December 2007
Welcome to INTENTIONS, a free monthly newsletter dedicated to personal and professional success for Leader, People, Free Spirit and Task Type Personalities. If you do not wish to continue to receive this newsletter, please click the unsubscribe link at the end of this newsletter. For more information on the PeoplemapTM System, or to refresh your memory, go to www.peoplemap.org. |
In this Issue:
- Feature Article: Employees, Not Customers, #1
- Intentions: for Leader, People, Free Spirit & Task Type Personalities
Employees, Not Customers, #1
As a Human Systems Consultant, Coach and Trainer, my passion is helping organizations build healthy, positive culture, leading to fully engaged employees, higher productivity, and ultimately greater profitability for the organization. But it is often difficult to help owners and management understand the benefits of positive corporate culture, good team communication, and top notch leadership skills. It is always heartwarming when I see that some organizations do understand that treating employees right will ultimately benefit the company in many ways.
A recent article in the Investor’s Business Daily featured an article under their section MANAGING FOR SUCCESS. It was titled “When Employees Occupy The Top Spot At Work.” A subtitle stated that “India tech services firm finds engaged workers deliver more client value.”
The article questioned the bedrock principle of capitalism that “customers always come first.” They went on to explain that HCL Technologies, an India-based firm, has found that putting workers in the No. 1 slot has paid handsomely in many ways.
The Chief Executive officer in this company has created his whole corporate culture around “putting employees first.” What he has found flies in the face of organizations who say they value employees, but whose corporate tactics do not appear to follow that philosophy. HCL believes that customers buy an experience, and that experience is delivered by employees. This approach has helped the tech company maintain valued employees in a tight market, has earned high praise from customers, has helped cut turnover, and has helped grow revenues by 43%.
A recent global work force study from consulting firm Towers Perrin confirms the need to focus more on worker concerns. The poll of 88,612 employees in 18 nations found that just 21% of people are engaged in their jobs.
Research has shown a clear and significant connection between employee engagement and focus on customers, productivity, and profits. Employee engagement can be measured, giving organizations an idea of areas they need to work on to gain optimum financial and operational performance.
What if 100% of your employees were fully engaged? Would improved customer service, higher productivity, and a boost in profits benefit your organization?
If you have an interest in exploring employee engagement, and how greater engagement can boost your bottom line, please contact me. I would love to discuss this with you, and show you how you can improve your employee engagement.
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Personal Intentions for the month of December
LEADER INTENTION
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My career is very important to me. My career makes up a big part of my identity. I expend lots of energy and time on professional excellence.
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Sometimes I neglect other parts of my life such as family, friends, spirituality, or health.
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Now I realize that my focus is part of my personality. It is not right or wrong. Not everyone values what I value.
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Today I intend to explore the “Big Picture” of my life. I will reevaluate the percentage of time and energy that I have allocated to each part of my whole life, including my family and friends, my health, my career, my spiritual and personal growth, my leisure time. I will develop a plan to create change where needed.
PEOPLE INTENTION
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I don’t like anger on my part or the part of others. I especially don’t like others to express anger, especially at me. To be honest, it kind of scares me. For some reason, deep down, I believe that anger will destroy the relationship. I think anger never comes to any good.
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Sometimes when a family member expresses anger, I try to shut them down. I tell them not to be angry, or that they “shouldn’t feel that way". Or I pretend I did not notice.
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Now I realize that anger brings an opportunity to resolve a problem. Now I realize that the emotion of anger in others is telling me something. I need to listen. I realize that if someone is feeling angry, the situation needs to be brought out into the open. Maybe I have changes to make. Maybe it has nothing to do with me.
- Today I intend to embrace emotions in others no matter how threatening they seem. I will survive. I want to resolve problems and maintain strong relationships. I will not react inappropriately to the anger. I intend to listen to, and accept, negative emotion in others.
FREE SPIRIT INTENTION
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Organization has never been an issue to me. Since I am not particularly organized, I just blew it off as unimportant. I hate taking the time to get organized.
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Sometimes I waste a lot of time and energy looking for things that I have misplaced, shuffling through papers that should have gone in the wastebasket, or looking for a clean surface to work on.
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Now I realize that this is one of my Achilles heels, and I can learn to be more organized if I want to. I realize that better organization will help me be more productive and successful.
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Today, I intend to become more organized. I will choose one small area of my life to organize - perhaps a closet, a desk, or a file cabinet. I intend to spend 30-60 minutes each day organizing until this project is complete.
TASK INTENTION
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I like to do things the way I have always done them. I put useable, concrete systems together for my daily tasks. I see no need to make up new ways of doing things. It seems like a waste of time to me, like reinventing the wheel.
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Sometimes a person at work or a family member gets excited about new ways of doing things. I usually don’t listen attentively or take them seriously. The old way is good enough for me. They leave feeling rejected, discouraged, or under-valued.
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Now I realize that trying new ways of doing things is hard for me because I like to do things the predictable way. I realize that thinking outside the box, experimenting with new procedures is often the road to success.
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I intend to be more open to new, cutting edge ideas. I will listen, and give thought to them even if they seem outrageous or unrealistic at first. I intend to value the inventive and creative ideas of others.
SUCCESS. . .
The personality trait or Achilles Heel that most interferes with my success is: ___________________________________________________
This trait impacts my work performance by: ______________________
This trait impacts my personal success by: _______________________
This trait particularly interferes with: _____________________________
When I overcome this Achilles heel I will be able to: _________________
This will improve my health and well being by: ____________________
This will improve my performance at work by: _____________________
The person most impacted by this change will be: _________________
The learned strength that will replace and help me overcome this Achilles heel is: _______________________________________________________
For the next seven days I will focus on developing this learned strength. Every day, I intend to practice one of the following:
1. ____________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________
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