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Align The Enterprise & Make Beautiful Music Together
Q: Why is a great business like a great marching band?
A: The players in both organizations are in alignment.
Alignment? Yes, Alignment.
When a marching band passes by in a parade, the columns and rows are in straight alignment, the band members are all in-step, they play in-tune, and they are all playing the same music. Alignment separates the great from the good from the mediocre from the awful. It's the same in business.
A great business is also in alignment; all the players are aligned on their core foundational elements - mission, vision, and values. Great businesses know where they want to go and have strategies in place to get there. They inspire their people to greatness and unanimity of purpose. They get where they are going with enthusiasm, vitality, and determination. If your business is in alignment - congratulations! If your business is not in alignment then today is the day to get started.
First look at your core foundational elements. Are your mission (the reason the business exists), vision (what you want it to become), and values (the service level and ethical manner in which you treat staff, vendors, and customers) relevant, clear, communicated often, and consistent? If these elements do not exist or have not been utilized since the original business plan was written it is like a marching band with the trumpets playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" and the clarinets playing Beethoven's 7th. Symphony - in other words cacophony and chaos - you're out of alignment.
Once everyone is playing the same music (mission, vision, values), it's time to tune the instruments (align strategies and tactics), rehearse the music (align staff training, accountabilities), practice the marching steps (align policies), keeping the whole enterprise marching to the beat of the same drummer. Soon you will be making beautiful music together. Those watching you march past will applaud with joy at your alignment, spirit, purpose, and joy in accomplishment.
Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" Sign up for his free newsletter at www.larrygaller.com
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Some interviewers ask great questions; others ask dumb questions; and, worst of all, some ask questions that can get them into legal hot water.
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Are you a business, non-profit or association manager who pretty much ignores your organization's important outside audiences?
Building Trust in Your Business Relationships - 10 Steps
There are some simple things you can do with your people to ensure that they start to trust you. As a letter from Mike Emmott of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK says, in April 2005's UK Management Today says:-"Our surveys show that only one in four employees trust senior management to look after their interests"Is that not appalling? How on earth can businesses develop, survive and above all hang onto their best people if they are seen to be untrustworthy?
Align The Enterprise & Make Beautiful Music Together
Q: Why is a great business like a great marching band?
How to Approach Group Decision Making
GROUP DECISION MAKING -- IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM: Tell specifically what the problem is and how you experience it. Cite specific examples. --"Own" the problem as yours and solicit the help of others in solving it rather than implying that it's someone else's problem that they ought to solve. Keep in mind that if it were someone else's problem, they would be bringing it up for discussion. --In the identification phase of problem-solving, avoid references to solutions. This can trigger disagreement too early in the process and prevent ever making meaningful progress. --Once there seems to be a fairly clear understanding of what the problem is, this definition should be written in very precise language If a group is involved, it should be displayed on a flip chart or chalkboard.
Build Rapport Fast! - Eight Easy Steps
Building rapport is all about creating a relationship, in the moment. And this is vital in business, education, friendships and many other areas of life. We need relationships to help us get the things we want for ourselves in our lives, like money, promotions, success, partners and above all to feel part of society. You see we are social animals, us humans and if we find it challenging to make relationships, then we feel excluded. And that ain't comfortable.So, let's build rapport quickly and easily in the just eight easy steps!
- Pay AttentionNow some will say that you must make continued eye contact, but, you know, some folks find that invasive and threatening. So match what they do, if they look at you, look at them. But whatever you do, ensure that you give an appropriate level of attention to them. In Dale Carnegie's wonderful book, 'How to Win Friends & Influence People', he tells a story of how he sat next to someone at dinner one evening. All night his fellow guest talked; all night Carnegie listened. A few weeks later, he was amazed to hear from a mutual friend how interesting his dinner companion had found him - even though Carnegie said virtually nothing all evening!
- Value Them..which leads us to how you relate to them. If someone is talking to you about something, make sure you show you value what they are saying, by asking them at least one additional openquestion about what they are talking to you about. Remember these? The 4 W's of HoW (yea, I know!), What, Where or Who - perhaps not Why, which can be seen as a challenge at the start of a relationship. 4 easy, helpful, interested open question types.
- Be Like ThemBy matching physically, you will make a far greater impression. So, if they are standing, stand, leaning forward, lean forward. Ever spoken to a child? What did you do - you crouched down, didn't you. Why? Because you felt more able to communicate. It works well for big people too!
- Follow UpHow often have you discussed something and then it hasn't been followed through afterwards. Promises not kept. And how did that leave your relationship with that person? Not good eh? Following through on what you promise is not just good practice, it is vital if you want to build a strong, trusting relationship. People notice, even when you don't. Also remember to underpromise and overdeliver.
- Laugh a LotLaughter is a powerful tool in building relationships - you are sharing the same emotion, in the same moment. Ever seen two people in fits of laughter? How strong was that bond then? Pretty strong, I guess. Ever been there yourself? Yes, you know the feeling. It works, so share the fun and joy of the moment.
- Hear ThemIt is not about listening, it's about hearing them. So what's the distinction here? It means being so with the person that you sense other things beneath the words. This is a very powerful tool you can use. Further sensitive questioning then adds into your evidence, which can give you great clues to help build the relationship.
- Be The AudienceRemember that when you are talking, you might be using the same language, but you hear it with different ears, different experiences and altogether a different 'take' on the words. A great coach I know, Elaine Wylie, had a problem with her cell phone one day and heard a serious echo. She heard herself fully before her caller responded. It was very revealing. So hear what you are saying from your audience's 'ears'.
- Give space - Listen upHave you ever spoken to someone uninterrupted for as long as it took to say all you had to say? Were there spaces where it went quiet? What did you say next? In Nancy Kilne's great book 'Time to Think' she explores great exercises to do just that. The experience is magical. Give your listener space to talk and let them fill the silences. You will have pure rapport and a recognition that you care so much.So that's all there is to it. There maybe a few other things, but get these here somewhere like right and it will create relationships of value for you all over the place - through the rapport you have built in the moment.Daunted? Don't be. Try one or two at a time and see the reaction - play with these ideas. Build your confidence. Enjoy the learning to Build Rapport Fast!
Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com