Reviving the work ethic

Australia’s sandy beaches are some of the best in the world. Our volunteer life savers are often called on to revive a drowning adult or child. Miraculously they bring them back to life when all hope seemed gone. Many would argue that we need life savers in many developed countries to revive a dying work ethic in those who hold a misguided sense of entitlement.

Generation Y and Z grow up with a different view of the world and of work. Sometimes they are unfairly seen as lacking the desire to work hard. There are millions of hard working, committed young people in the workforce. Yet there are those who hold a sense of entitlement; that the world owes them a living. Eric Chester works across America to encourage a revival of the work ethic.(You Tube.)

Work is good for your health. Doing productive or creative things is good for your mental health and wellbeing. Whether its physical or intellectual work depends on your temperament and skills. Overwork can cause illness. Idleness is a dead end street. If you enjoy what you are doing; work is a joy. If not; it can be like torture. Find the job you love and commit wholeheartedly to it.

Work uses your skills and talents. In choosing a job or a vocation seek to match your natural skills, talents and temperament to the task. Most of us grow into the job. Keep learning higher level skills to add value to the organisation or business. Volunteer for more challenging assignments if you seek advancement.   

Work brings fulfilment. Work can be fulfilling by its own nature. You may get a sense of completion, of creativity or of helping others.

Work allows you to live by your own efforts. Work puts bread on the table. It gives you what you need and what you want in life. Supporting yourself and your family can be the starting point of growing a giving mentality.

Work builds communities. In our technologically advanced world, we more than ever need communities of common interest, sharing and support. Work can create and sustain real and virtual communities. Genuine interest in and concern for another human being is a timeless value worth preserving. In families and in communities the idea of contributing to the common good builds everyone.

Every day come prepared to put in your personal best. Being on time shows your respect for others. Hold your concentration and energy levels high. Give true value. Be a great team player. Be an individual people want to work with.

(C)  John Milne 20.5.12.Book John’s Workshops on 6 Star Service.0448357626

ATTITUDE PLUS +++

The Master Key to Achievement.

Zig Ziglar is eighty five. He is respected as one of America’s greatest sales professionals and motivational speakers. Happily each new generation can tap into his timeless wisdom on You Tube or in his twenty five books. His bold statement: Your attitude not your aptitude will determine your altitude, is our inspirational minute for today. Hold this thought as you begin each day.

In your personal and working life a consistent positive attitude combined with a strong work ethic wins every time. It’s not just how smart you are but how much your positive attitude adds value to the business, organisation, family or project that matters most.

• Positive attitudes are chosen. Every day when we wake up we get to choose the attitude we will carry with us. Whether we are grumpy or grateful, complaining or cheerful. By choosing to be positive even in the face of difficulty, illness or challenge the end result will always be better.
• Positive attitudes are infectious. People catch optimism just like they catch colds. By being positive you will draw other positive people to you. This used to be called networking; today people join tribes or mastermind groups to encourage each other to reach their goals. Spread your bubbly personality and outlook wherever you go.
• Positive attitudes build teamwork. Teamwork makes business, schools and families hum. It shares the work load. It uses our different strengths. It makes efficiency look effortless. Be a team player by making others look good.
• Positive attitudes maintain morale. High morale is built day by day. It rests on the solid foundations of mutual respect, hard work by all,a clear direction and by the sharing of constructive feedback.
• Positive attitudes sell mightily. Zig believes passionately that we are all in the business of sales. Your words and actions to a guest, client or customer can sell because most people buy on an emotional not a rational response to your approach and their experience of dealing with you. Proudly and accurately promote the services you offer. Remember results beat promises every time.
• Be positive Stay positive It’s the Master Key to Achievement.

A NEW SPIRIT OF HELPFULNESS

I continue to be amazed at true stories friends share of large companies and small business owners who don’t get it. They live in a twilight world of denial and self deception. They don’t make the connection with their bottom line that customer care matters!

The world of customer care is driven by social media and online shopping but it is partnered by an old friend re-discovered. Helpfulness speaks of a bygone era when people cared. It can become the hallmark of all you do to delight your customers, clients or guests. Believe, practice, and offer! Be available; don’t hide behind smart phones, offices, assistants, titles. Be available.

#1.Your guests come first, second and third.

Sir can I help you with those shirts? Madam may I take your bag for you?Sir I’ll bring your coffee over to the foyer.

#2.The spirit of helpfulness is expressed in words and in actions.

I visited a 5 star hotel just after a $20 million makeover. What hit me immediately was the new spirit of helpfulness I had never seen so prominently before. A tired disinterested culture had been re-born.

#3.Every employee has this spirit.

Every employee I met had this spirit, this approach. It will mark this hotel out as one of the best in the city. My guess is it didn’t happen by accident, but by design, from senior management across the organisation.

#4.Being helpful becomes a way of life; a cultural norm.

These ideas can be implemented quite quickly but they need re-enforcement, support, modelling. This is how a culture of care and helpfulness grows when nothing is too much trouble and when all guests are treated with dignity and professionalism.

For such a small cost you can reap tremendous benefit in repeat business, gentle up-selling and goodwill that sees guests warmly recommend you to friends and colleagues. Be helpful now!

 

(C) John Milne 6.5.12 Book John’s workshop now! 0448357626

The Risk of Reach!

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go..

American born English poet…T.S. Elliot  

1.Risk only what you can afford to lose.Risk management is a practice in every leader’s kit bag. It is an effort to try to foresee accidents or events that might do harm to profit or to person and to prevent them. Striving for worthy goals involves the risk of being misunderstood or challenged. It involves the personal commitment of a leader or manager to an idea, process or course of action to create a better future.

2. Risk means leaving the safe harbour. It is safe for ships in the calm waters of the protected bay. Only when they set sail to sea, do their true colours become evident, their true purpose achieved. Risk involves you upsetting the status quo, refocussing the organisation, breaking the mould. It is easy to forget that all cultural change involves pain and loss. On this journey, a sturdy resilience and a realistic optimism will be needed every day.

3. Risk means reaching new goals. Every organisation and every person must be renewed or they die. Setting new goals in harmony with your values and mission may be needed every year or in the new economy more often. Fortune favours the fast, nimble leaders who can adjust the set of the sails. E commerce and social media drive the new economy. Those that stay at anchor will risk being irrelevant. Those who set sail with a skilled navigator will succeed.

4. Risk creates new futures. You may try to do things faster, cheaper, better. You may think lean, explore the power of less. Amazingly in tough economic times some entrepreneurs see opportunities others miss. They make good things happen in a few years. Like the captain, scan the horizon to see what’s coming; what’s next! You will create the future starting now.

5. Risk forms new alliances and partnerships. Most of us need a great team to work with us on making dreams become reality. Tap into the power of association by spending time with like minded people. Start a mastermind group to share your journey. Work on the idea of mutual benefits. Give till it hurts.

Copyright John Milne 29.4.12 One on One Coaching: 0448357626  Web Shop:leadershiptoinspire.com

Out of the chocolate box…using both sides of the brain.

Many of you might be chocoholics like me. When I see a block it’s hard to stop with one piece. Choosing soft or hard centres is all part of the fun. Chocolate and coffee become the ideal partners in pleasure. Today’s leaders more than ever need a finely balanced selection of communication and human relations skills. Hard skills by themselves never win hearts and minds to commitment. Soft skills by themselves never achieve nor sustain peak performance. There have been exaggerations and distortions in the self help literature. Care needs to be taken in describing people as left brain or right brain thinkers because  these characteristics exist in each side.

In the 60’s and 70’s Noble Prize winner Roger W Sperry and partners did pioneering work on identifying and understanding the two hemispheres of our brains. People tend to have a preference for using one side more in their approach to life and work. Yet tapping into both preferences makes for a more complete leader or manager. Author Daniel H Pink in A Whole New Mind pictures the future as belonging to people who are: creators and empathisers, pattern recognisers, and meaning makers.

HARD CENTRES: The left brain operates in a logical, sequential, rational, analytical and objective way that looks at parts.  It is where the IQ or intellectual ability finds its home. In strategic planning these skills can map a comprehensive roadmap to future growth and development.

Ask the hard questions. Be an alternative voice of reason and common sense.

Have the learning conversations. Help people grow despite themselves.

Be attentive to core business. Centre the wayward focus the drifting attention.

SOFT CENTRES: The right brain operates in a random, intuitive, holistic, synthesizing and subjective way that looks at wholes. It is where E.Q. or emotional intelligence and empathy reside.

Connect within and without to grow the muscles of the organisation.

Engage each group of people in dialogue, planning, action and reflection.

Care for individuals and teams every day in all you do.

Celebrate with a chocolate out of the box today!

(C) John Milne 22.4.12 One on One leadership conversations: 0448357626

One small step…beginning gives you power…

Neil Armstrong had the honour of being the first man to set foot on the moon. He stated: That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind. I collected autographs as a young man and was thrilled to receive the signatures of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. They included a copy of the plaque left on the moon with that inscription. It reminded me, as a leader and as a manager, that one step in the direction of travel can make all the difference. The chains of procrastination and indecision are broken by movement. Thoughtful innovation and comprehensive planning are a great combination.

• Move to Core Values Whether you lead a small business, multinational corporation , a political party or a school or college, your core values are the bedrock on which to build your operation.Re-visiting these values in an accelerating world of change, challenge and complexity is a team exercise worth doing. An elegant, simply expressed suite of core values is the glue that holds all your endeavours together. Ask yourself again the million dollar questions: What do we stand for? Who are we? Why do we exist? The answers matter most. Lead through your values.
• Move to Profitability or Peak Performance. The road to higher profit margins might involve lower costs, increase sales or growth, cutting waste, increasing the effectiveness of existing resources. This can apply to a business, educational, government organisation or a not for profit group. Peak performance strategies look for ways to grow new business or to make learning first. Seed funding can be targeted at pilot projects, research and development and social media engagement, online selling and marketing.
• Move to Learning and Development In any organisation but particularly in the booming service industries the need to engage, train, coach and counsel is critical. Intentional leadership in this area best comes from the top but takes account of felt needs of employees at all levels of the organisation. Three types of learning can add value.1.formal qualifications and shorter courses.2.Street knowledge from the experienced high achievers in the field.3.Lessons from the school of hard knocks. Each of these learning experiences can better equip each person with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to consistently do their jobs well. Wisdom is the icing on the cake! Judgement and decision making are learnt on the job.
• Move through Crisis to Certainty Every organisation will face its dark tunnel. Every organisation will face danger, threats, uncertainty and loss. How you meet these faceless fiends will determine your survival and future. A well written, regularly rehearsed, crisis management plan needs to be known and understood by all. This allows normal operations to continue more quickly and effectively than a haphazard impulse response to each critical incident. One small step builds on another as you move confidently to a brighter future. Take that step today!

(C) Copyright John Milne 15.4.12 John’s new book: MANAGEMENT MINUTES: john.milne4@three.com.au(C) John Milne 15.4.12 Book a Leadership Team Dialogue: 0448357626

The Magical Journey from Manager to Leader.

Millions of people in every country love a good magic show. The magician’s sleight of hand makes it all seem so easy. Objects, birds and people disappear and appear at the wave of the master’s hand. The movement from manager to leader occurs in the glare of your organisation’s audience. Like the magician’s performance it involves movement, change, roles, communication and perceptions. We need leaders we can trust.

Leaders are the change makers Managers tend to keep the status quo. They keep things running like a well oiled machine. Enterprising managers improve systems and processes. Leaders discern and spot trends at the cutting edge. They are like scouts of the old Wild West, ahead of the wagon trains, looking for dangers and opportunities, charting a path to prosperity and to growth. Leaders explain why, what and when the changes in thinking and operating will occur. Managers work on how new ideas will work and the resources needed to support change.

Leaders grow teams Managers lead operational teams to make good things happen across the organisation. The best leaders select the right people for the right jobs. They empower individuals to operate with considerable autonomy. They harness the incredible power of common wisdom, diverse talents and wide experience to build strong, united teams.

Leaders persuade others to their point of view

Managers contribute quality ideas to the debate; leaders frame the debate and draw out the best solution. Across the organisation they convince people that the story they tell is true. This is the living narrative.

Leaders take responsibility Managers are held accountable for what they do by their supervisors. Leaders have to accept final responsibility from the C.E.O. or Board for their decisions and actions. Understand that avoidance and denial are the rocks on which many a leadership career has flounded.By fixing rather than fudging problems a brighter future can prevail.

Leaders design the future Managers implement plans. They bring efficiency to life. In becoming a leader you will create the future through planning and preparation. Leaders and managers work closely together at each stage of the work cycle. Their work is complementary. Each contains elements of the other.

Leaders build a culture By design, leaders grow a culture that breathes live and energy into a college, a business or an organisation. There is a simplicity and elegance to the best designs. There is an absence of clutter, pretence and bureaucracy, the arch enemies of living organisations. Such designs attract team members who are proud to work towards agreed goals. In their community they talk up their place of work.

Competent inspired managers become today’s Emerging Leaders. They are able to quickly grow their thinking, nimbly change roles, communicate across departments or sections and see themselves leading now!

Like the magician it will seem so easy, yet it is the long hours of practice and preparation that will have weaved their magic. The crowd of colleagues will be amazed. Tomorrow they will return to see what new tricks you have up your sleeve, for a leader too is only as good as his or her last show. 

(C) John Milne 8.4.12 Buy John’s new book MANAGEMENT MINUTES at: leadershiptoinspire.com

One on One Coaching book today: 0448357626