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.

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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.

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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!

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Published By admin on Feb 15 - Comments (0)

My Top Ten Pet Peeves: Things Interviewees do during an Interview


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

bad interview10.  Showing up late. This is worse than not showing up at all, which results in some free time.

9.   Not having any questions to ask of me, or asking superficial questions.

8.   Answering a cell phone.  This annoyance includes the cell phone ringing, or even vibrating.

7.   Knowing nothing about the company with which they are interviewing.

6.   Using foul language or telling inappropriate jokes.

5.   Dropping names, especially of people I don’t respect.

4.   Chewing gum or eating anything.

3.   Telling an obvious lie.

2.   Answering a question before I’ve finished asking the question.

1.   Taking over the interview or giving an answer so long that I forget what question I asked.

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Published By admin on Feb 08 - Comments (0)

The Top 10 reasons why you became a Human Resource Professional


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

guy

10.  You enjoy being screamed at by everyone.

9.   You liked the idea of dealing with “people issues” (we’re out of toilet paper, you parked in the wrong slot, and supervisors asking you – what do you mean I have to evaluate their performance?)

8.   You want to be perceived as a “miracle worker.” Recruit the best, keep them forever, and pay them peanuts – works well since all of the applicants are monkeys.

7.   You thought that by being responsible for “Compensation and Benefits” that you’d have some input into “Compensation and Benefits.”  Especially your own.

6.   You love the idea of being able to inform employees that they now have a new source of income – it’s called unemployment.

5.   By the time you got to the front of the career selection line – all the good careers were already taken.

4.   You felt if you were in the department that did all the “Hiring and Firing” you’d have job security.

3.   You absolutely love stress.

2.   You wanted to learn how to resolve conflict between supervisors and employees – without getting them involved.

1.    Someone told you that in HR you always have a seat at the table and you thought they were talking about food.

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Published By admin on Jan 29 - Comments (0)

All Human Resource Professionals are………


Posted Under Employers, Human Resource Professionals, Human Resources, Uncategorized - Tags: , , , , , , , ;

How many stereotypes are there about HR professionals? 

 

  • They are touchy feely – what does that mean anyway? Are we all supposed to go around touching and feeling everyone?  I don’t think so!  Or does it refer to our vast understanding of the soft skills? Yeah right! This also brings into play the “I’m a people person,” but that is the subject for another blog.
  • They aren’t very good with numbers.  I don’t know about anyone else – but I love numbers.  Especially when they are big ones and they are in my paycheck.  I got straight A’s in math and would much rather use a spreadsheet than a word processor.
  • It’s a women’s profession – this probably stems from another stereotype that women are more touchy feely than men.
  • I was recently at a social gathering with some HR practitioners as well as some other folks. (I was about to say normal folk)  Then the jokes started.  The non HR person looked at one of the HR people and said I probably shouldn’t be telling these in mixed company (sexual jokes). The HR person without asking blurted out – oh no – we are HR people we can take it.

 My point is stereotypes may be a way for humans to simplify complex things by grouping similar people into the same mold.  However, if there is one thing all HR people should know is that this can be a very dangerous practice.

 I believe we need to continue to work on developing the positive image of the Human Resource profession and start eliminating some of these stereotypes.  We also need to be cognizant of this bad habit when we refer to other professions or groups of people.

 Fill in the blanks – all engineers are____________, all computer people are ___________, all accountants are____________, all lawyers are___________, or all bosses are____________.  This may make for funny jokes or laughs in conversations – but are at the expense of a person.  It certainly doesn’t take a great leap to go to all Blacks are_________, all Hispanics are__________, and all Blondes are__________.  Not!!!!!

 We really need to be careful with that thought combination All (fill in the blank)___________  are__________.

 

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Published By admin on Jan 22 - Comments (0)

Managers often attract exactly what they manage for


Posted Under Employees, Employers, Human Resources, Management - Tags: , , , , , , ;

interviewJust as moths are attracted to a light bulb, employees are equally attracted to the management style that best suits them.

I frequently find managers who lament that their employees show no initiative, do not pay attention to details, or won’t solve problems.  Sadly, in almost every case, the manager has caused this problem.  Peter Drucker said: “The productivity of work is not the responsibility of the worker but of the manager.”

Here are several ways managers often cause their own problems.

 They recruit them: 

I had a conversation today with a manager (it was this conversation that prompted me to write this) and I asked her what her greatest joy was as a manager.  She told me she really enjoyed finding people she could help grow and develop.  On the surface this sounds okay.  However, I happen to know that the last four people she hired left the company within four months.  She is a fixer.  She sees opportunities in candidates to help them turn their lives around, and although this is admirable, it is also time consuming and has a low success rate.  Because of the low success rate, successes are that much sweeter, yet we still complain about how much time it took to get there.  There are numerous variations on this theme.  Here’s another one: I need someone right now, and I don’t have time to go through an extensive selection process, so I end up with a candidate that wastes more of my time.  I think you get the picture.

 They do it for them: 

I have watched too many managers do this.  An employee comes to the manager with a problem, any problem.  The manager then solves the problem for the employee.  Then the manager complains that the employees are not able to solve problems.  Can you see the self-defeating cycle here?  Instead of taking the time to coach the employees and instruct them to come up with potential solutions to problems, it is quicker and easier to provide the solution.  (It also allows the managers to show how smart they are!)  

 Managers have to learn how to let go.  Delegation is always a struggle – we all believe no one can do it as well as we can do it ourselves.  However, the reason the manager has a job managing others is that the job is now too big for just one person to handle.  As a manager, you need to let your employees learn to do for themselves, and in some cases they will make mistakes, which are also learning experiences.  If you want employees to show initiative, give them the opportunity to take the lead and in some cases fail.

 They Micromanage them: 

This is closely linked to the previous subject – a primary reason manager’s micromanage is they do not trust their employees to do it right.  Unfortunately, managers who micromanage will attract employees who like to be micromanaged – those are the employees who need close supervision and interaction to complete tasks.  Some employees like this because they are told exactly what to do and when to do it and do not have to accept any responsibility.  Successful managers train, coach and put systems in place so that employees learn how to do it right, and then trust their employees and let go. 

Summary

If you are having problems with the employees you manage, you might want to see if your management style is attracting a certain type of employee.  The flip side of this is looking at what type of employee you might be pushing away.  I do a lot of exit interviews and a large percentage of employees cite their manager as their reason for leaving.  I can often evaluate a company’s health by reviewing the caliber of employees that have left in the past six months.  The good employees are the ones leaving – they have the skills, confidence, and résumé to find work elsewhere.

And so if you find you are attracting moths, don’t look at the moths, check out the light bulb.

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Published By admin on Jan 15 - Comments (0)

How will you compete for employees?


Posted Under Employees, Employers, Human Resources - Tags: , , , , , ;

EmployeesBenefits are a primary tool employers use to attract and retain employees.  However, current legislation passing through congress may take some of that competitive advantage away.  If this happens, what will employers do and how will they compete?

The first concern is health care reform

The various versions of the bills (as they are currently written) will mandate to some degree that all employers provide health insurance and dictates how much employers must contribute toward that health insurance.  Another bill being considered is seven days of mandatory sick leave per year for all employees.

I’m not making a judgment about either of these bills, and we certainly don’t know what the final language will look like.  I do think that employers should be considering what their compensation and benefit strategy will be if they lose the ability to use these benefits as recruiting and retention tools.

On first blush it would seem this would put more pressure on using wages to compete, likely resulting in bidding wars.  So what other things can an employer use to gain competitive advantage with recruiting and retaining employees?

Reputation

The employer’s reputation is probably the biggest tool to consider.  Reputations are rarely ever in sync with reality, and it takes a long time and a lot of effort to turn around a bad reputation.  Boost your reputation by treating your employees, applicants and candidates better than the competition.  Strive to become recognized as one of the best places to work.

Another opportunity to improve your competitiveness is to have career development plans for all employees, including a formal mentorship program.

Finally, something that is mandatory, especially for retention of employees, is the development of your supervisory/management team.  Surveys continually indicate that one of the primary reasons employees’ leave an organization is because of their supervisor.  So if we want to retain more employees, we need to get our supervisors and managers involved in the solution.

Summary

All of these would be good things to do regardless of what happens in congress with the mandating of benefits.  These are also great strategies to employ if you are currently non-union and want to stay that way.  Once the final version of the Employee Free Choice Act (otherwise known as the Card Check Act) passes, you can be assured there will a lot of union organizing activity.  What is your strategy to deal with that?

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Published By admin on Jan 08 - Comments (0)