As I was going through my plans for a post this week, I realized a great one had already been written. My company promotes our employees both internally and externally. They shine a positive spotlight on my team mates and I wanted to highlight someone I work with everyday.
It’s amazing to me, but looking back over a decade of writing I find posts that still impress, with information that is as useful now as when it was written.
Golden Oldies is a collection of what I consider some of the best posts during that time.
Last Tuesday, We considered the bottom line value of gratitude, which reminded me of a post from 2009 when I wrote a leadership blog for B5 Media. Good morning. Thanks. I appreciate X. So few words, so little effort and such enormous returns.
Back when I wrote for B5 media, Phil Gerbyshak over at Slacker Manager quoted an interesting statistic. He said that “7% of employees leave their managers because they didn’t say good morning.”
In the conversation that follows, Roger says, “I have always been of the ilk that I don’t always say “Good morning” to people in the office. I have felt that once a week is good enough… However, this is probably just a reflection of what feedback I personally need. As a manager I have to think that others are different and have different needs.” (Current links unavailable.)
Phil Gerbyshak over at Slacker Manager quoted an interesting statistic. He said that “7% of employees leave their managers because they didn’t say good morning.”
In the conversation that follows, Roger says, “I have always been of the ilk that I don’t always say “Good morning” to people in the office. I have felt that once a week is good enough… However, this is probably just a reflection of what feedback I personally need. As a manager I have to think that others are different and have different needs.”
I worked for a guy like this. Oh, he said good morning and was a really nice guy, but he didn’t understand that our needs differed from his.
Most of us are like that to some extent. We see the world through our own MAP and unconsciously make the assumption that others see it the same way.
This is especially true with regards to people we’re close to, such as family, or with whom we’re friendly, such as team members, peers, colleagues, even bosses.
Think about it. How many times have you recommended a book or movie only to have the person ask you why in the world you suggested it; or introduced two people you really liked only to find that they can’t stand each other.
My old boss didn’t care about pats on the back, positive feedback or congratulations when he accomplished a critical piece of the sales process. It’s not that he wouldn’t do it, but he just didn’t think of it on his own.
I still remember one time that I closed a really big deal. He was out of the office, so I put the paperwork dead center on his desk where he couldn’t miss seeing it. He came back mid-morning, but it wasn’t until I went to his office, asked and he congratulated me—but when you have to ask, it has no value.
And even when he did say the right thing it was obvious that he didn’t know why he was saying it. It wasn’t that he didn’t mean it, he did, but he never really understood why it needed to be said.
So more important than saying the right thing; saying it at the right time; or honestly meaning it; is taking the time to learn and understand why you’re saying it.
How grateful are you? Not just for the big things, like not being hit by the guy who ran the light, but for the everyday stuff?
Who do you take time to be grateful to? Your spouse/partner, kids, colleagues, boss?
How do you show your gratitude? A quick verbal thanks, email, text, hand-written note?
As CEO of Campbell Soup, Doug Conant sent more than 30,000 handwritten thank-you notes to staffers and clients driving the creation of a “culture of gratitude across the company.
…when Conant took the reins at Campbell Soup, the stock price was falling and it was the worst performer of all the major food companies in the world, according to Fast Company. By 2009, the company was ahead of the S&P Food Group and the S&P 500….
Journalist Janice Kaplan spent a year documenting the effects of gratitude and shares the info in “The Gratitude Diaries” and uses Conant’s behavior as an example of a leader who harnessed the power of recognition to boost his team’s performance.
Such a little thing for such a giant effect. People do notice.
When Kaplan visited the Business Insider office in August, she said that a survey she conducted with the John Templeton Foundation found that about 90% of people said a grateful boss was more likely to be successful.
Bosses frequently poo-poo the idea of saying ‘thanks’; their reason being that people should be grateful to have a job. This is especially true in a down economy — which is shortsighted and stupid.
But, as the man said, the times they are a’changing.
In the last few years, more and more leaders have started to adopt this practice, including Mark Zuckerberg, who in 2014 challenged himself to write one thank-you note every day, according to The Washington Post.
Gratitude — taking that bit of time to say ‘thanks’ — costs nothing and offers some of the highest ROI of any action you may take.
Making decisions: What/which has the greater upside? What’s the downside, and is it worth the risk?”
Learning: I had that typical early-entrepreneur hero complex, where it was about how well I did versus how well I helped other people do the work. Then a mentor told me that if I ever want to run a large company, I should go work at one. So I got a job as a middle manager at Dell, and I had to develop skills as a leader. I also got pregnant with my first child, and I was always sick and tired, so I had to become far more focused in how I was spending my time. I learned to focus on what really matters.
Stella & Dot: Our revenue is around $300 million, and we have over 400 people in the home office and about 50,000 independent business owners in six countries.
Culture: I wanted to hire missionaries, not mercenaries. The challenge, especially when you’re growing fast, is to be incredibly fierce about your hiring filters. You have to commit to caring for the culture more than the quarter.
Goal: to build a community around the idea of “real fast food”—made by people, not factories—and the team felt like one big family, all working toward that goal.
Sustainability: You just have to look for and seize every opportunity to make your people feel valued and purposeful in their work.
Engagement: we incorporated features to reflect our family culture [on new mobile app], the app has also boosted staff engagement in a way we never even expected.
Jake Bailey found out he had Burkitt Lymphoma just one week before he was due to speak at a prize giving ceremony at his school. As senior monitor, it was his duty to represent the class. In the midst of intensive chemotherapy, Jake was permitted to leave the hospital for a brief period to deliver his speech.
Ian Larkin is an assistant professor Harvard Business School and he shared some interesting research last spring.
The study focused on the effect of rewards, and although the subjects were laundry plant workers the results apply to knowledge workers, too.
The plan rewarded workers for being on time and not missing days.
The results were not as expected and productivity dropped.
In other words, the rewards plan ended up demotivating the workers.
Why?
Because it was easily gamed and structured to reward actions that were an expected part of the job, such as being on time.
Rewards should always be for going above and beyond the job description, showing initiative, creativity, reaching out to support not just the team, but others with whom they interface, etc.
It’s also important to remember that money isn’t always the best reward.
Most studies have proved that praise is an excellent driver of performance, productivity and good feelings—public recognition/kudos usually carries more weight than bought rewards such as meals or movie tickets.
“You can’t put a price on that. The recognition of hearing you did a good job and that others are hearing about it is worth more than money.”
The main thing to remember is that awards aren’t a solve-all panacea for an ailing team.
“You can’t say awards are good or bad. It depends on how they’re implemented.”
And they certainly won’t/can’t replace good management skills.
Thanksgiving is about excess. Excessive food, excessive drink and excessive appreciation.
We give loud and exuberant thanks for all sorts of things at work and at home—people, actions, happenings, things, stuff—a lot of which we take for granted the rest of the year.
Why not take a different path this year and give your loud and exuberant thanks every day starting Thursday (or today if you are ready).
Offer thanks for the little things as well as those that loom large and make sure the thanks are sincere.
Appreciate the good stuff and the not so good, since our best personal growth often springs from how we handle the negatives.
Reach out, instead of waiting to be approached.
Give the people in your world the benefit of the doubt as well as the benefit of your experience.
Give others the spotlight and be thankful when they rise to the occasion—even if it takes some prodding.
Put away your thoughts of quid pro quo and what’s in it for me.
Do it for the next 365 days and I guarantee that your 2011 Thanksgiving will be the most amazing one of your life.
In short, this legislation would eliminate a secret ballot for union representation, replacing it with a public “card check,” one key difference of opinion is how the card check would give employees a free choice.
But, regardless of your opinion on the legislation, Pat Lynch believes it should be called the “Employer Free Choice Act” because it gives employers a free choice – either take care of their employees or the unions will.
Pat Lynch, Ph.D., university professor and CEO of Business Alignment Strategies has studied unions extensively, focusing on their impact on the American economy. I interviewed her recently to learn more about the EFCA.
She started with a long-term perspective of unions. Union membership has declined as a percentage of the workforce, roughly corresponding to the decline in the manufacturing sector of the economy, to a low of 7.6% of the private workforce as of 2008. Even though union membership in the public sector has climbed to 36.8% in 2008, total union membership is still only 12% of the entire US workforce.
In Pat’s opinion, unions believe EFCA will provide a significant opportunity to organize the newer businesses starting up in green industries. Especially with three key provisions in the proposed legislation:
No lower limit on company size. EFCA will apply to every company in the United States, whether 10,000 employees or 10 employees.
EFCA expands the definition of a union worker to include supervisors, in addition to line workers; with this expansion, unions can cover a much larger percent of a company’s workforce.
EFCA gives unions the right to access the company’s email directory for union communications.
Pat works with companies to improve employee relations. In her opinion, employees rate their job satisfaction on four primary issues:
Employee satisfaction with immediate supervisor
Employee voice – do employees feel safe in challenging the status quo, do employees believe their ideas will be considered
Employee perceptions of procedural fairness
Rewards and recognition – these go far beyond compensation, which is not a significant element of satisfaction. Recognition is extremely important.
Employers need to improve the actuality, as well as the perceptions, but it takes time. Pat recommends that employers start now—before the EFCA becomes law.
Start by offering an online satisfaction survey to your employees to learn how your employees perceive your team.
Then act on the results.
And come back Thursday to hear Miki’s take on keeping employees happy.
A few days ago Kiva left this comment on a post talking about diversity of thought as opposed to visual diversity, “My office engages in some diversity of sex and skin color, but they’re stuck at only truly valuing rank and position. Any way to get them beyond that when they don’t seem to even see others?”
I felt that the subject would be of interest to many of you and said I would respond this week in a full post.
There’s no simple one-size-fits-all answer to this because the cause depends on the circumstances and people involved.
So let’s look at four basic scenarios of what may be going on and what you can do.
Scenario 1: The most common assumption is that the TD (top dog) from whom the company/department/team’s culture flows is a jerk. This is also the cause that many people prefer, since it takes all responsibility off their shoulders, leaves them free to complain, solicit sympathy from friends or wallow in self-pity.
It’s not the most common cause, but if you’re absolutely sure of your appraisal the solution is simple—polish your resume and get out. Until you can leave do the best work you’re capable of doing, learn everything possible and cultivate senior colleagues who can serve as references in the future.
Scenario 2: The TD doesn’t realize it’s happening. Actually, it’s easier than you think for this attitude to invade a culture and grow into something that is highly demotivating for “the rest.” Discuss your perceptions with an ‘insider’ whom you trust to consider it openly and speak honestly with you.
I’ve found that a conscious effort by some of those in the ‘in-group’ to seek out and publicly laud unrecognized talent based on pure achievement can wake up an oblivious TD. Of course, high turnover of those outside the magic circle will do the same thing, but it’s a tougher road. Just don’t be upset if you’re not one of those recognized.
This brings us to the next two scenarios, both of which respond to the same corrective measures
Scenario 3: The problem is one of perception (yours) as opposed to more objective fact. This frequently happens when workers feel they are contributing at same level and quality as those being recognized.
Scenario 4: An enormous number of Millennials were raised on praise. When employees look for recognition for doing what they were hired to do adequately as opposed to doing more or doing it better they can be disappointed.
For both three and four, start with a non-partisan discussion with someone knowledgeable of the situation who will be objective can tell you if you need to rethink your own actions and/or attitudes, since
None of this is very comfortable, but the second two are actually easier to correct than the first two, since you have far more control over yourself than you do over others.
Have you faced similar situations? How did you handle them?
I hope you’ll take a moment to share your experiences with the rest of us.
The Carrot Principle, AKA, How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage The People, Retain Talent and Accelerate Performance, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton was first published in 2007.
A new, updated, release this month with a new chapter and the results of an extensive 10 year study of 200,000 managers and employees that confirms what most workers have always known—recognition, not just money, is what draws them in, engages them and results in high performance.
But there’s a catch. (There’s always a catch.)
You can’t just start running around throwing recognition and carrots at your people.
There are four basics of good management you need embedded in your culture—but first they need to be embedded in your MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™). They are
Goal Setting;
Communication;
Trust; and
Accountability.
The bad part is that if you don’t already believe in this stuff and have a culture that reflects it then the carrots of employee recognition will be tossed out by your people. Your people aren’t stupid; if you decide after reading the book that recognition is a better way than threats and screaming don’t expect to turn things round overnight. It’s going to take consistant effort over a period of time to convince your people that you’ve changed. How long depends on how bad you were and how sincere your changes are.
The good part is that you don’t have to work in a company or for a boss who thinks that way. Gostick and Elton give multiple examples of how “carrot culture” was implemented without support from either.
Carrot Principle walks you through the process and explains how recognition can be practiced in multiple moments without budget-busting amounts of money.
Recognition leads to extreme engagement and successful managers provide their people with frequent and effective recognition.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
Back when I wrote for B5 media, Phil Gerbyshak over at Slacker Manager quoted an interesting statistic. He said that “7% of employees leave their managers because they didn’t say good morning.”
Ian Larkin is an assistant professor Harvard Business School and he shared some 
Because opinions run hot and strong on this proposed legislation, you should read both the 
I felt that the subject would be of interest to many of you and said I would respond this week in a full post.
