Nothing can kill employee morale more than a corporate performance review. Nothing can kill leadership morale then having to give them. It doesn’t have to be this way and I have a very simple solution.

The critical mistake that most mid to large sized companies make is that they confuse dollars with performance. Dollars are an economic scarcity – there are only a limited amount of them available and they must me applied judiciously when it comes time to offer raises.

Performance is not. In great companies performance is in abundance – it has no limits. It is absolutely possible that everyone on your team has done an outstanding job this past year yet due to the economic of the situation you may be forced to declare 10% of them “underperformers.” Sound familiar?
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According to relationship expert John Gottman, “the best single predictor of whether a couple is going to divorce is contempt” Seriously? Not finances, sex or boredom? Nope – contempt. (more…)

 

Several months ago I was on a phone interview for a job when the interviewer asked “How do you motivate your employees?” In a moment of mouth before brain I responded with my initial thought, “Why? Are your employees not motivated?”

Reality was that I wasn’t that interested in the position and I don’t think they were that interested in me otherwise I would have been more careful. But I was dead serious about the question. My reply was simply (more…)

 

Creativity is a fascinating beast. Some people seem to have it in droves – others, “Bless their hearts” as southerners would say, weren’t so equipped. But what makes a person creative – is it nature or nurture?

The answer is a resounding “Yes?” We all have different physiological profiles that makes us more or less capable, but the people around you have just as much influence on whether you are creative or not. To get to the nurture we first need to step through the nature and a tiny bit of science. I promise it won’t hurt.

You may have heard the expression “scientists have never found a gene responsible for creativity” and it is technically (more…)

 

If you thought that a Hidden Mickey was something they used in old spy movies from the 60′s then you probably haven’t been to the Magic Kingdom with young ones before. Better yet, if you aren’t familiar with the sport of Spotting the Hidden Mickeys you will no longer be able to walk through a Disney attraction with such beautifully ignorant bliss.

Hidden Mickey – A partial or complete impression of Mickey Mouse placed by the Imagineers and artists to blend into the designs of Disney attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other areas.

The task of Spotting Hidden Mickeys can be very addictive – there are (more…)

 

Did you ever meet one of those people that after only a few minutes of conversation you get so wrapped up into what they are saying that time disappears? I’m not talking about a romantic attraction but someone that grabs your heart in a very different way – in a way that takes you out of the struggles of everyday life up to a higher ground. I did this week and her name was Mary Alice.

Sitting in a window seat on a very full flight from Detroit to Orlando an (more…)

 

I am a voracious reader when it comes to non-fiction, especially books on leadership, sociology and cognitive theory. However, little of what I gain from reading a book comes from the written material. The main reason I read is because of what happens after I finish.

In 1992 I was shopping for a new car and stopped by the local Honda dealership. After telling the salesman that “sporty” was the image I was seeking he told me to check out the new Prelude. I had seen the Prelude before – just a little nicer Accord in my opinion. This year was different as the Prelude had just received a sporty new overhaul. I loved it. I had to have it. Wow, I don’t think anyone knew about this well kept (more…)

 

I really despise suck-ups. In building a management team I first look for someone that can challenge me and my ideas. There must be an honest, respectful tension of ideas in order to build confidence in the decisions we will make.

The key word from that previous sentence was not honest or tension, but rather respectful. (more…)

 

“ ‘Our employees our are best assets.’ What do we do with assets? We use them. We buy and sell them. We depreciate them.” – Dennis Bakke, Joy At Work

If you want to learn a lot about an organization, listen to their words. Words are often a hidden tunnel into the soul of corporate belief. What words permeate your office?
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About 10 years ago I realized that I was reading a lot of greatly informative books but not retaining all that I wanted. In an effort to help retain more and build it as part of my everyday life I decided I needed to develop a system.

Unfortunately all of the systems that were developed assumed you were sitting at a desk taking notes. This was rarely the case. More often than not I was in the gym on the elliptical trainer or lying in bed reading. Taking notes at that time was not practical.
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“If you are one step ahead of the followers you are a leader. Ten steps ahead and you’re a martyr.” – John Maxwell

I’ve never been a big fan of martyrdom as it usually ended in death or at least very painful suffering. Very few of us as leaders wish to die for our teams yet I have often seen leaders do just that by not staying within a heartbeat’s reach of their followers.

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