Business Lessons I Learned From Dieting: Part II


Posted Under Dieting, Human Resource Professionals, Human Resources, Management, Measuring - Tags: , , , , , ;

The journey continues with Part II of Business Lessons I Learned From Dieting.  Last blog I talked about the first steps in creating a vision and a goal and how to measure these as you go along on your journey in finding success in business and dieting.  Read on to see what else I have learned on my journey.

Expect set backs. 

On my journey, there were several times I stepped on the scale only to discover that I had gained a pound or two.  These are the times I could have easily become discouraged and quit.  Obviously the body is more complex than simple input and output.  Business is just as complex.  We may be doing all of the right things, but not seeing any result or improvement.  This doesn’t mean we should stop the analysis, but don’t get discouraged and quit at the first negative measurement.

Don’t lie to yourself. 

When I log my calories or exercise, I am occasionally tempted to not log a particularly rich food item, or increase the amount of time I had exercised, which would certainly make me look good on paper.  However, the reality is I wouldn’t lose the weight and would only be hurting myself.  If you are lying to yourself, others will eventually notice the reality.  Be just as honest about where your business stands and how well you are working toward and attaining your goals.

Don’t blindly follow the experts. 

I don’t know about you, but I have seen my fair share of overweight dieticians or nutritionists giving advice on how to lose weight.  Or the doctor who reeked of cigarette smoke while telling folks to quit smoking (although blindly following this expert’s advice is still a good idea).  Just because someone hangs out a shingle doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is giving you the best advice.  Evaluate your consultants, coaches and mentors.  Do they practice what they preach?  Have they achieved success doing what they are telling you to do?

You will encounter barriers. 

Part of my exercise plan was riding my bike three times a week for 8 to 10 miles, and I was able to do this until mid December before we got snow.  I’m certain that this was helping my weight loss and in general improving my health.  Throughout the rest of the winter I have tried alternative methods, using our Wii Fit and a treadmill in the house, but I haven’t achieved the same results.  Now that spring has arrived, I’m looking forward to getting the bike out and riding again.  What do you do when you encounter barriers in your business?  Are you able to find alternatives?

Hitting the dreaded plateau. 

Anyone who has ever tried a diet has hit a plateau, and it can be very discouraging.  You are still doing everything the same as usual but it is no longer working.  Change something!  Remember that the definition of insanity is doing what you have always done and expecting different results.

I hit the 40-pound milestone today.  I have 26 more pounds to go to reach my vision.  I have established milestones for when my weight goes under 200 pounds: 196 will be 50 pounds, 186 will be 60 pounds and then – woo-hoo! 180!  I intend to be at my goal weight by August of this year, one year from when I started, with an average loss of 5½ pounds per month.  Best wishes for your diet or your business.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Published By admin on Mar 26 - Comments (0)

Business Lessons I Learned From Dieting: Part I


Posted Under Dieting, Human Resource Professionals, Management, Measuring - Tags: , , , , , , ;

Last August, my wife and I took our oldest two granddaughters on a vacation to Aruba; the trip was immediately after my annual visit to my cardiologist.  Feeling like a beached whale and knowing I was going to die sooner if I didn’t lose weight, I was suddenly motivated.  I had a sense of urgency to change my course and ensure future vacations with my grandchildren.  Therefore, on August 23, 2009, I started on a journey.  At 5’7” and 246 lbs, my vision was to get down to 180, a weight I hadn’t seen since before I retired from the US Air Force over 25 years ago.

During this journey I have discovered a process that directly applies to running a business.  Here is what I have learned.

(Official disclaimer: I am not a professional dietician or nutritionist, so my diet plan may not be the path you should take, but it is working for me.)

First, create a vision.  My vision is to weigh 180 pounds.  I wanted my vision to be a challenge – something I really needed to strive to achieve. 

Tell others about your vision. 

Frequently, business owners have a vision of where they want to take the business, but fail to share it with the people who can help them make it happen, such as employees or clients.  By telling others, this solidifies your commitment to do what it takes to make your vision a reality. 

However, it’s important to recognize that telling others about your vision does not make them responsible for its accomplishment.  You might expect support and encouragement from them, but don’t expect others to take responsibility for your success.  They should not become your spending or sales conscience – or your food police. You must take overall responsibility for your actions, which then allows you to take full credit for your successes.

Define success and reward yourself. 

Success can be ambiguous and different for every individual.  You have established your vision but you should also have milestones along the way to celebrate and keep you motivated.  For some businesses it may take years or even decades to accomplish their vision.  On a diet, remember that it took you a long time to put on the weight.  You cannot expect overnight results.  For me, I celebrate every 10 pounds I lose with a new article of clothing, or an indulgent meal or dessert.  For your business, you could celebrate certain revenue levels or sales targets on the path to achieving your vision.

Expect incremental improvement. 

Growing your business – and dieting – is not the lottery, there are no overnight winners.  It takes time and hard work.  All too often we want it now, and if we don’t get instant gratification we quit.  Not many things in life that are worth accomplishing come without effort.  And if they do, we generally don’t appreciate them.  Remember the tortoise and the hare?   The slow steady progress in the right direction will get us to the finish line.

Monitor and measure regularly. 

I weigh in every day or at least every other day, which allows me to make corrections if I’m going off course.  Measuring is an area that has several things you must keep in mind.  First, measuring should be easy.  If it is not part of your daily routine, and you have to take inordinate steps to obtain the measurements, there is a good chance you’ll stop measuring.  Second, measure consistently.  I get on the scale first thing in the morning.  This allows me to compare apples to apples.  In business, the way we measure often has us comparing apples and oranges.  We measure at different times of the day, or different shifts, or different times of the year.  Adding variables to the mix can make comparisons faulty or impossible.  Third, when you measure, make sure you take into account all of the other things that could be impacted.  For example, if you measure punctuality but not attendance, you could see punctuality improve because that is what you are focused on, but attendance could get worse because it is not being measured.

The journey will continue next blog post, stay tuned to see if I reached my goal and get more insight on the similarities between business and dieting.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Published By admin on Mar 22 - Comments (0)

What if Leadership could be more like twitter?


Posted Under Human Resource Professionals, Human Resources, Leadership, Social Media - Tags: , , , , , , , ;

Hello there – I’m following you. 

Hi back at you – thanks for following me. 

I have been a student of leadership for decades, and I’m still learning.  I teach graduate leadership courses at Daemen College and Medaille College.  I can be very opinionated when it comes to leadership and my opinions don’t always follow the mainstream opinion.  For example, I generally believe there is no difference between Leaders and Managers, but I’ll discuss this more in a future blog.

Back to my point.  I find it very interesting that on twitter there is no hierarchy – no one is designated as a leader of someone else.  Most organizations tend to have defined hierarchy: We are the “Leadership Team” and you must follow us.  Or I’m a leader and you are a follower.  Or I’m the boss and you are the subordinate.  Organizations often don’t find ways or even encourage people throughout the organization to step up to a leadership role.

On twitter, no one is designated as a leader, you are either following or being followed (hopefully not the same as being stalked).  You can choose to follow anyone you think might benefit you in some way.  That person can choose to allow you to follow them, or block you, or follow you back.  It kind of works this way in the real world.  I can choose to follow any boss, manager, or supervisor, or I can move on and find a different boss, supervisor or manager to follow.  This point is made frequently in surveys, that employees frequently leave their organization because of the relationship (or lack of) with their supervisor.  Ultimately in a work environment the follower has a choice.  Do I want to continue to follow this person, or block them and follow someone else?

The bottom line is that everyone is following someone and being followed by someone else.  I think it would take a lot of pressure off people in a work world if we eliminated the use of the term “leader.”  Instead we might say, “I have 10 employees who choose to follow me, and I choose to follow Mary.”  This changes the perspective entirely – who am I following (and why) and who is following me (and why)?  I certainly realize that this isn’t very practical in most organizations, but it sure is an interesting idea.  Instead of having someone anointed as a leader, we get to choose to follow.

So I would be honored if you choose to follow me at HRBuffaloBob.  I may even choose to follow you in return.  Happy following!

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Published By admin on Feb 15 - Comments (0)

Part 1 of 2 – Questions Employers Should be Asking Regarding Social Media


Posted Under Human Resources, Social Media - Tags: , , , , , ;

Picture 23There are so many different issues associated with social media for employers to consider, that I’ve divided these questions into two blogs. Stay tuned for more on this topic coming soon. For now, consider these questions:

How can we use social media to establish our brand? How can our employees use social media to establish their brand? How can we use social media to position our products and services?

What is a Brand? “Our Collected Definitions” by Derrick Daye (http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/brand_definitions/) has several definitions you can review. Regardless of the definition you use, social media can be a vehicle to help establish or build a personal or organizational brand. The best way to ensure success is to have a strategy for how you intend to use (or not use) the various components of social media to accomplish your goals.

How can we use social media to recruit candidates?

Social media can be used to communicate with many people very quickly, so it can be a great tool to get the word out when recruiting. However, you must recognize that this approach is not very targeted. Your appeal could go to many people who are not viable candidates, either based on lack of required skills or geographic location, possibly resulting in an overwhelming response that increases the administrative burden of sifting through the deluge to find qualified applicants. At the other end of the spectrum, this approach may be too targeted and result in a disparate impact on certain protected classes. For example, there may be fewer seniors using twitter (I don’t know if this is true), therefore, if all the recruiting for one position is done using twitter you may be unintentionally excluding seniors, which would be discriminatory.

How should we use social media for reference checking?

I’m sure this is a controversial area – whether a potential employer has the right to explore your personal life when deciding if you are the best candidate for a position. Employers have been doing this forever through reference checking, however, social media has made it so much easier now. Making good hiring decisions is not easy. If I want to make sure I hire the best candidate, I would be remiss if I didn’t do my due diligence. This would include reviewing all readily available information. My concern, from the employer’s perspective, is what you do if during your research you discover information regarding a protected class. What do you do with that information, and how do you prevent this from not becoming a potential discrimination lawsuit?

How can we use social media to improve communication in the workplace?

Many workplace surveys indicate that there is an opportunity to improve communication within the workplace. There are many ways employers could utilize social media as a form of communication to keep employees connected and informed. For example, it could be used to send information regarding new benefits, schedule events, roll out new products or services, or share employee’s personal milestones – a marriage, a new baby, or completing a degree. I think the employers who utilize social media to create competitive advantages – including with their employees – will lead the way in their industry.

Be sure to watch for my next blog for even more answers to questions about social media and its impact on the workplace and employees.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Published By admin on Nov 20 - Comments (0)