Culture, as a collective set of beliefs and behaviors, forms the foundation of all organizations.  Our beliefs cause us to behave in particular ways and, consequently, also determine the collective results achieved (or not) by organizations. Our attitudes are how we choose to display our values and our values generally don’t change without a very significant event occurring.  We cannot see values, we only learn of other’s values by seeing them displayed through their behaviors.  We have the choice to change our behaviors.

Intellectually this makes sense, but on a practical basis, how do you change behavior?  After all, leaders spend a lot of time managing the situations resulting from behaviors so let’s get practical about this topic. This simple Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC) tool is a quick way to analyze behaviors.
Behavior:                  Employee is continually tardy

Consequence:          You speak with them about their tardiness (negative consequence in your mind)

Antecedent:              Employee craves the attention they are getting so they see this as positive reinforcement and continue to be tardy

Here is another example:

Behavior:                  Your star employee leads a difficult project really well

Consequence:          They receive your praise and a spot bonus

Antecedent:              If (and this is a big If) the employee feels positively reinforced by your praise, they look forward to another project. However, if they are the person you always turn to because they

always deliver results, this praise may be received negatively as they realize it simply means more work for them in the future.

It is critical that the consequence be a positive reinforcement from the recipient’s point of view.   While it sounds trivial and simple, it isn’t.  We all do what we do because of what happens to us when we do it.  And since we cause change by managing behaviors, this simple A-B-C analysis tool can be very handy for determining ‘why does someone do what they do’.

In healthy organizations, negative behaviors are eliminated by managing the consequences and positive behaviors are accelerated by providing significantly more positive reinforcement to employees than there are negative reinforcements (at least a 4:1 ratio and hopefully much higher).

I often encounter adults in positions of leadership and supervision who don’t want to try this. They think it is great for their kids, but not for their employees.  They are right – it is great for their kids. We manage our children’s behaviors using this A-B-C approach almost subconsciously.  And when we provide a lot more positive than negative reinforcement, our kids respond in marvelous ways.  So I ask you, if it is good for your family and your children, and it works, why wouldn’t you want to use it at work?

While this sounds almost too elementary, managing behaviors through consequences is the root of all behavior modification.  As was stated above, culture is the collective set of beliefs and behaviors of our employees so it behooves us as leaders to understand and manage behavior effectively.

* * * * *

We learn from and remember what we do when we are having fun – Call me about these fun-filled learning programs: Birdies, Bogeys and Business: Success On and Off the Course, Mental Mulligan’s, and the Two Day Golf School.  All are ways to build your team, increase your skills and add new tools to your bag.   

So often we get caught up in focusing on the bottom line:  What the P&L statement says, what Wall Street demands, what the shareholders want, what the manager requires, how we’re doing against this  month’s goals, have I met my quota, etc.  As a society we are conditioned to focus on the results rather than the process so it is no wonder we end up with head aches, tight muscles in our neck and shoulders, ulcers and premature aging.  I have no doubt that this all sounds much too familiar.

Here is another perspective that I find relieves some of the tension and often produces better results. What more could an entrepreneurial society like ours want than less tension and better results?   I recently had the great fortune to meet and speak with Lisa Norden, World Champion Sprint Distance triathlete in 2010 and her coach Darren Smith.  Lisa is from Sweden and Darren is from Australia and they were in Davos, Switzerland for a race season training camp.  The world of elite, professional triathlon is extremely competitive and grueling. Lisa was asked the question, “How do you manage to stay focused and not get discouraged by the pain, grueling distances and overwhelming pressure”. She replied that she raced by checking the boxes and the results took care of themselves. 

I have always been a believer that focusing on the process is the key to getting improved results so I was all ears about her concept of “checking the boxes”.  Lisa doesn’t focus on the goal of a winning time, she focuses on the goal of getting each of the individual actions executed with precision and excellence.  She mentally checks each box and the World Championship results take care of themselves. 
Did I do everything in my preparation stage?    √
When I set up my transition, was everything in its proper place and order? √   When I entered the water, did I get the surge I needed in that first 200 meters?  √
Was I in the right position at the first buoy in the water?  √
When I exited the swim to my bike, was I focused and racing my own pace regardless of what other competitors were doing? √
Did I stay within my power zones without getting distracted by others?  √
If there were uncontrollable obstacles like head winds, rain or rough roads, did I turn these into positive challenges rather than cursing my bad luck?  √

You get the picture. Lisa knows the podium finish on the top step will be assured if she manages each step along the way with excellence.  Stress is relieved by focusing on small steps rather than the overall  daunting task, energy and excitement are built as you experience how well you are successfully managing the parts of the whole, and confidence builds as you celebrate completion along the way. 

Lisa’s technique serves as a good example for all of us in business also.  Rather than focusing on the year end goals, the competitive pressures, and the external demands which often seem overwhelming, if we choose to focus on all the controllable aspects throughout the process we will be assured the desired results will occur. 
No one sells a bottom line, no one manufactures a net profit, no one produces an exponential improvement as a product per se.  What we all do regardless of our business or service is manage the myriad of process steps along the way to produce, service, or sell our produce or service.  Just like Lisa, we can produce hugely improved results with less stress and tension if we focus on checking the boxes along the way rather than the daunting overall goal. 
So what is your goal?  What is required to produce the results you need to achieve?  What are the sequential steps necessary?  Have you done your preparation and training to build your capability?  If not, this is step number one.  Can you put a √ there?  If you are prepared, then check the boxes as you produce, service or manufacture.  Integrity (you can’t check the box if you didn’t perform the task with accuracy and excellence), tenacity (did you work until you got each step complete and correct), and quality (does your work product represent your brand, will your customers be delighted with it) are a few of the values upon which your checklist must be built.  Build in the right values, diligently use the checklist and your overwhelming goals will be met and frequently exceeded. 

Just imagine the power that comes from getting your whole organization checking the boxes and focused on doing their best one step at a time.  Just like Lisa, you’ll be World Champions, achieve your goals, and have less stress along the way. 

Deb Waitkus and I are co-facilitating corporate-learning workshops used to anchor concepts - Birdies, Bogeys and Business: Success On and Off the Course, Mental Mulligan’s, and the Two-Day Golf School.  All are ways to build your team, increase your skills and add new tools to your bag.   Call me at 480-236-4266 or email me for information. 

http://www.peakperformancecorp.com

My husband and I recently visited the Canary Islands.  He conducted a triathlon training camp while I tagged along.  The Canary’s are known as the Hawaii of Europe and like their US name sakes they are volcanic islands which means there is almost nothing flat on the island. So we spent a lot of time on our bicycles climbing slowly up very steep roads and descending very quickly.  As we cycled I had flash backs to other times I’ve trudged up the mountains in the Rockies and the Alps.   One thing that helps me stay focused, have the perseverance to keep putting one pedal in front of the other, and finally conquer the mountain is replaying mental movies. 

Mental movies are those positive memories I’ve stored of other times I’ve done something equally challenging.  I relive the smell of the meadow flowers, hearing the cow bells in the distance, seeing the mountain goats by the side of the road in the fog, feeling the sun on my back as the bees buzz around the flowers and before you know it, you have more miles behind you. The time and the miles go by much more easily and more quickly when I’m watching a movie.  This is partly because I am suddenly some place else. I think it is also because I get a boost of energy, my muscles get a bit of virtual relief, pedaling becomes more even and stronger as I refocus, and my mind is more confident because I know I’ve ‘been there, done that before’ successfully.   When I act ‘as if’ I am confident, full of energy, believe I can conquer the mountain, I can. When I believe I am not able to, I’m not.  The mind and the body are one – one leads the other and in this case the body responds to the mental movies which are telling me I can do it…I can do it…I can do it and sure enough, I do!  

The key to being able to draw on your bank account of mental movies is to store only the best.  There is great value in storing memories of those times when you were successfully able to do something. While we learn from our mistakes, we learn more from our positive accomplishments.   

I’m reminded of two quotes that underscore achieving tough goals.   One is by Lance Armstrong who said something like…’motivation can’t get you there if you don’t have the legs, but if you have the legs and lack motivation, you’re not going to get there’. And the other is by a colleague, friend and very strong cyclist, Christina Maddox, who said something like…’you have to have commitment before you have passion. Passion follows commitment.  The first step is to commit and then you have to have a great plan’.  I’d add to these ideas one ingredient that can help your motivation and, as a result, increase your commitment is banking the best of your mental movies and draw on them when you face tough challenges.  It doesn’t make any difference what the situation happens to be. This technique helps whether you are climbing a physical mountain on your bicycle, climbing an emotional mountain in your life, and conquering a business challenge that seems insurmountable.

I’m watching this happen right now with my 8-year old granddaughter.  She is learning to read more advanced books at the same time she is conquering more advanced gymnastics.  As her confidence in the gym grows her ability to master more advanced reading is accelerating also.  The mind and the body are one. One confidence breeds another and along the way she is filling her bank account with the best of her mental movies. 

* * * * * *

Learn, grow and have lots of fun doing it – join Deb Waitkus and myself in one of these programs:

    * Mental Mulligans     * Birdies, Bogeys and Business: Success On and Off the Course

Get more details at:  www.peakperformancecorp.com and www.golfforcause.com

Joyce Friel

Peak Performance Consulting, LLC 

11353 E. Raintree Drive

Scottsdale, AZ  85255

480 236 4266

www.peakperformancecorp.com

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Sometimes you have to spend time, money, or resources up front in order to save in the long run.  It’s kind of like insurance.  Every time I pay the house, car, life, health, business insurance premiums I think of how much more ready cash I would have if I didn’t make these payments.  However, I know in the long run I am wiser and prudent by making these payments.  Just have one real need for any of these types of coverage and you are delighted you made those payments.  I was raised with this philosophy as my father whom I revered and respected tremendously was a life insurance executive. 

The same holds true for many of the good management practices we know we should practice, but often don’t.  Preparing and conducting meetings, writing policies and procedures, following checklists, dedicating time to proper hiring and training, establishing and following communications methods to keep staff well informed, and on and on and on.

Here is a valuable, thought-provoking way to look at preparing for and conducting meetings that is unique, but has some solid wisdom behind it. I credit Seth Godin, best-selling author of more than 12 books, for the essence of these ideas.  He offers tips on how to ensure meetings are short, focused and productive which I have slightly added to.  You can find Seth’s complete text on his blog at http://sethgodin.typepad.com.

* Plan ahead by ensuring you get the right people and only the right people in the room.  The right people are primarily those that need to be there because they 1) have a vested interest in the topic/decisions being made 2) have information necessary to the decision.  Don’t waste the time and talent of others by unnecessarily inviting others to the meeting.  If you or the attendees can’t state why they are being included, they likely don’t need to be there.   

* Ensure meetings start on time and end when the end needs to occur not when the calendar or conference room schedule says they should be ending. Give everyone the gift of time by ending early or give the organization the gift of a good discussion and decision if the meeting needs to go a bit longer. Timeliness honors and respects those who arrive on time.  Become known as a person who starts on time and can be relied upon to manage a meeting efficiently and produces results.

* Make sure you publish the purpose, desired outcomes and expectations before the meeting and you conduct the meeting toward these purposes.  

* Set the stage as necessary – make introductions, make the environment welcoming and appropriate, state the intended outcomes as you start the meeting.  

* If equipment is needed, set everything up and ensure it is fully functioning before everyone arrives.  This is not only efficient it is a clear sign of respect for the time of others.   

* Keep an action log.  This is a simple document that records any action item that was assigned during the meeting.   Send the Action Log to all attendees via an email following the meeting so everyone knows the outcomes, expectations and timelines for the next steps.  This simple step exponentially increases the probability that action items will get done. And after all isn’t taking action against a need of the organization why you called the meeting in the first place?

Often times the best way to change an organization that may have fallen into sloppy habits is to simply start doing things differently. It isn’t necessary to state that you’re going to ‘run meetings differently around here’.  Just start running meetings differently.  Pretty soon you’ll have people noticing and appreciating the difference.  This is one New Year’s Resolution you can do that costs you only a bit of preparation time and gains you significant rewards in productivity, effectiveness, respect and in the long run saves money.  Start today by spending to save! 

Joyce Friel

Peak Performance Consulting, LLC 

11353 E. Raintree Drive

Scottsdale, AZ  85255

480 236 4266

www.peakperformancecorp.com

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 How many times have you thought to yourself, “If I had just …….”  Hindsight is just so much more insightful than foresight it seems.  When it comes to what we ‘coulda, shoulda, woulda’ have been, the good news is it is never too late to become what you want to be and we’re never too old to reinvent ourselves.

Just think of all the times you’ve heard inspiring stories of older people going back to school completing college degrees with kids younger than their grandchildren.  Recognizing that we can become something different, transform our businesses, or morph into something closer to our dreams is a particularly appropriate in these times of economic challenge.

I’m reminded of Betty White, the energetic much-older actress who continually gets new roles because she lives by this belief.  When asked, “When are you going to retire?”  Her response was, “When I’m no longer asked for.”  As long as we’re being asked for, we still have a passion for using our talents and striving to move forward…it’s never too late.

I want to thank my friend, Susan Brooks (http://www.servesyouright.net) for prompting this reminder.  I just finished reading her wonderfully positive book entitled, Serves You Right!, which is packed full of stories about how faux pas turned into successes, bloopers became bonuses and blushes of embarrassment were overcome by smiles.  While her messages focus primarily on customer service, I believe the same mantra is true of life in general.  What better time to echo this reminder than when so many feel so down and out.

I currently have clients who…

• Have lost their businesses and are retooling themselves into new entrepreneurs
• Have such slim margins they worry every day they might lose their business
• Are in financial difficulty because of promises others made, but didn’t keep, legal concerns, or other misfortunes
• Can’t get business financing because of the constraints of banks…and on and on and on.

By the same token, I have clients who are thriving in a wide variety of enterprises despite the economy.  What is inspiring about those that are the most stressed and worried is that they believe they aren’t too old, too tired, too stressed, too discouraged to reinvent themselves and survive and even thrive.  They are…

• Reinvigorating their passion and breathing new life into their business
• Taking an honest appraisal of their options and finding new creative sources of revenue
• Finding non-traditional sources of funding and being more conservative in their growth strategy
• Creating an entirely new line of products which service a different market…and on and on and on.

In all cases they are being rigorous in their discipline to create and use faithfully their strategy plans to guide and grow their businesses. 

Personally, I am seeing signs of growth and engagement of consulting services at a rate I haven’t seen for about 18 months.  As always, if we look for gloom and doom the skies will turn gray, and if we look for positive signs and possibilities we will find the sunshine. 

So what are you wishing you had done? What are you thinking you are too old to do?   What are you enduring in your business or your life in general that could be different, more positive, a fulfillment of your dreams?  Well, what do you choose to do about it?  Because, as the title says, you are never too old to become what you coulda, woulda, shoulda have been.  Assess.  Plan.  Go for it! 

Joyce Friel

Peak Performance Consulting, LLC 

11353 E. Raintree Drive

Scottsdale, AZ  85255

480 236 4266

www.peakperformancecorp.com

www.twitter.com

Fall is just around the corner.  School is about to start, marching bands are practicing, the Ryder Cup team is about to be announced, football teams are practicing and everyone one of them is predicting they will be the Super Bowl winner.  Those of you who follow football are delighted when this time of year rolls around.  Whether you are a football fan or not, I’m hoping this TIPS topic will be of interest to you.  I’ll admit I don’t follow football much any more, but in the Orange Crush days, I was a big Denver Bronco fan.  Recently, Floyd Little, # 44, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  He had some mighty inspiring words in his acceptance speech which prompted this TIPS topic.

Floyd graduated from the school of hard knocks into the Hall of Fame. This is not a new story for many Football Hall of Famer’s, but what is unique about Floyd’s journey is he is still inspiring and encouraging young people because of it.  He was kicked out of school, told by his teachers he couldn’t learn, told by his coaches he couldn’t play, was even fired by Lou Saban from the Bronco squad in 1968 for fumbling the ball during a Buffalo Bills game, and had every opportunity to make negative choices along the way.   He was angry and his father wasn’t around.  His father did continue to speak to him even though he was deceased.  Floyd kept hearing his father say, “I’ve chosen you to do what I couldn’t do”.  Those words helped Floyd realize he had a choice – he could remain angry and listen to the many belittling messages around him, or he could use his strength to a better advantage.  Patience, persistence and passion were Floyd’s guidelines along the way. He believed he could and he did.  So can you.

While each of our stories and journey’s are unique, we each encounter situations along the way where we have choices.  We can all choose to listen to the naysayer’s, those who would have us believe we can’t when we do have the option to believe we can.  I believe this is an important message particularly at this time in our country.  We need and our youth need all the positive messages they can get.   They need demonstrated evidence that the positive things they believe in can become reality.

My personal mission for many years has been to build skill and capability in others.  I try to make my personal optimism and positive beliefs a model and through my professional skills help others improve their own personal and/or organizational skill and capability.  Where Passion Meets Performance is my belief and company motto.

While listening to the XM radio broadcast of the PGA Championship from Whistling Strait this weekend, one of the interviews was of Al Geiberger who was the first professional golfer to score 59.  He commented that he believes it is more important to teach others how to do something than for him to have the great score him self.  Well, I can tell you I get excited when I am in the low 90’s let alone hitting a 59.  But his point is well taken.  Our personal success is often magnified and made more meaningful many times over when it is achieved through others rather than for our selves. 

I had the thrill this week of introducing my 7-year old granddaughter, Keara, to the game my husband and I love so much.  She took her first two golf lessons and then my husband and I played 9 holes with her.  She did a great job of listening, trying, and seeing results.  What a great way to instill in her a belief that she can be successful and see the results of her hard work.  The pride, fun and joy of teaching her is so much more rewarding than the struggle I go through to get a low score my self.

So I ask you, will you be able to say at the end of your next task…your current position…your career…the same words Floyd Little spoke at the end of his acceptance speech, “I’ve given you the best I’ve got,  and I’m a better person for it”?  Despite what life sends our way, we can, and most of us will. 

For info on new programs browse  http://www.peakperformancecorp.com or call me at 480-236-4266.

Birdies, Bogey’s and Business:  Success On and Off the Course is being scheduled now so let me know when this program (not important to be a golfer…just be interested in learning) will be a good fit for you and your company.

Joyce Friel

Peak Performance Consulting

11353 E. Raintree Drive

Scottsdale, AZ  85255

480 236 4266

www.peakperformancecorp.com

www.joycefriel.blogspot.com

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The higher you go in an organization the more the skill set needed changes from technical competence to the broader skill of conceptualization.  Getting in the door requires technical knowledge of your chosen field, the right attitude and the inherent characteristics valued by the hiring organization. The first several positions you hold are quite likely to be based upon your knowledge, job skill and the ability to delivery specific results. Results get you promoted to higher and higher levels, but at some point the skill set requirements change.

Leading an organization requires the ability to conceptualize about the issues and concerns of an organization, as well as, what is needed in the future.  Conceptualization is all about being able to see that which is not there.  The ability to look at a set of actual circumstances and see beyond them in order to determine the problem or opportunity they present.  This skill is about recognizing how the functions of an organization are all interdependent; how changes in one area impact all the others.  The ability to see customers needs and project the solution in not-yet-developed products or services your organization can provide.  Conceptualization is critical both in solving today’s problems, as well as, anticipating the needs of the market and then having the solution prepared in time to capture the opportunity. 

Conceptualization is not a skill learned once you are at the executive level. It is a developmental skill that needs to be honed all along the way.  The ability to see conceptually can be improved by holding a variety of positions and thereby broadening your entire conceptual spectrum of how business operates, taking on special interdepartmental assignments, and working with specific problems that you would not otherwise encounter in the course of your normal work, but which are necessary to broaden your thinking and skill.

So if you are already a good conceptual thinker, what do you need to be doing to help others in your organization achieve this same level of expertise?   What did you do to learn this skill that might be of particular value to others?  If you need to develop your ability to see conceptually more easily or more deeply, what projects, tasks or assignments do you need to seek out?   Is your mentor a good conceptual thinker? If not, maybe you need to find an additional mentor who is particularly good at thinking conceptually.

 You’ll be hard-pressed to find a senior-level leader that is still operating at the technical skills level.  The higher you go the more you get removed from the technical side of your business. However, you’ll find the best leaders you know are good conceptual leaders and if they recognize this as a weakness in their skill set, they have surrounded themselves with others who have this talent.

 Follow me at http://joycefriel.blogspot.com and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joycefriel

For info on new programs browse  http://www.peakperformancecorp.com or call me at 480-236-4266.

Joyce Friel

Peak Performance Consulting

11353 E. Raintree Drive

Scottsdale, AZ  85255

480 236 4266

www.peakperformancecorp.com

www.joycefriel.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com

Part of the proverbial American dream is to be wealthy enough to be considered a philanthropist.  Oh, to be Carnegie, a Rockefeller, a Buffett or one of the Gateses.  Alas, statistically it isn’t likely that many of you reading this TIPS newsletter will achieve this lofty level of wealth, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be philanthropists of another type.  I contend there are many ways to be philanthropic regardless of our wealth.  I have long considered myself a philanthropist of time more than of money. 

While there have been many times in my life that I would truly enjoy being a member of the mega-wealthy crowd, actually becoming a member isn’t very likely.  I have often wished I had enough wealth to be able to spontaneously buy just the right thing when I spot it for friends, family and acquaintances.   One of life’s real pleasures for me is spotting the right thing, purchasing it and seeing the sparkle and joy in the recipient’s eye’s when you know it is just the right gift received as a surprise.  So I have often wished for wealth so I could provide surprise treats for friends.   Gifting in this manner gives me pleasure by seeing the pleasure it provides others.  And while seeing the joy these gifts brings is more gratifying than gifts that are given when you don’t see the faces of the recipients, ‘hidden’ gifts are valued as much if not more by the recipients and very often needed much more. 

I know both intellectually and emotionally when I give of my time in service to others, my giving is compounded many times over.  Just like in monetary compound interest, the donation of my time is compounded many times through the additional services it provides to others in need.  In this way I see myself as a philanthropist of time rather than money.  And not matter what our monetary wealth is we each can give of our time and in this way compound the initial benefit. 

In addition to seeing myself as a philanthropist of time rather than money, I also see myself as a social venture capitalist.  Typically, venture capitalists provide financial assistance to aspiring, worthy causes in order to develop, market, produce or sell their ideas and products.  I am a non-financial venture capitalist.   I give my time to worthy causes who in turn fulfill needs in society that I can’t directly fulfill myself.  Again, I can be a philanthropist without being wealthy by finding ways to compound the benefit of my offering and thus multiplying the value others receive. 

What are you passionate about?  What unmet needs do you see around you that you have the skill and knowledge to aid?   What unmet needs can you fulfill and not spend money doing it?  What would you fund if you had the mega-wealth of financial philanthropists?  If you had large sums of wealth what organizations would you donate to?  What needs do these organizations have that you have the talent to help solve?  I know there are needs all around us that we often don’t see because we haven’t trained ourselves to look for the opportunities and/or we haven’t chosen to see ourselves as philanthropists or social venture capitalists in a non-financial way.

Warren Buffett and the Gateses are challenging the Forbes 400 wealthiest people in the world to give huge portions of their wealth during their life times.  This is not only a US challenge, but a world challenge.  Imagine the difference in our social issues, society in general, the financial spin-off effect and the sense of well-being throughout the world if this happens.  But also imagine the same social impact if each of us began to see ourselves as social venture capitalists and philanthropists of our time and talent regardless of our wealth.  What a difference each offering can make when it is compounded millions of times.

I challenge you to find one unmet need around you, offer your assistance, and find true pleasure in offering your skill, talent or service.  If each reader of this newsletter did this there would already be a huge social impact. I hope Buffett and the Gateses are successful in their challenge to their wealthy friends, and I also hope I am successful in challenging each of you to find and fulfill an unmet need in an area that feeds your passion. 

Just imagine the possibilities our collective gifts make.  It’s good for society, it makes the world a better place, it’s good for business, and you’ll be feeding your soul. 

For info on new programs browse  http://www.peakperformancecorp.com or call me at 480-236-4266.

Joyce Friel

Peak Performance Consulting

11353 E. Raintree Drive

Scottsdale, AZ  85255

480 236 4266

www.peakperformancecorp.com

www.joycefriel.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com