Archives for September 2012

You Are A Chicken Shit…

September 26, 2012 by admin

I don’t get it.

When you KNOW that you have someone in your company that has to be let go – do it today. Stop being such a ~~chicken shit~~ poor leader.

Do it with empathy.

But do it today.

The data says, that the cost of keeping the wrong person is 15x their annual salary. It costs you WAY too much money to keep them.

ALL the reasons you give for not letting them go, are likely a sign that you’re simply nervous about doing it. But do it you must. Today.

If you want more info on how to fire people properly – these DVDs on Culture & Leadership both cover it. As does the sections on People in Double Double.

Only Read 6 Chapters…

September 24, 2012 by admin

I just finished presenting the core content from my new book Double Double, to 250 CEOs in the Detroit Michigan region.

While there I was telling the group how crazy it was to have employees, and even themselves, reading entire books. Often a few chapters will do to focus them on key areas.

So, to help you out, with my book Double Double, your employees should all read chapters 2, 6, 9, 10, 13 & 15. CEOs should read chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 12 & 17.

The other chapters are optional, and should only be read if you’re actually looking to improve on the specific area that chapter focuses on.

Hope that helps you grow. Let me know…

The Job Interview Process (for Employers)

September 24, 2012 by admin

During job interviews, ensure your questions are asked directly and clearly, and be sure to follow up. When a candidate answers a question but you don’t fully understand their response, ask them to elaborate. Find out who they turned to for advice, how they made decisions, and what influenced their decisions. Again, be sure that you’re respectful of people during the process, yet still obtain the answers you need.

Examples of ‘probing’ questions:

What made you chose that area of study in university?
Who influenced you in leaving your last career?
How were you feeling at your last company when ‘X’ happened?
Why do you let everyone else tell you what to do?

Yes or no questions should be kept to a minimum. Ask short questions that require long answers. Interviewers should spend 80 percent of the time listening. When you hear yourself telling a story or talking about the company, stop and get the candidate talking again. The purpose of the interview is to find out about them, not tell them about you!

Use pregnant pauses to get candidate to reveal more. Count to ten in your head a few times after they’ve already given their answer and watch how much more they reveal. Then when they give you more, pause again, until they have nothing left. It is amazing how much that silence reveals.

Ensure proper notes are taken and that you have a rating for each area of experience and skill set. Each of your ratings must be supported by three reasons from their past work or life history. If you rate a person a ‘5’ in ‘Attainment’ you need three different, solid, irrefutable reasons that support that rating. The ratings should all reflect the past performance of the individual.

During the interview ask yourself some questions:

Do I know enough about them to make a decision yet?
What is bothering me about them that I haven’t probed into yet?

Don’t leave ANY question un-asked.

Focus on the decisions they have made in the past. Decisions mean choices, and choices show you the values and preferences they have (although not everything is as it seems, which is why you probe). Your interview should be tough, pointed, and probing.

Don’t Build Your Own Software

September 13, 2012 by admin

I’ve seen companies set out to build ridiculously expensive in-house software, only to discover they could get a similar, even better system out of the box for cheaper or for free. Software by nature isn’t cheap, but software built by a software company is more reliable than software built by your non-tech company.

Plus, do you really have the skills to build what you need?

Any software that you’re plugging into your business should be the simplest to use. Most of the software out there has been over-built. Think about Microsoft Word. The only stuff that many of us really need in Microsoft Word might be templates, maybe the text appearance tools, editing features and… what else? Not much. Get software that’s simple to use. Obsess about the simplicity versus all the functionality it has. Only let your IT team give you what you need.

It’s just like buying a DVD player or a luxury car with all of the functionality that you never use. Think about that technology in your business as well. The more functionality you buy, the more confusing that it becomes. Strip down the functionality and it all works simply because it’s less confusing and less problematic. Plus, it’s even easier than trying to build it yourself.

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