Editor: Dr. Wolf J. Rinke
Publisher: Wolf Rinke Associates, Inc.
(c) 2002 Wolf J. Rinke
Vol. 5 No. 3, June/July 2002
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IN THIS ISSUE
1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
2. REWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS THAT LEAD TO PEAK PERFORMANCE-PART I
3. FEEDBACK FROM READERS
4. HUMOR BREAK
5. ABOUT THE EDITOR
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REALITY CHECK
"People leave jobs because of dissatisfaction with their boss,
lack of challenge, or lack of opportunity for advancement…not simply
for money."
--Charles O'Reilly, Professor, Grad School of Bus., Stanford U.
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1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
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TEN REASONS WHY COMPANIES FAIL-AND WHAT TO DO SO YOU DON'T
1. Make poor decisions because they are too successful-the quality of
decisions decrease after sustained periods of success. Case in point:
NASA, Enron, Lucent and World-Com.
2. Avoid confronting reality-instead of confronting the brutal facts.
Example: Arthur Andersen.
3. Fear the boss more than the competition-team members are afraid to
tell the truth with dire consequences. Ex. Enron.
4. Overdose on risks of two types: execution risk-ignore the obvious
ex. the market is already flooded with this service. Liquidity risks-take
on unreasonable levels of debt. Example: World-Com.
5. Become acquisition happy-like World-Com (enough said)
6. Listen more to Wall Street than employees-growth is what makes Wall
Street happy, which in turn means more money for executives. That dynamic
can lead to disastrous results.
7. Overdose on the latest management fads-when it comes to management
and especially turning a company around, there are no "silver bullets."
8. Cultivate a rotten/dishonest culture-which supports a few bad apples
that can bring a company down. Example: Arthur Andersen, Enron and Solomon
Brothers.
9. Rely too much on conceptual assets-read dotcom mania. Trust and reputation
can vanish overnight, factories don't.
10. Create a dependent Board of Directors (BOD)-only partially independent
BODs can mind the store.
ACTION STEPS
1. Make sure the BOD is truly independent. Start by providing time for
the BOD to meet without the CEO/President.
2. Turn employees into company watchdogs. Have someone from outside
your company conduct an employee survey at least once a year. Then act
on the findings.
3. Practice open book management-your employees have to know what's
going on if you want them to help make things better.
4. Celebrate-not squash-whistle blowers.
5. Focus on cash flow not EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes, debt
and amortization.) EBITA and return on assets is easy to fudge. Cash
flow is not. That's why Warren Buffet pays close attention to it. You
should too.
Source: Fortune, 5/27/2002, pp. 50-62.
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A BIT OF UNABASHED SELF-PROMOTION
High employee turnover? **** Low customer satisfaction?
Unproductive employees? ** Low morale? ** Lack of trust?
**** Resistance to change **** Poor communication? ****
Our high impact consulting services and customized management and personal
development programs will solve these and other "people" problems!
Contact us at 800-828-9653, 410-531-9280, WolfRinke@aol.com or www.WolfRinke.com
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2. REWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS THAT LEAD TO PEAK PERFORMANCE-PART I
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Consider this a weeks worth of rewards and recognition, says the boss
to his employee as he hands her a weekly paycheck. Even though it is
a cartoon, many managers feel that money motivates their employees to
deliver peak performance. Nothing could be further from the truth. Want
proof? Think about the last time you gave your employees a pay raise.
Lets say it was 5% and it became effective the first of the month. How
many employees said: "Boss today I'll give you 5% greater performance."
Research tells us that pay will achieve two objectives: it will insure
that employees will come to work and stay with your company. Not bad,
however not peak performance. To get that you have to stick to the following
eleven rules. (Rules 1-4 will be in this issue and the rest in Vol.
5 No. 4, Aug/Sep 2002 of this e-Newsletter.)
Rule #1: Tie rewards to performance.
This is the most important management principle of all times. The reason:
what you reward is what you get. (Wait! Read that again! It explains
virtually all of the behaviors that puzzle you.) So if you want high
performance then your high performers should be rewarded differently
from your low performers. And if you want teamwork then you must reward....
(You catch my drift.) Yet very few managers get this right. One reason,
virtually all employees tend to perceive their performance as "above
average." I demonstrate that by asking a large group of seminar
attendees how many perceive that they are above average performers.
Just about all hands go up. Now ask how many are average performers?
Virtually none. And I have never had anyone raise her hand when I asked
who is below average. If you want a model look at entrepreneurs-like
myself-who only get paid if they produce results. A great way to check
yourself is to review your calendar. Who are you dedicating most of
your time to? (Yes, your time is a reward!) Your peak performers-the
people who make you look great? Or your troublemakers? If it is the
latter, get busy right now and give more rewards and recognitions to
your top performers.
Rule #2: Tie rewards to needs
Every employee has different needs or to say it another way: "Different
strokes for different folks." For example if you have a contest
that has a prize of a trip to Aruba for two, it will not cause someone
who is single or afraid of flying go the extra mile. Similarly if-as
a token of appreciation for "a job well done"-you provide
employees a Ham for the holidays, you will likely achieve the opposite
effect for your Jewish employees. (Don't laugh, one of my New York clients
did that!) To make this rule come alive you have to know your employees-what
gets them motivated. How do you find that out? You ask them! Now there
is a radical concept!
Rule #3: Do it in public
Whenever possible recognize team members in front of their colleagues.
In fact, here are two practices you should always adhere to: Punish
in private, and reward in public. Schedule frequent celebrations and
hoopla sessions, because public recognition is the breakfast of champions.
Just think of what Olympic athletes will do to receive a piece of metal
on a colorful string around their neck. And please don't tell me that
your employees don't like it because they get embarrassed. If that is
the case, you have not done a good enough job of building your employees
self-esteem and it's time for you to read-no wait devour-my popular
book: Make it a Winning Life: Success Strategies for Life, Love and
Business.
Rule #4: Be fair
Here is a scenario for you to contemplate. Employee number one is a
project manager and completion of one of his projects may potentially
save the company $200,000 over three years. Employee number two has
been tinkering with an idea she came up with on her own time, which
upon implementation will likely result in increased sales of about $100,000
indefinitely. How would they feel if both received a weekend for two
at the same resort? The likely perceived unfairness could cause employee
number two as well as many others to conclude that giving 111% is not
important around here, and modify their future actions accordingly.
Follow these four rules and you and your employees will begin to have
more fun and get more done. (For the rest of this article see the Aug/Sep
2002 issue.)
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For FREE articles, inspirational messages and money saving offers on
books, audio and videotapes that will help you and your organization
succeed FASTER visit: http://www.WolfRinke.com
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3. FEEDBACK FROM READERS
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Dear Wolf,
It has been some time since we communicated, but something happened
today that I had to share with you.
I was down the hall visiting with a colleague in our Congressional Affairs
Office. Given it is October 1, I jokingly wished him a "Happy New
Fiscal Year." October 1 also happens to be my seven-year anniversary
here at FEMA. He remembered telling my boss that he made a good choice
in hiring me and my boss told him, "I knew I wanted him to work
for me as soon as I saw the 111% pin on his lapel!" So seven years
later, I want to thank you for everything you did for Gail and I. You
were an inspiration and a mentor!
All the best,
Marc Wolfson
Editor's comment: It's amazing how a little thing like a 111% lapel
pin can make such a big difference. (For more information go to www.WolfRinke.com)
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4. HUMOR BREAK
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Recently I answered the phone very early in the morning. When the caller
asked for the accountant I explained that it was before normal business
hours, but that I would be glad to help if I could. "What's your
job?" the caller asked.
"I'm the president," I replied.
There was a pause. Then he said, "I'll call back later. I need
to talk to someone who knows what's going on."
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5. ABOUT THE EDITOR
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Dr. Wolf J. Rinke, CSP is an internationally recognized management and
motivational keynote speaker and seminar leader who delivers customized
presentations that combine story telling, humor and motivation with
specific "how to" action strategies that participants can
apply immediately to improve their management and personal effectiveness.
He is also a highly effective management consultant, executive coach
and author of 12 books including: Winning Management: 6 Fail-Safe Strategies
for Building High-Performance Organizations available at www.WolfRinke.com
To take advantage of Dr. Rinke's services call 800-828-9653 or mailto:WolfRinke@aol.com
PRIVACY STATEMENT: We will not make your name available to anyone.
Period!
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