Why You Need a Social Media Specialist

A Social Media Specialist can help bring harmony to your program!

Down below, I’ve given five reasons why it’s important to hire a specialist to handle Social Media programs. I wrote this in response to a short article Richard Branson recently published on Linked-In trying to answer the question “Why aren’t more business leaders online (in social media)?” His article states:

“Why are only 16% of CEOs currently participating in social media? IBM’s 2012 Global CEO Study found that most CEOs are clearly not taking social media seriously. Only one of more than 1,700 respondents had their own blog! Some are on LinkedIn, fewer on Twitter and even less on Facebook, Google+ and elsewhere on the web.”

While he makes a guess and points out that he uses social media, the article really never answers the question and can be summed up as “they all have their heads in the sand, Social Media is the future, and I’m smart enough to know it.”

I’m going to take a different approach than Sir Richard and give the benefit of the doubt to those CEOs that he was quick to rake across the coals. I believe many aren’t engaging Social Media because they fall into one of two categories:

1. They simply don’t understand social media (the entire network).
2. They do understand social media, and therefore realize it’s going to take a lot of time, resources and attention to integrate it into their business.

For those that fall into the first category, we need to ignore them. It is the responsibility of all CEOs to understand any elements that have significant impactful on their consumer base’s lives. If a CEO isn’t aware of the degree to which Social Media has become a part of our day-to-day lives, then we can’t hold their hand and lead them to the promise land. There are always some CEOs who just won’t get it when it comes to evolving consumer markets (Blockbuster, Kodak, Yahoo, Nokia, etc.). In those cases, time will make them as irrelevant as they believe Social Media to be.

For the second category, I’m 180 degrees the other way. I’m sympathetic because I’ve been there. I know it’s a huge commitment and, frankly, it’s hard to know where to even start. The worst part is that, unlike almost any other Marketing initiatives out there today, there are no rules or real roadmaps to follow. Why? Because it’s customer driven, and customers are nothing if not unpredictable. In addition, when you really start to understand it, you suddenly realize that it’s more than just another marketing outlet (like billboards). It takes partnerships and expertise throughout your organization (marketing, merchandising, creative services, customer service, CRM, database management, analytics, etc.) to make it effective and to pull data from it as part of an integrated enterprise view of the customer.

So you decide it’s time to enter the fray. What’s the first step? Well before you jump, I might suggest going tandem and tying yourself – tightly and securely – to a Social Media Specialist. The common mistake I’ve seen companies make is offering a current employee (usually under the age of 30) the “opportunity” to build a Social Media plan who already has another job; this would be classified under “additional responsibilities.” The other mistake I’ve seen quite often is giving the job to someone (usually over the age of 30) who is a Manager/Director with lots of tenure but not a lot to do (and Social Media experience consisting of an occasional “Like” on their spouse’s Facebook comments).

Here are the top of reasons that you need someone in your organization, a Social Media Manager/Specialist, who’s experienced with this marketing channel, has the chops to execute it, and does it full time…40 hours+ per week.

1. It’s complicated…really!

Social Media to most people are The Big 3: Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In. But the folks who think that don’t understand the definition (or the reach) of Social Media, which includes any online interactive community. I think this graphic says more than I could with words:

Thanks Buddy Media!

2. Would you go International without a Pro?

This was the toughest lesson for me to learn. Each Social Media outlet is unique; what you do, say or offer on one is not what you would do on another. In other words, no cutting and pasting of messages. What you put out there as a Tweet might be well received, but the folks on Facebook expect something with a little more meat and what you put on either of those wouldn’t probably work on Yelp!, Foursquare, Tumblr or Pinterest. In this way, it’s a lot like doing business overseas; each place has its own way of doing business. It is not their responsibility to accommodate you, it’s your job (if you want to keep it) to figure out how to work with them.

3. You need to be good – really good – at Creative Writing.

Even if you put aside the “what” of your marketing message, the message itself can be one of the more challenging issues. There are much different styles of writing required for social media community. For example, responding to a negative comment about your company would require unique writing (and content) for a community forum vs. a personal blog post vs. a Facebook post vs. a Tweet. If your company has a sudden PR issue, negative comments could hit all of these web channels at the same time. You need someone who knows how to “do it now” in an effective manner, without having to spend time thinking about the nuances of writing for a particular community.

4. You can’t manage what you can’t measure (even in Social Media)!

Every marketing channel has its own ways of measuring business. For example, direct marketers often use circ/response rates, while digital marketers often use traffic/conversion rates. Social Media has its own ways of being measured and analytics, very often using the data provided by the Social Media sites themselves. I often quote Einstein’s saying “Information is not Knowledge” and it takes someone who is embedded in the Social Media world to take the data these sites provide and turn it into useful knowledge. I’ve seen too many companies miss what they were accomplishing with their efforts (and a number of them who also missed that there were accomplishing nothing) simply because they put out a lot of social marketing but never tried to measure the returns.

5. It’s no longer a competitive advantage…it’s how your competitors do business.

Many, many years ago, someone at Harvard put out a white paper stating something similar about IT departments. The fact is your customer/clients/consumers are going to expect you to respond to social media comments. Heck, I know people – although not people I do business with – that actually monitor social media for any mention of their competitors just so THEY can respond. “Hey Joe, had a bad experience at X? We would never let that happen at Y. Give us a call next time!” Isn’t this your worst nightmare? If I have to say more than this scenario to convince you that you need to be out there and in a serious manner, then maybe you fall into Category 1 that I mentioned above.

Social Media marketing isn’t rocket science, but it is a science nonetheless. A specialist can help guide you through a plan, manage a program, and quickly bring you up to speed in a fast-paced marketing channel that already has some fairly strong (and dangerous) currents rushing through it. So is it worth it? How critical is this role to your organization today? Tomorrow? If you knew your competitors were hiring a Social Media “Rockstar”, would you be worried?

Agree/Disagree? Comments, compliments and contrarian views are always welcome.

Roadmap for Building Your Personal Leadership Brand

You may stand out, but are you stepping up?

One of the most challenging things we can do as Leaders is to inspire and motivate a wide range of personalities. Some would tell you that personal branding of your leadership requires you to have one approach, one style, and to become master of that approach, to be recognized for those values, to use it to lead all people down the path to eternal bliss…

But does it?

Chickens (Leadership Brand) vs. Eggs (Leadership Values)

Is leadership about a unique style, delivery and method…or is it something more? Is it more about the underlying values you place on being a leader? On integrity, courage, trust, wisdom, honestly, communication, genuineness? Are these values – if present in any approach – really the only things that matter? I might argue that they are.

I’ve seen many (far too many) people fail at “leadership” and then place blame elsewhere by stating that their unique leadership approach just doesn’t work for certain personality types. When, in fact, what I perceived the cause of failure to be was a missing value of leadership. Often, for some reason, the missing value is empathy (not sure why…maybe another blog post for that one), but I also find many wannabe leaders who miss on using leadership values such as compassion, honesty, transparency, wisdom and, worst of all, listening.

But let’s assume you’ve got your ducks in line and your underlying value system is both strong and contains most of the critical components to be a Leader. What are the steps to putting the frosting and sugar decorations on those value cake layers? How do you build a leadership brand that inspiring, memorable and unique?

Build the Unique You

The most unique thing about you is…well…“You”. The first step here – and it must be the first step – is to get a firm understanding of who you are; where you came from, what gets your juices flowing, and what comes naturally to you. When you’re comfortable, others will become comfortable around you. Forget that you want to be, be who you are naturally. As long as that person inside you isn’t a screaming, selfish jerk, you’re probably in the range of acceptable personalities. The point is to focus on the things that make up who you are – your interests, talents and passions – understand them, appreciate them, and then use them to start building “You” The Leader.

The next step to developing your unique personal brand is to find the one thing that you can use to make “You” stand out. You need to pinpoint what is unique about you — not something that applies only to a few other people, but something that applies only to you. For most of us, this is only going to be one or two specific things. My personal thing is analogies. I love them and use them so frequently that people often jest at my expense if one doesn’t come out of me in a meeting. But that makes me memorable…in a good way. It’s a part of how I deliver my leadership to the masses and it gets noticed (I will save you from my urge to present some clever comparison for you here).

Get Hooked Up to the Network

In addition to the deep, introspective stuff, there are some housekeeping steps to take care of, and these can be done anytime (translated: ASAP). Make sure you have ahold of “you” and own your name everywhere. Start a list and make sure you sign up using your name for every social network and website login you can think of. I even own Hotmail, Yahoo and a dozen other login sites just in case I might need them in the future.

It goes without saying that part of this ownership involves you buying your space on the Internet. Use NetworkSolutions.com or GoDaddy.com or whatever site you like to register “You”.com. If you’re ready to start using some of these sites, have at it and show people who you are. Being a leader means getting yourself out there and practicing being one through communication. Trust me. Trying to be a leader with just you is both strange and pointless. Get Blogging, Tweeting, Liking, Stumbling or whatever you prefer, but get engaged on a variety of social media networks. Hitting Klout.com can be used as a starting point to make sure you’re linking up all the biggest sites out there.

As part of this exercise, you’re also going to want to put pictures up on these sites, tagged with your name so that search results you have image results. If you start getting some level of recognition in these communities, it’s a smart move to utilize the Google Alerts system to monitor your name (and misspellings) so you always know what people are saying about you.

I should point out here that the most important thing about getting out there is to do it in some way that’s valuable – through content, communication or even just encouragement. While I’m sure it would be riveting, don’t post things that are only of trivial interest to you like“25 Things I Found in My Couch Today”. Write with an audience in mind, whether that is a single person or a general group. Ask yourself this before you write, “Why would someone want to read this?” Don’t get me wrong, the topic you write about can be you, but make it relatable to someone you can picture in your mind’s eye. Also, make it relevant in a manner that relates to your brand so others start getting a feel for what you’re about.

Advanced Leadership Branding Efforts

Once you start finding your groove (and you’ll know it when you get there), start taking your efforts to the next level. You’ll start to have more time as you find leading to come more naturally. Here are three steps that I recommend you start thinking about.

Package It! A Brand is more than a pretty face (most of the time), so get a theme going. If you want to “sell” a product – aka Leadership Brand – you’ll need to become a marketer to some degree. One of the first (and easiest steps) is to get some consistency going across all off your sites/assets. Pick color(s), phasing, a motto, a headshot, fonts, and even a particular creative pattern, then use these everywhere. Being consistent in appearance tells the general public “Hey, you’ve seen this before. Yes, it’s me. You’re in the right place.”

Make “You” Tangible! The way you present yourself is critical, but having something tangible, something that goes beyond words in a blog or tweet, is what will set you up above the crowd. These can be done in a number of ways, the easiest is to either publish something or create an event (seminar or even an online chat). Have something that people can talk about and think of you when they think of that thing they are discussing with others. Make people your champion and they will do half the work for you in spreading the value that “You” bring to the table.

Get Up There! Public speaking is something that doesn’t come naturally to most people. This is exactly why getting good at it matters; it sets your brand apart to many people. Here are a few do’s and don’ts to get this part going:

• DO get comfortable with whatever you would eventually discuss as part of the leader you want to be. If you’re into motivation, learn it like the back of your hand. There is not substitute for being confident in the knowledge you have about a subject.
• DON’T practice alone in front of a video camera. I assure you, everyone looks stupid doing this. This will only hurt your confidence level. If you do have the opportunity to speak, I DO recommend asking someone to take video of you. But being up in front of a group, you will behave in a natural manner vs. critiquing how you look giving a speech to your cat.
• DO get in touch with Toastmasters (toastmasters.com). These folks are great for helping with taking your public speaking skills to the next level. My experience has been that they will let you attend a couple sessions free of dues just to learn about it.
• DO volunteer to speak whenever you get the chance. Even if you’re in a meeting and someone asks how everyone’s weekend was, share something. Getting comfortable looking people in the eye, having all eyes on you, and hearing the sound of just your voice resonate in a quiet room can never be done enough to prepare you for presenting or teaching in front of a crowd.

A Final Note…

As with any endeavor, there are always going to be those who will find some pleasure in questioning you. Don’t let it distract you. You own this process. This is one time when something can be all about you and have it be a good thing. Advise is great – Heck, I’m giving you some here – but in the end, you have to decide for yourself what you like & don’t like, what you want to be or not be, and the way you want your leadership brand to be presented out there in the world.

Best of success to you in all of your pursuits.

Heart to Heart Talks - Three Steps to Discuss the Elephant in the Room

Reblogged from :

At the root of many of our interpersonal or team conflicts is a failure to communicate. Sometimes the problem is that information isn’t shared broadly enough and people become resentful because they weren’t included. Other times we say things that come out wrong and people are offended, even though we may have had good intentions behind our message. Regardless of how the situation was created, if we don’t take the time to thoughtfully address it, the miscommunication evolves into the “elephant in the room” that everyone knows is present but isn’t willing to address.

Read more… 675 more words

Individual Accountability – Use Apple’s Secret for Success

Getting “out of line” with individual ownership of success!

I’m not sure when or why this happened, but at some point, holding people fully accountable for their work became very non-pc. The idea of “getting on the bus” and building cultures of consensus/conformity have become the norm. I’ve been asked to write on this before, but really needed somewhere to start. I found it in a Fortune magazine article about Apple before Steve passed away.

Today, while waiting in my office for a meeting to start, I picked up an old Fortune magazine and starting flipping through it. I came across an article that described how the late Steve Jobs and Apple use the concept of a “directly responsible individual,” referred to as the DRI within Apple. With every project, there is one specific person, the DRI, who is totally responsible for its success or failure.

Since my meeting was a 2013 budget review for open entry-level positions and internships, my thoughts segued from the article to the pile of resumes belonging to recent college grads. It’s no secret thatthere is excessive emphasis on teams in business schools today. My own experience in an MBA program was no different. Most of my classes focused on team projects, where everyone received the same grade regardless of effort.

I felt at the time, and still believe, that this was the opposite lesson needed for working in a real business environment, where individual efforts tend to define the decisions and outcomes of tasks, jobs or projects. Even in large companies, with 500+ employees, it’s rare that a “team” in some way gets fully rewarded or held accountable for success or failure respectively. In smaller companies, it’s almost never the case.

So, while academia seems to think everything should be done via teams, and that the tough decisions should be made via team compromises, I agree with the Apple approach. Here are the rules I created years ago and apply at every company that’s employed me:

• Make individuals – not teams – accountable
• When people succeed, give them full credit and reward them…publicly
• When people fail, determine what caused the failure and decide on the appropriate action(s): refrain, explain, re-train, or do not retain

If you are trying to implement a significant change, or even build a culture of innovation as part of a strategy, substituting individual ownership with consensus building teams can be disastrous. A culture of consensus (or conformity in a smaller organization) leads to legions of sycophants, merely trying to please the largest paycheck in the room. You also risk suppressing distinct and new opportunities, while crushing any chance of a significant”needle-moving” idea gaining traction.

Remember, if you try to make a unique idea acceptable to everyone, you end up with an average idea. I had a boss years ago who used to often say “Consider this outcome to be the determining factor between you having a job tomorrow or you (and your family) living under a bridge, begging for change.” Harsh, but her point was spot on. If you consider every decision you make to be that critical, the single determining element between success and failure in your career, you’re going to approach your work with a sharper eye, a more focused mind, and an uncompromising determination to make sure that you – not anyone else – deliver successful results.

So, what are the takeaways?

• With every significant project, use the DRI concept; name someone who lays down at night worrying that he/she is going to be a failure if this thing doesn’t become a success.
• Make it clear to the everyone, at every level, how the job/project is going to be run and, most importantly, who is the DRI. This needs to be said at the top and heard, first hand, by everyone who matters.
• Also, make sure it’s clear to everyone that the DRI has full authority and ownership over their job and delivering results, because he/she will be “the throat to choke.”

All that said, there are times when team consensus work is a better choice; in fact, there are situations where it is absolutely necessary. For example, teams must be used when you need to improve a process. Team members should represent the various skills needed to handle certain aspects of a process. Process improvement tools like Japanese Total Quality and Six Sigma brought the team concept to the American workplace; but, unfortunately, many folks still attempt to apply the team notion through every part of their business.

So recognize when to use DRI’s vs. teams, apply DRI use religiously to key areas of the business, follow through on accountability, and who knows…maybe you’ll be running the most valuable company in the world someday too.

Dedicated to Steve…you’re missed.

When You’re Being a Leader vs. a Manager

Do you recognize when you’re leading?

Where are we going? Who’s in charge? How are things going to be better tomorrow than they are today? When members of your organization are asking question like this, you are acting like a manager, not a leader.  You are not facing reality and finding new ideas and ways to improve.  You, however, are probably very comfortable, since from your perspective things may be stable and under control. So while this state can be perpetually sustained, turnover and frustration will likely be the long-term results of simply maintaing the status quo.

There are many examples in the marketplace of organizations getting run over because they did nothing but execute the current business (Blockbuster, Circuit City, Nokia, etc).  Why didn’t they manager do anything to improve?  Because humans are generally wired to seek stability, and once they achieve it, they tend to lose their sense of urgency.  In such organizations I will guarantee you that the troops are talking at coffee breaks about the problems and missed opportunities and wondering why nothing is happening. Sound familiar? Then it is time to make a change in what your doing with those 40 hours a week.

As the boss, you need to be constantly analyzing what is going well and what isn’t, and seeking out fresh ideas and ways to do things.  Put all that on the table, get input from the troops, debate possible directions with them, and then pick one.  Announce the vision to your employees and start implementing.

So what is the message to any manager, no matter whether you organization is 4 people of 40,000: Execute your current responsibilities well but equally as important, always be seeking out problems to be tackled and bright ideas that will generate big improvement.  Just remember: Gutsy leaders lead!  Managers manage the status quo.

Comments Welcome!

Resolving Conflict in Your Work Relationships

Does this remind you of anyone?

When it comes to confronting difficult people at work, we all feel challenged on a level that’s hard to compare to other situations in the work environment. Unfortunately, speaking to that person directly is usually not the action we take – replaced by either hesitation, coddling or, in extreme cases, complete avoidance of the individual. Why? Because most people are fearful that any action would lead to a worse situation than simply ignoring the person’s abrasive or downright abusive behavior. Yes, there are those who confront others easily without as much as a bat of the eye. But without a good understanding of the situation and the right approach, this can easily lead to irreparable damage to the relationship or even a “friendly” meeting with HR.

People I’ve coached on this topic have most often expressed concern that, if they confront the other person, he/she will either retaliate, make their life at work difficult or at best cause a scene. I’ve also heard statements made of futility, that it’s useless to speak up because ‘There’s no point. The person will never change.’

I’m not going to pretend that this isn’t sometimes the case. There are folks who think they’re perfect, don’t care about how they are coming across, and are not open to change. I have found, however, that most of the people we find challenging either a) know they are imperfect, b) have heard similar feedback, or c) are not aware of how they are coming across. In these cases, I’ve usually found people are willing and open to change (or at least try). If you have a situation like this and feel a relationship with this person is salvageable, here are some steps you can take towards improving the issue and, hopefully, creating a better work environment for both of you.

1. Put your perception in a positive place.

You have to start here. Without believing that the situation can be worked out, your approach will come across as defensive or accusatory or both. Your words need to come from a place where you genuinely want to work things out without a desire to make the other person feel bad or regretful. Once you can confidently and honestly get to this place, go on to step 2.

2. Plan the right time & place…for both of you.

In your office or just when the other person is trying to leave for the day would be the wrong approach. Schedule an offsite lunch or casual dinner (no drinking) with the person, just the two of you. A neutral environment is important for both of you to feel secure and physically “separates” the issue from work. It goes without saying, but don’t plan 30 minutes if that’s what time you need to get your conversation out. Leave time for discussion. The other person may need some validation or additional communication from you and deserves the time as well.

3. Focus communication on the problem, not the person.

You have to own this situation with the other person. You cannot put the blame solely on their head. This is critical for yielding a positive outcome from your discussion. Avoid any name calling, direct accusations or statements that start “You’re being…”.  Instead start with something along the lines of “There are differences between us I’m hoping we can discuss and maybe I can learn what I can do better to create a more positive relationship between us.” It is important that you stress how valuable a good working relationship is for both of you and that this is the goal you hope the two of you can reach together. From there, work towards defining the cause of the problem; maybe you have conflicting goals or objectives, maybe you’re both under a lot of stress or maybe each of your communication styles are simply hard for the other to understand. Defining the problem in a way that both you and the other person agree upon removes blame and allows you to address the real issue, not the other person’s self-esteem.

4. Allow for venting, and then strive for a partnership.

While you may be focused on the future, there may be some need for the other person to express how he/she is feeling about a past situation or conversation. Here is where you have to be the listener and validator. Be empathetic and patient in hearing the other person out, but don’t add to the discussion over details regarding a past event, not one comment. Your goal is to focus on the future and how the two of you can partner to make sure what happens from this moment on is positive. If the other person is asking for all the change to come from you, begin ideas with ‘Can we both…?’ or ‘If I…, will you …?’. Come together on future agreements; don’t split up over past disagreements.

5. Consider following up with a written recap.

If there is a trust issue or a history of problems, you may want to communicate in writing what you’ve discussed. Simply send that person (and only that person…no blind CCs) an email, thanking them for their time, communicating gratitude that you were able to talk it out, expressing hope that the future holds better opportunities to work together and, most importantly, what was agreed upon. For your own protection, it is also important to keep a personal record of past situations, how you reacted at the time, the meeting/discussion you had to resolve the issues, and length of time until any issues happened again. Your records may be important if you need to escalate the situation or HR is asked to get involved.

6. Expect another discussion.

Unless the issue was a blatant misunderstanding or you both have uncommon ability to change your personalities on a dime, there will likely be another moment where an issue that arises. This shouldn’t be looked at as a setback; rather, take this as an opportunity to learn, communicate and recommit to a positive relationship. If there has been progress, it should be celebrated and made the focus of the discussion. If you don’t feel any progress was made, don’t get frustrated. As long as you’re making an honest effort to respect the agreement and create a positive work environment, then start with step 1 again and follow through. Sometimes people need to be shown that a situation isn’t going to be ignored, but it also won’t be handled unprofessionally. You might be tempted to ignore or escalate the situation, especially now that you’ve applied additional effort to resolve the situation, but consider arranging another meeting with the same process to try and get results from your hard work and efforts.

7. Be smart and protect yourself.

Again, there are people who you’re just not going to be able to work things out with, but you have to assume from the beginning that you can if you hope to resolve these issues that may be affecting both your work output and your stress levels. Here are a couple of quick tips to make sure you are positioning yourself for the best possible outcome:

• If you sense you’ve picked the wrong time, place or you messed up a step, start back at step 1 and be patient with working through this process.
• If the person can be particularly volatile, then make sure you take the suggestion of a public place that allows for a private conversation (like a restaurant).
• If you think they are likely to accuse you of a serious violation of company policy, like harassment or physical threats, agree to have a person from HR join you at that meeting
• If the issue is serious and can’t be resolved, then do your best to protect yourself (and your mental health) and do what you can to make the best of a bad situation. If this means moving on – after management has been made aware of the situation but taken no action – then work towards making that happen.

My hope is that you never have to take these steps and that all your relationships are positive and healthy. But should you find yourself needing the advice above, I believe there is some solace in knowing that almost all of us face with this type of situation at least once in our careers. It’s how we chose to handle it that will determine both the outcome and, maybe more importantly, the way we look back on it when the situation no longer exists.

Is Your Company a Perfect “10″?

“10″ is within every company’s reach!

The whole cannot be greater than the sum of its parts.

Some of us may remember this statement from elementary math, but its principle seems forgotten when it comes to organizational structure. Recently, I was dining with three C-Level executives at a well-known and expensive restaurant. The purpose of this meeting was exploratory in nature. The BOD’s P/L goals for the company had been repeatedly missed over the past 3 years and wanted something done about it. The goals had been reasonable, the marketplace had been strong and, unfortunately, the competition was doing well.

As we discussed the situation, they painted a picture of a company with barely any turnover, but also acknowledged that there was very little motivation for employees to excel. By the time dessert came, it was clear what their problem was and why business had been suffering.

At this point I reminded my clients that our waiter had missed a few basic service standards that evening. One of our meals was wrong (and not corrected), we were never asked how the food was and we sat with empty drink glasses for most of the evening. Our server was also generally rude and impatient towards us and another couple sitting nearby. I asked the three individuals sitting with me if they would give him a 10 for this service. They all agreed that a 4 was about as high as he would rate. I then asked if they felt the food was a 10. We all agreed it deserved a 10. I asked them to rate the oveall restaurant itself; decor, music, menu selection. For these aspects in total, again, they gave a 10.

I then asked, “What final score would you give this restaurant?” They all agreed that it would recieve about an 8.

“That,” I said, “is exactly where your problem lies. You want to operate as a “10″ but you have too many “3s” and “4s” in your teams.”

This is not an uncommon problem. In fact, because of weak human assets, I have watched entire companies go into the red and disappear despite having solid products and great market penetration. Yet, turnover is thought of as a bad word in corporate circles. It is often interpreted to mean a company can’t retain employees and that it likely spends too much on hiring and training initiatives. This view of turnover inherently dibilitates a company’s ability to grow. When it is purposeful and strategic, turnover can be extremely beneficial. When you let go of people who are not pulling their weight, it sends a message to the rest of your staff that:

1. Those who give 110% to the company deserve to work with people who will give as much.
2. The company is striving for perfection.
3. The company will reward those who take ownership of their jobs, and remove those who do not.

Here is an excellent exercise to put things into perspective. Make a list of all your employees or, if you are a large organization, list employees in just key positions. Score each one of them based on their ability to do three things:

• Consistently meet your expectations for tasks you expect them to own (1-4 Points)
• Regularly exceed your expectations in terms of attitude, professionalism, work ethics and commitment to excellence (1-3 Points)
• Effectively comprehend, communicate and enforce your expectations to those who do not report directly to you (1-3 Points)

When I work with upper-managers, I don’t reveal the theme of this exercise. That being said, I’ve often seen managers beam with pride in their organizations built with average scores of 7s-8s. After we complete this part of the session, many will make comments such as “This looks pretty good” or “My teams are strong overall in these areas.”

First, let me point out that the scoring is usually on the high side. I’ve learned that most managers will give their teams/employees at least a 3 on the first point (just above average) and 2′s on the second and third point (average). In my opinion, these scores lean towards the higher end of the scale because C-Level execs know, to a certain degree, that their subordinates are a reflection of themselves as managers and leaders. If nothing else, they are a reflection on the executive’s ability to hire and motivate good talent. Scoring their subordinates below average is something few execs are willing to do in front of colleagues or their direct reports (or a “tell-it-like-I-see-it” consultant).

It should be clear how absurd it is to rate your most important company assets (your people) as average and call this result “pretty good.” Without excellence in this crucial aspect of your business, you can never obtain excellence overall. Again, the whole cannot be greater than the sum of it’s parts.

What I am saying is this: You must hire, train and retain all level 10 employees if you want a level 10 company. This is a simple concept. If you have all 7s and 8s working for you and running your business, your company will always fall short of its market potential.

How do you fill your ranks with level 10 employees? It starts with the interview process. Most organizations in this day and age have figured out that you better vet your applicants for key employment positions. I’ve even known one person who had to go through a 2-day interview marathon where they met with 16 individuals and 4 groups (she didn’t get the job, but the person who did get the position had to weather another day and 4 individual interviews for a total of 20). But it’s not the number of interviews, or the number of days, or the length of the interviews that matter. It’s what is asked, what is answered and, most importantly, what is not answered. Be sure you have a firm grasp of this person’s ability to:

1. Do the job better than the person they are replacing.
2. Bring some kind of strength/experience to the company/department that does not already exist.
3. Hold themselves accountable for all of the responsibilities you will be asking them to manage.

Next, incentivize and reward employee behaviors that go beyond normal day-to-day responsibilities. Often, all it takes is a simple personal acknowledgement from someone way up the chain to motivate a person to continue outstanding performance for months on end. Think back to when you were starting your career and what it would have meant to you to have someone way up the chain acknowledge work you made great. It costs nothing, so give praise often and whenever it is deserved.

On the reverse side, do not tolerate laziness, irresponsibility or unprofessional behavior from any of your staff, but especially from those in upper-management. Leadership, or lack thereof, always trickles downward. Once bad behaviors become commonplace deep in the organization, they can be difficult, costly and even impossible to remove.

Finally, remind those that work directly for you that the people who work below them are the “parts” of their “whole.” They are responsible for hiring and developing talent below them that raises the score of their areas to “10s.” Again, to reach a 10, one cannot have a score below a 10 as part of the equation.

It’s really just a matter of simple math.