Morning Motivator – Feed Your Team Properly…

"Three billion people on the face of the earth go to bed hungry every night, but four billion people go to bed every night hungry for a simple word of encouragement and recognition."
-Cavett Robert

Do you know why MOST people leave their job?  What do you think is the most COMMON complaint that employees have about their work environment?  If you are a business owner and are seeking to recruit/retain TOP TALENT – what is the ONE area that you should be promoting most heavily about your company?

MOST people are not upset enough to leave their job over money.  RARELY does it have to do with their ability to move up the food chain.  SOMETIMES, but not often, are they so dissatisfied with training and support that they quit.  MOST FREQUENTLY it is the company's INABILITY to RECOGNIZE and ACKNOWLEDGE a job well done.  It is the manager's unwillingness to come by and say, "I think you are doing a great job.  What can I do to help you be better?" that commonly drives dissatisfaction internally – which spreads quickly.  SUCCESS is driven by the employee's PERSONAL feelings of self worth and value to the organization.  It's their FEELING that if they do more, someone will notice and respond that REALLY matter.

As an employee, have you ENJOYED working for an excellent company? What made it so special? As an employer, have you had an EXCELLENT employee? What did you DO to help develop that SUPERIOR employee? I have a thought and it comes from a good friend, Tim Bewley, who once shared with me his rationale about employee RETENTION. It is made up of 3 value elements: 1. You are LEARNING more than you can anywhere else. 2. You are COMPENSATED more than you can get anywhere else. 3. You enjoy the PEOPLE/ENVIRONMENT you work in more than anywhere else. His rationale is that a HAPPY employee has 2 out of the 3 and DISGRUNTLED employee has 1 of 3 and will leave shortly. If you have 0 out of 3, get the HECK OUT! If you have 3 out of 3… you have a life-long employee.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
I'd love to give you a "catch all solution" yet there is no great SCIENCE to what actions to take in order to make the most of your relationships. Go back a few days to the prior Morning Motivators about "relationships" and consider that you must treat colleagues, teammates, employees, employers just as you would a husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc… if you treat those people with CARE, RESPECT and KINDNESS, you will find that it is returned along with LOYALTY and TRUST.

By making a concerted effort to FEED your team with support, recognition and encouragement, whether as a leader or team member, you can expect that PRODUCTIVITY will increase drastically along with satisfaction. Once you begin to achieve in these ways internally, you will also begin to see it cross over into the way your clients view you. We all have walked into a business or worked with a provider that has EXTREMELY happy employees… just think about how good you FELT working with them as a result. Now think… how IMPORTANT is feeding your team properly to you?

Feed your personal relationships this weekend. Find someone you love and tell them – it will be the best 2 minutes you spend! Have a GREAT weekend…

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Executive Team:
Zachary Barker, Publisher
Nancy Dubuisson, Editor

Morning Motivator - What's Your Pain Tolerance?

"When the pain of remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of change, then you will change."
-Anonymous

A common idea of change management is the ELIMINATION of PAIN. As the quote above states, most people will lie IDLE until their pain (financial or emotional) becomes GREATER than the efforts to change.

When you see someone that has a weight concern, it is not until they FINALLY are sick and tired of being sick and tired that they make a change. The change is often PAINFUL, including emotional acceptance of their current identity, changes in physical actions and SACRIFICING their "favorite" foods.

For business professionals, the CHALLENGES come in the activities we undertake to achieve NECESSARY results. If we are having challenges hiring the "right" people, then we must examine what actions must change. If its slumping sales and missed revenue GOALS, a focus on more PRODUCTIVE activity must occur. Yet, it is not until we see a DECLINE in performance before this often occurs.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
The question you must ask yourself is "What is your PAIN?"

Do you need to FINALLY take that accounting class so you can understand your finances?

Is it time to consider OUTSOURCING your IT management because it requires more time than you have?

Should you consider paying more for BETTER talent and HIGHER results?

Once you IDENTIFY your pain, you can do an evaluation of your options. With CONSIDERATION of what's truly important, you should find that moving on those pains is often long OVERDUE...

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com


The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Executive Team:
Zachary Barker, Publisher
Nancy Dubuisson, Editor

Morning Motivator - Love and Business

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction."
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

For those who have been around me long enough to hear my INSIGHT as to "what business really is," you know I ALWAYS make dating and relationship references. To me, business is as DRIVEN by attraction, affection and loyalty as a good personal relationship.

When you have an EXCELLENT business relationship - how does it FEEL? What EXPECTATIONS do you have of that person or business? Often, the same emotions that are EVOKED are one's that drive your HEART, not your checkbook.

Commonly, when business relationships separate the cause is more EMOTIONAL than rational. You hear statements such as, "they never called me," or "it just seems like she doesn't have enough time to devote to my needs.". If you were asked if these responses were personal or professional... What would you THINK?

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
In order to better your business skills, you must FOCUS on your relationship skills.

The areas of attention should include:
- Open communication
- Consistent communication
- Loyalty
- Sacrifice
- Mutual goals
- Shared commitment

If you LEARN to be better in your relationships, you will find a GREAT success in your PERSONAL and PROFESSIONAL lives.

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com


The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Executive Team:
Zachary Barker, Publisher
Nancy Dubuisson, Editor

Morning Motivator - Growing Success in Others

"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others."
- Jack Welch

At some point in everyone's life, you move from being the student to the TEACHER. This may be a result of MATURITY or a FORCED leadership role. Either way, you find the value of LEADERSHIP is not YOUR ability to ACHIEVE, rather your ability to drive OTHERS to achieve.

In your daily life, many hats are worn and significant ROLES are played out. Some of us are managers, board members, parents or coaches - ALL of us, at some point, SERVE as a GUIDING spirit... a leader to others.

When you are PRESENTED with this opportunity to POSITIVELY shape the future of someone else - will you be ready? Are you in a place mentally and emotionally that allows you to SUBSIDE your ego and find PRIDE in the success of others? This question is what will allow you determine your READINESS for true leadership.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
As a person that has been FORCED into leadership roles at a young age and CHOSE leadership roles at a greater MATURITY, I share with you my insight...

LEADERSHIP is not a "SEXY" job that allows you to TELL others what to do, ACCEPT the glory for team success or sit back and REST while others do the work.

It is, however, a FULL time commitment to GROWING others selflessly, investing time into EDUCATION and suppressing any personal DESIRES to be the "TOP DOG."

Once you APPRECIATE that "real success" is the legacy of strong, difference making leaders you aided in DEVELOPMENT... You WILL be ready to take on the RESPONSIBILITY of shaping your own future.

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com


The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Executive Team:
Zachary Barker, Publisher
Nancy Dubuisson, Editor

Morning Motivator - What Are You Working For?

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after."
- Henry David Thoreau

Frequently, the Morning Motivator has a message about PURPOSE and having CLARITY in your actions. As I sat last night, think about the ACTIONS I must take at work today, I found myself REFRESHED in the fact that I have CLARITY of PURPOSE towards what I am doing each day. I wonder also - how many others have the same clear VISION of why they do what they do.

When you get to work in the morning - do you know EXACTLY what you should be doing? Do you have a PLAN to execute or do you walk in to spend the morning PREPARING the rest of the week? Do you take time each night, prior to leaving work, to PREPARE your action plan for the next day?

Most highly PRODUCTIVE people are NOT brilliant, gifted, exceptionally educated or just plain better than YOU. What they commonly are is - ORGANIZED, DISCIPLINED, FOCUSED and DRIVEN. When a productive person comes into work, they know what actions they will take IMMEDIATELY and do not waste time getting to those actions. These are the same people that often say, "I accomplish more before lunch than most people do in an entire day"... and they are RIGHT! Their big SECRET... they KNOW WHY THEY ARE DOING WHAT THEY DO.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
CLARITY is the understanding of what your PURPOSE is for in taking the actions you do on a daily basis. It is the development of a GOAL and the understanding of WHY that goal is important. PLANNING is the "executable" that gives SUBSTANCE to your CLARITY and ACTION to your PURPOSE. EXECUTION is the DIFFERENCE between realizing your dreams... or just dreaming about them.

Set GOALS that match your dreams. Don't have CLARITY about your dreams? FOCUS on defining what you WANT - WHY you want it - WHEN you expect to accomplish it.

I don't often make PROMISES to my readers, however, if you will take the time to UNDERSTAND why you are working, what you are working towards and then take actions to align your career with your purpose... you WILL find an increased level of productivity, pride and achievement. It is just as the dialogue between the Cheshire cat and Alice went... "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat. "I don't much care where--" said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

Find your way by knowing where you are and where you are going... but more over WHY you are walking that path.

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Executive Team:
Zachary Barker, Publisher
Nancy Dubuisson, Editor