Create Results

Need to Be Revitalized?

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Many times because of the monotony of set job responsibilities and resolving the same problems over and over we need to be revitalized. Seek out new opportunities by talking with employees within and outside your work group. What are the three top challenges? What do they believe are the possible solutions? What are the commonalities in your discussions? Then, share with your team and boss while brainstorming potential solutions; see if you can lead the new assignment or project, or be an important contributor.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Do you know when to trust the data or your instincts?

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Successful leaders have to grapple with this dilemma often. They believe their intuition is telling them what the true answer is. Or, they want to trust the numbers. However, intuition can be wrong and 100 percent reliance on data can send you down the wrong path too. Developing a strong business balance between statistics and your sixth sense takes experience, time, and practice. As business owners and executives know, making the wrong decisions can cost the company more than money. It can also cost their reputation, clients, and top talent.

What do you do when you don’t trust the data? Trust the process. For example: When you hire a person based upon your gut reaction, even when the facts disagree, you didn’t trust your selection system. The truth is, failure to pay attention to good objective information will negatively impact your decisions.

Better questions to ask yourself: Do you know how to correctly use qualified hiring tools and follow a strategic selection process? (BizSavvyHire.com)  Do you have an unconscious habit of hiring and firing until you find the right person? (Hint: Honestly look at your turnover numbers.) Asking these types of questions can help you determine the underlying (aka real) reason you may not trust the data. 

Which one do you trust when your data or intuition is contrary to others’ opinions? Trust yourself and be open to being right and wrong. For example, many times when a company is experiencing difficulty achieving results, it’s because a controlling leader or dominating team member made erroneous judgments based heavily on facts or feelings. Learn to ask good business questions and listen to people’s responses. Being open to changing your mind doesn’t mean you have to. However, being adamant that you are right is usually a sign of impending disaster.

Strong leaders trust themselves and know how to develop win-win outcomes by working with and through others. They are prepared for the downside of any decision. They use their results as dashboards to develop trust in themselves and others when making balanced factual and intuitive decisions.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Where Do You Draw the Line?

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Some bosses and coworkers are temperamental.  It’s a fact that not everyone can be universally nice, and being respectful is very subjective based on your perspective or tolerance level.  Labeling someone as “bad” or “wrong” and believing they shouldn’t behave the way they do could cost you your job. The question is where do you draw the line?

There are many programs out there on how to work with difficult people. They offer a great opportunity for you to improve your own interpersonal skills. Remember, you are not going to like working with everyone. Learn how to stay focused on your job requirements and achieve the end results instead of focusing on how to “fix” people. If you run into a personal attack or discriminatory behavior, document it, share it with your boss or HR, and be ready to move on to another job.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

The Right Inner Talk Expedites Results

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Do you want to successfully achieve intended results? Are you willing to do what you don’t want to do and don’t like to do, and stop complaining about it? If yes, understand that results require practice and developing a discipline by following focused action steps. Hire a business advisor, coach, or other professional to help you along the way.

A coach has you do what you don’t want to do so you can achieve what you’ve always wanted.

What is the key ingredient often overlooked?  The right inner talk expedites results. Your self-talk guides you toward achieving your goals. It’s your inner core and determination that keep you moving forward day after day, week after week. Pay attention to the words you use to communicate your concerns or fears. They are usually the insight needed to blast through any inevitable wall. But don’t fall into the trap of falsely believing recitation of the right words is the sole answer. You need to believe in them while you are doing the work!

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Mediocrity Stifles Results

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All business owners and executives wish to succeed in their business. Yet when they hire inexperienced and unseasoned professionals, thinking they are saving money, their bottom line suffers. Why? The employees have not had time to develop the business knowledge and acumen needed to perform at the level required, instead relying on “it’s good enough.” Mediocrity stifles results—you get what you pay for.

When hiring for any position, be clear about the attributes required for the person to succeed, and the required results for the company to prosper. Use a structured interview to ensure the person has the actual hands-on experience by drilling down into his or her responses. Often candidates talk hypothetically, not having had the actual responsibility you are looking for. Use a qualified assessment to ensure they have the thinking style, occupational interests, and capabilities to do the job the way it needs to be done to achieve great results. Don’t be afraid to conduct reference checks to ensure the person can and will actually do the work, not just talk about it. (For further information on how to do it, get your copy of Hire Amazing Employees, Second Edition (BizSavvyHire.com).

Although hiring people light on experience and heavy on job fit can be a good idea, realize it will take an extra investment of time and money before they can produce at the level required. Adjust your expectations appropriately.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Jeannette Seibly has been hiring amazing employees for over 34 years. She delivers straight talk with immediate results to business owners and executives of $1MM to $30MM enterprises, achieving dynamic results. You may contact her at JLSeibly@SeibCo.com to discuss your hiring challenges. Get her newest book, Hire Amazing Employees, Second Edition: Improve Your Profits (and Your Work Life)! http://BizSavvyHire.com.  It includes templates for interviews and reference checking.

Create Consistent Results

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Change is constant. What worked once, may not work again. Outcomes may not be what we anticipated, long term. Outside factors beyond our control can change even the best of plans. Achieving consistent and intended results requires vigilant attention!

Sometimes the smallest of changes can cost money if we do not catch them! When a plan doesn’t work, we often ditch the whole program instead of looking at the specific component(s) that may need to be altered. We forget employees may not run our systems exactly in accordance with set policies and procedures, thus changing expected outcomes.

A company, fast becoming a leader in their industry, created a strategic hiring system. It worked. Turnover was remarkably reduced. People fit their jobs and enjoyed their work. However, as veterans from the industry joined the team, they refused to trust the new system – it was different from their former cycle of hiring/firing until someone finally stayed. They were not used to following a well-defined system designed for retention. Only after the bottom line suffered, and their jobs were jeopardized, did they jump onboard.

Everyone has their own concept about how things “should” run. The reality is there are many inside and outside influences that can unpredictably vary how things actually do work out. Train your new employees on your systems, policies and procedures; give them the background information about why it works that way within your company. Be sure you have the right employees in the right jobs with the right training to handle outside technology and social media influences. These factors, along with others, will impact your sales.

Review your results objectively with your business advisor – it pays to be focused on the right things daily and catch changes early to maintain and improve your bottom line!

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Jeannette Seibly challenges you to ask yourself:

  • What changes have you had to make to maintain or increase your results?
  • Did they work?
  • Why?

Five Detrimental Leadership Habits

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Successful leaders develop as a result of good habits! Take the time to “clean up” poor business behaviors and attitudes before they derail your desired career direction.

Flavor of the month. Using jargon to manage others or projects does not make you sound knowledgeable. Many times terms used out of context simply gives your employees or business associates the impression you don’t know what you are talking about. Hire a business coach to help you effectively elicit the actions and results required.

Me-ism. Self-focused commitment on the numbers in your paycheck or procurement of perks (at the expense of others) does not create loyalty or desired results within your enterprise. Leaders who thrive make commitments to the organization, employees and people they serve (aka customers), first. They talk the talk, and walk the talk, creating win-win outcomes.

White lies. Trust is a decisive factor in whether or not others will follow your lead. Lies will eventually be uncovered and can be costly to your self-esteem and business opportunities. Those who fear the consequences of telling the truth should remember “your integrity is forever.” Talk with a trusted advisor on how to navigate sensitive issues to cause rewarding outcomes.

Self-Denial. Many leaders falsely believe they know themselves well. True self-awareness and knowledge of how others see you are important in creating a good reputation.  A true leader is always growing and learning from the inside out. Being clear and communicating clearly conveys your leadership abilities. Use qualified assessments and 360-degree tools to ensure valid and reliable information to support your professional development.

False Expectations. Honor business etiquette; it determines others’ respect of you. Return phone calls and come to meetings prepared and on time – these are two examples of unwritten business expectations. Explicit promises made to an applicant or employee also needs to be followed-through. Failure to do so can be costly, such as being denied an award or contract. As a busy person, do not rely upon your memory! Write down and review with the other person(s) to ensure promises are fulfilled.

Question: What challenges have you faced as a leader, or when following a leader? What did you do to overcome the issue? Leave a comment below ….

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Jeannette Seibly delivers “straight talk with immediate results” to business owners and executives of $1MM to $30MM enterprises, creating dynamic results. You may contact her at JLSeibly@SeibCo.com for an initial free consultation.

Is Impatience Hurting Your Results?

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Envision yourself driving down the highway. You have a driving lane and a passing lane. The speed limit is 75 miles per hour. The challenge? Many drivers are only going about 60 to 69 mph in the driving lane. Those in the passing lane are zipping along between 65 and 75. The problem? You are impatient. You want to bypass the slow-pokes, zoom ahead and arrive at your destination quickly. You ignore any warning signs to slow down.

It’s a great analogy of how we run our business systems and practices. We live in a fast-paced global market. Opportunities happen quickly. While many human beings believe they have the endurance for ongoing fast-paced mobility, the reality is most professionals’ thinking styles, personalities or interests won’t support it. They burn out. Deadlines are missed. Customers or potential clients are dissed. Promises to follow-up and follow-through are marginalized.

We fail to listen to ideas from our employees, yet we rely upon them to get the work done quickly. We fire them for failure to achieve the desired results, which change due to our constantly shifting focuses — jumping from the newest fad to the next brilliant concept!

When we progress forward too fast, we become reckless. Poor planning, if any, and overlooked details negatively impact our bottom line, business relationships and reputation. Coveted results are elusive and top performers leap at the chance to work with our competitors.

Steadiness allows your team to utilize their experiences and create win-win strategic and tactical outcomes. Build on what you do well. Utilize a business advisor and executive coach to keep you focused on the right things, and doing them the right way.

Your 2013 results thank you!

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Jeannette Seibly is a business advisor for business owners and executives of $1MM to $30MM enterprises creating million dollar results. Contact her at JLSeibly@SeibCo.com for a free consultation of how to achieve amazing results.

Keep Energized During Q4

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Elections are fully done. It’s time to focus on achieving a great fourth quarter while balancing the stressors from the upcoming holiday season. The key is to take care of yourself while you’re completing 2012 goals.

Here are a few pointers to help:

Walk it out. Take 10 minutes, three times daily, to simply walk around, walk up and down the stairs, or simply move! Remember to breathe!

Talk it out. Turn your monologues into dialogues. However, sharing the same thing over and over will not get you any results. And – you will not feel any better! Share with someone who can actually help you. It may be a good time to find a business coach who can help you stay focused on the actions that will make a positive difference. Listen and incorporate at least one of his/her ideas the same day.

Write it out. Studies have shown that when people write out their fears, upsets and frustrations, it can be cathartic. It helps get it out of your head and provide insights. The key is to keep it private and not share your written journal with others. Do not send it in email to your boss or colleague.

Meditate. Take time to simply empty your mind and be silent for several minutes. It can be refreshing. Sit comfortably. Breathe in and out. When thoughts appear, and they will, say, “noise.” Don’t make these thoughts good or bad.

Confidence booster: For added benefit, keep your Brag! statements up-to-date. It helps build your confidence and competence by focusing on the results you have achieved. You can build on these strengths and use them as a foundation for handling new challenges. (TimeToBrag.com)

(c)Jeannette Seibly, 2012

Effectively Manage Your Leaders’ Focus

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Many companies today are moving away from the traditional skill-based job descriptions, toward performance-based job descriptions for their leaders. What’s the difference? Skill-based simply means they have the skills and knowledge to do the tasks. They may or may not use these skills to work in the direction of the Vision and Mission of the company. Performance-based is focused on the design and execution of goals and focused action plans to achieve the Company’s intended results.

When companies can clearly define performance expectations up front, both leaders within the company and the newly-hired know what is required. They can focus their efforts with a clear direction, communicate these metrics to their employees and manage accordingly. This takes the guess work out of hiring the right person and conducting effective performance appraisals.

To ensure these new descriptions are successful, you must:

Focus on the results.  Start with action verbs to ensure their role is clear. For example:Lead an initiative to upgrade financial reporting from monthly to weekly. Convert 100 customers to new product/service. Sell 30 customers product/service each month. (Fill in actual name of product or service.) Be sure to include a timeline and budget. The key is to now manage with these numbers to determine what’s working and what needs improvement on a weekly basis. This will ensure no surprises at month end (e.g., people, price point, budgets and/or systems).

Allow for innovation. New ideas are critical for growth. People create workable and sustainable systems and follow them – or not. At the end of the day, these processes must meet the demands of your customers. The leaders within your organization must be able to work with and through others to achieve the intended results, sometimes on a global basis. Use a qualified assessment to ensure clarity of the person’s interest, thinking style and core behaviors. These are critical for hiring for job fit and ongoing laser-like coaching.

Tell the truth.  In order to grow the enterprise for on-going success, it requires truth-telling today. To transform anything, you must succinctly tell the actual issues/circumstances that prevented the results previously or created the new challenges. Share appropriately. For example: when developing an IT system: company experienced 50% growth during the past twelve months, lost 25% of current customers since the system could not handle volume of orders and lack of training prevented managers from up-selling and cross-selling repeat orders.

©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2012