Be Different or be dead

November 23, 2020

5 simple reasons why people can’t follow the rules during the pandemic

Source: Pexels

5 simple reasons why people can’t follow the rules during the pandemic.

I’m a fan of Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC’s top doctor. I admire her leadership skills, her amazing empathy and her unrelenting belief that if people are given the right information and it is adequately explained to them, they will do the right thing.

She delivers a regular message on the status of COVID-19 in the province, and I am struck by the types of media questions that are being asked of her and the human ‘frailties’ the questions reveal in terms of how people respond to a virus we knew nothing about when the pandemic was announced in March, and that we are forced to learn about ‘on the run’.

COVID-19 is an extreme example of a shocking unpredicted body blow that every element of our society is absorbing in various ways with various outcomes.

Some organizations are morphing how they do business to conform to the new physical distancing rules, school systems are reinventing themselves to employ both in-class and virtual teaching and individuals are having to adjust their personal lives to keep themselves and everyone around them safe in the ‘new normal’.

While organizations are pivoting to conduct themselves differently in the COVID world, individuals seem to be having a more difficult time adjusting; they are struggling to adapt with the pandemic reality and the personal changes that it demands.

They are exposing some fundamental human frailties that in normal times pose a challenge for change leaders in organizations wanting to change their strategic direction and pursue a different course. But in COVID times, these frailties, by my observation, are accentuated, thus imposing an even greater challenge.

I’ve observed 5 COVID-induced frailties that must be addressed by individuals and leaders now more than ever.

1. People need to be told what to do

In every private, public or political organization, there is a role for a directive style of leadership. For example, effective leaders, albeit with employee input, decide on the business plan of the organization; it’s not created by consensus. And when it’s hit with a competitive assault, the leader makes the call on what response best serves all stakeholders.

Ironically, in uncertain and stressful COVID times, people want more direction in their lives not less. Dr Bonnie doesn’t provide public orders for every sector, nor does she provide specific rules for every personal and family situation.

Dr. B provides general guidelines which she expects every person to apply to their own circumstance. She does not tell people what specifically to do.

People are having trouble with this approach. They want to be told what to do. They are willing to have less say in the practices and rules that are required to stem the transmission of the virus and demand more command-type direction from leadership even though leadership is in a similar position of not completely understanding the correct action to take. They are ok with giving up their rights to control their own personal outcome.

The frailty revealed — people don’t want to think for themselves in trying times; rather they are willing to put their trust in someone who, by virtue of the leadership position they hold, is perceived to have the all right answers.
This ‘delegation up’ mentality in times of uncertainty and stress is troublesome as it’s essentially an abdication of one’s responsibility to take as much ownership of issues affecting them as they can.

Leaders need to engage people now more than ever on the issues and encourage them to take control of their lives. Yes, provide the direction needed but encourage individuals to be more active in and expressive of their own needs in the decision making process.

2. People have difficulty dealing with vagueness

My observation is that most people struggle with translating concepts and principles into personal action; they’re not totally comfortable with thinking holistically and deriving what they specifically should do to support the general thought and direction given.

For example, people have trouble grasping what physical distancing means in a variety of settings where the number of people allowed is a function of the size of the space available.

For example, when Dr Bonnie says you can have a maximum of 50 people at a gathering except in a 500 square foot condo it has to be a fewer number, I can see people throw up their hands and say “Is it 50 or not? Make up your mind!” And they’re surprised when they get hit with a $2,000 fine for having a party with an elbow-to-elbow crowd.

“Viruses don’t pay attention to our wishes” — The Honorable Adrian Dix, BC Health Minister

The world is not precise and this virus certainly doesn’t follow any formula. We MUST get used to living and making decisions based on a general understanding of the issues and trying many things to see what works and what doesn’t.

The frailty revealed — people expect solid lines when there are none. They expect clear focus when it’s impossible. All of us must get used to living with moments of discomfort and determining the appropriate way forward with just a minimal amount of concrete facts.
In this type of environment, planning on the run is the only practical way of dealing with the imprecision that uncertainty brings.

3. People don’t like leaders changing their minds

Leaders declare a course of action based on the best information they have at the time; experience yields things that work well and things that don’t. And based on the results and learnings achieved, leaders pivot on their original plan and advocate a change in direction.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Dr Bonnie suggested that people should keep a minimum physical distance of 3 meters (6 feet) between themselves in order to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus; this was the medical opinion at the time.

As time marched on and more was learned about how COVID was transmitted in various environments, Dr Bonnie described circumstances where a 1 meter physical separation was ‘probably safe’. Of course the other factor considered in the physical distancing issue was the need to get our kids back to school with a hybrid learning model and new school room topologies.

People are frustrated over this apparent change of position. They see this as a lack of leadership competence and shout out “Why couldn’t you get it right the first time?”.

The frailty revealed — people expect leaders to declare a plan and stick to it. It takes most of us time to understand and support why we are going in a certain direction, and when that direction is changed we lose our anchor and have to go through the process of understanding and taking action on a new direction all over again.
The challenge is for people to accept that we live in a world of relentless and unpredictable change and that if we don’t move with it, we’re done.

4. People like ‘the stick’ more than ‘the carrot’

It’s not unusual in a Dr Bonnie update to hear some media person ask the question “Do you think we need to take tougher measures with people who are violating the rules rather than continuing with the current gentle approach of encouraging them to change?”

Dr Bonnie believes that people want to do the right thing and that what is needed is to provide the right information to the public and encourage the behaviour needed to reduce the transmission of the virus.
‘Be kind, be gentle and be safe’ is her mantra and it drives her decision-making in public health matters.

The frailty revealed — people believe that noncompliance should be dealt with by imposing punitive measures rather than trying to achieve the desired outcome by changing behaviour. For the leader in chaotic times this frailty demands a balance of behaviour-changing and enforcement actions.

5. People like to manipulate to justify their own behaviour

Most of us don’t like change. Period. It’s unsettling, risky and downright uncomfortable. And when we find ourselves thrust in a new environment our first impulse is to hold on to our old ways rather than willingly move to a different paradigm.

Dr Bonnie’s direction, when the number of infections is on the rise, is that we adopt a ‘same six’ approach to govern our social interactions. It’s pretty straightforward: try and engage only with the same six people in your bubble; the risk for transmitting the virus increases as you interact with different people.

The actual behaviour exhibited by people, however, tends to be mixed with some believing they need only keep their circle to six friends and relatives while others understand they need to pull back and only engage with the same six people.

Those in the non-change group (incorrectly) interpret the rule to mean that it’s ok to engage with six different people everyday because it serves their past social norm which they steadfastly want to hold on to.

The frailty revealed — people tend to be selective in what they hear in the rules they are asked to follow. They pick and choose those parts that fit their past behaviour pattern and practise them; they ignore the personal change implications that the new rule requires.

For the leader, this is a major issue if real change is required. They must anticipate that this frailty will be revealed and have a plan to deal with it. This often requires communicating in excruciating detail exactly what the new rule means and what it doesn’t mean; painting a picture for people to reduce the amount of ‘wiggle room’ they have to avoid making the changes necessary.

Human idiosyncrasies have always existed; they have always challenged any change movement whether it involves an organization changing its strategic direction or an individual making a new career choice.

COVID has magnified the whole adaptive process for us all, however, and we must find a way within ourselves to move to our new world if we are ever to see the light at the end…

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead book series

• Posted 11.23.20 at 06:22 am by Roy Osing
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November 21, 2020

4 proven ways business chaos can be made into an exciting opportunity

4 proven ways business chaos can be made into an exciting opportunity.

Many people would probably think that the metaphor ‘thinking out of the box’ is a cliche. But it actually sums up why chaos breeds new ideas and opportunities. There is nothing more out of the box than being thrown out of whack.

For example, the chaos of the last World Wars we encountered brought about an industrial revolution, unlike any other. The example may be extreme, but it does make the point.

Currently, the world is experiencing an event that threw the word ‘normal’ out of the door. The Covid-19 pandemic has re-arranged our way of life in a matter of months, and only now are we starting to cope. While the epidemic has negatively affected traditional businesses, it did also open up new opportunities. This global health crisis has, in a way, became an equaliser in the business sense.

What is happening now is chaotic, and once again, opportunities abound at every turn. Tragic as it may seem, these current events are also hotbeds of new ideas to take advantage of.

You can see younger people, those who weren’t really concerned about the future before, are now opening up savings accounts for various purposes including retirement. People who usually don’t give a thought about saving or starting a business are now actively gearing up to handle the unknown future.

Using the chaos to your benefit

When you are comfortable, the tendency is to be complacent. Being relaxed is good and not a bad thing in itself, but comfort can lead to stagnation.

Upsetting the balance and veering away from the norm will usually lead to new and better things, depending on the person. When a person becomes uncomfortable, that is the only time that they will move. This is the same thing in the world of business.

Disruptions, particularly chaotic ones, are significant catalysts of reforms in the business world. One either gets overwhelmed by them or puts them to use.

Experiencing hardship is nothing new to entrepreneurs because they have been dealing with this from the moment they started their businesses.

Whether it is launching a new product, dealing with employee problems, generating more sales, and even budget problems, real business owners know that obstacles are normal and they help the company innovate.

Not everyone is ready to handle these obstacles, but there are ways on how we can deal with hardships. There are strategic frameworks that anyone can follow to flip the situation from a debilitating one in a vessel for improvement.

Here are some of the best ways to turn any crisis into opportunities:

1. Be calm and keep a cool head

Panic never did anyone any good, and keeping a cool head has never been more appropriate or applicable in a chaotic situation in any business.
Companies are living in turbulent times all the time to varying degrees, and CEOs who keep a calm head survive and even thrive.

Leaders are often already equipped with the basics of handling a crisis, but having a crisis management team can ensure that you can minimise the impact of chaos on your business.

Keep a list of employees or build a team who you can go to when the mess hits the fan. Your crisis management team should be able to help you assess how problems can be used as the stepping stone to success.

We have many examples, but just take a look at Microsoft. It is one of the biggest companies in the world and it was founded at a time of economic crisis. Take a look at its success now to measure how chaos has been turned into a great opportunity.

2. Shift your mindset

Not everyone will be able to do this in a pinch, but if one wants to survive chaos in their business or workplace, you have to shift your mindset.

This translates to making an effort and forcing your perception to see the good and see the opportunities in the developing scenario. When you can do this, you stop being rooted and immobile and instead, you begin to act.

As part of conquering the mindset, acceptance has a lot to do with making the right decisions. Along with approval comes the clarity to make the right choices and decisions. With acceptance, the tendency to be angry and clouded is minimal, and therefore the flow of decisions to better counteract the situation is more straightforward.

3. Think negatively

Seems counterproductive, right? It would seem so, but it is an advantageous trait when it comes to planning. By thinking about all the things that can go wrong, you and your team can better manage it when it happens.

By considering all the angles that can go wrong, there would be minimal to no surprises. This idea is not a new one but goes way back in history where all the evils are premeditated in battle.

This idea is often referred to as the premortem, and people in the business widely use it.

The idea is to practice hindsight in advance so as not to be caught by surprise. The chaotic event will not render you immobile by applying this, having anticipated it, and imagined it coming.

4. Get help from others

Most entrepreneurs fail to recognise that they can seek help from others. By others, we mean peers in the business, those who have been doing it, and those who have been in the business for far longer than you have.

Friends and relatives are no exception because they may provide a unique perspective to your business problem.

You can also reach out in a professional capacity, meaning hiring a coach or a mentor to help guide you along the way. Be open to being influenced by outside sources of your choosing.

The point is to acknowledge that you are never alone. Recognise the importance of inputs from people with more experience or those who have a different perspective to you.

Wrapping this up

Acceptance, the proper mindset, and preparation for the worst can be applied to all aspects of life, and not just in business. The ability to turn something negative into an opportunity is not an inherent one, but it can be learned by practicing and never giving up.

— Angeline Licerio is a content writer for Elevate Corporate Training, a team of corporate trainers committed to improving performance of individuals and teams within organisations.

• Posted 11.21.20 at 04:15 am by Roy Osing
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November 16, 2020

3 easy ways to avoid being a one-sale wonder

Source: Pexels

3 easy ways to avoid being a one-sale wonder.

How many salespeople would consciously put their sale at risk in order to protect a long term customer relationship?

How many would continue to put time in with the customer even though they realize the probability of making the immediate sale is low?

How many would put their yearly quota in jeopardy in favour of securing an account for the benefits they will realize over the long term?

I suspect there would be an extremely small number of salespeople who would put up their hand and fess up to sacrificing the short term for the long term; and that is sad, unfortunate and just plain bad business.

The flogger is bad business

The fact is, an unrelenting focus on the immediate sale increases the chance that the salesperson will be a ‘one-sale wonder’, a ‘flogger extraordinaire’ who will be unable to offer any long term value to their organization.

Long term value creation in sales is all about building strong intimate customer relationships that will yield a relatively stable and healthy cash flow over future periods; it’s not about making the sale today.

The role of sales must change from the flogger of products and services to the ‘gatherer of friends’

Relationships are all there are in sales and it is absolutely critical that they be protected, nurtured and strengthened in every moment a salesperson has with their customer.

The absolute worst thing that can be done is to erode the friendship by maintaining a short term product sale focus.

It’s all very well that sales leaders espouse the building relationships vision; it’s quite another when sales is confronted in the field with a situation where the organization’s products and services don’t meet the customer’s requirement.

Square peg in a round hole

This is the moment of truth. It’s that moment when the intent and action collide to discover if the organization is really serious about building long term relationships or whether it’s merely an aspiration with no substance.

Let’s face it, there are times when there isn’t the right fit between what the customer wants and what the organization supplies. It’s not a catastrophic situation; it’s impossible for an organization to expect to have a solution portfolio to match every problem their customers experience.

Your solution perhaps doesn’t have the right functionality to do what the customer specifically wants, or it might not be available when the customer wants it, or it might not meet their price expectations and there’s little to be done to satisfy them by adding value to the solution and selling at a premium price.

When this happens, the wrong thing to do is to try and force fit the organization’s solution into the customer’s problem in order to try and make a sale — again, it’s product flogging behaviour that will punish friendship building and long term performance.

Not only that, it’s more than likely to fail. Customers generally don’t like to get bullied into a sale and if a salesperson is into the force fitting mode, the customer will know it and will not buy. And two negative results occur. Not only is a sale not made, the friendship is diluted by the flogging behaviour.

The right thing to do is to walk away from trying to satisfy the customer with the organization’s solutions and refocus the energy on determining what can be done to ensure the relationship is deepened.

These 3 principles should govern what a salesperson should do in this situation.

Sales Principle #1 — Own the customer forever

What does ‘owning the customer forever’ mean when the right solution for your client is not available from your company? If it’s not spelled out in detail, the salesperson won’t know what to do and how to behave and could risk the relationship ‘going south’.

Every action taken by the salesperson must be through a long term lens and leadership must draw a line of sight from this lofty goal down to the specific actions a salesperson must take when confronted with the challenge of a product or service misfit.

‘Owning the customer’ is a long term investment, not a quick buy-and-sell transaction

You cannot leave it to the salesperson to decide how to respond; they will behave the way they traditionally have: bail on the friendship because there’s no quota payback from hanging around.

Sales Principle #2 — Do whatever it takes to protect Sales Principle #1

Every action sales takes must serve the purpose of solving the customer’s problem with whatever solution is available and from whatever organization supplies it.

Owning the relationship is a caveat-free goal without the constraint of solving the customer’s problem only with the organization’s solution set.
Rather, it’s an empowering notion that says to the salesperson “Go wherever you have to and do whatever is necessary to solve the customer’s problem. Period.”

It’s a narrative that needs to be an automatic response to a product or service deficiency — if this, then that.

It’s about you!

If you’re looking for a silver bullet to blow your customer away, this strategy is it. It basically subordinates the short term needs of the organization to the immediate needs of the customer; it says emphatically to them “It’s all about you.”
As a loyalty building behaviour it’s probably the most powerful thing a salesperson could do.

Sales Principle #3 — Pay for the behaviour you want

If you want sales to behave a certain way, you must pay them for it. That’s the way salespeople are.

If it ain’t in the sales compensation plan it doesn’t get done

Declaring the customer ownership goal and defining the specific behaviour sales must exhibit in order to achieve the goal is not sufficient; a measurement and reward system must be in place to ensure the right behaviour is constantly being practiced.

The measurement tool is simple: ask the customer if their salesperson offered other company’s solutions. If you don’t have a customer perception survey — the sales Report Card — in place, you should, because it’s the only way to get a handle on sales behaviour.

Owning the customer is more than sales revenue performance, it’s doing the right things today that will enhance the chances of maintaining a healthy revenue stream from the customer over the long term.

The rewards system is equally straightforward: include a compensation component in each salesperson’s annual performance plan for this practice. If 20% of their annual bonus is related to ‘selling someone else’s solution’, it will get done.

Building a long term friendship requires a great deal of emotional energy relentlessly applied day in and day out. And it involves sometimes taking a step back from our needs to put the other person first.

This is such a time in the world of sales, and those organizations who make the practice matter are the long term winners.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead book series

• Posted 11.16.20 at 04:02 am by Roy Osing
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November 11, 2020

12 powerful ways to tell if you’re a great leader

12 powerful ways to tell if you’re a great leader.

There are no qualms that leaders shape nations, communities, and businesses.

You cannot be a great leader merely with theory and tactics. Great leaders believe in leadership development and find the balance between business foresight and performance.

They have vision, courage and integrity, which enable them to plan strategically and catalyze teamwork. The main intent of leadership development is to upgrade the capacity for individuals to be effective in leadership roles and processes.

Leadership descends from social influence and not from rigid hierarchy or seniority. Anyone with the right skills, regardless of their position in a company or organization, can be a leader.

Identifying yourself as a different leader merely is understanding common leadership styles and aligning them to your strengths and weaknesses.

Here are a few of the qualities that set you apart and make you a great leader…

Understand your leadership style — Understanding your leadership style is crucial in manifesting your path as a leader.
Identifying leadership style helps supplement overall effectiveness and satisfaction. It reflects on how a leader can achieve full potential through calculated intention.

Never wander from the vision — Great leaders always have a vision. They have a unique, exciting idea of where they are going and what they are trying to accomplish and are sublime at strategic planning.

Show confidence when others cannot — Confidence is the fundamental principle of leadership. Staying confident and making your team member’s confidence is crucial for a leader.
To increase your team’s confidence, you have to help them improve, upgrade and learn skills, so they contribute fiercely to the project.

Effective time management is imperative — Effective time management influences effective Leadership. The best leaders are proactive, ambitious and motivated about their day.
It enables them to use their caliber to the best, thus ensuring interactions with the team are positive and productive.

Showcase your strengths and everyone else’s — Successful leaders spend most of their time developing and capitalizing their strengths and applying them in the workplace.

Leaders are also able to use this skill to identify strengths in others.

Optimism and communication go a long way — Good leaders possess the quality of openly and smartly interacting with people in a way that feels genuine.
They demonstrate empathy, engage in active listening, and enhance meaningful working relationships, whether they are peers or direct reports.

Always hold employees in high esteem — Good leaders are always unbiased to the employees and the organization’s processes. They acknowledge good work and always make room for everyone to blossom together.

They understand the importance of recognizing and rewarding employees, thus creating mutual respect and proficiency within the organization. They work towards giving them an environment where everyone can flourish.

Lead by example, always — Leaders don’t simply lead by being authoritative and dominating. They lead by guiding others on what to do and by setting a good example themselves.

If you demand a lot of your team, you should also be mindful of offsetting high standards for yourself. Aligning your words and actions guarantee win trust of the team

Encourage creativity> — Creativity drives excitement, and excitement drives efficiency. By encouraging creative problem solving, leaders challenge their teams in new and exciting ways.
This enthusiasm catalyses idea generation or the creative stages of projects into those repetitively daily tasks that they can’t help be tired of.

Serve as a role model — Successful role models work hard and pitch in when their team needs assistance or orchestration and are always demonstrating responsibility to company goals. Role models take accountability for their actions and inspire others to do the same.

Encourage people to make contributions — A great leader allows and welcomes the inflow of ideas from the members of their teams. They let team members share recommendations and thus contribute significantly with confidence.

Offer rewards and recognition — Frequently and consistently recognizing achievement is one of the most powerful habits that differentiate leaders. This motivates team members to stretch themselves and contribute their best efforts knowing that their work will be valued and appreciated.

Leadership is an attitude built over time. These habits can help you create and strengthen your own brand of leadership.

What can you do to embrace these valued leadership qualities and become a ‘different’ leader?

— Liliana Chitnis is a former HR professional who now works as a content marketing executive at Naman HR, an organization that offers end-to-end HR solutions to help companies build a strong human capital base. She writes about various topics related to human resources and shares trends, techniques, and tips with her readers. She loves to read and practice yoga regularly, and occasionally binge on Netflix.

• Posted 11.11.20 at 06:44 am by Roy Osing
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