want? Of course, our Chief Executive would say that if he had not been able to sell these products by mixing them with other products, he would have eventually had to throw them away and that would have been environmentally unfriendly and costly to his business. He would argue that at least this way some of the products would have been used or people would have found a way to make use of them.

There are at least two sides to every story but the question we raise there is, when does an acceptable practice tip over to an unethical practice?

Let us look at the banking industry as another example. I recently read that the banking industry is now actively targeting people with poor credit rating as they see this as a very profitable market to focus on. Targeting this market enables them to charge higher premium and earn higher revenues. Your first reaction may be that this is unethical because the banks are targeting the people who can least afford to make the repayments and adding to their burden by making the interest rates very high.

Of course, the bank will reply that they are taking a greater risk with these groups of people and so the higher risk requires them to charge a higher rate. They may even point out that this group of people would only go to unscrupulous loan sharks who would charge even higher rates and the consequences of not repaying the loan could be harmful in more than one way. Looking at it from this point of view the bank is almost painting itself as providing a service to the community in more ways than one.

The truth is, the bank cannot be held responsible because individuals will not control their own finances and spending habits, and get themselves into a position where they have a poor credit rating.

Let us take another sector of the financial services industry. At this moment in time, Investors are getting together and buying life insurance policies from elderly people who are needing some cash.

Imagine a situation; an elderly person needs a hip replacement operation, or needs to carry out some repairs on their home, or simply needs extra cash because their pension is not providing them with the necessary income to live. This person may have a hundred thousand dollar life insurance policy that matures on the death of the policyholder. If they cashed in this policy with the insurance company they would receive a few thousand dollars as a payout. Along comes a group of Investors who will offer them forty thousand dollars and will take over the policy from them.

Are these Investors crossing the ethical boundary yet? Is this form of investment ethically incorrect? At face value it would appear that the Investors were taking advantage of the circumstances the elderly people find themselves in. However, if you take another point of view the Investors would point out that they are providing a service for these elderly people. They are taking the risk on how long the person will live and they are providing much-needed cash for people that would otherwise not be available.

What happens when these Investors actively target individuals? For example, in some areas of the country, or even the world, life expectancy of certain individuals is very low. For example, there are areas of cities where young black males life expectancy is not beyond thirty-five due to gang-land warfare etc. These are poor areas of cities where drugs and crime are a way of life. In these areas Investors pay the young males a couple of thousand dollars to take out insurance policies and sign them over to the Investor. The Investor will make the monthly payments and cash in the policy when the young person eventually dies.

Now, you say, the Investor has crossed the ethical boundary. However, once again the Investor will point out that the people have choices and they are providing instant cash to individuals who may well need the cash to help them get out of a situation they are currently in. They will also be quick to point out that they are taking the risk because the person may live significantly longer than thirty-five.

At what point does it become unethical to pay someone for their life policy? Where is that point, where it is acceptable to give people necessary cash that they desperately need? We know that for many of these people the cash will probably not be used in a constructive manner but rather fuel a drug habit because the young man in the ghetto will probably waste the money on drugs. However, one in ten may use it as a means to get himself out of the ghetto and get himself an education, or may use the money to pay for his mother’s operation.

Is it the Investors responsibility to decide how the person will spend the money? You can hardly expect the Investor to make the decision, and in this day of equality you can hear the screams of people that will say it is not fair and they have the right to participate in the offer.

There is no simple answer and in many cases no single line that can be drawn to define what is ethical and what is unethical. In many cases the service being provided is good or even excellent. However, the person taking advantage of the service may not be capable, or responsible enough, to be able to use the service effectively. Who’s responsibility is that?

In recent years there has been an explosion of Motivators who put on programmes about personal development. The most famous of them all is probably Anthony Robbins. These people provide excellent, and even powerful, seminars which can be very beneficial to the attendees.

However, the truth is, many people have put themselves into serious debt and under a financial burden that has crippled them for years by signing up to these programmes. They buy the concept of ‘an easy way to be successful’.

Who is at fault? The seminar organisers that make the promises? They will argue that they don’t promise or guarantee anything. To a degree that is true. However, they do ‘dangle a carrot’ that is so inviting that some people, get ‘sucked in’.

The truth is that if you are capable and are able to apply what is taught, you can make significant changes. To many the capability means further support which, if and when available, is a further cost.

So the question becomes, is it worth the price being asked?  In other words, is it worth being in debt to learn what these people are offering, especially if the debt now makes it even harder to achieve? It is at this point that the ethics question starts to appear! Where is the tipping point that makes the practice go from being ‘acceptable’ to being ‘unethical’?

The coaching business is full of people offering training to be a coach and promising large incomes for being a coach to others. The speaking business is also full of people offering to help people become speakers, with promises of large earnings. The truth is, really successful coaches and really successful speakers are in a minority. There is no room in the market place for the thousands that join these programmes to earn a substantial income, even if they all had the ability to do it.  However, people join these programmes by the thousands every year. They take out loans and get themselves into debt in the blind belief that they will make so much money that they will be able to pay this back and be wealthy beyond their wildest dreams!

Can we blame the providers of these programmes or are they blame free because they can point to the one or two people that have been able to apply what they have learnt and gone onto be successful? Does the results of the few justify the debts of the many, just because they were the wrong people in the first place?

The ethical tipping point is wrapped in cloud or mist. Hard to see and even harder to judge because it depends on where you are standing. One person gave me their definition of their ethical tipping point. This person said, I ask myself if “I can sleep with a clear conscience at night?”.

Until next time, thanks Paul

The post The Ethical Tipping Point appeared first on PAUL BRIDLE.

The trouble is, business leaders don’t fully understand the areas of a business that make it happen. In most cases there are three things that are needed to make a business a success, assuming that the company has a solid cash-flow.

The first is a good product or offer.

The second is the infrastructure, which includes the physical looks of the place, the branding, and the layout.

Finally, the service provided.

Using an example of a restaurant.

1. You go to a restaurant for a meal and the food was good, the place was nice, but the service was poor. The waiter does not smile. He looks like he would like the shift to be over and he looks harassed. Would you go back and if so, how frequently?

2. You go to the same restaurant and the food is very good, in fact, it is above average by quite a bit. The place is very tastefully decorated and impressive. But the waiter does not smile. He looks like he would like the shift to be over and he looks harassed? Would you go back and, if so, how frequently?

3. You go to the same restaurant and the food is good but not outstanding. The place is clean but a little worn and could be described as a little tired. However, you are made to feel that you have come into their home. The welcome is genuine, the service is amazing and the engagement with the people in the restaurant makes for wonderful interaction. Would you go back and, if so, how frequently?

So assuming that the business is profitable (and cash-flow is not killing the business) of the three scenarios that stand to influence the person that can provide the cash-flow and profit, the biggest driver of the business is the service or human interaction.

We have known this for years. However, the main effort is always put into the product or offering, and the image or infrastructure. Creativity and innovation have been applied to these areas for a number of reasons and made easy by the advancement in technology and the dynamic ideas that have been generated in the last few years. Companies have reinvented themselves in terms of their product and their infrastructure or brand.  Although few have been paying attention to re-inventing their service delivery.  I would go so far as to say that many see this as secondary importance. There are numerous examples of how important the relationship business is and factual proof of the impact it has on the bottom line.

I am lucky enough to study organizations and see examples of outstanding practice, organizations that value relationships, and more importantly, work hard at building them.

So the questions I want to ask you are based around how good you are at defining your business.

As a simple measure, how clear are you in the three areas I have defined:

On a scale of 1 – 10;

What is your product or offering?

What is your appearance like?

How good are your people at building relationships?

Notice we are talking about building relationships and not about customer service. There is a big difference. If your people are capable of building relationships, customer service will be an automatic outcome.

So, on a personal level, this month’s questions are:

• How good are you at building relationships with the people that interact with your customers?
• How good an example are you, of what you expect from them?
• How good a role model are you of what is expected in what we described in the third area of your business?

• How does your back office support the people that are interacting with the customers so that the relationship is possible?
• Are the internal relationships as good as what you need the external relationships to be?
• How are you measuring the relationships to ensure they are driving the business?

• How good are you at coaching and developing your people to be able to build relationships?
• Do you take a personal interest in the development of your people in areas that result in relationships?
• Do your people even understand the importance you place on building relationships?

The difference to your business is the relationships you have with your people and your customers. It is less about the product and infrastructure. If you ever doubt it, ask yourself, which warmed you the most:

The warm food your Mother prepared for you?

The warmth of the kitchen she worked in to prepare the food for you?

The warmth of the times you spent together?

Which would you miss the most if it was no longer in your life?

Have a great month and I hope you are having a great year.

Best wishes, Paul

The post In Your Business, The Difference Is? appeared first on PAUL BRIDLE.

Many managers sit in frustration because their boss will not allow them to make a decision or take responsibility and act on it. The majority of middle managers I meet are faced with this issue and the whole business is held back as a result.

I believe that there becomes a time and need to manage upwards for many people. It may not always be possible to do some, or any, of the points I will make, but I think that it will help some people deal with this issue on a regular basis.

Let us look at the boss and understand their fears. In many cases, the boss is just incapable of letting go. It may not always be intentional but they have the habit of staying in control at some level. In many cases they need to stay in control at a certain level, but at the same time they may forget to which level they are comfortable in.

We are creatures of habit and it may simply be that the boss has not noticed that they are maintaining such a level of control. It has become a habit and they make decisions that you could make or control things that you could do for them. In these situations I recommend that you need to gently make them aware that you have enough experience now and maybe you could make their job easier if you were to now assume more responsibility.

It is important to note at this stage, when you ask to take more ownership for something, you need to be open to being able to provide feedback about progress. If the boss is going to let go, they will want to know that everything is working out (and that will require more than your verbal assurance) and that you will be monitoring your progress in a ‘real’ way.

If you try to understand it from their point of view, they will have a sense of how things are working out and have a feel when intervention is needed. They are not sure that you have the same level of ‘feel’, or ‘sense of being able to recognise’ that something may need adjusting, or require intervention. Also the boss wants to know that you will not try to hide issues if something is going wrong. They need reassurance that you will ask them for advice or support before it is too late.

The greatest fears a boss has are: that something will go wrong and they were not informed, or that they were kept in the dark and/or they will be held accountable for something that they simply did not know was a problem until it was too late. Any boss is desperate to know that the people that report to them will not ‘drop them in it’, due to lack of communicating what is happening.

So an important part of managing upward, and especially at the time of seeking to get the boss to let go, is to provide assurance. Frequent updates are one way of doing this. In addition, if you go to some bosses with a question (even if you know the answer) it is helpful because as it shows that you are willing to seek their advice.

Winning the confidence of the boss then takes us to the level where you can start to challenge. Maybe, you are in a position where, the way things have traditionally been done, need to be reconsidered. The boss may have always done it this way and it has worked this way for years!

If you need to challenge the way things are being done, it is important to do this from a position of respect. The message cannot be; that you think the old way of doing it is wrong, poor or inadequate. The truth is, it may have worked well at one time. If the approach is to undermine it in any way, it creates the impression that you do not recognise the value of it, or how it worked in the past. This will undermine your integrity, not build on it.

The approach needs to be one of recognising the value of the process or system in the past and then pointing out that it can be improved based on modern knowledge or ideas.

In summary, leading upwards requires you to be able to appreciate their position, their pressures and the points that they see as of most concern. It requires showing that you know the consequences of actions and can measure progress. That you will go to them before it is too late rather than leave things to get too bad. In essence it is about building your integrity with the boss so that they will feel comfortable to trust you.

Questions to consider are:

* How well do you understand the pressures your boss has and where they come from?

* What is important to your them?

* What do they want to see you capable of, before they can trust you?

* What do you do each and every day to build that integrity?

* Do you know the best approach to challenging your boss?

* Can you challenge whilst showing respect for the way things have been done in the past?

I hope these thoughts will be of use and the questions will help you to think of the best way to lead upwards.

Personally, I am a big believer in ‘straight-forward’ communication and so it may be useful to just ask your boss; “How do you want me to suggest ideas or challenge the way we do things in a positive manner?”, or “If I have an idea as to how we can improve the way we do things, how do you want me to explain my thoughts to you so that we can discuss them?”.

Have a great month and thanks for all the many emails and calls. Your feedback and comments make it all worthwhile.

Best Wishes, Paul

The post Managing Upwards appeared first on PAUL BRIDLE.

I noticed a few things as a result of this type of behaviour.

• It divided the room. Those that enjoyed that type of behaviour and those that didn’t.
• You could tell the people in the room that were learning this sort of behaviour from their boss, because they were trying to mimic it.
• You could tell those people that were being affected by it negatively as they withdrew into themselves.
• The overall energy levels in the room dropped as people on both sides were uncertain about when they would be next.

This brand of humour starts to be oppressive and can cause unnecessary offense. My Grandmother used to say that “Sarcasm was the lowest form of wit”. In the beginning people find it funny and then they laugh because they feel they should. However, ultimately it becomes an embarrassment to people and starts to undermine relationships.

One thing I have learnt is that organizations thrive on energy. The higher the energy, the more proactive,responsive and dynamic the organization.  As a leader, our job is to encourage positive energy levels.

What sort of energy do you add to your relationships? You are adding energy all the time and the question is … is it constructive energy or destructive energy?

Constructive energy creates constructive ideas, constructive thought patterns, higher activity levels and higher results. Destructive energy destroys ideas, destroys creativity and slows the pace and ultimately lowers the level of results.

Have you ever had that person who walks into the room and it is like a ‘damp towel’ has been thrown on the room. You can nearly hear the moan as people struggle to stay positive. It is like trying to swim in the pool knowing that someone has pulled the plug and you will now need to swim against the flow to stop being sucked in.

It can be as simple as something they say, their approach, or their demeanor.

If we understand this then we realise that the role of the leader is to encourage energy that drives the business.  We also need to be aware of how quickly we can kill the energy by comments we make or things we do. The trouble is, some of the things that kill the energy are things we don’t even notice we do. They are habits we have created and we don’t realize the impact of them. In fact we can be lulled into a belief that they are positive when they are not.

Let us go back to the example of sarcasm. People still laugh but what we don’t notice is that the laugh is an embarrassed or false laugh because they feel they should rather than because they are enjoying it. We think that we are causing them to laugh, which means they are enjoying themselves. We think we have added positive energy when in reality we are taking energy away from the room.

So consider these questions:

• What habits have you got that may be taking energy out of your people?
• When you interact with your team, are you adding or taking away energy?
• Do you take time to consider (and even plan) how you can constructively add energy to your people, or do you rely on hoping that what you do has a positive effect?

These are simple but powerful questions and I implore you to consider them carefully. This year you will hear a lot from me about the importance of energy and so all these questions are important.

Have a great month and I look forward to seeing you next month.

Best wishes, Paul

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In my interview with Cesco, he made a comment that I would like to share with you. I asked him what drives him and keeps him going? He said:

“I am not going to measure my achievements financially…. What is my capacity? How do I define myself? What do I tell my son? Who am I? Am I that person that got to that level, got too difficult and backed off? Am I the guy that got to that level and made a certain amount of money and switched off? Or, Do I push to see how far I can go?”

Most entrepreneurs say things like this but I loved his questions, “What do I tell my son? Who am I?” He holds himself accountable in a way that is very powerful.

I have not met anyone that does not want their son or daughter to admire them. I have found those that want their admiration, but when they don’t get it, they blame the child. ‘My child is misguided’ or ‘they don’t understand’. These people dismiss their lack of success with their children. Not many actually ask themselves if they are really doing things that will make their off-spring proud of them.

Cesco was not asking ‘how could he make his son proud of him?’ Cesco was saying, “What do I tell my son? Who am I?” He clarified it further when he said, “Am I the person that got to that level, got too difficult and backed off? Am I the guy that got to that level and made a certain amount of money and switched off? He was seeking to discover what he could achieve with the talents he has.

Holding yourself accountable is about asking yourself the questions that challenge you and then not dismissing the questions when the results don’t work the way you want them to!

There is a difference between being held accountable and the measurements we use. Cesco said he ‘will not be measured by the money he makes’. That does not mean that the money is not relevant! Of course he needs to have measurements in place to ensure that they are making a profit and not spending more than they are making. Making money is a measurement on a day-by-day basis. So is quality of food, hygiene, and many more measurements we use in our businesses.

Being accountable is about defining who we are? What are we about? Are we the person that gave it a go and then gave up when it was difficult? A major part of leadership is, challenging yourself to establish who you are and what you want to represent. The sad part is that we are often doing it and not realizing what we are doing it.

I recently bought a bike and did not get around to use it for a couple of months. When I used it for the first time, I found it was defective and took it back. The shop owner refused to deal with it because I could have damaged it myself. As I found out later, a number of bikes had been returned with similar problems. However, a staff member was embarrassed by his boss and agreed to replace the part as long as the boss never knew!!!! What standard does that shop owner hold himself to? He probably would not acknowledge that he holds himself accountable to money and money alone, but his staff know he does.

Your people know what standard you hold yourself to, even if you don’t.

So this month I ask you to consider:

* What do you use to hold yourself accountable to?

* Is the standard a standard you would be proud to tell your son or daughter?

* Is it the standard that you will be happy to see written on your gravestone?

We need to remember that if we don’t hold ourselves accountable, then how can we expect our people to be held responsible? People will not be held to a higher level than the boss is holding himself.

* To what standard do your people think you hold yourself accountable to?

* Does their perception match yours?

* What do you need to do to ensure they know what you stand for?

And finally:

Do you have a high enough standard that allows you to be the best you can be?

Have a great month and be the best you can be.

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I often start my presentation with, “I want you to take one thing away from today that you will act on and use”. I tell them that if ‘you write down too many things you will not get started on any’. A list of ten things tend to switch people off and they never get started on any. One or two things written down do not seem so daunting and there is the impetus to get started and deal with one of them now.

I had a wonderful interview this week with an amazing man in Manchester, United Kingdom, John Timpson. John Timpson is Chairman of Timpson which operates 560 stores throughout the UK. John is a case study of excellence in business with a wonderful way of looking at business. His on-going success is a testament of how his approach works, because of this he is often asked to speak at conferences and events also.

He made a comment to me that sums up what this months Thoughts on Leadership is about. He said that ‘many people praise him for his work and his successful ideas in running a business. However, then they go home and close the door and change nothing!

Why? What makes someone hear good ideas and excellent examples of how to improve their business, and then do nothing about it? It is not as if there isn’t a need for better business performance across most businesses. I hear business leaders complain, every week, about the threat from Asia, the competitiveness of their industry and the shortage of good people. Yet they hear ideas about how to make a business competitive and they do nothing!

There are a number of reasons this can happen. The one I have already touched on is because people are overwhelmed with too much information. A list of ten or twenty good ideas looks daunting and often people don’t know where to start. Some go back and believe they need to prepare the ground before starting to implement. Others go back thinking they need time to consider what they have learned and how they will apply it.

Of course each of these means that the list gets put to one side until time is available. The list then gets lost in a pile of papers! In some cases the list becomes a beloved travel companion that goes everywhere with you in the belief that when you have a few minutes you will read the list and consider how you will get started.

There are some lists that are the most well-traveled documents in the world!

There are also those people that have good intentions and then get back to work and try to implement it and when they don’t get instant results, they give up. These are the people who think that their circumstances are different. They believe that other people’s methods don’t work because it is a different industry or because they think they have a different type of people working for them.

It is amazing how many excuses you can dream up when you just don’t want to make the effort.

Finally, (and there are probably many more reasons than I list here) there is the person who just can’t be bothered. To change would be accepting that the way I was before was wrong.

Whatever the reason is, the starting point is to recognise that you are in the habit (or trap) of having good intentions but not following through. Lack of being able to understand that you have this habit will mean that you will never deal with it.

So how do you deal with the problem?

There are a number of simple tips that could help, if you discipline yourself and (most importantly) really want to get the most out of your learning. It all centres around planning.

Before you even attend an event, consider what you want to get from the event. This will make the implementation a lot easier because you have a desire and so the way to implement it will be more obvious.

The second is to sit down and prioritise the list of things you have learned and decide which you want to tackle first. In doing this you will often be able to delegate some of the ideas by having a simple briefing with someone else. Tell them what you learned and ask them to take control and head up what needs to be done.

These are the more simple answers. However, one of the big problems lies with your ability to explain to your people what you have learned so that they can understand what made you want to act on it and where it came from.

This takes planning as well. Put the time aside to brief your people. Explain the rationale and get their input. Show your desire to want to make change but want to take them with you. If there are people who argue the idea negatively or resist it, then deal with them separately and move on with those that are willing to give it a go.

So my questions for this month are:

Are you in the habit of wanting to do something and then not getting around to it?  Do you go to sessions, conferences, workshops, etc. and then end up not applying what you have learned?

* If so, what do you need to put in place to ensure you follow through?

* How will you plan for sessions, conferences, workshops and other events in future?

* How will you involve your people in new ideas so that action is taken?

* What can you do to motivate yourself to follow through on your intentions?

* Who can support me in achieving this?

Have a great month and thanks for all the emails.

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