Birthday's

Today was a day filled with the celebration of Birthdays. At the office I had 2 employees that celebrated birthday's. I try to make a big deal for these occasions as I think it makes people feel good about the people that they work with. As much as people say making a big deal does not matter the 1st time they are forgotten is an challenge emotionally and can hurt their ego. When working with a team it is imperative to treat people as good as possible as they spend more time with their peers then they do anyone else. As a leader not knowing this information is a weakness, knowing your people can be the single most important key when making an effective team.

After work I went to a party to celebrate my mother in laws birthday. It was another great time with them and you can see the joy that she had when she walked in to the semi surprise party. It is great to see how life impacts people and how important birthday's are. I think it is important to celebrate peoples birthday and I try to make these days extremely fun for people. Life is too short to not enjoy these days and very rarely do you get a chance to have a day that is focused on you. This is not selfish this is a form of self gratification which can build internal confidence.

1st Sales Call

Today I had a chance to share a concept of a new business venture with a relative who has been self employed for about 15 years. My concept of business coaching and how it can impact business owners is a direction that I want to take my career over time. As I was sharing the concept he began to ask questions....rule #1 questions are good, questions mean there is interest. Once I could hear some of his questions I then listened to his explanations on why he would want something like this good and bad.

Some of the key feedback that he gave me was
1. Will you know me and my business?
2. How will you help me?
3. Let's get to the point what are the results going to be?
4. Last but not least if this can help me and save me money why wouldn't I try it?

This was tremendous feedback coming from someone that did not see a sales pitch coming at a family Christmas party. In sales you have to be fearless willing to fail and get up again and again. People that are successful have a drive to become better each and every day. In this role it will be working with these people and driving them to higher results that they did not know they could achieve.

Motivation

There are going to be days when motivation is lacking, These are the days that I think about sports and playing baseball in college. I remember a coach that would always say "an average team would finish now, are we average?" This would always result in running a few more sprints and doing a few more push ups.

In the business world the same holds true, there are going to be days when motivation is lacking. These are days the competition is getting closer and you are not separating yourself from your peers. During these times it is imperative to have a strong support group or internal team of people that you can trust. These people will give you the motivation to achieve higher results even when you do not feel on top of your game. It is impossible to be the best all the time and surrounding yourself with a good support team will help achieve higher results. If you do not have someone than make it a priority to find this person it is guarnteed to increase results.

Tis the Season

Over the past few days we have been celebrating Christmas with our families. Although each family is completely different the VALUE of family is the same. One side of the family is very religious and makes it a point to focus on the real meaning of Christmas. The other side of the family is not as religious however the focus is on family and spending time together.

Over the years the holiday has taken on different meanings for different people but the constant of family has been there forever. These are the times that some people might not enjoy and almost view as an obligation but seeing a family grow is remarkable. I remember when I was one of the little kids and running around now I have a nephew that is running around and most of my cousins have kids. Although I am the oldest grandson I have not had any children yet. I am sure people are wondering why but it is because I grew up in a time when I had to see my parents struggle to make ends meet. My father was constantly working and could not take time away as his responsibility was to provide. I did not want to be this way therefore my wife and I have waited. Now the question is when ????

Family is one of the 5 keys to a balanced life and the focus on family can be very rewarding. However the word family I feel can be defined as people who have a direct impact on your life and will be there when you need them. My brother is one of the most important people in my life and I can count on him for anything as can he count on me. There are cousins that are part of my family tree but I have a hard time calling them family they do not call, do not care and are consumed with their own life. I respect my grandparents for trying to keep us together but this could have been solved early with their own children.

The same goes for business sometimes relationships are built very early and then tying to change them or "break into" them is hard. Be kind to people, treat people fairly, and remember they could soon be part of your FAMILY.

Energy

In business and life it takes energy to be successful. Some people have it and some people do not. However this is one behavior that I believe can be developed. You cannot change a person's personality but you can add energy to any situation. Today I was meeting with customers and developed a game called "Christmas Trivia." The point of the game was to lighten the mood during an already stressful holiday season. As people are preparing for the challenging time of the holiday season finances usually become the focus good or bad. My goal was to change the focus from money to the season thus the interaction with the customer would go very smoothly.

Although I did not build consensus when I issued the idea to my team the reaction from the customers were outstanding. People love to have an interaction that is different than the norm. The point is, in life you have to mix it up sometimes and when it gets boring if you add energy to the challenges you will see results. The power of positive energy is a measurable force.

In the evening my wife and I went to see the new Rocky movie. Although the movie is a story there is a line that is amazing..he tells his son his son "it is not how hard you hit but how hard of a hit that you can take." The situation is about accountability that you have to make a name for yourself and make yourself happy. He goes on to say the world is constantly looking to beat you down and if you do not fight back you will stay at the same level. This holds true in today's world and people who are successful do not let others set goals they set their own goals!!

Good Old Days

Tonight I was able to spend time with my former team that I led for the past 2 years. It is amazing to see how peoples lives change over time. With in such a short time some of us have went from salesperson to engineer, new babies on the way, and some have went back to what is comfortable (working in the same industry).

One of the things I loved about this group is that we won and lost as a team. We helped each other learn and without them I would not be the leader I am today. We can laugh now about the challenges that we faced each day and how we handled what we felt were "Major" problems. Although we have not worked together hand in hand for about a year it is like old times when we meet up. We give each other feedback, we trust each other, and we do not judge one another.

Building trust is a key to any team and once this happens teams can become great. It seems simple but it takes time, emotion and communication. Trust....

Politics

A couple of days ago I was asked to take a new position within in the organization. Upon review the leaders realized what I said in the beginning that it would be hard on my team. The decision to move a person in leadership has to make sense not only for the individual but for the entire team.

This comes down to corporate politics. A successful company can minimize the politics that take place in an organization. However the more layers that a company has the more challenging it becomes to manage the internal politics. Therefore company's should try to run lean create an environment that is open to giving people opportunity and holding them accountable.

When politics take place no one wins...well maybe the one who talks the biggest game might win, but what are their results??

Meeting of Friends

Yesterday I had a unique experience to meet with 3 former colleagues that I used to work with at a prior career. Each of them are in completely different career roles and are doing very well. It is amazing to see that people can change environments but will continue to be successful. One take away that I have found is that successful people are successful no matter what they are doing.

The other area that I found is that people focus seems to change around this time of the year due to the holiday. People begin to focus on the year to come and sometimes forget to review the year that has just passed us by. I think it is key for people to remember where they have come from as it will give the clarity on where they are going.

Challenges

Challenges happen each day when you work with the public. People in this day in age want things now and cannot understand why things have changed over the course of time. The changing business world is causing corporations to change become faster, more aggressive and some time this does not relate to better service. I had two situations that took place today in which the customer felt the service was not acceptable. However the customer in this case was wrong, although I can understand their frustration it does not justify how they decided to communicate in a professional setting. It never fails to amaze me at what money can do to people. The sense of power comes with money when actually power comes from respect.

I think respect and trust are what build power in the business world today. As I went to lunch with a former colleague I realized how important communication and trust can be. We have an outstanding relationship that has been built upon challenges that we faced together. We worked toward a common goal and the respect that we earned for each other is too large to measure.

Balance

This weekend was a focus on balance and fun. I spent the first part of my weekend with my MBA team delivering our presentation on "Discharging Employees." The presentation went well I thought we all delivered on the topic at hand. The only feedback I would have is for the group to run though the presentation before the final day. It seemed as if our transitions were fairly rough and did not go smoothly. Overall I think we did fairly but I think the program should include presentation skills and and class regarding how to present.

The remainder of my weekend was spent with my brother and my wife. We went to see the movie "Pursuit of Happyness." My wife and I had a good time and the movie was average I thought the book was much better. Although it is interesting the form of motivation was family success and caring for his child. I am sure my life will indeed change once I have children and I can certainly respect the challenge that people have balancing family and professional lives. A recent interview with Tiger Woods he stated his biggest success is his balance between work and family. I thought this was extremely insightful.

first day

Training is the key to a successful career and organization. Today I had the opportunity to train a new manager that has recently joined our team. Although her background is diverse she lacks the financial services experience that might be needed to be successful. As I spoke to her I could tell her experience with the organization over her first 4 weeks has been less than satisfactory. This is a direct reflection of the leadership that has brought her in.

The experience an employee has during his/her first day will be a key to their perception of how the company will treat them in the future. Historic data shows that employees do not leave because of the company they leave because of managers. As a manager it is key to develop and begin to build trust immediately or the relationship will suffer and become very hard to salvage. Most managers do not see this as an opportunity to build the relationship however the powerful leaders take advantage of these little steps. In my experience it is not always the big bonus checks or time off that is important to employees. A simple pat on the back and a "thanks for all your hard work" a high five can go further and cost nothing but time.

Key points to remember
Take your employees to lunch, learn about them personally, and above all else care for them
Remember a successful manager works for employees.....

Feedback

Today I recently posed a question to the dean of our MBA program. The question was around feedback giving an opportunity for feedback to be distributed across project groups for long term developmental growth. The concept has brought out mixed emotions with my peers. Some feel the feedback is very valuable while others might feel it is a waste of time. I would argue the ones that do not want the feedback might not be in it for the right reason.

The most interesting of all though is an email that I received from a fellow classmate. They felt the idea was directed at them. This was not the case and I followed up with them to ease them of this concern. The email that was sent to me was very defensive and goes to show how sensitive people can be in this world. Each time we are in contact with someone we need to remember the tone, message, and possible interpretation that we might be delivering.

I then spoke to a person who is very close to me about the situation and he brought up some very valuable points. He stated that people do not change unless something major happens in their life. Therefore the change that we are really looking for is considered growth and it takes a tremendous amount of time. This is an outstanding experience and makes me realize how powerful of an impact people can have on each other.

Key points to remember
Email is a form of communication that should be only delivered to state the facts or positive recognition. These should be short quick hits.
Email should not contain specific emotions as the tone cannot be interpreted and cause more damage to an already fragile situation.

Ideas

Today I had some outstanding conversations with my employee who is in charge of financial investments. He has been feeling that his performance is tapped and in 2007 the results will be even harder since he has capped out the customer base. These are the times that I thrive as a leader, bringing new ideas to an old style is what I really enjoy. I asked him a couple of questions around training what can he do differently to train the staff? He was lost and could not come up with ideas but as we talked and brought in some other people ideas began to flow. All of a sudden he was excited teaching people how to sell and taking the passion and energy to explain a plan of action. It is amazing to see how positive thinking can change peoples mind and move them in the right direction.

I then went to work with my MBA team to finalize a project that we are working on. I think the project went well and there are some strong people in the group. The group is very diverse and the leader if the group did an outstanding job leading the group. Some of the people in the group seem to get defensive when it comes to feedback this will change over time but the learning experience is outstanding.

Gifts

Today I was able to go shopping for my wife for the upcoming holiday. I really enjoy buying for her because she really enjoys receiving gifts. She often says she does not want anything but deep down she does. Since she is out of town our dog has really missed her.

This morning Chip would not eat his food I think because she usually sits down with him each time until he finishes his food. Unfortunately I am not that understanding and did not have enough time to spend with him this morning. He is a great dog loves to be loved and really makes you smile every time you see him.

At the office I met with a business owner who is looking to increase their business. As I was talking to them I loved to her there story about how they started out of their garage then rented a space and now want to purchase. I will do everything I can to approve the financing so they can continue to grow their business.

Change

Mondays always bring a sense of excitement as it is a new week and a fresh start. The challenge on Monday's is harnessing the energy and building and actionable plan for the remainder of the week. As I came in today I had a conversation with one of my top performing team members. She was letting me know that she was posting on another position in the organization. I am a huge advocate for people moving up in the organization and will do whatever it takes to promote my team.

In this case my concern is her leaving the position to secure a role that is less stress and more secure. This makes me wonder why people are son concerned about losing their job? Since I have been unfortunate enough to go through a downsizing maybe I have a different view on this, however it seems like fear of losing your job is a major motivation for people. The key to any successful person is they have to enjoy the people that they work with rather than the company they work for....therefore hiring the right people is the key to success.

Giving Back

Today I went to spend some time with my parents and dropped off some gifts for a family my friends and I adopted for Christmas. It is a great feeling to give back to others how are not as fortunate.
As I traveled to see my parents I stopped by the local grocer, this was my first place of employment and the store has changed very little. The owner was there and has changed in appearance but the attitude is still the same. I can remember going to work and noticing that the owner never seemed happy? Why continue to run the business fr so many years if you are truly unhappy? Or is this simply his personality? All and all I was glad to stop in the store it is never a bad thing to remember where you have been as it helps you to focus on where you are going.

Tough Day

Today was tough day and makes me think about how important preparation can be. As I prepared for my class I came to realize I worked hard preparing for material that was of very little value. The value of education is measured by exams however the knowledge that comes from building relationships and meaningful conversations is not measured.

In life it is the small details that matter most the dog licking your face, your wife giving you a hug for no reason, or just feeling appreciated by others. Some days are harder than others but the key is to maximize each day with happiness.

Preparing

Today marks a day filled with difficulty and challenges. As I focus on the people on my team I have to balance the additional work I have taken on furthering my education. I have been focusing endless hours to my studies however the one who is impacted the most is my wife. The key to tomorrow is to balance the class work and give special attention to the ones that matter most in life, family.