Learn from others...

It’s fun to be famous. But unless that’s your job, it can be distracting. Better to be quietly focused on what you’re doing, working as part of a team where everyone’s contributing. Finishing on time as planned. That’s hard enough, made more so by distractions. But if you’re good, others want to network, share stories, and learn. Being good is fame enough – good is often its own reward. And that can come from professional associations and the formal and informal opportunities they present to network with and learn from others doing similar work. There are even more opportunities now with virtual presentations and conferences. I wish these kinds of virtual events were around when I was working – I always enjoyed listening to what others were doing. It’s part of the way people work. Attend these yourself. Make that kind of professional development part of what you let your employees have time to attend. That kind of investment pays dividends. In productivity, creativity, performance, and morale. Give your employees lots of opportunities to feel good about and proud of what they do today.

 

Robin Sharma (born 1965):  Canadian writer, best known for his The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari book series. Sharma worked as a litigation lawyer until age 25, when he self-published MegaLiving, a book on stress management and spirituality.

Learn about micro-learning...

Over the years I’ve built lots of little Adirondack-y stuff like tables, bookcases, and more. This year I decided to make something different – a lamp. I’m aware enough to know that’s a bit out of my wheelhouse, but hey, how hard can it be? In the past I’d ask people I know – I’m not shy about that. But someone pointed me to You Tube – practically anything you want to know about everything is there and sure enough, I’ve found a good video. I was thinking I’m not too proud to admit I don’t know about this, but that’s half of it. The other is whether I’m humble enough to learn – the older we get that’s easier said than done. To sit, take notes and screen shots, and open up the training portals of the mind – to be humble enough to realize you don’t know, to be open to learning, and to grow new skills. That’s the challenge and allure of MasterClass (in particular) and micro-learning (in general). Short informational snippets by subject experts. That’s how employees learn today. Make it part of your job to study the market of materials that’ll help them learn, and then curate a curriculum for them. Better yet, record your own (easy enough on your smart phone). It’s a great tool to market to your applicants, most of whom expect to be shown what to do, told why that’s needed, and measured accordingly. In a tight labor market, training can be a differentiator. It's also good for your business – it’s a key component of the workplace cultures of great companies. Get good at this to attract and retain top talent (and customers) today.  

 

Pauline Joyce Meyer (born 1943): American Charismatic Christian author, speaker, and president of Joyce Meyer Ministries.

Take it one step at a time...

Everything is like this. Big projects and small. Early in my career I learned what a Gantt chart was: a visual project management tool, typically displayed as a horizontal bar chart, that illustrates a project's schedule over time. The HR chart for opening a casino is more than 500 items spread over 2 years. The rest of the charts made up 50 times more. As big as the project looked, in this format it was a plan for hundreds of people doing thousands of individual tasks made up of many thousand sub tasks. Until we went through the exercise(s) of breaking it down into bite sized pieces, it was almost too much to get our heads around. But we felt pretty good – not to mention confident, when the plan was laid out like that. And by the time we began implementing those tasks, we were confident and prepared. First time we did that was the Mirage, and it transformed Vegas and gaming. Whether its putting things together at work or people together in life, having the discipline to plan how things go together is the best way to get things done. Whatever you’re working on – big or small, focus on the little things and you’ll feel good about how things work out today. 

 

Howard Zinn (1922 – 2010): American historian and World War II veteran. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political science professor at Boston University. 

Hire people with the best attitude...

Some people want to be the smartest person in the room – you know the type, often wrong but never uncertain. It’s better to be the hardest worker in the room – quiet and dedicated, and always there until things are done. The kind you can rely on, the one you want on your team, and a person you can trust. I’m working on a project to review job descriptions for a gaming company, and I’m amazed that they currently focus solely on technical competencies and not on having the right attitude. I realize it’s easier to assess whether someone knows how to do something, but once on the job most managers want people who’ll show up every day, have a positive outlook, be flexible, and quick to bounce back when things don’t go as they should (which happens often). There are behavioral questions and professional assessments that can get at these attitudinal issues, but most hiring managers would rather see if you can operate a computer or change a light bulb. I call it ‘hiring for attitude’ – looking for the person you’ll want on the team; and ‘training for skills’ – because good hiring managers take the time to train and coach good employees. The key to successful hiring is, there is not key. Get people with the right attitude and show them how to do the work today.

 

Dwayne Johnson (born 1972): American actor and professional wrestler, also known by his ring name the Rock.

Make hard work pay off...

Guys like Edison and the other industrialists of the late 19^th century probably talked like this to their workers (that’s what they called employees back then). More like commodities than people. Given the opportunity to work hard and make the kind of money they made, this made sense to them. Back then this benefitted only the owners in this category, much like the titans (Bezos, Zuckerburg et al) of the business world today. But now the top tier of professional athletes, movie stars, and, most recently, AI stars are leveraging their star power and prowess to carve out their share of the wealth. To a much lesser degree, that’s what union leaders hope to get for their members, leaving regular workers to cut up what’s left. If companies want employees to work hard to help them compete today, they must do a better job explaining what that hard work will get you – like gain sharing and real profit sharing. A friend in the gaming business put his money where his mouth is and created an employee stock ownership plan and he’s seeing jaw-dropping productivity, performance, and engagement gains. It’s not about paying a living wage; it’s about giving your best and hardest working employees a real chance at wealth. Where everyone makes money, relatively speaking; like what they see in the news and on social media. That’s not socialism – it’s the new capitalism. I’m not sure where robotics and AI are going, but you’ll always need your best and brightest. They may not be dressed in overalls, but they’ll proudly be doing the hard work needed. Start to get your head around that today. 

Thomas Alva Edison (1847 – 1931): American inventor and businessman.[1]

---

[1] Edison developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures.[4] These inventions, which include the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and early versions of the electric light bulb, have had a widespread impact on the modern industrialized world.[5] He was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of organized science and teamwork to the process of invention, working with many researchers and employees. He established the first industrial research laboratory.

Be a life supporter...

This is what parents tell their kids to help them believe in themselves. It’s what kindergarten teachers tell their new students to help start them on their educational journey. Both intended to build self-confidence, self-reliance, and self-motivation. So, it stands to reason company leaders and managers should follow along the same path with their new employees. Because it takes courage and bravery to start anything new, especially a job. And strength of character to live the values they’ve learned along the way. And the competence and confidence to do a good job, forge ahead, and make an impact. That’s what we want and need from our kids, students, and employees. It’s all the same. We each think our parents were unique, but kindergarten teachers are much the same everywhere – kind, cheerful, helpful, and always looking out for their “kids”. Put the two together and you have a good role model for how to approach your responsibilities as a manager, being genuinely interested in the well-being and success of your charges, and leading with care, clarity, and concern. Because people who believe in themselves care greatly about what they do. In life and business. Help create that in your employees today. 

 

Alan Alexander Milne (1882 – 1956): English playwright, poet, and writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh. [1]

---

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tRepZdoRmY&t=1s

Be a shoulder to lean on...

Life is full of successes and failures, and we each win a few and lose a few along the way. Unless you set a record, nobody really notices. But we feel each and the emotions that go along with them can sometimes get you down, making it hard to keep going or put on a happy face. That’s life. As leaders, we need to keep that in mind and be there to give a boost at the beginning of each day. Whether working on an opening of a resort or running one, I found it helpful to start each shift with a message reminding everyone to be there for each other. That’s how these daily messages got started. That’s part of teamwork. And, no matter how you feel, that kind of support provides the courage to get going again. Life, like work, is hard enough, more so when feeling alone. Help others face and overcome the ups and downs they face and feel today.

 

John Robert Wooden (1910 – 2010): American basketball coach and player.[1]

---

[1] He won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head coach for the UCLA Bruins, including a record seven in a row. Wooden won the prestigious Henry Iba Award as national coach of the year a record seven times and won the Associated Press award five times.