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A New Beginning
Notice something different about this newsletter?
After five years,
Coeur Coaching has changed its name to J.Ferm,
LLC.
We
still offer executive coaching services,
but our new
name better reflects the range of leadership
development offerings we
provide, such as assessments,
TeleCourses, workshops
and keynote speaking. Our new home on the web is
www.jferm.com.
This month we’re off to Chicago as a sponsor of the
Life Sciences Day at the Swedish-American Chamber
of Commerce
Entrepreneurial Days
Conference. Much of
our “no fluff”
approach to business is founded in our Swedish
roots, so we are
excited about this opportunity to partner with Swedish
and American
businesses looking to forge new
relationships.
We hope your spring is full of fresh ideas and new
approaches. As always, thank you for your interest
and support for
J.Ferm!
| Upcoming Events & TeleCourses |
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The 2007 Annual TeleCourse
Schedule
May Event:
Wednesday, May 16, 7:45am-9:30am, Westerville,
Ohio
Dealing Effectively With the Dominant Big
Shot.
Hosted
by Precision Printing. For more information and to
register for this
free event, click here
May TeleCourses:
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| We Recommend |
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The No Asshole
Rule, by Robert I. Sutton
Yes, it is actually named that!
When I first
saw
this book in the bookstore, I carefully looked around,
grabbed a copy, and retreated to a quiet
corner to speed-read through the first couple of
pages.
I was stunned that the author had found a publisher
(and a reputable one at that) daring to go with this
controversial title.
After buying the book and
spending a few days digging into the content, I was
pleasantly surprised to find a well-researched and
articulated concept. The book takes a serious look at
the costly issue of bullying in the
workplace and discusses the emotional and financial
affects such as lost productivity and expensive turn-over of top
talent.
This book may have a controversial title, but the topic
is no joke.
Sutton uses several examples of
companies that actively
enforce "no asshole rules" and reports positive
results from refusing to accept bullying behaviors from
clients, co-workers, and partners. He also makes
distinctions between
assholes, jerks, and people just having bad days. I
think it is safe to say that we all carry traits (if not full-
blown characteristics) of all of these distinctions, from
time to time. The key, as Sutton
explains, is to stop the destructive behaviors as
quickly as possible and immediately engage in
damage control should these nasty habits rear their
ugly heads.
Though it may not be
feasible to implement a "No Asshole Rule"
with people already in your life, it is possible
to do so before starting new relationships. We recommend
considering the rule during these opportunities:
- When interviewing for a new job (if
you don't like
the tone or approach of your future boss, chances are you won't after
he or she has hired you)
- When deciding to take on a new client
(if you experience bullying-like behaviors early
in the relationship,
address them immediately -- this is not the time to
play nice in the sandbox)
- When hiring top performers (select
employees
who display integrity and professionalism, not just
business results)
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| Success Strategies |
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Many leaders secretly share with us that they
wish they had received
management training earlier in their careers.
By the
time they take on
major leadership roles, it is assumed that they know
HOW
to manage. They tell us that this is rarely the case.
Effective
management is
a skill and, like other skills, it takes practice and
patience to develop.
Here are three proven tips that will give you a leading
edge:
- Write down your top performance
standards and share
them with prospects, clients, employees, and your
boss. If you are
not sure what they are or how to express them,
chances are others
don’t know either and you are leaving a lot to chance.
J.Ferm client, Barbara
Wayman of BlueTree Media, shares her
standards with prospects, clients, and partners so
they
know what to expect when working with her. They
include: "Quality matters, so you'll always receive our
best work," "We'll speak up and share our expertise so that you can
make the best decision," and "Our work is start-to-finish. Once you
hire us, consider it done."
- Become a “debriefing expert” and
help your
people reflect on what works well and what doesn't.
Former Top Gun pilot Chris Greene teaches
managers in corporate America to formalize the
debriefing process he learned in the military so that
it becomes a natural part of the team's
continuous performance improvement process. In the
military, failing to address and correct mistakes
immediately can have disastrous effects. Organizations and
corporations may not have lives on the line, but unchecked mistakes
can prove very costly.
- Schedule time for strategic
planning. According to
Pat Nickerson, author of Managing Multiple Bosses,
senior executives spend between 30-40 percent of
their time engaged in strategic planning. Managers, on
the other hand, spend about 5-10 percent. This leaves
little to no time to plan what to delegate, how to
motivate, and resolve conflicts strategically. Avoid this trap by
scheduling a recurring appointment with yourself to plan.
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Client Stories |
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Jack, a senior leader at a major consulting firm,
was struggling to get his work done. A few months
ago he had been promoted from individual contributor
to team leader and was now responsible for 10 direct
reports.
Read on...
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