Training Blog...

When motivational speakers & best-selling authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hanson were trying to get Chicken Soup for the Soul off the ground, they had a simple plan for success; do at least five things every day toward getting the book noticed. They sent excerpts to reviewers, contacted radio stations for interviews, called bookstores, and anything else they could think of to get their book planted into the minds of the masses. By making it a point to take just five steps every day toward making the book a success, their Chicken Soup series has sold over 112 million books, and has been translated into over 40 languages!

Whether you have a large or small goal you wish to accomplish, if you make it a point to do five things every day geared toward that goal, you’ll find yourself reaching the finish line faster than you could’ve imagined.

Return on investment…..when you buy something, like it, get a lot of use out of it, and if it doesn’t have a lot of repairs, it was a good deal right?  Well, it isn’t always that easy.

Because I work in the training industry, I am often asked the question, “How do I measure the ROI?”  I am directly involved in our customers’ implementation plans and the one item that is stressed during this process is setting up measurement criteria in three major areas that they want to see improvements.

Now, depending on what this product is, these areas will vary.  Think of it as setting goals for the product.  What are the expectations and where will this product make a difference?  What obstacle will this product hurdle?  Once these are identified, I suggest reviewing these at least every 90 days.  Whether you are measuring for business or personal ROI, reviewing these criteria will do two things:

1. Identify successes and challenges in the past 90 days
2. Clarify what needs to continue, improve, or change during the next 90 days

There are many online tools that are at your finger tips to help with this process.  You can find blogs, forums, product reviews, videos etc that other consumers have posted.  Information directly from the manufacturer can also be found online.  I don’t know a magical mathematical equation that will work every time, but I know that most of us have purchased something in our life and felt that we didn’t get what we paid for.  Reflection on that experience may help with awareness for the next time.  I would love to hear ideas or processes that you have in place to measure ROI.

What exactly does being organized mean?  Does it mean that you remember everything you need to do for the day?  Does it mean that you have a place for every piece of paper that comes across your desk?  To me, being organized is being in control.  To be in control is to be proactive as opposed to being reactive.

Organization starts by having goals.  Goals for the hour, morning, day, month, year etc.  Once I have identified my goals, I write down what I need to do to accomplish them.  This helps me clarify where I am now and where I need to go.  Some experts suggest that you take it one step further and rate or number your tasks by priority. 

Now, how do you respond to the many events and circumstances that present themselves throughout the day?  For example, you are focused on a task that needs to be done today and the phone rings.  Do you: a) answer the phone or b) let it go to voicemail.  Before you answer think about this…..if you answer the phone you may lose your train of thought, get into a conversation that takes more time then is necessary, and you may even sacrifice getting your task completed.  If you let the call go to voicemail…..you stay on task, you may even finish your task, and you can call the person back with 100% focus on their question or concern.  Option B sounds like a Win-Win situation!

As one of our TTN course providers notes, there are a list of time wasters to be aware of throughout your day:

• Telephone interruptions
• Meetings
• Drop-in visitors
• Fatigue
• Inability to say “no”
• Poor delegation
• Lack of deadlines
• Poor filing system
• Socializing
• Gossip
• Unclear communication
• Poor instruction or unclear line of responsibility

 Did you nod your head while reading through this list thinking, “Yep, I encounter at least on of these every day!”? 

Try focusing on being proactive instead of reactive throughout your day. This will help manage your time and lower your stress level… and I’m sure we can all use that. Adding some specific organization to your day can help you feel in control and accomplish more on your list.

“The five essential entrepreneurial skills for success: Concentration, Discrimination, Organization, Innovation and Communication.”

                                                                          -Michael E. Gerber

Think back to grade school gym class….back to the days of dodge ball.  The object of the game: players try to hit each other with large red rubber balls while trying to avoid being hit themselves. The gym teacher would pick the team captains.  The rest of the class would wait…some with much excitement that they would quickly be chosen while others would hide in the shadows dreading the whole process.  In my gym class the order of picking usually went something like this:

1.  Best friend(s)
2.  Kids that were pretty good athletes
3.  Kids that your best friend would tell you to pick
4.  Divide the last couple of kids that didn’t really want to play the game anyway

Then the game began.  The balls started to fly.  If you were able to avoid injury or knocking someone’s glasses off, you were golden.  Before you knew it the game was over.  If your team lost, the kids that were in category #4 usually let this roll off of them.  The other kids usually did one of two things.  Either they would blame the kids in category #4 for losing the game or they would blame someone on the other team for doing something to someone in category #4 that caused their team’s loss.  The one thing that they didn’t do is look at how their own performance contributed to the game.

The business world can be a giant game of dodge ball.  We are all part of diverse teams with expectations to win every time.  There may be a lot of pressure and pushback from your teammates.  You will have the team captains who organize the project, you may have peers on your team, teammates that have certain skills needed to get the project done, and there will be the ones that don’t care and don’t contribute.  How do you all work together and deliver? 

Define clear goals and objectives.
Clear communication is essential in order for team members to know what is expected of them.

Discuss and agree on individual responsibilities.
This step will help keep individuals on task and it promotes personal accountability. 

The leader must lead by example.
A strong leader must create a high trust environment so the team will participate in discussions, ask questions, and address conflict. The leader must also have an action plan for conflict that may arise.  With all of this in place, the team will make the most of the time that they have together.

Regularly evaluate and discuss the team’s performance and progress.
A reminder of what is expected and reviewing the goals and objectives throughout the project will keep the project defined.

By implementing these simple steps, you will understand your role in helping your team win every time and you will not get caught up in the grade school blame game.