Your EQ – your emotional intelligence (your ability to know yourself, manage yourself and get along with others) accounts for 40 – 60% of your career success. Very important.

Today’s workplace is a service-based (relationship) workplace. Since employees are paid to think through their responses to customers, and they control their minds, managers must now engage and inspire employees to activate their performance. Today’s managers must be able to listen, hear, watch and connect – they must be relationship builders, connectors and communicators.

To be a relationship builder requires strong EQ – a clear knowledge of yourself and how to successfully relate to others. This enables a manager to better connect with and understand employees – to know their talents, values and interests to put them in the right jobs, motivate them and activate their performance.

To improve your EQ:
1. Become more aware or your responses, reactions and emotions. Noticing how you react helps you assess its effectiveness and ineffectiveness.
2. Manage your emotions to improve your ability to listen, respond and successfully react with others.
3. Watch the behaviors of others; understand their moods and communication method to improve how you connect with them. Learn to listen so people will talk, and talk so people will listen.

Smarts – defined today – relate more to your ability to know yourself and to connect successfully with others rather than just what you know. Though some people are naturally better at “connection” and EQ, studies support all of us can improve. Improving your EQ has a direct impact on the quality of your work and life relationships, the quality of your work and the quality of your life.

One of my favorite books is Arianne de Bonvoisin’s First 30 Days. In it, she outlines nine principles of handling change and building a more positive perspective. Her first principle is “People who successfully navigate change have positive beliefs.”

Positive beliefs come from you – you may not be able to control the things that happen to you but you can control how you respond to them. You can choose to see “half-full” – upbeat, optimistic and confident – or choose to see “half-empty” – down, pessimistic and unsure.

Consider these ways to build a more positive perspective:
1. Notice when you become negative and immediately focus on something positive. Have others help you see your behavior.
2. Read a power quote or an inspirational passage to start your day on a positive tone.
3. Create an upbeat “break” during the day. Focus on 3 things that have gone well so far.
4. Choose your friends wisely; associate with positive and confident people.

To make the point, here are some great half-empty/half-full perspectives from the website www.businessballs.com.
o The project manager/engineer says the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. 

o The bar fly says is not about whether the glass is half full or half empty, it’s about who is paying for the next round.
o The consultant says let’s examine the question, prepare a strategy for an answer, and all for a daily rate of…
o The worrier frets that the remaining half will evaporate by tomorrow.
o The fanatic thinks the glass is completely full, even though it isn’t. 

o The entrepreneur sees the glass as undervalued by half its potential.
o The computer specialist says that next year the glass capacity will double and will cost half the price.
o The Buddhist says don’t worry, remember the glass is already broken.
o The personal coach knows that the glass goes from full to empty depending on the circumstances, and reminds the drinker that he can always fill the glass when he wishes.
o The grammarian says that while the terms half-full and half-empty are colloquially acceptable the glass can technically be neither since both full and empty are absolute states and therefore are incapable of being halved or modified in any way. 


You control your attitude. Know yourself; choose to be positive and upbeat. It is great for your health and happiness.

So to determine if you are a good fit for the job, hiring managers need a new style of resume – one that gives them these three things:
1. What are you great at (what are your talents and passions because they reflect your greatest performance areas)?
2. How have you used what you are great at (in other jobs so they can see it in action)?
3. What value have you created for other companies (so they can see the value you can bring to their company)?

See a sample of the new Talent-based Resume.

Here is what the captions mean:
#1. What are you great at?
List your talents and the things that make you successful. Are you great at building and sustaining relationships? Are you focused, driven and goal-oriented? Are you great at solving problems and paying attention to details? Are you great at inventing, creating and innovating? Don’t be humble, be bold and confident.

#2. How have you used what you are great at?
Hiring managers want to see you in action. Were you able to diffuse angry customers successfully? Were you able to keep a project on track or under budget? Were you able to work with a variety of personalities, and get the job done well? Hiring managers are not interested in everything you have done; they don’t have time for that. They want to see you use your talents – they want to see that you can do what you say you can do. Provide work experience that supports your talents.

#3. What value have you created for other companies using your talents?
Companies are hiring you because they want you to create value for them. They are investing in you and for this investment they expect a return (the same way you expect a return when you invest your money in a mutual fund or bank). The greater the return, the more valuable you are to a company. Tell them how you saved 5% on overtime costs by rearranging the work schedule. Tell them how you invented a new service that added $30,000 to the bottom line. Show your impact with numbers. Show the specific value you have brought to your other employers.

New workplace – new resume. Use the new talent-based resume because it provides the meaningful information hiring managers want. It helps you stand out and get hired.

Please forward this to your friends who are job searching. Help them get hired in 2010.

I am not talking about overworking employees; if you overwhelm them, they may stay for now but will leave as soon as things get better.

I am talking about having the right people in the right jobs – because when your employees are good at what they do and love doing it, performance soars.

The challenge for many organizations is the wrong people have been in the wrong jobs for a while. Today’s recession has created the need to make important changes throughout the organization to align talent to the right roles to better use the performance power of each employee. Each employee is now more critical; each must contribute his best. This can’t happen if they are in the wrong roles.

To start a meaningful realignment process, ask your employees these questions:
1. What are you great at?
2. What do you love to do?
3. What is your least favorite aspect of your job?
4. What is your favorite aspect of your job?
5. What do you wish you could do more of?

This gives you critical information about employee attributes and interests. Use this information to assess for employee “fit.” Realign as needed. Hire the right people from the outside from today’s extreme choice of unemployed talent if the talent you need does not currently exist. Create your A-Team – this team will need to get more done with less.

In 2004 Dr. Robert Sapolsky published a book titled, Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers. In it, he presents that animals and humans are equipped to handle both calm and danger. The parasympathetic system runs all of the routine internal body systems, day in and day out (periods of calm). The sympathetic system is designed to help us survive in a period of danger, stress or euphoria, and interrupts the parasympathetic system.

I am not a scientist, so here is my simple summary of his findings. When we are calm (we are not affected by the nuisance events), our internal maintenance systems respond – we stay healthy.

But when we get upset (the brain senses danger – big or small), it activates a fight or flight response. The body calls all its resources to be ready for something big, shutting down its focus on the daily support functions. We are now ready for a fight or a flight.

Here is the point. The body is designed to handle a temporary fight or flight response. Animals know this. And according to Sapolsky, when the lion gets his prey, or the zebra gets away, the fight or flight response ends and the body resumes its normal response. But humans are different. When we experience recurring nuisance events, we move our systems into a state of perpetual stress; we constantly signal to our bodies to be ready to fight or hit the road. And when this happens, the regular, healthy and maintenance functions of the body are interrupted. The result – a challenged immune system resulting in ulcers, cancer, diabetes and other illnesses.

How we perceive events activates emotions; emotions activate neurological and biological responses in our body. We must train ourselves to manage our emotional responses to all types of events – to know what is danger and what is only a nuisance- to stay healthy and sane.

So consider this:
1. Is this a nuisance and you should laugh it off? (Laughing is great for our health).
2. Is this truly serious and worth the attention?

Life throws out small tests to get us ready for larger ones. Manage your responses and use fight or flight only when it is needed – the body was designed that way. Learn from the zebras – they don’t get ulcers. They don’t let the little stuff get them down. That way, when they need to run, they are really ready – and they survive. And at every other point, they are loving life.

Here is how it works: identify what you are good at and passionate about doing AND the hot industries or jobs that need your talents and passions. These are the jobs to apply for.

Let’s see an example:
Your talents: You are detailed-oriented, love being in charge and are focused on great results (these are your talents). Your passions include persuading others, organizing, leading things and making a difference.

Hot industries: Healthcare

Job possibilities:
o Medical office manager
o Security in medical facility/hospital
o Facilities employee/facilities manager/Spa management

o Hospital/health facility management

o Medical records management

o Personal trainer

Hot industry: Accounting/Regulation/Finance

Job possibilities:
o Accountant, financial analyst, tax specialist
o Compliance auditor, government auditor
o Researcher for investment company, demographer or trend analyst \
o Forensic accountant
o Actuary

Hot industry: Technology

Job possibilities:
o Geek squad
o PC application specialist

o Artificial intelligence engineer
o CAD technician
o Repair technician
o Network engineer

These are just ideas – see the process in action. Know you. Know your world. Find your fit. Use my list of Hot Jobs to help you consider what roles allow you to play to your strengths.

Go to www.LiveFiredUp.com for more tools – click on the For JobSeeker link.

Here’s what I mean. When we were an industrial (make things) economy, workplaces were very impersonal. Your personality, interests, emotions and attitudes were kept out of the workplace; you had your procedures to do over and over – and that was work.

Today, our workplace is an intellectual and service workplace (much of manufacturing has moved offshore). Business happens in the relationships and connections our employees make with customers; employees are face-to-face and phone-to-phone with customers. Relationships, feelings, emotions and connection matter – in fact, these are today’s profit drivers. The humanity of your employees is what attracts and retains customers.

Consider the following ways to make your workplace more personal:
1. Spend time with each employee to learn his/her talents, values and interests. This will allow you to customize jobs around particular interests and strengths.
2. Ask employees not only what they think, but what they feel about events. Much of business is conducted on feelings; workplaces that encourage employees to be emotionally connected to their work encourage stronger customer relationships.
3. Appreciate each employee’s diversity. Think of your employees as M&M’s – you hire them for their thinking (the filling) but you celebrate and appreciate their diversity and culture (the candy coating). See my article “A Sweet Diversity Lesson.” Openly appreciating and celebrating employees’ diversity personalizes the workplace – they feel included.

Remember, how you treat your employees is how your employees treat your customers. Make it personal with your employees and they will make it personal for your customers.

To catch up and personally connect your employees, see the tools, resources and articles on www.LiveFiredUp.com, click “For Managers.”

What struck me more is the concept of a holi “day.” If these are really important events, why do we limit the celebration to just a day? Shouldn’t they be recurring events or recurring celebrations?

Here’s my thought. Holi “days” aren’t cutting it. The daily celebrations are too infrequent and don’t encourage enough of the right behaviors to last all year. In a world that is increasingly unkind, selfish and confrontational, couldn’t we make an improvement if we were to extend the celebrations? Couldn’t we stay more focused on being kind, considerate, passionate, loving and respectful?

So I decided to create a “never miss an opportunity” list – a list of things I should celebrate or do on a regular basis – not just once. Here’s the start of my list. What would you add?

Never miss an opportunity to…:
o Tell (and show) the people you love how much you love them and what they mean to you.
o Share a story about your life’s success and failures to teach someone else.
o Make someone else feel important, even if you did most of the work.
o Show your patriotism and respect for your country.
o Show your tolerance for someone who does not look like you or believe in what you do.
o Stop and appreciate a flower, a tree, the wind, a star, rock formation or any other part of nature.
o Know yourself, your talents and passions, so you can build a life that makes you happy and helps you feel content.
o Say thank you, hold a door open, let another person or car pass ahead of you, or to be kind to someone you don’t know.
o Give away some of your “extras” to someone who has no “extras.”
o Learn something new to expand what you know and your contribution to the world.
o Make the first call even when it is the other person’s obligation or turn.
o Share a call, thought, card or gift with someone you love or who needs to hear from you – just because.
o Say you are sorry when you hurt someone – even if you didn’t mean to.
o Allow another to have an opinion different than yours, and still respect them.
o Spend more time with your pet.
o Sing, dance, laugh, tell a joke, cry or be more human, even when others you don’t know are watching. Invite them to join it.
o Smile at someone you don’t know.
o Bound out of bed, excited you have another day.

How will you never miss an opportunity to connect the very special people in your world? And what can you bring to the world that will make it better for all of us? Never miss your opportunity to celebrate and to make a difference.

It is not the same world that was in place when many of you got your last jobs. The nature of work changes quickly – some industries die, others grow almost overnight. So what is hot and what is not with jobs. And what hot jobs need your talents and passions.

So here is how to proceed:
1. Connect to information that keeps you current about the hot jobs. Google “hot jobs” and see links. Connect to www.Smartmoney.com, www.monster.com, www.hotjobs.yahoo.com, and www.careerplanner.com.

2. Identify the industries that interest you AND are growing industries (why select a job in a dying industry?).
a. Growing industries:
i. Healthcare (including mental health, wellness and fitness)
ii. Technology (including web, design, engineering, programming)
iii. Accounting/Regulation/Finance
iv. Retail/Customer Service
v. Transportation/Travel
vi. Education/Teaching/Instruction
vii. Entertainment
viii. Law enforcement/Law/Government
ix. Science, Pharmacology, Medical research
x. Trades/Life Services (including construction, plumbing, electrical, landscaping, hair styling, bakers, mechanics, etc).

b. Companies who are hiring:
i. Click here for the link to see Hot Jobs’ top 100 companies who are hiring.

3. What jobs are Hot Hot Hot!
i. Click to my “Hot Job” list by industry.

Staying connected is critical for you to be aware of the opportunities and to know how to start the process of finding the right job for you. Always know what jobs are growing and which are fading. Position yourself in a high growth industry.


Next week – we focus on a finding a job that fits you. These are jobs that match your talents and passions and give you a competitive advantage in the hiring process.

See the great “get hired” tools at www.LiveFiredUp.com – click on “Job Seeker.”
Pass this on to your friends who are job hunting.

Great companies didn’t waste a minute complaining about the recession. They saw things had changed, regrouped and rebuilt a new strategy for a changed world. They said to their employees, “We need more ideas – keep the ideas coming.”

These companies have learned to be optimistic – they see challenge as a good thing – as an opportunity to improve and invent. They are not afraid of change. They know their strengths and play to them. They rely on their employees and customers to feed them meaningful information; they stay connected to their world to know the facts. They use this information to constantly create opportunities to be successful. It is how they run their businesses.

I have been traveling a lot lately working with trade associations and companies to help them relearn how to hunt for opportunities. In good times, you hunt less effectively – you hunt better when you are hungry. Today’s recession is a great time to relearn how to think more cleverly about your business.

So over the next couple of weeks, I’ll share some of my coaching and insights.

I have assembled recommendations in a new on-line download titled The Hunt for Opportunities Success Manual. You can find it in the products section of www.LiveFiredUp.com. Also, I have added the Hunt for Opportunities link to provide information, articles, an idea center and other resources to relearn how to find, create and implement high-value opportunities, regardless of the economy. Great for you and for your employees.

Next Tuesday, I’ll present one of the steps – how to assess your company strategically – so you can play to your strengths. This is the source of some of your greatest opportunities.

Until then, check out the Hunt for Opportunities link and help your employees focus on seeing opportunities to be successful instead of dwelling on the difficulty of a challenging economy. Happy Hunting.

Jill Bolte Taylor, the author of the amazing book My Stroke of Insight; A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey, explains our left brain is our controlling, judgmental and critical brain; our open, accepting and optimistic brain is our right brain. In our performance-focused world, most of us favor our analytical left brain. We listen more to our “critic” that more readily finds fault and complains, than applauds and supports.

She shares that the right brain imposes fewer restrictions, judges less, sees things as they are, appreciates the richness of the moment, is open, creative and sensitive to nonverbal communication. This is the inner peace standard equipment we all receive – but we frequently can’t hear it over the louder, more controlling left brain.

So to manage the left brain judgmental rhetoric, she puts her “critic” on a time schedule. She allows it to whine rampantly for 30 minutes – then it is over. She even gives it a daily time slot. That is the only time any whining is allowed. And if the time slot is missed for some reason, she does not allow the whine time until the next scheduled session – the next day. What a great idea.

Each of us has things we need to complain about; it is part of our process to successfully deal with things. The problem develops when we allow too much our self- and social-talk to be negative and unhealthy – when our left brain critic takes over.

Focus on directing your self-talk into more a more supportive, caring and optimistic (right brain) dialog. Treat yourself lovingly and with kindness. Watch the caustic left brain “critic” that can sometimes keep us in line, but mostly sees us as underachieving and underperforming.

Learn from Dr. Bolte Taylor and build some whine time into your day. Impose a time limit – and when it’s over, it’s over – until tomorrow. Start with 30 minutes if you have a very loud critic. Set the timer. Soon, you will see you only need just a moment or two to vent, realign and move on. Silence your critic (left brain). Activate your admirer and dreamer (right brain). The conversation is so much better.

Most people continue to apply for the wrong jobs because they don’t know what they are good at. And today, to have the best performance, you must work in job that needs what you are great at and are passionate about. Without these, you don’t feel capable, competent or excited in your work – and it shows.

So here is how to proceed:
1. Write down what you think you are naturally good at – your talents – this will be things like connecting with others, focusing on details, committed to big performance, great at listening and relating to others, creating order out of chaos…etc. Don’t be humble. List everything you are good at; things that come naturally to you. This is difficult for many people so try these other two options:

2. Next, write down what you are passionate about. What do you love to do – what gets you out of bed in the morning and what you could do all day? It may be teaching, helping others, running a business, writing, painting, cooking, selling…whatever you love to do. List as many as come to mind. You will find that you generally do not need help with this – each of us is far more aware of our passions than our talents.

Now: look for the intersection of your two lists – what are you good at AND passionate about doing. This is the starting point for finding a job that fits you. This is key to finding a job AND loving your job.

You may be great at connecting with people and passionate about sharing stories. A job in sales, customer service or retail in any industry may be a good fit. You may be great at focusing on details and precision and are passionate making a difference. You may find that careers in the medical field, IT, law or similar fields will play to your talents and passions.

Know yourself – because your next step is to learn what the hot jobs are – so you can determine which jobs are a good fit for you and which needs what you are great at. This will give you a competitive advantage in getting hired.

Click here for the full “Get Hired” Plan. See all the “Get Hired” resources at www.LiveFIredUp.com, click on “Job Seeker.”

Consider this: Not everybody is great at everything. No kidding, right? But this is important because it explains how to help you identify what your employees’ hooks or “performance activators” are.

The brief explanation, also supported by the new book Drive by Daniel Pink, is our hooks are based on what makes us feel capable and competent in what we do, and like doing it; we must be good at what we do and passionate about doing it. When this happens, we perform. When this does not happen, we are just not that interested in our work.

Picture this: a salesman in an accountant’s role. Death wish. There isn’t any hook – the role does not play to what a salesmen is fundamentally good at and passionate about doing – that is connecting with others, winning others over and making the sale. Okay, reverse the roles – an accountant now in a salesman’s role. Again, no hook – the sales role does not play to the accountant’s love of details, focus on control, order and analysis (more about details than people).

No competence, comfort or passion and performance suffers. When you are good at what you do and love doing it you perform better.

To find your employees’ hooks:
1. Identify what the employee is consistently good at (talents).
2. Identify what the employee’s passions and interests are.

Start a regular conversation with your employees to get to know them. When you know their talents, values and interests you will find their hooks. Then you can realign them to roles that activate their best performance. Your people are your profits.

For more information click on “For Managers” on www.LifeFiredUp.com.

The amazing thing is that we are so quick to customize our food, but so reluctant to customize our lives.

Each of us is born with a unique set of neural pathways (brain responses) that create our natural abilities and our passions. Some are artistic and social. Others are empirical, detail-focused and analytical. Some can sing and others can solve puzzles. But most let others direct them to what they should do for work and how they should live their lives.

Your happiest moments happen when you use what you are good at and passionate about. The more of these moments you create, the better your work and life become – you feel more capable, competent and more fired up. And only you have the key to determine the “true you.”

So commit a little time each day to write your “owner’s manual”:
1. List what you are good at; what are your talents and strengths?
2. List what you are passionate about; what do you love to do?

Once known, how will you customize your work and life around your talents, strengths and passions? If you could have life “your way,” what would you choose?

For more information including my Talent and Thinking Style Assessment and my “For Life” section, see www.LiveFiredUp.com.

See the great get hired tools at www.LiveFiredUp.com - click on Job Seeker.

Here is summary of our weekly plan to get hired in 2010:

1. Keep your energy level up; work on your attitude – this week.
2. Be self-aware to identify your talents, strengths and passions.
3. Know your world – what fields are hiring, what are the hot jobs and the growing industries.
4. Match your talents to jobs that need what you do – think “fit.”
5. Create a talent-based resume.
6. Use your social networks to get noticed.
7. Review my 10 rules for a powerful interview.
8. How to review a job offer.

New year, new approach…let’s refocus on getting hired.

You have just been confronted with an opportunity. Most organizations will complain and lament the loss, feeling betrayed. Some actually usher the employee out on the spot. But great organizations applaud the employee for his good fortune and use the event to develop ways to be better – they hunt for opportunities.

So back to our situation: here is one potential action to take and the opportunities that could result. The point is to develop a positive outlook and a commitment to finding opportunities for success in each event – whether the event initially appears to be favorable or unfavorable.

Action:
o Review the organization for a suitable replacement, focusing on fit and value creation.
Expanded value opportunities:
o Have remaining employees suggest ways to handle departing employee’s work without replacing the employee.
o Use the occasion to develop a talent and skill summary for each role, to improve the ability to hire the right employee based on performance and fit.
o Have remaining employees review their networks to identify viable candidates who exhibit the required talents and skills.
o Use the occasion to develop a hiring section of the company website, and give current employees the requirement to make it effective.
o Reassess all employees to determine best fit. Use the employee’s departure as a time to realign employees to better roles.

A departure of a good employee creates many opportunities. So do many of the things that happen in your business day. Get good at looking for ways to add greater value – at becoming opportunity hunters. To learn see my Hunt for Opportunities link; it includes articles, the new Hunt for Opportunities Success Manual, the opportunity card and idea center. Today, you need every employee to constantly hunt for, find and implement opportunities.

For many people, when things get tough, they shut down. They run out of gas, feel stuck and sit waiting for rescue.

As today’s quote so clearly says, you can’t side idle – you must get up, take ownership and get on with things. You are responsible for your rescue.

But here is what you need to know: You are infinitely more capable than you first believe. You have significant talents and strengths; you have wisdom and power – you need to access it.

Ariane de Bonvoisin explains in her book First 30 Days that when you encounter an obstacle, you are forced to stop – and now think. An obstacle is nothing more than an opportunity to look into yourself with new clarity to see your greater capabilities. Obstacles – tough times – actually can show us how much more capable we are.

So how do you keep driving when you feel like you are out of gas?

1. Find some quiet time and listen inward – get introduced (or re-introduced) to the more significant you.

5. Choose to act by creating a plan – start small; but start.

No one said life would be easy – but it is always good. Obstacles force us to better know ourselves and to see what we are really made of. So when you feel like you are out of gas, build a plan to get yourself back on the road of life. It is both an adventure and a great ride.

See the life power tools on www.LifeFiredUp.com and be sure to click on the Hunt for Opportunities.

First – some statistics: national unemployment rate – 10%; higher and many places. There are over 7 million unemployed (and job seeking). There are 6 people applying for every available job.

I didn’t present this to get you down; I presented it so you know reality. That means your job-hunting approach has to be more focused and more specific.

Here’s some good news: great companies are always hiring. Great companies are always building their best teams. So your 2010 approach must focus on identifying jobs in which you are competitive – jobs in which you will stand out. This gets the attention of good companies who want the best. Besides, those are the companies you want to work for.

Here is my weekly plan to help you get hired in 2010:

Week 1: Keep your energy level up; work on your attitude.
Week 2: Be self-aware to identify your talents, strengths and passions.
Week 3: Know your world – what fields are hiring, what are the hot jobs and the growing industries.
Week 4: Match your talents to jobs that need what you do – think “fit.”
Week 5: Create a talent-based resume to get noticed the right way.
Week 6: Use your social networks for greater coverage.
Week 7: Learn my 10 rules for a powerful interview.
Week 8: How to review a job offer.

Each Wednesday, I’ll focus on the next step of our approach. I’ll introduce practical, meaningful and specific information to help you build your plan. I’ll have career counselors join in the discussion.

Time to pull out the stops. New year, new approach…let’s refocus on getting hired. See the Job Seeker section of www.LiveFiredUp.com for more tips, ideas, tools and information.

And if you have a job and know of those who are still looking, please pass this on. Today, everyone needs a little extra help.

That works fine if everyday actually followed a predicable and recurring plan. But our world is constantly changing; employees need to be actively thinking and watching to determine how to respond to their worlds. One-size-fits-all standard responses don’t work with customers. Customization is the way to build value. This requires employees to pack their brains when they pack their lunches – to think through each situation to provide the best and most appropriate response – every time.

Most managers don’t ask their employees what they think. There are two problems here:
1. You pay for your employees to think their way through their days – to find the best ways to provide value and grow the business. You don’t pay them just to do a job.
2. You miss employees’ suggestions, ideas and solutions; you need the diversity of their perspectives to offer more things for the business to consider.

So how do you get employees to think on the job? Start by asking them great questions every day. Here are my two favorite question formats:

1. What if….
2. What are two ways to …

Here is an example of each:
• What if we allow employees to work more flexible hours, what would that do to performance?
• What are two ways to improve our marketing to our customers?

Ask your employees what they think. Hold them accountable for bringing in two ideas each week to improve service, grow the business or improve performance. Get them in the habit of packing their brains as part of getting ready for work.

For more great information to Fire Up! your employees to exceptional performance see the “For Managers” section of www.LiveFiredUp.com. Be sure to sign up for my weekly manager newsletter.

Some people go through their life rigid and inflexible – like metal. They have the same form, the same shape, the same thinking regardless of the world changing around them. They refuse to understand, be resilient or flexible. They are black or white. They are metal.

Others realize that flexibility is the key to a powerful and wonderful life. In our quickly changing world, happy and content people are resilient and flexible – like plastic. They bend, accommodate and welcome change. They realize change brings a greater view of the world and helps us realize a successful and peaceful world is built on the respect for differences.

Many times there is wisdom in age – sometimes we just have to be on the planet long enough to learn some of life’s greatest lessons. The greatest may be that none of us is as smart as all of us. We need the input and wisdom of others to figure things out. We need varied perspectives and must remain flexible and open to hear important information. Flexibility. It does a body good. It does a mind good. It does a heart good.

Take Action. How can you be more open, resilient and content with a changing world? How can you be more plastic and less metal? How can this help you work strong and live stronger?

For more information click on “For Individuals” on www.LiveFiredUp.com.

NY Times columnist and author Tom Friedman calls them the “untouchables” – those employees who add so much value to a company that they are untouchable when it comes to layoffs. Is this you?

To be noticed, appreciated and retained, employees must take full personal responsibility for creating significant, unique and results-oriented value for the organization.

To improve your impact and to add value to the workplace, develop each of these four areas:

1. Know your organization. Be familiar with your organization’s purpose, mission and value statements. This shows your effort to understand the business and to use this information to regularly make decisions that positively affect the organization’s performance.
2. Know your strengths. Each of us is good at some things and not at others. To stand out in the workplace, you must be able to know what you are intrinsically good at – what your talents and strengths are – and then work in roles that allow you to fully develop and exploit these talents. Play to your strengths.
3. Take initiative. Step up and take responsibility to help solve the organization’s problems and maximize its opportunities. Be visible; be vocal.
4. Focus on the bottom line. Know the impact of your ideas and propose things that make a difference. Track your contributions. Think numbers; think metrics and financial performance.

We are in a new period of employee accountability; you own your ability to get noticed in the workplace. Stand out in the workplace; play to your strengths, find the opportunities and drive the bottom line. This is how to become “untouchable.”

For more information click on “For Employees/Job Seekers” and the “Hunt for Opportunities” on www.LiveFiredUp.com. See my Power Performance blog on www.Bizmore.com for more practical performance information.

Organizations that actively use their networks of employees, vendors and customers to constantly gather and assess information, are better informed, more nimble and more responsive. Organizations that share meaningful information about objectives, initiatives, problems, challenges and opportunities more actively engage employees to participate in a recurring value discussion.

To eliminate your “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach:
1. Regularly involve employees in discussions about the organization, its challenges, opportunities, strategy and vision.
2. Create an intranet or electronic location in which you post critical performance information so all employees are informed with accurate information.
3. Stay close to your customers and closer to your employees; regularly survey each about what they see, hear, think and imagine. Use this information to be better informed in the management of the organization.

Organizations with open and clear communications process information more easily and effectively. Create your “ask and tell” policy to benefit from today’s connections, networks and varied perspectives. Employees and customers have information – you need it.

For more information, help and tools to activate the performance power of your people, click on the “For Managers” and/or the “Hunt for Opportunities” sections on www.LiveFiredUp.com.See my Power Performance blog on www.Bizmore.com for more practical performance information.

See Zac’s extraordinary story, his personal commitment and his keen self-awareness on his website . His work is amazing but what is more amazing is his awareness of purpose – he feels compelled to do what he does – at age 12.

There is a compelling purpose in all of us; all of us have greatness – some may focus on service, others may invent, others may add art, and others manage fairly. Our uniqueness allows us to find the exact thing that pulls us out of bed in the morning, gets us fired up, and helps us to add value to a world that needs exactly what we do.

To do this, we have to learn to listen to ourselves – to discover what moves us, activates our passions, interests and greatest energy. As some say, “we are given two ears and only one mouth to learn to listen twice as much as we speak.” What that really means is one ear listens out (to the world) – one ear listens in (inside ourselves). Both are always gathering information – so we can ultimately match ourselves to the world. We find our purpose – we find what we are compelled to do.

When you take time to listen to the true you, what do you hear? What are you compelled to do? See Zac’s inspiring story and write yours.

But most of us don’t play to our unique talents, passions and strengths. Instead we work hard to look and act like others; we blend.

Be aware in an economy where companies need more done with less, managers are not looking for employees who blend – who do average; they want employees who stand out. Stand out employees find ways to create great value for their company by using what they are great at. Stand out employees actively participate – they get noticed for their effort, energy and performance.

To develop your “Stand Out,” try this exercise:

1. List the things you are great at. Don’t be humble; be honest. What are your talents and strengths – these are your greatest ways to stand out.
2. Next, list what you are passionate about. What gets you excited, fired up and engaged? Passion gives you the courage and energy to stand out.
3. Now, look at your company. What can you do that plays to what you are good at, passionate about, and adds value to your company? Share these ideas with your managers.

As author Tom Peters says, “you can’t shrink your way to greatness.” If you blend today, you lose – you are the first one downsized or laid off. So learning how to stand out may be the best way to keep a job.

How will you “stand out” at work and what can it do for your career?

At the core of the “Starbucks experience” is a good cup of coffee. To make it great, you can add an extra shot, a sweetener, milk, cream, soy, caramel, chocolate, spice, whipped cream or a host of other things. Good coffee is still at the core – the other things move the experience to great by customizing and personalizing. We want things our way; we want things that match our tastes and preferences.

Now to the workplace. At the core is a good employee well suited to his or her job. But to help move the good employee to a great employee, you must customize and personalize the job.

Here’s why. What activates our best (good to great) performance is the emotional connection we have to what we do; when our passions are activated, we perform better (see research presented in Human Sigma by Dr. John Fleming). And each of us have a unique combination of things that fire us up – that activate our passions.

Great management in today’s intellectual workplace must first hire the core (great) employee (the great cup of coffee). Then, to make the experience exceptional (because this activates performance), the manager must know the employee well enough to know how to customize and personalize the job around the employee’s talents, values, interests and passions. This is what inspires the best performance.

Some examples:
o A salesman who loves to teach could create new product education for employees and customers.
o A customer service employee who is great at connecting to others may be interested in creating employee spirit events for the company.
o A company employee may be very socially aware and want to engage the team or department in Habitat for Humanity, work in a soup kitchen or in an animal shelter.

Start with good employees and move them to great by customizing and personalizing their jobs. Activate their passion for performance.

I met many remarkable women at this conference but one in particular, Barbara Miller, has an amazing message you need to hear. Barbara says it best so here is her explanation:
“There is nothing I love more than my family; they are at the center of who I am and everything I do. The last couple of years have been a journey, melding my passion for my children and our life with my design work. This exploration led to the formulation of YES! Spaces – a design philosophy that helps families create homes that honor every family members’ interests and integrate them into still beautiful and comfortable rooms. Each child and every family is unique – they are a gift and deserve to be given a voice and a place in their own home.”

Okay, wow. Read the last line of her quote again.

Here’s the point. Not only does Barbara know herself well enough to play to her talents, passions and strengths, but she has so clearly shared an important message for us all. We all should have a voice and a place – not only in our house but in our world. We all get to be here – to be ourselves – to live our lives – to have a place – and to be heard. Again, wow.

So, what is your true voice (what are you great at)? What is your place (what are your passions and ways to make a difference)? What greatness do you have that the world needs? And what tolerance, patience and acceptance do have of others – who, like you, deserve a voice and a place?

Make 2010 your year of making a difference – for yourself and for others.

(Barbara always has great things to say so sign up for her blog, “Designing My Life.” And Yes! Spaces will be a book due out in October 2010.)

Remember – great companies are always hiring. They want A-level employees and will use the surplus of unemployed talent in the workplace to build their power teams. That means you should you always be marketing yourself to the great companies.

For those who are job hunting, consider the following tactics to improve your odds of getting hired in 2010:
1. Be clear about what you are great at – this refers more to your talents than just your skills and experience. If you don’t know, complete a talent assessment to determine your greatest performance areas.
2. Know what jobs use and need what you are great at.
3. Do your research and locate companies who are hiring jobs that need ywhat you are good at.
4. Determine the best way to communicate with these companies.
5. Create a talent-based resume. This provides the hiring manager the three critical pieces of information he/she needs to assess your fit: what you are great at, how you have used what you are great at, and what value you have created for other organizations.
6. Place your search criteria and key attributes (talents, value) into your social networks. Let the world know what you are great at and what the perfect job for you would be.
7. Stay up beat, confident and optimistic.

Job hunting doesn’t need to be as frustrating as it has been. The key is to know what you are great at and what jobs need what you are great at. Exceptional companies are always searching for candidates who will be a high-value fit.

For more information and a step-by-step process, see Stand Out and Get Hired.

So who is on your team, and what do performance do you require?

Today’s workplace success is based on upbeat, engaged and fired up employees, constantly thinking and hunting for opportunities to help their company perform. Your people are your profits – and what kind of people you have determines you level of profits.

So in today’s workplace, you will find:

The “yes-butters” – these are the employees who constantly focus on what won’t work, what won’t happen or what won’t improve. They always have an excuse. It is always someone else’s fault. They focus on the negative. Why are these on your team?

The “not-knowers” – these are the employees who have no ideas. These employees are here physically, mostly just taking up space. Thinking and personal investment in their work is non-existent. Why are these on your team?

The “why-notters” – these are the employees who question; they are optimistic, open and resilient. They focus on “can do,” “how about” and “let’s try.” Why don’t you have more of these on your team?

What do you do to inspire a team of “why-notters”? How do you help your employees be optimistic? For help, click on our Hunt for Opportunities and the ways to help employees learn to be upbeat and looking for opportunities in any economy.

You need to create a list, but wait – you aren’t ready yet.

Most of us look back as a new year arrives, noticing all the things that didn’t go so well. And true, 2009 had plenty of those. But before you start on your bodacious plan for 2010, you need to get your mind in the right place.

First list what went right in 2009? List all the great things that happened. Consider everything. My list went on for nearly two pages when I focused on the good things. (Know that you have to fight with the Debbie Downer voices in your head that will want to dwell on the misses instead of the hits). Get that list on paper. Stop. Celebrate. Get excited because you’ll need that energy to get to your next list.

Next list the bodacious things you want to happen in 2010. What would make 2010 extraordinary? At this point, you are only brainstorming so put down all the things you want to have happen. If you do not record them, you will not focus on them.

Now list the three or four things on your list above that you commit to making happen. Big, bold, bodacious.

Life is not a dress rehearsal. Get out there and create what you want in 2010. Make 2010 the year you work strong and live stronger.

Live Fired Up is your site for great information. How you live and work not only impacts your success, but your health. Much has been written about how working in jobs that you hate or are not good at are stressful environments. The same goes with living lives that are complicated and unhappy. Both create stress, that over time, inactivates your immune system (see work by Dr. Robert Sapolksy and Dr. Esther Sternberg). You can get sick from life and work.

So this year – get smart. Read the articles and blogs on this site. Sign up for the manager, employee/job seeker, and life e-newsletters. Click on our idea centers. Check back regularly because we constantly update the site with meaningful information.

Make 2010 your year to get and stay smart. Work strong and live stronger – that is your key to health, happiness and success.

May your memories be exceptional and may your plates always include your favorite foods. Seasons Eatings.

The Twelve Days of Christmas Food (sing along – you know how it goes).

On the first day of Christmas, my Italian Nonna made for me,
A fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the second day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the third day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the fourth day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Four artichokes, three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the fifth day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Five pots of sauce (ok gravy)…four artichokes, three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the sixth day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Six bowls of pasta, five pots of sauce (okay gravy) …four artichokes, three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the seventh day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Seven Christmas fishes, six bowls of pasta, five pots of sauce (okay gravy)…four artichokes, three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the eighth day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Eight ricotta pies, seven Christmas fishes, six bowls of pasta, five pots of sauce (okay gravy)… four artichokes, three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the ninth day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Nine baked ziti, eight ricotta pies, seven Christmas fishes, six bowls of pasta, five pots of sauce (okay gravy)… four artichokes, three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the tenth day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Ten cream cannoli, nine baked ziti, eight ricotta pies, seven Christmas fishes, six bowls of pasta, five pots of sauce (okay gravy)… four artichokes, three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the eleventh day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Eleven veal cutlets, ten cream cannoli, nine baked ziti, eight ricotta pies, seven Christmas fishes, six bowls of pasta, five pots of sauce (okay gravy)… four artichokes, three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

On the twelfth day of Christmas my Italian Nonna made for me,
Twelve pans of lasagne, eleven veal cutlets, ten cream cannoli, nine baked ziti, eight ricotta pies, seven Christmas fishes, six bowls of pasta, five pots of sauce (okay gravy)… four artichokes, three spicy pizzas, two breadsticks and a fruitcake (I will have to give away).

Happy Holidays!

New books are bought with a commitment to spend one hour a day reading and learning. Most of the books move from the night table, to the desk, to the back of the closet – unread.

All the junk food in the house is culled together on the kitchen counter, then thrown into the trash with a commitment to never allow it back in the house. A week later, the fresh fruit is gone and the cookies are back.

Most of us feel pressure to make big changes at the beginning of the year – to end bad habits, live better, be a better partner, spouse or parent, read more, make a difference, etc. The resolution process is noble but the changes we look for are too significant all at once. And most people wait to January 1 to start. Why wait?

This year, throw resolutions out the window. Instead, create a weekly “little bit better” plan. Each week, identify one thing you could make a little bit better. Small improvements are more doable than large ones. So, if health is a focus, eliminate dessert from dinner or the after dinner snack. When you have mastered this, commit to eating 5 pieces of fruit a week. When you do this, add something else.

Small steps. Small successes. Gradual changes in behavior. Easier to do. More successful in the long-term. Big changes are daunting. All of us can do a “little bit better.”

So, think about something that you need to work on to be better. Then do just a bit. Celebrate when you achieve it, then add a bit more. Soon, you’ll look at your progress and realize you can handle anything.

May you have a new year that is always a “little bit better.”

I was struck by this as I read Paul Krugman’s December 14, 2009’s Op-Ed in the NY Times, Disaster and Denial. Though his comments are about the reluctance of legislators to rein in Wall Street excesses (even after the mess we have all been in) the real issue is ownership. At what point do you own the solutions and become accountable for solving, improving, inventing or making a difference?

That brings me to employee behavior. Great employees, the ones who survive layoffs and the ones who get hired quickly, are those who take full responsibility for their actions. They feel personally responsible to make a difference in everything they do.

Employees who act and think like owners:
• Find ways to constantly improve service levels.
• Find efficiencies in daily processes and ways to manage spending.
• Invent ways to add greater value each day.
• Find ways to do what they do best in areas that drive company success.
• Share information, ideas and suggestions about what they see and hear.
• Support others, whether it is part of their job or not.
• Are always thinking, inventing and finding ways to be personally and professionally better.

Take Action: What can you do today to be more accountable and responsible for making a difference? It is your choice to be accountable or to wait for someone else to step up. Be sure to ask your kids the same question when you get home tonight.

Today’s managers need information to help them engage and inspire employee performance, but the survey process used by many companies rarely generates meaningful information. Don’t do without this critical information – instead change how you gather it from your employees. You need to know what they know.

In today’s intellectual world, it is important for managers to create a strong working and personal relationship (contact) with each employee. This personal connection allows them to solicit information, share feedback, and help in development; this personal connection is key to inventing a new “share information” process. Try this new approach to gather the information you need to help your employees perform at their best:

Weekly, ask all employees one question – a question that will give you feedback about their attitude, the workplace, their engagement level, their skill level, your effectiveness as a manager, etc.

Then consider the following ways to ask the question:
• E-mail it to the team.
• Post it prior to a staff meeting and ask for responses at the meeting.
• Ask it personally to each employee during the week.
• Post it on the company or department intranet – and ask for responses by a particular date.

Take Action: Each week, ask a new, meaningful question; ask it in a different way. This helps you connect in a more meaningful and personal way with your employees and gather critical information to help them maximize their performance.

When I say “Mall” does your blood pressure rise? Do you break out in a sweat? Do you wince and start to twitch? Yeah, me too.

With the great festivities comes the need for greater patience. More lines, more hustle, more bustle in life and in work.

Workplaces may need to allow employees some extra time to get the errands done. Life may need some extra patience to wait in lines, deal with bare shelves, handle family emotions and all the challenges that come with a holiday season.

So, breathe. Let the little voice in your head remind you to be patient. Be the kind one to hold a door or help someone to their car – instead of knock them over in a rush to get in or out of the mall.

“Mall” – I said it again. I feel my head start to twitch and my pulse is racing. I need to think happier thoughts. Think snow, lights, Bing Crosby, egg nog and stocking on the fireplace…ah, I feel better now.

I often think as I get into the car, “I hope I don’t get a flat because my day is planned so tightly that I wouldn’t have time to get it fixed.” Now that is a problem.

For many, we are in a perpetual feeling of rushing through life – as if every event were just something we had to check off our “life to-do list.” We didn’t remember it; we didn’t love it. But we checked it off and got it done. What a crazy way to go through life.

With the holidays around the corner, consider the following to slow things down, be more present and get more out of the time you have:
1. Commit to doing a family activity (dinner and a show, short trip, etc.) instead of spending time rushing through malls buying gifts. Memories are better than gifts that end up in landfills.
2. As a family, select one or two events to attend this holiday season (office party, friends and neighbors) and go have an amazing time.
3. Scale back on the food at dinner – we all need to eat a little less and we’ll have more time to spend with the people we care about – or (my favorite) get the family in the kitchen to help. It is a great way to start a new tradition.

Commit to ending the rush to get through life. Stop and sit a spell. Notice things around you. Talk to people. Get reconnected.

Life is not a race or an event to check off on your to-do list. Life is to be lived and you can’t do that running at breakneck speed.

Great companies are progressive, smart and really understand their environments. They care about employees to help each make an impact, feel confident and see a career path. They know their people are their profits, and as such, their employees influence customer loyalty and drive organizational success.

Great companies:
• Hire the best people for the job and hire for talent.
• Hold employees accountable for results and performance.
• Reward and recognize employees who do great things.
• Openly share information and communicate performance expectations.
• Provide recurring feedback, education and regular development to help all employees constantly improve.
• Are ethical, responsible and environmentally aware.

You may have a job today. But based on a recent study and word on the street, I know many employees are upset with their current employers and intend to leave when the economy improves. So whether you are looking for work now, or have it in the back of your head that you may be looking soon, you must be able to assess which companies are great companies to work for – and which you should avoid.

You have a choice – they have a choice. If a career change is in your plans, choose your employer wisely. Find the employer of choice – they will be the ones who will allow your greatest impact in the workplace.

Customers may in fact rule the roost – the more loyal they are, the more successful our business becomes. But what it takes to activate customer loyalty has changed; customer loyalty is significantly influenced by the quality of the relationship between employees and customers. Employees who are unhappy, unqualified or disengaged about their work are not winning customers.

So to create a customer-focused workplace, you must first create an employee-focused workplace. You need the right employees – great at what they do, excited about doing it and exceptional in connecting with customers – in order to create a service response capable of inspiring customer loyalty.

How you treat your employees determines how your employees treat your customers. Invest in your people and they invest in your customers.

Take Action: How employee-focused is your workplace? See the free Chapter 1 download of my book, Fire Up Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition to be introduced to the 10 components of an employee-focused workplace. How well do you do? How loyal are your employees and your customers?

For great strategies and marketing plans to be implemented, all organizations need employees who are fully engaged and committed to the company. Organizations must earn the support of their employees by sharing information, soliciting ideas and empowering employees. Support is based on inclusion.

Do your employees support you? Do they know the objectives, goals and strategies of the organization? Do they have a voice and role in achieving company success? Do they feel that their perspectives matter?

Try to do this without the full support of your people and you will fail. Share information. Ask. Listen. Explain. Assign. Hold Accountable. And be humble enough to ask for their support.

We choose our attitude, how we approach our days and what difference we make. We have repeatedly heard that attitude inspires our success or leads to our downfall. Are you truly happy, or are you constantly miserable? As poet Maya Angelo says, “You can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled Christmas tree lights.” What kind of person are you – a shiner or a whiner?

The world is not perfect – it will never be and it isn’t designed to be. But in the course of our challenging days we are gifted with extraordinary things – if we choose to see them. Each day we choose the particular glasses through which we see our world. We can see gloom and limits, or opportunities and possibilities. We influence the outcome and success of our days by our choice to whine or shine. Our choice. Our lens.

I have a friend who revels in having the world see how difficult his world is. He is always more tired, more strapped for money, more upset, more unappreciated…the list doesn’t end. I think his perspective is “if you are not visibly suffering, how will others know you are a martyr?” Why be a martyr? Time for some whine…

I also have a friend who is dealing with a long-term debilitating illness. This person is upbeat, happy and fully present in his world. Every day he is content, optimistic and adding value. What a shine…

It is our choice to how to approach our days and how to be affected by the events in our day. Attitude is everything.

Take Action: Commit to wearing new “glasses” – to see the positive instead of the negative. Start your “shine” list – a list of the reasons to be upbeat, appreciative and grateful. But if you choose to rise and whine, I’m not going to invite you to my party, even if I am serving cheese. (whine and cheese…get it?)

Managers don’t want you to blindly follow yesterday’s rules; they want you to be fully involved in each day, asking great questions and thinking about how to help the organization succeed.

When you ask wise questions, you focus on adding value, improving the work process, connecting better with customers and finding ways to share what you know. Wise questions show that when you packed your lunch, you packed your brain and you are thinking your way through your day – watching the details and paying attention.

What gets you noticed in the workplace is your understanding of your work and your focus on always adding value. Asking about the company, the customers, the products and every other aspect of the business gives you the information you need to work efficiently, wisely and profitably.

Consider asking these powerful fact-finding questions:
1. What is the greatest problem our customers complain about?
2. What is going on in the economy that directly threatens our business?
3. What is the greatest challenge the company (management) is facing this week (month, quarter)?
4. Which product (service) generates the greatest return for our company?
5. What is the most important thing every employee should know?

Use the information to develop the best and highest value responses.

Stay connected to your workplace by asking wise questions. Use the answers to think about how to make a difference. This is another way to stand out in the workplace.

This is due partly to a carryover from the industrial age. Working on machines, employees were not always excited and passionate about what they did. Management included watching for slackers. Then, the language used to correct the behavior focused on the negative. That approach is now ineffective and negatively impacts employee performance and loyalty.

Today, employees must feel supported and connected in the workplace. And for the holdouts who think this is coddling employees, review the studies that support the direct correlation between (bottom line) results and employee engagement (contentment and happiness in the workplace). Part of this happiness comes from your communication with employees.

Here are some of the recurring negative statements used. Consider rephrasing them to make the negative positive.

Negative: You never have any ideas to make things better.
Positive: I need you to come up with two ways to improve _____________.

Negative: You are so disorganized.
Positive: Organizing your workstation will help you find things more quickly.

Negative: You can never seem to get to work on time.
Positive: Being on time each morning is important to me and to customers.

Negative or positive. Disengaged or engaged. Productive or unproductive. How you start the conversation determines how employees end it. Be positive. It drives engagement, loyalty and results.

Here’s some proof. Work done by the Gallup Organization and presented in the book Human Sigma by Dr. John Flemming and Jim Asplund, share that dissatisfied and satisfied customers buy nearly the same amount (goods or services). A loyal customer, however, buys significantly greater amounts. Studies indicate the primary difference between loyal and satisfied customers is an “emotional connection” (identified in the book as “sometimes irrational”) between the customer and the brand, product or company. Emotions trump thinking. Holidays are emotional times. This is what drives advertising. This is what drives sales.

This is a great lesson for each of us and it has to do with the power of emotions as influencers in our lives.

In the workplace: If you want a high performing employee (or you want to be a high performing employee) – be sure the employee is emotionally connected to his or her job; help them love what they do by hiring them into the right roles and customizing their jobs to include their passions. This “love” will improve performance and increase loyalty.

In life: If you want a more significant life, be sure you are emotionally connected to the people in your life and in the activities that drive your life. Love what you do – your hobbies, interests and work. Be passionate or don’t do it.

The key to working strong and living stronger is to know what moves us – what activates our emotions. We must build our work and life around what we love and we will see greater energy, engagement and performance. It happens because we love what we do.

The lesson from the holiday advertisers is we should go for the emotions – know what activates our greatest feelings and build them into our work and life. Emotions are our power source – they help us love what we do and make our greatest difference.

I used to think that if you were good, bad things would not happen to you. Seemed reasonable – you should be rewarded for being good. Then, after lots of years of the planet, I realized that is not how it works. Instead, life just happens – and it brings some easy times and some tough times. The same way weather brings beautiful days and powerful storms. It just happens – it is part of nature… it is part of life.

But here is what we need to remember. As things happen, they are neither good nor bad; how we perceive them and how we choose to handle them, is what determines the good or bad. We choose to see each event as a means to something better or as a defeat. We choose to use each event to learn, get better and come out stronger or complain, check out and give up. We choose to be grateful or ungrateful. Events just are. How we respond comes from our state of mind. Optimism is a state of mind. Thanksgiving is a state of mind.

I do a lot of business coaching. And in today’s recession, much of my coaching focuses on helping organizations optimistically approach their work environments to invent, find and implement opportunities. Ordinary companies complain about how tough things are; they spend their days whining about the recession and how it has made things worse. These organizations find it very difficult to find opportunities for growth or success. They choose not to see them. Extraordinary companies always focus on seeing value, finding opportunities and remaining optimistic. The use the tough times to regroup, redefine and restructure to come out stronger and more focused. They envision success. They respect, appreciate and are grateful for their employees and customers. They have a thanksgiving state of mind.

Life is as it is. Nature is as is. We get what we get – but we have an amazing resiliency to respond. And it first starts with an attitude of optimism, energy, gratitude and thanksgiving.

• Do I appreciate what I have, who I am and my ability to make choices?
• Do I realize that life happens and it is up to me to make it great (and there is always something good in every circumstance – I just need to get better at finding it)?
• Do I realize that great events let me catch my breath, laugh and love so I have the energy and strength to handle tough events that require more effort, more thinking and more resolve?

This week we celebrate a “day” of Thanksgiving. Yes, I look forward to celebrating with family and friends on a day we have carved (I had to say that) out as a formal day of gratefulness. But I won’t forget that thanksgiving is really a state of mind, and as such, should guide my daily outlook and approach. Join me. Make “giving thanks” your state of mind.

Life is truly finite. We each get a certain number of heartbeats to power a life that allow us to learn, think, love, cry, run, dance, eat and sleep. So if the average person lives to be 78, times 365 days a year, that gives us 28,470 days (average) on the planet. Now, subtract your current age from 78 and multiply that times 365. This is a rough calculation of the number of days you still have on the planet. Life is finite.

When I do that calculation for me, I become far more aware of the preciousness of each day. I realize I don’t have any days to waste – and by waste I mean:
• Worrying about things I can’t change.
• Not spending time with or connecting to people I love.
• Not doing things that activate my passions and interests.
• Not being honest with my feelings and valuing myself.
• Not living my dreams.
• Not making a difference.

So, if you knew your time were limited, would you use it differently? Talk to those who have had their timeline significantly changed by illness or injury and they will share that time is precious – don’t waste it. To be changed, see Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture video.

Take Action: Do your “heartbeat calculation” for perspective. Commit to making each day count. Live well, live wisely and live with appreciation of each day you have.

Your organization needs you to be great; good doesn’t cut it. Good organizations quickly fade to poor ones. Great organizations continually improve, hunt for opportunities, survive recessions and build customer loyalty. They do this because they commit to a culture of “one more thing” – of doing the extras. And which type of organization do you want to be part of?

Let’s talk about customers. One more thing is the one extra, additional, or “and then some” response you provide in your service.

Customers expect you to get their order right – even good companies do this. But great companies get it right AND do “one more thing” to get the customer’s attention and win the customer’s loyalty. Down in Louisiana they call it lagniappe, that little extra to make a customer feel special.

Take action: What is one EXTRA that you can start to do to make a difference in your organization? What extras can your organization do to make it stand out and get noticed? How will you help them do this?

Some employees make things happen. They are engaged, passionate and connected to their work and workplace. They come to work excited to make a difference and are competent and confident in their jobs.

Some employees watch things happen. They are sideline employees who do just enough and little more. They are uninspired and bored. Their performance is average. Their customers are unimpressed.

What creates one type of employee or the other? Management.

Today’s management is responsible to hire employees who are a good fit for their roles. Employees who do not have the talents and passions to do the job, are quickly bored, uninspired and disinterested. They become watchers.

But hire an employee whose talents and passions match those needed in the job and they are activated, interested and fired up! They love what they do. They make things happen. They make a difference. They make an impact.

Right person, right job = maker. Wrong person, wrong job = watcher. “Fit” matters.

Take Action: Learn how to assess talents and which drive performance in each role. Focus on employee “fit.” Great people become poor employees when they work in the wrong jobs. At a time when we have to do more with less, we need makers not watchers.

Most people don’t believe that it is possible to love your job – to love what you do and to be passionate about doing it. Most feel that work is how you make the money to have the life you want. But in today’s world the right job is one that plays to your strengths, activates your passions, allows for your best performance and adds great value to your life. Finding the right job is not complicated but it does require you to take the time to know your talents, strengths, passions and interests. There is no reason for you to hate your job; with a little direction, you can learn to define and hired into your dream job. Now is the time to find the right job and a job you love.

Though there are great many more people looking for jobs in today’s economy, great companies are always hiring the best talent. Understand that if you are right for the job (you have the talents and the passion to do the job) then you are the best talent. By knowing what you are great at and what activates your passions, you identify roles and jobs that need what you do best – this makes you very competitive. This is what gives you the confidence to apply for jobs in which you know you will make a great difference. This confidence comes from being great at what the job needs and passionate about doing it. This is what great companies are always looking for.

Those who have found their “right” jobs have committed the time to learn their talents and passions. They know what they are great at and have committed to working in areas that activate their passions because it activates their best performance.

Today, passion is a key performance motivator. The more passionate you are about what you do, the greater your performance, the quicker you learn, the more connected you feel to the work, and the greater impact you provide. You can see that the right job now must be based on your talents and your passions, as it allows you to progress to your greatest performance.

Self-awareness is critical in today’s emotional workplace. It is critical that you take the time to understand how you think, what you are great at and what you love to do. Each of our brains is unique – hardwired to respond in very particular ways. This is the reason that a salesman and an accountant would rarely like to change jobs. Each of their brains processes information in a particular way – one more social and one more analytical. The right job for one is not the right job for the other. So it is critical for our success that we know ourselves well enough to know which jobs are the right fit – and they will always be those jobs or roles that play to our strengths and activate our passions.

To help you identify the “right” job, follow these seven steps:

1. List what you are great at. (Intellectual connection on the grid image). Take a talent assessment if you need help or simply list what you are naturally great at. Notice this said “great” not “good” as the focus must be on things that you are the best at to be the most competitive. Don’t be humble. Be accurate and be honest.
2. List what you are passionate about. (Emotional connection on the grid image). Passion drives energy; the more you involve your passions in your job, the more engaged and excited you will be in your role. This is the most significant component of performance. Identify what you love to do. You may see this play out in your hobbies and interests.
3. List what will make you feel successful in your role. (Success connection on the grid image). Will it be to progress to management, work a flexible schedule, work from home, have a certain impact, work with a certain type of customers, people or products, etc? Be clear in your definition of what success is from your perspective.
4. Review what you listed from areas 1, 2 and 3 above and identify where any of the items listed intersect. In other words, what are you great at, passionate about and meets your definition of success? This intersection indicates the areas of your greatest performance fit. This is critical information needed to identify your dream job – your “right” job.
5. What careers, roles or jobs need what you are great at, passionate about and meet your definition of success? These are opportunities that play to your strengths and activate your passions. These opportunities will allow you to be the most connected and most engaged. This will encourage your greatest energy, performance and impact. Create a list of your “Right” jobs, roles or careers. Consider everything that meets your criteria. You may find that the best job for you does not yet exist and if created would add great value to an organization. Don’t be afraid to invent your ideal job. Just be sure to identify its value.
6. Apply only for jobs that meet your criteria. Highlight your “fit” on the face of your resume. Use a talent-based resume – one that highlights your talents (what you are great at) and then presents how you have used your talents in other jobs. This helps a hiring manager easily and accurately assess your job fit. Since the job also activates your passion, applying for the job is now exciting, empowering and engaging. Applying for jobs that activate your passions encourages your best job application, resume and cover letter. This is your moment to show your fit and passion. Don’t miss this opportunity – this is where you get their attention.
7. Go into your interview with great confidence. You know the talents needed in the job match your talents. You know you love the nature of the work as it appeals to your passions. You have used these talents in other roles so you can easily show how they look to others. You have everything going for you. You know you are a good fit – and good fit is exactly what the hiring manager is looking for. Be confident. Don’t over prepare. Talk candidly, honestly and openly about your performance, your talents, how you fit and what value you can provide. This is how to stand out and get hired.

When you focus on “fit” – how you are the right person for the job – you show that you understand yourself, have defined roles that play to your strengths and passions and have applied for jobs that allow you to create the greatest impact. This process gives you a competitive advantage. You now stand out against applying for jobs. Not only are you good at what the job needs done but you are emotionally or passionately connected to doing it. The thought of it gets you fired up and excited to show up for work. And at work, you are happy to be there, doing what you do best and making a significant impact.

Today, job fit matters. You are unique; how you think, what you are naturally good at (talents) and what activates your passions now influences your effectiveness in the workplace. Play to your strengths. The best performers are those who love what they do. You deserve a job that needs our passionate performance. So follow these seven steps to work strong and live stronger. And managers – insist that who you hire be well matched to the talents needed in the job. This improves performance and connection.

Check out “Stand Out and Get Hired” to determine your intellectual connection, and learn to apply for the right job.

You always take better care of things that belong to you.

Okay, life. After all it is yours and don’t we take better care of things that belong to us? If so, I have a couple of questions for you – and be honest:

Do you exercise often and eat well to treat your body right?
Do you connect to a higher source or appreciate the planet to treat your spirit right?
Do you read, think and learn to treat your brain right?
Do you choose your friends and loved ones carefully and honestly to treat your heart right?
Do you know your talents and strengths to treat your job and life right?

You are not in a rental here – this life is yours.

Take Action: Spend some time with yourself to see if you treat yourself like an owner or a renter. How you live today sets you up for the quality of life you will have later. You own it, so treat it right.

Employees: In today’s workplace, many employees are still nervous of layoffs…and rightly so. An unemployment rate that keeps rising and an economy that slow to recover are forcing companies to continue employee layoffs. The best way not to be laid off is to become what author and NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman calls the “untouchable” – untouchable from layoffs because you consistently add value, stand out in effort, innovation and commitment. Click here for his Op-Ed.

So, if you have a job – how do you become the “untouchable” – the “invaluable?” Don’t wait for someone to create this for you. Create it yourself. Do it now.

Job seekers: Great companies are always hiring. Smart companies know there is great unemployed and available talent because of the recession and they are rebuilding their teams to be stronger than ever. Keep applying to jobs that match your talents and play to your strengths (you are more competitive for these jobs). And when you interview, be sure you stand out. As hiring managers interview many people, you must be the one they see as the right fit, and the one they remember (for the right reasons). For guidance, see my 10 Rules For A Great Interview.

Now is no time to blend. Stand out and get hired. Stand out and get noticed. Either way, stand out.