Effective Partnering

I have created a series of three workshops for partners in business that I will start facilitating in January. I thought of "effective partnering" in the middle of the night as I was thinking about how important it is to be in harmony when you are working with someone and you equally are making successful oriented business decisions together. In a perfect world I would have worded this "effortless partnering" but sometimes we have to struggle and make decisions that may be difficult. It's very important at the beginning of a business partner relationship to get everything that is relevant to your success on the table.  Define people's roles, create boundaries and get clarity on expectations so if there is a surprise that shows up, you can deal with it rationally without making someone wrong. Too many times these steps are left out, not thought of or thought of as not important. Things will come back to bite you if you don't address key issues up front.  You can never assume that the other person thinks like you do, big mistake.  We are all wired very differently with life experiences, education and backgrounds that reflect on who we each are. Taking time to sit down and talk about roles is key to how successful and balanced you will be in decisions you will be making together in the future. What steps do you need to make now to start a   more successful relationship?

Creating a positive culture

great article posted by Bruce Rector

Premium content frctorom South Florida Business Journal - by Bruce Rector

It is surprising to me how few companies that I encounter proactively contemplate creating a corporate culture as a competitive advantage. Many times, corporate culture is an afterthought – if it’s even thought about at all. And, in my experience, this can be the case not only at middle-market companies, but even at large, multinational firms. This might be a result of viewing operating results purely from a financial perspective without thinking about the softer issues that often can drive those results.

Why might a firm benefit from a thoughtful approach to creating a positive corporate culture?

• Your employees will be more productive. I’ve seen companies that have clearly positive, encouraging cultures, and the difference in employee satisfaction and productivity is remarkable. When problems arise, these companies are focused on fixing the problem, not finding a person on whom to fix the blame. Bottom line: If people feel like they are in an environment that is positive, they add more value.
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• It can make it easier to identify potential leaders. By creating a strongly positive culture, a company can make it easier for leaders to emerge. They will be the ones that will feel free to suggest improvements to processes and procedures because the culture will support their stepping out and taking the risk to be proactive.
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• It will make it easier to recruit and retain quality employees. Companies that garner a reputation as places that are quality places to work will do a much better job of recruiting strong employees. And a company is only as strong as the people who work there.
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• It will almost certainly enhance the company’s reputation in the marketplace. This sort of credibility and awareness in the marketplace can be terrifically valuable to your company.  While you may understand the value of creating an appropriate culture, management needs to recognize that building a strong, positive culture is a conscious choice on their part. Like any aspect of developing and growing a business, this doesn’t just happen accidentally. Management must decide that creating the right culture is a priority, and put some thought into how they will make it happen. By putting pencil to paper and laying out a series of steps they can design and implement a strategy to make it happen – and add enormous value to their company.

Read more: Creating a positive culture | South Florida Business Journal 

Who Are You?

I have been finding a common theme amongst some companies in the mortgage industry around not disclosing who the executive team is.  The web sites talk about what the company does and how they do it but they don't talk about who is leading the teams, why they got in the business in the first place, what their strengths are or their backgrounds. Having been in national sales for many years and now in my coaching practice, I share with leaders I am in conversation with how important it is to talk about yourselves. Maybe there is fear around a competitor stealing away good people - what a shame as if you are so concerned about losing someone to another company, maybe it's time to step back and learn about the person and what you value in them and convey the message of who you are as a company and how they fit in with value. This is probably a whisper to me as potential future business to share with these companies how significant it is to talk about your Why. Hmmm, I'll have to stew on that one.

Why Complain About How Cold It Is?

We are currently experiencing a cold front here in South Florida.  Currently it's about 50 degrees but with the wind blowing, it feels colder.  I love this change in weather.  I get to haul out my out of state Florida clothing and relish the crisp air.  Mark, my life partner hates it.  He constantly complains how miserable it is and is dressed like he's going into hibernation. I understand where he is coming from as he was born, raised and lived in Chicago for 45 years and his memories include standing in his foyer in the mornings waiting for his car to warm up. He would never go back there in the winter. I on the other hand was raised in California and Arizona and didn't have to live for long periods of time in really cold weather. But I also appreciate the gifts of whatever the weather is showing up.  I get to breathe fresh air, I get to enjoy the sunshine and I live in beauty. There are many places in the world where people live in ungodly environments but they make do and typically don't complain. We will be back to normal temperatures within the week which means 70's to 60's range for the next six months, this I appreciate. What good is complaining, it gets you know where but causes negative feelings that get even more pronounced. Be thankful for who you are, what you have access to and the freedom we enjoy. This cold weather shall change so deal with it as best you can, what else can you do?

End of November 2010

Today is the last day of November 2010 and as always, I like to reflect back on the month and think about the happenings and how they affected me.  Some significant happenings were my daughter-in-law losing her father to a sudden illness and he was only 56.  I am glad we got the opportunity to meet him in Argentina last year at this time, he was a lovely man. I also started working in a company with two associates with a focus on creating a stronger culture from the top down.  This is what I was meant to do, help guide leaders to work their purpose and lead people to believe in the purpose and thrive.  I also helped one of my clients get promoted to a newly created position of more responsibility and continued success.  It's been such a pleasure to be on his journey as he embraced being open to getting better at communicating.  I conducted a couple of workshops on communication - one on effective networking and one on trust and collaboration.  Engaging people in conversation is the most effective way for them to embrace change.  You can't talk at people but instead involve them in the discussion.  I also conducted a workshop for Habitat for Humanity Family Support for new homeowners on passing the baton from Habitat to becoming responsible homeowners.  Again engaging the families in the conversations around this.  Great ideas were shared from some of them for the benefit of everyone. Thanksgiving was last week and we enjoyed the day with dear, long time friends.  We all shared things we were grateful for as we also shared our food.  I try to live in the present moment and be aware of the opportunities that show up at any given moment and they do.  You can't get frustrated if something is not going according to your plan as something unexpected can show up that may give you a whole new perspective to look at.  I know tomorrow will be another day into a new month and who knows how it will turn out.  I do know that I will embrace the cooler weather coming so we can open or doors again.

Thanksgiving Week

Everyone is getting ready for the big day of eating, enjoying the company of family and friends and possibly traveling.  Many people will be providing service to others in the form of helping feed the hungry, delivering food to the needy, collecting food, etc.  This is a great time to also reflect on what's good in your life, what you are grateful for and sharing that with others.  If you are doing the cooking, think about the neighbor, business associate or friend who may be alone and invite them over. Think of ways you can express your gratitude to the people in your life by remembering to thank them for something they have done - something as simple as r being in your life. Gratitude creates tremendous energy that comes back at you many times.  How can you incorporate more of recognizing this in your life? In the service of others is one way to spark the attention around the benefits of gratitude.  Have a blessed and safe holiday.

Effective Networking

I am presenting a workshop next week on "Effective Networking".  I  have decided to be mindful of what happens at networking meetings I attend and people I meet with from these groups. Good material will come from these observations as I present. Here is what I observed at a group meeting today:

• Some people are very good at creating opportunities by setting up meetings with referral sources and potential clients.  They share about themselves and they want to know about the other person.
• Some people attend these meetings and are there in appearance only, never meeting with anyone - simply attending the gathering.  I would love to know their purpose for being there, especially if they are married to their phone.
• Some people are very good with follow up and some are not.  This is a pet peeve of mine - you have to follow up for many reasons.  If you promised them something, complete the task and follow through.  Sometimes opportunities won't arise for a few months so you want to maintain the relationship if you see potential.  People appreciate and remember those who follow this step.
• Some people have their own agenda for meeting - it's all about them and they love to talk about themselves.  Step back after the meeting and ask yourself if this is someone who will benefit from a relationship with you and you with them.
• Some people position themselves in the same spot every meeting or they sit with their friends.  How does this benefit opportunity? Simple questions to ask yourself.

If you are networking, be clear before you get where you are going what your intention is and your expectations.  Your elevator speech should be concise and always be open to sharing a little bit more about you or a tidbit they could use, etc. something that would be interesting to the members of the group.  Get creative with this, it will serve you and it mixes things up.