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Archive for the ‘leadership’ Category
Monday, August 30th, 2010
The term “scorecard” is becoming more and more common in the business community. But what is a balanced scorecard? To give a little background, the balanced scorecard is a management methodology that was introduced by Robert Kaplan and David Norton in the 1990’s.
A balanced scorecard serves as a strategic management system that translates corporate Vision and Strategy into action, communicates and ties together strategic objectives and measures, helps establish corporate targets and aligns initiatives, and increases feedback and learning.
The balanced scorecard approach proves very effective in tracking and establishing “key performance indicators” (or KPI’s”) from different business units within the enterprise. Business units may include operations, finance, or human resources and allows them to track the metrics that allow those organizations to help achieve their corporate strategy.
Balanced scorecards consist of four generally accepted target areas:
1. Financial – How do our shareholders identify financial success?
2. Customer – How do we appear to our customers in achieving our vision?
3. Process – What processes you must be exceptional at with customers, and shareholders?
4. Growth/Learning – How will we sustain the ability to change and improve over the long term?
In practice the balanced scorecard recognizes that corporate performance measurement is not done by individual function, but a combination working together. The approach highlights the “links” or measures that impact Functional Areas across business functions.
While the balanced scorecard is a good process, other scorecard and scorekeeping system exist that may be a better option depending on your needs.
Tags: balanced scorecard concept
Posted in leadership | 1 Comment »
Monday, August 16th, 2010
Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Rudolph Giuliani speak about his experience as the Mayor of New York City during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 and what he has been doing since that time. I particularly enjoyed hearing about his experience as a mayor and the lessons he learned and now applies them in his life.
Mr. Giuliani spoke about how he was able to reduce the crime rate in New York City. Mr. Giuliani said, “Tracking and finding the areas that need improvement is the first step.” He implemented a system for tracking where, what time, and what type of crimes were occurring in the city. Using this data he was able to identify the areas where more law enforcement was needed and know what time of the day demanded the largest number of law enforcement personnel in the city. Through having the right number of law enforcement personnel in the right areas, at the right time, he was able to reduce the crime rate in New York City by 60-70%. New York City is now considered to be one of the safest large cities in the United States.
Mr. Giuliani then spoke about how he was able to decrease the number of people in NYC on welfare. He began by looking at how the case workers were being compensated for their work. He found the case workers for many years were being paid according to the number of welfare clients they had. Therefore, it was more lucrative for the case workers to have people remain on welfare. He decided to make a change and pay based on the number of jobs the case worker helped find for their welfare clients. Through this change, in a span of 4 years, the number of people on welfare decreased from 1.1 million to 550,000. A decrease of 50%! This improvement in saving the tax payers tens of millions of dollars.
 Many times businesses “leave” money on the table because they are working ineffectively, like the New York City was with law enforcement, by not knowing where their people should be and when they should be there. Often they are scared to make some of the simple changes because they have been working the same way for so long, just like the case workers in NYC who were being paid and incentivized to keep their clients on welfare. What if your employees tracked the information that made them successful? What if they not only tracked the information, but understood and used the information as feedback to identify what they could change to be more successful? What if your employees were compensated, motivated, and/or driven to do those things that would add to the bottom line profits of the business? What would be the increase in profits? What would be the decrease in costs and spending?
Bottom Line Leadership is specifically designed to address these questions. It is created to have immediate and long-term positive influence on the bottom line profits of your business. It will increase motivation in your employees by helping them answer the question, “What is it that I do, what do I get paid for?” It will offer the leadership in your organization a better understanding and utilization of key fundamental leadership skills to drive the changes. This program is a “game changing” business solution and for some companies an overall intervention. It has been so successful in providing a Return on Investment that it is guaranteed to pay for itself by the time the program is done. You truly have nothing to lose!
Tags: bottom line leadership, Improved Results, Leadership That Gets Results, Leading for bottom line results, results based leadership
Posted in bottom line performance, bottom line results, leadership | 1 Comment »
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Many organizations today are finding that they don’t have the right talent or enough talent in their organizations to be successful. If you have experienced this, you know it is frustrating, challenging, and can drain energy and emotion in trying to execute daily business responsibilities.
 This past week, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal by Joe Light titled: Leadership Training Gains Urgency Amid Stronger Economy. In the article, Mr. Light discusses how many organizations have cut spending on leadership development initiatives over the past two years during the economic downturn. Now that the economy is starting to recover, these organizations are worried they will experience the exodus of baby boomers and retirees as their investment portfolios start to recover. Many organizations are finding they simply don’t have the leadership pipeline within the organization to fill these leadership roles as companies shift towards a growth focus. This scenario leaves any organization vulnerable to the competition. Add to that the severity of the economic downfall and it only compounds the challenges further.
For individuals who work in the learning and development industry, this news and information is nothing new. For many other individuals this may be a shocking surprise. Organizations need to spend more money to develop talent to drive the business. Remember, half of your assets do not show up on the balance sheet – your people. Organizations spend thousands of dollars on computers, specialized software, mobile phones, and office space. Why not spend a few hundred dollars developing your people to maximize performance and drive bottom line results. If you have not already done so, think plan, and act to develop your high-potential leaders.
Tags: Good leadership skills, leadership, Leadership Development, leadership skills, Leadership Training
Posted in leadership, planning, talent | No Comments »
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Did you pick up your new iPhone this week? Unless you slept on the street for a couple of days, chances are you will need to wait until supply balances out with demand. Isn’t it fascinating that people take time off work and sleep on the ground outside a store just to obtain a $200 device? Why do people put forth so much effort for so little?
It’s ironic that people sacrifice time and wages, lose sleep, and exert a significant amount of physical effort to obtain a unique possession. People are willing to spend money, buy “apps” (applications), and spend large amounts of time to become experts on such devices. Yet we rarely see this type of passion, energy, and motivation in the workplace to drive results and increase profits. Isn’t the time we spend at work more important and valuable?
Dr. George Odiorne, is a well known management expert known for his concept “Management By Objectives.” What if we spin this concept slightly and implement “Management By Motivation.” What if you create the conditions for motivation in your organization. Like a new gadget, toy, or phone, discover what stimulates a behavior change in people at work. Hint: Everyone is a little different. Organization, productivity, and improvement in profits will increase when individuals discover what excites them. If people get excited and involved in their work like it is the latest and greatest gadget phone, organizations will find it truly amazing as to how they can flourish. There is no doubt that excitement and involvement will make a huge impact on the bottom line of any organization.
 As I write this article, I stare at my new phone (the latest and greatest) in a box, ready to be turned on. However, I feel enough motivation in my work that writing this content offers more value to me, my team, and my organization than heading to the break room to play with a new gadget. Are your people motivated to work or motivated to head to the break room and play? Let’s get our people excited and engaged to the goals and objectives that benefits everyone.
“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
-Aristotle
Tags: iphone hysteria, motivating employees, motivating work, motivation, motivation in the workplace, motivation to increase performance, work environment motivation
Posted in goals & goal setting, leadership | No Comments »
Monday, June 7th, 2010
 Your people drive your business. Most have the best of intentions when it comes to making a solid contribution to the overall success of the enterprise. They do good work so you give them more work to do. They were your best account rep, your best payables clerk, best welder or project engineer so you made them leaders of people. The problem is that these outstanding individuals have neither the experience nor the training to be outstanding leaders, leaving them ill prepared for the job that they didn’t sign on for in the first place.
Take John for example. John recently became the team leader of 14 people who are responsible for $1,000,000 in production. Doing their very best, John’s team delivers 90% of the million dollar production budget. Managing by instinct, John tends to avoid conflict, uses the relationships with his former co-workers to emotionally bribe them into doing additional work, and measures success in the number of days passed where John manages to fly below the radar of the management team. John deserves better. He needs to be given the tools needed to do his job well. A small investment in his bottom line leadership skills will have a two-fold return: A gift to John that will last a lifetime and the opportunity for you to close your $100,000 budget shortfall.
Who’s holding you back? Who, not what, is standing in the way of your initiatives to increase sales, cut operating expenses and learn how to increase profit margins across the board? There is a John in your organization. He deserves a chance to succeed and continue to grow his contribution to the organization. An investment in John is not just an investment in John; he has 14 people reporting to him and they will also reap the benefits of his development. As John becomes a better leader we create the culture that will meet the demands of your business tomorrow and build ownership and commitment in the next group of potential leaders.
Do you think it’s too hard to find the time? Too hard to find the money? Stop for a moment and do the math. Can you really afford not to?
Tags: bottom line leadership, How To Increase Profit Margins
Posted in Increase Profits, bottom line leadership, leadership | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
 Traditional rock climbing is a style of rock climbing where a climber places pieces of protection gear, such as camming devices and stoppers, into the rock as they climb up. In traditional climbing there are at least two people, one who climbs andone who belays. Traditional climbing also requires more gear than other styles of climbing. At the base of the climb two people attach themselves to the rope. The climber ties the rope into his harness and the person on belay connects the rope to his harness using a belaydevice, giving him the ability to manage the rope as the climber ascends the wall. The person that begins climbing up and placing gear to get to the top leads that wall. This leader has the responsibility to plan out and take the correct line or route, use the proper pieces of gear throughout the climb, and to set up a secure anchor to which he and the other climbers following him will rely on. Once he reaches the top and sets up his anchor, he takes over the role of belay and manages the rope as those who follow ascend. Often times the reward of traditional climbing is phenomenal as the climbers are able to stand at the peak of their climb and take in the beautiful view hundreds of feet off of the ground.
To run a successful business there must be those who rise up and lead, and as a lead climber does, one must step up and make many decisions that will be crucial to the life of the company. As a leader you will not be alone. You will have those who are beside you who, when you begin the climb, will be there to catch you if you fall. There are also many tools available that you must use to aid you in getting to the top.
To have leadership that gets results many of the same responsibilities that a lead climber has must be taken on. The first responsibility a leader has is planning out and taking the correct line. Remember, others who follow behind you will take the same rou
te you did, make sure its where you want them to go. The second is using the proper tools available at the right times. Often, leaders feel like they have to do everything. Trust and teamwork must come into play. You hire specific people who all have different skills an abilities for a reason, use them. Lastly, setting up a secure anchor. If you do not have a secure anchor to rely on and keep you steady as you make your way to the top, there will come a time when something will happen and because of a lack of an anchor you and others may fall.
These of course are only a few of the responsibilities necessary to lead, and every leader will need to carry out these responsibilities in the way that is specifically tailored to their companies needs. When things get a bit challenging, tie in and climb on, the rewards waiting at the top are well worth the effort.
Tags: Leadership That Gets Results, teamwork
Posted in leadership, qualities of leadership, results based leadership, teamwork | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
By Richard L. Williams, Ph.D.
Question #1: Is it possible for a manager to manage sales in a retail store?
Through out the retail industry, including manufacturers and distributors, the sales number is often the number one priority. Indeed, in many companies sales numbers are so far above any other measurement that managers live and breathe by whether sales are up, or down. If sales numbers are so important they must be manageable, right? Let’s find out.
A number of years ago two highly experienced retail store managers quit their jobs and promising careers and purchased two stores and began a career of teamwork as owner-partners, rather than employees of a large chain. For four years the partners did everything imaginable to build sales volume in both stores. During the first two years the partners frequently told friends and family, “Sales are up.” In fact, about 18 months into the venture one of the partners said, “Can you believe it, our sales are up 22 percent over last year!” Without doubt these two owner-partners had achieved the American dream. They owned their own business and were controlling their own destiny. Clearly, everyone who knew the owners was envious, wishing they had as much courage to do the same. After all, isn’t this how other successful retail business began?
The first indication of trouble was when the partners tried to sell one of their stores. When that didn’t happen, they abruptly closed it over a weekend. Their explanation was that the store had always had problems and by closing it they could focus their attention and capital resources on the one remaining store. With the problem store closed, friends and family once again heard reports of, “Sales are up.” But within a few months the second store was also closed and the owner-partners declared personal and business bankruptcy. Literally the partners lost almost everything they owned. They escaped the failed venture with one taking a job as a clerk for Home Depot, and the other selling used cars.
What happened? If sales were consistently up, how could the business not be profitable? The answer is that in retail there is no direct connection between sales and profit. Unless gross and expenses are fixed, sales and profit become independent variables. It is possible for sales to go up, for example, while profit goes down; and profit can go up, while sales go down. The reason is that there are no guarantees in retail. Other factors such as gross margin, labor, overhead, and expenses have greater impact on profit than sales alone. That’s what happened and crushed the American dream for two enterprising, former, store managers. Now do you know the answer to the question, “Can sales be managed?” Let’s use a bit of strategic thinking and drill a little deeper toward the answer.
Question #2: Is there anything a manager can do directly to sales that will make the number change? Is it only possible to impact sales by influencing other factors?
Actually, sales are a product of two factors. That means nothing can be done directly to sales to make it change. To change sales a manager must manage something else, not sales itself. Therefore, to focus primarily or excessively on an unmanageable number, at the expense of the things that can change it, could lead to failure. This explains the failure of the two storeowners.
Question #3: What are the only two factors that determine sales in a retail store? Can these two factors be managed?
It’s true that many things contribute to retail sales; things like, margin, signing, suggestive selling, pricing, displays, merchandising, stocking, store location, advertising, product availability, and many more. But all of these things can be rolled up into two factors. Do you know what they are? The accompanying illustration is the key. All of the things listed above, and many more contribute to two factors: (1) Number of Guests, and (2) Sale Per Guest. The number of guests and the amount of each transaction determines sales. Did you answer correctly?
Question #4: Can the two factors that contribute to sales, Number of Guests and Sale Per Guest, be managed?
As with the sales number, what can a manager do directly to Number of Guests or Sale Per Guest to make them change? The answer is, not much. Once again, it isn’t possible to manage these numbers either, because they are the products of other things. Although they are excellent measurements of the health of a retail store (or company), they are technically unmanageable. To focus primarily or extensively on them at the expense of the basic things that really drive sales could be a mistake.
Question #5: So what can a retail manager manage?
The answer to this question is everything that contributes, or rolls into, Number of Guests and Sale Per Guest. The basic elements are the things that can be managed, not the products of these elements. That means the most effective place to manage sales is not with sales itself, but rather in all of the fundamental elements that begin the process. These are the things that are manageable, not the product number such as sales. When a retail employee is told, “Your sales are down, you better get them up,” the employee can only make the change at the basic element level. And if the employee doesn’t have a good understanding of the process, it will be very difficult to make the change.
Tags: Strategic Thinking, teamwork
Posted in Strategic Thinking, finance, leadership, management, teamwork | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
Are you a sports fan? Have you ever been part of a game where competition was very high, where emotions are running high and you can feel the palpable tension in the air? Maybe you were even more excited than the players and became one of those crazy fans sitting in the stands! Regardless of whether you were a player or a fan at this type of event, the word “scoreboard” should be familiar to you. Sometimes this term is used to “trash talk,” coming at a point in the game when a player on the losing team makes a great play or scores point, but not enough to put their team in the lead. Someone rooting for the losing team might say something about how great the play was, to which the fan or player for the opposing team might simply say “scoreboard.” What does it mean? It’s simple: While the losing team may have made one great play, it simply is not enough to take the lead in the game. The scoreboard is where the results of the performance are shown, indicating how well the team members are playing and whether they are actually accomplishing their goals. It is the tool that measures who is winning and, ultimately, who won!
Competition, Winning, and Business
Your company probably has its own corporate scoreboard, but do you know where it is? If not, ask around and see if you can find it. Company scoreboards will manifest themselves in how the company shows its stakeholders the business’ earnings. Businesses need to make a profit. Companies that don’t make a profit won’t stick around, so, making a profit is a focal point for all for profit organizations. What about at the individual level? Individual performance is also measured in this way, but rather than a scoreboard, some companies use and individual “score card.” A scorecard shows how and in what ways each individual is accountable for performance that increases the bottom line. Scorecards drive results and have a tremendous impact on the bottom line and help people become more engaged in competing for “wins” at both the personal and organizational level. Asking individual members of the organization to develop a scorecard to visibly show and track performance will inspire better performance across the company and make positive changes in the following ways:
1. Hold people accountable for what they do while at work and how they contribute to the bottom line profits.
2. Help individuals see that they earn a pay check for authentic achievement, not for mindless activity.
3. Help individuals understand how each person contributes in their role to the organization’s overall profitability.
Scorecards will drive bottom-line results and create bottom-line leadership as individual contributors think more deeply about their own unique areas of the business. Keeping score of their successes on a regular basis (daily, weekly, monthly) can help people feel more energetic at work and increase their interest in organizational success over the long term. In your next weekly meeting ask everyone this simple question: Did you win or lose this week? Followed this question with, “What were you responsible for in terms of helping our company grow and be more profitable?” Using scorecards, asking questions, and engaging the entire workforce is powerful stuff, critical to the organization’s performance.
Tags: bottom line results, performance, scorecard
Posted in accountability, bottom line results, leadership, motivation, scorekeeping | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
Business acumen is such an important part of business and our everyday lives. I believe that many of us do not fully appreciate how much financial literacy impacts our daily business activities, as well as the activities in our personal lives. However, those who are fluent in the language of finance, accounting, economics, and strategy, regardless of whether or not these subject were part of their formal education, find themselves with an open seat at the decision making table in their organizations and are able to make smart financial decisions for themselves and their families.
Thomas Cooley, professor of economics and former dean of the NYU Stern School of Business, articulates the importance of having strong financial knowledge:
Many of the most important decisions consumers make in their lifetimes involve financial products: a mortgage to purchase a home, a loan to purchase an automobile, credit to make a large durable purchase, investments for retirement and insurance to keep one’s family secure. All of these financial products have become increasingly complex over time and there is a much wider range of product options offered by different providers, making decision-making more complicated. Consumers need to be financially literate in order to make well-informed choices about such complex products. A growing body of evidence suggests that many consumers lack the knowledge they need to evaluate and make decisions about financial instruments.
Fixing our financial illiteracy and understanding the fundamentals of business acumen (finance, economics, accounting, and strategy) will not only aid you in your personal, consumer-based life, as Professor Cooley mentioned above, but will open doors for you at work, allowing you to sit at the conference table and make decisions that ensure viability – the life blood of organizations, the ability to stay competitive, profitable, and relevant.
Tags: Business Acumin, finance, strategy
Posted in business acumen, finance, leadership, strategy | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
With the first half of the New Year comes the opportunity to set New Year’s resolutions, new goals for self-improvement. As a leader within your organization (current or future), you can improve your leadership skills and make an even greater impact on the organization’s bottom line as we move forward into the year by taking note of some of the elements discussed below:
Within most organizations there is a management / leadership track – take advantage of this track by further refining and developing the leadership and management skills you already possess.
1. Improve your Peer-Leadership Skills
Build a reputation as a leader among your peers. Actions speak louder than words. At various meetings, listen and speak only when you have something important to say that will help the group to move forward. Do not focus on negative issues. Identifying problems is one of the easiest things to do; there is no great demand for problem identifiers, but there is a great demand for problem solvers. Be Solution Oriented: if you address a problem, be sure that you have a potential solution to discuss as well. Share information and communicate often with your peers. This helps you and others to grow and develop.
2. Improve your Administrative Skills
Develop an administrative competence in every form of communication and logistical follow up you perform in your job. Cultivate a reputation as someone who produces high-quality work no matter what your endeavor, no matter who your audience.
3. Develop your General Leadership Skills
Leadership is a learned skill. Constantly seek to learn from those successful leaders within and outside your organization. What pearl or pearls of wisdom can you pick up and use to help you become a leader? Pick and choose from their leadership styles, yet make it your own as you continue to develop your personal style. Whatever style you choose, keep these “pearls of wisdom” in the forefront of your mind and think about how to apply them as you move forward in two key areas – achieving bottom line results for your organization and developing your people.
Here are some key ideas to consider as you move along this path of continuous leadership improvement during the first half of the New Year:
• Know yourself and seek self-improvement opportunities
• Be technically proficient and know how to apply your knowledge
• Seek out responsibility and take responsibility for your actions
• Make sound and timely decisions
• Set a good example for others
• Know your people and look out for their wellbeing
• Keep your people well informed
• Help your people develop a sense of responsibility
• Ensure that task job tasks you delegate are understood, supervised, and accomplished
• Train your people as a team
• Develop plans of action that are in accordance with your team’s capabilities
Tags: Administrative Skills, bottom line results, Leadership Improvement
Posted in Leadership Development, bottom line results, leadership, qualities of leadership | No Comments »
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