Words for leaders

One of the best books on time management is Alan Lakein's "How to get control of your time and your life." Here is one of my favorite quotes from this outstanding work.

"Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now"

This quote expresses why I believe one of the most important activities of a manager is planning.

Make A Difference

Thanks Jim Busch

Book recommendation

I try to read at east one or two business related books every month. Every once in a while I come across a book that really impresses me and I will pass it along to you. I just finished Bruce Tulgan's It's Okay to Be the Boss. This is a short little book with a lot to say about effective management. Its main theme is holding people accountable for their actions and for results. Tulgan offers some good advice on having good productive conversations with your team. He advocates a sort of "tough love" approach that may be seen as "old school" by a lot of today;s managers. As a manager I had a reputation as a tough boss, but my people made a lot of money because they hit their sales targets. I like Tulgan's approach.

Make A Difference!

Thanks Jim Busch

Words for Leaders

This week's quote is one of the long standing tenets of the U.S. Military.

"You cannot be a leader and ask other people to follow you, unless you know how to follow too."
Sam Rayburn

When you are talking to your people don't criticize your company's leadership. You want your people to do what you ask them to do whether they agree with you or not, you have to model the behavior.

Keep making a difference!

Thanks Jim Busch

Stay positive

What you say has a big impact on your reps. If you do nothing but criticize a rep you will have a negative effect on their self confidence. I make it a practice to maintain a 3 to 1 ratio, 3 positive comments to 1 negative remarks. Keeping this in mind keeps me positive and lets me be supportive of my people. Their also has the effect of training me to look for the positives in people. Because the majority of your comments are positive the corrective comments will have a bigger impact on your people.

Keep making a difference!

Thanks Jim Busch

Leadership Thoughts

One of the first books I read after becoming a manger was "Managing" by Hal Geneen. Geneen was the chairman of the board of ITT. Each chapter started with a quote from Geneen. My favorite was:

"Managers Must Manage"

This might seem too simple to be worth remembering, but think about this statement. no matter what happens, bad economy, new competition whatever, we must manage. There is no sense complaining r offering excuses, we just need to get it done. We must manage!

Keep Smiling, Keep Leading!

Thanks Jim Busch

Follow-up for results

As a manager I always maintained a follow-up file. When I assigned a task to a rep or gave them a lead, I would put a copy of the paperwork or a reminder in a manila folder. I would mark the reps name and date on the document and put these notes in the back of the folder so the oldest pieces moved to the front. I would review this folder with my reps and ask about their progress on each project. I would note their comments on the document and put it into the back of the folder again. My reps knew that when I gave them something I would hold them accountable for doing what I asked. This simple system kept me from forgetting any assigned tasks and my reps learned that it was easy to do what I asked than to explain why they hadn't.

MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Thanks Jim Busch

Leadership Thoughts

The older I get and the longer I am in business, the more I realize that how people feel is far more important than how they think. If you want to persuade people, you must engage their emotions. This is not a new idea as evidenced by this week's quote from President Theodore Roosevelt:

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

As leaders we must always consider the emotional as well as the economic consequences of everything we do.

Keep Smiling, Keep Leading!

Thanks Jim Busch

Be specific

Praise is one of the most powerful tools a manager has to develop their team. To be effective, praise must be as specific as possible. Saying "Good Job!" has a short term "feel good" effect but will not change a reps behavior. Saying something like "I like how you kept quiet and let the customer talk. You did an outstanding job of listening to the customer." tells the rep what you are looking for and rewards the desirable behavior. The rep now knows exactly what a good job looks like. They will repeat the behavior to experience the reward again. Using this technique will help you develop your team's skills by "Praising them to success."

Keep smiling, Keep Leading!

Thanks Jim Busch