Inspirational Emails

“Making it Happen” for you and your organisation in 2010 will not depend on the economy, the new government, the recovery etc … it will depend on you!! You are in control of your own destiny – so control it.

Begin with the most precious commodity; Time.

Imagine there is a Sewells Bank which every morning credits your account with £86,400 but every evening cancelled whatever part of the amount you failed to use, what would you do? Spend or invest every penny of course! Well, you have such a bank account - it’s called Time. Every day it credits you with 86,400 seconds. At midnight, whatever you failed to use is lost. A balance is not carried over to the next day and you’re not allowed overdrafts. Each day the bank named Time opens a new account with you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow. You must live in the present on today’s deposits … and value them fully:-

To realise the value of ONE YEAR, ask someone diagnosed with a terminal illness.
To realise the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realise the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realise the value of ONE DAY, ask someone who is paid the minimum wage who has children to feed.
To realise the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realise the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a commuter who missed a train.
To realise the value of ONE SECOND, ask the person who just avoided an accident.
To realise the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask any athlete who won a silver medal at the Olympic games.

Our key transformation programme from last year ‘Leading After The Storm’ helped thousands of people and organisations in 2009.

Our new business growth programme for 2010 ‘Making it Happen’ will help you accelerate out of the recession so fast your competitors will be left standing.

Other tried and tested business growth programmes include:-

TimeSmart™
The ultimate solution to managing our time, our work and our life and achieving our goals.

“TLC” Sales and Sales Management™
The quintessential relationship selling approach that provides guaranteed methods to:-
• Double Sales
• Double Profitability
• Increase customer loyalty and freely given referrals.

Why not make a promise to yourself to make the most of every moment you have in 2010 and make it your year to take control and maximise growth … personally and professionally.

You’ve no doubt heard the phrase above, but do you know what it means?

Salt gets added to food to bring out its flavour.

We all get put on earth to bring out its flavour!

We’ve all been given human abilities to bring out the full flavour in life. Dr Martin Seligman calls those abilities that resonate most deeply in us as “signature strengths”. Finding out what they are will point us towards where we should be focusing our energy in life.

Our human abilities are:-

Wisdom and Knowledge (which includes curiosity, love of learning, sound judgement and social intelligence).
Courage (perseverance, determination and integrity).
Humanity (with capacities for kindness and the expression of mercy).
Justice (the ability to bring about fairness and leadership).
Temperance (qualities like self-control, humility and prudence).
Transcendence (the appreciation of beauty, the expression of gratitude, the ability of hope and the capacity for joy).

If you resonate in one particular ability, and earn your living in a different one – you will be a troubled soul!!

To find your nirvana, come on “Working Miracles™” and find out who you really are – and the route to unlimited joy, health, success, happiness, wealth etc …

One delegate recently said: “I’ve just learned more, in the last two hours, than I’ve ever learned in my life” Aftersales Director

To discover more about “Working Miracles™” simply click here.

The recession has had a strange effect on many organisations … people aren’t being stimulated to use their brains any more.

With all the uncertainty around – together with the lack of a clear, new direction - people’s brains have been paralysed – as have their awesome thinking power. It’s the kind of thinking power you need to get the results you’ve forecasted in 2010 – and it has short-circuited just when you need it most!

Someone once said: “there’s no one of us smarter than all of us!”.

So, do you know how to re-wire your people’s brains and get them primed and ready to maximise potential, solve your problems, and amaze your customers?

Why is this re-wiring important?

Because you’ll never convince me in a million years that any person with a three-pound mass of brain cells that can store one hundred trillion bits of information, handle fifteen thousand decisions per second, taste one part of quinine in two million parts of water, smell ten thousand different odours … can’t hit a simple sales target, or other performance objective, or astonish a customer with a level of service that locks them to you forever … not when they’re trained, engaged, led and motivated in the proper way.

Let us help ‘re-programme’ those super-computers inside your people’s heads to do what we’ve done hundreds, if not thousands, of times this year … to produce breathtaking performance improvements.

Here are some examples:-
• “We went from bottom ten (out of a league of 200) to top three in terms of Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) within just six months!”. Operations Director
• “I’ve been in business for 12 years and have attended numerous development programmes. Yours broke the mould in terms of depth and bottom line results”. Sales Director
• “The transition and merger with the Nationwide is smoother because of Sewells’ programme. People are focused on the customer and making a difference and we have a common language, openness and teamwork”. Chief Executive Officer

You’ll be just like me, constantly asking yourself what the next 12 months or so will bring. A few years ago, before the “credit crunch”, we all seemed to know what the future held. WOW! How it’s all changed now!

We’ve all had a wake-up call in the last 18 months that has given us some invaluable lessons as to what philosophy to adopt towards life for us to be in control, successful and happy:-

Lesson No.1: Life is about constant, often unpredictable, patterns of change.
Lesson No.2: We have a choice as to how we respond to these constant, often unpredictable changes – it’s called your attitude – positive or negative. It needs to be positive.
Lesson No.3: We must learn to adopt an attitude that allows us to experience the changes life throws at us – without being changed by them. We must choose to make a conscious and constant effort to improve ourselves in the face of changing circumstances.
Lesson No.4: By our attitude we choose to try our best, or give up; to play our full part in helping our organisation recover after the recession, or sulk and continue to feel hurt and betrayed. Our attitude determines whether we choose to lie or tell the truth, take positive action, or procrastinate, advance and blossom, or recede and remain tight in bud.
Lesson No.5: Our attitude, therefore, determines whether we succeed or fail – combined attitudes determine whether organisations succeed or fail.
The Big Lesson: The only thing you need for 2010 to be a record year for you is a positive attitude (and to make sure all your people have got one too!)
Easy to say, difficult to do – if you need some help on the “doing” you know you can call us on 01244 681068.

Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better.
Don’t wish for fewer problems, wish for more skills.
Don’t wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom.

The world definitely went a little bit mad when we plunged into the economic storm that was the credit crunch and the recession.

It’s understandable because of the speed of the slowdown, the depth and intensity of it - and the uncertainty that was created.

Most observers now agree that whilst the worst is over, there is still much pain to come - and it’s now going to be a long, slow climb out of the recession into something that resembles growth and stability.

In a post-recessionary world change becomes not only the norm - it becomes essential. But failure to manage change successfully could jeopardise your organisation’s very existence.

So whilst change is inevitable, too often this manifests itself as chaos too, and it’s never been more apparent than in the current business climate.

In fact, based on our current and recent experiences talking to large numbers of established organisations I’d go so far as to say that THE BUSINESS WORLD HAS GONE MAD ONCE AGAIN. Here’s the reason I say this:-

WHEN WE LISTEN TO DIRECTORS AND SENIOR EXECUTIVES THEY TELL US THEIR CHANGE AGENDA IS “SORTED” AND ENGAGEMENT LEVELS ARE “FINE”. BUT WHEN WE LISTEN TO MIDDLE MANAGERS AND THE PEOPLE AT THE FRONT LINE THEY TELL US A VERY DIFFERENT STORY! THEY TELL US THERE’S LITTLE DIRECTION, LEADERSHIP, TEAMWORKING, TRUST, HONESTY, RESPECT, FEELING OF BEING VALUED - AND THEREFORE NO ENGAGEMENT! IN FACT, MANY (UP TO 83%) SAY THEY’RE BIDING THEIR TIME WAITING FOR THE JOB MARKET TO IMPROVE -THEN THEY’RE OFF!

It’s not surprising then that even the typical new Change Management Toolkit (aka C.M.T) that the Divisional Director has probably emailed to all managers for them to use to drive much needed changes into the Business will NOT do the trick!

STOP messing about with processes that will never work and START capturing the hearts and minds of your people - meet them where they are - HURTING, FEELING BETRAYED AND FULL OF DOUBTS.

Bring them into the light - let them begin to shine again!

What? You don’t know how to do that?

Well the first step is to understand the key issues that underpin all successful change management programmes, and how they relate to your business.
We can help you with this and share with you a series of case studies from real businesses that have made successful breakthroughs and are now reaping the rewards as we begin to emerge from the recession.

Why not call us to find out how we can help you.

In a tough economy like now, personal motivation is something everyone needs. However, few people are aware of how to switch it to full power for themselves. And - even fewer managers know how to create the right conditions to help people switch their own level of motivation to full power.

How can people be “motivated” when there is so much negative news about the state of the economy, business worries, job security - and in many cases personal financial security?
Add to that, corporate leaders who are slashing budgets, reducing headcount (still), cutting meetings and travel they deem as unnecessary this all adds to building uncertainty, doubts and fears.

In addition, they’re doing their best to talk about the new strategy, brand values and the virtues of using the new Change Management Toolkit, aka the C.M.T, (there’s always got to be an acronym somewhere, hasn’t there?), without communicating what’s really important to their people to re-engage them fully.

Today, people don’t just want motivation. They want answers, truth, honesty and the kind of communication from leaders that says “we’ll get through this”.

No amount of our “motivational magic” will work if leaders are not truthful, trustworthy, positive examples of what they expect their people to do and be - and they must be willing to, and be seen to, take action.

What we help organisations do is more than motivational - it’s inspirational,†i.e, it lifts people’s spirit. It’s also informational,†i.e. we deliver personalised, meaningful, real-world, impactful messages that results in everyone thinking “I get it. I think I can do it. I’m wiling to give it my best shot”.

“Thank you for all the support you gave me and my team, we achieved great success, and it was a result of the clear direction you gave us. You made us believe in ourselves, that’s why we are so good as a team.”

Parts Director, Motor Manufacturer/Importer

We also help organisations to†develop the leadership skills in managers to unlock the potential that people are “holding in reserve”. And - lets face it - most managers are rubbish at being inspiring leaders and releasing and directing the passion in people towards turning your strategy into stunning business results.

Your Change Management Toolkit (C.M.T) won’t tell or show your managers where they need to improve and how to do it. We will.

“I must say that in 15 years working for the business, I have never attended a better programme. It was very thought provoking throughout and me and my team have been totally inspired and focused†towards playing our part in†achieving our objectives”.

Area Manager, Retail Services.

Do you have the appetite to do something positive about this? If so, contact us.

How well do you and your key teams work together?

How well teams work together has a dramatic impact on the performance of any organisation.

Effective teams help organisations produce significant performance improvements, can secure the future and can help your company become a magnet for talent.

Teams that are not working can cause enormous and unnecessary disruptions, failure to achieve tangible results and strategic breakdown.

The critical areas for building a winning team are:-

1. Team Development
Teams don’t become effective overnight, it takes care, attention and expertise - do you have that expertise? Do you have a team orientation process? And a team charter?

2. Feedback
Providing proper information in a planned and structured way to team members about individual performance, as well as overall team performance, is essential.

Do you provide an objective summary? Plenty of people will give opinions that foster resentment and animosity.

3. Participation
Are team members using their skills and abilities to the fullest?

Are your team leaders creating an environment and culture that gets their team members to be proactive in contributing ideas and initiatives that they can champion?

This is not just about the team tasks, it’s about a team vision. Do your teams have one?

4. Managing Conflict
Conflict is an inevitable consequence of people working together as a team. Disagreements and differences are the reasons why teams can be so effective - if they are managed properly.

But allowing differences to get out of hand causes chaos.

Do team members and team leaders understand the basics of conflict management in order to maximize effectiveness and minimize disruption?

5. Understanding and Collaboration
How well do members of your teams understand the key issues facing them, and collaborate to overcome them?

Working for the same team purpose creates consensus, consitency and cohesion. Failure to work towards the same†purpose creates tensions. How much cohesion is there in your teams?
If you’ve had difficulty answering some of the questions posed, you’ll definitely benefit from our effective team working audit - here’s how it works - we just need 10 minutes of your time (on the telephone) to answer some questions about your teams in areas such as; their performance, decision making, building relationships and†understanding what part your team plays in contributing to the company objectives etc.

From the information provided we’ll then be able to assess how good†the teams you have in place are, and†we’ll give you some†FREE advice to†help turn your team into an effective one!

It’s FREE - and painless - although the results might not be!! Call us now on 01244 681068 to arrange your audit or Simply click on this link to register your interest.

In a post-recessionary world there are two roads to recovery an organisation can take; the ‘soft’ one or the ‘hard’ one.

The ‘hard’ road will have got you through the recession - you’ll have used your technical skills, and those of the people around you, to decide on the shape and scale of the restructure needed to survive or thrive in the future. You’ll have cranked the numbers a hundred different ways, and made the tough decisions about who stays and who goes.

You’ll have stood tall about the new efficiencies required in all areas of the business, how new productivity needs to be balanced with new risk management to create profitable growth. You may have had to be quite remote and distant from your people in order to finalise your plans.

You might even have developed a new ‘vision’, strategy, and set of ‘values’ - a new culture even - for everyone to follow and live by. Brilliant! Well done!

That’s the ‘hard’ bit done. In reality, it was probably not that difficult to do - not pleasant, not enjoyable (it was probably a case of having to, rather than wanting to) but after facing the economic reality, and taking a couple of ‘brave pills’ - it was a lot easier than you expected.

So, what are you going to do now to get everyone who’s left to buy into your plans and make them come alive?

However well you think you’ve handled the changes, your people will probably be feeling bewildered, confused, frightened, suspicious, guilty and innocent and at the same time, let down at best and, betrayed at worst, not valued and not engaged.

The ‘hard’ skills manager will say “they shouldn’t feel that way” - the reality is that they do!

The ‘hard’ skills manager will say “they should feel lucky to still have a job” - the reality is they don’t!

Too many ‘hard’ skills managers think that people will automatically become positive about the new ways of doing things, working brilliantly as a new team, using their initiative and becoming fully engaged - JUST BECAUSE THEY SAY SO!

It’s madness!
It’s naive!
It’s everywhere!

It’s only by developing the ‘soft’ skills - alongside the ‘hard’ skills - that technically competent managers become truly inspirational leaders.

The importance of developing high levels of ‘soft’ skills cannot be overemphasized (why they’re called ‘soft’ skills I’ll never know, because they’re the hardest for managers to master!)

Yet studies* show that organisations with a population of managers who have mastered the ‘soft’ skills gap, outperform those without BY A FACTOR OF FOUR!

Why? Well, the simple acts of listening, problem solving, resolving conflicts (personal and professional), guiding individuals through organisational ambiguity, talking through frustrations and opportunities - all foster an honest and open work environment that slowly re-builds trust and engagement.

There is ‘no ‘magic bullet’ - but at Sewells, we seem to have uniquely developed a tried and tested formula and methodology that always works. And it will work for you too-
We’ve applied it and produced breathtaking performance improvements in organisations much more battered and bruised than yours!

For example, a large multi-franchise organisation was able to achieve 111% increases in sales in this current climate by having it’s management team undertake a ‘soft skills’ training and implementation programme.

A recent organisation we worked with tripled the profitability on the sale of their products by cross-selling and up-selling value-added services that their customers needed.
And a major oil exploration and refining multinational was able to achieve a stretching 5 year profit plan in just 23 months.

There are many other examples I can give you, but let me just underline the point I’m making.

This critical issue of employee engagement through truly inspirational leadership will cost you dearly - if you do nothing. Oh, and please don’t think you’ve “got this covered” or that it’s “not a priority at the moment”, at least until you have spoken with us.

We’ll ask you some insightful (and possibly awkward) questions, and we’ll quickly identify whether or not there are opportunities to improve the skills of your management team so you can experience the increases in revenues and profits you are chasing.

Most leaders know that the will to do, springs from the belief that we can do!

The old adage that “you can do anything when you put your mind to it” is so true. When was the last time an individual or a team gave 100% effort to attempt to do something they didn’t believe in? The reality is that they can’t! It’s impossible!

Belief always precedes action and achievement.

However, another key to achievement is desire; belief needs to be fuelled by the desire - the “want to”. There is no effective “can do” without the deeply felt “want to”.
This is where a large number of post-recessionary culture change programmes are failing. The talented and gifted people in teams “can do” what the new strategy demands they do, what the new “brand values” extol (even though they’re remarkably similar to the old brand values) - what organisations are failing to realise is that many of their people simply “don’t want to”, not any more.

One recent UK survey showed as many as 74% of people in organisations fall into the “don’t want to” category. Yet many organisations are trying to pull out of the economic sidings they’ve been shunted into without checking whether the carriages are “hooked up” or not!

The post-recessionary leaders’ role has changed and involves two principal activities:-

1. Helping everyone in the team to understand the company’s direction in a way that gets them to “want to” play their full part again.
2. Coaching them to be the best they can be.

ALMOST ANYTHING ELSE LEADERS DO TODAY - AND FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS- IS USELESS “FLUFF”.

Report the numbers, analyse, decide what needs to be done - but remember that the numbers only keep score. Don’t lose sight of what (or rather who) creates the numbers in the first place - the people!

Engage them, inspire them, encourage them, respect them, satisfy their craving to feel appreciated, valued and listened to, motivate them, turn them on, ignite their passion, re-establish their pride of association with the organisation†...†then direct and channel their unlimited potential that will produce resutls beyond your wildest dreams!
We’ve got tried and tested strategies that have never failed to produce outstanding results for companies large and small. Why not call us on 01244 681068 and discover what results we could produce for you?

We’re not ones to exaggerate. We tell it as it is. And I feel you should know that many large companies are failing to fully appreciate the depth of feeling (negative feeling) that the impact and fallout of the credit crunch has had on their people.

The results from nearly all the Employee Opinion Surveys we see have been BAD - lack of direction, no clarity as to the priorities, poor communication about everything, especially organisational restructures, lack of trust in the management, loss of belief in what the company stands for, a disengaged workforce etc- this list goes on and on.

Colleagues and friends have been let go, a sense of pride of association has gone, the warmth and respect shown by customers has turned to hurt and anger.

Our research shows that people in many organisations don’t feel let down; they feel betrayed.

Yet few organisations are taking the sheer depth of this feeling seriously enough. They think they just need a new strategy, a re-defining of the brand values in a post-recessionary world - and that will win people’s hearts and minds to re-engage and give of their best to exceed objectives.

I’m sorry to have to say THEY MUST BE MAD, STARK, STARING MAD to think that is a workable way forward that will accelerate their progress out of the recession.
Specialist and delicate rebuilding of belief, trust, pride, passion, enthusiasm, positive attitudes and determination is the only way to re-engage people in a way that re-energises performance.

You may have some very clever people around who’ll convince you this is already taken care of. But they’ll only be right only if:-

1. Employee engagement levels are in the 90%‘s.
2. Levels of trust are at an all time high.
3. Communication is brilliant (and I mean brilliant).
4. There is inspirational leadership at all levels.
5. Everyone, from the board of directors down, is standing shoulder to shoulder around creating the required changes (not paying lip-service) to permanently and positively transform the culture. (A butterfly is not a better caterpillar!)
6. Culture-change/brand values comes last, not first. Fix the people first - from the inside (beliefs) out (behaviour and performance).

Just go “walkabout” and ask people in your organisation questions about the six topics above - and then consider whether you’ve got it taken care of - if your walkabout has made you think again or perhaps you’ve discovered that everything isn’t actually taken care of - we know we can help you - it’s not easy, but it is simple and MASSIVELEY effective!

Email me, in the strictest of confidence, (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) about what you discover on your walkabout. We can then help you to identify where the gaps are, and we can explain how our tried and tested approach can help you fill in the gaps. If you prefer to call and talk over the phone on 01244 681068 that’s fine too.

Most of us would like to improve, but many people won’t pay the necessary price - and that’s a problem, because we’re never going to be the best we can be by remaining what we are.

It’s not enough to be open to change, we need to pursue it, seize it and be it.

One of the biggest barriers to people changing their lives is that they seek the wrong objective. Their objective is perfection - “once I’ve perfected it, then I’ll have changed for the better”. The objective should be progress not perfection.

Did you know that a child falls down over one thousand times before they ever learn how to walk?! If perfection was the objective, we’d still all be being pushed around in prams!
It’s not how many times you fall over that matters; it’s how quickly you get up and have another go - 3 steps, 4 steps, 2 steps, 5 steps, 1 step, 5 steps, 6 steps, 2 steps, 7 steps, 10 steps - get it?

Changing habits, skills, character, patience etc - is a slow process - it’s about progress not perfection; it happens day by day.

If we try and short-circuit the process to avoid the pain of trying, we end up with the worse kind of pain; the worthless type that accompanies denial and avoidance!

So what kinds of changes do you need to make in your organisation? And how do you think your people need to change to make things happen differently and better? Perhaps you need your leaders to be more effective? Maybe your customer service staff need a more confident approach? Or do your senior directors need to communicate and convey your strategy in a more compelling way to improve employee engagement?

What ever the challenges you’re facing, and the changes that are needed, let us help ease your pain and show you and your people how to embrace change - all you need to do is call us on 01244 681068, and we’ll explain the key elements of the science that delivers higher achievement for your business. Or if you prefer to email any questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), that’s fine too

The quote “there’s nothing that inspires and motivates people like a ‘vision’ to accomplish something special” was said in the context of the Americans pursuing the ‘vision’ of putting a man on the moon and bringing him back alive.

John. F. Kennedy defined the ‘vision’ on 25th May 1961, in an address to the U.S. Congress.

When he made that speech and articulated the ‘vision’ for the first time in public† -THE AMERICANS HAD NO IDEA HOW THEY WERE GOING TO ACHIEVE IT! In fact, when he made the speech, they didn’t even have a rocket powerful enough to get into orbit! (Alan Sheppard was the first American to go into space 20 days earlier - 5th May 1961 - in a Freedom 7 rocket. It went straight up and down).

That ‘vision’ heralded what is probably the greatest technical achievement of mankind†- EVER!

But that’s what a proper ‘vision’, properly articulated, can do. It heralds great achievement. It causes people to become fully engaged in turning the vision into a stunning reality.

In the case of the moon landing ‘vision’, this included scientists, engineers, pilots etc - from all over America (and the Western Hemisphere). It was achieved against stiff competition (the Russians) and against terrible adversity (three American astronauts were killed in 1967).

260 million Americans were so enthralled by the ‘vision’ that they coughed up 5% of their Gross Domestic Product, in the 1960s, to pay for it. Kennedy wowed them by saying “It will not be one man going to the moon; it will be a Nation ... because we all have to work hard to put him there!”

An effective ‘vision’ evokes the spirit and captures hearts and minds first - only when that is locked in place is the achievement of it INEVITABLE.

You don’t need to know how a vision is achieved, you just need to know what the vision should be and communicate it in a way that engages everyone in the team to play their full part in making it happen.

Recent research shows that up to 80% of people in organisations are NOT ENGAGED with the ‘vision’ or the strategy. Could that explain a few things for you, performance-wise?

Creating a vision that ‘locks people in’ is an art. Communicating it to fully engage people is a science.

Would you like to discover how to unlock the potential in your people to produce the results you want and need? To take the first ‘small step’ all you need to do is call us on 01244 681068, and we’ll explain the key elements of the science that delivers higher achievement for your business. Or if you prefer to email any questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), that’s fine too.

A few weeks ago, we asked you if you could provide us with†some feedback about our weekly e-newsletters.†We were delighted to hear you are finding them thought provoking, right message ... right time, food for thought and they make you want to take action too!

We even heard how you share them around the organisation, even publishing elements of the articles and quotes in your own corporate magazines, newsletters and internal extranet†etc. So a big thank you from all the team†for your feedback - it means the world to us.

One of the†suggestions we took on board†was the fact that the impact of what we do is so powerful you thought we weren’t doing ourselves justice or giving you enough time to read and digest the material.†You also thought sending them to you fortnightly would perhaps be better than weekly.

So, we’ve listened to what you said, and this week’s email (plus all the usual inspirational quotes and free reports) serves as advance notice, that your next inspirational e-newsletter will be with you on Wednesday 22nd July and fortnightly thereafter.

On the day “The Ashes” cricket test match series starts ... a bit of inspiration ... as someone once said “Form is Temporary, Class is Permanent”. For a one page of inspiration simply†click on this link and we’ll email it to you.

In the meantime, you should know, by now, that if you need any questions answering from ‘someone who knows’ then you†can call us anytime on 01244 681068.† We’d love to hear from you, or if you prefer you can email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Ghandi’s famous aphorism is at the root of one of the biggest leadership challenges that organisations - and the people who run them - face in succeeding during the recession (or in a post-recession world).

Senior executives and managers know that change is needed. They often commit themselves to personally role-modelling the new attitudes and behaviours. And then, all too often, in practice - NOTHING HAPPENS - so nothing significant changes.

As we quoted, Warren Buffet last week puts it perfectly: “It’s only when the tide goes out, you find who’s been swimming naked”.

As executives have been found wanting, many - way too many - still don’t count themselves amongst the ones who need to change!

They say they do, and they make some modest gestures. The reality is they do not make the seismic shifts that are required to lead the change that will produce the performance transformation required.

“People don’t get lost. When leaders say that the team aren’t following, it’s the leaders that are lost, not the people”. Anonymous

Most executives will not make the changes necessary because they don’t know what to change on a personal level. No one has told them - because no one has figured it out for them. And, no one can figure it out without the key insights that a concrete 360? feedback process can uniquely give.

One recent business transformation we’ve started, that is producing an outstanding turnaround, was ‘kicked off’ by the Chief Executive asking us to find out, from his top 45 managers (on a strictly Private and Confidential basis) what should he do differently?

He then shared the findings - warts and all - with them and put together a personal development plan - with timescales - to bridge the gaps, again for them all to see.
He also put in a date for them to complete another 360? degree exercise so they can all score him on his progress!

That’s leadership. That’s courage. That’s commitment.

He then invited the other 45 managers to do likewise - if they so wished. Guess how many volunteered?

If you’d like to find out more about 360? techniques and driving change, then why not request our FREE report “Business Clarity - The Essential Role of 360? Feedback and Best Practice Techniques”. Simply follow this link - or call us on 01244 681068 to request your free report.†If you prefer to email any questions to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), that’s fine too.

All organisations want to stand out, be uniquely valuable and distinguish themselves from the competition.

In pre-recessionary times finding advantage meant differentiating ourselves from the pack based on:-

* the products we produced
* streamlining our speed to market and the supply chain we used
* the service we provided to customers

It took a while for competitors to figure out what we were doing and to catch up.

In the post-recessionary, hyper-connected world, the explosion of communications technology has meant hyper-transparency. Almost instantly everyone can see what we do and how we do it.

While they may be able to easily copy the ‘what we do’ - what can’t be easily copied is how we do it.

Any contact centre can answer a telephone call before the second ring, or an email within two hours - but it’s the “HOW” that is the post-recessionary differentiator.
HOW - the behaviours adopted, consistently and brilliantly applied - will separate the winners from the losers from here on in. In a retail environment, for example, any employee can be told what to do to greet customers. How they do it, differentiates them. Is it authentic, sincere, enthusiastic and friendly?

Customer service is about how quickly (and deeply) an employee can connect with a customer.

If you need new ways to develop behaviour that enables you to firstly ‘outbehave’ the competitors and then outperform them, you may need some help from the experts.

With so many businesses struggling and the focus being on cost-cutting and delivering bottom-line efficiencies, managers are running the risk of losing their best people - at the very time they need them the most! This is because they’ve taken their eye off the ball and forgotten to manage their people properly.

This is resulting in increasing numbers of strong and reliable team members reporting manager issues as the main driver behind their desire to leave and find another job. It’s a well-known fact that most good people don’t leave their company, they leave their line manager.

“The economic downturn is pushing people’s priorities off the business radar”, as one of the people we surveyed commented. “Managers are panicking because they’re worried about their own job security and - beginning to really p*** the top performing people off”.

We all know it’s the top performers who keep businesses running smoothly in turbulent times like now. And we also know that it’s the top performers who will lead businesses out of the recession the quickest.

Losing your best people now, or sometime soon, would be like slashing your wrists and waiting to bleed to death! You’re effectively losing the life-blood of your business.
Over the next five weeks we’ll share with you ‘The 5 Most Common Mistakes Managers must STOP making if they don’t want to lose their top performers and jeopardise the future of the organisation’.† Here’s the first one:-

No.1 STOP! Making the Wrong Cuts

If your strategy over the last 5 years has been, and still is, about delivering amazing customer experiences and being a great place to work, grow and develop, then be VERY careful about cutting spending.

Why? Because this inevitably means that service levels slide, because the remaining team is swamped, and morale takes another hit as you stop any staff development expenditure.
Your best people will twig pretty quickly that you weren’t sincere or committed to the strategy in the first place.

As Warren Buffet once said “When the tide goes out, you can see who’s been swimming naked”. Tough times test an organisation’s integrity and its managers’ authenticity.
You also need to make sure your people are competent and confident, with your best people still on-board when the recovery comes, in order to leave your competitors standing in your wake.

You may say this is just common-sense - but that doesn’t mean it’s common practice.

Post 2008/2009, recession leadership practices will never be the same again, or will they?

We’re already seeing organisations - and their leaders - making the same critical mistakes in relation to managing change, and managing the people responsible for making the change happen ... and stick.

Let’s handle the first one this week (i.e. Managing change) - and the second one next week (i.e. Managing the people responsible for making the change).

Warren Buffett once said “There seems to be a perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things really difficult”. Never have truer words been spoken in relation to changing the culture, attitudes, behaviours - and therefore, the long term performance - that all organisations now need.

Whether it’s a “good to great” change, or a “turnaround” change, the ‘biggest pitfall’ in totally engaging people to give their all to making it happen is still all too common. That’s why less than 30% of change programmes succeed.

All the processes and systems in the world, designed to positively improve performance and results, count for NOTHING if your “change story” doesn’t embrace one of the basic elements of human nature. This element is so basic, most organisations - and their leaders - overlook or ignore it. What motivates your people to willingly throw 100% of their energy, creativity and enthusiasm to making the change a success?

When managers and staff are asked “what motivates them at work” (and we ask them ALL the time) the responses are almost equally split in five areas:-

1. Impact on the well-being of the customers
(providing superior products and services)
2. Impact on the working team
(creating an honest and fair environment)
3. Impact within society
(helping to build the community, conserving resources)
4. Impact on the company and its shareholders
(reputation, integrity, pride and security)
5. Impact on “me” personally
(my development, career path, salary, benefits)

The big problem we find is that what the leader cares about, and is motivated by, is not the same for all of his or her people.

So if the “change story” only focuses on the leader’s basic motivator, 80% of the workforce may well be left thinking “what’s this change programme got to do with me? It doesn’t float my boat”!

Leaders invariably fail to unleash the tremendous amounts of energy and creativity in 80% of their people, so crucial for the business critical change to succeed.

One recent change programme we ran in an organisation dogged by resistance from the team showed a 17.2% efficiency improvement within three months of us helping them re-cast and re-communicate the “change story”.

Maybe we can achieve similar results for you?