Mike, Author at The Third Zone

Jan 08 2015

Sweetening the Taste of Your Success

Last month our blog pertained to making one’s list of New Year’s resolutions as being something many do and there it ends. Making the typical New Year’s resolution into very real resolve happens only when your list is supported by a concrete plan to take you from where you are today to the ultimate achievement of the goal. Without this, the list of resolutions remains no more than a wish list.

So far so good? As it relates to the workplace, I’d like to think that all of us on this 8^th day of January are starting out well focused on our goals for 2015 because we’ve made our plan. As such we have a vision that is supported by one of the necessary ingredients that will enable us to be successful.

I recently came upon an article published in INC. magazine that provides some valuable insight as what we need to be mindful of as we begin executing our plan. It’s entitled “5 Desirable Traits of Great Employees” by Kevin Daum. The article is written from the HR perspective when trying to identify potential contributors. Regardless, demonstrating them as a part of who you are going forward in the job adds potential momentum of the very things you want to achieve this year. I put these forward as the second ingredient worth serious consideration to supplement your effort.

The five traits below are summarized as follows:

Accountability
You can be smart, likeable and talented but, if you can’t be trusted to do what you say you’ll do, you are likely to attract the kind of attention that will work against the very things you’ve resolved to do. Great employees find their own path to success without being micromanaged.
Flexibility
Demonstrating that you are flexible and willing to go with a potentially changing flow goes hand in hand with your desire to move upward. This may entail a willingness to break a rule and in doing so still end up with a favorable result.
Creativity
You demonstrate this by making unexpected connections or asking unexpected questions. That is a good indication of the creative thinking that is important in one’s movement upward.
Communication
This is demonstrated by your willingness and ability to communicate important information, ideas and challenges effectively. Pay attention to non-verbal skills you are projecting as well using active listening skills and the facial expressions you exhibit. Finally, making eye contact is a great communicator of your comfort level.
Passion
Conveying passion … a true excitement to be a part of an organization … is not something seen throughout many organizations. To the extent that you are excited about where you are headed in achieving your resolve for this year, let it show and, for certain, it will be noticed and welcome.

The self-imposed work you have signed on for is related to what you want to achieve this year. The traits conveyed above are simply ways that you might want to be as you carry out your plan because they have the potential of adding the frosting to your efforts. And just as the frosting adds something sweet to the cake, you will be potentially sweetening the results of your efforts this year. Want a slice?

Mike Dorman

Dec 17 2014

From Germany … a Gift or a Wrench in the Machinery?

Talk about an eye-catching article headline … this one definitely got my attention:
“Germany Examines Ban on Employees Checking Work Emails at Home!”

Can you imagine? Some German companies are actually and voluntarily forging a path to what they believe will
result in greater productivity and a happier employee and primarily, because they actually leave their work at the
office and use their ‘away’ time to focus on other aspects of their lives.

Consider what Volkswagen has done as a German based company. They have capped after-work email for some employees who have been issued company-owned smartphones. For workers under wage agreements, the company’s email server is programmed to stop delivering messages between 6:15 p.m. and 7 a.m. the following morning. Weekends are also off-limits. A company spokesperson told NBC News that “Supervisors and employees regard the regulation as a signal to respect recreation times and to interrupt after-work hours only in emergencies.”

What the issue of work-related emails also illustrates is the broader problem … that of a strong increase of time pressure, requirements and high performance standards,” and more and more people take work home.”

Doesn’t this sound like what you know in terms of the attitude that permeates the company you work for or lead in the U.S.A.? What’s that you say? “No?” Well I don’t see it either in the work we do in organizations as coaches. Rather I hear about the work environment that seems to expect something akin to 24/7 in terms of being available to respond to various communications … be them from ‘the boss’, a co-worker, customer or supplier. That’s why the smart phones seem to be physically attached to our bodies. We take them to restaurants in the evenings and on the weekends. We reluctantly turn them off in movies … just because ‘they’ tell us we have to. And there they are hanging from our hips, in our pants pocket or purse when we’re doing something with our friends or family simply because we see ourselves and our job responsibilities as requiring us to be ‘on call’ at all times.

RELAX WORK
The Advantages of Life Balance

Here’s what I’m curious about and suggest that we all ask ourselves these questions:

Is it the company’s expectation that we be available for business related emails and phone calls beyond the normal workday or…
- Might it be that we presume that we need to do this if we really want to get ahead?
- Is doing this a form of self-validation that helps us feel important and needed because we are busy and have so much to do?
And … whether it’s a self-imposed expectation or that of the company, at what price do we follow this routine?
- What is the potential cost of failing to regenerate our own batteries with some down time?
- What would be the advantages of looking at down time from the job as a way to energize ourselves when on the job?
- What is the impact on our families … partner and or children … when we find ourselves squeezing them into our routine without consciously making them our ‘front-burner’ focus?

Maybe the organization for whom you work is very clear in expecting you to always leave room in your life for business related needs and demands. On the other hand and to the extent that you presume that this is what it takes to move forward and upward, it might well be worthy of evaluating. My guess is that often times this is a demand that we place on ourselves. The above referenced article contains this quote. “Good and healthy work that can be maintained for a long time is a competitive advantage” This sounds like the makings of a winner all the way around. Can you just imagine?

Mike Dorman

Dec 04 2014

New Year Resolutions … A Wish List or True Resolves?

Ah .. December. It comes around every year and it’s such a full and busy month. On the personal side it’s a time for holiday celebration. It’s a month filled with family and friends. It’s a time for gift giving and receiving. Hectic and still fun.

And then there is our life at work and the jobs we have. In some cases it means stepping on the accelerator to close sales or close out projects before the year end. In a general sense it means wrapping things up needed to complete the year. And often, it involves finalizing the plan for your company, department, or position for next year. Combine the personal and the business portions of our lives and we have one jam-packed year end … guaranteed!

There’s one activity that many, many people add to the mix of December busy-ness and that involves making their New Year resolutions or the individual’s list of things one ‘vows’ to do in the coming year. What has always fascinated me is that as fast as some are to announce their resolutions, they seem just as willing to tell you how quickly they fell off the table. Thus I have come to view such resolutions as some form of a wish list … things that one might really want to accomplish. However, with little planning around it as to what needs to happen to achieve such resolves, the likelihood it happening is greatly reduced … as in slim to none. Thus, this is the key reason that I have not ever engaged in this practice

That is until now. You see … making a plan for things I’d like to accomplish ‘next year’ makes sense. I just don’t want to make it a dream list on no real foundation. So this year I vowed to attempt to make my business related resolutions in a way that would make achieving them realistic. Here’s the plan that seems to be working for me as related to the work I do and it just might have a payoff for you as well.

During the first half of this month seriously evaluate your job and how you feel you performed.

What new skills did you learn and what did you do to learn them?
With your new learning, what does that enable you to do in terms of taking on more responsibility or becoming involved in new projects?
What weaknesses did you discover about your abilities as related to your work and what have you done or will you need to do to turn them into strengths going forward?
And for the dream part … one year from now where would you like to be that would reflect positive growth in knowledge, performance and … (why not?) … income?

Taking adequate time to contemplate these questions and develop real and meaningful answers is key. With them, I believe you will now have the basis for making meaty resolutions that are based on a foundation you’ve built up to now and the plan to grow beyond. Certainly that’s my intention. I want to avoid being a ‘fantasizer’ and, rather, become a fanatic driven to achieve my resolutions. No wish list for me. It’s about what I did by intention.

Granted, December is one busy month for so many reasons. And yet, I’m determined to make time for doing the ground work for a meaningful New Year’s resolution list. Next December, the payoff will be looking back on the gains I made personally in my work and credit the fact that I endeavored to make resolutions that well beyond ‘wishes’. Care to join me?

Mike Dorman

Nov 19 2014

Pitching the Sharks in Your Organization

I’m not certain how many of our readers are familiar with the TV show “Shark Tank” however it’s a favorite in my home. Why? Probably because it is built around entrepreneurs who have started a business. And, in order to take it to the next level, they make a pitch to a panel of accomplished businesspeople (the Sharks) who might be interested in investing their own money in the business for a percentage of the company. Maybe you’re familiar with those on the “Shark” Panel: Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O’leary. Each of these people are self-made successes and well qualified to ‘interview’ others wanting to follow in their footsteps.

The presentations are often interesting and even entertaining and those who attract an investor seem to be the ones who have a well thought-out plan as well as a good hold on their numbers to date and their needs to achieve the desired growth and how they . And each week that I watch it I can’t help but to think about the great ideas that, I’m convinced, reside within the minds of so many imaginative and creative people working in many, many companies … and never get presented or implemented.

So let’s pretend here. Pretend that there exists a ‘Shark Tank’ in your organization. It could be made up of senior management of the company or of your department. Of course they see their job as steering what they oversee to greater and greater heights in terms of success. As such they spend many hours envisioning possibilities and devising plans to achieve the desired ones. This is where you go daily to make your contribution and too often, leave the steering decisions to that shark tank.

Still, I wonder … what

IDEAS do you have that would make the company or your department more successful? What new products do you think would expand your product line that make sense? What new processes can you suggest that would streamline the efficiency? What new market do you believe is ripe for the company to enter?
FACTS and FIGURES do you need to present to justify your beliefs and justify the proposed change you are making?
‘SHARKS’ within the organization DO you believe you need to present to in order to advance and ultimately get approval for your concept.

So let me guess that you’ve come up with a number of things that you could take to your shark tank however you’re not inclined to charge ahead. Why? Is it possible that …

You don’t see this as your job and want to keep your nose to the grindstone in what you’ve been hired to do and leave the steering to the sharks?
You’re concerned that you might be chastised for tending to business that is not yours and be marked as one to watch for the wrong reasons?
You’re still not sure you have all of the answers and hold-back for fear of being wrong in spite of your well thought-out idea and plan?

We can assure you of one thing with certainty. There is not a single person who qualifies to be a Shark who got there because they avoided making errors. In fact, they got there, in part, because of their mistakes. Taking your ideas designed to help your organization be more successful does carry the risk that you may not be 100% correct in your facts or assumptions. At the same time it also offers the reward of being seen as a creative and thinking team member who, through your thoughts and ideas, are playing a key role in helping the company achieve the very success that all aim to achieve. Not all sharks are out to get us. Don’t be intimidated by the sharp teeth. They don’t always bite.

Mike Dorman

Oct 26 2014

PART 2 – When the Generational Divide Is Just That … Divisive … and the Impact on Business

Authors Note: This is the second of a two-part blog article. The first part was published last week and can be found HERE

Last week in our blog I identified a situation that is becoming more prevalent in the workplace … one of a generational divide impacting the success and the speed of it in companies. You can read Part I here (input the link to the first half of this blog). The problem is rather than each group looking to bridge the generational divide and take advantage of the learning and added power that results, the differences become the focus. What suffers? The company and the progress that could be made if everyone were focused on what was really important.

What is needed is to break this unproductive cycle and help people return to an environment of 1 + 1 = 3. Here are some rather basic steps we see as key to change the path:

Help everyone understand the various strengths that each person brings to the table in terms of experience, knowledge and skills. After all, it’s fair to presume that each person is there and being paid a salary because of the contribution they to make.

Have each person identify those to whom they can turn as a valuable resource as they do their respective jobs. Explore the benefits of drawing on such a resource.

Provide training for each generational group to help them advance. In the case of more senior people, introduce them to resources that help them learn to use basic technological tools. Demonstrate the benefits to them of incorporating the new skills into their work. Be clear that the refusal to learn such things will actually handicap the company.

Be clear that embracing current technology is as important as staying current in the core business competencies. To not do so will likely impact the overall company achievement and an individual’s performance review.

In the case of the younger generation, help them to appreciate the benefits of personal contact rather than automation. Provide them with real examples of how the building of relationships facilitates the growth and capture a larger market share. There is no technology that will eradicate the value of interpersonal exchange when it comes to developing trust and confidence in another.

Not surprisingly, the recognition of the need to alter the focus in an organization often comes from those leading the charge. That some are beginning to do this is a real benefit to the company. However, it doesn’t have to come from those at the top. Do YOU sense that the focus within your organization has become one of besting or looking down upon the other group … older, younger or in the middle? And do you realize that you might be paying a price for that in terms of progress and success the company is having? Then you, too, have the ability to raise this as an issue to be resolved. It needs to happen.

Go on. If you are seeing this in your organization, raise the issue. You’ll have a lot of support to say nothing of the credit you stand to receive for being the visionary. It’s certainly not a negative kind of attention.

Mike Dorman

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