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

www.twitter.com

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

Much of personal success starts with creating and continually molding your personal brand. Your behaviors and results are the outward manifestation of your personal brand. Several years ago I developed a Cultural Framework© model to help guide the cultural development of a client organization. I’ve adapted this model into a Personal Branding Process© model (attached). Let’s diagnose the model so you can analyze your own brand.

You are in the middle of the model. What causes you to behave as you do and, therefore, produce the results you deliver are all of the items in the boxes to the left and at the top and bottom of the model in addition to the policies, practices, procedures, protocols, structure and infrastructure of the organization.

Input examples are customer demands, things the boss is asking for, the needs of your team, your perception of the market, etc.
Non-work Culture examples are your home environment, your heritage, your family values, etc.
Competition examples are others vying for your job and interviewees for open positions
Organizational Structure examples are infrastructure and the 4 P’s (policies, procedures, practices, and protocols)
Outputs examples are your work, your results, your behaviors, your leadership and your reputation

All these forces factored together mold who you are, how you behavior, how you go about your work, and the values you demonstrate in doing so. In short, the outputs you produce and how you produce them.

Even in solopreneur organizations all these forces are constantly in play. While in a larger organization, there is more formality nonetheless all of entire model exists in more casual, unwritten forms in even the smallest organizations. This may sound academic, but that is not my intent. The intent is to give you a mechanism for analyzing what shapes your personal brand and a tool for analyzing and making adjustments if you want to or need to.

Many years ago, I read a book entitled, Lions Don’t Need To Roar, by Debra Benton. She writes about how the lion because of personal branding…what she calls presence…. doesn’t have to roar. The lion’s brand alone establishes their presence and reputation. To use a familiar phrase, their reputation precedes them. This model is offered as a way for you to do your own personal brand self-examination.

Why do you return to the same stores over and over again to buy the same products over and over again? Is it because of price, convenience, value, location, reliability, ambiance, friendliness, appearance or any of a number of other factors? So why do you think others continue to buy from you or seek you out? Is it the value you deliver, your appearance, your convenience or proximity to them, the ambiance you create, your friendliness or your price? Whether you are a business owner or an employee, all these questions apply equally. What you say, what you do, what you write, and how you do it are shaped by all the forces in the model and they converge to impact how you do your work and reflect your brand. I challenge you to examine your personal brand and make it what it needs to be to enhance your success. If you don’t consciously brand yourself, others will create that brand for you. Remember, the lion doesn’t need to roar and neither do you.

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

Like most American businesses you probably would like a quick fix, an easy elixir, a sure-fired solution to employee turnover, finding the best AND keeping them, creating a rewarding and resilient place to work, and along the way making some profit. It is easy to hope for solutions, but then hope isn’t a strategy. So how do those organizations that get named to one of the “best places to work” lists do it?

I have not made a study of the companies that have been named to these lists, but I can pretty safely bet that at the core they all share some common components. Of course, these components will look a bit different, take on a different flavor, play out differently from company to company, but at the heart of all of them I suspect they each share a few common ingredients. Among these are:

Core Values – They each know the principles and values upon which they are building a solid foundation. They know and talk about what they expect from their leadership and their employees. Underpinning the behaviors of such companies are the principles of respect, trust, service-delivery, community citizenship, and
recognition and reward.

Goals – Goals are defined, shared and results tracked. Everyone knows what they are striving for, how it will help the company and themselves. Results are monitored, rewarded and reinforced universally.

Human Capital – Human capital is managed as seriously as the organizations financial capital. Finding, employing and keeping the right talent and fit for the necessary roles within the company impacts every companies ability to service it’s clients and realize a profit. One client I had a few years ago had 100% turnover…and they wondered how they could become more profitable! The revolving door of employees seriously erodes corporate culture and performance. Dissatisfaction breeds unhappiness so managing human capital with intent and skill is the keystone to corporate profits.

Communication and Listening – Everyone listens and shares information with the intent to understand and to gain understanding before offering a rebuttal. Teamwork,
collaboration, trust, respect and workplace satisfaction cannot be optimized without focused individual attention to communicating effectively.

Community – Everyone has a sense of community, of caring, and of being cared for. A sense of community in the workplace goes way back to the Hawthorne studies in 1933. The more we believe people care about us and care for us the more we reciprocate and contribute. Profits, robust culture, wanting to be at work all suffer if a sense of community is absent in the workplace. It’s the common bond that binds and allows profitability to grow.

Leadership – Leading by example is the simplest way to explain what people expect. If leaders themselves exemplify what they expect of their followers, leadership is much easier. You don’t learn to be a leader by following some B-school set of books or formulas. You learn to lead by simply living the example of what you expect of
your employees and what you see demonstrated by leaders you yourself admire.

Of course, the intent of every business owner is to build a successful organization and of course they want low turnover and few personnel issues because dealing withthe soft stuff is always the hard stuff. I know the ingredients I’ve listed are core to being the best, but what is so rewarding is to see it play out before your very eyes in a
company you know first hand. At this point I have to stop and brag a second. What caused me to write on this particular topic was something that happened to my son’s company. Actually, it is a company co-founded by my husband and son. Peaksware, LLC was named as one of America’s Best Places to Work buy Outside Magazine.
Thank you for letting me brag just a bit.

If you have built it and they are coming, but not staying you might examine this short list above to identify what’s missing. Why are people leaving? While sometimes people leave for more money, often it is because they don’t find the sense of community, engagement, and enrichment they need in order to grow, thrive and contribute fully.

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

Set a goal and you achieve it.   Keep wishing for something and you are able to get it.   Think negative thoughts and bad things happen. Think positive thoughts and good things happen. Ever wonder why?

I know from my own experience and the experiences of my clients that having a well-thought out strategy with quantifiable measure that is actively used to guide the business exponentially increases the probability of improved results. I also know if you don’t have a strategy you’ll go wherever life takes you and it may not be where you want to go. So what gives goal setting and mental message such power?

Napoleon Hill wrote about the Law of Success pointing out that some of the key ingredients are self-control, enthusiasm, commitment to self and belief in possibilities.

It is these same ingredients that make goal setting and mental messages so powerful. If the CD in your mind constantly plays positive messages about possibilities for achieving your goals, inherently your chances of success are significantly improved because you begin to see all sorts of opportunities for fulfilling those goals.

Likewise, if your mental playlist plays only negative tunes and is filled with doom and gloom you will only see barriers to your goals.

We each have the personal power to change the results we are getting because we each have the personal power to determine what we want to think and therefore what we are likely to achieve. If we don’t have influence and power over ourselves, then who can we influence? Getting what we want, succeeding rather than failing starts with a self-commitment to influence ourselves positively in order to fill our lives with possibilities and potential.

Changing our results starts with our own mental messages which are based on our belief system. My belief system is that we all have choices and that we each have to be accountable for owning our own choices. I may not like the choices others make that have adverse impact on me, but I do have choice about how I react, the mental messages I tell myself about the circumstances, and the power to influence and change my own actions as a result.

Maybe now is a good time to do a bit of self-assessment. What is the mental playlist you’ve been listening to lately? Is it affirming or disaffirming what you want in your life? What do you feel you have little control over that in fact you can begin to influence just by how you choose to think about it? Are you willing to try to change how you think about your goals and what you want or does your belief system tell you others are in control of your own thoughts and beliefs?

* * * * *

Want to improve your business success? Want to improve your golf game? What, you don’t play golf? Not a problem. Come see how you can improve your business success and have some fun on the course at the new “Birdies, Bogeys and Business: Success On and Off the Course” program. See details at http://www.peakperformancecorp.com

Joyce Friel

Peak Performance Consulting

11353 E. Raintree Drive

Scottsdale, AZ 85255

480 236 4266

www.peakperformancecorp.com

www.joycefriel.blogspot.com

Can you imagine what a catastrophe it would be if Santa didn’t manage his workshop well?  The elves would be running amuck and children everywhere would lose faith in the spirit, joy and hope of the big guy in red.  I can just picture it now…

• Instead of following the instructions and holding themselves accountable the elves didn’t follow the ‘some assembly required’ instructions so toys didn’t work when they were delivered on Christmas morning
• They had a list, but they weren’t checking it twice so quality control was non-existent
• Teamwork was being eroded by lots of petty bickering and talk behind the elves backs – just picture all those whispers about Rudolf’s nose!
• Being good and nice got replaced with being bad and naughty; there were outbursts of crying and whining in the workshop – the HR department in Toyland was on overload
• The sleigh and big bags for toys were waiting, but the elves hadn’t followed the production plan so last minute crisis and pandemonium reigned right up to the deadline on the 24th
• The financial statement for Toyland is in the RED – there is so much waste, inefficiency and self-interest that Santa is about to declare bankruptcy!

 What dire picture, indeed!   So to make Toyland run smoothly Santa’s New Year’s Resolution is for everyone…

• To know the mission, rules and procedures
• To be treated with respect and dignity
• To tell truth…always  
• To make commitments and keep promises  
• To build in quality and do it right the first time
• And for Santa to lead by example by taking a stand for what’s right!

Sounds like a pretty good prescription for success whether you’re the leader of Toyland or your own company, right? 

Happy Holidays to everyone – may all your wishes come true!

I appreciate so much your business, referrals and friendship throughout the years.

May 2010 bring each of you prosperity, health and happiness!

Follow me at http://joycefriel.blogspot.com

and on

Twitter at www.twitter.com/joycefriel

Mental models help us remember critical concepts.  One mental model I use daily consists of the Five P’s of Organizational Leadership.   The Five P’s are the backbone of all organizational structures.  By analyzing each of these individually and also as an interdependent system, the root causes of many organizational malfunctions and performance concerns can be determined.    Change any of the five and you inherently change the whole so both independent and interdependent analysis is required.   

Every organizational analysis I have ever done has been based upon this simple, yet complete model.  The more organizational leaders understand the interdependence of these five dynamics the more they will increase their leadership capability.  Leading without understanding these five key functions and the interdependence of them, often leads to increased ineffectiveness. 

• People -  As the phrase goes, get the right people on the bus and get the wrong people that are on the bus off.  No matter what profession or industry you are in, all of your products and services are delivered through your staff so Rule Number 1 is ‘get the right people on the bus’ and make sure they know where the company is going and how they can help the organization succeed.  
• Policies - Policies are those formalized, written ‘rules to live by’ within a company.  They specify WHAT. Keep them simple, easy to understand, logical and as few as necessary to be effective.  In general, the more you get the right people on the bus the fewer policies you need.
• Practices - Practices are the collective habits and actions that tell people WHAT and HOW to do and not do, but they are not written.  They are what people see and hear, not what they read.
• Procedures - Procedures are written sets of instructions that tell people HOW to do specific tasks.  They are often used as training aids and help achieve consistency.
• Processes  -  Systems, structures, infrastructures all have processes that define both HOW and WHAT.

If you have a particular problem or concern you’d like to analyze, give me a call or send me an email.   I’d be happy to help you analyze the situation using the Five P’s of Organizational Leadership model.

 Joyce Friel

Peak Performance Consulting

 480 236 4266

www.peakperformancecorp.com

www.joycefriel.blogspot.com

www.twitter.com