Meet The Ables

The Ables are not just a family from Oklahoma. They are the functions of what empowers talent in your organization. I was conducting a thorough organizational assessment for a large company recently. One of the organization's leaders explained to me that she did not have the luxury of examining every area of her organization. There is no luxury in Leadership! We have to find time for the things that matter and minimize the priority of those that do not. Every great organization has an engaged culture. Creating and developing an engaged culture is not a turnkey transaction. It takes investigative commitment!

At the very least, every organization needs to meet The Ables:
Are your action items, actionable?
Are your core values, valuable?
Is your culture, engagable?
Are your program initiatives, measurable?

A Meaningful Path to Success
Very often an organization creates an employee recognition program from the top down. A CEO voices his/her opinion of how people want to be rewarded and a program is announced. Employee eye brows might raise when you are telling them how you are going to incent them without gathering their input.

The key to producing successful individuals (and thus furthering organizational success) is creating organizational initiatives applicable to employee preference. Programs designed for employees by employees produce enhanced adoption, engagement, and collective success. Top down programs often only produce lapel pins in desk drawers.

Words on a Wall
Integrity is a word used as a core value of many companies. Decision making rooted in integrity is vital to the success of any individual (and the organization they represent). But, what does integrity really mean? If I tell someone they acted with integrity today, their chest will swell. Teaching someone to qualify decisions at every project milestone develops a tactical skill set.

Core Values are only valuable when we dispel their ominous grandiosity. Organizations need to design initiatives that develop employee skill not just pat them on the back. If strategic organizational harmony is at the core of all employee actions, collaborative success is inevitable.

Too Cool for School
Our employees don't care to be recognized. I have heard those very words from a Vice President. A couple of thoughts:
EVERY employee wants their effort recognized and rewarded ....
ESPECIALLY those who say they don't want to be recognized!

The above mentioned point does reveal that organizational standards created by Abraham Lincoln may not be applicable in today's workforce. Leadership does not have to be a one way street. Directives for success don't have to be created and promoted in top down fashion. Employees want to be part of something bigger than themselves...a collective they helped create. The best recognition company leaders can give their employees is to listen and take action accordingly.

The Danger in Quantifying Human Effort
Show me the ROI...we hear it every day. Executives want to know that if they invest in a program they are going to get their money back. As if to say, I don't care how much you like it, it needs to produce revenue. I want you to take people's lives, make them numbers, and put them in a proposal for me. This request creates a hurricane of salesmanship mired in inconclusive evidence.

Let's simplify the process....

My mom used to want me to eat broccoli and I consistently left it on my plate. Occasionally she would shove it down my throat (not literally) and my night would be ruined. Then one night my mom put the broccoli on the plate and pulled up a bowl of Bearnaise sauce. She told me to dip the broccoli in the sauce. I did, I ate it all, and we enjoyed the rest of the night as a family. Would it have been better to leave the broccoli on the plate and to watch TV in separate rooms as life passed us by?

Your employees can grow to love broccoli. You just have to allow them to choose some sauce to dip it in.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

 

Even Linebackers Need Recognition

Greg Williams and his former New Orleans Saints organizational mates are in deep trouble. It is alleged that Coach Williams took the process of inspiring his players a step too far. No one would advocate rewarding a professional football player for hurting one of his union mates....we are unsure if this was the intent of what has been labeled a "bounty program". Everyone, however, would applaud a leader for offering his/her employees incentives for improving their performance.

The intended consequences of the New Orleans Saints unconventional incentive program are yet to be fully realized. There are, however, 2 key lessons learned from this controversy applicable to Employee Recognition:
Everyone Wants to be Recognized
It's Not About the Reward

Romo's Thoughts
"...it wasn't about the money, it was about the recognition..." - Bill Romanowski

A sports scientist nor even Roger Goodell can explain the importance of a post game moment. That moment in Pop Warner Football when the coach gives you a sticker to put on your helmet. It has nothing to do with the hit you put on your classmate and you did not intend to hurt him. For the first time in your life you spent 5 hours of every summer day in the hot sun with pads on and YOU overcame your personal limitations. Your parents were nowhere to be found, it was not soccer, and your dad was not the coach. For the first time in your life you did something on your own, you tried your hardest, and after days of uncertainty...the Coach picked YOU as the top performer. This, dear readers, is the premise of greatness. It is a result of great parenting, faith in the right things, and your recognition of your own ability! There is simply nothing better!

On a recent broadcast of the Jim Rome Show, Bill Romanowski explained it in terms that related to that which was documented above. Football players in this day and age make 10 figure incomes. They also risk their life every day. Put it in perspective: you are walking into a gun fight....a knife won't do!

Houses, Cars, and Attractive Women are elements of fame. They cannot make up for that moment when the coach brings you in front of the team to recognize YOUR effort! It is humbling and gratifying all at once. It is the place we all strive to get back to regardless of our income or status.

There is not a person on Earth who would not be humbled and gratified by a coach calling him/her in front of their team to get a sticker to put on their helmet. The sticker goes on the helmet and the recognition of your personal ability is never forgotten. You cannot assign a fiscal value to trying your hardest and knowing it made a difference.

Coach Williams did not encourage grown men to hurt their union mates. He wanted them to remember what it was like to try, succeed, and to be validated.

Value Is Interpretive
I once won a sales contest and our Vice President gave me a gift card. I bought diapers for my kids. Only they gave a shit! It was amazingly easy for our VP to ask her assistant to send me the card in the mail. There was no human interaction...my life's dedication had become a commodity. As I sharpened up my resume, my boss called me into a room, all of my teammates were there. They applauded for me. I had no idea what I had done. Without my knowing, everyone on my team had nominated me for an award that was globally recognized. I was the only sales professional to be given the reward. I stayed with the company for an additional 5 years because I didn't want my team to have to live with our Vice President.

Lance Armstrong said it best, "it's not about the bike". His life's dedication was to beat cancer and to inspire other people to do the same. To look a death sentence in the eye and win is far more important than any professional achievement.

Think about it....the best gift you have ever received did not cost more than any other. Someone took enough time to get to know you, they took time to find something that meant more to you than money, and they presented it to you in a fashion that made you remember what LIFE is all about!

We all need a sticker for our helmet. None of us would injure another to get it.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

i-consider

You will find success when you learn to say "I" less!

A while back a team of several people presented a major proposal to a large corporation. In debriefing, our team lead went on and on about what she did to impress the client. She continually said "I did a really great job showing them....I told them exactly....blaw, blaw, blaw...". We won the deal and at some point our team lead was promoted. Proof that God does not understand the corporate world. In the court of the opinion of her peers the damage was done. Months of preparation by several people was reduced to an insecure young lady trying to prove herself worthy of a seat at the table with the big boys. The rest of us just wanted to put together a great strategy for our client. We went on working with the corporation we presented to and warned them with the aforementioned team lead was coming to town. While she attempted to impress them with another powerpoint we texted each other from across the table with eyes rolling. When the client (now our friends) laughed at my texts the team lead thought they were smiling with astonishment of her professionalism. What a Dum Dum!

I must admit that there are times when I have acted out of character professionally. I went out of my way to prove myself worthy of greater responsibility. I had side bar conversations with Senior Managers bringing to their attention my latest contributions. I look back on that point of my career with disdain. I simply didn't understand the image I was projecting. I was too naive to recognize my selfishness. My bravado projected insecurity.....not confidence. Over time, I grew up.

We all have milestones in our personal development. This is actually a critical part of our professional development. For some it comes from losing a big deal, others lose a job, and there are those who learn from winning. For me, the transition was very subtle. I saw people acting the way I had and I came to understand the inelegance of my former self.

There are 3 things to consider in consideration of others:
Stop saying "I"
Be humble in victory and accountable in defeat
Learn to blow off the unimportant

There is no "I" in R.e.s.p.e.c.t
I once worked with a man who was unable to delegate. He felt out-of-control if he passed anything along to his "lesser" colleagues. He really cared a lot....but he came off as mistrusting. As if to say, you are going to screw this up, so I'll work twice as hard. We heard the story of the team lead who took credit for her team's hard work. I told you of my shameless self-promotion. All of these people are well-intentioned but terribly presented. We often get so focused on the final score that we neglect the style in which we play the game.

Your boss will fire you tomorrow if someone better comes along. The company you work for could close their doors tomorrow. You will, however, always have a reputation among your peers. Your peers are the people who you see in the grocery store and at the kid's soccer games. When you lose your job, you will most likely look to your peers for support. The same people you see on the way up, you will see on the way down.

The Humility of Accountability
I love hearing post-game interviews with players who compliment their team. Interviews are stupid...we all saw the game, we know what happened. So those who take their moment on TV to compliment their peers are admirable. No one enjoys someone who brags when they win, no one wants to hear excuses from those who have lost.

It is best to be Humble in victory and Accountable in defeat.

Ignore It...
I remember being really upset about something incredibly unimportant. Someone had let the team down and had tried to pass the blame on others. Nothing upsets me more than lack of accountability masked in unilateral communication. After complaining like a little girl for 10 minutes, I asked my boss how he was able to endure such incompetence day in and day out. To which he replied, "I ignore it"!

From that point on, I learned not to take the mundane elements too seriously. I learned that everyone knows when the ball is dropped and attempting to save face is a natural human reaction. I learned to give people the benefit of the doubt when they fail and they will do the same for you. Yes, you too will fail!

No one is perfect yet we all need to approach life with the proper degree of confidence. We cannot go through each day second guessing ourselves. We have to make decisions and be confident in them....and when we fail we have to own it. A whole bunch of talk does not make one confident but the inability to express oneself is worse. We have to learn to pick our battles and to always present ourselves in a nature that is respected by others.

Years from now the team lead I mentioned above will deliver a pizza to my house....and because I'm a nice guy, I will tip her an extra buck. It is in those moments that the selfishness of poor personal promotion comes back to haunt us. In fact, the best personal promotion is no personal promotion.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave       

5 Questions for Steven Trompeter

 Nearly 10 years ago, The Great Steven Trompeter left his Sales position in a well-established organization. He joined an industry with an average tenure that matched his years on Earth. Truly the new kid on the block, Steven established himself among his tenured peers in under a year.

Today, he is among a rare breed of Millennials that has served a company for the aforementioned extended amount of time. 

Mr. Trompeter is a man of intense competitive drive, unquenchable creative desire and an astounding sense of humor. He was kind enough to give us a few minutes of his Happy Hour as the labor day weekend beckoned.

1. You are a successful, seasoned sales professional. What advice would you give to a young person starting a sales career in this day and age?
First off, thanks for the compliment. It’s always nice to be recognized. Before I gave them any advice I’d ask them this question: Why do you want to be in sales? It’s the key to understanding whether or not you’d be great at it. There will be a lot of different reasons but ultimately it should lead back to this answer. I want to be in sales to control my own destiny! To me, SALES is the heartbeat of any company. It’s the most exciting place to be because it all starts with your efforts and when you taste success there’s nothing like it! Back to your question, for a young person starting a career in sales today here would be my advice:
• Start building your professional network immediately
• Being prepared is the ultimate sign of respect
• Embrace social media for business purposes
• Set goals and hold yourself accountable
• Understand that nobody cares what you want to sell. They care about their business problems and if what you are selling can be a viable solution
• Don’t be afraid to fail! In fact, expect it, embrace it and learn from your mistakes
• Become a student of sales - attend seminars, read books, follow blogs and become an industry expert in whatever field you’ve chosen
• Sell with integrity
• Learn to keep the door open even when you want to slam it in someone’s face
• Seek advice – look at your sales team and develop mentor / mentee relationships to advance your learning curve. You don’t need the company to assign one to you. Find one yourself, take him or her to lunch and build that relationship
• Continuously educate yourself on your clients and prospects line of work
• Have a vision and learn how to articulate it
• “CLOSING” is for losers. OPEN relationships and business partnerships that will grow for an entire career, not just one sale

2. As an incentives consultant, are you seeing trends in the way companies are encouraging staff results?
A few key trends that are moving to the forefront of our industry are:
• Eliminating programs that live in silos and developing a total rewards strategy that ties into business objectives
• Making the reward and recognition experience social
• Instant / timely recognition
• Equitable global recognition

3. What do you feel is the key to employee engagement?
• A strong leadership team
• Transparency on the status of your company
• A shared vision for all employees
• Providing a career path for your employees with plenty of opportunities for them to understand how they are doing
• Set up consistent programs to gain feedback from your staff
• Show your employees how their opinions matter and how you have listened

4. You have worked for the same company for almost 10 years. This is rare for a young professional. What’s the secret to your tenure?
I get this question a lot. I believe it’s a combination of my personality and the sales culture I am a part of at Michael C. Fina. I am fortunate enough to be surrounded by some of the most talented, sincere and engaged professionals in my industry. The Fina family, our leadership team and our extremely committed employees of Michael C. Fina have helped me grow as a professional and as a person. The old expression “to whom much is given much is expected” is the way things work around here. There is an unwavering level of trust and support from the top which allows you to have the feeling of being an entrepreneur but with a proven system and financing behind you every step of the way. It’s been an amazing challenge and one that I am very proud of. Additionally, working at a privately held, family run business fosters a culture of reciprocal loyalty. Anyone who tells you they haven’t thought of leaving their company or explored other options is full of it! I believe the key is to make your own grass greener and keep pushing yourself to be the best you that you can be. Most of the time when people switch jobs it’s in the quest for something more and that "more" isn’t always money. It could be a different team, new leadership, better market position etc… Then they get to that new company and two years later it’s the same story. I don’t begrudge anyone who makes a move that they believe will put themselves and their family in a better position for success. At the same time, I encourage people to put their best work on the table. Push hard and you might just be surprised how doors open up for you.

5. You are a Boston kid. Do you feel the recent run of championships will take away from the working class, underdog mystique that has made Boston so hard edged?
DK – somehow I knew a question like that was coming my way from Mr. California-lovin… Not at all! I believe that grind it out, get it done mentality will never leave our sports community (or the people who are from Boston for that matter). Of course, it’s fun to be the underdog and climb up to championship status but I also think that gritty chip on your shoulder mentality will allow us to protect the sports dominance we have created. Cue the Duckboats!

Follow Steven on Twitter - http://twitter.com/steventrompeter
or network with him on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/steventrompeter

Don't Forget to Remember

Dave

Social Awareness

As a Human Resources Strategist, there are 2 requests that are consistently reiterated to me:
1. How can my company be more like Zappos?
2. How do I write an iron-clad Social Media Policy?

The enquiries of competing ideologies are a microcosm of the double life delegated to HR Pros.

The Great Tony Hsieh recently address the question of social media policy at Zappos. I will paraphrase his feedback:
Our social media policy is pretty simple, we hire people for reasons that would validate that we are comfortable with them using social media under the Zappos brand.

Zappos is a great organization because they understand that people come first. Zappos is a company driven:
1. Individual Personalities
2. Core Values
3. Great Customer Service
....you will note that policy and/or organizational process are not listed in their drivers to success.

So, I can't "make your company like Zappos" if your position description is driven by words like: governance, regulation, policy, performance reviews, exit interviews, etc....

HR has been commoditized to corporate police. Do you think HR at Zappos faces liability.....you bet they do...they are HQ-ed in Vegas and have a bunch of 20 somethings working for them!!!! However, Tony Hsieh, his senior leaders and his legal team would don't heap said liability on said 20 somethings when they enter the office on any given day. Zappos remains an exemplary corporate culture because they keep their policy in the ivory tower and let the natives play. They celebrate what's great about their talent and leave the "legal implications of one's behavior" to the lawyers.

Too often in HR we focus on protecting our brand instead of sharing it. We regulate behavior instead of rewarding it. We write policy instead of educating of core values. We focus on performance reviews instead of service celebration.

Tony Hsieh also commented that you don't need to be a start up with a young workforce to be like Zappos...all you need to do is to align your people with your core values. Question: do you know your company's core values? Can you recite them? Do you live by them? Core Values are the only thing, in any company, that promote uniform purpose to all people regardless of title. Unfortunately, they have been reduced to words on a wall covered by dust in most places.

I know HR Pros want to focus on hiring not firing. I know HR Pros want to spread culture not regulate behavior. We just can't seem to shake the commodity we have allowed ourselves to be reduced to.

Want to be like Zappos? Trust your talent and align them with your uniform organizational purpose.....is that so hard to do?

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

5 Questions for Dave Kovacovich

I am starting a new series on DFTR called 5 questions. Once a week, I will showcase some of my favorite people by asking them differentiating questions. The goal is to give my readers an alternative view of the professional world through the eyes of those who have fought the good fight and won!

If you or someone you know would like to be part of this series just let me know.

Our first guest on the 5 Questions series is me....here is the transcription of an interview I did with myself on the car ride to work this morning. I hope you enjoy this guest, he is one of my favorite people!

1. You have made some professional adjustments that have really benefited you as a person. How did this work?
I was caught up in the corporate rat race. My goal was to climb the ladder of a large corporation. I wanted to align myself with the right people, accept additional responsibility, and bring attention to my achievements...it all back fired. I was young so I let the bravado of my motivation overwhelm my body of work. I was far too transparent in my ulterior motives and people got sick of me. When the light at the top of the ladder went dim, I had to switch careers.

I did a total career make over. I went from a large company to a smaller one, transferred from Technology to Human Resources, and started working from home. I made a commitment to let my work speak for itself. I stopped speaking up on conference calls and in meetings (unless called upon). I realized I had created a lot of extra, unnecessary stress in navigating my career path. When I let my work speak for itself the success wasn't forced. I saved a lot of time and a lot of hair follicles.

2. What do you enjoy most about working with HR Professionals?
I enjoy helping the more administrative team members develop confidence. There are folks who have been kept in generalists roles because of their lack of confidence. It's awesome to empower introverted people by helping them design a program (while giving them the metrics to defend their decision). I love it when a Senior Manager gives me a the 'go ahead' on a new program and the aforementioned catalyst is promoted.

3. Most Salesmen are fast talking jerks, how have you tried to avoid that stereotype?
I try to listen more than I talk, think with the customers mind, answer questions directly, make the solution applicable to a conveyed need, and to infuse some common sense.

As sales people, we tend to get hung up pretending to be product experts. Prospects don't care about our product knowledge, they care about how the product will fix a need, bring value to their company, and make their job easier. We get too hung up on touting our product without taking time to understand why (or if) our prospect needs what we're pushing. I hate to see a prospect ask a simple yes/no question and get a 10 minute product capability dump (that doesn't address their question). You wanna be a successful sales professional: listen and apply your solution to a conveyed need....and don't be afraid to say your product is incapable of doing certain things. Prospects appreciate salespeople who are not submissive to every request.

4. What are the latest trends in the world of Employee Recognition?
Who cares! Our industry tends to lack creativity. We latch on to themes like Employee Engagement and Motivating Millennials and we pretend we have a one size fits all solution. I don't believe there is such thing as an industry expert and I don't believe in best practices. Every industry, company, and employee have unique identities...trying to throw a blanket over it, makes consulting a commodity.

5. You are a big fan of sports and music. How do your personal preferences relate to your profession?
It's all about inspiration. I love the thrill of victory. Seeing the underdog overcome pre-conceived adversity makes me believe I can do anything. It's the same with music. I listen to Bon Iver and the sound scape opens my soul...I instantly forget the mundane pressures of life and I am filled with purpose for the moment. The challenge is always remembering the great stuff. Music and sports help me remember how amazingly awesome I can be.

Life is good for Dave! He lives to work because he loves his work. He loves his work because he takes no detail too seriously, has great relationships, and celebrates the strengths in everyone around him.

Next week we will talk to another amazing professional with genuine intent. Until then...

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Trends in Employee Recognition

In May 2011 World at Work released a report on Trends in Employee Recognition. Much of the information in this report confirms what we know about this facet of employee rewards. There were a few head scratchers. Today, we will investigate the head scrathers...


Disbursement Strategy
70% of organizations offer 3 to 6 different recognition programs. This raises the question as to whether there is a synchronized strategy in delivering these various programs. Let's say the transportation supervisor rewards his/her crew for workplace safety while the sales team administers an incentive performance program. These programs are unique to their organizational sub-culture but they could benefit a larger organizational strategy. Why is safety limited to the operational workforce? Why are incentive programs limited to sales? If the right hand and the left hand are on different dials can the body actually work in harmony? The aforementioned programs run famously within their respective branches of the company but why can't the rest of the organization benefit from their success? If a tree falls in the warehouse, and nobody sees it, does it really count against your insurance premium?

Who's The Boss?
The majority of those surveyed for the World at Work report revealed that Senior Management was neutral to their Employee Recognition programs. We now discover an indifference from those in the boardroom in addition to the unsynchronized strategy. An employee works all weekend to complete a project, a rookie sales executive develops an up-selling initiative, an administrative assistant celebrates 30 years with the company....and the CEO is unaware. That is a shame!

Happy Anniversary
90% of organizations celebrate employees on their service anniversary. The most commonly distributed reward.......A certificate.

One Source - Total Recognition
The employee recognition trends of 2011 are not new. There continues to be a few areas of concern:
1. Inconsistent Strategy
2. Lack of Senior Management Attention
3. Poor Execution in Recognizing Employee Performance

Employee Recognition is the most important element of any organization. Employees leave companies because they feel their hard work is not validated. What makes your company unique? Are you celebrating your irreplaceable differentiators? Everyone in the company should be aware when an employee completes a special achievement. A certificate can mean the world to someone if it is presented in the right way by the right person.

The most meaningful professional reward I ever received is a watch. I'm sure it is valued at under $100 but to me it is worth a million dollars. It was presented to me by my peer's slightly after I was overlooked for a promotion. Their kindness revealed to me that I didn't need a title to be a leader, that my fellow team members mattered just as much as the area VP, and that my effort had changed people's lives for the better. My most treasured gift dispels a few preconceived notions:
* It's a logo-ed watch and I like it.
* The dollar value of any gift is insignificant.
* Praise from any angle feels good.

I've heard CEOs say they don't believe in rewarding people for doing their job...shameful! I've heard employees say they do not want to be embarrassed by being recognized for their achievements....that's a lie! Managers think employees would rather receive a Starbucks card than a watch...have you ever had a cup of coffee that you will never forget?

We humans need to know that our time and effort is worth something. We spend most of our waking hours at work so the least we can do is leave (or better yet arrive) every day with a smile....

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Show Up & Care

Why would anyone want to be a politician? To have your personal life opened up, to play audience to special interest groups and lobbyist, to constantly be under a microscope, for every decision to be questioned by the less talented...all for much less money than you made as a business leader?

As The Great Jesse Ventura put it, "If Not Me, Then Who?"

My skepticism of the position vs The Governor's optimism makes the case pretty clear:
There is Nothing Easy About Progress!

If everything was easy, we would all be drunk in the town square every day, celebrating our Utopia. We have all learned in recent times that the hours of thankless effort far exceed those spent celebrating in the sunshine. Therein lies our challenge. To put our heads down and progress knowing that the gold stars may be few and far between.

To develop the ability to win in the face of constant adversity with diminishing rewards is a task that less than 25% of American workers are willing to accept. When faced with the challenge of being Genuinely Engaged in your career you can ask yourself but one question:
"If Not Me, Then Who?"

Develop Metrics for Progress Beyond Results
Find Other Avenues
Know That the Willingness to Try Eliminates 75% of Your Competition

Encouragement in All Forms
In a recent survey I conducted regarding workforce engagement, respondents indicated that encouragement from one's peers is equally as important as that from one's manager. This is often because a Manager is caught up in finish line results...that's what pays the bills. There are metrics beyond revenue to get to revenue that when encouraged properly can produce long term success. Whereas, short term revenue may be a stroke of luck or a quick fix product dump.

It is vastly important for organizations to understand business critical behaviors more than just the results they produce. It is even more important to develop programming and training that enriches such behaviors instead of just analyzing results and brow beating assumed under-performers.

The Definition of Insanity
We have identified that life in business is not fair, especially in a floundering economy. Still businesses increase prices, increase quotas and figure that margins will justify themselves in accordance. The thought being....we don't need to produce if we can adjust what we currently have to make up for our lack of production. As such, your loyal customers suffer, your account support spends all day explaining unilateral decision making and your sales people make up for their lack of ability by selling the wrong products & services at the wrong prices to the wrong people....this is exactly how NOT to run a business.

We have to produce by means of DAILY development. Your goals are cemented, how you get there is up to you. Find new ways to penetrate the market, up-sell current customers, develop products and add value.

You can walk into a wall, run into a wall or find a pick axe and bust a whole in it.

Then Who?
A study by HR Solutions indicated that 25% of the workforce are engaged in their work. This seems like a high number. This means only 1 in 4 workers even care about the work they do....what an opportunity! If you know three quarters of the people you walk by every day don't even want to be part of the game, it should be really easy to win. All you really need to do is show up and care.

The odds are steep, the rewards diminishing and the future uncertain. The easy thing to do is give up. If you do then you open the door for the less skilled to take what is yours simply by default.

It is time to no longer accept what we cannot change and change it! To ignore the statistics that serve only to demotivate you, to set your own course, to derive hope from the ambivalence of others.

Show up, find a way and never stop moving forward!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

The Watch

Last week we made the distinction: EVERYONE LOVES TO BE APPRECIATED!

So at what point do we graduate from the the appreciated to the appreciator?

As an example: when we get married we give away half of ourselves, when we have children we give away the other half and ultimately live to provide for others.

When we achieve financial success we begin to set aside funding for a cause. When we develop business acumen we get to a point when we can share our success story.

Are you ready to give back? Are you ready to pat someone on the back for their sake (not yours)? Are you confident enough in yourself to trust and empower others without short term expectation?

Jane's life was filled with short comings. She always tried hard but was never a top performer. At the company awards banquet she sat quietly, alone, and watched others receive rewards then thank their loved ones. Jane just didn't have the intestinal fortitude to get to great.

Does this make Jane a poor employee?

Jane spent 10 straight years at 90% of her quota. Consistently good, reliable, easy to manage; a perfect example of how to exist professionally.

Her boss, Jennifer, remembered the one time Jane opened up to her....she told a story of her life being pleasantly drama-free: She enjoyed living alone, she enjoyed working hard for the right reasons, she loved her life and her job. It was incredibly pleasing to her to find the goal and get there. Jane said she did not want to be recognized because it embarrassed her. She was happy to get her lunch in her cubicle, read on the bus and find customer's that were easy to get along with. The only memento of achievement that ever mattered to Jane was a Minnie Mouse watch that her (now deceased) father had bought for her.

So on her 10th Anniversary with her company, Jane went about work as usual. As she headed to the bus at the end of the day Jennifer called her into her office. She gave her an evaluation on another year of productive work and handed her an envelope.

On the bus ride home, Jane opened the envelope to see a note that simply stated: I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!...with a Minnie Mouse watch in the envelope.

Amid a group of strangers on the bus...Jane broke down into tears. For the first time in her professional life she felt genuinely appreciated!

Sometimes it is not so much what we have said to our employees but how well we have listened.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

references:
http://twitter.com/davidkovacovich

Transparency

I am fortunate enough to spend my day helping organizations develop the strategy of appreciation.

Occasionally, I will hear people say - "we don't believe in recognition here"!

LIE!

Everyone wants to be recognized for what they do, everyone appreciates rewards, everyone needs a pat on the back for encouragement!

I understand the commodity employee recognition has become and the according stigma:
- It does not make sense to give a person a gift with a company logo on it or to select a gift for them that they do not want.

- If you are inarticulate in the way you recognize a person's achievement in a speech to their peers it has an adverse effect.

- If you force someone to participate in a contest in which they have no interest, it is nothing more than another task.

- If you ask me to pat someone on the back for a job that was done in mediocre fashion the nominator, recipient and the organization suffer.

- If I am able to order an expensive prize after 5 years of shitty work, that is nothing more than entitlement.


If you have made employee celebration a commodity you might as well:
1. Burn company money
2. Post a company mission statement written in morse code
3. Help your employees sharpen up their resumes





You cannot be transparent in the way you LOVE your people:
* Every employee must be personally engaged in the reward with which you empower them!

* When you speak of someone who you have manged for five years and you do not have the ability to inspire them to tears - you should be FIRED!

* The Reward should encompass a Choice!

* Everyone should have an Equal Opportunity to be Appreciated!

* The choice to participate should be an Honor not a burden.


In simplest terms, everyone is different. Your employee should be a contributing business partner specifically because they can do things NO ONE else can do.


Know What Makes Your People Unique and Celebrate accordingly!


Don't Forget to Remember!


Dave


references:
http://www.mcfrecognition.com/
http://twitter.com/davidkovacovich
www.linkedin.com/in/davidkovacovich

To Be Young

It seems a recurring theme in the world of Human Resources:

"...Generation Y, The Entitled Generation..."

I remember when I was in college and Matthew McConaughey accepted an MTV Movie Award noting that the young people in the world "impressed the hell out of (him)" and that he was amazed by us every day. For the first time in my life I felt like part of the world: empowered to take the baton and run with it.

In high school, I spent 4 years competing as a wrestler and rose through the ranks. In college, I spent 5 years in a fraternity and ended up President. When I was released into the professional world something strange happened: 4 years became 40. You see, our careers last significantly longer than a wrestling season or fraternity presidential term, so it takes longer to validate our achievements. Could it be that Generation Y is not entitled or impatient but used to receiving recognition in a more expedient manner?

It seems the case studies, industry articles and seminars put Generation Y not in a position of empowerment but rather throws them a 'wait and see' warning. As a young professional, I received some of the worst advise I ever have:

"slow down, you're making us look bad"

"it will take time, you have to be patient"

"if you keep this up, people are gonna start talking about you"

I am not sure why we see fit to wrangle young people's motivation and deter it. In fact, the aforementioned is not a characteristic of sage-like advice but a sign of insecurity.

In the workplace I see young people with energy, ambition and open ears...what more could you ask for as a leader?

I propose a workshop not on how to control Generation Y but on how to keep our immaturity in check:

A. Stop worrying about being replaced

B. Feel good about teaching young people to succeed

C. Help young people channel their motivation

D. Determine the difference between manic effort and a guided foundation for success

Leaders,

If you discourage the young people in your organization from using their energy for good: your time is limited, not theirs!

Lead with the intent of a legacy carried on by people who want to act and to be rewarded for their effort. Let your legacy be carried by your teachings, your actions and your intent to make the world a better place by empowering the young and ambitious.

So that when that door swings shut for the final time...you hear tears dropping not cheers from the rafters.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

references:

http://www.earlyengagement.com/