john's reading notes from "first break all the rules" (gallup book) - 12 questions great companies ask their employees - category: what do I get? - do I know what is expected of me at work? - do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? - category: what do I give? - at work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? - in the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? - does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? - is there someone at work who encourages my development? - category: do I belong here? - at work, do my opinions seem to count? - does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important? - are my coworkers committed to doing quality work? - do I have a best friend at work? - category: how can we all grow? - in the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress? - this last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow? - insight about managing people: - people don't change that much, don't waste time trying to put in what was left out, try to draw out what was left in - spend the most time with your best people (most managers spend the most time with their worse people, trying to fix them) - don't do "no news is good news" -- instead, reward the positive behaviors and encourage them - avoid thinking in "averages" -- instead give each individual their own goal (ie: don't do "overall sales goal"-- do sales goals for each salesperson) - excellent teams are built on individual excellence (fight the "there is no 'I' in team" mentality) - find ways to make heroes at every level of your organization -- not just through promotion (eg: tech support person with the highest customer happiness rating) - Find the right fit for your employees and don't promote them out if that job. Find ways to make them happy doing what they do best. - for people lacking a talent needed to succeed at their job, three fixes exist: devise a support system (eg rolodex, filofax, secretary), find a complementary partner, or find an alternative role. - good managing is: - select a person (by talent, not simply for experience intellignce or determination, where talent means "a recurring pattern of thought, feeling or behavior that can be productively applied"[ie: things the person already does often]), - Hire the person based on their natural talents (driven, cynic, creative, detailed, etc) and what you need for the job. - set expectations, (define the right outcomes, not the right steps) - Don't try "one size fits all" management -- instead play to their strengths, rather than trying to patch up their weaknesses. - motivate the person - focus on strengths, not weaknesses - Let them become more of what they already are. - Don't try to fix weaknesses, instead work around them. - develop the person - help them find the right fit, not simply the next rung in the ladder - 4 things all customers expect: - accuracy (give them what they ask for), - availability (be there for them, when they need you), - partnership (listen to them), - advice (help them) - steps to deciding what decisions to make in your business: - ask "what is right for your customers" (ie: what is it your customers want) - ask "what is right for your company" - ask "what is right for the individual (in your company)" - interviewing tips: - talent interview: - let the talent interview stand alone - separate it from the rest of the interview (ie: qualify the person to see if they have the talents that are needed to succeed at the given job) - ask a few open ended questions and then keep quiet - "how closely do you think people should be supervised?" - "what do you enjoy most about selling?" - clues to identifying talent: rapid learning, satisfactions (what did they enjoy in their previous jobs) - know what to listen for: - For example, ask the question "how do you feel when someone doubts what you say?" - great salespeople should hate it, because they feel they are selling themselves, - great teachers love it, because they can teach something - strengths interview: - what did you enjoy most about your previous work experience, what brought you here? - what do you think your strengths are (skills knowledge, talent) - what about your weaknesses - what are your goals for your current role? (ask for scores and timelines) - how often do you like to meet with me to discuss your progress - do you have any personal goals or committment you would like to tell me about - what is the best praise you have ever received? what made it so good - have you had any really productive partnerships or mentors? why do you think these relationships worked so well for you? - what are your future growth goals, your career goals? are there any particular skills you want to learn? are there some speciifc challenges you want to experience? how can I help? - is there anything else you want to talk about that might help us work well together? - performance review questions from management to employee: - what actions have you taken? - details of performance over the last 3 months, include scores rankings ratings and timelines if available - what discoveries have you made? - training classes, insights, books read - what partnerships have you built? - relationships formed, clients colleagues- building his constituency - then ask... - what is your main focus now, your primary goals for next 3 months - what new discoveries are you planning? - what new partnerships are you hoping to build? - career discovery questions from management to employee - how would you describe success in your current role, can you measure it? here is what I think... - what do you actually do that makes you as good as you are? - what does this tell you about your skills, knowledge, and talents? - here is what i think - which part of your current role do you enjoy the most? why? - what part of your current role are you struggling with? - what does this tell you about your skills, knowledge, and talents. - what can we do to manage around this? - training, posiutioning, support sytem, partnering? - what would be the perfect role for you? - imagine you are in that role, it is 3pm on a thursday, what are you doing? - why would you like it so much? - here is what I think - four key points for senior management - keep the focus on outcomes - the role of the company is to identify the desired end. - The role of the individual is defined by the best means possible to achieve that end. - Therefore strong companies become experts in the destination and give the individual the joy of the journey. - As much as possible, define every role using outcome terms - Find a way to rate, rank, or count as many of these outcomes as possible. Measurement always improves performance. - The four most important emotional outcomes for a customer our accuracy, availability, partnership, and advice. - Examine each role within the company and identify what actually needs to happen to create those outcomes. - In training classes explain how the standardized steps of the role lead to one or more of these emotional outcomes. - Also explain where, how, and why employees are expected to use their discretion to create these outcomes. - Hold managers accountable for their employees responses to the 12 questions. - Managers should use the 12 questions as part of their overall performance scorecard. - Compensation should not be defined directly to the 12 questions, but can be part of the mix. - Value world-class performance in every role - At strong companies every role, performed at excellence, is respected. - Within as many roles as possible setup different levels of achievement. - Identify specific criteria for moving up from one level to the next. - Reward progress with plaques certificates and diplomas. - Take every level seriously. - Within as many roles as possible, set up "broad band" compensation plans - "broad band" means the difference between the low and high salary possibility is significant - Identify specific criteria for moving up within each band. - Explain clearly the reason for the pay cut when shifting from one band to another (eg: moving from sales to management) - Celebrate "personal bests". - Many people like to compete with themselves. - Design a system so that each person can keep track of his or her performance monthly or quarterly. - Use this system to celebrate monthly or quarterly "personal bests" as and when they occur. - Study your best - Start with your most significant roles and study your best practitioners. - Revise all training to incorporate what you have learned about excellence in each role. - Set up an internal University, whose purpose is to provide a forum for showing how your best do what they do. - As far as possible, try to expose each employee to the thinking, the actions, and the satisfactions of your best in each role.