The Close Shave: A Great Idea for Leaders and Managers.

Many of you have heard that Alberta is introducing a "Distracted Driver" law this fall. It will fine people who are distracted while driving. What "distraction" means is at the judgment call of the officer watching you. It may be for talking on your hand held cellphone. It could also be for flossing your teeth or trying to balance a Wendy's Combo Meal on your lap while also navigating the road.

This past week I would have been guilty as charged!

The culprit: My new electric shaver.

The story: A great reminder of an important leadership principle for personal and team growth.

Before you lynch me: I wasn't trying to shave as I was driving (although I have witnessed that).

I recently bought my first electric razor. While saving on the costs of a $3 disposable blade that might last 4 shaves is great, I have to confess it has taken a bit to get used to.

With the old disposable blade, one swish line around my face and the hairs in my blade's path were gone. With the electric shaver, I'm finding I'm having to take 3, 4, even up to 10 swipes at those same stubborn hairs to get the same result.

So on Thursday of this past week I was at home getting ready to deliver a Supervisors Workshop in Calgary. I spent around 5 minutes swerving my new electric shaver around my face... straight paths up, straight paths down and circular motions. After about five minutes, it looked like I had achieved the desired result: a clean-shaven face!

I was a happy camper until having left our neighbourhood, I glanced in the rear view mirror of my car. Thursday was a fantastically sunny day in Calgary and to my horror (and distraction) the brilliant light of the sun combined with the magnification of the rear view mirror exposed a few things that the dimmer lighting of my bathroom had not. Like:

Two hairs that stood out like pine treees between my upper lip and my nose.

The equivalent to a Red Wood Forest growing beautifully on the left side of my face just under the chin bone and many seedlings still emerging at various and random spots on my face.

I felt like i would have been better cast as a creature in a horror film that day than as a professional trainer of a management workshop. I had to buy a disposable blade on the way and finish what I had started with my electric razor.

The experience reinforced a great management principle to me:

Everyone on your team (including you) is coming to your workplace with their strengths (perfect shave) and weaknesses (my less than perfect shave).

Great individuals and teams are not afraid to shine the full light of the sun on both of them. As a a leader, you know that when team members can feel free to openly share their strengths and weaknesses, you can put each individual in a position to succeed and use their strengths. The strengths of one team member will cover the weakness of another and vice versa. Overall the team is put in the best position to win.

After all, it is only when we are truly comfortable looking at who we really are today that we can create a powerful vision and plan for the person or team we want to be tomorrow.

Happy Shaving! just not while driving please :O)

David Benjatschek is a professional speaker/trainer and rock star change agent whose Leadership & Communication Workshops span across North America. Two new powerful public workshops will be hitting Ontario & Alberta this summer and fall. For details on the First Time Manager's Two Day Boot Camp or Prioritize and Organize for Success CLICK HERE. You can reach David by email: david@marketbeamer.com

Get Organized

Getting Organized. Maybe this is one of your New Year's Resolutions, something you've always wanted to improve on but have struggled with. I've been there.. done that.

If you want a place to start, it may not be with the usual suspects:

1) Implementing a new filing system.

2) Buying and using a Daytimer or PDA.

Great things in themselves, but I'm going to encourage you to the take the following first step in Getting Organized:

Organize a Team! YOUR team.

Each one of you have cheerleaders in your life. People in your workplaces, families and friendship circles that love you for who you are. They are genuinely excited about your potential. They stand on the sidelines cheering you on and wanting the best for you. They would jump into the game in a heartbeat if only they knew what you wanted from them. Your goals, dreams, aspirations.

After all, Goals need to be shared and then shared if you know what I mean. When you share your goals with the Cheerleaders in your life you bring them into the game. They will play hard for you because they share that vision for you. They will block, tackle and open up the field for your success.

I got lucky. I never used to want to "Bore" people with what I wanted in life until one person dragged it out of me. I told them and two months later they were in a position to help me achieve it. They came back from a party with a business card and said "Phone her. I think this opportunity is what you are looking for" One innocent conversation with a Cheerleader in my life lead to 15 great years with a great company.

I'm excited that as you build a team of 2, 5 or even dare to dream...12 people working on your goals that your path to your dreams will be more focused, efficient and less stressful. After all a team of 12 should be able to get things done much quicker than an organization of one, even if the organization of one has the use of their daytimer mastered!

So 2 key questions:

1) Who are your cheerleaders? Write down the names of 5 people in your life who want the best for you.

2) Are they in the game? I know you are friends, have always done things together. They know your favorite wine, what you like to eat and the quirks of your inlaws. My question is do they really know what your life goals are?

If you've never shared your goals with the cheerleaders in your life, make that an urgent and important task on tommorrow's to do list.

Organize a team, YOUR team and watch your success unfold.

David Benjatschek is an award winning speaker/trainer in the areas of Leadership & Communication. Visit his website at http://www.marketbeamer.com/ or email david@marketbeamer.com to find out more about the Freedom House Leadership & Communication Workshop Series that includes topics like "Get Organized!"

Own the Podium

Rampant flag waving, record number of gold medals, throngs of people cheering, a share of heart wrenching disappointments, amazing stories of courage and achievement, spontaneous outbursts of Oh Canada: These are just a few of the outcomes of the recent 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.

Behind it all, a program called Own the Podium. What can companies and individuals learn from this initiative?

1) The overarching goal of Own the Podium was specific and measurable: Win the most medals of any country at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Black and White. History showed that number would be between 28 - 36. Make your goals specific and measurable. When people have a clue to what is specifically expected of them .. don't be surprised if they deliver it for you. My experience is that most "podiums" are not that well defined in companies.

2) The goal was understood. Understanding doesn't just come from saying something once. Here are a couple facts that can help us be understood.

- People remember 30 percent of what they see and hear. Yes.. well educated, motivated, bright Canadians will take away on average 30 of what they see and hear. Most goal setting sessions I've ever seen in corporations were death by powerpoint followed by the question "Do you have any questions?" (Do we really think most people will have the courage to stand up in public and question the direction laid out by a management team that controls their destiny? No. Your answer will be NO 95 percent of the time and YES there are questions.. lots and lots of them.)

- People remember 90 percent of what they say and do. The best way to ensure your employee's understanding of specific goals/objectives is to ask them in a private setting to tell you what they believe their performance objectives are. Unclear objectives will pop out instantly as they struggle to tell you about them. Catching these upfront is not only beneficial to you.. its beneficial to them. You win, they win and your company wins. Just do it.


Finally the goal of Own the Podium was communicated and communicated and communicated again. So much so that you could see athletes starting to Believe it. Yes it was a well chosen theme song :O). If we truly believe we can accomplish something, we have a great chance at success. As Canadian athletes achieved much of what they believed .. they have other Canadians starting to believe in themselves as well. Flag waving, cheering, learning, singing. Okay ..except for the singing .. isn't that what we'd love for our companies?! Own YOUR podium.

David Benjatschek is a motivational trainer/speaker in the areas of Leadership & Communication. Visit www.marketbeamer.com for full information on David and the training available to your organization. You can email David: david@marketbeamer.com

Getting What You are Worth

A couple weeks ago I laid helpless in my dentist's chair with a power drill down my throat. Rob, my dentist of several years and a towering figure launched into something he was obviously very convicted about that day. “Dave, I do not have an ounce of guilt charging you today for my services. We're renovating our house and I just got the designer's invoice. Wow.. he sure is not afraid to charge.”

What could I say?! No matter what I thought of his outburst, I wasn't in a position to argue.

Ironically and thankfully Rob's designer launched a curious and positive chain of events.

Because the designer wasn't afraid to charge, Rob's Power Drill Manifesto about it all affected me later that day as I went to quote a prospect I really wanted.

The temptation with business we really want is to focus everything on the lowest possible price. Sometimes with the only reward being that we might actually make some money down the road with more business. Rob's manifesto reminded to me to just ask for what I was worth.

Getting what you are worth. What a concept.

For many of us it may seem like some sort of far off dream.

It is a concept that:

a) Many of the business people that attend my Communication & Leadership seminars struggle with.

b) I have to keep myself honest with on a daily basis.

c) Having served the Transport Sector for close to 20 years: I recognize as one of the primary issues that needs to be addressed in helping build the foundation for a vibrant, resilient and successful transport sector in Canada for future years.

Let's face it, the consequences of not getting what you are worth are many:

Loss of Self Esteem

Anger

Frustration

A negative attitude

all leading to Financial Struggles both on a corporate and personal level

Can I encourage you with a personal and corporate truth that I always need to remind myself of:

I am always in control. No one can undervalue me unless I let them.

I am extremely fortunate to mingle with some positive leaders each and every year in the concept of getting what you are worth. They are many of the men and women who win their way into the annual Wowtrucks® Calendar I photograph and produce. Wowtrucks® is my way of combining two personal passions, photography and people.

I take 3 trophy winners from each of the 4 major show n shines across Canada each year and together they form Canada's Big Rig Calendar. The calendar, even more importantly than showcasing really cool trucks also showcases really cool people. To me the image of the truck is simply a portrait representation of that person.

Your clients/prospects get images of your truck(s)/fleet every day. What do those images say about your or your company?

Many of the Owner Operators who win their way into the calendar are not afraid to ask for what they are worth and they tend to get it. They are certainly not completely immune to swings in the economy, however in tougher times they are still making more than their counterparts who don't get the concept of asking for what you are worth.

Sometimes they achieve this by accepting to do less and not taking business that is demanding them to work for far less than they are worth.

Here's the chain of events that are common to their stories:

1. They take pride in their Rig and their fleet.

2. Customers see that and start to associate it with quality and reliability.

3. They deliver on their promise. Loads delivered on time, safely by drivers who are happy to be there and care about the client.

4. Long term positive relationships form and clients recognize the value of dealing with them.

5. That value translates past a $ per mile cost and they aren't under the same constant pressure to match bottom market pricing at all times that their peers are under.

6. Because they feel valued they feel good about going back to Step 1.

At this point I know a few of you will be thinking to yourself

“Earth calling Dave! Earth calling Dave!" Very nice on paper buddy but my clients will never pay me what I think I'm worth and there's not a thing I can do about it.

If I don't take the business at those lower rates there's another company that will in a heartbeat.”

I hear you and reality says that that all to frequently you are absolutely right.

And while my answer is slightly more involved than the straight forward path I'm going to suggest: The basic solution path I would encourage you with is:

• Provide value to your clients (1000's of ways to do this aside from cost per mile)

• Ask for what you are worth.

• Potentially walk away from clients who won't pay you what you are worth.

• Let your competitors take that business at non sustainable rates and drown.

• Be happier and thrive in a very competitive industry.

The alternative is accepting less than your worth and in a nightmare scenario actually surviving. Surviving as an unhappy, underpaid, overstressed supplier of transport services complaining and blaming everyone around you for your circumstance. Even when the reality is it was a choice you made and continue to make.

If you provide value to your clients and go out and ask for what you worth, the absolute worst thing that can happen is they won't recognize it and that you transfer your skills and talents to a marketplace or industry that will.

Canada is full of corporate and personal examples of where Getting What you are Worth is not a pipe dream. Getting what you are worth simply boils down to two choices we make on a daily basis:

1) Providing Value

2) Asking to be recognized for it

Confuscious once said: ""Strive not to be a man of success. Instead strive to be a man of value."

He is right. From personal experience, when I've just focused on providing value, success measured by monetary and other rewards just seems to naturally follow. If each one of us were to take that message to heart and go ask for it, it would radically change the face and health of the transport sector in Canada today.

If you need a nudge to get moving, just envision your dentist with a power drill down your throat!

Cut to the Chase

I know many of my friends appreciate people who get right to the point, or in other words: "Cut to the Chase"

Cutting to the Chase is also a great thing to remember to do when dealing with conflict. Let's just say that someone bursts into your space with their voice up, body animated and is more or less really upset about something.

Consider this: Joe (a workmate) barges into your space and starts screaming “I can't believe you're asking me to do this now! It is due tommorrow and it means I'm going to have to stay late to get it done. I'm NOT Happy.” You can add in any expletives that might normally accompany those words.

My advice: Cut to the Chase.

Cutting to the Chase means separating thoughts from feelings.

What are Joe's feelings?

They are definitely anger and frustration. If you react to those you're in for a fight. On some days, this might seem appealing, especially if you are looking to unload some frustration as well, but we all know it won't help either of you in the long run. When you put someone's “nose out of joint” they won't see past it to hear what you are actually talking about. Arguing resolves nothing.

Effective Communicators address the thought of a statement.

Always ask : What are they really asking me for?

Given Joe's comments, what he is really asking you to do is to respect his time.

Cutting to the chase means your response should be something like:

“Wow Joe, my intention wasn't to frustrate you that much. How much lead time do you need in the future for these types of requests? You shouldn't have to put in overtime to get this done."

When you cut to the chase, you actually solve issues that need resolving instead of wasting time

on unproductive and unhealthy conflict that gets zilch done.

By the way, my experience has been that as you cut to the chase, Joe usually ends up coming back later that day saying something like “Sorry for blowing up like that this morning.. it just hasn't been a good day. I know you didn't mean to frustrate me.”

We've all had days when were frustrated and angry with other people. Its a natural emotion. As people approach you with those emotions, just cut to the chase to get things done.

p.s. I realize there is a line between normal, everyday anger/frustration we've all seen and abusive behaviour. Abusive behaviour should be met with zero tolerence and does require you to cut to the chase as well but will be different in nature.

Be Accountable

As Donna and I await our second child, due November 20th. I"ve begun to think back to when Mia, our three year old was born.

Past the elation and wonder at life's miracles it also hit home as I stared into her beautiful little eyes that, nestled in my arms was someone completely reliant on me. While a part of that was nice, the other realization was the increased importance of my ability to "provide".

Its funny how in life, if the only person who is effected is me, I take a much greater laissez-faire attitude to decisions. When someone else relies on me .. the pressure is on. In the case of Mia, the pressure was good. It acted as a fuel by providing extra purpose to the speaking & photography businesses I'm building.

In our work lives, accountability serves the same purpose. If we work in a job where we are not accountable to anyone other than our boss, it can be a dangerous place. When work teams are set up such that members are accountable to each other on a regular basis, great things happen:

1) Team Members get regular feedback. As human beings we need feedback. We need it now, tommorrow, the day after. We constantly need feedback. Praise is great, but knowing where we need to improve is also cool. We just need to know where we stand.

While silence should mean "agreement" with a person's performance, we all know that an extended vacuum of feedback is usually filled with negative doubt and not helpful in motivating employees. I've been there. I know many of you have as well.

2) Increased Corporate Profits when misunderstandings are caught sooner than later because employees have expectations of each other that need to be met on a regular basis. Regular expectations of team members from each other, act as "check-ups" to make sure your process is on track to success. When it is not, flags can be raised and misunderstandings corrected (sooner rather than later, when it becomes harder to deal with).

3) Purpose. You've probably all heard of Rick Warren's best seller book the "Purpose Driven Life". The title hits a wish cord in many of us. We all need "purpose" to be motivated and sometimes to simply get us off our butt. I don't know if any of you would say you work better under pressure. I know that is a fact for myself. Regular accountability to each other means regular deadlines which gives me the positive pressure I need to stay focused on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. It can do the same for your team. Use it to your advantage.

Accountability is tougher when you deal with remote employees. The danger with remote employees, those you rarely see face to face is that 'out of sight' can also mean out of mind. A system of regular structured communication is doubly important. We all probably know someone who feels cut-off and unimportant in their remote office.

The Transportation sector is no exception. Long Haul Transport Drivers can be on the road for weeks at a time. If you are a transport company the question should be: What regular expectations of communication are built into their daily routine? Not just to protect the company but ironically and as importantly, to protect the driver's sanity and levels of motivation. Regular feedback can decrease your risk of driver dissatisfaction, abandoned loads etc.

Each accountability point can and should be a feedback opportunity to keep the driver focused on success, yours and theirs.

As for me.. a week or less until some increased accountability comes in to my life and I'm looking forward to it!

Turning up the Heat: LOVE Conflict, NEED Conflict, MANAGE Conflict

Who needs Cable TV for exciting drama these days . Just head south of the border and attend a typical “Town Hall” or more appropriately “Town Brawl” on US Health Care Reform.

Shouting, screaming, name calling. It may even remind some of you of work! Beneath the sensationalism of the news coverage of these events, I frankly don't think all the heat being raised down south is necessarily a bad thing.

Lets face it: Most of us struggle with conflict. We either don't like conflict and try to avoid it. Or live for it and create it where its not necessary.. just to see what happens.

Conflict exists in every organization. It is human nature. Your personal and organizational success depends on dealing with it effectively.

So listen up:

Here are 2 suggested attitudes that may not seem intuitive at first but when adopted will rock your world:

LOVE conflict.
NEED conflict.

Yeah, thats right.. I think you should LOVE conflict. I've been guilty of running away from conflict in the past for the sake of just “keeping the peace”. I know that many of you reading this blog, do that as well. We need to be reminded that there is a huge cost associated with conflict avoidance.

First off: It costs us. We end up chewing on feelings of frustration and discontent for a long time because we never asked for what we wanted. We feel like we've lost. The time spent dealing with residual frustration would be much better focused on succeeding at our role. Shying away from conflict dramatically affects our relationships and productivity.

Secondly: The other person loses because they didn't get your feedback which may have helped them get better at what they do. Silence equals approval in most worlds that I live in. As they keep on doing exactly whats bothering you the most (because you've never actually asked for something different), it just exasperates your frustrations. At the very least we'll learn something new that releases our frustrations as we understand the why's of what they are doing.

Feedback needs to be a daily event in organizations for them to succeed. When you see things with which you don't agree , question or believe could be done better, you need to get it out! If you hold them in, they can grow from minor irritations, to battles, to all out war. All of that hurting everyone involved.

So go ahead and pack your boxing gloves in with your lunch box. Your company needs you to fight for what you believe in. You have to LOVE that!

I have a friend who loves to drive his BMW fast. So he'll take his car out on the country roads outside of Calgary and open 'er up for a bit. As he's leaving his house to head out, he'll usually tell anyone within earshot "See you in a bit. I feel the need for speed."

Healthly companies feel the need for conflict and actually set expectations for it to happen.

To help explain, it does help to ask the question: What is Conflict anyway?

If you looked it up in the Dictionary you might find the definition “Opposition between ideas or interests”. I'm sure each one of you have come across vigorous differences of opinions in your organization. While you may not feel like it at the time, you should thank your lucky stars you do.

Companies & Individuals win when employees feel free and are encouraged to express their ideas, especially ones in contradiction to each other. Why? Well, I don't care how open minded and diverse each one of us thinks we are, decisions made on our own are limited by the scope of our individual view of the world and limit our success and that of the company's.

At best an employee may only have a 70 degree view of the world and that is if they are really good! The fact is that companies win when decisions are made with a 360 view of the world. (I.e. all the facts are on the table) .

So it turns out: you NEED conflict in your organization. You need employees to challenge each other's ideas. It allows you to make best decisions as a company and it seeds continuous growth of your employees by honing their strengths with the strengths of those around them. Everybody wins.

So back to Health Care debate in the US. The debate in itself is good. It forces many alternatives to surface to the table. When facts are on the table, they can be evaluated properly to discover their pros and cons. Ultimately, it can lead to the best possible solution being found.

The trouble with the nature of the current debate down south is that most of the screaming is focused on emotional selling and not facts. Spurts like “Do you want government deciding when to kill your grandmother.” simply try to play on emotions of guilt, anger, frustration. While effective in swaying short term opinions and even winning elections, very rarely does it lead to great decisions being made. Emotional plays are usually made when someone doesn't want you to focus on the facts.

As you'll discover in my next blog, Managing Conflict well boils down to separating emotion from fact in everything your organization does. It has to be done right from goal setting to results measurement to daily feedback between employees.

David Benjatschek is passionate about people and the topics of Leadership and Communication. His Freedom House Leadership & Communication Series helps Companies & Indivuals free themselves up to effectively achieve their goals. You can contact David through his website: www.marketbeamer.com.