Finding The Final 5% of Productivity – Saving Minutes to Find Hours!

by Jonathan Creaghan
"Imagine for a moment the following scenario…” Bill, a colleague of yours, has just checked his e-mail and received a note from a person with whom he has a tense relationship. There is a recurring issue between the two of them, that won’t go away. He interprets this e-mail as “snarky” and “bullheaded,” so he sits there at his desk, his mind filling with scenarios and responses he would really like to send back. This internal “chatter” goes on for 10 minutes as he stews in his own emotions. He sends a reply in an equally “dry” tone and immediately regrets sending it, so he stews further in guilt for another few minutes (say 20 minutes).
Total productivity loss: 30 minutes.
As he was working on something else at the time he received the e-mail, he needs to refocus his attention: another 5 minutes to build back momentum.
Total productivity loss now: 35 minutes.
As a result of this decaying relationship, there is a heaviness and running conversation weighing within him of which he is barely aware — that won’t go away. Total time spent in chatter, tension, and loss of productive action – significantly more than 35 minutes. Especially if he takes it home, which he is apt to do.
Total productivity loss now: immeasurable with a significant cost to his inner well-being and probably his family time. Who won’t get his full attention when he gets home.
Now multiply that 35 minutes by 3 (the number of times it recurs during a month) and you see that he wasted an hour and half of time. But this is not the end of the story, because Bill and his nemesis also sit in meetings together. How productive do you think they will be? Since Bill is not the only person who wastes time reacting to emails, we can safely multiply that over the number of employees that work at his company as well. It could run into the thousands of minutes, 100 employees translates into 3500 minutes a day (approximately 58.3 hours). Now I know that not all people, everyday, stew and keep tension inside them, so I have exaggerated somewhat to make a point.

Start to connect productivity to thought and perception rather than action and performance. ” ~ Jonathan Creaghan Tweet this!

In error, we connect productivity to performance. Technological gadgets are invented to save time and effort: smart phones, e-mails, laptops, and tablets were all designed to make our lives “easier and more efficient”. But my experience tells me that these endeavors don’t get at the answer to real and profound productivity improvement that exists within us and between us.
Let’s dissect the above scenario for a moment. We find that Bill is unproductive because of his limited perceptions and conclusions he made about the message in the email. Unable to break free of habitual responses, interpretations, and judgements of whom this other person is and what happened to create this situation in the first place, he follows predictable responses that waste time and energy for all involved. And the funny thing is, if you were to ask Bill if he was productive, he would say “Yes”.
When Bill learns to examine his own thinking, he is free to discover a more accurate “picture” of reality and certain things begin to occur. His mind begins to relax and open up, the resulting clarity allows him to accurately perceive situations, create options for responses, and to reconnect with what is really going on. With less “head chatter” and unnecessary emotions, Bill will be able to distinguish between actions he needs to take and those that are unnecessary.
The source of productivity is within thought and perception itself. We can perform efficient actions with the help of gadgets, but ultimately to find the final 5% of workplace productivity, we will need to learn how to work with our thoughts.

Women & Leadership: Ten Critical Steps Forward

A post for women and men who seek to empower stronger and better leadership in a world of unprecedented change, challenges and opportunities. The future lies in the hands of those who can empower and enable others. It is time for women and men to light the fire of human potential, of great leadership; doing so starts with women leading forward!  Irene Becker, Just Coach It-The 3Q Edge

When we embrace our true potential, and do so with humanity, humility and the desire to serve the greatest good, we rekindle the most important fire of all; the fire of human potential-the fire of leading forward together! Leadership is a 3Q Equation: (IQ) Intellect-Strategic Thought EQ (emotions-empathy-self & social mgmt) SQ (values-integrity-humanity). It is a gender-less equation that must be enfranchised by those who have typically been disenfranchised.

The writing is on the walls of our lives, our communities, our organizations and our world; it is time for women to lead forward. And it is time for men to champion their sisters, because our individual and collective hope for a better future lies in men and women collaborating and leading forward together.
You cannot light a fire with wet wood. The future lies in the hands of those who can empower and enable the best in others. I am grateful to the sisters, the women before me who suffered for my human rights, and to those men who had the courage to stand alongside them. As a woman, as a part of an ethnic minority, as a member of the human race I am grateful to those who suffered before me for the rights and freedoms I have now.
The most important fire we can light is the fire of human potential, and I believe that women have a critical role to play. It is a role that takes courage, resiliency and the ability to stand tall. It is the most important role we can play. Most of the world, and most of womankind goes to bed hungry, disadvantaged and beaten in one way or the other. The strength of those who have a voice and their ability to use their voices to lead forward is critical. The strength of those who have been enabled with learning to use their knowledge to help others is imperative. The strength of those who refuse to let go of their faith, hope, humanity, integrity and courage is our hope for a better future.

1. Empowerment is both an internal and external journey that takes time. It is important to stand up, not down; it is important to R-E-A-C-H forward When the external conditions enfranchise human rights and voice, those who have been disenfranchised must then reset their own internal GPS. We will not go from a mindset of being dominated, to finding freedom and empowerment without resetting our own internal GPS by celebrating the power, the positive contribution we can and will make. What became clear to me, as I grew, learned and evolved was that it takes time for those who have been disenfranchised to step up to the plate. Laws and society must first welcome them, and then those who have been underdogs need to go through their own metamorphosis where the chains of disenfranchisement and victimhood no longer impeded their own sense of self esteem or abilities.
2. Stereotypes must be challenged, because the pull of the past is strong, and the past will not take us forward. Strong women scare weak men. This does not mean that we must undervalue our strengths. It means we must stand up and stand tall. Typically men are taught to overvalue their strengths, and women to undervalue theirs. Stop stereotyping yourself. See your strengths for what they are, and use your challenges to enable your potential. I believe with all my head and heart that women are in the midst of an important reset, as are other groups who have suffered. And, it is those who can rise above what was, and see their ability to build a bridge between sisters, brothers, diversity, constituencies…between the human divide before us that will be able to lead forward.
3. Do not become a victim of your biology, rather the biological imperative that women have to help the world lead forward. Men are typically wired to control and women to connect. Don’t hide your desire to build a better world under a bushel, celebrate it, ignite it and pass the torch forward. The same inherent strengths that make most of us great nurturers are what the world needs now more than ever before. Will we survive and thrive with a winner takes all model of leadership? Will we develop learning organizations, better societies, improved lives for all constituents by continuing models of leadership, governance that no longer work? Is it not time to celebrate our difference as women, our ability to really champion building organizations that strive and drive collaboration, communication and results for all constituents according to their respective abilities and potential?
4. Purpose = profit. A whole new world, workplace and marketplace will continue to show us that leading forward means harnessing the potential of human being better, not simply doing faster than ever before. The inequities before us are incredible, but so is our power to lead forward. If we are daunted by what is, we cannot begin to use the very challenges we face to create what can be. We must stand up, and standing up means rally the full force of our courage and commitment to doing what is in alignment with the integrity, humanity and values that will sustain our world.
5. Stop competing, start collaborating. Celebrate the biological differences that can make us stronger TOGETHER. The corpus callosum that separates left and right hemispheres in women is thicker than in men. Yes, the biological imperative that helps most women be mothers, tend to multiple responsibilities also gives us an ability that is now critical to our individual and collective survival and prosperity. While we know now that we can all build new neural connections, and that men can learn to be more whole brained; women are hardwired to do so. Women need to take the lead in modeling new and better ways of communicating, collaborating and building relationships and in helping our brothers develop these critical skills. While there are many men who are great communicators, collaborators and relationship builders, many can benefit from growth in these areas just as women can benefit from learning more from men about positioning themselves in ways that help them to lead forward in a still male dominated world and mindset.
6. Get empowered, re-inspired and use this momentum to inspire others because the traditionally male model of leadership is not working. It is time to develop a new androgynous model of leadership that must be championed by women and men. The testosterone surge, the brute strength and desire to win above all that has taken us to where we are now, must be transformed. Women and men are critical to this transformation, and the imperative to work together has never been more important.
7. Celebrate organizations and male leaders who have the courage, vision and values to champion women leaders and the leadership of those men and women who have been traditionally disenfranchised. Help men build skills and strengths that have been traditionally ascribed to women, help those who have been traditionally disenfranchised so that they can become 3Q Leaders who can optimize brain power, emotional power and the spiritual strength needed to lead forward with values, vision and action.

8. Come out of the closet. Too many women are relationship builders, nurturers, communicators and leaders who want to be part of developing a new way, a better way to lead forward together. We want to make a difference, but we can get stymied by ego, by societal definitions. Remember… Purpose = profit. Celebrate your purpose as a woman to help heal the world. Yes, I did say heal and I know this is a term that many might frown at…but, take a look around you. We need to heal as women, heal as minorities because the quicker we can stop looking at what was and use the strengths we have now to build and rebuild what can be, the faster and better we will move and lead forward!
9. Appreciate your ability to be empathetic and to become a WHOLE human being, a whole brained and whole heart leader. Men typically have a much higher concentration of testosterone, which is great when aggressive action is needed. Women are typically better at building relationships, collaborating, solving problems and analyzing people problems. Recognize it as one of the greatest challenges AND strengths you have. The importance of understanding how people feel, and using this understanding to appreciate and motivate the best in others is critical. Model, teach and mentor empathetic leadership and watch it grow.
10. It is time to celebrate and USE our differences and strengths as women and men to lead forward together. We will never accomplish this without women pushing forward in a positive way with a voice that must be heard. The voice of reason, the voice of compassion, the voice of collaboration, the voice of a new type of leadership that can take both men and women forward together. Our voice is not loud enough yet, but it is getting louder. We cannot and must not relent in removing the internal and external barriers before us. Our ability, as women, to light a fire of passion, purpose and potential is exponential. Every time we lead forward, we help others do the same.

The most important fire we can light is the fire of human potential, and I believe that women have a critical role to play. It is a role that takes courage, resiliency and the ability to stand tall. It is the most important role we can play. Most of the world and most of womankind goes to bed hungry, disadvantaged and beaten in one way or the other. The strength of those who have a voice, to use their voices to lead forward is critical. The strength of those who have been enabled with learning to use their knowledge to help others is imperative. The strength of those who refuse to let go of their faith, hope, humanity, integrity and courage is our hope for a better future.
When we embrace our true potential, and do so with humanity, humility and the desire to serve the greatest good, we rekindle the most important fire of all; the fire of human potential-the fire of leading forward together!

5 Weird Habits That Make People Successful And Awesome

Because if you make enough money, people call you "eccentric" instead of "crazy."

by Drake Baer

Yes, we all need to heed our callings, follow our north stars, and not settle for a jobs, but pursue careers.

Thing is, during anyone's career, sometimes it gets weird--and getting weird can pay off. Over at Forbes, Jason Nazar gets it done.

(Warning: these practices may work for these people, but this writer takes no responsibility for the strangeness that may cause in your life. Although, as a lifelong advocate of eccentricity, I encourage you to try them on.)

• Argue: to steel your team's beliefs. "In business you can’t turn over the reins to someone who doesn’t know how to defend their own ideas and plans," Nazar writes. Like an ancient Sophist, you should argue with your colleagues about what they are thinking and doing. Debate forces them to articulate their own motivations and assumptions and do the same for you.

• Confront:You need to be ready to call someone out. If somebody is bullshitting you, tell them. They need to hear it. Being endlessly deferential is a shortcut: instead of doing the hard work of advocating truth, you take the "easy" route of suffocating in passivity. And remember: you can train yourself to communicate better.

• Be ruthless: It's healthy to have high standards. Nazar mentions George Carlin: he watched the comic master berate himself in rehearsal for missing the timing of his jokes by a few seconds. Mastery is uncompromising. As a magazine editor once told me, you have to be willing to be great, which requires ruthlessness.

• Seek out rejection: Some people go their entire lives having never thrown or taken a punch (like me). It's just a punch. Some people live their lives afraid of rejection. Getting told "no" isn't the end of everything you hold dear. Neither is being left out. In fact, it's healthy.

• Isolate yourself: Yes, we know that you're incredibly popular and hip and you never eat alone and you can work any room. That's great. But if you ever want to grow internally rather than court external validation, you need to get away from all the people. Reflect. Care for your inner introvert.

What's the one thing you do that makes you highly functional and highly you? Get thee to the comments.

How to Be Interesting (in 10 Simple Steps)

By Jessica Hagy

by Kevin Eikenberry

This is a cool book. I don’t know how else to describe it.
The back of the book (which unfortunately you can’t see online, so here is a picture for you) is even cool. Yep, the back promises “how to live at the intersection of wonder, awe, and curiosity.” Doesn’t that sound like a pretty cool place to live?
The picture also outlines the “10 simple steps” promised in the title. Here they are:

1. Go exploring
2. Share what you discover
3. Do something. Anything.
4. Embrace your weirdness.
5. Have a cause.
6. Minimize the swagger.
7. Give it a shot.
8. Hop off the bandwagon.
9. Grow a pair.
10. Ignore the scolds.

As you can see the ten steps are fun, edgy and illustrated.
That phrase is my description of the whole book.
The advice is organized by step, and each one takes up two pages, about half of which is an illustration, that, well, illustrates the piece of advice (which is less than fifty words – sometimes far less). The advice is, like the back cover, fun, and edgy. And the illustrations are, while sometimes not perfectly connected (for me), interesting themselves. And trust me, I’m not throwing stones, because I couldn’t have illustrated any better!
I’ve never seen a book quite like it – but I’m glad I have this one. It isn’t likely a book you will pick up and read cover to cover – in fact if you tried to, I think you would lose some of the value.
Buy a copy for yourself, enjoy it, and prepare to be thinking of people you want to buy copies for – it will make an amazing graduation gift!

Leading yourself into Humility

by the Leadership Freak

I’ll never forget G.J. Hart’s observation about high potential leaders, “I can usually tell if they have the humility to make it.”
Humility yields success; arrogance blocks it. One source of arrogance is too much knowledge. However, there’s something that matters more than knowing. It’s practicing what you know. Putting knowledge into practice tests, reveals, and establishes true knowledge. Practicing knowledge helps produce humility.
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” Goethe

Leading yourself:
Thomas Watson said, “Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.”
What you think about what you know matters more than what you know. With that in mind it may be risky to give you more knowledge about humility. Hopefully you’ll add doing to knowing.
Eight practices of humble people -

Humble people:

1. Restore broken relationships.
2. Treat others better than they treat themselves.
3. Acknowledge weaknesses and embrace strengths.
4. Thank others for support and encouragement. Gratitude tempers arrogance.
5. Let others perform while they observe and encourage
6. Ask questions when they don’t know. A know-it-all is arrogant. Humility is openness; arrogance is blindness. The path to wisdom is paved with humility.
7. Enjoy honor. Arrogance blocks honor either by seeking it or by rejecting it.
8. Delight in rich sustaining relationships. Arrogance yields agonizing emptiness. Humility welcomes others.

Into humility:
No one can humble you. Only you can humble you. You’ve seen haughty people remain arrogant when they should act humbly. Forced humility actually breaks your spirit. On the other hand, embracing humility frees and energizes you.
Pursing humility is slippery and perilous. Acting humbly helps.
Accepting the conundrum that arrogance is weakness and humility is strength builds foundations for rich leadership.

***********

What other practices of humility can you add?

8 Secrets to Eliminating Negativity

by the Leadership Freak

One bad experience outweighs one good. A gallon of bad weighs more than a gallon of good.

Setbacks nag; success whispers.

You overemphasize what went wrong and minimize what went right. Down is easier than up.

Small setbacks increase frustration
more than small successes enhance satisfaction.

One negative defeats one positive. It’s worse! One negative defeats two positives. It takes three positives to off-set one negative. It takes 2.9013 gallons of positive to sweeten one gallon of negative.*

One gallon of positive won’t sweeten one gallon of negative.

Now you know why negative environments are easy.
Boats with holes:
There’s a hole in your boat. Bad experiences gush in; good experiences jump ship.

Find the good before the bad sinks you.

Thank more. Cheer more. Pat on the back more, much more.
Plugging holes:
When boats are sinking you can bail like hell or plug the damn hole! Preventing one bad creates more buoyancy than appreciating one good because bad outweighs good.

Do more good by eliminating one bad.

1. Eliminate negative employees.
2. Remove obstacles. Organizations create hoops, sign offs, and regulations that make work harder. Ask, “What’s slowing you down?” When you find out, remove it or smooth the way.
3. Stop belittling. Work that isn’t valued isn’t meaningful.
4. End frustrations. Explore frustrations with employees, don’t ignore them, end them.

Throw out bad – good comes back.

Still more:

1. Focus on progress constantly. You’re falling behind if you don’t. Better wins.
2. Transform setbacks into progress by making them learning events.
3. Respect. Welcome ideas, for example. Don’t dismiss suggestions, explore them. Off handed rejection belittles.
4. Agree on outcomes then let go. Freedom energizes; control drains.

The pursuit of excellence is fueled by positive environments.

Positive environments aren’t accidents, leaders build them.

Eliminate bad.

Shout the good.

Whisper correction.

How can leaders counteract the pull of negative gravity?

How to Solve the EGO Problem on Your Team

by Sean Glaze

All high-performing groups will have people who are confident, but if your team is struggling, it may be because people on your team have an ego problem.
Ego is not in itself a bad thing.
All achievers have a healthy ego. Bo Ryan, Head Coach of the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program explains that, “The selfless player with ego is a great team mate.”
But not every player with an ego is selfless, and it is those teammates or coworkers (the ones who have a destructive ego) that make succeeding in an organization difficult. A teammate with a “bad” ego has a negative influence on team chemistry, but also limits his or her productivity and improvement – because bad ego “Eliminates Growth Opportunities.”
A “bad ego” is dangerous. The ancient Greeks used the word “hubris,” and that blinding self-pride was often the tragic flaw that led to a powerful character’s downfall.
So what is the difference between “Bad” ego, that destroys team productivity and cohesiveness, and “Good” ego, that contributes to group success?
The difference can be simplified as destructive arrogance vs. constructive confidence.
Read the following eight descriptions, and see if you recognize yourself or a teammate:

• Destructive arrogance (bad ego) – needs to be in the spotlight and takes credit for team success.

• Constructive Confidence (good ego) – is comfortable being part of something bigger than himself.

• Destructive arrogance (bad ego) is often difficult to approach and belittles others

• Constructive Confidence (good ego) is open and warm while sharing encouragement

• Destructive arrogance (bad ego) spends most of his / her time talking (and bragging)

• Constructive Confidence (good ego) spends most of his/her time listening (and learning)

• Destructive arrogance (bad ego) becomes defensive when a conflicting idea is shared

• Constructive Confidence (good ego) is interested in understanding other perspectives

• Destructive arrogance (bad ego) is threatened by others’ success and focused on self

• Constructive Confidence (good ego) celebrates others’ success and wants team victory

• Destructive arrogance (bad ego) refuses to acknowledge weaknesses and makes excuses

• Constructive Confidence (good ego) admits weaknesses and takes responsibility

• Destructive arrogance (bad ego) assumes he/she knows more than his/her teammates

• Constructive Confidence (good ego) is willing to ask for advice and leverage others’ strengths

• Destructive arrogance (bad ego) usually uses the word “I” in conversations

• Constructive Confidence (good ego) usually uses the word “we” in conversations

As you read through the descriptions, did someone in your organization pop into your mind?
Did you see yourself in any of the italicized “bad ego” examples and descriptions?
If so, the good news is that anyone can modify their perspective and behavior to be a more positive and valuable member of a team. A team ego problem can be solved.
So, if someone in your organization has an ego problem, how do you solve it?
As G.I. Joe used to say, “Knowing is half the battle!”
The most important thing you can do is to make them aware of the issue.
In many cases, just the suggestion to a person that they are damaging the team dynamic can be a powerful catalyst for them to begin making a few personal changes in their behavior.

A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” ~Benjamin Franklin Tweet This!

Destructive egos eliminate growth opportunities when they refuse to acknowledge their own need for improvement or refuse to see themselves as one piece of a much larger and more important puzzle.
Bad ego causes people to focus on themselves and their own personal accomplishments. It leads to a self-importance that seeks to focus attention on them instead of seeking ways to use their talents and contribute to others.
So what are a few other ways to solve the ego problem on your team?
Well, once you have become aware of the problem (or helped a teammate to acknowledge the problem), you can try the following ideas:

1. Have the person list the ways that others have contributed to their success – it wasn’t by themselves that they succeeded in the past, and it will not be by themselves and their own efforts that they will enjoy success in the future!

2. Choose one of the destructive ego descriptors and then assist the person in changing REPLACING the destructive behaviors with more productive and positive ones.

3. Identify a behavior from the constructive ego descriptors that the person may already do well and suggest ways to leverage it and begin building better relationships with the team.

4. Have the person make it a point to inquire about other teammates more often – and have them ask for advice about things that they are working on.

5. Place the person in situations where he/she MUST depend upon others to be successful. Learning interdependence can be difficult, but it becomes easier once the person finds that he/she can trust and depend on others.

6. Provide opportunities for team building activities and bonding – the more the person learns about their teammates’ strengths, backgrounds, team personality types, and challenges, the more he/she will feel a part of care for the group.

Many years ago, Benjamin Franklin wrote that “a man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.” Our job as teammates is to work together – and remember that confident collaboration creates a far better culture (and far more success to celebrate) than arrogant competition.
When Rick Pitino was coaching the Boston Celtics, he asked Bill Russell to speak to his team before a game. Russell agreed, and began his brief speech by telling the group that HE was the most egotistical S.O.B. in the room. “But my ego was always a team ego. My ego was linked with the success of my team… and the greatest disappointment I had as a player was the year i was hurt and we didn’t win a twelfth title.”
Everything we do as leaders should be geared toward building a stronger team ego.
If you are looking for a special addition to your list of meeting topics or breakout sessions as part of your next conference, consider the benefits of a team development event as a catalyst to improve your group morale, energy, and interactions!

Have you thought of anything that you would like to add to the list? Please comment below.

AH&LA ENDORSES REINTRODUCED JOLT ACT

 

Legislative Action Summit to Focus on the Business of Travel

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) has put its full support behind the Jobs Originated through Launching Travel (JOLT) Act reintroduced today in the House of Representatives by Congressmen Joe Heck (R-NV) and Mike Quigley (D-IL). The JOLT Act will be a key topic during the AH&LA Legislative Action Summit (LAS), April 23-24, at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
The JOLT Act, originally introduced with strong bipartisan support in the 112^th Congress, will expand the Visa Waiver Program (VWP), establish a pilot program for the use of secure videoconferencing for visa processing, and reduce wait times for visa processing. These provisions will grow U.S. exports, create additional U.S. jobs, and generate increased U.S. tax revenue – all while strengthening domestic and international security.
“AH&LA is bringing hundreds of hoteliers to Washington, D.C. this April to tell Congress we need to pass this legislation,” said AH&LA Executive Vice President for Public Policy Marlene Colucci. “Increasing travel to the United States is the most effective form of economic stimulus – creating millions of new American jobs, adding billions to the U.S. economy, and benefitting every community around the country. We need to pass the JOLT Act this Congress.”
The legislation will be discussed during the LAS panel titled, Travel & Tourism: Boosting America's Economy with Visa Reform, alongside other panels on immigration and labor issues. A robust LAS program is being finalized that will include high-level Congressional speakers, meetings between hoteliers and their members of Congress, and a reception in the historic Mansfield Room in the U.S. Capitol.
Registration for LAS is now open. Visit www.ahla.com/LAS for more information and to register for this critical and timely event.

National Restaurant Association Member Testifies at Congressional Committee Hearing on Minimum Wage

( Washington, D.C.) A National Restaurant Association member today told a Senate panel that a federal minimum wage increase would have a negative effect on the predominantly small-business restaurant industry and ultimately harm employees – possibly forcing restaurants to reduce employee hours, postpone plans for new hiring and expansion, and reduce the number of employees in restaurants.
Melvin “Mel” Sickler, a multi-store Auntie Anne’s Pretzels and Cinnabon franchisee owner from Williamstown, N.J., testified before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on recently introduced legislation that would increase the federal minimum wage rate by 39 percent, from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 per hour.
“The restaurant industry is dominated by small businesses – more than seven in 10 eating and drinking establishments are single-unit operations,” Sickler said. “Food and labor costs are the two most significant line items for a restaurant. With average pre-tax margins of roughly four to six percent, increases in food and labor costs can have a dramatic impact on a restaurant’s bottom line. Only a small minority of restaurants will be able to handle a 39 percent minimum wage increase without taking actions that will harm workers.”
In his testimony on behalf of the National Restaurant Association, Sickler noted the decline of restaurant job opportunities in Oregon after the state began raising its minimum wage above the federal level in 1997. All restaurants in the U.S. employed an average of 16.9 workers in 2011, unchanged from 1996. Oregon’s restaurants, however, employed an average of only 13.8 workers in 2011, or 2.6 fewer employees than they did before the state’s minimum wage began rising above the federal level in 1997.
In addition, Sickler pointed to Bureau of Labor Statistics data which shows that the vast majority of minimum wage restaurant employees are young. Forty-six percent of federal minimum wage restaurant employees are teenagers, while 70 percent are under the age of 25 –most of them, 80 percent, working part-time. The majority of restaurant employees who earn the federal minimum wage are also not the heads of their households.
“The restaurant industry provides millions of Americans with their first job and the critical skills needed for a successful and rewarding career,” Sickler said. “And while serving as the gateway for many young people to enter the workforce, we also provide great opportunities for advancement regardless of background. The National Restaurant Association calls on members of this committee and all of those serving in Congress to focus on policies that encourage more people, not fewer, to enter the workforce. Our collective goal should be to get our young people hired and on the path to achieving the American Dream.”

GMBHA - May 7th, 2013 - 19th Annual Inn Key Awards Luncheon

May 07, 2013 19th Annual Inn Key Awards Luncheon May 07, 2013 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport Convention Center 711 NW 72nd Ave Miami, FL 33126 19th Annual Inn Key Awards Luncheon

Please Save the Date for our 19th Annual Inn Key Awards luncheon on Tuesday, May 7th, 2013 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Miami Airport Convention Center from 11:00am-2:00pm. For those of you who are new to the organization, our event last year had over 950 in attendance and we honored over 275 nominees in 21 categories and 21 winners. There were over 60 hotels represented and 10 hotels were recognized as leaders in the categories of Diversity, Environmental, Community Service, Employee Relations, and Guest Relations. Allied and Allied Upgrade members are welcome to reserve a complimentary table top at our business expo (with purchase of luncheon ticket), which will take place from 11:00am-12:00pm. Please reserve your table top NOW as space is limited. For table top reservations,individual ticket purchases or sponsorship inquiries, please contact us at innkey@gmbha.com. 19th Annual Inn Key Sponsorship Information Table Sponsorship $1,500 Hotels $1,750 Allied & Allied Upgrade Members -Complimentary table top at expo -One table of ten -Logo on screens during event Supporter Sponsorship $3,500 All GMBHA Members -Complimentary table top at expo -One table of ten -Logo on invitation and screens during event -Complimentary lunch or brunch for four at a member hotel restaurant Corporate Sponsorship $5,000 All GMBHA Members -Complimentary table top at expo (premier placement) -One table of ten -Sponsorship included in all press and media releases -Logo on invitation and screens during event -Logo on new website for one year -Company recognition at event -Boucher Brothers Water sports package -One two night stay for 2 at a member hotel Title Sponsor $10,000 All GMBHA Members -Premier placement at table top expo -Two Complimentary tables of ten -Sponsorship included in all press and media releases -Logo on invitation and screens as title sponsor -Logo on new website for one year -Company recognition at event -Boucher Brothers Water sports package -One two night stay for 2 at a member hotel -One Dinner for 6 at a member restaurant -Company name on Hotel Awards -Sponsorship of one of our upcoming luncheons with an introduction on stage -Introduction to GMBHA Board of Directors

Buffalo Wild Wings receives responsible alcohol service program award

 

 

The National Restaurant Association congratulated Buffalo Wild Wings on receiving the 2013 VIBE Vista Operator Award for Best Responsible Alcohol Service Program. The restaurant received the award at the VIBE (Very Important Beverage Executives) conference in Las Vegas this week. The award is sponsored by the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe Alcohol® program.
Minneapolis-based Buffalo Wild Wings provides its guests with the ultimate sports fan experience at more than 900 company-owned and franchised restaurants in 49 states and Canada. The company chose the ServSafe Alcohol responsible service training because the program delivers a consistent and holistic message.
Alcohol service training starts as soon as a new front-of-house team member is hired, from servers and bartenders to greeters and cashiers. In addition to ServSafe Alcohol training, restaurant managers also discuss alcohol safety at pre-shift meetings to reinforce the importance of safe alcohol service and continually monitor service throughout their shifts.
Since adopting ServSafe Alcohol, Buffalo Wild Wings began a tracking and reporting communication that brought awareness to every restaurant’s performance against participation in the SSA program. Currently, Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants are required to maintain a 95 percent compliance rate.
The VIBE Vista Operator Award winners are selected by a panel of beverage professionals, including the VIBE Advisory Council members. The award for responsible beverage alcohol service highlights customized server training programs that emphasize ongoing reinforcement of training and a culture of responsible alcohol sales.
ServSafe Alcohol offers training solutions to restaurant employees in responsible alcohol service. The training program teaches employees about their personal responsibility, and how to recognize signs of intoxication in guests and manage service accordingly.

Senate ensures food inspections will continue

 

The National Restaurant Association applauded the U.S. Senate for closing a funding gap that would allow the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to continue inspecting food processing facilities despite sequestration.
The amendment, introduced March 20 by Sen. Roy Blunt, R.-Mo., and Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., was included in the Continuing Resolution measure that ensures inspections at meat, poultry and egg production facilities will go on uninterrupted and that food inspectors will not be furloughed.
“We are pleased that the Senate passed this critical amendment targeted toward ensuring that inspections at U.S. meat, poultry and egg processing facilities continue without interruption, as that would have had a negative impact on both the availability and cost of those products to restaurant operators and, ultimately, consumers,” said Scott DeFife, the NRA’s executive vice president of Policy & Government Affairs.

DeFife noted the industry had concerns that furloughing inspectors might affect restaurants’ business operations. He indicated that halted inspections could potentially have caused sporadic food shortages.
Because of the amendment’s passage, those issues will now be averted.
“Restaurants’ bottom lines are already squeezed by elevated wholesale food costs, so adding potential product shortages and resulting price volatility to that would have been detrimental to the restaurant industry,” DeFife said.

NRA: No exemption of groceries, c-stores from menu labeling

 

The National Restaurant Association said it opposes legislation reintroduced March 19 into the 113th Congress that would exempt grocery chains, convenience stores and other similar operations from providing uniform nutrition information to consumers under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
In a letter sent to Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, and Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., who reintroduced the bipartisan bill, the NRA and several restaurant companies maintained that all businesses selling restaurant food should be required to provide the same nutrition information that restaurants must under the tenets of the 2010 health care law.
“This legislation would broadly exempt chain grocery, convenience stores and other entities that sell restaurant food from providing uniform nutrition information to customers despite that fact that each day thousands of customers purchase meals at these establishments,” said Scott DeFife, the NRA’s executive vice president of policy and government affairs. “These companies each made strategic decisions to compete directly with their local restaurant community, in this regard, and need to play by the same rules as those with whom they choose to compete.”
The Food & Drug Administration is currently working to issue final rules on providing nutrition information to consumers.
“We understand that proposed rules have brought on some questions, and we look forward to working with Congress should these issues remain unresolved through the regulatory process,” DeFife said. “However, we strongly believe this legislative proposal is not the right way to address these concerns.”
DeFife added, “The National Restaurant Association believes a uniform, national nutrition standard, rather than a patchwork of state and local requirements, is in the best interest of our members and consumers.”

IHG development motors along in Europe

BERLIN—InterContinental Hotels Group is revving up its development engine in Europe, helping tow some owners across the finish line to get deals done in what continues to prove a challenging environment.
The group signed 48 hotels representing nearly 7,000 rooms on the continent—an increase of 22% from 2011, according to Robert Shepherd, chief development officer, Europe. IHG opened an additional 39 properties in Europe—the most in the past four years.
IHG has 628 hotels and 102,027 rooms in Europe at present.
“We’re progressing very well,” he said during a break at the International Hotel Investment Forum earlier this month. “We’re really motoring.”
Primary targets include Germany, the U.K., Russia and Turkey.

Robert Shepherd InterContinental Hotels Group, Europe

But it hasn’t all been easy, Shepherd admitted.
“What we’re seeing is a lack of debt financing still for new build, and half of our signings were rebrandings,” he said. “We’re seeing quite a lot of non-branded or lesser branded looking for some delivery.”
Intent didn’t always mean conversion, however. Many owners are struggling to pull the trigger—or to get banks on board. IHG is stepping in with a spark where it can, Shepherd said. The group is bringing assistance in the form of key money, loans, some mezzanine financing and even lease guarantees.
“Helping to make deals happen is how we’re delivering these results,” he said.

Holiday Inn Express leads the way
When asked which brands were driving IHG’s growth, Shepherd pointed to the usual suspect.
“No surprise I guess in that it’s in the Holiday Inn brand family, specifically Holiday Inn Express,” he said.
Of the 48 hotels signed, 35 were either Holiday Inn or Holiday Inn Express. The remaining 13 comprised:

• seven Hotel Indigos;
• four Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts;
• one InterContinental Hotels and Resorts; and
• one Staybridge Suites.

IHG opened an additional 31 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels in Europe last year.
With five openings during 2012, the Hotel Indigo brand is also gaining traction, Shepherd said. The upscale boutique-inspired brand lends itself to conversion because it has a more flexible design that excludes meeting facilities.
Upscale Crowne Plaza also will emerge as a formidable player in the coming years, Shepherd said. The brand is in the first of a three-phase refresh that will conclude some time during 2014.
“We fully expect to have as impactful a result as we had with Holiday Inn. It’s very important that with each of our brands we ensure that they stay relevant to our target customer. Keeping them up to date is critical,” he said.
Overcoming the ‘scare factor’
For all the doom and gloom, a number of regions throughout Europe such as Germany have solidified themselves as safe havens for investment, Shepherd said.
One need only look to the recent flurry of portfolio trades as a reflection of the growing sense of optimism, he added.
“The value gap between buyer and seller is closing. I think there are some more realistic expectations on both sides of the transactions table. The scare factor of Europe in crisis and all that stuff has just seemed to be less influential, less detrimental than what we first thought,” Shepherd said.
“There are new opportunities, and the challenge which we’re trying to live up to is to be thinking creatively because the same old cookie-cutter way, one-size fits-all-way of doing deals just does not exist anymore.”

Starwood Hotels eyes addition of luxury brand

DUBAI—Executives at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide expect to have enough cash over the next three years to seriously consider adding another brand to their family.
If the right opportunity presents itself, the Stamford, Connecticut-based chain will look to buy a global, luxury brand—which would be the company’s 10th brand overall and fourth in the luxury segment, executives said.
Starwood Hotels executives talked about the opportunity to add a brand during an investor and analyst day presented from Dubai, where the company’s executives have created a temporary headquarters for the next few weeks. The company would rather purchase a brand than develop one from the ground up, executives said during the event, which was webcast.

Vasant Prabhu

“In addition to the cash we generate from the business, we have capacity,” said Vasant Prabhu, CFO and vice chairman. “ … Just from the business from operations before any asset sales, we think there's at least $3 billion to $3.3 billion that we will generate over the next three years to both return to shareholders and to invest in additional growth initiatives we might have, whether it is adding a brand, only if we can do it at the right price.”
The challenge, said CEO Frits van Paasschen, is finding a brand for sale.
“It’s not clear that there's a lot that are sort of fluidly traded and open for buying,” he said. “It's been that reason largely, more than anything else, that's prevented us from doing anything in the last seven or eight years. … But we'll continue to look at opportunities and if we find the right one, we're, certainly from a financial perspective, kind of overqualified to make the move.”
Starwood’s nine brands are divided in thirds—the company has three luxury brands (St. Regis Hotels and Resorts, The Luxury Collection and W Hotels); three upper-upscale brands (Westin Hotels & Resorts, Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts); and three select-service brands (Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft and Element).
Van Paasschen said there is plenty of room for organic growth within most of those brands, so he doesn’t think the company suffers from a lack of brands. The select-service brands especially have room to grow, therefore any addition to the brand family would come at the luxury level, he said.
“Buying value brands isn't of great interest to us even at the select-serve level,” he said. “… We see, in some respects, our 4-star, select-serve business as almost an extension of and a way to fill in around our high-end business, and ultimately, is its growth vehicle such as they are.
“Five-star or upper-upscale brands or luxury brands, I think we could easily plug into our system, ones that have some base in scale or an ability to fold into ours, I think would be most attractive.”
Global growth
Van Paasschen said of all the U.S.-based hotel companies, Starwood Hotels has the highest number of hotels outside of the U.S. Sheraton, in particular, is thriving globally, Prabhu said.
“All of our brands have a global vibe about them. They're acceptable everywhere in the world and every one of them has a global pipeline,” Prabhu said. “They're not U.S. brands, like some of our competitors have, that are trying to make it outside the U.S. These are truly global brands.”

Frits van Paasschen

Therefore, van Paasschen said any additional brands would need to have a global footprint already established.
“Those that continue to give us even a greater extension of our global footprint would be attractive,” he said.
Starwood Hotels bought the Le Méridien brand in 2005, and owners of the properties have since invested about $2.5 billion collectively to align it with Starwood’s portfolio and branding strategy.
“To define Le Méridien as a brand when we bought it, I think, would have been a real stretch,” van Paasschen said. “This was a sign that was on a lot of buildings that happened also to be hotels when we bought it. And I think that over the last seven or eight years, we've really infused into Le Méridien a positioning and a philosophy of branding that's consistent with the rest of our portfolio.”
Meanwhile, Starwood Hotels has been divesting of its owned assets to become more of a fee-based business by way of management and franchise contracts. Today, approximately 65% of the company’s earnings are generated by fees and not real estate, and the goal is to get to at least 80%, van Paasschen said.

9 Hidden Qualities of Stellar Bosses

What your employees see you doing matters. But often it's what they can't see that matters more.

Thomas Barwick/Getty

Good bosses look good on paper. Great bosses look great in person; their actions show their value.

Yet some bosses go even farther. They're remarkable--not because of what you see them do but what you don't see them do.
Where remarkable bosses are concerned, what you see is far from all you get:

They forgive... and they forget.
When an employee makes a mistake--especially a major mistake--it's easy to forever view that employee through the perspective of that mistake.
I know. I've done it.
But one mistake, or one weakness, is just one part of the whole person.
Great bosses are able to step back, set aside a mistake, and think about the whole employee.
Remarkable bosses are also able to forget that mistake, because they know that viewing any employee through the lens of one incident may forever impact how they treat that employee.
And they know the employee will be able to tell.
To forgive may be divine, but to forget can be even more divine.

They transform company goals into the employees' personal goals.
Great bosses inspire their employees to achieve company goals.
Remarkable bosses make their employees feel that what they do will benefit them as much as it does the company. After all, whom will you work harder for: A company or yourself?
Whether they get professional development, an opportunity to grow, a chance to shine, a chance to flex their favorite business muscles, employees who feel a sense of personal purpose almost always outperform employees who feel a sense of company purpose.
And they have a lot more fun doing it.
Remarkable bosses know their employees well enough to tap the personal, not just the professional.

They look past the action to the emotion and motivation.
Sometimes employees make mistakes or simply do the wrong thing. Sometimes they take over projects or roles without approval or justification. Sometimes they jockey for position, play political games, or ignore company objectives in pursuit of personal goals.
When that happens it's easy to assume they don't listen or don't care. But almost always there's a deeper reason: They feel stifled, they feel they have no control, they feel marginalized or frustrated--or maybe they are just trying to find a sense of meaning in their work that pay rates and titles can never provide.
Effective bosses deal with actions. Remarkable bosses search for the underlying issues that, when overcome, lead to much bigger change for the better.

They support without seeking credit.
A customer is upset. A vendor feels shortchanged. A coworker is frustrated. Whatever the issue, good bosses support their employees. They know that to do otherwise undermines the employee's credibility and possibly authority.
Afterword, most bosses will say to the employee, "Listen, I took up for you, but..."
Remarkable bosses don't say anything. They feel supporting their employees--even if that shines a negative spotlight on themselves--is the right thing to do and is therefore unremarkable.
Even though we all know it isn't.

They make fewer public decisions.
When a decision needs to be made, most of the time the best person to make that decision isn't the boss. Most of the time the best person is the employee closest to the issue.
Decisiveness is a quality of a good boss. Remarkable bosses can be decisive but often in a different way: They decide they aren't the right person and then decide who is the right person.
They do it not because they don't want to avoid making those decisions but because they know they shouldn't make those decisions.

They don't see control as a reward.
Many people desperately want to be the boss so they can finally call the shots.
Remarkable bosses don't care about control. As a result they aren't seen to exercise control.
They're seen as a person who helps.

They allow employees to learn their own lessons.
It's easy for a boss to debrief an employee and turn a teachable moment into a lesson learned.
It's a lot harder to let employees learn their own lessons, even though the lessons we learn on our own are the lessons we remember forever.
Remarkable bosses don't scold or dictate; they work together with an employee to figure out what happened and what to do to correct the mistake.
They help find a better way, not a disciplinary way.
Great employees don't need to be scolded or reprimanded. They know what they did wrong.
Sometimes staying silent is the best way to ensure they remember.

They let employees have the ideas.
Years ago I worked in manufacturing and my boss sent me to help move the production control offices. It was basically manual labor, but for two days it put me in a position to watch and hear and learn a lot about how the plant's production flow was controlled.
I found it fascinating and later I asked my boss if I could be trained to fill in as a production clerk. Those two days sparked a lifelong interest in productivity and process improvement.
Years later he admitted he sent me to help move their furniture. "I knew you'd go in there with your eyes wide open," he said, "and once you got a little taste I knew you'd love it."
Remarkable bosses see the potential in their employees and find ways to let them have the ideas, even though the outcome was what they intended all along.

They always go home feeling they could have done better.
Leadership is like a smorgasbord of insecurity. Bosses worry about employees and customers and results. You name it, they worry about it.
That's why remarkable bosses go home every day feeling they could have done things a little better or smarter. They wish they had treated employees with a little more sensitivity or empathy.
Most importantly, they always go home feeling they could have done more to fulfill the trust their employees place in them.
And that's why, although you can't see it, when they walk in the door every day remarkable bosses make a silent commitment to do their jobs even better than they did yesterday.
And then they do.

Jeff Haden learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he worked his way up in the manufacturing industry. Everything else he picks up from ghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in business. @jeff_haden

17 Counterintuitive Things the Most Successful People Do

You’re always going to get the same results, doing what everyone else does. Sometimes you have to know when to zig where others zag. These are some of the counterintuitive lessons I’ve learned and applied from the most successful folks I’ve met.

Pick Fights – to test others’ resolve in their own beliefs. In business you can’t turn over the reins to someone who doesn’t know how to defend their own ideas and plans.

Isolate Yourself – to reenergize. Many seemingly extroverts are introverts. If you recharge when by yourself, you need to seek out isolation from time to time.

Purposefully Offend – sometimes the only way to get someone’s attention is to call him or her out. But, you can always positively turn the relationship around with persistence and some mea culpa. Tech entrepreneur Jason Calacanis is a master of this.

Hyper Self-Critical – of your own standards and choices. I once watched George Carlin berate himself on stage, in a rehearsal standup performance, for missing the timing of one of his jokes by a few seconds. He nailed the follow-up HBO special.

Move up http://i.forbesimg.com tMove down

 

Peacock – don’t give others the option not to see you or hear your message. The pick-up lesson from “The Game” applies to business as well. Nobody buys a product they’ve never seen. (TIP: more of my thoughts on marketing and publicity).

Repeat Mistakes – enough times until you really learn the lesson. Sometimes, mistakes do need to be repeated if the payoff is big enough. We hardly ever learn anything truly worthwhile after one try.

Seek Out Rejection – to get desensitized to the fear of it. Once we lose the fear of rejection we more easily go after what we want, and thus get more of it. (TIP: more details in the 5 Steps Sales Process)

Ignore Consensus – when your own data and foresight is convincingly contrary to the wisdom of the crowd (like Jobs, MLK, Gandhi). Consensus bonds us together and creates harmony, but it rarely moves us forward. Progress sometimes has to come at the hands of an individual’s decisive disruption.

Expect Nothing – in return for helping your peers. Karma points are dispersed unexpectedly over decades, not in a scorecard of dollars.

Quit – those endeavors you’ll never win at, and take a new swing at the plate. Don’t double down on a losing effort by not knowing when to walk away. (TIP: watch How to Make the Right Business Decisions)

Play Possum – with your competitors. Don’t be so eager to show off your strengths until it’s the perfect time to strike. If rope-a-dope worked for The Champ, it will for you too.

Get C’s instead of A’s – if you excel in non-traditional environments (like entrepreneurs) & can justify the opportunity cost of your time. Oddly enough, more of the C students I went to school with, employ our A student classmates, than vice versa.

Become Indifferent to Slights – because time and energy are too valuable to waste on petty matters. Attention being paid to wounds of our ego is precious energy diverted from achieving our goals. You can win the argument, or win the game. I know what I’d choose.

Self-Sabotage – yourself when you find yourself mired in complacency. Don’t ever get too comfortable with the status quo, always be willing to blow it up and start all over again to truly create something better.

Abstain from Work – which others can do for you. Delegate every task that others can do 80% as well as you, and focus on those items that only you can achieve that have big payoffs. (TIP: focus on The One Most Important Thing)

Plot & Scheme – your next couple moves ahead. If you don’t see the whole landscape of the playing field, you’re bound to get sideswiped. Know where you’re going far in advance of making your first move.

Underestimate Demand – for your products and services. Don’t ever assume people want what you got, and you’ll always have the appropriate amount of urgency and hustle to validate what you’re trying to achieve. (TIP: don’t fall into the trap of the #1 Reason Why Businesses Fail)

3 Wishes Every Great Leader Should Have on Their List

Rarely do I take sides of right and wrong but here’s one I’m willing to take a stand on: People that want promotion and titles only for accolades and money are completely off the mark with what it means to be a leader.

Have you ever heard someone you know say some of these ridiculous statements that make you wonder how they ever got their position?

• I’m in charge now! It’s about time!
• Yes! Now people will have to listen to me.
• Unless you’re a VP, you’re nothing here.
• I’m totally going to fire (name here) so I don’t have to put up with them any more.
• Can’t wait for some long leadership team dinners so someone else can pay for my drinks for a change.

“But you’re too blind to notice
The writing on the wall
The higher that you fly
The harder you fall”
~ Book of Love

When you’re a leader, all eyes are on you and if you’re just in it for yourself, you’re going to fail. It’s as simple as that. Nobody likes to work for leaders that only care about their own trajectory to the top. True leaders know that they are only successful when your team is successful. When the team fails, they’ve failed.
Being a leader is hard work and you’re going to get beat up over your decisions and your convictions (Think: Marissa Mayer, Steve Jobs, Andrew Mason). Instead of wishing that the world will worship you and pay you the big bucks along the way, here are three wishes every great leader should have on their list (and some tips to make them come true)

WISH #1: I wish my team would share their ideas

There is nothing worse than being in a meeting, asking for input, and being met with silence. Leaders have one idea but not the only idea. Ideas are like seeds that need to be watered by a community to truly grow. Imagine the difference between one flower standing straight and tall and a bush filled with blooms of many colors never seen before.
TIP: If you want your team to share their ideas, use some brainstorming best practices. Defer judgement during brainstorming to encourage the ideas to flow and try “yes AND” to build on ideas and co-create something together.

WISH #2: I wish my team would give me some honest feedback

So often leaders ask for feedback and instead of getting the truth, they get a rosy, fear-coated, polite version of the truth.
TIP: The way to increase the likelihood of getting some honest feedback from your team is to be aware of your reactions. Instead of getting defensive or asking for a million examples to “prove it,” listen. Listen with an open mind and an open heart and don’t stop listening when they’re done talking but instead continue to reflect, rather than dismiss. Most importantly, give people a sincere thanks for their time, courage and feedback.

WISH #3: I wish I knew how to make my people more successful

Too often leaders assume that the same things that motivates them, will motivate all the people on their team and they are confused and frustrated when it doesn’t work. For example, I prefer to be assigned a task and allowed to run with it but when I’ve tried that with people on my teams, some of them have thrived and some of them have flopped.
TIP: Instead of being a mind reader, all you need to do is ask what they want and need. Ask the team collectively at team meetings, ask individually during one-on-one discussions, and ask even when you think that you know the answer.
Leadership wishes for champagne, caviar and the high-life miss the point of being a leader. Leaders live their values, go out on a limb, do everything possible to support the success of their team and make a true difference to people, not just the bottom line.
What other wishes do exceptional leaders make come true every day for their teams and their organizations?

The Conscious Lifestyle: A Leader's True Responsibility (It Doesn't Have to Be a Burden)

(In this series of posts we're discussing the qualities of leadership using the acronym L-E-A-D-E-R-S. The sixth letter, "R," stands for responsibility.)

Being responsible is the mark of a mature, conscious person - no one disputes this. But success also requires risk-taking, intuitive leaps, innovation, and thinking outside the box. Those values will be quashed if leadership is totally conservative and cautious. You don't have to view "responsible" as synonymous with caution and a policy of no risks. Being responsible, seen in the wider context, means showing initiative, taking mature risks rather than reckless ones, walking the talk, having integrity, and living up to your inner values. Seen from the level of the soul, a leader’s greatest responsibility is to lead the group on the path of higher consciousness.

In practice, there is a hierarchy of steps that you can climb, beginning with a lack of recklessness and rising to the top, where you are responsible for imparting the highest values of your vision. All of us fall somewhere on this path.

You earn your credentials for being a responsible leader through the following behaviors, which are noted and imitated by the rest of the group:

1. You show that actions have consequences.
2. You don't say one thing and do another.
3. You don't shirk the hard choices or delegate them to others so that you are covered no matter what happens.
4. You don't have henchmen who do the dirty work so that your hands look clean.
5. If you back someone up, you establish a bond that they can depend on.
6. You treat people decently, putting everyone on an equal plane.
7. You are cautious with other people's money, taking seriously your fiduciary responsibility.

If you follow these principles, you will succeed on many levels, engendering an atmosphere of trust and loyalty. Working in such an atmosphere, the group will feel secure at a basic level that is very necessary. Insecurity creates massive stress and all the problems that attend it.

But we have to be realistic, too. Today more than ever, it takes consciousness to keep on the responsible track. For many in business, responsibility has become an old-fashioned value to be shrugged off in favor of profitability. The financial crash of 2008 was engineered through a flagrant lack of responsibility, combined with risk-taking far out of bounds with sensible practice. Yet the lesson that the financial sector took away was the opposite of responsible. With record profits and huge bonuses in the offing, they went back to a slightly modified version of their worst practices.
All of this took place within a larger trend of income inequality, the deterioration of worker's benefits, lost pensions, and pressure to show a rising profit to shareholders. If you expect to be a leader, you must decide personally if you are going to follow the trend or hold on to your own values.

The ultimate responsibility is the one you owe to yourself.

When I teach executives about the soul of leadership, there's an overall vision I hold out:
Leading from the soul means that you take responsibility for more than the group’s needs. You have a concern for everyone’s person growth. This responsibility begins with your own evolution. In eight areas of your life you have the power to be guided by your soul: thoughts, emotions, perception, personal relationships, social role, environment, speech, and the body. In all of these areas your behavior affects the people you lead. If you evolve, so will they.


To lead from the soul means that evolution is your top priority. You never act in such a way that you lower the self-esteem of others. You examine your underlying beliefs and modify them as new opportunities for growth reveal themselves. Because evolution is an unstoppable force in the universe, you draw upon invisible powers. Therefore, being responsible is no longer a burden. It rests lightly on you as long as you continue to grow.
In my experience, this vision is embraced enthusiastically by top executives. They all know the burden of responsibility and carry it. They are relieved to hear about a path where responsibility isn't a burden. We'll talk more about it in the next post.

6 Things Great Teammates Say

Human and team dynamics are complex, but not necessarily all that complicated sometimes. Building a positive team and organizational environment isn’t like decoding the Rosetta Stone. Much of it boils down to normal people like you and me saying and doing simple things every day. It’s those things that contribute to that positive environment.

Here are a few things great teammates say on a regular basis. Obviously the point isn’t that you’re saying these things verbatim, or that you’re regurgitating them a certain number of times per day; but rather that we’re communicating these sorts of things to our teammates.

1. I was wrong.

You’re not perfect. You know it. Your team knows it. So why go to such great lengths to hide it? Some part of our brain tells us that admitting we’re wrong will cause people to lose respect for us, when in reality the opposite usually occurs. It builds trust. It shows humility, maturity, self-awareness, vulnerability, and humanness.

2. I’m sorry.

If you do dumb stuff as often as I do (and I hope for your sake you don’t), you’re cringing like I am at this one. I don’t know why it is, but some part of our brain (maybe the same one from above) will find any excuse not to apologize to someone for something. And on the off-chance that doesn’t work, that brain of yours will concoct an apology that’s also some sort of accusation at the same time, just more subtle. Like, “I’m sorry I screamed at you, insulted your family, threw spaghetti at you, and kicked over your potted plant; but you really upset me when you….”
Stop it. Don’t blame. Don’t equivocate. Just apologize and move on.

3. Here’s the situation I’m thinking through…

Just because you’re in leadership doesn’t mean you’re any smarter than everyone else on your team or in your organization. So as much as you’re able to, find ways to bring your team in on the decision-making process. Engage them with scenarios your team is facing. You want legit collaboration here though–not the whole I’m-going-to-ask-your-opinion-so-I-can-say-we-collaborated-when-really-I’m-just-going-through-the-motions-and-don’t-actually-care-what-you-think thing. Ask their opinion. Then listen. Repeat.

4. I trust you.

And then act like it.

5. Oh thanks, So-and-So, but I gotta be honest–Susan and Belinda are the real heroes here.

Your teammates won’t always hear this one or even know it happened, but then again you’re not saying these things just so they can hear you. At least I hope not. If you are, you’ve missed the entire point of this post.
But when your team does great work, don’t let yourself fall into the trap of thinking it was somehow mostly due to your leadership brilliance. It’s more likely that in spite of your imperfections, your team used their collective awesomeness to do fantastic work. At least that’s true in my case.
It’s important to make a concerted effort to deflect praise toward where it rightly belongs: your team.





6. Yep. Don’t say anything.

I have this stupid problem where some idea pops in my head while someone is talking. It’s usually because they’ve said something cool that’s sparked something in my brain, and before I know it, I’m so excited that out it comes. But that’s what the grown-ups call interrupting.
We all get caught up in those really great brainstorming sessions where we’re throwing around ideas, but we’ve got to be careful that we’re not talking over the top of folks.

What about you?

What things do your teammates or leaders say that have a positive impact?

What sorts of things do you think teams need to say more?

17 Questions Leaders Can Ask

What’s your position on unicorns?

That Socrates guy was onto something with that crazy method of his, though what you’ll see in this post isn’t nearly as eloquent. Getting to know our teams is an ongoing quest for leaders. There’s always more we can learn, and things we once knew to be true can change over time; so we need to get in the habit of asking folks questions in both formal and informal settings. They don’t always have to be serious questions (see unicorn question above); you’re just trying to connect on human and professional levels.

Here are a few you could ask folks you work with, and feel free to add your own in the comments section below!

1. What do you do well that I don’t know about?
2. What about our team’s environment makes it more difficult for you to excel?
3. Are you OK?
4. If you could have more time in the work day for one thing of your choosing, what would it be?
5. What situations make you feel most creative?
6. What situations make you feel most stifled?
7. When do you feel most like you? When do you feel most alive?
8. What could I improve on that would be especially meaningful to you?
9. What sorts of development or learning opportunities do you not have that you wish you did?
10. What do you think is the biggest misconception I or others have about you?
11. If you could lead one project (either present or future), what would it be and why would you want to lead it?
12. How’s it going?
13. If you had a whole day to do whatever you wanted, what would you do?
14. Do you enjoy music? If so, what type?
15. How about art? If so, what type?
16. If you were a cereal, which cereal would you be and why?
17. If you were a superhero, what would your unique super power be?

What questions do you ask your teammates?

What questions have others asked you that you thought were really good ones to ask?

7 Temptations Leaders Face and Why They Make You an Ineffective Leader

#1 – Thinking or believing you know it all – You don’t know it all and people don’t want a leader who thinks he does. If you know it all, why do you need anyone else on the team? Why do you need followers. People want to be a part of something where they contribute, think, create and make a difference.

#2 – Not asking for help – Pride is one of the biggest reasons for failure in leadership. When you need help, go get it. Don’t let pride get in the way of making the best decisions for your team and organization. Asking for help is a sign of strength and humility. Not asking for help is a sign of pride and selfishness. Be humble. Ask for help and lead.

#3 – Fear – Letting fear determine how you lead and make decisions keeps you in the status quo. Standing still. Never making progress. Fear is a voice that will tell you “You can’t. You won’t. You don’t deserve it. It’s too risky. No one will listen.” Author Steven Pressfield refers to this as the resistance. Resist the resistance.

#4 – Content and complacent – Contentment sits in the corner and waits. It waits for everyone else to do something. To go. To make a difference. Being content keeps you average. Content is comfortable. Complacent. Unchallenged. Satisfied. Not hungry. Good enough is good enough. No it’s not! Letting things just stay where they are is not acceptable. Battle the temptation to let this happen.

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#5 – Trying to do it all – Leaders who try to do it all don’t trust their people. If they did, they wouldn’t try to do it all. It’s that simple. Learn the power of delegation. Make it a part of your company culture. When you delegate, you can do exponentially more with your time. If someone else can do a task as good or better than you, let them do it. You can’t do everything. It’s a lie you tell yourself. Tell yourself something else. Delegate and don’t try to do everything. Let your people contribute. Use their minds, skills and abilities. What they bring to work.

#6 – Blaming others and making excuses – Author John G. Miller has an entire book about personal accountability, The QBQ. Every organization should require everyone to read this book. Leaders need to own their jobs. When you have success, give your people credit. When you fail, do as author, Jim Collins states, look in the mirror. Don’t finger poing and blame. Don’t make excuses. No one cares. Results matter. Excuses don’t count. They are boring and average. It’s easy to do what’s easy (blame and point fingers). What matters is doing what’s right. Owning responsibility and accountability.

#7 – Wasting time – Everyone wants your attention. Today’s society makes it real easy to wast time. Social media, ineffective meetings, gossip, surfing the internet, blogging wars and much more. All of these present themselves every day. It’s easy to find ways to waste time. Because it’s easy to waste time it makes it hard to focus your attention on what really matters. Just turn on your device of choice. Temptations abound. You can choose to waste your time or invest it. Everything seems urgent. It’s not. Focus your time on what’s important but not urgent in the moment.

1. Building relationships
2. Mentoring
3. Self-development
4. Building trust
5. Accomplishing small wins that build confidence
6. Vision casting
7. Motivating and communicating
8. Hiring and keeping great people
9. Delegating

Temptations are everywhere. Leaders face them every day. Learn how to recognize and control temptations. Don’t let temptations minimize your effectiveness. You can’t stop temptations but you can control them. You can choose to fight through them and lead.

What other temptations do you deal with every day as a leader? How do you handle them?