PD Strategies Blog

Behavioral competencies are more important the functional job competencies. Organizations that leverage behavior competencies create cultures of performance and success.   And Peter Drucker is alleged to have said that culture eats strategy for lunch. This means the without the culture including vision, values, people who share those values and doing the right thing; then your strategy is not worth the paper it is printed on. In Good to Great, Jim Collins explains that building a great organization is as simple as “Getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.” It may be simple but it’s not easy. You will need to change the way you hire people. Unfortunately, all too often owners and hiring managers tend to make hiring decisions by looking at background in the industry, jobs held before, and job history. Significant time is spent looking...

We make the best decisions when rely on our strengths rather than try to shore up our weaknesses. Unfortunately, many of us do not know our strengths and how to use them. According to some psychologists 88% of the decisions we make rely on our natural talents and tendencies and that these are part of our subconscious. Our subconscious is an important, powerful, and much needed tool. The unconscious handles all basic physical functions like breathing, heart rate, immune system, etc. The subconscious mind holds the blueprint of our body as it is now and the blueprint of your perfect health. Because our subconscious mind’s main objective is focused on survival, it can cause us to make decisions based on limited knowledge or beliefs or sometimes even false knowledge. Understanding how we subconsciously use our talents to make decisions can dramatically improve our performance. In the early 1950’s Dr. Robert S....

Your Westchester County NY business had to cut staff earlier this year and now find that you need to add employees. Now it is to hire again. How will you find the most qualified? Would it be referral or advertise the opening. While a referral is normally a good source, that alone should not be the deciding factor. You will want a person who meets the qualifications, and you will want to know whether that person can achieve results. Jim Collin’s in his book “Good to Great” explains his research on how good companies become great companies. Collins surveyed companies and found that their greatness was not due to a special sauce or a great product but rather because of the people in the organization. It all starts with high quality, high performing employees. Collins refers to this as getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the...

Every day I get to do what I do best. When your employees are asked that question how will they answer it? Your organization will be more productive if you know your people’s strengths and give them the opportunity to leverage them. From an employee engagement standpoint people will burnout and leave if they are constantly in stress trying to improve their weaknesses. But this activity may actually be baked into our nature. For example, when your child comes home from school with his or her report card and it shows, for example, an A in math, B’s in history and science, and a C in English, what is your response? I am sure this is the reaction. Most people will talk to their child about raising the grade in English. But what if your child might have a real talent in math? He or she might become a great math...

Many businesses have created their business plans and are now in the process of hiring of staff. Some will be making the mistake of simply reading a resume and conducting an interview, having a gut feeling and then hiring. Not so fast! Contrary to what you may think education and skills do not create success. The proper application of the education and skills is what counts. In Good to Great Jim Collins explains that building a great organization is as simple as “Getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.” It may be simple but it’s not easy. You will need to change the way you hire people. Unfortunately, all too often managers tend to make hiring decisions by looking at background in the industry, jobs held before, and job history. Significant time is spent looking at a...

Selecting employees is one of the most important functions of a manager.   Sadly most organizations fail at hiring the right people.  This occurs at organizations with a human resources department as often as it happens with the small business owner.  The good news is that you can begin to hire the right people.  Jim Collins and his team laid out the principle in the book Good to Great.  It is as simple as “Getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.”  It may be simple but it’s not easy.  You will need to change the way you hire people. Here is a simple fact.  Managers tend to make hiring decisions by looking at background in the industry, jobs held before, and job history.  Many companies even do background checks.  They spend a significant amount of time looking at...