Laura's Letters(TM)
A complimentary newsletter on Business Relationship Development
##########################################
Vol. 6, Number 8 - August 2005
Publisher: Laura Benjamin
http://www.LauraBenjamin.com
(C)Laura Benjamin International Inc. 2005
Reprints upon request and with attribution please
##########################################
Quote of the month:
"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."
(Mark Twain)
=============================================
In This Issue
=============================================
1. Management
2. Business Development
3. Useful Resources
4. Shameless You-Know-What
Special Note: To see the photo's from Laura's London trip, visit:
http://www.laurabenjamin.com/London05.htm
=============================================
1. Management
============================================
The "Fatal Flaws" of the Performance Review Process: A Humorous Look
at How to Quickly and Easily Demotivate Your Top Talent (warning: if
you believe that sarcasm is the lowest form of humor, skip this section)
1. Do your performance reviews once a year or less. This will ensure
your employees get no opportunity to "adjust the rudder" during the
year if they get off track. You'll be guaranteed to frustrate the heck
out of them when you say in December, "Back on February 15th, you forgot
to transfer the ABC Company account to..." You will have no problem
surprising them with their final evaluation/rating because you waited
a full year to spring their sins on them with a report-card-like review.
It will also require your supervisors to have the memory of an elephant.
2. Tell your employee 5 minutes before the evaluation that it's their
"special time" and would they please come prepared to discuss their
annual goals. Failing to give them a reasonable advance notice will
definitely throw them into a tizzy and prevent them from thinking
clearly as they discuss the document that will impact pay, promotion,
and public opinion.
3. Make sure you have the performance review discussion in a public
place, and for best results, sandwich it tightly between two other
appointments so there is no time for the employee to ask questions.
(One person told me she was shocked to find her performance review
"meeting" taking place in the parking lot after leaving the car on
the way to a conference session.)
4. Base your performance standards on a skimpy, out-of-date job
description. That'll really get 'em because then there is no clear
written outline of the job or to base the expectations on. It'll also
add fuel to the fire among employees who have the same job title, but
are doing significantly different tasks.
5. Tell a new employee they are being rated low because they are new
in the job and haven't yet had the chance to "prove themselves". Say
that this will give them room to grow. Smile broadly and promise that
"next time" they'll see better results. Make sure that when "next time"
comes around, they have a new supervisor.
6. Tie your performance development process to the annual pay raise so
you get a "Pavlov's Dog" reaction to the number on the last page rather
than a constructive focus on their professional development.
7. Make your performance review tool so complex and convaluted that
managers and supervisors need a 2 day class to understand it. This
will provide job security for training and HR, as well as allow the
necessary cloud cover to prevent employees from understanding the
process. What better way to keep 'em guessing.
8. Give top ratings to those who get the job done, but leave bloody
bodies in their wake. Make sure that people know that this is a
business, and that soft, touchy-feely stuff like communication and
cooperation are not quantifiable so they don't belong in a performance
review.
9. Use the performance review process as "discipline in disguise". Rather
than a fair approach to helping them develop, spend your time discussing
their faults and failings. Dedicate the majority of the commentary
evaluating the past and only a small percentage planning for the future,
rather than 60% planning, 25% on the past, and 15% on the present.
10. Try to soften the impact by sandwiching praise at the beginning and
the end of the discussion because someone in a class told you that this
approach makes the "bad stuff" easier to hear. (Behavioral scientists
found that feedback is received in a 9 to 1 ratio; negative feedback
lands with 9 times more impact than positive. The "sandwich" approach
doesn't help.)
===============================================
2. Business Development
===============================================
File 13 Your Business in 3 Seconds or Less
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I open my mail over the trashcan and
it takes me less than 3 seconds to decide what stays in the "keep" pile
and what never gets to see the light of day. Business owners spend a ton
of money on 4-color brochures and cleverly designed flyers to try and get
my business. It doesn't matter whether the company is a stranger to me or
one I've purchased from in the past. If it looks like an ad, and smells
like an ad, it goes in the trash. I don't have the time and I don't want
the clutter, so I've become very good and very fast at sorting it out.
What does make the cut? Anything that offers educational value. A local
accountant I'd like to do business with sends a first class stamped
envelope each quarter with tax tips that I find quite helpful. A
home heating company includes info on how to prolong the life of my
furnace and filter recommendations that I pay attention to. A local
credit union offers seminars on identity theft to the general public
and also to member companies that they can offer in-house to employees.
(see www.aafcu.com Community Events for more info) An auto repair center
hosts quarterly clinics on basic auto care and maintenance. Building
supply and remodeling stores offer classes on tiling, plumbing, and
landscaping.
Too much work, you say? Well, from my perspective you have every right
to choose where you put your money and your energy. Personally, I'd
rather put it into efforts that convey I have a customer's best interests
at heart. I'd rather know that when people "show up" it's because they
value the information and may be more likely to see me as a trusted ally
than just another pitch for profit. But if you would rather see your hard-
earned money end up in my trashcan in 3 seconds or less, keep doing the
same old thing. You've certainly got plenty of company!
------------------------------------------------------------
How to Keep Your Sub's Happy:
It's amazing the small things that keep your business running smoothly,
especially if you have subcontractors working for you and the weather
is sweltering. My brother runs a directional boring firm, creatively
titled "Downright Boring" and he presently works on a project in Texas.
It's mighty warm this time of year in Texas! The prime contractor,
Klaasmeyer, takes good care of their subs. They make sure there are
blocks of ice available each day for the workers to help themselves to
stay cool. They also cover the costs and provide a lot of the basic
supplies like white paint to mark the boring holes, which is not typical
of most prime contractors.
So how much do you think it costs to provide ice and white paint as
compared to the costs incurred when a reliable, hard-working, loyal
sub moves his equipment down the road to another job?
Perhaps it's irrelevant. Perhaps hard-working, reliable, loyal
subcontractors are a dime a dozen these days!
==============================================
3. Useful Resources
==============================================
Article: Harvard Business Review, July-August 2005
"Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve"
by Jim Collins (You can download this article from their website
for a small fee, www.harvardbusinessonline.com, go to Best of HBR)
If you still don't believe that employee participate results in
higher productivity and profit, please see this article:
"Examining Worker Productivity" by Bill Snyder at
www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0411/feature_econometrics.shtml
Also see Laura's teleclass on "How to Hit the Numbers: Involve
Employees for Higher Levels of Profit and Performance" on Aug 24th
http://www.acronymfinder.com, An online dictionary of acronyms
http://www.militarywords.com, Military and government acronyms,
abbreviations and military terms (beta version)
http://www.privacyrights.org, The Privacy Rights Clearing House
Well organized site with a guide for employee background checks,
fact sheets on cell phone and email privacy, info on the FTC's
Document Disposal Rule, and a chronology of data breaches reported
since the ChoicePoint incident.
=============================================
4. Shameless You-Know-What
=============================================
Aug-Sept Goodrich Corporation, Aircraft Wheels & Brakes, Pueblo CO,
Team Development Project
Cosmic AES Advanced Engineered Solutions Inc., Human Resources
Employee Guidebook Development Project (Wendy Bersano, Project Partner)
Independent VoVo Service & Repair Specialists, Owner Tim Wilson, Colorado
Springs CO, Business Management Coaching
Innovative Financial Management Inc., Owner Michael Cecere, Colorado
Springs CO, Business Development Coaching
Aug 9 Independent VoVo Service & Repair, Team Meeting, Colorado Springs
Aug 17 Society for Human Resources Management Tampa Chapter, HR Tampa
Fall Expo and Legal Conference, "Teamwork: There IS an 'I' in Team" Aug 31 Southern Colorado Women's Chamber "Accolades" Business Leader
of the Year Award, Keynote: "Resilience in Changing Times"
Sep 8 Society for Human Resources Management Colorado State Conference,
"Teamwork: There IS an "I" in Team", Keystone Resort CO
Sept 21 & 28 Goodrich Corporation Aircraft Wheels & Brakes, Pueblo CO,
"Mid-Management Communication Skills"
Sept 23 & 24 Fort Carson Commanding General's Offsite Conference, Vail CO,
"Teamwork: There IS an 'I' in Team"
Oct 18 Air Academy Federal Credit Union Manager's Meeting, Colorado
Springs CO, "How to Hit the Numbers: Make Employee Development Your
Top Retention Tool"
Oct 19 E-Women Network Dinner Presentation, Ft. Collins CO Lincoln
Center, "Suddenly Self-Employed: Lessons Learned as a Free-Agent "
Nov 3 - Colorado Springs Society for Human Resources Management,
"Call of the Wild: Taming 'Godzilla' and Other Difficult People"
============================================
To get your own personal copy of this newsletter, please visit
www.LauraBenjamin.com/newsletters.htm
If you no longer see the information as valuable and upon your
request, I'll immediately take you off the list.
===========================================
Privacy Statement: I never release your contact info. Ever.
-------------------------------------------------------
Laura Benjamin International Inc.
Colorado Springs CO USA
Phone: 719-266-8088
Fax: 719-785-5768
http://www.laurabenjamin.com
(C)Laura Benjamin International Inc. 2005
Reprints upon request and with attribution please
|
