Randy Joy @ 9:00 am
You know how that old time song went, “we did it before, and we can do it again…”.
As a business leader you are the keeper of great memories, tale bearer of past triumphs of your employees. Let negativity, complaints and flops pass (learn from them, but don’t nurture their memory). Hold tight to all positive memories.
Keeping a list of the top 10 praiseworthy interactions and outstanding work performed helps me continually encourage and promote positive feelings and morale.
By continuously encouraging your team based on the top praiseworthy memories you will motivate them to go even further. And remind them that “they’ve done it before and they can do it again…”
Tags: Productivity
Randy Joy @ 11:00 am
There are children who are scared of being hit by anything thrown at them. These kids, if you lob even a soft, bouncy balloon at them, will crouch down and cover their heads and cower. Then, there are the children who want to catch anything sent their way, even if it means jumping in the air to catch a hardball…without a mitt (ouch!).
Customers will lob much at you many times. As a business owner, you will soon find out that not every customer will be happy all the time. It is our job as business owners to “catch” what is lobbed our way, instead of curling up and cowering from the onslaught.
In fact, we can learn from every interaction with our customer all the time. Dell triumphantly did just that. One unhappy customer wrote a blog called IHateDell.com. Dell took the high road and learned from its customer and changed the way it operated. One customer made a huge impact because of Dell’s ability and value to learn from everyone. Dell “caught” the ball.
How much of your time do you spend listening to your customers and employees?
Tags: Growth
Randy Joy @ 9:00 am
A short story of a CEO who knew how to negotiate a dispute. He was CEO of a major law firm arbitrating between two parties.
The dispute was getting heated and the CEO stopped and asked, “what is the right thing here?“ He wasn’t asking for who could yell louder or felt more wronged. He did not ask who had the more valid attorney or more effective partner. He asked himself, and then asked them all, “what is the right thing?”
Right and wrong are truths, and when we ask for right we are asking to find out the truth. As the CEO of your business, it is always important to stop and ask what is the right thing to do.
When you create a company that is an extension of you, your values of right and wrong join into the core of the business. It is, so to speak, your truth. So this week, if your employees quarrel or a customer complains, keep in mind that the goal is to find out what is the right thing to do – and do it strongly with conviction and with respect for yourself and what you truly value.
This is what a true leader does, heads for truth. When you do so, others, will follow you.
Tags: Leadership, Values
Randy Joy @ 11:00 am
Buzz phrases like “we take full responsibility for our mistakes” are emotionally intelligent phrases which warm the heart and bring new faith toward the speaker.
In the Wall Street Journal, Steve Jobs was defending the new iPhones antenna issues with big quoted statements like “we care about every user and are not going to stop until every one is happy”.
To strive to obtain 100% happy customers and employees a CEO must learn emotional intelligence because every word makes either a positive or negative difference. This means knowing what to say and when…and it also means learning how to convey sincerity in the way you convey your caring.
Tags: Leadership, Management
Randy Joy @ 9:00 am
Working in corporate America I had many bosses, some good and some not. However, I worked for just a handful of leaders.
A leader is someone who talks the talk and walks the walk. A leader will literally lead troops into battle. A business leader is someone who does the right thing no matter what the circumstances. A leader trusts employees and gives them autonomy and help as needed.
A leader learns new information and changes to address new realities and teaches staff to do the same.
A boss, on the other hand, closes his eyes and gets the work done by delegating some of the work to you. Growth and the advancement of himself and his team is not the main focus.
Tags: Leadership, Management
Randy Joy @ 12:00 pm
In American society we are told to medicate pain, numb the senses, ease a tense day with TV, shield us from boredom with video games, numb us from seeing someone else’s sadness by looking away. This desensitization also stops us from growing.
Growth comes from pain. The old saying is that a child is having growing pains as their legs stretch reminds us where the term comes from. In business the pain could be spending a lot of your time on one uncooperative employee or one miscommunication with a customer.
I encourage you instead of taking a numbing pill or firing employees, next time take a moment to truly feel the pain. Become aware of how it feels and what the main root cause of it is. And then start to fix the problem slowly with a long term view to never let the pain happen again.
A quick fix solution is just that it stops the pain now. I encourage my clients to do the hard work to ensure the pain does not return.
Tags: Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, Productivity
Randy Joy @ 9:00 am
“Failure: the tuition you pay for success.” – Chinese fortune cookie
Ever envy someone that seems to have it all? Feeling like a failure because you do not have what they have?
It took me many years to learn that usually it is not the person that I envy or their position but rather something specific they’ve got which I do not. This new awareness that it is something they have helps me strive to get it. By doing the hard work to get that which I don’t have – I earn what I once envied. The pleasure and happiness of working hard and earning something is far greater than if I would have started out with it and been successful already.
Tags: Emotional Intelligence, Growth
Randy Joy @ 10:00 am
This morning I played chess before I started working and meeting with my entrepreneur clients. Not for no reason. (Who said one can’t justify playing games!)
You see, chess gives you an outline of how to make a business a winning entity. At Wharton I took a chess class taught by an international chess champion from Russia. I learned that chess is a game of strategy, long term goals, and short term steps to get to those goals.
In fact, it is exactly like building a good road map that will lead to a long term vision. Chess has a purpose and clear vision and the successful chess strategist plans out each move. In business, if you know where you want to go, understanding the best steps and learning from each mistake will move you to a checkmate.
Your move now, my friend.
Tags: Leadership, Vision
Randy Joy @ 10:00 am
Numb, closed, apathetic, complacent – these terms represent the majority of souls out there just getting by. That zone where today is similar to tomorrow; this year to next; and one decade shuffles into another. Hopes and dreams fade and courage to take the next step are stifled by realities.
On the other hand, a truly growth oriented person will seek the education, support and guidance needed to make unfathomable changes. What seems risky to most – is in fact seen by a grower that not to take that risk might be even riskier.
According to Wikipedia failure is “… the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success.” Thereby, not taking the risk ensures the failure. Failure becomes defined as a missed opportunity.
Likewise, a true growth company feels everything and chooses to morph from every good and bad experience. Opening itself up to learn from every customer and employee experience is seen as the only sure way toward success. Systems are put in place to catch new information and create scheduled flexibility to change.
And carefully calculated risks allow it to remain vibrantly alive.
…………………………………………..
Tags: Growth
Randy Joy @ 1:00 pm
When shopping for my wedding dress many years ago I was encouraged to go to a top bridal shop in NYC. With an appointment far in advance and a long wait before I was taken in to see the dress, I finally was “in”. On showcase were many designer dresses and hundreds of bridal dresses in the back.
After a couple of hours and a bunch of snooty looks from the sales reps, I still could not find anything I liked. Even though I was very young, I thought to myself, why am I going to spend so much money in a place with such aweful service. I decided to pick myself up and go elsewhere even though the place I was in was considered “the” place to get a dress.
I chose a simple Macy’s branch in a pleasant mall that had a wedding department. The salesperson was super nice and patiently helped me look through their selection, while making me feel like a princess the whole time.
I learned an important lesson that has served me well – I only buy and work with people I like. And I’m sure others do the same. Therefore, it works both ways. I seek out those I like working with…and I try to fashion my business into the kind of organization with which people like to interact.
Tags: Management
