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This month we discuss several ways to increase organizational productivity through a "Tune Up", as well as providing tips on opportunities in the "Hidden Job Market". Also included is a capsule review of a book we like: Emotional Intelligence 2.0. |
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2010 Organizational Tune Up
Whether you see the recovery as underway or you are expecting your business to struggle this year, it is critically important to operate your organization with optimum efficiency and effectiveness. Executives need to look at several ways to better run their organizations to meet today's challenges. Here are a few suggestions:
Strategy vs. Tactics: Most of us are in firefighting mode. We spend all our time in the "important and urgent" box, and we invest little or no time in the "important but not urgent" box, where Steven Covey claimed all valuable action is really taken. With the time you capture from the tips below, invest one hour a week in true strategic thinking, especially with your closest collaborators.
Customer Perceptions: If the market is static, market share is critical. Are your customers delighted? Can you maintain or even increase your market share with better customer service? This is priority #1 for most smart managers today.
Continuous Improvement: In firefighting mode, we usually worry about how to keep up, not how to move forward. Not all improvement initiatives cost money. Ask your team for ideas, and you will likely come up with no-cost ways to improve things now.
Meetings: Wasting even 15 minutes in a pointless meeting is expensive. Ask your managers for one-page written status updates, and meet only to solve problems, brainstorm, and initiate new action.
One-to-Ones: If you are all working harder, you probably are having fewer one-to-one meetings with your key people. Do a 5x5 in 30 minutes with each key report. Tell each person 5 things they did well last month (very motivating), and discuss 5 things they could develop, initiate or improve (very purposeful). Be positively focused in your statements, not critical.
Time Management: If you are well-organized, you probably already do this. If you are spontaneous, visionary, creative, ADD, etc., go through the excruciating pain of becoming more efficient with your time.
Delegation: Perfect is the enemy of good enough. Executives should only do things with a degree of difficulty of 8-10. If you do too much of the 1-7 tasks yourself, you either don't trust others enough, you are a micromanager, or you don't have adequate talent under you. Fix it, and delegate the 1-7 tasks.
Reboot: Know how your computer runs better when you reboot? So do you. Clear your head frequently, let go of things beyond your control, and implement balance in your life. Cliché alert: Eat better and exercise. Watch how much more you can accomplish!
Get the edge in 2010 by thinking of these and other things that will increase your productivity. Send us your tips, and we'll publish more in another article.
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Book Review: Emotional Intelligence 2.0
(Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves)
Daniel Goleman's groundbreaking 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) revolutionized the way people view capability, relationships, behavior and success. This new book, by authors who have previously written EQ related material, updates our understanding of EQ, and more valuably, provides a how-to for improving your own EQ.
The book provides a practical explanation of the four EQ skills: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness and Relationship Management, with concrete examples of what the skill and the lack of that skill look like in human behavior. The balance of the book is a detailed primer on how to improve these qualities in yourself, again with very specific suggestions.
Each copy of the book also comes with a personal passcode to the on-line Emotional Intelligence Appraisal, a $40 value, which you can take a second time, to see how you have progressed.
This is a practical tool kit for everyone, and especially valuable to today's business managers. People often get promoted based on their task and results orientation, and if they need strengthened people skills, everyone finds out the hard way. This could be a good business gift to accompany every promotion to manager! |
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Job seekers hear about the hidden job market and often wonder how much is myth vs. reality. Here is a guide on what is real, and what you can do to tap into these opportunities.
- People do get hired for jobs that are never advertised.
- Employers are sometimes "thinking" about a need or a strategic replacement, and you just have to be in the right place at the right time.
- Companies that show evidence of growth (read press releases, look at lists of fast growth companies) often need to hire, but haven't written the job reqs yet.
- Strategic HR leaders often know which hiring executive would be open to an "A" player, and will bring a star to their attention.
How to get into the hidden opportunities:
- Portray value to the employer. Be able to articulate specifically what you can do for your next employer, don't just recite your history (interesting to you; boring to others).
- Optimize your transferability. If you are an accountant, odds are you won't be hired as a brain surgeon. The employer wants someone with relevant skills and experience, from their point of view. In this economy, go after logical choices. If you want to change fields or function, expect a tougher time.
- Research: Identify the employers that you most want to work for and who are most likely to be interested in you.
- Do it yourself. Don't invest more than 10-15% of your effort with headhunters. Good search consultants don't find jobs for people; we find people for jobs. Go after the position yourself.
- Network: Build, nurture and utilize your network to open doors. Employers often network before posting positions. Make friends within targeted companies. Employees often get referral cash for bringing in others. Become a heavily connected person on Linked-In.
- Be subtle. Directly asking for a job is bold and often works. Also consider using the indirect approach - ask for information, referrals, etc., while subtly building a case to a prospective employer.
- Consult. People who start as consultants often get offers to be a permanent hire.
- Show Up: You multiply your communicative ability fivefold if you can get a meeting. If you aren't working, dress up, and knock on doors. Expect a 5% favorable response. 20 doors = 1 interview.
In a highly competitive job market, you do need to go above and beyond answering ads to have an edge. Using some of these tips will help. Watch for news next month about our upcoming Webinar on how to market yourself.
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