What will make the Disney Difference?

Disney are a wonderful example of how to create competitive advantage within your market place. Disney recognise that their parks need to be clean but that the sweepers - or cast members as they are called - are more than that, they are customer service people. Visitors to the park approach the sweepers for all kind of advice from where to buy something, to which rides have the longest queues. Disney recognise that after a certain point cleanliness of the park cannot be a differentiating factor - so they invest in customer service training for the sweepers. If they are to create "The happiest place in the world" then the sweepers have a key role to play.

Do you know how each person can contribute to your company vision? Do you know what will make the difference to the customer experience?
Do you measure the receptionist purely on calls taken or the service they give the customer?
Do you measure a credit controller purely on cash collection or how quickly they resolve customer queries or problems?

Memory is not intelligence

...if it was then computers would rule the world.

To get the best out of teams remember that a stressed mind becomes narrow in focus and a relaxed mind becomes wide.

If you want people to be creative, if you want people to think freely then concentrate on encouraging an environment that allows people to

• Think...openly, without fear and without feeling guilty that it is "not working"
• Have a life/work balance - relaxation breeds success
• Socialise so that fulfill their need for human interaction
  

Failing is not failure it is learning

When you make a mistake or something does not turn out as you expect - remember this WD40 was named after the 40 attempts to get it right.

Unsuccessful attempts are only failures when you don't use the learning to create success in the future.

3 Reasons to Persevere

We all make mistake, we all often suffer knock backs for our ideas. So here are 3 reasons why perseverance can be a great quality to have

1. Art critics in France said of the Eiffel Tower - "that tragic lamppost springing up from its bowels....is like a beacon of disaster and despair"
2. Ken Olson of Digital Equipment Corporation said in 1977 - " There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home"
3. Google Founders Larry Page and Sergey showcased their new page rank system and were turned down by Altavista and Yahoo.

......sometimes you are nearer to the solution than you think. Quotes from The Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun

Carnival of Leadership Development

Here is this months leadership development carnival which looks at articles that will inspire you to achieve your potential
Sagar Satapathy presents Feeling Unfulfilled? 37 Tips to Enjoy Work More posted at HR Lowdown.

Anna presents How I Share My Vision at The Engaging Brand

SpiKe presents What Influences Our Priorities In Life? » Advice on organized and productive living through lifehacks and GTD » Organize IT posted at Organize IT.

Jason Rakowski presents Cellular Retailers Must Greet Customers within 30 Seconds - Study posted at Learn Good Customer Service

Christopher J. Brunner presents Using Your Business to Serve the Community posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, "Taking community service a step further by giving more than just a donation to charity."

Charles H. Green presents Non - Linear Leadership Thinking vs. Behavior posted at Trust Matters, saying, "The most succesful leaders are able to hold two contradictory ideas in mind at the same time."

Jim Stroup presents Pay attention or pay a price posted at Managing Leadership"

Debra Moorhead presents The Power of Leverage posted at Debra Moorhead.com.

Raj Dash presents Bootstrapper » Seven Characteristics of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs posted at Bootstrapper.

Randy Nichols presents Learn to Invent and Reinvent Your Future posted at Career Advice by Randy, saying, "Learn to invent and reinvent your future with carrer advice from Randy."

Christopher J. Brunner presents Differentiate Your Business With Quality Customer Service posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, "What you can do to provide quality customer service and make your business stand out in the crowd."

Brad Trnavsky presents Choose your attitude! posted at Brad M. Trnavsky - Sales & Management Blogger.

Tupelo Kenyon presents How to Keep Your Word posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "Celebrate life through the creative power of your word."

edithyeung presents I Have Confidence posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

Debra Moorhead presents Accept Responsibility posted at Debra Moorhead.com.

Lori Prokop, Blog Manager presents Building Relationships as You Are Selling posted at J Mark Walker - Sales Training, saying, "Would this be of service to your readers?"
CA presents Business life lesson - Don’t let anyone steal your dream posted at Atlantic Canada's Small Business Blog, saying, "Dream BIG. And don’t ever let anyone tell you, you cannot achieve it. Your dreams are yours to achieve. But you have the dream to begin with."

Ivan Rios presents Self-Confidence to Be a Leader posted at artofleading.net.

Ivan Rios presents Why be a leader? posted at artofleading.net.

Jimson Lee presents How to build a winning team posted at Speedendurance.com, saying, "7 Critical steps to teamwork and leadership"

edithyeung presents When you turn 30… posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
carnival of leadership development using our carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

It is how you develop and learn that is important

A little story.

This boy grew up in the countryside, left school at 11 to work on the farm. He was dyslexic and had never been away from his community. He couldn't read or write. Did he resign to his fate or did he succeed in his dreams?

He succeeded and built a multi million pound company, how did I know? He was my dad.

He always said that it was not what you were taught that was important, it was what you learned. It was not the knowledge that you had, it was how you used it.

Often we can focus on what development we have not received....well, with the world of the internet this is an excuse not a reality. To succeed at work you need to evolve your learning, evolve your thinking and practice, practice, practice.

You are your own barrier.....if you want to succeed you can, if you think you won't, you won't...

As Dad always said "The world of business is always looking for new ideas, new ways of working, new products....no body could have taught me about them, as they didn't exist. I learned to watch the world, see the problems then think of a solution and sell it. I didn't need to be educated to do that, it would have been great but it has never held me back because I have never let it"

Focusing at Work

Some thoughts for the weekend

• According to the National Association of Professional Planners says there is about 52 hours of unfinished work on it.
• Research says that people face a distraction every 11 minutes
• Once distracted it takes 25 mins to get back to the task.
• A study at University of Michigan in 2005, between 20-40% of a person's productivity is eaten up by task switching.

Wow - makes you focus doesn't it!

There are 3 questions that I would ask you

1. How much development time is spent on priority management?
2. How much as a leader are you distracting your team - and actively reducing their productivity?
3. Do you and your team know the difference between what is "urgent" and what is important?
   

The Sympton or the Cause?

I was with a manager last week who said "I have a real problem with people surfing the net, I think we need to shut down the net"

My response "The internet is not the problem, what we need to talk about is why people are finding that more interesting than their work"

As leaders we often look at the symptom not the cause - when you look at a situation think like a doctor
1) Would they treat the rash or the cause of the rash?
2) How they would ask the patient questions to get to the source of the problem?
3) How they would use check ups to review progress?

My question for you today is "What problem are you seeing as the cause not the symptom?"

Carnival of Leadership Development

Here is our latest collection of articles that will help you to create success both in your career, your team and your company. Enjoy and then make an action list of ideas.

Billy Smith presents 3 Books for the Young Developing Leader posted at The Organic Leadership Blog.

shazad mirza presents How to win a Conversation and get your point across posted at Islamic facts, islamic info, islam general.

Hueina Su presents Homecoming to You: Re-connecting with Your Authentic Self posted at Intensive Care for the Nurturer's Soul

Ernie A. Cevallos presents Thoughts on Leadership posted at BIZ-THINK, saying, "Great development article for those looking to understand what leadership is all about."

TherapyDoc presents Commencement posted at Everyone Needs Therapy, saying, "Well, you know, you do have to start somewhere."

Becky McCray presents What is an entrepreneur? posted at Small Biz Survival.

zenofeller presents People's Fault. posted at zenofeller.com.

Carmen Van Kerckhove presents Diversity training doesn't work. Here's why. posted at Race in the Workplace - how race and racism influence our working lives

Jim Tobin presents Life is Marketing: What Makes a Good Advertising Client posted at Life is Marketing

Jim Stroup presents Eyes glazed over posted at Managing Leadership

Brandon Peele presents Psychology vs. Philosophy posted at GT.

Pushpa Sathish presents HR Lowdown » To Drink or Not to Drink? And 99 Other Social Norms for Business posted at HR Lowdown.

Ed Rivis presents The 3 Secrets of Exponential Growth. posted at Ed Rivis.

wilson ng presents The Solution to the Problem posted at Reflections of a BizDrivenLife

Christopher J. Brunner presents Buddy Networking: A Clever Way to Expand Your Network posted at GreatFX Business Cards

Nigel Griffiths presents What makes a successful leader? posted at The Enfys Acumen Blog.

Bhupendra Khanal presents Are you really paid enough? posted at Analytics Bhupe, saying, "First be your own leader, then lead the world."

Jim Stroup presents Leading leadership posted at Managing Leadership

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
carnival of leadership development using our carnival submission form.Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Do your team need encouragement?

Truett Cathy of Chick-fil-A told an audience at The National Restaurant Association's annual show

"You know how you tell if people need encouragement?"

"They're breathing"

Fantastic - made me smile and also illustrates the importance of motivation at work.