Thursday, July 28, 2011

Stop Being Selfish! Find Happiness and True Success...


Selfishness Prevents Success!
If you want to get along with more people start thinking about someone other than yourself. If you have problems with relationships it is probably largely to do with your own actions and the fact that you are thinking more about yourself than the people you don’t get along with.

I once applied for a job as a sales manager with a large, international insurance firm. Part of the application process was a multiple-choice exam to determine the mindsets of the various candidates. I can only recall one question on the exam: “What is the most important characteristic of a great sales manager?” There were ten possible answers and I had to rank them from one to ten in order of importance. The number one answer was this: “The desire to see others do well.”

Frankly, I did not expect it to top the list but I have never forgotten that one question and its wonderful answer. Just think about a world where everyone has a constant, daily desire to see others do well. I now know that if I put others before myself, I will quite unavoidably bring positive energy to everything I do.
Stop being selfish and put an end to negativity, stress, and sadness in your life.

I am Wayne Kehl from Dynamic Leadership


Friday, July 22, 2011

Don't Be Afraid Of Generation Y !

The world is strangely concerned about generation “Y” these days. I don’t understand it! Generation “Y” is just the current crop of kids that will eventually rule the world.

They are the children of Boomers and Generation “X” parents and they were born between 1980 and 1994. Currently they are aged 16 to 30. Every generation had people in their teens and in their twenties, so why is this group being singled out for critical speculation and deeply negative apprehension?

When I was a kid in the 1950’s it was the beatniks who were singled out for scrutiny by older, wiser adults.

“Who or what were beatniks?” you might ask. They were oddly thoughtful people who believed in nonconformity and spent a lot of time reading, writing, and reciting poetry. They wore funny clothing and lived in communes where they played guitars and bongo drums. They believed society had it all wrong and that their deeply literary view of the world was better.

The beatniks were followed by the hippies in the 60’s and 70’s.

My Goodness, what was with them? Lead by the rock band, the Beatles, they had long hair and multicoloured, multi-patterned clothing. They hated war and they believed in peace and love. “Imagine that!” Most young people of the era embraced hippie-ism in one way or another either through hallucinatory drug use, fashion, music, or social consciousness. Older folks everywhere hated the rock bands of the era just as they hated the lyrics of the songs they sang.

Speaking of music, here are some lyrics from a song written in 1960 and made popular in the 1963 movie, Bye Bye Birdie:

“Kids! Why can’t they be like we were...perfect in every way?
 What’s the matter with kids today?”

The song goes on to say:

“They are disobedient, disrespectful oafs!
Noisy, crazy, sloppy, lazy loafers!”

So you see, even a half century ago the younger generation was a huge concern for parents. As is the case today, parents believed that their way of doing things was perfect in every way and that children should conform to their way of thinking if they were going to amount to anything.

Keep in mind too, that the kids this song describes went on to become the Boomers and Generation “X” adults that brought more technological advancement, personal luxury, and monetary success to the world than ever seen before. If the kids who were so rudely admonished in this song had been more like their parents they might not have gone on to invent computers, microwave ovens, cellular telephones, and crazy glue. The crazy, sloppy, lazy kids of the 60’s went on to be the innovators, inventors and geniuses of the 90’s.

So, why are so many people worried about Generation “Y”?

The answer is simple. Fear of the unknown and the natural human tendency to reject new things and new ideas drives our thoughts. We fear that which is foreign or unusual to us. We know that our way works for us so why should we accept change?

What we have to keep in mind though, is that we made Generation “Y” what they are today. We created an attitude of entitlement in them and we made them believe they are special.

While we were raising our kids, we were forsaking the values our parents gave us so that our kids could have everything that we did not. Now that they have everything we could possibly give them, they want more!

Boomers and Generation “X” created Generation “Y” and since we made so many of them, we need to get on board their bus and help them drive it into the new millennium!

Don’t worry! Generation “Y” is as intelligent and innovative as all previous generations and they will do us proud as they take over the world we are leaving behind.

All the Best!
Wayne Kehl

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

What Makes A Superstar Employee?


I am going to let you in on the secret to superstar employees: “right person-right job.” When people are placed into jobs they can excel in every time, miracles can happen.

Do you ever wonder why some people excel in their jobs, outperforming all others in the same field?
In any workplace it is quite easy to find someone who consistently does more work in a shorter period of time than the rest of their team.

At the core of every superstar is a natural motivation for the work he or she does.
People who are highly motivated will exhibit better attitudes and their behaviour is likely to be peppered with excitement and elation. On the other hand, their less-motivated counterparts will ultimately exhibit lethargy, disinterest and defeat.

Poor performers often resent over-achievers for their obvious tenacity and drive. They make excuses for their own poor performance and look for ways to make the superstars look bad.

If you want to be happier in your work, identify your passions and find a job where you can realize and cultivate them.

Remember this: “very successful people get to do what they do best everyday”

I am Wayne Kehl from Dynamic Leadership

Sunday, July 17, 2011

How to Lead Generation "Y"


The members of the demographic, commonly known as Generation “Y” were born between the years 1981 and 1994, which makes them ages 17 to 30 in year 2011. They are the young up-and-coming leaders of society. There are lot of them, and since they will soon fill most of the jobs being given up by the aging Boomers, we need to modify our methodology in order to lead them.

Generation “Y” are a new breed of people with a new way of looking at the world. They have been influenced by their parents, the education system, the media and each other. They operate with an attitude of entitlement and they prefer communication via hand-held device over the spoken word.

·         What follows are a few ideas that will help make your workplace the employer-of -choice for Generation “Y”...

TECHNOLOGY:

The first Personal Computer was introduced to North America in 1981...the same year the first Generation “Y” baby was born. Hence, unlike the Boomers and Generation “X”, these kids have never seen a world without computers. They have seen rapid advances in computerization which eliminated the bulky, beige boxes of the PC and turned them into I-Phones, Blackberries and Androids. Facebook, Google, and Twitter rule the world of Generation “Y” and there is no sign of anything but more growth in that social phenomenon in the future.

·         Generation “Y” needs computers, hand-held devices, email, texting and YouTube in their lives.

·         They want media-rich information and communication in order to remain engaged.

·         Adjust your thinking to allow for their different ways of working. 

·         Let them use the style of communication they prefer .

·         Give them the most modern equipment and software you can afford.

PERSONAL TIME:

When you hire a Generation “Y” person expect them to want a lot of time off.  All their lives, they were heavily doted on by their hovering, “helicopter”, parents and they take their family-time very seriously. They were taught that they are special and they believe that they are entitled to fair treatment. Their concept of fair treatment might be much more liberal than their older bosses, so without greater flexibility, conflicts are bound to arise.

·         Structure your business to allow for flexible schedules and more innovative time commitments. 

·         Generation “Y” values time off over money so come up with a cost-effective flex-time or job-sharing plan that is affordable for you and attractive to them.

RELAXED CLOTHING STANDARDS:

Generation “Y” does not want to dress up in any formalized uniform or business attire. They want a relaxed, comfortable style of dress that makes them feel good. Forget about business suits, frilly blouses, neck ties, and dress shoes. Expect loose fitting, sloppy shirts and pants along with casual shoes, low-cut, revealing tops and tight, mid-riff-baring jeans.

·         A decade or so ago, the business world adopted casual day which has given way to casual week and casual-all-the-time. It is a freight train that does not want to stop.

·         Have a minimal number of restrictions on clothing styles if you want to keep your Generation “Y” people happy and productive.

SOCIAL VALUES:

When you hire a Generation “Y” person, you must appeal to their social values. Their parents taught them that good people give of their time and money for charities and philanthropy. They will expect their employer to support social causes and they will expect time off to involve themselves in the betterment of their communities.

·         Ask your Generation “Y’s” what they expect your company to do for the community and for charities and then put them in charge . Let them take it over and run with it.

·         They will rally to the cause if they feel a sense of ownership of the plan.

·         Ultimately, they will become more loyal and you will become the employer-of-choice.

·         The positive notoriety brought by their activities will improve your bottom line.

OPEN, HONEST COMMUNICATION:

Thanks to the ubiquitous modern media, young people have been exposed to many tales of high level lying, cheating, larceny, bad business and crime that would not have been made available in prior decades. They watched the Enron scandal unfold, Tiger Woods fall from grace, The BP oil spill disaster, The United States bank collapse, the Arnold Schwarzenegger scandal, and the onset of global warming. They watch almost every day as the adults that run the world do every dirty, underhanded, nasty thing that only the worst human beings could conjure up. They think adults are lying to them all the time and they don’t trust them. Without trust, personal or business relationships of any kind cannot survive!

·         A more open, informative management style will hold you in good stead with Generation “Y”.

·         Give your young people all the statistical and strategic information you can about your business.

·         Keep them informed and be honest about your fears, your failures and your successes.

·         Never make promises you cannot or will not keep.

·         Most importantly, never lie to them or withhold the truth.

·         They want open, honest communication and if they don’t get it, they might resign or quit emotionally and stay around to make your life a living hell!

ADVANCEMENT AND VARIETY ON THE JOB:

Because of the huge volume of information Generation “Y” is subjected to moment-by-moment on the internet and television, their minds are flooded with a myriad of ideas and opportunities. They believe they can do anything because their parents and teachers told them so. They do not want to be slotted into boring jobs with a minimal number of activities or little chance for advancement. They want variety and an opportunity to show the world what they can do.

·         Try to match the natural talents of the individual to the job they do.

·         Put the right people in the right jobs.

·         Do skills and talent assessments in order to determine the best job for each individual.

·         Throw out or amend job descriptions and allow more job-flexibility for each employee.

·         Regularly ask each employee how they feel about their job.

·         Give them a career path and follow it.

YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE  GENERATION “Y”:

Remember that the majority of your customers will also be Generation “Y” very soon, so do not make the assumption that the people who buy your products or services will continue to expect the same type of service and decorum you have in place today.

·         The world is changing so if you want to be the best in your field, try to change with it now.

·         If you work with them and accept them as they are, Generation “Y” will carry you to a new level of success.

Generation “Y” is coming to a job near you soon. You can resist their new style of working or you can use their new ways to work for you and increase revenues. It is your choice!

All the Best
Wayne Kehl