Posts Tagged ‘recession’

A Recession Thank You Note

Monday, May 24th, 2010

Dear Recession,
I know many people are upset with you. I am not surprised. You have made things tough for many organizations. But at the same time you have made us better. So here are ten things I wanted to thank you for:

1. For forcing us to get rid of the deadwood and the non-performing employees who felt all they had to do was simply to show up for work.

2. For the reminder that we are stronger and more profitable in some areas of our business than others, and that we should always focus on our strengths because they provide the greatest value to our customers.

3. For helping us to relearn the value of customers and the need to focus on customer loyalty, not merely satisfaction, and to never miss an opportunity to do the extraordinary.

4. For reminding us that our people are our profits and that fewer of the “right” employees can consistently outperform more of the “wrong” employees. Fit matters and a greater effort to hire and retain the right employees drives greater results.

5. For a reminder that we must support an employee-focused workplace to be capable of creating a customer-focused workplace. We now are better connected to our employees’ talents, values and interests; we know them better and can better match them to their best performance areas.

6. For the reminder that every employee must add value or they are not needed on the team; all employees are now held accountable for results, ideas and solutions.

7. For forcing us to eliminate the barriers to communication, so that information can move more freely around the organization to accelerate action and responsiveness.

8. For reminding us that we (management) must be more visible, more human, more approachable and integrated in the performance of the employees; constant contact is critical to building strong relationships with employees to earn their loyalty and to know how to activate their performance.

9. For reminding us to use our employees to stay connected to our world through their worlds (social networks) as a means to grow and develop the business in a meaningful way.

10. For the lesson that even when things are tough, employees who are valued, respected and believe in what we stand for, have the reserves needed to pull through and do the extraordinary.

I have learned many valuable lessons that somehow got forgotten in better times. You have reminded me to watch the details, own the results and inspire my people. Though I don’t need this lesson often, I am pleased to have learned it today.

Best regards,
Jay Forte

Please forward this to someone who will benefit from it and contact me to help you reactivate the performance power of your people.

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Posted in For Managers | No Comments »

Broke, But Not Poor

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

The recession has created some of the toughest times many of today’s younger generations have lived through. But there are many older people who have lived through tougher times. They have learned how to survive and thrive in challenging times.

Suzan Colon shares in her great book, Cherries in Winter, the stories of how her family has weathered tough times, and how these responses are meaningful in helping us stay focused, healthy and confident in our period of uncertainty and change. Her grandmother used the phrase, “broke, but not poor.” Broke meaning times are tough now – but this is temporary. Poor refers to something more permanent. It was her way of saying “we’ll do what it takes to get by, then we’ll get better.” Realistic and optimistic. Wisdom for real life.

Tough times remind us that all things come and go, increase and diminish. So in the down times, what are your traditions or techniques to raise your spirits and keep you sane, healthy and appreciating life? What stories and wisdom do your older relatives share about how to weather tough times and retain your appreciation for what you have and who you are?

Here are tips from seniors who have learned how to be “broke, but not poor:”
1. Spend just a little on a treat every now and then. Make it a celebration.

2. Share what you have. It connects you at a deeper level and helps remind others to do the same.

3. Redefine value as experiences instead of things. Make a point of socializing more with friends and family. Share stories.

4. Say thank you more. It helps you see what you have instead of what you don’t have.

5. Get up and get moving each day. Start each day with a clear purpose and a personal sense of value.

History does seem to repeat itself. Some of its greatest lessons are still meaningful for us today. Many of our older relatives have weathered storms significantly more difficult than today’s. Their wisdom is timeless and guidance is priceless. Most times we don’t need to reinvent things – we just need to check in with those who have had experience with handling life on life’s terms.

Please pass this on to someone who can benefit from it.

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Posted in For Employees, For Individuals, For Managers | 1 Comment »

Get Employees Off the Bench and Back Into the Game

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

If you played sports, remember when you got hurt in a game? Your coach told you to shake it off and get back in the game. Well this is the situation in the workplace. Employees have been hurt by the recession – their paychecks, their opportunities, their stability and their egos. And instead of shaking it off and getting back into the game, they have gone to the bench to wait things out. Today’s employees have been scared away from exceptional performance in favor of just playing it safe.

The Global Workforce Study (conducted by the global professional services company Towers Watson) – a biennial survey of employee attitudes and workplace trends – confirms that the recession has changed the way U.S. employees view their work. In the past, job opportunity, relationship with management and development drove employee performance and loyalty. Today, employees just want job security.

As summarized in The Last Word column by John Hollon in the April 2010 issue of Workforce Management Magazine, “(The survey) paints a picture of an American workforce that is hunkered down, risk-averse and hanging on as long as they can – until, they hope they can afford to retire.”

So I have to ask. What happens to our businesses if we allow employees to hunker down? Isn’t our success built into the clever, wise, risk-taking employee responses that invent, grow and create the next generation of products and services?

Your new challenge is to find ways to help your employees get their mojo back and get out of hibernation mode. Here are some ideas:
1. Reconnect with employees. Increase your presence, communication and responsiveness with employees. Be more available.
2. Clearly define or redefine the focus of the business. Be sure all emloyees are aware of their expectations.
3. Build in more fun. Tough times require a different response. Commit to more fun and a more personal workplace.
4. Deal up front with issues. Host a monthly meeting to bring challenging and troubling national, local and personal issues up; ignoring reality stalls employee performance.
5. Ask employees what they need to help re-energize and reactivate their performance.

Today’s managers are required to deal with more human and emotional employee issues – because they impact performance. Use the resources presented in www.LiveFiredUp.com to help you learn how to manage in an intellectual age, help employees overcome their fears of an unstable economy, and get them back to working in a way that builds a stronger company and economy.

Please pass this on to someone who will benefit from it.

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There Are No Shortages of Business Opportunities

Monday, February 15th, 2010

The trick is learning how to change your vision to see opportunities instead of just challenges, failures and hard times.

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.

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