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Have you ever heard the term, “Plan, Do, Review?”
You probably subscribe to the philosophy my dad shared with me at an early age to “Plan your work and work your plan.” What true leaders know is that it doesn’t stop at working the plan. What if your plan or the tasks being executed are wrong? You won’t really know unless you review your progress and results, which is where the review comes in. Oh! It isn’t just the performance of the people either. Review includes your processes, products, and places where you operate as well as the people. It is good to keep in mind the proverb written by King Solomon about three thousand years ago, which says, “Know well the condition of your flock, and pay attention to your herds,” ~ Proverbs 27:23 When you plan, do, and review you will make it a great day and keep being awesome.
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I once heard a story about a young boy who was playing checkers with his grandfather.
After losing every game, the boy said to his grandfather, “You win every game and I never win.” In response, the grandfather replied, “Well, you wouldn’t want me to let you win, would you? If I did that, you won’t learn anything.” To which the young boy said, “I don’t want to learn anything. I just want to win.” There is a reason trees bring forth their fruit in season and not before. They must complete the growth process. Too often, leaders are faced with those who wish to be promoted to leadership positions without completing the growth process offering unripen fruit. Sol says… “Don’t demand an audience with the king or push for a place among the great.” ~ Proverbs 25:6 As leaders, your job is to nurture the good fruit of your organization and prune the unproductive. Make it a great day and keep being awesome. #learning #procutivity #mentoring #selfdiscipline Have you ever been laid off from your job?
How did you feel? Having been on both sides of the table, I learned that the layoff situation is deeply personal and should be handled at the greatest personal level. Laying someone off due to leadership miscalculations should be one of the toughest things you ever do in leadership. When leading my team, I set specific requirements for the direct supervisor to be present when conducting a layoff. There was one manager who simply did not feel that laying someone off was a good use of his time, as he once laid off a representative by phone, causing serious discussion between him and me about human dignity and the trust and regard for his remaining team. Then, with complete disregard to our conversation, he laid off a rep via email, leading to the implanting of a stop sign to his otherwise bright future with the organization. Sol says, “A person’s own foolishness leads him astray.” (Proverbs 19:3) as it did in this case. Here are some important interpersonal relationship skills to keep in mind should you ever have to conduct a layoff with anyone on your team. -> Be Present – Show up in person to share the bad news. While it may not be possible to be physically there in all cases, online meeting resources are far more personal than an email, phone call, or text Remember, someone is losing their livelihood which is deeply personal. -> Be Professional – Stick to the facts of the matter without being drawn into any blame that may arise. -> Be Generous – Severance packages should be as generous as possible. Remember, someone is losing their job now for something not addressed over time. -> Be Kind – Always do your best to leave the recipient with their dignity. Remember, effective leadership requires numerous relationship skills. Make it a great day and keep being awesome. Would you put up with an employee who vandalizes your business or doesn’t do their work fully?
Of course, you wouldn’t. Let’s explore a thought: According to Gallup Research, “32% of full- and part-time employees working for organizations are now engaged, while 18% are actively disengaged.” If 68% of employees are disengaged, and 18% totally disengaged, what is happening to your organization regarding production, administration, operations? The simple answer is neglect, and we all know that neglect costs more than proper maintenance as well as breakdowns in systems and processes, all demanding repairs. That being the case, how is disengagement, creating repairs, additional maintenance, and costly expenditures, different from vandalism? It isn’t, as Sol says, “The one who is lazy in his work is brother to a vandal.” ~ Proverbs 18:9 As the aphorism goes, “Inspect what you expect.” Do that and you will make it a great day and keep being awesome. Do your clients have the kind of blind faith in you that whenever you present them with a new product or service, they can trust you implicitly?
That kind of faith comes from always, repeat always being honest with them. During my time doing small business turnarounds, I was engaged in the salvaging of an entrepreneur’s company that licensed partners to use their name and proprietary products and services. When we went in to turn the company around, we found that the owner had licensed 57 territories with 45 different deals in disregard for the published fee structure for only three different sized territories. The lack of trust in the business owner was evident as we converted the company to a franchise organization and met with each licensee to offer them the opportunity to come in line with the new structure. Only after dealing with our team for several months, did they begin to trust that we dealt with them honorably and fairly since they saw no evidence of greed or a willingness to bend the rules to make a deal. Sol says, “Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord, but an accurate weight is his delight.” ~ Proverbs 11:1 Research continually shows that leaders who develop trust among all stakeholders fare far better than those who don’t. Make it a great day and keep being awesome. Have you ever had to deal with a high potential employee who was using company resources as a side hustle for extra income?
I was once confronted with such a scenario, and I pray that you never will be. Setting up greeting card departments with new display fixtures and new products is common in the social expression industry and trust is imperative that replaced fixtures and product would be handled appropriately, according to the corporate policies. Following a call from our corporate headquarters about a retail customer in our area, a customer no one in our company, including us had ever heard of, my regional operations manager and I visited the retailer to learn how we could resolve his issue. It was during this meeting that we learned that the retailer was not an account of ours, and that he was buying fixtures and products for cash from our local representative. Following some research, we learned that the district manager, his assistant, and the field representative were colluding to earn extra cash by setting up fictitious customers and supplying them with display fixtures and product from other stores directly for cash. We terminated three high potential members of our team because the opportunity to derive ill gotten revenue led them to what they believed to be “easy” cash, ultimately costing them their careers and future opportunities with our company. What a waste! Thinking about this incident, I am reminded that Sol says, “Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death.” ~ Proverbs 10:2 Maintain your integrity at all costs and when you do, you will make it a great day and keep being awesome. Are you a leader filled with curiosity?
When researching lists of the qualities of leadership, you will find some words like integrity, accountability, responsibility on just about every list, and words like empathy, active listening, and team delegation on most lists. One word that you won’t find on most, if any, lists is curiosity. Do you also find that curious, since without it, those other characteristics cannot be learned? Comfort can be the biggest zone in which many reside that quells curiosity in that no one, neither you nor I want to leave comfort for the unknown. My friend, Tom DiLiegro’s LinkedIn post stirred my curiosity about the subject. Reading Tom’s post reminded me of a lesson a colleague shared. When discussing business opportunities with Ross Perot in a meeting that was the result of a prospecting letter (You know, typically urgent mail to the sender and junk mail to the receiver). When asked by my colleague how he even saw the letter, Mr. Perot told him that he looks at his “junk” mail each Friday morning out of curiosity for something that may help him, and/or his organization perform better. Sol says, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber,” ~ Proverbs 6:10-11 Your comfort zone is a nice place to linger until it isn’t and without curiosity there is a tendency to stick with the familiar because it is comfortable even if it no longer is a value. When you stay curious, you will make it a great day and you’ll keep being awesome. As the financial world continues in its fluctuation, what are you doing to maintain your steadiness in the marketplace?
These are the kinds of times that make shortcuts and “easy” money attractive options to those who are in business for money rather than to solving a marketplace problem for those who want a solution and are willing to pay for it. When faced with times like these, good leaders ask, Am I holding true to my purpose for being in this business in the first place? Am I finding, connecting with, and serving the customers I intended to serve? Is an opportunity to bring in more cash consistent with my current philosophies and synergistic with my current market focus? Looking for the answers to these and similar questions, fed by trusted resources, is the difference between the focused leader and the wandering follower. Sol says, “strangers will drain your resources.” ~ Proverbs 5:10 Make it a great day and keep being awesome. How are you faring now in these turbulent times of change?
As good leaders, you quickly realize that turbulence and uncertainty offer two choices: -> You can embrace the times and begin responding with the principles you have learned while seeking insights from those who have been here before, or -> You can wallow in the misery of the times, hoping and grasping for rays of hope that will lead you out of the troughs of the times. Those who have wisely built their business on solid principles of… -> treating people fairly, -> investing in those who work for them, -> financial awareness, -> providing great value to their customers at all times, and -> continually seek new thoughts and ideas …fare better than those who depend on the same old processes to take them through new valleys. Wisdom is a requirement as Sol says, “She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who hold on to her are happy.” ~ Proverbs 3:18 Make it a great day and keep being awesome. |
AuthorBrian Kennedy is an encourager who shepherds small business owners and entrepreneurs along the path of business success to preeminence by embracing time tested principles and executing the associated fundamentals daily. Archives
May 2023
Leadership
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