How to “Zap” Executives Out of Their Comfort Zone

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In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, leaders must stay motivated. Motivated leaders consistently seek out new ideas to improve the business and are very aware of what the competition is doing. They enjoy what they do and are willing to take risks. They set the example for others. When you have motivated executives, you have motivated employees.

If your executives seem complacent, here are three proven strategies to “zap” them out of their comfort zone and get them motivated again.

The Weakest Link: Call an executive meeting to discuss the budget. Announce that you are cutting an executive position due to financial constraints. Throw them a ‘curve ball’ by instructing them to select the person who they consider the ‘weakest link’ and should be asked to leave the team. Have them submit a name, along with the reason for their decision.

Once the choices have been made, each team member will be instructed to call that individual and explain the circumstances that led up to their decision. Only you, the executive group leader, will know this exercise is a training technique. You really won’t let anyone go, but it will shake up the team and make those who aren’t pulling their weight aware of where they stand in the eyes of their fellow teammates. This will motivate them to get back into gear and give the extra effort necessary to take up the slack.

The Presentation: Give each executive a month to prepare a strategic plan on how to double the size of your business in five years. Then, surprise them by setting up a panel of business leaders who will listen to their presentation. Presentations will be rated for quality and a winner will be selected. This tactic will show how well your leaders adapt to unforeseen circumstances, and denote the strength of their presentation skills along with the quality of their work.

Back to Nature: To motivate executives as a team, let nature help. Take them on a retreat to a mountainous area, take away all cell phones, then have them camp out for five days, sleeping three to a tent, cooking their own meals over a small cook stove. With professional mountaineering guides, divide them into two teams and take them on daily hikes moving their campsite several times. Towards the end of the week have them climb up the mountain to the peak. Equip them with backpacks, water and climbing gear and start the trek at 4 a.m. Make it a race to the summit to watch the sunrise.

This tactic will “zap” the executives out of their comfort zones and force them to work together. It is designed to have each person explore their capabilities and push themselves beyond their limits. It can be one of the most powerful “Team Zapping” experiences you will ever conduct. We know. We did it.

The three tactics above are not for the faint of heart, but they are for those who want to quickly and effectively “zap” their executives out of their complacency. The benefits will be a more motivated, energized group of executives who will, in turn, zap their teams… and your company will be better poised for the future.

About the Author

Lorraine GrubbsLorraine Grubbs recently co-authored Beyond the Executive Comfort Zone: Outrageous Tactics to Ignite Individual Performance (www.executivecomfortzone.com). Lorraine is president of the consulting firm Lessons in Loyalty. As a former 15-year executive with Southwest Airlines, she takes principles and practices she helped develop to companies that strive for better employee engagement and loyalty.

Are You Ready to Be the Boss?

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More than six million new businesses launched in the U.S. in 2015, according to the Kauffman Index. Given that volume, it’s certain that some of these new businesses were rolled out by people who had never led a company before. Budding entrepreneurs devote considerable time to developing products and business plans, but they may not adequately prepare to become a boss.

That can be a serious problem since leadership competency is a critically important success factor, and not everyone is a natural at it. My co-founders and I discovered the challenges involved in running a company when we rolled out our startup a year ago. Here are a few tips we learned about being the boss:

1. Divide responsibilities. You and your cofounders are ultimately responsible for all decisions when you start your own company. There’s no one else who can resolve an impasse. That’s why it makes sense to divide operational areas up and assign ultimate authority of each to one person. We call them Direct Responsible Individuals (DRIs) at my company, and it’s a great way to make the responsibilities manageable. DRIs are in charge of listening to input from everyone and then making final decisions.

2. Become a jack-of-all-trades. At a large, well-established company, there are specialists to handle every task: HR people for personnel issues, travel experts to coordinate trips, etc. At a freshly minted startup, you won’t have that luxury, so you’ll have to learn to manage many different functions — and quickly. Along the way, you’ll pick up a wealth of knowledge and experience that can come in handy when you begin to expand your team; you’ll have firsthand knowledge of what each role requires.

3. Listen to customers. When you’re busy running a company and rolling out a new app, product or service, it can be easy to focus so intently on executing your business plan that you forget to hear what your customers are saying. As the boss, it’s your job to observe how customers use your product and, if necessary, adjust your strategy if you find that their usage doesn’t exactly match your expectations. Stay flexible and be prepared to tweak your approach to meet customer needs.

People who are launching a new startup have a lot to think about, including product development, fundraising and marketplace factors. These are undeniably important issues that are worthy of much consideration. But it’s also critical to prepare for your new role as the boss.

To make sure you give your startup the best chance for success, designate areas of operational responsibility, be prepared to handle a multitude of job functions and don’t forget to listen to your customers. When you keep these key success factors in mind, you’ll be ready to be the boss.

About the Author

Arvind ParthibanArvind Parthiban is the CEO & co-founder of Zarget, where in addition to conceptualising the company vision and piloting the course of action to meet their objectives, he currently heads product marketing, presales and sales operations. A former employee of Zoho where he headed the product marketing for ITSM suite of flagship products, Arvind gained valuable insights into the SaaS industry and all things ‘Marketing’. Arvind draws from his vast wealth of experience to power the business units forward.

The Power of a Definite Aim

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Rediscovering the Core Lesson of a Motivational Classic

I have spent more than twenty years as an author, publisher, and personal seeker in the world of positive-mind metaphysics and motivational philosophy. Experience has taught me this: No single factor under human control is of greater consequence in your life than one passionately felt and clearly formed aim. And no modern writer has been more persuasive on this point than Napoleon Hill.

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About the Author

Mitch HorowitzMitch Horowitz is a PEN Award-winning historian and author of One Simple Idea: How the Lessons of Positive Thinking Can Transform Your Life. Mitch is vice president and executive editor at TarcherPerigee, where he recently reissued Think and Grow Rich: The Classic Edition. Visit him at www.MitchHorowitz.com.

5 Ways to Simplify Your Day & Get More Done

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Nowadays, most kids—and maybe some adults—probably don’t recognize the old tradition of tying a string around your finger to remind yourself of something important. That’s because reminders, while still as valuable as ever, have evolved with technology (in most cases, for the better). However, even with all the tech options we have to help us remember things today, it can often still feel like daily life isn’t getting any easier or simpler. So where are we going wrong?

The truth is that creating and using reminders is an art—and doing it well is the key to simplifying and empowering your day. Here are 5 ways to get more out of every reminder you make.

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About the Author

Johan GunnarsJohan Gunnars is an entrepreneur and CEO and co-founder of Simpliday – Meetings, Reminders & Email in One, a new iPhone calendar app allowing users to achieve a more organized and efficient life by bringing together meetings, reminders and email in one customizable, beautiful, user-friendly app. Johan experience in productivity, software, e-commerce, consumer electronics, among others, leads him to focus on how companies and products can make a difference while connecting to the overall vision and strategy. Johan is based in Malmo, Sweden. For more information about Johan and Simpliday, visit Simpliday.

Communication and Leadership Tactics to Take Your Career to New Heights

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As a career Wall Streeter and mountaineer, I learned over the years that mountains are not climbed alone; neither are careers. Each depends on the generosity you’re willing to extend to your colleagues, known as the Law of Reciprocity. It’s a universal understanding to explain that in order to create success, extend help to others along the way. They in turn will assist and inspire you to reach your career summits.

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About the Author

Chuck GarciaChuck Garcia is the author of A Climb to the Top: Communication & Leadership Tactics to Take Your Career to New Heights. He is the founder of Climb Leadership Consulting and a Professor of Organizational Leadership at Mercy College.