Sticking to The Standards.

I found this an interesting read, courtesy of Paul Glover. Posted with few changes, and my commentary is in red :o)

I’m pretty hard core about things when it comes to the workplace. I believe the workforce is divided into three segments: Core Employees – 20% of the workforce who are hardwired to give 110%; Temporary Employees – 60% of the workforce who have the potential to become Core Employees if properly trained and motivated; and The Others – 20% of the workforce who should have been fired yesterday. And, no, I don’t believe The Others will be anything but The Others regardless of how much time, energy and resources a Company expends on them. It would be better to take the time, energy and resources wasted on The Others (like that last raise The Others received just because it was company wide) and apply it to Core Employees who deserve it! I agree with this, HR sometimes has a tendency to push for generic standards, versus true pay for performance. All performance is not equal, and your Eagles should be rewarded, and your Mice should become food.

My management philosophy is pretty simple, but effective: Reward and Recognize those Employees who exceed expectations; train and motivate those Employees who have potential to exceed expectations and then give them a deadline to start exceeding expectations; and get rid of those Employees who do not have the potential or do not want to exceed expectations. But when I advise my clients on how to implement this highly effective approach to improving performance in the workplace, the first obstacle is not the Employees but the fact that management either has not established standards and expectations or is not constantly enforcing them! How true is this, do you know what it will specifically take to get a 5% raise versus a 1% raise? Do you have specific goals outlined to get you a promotion. I would say the answer to these questions will generally be "no".

Since I believe having good standards and high expectations and enforcing them are essential to maximizing profit, here are a few rules to start the process:

Ø Develop standards and high expectations. Include Core Employees in this process. Ø High expectations begin in the hiring process. Do not hire those who lack the mindset for good work (think Nucor which established facilities in rural areas where they knew they would hire the farmer mentality – hard work all day every day).

Ø Tell new Employees in orientation what the standards and expectations are and that they are expected to meet them. Use clear language. Leave no doubt in their minds! Ø Constantly communicate to everyone in the workforce by your words and actions what the standards and expectations are.

Ø Accept no excuses for unacceptable behavior that violates your standards. No way; no how! If you occasionally accept unacceptable behavior, in time you will routinely be accepting unacceptable behavior. Every exception weakens the standard and reduces profit.

Ø Periodically review the standards and expectations to determine if they still make sense for your Company. Do not change them to accommodate the Temporary Employees or The Others! If the Core Employees have a problem with them review and adjust if necessary.

Ø Enforce the standards by first disciplining and then terminating those who do not meet them. The Core Employees will applaud you; the Temporary Employees will be motivated to become Core Employees or leave; and The Others will know their day is coming.

Ø Supervisors and Managers who do not enforce appropriate standards and have expectations for their Work Team are classified as The Others!

The Bottom Line is: Does your Company have high standards and expectations? Does your Company communicate and enforce those standards and expectations?

Again, an allegory to every day life - do you have high standards and expectations? Do you stand behind those standards and values? Do your family and friend understand what makes you tick, what will allow them to soar with you, or to become food fodder? The key is to communicate and let your feelings and expectations be known.

Seven Wonderful Years :o)

How do you write what you feel in your heart?

Can words do justice to your emotions?

Do you express your love daily, or only on special occasions?

Today, on this most special anniversary, the marriage to my best friend, I am speechless. Nothing I write here can convey the love I have for my wife.

LUWAMHHP :o)

Aspects of Leadership :o)

At my PMI Meeting several weeks ago, we had a guest speaker for lunch, Lisa DiTullio, a Project Management Consultant. Her keynote speech was on the subject of Leadership. One of the opening quotes was "You know you have experience and knowledge...others see it as arrogance." I have to admit this struck a chord with me as I have had that type of feedback before. Not that a certain amount of arrogance is a bad thing - I am good at what I do, I have been around the block several times, and I can say that I am right more than I am wrong. You can call that arrogance, but I think it is more accurately reflected as experience and confidence.

Lisa likes to focus on four ways to LEAD - Listen, Encourage, Act, and Delegate.

Listen: Listen to suggestions without judgment, and say "Thank You."

Encourage: Please, Thank you, I'm Sorry, I don't know. Are you comfortable making these statements.

Act: Set Expectations, Establish the Ground Rules, Follow-up.

Delegate: It means "letting go." You need to make sure the expectations are clear.

Make sure you maintain a balance. Know what is important, but live by your rules :o) I believe that these aspects of leadership are applicable in our every day lives. I know I do my best to live by these attributes, do you ???

Real People, Real Blogs :o)

I had mixed emotions this morning as Beth started working on her entry. I am not one for memes and such, but relented on this new Blog honor since it would only be a matter of time before SpotterVille came knocking. I have a hard time with "tagging" others because I have no real favorites, or lots of favorites, and read different Blogs for different reasons.

So here are the seven I decided to give you a glimpse of, hope you enjoy and visit :o)

The Marie-Antoinette A Real Person, A Real Award These are the rules:

1. Please put the logo on your blog

2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award

3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs

4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog

5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them (admission, I skipped this step).



So, here are my seven, please visit and leave a comment, and if you like what you see, then consider following.

Wildcat (while Frank is not real, Wildcat is, and I look forward to his twice per week entries :o)
Dan (a.k.a. Slapinions, can not get much more real than this :o)
Sonya (a.k.a. My Southern Home, pictures, pets, and antics :o)
Lippy (a.k.a. Jimmy at The Stupidsheet :o)
Sherry (a.k.a. Sherry's Weightloss Journey :o)
Barry (a.k.a. Whaffle & Whinge, life and times of a UK postman :o)
Wes (a.k.a. Life Is What It Is Sometimes :o)

And I'm spent. Hope you visit my friends above.

And, my friends, hope you had a great weekend and that the new week finds you in good health and even better spirits.

Our Studebaker/PAC Dinner Last Night :o)

Here are some pictures from the great night we had last night at our Political Action Committee (PAC) appreciation and solicitation event last night.

We heard nothing but good things about the venue and the food. Beth did a great job, and she was given appreciation several times during the welcoming speeches (yes, one of them was me).

If you look close at the pictures, you will see Beth in several of them, and there is also one of us together. It was nice to get dressed up.

After the dinner, a small group of us went to a local Irish Pub and had some good cheer and good company.

All in All, a fun evening.

Sunday Silliness - Bitterness :o)

Never be afraid to share your dreams with the world, because there's nothing the world loves more than the taste of really sweet dreams.

Intervention!

At work, we have had a rash of injuries this year, and while we have managed to turn our culture around, the behaviors have not followed. The funny thing about that is normally it takes years to turn around culture, and behaviors are typically easier to modify in the short term. We seem to have it backwards.

To try and reinforce expectations and behavior, we decided to have a human performance intervention yesterday. What we are starting to recognize is that while we have had a strong focus on safety and have internalized that message in the last year - hence the culture change, we have not had the same focus on human performance.

It all starts with situational awareness (be aware of your surroundings, and take two minutes to think about what you are going to do before you actually start), stopping when uncertain, trust but verify, and taking the time to do it right the first time (it takes more time to do it over than to slow down and not let false time pressure cause you to make errors). These aspects of human performance are applicable to all aspects of your life, not just an industrial situation.

So yesterday, my assignment was in the outside area of the plant, stopping and introducing myself, asking the workers what human performance tools they are using to perform their work safely, and to show that we care about them and their safety and performance. Isn't that what interventions are all about? They were receptive and friendly, and it actually felt good to show that we care :o)

What area of your life are you not completely satisfied with, and what type of intervention will you implement?

Better Day :o)

Thanks for your kind wishes for a better day today. My meetings went well, there was even some laughing and joking. Still lots to do, but no highly visible deadlines looming tomorrow.

Looking forward to the weekend, as I am sure you all are as well. We are looking forward to the ND vs. Navy game, then our evening at the Studebaker Museum for the PAC dinner. We will take pictures :o)

May your Friday be speedy, and your weekend slow...

Phew, Long Day :o)

This will be a quick post, as we are getting ready to sit down to dinner [note the time stamp :o)]

It has been crazy at work, especially with my little business trip at the end of last week. Alas, any time I take a few days away from work, it seems it takes me a week or so to "Ketch-Up".

I have several meetings tomorrow with Senior Management, and today I had to "spend" my time in the field observing work activities, to meet expectations. So instead of focusing on my core responsibilities today, I had to focus on ancillary responsibilities. That results in a mini-rant, because after a 10 hour day at work, and a two hour total commute, I had to spend another 1.5+ hours here at home trying to get ready for tomorrow. If I did not comment on your entry, please give me a pass :o)

Happy Hump Day, and hope you can slide into the Weekend.

American Widow Project - Honor a Veteran

Today, on my way to work, I heard a Veterans Day story regarding a new group called the American Widow Project.

Six recent widows, all in their twenties, have formed this group to provide support for all the new service member widows from the two wars.

Tonight, when I got home I traveled over the the American Widow Project website and made a donation. If you want to learn more, click their link, or go listen to the report at NPR.org.