Integrity:
If doing the right thing was easy,
everyone would be doing it.
It had been 12 months since I hired Tracy. During the interview process she wowed me with her passion and drive to succeed. I wasn’t just moderately hopeful for her. I thought she would be doing my job some day!
But 12 months later, that person was nowhere to be found. Tracy turned out to be very average – average work ethic, average skills, and average results. She did her job and that was about it. I rarely saw the passion and drive that made me hire her. Continue Reading…
I used to swear a lot, drink too much and eat Buffalo wings for a meal 3-4 times a week. Today I rarely swear, have a beer occasionally with a meal, and eat Buffalo wings once in a blue moon. Continue Reading…
A man came to my house the other day asking for work. I handed him a hammer and some nails and told him to build a tree house for my kids.
In fact, I gave him every tool he needed to complete the job. He should be able to build the tree house if I give him the right tools, shouldn’t he? Not necessarily… Continue Reading…
Every time people around me use statements or questions from the list below, I feel an aneurysm coming on. They make my head hurt just reading them.
I know why you said what you said! I know why you did what you did! I am able to diagnose your motives. Because I believe I know your motives, I am sure you are the problem and not something else–like me!
These are all lies. But, they are lies that we easily fall into. I’ve done it. I have been sure of someone’s motives. Have I ever been right? Maybe. Continue Reading…
All leaders would love to have a low maintenance team (LMT). A LMT allows a leader to focus on the big things and avoid the day to day hassles that could and should be handled at lower levels. When a leader does that, the leader and the team are more engaged and burnout and turnover for both are lower.
But, while most leaders believe they want to lead a LMT, many are not ready to give up what they need to surrender in order to lead the team they desire.
If I want to be a leader of a LMT I must surrender SELF. I must:
What are my priorities for 2013? What accounts and what goals should I focus my efforts on? The time is now to think ask these questions. Do not wait until after the holidays.
These are key questions that will help me continue to grow and lead others to grow. Taking the time to get the answers to these questions does not have to be complicated.
Somewhere along the way I picked up a tool that helped me clear through the clutter of brainstorming sessions and simplified my action planning.
Continue Reading…
I am one of those guys who does not always get to control the TV remote in my house. Because of this dynamic, my desire to watch Deadliest Catch or SportsCenter is put on hold so my wife can watch one of her cooking shows.
One thing I often hear on these shows is to always start with the best ingredients: really good vanilla, fresh vegetables or premium meats. I see this as an essential for Building A Low Maintenance Team (LMT) as well. To truly develop a LMT, I must start with great ingredients. In this case, that means hiring the right people.
I must hire people of character. That sounds logical but Hiring Character is not simple. Continue Reading…
Adversity builds character. I find that the people I admire have not always had things easy. Somewhere, at sometime in their past, these people overcame circumstances in their lives that changed them. They walk with a limp.
Through my 15 years of interviewing, hiring and training people I discovered that finding people who walk with a limp is often an indicator of their character.
In the business world, competency is the price of admission to any job or leadership position. Competency alone is not a differentiator when hiring today. This is a buyers market. There are competent people everywhere looking to fill open positions in good companies.
I write and speak often about character being an individual’s and an organization’s key to success. But character is difficult to determine in the hiring process. How can a leader determine if the person they are interviewing is of high moral character? Continue Reading…
When I relocated to Texas after 5 years managing in Buffalo, NY, I took over a team where one of the representatives had gone through initial training with me. Lori and I had known each other for 10 years.
Two months into being her boss, Lori asked me point blank, “What is your problem? This is not the Dave Anderson I expected.”
My response was: “Lori. If I don’t roar now, I will never be able to roar later.” Continue Reading…
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