No vacation policy? Are They CRAZY?!?

Here's a radical leadership strategy:

Hire good people, and then trust them.

Netflix has done so, even going to the point of eliminating their vacation policy:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/7945719/Netflix-lets-its-staff-take-as-much-holiday-as-they-want-whenever-they-want-and-it-works.html

Something to think about.

One more way greedy leadership hurts the bottom line

TIME magazine reports that Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries is getting paid $4 million to NOT use the company plane for personal reasons.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1982247,00.html?xid=rss-nation-yahoo

TIME magazine:

"Through the Great Recession, few brands struggled as much as Abercrombie & Fitch, the company that sells preppy, casual clothes to teens and young adults. While other retailers were slashing prices to attract consumers, the company was still pushing $90 pants, and stuck to its "aspirational" marketing campaigns featuring half-naked models. The tone-deaf strategy backfired: in 2009, the company netted just $254,000, essentially running at breakeven, compared to a $273 million profit in 2008 (and a $476 million take during the heady days of 2007). Same-store sales were off 23% last year; between the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2009, Abercrombie's stock price fell 56%. While the stock is up 41% in 2010, and same-store sales have ticked up during the current retail rebound, Abercrombie & Fitch is still buried in a deep hole.

So it would make good business sense — or at least just require common sense — for Abercrombie & Fitch chairman and CEO Mike Jeffries, who in 2008 received $71.8 million in total compensation, according to research firm the Corporate Library, to plow some money back into his company. After all, CEOs around the country have taken drastic pay and perk cuts to better fit the tenor of these tough times. For the good of Abercrombie shareholders, and the company's battered image, Jeffries, named one of the five Highest Paid Worst Performers of 2008 by the Corporate Library (his 2009 compensation has yet to be disclosed), is one guy who could use some scaling back."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1982247,00.html?xid=rss-nation-yahoo#ixzz0lMaa0MgE


... just one more way CEO greed hurts the bottom line. Just as I pointed out in LEADING PEOPLE THE BLACK BELT WAY.

More Empirical Support for Leading People the Black Belt Way

Here's more empirical support for Leading People the Black Belt Way. This time, it's from Reuters Health, which reports,

"Poor team spirit at the workplace may do more than drag down morale, it can make people depressed, according to the findings of a new study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine."

The study also showed an increased risk for anxiety, as well.

So here's how it works.


Emotionally UN-intelligent leaders create emotional disengagement throughout an organization.

Emotional disengagement undermines team spirit.

Poor team spirit makes people depressed and anxious, thus driving up healthcare costs and decreasing productivity.


In these tough economic times, can your organization afford increased costs and decreased productivity?

I thought not.

Blog Feature ...

I was featured on a blog yesterday ....

New Managers Dealing with Former Peers

In these tough economic times, some leaders are finding themselves being promoted above their peers ... and wondering how to deal with the fall out.


The best way to deal with former peers?

Be emotionally intelligent.

By using emotionally intelligent leadership skills, new managers can successfully transition from employee to manager.

*****

How do you handle friendships if you're now the boss?

Talk it through with your former peer. If you're interested in maintaining the friendship, be clear about when you're being "the boss" and when you're being "the friend."

Be willing to listen to what the experience of having a friend who is now a boss is for your former peer.

********

How do you respond to requests for special treatment?

Be honest. Say what you are able to do ... and say what you can't do.
If your former peer keeps pushing, adopt the "broken record/CD" strategy. Listen to what the person is saying, but continue to repeat your position in a non-defensive way ... "I'd like to help you out Bob, but I'm not able to do that for you."

*******
How do you manage the former peer without creating resentment,
especially if there is a performance problem?

Be pro-active. Don't wait until a problem develops. One of the first items on your agenda as a new manager should be to meet individually (if possible) with each of your former peers. In that meeting, have specific conversations about your interest in not having resentment in the department over your promotion. Then listen.

*******

Are you a new manager who wants to know more about how to handle former peers at work?

Email or call me for a consultation.

President Obama & the Black Belt Way

It's still early in the process, but from all accounts, President Obama seems to have a leadership style very similar to the Black Belt Way.

In his first formal television interview, given to an Arabic-language TV network (Obama's choice of network speaks volumes right there), Obama said that he instructed former Senator George J. Mitchell, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East:

"What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating," Obama told the interviewer.

Change the words "the United States" to "American business leaders", and you have the common stance of leadership in America.

Leaders ... want to succeed during these difficult financial times? Take a lesson from President Obama.

Listen.

Men, Power, and 2009

It’s 2009 … and men have it tough.

Throughout Lake County and Cuyahoga County, around Northeast Ohio and across the country, many men are faced with increased stress, strain and struggles.

What can be done about it?

I’m honored to announce that I will be conducting a men’s workshop entitled, “The Power of Men,” with Dr. Phil Belzunce, Ph.D., N.D. at the world-famous Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.

Here’s the description of the workshop:

The Power of Men: Masculinity, Contact and Gestalt

Join a group of men in exploring how Gestalt principles inform our work. You'll investigate the power of embodied presence; effective integral strategies to use when working with men; the value of being relational in a culture that defines men in isolation; and issues of shame & belonging. We will improve our skills in working with other men, as we become more powerful men in deep contact with the world around us. Incorporating Gestalt methodology with inner work, outer connection, body process, engaged dialogue and lecture, this workshop is perfect for therapists, coaches, managers, supervisors, organizational leaders, and any man interested in exploring the power of men.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify three (3) strategies for working more successfully with men in American culture;

• Describe how relational, Gestalt-based, methodological interventions can decrease conflict while enhancing men's performance and health;

• Articulate the importance of understanding patterns of shame and belonging when leading men in therapy, coaching and/or in the workplace.
The cost for this weekend workshop is $125, and CEU’s are available.

I invite you to join Phil and I as we explore “The Power of Men” with men from around Northeast Ohio and the country.

Here’s a workshop flyer you can download.

Here’s a link to the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.

2009

2008 was a year of disastrous leadership.

Let's hope 2009 finds more leaders willing to purse emotionally intelligence leadership practices like Leading People The Black Belt Way.

Leadership Book on College

Yesterday I wrote about public libraries carrying my books. Last night I received an email from a reader who purchased my book LEADING PEOPLE THE BLACK BELT WAY: CONQUERING THE FIVE CORE PROBLEMS FACING LEADERS TODAY at the bookstore at the University of California-Berkeley.

Leadership Books in Public Libraries

Public libraries across the nation continue to purchase my books.

I recently heard from an interested reader who found my book The Way of Leading People: Unlocking Your Integral Leadership Skills with the Tao Te Chingin a public library in San Marcos, Texas.

Holiday Blues ...

Wow. What a holiday season for businesses.

Toyota Motor Corps, one of the world's leading manufacturers of automobiles, is predicting a fairly significant loss ... it's first annual loss. Ever.

Retail sales are down. Significantly.

... and the U.S. government has no idea how banks are spending the $700 billion bailout we gave them.

Economically, this is shaping up to be a very difficult season, and 2009 will probably follow suite.

Unemployment Blogs

As more and more leaders are dealing with issues around unemployment, a number of unemployment blogs are cropping up.

I find Unemploymentality to have interesting perspectives.

Looking for a Motivational Leadership Speaker?

Want your organization to learn more about tomorrow's leadership strategies today? Are you looking for a motivational keynote speaker for a leadership event in 2009?

Timothy H. Warneka, author of LEADING PEOPLE THE BLACK BELT WAY: CONQUERING THE FIVE CORE PROBLEMS FACING LEADERS TODAY and THE WAY OF LEADING PEOPLE: UNLOCKING YOUR INTEGERAL LEADERSHIP SKILLS WITH THE TAO TE CHING is an nationally recognized leadership expert and an in-demand speaker. An expert on Emotionally Intelligent leadership as well as the interconnection of spirituality and leadership, Timothy H. Warneka is an experienced inspirational speaker who provides powerful leadership insights to:

* Business leaders;
* Health care leaders;
* Life Coaches;
* Leadership Coaches;
* Tomorrow’s leaders at colleges and universities.
* Retreat Centers

Drawing on the power of Emotional Intelligence, Mr. Warneka will show your audience cutting-edge leadership science in ways that are entertaining and fun. Mr. Warneka speaks at:

* Professional conferences;
* Organizational conventions;
* Staff Development days;
* Team Retreats.

Timothy H. Warneka can customize the presentation your organization needs … anywhere from a 30 minute motivational speech to multiple days of in-depth leadership training.

Contact Mr. Warneka today by calling 440.944.4746

Review from the HINDU Business Line

LEADING PEOPLE THE BLACK BELT WAY: CONQUERING THE FIVE CORE PROBLEMS FACING LEADERS TODAY continue to gain stature around the world.

This book review just came in from The HINDU Business Line:

"Start Listening

Unlike the ineffective leader, when a skilled leader hears something he doesn’t like, he stops talking and starts listening, even more so than he was previously, writes Timothy H. Warneka in Leading People the Black Belt Way: Conquering the five core problems facing leaders today.

You can’t learn anything about what’s going on in your organisation if you’re always talking, and trying to argue someone out of a perspective, Warneka advises. “If you ask a person whether or not he or she feels empowered and the answer is ‘no,’ then quietly ask ‘why’ and listen to what is said. You will inevitably learn something you did not know.” If, on the other hand, you become defensive and begin arguing how empowered the person should be feeling, then you were not ready to ask the question in the first place, the author avers.

Useful guidance."

Swallowing Economics

Economics was one of my least-favorite courses in college, and I've tended to shy away from economic books since then. Given the enormous financial upheavals of the past six months, I've decided I better brush up.

Economist Paul Krugman impressed me during several of the pre-elections debates I watch on the media, so I've decided to start with him. When I start reading an author, I try to start with their early work and come up to date.

Hence, my notes on:

THE AGE OF DIMINISHED EXPECTATIONS
By Paul Krugman (1990).


“The beginning of action must, however, lie in understanding.” (p. xii)

There are only three important factors for the US economy:
1. Productivity.
2. Income Distribution
3. Unemployment

“Indeed, for the median American worker there has been no increase in real take-home pay since the first inauguration of Richard Nixon.” (p. 1)

“When Ronald Reagan was elected, the supply-siders got a chance to try out their ideas. Unfortunately, they failed.” (p. 16)

"[During the '80's] The ranks of the extremely well-off were reinforced by the vast fortunes made by traders and investment bankers on Wall Street and by huge increases in executive compensation. Meanwhile, the amount of sheer misery in America has surely increased much faster than the official poverty rate, as homelessness and drug addiction have spread." (p. 20)

“The 1980’s have been an era in which fabulous fortunes have been made in corporate finance.” (p. 154)

“Americans no longer expect much from their economy or from the politicians who manage it.” (p. 169)

“Looking back from the year 2010, we will surely marvel at our stupidity in 1990.” (p. 170)

Circuit City Files Bankruptcy ... Here's Why

Circuit City announces bankruptcy . An article by AP states in part,

"Circuit City, which has had only one profitable quarter in the past year, has faced significant declines in traffic and heightened competition from rival Best Buy Co. and others. The company laid off about 3,400 retail employees last year and replaced them with lower-paid workers, a move analysts said could backfire, hurting morale and driving away customers."

Boy, did that strategy ever backfire.

Why did it backfire?

The executives of Circuit City ignored the importance of emotional intelligence. By laying off their highest-paid floor staff and hiring low-paid workers, they demoralized the sales staff, creating an enormous amount of emotional disengagement (for more on emotional disengagement, see my book LEADING PEOPLE THE BLACK BELT WAY: CONQUERING THE FIVE CORE PROBLEMS FACING LEADERS TODAY).

As a consequent of emotional disengagement on the part of the sales staff, service suffered. I can personally attest to this, as several recent trips to Circuit City left me frustrated by either the unavailability or incompetence of the sales staff.

I'm not alone in these thoughts, either. This article by TIME magazine has the following to say about Circuit City's service:

"For many consumers, however, Circuit City's most obvious failing was its customer service. In March 2007, it announced plans to lay off its highest-paid hourly employees, including salespeople, and replace them with cheaper workers. That same year, then CEO Philip Schoonover received some $7 million in compensation. It may come as no surprise, then, that a quick Web search on "Circuit City complaints" brings up hundreds of thousands of entries."

A word to the wise to CEO's: Rather than focusing on your yearly bonus, focus on building emotional engagement in your staff ... especially those in sales.

A Brilliant Election Year Marketing Strategy

7-11 has nailed a fantastic election marketing strategy, one that they've been running for years now.

Check it out.

It's brilliant because it ...

* gives people a choice
* has a tie in with USA Today newspaper
* sells more products
* is repeatable every four years.

... and SO much more!

Hats off to 7-11 for a brilliant marketing strategy.

Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

If anyone doubts the importance of Emotional Intelligence for leaders, one only has to look at the emotional responses to the economic crisis of the past week.

Do emotions impact the bottom line?

Without a doubt.

Leadership in Economic Crisis: Seven Steps

I've had several clients contact me about the psychological implications to the current economic crisis. Many leaders want to know how to handle this crisis in an emotionally intelligent way.

My advice?

Treat this crisis the same as any other crisis.

Leaders need to:

1. Keep calm.
2. Breathe.
3. Think clearly.
4. Get support for yourself.
5. Gather consensus.
6. Don't rush decisions.
7. Act decisively once decisions are made.