September 2010 Newsletter

The One Thing That Separates Successful People From Everyone Else

It is nice to hear from folks about our articles and this month I thought it would be good to write about an idea that Mike Leslie from Downeast Energy thought would be good to write about and that is "one thing that separates successful people from everyone else." Being a good friend, Mike is in his own right a very successful guy in life and at work, so this article may resonate with Mike as an example of his own success.

Where to Start
To begin the journey, we need to understand success. The one thing I guess you would have to identify is what success means to people. This is a topic of more controversy than you might think. Success to some in this trying financial time might mean money or security, yet when I ask people what success means to them in workshops and in our coaching meetings, money or security is seldom mentioned. The usual response in workshops is that success is about happiness, a sense of accomplishment in the work and a feeling of being valued. Emotionally, the last 18 months have been tough on people and I think it has caused us to rethink the success thing. We do know a few things that are common sense. The more successful you feel, the greater the chance that you will do quality work with a minimum of stress. People who feel unsuccessful tend to be unhappy and unhappy doesn't make for a great life. To feel successful is what counts in the long run.

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Civility in the Workplace (part 2 of 3) - What It Looks Like When Companies Insist That Part Of Each Employee's Job Is To Be Civil And Respectful In The Workplace

Last month I talked about the overall cost of the "lack" of civility in the workplace and gave you the reasons for it and some possible overall solutions...click on this link if you missed it.

This month I'd like to elaborate on some ideas that have helped others to be more aware of, not only of their own behaviors in the workplace, but of others' behaviors, while seizing opportunities to coach the challenged ones toward better behaviors. When we seize these opportunities, they create learning events for all parties.

The following are the key points from last month's first installment that I will elaborate on in this month's article:

• Insist as a leader that your company will focus on civility in the workplace...here are some tips:
• Make it a category on your semi- and annual performance reviews that civility and respect of coworkers is a way of life for your company.
• Encourage each manager/leader that they are the models of civility and respect in the workplace and to coach their staff when problems arise.
• Communicate the message as much as possible that civility is not only for the external clients, and that the results of great internal civility in the workforce promotes great civility toward the customers and clients. Additionally, this heightened level of civility creates an atmosphere of comfort and ease conducive with the very best and most productive organizations.

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The Customer

Every organization has customer service standards and organizations continue to struggle with that elusive customer. As the last ten years progressed the competitive market became tighter and the level of intrusion from other organizations offering the same goods or services into the local market increased. It became clear early on that if two companies offer similar goods or services, the bar in which the customer is served needs to be raised to survive. Basically one needs to take care of the customer's needs better than the competition.

This example is no better observed than in the corporate restaurant world. When I first entered the corporate restaurant world, the competition was small. As the restaurant chain entered a new market, the largest competitor was usually a local "mom and pop" establishment. Due to the price point's convenience and style, the restaurant inevitably ended up with the majority of business. As the mid 1990's came and went, the level of competition began to increase heavily. As a chain entered the point in which markets were becoming saturated, we began to focus our attention to the customer. The success of the restaurant chain sat on the shoulders of leadership, engaging the employees to understand their role and how our success was directly within their hands and the established service standards.

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Are You Addicted To Your Electronic Devices?

With the invention of portable devices like smartphones, it is now possible to be connected to the Internet, literally 24 hours a day. This is generally a good thing. I have a smartphone and I often wonder how I ever got along without it. I no longer need to worry about missing an important email from a client and it's a great way to kill time when you're waiting in line. But like any good thing, it's important not to go overboard.

Just last month, my husband went on a bike trip with some friends. During the trip he looked over to see one of the guys he was riding with texting away on his motorcycle, clearly not paying attention to where he was going. This seems like an insane thing to do and yet we hear about this sort of thing all the time. Hearing stories like this makes me wonder if electronic device addiction is a bigger problem than most people think?

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