Prioritizing your Time

I met with a group of business people today and the general consensus was that the economy continues to struggle. Only one of the people in the room believed the signs of sustainable growth were evident in their market. Those working with municipalities, small businesses, design engineering, and construction all felt there continued to be a general softness in their markets. What was most interesting is that the workload was picking up, but mostly because organizations remain reticent to add staff and people are being stretched even more.

I suspect many of you are experiencing the same sort of situation in your business. Prioritizing your workload becomes even more critical as we find ourselves busier, but not quite confident enough to add staff. There are a number of helpful models that you might want to share with your staff to help them determine how to best prioritize their activity.

The Time Management Matrix which has been attributed to Eisenhower and also was made popular by Stephen Covey in my favorite book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. The Time Management Matrix measures work and activity based on the level of Importance and the level of Urgency. Perhaps obviously, activities that are both Important and Urgent are where we should spent the majority of our time. This includes Crises, Pressing Issues, and Deadline-Driven projects, meetings, and tasks. Next should be Important activities that are not yet urgent. This would include preparation, planning, goal-setting, relationship buildings, process improvement, and long-range activities.

Below the mid-point on the matrix are activities which are Not Important. Urgent but unimportant activities are “foolers” because they appear important due to their urgency, and can sap your time and energy by dragging you into activities which have very little importance. These are the demands for your time when the saying, “Your poor planning is not my emergency” is appropriate. This includes some phone calls, some email and mail, general interruptions and not a few meetings. Finally, you will want to completely avoid and eliminate the unimportant and non-urgent activities from your work day. These include junk mail, some email and phone calls, social media, games, and chit-chat.

Quandrant 1 (Important and Urgent) is where you should spend most of your time. Do these first and do them now. However, if you spend enough time in Quandrant 2 (Important but Not Urgent) you can prevent many important activities from becoming urgent. Plan these activities into your schedule and do not procrastinate. For Quadrant 3 activities (Unimportant but Urgent) – delegate or eliminate. Do not spend time personally on these items. For Quadrant 4 activities, stop doing them immediately and do not even consider them during work hours.

If each person in your organization consistently and accurately evaluated their activities within this matrix, you would find an increase in productivity. Try this for three weeks. Use a chart and assign to a quadrant each activity as it comes to your attention and then practice these suggested responses to them. If you do this well, not only will you become more productive, but within three weeks you should feel more on top of your job than ever before.

Jointly Published on www.apprizesolutions.com, March 11, 2015

Gap Analysis - the Key to effective SWOT

We will wrap up the SWOT Analysis today through a process I call Gap Analysis. While purists may dislike my use of the term, for the rest of you this should make sense by the time we are done.

If you haven't yet completed the collection of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for you business, you will want to do this first. See my previous blog for some suggestions and guidance for assessing your current state.

Capturing the current state of your business is critical, but collecting your SWOT snapshot is really only the first step in planning your new strategies. The Gap Analysis is the tool I use to help identify where you should be spending your time over the next period (typically 12 months).

Organizations cannot address all their opportunities, threats or weaknesses simultaneously...we just cannot effectively focus on that many different areas. When we try to simultaneously address too many critical issues, we end creating too many strategies and actions items and we push hard on all of them. Unfortunately, it is like one of those circus guys spinning plates; we just run around keeping plates from falling instead of actually seeing how fast we can spin one or two.

First, make an effort to prioritize your threats. Which of these "out-of-your-control" circumstances have the most potential to disrupt your business? Which ones are most likely to actually occur? Listing threats such as, "the economy goes back into recession," might have a highly negative impact on your business, but the likelihood of this happening in the next 12 months seems rather small sitting here on Nov 15, 2014. It doesn't hurt to have some contingency plans in place, but I don't suspect this threat to loom large in 2015.

Next, prioritize your opportunities. Which have the most potential for success? Criteria you might consider are Time to Capitalize, and Return on Investment or Net Present Value estimates. You should also consider strategic fit (how well the opportunity fits within your organization's skills experience and mission), availability of resources, long-term sales growth, payback time, and ability to leverage your technical and marketing resources.

Now line up your strengths and weaknesses on the left side of a piece of paper or whiteboard and your opportunities and threats on the right side with enough space in the middle to make some assessments. The center is the gap area. The question you want to ask is how can you leverage your strengths and improve your weaknesses in order to capitalize on opportunities or counter threats. Draw connections between each strength and the opportunities or threats that this strength can help address. Do the same with weaknesses. Which weaknesses could prevent you from capitalizing on opportunities and countering threats? As an example, you might have an opportunity to pursue a new market if you can modify a product quickly. However, if you have identified that your product development process is slow, or that your technical resources are limited, these would be weaknesses you need to address in order to take advantage of the opportunity you have identified. In fact, being realistic, you might determine that you do not have the ability to pursue this opportunity. Performing the assessment of opportunities and threats in light of your current strengths and weaknesses will allow you to more clearly determine the areas where you will now want to build strategies.

These steps are designed to help you Fill the Gap between your external state and your internal state. Next we will talk about tools that can help you establish more effective strategies.  Whether you are a collaborator by nature or not, I would like recommend you not do this analysis and planning work in a vacuum. Your team needs to be part of the planning process if you expect to secure the buy-in needed to move your organization forward.  To that end, we have a terrific workshop on "Building Great Teams @Work" scheduled for December 5, 2014 at the Lansing Country Club in Lansing, Illinois. This is a great opportunity to sharpen skills designed to help you strengthen your teamwork. Use the code word: Today and receive 20% off this terrific workshop.

Feel free to contact me directly at jvonthaden@solutions-industrial.com or 630-403-8326 if I can answer any questions.

jvt

Planning - Assessing Your Current State

November is Planning Month at Industrial Solutions and we are blogging about steps you can take to make your planning as effective as possible. We are focusing on strategic and operational planning most of the week, but you might also be interested in reading some of the article links that can be found on the Industrial Solutions LinkedIn page as well. There is an interesting article there from Harvard Business Review warning readers that strategy is not planning. Instead, we use planning to build and implement a strategy.

Hopefully you have gathered information on your results as suggested in my last blog. Have you identified your current state in terms of comparing your progress to your goals. We suggested you look at year-over-year financial results, progress you have made in areas such as employee development or market penetration, and measurements around operational efficiency or product development.

There are a number of planning tools that can be very helpful in assessing your current state and guiding your thought process around strategy development and operational planning.  In my opinion, the SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is a critical tool for this process. While other tools such as Porter's Five Forces, PEST Analysis, BCG Matrix, and Life Cycle curves (Product Life Cycle, Consumer Adoption, Market Stage), have their advocates, I have found it most beneficial to integrate the thinking around these other tools into the SWOT analysis instead of attempting to have multiple tools each utilized in a stand-alone fashion.

The SWOT Analysis challenges you to honestly determine the strengths and weaknesses of your organization. You should begin by looking at areas where your organization is highly competent. Are there sustainable advantages you have over the competition? Do you perform amazingly and consistently well in specific functions? Do you have unique product features, intellectual property or unique processes? Are there investments you have made that are cost prohibitive for most competitors and therefore a roadblock for new entries in the market? Do you have a commanding marketshare or favorable position in a specific segment of the market? These are all areas to consider.

Now consider your weaknesses. Essentially consider where your organization is less than superior in areas of operations, finance, sales, products, distribution, capabilities, skills, knowledge, management, marketing, service, communication, structure, culture, attitudes, viewpoints, or location. Any of these could be areas of weakness. Remember, you are listing items that are within your control - even if you don't know how to fix them or believe it will take a very long time. Consider your organization in light of the market, economy, competition, suppliers, buyers, 

Next you will consider your external threats and opportunities. These are circumstances typically outside your control but which may have an impact on your business.  

Threats and Opportunities come from circumstances or changes within the market. Porter's 5 Forces suggest areas such as competition, suppliers or buyers. In addition, the PEST Analysis tool suggests considering how changes in economics, technology, society, and the political/governmental environment can impact your business. Be sure not to 'discount' threats that seem far-fetched or those with a long horizon. There very well might be reason to consider doing something now to stave off these threats. In addition, don't discount opportunities because you don't think you have the resources or ability to capitalize on them. This is NOT the time to limit your thinking or fail to consider all potential avenues. As an example from my own experience, a new technology was listed as an opportunity multiple years in a row before the organization decided to allocate any resources toward applying this technology to the business. If someone had decided to leave it off the list, then the organization might have missed an entire year of development.This handicapping of the SWOT data will happen AFTER you have completed collecting the info in as much detail as possible.

Next time we will talk about performing a GAP Analysis which is the real power for applying the information you have collected in your SWOT Analysis. If you would like more information about planning or think you could benefit from a third-party facilitator, feel free to contact me at Industrial Solutions.  jvonthaden@solutions-industrial.com or via phone at 630-403-8326.

Looking Forward - First Look Back

I had a number of positive comments regarding Motivation Month over the last few weeks.  If you enjoyed the posts, you will want to be sure to check out the Industrial Solutions LinkedIn page where we provided links to a number of articles and posts that really helped to round out and "fill the gaps" of my own writing.

This month we will focus on Planning and if you are in a mid-size or larger corporation, you have probably been in "planning" mode since sometime in August.  However, no matter when you started your formal planning activities, November seems to typically be the time when leaders get serious about looking ahead into the new year.  No matter what schedule you adhere to in your organization, or even if you don't have a formal process, this month I want to encourage you to do some forward thinking.

I will admit that often the pressure to finish the year on a positive note made thinking about the next year, or the next 3-5 years difficult. Shifting your thinking and engaging in some longer-term planning can be challenging to be sure.

My recommendation is to begin by reviewing your current state.  While looking backward isn't going to help you navigate, and no one drives while focusing solely on the rear view mirror, it is critical to know where you are in order to determine what it will take to get where you want to go.  I love using Goggle Maps on my iphone (sorry, Apple).  Google Maps just works for me. What I like the best is that I never have to indicate where I am currently located.  The app shows me where I am and the best route to get where I want to go.  I see how long it will take, what the route looks like and then I can track my progress spatially on the map, time-wise with the clock, and distance in miles or km.

Begin your planning by first looking at your metrics and asking yourself some questions. How are you doing this year?  Are you on track to meet your objectives? How does this year compare to last year?  Have you made positive progress? How do you know?  Where are the shortfalls in your goals?  Have you made corrections or adjustments this year, and if so, are they making a difference?

Did you just say that you don't have any metrics? Time to establish some. An organization needs to select a number of key measurables that are the most representative for taking the pulse of the organization.  For some the focus will be heavily weighted toward financial results, but be careful here.  The financials are not all that matter in an organization.  You might want to look at efficiency or utilization or new product release schedules.  You might consider employee development or market penetration.  Perhaps your goals included adding new customers or entering new markets. How are you measuring your progress?

I have always found that a current state assessment is of huge benefit when planning for the future.  It tells me how much further to my goals, what progress I have made so far, and what course corrections are necessary to continue my forward progress. In addition, establishing these metrics will be critical to how we manage in the future, so go ahead, pick those metrics, those critical factors and let's get a snapshot of where we are today.

One final thought: I believe this current state - future state thinking has implications for your personal financial goals, your family, marriage, and career development.  Determining where you are today is the first step to envisioning and implementing a plan to get you where you want to be in the future.

Take some time this week to begin collecting this data and we'll talk next about other ways to assess your current state.

Happy Planning!

Motivating Employees - Part 4 - The Dominance-Style Employee

As we wrap up Motivation Month at Industrial Solutions, I want to talk about ways to motivate the D-style employees in your organization and on your team.  As a D-style myself, I suppose I could claim that I saved the best for last, but that really is not the case. Each style brings with it a set of strengths and particular challenges, and the D-style is no different. For instance, one of my colleagues recently indicated they would not particularly enjoy being part of a team that is "High-D", but on the other hand, they would love a lot of D-style employees on the team they were managing. As we look at the D personality style, I think you might see why someone could come to this conclusion.

Motivating a D-style employee is really not the issue, preventing them from becoming frustrated and de-motivated is the larger concern.  Persons with the D-style tend to prioritize getting immediate Results, taking Action, and Challenging others and themselves. These team members want to see things get done and are often forceful in their attempts to ensure the organization is driving toward their goals. Authority and power are often motivators for them and you will often see them focusing on success and winning. The D-style tends to be competitive and self-confident. In order to motivate your D-style employees, give them room to navigate and authority to direct. They want to be part of decision making activities and will like when the organization makes a decision and begins to implement. These employees will appreciate goal-oriented communication and welcome ways to measure progress. As such, you will not often need to add motivational efforts to get these employees to take action and push themselves and the organization forward.

On the other hand, D-style team members can become impatient when decisions are not made quickly. They can become disappointed at the time it can take an organization or individuals to come to the same conclusions they do. They may complain about the organization being "all talk and no action". They can get frustrated with a lot of social interaction, as this is often a challenge, or limitation, for people with the D-style. These team members often take charge and if they are prevented from leading, or are not included in decisions, they can feel as if they are not part of the team.

Sometimes, D-style employees can be considered a bit too decisive and you should encourage their decision-making, but help them not to run too far ahead of the rest of the group. They can become impatient at a more thoughtful approach, as they are used to being able to rally support around their ideas and attract followers. If your organization tends to be more people-minded and less action-oriented, you may be able to benefit from your D-style employees, but you will also have to help them adjust to a more deliberate approach in your business.

If your organization tends to be more affirming or inclusive, this also may create challenges for your D-style team members. Helping them to learn the value of collaboration, sharing with them your values regarding caring for employees, and allowing them to participate in determining ways to show others appreciation and respect can help the D-style grow and learn to appreciate these other priorities.

Organizations are not always led by people with the D-style, but often times D-style individuals are leaders within their organizations. Their natural take-charge approach can be a huge benefit to your organization. Your D-style teammates will push your organization to achieve the goals you have set and you can use their drive and determination to accomplish great things.

I hope during this series you have gained a bit more understanding about the four primary personality styles as defined by the DiSC Personality Profiles.  If you'd like to use DiSC assessment with your team, or participate in one of our "Building Great Teams @Work" Workshops, contact me at 630-403-8326 or send an email to jvonthaden@solutions-industrial.com.  You can also get more information at my website:http://www.solutions-industrial.com/#!healthy-organizations/c1j0t.

jvt

Five reasons for developing your employees

I am sure you have heard the one about the CFO who was lamenting to the CEO about the cost of investing in employee development. He said, "I'm having a hard time spending this money. What if we invest in employee training and then they leave?" The CEO responds, "What if we don't and they stay?"

Hopefully you are more like the CEO in the story above. However, I have heard enough similar comments over the years to realize that not all managers are committed to employee development, so let me offer five reasons why I believe employee development is worth the investment.

1) Increased skill equals increased productivity. There is no doubt that people who have mastered specific skills are faster than their novice counterparts. Exercising your employees skills, both hard edge and soft edge skills, are going to pay dividends in productivity. We all know how much more time it takes for us to do things that are not our strengths. We should help our employees to focus on continuing to improve their skills in their areas of strength. The result will be increased satisfaction with their work, higher quality, and increased productivity.

2) Personally investing in people generates loyalty. Perhaps this is easier to believe in its negative form: You will not create loyal team members if you fail to personally invest in them. Nearly all of your team members are motivated by opportunities to grow. Fortunately, not all of your staff aspire to the corner office, but they all want to know they are delivering value. Viewpoints that see the future as unpredictable and unstable, previously held primarily by Millennials now permeating throughout the workforce. However, investing in these younger workers will have a positive impact on their opinions of your organization. In fact, training is likely to be the one thing that can help your younger team members stick with your organization. Since they feel their future is entirely of their own making, strengthening and improving their skills is a key driver for many workers.

3) Your organization needs people ready to step into new roles. Whether or not you have invested heavily in building a distinct culture in your organization, I guarantee there is one. It might not be all you wish it to be, but it is there none-the-less, and people who have learned to navigate your culture to get things done are team members you want to keep. There is nothing more critical than helping your staff increase their ability to get things done and those who can consistently deliver on objectives deserve to be given more responsibility and opportunities for growth. If you fail to invest in your staff, then it is unlikely you will have team members ready to step in when openings invariably occur. Let me also point out that bringing new key leaders into the organization from the outside becomes increasingly costly and risky the higher their level of responsibility.

4) Investing in employees cost less than hiring from the outside. If you are not a manager, you probably won't like hearing this, but the reality is that organizations often must pay more to hire a person with advanced skills and experience than it cost to develop these people internally. In fact, if you regularly utilize search firms to find candidates, a good idea for most organizations, the basic cost of these services are more often than not higher than what you would spend to help your employees gain the skills and knowledge needed to perform in these senior roles.

5) EQ can be developed! While most evidence indicated that Intelligent Quotient (IQ) is fixed by sometime in the teenage years, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is not. Sure, the adage that you can't teach an old dog new tricks might be something we like to say, the reality is this doesn't apply to humans. When I hear a manager express dissatisfaction about a member of their team, I am always amazed to learn that they haven't addressed these concerns directly. You must really dislike someone to know how they can improve their performance and refuse to tell them. That's the same as refusing to throw a life preserver to someone drowning. Your staff can be better, and they will be better, if you are willing to invest in their development.

Don't let your organization be like the one envisioned by the CEO above. Invest in your people and just as a rising tide lifts all boats, your team will do the same for your business.

(Originally posted in LinkedIn on 10/20/14
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20141020200719-25318229-five-reasons-for-developing-your-employees)

Motivating Employees - Part 3 - The Influential Employee

Every organization needs a few i-style employees.  These fun-loving and energetic folks can generate a lot of positive energy and forward motion for a team or group.  While often seen as encouraging, open, optimistic and fun-loving, they can also be seen as implusive, talkative, and even naive.  In fact, they also can be a real sense of frustration for our more conscientious team members who can feel their i-style colleagues are running too far ahead of the rest of the organization.

Your i-style employees and teammates prioritize enthusiasm, collaboration, and action.  They often get excited about opportunities or new possibilities and can be very expressive. Others often appreciate their enthusiasm and optimism but can rarly match their high energy levels.  Because they get excited about ideas, and they also value action, they are eager to get going.  They can become impatient and frustrated at the slow and methodical pace of their teammates who value a more thoughtful approach to decision making and implementation.

In addition, i-style employees often make great team members because they greatly value collaboration and teamwork.  To help a group take action, they are apt to want to be in a leadership role. I want to caution that I am providing some broad generalities, but you will likely be able to easily identify your influential teammates through characteristics such as Active, Bold, Assertive, Dynamic, and Accepting, People-focused, Empathizing, and Agreeable.

If you really want to de-motivate these employees - keep them out of key decision making activities, ask them to work on their own, discourage collaborative discussions, dampen their enthusiasm by asking lots of difficult questions, and take a plodding, methodical, and calculated approach to new ideas.  If they don't explode, they'll leave.

On the other hand, if you want to develop and grow your i-style employees, offer to listen to their suggestions, create outlets for them to run with their ideas, and invite opportunities for collaboration and group working environments by assigning them to a team.  I am sure you have heard the saying, if you want something done, give it to a busy person...we could adjust that and say, give it to an i-style employee.

These employees and teammates greatly appreciate public recognition of their accomplishments and will be appreciative of your openness to their new ideas and ways of doing things. Be sure to make time to go over assignments and details with them.  They will appreciate your efforts to build a personal relationship with them and will likely reciprocate. Be sure to help them stay on task and prioritize their activity, and redirect them if their socializing gets them of track.

Your entire team can be energized by your i-style employees and if they are teamed up with some unusually collaborative employees who can help them pay attention to the details and ensure they are covering the bases, you can have a highly motivated and productive team members.

Motivating employees - Part 2 - The Steady Employee

I was reading recently about team building exercises and events designed to motivate employees. While I have nothing against martial arts board breaking, rock climbing, and other programs designed to strengthen teams and build rapport, these events can really fall flat if employees are in an environment where there is no consideration for their priorities.


While in Part 1 we talked about the Conscientious employee, here we want to talk about the Steady employee. Building an organizational culture and an environment where teamwork and collaboration contribute to their overall success can be a challenge for many leaders.

Our S-style colleagues place a great deal of emphasis on cooperation.  They are often most motivated by opportunities to assist or help others, and words of affirmation along with other exhibits of sincere appreciation are highly valued.

Want to totally freak out your S-style colleagues?  Create a fluid and unpredictable environment, push the pace regularly, offer little opportunity for collaboration, and fail to show reasonable consideration and appreciation.

The top three priorities for people in the Steady or S-quadrant are giving support, collaboration and maintaining stability.  As a result, these people may fear change, instability within the organization and offending co-workers or customers.  And while some may see these people as too indecisive or risk adverse, they can have a tremendous benefit to your work environment.  Their calm and patient demeanor brings a level of stability that most organizations need.

You will want to make every effort to be friendly and connect on a personal level with your S-style co-workers and employees.  They will respond positively if you are polite and do not get frustrated with their need for additional information.  Acceptance is a high priority for them and they will welcome your interest in their personal goals and accomplishments.

Every organization needs S-style people. You won't hear them say, 'It's not my job,' they will help rally support for organization objectives.  The S-style employees are typically very loyal and will see to support the organization's goals and objectives.  If you are clear about expectations and give them time to absorb directions and complete tasks they will be highly productive.

So, what about the Steady people in your organization?  Are you motivating them or frustrating them?  Perhaps you feel you need more information in order to better understand how to build a better team.  Why not consider attending an upcoming workshop on Building Great Teams @Work? Contact me via email at jvonthaden@solutions-industrial.com with questions or for a 20% discount promo code.

Was this helpful?  Leave a comment to let me know.

Motivating employees - Part 1 - The Conscientious Employee

A lot has been written about self-motivation and even more about to motivate employees. Since we have named October Motivation Month at Industrial Solutions, I will be sharing throughout the month on what motivates people according to the DiSC profile workplace priorities.

The theories behind DiSC have been around since 1928 when first published in the book, Emotions of Normal People by William Moulton Marston.  He defined four primary emotions which today are categorized as Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. For those of you looking for more, there is a terrific whitepaper on the reliability and validity of the DiSC Profile Assessment which you can download and read.

While certainly we can grow in our ability to operate outside of our primary emotions and preferences, most of us tend toward one or two regions of the DiSC Map

Today I want to talk about the priorities which tend to drive decisions and actions of those with the C or Conscientiousness personality type.  When we are able to appeal to the priority areas of those who fall into the C quandrant on the map, we are going to be able to help motivate these employees.  As you can see on the image, people in the C quandrant tend to priotize Challenge, Accuracy and Stability, particularly when they are in the workplace.

These people are going to often be demotivated when the organization or team they are working on emphasizes Action or Enthusiasm over Accuracy and Stability.  They are going to become quite demotivated when they feel that the organization is moving ahead or pursuing plans before a thorough assessment has been completed.  They are likely to push back hard against this activity, but if they don't get any detailed response, they can tend to shut down.  In addition, while they may recognize the value of collaboration and support, they can become frustrated working in teams where the emphasis is more often on relationship or individual care and not on completing tasks.

To help your C co-workers, teammates or employees, first be sure that you acknowledge their need for detail and accuracy. Take their concerns about the speed of change to heart and try to give them the needed time to get comfortable with the ideas being considered.  If you can spend time early-on with them discussing changes, and allow them the opportunity to ask questions, challenge ideas and get the information they need, they will be much more prepared to discuss the ideas in a follow-up or group meeting.

Organizations need C people.  They make sure the organization or team doesn't 'run too far ahead' or 'go off the rails'.  These employees will love being asked to help identify the risks, generate a list of required action steps, and dialogue in an environment where their questions are answered logically and with detail.

The best thing you can do for your C employees and co-workers is the invite their questions and engage them on issues of concern.  They will make your organization better and help you take well-informed and thoroughly reviewed decisions.


If you want to learn more about how more about Building Great Teams @Work, then you will want to attend one of our Fall Workshops on this topic. Contact me via email at jvonthaden@solutions-industrial.com with questions or for a 20% discount promo code.

Was this helpful?  Leave a comment to let me know.  Also, let me know what you do to motivate your employees, particularly those highly Conscientious ones.

To be Believable, Go All-In

One of my favorite "reality shows" has gotten a lot of attention this week. Yes, it is #sharktankweek and I have enjoyed watching a few episodes I missed and even a couple I had already seen. If I have learned one thing from watching this show, it is that presentation has at least as much to do with the likelihood of getting funding as does the actual idea. In fact, in a few cases, it was clear the 'sharks' liked the business owner more than their product, and I even watched Kevin O'Leary honestly make an offer so he could burn the product and save the owner years of misery. "Mr. Wonderful" certainly implied that he thought the owner was better than their product offering.

The idea that the quality of the presentation is a critical success factor is certainly no surprise. Corporate America spends millions specifically on presentation training. Deloitte recently reported that corporate training grew 15% in 2013 to over $70 Billion in the US, and fortune 500 companies are spending an average of $5,000 on training per salesperson.

What I have learned from my own presentation experiences and from various training events is that if you want to be believable; you cannot hold back. How many of us have watched people who seem to have the right idea about a motion, hand-gesture, or exaggeration, but then seem to pull back at the last minute. The audience sees this as disingenuous. Perhaps we don't even know we do it, but subconsciously, we immediately assume the presenter doesn't really believe what they are saying.

I've had the same personal experience. When I was not actually convinced of the information I was presenting, I hesitated, I hedged, I stuttered. When I am confident and have fully embraced the information I am presenting, something amazing happens to me...I lose myself. I forget about being self-conscious and about the presentation and focus on my audience's response to the information I am providing. The beauty of this is that my listeners actual begin to engage, and the result is often more dialogue and less monologue.

Of course, there are plenty of do's and don't for presentations, and you can find them all over the web and in many publications. Forbes has an entire series of articles about presentations on their website. Here's a great one from Communispond, a company whose training I have actual attended: The Only Way To Prepare To Give A Presentation http://onforb.es/16gP17j via @forbes

But with all the quality training and tips available, at the end of the day you must be believable to be accepted. For that to happen, you must first believe the information yourself. Then you must go all-in. Don't hold back. Make your gestures large, and be bold. Speak loudly, smile, show confidence, and you will win.

After Labor Day - A Race to the Finish

Labor Day always strikes me like the bell going off as the runners reach the last lap on their way to the finish line. Two-thirds of the year are over. One-Third remains. Time enough to make real progress, but focus is the key to getting the most out of these last four months of the year.
So, what should you do? Here are four (4) suggestions to help you get the most out of your effort before the year has slipped away:

1) Invest in new promotional efforts. Your customers are facing the same year-end assessment and now is the time to remind them of the value of your products and services. An intentional sales and marketing push at this point could generate year-end business and set your organization up for a profitable New Year. Generate a list of existing customers who could be buying more from you. Can you put together a trial program for them? Perhaps it is time to follow up on customers who have taken their business elsewhere. Are they satisfied with their new supplier? Can you entice them back with an added value program? In addition, many companies are looking at spending year-end money or have begun their budgeting process for next year. The time to get in front of these customers is now!

2) Investigate New Technology. While technology won't fix a broken process, often the evaluation and subsequent implementation of new technology can be a catalyst to refining and repairing processes. These efforts will pay dividends long into the future and now is the time to begin looking at how you can improve your organization's effectiveness and productivity. What processes need better aligned? What 80/20 activities should be part of your going-forward strategy? Can you implement technology to deliver a better product or service for your customers?

3) Work on your Team Culture. Is your team firing on all cylinders? Do individual objectives align with the organization? Is there conflict? How well is your team communicating? Collaborating? Sharing? At the end of the day, the individuals in your team are responsible for the culture of your organization. Does your team execute well? Do they plan well? Do they communicate well? So they support one another? At Industrial Solutions, we are spending the next few months helping business leaders and organizations focus on Building Better Teams @ Work. This exercise could be a critical factor for your future.

4) Embrace the Strategic Planning Process. If you aren't already working on your next strategic plan, you should be. Now is the time to get serious about looking at your future. Have you completed your internal and external analysis/assessment? Establishing key objectives for the next phase of your business is critical to your success. Identify the critical factors that impact your business. Assess the 5 key drivers that contribute to Healthy Organizations. Many business owners tend to have a general idea about what they want to accomplish, but haven’t take the time to write-it-down, set goals, or share these goals with others. You should do all three!! There is great power in writing down your goals and verbally sharing these with your team, your partners, your family.

My Suggestion: Pick at least one of these to work on and follow through. On December 31st when you look back on the year, the steps you take now could be the most powerful ones you take this year. Make the most of your time!

Building Great Teams @ Work

Industrial Solutions recently teamed up with WellSpirit Consulting Group, Inc. to deliver a workshop entitled, "Building Great Teams @ Work". The workshop emphasizes a critical element in building a Healthy Organization.  According to Drs. Jeff and Renee Hale, there are 5 drivers to healthy organizations beginning with being customer centered and building a culture where leaders are committed and employees are caring.  Healthy Organizations are also marked by having effectively connected their people and processes in a way that ensures they are generating sustainable cash flow and profitability.

Building a healthy organizational culture or re-engineering a troubling culture begins with establishing a common purpose but requires effective communication, trust, and  teamwork. 

One of the highly valuable tools in building strong and effective teams, growing leaders and enhancing organizational development, is the DiSC Workplace and DiSC Leadership profiles.  DiSC profiles are a center-piece of our new workshop and provide tools and methods for establishing a great team.

Here's some questions to ask as you seek to enhance your team's effectiveness:

1) Do we have a common set of objectives and are individual objectives aligned with the organizational objectives?
2) Are there team members who feel left out of the discussion? Do we have trouble getting everyone on the same page?
3) Does our team exhibit honest and open communication? Do team members trust one another and are they willing to be vulnerable, to tell the truth, to buck the status quo?
4) Are we making progress? Does my team know how to execute? Do we get things done?

One of my former bosses used to talk about degrees of dysfunction.  He compared it to a family. When the day comes to begin remodeling the bathroom, will anyone be surprised, or will everyone know this is happening?  Even if they know it is happening, can everyone describe the changes? Do we know the timetable, the color scheme, whether we are painting or papering?

Effective organizations focus on key objectives, share them often, align their people and processes around these objectives and continually reinforce these objectives by regularly meeting and tracking the critical factors that can most impact their success.

Take the first step in building a great team. Work on communication, secure agreement about key objectives, build an action plan, and monitor your critical factors.

Setting Goals - Strive to ASPIRE

Hard to believe that we are already into the 2nd month of 2014.  Literally 1/12 of the year is already past.  I don't know about you, but that is a bit frightening to me.  Perhaps the biggest reason is that I've just barely started nailing down my goals for the year.  Like many of you, I am sure that you've worked through your strategic plan and established your Annual Operating Budget.  You've probably already determined what gaps in your business need filled, and maybe even established big picture objectives.  If you are ahead of me, you've already worked with your direct reports on setting goals for the year.  If you are like me, you've barely set your own, let alone insured that your entire team has done this work.

Goal setting takes time and some solid thinking.  There are many methods for setting goals and many frameworks for how to ensure they are "good" goals.  SMART is the acronym used by many.  Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.  I have always thought that it seems a bit contradictory to set Annual Goals and consider them "timely", but I do know that I've often worked with people who set goals to accomplish things which require far too many events outside of their control to fall into place in order for them to even get started.  Obviously these are not good goals.

While a quick google search will identify a lot of resources about what makes for a good goal, I'd like to share a process which I believe will help to establish clear and effective goals.

The acronym I use is ASPIRE.  1) Assess your circumstances.  Just like Nehemiah did when he first arrived in Jerusalem (see my comments in Don't "Just Do Something."), we need to fully survey the current state of affairs and insure a thorough understanding.  2) Specify the future outcome.  We need to imagine and identify the future state we want.  The clearer we are about how we want things to be, the better.  3) Plan your action steps.  Establishing an action plan is critical to successfully accomplishing our goals.  These plans should clearly define what will be done, who will do it, and by when.  There must be a single person responsible for seeing the tasks completed and each person involved must understand their tasks.  4) Implement your action plan.  It is not enough to plan, we must execute our plan.  sooner than later, we must act.  We cannot plan for every possible situation, and we will never have all the information we need, but we must still proceed.  Moving forward to implement our plans cannot be delayed.  5) Report the status.  It is not what is expected that gets done, but what is inspected.  Regular reporting on the status is imperative to seeing progress.  This should include establishing an accountability plan for each member of your team.  If the goal is personal, then you should tell someone about the goal and arrange for this person to ask you about it regularly.  Reporting the status, good or bad, is a must if you are to reach your goals.  And 6) Evaluate.  If you have established regular reporting/check-up periods, then you will have time for proper course correction and thorough evaluation of how well you are executing your plans.  In addition, this step provides opportunities for reassessing the current state.  Perhaps before reaching your goal, the external circumstances have changed.  If so, this will require that you revisit your action plans.

Using this method of Assessing the current state, specifying the future outcome, planning your action steps, implementing your plan, reporting your status, and evaluating the results will allow you to get to successfully accomplish your goals.  Once you're there, don't forget to Celebrate.

Best,

jvt

Tenacity - A key to success

Heard about the importance of tenacity today - at Church.  Not that I'm surprised, but I wonder if others were.  Seems to me we need more talk about tenacity.  We don't use the word much, but I suspect that many of you teach this to your kids - we do.  Sometimes I call it stick-to-it-ive-ness, which is actually in the dictionary.  We tell our kids to finish what they've started, to hold on long enough to get through it, to not give up, to work hard, quitters never win.  But somewhere along the way we are apt to forget it ourselves.  We decide its easier to just go along, to take the easy way, that we're just too tired, or "you can't fight city hall".

Genesis, Chapter 32, records the account of Jacob wrestling with God and we have the benefit of learning about holding on and not letting go. Jacob's wrestling comes at a time when he fears the future.  He's about to return home after 20 years and he is afraid that his big brother, Esau, will not be pleased, to say the least.  Jacob's between a rock and a hard place, God has told him to go home and he will prosper, but all he can think about is the danger and risk.

I suppose that's true for most of us.  Often times success alludes us because of fear.  We've heard from the Lord, we've built a plan, we've charted a course, we've set the stage. But then thoughts of the journey overwhelm us, or we are afraid to confront because we need the support, or we are hesitant to realign the organization, or to say no to something because we don't want too much disruption.  Fear of making a mistake can get in the way of our own success.  At times like this, a leader must be tenacious.  Hold the course, launch the product, implement the change, address the issues.  Don't shy away from the hard things, don't give up, don't take the easy way, finish what you've started, don't lose heart.  Blessing/Prosperity/Success comes after the struggle.

jvt
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NewTown's Moment of Silence, an opportunity to speak

Dec 21, 2012....Heart-wrenching.  That's about the only word I have to describe my response to the images of weeping and sorrow I saw on television yesterday and this morning. Parents and classmates, neighbors and friends saying goodbye to children who left too soon.

I've watched the political comments from friends, strangers, politicians and commentators. Like you, I've cheered some and been horrified by others.  I am appalled by those who use the tragic loss of life to push a political agenda, whether gun control or prayer In schools.

The reality is that God cannot be kept from any place. His Spirit moves like the wind. We cannot keep Him out of schools.  I cannot say I've fully agreed with any of the comments I've heard, though I certainly appreciate some. If you haven't heard Huckabee's commentary, it is worth a listen, and the poem "'11 DaysBefore Christmas" by Cameo Smith is moving.

I'm struck by the thought that up against all this talk of evil, calls for new laws, and hurting, broken families, is the celebration of Christmas.  And while the nation participates in a moment of silence for the victims of this tragic shooting today, I believe it is time for Christian believers to be speaking.  Today and over the course of the next few days, many will be hurting, others will be asking questions, and looking for answers.  Breaking through the clutter and noise requires determination and patience, but people are listening. They need to hear of a heavenly Father would understands the lost of a child. They need to be introduced to a Lord who had compassion on those who were seeking physical and emotional healing and answers to life's difficult questions.  They need to know of a Savior who sacrificed his own life for those He loved.

May we speak with confidence of God's love which he so greatly lavished upon us.  May we pray with confidence that the Comforter is here to minister to those in need. And may we comfort the hurting with the comfort with which we ourselves have been comforted.

Setting Expectations

Greetings.  I am back from vacation - had a really nice time in Florida with my wife and kids.  While we had some interesting weather (tornados and storms), we also had some absolutely beautiful days.  Of course, I learned more from the stormy days than the sunny ones...isn't that how life is?  But that's for another blog day.

Anyway, we had some challenges as a family during the stormy days.  Much of it having to do with life not meeting our expectations.  I was thinking about this over the last few days and was reminded today about something that Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Philippi.  In the first chapter of this letter, Paul says that he can't decide whether it is better that he live or die.  He is focused on doing everything he can to be useful.  To use whatever the day brings.  Seems we could learn something about that.  Paul is able to find joy even while in prison.  Glad that the prison guard knows he's there for his faith.  Glad that it is an encouragement to others to be bold about their faith.  Amazing to me when I think that we allow a bit of bad weather to change our attitude.  Sunny - Happy, Rainy - Bummed.  I'm victim to this as much as anyone, but what I am reminded of is the fact that we shouldn't let our circumstances change our attitude, drive, determination.

In my business I am currently facing some challenges due to the unrest in the middle east.  Frustrating.  Disappointing.  Disheartening.  But should it be?  I think that allowing my circumstances to be disheartening is where I start to miss the mark.

Part of overcoming this is to do a better job of setting and managing expectations.  Now, I am not suggesting that we set the bar so low that anything is better than our expectation.  A defeatist attitude is not what I am advocating.  What I am suggesting is that we set our objectives and build our action plans based on what we can best determine will happen.  Build in some contingencies, and then move forward, confident that if we work our plan, we will have put ourselves in the best possible position for success.  Sure there will be set-backs and unexpected challenges, but with this attitude, we should be able to quickly assess the situation, lean into our pre-determined contingencies, and adjust.

Road blocks, economic conditions, and storms of all kinds, shouldn't affect our attitude or add stress to our lives.  Planning ahead, recognizing those things outside of our control, and setting reasonable expectations, is the key to a enjoyable and joyful life...and vacation too.

Best,

jvt

What are you waiting for?

This past Saturday was just a beautiful, sunny, pre-Spring day here in St. John, IN.  It's as if all of nature was straining to break forth with new life.  I loved it.  With the coming of Spring, I should be excited about the future; about the great possibilities that the new season brings, and yet I can't help thinking about the past a bit.

Have I used the time well?  Have I accomplished anything that will last?  Will my time here on earth amount to anything of value?  Will I even be a footnote in the scheme of things.  I suppose some of you are thinking that I'm having a mid-life crisis.  But I can assure you I am not.  What is happening is that I have been doing a lot of thinking about the future, but in light of the past.  I am in a small group that meets a couple times a month and we have been looking at a fabulous book by Max Lucado called Outlive Your Life.  I have always enjoyed Lucado books, but the studies have not really done it for me.  THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT.  It is about the best video series I have watched with a group.  I would recommend this for anyone who is asking how to best invest themselves in the world around them.

Anyway, enough commercial.  What are you doing to invest yourself in those around you?  Are you building relationships?  Are you mentoring anyone?  Are you lending anyone a helping hand?   If you are waiting for a personal invitation, may I remind you that you already have one?   When Jesus was asked by an expert in the law who his neighbor was, that he might love him, Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan.  You can find that story beginning in Luke 10:25.  The best part is the end.  After the story, Jesus asks the expert in the law who acted like a neighbor.  The expert says, "The one who had mercy on him."  Jesus says, "Go and do likewise."

So, I'll ask again, what are we waiting for?  Make your life count.  Outlive it!

Best,

John.

Shrinking the World

If you are like me, there are times when the world feels large and ominous.  Events like last week's Tsunami and the continuing devastation in Japan can really make us glad we don't live by the coast.  It's easy to feel like those events are very far away.  I have also observed that the impressions and views we have about those who live so very far away from us are often misguided, and sometimes just flat wrong.

I've been thinking about these ideas this week as my daughter is studying the events surrounding World War II.  Frankly, I felt a bit embarrassed to try to explain why the world in general, and the U.S. in particular did nothing to stop Hilter, Mussolini, and Japan as they reached beyond their boarders.  I have no doubt that it is easier looking back at events that happened three quarters of a century ago than it was at the time.  Sadly, I sometimes wonder if we've grow much beyond the viewpoints prevalent in the 1930s and 40s.  When Italy invaded Ethiopian, we yawned.  When Hilter invaded Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia, we hardly squeeked.  What's worse, the UK prime minister, Chamberlain's policy of appeasement aside, his comments still resonate today, "How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing" (Underline added).  What if those of us in Chicago said that about the people of Norfolk, VA, (home of Norfolk Naval Base and headquarters of NATO, yes, that NATO) which is about the same driving distance (870mi) as London is from Sudeten, Czeck Republic.



Distribution of Supplies in Japan



So, all this to say, that while we might be appalled today at the idea that people less than 900 miles away would be considered too foreign to fight for, I suspect that we sometimes find ourselves feeling the same about the plight of those that are separated by culture even in our own backyard, let alone those in Japan who are now struggling for daily survival in one of the richest countries in the world.  One organization making a difference is Samaritan's Purse.  Samaritan’s Purse is sending more than 90 tons of emergency aid to bring help to disaster victims in Japan.  Supporting them could make the difference in the lives of many, and as you become connected to those in "far away lands", I can guarantee that your world will become smaller, and the needs and concerns of those both far-away and right next store will become important to you. 

Best,

John.

Controlling Costs - in your business - in your home.

Having watched and read with great frustration the arguing about the new budget proposal by the Obama administration, I cannot help but provide some perspective which might be helpful for our government (if they'd only listen to me!), but hopefully very helpful for you in your business or in your household.
There is one rule: Live within your means.  This may seem simple, but over and over I see our government and individuals and business leaders struggling to do this...if they even try.  What do I really mean?  I mean, DO NOT SPEND MORE THAN TO TAKE IN!  Again, common sense, but not so common.  Obama's new budget adds almost $9.4 Trillion to the National debt over the next 10 years, and more than $1.1 Trillion next year alone.  What this means is that next year, the U.S. Federal Government will borrow $1.10 out of $3.74 it spends!
So, I am the first one to recognize and acknowledge that investment spending - Capital spending - is an absolute necessity and an important part of every business and household.  Leveraging your money can be a very important way of building wealth.  For your business, making capital investments is a way of utilizing your borrowing power to invest for the future.  For your household, it has historically made sense to borrow money in order to purchase property that will appreciate and grow in value.  Some might argue this has always been risky, but few times in our brief history has the idea of property appreciation been more risky than today.
So, how can you make this change? I'll give you five quick ways:
1) Review all of your spending - put everything on the table, even those sacred cows like your candy bar runs, or your Sunday dinners out.
2) Prioritize and look for ways to delay spending.  Maybe you can go another month without a pair of new shoes.  Maybe your business just can't afford to hire another engineer, or administrative assistant at this time.
3) Invest in productivity improvements.  For your business, this might mean finding ways to do more with the same.  Automation can be a huge benefit and might be worth an investment.  What is the payback?  Can you reduce your monthly fixed costs by making the investment?   For your home you might want to think about doing your bills on-line.  This has saved us many dollars in stamps.  You might also look at low cost sourcing.  For your home, this might mean going to Aldi or another discount store.  For your business, it might mean consolidating your parts purchases with just a few suppliers to gain volume increases.
4) Conserve cash.  For your business, this means reducing inventory - move to just in time manufacturing.  Delay large investments that show little likelihood of short-term gain.  For your home, this might mean waiting another 6 months before buying a new car, or not taking an Spring vacation, but instead scheduling a summer vacation now when the prices are still low.  If only our government would think about this.  Maybe they could delay cost of living increases.
5) Rethink your entire approach to spending.  Building cash reservces in an absolute necessity.  If you can retire debt and move from a credit basis to a cash basis for your business or your home, you will reap huge benefits.  For your home, this means saving until you have enough to buy with cash.  If you do this, the interest savings alone will be significant.  Dave Ramsey is one of my favorites.  The Total Money Makeover is one good resource.

Yon can improve your business and get your personal/family spending under control.  You will then have the authority and the evidence to speak up to our government officials and hold them to the same sort of fiscally responsible behavior.

Best to you,
jvt.

Habits that can change your life

One of the most impactful books that I have read is Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  While I believe that all 7 habits can have a significant and positive influence on your success, there are two which I would like to discuss today.  The first two of Covey's seven habits are so powerful that if you can begin to live by them, I am convinced they can change your entire life.
1. Be Proactive.  You are more than the sum of your experiences.  You are more than the sum of your genetic code.  The argument isn't between Nature and Nurture.  It may be hard to believe, but you have the power to choose how you respond to every situation.  In fact, you are the only one who can decide how much value to place on others' opinions, even those closest to you.  We've all experienced it.  Someone we dislike, or who is unimportant to us has something negative to say about us. Their opinion about us matters little.  However, when someone we respect or someone close to us has the same opinion, we are devastated.  You may not believe it, you may not want to believe it, but you alone place value on the opinions of those around you.  Being proactive means saying, "I can, I choose, I will."  It means saying, "Let's look at our options."
2) The second habit is Begin with the End in Mind.  If you don't shoot at a target, you'll never hit your mark.  It is easy to just let life happen.  We look up and the year is almost over. we blink and our kids are nearly grown.  It is easy to get distracted.  Remember the sirens from Homer's Odyssey (check out O brother, Where Art Thou? for a spin on this classic) - they entice and draw us away from our purpose.  Beginning with the end in mind is a way to stay focused on the future.  Whether you want to set a target for the year, or a mission for your life, it is a huge benefit to start your journey by first thinking about where you want to end up.  Not just material things, but things of lasting value.  What do you want people to say about you?  When your time on earth is over, what will be worth the investment?  Max Lucado's new book, Outlive your life is along a similar line.  Lucado asks us the same question.  What were we made for?  Lucado tells us that our purpose is to make a difference in the lives of those around us. 

Each of us has to determine what target we are aiming for and then pursue it with passion and wholehearted commitment.  Don't let life happen to you, be proactive.  Don't wander aimlessly, chart a course. 

My best to you,

jvt