| |
| |
|
Management Information |
|
|
|
The Idol-Makers
The end of the television season in May included the usual array of cliffhangers on shows like "Alias," the departure of Noah Wylie from "ER" and the finale of the highly-rated "Everybody Loves Raymond" after 210 episodes. On the last day of "Sweeps," more than 29 million people tuned in to see the crowning of the fourth "American Idol." With a recording contract and the key to a private jet in hand, Carrie Underwood, a 22-year-old college student from Oklahoma, said her victory was "the best night of my life." Next week her first single debuts, most likely near the top of the charts. From there, she'll take her shot at stardom, hoping to match the multi-platinum album sales of the first "Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson and second-year runner-up Clay Aiken. In terms of total viewers, "American Idol" ranked first this season, and fans cast nearly 500 million votes during the competition. If your franchise business was like "American Idol," a celebrity panel and national television audience would soon be judging your employees "on stage." As an Idol-Maker, it is your role to give them the guidance they need to perform at their highest level, so you get the outcome you seek. Success Handler Action: If Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell called today and said they will be in town next month to review your employees, what steps would you need to take to get them ready for their big moment? Even if the phone doesn't ring, preparing your employees for being the best in their jobs will make your small business soar. After you finish reading this E-Newsletter, use these questions to identify your biggest employee training opportunities: ~ Who is having the most difficult time executing their jobs in the manner you would like? ~ What are some of the things that keep happening frequently without improvement? ~ Where are areas you find yourself saying, "If only someone would ________?" ~ When mistakes occur, which individuals struggle to take responsibility? ~ Why are some of you employees not achieving the growth you expected this year? "American Idol" had a big snafu this season when "pure human error" led to the wrong voting phone numbers appearing on the screen, and Fox had to throw out the results that night. While errors in your small business are not necessarily apparent to millions, they still impede your progress. Communicating the right way to do things and redirecting your employees' efforts when needed is essential to improving your results. Success Handler Action: Effective leadership begins in your recruiting and hiring, and continues through training and motivation. This means you have to regularly mold and polish your employees in order to prosper. Here are five ideas for turning them into outstanding performers: 1. Make sure your employees understand the vision you have for your small business. 2. Clarify your expectations, and how you will measure each person's role. 3. Act like a director?leading them back on track when they stray off script. 4. Use "The Oreo Cookie Approach" to feedback - Compliment / Confront / Compliment. 5. Treat every day like an entertainer would: the joy is in the performance. Carrie Underwood is the survivor among more than 100,000 wannabes who auditioned for this season's "American Idol." The show is a cultural phenomenon that creates a celebrity and makes a lot of money for a lot of people. While your employees may never sing on national television or receive a million-dollar talent contract, if you dedicate time, energy and resources to helping them develop their skills and shoot for the stars, you will be the big winner. Copyright © 2005 by Success Handler, LLC. All rights reserved. The Coach, David Handler, is the founder of Success Handler, (http://www.successhandler.com), and specializes in helping small business leaders find clarity and take action. He understands the challenges of running a business, because he's been there - as a small business owner, franchisee, franchisor, corporate leader and trainer. Much like sports coaches, his coaching will show you how to compete on a level playing field in your industry.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What is the Most Difficult Part of an Improvement Program? Answer: Starting one.Most of us realize that there is probably a better way to perform certain functions or tasks, but improvement programs seem to take second seat to getting the product out the door. Recruitment - What Youre Really, Really Looking For Imagine that you're a sports coach and you need a new player on the team. Would you walk up to someone in the street and say - "I want you to come and play for my team. The 20/60/20 Rule Of Leadership. Dont Go Solving The Wrong Problems Several decades ago, a passenger jet approached a Florida airport with the pilot and co-pilot struggling to fix what they thought was a malfunctioning landing gear. The landing-gear light was on, signaling that the gear was deployed; but both men did not hear it actually deploy. 5 Ideas To Leverage The 3 Stages Of Career Development In Your Organization In most industrialized nations, the average age a student graduates from high school is 18 years old and the average retirement age is 65 years old - a difference of 47 years. On average, most people work 40 to 50 years of their lives. Why You Should Hold One More Meeting If you are completely happy with where you and your business currently are then you can stop here. If growth and change aren't something you have any interest in, there is no need for you to read any further. How to Help Your Company Become a World Class Company Most people think real change in an organization occurs as a result of top-level leadership. This isn't always the case. An Honest Look at Your Business There is a difference between being comfortable and being in apathy.It is very comfortable to have a smooth running organization when you have a team that knows what to do and does it. Discover the Astonishing Power of Words Today! Picture all the people you know who are dynamic, successful and self-confident. The ones who are the stars of every gathering. Employee Discipline: How to Nip Problems in the Bud Are you uncomfortable with delivering disciplinary action, even involving employees you know deserve it? You're not alone. Disciplinary action is one of the least favored tasks a supervisor must occasionally perform. Can Your Business Run Without You? If you are a business owner or a business owner to be, let's examine this scenario.Like other people, you are so excited when you first started your own business. Training Adults, Not Teaching Children Adults are vulnerable to personal and professional embarrassment from poor performance in the training program. Poor performance in the classroom may become the basis for personnel decisions by supervisors or the source of ridicule by peers. How to Create a Positive Work Atmosphere Positive versus Negative WorkplacesWe have all worked in places where we grew to dread getting up in the morning, and a few of us have had the pleasure of working for a boss who makes us feel like we can do anything. Let's take a look at the differences between a positive and a negative work environment. Big Company Intelligence on a Small Company Budget Information is the lifeblood of the economy. That's especially true for businesses, because the ability to identify current customers and locate new prospects makes the difference between boom and bust. Performance Evaluation: How To Create Change STEPS TOWARDS GIVING A GOOD APPRAISAL INTERVIEW: Give specific feedback. Statements such as, "You're doing a good job" and "You'd better shape up" are almost without value unless accompanied by specific feedback on what the employee is to continue doing or to stop doing. Tap Employee Passion For Business Success Meriwether Lewis set the stage for the Corps of Discovery's success before one single "employee" had been hired. From the outset Lewis and Clark engendered a communications culture that brought in the right prospects, then kept morale high and increased the productivity of those eventually hired. Can You Sleep While The Wind Blows? Let me repeat a story I heard many years ago that has stuck with me throughout my life. The lessons from this fable are many and have been applied to a variety of areas of my life. Great Hires: Avoid Costly Mistakes Picking people for a job is like going to the store to buy apples. Before you go, you ought to know whether the apples are to be eaten fresh, make into applesauce, baked into a pie or made into juice. Employee Motivation - Access Their Unique Talents Your people are invaluable to you. They are the lifeblood of your business or organisation. Motivating Employees - Ten Ways to Start You Off Yet there is a place for those external 'raft-build's', 'away days' and 'paintballing'! Just get them in context; there is work to do up front to leverage those experiences and get the best value from them. Just build great relationships in your business or organisation, one-to-one - then have the fun day out and grow even more!"Motivation is like food for the brain. Character: Is It Necessary In Leadership? (Part Two) In the first part of this two part article, I talked about the importance of character in leadership. After all, the best leadership involves the people bonding with the leader in deep, human, emotional ways.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
