Listened to speaker today at a SHRM meeting discuss the coming of the Gen Y or Millenniums invading the workforce in the coming decade. And, did I mention the Baby Boomers are exiting stage right to retirement?
Seems we are on the verge of a full scale shift of generational power. And, are you ready for this new wave of high achievers who possess a different set of skills that the departing boomers?
The major areas all this generational shifting is going to effect us is in the management and leadership of organizations both large and small.
Here are the facts… Continue reading ‘Are You Getting Ready for the Gen Y Invasion?’ »
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Posted by Voss Graham on May 16, 2012 at 12:47 am under Generational Impact upon Business.
Tags: age group impact on business, Gen X and Y, Generation gaps and leadership, Generational impact, retiring baby boomer effect
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Recently I overheard a conversation with a well known authority on high performance. During the conversation a major aha occurred with a really basic or fundamental issue.
The major issue discussed was about your thoughts. If you only think about small things – especially goals and challenges – your results will be small.
As I reflected upon this basic concept of high performance or achievements in life, I realized I have been impacted by the thinking small on more than one occasion. Continue reading ‘Thinking Small will only Get Small Results’ »
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Posted by Voss Graham on May 8, 2012 at 1:30 am under High Performance Factors.
Tags: high performance, The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz, thinking big, thinking small
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Okay, today I’m sharing the real key to success in using all the social media available to you. Many small business owners and corporate leaders keep asking me about the value of social media.
The main reason you should be established on the social media circuits is – if you sell to Gen Y, some Gen X, and have these types taking over for your previous boomer contacts and decision makers. The truth is over 90% of the Gen Y individuals are digital. Yes, that is over 90%, so what is your strategy for reaching these people?
I have to admit I was a causal user of the social media for the first year or two. Then I found it was important to have a footprint in the social media. Yet, a footprint is not a silver bullet for future success.
Oh, yes, one very important thing to remember – no selling, presentations or sales speak is acceptable to this social media crowd. Information presented as tips or links to informational articles or web pages is the proper thing to do with the social media crowd. They like information with no old school selling techniques or tactics. Continue reading ‘Key to Social Media Success is Engagement’ »
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Posted by Voss Graham on April 29, 2012 at 8:06 pm under Marketing, Networking, Strategy.
Tags: author Voss W Graham, engagement, engaging is personal, six reasons to have a social media strategy, social media, social media marketing strategy, using social media properly
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Seems there are many descriptions of leaders in the world these days. Some of these groupings are accurate and many are based upon the appearance of leadership rather than the real leaders found at any level of an organization.
Several years ago I wrote an article entitled “Shared Leadership” which can still be found on the internet today in several publications. It discussed the need for everyone to take responsibility for a leadership role and how much better the organization would become.
Most people think leadership is all about Power, dishing out Punishment, handing out Rewards, the Title or Position held by someone or even the Expertise a person has within their organization. Well, these are all fine and dandy, however, several key truths are missing. Leadership is not about assumptions or guess work, there are specific traits or characteristics found in the real leaders of today.
Here are Ten Specific Characteristics Found in True Leaders…
- Supporting their Subordinates
One of the keys to improving performance is to be thinking of others. Only the selfish and self centered people in the world are only interested in what they can get. Support others and watch them “want” to help you.
- Intolerance of Poor Quality or Shoddy Work
Poor quality and incomplete work is due mostly to bad habits being formed within the ranks. Some times these traits begin at home and migrate to the work environment. No one should allow poor quality work to leave – especially when it involves customers. High performance cultures are created by leaders and others who want to be the best. Create excellent work habits and the culture will follow your lead.
- Lack of Political Orientation or Focus
When coaching leaders and managers, my pet peeve is for someone to be doing things due to political reasons. Your goal should always be focused upon excellent performance – if you want to stay employed for the long term. It seems everyone who plays the political game will eventually end up on the wrong side of a power play AND LOSE! Be politically aware, yet, always focus your time and energy on getting the right things done.
- Competence is Most Important
Duh, this is a no-brainer in my world. You need to be on a continuous personal improvement plan to be the most competent person you can become. The reality is when you pick a topic to learn, you can become an expert or authority on the topic within a two to three year time period. This increases your value as a person and a leader.
- Ability to Admit personal errors and/or failures
Only people with high self-esteem can admit to failure or errors of judgment without fearing for their jobs or their future. The fact is never try to hide a mistake or place it upon others. You did it – own up to your mistakes and grow from the experience. I personally believe the best leaders have experienced adversity during their lifetimes and learned how to develop their personal character. Character is the link to being respected by everyone around you.
- Standing Firm on their Values and Beliefs
The key here is consistency regarding what you stand for or against. Changing your position with the wind currents is a form of political correctness and can lead to selective ethics which are of little value to you in the long run. When you stand for something, be consistent so others recognize and understand your position. However, one word of caution here. Be open to discussing differences of opinions with others thereby engaging them in meaningful dialogue rather than a one way (my way) speech.
- Honest Candor and Open Communication Style
The poor leaders tend to hide behind silence or only one way communication without any dialogue for understanding. The best leaders take the time to dialogue with anyone who wants to engage them on a topic or issue. Open and honest communication is a necessary ingredient for success in today’s world of totally open social media channels. Lead rather than follow in clear and open communication.
- High Ethical and Integrity Demanded
Look there is no wiggle room here. It is the bedrock of real leadership. Leaders who display these traits seldom have any trust or credibility issues or concerns. They are the role models for the world to see and witness. Beware of the person who tells you “everyone is doing it” or “it won’t make any difference if you do it just once!” Beware of the human snakes who actually want you to fail – just like they have.
- Ability to Remain Calm during Chaos and Crises
True leaders remain calm while others are running around like “Chicken Little” shouting out how the world is crashing around everyone. Then the leader steps in and makes the right decisions to counter the chaos or crisis issues. The fact of the matter is your brain is not designed to make great decisions during times of absolute stress and chaos. When you are stressed, you only get information from your dominant side of your brain – rather than a whole brain approach. When you remain calm during a crisis, you are able to assess your whole brain and utilize greater creativity to solve any problem you are facing. Be unique when others are in panic mode around you and watch how easy it is for you to think about possible solutions.
- Sense of Fair Play and Sharing of Success
This one is really big for most entrepreneurs who are successful. Fair play is huge for them and they like to work with others who possess this trait. The fact here is anyone can be tuned into playing fair and sharing success with others (I’m not talking about giving anything away here). You hear this from the greatest coaches in any sport. They share the credit for every win and usually take on the responsibility for losses – even through they did not play one minute of the game. Look, so called leaders who take all the credit for every decision or strategic move made by their organization is lacking an important trait. Sharing the success with the people who actually got the results. So unless you are a one person company – share the success and play fair with others, including and especially with your customers.
The good news is anyone can be a Great Leader. The key is to learn how to develop your inborn traits for success and achievement. And, then utilize the 10 Characteristics listed above in your everyday life. Performance trumps politics – so be true to yourself first to learn the traits and then ability what you learn to those around you.
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Posted by Voss Graham on April 10, 2012 at 1:22 am under Leadership.
Tags: Fair play and leadership, impact of poor quality, leadereship, sharing success with others, Ten Characteristics of Leaders, Traits of the Best Leaders, work ethic of leaders
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Okay, as Leaders we are constantly looking for ways to motivate our team members for high performance. And, most of us are still aware of budgetary constraints brought to us by the Great Recession.
Yes, budgets are still tight and were established for this year using last years financial results and projections, therefore there is little room for financial rewards or big bonuses for our high performers or to engage team members with the possibility of any financial rewards.
So what do we do without any financial rewards – which managers believe is the number one method to engage their people for higher levels of performance. Well, research indicts there are a number of methods available to reward outstanding performance – even without any financial inducements.
Here is a list of 24 ways to reward your individual performers using non-financial rewards… Continue reading ‘24 Non-Financial Rewards Leaders Can Use’ »
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Posted by Voss Graham on April 8, 2012 at 9:13 pm under Motivation, Performance Improvement.
Tags: engaging workers, financial rewards for performance, incentives for performance, leadership roles, list of non-financial rewards, non financial rewards, performance management opportunities
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Our March newsletter has a lead article about Customer Satisfaction Starts with Respect, Responsiveness and Reliability. This article hits on several key points that shows many organizations today are not paying enough attention to details to get any respect.
One of my readers immediately responded to the article with his true life story illustrating the pitfalls of surface or even shallow thinking on the part of real organizations.
Here is his story (name is changed to protect the innocence)… Continue reading ‘Customer Satisfaction and the 3 R’s Story’ »
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Posted by Voss Graham on March 7, 2012 at 11:09 pm under Customer Service.
Tags: Customer Satisfaction, Customer Service, making contact with customers, reliability, Respect, responsiveness, touch points
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The only reason to read this insights advice today is if you answer this question with a positive “yes” response. The question is simply…
Do You Currently Have Government Contracts AND Use Assessments within Your Organization?
When answering yes, you have placed a target upon your back regarding an EEOC agency ruling known in the industry as the “Adverse Impact” ruling.
You may be thinking – well this is something for HR or our Labor Attorney. As the say in the world of sports – Not So Fast My Friend!” This is a law or ruling which can cause you significant financial fines. Just ask 3M which just paid a $12 million fine because they could not prove compliance with this rule. Now, in my book a $12 million fine is a significant risk if you have no knowledge about this rule. Yet, it only counts if you are selling to a government institution or agency (including the military). Continue reading ‘Having Government Contracts and Using Assessments?’ »
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Posted by Voss Graham on March 5, 2012 at 5:45 am under Hiring, Selection and Retention.
Tags: adverse impact, author Voss W Graham, Compliant Hiring Systems, discrimination in hiring and selection factors, EEOC, hiring law factors, OFCCP, Office of Federal Contractors Compliance Programs
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Ever wondered what it takes to really become a high performer?
Actually, if you can master these five elements – you will join the ranks of the high performers. The great thing about this is it is your choice. No one can force you to use these five elements, nor can you get to the high performance level without using them. So what are the five P’s?
Let’s look at each one… Continue reading ‘Five P’s of High Performance’ »
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Posted by Voss Graham on March 2, 2012 at 2:00 am under High Performance Factors.
Tags: 5 factors for high performance, high performance, high performers, persuasion, phsyical, presence, productivity, psychology
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Seems I get the question about how do I get my passion, or energy up in my life? After asking a few questions, the answer becomes obvious and is really quite simple.
Stimulation of ideas and thoughts triggers your mental mindset and relieves lost energy and particularly your reliance upon the status quo. We find that most people are living their lives in the land of doing everything the same way it has been done in the past.
So what can you do to change your energy and your creativity?
Begin to enter your world of unknown at least once per week.
Confused? Don’t be, since this a great method for increasing your knowledge, creativity and energy – especially for learning more.
Okay, let’s go through the process so you can get prepared. Continue reading ‘Fire Up Your Energy and Creativity’ »
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Posted by Voss Graham on March 1, 2012 at 1:00 am under Innovation.
Tags: Comfort Zone, enter the land of unknown, happiness factor, higher energy, inoovation technique, knowledge, learning new things, natural curiosity
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I keep running into this word – NeuroScience. Okay, I was just like you when I saw the first time – what the heck is it? What does it mean? And, more importantly – what will it mean to me? (Actually learned that being self oriented is part of the research findings.)
Okay, NeuroScience is the technical term for the study of the brain and how it really works. This is truly breakthrough information and is impacting everything we do. I know “everything” is an absolute term – sorry – yet it is true. We walk around everyday with our brains working at nanosecond and faster speeds – and our brain controls our thoughts and actions.
Are you getting my meaning here – Neuro, the brain is with us all the time. When you apply science and scientific techniques to learning how the Brain works – well we have some potential breakthrough learning. And, we have done just that.
My first introduction came from a Bert Decker book on communication. Later, my partner began sharing more information she was finding due to her work with the sub-conscious mind. Next, I read a breakthrough book on marketing entitled “NeuroMarketing” which changed everything I have done in the world of marketing our organization on it’s ear! GEEZ! I felt things were different and difficult – this book opened my eyes to new and simple.
Currently, I have discovered several new books on the topic and have been like a great sponge soaking new information. Books like “The Hidden Brain” and “The Buying Brain” are opening my world of possibilities for greater success.
Okay, enough about me. Let’s talk about Neuroscience. Continue reading ‘NeuroScience – Is Going to Change Our World’ »
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Posted by Voss Graham on February 19, 2012 at 12:56 pm under High Performance Factors.
Tags: brain research into decision making, importance of the reptilian brain, neuroscience, new information about decision making, presentation model of selling, questioning model of selling, understanding how the brain works
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