Three years of a dismal economy has worn down a lot of people. While some people (about 20% according to most engagement surveys) have maintained their passion, a large majority have lost their mojo. Tired of a flat attitude and just going through the motions? Here’s a three-step process for jump-starting your work environment. Rediscover…
Are you familiar with “secret shoppers?” Organizations ask people to secretly “shop” their establishment, pretending to be customers, and report back the good, the bad, and the ugly. Wouldn’t that be fun to do? What would happen if your direct reports “secretly shopped” you as a leader? What would they report back? Here’s an exercise…
One of the fastest ways to kill an innovative new idea is to move it up the chain by asking your boss, having them ask their boss, and so on. As Scott and Ken Blanchard identify in a new post for Fast Company online, “When you run an idea up the chain of command, you…
Tomorrow is the opening of the 30th modern Olympiad in London, Great Britain. More than 8,000 athletes from 50 countries will compete in 42 different sports, and for many of them, it will be the penultimate event of their athletic careers. The Olympic Games marks the culmination of years of hard work for the competitors,…
In a recent Legendary Service course, one of my participants—we’ll call him Chad—wondered aloud if leaders ever adhered to the same standards they continually ask of their service providers. When asked for an example of what he meant by this, he said, “Well … we are asked to acknowledge the customer, get details about the…
People are stuck in place, not particularly happy with the way things are, but staying put because they don’t have any better options. It’s a “quit and stay” mentality that has been hard for leaders to address. The tools they’ve used in the past to motivate performance—pay raises, promotions, etc.—are no longer available. Instead of…
One of the most overlooked gaps in well-meaning organizations is recognizing the need to treat internal customers even BETTER than external customers—at least initially. Within an organization, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking of your fellow employee as your family that you can treat however you want because “they have to love…
The New Year is almost upon us. This time of year is one of hope and positivity. Regardless of whether you feel you had a great year or a down year, there should be excitement that the New Year will be more prosperous than the one that preceded it. So as 2011 comes to a close,…
The average organization is losing an amount equal to $1 million dollars each year that better leadership practices could prevent according to recent white paper from The Ken Blanchard Companies. So why isn’t there a greater sense of urgency to change things? Of course, it’s different in different organizations, but here is one of the…
Over the past 30 years, renowned marriage counselor John Gottman has been able to predict with 90% accuracy which newlyweds he works with will stay married versus getting divorced after watching just 15 minutes of their interactions on videotape. The key factor that Gottman looks for is the ratio of positive to negative reinforcement that…