StrategyDriven » Lucas Ives

Communications – Make Technology Work for You

Lucas Ives — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:55:21 +0000

I have always thought of myself as a ‘modern’ businessman, someone who kept up with the latest technologies and trends. But, admittedly, I resisted such trends as Facebook and Twitter. I just didn’t see how they were applicable to business or academia. Then, while attending a seminar in Dallas, those of us in the audience were encouraged to use Twitter to send comments and questions to the speaker, as he or she was presenting. Before leaving the stage, each speaker would answer questions that had been compiled during the presentation. More recently, I read an article in Time entitled, How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live¹, in which the author discussed the use of Twitter in an academic setting where each ‘tweet,’ or post, was displayed on the overhead during the presentation. The Twitter conversation ended up reaching people outside the lecture hall and continued on for weeks after the actual presentation ended. I was sold.

We saw last year how social networking sights like Facebook and MySpace helped, then Candidate Obama, build a grassroots movement and win an election. We’ve seen news agencies such as CNN, Fox, or MSNBC use blogs to deliver information and gather viewer opinions. They even rely on pictures and videos from viewers’ cell phones to report information. And recently, the world has been following the social unrest in Iran, through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

These various technologies can be used for very practical business purposes, even though they were originally intended for other purposes. So the question is “How will you use technology to strengthen your business?”

The answer will vary based on your type of business, but I have a few suggestions listed below:

1. Create an online ’social’ network within your company.

An online network will help your employees communicate across various departments and locations. They can post best practices to share with fellow employees or ask questions on the network to which others can respond. They can even post pictures of work-related events to boost moral. If your network has audio or video, you can post recordings of staff meetings in addition to meeting notes.

2. Send alerts to your team via Text Messaging.

Text messaging can be a quick and easy way to let your employees know that a staff meeting has been rescheduled or that the CEO is making a surprise visit to the office.

3. Create a series of YouTube videos demonstrating the use of your product.

This will provide instruction for those who already own your product and it may also generate interest among those who happen to stumble upon your video. Which leads to my next point…

4. Use the Internet to promote your product.

Tools such as stumbleupon.com or digg.com are great resources to promote your product. They scan the Internet and present users with recommended websites based on their interests. If a user finds your website interesting, they may recommend it to others. With millions of users each, stumbleupon.com and digg.com reach a lot of potential customers.

5. Use the Internet to promote yourself.

LinkedIn is an online networking service that allows members to connect with colleagues, classmates and friends. It is focused on professionals and provides access to professional communities and alumni associations. It is also a great way to list your accomplishments and promote yourself.

Almost any technology can provide a great advantage, even if it seems geared to personal use. Like me, you may not see it at first, but I’m sure that once you’ve tried Twitter to enhance your meetings or created an inner-office social network, you’ll be sold.

Final Thought

I’ve included hyperlinks to the various resources discussed above. I encourage you to click on a few and explore them for yourself. Chances are that you will find one or two that will help make your company more StrategyDriven.

Reference

Johnson, Steve. “How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live.” Time. 5 June 2009. 20 June 2009

About the Author

Lucas D. Ives is a training consultant at Verizon Wireless and a StrategyDriven contributor. A dynamic facilitator, he excels at creating and delivering captivating training focused on the business professional. To read Lucas’s complete biography, click here.

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.

Management and Leadership – The Power of Loyalty

Lucas Ives — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:45:48 +0000

A trait that is often overlooked by managers and executives is the loyalty (or the lack of loyalty) among their employees. While it is difficult to measure, it can have a great impact on your department and your company. As such, you should take steps to ensure the loyalty of your employees to you, the company and each other.

Impacts

The lack of loyalty can have devastating effects on any organization. The development of each employee is a considerable investment in time and money. In addition to salary and benefits, a company will invest in classroom and on-the-job training, networking opportunities, equipment and tools for each employee. Each employee also gains valuable experience while performing his/her duties. If an employee is lost, say to another company, so is the sum of the investments your company has made in that employee. In most cases, any replacement will need time to match the former employee’s level of production. Additionally, if the employee is lost to a competitor, the competitor may benefit form his/her extensive knowledge of your company.

By fostering loyalty in your employees you not only avoid the downfalls listed above, you gain a team member who is often willing to work a little harder and a little longer for you or for the company. Loyal employees don’t just work for a paycheck. They consider themselves a part of a team. They have an emotional interest in seeing their team, their company and their coworkers succeed. These employees are always the best performers, simply because they care about more than themselves.

Earning Loyalty

As mentioned, loyal employees don’t just work for a paycheck. Put another way, loyalty is earned, not bought. So how do you keep your best employees from jumping ship at the first sign of a larger paycheck? The best way is to provide an environment in which your employees will enjoy working. Work sponsored events and periodic employee appreciation activities will build moral and strengthen the bond between employee and company.

Recognition for good performance is critical in creating loyal employees. No one likes to feel as if his/her hard work is being overlooked. Acknowledging a job well done will encourage even more good work. Additionally, employees are more likely to stay in a position when they know their work is appreciated.

Being an ethical manager and company also fosters loyalty. Most people take pride in being part of a group with integrity and good will. It reinforces confidence that they will be treated fairly and strengthens the trust between employees, their coworkers and management.

Much more goes into building a corporate culture and identity that employees will be proud of, than can be said here. However, you should frequently ask yourself “why am I proud of my company?” or “what would make me proud?” Answering these questions will bring you a step closer to creating loyalty among your workforce.

Final Thoughts…

Because of the impact employee loyalty has on any business, it must always be on the mind of company leadership. By making an effort to build and maintain loyalty, you may very well save your most valuable resource – your employees.

About the Author

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.

Management and Leadership – Are You a Trend Setter or Follower? Be both.

Lucas Ives — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:58:03 +0000

I recently read an article published by the Society for Human Resource Management, in which several methods for improving a company’s training program were discussed, and I was astonished to see how many of those methods were already employed by my company. This led me to wonder if the folks in HR read the same article. Of course not, I thought. We are a company that leads the way. We set the trends… Right?

In the end, being the first to do something is not what’s most important. Doing what’s smart is!

Take the US Automotive Industry for example. Would Chrysler and General Motors have filed for bankruptcy had they followed the example of Toyota and Honda and built more fuel-efficient cars? A successful company encourages new ideas from within, but also adopts the best ideas and business practices from the corporate world at large. Very successful companies make those ideas and practices even better. (Look at what Apple did to the MP3 player!)

So keep your eyes, and your mind open. A good idea from inside your company, or from the outside, is still a good idea.

About the Author

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.

Leadership Inspirations – Making Mistakes

Lucas Ives — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:46:56 +0000

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”

George Bernard Shaw

Irish Playwright (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950)

only person to have been awarded both the Nobel Prize for Literature (1925) and an Oscar (1938)

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.

Leadership Inspirations – Leading by Example

Lucas Ives — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:26:16 +0000

“Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it’s the only thing.”

Albert Schweitzer
Alsatian theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965)

“I have ever deemed it more honorable and more profitable, too, to set a good example than to follow a bad one.”

Thomas Jefferson
President of the United States of America (1801 – 1809)

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.

Management and Leadership – Coaching for Exceptional Performance

Lucas Ives — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:02:46 +0000

“There is a reason why constructive criticism is a good thing and criticism is not.”

Lucas Ives
Principal Contributor
StrategyDriven

The best leaders are those whose employees perform well because they want to, not because they are forced to. This may be based on those employees’ work ethic, or it may be because their leaders inspire them. Chances are that it will be a combination of both, however, it is certain that anyone who manages through fear or intimidation is a leader in name only. Real leaders are both respected and respectful, regardless of job title.

An integral part of being a leader is coaching others on their performance. Providing constructive feedback is often the only way that an employee will know what they are doing well and where they have an opportunity to improve. Coaching is also a way to build relationships by showing others that you respect them and, by doing so, earning their respect.

Coaching is meant to be constructive, building up the employee and improving his/her performance. When coaching others, follow the three tips below to ensure you are doing so constructively:

Focus on the behavior to be changed, not on the person

Keep the focus of any coaching on the behavior itself. Because an employee is verbose and takes twice as long to assist a customer on the phone as he should does not make him a bad person. By focusing on the behavior, you demonstrate that it is the excessive chatter you want to change, and not the employee himself. This prevents the feedback from being viewed as a personal attack.

When possible, coach in private and praise in public

Coaching an employee in front of others will almost always cause embarrassment and is usually counterproductive because the individual being coached will focus her attention on the embarrassment she is feeling in front of their coworkers and not on the message you are trying to deliver.

On the other hand, praising an employee in public has several benefits. First, the employee being praised will feel good about her performance and her recognition, which will translate into continued positive results. Second, observers will be motivated to do well in the hopes of receiving similar recognition.

Be objective and never coach an employee when you are angry

It is difficult to make sound decisions when you are angry or frustrated. If you are angry with the employee to be coached, you may be focusing (although unconsciously) on achieving the wrong goal of scolding him rather than improving his performance. While the employee’s actions may make you furious, your first reaction may make the situation worse. Step away from the heated situation, collect your thoughts and coach that employee when you have calmed down.

Remember, coaching is meant to be a constructive way to encourage positive actions and discourage negative ones. Whichever one of these you are attempting at any given point and time, the goal is always the same: to improve your employee’s performance.

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.

Leadership Inspirations – A Call for Innovation

Lucas Ives — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:51:16 +0000

“To get what we’ve never had, we must do what we’ve never done.”

Anonymous

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Albert Einstein
Theoretical Physicist
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics (1921)

Innovation, the act of introducing a new product, service, and/or method, brings with it the opportunity for great success and equally great failure. And while some failures result from unsuccessful attempts to introduce the new and different, no great achievement has ever been born without an act of innovation. Subsequently, a failure to offer something new or to do something differently will at best result in the continuation of today’s outcomes and will more likely result in diminishing returns as highly aggressive competitors offer more and more for less and less.

So what can you do today to become more efficient, more effective, more strategy driven?

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.

StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 27 – Making the Mission Measurable

Lucas Ives — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:38:12 +0000

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag posts on the StrategyDriven website.

Episode 27 – Making the Mission Measurable elaborates on Strategic Planning Best Practice 1 – Make the Mission Measurable. This discussion…

defines what a mission statement is
explores the characteristics of good mission statements
identifies the benefits of making the mission statement measurable
highlights the steps involved in making the mission measurable

Additional Information

Insight to the specific steps needed to identify mission measures are discussed in StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 2 – Make the Mission Measurable.

Final Request…

The strength in our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider voting for us on Podcast Alley by clicking here. Casting your vote for the StrategyDriven Podcast improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast !

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.

StrategyDriven Podcast Episode 26 – Introduction to Strategic Planning

Lucas Ives — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:52:35 +0000

Episode 26 – Introduction to Strategic Planning serves as a foundation for the upcoming series of podcasts focused on the best practices and warning flags associated with strategic planning. This discussion…

defines what strategic planning is
describes the component activities supporting this business planning process
identifies the benefits of strategic planning and how it helps an organization become more strategy driven

Final Request…

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Podcast !

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.

Management and Leadership – Conflict Resolution: What Your Actions and Reactions Say About You

Lucas Ives — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:18:08 +0000

“Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.”

Thomas Jefferson
President of the United States of America (1801 – 1809)

Conflict in the workplace is a fact of life. We are all human and, whether it is intentional or unintentional, conflicts with others will arise. How you handle conflict says a lot about you. A person who keeps their cool is more likely to be respected than one who looses it when wronged by another.

Reacting to conflict by turning defensive, raising your voice or being condescending or insulting in any way, will project the image that you cannot rationally handle difficult situations. Think of handling a conflict with an individual the same as you would handle a drop in sales, loss of production on the assembly line or a costly engineering defect. The way you conduct yourself in a personal conflict is a reflection of how you will conduct yourself in any one of these other situations. Your potential for advancement may be affected as will the respect of your peers and subordinates.

So how do you avoid this pitfall? There are four basic rules of conflict management that will keep you from reacting to conflict in a way that will only hurt you in the long run. They are:

Pause to analyze the situation
Consider whom you need to convince
Weigh the outcome of your action or inaction
Make a smart decision

An Illustration

The application of these rules may be best illustrated by the following story:

Larry, a consultant at a widget manufacturing plant was given the task of documenting the widget making process from beginning to end. He finished his first draft of the material and sent it off to Kiel, the floor supervisor, to review and sign off on the documentation.

A week had passed and Larry had not received a response from Kiel, so he sent a polite e-mail to remind Kiel that the document needed to be reviewed and the due date was approaching. Just a minute later, Kiel sent Larry an e-mail that made no reference to the previous two Larry sent, but simply stated that there had been a change in procedure so that step 3 had been eliminated. Realizing that Kiel could not have reviewed the original material in the minute that had elapsed between his and Kiel’s e-mail, Larry replied by saying, “I will eliminate step 3 just as you said. Please review the rest of the material that I sent you and let me know if there are any other changes you would like made.”

After a few more days had passed with no reply from Kiel, Larry followed up with an e-mail stating, “I have made the change you requested by eliminating step 3. Are there any other changes you would like me to make before finalizing this document?”

The next day, Larry received an e-mail from his manager which read: “Kiel said that he told you to eliminate step 3 in your document and you did not. The material he forwarded to me still includes this step. Please explain.”

Larry felt the urge to call his manager and explain to her that Kiel was an idiot who didn’t read his e-mail. He even thought of telling Kiel this directly, but instead he decided to apply the four basic rules of conflict management.

Pause to Analyze the Situation

It was apparent that Kiel did not read the e-mails Larry had sent (at least not very carefully). If he had, he would have known that Larry did eliminate step 3 and requested a review of the rest of the material before finalizing it. When Kiel finally looked at the documentation, it still contained step 3 because it was the first draft of the material.

What was worse than not reading the e-mails was Kiel’s action of e-mailing Larry’s manager directly. Mistakes happen and e-mails get overlooked, but by going over Larry’s head, Kiel had damaged the relationship they had and future projects would be negatively impacted. This could have been avoided if Kiel had simply called or e-mailed Larry and asked about the update, eliminating step 3.

Consider Whom You Need to Convince

While Larry still needed the rest of the document to be reviewed by Kiel, it was his relationship with his manager that was most important in this situation. Larry needed to reassure his manager he was not in the wrong. He also wanted to let her know he was mature enough to handle this situation in the most professional manner possible.

Weigh the Outcome of Your Action or Inaction

Occasionally a conflict will arise that can simply be overlooked. You bump into a co-worker in the hallway and they scream at you to watch where you’re going. Or your manager, clearly frustrated, asks why you haven’t delivered the monthly report yet and you reply that it was turned in two days ago, (and she discovers it under a stack of papers on her desk). In these situations, inaction is the best response. Otherwise you may either make the situation worse or appear condescending. If the situation will blow over quickly and there are no negative repercussions, it is usually best to ‘let it go.’

However, Larry’s situation required action. Again he needed to mend his image with his manager and he still needed Kiel to review the document. The question was, what action should he take to accomplish these goals without over-reacting.

Make a Smart Decision

This step will vary widely, based on your particular situation. Suffice it to say, if you have followed the first three rules, you have allowed yourself some time to calm down and come to a more rational decision.

In Larry’s case, he forwarded the e-mail chain to his manager with the following statements:

“I believe there has been a miscommunication. I have eliminated step 3 as requested and asked Kiel for his review of the rest of the material before finalizing it. Once the remainder of the material is reviewed and the document finalized this project will be complete.”

“On a personal note, this situation seemed to cause some tension with Kiel. Communication being key to the success of our business, I would like to ask your advice. Is there anything you would have done differently, had you been in my position, to avoid this tension?”

While Larry hadn’t done anything wrong, he was open to the possibility that there may have been a better way to communicate with Kiel in this situation. Even if there wasn’t a better way, his approach had several positive effects.

Larry’s manager could see very clearly from the e-mail chain that Kiel was in the wrong. However, by not pointing fingers, Larry demonstrated that he is interested in getting the job done, and not in placing blame.
Larry also demonstrated to his manager a desire to learn from difficult situations and he showed his ability to act calmly and rationally in such situations. Larry demonstrated that he was mature and professional, even when others were not.

The Outcome

Larry’s manager assured him that he acted correctly and that this ‘miscommunication’ on Kiel’s behalf would be resolved.

Kiel finished the review and never went over Larry’s head again, (probably for fear of looking foolish). From that point on, whenever Kiel had a question or misunderstanding he called Larry and they always worked it out to their mutual benefit.

The moral of this story is: if you take the time to apply the four basic rules of conflict management before reacting to a conflict, you are more likely to resolve the situation and you will better your standing in the long term as well.

If you enjoyed this article, let us keep you up-to-date on other newly published insights by registering for the complimentary StrategyDriven Newsletter.

StrategyDriven Newsletter Signup

Please consider the environment before and after printing this article.