PD Strategies Blog

In the last week I have seen several surveys including one from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). They are asking business leaders how their organization is handling change. In the beginning of the Pandemic, I wrote about a case for change now. At that time many were in denial or just wanted to wait. They just needed to get through the traumatic times. Change and traumatic times might be here to stay. Now I am not referring to Covid-19 but I am simply saying that if you are going to wait until things (whatever they are) blow over you and your business are positioned to fail. Why do people resist change? Why to people want to wait and see when the threat in front of them demands action? Understanding the reasons people resist change can help overcome the obstacles to change and create real progress. Here are some reasons...

How do you create a culture of accountability? Check you leaders. Who are the perceived heroes in your organization? What values do they exhibit by their actions? Try this. Write down the culture for which you want to strive. What actions and values create that culture? Do your leaders display those values and take those actions?   If not, then it is time to work on developing your leaders. Many times, we fear discussing these actions and behaviors because we fear causing alienation. Unless we take steps to change the culture, we will continue to have failure. The culture of accountability must be cascaded down from organizational leadership to senior leaders and to all supervisors. How does a manager or supervisor hold members of the staff responsible for performance? What about an employee who needs help but fears asking for help? The results can be devastating when we fail to have accountability...

The pandemic has forced many changes in the last year and the future is not completely certain. Have you thought about incorporating these changes into your business? If you want to have success next year you should be giving this serious consideration. Creating an appropriate strategy will be most successful if you look at your business today, look into the future, then make a plan to create your future. Here are some of the things I discuss when helping my clients with a strategic plan: 1.        Make sure you know what business you are in. Whether you are in real estate, construction and contracting, graphic design, or consulting you must define what you provide to the customer. For example, Kodak should have realized that it was not in the film business but in the image and impression sharing business. In real estate are you selling houses or assisting buyers in improving...

When you are doing something that you really love you never work a day in your life. How true that statement is. That is good for the individual, but it is just as good for the employer. Inner engagement leads to higher quality work, less mistakes, less illness, and retention. Start with yourself. And as Simon Sinek says, Start with Why. If you do not have the WHY the HOW will not matter. Motivation and goal achievement are interrelated. Knowing what motivates you is a key to achievement and knowing how to find motivation in others is a key to leadership. Dwight Eisenhower said that leadership is getting others to do what you want because THEY want to do it. Reach down and find that motivation and bring it to the surface. I hear more and more newer works say they left the job because they were not passionate about it....

Given the great resignation and difficulty finding employees it is easy for hiring managers to overreact. Don’t do it. The wrong people will do more damage than no people. Please remember that culture combined with team engagement has proven to improve outcomes including financial performance. Culture influences every area of the organization. It affects the public and customer perception, but it also affects the way people do their jobs and their connection to the mission and values of the organization. In short, an organization’s culture is seen in actions and behaviors which model the values it lives by. Your hiring process must support your culture. One organization states it this way in one of their cultural pillars. “We very carefully guard who gets to be an associate in our organization.” This organization looks at values, attitudes, and behaviors in making staff selections in addition to those skills needed to perform the...

Ask a business owner how it is going. You might get the answer, “very busy.” Is that a good thing? It depends. If it means lots of customers and revenue that is a good thing. Many times, it means that they are so busy just keeping the business running. In this case the business is running them. Just having a product or service that people want will produce income and can pay bills, but will it truly produce success? But this has not spelled success for many businesses and the lack of the true understanding of what it takes has caused businesses to fail. Some businesses may survive due to external dynamics and timing, but they will become stagnant and the owner will feel like a hamster on a wheel. There is a lack of entrepreneurial leadership. For example, in the restaurant industry there are numerous great cooks and chefs that...

Virtual teams can be top performing teams. Not every organization needs a virtual team or prefers to have one, but these teams are a reality, and they can produce top results. The number of virtual teams or home office workers is steadily growing. Regardless of the composition of the team, the components needed to create traditional high performing teams also apply to virtual teams. There needs to be a visionary and motivating leader to lead highly engaged and dedicated team members. These team members need to have a strong motivation for achievement of their goals. Moreover, the team’s goal AND the members’ individual goals must be aligned. Just because people don’t meet in a physical location does not mean that there can’t be a culture of accountability. Every team and every leader needs to set the example and set the standard for the team to follow. The points are the same...

Positive outlooks lead to positive results. Attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, and values make up a culture. Every organization has a culture, but the real question is whether it is a culture that produces positive outcomes. If it does not you may need an intervention to help sort out the culture you have versus the culture you want. Attitudes drive culture. Zig Ziglar said it best, “Your attitude determines your altitude.” The fact is that people do not put enough emphasis on how attitude affects performance. As leader you create the inspiration and model the optimum behavior. An organization that has a positive vision and values, and that has leadership that lives and promotes those values is creating a positive culture. But if there is a negative attitude at the top the culture of the organization is doomed. There is a strong link between attitude and performance. Let’s start with defining what attitude...

We are a nation of small businesses. And many of our small businesses are privately held or family owned. Hopefully these business owners for the business to carry on after they have left the business. Sadly, many have not made any plans and by not doing so they are planning for their business to fail one day. Suppose you started your business years ago and you have built a profitable business for you and your family. Your children are now working in the business. What will happen when you exit? Many parents do not have a plan in place for when they exit the business. There are number of steps that should be taken to prepare. These include legal, financial, and preparing the next generation to take over if they want to work in the business. In the first two areas you should work with an attorney and financial planner who...

It has been over a year and a half? Business have found new ways to engage employees and customers. However, among all of these changes we hear, “When can we get back to normal?” The answer is, “Maybe never.” Let’s face it … we have always lived in a changing world. EVERYTHING changes and we can adapt to the changes. Or we can get out in front and be the change. But first we have to realize that change is never easy. One of the key reasons change might come hard has a lot to do with one of the tools your brain uses regularly. This tool helps you get through your days with the speed and accuracy you need without getting bogged down with minutia. This tool is called habit. Think about this for a minute. How many daily activities do you do without thinking about them? Let’s take your...

I mentioned previously that you don’t employees, but you need the right employees. You do need to make sure, of course, that they are the right fit. But what if you make offers to people that fit but they turn the offer down? It is time to look in the mirror and check your Employee Value Proposition.  An Employee Value Proposition explains why a highly qualified employee would want to work for your company and why that highly qualified person would want to stay. This Employee Value Proposition would be tied to your strategic plan and include your vision, your values, and, your mission. The values should include such things as social responsibility, ethical conduct, and reputation. All three together establishes your organization’s culture. Can you describe your culture? Every organization has a culture. Question is this. Is it the culture you want? The Employee Value Proposition EVP matters. Although people...

Has this happened to you as you are growing your business? You are so involved in every little detail that you have missed some emerging opportunities. Every entrepreneur certainly knows that details are important and staying on top of them is very important. The devil is in the details as they say. You would not have gotten your business this far if you had set specific goals and took every action step. There comes a time when you hit a growth wall. You can’t do everything yourself. Time to hire someone. Are you ready to delegate to the person you hired? I know, you are worried about all the details. Is this person going to do it as well as I can? I have to say that if the person can’t do it as well you then you will not grow, and you may lose business. It is your job to...

Some people thinks that organization will solve their time management problems. Maybe. But organization and time management systems or software is not the cause. It is goals, priorities, and motivation. When my clients in Westchester County New York tell me that they have problems with time management I ask them why. They talk about issues they are having, and I ask them why they are having those issues. Think about something for a minute. Have you ever found a time when you got so much done and had time left over? On the other hand, have there been times when you think I am never going to finish this? In either case you will find it had more to do with your goals and priorities than systems and procedures. Systems and procedures cannot create more time. There are many books that tell you how to organize your time. You can buy...

In this current environment it is an employee’s market. Help wanted signs are everywhere. There are shortages of supplies and services because employers can’t get help. Or can they? The important objective is finding the right people for the right jobs. Finding the right employee begins with a process to define what deliverables or actions lead to success. How do you do that? You need to start at the beginning. What is your vision, values, and mission? You much only select people with these shared values. This is where many organizations fail. They look for specific things that they believe are important, but they fail to see the big picture. For example, an employee leaves and the knee jerk reaction is to fill the open spot. The hiring manager searches for candidates that have the same skill sets as the person who left or was fired. The manager limits the search...

Have ever been in an organizational environment where you heard someone make an observation, “who appointed him to be in charge?” You may have also heard the statement, “Leadership is not given, it is assumed.” This statement illustrates important elements of leadership. You gain recognition as a leader by showing the way for others and by leading by example. Follow me, not do as I say. You may have the management role with the authority but there is a difference between power and authority. As the owner or manager, you have the authority by virtue of your role. However, your power is granted by those on your team or those you supervise. Have you noticed there are always certain people who are sought out or considered “go to” people? They may have no title at all, and people seem to value their opinions and respect them. These are individuals who have...

A collaborative team is more than likely lead by a leader who is a consensus builder. Rather than win lose they empower others and work to seek consensus. Strong leaders have courage to challenge the status quo and point out failures in the organization. They develop and coach others and build positive collaborative relationships. Teams that are high performing are collaborative. To illustrate the importance of team collaboration let’s consider a flock of geese. A flock of geese has a common goal – fly south for the winter. They can get where they’re going much easier by using the strength of the group – they fly in a V formation to add 70% greater flying range. They stay in formation – if a goose falls out of formation, it immediately feels the drag and quickly returns to the formation. They take turns doing the hard work and sharing the leadership role...

Are you having trouble restarting but can’t find the cause of your problem? If you are having this issue, you are not alone. I receive calls like this from business owners often and much more often now. It is my job as the business doctor to learn the symptoms and then diagnose the problem. During my consultation I ask questions, listen for answers, and then ask some more questions. As an example of symptoms, here are some statements that I hear from the owners. Our sales have begun to level off.We can’t get our employees motivated.We are getting more customer complaints.We have new competition. While these sound like normal business problems there is no simple answer for them. It is important to look and the whole picture rather than make a reactive fix. It is better to take a proactive look. It would be a mistake to treat the symptoms rather...

Retention of employees is a major concern of Westchester employers. The changes in the last year have necessitated taking a new look at accountability. Accountability is a two-way street, and it is important for team members to understand WIIFM (What’s in it for me.) Today’s team members want opportunities to grow and develop and have real accountability for results. Creating accountability by developing an employee value proposition takes planning, effort, and management commitment. Here are a few things you can do to start. Establish expectations from the start. Help orient your new employee by helping him or her to understand the big picture for your organization. Share the organization’s vision, values, and mission along with the organizational goals. You will have more success if you are as transparent as possible. To have employee “buy in” the employee needs to first know what he or she is buying. Make sure that your...

Business has changed dramatically since the pandemic and subsequent shutdown. Prior to the shutdown business was brisk. You have had some strong business growth, but reopening does not guarantee of future results will be the same. The best way to predict the future is to create it. Go for a strong restart with a jumpstart. Begin with the basics. Make sure your vision, values, and mission. Redefine your business objectives, goal categories, and your SMART goals. The execute and monitor. You may have heard the expression, “If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it” What you measure is just as important as having and plan and executing it. For example, many business owners are familiar with the acronym EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), or more simply said profit. But that, again, is a measure of what happened in the past. It may not predict what will happen...

If there is great success the credit is given to the leader. Likewise, if there is a problem, or worse, a disaster the leader is blamed. Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that said, “The Buck Stops Here.” Leaders set the tone, and direction, and mode the behaviors. They lead by example. Positive results are the result of positive leaders. Show me an organization that functions very well, and I can show you a positive engaged leader. I recently asked a group of employees what was wrong with their company. They replied, “We need positive leadership. We need leadership with people skills.” It is important to have the management skills for a job but there are many smart managers who fail. In most cases it is the lack of interpersonal skills, empathy, emotional intelligence, and leadership worth following. Let’s start with you and your personal leadership. Ask yourself these...