Eric Jacobson

Lead By Example

In General Leadership Skills, Leading By Example on November 8, 2009 at 8:59 am

There is nothing more powerful for a leader to do than to lead by setting a good example.

So, here are 15 things you can do to be an effective and successful leader:

1. Praise when compliments are earned.

2. Be decisive.

3. Say “Thank You” and sincerely mean it.

4. Communicate clearly.

5. Listen carefully.

6. Teach something new to your team members.

7. Word hard and lend a hand when deadlines are tight.

8. Show respect for everyone on your team.

9. Follow through when you promise to do something.

10. Allow learning to happen when mistakes are made.

11. Allow prudent autonomy.

12. Respond to questions quickly and fully.

13. Return e-mail and phone calls promptly.

14. Take an interest in your employees and their important personal milestone events.

15. Give credit where credit is due.

And, last but not least, be humble!

USAA’s 10 Guiding Business Principles

In General Leadership Skills, Customer Service, Company Culture, Management, Leadership, Guiding Business Principles, Corporate Culture on May 14, 2013 at 5:48 am

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I really like these 10 guiding business principles that San Antonio, TX headquartered insurance company USAA lives by:

  • Exceed customer expectations
  • Live the Golden Rule (treat others with courtesy and respect)
  • Be a leader
  • Participate and contribute
  • Pursue excellence
  • Work as a team
  • Share knowledge
  • Keep it simple (make it easy for customers to do business with us and for us to work together)
  • Listen and communicate
  • Have fun

Too many companies don’t make it simple for their customers to do business with them.  Is it easy for your customers to:

  • Buy from you?
  • Make returns?
  • Get pricing and terms?
  • Receive timely responses to their e-mails?
  • Quickly get answers when phoning your company?

You can find more examples of companies with impressive guiding principles in the book, 1001 Ways To Energize Employees.

10 Ways To Maximize Employee Involvement

In Employee Engagement, Eric Jacobson On Corporate Culture, Eric Jacobson On Leadership, General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Management, Motivating Employees on May 4, 2013 at 7:09 am

Eric Jacobson Leadership

Here are 10 tips for how to maximize employee involvement:

  1. Have active ways to listen to your employees.
  2. Check often with employees to see if the information you are sharing with them is what they need and what they want.
  3. Share information about customer satisfaction with employees.
  4. Discuss financial performance with your employees and be sure everyone understands the importance of profitability and how they can contribute to profitability.
  5. Allow ad hoc teams among employees to form to address organizational problems and work with those teams to tackle the identified issues.
  6. Encourage employees to make suggestions for improvement whether those ideas are large or small.
  7. Take an idea from one employee and share it with other employees and teams and let everyone make a contribution to build upon that idea.
  8. Train!
  9. For long-term employees, find ways to keep their jobs interesting through new assignments and challenges.
  10. Conduct meetings around specific issues and brainstorm solutions.

“Involving people in the business is the most effective way to produce an organization in which people know more, care more, and do the right things,” said Edward Lawler III, Professor, University of Southern California, as quoted in the book, 1001 Ways To Energize Employees, by author Bob Nelson.

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