Be Smarter Than The Smart Phone

My friend Brian is a brilliant mind. Every time that I get to visit with him (not as often as I would like), I come away with a few new ideas, a few new opinions and a few new article subjects. I know that Brian is reading this right now so thank you Brian for the contribution to make to my life and the lives of others.

Last week when I was sitting in Brian’s office, he had said something that sparked a great idea (or so I thought at the time). I could take this idea and I would find myself being more efficient and successful. Just as I was beginning to process the thought, my Blackberry went off – an incoming email as well as an appointment reminder. Although I didn’t look at the Blackberry, it chimed away three times for each of the notices.

Although I didn’t look at the smart phone, there was a little piece in the back of my mind that was just curious as to what reminder I was being given. It distracted me. My normal practice for meeting with people is to shut the Blackberry off completely – but this time I forgot. Not only did I forget to turn off the phone, I forgot the great idea that was sparked in my mind from my conversation with Brian.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: There’s a reason that the MC of the conference you attended recently reminds you to shut off your cell phone while you’re in session. It’s so you don’t forget the great ideas that come to you when people who have something brilliant to say speak to you. I learned my lesson.

So how about you take the learning from me on this one and shut the phone off completely when you’re having a meeting with someone or just want to give someone your undivided attention so you don’t miss something important – like I did. Be smarter than your smartphone.

Make A Decision To Make A Decision

Louise Hay’s book, “You Can Heal Your Life” is a bit of a mind-bender when it comes to understanding that every disease or physical ailment has a psychological root. I first read this book about eight years ago and it opened my eyes to the possibility that physical ailments are nothing more than the manifestation of psychological problems – not that I'm saying you have mental health issues but instead it's about the stuff you have been thinking about but done nothing about.

Now before you go off and think that the reason you have a bad back is because you’re crazy, let me explain what Hay is offering.

A nagging sore lower back, according to Hay, is the result of experiencing financial problems. A sore upper back comes from difficulty in your current relationship (that doesn’t give you the right to tell your partner to get off your back). Colds and the flu are the result of too much going on – too many balls being juggled. A toothache is the result of not making decisions. A stiff and sore neck comes from not being willing to be flexible.

If you follow the logic, you can use your body to assess what is going on in your head at any given time and to adjust your attitude accordingly.

In essence, from what I read, Hay is saying that if you start making decisions on the unresolved issues in your head, you can start moving forward with a solutions-based focus and that many of your physical ailments that manifest as a result of a current crisis can be lessened in their severity.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Nagging thoughts, indecision, analysis paralysis (not making any decisions for fear it may be the wrong one) and worrying about change and not embracing it may be the reason you’ve got little aches and pains. Trying to treat the symptoms and not the root cause of aches and pains will leave you in a long battle with that stuff that just never seems to go away. Putting a heating pad on your lower back may bring you some short-term relief but tomorrow you're likely to still have the same sore back because you didn't deal with the underlying issue.

Make a decision to make a decision. That’s the answer. If there is an issue that you have been resisting making a decision on, simply set a date and time for when you will make the decision. For example, you could declare, “I will make my final decision next Thursday at eleven o’clock in the morning on whether or not to pursue that job opportunity I’ve been thinking about.”

I can almost guarantee that the missing piece of information that you need to make the final decision will show up between now and then. When you make a decision to make a decision, you set the wheels in motion that attracts the answers and information you require.

Now before you go off half-cocked thinking this is some sort of new-age fluff, why not test your attitude on it and give it a try first. After all, you’ve been putting up with aches and pains from not making decisions. Why not give this a try. Worst case scenario: nothing changes – you still have pain – but you’ve finally made a decision on something you’ve been avoiding and can move to the next step. Honestly? This process has worked for me for eight years now so I thought I'd bring you a little relief too.

The Résumé Is Dead

What is a résumé? It’s nothing more than a collection of things you’ve done in your work life – a sort-of “eulogy” at work. Oh sure, it may also point out some skills that you were allowed to use while on the job but it really gives no indication of your aptitude, your natural talents nor your values and attitudes toward the work world.

Michael Bloomberg, NYC Mayor, once said, “You are not paid for what you have done in the past. You are paid for what you’re about to do in the future.”

Isn’t it interesting that you (boss or HR professional) decide who you want to interview is based purely on what your candidate may have done in the past – not what they are about to do in the future.

Why is the résumé dead?

• There is no indication from a résumé of what heights could have possibly been reached – only what someone has been given the opportunity to do.
• There is no indication from a résumé of what a candidate is capable of learning – only what they have learned in the past, what school they graduated from and what pieces of paper (degrees) they may hold (relevant or not).
• There is no indication from a résumé that a particular candidate could be the next great leader for your organization – especially if never given the opportunity to lead.
• There is no indication from a résumé of how brilliant a mind may be when hidden behind average grades and average positions in an organization – especially if the candidate was kept down by a tyrant boss.
• There is no indication from a résumé of values and ethics being paramount – especially if only ever given a lowly entry-level position and no opportunity to provide input.
• There is no indication from a résumé that a candidate is a decent human being – credentials on a wall don’t make you decent.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: The workforce is changing. Baby Boomers are retiring and Gen Y is here to stay. In a few years, Gen Y will be taking over management positions and leadership roles and the organizational structure that we know today will be dead – along with the résumé.

The great leaders of tomorrow and those who will change the world, including your organization, will be the people with ideas and those who will challenge the standard workforce strategy. They won’t be hired because of their résumés. And as long as you continue to believe that the résumé is the best way to find a suitable candidate to fill a position, you will be eating the dust of the organizations who have found a way to attract people with brains, ideas, values, ethics and a shared-effort philosophy. These people are found in chat rooms, blogging, e-networking, texting and hanging out with those of like-mind.

Who do you think would bring your organization a higher degree of greatness: a person looking for a job (armed with a résumé) or one who is already sharing ideas with others (armed with a Blog, followers and a huge network)? Which of the two choices do you think would give you better results in the future?

The résumé is dead.

Listen Up

“If you think the person behind the counter is dumber than you, you’ll go out of your way to prove it. But what if he’s not? Can you see a very frustrating day coming for you? But if you believe the person behind the counter may offer you an amusing story to tell, you’ll go looking for that. In over twelve years, since I started doing this, I’ve yet to find a day where I didn’t have an amusing story to tell at the end of it.”

That’s a direct quote from my Attitude Adjustment keynote presentation. I go looking for the amusing stories and I usually find them. This was not one of those days.

I was searching for a shirt. I don’t like ties. I don’t understand ties. In fact, I think a tie is just a fancy noose (perhaps I need to change my attitude on that one but perhaps not). So, instead of “expressing my individuality” through a tie, I wear an open-collared shirt – usually something that makes a statement and is normally one-of-a-kind. I have consulted with some very good clothiers and found a look that feels comfortable for me and yet is not what everyone else is wearing.

I entered the men's wear store where I encountered Earl, the sales clerk. Earl wore the requisite sport jacket, dress pants, patterned dress shirt and a tie. I told him I was looking for a shirt that was unique, one-of-a-kind, not boring, not white nor any shade of red or purple (I look very pink wearing reds and purples) … oh, and I don’t wear a tie.

He became indignant and began to challenge me on not looking like everyone else. He chastised me by explaining that a tie expresses my individuality.

“Not if everyone else is wearing one,” I added.

He argued with me, in a sort of polite way. In essence, he was telling me that he knew better than me what I should be wearing. His condescending attitude was beginning to become irritating.

He pulled down a pure white shirt, a purple shirt and a couple of shirts with red running through them and asked if this is what I was looking for. In my mind, I couldn’t help but think that he didn’t hear a word I said, so I reiterated my “non-negotiables.”

Shirt after shirt came out, each looking just like the last with small variations. They all began to look the same. The colors were boring. The styles were boring and honestly, this experience was becoming boring. So I left.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: Do you attempt to push your personal tastes on your clients or do you consult with them? If you’re a manager, do you already know more than your people or is there an opportunity for them to teach you something? How often do you actually just sit and listen to your customers’ wants, your co-workers ideas or your spouse’s dreams?

The art of listening isn’t really all that complicated. It simply requires you to clear your head of all of your pre-supposed fixes, opinions and beliefs that you know better than they. Better that you come off as compassionate more than arrogant.

Every single person you come in contact with can teach you something so long as you trash the belief that you already know everything. You don’t know everything. I don’t know everything. I especially don’t know everything about selling clothes but I do know what I like to wear. Maybe cut me some slack that I have a handle on dressing myself and keep the opinions to yourself. Maybe you’ll be more successful if you listen to what I want before you tell me what I need. Listen. Did you hear me?

Featured Expert in Safe Supervisor Magazine

Safe Supervisor magazine is a monthly publication dedicated to helping Occupational Health & Safety managers, supervisors and foremen become more effective in their jobs.

Last week, Dave Duncan of Safe Supervisor, interviewed me on a host of topics related to safety in the workplace. Primarily, our discussion centered around how to get non-complying workers to come around and to embrace the on-the-job safety procedures.

Safety Naggers Need a Bag of New Tricks
This is a two-part series on how supervisors can deal with workers who have an “attitude” and resist working safely. The first segment will look at how supervisors can approach such workers in a manner that doesn’t involve nagging. Part two will examine what supervisors can do to rein in workplace “cowboys” and what can be done when words aren’t enough to budge a bad safety attitude.

The interview is a two-part series that will be published in both the February and March 2009 editions of Safety Supervisor.

Safety IS an Attitude!

Kevin Is Featured Guest This Week and Next

I had my brain picked this month.

Sybil Stershic, of Allentown, Pennsylvania and author of the book Taking Care Of The People Who Matter Most: A Guide To Employee-Customer Care interviewed me this month on a range of topics. Part One of a two-part interview is now on her Blog - The Quality Service Marketing Blog.

Feel free to have a look at our interview as well as the rest of her Blog. There are some great insights into offering quality service regardless of your industry.

Millenials vs Baby Boomers

Question: In your experience, what are the differences in engaging the different generations?

My answer to this question may seem like a bunch of rash generalizations since one cannot lump all Baby Boomers together and claim that they all have the same value and skill sets nor can you expect that all Millenials have the same sets of values because they were simply born around the same time. Labeling workers based on the year they were born seems a little ridiculous to me.

With that being said, let me say this. As Baby Boomers, we (I am one) were taught the value of achievement. In other words, in high school, winning a gold medal in the 800 meter race was met with perhaps nothing more than a grunt from a father, whereas today, parents will throw a celebration for the child who comes home with a “participant” ribbon.

We have become a much softer society who perhaps tries to shelter our children from the realities of the world. This is the Oprah generation – the generation whose family watched Oprah just prior to supper and has a family discussion about what Oprah said today. These same kids, who are now grown, have entered the workforce with a much more pronounced spiritual side yet at the same time have had many of life’s rewards simply handed to them instead of having to earn it.

Boomers have earned everything they have; Millenials may have had most of it handed to them. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Millenials don’t have a strong values set. Some do and some don’t. Some Boomers work hard and some don’t. Some Gen X’ers have learned the value of applying themselves in their pursuit of excellence and some have not.

However, there is a skill set that the average Millenial possesses that is mind-boggling to the average Boomer: the propensity to use technology. For most Baby Boomers in the workforce today, remembering back to childhood and not seeing a TV remote control in the house until they were into their teens is not uncommon. Color cable television was a celebration as a huge leap forward into new technology. I could make a comment about “Pong,” “Pac-Man” and Commodore-64’s here but suffice it to say, we’ve come a long way in a short period of time.

The Millenials, however, have never had a day that didn’t involve the use of computers, cell phones or portable entertainment devices. For Boomers, a chat was something you did over coffee. For Millenials, chatting is something you do over Java.

Boomers grew up with the notion of finding a good job that they might become proficient at. Millenials have entered the workforce searching for a good fit as opposed to a good job. Each Millenial has a skill set that they hope to be able to use. They don’t work well for organizations that happen to have a position and are just looking for a body to fill it. Millenials want the job to fit them and not the other way around. And at the end of the day, Millenials will leave the work behind whereas Boomers will take it home to finish. Boomers hope to one day achieve a decent work-life balance. Millenials are looking for a life-work balance: life comes first and work comes second.

And when you hire a Millenial, you hire their entire network of friends. MSN, Twitter, SMS and other forms of electronic hand-holding by their friends will be turned on in the workplace. The Millenial may be at work for you, but they are still connected to their network. Ask them to shut it off during work hours and you will be faced with filling a vacancy in your organization. Old school management does not work in today’s Millenial market. Give a poor performance review to a Millenial and that employee’s mother may call to ask why. Why should a job-performance review be any different than a parent-teacher meeting?

Attitude Adjustment: How do you engage the opposite ends of the workforce spectrum? For Boomers, it’s a matter of laying out the project parameters clearly: time frame, responsibilities, expectations and hierarchy within the project. Then, step out of the way and let the Boomer get it done. Oh, and if you expect it will take the whole day to get it done, expect it to be worked on overnight.

As for a Millenial, ask for input on how the project should come together. Give them the responsibility to make the decisions, don’t make them climb a ladder of hierarchy to ask a question, loosen the time frame (4‘ish?) and offer the opportunity to address key areas you’d like explored as well as anything they might feel is of value to the project. If you would expect the project to take all day, don’t. In fact, expect it in your email Inbox completed by noon that same day.

As for praise, give a Boomer an “attaboy,” privately with a handshake and heartfelt thanks. As for Millenials, you guessed it, a very public celebration.

Pursuit Of Excellence

About eleven years ago, at a time when I had lost my Dad and my marriage, I was searching for something. I'm not sure what it was I was searching for but I was damn sure I didn't have it.

At the time I was selling photocopiers and fax machines (because faxes were the "in" thing at the time). It was an honorable profession and one that I learned how to hone my sales skills in very quickly. Honorable profession but tough.

I had been invited to attend an introductory session of a personal development course in January that year and after the one-hour introduction, I spent eight months resisting what it might do for me. Why? Honestly, I gave a lot of reasons but the truth was I didn't have the money and was afraid to admit it. Then someone invited me barbecue. About 40 people attended and I knew probably half of them. These forty or so people were all graduates of the same course I was resisting. They seemed to have what I wanted - some kind of sense of purpose and a joy of life. Within thirty days I was in the course.

Over the next few years I took other courses in the series and even chose to be a team assistant at many of these same courses. I lost touch for a few years but never lost the tools I developed.

Last weekend, I went back to sharpen the tools I had gotten those years earlier. It's true what they say about this course - "You will learn something new every time you go back." And I did this past weekend.

I'm feeling a little more peaceful and a little less stressed today. I recognize the things that have made me successful and the little areas I need to improve on. I know I am on track with my life today and know where I am going. A lot of questions got answered in a long-weekend.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the name of the course. It's called The Pursuit of Excellence. Curious? Click here.