Counting Beans and Forgetting People

If you dig deep enough, you’ll find most people have some sort of grievance about their work and it’s often something they can’t quantify. Bars are filled with colleagues grumbling about their situation and those chats are often not about products.

Companies spend most of the time refining their offer and trying to increase revenue. Time is spent more on the business and what suffers is time in the business and more importantly on the people. All too often a 'less is more' mantra is adopted. Supplies are thrown from the boat in the hopes the survivors will make it home safely.

Downsize to Success?

Sometimes cuts need to be made but before you make them, have a close look at what’s going on in your organization. Without superior talented and well directed strong people, the amount of money you think you are saving from the bottom line by making knee jerk cuts will evaporate over time. While a competitor who values people and internal customer service over a quick fix may win the day.

The passion and ideas of people are all we have and without them we can chase profit every day and we will never find it. Instead, try five powerful words.

How can I help you?
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Turn Collusion into Collaboration

If you dig deep enough, you’ll find most people have some sort of grievance about their work and it’s often something they can’t quantify. Bars are filled nightly with colleagues grumbling about their situation and those chats are often not about products.

Companies spend most of the time refining their offer and trying to increase revenue. Time is spent more on the business and what suffers is time in the business and more importantly on the people. All too often a 'less is more' mantra is adopted. Supplies are thrown from the boat in the hopes the survivors will make it home safely.

Downsize to Success?

Sometimes cuts need to be made but before you make them, have a close look at what’s going on in your organization. Without superior talented and well directed strong people, the amount of money you think you are saving from the bottom line by making knee jerk cuts will evaporate over time. While a competitor who values people and internal customer service over a quick fix may win the day.

A cynical colleague of mine often says; “Customers are profit. People are overhead”.
I couldn't disagree more. The passion and ideas of people are all we have and without them we can chase profit every day and we will never find it. Instead, we try four simple yet powerful words.

How can I help?
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Kneale Mann | Leadership Strategist, consultant, writer, speaker, executive coach facilitating performance growth with leaders, management, and teams.

livingcivil

Thoughts from April

Every morning, I post something on Twitter I’m thinking about or perhaps a saying or quote and here are some highlights from April 2013.

Three simple business rules: Respect. Help. Inspire. Why would you let naysayers stop you today? If you want the best from your team, listen to them. Inspire through action.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes 
off your goal. Henry Ford

Take from the past what will help you and discard the rest. Don't let naysayers litter your path. Cut meetings by a minimum of 50% and watch what happens. Learn from challenges; don't wear them around like a bad suit.Take time for you time.

Let's celebrate and embrace our differences. Who can you help right now?
None of us is as smart as all of us. Japanese proverb

Get out of your way. We are not self-made; we are dependent on one another.
Kirby Ferguson

Four powerful words of leadership: What do you think? Be careful not to let collaboration turn to collusion or conflict. Success is measured by experiences not possessions. Busy is not always a good thing.

Relationships are not 50-50, they are 100-100.

Never underestimate what you bring to the table. Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Helen Keller

Communication and collaboration are the cornerstones of a successful business. Watch the windshield not the rear view mirror.

Be grateful.
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Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture Strategist, Writer, Speaker, Executive Coach engaging leaders to build successful talent and profitable business.

eandt

Collusion or Commiseration?

While waiting for a client this week in a coffee shop, I couldn't help but hear the couple right beside me talking about work. They didn't seem upset per se but the conversation got a bit loud and heated.

It appeared the topic of the conversation was about the people in their company. Apparently someone in the office is upset because she works too many hours while the other guy isn't in the office enough and the boss hasn't looked at the new forms. My client arrived and we moved on to our own conversation.

The Three Circles

You may be familiar with the theory of three sides to every story - your version, my version, and the truth. So what was really going on in their chat and how often does this happen? Well I’ll propose the true story could be better told if they knew the whole picture and this happens far too often.

In a recent Forbes article entitled Why Are so Many Employees Disengaged, Victor Lipman outlines that the United States Bureau of National Affairs estimates US businesses lose about $11 billion each year due to employee turnover. There are various data that estimate the loss in productivity in North American businesses due to disengaged employees is approaching a trillion dollars annually.

Refills and Retorts

Widen that scope to a global snapshot and the numbers get worse. It's not always obvious, it often comes in small increments difficult to measure. A sick day here, a stab in the back there, an off-site chat here, and suddenly it adds up to a malaise or unhappiness which affects careers, culture, and bottom lines.

This isn't to suggest the two people at the coffee shop are ready to walk but imagine how much productivity is lost by their chat then multiple it by the millions of similar chats all over the world every day. We all need to blow off steam and not everyone will collaborate the way we want them to, but if you’re in a leadership role it’s imperative to understand revenue is driven by much more than sales calls.

If you are the leader, get used to the team talking about you behind your back and not agreeing with every decision but if you treat them fairly and openly, I like your chances.

Open that door a little wider and pass the sugar.

Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture Strategist, Writer, Speaker, Executive Coach helping leaders create dynamic culture and improved results.

uaproperty