Monday Mornings with Madison

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People skills

January 21, 2013

The Amazing Power of Habits – Part 3

Issue #265

For the last two weeks, we’ve been considering the power of habits. We learned that habits reside in the basal ganglia within the brain and that habits are separate and independent from memory and learning. We discovered that nearly half of all our daily behavior and decisions are actually driven by habits rather than conscious, deliberate thought. Once habits are formed, they become more formidable in controlling behavior as they become ever more entrenched in our brain’s neural pathways. Breaking bad habits, therefore, can be a challenge… although not impossible. The key is to change or remove the cues triggering the habit or the rewards reinforcing it. Even so, breaking a bad habit requires a lot of deliberate thought.

Scientists have discovered that one of the best ways to break a bad habit is to simply replace it with a new good habit. Actually one habit doesn’t so much replace another. Rather, one habit fades while another is reinforced. So, instead of expending a lot of money, energy and time breaking bad habits, most people are better off establishing and reinforcing good habits. Over time, the new good habits will become entrenched in the brain’s neural pathways while old habits fade (through lack of use and reinforcement) even though they can still be triggered by old cues. When harnessed for good, habits can be incredibly productive and positive. Here are 11 tips to help establish new good habits. Continue reading →

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January 14, 2013

The Amazing Power of Habits – Part 2

Issue #264

At the end of each year, many people prepare a list of “Resolutions.” Exercise more. Eat healthier. Put more into savings. Quit smoking. Get organized. Lose weight. Get regular medical and dental care. Gyms sign up tons of new members. Enrollment in weight loss programs swells. Office and organizational supply stores sell more tools and supplies. Intentions are good. Willpower is focused. And yet, despite the best of intentions, most people are unable to keep their ‘resolutions’ for more than a week or two.

Practically speaking, the average list of ‘Resolutions’ is little more than a list of bad habits people want to break and a list of good habits people want to start. Yet, most bad habits persist while good ones languish. Resolutions get recycled year after year. That is because most people don’t understand how habits work so they aren’t able to intentionally stop bad habits or start good ones, even though new habits are continually being formed and old ones discarded unintentionally. Why is it people can’t break or start habits at will, but somehow manage to break and start habits without trying all the time? Is it even possible to control habits? The answer is yes. It starts by understanding why habits are necessary and how habits work.
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January 7, 2013

The Amazing Power of Habits – Part 1

Issue #263

Have you ever driven home from work and then realized when you got home that you had no recollection of doing it? Or you got up in the morning and did your morning routine (brush teeth, shave, groom hair, shower and dress, make bed, etc.) but could not remember actually performing some or any of the tasks. It was as if you were on auto-pilot. In a sense, you were. But instead of drawing on information from your memory bank, you were drawing information from a different, deeper part of the brain that doesn’t involve either learning or memory. You were performing a habit.

Until recently, most scholars believed that learning, memory, and habits were all inextricably connected. A person learns how to do something, remembers doing it and then, through repetition over time, becomes habit…. a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition. Based on this, it stands to reason that without the ability to learn and remember, a person could not form new habits or perform existing habits. But research has proven that that is actually not true. The latest brain research is revealing that learning, memory and habits all ‘live’ in different parts of the brain and are not actually connected. A person can form and perform a new habit even if the person has no ability to learn or remember new information. And research has found that habits are more powerful and persistent in controlling individual behavior than conscious thought. This can be invaluable to business. Continue reading →

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December 31, 2012

A Succession Plan

Issue #262

In business, as in life, there is generally a hierarchy and structure for how things run. Leaders are identified. Departments are established. Managers are appointed. Processes are set. And, if all is as it should be, all of the cogs fit together and run like a well-oiled machine. The best organizations even create redundancies to ensure that when key personnel are out sick or on vacation for a few days, there are other knowledgeable individuals who can step in temporarily to ensure that operations continue smoothly.

However, many companies fall short of actually creating a full Succession Plan in case a vital cog in the machinery breaks and must be replaced. Most organizations do not have any preparations in place that will go into effect if a vital member of the team is suddenly gone either by choice or chance. For example, Business Week magazine featured an article questioning why Herb Kelleher, CEO of Southwest Airlines, had not designated and groomed a successor. This exposed a weakness that exists in many companies’ strategic thinking. Indeed, many companies lack ‘bench strength’ or sufficient ‘ready now candidates’ to replace planned and unplanned losses of key leaders and staff. As a result, the future continuity and performance of the business is at risk. While it may seem grim and cold, a Succession Plan is actually one of the most responsible and considerate things any business can do for the good of the company. Here’s how. Continue reading →

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December 17, 2012

Count Blessings Even In Tough Times

Issue #261

At this time of year, there is a natural tendency to get a little more introspective. Folks will reflect on the past and contemplate the future. Some may stop to consider what has happened, both good and bad. They may think about what they have, don’t have, or what they want. It is natural to do a personal inventory of one’s life during meaningful holidays or after milestone moments or major events.

However, in tough times, there is a danger that such an exercise can do more emotional harm than good. Anyone that has experienced a major loss – due to a natural disaster, illness, career setback, business challenge or personal problem – may find taking a personal inventory depressing. It doesn’t have to be. In fact, some deep, personal reflection can help bring into focus what is most important and provide fuel to move forward with purpose. As Alexander Graham Bell once said, “Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.” Even in tough times – especially in tough times – it is important to look not at the doors that have closed but at the ones that are opening. Here are 10 tips to help with the process.
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December 10, 2012

Ten Tips For Giving Gifts To Clients

Issue #260

To gift or not to gift, that is the question. For the last five or six years, companies cut back on the quantity and value of corporate gifts given to clients. It was understood that times were tough and businesses could scarcely justify giving gifts to clients when they were laying off staff, freezing hiring, cutting salaries and increasing workloads. The economy could legitimately be blamed for a reduction in gift-giving. After all, corporate profits in the first quarter of 2009 hit its lowest level in a decade.

However, the economy seems to have turned a corner. According to a recent report from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. corporate profits for the third quarter of 2012 reached a record high, even adjusted for inflation. Moreover, the increase was entirely a result of stronger business at home. Likewise, the real estate sector seems to be bouncing back. The current share of non-distressed sales is at its highest level since August 2008. With these positive signs, businesses are once again contending with the annual discussion around client gifting. Should we or shouldn’t we? If we should, to whom do we give? Who will compile the list? How much should we spend? What level of gift should go to which people? Must we match or up the ante over what we gave last year? These can be tricky questions. Here are some suggestions for creating and fulfilling the shopping list for clients. Continue reading →

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November 26, 2012

Preventing Human Error

Issue #258

It’s been said many times that ‘to err is human, to forgive divine.’ Few would argue that at least the first part of that statement is absolutely true. No one is perfect. To be human is to make mistakes. Isn’t that why they put erasers on pencils? But when people make mistakes at work, those errors can hurt business. In fact, Marketwire reported in 2008 that human errors among employees cost businesses in the US and UK more than $37 billion in lost productivity. While the vast majority of mistakes at work are minor and do little real harm, some mistakes are serious enough to reduce sales, damage customer relations, hurt the bottom line or even cause sentinel events — unexpected occurrences involving death or serious physical or psychological injury.

Although it is normal for people to make mistakes, human error is never welcome at work. Companies have a vested interest in minimizing mistakes. But is that even possible? While it isn’t possible for any company to completely eliminate all slips and mishaps by staff, there are things that businesses can do to help reduce the quantity and impact of errors in daily operations. The first step is to understand the finer distinctions in the nature of human errors and what factors cause employees to make more mistakes and slips. The second step is for companies to design protocols that help to minimize errors. Make no mistake, it can be done. Here’s how. Continue reading →

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November 19, 2012

Unknown Unknowns – When You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Issue #257

Knowledge is power. That’s true in any society or culture anywhere in the world. Knowledge empowers one to navigate a complex world in the best, most efficient, most effective way with the least amount of snags and waste. This has been true since before recorded history. In fact, the 13th century Persian-Tajik poet Ibn Yamin wrote about men and knowledge:
One who knows and knows that he knows…
His horse of wisdom will reach the skies.
One who knows, but doesn’t know that he knows…
He is fast asleep, so you should wake him up!
One who doesn’t know, but knows that he doesn’t know…
His limping mule will eventually get him home.
One who doesn’t know and doesn’t know that he doesn’t know…
He will be eternally lost in his hopeless oblivion!

It is important to be ‘in the know.’ But given today’s sophisticated, complex, high tech society, having complete knowledge about everything is impossible. In an ever-increasingly intricate world, there is so much to know about so much. No one’s knowledge is ever complete. We each have many important things that we know are unknown, and many more unknowns of which there isn’t even an awareness. These are the unknown unknowns.

So how do we come to know something we need to know but don’t even know that we don’t know? It is something of a conundrum. For people in business, it is a catch-22 that can be costly.
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October 29, 2012

How A Company’s Reputation Impacts Its Ability to Attract and Retain Top Talent

Issue #255

Coca Cola. Google. IBM. Apple. Starbucks. Microsoft. Mercedes Benz. Zappos. Amazon. What do all of these companies have in common? Besides having a global market following and a very healthy balance sheet, these companies have at least one other thing in common: the ability to attract top talent just based on reputation. Companies that attract top talent are likely to stay at the top of the Fortune 500 list because human potential is the one thing that cannot be forged, copied, imitated, duplicated or easily replaced. So attracting top talent breeds success and success attracts top talent.

Indeed, human resources are probably the most important asset of any company. Employees are responsible for the quality, quantity and consistency of its products and service. Employees bring creativity to bear on behalf of employers. Employees do all the heavy lifting that keeps a business running. And ultimately it is the workers who interact with, win and retain customers. It is their ingenuity, skills, effort, passion, work ethic, and attitude which largely determine the success, mediocrity or failure of an organization.

That is why, every day, companies are not only competing to generate sales and win customers, they are also in a race to attract and retain the most talented workers. From entry level employees to C-suite executives, every company wants – or should we say needs – to employ the best and brightest. When the economy was in a tailspin, the most talented, skilled and experienced employees hunkered down and stayed put even in companies where they were no longer satisfied, appreciated and/or challenged. The best and brightest kept from changing jobs even when they were overworked, underpaid or both. But with the economy ‘turning a corner’ and the unemployment rate slowly dropping, companies will soon – if they aren’t already – need to compete to attract the best workers. The most qualified candidates are likely to look first to companies with a solid reputation. So just how much does a company’s reputation impact its ability to attract top talent? Continue reading →

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October 10, 2012

The Cost of Employee Tardiness

Issue #252

Employees are every company’s greatest asset and resource. Each worker brings his/her talents and skills to bear on behalf of the organization. Ingenuity. Creativity. Problem-solving. Writing. Speaking. Listening. Coordination. Instruction. Persuasion. Negotiation. Judging. Decision-making. They provide a wealth of skills and talents that no computer or robot can perform as well. Yet, human resources are also the most time-consuming, difficult to manage and maintain, and fluid of all company assets.

Unlike machines or inanimate objects, people have feelings and personal problems that can affect their work. They are impacted by forces outside their control such as children, weather and traffic. Sometimes they are just having ‘bad days.’ In short, they are human. These personal issues can not only bleed into their work life in minor ways such as reduced concentration, inability to stay focused on work, or expressing a bad attitude, employee problems can also eat into company profits. There are a number of ways in which employee issues can affect work behavior which, in turn, result in tangible costs to a company. One of the most common work-related behavior issues is tardiness. Anyone – probably everyone – is late to work once in a while. But when this work-related behavior is chronic, it is not just minor irritation for a company…. it affects the bottom line. At what point should tardiness be addressed? And just how much does this work-related behavior cost companies? Continue reading →

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