151 quick ideas to inspire your staff

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Chapter title here

151Quick Ideas

to

Inspire

Your Staff

By Jerry R. Wilson, CSP

Franklin Lakes, NJ

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151 Quick Ideas to ... fill in blank

Copyright 2005 by Jerry R. Wilson

All rights reserved under the Pan-American and InternationalCopyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in wholeor in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording, or by any information storageand retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without writtenpermission from the publisher, The Career Press.

151 Quick Ideas to Inspire Your StaffEdited by Jodi Brandon

Typeset by Christopher CaroleiCover design by The Visual Group

Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press

To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada:201-848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for further informationon books from Career Press.

The Career Press, Inc., 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687,Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417

www.careerpress.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wilson, Jerry R., 1944-2005151 quick ideas to inspire your staff / by Jerry R. Wilson.

p. cm.Includes index.ISBN 1-56414-829-7 paper1. Employee motivation. I. Title: One hundred fifty one quick

ideas to inspire your staff. II. Title: One hundred and fifty one quickideas to inspire your staff. III. Title.

HF5549.5.M63W56 2005658.31'4--dc22

2005052637

www.careerpress.com

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Contents

Foreword 9How to Use This Book 11

1. Work on, Not in, Your Business 13

2. A Better Way to Think, Feel, and Act 143. IASM 154. We Care and You Matter 16

5. Your Job Is All About THEM 176. The “Why” Is What Everyone Overlooks 197. Creating Your Magnet Story 208. Your Job: To Sell Again and Again and Again 229. Steal, Don’t Invent, Your Success 23

10. No Man Can Serve 2 Masters 2411. Teamwork 2512. Be Demanding: Setting Your Standards 27

13. Turning Every Worker Into a CRM 2814. What We Expect of You 2915. Don’t Compete With Yourself 3016. Too Soon Old and Too Late Schmart 32

17. Mother Teresa’s Advice 3318. 1-2-3 Is Your Job Description 3419. Answer the WHY Questions: Your Company 35

20. Answer the WHY Questions: Your Employees 3721. How to Park Your Ego 3822. Own Their Head, Heart, and Soul 40

23. Who Gets the Credit? 41

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24. Catalog and Use Those Tribal Stories 42

25. If You Have Time to Lean... 4426. Roadblocks and Resources 4527. On Message: Your Brand Promise 47

28. A Blinding Flash: You Arein the People Business 48

29. You Will NEVER Understand People 49

30. Nobody Notices Normal 5131. Critical First Impressions 5232. Hire Winners and Fire Your Losers—

But Do It Right 5333. The “Must” Checklist 5534. Invest in People 56

35. A Chance to Take a Chance 5736. The 3 × 5 Card System Agenda Jogger 5837. Horses and People =

Breeding and Past Performance 6038. Discrimination Is Alive and Well 6139. Be a Magnet and Attract the Best 62

40. Hiring Smart Means Never Selling the Job 6341. Invest in Yourself 6542. Invest in Your Team 66

43. Invest in Your Customers 6744. Give ’Em a Great Reputation 6845. Can We Be Friends? 69

46. Protect Yourself From WorkersWith “Selective Memory” 71

47. Why There Is No Such Thing as “Fair”

in Managing and Motivating People 7248. 3 Types of Motivation 7449. My Job Is to Sell You—YES, YOU CAN! 75

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50. Understanding the Role of Acceptance

in Motivating Others 7651. The 3 Things That Will Create

Instant Team Synergy 77

52. Why Great Leaders Never Judgeor Confront Their People 79

53. It’s All About Outcomes, Stupid! 80

54. The 1 Deadly Error Managers MakeWhen Delivering Criticism 81

55. CP1 = EN1 82

56. Celebrate: Turn Little Times Into Big Ones 8357. One Word to Master: Leadership 8558. Courage vs. Conformity 86

59. To Be Effective, Do MoreThan “Walk the Talk” 87

60. Meeting Their Needs:Create a Salad Bar 88

61. Positive Models: Your Wayor the Highway 90

62. Your Speed = Their Speed 91

63. What Is Your Role in Inspiring Peoplein a World of Negative Messages? 92

64. Don’t Be a Know-It-All 94

65. Shoveling Coal and 4 Crucial Questions 9566. Your Culture Is NOT a Democracy 9667. Rules vs. Guidelines: Know the Difference 98

68. You Can’t Be Fired Unless… 9969. Kill the Snake! 10070. America’s Promise: Equal Rights 102

71. ASK—It Is Easier to Stay Out of Trouble 103

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72. Are You a Conformist? 104

73. Sell Your Unique Strengths—No Layoffs 10674. Monkey See, Monkey Do 10775. Read Your Job Description 108

76. Intentions Are as Important as Actions 10977. The 1 Thing You Must Do to Get

Employees to Respect You 110

78. The Man in the Mirror 11179. The H.E.L.M. Principle 11280. Integrity: When 2 People Know 113

81. Mom, Sunday School, and a Grand Jury 11582. Faith, Failure, and Forgiveness 11683. Inside and Outside Listening Mechanisms 117

84. Work ON, Not IN, Your Business 11885. Boss, Heal Thyself—

For You Are the Problem 11986. It Won’t Get Better With Age 121

87. Facelift, Extreme Makeover—Good Getting Better 122

88. How Smart People Learn 123

89. Chasing Symptoms 12490. You Must Know You Don’t Know 12691. Checklists Are a Must 127

92. Zero Defections and Postmortems 12893. Consistency 12994. Your Hall of Fame 131

95. Your Wall of Shame 13296. The Oxen Principle 13397. Satisfaction: The Kiss of Death! 135

98. Correct Your Thinking = Retraining 13699. Keyoka 137

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100. Your ABCs and 1,000 Little Things 138

101. Green Is Growing; Red Is Rotting 140102. Teacher, Preacher, Coach, or Shrink? 141103. A Different Approach to

Communication: Using “McMeetings” 142104. The Hidden Payoff in Training Events 144105. Uncle F.E.S.S. 145

106. Do You Have Reasons—Or Excuses? 146107. What Is True Empowerment? 147108. MMFI 149

109. Praise, Paper, and Criticism 150110. Feel the Fear 151111. They Don’t Know How Much You Care 152

112. Forget Telling: Show Them You Love Them 153113. Friendly and Firm, But Is It Fair? 155114. Little p, Big E 156115. They Must Agree: A Willing Spirit 157

116. The Magic Question: What Do You Think? 158117. How to Follow the “Wise Judge

Principle” in Dealing With People 160

118. Your Door Is Open 161119. Weasel Words 162120. A Family Affair 164

121. Your Greatest Challenge: Egocentric 165122. The Only Thing That Works When

People Are Off-Track 166

123. Winston’s Wisdom: Your BestIs Not Enough 167

124. Fringe Benefits 168

125. Retention: Annual Revenues Stink 169126. You Should Be Arrested! 170

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127. If They Need a Raise, Fire the Boss 172

128. Correct and Move On 173129. Catch Them Being Good 174130. Focus on Behavior, Not People 175

131. Get Mad 176132. Traditions 177133. I Care and You Matter to Me 179

134. Caring and Sharing 180135. Old Chinese Wisdom 181136. Nothing to Hide; Hide Nothing 182

137. Test Question: Am I Fairly Paid? 183138. Beware of the Seniority Trap 184139. Rank Has Its Privileges 185

140. Want Loyalty? Get Yourself a Dog! 187141. Control Benefits Costs by

Measuring and Monitoring P&L Creep 188142. Show Me the Money 189143. Behavior = Outcomes 190

144. 1 More Time: Me to We 191145. Your Definition of Success 192146. Your Inspiration = Their Perspiration 194

147. Technology Requires Investment 195148. Sort Ideas: Today,

Tomorrow, and the Future 196

149. How to Fire People andHave Them Say Thank You 197

150. Applause: Your To-Done List 198

151. Buy My Books and Use Them 200Index 201About the Author 207

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Foreword

Getting more done faster and with better results are theobjectives of corporations today around the world. What is itthat makes one company excel and another exist? It is thecompetitive edge—the edge that is found in Jerry Wilson’s151 Quick Ideas to Inspire Your Staff. Its practical, hard-hitting ideas and examples are both relevant and necessary inbusiness today. This is the book that will give you the edge. It’sthe book that you don’t want your competition to read!

Jerry’s book offers a treasury of ideas that are immedi-ately usable, actionable, and profitable and that were forgedand proven on the battlefields of business competition. Through-out the book and in a variety of ways, Jerry delivers his coremessage again and again: “Your staff will be no better than thepeople you hire and the inspiration you give them.”

Another of Jerry Wilson’s truths that underlies this book isabout why people do what they do:

Inspiring people is about getting otherpeople to do, what you want done,

because they want to do it.Leadership is about creating the climate or culture where

people are inspired from the inside out. Inspired employeeswant to see their organization succeed, because it will alsolead them to their own personal successes. That is the win-ning formula: inspiring ordinary people to achieve extraordi-nary outcomes. 151 Quick Ideas to Inspire Your Staffprovides us with the winning strategies that lead employees tothat level of commitment.

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151 Quick Ideas to Inspire Your Staff

As you read this book you will discover quick ideas from aman who speaks from experience, not theory. Jerry provedthese ideas in his own successful business ventures. In addi-tion, they have been tested and proven by thousands of busi-ness and professional people following Jerry’s professionalpresentations to audiences across the United States and Canada,and in numerous foreign countries.

151 Quick Ideas to Inspire Your Staff will recharge yourbattery and excite you, as Jerry has provided not only what todo, but also how to do it. You will be ready and able to inspireyour people to give their individual best. You will gain the propermindset, have the right tools, and be able to practice effectivetechniques from this treasure trove of good ideas. Jerry taughtthousands of people his enthusiastic, inspiring and authenticquick ideas to inspire others—and now it is your turn! Read thebook and watch your visions become reality.

Thanks, Jerry!

SteveHanesThe Dale Carnegie Course

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How to Use This Book

Every quick idea in this book has been selected to directlyor indirectly help you gain and retain customers, create rela-tionships, and build a successful business.

Don’t try to implement all 151 ideas at once, because somewon’t be a good fit right now. Read through all 151 quick ideasand select only those that can really make a difference. Labelyour ideas:

� Implement now.

� Review again in 30 days.

� Pass the idea along to _________.

Involve your staff in selecting and implementing these ideas,and don’t forget to give credit for their success! Invest in addi-tional copies of this book and distribute them among your staff.Get everyone involved in selecting and recommending variousquick ideas.

Revisit this book every 90 days. As your business changes,you will find new quick ideas that might suit you better nowthat competition is heating up.

Remember: All the ideas in this book have been proven inbusinesses across the United States and around the world. Theyhave worked for others and will work for you!

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There’s one fact that can truly be labeled a blinding flash ofthe obvious if you’re sincere about improving your business. If youwait to have time, you’ll never get around to it. Some law of naturealways fills our agenda. Practicing kaizen and continuous improve-ment means you must make time to work on, not just in, yourbusiness. You will never have time if you don’t make the time.

Jack was always too busy working to rethink marketing strat-egies and to be cultivating potential customers. No amount of plead-ing by his sales staff could get him away from operations. Hebelieved the company would always have a steady flow of work.When their largest customer defected to a competitor, Jack wasfaced with making a mad scramble to replace the work or befaced with laying off many of his quality workers that he would

probably never get back.It’s easy to overlook

needed improvement today,and it’s almost certain you’lllook back in time and say, “Iwish I had…,” “I shouldhave…,” and “Why didn’tI…?” as they’ll becomepart of your conversation—part of the “coulda, woulda,shoulda” routine.

Work on, Not in, Your Business

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueProcrastination robs us of a valuable commodity: time.

Today is the day to begin improving and practicing kaizen.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, postedabove your desk somewhereyou will see it every time yousit down, write: “I will workon my business—and myteam—today.”

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Kaizen is the Japanese word for the philosophy of dailyincremental improvement—the practice of each day findingsmall improvements that can add up to long-term quantum leapsfor improved quality, productivity, processes, and so forth. Forthis assignment we look for a quantum leap in the way youthink, feel, and act.

When you listen to businesspeople discuss what is goingon with their jobs, their companies, or their leadership, you’llalmost always hear them talking about their activities. Whydo we constantly bat around this talk about our activities?Experts tell us it is largely because it gives us good feelings toknow we have been busy, and therefore we think and feel weare being productive.

Can you find me evenone prospect or customerwho cares about the activi-ties, the busywork, and whatgoes on inside your firm ororganization? What do cus-tomers care about? Out-comes, and what is in it forthem. In other words, theycouldn’t care less about yourlabor pains; they simply wantyou to show them the baby.

A Better Way to Think,

Feel, and Act

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Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card in largebold letters write down:“OUTCOMES!” Then be-low that bold word add thefollowing sentence: “Cus-tomers want to knowW.I.I.F.T. ( what’s in it forthem)!”

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EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueThink outcomes, and you’ll soon find your organization

embracing the practice of incremental daily improvement.

IASM

It is said that life is a series of ongoing challenges inter-rupted by a periodic crisis. How true that has proven to be! It istrue that everyone in business faces setbacks, roadblocks, andbouts of occasional discouragement. Good leadership meanslearning to minimize those challenges and crises, but to alsodevelop an internal persistence to work through them.

When Mary Kay Ashfounded Mary Kay Cosmet-ics, with little money and thechallenge of being an unex-pected widow, she needed asecret weapon to perseverewith her dream of helpingothers succeed with her inher startup cosmetics busi-ness. Her answer was tobecome so sold on her prod-ucts and her unique businessopportunity that she and oth-ers could visualize the big

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card write outthe top three things you aresold on as it relates to yourproducts and services, andhow they benefit your custom-ers. Use these key talkingpoints to continuously remindyourself and your employeesas to why you have the ini-tials IASM as top of mind.

Quick Ideas 2 to 3

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It is difficult if not impossible to find a business that doesn’tclaim to care about its people and to hear how much they matterto the organization’s success. They say it, they put it up on signsand banners, and they brag about how they care and their peoplematter to anyone who will listen. The problem is that to reallyinspire your staff means that you must both say it and live it.

When a Minneapolis-based company was forced to reor-ganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one of the new practicesthey thought would inspire their embattled staff was to offercash rewards for good ideas and suggestions. One of the firstto take advantage of the offer looked at his $50 suggestionreward check and asked a very telling question. Why, he asked,when you were going broke did you not seem to care about

We Care and You Matter

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogue It is how you respond to what happens to you that will

keep you going when others give up.

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bold letters IASM (I Am Sold Myself) emblazoned across theirchests.

As she grew Mary Kay Cosmetics from a startup visioninto an international success story, she never gave up the beliefthat to overcome the challenges and crises that everyone faces,you must be absolutely sold on your products and services.Being absolutely, positively sold leads to the persistence andtenacity needed to persevere.

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me and my ideas, and nowthat we are in bankruptcyI not only matter but youare willing to pay me formy ideas? Ouch!

Want a simple and mean-ingful way to prove to yourpeople that you care and thatthey matter? Execute theassignment at right and you’llnot only be rewarded with amore inspired crew, you’llgain tons of great ideas andfeedback to help you growand improve.

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueYou can shout you care from the rooftops and you can

put up signs and banners about how much your people mat-

ter, but what will inspire them is when you demonstrate it.

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Your Job Is All About THEM

Sometime over the years you have heard the great debateabout which came first: the chicken or the egg? A second de-bate has been which comes first: your customers or your staff?After much discussion, debate, and research, my vote is thatyour staff must come first if you want to grow beyond yourselfand to multiply yourself through other people.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writethe word “ASK” again andagain. And below it add:“People don’t care howmuch you know until theyknow how much they care.”Then, routinely ask yourpeople for suggestions—and act on those suggestionswhen you get them.

Quick Ideas 3 to 5

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EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueNothing can pay off more than knowing what

your people want from you and their work, and then helping

them achieve it.

The late W. Clement Stone became one of America’s firstbillionaires by inspiring hundreds and then thousands of salesand management people to join him in growing his CombinedInsurance Company into an industry giant. One of his key suc-cess methods was to live and breathe the principle that you willget what you want when you help enough other people getwhat they want.

He served as a role model and inspiration for many busi-ness leaders as he reminded them that the only way to getpeople back on track when they lose their way is to go back totheir individual goals, dreams, and aspirations.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card write down the following intro-spective question to ask yourself about your peopleagain and again: “Do I really know what each of mypeople wants as his or her individual benefit of beingpart of helping me build and grow this business?” Putthis card at the start of a file section that will includecards on all of your employees.

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The “Why” Is What

Everyone Overlooks

Young children are masters at asking the “why” question.In fact, many a parent has been driven to the edge of insanityas kids ask “why” in an effort to understand and deal with theirworld. Just because you are trying to inspire mostly “big people,”from perhaps teens to senior citizens, doesn’t mean inquiringminds have lost the need to know why.

Consider the plight ofSue as her understaffed andoverworked library stafffiled into the library confer-ence room for an unex-plained but mandatorymeeting. Sue was facedwith telling her staff thatthey were about to endure ayear of living hell as thetown council had voted tonot only double the size ofthe library, but to renovateand remodel the aging facil-ity as well.

With that announcement would come the reality that theyear ahead would be filled with noise, dirt, moving, hassles, andongoing upheavals too numerous to even think about.

Fortunately, Sue was smart enough to focus her announce-ment on the “why” of the situation, rather than the challengesahead. As her crew learned why libraries had to change to

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Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writeout a minimum of three an-swers as to “why” you areexcited about the future ofyour company and the oppor-tunities for your staff to growand prosper with you. Thenbegin incorporating such“why” dialogue to go alongwith the requests you ask ofyour people.

Quick Ideas 5 to 6

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7Creating Your Magnet Story

At some time in your life you have had the opportunityto see or use a magnet and to see what appears to be almostmagic as the magnet is attracted to metal. It may be assimple as those holding notes on your refrigerator door, oras big and complex as the giant magnet at the end of a craneboom that can lift huge piles of metal and scrap. Now, youneed such a magnet to attract and inspire people to join youand your company.

Look at volunteer organizations and how people are not onlyattracted to serving, but how they do it for nothing and even paytheir own expenses. Why people volunteer and how so manyorganizations such as United Way and the American Red Crossattract people is the essence of this idea.

Go back to the first day you founded your company, or theday you took over from someone else. What was the storybehind that decision that attracted you? What was the deciding

keep up with the public’s demand for more Internet-based ser-vices, as well as more space for training and learning, theycaught Sue’s vision and were inspired to look to the future of abigger and better facility.

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueBecome proactive in telling “why” when it is important, and

watch your people respond with new vigor and inspiration.

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factor and driving force that went beyond money to inspire youto make that decision? What was the compelling force that gotyou to take that leap of faith?

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueDefine your story in such a way that it will attract people

the way a magnet does.

Quick Ideas 6 to 7

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card write out the answers to thesekey questions:

� How does your company “directly” ben-efit others with your products andservices?

� What personal story can you tell that showswhy you feel good about what your com-pany does to make the world a betterplace?

� What is your magnet story about what youare doing to help others by solving prob-lems, improving things, and making othersdreams come true?

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Advertisers measure the number of “repetitions” as thenumber of times they must reach you with the same messagein an effort to inspire you to buy their clients’ products andservices. Ad agencies know that just when you get sick andtired of seeing the same commercial over and over, they are

getting to you and building“top of mind” for the prod-ucts and services they areattempting to sell you.

The same is true withselling your workers on themerits of working for you.You have to make impres-sion after impression to sellthem on the merits of yourcompany. One TV or ra-dio ad is very unlikely to in-spire you to run out and buythe latest and greatest newproduct. Likewise, tellingand selling your companyto your employees de-mands selling your storyagain and again and again.

Your Job: To Sell Again and

Again and Again

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Assignment

At the top of a page ofpaper begin writing down allthe opportunities you haveand need in order to sell yourmessage again. From writ-ten communications, tomeetings, to daily conversa-tions, you must realize a bigpart of your job descriptionis to sell your own people.Making a long list will helpyou keep it “top of mindawareness.” Then, convertthe top 10 opportunities to a3 × 5 card and post whereyou can see it every day toremind you to sell.

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Steal, Don’t Invent,

Your Success

Every successful leader needs a mental data bank of busi-ness principles, good ideas, and competitive strategies fromwhich to make good decisions to help them sort through themany choices facing them each day. One early choice to makeis whether you are going to be an inventor, pioneer, or thief.

As Thomas Edison did, you can spend your days in pains-taking, expensive, and time-consuming experimentation. Youcan do trial and error and spend your career groping for an-swers, or you can join me instealing good ideas that work.

Today the phrase bestpractices has become thebuzz in companies to seekout the best ways and meth-ods for doing things and formaking decisions. Let mesuggest you steal your bestpractices from proven suc-cessful people. Also, look outside your profession, occupation,or field for the best ones.

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueWhen you get sick and tired of the same message, your

staff is probably just beginning to get it.

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Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card capturethis quote to review again andagain: “Find out what suc-cessful people do, do whatthey do, and you too will besuccessful.”

Quick Ideas 8 to 9

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The Bible repeatedly points out that “no man can servetwo masters.” You know what that means biblically, but howshould you apply the lesson in business? Confucius said it an-other way: “Man who chases two rabbits, catches none.”

Study successful Japanese companies, many of which havebeen around for hundreds of years, and you’ll find they havecommitted themselves to one master: serving the customer.Companies such as Toyota, Suzuki, and Yamaha know that thecustomer must come first and profits will follow. In fact, manyJapanese businesspeople practice the philosophy that profitsare the applause of happy customers.

Examine how successful Japanese companies have movedinto areas thought sacred to American companies and, overtime, have kicked their butts. Probably the best example is howthey captured market share in auto sales by delivering on qual-ity, safety, and fuel economy. They put the customer first, andthe profits have followed.

For example, if you want to model best practices for op-erating multiple locations, look to McDonalds. For cleanliness,UPS is the perfect model. For consistency, learn how FedExkeeps its promises of overnight delivery. The list can go onand on.

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EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueThere are a ton of want-to-be and claim-to-be people who

try to look successful. Limit your research to folks who have truly

“been there and done that.”

No Man Can Serve Two Masters

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Assignment

On a 3 × 5, card writeout this reminder: “No mancan serve two masters. Forme and my employees, we willserve customers first, fore-most, and always.”

Why must your commit-ment to customers comefirst? If your focus is on prof-its and the bottom line, thenyour decision-making willalso follow that model. Yourfirst critical thinking will beweighed through your bankaccount and may not bewhat is best to gain and re-tain customers.

11Teamwork

You need only look to the U.S. military to find the ultimatesuccessful model for implementing teamwork. After 200 yearsthe military knows what works, and teamwork is the only modelthe U.S. military will consider. You play on the team or you aregone. No discussions, no debates, and no verbal fistfights.

Look at our elite fighting units, such the Navy Seals or theArmy Rangers, and you have your teamwork model. Thesespecial units live and breathe an “all for one and one for all”philosophy in everything they do. They know that anything lessis a waste of time and energy for getting things done.

Quick Ideas 9 to 11

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueAre you committed to serving one master: your

customers?

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EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueFor more guidance in creating teamwork and turning your

business into a team sport, there is no better resource than

studying the U.S. military.

Dennis, a Florida attorney, owned three small retail storesthat were just doing “okay.” Then he heard a quote about team-work that changed his total approach to business: “First youbuild the team, then the team builds the business.”

From that day on, Dennis focused his efforts on selecting,training, inspiring and leading his team. Then he got out of theway and empowered the team to build the business. When hisfamily sold out to a larger company the team efforts had pro-pelled them from three “okay” stores to more than 500 storesand financial success beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card note these three guiding team-work principles:

1. Success is a team sport!

2. Teamwork means “Together Everyone Ac-complishes More.”

3. First you build the team, then the teambuilds the business.

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12Be Demanding:

Setting Your Standards

“People want to be told what to do and will do what theyare told.” That quote is an ever-present reminder that even asadults we need leadership, direction, and boundaries. And oneof the best things you can do for your team is to be a demand-ing boss.

Not a boss that yells, screams, and dictates orders. Andno, not a boss who sees his workers as slaves, subjects, orpeople he or she can dump on. The best description of a de-manding boss is someone who lives “friendly but firm.” A“steady as she goes” leader guides and directs his or her grouptoward their best performance. Best performance comeswhen everyone understands what the standard for good per-formance is for your organization.

Being a demanding bossmeans being specific withoutcompromise. For example, bedemanding that you will an-swer the phone on or beforethe third ring. Your group willreturn all voice mail calls by 4p.m. You can be demandingthat your group will under-promise and over-deliver.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card noteyour commitments: “I will bea demanding boss and livethe friendly but firm principlefor setting my standards.”

Quick Ideas 11 to 12

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueKeep your friendly but firm compass on what is important

to customers, and everything else will fall into place.

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Job descriptions are important, but most have a bad, if notfatal, flaw. By listing the common job description it provides anescape hole for employees to miss their responsibility in build-ing customer relationships and repeat business. If you are to-tally sold on the concept of serving and creating long-termcustomer relationships, then each and every person in your or-ganization should share in that commitment.

When a visitor at Disney World watched a cast member,one of the performers, stop and pick up some litter and depositit in the trash can, she asked her tour guide how many custodi-ans they have. The answer: 45,000. And how many employeesare there at DisneyWorld? The same answer: 45,000. Every-one at Disney has a shared purpose in maintaining the park’s

image. From the boiler roomto the boardroom it is asense of unity that makes theDisney magic work.

Do all of your staffmembers see themselves aspart of the most importantthing you do—that is, creat-ing customer relationships?If so, great! If not, considerthis important job of inspir-ing them to join you in thiseffort, just as Disney folks

have joined together to keep the park sparkling clean. Both jobdescriptions lead to repeat business.

Turning Every Worker

Into a CRM

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Assignment

On 3 × 5 card write outnew job descriptions withthe title CRM—CustomerRelationship Manager—listed first. Under that, listtheir other important titles,which comes second to theCRM issue.

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EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueOne deadly phrase all too prevalent in companies and

organizations is “it’s not my job.”

What We Expect of You

I can tell one thing about each and every one of your co-workers, employees, or associates: Each of them has manygood attributes, but one thing they can’t do is read your mind!They need you to tell them what you expect of them so theycan meet or exceed your expectations.

Ever work for a boss or supervisor who didn’t tell youwhat to do and then criticized and chewed on you for not doingit? How about the boss who doles out orders the way an ArmyDrill Sergeant does but fails to tell you the outcome he or she

wants and expects of you?How does it feel to attemptto do your work while play-ing mind games with yourboss?

To be inspired at yourwork demands that youhave a sense of satisfactionand accomplishment. Howcan you create that senseof well-being if manage-ment treats you like amushroom to grow in a dark

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Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card writeout up to 10 things you ex-pect of your employees indoing their jobs. Then usethis list, titled “What I Ex-pect of You,” in your hir-ing, reviews, job postings,meetings, award ceremo-nies, and so forth.


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15

Who is your prime competition? It isn’t who you are aboutto name. My suggestion is that to recognize and deal with yournumber-one competitor, look in a mirror. It is probably you!

Consider the plight of an insurance company that bought asimilar company, one of its competitors. The staff in the com-pany it purchased believed they were better at nearly every-thing they did and, when the new owners suggested changes,improvements, and attempts to standardize how the two com-panies would work together, the new company rebelled. It wasa daily battle of wills, politics, power, and personalities.

If you and everyone in your company were doing every-thing you know, plan and want, your competition would benonexistent. If you consistently delivered your products andservices to exceed customer expectations every time theydealt with you, your competition wouldn’t have a chance. Ifevery person on your team was inspired to do his or her verybest every day in every way, how could your competition com-pete with you? Fact: you may well be your own number-onecompetitor.

Don’t Compete With Yourself

environment? What does your leadership expect of you as itrelates to attitude, honesty, work ethic, productivity, integrity,teamwork, and such?

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueBy putting your employee expectations in writing, you will be

rewarded with a much happier, more productive, and incredibly

more loyal workforce.

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Assignment

One a 3 × 5 card list the issues and things that areproblems today that are distracting you and your workforcefrom giving 100 percent attention to your customers. Howare you shooting yourself in the foot? Where and how areyou creating your own problems, distractions, and workthat isn’t productive?

Now gather your staff together and have them listwho they perceive to be your company’s competitors.Then use your list and this topic to introduce that you areyour own number-one competitor and that beginning im-mediately that is going to change. You are going to driveout those glitches, problems, and inconsistencies.

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueMake a vow to let your competitors be your competitors

and do everything you can to not be your own competition.


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My grandfather was an immigrant from Europe, and hisfavorite saying from the old country was “you will be too soonold and too late schmart.” The extra “ch” reflected his brokenEnglish, but his message was clear and concise.

When it comes to inspiring people he firmly believed thatthe challenge was so great and the many situations one facesare so daunting that everyone needs to look to others for inputand direction. He was constantly reminding anyone who would

listen that two heads arebetter than one, and thatwhen we talk we only learnwhat we already know.When we ask and listen, welearn and grow.

How many people doyou work with, lunch with, goto church with, and encoun-ter in your business life thathave and are willing to sharetheir good ideas about inspir-ing people and leadershipstrategies with you? Surelydozens, and perhaps hun-dreds. And all you need todo is develop the habit of ask-ing and listening!

Too Soon Old and Too Late Schmart

16

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card writedown my grandfathers fa-vorite saying: “You will betoo soon old and too lateschmart.” Then accept mychallenge of keeping thatcard visible to remind youto ask, ask, and ask somemore. In fact, make a com-mitment right now tomemorize this powerfulmanagement tool: “What doyou think I should do?” Itmay be the most potent toola leader can develop!

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17

Living a life of selfless service and helping others isn’teasy, but with practice and a commitment it can be done.The feelings you gain inhelping others are the bo-nus payoff. However, oneperson described it as be-ing more challenging thannailing Jell-O to a tree.

To guide you in doing abetter job in selfless servicewe picked Mother Teresa asa role model. In fact, shecould be our inspiration num-ber 1, number 2, and num-ber 3. She dedicated hersimple life to building her mis-sions and to rescuing the sickand dying from the streets ofCalcutta, India. Her goalwas to allow people whowere lost to die with dignityin an environment of love

Mother Teresa’s Advice

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, recordthe last time someone—a cus-tomer, perhaps—thanked yousincerely and personally forhelping him or her. Date theentry. Think about how youcould get more of those en-tries. Set out to get one entrya day—then two—then three.Start your employees doingthis as well. Have them maketheir own cards. Remember:the words thank you are thecurrency of helping people.Set an eventual goal of usingup at least one 3 × 5 card perday recording these events.


EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueThe world belongs to the askers, who can make you look

good and inspire your troops!

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18

Always remember that people whom you help today, will

come back to you for more help tomorrow!

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogue

People who live their faith, values, and principles want towork with other people with the same commitment. GeneralNorman Schwarzkopf said, “People want to be lead by leaderswho have more integrity than they do.” Mary Kay Ash, founderof the Mary Kay Cosmetics empire, taught her 1-2-3 Systemfor living a life of meaning. First, she described herself as awoman of faith. Then she lived, taught, and preached to othersto follow her model, and her thousands of employees and salesassociates were constantly reminded of her commitment: Godfirst, family second, and job third.

One good example of very successful companies that dem-onstrate their 1-2-3 approach is the chain of Hobby Lobbystores and the rapidly expanding Chick-Fil-A restaurants, both

1-2-3 Is Your Job Description

and caring, unselfishly served by her nuns, who she called herangels.

Her best quote to inspire us is this: “You will find yourselfwhen you lose yourself in service to mankind.” How wouldyou rate Mother Teresa’s commitment to serving? How wouldyou rate your commitment to serving and helping others? Areyou getting that second paycheck in those feelings that inspireyou and others on a daily basis?

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of which close on Sundays so their families can worship. Theydemonstrate their beliefs by putting aside sales, money, andprofits to live their philosophy.

19

Answer the WHY

Questions: Your Company

When you were a child, perhaps 2, 3, or 4 years old, youhad one favorite question: WHY? It seems every child usesthe why question and often drives parents to near insanity. In-quiring minds want to know why.

When Don, who is responsible for a Georgia manufactur-ing plant, was faced with temporarily laying off about 80 work-ers, his first decision was to go to the plant and tell them why.


Assignment

Do you have a 1-2-3 system? If not, developone. On a 3 × 5 card, write down your first, sec-ond, and third priorities in life. Do they look rightto you? If so, post them somewhere to remindyou what they are. Then, communicate thesespriorities to your team. They want to know youare principled and have priorities.

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueApply Mary Kay’s 1-2-3 System in your life and you will

be more inspired, and thus be able to better inspire others.

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He assembled everybody in the lunchroom and explained thatin an effort to revamp the plant and make it more productive sothey could compete, they were going to need to shut down fora period about nine weeks, and thus about 80 people would belaid off. He went on to explain that it was part of the company’slong-range plan to provide better jobs and higher productivity,and thus be able to pay everyone more. He apologized for hav-ing to lay people off, and at the end of his briefing the peoplewho were about to be laid off applauded.

Adults still want to know why but often have become toojaded or inhibited, or are afraid to ask. We lose those childlikeinhibitions of asking why.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write the statement: “Tell themwhy.” Review this card before making major decisionsthat will affect employees.

People want to know why about corporate policies and the

direction of their work. And when you fill in that needed informa-

tion you will be rewarded with people who are more excited,

motivated, and inspired.


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When your employees ask why they should be inspired tomake your company moresuccessful, your answershould always focus on onesimple answer. By makingthe company more success-ful, you can be more com-petitive and do a better jobof gaining and retaining cus-tomers, which in turn allowsyou the resources and theopportunities to inspire, rec-ognize, and better rewardyour workforce.

When a major insurancecompany wanted to grow,they knew it was imperativethat the entire company bestaffed by competent em-ployees. They found that byanswering the why question, competence builds confidence. Thereare three major components to building confidence:

1. Experience. They go through the battles, mis-takes, and problems they face on a daily basis.

2. Knowledge. They inspire their employees to bea part of a lifelong learning experience.

3. Success. Nothing builds competence the way vic-tories and successful outcomes do.

Answer the WHY

Questions: Your Employees

20


Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writedown the following: “Con-fidence = Experience,Knowledge, Success.”Talk to your team aboutthese three elements ofconfidence, and alwaysmaking certain that you areproviding employees oppor-tunities to gain experienceand access to knowledgethrough training, and re-warding success publiclyand appropriately.

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21

On several occasions in this book we’ll point out the needto get yourself out of the way and practice what many call“selfless service.” You already know that putting aside yourpersonal and selfish motives isn’t easy.

Gary was a cut-from-the-cloth entrepreneur. He wasdriven, persistent, and relentless in his plan to make his retailstores a huge success and financial payoff. When I arrived toconsult with him the only thing he had been able to accom-plish was to really upset his workforce and to make himselfborderline insane.

As I worked with Gary, the problem with his leadership styleleaped out of every sentence, every interaction, and every conver-sation with his workers. It was the deadly “I” message: I want youto do this. I want you to fix this. I want you to…. I, I, I. Hesounded like a 2- or 3-year-old we expect to be caught up inthe “I want” syndrome.

What Gary had to do was rethink his leadership style andrealize that at the end of the day people do things for theirreasons, not yours. As Gary began to study and learn this im-portant truth he made a 3 × 5 card that I recommend you dupli-cate for your daily review.

How to Park Your Ego

Growing people is not quick, easy, or without effort.

You should start with the end result—that competence builds

confidence—in mind.


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The secret is to park your ego and appeal to theirs.



On a 3 × 5 card, write out the word “ego” and thendraw a circle around it. Then place a left to right slashthrough the word “ego” at a 45-degree angle as wewould use to indicate no smoking. Each time you re-view that card, think about each of your people andwhat they want and need from you to do their jobswell. It will be different for each and every person, andthe list will change as people, situations, and needs getfilled and changed.

Next, write down or memorize this quote: “The se-cret of leadership is to get other people to do what youwant done, because they want to do it.”

Assignment

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Certainly you have heard the phrase “hook, line andsinker.” That truism probably came from fishing and draggingthat big one up on the bank. Your goal should be to “hook”your associates, employees, and management by capturingtheir heads, their hearts, and their souls. To make a connec-tion so deep and so profound that even thinking about defect-ing to another job with someone else presents extreme riskand a great, big helping of gut-wrenching guilt.

A university study foundthat when you use logic andfacts about your salary andbenefits, you connect withpeople’s intellect. Theyfound that when you useemotions and feelings youconnect with their heart, butto connect with their soulyou need to be more pro-found. You need to connectwith them on a personallevel. The best way to dothat is by adding storiesabout the positive experi-ences that they will enjoy from your customer relationships.Make everything you do targeted to hooking up with the soul.Your team needs to feel this way 24/7.

Own Their Head,

Heart, and Soul

22

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writedown some of the emotional“hooks” that you could usewith both employees andcustomers. Some of themare simply emotional wins,failures, and so on. ABCSports coined the phrase“the thrill of victory and theagony of defeat.” Startthere.

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Raise the bar and look for ways to get them “hook, line,

and sinker,” or by their heads, hearts, and souls.


23

Who Gets the Credit?

An important principle for inspiring people is to “give creditwhere credit is due.” Although that is easy to say, in practicemany people find they seem to lose a small piece of their soulswhen they put others in the spotlight.

When Harry askedfor the opportunity to re-work a section of ourhigh-performance depart-ment, it felt that I was giv-ing away a member of thefamily. That was my sa-cred responsibility and themere thought that anyoneelse might invade my turfreally was a struggle. Buthis eagerness to try it, andmy having to admit thearea needed an updateand attention, got him agreen light.

Harry did an awesomejob. That department had never looked so good, and we nowhad a resident display expert available for our entire store.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, recordthis core principle for inspir-ing people: “There is no limitto what people can accom-plish if they don’t care whogets the credit.” Next, listsome people and accomplish-ments you need to recognizefor their accomplishments.Update this card as needed.Start today to teach yourselfto be better at sharing thecredit where credit is due.


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24

Down through history we’ve used various methods to pre-serve and maintain important lessons and examples that can edu-cate and inspire others. One method used by Native AmericanIndians was story-telling, and some even carved totem poles asvisual records of some of their most important lessons to bepassed down to other tribe members.

After completing a Cleveland workshop where the focuswas teaching the concept of probing and asking questions todetermine customers’ potential needs and sales opportunitiesby gaining a “mind picture” of what they were doing, one of theattendees immediately captured and used the technique. Whileservicing his first customer the day after the workshop, oneattendee turned an $8 sale into more than $400 in purchases

Catalog and Use Those Tribal Stories

It turned out to be a triple win. First, with Harry eager andready to use his newly proven skills, I was free to focus onother things. Second, Harry had proven that, given the chance,we can do more than expected, and this was a lesson to hiscoworkers. Third, Harry’s self-confidence took a quantum leapand he was inspired from the inside out.

Learning the principle of “praising in public and cor-

recting in private” may not come naturally or easy to you.

But the payoff of having a crew who will climb tall buildings

and tread across broken glass for you can only come from

growing others.


43

when he learned the customer had additional needs that hewasn’t aware his company could also provide.

This savvy businessmanager quickly turnedthis sales experience into atribal story. First, he sent ane-mail to all employees tell-ing the story and braggingabout this person. Then hemade some posters to goup in their break rooms re-counting this heroic effort.In addition, he added amodule to their training pro-gram so they could use thisvictory story again and again. He was determined to use thistribal story repeatedly as a powerful teaching tool.

Assignment

Start a file of 3 × 5 cardswith tribal stories of heroicsand situations where your staffwent “above and beyond” toserve, sell, and help custom-ers. Everyone loves and canrelate to stories, and they canact as a real tool to inspire andmotivate others to action.


Everyone needs heroes and heroic stories and, as you

collect your library of successes among your tribe, you can

begin to integrate them into your training, reminders, and

examples to lead and inspire others.


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One thing every manager must face is his or her role inmaking sure his or her people are as productive as possible,and that everyone contributes his or her best to the company’ssuccess. If you have people standing around with nothing to do,payroll cost is likely to break you. For most companies, payrollcost is their number-one expense and one of the few variablesthat can make or break acompany.

Ray Kroc, founder ofMcDonalds, coined the say-ing, “If you have time tolean, you have time toclean.” In short, he knewthat keeping everyoneworking and using theirspare time to keep everyMcDonalds restaurant spot-lessly clean and sparklingwas necessity for thecompany’s success.

Can you afford tohave people standingaround looking out the win-dow waiting for the next phone call or customer contact? Tomaximize your success you need everyone making a contri-bution every hour of the day. Controlling payroll costs andmaximizing productivity of all your workers is job number onefor management. Take a cue from Ray Kroc. Make sureyour people are focused on making the most of their time andyour payroll expense.

If You Have Time to Lean...

Assignment

Each day, post a shortlist of things that need to bedone on a 3 × 5 card in theevent your people getcaught up with their jobs.When there is an ever-present list, no one can saythey didn’t know whatneeds to be done. Takeaway their excuses with anew general duty list postedeach and every day.

25

45

Perhaps you thought this book was going to be all abouthow to inspire and motivate your employees. But it is reallyabout changing how you lead. It’s about helping you identifythe mistakes you have been making so you can move into anew style of operating. It is about taking on a new way ofthinking and acting so you can get the outcome you want.

One savvy executive claims to think of himself as a Roto-Rooter man. He sees his employees as working in a long drain-ing tube, and his job is to flush out everything that clogs up theflow. If you don’t, you’re not adding real value. It is your team’sresponsibility to do your job with excellence. It is your job tocreate an environment that allows your people to be super-stars. You must do anything and everything you can to allowthem to do their jobs—to truly empower them.

As long as obstacles and roadblocks are placed in the pathof employee success, you will have frustrated and unfulfilledemployees. Your job is to root out those roadblocks and smoothethe way. In addition, always look for resources your team needsfor success, but does not currently have. Find ways to gainthose resources. Then watch how fast employees succeed whenthey realize you are helping them succeed!

Roadblocks and Resources

26


Your peak workloads should be when there are no cus-

tomers waiting and the phones are quiet. Now is the time to

get ready for that next surge of business.


46


EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueYour job is to remove the obstacles and give your people

the resources they need and inspire them to get the work

done. Then get out of their way!

Assignment

On a pair of 3 × 5 cards, write the following head-ings: “Roadblocks” and “Resources.” Discuss inter-nal processes with your team to discover whatroadblocks they routinely encounter and what assetsor resources they need to be more effective and/orproductive. Record these on your two cards. Then,using the cards as your attack plan, work to removeobstacles and gain those resources. Set a goal of ac-complishing all of them within a reasonable period(perhaps a month). Celebrate with your team eachaccomplishment.

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In years past, businesses used terms such as differentia-tion, unique selling proposition, and niche to organize andplan how they would gain and retain market share. Then, ascompetition became more sophisticated and software helpedbusiness leaders better define their strategies, the need for de-veloping a brand identity became the voice of defining com-petitive market forces.

When four young menarrived at their class severalminutes late they told theteacher they were late be-cause their car had a flat tire.The teacher, wise to thesestories, instructed each topull out a piece of paper andwrite down which tire wentflat. Guess how many differ-ent answers she received?The challenge for every busi-ness is to craft a memorablemessage and to make sureevery person is telling thesame story every time.

You must not only define what sets you apart from thecompetition, but also “stay on message” to tell and sell it re-peatedly. The test is: “What does your brand promise and mes-sage mean in the mind of your customer?” This also helpsemployees more strongly identify with the organization.

On Message:

Your Brand Promise

27

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writedown your organization’sbrand image and promise(what you want your cus-tomers to think of you). Now,make every employee makea copy of that card and keepit with them at all times. Quizthem on it routinely. Theyhelp communicate yourbrand with every word to acustomer.


48


Examples: Bounty is the “quicker picker-upper” and FedExis used “when it positively has to be there overnight.”

Ask yourself if your Brand Promise:1. Truly reflects who you are, what you do, and what

the benefits to your customers are.2. What your customers want and need from you.3. What sets you apart from competition.

The goal is to promise what you will deliver and to

deliver what you promise.


Would you like to join a really exclusive, private, and little-known group of business leaders? An organization that per-haps only 5 percent of all businesspeople in the world everparticipate in? If so, here is your opportunity to join my “peoplebusiness” club.

What business are you really in? When Matt first answeredthat question his answer was all too typical: He described thedozen locations his company occupied and their history in avery competitive retail service environment. But as he went onto describe their marginal profits and high employee turnoverproblems, the lights began to come on for Matt. He was reallyin the people business and just happened to provide the prod-ucts and services he was describing.

A Blinding Flash:

You Are in the People Business

28

49

What business are youreally in? If you say anythingother than the people busi-ness, listen to the words ofLee Iacocca, the executivewho saved Chrysler Corpo-ration from disaster: “We arein the people business. Webuild our cars and trucks forpeople. We work withpeople, we communicatewith people, and we sell topeople. If someone working for me isn’t good with people, theyprobably won’t make it at Chrysler!”

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writethe following: “I am in thepeople business. My busi-ness is about people helpingpeople.” Review this cardonce every day and beforeevery hiring decision.

29

You Will NEVER

Understand People

Every time you take the wrong road you’ll end up in thewrong place. One of the most dangerous roads that leaderstake is trying to truly understand what motivates and inspirespeople deep down inside. We must realize that everyone wasmade different. We are unique individuals, from our DNA tothe hairs on our heads.


EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueIf you are going to spend your life in the people business—

and you are—decide today to become an SOB (student of the

business).

50


Instead of getting frustrated and confused by the differ-

ences you witness in your people, step back and see and

appreciate them for their uniqueness, their differences, and

what inspires them.


One wise professor said that you will never understandpeople beyond a superficial level. Unless you are a psycholo-gist and have them lay on the couch, you can only watch theiractions, their behavior, and the results that they get, but youwill never be able to read their minds. His favorite quote was,“You must accept people as they are, not as you want them tobe.” Have you ever watched someone who seemed to behappy and suddenly he quits his job, dumps his spouse, or

totally changes his life andyou can’t understand it? Wewill never understandpeople beyond a superficiallevel.

So what does thismean for motivatingpeople? It means you musttake them at face value andjudge by what you see, andyou must understand thatevery employee is different,motivated by different im-pulses, ideas, and emotions.

On a set of 3 × 5 cards(one per employee), writedown, as best you can, whatyou think will motivate thatemployee best. Modify eachcard as you learn more aboutthem. Then, refer to thesecards as you work with eachemployee to get the mostfrom him or her.

Assignment

51

30

In today’s over-communicated and cluttered world, being“normal” means you are in for a tough battle to get customersto notice and remember you. There are too many “normal”competitors on the landscape. To break through the normalmindset requires being “noticeably different” and at the sametime “comfortably familiar.”

In Japan the last itemon a McDonalds menuboard, after the normalburgers, fries, and bever-ages list, is “smiles - zeroyen.” And as the sign says,when McDonalds order-takers greet you, they dothe traditional Japanesebow, then they flash a gi-ant-sized smile and ask totake your order. Contrastthat to all too many servicesituations today where youare darn lucky if the clerkeven makes eye contact ordoes anything more thangrunt.

Look for the hundredsof large and small ways youcan get people to notice andremember you by breakingwith tradition to be “noticeably different.”

Nobody Notices Normal

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, recordthe “nobody notices normal”mission statement of being“noticably different” and atthe same time “comfortablyfamiliar.” Begin with chal-lenging your coworkers toidentify and implement thingsthat people will notice and re-member. Look at each andevery interaction you havewith customers as opportuni-ties to set yourself apart fromcompetition. Find and imple-ment at least one idea aweek. Reward the employeewho developed the idea.Record each idea.


52


31

Study after study has proven that the first 30 to 90 days anew employee is with you is the most critical time period ofthat employee’s tenure. In fact, the first hours and days may bemore important than anyone knows. Here is a simple and ef-fective way you can inspire and impress upon a new hire thatyou care and they matter to you.

When Brian said yes to joining a professional accountingfirm as his first job after college he was hopeful he had madethe right choice of employers. But he also was reminded ofnumerous past jobs that turned out to be disappointing as they

related to the promisesmade to him during the in-terview and hiring process.He was painfully remindedthat in nearly every case hisfirst impressions and firstdays were disappointing.

Imagine Brian’s sur-prise when the day afteragreeing to join his newcompany a package arrivedvia overnight courier. Insidewas a welcome letter from

Critical First Impressions

Be forewarned that being too different can be outside a

customer’s comfort zone.


Poll your coworkers andbrainstorm what might be inyour new-hire first impres-sions kit. You don’t have tobe an international companyor a mega-employer to makethose critical first impres-sions. Then create that kit anduse it with every new hire.

Assignment

53

Hire Winners and Fire

Your Losers—But Do It Right

32

Look at the books, seminars, and research on hiring andfiring and you’ll find the vast majority, perhaps as much as80 percent, is targeted to the hiring process. Part of inspir-ing and leading people means that you will at times have tosay goodbye to people. Here is some valuable insight intothat gut-wrenching process.

Dick, a seasoned business executive and consultant withgreat insight, made one critical observation about the firing pro-cess. He said that if you have any compassion at all, then firingsomeone is the most difficult any businessperson faces…andthat you are a jerk if you enjoy it. Enjoy it or not, here are somecautionary notes about letting someone go.

When you fire someone you are sending a huge messageto any and all existing personnel. If in their minds the persondeserved being terminated, you are okay. If anyone thinks oth-erwise, you may have trouble.


his new employer, a color booklet describing his new companyand its colorful history, some articles highlighting some of itsrecent notable accomplishments, and—the real winner—a nicecompany shirt complete with logo in Brian’s size and favoritecolor. He was confident he had made the right choice.

The critical issue of first impressions is to reinforce the

principle that you care and they matter.


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Sometimes one can be faulted for trying too hard to sal-

vage people and fire too late. Cut the dead wood. They are

holding you and your team back.


If you answered these three questions with yes, go ahead.If not, you haven’t done enough yet.

Assignment

Write this lithium test on a 3 × 5 card before youfire:

1. Have we made it absolutely, positively, andunequivocally clear this person is going to befired if he or she doesn’t respond to improvehis or her performance?

2. Have we asked for this person’s help in cor-recting his or her sub-standard performance?You must get a yes, and he or she must havea willing spirit.

3. Have we offered our help to do our part in help-ing him or her?

55

33

Taking a new job is always going to generate some anxiety,which is an outward expression of fear. The more you can dofrom day one to reduce that anxiety and make a new personfeel safe, the quicker he or she will settle in and be inspired todo a good job.

One California company developed what it called the“Must” Checklist. What that really stood for was things a newemployee must know to beable to function properly, getalong with other people, andknow what to do from thefirst day he or she joined thecompany. That checklist cov-ered everything from whereto park your car to how tofind the bathrooms. It re-viewed work hours, breaktimes, lunch arrangements,and when payday is. Everynew hire received an orga-nizational chart and wastalked to about the chain ofcommand.

The list dealt with who to ask when you have a question ora problem and went through every must bit of information thatthey could brainstorm. When a new hire came in, he or shesimply started down the list, and by the end of the first day thatperson was well oriented—probably knowing more about thatcompany than one learns in the first 60 days going to workelsewhere.

The “Must” Checklist

Assignment

On some 3 × 5 cards,make a “Must” Checklist forthe things you believe a newhire must know to be suc-cessful in your company.Use that checklist every timesomeone comes to work,and the payoff will be anemployee who is motivated,feels safe, and inspired to bepart of your team.


56


34

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueBy taking a proactive approach with new employees, you

will overcome their fear to ask.

Two important words in the English language can deter-mine if you are going to grow people and give them the oppor-tunity to maximize their individual abilities, or take the traditionalpath of just getting by and tolerating less than spectacular per-

formance: cost and invest.When Sharon was in-

vited by her boss to attend athree-day nursing confer-ence in a distant city shewas flattered and thrilled.Though the thoughts of get-ting some time off, an air-plane trip, and enjoying amotel and the free food werenice, the real impact wasthat her boss valued herenough to invest in her andher continued education.

If you see training, learn-ing, and resources to helpyour people as an expense,you’ll probably be too cheap

Invest in People

Assignment

Effective today, be care-ful about how you label whatyou spend on growingpeople. When you discussanything regarding education,training, and resources foryour people be clear to letthem know you are makingan investment in them. Re-view your individual 3 × 5cards on each employee (andwhat motivates them). Writedown how you will invest inthem during the coming year.

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EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueOne boss said he didn’t want to invest in his people

because “they might get smart and quit.” His competitor

added the alternative: What if they stay with you and remain

ignorant?

When an applicant says yes and joins your company ororganization, there is only one thing you can and should offerhim or her: an opportunity. Perhaps said another way, you aregiving them a chance to take a chance that they will succeed.Although you have the responsibility to provide the resources,the roadmap, and the opportunity, his or her real fate and futureare in his or her own hands. Responsibility means the choice tochoose your response. Choices.

When Brian called Trent into the room, they had had twoprevious discussions about Trent’s failure to follow through onhis promises as a new employee. Brian asked him if he knewthe definition of responsibility. He said he thought he did, butwould like to hear Brian’s definition. Brian said responsibility isthe ability to choose your response, and he pointed out to Trentthat he had dropped the ball repeatedly and, therefore, wasleaving the company, but he wanted Trent to know that he had

A Chance to Take a Chance

to grow people. If you see training, learning, and resources tohelp your people as an investment that can pay off in manyways, you’ll probably make those investments with a smile andget to experience people at their best.

35


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Nothing is less expensive that has a better chance of help-ing you be better at inspiring your people than my key manage-ment tool: the 3 × 5 index card. Available most anywhere andat a cost of well less than a penny, the index card can and

The 3 × 5 Card

System Agenda Jogger

failed in his chance. In otherwords, he had caused hisown demise with their com-pany. He committed suicideand was not murdered.

Assignment

Make sure your em-ployee 3 × 5 cards list thestandards and expectationsyou expect of each personon your team. Record thedates you counseled each.This makes it easier whenit’s time for someone to goor when it’s time to rewardsomeone.

36

You can’t make people successful! All you can do is cre-

ate the atmosphere, give them the resources and leadership,

and get out of their way, giving them a chance to take a

chance.


59

should be as much a part ofyour life as the ink pen, carkeys, and wallet.

Consider Mike’s frustra-tion as, in just one hour, hesaw employees failing to of-fer to help customers to theircars with their purchases,observed another chitchat-ting with coworkers ratherthan paying attention to acustomer, and another whofailed to give the company’snumber-one commercial:We want you back. All werenoted on Mike’s 3 × 5 cardfor later attention.

How many times eachday do you encounter a situ-ation, or you observe some-thing that you would like done differently, but you lack the timeto address or it is too trivial to address at that moment?

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueSuccessful leadership is about effectively managing a few

big things and 1,000 or more smaller but often critically im-

portant little things.


Instead of just forget-ting these problems, use a3 × 5 card to jot down thoseissues to address later, per-haps in a training meetingor one on one with thepeople involved. Whereyou keep this particular in-dex card is not terribly im-portant, as long as it isclose by where you can jotdown a quick note, re-minder, or thought for ac-tion at a later date. Butremember: A 3 × 5 cardwith no action taken is awaste of a 3 × 5 card.

Assignment

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37

When selecting people, there are two key ingredients thatDr. Phil and most authorities will recommend you check verythoroughly. One is the past performance of the person you arethinking of hiring, and second is the environment in which he orshe has worked over the years with various companies thatwill determine attitude, work ethic, values, and principles. Thereis a common parallel with picking quality people and pickingracehorses.

Timely Gift came from a Chicago racetrack where it hadan unparalleled record of winning. The horse came out of greatbreeding stock and, as I approached the play window, it wasclearly obvious this class horse could not be beaten by the othernags in the race. But be forewarned: Knowing past perfor-mance and breeding is no guarantee. My horse ran fourth, andit’s the last horse race on which I’ve ever bet money. I wouldrather take my chances and bet on people.

As you explore and in-terview people, get a clearvision of what they havedone in the past. Talk tothem about their successes.Have them tell you the thingsthey are proud of. Nothypotheticals, but real-worldstuff. Second, wrap yourselfaround the atmosphere andenvironment in which theyhave worked in the past.

Horses and People = Breeding and Past

Performance

Assignment

“Past performance andbreeding.” Write this on a3 × 5 card. Use this card toprepare for any upcoming jobinterviews to help remind youto get under the surface anddiscover the “inner view” ofeach candidate.

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EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueYou will be no better than the people you hire and the

leadership you give them.

38Discrimination Is

Alive and Well

Everyone does it! You do it, I do it, and the president of theUnited States does it. We discriminate against people. Eventhough there are numerousfederal, state, and local laws,regulations, and rules aboutdiscriminating, everyone usesdiscrimination when it comesto the goal of hiring the bestand avoiding the rest.

Robert Yates, one of thegreat experts on hiring theright people, gives us threequestions to guide us when we discriminate as to who we willhire:

1. Is your applicant capable of doing the job?2. Is your applicant willing to do the job?

3. Is your applicant manageable on the job?

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writedown the three questions pro-vided here. Use this card dur-ing your hiring process to makeyour best hiring decisions.


Was it high-pressure, intense, or laid back? Did their culture fityours? All those things become important. To be able to get an“inner view,” you need to know what’s inside.

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Even the best hire may not be a fit for your company. He

or she may not fit with your culture, with your team, or with

your way of doing business.


Everything you do in the hiring process, from interviews tobackground checks, should be focused on answering these threequestions. And only if you get a solid yes in all three areasshould you go forward to offer a job to a potential candidate.

It is a proven fact that the best organizations earn theirreputation by offering the best products and services to thebest customers. This formula acts as a magnet, allowing themto attract the best workers. This truism has been proventhrough the ages across the entire spectrum of businessesand organizations.

Doug, a young construction worker, was a bright star in aprofession often viewed as being staffed by crusty, rough, andtough workers with long hair, beards, and a chew of tobacco.His eagerness to do quality carpentry work was coupled with aclean-cut, sober, friendly, and trustworthy demeanor. Doug’s valuewas evident to employer after employer, without even lookingfor a job. He was propelled up the ladder from one company toanother and ultimately landed the construction job most of hispeers would kill for. The cream always rises to the top.

Be a Magnet and Attract the Best

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40

Show me any employer who has interviewed to fill a joband chances are he or she has been guilty of selling the appli-cant on taking the job, instead of letting the applicant do theselling and convincing. All too often we spend most of the in-terview time talking about the job, the company, and not enoughtime really exploring the applicant’s qualifications for the job.Today, commit to flip-flopping those priorities.

Hiring Smart Means

Never Selling the Job

Reverse this. Set yourgoal to be “the employer”the best employees want towork for, offering the besttraining, the best work situ-ation, and the best pay andbenefits possible. Sadly, mostemployers try to practiceoffering the minimum theycan get by with and normallyend up with less than spec-tacular workers.

It takes the best to attract the best, and the place to start

is by being the best employer and inspiring the best people to

your organization.



On a 3 × 5 card, list thekey attributes for becominga “best” employer. Examinewhat you can do—perhapsincrementally—to becomethat best organization. Cre-ate a plan based on the card.Once you begin to achievethis status, then only hire thebest.

Assignment

64


Ray was so excited about the company to which he hadgiven birth that every job interview was predictable. Ray wouldget potential workers so excited and lathered up about joining histeam, he totally overlooked issues including qualifications, workethic, attitudes, and ability to really do the job. It took many yearsof making bad hires before he realized he had to fit the rightperson to the right job and that meant asking questions and doinga lot of listening.

On a 3 × 5 card, write down this series of explor-atory questions to ask every job candidate. Use thiscard during every interview. Here are some examples:

� Tell me about one of your most significantsuccesses on the job. What made it so sig-nificant? How did you accomplish it?

� Tell me about a major problem you handledrecently. How was it resolved?

� By using personal examples, show me youcan adapt to a wide variety of people, situa-tions and environments.

� Give me an example of an important goalyou had set for yourself in the past and tellme how you reached that goal.

� Describe some times when you were notreally pleased with your performance.What did you do about it?

Assignment


If ever there is a time to put a governor on your mouth,

it is during the interview process.

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41

The president of the Success Foundation, the late KopKopmeyer, once sent me what appears to be a stock certificate(similar to what you would receive if you owned stock in a NewYork Stock Exchange company). It has a nice border around it,and the title is “Your Self Stock Certificate.” The text reads:

This certifies that you own one million shares ofstock in yourself. This is your certificate of confidencein yourself and your agreement to begin at once andconstantly use 151 quick ideas to get whatever youwant as a worthy life goal.

The best investment you can make is in you. Youcan make more money or acquire more of whateveryou want—by investing in You than in any otherinvestment. Nobody buys stock in anything unless heor she has confidence in it because, in buyingeducational tools, you really bought stock in yourself.You have proven that you have confidence in yourself.

Now that you havebought stock in yourself andproven that you have confi-dence in yourself, you havetaken the first step in gettingwhatever you want in life.

If you don’t take goodcare of you and invest inyour mental, spiritual, and physical self, you are worthless toanybody else. You are worthless to the ones you love; you areworthless to your spouse or significant other; and you are worth-less to your family, friends, and your team of workers. So when

Invest in Yourself


Assignment

Create your own stockcertificate and hang it onthe wall in your workspace.(“What, no 3 × 5 card?”)

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42

One of my psychology professors talked endlessly aboutthe law of transference, that the only way you can transfergood feelings is when youget good feelings yourself.Here’s the way he said it:“You can’t give away some-thing you don’t have anymore than you can comeback from someplace youain’t never been.” You musttake care of the people whotake care of you.

If you want the peopleto take care of your custom-ers, then you need to takecare of them. Caring createscaring. Each time you havean interaction with one ofyour employees, your staff,

Invest in Your Team

Assignment

On a set of 3 × 5 cards,write or type clearly and inbold letters the word “care.”Post this at all points whereyour team interacts withpeople (registers, phones,counters, and so forth). Re-mind your team that you careand they care. That feelingwill get passed on by trans-ference. Don’t to forget topost one at your desk, too!

you make improvements in yourself, think of it as an investment—the most important investment you will ever make.

Do you take care of the people around you that you care

about? Of course you do. So why not invest and take care of

yourself?


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43

Take care of your customers and your customers will takecare of you.

Noted motivationalspeaker Zig Ziglar said it an-other way: “Help enoughother people get what theywant, and you will get whatyou want.” Herb Wardlow,who guided Kmart to be-come America’s number-one retailer, long before it gotknocked off the pedestal byothers, said, “Find out whatpeople want and give it tothem.” And he added an ad-ditional thought: “and then some.” In other words, give people

Invest in Your Customers

The Bible repeatedly says, “As you sow, so shall you reap.”

Reread this quick idea and see how that applies to the prin-

ciples that make up this quick idea.


On a 3 × 5 card (still havea good supply?) write: “Takecare of your team and yourcustomers, and they will takecare of you.” Post it whereyou can see it every day. Youtake care of your team, col-lectively you all take care ofcustomers, and the custom-ers will take care of all of you.

Assignment


or your team, think about how you want them to feel and whatfeelings you want them to pass on to your customers, and ifyou treat them in such a way that they have those feelings, youwill have instilled the law of transference in them. It almostcreates an obligation where they feel guilty if they don’t do it.

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44

Imagine being an Olympic athlete going out to performbefore the eyes of the world. Your reputation and their expec-tations should inspire you to give your very best on every try.That same priciple can apply to help you inspire your workforceas they do their daily jobs.

Sue was proud to be the supervisor of a team of outstand-ing office workers and often gave tours to suppliers and com-petitors from other areas of the country. She was proud toshow off their new state-of-the-art office facilities and to ex-plain why her group had such an incredible track record forefficiency and productivity. At each stop she would introducethe person doing a particular job and brag about him or her,

Give ’Em a Great Reputation

more than they expect, do it willingly, and watch them comeback for more.

There’s another rule that you can follow in making all of thiswork to take care of your customers. It’s called the platinumrule: “Do unto others as they want to be done unto.” If youthink about all three of these quotes, it comes to a very simplepremise: Find out what people want, help them get it, and thenadd something to it, and you will have success beyond yourwildest expectation.

Take care of your team of workers, and especially take

care of your customers, everything else will take care of itself.


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45

The question most often asked of me, as a professionalspeaker and a consultant, is: “Can you really be friends with youremployees and your subordinates?” My answer is yes, but thenyou have to define what friendship means in your language.

Can We Be Friends?

telling something about his or her background and what madehim or her exceptional. The employees just glowed.

Positive reinforcement of good performances works—especially when it is conducted in front of others.


Assignment

Create a new set of 3 × 5 cards—one foreach employee or team member. Record for eachat least two positive traits or performance char-acteristics true for that person. Then, using thecards, make a point of publicly reinforcing thesetraits through praise at least once each week foreach employee. Do it in front of other team mem-bers and/or customers.

Make it a habit to brag about your people at each and

every opportunity, especially in front of strangers. Watch

them perform as though they’re Olympic athletes.


70


I would like to believe that it is essential to be friends withyour employees. Consider this idea: One business owner had ablack baseball cap embroidered with two words in gold: Thetop line said “Friend” and the second line said “Boss.” Whenhe took someone aside to have a conference with them abouttheir performance, he would wear that cap. He would start bytelling them that he would like to believe that they are friends,but he also had a second job and that was to be their boss.Then he would take the cap off and say this is the time I haveto be the boss.

It’s important to use the cap because it is so visual. Peoplecan see the difference in the two relationships when you reachup to take the cap off.

Your most effective relationships with employees will be

personal. You have to be friends with them, but you also have

to be the boss.


Assignment

Save your 3 × 5 cards this time. Have a ball capmade with the two words most appropriate to you. Areyou a boss, a supervisor, a manager, a departmenthead—and friend?

71

Nothing is more inspiring, encouraging, and motivating thana boss or supervisor who has an uncanny memory to keep hisor her promises about dates and agreements to review pay,benefits, and other performance-related issues. And nothingis more demeaning and debilitating than a boss who alwaysseems to develop amnesia and never can remember whatthey promised or agreed to do.

Every time Mary satdown with Harry to reviewhis pay, performance, andbenefits, she was amazedabout the differences in whatthey recalled from previousdiscussions. It seemed eachtime that Harry and Marymet, Harry’s recall ofMary’s promises, terms, andconditions about raises andbenefits was always muchinflated from what Mary re-membered. Finally, Mary de-cided Harry had a case of“selective memory” and wasusing their pay and perfor-mance discussions as an at-tempt to take advantage ofMary’s forgetfulness andlack of record-keeping.

Protect Yourself From Workers With

“Selective Memory”

46


Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card (yep, onefor each employee), recordthe date of each counselingmeeting with each employeeand what was agreed/prom-ised by each party at themeeting (what you agreed toand what the employeeagreed to). Set a date for thenext meeting and record it.Copy the card and provide thecopy to the employee. Keepthe card to use as a referencefor your next meeting. (At thispoint, you have enough em-ployee cards to buy a box forthem.)

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Mary felt Harry and others were taking advantage of herneed to feel liked and to be fair. At the next meeting with Harryshe made two major changes.

First, at the end of the meeting she and Harry recappedtheir discussion and she made notes and made him aware shewas putting them in his file. Second, she made Harry respon-sible for reminding her of the next upcoming performance re-view and thus put the responsibility on him.

47Why There Is No Such

Thing as “Fair” in Managing and

Motivating People

One thing employers, parents, and politicians will hear againand again is that a decision they made wasn’t fair to one per-son, or one group, or to one side of an argument. If you havebeen subjected to that criticism, there is hope for you.

Bob didn’t realize his employees were playing him like afiddle as they complained about his decisions about people, pay,and performance, and that the decisions weren’t fair. He wasin constant turmoil trying to rationalize and justify his decision-making. Finally, a convention speaker gave him the answer heneeded. The speaker said, “Fair is always in the eye of the

Truly inspiring your people means not just remembering

but also following through on your promises and agreements.


73

beholder, and every person will have a different definition ofwhat is fair.”

If you’re going to try to be fair to every person in everysituation, you’ll never make any tough-minded decisions. Therewill always be someone screaming that you weren’t fair or thatthe decision you made isn’t fair, and you have to learn to toughit out and move on.

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueWhen making tough decisions, consult everyone you think

needs a voice. Use their input to help you make your decision.

But once it’s made—it’s made.


Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write down the following four points.Use them when you announce and explain any decisioninvolving your people.

1. “I weighed all the facts and circumstancesin this situation/issue/problem.

2. I discussed this situation/issue/problem withmany of you before arriving at my decision.

3. I kept the interests of the organization and allof you in mind as I did so.

4. I made the best decision I could for all par-ties, and I’m not going to discuss it further.

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48

Regardless of all you’ve read and heard about motivation,no topic is more confused than the misinformation and misun-derstandings about motivation. Unfortunately, traditional moti-vation is external and uses a push to get people going. It assumesthat people can be motivated by money or the things moneybuys, the consequences of failure (threats), or from inside, what

we call inspiration.As a consultant, I had

many phone calls fromowners and managers look-ing for a magic bullet tomotivate their people. Af-ter discussion, we find theirExcedrin headache is basedon one of three things: Theirpeople need training, theirpeople need a different in-centive plan, or their peoplejust need a good dose ofmotivation. In almost everycase, they are dead wrong.The problem is that they are

listening to the symptoms of the problem and never really get-ting to the core issues at all, that they are lacking inspiration inwhat they are doing and in their organization.

3 Types of Motivation

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Motivation vs. Inspiration.”As you continue to study thisbook and its ideas, begin torecord some of the specificexternal actions you are tak-ing that are traditional moti-vation. Then attempt tocreate an alternative set oftools that will inspire ratherthan motivate.

Assignment

It is imperative that good leaders learn to inspire people

and get them fired up from the inside out.


75

As a leader you must wear many different hats and fill manydifferent job descriptions. Under your title of “inspirational leader”also hangs a subtitle that says “salesperson.”

Motivational psychologists tell us that when we were bornwe only had two fears: the fear of falling and the fear of a loudnoise. All other fears have been conditioned by our failures andby people telling us what we can’t do. Psychologists call thatlimiting beliefs. If you want to inspire your people, become aCAN DO manager. Tell them that they are capable of doingthings, not what they can’t do.

Tell people what theycan do and then encouragethem to get it done and thenbrag about them when theydo it. The more you encour-age your people to stretch andbreak through those limitingbeliefs that hold them backfrom fulfilling their individualcapabilities, the more effec-tive and productive they willbecome for you.

My Job Is to

Sell You—YES, YOU CAN!

49

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writeout in large letters: “CANDO.” Post it where you cansee it every morning to re-mind yourself that you are aCAN DO style of managerand leader.

As a CAN DO manager, don’t give your people ex-

cuses why they might fail. When they bring those excuses to

you, remind them of the limiting beliefs and encourage them

to go for it.



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Do you know the people we most align ourselves with? Doyou know who we see as an all-star performer? You are right.It is people who are most like us. We are most attracted to thepeople who are most like us and least attracted to the peoplewho are our opposites. But learning to accept each person asan individual can result in a huge payoff to everyone trying toinspire others.

Upon being interviewed, one savvy sales manager whohad won award after award for his talent with people said, “Iknow I’m a great sales manager because I know I am betterthan anyone who works for me, and I got over that a long timeago. I recognize different people have a different approach togetting a job successfully done. But that doesn’t make it rightor wrong.” What a brilliantflash of the obvious.

Look at people’s indi-viduality and their strengths.The opposites may be ex-actly what you need. Butwhen you can accept peoplefor who they are and chal-lenge them to compete withthemselves only, you willmake more progress in in-spiring people than you everdreamed possible.

Understanding the

Role of Acceptance in

Motivating Others

50

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“All people are different, andthat is a strength, not a weak-ness. I appreciate that.” Usethis card to occasionally re-mind you of the truths aboutour differences.

77

Unless you can harness the team power of your people,you won’t get results. No matter how much you transformyour leadership style, how many programs you implement, howmany new things you try, and no matter how much you want toaccomplish, your big goals will elude you unless you can inspireyour people to work together.

When Charlie boughtthe collection of 12 elec-trical parts distributionwarehouses, he knew hehad a tough road ahead.Two were marginally prof-itable, eight were aboutbreaking even, and twowere losing enough moneythat he seriously debatedshuttering them. Instead,he decided to implement the three strategies that can bring ateam together in a heartbeat.

The 3 Things That Will

Create Instant Team Synergy

51


As a wise professor said, “As people are, so shall they

always be.” You don’t change the inner being of a person.


On a 5 × 7 card, write:“Common Enemy—CommonGoals—Common Victories.”Post this card by the exit ofyour office to remind you of thisthree-pronged method to build-ing teamwork.

Assignment

78


The first thing he focused on was to have a common en-emy. In Charlie’s case, he wisely chose to use internal issues,such as lost orders, delayed shipments, and paperwork errors.He challenged everyone to work as a team to make those prob-lems go away.

His second team effort was to have common goals. Heimmediately adopted the idea of having 100 percent order-fillaccuracy on every order, every day. He challenged his teamsto achieve this goal, and within 60 days they reached a 98.5percent accuracy rate—an enormous improvement. Havingcommon goals and having everyone working toward that sameend result had a huge payoff in Charlie’s warehouses.

His third strategy was to celebrate common victories. Hiskey goal was getting each and every warehouse location prof-itable. Charlie wisely bought a portable barbeque grill he couldpull behind his car. And he made an agreement with each of hiswarehouses that by attacking their common enemy, and reach-ing their common goals, it would lead them to profitability. Forany warehouse that achieved profitability, he would come andpersonally celebrate their victory by cooking lunch for them onhis grill wearing his chef’s hat. Within a year Charlie had all 12warehouses in the profit zone, and a couple of them were mak-ing some really serious profits.

When you want to inspire a team or a group, take a look

at the three things that can bring your group together in a

heartbeat: a common enemy, common goals, and common

victories.


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Many leaders claim to have an open door, but few havean open mind. As P. T. Barnum said, “Always tell me thetruth, the whole truth, andnothing but the truth—evenif it costs you your job.” Re-solving problems and con-cerns without people feelingattacked is a major challengein inspiring people.

As a leader and aproblem-solver, your job isto attack and resolve prob-lems, not to attack people.There are no bad people,only poor, unacceptable, orbad behavior. The momentyou move your focus fromthe problem to the person,people are likely to becomeresistant and defensive andfeel as if their self-esteem is under assault, and they mayfight back.

Why Great Leaders Never

Judge or Confront Their People

52

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Problems are behavior—not people.” Often you willfind it helpful to define whatyou’re trying to accomplishin writing and leave people’snames out of it. That wayyou can constantly referback to it, as you have con-versations and work onwhat you are trying to ac-complish. Add this to youremployee cards.

Assignment


EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueVery few people appreciate criticism, but most appreci-

ate help in resolving the problems, issues, and challenges

they have on a daily basis. Keep your focus on the behavior.

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53

It’s About Outcomes, Stupid!

You’ve probably had this happen to you at some point, andI’m sure it got under your skin. This belief that information is

power is an old one from theold school of doing businessfrom decades gone by. Yes,information is important.But real power comes fromapplying that information toget results. Action on the in-formation is what createsthe right outcomes for yourcompany. My question is:How can your people getthe right outcomes withouthaving the necessary infor-mation? Answer: You can’t!

Jan Carlzon, famous for turning around SAS Airways someyears back, said, “People who are given information cannothelp but take responsibility for it, and people who are not giveninformation cannot take responsibility for it.” The issue for lead-ers these days is to keep their people fully informed so theycan make intelligent decisions and help drive outcomes. It’sabout outcomes, stupid!

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write thisreminder: “Tell my team ev-erything I know as soon as Ican. The more they know, themore effective and productivethey will be.” Put this in yourtickler file to review once aweek to remind yourself tokeep you employees informed.

Inspiring people requires involving them in every hour

of every day. You need to be on guard against the tendency

to withhold information because it is power. People will per-

form better for you when they know what you know.


81

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write thisreminder: “When I wantsomething done or I needhelp, ASK for it. Don’t orderit.” Put it in your reminder fileto review at least once eachweek.

If you have attempted to get your people to help you re-solve problems or to take on tasks in your business and youhaven’t been successful, then you may be able to relate to thisone fatal error that many managers make. If you’ve fumed,fussed, ranted, and raved but nothing worked, then you maywell be guilty of trying to push people rather than pull them.You may be trying to order them to get involved instead ofasking them to help.

Dale barked orders like an Army Sergeant running a basictraining platoon. He would tell people what to do and try topush them into doing it, trying coercion. Unfortunately, whenyou push people, most push back. He failed to realize that whatwas really missing was asking for and getting their help in re-solving problems and doingthe things he wanted done.

There are two compo-nents in getting people beyondfeeling that they are beingforced to do things. First is todescribe the problem, situa-tion, or goal in a friendly man-ner. Don’t make it intimidatingby putting people down andcriticizing. As Dale Carnegiesaid, any fool can criticize,condemn, or complain, and most of them do.

Second, and most important, use the magic word: help.Ask for people to help you and you’ll get further and quicker

The 1 Deadly Error Managers Make When

Delivering Criticism

54


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action than trying to push them. William James, a noted motiva-tional expert from Europe, said you have to have people with a“willing spirit.” Dale Carnegie said, “Instill in them an eagerwant and they will help you.”

55

CP1 = EN1

About 50 years ago, give or take a decade, American busi-ness began a change downhill that continues today. We havelabeled this change “dehumanizing.” We’ve taken the emotionout of business, and people are acting as robots. Businesseswant to use high-tech, low-touch, or no-touch. They want tohave as little interaction with the customer and get as muchmoney as they can. How often do you feel as though you’retreated as a number by people with all of the enthusiasm andexcitement of watching paint dry? Unfortunately, too manymanagers take this approach with their employees, too.

A Texas marketing class teaches a principle that says peoplewill go where they get their emotional needs met. We’ve addedwhat we call CP1, which is core principle number one, equalsEN1. EN1 means emotional needs first.

When you have an interaction with an employee on thephone, in person, or in any other context, remember to dealwith his or her emotional needs before you get to material needs

When people are asked to help and they feel that their

assistance is valued, they are far more likely to be on your team

than when they feel that they’re being forced to participate.


83

Walt Disney said, “Create a place where children want to

go, and their parents will follow.” Why do children flock to

Disney and drag their parents along? Because they get their

emotional needs met.


Have you ever heard someone complain about gettingtoo much praise, recognition, or positive feedback? I doubt it.Most of us both need and want to feel appreciated in thework we do. Survey after survey has shown that one failure

Celebrate: Turn Little Times

Into Big Ones

56

and business needs. Youmight remember it in thisway: By using the acronymWARN, we are warning youthat you need to meet theirhuman needs. W-A-R-Nstands for people wanting tobe wanted, appreciated, re-spected, and needed. Andthe business that providesthat and those old-fashionedgood feelings in today’s high-tech world will have high-quality employees beating apath through its door. Why shouldn’t that be you?

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write“CP1 = EN1.” Under itwrite “Core Principle One= Emotional Needs One.”Then write: “WARN:Wanted, Appreciated, Re-spected, Needed.” File thiscard to review once a weekto remind you of your em-ployees emotional needs.


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of managers, supervisors, and leaders was not giving enoughpositive feedback.

Big Al, as he was known, ran a series of warehouses andwas both highly successful and well respected as abusinessperson. At a meeting he was talking about his secretsof inspiring people and he shared one nugget that has proven tobe a powerful tool for inspiring people. His wisdom was tomake big times out of little ones. You don’t always have toachieve major successes to praise an employee.

Employees respond best, are energized best, to do theirbest work when they are recognized for the good things theydo—even the small things.

Recognize and celebrate each success by every employee,

no matter how small. A simple word of praise or congratula-

tion is usually all that’s needed.


On a 3 × 5 card, write: “Praise—Performance.”Review this card from your tickler file once a week toremind yourself to provide positive feedback routinely.

Assignment

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There is an old saying that managers do things right andleaders do the right things. This often leaves management in aquandary. You need results, and your income depends on theperformance of your people, but you’re not sure if you want tobe at their mercy. It’s no fun to be a leader to work with a bunchof whiny, spoiled, lazy employees. If anyone tells you that if youlove your people, everything will be fine, you can be assured itwon’t. They need you to lead. They need you to create a power-ful vision; harness their strengths; inspire their spirits; and takethem into the market with fire, zest, and awesome enthusiasm.

Colin Powell said lead-ership is the art of accom-plishing more than thescience of managementsays is possible. No one likesto work in an environmentwhere there are no rules andanything goes. Your peopleneed and want structure, andthey will respect you for pro-viding it. If in the past you’vecalled yourself a manager, a boss, a supervisor, or any similarterms, today is the day to change that terminology and callyourself a leader. See yourself out in front of a group; pictureyourself with a marching band as the bandleader.

1 Word to Master: Leadership

57

People need leadership. Without it, people become de-

moralized and incapacitated; some become permanently turned

off and lose all future potential.



Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card write thefollowing: “Lead, follow, orget the hell out of the way.”Post it prominently in youroffice or workspace. Let itremind you that you should bea leader.

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58

As a leader, your role is to create sanity in a chaotic worldwithout destroying the creative, flexible culture your peopleneed. That’s what we’re all seeking as leaders: how to walkthe fine line between chaos, creativity, and sanity. As a leader,it’s your job to figure out a way to win again and again in apermanently changing world.

When Stanley Galt washired as the CEO ofGoodyear Tire & RubberCompany, the company waslosing money. The red inkwas flowing. Stanley imme-diately had the courage toget everyone at Goodyearfocused on selling tires.They went out into the mar-ketplace to hunt down any-body and everybody whomight possibly sell Goodyeartires. As CEO of Goodyear,

Stanley developed the habit of spending every Saturday morn-ing in a tire dealer’s store to keep abreast of what they neededand wanted from tire manufacturers. He had the courage tobreak the rules, take on clients that others said they shouldn’t,and stand his ground. Within one year Stanley had used hiscourage to break the rules and do things differently, and he hadGoodyear in the black. He had the courage to sell himself outof a black hole by leading with new ideas.

Courage vs. Conformity

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Have the courage to leadwith new ideas and win.”Review it once a week to re-mind yourself that you are aleader and responsible forcreating new ideas for suc-cess and leading your teamin that direction.

Assignment

87

When you find the courage to do things differently and break

away from conformity, think about using the words improvement

and transition, and other types of words that don’t mean some-

thing will be brand new.


As a leader, your goal should be to create a shared visionof values and integrity, ultimately leading to a great reputationof living your life as a model for the way the company lives itslife. You succeed by helping others succeed. Their success isyour success, and if they don’t succeed, it’s unlikely that youwill either.

When Mike, the CEO of a respected Chicago manufactur-ing company, learned that his sales manager had made an errorin calculating a promotion bonus promised to a customer, heasked how much it would cost him to follow through on theirpromise. The customer was expecting several thousand dollarsthat it really didn’t deserve as a part of the promotion. In aneffort to protect their reputation, Mike told the sales managerto follow through and pay the customer, because they had madethe promise and set the expectation. He was demonstrating,living, and doing more than just talking their values. And every-one was watching: his sales manager, the customer, and hiscompetitors. Even though he would not recover that much

To Be Effective,

Do More Than “Walk the Talk”

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money from that customerin years to come, he knewoverall it would come backto him in his reputation.

Leading by example isdemonstrated, not justtalked. It is talking, living,and protecting the virtuesyou deem important to yoursuccess and to the successof your company.

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueLong-term success tends to be reserved for people of char-

acter whose leadership style fits their talk.

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Lead by walking the talk.”Use this card to remind youthat you set the standard foryour team’s values and stan-dards, and you set more byyour behaviors than by yourspeech.

Assignment

60Meeting Their Needs:

Create a Salad Bar

Today, more than ever, employees want more than a one-size-fits-all approach to options and choices for pay and ben-efits. Desirable employees want the flexibility to customize theircompensation plans with employers. They know they can get ajob elsewhere that offers such agreements, and so you need tooffer it also.

When a sales organization announced that the top threesalespeople could win a deluxe round trip to Hawaii in the next

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sales contest, one of the salespeople went home and sharedthat news with his wife. She was devastated. She explainedthat they needed money for braces for the kids, the car neededrepairs, and some things around the house needed to be fixed.Rather than go to Hawaii, she would rather have had the cash.As a result of offering this promotion with no flexibility, thiscompany lost its very best salesman when he went to a com-

pany that would let him pickthe prize he might win.

It’s imperative that youknow the rules and regula-tions regarding pay and ben-efits. Today there are manynew options, and you needto know, use, and offer themto your employees in asalad-bar approach if you’regoing to truly inspire and re-tain the people you want.

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Be flexible in pay, benefits,and incentives.” Review thecard before salary reviewsand benefits reviews, andbefore you set up incentiveprograms. Make them flex-ible so you can retain thebest.

Assignment


Today, employees want to feel in control, and the one

thing a salad-bar approach does is give them that feeling and

benefit.


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When it comes to inspiring people, their involvement andinput are essential if you are going to get them to buy into yourplans. However, after the mold is cast and the plans are made,it is essential that everyone follow your plans and guidelines topresent a clear and consistent impression of your company tocustomers again and again and again.

When Larry proudly showed up for work on his HarleyDavidson, he also was wearing the full Harley “uniform”: blackleather chaps and all the accessories that go with it. After his

boss ooh-ed and aah-edabout his new Harley andcongratulated him on all thework he had done to earn themoney, he then asked Larryif he realized he didn’t havea lot of time to go home andchange clothes and comeback in the company uni-form. Larry commented,“You mean I can’t wear myHarley gear at work today?”And his boss said, friendlybut firm, “No, I’m sorry. We

all wear a company uniform, and there are no exceptions.”Larry went home and changed.

You need to be friendly but firm and be a demandingboss if you are going to make sure the impressions you giveare consistent. You can’t let everybody have a voice in the

Positive Models:

Your Way or the Highway

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Be friendly but firm on com-pany standards and expecta-tions.” It should remind youas you occasionally reviewthis card that you need to setthe standards and expecta-tions, then enforce them in afriendly but firm manner.

Assignment

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91

In the old economy of years gone by, leadership was aboutencouraging your people to thrive, no matter what the circum-stances. Leadership today is about giving your people whatthey need so they can support the speed and intensity that thework demands from them. You need to realize that, as the leader,you are both the gas and the brakes for your organization. Thespeed of leader will be the speed of the team.

For many years I lived in Indianapolis, the home of thefamous Indy 500 race. Each year, excitement abounds as thepace car circles the track followed by those high-speed, in-credibly fast racing machines waiting to go around that trackat breakneck speeds. But the catch is that when the pacecar’s on the track, no one is allowed to go faster than thepace car without being penalized. We’ve invented comput-ers, cell phones, Palm Pilots, text messaging, and, of course,the Internet. Business is moving at a torrid pace. You need torealize that your organization will be no faster or any slower

Your Speed = Their Speed

day-to-day appearance of your company, your logo, colors, uni-forms, and so on.

62


EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueRemember, in carrying out your plan, that you are

not running a democracy. You’re running a benevolent

dictatorship.

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On a 3 × 5 card forweekly review, write: “I setthe standards for how fast orslowly we get things done byhow I behave and get my ownwork done.” This should re-mind you that your team willgauge their own speed onyour speed.

Assignment

than the leadership you giveit. If you do only one thingto inspire your team in thedays ahead, create a senseof urgency about gettingthings done. By your ownbehaviors and intensity, setthe speed as an example forthem.

63What Is Your Role in

Inspiring People in a World of

Negative Messages?

For reasons no one can fully explain, we are bombarded24/7 with negative news filled with tragedy, gloom, and doubt.Every aspect of the media, from newspapers to TV to radio,seems to perpetuate bad news. Don’t let yourself and yourorganization be dragged down and demoralized by these pur-veyors of doom.

Be sure to consistently ask your staff if they need to go

faster and how you can help them get there, as their leader.


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EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueAs the old saying goes, “If you think you can, you can,

and if you think you can’t, you can’t.” Your role is to be a

can-do inspirer of people.

Noted author William James said, “As a man thinketh so ishe.” Everyone needs a pick-me-up bouquet to counterbalancethe challenges and the negative messages they hear each day.Develop the habit of being a light in a dark world. Make it yourjob assignment to point out the positives that your people ac-complish and what can be accomplished when everyone workstogether. Remember: 5 percent unemployment means that 95percent are still working, have money to spend, and need prod-ucts and services.


On a 3 × 5 card, record the following: “I set theemotional environment in my workplace by the posi-tive and upbeat attitude I display.” This will remindyou upon your weekly review that you are the per-son who your team members look to to counterbal-ance the negative in their lives and create an upbeatenvironment in which for them to work.

Assignment

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64

As leaders, we are often wrong if we believe that our peopleexpect us to know everything that is going on and to have allthe answers. In reality, no leader in today’s complex businessworld can have all the answers or be up to speed in everysubject area. The single most important question you can addto your vocabulary is this: “What do you think?” We need to bemental midgets and to ask other people their opinions.

While doing a consult-ing project for a COOnamed Ed, it became quicklyobvious he ran his organiza-tion by fear and intimidation.People were afraid to speakout. When I commented toanother senior consultantthat he was the first execu-tive I had ever met whoknew how to do everybody’sjob better than they did, myfriend looked at me and said,“Yes, he knows how to do

everyone else’s job except his own.” He would have been farbetter off not being a know-it-all.

People are both flattered and inspired when you ask theiropinions. Don’t be afraid as a leader to admit that you need theinput from others. Their opinions are critically important in pro-viding you information you need to be an effective leader.

Don’t Be a Know-It-All

On one of your weeklyreview 3 × 5 cards, write:“What do you think? Askingfor opinions and informationmakes me more informed,more aware of what is goingon, more inclusive in my style,and more effective in myleadership.”

Assignment

95

Today, more than ever, workers want to be involved in whatis going on and to know how they are doing. They want toknow if they are moving forward, falling back, or just standingin place.

One division manager told me that he often feels so left outthat it’s as if he’s down in a dingy, dark boiler room shovelingcoal. The company wants him to shovel more and more coaland to keep the boilers going, but they rarely let him come upand find out what is going on. It is even more unusual whensomeone from leadership comes down to the boiler room from“mahogany row” and talks to him.

There are four key questions that every employee wantsanswered and would like to know on a daily basis:

1. How am I doing?2. Where am I going?

3. What am I part of?4. What will it mean for me when we succeed?

Shoveling Coal and

4 Crucial Questions

The real ideas, the real answers, and the real inspiration you

need are spread out among your workers.


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Your role is to make sure those four questions are answeredagain and again and again. And, the worst part is to assume thatyour people know. Don’t wait for them to ask.

Are you putting people into a hole or leaving them in a

vacuum by not communicating with them? Remember that

they will see this as harsh punishment instead of just missing

communication.


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Your Culture Is NOT a Democracy

One of the crucial lessons every leader must grasp is thatsuccessful leaders mold, shape, and create their company cul-ture rather than let it just happen. They proactively decide thevision, values, and principles that the company will live by andthen jealously protect and direct that culture on a daily basis.Are you letting your company culture guide you, or are youguiding your company culture?

When Ralph’s company was near bankruptcy, the con-sultant he called in quickly found that the company lacked

On a 3 × 5 card for weekly review, write the fourquestions identified on page 95. Let this card remindyou that these are the four key pieces of informationyour team members want regularly. Provide it.

Assignment

97

Study the stories of many successful leaders, from Jack

Welsh at General Electric to Walt Disney at Disney & Com-

pany to Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds, and you will

find the one commonality is that they took control of their

companies cultures.


direction and had totally abandoned the culture, values, andprinciples that had made it successful in earlier years. Ralph’sfirst and most important function was to resurrect the oldthinking that had guided the company so successfully. Theworkforce applauded his efforts, and over the months thatfollowed the company was rescued from the date with thegrim reaper. He made sure that they were using the companyculture in a proactive manner. He led the way.

Your company culture will ultimately shape and color yourcompany attitudes, yourcompany service philoso-phies, and the reputation thatyou earn with customers.Leaders demonstrate this bytheir behaviors and by theirinsistence on it from theiremployees.

Assignment

Remember that 3 × 5cards that says: “Lead, follow,or get out of the way”? Itworks here, too.


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Are your people inspired and empowered to use both theirbrawn and their brains in doing their job each day? If yourapproach to management is operating with manual after manualof rules and regulations, you are surely suffocating your peopleand causing them to lose their ability to be creative and grow.

When Dale took over a highly successful retail store thathad been in the same location for more than 20 years, his firstmanagement action was to tighten up and make rules and regu-lations for virtually everything his people had to do. It was to-tally inflexible. Very soon his employees felt like robots orprisoners in handcuffs and shackles; they weren’t allowed tomake any decisions. His rules caused all decisions to go toDale, and simply getting to him became a real nightmare, as hewas so busy putting out fires and trying to run the entire ship by

himself. Very soon his goodemployees began to leave—and so did his customers.

Whenever possible, re-think what you call Rules andRegulations and instead issueguidelines for your people tofollow. Tell them that theyare intelligent, they knowwhat they’re doing, and youknow they are going to makegood decisions. Empowerthem to truly be creative in

working with customers within general guidelines, not rigid rules.

Rules vs. Guidelines:

Know the Difference

67

On a 3 × 5 card write:“Review and revise our rulesinto guidelines that empowerthe team, not restrict theteam.” Then do it. Set a goalof reviewing your policiesand procedures to empoweryour team to be successful,not limit them.

Assignment

99

All employees realize that their employer has the ultimatepower over them: the abilityto fire them—with or withouta cause or reason. If you aredrop-dead serious about in-spiring your people, thenmanagement by intimidationand using the word firing willrarely be part of your conver-sation with your team. In fact,you will see firing as an un-desirable last resort only.

When Ruth Ann wascalled to her supervisor’soffice, she thought they weregoing to be discussing theproject she was working on.She thought her performancewas good and had gottencompliments in the days goneby. Little did she realize she

You Can’t Be Fired Unless…

There are too many variables and too many different situ-

ations for your people to have rules and regulations for ev-

erything they do.


68

There are certain abso-lutes on any job that shouldresult in firing. On a 3 × 5card, write down each ofthese actions or events (suchas theft, lying to you or a cus-tomer, drinking on the job, orfailing to come to work).There are others. Communi-cate these to all your employ-ees so it is clear to them whatthe absolute firing behaviorsare. Then, remember to re-mind people of these at thesame time you remind thenof your performance stan-dards and expectations.

Assignment


100


was about to be fired, without a clear explanation. In fact, hersupervisor had really never been one to communicate veryopenly, and Ruth Ann was always left guessing about whatwas expected of her in carrying out her duties. The firing dev-astated her.

It was sad that her boss didn’t tell or teach her what to doand then fired her for not having done it. The problem withfiring and using intimidation in management is that it not onlydemoralizes the person dismissed, but it has a negative impacton your entire workforce. People begin to doubt you and doubtthe organization for which they work.

By making it clear why people can be fired they also

know under what grounds they cannot be fired.


69

Kill the Snake!

A grave danger when dealing with mistakes, rule viola-tions, and employees who don’t play by the book is to use thatevent to punish and suffocate everyone because of one person’smissteps or an isolated incident. Overreacting and using masspunishment (remember grade school?) can stifle your peopleand destroy the inspiration you’re working hard to create.

When past presidential candidate H. Ross Perot sold hiscompany to General Motors, he said he was amazed at howGeneral Motors handled problems and situations. He related itto discovering a snake in your path. He said that at General

101

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueThe more freedom you can give your people and the

less rules and regulations you need in the workplace, the

better off you are.

Motors, when they discovered a snake, the first thing they didis hire a consultant to study snakes. They formed a committeeto talk about snakes. Their management went out looking forsnakes. Then they would start out rooting out snakes by killing

anything that even looked likea snake or was near a snake.

On the other hand,Perot’s style was this: Whenyou see a snake, you simplyget a hoe and cut off its head.The lesson here is to bewareof making rules and regula-tions for isolated incidentsthat impact everyone, anddon’t use mass punishmentfor a single person’s actions.Ask yourself if it is reallysomething that needs to havebroad regulations or if it isone incident where you cutoff its head and move on.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Just kill the snake; don’tregulate it away or wipe outeveryone near it.” Reviewthis card occasionally, espe-cially when you have a prob-lem you need to deal with,so it will remind you to justtake care of the snake with-out mass punishment andwithout massive new regu-lations to make certain thereare no more snakes.


102


America’s Promise:

Equal Rights

Today it seems that many, many people are yelling, shout-ing, and demanding equal rights. They want to be protected.They want someone to put everybody on a level playing field.It is important to recognize that our ancestors came to Americawith one important idea in mind: They wanted the equal rightto be unequal. They wanted to be judged for their perfor-mance and have the opportunity to excel in America. Thus,we have today’s meritocracy—where people are judged by

their accomplishments.Jack was a manager

who was always trying tomake sure everybody whoworked for him was happy.He tried to balance every-thing and failed to see thathe should really be judgingpeople by their behavior andtheir outcomes. He finallygot a wake-up call when he

began to lose good people who were not recognized for whatthey had accomplished. Jack learned, as you must also, toonly judge people by their attitudes, their productivity, and theiraccomplishments.

When we succumb to the idea of everyone being equal, thenwe stifle people’s opportunities to excel. We diminish a person’sinspiration and throw water on the fire instead of encouraginghimor her to be the best he or she can be as an individual. That’swhat has made America great: the equal right to be unequal.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Everyone has the equal rightto excel. Those who do willbe rewarded.” Consider post-ing this around the workspaceto remind your employees thatoutcomes count.

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103

How many times haveyou found yourself gettingpulled into a situation that atfirst seems simple and clearcut, only to find that circum-stances escalated and itevolved into a nightmare?Issues such as employee fir-ings and customer threatscome to mind most often.

As an attorney, myfriend Tom provided his busi-ness clients one of the mostvaluable services any attor-ney could ever offer: againand again he reminded meand others that it is easier tostay out of trouble than to getout of trouble.

ASK—It Is Easier

to Stay Out of Trouble


EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueNot all employees are equal. Make an extra effort to

recognize and reward those people who produce the most

for you.

Assignment

The quality and quantityof your Rolodex of advisorsare critical. Have thesepeople and their phone num-bers handy. Make a 3 × 5card with their names andnumbers listed and put it inthe front of your set of 3 × 5cards for quick reference. Ifyou discover that you aremissing someone important,develop a new consultant. Ata minimum, you should havean attorney, accountant, HRexpert, and management ex-pert available. Certainly, de-pending on your industry, youmight want others.

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72

Are You a Conformist?

Have you ever asked yourself why you do things the wayyou do? Let me suggest there are two reasons. First, it’s theway you were taught, because that’s the way everybody elsehas done it, and, second, you’ve always done it that way sowhy would you change. Perhaps we need to adopt a new phi-losophy: “If it ain’t broke, break it.”

One conference speaker said people who are afraid tochallenge their own beliefs are timid feeders in the lagoon.Dr. Robert Shuler, legendary motivational expert, asked thequestion, “What would you attempt to do if you absolutely,positively knew you could not fail?” If there’s no chance for itto go wrong, which of your ideas would you try to implement?

Think about the great inventions, cures, and creativity we’veseen through the years. People who tried, experimented, andwere always looking for a better way are those who have

His message was that when you even smell a hint oftrouble, it’s time to pick up the phone and call your attorney,CPA, or other consulting advisors and get advice before theproblem becomes one that overpowers you. Don’t wait untilyou’ve stepped into quicksand to look for a rope.

It is better to have a list of advisors and consultants and

not need them, than to need them and not have them.


105

Dr. Shuler is also known for having said that he would

rather attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to

do nothing and succeed.


changed our world. Are you looking for a more efficient wayor a better outcome?


Assignment

Brainstorm some ideas you would like to try: newprocedures, new concepts, new policies, new ap-proaches. Now list at least five of these on a 3 × 5card. Over a period of several months, try out oneidea at a time. Yes, some will fail, but some will alsosucceed. And you will be making a huge difference.This, too, is part of leadership. Your team will respectyou all the more for innovation

106


If you have a track record of steady employment and nolayoffs, that can be a powerful tool for hiring, retaining, andinspiring people. We call it harnessing and using your SBA (smallbusiness advantage). David was small but had an advantageover Goliath. Use your tools in the same way.

One employer had a toughtime hiring entry-level peoplebecause he couldn’t justifypaying them the hourly wagethat many of their friends andcolleagues earned in other jobs.At the same time he knew thata big advantage of working forhim was that they would get52 paychecks with no layoffs,whereas many of their friendswere collecting food stampsand unemployment becausetheir employment wasn’tsteady. He turned his no lay-

offs into a commercial, both in his hiring and as a reminder for hiscurrent employees.

Sell Your Unique

Strengths—No Layoffs

73

On a 3 × 5 card, list allof your small business ad-vantages, such as the abilityto make quick decisions,owner’s availability and ac-cessibility in the company,and so on. Then use this cardwhen you are hiring newpeople and use it to remindcurrent employees they areworking for a good company.

Assignment

Tell your people that it’s your intention that they never

be laid off and that if they help you and work with you, that’s

almost a certainty.


107

In recent years, researchers have made tremendousprogress in understanding how animals teach their young. Therule of the animal kingdom follows the old saying “monkey see,monkey do.” Almost all training by animals is by observation.Their youngsters learn by working with and watching Momand Dad, and people learn much the same way.

Recently, my local library underwent a multi-million-dollarrenovation, and it is fabulous. As you enter the library, there isa large sign that says, “Nofood or beverages allowed.”On a recent visit, the ladywho works at the informa-tion desk in the center of thelibrary came walking acrossthe lobby with a large cupof soda. A maintenance manwalked by with a bag ofchips in his hand. Now, whatare we supposed to believe?The sign, or what we see?Monkey see, monkey do.

Remember that almost all of what your people will modelwill come from your behavior. What they see you do is whatthey will do on the job. The great confusion comes when youtell them to do one thing, and they see you doing somethingdifferent. You are a role model for your team, and you’ve got towalk the talk, and talk the walk.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

74

On an 3 × 5 card write:“Monkey see, monkey do”and post it somewhere in youroffice as a reminder that youare the primary behavioralrole model for your employ-ees. They will do as you do.If you do it right, so will they.

Assignment


108


Your people want and need a good role model. Remem-

ber: they are watching you!


Read Your Job Description

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One way to prove you are a red-blooded, normal humanbeing is to admit you’ve procrastinated on confronting toughworkforce issues such as discipline, arguments, personalityclashes, and especially having to let someone go. These arealways a real dilemma for anyone dealing with human resources.The problem is that decisions are not clear cut, and personali-ties always enter into those situations.

One of the challengesdoctors face is gettingpeople to take their medi-cine. They take part of theprescription, are feeling bet-ter, and move on. But in re-ality, they need to take it allto make sure they’ve dealttotally and completely withtheir problems. The same istrue with managers. Some-times we just don’t want totake our medicine. A

simple way to get yourself inspired to face the tough issuesis to read your job description. You and you alone are re-sponsible for making sure that these issues are dealt with—

On a 3 × 5 card write:“Don’t procrastinate on per-sonnel issues. Like rottenmeat, they only smell worsewith time.” Use this card toremind yourself that these is-sues must be dealt with—andthat’s your job, not someoneelse’s.

Assignment

109

76

In public relations training, one key principle is to be verycareful publicizing what you intend to do and instead to use amegaphone to shout and tout your accomplishments. In otherwords, play down your to-do list and play up your to-done list.

Sears Roebuck was oneof the first major retailers toadopt today’s overused mes-sage of total customer satis-faction guaranteed. Searsearned a deep trust with cus-tomers by declaring its inten-tions of total customersatisfaction and then follow-ing through. Sears becamelegendary by selling itsCraftsman tool line to bothprofessionals and amateurs,who opted for Sears toolsknowing that Sears intended

Intentions Are as Important as Actions

It is critical that youfollow through with yourstatements and your prom-ises, especially to employ-ees. On a 3 × 5 card to bereviewed weekly, write: “In-tentions are great; deedsare better.” Use the cardto remind you that you ab-solutely must follow throughon your intentions, stated orotherwise.

Assignment


not just effectively, but also in a timely manner. Bad newsdoes not get better with age.

Success builds success. The time you spend procrastinating

and worrying about a situation could be used to inspire people

instead of rehashing what you might do over and over again.


110


to replace or refund them if they failed for any reason in theirlifetime.

Lesson learned: Intentions may be more valued than youractions, but only if you live up to the words you say. In otherwords, your follow-through will be the final determination ifpeople believe your intentions.

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The 1 Thing You Must Do to Get

Employees to Respect You

To be a truly effectiveand inspirational leader, the“ideal” would be that peopleboth like you and respectyou. Because liking you islargely a popularity decision,the one absolute in your lead-ership equation is that yourpeople must respect you.Without their respect yourleadership will flounder likea ship without a rudder.

In study after study,when employees were asked the single most important value a

“Consistency leads topredictability and to re-spect.” Write that on a 3 × 5card to remind you to be con-sistent in your activities andyour decisions regardingemployees. This will lead torespect. Review this cardperiodically.

Assignment

Employees and customers alike will value your intentions

when you prove them by following through and reporting on

your accomplishments.


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Experts agree that the one most important relationship youwill struggle with in your life is the one you have with your innerself. Accept the fact that you will never please all of the peopleall of the time and turn yourattention to satisfying the per-son you see in the mirror eachand every day.

When a friend finally re-alized her spouse had no in-terest in salvaging theirtroubled marriage, she wasoverwhelmed with well-meaning friends and familyadvising her to get even withhim, to make him pay, and to

The Man in the Mirror

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueAlthough being liked is desirable for all leaders, respect

is even more important.

leader needed to gain their respect, the same answer sur-faced again and again: your people want you to be consis-tent even when they may disagree with your choices anddecision-making.

Why is consistency such a must to your leadership? Con-sistency equals predictability and is the key ingredient to earn-ing their trust over time.

78

Assignment

One test of any decisionis to look in the mirror and askthe person you see there if heor she agrees. On a 3 × 5card, write: “Ask the man inthe mirror when in doubt.”Rely on his or her answer.Review the card occasionallyto remind you of this test.


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punish him for failing to live up to their wedding vows. Thoughshe listened to more advice than she really wanted, my frienddecided to take the high road in their divorce proceedings. Shedecided to end the marriage with class, dignity, and the goal ofremaining on good terms with her ex.

She decided the one person she had to live with most of allwas herself. She decided to listen to the person in the mirror.Have you done that?

Remind yourself that the one person you can’t escape from is

you. Value the person in the mirror.


79

The H.E.L.M. Principle

All leaders need a set of standards by which they can testand weigh many of the tough choices and ethical decisions theymust make. All too often, rather than being black and white,these choices are shades of gray, clouding the decision-makingprocess.

George has earned the deep respect of his reps and cus-tomers nationwide in his role as national sales manager for avariety of respected companies. This respect is rooted in hisuncanny sense of right and wrong and his track record of doingthe right thing in some murky and difficult situations. Early on,George found a filter system for guiding his decision process.He labeled it the “H.E.L.M. Principle.” When faced with mak-ing ethical decisions, George asked himself these questions: Is

113

Decisions involving people are the most difficult you have to

make. Make the best decisions you can, and make them timely. Use

the H.E.L.M. Principle to help.


There’s an old adage that the only way two people cankeep a secret is that if one of them is dead. The very momentyou leak sensitive information or share a secret with anotherperson, it is almost guaranteed your secret will soon becomepublic knowledge. As the World War II saying goes, “loose lipssink ships.”

Integrity: When 2 People Know

my choice honest, is mychoice ethical, is my choicelegal, and is it moral?

If the answer is a re-sounding yes, he is good togo, and if the choicescreams and shouts “don’tdo it,” he doesn’t—a goodset of guiding principles thatyou can adapt.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write outthe H.E.L.M. Principle:

“Is my decision:Honest?Ethical?Legal?Moral?”Review the card every

time you need to make a toughdecision to help guide you tothe best answer.

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When law enforcement officers read suspects their rights,they always tell the person he or she has the right to remainsilent. The problem is that most people don’t have the will tokeep their mouths shut.

When dealing with competitive issues, personnel concerns,or sensitive changes in your business, learn to remain silent.Leaks and gossip can be deadly in terms of eating away attrust, loyalty, and inspiration. If you keep mum, your secretsare safe and secure.

Sometimes you need to keep information to yourself to

protect it from the competition—not from your employees.


Assignment

“Loose lips sink ships.” Write that on a 3 × 5 card andreview it routinely. Keep sensitive information to yourself.

115

You already know how fragile your company reputation is,having witnessed other businesses being bruised, battered, andeven crushed by negativepublicity in the public eye.Keeping your people in-spired and on target demandsconstantly searching for in-novative ways to protect yourvenerable reputation.

Bill, an engineer, found aninteresting way to have hispeople test the things theybragged about in describingtheir work. His litmus test:Could you brag about whatyou’re doing to your mother,would you feel free to teachit to your Sunday school class, and could it stand the scrutiny andinterrogation of a grand jury? Such testing is intended to give yourworkforce a frame of reference about how their behavior andactions could be viewed by outsiders. They can use it to be a greenlight for go, a yellow light for caution, or a red light for stop. Theycan catch inappropriate actions before they get legs.

81Mom, Sunday School,

and a Grand Jury

Write down this litmus teston one of your 3 × 5 cards:“Can I brag about what I’mdoing to my mother, teach it tomy Sunday school class, orpresent it to a grand jury?” Oc-casionally, when you are dis-cussing completed actions withemployees, ask them to applyit to a recent situation they’vehandled or encountered.

Assignment


Protecting the perception others have of you and your

company or organization means involving everyone to be vigi-

lant and on guard to inappropriate public scrutiny.


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82

Of all the burdens you will ever carry, the heaviest one iscarrying a grudge. Becoming an inspirational leader meansfacing our fatal human flaws. Two of those human traits arethe failure to recognize and admit that we make mistakes,

and the struggle we face inletting go of our feelings offailure and guilt.

Dale was known as ahothead and, though he wasan astute business owner, hissudden explosions of angeroften alienated his workers.Such outbursts were so de-structive that Dale’s businessultimately failed. Of course,he blamed everyone excepthimself. Dale fell into thesame trap common to all too

many people, looking everywhere but inside for the answers tohis bitterness, anger, and resentment.

Learning to forgive, forget, and move on is one of the mostvaluable qualities any leader can develop, and learning to forgiveourselves should be our first effort. After all, we pay the pricefor the burdens we bear, and those at whom we’re angry maynot even know about how those concerns are eating away at us.

Faith, Failure, and Forgiveness

When you talk to yourself, be reminded that mistakes are

human and the key is to learn from them.


When weighing mis-takes, can you encourageeveryone to stop, admit theirmistakes, and ask them-selves, “What lesson did Ilearn from this, and whycan’t I forgive myself andmove on?” Write this state-ment on a 3 × 5 card for oc-casional review.

Assignment

117

83

Nothing is more valuable, inspires trust, and motivates em-ployees than to hear other people sing praises about you andyour company. At the same time, everyone must be taught andconstantly reminded how negative talk can have a wrecking-ball effect to tear down your reputation. It can take years tobuild a positive image, and it can come tumbling down with oneinappropriate situation orcomment.

Imagine how the cus-tomers who were waiting forservice probably interpretedsome off-handed commentsby employees in a packingand shipping store. As a cus-tomer was inquiring aboutguaranteed overnight deliv-ery of his laptop to the WestCoast, this employee be-came a loose cannon, tellinghis customer that the cost hiscompany charged for suchservice was totally outra-geous and he would be a foolto pay it; he should packageand ship it himself. The cus-tomer quietly said he wasn’tgreatly concerned about thecost and just wanted to know

Inside and Outside

Listening Mechanisms

Assignment

You might adopt thiscreed: If you can’t say some-thing good about your com-pany, don’t say anything atall. Every employee should betrained to be a listening post,both inside and outside thecompany, to alert manage-ment when they hear inap-propriate remarks about thecompany. To remember thiskey point, create a 3 × 5 cardwith the following: “Loose lipssink ships. Everyone shouldtalk positively about the com-pany. Come to me if you can’tand we’ll work it out.” Usethe card to remind team mem-bers of this occasionally.


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EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEveryone needs to be reminded to put up red flags when

they hear even flippant, off-hand negative comments about

the company.

if the young man could get the job done and guarantee its deliv-ery. When he said yes, he went about the purchase and wentout the door. One always has to wonder how much damagewas done by one employee and his poor perception of why hiscompany charges what it does for the services it offers.

84

One of the interesting phenomena about humans is howwe enjoy getting caught up in the activity trap. It is so easy forthe business to be running us instead of us running the busi-ness. As a consultant, I’ve watched people repeatedly getcaught up in majoring in minors: getting sidetracked by the ma-jority and failing to manage the critical few. It can be a terminalillness.

Jack, the son of an entrepreneur/owner, became the CEOof his company when his father retired, and he was always toobusy, caught up in activities, to be developing new customers andinspiring new people. When the tragic news came that the com-pany had lost its biggest customer—a customer that representedmore than 60 percent of its business—Jack was faced with oneof two choices: either he had to either make time to inspire people

Work ON, Not IN Your Business

119

Why is it that the boss never has time to even think aboutgetting caught up, whereas some subordinates never seem to haveenough to do? If this age-old paradox has plagued you, there is

Boss, Heal Thyself—

For You Are the Problem

and oversee their marketing; or lay off many of his valuable,seasoned, and enthusiastic workers. Suddenly Jack realized thathe had to take control of his time and make time to work ON hisbusiness, not just work IN hisbusiness.

The single greatest ad-vice that any consultant cangive you, or that your mothermight tell you, is that youmust make time to work onyour business. Get away,make time to sit down witha cup of coffee or soda, andoutline your challenges.Think about what needs tobe done. Make time for yourself to make those improvements.

You must assign time blocks and proactively control what

you want to get done if you are going to work on your busi-

ness, not just in your business.


“Make time to work ONyour business, not just INyour business.” Write that ona 3 × 5 care and reviewweekly to remind yourself ofhow you must take controlof your time to control yourbusiness.

Assignment

85


120


hope. Perhaps you need a “checkup from the neck up” to identifythe source of this workload imbalance. Maybe the problem is closerto home than you realize.

When Sandy announced to her boss that she was caughtup and had absolutely nothing to do, she could tell he was bothstunned and shocked by her announcement. His silence musthave telegraphed a warning to her. Fortunately, he respondedby requesting some time to think over her comments and told

her he would get back to hershortly. She retreated in fearthat her announcement mayhave provoked him to attackher or even fire her for ad-mitting she had nothing to do.

Fortunately, Sandy’sboss pondered how a salesrep with 350 customers and600 prospects could possiblyhave nothing to do. With 600prospects not yet customers,she could not possibly be“caught up.” Then he foundthe problem: it was him. Hehad not made her job de-scription clear, and he hadfailed miserably to makesure she had appropriate

goals and objectives and a “can do” action plan. He knew thatnot making it clear as to what her real job was made it time tofire the boss.

When you see people that appear not to have enough to

do, the first place to look is the last place most people do.

Maybe it’s time to fire yourself.


Assignment

We’re back to the bossand setting expectations forthe team members. Some-times it requires the leaderto lead by reviewing theguidance provided to em-ployees to make certain itis appropriate. On a 3 × 5card, write the following foroccasional review: “Ifsomeone is ‘caught up’ withhisor her work, either he orshe has too little work or toolittle guidance. Both are myfault, not theirs.”

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The relief that comes from getting unpleasant situations

out of the way and moving on to more desirable things can

have a huge payoff.


It has been said that life is about “managing a series ofongoing challenges interrupted by a periodic crisis.” If there’sone area where improvement can inspire yourself and others, itis developing the discipline to tackle and resolve these never-ending challenges with a decisive, can-do attitude.

The idea that the best time to eat a frog is first thing in themorning may be a bit graphicfor you, but the discipline ofgetting unpleasant tasks outof the way quickly and deci-sively can be an inspirationfor everyone involved.When avoidance, delay, andprocrastination are present,they rarely resolve any di-lemma. As things hang on,they linger and fester, andthey rob you and everyone

around you of the enthusiasm, inspiration, and motivation youneed to tackle your positive business opportunities. Delayingthe tackling of tough assignments is an incredibly debilitatingde-motivator that eats away at the inspiration of yourworkforce.

86

It Won’t Get Better With Age

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write:

“Eat the frog early.” This

should remind you of the

principle of dealing with

the unpleasant quickly and

early so you can get on

with the good stuff.


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87

You don’t have to be terminally ugly to improve your ap-pearance, and your business doesn’t have to be in deep troubleto improve. In fact, the ideal time to launch a kaizen continu-ous improvement initiative is when things are going well andyou’re happy with your outcomes. By seizing the positive, youcan build on the momentum you have going, and you also havethe resources and the inspiration to make a good business bet-ter. That’s the key message to share with your people: we aregood and we’re going to get better.

Steve is charged with organizational development for asuccessful, multi-locationfood service business thathas grown steadily and hasbeen comfortably profitable.His challenge in leading animprovement crusade is thateveryone has been lulled intothe “why mess with success”message that is comingfrom his employees. Theyare complacent and satisfied,but Steve is inspired becausehe sees what they can be.His challenge is to sell thatvision to everybody involved.

Becoming complacent isthe number-one enemy ofimprovement. Each day you

Facelift, Extreme Makeover—Good

Getting Better

Create a 3 × 5 card—actually a series of them (asmany as you think are nec-essary to reach every-one)—to post around theworkplace. On them write:“We are good and we’regoing to get better.” As yousee these cards, remindyour team that, though theyare doing very well, theycan do better. Make thema part of the improvementprocess by making thempart of the improvement.

Assignment

123

Sell the idea that the best time to improve your appear-

ance is when you’re looking good, and the best time to im-

prove your business is when you’re doing well.


Have you been victimized by the badly misleading state-ment, “Experience is the best teacher”? A better truth is to say:“Experience is the most memorable teacher,” because your first-hand encounter with the pain or pleasure it brings burns thatmemory deep into your psyche.

A productivity expert was credited with saying, “Dumbpeople don’t learn from their mistakes.” To prove that, yousimply need to look at the statistics as to how many people exitprison after serving their time, and end up back in prison in ayear or less (and most times for committing the same crimeagain). They don’t learn from their experience and their mis-takes. It is said smart people do learn from their mistakes andtheir experiences. If you don’t believe me, ask to see the bruises,battle scars, and Purple Hearts. Again, the problem is that theyexperience the lesson, but don’t gain the memory and what notto do the next time. That same expert said that brilliant peoplelearn from O.P.E.—Other People’s Experiences. They knowthat reinventing the wheel is not the best way to their success

How Smart People Learn

fail to harness the energy to be better is what we term “oppor-tunity lost.” Unfortunately, it’s gone forever.

88


124


when others have alreadyproven what they need toknow.

Role models, mentors,tribal stories—there are somany resources available tohelp you avoid being dumbor even smart when youhave the opportunity to bebrilliant.

Don’t be a pioneer if you don’t have to. Find out what

successful people do, do what they do, and you too will be

successful.


Don’t keep making thesame mistakes, or even com-mitting mistakes in the firstplace. Create a 3 × 5 cardthat says: “I’m an SOB: a SonOf the Business.” Study yourindustry and your business todiscover best practices andlearn from them.

Assignment

89Chasing Symptoms

Have you ever wondered why the first thing on a doctor’soffice visit agenda is for the nurse to take your weight, bloodpressure, and pulse rate, and to ask you questions about what’swrong? What does this information have to do with the persis-tent cough and agonizing backache, or that stomach pain thathas bugged you all week? The information gathered serves asa road map guiding your doctor from symptoms to the cause ofyour discomfort. Pain and changes are the body’s way of tell-ing you something is wrong.

125

When confronted with problems, ask yourself if you’re deal-

ing with the symptoms or with the real illness.


Mark was nearly at wit’s end after more than a year oftrying to stem his company’s slipping sales and erosion of mar-ket share. Adding to his disappointment, the company had madesome positive changes in its image and marketing should haveturned sales for an upswing—but didn’t. In his desperate at-tempt to stop the pain, he had changed pay plans numeroustimes, offered bonuses that went without being claimed, of-fered awards that no one won, and gave all too many pep talks

when he felt that he wasonly talking to himself.

After Mark called in hisdoctor, a consultant whospecialized in human re-sources, he learned he hadbeen chasing the symptomsinstead of finding the realproblems or the pain in hisorganization. The diagnosiswas a near-terminal case ofdoubt, fear, and uncertainty

among the workforce, and when he turned that around, salesturned around with it.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card write:“Prescription without diagno-sis equals malpractice.” Usethis card to remind you thatyou need to get beyond symp-toms to discover causes whensomething isn’t workingright—especially with people.


126


If someone called you “ignorant,” my bet is that you wouldbe somewhere between hurt and devastated, or livid and furi-ous, depending upon your emotional bent. In actuality, beingignorant can be a huge breakthrough to improvement. It canopen new horizons when we understand Webster dictionary’s

definition of ignorance,which is “to be unlearned.”

When a well-knownCEO with a celebrated trackrecord of inspiring change inorganizations was hired bya company in deep trouble,he assembled his seniorleadership team and gavethem one important order.He said that any time heasked them a question, theyhad the right to tell him theydidn’t know, but that theywould find an answer. Hesaid the most dangerousthing they could do would be

to tell him they do know, and for that to be a lie.Today is the day to admit you know you don’t know. That’s

when you really begin to grow. Being stupid should offend you,but being ignorant should be something you brag about. That’swhen learning really gets started. Ask Daniel Webster.

You Must Know You Don’t Know

90

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card write:“School is never out for thepro” (from Cavett Robert,founder of the NationalSpeakers Association). It’sokay for you or your employ-ees to not know the answerto a question. It’s not okayfor you or them to fail to dis-cover the answer. Let thiscard remind you of that, anduse this card to talk to yourteam about this concept.

127

It is said you can’t improve anything until you’re willing

to admit it needs to be improved.


Regardless of your extreme confidence or your white-knuckle fears, statistics prove that commercial air travel is thesafest way to go. Per mile traveled, there are fewer accidentsamong commercial aircraft than there are with cars, trains, orautomobiles. Why is commercial air travel is so safe? Manyreasons, just one of which is the use of checklists.

When the plane is at the end of the runway and awaitingclearance to take off, the last thing the pilot and first officer do

is run a checklist to makesure all of the critical issueshave been handled. There’snothing worse than to be at30,000 feet and suddenly dis-cover you forgot to get jetfuel or, worse yet, somebodyforgot to bring the air maps.You can’t go back and getthem.

When you find yourselfagonizing and putting outfires because of consistency

Checklists Are a Must

91

Create a 3 × 5 card thatsays: “Use checklists tomaximize effectiveness.”Share that with your team.Then, work with your teamto create important processchecklists to maximize theireffectiveness. Involvingthem creates buy-in.

Assignment


128


issues, the first step to improvement may be to creating check-lists that everyone can follow. The key is not only to have thechecklists, but to insist that they be used each and every time.For example, I use a checklist to pack for his frequent air travelto speaking engagements. This avoids arriving without socks,shoes, or underwear. You don’t want to take off without fuel ormaps.

Though you may not need a checklist for each and every

series of procedures that you perform, they are invaluable where

you’re dealing with important issues and multiple things to

remember.


Zero Defections

and Postmortems

92

Our life expectancy in the United States has dramaticallyimproved over the past decade. It can be credited to two spe-cific sources among many: the efforts by so many people in-volved in healthcare, fitness, and wellness to extend both thequality and the length of people’s lives; and the efforts of mor-ticians who have used autopsies and postmortems to educateus about why people have passed away and how we might beable to prevent those conditions. It’s all about education andnot being afraid to see what went wrong.

The Japanese, pioneers of kaizen and continuous improve-ment, say that you can make dramatic improvements with one

129

We can’t avoid death, and we can’t avoid losing an em-

ployee on occasion. The key is to learn from both if we’re

really going to improve.


Even a bad service organization is good when it can fill acustomer’s order on occasion. Is your order-fill consistent, ordoes it need improvement? A 95 percent order-fill means that

Consistency

simple decision. You can de-cide that you’re going tochange things, and that deci-sion alone will drive improve-ment. For today, I challengeyou to decide that even onedefection of one quality em-ployee that could’ve beenprevented is too many, andthat by doing autopsies andpostmortems on your defec-tions, you can learn how tostop future personnel fromleaving you. Set your goal onzero defections—meaningthat you will not lose one employee that you should be able tokeep. And if you do, you’re going to learn from it in an effort toget him or her back.

You might consider divid-ing defections of staff intothree categories: those thatare avoidable, those that arepossibly salvageable, andthose that are unavoidable(such as people who moveaway, have spouse issues,family problems, and soforth). Write these three cat-egories on a 3 × 5 card forreference.

Assignment


93

130


5 percent of the time you’re not consistent, and you’re likely todisappoint a customer.

When Beth accepted the challenge of managing an inven-tory with thousands of SKUs (stock-keeping units), her ulti-mate mission was to make customers smile. Her salespeoplewanted to be consistent with uttering those magic words: “Yes,ma’am (or yes, sir). We’ve got it in stock and you can take itwith you now.”

Her second mission wasbolstering morale and inspir-ing her salespeople by elimi-nating the excuses andapologies they were makingabout stockage failures intoday’s “I need it now”world. Her mission was toimprove consistency andtheir ability to say yes, withthe ultimate goal of gainingand retaining customers.

How did she do it, youask? She worked with salesto discover what was com-monly requested and thenmade certain they hadthose SKUs on hand all the

time. This was a constant battle, because SKUs and customerneeds often changed. So, she kept the sales folks in the loopconstantly. And they appreciated that enormously.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Involve me and I’ll be partof the solution. Dictate tome or ignore me and I’ll bepart of the problem.”When solving problemsand challenges, involveyour key team members.They know the business,too, and their involvementin the process will energizethe solution. Review thiscard any time you have aproblem to resolve.

Involve team members in finding solutions. When they help

resolve a problem, they become part of the solution and buy in.

They also know you value their role, opinions, and experience.


131

94

Try to imagine the immense pride any player nominated tothe baseball or football hall of fame must feel. Try to picture theglow on his face when he sees his name among the legendaryfew to ever win that honor. Putting your people in the spotlightcan improve everyone’s spirit and especially inspire the custom-ers at the receiving end of your hall-of-fame-class service.

One Chicago office supply wholesaler has made its hallof fame concept really pay off. It adds the person’s name toits hall of fame roster, sometimes multiple times, to recognizethat employee. This system is a result of customers who writecomplementary letters forthe exceptional customerservice and specificallyname that employee.

This company gives theemployee a cash award anda written congratulations.Talk about inspiring people—cash talks! These customerservice letters and their hall-of-fame names are posted intheir customer waiting area.

Employees not only are inspired by this recognition, theytry to excel at customer service so they may be honored againand again, and customers get the message that when they getgreat service, they should write a letter that would be bothappreciated and valued.

Your Hall of Fame

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“What gets rewarded gets re-peated.” You can create yourown hall of fame and impro-vise the ideas that your teammight brainstorm. The impor-tant thing is to recognize andput people in the spotlight.

Assignment


132


The motivational principle of “what gets rewarded gets

repeated” is the driving force behind creating your hall of

fame.


95Your Wall of Shame

Why is it no one talks about shame? No matter how hardyou try, no matter how committed you are, and no matter howmuch you work to improve, on occasion you’re going to en-counter a speed bump in serving customers. There are so manypossible perils in the service process and so many outside forcesjust waiting to derail your best intentions that it is a fact thatmistakes will be made. It is a shame.

In all of history, there hasnever been more thought, en-gineering, analysis, planning,and commitment of re-sources given to anythingsuch as we have given toNASA for the manned spaceprogram. Yet with all of thevery best in the world, we’vehad accidents and deaths.Even the best of the bestcan’t stop those occasionalglitches in a system. It’s thesame with service delivery.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card write,“Set up a Wall of Shame.”Then actually set one up, us-ing 3 × 5 cards with storieson them as a visual reminderof things that went wrong inthe past. It’ll be a reminderfor everyone to avoid themin the future. NOTE: Thiswall should be constructedout of customers’ sight.

133

The first time you have a problem, it can be called an

accident. The second and each additional time, it can be called

your fault.


Have you ever noticed how easy it is to make somethingthat is incredibly simple really complicated? Often, training agen-das become so seemingly complex that they get swept aside infavor of other priorities. Here is one of the simplest and mosteffective training principles you can implement in your company,regardless of your size.

Thousands of years ago, the Chinese found that the “OxenPrinciple” was incredibly simple and amazingly effective fortraining. When they had a new ox to train, they would simplyyoke that ox with one already trained, one that knew how towork and had been there for a while, and let the trained oxteach the newcomer. The seasoned oxen knew when to pull,when to rest, and when to head to the barn. Before long, thenewcomer realized that the simple thing to do was go alongwith the plan. In a few weeks, both oxen had the same trainingagenda.

The Oxen Principle

96


However, acknowledging that they happen doesn’t meanthey are acceptable. Everyone on the team must become in-volved in identifying them, analyzing them, and trying to keepthem from happening again.

134


When you want to teach a new hire the basics, or youwant to upgrade someone’s skills, find willing oxen within yourcompany—people who enjoy training and are good at it—andtether them to the person you want to train. It’s amazingly simple,it’s quick, and it works.

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write: “The basic framework ofevery training program is:1. What result do we want?2. What standards must be met to achieve the

desired result?3. What training will ensure the standards

are met?”Then write down the names of key employees

who can serve as trainers. Use this card when youneed to set up a training program.

When you select a seasoned ox to train a newcomer, be

sure the one doing the training is doing it your way.


135

Many companies’ training goal is to produce customer sat-isfaction. Today’s more demanding customers require you toraise the bar far beyond satisfied. Your training should producea customer outcome that is “delighted,” customers who wantto buy again and who see you as their first preference whenmaking their next buyingchoice.

When Marcy called theplumbing firm for a commodethat had been stopped up, theplumber had the problem re-paired within 30 minutes. Heasked her if the second bath-room commode or sinkneeded any adjustments orwork, because the companyhad a one-hour minimum. Shecommented, “No, the othercommode worked perfectly, although it flushed a little slow.”The plumber went in, checked it, and found that the water levelwas low. Indeed, it was flushing slow. It had been that way forsix years since they bought the house. At the end of the servicecall, Marcy ended up with two bathrooms that were workingperfectly and a smile on her face. She will cling to that com-pany, because the plumber went beyond satisfied to delighted.

Satisfaction:

The Kiss of Death!

97

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“My team needs to go beyondsatisfied customers to de-lighted customers. And it’s myresponsibility to lead them tothat level of service.” Use thecard to remind you not onlywhat the goal is, but also who’sresponsible for achieving it.


136


Today, with demanding customers and a competitor

around very corner, you must set your goals higher to pro-

duce those delighted customers.


98

Correct Your

Thinking = Retraining

There’s a huge misunderstanding about training. Whetheryou are training five or 500 people, start by recognizing thateveryone is already trained. Your real effort is to “retrain” themto follow your processes and procedures, and obtain your de-sired outcomes. Some people are trained to do it very similarly

to what you want, andsome will appear to havebeen beamed in from an-other planet. Training is nec-essary to get everyonefollowing very similar think-ing and procedures.

A California manufac-turer struggled with theirtraining until managers re-alized that what they werereally trying to do was tochange human behavior: tochange thinking processes,

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writethe following guidance:“Good training is actually re-training. Get them thinkingand moving to the beat of ourdrum, not someone else’sdrum.” That’s the heart oftraining today. Use this cardto remind you of this whenyou set up training programs.

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Once again, the Japanese help us with that important termthat can make your training efforts incredibly effective. TheJapanese term keyoka means “we shall have one set of eyes.”For our training purposes, that means our goal is to have ev-eryone striving for common and well-defined outcomes. With-out giving them a vision of the one set of eyes that you want,five different people will end up producing five different re-sults. Keyoka gets everybody on the same page.

After visiting eight different locations for a northeasternwholesaler, I was dumbfounded by how different eight storescould be, yet they fly the same flag for the same company. Therewas little similarity in their signage, inventories, displays, house-keeping, policies, and procedures, and in how they went aboutcustomer service. After some intense study, we found that ev-ery manager had a different set of eyes. Each was doing his orher own thing and arriving at different end results. This problem

Keyoka

to rethink habits, and to focus on different outcomes. That isthe reason all military training begins with the basics. Theyknow the challenge is to get out with the old and in with thenew, starting with the thinking process and, at the same time,reinforcing the new behaviors and actions.

99


If you’ve ever tried to “retrain” yourself for a habit such

as smoking, overeating, or changing your language, you

know retraining takes time and reinforcement.


138


made consistent customerservice almost impossible. Itmade internal operations in-consistent, and it was a di-saster for the company’sprofits. The solution was toteach everybody to haveone set of eyes.

Assignment

The best way to createthis “one set of eyes” is toestablish a model againstwhich everyone can measureand compare their perfor-mances. On a 3 × 5 card,write: “I will create a keyokaphilosophy by modeling thebehaviors I expect to set theexample.”

Think of keyoka as a picture frame that surrounds what

you want to accomplish. Then, within that picture frame,

you can allow your people to be empowered and individual-

ize their own approaches.


100Your ABCs and

1,000 Little Things

Your first days in school were spent learning the fun-damentals of the English language: your ABCs. Only thencould you move on to learn the 1,000 other things that wereimportant, but only doable if you had committed your ABCs

139

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Remember the 1,000 LittleThings.” Post it visibly so ev-eryone can see it to remindthem to pay attention to thedetails.

to memory. We can follow that same successful logic in de-signing any training procedure. Little things can become bigthings.

Recently, a friend told me about trying to sleep at a sum-mer camp where there was one lonely mosquito that kept buzzingaround his head. He said he couldn’t believe that a 200-poundperson could be so intimidated by such a tiny little mosquito.

Finally, he turned the light onand killed that sucker, andlife got better.

You’ve undoubtedlydone a good job at manag-ing the big things in yourcompany—you’ve learnedyour ABCs. Now you canwork on the 1,000 littlethings. All too often, busi-

nesses overlook the little things, thinking they’re not all thatimportant. But to the employee who has one little thing theyneed, such as getting off early, getting help with his or her healthinsurance, or dealing with somebody who knows what he orshe is doing, that little thing becomes huge and can be a barrierin inspiring people. When you get the big things perfected, it’stime to turn to the little things and manage the details. It’s thepolish that will retain and inspire people.

Rarely is there just one thing that attracts a superstar em-

ployee to join you. Normally, it’s a combination of many things

done consistently and done well that wins his or her heart and

gets him or her to stick with you through thick and thin.



140


Are you aware that those tomatoes in your grocery storewere picked green from some faraway, warm climate andshipped in to be sold in your area? Upon arrival, they are putthrough a gassing process that turns them red. That’s why theyoften look decent on the outside, and on the inside, they’reyellow and hard. People are often similar to tomatoes: whenwe’re green, we’re growing—and the moment we turn red,we begin to rot. In our case, rot means that we stagnate andstop learning. Experts tell us that the average person may ac-cumulate knowledge over his or her lifetime, but people reallyend their learning curve in their early 20s.

Cavitt Robert, founderof the National SpeakersAssociation, taught the prin-ciple that we should be in-volved in lifelong learning.He said that school is neverout for the pro. When is thelast time you finished a re-ally good book on market-ing, reviewed a DVD oncustomer service, or at-tended a seminar on thecutting edge of technology?If you’ve gotten into a rut,it’s time to challenge your-self and get green again.

Green Is Growing;

Red Is Rotting

101

Assignment

Keeping yourself up todate is important. You haveto keep your training andeducation up to date to beeffective with your team. Ona 3 × 5 card, write: “I amalso part of the workingteam and need training my-self.” Then schedule someprofessionally enhancingtraining for yourself.

141

What is your role in training? That probably varies, de-pending on whether you’re a business owner, who does on-the-job training while carrying on 100 other tasks, or you use acorporate trainer, who makes training a full-time venture. Re-gardless of your answer, research has shown there are fourroles you must play in an effective training program.

A famous pizza chain has a philosophy: Your job is to makeit, bake it, take it, or support someone who does—four clearroles in getting that pizza de-livered to the customer’sdoor. In the process of train-ing, you will find yourself be-ing a teacher, a preacher, acoach, and a shrink.

Your role as a teacher isto make sure that peopleknow the thinking processesand the skills that they needto be successful on the job.

Teacher, Preacher,

Coach, or Shrink?

How can you expect your employees to be up to date if

you are not? You have a responsibility to yourself to keep learning

and growing.


102


“I am a teacher,preacher, a coach, and ashrink.” Write that on a 3 × 5card and post it in your of-fice somewhere prominent. Itwill remind you of your fourroles in training.

Assignment

142


Leadership is about creating a business environment wheretraining succeeds by supporting and challenging people to betheir best. That environment should inspire people to partici-pate. One of the challenges is to communicate, especially oneon one, with your key staff.

One CEO was given a certificate, supposedly from theFast Food Conference Rooms of America. This was obviouslya phrase created by his employees because he often asked hisstaff to join him at a local McDonald’s or coffee shop when hehad some important communication to go over with them. Hesaved these times to manage the critical few. By escaping from

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher ex-

plains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great

teacher inspires.


A Different Approach to

Communication: Using “McMeetings”

Your role as a preacher is to spread enthusiasm everywhereyou go to get people fired up and inspired, to use the training asit’s taught. Your role as a coach is to constantly critique theresults they are getting and encourage your players to makeadjustments, as needed. A coach’s job is 24/7. And last, yourjob is to be a shrink: to analyze people, processes, and out-comes and to recommend changes when they’re appropriate.And in that role and in training, you will need to get inside people’sheads to be effective.

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143

his office, he was able to give the person or people he met with100 percent attention with no mental distractions around them,showing those joining himthat they were important andthat he was not going to al-low interruptions to destroytheir “McMeeting.”

Perhaps your companyshould be like his, and useyour conference room tohave lunch and escape peri-odically with key peoplewhen you want to commu-nicate very important issues,ideas, and challenges.

Time has become crucial, and you should consider this

one-on-one idea at your local coffee shop. Perhaps you’ll be

given a certificate from the Fast Food Conference Rooms of

America.


Write on a 3 × 5 card:“Communication: (1) Thegreatest problem with com-munication is to assume it tookplace. (2) Communication, orthe message, is always in themind of the receiver. Doingkey communication one onone is my goal.”

Assignment


144


When the management of a large warehouse operationimproved the lighting and made things brighter in the ware-house, they were excited to learn that productivity went upalmost 18 percent. Upon analysis, it wasn’t attributed to thefact that people could see better. Instead, it was a feeling thatthey were cared about, and management was making it easierand better for them to work. The change inspired them.

Some months later, a change of management decided toturn the lighting back down. Guess what happened? Productiv-ity went up again. Why? Because they were perceived as pay-ing attention to their people. Folks working in the warehousebelieved that management was making the changes becausethey were important. That is one of the hidden outcomes of

training.At times, you might pick

one of your people to gothrough training simply to in-spire him or her and to raisehis or her self-esteem. Par-ticipation in training, particu-larly events outside thecompany, can pay off re-gardless of the topic or whatyour employee learns. It’spaying attention and caringabout people.

The Hidden Payoff

in Training Events

104

“Sending employees toexternal training opportuni-ties has a hidden benefit be-yond just the training: itcommunicates that the em-ployee is important and val-ued to our organization.”Write this on a 3 × 5 card toreview on occasion.

Assignment

145

Caring creates caring, and your people can’t transfer

good feelings to your customers unless they get those good

feelings from you.


105

This Uncle F.E.S.S. training idea starts with the 80-20 rule,better known as the “Pareto Principle.” In 1906, Vilfredo Pareto,an Italian economist, found that 20 percent of something is al-ways responsible for 80 percent of the results. For example, 20percent of your inventory will create 80 percent or more ofyour sales.

When an Atlanta sign company tackled excessive employeeturnover, it found a lack oftraining, and the 80-20 rulewas generating stress, anxi-ety, and frustration for itstelephone people. Of itsproduct and service inquir-ies, complaints and questionsequaled 80 percent of whatthe telephone people weredealing with. Only 20 percentwere product orders. Next,the company brainstormedanswers to the 10 mostpopular calls and actually

Uncle F.E.S.S.


Assignment

After some research,write on a 3 × 5 card your top10 Uncle F.E.S.S. issues—which 20 percent of activitiesare taking 80 percent of thetime available. Brainstormwith your team and possiblyoutsiders some solutions.Record those solutions andthen implement them.

146


The cruelest punishment you can give another person is tohold him or her in solitary confinement, to not communicatewith him or her. In prisons, it’s called “The Hole,” and prison-ers are isolated from everyone else. Some say that an extendedstay in solitary confinement can even cause mental illness. Forthe purpose of this idea, we want to focus on why you don’tgive enough compliments to your people.

There’s a phrase used in State Department and diplomaticcircles called persona non grata, which means you are an“unwelcome person,” and that’s the way many of your em-ployees feel when they’ve done a good job and fail to hearfrom you. Just remember that the failure to communicate sub-jects your employee to that solitary confinement. That is whatyou’re doing when you don’t recognize and respect what he or

Do You Have

Reasons—Or Excuses?

106

ended up with scripts, some key words, and some answers thatwere predetermined before the phone rang. Now, the telephonepeople could simply go to a flip index to answer inquiries, com-plaints, and questions, and do it consistently. It reduced stress,made everybody happier, and inspired both employees and cus-tomers. And it also reduced employee turnover.

The expertise of your employees to identify and repair

these 80-20 problems not only helps fix the problems, but

makes them part of the solution.


147

she has accomplished. Make a commitment today that you’regoing to give many more com-pliments beginning this veryday and into the future.

When one employeewas asked when the last timehe got a compliment frommanagement was, he askedwhat year it was.

Make a decision about what you want reinforced, and

then do it with your compliments. Don’t keep your people in

the dark.


107What Is True Empowerment?

All too often, what many call empowerment is actuallysimple delegation, or even dumping. Everyone needs to un-derstand that management techniques are not magic man-tras, but simply tools to be reached for at the right times. Oneof those tools is to truly empower your people. If you claim toempower them but hold back their right to make decisions,you confuse them, reduce your credibility, and drain yourorganization’s resources.

When handing over empowerment situations, the key is todefine what needs to be done, define the outcome you are look-ing for, and explain why that outcome is important. If you want


On a 3 × 5 card, write: “Iwill catch my employees be-ing good and hand out sincerecompliments every day.” Re-view this card routinely.

Assignment

148


to add any suggestions or tips for getting the job done easilyor quickly, or for getting a better end result, do so. But thenallow the employees themselves to figure out the “how” ofgetting it done.

Often, management fails to empower people becausethey’re afraid they’ll screw up. If it’s crucial, then you canagree it’s probably a good principle. However, there are many,many things that you can empower people to do that will helpthem grow in confidence and be more ready to take on the nextassignment.

Assignment

“Empowerment means giving up the authority tomake decisions, not just execute orders without supervi-sion.” Write this on a 3 × 5 card and review it weekly toremind yourself of what true empowerment really is.

There’s nothing more demeaning than to be told you

are empowered to do something, and then have management

hold back the decision-making authority.


149

One thing is critical in the creation and operation of acompany that has long-term, sustainable success. It’s the thingthat makes a difference between good and great. It is thething that makes a difference between a few good years andmany great years. It is the issue of how employees are treatedon a day-to-day basis.

Mary Kay Ash said,“There are two things peoplewant more than sex andmoney...recognition andpraise.” When people feelvalued and appreciated, theyare more productive. Thecompany is more competi-tive and in a better positionto treat its people well, andso on. It’s a virtuous circle.Yet treating people well issurprisingly uncommon in Corporate America today.

Decide right now that you’re going to put your people on apedestal and make them feel important. By doing so, you can alsoget to know their needs, their wants, their goals, and their dreams.

MMFI

108

Post a 3 × 5 card in youroffice where you will see itroutinely on which you’vewritten: “MMFI: Make MeFeel Important.” Use it toremind yourself that peoplerespond best when they feelvalued. Make your employ-ees feel valued.

Assignment

Everyone needs to be appreciated and respected, and get

a pat on the back occasionally.



150


Sometimes, the simplest and least expensive ideas can havethe greatest payoff. When it comes to inspiring and recognizingpeople, there is nothing simpler than having every person whoworks for you to have business cards. They are inexpensive

and give incredible meaningto some people, especiallythose who have never hadthem.

For this tiny investment,your people will be proud toleave their cards with everycustomer and every prospect.They’ll hand out those cardsto friends and relatives, andyour business will have itsname in many unexpectedplaces at little cost. That cardwill talk for you and, becauseyou’ve made them feel im-portant, your employees willbe promoting your company,and that is powerful.

Card Everyone

109

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, so youdon’t forget, write: “Busi-ness Cards for All!” Thenget business cards for ev-ery employee. Set up anelectronic file account withyour local Kinko’s or print-ers, so the format will bedone and available. Add theperson’s name and title, andthey’re ready to go. Try tohave business cards foremployees on their first dayof work.

Business cards communicate to employees a sense of be-

longing and of being part of the team. They also demonstrate

your real and personal interest in them.


151

110

To understand what inspires people, we also need to under-stand what causes them to perform at a lower level than mightbe possible. The phrase to remember is “limiting fears.” Think ofa speed limit. People get to 55 mph, and that’s as fast as they willgo. They are afraid to go faster. The greatest roadblocks to highperformance are fear and anxiety, and they can actually inca-pacitate a person.

We see fear played outmost with salespeople. Theyhave the fear of rejectionwhen, in actuality, they are notbeing rejected; they are beingrefused. To understand fear,we need to break down theword. Fear means “false ex-pectations appearing real.” Isfear a friend or foe? Fear, atthe right time and in the rightdose, can be healthy. It canwarn us and protect us. How-ever, most fears are irrational,and they come from negativeoutcomes in the mind.

To inspire people, you also need to be an encourager. Theonly way you can conquer fear is to inspire and encourage yourpeople to take a bite out of it, or to try. Unfortunately, there’s noother fix. But as they experience successes with the things theyfear, fear goes away. If you know you can overcome what you’refearful of, you neutralize it. You are no longer vulnerable.

Feel the Fear

Assignment

Write down some of thethings you fear. Your employ-ees fear many of the samethings. On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Fear is false expectationsappearing real. I’ll help by em-ployees over fear by encour-agement and a willingness toaccept their fears leading tosmall failures if they are will-ing to try.” Then encouragethem to risk the things theyare fearful of.


152


As an encourager and a teacher, remind your people

that most of what they fear, particularly in selling, is not fear

at all. They are simply being refused. That takes the power

out of fear.


111

Virtually every company in America talks about how im-portant its employees are, but then fails to prove it. People don’tcare how much you know until they know how much you care.

It’s easy to talk, but the chal-lenge is to show them.

When a massive firenearly destroyed theMalden Mills Manufactur-ing Company in Massachu-setts, 3,000 employeeswere certain they would beout of work. Their CEO as-tonished them when he an-nounced he would keep all3,000 of his employees onthe payroll and start rebuild-ing the 90-year-old family

business. He paid them for a month, and then a second month,and then a third month, until the plant was reopened. He saidthe fundamental difference between him and most other CEOs

They Don’t Know How Much You Care

True caring is demon-strated, not spoken. On a 3 ×5 card, write: “At my nextopportunity, I will show myteam I care about them insome way. And I’ll do that atleast once a month.” Then doit. Review this card once eachmonth to remind yourself ofyour commitment.

Assignment

153

People repaid this CEO’s support and caring by almost

doubling their productivity. Everyone was a winner.


is that he considers his workers an asset and not an expense.However, this is where he showed them, not just talked.

112

Forget Telling:

Show Them You Love Them

Again, do you know how many opportunities there are toshow your people you care? For sure, there are 365 (and everyfour years, 366 opportunities). That’s how many days there areon your calendar, and every day you may have a chance toboth tell and show your people how important they are to you.

Turn your planning book, your Rolodex, or your Palm Pilotinto a recognition machine. You can keep track of birthdays,anniversaries, the dates people joined the company, weddings,births, the ages and birthdays of children, recognition of peoplewinning special events, and participating in traveling. The list isendless. Think of each day as an opportunity to show, not justtell, people you care. Celebrate. Use cakes and ice cream andall kinds of creative ways to demonstrate to them that you domore than just talk.


154


EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueThe principal way to stand out in a crowd is to be different,

and you will be different if you truly use these milestones and events

as opportunities to celebrate.

Return to your set of employee cards. On eachemployee’s card, write down his or her birthday, an-niversary, employment anniversary, kids’ birthdays—anything you can discover. Your HR records will havemuch of this. Ask for the rest. Then, use this infor-mation to demonstrate that you care by doing simplethings: send a card; make an announcement at work;take the employee to lunch. The options are endless.Just do something.

Assignment

155

One of the great struggles for any good leader, CEO, ormanager is to attempt to be fair with his or her subordinates.However, the problem is what’s good for the goose may notbe good for the gander. In other words, “fair” can have adifferent meaning to every person. In your attempt to befair, you need a thinking process, and here it is.

Coach John Wooden, thewinningest coach in collegebasketball, was known forhis famous quote: “I treat ev-erybody fair, but not equal.”His point was that whenpeople contribute more, theyshould get more from theoutcome. When people accomplish more, they should be re-warded more. That is in both dollars and benefits.

Friendly and Firm,

but Is It Fair?

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card write:“Reward those who deserverewards. Be fair but notequal.”

113

The United States is a place where everyone has the equal

right to be unequal.



156


Once again, the Japanese and their business principles canserve as role models for us. They are incredibly diligent aboutplanning and believe that is one of the reasons they’ve been ableto dominate many business categories around the world. Theybelieve that American businesses are too busy shooting from the

hip and not thinking throughthe new things they attempt.

Dick, CEO of a Chicagopublishing company, says hehas seen many companies failin his lifetime of business ex-perience. He has never seena company fail because it didtoo much planning, but he’sseen many companies failbecause they do too littleplanning.

The Japanese believethat we use the little p andthe big E, and they do justthe opposite, and that’s ourrecommendation to youwhen you think about inspir-

ing and involving people. The big P is for planning. Take yourtime to make a good plan, and when you roll out your little e—execution—you have thought through the resources you need,the problems you might have, and the people it will take tomake your plan work.

Little p, Big E

114

Planning leads to excel-lent execution (little e), andyou owe your team goodplanning (the big P). Youshould also involve them inthat planning to ensure itssuccess. On a 3 × 5 card,write: “To fail to plan is toplan to fail.” Review thecard occasionally to remindyourself how importantplanning is to your, and their,success.

Assignment

157

By adopting the big P and little e, you will avoid many of

the casualties that come about from a lack of planning.


115They Must Agree: A Willing Spirit

You can’t push people! Show me a manager who has triedto push people into doing what he or she wants done, and I’llshow you someone who has probably caved in to using threatsand intimidation, or tried to buy his or her way with incentivepay and benefits. They don’t work! They are both externalmotivators, and the moment you take those motivators away,the behavior stops.

Former president Dwight Eisenhower was legendary forhis “piece of string” story.When he had military subor-dinates who were gettingblack marks because theywere pushing people, threat-ening people, and using in-timidation, he would callthem into his office. Hewould hand them a shortpiece of string and ask themto push the string across hisdesk. Obviously, when doingthat, the string wads up in a

To help you rememberthe pull vs. push idea, writethe following on a 3 × 5 card:“Push the string and it wadsup. Pull the string and it co-operates.” Review this cardwhen you need to motivateyour team or an individualemployee.

Assignment


158


How many times have you had problems, or hit roadblocks,or had something totally derailed because you didn’t have theinformation you needed and you didn’t do the research youshould have done? Why are we afraid to ask other people fortheir opinions? All too often, we think it makes us appear to besmall and trivial, and that we’re not capable of making our owndecisions. However, the really smart businessperson uses thefour most important words in the English language.

Kop Kopmeyer had a sign in his office that said, “The fourmost important words in the world.” And underneath that, it

The Magic Question:

What Do You Think?

ball, just as people wad up and refuse to cooperate. He wouldthen show the subordinates the importance of pulling people andbeing an encourager and an inspirer, not a pusher.

William James, a famous European writer, said that thenumber-one ingredient to get people to cooperate with you is awilling spirit. The key words when you want something doneare “I need your help.” Don’t lose sight of them, and be anencourager, not a pusher.

Think back to your childhood and how you reacted to

fear and intimidation. With that in mind, you will never use

them again because they will deliver a total failure.


116

159

said, “What do you think?” He knew that when you ask, youlearn. When you ask, you grow. When you ask, you get infor-mation and other opinions to help you make better decisions.Do you need to join the world of askers?

When you ask peoplewhat they think, be verycareful to give credit wherecredit is due. Let it be theiridea, not yours. Also, ifpeople give you good inputand good ideas and you don’treact to them, it’s often wiseto get back to them and letthem know why it wasn’t a fit or why you can’t do it right now.What gets rewarded gets repeated. Don’t forget to thank people,both verbally and perhaps tangibly, when they’ve given yougood information.

Mr. Kopmeyer said, “The solution to every problem is

out there if we just develop the courage and the habit and the

discipline of asking.”



Make an “ask” sign on a3 × 5 card with the four mostimportant words: “What doyou think?” Review this cardroutinely.

Assignment

160


How to Follow the

“Wise Judge Principle”

in Dealing With People

Have you ever had someone accuse you about somethingthat happened, in which the information from which they wereoperating was totally wrong? If you make decisions about is-sues such as mistakes, discipline, and problems, there’s a hugeopportunity to misjudge or reach misdirected conclusions. Some-times we need to go into the courtroom to understand one coreprinciple that we need to apply here.

When police officers investigate serious accidents or crimes,one of the first things they do is interview all available wit-nesses involved in that situation. One police officer said he wasalways awed because he could interview two people who sawthe exact same accident at the same time at the same corner,and they would have totally different descriptions of what hap-pened. The challenge is to sort out the truth. A wise judge al-

ways listens to all partiesinvolved before making adecision.

So the next time you’reabout to jump on your peopleor accuse them, make surethat you have heard every-body, and then try to arriveat a fair conclusion. It’s hardto seek out the truth some-times, even when you haveall the facts. What’s going

Remember the “WiseJudge Principle” when han-dling personnel issues. On a3 × 5 card, write: “Be a wisejudge. Doubt the initial infor-mation I receive until I canvalidate it. Then render a fairjudgment.”

Assignment

117

161

to happen if you don’t have the clear facts? Such uninformeddecisions douse inspiration like a fireman pouring water ona fire.

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueNothing is more demeaning or downgrading to an em-

ployee than to be challenged about something when he or she

is innocent.

Have you heard “the lights are on, but nobody’s home”?It’s hard to remember how many times I’ve been told that anemployer has an open-door policy, but upon further inspection,I find an open door and a closed mind. Everyone in life oper-ates from a differentmemory bank shaped by theevents in their lives. Thechallenge in working withpeople is not allowing thosepast experiences, prejudices,perceptions, predispositions,and predictions to roadblockour thinking.

As I delivered my con-sulting report for a multi-location Detroit business,the chairman of the boardgave me high marks for my analysis and recommendations

Your Door Is Open

118

Assignment

Make your open doorpolicy also mean an “openmind” policy. Don’t let pre-conceived notions and ideasblock new ideas and infor-mation. On your next 3 × 5card, write: “Open Door—Open Mind.” Review asneeded.


162


119

One necessary ingredient to keep the human spirit alive ishope—hope that tomorrow will be a better day, and hope forthe future. By adopting a policy of promoting from within, youafford your all-star employees the hope, inspiration, and oppor-tunity they need to go above and beyond, and earn the opportu-nity to move up. At the same time, you can lock yourself into aself-made prison by making absolute promises about promotingfrom within.

From the founding of IBM (International Business Ma-chines), Thomas Watson followed the policy that IBM wouldpromote from within. For decades IBM did exactly that.

Weasel Words

to reshape the company. He went on to explain that he abso-lutely believed that the course of action I had laid out wouldboth work and have a huge payoff for his company. How-ever, he said, “I’m just not willing to make those changes anddo what it takes to follow the course of action you have out-lined.” Within six months, this well-established family busi-ness had filed for bankruptcy and was gone. He had an opendoor but a closed mind.

A mind is a horrible thing to waste. If you’re not open-

minded, you simply have hired a body and you’re not really

listening to the wealth of ideas and information others can

bring to your open door.


163

Then, in recent years, as it’s had to reinvent itself to stay alivein the market, it brought in three people from the outside. Thisshook the very foundationsof IBM, and the ripple effectwent through the company.Bringing someone in fromthe outside was just unheardof, and IBM got caught be-cause it had locked itself intoan unofficial policy of pro-moting from within. Be onguard from this experienceto protect yourself.

When stipulating thatyou will promote from within,use weasel words such as“we would prefer to..., “ “itis our desire if the manpower is available...,” and such to set acondition that you could bring someone in from the outside if heor she were better qualified than your existing employees. Inthat way, you actually create a competition for people to wantto move up.

Always advertise theopen jobs both internally andexternally, and make every-one aware of that. Althoughyou should prefer to hirefrom within, it may not workout that way every time. Ona 3 × 5 card, write: “Hirefrom within except when Ican’t get what I need fromwithin.”

Assignment


Don’t be “hung by the tongue” with your own words

and get locked into a situation where you have no options.


164


If you’re involved or work for a family-owned or -run busi-ness, you know that can be the thrill of victory or the agony ofdefeat. Though a family business can offer a unique opportu-nity to form relationships and gain respect and rewards that afamily normally couldn’t do, it can also be a nightmare if familymembers aren’t committed to cooperation.

Mike Henning is prob-ably the most respected fam-ily business consultant in thecountry, and if you can sitand just listen to some of thestories he can tell about thepitfalls, perils, and problemsthat can arise from familybusinesses, it’s enough toscare you to death.

For this quick idea, thechallenge is to put asideyour selfishness and be onguard for greed, pride, andarrogance as forces that

can rip your business apart. You need an attitude of coopera-tion and consideration for others to make it work, and it can.

A Family Affair

120

Your family business can be a really meaningful experi-

ence if everyone involved realizes that money and stuff are

not the goal, and that people are what is important, both

inside and outside your business. Work to inspire others.


If you are part of afamily-owned business,consider outside help whenappropriate. Outsiders canoften get beyond family re-lationships to real truths.On a 3 × 5 card, write: “Ina family-owned business,there is a time for externalconsultants. Is now one ofthose times?”

Assignment

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121

Perhaps our great singleobstacle to success is gettingout of the way and parkingour egos at the curb. An egois a necessary and valuabledriving force for success, butit can also be very destruc-tive when our egos get outof control and we think weare better than other people.

Here is a powerfulquote from a bulletin boardin a business employee break-room. Think about the messageand how you can apply it with your people.

“Tell me, and I will forget; show me, andI may remember; but involve me, and I will understand.”

Involvement is a necessary ingredient in building teamworkand pulling people in to be part of your mission and vision forthe future. There are many ways to involve people, and yourchallenge is to read back through this book to pick out some ofthose that support this quote.

Your Greatest

Challenge: Egocentric

When you pull your people in and get them truly in-

volved, the payoff will exceed your wildest expectations. Just

get over your ego to do it.



Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, remindyourself of the importance ofinvolving your employees.Write: “Tell me, and I willforget; show me, and I mayremember; but involve me,and I will understand.” Re-view as needed.

166


One thing we know about trains is that, on occasion, theyderail, and the outcome can be tragic: locomotives lying onthe ground, cars piled everywhere, and people hurt or killed.Your people are much the same. They occasionally becomederailed, get off-track, lose interest in the job and even intheir personal lives. Your role as an inspirer is to encouragethem to get back on track, but the question is how to do it. In

fact, that is Excedrin head-ache number one through25 for most managers.

W. Clement Stone be-came one of America’s firstbillionaires as a result ofbuilding a company calledCombined Insurance. Hismethod for becoming in-credibly wealthy was to hirethousands and thousands ofpeople to sell his inexpensiveinsurance policies. He wasone of the first in the coun-try to use scripts and to in-sist that everyone followthem. Used right, their salessuccess was virtually guar-anteed. However, he also

knew that even great people sometimes get off-track and needhelp. Over the years, he found that the only way to get them

The Only Thing That Works When People

Are Off-Track

122

Know your people andknow their goals so you canhelp them get back on-trackwhen they need that help.Review your employee 3 ×5 cards to ensure that youhave recorded the goalsyour employees have set forthemselves so you can re-mind them when they getoff track. If you haven’tcaptured that information,now is a good time to havethat discussion.

Assignment

167

really back on track was to remind them that they were hurtingthemselves by not working to achieve their personal goals andobjectives. In other words, getting them back on track is allabout them.

123

Winston’s Wisdom:

Your Best Is Not Enough

One of the hot topics in business today is how to go fromgood to great. It is no longer enough to be good, because allyour competitors are good. Your leadership role is to create acompany atmosphere wherepeople really want to excel.

Winston Churchill be-came legendary during WorldWar II for his ability to rallypeople. One of his quotes thatcan really fire up your enthu-siasm when everythingseems to overwhelm you isthe following: “Sometimes itis not enough to do your best.You must do what is required.”

Think about that quote when you’re burned out, tired, orjust ready to give up. It seems to just reach down inside and

Assignment

On a 3 × 5 card, writedown Churchill’s quote:“Sometimes it is not enoughto do your best. You must dowhat is required.” Occasion-ally review it and share itwith your team.


It is human to lose sight of where we want to go, and we

need help and encouragement to get back on track.


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124

It is somewhere between difficult and impossible to be in-spired about delivering great customer service when your mind

is cluttered with fear andworry about paying for a hos-pital stay, or how to deal withdoctor bills that are piling up,or your check being short be-cause you were out sick.

Rod Reason, president ofTotal Benefits Company,points out that benefits arenot a motivator of people, butthe lack of fringe benefits canbe a de-motivator of people.Today, more than ever,people are aware of the needfor health insurance, a 401(k),

Fringe Benefits

inspire us to make that additional effort to do that little bit more.Winston’s quote can be your ticket to getting everyone involvedto do what it takes to succeed in business today, because some-times your best is not enough.

The lack of benefits is ade-motivator. Counterproduc-tive. On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Benefits are important partsof the compensation package.But they don’t provide moti-vation. Employees need themand expect them.” Reviewthis card every time you thinkabout changing your benefitspackage.

Assignment

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueChurchill was a master motivator. You can be, too, by

following his commonsense approach to inspiring people.

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125

and long-term disability. If you can’t provide those, people maywell end up working for your competitor down the street.

Start today by seeing benefits as an opportunity to retainpeople and truly get them involved in the job.

Retention: Annual Revenues Stink

Try to picture a boss or supervisor who’s unhappy withsome aspect of your job performance but waits almost a yearto review it with you. Whata tragedy. All too often, an-nual performance reviewsbecome “save up and zap”sessions where managersdownload on the peoplethey’re reviewing. They ripthe meat from the bones anddemoralize the folks beingreviewed.

Mark, a senior managerat Cisco Systems, is re-quired to do an annual re-view for each of hisemployees. In actuality, hedoes two reviews. The first


Benefits have become one of the greatest retention tools

you can use. The next time you’re due to give a raise, you

might improve fringe benefits.


Make your perfor-mance reviews meaningfuland useful. On a 3 × 5 card,write the following: “Perfor-mance reviews are as muchto coach as to review. Dothem as needed, not once ayear.” Put this card in frontof the employee cards toremind you. Remember touse your employee perfor-mance cards.

Assignment

170


Imagine yourself working day in and day out without a wordthat your performance was substandard, and the first time youlearning that management was unhappy was when they calledyou in and fired you. All too often managers form an invisibleagreement between them and their subordinates that no news isgood news. Then, out of the clear blue, they’ll dismiss someonewithout ever giving the person a chance to improve his or herperformance.

At a plastics plant in my hometown, a worker was called tothe office, and three of the management people berated him

You Should Be Arrested!

Turn on the lights and acknowledge people’s strengths,

weaknesses, and concerns on a daily basis.


126

one is for corporate; it contains all the typical language aboutthe employee really trying and improving and so on. Then hedoes a second review, which is in reality the one he uses to helpplan the next year with each employee. When he calls eachperson in for an annual review, they talk about what they accom-plished in the past year and how Mark can help that person bemore successful the next year.

In the military, a kiss of death is to get an annual reviewthat says you did a “good” job. This is particularly true if youplan to stay in the service. To remain in today’s military, youmust get a review that says you’ve done an “excellent” to “awe-some” job, or you are gone.

171

and talked to him as if he were a dog, and ended up firing him.Prior to that, he had no hint that they were unhappy with hisperformance. He went home enraged and devastated, and wentback to the plastics plant with a sawed-off shotgun. Late thatnight, three managers from the plastics company were in themorgue with a tag on their toe. He got revenge. He didn’t getmad; he got even.

You should be keeping your employees informed about theirperformances, both good and bad. If you’re guilty of not doingthat, change it today.

The way you treat outbound employees sends a huge

message to the remaining group as to how they might be

treated in the future.



Record the following on a 3 × 5 card: “Employeesshould get a chance to improve their performance. Theyneed to know:

1. What’s unacceptable.

2. What the standard is and what managmentexpects them to do to fix it.

3. The timetable and how it’s going to be

measured.”

Assignment

172


If you believe inspiration, great leadership, and a packageof fringe benefits will keep people on the job, try telling yourpeople that you really care about them and that they are impor-tant to you, but that you will no longer be able to pay them.Effective immediately, there will be no more paychecks, butyou would sure like everybody to stick around and continue todo their work. How many of your employees do you think will

still be on the job late today?J.R., a seasoned busi-

ness owner and inspirationalleader, believed paycheckswere his opportunity to showhis people a tangible waythat their work was appre-ciated. He also believed thatemployees should nevercome to him to ask for araise—that he should be pro-active and keep them ap-prised of all that the companycould afford to pay them.Asking for a raise often feelslike begging, and it is de-

meaning and stressful for your people. Become someone whokeeps them informed and offers them performance reviewsfrequently, along with raises when appropriate.

If They Need a

Raise, Fire the Boss

127

On a 3 × 5 card write:“Adopt Operation ‘FairShare.’” This is a plan whereeveryone knows they’ll getregular pay reviews andtheir fair share of thecompany’s profits andgrowth. Establish when payand performance will be re-viewed and the standardsand results that can triggerpay and bonuses.

Assignment

173

The only way to find out for sure if your people really

need the money is to announce that you can’t pay them and

see how many walk out the door.


128Correct and Move On

It’s a simple truth that of all the loads you will ever carry, theheaviest one to bear is a grudge. Resentment, bitterness, andgrudges can dismantle even the best inspirational business envi-ronment. Follow the three steps of confront, correct, and moveon, and you’ll clear the air andremove the tension in yourbusiness immediately.

My friend Jerry R. wasnotorious for being blunt andspeaking his mind. At times,his frankness could be veryabrasive. But both his friendsand employees knew wherethey stood with him. Thebest news was that after hevented and got the situationresolved, he never broughtit up again. He was the fore-runner of confront, correct, and move on.

According to a recent study, 71 percent of all the workersin the United States dread the day as they drive to work. It’snot the work they do physically; it’s the environment they work

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“When dealing with prob-lems, especially with em-ployees, I will confrontthem, make appropriatecorrections and adjust-ments, and then move on.Unless it happens again, it’sdone with and has no bear-ing on the future.”

Assignment


174


When you have a problem, confront it, make correc-

tions, and then move on. And don’t go back.


For reasons no one can clearly understand or explain, hu-man beings are 10 times more likely to find the faults ratherthan the good in the world. Watch the news media and how theheadlines sensationalize life’s dark side. It’s about murder, may-hem, sex, and scandals. It’s easy to fall victim to the negativesand overlook what your people do well. Instead, catch them

being good.Phil was a frustrated

business owner based inPhiladelphia. He had tried andtried to get his staff to workas a team and to follow hisorders, to no avail. At the endof the day, he went on theattack and was constantlyragging on people and find-ing their faults. The more hedid it, the worse things got.He couldn’t understand that

Catch Them Being Good

in and the attitudes there. Confront, correct, and move on, andyou will have a clean-air environment in your place of busi-ness. Put the past in the past.

129

Assignment

Write this key phrase ona 3 × 5 card: “Catch thembeing good.” Use this cardto remind you that you mayhave to counsel someone forpoor performance, but youalso need to reinforce posi-tive performance. That’seven more important.

175

when you attack people from the negative you destroy posi-tive behavior. You actually are doing the opposite of what needsto be done to succeed.

Though on occasion you have got to correct people’s per-formance, the secret is finding and acknowledging the 99 thingsthey do right and then having only to correct the one thing youwould like them to do better. When you start to criticize, askyourself, “Does this really matter? Is there a better way of point-ing out this person’s behavior?”

130Focus on Behavior, Not People

There are no bad people, but there are people who haveunacceptable behavior. When was the last time someone askedyou if you would like to have some constructive criticism? Evenif you said yes, I’ll bet that you cringed when you heard thenegative remarks. No one really likes criticism. When you nega-tively criticize, it destroys self-esteem.

Bob had a gift to help people improve. He followed threesimple steps that you can apply beginning today. Whenyou’re confronting behavior problems, the first step is todescribe the problem in a friendly manner. The issue whiledoing that is to protect or enhance self-esteem. Don’t letpeople get down because they see it as criticism. The sec-ond step is to ask for their help in solving and resolving the


EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueOne more time: what gets rewards gets repeated, and

catching people being good is an opportunity to do just that.

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131

Too many business owners would fire someone for steal-ing quicker than you can say, “Clean out your desk.” But thenthey look the other way when slackers, whiners, and peoplewho undermine productivity and performance get away with itagain and again and again. Stealing is stealing, and the worstthieves of all are the ones who blatantly fail to perform in yourcompany. They’re stealing the money you need to pay your all-star performers.

Get Mad

Remember to keep any performance review focused on

one thing: not the person, but his or her behavior. Protect

and enhance his or her self-esteem.


dilemmas you’re discuss-ing. If they won’t agree tohelp and they’re not a willingspirit, then you’re stuck, andyou’re going to have to takeother action. Step three is tobrainstorm possible causes ofthe problems and then jointlycraft a plan to fix it. Remem-ber: self-esteem is more frag-ile than an egg, and no onelikes criticism—even con-structive criticism.

The three-step process ofconfronting behavior problemsis worth committing to a 3 × 5card: “Describe the problem,then ask their help in resolv-ing the problem, and finallydiscuss causes and jointly cre-ate a plan to fix the behavior.”Review as needed.

Assignment

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132

When you discoverslackers eating up your valu-able resources and you havebeen unable to change theirbehaviors, do what needs tobe done and show them thedoor. On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Slackers are thieves. Dis-cover them and get rid ofthem.” Review as needed.

Assignment

Every week, Maewould prepare a pile of pay-roll checks, and her bossdreaded signing them. Andit’s not why you think. Hetruly believed that his bestpeople had earned, de-served, and should get moremoney for their contribu-tions to the company. Healso realized that slackers,whiners, and complainerswere stealing—no differentthan if they were cleaningout the safe. He decided that people who didn’t pull their partof their jobs would be offered the opportunity to explore otherjob opportunities.

Traditions

One of the reasons people flock to the United States is ourrich history and heritage, and the traditions we have in America.From the tradition of celebrating the inauguration of a new presi-dent to the tradition of flying the American flag on certain holi-days, we are a nation of tradition. You can apply the same logic


Pay is a by-product; it’s the way employees keep score.

Get mad when people are stealing from you by giving you

substandard performance.


178


People love to celebrate, and today they rarely even get a

gold watch. Why not give them a good dose of tradition?


Get an annual calendar and set up some of thetraditions you would like to see in your company. Itmight be as simple as really and truly decorating forwinter holidays to having a traditional annual awardsceremony. Add pomp and circumstance, and make tra-dition one of the retention tools for your company.Record your planned traditional events on a 3 × 5 cardfor reference. And remember to involve your team inthese events and activities.

Assignment

in your business or organization to inspire, remind, and retainyour people. Set up traditions that you do again and again thatpeople will come to love and respect.

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133

Of all the relationships you will have in your life, the mostimportant one is the relationship you have with you. And of allthe talking you do in your life, the most important conversationsare the dialogues you have with yourself—those voices in yourhead. When you have positive voices and positive talk, you willhave positive outcomes, and if you allow negativity to take over,you’ll be in big trouble. We need self-talk, and here is a mantrayou can adapt.

When Dr. Shad Helmstetter released his book, What toSay When You Talk to Yourself, he pointed out that we needan internal dialogue. One that is helpful in business is to adaptthe principle of “I care andyou matter.” When you’reconfronted with dealing withother people, simply ask your-self, “If I care and they mat-ter, what action should Itake?” It will totally changethe dialogue you have withyourself.

I Care and You Matter to Me

Assignment: To rein-force this principle, write ona 3 × 5 card: “I care and youmatter.” Review as needed.

Assignment

When you live by the “I care and you matter” principle,

you can make solid changes in your life and use positive think-

ing to get positive results.



180


If you have tried financial incentive plans to motivate yourworkforce, it is almost certain you were dismayed or disappointedby the long-term results. All too often such incentive plans takeoff as shooting stars and then fizzle out as flat tires when you endup rewarding the wrong people. And very often, people get theincentive plans and begin to see them as an entitlement or anexpectation.

Virginia-based financial wizard Norm Gaither says mostfinancial incentive plans fail because business owners are para-noid that they might overpay their people. They hedge theirbets. They put caps on incentive plans, they set performancestandards that can’t be met, and they begrudge handing outthose incentive checks to employees. Pretty soon, the entire

plan fails and they give up.Everyone is disappointed.

Consider a plan whereyou only incentive or rewardpeople when the companymakes a profit. In that man-ner, you’ve got everybodyworking in a team to controlexpenses and maximize pro-ductivity. One formula is

called 50-25-25. It’s based on net profit after taxes. First, every-one learns that 50 percent of your bottom line profit gets rein-vested in the company to buy new equipment, to expand, and tokeep up with technology. The second 25 percent of the net profitgoes to the shareholders and owners of the company as a cashdistribution and a reward for having taken the risk and invested itin the company. Then the final 25 percent gets split among your

Caring and Sharing

134

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Incentivize by the 50-25-25plan.” Use the card to remindyou to set up a incentive pro-gram that works. Try it.

Assignment

181

Consider this incentive plan because it’s simple, measur-

able, and fair. People like it because they can quickly calcu-

late what they will receive.


employees as a percentage of their earned payroll. How canyou lose when you only share after-tax profits? And it’s a simple,easy-to-understand way that people can see how they can con-tribute to making the company more profitable.

135Old Chinese Wisdom

It’s pretty difficult to keep people inspired in the long termwhen they do all the work and owners and management get allthe money. Smart management realizes that sharing the profits,if properly planned, can be an investment, not an expense. Itcan be a tangible way toshow people that their per-formance is needed and thattheir success can pay off ina personal way.

There’s an old Chineseproverb that says, “Whenyou drink the water, don’t for-get the people that helpedyou dig the well.” Sometimeseven modest cash distribu-tions can trigger a sense ofpride and enthusiasm that

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“Cash rewards for perfor-mance work when they areapplied judiciously and occa-sionally.” Use this card to re-mind you that occasional cashrewards as incentive do workwhen they are justified andwhen they don’t become anexpectation.

Assignment


182


We’ve seen it again and again. All too many owners andmanagers are paranoid that their workforce might find outabout the company’s finances. They don’t want them to knowhow much profit they earned, probably thinking they will askfor a raise. Company finances become a deep, dark secret,and management plays games to withhold information from

their workforce.When Sears Roebuck

hired a new CEO, he quicklybecame concerned that hisworkforce misunderstoodprofit, mark-up, and whatSears truly makes whenthey make a sale. He did asurvey, and asked the em-ployees, “How much do youthink Sears earns as a profit

after all expenses and taxes, when we make a one-dollar sale?”The least amount that was handed in was two cents, and thehighest amount was $1.10. He had confirmed his fear: there

Nothing to Hide; Hide Nothing

can be contagious throughout your company. Such cash distri-butions, when coupled with positive feedback, can keep yourcompany fired up on all eight cylinders seven days a week.

It doesn’t need to be adeep dark secret. Write on a3 × 5 card: “Let everyoneknow how we make money(or measure success). Oncethey know, they’ll be in a bet-ter position to help.”

Assignment

Remember that, by sharing the wealth, your workers will

end up helping you make more.


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183

was a gross misunderstanding about profits, and Sears set aboutto educate its workforce so they would be better attuned tohelping Sears make money.

There’s an old saying: people who are given informationcan’t help but take responsibility for it, and people who are notgiven information cannot take responsibility. If you have noth-ing to hide, hide nothing. Put the finances out where everyonecan see them, and everyone will be better off.

Test Question:

Am I Fairly Paid?

If you interviewed 1,700 workers in all segments of busi-ness across the United States and asked the question, “Do youfeel that you are fairly paid?” how many do you think wouldanswer yes? How many would say, “No, I deserve moremoney”? The answer might surprise you, and what people re-ally want from you is to know that you will be fair.

I’ve actually done this survey. And in all of the people Iasked, only three said they felt they were underpaid! Whatpeople really want to know is this: If they contribute to thecompany’s success, and the company makes more money, willmanagement recognize them and share the wealth? Will theyget their raises when appropriate? Will they get their share of


Eighty percent of your workforce believes you make more

profits than you actually do, and 20 percent probably believe

you’re lying to them.


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184


profits when they should?Again, their main question is,“Will I get my fair share?”

Adopt the idea that youhave a fair share program.Let people know whenthere’s money to be divided,and explain how you’vegone about figuring it out.Let them know that they willget their fair share no mat-ter what.

“I will make sure that Ireassure my team they willbe rewarded with their ‘fairshare.’ And I will make cer-tain that actually happens.”Write that statement on a 3× 5 card. Review it occa-sionally to remind you that“fair share” is more impor-tant that actual salary orwages with employees.

Assignment

138Beware of the Seniority Trap

In the past, the tradition in American business was thatfor each year you stayed with a company, you got more money.It didn’t take all that many years for management to learnthey had been trapped. It didn’t result in more productivepeople; it just meant they’d hung around longer. Why shouldthat deserve more money? Why shouldn’t people be paid fortheir performance?

You can tell people about your fair share program again

and again, but when you distribute the money, they will know

you mean business and trust you in the future.


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139

When a group of Minne-apolis retail stores got in deeptrouble because their payrollwas grossly out of line as apercentage of sales, they hadto make some drasticchanges. Over the years,some of their senior peoplehad gotten raise after raise,and it had gotten away fromthem. They had to com-pletely replace their pay planwith a lesser hourly amountcoupled with an incentive program. The incentive program pro-vided that when they made sales and profit goals, people gottheir shares. Beware of handing out money just becausesomeone’s been hanging around. They may be your least pro-ductive workers.

“More seniority does notmean more productivity. I’mgoing to create a meritocracyand pay people based on per-formance, not longevity.”Write this on a 3 × 5 card.Now create a new pay planthat reflects performance,not time-in-service.

Assignment

Rank Has Its Privileges

Have you ever felt guilty because you followed the freeenterprise system in America and made it pay off for you?Have you ever felt guilty because perhaps you have a better


Tom Peters, a famous author and consultant, believes that

40 percent of someone’s take-home pay should be based on

incentives, thus avoiding the seniority trap. Consider that for-

mula for yourself.


186


home than your neighbor,more money than someonewho works for you, or a bet-ter car than someone else?If so, you need to remindyourself that earned rank hasits privileges.

Once again, to under-stand this principle, we lookat the United States military.As people move up theranks, from private to, per-

haps, sergeant, to lieutenant, to colonel, and clear on up to Gen-eral, they enjoy more privileges. They also have moreresponsibilities, more worries, and more work. The presidentof the United States gets to fly on Air Force One. Rank has itsprivileges. Think about the risks you have taken, the invest-ments you have made, the hours you have worked, the educa-tion you have sweated to gain, and the many times you’ve beenworking while others are out playing. You’ve paid a dear pricefor your success and you should enjoy it. Simply remind your-self that rank has its privileges, and if you’ve earned it honestlyand legitimately, enjoy it. If other people are envious of you,feel sorry for them. Tell him they can get it the old-fashionedway. They can work for it.

“RHIP (Rank Has ItsPrivileges) is not a four-letter word.” Write that ona 3 × 5 card and pull it outto review the next timesomeone tries to make youfeel guil ty because ofwhat you have earned.

Assignment

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueWhen you think about this idea, remember that America

is the greatest free country in the world because every man,

woman, and child has the equal right to be unequal.

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140Want Loyalty?

Get Yourself a Dog!

All too often, people in leadership positions believe their em-ployees should be loyal just because they gave them a job andthey pay them for what they do. Loyalty is something you earn,not something you are owed. You get it by providing both thebasics and the extras over a long period of time. Loyalty must beearned. There’s no other way to get it.

When Cindy’s boss gota memo from her, he noticeda Post-it note attached to itthat said, “If you want loy-alty, get a dog. I work formoney.” His immediatethought was that this was aplea for more money. Was heunderpaying Cindy? When heconfronted her, they both had a good laugh, because it wassimply something she had found and thought he would get achuckle from it. But it made an indelible point that he will neverforget. People do need money to buy the things that they needin life, and when you fail to pay them appropriately, you notonly lose their loyalty, you lose them as employees.

On a 3 × 5 card, write: “Ifyou want loyalty, get a dog.”Use this card to remind your-self that people give loyaltyonly if it is earned. Go earn it.

Assignment


All too often, people in leadership positions want loyalty

despite the fact that they don’t want to pay an adequate

amount of money and offer the fringe benefit programs people

deserve.


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141

Isn’t it amazing how overhead expenses can inch ahead,and you really miss the fact that not only do they cost moremoney, but they’re consuming an increasing percentage of yourprofit and loss statement? One of the smart things managers dois to compare overhead items, such as fringe benefits, liabilityinsurance, and workman’s comp insurance, as a percentage oftheir gross sales. That way you can know what the percentagewas last month, and you can watch that it doesn’t escalate month

after month. It’s easy to ig-nore when such an expensebecomes 2 percent of yourgross, then 2 1/2 percent, then3 percent, then 3 1/2 percent.

All expenses, from ben-efits to rent to payroll, shouldbe looked at as a percent-age of your gross sales.When gross sales go up, youhave more money to investin those expense items. Theprimary thing is to watch outfor the creep, because it’llslip up on you and bite youright in the wallet.

Control Benefits Costs

by Measuring and

Monitoring P&L Creep

“Watch out for thatcreep!” Write that on a 3 × 5card and review it monthly toremind you to calculate youroverhead as a percentage ofgross sales and run a month-to-month comparison. Keepcontrol of “creep” and youwill end up with more cashavailable to reinvest in yourkey assets: your employees.

Assignment

189

People who say money’s not important should try doing

without it.


Cuba Gooding, Jr., coined the phrase “show me the money”in the movie Jerry Maguire. That philosophy can be fun if youwant to use cash for some contest, incentive plans, or the op-portunity for people to earn extra income. Consider getting somebig bills—for example, $100—and put them on a bulletin boardor lock them up in a glass case, but leave them where every-body can see them. There’s something exciting about that longgreen with a president’s picture on it.

Each morning, MaryAnn, the sales coordinatorfor a large manufacturingcompany, would get a stackof money from the safe andduring their morning salesmeeting she would methodi-cally sit there and count it.There were several thousanddollars that would be handed out at the end of the month for thesalespeople who performed according to the company’s incen-tive plan. She was “showing them the money,” and remindingthem that the incentives would be paid off on the 30th of themonth in cold, hard cash. The plan worked, and everybody got

Show Me the Money

142

“Show me the money!”Write that on a card to remindyou that doing just that canbe motivating.

Assignment


190


143

American management continues to make a lot of errors,and one of the most tragic ones is when they become focusedon the activity and not the outcomes they want to accomplish.Employees get confused when they get mixed messages aboutwhat the company wants to accomplish—when on a day-by-

day basis, everything is aboutthe activities and what’s go-ing on in the company. Welose sight of what we’re re-ally trying to accomplish.Noted management consult-ant Peter Drucker says,“The purpose of a businessshould be to cultivate a fol-lowing of customers.”

When discussing the be-havior you would like to have

Behavior = Outcomes

some money, and some people got a lot of money. But every-body enjoyed her “showing the money.” And guess what elsehappened? Sales went up!

“Activities vs. Out-comes? I want outcomes.”Write this on a 3 × 5 cardand use it occasionally to re-mind you that when you talkto your team about their“activities,” what you aregoing to measure—andvalue—is outcomes.

Assignment

There’s something almost mystical and magical about

cash, and “showing people the money” can be an incentive

in ways that the promise of a check never will. Try it.


191

from your people, relate everything in terms of outcomes andwhat you’re really trying to accomplish, which is to serve thecustomer. The goal is not to get the customer today. You’veprobably already accomplished that. The objective should be toget customers back one more time to give you another oppor-tunity to sell them and serve them. When you discuss what youexpect from your employees, always relate it to the end resultyou’re looking for and why it is important to customers. If youdon’t get repeat business, you’re going to spend all your time look-ing for new customers, and your costs will go through the roof.

144

1 More Time: Me to We

Is your company infected by a bad case of individualism?Do you have internal competition to see what each individualcan do and how each can outperform the other? If you do,those are very destructive traits, because we know that suc-cess is a team sport. The United States military has proven thatteamwork must be the goal of all training and activities. If youdon’t have teamwork, you’re wasting a lot of manpower.

There’s probably no better example of changing “me” to“we” than to watch NASCAR racing. When one car is aloneout on the track, trying to cut its way through the air at highspeed, it’s a challenge. When a second car comes up behind


Activities make us feel good, but outcomes make us

money. Keep your eye on what’s important, and that’s having

customers who will buy again and again.


192


How do you and your people measure company suc-cess? What kind of yardstick do you use to define winning?There are many ways, from gross revenue to market shareto net profit. But the important point is to have a clear, de-finable, and measurable goal, a goal that everybody knows

Your Definition of Success

that one and they team up, the second car gets in the draft andit accelerates both cars. It has become so important that part-nerships in NASCAR are essential. Teamwork is a must. Thevery definition of teamwork—TEAM (Together EveryoneAccomplishes More)—should be the goal of your business or

organization.Be forewarned that a

group of people working to-gether is not teamwork.Teamwork is when the col-lective group sublimatestheir individual needs to theteam and the team ends upproducing more than thesame group of individualswould.

Write on a 3 × 5 card:“TEAM (Together EveryoneAccomplishes More): We ismore powerful than Me.” Usethis card weekly to remindyourself to build a team andnot to create individual highperformers alone.

Assignment

The goal is to change “me” to “we,” and it’s an ever-

present challenge, as most people think of the Big Three

(Me, Myself, and I). Don’t ever give up on teamwork.


145

193

and can understand. How would you know if a quarterbackwas moving the ball if the field lacked yard lines, hash marks,and the goal post?

At one time, John PaulGetty, the oil czar, was oneof the wealthiest men in theworld. When asked, “Howmuch is enough money?”His response was, “Just alittle bit more.” All too of-ten, business owners followthat same logic: “We needa little bit more.” But theyfail to share the yardstickfor everyone to see. Peopledon’t really know wherethey’re going because noone has communicated thegoal to them. When a definition of success is not shared withyour team, they never get to savor the thrill of victory, eitherpersonally or professionally.

At the end of the day, people want to believe that theywork for an organization that cares about them. They want toparticipate in something more than just making money. Theywant to leave the world better than they found it, and they wanta measurable system so they know when they have won.

On a 3 × 5 card, write:“What is our definition of suc-cess? How do we measureit? Does my team know whatthat goal is?” This cardshould be reviewed weeklyto make certain you haveidentified a measurable goaland that you have shared thatgoal with your team.

Assignment

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueThere’s nothing more degrading than to constantly be

told, “We need just a little bit more,” but not knowing the

goal.


194


The ripple effect of a leader’s inspiration, enthusiasm, andoptimism is awesome. So is the impact of cynicism and pessi-mism. Leaders who whine and blame spread the same behav-iors among their colleagues. I’m talking about not blindlyaccepting organizational stupidity, poor performance, or lack ofcompetence with a “What, me? Worry?” attitude. I’m talkingabout a gung-ho attitude that says, “We can change things here.We can achieve awesome goals. We can be the best. We’re

going to be the best.”Dr. Robert Schuller tells

a story of 12 randomlypicked people brought intothe company conferenceroom and told they’d beenhandpicked to resolve a spe-cial problem. They were toldthat they had a gift, and that’swhy they were picked. Thegroup went to work. The in-

spiration of being handpicked, and the story they were told,equaled their perspiration and, lo and behold, guess what hap-pened? They resolved the problem effectively. Never give upon inspiration, enthusiasm, and optimism. Perpetual optimism isa force multiplier.

Your Inspiration =

Their Perspiration

146

“The power of the posi-tive attitude is infectious.”Write this on a 3 × 5 card.Review it daily. Considerposting it as a sign or posterin the workspace to help in-spire others.

Assignment

Remember the adage, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” And

that is so true with inspiration.


195

147Technology Requires Investment

Has it hit you that the future is where you will spend the restof your life? And has it soaked in that technology is driving changeat warp speed? Just keeping pace requires monitoring the land-scape 24/7. Simply assessing where you need to invest to main-tain a competitive reputation is a job all in itself.

A Las Vegas printingcompany has a philosophythat any time a new pieceof equipment, from a com-puter to a printing press, isintroduced they immediatelycheck it out to see if it’s sig-nificantly better than theone they currently use. If itwill increase their productiv-ity and/or their quality, theyimmediately buy the newequipment and sell the old,even though their old may beonly months old. There arealways willing buyers. Thepoint? This company has a reputation for producing state-of-the-art quality printing, unlike many other printing companies. Andwhat work do they get as a result? State-of-the-art, highest qual-ity from companies that are willing to pay a little more becausethey know this company has the best equipment in the world.

What does this mean for your team? If you are on thecutting edge, they will be too. And they’ll know it and be in-spired about it because it sets them apart from the competitionjust as it sets your company apart.


Set up a budget for au-tomatically investing in newtechnology. Have a taskforce within your companyto monitor it so it’s not aone-person job. To remindyou of this, on a 3 × 5 card,write: “Adopting early tech-nology leads to better busi-ness, more profits, andbetter employees. I supportthis idea.”

Assignment

196


Henry Ford said, “If you need a tool and you don’t buy

it, you will end up paying for it and never get to use it.”


148Sort Ideas: Today,

Tomorrow, and the Future

Looking into the future can often be overwhelming. In timemanagement and productivity, there’s an old saying: “How doyou eat an elephant?” The answer is “one bite at a time.” Manypeople have said that by breaking a project down into bites,anyone can handle it.

One highly respected consultant had a habit of overwhelm-ing his clients. He would do what he called a “business analy-sis” and create for them a roadmap into the future. However,all too often the roadmap became so overwhelming that people

just wanted to throw up theirhands and give up.

He learned that the wayto present his ideas was tooffer them in phases: Hereare the things we want to dotoday. Here are the things wewill work on tomorrow. Andhere are the things we mightwork on in the future. Bydoing that, people found the

“How do you eat an el-ephant? One bite at a time!”Write this on a 3 × 5 card toremind you not to overwhelmyour team with new ideas andwork, but to parcel it out indigestible pieces.

Assignment

197

ideas more easily digestible. Think about breaking down whatyou plan to do into some format where you can phase it in andnot overwhelm people.

How to Fire People and

Have Them Say Thank You

One of the most unpleasant tasks all managers must un-dertake from time to time is firing someone. Many a managerhas walked the floor all night or has become extremely nause-ated at the very thought of having to confront and fire a worker.If you’ve experienced that kind of anxiety, then you have provenyou are human. Good for you.

When Stan joined a company that required a lot of interac-tion with customers in helping them diagnose and solve theirproblems, he immediately began to struggle with the issues in-volved. As the weeks went by, he tried and tried, but it waspainfully obvious that Stan was not cut out for the job. As hissupervisor began to counsel him, they got to the bottom of theissue: Stan was just not a people person, and he really didn’twant to do the job he had been assigned. The supervisor, beingvery savvy, encouraged Stan to explore other employment and


EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueThere’s a hidden benefit in selling the future, because it

offers people a view that you’ve got a clear blueprint on where

to go. The by-product is that they end up with hope, opti-

mism, and inspiration for the future.

149

198


150

even helped him get a job asa bricklayer. Stan actuallythanked that supervisor.

When you knowsomeone’s not a fit and youallow him or her to stay on,you’re hurting both the em-ployee and the company.Let him or her down easy,but help the person realizethat he or she just doesn’tfit. That does not make himor her a bad person. En-

courage the person to move on because it’s hurting his orher future.

On a 3 × 5 card (stillhave some?), write: “Letthem go easy, but let themgo. You’re helping the or-ganization, the team, andthe individual.” Review thiscard every time you arefaced with the prospect offiring someone.

Assignment

Applause: Your To-Done List

Are you a to-do list maker? Are you someone who prefersto have a working agenda on paper, in your computer, or per-haps on your PDA? Then you realize your to-do list is rarelycaught up, and every time you get something accomplished,something pops up to take its place. Will you ever get caughtup? Do you find that to-do list overwhelming and kind of agrind?

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueRegardless of how hard you try, some people are just not

going to fit in your organization. Never hurt people when

they have to exit your company.

199

Imagine for a momentthat you were elected presi-dent of the United States.You would surely have a to-do list, even though someoneelse might keep it for you.Never is a president electedto solve all of our problems,get finished, turn the lightsout, and go home. Our presi-dent, much in that same waythat you are, is elected to work on the issues that come up andthe projects he or she takes on, and it seems to be a never-ending assembly line. It’s got to be an incredibly overwhelmingjob, just as yours is some days.

Consider keeping your to-do list for a week or a month ormaybe even a year, and use it as a scorecard. Look backwardsto have a to-done list and analyze all of the things you haveaccomplished. It can make you realize that your to-do list works,and it can also be a pat on the back for all of the things you aregetting accomplished. It will change your attitude and it willmake you look into the future with a smile that will inspire ev-eryone around you. Get your team members to do the samething. It’s actually quite inspiring.

“To Do and To Done.”Put that on a 3 × 5 card. Now,every month review your ToDone list to see just howmuch you have accomplished.Require all of your employ-ees to do the same.

Assignment

EpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueEpilogueA to-done list is a necessity for management because rarely

are you going to get a pat on the back from someone else, and

you have to learn the art of self-congratulations. Give yourself

some applause.


200


151

Congratulations! If you’ve worked all 151 quick ideas, hope-fully you’ve identified perhaps the top, three, five, or 10 ideasthat you should begin to implement today, but there’s one moreaction step that is critical if you’re going to get the maximumpayoff from this book.

Buy a book for each of your employees. You might chal-lenge them to pick their top three or five or 10 and, as a group,decide which of those would give you the biggest payoff in theleast amount of time, with the least effort, starting right now.

If you see books and ideas as an investment, you willwant to buy them for all your people. It’s a small price to pay,because one quick idea could pay off significantly.

Buy My Books and Use Them

Remember that you invest in a book just once, but you

get to use the quick ideas forever. Think of it as making a

very small deposit and getting paid interest every day.


Assignment

Okay, you’ve created enough 3 × 5 cards. Now dothree things with them:

1. Pick some specific, quick ideas to implement.2. Turn these into a contest or spoofs or cam-

paign or competitions.3. Have fun implementing some quick ideas that

will reap quick results.

201

Index

Index

A

acceptance in motivatingothers, role of, 76-77

activities, importance of, 14

applicant,interview questions for, 64selling the job to, 63-64

Ash, Mary Kay, 15, 16, 34, 149

attracting the bestemployees, 62-63

attraction to your company,what is the, 20-21

B

bankruptcy, Chapter 11, 16

Barnum, P.T., 79

benefits and pay, options for,88-89

benefits, fringe, 168-169

best practices, 23models of, 24

boss, be a demanding, 27

business, work on you, 13,118-119

C

CAN DO manager, 75

care,showing employees you,

17, 152-153with customers and

team, 66

Carlzon, Jan, 80

cash rewards, 16-17

celebrate good performance,83-84

chance to succeed,employee’s, 57-58

checklists for effectiveness,127-128

Churchill, Winston, 167, 168

communication, a differentapproach to, 142-143

compliments, 146

confidence, building inemployees, 37

connecting with employeeshead, heart, and soul, 40

consultants, advisors and, 104

courage vs. conformity, 86-87

202


creativity, employee, 98

credit, giving where it’s due, 41

criticism, constructive, 176

criticism, delivering, 81

CRM (Customer RelationsManager), 28

customer relationships,building long-term, 28

customer, serving the, 24

customers, invest in your,67-68

D

dates, keep track ofimportant employee,

153-154

decisions, making ethical,112-113

defections, staff, 129

differences in employees, 50

“dehumanizing” in business, 82

discriminate in hiring, 61-62

Disney World, 28, 83

Drucker, Peter, 190

E

Edison, Thomas, 23

ego, park your, 38-39, 165

80-20 rule, 145

Eisenhower, Dwight, 157

emotional environment,setting, 93

emotional needs ofemployee, 82-83

employees, attracting thebest, 62-63

empowerment, true, 147-148

execution, excellent, 156

expectations, employees, 29

F

fair, attempt to be, 155

“fair,” no such thing as, 72-73

faith, value, and principles,living your, 34-35

family-owned business, 164

50-25-25 plan forincentives, 180

finances, company, 182-183

fired with no warning, being,170-171

firingabsolutes that result in,

99-100as a positive step, 197-198process, 53-54

friendship with employees,69-70

203

Index

G

Galt, Stanley, 86

General Motors, 100

Getty, John Paul, 193

goals, common, 78

Goodyear, 86

grudge,carrying a, 116overcoming a, 173-174

guidelines, rules vs., 98-99

H

hall of fame, 131-132

H.E.L.M. Principle, the,112-113

Helmstetter, Dr. Shad, 179

Henning, Mike, 164

I

IASM (I Am Sold Myself),15-16

IBM, 162-163

ideas, implementing inphases, 196-197

ignorant is when learningstarts, being, 126-127

“I” message, deadly, 38

122-123

incentive plans, financial, 180

individualism, 191-192

information as power, 80

interview questions for,applicant, 64

investin employees, 56-57

in your customers, 67-68in your team, 66-67in yourself, 65-66

involvement, employee, 95-96

J

James, William, 82, 93

Japanese companies andserving the customer, 24

Jerry Maguire, 189

judge, be a wise, 160-161

judge, why great leadersdon’t, 79

K

kaizen, 13, 14, 122, 128-129

keyoka, 137-138

know-it-all, don’t be a, 94

Kopmeyer, Kop, 65, 159

Kroc, Ray, 44

204


L

leadership, mastering, 85

lesson learned frommistakes, 116

lessons, preservingimportant, 42

listening, habit of, 32

loyalty, earning of, 187

M

magnet, what is yourcompany’s, 20-21

Make Me Feel Important(MMFI), 149

Malden Mills ManufacturingCompany, 152

manager, CAN DO, 75

McDonalds, 44in Japan, 51

“McMeetings,” 142-143

MMFI, see Make Me FeelImportant

money, show me the, 189-190

Mother Teresa, 33-34

motivation vs. inspiration, 74

motivation, 3 types of, 74

“Must” Checklist for newhire, 55

N

NASA, 132

National SpeakersAssociation, 140

negative comment,consequence of, 117-118

negative news, 92

negatives, fall victim to the,174-175

new hire, “Must” Checklistfor, 55

new hire, first impression fora, 52-53

normal, being, 51

“noticeably different,” 51

O

open-door policy, 161-162

Operation “Fair Share,” 172

opinions, asking others for,158-159

Other People’s Experiences(O.P.E.), 123

outcomes, 80thinking of, 14-15

oxen principle, the, 133-134

205

Index

P

P&L creep, 188

performance reviews andselective memory, 71-72

Perot, H. Ross, 100-101

personal non grata, 146

personnel issues, 108-109

Peters, Tom, 185

positive feedback, 83

positive reinforcement, 69

principles, living your faith,value, and, 34-35

profits, sharing, 181-182

pulling people, 157-158

Q

quality people, picking, 60

R

raises, 172

rank, privileges of, 185-186

relationship with yourself,111-112, 179

“repetitions” and yourmessage, 22

resources, roadblocks and,45-46

respect throughconsistency, 110-111

reviews, annualperformance, 169-170

rights, equal, 102-103

ripple effect of leader’sinspiration, 194

roadblocks and resources,45-46

Robert, Cavitt, 140

rules vs. guidelines, 98-99

S

salad-bar approach tobenefits and pay, 88-89

satisfaction as kiss of death,135-136

SBA, see small businessadvantage

Sears Roebuck, 109

secret, keeping a, 113-114

“selective memory,” 71-72

selfless service, 38

seniority trap, 184-185

Shuler, Dr. Robert, 104, 105

small business advantage(SBA), 106

smart people learn, how,123-124

staff, knowing what theywant, 17-18

206


standards and expectations,company, 90of employee, 58

stealing by slacking, 176

Stone, W. Clement, 18, 166

story-telling to preserveimportant lessons, 42

symptoms, chasing, 124-125

T

team, invest in your, 66-67

teamwork principles, 26

technology, investment for,195-196

time for improvements,make, 119

to-done list, 198-199

Together EveryoneAccomplishes More

(TEAM), 192

trainingagendas, 133procedure, 139role in, 141-142

W

“walk the talk,” do morethan, 87-88

wall of shame, 132-133

WARN, 82

“why” question, 19-20, 35-36corporate policies and, 36direction of work and, 36

“Wise Judge Principle,” 160

workforce, problemsdistracting your, 30

workload imbalance, 120

Y

Yates, Robert, 61

yourself, invest in, 65-66

Z

Ziglar, Zig, 67

207

Chapter title here

About the Author

Twenty-five years ago, when Jerry Wilson began his pro-fessional career managing one small auto parts store, it wouldhave been hard to imagine that he would become a world-renowned expert in marketing and develop a new marketingand customer retention philosophy called Customerology.

Yet that is just what happened. Jerry grew his small autoparts store into an extremely profitable retail store group thatdominated the area in which it was located. Not content withsimply increasing sales in his own business, Jerry leveraged andexpanded this experience, soon becoming well known for hisretail store operations and sales and management consulting.

Jerry was also the author of the highly acclaimed Word-of-Mouth Marketing, 138 Quick Ideas to Get More Cli-ents, and How to Grow Your Auto Parts Business, publishedin numerous languages and distributed internationally. Jerry alsoauthored more than 100 feature articles on customer retentionfor a variety of association and industry trade journals in boththe United States and Canada.

As a result of his experiences, Jerry developed a new“science”—Customerology—to aid companies in gaining andretaining satisfied customers. As a consultant, Jerry assistedsuch companies as Firestone, Merchants Tire, Stanley Pub-lishing, and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, helping them rethinkcustomer philosophies, service strategies, and practices. Jerryalso served as executive director for a large state trade asso-ciation and consulted with business leaders on national andinternational levels.

208


For example, in New Zealand, Jerry worked hand-in-handwith management to overhaul Rainbow’s End Theme Park af-ter its rescue from bankruptcy. After revamping its customerrelations system in accord with Jerry’s advice, the theme parkrealized a 70,000-attendee increase over the previous year—quantifiable success as a result of the tenets of Customerology.

At Merchant’s Tire, a 100-plus chain of tire and auto ser-vice stores based in Virginia, Jerry assisted management witha campaign to reduce customer complaints. After implement-ing the Customerology system, the chain saw customer com-plaints plummet more than 50 percent.

These astounding successes led to numerous speaking en-gagements for Jerry Wilson. As a professional speaker, Jerryappeared before more than 1,000 groups and traveled to all 50states, as well as Canada, New Zealand, Indonesia, and SouthAmerica. His keynote presentations, seminars, and workshopsbenefited countless companies and organizations worldwide.

Jerry was awarded the Certified Speaking Professional(CSP) designation by the National Speakers Association, a pres-tigious award given to only 400 speakers worldwide. He servedtwo terms as president of the Indiana chapter of the NationalSpeakers Association and also served as chair of the NSA’sCSP Certification Committee.

Jerry was honored by being listed in the Who’s Who Di-rectory of the Midwest and in the World Directory of Men ofAchievement.

Education

151 quick ideas to inspire your staff