When email doesn't work!

So here is a lesson about email that we can all learn from and appreciate!

6 months ago I was very frustrated about the inaccuracy of how my sales numbers were being reported to our corporate offices. At that time I went to our office manager who was doing the reporting and brought it to her attention in a very friendly manner. She agreed to look in to it and get it resolved.

After about 2 months, I inquired again because nothing had changed since our last conversation. Once again she said she would look into it. At this point I also brought it to the attention of our local franchise owner, who we both report to.

After 2 more months I inquired a third time via email including the owner on the email. This time there was no response at all. No reply to the email nothing. So now I am at a point of sheer frustration and anger.

So........I decide to send another email, again icluding our boss. Since my mental state was less than ideal for this situation I knew I needed to be very careful with how I worded the email; so I carefully chose my words and sent the email off.

In a flash came back a scathing response from my office manager and to make matters worse she also copied our boss as well. (After all, I copied him on the original email.......another mistake on my behalf) Needless to say, I didn't help my situation any with the email, in fact I made it worse!!

So what did I learn? Well here it is in a nutshell:

• Always reread your emails and if need be sleep on them before you send them. You will save yourself a lot of grief and hard feelings.
• Don't send an email to do the job of what should be a face to face conversation. Had I picked up the phone or went to her in person, she would not have gotten angry with the way I made the third request for her help.
• There really is no need to copy the boss on emails that throw other people under the bus, it just show a lack of professionalism and judgement. The two of us, as adult human beings should have been able to work this out.

So, what email lessons have you had that the rest of us can learn from?

Sell. Sell? Sell!

The sales "game"....well that's only for sales people, right?! Wrong! No matter what we do as a profession, no matter what level education we have or what degree we hold, no matter who we interact with, we are always selling.

Imagine this.....I want my 6 year old to go to bed early because tomorrow is a big day. What do I have to do? Sell him on why it's a good idea.

I want my boss to give me the promotion and not the other guy. What do I have to do? (All things being equal between you and the other guy.) Sell her on why you are the better choice.

I want my cross functional partner to embrace a new concept for completing projects. What do I have to do? Sell him on why my way is a better way.

I want my spouse to take out the trash without me having to nag at him. What do I have to do? Sell him on why he should just do it without me asking.

I want my coworker to carry their weight and quit putting the burden on the rest of the team.
What do I have to do? Sell her on how her productivity is hurting the project.

In a nut shell, if we have any hope of getting others to cooperate with us we have to help them see that our idea and way of thinking is good for them.

Here is the key to the sales "game"; if I can help you see that you have an urgent need and then show you how I can satisfy that urgent need you will readily hop on board with my solution.

You see people will only do things for their own reason...not mine, not yours, not the companies but for their own reasons.

I once tried to get my boss to pay me a bigger salary for doing virtually the same work I am currently doing. I gave him all my reasons as to why I thought I deserved more money, it made perfectly logical sense to me. Well, the answer I got from my boss was a flat out "No!" So, the next conversation I had with him, I outlined how he was to benefit from having me do my same job with more money, I even added a few extra responsibilities I could take on to make it more attractive to him. So, what do you think happened this time? His response was "You know, I like this idea. I think this will work. Yes, we'll adjust your salary!" You see I tapped into what was important to him. I forgot about what I wanted and talked more about what he wanted.

Here is the one simple principle to live and "sell" by: "ALWAYS talk in terms of the other person's interests!" When you do this, everyone wins!!!

When have you had a win-win outcome with a boss or peer? What did you do to make it turn out that way? Tell us about it, we would love to hear your success!

What Can We Learn From Running?

I the past few weeks I started a new training program in preparation for my first ever triathlon. Not being exceptional in any one of the triathlon events I have spent a lot of time training in all three categories, bike, run and swim.

Here are a few things I have learned that relate to success in business:

It's all in your head! A friend of mine told me that running is a mental game. She said I need to stay focused on what I am thinking and my body will just take over. Huh?! Are you kidding me? Tell that to the pains I get in my side......okay, she was right.

Question, what do you think about all day at work? Are you obsessed with negative thoughts? Thoughts like; I hate my job, I can't stand this place, I wish I could go home, If my manager asks me to do one more thing I am going to lose it, why do I bother, etc.
If we will focus on the dialogue that happens inside our heads and force our self to talk in terms of what we want rather than what we don't want our bodies will take over and lead us to the places we want to be!

Focus on what is right in front of you, don't look to the end until it is here.
I used to get very discouraged when I ran because I was always looking way ahead to the end of the run. It always felt like I wasn't getting any closer and that it was taking forever to reach the finish. I have since changed my approach, I focus on the ground in front of me, watching it pass by with every step, now when I look up I feel like I have gone far.

In life, we must clearly know where we are going and the path we must take to get there. Keeping the end in mind we should set ourselves on course focusing on the tasks at hand day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Every so often we should lift our eyes and check our progress....are we still on track? how close are we now? what adjustments shall I make moving forward? Think of the word WIN....What's Important Now?

Pace yourself before you burn out!
As a driver type personality, when I go, I GO. When it comes to running, once I start I am on....... full steam ahead. The problem with this is that while I was easily able to finish half my planned distance in only 10 minutes, the second half of the run would take me 20 minutes with great pain. What I learned was I needed to pace myself, run at a slower more consistent speed so I could finish strong.

How is your pace at work? Do you feel burned out at the end of the day, week or month? Do you have a hard time turning off your work? Could it be that you are moving too fast or carrying so much burden that the stress is overwhelming you? Do you have an even balance between work and home? For your health's sake, slow down, take it easy and above all find a way to work hard and steady. Ask yourself "What is my health worth?" We can't afford to burn out, there are too many people counting on us, primarily our loved ones; if you won't do it for yourself, do it for them!

What lessons have you learned from your past times or hobbies? Please share them with me, I love to learn from real life experiences!

Life Long Learners Achieve More

Some people look at training and education as a huge waste of time. They go to class, sit and listen to the instructor, go through the activities and exercises and a week later they don’t remember anything. In fact, I heard from one guy who retired after 40 years of service to his company; he complained that over the course of his career he had to participate in no less than 1,000 training events yet he can’t remember a single thing the trainers said. What a waste of my time, the trainer’s time and company money!

Here is what I explained to him. In the course of my lifetime I have eaten no less than 45,000 meals and I cannot recall what was on the menu for even one single meal. What I do know is this, had I not eaten all those the meals I would have starved physically and would now be dead. Despite not being able to recall everything we have ever heard in a classroom; the truth is this, no matter how good we think we are we are never good enough. Every experience in the class room increases our awareness, brings things back to a conscious level even if only for a short period of time. Learning and training experiences feed our attitudes and our souls; they give us the nourishment to help us forge ahead, even when times are tough!

The moral of the story here is to embrace learning and growing, without it we shrivel up and die.

Where do you want to be on the success scale? Somewhere at the top leading the way for others due to your thirst and quest for knowlege that puts you head and shoulders above others OR do you want to be buried under 6 feet of dirt with no hope at all for the future? It's your decision!

Let me know what decision you have made, post it here on this blog!

Where are you going? And how are you getting there?

A dear colleague and friend recently underwent many challenges and changes at her workplace. Sound familiar to anyone? My friend is a living, breathing, walking talking example of positive attitude; last week she made the comment that she was grateful for the opportunity to experience these life lesson. Who thinks like that?! I love my friend's perspective and I believe more of us should think like her!



To put things in a nut shell, life should really be about the journey and not the final destination.



Most people go about their day moving from one hour to the next with the simple goal of making it to the end of the day or the end of the week. These are the same people who move through their entire lifetime just waiting for the next mile stone; once I graduate from college, as soon as I get my 'real' job, after I am married, when the kids are raised; when I am retired. People get so focused on where they are trying to go in life, they seldom stop to enjoy the path that is taking them there.



My grandparents are a great example of a couple who never paid any mind the journey and have now arrived at their destination having never really enjoyed the trip. And for that matter, they really aren't even able to enjoy the destination!



My grandparents were hard working people who did well for themselves, they raised 2 successful sons who in turn raised a total of 8 successful children. Despite living through the great depression and various other difficult times, my grandparents managed to save a sizable nest egg for their retirement.



I believe their philosophy was to live like no one else so that you can live like no one else. While I think this is a pretty good philosophy, and worthy of consideration my grandparents may have gone a little over board with it. Here is what I mean.

• They never wasted anything-If it could be reused it was reused. If it could be saved for later, it was saved for later. If someone else could wear it, they wore it. They had to save for retirement.

• They never bought new-My grandfather was very handy and could fix just about anything. Before they would spend money on something it would be fixed, repaired, patched, welded, sewn, you name it. They had to save for retirement.

• Spend when only necessary-Eating meals out was a rarity. Grandpap would grow a garden, grandma would can the vegetables. Vacations were almost unheard of, they never went anywhere. They had to save for retirement.

So here they are, almost at their final destination, living with very poor health in a nursing home full of strangers. You see, I don't ever really recall seeing my grandparents smile, laugh and actually enjoy themselves. It was always about taking care of things so they would be okay for retirement. Then when retirement came, they had to be careful so that they would be okay during retirement. And when their health began to fail it was always about being careful so they would be okay if they had to go to a home. There was never any joy, happiness or excitement, they were just so focused on the destination they totally missed the scenery along the way.

So how are you living your life? Where is your life heading? And are you stopping along the way to acknowledge even the smallest gifts that are sometimes disguised as disappointment, challenge or difficulty?

Look positively at all the experiences in life, regardless of how bad the experience may be.You will never look back and regret what you missed! As a matter of fact, by acknowledging the bad and training yourself to find the silver lining in all situations you will be happier, healthier and better balanced.

When was the last time you laughed at a really tough situation because if you hadn't laughed you would have cried? Crying, complaining, criticizing and condemning helps absolutely nothing because after all the belly aching is done, the situation is still the same.

Do you know where you are heading and are you happy with how you are getting there? If you could change one thing about your journey what would it be? Post your comment today.

Leadership in a world that doesn't want to follow!

Over the last few months, I have talked with more and more managers and executives who have commented on the decline in productivity around their workplaces. What is so amazing to me is that some of these managers are clueless as to the reasons why. These managers are both shocked and frustrated over the fact that their employees just won't/don't perform.



What is it that causes employees to tune out, disengage the mind and simply go through the daily motions contributing only the minimal effort required? There are a number of factors that play a role in the degree to which employees are willing to give 100% of themselves, 100% of the time.

• Tough economic times creates stress and worry. Most people have a difficult time controlling stress and ultimately it affects every area of their life. I am told that employees who are left behind after massive layoffs are so concerned about the security of their job they literally fuss and fret over it so much that they are productive for only 1 to 2 hours during an 8 hour shift.
• Lack of alignment to the company vision. Employee must clearly see the direction the organization is heading. When the employee understand how their individual contribution is an important piece in how the company will achieve it's vision they are more willing to give a good effort each day. So when management gives direction there is least resistance from the employee because the employee can see how it helps reach the vision.
• Lack of a personal vision. Companies who don't help employee create a personal vision and development plan for achieving their vision will struggle with employee engagement. 70% of the emerging workforce wants to for an employer who expects employees to pursue on-going training or educational experiences on their own. And 96% of the emerging workforce feel the employee should see career development opportunities on their own and not rely on the company to tell them what they should do. Essentially the employee says "If you are not going to help me advance in my career, I am not happy." Which means they will disengage, become less productive and eventually leave.
• Disconnection between the employee and his/her manager. Gallup reports the number one factor that impacts an employee's level of engagement is the employee/manager relationship. When the manager builds strong relationships with his/her team members it communicates a sense of trust, respect, importance and appreciation to the employee. Out of the top 8 employee retention issues, the manager/employee relationship ranked #2 in order of importance by the employee.

So what is one to do? Companies who truly want to maximize the output they get from their employees can do some very low cost things that will make huge impacts that will ultimately trickle down to the bottom line.

Here are some ideas that will help you keep your employees tuned in and more productive:

1) Walk the talk- Be enthusiastic and fully engaged with your job and your employees. Learn what motivates them, what they want to achieve and why this is important to them.

2) Earn trust, respect and credibility – Fulfill promises, keep confidences and commitments, and act consistently, fairly and rationally. Be authentic and approachable.

3) Play to strengths– Match the right person to the right job. By learning your employees’ strengths and work styles, you can make the best use of their individual and unique talents and skills.

4) Instill a purpose - Instill sense of purpose in your employees. Involve them in projects as fully as possible by communicating the big picture goal. Everyone needs to know that his or her efforts make a difference.

5) Be clear - Set clear and realistic expectations and define expected outcomes. Maintain open lines of communication and “check in” with employees on a regular basis.

6) Listen - Learn to listen empathically, with your eyes, ears and heart. Listen without judgment and listen to understand and connect with your employees. Many times employees just need to vent frustrations without expecting action to be taken. Once they have expressed themselves they feel better and the manager is perceived as interested thus building trust.

Have you found any techniques that work particularly well for you? If so, please share them with the rest of us.

If you would like to learn more about how to develop the skills necessary to fully engage employees check out our Tools of Engagement http://www.pittsburgh.dalecarnegie.com/corporate_solutions.jsp