Why "Leadership" Fad Will Die in 5 Years

In 2015, 75% of the workforce will be comprised of people over 50 years of age and under 30 years of age. That's 75% who will either be a Baby Boomer (Zoomer) or a Generation Y (Millennial).

Here's what you need to know about each generation:

• The Baby Boomer has only ever known Management. It's how they've worked their whole lives: for a manager. As a generation, they've never really put much stock into the latest fads and corporate trends (see their uptake-ability on technology) but instead prefer to work within a hierarchical chain of command. That chain of command gives an organization order, structure and makes people accountable. Boomers prefer managers who manage. Don't make the workplace seem too new-agey or you are likely to lose your solid workhorses who think work is for work and home is for personal.
• The Gen Y is entering the marketplace with one question for everything: Why? Hence the name, Gen Why. Everything is questioned. Everyone is equal. Everyone is a peer. It's brains and decisiveness over seniority and tenure in their world when it comes to being promoted. They want to know how to be promoted, what they are being measured on and how to achieve the quickest way to the boardroom. They will question why they should be following when they have just as much right to lead. Therefore, they want to know who their boss is and how to become the boss as quick as possible. They are looking for a seat in the manager's chair because of their talent - not because they are most popular in their network. Gen Y is a collaborator and bring their entire network with them - because everyone is equal - theirs is not a world of leaders and followers.

Consensus amongst peers is order for Gen Y - not "follow me for I have a vision." Tangible, measurable and touchable is how Boomers like to work. 

Boomers will respect the title regardless of the personality of the holder of the title. Gen Y will respect the person who holds the title giving little regard to the title itself.

If you want to engage both of these generations, promote your natural coaches - those who can coach, inspire, motivate, problem-solve and are not afraid to get their own hands dirty - to positions of management. Train them solidly in how to manage people, problem-solve, run efficient meetings, build solid relationships and communicate directly with their team-members. Because no matter what new fad is happening in the market place, you are always going to need to have good, solid managers to keep it all on-track.
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Managing with Attitude Blog by Email

Poor Leadership or Bad Management

It’s a simple question easily answered: it’s always bad management. Here’s why. Poor leadership doesn’t exist. There is either a lack of leadership or bad management but there is never any poor leadership. If it’s poor, it’s not leadership – it’s an absence of leadership.

So why do I even bring this subject up? I bring it up because I’m sick and tired of organizations encouraging their people to abdicate responsibility for their actions by blaming an entity that is faceless, has no name nor can be considered tangible. Mediocre organizations and their employees are too quick to claim poor leadership when something goes wrong when, in fact, it is either a lack of leadership or bad management that causes a problem. And if there’s a lack of leadership, then that’s just bad management.

It’s as though we need to blame something but we just don’t have the stones to point the finger at someone specific.

But when you blame bad management, that always falls on one person. One person becomes accountable and responsible. And if you’re going to be able to blame one person for a mess-up in an organization, then everyone can be blamed for their actions – including you!

Leadership, as a whole, is anonymous – anyone can have influence in leadership. Management, however, has a name. And anyone with a management position could be on the hook at any time.

Not much wonder organizations are falling all over themselves to move to leadership training over management training: there are no consequences if you get it wrong. It allows an organization to collectively shoulder a burden when something goes wrong but no one specifically is to blame. But when you point the finger at management, you point the finger at actual names on the doors of the offending department. When management gets it wrong, one person gets singled out – every time.

I applaud the managers who stick their necks out and who are accountable and responsible for their actions. It will inspire employees far more than trying to hide behind cowardly “leadership” labels.
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Managing with Attitude Blog by Email

Have A Nice Filter-Free Friday™

"Have a nice day." That's just about the most overused, under-meant, lack-of-heartfelt, mediocre expression from non-engaged workers who deal with customers. And I feel their lack of conviction every time they say it.

Want to have a little fun on Filter-Free Friday™? When told to have a nice day, respond with, "Do you really mean that?" I'll tell you that you'll likely be met with a mouth-agape, stunned, "huh?" Do it anyway.

And if you're one of the people responsible for ordering me to have a "nice" day, why not order me to have an "excellent" day or feel free to use any of the other following substitutions that would mean so much more than the meaningless drivel you're spouting now:

• enjoy your sandwich
• remember, no speeding through school zones
• make someone else's day
• buy your loved one some flowers
• do something generous today
• or my personal favorite, a heartfelt, "Thank you."

Have a nice day indeed. If that's the best you've got then you've got nothin'.

Don't just mindlessly accept a half-hearted, banal greeting. You're only encouraging them to keep on being mediocre. Challenge them to have a better day. It's Filter-Free Friday™, the day you express your truth in a non-hurtful way that forces others (people and organizations) to get better.

(Follow Filter-Free Friday™ on Twitter by using hashtags #fff and #filterfreefriday.)
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Managing with Attitude Blog by Email

Managing A Great Culture Starts With Hiring

The simple truth is that if you don't have a steady stream of the industry's best knocking down your door to come work for you, it could be argued that you don't have an outstanding culture - at least not the best in your industry.  Because, if you did have the best culture, hired only the best, had the best opportunities for advancement, the best perks and pay, the best managers and the best environment, you would have the best of the best wanting to come work there. So, by simple default, if you have to place ads to get new workers, your culture is NOT the best it could be.

Who responds to "Now Hiring" signs and ads anyway? The talentless? The unhappy? The low-performers? The available? Maybe, on occasion, you might get a gem but you have to sift through all of the other resumes to find them.

You see, high-performers, if they were unhappy with the company they currently worked for, would simply do something about it. High-performers would start to knock on doors before the jobs became available. They would be making contact with HR managers or other contacts in your organization and would let it be known that they were looking. They would show initiative.

That's why "Now Hiring" signs and ads are a big mistake: they attract those who don't have any initiative which forces your HR department to sift through the trash resumes to see if there's anything worth keeping. 

But it's not just the HR manager's job to find good people and recruit them. Every manager, every supervisor, every senior executive and every employee should be on the lookout for good people. When you build a Culture of Excellence, the attitudes of your people change. They stop being competitive and territorial with each other and they commit to work together better. That means, recruiting and building a strong culture becomes everyone's responsibility - a responsibility that every high-performer would welcome given the chance.

So ask yourself, do you have a Human Resource/Talent Management department that attracts, recruits and manages high-performers? Or do you have a "now hiring" department that lazily does what every other mediocre organization does and only attracts the mediocre and available?
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Managing with Attitude Blog by Email

Talent Theft: The New Edge In Business

It's not hard to make the case that the very best people in the industry, if they're not working for you right now, are working for someone else.

It's the same reason that "Now Hiring" or "Help Wanted" signs or ads should NEVER be a part of your recruiting strategy. The people who respond to these ads and signs respond because they are available. There's a reason they are available.

What you want is to steal away your competitors' best people - and there are two very good reasons for that:

1. When you want to hire high performers, you will need to let go of your low-performers to make room. That means that if the low-performers want to continue working in the industry, they will likely end up working for your competitors.
2. When news gets out that the highest-performers in the industry work for you, customers will gravitate to you. Also, once it becomes known that all of your former low-performers are working for your competitors, who would want to do business with them? Bottom-line: if you want to steal your competitors' customers, steal your competitors' best people.

Recruiting is finding the best talent in the industry and then going out, making them an offer and enticing them to come work for you. But here's the caveat: if your organization is known for being underhanded, dishonest and lacking values or ethics, no great performer will ever come to you. You will attract only the talent that couldn't find work elsewhere and those whose morals might be in line with yours.

Instead of viewing recruiting as stealing, start thinking of it in the same way you would run a successful sports team. You hire the best players you can. But that means you have first got to figure out where they are. So that means no more Help Wanted signs. They look amateurish and what high-performer, with incredible success, would be tempted to respond to a window sign or newspaper want ad?

If you want to attract the winners, you have to start managing like a winner. Create that Culture of Excellence first and great talent will be easy to attract. But, if you want to hold onto your mediocre talent because you don't want to hurt good people, then you had better create a strategy that takes them from mediocre performer to high-performer. Invest in them and they will invest in you. Manage.
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Managing with Attitude Blog by Email

Manage Like A $1 Store

How do dollar stores separate themselves? Can't be price. Can't be value. Can't even be location if there are a couple in close proximity. So what makes one dollar store more appealing than the next dollar store?

The difference is measured right away by how it feels when you walk into the store. Here are a few differentiators:

• Some stores feel organized and professional while in other stores it feels like they've just willy-nilly put stuff anywhere there is an opening.
• Some stores have sourced better suppliers to bring customers a better selection and perhaps even better quality while other stores stock their shelves with bottom-quality, low-end crap.
• Some stores have better staff members who know how to be available in the aisles and to ask questions when customers look perplexed while other stores' staff seem like it's a bother to be at work and do just enough to not get fired - on a good day.
• Some stores hold out for the right employee while other stores hire the first warm body available (there's a reason they were available).
• Some stores welcome customers right up until closing time and don't lock the doors until after hours while other stores remind you that they will be closing in a half hour before you've even fully set foot inside the store.
• Some stores offer generous refund policies and swap out returns without question while others make sure to stamp "All Sales Final" on the back of each receipt - warning you to not even bother to try to return something defective.
• Some stores are open when their customers are available while other stores close at the same time that their customers are getting home from work.
• Finally, (and it's the best one) some stores believe that they are the standard to which other dollar-retailers will be measured while other stores run their business like it's a garage sale.

Given that all things are potentially equal in the dollar-store game, what separates the good ones from the bad ones are Attitude factors: ease of service, friendly staff, accommodating hours, easy return policies, welcoming environment and people who seem genuinely happy to be there.

How you manage your department, your team or your organization is reflected in the "feeling" one gets when they step into your domain, your department or your business. How your people handle customers is a perfect reflection of how they are managed. How engaged your employees are is in direct proportion to how they are managed. But always remember, it's the attitude factors that are most important. Manage well.
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Ask The Right Questions for Filter-Free Friday™

"How was your stay?" That's the question asked by the hotel clerk as she did other things on the computer. She didn't even look at me.

"Not very good," was my response. Suddenly, shocked, she looked at me.

I explained that the Internet connection didn't work (called the desk the night before), half of the TV channels had picture but no sound and a broken retractor arm on the window allowed the window to be opened but not closed.

The hotel manager approached, apologized and offered me a 1/3 discount on the room.

Then I suggested to him the following: stop asking customers how their stay was, their meal was, their experience was. Customers will answer "fine" so as to not seem to complain. Instead, ask your customers if there is anything in the room that needs attention. Ask restaurant patrons to rate their meal on a scale of 1 to 10. Ask your customers how you can better serve them - especially when they are happy. And then engage them in conversation to find ways to fix it. Stop asking the wrong questions. You look like an amateur.

And customers, stop answering "fine" if you're asked amateurish questions like these.

The hotel manager thanked me for my suggestion commenting that it was indeed a great question to ask. In essence, I was paid $50 for my suggestion. So far, since Filter-Free Friday™ launched in March 2010, I am now at over $250 in discounts and freebies. Are you getting this? Companies will pay you to be honest.

Speak up! You save money when you do. On Filter-Free Fridays™, make them be better: restaurants, hotels, stores, suppliers, co-workers, whatever. Offer some useful, constructive and non-hurtful advice to help others be better. You will get better as well because you will start noticing things that need to be addressed.

Think about it, had the previous guests at the hotel not been such spineless cowards, the room would have been in perfect condition. Not speaking up is selfish and ruins a great experience for others that follow you.

(Bonus FFF Tip #1 for ladies: don't you dare tip your hairdresser, say nothing and then go out into your car and start to cry because the stylist messed it up. You speak up and make them fix it. And DO NOT tip them when they do. A tip is not a requirement. A happy customer is.)

(Bonus FFF Tip #2: if you're on Twitter, tweet your #filterfreefriday or #fff idea to others. Let's get this movement started. Make them be better.)
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Oxymorons And Half-Truths In Management

Seemingly, managers are supposed to manage to manage all the supposedly manageable things that they manage to manage each day - if they can manage it?

Some of the titles of "areas of management" really make me laugh - some because they are simply oxymorons and others because, well, because they just can't be managed, no matter how fancy the title.

• Quality Management - if you are able to offer quality, then why would you offer anything less? Quality is not something you manage. Quality is an on/off switch. Either you offer quality or you offer crap.
• Change Management - you can manage change about as successfully as you can manage the weather. Change happens whether you are trying to control it or not. Change is embraced. It is not managed.
• Acceptance Management - the king of oxymorons. You will only attempt to manage that which you do not fully accept. And if you do not accept it, how can you manage it?
• Thought Management - I really had to think about this one but realized, in mid-thought, that I wasn't managing the thought. The thought was managing me. Good luck with that one.
• Behavioral Management - isn't that what the straight-jacket is for? If someone's behavior needs managing, why are they still working for you?
• Crisis Management - If it's managed, it's not a crisis. If it's a crisis, the steps leading up to it were not managed.
• Disaster Management - you can figure this one out on your own. Think janitorial.
• Stress Management - just like Crisis Management, if it's managed, there's no stress. Therefore, if there's no stress, there's nothing to manage.
• Relationship Management - no one person is in charge of a relationship - business OR personal. It takes two to have a successful relationship. Go ahead and tell your spouse you're in charge of managing the relationship. I dare you.
• Time Management - my personal favorite. It's not the time you manage. It's what YOU do with the time. It's called self-discipline. Time flies whether you're managing or not. Sorry TM trainers.

Bottom-line: it's people you manage, not things. If your people-skills suck, you will suck as a manager. People are a precious commodity to be coached and inspired. Nothing happens in any organization without people. Nothing is purchased without people. There are no sales without people. There are no customers to service without people. And without people, you don't have a job - because you don't need managers if there are no people.

Get good at the basics of people-skills and building quality relationships. Leave the fancy titles for those who need to look important. There is much more reward in helping people become better people.
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Managers Showing Their Laziness

What's with so many managers bashing the Gen Y work ethic? That complaint comes mostly from Baby Boomers - the same people who raised a lot of the Gen Y's. Do you see the irony here? Boomers raise them and then complain that they don't work as hard as Boomers. Huh?

TRUTH: you will NOT be able to convince millions of new workers to give up everything they know just because it's easier for you. (Who's the selfish one now?) And if you try to make them change the way they think, their values and their ethics, then you will end up with an empty space to fill.

You had just better figure out that the workforce is changing - and either you, as a manager, keep up or get left behind. Asking a whole generation of competent (and incredibly fast with a propensity for technology) workers to stop doing what they've been doing their whole short lives and start doing it your way seems sort of one-sided. Maybe it's that you just don't want to change the way YOU'VE been doing things for the past 25 years because it seems like a lot of work. Think about what you're asking them to do. It sure sounds like laziness to me - and not from Gen Y.

Think of it this way: if you were dropped into a management job in Poland, would you expect all of your workers to learn English or would you attempt to learn to speak enough Polish to communicate effectively? The same rules apply here. You had better learn the language (and the ways and ideas) of your workers if you want to effectively manage them. Complaining about it is lazy. It's what mediocre managers do.

Excellent managers do whatever is necessary to manage effectively - even if that means learning a new language - oh, and how to send a text message.
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Put The Money Back

When the recession hit, you asked your employees to sacrifice with you while you adjusted to a market downturn. You asked them to give up their expected raises, to find ways of cutting costs, to cut back learning and to do it for their own job security and the good of the company. And now that the company is back on the mend, how quickly are you reinstating pay raises, learning opportunities and meetings and giving back the budgets they helped slash?

Or are today's better margins going directly to the company bank account?

My, my, how quickly we forget who helped you make it through the tough times. It's no wonder that over 60% of the job market is looking for another job. It's an insult to be asked to cut back for the good of the company and then not pour that money right back to the people who sacrificed "for the good of the company." You gotta dance with the one that brung ya.

If, as a middle-manager, you're not actively pitching senior management to open the financial floodgates again, your people are going to lump you in the same bucket. If that's the case, they won't engage for you, they won't produce for you and they won't really care much what you have to say. It's because you did what senior management asked you to do and made them find ways to cut back. But now, you're seemingly not championing for them once that money is flowing again.

This is exactly how cultures of trust and mutual respect get destroyed: by how you emerge from the downturn. If you asked your people to cut back then you MUST give them back what they sacrificed to get you through - or at the very least (if you've become lean over this past two years) ask their opinion on what should be reinstated and what is better left as is. Get their input and make them feel a part of the process right now. If you don't, expect a lot of new faces in your workplace shortly.

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Part 2 - Here's where you can find me on the social networks these days:
Facebook - The Kevin Burns Attitude Fan Page
Twitter - The Kevin Burns @attitudeburns Page
YouTube - The Kevin Burns Attitude Channel
LinkedIn - The Kevin Burns Attitude LinkedIn Page
WordPress - The Managing w/ Attitude Blog on WordPress
RSS Feed - Subscribe to Kevin Burns Blog in a Reader
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Why Leadership Seems Sexier Than Management

There are a whole lot more people talking about leadership than there are people talking about management these days. In fact, on Twitter, my informal survey shows the numbers of Leadership Gurus to Management Gurus to be about 25-to-1, but I think that's a conservative number.

How many "leaders" are in your organization versus the number of managers? 1-to-25? Completely opposite huh?

Anyone can fashion themselves a "Leadership Guru." Here's why: there's no certification needed to become a "leadership instructor." And leadership is not about achieving quantifiable measurement. No, the leadership talk is all about character traits, magnetism and vision - all stuff that is not quantifiable in the short-term. Whereas, if a manager misses one item on the checklist today, there can be dire consequences immediately.

Management is much tougher than leadership. Managers don't have the luxury of being liked or followed or being a visionary. No, management is what is necessary when the leaders are off contemplating their navels. Someone has to run the place to make sure the doors stay open and people remain employed.

Management is hard work - not in the future but today. Maybe that's why there are so many "Leadership Gurus," because it's easier, less precise and fewer consequences if you get it wrong. But mess up the management thing and heads will roll and dollars will be lost. And it's also the manager's job to make sure employees are engaged and productive.

So before you go off and embrace the sexiness of "leadership," you'd better make sure you have the management thing down to a fine science. People's livelihoods are depending on it. Give me a solid manager over a wanna-be leader any day, and I'll show you an organization responding immediately to market changes and customer demands.
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Social Networks

There have been a few changes in the social networking circles recently. Thought I would update you on where I am. I want you to join me wherever it's comfortable for you.

Here's where you can find me:

Facebook - The Kevin Burns Attitude Fan Page
Twitter - The Kevin Burns @attitudeburns Page
YouTube - The Kevin Burns Attitude Channel
LinkedIn - The Kevin Burns Attitude LinkedIn Page
WordPress - The Managing w/ Attitude Blog on WordPress
RSS Feed - Subscribe to Kevin Burns Blog in a Reader
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Kevin Burns - Management Attitude/Culture Strategist
Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™

The State of Meetings Post-Recession

I spend two to three hours a day in research. Including weekends, that's about twenty hours a week just keeping up with blogs and articles on what's happening in the marketplace. I read, then read some more and then I open a book to read some more. But I suppose it's what you expect anyone to do whose knowledge you pay for. For anyone who is going to bring a message that makes your organization different in some way, you expect that person to speak from either a depth of experience or a depth of knowledge - preferably both. But given the choice, knowledge is the most important - especially current knowledge. That's why I read and research.

So a question on a speaking industry bulletin board saddened me recently. The questioner asked who he could turn to to promote a man who has a mild form of cerebral palsy and whose wife has a rare form of joint disease because he believed it would make a great story for people to hear. I don't get how that story would help businesses hire better people. I don't see how that story helps organizations adapt to a changing workplace and marketplace, how it helps them make more sales, how it helps them manage better or how it builds a strong workplace culture. It doesn't smack of building better relationships with customers, providing better management in turbulent times or talent management that is transitioning the generations.

It is, however, a nice story for Chicken Soup For The Soul - a story of getting back up after being knocked down. But isn't that the point of being knocked down: to get back up? That's what you're supposed to do. And that story should take about 15 minutes to tell - the equivalent of a chapter. It would be a good inspirational YouTube video. It is not a presentation to build a conference around. Conferences are not a forum for victims of hardship to tell their story.

Then there are the former sports celebrities (heavy on the "former"), of which only a handful have been able to transition from sports to the platform to bring something to the table that every former sports celebrity hasn't said before. Former sports celebrities who take to the platform successfully, and have staying power, are the ones who continue to learn and research for their audiences. They are the ones who have transitioned their "education" into real takeaways that today's organizations can learn from. Why would you pay thousands of dollars for a message of the glory days of yesteryear when you can see it all on YouTube for nothing?

Then there are the television personalities, news anchors and reporters who read from a teleprompter for a living (OK, maybe it's not as easy as it looks). Yet, by the very fact that they are on TV makes them an expert in what exactly? Interviewing tips to make politicians squirm? Making that perfect "concerned-face" on cue? Sure their faces are recognizable, but ask yourself, how will your organization be different, make that better, by their message?

That should be the criteria before you part with thousands of dollars in appearance fees and travel dollars. A reporter who did a tour in a war zone is not the person I want to hear from necessarily. I want to hear from the person, the soldier, who stood in front of the reporter and kept his ass out of danger. That would be a great story to hear - but probably not one that would make your organization any different. I'll watch it on YouTube too.

Hollywood celebrities, musicians and actors are great at what they do - entertain. But entertainment is not really the point of a conference or corporate meeting is it? No, learning, networking and a collective sharing of ideas is the reason you're at the meeting. So when I hear meeting planners say that they need a marquee celebrity to get people to attend their event, that's when I know that even the attendees don't place a lot of value in the meeting or they would already be registered. If you need a big name then you've got other problems.

Hmmm, perhaps that's how we got into this mess in the first place - by hiring people who had not much to add to the conversation that was supposed to be taking place. But we were entertained.

"Nobody walked out" has become the gauge of a successful session. People walk out when they feel they are wasting their time. Today, people stay in the room and can still walk out by trashing the session on the back-channel on Twitter. People stay in the room when they are engaged or, unfortunately, when they are too afraid that they will hurt someone's feelings by walking out. And you may never find out which of the two is the reason they stayed until you read their Twitter posts.

Giving people something to think about, to work with, to make their respective organizations better is never a waste of time, money or effort. And for those who want to come to the meeting only to rub shoulders with a once-famous sports star, news anchor or celebrity, well, they probably don't have much to add to the conversation anyway. Maybe it's better that they stay home.
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Rice Pudding on Filter-Free Friday™

Last weekend, Mother's Day weekend, a restaurant had a new dessert feature on the menu: rice pudding. Now granted, rice pudding can be a tough sell. You either like it or you don't. But a good rice pudding is sweet, creamy deliciousness for fans of it.

Six people over the course of the supper hours ordered the rice pudding and ate every bite of it. The problem though, is that the rice pudding wasn't rice pudding. It was risotto base - creamed Italian rice with no flavoring.

And not a single customer complained or spoke a word about risotto masquerading as rice pudding. Whaaaaaat?

As customers, these six people suck. These are not customers I would want in my restaurant. I want my customers to at least say something. By the way, each customer was asked how their meal was and also asked how the "rice pudding" was tasting? And still, no one said a thing.

On Filter-Free Fridays™ you say something. Cripes, on any day you say something. How are businesses supposed to serve you better if you lie to them? How are organizations supposed to improve if you just lay down and take it? And worst of all, what about the people who will follow you and will be subject to poor service or poor quality or, gasp, risotto masquerading as rice pudding? Come on. You have a voice. Use it. Speak up. Say something. You don't have to be mean and trust me, companies will always welcome honest feedback. It's how you build a service-focused organization. But they can't improve if you say everything was "fine."

Stop being a pushover customer and then complaining to your friends and family after you've left the business. A lot of good that does. Voice your opinions immediately. Let them fawn all over you and make things right. Send back bad food. Tell the blowhard at the staff meeting that maybe it's time others had a chance to voice their ideas. Tell your neighbor to knock off mowing the lawn at 7 am on a Saturday. You live here too.

Filter-Free Friday™ is the day you take off the filters that seemingly prevent you from telling the truth and you say something that helps others get better - helps them approach excellence. And you do it in a non-hurtful way. Simply plant your feet, stiffen your spine and speak your truth - in an effort to make it better for others who will follow. The selfish thing to do is keep it yourself. The generous thing to do is to help make life better for others. Speak up.
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Kevin Burns - Follow Me on my new Facebook Fan Page
Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Overtime Or Heart Attack - You Decide

Who knew that working overtime could kill you? An 11-year study of 6,000 British civil servants doesn't provide absolute proof that overtime causes heart attacks but it does show a clear link - likely due to stress.

According to the report, "In all, there were 369 cases of death due to heart disease, non-fatal heart attacks and angina among the London-based study group -- and the risk of having an adverse event was 60 percent higher for those who worked three to four hours overtime. Working an extra one to two hours beyond a normal seven-hour day was not associated with increased risk."

Work/Life Balance is a key to health in the workplace. Giving every waking moment to your job is a lousy way of maintaining your physical and mental health. In fact, long hours creates other issues: poor diet choices leading to weight gain, improper sleep patterns leading to burnout and increased alcohol consumption in an attempt to wind down. And if you're a smoker, well it gets even worse.

As a manager, asking your employees to work an additional four hours of overtime is creating a health risk. Instead, perhaps offer some telecommuting time (a couple of days working from home where the boundaries between work and home are blurred giving a better sense of not feeling as much like work) or offering your people a chance to come in for a few hours on a weekend during the day so it's not a marathon time stretch.

Oh, and I suppose you might consider one more option instead of overtime: hire more people so you're not so short-staffed.

Feel free to show the news story to your bosses to get a budget bump for more people. Think about what could happen if an Injury Lawyer reads this story and can show that you worked your people too much overtime. It's going to cost you either way. Right now, you decide though.

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Kevin Burns - Follow Me on my new Facebook Fan Page
Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

5-to-1 Is The Rule

Researchers have found that for every one negative comment made between couples, there needs to be at least five positive comments made just to even out. Any less than five positive comments for every one negative comment and the couple's relationship is likely to end in divorce. That can be determined with 94% accuracy based on the five-to-one ratio.

So what does that mean for you the middle-manager? It means the very same thing at work. In fact, it's likely that you spend more time with an employee than he or she does with their spouse during the week. So the same rules of engagement apply. For every negative comment, eyes rolled, mockery, criticism and tone of voice, you had better have not less than five nice things to say, jokes, smiles and laughter if you don't want your good employees to divorce (quit) you.

As mentioned in yesterday's blog post, if the only time you speak to your people is to crap on them, they're going to quit you in short order.

Workers don't respect your title. Workers respect the individual who holds the title - but only if he or she is worthy of that respect. And in the same way you would only stay with a spouse who respects you, your people won't stay with someone they can't respect.

Five-to-one: that's the rule. Five nice things to every one criticism. Now, get out of your office and start building your relationships with kindness, coaching, mentoring and respect.
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Come visit my new Facebook page: Kevin Burns Attitude Fan Page
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

The New Mid-Manager: Coach and Mentor

"If I don't hear from my manager, then I must be doing OK."

That's the old-school management philosophy - not talking to your people unless you're dumping on them or chewing them out. And any manager that is still adhering to that philosophy of say-nothing-unless-they're-in-deep-sewage is a prime candidate for "worst manager of the organization." This is NOT something to be proud of.

If as a manager you're not reading books, watching videos and attending seminars on how to be a better manager, something that updates your perspective from the 1970's, then you honestly don't deserve to be a manager anymore because you're holding back some really good people from reaching their potential. You should be stripped of your title and moved out of the way. Your department is in need of a serious makeover - something that honors its people and understands the basic fundamentals of coaching as the new management strategy.

And don't be seduced by the whole trendy Leadership movement. Don't think Leadership is the way to manage better. It is not. Leadership and management are two different things. Think Mentoring and Coaching as the new management philosophy. Leadership is more of a personal development tool. Mentoring/Coaching/Managing are about showing, helping and inspiring your people.

Corporate Culture rests with middle-managers. Mid-managers have the power to hear what employees are saying while being able to sell the vision from upper management. But if you as a mid-manager won't be coached (won't read, won't watch, won't learn), then I can't help you. You're on your own.

PS: Join me on my new Facebook page
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Growth Dulls The Talent Pool

In my signature keynote presentation, I tell a story about flying Air Canada and one of the funny things that happened on-board the flight. But I normally prefer WestJet when flying in Canada.

When they started, WestJet was a fun airline with a lot of smiles, chuckles and a hip attitude about making flying fun. After all, they had no unions (unlike their competitors) and every employee was a shareholder which improved the service. But that was back when there were just over 500 employees and they were a small airline trying to steal their piece of the pie.

Now with over 7,000 employees, I've noticed that they're not quite as fun-loving or as cheerful as they used to be (with one flight attendant actually having a "personal space" crisis with me - Cripes it's an airplane - there's no place to "step back" to).

When you are a small organization, there is always a small talent pool of excellent people that you can choose from. But when you outgrow the "excellent employee" talent pool, the tendency is to move over to the "yeah-well-OK" talent pool. That's when an outstanding organization starts to look a bit more like what Seth Godin calls a bus service: they smile a little less, seem to enjoy their work a little less, show their fatigue a little more and reduce the effort just a little bit because the new employees just don't have that same level of excitement and attitude of service that the original small group had.

You're not likely to find 7,000 genuinely happy people all wearing smiles 24/7. But it's getting noticed. In fact, an attendee at one of my recent presentations shared his same concern - to the point of moving his travel dollars back over to Air Canada who seem to really be making an effort.

Canadian Business magazine recently rated WestJet as #10 in the list of Canada's Most Reputable Companies. Air Canada made the list at #25 - but as the magazine said, "Air Canada saw the biggest year-over-year jump in reputation of any company in the study." Are you listening WestJet?

Top-of-mediocre is always far easier to achieve than excellence because it requires less effort. Raise your corporate standards and make your employees come up to the level of expectation. If they can't cut it, stop settling for a warm body and find a way to recruit the the better employee. Never let your customers notice that your standards have dropped - because then you're just not special anymore. You've become mediocre and ordinary and you're risking your customer loyalty.
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Filter-Free Friday™ Hot Sauce

It's Filter-Free Friday™ again - the day you set aside your natural filters that prevent you from speaking the truth and instead, fess up and be honest - in a non-hurtful way.

This week, as I sat in the breakfast restaurant, I asked my waiter for a little hot sauce to add to my scrambled eggs. He returned with a 2 ounce container of hot sauce. He then charged me eighty-nine cents for it. After almost falling on the floor from laughter, I spoke with the restaurant manager.

"So you will let me use the full four-dollar bottle of ketchup," I queried, "two cups of maple syrup - about six bucks worth, all of the salt, pepper and sugar that I want to use but for a couple of ounces of hot sauce you charge eighty-nine cents?"

"But that's the company policy," he meekly offered.

"So you're saying that I am free to consume all twelve dollars of condiments on my ten-dollar breakfast but if I ask for twenty-cents worth of hot sauce, you charge me eighty-nine cents. Doesn't that strike you as a little backwards?" I asked hoping he would see the ridiculousness of making a profit center out of a couple of tablespoons of hot sauce while ignoring the potentially large loss of condiments which each patron could conceivable consume with each meal. I couldn't help but laugh at how silly it seemed.

"I never really thought about it that way," he finally offered - with an unsure smile.

That's exactly the response you want to get on Filter-Free Friday™. Make people, businesses, co-workers and strangers see things in a new light. Speak your mind and give them a reason to want to be better. So what is your truth today?
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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Mid-Managers Learn From Hockey Coaches

Right now, there's a hockey game playing in the background. It's spring and that means NHL Playoffs. There's already been a lot of upsets and I think it's great.

While superstar players take a seat on the bench and catch their breath, coaches lean down and whisper instructions, tips, ideas and motivation into the ears of players - guys who out-earn the very people they take their cues from.

But that's what the coach is supposed to do. Once a player reaches the big leagues, it's not fait accompli. There's still lots to learn - even for the best in the game today.

A corporate middle manager is just like a sports team coach. The job is to guide, instruct, inspire, critique and improve the performance of their players.

Middle managers used to think they were somewhat powerless having no control over corporate policy and little opportunity to address upper management with staff concerns. But the truth is that the biggest influence on an organization's corporate culture is the middle manager or front-line supervisor. These are the people who either make it a great place to work or a lousy place to work. That means that it is imperative that a middle manager keep sharp on what's happening in the market, what new technologies are coming and how to communicate with the different generations.

If you're a middle manager and are not keeping up to date on what's happening in your own market, on what inspires and engages your people and what you can do to bring out the best performance of your people, then I would hazard a guess that you're in the way and holding back some talented people. That needs to change - and quickly.
--
Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel

Best Or Worst

When you went to school, who was your best teacher? Was it the teacher who gave you the easy "A" or the teacher who challenged you to improve your grades, to think for yourself and to be creative in your search for answers?

Who was your best boss? Was it the one who didn't want your input and made you feel insignificant or was it the boss that asked your opinion regurlarly, who brought out your strengths and who helped you find meaning in your work?

So why is it that a customer who speaks up, who doesn't accept excuses for lousy service and who expects more from you, why do consider them be a "worst" customer? A "worst" customer is one who lays down and accepts your lousy performance, who feels apathy toward your mediocre organization but keeps on buying no matter how poorly you perform.

A "good" customer is the one who makes you work for it, who makes you step up your performance to the next level and who voices their concerns to you and your bosses. These "good" customers are the reason you are forced, yes I said forced, to improve. It's either you get better or they buy somewhere else.

Don't complain about these customers. These are the folks who separate the great organizations from the ordinary. And honestly, aren't you tired of ordinary, boring businesses offering ordinary, boring products served by ordinary, boring people who have no connection to their work?

Maybe it's time you became one of these "good" customers and see how good it feels to make a difference in an organization - whether they like it or not.

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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity

Subscribe to Kevin's Attitude with ATTITUDE Blog by Email
Follow Kevin on Twitter @attitudeburns
The Official Kevin Burns YouTube Channel