Organisational Overview
In very general terms, organisations process inputs received from resources into outputs delivered to their stakeholders. For business concerns the inputs are capital, labour, materials and technology. These are converted into products and services for customers and financial returns for investors and other financial stakeholders. Visit the url below for illustration.

http://www.leapfrogalliance.com/ezgrphx/biz.jpg

Systematically Decide What to Measure: The most obvious source of organisational performance measures are the stakeholders.

In staking out a position in the marketplace, responding to competition and the environment, the organisation crafts and attempts to implement a strategy. Thus organisational strategy, missions and goals are another source of performance measures.

The procedure is to determine the critical business issues that are relevant to the satisfaction of stakeholder needs or successful strategy implementation. For these business issues determine the critical success factors. Finally metrics are chosen to measure these factors.

Example:

A mechanic workshop might recognise customer service as a critical business issue. The critical success factors required for this business issue might include prompt attention, accurate diagnosis and repair and proactive service. Specific measures for accurate diagnosis and repair might include first pass yield (i.e. percentage of vehicles diagnosed and repaired "first time right" as opposed to those that have to be returned a second time).

Measures so derived are results based and can be used to report performance, align effort and manage accountabilities.

Internally, the business is organised by function but, as we have repeatedly stressed, carries out the conversion of inputs to outputs (i.e. creates value) through business processes. Since the effectiveness of the processes determine all future results, measures of process effectiveness are required.

Further leverage over future results can be gained by managing organisational capabilities since they determine the effectiveness of all future processes in the organisation. To do this requires that measures of these capabilities are tracked.

Example:
An entrepreneurial business school regarded as its main result measures the number of its graduates leaving school with a viable business plan and the number that established businesses that survived three years or more. For process measures, the number of open ended case studies solved, number of hours spent on interactive business simulations and number of internships were chosen. Capability measures included the number of active successful entrepreneurs, and board members on the faculty, and the number of businesses with which the school had a close relationship. Visit the url below to see the image illustrating leverage.

http://www.leapfrogalliance.com/ezgrphx/lev.jpg

Lastly, the organisation must maintain a certain level of environmental awareness to avoid surprise changes that may result in significant negative impacts, or in missed opportunities.

Example:

A bottle making company supplying the brewing and soft drinks sector with returnable packaging materials had been lulled into a false sense of security by consistently good financial results and a high customer satisfaction rating. It came as a shock to the CEO when demand flattened and then declined. If they had had measures for monitoring the external environment they would have noted two worrisome trends that converged to squeeze demand. (A.)The near total adoption among their customers of initiatives like lean, six sigma and TPM that drastically reduced breakages, and (B.) The growing preference for cans and cartons to bottles among their major customers.

Get a Balanced View with a Family of Measures: There is an African proverb which says that you cannot watch a dancing masquerade from one spot. A family of measures reflecting the various areas of organisational performance should be chosen. The balanced scorecard approach advocates measures to track financial performance, customers, internal operations and learning and growth. For each area, measures that drive present performance should be balanced with those to guarantee future results.

Achieve Vertical Alignment with Measurement Hierarchies: The concept of vertical alignment means that employees at different levels in the organisation are driven towards the same goals. For example, a measurement system which holds a production supervisor accountable for quality while his boss is rated only on production volume is not aligned and will drive inconsistent performance. In order for performance measures to be vertically aligned from the level of individual jobs to the organisational level, different degrees of detail of a particular measure of performance must be made available at different levels of the organisation. For instance a hotel chain will have measure of customer satisfaction for each hotel, with results rolled up and summarised for the chain. It must be possible for someone at a higher level to drill down to view details, otherwise the measures will not be actionable. Visit the url below to see the illustration of a hierarchy of measures.

http://www.leapfrogalliance.com/ezgrphx/hier.jpg

Comparative Measures:
Measures as a means of tracking performance, diagnosing performance problems or decision making can only be meaningful in the context of relevant references and comparatives.

Baseline measures refer to the starting point. These are the values of the variables at the point of setting up the system, at the beginning of an improvement project or some similar event.

Trending measures show the chosen variable as a time series. This makes it easy to see the direction - improving, worsening or stagnant.

Control measures, generally used in combination with trending measures show maximum and minimum allowable values for the performance variable.

All the above are internal comparatives.

External comparatives might involve comparing your performance with competitors, industry standards or theoretical benchmarks.

In Summary:
Effective performance metrics must be derived from critical business issues and their success factors.

A balanced set of metrics which together form a family of measure must be chosen to reflect the multidimensional nature the business.

The external environment must be tracked even if it does not currently affect the organisation's performance

Achieve vertical alignment by creating a hierarchy of performance metrics

Make use of comparatives to put your measures in context

Samuel Okoro is the CEO of Leapfrog Alliance Ltd, a management training and consulting firm that helps organisations to reduce costs and improve quality through better business processes. His personal passion is to help move Third World business to world-class levels. For further details please visit http://leapfrogalliance.com/resources.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Samuel_Okoro

Organisational Overview
In very general terms, organisations process inputs received from resources into outputs delivered to their stakeholders. For business concerns the inputs are capital, labour, materials and technology. These are converted into products and services for customers and financial returns for investors and other financial stakeholders. Visit the url below for illustration.

http://www.leapfrogalliance.com/ezgrphx/biz.jpg

Systematically Decide What to Measure: The most obvious source of organisational performance measures are the stakeholders.

In staking out a position in the marketplace, responding to competition and the environment, the organisation crafts and attempts to implement a strategy. Thus organisational strategy, missions and goals are another source of performance measures.

The procedure is to determine the critical business issues that are relevant to the satisfaction of stakeholder needs or successful strategy implementation. For these business issues determine the critical success factors. Finally metrics are chosen to measure these factors.

Example:

A mechanic workshop might recognise customer service as a critical business issue. The critical success factors required for this business issue might include prompt attention, accurate diagnosis and repair and proactive service. Specific measures for accurate diagnosis and repair might include first pass yield (i.e. percentage of vehicles diagnosed and repaired "first time right" as opposed to those that have to be returned a second time).

Measures so derived are results based and can be used to report performance, align effort and manage accountabilities.

Internally, the business is organised by function but, as we have repeatedly stressed, carries out the conversion of inputs to outputs (i.e. creates value) through business processes. Since the effectiveness of the processes determine all future results, measures of process effectiveness are required.

Further leverage over future results can be gained by managing organisational capabilities since they determine the effectiveness of all future processes in the organisation. To do this requires that measures of these capabilities are tracked.

Example:
An entrepreneurial business school regarded as its main result measures the number of its graduates leaving school with a viable business plan and the number that established businesses that survived three years or more. For process measures, the number of open ended case studies solved, number of hours spent on interactive business simulations and number of internships were chosen. Capability measures included the number of active successful entrepreneurs, and board members on the faculty, and the number of businesses with which the school had a close relationship. Visit the url below to see the image illustrating leverage.

http://www.leapfrogalliance.com/ezgrphx/lev.jpg

Lastly, the organisation must maintain a certain level of environmental awareness to avoid surprise changes that may result in significant negative impacts, or in missed opportunities.

Example:

A bottle making company supplying the brewing and soft drinks sector with returnable packaging materials had been lulled into a false sense of security by consistently good financial results and a high customer satisfaction rating. It came as a shock to the CEO when demand flattened and then declined. If they had had measures for monitoring the external environment they would have noted two worrisome trends that converged to squeeze demand. (A.)The near total adoption among their customers of initiatives like lean, six sigma and TPM that drastically reduced breakages, and (B.) The growing preference for cans and cartons to bottles among their major customers.

Get a Balanced View with a Family of Measures: There is an African proverb which says that you cannot watch a dancing masquerade from one spot. A family of measures reflecting the various areas of organisational performance should be chosen. The balanced scorecard approach advocates measures to track financial performance, customers, internal operations and learning and growth. For each area, measures that drive present performance should be balanced with those to guarantee future results.

Achieve Vertical Alignment with Measurement Hierarchies: The concept of vertical alignment means that employees at different levels in the organisation are driven towards the same goals. For example, a measurement system which holds a production supervisor accountable for quality while his boss is rated only on production volume is not aligned and will drive inconsistent performance. In order for performance measures to be vertically aligned from the level of individual jobs to the organisational level, different degrees of detail of a particular measure of performance must be made available at different levels of the organisation. For instance a hotel chain will have measure of customer satisfaction for each hotel, with results rolled up and summarised for the chain. It must be possible for someone at a higher level to drill down to view details, otherwise the measures will not be actionable. Visit the url below to see the illustration of a hierarchy of measures.

http://www.leapfrogalliance.com/ezgrphx/hier.jpg

Comparative Measures:
Measures as a means of tracking performance, diagnosing performance problems or decision making can only be meaningful in the context of relevant references and comparatives.

Baseline measures refer to the starting point. These are the values of the variables at the point of setting up the system, at the beginning of an improvement project or some similar event.

Trending measures show the chosen variable as a time series. This makes it easy to see the direction - improving, worsening or stagnant.

Control measures, generally used in combination with trending measures show maximum and minimum allowable values for the performance variable.

All the above are internal comparatives.

External comparatives might involve comparing your performance with competitors, industry standards or theoretical benchmarks.

In Summary:
Effective performance metrics must be derived from critical business issues and their success factors.

A balanced set of metrics which together form a family of measure must be chosen to reflect the multidimensional nature the business.

The external environment must be tracked even if it does not currently affect the organisation's performance

Achieve vertical alignment by creating a hierarchy of performance metrics

Make use of comparatives to put your measures in context

Samuel Okoro is the CEO of Leapfrog Alliance Ltd, a management training and consulting firm that helps organisations to reduce costs and improve quality through better business processes. His personal passion is to help move Third World business to world-class levels. For further details please visit http://leapfrogalliance.com/resources.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Samuel_Okoro

The constant struggle to get people to want to work for you is an enigma most business owners wrestle with. I have isolated successful methods through growing my multi-million dollar company from the ground up. In my experience it all comes down to how you want to be treated. I was raised in a lovey-dovey family where my parents wanted me to feel great about myself. Maybe it is because I was raised Jewish and all Jewish mothers think their children are superior – who knows... Whatever the reason, I grew up hearing and believing I could do anything.

That kind of confidence instilled in me led me to believe that I could instill that confidence in others. When I first started out I could not afford to hire expensive help and found the most successful type of personnel for my business were young, inexperienced adults in their late teens that had an abundance of willingness. And I do mean an abundance of it – in my viewpoint, there is no better commodity.

A Little Bit Goes a Long Way

My Senior Vice President over Operations and Quality Control who now manages six other executives and a colossal number of employees was only 19 years old when she started with me. Now she is 27. She had that willingness, but virtually no experience. I recall then that she wanted $10.00 per hour. I would only give her $9.00 but I gave her an incentive – to prove to me she was worth it before I consented to that kind of pay (which was a lot of money to me at the time). She did so well that I gave her $11.50 per hour within two weeks of her hire date.

That little bit extra that I did went a long way. She took notice and she consistently proved to me that she could do even more. That was the first time I noticed that rewarding your employees for hard work really paid off. Today, she makes a six-figure income and earns every penny.

I love to validate and reward the staff – it is a driving force of mine in my company. We have an “employee of the month” that gets company recognition and a designated parking space as well as an “employee of the year” that gets a three-day trip to the Big Apple, plus spending money. Not to mention the runner up gets no short shrift. And my employees work their tails off for those coveted prizes, but mainly for the pride they feel after doing so well. The stipulations are that they go above and beyond the call of duty and really set great examples for the rest of the group. I’ve never seen such stellar work from staff at other companies that don’t acknowledge and don’t reward – I know because I used to work at them.

More Freedom = More Responsibility

A major factor in increasing the responsibility level of the employees is giving them more freedom and responsibility. If you do, they will own their position. The best employees are those that really take ownership of their position and run it like it was their very own company. You may think that it is a bit precarious to let someone run their area like it was their own company because what if they took it way off course from what you had designed where that organization would go? Well, I found that the more freedom I gave my executives to do the job the way they thought it should be done based on their understanding of the company’s goals, they became even better at what they did. That really opened my eyes. It was like the circle of life – they would do better and better to warrant the responsibility I had given them.

Another manager of mine is a great example of this. When she first came to work for me, she didn’t necessarily make me feel confident that she could do the job – but she sure was willing. And I have a philosophy about just throwing them in and seeing if they can make it go right or die trying.

She impressed me. She did a great job over and over again. I couldn’t help but acknowledge and validate her. She was only 18 years old when she started working for me and I was so amazed how well she did her job – she was neat, tidy, systematic and never made mistakes – so I told her how great she was all the time. The end result? This shy girl just blossomed into one of my fifteen executives who has several subordinates and runs a tight ship.

So, I learned that the way I should treat people is the way I like being and have been treated. I know it’s the Golden Rule that many of us have heard or read, but I learned to apply this in regards to staff and it works well for me. I grew up knowing that it works from the recipient end. I used it later in business and learned how much it really empowers others when you tell them they can – it becomes instinctive. Application of that in the corporate world brings out the natural abilities of the people you bestow that confidence in. Their abilities really start to shine through.

I remember another girl that worked in my company in the early days. We’ll call her “American Mary” (she chose that nickname herself) even though that’s not her name. She wasn’t a real fast duplicator or speedy at comprehending; but I learned that if I wanted to work with her, I had to, in essence, “Be” her. Incidentally, a marketing principle that helps a graphic designer attain a better idea of what kind of design will “pull” (get responses) for a totally alien industry to that said designer is to learn to “Be” the recipient of the direct mail piece. Once someone learns to assume the views and ideas of the recipient, then he can design something that will elicit a reach – a call or an order, etc. This principle also applies to employees. “American Mary” could not work with a certain person in my company because he would not tolerate her slowness. He couldn’t or wouldn’t understand what it was like to be her. So, he barked his orders as fast as he usually did and he got nowhere. On the other hand, I would just “Be” her. I’d slow it down, be really kind, maybe draw a map for her even if she had been there five times before…and she would do anything for me. And she’d make sure she’d do a perfect job if she knew it was for me. Even today, she still calls me from Europe every now and then just to say hello.

Ask Not What I Can Do For You…

It all comes down to the point of exchanging properly with an employee; and that’s a tough one to balance. The person has to bring in a return to the company. With my employees and my executives, I start at what I can afford to pay them. I provide them an atmosphere where they can prosper by giving them the freedom to do the job themselves – always observing that they have the willingness as the biggest factor. In the initial interview process, I tell them the truth: “I expect the world. You are expected to give 110% and take pride in a job well done. You give to me first and then I’ll exchange back with you.” And I do. I demand a lot. And when they deliver and go above and beyond what I expect, I give back to them over and above what they expect. It’s that circle of life concept I was talking about earlier.

Another example of how to apply this is to spread their accolades through word of mouth. I don’t ever plan this; I just may be talking to my PR about one of my designers and I just say how great that designer is doing - and guess what? Next thing you know that designer has heard about it. That really does something for the person you are praising. They know you think they are great at their job and that really makes them want to work even harder for you.

Loyalty Pays Off

The President of my company, Jennifer Custer, is a gem. I recall one day her mother asking me what the gross income was for the week. She said she wanted to know so she could predict what kind of weekend she was going to have. I didn’t understand – what did this have to do with her weekend? I found out; Jenn was not fun to be around when the company’s revenue was down. I learned from her mother that she wanted so badly to make it, for me and the company, that when she did not, she really felt down. I never thought that she wore her duties that personally.

To instill that kind of loyalty you have to be loyal. When somebody flows me a lot of help in a particular area, I never forget it, I never disconnect from that. I have someone that was with me that has been with me from the beginning. She was a “Doubting Thomas” and would comment behind my back that I “sure had a big pipe dream in regards to growing the company.” But she was really good at her post – her division does a lot of production in that area and she runs it well. They are result driven and have deadlines that would even try the patience of Job. It would have been hard to replace her, plus she had been with me so long. Once my President found out that she was negating my dreams to others, she addressed it and that person never did it again. But I never held onto that as a grudge. In fact, I ended up giving her a raise above what her position was worth in our geographical area. In my opinion, she had warranted it – the good she constantly did surely outweighed her verbal negativity. She was with me a long time and truly developed her area. I never disconnected from her because she helped me, despite her verbal transgression. Not only did she make amends for what she has ever said about me, she would never naysay me or my company again, and now she’ll probably never leave me. So always take a look at what the staff member DOES (as opposed to says), regardless of the apparency.

Lastly, I think it’s important and warrants mentioning that I want my employees to enjoy their time here at work. I've had a few jobs where I hated going in to work in the morning and couldn't wait until the end of the day. Although I've learned that ultimately I am responsible for my condition in life - at work and at home - I could also notice things that existed in the workplace that were surely less than optimum. I wished that there was some person to tell, someone that would listen and be able to do something about it. You need to make sure that your executives and employees know you are their friend and know that you genuinely care about them. You will build a juggernaut like I have and your executives will carry forward your ideals to the rest of your crew.

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Inc 500 List as the one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. As an Expert Author, she is always willing to share her marketing advice through articles, interviews and speaking engagements. Visit her web site at http://www.postcardmania.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joy_Gendusa

I recently had a chat with an ex-colleague from my previous employer. As he used to do so frequently before, he told me a few things that were going on in the company. And so I thought, how would I have dealt with these challenges if I were still a manager there? I further asked myself, how would I have done things today if I had never left?

And I noticed a big difference between these two scenarios. I realized that because of my career development from senior manager to executive coach, my views, beliefs and skills have changed considerably. Leaving the company gave me the freedom to think beyond daily tasks and job requirements. It allowed me to look at things differently and to tremendously expand my horizons. Furthermore, I spent more time than ever before to study diverse approaches towards leadership and management.

A considerable break or sabbatical from the regular daily work could allow managers to expand their horizons and depth of knowledge. This could lead to better approaches towards the challenges inherent to any management position.

Now I know of course that this is easier said than done. For various reasons this idea is not a feasible option for most managers. So I thought, what could be a good alternative? How could busy managers make better decisions through an expanded view of their work? How could they fast-track their leadership ability?

Having worked with a considerable number of senior executives, I know that one of the key benefits I provide to them as an executive coach is that I look at things from a different perspective...which I share with them. I can inspire and sometimes challenge them to think beyond their normal thought patterns. This, in turn, leads to improved decision making. Obviously, it is also my responsibility to assist my coachees in the development of their leadership skills. This helps them improve the engagement of their staff and retain their best people.

Putting myself again mentally into my previous management position, I realize that a professional executive coach could have helped me fill the awareness and knowledge gaps I could have otherwise acquired only by taking a break of several months.

So if you can't take a break, get at least a good coach!

About the Author

Charlie Lang is an Executive Coach and Trainer who founded Progress-U Limited in 2002.

Charlie's mission is to develop his clients to become First-Class Leaders. He is a passionate and professional Executive Coach, Mentor Coach, Trainer, Public Speaker and Author of articles related to leadership, change management and innovative sales. The Groupness Factor, his first book on leadership and corporate culture was published in August 2005.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charlie_Lang

1. Planning

"Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance". A solid plan should have measurable goals to determine progress and success. It should take into account the current situation and environment, and the plan should be both documented and communicated. Plans should be compared and aligned with a comprehensive strategy.

2. Setting Goals

Goals should be specific, time limited and measurable. Measurements include quantity, capacity, percentage, monetary, timeliness, completeness, ratings or similar items that can be quantified.

3. Making Decisions

The following are steps to making logical and informed decisions: Define the problem. Measure the problem or situation, gather as much information as necessary. Analyze the information that you have gathered, not the problem. Analyzing the information often leads to discoveries or perspectives of root cause issues that may have been previously overlooked by concentration on the results of the problem, so be sure to focus on the facts of the information. Implement solutions that are targeted at the root cause of the problem or opportunities. Measure the outcome, compare to the original situation, and created controls to maintain the improved performance or situation.

4. Delegation

Be willing to delegate authority as well as responsibility, obligations or tasks. Delegating authority empowers individuals who are closer to the activity to respond with more informed and more timely action. You are surrounded by talented individuals, give them the chance to perform. Maintain a constant and consistent balance between Authority, Accountability and Responsibility.

5. Support

Perhaps one of the most important characteristics of leadership is the willingness and ability to provide support for your people. You can demonstrate support by being an advocate for their ideas, be compassionate and patient, contribute with your own time, and reinforce that what they do is important to the overall success of the organization.

6. Communication

Communication is not only speaking, it is listening. Use Active Listening Skills to enhance your communication, assure good comprehension and demonstrate the value of the message. When it is time to speak, be precise and clear in your communications. Explain fully to eliminate ambiguity in instructions. In meetings, keep speeches to fifteen minutes or less. Try to keep all meetings under thirty minutes by maintaining subject focused communication and require information preparation in advance.

7. Control

If you have a plan, stick to it. Apply daily diligence according to plan, use measurements to assure progress, and keep control when the plan has been implemented.

______________________________________________________

Words of Wisdom

"Communication is most effective when it translates a complex idea in a simple way."
- Mark Jarvis, Senior Vice President, Oracle

"If people have better information, they make better decisions - period."
- Suzanne Muchin, CEO, Civitas

"Every Leader needs to clearly explain the top three things the organization is working on. If you can't, you are not leading well."
- Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO, General Electric

About the Author:

John Mehrmann is an authority on emotional intelligence, talent management and organizational development. He is a consultant, coach and trainer with Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. His materials are available from http://www.InstituteForAdvancedLeadership.com.

http://www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Mehrmann

How do I find out the skills, talents and values of my direct reports?"

How else? Ask! Okay, that may be a bit simplistic and misleading, as some people may answer a direct question with what they aspire to, vs. reality. The key here is to ask a series of questions that allow a theme to unfold. Questions like…

# What has been your favorite job or assignment and why?
# If you think about your favorite supervisor, mentor or coach (and it’s okay that it’s not me…), what did you like about working with them?
# Describe a work or life experience where you felt very engaged in the activity. What about it made it engaging for you?
# What accomplishment or situation are you most proud of, at work or outside of work – and why?
# What do people tell you that you are good at? -- particularly those things that you respond to with “Oh, so what…” (Our genius or talent is often that which we think, “If I can do this easily, it can’t be that special…)

Feedback the themes you hear and check your assumptions. Ask your team member how they are using these in their current job, and how they would like to use them further. Then you will be on your way to knowing how to better utilize the skills and abilities of your employees, and they’ll end up more productive as they enjoy their work even more.

NOTE: And you can clarify your own strengths and values by using these questions too...!

Copyright 2005-2006, Mary C. Schaefer. All rights reserved.

Mary Schaefer is President and Lead Consultant for Artemis Path, LLC. She holds a Master’s in Human Resources Management and is certified as an HR Professional (PHR). Mary’s 20 years of experience in industry, most recently as an HR manager, allows her to effectively coach you as a supervisor, small business owner or employee, on how to get along better at work! You can find more information about how Mary can help you at http://www.artemispath.com

While you are there, check out how the expanded, 14-page eworkbook version of the Ten Ways to Survive Your Current Job can help you!!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Schaefer

Keeping your eye on the business and improving employee performance at the same time can be a challenge; that is why performance management is so important in organizations. By its very definition, performance management contributes to the development of individuals and teams in order to achieve higher levels of organizational performance.

    * Do you have the skills and ability to coach employees toward peak performance?

    * Are employees clear on what is expected of them, do they have the tools to continuously upgrade their skills and develop their potential?

Employees may never reach their full potential until you first learn how to establish performance goals, clearly communicate expectations, identify the gaps between where an employee is today, the gains that are needed, and design a plan for how to get there.

Performance management can not be a once-a-year event to be ceremoniously concluded by the completion and filing of a form. What good does it do an organization to have completed forms that only document lack luster performance? True performance management is more than tracking and monitoring what is. It must become an everyday conversation and relationship building process that managers initiate to create what can be. The power of the process is realized when employees are clear about what’s expected of them and managers use it as a collaborative tool to reach goals, and optimize performance.

Performance is the one thing that every company wants from its employees. After all, isn’t that what they are paying for? Conducting review sessions that do not better enable or inspire improved performance just add to the costs.

In his book Supermotivation, Dean Spitzer listed the following statistics:

    * 50% put in enough effort to keep their jobs
    * 55% of employees not engaged
    * 9% see connection between job and work
    * 8/10 looking for new jobs
    * 80% could perform better
    * 33% believe that management communicates effectively
    * 39% trust their senior manager

With stats managers might want to explore performance improvement strategies; focus on employee development, find cross-training opportunities, provide more challenging assignments, and provide continual feedback. You can’t just go to the employee when something is wrong – that is too much time and energy wasted. You should take care to observe the employee often to find out how they work and where they may be making mistakes. Business can not operate this way. Well, they can and they do but we all pay the cost. Isn’t it easier to make effective communication a priority; spend time helping employees find the best tools; giving them access to the best resources, and helping them find reasons and incentive to put forth more than the minimum level.

Lest we forget, managers are employees too. If you are doing the things listed above, are you putting forth more than the minimal effort? If you say that you think about performance management after you get your other work done, I have to ask you, what work could be more important that ensuring the guiding the organizations most valuable asset? You need people to sustain the viability of the corporation.

There are seven performance enhancing strategies that you might try in service to the employee. Ultimately they are responsible for their actions but they also need you to:

Assess performance, identify competency gaps, and then define performance objectives in precise and demonstrable terms.

Communicate expectations, roles, and responsibilities through performance discussions that simultaneously build relationships, improve performance, commitment and accountability.

Coach employees in a way that corrects performance deficiencies, reinforces appropriate behaviors, teaches new skills, and inspires them to higher levels of performance.

Diagnose performance problems early and remove any barriers that may impede employee performance.

Collaborate with employees and others to identify performance goals, support systems, and improvement strategies that will improve both today's performance results and the skills needed for tomorrow's challenges.

Document all performance-related discussions, quickly, confidently and legally.

Retain your most talented performers, recognize all employees for their efforts, and reward great performance.

Valarie is CEO of Think 6 Results -- a knowledge broker passionate about learning and improving performance in organizations. She’s a writer, presenter, and executive coach on a mission to get every employee and organization focused on and thinking about the SIX business driving goals that matter.

Looking for just the right SPEAKER for your special meeting or event; we offer full-day presentations, training workshops, and keynote addresses. This high-energy presenter is ready to cover topics like: strategic thinking , career strategy,leadership, change management, teambuilding, employee engagement, or organizational learning. Let us customize a presentation for you. You won't be disappointed.

SHARE this article with others. We invite to copy this article and pass it on when you include the copyright and contact information listed below.

Contact Valarie at [email protected] or by calling 630-705-1189. Visit us at http://www.Think6Results.com

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Managers and leaders who are overly negative and critical in the name of facing reality alienate their employees and customers, close down honest and open dialogue in their organizations and foster cynical, hopeless and lifeless cultures. Ignoring the positive while focusing only on the negative can be a form of management malpractice. But management malpractice will never be stopped if that’s all we expect from the managers and leaders of our organizations. The danger in focusing only on the negative while neglecting the positive lies in never envisioning the possibility of greater change, improvement, learning, breakthrough, progress, fulfillment, or happiness.

The attitude that managers and leaders in organizations will always malpractice management and will never improve is far too negative to produce change and improvement. Some say that the best way to overcome a bad habit is to face up to all the ugly effects and consequences caused by the bad habit. Good advice. But applying such advice requires contemplating, envisioning and planning life after the bad habit is eliminated. Focusing on the positive as a means to overcoming the negative is not bad, misguided, or evil, it’s a vital part of the human development process. Use it to your advantage.

Here’s some even better advice from William James, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind . . . The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” We can overcome management malpractice in our organizations and rise to new levels of trust, cooperation, fulfillment, happiness and success in our workplaces.

The potential danger in focusing only on the positive while minimizing the negative lies in never understanding the core of the problem, difficulty, trouble, dilemma, obstacle, threat, menace, crisis, predicament, confusion, unrest or turmoil. Managers and leaders who are overanxious and overreaching in they efforts to contain or curtail the discussion of legitimate concerns, criticisms and disagreements in the name of emphasizing positivism and eliminating negativity risk closing down honest and open communication, alienating their employees and customers, and fostering an authoritarian, control-obsessed culture. Ignoring the negative while emphasizing only the positive can be a form of management malpractice.

Management malpractice, like other pesky problems and menacing obstacles, doesn’t go away by itself or through only the positive reinforcement of praiseworthy or well-practiced management. The only way to get rid of management malpractice is to see it, expose it and prevent it – which requires a lot of serious focus on removing the negative as a means to accelerating and expanding the positive. Some say that the best way to overcome a bad habit is to form a new one in its place. Good advice. But applying such advice still requires seeing the bad habit, admitting that it is a bad habit that should be overcome and then forming a new habit(s) to take its place. Focusing on the negative as a means to expanding the positive is not bad, misguided, or evil, it’s a vital part of the human development process. Use it to your advantage.

Here’s some even better advice from Thomas Edison, “I never quit until I get what I’m after. Negative results are just what I’m after. They are just as valuable to me as positive results . . . I can never find the things that work best until I know the things that don’t work.” We all malpractice management from time to time, but we need to see our malpractices as things that don’t work, expose them as malpractices that produce negative results and then prevent future malpractices by avoiding the things that don’t work.

Craig Hickman is the author or coauthor of a dozen books on business and management, among them such bestsellers as Creating Excellence; The Strategy Game; Mind of a Manager, Soul of a Leader; and The Oz Principle. After receiving his M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School, he worked in the areas of strategic planning, organizational design, and mergers and acquisitions for Dart Industries and Ernst & Young. In 1985, he founded Management Perspectives Group, a consulting and training firm that helped companies implement the business strategy, corporate culture, and organizational change principles set forth in Creating Excellence and Mind of a Manager, Soul of a Leader. His clients have included: Proctor & Gamble, American Express, Unilever, AT&T, PepsiCo, Honeywell, Amoco, Nokia, and the U.S. government. He has lectured throughout the world for the U.S. State Department as part of its American Participant Program and is currently CEO of Headwaters Technology Innovation Group, a subsidiary of Headwaters Incorporated (NYSE: HW).

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The trend towards upscale kennels is making flooring paramount for good looks and healthful environments. Kennel epoxy flooring is not only seamless but can be Class III Laboratory qualified. Now used not only in veterinary operating rooms but also on kennel runways, divider walls and cages these mold and mildew resistant surfaces are easy to clean with hoses and squeegees. Bleach resistant epoxy flooring can take strong cleaners and heavy abrasion.

Epoxy coatings have been used successfully in swimming pools, laundries, warehouses, garages, and various types of shops for decades. Now they are being used increasingly in kennels with fine skid resistant textured surfaces that are still easy to mop and squeegee clean.

Kennel epoxy floors can be flooded, pressure washed and scrubbed back into service in minutes. Mold, bacteria, and contaminants can be rinsed off. The surfaces are impervious to penetration by liquid-born contaminants. Even diesel, gas, and oil will not penetrate them and can be washed or wiped up. Old technology floorings, including paint, carpeting, vinyl tile, linoleum, and wood, are subject to such severe contamination and damage if flood cleansing is used.

New designs in kennels offer beautiful flood-proof epoxy coated flooring from wall to wall, often including coated vertical surfaces to help further contain liquids. The beauty of kennel epoxy flooring can be enhanced and personalized by using colors. Colored chips, glitter, decorative stains, and artwork and decals can be laminated into these attractive floors. Kennel epoxy flooring is a solid choice when building or remodeling kennel spaces.

Durall Industrial Flooring supplies kits of materials that are customized to owner specification and delivered directly to the job site. Kits include full directions and 24/7 help lines staffed by seasoned flooring experts, so professionals and amateurs alike can successfully install a quality floor.

Web visitors can obtain free, job-specific quotes on materials or nationwide turnkey installations by completing a simple questionnaire athttp://www.concrete-floor-coatings.com.

For a high-resolution photo example, visit: http://www.concrete-floor-coatings.com/photos/kennel/

For more information, contact Harvey Chichester at: [email protected] Phone: 1-800-466-8910 or 952-888-1488 (24/7)

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Harvey Chichester is a principal of Durall Industrial Flooring, a company with more than 40 years experience in developing special flow-coatings for industrial and residential floors. Automotive and shopping centers, breweries, food processing plants, manufacturing plants, airplane hangars, car washes, kennels, warehouses, printing plants, residential basements, pool decks, and condominiums are among some of the facilities that he has installed floors in.

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Research evidence and industry experience indicates that less than one third of all IT projects are delivered on time, on budget and with required features. More than half are late, over budget or delivered with less than the required features. Most worryingly, nearly twenty percent are cancelled prior to completion or delivered and never used.

Most software project failures are the result of business needs not being correctly understood or by overly optimistic software development estimates. These errors lead to long delays and large cost overruns. In addition, poor software quality imposes high levels of support and ongoing rework.

Too often, IT projects start with an assumption that something “technical” needs to be done and discover too late that they were solving the wrong problem or that the approach taken to solving it was based on outdated assumptions.

One of the key tools in the Six Sigma “toolkit” is its problem solving methodology. DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control. The key to the success of this methodology is its focus on using data-driven tools to identify what is to be changed and then to monitor the actual impact of changes in a feedback loop.

With DMAIC we start be reviewing these fundamental assumptions and focus on the goal of understanding the needs of the customer and how we can best improve delivery of them. This involves developing a clear business case, understanding the problem and the expected results, determining limitations and customer expectations and identifying key stakeholders and their roles. This results in a preliminary project plan. We then collect facts and numbers that offer clues about the causes of the problem or the solution to an opportunity. Six Sigma goes beyond “test cases” by identifying both how a system might be used, the expected behaviour AND the key indicators of customer satisfaction with the overall business process. DMAIC provides a robust framework for ensuring that initiatives that reach implementation are most likely to add value to the business and can be measured to determine their actual impact. The final step looks at how the improvements that the project has made can be sustained and maintained over time. For IT based projects this step will include full handover of documentation and support responsibilities, detailed post-implementation reviews and ensuring that management supports the ongoing success of the project.

Six Sigma provides an effective approach to achieving reliable IT project delivery. Six Sigma insists on active management engagement and involvement, a financial business case, and in focussing on only the most important business problems. Six Sigma also provides a clearly defined methodology, tools, role definitions, and metrics to ensure success.

Chris Young is the founder of White Water Consulting (http://www.whitewater.com.au) and is a senior consultant with a broad knowledge and experience in financial services, change management and information technology. His areas of focus include delivering business-aligned IT strategy and implementing best practices in process improvement, project management and software development process. White Water Consulting provides practical solutions to designing and implementing information technology strategy. By remaining independent of solutions and solution providers White Water Consulting can concentrate on your actual business needs and recommend strategies that are pragmatic and cost effective.

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A proposition: incompatibility is a product of competition.

Recently I found this notification on the CBS site “Statistics Netherlands”:

    * Divorce rate up in 2005 Compared to 2004, the number of divorces in the Netherlands rose by nearly 2 thousand to 33 thousand in 2005. Incompatibility of characters and infidelity are most frequently mentioned as reasons for divorce...(Source: CBS -http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/mens-maatschappij/bevolking/publicaties/artikelen/2006-1862-wm.htm) - there is more interesting information about this topic, but that doesn't serve this article -

In order to compete, we know from Michael Porter and other strategist who have written about the subject, companies tend to differentiate. And these minor differentiations end up in the products and services we (consumers and other businesses) buy from them. The same differentiations that will make that one solution of on typical product or service will not cooperate – will not be compatible – with other similar solutions. When you travel from Europe to the US, your electrical plugs are incompatible. This particular case can be solved, but you need to be prepared, each time you face such a situation.

On an individual level these mismatches also occur within companies. The way you manage to communicate with your boss or with others is an indication of compatibilities of characters, although the term incompatibilities of characters could easily be misused. Being a professional you should be able to communicate with everybody.

Beyond the individual level though, there are many situations in a company where you may find incompatibility. It is again the fierce internal competition that makes organizations sometimes inefficient. This becomes clear when – when the cost reduction programs enter the business stage – that synergies are hard to find, because of resources and different types of solutions that clash.

Although it happens often, many employees meet and date others members from the same company, it is not necessary that you get that close to others, but teamwork is not something that is put on the management agenda because of no reason.

Teamwork is necessary because of many reasons, one of them being able to reach internal synergies; otherwise your company might as well split up in different competing units.

© 2006 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days. You can apply for a free demo account

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There’s nothing more rewarding to an apparel retailer than a store full of customers. They’re shuffling through racks, swiping their cards, and lining up at the dressing room to try on merchandise. Some of those outfits will no doubt be going home with the customer, and that’s good news for the bottom line. But the bad news might lie in what’s left behind.

It’s no secret to the apparel retailer that customers can be hard on the clothes they try on. Clothing is pulled off instead of gently removed. Instead of being put back on the hanger, pants and shirts are discarded in the corner of the dressing room for the next outfit. Between makeup stains, shoe prints and who knows what else, a busy day at the store can leave your inventory looking a little rough. The challenge is retaining the value of these garments, so you’re still able to sell them at a fair price.

At the end of the day, it all comes back to maintaining the integrity and quality of the merchandise. Since tagged clothing can not be machine washed, a good spot remover is the best solution for removing stains left behind by customers. Removing stains left by customers in the dressing room will maintain the quality of your product, the faith of your customers, and the reputation of your store.

In some apparel stores, garments that are stained is moved to the clearance rack and sold at a discount. This can send a bad message to customers about the quality of the products you carry. If the clearance rack is filled with stained or otherwise damaged clothes, what type of a message is that sending to customers about the store’s standards when it comes to product quality? If the store is willing to sell stained clothing at a discount, customers may assume they’d sell it for full price too.

There are a variety of clothes stain removers formulated to remove all sorts of stains, including oil based, ink spots, alteration marks, lipstick, mascara, foundation, suntan lotion, hair preparation, and eye makeup. It would probably be a good idea to keep a few different brands and formulas on hand, as some work well for a certain type of stain, while others are better for a different type.

Stain removers can be a very handy tool for protecting your bottom line and maintaining the quality of your products. For more information on stain removers and other products with the retailer in mind, visit www.nu-era.com.

Christopher Weis is the marketing director for Nu-Era. Nu-Era and http://www.nu-era.com are services of The Nu-Era Group, LLC -the industry leader in store fixtures, supplies, and fulfillment. Nu-Era has been providing its customers with competitively priced quality products with customer-oriented service since 1949.

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What? You should play favorites?

But that's... that's... unfair!

I'm being blasphemous I know.

After all, we've grown up to believe that favoring some people over others is wrong.

In many cases, I agree. Favoring someone because of their gender, race, nationality, religion, economic status or any other quality that has nothing to do with the job is wrong.

Favoring the boss's son or daughter, or an old friend from school, or anyone else because of who they are -- rather than what they can do -- is bad.

Not just morally bad, but also bad for business.

But what about favoring someone because they're good at their job?

Well, as I'm about to show, that's definitely good for business.

And it's certainly not unfair -- no more than giving Jane a bigger bonus than Ian because Jane has performed much better than Ian.

So what does "favoring" people because they're good at their job actually mean?

It simply means giving people more enjoyable and rewarding assignments, projects or tasks. More of the work they enjoy; less of the work they don't enjoy.

For example, it might mean giving a top salesperson a more lucrative territory. It might mean giving a waitress the shifts she prefers. It might mean giving a consultant the most interesting projects.

But... if your best people get the best work... and your poorer performers are left with the tougher, less attractive work... won't that lead to your best people just cruising along, while your poorer performers struggle... causing overall results (however you define them) to decline?

Actually, that's quite unlikely.

I mean, are your best performers really "cruisers"? People who like to rest on their laurels? If this is how you categorize your top performers -- you need to rethink what it means to be a top performer!

On the other hand, do you perceive them to be talented, passionate individuals who thrive on a challenge and produce outstanding results no matter the circumstances? If so, you'll probably find that they squeeze even more and better results out of the "more attractive" work you give them than either you or they thought possible.

Yes, your poorer performers may well struggle with the less attractive work... but the "cost" to you -- and your organisation -- of giving them this work is far less than the cost of giving them the good work, and giving the less appealing opportunities to your top performers.

In this scenario, not only will your poor workers be far less likely to make the most of the opportunities given to them... but your top workers will probably become less motivated (why should they work hard when their "reward" is to do less appealing work?), disgruntled and ultimately likely to leave.

It's a bit like investing. If you have a ten-dollar bill and a one-dollar bill and can only invest each bill in one of two investments -- one earning 10% per annum and another earning 20% -- where do you invest the ten-dollar bill? Where do you invest the one-dollar bill?

Hmmm... let's see... $10 in a 20% p.a. investment earns $12 and $1 in a 10% p.a. investment earns $1.10. So the total would be $12.10.

Meanwhile, $10 in a 10% p.a. investment earns $11 and $1 in a 20% investment earns $1.20. So the total is only $11.20.

Pretty obvious, isn't it?

Allocating work among your staff is similar to allocating those bills to two different investments. By giving the best work to your best employees, and yes, sad to say, your worst work to your poorer employees, your overall results will be better than if you allocated the work the other way around.

So, as long, as it's based on performance, go ahead -- play favorites.

Anna Johnson is the author of the How To Manage People System, including her book, How To Manage People (Even If You're A Control Freak!). Get Anna's FREE 12-page report How To Be An Outstanding Manager -- The 8 Vital Keys To Managing People Effectively.

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In the last decade or so, business and management academics, writers, "gurus" and executives alike have all touted the importance of leadership.

They've written about it. They've spoken about it. They've conducted MBA courses on it. They've practiced it.

And they've certainly worshipped it.

And so they should. Leadership is critical, right? It's what gives companies direction -- what drives them onward and upward to success.

Without leadership a company would be all dressed up with nowhere to go.

And please don't confuse it with management. Leadership captivates us with the why and what; management bores us with the how, who, when and where.

Leaders are the visionaries. The thinkers. Those exceptional "big picture" people who inspire us to embrace their vision for the future.

Managers... well they're the people who can't lead. Managers lack big picture vision; they too mired in the details -- the small picture. And they're too busy organizing than orchestrating.

Only it's the managers who actually get us where we want to go. After all, what good is it having a road toward the future without an operational car to get us there?

It seems to me that in all this glorification of leaders and leadership... managers and management have been unjustly maligned... To the point where "management" is equated with being small-minded, reactive, controlling, even stifling.

As a result, while up-and-coming professionals, executives, entrepreneurs and small business owners, focus on developing leadership skills... they neglect to develop management skills. The very skills that get things done.

What skills are these?

Well, in my opinion, management is basically about allocating resources to achieve a goal. Great managers do a little more than that, but the manager's role is essentially to allocate resources -- whether people, money, tools, information, or any other resource -- and match those resources to tasks.

So while leadership may be responsible for determining what the goal is, management is crucial to achieving it.

Based on that, management is just as important to achieving a goal as leadership wouldn't you say?

And typically, for every leader with a compelling vision, a business needs a certain number of managers to organize the work and the workers, in order to achieve that vision. (It also needs an even greater number of workers but that's the subject of another article!).

So... if the average business needs more managers than leaders... why doesn't the business "intelligentsia" give equal -- if not greater emphasis -- to the development of management skills than to leadership skills?

Possibly because too much emphasis has been given to management than to leadership in the past... or possibly because having a big vision and inspiring people is so much sexier than the nitty-gritty of preparing budgets, hiring people, delegating tasks, monitoring performance, choosing vendors, and the "mundane" tasks of management.

Or perhaps the tasks of a manager are just plain obvious...

So obvious that many executives, professionals, entrepreneurs and small business owners find themselves in management positions... where they're full of vision and grand plans... but can't get the people they manage to actually do the things necessary to accomplish that plan and those grand plans!

Enough already!

We need more managers -- or should I say people with management skills -- not more leaders. Big dreams abound... the capabilities to access and allocate resources to achieve those big dreams are in far too short supply.

Anna Johnson is the author of the How To Manage People System, including her book, How To Manage People (Even If You're A Control Freak!). Get Anna's FREE 12-page report How To Be An Outstanding Manager -- The 8 Vital Keys To Managing People Effectively.

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