Why Employees Stay

From Google’s VP/People Operations: “It’s not the company-provided lunch that keeps people here. Googlers tell us that there are three reasons they stay: The mission, the quality of their fellow workers, and the chance to build their skill sets. All our analytics are built around these reasons.”

Motivating The Generations

With so many generations in the workplace right now, and often interrelating on projects, to manage them requires an understanding of what’s “of value” to them.

Here’s some guidance, provided by Melissa Borowica and Stephen Utech of Utech Consulting:

• Traditionalists (Before 1945): Want to leave a Legacy, so create opportunities that will have lasting impact. Learn from them. (75 million)

• Baby Boomers (1946-1964): Want to build a Meaningful Career. Challenge them. Use their Creativity. Insure they have Impact. (80 million)

• Generation Xers (1965-1980): Want to build a Portable Career. Invest visibly in their development. Show them a career path. (46 million)

• Millenials (1981-1999): Experimenting. Give them new positions, new challenges, a relocation opportunity. Title isn’t as important as personal growth. (76 million)

You’re Over-Burdened and Aren’t Achieving What You Want To

Mary Gulden-Lindstrom of FOCUS/CPA: “What do you need to STOP DOING so you have time to do WHAT’S NEEDED to Get What You Want?”

How To Sell Value To A Price Buyer

One of my favorites is Jim Nelson of Exsell in Green Bay. He has great ways of explaining what you should do in selling situations. Here’s the short version of one of his approaches:

• Your Mindset: To proactively discover with the prospect what his fear is, and how he can relieve it with your help!

• Why people will use you or your product:

To move away from a Pain.

To Exploit a Possibility/Opportunity

To Acquire a Gain.

Fear of the Uncertainty in the Future.

An Unmet Need, that usually can’t be easily described.

• The prospect is usually UNCLEAR about what the objective is, and it’s your challenge to help him work through to CLARITY about the problem. Interestingly, it’s often the case that they don’t understand the problem/objective, and are very amenable to your help in trying to understand and articulate it. It’s your OPPORTUNITY. Then, the solution is usually much easier to see and understand, and you will be explaining it in terms of what YOU can do to help.

• If you’re not successful, it’s because you didn’t make him feel SAFE about using you.

Corollary

You want to be seen NOT as what you do NOR as a PROVIDER OF SOLUTIONS, but as an ADVISOR who works with the prospect to understand a problem and its potential process. You are appreciated for your PROCESS, HOW you do what you do ... NOT WHAT you do.

I constantly hear TEC members beginning to understand this revelation. It’s their REAL POINT OF DIFFERENCE.

St. Norbert's Breakfast & Strategy Program: Poberezny

I’m a big advocate of this program, which spotlights 6-7 local leaders annually on how they think and lead their organizations. I learn a lot, and so might you.

A recent speaker was Tom Poperezny, CEO of the EAA/Experimental Aircraft Assn. Among his tidbits:

• The most important intangible that you want to find and nurture within your organization is Passion. It’s critical to understand it, and know how to leverage it.

• Know Your Cause. If you’re believable and trustworthy, people will adapt their beliefs to follow you. But remember, being believable and trustworthy isn’t about what you say, but how consistently you act.

• As a leader, you have to raise the bar of performance every year ... starting with yourself. What are you doing this year to build yourself further towards excellence?

• Be proactive about developing a successor. You are taking your organization to a new level, but your replacement needs to be capable to taking it even further than you can. Are you finding that person?

• Preparation and Practice mitigates Risk! Are you doing that constantly in your organization? Business tends not to, although athletic teams do it constantly. Even Flying isn’t very risky if you do your preparation!

The United Way "Culture" Change ...

Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Brian Gallagher, national president of the United Way organization, speak in Green Bay about how they are trying to be relevant ... WHAT they are trying to accomplish, and HOW.

• “We’re in the human development business.”

• Here’s the Big Three we’re focusing on: Education, Family Income and Health.

• Within these three areas, pull together local leaders to decide what are the most urgent areas to attack. Then, decide what Metric(s) to use that will impact all others, and get community attention. Supplement that with being proactive about raising the visibility of the emotional needs and desires.

• Then, Mobilize around those thrusts ... Focus, Visibility, Impact!.

• Make sure Social Media plays a part in the campaign so as to reach younger mindsj.

Sounds good.

Famous Last Words ...

"I DID IT M-Y-Y-Y-Y WAY!"

Next Chapter: Why Is Our Government System So Obtuse?

I’m informed by a friend at Associated Bancorp, which will now have to deal with the cost increases of the Dodd-Frank reaction to the credit crunch/mortgage problem, that the paperwork reporting requirements will skyrocket. Whereas now there are about 30 key Regulations that bankers must follow and report on, the Dodd-Frank bill proposes 263 more. These are for banks which didn’t cause the problem. In addition, there will be required 22 new annual reports, and 67 one-time ones.

Two Great Recent Books by Local Authors

On the Mend: Revolutionizing Healthcare to Save Lives and Transform the Industry, by John Toussaint and Roger Gerard of ThedaCare. The two have led a revamping of the ThedaCare culture to do what America’s healthcare system ... to switch from doctor-centered to patient-centered. They’ve done it through embracing the Lean continuous improvement concepts, constantly starting with what the patient needs. The results in area after area are solid, resulting in significant cost reductions ... the reverse of where the industry is going, but where it needs to go.
Blame in the Workplace, by Dan Linssen. Dan has a great background with local companies, and this book is a good contribution. He talks about WHY we’re prone to blame (it separates us from accountability/responsibility for problems, exactly the opposite of what is needed ... to get more involved), and what happens with the person who is blamed (not good, not productive). He helps us understand the differences between blame, accountability and responsibility.