How can you combine team bonding, education, and training?

And laughs?  Lots of laughs!

Ryan McFarland, Service Desk Manager at vertikal6 has a solution.

One of my goals for this year is to automate as many things as possible at Manage 2 Win. In the past we have been bogged down with so many manual tasks it has been difficult to actually focus on work that matters most.

Emailing emailing each newsletter and podcast episode. Changing customer credit card information over the phone. Manually requesting information for talent assessments. What a waste of time!

“If I knew what to do, then I would do it.”

Have you ever said this?

How long have these words delayed action, or tough decisions?  How many times have you hurt someone by postponing?  How much time have you lost?  How many opportunities missed?

Are your days overflowing with firefighting, reacting to interruptions, and a lot of drama?

… As Charlie Brown would say, “AAUGH!”

When our lives are like this, time passes quickly.  Opportunities are lost.

About two years ago my beloved Mazda Tribute was fading fast. The transmission was clunky at best, and the engine ran super rough. It sounded like the automobile version of strep throat.

It was time for a new car.

After a lot of thought and effort, we have changed our name to Manage 2 Win. It is a slight change, perhaps insignificant to you, but it means a lot to us.

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your business, your support, and your friendship.

Last year I read 13 books. It was the first year in which I kept track of the books I read. I stacked each one on top of my Ikea Kallax 4x4 shelf until all of them together created an unstable tower of literature by December 31st (ok fine, not that big of a tower, not that unstable).

This year one of my goals is to…

Last year you were unable to live some of your dreams. 

Hopefully you are thankful for what you were able to achieve.  No disappointment should block out the joy of sincere gratitude for what you have.

However, how can we improve our game this year?

Here is an option for you.

It’s the end of 2018.  Did you achieve all of your objectives this year professionally and personally? Did you even have objectives for 2018? If you are honest with yourself, the likely answer is no.

The good news is, you get another chance in 2019.

The bad news is, your unproductive habits are ready to sabotage 2019.

In the book, Flawless Execution, author and former U.S. Air Force pilot James Murphy describes how the Air Force uses a continuous improvement process to reduce errors, casualties, and losses.

Two of his recommendations struck me – how the Air Force prepares for missions, and how they learn from them – the debrief.  I think the debrief is a serious weakness in most companies.

Every year the effectiveness of your management team determines your results.

Managers don't just assign tasks and drive them to completion. They develop relationships with their team and counterparts. They comfort, console, instruct, and act as a guide. When your front-line employee encounters a crisis, the first person they turn to is not going to be the CEO, it's going to be their manager. The skills and wisdom of the manager will determine whether the crisis is averted or inflamed, and whether the employee is empowered or deflated.

Tough decisions are job security for leaders. You must have strong problem solving skills and high levels of patience and determination.

If there weren’t tough decisions to make, then anyone could be a leader.  Difficult choices amidst twisted data points and emotions are normal, so don’t get upset by having to deal with drama.

How do you hire and fully engage employees when we live in such a narcissistic world where emotions are considered equal to, or even more reliable truth than facts or logic?

Please note, when I say "employees", it includes every leader and owner.

What happens to the taste of a stew when you add something fiery hot, meaty, and so overpowering that it can stand on its own?

Last Spring the Golden State Warriors, winners of 3 of the last 4 NBA Championships, announced they had acquired free agent DeMarcus Cousins.

A big part of engaging your team is showing them you appreciate their work.  You can do this in a number of ways.

In 1995 Gary Chapman published a breakthrough book titled, The 5 Love Languages.

Everybody has them, although a few of you may think you don't.

I'm talking about employees who do less than their best.

There are a variety of reasons for their behavior. It may be a lack of skill, poor communication, limited accountability or training, lack of engagement.

Do you have employees who want special recognition, increased compensation, or increased freedom without responsibility or results?

One way to describe this perspective is they have an "entitlement mentality."

Let's pickup where we left off last week...

From 1978 into the early 1980’s Lee Iacocca led an effort that saved Chrysler Corporation from bankruptcy. One of the leadership disciplines he credited for helping achieve that success was every Sunday evening he would separate himself from the family to spend two hours in his study.

A woman once told me this story...

My father managed prizefighters. If you ever saw the original Rocky movie, those were the venues. Smoky halls, inconsistent lighting, where the air is heavy.

It was 2008 at a Big Ten indoor track event. Heather Dorniden, now Heather Kampf, was the favorite in her 600-meter race.

The race was three laps around an indoor track. As she moved into first place towards the end of the second lap, her heel got clipped by the runner she was overtaking and she fell.