Is It a Family or a Business?

    Is It a Family or a Business?

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    Family businesses are perhaps the most complex organizations combining two different and potentially conflicting value systems – the family and the business. Very few family business leaders successfully implement a “both/and” approach to managing this inherent overlap between their family and their business to effectively prioritize both at the same time. Neither is right nor wrong per se, and both very clearly serve a purpose. The question then for any family business owner is whether or not you prioritize the family or the business. Or do you do both? 

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    Vacation: The True Sign of a Great Leader

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    As summer quickly comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on the many different leaders I have the privilege of coaching these days. One of whom actually took an extended 4-week vacation this summer, and another who worked her way through a shorter 1-week family trip to Hawaii.

    Let’s be clear. I am not judging either of these otherwise very busy and successful results-oriented executives. One for leaving his team to their own devices for an entire month. One for not getting the quality get-away with her family that she had expected. I’m simply recognizing the value of getting away for some good old-fashioned R&R from time to time. The physical and emotional break from work not only gives our bodies the rest they need but also gives our minds the fresh perspective to contribute when we return to work. 

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    Five Unconventional Ways Modern Leaders Become More Productive

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    What impact would being more productive have on the results you produce? On your leadership and personal development? On your business’ bottom line?

    Imagine how much more you could contribute to your organization if you could increase your productivity. Even by just a little bit. Like other skills, productivity is something you can develop. You can cultivate it. It’s possible you could be more productive than ever before! 

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    Communication as the Foundation for Implementing Positive Changes

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    Have you ever wanted to change something only to realize that others don’t want to change?  Whether you’re trying to implement a simple process change with your direct team or transform your whole company, organizational change doesn’t just happen because you have what you think is a good idea or because you want it to happen.  People resist change for a variety of reasons, so it is critical to communicate what that change is all about to those who will be most affected by it if you want them to embrace your changes like you do. 

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    Dr. Jeremy Lurey Leads Webinar on Best Practices for Recruiting & Retaining Warehouse Talent

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    International Association for Refrigerated Warehouses
    Best Practices for Recruiting and Retaining Your Warehouse Talent

     

    • Date: Tuesday, August 29, 2017
    • Time: 2:00pm – 3:00pm EDT
    • Location: Online webinar
    • Registration: Click here to register and receive more information.

    Recruiting and retaining a quality workforce is a challenge for warehouses across the world. In a specialized and often difficult environment, refrigerated warehousing jobs can be stressful and demanding for even the most dedicated employees. So how do we attract new employees to join our companies under these difficult conditions? Maybe more importantly, how do we retain them once they are on board? Join CHIEFEXECcoach CEO Dr. Jeremy Lurey on August 29th when he will help distribution and warehouse leaders better understand the employee life-cycle and what they can do to enhance this employee experience. He will also review several best practices for attracting new employees to join our companies and then developing and retaining them once they are on board. Click here to register and receive more information about this engaging and interactive webinar program.

    How Much is Developing Your Employees Worth?

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    I remember years ago when the cost of employee turnover was calculated to be 150% of an employee’s annual salary. That amount included any internal recruitment costs, external search fees, and hiring and on-boarding expenses as well as the simple loss in productivity associated with losing and then replacing a talented worker. While that may have been more accurate for higher-level leaders and professional staff, recent research still suggests that the average cost of replacing an employee who earns less than $50,000 per year, or more than 40% of Workforce America, amounts to 20% of the person’s annual salary.

    So is it worth up to $10,000 per year for you to develop and retain your most talented workers? What about $300,000 – or more – for your most seasoned senior executives? 

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    Dr. Jeremy Lurey Leads Webinar on Succession Planning & Strategies for Leveraging a Multigenerational Workforce

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    Succession Planning: Strategies for Leveraging a Multigenerational Workforce

     

    • Date: Wednesday, August 30, 2017
    • Time: 2:00pm – 3:30pm EDT
    • Location: Online webinar
    • Registration: Click here to register and receive more information.

    Your organization likely employs multiple generations of employees, from Boomers to Millennials. With such diversity, how can you identify and coach your next generation of leaders? Which of their widely varying skills and motivations should be developed to have the biggest bottom-line impact on your organization’s future? Plus, there’s your Board: how can you gain their buy-in for a proactive and dynamic approach to succession planning? Join CHIEFEXECcoach CEO Dr. Jeremy Lurey on August 30th when he will share a proven approach for adapting to these rapidly shifting workforce trends in the workplace with you and other executive leaders. In addition to learning the crucial elements of a “NextGen” succession plan, you will also review an actual case study that shares real-world implementation lessons learned from a recent business succession transition. Click here or contact us for more information about this engaging and interactive webinar program.

    Eight Great Ways to Engage Your Employees & Make Your Mission Matter

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    I regularly facilitate Innovation Workshops with leadership teams to help them establish their visions for the future. During these sessions, leaders regularly ask me how they can keep their Mission and organizational Values alive after these highly interactive group sessions. It’s not uncommon for a Mission statement to have a very short life of inspiring others for a few months or maybe a year before quickly fading away. Just imagine if you don’t ever share your Mission or related Values with any of your new hires who come on board after the workshop how it would have less and less impact on the organization over time.

    So how do you keep everyone’s attention on your Mission statement when so much time has passed? There must be a way to keep it top of mind as opposed to having it fall off the radar, right? The following are eight great ways to engage your employees in your business and keep your Mission and Values alive so they do matter to your work.

    1. Road Test & Refine – Some leaders think that once they develop a Mission statement or identify some core Values that they will magically appear in their organization and positively impact employee performance overnight. Remember, when you draft your Mission statement that only a select few even know it exists. Sometimes, it might be just you! The next critical step is to road test it with other key leaders and refine it as needed based on the feedback you gather. Note I said “key leaders” not “senior executives”. While you will surely want executive buy-in, you may want to share the draft Mission and Values with your more influential employees, including select individual contributors and customer-facing staff. Most notably, wouldn’t you want your receptionist (aka, “Director of First Impressions”) to espouse your core Values and live your Mission in every one of his/her interactions every day?

    2. Showcase Star Performers – Beyond having your staff acknowledge each other, it is incredibly motivating for senior leadership to recognize their star performers too. You could do this verbally during those same staff meetings. Consider how powerful it would be, though, if you distributed a message to all staff every Friday afternoon or perhaps the first day of the month to explicitly recognize those individuals who best personify what it is you and your Company stand for. Be specific about what these individuals did to live your Mission and Values as well as how they were recognized.

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    Five Ways to Empower Your Employees &
    Be a Better Leader

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    An important aspect of being a leader is the ability to identify your team members’ unique talents and then help them to shine. By bringing out the best in each of your employees, you will end up with a high-performing team that is loyal to you and motivated to deliver great results. Here are five tips for empowering your employees and finding that “special sauce”.

    1. Identify Personality Strengths & Differences

    Your team likely consists of a diverse group of personalities who each bring something different to the table. One great way to identify your staff members’ unique strengths and talents (as well as their potential stumbling blocks) is to use personality assessments like DiSC or Myers Briggs. These tools can help your team members increase their self-awareness and gain keen insights into their natural abilities not to mention promote interesting conversations and appreciation for one another.

    Review the assessment results yourself and identify ways to use this new understanding to align your team more effectively. For example, perhaps that quiet, introverted member of the marketing team doesn’t speak much during meetings, but if given a chance she could write truly compelling copy or do a great job

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