The Modern Workplace

How many of us are conscious enough to be excited about trading in the traditional sense of security for perpetual growth?

In essence, this is what the new workplace offers, as well as demands.

For the vast majority of us, real change is a frightening prospect. For example, when we began our programs in 1990, most of our participants were pursuing one significant professional change. After making that transition, many would tell me, “I’m glad that is over.” But it wasn’t over. The world just became faster and faster. Now, imagine how much the national workplace will improve if we develop a thirst for learning and growth within ourselves and throughout our organizations.

It will require us to reinvent, learn, unlearn, and relearn in shorter periods. When we ask or order our employees to “snap out of it” or “get used to it,” how can most of them comprehend how to do that? Yet many leaders continue to display the “do it or else” tactic only pushes more “going through the motions.”

Similarly, any notion that people should somehow be skilled at continuous personal change is far-fetched. Organizations, realistically, must develop their workers to not only understand change but to learn how to change themselves continuously.

But let’s get real. There isn’t a corporate budget in the world to pay for the consulting fees it would take to do this. Yet, when we move the entire process in-house where it belongs, the financial investments are minimal, especially when we factor in the increases in performance and engagement that will ensue. It can be hard for CEOs to do this when much of their time is being used by cleaning up the problems of a disengaged workforce.

The purpose of employee engagement isn’t about working harder or even being more productive. Engagement is being awake, interested, enthused, empathetic, helpful, and growing rather than being stagnant. An engaged national workforce is the single most crucial target for America’s future. In all probability, that will never happen because of our government. It will happen when employers realize that building their own highly engaged workforce is a far better strategy than laying everyone off when they become obsolete.

We live next to one of the country’s largest grocery stores. But, we only shop there when times we need an item right now. Disinterest and surliness is the norm. Not only do we encounter a bad attitude at the front of the house, but we have also had to bring back rotten food routinely. So, we drive 5 miles to shop at a store with higher prices. We also go to Trader Joe’s where the average tenure of a cashier is 18 years. I’ve written about Trader Joe’s, Southwest Airlines, Cornerstone on Demand as cultures where the CEO leads engagement, employees are grown to succeed, and support to each other breeds support to the customer and shareholders.

We have been delivering group engagement programs for years. When people find out what their peers most want to accomplish when they understand the challenges that are in that person’s way, the entire dynamic changes.

Germany, Japan, China, and other nations are role models in preparing their citizens for the future of work. Instead of assuming that an obsolete worker is a worthless expense, they routinely invest in keeping employees up-to-date with their skills.

In the United States, I believe our future rests in individuals that embody the American spirit, the ones that do not wait for others to help them. It is also emerging from the organizations that are already building such workers. In all cases, the CEO leads the culture. These CEOs mindfully grow talent, and mentorship is a way of life.

For the leaders that don’t get it, untruthful sales pitch no longer fool premium talent. The transparency revolution will see to that. It is time for our country to start treating the most exceptional talent pool on earth for what it is.

It is our most valuable asset.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

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Then, everything changed. Academics and business authors suggest that we get rid of them. But, the need for mid-managers is stronger than ever. It is the role of the manager that must be changed, transformed, and reimagined. Just be prepared for the pushback when you suggest this to a mid-manager. Most likely, their response will be, “I’m too busy.”

“But, the very future of your workers depends on your reinvention.”

“I’ll pencil it in over lunch…at my desk.”

Advancing technology is like a tornado from Oz blowing task work away. In its aftermath, we find entire categories of workers who need to change. This is why our managers must change, transform and reimagine their careers. As for employers, this is the time to carefully question if laying off the very people who know the most about your frontline is such a good idea. In reality, the mid-managers ought to be the first target for learning how to change and learning how to show others how to change as well.

As technology accelerates it is giving us freedom. The most cynical or contempt-filled reader will respond, “What, freedom from having an income?” But, it is giving us freedom from monotonous tasks, quotas, and other forms of mind-numbing work. The kinds of new work that is coming towards us are more interesting, visionary, and impactful in the world. The greatest social entrepreneurs are using technology to change the world. For example, Peter Diamandis says, “The best way to become a billionaire is to help a billion people.” Consider how lame that statement would have been just 20 years ago.

As the value of task work and its workers plummet, the work to be done is radically different. Instead of tasks, an endless stream of new jobs and roles is emerging. The new workplace will reward those with any or a group of these skills: Creativity, narrative, accountability, empathy, engagement, solving problems, influencing others, sales, and managing the “big picture.”

Robotics and software have been game-changers with blue-collar work. De-monetized services such as LinkedIn and Facebook are impacting millions of white-collar workers. But, Artificial Intelligence will cause disruption as we have never witnessed before. Wealth managers will need to become curators. Medical research will exponentially find more cures for disease. Higher education will be available without paying a cent.

The most valued middle managers will be the ones that are only too happy to let go of tasks so they can develop their employer’s greatest asset, its people. They will be responsible for helping others to embrace active learning, develop new life skills, and to use new forms of technology that exponentially grow personal productivity.

Don’t trust the senior executives, the academics, and the authors of self-help books to propose a solution. Even the Harvard Business Review, characterizes mid-managers as the most disengaged of all workers. They are overworked, undervalued, and the most at-risk during layoffs.

The rock stars are quite different. We recently finished an executive development project with one of the most brilliant scientists in the world. Until we met, his value as an individual contributor had received global recognition. But, in one promotion, he was responsible for hundreds of his company’s best and brightest scientists.

During our first meeting, I said,

“Up until today, you have been judged and promoted because you are a brilliant scientist. But, from this moment forward, your value will be measured in how you inspire hundreds of brilliant scientists to change the world.”

His eyes lit up. The new mission became the centerpiece in how he wanted to grow. Now, he engages with his direct reports with the central mission of rewarding high personal performance with breakthroughs in their careers. He is teaching his direct reports to harness the needs and expectations of their workers with growth, progress and other forms of success.

The greatest managers know the needs and expectations of every person that reports to them. They take the time to harness those needs into energy and action. A great manager will conspire to create a culture that people love because love pushes us to perform way outside of our comfort zones. Great managers teach active learning, influence, and help their highest performers connect with game-changing mentors. They not only make it safe to ask for help, they often reward employees who do.

Unfortunately, frenzy breeds thoughtlessness. In so many organizations, the CEO doesn’t think of the impact that disengaged managers have on their profits and customers. Many don’t realize that disengaged managers are actually dooming the CEOs future.

How do we get started? We begin by elevating the value of our time. After we deliver an engagement program to an intact team, most everyone wants to sustain the transformation. That happens when they use small rituals that produce mindfulness.

One of them is to answer a few questions at the beginning of each morning. Instead of reading e-mails and listening to voicemails, they take 5-minutes to answer a few questions that organizes their priorities.

Here is an example:

• Who most needs my attention and inspiration?
• What is the most valuable problem to solve today?
• Describe today’s ideal blend of tactical and strategic work.
• How can I best sell our ideas and solutions?
• How can I best take care of myself?
• What can I do to create greater engagement and effectiveness with our team?
• Describe one really valuable action that might require your courage.

It takes five minutes.

What is the point?

In the years ahead, technology isn’t taking away our value. It is up to us to make the kind of practical and visionary changes that elevate our value, the allow us to change the world, and to help the people around us.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

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Isn’t it ironic that the skills we always needed to be successful have been given this rather dismissive term called, “Soft Skills?” These are personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people.

For years, many people have run away from learning how to sell, influence others, build support systems, effectively pay attention to other people, and skillfully draw attention to themselves.

Why are these skills so important today? Many people only had to deal with networking and selling themselves just a few times in their careers. But, as change continues to accelerate, the cycles of having to sell ourselves also grow. As the world undergoes this huge restructuring of work, connectivity will determine who works at their full potential and who becomes part of the growing ranks of the underemployed.

For example, today’s average college graduate is going to change careers, not jobs, 4-6 times. But our schools are not giving them the skills to deal with such change. With half of our nation’s workforce in a state of underemployment, of course, we are going to have turmoil. Far too many workers are being kicked to the curb by change because we never taught them how to change! College graduates tend to be haunted by underemployment for about 10 years.

As the world speeds up, thriving literally depends on our building courage skills and the ability to connect far more effectively with the very people who can give us great jobs or projects, the mentors who can give us a clue, and the champions who can hold us accountable for waking up. Honestly, it would be far more straightforward to change the words soft skills to courage skills. This is because many of us have run away from developing these skills because of the discomfort of drawing attention to ourselves.

Many of us have this inside dialogue that if we draw attention to ourselves, someone is going to hurt us. And, the probability of getting hurt does grow when more people see us. But, the probability of starving grows as we become less visible. As a result, many of us draw just enough attention to ourselves to survive but not enough to thrive. Wouldn’t it be more healthy to not only learn how to draw healthy attention to ourselves as well as develop the skills to deal with the consequences of visibility?

What are courage skills?

Sales

Selling is a multi-fold skill. It includes the ability to make a quick pitch, one that captures the value of what we are selling and speaks to the needs and expectations of the buyer.

Consultative selling is the ability to ask the kinds of questions that prompt the buyer to tell us what they want and need. It can include questions that help the buyer define their needs for the first time. This is the most important form of selling and is far more comfortable than relying solely on pitches.

Influence

Here, we are so clearly connected to our gifts that our words, actions, and interests create understanding in the people we encounter. Real influence is rooted in our ability to pay attention, to listen to someone’s every word, to notice their facial expressions and body language, and to be interested.

Customized Support Systems

Many people don’t get what they want because they don’t define what they really want. Many people don’t define what they want because they believe, on some profound level, that the right people will not help them realize their vision. If this is the case, why bother defining a mission, vision, and purpose?

But, once we define exactly what we want, our success is almost purely based on our abilities to create a support system, perhaps even a community that brings our mission, vision, and purpose to life.

Social networking offers the greatest potential to build these support systems with mind-bending speed. But, usually, that potential isn’t realized because social media platforms are not teaching the ideal ways to connect with others. Sending out connection generic and bloodless connection requests do little to build communities. We have been teaching people how to use social media in ways that actually develop engaged relationships. It is how we rebuilt our organization after the great recession.

Presentation Skills

Anyone with the ability to make a presentation to a group or in public immediately gives themselves a 60% pay hike over people who don’t. But, the need to effectively present oneself is growing. Let’s be clear, presentation skills include connecting with people virtually, face-to-face in the flesh, and once in a while, on stage.

The National Speaker’s Association once conducted a poll which defines that over 80% of Americans would rather and literally die rather than make a presentation. That would indicate that developing courage could help them move forward. It doesn’t have to be earth-shaking? Anyone can walk down the block to a Toastmasters meeting and find other people who are equally afraid.

Summary

As the transactions around work speed up, connectivity becomes far more important. As task work falls away, developing courage skills gives us the option of pursuing the work that will bring happiness and freedom into our lives. The skills make it easier to select a job or business. as our work platform.

But, we recently had an experience that personifies just how much our country and our culture needs a seismic shift in what we emphasize in learning.

My colleague, Dr. Mary Campbell and I spoke to a large community organization about the need to teach these skills in all of our schools and within our families. The organization sponsors one of the country’s most successful charter schools. Right after our presentation, they gave out the “student of the month” award to a junior from the school. She was so afraid of the attention that she refused to walk up to the podium to accept her award!

How many parents are in the same boat?

As change in the workplace continues to accelerate, the need to interact effectively and harmoniously with others will continue to grow. Anyone who wants to have the options to do the work they most want to do ought to be elevating the need to learn the courage skills. And, just what is courage? It is the commitment to take the right action whether or not we are frightened.

Remember, that in today’s world, the single biggest reason for failure is isolation.

Building these skills requires commitment. Humans have long demonstrated that we first must instill a vision in why we are going through the discomfort. I always suggest picking the work that you would most love. Perhaps opt to become a better role model for your children. Afterward, invest in the training that will fulfill your vision. Find mentors who can help. Go home and tell your children, “You know what? I have been a lousy example of drawing attention from myself. I’ve been responding to the very idea with fear as if some boogie man is going to jump out from the shadows. Don’t do what I do, because, in the years ahead, your ability to make a living and be happy depends on learning the skills that allow you to effectively connect with others.

For all of us:

• Rather than putting up with that job you cannot stand in an industry that is shrinking, go have lunch at Toastmasters.
• Practice contrary action. Instead of putting down social networking, learn how to use the medium to build strongly engaged relationships.
• Set new expectations with your spouses, business colleagues, and friends. Make a commitment to learning how to draw attention to your work at a whole new level. It requires courage and you need their support in getting back on that horse until you ride comfortably and joyfully.
• Don’t discuss your challenges with anyone who is committed to hiding. They will quickly talk you out of the venture. In other words, hang out with people who succeed.
• When people notice you, thank them and praise them. When we praise someone and they respond, “Oh it was nothing,” we are actually telling them to not notice, evaluate and judge us.

In closing, the more skilled we become with courage skills, the more we connect with the world and the more we connect with ourselves.

Courage skills will help turn life into a grand adventure.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post What Are “Courage Skills?”​ appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

Think about it. If people are unable to think about something else for only 15-seconds, sales pitches don’t work and ordering people around will never produce employee engagement.

We are motivated by one outcome: Fulfilled Expectations.

When we become skilled in accessing the needs and expectations of our stakeholders, we are more able to help them succeed. When stakeholders candidly talk about our strengths and weaknesses, we are more able to change. In a rapidly changing workplace, the ability to connect with others skyrockets. When we are able to motivate our teams in genuine ways, that investment pays off.

We designed our first leadership program for one of the world’s biggest media companies. When I ran that curriculum past our internal partners, they had strong reactions.

“If our managers ask these questions directly, someone is going to get hurt.”

I came back with, “Why on earth would you want a manager who is averse to hearing the truth?”

Prior to designing customized interviews, we invest a great deal of time learning details about each significant stakeholder relationship and business issues. We probe interpersonal relationships. We look for current and desired future states. This information helps us develop strikingly specific and brilliantly good questions. For the executives, the immersive experience of asking these questions and respectfully listening to the answers tends to be a life-altering experience.

Why is masterful inquiry such an important skillset?

Asking and listening was always preferable behavior than giving people orders. Stakeholders are far more driven when we connect with the needs and expectations. Socrates believed that we get the truth by asking the right questions.

Connectivity, this ability to fluidly find the truth of our stakeholders becomes especially important during accelerating change. Today’s leaders have to make changes more frequently and often with significant disruption. Hanging on to the old motivation chestnuts such as, “Do this or else” or “You should be happy to have a job,” destroy productivity and buy-in. Far greater success takes place if our language speaks to their expectations. In other words, finding ways to honor our expectations as well as theirs produces far better results.

We ask our leadership clients to tell us when their executives are receiving their packages from Inspired Work. There are always a few calls that begin with, “You can’t be serious. You want me to ask these questions?” Our reply is always the same. “Yes. Please note that all of them have received letters telling them what to expect, to be candid, and if there is any kind of retaliation to call us. We have yet to receive such a call.

It has been said, “the truth will set us free but first, it will piss us off.”

Consider the impact of just two questions:

“What do I do that motivates or demotivates you?”

“What can I do to become a more effective leader?”

My interpretation of humility is simply to be open. Albert Einstein once said, “I want to know the thoughts of God. The rest are details.” We often confuse humility with humiliation. The smartest leaders that I know are always humble, open to suggestions, eager to improve, asking for help, and acutely listening to others.

The most impressive leaders that I know are absolutely clear on their mission, vision, and purpose. But, they demonstrate real humility and skill in making it safe, even compelling, to tell the truth, find the truth and live in the truth.

This is the kind of leader that connects and improves employee engagement.

This is the leader that lives in transparency. Why is this so important? Everywhere that we look, we find organizations and leaders being toppled by the transparency revolution. Technology has taken our culture to a place where nothing is private, very little can be hidden, and if we attempt to do just that, the results can be spectacularly awful.

There are many organizations and individuals that have been totally caught off guard by the new reality. The payoff from full transparency will be spectacularly good. In alignment with the value of truth, transparency will force us to change for the better.

Consider the lost opportunity and the missing truth when we send out a consultant to conduct 360s or we have employees go online and participate in a “confidential” 360. As the landscape around us continues to speed up, the truth becomes of our most valuable assets.

Transparency will force us to work with nothing to hide and run our organizations with nothing to hide.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2019, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post Just Why Do Leaders Need Truth? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

• United Airlines or Southwest Airlines?

• Google or Yahoo?

• Vons/Safeway or Trader Joe’s?

Odds are high that you have identified the better employer with each example simply through word-of-mouth or direct customer experience. Or, you might be seriously interested in working for one of these organizations and have read employee feedback at Glass Door and Indeed.

The war for talent is back but it bears little resemblance to the war employers were having just 12 years ago. According to Gallup’s latest global engagement survey, only 13% of the world’s workers are engaged. Today’s costliest and yet game-changing segment to recruit is the engaged worker. You know them. They are the ones who are awake, present, interested, actively learning, and able to change with the times.

Successfully reaching them requires a new mindset, especially around the weight and importance we give to brands.

• Consumer brands determine what we promise to our customers.

• Employer brands define what we become.

Here’s the rub. if we skimp on the second, the consumer brand becomes a lie.

True employer brands are not sanitized pitches. The best capture the very essence of a unique tribe with its mission, rituals, with expectations so clear that it is easy to define whether someone is a fit or not.

Here are a couple of examples:

During a leadership program at The Walt Disney Company, someone asked me to describe what I thought the company’s employer brand might be. I responded, “To produce magic at great profit in the midst of chaos.”

Disney has given far more thought to this topic. However, I have observed that if someone loves making magic at great profit in the midst of chaos at Disney, they will be there for decades. When someone isn’t cut out for that tribe, they will exit quickly and possibly become part of the naysayers towards the Disney culture. In any culture, there will be hires that don’t fit. A great employer brand helps identify that mistake quickly.

Make no mistake. The CEO must be in charge of the culture. All too many CEOs walk down the hall to human resources and tell the CHRO to, “fix the engagement problem” or “redefine the culture.” It does not work! Human resources executives tell people they are fixing the culture. Immediately, the tribe looks to the CEO and witnesses business as usual. They take an employer survey. All this accomplishes is to make the managers feel even more inadequate. Managers are sent to retreat centers. They come back enthused and the employees think, “So what.” Then, they start over.

I have a wide variety of individual clients who are human capital executives. Some are launching their own businesses, others are working towards stronger performance, and many are looking for new roles. I tell all of them, “If the CEO isn’t leading the culture, keep your bags packed.”

When a CEO leads the employer brand, we remove confusion from the tribe. In cultures that are led by a visionary and balanced CEO, the results can be spectacular.

The average tenure of a Trader Joe’s cashier is 18 years. The company boasts some of the most enviable customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and profit figures in the industry. The late and great founder Joe Coulombe established a culture of democracy and equality. Successors uphold that culture. Dan Bane, the company’s current CEO continues to visit stores and actually take action on feedback. Recently, I asked a cashier of 26 years why she is so loyal to the company.

She responded,

“It’s like this. A couple of weeks ago, I was the second person in the door. The General Manager had arrived early. He was in the bathrooms scrubbing floors and taking out the trash. She didn’t come over and ask me to step in. No one pulls rank here. I have always felt respected. I have always looked forward to coming to work.”

Today’s strongest employer brands are built on:

Transparency

Technology has produced a revolution in transparency. It is no longer enough to make up a story to recruit people when it isn’t true and the company either doesn’t or can’t live up to the brand. Glass Door and many other platforms pulled the covers off employers. Today, a savvy candidate can learn more about a hiring manager than many direct reports.

Don’t make things up! Build a strong employer brand that is based on the truth. If the truth isn’t so hot, fix your culture. The Transparency Revolution has impacted our culture with such force, most organizations are only beginning to come to terms with the fact that we can no longer hide anything.

Consider how transparency is impacting wrongdoing in organizations that paid off victims of sexual assault. Many of them have become cultures where the most skilled and self-confident talent won’t even consider working there. Because, everyone is a journalist and everyone has access. Candidates can find out whether your culture is a dead end, a place to launch a new career, an environment that is fair, a place where realizing potential is greeted with career growth. Many will know if the green initiative is the real deal or just lip service. They will go onto social networking sites and gather information about virtually everyone working in a department.

Don’t like this development? It doesn’t matter. Whatever your employer brand is, it ought to hold up to all scrutiny. In other words, it is far easier to live with nothing to hide.

Equality

I’m not suggesting what most people are thinking.

In the 70s, American business was seduced into an ideology that made shareholders the king of business. The new model actually led to CEOs becoming softer rather than stronger. They no longer had to give equal attention to customers and employees. With businesses viewed as commodities, the organization began factoring in how much irritation a customer would absorb in return for low prices. Employees became assets during good times and liabilities the moment there was a downturn.

We have paid dearly for that blind turn. If we want optimum performance in all settings, we have to respect all segments of the business. Strong employer brands give customers, shareholders and employees equal importance.

We need more CEOs who apply this kind of vigor to their own roles.

A Defined Tribe

The CEO or owner must define the tribe because any other attempts will become corrupt with differences and turf.

Virtually every great employer brand contained in this article produces images of the type of people who work there and what it feels like to be there. The brand tells a story so clearly that the morals, values, ethics are clear. The contract between employee and customer is effortlessly envisioned. For example, if you have ever had to call Apple for service, you have probably encountered someone who is accountable, personable, interested, and committed to solving your problem. Try that with a big box cable company. Many of us would view Apple as an abusive environment simpy as an extension of Steve Jobs personality. But, Jobs expected the same performance standards that he practiced on a personal level. Warts and all, he wasn’t one of those CEOs who promised the masses perfection without the necessary action to fulfill that vision.

In an era where morality is becoming more precious every day, an employer brand states clearly, how it handles issues of gender equality, diversity, solving its internal problems, and how it responds to crisis.

A great employer brand defines how to build strong relationships with other workers, which becomes the glue, it seems, within our best employer brands.

There is much more about employer branding and the CEO’s role in building a culture in my latest book, The Workplace Engagement Solution (Career Press).

In the interim, I welcome your comments.

The post Why the Employer Brand is the Most Important Brand of All appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

Let’s start with the good news. Barra has made bold moves towards the future by investing in self-driving cars, electric vehicles and ride-sharing networks. In 2016, GM purchased Cruise Automation for $1billion, a start-up that has become one of the leading technology houses for autonomous cars. Today, that unit is valued at $14.6billion.

Mary Barra has led the company into the black posting profits of $4.6billion in the first half of 2018. Stock value was stronger, especially in comparison to Ford. But, compared to overseas competition, General Motors continues to carry forward the shortcomings that have blunted the American car industry. In terms of developing aspirational consumer or employer brands, Mary reveals her utter lack of imagination. Business journalists are applauding the company’s improvements in profit performance, but compared to what? Daimler Benz, Toyota, and BMW continue to outperform GM by wide margins.

In my book, The Workplace Engagement Solution (Career Press), research strongly indicates the vast differences in philosophy between the CEOs that develop category leadership and the CEOs running cultures of mediocrity. This is where Mary Barra’s lack of imagination is leading to more of the same from American car companies.

America almost lost its car manufacturing industry during the recession. In the years since, many of us have treated their comeback as a success story. However, those of us who read car magazines know that nothing has really changed in terms of producing cars that people aspire to own. Much of the problem emerges from a lack of commitment to brand as well as people. Quite simply, if it isn’t working out, throw out the garbage.

Most of us can instantly envision a Porsche 911, a Mercedes S class, a Toyota Camry or a BMW 3 series. That is because of the kind of pride that can only happen from continuous improvement. Auto journalists continue to rank GM products as deeply inferior to the overseas competition. Interiors are bean counted into mediocrity. And, if people are not buying the brand, simply get rid of it. For example, the Impala used to be a legendary name until Chevrolet demonstrated its lack of commitment by periodically plastering that name on cars that offered little pride at all. At times, the name was abandoned for years only to be thrown onto a car because of its poor market performance. This cynical view of the consumer is demonstrated the moment they open the door and sit in the car.

Mary Barra’s biggest failure of all is in GM’s commitment to employer brand. My greatest concern for America isn’t about lowering unemployment; it is about rapidly growing underemployment. Upwards of 48% of our country’s workers characterize themselves as underemployed. This means that about half of our workers are getting kicked to the curb by change.

But, in countries such as Germany, underemployment is a non-issue. As we blame technology for the loss of jobs, German auto manufacturers lead the world in the use of robotics. But, they don’t lay workers off, they train them to do new and more interesting work. The German government is an active partner to the auto industry. Government subsidies are provided for apprenticeship programs. BMW and Mercedes consistently rank amongst the best employers in the world while GM continually brings up the rear.

Many business journalists are applauding Mary Barra’s decision to ax cars and people as a commitment to the future. Let us be clear. Her strategy demonstrates her commitment to trucks. How will GM ever compete in the war for the world’s best talent? In our research, we cannot find one iota of information that it has even crossed her mind.

There-in lies the rub. GM will no longer make mediocre cars, it will provide big sports utilities and trucks, a place where consumers tend to be more forgiving on quality issues.

The most predominant aspect of GM’s employer brand is mediocrity as well. We see the results in the company’s disloyalty. But, the real failure is in pride. How would the world’s greatest designers and engineers aspire to become part of a culture where talent isn’t developed and employees are treated as a commodity on par with the cars? It is a bit like a top graduate student from Stanford trying to choose employment between Apple and Yahoo.

We learn nothing of value by studying dysfunction. General Motors ought to be emulating what is happening with the most profitable automobile manufacturers in the world. They could become enlightened about how to build better cars as well as more profitable cars. All the possibilities of why she wouldn’t study success have uneasy answers.

It has been said that “You don’t know what you don’t know.”

Unfortunately, yesterday’s debacle didn’t offer up the courage, to tell the truth, and make a commitment towards excellence.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2018, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post The Truth Behind Mary Barra’s Debacle appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

In 1990, I launched Inspired Work out of my condo in Malibu. I was excited, scared, proud, and resolute. Right after getting my corporation papers, I took off for my branch at First Interstate Bank. I remember walking through the door holding those papers as if they were first prize in a contest for personal change. The representative gave the paperwork a glance and with a dismissive sweep of her hands said I was missing a document and to come back. A few days later I did come back to shut down my accounts. In the next few years, First Interstate was swallowed up by Wells Fargo. I left because I didn’t want to be with a vendor that viewed me as just another task.

My accountant referred me into City National Bank and I have been there ever since. For consumers as well as employees, there couldn’t be a more stark contrast between the two.

This past week, Wells Fargo admitted that it improperly foreclosed on 40% more borrowers than first reported. But, to put the latest scandal into sharp focus, let’s review the organization’s behavior over the last two years:

2016

• Regulators fine Wells Fargo $185 for creating as many as 2 million fake accounts to juice the bank’s books. The bank dismisses 5,300 employees who were acting under the orders of the divisional head. None of the transcripts reveal who was pressuring such a large number of workers to commit fraud.

2017

• It is revealed that Wells Fargo retaliated against workers who tried to blow the whistle on the fake account practice.
• New allegations are lodged that the bank modified thousand of home mortgages without getting authorizations from the customers.
• The bank admits it charged 570,000 customers for auto insurance they did not need.
• A class-actions lawsuit is filed in behalf of small business owners for overcharges on credit card transactions.
• The year closes with a new scandel. Thousands of mortgage holders were fined for missing deadlines. And yet, the notices were purposely delayed to orchestrate even more income.

2018

The Federal Reserve makes an announcement that Wells Fargo will not be allowed to grow its assets until it cleans up its act.

Consider the pact with the devil that employees of Wells Fargo have had to embrace in order to work there. Perhaps the single biggest blow to the shareholders of this organization is that premium talent will no longer consider Wells Fargo as a premium employer.

The Contrast

The first time I became aware of City National Bank was in reading about the kidnapping of Frank Sintra, Jr. The criminals contacted his father and refused to return the young man unless he brought them $240,000. The bank’s first CEO got out of bed and personally counted out the money in their headquarter’s vault.

I’ve been with the bank for 28 years and have never had a hiccup. Everyone that I know who is with City National has this kind of fierce loyalty and I can only wonder, why do banks such as Wells Fargo even have clients?

The entire ethos of City National Bank’s consumer and employer brands is reflected in one employee. I was her favorite customer.

For years, Jennifer was A.J. Kroener’s assistant at the Century City Office. Whenever I walked in the door, she would call out, “David, how are you?” She always made it clear that if I had any problem, she would take care of it. Trust me, I was not their wealthiest client. But, she treated me as if all valuables in their vaults were in my name. After years of hard work, I was able to order a new BMW convertible. Jennifer took care of all the paperwork. At the time, I was single and spending a lot of time on the road. Jennifer became the person that actually celebrated the purchase. The day it was delivered, I dropped by the bank to make a deposit. I remember walking in the door and Jennifer yelled out, “Did you get it? Is it here? Take me on a ride.”

She took a break and walked out to the garage. I put down the roof, cranked up the stereo and took off. Her hair was flying as she held her hands in the hair yelling, “Woo hoo!” I thanked her for being so kind in helping me get the car. She laughed, “Help? You’re my favorite customer.”

A few days later, I walked in the door and Jennifer wasn’t there. The energy was off and I asked what was going on. Jennifer had a heart attack and passed away.

Hundreds of people showed up to her funeral.

Most of us were customers. Some of us walked up to the podium and declared we were her best customer.

The thing is, many of the customers and employers are still there and we recount how her enthusiasm and kindness changed our lives.

Here is what I propose. If you are a business leader and you are trying to develop a strategy for making real money, compare the two stories.

Which one would you emulate?

The post Does Your Bank Love You or View You as an Easy Mark? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

A consumer brand tells the world why you exist.

An employer brand is who are actually are.

In our country, entire tribes of CEOs perpetuate an idea that in order to offer low-prices customers are willing to have a mediocre buying experience. There was a time in our history, where they could work. However, technology is evening the playing field. For example, when we can order just about anything without leaving home and have it delivered in hours, why go to the mall and deal with irritated employees?

Let’s take a look at two comparisons. Each demonstrates the power of solid employer branding:

• Von’s Pavilions and Trader Joes
• United Airlines and Southwest

We live next door to a Von’s Pavilions located at the beach. Online critiques of the store include statements such as, “The store’s employees ought to be on suicide watch.” Von’s nationwide has one of the lowest customer service scores amongst all of the largest grocers.

Vons is owned by Albertsons. The company posted its first profit in years on February 24.

On the other hand, mention Trader Joes and people’s faces light up. The average tenure of a Trader Joe’s cashier. While many CEOs will be dismissive of the comparison, Trader Joe’s prices are even lower than Von’s. And yet, Trader Joe’s isn’t a commodity, it is a carefully orchestrated consumer experience. This is a company that controls costs through tight inventory strategies and portrays a family to its customers. The average tenure of a Trader’s cashier is 18 years.

Trader’s doesn’t release its net profit figures. However, the company sells $1,734 per square foot per year while Whole Foods, the runner-up, sells $930 per square foot. Most Trader Joe’s customers smiling and kind staff as well as unique food values to be a winning combination.

Bring up United Airlines and what images come to mind? People being tasered and dragged off of planes, dogs dying in the cargo hold, and employees with absolutely no sense of enthusiasm.

On the other hand, Southwest Airlines is famous for its culture of low rates, workers with humor, courtesy and playfulness.

Southwest Airlines is famous for its culture of workers who demonstrate fun, courtesy, and playfulness and now they have added a profound dose to the employee as well as customer experience. Those characteristics had already made Southwest the most loved airline based in America. Commercial pilots hold up Southwest and FedEx as the gold standard for a positive work experience. A couple of years ago, CEO Gary Kelly, decided it was time to create renewed energy in their culture. He introduced a new set of aspirations for all of their employees. He asked everyone to support a vision of being the most loved, flown and profitable airline in the world.

Kelly suggested that one of the ways they would deepen their culture come from telling stories of how they improved the lives of the customers they touch. He said, “We exist to connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost travel.” He asked everyone to develop the art of storytelling and to become involved with the story’s behind each passenger’s travels and to find ways to elevate their lives.”

The heart behind this commitment is profound. It can be gut-wrenching. As I researched their stories, I found a letter from a woman named Nancy:

“Last night, my husband and I got the tragic news that our three-year-old grandson in Denver had been murdered by our daughter’s live-in boyfriend.”

Her husband had to get his daughter as quickly as possible. He was on a business trip. In Los Angeles, the crowds were so backed up that he was going to miss the plane. TSA could have cared less. But, a flight attendant from the first leg of his journey had already called ahead to the pilot of the last plane. He ran to the gate expecting to see everyone gone.

The pilot and the ticketing agent were waiting for him. One of them asked, “Are you Mark?” The other added, “We held the plane for you and we are so sorry about the loss of your grandson.”

True employee engagement develops cultures that matter and businesses that we love with fierce loyalty. Because, all of them have heart. But, the greatest heart of all is an employer brand that orchestrates outcomes that are as rich as this story because heart cannot be faked.

Sure, consumer brands are good. But, employer brands determine what our businesses become.

The post Why Have Employer Brands Become More Important Than Consumer Brands? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

However, once we define what we want to accomplish, our success is purely based on the quality of the people we get to help us.

People from all walks of life come through our programs because a Socratic (question-driven) curriculum that produces life-changing and unique outcomes for everyone.

I cannot count the number of entrepreneurs that have come through our programs who have reached a point in their success only to hit a wall that requires they surrender the behavior and outlook that got them to that point-in-time. The turning point usually requires bringing in new support systems and finding talent that will elevate the business as well as their lives. This is one of the most frightening moments within early entrepreneurial success because it means surrendering the behavior that worked really well…to a point.

Elon Musk is possibly in the biggest crisis of his life. Tesla has revolutionized the world. His vision has moved his company to a certain level of success. His hard work has created advances in electrical infrastructure and battery technology that has set the stage for a quantum leap with electric-based transportation. However, manufacturing challenges in quality control, speed, efficiency and production costs have turned into a nightmare for the founder. By extension, Tesla is facing its biggest crisis even without its production challenges. Because, Volkswagen Group, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, GM, and Jaguar are all releasing entire lines of electrically propelled transportation. Most of them have superb commitments to quality with the resources to deliver it.

Before continuing with Elon, an anecdote from our own graduate base can crystallize the challenge. Everyone signs confidentiality agreements in our programs and when we share an anecdote, it is with their permission. This one included the caveat that we would not share her name.

We were leading a large Inspired Work Program at LAX. Our meeting room looked out on planes taking off and landing. Regardless of the number of people, they tend to go inward quickly and they craft their own ideal vision, mission, and purpose. The curriculum gently leads them into recognizing the life skills they need to become successful with that vision. Let’s be candid, there is almost always a certain degree of discomfort about looking at obstacles.

We had a well-known entrepreneur in the room. She was a spectacular leader in her industry. At the first break, she navigated her way over to me and said, “This has been wonderful. You have exceeded all of my expectations and I’m going to go home now.” I’ve found that the more uncomfortable someone becomes, the bigger the breakthrough. I managed to get her to stay. By the second day, some of us were envisioning her taking a chair, breaking a window, dropping a rope down the side of the building and making a run for it. Then, it happened. She became distraught and started a disclosure. Her father was the single most influential role model in her life. He taught her that if you want to get something done right, do it yourself. This outlook had worked at first, but now her success had become a trap. She was working late into the night, hadn’t taken a vacation in years and was constantly exhausted.

Sound familiar?

After this insight, she cleaned up and customized her entire support system. I ran into her a few years later and asked how she was doing. She smiled and said, “Surrendered.” Not long afterward, the business was sold for a bloody fortune.

Elon Musk is, by all accounts, encountering an emergency riddled with the theme of someone who is, in the end, fully human. Trapped in the all too common notion that only he can solve the problem is potentially killing him as well as the extraordinary innovation he has introduced to the world.

In strikingly rapid progression, Elon interviewed with the New York Times and told the world he is in the most difficult and painful year of his life. He revealed he sleeps at the company and is taking large doses of Ambien in an attempt to control his sleep. Not long after that interview, he typed out a shocking Tweet, “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”

A few days later, he appeared on a podcast with one of my favorite comics, Joe Rogan. I love Joe and have seen him live many, many times. But, Elon Musk, CEO of a public company and Joe? They smoke dope together on a podcast.

In less than one month after it all began, the SEC is ready to file charges against him for securities fraud.

If I was his advisor, here is what I would do:

• Have the Board and the Chief People Officer create a task force that manages Mr. Musk for the time being. Pull him out of the public eye and help him sort through this rather dreadful pothole. He is one of the world’s great innovators and yet he is human and has a very human crisis.
• Hire one of the best reputation management firms to take charge of his messaging.
• Get Elon off of all forms of sleep medication. Do I know of what I speak? In my internist’s office, there is a file. On the cover, in large block felt-tipped letters are the words, “If David Harder asks for sleep medication, shoot him.” Unfortunately, the body quickly habituates to sleep medication requiring larger doses just to sleep for short periods of time. When it reaches this state, we have no way of knowing if he even remembers sending that crazy Tweet.
• Take contrary action to his statement that he is, “Trying to recruit Sheryl Sandberg” to fix his production challenges. That one statement revealed the weakness of his talent plan. Offer a “too big to resist” bounty to recruit a production chief from a leading German or Japanese auto manufacturer.
• Call a Board Meeting to perform the intervention. I’m serious. With personality types such as his, the ones with the delusion they can fix everything, can and will bring down the company.

I am a big, big fan of Elon Musk. But I am painfully familiar with the signs of a meltdown that can kill off a company or an individual. The guy deserves every chance in the book. But, right now, he needs a new support system customized to help him with his health, to objectively solve Tesla’s production challenges, and help him learn that the right people will help him, if he asks or if he allows it.

The question is just how will his ego make room for that?

The answer will be more critical than anyone can imagine.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2018, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post How Can Elon Musk Be Saved? appeared first on Inspired Work Services.

This is a key trait that I look for in all candidates whether they are working at Inspired Work or with one of our clients. If they work with me, there are several more. You see, in 1990, when I was designing what became Inspired Work, I began redesigning my own work based on a new standard: Happiness. Not just any happiness would do. I wanted Irrevocable Happiness. In other words, if I were in an unrelenting state of happiness, what would my life look like? I find that when we raise the bar that high, the answers become deeply personal. One of the answers to that question changed my professional life forever.

“I would only work with brilliant and loving people.”

It seems that human nature is such that we don’t write out many words like this because something inside of us believe greatness isn’t possible. But that day, brilliant and loving became a standard and hence, it changed my life.

Let’s return to gratitude. I find that many employers and hiring managers look for either a great functional fit (technical skills, motivation, culture fit, etc.) or someone who fits their bias (someone they are comfortable with). But, once we have defined that a few candidates are good fits, what about gratitude?

When somebody embodies gratitude, they uplift everyone else. With gratitude we become more contributive and practice a higher degree of courage to protect a valuable state-of-mind.

Let us also suggest that gratitude is just as important to develop amongst hiring managers and organizational cultures. How do we see this?

Robert Maurer, the Director of Behavioral Science at UCLA Medical School has long studied success behavior and he tells us that successful people are generous in both giving and receiving praise. Expressing our gratitude towards others is optional in a mediocre culture but it is essential to a great culture. And, as others praise us, it is equally important to accept the praise graciously. When we tell someone, “Oh, it was nothing,” what are we actually saying?” Think about this. We are telling them don’t look at me, don’t give me attention, and don’t reward me. Unfortunately, people who run from attention are often the first ones to be laid off.

Grateful employees, leaders, CEOs, partners, colleagues, and bosses fuel good in others.

So, when you are lucky enough to have several great candidates to choose from, ask your hiring influences a few questions:

“Which one will be so grateful to be here he or she will do whatever it takes to succeed?”

“Which one will love our tribe so much, they actively learn the skills to stay competitive and effective?”

“Which one will tell the world about us with enthusiasm and joy?”

“Which one will I be most grateful to include in our tribe?”

You see, gratitude is a practice that can transform mundane days into remarkable experiences. It can elevate a routine job into a turning point. Gratitude can take what looks like an ordinary job and have it turn into a home.

Brought to you by David Harder, President – Inspired Work, Inc.

Schedule 15-Minutes to Discuss Your Workplace or Career with David (Here)

(C) Copyright, 2018, Inspired Work, Inc. – (All Rights Reserved)

The post The Single Most Important Trait in a Hire? Surprise! appeared first on Inspired Work Services.