First Thing Every Morning

Inspiring watch.....First Thing Every Morning

The Power of Clear Communication

I worked with a group of people inside of a company where two departments shared the same space but   were very siloed. Literally the right hand did not know what the left hand did. How common is this situation.....unfortunately very common. In the busyness of getting work done, people tend to discount the importance and value of getting to know others in the company or what they do and how they all may be able to help each other in some way.

There was an assumption that one department was really not part of the company but in fact, contractors who were working there to provide the service and they were well staffed and not interested in helping out the other department which was short-staffed, overwhelmed in what they were suppose to accomplish and who had no idea who people were who visited regularly or what their roles were.

We went through exercises (everyone in the room) of having each department explain what they did and what they thought the other department did (roles and duties). People were surprised what they learned from each other and clarity allowed for a deeper understanding of each department. They shared common goals and aspiration and values. At the end in their "next steps" they collaborated on agreeing to some needed changes they both wanted to implement such as tours of each department, cross-trainings between departments; better communicating when help was needed by someone and removing the stigmatism that the one department wasn't a contractor but in fact employees of the same company. Management from both departments were going to sit down and create a committee to meet regularly to create an environment of collaboration, clarity and more communication.

If this approach had been implemented many years back, personnel changes probably would have been minimailized, a sense of "we are all in this together" would have been the theme and open communication would have been prevalent. All good lessons learned by many and why I love what I do.

Selling Yourself, Your Company and Your Ideas

I am reading the book, "Good in a Room" by Stephanie Palmer. Stephanie has a Hollywood life including being a former producer. She approaches sales from a Hollywood  perspective and I like it. Why do I like it? Think about the competitiveness of her world and the few and far between opportunities there are for people. You really need to know your audience and see the value putting the spotlight on the other person.

One chapter of the book focuses on the "elevator pitch" - how to answer someone who asks you "what do you do" or if you are presenting to people who don't know you and what to say. She is not a fan of elevator speeches and feels (like I do) that most people get them wrong. Many sound so canned and insincere or people tend to ramble on. She says never to pitch an idea when you don't have time to continue the conversation. If you jump in too quickly with a stranger, you probably are wasting your time as they don't have a relationship with you. Someone who doesn't know you or your company is not necessarily an opportunity at that moment in time. Building rapport is so much for effective and genuine. Asking questions to find out about the other person is helpful if there is time and then there could be an opportunity to share what you do or what you stand for. Every buyer and every situation is different so your pitch should reflect these differences. Sometimes just stepping back and breathing can be helpful before you reply to the "what do you do" question. Why not think outside the box and be different and say something completely out of context -I am going to try this next time. I think I 'll say "I go to networking events like this to meet people" or "I really enjoy connecting with other people" or "I go to meetings like this so I can get a glass of wine", and see how they react?  A funny moment may work in your favor and it probably will help the other person see from a different perspective. Who knows......it's worth trying something different.

Culture Due Diligence

If Cultural Due Diligence is overlooked it can be very costly for a company.  The following warning signs are examples of the affect of discounting the value of the people involved.

• Increased employee turnover causing diminished sense of employee loyalty

• Loss of existing company culture causing turnover problems

• Long drawn out transition period before integration plan or process takes place, therefore employees go elsewhere or are so caught up in the fear of the unknown that they are paralyzed

• Decrease in productivity because of the current need for damage control by management

• Decrease in productivity because of inconsistent communication on current focus and goals going forward – failure to keep employees informed

• Employees don’t have a voice in what’s next or in the integration solutions

• Employees are impacted by what’s happening – change to work routine, assignment and the reporting structure

Coaching decreases the threat of any of the above situations becoming a reality. Experienced and trained coaches listen and hear the voice of the company. As experienced coaches, we have been trained and have the appropriate coaching tools to dispel the fears and start working on what is being created going forward.