Are Arizona Businesses Prepared to Succeed in the New Business Reality?

The rules have changed and we cannot return to business-as-usual. So, where do innovative business leaders find the tools, processes and passion to survive and thrive in this evolved business environment?

Once in a while, I send out a notice to my contacts when I hear about, or am associated with, a program I truly believe will help the business owners in my network…

My savvy associate Margaret Jacoby, is spearheading a Leadership Power Groups (LPG) seminar and consulting series starting in September. She’s working together with key sponsors like the Small Business Development Center. The program involves 10, monthly, three-hour seminars, with follow-up consulting sessions. Specific topics geared to mid-size businesses, will clue us in about how to do business in this crazy new environment. Really, if you look at how we need to do business now, it’s totally different, and it’s evolving as you read this.

I’m involved as one of the LPG presenters and will be sharing information on the leader’s role in the new reality. I am also eager to hear insights from all the other presenters Margaret has lined up.

Read about this opportunity and share the info with anyone else you know who could benefit:

Web site: www.leadershippowergroups.com/

Twitter: twitter.com/LeadershipPower

Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Phoenix-AZ/Leadership-Power-Groups/284979179742

SBDC: http://www.azsbdc.net/workshop.aspx?ekey=10300115

MJ Management Solutions, Inc.’s Leadership Power Groups are designed to teach business owners how to play by the new rules, and run a successful business beyond 2010, without sacrificing passion and values. The 10-month workshop and consulting series, sponsored by the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), starts in September 2010.

Attendees will receive down-to-earth, immediate action steps to move mid-sized businesses forward. They also will gain the know-how to manage people more wisely, serve customers more effectively, and improve processes to fit the new reality.

The sessions are limited to only 12, hand-selected businesses. Starting Sept. 8, 2010, leaders from each of these organizations will participate in a three-hour monthly session for 10 months. Each in-depth session shared with the 12 business teams will cover a leading-edge business topic, such as leadership, leveraging talent and social capital, social media strategy, and financing and forecasting. The sessions are individualized and include one-on-one, follow-up consulting with industry experts.

The 10 sessions will be held on the second Wednesday of each month, from 4 to 7 pm., at the Maricopa Community College Small Business Development Center, 2400 Central Avenue, Suite 104, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

For more information, visit http://www.leadershippowergroups.com/, or contact: Margaret Jacoby, MJ Management Solutions, Inc., 480-924-6101, margaret@mjms.net, www.mjms.net.

MENTOR MONDAY: Recording available for 7 Secrets of Employee Re-engagement

Listen in as we talk about employee engagement and the simple actions leaders can take.

 

This podcast is 31 minutes long.

If you are not already registered to join us on the fourth Monday of each month, then register here

Daniel Goleman on Social Intelligence

Daniel Goleman, well known for his work on Emotional Intelligence, has turned his attention towards it’s greater application in leadership. In this 10 minute video from Harvard Business Review, Goleman talks about Social Intelligence, a big breakthrough in neuroscience.

Sometimes the video takes a while to load and it’s well worth the wait.

Goleman’s five step process to enhancing social intelligence:

1. Decide whether you are motivated to enhance your social intelligence
2. Get feedback from others through a 360 assessment
3. Identify your strengths, weaknesses and what you want to focus upon
4. Create a learning agreement with yourself
5. For the next few months pay attention to your actions

These are very similar to the steps which I outlined in Roadmap to Success and similar to the executive coaching we offer to organizations. The biggest differences are that we also recommend before-and-after 360 assessments, along with a mid-point check in.  After all, without ongoing input, a leader may think he/she is making positive change but is in fact  just doing “more of the same.”  The extra input makes a huge difference in helping a good leader to become a great leader.

Expect the Best,
Sylva Leduc

MENTOR MONDAY: Re-Engage Your Employees

On August 23rd we will be offering our eighth teleconference of the year.  This month, the focus is on employee engagement.  Actually, it’s on employee RE-engagement.

Why re-engagement?

Because we are hearing from too many people that their manager/leader is taking them for granted.  You may even have heard it yourself in the “You’re lucky you have a job” rhetoric.  But as the economy improves (yes, it will improve) those same employees who do not feel appreciated will be quitting as soon as they have a chance.

So don’t take your most valuable asset for granted.  Join us on the call.  Even if you can’t join live, we’ll send you the link with the recording.

Register Now for Mentor Monday

MENTOR MONDAY: Creating a Zappos Culture

Zappos, the highly successful online retailer, is celebrating its 10th year anniversary. In June, Sylva Leduc and Robert Rican went on a private tour of the Zappos headquarters in Henderson, Nevada.  Listen in as Sylva talks about their tour of this amazing company.

 

This podcast is 35 minutes long.

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Zappos is built on 10 core values:

1. Deliver WOW through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

At Sage Leaders, we focus on employee retention and leadership development. One way to increase employee retention is to make sure you have the right employees in the first place.   At Zappos, they pay people to quit.  That’s right!  At the end of the first four weeks of training, they will pay a new employee $2,000 to quit. That strategy has been remarkably successful in weeding out the people who do not fit the culture.  As a result, their employee retention rates are very high.

During the live call for Mentor Monday, someone asked what Zappos does with all of their returns. We asked the same question during the tour!  We are pleased to let you know that they have a sister site called www.6pm.com which offers significantly discounted items.

Take the Zappos Tour Yourself

Next time you are in Las Vegas, be sure to set aside some time to go on a Zappos tour. Their corporate headquarters is in Henderson, less than 30 minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip.  Register for a tour at  Zappos Insights.

Can’t wait til then? Want to know more now?  Watch this video:

In November 2009, Zappos was acquired by Amazon.  Read the Inc Magazine article in which Tony Hsieh discussed why he sold the company to Amazon and how he plans to ensure the Zappos culture remains intact. We’ll be watching over the next few years to see how Zappos and Amazon evolve.

What are your thoughts about creating a culture where people come first?

Cheers,
Sylva

PS: Did you enjoy this podcast? You are invited to join us for our live Mentor Monday calls,
click here to learn more.

MENTOR MONDAY: Art & Science of 360 Feedback

This month on MENTOR MONDAY, we addressed “The Art & Science of 360 Feedback” and how leaders can benefit from receiving candid feedback from others.

Listen to this call as Sylva Leduc, the Managing Partner of Sage Leaders, shares information from her 20 years of coaching leaders & executives using 360 assessments.

She also talked about many of the different 360 degree instruments, as well as, how to conduct feedback interviews.

 

After listening to this 30 minute podcast,
register for the free career assessment
offered by Sage Leaders Inc.

MENTOR MONDAY: Dangers in Assessments

I recently worked with a group of emerging leaders and as part of the program everyone completed an assessment to learn more about their communication style. At Sage Leaders, we’ve used assessments since the mid-90s to help leaders more fully understand both themselves and the people who work for them.

Listen to this podcast as we discuss some of the different self-assessments, the best ways to use them and how to avoid misusing assessments. At the end of the podcast you’ll also learn how to complete an assessment free of charge.

 

MENTOR MONDAY: Mistakes of New Leaders

This month, for Mentor Monday, we discussed the top 6 mistakes made by people who are in a new management (or leadership) position and how to avoid those errors.

Sylva also reviewed several books on leadership which are particularly helpful for new and emerging leaders.

 

While this Mentor Monday call is less than 30 minutes, there is a wealth of information for both newly promoted managers and emerging leaders.

Want to receive the career assessment which Sylva talked about during the call? Send an e-mail to assess(at)sageleaders.com and you’ll receive the log-in information and the password.

We welcome your feedback and questions.  Use the comment section below.

Neuroscience & Bobby McFerrin

Remember Bobby McFerrin, the singer/songwriter of Don’t Worry, Be Happy? I found the following video from the World Science Festival in which he showed the universality of the Pentatonic Scale. It’s an elegant demonstration of how our brains work.

Enjoy!

Sylva

MENTOR MONDAY: Let’s Talk About Motivation

This month we explored motivation, how it contributes to employee satisfaction and the direct impact that leaders have on motivation.

This is such an important topic. When we conduct 360 feedback assessments in organizations, employees tell us just what it is their leaders do that is most motivating.  They also tell us what demotivates them the most. After all, a demotivated employee is more likely to quit the company. And we all know the costs of employee turnover.

 

Listen to this 30 minute podcast as Sylva Leduc talks about employee retention, employee satisfaction and motivation.  She also talks about the new book by Daniel Pink, called Drive!

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After you listen to the podcast, download and read our green paper, Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em in which we explore recent literature and research on employee retention.

During this Mentor Monday call we also discussed Daniel Pink’s new book on motivation.  It’s appropriately called Drive! Below is the video from his recent 20 minute TED Talk.

Be sure you are registered for Mentor Monday.

Each month, Sylva Leduc discusses the latest in leadership ideas, effective communication, employee retention strategies, management challenges, etc. An informative series with practical application—each mentor call has at least one leadership tip you can use immediately!

Offered on the fourth Monday each month, our leadership mentor calls take place at 12:00 EST / 11:00 CST / 10:00 MST / 9:00 PST. Even if you can’t attend live, as a registered member you will receive the MP3 recording.

REGISTER HERE for MENTOR MONDAY

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