GALT Consulting LLC

I put on some music on Pandora, pull up a chair, and put my feet up.  It's time to settle down to a good book.  Sound like a nice weekend activity?  Wrong.  It's Monday morning and it's time for me to start "work". 

When I started the Leadership Book of the Month club with Randy Mayes almost 2 years ago, it seemed like one of those dream jobs where you can get paid for doing something you would do anyway.  Little did I know that I was wrong about that in a couple of ways...  in a couple of good ways.

First of all, although I have always been a reader, I have never been so focused on reading and more importantly, on absorbing the material.  Each month we read a different book on the general topic of Leadership (a very broad topic).  Then we summarize the content into 3 Key Concepts, which forces me to really think about the core value of the book.  We then focus on 3 Action Items or ways that the concepts in the book can be immediately applied.  This focus helps make the material "stick" in my mind.

The other unexpected benefit of this job is that I find myself regularly applying the things we read in my own work.  When we read EMyth - Revisited, it inspired us to create a team of people to handle many of the roles necesary in a successful business.  "You Can't Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar" has influenced the way I sell my services.  I can't even tell you how many times I have come out of a meeting with a client saying "we need to have a Crucial Conversation".  These concepts are making a positive impact in my businesses.

So I thought I'd take a break from my reading and let you know that as busy as I am, I personally find great value in learning and applying the knowledge I learn.  I hope you consider learning to be an important part of your job too!

Knowledge is often based on a series of premises all stacked upon each other.  The science that took man to the moon started with the fundamental laws of motion.  Every once and awhile mankind's understanding of things gets askew because knowledge is built on shaky ground.  This occurred in the world of astronomy with the premise that the earth was the center of the universe.  This occurred in the world of navigation when it was assumed that the world was flat.

This week, I think I found a premise upon which a lot of poor knowledge has been built.  This time it is in the field of human resources and how companies are successful. 

I was reading an article sent to me by a friend of mine entitled "Why People Hate HR".  The opening line of the article was the premise that "Everyone knows that the company with the most talent wins."  I was barely able to continue reading.  It hit me like a brick.  This is truly the basis for modern Human Resource philosophy... and I believe it is fundamentally WRONG.

The premise that companies with very talented people win is backwards.  The truth is that winning companies are good at utilizing the talents inherent in their people. 

In my career, I've had the opportunity to work with world-class corporations like 3M and ADM.  3M in particular is well known in engineering circles as one of the best employers.  They get their pick of the litter so to speak regarding graduating engineers.  The attract the "best and the brightest".  Yet, in my experience within the company, and in my experiences with many other companies large and small, I don't see a difference in the quality of employees.  There really isn't more talent within a world-class organization than there is in a small organization. 

Great companies only LOOK like they have more talent because they are better at identifying the natural skills of their employees and putting them to use within the company.

My next few blog articles will aim at supporting this theory of what makes companies successful.  I hope you are open to consequences of this new way of thinking about HR and successful companies!

To start with, if you haven't read Stephen Covey's classic leadership book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you need to stop reading this post and get the book.  Go ahead I'll wait...  You can also go to www.lbotm.com and subscribe to Leadership Book of the Month and see this month's review of "7 Habits".

Covey's Habits are incredibly powerful, but even more powerful is the concept that effectiveness comes from a series of good habits.  It is easy to say that a good driver should practice defensive driving, but it is harder to implement.  The single habit that you can pick up that will make you more safe on the road is to move your eyes at least every 3 seconds.  Glance at your mirrors, look over your shoulder, etc...  This one habit will help you avoid several accidents in your lifetime.

So what about your business?  Are there habits that you can form that will help you be more successful?  I guess if the answer was no, this would be a pretty pointless article...  Here are 7 Habits that you can have in your business.

1) Don't do it all Yourself - As the "boss", you might find yourself feeling the responsibility to do everything.  As my friend and financial advisor Michael Vaughn says, "get your mind right".  Allowing your people to run with ideas and special projects is also called "engagement" and it makes you more profitable.  Per the famous Gallup Q12 study, companies with engaged employees have 51% lower turnover.

2) Have a System for Change - Hold a monthly meeting with a cross-functional group of your employees to discuss the state of the organization and ideas of how it can be improved.  Then let them run with some of the ideas.  If you want more information on how to do this, visit the People Centric Planning website.

3) Keep on Learning - The more you learn, the more you know that you don't know.  One of the best parts of my job is that I learn a lot from my clients and it makes me better.  The habit you need to form is to attend seminars, watch webinars, or join a book club.  Here are a couple of "randomly" chosen suggestions (hey... these habits are powerful, so why wouldn't I have ways to help you form them!).  Join the Strategy Mastermind Group for monthly seminars or join Leadership Book of the Month for a great weekly warmup on the best leadership books.

4) Stay Mission Driven - Why are you doing this?  What game are you playing?  What does "winning" look like?  If you don't know the answers to these questions, you need to get them.  Then, as your habit, you need to refer to your mission often.  Want an example?  Here is my Mission and Vision.

5) Focus on Strengths - If you are a naturally disorganized person, taking a class on organization probably won't help you much.  Instead, it is much more effective to focus on developing your strengths.  When you have a team of people, the good news is that you also have a team of strengths.  Your goal as an organization should be to let your people do what they are good at doing every single day.  If you don't know the strengths of your people, you need to visit the website of my friends at Hire Well Now.  It's more than just about hiring the right people... it's about getting them in the right place.

6) Collaborate - Every month, I meet with 4 other business owners for 2 hours.  We each spend 15 minutes talking about our business and what we are currently working on and then the group "spars" for 5 minutes asking tough questions.  This kind of open collaboration with other people like me, but with an outside perspective, has been amazingly valuable.  I've found it so valuable that I am forming more groups in Springfield called Focused Mastermind Groups.  If you are interested in applying for a group, shoot me an email.

7) Have Fun - A company did a productivity study.  They wanted to know the adverse impact that computer games (like minesweeper and solitaire) had on office productivity.  They determined that these games did have an impact on productivity... it INCREASED it!  The only tweak I would make to this kind of fun is to challenge yourself to try to make it more productive.  Take time to play a game and get some exercise.  Do some creative games to help employees learn to problem solve.  Most importantly, have FUN because, as I always say, "PASSION IS PRODUCTIVE"!
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I spent a few hours at the pool with my family this weekend and had a funny story that I knew immediately would make a great blog post.  Here is what happened.

My son and I were at one end of the pool shooting baskets.  My wife and daughter were at the other end of the pool playing in the water.  I was standing under the rim catching the ball and throwing it back to my son as he practiced his shooting.  Then I looked across the pool and way on the other end, my wife held both of her hands up in the universal sign of "throw me the ball!".

My wife is not really a sports person and I have never seen her handle a basketball in her life.  I paused wondering why she would want me to throw the ball to her, especially from all the way across the pool.  As I stared at her with the ball in my hand, she again put both hands in the air and made a face like "do it!".  So I launched the ball across the pool...

Now for my wife's side of the story.

She was playing at the end of the pool with my daughter and she was starting to get hungry.  Knowing that I was planning to grill out for dinner that night and that it would take me awhile to get dinner going once we got home, she looked at the clock and determined that it was time for us to leave in 10 minutes.  She caught my attention and raised her hands in the universal sign of "10 more minutes".  Apparently, I looked confused, so she again made the "10 more minutes" sign.  Then, to her great surprise, her husband of almost 15 years launched a basketball across the pool at her.

As my wife flung herself out of the way of the ball, which missed her, but splashed a considerable amount of water in her direction, it occurred to me how interesting communication can be.  Here was a situation where two people see the same things and interpret it two different ways.  Our intentions were both pure, but the outcome was fraught with potential conflict. 

This happens frequently in organizations.  One person makes a comment and another person takes it the wrong way.  It is important to remember how easily miscommunication can occur and to forgive each other from time to time for misunderstandings... especially when it involves launching a basketball at my lovely, lovely wife!
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It's pretty well an unchallenged practice in business.  You need to hire an employee so you create a job description outlining the position you need.  You then hire a person and tell them to perform the job in the job description.  If they struggle with the job, you review their performance periodically and provide them with copies of the job description so they know what is expected of them.

Let me introduce a paradigm shift in the world of the job description.  People are naturally inclined to work well within their strengths and to work poorly outside their strengths.  You can't ask someone with a low imagination to be visionary and you can't ask someone with very high energy to sit at a desk all day.  At least... you can't ask for it and expect good results. 

I am in favor of creating job descriptions for your company.  It will help you define the roles that you feel are missing in your organization.  However, don't expect to bring in ANYBODY to fill that role just because you took the time to write it down.  Your job in effective hiring is to find a person whose strengths match that job description.  Then, once you bring in the person, tweak it so that it REALLY matches the person. 

Am I condoning creating custom jobs for all of your people?  You bet!  We are all uniquely hardwired, so why not take full advantage of all of the things a person brings to the table.  If you think this sounds like a lot of work think about all of the energy your people spend trying to overcome the areas where they are required to do things they aren't good at doing as part of their job.  This is a huge drain on your organization's human resources.

So remember... job descriptions are easy to change.  People are not...

I was having lunch with a prominant attorney who specializes in employment law last week and he gave me a secret on how to reduce your liability by 95%.  You see, he deals with employers who are getting sued by current or former employees and he wants to see good companies protect themselves.  I do too.  So what was his suggestion?

You might be thinking... "I know!  Companies need to have an Employee Manual!".  That is true, but it isn't the golden key to reducing your liability.  Insurance?  No.  Documentation?  No. 

If you want to reduce your liability, simply treat your employees well. 

We not just talking about pay and benefits here.  We (and keep in mind that "we" means the lawyer and I) are talking about treating your employees with respect.  We want you to be fair to your people.  We want you to be nice. 

Of course, I don't think my lawyer friend was talking about kissing your employee's shoes every time they walk by.  In fact, this can have the opposite of the intended effect.  We are talking about forming a professional, fair, honest, and open relationship with your people.  People generally don't sue people they respect. 

So there you are... you now know the secret.  Treating your employees with respect will reduce your liability.  It will also increase your profits, productivity, and passion... but those are for other articles. 

Oh yeah... and you should go ahead and get that Employee Manual as well!

I keep hearing people kicking themselves for not being good at doing some things.  I must admit, I do it myself from time to time.

Recently, I was meeting with a client who was struggling with their job.  No... I take that back.  It was more than that.  They were struggling with their position in life.  They had been dealt a "tricky" hand and now this person was put into a position that conflicted with her personality and her skills.  She was constantly kicking herself trying to make herself line up better with the job she was working very hard to do better.  My friend and business partner Randy Mayes made a brilliant comment in response.  "You do know who you can blame for this, don't you?  God."

The point here is so simple that his comment can be taken the wrong way.  Do you think God made some mistakes when he created you?  No way.  He created you exactly the way you should be created.  The "why" is an answer that we aren't really meant to fully understand, but let's go with this for minute.  Let's assume that God did not make a mistake when you were created.  This leads to a more interesting question... then what should you do with "you"?

We are equipped (very deliberately) with emotions that lead us to the answer.  When we feel fulfilled, happy, content, and satisfied, those are likely clues that we are doing something that aligns well with who we are.  When we feel frustrated and defeated and angry, something is not aligning with who we are.  No one feels fulfilled and happy all of the time, but there are things you can do to better utilize the gifts you were given.

Think about the things that you don't like about yourself.  If God didn't make a mistake, then what do you think he had in mind?
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A good friend of mine sent me this Valentines Day Article from Mashable with "10 Ways to Show Your Employees You Love Them" and I thought I would comment on their 10 picks...

1) Don't Block Social Networks - Great point right out of the gate.  As the article says, productivity is IMPROVED when you allow for some leisure activities like surfing the internet.  This is a small gesture of trust that leads to ownership.  Side note... don't overreact if one employee takes advantage of this... just deal with that employee.

2) Allow Browser Freedom - This seems silly and minor to me, but it is a big deal to some people.  I think the header on this one is "don't make choices for your employees that you don't need to make".  I once encountered a company who required the use of a specific brand of pen during work.  The employees hated it and talked about it frequently, making a big deal out of nothing.

3) Work in the Cloud - Remote access to company files is a great productivity boost, when balanced with required security.  Most companies probably worry about security too much or not at all.  You'll be surprised how many employees will donate time from home.

4) Don't Ban Personal Cellphones - Personal cellphone use can be managed with some great, open conversations with individuals.  If you aren't willing to engage in a difficult conversation with an employee who spends 2 hours per day on their cellphone, you will like need to hide behind a policy.... otherwise, let people manage themselves.

5) Friend / Follow Your Employees - Ooooo...  I don't know if I agree with this one.  I would say that it depends on the type of work you have and your relationship with your employees.  As a boss, you might find out more than you want to know about your employees.  As an employee, you might feel a little crowded.

6) Set up a Company Social Network - A social network is simply utilizing technology to create 3-way communications.  1-way communication is talking at someone.  2-way is a conversation.  3-way is an open conversation with others able to chime in.  This concept is WAY underutilized in business applications.  If one employee has a problem, do you think another employee may have already dealt with that problem?  POTENTIALLY POWERFUL... and I have never seen it done in person.

7) Set up Company Music Playlists - Neat.

8) Offer Rewards for Location-Based Service Achievements - Doh!  My first reaction is that I don't like this one.  External rewards motivate people who normally wouldn't do a task, but they de-motivate someone who would love to do it.  Be careful...

9) Feature All your Staff on the Company Website - This is good marketing.  People like to read about people.  I don't know how it would work for really big companies, but I like this one.  Be creative when writing about the person...  don't just put in a resume.  Check out this example.

10) Set up an Online Comments System - This is a good step... like a suggestion box, but it is only one piece of a larger system.  Don't collect comments unless you have a system for executing them.

Overall... great article!  It gives businesses some things to think about... especially in related

My good friend and business coach Randy Mayes and I were talking last week about motivation.  Science knows a lot about motivation that the business world has largely ignored.  In short, people feel very internally motivated to do something when they feel competent, autonomous, and related to that task at hand.  Randy asked a great question...  

...what about American Idol???

Randy pointed out that he had just watched several very motivated people on American Idol who were far from being "competent" singers.  How were they motivated?  After being stunned for a few minutes that Randy watches American Idol, I began to think about that one.

First of all, I want to point out that "competence" is a pretty weak word.  If I turned to my wife after dinner one night and said, "Honey, you are a competent cook!", she would likely not respond well.  The word "competent" is an unfortunate choice by Self-Determination Theorists.  Daniel Pink uses the word "Mastery".  Either way, language is powerful, but the meaning behind it is the same.  If you are really good at something, you probably love doing it (if you are also autonomous and related to the task).

Second point, you don't have to actually be "competent" to feel "competent".  Competence is a relative term with different definitions for different people (people are complex, remember?).  A high school orchestra has a different definition of a "great performance" than Maestro Spigelman would have at the Springfield Symphony.  At Northwest High School in Omaha, Nebraska I was a great tennis player (#1 and MVP two years in a row, baby!!!).  However, I lost most of my matches as I was not nearly as good as the other #1 players in other high schools.  Competence is relative.

My last point is that sometimes we do a competence "fake out".  I would say that many of the contestants on American Idol know they are not the best singers.  Some of them go to what they are competent at... being goofy or something else (remember Bikini Girl?...  I don't... I don't watch the show...).  

When you take all of these points into consideration, you realize the complexity of people, but it is all simple.  The person must feel competent at what they are doing to feel really motivated to do it, not actually be competent... or even good. 

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Science has learned some interesting things about using rewards and punishments for people...  but I want to talk about the cold.

Man... it is cold.  Very cold.  Do you know what "cold" is?  Bare with me...

Temperature is technically a measurement of the average kinetic energy of molecules.  Everything is made up of molecules and those molecules are always in motion.  They bounce around and bump into each and various speeds.  When molecules are more active, the temperature is higher.  Less active and the temperature is lower.  (stick with me)

When you step outside and it is very cold outside, you "feel" cold.  What is actually happening is that the molecules in your warm skin are bumping into the slower molecules of the air around you.  Your molecules start to slow down get cold.  Your body, in order to maintain its core temperature, must then expend energy by burning food.  This excites the molecules again and works to counter the cold.  It works... at least for awhile.

It occurs to me that organizations are like matter and they have a temperature.  When an organization loses energy, it's people slow down.  When they become energized, they move more quickly and efficiently.  So the question is... how do you heat up your organization?

Back to the cold weather...  if you are cold, what is the best way to warm up?  First, I want to point out again that people are created with an "inner warmth" mechanism that keeps them warm for awhile.  In our older days, we would create a fire when we were cold.  The fire would warm us, until we walked away from the fire.  (hint: hmmm... replace fire with rewards or punishment and you'll see my analogy).

Eventually, we figured out that the fire is a temporary solution.  It doesn't really heat our environment, it only produces a localized and temporary source of energy.  Eventually, we figured out that we needed to control our environment itself and we built houses with heat.  Now instead of worrying about freezing to death, we can concentrate on more fulfilling things like writing blog articles about the cold that really relate to how people are motivated.

The analogy is pretty solid, although tricky to understand.  If your organization is "cold", you can compensate by lighting fires, but you need to know that his is temporary.  Instead, you need to spend time and effort to find ways to change your environment to one that better fits the strengths and passions of your people.  Once your house is warmer, you can move from surviving to thriving!

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