Learn and be more today....

My keynote address to a group of Professional Club Marketing Managers the other day focused on the challenge of making the most of the jobs they have.  They are responsible for attracting members to their clubs and, like most jobs, it’s better if everyone pitches in because ‘two heads are better than one’.  Their strengths and skills can help others promote the overall success of their efforts: making sure external and internal communications are clear and catchy, teaching employees about the values promoted during membership drives that have to be followed thru on continually, and keeping the experience alive. Successful companies weave everyone’s efforts into a cohesive patchwork of skills and abilities and that their most successful people keep growing in ways that satisfy the organization and themselves: in fact, their HR partners could collaborate with and learn from them.  Be proud of your professional growth, and remember that the best job for you is most often the one you have. Take the challenge to make it the one you want today. 

Paula Scher (b. 1948): American graphic designer, painter and art educator in design

Reflection is a good thing....

Today marks the holiest day on the Jewish calendar – Yom Kippur, which means the “Day of Atonement.”

“On Yom Kippur we are reminded that what we do for a living has no correlation to our worthiness before G-d. Everyone is equal. The only thing that matters is our behavior to our friends, our spouses, our parents, our children, and our community.”Amy J. Kramer

We should not be the same person the day after Yom Kippur that we were the day before Yom Kippur: we should be moving ahead, raising our lives to a higher level.

L’Shana Tova (Have a Good Year)

The art of business involves compromise....

I’m giving a keynote address today and the hotel where the conference is being held is one of 26 in Chicago participating in a city-wide strike. These hotels were unionized years ago so you’d think management and the union have had time to figure out how to co-exist.  Whether you support unions or not, people have the right to be represented by a bargaining representative: when that happens there’s self-interest on both sides that must be understood and respected (grudgingly or not). That puts a lot of pressure and responsibility on both sides to find the common ground of compromise that allows each to retain their dignity and maintain labor peace. I’ve negotiated long-term labor agreements that resulted in both sides working together for the benefit of all: did we have disagreements – you bet; were they resolved – every time.  That takes a willingness to talk, listen and understand that nothing should ever get in the way of providing what the customer is paying for. Don’t let pride get in the way of achieving your goals today.

Vanna Bonta (1958 – 2014): Italian-American writer, actress, and inventor

Work like you care....

I called an airline reservation line recently and was informed “this call may be monitored for compliance and training purposes”. Lots of other companies do things like this: grocery store receipts asking me to complete a survey, a sign at the McDonald’s drive-thru window advising me to contact them if I have any questions or concerns, and so on. It seems that supervisors no longer have the time or responsibility to monitor work or that employees are no longer encouraged to have enough pride in their work to do things right. I suppose they’re looking for both positive and negative comments, but the implication is that they really only want to know if something went wrong. I think it would be better to talk to employees about how pride is a personal commitment and how attitude separates excellence from mediocrity, and then have supervisors act appropriately when they see good or bad behavior. That’s a better way to promote pride in people’s work today.

William Blake (1757 – 1827): English poet, painter, printmaker, and a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age

Keep a winning attitude....

Every successful person I know is passionate about what they do. Later today I will again be attending a graduation of men and women who are focused on successfully re-entering society after exiting the judicial system: the keys to their success include a laser-like passion to make the rest of their lives the best of their lives. Led by Jon Ponder, these Hope for Prisoner graduates are impressive because of their passion to make the most of the second chance they’re being given: Jon himself has walked the path he encourages them to take and knows that attitude is more important than aptitude. He challenges them to create a vivid vision of what their success will look like a year from today and then helps them stay on that path as they passionately work towards realizing their dreams.   If given the chance, help others find this kind of winning attitude today.

Sir Kenneth Robinson (b. 1950): British author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts organizations

Love what you do....

I was talking to a friend the other day who, like me, is a semi-retired HR guy still doing stuff he loves: meeting new people, discovering what they’re involved in, expanding an understanding of how things work best, and sharing that knowledge with others. I could hear it in his voice: he was specifically talking about applying ‘agile practices’to HR. For those who don’t know what agile practicesare, Google it: they’re a way of organizing work to facilitate responsiveness and adaptiveness of activities and structure, and to match workforce fluctuations to demand. Most work is based on control and execution, but this methodology focuses on expertise, collaboration and decision making. Think about that: done right, it unleashes creativity and keeps people excited about their work. A leader is responsible for making sure that employees want to be where they are, doing what they do, and not somewhere else. Learn how to do that and get your employees to be really passionate about their work today.

James M. Barrie (1860 – 1937): Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan

Be positive and motivated.....

People always say they can’t find enough good employees.  While that’s become more of a problem with the low unemployment rate, it doesn’t mean there aren’t good applicant’s out there. Part of the problem is that most hiring managers aren’t clear what exactly they mean by ‘good applicant’. Of all the things they look for, being passionate about the opportunity is right up there among the most important attributes: problem is, you can’t just ask if an applicant’s passionate. In lieu of that, try watching when you meet them: do they seem genuinely interested? And when you ask a question, the way they answer is as important as what they say: it’s easy to see if they’re excited about what they’re saying rather than just going thru the motions. Nothing is as important as passion: no matter what you want in a new employee, make sure they’re passionate about what they do and where they might work. Always be on the lookout and make sure you hire passionate people today.

Jon Bon Jovi (b. 1962): Singer and songwriter