Training – Page 19 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

The False Economy of “I’ll do it Myself”

October 1, 2012/3 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Doing more with less turns us into idiots. Our hubris and arrogance puts our idiocy into action. Sorry – got a little ranty right out of the gate. Let me hit rewind.

We’re constantly seeking ways to both improve our business but do so while saving money at the same time. That can lead to the dangerous dynamic of “I’ll do it myself.” We take on tasks and projects ourselves instead of hiring experts or service providers who specialize in the task. The idea looks good on paper but it can be really stupid (sorta like the kid who tries to give themselves a haircut).

Allow me to illustrate. Many of you own homes. More often than not, something goes wrong with something in your house. Either a pipe gets clogged up, roof shingles fly off, or you simply need a fresh coat of paint. Given we’re all trying to be frugal in a difficult economy, the notion of popping on down to Lowe’s or Home Depot comes to mind with visions of being a handy dandy Bob the Builder “We can fix it!” type of home improvement hero.

We get home with our $376.78 in new tools, shingles, and paint. We carve out an hour or so on Saturday to get the job done because, well… how hard can it be to slap on some paint, snake a drain, or hammer in some shingles, right?

Then the stupidity starts.

What Amusement Parks can Teach You about Professional Development

September 10, 2012/4 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

I recently went to King’s Island amusement park with the kids. Beyond experiencing the thrill of $9 sodas and wickedawesome roller coasters, I learned a few things about professional development while I was there.

Some of you love roller coasters and some hate them. I used to hate them but now I love them. We rode Diamondback, The Vortex, Flight Deck, Flight of Fear, Firehawk, Drop Tower, The Monster, Delirium, and The Racer. We rode some of them multiple times. All were awesome in their own special way.

Several of them taught me a few things about overcoming fear, growing as a person, and thoroughly enjoying the thrill of it all. Allow me to share a few growth experiences along with some pointers you can take away from my experiences. I’ll do so via some ride recaps.

Drop Tower

Imagine sitting with your feet dangling as you sit on a gigantic doughnut. That doughnut is then hoisted straight up a tower that gives you a view of the entire park and the surrounding area. Then they drop that doughnut 315 feet straight down at 67 MPH. Pro tip: don’t eat right before this ride.

The first time I rode it, I was terrified the whole way up. My focus was on my seat belt and the sturdiness of the shoulder harness bars. During the seemingly interminable wait at the top of the tower, I repeatedly told myself (and everyone around me) what a bad idea this was. Then the bottom fell out and I experienced a screaming free-fall for the longest three seconds of my life. I didn’t notice anything beyond my butt not being in contact with the seat and my stomach flipping over.

How to Thrive in a World Without 30 Year Careers

July 30, 2012/6 Comments/in Career, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

This ain’t your daddy’s or mommy’s business world anymore. I’m sure you’ve figured that out already. First of all, people use cell phones. This is a fact I’m constantly reminding my father of…

“Dad, turn on your cell phone when you’re not home.”

“Why? Then it will ring. I’m retired and I don’t want to be bothered by everyone.”

“Dad, the only people who have your number are me, Mom, and my sister…” He still doesn’t get it…

The career world he lived in has changed as well. Dad had a first career for 17 years at a large company that rhymes with AT&T (which makes his aversion to phones even more bizarre). After those wonderfully predictable pension-based years, it was a series of smaller “careers” – 6 years, 6 years, 3 years, 5 years, retirement. For him, it was no big deal. 5-6 years is plenty of time to get settled in a home and community. It’s not a huge issue to demonstrate progression in a “career” at a company in 5-6 years and to move after that. But the world continues to change. For those of us in the workplace, we’re part of a new dynamic.

Let’s spend a little time with Roger Daltrey “talkin’ bout my generation.”

What Zappos Can Teach You About Competing and Winning

July 25, 2012/2 Comments/in Books, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Strategy, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

It’s an honor and a privilege to bring you some thoughts from bestselling author Dr. Joseph Michelli (author of The Zappos Experience and The Starbucks Experience) on how to reduce the risk of becoming a commodity. Enough of me… here’s Joseph.

Every business is at risk of becoming a commodity. So how is it that some travel agents still thrive after the advent of Priceline and Travelocity? Why do some companies maintain premium pricing while similar businesses have to resort to discounting to attract price sensitive consumers? And the most important question of all, how can YOU assure that YOUR business doesn’t fall into the commodization trap?

The recent recession has only reinforced the economic truth that brands that “wow” customers – thrive and survive! Conversely, brands that simply satisfy consumers are at the risk of extinction! While the lessons, I’m sharing here could’ve just as easily been drawn from my books about Starbucks, Ritz-Carlton, the Pike Place Fish Market, or the UCLA Health System, I’ll offer insights and tools courtesy of Zappos (The Zappos Experience: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage and WOW).

Zappos is an online retailer who defied the odds and built an Internet empire, initially as a virtual shoe store and now expanding its inventory well beyond shoes alone. Zappos has always charged top dollar for its products and has succeeded primarily because they innovated an experience that consistently exceeds the expectations of customers, vendors, and people who simply encounter the brand.

To help you appreciate how Zappos might serve as a provocative benchmark for your customer experience, let me cover the 5 principles outlined in The Zappos Experience:

8 Great Reasons for Pursuing a Life of Training

June 13, 2012/5 Comments/in Guest Blogger, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest blogger is Tim Hoff – an expert in the field of ongoing training. Here’s Tim:

No matter what your job title is or what industry you work in, ongoing training is essential to your continued career growth. While you may be an expert at your current job or in a particular area, continuing education can help prepare you for a variety of experiences and help you land more opportunities.

If you’re not yet completely sold on the idea of getting more career training, here are ten excellent reasons to help you understand its importance:

1. Enhanced skills. At the root of continuing education is the desire to improve job skills. People come into the business world from a variety of different backgrounds, and ongoing training gives employees the chance to pick up abilities that they may have missed in their formal education. On a personal level, you may find that you lack specific marketing skills, for example, or that you wish to improve your leadership abilities. Continuing education, whether through in-house training, seminars, or professional organizations, gives you a chance to round out your skill set.

2. Job security. Employers retain those employees who can demonstrate continued value to the company. You should continually look for ways to improve your performance in your current position as well as opportunities to take on new responsibilities. Getting more education can help you gain the skills you need to be ready for changes at your organization or in the industry.

3. More options. More education will give you more and better options for advancement at your organization or changing careers. On average, employees change jobs or careers more than 10 times by the time they’re 40. Improving your educational outlook can help you become eligible for promotions and make you more attractive to potential employers.

4. Improved adaptability. Today’s job market is highly volatile. If you concentrate on developing skills that are useful in more than one industry, you will be prepared for changes that may occur in your organization or in your field.

Best of thoughtLEADERS 2011: The Awesomest Posts Ever

December 12, 2011/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Innovation, Leadership, Project Management, Sales, Social Media, Strategy, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

This year is almost over so it’s time for the year in review list of the BEST posts we’ve published in 2011. It’s time for the 2011 edition of The Figgies (here are the 2010 and 2009 editions).

This is an annual event here at the thoughtLEADERS Blog. Here’s how it goes: this list is comprised of our most viewed, most forwarded, quirkiest, most provocative work as judged by you the readers. There’s also a kicker bonus post on the list just for good measure (it’s a “wayback” – and speaking of wayback, check out the photo on the trophy… yes… that’s me ’80’s style baby!).

Enjoy. Share. We’ve loved writing them. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading them. I don’t ask a lot of you folks so I have two small requests as your holiday gift to me (you are getting me something, right?):

1. Invite all your coworkers, friends, and family to come check out the blog and become readers. The only way we get better is by raising everyone’s game. I’m not asking a lot here. If you found this blog helpful at all this year, here’s your chance to return the favor for all our hard work. Just email folks and tell ’em to come take a look.

2. Pick up a copy of One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful Personal Leadership. Yes – I know I talk a lot about the book but it’s not for the money (I would have made more money if I worked in a sweat shop in Asia making sneakers). I talk a lot about it because I’m evangelical about the topic. Buy it. Read it. In the words of Roland Smith (CEO of Wendy’s) “It could change your life.”

Thanks for your incredible support in ’11 and best wishes for ’12! We hope to be a part of your future success!

Enough preamble. Here’s the best stuff we’ve written all year:

You Need to Hire a Social Media Expert. Now.

November 23, 2011/4 Comments/in Guest Blogger, Social Media, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest blogger is David Chapman from Webrageous. You can learn more about him and his work at the end of the post.

When the world of social media began to develop only a few years ago, networking online was all about connecting with friends, sharing personal likes and dislikes, finding out about new things to do in our personal lives.

The mocking snorts and disbelieving grunts began we people started to use social networking at work. And fair enough really. Change is always difficult. The world always needs time to readjust. How can being connected to Facebook truly be considered work?

Well, to be totally honest, social networking is work. The time has come in the 2010s to finally put a stop to the fact that some people still look down on social networkers in many ways. It is disappointing that a good number of leaders still fail to realize that investing good money in the recruitment of a professional social networker is worth every cent in this golden age of technology.

Every single business needs an effective social networker and every leader should be prepared to pay a decent salary to employ the best of the best. It takes more than a few posts or tweets here and there to be an effective social networker and the employees slaving away at all hours of the day and night in this newly developing industry deserve economic recognition for their efforts.

So…

Bad Feedback is Worse Than No Feedback

October 31, 2011/9 Comments/in Communications, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

We ask for feedback all the time. We’re encouraged to give feedback to others constantly. Many times that’s exactly the right answer.

Sometimes it’s not.

When you don’t have something intelligent or productive to say, don’t provide feedback. It’s bad for the recipient and it’s bad for you.

I understand we live in a time where feedback is a gift and in the era of 360’s, performance appraisals, constant coaching and mentoring, and a healthy environment of job insecurity where we seek feedback as a form of validation that we’re not getting canned there is a tremendous amount of pressure to give and ask for feedback.

But just because someone asks you for feedback or you’re directed to provide feedback, it doesn’t mean you should. Yes – I know some HR manager’s head is exploding right now and a touchy feely executive coach is having an embolism but someone has to put a stop to the stupidity. I figure if I see it, I own it (which is one of my personal leadership maxims I explain in this post and in my book). If I see a problem, it’s my responsibility as a leader to point it out and work toward a solution. This post is part of that solution.

Yep. I’m ranty today. That’s because I’ve seen too much poor and lazy feedback lately and the negative effects it can have are tremendous. Allow me to explain.

How to Prepare for Your Next Career Change

October 24, 2011/5 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Career, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Careers have changed and you need to look at how you’ll advance differently than people have in the past.

This ain’t your daddy’s or mommy’s business world anymore. I’m sure you’ve figured that out already. First of all, people use cell phones. This is a fact I’m constantly reminding my father of…

“Dad, turn on your cell phone when you’re not home.”

“Why? Then it will ring. I’m retired and I don’t want to be bothered by everyone.”

“Dad, the only people who have your number are me, Mom, and my sister…” He still doesn’t get it…

The career world he lived in has changed as well. Dad had a first career for 17 years at a large company that rhymes with AT&T (which makes his aversion to phones even more bizarre). After those wonderfully predictable pension-based years, it was a series of smaller “careers” – 6 years, 6 years, 3 years, 5 years, retirement.

For him, it was no big deal. 5-6 years is plenty of time to get settled in a home and community. It’s not a huge issue to demonstrate progression in a “career” at a company in 5-6 years and to move after that. But the world continues to change. For those of us in the workplace, we’re part of a new dynamic.

Let’s spend a little time with Roger Daltrey “talkin’ bout my generation.”

8 Keys to Taming a Terrible Boss

September 6, 2011/2 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

We’ve all had them – those bosses we can’t stand. They drive us nuts with their micromanaging, bullying, insecurity, or incompetence.

But there’s good news – all of them can be managed and made bearable with a little effort on your part. This post complements the perspectives in 10 Reasons Your Team Hates You and 9 Valid Reasons for Killing a Coworker (yes, this blog gets edgy at times). Since those put us in countdown mode, allow me to share eight keys to taming a terrible boss.

What I’ll do is lay out the archetypical terrible boss, describe some of their symptoms so you can accurately identify them, then offer a tip for managing them and getting them to make your life a little less miserable.

The boss types I’ll cover are the micromanager, the bully, the incompetent, the politician, the credit-stealer, the know-it-all, the marshmallow, and the loafer. Some bosses exhibit multiple symptoms of the above types so understand you might have to employ several of the following techniques to make your life more bearable. So here they are in no particular order – let’s bring on those bad bosses!

How Leaders Turn Screw-Ups into Learning Opportunities

August 15, 2011/12 Comments/in Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

For many of us, screwing up is in our DNA. It happens. Call it Murphy if you like, but it happens. When this happens to someone on your team and you’re in a leadership role, however, the implications of a mistake can be far reaching.

The most important aspect of these kinds of events, however, isn’t the incident itself. As a leader, the most important part is your reaction to these events. Those reactions are what end up defining you in the eyes of your team. Allow me to illustrate.

In my younger days as a tank platoon leader, I was prone to take some pretty bold risks. On one occasion, I decided it was a good idea to abandon the plan my commander had written and lead my platoon down a different route. That route happened to go through what the map said was a swamp. It didn’t look like a swamp to me though.

I was wrong. It was a swamp. (Note: when the map says “swamp” it is a swamp). Imagine a 68-ton vehicle stuck in mud 3-5′ deep. Now imagine me standing atop said tank waiting to get chewed out by my commander. Can you say “awkward?”

When he showed up, he smirked and said something that caught me by surprise.

Coaches Aren’t Just for Athletes

August 10, 2011/5 Comments/in Guest Blogger, Leadership, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Today’s guest post is written by Brian Ahearn. Brian’s one of the most knowledgeable guys I know on the subject of influencing people (which is why he’s been a guest here before). Enjoy!

I think you’ll agree with this statement; no athlete can reach their full potential without a great coach.

When you think of some of the greatest athletes quite often they’re synonymous with their coach. Michael Jordan had Phil Jackson, Tiger Woods started with Butch Harmon, and Mary Lou Retton worked with Bella Karolyi. None of them would have attained the greatness they did without the guidance and feedback from their coaches.

Why is it in business we think we can reach our full potential without coaching? Great leaders are not just visionaries, they coach. They help their people develop so they can succeed in their role and get ready for the opportunities that may come down the pike. Over the years I’ve heard many reasons and have listed a few of the most common below: