Gibsonia Gazette

SCARY MANAGERS October 21, 2011

Since this is the month of Halloween I thought it would be interesting to write about scary managers. I once knew a manager who would shout at his employees just to “keep them on their toes”. I am told he actually brought an underling into his office and “dressed him down” in front of another manager “just for kicks”. I don’t know what you think of that behavior in a manager, but I find it frightening.

Here are some signs that you may have a scary manager on your staff:
Behaves like a Marine Drill Sargent
Thinks they have all the answers
Thinks nobody else is capable of doing their job
Never hires “A” players and rarely hire “Bs”
Doesn’t believe in open communications; are often heard to say, “only tell them what they need to hear to get the job done”
Knows nothing about their employees personal lives
Never asks for input from their employees
When someone leaves, they are the first to “badmouth” that person to the other employees
Loves power
Enjoys terminating people
Have a “not my job” attitude
Alway looks for the negatives in people
Keeps changing positions based on what he / she thinks “the bosses” want
Always use “I” never uses “we”
Treats the “suck ups” best
Thinks that employees exist only to make “the boss” look good

The above list is by no means conclusive and someone doesn’t have to have all of the above attributes to qualify as a scary manager. Scary managers probably don’t show some of these characteristics when the boss is around. And they may not seem scary to you if you’re the boss. In fact, they may be intimidated by their superiors.

If, as “the boss”, you spend some time talking to your employees one-to-one, you’ll begin to learn more about them, but also you’ll learn more about your managers. Another way to learn more about what you should know is to use one of the many assessments that are readily available such as Predictive Index or DISC. In fact, it makes sense to assess employees before you hire them, especially management hires.

So at this “chilling” season, take a look around you. Are there frightening creatures working for your company and are they capable of removing their “mask” and transforming into the kind of manager you want on your staff? Or is the mask a permanent part of their “anatomy”. If so, weed them out sooner rather than later, Halloween is for kids, not managers.

Do The “Termination” Paperwork When You Hire May 2, 2011

Recently I spoke with a manager at a small service company who was about to terminate an employee for “not doing their job”.  I asked that manager if they had done all the necessary things to insure that the employee was properly informed of and trained in their duties.  The manager replied that they had “written up” the employee and listed “areas of needed improvement”.

His response didn’t really answer my question and I told the manager that what I really wanted to know: was the employee properly trained, from the beginning, on his job duties?  Did the employee receive an employee manual or a document outlining responsibilities and “chain of command”?  Was the employee taught procedures and informed, on a regular basis, how he was doing?

Now, these aren’t necessarily the items that will keep you “legal” if a terminated employee decides to take you to court.  But, they are the right things to do to properly engage and motivate an employee.  It is the manager’s responsibility to see that each new employee has a full understanding of what is expected of them and what they should expect of their new employee.

So many managers don’t take the time to do these simple things, or they assign the training to another employee who “doesn’t get paid to do that” and is more concerned with getting their own work completed.  If management does not treat training of new employees as a priority, neither will other employees. And the new employee expected, to learn by osmosis, rarely masters the work.

So, is the employee left to “fend for themselves” after a brief period of training, at best?  And then, (horror of horrors!) they don’t do their job well!  Now the manager has to have at least one “fierce conversation” with the employee to try to get them on track.  The employee is suddenly being trained “under duress”.  And the manager is having to spend far more time with this employee than would have been necessary had they been properly trained in the beginning.

However, the one thing the manager gets right is the “paper trail”  that leads to termination…a verbal warning followed by a written warning, with expectations, followed by termination if there is no improvement.  In other words, all the information that the employee should have received, in written form, when they were hired.  What’s wrong with that picture?

Too many people lose jobs, not because of poor performance, but because of poor communication of expectations by their managers.  That’s why you should do the “termination” paperwork when they are hired. and save yourself a lot of time and aggravation.

Six Years Is Like The Blink Of An Eye January 22, 2011

I recently heard the story of Fernando Araujo, the Foreign Minister of Columbia.  Araujo was captured by Marxist rebels about ten years ago and held captive until December 31 of 2006.  He spent those six years, in captivity, being shuffled from one camp to another on a remote mountain range.  He escaped when his captor’s attention was diverted by military helicopters overhead.  In 2007 he told his story on National Public Radio.

When the Columbian police and military rescued him, he noticed that many of them were doing something he had never seen.  They were taking his picture using their cell phones.  Araujo had never seen a cell phone camera, an IPod, or Google Earth, just to name a few things that came to be during his six years in captivity.  It was a new and changed world for him.

If you think about it, the changes we are seeing technologically are happening at a faster and faster pace.  Compare the first IPod of just a few years ago with a newer model that is just over the size of a silver dollar.  If you bought a computer just three years ago and are ready to upgrade to a new one, you’ll get more computer for less money, not to mention the power of the iPad and newer iPhones.  Just think about all the wireless connectivity you have in your car.  Oh, and did we mention the onslaught of social media?   And perhaps most amazing, automobiles that park themselves!

The speed with which the world is changing is especially important in business.  There is no such thing as “business as usual”.  If you don’t think the way business is done is changing just compare the time it takes to buy an airline ticket via the telephone and the internet.  It was not long ago that airlines actually had retail locations in downtown areas of major cities where people could walk in and purchase a ticket from a human being.

If you are forward thinking, then you are doing everything you can to stay ahead of the technological curve.  That means paying attention to what’s happening technologically in the world and how that will affect your industry.

The difference between you and Fernando Araujo is that you can only be held captive by your own preconceived notions of how business is done in your industry.  Another difference is that he had no choice, however, you do.  You can chose to put blinders on and hope for the best, or you can chose to move forward integrating new technologies and management methods.  What you don’t have is six years to ponder your decision.

The future is already here, and if you aren’t changing, you’re falling behind.  Don’t wait for the alarm bells to go off telling you that your business is starting to decline.  There is a saying that the best time to look for a job is when you have one.  Well, the best time to proactively plan for change is when business is good.

Do The Thing You Fear November 22, 2010

If there is a phrase that I have tried to live by throughout my professional life, it is those five words in the headline.  That phrase is the only takeaway I remember from a sales training program I took as a “rookie” salesperson in the broadcasting industry a few decades ago.

Those five words have gotten me through some trying times, and have been the underlying reason for most of my successes.  That training course, developed by an insurance salesperson, was spread out over eight weeks and a total of 16 hours.  In retrospect, it was worth every minute.

During my first year in sales, I worked at a small UHF TV station in Philly, before cable had come to the city and when UHF penetration was only about 20% of the market.  I made a “cold call” on an automobile dealer, situated adjacent to the elevated train tracks in a tough neighborhood of Philadelphia;  the same neighborhood depicted in the “Rocky” movies.  I walked in the door, asked to see the owner. He happened to be standing in the showroom, so I walked over and introduced myself.  This gentleman was an imposing figure about 4 inches taller than me, whose name was Bob.

As I calmly informed him that I was there to discuss TV advertising with him, he literally grabbed me by my suit jacket and “escorted” me out of his showroom, telling me that he wasn’t interested in hearing anything I had to say.  I walked to my car, shaking from head to toe from anger and humiliation, and sat there for about 15 minutes while I tried to calm down.  As I began to feel calmer, I thought, “If I could do that call all over again, what would I do differently?”  Not walking in the door was not an option in this process.

The next morning at 8:30AM I arrived back at the same dealership, and sat in the showroom nervously awaiting Bob’s arrival.  When he arrived at 9AM I walked up to him and reintroduced myself saying “it seems like you were a bit preoccupied when I visited yesterday.”  Bob just looked at me with that expression that says, “Are you out of your @#*@#+# mind??”  He then began to laugh and invited me into his office to talk.  Two months later Bob began the first television advertising campaign he had ever done.  And, we became friends as well as business associates.

This is but one graphic example of what can happen when you “Do the thing you fear”.  Believe me I was not cool and collected when I arrived at Bob’s showroom that second morning.  However, as I sat in my car trying to calm down the day before, I began to think of that phrase, “Do the thing you fear”.  I realized that there was nothing more that Bob could do to me after what he had done that day.  He couldn’t physically injure me or kill me, despite the tough Philadelphia neighborhood.  The worst he could do was throw me out again and I already knew how that felt.

If I had never gone back to that store, I would never have had the opportunity to make Bob a customer and a friend.  And, I would never have had the opportunity to help bring one of the first local automobile advertisers in Philadelphia to television.

Does it always work? No it doesn’t, but you’ll never know if you don’t try.  People who are willing to take the risk and overcome their fears are never in a position to wonder about what could have been.

On another important topic, here’s a link to a blog by Steve Tobak about employee and management engagement and how changing the way you see or react to things can make a difference.

http://www.bnet.com/blog/ceo/10-workplace-rules-of-engagement/6086?promo=713&tag=nl.e713

Effective, Expectation Based Performance Reviews August 8, 2010

An employee is called to the office of their supervisor.  Once there they are told that their performance is not satisfactory.  The employee is then told that if they don’t show significant improvement by a specific date they could be terminated.

The employee leaves the office in a state of bewilderment since nobody ever told them that they had to meet certain expectations.  “Expectations!  What expectations?”  says the employee to nobody in particular.

Sound familiar?  This is a common situation for supervisors and employees.  How does a person do what is expected when no one has told them specifically what is expected.

What about the annual review?  For a manager, spending inordinate amounts of time at the end of the year trying to remember what kind of a job a person did over the previous 12 months is wasting time.  Invariably, the employee will remind you of the good things you forgot to write about; or they’ll go away resentful because of the things you forgot.  And, human nature is such that we’ll probably remember the negative things from the prior year more vividly than the positives. Not exactly the note on which you would like to begin the year.

Employees deserve two very important things from their manager / supervisor:

1. To know what is expected of them.
2. To be told, on a regular basis, how they are performing as measured against those expectations.

In my formative years as a sales manager, I had expectations that the sales people reporting to me knew what I thought they should be doing.  “They’re sales people, they should know,”  I thought.

What I learned is my sales staff really did not know what I expected of them beyond a monthly and annual dollar goal.  The expectations of how they were to achieve those goals were never communicated. If they made ‘X’ number of weekly calls, they believed they had done what they needed to do.  They didn’t know the steps I expected them to take to achieve those goals.   Why didn’t they know?  I had not told them; shame on me for not clearly defining and communicating expectations.

You can’t hold a person accountable if you don’t tell them what they are accountable for.  They deserve to know how they will be measured.  They must know what you expect of them.  And you need to know what expectations they have of themselves.

Which brings us back to performance reviews.  Here is how I would suggest you can make your expectation reviews more effective:

Start in December by setting the expectations for each employee for the following year.  List your expectations and have them list expectations for themselves.  Agree to a mutually defined set of expectations (remember, as the employer / supervisor, you have the final say) and set benchmarks by which they will be measured.  Ask the employee to contribute ideas to help you set these expectations.  When they have input, the employee will embrace the goals as their own.

At least once every quarter, or more often if you wish, meet for an informal review of the expectations to see how the employee is doing.  At this time you can set additional expectations and determine what is necessary to move forward on those that are not being met in a timely manner.

The employee and the supervisor now have a clear idea of expectations and how they will be measured.  They are having regular, scheduled, non-confrontational conversations specific to those expectations.  And, the year-end review becomes a compilation of the prior conversations for you, which creates an opportunity to set new expectations.

No more spending hours trying to remember employee performance over the past year.  Now, the entire process should take no more than 3 – 4 hours over the course of the entire year.   And the results should maximize employee performance.

This blog is edited by Noelle Hoguet-Singer

Don’t Waste Valuable Lessons! May 10, 2010

When I was an owner in the radio business, my partner and I put ourselves and our families on the line to borrow money to build a group of small market radio stations.  At the time, it was the right thing to do if we wanted to follow our dream.

Our business plan and financial projections were proven out by our banker’s own research and projections.  We had determined that our AM/FM combination in Lake Tahoe would be our “cash cow”, supporting the entire group and allowing us to buy additional small market stations.

But, alas, that was not to be.  You see, California descended into a six-year drought shortly after we bought the stations in Lake Tahoe.  Lake levels dropped by a stunning eleven feet; in fact, there were beaches around Lake Tahoe that did not exist Lakeside before the drought.  Long boat docks were completely out of the water.

Our revenue model was based on the “thriving” tourist economy in Lake Tahoe.  Unfortunately, as the drought continued, the tourists stopped coming and the retail failure rate exceeded 40%.  Survival, not advertising, was the top priority for the remaining businesses.

Our “grand plan” to build a valuable group of radio stations and sell them at a high profit, since radio station multiples in those days were at all time highs, evaporated.  Sleepless nights became the norm.  Arriving at the station at 4AM was not uncommon.  Trying to be positive for our employees’ sake was very difficult when our innermost feeling was despair.

The idea that we could fail had never entered our minds, yet there we were, on the brink of personal bankruptcy.  I remember one January evening looking out of my office window in Kingman, Arizona and noticing that it was still light; the days were getting longer, and that gave me hope. Shortly thereafter, just as the western sunrise kissing the mountain tops signals a new day, we found a kind of optimism when a buyer emerged for our properties. We narrowly avoided bankruptcy, and were asked to stay and continue to operate “our stations”.

The lessons I learned through that experience have stayed with me.  I found that it is more important to find out what you don’t know than to know what you do know.  I also learned that friends and family did not think any less of us; rather, most admired the fact that we had the guts to try.  Failure is a building block upon which future success is constructed.

Here are some things that I learned as we went through this ordeal:

• Never allow your emotions or ego to override good business sense
• Hope for the best, but plan for the worst
• Maintain as much transparency as possible with employees; you never know where good ideas may come from
• Make any necessary cuts now, don’t wait to see if things will get better
• Don’t stop making the right investments in your business, just be sure they are the “right” investments
• Keep a good cash reserve
• Look at every new day as a new beginning
• Don’t worry about what other people think; failure is not something of which to be ashamed
• No matter how difficult it may be, do not compromise your values

That experience did not deter me from the idea of someday being an entrepreneur again. Henry Ford once said, “One who fears failure, limits his activities.”  And so, I started my own consulting business in 2002, and have the great privilege of working as a VISTAGE Chair and private coach, with entrepreneurs who have built businesses, made some mistakes, had some successes, and who realize that this is a journey in which every day gives you a fresh start.

The days are again getting longer and we are beginning to see a light at the end of this recession tunnel, so it’s time for you to evaluate where you’ve been and where you are going.  Sure, it’s been a tough road, but if you’ve survived, that’s a win.

It’s time to think seriously of the lessons you’ve learned.  Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently if you had to go back to September of 2008 and relive the last 20 months?  Take whatever time necessary to answer that question, because those answers should be the basis of the model for how you run your business going forward. Write the answers down.  Put them where you can easily revisit them. Use them to build a better business that will withstand whatever comes your way. Don’t waste those lessons learned!

Random Thoughts As We Enter A New Decade December 16, 2009

Given the times, why haven’t our elected officials taken a pay cut?

Smokers do have rights; does that include using the street as their ashtray?

Responsibility for ones own actions creates a better working environment and a better world.

Every time you point your finger at someone, three of your fingers are pointing back at you.

When the political discourse changes from shouting to conversation, the world will be a better place.

Attitude is everything!

“Work ethic” is a powerful phrase.

Conversation in place of Email, what a concept!

If twitter is limited to 140 characters, can we do the same with Email?

If all the World’s political, religious, and business leaders were sent to the moon for a few days, would that view of the world change their view of the world?

If newborns have no preconceived ideas of the world and the people in it, what causes bigotry?

The United States constitution begins with the phrase, “We the people…”, not “We the politicians…”.

As we start a new decade, I am reminded of the title of the John Lennon song: “Imagine”

Thank you for all of your comments regarding this blog.  I look forward to continuing in 2010.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season and may you find peace and happiness in the New Year.

Best regards,

Dick

The Value Of Making Your Customer Feel Important November 15, 2009

The Value of Making Your Customer Feel Important

A few weeks ago, I was in a retail store buying a few items.  When I approached the cashier, she was in a conversation with another employee and, from what I could tell, it was about a mutual friend.  The cashier continued the conversation as she rang up my purchases and never “connected “ with me at all.  Connecting to me would mean just looking at me to acknowledge I was there.  She did, however, give me a cursory “thank-you” as we completed the transaction.  So she knew I was there, but she did not make me feel that my business was appreciated.

I felt as though I was interrupting her, and that my transaction was an inconvenience.  I did not have a good feeling as I left the store and, as a result, I don’t feel compelled to return.  I find it hard to understand how, especially in this economy, managers and employees don’t seem to “get it”; that without customers, you are out of business.  So, who is the most important person you deal with in business?

Do you really know who your customer is?  Is it the person doing the purchasing, or the person using the product or service.  If you don’t know, figure it out.  This recession is teaching us that our business should be about creating happy customers.

Many businesses have taken necessary steps to insure that they will survive during these uncertain times:  layoffs, salary reductions, reducing inventories, more efficiencies, etc.  However, I have seen and heard very little about  addressing how to improve customer service, the one area that should be considered sacrosanct. Your customer’s perception of your company will be positively influenced by excellent customer service.

So consider whether customer service is a top priority in your business.    Has your organization learned to make the customer its number 1 priority?   How else will you differentiate yourself from the competition in what is becoming more and more a commoditized business environment?  Survival means it can’t be only about price.  Success means that your business relationships remain steadfast – or even flourish – in a rough and tumble economy.  So make your customer feel appreciated.

What are the long-term implications for your business, if there will always be someone willing to sell at a lower price?   In dealing with your customers, you have to take price out of the equation to whatever extent possible.  The way to do that is to overwhelm them with top-notch service.  Always try to deliver more than you promise.  And let them know that their business is important to your business.

I recently experienced good customer service, when I was driving to an appointment and needed a bottle of water.  I stopped at a national drugstore chain location.  I got my water and took it to the cashier.  The young gentleman behind the counter looked directly at me, smiled, and gave me a big “Hi how are you today”.   After waiting for my response, he asked, “Do you like M & Ms?”  And when I responded “yes”, he told me that they had a special on snack packs of M & Ms, buy two, get a third one free.  As I looked at the counter display he said, “And if you buy the M & Ms, I’ll give you a free water bottle”.  His sincerity and demeanor were such that I bought the package.  Instead of spending $1.39 for water, I spent $3.39, 144% more, all because the clerk had the right attitude and the right skill set.  Remember, he didn’t try to sell me with a special on M & Ms, he asked if I liked M & Ms. He acted as though whether I liked M&M’s mattered.  And that’s an example of making the customer feel important.

Teach your employees to recognize the value of every customer.  Talk to them about customer service, reinforce it at every meeting, give awards for great customer service, and set the example by your own internal as well as external dealings.

By no means should you scrimp when it comes to customer service. Do whatever is necessary to make your employees understand what each and every customer means to the survival of the organization.  It’s their livelihood as well as yours.

A book by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles, “Raving Fans”, deals with this issue, and it’s worth taking the time to read if you want further insight into this topic.

Finally, ask for customer service input from both your employees and your customers.  Plan to teach your employees how to make your customers feel important.  Teach them to learn the customer’s names.  Train them to project recognition with their voice and to find out about their families if appropriate.  Teach them to smile when they speak, whether in person or on the phone, even if they don’t feel like it.  Make every customer contact with your company a productive one.  Teach your employees how to recognize the opportunity to “go the extra mile”.  Have them practice their listening skills.  Teach them that initiative is appreciated (“sounds like you need______; let me find someone to help you with that.”)

Turn your customers into “Raving Fans”.

2010 Is Just Around The Corner, Have You Set Goals For The Year? October 14, 2009

Sales “guru” Zig Ziglar said “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

It’s amazing the number of people that have not set clear and concise goals for their business as well as personal lives.  Many people spend more time planning a vacation than they do planning their future.

Goal setting is the way we see into the future and determine where we are going.  At the most simplistic level, we are unconsciously setting goals every day.

When the alarm clock goes off in the morning your goal is to get out of bed and get ready for the day.  When you turn on the engine of your car, you are expecting to arrive at a pre-determined place.  When you get on the elevator, your plan is to get off on a specific floor.

These are just some of the many unconscious goals we set for ourselves everyday.  But do we take the time to consciously set strategic business and personal goals?  Are these goals going to stretch you?   Do they have benchmarks?

How much time does it take to set your goals for the coming year?  Is it important to have a “roadmap” to help you determine where you are going and how you will get there?  You can’t spend too much time setting goals.

Empirical evidence shows that we can accomplish more and go farther if we dedicate ourselves to written goals, keep them on our corporate and personal radar screens, and follow through on the steps required to make them happen.

Edwin Locke, a leading authority on goal setting, established this model of goal setting motivation:

1. Goals give us focus:  Distractions occur more easily without them.
2. Goals get us going:  They serve as beacons for our attention and they motivate us to act.
3. Goals add to our resolve: Accomplishing what we want to do takes persistence. Without goals, we may find ourselves being persistent at low-priority activities.
4. Goals lead to actions:  Once a goal is set, a plan for action is the natural next step.  Action plans outline the “how” of achieving or accomplishing goals.

Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, and Time-sensitive.  The SMART system for setting goals is a well-recognized way to put your goals in perspective.  Goals must be specific; they must have benchmarks for measuring progress; while they should be a “stretch”, they need to be within one’s grasp; there must be a stated result;, and there must be a time-frame in which the goal must be accomplished.

If you or your company are not in the habit of setting SMART goals, well, maybe now is the time.  Think about a specific accomplishment you want to achieve by December 31, 2010.  Think about whether or not it is a realistic goal, how you intend to achieve it, what you need to set as benchmarks through the year to keep you on track, and what will be the result when you achieve this goal.

A goal is a dream with a deadline.  It’s your way of looking into the future, envisioning where you want to be and setting a course to get there.

So, when you’re getting out of bed tomorrow, feel good about the fact that you’ve achieved your first goal of the day.