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How can you create a great corporate culture? Have you heard the one…

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What does it take to build a great culture in your company?

First you need to know where you’re going – and we covered that in How to Define Your Achievable Strategy in the next 15 Minutes,

Part of it is knowing why you’re doing it – the mission behind your company –  “The first thing you do is teach the person to feel that the vision is very important and nearly impossible.  That draws out the drive in the winner.”
– Edwin Land, founder of Polaroid
Corporate culture is all about answering the question:
“How will we treat each other on this road together?”

What stories do you tell?  What do you celebrate?  This is something that I saw done very well at Marriott International.

They intentionally told the story of the 9 seat root beer stand that Mr. Marriott and his wife started in downtown DC, and how the company grew.

More than only being about the past, they actually built a database of stories where employees were celebrated for demonstrating the values that Marriott says they want to see.

The stories they told were about times when team members were selfless and thought of others, because Marriott is in the hospitality business – the business of caring for the needs of others.  They knew it was important, and taught leaders in the company to be sure that they TOLD those stories to their teams, even teams that didn’t directly work with guests.

What stories do you tell?  Are they stories of a hero who pulled an all-nighter to deliver at the last minute?  Are they about the time that a team member let you down?
Or…
Are they the stories about how someone served a customer in a surprising and meaningful way?
How a team sacrificed for another team to do something important?

You choose the culture where you work – what do you want to see happen?  What stories will you tell today?  What stories will you write down today? What stories will you hear, will resonate with you, and then purpose to tell tomorrow?

The culture will happen with or without you.  Unless you’re intentional about it, the stories will be about the mundane and negative.  You can make them be about what is special, meaningful, and rich.  And you can have fun telling them, too.

Telling good stories to shape your culture is an important part of Raising Your Game.

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How to be happier and more successful in 20 seconds a day – literally!

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I recently heard an interview with Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage
He talked about some exciting research on happiness. 

Happy people are more productive
I’m not talking about the “rose-colored glasses” kind of happiness, I’m talking about happiness based on facts.  It seems that happier people are more productive – a LOT more productive.

Our brain can find itself in a state of happiness, neutral, negativity, or stress.  It turns out that the research tells us that when your brain is in a state of happiness you will outperform every other state.

In one study doctors who are happy were able to diagnose problems 50% faster with 3 times the intellectual flexibility.

That kind of result translates to significant increases in productivity and profitability.

Achor talks about a study where managers made a new habit – they praised just one person per day, 21 days in a row.  What this study showed was that six months later those teams had a 31% higher level of productivity.   This is not pollyanna or pie in the sky stuff – this is about hard business results!

What if I’m just not a “happy person”?
The really exciting part of this is that you can re-train your brain, and you can do it in just a few seconds a day.  Achor has found that if you can add a small habit to your routine, you can “prime” your brain to move from negative, neutral or stressed to happy.  This small change moves you to the zone where you perform your best.

What is this powerful and simple tactic?  Achor listed two options:

  1. When you open your email in the morning, write an email – no longer than TWO SENTENCES – which recognizes or praises a team member for their performance or contribution.  OR
  2. As you start your day (or kick off a meeting) take a few seconds to call out 3 things for which you are thankful.
That’s all there is to it.  
If you can do this for 21 business days, it will become a habit.  Your brain will be more easily “set” into the pattern of highest capability, and you will rapidly be at your best.  
A really powerful side effect of this is that your actions will have “primed” those around you to move to their best as well.
Taking advantage of this powerful “brain hack” is a part of Raising Your Game.

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I don't have time to be afraid. Do you?

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Are you frozen by fear?

I was trading emails with a fellow entrepreneur the other day on the topic of fear.  We don’t always call it that – sometimes we call it “procrastination” which is really fear of failure or criticism – one of the things we tell ourselves to justify standing still.

We were talking about how easy it is to question everything and find ourselves awash in indecision.

I asked him about the difficult life circumstance that spurred him to take action on his entrepreneurial vision:  “Once the worst that could happen happened, you became fearless?”

His response was excellent.  He said

“It wasn’t the worst that could happen, but it was bad enough to instill in me a sense of urgency.

When worrying if a forum post is worded just so, or wondering if I should take a particular tone in a blog, or worrying what someone will think if I send them an email out of the blue, I frequently realize I just don’t have time. 

If something feels like I should do it or it looks at least 75% correct or it meets the minimum requirement for not being dumb, I just do it.  

Fear isn’t a consideration because I don’t have time to wait for a perfect situation to arrive that’s risk-free.”

This is the heart of entrepreneurship – overcoming what Seth Godin calls the “resistance” in the “Lizard Brain” holding us back.

What is holding you back today?  Do you have time for that?

I teach my kids “Courage is not the absence of fear.  True courage is when you’re afraid, but you do the right thing anyway – in spite of being afraid.”

If you’re going to fail today, do it as a result of taking action.  Don’t stand still like a deer in the headlights because you’re uncertain about the outcome.

Bold risk taking based on the wisdom resulting from your experiences is a key part of Raising Your Game.

Go for it!

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"What did you say?" 3 steps to better listening.

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In the early days of my marriage I quickly learned how easy it is to mis-communicate with someone!
If you find yourself not understanding someone, have you asked them to explain? Did you listen when they spoke? Are you sure you heard them? Are you sure you understood?
3 steps to better listening:
  1. Focus your attention on the other person and ask for the explanation.
  2. Repeat back to them what they just said and ask “Is that right?”
  3. Ask “Is there anything else?”
  1. Focus your attention on the other person and ask for the explanation.
    The world is filled with all sorts of distractions – from TV to a ringing telephone to text messages and emails. Shut them out.
    Stephen Covey said it well:“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”
Let’s take a scenario where a prospective client has asked for your services, but before you work out exactly what they need, he tells you that you need to submit a price for the work. How can you accurately price the work before knowing the scope? Why would he ask for something so dumb?
“Can you explain why you need cost of the proposal before we completely define the project plan?”
“Before I can get funding for a project, I need to fill out a project justification form and take it to management. They need the cost of the project to determine if there’s enough budget to go around to fund it.”
  1. Repeat back to them what they just said and ask “Is that right?”
    This may seem awkward, and it is hard to do something that feels unnatural, but it’s important.
    It still surprises me how often my wife says: “No. That’s not what I said.”
    Repeating back accomplishes two important items:
    a) It assures you that you really did understand what they said
    b) It assures them that you really did understand what they said
“So you’re saying that you need the price now because your management needs to review the cost against available budget before approving the project. Is that right?”
“Yes”
  1. Ask “Is there anything else?”
    This lets the other person know that you are making it a priority to hear them – really hear them.
“Great. Thank you for explaining that. Is there anything else you need from me to complete your project request?”
“No. I can get it done once you give me the price.”
At this point you can ask more about the process – including whether there’s a change order process, or if the first price you provide needs to be fixed, or if you can revise your price after getting budget approval.
Give it a shot. While the initial discussions may go more slowly than you’d like, I think you’ll be be surprised at how rarely you’ll need to go back to “clarify” what someone said.

You’ll also improve your relationships. Better relationships lead to more business over the long haul.

Listening well is an important part of raising your game.

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Am I coachable?

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What does it meant to be coachable?

It’s not a reflection of intelligence, capacity, or talent.  Brilliant players frequently run into difficulty because they are not open to being coached.

According to Ruben Guzman, there are four stages of coachability.

  1. Not Coachable
  2. Selectively Coachable
  3. Reluctantly Coachable
  4. Completely Coachable

1. Not Coachable:

Someone who is not coachable is not interested in listening to a coach. 

When I think of “not coachable” I think of Winston Churchill who was quoted as saying  “I am always ready to learn although I am not always ready to be taught”

No one would question that Churchill had an amazing grasp of the English language and a compelling way of influencing people through seemingly impossible situations.  Yet with all of his talent and capacity he was unwilling to listen to others, unless it was his idea.

If you’re not coachable, hiring a coach would be like teaching a pig to sing.

 
2. Selectively Coachable

If you’re “Selectively Coachable,” you will listen to the coach when the coach agrees with you.

When I think about someone being selectively coachable, I think of  Randy Moss or  Terrell Owens 

Even if you’re not a big sports fan, you have probably heard of these phenomenally talented players who seem to run into trouble over and over again.  You might think they are “not coachable” but they must be coachable at some level.  There’s no way they would have made it to the NFL, and to that level of success without some willingness to be coached. If you’re “Selectively Coachable” I would suggest you wait before looking for a coach.  (Randy Moss has played for 3 teams so far during the 2010 NFL season.)

  3. Reluctantly Coachable

Someone who is “Reluctantly Coachable” is willing to listen to a coach, and do what the coach says even when he or she disagrees with what the coach has to say.  This person is uncertain of the wisdom of the coaches’ recommendations but is willing to follow their guidance.  To the extent that they trust the coach, they begin to see improvement. 

4. Completely Coachable

Someone who is completely coachable entrusts their success to the wisdom of the coach.  This is rare, but it can be seen in the lives of Olympic Champions. It is the foundation of transformational achievement and opens the doorway to possibilities which were previously unimagined.

 The question you have to ask yourself is “Where am I today in the levels of coachability?”

Even if you’re a 2 today, but are committed to moving to a 3, I’d think seriously about starting a coaching relationship. If you’re a 3 today and want to move to a 4, what are you waiting for? Give me a call for a free initial coaching session!
240–668-4799 
tom@brighthillgroup.com
 

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Why hire a coach?

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You’re the leader of a successful emerging business.  Your sales are strong.  You’ve got a solid team.  You’re profitable.  Why do you need a coach?

The fact is, if what you want is more of what you’re already getting from your team, then you probably don’t want to hire a coach.  If you’re satisfied with your marketing, sales, teamwork, leadership, vision, communication and methods of “keeping score” then you won’t benefit from the work you need to do to be coached.

You’re probably amazing in your area of expertise.  Entrepreneurs with successful companies usually are.   One thing to consider is that all the time you invested in becoming amazing in your field is time you didn’t spend focusing on all of the aspects of growing a healthy business.

What that means is that while your business has grown, it’s got some parts that run like a Swiss watch, and other parts that run like a Yugo.  What’s worse is that we all see the things that we want to see, and have blind spots when we are outside our comfort zone.

A coach won’t claim to be better than you are in your field.  There’s little chance of that.  You’ve proven your expertise.  What a coach will do is see what you don’t see.  Tiger Woods has a swing coach because the swing coach is able to come alongside him and help him in his blind spots.

I hope that you are thrilled with your corporate and team performance and your work-life balance.  In the event that you’re not, consider hiring a coach who can help.

Contact Me

BrightHill Group
240-668-4799

PO Box 1561
Harrisburg NC 28075

info@BrightHillGroup.com