Livin' on the Edge without Falling Off

By: Nick Tasler

The other day I posted an article about beating your impulses. Every time I write or talk about that, someone points out that not all impulsive decisions (or impulsive people) are bad. I fully agree. In fact, sometimes they can be good. Really good.

But there is a difference between good and bad impulses.

DYSFUNCTIONAL IMPULSIVITY: Psychologists have identified two different kinds of “impulsive.” One is called ”dysfunctional impulsivity.” That’s what people who are slaves to their impulses have. They get their kicks mostly from booze, blow and law-breaking. They usually end up with illustrious careers as inmate #7825. Or they end up getting buried–financially and/or physically.

FUNCTIONAL IMPULSIVITY: Some people are just risk-takers. They push the speed limit, but don’t drive drunk. They make bold decisions, but don’t win Darwin Awards. They fail often, but then adjust accordingly and continue on. They never stop being impulsive, but they don’t keep making the same bad choices over and over again. They are constantly learning from past experience.

TO BE FUNCTIONAL think about which risks also offer potential reward, and which risks are just plain old risks with no potential payout. Where the functional might break some rules to get ahead, the dysfunctional break windows just because they feel like it. Are you telling off your boss just b/c it feels good? Are you skimming off the top to pick up some chump change while jeopardizing a much larger long term payout?

Impulsive people are always going to be impulsive, but some learn and some just lose.

Radical Innovation

By: Gina Kellogg-Gardner, MAOL

So what’s the big deal about innovation anyway? The big deal is that new ideas, originality and the modernization of status quo is the survival guide for our new economy and global marketplace. Long are the days of systematically ran businesses having the competitive edge. Today, companies who think big picture, creatively respond to consumer needs and act entrepreneurial have the edge. In today’s economy companies have a choice – embrace radical innovation or fold.

How does a company embrace radical innovation? Leaders have to get savvy on multi-level collaboration, engage entry level employees in decision making and become immersed in consumer input. Leaders need to become expert visionaries, encourage employees to act on new ideas and foster a culture of creativity. Another key ingredient to radical innovation is talent. Aside from leadership, companies need to have a talent bench of creative souls – designers, consolers, storytellers and artists.

Most companies already have what it takes – employees who want to innovate and consumers who want new ideas. To move innovation forward, leaders need to promote a culture that actively connects consumers to the creative brilliance of employee’s.

Five fears that keep senior leaders from engaging Y

by Sarah Sladek, Limelight Generations

I recently gave a presentation on the importance of recruiting and retaining younger generations in the workforce when someone in the audience raised his hand in vehement protest.

He assured me that concerns regarding younger generations in the workforce were no longer relevant. "All bets are off", he said, because the economy is in dire straits and younger generations will have to go back to kissing up and climbing corporate ladders.

Not so fast! For starters, the economic mess we've found ourselves in is not a permanent situation. And it certainly isn't going to stop people from aging.

Forty percent of our workforce will be eligible to retire in 2010. Whether all 40% retire at once or stagger their retirements throughout the next several years, that percentage will continue to increase with each passing year.

The economy might be in the toilet, but all bets are certainly not off.

As I travel around the country, I often hear questions and comments from Baby Boomers which are somewhat on the critical side--criticizing younger generations for their high expectations, for wanting to leave work early, or for their casual attitudes about dress and formal communication.

However, criticism usually stems from fear, and I have discovered there are five common fears keeping senior leaders from enjoying their younger colleagues:

• Fear of job loss. Since the beginning of time, senior leaders have been fearful of getting pushed out of the way by younger leaders. Nevertheless, if we want to compete in a global economy, then senior leaders and younger generations must work together. If you are a senior leader, willingly share your wisdom with our future leaders. When it comes to business, there is simply no greater cause.
  
  
• Fear of technology. As we all know, Gen Y is the most tech-savvy. They may be trumped by Gen Z (the next generation) but for now, they are certainly dominating in technology. If you are a senior leader and you are afraid of technology, then it’s up to you to get trained. Technology is here to stay.
  
  
• Fear of looking dumb. There is nothing more unnerving to some senior leaders than to be “shown up” by someone who is half their age. If you are a leader, then it’s up to you to admit when you don’t know something, and to be excited you have someone younger on your team who can answer that question. Younger generations know a lot, but you won’t know this if you keep them at bay.
  
  
• Fear of optimism. This may sound bizarre, but many senior leaders are pessimistic, while surveys (even recent ones) indicate that Ys are very optimistic. Leaders are only as strong as the people they surround themselves with, and your company will need the creativity, networks, and positive attitudes of Ys to pull it through these difficult times.
  
  
• Fear of change. There has been more technology developed in the past five years than the past 50 years. The youngest generations are accustomed to change, and they are bringing us new ideas, a new world view, and new ways to work. Traditions are important, but it’s equally important to evolve. Resisting change almost always leads to resisting relationships and talent which squelches opportunity.
  

If you are a senior leader, be careful not to resort to fears and stereotype younger generations as less motivated or more egocentric or downright difficult. Now, more than ever, we need fearless leaders. Leaders to encourage everyone to aspire to be the best they can be, while also encouraging collaboration and bridging gaps.

The future should be—must be—ours to build together.

Fostering the Right Culture

By: Karen Rulifson

How can a leader create a culture that fosters innovation, productivity, employee engagement and a sense of ownership? That's a million dollar question, right?!

Addressing this question, Harvard Business Review recently published an article with excerpts from a new book, The Ownership Quotient, by Joe Wheeler, James Heskett and Earl Sasser. They found key themes from companies that have created strong and adaptive cultures. Some of the themes are:

• Leadership must set a clear vision of the mission, values, behaviors, measures and actions. They must then consistently walk the talk and model the way for others to follow. I've seen many leaders document the strategy and then file it in a drawer, forgetting the important messages. Instead, be the leader who brings up the messages in team meetings and 1:1 conversations, consistently reinforcing the intended culture.

• Leaders must reinforce the culture by recognizing those who exemplify its values, behaviors and performance. Do this authentically and ensure the recognition is meaningful. Also, determine ways to recognize success both formally and informally. Perhaps you create value-based and project-based awards that are done on a monthly or quarterly basis. Perhaps you also write notes to individual employees. I've even seen a team that created a "you rock" program whereas any employee can give a rock to another as an informal way of saying thank you or job well done.

• Listen to your team's comments regarding hiring, coaching, recognizing behaviors and promotions. The comments will typically indicate their satisfaction, or lack, of the culture you are creating.

• Periodically revisit your values and associated behaviors and update them as needed. Even when the culture is positive, and especially when the culture is positive, you don't want to get stagnant. Ensure you and your team are benchmarking other areas in the company and out of the company. You don't want to experience a loss of curiosity or interest in change.

There are many benefits in creating and maintaining a strong and adaptive culture, and it all starts with the leader. Follow the tips in this article, and you'll be on your way in building a successful team where people want to work and a business where clients want to do business.

To read the full article, click here.

How to Make Good Decisions in Bad Times

By: Nick Tasler

From Detroit to Wall Street to Silicon Valley, it seems that bad executive decisions have become the rule instead of the exception in today's corner offices. Shareholders, employees, politicians and even managers themselves are asking - if not begging - to know why. What is the cause of all these bad decisions, and how can we start making good decisions again?

Bad managerial decisions do not stem from low intelligence. Bad decisions are not rooted in flawed logic, deficient math skills, a poor understanding of business trends or any other of the usual suspects. Bad decisions result from emotional ignorance.

At TalentSmart, we surveyed over 6,000 board members, colleagues and employees from a cross-section of industries that ran the gamut from hospitals to tobacco companies, churches to casinos and everything in between. The key stakeholders of these organizations rated managers on 22 separate leadership skills, including such stalwarts as strategic thinking, focus on results, character and the ability to communicate and articulate vision. When we compared scores on all 22 skills to managers' ability to make good decisions, one in particular stood out: emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence ratings tell us how well managers understand their emotions and regulate their impulses. As it turns out, nearly 70 percent of leaders ranked highly in emotional intelligence were also among the most highly skilled decision makers. Overwhelmingly, it's the managers who are most adept at understanding how others influence their own emotional state; take responsibility for their part in difficult situations; and make the most of bad situations, that are capable of making sound decisions in a timely manner.

In contrast, guess how many of those with a poor grasp of their own emotions ranked among the most skilled decision makers? Zero. In fact, 69 percent of emotionally ignorant leaders ranked among the bottom 15 percent in decision-making skill. Those who fail to handle conflect effectively; refuse to shoulder responsibility for their actions; and remain unaware of their own fear, anger or excitement are dreadfully inept at making decisions.

If emotional intelligence is so critical to a manager's ability to make good decisions, the next logicl question is how emotionally intelligent are most managers?

This is where the story takes a dark turn. In another study a few years ago, we measured the emotional intelligence of hundreds of thousands of workers from janitors to CEOs. We found that emotional intelligence rises steadily as people get promoted up the ranks into middle management. From there, however, emotional intelligence declines precipitously with every rung up the corporate ladder, finally bottoming out with CEOs. It seems that the people least equipped to make good decisions are those we trust to make the most profound decisions. Perhaps this sheds some light on how so many of our businesses have ended up where they are today.

The good news is that emotional ignorance is curable. It doesn't happen overnight, but it can be learned in a couple of months with just a little focused effort. Here's how to get started.

1. Understand Your Emotions as They Happen
Take note of what you are feeling and doing as a situation unfolds so you can learn to harness your emotions in difficult situations. Remember that ignoring emotions doesn't make them magically disappear. Only now after the Wall Street crash are we finally hearing people talk about fear and panic. A year ago, nobody wanted to talk about anything except fed policies and interest rates.

2. Step Away from the Emotional Situation
Keep your finger on the pulse of your emotions and know when to allow yourself the opportunity to step back from the situation. Once you get food at sniffing out your emotions as you feel them, evaluate them objectively. Try picturing the current situation in your head as if it were happening to someone else. What would you recommend that "someone else" to do in order to create the best results?

3. Prepare Yourself for Feelings of Uncertainty
Be definition, every choice you make depends on your estimation of uncertain outcomes. For nearly everyone, that uncertainty feels uncomfortable so expect some anxiety to accompany decisions. Anticipate it and prepare yourself for it by talking through your thoughts and feelings with a third party who may ot be as closely involved with the situation. Then, accept the fact that you may not have complete control over the outcome, but you can control your reaction to it.

Remind yourself to practice these steps everyday for one month each, starting with step one. Set a reminder on your Outlook calendar or jot it down on a sticky note and post it on your bathroom mirror. At the end of the first 30 days, switch the reminder to say, "Step Away From the Emotional Situation," followed by step three in the third month.

About the author: Nick Tasler is the award-winning author of The Impulse Factor: How to harness your impulses and start making better decisions, and is the former director of R&D at global think-tank and consultancy, TalentSmart.

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow: Avoid being black-balled while giving out pink slips

By: Sarah Sladek

I recently gave a presentation on the importance of recruiting and retaining younger generations in the workforce when someone in the audience raised his hand in vehement protest.

He assured me that concerns regarding younger generations in the workforce were no longer relevant. "All bets are off", he said, because the economy is in dire straights and younger generations will have to go back to kissing up and climbing corporate ladders.

Not so fast! For starters, the economic mess we've found ourselves in is not a permanent situation. And it certainly isn't going to stop people from aging.

Forty percent of our workforce will be eligible to retire in 2010. Whether all 40% retire at once, or stagger their retirements throughout the next several years, that percentage will continue to increase with each passing year.

Meanwhile, more Ys will enter the workforce. In fact, by 2011 Ys will likely outnumber the Boomers, and we know Ys will support the Xers in their quest for leadership and change.

The economy might be in the toilet, but all bets are certainly not off.

Further food for thought: whether it happens sooner or later, the exodus of the Boomers from the workforce will leave a talent gap in their wake. Yes, Generation Y is the largest generation but they span ages 26-14. It's going to be a while until those 14 year olds can catch up and take the reigns vacated by Boomers.

Even now it's critical that employers start preparing for the talent gap, realizing that in the not-too-distant future they will need to compete for talent. How your company handles its hiring processes and layoffs when times are tough, can influence its position when times are prosperous.

The once-private process of giving pink slips is becoming increasingly public, whether a firm likes it or not. Know that layoffs will be blogged about, live-tweeted, Facebook'ed - ever more the reason to make sure your communication is sharp. Consider this:

Jerry Yang, founder and CEO of Yahoo!, sent out a memo (all in lowercase letters) about the company's mass layoffs of 1,500 employees. The event made news because employees Twittered about their experience. One employee posted a series of roughly 20 'tweets' detailing his laying-off experience.

Shortly thereafter, the board fired Yang. Some critics assume that Yang's casual approach to the cutbacks, which received widespread negative attention, spurred the board's decision to eliminate Yang.

One of the first things Zappos.com's chief executive did when he laid off 125 people was Twitter and blog about it. Likewise, the VP of HR at Thomas Nelson blogged about a job cut of 50 people, first to explain the situation, and then to address rumors related to the cuts.

Each of these tales show we're in a new era of transparency and outreach because of technology. Be ready. All bets are not off, so don't stop thinking about tomorrow. It--they--will soon be here.