[New post] the ensign and the master chief petter officer

thebusinessdude posted: "I was in the NAVY for a short time. During that time at The Great Lakes, IL recruit base I learned a very important lesson. My CO gave us a small story about an Ensign and Master Chief Petty Officer that I will always remember and apply when I am able. " Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on the business dude the ensign and the master chief petty officer by thebusinessdude I was in the NAVY for a short time. During that time at The Great Lakes, IL recruit base I learned a very important lesson. My CO gave us a small story about an Ensign and Master Chief Petty Officer that I will always remember and apply when I am able. http://www.ccsu.edu There are two charts listed below. One of which (E-#) is for the enlisted ranks of a Navy Sailor while the (O-#) is a rank of Officers within the Navy. O-1 is an Ensign. This is a "new" officer and many times just graduated school. You will also see an E-9 or Master Chief Petty Officer. The MCPO has put in many, many years of service, and is a leader among the enlisted. These "lifers" have bled and sweat the Navy working each progression step over time to earn where they are at - the top of it all - in the enlisted world. The E-9 must salute, by design, the O-1. Being the O-1, tread carefully. Yes, formally, the E-9 must salute the officer but make no mistake about it; the officer owes a sense of respect to the MCPO. Informal leadership can carry a heavy burden if not respected. Consider your role. Do you have title or informal respect? Do you command a room based on your experience or do you pull positional power to get the job done? It is imperative that even the most senior management respect the dedication of the lowest hierarchy member. No one is different - we each pay our bills, and have families. The amount of responsibility and job focus is all that changes. thebusinessdude | August 19, 2013 at 8:00 AM | Tags: Enlisted rank, Ensign, Master Chief, Master Chief Petty Officer, Naval Station Great Lakes, Navy | Categories: Business: General | URL: http://wp.me/p3vOZI-91 Comment    See all comments    Like Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://thebusinessdude.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/the-ensign-and-the-master-chief-petter-officer/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

[New post] housekeeping your dirty laundry mosaic

thebusinessdude posted: " Each level of an organization has a reduced visibility to smaller details. The operator, to the supervisor, manager, general manager etc. I am not saying that everyone is oblivious to what is actually going on, only that focus changes with responsi" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on the business dude housekeeping your dirty laundry mosaic by thebusinessdude meijer.lifepics.com Each level of an organization has a reduced visibility to smaller details. The operator, to the supervisor, manager, general manager etc. I am not saying that everyone is oblivious to what is actually going on, only that focus changes with responsibility. Now, that being said, consider issues that you are having. Has anyone every sent an email or shared information that was not relevant or even obvious and the entire word was on the memo? Along the same lines there are a select group of people that wish to share as much complaining as possible; with everyone, and I mean everyone. It is OK to be transparent. State the facts,and only the facts. That may be that X is happening or Y, Z etc. However, there are a lot of positive things too. Consider each level in management as a zoom option for a mosaic poster. Each mosaic is made up of tiny tiles, ranging from colors to individual pictures making another picture. Upon inspection up close of a true mosaic - there are lots of mini details. As you step back with each zoom adjustment a picture starts to form. By the time you are a few feet away the picture resembles another completely different image. At the closest level - there is a busy fury of items, which make the whole unit. Think about that when you share all of the issues you faced today. Do you need to reflect upon each detail or do we need to simply step back and view the picture as a whole? By keeping to the facts, and answering questions it can change the entire perception. Most of the time your boss, and the boss of you boss (and so up) want a different zoom. Lastly, keep chain of command etiquette. It is important that each level of the organization get the proper chances to fix any problems. By bypassing an individual in the COC (chain of command) it becomes more questionable of actual intent. Not to mention that when you need help one day the resources may not be available. Airing dirty laundry (your or someone else s issues) is a careful line to walk. thebusinessdude | August 9, 2013 at 7:00 AM | Tags: Business, Mosaic, perception | Categories: Business: General | URL: http://wp.me/p3vOZI-8W Comment    See all comments    Like Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://thebusinessdude.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/housekeeping-your-dirty-laundry-mosaic/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

[New post] intent is not always clear

thebusinessdude posted: "One of my favorite topics is intent. I intended to... Well, it was created so that (INSERT RANDOM INTERJECTION AS TO WHY). First, my retail experience shows that you do not mess with a person's money, their meal, or integrity. Any of the previous seem " Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on the business dude intent is not always clear by thebusinessdude One of my favorite topics is intent. I intended to... Well, it was created so that (INSERT RANDOM INTERJECTION AS TO WHY). First, my retail experience shows that you do not mess with a person's money, their meal, or integrity. Any of the previous seem to set people into a frenzy. A drop of blood in the piranha pool if you will. I, to this day, still struggle with one of them myself. If you said money - you are right but that is more of a subject that I can conquer in one blog - or should spend time on in a "business topic" atmosphere. Anyway, back to the story... I am an impatience fast food customer. I am the person that typically accepts some issues because - hey, I am in business. I understand that when you say "no" to something - you are mostly following what you were taught, or told. One of the biggest pet peeves that I have is customer parking at McDonald's. You order something that is not ready - for-what-ever reason and they ask you to pull English: McDonalds' sign in Harlem. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) forward to a lovely numbered (if you are lucky) spot. If not I think they take some generic description of your vehicle so the runner can take you your item a short time later.  Now, the customer is parked so the driver through operator can watch their times. McDonald's has chosen to monitor that as a KPI. In theory - if you're times are out of control - then the business process is. If you should be at 60 seconds start to finish, then they are trying to hit their numbers. When it is rush hour - and the line is backed up, I agree that parking is the right thing to do. Logically, if you are kept at the window then you are holding up each other drivers time and the issues compound killing your shift/day average. Now, if I am the only customer in line, and no one is ordering I tend to get irritated to pull forward. Yes, I said I was impatient. However, as the husband to someone who worked the McD's - I have been brought up to speed as to why they do that. But is that really solving anything? The intent is not always clear. The root cause of the supply issues will never truly be identified to be corrected. Consider the next time that you are a part of decision making in an organization. Perception can carry magnitudes. In the case that I got to vent above, I was the irritated customer who was annoyed with someone executing the plan. Good job to them who do, even in spite of all the confrontation they must get. Yet - what are we really measuring if we make work arounds for rules? There are times when we need to accept the data - as it may - and work up to that. Simply not understanding the why of the what - is a terrible situation to be in; not to mention that the intent and actual messages differ so widely. thebusinessdude | August 8, 2013 at 7:00 AM | Tags: Business, Business process, customer, Customer Management, Customer service, McDonald | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3vOZI-8B Comment    See all comments    Like Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://thebusinessdude.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/intent-is-not-always-clear/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

[New post] seriously – watch your email campaigns.

thebusinessdude posted: "I am not a subject matter expert on the field of marketing. I know certain portions, but others I will divert to more respected parties. Yet, in the past couple of days I have been bombarded by SPAM from things that I have signed up for at one time. I get" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on the business dude seriously – watch your email campaigns. by thebusinessdude I am not a subject matter expert on the field of marketing. I know certain portions, but others I will divert to more respected parties. Yet, in the past couple of days I have been bombarded by SPAM from things that I have signed up for at one time. I get that you will spam. I understand you are simply trying to utilize your marketing tools that are cheap (yet can be very offensive).  If you think you have never spammed - then you must have never posted likes to Facebook... (another topic at another time). Below are two examples of emails that I have received in the past day or so. There were many more - hence the post. I was just appalled by the issues - once I was looking for them. Please take a look at your campaigns, or mass publications to customers. Simple things like email headers to signatures or client insertion fields should not be missed. One day, I will tell you how I really feel about spam. Today, just the advice of making sure you are adding that special touch so your customer does not feel like a number. Now serving... Related articles What if Spam Were True? [Infographic] (neolane.com) Top 5 Mistakes Bloggers Make With Their Email Marketing Campaign (getresponse.com) The Message Matters: 7 Obvious but Overlooked Email Deliverability Best Practices (neolane.com) Essential Guide to Avoiding Dreaded "Spam Traps" (getresponse.com) Anybody Can Do Well Through Marketing Via Email (futurestarr.com) Marketing Via Email Solutions To Help Your Business Grow (futurestarr.com) thebusinessdude | August 7, 2013 at 7:00 AM | Tags: Business, E-mail filtering, Email, Email marketing, Email spam, Facebook, Marketing, SPAM | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3vOZI-8Q Comment    See all comments    Like Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://thebusinessdude.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/seriously-watch-your-email-campaigns/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

[New post] paradigm shift

thebusinessdude posted: "A paradigm shift is an awesome thing; it is a a change in the basic assumptions. People often become stagnate. Left to our own self destruction we can tend to stick ourselves in status-quo situations avoiding any disturbance. It is comfortable... It i" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on the business dude paradigm shift by thebusinessdude A paradigm shift is an awesome thing; it is a a change in the basic assumptions. People often become stagnate. Left to our own self destruction we can tend to stick ourselves in status-quo situations avoiding any disturbance. It is comfortable... It is the way we have always done it... Why change - it works?... The list could go on for some time. http://www.getcommunity.com Often, you will find that in some organizations with no new introduced - the cycle continues to spin and spin without any clear next direction. New may come in the form of staff, equipment, departments, etc. New can also come from books, audio or some other text/audio method. If we do not continue to press forward, we are surely falling behind. There are some jobs that are very habitual by nature of the process but that does not mean you should not look for a new point of view. Let me share a quick example. Once there was a training session where we had to build a space ship. The supplies were handed out and that was the only supply you were allowed to use. I am sure we could have bartered between one-another, but that was not the real core concept. The rules were that it must fly, and hold people. I watched people take tap and make the coolest airplanes. Some even did the special tail holds and tapes. Some used the paperclip to weight the front so that the plan would go further. Everyone took extra time to color, and use the proper supplies. Some even made little people that sat in the plane, while others drew people on the paper showing illustration of carrying people. This must have been a 3 hour event (exaggeration) but it did feel like it. While I am watching everyone use the pipe cleaners, tape, paper, markets, rubber bands, I see several flights take off. While others crashed terribly. I still did not touch my plane. The teacher, at that time,  started to wonder a bit when I do not participate. At the last minute, I drew a couple of people on the paper. I then proceeded to roll the paper up into a ball. I tossed the round space ship and it soared across the room actually winning the competition. It was a different way of thinking. Lastly, I will leave you with my favorite point of view / paradigm shift passages - coming from Covey. Covey opened with a story of Captain Horatio Hornblower.  As the story goes, one night at sea, Horatio awakens to find that a ship is in his sea-lane about 20 miles away and refuses to move.  Horatio commands the other ship to move starboard, 20 degrees at once.  The other ship refuses and tells Horatio that he should move his ship starboard, 20 degrees at once.  Next, Horatio tries to pull rank and size on the other ship, stating that he's a captain and that he's on a large battle ship.  The other ship replies, and it turns out it's not actually a ship, but a lighthouse.(http://sourcesofinsight.com/lessons-learned-from-stephen-covey/) Are you the boat communicating to the lighthouse? Are you the lighthouse operator trying to send a message? Related articles Habits of Highly Effective People (pdinspire.wordpress.com) Paradigm shifts require leadership courage (margotcairnes.org) thebusinessdude | August 6, 2013 at 7:00 AM | Tags: Business, Covey, Leadership, Paradigm shift, Thomas Kuhn | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3vOZI-8I Comment    See all comments    Like Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://thebusinessdude.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/paradigm-shift/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

[New post] self realization is a weakness that many people have

thebusinessdude posted: "Self realization is a weakness that many people have; probably why the same people dislike feedback. not the feedback we want like the "how are you doing" superficially as we walk down the hall - those people thrive for the generic adda-boys. True critiqu" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on the business dude self realization is a weakness that many people have by thebusinessdude Self realization is a weakness that many people have; probably why the same people dislike feedback. not the feedback we want like the "how are you doing" superficially as we walk down the hall - those people thrive for the generic adda-boys. True critique can heavy. info.farrleadership.com Now, it does not have to be a negative thing, even if the results appear such at first. Feedback allows for a different perspective and keeps you within a cultural guide rails. Sometimes those guide rail are performance expectations, while others on behaviors and actions. Yet again, I will continue to state, feedback is a great thing. Self awareness - is personal feedback where the individual is cognoscente to his or her weaknesses. At the moment that you realize this and accept the fact - you are set apart from a large number of people. I cannot quantify that for you - but I assure you, that self perspective is missed in a lot of people. This is partially why the "reviews" on job performance can be shocking. If you thought that everything was going fine living in the land of milk and honey - and you are brought down to Earth by less than accomplished feedback then perspectives are off. I will step to one side bar and comment to the managers who do give feedback to employees. THEY (direct reports) SHOULD ALWAYS KNOW BEFORE THE REVIEW HOW THEY ARE PERFORMING. It should not take a mid-year or end of year performance plan review to find out that you are not aligned correctly with your manager or organization. If you are the manager who is "behind" on reviews - STOP IT. There is no excuse to not provide weekly, or similar frequency feedback. If the employee is truly off track - you are only creating large issues for your organization by waiting. Not to mention if you resolve it now, there is time to address any issues that need attention. Off of my soap box now... Once I received feedback from a manager who told me that I was not an ideal employee. I was late for meetings, and was not driven, or focused. To my defense there were several reasons why. At first I despised the manager for such feedback. I was not aware of who or what I was and how it was perceived through the organization. Several years, and a few promotions later I respect the feedback that I was given. I still disagree with 100% of it - but also come to terms with "yes" I did have issues. If I would have simply addressed them at that time the transitions later would have been significantly more pleasant. My point, even with the tangents, I have written while thinking aloud, is that the moment we can find "who we 'really' are" the better we will be and the more beneficial to those around us. Now, once we have pin pointed these self critiques it is time to put efforts forward to change them. Einstein's definition of insanity suggests doing the same things and expecting different results are insanity.Remember your circle of influence or control. Remember the SME's (subject matter experts) that can either guide you through a weakness within your assignment or mentor you. It is OK - to ask for help and to ask for some professional coaching. In fact, the very motion of asking for assistance, and working towards a solution based on that is a huge self development; for this you can work HR, your manager, or peers. Related articles Making Your Business Thrive with Employee Engagement (theformationscompany.com) A Better Way to Discover Your Strengths (psychologytoday.com) Taking charge of your coach development - Part 10 (coachgrowth.wordpress.com) You Need Other People To Explain Your Weaknesses To Understand Them (businessinsider.com) thebusinessdude | August 5, 2013 at 7:00 AM | Tags: Albert Einstein, Business, feedback, Human resources, Management | Categories: Business: General | URL: http://wp.me/p3vOZI-7A Comment    See all comments    Like Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://thebusinessdude.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/self-realization-is-a-weakness-that-many-people-have/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

[New post] success is surrounding you

thebusinessdude posted: "There are a variety of good managers and leaders out there. Each may be talented in some things, while others are the Jedi of the business world - and their force is strong. For the rest of us, it is important to understand the dynamics of a successful" Respond to this post by replying above this line New post on the business dude success is surrounding you by thebusinessdude There are a variety of good managers and leaders out there. Each may be talented in some things, while others are the Jedi of the business world - and their force is strong. For the rest of us, it is important to understand the dynamics of a successful person also involve actions, reactions, and course corrections for the team. That being said, I want to point out that a manager is ultimately responsible for his or her direct reports. While people do make errors - the habitual offenders may need a harsher sit down conversation. Over time, even the best manager will have exhausted all efforts for the non-rehabilitation-able employee. Once this is realized it is time to act. Not later, or next week, or when the opportunity comes - but now. A bad employee can be an unneeded distraction to the leader and the other team members. In some situations the lower performing team member can drag the highest performing team down. This could be motivation, set backs, errors or a shift in other performance based on the accepted norm. At some point when the employee cannot be dealt with it becomes the manager's ability or inability to rectify the situation. At the moment the performance is allowed to continue the leaders ability may come in to question. A good leader (or manager) surrounds himself or herself with talented individuals. This may be at varying levels of knowledge and ability but each is groom-able and a part of the team. Even a weak leader can survive with a strong team. In addition to that, I believe that a leader can go to any department regardless of familiarity and keep the department moving forward. Granted, as the leader learns, some tasks make greeneyezwinkin5.wordpress.com take a little longer than a fully groomed person, it will see be able to be completed at the gumshoe level. A good portion of this is the abilities of the team to carry the load and communicate well with the team and management. Most businesses are results driven so as long as the impacts to the business are favorable - little to nothing will be said and the team can grow together during that time frame. Now, taking one step backwards, if the person placed in control of a department he or she must have abilities to lead diverse groups and see "the bigger picture." It is not a cookie cutter world where anyone can be placed anywhere - but the ramp in periods will drastically differ based on team and leadership ability. Interim roles are good examples of good leaders "covering" an area (many of times with limited knowledge of the area.) Related articles Looking To Become A Business Leader? Read This (socialpoweredcontent.com) Business Development (mohanapriyavina.wordpress.com) Becoming a leader in your business (linda2013credit.wordpress.com) What makes a good leader? (hrrev.wordpress.com) Qualities, Features, Characteristics, Attributes, Properties of A Good Leader (mediasoftblog.wordpress.com) how to become a good leader (robmonette.wordpress.com) thebusinessdude | August 2, 2013 at 8:00 AM | Tags: Business, Education and Training, Employment, Leadership, Management, Teams, Teamwork | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p3vOZI-85 Comment    See all comments    Like Unsubscribe or change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://thebusinessdude.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/success-is-surrounding-you/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com