Interested people do what is convenient.
Committed people do whatever it takes.
Which are you? Interested or committed?
Which are your employee team members? Interested or committed?
Are you developing incredible strategy but failing to execute because you do not have the guts to demand employee performance? Do you have the wrong people on the bus? Do you have lousy systems - lousy process - lousy strategy?
Or do you have the incapacity to accept mediocrity?
Over the years I have seen a lot of interested people trying to make culture change happen - make sales happen - shape the future - execute strategy. Most people fail because they are interested in results - but not committed.
Interested people do what is convenient - they keep the wrong people - they look the other way when employees fail to perform - they fail to expect consistent results - and they always fail to achieve the best results possible.
It's your life. Commit. If people are not doing their jobs - stop protecting them - stop rewarding them for failure. If your systems are in disarray - clean them up. If your strategy is not getting the results you seek - change it. Now.
All problems start at the head of the company. If your team - your company is failing to perform - it is your fault.
Change your game before someone else does.
I am sure you know of someone who knows the price of everything and goes through great efforts to get the "best deal".
In today's economy, it is extremely important to save money but so many HR managers are destroying value by using the lowest cost pre-employment personality profile.
Instead... HR managers should be looking for the pre-employment personality profile instrument that creates the most measurable value.
You cannot expect to hire the best person for the job using the cheapest pre-employment personality assessment.
Price is what you pay and value is what you get... A couple of years ago, I overheard someone suggest to another person to get a particular mp3 player. Of course, I could not resist. I had to say it. "Try the iPod! You will love it!"
The response was an immediate, "The iPod costs a lot more."
I did not argue back. I was not going to change their mindset. The were "price shoppers" who knew everything about the intial price and paid zero attention to the total cost of ownership.
I have owned several iPods over the years. Yes. The iPod costs more than traditional mp3 players. Each iPod I have owned has been a work of art, very, very easy to use, and extremely practical. The money I spent provided a return on investment that was far, far more than I paid. Not everyone is capable of understanding.
In the world of Human Resources, Talent Management, and pre-employment personality profile assessments, there are two schools of thought.
- Get the best price per assessment.
- Get the best value per assessment.
Guess which most HR managers and management people pursue? You guessed it... The best price per assessment. As a direct result, there are many HR and management people out there destroying significant value. There are some very, very cheap assessments out there that provide little or no real value in return for the low price paid and there are HR managers buying them because they are inexpensive. They think they are saving the company money when in reality, they are destroying significant value.
Remember... With every investment - "Price is what you pay, value is what you get." -Warren Buffett
Strategically smart HR and management people who are committed to using a pre-employment personality profile instrument that really adds value to their business model are committed to understanding the answer to the following two questions.
- What is the true predicability of the pre-employment personality profile assessment?
- What value can one expect from the results of a valid pre-employment presonality profile?
Cheap personality profiles provide little to no return on investment and they actually can cost thousands more than the initial price paid. For example... If you are hiring outside sales people and the pre-employment personality assessment is low cost but also low predictability / validity - then you have wasted your money and hired sales people who miss sales goals.
There is one thing you can do to understand the true cost and value proposition of a pre-employment personality profile assessments. Do your due diligence... Assess a population sample and compare the predictive results. Better yet... Run your population sample through several assessment instruments and indentify which instrument creates the most value.
Happy Monday! Over the weekend, I got to enjoy beautiful weather on the first couple days of fall. I also had a chance to catch up on reading some of my favorite blogger's recent posts. Here are my top five favorites to share with you.
John Hope Bryant Blog: Love & Leadership Go Hand in Hand - Lately, many leaders have been blaming their downfalls on the economic crisis. Pointing fingers at the economic crisis will not solve the problem because we need to know what causes the economic crisis. John points out in his blog that it is the lack of love for others and loss of values and morals that is causing this economic crisis.
William Powell, The Leadership Advisor: Why Homogeneous Training Is Killing Your Leadership Development - Does your team use the same(homogenous) training at all levels of the company? If so, you may want to rethink your training and development programs. Each level of the company is unique, as well as each individual, which means they all need different approaches to improve their performance.
Michael Kerr, Humor Blog: Zapped By Zappos: Lessons in How to Build a Workplace Culture that WOWS! - The culture of an organization is very vital to the success of that organization. Michael lays out ten insights he gained from Zappos for a better workplace, and all the insights stem from the culture of the organization.
Wally Bock, Three Star Leadership Blog: Muddle-Headed Thinking about Engagement - This post from Wally is a response to Tony Schwartz' work about what leaders can do to improve the workplace. I checked out both articles and encourage you to do the same. Let me point out that I am more agreeable to Wally's view on promoting a better workplace. What do you think?
Meghan M. Biro, The 12 Most Blog: The 12 Most Essential Leadership Traits - Meghan points out that 80 percent of employees would leave their job if they could. Why such a high percentage? People are not liking their jobs, and Meghan blames it on leadership. She shares 12 traits that leaders should all encompass to make a better workplace for employees.
Happy Monday! In order to start the week off right, I would like to share with you five of my favorite reads from last week in the talent management, leadership development, and human resource blogosphere. Enjoy and feel free to comment your opinions!
David Cooke, The Sales Cooke: Take the Trip Together - In this post, David explains that the traditional sales process will not work. Salespeople need to get their client on the same track as them by using definition. This allows the customer to view the "salesperson" as less of a "salesperson."
John Hersey, John Hersey & Beverly Belury Blog: What's Your Real Talent? - In order to get a job done right, we must know what we are bringing to the table. John shares a story that is representative to talent vs. skill. While we all have some kind of skill, it is our talent that gets the job done right.
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, the Wayne Dyer blog: Your Chosen Path - Dr. Wayne begins this post with a quote from Robert Frost, "Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself." Your life is the most original piece of work you can create. If you follow the footpaths of those before you, you are filling your creation with plagiarism. Be original!
Andrea Facchini, Guest Blogger on The Science of Personality: The Two Sides of Leadership:What Goes On Behind Closed Doors? - What causes "leadership derailment?" Andrea discusses that the barriers in an organization are almost always due to measurable and manageable derailment tendencies.
Jessica Lee, Fistful of Talent: Do You Have the Organizational Guts to Cut Average? - I am all about retaining the best talent possible for an organization. However, this can mean the average guy will get kicked to the curb. Jessica shares an example of how damaging it can be to keep an average employee around too long.
Over the last decade, I have had the privilege of working with large and small companies in various states of culture change. Some lessons I have learned about changing company culture include...
- Changing company culture is difficult. The culture of an organization is the aggregation of the values of those in the workplace. People do not change. When you change your culture - you will need to change some of your people by helping them seek employment opportunities elsewhere.
- It is a lot more fun to create the culture change out of desire rather than out of necessity. Industry leaders like Apple shape their world and industry constantly. Shape your industry or someone else will and you will be in reaction mode. Shape your industry and your competitors will be in reaction mode.
- Changing company culture requires a commitment from company leadership to the front line. Interested people do what is convenient - committed people do whatever it takes. Expect commitment and remove those who are habitually interested.
- Buy-in matters. A lot. Ideas and ownership matter. No one is as smart as all of us and it is a lot more fun to want to do something rather than have to. Engaged employee team members are much more likely to want to make the culture shift happen. Disengaged employees fight company culture change.
- Not all of the Talent and Leadership that got you here will help you take the company to where it needs to go. Realize it and deal with it. That guy who was the tenth person hired who helped you save the company 20 years ago? He's really working just 3-4 hours a week. You know it. Everyone knows it. Imagine what he is doing to your company culture. Let him go now or pay him to stay home.
- Profitability is not a dirty word. Talk about profitability and its importance in ensuring long-term viability. Making a buck is not a bad thing and besides - money is what pays the bills and makes payroll.
- Employee Job Fit matters incredibly. The wrong Talent will fight change and will ruin your company culture and future. Understand Talent Management - move the right people to the right seats on the bus and let those that there is no room for go "work" for your competitors.
- Employee performance is incredibly important. Employees must know what is expected of them. Clarify what is expected of employee team members and hold them accountable. I have seen way too many people who have no idea how what they do adds or reduces the bottom line. Employee performance clarity shapes your company culture.
- A Culture of Personal Accountability creates a much more predictable and fun future. And a culture of personal accountability is a whole lot more fun than people playing the blame game or being a victim. Train employees about personal accountability and expect it. Those that are not accountable need to work for your competitors.
- Decide if you are a social club, a non-profit, or a profit-maximizing business model. It's ok to be a social club. Just realize that people usually pay to go to the social club rather than are paid to be there.
Happy Monday! Each week I search the HR, talent management, and leadership development blogosphere for the best posts out there. This week I have found great reading to share with you all. I hope you enjoy, and comments are greatly appreciated!
Gwyn Teatro, You're Not the Boss of Me: "I Went on A Search to Become a Leader" - In this post, Gwyn shares her journey of becoming a leader. She realized that being a leader is not so much about leading, but more importantly about helping others be the best they can possibly be and working together to accomplish goals.
John Spence, Achieving Business Excellence: The Knowing-Doing Gap - As a consultant, I know that the content I present to teams may be something they have heard in the past. John knows this as well. He points out that just because a team may know the best practices it takes to be a success, they do not always "practice" them. See how well you score on practicing best business strategies.
Robert Stevenson, Seeking Excellence: Realistic Optimist - What does it take to be a realistic optimist? In this post, Robert explains that with the positive, there has to be some negative. When an idea is brought to the table, it is important to explore both. This, along with the ability to change, is what makes a realistic optimist.
Mark Sanborn, Leadership Blog: There is No "New Normal" - Have you ever heard of the "new normal"? Mark agrees with me in saying there is no such thing. If you spend time trying to be normal, then you are wasting your time. Things are constantly changing in society, so stop wasting time with normal because normal might be abnormal tomorrow.
Scott McKain, McKain Viewpoint: We Don't Have a "Jobs" Problem in the U.S. - With the President's new proposal to Congress, I had to feature this article about Scott's reaction to the proposal. Scott explains that business does not create jobs, but the customers create the jobs. I have to agree with him. What do you think?
Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone enjoyed their extra long weekend and is having a great start to the short work week. Each week I like to feature five of my favorite blog picks from the HR, talent management, and leadership development blogosphere. Here are my picks from August 29th to September 2nd, 2011. Enjoy!
Kimberly Roden, UNconventionaL HR: 5 Rules for Feedback That Work - Feedback is ment to be productive, but at times managers and staff can get off-track in the conversation. Kimberly offers some helpful tips to offer productive feedback that will leave everyone satisfied at the end of the conversation.
Steve Smith, HR Examiner: Three Myths About Hiring the Unemployed - The unemployed have got a lot of bad rap in the HR world lately, and Steve wants to set the facts straight. While not all unemployed are good candidates for a position, there is top talent among the unemployed that deserve a chance at the position.
Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter: Go Ahead and Blame Someone Else - Accountability is such an important thing in all aspects of business, but when it comes to sales it is extremely important. Playing the blame game in sales will not work, and the performer will not improve if they do not admit to their faults. Mark talks about the effects of blaming others, and why putting a stop to complaining will help improve sales.
Paul Mortin, Company Founder Blog: When A Postive Attitude Isn't Enough - "Positivity," as Paul explains, is not enough to get results. Paul uses the NAVY seals Underwater Pool Competency Test to explain other tactics you should use along with staying positive to achieve results.
Edie Goldberg, TLNT: Career Management: Why HR Needs to be Ready With Expert Advice - The world of HR is changing, and leaders in any field need to be prepared for it. Edie points out that changing family structure and new expectations in the workplace are two demographics we should pay more attention to.
