WHAT EMPLOYEE'S WANT...Are you kidding?
I recently received an interesting article, written by friend and colleague, Larry Klimek, President of JKL Associates in the Detroit area. As usual, Larry is right on with his information and perspectives. So, why should we care about employee retention in a time when there are plenty of people in the market...read on.
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10 SECRET STRATEGIES TO RECESSION-PROOF YOUR BUSINESS - PART III
In the final segment of our series on strategies for recession-proofing your business, we remind you to reach out to others for advice, including your suppliers (and your competitors!). This week we'll suggest you ask for help, look for alternatives to capital spending, streamline your processes, innovate and use your dollar saving for growth, and implement cost-cutting tools.
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Something FREE, just for all of you...THE FAMILY RELATIONSHIP PROCESS
Although families are often referred to as single units, they are actually communities of individuals with common interests. Family members draw support from one another to meet their needs for survival, safety, love and achievement. The Family Relationships Process is designed to help family members improve their ability to support each other in meeting their individual and collective needs.
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A "MUST READ" - OBAMA'S VICTORY: A CONSUMER-CITIZEN REVOLT
The following excellent (albeit, controversial) article written for Business Week by famed author, Shoshana Zuboff (The Support Economy: Why Corporations Are Failing Individuals and the Next Episode of Capitalism) is a telling viewpoint of a new movement in America led by "us" instead of "them." We're anxious to hear your views on this topic and promise to print them to share with our other readers. Please send your comments to jerry@houstonpartnersinternational.com.
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CRITERIA FOR EFFECTIVE GOAL SETTING
Goal setting is critical to success. Plain and simple. If you don't know where you are going, all roads lead there...and you don't have time to travel all of them when you are trying to keep your edge in your marketplace. In this week's Power Idea, I would like to share with you the Criteria for Effective Goal Setting that has worked and sustained our practice for the past 16 years. We hope you will find it successful for you.
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LEADERSHIP IS ALL ABOUT COURAGE AND MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS
The amazing events surrounding the emergency landing of a US Airways jet in the Hudson River is the stuff movies are made of (and you can be sure one will be made). Amongst the heroes of the day was Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot of that ill-fated flight from LaGuardia International Airport in New York, which was quickly interrupted by two flocks of birds, choking off both engines and causing the plane to lose all power, ultimately leading to a catastrophic situation.
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ORGANIZATIONAL GOAL SETTING
Every organization should be hard at work planning for the coming year. To that end, I am submitting some tools over the next several Power Ideas to help you understand Organizational Goal Setting and how to develop goals for your business. I hope you find this information useful.
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WORDS FROM THE WISE
One of my heroes in life is Ed Oakley. Ed is an incredibly successful colleague in our industry. As founder and CEO of Enlightened Leadership Solutions, Ed and his team have helped thousands of individuals and organizations all over the world. He is ahead of his time in looking at the issues that businesses and individuals face, and is fearless in his relentless pursuit of excellence in helping his clients succeed.
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CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
The past year has been a time of great uncertainty for many people and businesses. We sometimes become very fearful and directionless when we are dealing with these challenging economic times. I recently wrote a Power Idea addressing this whole idea of faith or fear? (If you missed this issue you can find it on our website by clicking on the Power Ideas Weekly Ezine link.) In that article I tried to remind everyone that we had difficult times in the past and always overcome them and come out stronger for the effort.
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NEW YEARS
We want to pause for a moment to take time to thank all of our wonderful clients, trade partners, staff, and strategic and alliance partners for all of your support and friendship over this past year.
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TIS THE SEASON FOR PLANNING....FA LA LA, LA, LA, LA LA LA LA
Businesses succeed or fail for a variety of reasons. Hard work, persistence, the appeal of an innovative product, persuasive marketing, need, or consumer demand, can all play a part. Some say luck has a role. Others say it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time. In still other cases, management takes the time to address all of the important aspects of ensuring the success of the business. Creating a vision and strategy is followed by developing a well thought out business plan, which is followed by the implementation of the plan.
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HONESTY
Last week we started an interesting Power Idea on the issue of Mutual Trust and Respect in the workplace. Author and top business consultant, Ryan Scholz, describes this concept in his new book, Turning Potential into Action. At the end of this continuation of Ryan's writings we'll tell you how you can purchase Ryan's book through HPI at a substantial savings.
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MUTUAL RESPECT AND TRUST
My friend and colleague Ryan Scholz, in his outstanding first book, Turning Potential Into Action, takes a very clear look at what it takes to unleash the potential in our organizations and turn that potential into something that will produce tangible results. I asked Ryan for permission to share one chapter that ties directly back to the HPI vision statement: MUTUAL RESPECT AND TRUST.
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SHOULD WE BE THANKFUL?
In this turbulent time it may be hard to be thankful for anything when each day brings a new volley of bad news about the stock market, housing foreclosures, business failures, bailouts, corporate jets, and so on. As I reflected on all of this and participated in an amazing webinar this past week, it caused me to pause for a moment to reflect on those things that are infinitely more important than the size of our portfolios, how business is doing, the loss of some material assets, what the politicians and corporate execs are doing or not doing, and the general condition of the world today.
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THE VISUAL SLIDE REVOLUTION PT. 2
In this second and final part of our series on THE VISUAL SLIDE REVOLUTION (if you missed part one, you can find it at www.houstonpartnersinternational.com), we continue to learn from Dave Paradi about the importance of clarity in our presentations. Read on as Dave talks about the KWICK method and its impact on delivering powerful presentations that sell your message.
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THE VISUAL SLIDE REVOLUTION
YOU ARE REALLY GOING TO FIND THIS ONE INTERESTING! Formal presentations are a fact of life in this high speed world of ours. This article from Dave Paradi from execuBooks is very insightful when it comes to doing it right the first time. In this two part series we will explore how to get our message across correctly and accomplish our objectives for the presentation. Enjoy!
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PRESENTING...WHY SOME IDEAS DIE AND OTHERS SURVIVE
Authors of Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Dan and Chip Heath, tell us that poor presentations can have a devastating impact on an organization. For all of us that spend hours preparing PowerPoint slides, data, statistics, and other information, this week's Power Idea is a must read!
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RETHINKING THE "WAR ON TALENT"
Although I don't always agree with articles on various topics, I do believe that gaining different perspectives is valuable to our thinking processes. It is in that spirit that I share an idea that may have some merit...once we let it sink in a bit! Enjoy this week's Power Idea!
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IT'S NEVER THE STORY, IT'S ALWAYS THE EMOTION
People give us feedback with folded arms, laughter, grins, pacing around, growling or raising their eyebrows. Their emotions show us how they feel if we are looking. People say one thing verbally but may be emotionally saying something else. You learn interests of others when you are an active listener. Active listening is more than simply listening to the spoken word. When you understand how people feel, you have honest, authentic communications. Active listeners don't judge or form opinions before they understand what others are saying. They focus on learning what is on the other person's mind.
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COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES OF TODAY'S SALES PROFESSIONAL
Have you noticed that people have answers to your thoughts before you finish a sentence? People are so anxious to make points they don't even wait for you to catch your breath before they have your answer. To compound the problem, over 40 percent of the words used in spoken language are non-essential. It's easy to get the message of others without all the words. Our minds are like powerful car engines idling while waiting for the green light to signal interesting or essential information coming.
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EVERYONE CAN SELL...IT'S ALL IN YOUR ATTITUDE!
One of the reasons I think I have become a great sales professional is that I never was a professional salesperson for most of my 25 year career. That single issue caused me to listen intently and learn everything I could about the profession of selling. Over the next few issues of Power Ideas, I want to share some of what I have learned from some of the best sales professionals in the business. In this first part of the series, I want to share some insights from Brian Bieler, author of The Sales Operator, Powerful Steps and Rich and Free. You will soon learn why Brian has had an enormously successful sales and leadership career.
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ANNOUNCING THE NEW HPI WEBSITE - AVAILABLE OCTOBER 1, 2008!
We thought that launching our new website at the beginning of the fall season was just the right thing to do to capitalize on when most of us get back down to business after the long, hot summer. The new site is the culmination of many months of work on the part of staff members, partners, and web designers Jeff Cross and Josh Deckard of Middlefloor Media...and we're not done yet! We'll be making additional changes and updates as the new site settles in.
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UNDERSTANDING HIRING AND RETENTION CHALLENGES
TTI has found that employee brand is a hot topic and is important for attracting top talent and to be the employer of choice. Building a positive employee brand is not only important in recruiting new employees, but it is vital in retaining superior performers. TTI recently surveyed 19,000 job seekers to see what they are looking for in their future employer and what a job search feels like in the current economy.
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KNOW WHO YOU HIRE
Frequently, we hear from clients and others, who indicate that because they are a very small business, they are exempt from rules such as established by the Legal Arizona Workers Act. They are wrong. Organizations of ANY SIZE are subject to E-Verify and other legal immigration laws and must be in compliance. Severe penalties await those who are unaware of their responsibilities. Following is an article (author unknown) that speaks to the issue, clearly, and should be of interest to all of our readers, no matter what state you are in.
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THE PROBLEM COLLEAGUE
In this article from US Airways Magazine, Donald Asher talks about one of the most disruptive problems in American business -- office politics and employees who can't (won't) get along. Let us know if you agree or disagree with the advice given!
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POISE AND GRACE
The Olympics were in full swing last week and the competition was as always, outstanding. The athletes appeared to be moving through their selected sports with a level of ease and grace. They are at the top of their physical and mental performance. As I sat and watched the various sports, I could only begin to wonder and marvel at the level of commitment each of the athletes, coaches and support staff put in for a very small window of opportunity.
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TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP PT. 3
In our final article in the Transformational Leadership series, we wrap up the ideas behind how to become a transformational leader. Thanks again to our partner, Weldon Larson for sharing this great leadership knowledge.
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TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Leadership seems to be largely situational, the "right person in the right place at the right time." A great leader in one situation may fail miserably in a different set of circumstances. There appears however, to be several key characteristics which all "recognized" leaders seem to possess. There also are two generally recognized categories of leadership that are important to our overall understanding of leadership.
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COURAGE
One of the key ingredients to possessing courage is being afraid and saddling up anyway. I want to introduce you to a friend of ours, Sarah. Sarah is a woman in her late twenties who has had a difficult life indeed. We met Sarah through a faith-based program call The Bridge (a program of Childhelp), whose charter is to provide housing and support to help homeless people become self-sufficient.
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A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT
Since our inception on July 23, 1992, G.M. Houston, Inc. has operated under the trade name, Houston Associates. As our organization has matured and grown over the past 16 years, we have evolved into a true organization of Strategic and Alliance Partners. We have gained an international presence with partners in Japan and Singapore, and are continually working to expand our business around the world, especially in Asia.
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SELLING FROM THE INSIDE OUT
When you hear the word "sell," what comes to your mind? Usually people relate certain words to selling depending on what their past experiences in a sales situation have been. Some would say to sell something means to be pushy, aggressive or sneaky. Others may say it means knowledgeable, helpful or friendly. Whatever comes to your mind is a direct reflection of your own personal experiences and perception of what selling means. No matter what you feel, you are right.
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LEADERSHIP LESSONS WE LEARNED FROM TIM RUSSERT
Within minutes after the unexpected death of Tim Russert was announced, the story took on a complete life of its own. While at first I admit I was just curious to find out what happened, I was soon humbled by the sudden outpouring of shock and the impact that Russert had on so many people.
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