Month: June 2011

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K is for Ken Blanchard and Cynthia Kersey

Ken-Blanchard-on-his-leadership

I just had to share with you both of these incredible people for K. All along I was planning to highlight Cynthia Kersey and then I just listened to a webcast with Ken Blanchard and am so inspired by the way that he lives out his spirituality that I thought why don’t share about both of them. Both of these amazing people put their love in action as they serve others through their work.

Work is love made visible. – Kahlil Gibran

Ken Blanchard

Ken Blanchard is the cofounder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, an international management training and consulting firm. He is also the cofounder of the Center for FaithWalk Leadership.

Being in the training and development industry, I was first introduced to Ken’s work by getting certified to teach one of his programs called Situational Leadership. Ever since then Ken’s been a mentor for me in how to live out my spirituality at work. I love that even his work title is being the chief spiritual officer for his organization. His philosophy, from the perspective that I know about him through reading his books, listening to presentations of his and attending workshops, is that Ken is passionate about spreading servant leadership. A way of leading and being that is “not all about us” but is all about how you can serve others to really make a difference for them.

I feel like he’s done that for me just from afar by living his life this way. His influence continues to spread to others as well. He recently partnered with Colleen Barrett, the president emeritus of Southwest Airlines, to write the book Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success. It’s a great example of a company that puts love in action through creating a culture in which people are inspired to be who they are and share that love with their employees, customers and shareholders. In an earlier blog, I wrote about Southwest as a model example of an organization embracing spirituality in the workplace.

One way Ken does this at his company is that he sends out a daily inspirational message to his 300 plus employees. When asked if he had only one practice that he could do that would matter the most, he said it would be to “wander around and catch people doing things right.” This is the concept he introduced in his best-selling One Minute Manager book. His work is impactful, his message is inspirational and his contribution to spirituality at work is invaluable.

Cynthia Kersey

Cynthia Kersey is unstoppable. What I admire most about her is that she has an unstoppable heart that keeps on giving. She quit her high-paying corporate job to write the book called Unstoppable and to form her business around this same concept. Now she recently shifted her focus to be on living an unstoppable live by her vision of wanting all children on the planet to receive an education. Thus, she is putting all her time and energy into her Unstoppable foundation to build schools for children in Africa.

I’ve heard her speak multiple times on recorded presentations. She shares how she’s able to keep going with her unstoppable work is that she first has a practice of giving to herself each morning to connect with her mind, body and spirit. When she fills herself up, that when she is able to fill up others as well through her work. In regards to finding her calling she said, “When you are called, the miracles come when you fully jump on board.”

A few months back I participated in her “give a little, get a lot” program in which she sold educational online programs from some of the top personal and professional development gurus to people like me. They donated their programs, she sold them at a reasonable cost and then used the money raised $270,000 to build the schools. I felt great being part of her program and look forward to the many ways that I’ll learn from her on how to be unstoppable with my giving and putting my spirituality to work.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Janae Bower is an inspirational speaker, award-winning author and training consultant. She founded Finding IT, a company that specializes in personal and professional development getting to the heart of what matters most. She started Project GratOtude, a movement to increase gratitude in people’s lives.

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Training Blogs – Using the Web to Train the World

Training Blogs – Using the Web to Train the World

Your first reaction is to say: “You can’t train with Training Blogs alone.” You are absolutely correct; however, it’s human nature to look for the quickest and easiest way to do anything, and it takes some prodding to be thorough and detailed. It is certainly faster today than it was in the past to learn enough to develop a business, a product line–and a well-designed set of interactive services like training and development.

Blogs on any particular subject matter can offer a great starting point for finding the focus we want, for getting ideas, and for getting perspectives.

I started to call this article: Tricks and Treats for Using Training Blogs.

We know it’s a great resource–not only because it’s free, but because it’s also offers topics you need to know about in business, in non-profits and even in government, in leadership, in management, in communication, and of course, in training and development as well as many others.

I know it’s not exactly the season, but it is always the right moment. The Internet and its World Wide Web of Information are a constant source of basic training information, how-to’s, best practices, definitions and various points-of-view. Truly, that can be said about any subject we choose as evidenced by this very web source you are on right now: The Free Management Library. We know it’s a great resource–not only because it’s free, but because it’s also offers topics you need to know about in business, in non-profits and even in government–topics like leadership, management, communication, and of course, training and development as well as many others.

But I’m not just here to promote The Free Management Library and the Training and Development blog. I want to talk about taking what’s out there and making it work for us. I want you to go out and find other sources as well as this one and come back to us and tell us about them. And build. And do it often.

What did we do before when we needed information? I name just a few. For example, we used to research the physical library or bookstores when we needed information. We sought out books, trade periodicals and even magazines and newspapers. We can do all that on the web and more.

Back before we had blogs and people willing to share this information with anyone who could access it, we may have apprenticed in a company and shadowed someone until we knew his or her job well enough to make it ours. Either way, the point is that we are learning from others. If a blog or article isn’t enough, and it isn’t, we can still contact the author directly. Hard to do, when the author of the book wrote that article sever years ago. Today, it’s easier and information can easily be today’s information.

From here we become more detailed-oriented, seeking out the best practices and looking at perspectives and comparing those to ours.

Look at the way most blogs operate. Blog sites vary from personal diatribes or musings on various topics tocovering hard news and current events. Most is in between. Struggling business people or business wannabees have blogs to draw attention to themselves. It makes a website more complete. It gives you a chance to sell by example and sample. See the site for what it is, but you can find information you can use if you look. Maybe this entrepreneur did something especially well and gives you an idea for your business. A best practice perhaps, not a copy.

Other blogs may provide a vehicle for writers to write about topics they are expert in or just write a few basics. Remember what I said about the basic information, the definitions, the how-to’s–this is it. This is a jumping off place. We can search more than one place for the basics because those basics may have changed, or the terminology, or the processes, or the new basics may include areas you may want to include if you were aware of them. From here we become more detailed-oriented, seeking out the best practices and looking at perspectives and comparing those to ours. We are beginning to actually use the information. We weed out the okay stuff and note the good stuff.

You can ask the kinds of specific questions that you need to have answered. Before you may have had to assume–and we all know assuming anything without a lot of credibility behind that assumption is never a good thing.

Here’s one thing not available in hardcover books: You can become colleagues with the professionals you wish to emulate. That networking is invaluable in fleshing out what you can find on your own. Now, you have a vehicle, either personally via a blog contact, or through a professional or social network to ask and answer questions. You can ask the kinds of specific questions that you need to have answered. Before you may have had to assume–and we all know assuming anything without a lot of credibility behind that assumption is never a good thing.

What training blogs–the kind I am addressing here–should not be is a way to promote yourself as a training company, training developer, trainer, etc. That information is out there. All you need is the link. People are more likely to click on the link than read all about you–unless they wanted to know it in the first place. I have a bio on my website; I also have a home page that talks about my training philosophy–what makes me who I am, and hopefully, what makes me different. I can’t really sell a fit.

Personally I’m turned off by sites that do that. Tell me what you’ve got to offer and I’ll see the connection. That’s me. This probably comes from a deep-seated abhorrence of being “hard sold” anything, but you have a chance to choose and keep the same information, note it high on your list or eliminate it if you wish. It’s not up to me. Maybe the way I am about those sites is not you. Maybe it doesn’t even bother you because you can filter. Great thing about the Internet; there are approaches for every taste.

I tend to write longer articles than most. For awhile, it bothered me that I wrote more than what I considered average, but then I started to look at what I was writing. I write training facts but also communication and psychological ones, but I write from what I know. I write perspective. I write commentary about training approaches, implementing training, designing training, professional development, and more. I try to put the obvious in a not-so-obvious place. I want to give people to think about. That’s me. Generally, if you read what I write, you get more than the basics, more than a how-to, more than a definition. You get another way of looking at those things, and maybe a summary of how others might see it. One day I might write from a trainer’s perspective and another day from a manager’s perspective.

As someone experienced in the above areas, this is the perfect place for me to be. Not having my own business so established I have no time to write about the subjects I talk to clients about, I get to do that and receive some recognition and links to my own web page. People start to get to know me professionally.

This brings me to what the Internet and blogging is not good for. It is not the way to get the world to notice you. Stardom is random. Talent in the right place at the right time. You probably are very good at what you do. I think I am good at what I do. There is a world of people out there who think the same way we do. If they don’t, they are probably depressed. The blog is a start. Promote your ideas, your approach, but not you so much. Provide opportunity for people to find you easily. Invite them. (Don’t sell them, in my opinion.) They will come to you where they can get the most information and connect with you if that is their purpose. You prefer select clientele–those who may actually want your services.

As for the blogs we use to learn from? Also a start of a terrific learning experience.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

For more on training, communication, performance topics, check out my website. Look under the category of What I Say. As always, these thoughts are my own, but feel free to add yours. Anywhere you have the opportunity. Just think before you publish. For a look at the human side of training from my Cave Man perspective, please check out my book, The Cave Man Guide to Training and Development. Happy training.

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Got Structure? Need it?

Business organizational structure concept with wooden people icons

The jungle gym is a great blend of structure and chaos. Perfect for kids.

In an organization, we need that same perfect blend — the one appropriate to the company’s size. After all, we are kids at heart, right?

A start up has few systems. Expenses need to be tracked. A business plan is needed for financing. The organizational structure can flow – we are getting things going. Once the revenue stream is there, we need to know who’s on first – to ensure commitments are met.

As the organization grows, it is practical to add structure. However, keeping the chaos, the motivation, the energy and purpose is key. Adding structure while maintaining energy is a challenge. It takes adding the structure with finesse only as needed.

When the organization is choking on its own bureaucracy it’s one sign there is too much structure. Have the systems of a $300B organization been added to a much small company? If so, it will only slow the company down.

Yes, ensure employees are treated fairly across the organization, ensure laws are met, the work is safe and so on — but maintain the employee ingenuity, the ideas that serve customers and open new products and market. Keep the ability to move fast!

For more resources, see the Library topic Business Development.

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Tove Rasmussen, of Partners Creating Wealth, offers business expertise worldwide to help organizations grow, and disadvantaged regions thrive.

Photo credit: Arlington County

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Women Leading Change

A-business-woman-addressing-her-colleagues-

This morning my inbox contained a special invitation that I want to pass on to women reading this blog.

The Berkana Institute invites you on a Walk Out Walk On Women’s Learning Journey to South Africa, November 1 – 12, 2011, to explore the role that women are playing in recreating community, government, and themselves.

I took this journey, with Meg Wheatley and 24 other phenomenal women from around the world, in 2006 – meeting women leaders who are changing the lives of others and their communities in the midst of what most would call poverty and without power, resources, or authority. It was transformational for me.

Women are playing the pivotal role in creating change. And in community after community, women as informal leaders have stepped forward to solve local problems without waiting for formal authority or resources. They have walked out of limiting beliefs about themselves and their communities and walked on to create sustainable solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. Women of all ages have used their ingenuity and caring to figure out how to work with what they have to create what they need.

Berkana Institute Brochure

Lessons from the Fisherwomen of Cape Town

Sahra Luyt (far right in the picture) lives on the water near Cape Town. As a child she was taught to fish by her father and she brought this skill to the women of her township, creating the South African Fisherwomen’s Association (SAFWA) in 2000. Sahra’s leadership began when she got a captain’s license and began to fish the waters off the coast commercially (the boat in the picture is used by the fisherwomen to fish up to 5-miles out to sea). She trained other women to fish and captain and now 150 women are self-employed as commercial fisherwomen. As women became able to support their families, the word spread and 500 members now offer a soup kitchen and other benefits to the community.

Worldwide women reinvest 70% of their earnings back into the community and the Fisherwomen are no exception. In addition to increasing education and healthcare in their township the Fisherwomen operate as a whole, each part contributing in different ways. They explained that they do this to protect their income, as individuals are not guaranteed a fishing license from year to year. When we visited, the total group income was divided among all the members regardless of how it was generated and provided financial stability for each member’s household.

More remarkable than their egalitarian community is their willingness to take on their government over rights that they feel are fundamental to their survival. As more Fisherwomen earned their captain’s credentials, they applied for more fishing licenses and got them. That is until the government determined that these licensing should go to men rather than women and began to discriminate against the group. Twice they sued the government for discrimination and twice they won.

Today the Fisherwomen face new challenges to their livelihood and rights as business women. Due to climate related change in water temperature, government regulated fishing quotas and seasons hamper their ability to catch good quality fish. The Fisherwomen are engaging the government again in order to integrate self-employed fisherwomen into the system and provide social support such as a pension fund, maternity benefits, and unemployment insurance.

Bringing it Home

Let me offer all readers of this blog, women in particular, the following simple yet powerful lesson from Meg during our learning journey: Follow YES!

To me this means:

  • Follow the possible. Take the resources that show up rather than wait for something different or more “perfect” to show up. What can you do as a leader with what you have?
  • Follow connections. Who do you know who can assist you, teach you, support you, or move your efforts forward. I call this “kicking the stone down the road.” With each connection you advance even if you can’t immediately see how it will take you to your goal.
  • Follow the law of two feet. This comes from Harrison Owen, the originator of Open Space Technology. When you find yourself in a situation where you are neither learning nor contributing use your two feet to take you somewhere that you can.

I recommend this trip as a means of developing women’s leadership here in the United States. America’s women leaders are faced with: changing their businesses as owners, their roles as employees, and their communities as members, our children as mothers, our future as educators, and our society as government agents.

To learn more or to sign up, please contact Lauren Parks at lauren@berkana.org or call (617) 422-6231.

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HR’s Number One Priority-Depends on Who You Ask

Number-one-written-on-a-wall.

If you ask a number of people what is HR’s number one priority or responsibility, you’ll most likely get a number of different responses based on who is answering the question even if two of those asked are in the same position. People are egocentric by nature. They tend to view things from their own experiences and needs. Below are a few examples of what one might hear, although there are many more.

CEO- “The primary responsibility of HR is risk management. They are here to keep us in compliance.”

CFO- “HR is here to keep our human capital operating at a maximum level of efficiency so that we can manage our labor costs.”

Managers-“I need HR to find me better talent.”

Supervisors-“HR’s primary responsibility is to handle my performance problems.”

Employees-“HR is here to make sure I am treated fair. Or at least they are supposed to be.”

HR- “It depends.”

With these varying viewpoints and opinions of what HR should be doing, it can be hard to define and measure success. Defining a terrible HR person may be in the eye of the beholder, but Suzanne Lucas, a.k.a. The Evil HR Lady offers you nine signs to figure it out. Follow the link and check out her list. It is top notch and covers the gamut of HR responsibilities from compliance to recruiting. Let me know what you add.

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

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It is My Job

A-young-female-manager-trying-to-bolster-the-morale-of-her-teammates

It’s not my job to fix someone else

It is my job to be the radiance and splendor of Who I Am

It’s not my job to judge others’ mistakes

It is my job to be a role model of someone doing their best

It’s not my job to tell others how to live or work

It is my job to walk the path of love, balance, and integrity

It’s not my job to show others when they’ve messed up

It is my job to remind others of their greatness and beauty

It’s not my job to point out when others are wrong

It is my job to speak my truth even when it is difficult to do so

It’s not my job to ask “What’s in it for me?”

It is my job to wake up every morning and ask, “How then shall I serve?”

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For a moving and inspiring video of someone who faced adversity and didn’t give up on himself-

Inspirational Story

Here are the lyrics to his song:

In my imagination I see a fair world,
Everyone lives in peace and in honesty there.
I dream of souls that are always free,
…Like the clouds that fly,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.
I dream of souls that are always free,
Like clouds that fly,
Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Linda is an author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Go to her website www.lindajferguson.com to read more about her work, view video clips of her talks, and find out more about her book “Path for Greatness: Spirituality at Work” The paperback version is available on Amazon. NOW NEW!!! the pdf version of Path for Greatness is available for download from her website. ALSO, Linda’s new book, “Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand” is now available on her website.

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New Hire Orientation: Get Them Off To a Great Start

Successful-happy-black-male-candidate-getting-hired-got-job

What’s the first impression new hires have your company? Does it turn them on or turn them off?

The good news is that a new hire orientation program offers an opportunity to build a positive, engaging impression of the new company. The bad news is that that is going to happen whether you plan it or not. So why not get new hires off to a great start?

6 ways to get new hires to quickly feel part of the team.

1. Welcome new hires.
How come when an employee leaves, there’s a party, but when she arrives, there is nothing to mark the occasion? Perhaps, a hat or shirt, to make her feel part of the team. Or a big bowl of candy on her desk so that people can come by to say hello and grab some

2. Give each new hire a buddy.
Don’t make them feel like strangers. Ask someone, who will be working with the new hire, to show him around and teach him the ropes.

3. Get new hires up to speed fast.
Many encounter delays and frustrations in getting the tools and training they need to be productive. Make sure they have their passwords, telephone numbers, emails, computer, etc. from day one.

4. Let the new hire feel special.
Realize there is no substitute from a welcoming from the very top. If the CEO can’t spend a few minutes in person with new employees, they should at least send a welcome email or voice mail.

5. Create a video about the company.
Tell about the history, the products or services, the customers or clients, and the employees who make it happen. This personalizes the company and helps new hires quickly become part of the team.

6. Go beyond the first day.
Don’t cram the new employee orientation into only a few short hours. It should be spread out over their first 60-90 days. It is important for the new hires to be able to absorb the information and not feel overwhelmed.

Management Success Tip:

New hire orientation does not have to be dull or boring or a waste of time. Put on your thinking cap and come up with creative ways to get your new hires off to a great start and make them feel part of the company and part of the team.

Do you want to develop your Management Smarts?

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Job Satisfaction: Do You Have It?

stressed-businessman-unable-cope-with-too-much-work-assigned-by-colleagues-office

job satisfactionWhat to do when you hate your job?

In an earlier post on job satisfaction – “have you lost that loving feeling” – I presented three reasons to stay and three reasons to leave your present job.

Well here are additional options to consider before making that critical career decision. It is based on the principle that there are only two things you can change: you can change YOU or you can change IT.

Changing YOU refers to changing things that are under your control. Changing IT refers to changing any of the influencing forces or people in your life and work. It is basically everything that isn’t you.

The choice of whether to change IT or YOU is up to you, and it can be difficult to determine what is the best route to take. A lot of times we make the wrong choice and try to change IT when we should be changing something about ourselves, and vice versa.

So, to stop hating and start liking your job, you can:

  1. Alter your attitude toward the company or the circumstances.
    Try to find new and better ways of interacting with coworkers and even your boss. Mentally readjust and try to make peace with the situation. That’s changing YOU!
  2. Change your work environment even in small ways.
    But be mindful of what is allowed and what’s not. I’ve seen cubicles decorated with pictures and drawing; people at their computers working intently with earphones; an inexpensive pool for championship sports events that generated great excitement. That’s changing IT.
  3. Accept what you can’t change, change what you can and know the difference.
    Respect final decisions that cannot be changed and also realize you can impact decisions that are in progress. Then figure out how you or your team can influence the situation. That’s changing YOU and IT.
  4. Do nothing.
    Stoically endure the situation. Whine and complain hoping somehow things will miraculously get better. I’ve never seen this work. I doubt you have either! That’s not changing YOU and not changing IT.

Career Success Tip:

Changing YOU is not necessarily preferable to changing IT – nor is the opposite true. It depends on the situation. However, once you are aware of a specific YOU or specific IT option or both, you will see situations differently and you will have a much more satisfactory experience. You will no longer feel that you are just a cog in the wheel at work. Rather you will believe that you do have some control over your career. What a great feeling that is to have.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

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Direct Mail, Donor Acquisition and Evaluating A Development Officer

board-evaluating-the-performance-of-a-development-officer.

This posting was “provoked” by a question in an email.

In fundraising, as in sales, it’s targeted marketing that is most effective. But you can’t target the folks in your market until they’ve been identified.

Donor acquisition, the most expensive part of the “development/fundraising” process, is a necessary investment. And that’s what it is, an investment.

You spend $1, $2 or $3 to obtain a new donor, a new constituent, not to raise a dollar. To talk about cost-per-dollar-raised for donor acquisition is to not understand the process or its purpose.

Direct mail is, for many NPOs, an essential part of building a substantial base for the donor pyramid. And the factors that have the greatest impact on the results of donor-acquisition mailings are: the list selection process, the roll-out mailings, the testing of copy, etc. — all the tried-and-tested elements of the traditional direct mail program.

And such a program cannot be evaluated in its first six months of operation, its first year, or even two years. Three years, according to some direct mail experts, is likely the minimum period for such an evaluation — the period it takes to begin generating enough repeat contributions from newly acquired donors to have a direct mail program begin to “show a profit” from those donors.

And, if a Board is attempting to evaluate the performance of a new development person and/or the programs s/he has initiated, there needs to be some time, likely a multi-year period, for his/her programs — through the normal process — to begin to mature.

No matter on what level, or to what end we work with nonprofits, it wouldn’t hurt to have a broad-based background in development, before trying to apply to development/fundraising some theory of ranges or medians or marketing statistics.

And, the way of getting a N-P Board to understand the process, and the expected results-over-time, is to have them talk to people who have experience with and understand the process.

Certainly, if the members of a nonprofit Board and their CEO don’t know what to look for when they hire a development person, they sure aren’t going to know how to evaluate that person or his/her programs.

If you’re looking for advice on measuring the effectiveness of development programs, listen to the development professionals — everybody has opinions, but not everybody has the experience and expertise.
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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program?
Contact Hank Lewis. With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, he’ll be pleased to answer your questions.