Be good and do good work...

con·science

/ˈkänSHən(t)s/

noun

an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior.

 

Watching Jiminy Cricket sitting on Pinocchio’s shoulder and whispering things about right and wrong in the puppet’s ear was probably the first introduction to the concept of a conscience that kids (like me) growing up in the 40’s and 50s had.  Schools, both public and religious, played a part, but those children’s movies and television shows then, like music in the 60s, Sesame Street in the 80s and 90s, and social media today seem to have more influence with introducing values to young people. Not that parents don’t try, but the media has certainly had an impact on broadcasting values, both good and bad. Maybe that’s why the values that companies introduce along with their mission and vision statements resonate with employees. Interestingly, Tribal enterprises have a long and rich tradition of keeping their Nation’s culture and values alive and bringing them into their workplaces. The challenge is finding ways to apply those values throughout the workplace culture those companies work so hard to create. I advise clients to include them in their policies and practices – like inserting them in job descriptions and job postings, discussing them in interviews with potential employees, talking about them in orientation programs, including them in coaching sessions, and referencing them in performance evaluations. Because we want and need employees to have good values, see their relevance in their work life, and consider them when performing and making decisions. And to appreciate the importance of letting their conscience be their guide today.

 

Jiminy Cricket (created 1940): This character is the Disney version of the Talking Cricket, a fictional character created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi for his 1883 children's book The Adventures of Pinocchio, which Walt Disney adapted into the animated film Pinocchio in 1940.

Learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiminy_Cricke

Nothing beats trust...

Not sure who this quote is talking to, so let’s just apply it to people at work. And build on yesterday’s message of the workplace as a special place. Where we hire people for their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Where I say we should also hire for attitude. Put all of those together and that’s a good employee. The challenge then for managers is to keep them and their work mates (or, as some call them, teammates) focused on the work, the objectives, and the measurable outcomes. Working together and building trust around these shared purposes. Talking about and through their shared opportunities and challenges. Keeping eyes on that ball and leaving anything else at home. Sharing the moment with people they may not share with otherwise. Because if employees don’t, can’t, or won’t try to trust one another, all business objectives are defeated. It blows me away to think that despite what’s going on around us, work is a safe haven for camaraderie, civility, and the courage to believe in and trust people. Seems like a big ask. Seems like a lot to expect. Seems like a lot to manage. But when businesses and managers get this right, it can build a culture that attracts and retains the best talent. What they call a great place to work. It all starts with building trust today.

 

Alison Croggon (born 1962): Australian poet, playwright, fantasy novelist, and librettist (one who writes text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera or musical).

Set the bar high...

The year I spent in China taught me a lot about the culture there and the concept of saving (or losing) face. I learned that job fairs were frowned upon because applicants were hesitant to appear in public looking for a job – something that might cause their employer to lose face. That taught us to conduct recruitment in a more private setting, allowing an applicant and his or her employer to maintain their self-respect. And face. Much different than here, especially now. Where boasting is acceptable and social media influencing is less about expertise and more about, well, boasting. Interestingly, China just introduced stricter regulations for social media influencers, requiring anyone who discusses professional topics such as medicine, finance, law, or education to provide proof of their qualifications before posting content. Imagine that – truth in advertising, something long ago abandoned here, creating a challenge for corporate policies that promote truthfulness and respect. That’s why workplaces and their cultures are and must continue to be bulwarks of ethical behavior and personal accountability. Standing for the principle of doing what’s right, whether anyone’s looking or not. That’s what we teach our employees and what we should be teaching our children. That there’s no greater loss than the loss of one’s integrity and, by extension, their self-respect. That’s a standard we should all promote and strongly support today.

 

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 – 1948): Indian lawyer, anti-colonial activist, and political ethicist. The honorific Mahātmā (from Sanskrit, meaning great-souled, or venerable), first applied to him in South Africa in 1914, is used worldwide.

It's like learning to ride a bike...

This may be one of the hardest things that parents and managers have to do. I remember (as I’m sure every parent does) teaching my daughter to ride a two-wheel bike – running alongside, giving words of encouragement, and finally letting go of the bike, watching and hoping she didn’t crash. She did, and I soothed her sore body and ego, offered words of encouragement, and helped her back on to try again. This same kind of thing happens all the time at work – we train our employees, coach them through practice, and at some point, release them to try out their new skills. Whether it’s on customers or a production line, their first efforts can be awkward, but we must help them learn and grow. I know many managers (and parents) who wanted to do it themselves, but that’s never the way. We’ve all gone through learning phases and the experience from those trial-and-error efforts is what ultimately gave us the confidence to go on. That’s how leaders and parents let people fail and yet not let them be a failure. The key is in the coaching – taking the time, letting them know you’re there and care, listening, guiding, and ultimately being rewarded with their success. The trick is holding back and letting that happen. That’s what builds the trust in our relationships. Help your peeps to learn and grow today.

 

Stanley Allen McChrystal (born 1954): American retired United States Army general.

Learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal

Hire for optimism, flexibility, resilience, and grit...

Honesty was in every handbook we had – seemed like it could have gone without saying but the lawyers rightly insisted on it. We talked about it in every new hire orientation too – seemed like we shouldn’t have needed to bring it up again, but while most got it, a few went on to behave like it was never mentioned. Not many, because we backed it up by (1) hiring for attitude – optimism, flexibility, resilience, and grit… those reflected a positive mindset, and (2) training managers and supervisors what to look for and how to approach and talk to employees about keeping a positive attitude. The combination of good supervision and positive employees were an effective one-two approach to keeping the kinds of dishonesty common in the gaming business to a minimum (#1 being money handling and #2 being absenteeism). Good hiring, training, supervision, and two-way communications reinforced the importance of a positive mindset. Much like parents do with their kids – they don’t let concerns slide and stress the importance of honesty and trust. Don’t mention honesty only in your policies - model it every day in every way. That’s the best way to reinforce a positive state of mind today.

 

Eugene L’Hote (1862 – 1952): Philosopher, and editor and proprietor of the Milford Herald in the late 1800s.  

Don't be so serious...

I remember the first time I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail – very British and totally irreverent… comedy with a message. I loved Cleese’s corporate training films which were spoofs about service mistakes that made employees laugh while learning what not to do. Those were the first training films that used comedy to get a service message across. Around that time, I saw a table games pit at Harrah’s where the employees were allowed to dress up and have fun – an interesting blend of gaming and entertainment. It was lightly scripted, and the dealers were allowed to have fun with their customers. When we opened Bellagio, we allowed departments to build fun and games into their job training – teaching new employees how to do the job while encouraging them to have fun… job training together with team building. We often get too serious at work, stressing policies and stressing out employees – it’s hard then to ask and get them to smile and have fun with customers. If you want employees to smile, smile at them. If you want them to have a good time, have good times with them. Don’t take yourself too seriously – a little self-deprecating humor goes a long way. Make work fun today.

 

John Cleese (born 1939): English actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and presenter.

Learn more about this very funny guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cleese

Keep an eye out for excellence...

In Search of Excellence was published just as I started in the gaming industry and its impact carried through pretty much my entire career there. Excellence became the standard for everything – in strategic planning, goal setting, daily operations, group dynamics, and individual performance. Before that, good was good enough; after, good was measured by organizational effectiveness and whether business problems were solved by empowering decision-makers at multiple levels of a company. No more top-down management. Like many companies, we started rethinking how businesses ran, how managers managed, and results were measured.  With this, we began to focus on the performance of employees at all levels and how they contributed to organization’s performance. Employee relations strategies evolved – working on treating employees fairly; companies focused on workplace culture – making it a good place to work; and employee satisfaction became the basis of customer satisfaction – happy employees made happy customers. We celebrated what we wanted to see more of – that was the impetus for catching employees doing things right - it became the way we managed. Much has changed in the world and industry since then, but excellence endures – it still revolves around how we treat employees. Find ways to celebrate what you want to see more of today.

 

Thomas J. Peters (born 1942): American writer on business-management practices, became best-known for his 1982 book In Search of Excellence (co-authored with Robert H. Waterman Jr.)