Tag Archive for: energize your business book

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The Expansive Power of Vision

Vision & The Cone of InfluenceFor 2016, aspire to reach new heights with a clear picture of what you are striving to achieve as an organization.

“When you create a clear vision, it expands the collective thinking of your organization to encompass greater possibility and influence. A lofty vision is energizing. It excites everyone involved. It generates hope for the future.”

 

In my past three articles, we explored the power of purpose, values, and mission. In this article we will “tackle” (a little Superbowl residue…what a game Sunday night…congrats Broncos!) vision, the other element that together forms the “Cone of Influence” of your organization. These elements define the depth and breadth of what is important to your organization. The more lofty your vision, the wider your Cone of Influence.

The stars represent potential opportunities to expend or invest resources. Any stars outside the Cone of Influence represent those you should not include in your planning. They are not in alignment with the direction and focus of your organization. Those stars within the Cone of Influence represent opportunities that you could develop or undertake, depending on available resources. These are opportunities in alignment with what is important to your organization.

What do you see as your organization’s most desirable future state—with everything in perfect working order? Don’t worry about when you will achieve it; instead, focus your energy first on what it looks like. Then, after you’ve created the perfect picture, by all means begin identifying the timeframes in which you think you can achieve each of the elements of the vision.

As a personal practice, I make it a point to do business with people who create an extraordinary experience. One such company is T.C. Eggington’s in Mesa, Arizona—my favorite brunch destination. There is something very special about this multi-award-winning, 30-year-old Best of Phoenix eating establishment… (Click here to read more)

Much success and fulfillment,

 

Ray

 

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(Adapted from Chapter 5 of my new book Energize Your Business: Engage Your Employees with an Inspiring Strategic Planning Process. Read free chapters and learn more at www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz .) 

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How to Ignite Enthusiasm withYour Mission

Mission EnthusiasmDo you have a mission statement that clearly defines the unique business that you are in or about?

Do your employees and customers understand your organization’s mission?

 

W. Clement Stone said…

“When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.” 

Clearly defining your mission helps you to know which opportunities to say “yes” to and which to turn down. It becomes your “energy umbrella.” Every opportunity under the umbrella of your mission is a wise investment of your organization’s energy and resources. Anything outside the umbrella will not resonate with what is important to your organization. It is a valuable tool to decide on what to expend precious resources.

 “Clearly defining your mission helps you to know what opportunities to say ‘yes’ to and which to turn down.”

 A mission statement is an umbrella proposition that should encompass all you chose to do. It defines the business you are in or about. A mission statement, well written, will answer the following questions:

  1. How do you choose to have people behave (most important core values)?
  2. Why is your organization here (core purpose; the heart of your mission statement)?
  3. What does your organization do (products and services you provide)?
  4. What results do you desire for your organization (beyond just making money)?
  5. Who does your organization serve (your customers)?

The key to crafting a good mission statement is to make it simple but not too vague. Make it heartfelt and not too heady. Make it unique to your organization so as to distinguish you from your competitors. Make it memorable and inspiring to all who read it.

Here are a few mission statement examples that may help get you started with creating your own:

Starbucks Mission: To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.

Our TLC Mission: We help create cultures of character and success that inspire hope and awaken the greatness in people, organizations and communities—guiding organizations to get clear, get organized, get going, and get results.

When you have completed your organizational mission statement, consider asking your department managers to gather with their direct reports to craft each department’s mission statement. This exercise will help employees to become clearer about the scope of their service to the organization. Additionally, you will find it to be a meaningful and engaging employee team building experience.

I always recommend to my clients that they revisit their mission annually, because their organization needs to evolve as the needs of their target market changes. Your organization’s core purpose and core values should stand the test of time once you get them right. However, keep your mission like clay that you continue to mold as you get clearer on the business you’re in or about.

Enjoy igniting your enthusiasm and burning desire by creating or rejuvenating your mission statement.

Much success and fulfillment,

Ray

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(Adapted from Chapter 4 of my new book Energize Your Business: Engage Your Employees with an Inspiring Strategic Planning Process. Read free chapters and learn more at www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz .)

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Infuse Your Culture with Values

Core Values GraphicWhat does your organization stand for—your core values? Successful business owners understand how vital a company’s core values are to creating a company culture that results in happy, productive, successful employees, which, in turn, leads to happy customers and a healthy bottom-line.

Values are your guide for weathering ethical dilemmas. They become the fabric for weaving good sound decisions. Values become your employees’ moral compass. For your company’s values to permeate throughout your organization, it will take conscious, consistent, deliberate actions.

Jim Collins & Jerry Porras (authors, Built to Last) say…

“The only truly reliable source of stability is a strong inner core [purpose and values] and the willingness to change and adapt everything except that core.”

Core values form the root system of your organization. Values nourish and stabilize your company. They represent the ideals that your organization stands for. They form your legacy. The more widespread and deeply imbedded your values, the more likely it is that your organization will stand the test of time. A company that knows and practices core values can weather storms and the winds of change… (Click here to read more of this LinkedIn article)

 

(Adapted from Chapter 3 of my new book Energize Your Business: Engage Your Employees with an Inspiring Strategic Planning Process. Read free chapters and learn more at www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz .)

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The Power of Purpose: Know Your “Big Why”

Martin Luther King JrDr. Martin Luther King, Jr., visited India in the early 1960s to learn satyagraha principles first-hand from Mahatma Gandhi’s family and followers.  He used these principles of nonviolence to lead the civil rights movement of the 1960s. This resulted in improving privileges and rights of African Americans throughout the United States.

Like Gandhi, King saw injustice being imposed on people because of the color of their skin.  Martin held dear the words crafted by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident:  That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  For him, it was time to take a stand and create a movement to bring our society back into alignment with this wisdom.  His choice was to do it nonviolently.

Martin Luther King clearly understood his “Big Why”—his purpose for creating one of the most successful Civil Rights movements the world has known.

Do you know your “Big Why”—your Core Purpose? If not, lasting success may elude you.

The core purpose of your organization is like the seed of an apple. “You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the number of apples in a seed.” No one knows the potential yield of your organization and how much your employees can produce in the lifetime of your company.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end pre-exists in the means, the fruit in the seed.”

Your organization has a unique core purpose for serving the world. This is your “Big Why?”—why your organization was started in the first place—beyond just making money. What’s yours? It is most likely the original heartfelt reason you decided (or are deciding) to take a leap of faith and start a business.

“Knowing your core purpose keeps you centered on what’s most important—during good times and challenging times.”

Remember when you first got excited about the idea of starting your own business—when you got goose bumps just thinking about it? Where were you? What was your inspired idea that grew into your “Big Why?” for doing it—beyond just making money? The answer is something very simple and profound at the core of your mission as an organization.

This is the core purpose of your company. It should be at the heart of everything you do, all the decisions you make. It is why your organization exists. It either solves a problem or fulfills an aspiration or desire. It is the seed that, when properly nurtured, will begin to take root.

Once you and your employees understand your core purpose and have placed it at the heart of everything you do, everyone involved will make good, sound decisions. It will be a compass for all you choose to do.

Here are some examples of core purposes from successful companies that you probably know:

  • Disney – “To bring happiness to millions”
  • Nordstrom – “Service to the customer above all else”
  • Johnson and Johnson – “To alleviate pain and disease”
  • Walmart – “We exist to provide value to our customers”
  • My company, TLC – “We inspire hope and awaken greatness”

What’s the Core Purpose of your organization?

Much success and fulfillment,

Ray

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(Adapted from Chapter 2 of my new book Energize Your Business: Engage Your Employees with an Inspiring Strategic Planning Process. Read free chapters and learn more at www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz  and Chapter 28 from my book Ray of Hope: Inspiring Peace)

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Wisdom I Learned from an Ojibwe Leader about Success

On a frigid December day in northern Minnesota, I was facilitating a strategic planning retreat for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. More than 75 people from different departments within the tribal government were meeting in small groups in the ballroom of one of their casino enterprises. I was introducing elements of the strategic planning process, step-by-step, and the participants were storyboarding their input on flipcharts at their tables. Many of the participants had never been asked to participate in a strategic planning process like this before, so part of my time was spent teaching and coaching about the different elements.

Tree of Organizational Success

Tree of Organizational Success

Two hours into the morning of the first day, Vicki, a leader from their Education Department, came up to me on a break and shared a metaphor of the tree, relating it to the strategic planning process. It described perfectly the significance of each element of the process and how each is related energetically and how all are connected to the whole system.

That night I captured her thoughts in the graphic shown, “The Tree of Organizational Success.” That tree became our guide for the next several days of our process. People got it! Since that day, I have continued to use it as a tool to guide groups in their strategic planning processes. Here’s the essence of what she shared with me.

Seed = Purpose: Every tree begins with a seed. The tree exists within the seed. Each seed has a specific, unique purpose. A pine-cone seed can grow up to be only a pine tree. An acorn can grow up to be only an oak tree. An apple seed can grow up to be only an apple tree. Every organization has a unique core purpose for how to serve the world. This is “the big why?”— the reason the organization was started in the first place—beyond just making money.

Roots = Values: With the right amount of sun, water and minerals from the earth, the seed begins to sprout roots. Roots help to nourish the tree by drawing water and minerals up from the soil. They also help to stabilize the tree against external forces like wind and floods. Roots also stabilize the tree within the surrounding soil, which can become weak from erosion. Roots are invisible to the eye, but they serve the tree in several other important ways. The deeper and wider the root system, the more nourishment the tree will receive. Roots represent the core values and culture in an organization. They are what your organization stands for. They are your legacy. The more widespread and deeply embedded your core values, the more likely it is that your organization will stand the test of time.

Trunk = Spirit / Life-force Energy = Mission and Vision: When the tree’s roots spread out and deepen enough, the tree begins to sprout and break through the surface of the earth. It first becomes visible as a delicate sprout that eventually forms the trunk. As the tree grows tall for all to see, its life-force energy and spirit becomes evident. The trunk of the tree is analogous to the mission and vision of an organization. Everyone can see and experience the magnitude of its energy and presence. The mission and vision are the life-force, or spirit, of the organization. Many will be prospered, served and inspired during the life of the organization.

Branches = Departments and Goals Set: Branches bud and spread out from the trunk in all directions. These branches will support the foliage and fruit that will come. The greater the reach of the branches and canopy, the more fruit the tree is capable of producing. It soon begins serving animals and insects—providing shade, food and refuge.The branches symbolize the various departments and the multiple goals of the organization. The loftier the goals set throughout your organization, the greater the potential for organizational and personal achievement.

Fruit = Success and Goals Achieved: As fall approaches, the world begins to see apples form on an apple tree. You—and the world—can now see how plentiful the harvest will become, weather and critters permitting. The fruits of your labor are becoming visible. The fruit harvest represents goals achieved, success manifested. A bountiful harvest serves your customers, employees and vendors.

I love the simplicity and organic perspective that I received from my student (and teacher), Vicki, that day.

Enjoy growing your bountiful tree of organizational success.

Much success and fulfillment,

Ray

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(Adapted from the Introduction of my new book Energize Your Business: Engage Your Employees with an Inspiring Strategic Planning Process. Read free chapters and learn more at www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz  )

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How to Assess the Success of Your Organization in 10 Minutes

Before you begin your 2016 strategic planning process, take this quick and easy assessment. The Circle of Success is a simple assessment tool that will enable you and your employees to see at a glance the “flat spots” in your organization as well as the areas in which you are maximizing your potential. I consider it an organizational medicine wheel.

Circle of Success

Circle of Success Assessment Tool

I have been using this simple, yet revealing strategic planning tool for many years when I work with the organizations I serve. It provides leaders, like you, with a quick visual assessment of many of the ingredients that generate success and profitability in organizations. It’s also a remarkable, engaging teambuilding exercise. Here’s how it works:

  1. You’ll notice that there are four quadrants in this wheel: (1) Planning; (2) Staffing; (3) Teambuilding; (4) Processes. Each quadrant has 4-sectors, or focus areas, (in which to invest energy and resources)—a total of 16 focus areas to assess.
  2. Superimposed on the Circle of Success is a horizontal scale identified by 10 concentric circles with zero (“0”) in the center and “10” on the outer circumference.
  3. Here’s how it works: First, decide what you want to assess—the organization as a whole or any individual department you choose. Invite your leaders to do the same to see how your collective points-of-view align or differ.
  4. Now it’s time to score how you think/feel your organization is doing. The scoring works like this: Zero (“0”) is the lowest score and indicates that your organization or department is performing poorly in that particular area. Ten (“10”) means your organization or department is functioning in an exemplary manner in that particular area and couldn’t do better if you tried.
  5. Score each sector separately by asking yourself, “At this point in time, how well has our organization (or department) defined, communicated and performed in this particular area?” (As a first step, you can score each sector on the matrix shown on the following page if you desire.) For each sector, put an “X” on the scale in the center of the wedge you are scoring.
  6. When you have scored all 16 sectors, connect the dots. (See the example below)

Circle of Success Example 2014-06-26

Example of completed Circle of Success Assessment

  1. Now look at the “wheel” of connected dots you have just created. Would the “wheel” roll? Do you happen to see any interesting shapes? (Similar to looking for shapes in cloud formations, some of my perceptive clients have enjoyed identifying shapes resembling birds, bells, and other outrageous images. Have fun with it!)
  2. Compare your wheel with others who have joined you in doing this exercise. Discuss the similarities and differences.
  3. Now identify low, “flat spots” on the wheel that need attention. These are notable areas in which to set goals and invest resources, maximizing your potential by bringing those areas back into alignment and balance.
  4. Use this tool at least quarterly to see how well your organization (or department) is progressing. There will always be new sectors of your organization that need attention because organizations are living, breathing organisms constantly ebbing, flowing, and morphing.

It’s your turn now. Give it a try. I think you’ll like its simplicity and effectiveness. (Download your free Circle of Success Assessment Guide.)

Much success and fulfillment,

Ray

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(Adapted from Chapter 1 of my new book Energize Your Business: Engage Your Employees with an Inspiring Strategic Planning Process. Read free chapters and learn more at www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz  )

To download a free Circle of Success Assessment Guide go to www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz .

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Today’s the day

Energize Your Business cover

Hope you’re having a very Happy Holiday season.

Today only purchase my Energize Your Business eBook for only $0.99! Just click here to purchase https://amzn.to/1JgFKhW

Great tool for planning and strategizing for 2016.

 

 

You’ll enjoy:

  • vivid color graphics
  • convenient built-in links for easy searching and navigating from topic to topic
  • sharing with your team on a computer screen, tablet, or on a projector screen

Please help me to spread the word about this special offer. https://amzn.to/1JgFKhW

Much success and fulfillment,

Ray

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Do Some Business Soul Searching before the New Year

The SPOC Analysis

Here is a great employee engagement exercise for every leader to build into their end of year routine before beginning strategic planning for the new year.

Before beginning any journey, you first need to know where you are. To better understand where you are in business its helpful to know what got you here. Warren Buffett, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway, and philanthropist, says…

“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”

Remember the last time you were planning a trip and consulted a map? First, you identified your current position. Next, you located your destination. And then you figured out the best route between the two points.

In a similar manner, applying the elements presented in this article will enable you first to understand your current position as an organization so you can chart the best course to achieve your company’s values, mission and vision.

It’s time to do some soul-searching. The deeper you choose to go into your analysis, the easier your next steps will be. Some facilitators call this next part of the process a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats). But I like to call upon a “higher source” by renaming this soul-searching aspect the SPOC analysis (Strengths, Possible Improvements, Opportunities, and Challenges). It may seem trivial, but I’ve always loved the logical- and positive-minded Mr. Spock, from “Star Trek,” so I suppose this is a tribute to him. Rest in peace, legendary actor Leonard Nimoy. Thanks for the memorable v-shaped hand signal and the benevolent affirmation…

 “Live long and prosper.”

So, what is the SPOC analysis; and why should you do it? In the process of building your business, the SPOC analysis offers a great, revealing way to assess where you are right now and then to scan the business environment in order to anticipate the possibilities that might present themselves on your journey toward achieving your values, mission and vision. It also identifies key areas that you may want to focus attention upon in the form of goals, objectives, or strategies. We’ll discuss more about that later.

Are you ready? Here’s how the SPOC Analysis process works:

  1. Answer the question “What are your organization’s Strengths?” These are the areas in which your organization does well, in which you excel. Capitalize on these strengths, and your organization will prosper, your teams will maximize their potential, and your employees will be productive and fulfilled.
  2. Answer the question “What Possible Improvements would help your organization to be more successful?” These are areas in which you may presently be experiencing some deficiencies. When guiding leaders through this segment of the SPOC analysis, I prefer to coach them to be proactive in identifying what needs to be improved in order to achieve their core purpose, core values, mission, and vision more quickly and effectively. These deficiencies act as speed bumps, slowing your progress.
  3. Answer the question “What potential Opportunities could be seized to move your organization toward accomplishing its mission and vision?” These ideas are most likely untapped activities and projects, or knowledge and skill-building events. Taking advantage of these opportunities will accelerate your progress toward success.
  4. Answer the question “What Challenges may need to be overcome?” Consider them as obstacles or roadblocks standing in the way of achieving success. These challenges could even be showstoppers for you and your company. Like water flowing along a rocky stream, you will need to find creative solutions in order to make your way over, around or through these obstacles in order to realize your mission and vision.
  5. If they didn’t surface when you were brainstorming the “Opportunities” and “Challenges,” what trends are emerging in your industry?

Answers to these five questions will help you to identify goals, objectives and strategies on which to focus your organization’s energy and attention.

So, why not do some soul searching before planning the new year…

  1. What are your Strengths as an organization?
  2. What are Possible Improvements in order for your organization to succeed?
  3. What Opportunities could you pursue to accelerate your progress?
  4. What are potential Challenges that may stand in your way toward achieving success?
  5. What trends are emerging in your industry?

Much success and fulfillment and Happy Holidays,

Ray

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(Adapted from Chapter 6 of Energize Your Business: Engage Your Employees with an Inspiring Strategic Planning Process by Ray Madaghiele.)

$0.99 SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFER!!! This Friday, December 18, you can purchase the new Energize Your Business eBook on Amazon for just $0.99. You’ve purchased gifts for everyone else. Now it’s your turn to treat yourself. Just click here to order on Friday www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz . You will also see a special 15% off Holiday coupon code for the print book.

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6 Myths about Strategic Planning—Busted

Strategic Planning MythsDo you want energize your business or are you thinking of starting a business for the new year? Strategic planning is a great place to begin no matter what myths you’ve heard.

During my twenty-five years of facilitating strategic planning processes for a wide variety of organizations and communities, I have heard many myths about strategic planning. You may even believe some of them yourself. Let’s bust some of the myths. Here goes…

Myth #1: Small business owners don’t need a strategic plan unless they intend to get money from investors or banks.

  • Myth Buster #1: Even if you are starting a business with your own funds, a strategic plan will help create a clear set of blueprints in order to manifest your inspired business concept.

Myth #2: Strategic planning is boring drudgery to be tolerated, much like swallowing awful-tasting medicine that’s good for you in the long run.

  • Myth Buster #2: Strategic planning is, in fact, a fun way to make a unique brand come alive. Every strategy and action is an opportunity to make the planning and implementation fun.

Myth #3:  The strategic planning process is a hard, complex, heady process that only someone with an MBA could possibly appreciate and understand.

  • Myth Buster #3: Strategic planning can tap into the unique wisdom and understanding of your company’s employees. Avoid using complicated terms and models. Instead, keep it simple and understandable by all.

Myth #4: Strategic planning is an esoteric process, reserved for leaders in Fortune 500 companies and created on corporate “mountain-tops.” Then, management delivers the completed tablets to its loyal subjects in the form of new laws to follow.

  • Myth Buster #4: You can use strategic planning as a way to strengthen collaboration and cooperation, using the process to reenergize and engage employees and create alignment around a loftier mission and a concrete action plan.

Myth #5: Employees have more important things to do than to waste time planning. Besides, frontline employees don’t care about planning and have very little to contribute to the process anyway.

  • Myth Buster #5: Everyone wants to be part of something great, and each person wants to be heard. Your company will experience powerful results by giving every employee a voice. The collective vision will prove to be very lucrative for all stakeholders. Employees do, indeed, care—and have a lot to offer.

Myth #6: Strategic plans are just nice pronouncements that collect dust on a bookshelf, to be opened again only at next year’s company retreat.

  • Myth Buster #6: Even if the type of planning process you are accustomed to has been a yearly exercise in futility that can be changed now to make the process more meaningful. Consider creating dynamic strategic roadmaps every few months, which will help re-focus resources on what matters most and keep the company’s enduring cultural values alive.

In summary, from my experience, these myths are far from the truth. In truth, a strategic planning process done well . . .

  • is an engaging, inspiring and fun opportunity to create collaboration and cooperation among all employees
  • creates alignment from the top of the organization to the frontline—getting everyone moving in the same direction toward the same vision and goals
  • attracts the right and perfect employees and customers, people who resonate with the organization’s culture and aspirations
  • energizes and lifts the organization and everyone in it to the next level of success and fulfillment!

Enjoy creating your own inspiring and engaging strategic planning process to energize you and your business for the new year!

Much success and fulfillment,

Ray

(Adapted from the Preface and Chapter 14 of Energize Your Business: Engage Your Employees with an Inspiring Strategic Planning Process by Ray Madaghiele. Learn more and receive freebies and Holiday special promotions at www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz .)

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‘Tis the Season to Celebrate

celebrateSuccessful companies celebrate often and use their celebrations as opportunities to reinforce their cultural values.

To keep the fires of company enthusiasm stoked, show appreciation for all the valiant efforts of your team. This extremely effective motivator costs nothing and has a lasting, positive effect. Create a culture of Acknowledgment. Show appreciation for individual and team achievements. Praise the slightest improvement. Praise every improvement. And by all means, share the wealth through bonuses and/or other concierge benefits.

Celebrate milestones achieved. Celebrate each other. Think of fun ways to show appreciation.

There is great power in appreciation. When it comes to our finances, we want our bottom-line and our investments to appreciate—to increase in value…to rise…to escalate. When it comes to human nature, appreciation has a similar relevance. As human beings, we all want to feel uplifted and valued—as friend, family member, employee. William James said, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”

To illustrate the power of this principle, let me share my recent experience as an interviewer on a job interview panel. One of the applicants shared that the main reason she wanted to leave her existing job was, she didn’t feel appreciated by her boss. When she talked with her boss about important matters, she reported, he didn’t seem interested. She also observed that he was often critical. “The only thing that seems to matter to him,” she said, “is the bottom-line.” His lack of appreciation at the personal level had caused this valuable employee to seek employment elsewhere. Could this be happening in your organization?

Why does something as simple as showing appreciation have such a phenomenally positive effect? Because it invokes a fundamental, universal principle. Social psychologists call it the natural Law of Reciprocity. Reciprocity refers to the human tendency to respond to a positive action with an equally positive action, rewarding kind actions with kindness. Reciprocity means that, in response to friendly actions, people are frequently much nicer and much more co-operative.

Physicists call it the Law of Cause and Effect: For every action, there is a reaction.
Meta-physicians call it the Law of Attraction: Like attracts like.

Dr. Masaru Emoto, researcher and author of Hidden Messages in Water, who studied the effect of words on our water-dominant human physiology said, “Water has a message for the world: The world is linked together by love and gratitude . . . The words ‘gratitude’ and ‘love’ form the fundamental principles of the laws of nature and the phenomenon of life.”

When we express gratitude or appreciation to another person, they feel better; and, simultaneously, we feel better at a deep, cellular level. It actually strengthens our molecular bond with each other.

Try this simple self-assessment: Do you receive far more appreciation than you deserve—yes or no? Do you regularly dish out healthy portions of honest, sincere appreciation to associates, friends, and family members—yes or no? Could there be a correlation?

The bottom-line: if you want more appreciation, show more appreciation.
If you want to brighten a person’s day and lift productivity, give an honest, sincere compliment.

If you want to increase the productivity of your team, create a culture of appreciation and acknowledgment in which people are catching other people in the act of doing things right. Similar to throwing a pebble into a pond, you will send a powerful ripple of gratitude throughout your organization.

Lao Tzu said, “Your behavior influences others through a ripple effect. A ripple effect works because everyone influences everyone else. Powerful people are powerful influences.”

“Your behavior influences others through a ripple effect. A ripple effect works because everyone influences everyone else. Powerful people are powerful influences.”

Enjoy creating a positive ripple of appreciation this holiday season with your team members, with your family, and beyond.

Much success and fulfillment,

Ray

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(Adapted from Chapter 10 of Energize Your Business: Engage Your Employees with an Inspiring Strategic Planning Process by Ray Madaghiele. Learn more or purchase at www.EnergizeYourBusiness.biz .)

 

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