Who made this sign ? Seriously ?
Fire them…
I never understand why some employees do tasks that they know are stupid, pointless, useless, redundant etc. just cuz “we’ve always done it that way”.
Make today Waste Less Wednesday. Ask your employees to find one thing that the company does that is stupid or a wastes time. And stop doing it. Forever.
For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture.
Facebook’s new office in Palo Alto
If you’re interested in showing people you’re committed to a work environment, as a business coach and mentor, I can say that the easiest way to do that is by getting rid of your private offices. Seriously. While this isn’t the only way to show your committed to the free-flow of information, I believe it’s a powerful way of setting the stage—so to speak—for your employees to pick up on the importance of free-flow information, feedback, and ultimately, success.
When I was a little kid in Winnipeg, Canada, I attended the first “open concept” school, which meant that there were no classrooms, no walls, and lots of great buzz. Sure, there were lots of distractions, but also lots of absorbing what others were doing, too. From this experience, I learned how to focus when I had to, and also how to filter out what I could learn from others around.
Building an open office doesn’t mean that the employees work out in the open and CEO and other senior staff can retreat to private offices. Everyone has to be out in the open—and I mean everyone. Of course, you can still have groups of people with glass walls between some areas. For example, why not create the “Finance Fishbowl” and put all the finance people in one area and give them a glass wall if needed. You can also go radical and have the only barriers be forty-two inch high work stations–that’s only three and a half feet, so you really aren’t blocking much at all. Everyone can see everyone, which means no hiding. If you aren’t working, it’ll be obvious.
The benefits of an open work space are numerous. For starters, open offices teach you to filter out the noise and still concentrate on your work. They also allow everyone to hear what’s going on, which means they’ll understand others’ roles better. Best of all? You’ll feel the energy and togetherness grow within the company because you can see everyone more than when they are hiding out in walled offices. Obviously if you want to have private work areas, spots to take confidential phone calls, or little places for private discussions, you can still have lots of small meeting rooms. But whatever you do, get out of your offices!
Pic Chill Out Point
For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture.
Sarah Robinson, the famed Escaping Mediocrity blogger, interviewed me, asked my side, as a business coach and mentor, about Building an Awesome Company Culture.
No need to really say more – it’s worth the 1 hour listen –
It should really be called Dagney & Hank…
For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture.
When culture has a chance to flow freely from individuals and across an organization, it grows stronger and more rapidly.
As a CEO coach, I would advise you that once you get rid of private offices, make sure your employees aren’t divided from one another either.
Mix in sales with engineering, marketing with support. Put members of your leadership team in various parts and floors of the office.
Not only will this build culture, but also it will enhance each employee’s understanding of what other people do in your company.
How can you possibly be connected to your customer or your employees if all your la-di-daa senior executives are on the top floor or in a corner office with the door closed?
Don’t act all ‘Les Nessman’ by removing yourself from the same space your employees occupy. If you sit with them there won’t be an us/them mentality, and you’ll absorb the same work culture your employees do.
If you have private office, take a sledge hammer to the walls and put the door on eBay.
Also ideas like a ‘Dream Room’, a ‘Wii Room‘ and a ‘Nap Room‘ will be very popular and drastically help break down department barriers and reduce employee turnover.
For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture.
What does your office environment look like when you first walk in? Is it organized? Fun? Stimulating?
People should be able to get an idea for what it’s like to work in your office from the moment they walk through the front door.
If you don’t bother with first impressions, believe me, people notice.
One of the companies I’ve mentored for years is called Nurse Next Door. The very first time I visited their office in British Columbia, paper and boxes were everywhere. As their business coach, I honestly told them that it was a disaster.
They listened, and every Wednesday ever since then, they have held “Wasteless Wednesday,” a day where they throw out anything they can to make the office, the walls, and people’s desks look clean and neat.
The difference in their space and the mood of employees has been profound: the energy is different, and they can actually fit more people into the same space without feeling crowded at all. Best of all, just recently, they were named #1 Company to Work for In British Columbia!
Oh and here’s a tip, since it’s 2010 and all: GO PAPERLESS!!
For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture.
As a business coach and mentor, I always assure my clients that open spaces will always create transparent and energized work environments.
This leads to the development and transmission of office culture across people, departments, and finally, the entire organization.
Years ago, at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? we had all our employees on two wide open floors in an office. There were no walls.
Then we moved into a downtown office tower and had to use the 14th floor of the building for the better part of a year while our real office space was constructed.
For the first time ever people had private offices, and it was interesting to see what happened. For the first week or so, people loved having their own space. They felt more focused, appeared to get more done and had the quiet they needed to think. Then, after a week, the chatter started. People said, “I miss everyone,” and, “Where is Greg? I haven’t seen him in ages,” or, “Is so-and-so sick today?” It went on and on. After about three weeks, it was unanimous: private offices killed the buzz and employees wanted their open workspace back.
Everyone knows you’re hiding out in your private office playing on FaceBook, Twitter or surfing porn. So go join the rest of your team – open up your entire office space. When I mentor CEOs I push them all to get rid of private offices. Including their own.
For more information on this topic, check out: Building a World Class Culture and Leadership at 100MPH.
We all know that meetings suck, right?
You hear it all the time. It’s the one thing that almost everyone in business can agree on.
Except it’s not actually true…
Meetings don’t suck.
We just suck at running meetings.
When done right, meetings not only work, they make people and companies better.
In Meetings Suck, world renowned business expert and growth guru Cameron Herold teaches you how to use focused, time effective meetings to help you and your company soar.
This book shows you immediately actionable, step-by-step systems that ensure that you and everyone in your organization improves your meetings, right away.
In the process, you’ll turn meetings that suck into meetings that work.
In life, we always hear about people who’ve made huge decisions from their gut – without data.Today, I want you to make a decision, not only from your gut, but also from some data. A decision that is only $12 per employee but will be priceless for your business.
Right now, your gut is telling you something is wrong with your company’s meetings. You KNOW everyone complains about meetings.
People HATE going to them, they HATE running them, and they really have NO idea which meetings are truly necessary but they hold meetings simply because they think that is what they SHOULD do.
Even some of the smartest CEOs in the world complain about meetings – Elon Musk publicly told employees at Tesla & SpaceX to walk out of meetings if they weren’t being run properly.
I sent Elon a message saying that wasn’t going to fix anything – the key is to fix the root of the problem – NOT continue to ignore why meetings suck.
A Meeting is – Any phone call, video call or occasion where 2 or more people meet to discuss or work-through office topics.
Most employees on average spend 1-2 hours per day in meetings.
And likely, none of those employees – front-line staff or leaders – have had any training on how to attend meetings or participate in them, LET ALONE How to RUN THEM.
Consider this…
If the Average employee spends just 1 Hour per day in meetings – that’s 1/8th of their time.
If the Average employee earns $50,000 per year.
And they’re spending 1/8th of their time in meetings, that means you’re paying $6,250 dollars per year for just ONE employee to attend meetings.
The reality is, employees spend 1/8th of their time – and 1/8th of your company’s payroll – doing something they have literally NO idea how to do.
The Reality is…
95% of employees are booking & leading meetings – and they have NEVER been trained on how to run them.
95% of employees have had NO training on how to show up and participate in the meetings they attend daily.
And 95% of employees and companies have no idea what meetings are even necessary to hold.
Meetings CAN be hugely effective – IF you know how to run them
Meetings don’t SUCK, we just SUCK at running meetings.
Investing $15 per employee – to help ensure the $50,000 a year you spend on them is an obvious and easy choice.
This could be the most impactful $15 you’ll ever spend and will save the company’s money, time and resources instantly.
Buying a copy of Meetings Suck for 100% of your employees and having them read it this month will have a huge impact on your company’s success.
Public relations has always been an essential part of doing business which is probably why you’re shelling out big money to an outside PR firm. But the truth is that you don’t need them. You already have all the necessary tools in-house to do as good a job as the so-called experts.
Cameron Herold and Adrian Salamunovic have taught thousands of company execs how to exploit free media coverage and ditch these expensive, often ineffective outsiders.
Cameron & Adrian have also built in-house PR teams, spent decades learning how to generate Free PR and how to leverage public relations to complement their sales and marketing strategy.
In Free PR, you’ll learn how the media world operates while you gain invaluable insider knowledge and actionable advice on how to:
Landing public relations coverage for yourself and your company is a powerful tool to help elevate your personal brand. PR is easier to generate than marketing, PR is easier to leverage than marketing and PR is more cost effective than marketing. In other words, Public Relations is more critical than ever in growing your brand and your business.
You’ve got more passion, commitment, a larger stake, and a deeper understanding of your business than any outside PR firm could ever have. So stop wasting money and take the reins yourself. Learn the secrets to landing TONS of Free PR for your company.
What they’re saying:
“I think PR is the core for promoting any business. Public relations acquires customers! That’s what’s cool about this book.”
– Kevin O’Leary, Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank
“The ultimate guidebook for those looking to get press, grow their brand, and get in front of the masses. Free PR is the roadmap you’ve been looking for.”
– Peter Shankman, Founder, Help a Reporter Out (HARO)
“Adrian and Cameron will show you the secrets of getting massive exposure for your business. This book is packed with actionable insights from two guys that actually know how to to do it.”
– Dan Martell, Serial Entrepreneur & Investor (Intercom.io, Unbounce)
“I told Cameron to write the book on generating free PR. I’m excited to see that he’s finally sharing his secrets with the world. This is a must read for any entrepreneurial company and marketing team.”
– Verne Harnish, Founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and author of Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0)
Many corporations have slick, flashy mission statements that ultimately do little to motivate employees and less to impress customers, investors, and partners.
But there is a way to share your excitement for the future of your company in a clear, compelling, and powerful way and entrepreneur and business growth expert Cameron Herold can show you how.
Vivid Vision is a revolutionary tool that will help owners, CEOs, and senior managers create inspirational, detailed, and actionable three-year mission statements for their companies. In this easy-to-follow guide, Herold walks organization leaders through the simple steps to creating their own Vivid Vision, from brainstorming to sharing the ideas to using the document to drive progress in the years to come.
By focusing on mapping out how you see your company looking and feeling in every category of business, without getting bogged down by data and numbers or how it will happen, Vivid Vision creates a holistic road map to success that will get all of your teammates passionate about the big picture.
Your company is your dream, one that you want to share with your staff, clients, and stakeholders. Vivid Vision is the tool you need to make that dream a reality.
A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.
Hal Elrod’sThe Miracle Morning has helped redefine the mornings and the lives of millions of readers since 2012. Since then, careers have been launched, goals have been met, and dreams have been realized, all through the power of the Miracle Morning’s six Life S.A.V.E.R.S.
Now The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs brings you these principles in a whole new light—alongside the Entrepreneurial Elevation Principles and the Entrepreneur’s Elevation Skills. These are essential skills that you need to create a successful business and personal life. Cameron Herold— Bestselling Author and a widely-respected expert on entrepreneurial mindset—brings his wisdom and insight to you using Hal Elrod’s powerful Miracle Morning framework.
The principles and skills you’ll find in this book will help you to channel your passion and achieve balance in a remarkable new way. – Learn why mornings matter more than you think – Learn how to master your own self-leadership and accelerate your personal development – Learn how to manage your energy—physical, mental, and emotional – Learn how to implement Hal Elrod’s invaluable Life S.A.V.E.R.S. in your daily routine – And much more… You’re already an entrepreneur. Now discover how to take your success to the next level by first taking yourself to the next level. The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs is your roadmap to masterfully building an empire with a powerful vision, utilizing your areas of personal genius, with the right team at your side.
A step-by-step guide to enjoying the roller-coaster ride of growth — while getting the most out of life as an entrepreneur. A growth-focused approach: The book is divided into three sections, which cover planning for fast growth, building a company for fast growth, and leading for fast growth. Each topic the author covers — from creating a vision for the company’s future to learning how to generate free PR for a developing company — is squarely focused on the end goal: doubling the size of the entrepreneur’s company in three years or less. A down-to-earth action plan: Herold’s experienced-based advice never gets bogged down in generalities or theory. Instead, he offers a wealth of practical tips, including: How to design meetings for maximum efficiency; How to hire top-quality talent; How to grow in particularly tough markets; How to put together a board of advisors — even for a smaller company; How even the busy entrepreneur can achieve a work/life balance.