TSHRM Article Reprint: Leadership The (Really) Hard Way

Accentuate Staffing’s daily affirmation is “to be passionate and enthusiastic about delivering ‘The Power of Positive’ at every touch point of the customer service experience”.  So, we will graciously use this monthly forum to provide information, ideas, and resources that you may find helpful and inspirational toward passionately achieving your own personal and professional goals.  While we have trademarked our tag line, we’d be delighted for you to obediently follow its calling.

 I just finished reading the book ‘Joker One’, by Donovan Campbell, who holds degrees from Princeton and Harvard, and the #1 ranking in his officer training school class.  While his credentials may not be entirely unique (although certainly impressive), his choice to fiercely lead men into battle in Iraq, rather than on a random walk down Wall Street, makes his choice of careers rare and noteworthy. 

 The chronicle is a nasty and vivid one.  Ill prepared and less equipped, Campbell’s platoon of seemingly “rag tag” recruits heads into the city of Ramadi (population 350,000) with little expectation of violence.  What ensues is battle after battle against increasingly aggressive insurgents willing to employ the most barbaric of tactics.  Surrounding an RPG “launcher” with dozens of children as cover, or inventorying weaponry in house after house (on the threat of death to its occupants) or mosque after mosque (with the support of its religious leaders), are emblematic of their ruthless intent.

 Campbell’s “servant” leadership style includes performing the same physical rigors as his men, while putting his life on the line with equal frequency.  He is careful to first observe and then put those leaders into place that immediately gain the respect and command of their troops.  He takes steps backwards as his men come forward, allowing them operating space to flourish.  He reacts quickly and definitively, in the face of incredible risk and stress.  He maintains a respectful distance from his men, yet gains an enduring feeling of intimacy.  

 While Campbell is committed to telling the story of his brave men, it is just as much a tale of leadership lessons learned under the harshest of conditions.  The burden that Donovan carries throughout, to return all of his men to their families safely, is one that would likely overwhelm many of us (while at the same time corrupting our good leadership intentions).  While many of us strain to keep our footing in today’s economic environment, few are distracted by AK-47 bullets whizzing by our heads!

 A long time ago, I bought into the concept that leadership begins with credibility.  If your people don’t faithfully believe you, or what you’re telling them, then the mission is lost.  My reading of ‘Joker One’ reinforced the concept that even in the face of the longest odds ordinary people can accomplish great things, given the proper leadership, great teamwork, and a singular purpose.  If you don’t believe me, then honor the “Jokers” and their selfless leader by picking up a copy of their story.

TSHRM Article Reprint: Tweet: Good Business, Good Fun?

 

Accentuate Staffing’s daily affirmation is “to be passionate and enthusiastic about delivering ‘The Power of Positive’ at every touch point of the customer service experience”.  So, we will graciously use this monthly forum to provide information, ideas, and resources that you may find helpful and inspirational toward passionately achieving your own personal and professional goals.  While we have trademarked our tag line, we’d be delighted for you to obediently follow its calling.

 

The ubiquity of relatively cheap and powerful mobile technology has resulted in the proliferation of social media sites, from early sensations like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube; to LinkedIn, and now the latest rave, Twitter.  If you’re not instant messaging or texting or videoing or tweeting, then your friends will probably not remain your friends for very long.  Rather, they’ll be flying around Second Life looking to “hook up” with a cooler avatar.

 

While some of the creators of these sites have monetized their “eyeballs”, it is less clear how most businesses should embrace these offerings.  It always requires a significant investment of time, money, and energy to remain “hip” to the latest of fashions.  Just as you’ve filled out your wardrobe with the designer colors of the season, matching stilettos, and coordinated accessories, someone decides that pink is the new black.

     

We think that you always have to remain focused upon your core values and not be distracted by the periphery.  In the instance of recruiting, Twitter seems to offer compelling value.  Conceptually, we feel that sending out a tweet to immediately announce a new job opportunity is an effective and unobtrusive way to “tickle” our follower’s interests.  A tweet the likes of “HR Generalist needed for growing RTP biotech to $75k” would activate the passive candidate network.

 

You can see Lori or the latest Power Breakfast In-The-Park on an Accentuate Staffing video on YouTube, you can see Kristie giving blood on Flickr, you can read Curious George’s blog on WordPress, and you can follow Rob’s every move on Twitter.  We’re undoubtedly fun and fresh (do the kids still use that one).  But, is any of this stuff relevant to placing great candidates with great companies?

 

Potentially, the costs associated with maneuvering in and out of the latest and greatest outweigh the benefits.  While we’ve listed many of the most popular sites, there are significantly more that have never gained traction in the marketplace.  Also, who’s to say that any of today’s darlings will have staying power?  The potential is that as these sites reach critical mass for monetization, they lose much of their cache in favor of another bootstrapped, “sweeter” site.

 

Social media continues to emerge.  Whether it is a passing fancy or matures into a vital component of the mainstream remains open to debate.  However, while we’ll dabble here and there and invest in the broad spectrum of colors that social media offers; black never goes out of style.  Our focus will remain on building partnerships with great companies and delivering better candidates, faster and at greater value, than our competitors.

 

If you want to reference this or any other TSHRM reprints, as well as consider some other provocative ideas, access them at www.curiousgeorgeideas.wordpress.com.  We’ll try and keep the Curious George On The Loose blog up-to-date, spirited, and just a little bit fun! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

TSHRM Article Reprint: Members-In-Transition

 

Accentuate Staffing’s daily affirmation is “to be passionate and enthusiastic about delivering ‘The Power of Positive’ at every touch point of the customer service experience”.  So, we will graciously use this monthly forum to provide information, ideas, and resources that you may find helpful and inspirational toward passionately achieving your own personal and professional goals.  While we have trademarked our tag line, we’d be delighted for you to obediently follow its calling.

 

On the second Thursday of every month, Cindy Waite, President of Accentuate Staffing, facilitates a resource group to assist members-in-transition.  Its purpose is to provide support, encouragement, and networking opportunities for human resource professionals seeking new career opportunities.  Remember, your present job is to find your next job. Let’s face it; given the prevailing economic and job environments, you have to have your “A” game to be successful! 

 

It is our consensus that the job market, a lagging indicator of economic activity, should find its bottom relatively soon, within the next 6 months.  The temporary help market has been in decline for almost 18 months, and its 30% volume reduction is reminiscent of some of the worst times in our recent economic history.  If housing prices and sales start to recover, that’s a positive sign that the labor markets have found firmer footing.

 

So, while you may be discouraged or even desperate, help and opportunity is likely on the way.  It’s up to you to persevere, be positive, and be prepared to strike when opportunity arrives.  As the familiar adage goes, you only get one chance to make a first impression, and in this instance, you cannot let any opportunities pass by due to lack of preparation.  We won’t let you!      

 

Honing specific skills and staying aware of major legislative movements, maximizing knowledge and use of on-line and in-person social networking venues, perfecting an elevator speech, are some of the tools that Cindy will help you sharpen.  LinkedIn, for example, has evolved into a necessary medium for your job search, linking people Kevin Bacon-style, to freely share connections.  Creating a value statement, quantifying your worth, becoming a savvy job seeker and mock interview preparation are just some of the items that Cindy’s group tackles.

 

The more knowledge you have of the marketplace, including which companies and industries are hot and hiring, the greater your chances for success.  The last meeting, which had in excess of 40 attendees, provided a lively forum for the exchange of ideas and the collection of information.  There were also a couple of “graduates” that had successfully transitioned to new careers; this stuff works!

 

It’s our fervent wish that in short order Cindy will be able to solely focus upon the considerable, long term growth opportunities that this marketplace offers to our company.  That will mean that the members-in-transition group has disbanded due to a lack of need, and that everyone has found a new career opportunity.  More than wishing you well, we wish you great preparation.     

TSHRM Article Reprint: Extraordinary

 

 

Accentuate Staffing’s daily affirmation is “to be passionate and enthusiastic about delivering ‘The Power of Positive’ at every touch point of the customer service experience”.  So, we will graciously use this monthly forum to provide information, ideas, and resources that you may find helpful and inspirational toward passionately achieving your own personal and professional goals.  While we have trademarked our tag line, we’d be delighted for you to obediently follow its calling.

 

For those that participate in golf, there always comes a time in the round when you are faced with a daunting hazard.  It’s generally a pond of water, where birds bathe and turtles warm, in the afternoon sunshine.  While the green idly sits in the distance, for some it seems to float at the edges of the pond, while others see it menacingly and tauntingly bobbing up and down.  That’s the time we always tee up that sacrificial, scarred, off white ball. 

 

High performers are usually characterized by four major disciplines.  They are as follows:

 

Attribute 1:  Disciplined focus.  Focus generates thoughts and feelings, which generate behavior, that produce results.  The disciplined mind in the face of what is clearly sees what is and what can be.

 

Attribute 2:  Accelerated learning.  A commitment to learn is greater than the fear of making mistakes.  Feedback is received non-judgmentally, and coaching is encouraged and accepted.

 

Attribute 3:  Quick recovery from a triggered state.  It requires the ability to hurriedly gain composure.  You must prevent the “old” brain from hijacking the “new” brain and its higher reasoning functions.

 

Attribute 4:  Employ the E-Factor.  Be enjoyably engaged in the experience.  Passion is contagious and it leads to higher performance of those that are under its influence and spell.

 

To continue the golf metaphor, think of Tiger Woods.  Tiger focuses upon the green, never the hazard.  Tiger has a team of coaches despite being the best player in the world.  Tiger rarely makes two bogeys in a row; his memory is short.  It’s more than likely to be followed by a birdie or eagle, than another bogey.  Tiger loves the stage, loves being in a competitive battle, loves the experience.  His passion is obvious.

 

Unlike Michael Jordan, for one, Tiger has been unable to lead his Ryder Cup teams to victory.  His influence and spell doesn’t seem to rule the day.  Maybe it’s that golf isn’t much of a team sport, or the team is fanatically focused towards winning rather than enjoying the experience.

 

So, the next time I get to the par 3, 180 yard, 6^th hole, over water, at The Currituck Club, I’m going to grab for a box of shiny Titleist Pro-V1’s, pull one out, tee it up, focus upon the green, top it hopelessly into the water, watch the birds and turtles scatter, watch my $4.00 ball sink,    

TSHRM Article Reprint: Triggering

 

Accentuate Staffing’s daily affirmation is “to be passionate and enthusiastic about delivering ‘The Power of Positive’ at every touch point of the customer service experience”.  So, we will graciously use this monthly forum to provide information, ideas, and resources that you may find helpful and inspirational toward passionately achieving your own personal and professional goals.  While we have trademarked our tag line, we’d be delighted for you to obediently follow its calling.

 

Your “old”, or reptilian brain, immediately interprets and responds to stimuli using the most basic instincts of fight or flight.  The other, more refined, “new” areas of the brain enjoy the advantages of time, to reflect upon the situation, and generally arrive at a more refined, cognitive response. When you’re “triggered”, knocked out of a “neutral, loving, or joyous state”, adrenalin and cortisol (which adds fat, too) are released into the body and you’re hijacked by the “old” brain!    

 

“Triggering” is often the result of deep pathways in the brain that have been forged through historically painful stimuli and their interpretations.  With some external prodding / coaching, you can probably isolate a single word that “sets you off”.  While there is some disagreement about the finite number of words (some think 30, some think 100’s) that are “lacking”, your trigger generally evolves around one significant notion (that oftentimes starts in childhood).

 

My particular trigger word is knowing.  The instances that trigger me revolve around a lack of knowledge, common sense, or reasoning.  When I was in middle school, I had to come into the house from playing ball to read for a minimum of two hours, summers included.  Kafka, Vonnegut and others became some of my closest friends.  When I’m triggered, my coping mechanism is to withdraw from the situation, to get away as fast as I can.  It’s a hijacked, old brain, response of flight.

 

Everyone’s going to get mad, get triggered.  Don’t even try and stop it.  High performers, however, adopt a trigger recovery process that quickly returns them to neutral, where the “new” brain can properly function.  If anyone is to live up to ‘The Power of Positive”, it’s crucial for all them to return to a “loving” state, ASAP!

 

Step 1:  Recognize the triggered state.  Acknowledge the pain non-judgmentally.  Ouch, this hurts.  If I was not using my coping mechanism of anger right now, what would I really be feeling?  The key is to acknowledge, include, and yield to the pain.  Be aware of what is happening.

 

Step 2:  Relate the trigger to your key word.  How does this situation remind me of my interpretation of a lack of _______? While my fill-in-the-blank is knowing; words like consideration, understanding, respect, and recognition are generally accepted as list-worthy.  “Control” is an unacceptable choice as it is too vague.    

 

Step 3:  Reframe or shift your perspective.  Suspend the need to be right (not my personal favorite).  Increase your curiosity quotient (investigate alternatives) as extraordinary performers know that they can’t rely on self-reporting.

 

Step 4:  Refocus by clarifying your intention.  What is my best possible outcome?  What spirit can I bring to enhance the likelihood that the desired outcome will occur?  A spirit of contribution versus retribution is contagious!

 

“The more you bring the right focus, with the right behavior and spirit, the more likely it is you set yourself up to have what you want in life”.   

 

Much of this information was excerpted from a recent presentation and the support materials of Harvey Goldberg.  Much more information can be found at his web site at www.Starquest.com should you be interested in his ideas, or a corporate presentation, on creating extraordinary performance.        

 

TSHRM Article Reprint: Hospitality

 

Accentuate Staffing’s daily affirmation is “to be passionate and enthusiastic about delivering ‘The Power of Positive’ at every touch point of the customer service experience”.  So, we will graciously use this monthly forum to provide information, ideas, and resources that you may find helpful and inspirational toward passionately achieving your own personal and professional goals.  While we have trademarked our tag line, we’d be delighted for you to obediently follow its calling.

 

Danny Meyer, author of Setting the Table, is the CEO of the Urban Food Group, an uber-popular, trendy assortment of New York City-based restaurants.  Their holdings range from Bryant Park sandwich kiosks, to a singularly focused hamburger joint (where some wait upwards of an hour), to fine dining establishments.  Danny’s wisdom of creating “hospitality” for all his guests has relevancy to almost all of our businesses, and all of our decision-making processes.     

 

While the menus are varied, the guiding principles that Danny espouses are rigid.  First and foremost, you properly care for your employees.  In return, they provide a wonderful, differentiating experience for the customer.  Last, you become a vital and energetic force for positive change in the community in which you conduct business.  As this virtuous cycle is repeated faithfully, it leads to the formation of powerful and enduring brand loyalty, even for a greasy burger and fries.

 

In times of economic uncertainty, it is especially difficult to maintain principles in the face of diminishing profits.  As a matter of fact, companies that adhere to these tenets will likely underperform during periods of economic contraction (think Costco versus Walmart, for example).  Danny would argue, however, that as soon as you start to cut into the fiber of an organization, you’ve gone too far.  The brand and differentiating experiences that you have spent years or even decades to cultivate can be easily destroyed, never to be restored.

 

The recent Circuit City bankruptcy can be evaluated within the context of their treatment (and firing) of long time employees.  While Danny would readily admit that in the ultimate judgment “food is just food”, Circuit City should have long ago realized it was not competing to sell flat screen TV’s, it was delivering a shopping “experience”.  Is the product or service that you are selling protected by significant barriers to entry (a b-school “moat” if you will), or equally vulnerable to a quick shift in customer sentiment?

 

If you’ve trimmed the fat (and you always should, quickly), there are generally alternatives to “firing” or “laying-off” the muscle.  Cutting back on hours, or creating long term incentives, immediately conserves cash while maintaining good will.  Altering compensation plans to reflect performance-based bonuses rather than salaried entitlements, provides another option. 

 

Create a culture of credibility and accountability and it is likely that your loyal, core employees will accept and embrace your judgments.  I’ve witnessed situations where employees defray any compensation, or their family members take an investment position in the firm, so committed they are to the cause. 

 

If it is the people, your loyal and trusted employee’s that set your table, be sure to feed and care for them.  That is your duty as a leader, especially in times of great uncertainty and potential distress.  As the economic pendulum swings toward prosperity, your brand will be better positioned to capture market share and reap abnormally high returns, as your competitors are scrambling to catch up and re-establish their damaged images and companies.

TSHRM Article Reprint: A Daily Affirmation

 

Accentuate Staffing’s daily affirmation is “to be passionate and enthusiastic about delivering ‘The Power of Positive’ at every touch point of the customer service experience”.  So, we will graciously use this monthly forum to provide information, ideas, and resources that you may find helpful and inspirational toward passionately achieving your own personal and professional goals.  While we have trademarked our tag line, we’d be delighted for you to obediently follow its calling.

 

Boaz Rauchwerger is a well known inspirational voice, the founder of the powerful Tiberias Success Formula, created more than two decades ago.  It’s a quick and easy equation; it can potentially revolutionize your life.  His web site and weekly affirmations, found at www.boazpower.com, can be subscribed to freely.  We encourage you to give it a whirl. 

 

The Cliff notes version of the Tiberias Success Formula is as follows:

 

Step 1:  Affirmations.  These are statements of goals you desire, written down as if they were already accomplished, with an emotion added.  Have an important reason for the goal, something that excites you! Read your affirmations first thing in the morning, and at the end of the evening.

 

Step 2:  The 31-Day Charge.  Listen to a “positive” audio tape each morning as you get ready, until the ideas become a part of you.

 

Step 3:  Readings.  There are two specific books that you should read over and over.  “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill should be read, even one page a day, again and again.

 

Step 4:  Exercise.  Great mental energy is created when you’re in good physical shape.  Walk daily, at a minimum. 

 

Step 5:  The Fortune Fund.  Save some money every day.  Get an envelope and put at least a dollar in it each day.  If there’s more, save more.  It will show your subconscious mind that money is coming to you on a regular basis, you’re a money magnet!

 

Step 6:  Action.  Take some kind of action every day on your most important goal.  Just doing this formula is action.

 

If you feel an inspired, passionate call to action, your first goal-setting affirmation might be:  “I identify exciting goals in writing and take action every day”.  Especially in times of pervasive negative imagery, it’s important to consider a positive alternative, a positive outcome. 

 

In spite of dire warnings of the next Great Depression and pervasive job losses, Accentuate Staffing is putting great people to work, at exclusive clients, every day. Capturing market share from weakened competitors, and positively positioning the company for the brightest of futures, keeps us focused, optimistic, and on task.   

 

While our initial commitment to “The Power of Positive” was an external marketing appeal to our clients and candidates, the profound internal, behavioral changes of all of our team members has been equally impactful.  By writing it down and committing to it, by being consistent and disciplined each day, we’re living up to BoazPower!