Category: employee training

Great Leaders Don’t Create Robots

Credit: Rock'n Roll Monkey

Does every piece of news, blog and social media post have to reference COVID19 right now? While we are limping our way through a pandemic sometimes there needs to be a break from obsessing.

During a crisis we look for leadership to guide the ship we're sailing into safe harbor. At every company, you'll have tons of managers but not very many leaders. Let's talk about leadership.

At an email-marketing conferences I attended, the speaker made it a point to communicate that we won't succeed without a solid plan.

To attempt to keep doing the same thing without strategy is called "hope marketing" and makes a lot of folks live the reality of "broke marketing."

Hope without a strategy doesn't create leadership. Leadership is developed when your hope and positive thinking are matched with a concrete vision of the future and a way to get there.

Real Leaders Know It Ain't About Them

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways to grow a tribe, to create a group of people dedicated to a specific purpose or cause. You'll find this in any major sport - word of mouth is a powerful driver and builds communities.

One of the mistakes people make is defining leadership as the worship of a single person. Identity politics is one of the most divisive cancers right now plaguing America.

Leadership that lasts beyond tomorrow and creates a strong community grows when the leader gives people a platform for spreading ideas that work.

Who do you trust more: an ad you see on your Facebook Newsfeed, or a recommendation your friend made? The friend of course. The culture around a product or service grows when people recruit other people. That's how ideas spread too.

People won't do it for you - they do it for each other. Leadership is embracing that it really isn't all about you. It's about the movement you're creating. The shared values of those who follow you.

Change is Inevitable - Except from Vending Machines

Generally speaking, managers don't like people that stick out. By definition they want everyone to tow the line, and stick within established rules.

Many companies have PR statements that say they are about innovation but reward conformity more than anything else. It was definitely like this when I worked in tech at Facebook. You didn't want to stick out in any way.

Managers were overworked and had no bandwidth to recognize the talents of their employees. I quit my job at Facebook because of this and started a successful consulting firm and e-commerce ventures.

I was a deviant - I didn't fit in with the status quo. But neither did Elon Musk, Henry Ford or Tony Robbins. All of them are outliers that challenged conformity. While I wouldn't say my contributions to society can light a candle yet to these notable people, there's something important to worth mentioning:

Managers don't like deviants, they don't like nonconformists who may be eccentrics or mavericks with too much individual personality. Deviating from conformity is a failure for a manager working to deliver within the rigid lines of their role.

Managers crush nonconformists - that's what they do. Managers don't inspire people. Leaders do.

Leaders understand a different outlook: change is unavoidable and also one of the keys to success. Not human robots.

Credit: Craig Sybert

As it turns out, when you have a workforce that is dedicated to change and more fully engaged in making things happen-- not only are employees happier but they are also more productive.

This is a much better way to organize a business than making people walk on tip toes, using threats of losing job security and fear as a motivation to do a good job.

Leadership isn't just popularity, power and showmanship.
The Harvard Business Review states:

"A successful leader as one who can understand people’s motivations and enlist employee participation in a way that marries individual needs and interests to the group’s purpose."

Find Someone Succeeding & Encourage Them

When someone at the job place has created a workaround, or another way of doing routine work that works better, instead of punishing them for not conforming shine the spotlight.

While it won't always be the case, often innovation comes in small packages from employees just figuring out a better way to do a task that isn't officially sanctioned in the employee handbook.

Great leaders find someone deviating from the norm creating success - and encourage them.

Many things we know and love as part of every day life happened because someone did something different than the norm and challenged the group-think of conformity in the workplace, society or within a specific industry.

Air Bnb is one example of this, so are Lyft & Uber, as well as Google's Gmail as mentioned in the blog about managers needing to adopt flexible strategies from leadership to keep folks motivated post COVID (to not just do the minimal but to exceed expectations).

It's raining right now in Austin, Texas and Leonard Cohen is playing on the online radio station I listen to, Radio Paradise.

As I listen to the lyrics sang, I think of leaders who inspired me in my journey from 9-5er to entrepreneur. And the traits they have in common.

One of the shared attributes every one of them has, is the ability to put aside their own ego and become sincerely invested and curious in how other people think, feel and perceive life.

Who are some great leaders you've met in your life? Who inspires you?
. . .

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How To Measure Better Company Metrics

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Credit:Luke Chesser

It is easy to get caught up in measuring metrics at a company as a way to gauge success but the data is often not organized in a manner that allows a business to consistently forecast which tactics will be successful.

When you start up a new business, it's exciting to have data that you can parse to see which split test is successful, whether this is in advertising creatives, ad copy or product designs.

But, it's often taken for granted just how complex and layered this process is because it isn't just about delivering a satisfying product but a complete experience that makes buying from your company stand out from the competition.

Distinguishing Your Company From Others

Even the limitations of your product or service can be used as part of the unique selling mechanism. Take for example Twitter's 280 characters limit for tweets & calling a post a "tweet." (See last week's blog on the war between Trump and Twitter)

There are so many levels of a pain point your product or service solves, that it takes a very nuanced approach to address the gap filled. This means that just basing definitions of success on quantitative data will miss the elephant in the room, the customer's:

Credit: Sarah Kilian

Why a person buys your product or service is not always something so granular that it can be put on a spread sheet. This why can change at different times of the day, year or with a set of personal experiences of infinite variety.

Facebook's Metrics Fail to Measure Actual Data

When I worked at Facebook in the ads department we had scores that rated us on how effective we were at our jobs. The number one score was Customer Sat, for Customer satisfaction. The C-Sat scores determined the stability of vendor contractors that staffed for Facebook as well.

However, there was a huge hole in universally rating everyone, for every type of customer, based on one, very black and white metric. The amount of money a person had to spend on ads often was a big trigger on whether or not they were satisfied with the support from the ads department.

If you were too broke to spend enough money to both A/B test and retarget (or even understood what retargeting is) then it didn't matter how many help center articles you read --you'd be unhappy. It wasn't an accurate measure of job performance.

We didn't have conversations with management on understanding why customers chose Facebook over other social media platforms to advertise on.Or how Facebook products or services helped make progress in people's lives & which circumstances they were trying to make progress in.

How to Discover Multileveled Pain Points

Many organizations completely miss defining what the real reason is that customers hire them, and easily fall into the common trap of a one-size-fits-all solution that never solves the problem.

Diving deeper than the surface level metrics opens up new possibilities for growth hacking and innovating company structure, both B2B and B2C.

Taking the time to investigate a customer's multileveled why for consuming your business's offering helps uncover the real reason they buy. Before Volvo messed up their brand image, people didn't buy Volvos to get from A to B or for a flashy look. They bought Volvos to feel safe.

The Secret to True Innovation

One thing you'll discover when going beyond quantitative metrics is the reason why your customer does not purchase. This is often an even more important area to focus on.

If there isn't a product or service that fits a customer's needs, they'll choose not to buy anything rather than settle for a less-than-perfect solution.

Customizing a product or service to fill this need is where many entrepreneurs have made billions of dollars. If you've looked at a niche and felt like you don't have any room to compete because it's over saturated that's a big sign that you probably haven't defined your client avatar's Why well enough.

It's a whole range of experiences that create the need that you're solving. This goes far beyond the basic demographic information of age, gender, location and interests.

When you captivate the story of every day consumers in that split second of struggling to move forward and being stopped by not having what they need - this is the real gold.

Workarounds Offer Insight Into Product Development

Finding out what things your customer base is substituting for what they really want is another opportunity to growth hack. If they have a work around that's pretty "meh" because what they want isn't available you can become very successful by solving that trade off.

Start paying closer attention to the workarounds you use in your own life to get things done, digitally and physically. Being both the consumer and the entrepreneur at the same time can yield new insights because of the way you can think outside the box than just quietly suffering wishing for something better.

Take note of both your own circumstances, and social-emotional depths when faced with something you can't solve perfectly. Observe other people's buying habits and workarounds and discover if consumers are repurposing something it isn't intended for.

This will signal a new gap your product or service can fill. It's a story that mere metrics won't tell you about. This type of market research reveals the nature of pain points in a way that offers you a chance to stand out in solving them.

. . .

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COVID Economic Recovery Solutions – Treat Employees Right

Credit: Husna Miskandar

The economy's crashed, hundreds of thousands of jobs are lost and now as society begins to rebuild and open up again it's time to rethink how jobs are structured.

Recently, when moving 4 filing cabinets out of my living room, in order to build an at-home library I spoke with the manager at U-Haul. There were 7 people waiting, with an average wait time of 40 minutes just to check in a rented truck or U-Haul van.

When I asked the manager, a man named Christopher, if it was possible to hire one or two other employees to help manage the customer load he replied,

"I can't get people to work here. They all want to stay home and collect unemployment benefits due to COVID."

I was shocked that the economy is hurting not just because of COVID fear making local governments close down brick & mortar shops but also due to people not wanting to come to work to mooch off of unemployment.

Credit: https://writingboots.typepad.com/.a/6a00e55283a630883401bb0953519e970d-pi

This hurts retailers but also local cities and their economies because when and if local businesses reopen, if they are understaffed, with long lines, it's just going to push consumers to order on Amazon instead of shop there.

Obviously some businesses like U-Haul you can't order online..though drones are doing some amazing things these days.

Low Quality Jobs = Low Quality Work

Aside from the rather unique moocher situation with some staying home to college a paycheck and not working remote but living on tax-dollar funded government benefits...

- There is a lot to be said about flipping burgers or working a register or answering phones and being treated poorly by management.

The Trickle-Down Effect of Incompetence

When the number one concern of employers is not investing in employees to create a high quality work environment, but how can we cut costs, outsource labor to 3rd world countries, lower the hiring wage, reduce worker hours and spread them out over more employees and reduce benefits - well is that motivating people to do a good job?

The question answers itself. If an employee is given a half-ass training (because the manager is also underpaid and under trained), and they are disrespected and made to feel like:

"You are easily replaced so appreciate this shitty job,"

Then it's the trickle down effect of incompetence.

On the other hand, if employers approached training employees as an investment, with professional development included to help employees not only gain competence but additional skill sets to make them more of an asset to the company and their growth opportunities - this changes the ripple effect in workforce management.

Investing in both higher wages and professional training, with work culture more evolved than mashing buttons to get minimum wage then employees will find their own reasons for working harder to do better.

This creates a better quality product or service for the end user that the company serves, which then increases customer retention, loyalty and lifetime value.

Brand loyalty is something that shouldn't just be customer-centric. Brand loyalty cultivated in both the customers and the employees, when increased also increases profits and productivity.

Strikes at Whole Foods and Amazon

If decision makers at the CEO level can't read the room or doubt the logic in the above paragraphs just look at the strikes by Whole Foods workers and Amazon employees who continued to toil on in unsafe working conditions.

When you aren't given a lot benefits-wise, as a bargaining chip from your employer, you don't have a lot to lose if you get fired for striking.

This loses time, money, convenience, customer satisfaction scores drop and just as employees leave for a job that pays $1-3 dollars more an hour so will customers when there are delays due to poor work ethics and project management skills by hiring managers and those who structure employee business models.

Businesses Have to Adapt to Survive COVID19

Instead of making excuses about how an existing system can't change, employers should wake up and smell the Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee: with the lack of foot traffic now is the perfect time to retool the business model

Sam's Club, Costco and HEB grocery store have all taken the lead here and raised wages for their employees as well as invested in their safety.

As mentioned in management philosophy blogs, research has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that when intrinsically motivated individuals apply their efforts to a task they are 10 times more productive and successful than people who are only money-motivated.

This means it isn't just about the money - don't treat your employees like dirt anymore and they will reciprocate. So few jobs actually invest any sincere time in building new skill sets in their employees but every time a company does this, the employee becomes an unofficial brand ambassador.

Feeling respected and appreciated is the cornerstone for every social interaction that's successful, from family, to relationships, to friends to business both B2C and B2B.

Creating this feeling in employees with concrete specific investments in improving their abilities, you now have a spokesperson for how great your company is. Many of these employees are like micro influencers with their own social networks sometimes rather large.

More employee loyalty creates more profits because you get better work done, word of mouth organically spreads to their friends, families, and facebook and twitter accounts without a single ad dollar needing to be spent.

In a large company multiply this by 100 or 1000 - it's pretty damn clear it's stupid to treat employees as disposable to-go containers or warm bodies to fill a space when there is a much higher return from professional development in the workspace.

Where We Go from Here Matters

Ecommerce is booming, many jobs and even schools may utilize more remote work than in person attendance now. Businesses will have to adapt to a post-COVID world in order to survive. This means the old guard has to change.

Instead of hyper focusing on reducing labor cost - putting some real thinking and research behind it to create a 2020 strategy that involves treating and paying employees better, will only benefit everyone better and rebuild the economy. Mic drop.

. . .
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Uh Oh Management Needs A New Business Plan

Tuesday April 14th 2020
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Management philosophy in business hasn't changed since the 1800s - yet the world has changed dramatically. The old guard will always think work is a bad thing in employees' minds. Traditional management philosophy holds that most need to be manipulated with rewards or threatened with punishments to do their job.

This simply isn't true anymore. It was never true.

When you see a sculptor so in love with their art, they lose track of time, you start to grasp what it means to work playfully. To do something for the sake of doing it.Chasing the all mighty dollar is a rather soul-less task by itself.

But putting the work in because of the world your efforts create? That's a different feeling. There's longevity in that.You can be creative, seek challenges out for the sake of just that achievement regardless of money - and still enjoy making money.

But what drives you has to be bigger.

When it is, not only does this lead to better results but it puts you on the path of truly mastering your craft.If profit is the only thing that drives you - you'll miss out on opportunities in the periphery. Thinking will be limited. You won't feel inspired.

Being inspired sparks a particular alchemy that isn't matched by robotic checking check boxes. It is what sets you apart from your previous self and those who live thru habit.

What inspires you?

A lot of old school thought is centered around the concept that bonuses alone will improve the way we perform at
work.

Despite the evidence that these type of incentives actually decrease overall productivity. It's a simple enough concept but not obvious to the casual observer: When an employee (or anyone in any role doing a task) is motivated by wanting to get the dollar attached to completing the task - we do the bare minimum. Because I mean, why bother doing more if we just want the money? If there's nothing beyond the surface get us to use inherent gifts of imagination and creativity - the boring tunnel vision creeps in.

What's rather puzzling is how much this has already been proven - coloring inside the lines only gets you so far.

As the New Patterns blog explored, entrepreneurs create innovation often by thinking outside the box. In a similar fashion, literally everyone, entrepreneur or not, has a much better chance of realizing their hidden talents by not being static, rigid, and motivated by achieving only one goal.

Back in the 60s, J.W. Atkinson, the leading psychologist on scientifically examining human motivation, did a study that demontrated when people knew there was a reward, or were attempting to avoid being punished, the quality of their work degraded. This was attributed in part to less spontaneous engagement with the activites and more of a routine nature, and habitual energy expenditures - in other words "autopilot."

However, when someone is driven by the need to explore their own talents, just to see what they are capable of (like children often do), there is a stark contrast in results. As people become more focused on the bigger picture, their field of vision expands on what's possible...both from their own abilities in addition to additional resources that a profit-only-driven person would have missed.

Interest = Competency. Wait..Wut?
So I'm going to propose an idea that may seem pretty out there. The more interested we are in a task, the more competent we become. If the task bores us our performance suffers. That's not too out there. It's pretty logical. Do you think your son, forced to wash your car against his wishes, is going to pay extra attention to getting all the smudges? But it goes deeper.

Even if we think we are giving it our all - we aren't using all of our brain's power, neurologically speaking. We've compartmentalized off just enough to get the task done. As Dr. Ryan and Deci discuss in their Self Determination Theory when you are intrinsically motivated this creates an innate tendency towards self-examination, in addition to a focus on growth and meaning. And it makes sense. If a person is genuinely interested in something, this reflects on self-image and identity. I'm the type of person who is good at math, likes Nascar and Netflix.

Right? We self-identify with the jobs we work at and it only makes sense that this is segmented into individual tasks that comprise the entirety of our work. How many times did you think about where you were at in life, working a shit job right out of high school, at a convenience store or 7-11? We reflect. The thing is, this sort of reflection happens instinctively (and often unconsciously) when we are intrinsically motivated to complete a task. It isn't a task, it isn't effort, it's part of who we are. As a result, our competency increases because we are not working we are self-expressing.

The old approach of cracking the whip, throwing up the cheese for the mouse hasn't ever worked well. No one wants to be reminded they are in a rat maze or treated that way. Being threatened with punishment just makes folks resentful - resentment doesn't improve your employees competency. Rewards aren't helping either. The regions called the “brain reward network” that light up when stimulated by the thought of rewards are rather tunnel vision in range and variety. There is an information gap between seeking to attain one item, and the self-directed learning that satisfying a curiousity generates.

You ever have a word just on the tip of your tongue but can't remember it? Meet someone at a get together and forget their name? Remember a scene from a movie but not the name of the movie? It gets a lot of attention and the urgency to satisfy this curiosity is only matched by the feeling of relief and accomplishment when we finally have that "ah ha" moment. This is like a macrocosmic application of that feeling across work forces. The problem is, very few, if any, business models in corporate hierarchy are structured to support the type of intrinsic behaviors that lead to the best results.

Uh Oh, Management Needs A New Business Plan

Regardless of the thousands of studies done on this phenomenon management in most large corporations is still based on non-working models that are proven to consistently fail. The reward/punishment system is still well in place. I've worked at Microsoft, Apple and Facebook - they all use this same system. Yes, there is more of a startup vibe - but craft beer and ping pong tables don't make up for a lack of leadership and understanding of how to extract the best work from employees at the top of their game.

The irony is that we see this in every every field - pay an artist to do a mural you'll get better results if they are doing it for a charity because they believe in the cause. The many old school hip hop heads who say that hip hop has died - they do so because (aside from stylistic preferences and autotune) the money-motivated artists lack the soul that Erykah Badu effortlessly broadcasts over thousands of heads at live concerts. Jack Harlow isn't Eminem - setting aside skill, age, connections to Dr. Dre - simply because his music doesn't have passion, or the feeling that he has to do this because it's part of who he is.

My own personal analogies aside - there is a shit ton of evidence from countless studies that demonstrate that the old management style just isn't working. A system focused on creating a personal connection to the work done, and more autonomy is definitely a step in the right direction. Rewards based on specific details regarding an employee's character, skill set and contribution are 10Xs more motivating than a generic compliment or external item. Many tech jobs are partially there with remote work, giving more trust to software engineers to get the job done in their unique way rather than a mass produced factory of cubicles (but I like putting pics up and decorating my little cubicle!).

What do you think? Share in the comments your thoughts on management.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5364176/