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Tactical Execution Best Practice 7 – Clearly Defined Organizational Roles and Responsibilities

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Best Practice ArticleAll too often, duplicate effort is unknowingly expended by an organization’s various workgroups. Lack of organizational defined positional roles and responsibilities and/or work handoffs commonly result in employees unnecessarily performing highly similar if not the exact same activities. In some cases, workgroups may generate differing and conflicting outputs; in others, they may inappropriately change underlying application data such that hinders overall progress and propagates errors. Organizations clearly defining positional roles and responsibilities in standalone responsibilities matrices are better able to avoid these conflicts; releasing precious resources for the performance of value adding work and eliminating redundancy based errors.

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About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

Managing Talent in a Passion Driven Job Market

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I have not sought out nor come across any empirical data set that proves this, nor do I plan to. However, I have spent a lot of time hearing the same story over and over again. Many people are not excited about the work they are doing everyday. The last Forbes survey stated that four out of five people were not happy with their jobs. Four out of Five – that is 80%, which puts the 20/80 rule (that 20% of your efforts get 80% of the work done) into an entirely different perspective. Just think about that when you’re heading out the door and on the crowded bumper-to-bumper highway on the way to work. As you sit there, looking at your phone (when you shouldn’t be), look at the cars sitting there around you and realize, for every five cars, four of those drivers are not happy about going to work.

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About the Author

James RosseauJames Rosseau is the author of Success on Your Own Terms: 6 Promises to Fire Up Your Passion, Ignite Your Career, and Create an Amazing Life (Career Press, 2014). James is President of LegalShield Solutions, as well as co-owner of Christian Media Properties (www.HolyCulture.net).

The slight difference in thinking is money.

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Have you ever thought about the way you think? How do thoughts just pop into your head? How do you create an idea?

Most people take thinking for granted, or at least never look beyond the surface of what makes it happen. What are the triggers for your thoughts? Are you a reactive thinker or an original thinker? That’s an interesting thought all by itself.

You watch the news, and you have thoughts about it – that’s reactive. When an idea about something you’ve been working on enters your mind – that’s proactive.

All of a sudden, proactive thinking seems better. But reactive thinking is the norm. The great thinkers of the world are all proactive. That should be your first clue.

My personal development, and real creative thinking, began when I read Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill, in 1971. Actually I did more than read it; I devoured it, reread it several times, studied it, and then applied it to my life.

Think and Grow Rich impacted me and led me to all the other works of Napoleon Hill. Most notable to me are How to Sell Your Way Through Life (the best sales book of all time), and The Master Key to Riches (the follow-on elaboration of Think and Grow Rich). Hill filmed The Master Key to Riches and as I was watching it again last week, I thought this below piece was worthy enough to share with you. It’s about thinking, or should I say accurate thinking, or should I say YOUR accurate thinking.

Here are Hill’s exact words (keep in mind this was written 60 years ago)…

Rules for Accurate Thinking by Napoleon Hill

Now I will give you seven rules to follow which, if you memorize them and follow them as a daily habit, may bring you top-rating as an ACCURATE THINKER.

1. Never accept the opinions of other people as being facts until you have learned the source of those opinions and satisfied yourself of their accuracy.

2. Remember that FREE ADVICE, no matter from whom it is received, will bear the closest of examination before it is acted upon as safe, and generally speaking this sort of advice is worth exactly what it costs.

3. Alert yourself immediately when you hear anyone speaking of others in a discourteous or slanderous spirit because this very fact should put you on notice that what you are hearing is BIASED to say the least about it, and it may be out and out misstatements.

4. In asking others for information DO NOT DISCLOSE TO THEM WHAT YOU WISH THE INFORMATION TO BE, because most people have the bad habit of trying to please under such circumstances. Well measured, tactful questions can be of great benefit to you in THINKING ACCURATELY.

5. Remember that ANYTHING WHICH EXISTS ANYWHERE THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE IS CAPABLE OF PROOF, and where no such proof is available it is safer to assume that NOTHING EXISTS!

6. One of the great inexplicable miracles consists in the fact that both truth and false-hood, no matter by what means they may be expressed, carry with them silent, invisible means of identifying themselves as such. Therefore, remember this truth and begin developing the necessary intuitive faculty to enable you to “sense” what is false and what is true.

7. Follow the habit of asking “HOW DO YOU KNOW?” when anyone makes a statement you cannot identify as true. Follow this habit faithfully and you will see many persons squirm and turn red in the face when you insist upon a direct reply.

The most ACCURATE THINKERS are the scientists. They investigate with open minds and never allow their WISHES TO BECOME THE FATHERS OF FACTS, but deal with each fact as it is – not as they would like it to be.

Now, one final word of warning I feel I should leave with you: STUDY YOURSELF CAREFULLY AND YOU MAY DISCOVER THAT YOUR OWN EMOTIONS ARE YOUR GREATEST HANDICAP IN THE BUSINESS OF ACCURATE THINKING. It is easy to believe that which you wish to believe, and unfortunately that is precisely what most people do!

It’s interesting the way that Hill distinguishes between fact and fantasy, true and false, logic and emotion, and accurate and inaccurate.

It’s about challenging your own thinking, and having the courage to challenge others about their thinking. It’s about doing so in a positive way, and challenging yourself to rely on your senses, not just your beliefs.

‘Think’ is a very powerful word in our language, and it’s an even more powerful action. I recommend that you set aside at least 10 minutes a day to think. Put it on your calendar. Daily. Document your thoughts, and then put them into action.

When you dedicate time to yourself, and have a relaxing, creative atmosphere that allows you to dig deep into your own thoughts, and you have some recording device or keyboarding device to document your thinking and your thoughts, after a few months you will begin to blossom as both a thinker and a person of action.

You will begin to feel your genuine power. Thought power. And that power will manifest itself into stronger relationships, stronger sales, and a stronger bank account.

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey GitomerJeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

Leveraging Military Leadership for Civilian Success

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The topic of military to civilian work transitions is receiving significant attention as of late, and with good reason. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that more than one million military service members will leave the military in the coming years. The importance of helping our veterans make this difficult transition into the next chapter of their lives cannot be over stated. However, a review of the transitions resources highlights a few shortcomings in the current approach. Most transitions resources and programs focus on helping the veteran find civilian sector employment – any employment. The transition support is heavily centered on resume writing, working the job boards, and conducting a successful interview. Again, nothing wrong with this.

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About the Authors

Bernadine Karunaratne is a recognized expert in talent management with a special emphasis on integrating talent strategy with business strategy. Her fifteen-year history supporting the public sector’s talent management agenda has resulted in an impressive track record, bringing technical competence and measurement-based, research-focused solutions to her clients.

Noah Rabinowitz is a seasoned business professional with expertise in talent management, sales effectiveness, new business development, and strategic transformations. He is also an executive coach, program manager, and senior faculty member.

The 7 Most Common Negotiating Mistakes

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While even the word ‘negotiation’ can evoke fear, stress and anxiety for many, the intent is quite simple: to discuss and ultimately agree on a deal. Whether it’s a multimillion dollar contract or just deciding where to meet for lunch, life is rife with negotiations. And, the negotiation process is a lot like a chess game where strategy reigns supreme — one thoughtfully considered move at a time. Make a careless, short-sighted, ill-conceived move and suffer the perilous consequences.

Even when faced with the most daunting of deals, regarding the act of negotiation as a ‘game’ may alleviate the apprehension and give you the confidence to make power plays that will ultimately facilitate your desired result. Unlike strategy games like chess, however, the most effective deals are a win-win proposition for all parties rather than a winner-loser result.

The 7 Most Common Mistakes that are Made During a Negotiation

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About the Author

Eldonna Lewis-FernandezVeteran negotiation and contracts expert Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, author of Think Like a Negotiator, has over 30 years of experience crafting killer deals both stateside and internationally, many in excess of $100 million. She’s currently the CEO of Dynamic Vision International—a specialized consulting and training firm that helps individuals hone negotiation skills—as well as a nationally regarded keynote speaker, session leader and panelist on the Art of Negotiation. Eldonna may be reached online at www.ThinkLikeANegotiator.com.