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Trust - The Performance Multiplier

Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining 40 of our clients in Oklahoma for an executive overview titled, Creating a Culture of Trust.  Our Regional Speed of Trust Practice Leader, Donna Burnette, explained to these leaders how trust directly impacts speed and cost inside a team or organization.

Based on the best-selling book, The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M.R. Covey, Donna explained, if trust is low in your organization, it works like a tax.  It costs your organization more money to do the same type of work that high-trust organizations don’t have to pay.  When trust is high, it works like a dividend.  It speeds up everything your organization is working on which ultimately helps increase your bottom line. See the photos below for the formula explanation.

Trust is the performance multiplier in your organization.  Donna further explained how Trust directly affects employee engagement, the success of a merger, partnering with stakeholders, innovation within teams and more.

Trust is the key leadership competency needed today!  If your team is not performing at optimal levels, consider learning more about our Speed of Trust Process.  Seats are still available for our next executive overview on September 18^th in Dallas.  Contact me for details.

Increasing trust one organization at a time,

John R. Vakidis

The Writing Advantage

Thanks for returning to our weekly blog.  Over the next 3 weeks, we are going to explore 3 common methods of Business Communication and discuss some of the best practices for each.

In today’s world we have a variety of ways that interact and communicate with each other.  Some of the most common methods of communication are: 

·         Written (Emails, Documents, Texting)

·         Presentations (Marketing Events, Client Meetings, etc.)

·         Meetings (Live In Person, Via Telephone and Web-Based)

When you think though all of these opportunities to share information with people, you can either be effective or ineffective.  In most business situations, you are sharing information with others and they need to make decisions based on what you have communicated.  Sometimes those decisions are crucial and poor delivery of information can cost you a deal, a project, a customer or in some cases even worse. 

In all situations, put yourself in their shoes before you speak or type.  Think about what you want your readers to know or do based on your messaging.  Today we are going to focus on Written Communication.

Written Communication

Emails - In today’s world, this is one of the most common communication tools that we use.  Many people that I have spoken with can sometimes receive hundreds of emails in a single day.  Below are a few pointers for better emails: 

·         Subject Lines - Be clear and to the point.  If you FWD: a message, change subject lines if needed.

·         Put your key point up front.  BOLD or italicize if needed.

·         If you have a lot of information, use bullet points that highlight key points in an attachment. 

·         Whitespace is good.  Paragraphs should not be longer than 3-4 lines.  It makes your message easier to read.

·         Spell check.  Need I say more?

·         Using all CAPS is like screaming.  Only use if necessary.

·         Read out loud to yourself before hitting send.

·         Follow this link to read, “10 Simply Awesome Examples of Email Marketing”, by Hubspot

Documents - These can be used to share information internally, like a company-wide memo or a report on a project.  They can also be used for marketing.  Sometimes you are writing a letter to a client or prospect and other times you might be creating a marketing slick about a product or service.  Below are a few points of consideration.

·         Like emails, open with your important points.  Minor ideas belong in the middle of the document.

·         Single sentence paragraphs are great for highlighting important points.  Short and concise sentences are recommended throughout.

·         Use Headings and Graphics to call attention to what is most important

·         For more examples of good business documents and rules, consider utilizing FranklinCovey’s  Style Guide for Business and Technical Communication - 5^th Edition for your office.

Texting - With the use of better tools and applications and the entry of younger generations into our workforce, texting is becoming a more acceptable form of communication each and every day.  Like other written forms of communication, short and crisp is always good.

·         Don’t ever type a text that could come back to haunt you.  Texts are stored permanently, just like emails.

·         Use punctuation or emotion to your texts when suitable. J

·         Don’t use abbreviations unless you are sure what you are communicating AND you are sure the other party will understand you.  Click here for a common acronym list for texting and IM (instant messaging)

These are just a few helpful tips.  If your organization is experiencing ineffective communication, think about the business and how it is COSTING you (productivity, lost sales, poor vendor relationships, etc.  If you would like to learn more about improving the written communication on your team, consider exploring our solutions below:

·         Writing Advantage (1-day training - Delivered LIVE or via Webinar)

·         Technical Writing Advantage (2-day training LIVE in person only)

·         Business Writing Skills LiveClicks Webinar (2-hours in length taught online)

Lastly, once a year, FranklinCovey hosts a program for Training and HR Professionals called a Facilitator Enhancement Day (aka: FED).  This year’s FED theme is called: Is Anybody Listening?  Communication in 2012.  If you are involved with training and found today’s post helpful, you might want to join us online for one of our remaining sessions - good through August 31^st.

Come back and join us next week for Part 2 of our 3-week series on Business Communication!

Enabling greatness, one organization at a time,

John Vakidis

Can we get along too well?

Today is the first Friday in May.  You know what that means, right?  Another great blog from my friend and colleague, Mark Murphy.  Mark is a senior consultant with FranklinCovey and has worked with organizations across the globe to help them with everything productivity, leadership and team performance.  If you have ever worked in an organization where teams were “stuck” from achieving their potential, then this month’s post might bring back a few memories. 

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Within the last month I’ve had the opportunity of working with two very different organizations struggling with one very similar issue.  One organization was a small privately held resort company in Colorado and the other was the UK office of an Italian-based multinational organization.  The issue was trust…or more specifically…the lack of trust. 

I was fascinated by how different and yet how similar the teams in both organizations were.  Even though one team was struggling to grow beyond the vision of a single entrepreneur and the other was working to integrate new team members from various cultural backgrounds; they were both essentially stuck in what Bruce Tuckman calls the “storming” stage of team development.

 According to Tuckman, all teams go through a natural process of development that consists of 4 phases:  1) Forming 2) Storming 3) Norming and 4) Performing.  (Bruce Tuckman reference).  Looking at the behavior of small groups in a variety of environments, he recognized the distinct phases teams go through and suggested they need to experience all four stages before they achieve maximum effectiveness.  This process can be subconscious, although an understanding of the stages can help a group reach effectiveness more quickly and less painfully. 

The “Storming” stage is when, as the name suggests, members can become hostile and combative.  As goals and objectives are clarified, team members become aware of any gaps between reality and their initial expectations. They may experience dissatisfaction with the team’s objectives and may begin to question the ability of their leadership.  If these issues are not addressed quickly and openly with what Steven R. Covey in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,  calls a “combination of courage and consideration”, the team may never get to the next stage which is Norming.  Norming is where members begin to resolve conflicts through increased cooperation and trust.  They settle in to norms on how to work together.  They rally around each other with common spirit and goals and get down to work. 

Norming is an essential step to the final goal of an effective team, which is Performing.  Performing is when team members work together productively and produce high-quality results. They prevent problems or work through them constructively.  They provide their own direction and encouragement and feel satisfaction in working with the team.  These high-performing teams are able to function as a unit as they find ways to get the job done smoothly and effectively without inappropriate conflict or the need for external supervision.

I think the key work here is inappropriate conflict.  Not all conflict is bad.   In seeking the balance of courage and consideration required to get beyond the storming stage teams must be able to, not only experience conflict, but actually embrace it.  I’ve worked with teams and organizations that are overly courageous and frank in their opinions without consideration for the feelings of others. These highly courageous yet inconsiderate teams rarely get beyond the storming stage.   I’ve also worked with teams that are overly considerate and afraid to confront issues with any degree of honesty or courage.  I’ve found that these teams are just as likely to get stuck in the storming stage.   As Steven Covey states, maturity in an individual as well as a team requires balancing both courage and consideration.

 In his book “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team”, Patrick Lencioni states that ultimately teams fail to get results or Perform because of an Absence of Trust which leads to a Fear of Conflict. 

Notice (below) that the solution to a lack of trust lies, not in removing all conflict, but rather through embracing appropriate conflict with open, honest, thoughtful dialogue.  Steven Covey says the ultimate form of a Win-Win is to find agreement where both parties mutually benefit or to have both parties agree to disagree agreeably. 

So…back to the original question.  Can we all get along too well?  I believe we can.  If we want to create a high performing team that gets consistently superb results we have to create a high trust environment where people feel they can openly disagree.  An environment where differing views are not just tolerated, but actually celebrated.  An environment that understands how Storming can ultimately lead to Performing.  This is as true in the mountains of Colorado as it is in the UK.



- Mark Murphy, FranklinCovey Consultant             

Copyright © 2012 - Mark Murphy

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So it’s time for a little assessment.  Where is your team on the scale below?

1) Forming     2) Storming     3) Norming     4) Performing

If your answer was not 4, then we should chat.  Even if your team is Norming, what would it be worth to your organization if we could help you get to Performing?  For most organizations we visit with the financial ROI is huge.  If you are just Forming or Storming, them the ROI is even greater.

Be courageous enough to admit where you are at and contact me to set up a call with Mark and your FranklinCovey Client Partner.  I am confident to say that the time you give us will be well spent  to learn how we can help.

Helping increase performance one team at a time,

John Vakidis

Execution 101

If Strategic Goal Execution was only as easy as the diagram above!  Michael Mink with Investors.com recently wrote an article titled, Execute Company Objectives By Nurturing Accountability.  The author quotes Sean Covey, Chris McChesney and Jim Huling from their new book The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Make Your Most Wildly Important Goals Happen.  Their book will be released in just a few short weeks!

Michael goes on to write about tips every leader should consider: Prioritize, Act, Fuel the Fire, Create Accountability, Evaluate, Enable, Energize.

At FranklinCovey, we have boiled down execution into 4 key steps that we like to call, The 4 Disciplines. 

They are:

·         Focus on the Wildly Important

·         Act on the Lead Measures

·         Keep a Compelling Scoreboard

·         Create a Cadence of Accountability

Once organizations “install” The 4 Disciplines of Execution through our Manager’s Certification Process, they typically outperform the initial goals set in place.  Goals that have never been achieved can be achieved in months.  This transformation happens, simply because organizations are now able to get their middle performers to behave like their top performers.  In many cases, it is a 4X improvement, which has a dramatic impact towards the bottom line!

Watch this video below and allow Chris McChesney, our Global Execution Practice Leader, to provide you with more information.

 

Be sure to follow me on Twitter so you’ll know when the book is released.  I am positive it will be one of the best-selling business books this year!

All the best!

John Vakidis

How Much of Reality is Perception?

It’s that time again… yes, another post from my friend and colleague, Mark Murphy.  As a facilitator of 7 Habits for many years, Mark brings great insight today about our paradigms and how that affects our reality.  Enjoy!

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I recently watched a TED clip (above) by Shawn Achor, author of the book “The Happy Secret to Better Work”.  He is the CEO of Good Think Inc. and studies the science of “Positive Psychology”.  In economics and statistics, one of the first things taught is how to eliminate data that falls outside of the average, how to eliminate the outliers to achieve the average.  But if you’re studying potential, creativity, energy or productivity, it’s imperative to escape what he calls the “Cult of the Average” in science. When asked the question “How fast can a child learn how to read in a classroom?”, science immediately changes the question to “How fast does the average child learn to read in the classroom?”  Then the class is tailored to the average.

“Positive Psychology” studies the physical and psychological implications of the premise that if we focus on what is merely average, we will remain merely average. Instead of automatically deleting the outlier in science, Shawn Achor believes we should study that outlier and ask “why”, not just to move people up to the average, but to move the entire average up.

The news constantly bombards us with stories of corruption, war, crime and sickness until our brain begins to believe that this ratio of negative to positive information is the norm. “It’s not necessarily reality that shapes us, but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality.  If we can change the lens, we can change not only our happiness, but every single business and educational outcome at the same time.”

In Victor Frankl’s autobiography, Man’s Search for Meaning, he recounts his horrific experiences as a Jewish Austrian psychiatrist held prisoner in the concentration camps of Nazi Germany.  He says that ultimately it wasn’t physical strength or endurance that made the difference between those that survived and those that didn’t.  Those that survived had a vision of some greater purpose yet to be fulfilled in their own lives.  It was that deep inner sense of purpose and mission that often determined the difference between life and death.

I love Marianne Williamson’s book A Discourse on Miracles.  In it, she states that it’s not what happens to us in life that determines our happiness, but rather how we choose to respond to what happens to us that determines our happiness.  I’ve observed that very premise often in my own life.  I know people who have been handed everything in life that they could ever want and are still miserable people.  I’ve also known people who seem to endure trial after trial in life and yet are still very upbeat, happy people. 

Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says it this way: “No one sees the world as it is…we all see the world as we are.”  Every individual has a lens of beliefs  and experiences (paradigms) that we use to interpret the world around us. 

If we desire to change our lives we can simply work on our behaviors.  But if we want that change to be enduring, lasting and meaningful we need to change our beliefs.  If you listen to Shawn Achor, there seems to be a growing body of science that backs that up.

- Mark Murphy, FranklinCovey Consultant             

Copyright © 2012 - Mark Murphy

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Wishing you a Happy Easter Weekend!

- John Vakidis

Creating a Culture of Execution

In today’s busy world, it is harder than ever for employees to stay productive.  It’s even harder for employees to execute the organization’s strategic goals, while holding down their day job. 

As a leader, getting your team to execute your top strategic goals is probably one of the biggest challenges you will ever face!

In his book, Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done (co-authored with Larry Bossidy), Ram Charan once said…

“To understand execution, you have to keep three key points in mind:

(1) Execution is a discipline, and integral to strategy

(2) Execution is the major job of the business leader

(3) Execution must be a core element of an organization’s culture.”

He goes on to say, “Execution is a systematic process for (A) rigorously discussing how’s and what’s;

(B) questioning tenaciously; and (C) following through and ensuring accountability.  It includes:

·         Making assumptions about the business environment

·         Assessing the organizations capabilities

·         Linking strategy to operations and the people who will implement the strategy

·         Synchronizing those people and they’re various disciplines

·         Linking rewards to outcomes.

FranklinCovey has partnered with hundreds of organizations to help them execute by with The 4 Disciplines of Execution - Manager’s Certification Process.  Watch the video below to see how we help organizations, Move the Middle.

If you want to help your organization grab hold of performance, follow this link to view videos for:

You will hear them reference the success of their WIGS.  These are their Wildly Important Goals.

·         Execution overview

·         Opryland

·         Grocery Store 334

·         Gwinnett Medical

·         Move the Middle

On this page, you will also find these helpful files:

·         Manager Certification Process (PDF)

·         Results Brochure (PDF)

If you would like to learn more about Creating a Culture of Execution in your team/organization, go to our Live Events Page and look for our next Execution showcase or event in your area.  If you would like to set up a meeting by phone to discuss further, fill out the information with our Online Appointment Book on the top right-hand side of this blog.  I’ll be happy put you in touch with your local Client Partner.

If you want to learn more, check out a previous post about The 5 Stages of Performance Improvement.  I think you will find it helpful. 

Enabling success one company at a time,

John Vakidis

PS - Are we connected yet?  If not, follow me on Twitter or send me a friend request on LinkedIn 

Faith, Trust and Analysis in Innovation

It’s the first Friday of March.  My colleague, Mark Murphy brings you a great post about Innovation.  We hope you enjoy it!

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If you are doing something that hasn’t ever been done before, or striving for results that have never been achieved before, you will inevitably encounter plenty of reasons not to proceed.  You will almost certainly, at some point, question your own confidence.  It happens so often that Harvard Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter created Kanter’s Law (http://bigthink.com/ideas/5474):  Everything can look like a failure in the middle.  When you first formulate an idea, excitement peaks.  But the more you study that idea, the more you realize the challenges that lie in front of you.

Innovators must have faith.  Faith in their idea.  Faith in the intuition that was the seed of the idea.  Faith in their ability and capability to see the idea to its fruition.  It’s important to Keep the Faith.  But that faith must not be blind faith.  It needs to be tested. 

Just as innovators must have faith which is not blind faith, it is imperative that innovators have trust that is Smart Trust. Real innovation requires trust in others, but even more importantly, trust in one’s self.  Ronald Reagan said so famously, “trust, but verify”.  Stephen M.R. Covey and Greg Link, in their book “Smart Trust – Creating Prosperity, Energy, and Joy in a Low-trust World”, talk about the importance of “’smart trust’, enabling you to operate with high trust in a low-trust world by minimizing risk and maximizing possibilities.”

Click here to learn more about how trust empowers innovation and creativity

And finally, it’s important, that while you’re keeping the faith and trusting your intuition, you do appropriate due diligence.  The proper analysis of an idea is critical to determining its viability.  Scott Anthony, in his Harvard Business Review blog post of November 17, 2011:  A Few Ideas for Beleaguered Innovators refers to Michael Lewis’s baseball book, Moneyball. It describes how the Oakland Athletics exploited market inefficiencies to compete against baseball teams with more financial resources.  Scott Anthony writes that in the book “there was a discussion between A's general manager Billy Beane and his team of scouts. They were discussing a prospect, a University of Alabama catcher named Jeremy Brown. The scouts didn't like Brown, pointing to his "soft body" and "low energy." Beane's analytical team loved Brown, citing some of his performance statistics. A debate ensued. Beane shut the discussion down with a succinct phrase that summarized his organizational philosophy: "We're not selling jeans here." Brown became the 35th overall selection in the amateur draft.

Beane's point was that he didn't care about a player's physical attributes; he cared about whether the player would perform.  And his philosophy was that statistics provided a better way to identify high performers than a player's physique or mental makeup. In this case, the scouts might have had a point — Brown ended up with a grand total of 11 major league plate appearances (where he did bang out two doubles and a single). Nonetheless, Beane's admonition is a useful reminder that innovation leaders should make sure they are asking the right questions and focusing on the right variables.”

In the end, it all comes down to one question…or three:

• Do you have faith in your idea?
• Do you trust your intuition?
• Did you do your due diligence?

Mark Murphy, FranklinCovey Consultant                

Copyright © 2012 - Mark Murphy _____________________________________________________________

If you are interested in learning more about how FranklinCovey can help impact and increase innovation in your organization, consider setting up an appointment with our online appointment book (top right side of this page.)

Enabling greatness one organization at a time,

John Vakidis

Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey

214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

Speed of Trust Results

Yesterday, I attended a keynote with over 100 DFW leaders to hear best-selling author, Stephen M.R. Covey deliver his message on Leading at the Speed of Trust.  Stephen started the morning with his story about how he went fly fishing several years ago.  He explained how he couldn’t see the fish in the stream until he put on a pair of polarized sunglasses.  Once he had them on, he could see fish… a lot of fish.  He related this to trust in the simple explanation of our paradigms.  Trust is everywhere.  Until we “put on the glasses to see it”, we might not see it either.  Watch the video below narrated by Stephen for a further explanation.

During yesterday’s keynote, participants got to sample our Speed of Trust Cards that we use when delivering training for clients (see samples below).  These cards provide a detailed description of The 4 Cores of Credibility and the 13 Behaviors of a High Trust Leader.  They set clear definitions for each of the cores and behaviors.  They also define the counterfeits for each behavior so that participants can recognize the difference.

When our clients apply The Speed of Trust Process to their organization and make it a part of their culture, they typically see Spectacular Results!  We have several client testimonials, but one of the most well-known client videos we have is from Frito Lay. 

Take a moment to watch this video now

Frito Lay has trained well over 40,000 employees over the last 5 years with this content and has made our Speed of Trust Process part of the way they do business.  They have used this process not only with employees and leaders, but with their external partners, too. 

Clients are using this process to help in a variety of ways:

·         Increase Employee Engagement

·         Improving Mergers and Acquisitions (pre and post)

·         Enable Change Management

·         and more …

If you are interested in learning more about the Speed of Trust Jobs to Be Done and how this PROCESS might impact your business, I suggest setting up a 30-minute call with your FranklinCovey Client Partner.  Consider using the Meeting Request Calendar on the top right of this page or contact me directly.

For those of you in charge of training, consider joining us for a webinar on n February 23^rd.  We will be discussing more client results like Frito Lay.  CLICK HERE to learn more and register now.

Remember this… “Nothing is as fast as The Speed of Trust.” - Stephen M.R. Covey

Your trusted partner,

John Vakidis

PS - Follow this link to download an executive book summary of The Speed of Trust.

Trust - The Key to Confidence

This week’s post comes to you as one of a three-part series.  Dr. Todd Wangsgard, a FranklinCovey Consultant, elaborates on Trust as the Key to Confidence.  Enjoy! ______________________________________________________________

Leadership at the Speed of Trust

A three-part series by Dr. Todd Wangsgard

Leadership and Trust – Keyword: “Confidence”

(Part 1 of 3)

 

Author of The Speed of Trust, , defines trust as “confidence born of the character and competence of an individual or organization.” This simple yet complete definition of an otherwise squishy subject takes into account both the feel-good side of trust in character as well as the practical side of one’s reliability in competence. Both character and competence lend confidence to those who would consider following any leader. And more than ever before, trust (or confidence) is sought after by an increasingly globally savvy audience of human beings who see the impact that geo-political activities are having on their individual well-being.



SMRC (as we affectionately call the author at FranklinCovey) also boldly asserts that, “trust is the key competency of the new global economy.” Again, as you replace “trust” in that sentence with “confidence,” one can see how the currency of trust is not just a “nice-to-have,” but rather an absolute imperative for leadership effectiveness under any circumstances. It is key, because without it, business plans, corporate promises, financial metrics and reports all come under the scrutiny of one question: “Yes, but what should we believe?”

The Speed of Trust book and classroom experience offer several models of thinking to better understand and define trust that breaks the subject down into understandable water cooler discussions. The Four Cores of Self Trust that subdivide Character into one’s integrity and intent and Competence into capabilities and results. The Five Waves of Trust that any leader must assess and develop within, including Self Trust, Relationship Trust, Organizational (or team) Trust, Market Trust, and Societal Trust. The 13 Behaviors of High Trust, including Talk Straight, Create Transparency, Right Wrongs, Get Better and nine others.  (Click here to learn how The Speed of Trust Process works).

I recently worked with a successful CEO in the manufacturing and fulfillment business who has truly lived out the kind of trustworthy behavior described by SMRC. He has worked side-by-side (while the CEO) with frontline employees on the manufacturing line to learn what they do and to help keep costs down during a recent recession (Show Loyalty, Deliver Results, Confront Reality, Practice Accountability). He has made an effort to get to know every single employee in the company and remembers to send them a hand-written birthday greeting each year (Demonstrate Respect, Show Loyalty). While announcing a 15% pay cut for himself, he asked all exempt associates to accept a 7½% pay cut to help off-set their losses or agree to termination with a 3-months’ salary severance package (at their higher rate of pay). No one left and all were subsequently rewarded with “back-pay” on their lost wages after a couple successful intervening years and given a sizeable bonus (Talk Straight, Create Transparency, Show Loyalty, Get Better, Keep Commitments).

The confidence that Stephen writes about and that I’ve witnessed in industry over the past 25+ years starts with a leader who has genuine confidence in himself or herself and in the associates who choose to follow. Give them a leader they can trust (the Self Trust wave) and you have a foundation upon which you will build lasting relationships, enormously successful organizations, and a brand that generates intense loyalty and growth.
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Do you want to learn more about Dr. Todd Wangsgard and the offerings he can facilitate for your organization?  Then follow this link to read his bio.  If you would be interested in visiting with Todd by phone, then please contact me to set up a meeting with Todd and your FranklinCovey Client Partner.  Check in next Friday as Todd brings you Part 2 to this series.

Helping build confidence in organizations - one at a time!

Sincerely,

John Vakidis

Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey

214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

PS - Are you interested in learning how to leverage trust in your organization?  Consider joining us in Dallas to hear best-selling author, Stephen M.R. Covey deliver his Speed of Trust Keynote on Feb 16, 2012.  Special pricing avaialble for groups of 10 or more.  Ask me about how to get a free seat!