How can you use Nadal and Djokovic to motivate business performance ?

The epic encounter at this year’s Australian Tennis Open between Nadal and Djokovic brings to life the value Champions play in our everyday lives.

We all relate to and connect with winning people and winning teams.  Whether it’s on the national  or international stage.

It makes us feel good ... somehow in our psychi we align with this sense of accomplishment ... as if it were our own.

In our minds, we become capable of anything ... even the impossible.   Never give up!  Losing is not an option!  ...

I recently had the pleasure of facilitating feedback from a team of Managers who just completed a year of mentoring from their CEO, Senior Managers and industry specialists.   It was an extraordinary insight into the benefits derived by individuals in their journey of personal growth as well as the significant positive impact, directly to the business.

Interestingly, when asked if they would recommend the experience to others, their response was a resounding ‘Yes’!  For those that know the ‘net promoter’ metric, participants rated the mentoring program +98 out of a possible 100. (Scale 0 – 10)  Sensational!

The company in ...

It’s fantastic having holidays.  For those lucky enough to enjoy a festive season break, taking time to rest, reconnect with the family and  recharge is critical to work effectiveness.

But what about the ‘effective restart’ to the New Year?  Reenergising a work focus can be very difficult for many folks.

In many companies it takes 2 or 3 months to get going .... by then the 1^st quarter of the year is gone. 

If you are behind budget, it sure is difficult to play catch-up.  This puts stress on Managers and eventually the Executive and the Board.

Psychologically, ...

Many of you may be reading this because of the proactive social media activity I have undertaken over the last 2 months.

A concerted and co-ordinated strategy using Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter!  I’d like to share with you the background and short journey as a personal ‘case study’.

CCS is the acronym for ‘Corporate Connection Strategies’.  Over the years we have helped many organisations ‘connect’ with stakeholders at many levels.  CEO’s with their employees, Senior Executives with the Board Members, Companies with their customers.  

Almost 12 months ago I recognised an increasing trend in the business world .... the ...

It’s that time of year again when companies ‘invest’ in their end of year Christmas bash.

In a poll of more than 1,600 CEO’s and Senior Exec’s I discovered the main reasons for end of year employee events ....

‘It’s expected’, ‘We’ve always done it’, ‘To socialise’, ‘To have fun’, ‘To say thank you’.  So is the event held for a business purpose or simply pleasure, or in fact obligation?

Amazingly, very few companies really spend time thinking about the real opportunity an end of year function provides to help achieve the company objectives.

Often the responsibility is given to ...

‘It is lonely at the top’ ... a phrase that many business coaches here all too often.

It seems that several factors contribute to a Leaders sense of loneliness, including: 

- Adversarial Senior Management and Board relationships, 

- Competition and limited interaction within the industry, 

- and  of course ‘the buck stops here’ culture with regard to ‘decision making’.

I want to focus on ‘Leadership style and Organisation culture’ as a specific reason for loneliness and explore the cause and effects that can assist leaders unblock this, and the resulting positive effects  on the business.  Many Leaders or Senior Managers ...

So many Managers ‘wing’ their formal performance management discussions with their people, sometimes it’s no wonder the outcomes are less than satisfactory for both parties.  

Research indicates that more than 50% of the reasons why people leave their place of employment is not because of the salary package, not because of the job role, not because of the ‘colour of the walls’, but because of the breakdown of the relationship with their direct Manager.

So here are  a few pointers that could make a significant difference to your relationships with your team.

1. Process – Use a tried and ...

I recently attended a trade show in Darling Harbour in Sydney. A particular product caught my eye, one that I felt may be a good solution and excellent fit for a client.

After taking a few moments to discuss the product benefits with a young person on the stand I realised that I may need to chat to someone else as he did not have the experience or knowledge to provide the necessary information.

I asked him who the ‘Sales Director’ was, and if it was possible to speak to him or her. 

Perhaps a contact phone number would be helpful. ...

If there is one thing that has really been obvious to me recently, is the need for Leadership to be abreast of ‘What’s happening around them?’. Awareness of changed competitive landscapes, awareness of changed production environments, awareness of changed employee and customer needs.

Extended at an Executive level, awareness of how are the needs of Boards are changing.  Awareness of globailisation (The world is flat), awareness of Technology innovation and the impact on your business.  

Most businesses are very focused on daily operational issues. Delivering the numbers!  So what are your tactics to keep in touch with changing critical concepts that ...

In my last blog I challenged the strategy alignment process and whether companies are adapting their product and services to meet new and changed customer expectations. 

Those companies that continue to ‘listen’ to customer feedback will always have an advantage in product innovation or brand positioning. 

Recent studies we have conducted, on behalf of clients in both B2B and B2C environments indicate significant insights related to both services and products.

The analysis of verbatim comments, rather than the statistical results are proving to be ‘gold’.  Identifying trends in common language and sentiment allows for specific feedback to be ...