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Category: Best Practices

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Best Practices Human Resources Management Marketing Personal Development

Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments Discusses Leadership

As part of my nationally syndicated radio show, Take the Lead, I interview top leaders and successful individuals who share their success stories. Ken Fisher, the billionaire behind the success of Fisher Investments, sat down for a live interview with me. To hear the entire interview, you can go to:  http://drdianehamilton.com/episodes and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDNSdlhM9cE&t=27s

The following are highlights of what he discussed in our interview:

  • Whether leaders are born or made
  • The importance of knowing yourself
  • What people will do vs. what they can do
  • Activity and attitude equals success
  • What his day is like
  • The key to success in life is wise choices, keen observations, and recognizing your observations are often wrong and modifying when they are wrong
  • The importance of degree programs
  • Universities like Harvard or Stanford are broken, and degrees are equivalent to a bad education in 1910
  • What he wants to hear from an interviewee
  • John Tamny’s article about the uselessness of patents
  • How the economy will change before and after an election
  • Trump vs. Clinton
Categories
Best Practices Growth Human Resources Management Skills Women In Business

Stop! Don’t Choose Employee Engagement as Your New Year’s Resolution

Seems like an odd request, but not when you realize that only 8 % of the population keeps their New Year’s Resolutions.  Enhancing your business culture by improving employee engagement is too important to set up for failure.

For the same reasons that people don’t stay on their diets and quit exercising, businesses lose the momentum to build a culture that makes a significant difference in success.  This is true on so many levels, from recruiting the best talent to customer satisfaction.

Here are some reasons companies fail at building a culture of engagement:

  1. Too much pressure

The thought of making January 1st your day to “turn it all around, “gives the illusion that at some point you will be done. In fact, every day can be used as a perfect day to begin and continue a new idea, concept or way of conducting business

Solution:

Make the change manageable.  Take the time to discover where you are right now.  You can only do this if you ask for people outside of your circle of influence what their perspective is.  Then engage those same people to help find the solution to a common goal

  1. It’s hard

Nothing soft spoken here.  Yes, it can be.  Any change takes work.  Depending upon where you start and what your goals are, the challenge and its difficulty correspond to the difference.   However, you have the choice to experience the changes as hard or a series of opportunities.

Solution:

In one word, acceptance.  When you can accept that this new movement towards building a community of people with a common goal will take time, repetition and detours, it is less stressful.  Knowing it is a challenge does not mean it has to be hard.

  1. It’s complicated

Interestingly enough, the process is as complicated as you make it.  The research I did for my book, Blueprint for Employee Engagement, showed me how important it is to break your goals and ideas into small baby steps.  You actually get to achievement faster that way.

You don’t decide to create a new business culture and voila, it appears.  In fact, when attempting a broad change, many people will be skeptical.

Solution:

By far the best way to simplify an action is to have a plan.  When I coach executives the only way to see to the end result is a plan.  Map out the plan like an outline and then break each point into more action steps.  Then take each of those steps and give them at least 3 stages.  It may look like you are complicating the process, but in actuality you are creating those baby steps so you can succeed with a greater feeling of accomplishment

  1. The realization that you have to keep doing it!

My favorite adage is, “Life is a journey and not a destination.”  If you want to make permanent change in your business environment, it is a forever process.  Get ready for setbacks.

Solution:

Once you realize this is a continuous journey a lot of pressure is removed.  It also means that along with the inevitable setbacks comes opportunities to re-evaluate and fine-tune.  This allows you to be on a continuous improvement plan for your entire business.

Don’t make employee engagement and company culture a fad.  Deliberately choose to create a better workplace environment.  Get the best talent, to be the most productive and creative, so they provide your customers and clients with the ultimate in service.  That is a decision you will forever be proud of.

Julie Ann Sullivan has the cure for retaining good talent and reducing absenteeism. Want a free copy of her book, Blueprint for Employee Engagement 37 Essential Elements to Influence, Innovate & Inspire? Talk to Julie Ann @724-942-0486.  Julie Ann hosts the Mere Mortals Unite and Businesses that Care podcasts on C-Suite Radio.  For more information go to http://julieannsullivan.com/

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Skills Women In Business

The New Year’s Resolution You Can Keep

Like most people, I usually hate making new year’s resolutions. They are something we create out of a sense of obligation, knowing all the while that we will probably not stick with it for more than 24 hours. Then as icing on the cake, there’s a predictable little twinge of guilt for giving up on it, since it was something that should make our lives better somehow. Well, I want to suggest a way to make this year different.

Decide for yourself that this year, the resolution will not be about you, but about others. More specifically, take stock of your relationships, and take an honest look at the nature of your communication patterns with them. Is there something about the dynamic between the two of you that  brings out a tendency to be unnecessarily blunt, passive-aggressive, or indifferent? Do you shut down or avoid people when there is real or potential conflict? This year, let your resolution be a gift to them – and to yourself: the start of a new, healthier and more positive relationship through a shift in the way that you communicate.

Here are three ways you can wrap your gift:

First, be mindful of what your eyes say even when your lips aren’t moving. We often don’t realize that our face is reflecting our true opinions about something we hear before the other person is done speaking, and often before we even start.

For example, do you have a habit of rolling your eyes, breaking eye contact, or cocking one dubious eyebrow when you disagree with someone? These are signs of disdain that shows you are not open to hearing what they are saying, and will put people on the defensive.

For me, I know that my “thinking face” has my eyebrows scrunched down, furrowed. It doesn’t mean I’m angry or disagree, but that’s often what people mistakenly think it means. In reality, they should be happy when they see that face, because it means I’m listening carefully and seriously considering what they’re saying, but unfortunately that’s not the effect it has. That’s why I need to remember to “reset” my eyebrows to a more neutral, nonjudgmental position.

If nothing else, be sure to make eye contact when someone else is talking. You don’t have to stare them down, but don’t multitask, look at the computer or smartphone screen, or keep checking your watch. Give them the gift of your full attention.

Second, watch your words. Small details in word choice can have a big impact on how people hear and interpret what you say, and how they feel about it. Beware of absolutes, such as everything, nothing, everyone, nobody, and always… Statements like “Nobody wants…” or “You’ll never convince me that…” show that your mind is made up, you are sure that you are right and everyone else is wrong. Plus, they are a form of exaggeration, making you sound melodramatic. In the end, they shut down productive conversation and any chance at collaborative negotiation.

Instead, if you want to promote mutual listening, try hedging those statements. Try phrases like from my perspective…, on multiple occasions…, or I’m concerned that… They allow you to state your case, but allow for the fact that it is your perspective, not “gospel truth.” It shows you are open to working together to reach a mutually acceptable solution.

Finally, engage people. I know you are busy, so you don’t need to hear their life story, but seek to connect with them as people, not just as coworkers or employees. For example, when you pass someone in the corridor, give them more than a perfunctory nod acknowledging their existence. Stop for a moment and ask them how they’re going to use the time off if your company is closed for a holiday, how they’re feeling if they’ve been under the weather, or how their kids or pets are doing. Just remember: a little effort goes a long way.

The beauty of these little tips is that they take so little effort in comparison to what you get back, so it becomes the resolution that you actually want to keep!

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Do you have a comment or question about how to easily and effectively make this shift? Click here to set up a 20-minute focus call to discuss it with me personally.

 

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Skills Women In Business

5 Recommendations to Effectively Interact with Visual Aids

Click here to watch 5 Recommendations to Effectively Interact with Visual Aids. 

How many times have you found yourself struggling to pay attention while the speaker spends most of the time talking to their visuals aids?  They give you permission to do anything but listen to them.

Your visual aids are not your notes. Instead, they should add impact and emphasis to your message, increasing what your listeners remember and how long they retain it.

Grab these 5 surefire ways to make sure your listeners stay connected with you while increasing their understanding through your visual aids.

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Health and Wellness Management Women In Business

Achieve Peak Performance – Pay Attention to Your Well-Being

Some of the smartest and most successful people I know understand in order to have the ability to work at peak performance levels requires incredible energy and stamina. To have that consistently, one has to schedule recovery time. It’s as important to your bottom line as landing that big client or making the next sale. Let this sink in:  According to SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management, 85% of talent managers agree employees who use most (or all) of their vacation time are more productive and focused.

See, part of taking care of yourself is being a champion for your own physical and mental well-being. That’s why you’ll see extraordinary leaders plan and take vacation down time. That means disconnection from responsibility, technology, and even emails! (That last one scared you a little, didn’t it? Studies show that over 50% of employees check work-related emails after hours, on vacation and during holidays. STOP.) While it’s not always possible to completely “unplug”, it should be a goal to use your down time as true time away. To replenish the mind and spirit. To shake out the cobwebs. Find new perspective. Renew energy levels. And make quality time to pay ATTENTION to loved ones the top priority.

I read an article not long ago in Fortune Magazine that shared how Europeans think Americans are crazy because while they take up to six weeks of vacation per year, statistics show that US employees leave 429 million vacation days on the table annually. Interestingly 40% of executives think employees would be more productive if they took vacations. Yet among those same senior managers, 72% said if offered unlimited vacation time they wouldn’t take it! What’ THAT about?

If what you REALLY want is to be better at what you do, and have a better life while you’re doing it – try these three strategies for scheduling recovery and downtime: 

Plan early: One thing we do as a team, is review calendars at the first part of the year and plan a variety of trips during that year and might include cars, bikes, pool time or trips back to Australia to see family and friends. It’s a practice we have followed for many years to ensure the majority of vacations are scheduled to give us experiences to look forward to. Can you review your calendar and book time to enjoy something that you love to do with people you love being with?

Create variety: Look for ways you can mix it up – with a variety of destinations, adventures and times of year based on your needs and budgets. I’m not a stay-cation kind of gal. My office is in my home (maybe you have one there too.) That means I would just work the whole time, so that doesn’t work for me. For some people, it works. Consider visiting a new spot, driving instead of flying, build in adventure, art galleries visits, or a walking tour of a city. With so many online tools to help plan your visit, you can leverage community events, support local initiatives and experience cities and towns in a completely new way. We often use the site HomeAway.com, as I prefer an apartment or a house than a hotel when traveling for extended stays. We have used this service around the world and have loved it every time. My career allows me the luxury of travel to incredible places staying in lovely hotels and yet some vacations the idea of getting on another plane or staying in another hotel. Can you and your family choose a new adventure in the next twelve months that everyone can help plan to enjoy a trip together?

Go offline: This is the toughest ask for many of our clients (and me) but it’s not impossible! Can you create an out of office message that bounces back to manage email providing an alternative person to help while you are away? Can you stay off social media and instead focus all that time and attention on creating memories with those you love? I am a huge fan of a digital detox; your vacation is a great time to do that.

Get outside. There’s something incredibly life-affirming about getting outdoors in beautiful new space. Think mountain hikes, a walk on a nature path, collecting shells on a beach, or catching fish on a lake. Have you ever noticed how much better you feel, how much deeper you sleep and how much healthier you feel on vacation when you invest time to be active while you are relaxing?

Create memories: Truly, isn’t one of the biggest reasons we work so hard is to create a lifestyle for our loved ones? Keep this in mind – recovery time is not always just about your taking a break, it’s about taking the time to create special experiences with family and friends. It’s about connection. It’s also NOT negotiable for any leader who wants to excel. If you want to accelerate your leadership and be a productive contributor on your team? Take time off. You will be more fun to work with, more focused and energized and you will create memories with people you care about, and isn’t that the reason many of us work?

Here’s my challenge to you: Pay attention to what matters. You, your health, and your loved ones all benefit from scheduled recovery, book yours today.  Need more convincing or ideas how you can achieve peak performance through regularly scheduled recovery time? Check out this video and learn how professionals can achieve maximum productivity results, focus and dedicated attention to goals and priorities through recovery time.

 

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Personal Development

Your Brand Promise Depends on Quality Assurance

Quality assurance is just that. Your customer is assured that the products he expects are exactly what he gets. We’ve noticed that despite having the trademark and being the producer, you don’t own your brand or your brand promise. Your customer does—period!

He expects certain dependability, consistency, availability, and quality in your product. His expectations are developed by personal history with your brand, not by your advertising, labeling, and catchphrases. If you, your distributor, your supplier, or even your retailer let him down, he will blame your brand, and start shopping for an alternative. But, the trial-and-error process of finding a new brand creates anxiety and potential disappointment, so he doesn’t really want to shop. Yet, he feels obligated since the quality assurance has faded, and therefore the brand’s promise has been broken.

When your faithful customer wants to depend on your brand, why take the risk? Guarantee him availability, dependability, and quality, and he will never leave. Your brand will be his brand, the one he buys time and time again—and the one he recommends to family and friends!

Quality assurance is a promise to your customer. If it is challenged for any reason, we recommend giving an apology, an explanation of how you will fix it in the future, and, rather than refunding his money, giving your customer more of your products at no charge. This says, “Please give us another chance, and allow us to show we can exceed your expectations.”

Then, put new procedures and policies in place, add clauses to your production agreements, and create a signoff sheet or a new form to improve quality control and reestablish your value in the customer’s mind.

We once incorrectly labeled a 1.5L bottle with a 750ml-bottle UPC code, which is double the volume and almost double the price. This led the retail store to charge customers almost half of what they should have. This particular store had already scanned hundreds of bottles, costing them thousands of dollars in lost profits by the time we found out! We took complete responsibility, despite it being our contracted bottler’s mistake. Our sales manager brought a check to the buyer’s office to cover his losses, fortunately before he was aware of the issue. Not only did we have a check in our hand—we also had a schedule to replace the mislabeled products with properly labeled products. Then, we gave the buyer something even more important—a report of how we would prevent this from happening again. We earned his respect for that, and he gave us an ad then and there. Now that’s quality assurance!

Quality assurance is essential, especially when handling outsourced services, processes, and goods. We were always wondering why some contracts were so long. Our bottling contracts were only 3 pages long when we started Barefoot Wine, but when we sold our brand nineteen years later, our contracts were 37 pages long!

Quality assurance is not an endpoint; it’s a journey. Once you realize your reputation and brand promise are on the line, make sure your company constantly looks for ways to prevent issues from reoccurring. This is the key to persistently improve quality assurance.

Don’t make your brand’s customers cry, “But, you promised!”

For more, read on: http://csnetworkadvis.staging.wpengine.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Personal Development Women In Business

What a 5-Year-Old Can Teach Us About Listening

We’re told from a very young age to pay attention. From our parents. Teachers. Then bosses and gurus.  But I don’t think it means what we think it means. At least I don’t after a very smart lesson from my young friend Donovan.

I was sitting in the kitchen having coffee with my next-door neighbor Eileen, while her 5-year-old son Donovan, dressed courageously in his Superman costume was engaged in quite a heated debate about why he couldn’t wear his costume to school.

He kept inserting himself into our conversation. He was continually asking me questions:

“Neen do you like to play outside or in?”  OUTSIDE. “Neen, cats or dogs?” CATS! “Neen, Obi Wan or Yoda?” YODA of course!

Then he said, “Neen you’re not listening to me!” I replied, “YES, I AM, HONEY.” He assured me I was not, then jumped in my lap, grabbed my face in his tiny little hands, turned it towards him, and with great Superhero passion and intensity, he said the words I will never forget.

“‘NEEN, LISTEN WITH YOUR EYES!”

He was FIVE. It took a 5-year-old to remind me, that we don’t listen with our ears, we listen with our eyes, our hearts, and our souls — and I think that’s what it truly means to pay attention.

It’s a combination of all these things.

Too often, we pay attention to the to-do lists in our head.  Or we’re waiting to respond. Or trying to work out what to say in response to someone, instead of listening intently.

To truly pay attention — or as Donovan says, listening with our eyes, — is being intentional. It’s holding our own agenda at bay. It’s looking someone in the eye. It’s being fully and absolutely present.

In that precious moment, Donovan helped me realize why it’s so important that we pay attention, and why our parents and our teachers and everyone, kept reminding us of this valuable life lesson. Intentional attention is a gift. One you give the people in your world, and one you give yourself.

It’s a game-changer in your relationships. From your friends and family to the people you work with, to the teams you lead, to the customers you support. Make the shift to be more INTENTIONALLY attentive. And watch as your business and life become much more AH-MAZING. Thanks Donovan!

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Best Practices Human Resources Management Marketing Skills Women In Business

Embracing Generational Differences in the Workplace

To reduce conflict and improve productivity, it is important to understand generational issues, culture, emotional intelligence, and engagement.  Leaders are often frustrated by some of the conflict that stems from generational differences in the workplace.  For real progress, we must learn to share the things that we have in common and appreciate the things that we do not. Once we understand people’s preferences and perspectives, we can embrace multiple generations in the workplace.  To watch a recent speech I gave to a large group in Phoenix, regarding these important issues, please go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh7WLNJ1O4o&feature=youtu.be. 

During that speech, I discussed:

  • Avoiding generational stereotyping
  • Embracing each generation as unique and important
  • Improving soft skills
  • Developing emotional intelligence
  • Improving engagement
  • Improving productivity and turnover
  • Embracing diversity
  • Reducing conflict
Categories
Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development Technology

Collaboration for the Cybersecurity Team

When you think about collaboration what comes to mind? Have you ever given much thought to the importance of collaboration for your cybersecurity team, or how collaboration creates high performance teams? If you haven’t given much thought to the topic of collaboration that’s OK you are going to explore the importance of collaboration today.

Collaboration is the fourth pillar in the EPICC model for high performance teams and is incredibly important for your security team. If you have tuned in to the entire series on EPICC High Performance Teams you are on pillar four. If you are just joining us now you can catch up on the series and read about Engagement, Productivity, and Integrity; the first three pillars for a high performance team.

Since no single person on a security team can stay current on all the technologies, know all the current vulnerabilities, be versed on all the most recent hacks, or know all the possible solutions; collaboration is key to your security teams ultimate success. Collaboration is where engagement, productivity, and integrity come together and your security team spends time working together to come up with innovative new ideas.

Ideas build upon ideas when a group gets together to collaborate. New ideas, solutions, and innovation that no single person can come up with alone are born during collaboration

One of the biggest and often missing pieces of collaboration is discussing progress, what’s working and what’s not working? When a team knows where the project is they can collaborate on ideas to move it forward or maybe even change direction. This is how you remove the number of fires that need to be put out at the last minute and you reduce stress and cost. When something is not working, it quickly becomes the topic of conversation, but what about discussing what is working? That is often a missed, but critical conversation.

When things are running smoothly most people don’t stop to discuss why, but it is essential to recognize why things are working so you can do more of it. Plus, what is working for one person may not be obvious to their peers, so this is an opportunity to teach each other and refine their skills.

Of course I’m not saying you ignore the conversation on what’s not working, that is critical to course correction and you can’t always prevent or find all roadblocks ahead of time. But as soon as something starts to go south the conversation must include what’s not working. But remember, it can’t be about laying blame or pointing fingers, it’s about discussion, collaboration, and then cooperation and integrity to change things around.

The more your team collaborates the more they can identify the possible roadblocks ahead of time. This means you don’t have a group of firefighters running around always trying to put out the fire, you have a group of park rangers who are able to stop the fire before it ever ignites because only you can prevent forest fires.

The great part is collaboration can happen with or without you, the leader, as long as you set the tone, the expectations, and the example. If someone comes to you with a problem you can ask, “Did you work with the team to find a solution yet?” That could be the first step before involving you unless it is critical and needs escalation.

Remember you never know where the best idea will come from. You want to make sure that everyone on the team has a voice and that they know they can share ideas regardless of how crazy it may sound. That is because you built the team community around integrity, everyone should know that there are no bad ideas and that no one is ever ridiculed or judged.

For your next team meeting start a new conversation on the topic of collaboration, why it’s important, what it should look like, and how to accomplish it. Empower your team to work together, communicate openly, and share ideas. Build on the ideas of community and watch your team thrive.

If you have questions or comments about this article or the series you can reach out to me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com to discuss this topic, security teams, or security strategy. If you enjoy podcasts you can listen to C-Suite Success Radio to tap into the wisdom of other successful business people who know the path you’re traveling.

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Best Practices Human Resources Management Marketing Skills Women In Business

Research Shows: Leadership = Warmth + Competence

When I think about building my image as a trustworthy leader, I tend to think about strengthening qualities and providing services that will proactively draw people in. That’s why I was particularly surprised by a recent study that took a markedly different approach.

At its core was the need to demonstrate two specific qualities that indirectly indicate that you simply won’t hurt others. While that may seem obvious, it was actually much more subtle: the idea was that at the heart of all relationships, both professional and personal, are two factors: whether you are “competent,” and whether you are “warm”. “Warmth” is important because it implies a lack of intentional threat. And “competence” balances warmth because it indicates that you won’t accidentally cause someone harm either. The combination of both allows people to trust in someone’s potential as a leader. It’s an interestingly defense-oriented approach to the perception of leadership.

But it’s more than whether or not you are warm and competent: the other half of the equation is whether other people believe that you have both of these qualities. This is where the ability to speak like a leader comes in.

What does warmth sound like? What about competence? We tend to think of warmth in terms of feelings and behaviors, and competence in terms of skills, but based on the above explanation of what warmth and competence represent, the way you communicate your intentions and executions will drastically influence your credibility on both fronts.

Let’s look at a few factors to consider for each of these areas, to ensure that your communication style allows your warmth and competence to shine through.

Word choice

Of course your message needs to be factually accurate and true, but it goes beyond that. When you explain something, do you give more jargon-laden detail than the listener wants, needs or can understand? Does it seem like you are avoiding answering certain questions or omitting other details? These habits can undermine the perception of warmth because it seems like you don’t really understand or trust me, and if you don’t trust me, why would I trust you? Alternatively, if you use lots of fillers like um, you know, I mean, or sort of, it seems like you lack confidence in what you’re saying, which erodes the perception of competence.

Using relatable anecdotes and clear organization, on the other hand, make it much easier for the listener to understand your meaning. This transparency allows them to let down their guard, and see you as a more trustworthy leader.

Articulation

Once you know what you want to say, the way the words roll – or stumble – off the tongue, will either help propel the listener along with you, or make them hit the brakes. Do you speak at a volume that is easy for everyone to hear, and at a speed that is easy to follow? Does your inflection highlight important words, indicating your personal interest in the topic and adding vocal interest for the listener? If so, all of these practices will reinforce your image of warmth and competence because it shows you are considering and prioritizing the needs of the audience. Mumbling, rushing, and monotonous, run-on sentences will all have the opposite effect.

Facial expressions

Tying it all up, your physical communication is, ironically, the strongest of the three communication modes when it comes to your appearance of competence, warmth and overall credibility. No matter how much expertise you demonstrate in your content, and how strong or clear your voice is, facial expressions such as occasional eye-rolling, unintentional frowning when concentrating, eye contact (or lack thereof), or chewing on your lip can signal your deeper, underlying negative feelings about what you are saying, from arrogance and contempt to insecurity. Remember to smile when appropriate, make eye contact with everyone without staring them down, and keep a neutral listening face in order to reassure the audience of the sincerity of your intentions.

Regardless of the seniority of your position, bearing these points in mind will help you reinforce the impression of being both warm and competent, and come across as a natural leader worth following.

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Do you have other questions or feedback about effective leadership communication? If so, contact me at laura@vocalimpactproductions.com or click here to schedule a 20-minute focus call to discuss it with me personally!