Well, the challenge is on.  How can we put more fun and subsequently more energy into our work in 2010?

People are tired.  Tired of pretending all is well when it might not be, tired of bad news, tired of things not going exactly as planned.

The antidote to tired is right at your finger tips.  Try these things today and see if you don’t see a difference.  Share them with your family, friends and staff.

1.  Look in the mirror and smile.  Not a regular smile, but a big goofy smile.  Put the light back on in your head and your body with your smile.  Smile at other people in the office, in the store and on the street.  Absorb the return smiles.

2.  Wear new underwear.  Go out and buy a different color, a different style or something you haven’t tried before.  Let what is “underneath” give you a smile and new perspective.

3.  Plug in your ipod, log on to iTunes, tune in a radio station or pop in a CD of really upbeat music to accompany your email work today.  Let the music guide your responses and how you feel about this task.  Come up with a good number of different songs that you can have going when you are doing email.  Look forward to email because you know you will get to listen to something you love and that gets you going.  (Headphones please if you share an office!)

4.  Stand up.  Get up from your desk and use a Blue-tooth or headset and walk around today.  While you are standing, try to do so on one foot.  Balance is a key indicator of good physical health.  Work on yours.

5.  Put your to do list on something more fun.  If it is on your blackberry/i Phone move it to colored paper in the morning and put it up on a wall or tape it to the top of a notebook.  Draw a quick picture to go with each item.  (Smiley face, stick figures, skull and crossbones, whatever will give you a lift when you get to the task.)

In other words Play More!

With the clocks about to “fall back” employees often get a good case of the doldrums this time of year.  The holidays aren’t quite here yet and going home in the dark is just depressing!  Budgets are due, year end closings are happening, shopping for those impending holidays, money woes, and more all pile on this time of year.

Do these simple things to give everyone in your workplace a boost;

1. Ask people for a few good simple and inexpensive ideas that will make the workplace better in the coming winter months. 

2. Give a few more minutes each week to each person in your office and find out what is going on in their life.  This time of year may present some special challenges and you may have some ideas to help.

3.  Bring in a funny movie.  Remember school when instead of class we had a movie?  Take a laughter break.

4.  Start some new health challenge.  Lead a walk at lunch, stock veggies in the kitchen for snacking, sign up a group to hike or bike over the weekend.

5.  Add some music or the sound of a waterfall near the front door in the morning.  We all need a pick me up in the morning and coffee isn’t always the answer.

6.  Get excited about something you can do together.  With the holidays coming possibly a charity event.

7.  Smile, smile and then smile some more until it catches on.

Quite often we find a team inside an organization with a certain amount of dysfunction.  People are quick to pick apart the reasons, “It’s because he does this, or she didn’t do that or……”  The blame game is very popular.  Most of the time teams are dysfunctional for a much simpler reason.

In reality most teams have a little dysfunctionality in them when they first form because people have yet to know and understand the work habits and basic behaviors of their teammates.

There is a quick and easy solution to this problem. 

First, get some basic information about each of the players.  I like to use an assessment for this that is validated not to tell us who does what better, but rather just who we are.  The assessment I use allows people to see how they behave normally, under stress and most importantly, what they need on a day to day basis.

Second,  with the group gathered I then facilitate an understanding of where we are all coming from and why people are different yet okay in what they are doing.  My groups have a lot of fun as I demonstrate our actions as just normal, yet different from one another.  We use some props and games to get ourselves to become relaxed with who we are, be open to how others are different and look at what we might need to do to be on a team together.  We don’t memorize letters or try to remember how we are supposed to treat each person, rather we learn to appreciate who each person is and respond to them as they are.

The best part of all this work is that it does work.  An assignment I did with a 7 member team in April of 2009 has netted cohesiveness, respect, calm, productivity and more fun in their work.

Check out your teams today and call me if you think a tune-up on working together might be in order.

Find me, Barbara, at 303-984-9271.

Recently my hometown, Owego, New York won the title of “Coolest Small Town in America.” Today there are many tags to companies, “Best Places to Work,” “Employer of Choice,” “Funnest,” and more. As I viewed the video of the place I grew up in and love, (see it at Owego), I realized something very important.

What makes Owego so cool is the simple beauty of its homes, activities and parks added to beautiful people. To this day I am a regular supporter of the Tioga Rural Ministry. An organization in Owego the serves the needy. Every time someone has a wedding anniversary, big birthday, or there is a holiday, donations flow in in people’s names to this organization. That basically characterizes the essence of this town. They care about each other.

Are they perfect? Not by a long shot. Every group, organization, community or company has its warts.

What is unique and wonderful is that the people care. The two Mom and Pop grocery stores that peacefully co-exist with the two chain stores in town provide a place you can go to and the people know your name. That means a lot to people.

Think about what would make your company the “coolest” place to work?

Is it about “stuff” or is it how it feels?

Do you have simple beauty in the environs of your company?

How do people care for one another?

When the going gets tough, how do people pitch in to help?

Ask your people, “What really makes a company “The Coolest?”

Create a “Mastermind” group to make your company “The Coolest.”

Did You Accidentally Lay Off More People Than You Planned?
It is important to check your payroll to see if you might possibly have lain off more people than you planned.  How could that be? 
If the layoff you did was accomplished with honoring those who had to leave, giving them the company’s full support with recommendations, strong job search assistance through outplacement experts and more, you do not have this problem. 
If not, look to see how many of your people may have “checked out” even though they are still working and on your payroll.   Employees who remain make judgments about the company and their position in the company based on how departing employees are treated.
So how do you know how well you did?  You will be able to tell very quickly by the amount of energy and enthusiasm your people have for what comes next.  If they are just working hard, heads down and delivering, but not moving toward new ideas, creative ways of doing things, offering suggestions and more than they are indeed “checked out.”
How does this happen?  The answer is simple.  Look at how you have handled the current economic crisis within your organization through this check list and answer yes or no to these questions.
#1 – Are you involving every employee in helping to decide how to manage this?  Are you using mass collaboration through blogging and the web to stimulate thoughts on successful strategies?
#2 - Is this being done with everyone on some type of team that is charged with coming up with ideas to increase revenue or reduce expense?
#3-  Have all employees been given the opportunity to report out on these ideas and get feedback if they are on the right track or need to go in another direction?
#4 - If you had any layoffs, were they done with honor, exiting people in a short amount of time but not pushed out the door, giving them a chance to get support from their colleagues, good outplacement services meetings, even held on site, and more?  (See Layoffs with Heart)
#5 – Have you been communicating your numbers and challenges much more frequently, becoming more and more transparent to your team so people can work with the reality of your situation?
#6 – How many new revenue ideas have been tried since January 1st?  Is it at least 3 or 4?
#7 – Did all your executives personally thank each departing employee, honoring them with your presence and your support in their next endeavor?
#8 – Is your organization planning to ride out this economic downturn only with “lean and mean” strategies?
#9 – How many Mastermind groups are currently working on your future plans?  Are they in different areas of your company for diversity of thought?
#10-Do you rest easily knowing you are trying 101 different ways to reduce expense, including salary reductions and shortened work weeks?

Could a Situational Specialist help you with this?

“If you are a servant of time, rather than letting time serve you, you are a prisoner of time.”  Alan Cohen

My friend, Alan, has hit the nail on the head with this statement.  In today’s world of email, voice mail, snail mail, texting, imaging, PDA’s, Twitter and more you have to wonder, “Do I have anything to do with how I spend my time?”

The answer is a resounding YES!

Do this simple thing, write down the three things you must have as priorities for today.  KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Make these things that will:

•  increase the quality of what you do, (like just listening more closely)
• provide better customer service, (like getting back to someone who is waiting for you)
• or grow the organization. (learning as an example)

 The rest can wait. 

Now make two or three priorities for yourself.  (Eat better, spend time with the kids, take a walk, get the tires rotated, take a nap.)  These don’t have to be big, they just have to be important to your life.

Set yourself free with a few simple priorities.

If you are beginning this year without a plan, be prepared, the default plan just may be a plan to fail. 

This year is asking more of the leadership of our organizations than any other time in history.  The marks have moved,  the goal is elusive, accountability must be embraced and leaders must be able to show the path to people who are confused, even in the dark.

Are you ready?

#1 - Have you put together a half day or full day with your key decision makers and created a road-map for this year?

#2 - Does the road-map include the forks in the road that may be required?

#3 - Have you put in a humane lay-off/outplacement program that shows your integrity?

#4 - What are the 7-9 key initiatives that will make the difference this year?  Who owns these?  Who is holding people accountable weekly for these?

#5 - Where is the creativity being generated about what you are facing?  Are you taking 1-2 hours a month to think about all of this from an “out of the box” view?  Who facilitates this?

Don’t think that what you learned, what you experienced or what you know will be any where near enough for this year.  Learn, discuss, invite in new people and ideas, break new trail and stay in your integrity as you are challenged to do otherwise.

Need some help with all of this?

Invite me in to help you with this through a facilitated meeting that will make all your paths this year not only manageable, but possibly finding new opportunities that you had not envisioned before! Let me help you keep your eye on the ball and help everyone who has the same responsibility.  Call at 303-984-9271.

In a recent release of HR Magazine, Evan Scott of BOOST tells us about the new challenges that we face with our workforce and how to address them.  He points out that we need to not only know who these people are and what they need, but then we need to be prepared to reward them in a way that pushes the envelop, using technology and aligning those rewards with what we are trying to accomplish.

A leader knows how important incentives and rewards are.  In the new world, where we must not only attract and maintain the best, new leaders are looking at what else is needed to convey the message of accomplishment .  People want and need more.  Companies need to align incentives to outcomes so that it is a win-win situation all around.  Both of these need good technology as a partner to make it happen.

Check out this great article and Evan’s words of wisdom at “It’s a New World and Everyone is Paying Attention.”

A leader knows that the morale of his or her staff will make or break them in the long run.  We have watched staff exit from the political campaigns of leaders that can’t be clear, stay on track or even take the time to discuss next steps.  There is a lesson there and it came to me in a strange way today.

 I had the unusual opportunity to walk in a beautiful forest in upstate New York as a break from my work, which is slated to go well into the night.  As I hiked up a path on a steep hill a young doe walked out in front of me on the trail.  A quick glance in my direction stilled me and the deer.  We eyed each other for a while and then the deer eventually sauntered off into the forest.  A little later we ran into each other again, this time near a pond where the doe was headed for a cool drink on a warm day.  Again, I stilled, again the deer did not flee but wandered on to drink.

Leaders need to approach their people as the doe and I did with each other.  Be still, quiet your mind, and just be.  Listen to hear what is in the air. Is it peace?  Is it fear?   Let your thoughts be set aside, while you hear their thoughts.  Know that you can co-exist because you have a mutual respect and understanding of each other. 

If you rush, run, blurt, or push you will cause their thoughts to flee.  You will miss the opportunity to hear the magic they bring to you and your business.

Our Mastermind groups learn how to do this every month.  Are you missing out on this valuable leadership experience.  Call us today to learn more about how two hours a month can make your managers into leaders and your leaders into superstars.  303-984-9271

Recently I had the priviledge of hearing Marian Salzman, one of the world’s leading trendspotters/futurists.  Marian talked about ten trends that you will now see as a result of the current economic crisis, election and more.  I was struck by how every trend she spoke about had an incredible “rightness” to it.   By this I mean that you could look at the trend and then see why this was so good for Americans and subsequently good for our future and that of the world.

If you are a worker, manager or leader anywhere in America today you are being bombarded by what is going wrong in America, the world  and your business.  Between the election news, economic news, your team losing in the baseball playoffs and more, you can hardly put a smile on your face. 

All this negative information can zap your energy, muddle your thinking and generally make you miserable. This misery has serious implications for your health, family and career.  The good news is that  there is a way out from under all of this.  That good news is inside a system called, “WHAT IS GOING RIGHT!”  This system is a basic core tenet of the work I do through Playmore and could not be more needed than right at this moment. 

From children to retirees, people are suffering from this explosion of negativity and it is impacting your bottom line.  Worries about retirement nest eggs, car and mortgage payments, right down to putting food on the table can be catastrophic to productivity and your business.  It is your job as a leader to reverse this negativity through a simple yet extraordinarily powerful medium called, “What Went Right Today.”

Here’s how it works.  In your business it is crucial that you hold, “Everything Going Right” meetings.  These are meetings that have NO OTHER AGENDA at that time.  Let me say that again, NO OTHER AGENDA except information about what is going right.  You as a leader could say all the things you see going right, but there is a healthy skepticism out there that you may be making it up, even if you are not.  These should be participatory meetings, bi-weekly where everyone talks.  Put people on notice that there will be another one of these in two weeks and they are to find new things to talk about.  Do not attach these to business updates, financial discussions or anything else in your business.

In your personal life, have evening dinners, with the TELEVISION NEWS OFF.  Have everyone in your family contribute to the “WHAT WENT RIGHT TODAY’ conversation.  Start your day at home and in the office with what I see right about today.  Stay focused on those things in business meetings, while you solve the dilemmas that are presented.

Call me to do a session for your team called, “What Went Right Today!”  303-984-9271