Mick's Business Column

Archives 2006

Manage for the majority, not the minority••January 8, 2007
It seems that many times leaders spend a great deal of energy and effort on the issues of a vocal and small minority of people while the hard-working majority gets little attention. It is interesting how some will argue strongly that the minority must have a voice and that they are deserving of a great deal of compassion ... and MUST be heard. The real question: Where is the compassion for the majority when so much of a leader's energy is consumed by so few? A quick look at...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Unpopular decisions come with leadership••January 15, 2007
Being a responsible leader sometimes means ticking people off. Effective leaders take responsibility for the welfare of the whole group, which means that people will become angry over the decisions you make or the actions you take. Ticking people off may, in fact, be a sign that you are honorable because trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. Don't avoid tough issues Mediocre managers avoid the tough issues, such as confronting non-performing slackers who...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Leadership today isn't what it used to be••January 22, 2007
Today's leaders seem to be confused as to what real leadership means. Leaders have come under fire during the past two decades for being overly authoritarian and not participative enough. The constant criticism has resulted in a lack of confidence and understanding of what it means to be a real leader. It seems to have taken its toll. Interestingly, 20 years ago, one would hear workers say things like, "My boss doesn't listen to us, he makes all the...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Directive leadership clarifies workplace roles••January 29, 2007
Editor's note — This is the second of a four-column series on leadership. Over the years, directive leadership has taken a bad rap as being out of step with this generation and is considered by some to be a vain and overly authoritarian leadership style. Teamwork has become the buzzword and anything that comes anywhere near to sounding "bossy" is met with criticism and disdain. Overstated? Maybe a little... but not much! Too often the...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Participative leadership style builds maturity••February 5, 2007
In the last column a strong argument was made for using the directive style of leadership to build the competence and skill levels of employees. Clearly the directive style is necessary to train employees, set expectations, coach, counsel, correct errors, and in emergency or time critical situations. The participative style is used to build employees' maturity, assuming they are properly trained and competent in their jobs — in other words, they have something of value...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Hands-off leaders are still accountable••February 12, 2007
The focus of the last two columns has been on how and when to use the directive and participative leadership styles. Each style has its benefits and drawbacks; each has a rightful place in a leader's toolbox, according to the competence of the follower and the situation at hand. The last style of leadership is called "hands-off." And, just like it sounds, a leader mostly stays hands off once followers have proven their competence and maturity in performing...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Hesitant managers lose time, business••February 19, 2007
In the last series of columns, the question of leadership confidence was discussed along with three very effective leadership styles. As mentioned, leaders today, fearful of being criticized, often lack the confidence to deal with even the most basic decisions. Many of us in the ranks, looking for answers, are frustrated that management can't make timely decisions. When making a decision, Former Secretary of State Colin Powell suggests gathering between 40 percent and 70 percent of...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Involve right people in making decisions••February 26, 2007
The last article focused on making a timely decision when you have gathered between 40 and 70 percent of the information necessary to make it. The next step is knowing who to involve in those decisions so that you gather enough good information and yet make a timely decision. Good leaders know instinctively when they have enough information and are confident enough to act on it. The rest need some help and here it is. Asking too many people for input, in the name of consensus-building, is one...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Whom should a leader listen to?••March 5, 2007
Effective leaders need to determine who to listen to when it comes to making decisions, solving problems or seeking input and ideas. A lot of people think that a leader must listen to everyone they lead. Not so! Some followers actually do not deserve to be listened to. Harsh words? You bet! But nonetheless true. Some people do not have the background or the experience to weigh in on a topic. Would a rational person seek brain surgery advice from someone who is not brain surgeon? No! Some...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Push the limits of your job and boss••March 19, 2007
You don't know what you can get away with until you try. These have to be the most powerful words I have ever heard in my professional career, and they have been the basis for most of my success to date. I heard these words from my first boss - his name was Ross. One day very early in my career I went into boss Ross's office wondering what my "level of authority was," given that I was in a staff position and not a line position. I was there to support...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

What-iffers delay the decisions of peers••March 26, 2007
Could it be that what-iffers are the reason so many organizations are unable to make decisions in a timely fashion? It's a fair question given that in some organizations what-iffers are actually given far more respect than they deserve. So what is a what-iffer? A what-iffer is a second guesser that wastes time second guessing everyone's ideas, usually in meetings where they have the most control. They question perfectly good ideas by saying, "What if this or...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Determine if your office know-it-all does, in fact, know it all••April 2, 2007 
Don't you just love a know-it-all? Most everyone has been in a meeting with one and has been intimidated by them. Yep, that's right, the know-it-all; the person who shows off his incredible knowledge about a topic and dominates the meeting. He starts talking and the whole place falls silent because the know-it-all will spend the next 10 minutes talking about a topic. And then everyone feels bad because compared to him they don't know much. The challenge...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Culture beats strategy••April 9, 2007
A great organizational culture beats strategy every time. A lot of time and effort goes into creating an organizational strategy, also known as a business plan, long-term planning, a vision. The challenge is that strategy tends to be something that gets reviewed every so often to make sure the organization is on course. Kind of like checking your GPS on a long hike, it really doesn't inspire you or create productive movement; it simply tells you where you are. Organizational strategy is about...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Build company culture that lasts••April 23, 2007
"I can't afford to spend time building a company culture. I'm too busy doing everything else." Can you afford not to? What is going to sustain your company in the hard times and help it prosper in the good times? Organizations, both large and small, tend to push aside the task of building a sustainable culture because: · There is a perception that there isn't enough time to focus on it. · They...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Determine if your culture is healthy••April 30, 2007
How do you know if your organization's culture is healthy and thriving or just plain rotten? There are several factors you can look at that will help you determine if it is time to give your culture an overhaul. They include: · Does your organization focus on "getting along" or on getting results? Focus on results, not just going along to get along. · Is your organization based upon fear or do people feel secure in themselves...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Embrace conflict at work; use it to grow••May 7, 2007
Culture: Getting along or getting results. Since the early 1990s, there seems to be such an overriding emphasis in organizations in that the most important objective is for everyone to "just get along." It is pervasive in our society that somehow everyone must simply get along and the world will be a better place. Maybe this is true in Mister Rogers' neighborhood, but the last time I checked the free-market system doesn't pay for getting...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Excess of fear shackles workers••May 14, 2007
Healthy organizations make sure that fear is not part of their culture. Every organization has a little fear ... resulting in respect for authority. The problem is when there is so much fear that people aren't able to perform their jobs effectively, which may be happening in your organization. Along with fear comes finger-pointing and blaming. Generally, a fearful and unhealthy culture is overly-focused on blaming. What a horrible waste of productive potential by having people...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Top 10 ways to engage passion of employees••May 21, 2007  
The past several columns have focused on whether or not your workplace culture is healthy. If your culture is unhealthy then all the strategizing in the world is useless — culture beats strategy every time! The focus here is on how to engage the passion of your employees in order to improve their quality of work-life and your organization's culture. Top 10 ways to engage the passion: · 10. Make sure everyone in your organization has the same performance...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Memorial Day a tribute to leadership••May 28, 2007  
Memorial Day is a day to pay tribute to the courageous men and women who have fought for our freedom. Many of us in leadership positions today are children or grandchildren of the "greatest generation." It's time we re-learned what the World War II generation seemed to know instinctively about leadership. What were those leadership characteristics — the same ones needed in organizations today? · Courage in a time of absolute...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Learn to actually empower employees••June 4, 2007
How do you "empower" employees anyway? The term "empowerment" is one of the most overused "fad" words in management today and probably the least understood. What is employee empowerment anyway? And more importantly, how do I empower others? The answer to this one is not easy. What a shame that so many people use the term and probably have no clue what it really means, nor how to actually...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Leadership lessons from dads••June 11, 2007
Dad, you bring a lot of things to the lives of your children and here is a Father's Day tribute to you. You are their first role model of great leadership. You are the one who can give them gifts that will influence them forever and determine whether or not they lead productive, successful lives. Your gifts will influence the type of leader they become whether in the home, at work or in service to others. Wow! What an awesome responsibility. Just what are some of the gifts of...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

The impact of fathers: teaching leadership••June 18, 2007
This is the second of a two-part series on fathers. Fathers have an incredible opportunity to impact the lives of their children and teach them to be future leaders in the home, at work and in service to society. A father's job is to teach critical leadership characteristics such as discipline, character and honor, value, respect and firmness to name just a few. So how can fathers teach these leadership qualities? · Discipline: Fathers can teach kids who...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Making the most of performance reviews••June 25, 2007 
"I dread these reviews." These were the words that hit me the hardest when a reader had shared her frustration with performance reviews. She was asking for help in making performance reviews about "more than coming in expecting a raise." And she indicated a sincere desire to change them. "I need a better way to make (them) productive." How sad that reviews have become so irrelevant that they simply represent "my...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Conduct performance reviews for right reasons•• July 2, 2007 
Performance reviews are great tools to engage, energize and grow employees ... if done right. The problem is too many reviews are done for the wrong reasons. The top 10 things managers get wrong with performance reviews: · Too much focus on past history and not focusing on growing a good employee. Deal with issues when they happen and move on, the past is past. · Judging employees on things they can't control. Many situations that affect an...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Use reviews to engage, grow your employees•• July 9, 2007 
Performance reviews can be a time of energy and positive anticipation or anxiety and distress. It is up to you to decide. Do you want your reviews to engage and grow your employees or be painful and demeaning? If you are ready to engage and grow employees here are the steps: · Share with the employee the constructive purpose of your meeting. Most people get defensive about performance. Get the defensiveness out of the way— right away— by sharing your...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Performance reviews a year-long process••July 16, 2007 
Performance development planning is a year-round process. Too many managers treat performance reviews as a one-time event where they fill out the evaluation the day before the meeting, give it to the employee (hopefully) and then put it away. Worse yet, many employees get little surprises (dings) that should have been discussed when they occurred ... so they could have been fixed. It's no wonder managers and employees hate review time. On the other hand, performance development...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Mistakes to avoid when rating employees••July 23, 2007
The last few articles have focused on turning performance reviews into forward-focused performance development plans. If you still have to give performance reviews in your organization here are some mistakes to avoid: · The halo effect is one of the most common rater errors and results from the reviewer assuming the employee can do no wrong. The employee is given a straight "A" report card, even though he may not excel in all areas. · Opposite...
To obtain the entire article please visit.
Employees should “just say no” to these common words••July 30, 2007
It’s time to revisit some of the basics of providing great service to your customer…no matter what kind of business you’re in!  Here is a short list of some of the words that your customers should never hear from your employees...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Take the time to talk to a customer••August 6, 2007
In the service business, words make all the difference in how you create an experience for your guest. Listed here are a couple of the worst phrases used today. · "There you go!" Never simply hand over a wad of money to your customer. Instead, take the time to accurately count the money out for them. Why? Because money is very personal to most people and it's a sign of real disrespect when you fail to count it back. And...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Satisfy your customers with simple techniques•• August 13, 2007
The focus over the past several columns has been all about doing things to improve your guest's experience with your organization. Here are some more wonderful guest treatment tools. · Greetings: Greet your customer with a warm caring welcome! Practice various ways to say "hello" to your customer by standing in front of a mirror and seeing how you look using various greetings. Use expressions and greetings that give the most energy to your...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Handle customers, situations with care•• August 20, 2007
How you handle various situations in the service business makes all the difference in how well you create a great guest experience; one where your guest comes back again and again. Here are some situations you may want to think about and discuss in your workplace. · "Let me see a manager." When someone asks for the manager, get the manager. Don't argue or make excuses or anything else, simply go find the highest-ranking manager available. The...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Stress the value of phone etiquette••August 27, 2007
Service is all about creating a memorable experience for your customer. How many times have you had a poor customer experience because of the way your phone call was handled (or mishandled)? The phone is one of the most important business tools available today and yet very little consideration seems to be given to its impact on customers. A phone can be a customer-attracting asset or a huge liability! Here are some phone tips for making your customer's experience a positive...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Prepare employees to deal with future challenges••September 3, 2007
Labor Day is a day for all who labor to take a break and rest. “Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Compliments help establish customer relationships••September 10, 2007
"Compliments cost nothing, yet many pay dearly for them." - Thomas Fuller, historian. You can't establish strong, loyal customer relationships if you miss simple details. Here are four wonderfully easy ways to show just how professional you are and how much you care about your customer. Furthermore, your customer will feel great too. Compliment them on their hair, jewelry, brief case or purse - anything that is attached to them...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Serve your customers with your own brand••September 17, 2007
Great customer service is all about personal branding.  It isn’t who you know, it’s who knows you.  Create a personal brand with your customers so that they make it a point to come to you.  You don’t necessarily want them dependent only upon you, but a rising tide does raise all ships.  Others in your organization can learn from your personal branding efforts and everyone benefits...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Dollywood proves size doesn't equal quality••September 24, 2007
During a recent family vacation we had the opportunity to visit Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.; we could not have had a better guest experience at an amusement park. As a huge Disney fan, I would even suggest the experience overall was better than Disney World. Dollywood simply cannot compare to Disney World based upon size, but it can compare based upon creating an incredible guest experience and making it simply a joy to be there...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

First to talk isn't always truthful••October 1, 2007
"Second liar doesn't have a chance?" Does this saying bring back childhood memories? Like the time when something bad happened, say, a window got broken by a renegade baseball, and your sibling went running to your parents and by the time he was done "squealing," you didn't have a chance. Your parents were already angry, and you never had a chance to spin, err, tell your side. The real victim was actually the...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Getting feedback can be scary•• October 8, 2007
Feedback causes anxiety for many of us. First, we may not understand the constructive purpose of it and second, most of us have experienced "constructive criticism" not feedback. Note the two definitions from Dictionary.com and how they just don't belong together. Constructive: 1. Serving to improve or advance; helpful: Criticism: 1. The act of criticizing, especially adversely. 2. A critical comment or judgment. As a result of our...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Don't look for free, easy ride at work, kids••October 15, 2007
Hey all you young people! Listen up! The workplace isn't nearly as tolerant of your behavior as the rest of the world seems to be. You better brace yourself for a heavy dose of reality when you get a job. You won't find "fair" in the dictionary of work. It's about getting the job done and putting forth a real effort. Get "being treated fair" out of your head — the world respects people who...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Don't ignore conflict -- it will only get worse••October 23, 2006
Many managers make two critical mistakes when employees have conflict. · They ignore it until it grows from a molehill into a mountain. · They play "mommy and daddy" with grown-up employees. Both are equally bad. Ignoring conflict in hopes of it going away is like having a major infection and hoping it will get better on its own. It doesn't — it becomes critical and possibly life-threatening. Although ignoring...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Keys to success: Pleasing boss and volunteering••October 29, 2007
Hey, all you young people! Listen up! Here are more tools to help you be successful in life. · Your boss is your boss. In your enthusiasm to get your job done do not ignore, go around or go over your boss. Why? Because your boss is the one person who evaluates you and ultimately affects your career possibilities. Not going through your boss demonstrates disloyalty. · Do exactly as your boss tells you. You need to show your boss that you are trustworthy and reliable.
To obtain the entire article please visit.

What to do about 'Gen Me' workers••November 5, 2007
"Gen Me," encompassing those who were born between 1980 and 2000, has become a challenging generation for managers. "Gen Me" has the mistaken belief, despite their lack of life experience, that they're going to waltz right in and change the face of the workplace. They have been brought up believing they are incredibly special and highly capable...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Job-hopping will hurt your career in the end••November 12, 2007
I know, you're doing it to get ahead or because of a jerk boss. Sorry! You're not getting ahead, and you're jeopardizing your future. First of all, let's define job-hopping: it's staying at a job for less than two years a...  
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Start-up businesses face real challenges••November 19, 2007
The past year has taught Sharon a lot about the difficulties of starting a business. This column focuses on those difficulties; the next two will feature powerful advice, based upon Rudolph's experience, for anyone considering a start-up.
To obtain the entire article please visit.
Mentors key to growth of small businesses ••November 26, 2007
This week will focus on her advice for overcoming those challenges. · Find a good mentor. Rudolph is the perfect example of the "average Jo" who decided to pursue her passion and start a business. She advises that you find a success...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Don't short yourself in planning a business••December 3, 2007 
This is the last article in a series focused on the challenges of starting a business. Sharon Rudolph, owner of Everyday Gourmet, a kitchen specialty store in Howard, offers some more great advice for prospective entrepreneurs. · Pad your business plan. Despite the best planning and forecasting a start-up business brings with it many "surprise" expenses. Put "additional costs" into your plan and be honest about your cash-flow...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Employee engagement is proving beneficial ••December 10, 2007
Is this just another management fad or is there something here of real value to an organization? The answer is yes. It's worth the time and effort to create a fully engaged organization! The results of at least two recent studies are absolute...
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Motivate your work force; but do it right••December 17, 2007
Top level leaders demonstrate a sincere interest in the well-being of employees. Ultimately top management's concern for employees is based upon their actions ... not words! · The work itself is challenging. Employees have the op...   
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Engage employees to increase impact••December 24, 2007
The first driver was related to senior management's concern for employees. When employees were asked if they thought "senior leadership was interested in their well-being" only 42 percent responded favorably and a whopping one-third...   
To obtain the entire article please visit.

Engage workers in decision making••December 31, 2007
More than 60 percent of the respondents in the research indicated they have the appropriate amount of decision-making authority to do their jobs well. What is interesting is that 20 percent flat-out disagreed. Apparently some managers are still...
To obtain the entire article please visit.