Top Performance,
Zig Ziglar, et.
al., (How to Develop Excellencies in Yourself and Others), (Manila: OMF Literature 1986)
You can have everything in life you want if you will
just help enough other people get what they want!
Preface
“15% of the reason you get a job,
keep that job, and move ahead in that job is determined by your technical
skills and knowledge – regardless of your profession!...that 85% of the reason
you get a job, keep that job, and move ahead in that job has to do with your people skills and people knowledge!”
Cavett Robert, a human engineer.
Managing People – starting with
yourself becomes a high priority if we are to be successful. This book, have
these goals relating to understanding people management skills:
1.
We will identify the key
factors in people management, including helping managers to identify sources of
conflict.
2.
We will offer solutions to help
overcome these potential sources of conflict.
3.
We will share how you can apply
the principles and ideas other managers have used successfully, thereby taking
this book out of the realm of theory and making it applicable in the real
world.
4.
We will showcase practical Top
Performance through real life illustrations gathered from successful
executives.
5.
We will bridge the gap between
training and development so as to create Top Performers who are truly
performance champions.
John Naisbitt, Megatrends
says “retaining managers, not retaining workers, is the biggest challenge for
the information-age corporation. With this in mind, the ultimate goal of Top Performance is to develop excellence
in managers and to provide management with teach procedures and inspiration to
effectively develop and utilize team members.
The foundation for developing yourself and others is wrapped up in
this principle:
You can have everything in
life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want!
As a tactic, the words
would be crass and ineffective. As a principle,
the concept works because it makes others want
your leadership.
The great managers from all fields know that when they put people first, their effectiveness and
efficiency improve.
Management is “getting things done
through people.” Successful
managers recognize, develop, and use all
their strength by recognizing, developing, and utilizing the talents of their
subordinates. They learn what makes people tick and transfer their own feelings
of excitement and enthusiasm to those who follow their leadership.
Introduction
Your faith in the plan enable you to
play the game with a great deal of excitement, enthusiasm, and confidence that
you would win. ..Your objective is to produce other managers and leaders who
can be more productive than you are.
Part 1 The Art
of Top Performance
The object of art is to crystallize
emotion into thoughts and then fix it in form. – Delsarte.
1.
Building a Foundation
No legitimate business man can ever got started on the road to
permanent success by any other means than that of hard, intelligent work,
coupled with an earned credit, plus character. – Timothy Dwight.
In life, our foundation stones are the things that will determine to
a very large degree how high we will climb and, more importantly, how long we
will maintain those lofty positions.
Integrity, which means “basic wholeness,” is essential to that
foundation.
A pleasing personality helps win friends and influence people.
However, when we add character and integrity to that formula, we are able to
keep those friends and maintain the influence.
In a study in Psychological
Report,2002, entitled “Goal-Directedness and Personal Identity as
Correlates of Life Outcomes,” Dr. Barry M. Goldman, Dr. Edwin A. Locke, and
David G. Jensen found that your values, motives, confidence, and philosophy of
life have a direct bearing on your self-image, and in 1985 Dr. S. Kahn and
colleagues found that self-image is associated with life happiness and
satisfaction, personal well-being, and mental satisfaction. Its true. Our
values impact every aspect of our lives. It would be difficult to imagine that
a person who was a liar and a thief could have a healthy self-image. Needless
to say, he would not expect to have a long-term, happy business or personal
life.
Francis Fukuyama in his book,
Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity, studied several
cultures over several generations and concluded: “The progress of a nation
could be measured by the level of trust in that nation.”
How important is trust?
Walter Information and Hudson Institute revealed in a study: “if the
associates and employees did not think management was ethical, only 9 % of them
were committed to staying where they were. On the other hand, if trust in
management was evident, 55% of them had every intention of staying where they
were. Since the cost of replacing valued employees is enormous, creating a
foundation of trust is essential to having a successful business.
In a world of sales, the five major reasons people do not buy: -no
need -no money -no hurry -no desire -no trust -the last one is the biggie. Most
prospects will not arbitrarily say, “You know you’re stretching the truth” or,
“You’re lying about this,” but there is something they just feel. Because they feel that something is amiss, they simply do not buy.
Creativity has a critical role in the leadership/management world –
not only creativity on your part but your ability to teach your people by
example how to be creative. It’s important that you understand that the more
you know about any one subject, the more creative you will become as you expand
your knowledge in any area.
Example: Matt Boswell is in the dog-waste removal business, land his
promotion is truly unique. On his business card it states, “Too Pooped to
Scoop? Reclaim your yard. The Pet Butler. Picking up where your dog left off
since 1998.” Then, “Our business stinks but it’s picking up.” His name, “Matt
Boswell, Entre-manure.” He’s actually a “Fecal Matter Removal Technician” and
claims to be “Number One in the Number Two Business.” He closes out his card,
“For Dogs on the Go” and “Not Too Cool to Get the Stool. Your Pet’s Business Is
Our Business.” Chances are good you won’t go into competition with Matt
Boswell, but it is safe to say that he used his creativity effectively to build
a business – and you can use yours to improve your business.
Integrity, character/values, trust, and creativity make up the
cornerstones of your foundation for management style, leadership style, and
lifestyle.
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1. Your foundation
determines how successful you will be.
2. Character, integrity,
values, and trust are the four cornerstones of a good foundation.
3. Creativity pulls
everything together.
2.
Choosing to Be a Top Performer
We are free up to the point of choice, then the choice controls the
chooser. – Mary Crowley.
Our success in life is determined by
the choices we make. You are going to be making choices that will determine
your success as you learn to manage yourself and others. To be effective in
making choices, you must understand the difference between reacting and responding. …I
could have chosen to respond - which is positive – or I could have chosen to react – which is negative. I chose to
respond.
If react and respond sound
like the same thing to you, let me explain the difference. You go to the
doctor, who gives you a prescription and tells you to come back the next day.
When you go back, if he looks worried and tells you he needs to change the
prescription because your body is reacting
to the medicine, you’re probably going to be concerned. On the other hand,
if he tells you your body is responding
to the medicine, you’re going to smile, because you know you’re on your way to
recovery. So, to react is negative and to respond is positive – the choice is
yours! It’s a fact that you can’t
tailor-made the situations in life, but you can tailor-made the attitude to fit
those situations before they arise.
Fred Smith in his book You and Your Network, he says that when others deal with you in a
mean and vicious way, in most cases it’s not because they want to hurt us. It’s
far more likely that they are acting that way because they are hurting. Please
understand that every obnoxious act is a cry for help. Recognizing and
accepting this fact makes it much easier for us to take a calmer, more
levelheaded approach to our functions as managers and as people.
All
of life is a series of choices, and what you choose to give life today will
determine what life will give you tomorrow….Every choice we make, whether it is
good or bad, has consequences! You are
free to choose, but the choices you make today will determine what you will be,
do, and have in the tomorrows of your life…
Common sense, gratitude, loyalty,
and discipline are some of the right choices that Top Performers make.
PERFORMANCE
PRINCIPLES
1.
Regardless of your past, tomorrow is a clean slate.
2.
Every obnoxious act is a cry for help.
3.
Don’t waste time placing blame; fix the cause!
4.
The choices you make today will determine what you will be, do, and
have in the tomorrows of your life.
5.
Top Performers learn to make the proper choices.
6.
Top Performers know that when they continuously add new concepts and
ideas into their minds, they are burying some of the archaic ideas already in
place.
3.
Causing Others to Want Your Leadership
“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something that
you want done because he wants to do it. – Dwight D. Eisenhower.
A Sense of Humor Will Help
Leaders Deserve – and Get –
Cooperation.
No matter how brilliant or how
technically capable you are, you won’t be effective as a leader unless you gain
the willing cooperation of others…Remember,
cooperation, like leadership, is not getting the other fellow to do what you
want. Rather, it means getting him to want to do what you want.
You succeed in getting cooperation by giving your people doses of
leadership – leadership that is Dynamic, Organized, Sensitive, Effective, and
Strong-willed.
There must be some reason why you
have your position. Now is the time to face some facts about yourself and your
future as a manager of people. Look at areas such as planning, organization,
communication, listening, decision making, delegation, and motivation.
John D. Rockefeller stated: “I will
pay more for the ability to deal with people than any other ability under the
sun.” To cause others to want our leadership and management, we must become
expert in the kinds of people skills to which Mr. Rockefeller was referring.
According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, our
chief want is someone who will inspired us to be what we know we could be.
Dan Rather, CBS News anchor, took
Emerson further when he said: “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in
you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking
you with a sharp stick called “truth.” As a manager, you must embody all that
these men are speaking of and more. If this sounds like an overwhelming task,
it is no. Actually, becoming an expert in the people business can be very
simple, I did not say “easy”…nothing in life is easy, but managing people
should not – must not – be made complex.
Krish Dhanam, director of
international operations, knows better than most what it takes to find the
right leader: ”Top Performer see something in others that others might not see
in themselves.
PERFORMANCE
PRINCIPLES
1.
A sense of humor is vital to good leadership.
2.
Common goals plus a common cause equal greater success.
3.
Cooperation must be earned,
not demanded.
4.
Face up to your strengths as well as your weakness.
5.
All resources are not obvious; great managers find and develop
available talent.
6.
Playing as a team increases the odds of winning.
4.
Look for the Good
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the
weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these.-
George Washington Carver.
Goodfinders
Expect the Best
Loyalty
G in our GEL formula stands for Goodfinder
– those who are expert in Top Performance learn to look for the good in
each person they manage.
Andrew Carnegie: “No man can become rich without himself enriching
others.” …”When you work with people, it is a lot like mining for gold…when you
mine for gold, you must literally move tons of dirt to find a single ounce of
gold. However, you do not look for the dirt – you look for the gold!”
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale: “The trouble with most of us is that we
would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.”
Criticize the Performance – Not the Performer.
Effective leadership demands that kind of approach. Extend the hand
of encouragement to the person while making it clear that you expect – even
demand – that he use his ability for maximum results. In short, have that
person reaching for more, but do it without challenging or questioning his
worth as an individual. Assure him that you really
respect and appreciate his ability – and that’s why work that is not consistent
with his ability is unacceptable.
The ABCs of Management
Ken Blanchard with Dr. Robert Lorber, Putting the One Minute Manager to Work – these men identify the
ABCs of management and reveal some startling facts:
A = Activators…what a manager does before performance
B = Behavior…performance, what someone says or does
C = Consequences…what a manager does after performance.
“Most people think activators have a greater influence on
performance than consequences. And yet, only 15 – 25% of what influences
performance comes from activators like goal setting, while 75 – 85% of it
(behavior) comes from consequences like praising and reprimands.”
What happens after a
person does something has more impact than what happens before! THE BEST MANAGERS
MAKE FINDING THE GOOD IN OTHERS A PRIORITY.
Action Often Precedes the Feeling
2 things to remember:
1. The complement must be
sincere.
2. You cannot follow every
compliment with a correction.
A Tool for Written Feedback
I LIKE…BECAUSE… You are a
Winner!!!
Love and respect are possibly the two most needed commodities in our
society today. Unfortunately they are also the rarest.
“Gratitude can be expressed in many ways, and the expression of
gratitude is universal.”
If it’s a principle, it’s a winner – if it’s a tactic, it’s a loser.
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1. Look for the good in others.
2. Catch them doing something right.
3. Remember that action often precedes the feeling.
4. Seize the opportunity to share a sincere compliment.
5. Praise in public; censure in private.
5.
Expect the Best
If you want to get the best out of a man, you must look for the best
that is in him – Bernard Haldane
E in our GEL formula is Expect
the Best.
William James, the father of American psychology: we become how we
act.
Alfred Adler, another well-known psychologist, reaffirmed: “if we
make ourselves smile, we actually feel like smiling.
In short, our moods match our posture, and more important, people
around us tend to feel as we feel. Mood is contagious.
Through the power of expectation, any manager can develop an
adequate, realistic self-image in personnel that will imbue them with new
capabilities and new talents, and literally turn failures into successes.
A. Positive Feedback – Be a goodfinder!
B. Regular Learning and Growth Opportunities –
C. Activities and Information that prove our efforts are meaningful,
productive, and appreciated.
The Performance Value Package:
(1) Foundational performance.- this is the level of performance the
person must achieve to continue to work with the organization.
(2) Successful performance – the level of performance that might
reasonably and realistically be expected by both the manager and employee.
(3) Value performance – the level of performance that might be
expected if everything goes according to plan and the employee excels in all
areas. Top Performers with a target, determined by sharing and discussion.
D. Generate desirable and rewarding consequences for others
Due process means “three strikes and you’re out.” When an employee
makes a mistake, we should be really pleased!
Why? Simply because we learn much from mistakes than we do from victories.
But making the same mistakes the third time means termination.
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1. We generally get from others what we expect.
2. The difference between good and excellent companies is training.
3. You find what you look for in life.
4. Never make a promise without a plan.
5. Happiness, joy and gratitude are universal if we know what to
look for.
6.
“Wait for Me, I’m Your Leader!”
An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness. – Elbert Hubbard
L in our GEL formula stands for Loyalty.
Loyalty for managers, is remembering that while you don’t work twenty-four
hours a day for your company, you do represent your company twenty four hours a
day. If you are going to be a Top Performer, there can be no question about
your loyalty in three areas. You must be loyal to yourself, to those with whom
you live and work, and to your organization.
Kris Dhanam’s grouping of the following words sums up the message:
Plan with attitude
Prepare with aptitude,
Participate with servitude,
Receive with gratitude, and this should be enough to
Separate you from the multitudes.
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1. Loyalty begins with loyalty to self.
2. You cannot consistently perform in a manner that is inconsistent
with the way you see yourself.
3. Make every effort to be perceived as the most capable, not the
most visible.
4. The greatest enemy of excellence is good.
5. If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at
all.
6. Support your organization or go to work for an organization you
can support.
7.
“People Just Don’t Care…”
One learns people through the heart, not the eyes or the intellect.
– Mark Twain.
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you
care…about them.”
Part 2 The
Science of Top Performance
“Science is organized knowledge. –
Herbert Spencer.
8.
“But I Thought You Said…”
Precision of communication is important, more important than ever,
in our era of hair-trigger balances, when a false or misunderstood word may
create as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act. – James Thurber
In this chapter, we will examine
some of the problem areas that inhibit communication, review some of the rules
for better communication, and take a closer look at specific situations, such
as public speaking and meetings, in order to maximize effective communication. Finally,
we’ll see how communication plays a part in creating a work environment that is
conducive to productivity.
The 12 vital skill areas of
communication: These areas are appearance, posture, gestures, eye contact,
facial expressions, voice, padding, involvement, handling of questions, humor,
introducing others, and visual aids.
The difference between Oral and
Written Language:
·
Spoken language must be easily
and instantly understandable to the listener. If the listener misunderstands,
he cannot go back and reread.
·
Spoken language should be more
repetitive. It is important to rephrases several times key ideas you want the
listeners to take away with them.
·
Spoken language should be
simpler in structure than written language.
·
Figurative language adds life
and color to spoken words. Colorful, descriptive words can turn an otherwise
colorless phrase into a memorable one. Lincoln described a nation “conceived in
liberty.” Kennedy spoke of freedom as a “torch passed to a new generation.” CBS
wordsmith Charles Osgood said “Compared to the spoken word a picture is a
pitiful thing indeed.”
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1. Miscommunication, poor communication, or no communication will
create problems.
2. Get involved in communication training that teachers both sides
of communication process – speaking and listening.
9.
Recognizing, Rewarding, and
Role Modeling for Top Performance
The greatest humiliation in life is to work on something from which
you xpect great appreciation, and then fail to get it. – Edgar Watson Howe.
Three aspects of successful management:
1. Recognition
“Thank you.” but added, “You know, I want to tell you how much I
appreciate the good service you’re giving us. It’s amazing how you work so
efficiently and yet don’t seem to be in any kind of hurry. More important,
you’re so pleasant and gracious, and I just want you to know I appreciate your
efforts.” She beamed broadly, thanked me for my comments, and said I had made
her day.
I pointed out that
she was a human being, and, like everyone else, she wanted appreciation and
sincere interest, and I had given her both of these things. …I believe in helping others to become Top
Performers by teaching them to be thoughtful, kind and considerate of the other
person, we are teaching them to dig deeper and get a bigger scoop out of life.
The Wall Street Journal carried an article
by Jack Falvey: “To Raise Productivity, Try Saying Thank You.”
“Here are few
things you can do right now with no increase in budget, but with big returns:
Set up informal visits with your people. Listen and use your eyes to pick up on
what is going on. Don’t look for problems, look for strengths and things done
well. Make something out of every positive thing you can find. As a manager,
your words and actions carry impact much greater than you expect. Just a small
effort with these techniques will have an almost immediate effect. A
concentrated, disciplined, and sustained thrust in these directions will
produce incredible returns. Publish everything positive you can find. Print is
cheap. Its rewards are long lasting. Put positive notes on solid productive
efforts and send them back to the producers….
“As simple and
straightforward as all this is , it is really a tremendously difficult
professional challenge. Just how good are you as a professional manager? If results are produced by committed people,
just how much time and interest can you spread around to build that commitment
and get those results? Go do something nice for someone or say something nice
to someone right now.
Most managers would
like to have employees and coworkers who take pride in their careers. Lets look at a workable definition for our
purposes: PRIDE is Personal Responsibility In Daily Effort.
To develop Top
Performers:
The Top Performers
in the world are builders, doers, and
competitors, and wants to, and even need to, make a contribution to
whatever they do. They must know when they are contributing and how much they
are contributing. Those who manage Top Performers develop a “scoring” system
that keep everyone informed of how they are doing.
We must teach them
how to be enthusiastic about life, how to graciously deal with other people,
and how to encourage others.
2. Rewards
“Usually when we
think of rewarding people, we think of money.” “Today’s fringe benefits are
tomorrow’s expectations.” But the Good
news is… it doesn’t have to be Real money. “I Can” and “PLA Money” ( Positive
Life Attitude for America Money) 100 “I Can” is awarded a “I Can” T-shirt.
3. Role Models
Three A’s for
Excellence: Attitude- Excellence is a mindset. You must believe. Aggressiveness
– The search for excellence is a top-to-bottom aggressive process. Appearance –
a visual manifestation of attitude and aggressiveness.
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1. Everyone needs recognition
2. Pride – Personal Responsibility In Daily Effort.
3. Outstanding recognition programs recognize the qualities that are
pertinent to company and individual success and reward these qualities.
4. The three A’s for Excellence are: Attitude, Aggressiveness,
Appearance.
10.
Getting to Know You…and Me,
Too!
The primary skill of a manager consists of knowing how to make
assignments and picking the right people to carry out those assignments. – Lee
Iacocca.
Top Performers know themselves and know how to deal effectively with
different personality types.
A personality
analysis is a voyage in “self” and “Other” Discovery.
4 Categories of Personality:
1. Aggression – “doers” “steely-eyed” (stern and intense) expression
and clenched fists that pound the table for emphasis) “stride” rather than
walk, and they always seem to be going somewhere with a purpose and in a hurry.
You motivate them by challenging them and granting them authority.
2. People – slow to speak out and at times is suspicious of the
motives of others. He is usually very conscientious about the way he handles
himself in the social and work environment and is careful about his appearance.
You motivate by providing a work environment free from social contacts. Allow
this to think out a problem by himself. He is at best on projects requiring
logical analysis. Superficial and loud people really turn him off. This
congenial though rather reserve can be quite a problem solver, but
uncomfortable in solving “people” problems. He is spontaneous, enthusiastic,
friendly, and good at persuading others to join him, poised, charming,
emotional, and optimistic, he is with ready smile and relaxed and friendly,
expressive with arms and hands, he pats you hug you.
3. Patience – usually actively involved and prefers an unstructured
environment. Frustrated by status quo and invites change, impulsive, ready to
move about, and good at initiation, excitable and anxious to get the job done.
You motivate him by giving him a variety of activities and the freedom to move
about on the job. The nervous energy he brings to the work force can be very
positive when channeled, but if left undirected, anxiety, nervousness, and
tension will result. The strength of this person lies in the initiative to be
willing to take. His weakness when he initiates so many projects that none are
completed. They have “sit ability” They are recognized for being kind, patient,
quiet, disciplined, and service oriented; willing to listen to others and
friendly countenances. Appear to be relaxed; body movement smooth and effortless.
To motivate them give time to adjust, few changes, no surprises. Turn off by
pressure placed upon them. These people are loyal, deliberate, sincere,
hardworking, consistent, and dependable. They are team players.
4. Quality – strong willed (a nice way of saying stubborn);
independent and couldn’t care less about details. You motivate by letting them
do a job their own way and granting autonomy; persistent and will stick to a
chosen course of action; They are known
for conscientiousness and concern for details; intuitive and sensitive to the
environment; cautious individuals insist on competence and accuracy; You
recognize them as thinkers who are seeking facts and uncomfortable with those
who easily show emotions. Motivate them by giving personal attention, exact job
descriptions, controlled work environment.; as part of a team, provide solid,
tangible evidence for your position in discussions, you can win a friend. They
are normally mature, accurate, logical, precise folks with high standards; take
strength to the length that they become weaknesses, they over analyze and get
“paralysis of analysis” and be come inflexible and bound by procedures and
methods.
Aggression People Patience Quality
10 Direct Enthusiastic Predictable Perfectionist
9
Daring Persuasive Relaxed Accurate
8 Risk Taking Emotional
Nondemonstrative Systematic
7 Decisive Trusting Deliberate Consciousness
6 Competitive Sociable
Stable High Standards
Midline
5 Calculated Risk Taking Reflective
Outgoing Opinionated
4 Self- critical Factual Eager Persistent
3 Weighs +/- Controlled Fidgety Independent
2 Peaceful Self-conscious Restless Rigid
1 Quiet Suspicious Active Firm
______________________________________________________
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1. The more I understand myself, the more effective I can work with
others.
2. Personality profiles are valuable tools for getting the round
pegs into the round holes and the square pegs into the square holes.
3. Self-evaluation (with a scientific tool) is more valuable than
self-condemnation.
4. Our weaknesses are often extensions of our strengths.
5. There are no good/bad, right/wrong profiles – they simply hop us
evaluate where we are so we can determine where we want to go.
6. You are what you are and where you are because of what has gone
into your mind; you change what you are and where you are by changing what goes
around your mind.
11.
Managing Gems
Find the essence of each situation, like a logger clearing a logjam.
The pro climbs a tall tree and locates the key log, blows it, and lets the
stream do the rest. An amateur would start at the edge of the jam and move all
the logs, eventually moving the key log. Both approaches work, but the
“essence” concept saves time and effort. Almost all problems have a “key” log
if we learn to find it. – Fred Smith.
Formula for Top
Performance Management
- Show honest and sincere appreciation at every opportunity – make the other person feel important.
- Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.
- Make your cause bigger than your ego.
- Work for progress, not perfection.
- Be solution conscious, not problem oriented.
- Invest time in the activity that brings the highest return on investment according to the priority list of responsibilities – effort alone doesn’t count; results are the reasons for activity.
- Fulfilling responsibility is a good reason for work; discipline is the method.
- Recognize and accept your own weaknesses.
- Make checklists and constantly refer to them.
- Always show the people in your life the humility of gratitude.
Six Action Steps
for Performance-Oriented Managers
- Give regular, specific, and observable behavior feedback on performance.
- Respect the lines of communication and authority.
- Make timely decisions.
- Be accessible.
- Encourage creative ideas.
- Provide personal support.
The Ten “Double
Win” Rules That Lead to Top Team Performance
When dealing with others:
- Remember that a smile is the most powerful social tool we have at our disposal.
- Listening is the most neglected skill in business (or home) today. The person who listens control the final outcome of the discussion. Encourage others to talk, and then consciously remove any barriers to your good listening skills.
- Talk in terms of the other person’s interests. You will find a “uniqueness” and “specialness” in every individual you meet. Others are interesting when discovered; check out the other person’s point of view.
- Ask questions you already know the answer to and you will get to see the other person’s perspective. Most ideas are more palatable if we “discover” them ourselves. People who truly care about others lead them down the “discovery path.”
- “What you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you say.” Remember to model the behavior and attitude you want the other person to have.
- Give assignments that allow you to express faith and confidence that the other person can successfully perform in the task assigned.
- Always make requests; never give orders.
- Develop your ability to use the narrative story and the meaningful analogy – these are powerful teaching tools.
- Always be respectful of others. Show your respect by being on time for meetings or letting others know why you must be late.
- Return phone calls, e-mails, and letters immediately – there is no excuse for not doing so.
Exploding Some
“Management Myths”
- Manipulation and motivation are often the same thing. Absolutely not! Manipulation is getting people to act for you in ways that may not necessarily be for their own good. Motivation is helping people recognize mutual interests and getting them to join the “cause” because there is a benefit for them as well as you.
- Making your best effort is all that really counts. No! Too many people substitute effort for accomplishment. The reason for working is to get results. The person who gets the most results with less effort is working smarter and harder. Fatigue is not an indicator of success.
- Delegation is the key to management success. Wrong again! Delegation is not telling someone what you want, when you want it, and how it is to be done. This is direction. Delegation means assigning the results you expect and designing a follow-up system that allows you to inspect what you expect. New employees get direction; experienced employees get delegation. Determining which employees need direction, giving it to them, and delegating results and the authority to get those results is an important key to management success.
- Managers are normally superior physically, mentally, and spiritually. Nope! Very few managers are “normal”! And, there is nothing in the books that says a manager is a “superior.” Very simply put, managers are people willing to take responsibility and work through others to achieve results. Are you trying to be a “supervisor” or “superworker”?
- Managers must control all circumstances. No way! Managers deal with problems and situations, and there is a distinct difference between the two. A situation exists because you cannot control it – people get ulcers trying to control the uncontrollable. A problem is something you can take action on. Excellent managers learn the difference between the two, take action on problems, and stop worrying about situations.
Your Challenge
There really are no “great
revelations” in this brief summary chapter. However, professionals don’t need
to be told, but they are glad to be reminded. If you will read these few pages
every day for twenty-one days, your career will be greatly enhanced by the
principles you will be putting into action.
PERFORMANCE
PRINCIPLES
1. Reread the principles listed in
this chapter daily for twenty-one days!
Part 3
Motivating the Top Performer
It is motive alone that gives
character to the actions of men – Bruyere
12.
A Formula for Motivation
You can‘t sweep people off their feet if you can’t be swept off your
own. – Clarence Day.
What percentage of the bad things you expect to happen actually
happen?
“About 5 to 10 percent of them.”
“In other words, over 90 percent of the time the expected negative
events just don’t happen. This is realistic and, according to experts, factual.
From my perspective the conclusion is obvious. It’s completely unrealistic to be negative and totally realistic to be
positive.” However it is unrealistic to deny that problems do exist, so
let’s take a serious look at a major problem and then look at some positive
solutions:
Bridging the Gap
The key is to be solution conscious and not
problem oriented. Lists of action steps to decrease employee
dissatisfaction and increase good employee/employer relationships:
Show respect for a job well done. Get rid of second-class job citizenship regardless of pay
differences. Real job equality is feeling we have a stake in our company’s
success.
Involve employees. This means
providing opportunities to make decisions and give useful input. This does not
mean surrendering basic decision-making powers. It does mean giving employees a
chance to participate, to be involved, and to be held accountable.
As a company leader, keep skid chains on your tongue. Talking about others may be destructive and probably is just gossip
unless it’s specifically designed to help.
Cultivate a calm, persuasive voice. How you say it is often
more important than what you say. In
any type of discussion or confrontation, your objective is to “win them over”
…not “win over them.”
Make certain you are short on promises to your people and
long on fulfillment. Action does speak louder than
words.
Be interested in the goals, welfare, homes, and families
of those with whom you work. People have many
facets in their lives. Don’t be a one-dimensional supervisor. You may not
supervise their private lives, but you can let them know you really care.
Keep an open mind on all debatable questions (being the boss doesn’t necessarily mean you are always right).
Discuss but don’t argue. The mark of superior minds is the ability to disagree without
being disagreeable.
Be careful of employees’ feelings. Wit, put-down, and any form of ethnic or racial digs are no-nos.
Leaders instinctively know that when someone is resentful and has a chip on his
shoulder, the best way to remove the chip is to let him take a bow.
In summary, what researchers and their statistics say is very
important; however, what they don’t
say is even more important: What the workforce really wants is management
leadership whose competence and concern they can trust.
Andrew Carnegie: “A
man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm.”
Regardless of how we define unlimited enthusiasm, it usually includes
motivation, desire, drive, optimism, hope, faith, and energy. People who are unable to motivate themselves
must be content with the status quo no matter how impressive their resume
looks.
Our Wasted Time
One shocking
statistic that cost America and its people a great deal of money and countless
opportunities is the incredible amount of time that is wasted, or even stolen.
August, 1999 report by Michael G. Kessler & Associates showed that a survey
of over 500 employees across the nation found that almost 87 % of those
surveyed admitted to falsifying time sheets.
“What do you
believe are the main reasons for procrastination in business?”
Lack of
communication
Low morale
Lack of interest in
the job or particular task
Absence of
clear-cut goals or objectives
Lack of discipline
Poor self-esteem
Too many people get
carried away with “tyranny of the urgent” and permit the “urgent” things to
crowd out the “important” things.. Basically, we have a prioritizing problem and not a time
problem.
What happens to these effective people who take their jobs seriously
and use their time wisely? They get promoted.
The Successful Know about Attitude
Allan Cox : No one
with whom leaders deal is given less time and consideration than the negative
thinker.
An Important Gift You Can Give Others
One of the most
important and positive things we can give others is hope with direction, encouragement, and believability – hope that
the future is going to be bright for them, regardless of where they are at the
moment.
Where You Start Is Not Important
Where you finish is
much more important.
Can Motivation Affect Where you Finish?
Yes, motivation can and does impact where you finish in life.
Can You “Stand” Motivated?
Speaking at the
National Federation of Parents for Drug-Free Youth, the response was very
gratifying. The audience laughed at appropriate places, nodded in agreement at
the right spots, applauded at the high spots, and give me an enthusiastic
standing ovation when it was all over. Compliments flowed thick and fast. In
short, it was an “up” occasion for me. The next morning in a restaurant waiting
for the host to seat the guest who preceded me. I was quietly standing,
awaiting his return. As I stood there, three women who had been present at my
talk the night before joined the people who were waiting in line behind me.
They were whispering, here’s the conversation: First lady; “There is our
speaker from last night.” Second lady; “Yes, and he is obviously a ‘night’
person!” Third lady; “He must be, because he sure doesn’t look motivated to
me!”
I don’t know how
you either “look” motivated or “stand” motivated.
Just Who Is Motivated?
Unfortunately too
many people think of the “motivated” person as the loudly enthusiastic,
turned-on extrovert who is making noise and is the center of attention, whether
he is in a crowd of ten or ten thousand. This is not necessarily motivation,
but probably falls under the banner of “hysteria,” and hysteria is giving
motivation a bad reputation….Some of the most ‘up’ and motivated people I’ve
ever known are quiet and unassuming. Obvious point: You can be ‘up” and
motivated while quietly jogging, reading, praying, thinking, holding hands with
your mate, or even sleeping.
The “up” experience
at the botanical gardens along the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Australia where
the greenery, shrubs, flowers, rocks, plants, birds, boats, water, and people
were beautiful, fascinating, and quiet. It was definitely an ‘up” experience
and is permanently recorded in my memory bank as a most enjoyable, motivating
interlude. This kind of meditation will help eliminate lots of medication.
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1.
You must understand motivation
to motivate others consistently.
2.
Management’s imperative is to
cultivate its human resources.
3.
What the workforce really wants
is management leadership whose competence and concern they can trust.
4.
One of the most important
things we can give others is hope with direction, encouragement, and
believability.
5.
Where you start is not as
important as where you finish.
6.
You can be “up” without being
“on.”
13.
Why You Manage…Why They Follow
The True motives of our actions, like the real pipes of an organ,
are usually concealed. But the gilded and the hallow pretext is pompously
placed in the front for show. – Charles Caleb Colton.
The Four- A Formula to develop motivation = Awareness, Assumption, Analysis, Action
The first A – Awareness. Is answering the question Why? It is the answer to your personal
motivation. This is not an impost upon you by anyone else; it’s your personal
motivation.
One of the early success writers suggested we take the word motivation and make a slash between the v and the a – and if you’ve got just a little bit of imagination, you can see
two words. The word on the left is motive,
and the word on the right is action.
People who are motivated have a motive; they have a reason, purpose, or a
cause. And then they take action on that reason, purpose, or cause.
Types of Motivation
Fear Motivation works for some people some of the time. In most cases it is
temporary, but there are occasions when it is effective. It keep workers in
line and help them become team players and cooperate with, and on occasion even
be subservient to, their superiors. But again, the results are temporary and
over the long haul can even backfire.
Incentive Motivation is like a donkey pulling a cart with a carrot dangling in front of
him. However, if he does not eventually have his bite of carrot, he’s going to
recognize that it’s a “con game,” and he will stop pulling. The problem in the
business world we have a load that is fairly well dictated by market conditions
and , if you lighten it too much, or if you give the donkey too big a bite of
the carrot (or the profit generated by the free enterprise system), the
operation is no longer profitable and we ultimately end up out of business.
Remember: Today’s fringe benefits are tomorrow’s expectations. So what do you
do? Answer: Change the donkey to a Thoroughbred and make him want to run.
Change or Growth Motivation
– The primary purpose is to change the thinking,
the capacity, and the motivation of the worker. We must make him want to pull
the cart (do his job). We must give him reasons for doing what we want him to
do and what he wants to do. In other words, we must work with employees to the
degree that we can help them get the things they want in life. THAT’S A MAJOR
PURPOSE OF TOP PERFORMANCE - TO GIVE SPECIFIC METHODS, PROCEDURES, AND
TECHNIQUES FOR HELPING EACH INDIVIDUAL GROW AND INSPIRING THEM SO THEY WILL
WANT TO DO A BETTER JOB – NOT JUST THE BENEFIT OF THE COMPANY BUT FOR THEIR OWN
BENEFIT AS WELL.
Money and Position Won’t Make You Happy
Many people say, “When I get a million dollars, then I’ll be happy
because I’ll have security,” but that’s not necessarily so. Most people who
acquire a million dollars want another and then another.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur said that security lies in our ability to
produce – and I believe he’s right.
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1.
Do you know why you do what you
do?
2.
Motivation – the motives we
take action on.
3.
Happiness is not a where or
when, it is a here and now.
4.
To motivate yourself, identify
your motives and take action on them; to motivate others, identify their
motives and encourage them to take action.
14.
Managing Productivity
A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder – Thomas
Carlyle
The second A in the Formula stands for Assumptions. –
Krish Dharnam
Assumptions about people and their productivity are usually made
after awareness and before analysis. Most managers make assumptions about their
abilities and capabilities of the people they lead.
To effectively motivate people, you have to deal with the
assumptions about what is and what is not. The adage that in most organizations
perception is fact and fact is never really fact rings true.
Societal and Cultural
Assumptions
Experience-Based
Assumptions
Age and Gender Assumptions
Personality-Based
Assumptions
Bryan Flanagan
Managerial Assumptions
The value of the “inner view” (a view that goes beyond what seems
obvious to me)
The value of conducting an “Inner view” The purpose of the ‘inner
view” is to gain insight into your teammates so that you can assist them in
reaching their goals and objectives. This require time and dedication. It
requires that you invest time getting to know your people as people and not as units of production!
It requires that you dedicate yourself to understanding their needs, their
issues, and their concerns.
Caution: This is not to be use as a performance review or appraisal
or a reprimand process. But to be used as to gain insights into your people so
that you can provide feedback and encouragement. It work in three stages:
First, you should schedule time with the individual. This can be
done off site – at a coffee shop, at lunch, or at a neutral location in the
office.
Second, during the meeting you must condition yourself to ask open-ended questions and listen to the responses. You must turn
you full attention on the other person for this process to be effective. The
core of the meeting is to ask a focusing
question; What are your goals?
Third, you must use the information in a helpful way to provide
feedback
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1.
Assumptions are the cornerstone
for miscommunication.
2.
Don’t assume that people are
units of production, wanting what you want. Ask – get the ‘inner view.”
15.
Education to Overcome
Management Paralysis
Only the educated are free – Epictetus
The third A in the Formula is Analysis.
When I/m talking about analysis, I’m talking about Education. The tree
immobilizers are fear, doubt, and worry. FEAR – False Evidence Appearing
Real.
A Challenge for You
If you have the courage to write down your fears, doubts, and
worries, Out of the ten items you listed, seven or eight will already have
happened nor cannot happen. Of the remaining items, you have absolutely no
control over one or two of them. And you will find that only one or two items
are within you control.
Why do we fail to focus our energies on solvable problems? We are
creatures of habit. We have an everyday routine that we are involved in, and if
the routine is changed, it upsets us and can even spoil our whole day.
Unfortunately, one of our most destructive habits is griping,
complaining, and moaning. MOST PEOPLE WOULD RATHER COMPLAIN THAN SUCCEED.
Negative Use of the Imagination
Our corporate purpose, our reason for being in business, is to help
people recognize, develop, and use their abilities. One of the vehicles we use
to accomplish this is the I CAN course.
The same way you and I overcome our fears, doubts, and worries –
through analysis and education.
Managing Motivation Education
Think of the impact of the simple, direct words have had on our
society! I know many of our problems are complex, but I believe a simple (not
simplistic), direct approach, worded in simple, understandable terms is the
best and most effective way to get results.
A Top Performer with Real Education
“It’s not who’s right, but what’s right.” And If you’ve got the
right person, what they’re going to be doing is going to be right.”
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1.
Without the proper education,
fear, doubt, and worry will immobilize you and your associates.
2.
Once a need is satisfied, it is
no longer a motivator. Satisfaction does not increase motivation.
3.
Management Assumptions +
Management Attitudes = Management Behavior.
16.
The Secret to Management
Motivation
Action often precedes the feeling – Anonymous.
The fourth A in the Four A Formula is Action. You are a person of action.
Now here’s that powerfully magic statement:
Logic will not change an
emotion, but action will!
Or, phrased in another way:
Action often precedes the
feeling!
You’ve Heard It Before – Take One Step at a Time
The Chinese were right: A journey of a thousand leagues begins with
a single step.
What’s Holding You Back?
Let yourself go – give everything you have to your desire to win
before the crisis passes. It will be the best performance you ever produced
because of the emotional steam behind it. Every crisis offers you extra desired
power.
Personal Conviction: Positive Thinking and Positive Believing
When we talk about being people of action, we recognize that action
takes courage
The value system of the four leg on a stool.
The first leg is love of
product
The second leg is love of the
customer.
The third leg is love of art
and beauty.
The fourth leg is dignity of
the individual.
The solution would lie within the answer of two more questions: (1)
Is the customer happy? (2) Are we making the best possible product?
Positive believing is the same optimistic hope as positive thinking,
but it is based on solid reasons for believing you can move mountains or
accomplish other seemingly impossible tasks. I’ve seen positive believers
accomplish far more than positive thinkers. Positive believers have even more
enthusiasm than positive thinkers, even when things are not going well at the
moment.
Positive thinking is always important, and it certainly will enable
you to accomplish more than negative thinking will – but positive thinking
will. That’s why in Top Performance we give so many steps, procedures, and
actions to follow so that, as a leader and as a manager, you move more and more
into the positive-believing realm.
Teamwork and Process Improvement
CEO
Management
Team Players
Customers
Fig: A Fig:
B
Teamwork and process
improvement are two pillars upon which an inverted
organization can stand.
Values
Vision – The belief that one person can do something great is a
myth. – John Maxwell
Victories – No one of us is more important than the rest of us. –
Rey Kroc.
Process Improvement
A simple motto to follow to ensure that all processes are considered
important to an organization’s financial health is:
1.
Do the right thing.
2.
Do it right the first time.
3.
Do it right now.
4.
Do it at the right price.
In order to establish yourself as an organization that a Top
Performer you need to add these six criteria to your system to give you the
value edge in today’s marketplace.
1.
Identify what’s important to your
internal and external customer. A) Ask your internal customers how you can
improve. B) Ask your external customers what they want through focus group
methodologies.
2.
Take time out of your schedule to really
understand the components of every process in your organization. The consulting
firm of Rath and Strong estimates that only 1 percent of the total process time
is spent on steps that are important to the customer.
3.
Assign the cost component or value of
each of the steps of a given process to an organization’s bottom line.
Fortunately, studies have suggested that as much as 75 percent of the lost time
can be reclaimed.
4.
Mandate the need for and the importance
of internal process management champions. Experience has shown that at least 75
percent of the steps making up any process are not beneficial from the
customer’s perspective. As such they are costly steps and need to be reduced or
eliminated.
5.
Reduce or eliminate unnecessary steps
and processes.
6.
Serve your customer’s customer.
What Makes a Top
Performer?
- Understanding Why You Work
- Working with Unconditional Loyalty
- Doing More Than You Are Asked to Do.
- Be Patient and You Will Be Rewarded
- The Corner Office is Not Something You Deserve
- Lifting Someone Up Causes You To Rise.
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1.
More people act their way into
thinking than think their way into acting.
2.
Logic won’t change an emotion,
but action will.
3.
Action often precedes the
feeling.
4.
If the first three principles
sound a great deal alike, congratulations! You are catching on!
17.
It Takes Time
There can be no persevering industry without a deep sense of the
value of time. – Lydia H. Sigourney
The unfortunate truth is that far
too many executives are so gung ho and goal oriented from a career point of
view that they often lose perspective and balance as far as their spiritual,
personal, family, and social lives are concerned.
Take Time to Grow
We emphasized the necessity of
personal growth for maximum business success. It’s true, the companies “on the
go” are also “on the grow.” Individually you need to take time to grow.
Take Time to be Healthy
Taking care of our bodies is a
reasonably simple routine. I did not say “easy” There are several factors
involved :
Proper nutrition
Exercise
Sensible diet
Eliminate the negatives
Take time to Play
Most of the gung ho business men and
women I know set goals on acquiring new cars, getting promotions, having a
certain amount of money in the bank, living at a certain residence, acquiring
some educational degree, achieving that plateau of accomplishment, excelling in
this area.
Take time to Be Quiet
Regardless of our natures, all of us
need to take time to be quiet.
Take Time for Those You Love
Yeah – but Where Do I Get the
Energy?
PERFORMANCE PRINCIPLES
1.
Take time to get started.
2.
Take time to grow.
3.
Take time to be healthy.
4.
Take time to play.
5.
Take time to be quiet.
6.
Take time for those you love.
Epilogue: A Unique Opportunity
The opportunity to benefit many people is great.
The Penalty of leadership : The leader is assailed because he is a
leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership.
Failing to equal or to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy –
but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to
supplant.
Yes, leadership has its penalties, but fortunately, it also has its
rewards. Here’s hoping – and believing – that the principles taught in Top Performance will help you reap those
rewards.
