Eric Jacobson

Archive for the ‘Setting Goals’ Category


Leaders: Tips For How To Reach Your Goals

In General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Books, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Management, Motivating Employees, Setting Goals on January 12, 2012 at 7:55 pm

Social psychologist, Heidi Grant Halvorson, wrote Succeed to help you understand how goals work, what tends to go wrong, and what you can do to reach your goals or to help others reach theirs.

Because many of us may soon start struggling to fulfill our New Year’s Resolutions (goals), Halvorson’s book, packed with the findings from her own research, along with the most useful tips from academic journals and handbooks, is a timely read.

In her 260-page book, Halvorson covers:

•  How to set a goal that you will pursue even in the face of adversity.

•  How to avoid the kind of positive thinking that makes people fail.

•  How to create an environment that will help you win.

“Setting goals is important,” said Halvorson, “But that’s not the whole story. Because how you set your goals–the way you think about whatever it is you want to do, and how you will get there–is every bit as important.”

Halvorson recommends:

•  Making your goal as specific as possible.

•  Making your goal difficult, while still being realistic.

•  Being sure you don’t underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal.

•  Making sure you think about both the wonderful things that will happen if you succeed and the obstacles that stand in your way.

•  Filling your environment with reminders and triggers that will keep your unconscious mind working toward your goal, even when your conscious mind is distracted by other things.

•  Remembering why the goal is important to you. Also, choosing prevention goals, focusing on what you could lose if you fail.

She also said that, “One of the most important things you can do to reach any difficult goal is know when to ask for and accept help.”

And, if you are a team leader or business leader and you have the task of trying to get other people to adopt the goals assigned to them, Halvorson suggests you:

•  Try giving your employee or team member a sense of personal control. It helps when people can choose from several options–even a choice between two goals is still a choice.

•  Keep in mind that people are motivated to achieve a goal only when they feel it has value and when the value is clear. So, have your employees participate in decision making and goal setting.

•  Ask employees to commit publicly to reaching a goal. That will increase their motivation.

Halvorson stresses that it’s vitally important that employees understand the rationale behind goals given to them by their leaders. They need to know how to answer:

• Why is the goal worth pursing?

• How will I benefit from it?

“Remember that people are motivated to achieve a goal only when they feel it has value. When the value is clear, you’ll have fewer problems getting people on board and fully committed to succeed,” explained Halvorson.

Perhaps most important, Succeed, drives home the fact that persistence is key when working to reach a goal.

• Persistence comes more easily when a person believes more in effort and the effort to get better, rather than believing in ability.

I appreciate Halvorson sending me a complimentary copy of her book.  It’s a good read.

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Top 20 Leadership Books: What To Give First To A New Manager

In Effective Communications, Employee Engagement, General Leadership Skills, Hiring Great People, Leadership, Leadership Books, Leadership Education, Leadership Quotes, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Leading By Example, Listening Skills, Management, Mentoring, Motivating Employees, Sales Management, Setting Goals, Strategic Planning, Team Building on December 10, 2011 at 6:53 am

Eighteen months ago, I posted the question “What’s The First Leadership Book You Would Give To a New Manager?” within the discussion forum for the LinkedIn group Linked 2 Leadership.

That question generated 603 comments and 690 recommendations.  Some people suggested more than one book.  Some during the course of the 18 months made the same book recommendations a couple times.  And, the group discussion continues to be one of the most active still today.

In early November 2011, group member Len White graciously culled through the comments using his company’s Symphony Content Analysis Software that assists with the organization, analysis, and reporting of themes contained in text data.

And here are the results:

·    412 different/unique books were recommended

·    The Top 20 recommended books, collectively, received 250 of the total recommendations

·    Two authors – Stephen R. Covey and John C. Maxwell each have two books in the Top 20

·    Group members recommended other things instead of giving a book about leadership to a new manager, such as:

o   Interviewing everyone in the company with whom they will directly work 

o   Giving a book about management first

o   Mentoring the person for a period of time before recommending a leadership book

And, unlike a question about “What is Your Favorite Leadership Book,” the question this time asked what is the first book you would give to a new manager.

The Top 20 Books are:

  1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen R. Covey
  2. Leadership and Self-Deception– Arbinger Institute
  3. The One Minute Manager– Kenneth H. Blanchard
  4. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership– John C. Maxwell
  5. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team– Patrick Lencioni
  6. First Break All the Rules– Marcus Buckingham
  7. The Leadership Challenge– Jim Kouzes
  8. The First 90 Days– Michael Watkins
  9. How to Win Friends and Influence People– Dale Carnegie
  10. Good to Great– Jim Collins
  11. It’s Your Ship– Michael Abrashoff
  12. The Speed of Trust– Stephen R. Covey
  13. Developing the Leader Within You– John C. Maxwell
  14. Who Moved My Cheese– Spencer Johnson
  15. Don’t Bring it to Work– Sylvia Lafair
  16. Leaders Without Borders– Doug Dickerson
  17. Leadership and the One Minute Manager– Kenneth H. Blanchard
  18. On Becoming a Leader– Warren Bennis
  19. The Anatomy of Peace– Arbinger Institute
  20. The Art of Possibility– Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander

Within the Top 35 list of the book recommendations, you’ll find four more John C. Maxwell books, including:

·        The 360 Degree Leader

·        Developing the Leaders Around  You

·        Failing Forward

·        Leadership 101

The authors and leadership book publishers most discussed within the group forum have been:

·        Dale Carnegie

·        Jim Collins

·        Jim Kouzes

·        John C. Maxwell

·        Kenneth H. Blanchard

·        Marcus Buckingham

·        Michael Watkins

·        Patrick Lencioni

·        Stephen R. Covey

·        Arbinger Institute

Group discussion participants are clearly inspired by a wide variety of books – biographies, autobiographies, books backed by research and academia, books made famous by the popular press, books by motivation speakers, and books by professionals eager to share their personal and professional leadership success stories, tips and suggestions.

Finally, the book I recommended, The Leadership Test, by Timothy R. Clark made it within the Top 35.

Thanks to all the group members who made recommendations and to Tom Schulte, Executive Director of Linked 2 Leadership, and the owner and moderator for the LinkedIn group, Linked 2 Leadership, which has 19,678 members.

Note:  Symphony Content Analysis Software is designed and published by Active Java.


Don’t Delay The Tough Conversation

In Coaching, Disciplining Employees, Effective Communications, General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Management, Motivating Employees, Performance Appraisals, Setting Goals on August 21, 2011 at 8:22 am

If you have an employee who needs to improve his/her performance don’t delay the tough conversation with them.

If you don’t address the issue right now, the employee has little chance to improve and you’ll only get more frustrated.

Most employees want to do a good job. Sometimes they just don’t know they aren’t performing up to the required standards.

Waiting until the employee’s annual performance appraisal to have the tough conversation is unhealthy for you and the employee. So, address the issue now.

  • Sit down with your employee in a private setting.
  • Look them in the eye.
  • First, tell them what they do well.
  • Thank them for that good work.
  • Then, tell them where they need to improve.
  • Be clear.
  • Be precise.
  • Ask them if they understand, and ask them if they need any help from you on how to do a better job.

Explain to them that your taking the time to have the tough conversation means you care about them. You want them to do better. You believe they can do better. Explain that if you hadn’t had the conversation they would not have had a clear understanding about where they were deficient. And, they would not have had a chance to improve.

Have that tough conversation today. Don’t postpone it. Don’t let a poor performer make you so mad that over time you end up not wanting them on your team.


The Leader’s Checklist

In Company Culture, Effective Communications, General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Books, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Making Decisions, Management, Setting Goals, Strategic Planning on June 14, 2011 at 7:51 pm

Wharton Digital Press’ first eBook, The Leader’s Checklist by Michael Useem, goes on sale on June 21, but you can download a free copy between June 21 and 28 wherever eBooks are sold.   The book will ultimately sell for $6.99.  I recommend getting your free copy.

Because, within the 56-page book, Useem provides 15 core principles that will help you to develop the ability to make good and timely decisions in unpredictable and stressful environments. “When leadership really matters,” explains Useem.
The book helps readers to test, retest, refine and update their preparedness for almost any situation, and among the 15 core principles for building a customized clear roadmap are:
  • Articulate a vision
  • Think and act strategically
  • Act decisively
  • Embrace the front lines
  • Dampen over-optimism
  • Build a diverse top team
  • Place common interest first

Useem also suggests that leaders:

  • Communicate in ways that people will not forget; simplicity and clarity.
  • Build enduring personal ties with those who look to you.
  • Through gesture, commentary and accounts, make sure that others appreciate that you are a person of integrity.

To demonstrate the power and value of having a leader’s checklist, Useem examines accounts of extraordinary leadership, including the triumphant rescue of 33 miners in Chile last year.

Useem is the Director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management and Professor of Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  He previously wrote, The Leadership Moment.


How To Talk About Inconsistencies With An Employee

In General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Books, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Management, Mentoring, Setting Goals, Soliciting Feedback on March 8, 2011 at 5:01 am

If you’re having a difficult time clarifying inconsistencies you are hearing from an employee about a project’s/task’s progress, try asking these questions (or making these statements) the next time you meet with the employee:

  • Here’s  what I see. Here’s what I hear you saying.
  • Here’s what we know so far.
  • So let’s see  if I’m on track with you…
  • Let’s see where we are…
  • How about we step back from a moment and look at a few different ideas…
  • Did I hear you correctly when you said…?
  • Am I missing something here?

Always be sure you’re  on the same page and have the same understanding of the progress being made with your employee’s projects.

Thanks to Jane Murphy for these tips from her book, What Could Happen If You Do Nothing.


10 Ways To Be A Healthier Leader

In Leadership, Management, Setting Goals on March 7, 2011 at 4:57 am

If you’re like many leaders, you’re “too busy” to exercise on a regular basis.  And, you don’t give yourself time to renew and refresh.  Truth is, there are ways to fit exercise and healthful habits into your busy day that will pay off in dividends.

From Experience Life magazine, here are 10 tips for how to fit even just moments into your day (at work, on the road and at home) to help you become more healthful:

  1. Make a plan to exercise.  Include exercise times, even if they are just in 10-minute increments, on your calendar.
  2. Find time to exercise and build on that time.  Start off by walking for five minutes at lunch and add to that every few days until you’ve worked up to 30 minutes every few lunch hours.
  3. Limit screen time.  Set a timer for how long you’ll watch TV or surf the Net.  Then, use the time you aren’t in front of a screen to exercise.
  4. When you are watching TV, do squats, push ups, lunges, yoga poses and crunches.
  5. Think positive.   Psychologists suggest that you replace “I am too busy to work out” thinking with “I choose to make myself a priority.”
  6. Hold a “walking meeting” where your group walks together instead of sits in a meeting room.  This can be particularly beneficial for brainstorming meetings.
  7. Work out when you’re traveling.  Pack a jump rope.  Do push-ups and crunches in your hotel room.  Use the hotel’s gym.  Ask the hotel if they have guest passes or discounted rates at a nearby health club.
  8. Exercise first thing in the morning.  Don’t let a long day end with “no time to exercise.”
  9. Wear a pedometer.  By age 60, most people are down to about 4,500 steps a day.  Your goal should be to walk 10,000 steps per day.
  10. Negotiate a discounted rate for you and your employees at a gym near your office building.  And then use the facility and encourage your employees to do the same.

I run and walk 5K’s throughout the year.  They give me a goal to continually improve my times.  My entry fees go to support local charities.  And, to prepare for each race, I have to schedule times during the preceding weeks to practice and exercise.


Use Job Descriptions

In Employee Engagement, General Leadership Skills, Job Descriptions, Leadership, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Management, Setting Goals on March 2, 2011 at 4:55 am

It’s tempting to not write job descriptions, especially if you own a small business or lead a small team of employees.  But, don’t fall into that trap. 

Whether you have one or many employees, be sure each has a current and accurate job description. 

A job description is a written document that should include the:

  • employee’s duties
  • responsibilities
  • outcomes needed from that position
  • required qualifications
  • reporting relationship

And, if you have job descriptions but they are poorly written or out-of-date, that will lead to confusion and misunderstandings. 

Once you have a job description for each employee, you’ll be able to ensure the descriptions all fit together logically and leave no holes in the duties that need to be assigned throughout your team or business.

  • Check your job descriptions at least yearly to be sure they reflect the employee’s proper title and current duties. Very often employees get new job titles or are assigned new tasks mid-year, and those don’t get reflected in their job descriptions. Don’t let that happen.

Finally, if you don’t have access to a Human Resources department that can help you craft your job descriptions you can find lots of good examples online.


How To Prepare For The Next Recession

In Employee Engagement, General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Making Decisions, Management, Performance Appraisals, Setting Goals on February 28, 2011 at 4:39 am

Even though the business environment is improving for some companies, don’t close the book on the recent recession until you’ve set a game plan for how you will lead your business between now and the next recession.  And, for how you will lead during the next recession.

Write down the lessons you learned over the past couple years and determine how you’ll apply each going forward.

You can also take note of the suggestions from savvy business leaders that offer this advice: 

  • You have to build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes or no one will follow you when it does.
  • There is no substitute for preparation.   Access your company’s strengths and weaknesses at all times.
  • Conduct an annual risk review that encompasses both financial and non-financial risks.
  • When removing employees from your business, be courageous, quick and fair.
  • Pay attention to those who leave and those who stay.  And, for those who stay, remove work so the employees left behind don’t feel punished for staying.
  • Talk more about values more than rules.
  • Reward not only the performance, but also how that performance is achieved.


Avoid These 10 Common Sales Manager Mistakes

In General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Books, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Management, Sales Management, Setting Goals on February 21, 2011 at 4:22 am

You’ll find this list of the ten most common mistakes made by sales managers toward the very end of Kevin Davis’ latest book about how to sync your sales approach with your customer’s buying process:

  1. Failing to shift from “super salesperson” mode to managerial mindset.
  2. Fighting fires continually.
  3. Leaving your staff to sink or swim on their own.
  4. Ignoring the importance of performance standards/getting blind-sided by poor performance.
  5. Failing to leverage the strengths and resources of your team’s top producers.
  6. Spending too much time working with the bottom 20 percent.
  7. Allowing senior salespeople to get stuck in an unmotivated rut.
  8. Being inconsistent in your recruiting and hiring process.
  9. Assuming your sales reps will figure things out the same way you did.
  10. Hanging on to low-producing salespeople for far too long.

The chapter on coaching for sales success is well worth the price of the book by itself, but fortunately, the rest of the 250-pages provide helpful lessons on how to perfectly match your sales process with the customer’s buying process. 

Davis explains in Sell Down, Sell Faster! that:

  • Customers usually award the prize to the salesperson who has been there through every step of their buying process, meeting customer need after customer need by presenting the right information at the right time.

I also found particularly useful the book’s topics on:

  • Selling to multiple decision makers
  • Making a complex sale
  • Getting more first appointments
  • Uncovering needs to establish the value of your solutions
  • Resolving a buyer’s fears
  • Negotiating win-win agreements
  • Cultivating customer satisfaction and loyalty
  • Becoming a strong competitor

Thanks to the author for providing me an advance copy of the book.


Share Your Vision Seven To Ten Times

In Employee Engagement, Executive Coaching, General Leadership Skills, Leadership, Leadership Education, Leadership Skills, Leadership Training, Leading By Example, Listening Skills, Management, Setting Goals, Team Building on January 29, 2011 at 9:13 am

“Leaders need to communicate often, regularly and consistently,” says Margaret Reynolds of Reynolds Consulting, LLC in Lees’ Summit, MO.  “Leaders should share their vision at least seven to 10 times with their employees, and to make it clear to employees what is specifically expected of them to do each day to help achieve the collective mission,” she added.

She adds that it’s not that leaders don’t communicate, but that they don’t beat the drum regularly enough.

“In terms of how to communicate so people get it, it is pretty widely accepted that story telling is the most effective; to be able to paint a vision where people see it often, and then following up with success stories or early wins reinforces it,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds recently shared with me more of her expert advice:

  • “Most leaders’ visions fail, not due to a leader’s inadequacies, but due to the leader’s lack of communication.”
  • To become an effective leader, one should follow these three steps:
  1. Gain knowledge of what it takes to be a great leader
  2. Find an opportunity to practice
  3. Accept feedback from trusted supporters

As the managing partner of her consulting firm, Reynolds has assisted companies with growth planning for over 21 years.  She spent much of career at Hallmark in Kansas City, MO. 

When I asked her, “If a leader wants to be remembered for being effective by his/her employees,  what leadership attributes should he/she have displayed?” Reynolds told me a leader should be one who:

  • listens with respect
  • communicates effectively
  • removes obstacles
  • shoulders the blame
  • shares the glory

“I would call it the golden rule.  Others call it servant leadership or Level 5 leadership — when an executive treats others like he or she wants to be treated,” says Reynolds.

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