Management - As Easy as 1-2-3

In business there are always challenges, always problems - indeed if there were none, many of us would be unemployed!

Sometimes you can get really bogged down in understanding what the real problem is - if that is the case try the 1-2-3 method.

1. Is there a system in place for handling the task? If not, you have a systems problem - training won't help
2. Is there a system and employees know how to use it, but don't follow it? If so you have a management problem.
3. Is there a system, but employees don't really know what it is or how to use it? If so you have a training problem.

See as easy as 1-2-3 !

How to Keep Employees

We live on talent as business leaders so how do we motivate and retain that talent within our organisations...here are a few articles to help

Drew McLellan presents Is your little red wagon stuck? posted at The Marketing Minute.

Anna Farmery presents Leaders Have Great Balance posted at The Engaging Brand

Jay Gordon Cone presents Authentic CSR creates higher employee engagement posted at Interaction Associates - Thought leadership and practical tools for collaboration., saying, "Today's employees expect to care about what they do. If they love their work, they're more willing to give additional discretionary effort to see meaningful projects succeed."

David B. Bohl presents Surviving (Tolerating, Accepting, and Eluding) Negative People, Places, and Situations : Slow Down Fast Today! posted at Slow Down Fast Today!.

Edith Yeung presents How to Read People and Get Your Point Across? posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..

Jason Rakowski presents How to Deliver the Ultimate in Customer Service Delight posted at Learn Good Customer Service, saying, "With the right approach you can add wow factor to your customer experiences and develop mutually beneficial long term relationships with them."

Carmen Van Kerckhove presents If diversity training doesn’t work, why do companies do it? posted at Race in the Workplace - how race and racism influence our working lives, saying, "Companies are twice as likely to invest in diversity training than any other type of diversity initiative because their real motivation is to mitigate risk."

Christopher J. Brunner presents Implementing a Wellness Program posted at GreatFX Business Cards, saying, "The cost of health benefits for employers and employees alike is a rising concern, especially for smaller business owners. Though it can’t get rid of the cost all together, implementing a wellness program into your employees’ working lifestyle can save you money."

Tupelo Kenyon presents Make Assumptions Obsolete by Communicating posted at Tupelo Kenyon, saying, "We assume because we don’t know. We don’t know because we don’t ask. We don’t ask because we act as if we already know. Or, we don’t want to appear stupid. So we make an assumption. Then we forget it is merely something we made up, and we behave as if it’s a fact. When the facts are known, it would never occur to us to assume. The solution is clear communication. When we know the truth, assumptions are forever unnecessary."

David B. Bohl presents Fulfillment and Leadership : Slow Down Fast Today! posted at Slow Down Fast Today!.

Debra Moorhead presents Integrity in Today’s Workplace posted at Debra Moorhead.com.

Ivan Rios presents Go Beyond Responsibility posted at artofleading.net.

Ivan Rios presents How To Make Your Team Happy posted at artofleading.net.

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

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?"

The Impact of a Leader

It is vital that we understand the impact of our actions on our teams and those around us. We are all human and there will be times when we show impatience, have an outburst etc

But always remember when "you point a finger at others, there are 3 of your fingers on the same hand pointing back to you"

The golden rule is always to provide constructive feeedback in private, give recognition in public.
Learning that element of self control will pay dividends 10 fold.