Welcome to the Liquid Leadership Archives.

Welcome. 

This my friends is the archives of the companion blog to my award-winning book Liquid Leadership: From Woodstock to Wikipedia.

As you might know, the subtitle says it all: Multi-Generational Management Ideas That Are Changing The Way We Run Things.

It's not that I've stopped writing, it's that I am moving past Liquid Leadership, and into brand new territory. If you scroll through, you will take a journey through time, and perhaps find a few gems along the way.

If you need to find me there are several new projects on the forefront these days...

My passion is my podcast Awakened Nation®.

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Season 3: Episode 54:

Becoming Enough With Panache Desai

"There's something simply cathartic about chopping vegetables or making huge vats of dal or cleaning the toilet... I realized that selfless service was cleaning me. Whatever activity I was engaged in, I was scrubbing myself. "

NY Times Bestselling author Panache Desai joins us on Awakened Nation to talk about the way he has learned to find his peace in life and how grace extended beyond any religion to help your soul find it's truth. This powerful and stirring conversation will light a path for you in these uneasy times. 

Stop by and leave a review.

Thank you for your support through the years...

Leadership Lessons #1: Obtaining The Consciousness Of Leadership

Originally Published February 21, 2008

Part 2 of 4 in my Leadership Lessons Series:

"Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge."
— Plato

Summer, 1981. I become one of many assistant managers in the games division of Hershey Park. It was my first real management position and I remember it as if it was yesterday.

Back-to-back for two previous summers, I worked in every single games booth as a barker - you know the job, "Step right up and give it a try!" and I was required to wear a bright crayon yellow shirt with rainbow bars on the shoulders, navy blue pants, and, to signify my rank, a white name tag with black all cap lettering to identify my status. No title, no last name, just me and a blue Hershey Park logo. All divisions at Hershey were required to wear a different uniform to determine their section - sanitation and food prep was a striped blue shirt with navy pants, security was a light brown shirt with chocolate colored pants, the rides division was also blue but a different style. The ever-present sweepers, all girls, were allowed to wear shorts with white bobby socks but the guys had to suffer through the summer in long pants.

Within each division, there were managers - green tags were assistant managers, blue tags were managers, and brown tags worked for Hershey directly. If a brown tag told you to jump, you asked how high. The color of one's tag was the rigid cast system under which we worked. Who knew "Hershey Park Happy" was based on solid management principles?

Over a slow two-year period, I had proven myself trustworthy, shown a solid work ethic, and exemplified leadership skills. I requested the coveted assistant manager position of green tag. To go from being a worker bee in a uniform with a white name tag, to moving up in rank to the first rung of management was a leap and very rare. I was only 18 years of age, but I wanted everything that came with that little green bar that was worn on my left lapel - respect, freedom, better pay, and the power that comes from management.

It was a huge mental shift. The week before I was in a uniform and now I was wearing the ubiquitous casual street look of all Hershey Park managers: A Polo shirt neatly tucked in, khaki pants and extremely comfortable dress shoes. No hat. Nothing screams Preppy louder than a blond haired guy in khakis.

Through a mix-up, my green tag hadn't shown up for about 2 weeks. So here I was out of uniform in what looked like manager's clothes but without a tag to prove it. Strange as it seems, the people I had worked side-by-side with all those years while in uniform, didn't respect me once I appeared outside a booth in regular clothes. No one listened to me, nor did they do anything I requested without rolling their eyes. Beyond the frustration of having to do everything myself, I was working twelve-hour days in sweltering 95-degree heat.

Today I understand what I would have done differently as my wife always says, "We teach others how to treat us," and I would have been much firmer. I was 18 and inexperienced, but I at least had a small amount of wisdom. I asked my fellow managers how to handle the situation, and their suggestions became invaluable throughout the years.

Eventually my green tag arrived and those who had been insubordinate, suddenly had a newfound respect for me. The green tag made my position real. Over the next two years I learned the basics of leadership - never connecting the dots until years later - that served me well at the helm of my own companies.

I know what it's like to rise through the ranks. It can be rewarding and rich with experiences. It can inspire jealousy in some, admiration in others. Either way, things never stay the same, and like it or not, the decisions are on your shoulders. But, always remember that it is a two way street between management and the work staff - You can't get any work done without them and they entrust you to see the bigger picture. Quid pro quo.

So what advice can I give to those of you who are rising into management positions from within your own organizations? Here's a quick word of advice through 30 years of hard knocks:

First: Realize that just because you are a manager doesn't mean you have some how magically obtained the skills to lead. That takes time, effort and a little humble pie. To be a leader you have to wear the consciousness of a leader. That means, you have to own it.

Second: Although you may be good at the job that earned you the promotion, you may not be the best leader for that department. Everybody knows your weaknesses and your secrets, therefore respect in the new position may take a very long time. That's why the military moves a newly promoted soldier to a different platoon. Peer groups don't see their former colleague as a part of the hierarchy.

Third: To obtain the knowledge of leadership start studying it. I read books like How Great Generals Win, or The Art of War, or Leadership 101. Emulate the leaders you admire... Jack Welch, Carly Fiorina, Steven Jobs, etc...read their books and learn. Some act like entrepreneurs and others act like executives and you can learn from the best while you're at it.

I hope that helps. I've made plenty of mistakes over the years but I have dedicated myself to learning more.

Thanks for reading,


Brad

Brad Szollose
The Art & Science of Leadership

Creative Director • Designer  •  Author  •  Workshop Facilitator  •  Keynote Speaker

Former Dot Com Executive and Baby Boomer Brad Szollose, is an award winning leadership strategist, author and professional speaker who shows people managers and entrepreneurs how to win big in the Information Age.

For more info, go to http://bradszollose.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/948820

Leadership Lessons #2: Establishing Your Own Management Style

Originally Published February 21, 2008

Part 2 of 4 in my Leadership Lessons Series:

I have worked for over 30+ years in various areas of the design business - from advertising to branding, from corporate events and the early days of slide production, to high-tech screen configurations and audience response systems. The styles of management that worked best seemed to respect the culture, the skills of their workforce and the environment they expected people to work within. Those that did not, went out of business.

Case in point: one of the first jobs I had in New York City was at a slide production house. The new owner, Mr. G (not his real name), came in and bought the business lock stock and barrel. As a former executive with Otis Elevator, he felt it was high time some corporate structure was brought to the design field. Somehow he assumed that production artists and designers were not as structured as the corporate world he came from (Perhaps the Mr. Potato Head on the 20" monitor may have been what did it).

Mr. Ron G would walk around the office twice a day like the commander of a ship wearing his Otis Elevator tie clip to remind us all where he came from and how powerful he used to be. Nevertheless, his twice-daily jaunts were always at the slowest times of production but at the peak time for sales calls. Work would slow down as his Australian accent pierced the office and he forced everyone to listen to his tales from the "real" corporate world. His opinion was forged by what he saw from us when on these walks. To him, we weren't working very hard. And we weren't...we were talking to him!

Since he never integrated himself into the company culture, he never found out that every 8:00 AM shift change was filled with mounds of paper work, double tracking, and a check list that only the CIA could have invented, all for the sole purpose of keeping track of billings. Between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM chaos reigned as messengers arrived to whisk the slides to their destinations. This was long before Power Point and Macintosh. Slides were produced on a Genigraphics machine, and the night shifts' hard work was rushed to most clients' desks between 9:00 and 9:30 AM.

Where was Mr. G during all this chaos? 

In his office with the door closed only 50 feet away from the production station. I guess he was strategizing his big walk.

The second time everything heated up was at around 4:00 PM when production prepared to pass the day shift production over to the night shift personnel. Paperwork was meticulously checked and discussed with each designer. Nothing could be left to chance. Each color had a number, each typeface, and, of course, a set of full color comps. Designed, programmed, photographed and processed for the following day.

As the year went on, Mr. G added a memo policy. With 10 day-shift employees it was really not necessary to pass a memo to the person sitting next to you. But that's what he wanted. He never understood that the business of slide production was a multi-billion-dollar industry because he had never seen a full-scale meeting, with staging and lighting and giant sets. Slides were a tiny component of that industry and he slowly began to wonder why his company was not profitable. Because he did not respect his staff, no one helped him make the leap from production to full-scale meetings. Why bother with someone when you know they don't appreciate the work you do? People began to show signs of insubordination out of frustration.

Mr. G began to micro-manage his company into the ground and, in a last-ditch effort to shake things up, he fired his top sales people. The company went under less than a year after I left. People were happy about it. If only he had asked his staff what was going on, they could have shown him another side of the industry. The more profitable side.

What did I learn? Here are my top three lessons:

1) Integrate Your Management Style into Your Workforce Culture.

In the printing industry, yelling on the main floor is considered the norm, whereas yelling in an accounting firm would get you fired. Integration will command respect and allow you to institute changes that seem organic.

2) Never Assume Your Staff Doesn't 'Get It.'

They see more than you, because they are on the front lines everyday. Trust me, they know why there is a problem in shipping. Ask their opinion and respect it. You may see the bigger picture, but they are the ones getting their hands dirty.

3) Loosen Up.

We have entered a new era in business. People like to collaborate with each other both at home and at work. The norm used to be that employees tolerated each other during lame team building exercises just to make management happy. Bonding took place only at work when necessary...usually at the company Holiday Party.

Not anymore. Fortune magazine Feb. 4 2008 did a cover article on The 100 Best Companies To Work For. Today, many a workforce hangs out together, join hockey teams, go on vacations and even form rock bands. The corporation is now becoming a socially acceptable peer network were each shares in their work, hobbies and just plain fun. Milton Hershey did the same thing for his workforce at the Hershey Chocolate Factory. 100 years later, that became Hersheypark.

So lighten up...it's the new trend. And it doesn't hurt production, it enhances it. Imagine people getting jazzed about coming to work. Try stopping that group from being more productive.


Thanks for reading,


Brad

Brad Szollose
The Art & Science of Leadership

Creative Director • Designer  •  Author  •  Workshop Facilitator  •  Keynote Speaker

Former Dot Com Executive and Baby Boomer Brad Szollose, is an award winning leadership strategist, author and professional speaker who shows people managers and entrepreneurs how to win big in the Information Age.

For more info, go to http://bradszollose.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1000104

Leadership Lessons #3: Work on Being Respected, Not Liked

Published February 21, 2008

Part 3 of 4 in my Leadership Lessons Series:

At 18, I was promoted to a new Assistant Manager role at Hersheypark in the games division. Although I was young, I knew what I wanted and how to get it done. It wasn't always an easy road, but I learned to respect my staff and get them motivated. Barkers are expected to entice people all day to play games for extraordinary prizes...you know, stuffed animals.

I'd schedule an early Saturday morning meeting for my team. Saturday was known as D-day because this was the busiest day of the week. Four of the eleven barkers I supervised worked incredibly hard and the rest were just showing up for a paycheck. It was a summer job and most didn't care.

Those four became my backbone for collection and banking. At 18, I was in charge of collecting over one hundred thousand dollars in revenue per month. I needed people who were reliable, worked fast, and had earned the two-hour break to get out of a booth and work with me one-on-one. After we finished, I treated them to ice cream sodas before they hopped back into a booth for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, I couldn't use them all at once, but I rotated them as frequently as possible.

During one beautiful Saturday morning, during our meeting, the leader of the disgruntled blurted out,
"You play favorites." They all chimed up in unison. 

"Yeah, you play favorites." Chatter ensued.

I shot back immediately..."You're right, I do."

They were stunned. They expected me to deny it, or placate them, or worse yet, pretend to feel bad and win them over by trying harder to make them happy. Instead, I went on, "And I will continue to hand pick these four until one of you steps up to the plate and shows me you want it bad enough. I reward those who go the extra mile. You do that and I will give you the shirt off my back. If you don't, I couldn't care less."

The results of that little speech were astronomical. Within two weeks, I had seven employees with new attitudes. It was like the Stepford Wives. They worked harder, complained less and competed amongst each other. The increased revenue showed. Of course, I backed up what I said - extra effort was rewarded with cash bonus awards and, what they all craved, getting handpicked for collection. Within two more weeks, everyone was pushing the envelope to see who would get in my good graces. What I learned was invaluable. In my own naïve and untrained way, I learned that respect came from the consistent application of my management style. Fair, approachable and firm, seemed to work for me.

One little speech turned a lack luster staff into a dynamo. In today's work environment, people are far more dynamic than our parents, they have to be, each generation has learned double the information of the previous one. Speed, multitasking and global connectivity are the norm.

Here is what have I learned in 30 years of managing people:

1) Respect Your Team. 

People work harder for those who respect their contributions and in today's technology-driven landscape you want the best people working for you. A general is only as good as his army. So, respect the accomplishments of even your part-time workforce. Rewarding everybody equally is a form of socialism. Creating an environment of healthy competition and reward pushes your office to another level of productivity and creativity. It will also help you maintain your cutting-edge status.

Merit-Based Work, Results Only Work Environments work best in my book.

2) Be Firm, Fair and Consistent. 

I have tried all kinds of styles over the years and, yes, I've tried Mr. Nice Guy in order to compensate for a business partner who was a bulldog to our staff. What begins to happen is the staff will go to the "parent" they think will give them the better answer. It doesn't work. Try getting someone to stay late and work on something. Which manager do you think they'll stay for - the one they like, or the one they respect?

3) Reward Winners. 

I was working with one of the top pharmaceutical companies in America last year. Their executive vice president of sales stepped forward and placed a challenge before them: The top 9 sales reps will be flown to Costa Rica for an all expense paid vacation for the winner and their spouse. All they had to do was blow the doors off their previous sales records. The crowd went crazy. Big gains require big steps, and she planted the flag for them to follow.

Most of you do not have the budget to fly people to Costa Rica, but try some sort of 'effort gets rewarded' program. 

Establishing healthy competition within your organization is paramount to success. But most importantly, the rewards must be worth it. Get creative, make it fun, and most of all, give big.

I hope that helps those of you looking to motivate your best people and win them over. Work on gaining respect, it pays off quite nicely.

And by the way, once you are respected, you'll be liked.

Thanks for reading,


Brad

Brad Szollose
The Art & Science of Leadership

Creative Director • Designer  •  Author  •  Workshop Facilitator  •  Keynote Speaker

Former Dot Com Executive and Baby Boomer Brad Szollose, is an award winning leadership strategist, author and professional speaker who shows people managers and entrepreneurs how to win big in the Information Age.

For more info, go to http://bradszollose.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Brad_Szollose/36351

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1000246

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Brad_Szollose/36351


May I suggest the following:


No More Mr. Nice Guy! by Robert A. Glover

Originally published as an e-book that became a controversial media phenomenon, No More Mr. Nice Guy! landed its author, a certified marriage and family therapist, on The O'Reilly Factor and the Rush Limbaugh radio show. Dr. Robert Glover has dubbed the "Nice Guy Syndrome" trying too hard to please others while neglecting one's own needs, thus causing unhappiness and resentfulness. It's no wonder that unfulfilled Nice Guys lash out in frustration at their loved ones, claims Dr. Glover. He explains how they can stop seeking approval and start getting what they want in life, by presenting the information and tools to help them ensure their needs are met, to express their emotions, to have a satisfying sex life, to embrace their masculinity and form meaningful relationships with other men, and to live up to their creative potential.

Leadership Lessons #4: Become a Resource, Not a Know-It-All

Published February 21, 2008

Part 4 of 4 in my Leadership Lessons Series:

I recently accompanied a friend of mine to the doctors office, but she was not the patient - her son was. The young 15 year old was having weight gain issues. Naturally the mother was worried. The reason I was there was she had voiced her frustration with this particular doctor.

After reading the young man's info the doctor began chastising him for his diet. We assured her that he eats less than 2000 calories per day and eats healthy - salad, fruits and vegetables, no butter occasionally soda and, being a teenager, he eats one cheeseburger with fries at least once a week. He confirmed all this and told the doctor when he cheats at the mall. The young man was embarrassed, but honest. Pizza was very rarely on his diet.

This didn't satisfy the doctor. She laid into him for not working out enough. She just assumed that someone who gains weight is lazy and eating junk. This was not the case, so again we corrected her, explaining that the young man was a black belt in Karate and works out 5 times a week for 4 hours each night. "Well he needs to do more sit ups." as she pointed to his distended belly...I burst out laughing "He does 600 sit-ups every night at Karate, that's 2400 sit-ups a week, and he's in better shape than kids half his weight...so now your saying more sit-ups?"

Then the doctor went back to complaining about his diet. Clearly she wasn't listening. At that point I lost my temper..."Are you even reading his chart? If it's not his diet and definitely not exercise then it must be glandular. You can't eat less than 2000 calories a day and exercise the way he does and not be skinny. It is physically impossible."

And then I realized what had taken place. The doctor had assumed the role of the One Who Knows All
and stopped listening to the patient. 

As far as she was concerned, this kid was lazy and eating junk food 24 hours a day in front of the TV. To her, our input was a waste of time.

How many times has this happened in your life? How many times have you done it to others?

Being a know it all shuts down communication and makes an executive, manager, parent, doctor or coach look like a world class jerk. But I can see where this behavior comes from. Since the Industrial Revolution, most management has been autonomous and hierarchical. One rose to management status by gaining knowledge and keeping that knowledge to themselves. Authority and power marked the executive. One didn't rise to this height in the business world by listening to the little people. But, somewhere around 1985, a shift took place that would start the doubling of knowledge that would keep pushing the understanding of what it meant to learn and to manage.

New generations started coming up through the ranks capable of handling mounds of data in a way that the Boomer mind can barely handle. After all, Boomers didn't learn about computers until they were well into their careers. Today's younger workforce grew up with computers in their homes since they were children. They also grew up with video games.

This tiny shift has created a workforce that is capable of speed despite distraction, efficiency despite transience, and global understanding, despite localized location. The platform doesn't matter, and if you the Baby Boomer thinks you can keep up...you are sadly mistaken. Data crunching is normal to anyone born in the mid 80s.

In their book Got Game? by John C. Beck and Mitchell Wade, the biggest difference between Boomers and Gamers is Parallel Thinking. Let me explain - Boomers see a task as linear- a beginning, middle and end. Gen X, Gen Y and Millennials see everything with Parallel Thinking - five ideas at once with no end in site. This is why they multitask so easily. They were raised in it.

But are they getting any work done in this multitasking world?

I don't know why, but somehow I got lumped in with the Boomer Generation despite being so close in age to Gen-X. Baby Boomers listened to the Beatles. They were defined by Woodstock, Jimmy Hendrix and Vietnam. I was defined by John Travolta, KC and the Sunshine Band and Jimmy Carter. However, marketers seem to call the shots these days, and I have been put into Boomer territory.

The workforce I created at K2 Design, to tackle the interactive world, was filled with Gen X. They were trained to dive in and be fearless with new tasks. I realized that a Boomer was incapable of keeping pace with this kind of methodology: data immersion, multitasking and a chaotic work ethic. To a Boomer, this is crazy. To Gen X, Gen Y and Millennials, there is no cooler way to work.

My solution? I become a resource for talent and knowledge. Moving people around to meet our clients' needs: A structured interface design for Citibank would require Jason to manage the project. When AOL wanted a more organic and feminine style for one of their divisions, I chose Renée. Chris could handle interactive video and Vinton could do it all.

The old way of hierarchy does not work anymore. 

Today's young workforce is very savvy and very aware of things that may have taken you your entire career to learn. This generation was expected to be an adult at a very young age, so don't think you can fool them. Instead, manage their expertise. They think like entrepreneurs, not employees. So when you pretend to know more, you may find yourself talking to an empty office.

Leadership is not something one learns by reading a book or a Blog. It's about doing it. Much as studying aerodynamics does not make a great pilot, leadership is about learning by doing, and, most importantly, learning from one's mistakes. Gen X, Gen Y and Millennials were trained as children to think this way through in-depth video game play during childhood. Respect that.

Too many people are promoted to management because they were the best salesperson or the best scientist or the best assembler. This doesn't necessarily make them the best at leadership when offered the position. Leading people is another set of skills altogether. Great speakers may not be very good at Power Point, and great CEO's may not know anything about how to build a car, but they do know how to motivate and inspire. Those skills may come in time. So if you've been recruited from within, remember, it may be because you were the alpha member of your team. To become their leader may require another set of skills.

But whatever you do, try not to be a know it all. They are predicting that by the year 2010, Technological Information will double every 72 hours. So, you can try to know it all, but physically it will be impossible.

Thanks for reading,


Brad

Brad Szollose
The Art & Science of Leadership

Creative Director • Designer  •  Author  •  Workshop Facilitator  •  Keynote Speaker

Former Dot Com Executive and Baby Boomer Brad Szollose, is an award winning leadership strategist, author and professional speaker who shows people managers and entrepreneurs how to win big in the Information Age.

For more info, go to http://bradszollose.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Brad_Szollose/36351

Handling Problem Employees in The Digital Age

A friend of mine owns one of the largest independent web agencies on the East Coast. He is sharp, takes no prisoners and runs his company like a well-oiled machine. Business is great these days. Over the past five years he's had his ups and downs, but after reviewing the bigger picture, he is taking very cautious expansion steps.  

When last we spoke, he was focused on a larger space, getting investors and attracting top talent in full-time positions.

Our phone conversation went something like this:

"We hired a full-time writer with great credentials and a killer resume."

"And the problem is?" I like to tease him for maximum effect...I knew where he was headed.

"Well, it turns out he can't write worth spit!"

"So rescind your offer and look for someone else."

"You don't understand...He starts full-time employment in two weeks."

"You signed an employment contract?"

"Yes."

"How did you not find this out sooner?"

"His references checked out and his writing samples were perfect...what should I do?"

"Did you talk to your lawyer?"

"Yes."

I come from the old school of management, so I suggested he fire the guy and let the chips fall where they may. But times are different. Firing someone when they are about to transition from one job to the other can leave even a small company in a precarious situation.

94% of all lawsuits in the world take place in the United States. Suing companies is big business here.

It turns out, my friend had done his due diligence. He saw no reason not to sign the employment contract. Mr. Incompetent put in his two weeks notice and was just about to start. Over a two-week period they had him get his feet wet by freelancing on some projects. It became apparent that this guy had grossly misrepresented himself. After sending me some samples, I realized this future employee was writing below a 6th grade level. At $85,000 a year, this had the potential to be a major lawsuit.

It seemed so cut and dry - employee can't do the job so fire him. But why can't he be fired before he starts?

I spoke with another colleague and friend Bruce Fuller, (former), head of Human Resources at Newmark Night Frank of New York City. His response comes from 20 years as a human resource professional...

"To do this justice we have to crank back the video tape and ask a question: How in the world could an offer go out to a corporate writer at that salary and you didn't know he couldn't write? The manager who hired this person should be handed their hat. I would bet you a weeks pay his old company is laughing all the way to the bar because they were able to unload this lox on you. At this point the only cheap long shot way out is hoping for an unacceptable background report (If you do them. If you don't...double shame).

Alternatively, you can hire a good labor attorney who might be able to get you out of this deal, but it isn't going to be cheap. That's pretty much it. You're stuck and have to wait for an opportunity to rightfully terminate his employment. Hopefully you didn't add insult to injury by finding this person through an outside recruiter and paying a fee on top."

Ouch. But it happens all the time - The resume is perfect; the references check out, the writing samples were lightning strikes of brilliant Kafka-esque poetry that flowed like champagne. The advertising world would bow knowing the agency had pulled a major coup. One could almost see the CASIE awards (Coalition for Advertising Supported Information and Entertainment), lined up in the trophy case.

The problem is, this person misrepresented himself. Discovering that a potential or current employee has pulled the wool over your eyes can feel like betrayal of the highest degree. I personally have enough war stories on this subject to write a book...wait a minute...I did write a book about it;-)

The amount of duplicity that goes into creating such a ruse is astounding. The writing samples, the stable of friends and colleagues who are willing to lie, and the total lack of self-analysis begs to wonder if this person is best suited for life as a CIA agent instead of a writing career. Most of us know when it is time to step up to the next salary level. It's intuitive. (But then again, most of us have ethics and morals.) Others just want to go for the glory and the money without really taking a review of their capabilities. There's ambition and there's stupidity.

Thirty years ago this guy would have been fired. No questions asked. Incompetence was not tolerated. But today, employment law is big money, and incompetence seems to be rewarded with promotions.

Driven by fear we seem to be living in a topsy-turvy world which is even worse at the executive levels. I've personally had bad managers pawned off on me only to find that they were the laughing stock of the industry. Lawyers have made it impossible to tell the truth about a former employee, and as a result, most new hires are becoming the rotten egg that gets passed from one place to another.

Over eight years ago the New York Times Magazine did a study and found that many high school students didn't know the difference between right and wrong. One of the most glaring results of the study was when teenagers were asked what defines a thief? One who steals or one who is caught stealing? More than 70% of the students answered the latter. So stealing is okay as long as you don't get caught? This is why so many bad employment stories like these are becoming the norm. It also explains why many corporations are putting into place background dossiers, blood tests, and a quick double check at the local police department, (just in case). Lying has become the norm.

Case in point: Many years ago one of my business partners hired a seasoned creative director. He did this by not going through HR, but instead, railroaded this guy down our throats. His mistaken belief was that this individual would make us competitive against the bigger agencies. So he ignored protocol. Protocol that was designed to weed out the jerks.

With a traditional background, and significantly older than us, this guy had just enough Internet experience on his resume to make him a shoo-in for the job. Despite having experience at the largest ad agencies in the world and a couple of years at a web agency in Chicago, something was fishy. The weird part is that we had very capable individuals already on staff with the same background; they just weren't seasoned enough for my business partner.

At five-foot-one-inch, this new creative director was a dead ringer for Davy Jones from the Monkees. From day one he treated the staff like dirt. Machiavellian in his approach to management, he couldn't understand why our staff went behind his back to complain. He vacillated from furious at those who questioned his authority, to trying to be your best buddy. Word spread quickly that Davy Jones was passive aggressive.

The next three months turned into hell. No one could control this guy. And as things got increasingly bad, employees began to quit. Worse yet, we couldn't fire him because we had signed an ironclad three-year contract. (In New York State, the contract is king). My business partners and I tried to find reasons to fire him. The only solution we had was to track every serious problem to build our case.

After many discussions, he would tone down his act for a few weeks, then return to his unique, bristling style of management. His performance was great, but he was causing larger morale issues. No one wanted to work with him.

I predicted to my partners that this would end with him exploding or worse yet attacking one of our staff. Yes, his temper was that bad. I was sent away with no solutions. I am not a psychologist, but I know bipolar behavior when I see it.

Eventually, Davy Jones' anger got him in trouble. During a late night deadline, one of our art directors decided to use a different typeface for a national ad. Davy Jones decided to argue with him and eventually decided the best way to handle this situation was to strangle the living daylights out of the art director. (Imagine a five foot one inch man in high heeled cowboy boots attempting to strangle a six-foot two inch body builder with a European-American background. You get the picture of how silly this was.) That evening, our problem employee was escorted from the building in handcuffs.

If I had it to do all over again, Davy Jones would have been let go at the first sign of a problem. 

We lost five employees due to our inability to act. What kept us from doing so was the respect we had for our business partners' emotionally based arguments. Don't make the mistakes I did. Get rid of the problem fast. We were very lucky the employee who had been strangled didn't sue us for creating a hostile work environment.

Word on the street evidently spread, because soon afterwards, I began getting phone calls from Davy Jones' former employers telling me he was fired from his last five positions because of his violent reactions when challenged. I was told of one incident of Davy Jones' hitting the owner of the largest ad agency in Chicago. Why didn't his references tell me this earlier? Too little, too late.

So how does one handle a problem like this? Bruce Fuller gives us 3 steps to handling problem employees and the mock scenarios to justify your actions:

"This is very easy Brad. Document, document, document.

You must clearly state the problem in your documentation outlining the problem, the resolution, and the time period when the situation will be reviewed. Most importantly it must have the signature of the manager and the offending employee. If the employee is unwilling to sign the document, read it to him/her in front of a witness and have the witness sign confirming it was read to the offender.

I find that generally there are three documents needed as follows:

#1 First Offense Documentation

It has been brought to our attention that Little Johnny has been eating other people's lunches, which has been confirmed by our security camera in the fridge. Little Johnny has been told that this is a no-no and that if he continues to eat other people's ham and cheese he faces disciplinary action up to and including termination. We will review his lunch habits in one week.

#2 Second Offense Documentation

(appears that letter #1 was ineffective in changing the behavior) 
It has been two days since letter #1 and Little Johnny continues to eat other people's lunches. While we value Lil' J as an employee, this annoying habit must stop immediately or he will face disciplinary action up to and including termination. 
There will be no more warnings.

#3 Final Documentation and Termination Notice

This is a notice of termination of Little Johnny effective immediately. Despite two previous warnings he continues to eat people's lunches out of the fridge.

Don't forget that a bad employee attitude can be addressed in the same manner. No need to tolerate someone who poisons the work atmosphere.

The biggest problem is that managers delay starting the documentation process. The sooner the better."

Bruno Bettelheim in his book The Uses of Enchantment points out that when fairy tales have the moral lesson removed, we learn nothing about cause and effect. Taking responsibility for our choices is what adulthood is about. We now have an entire generation that thinks Hans Christian Anderson's Little Mermaid and Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame both have happy endings. Haven't you noticed? No one does anything wrong these days, it's just shades of misunderstanding. You still get a trophy for showing up and CEO's get millions despite driving a company into the ground. This seems to be the result of removing the lessons of responsibility that makes a civilization last.

These stories are not generational either. I have many a story about older, wiser and seasoned individuals with no moral compass. The coming years are going to get sticky. Word on the street is that the economy is getting bumpy and unemployment is going to jump. Many of the larger firms are adding more counsel in anticipation of the glut of lawsuits coming down the road. After all, it is easier to sue than get another job. If America is to be competitive globally, we're all going to have to grow up.

Most employees believe that if their work is exemplary their behavior will be tolerated. "Why are you concerned with my lateness, I met my sales quota?" or "What's the big deal, I stay late every night?" and my favorite, "You have no idea what it takes to do this job." (I do, so stop). These and many more have been thrown in my face. I guess they're right - I just don't get it. But at the end of my life, we'll compare resumes. I don't reward mediocrity in myself or in others, and neither should you.

When employees are coddled along and treated to soft management, they learn nothing. It's not personal, it's business. When someone is re-positioned and told why, they're given the chance to improve. Increase performance, or change professions. One employee whom I fired ran into me years later. He thanked me for firing him; it was the push he needed to wake up. After that, he took his jobs seriously, eventually winding up at MTV. "I wouldn't have found my way if you hadn't fired me. Thank you."

Over the years I have developed my own system for figuring out who is a bad apple. My system would be frowned upon by most HR professionals and employment lawyers. I don't care. It is my company, not yours and when shareholders want maximum return, it is even more important that I do my own due diligence - my way.

Always remember, people exaggerate the truth on their resumes. Look for someone who seems to have built a career slowly and strategically. Job-hopping may be trendy, but it still smells of "Can't get along with others." Double check the references, and be creative when asking questions, after all, this person is an investment in the success of your company. We don't buy things, we buy experiences.

When confronted with a bad seed, document every mistake. Act fast, and keep your company lean. Do not act from fear, act from a strategic position. You'll be happy and so will your staff. Winners like to work with winners.

Thanks for reading,


Brad

Brad Szollose
Global Management & Leadership Development Consultant

Author  •  Workshop Facilitator  •  Executive Advisor  •  Keynote Speaker

May I suggest the following publications?

A Manager's Guide to Employment Law: How to Protect Your Company and Yourself by Dana Muir


A Manager's Guide to Employment Law will help managers make day-to-day decisions on how best to manage their employees and handle issues of legal liability. Expert author Dana Muir identifies the subtle and unnecessary mistakes managers make that cause legal headaches and shows how becoming familiar with basic principles of employment law will enable them to develop an internal compass to help make the right decisions. Each chapter focuses on legal concepts of broad application in today's workplace, providing real examples of problems managers face and offering strategies for addressing those problems.

The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim


Wicked stepmothers and beautiful princesses ...magic forests and enchanted towers ...little pigs and big bad wolves ...Fairy tales have been an integral part of childhood for hundreds of years. But what do they really mean? In this award-winning work of criticism, renowned psychoanalyst Dr. Bruno Bettelheim presents a thought provoking and stimulating exploration of the best-known fairy stories. He reveals the true content of the stories and shows how children can use them to cope with their baffling emotions and anxieties.

The 5 Richest Payoffs for Fired CEOs
by Michael Brush

Although I am not a Bernie Sanders fan, this article on his site is thought provoking.

What is a Brand?

It Is SO Easy To Create a Personal Brand These Days...

From November 23, 2007

Last summer was extremely busy for me. Richard Carey and I teamed up once again at Right Management teaching branding workshops to executives in transition. In other words, we were showing middle managers and C-Suite executives the basics of branding themselves using today's online technology. Web 2.0 open source sites are free and allow even a techno novice the ability to build their online credibility with sites such as Wordpress, EzineArticles, Blogger, YouTube, etc...

We based most of our work on an article that appeared in Fast Company magazine: A Brand Called You by Tom Peters. The implication was that personal brands would become the hot new wave for talented individuals to start branding themselves for greater employment and consulting opportunities. Using our own entrepreneurial experiences, and the fact that Richard and I launched some very successful online brands, we were the obvious experts to teach the seminars.

Our approach was simple. Start with your resume. Take out everything that didn't support your core competency, get focused on exactly which category you fit in, get your elevator speech down pat, and launch from there. Graphic design 101 was part of the seminar including migration to the online universe. We used the same techniques as major corporations.

It was a simple set of instructions. A few hours each night could build one's online resume, an archive of articles, or a small diary of web logs. Why create such online content? With Google becoming the dominant search engine tool, employers are turning to its abilities more and more to weed out the bad apples. Many a student complained that they were Googled as soon as they left the office. This makes online credibility paramount to managing where your resume lands. Either at the top of the heap or in the circular file. "Don't call us, we'll call you" can be turned into "Can you come in for a second interview" with just a few hours each night. Creating your online dossier is easy.

That's why I asked myself why
no one was doing it?

Everybody who took our seminars filled out their feedback form with glowing recommendations for us. But no one was running out to take action on what we just showed them. And then it dawned on me: in every seminar, the branding part seemed to leave most just nodding their heads in agreement. They understood that their business card, resume and online presence had to have the same look and feel, but was it possible that no one really knew what a brand was? Had I done my job well enough in explaining a brand? Perhaps not...

My writing is not so much to pontificate, but to give practical steps for entrepreneurs who may be launching their own companies or executives who need one piece of wisdom to complete their knowledge base. Since I speak only from experience, keep what you like and discard the rest. So the purpose of this article is to go back to basics and explore what a brand is and what branding is all about.

The best definition of a brand I could find is...

"A distinguishing symbol, mark, logo, name, word, sentence, or a combination of these items that companies use to distinguish their product from others in the market."

This definition is only half of the story. The reality is a brand is much more than a symbol - it is the experience one gets from using a product or service. How does this help you? To understand some more, let's walk through a little bit of history.

Brands themselves can be traced back to their modern use in the Old West. Cattle ranchers as well as horse traders needed to mark their animals permanently with a symbol that determined ownership. They had blacksmiths design intricate logos that represented each rancher's initials or company insignia.

Burning their emblem into the flesh of the animal determined ownership. Eventually over time some brands of livestock became more popular than others. So, when a particular rancher brought in his beef for sale, his reputation came with it. Lesser brands couldn't get the price for their livestock that the better brands could command. The buyers paid on repeat business and reputation.

It was the first use of brand recognition. The power of the symbol represented the reputation of the brand.

Since stealing horses was a felony punishable by death, brands were taken very seriously. Ranchers fiercely protected their brand so others couldn't copy the design. Copyright infringement law didn't really exist in the western territories yet, so keeping their branding irons locked up and out of sight became the norm.

But branding goes back even further. The history of modern brands reads like a Dan Brown novel, but, you probably wouldn't recognize them as brands. A golden sun symbol in Iran from 1400 BC was revitalized again in Rome, representing the sun-god Mithra. Eventually Emperor Constantine would fuse the sun god's symbol of Mithra (of which he was the grand master) with the Christian cross to create his brand. The golden sun with a cross in the center on a blazing red shield became a symbol to fear during the Byzantine period of Roman/European history.

Or even earlier, Pythia was the high priestess presiding over the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. Or perhaps the worship of Isis, Baal or any number of cults in the ancient world. Unfortunately branding animals as well as human beings wasn't new. A mark determined ones status as a slave, a conquest of war, or worse, marked for death. Either way, it meant ownership.

The formula for religious cults was simple; create a temple with an image, get people to gather around it and give out the gospel, then get the followers to spread the word. The ancient Greeks called this phenomenon, this worship of a holy word or symbol, Logos, (Used as both a noun and a verb). We use the same theories in today's marketing and branding techniques with out driving our followers over a cliff of course, but the theories are the same.

If you haven't seen Eddie Izzard, shame on you;-) LOL.

As the human race evolved, those brands meant less about ownership and more about who one was aligned with. Flags, hats, and special clothes are a form of branding. It is a quick and easy way for individuals to comprehend and choose sides. "The Red Coats are coming" was about the British Empire and what it meant to live under the "brand" of British rule. No one wanted to be owned by royalty anymore.

Eventually, branding spread from cattle to retail products. One hundred fifty years ago when a man wanted to buy a new razor for his son, he went to a store like Macy's, looked at the display of razors, picked what he wanted and was promptly handed a package wrapped in brown paper and string. Modern packaging didn't exist...partially because printing techniques needed to catch up. People evolved in their sophistication and therefore so did branding. Today we can't imagine buying a product without it's slick packaging enticing us to buy it.

To say branding has become a science is an understatement. Just look around your house and you will see brands everywhere. From the SONY television you bought to the Gillette razor you used this morning. From the Amerige perfume you just can't live without to those Jimmy Choo's your husband bought for your birthday, you and I and everyone in America is a branded consumer. Ironically, each brand has a logo for us to worship and it is getting harder to resist.

Every brand you buy has an emotional reason why you buy it. Why did you buy that Mercedes? It wasn't because you were looking for an economy car. Or how about that new suit? Hugo Boss says you spent a little bit extra to stand out. Paul Mitchell hair care products? What dental care system are you using? Are you brushing like a dentist or are you brushing like everyone else? You have to pay to get this kind of brushing technology. We can't let it fall into the hands of the British.

Great companies remember their name is more than a logo on a napkin, or a JPEG on a website, or a neon sign calling out from interstate 95. It is the relationship you've had with them. This collection of experiences forms an opinion in the consumer's mind that rarely changes. Let me repeat that: your experiences with a brand form an opinion in your mind. Which means it may not be based on truth. It is based on perception. Every great brand knows this and doesn't mess with it until they get into trouble.

Since you are beginning to understand that a brand is more about the experience of using a product than the logo on it, then it stands to reason that creating the experience becomes paramount as people begin to trust their association with your company.

Branding is a huge part of your sales paradigm. Your reputation proceeds you, so why not work hard at creating a great perception?

Starbucks worked hard at developing each store. The leisure environment that invites you to sit down and relax. How about the customized service? You can order their products in over 80,000 different combinations. Everything about the Starbucks experience says you've earned the best cup of coffee in the world. Does Starbucks make the best cup of coffee in the world? Probably not, but you sure as hell feel like it is, and perception is 90% of the sale.

Starbucks also focuses on coffee and coffee finger foods. All cakes, muffins and donuts are at eye level for a quick sale. Anything else is in a case below your waste - Sandwiches, fruit and cheese, bottled water. In other words, Starbucks is focused on one thing: Coffee! Anything that doesn't support coffee never makes it inside the store.

In marketing this is called brand focus and has made the difference for many a company struggling to define what they are. If you are known for many things, your brand may fail. Dropping all services that interfere with your core competency will give your brand a major boost. Companies who do this statistically lose 25% of their clients. But, by focusing the brand companies can increase revenue by 75%!

So get as focused on one category as quickly as possible. After all, do you want to be a jack of all trades or a master of one? Would you go to a doctor who is a generalist or a specialist? I am guessing your answer is the specialist.

If you are confused by categories try this: What is FedEx known for? What is Gillette known for? What is McDonald's known for? Each answer is a simple sentence that tells you what category these brands dominate. Interestingly as well, these three companies are the leader in their categories. They were also the first.

If you are the last to enter a particular market, invent a category. Apple couldn't compete with IBM as a computer company, so they positioned themselves as the personal computer for everybody else. They not only dominate that market, they forced the other manufacturers to follow their lead.

As you launch your new brand, ask yourself these questions:
What experience does the consumer get from interacting with my brand?
How can I make that experience better?
Is the perception true?
Do I own my category?
Can I create a new category?
Is my logo reflective of my product/service?
Should my company be separate from my brand?
Does my brand reflect thematic consistency in my signage, website, and collateral?

Once the consumer has formed an opinion in their minds collectively, it is almost impossible to change it. So be very careful when launching a new product or service. This is why marketing firms get paid so well. They spend months interviewing tens of thousands of people on your new brand and where to position it. Positioning is important, but that is for another article.

Depending on the size of your company I would hire a brand manager who knows all the techniques to create a mega brand. Scott Bedbury comes to mind. He was in charge of a couple of brands you might have heard of; Nike, (he was responsible for the Just Do It! tag line) and Starbucks. His big coup was to increase Starbucks store base from 350 stores to several thousand stores world wide.

That's the power of a top tier brand and marketing manager.

Sometimes I get so used to marketing and branding that I see them as one and the same. But if you want to learn more about how to market your brand, I suggest The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! by Al Ries & Jack Trout. It will help you to understand the science behind building and maintaining a strong brand. I would not start a project until my clients read it from cover to cover. It's an easy read and can be devoured in a weekend. Enjoy!

So get out there and just do it...



Brad

Brad Szollose
Global Management & Leadership Development Consultant

Author  •  Workshop Facilitator  •  Executive Coach  •  Keynote Speaker

May I suggest these sites and publications?

The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing

There are laws of nature, so why shouldn't there be laws of marketing?

As Al Ries and Jack Trout—the world-renowned marketing consultants and bestselling authors of Positioning—note, you can build an impressive airplane, but it will never leave the ground if you ignore the laws of physics, especially gravity. Why then, they ask, shouldn't there also be laws of marketing that must be followed to launch and maintain winning brands?

In The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Ries and Trout offer a compendium of twenty-two innovative rules for understanding and succeeding in the international marketplace. From the Law of Leadership, to The Law of the Category, to The Law of the Mind, these valuable insights stand the test of time and present a clear path to successful products. Violate them at your own risk.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
Smart and accessible, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is the definitive text on branding, pairing anecdotes about some of the best brands in the world, like Rolex, Volvo, and Heineken, with the signature savvy of marketing gurus Al and Laura Ries. Combining The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding and The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding, this book proclaims that the only way to stand out in today's marketplace is to build your product or service into a brand—and provides the step-by-step instructions you need to do so.

The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding also tackles one of the most challenging marketing problems today: branding on the Web. The Rieses divulge the controversial and counterintuitive strategies and secrets that both small and large companies have used to establish internet brands. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is the essential primer on building a category-dominating, world-class brand.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/848026