A summary of things you should know about Widgets according to Rodd Wagner: Introduction In this episode Rodd Wagner shares an in-depth preview of his book, Widgets, where he discussesRead More
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]]>In this episode Rodd Wagner shares an in-depth preview of his book, Widgets, where he discusses 12 rules for managing employees as if they’re real people.
In his book Wagner provides important and actionable insights into the behavioral drivers of employee engagement – what motivates them, how they think, how they learn, how they act. The goal of the book is to teach you how to use reciprocity as a key motivator in employee performance, adapt new employees to the work environment, and become the best manager you can be.
This book is perfect for entrepreneurs who want to run an organization with a determination to engage, motivate, and positively affect employees as well as people in general.
I think two things make Widgets different. One is that I questioned all the assumptions because so many things had changed. This is not just another engagement book, I really took stock using research, trends, friend’s research, and powerful stories to really help a leader, manager, or entrepreneur understand where we are right now. I think the other thing that makes it different is that I did begin my career as a police reporter so my writing style is not that of a typical business book. I call it as I see it.
I would suggest starting with the first two chapters that lay the foundation but from there if people want to jump around it’s not a problem at all. Actually, in the case of this book, at the very beginning we give the reader a web address where they can take the self-assessment that emerged from the research that was used to write the book.
The most important point that I tell leaders who I am advising is that your employees motivation is in your hands, not because you control them but because people are so reciprocal. I guarantee that if you follow the twelve new rules of engagement they will do for your company what you need them to do.
There are twelve central chapters, one about each of the new rules. And then there are two chapters at the beginning of those twelve rules and two chapters at the end. The first two chapters start by framing human nature and our current situation.
The number one rule is get inside their heads, individualize and understand that person to figure out where they are right now.
The second rule is to make them fearless, don’t freak them out or have them so consumed by what’s going to be happening with the business that they can’t do their job.
Third rule is to make money a non-issue. Make sure that you are paying them competitively and generously so that it takes money off the table and they can concentrate on their jobs.
The fourth rule is to help them thrive. Make sure that what you are doing at the company is not burning them out.
The fifth rule is to be cool. This is not a rule that would have come up ten years ago but people want to work for a cool company and have an enjoyable time at work.
Sixth rule is to be boldly transparent and tell people everything you can possibly tell them. We live in an age of social media and they are going to find out anyway so you should be the one to tell them.
Number seven is to not kill the meaning. People come to your company because there is something about your organization that they already find meaningful.
Number eight is to see their future. We are future oriented people and you need to be as deliberate about where your employees will be in five years as where you want your company to be in five years.
Rule number nine is to magnify their success. Help your employee know when they’ve done a good job. Rule ten is to unite them and set up the conditions where they can be a solid team. Number eleven is let them lead. And the last rule is to take it to extremes.
The second to the last chapter of the book is a cautionary tale about all the dumb things that get done in an employee engagement work and how they can backfire on you.
And the final chapter is about what I call the Profitable Pursuit of Happiness. There are a lot of people in the engagement industry that say don’t make your people happy, just make them engaged by which they really mean shut up and get back to work. This is something employees won’t put up with.
If you want people to work as hard as they can for the company they are going to expect happiness in the bargain. (highlight to share)
NOTE: That was just a summary. To get the full deep dive, play the audio clip at 06:58
“It’s not that corporations are bad and people are good. Corporations are powerful and people are reciprocal. How an enterprise wields its power determines how its employees will deliver.” – Rodd Wagner
I began my career as a newspaper reporter covering police and the courts and so I developed a very direct business writing style. I was frustrated by the way I saw my newspaper at the time being managed and so I went to business school and got a MBA. From there I migrated to a couple research jobs on the business side of media companies and eventually joined Gallup where I was a principle for twelve years. I’ve been a practice leader at BI World Wide for the past three years during which my colleagues and I have been doing the research that lead to the book, Widgets.
The Good Jobs Strategy by Zeynep Ton
Buy Widgets by Rodd Wagner on Amazon today
Visit WidgetsTheBook.com to learn more about Rodd and his book
Follow Rodd Wagner on Twitter
Download the full transcript here (coming soon)
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher , and SoundCloud
Related books:
Make It Matter by Scott Mautz
Managing Whole People by Mark Herbert
The Hidden Leader by Scott Edinger
Relevant advice and tips:
5 Characteristics of A Great Leader
What did you like and not like about this episode? Fill out this one minute survey here.
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]]>A summary of things you should know about The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make according to Hans Finzel: Introduction In this episode Hans Finzel takes a deep dive into hisRead More
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]]>In this episode Hans Finzel takes a deep dive into his book, The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make, where he shares the common mistakes leaders need to overcome.
In his book Finzel provides newly updated stories and strategies from very successful leaders who have once made continuous mistakes when it comes to effectively leading others. The goal of the book is to teach you what effective leadership looks like, how to overcome typical bad habits that come with being a leader, and how to take your leadership skills to the next level.
This book is perfect for entrepreneurs who are emerging leaders and wish to prevent or improve upon common bad habits that many leaders continue to struggle with.
I think one of the biggest differences is that I have done leadership for 30 years and so I write from experience. This book is very practical, simple, and useable.
You can easily jump in and jump out. Each of the ten chapters are standalone ideas.
The one principle action item that I would want the reader to take away is to learn to be a servant leader, not a top down leader. A servant leader puts the good of the team in front of their own selfish desires.
Firstly, I want the reader to know that I have personally made all 10 of these mistakes and learned from them all. I chose these top 10 because as I went on my journey as a CEO of a 35 million dollar international nonprofit and I began to conclude that these were the top 10 of all the mistakes that I see leaders make.
Of all the leadership sins the number one mistake leaders make is the top down attitude. Most think that they are on top because they are the smartest, they founded the company, and they know best. This is the worst mistake a leader can make and I talk to people all the time that work under these leaders and they get very, very frustrated.
The second mistake is putting paperwork before people work. 90% of effectiveness in leadership is people skills, the software of working well with people. But the higher you go into leadership there is more paperwork and technology that stands in the way of giving yourself to people.
The third mistake is the absence of affirmation. What could be better than a pay raise? It’s been proven that people praise affirmation and sometimes this is a blind spot for leaders. People desperately need affirmation and it’s a huge piece of leadership.
The fourth mistake is that there is no room for mavericks. A leader makes a mistake if they don’t allow mavericks to thrive and a maverick is just an entrepreneur that doesn’t follow rules. This chapter will show you how to cultivate people who think outside the box.
Chapter five covers dictatorship and decision making, Getting Beyond I Know All the Answers. This whole idea of being a dictator in decision making frustrates people so much because they want to have a part in the big decisions of the company.
Chapter six is what I call Dirty Delegation, Refusing to Relax and Let Go. When I ask an audience what is it the most that frustrates them about their boss, I get this response all the time. In this chapter I go into all the reasons why really gifted and high power leaders don’t delegate well.
Chapter seven is Communication Chaos and this is just about clear lines and clarity in the organization.
Chapter eight covers missing the clues of corporate culture and a leader has to understand this if they are going to lead through it.
Chapter nine is Success without a Successor, Planning Your Departure the Day You Start. One of the final acts of great leadership is to cultivate the people who will replace you. I don’t think you should see that at a threat but a really great leader can go on vacation because they have trained other people to step in. If you can never go on vacation because the place will fall apart without you, you’re not cultivating successors.
Finally, Chapter 10 is Failure to Focus on The Future. We have to be listeners and learners because the future where we are going to sell our business is so very different from the past or the present.
NOTE: That was just a summary. To get the full deep dive, play the audio clip at 05:20
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men and women to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” –Theodore Roosevelt
I was born and raised in Huntsville Alabama. My father was a rocket scientist and a part of NASA. I have spent my career mostly in the nonprofit world and became more and more interested in leadership after 20 years as a CEO of one of the nonprofits. I eventually left to start my own work fulltime helping leaders and managers do a better job. My passion is to really help leaders take their leadership to the next level. Today I do a lot of podcasting on leadership and I keep turning out books because I love to write about leadership. Lastly, I am a father of four kids and married to a wonderful wife.
The inspiration came after working under a bad leader. I worked for a guy that just totally frustrated me and stood in the way of my visions and dreams for what I wanted to do. He crushed my spirit to the point where I lost respect and finally left. When I became a leader I wanted to study how to be a good leader, not a bad leader and how to empower people instead of frustrating people.
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Buy The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make by Hans Finzel on Amazon today
Visit HansFinzel.com to learn more about Hans and his books
Follow Hans Finzel on Facebook and Twitter
Download the full transcript here (coming soon)
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher , and SoundCloud
Related books:
Make It Matter by Scott Mautz
Everybody Paddles by Charles Archer
The Culture Engine by Chris Edmonds
Relevant advice and tips:
5 Characteristics of A Great Leader
What did you like and not like about this episode? Fill out this one minute survey here.
The post A Preview of The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make with Hans Finzel appeared first on The Entrepreneurs Library.
]]>A summary of things you should know about Make It Matter according to Scott Mautz: Introduction In the episode Scott Mautz takes a deep dive into his book, Make ItRead More
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]]>In the episode Scott Mautz takes a deep dive into his book, Make It Matter, where he shows you how managers can motivate by creating meaning and personal significance.
In his book Mautz shares years of research, case studies, and techniques in an all-in-one how to guide for energizing, motivating, and encouraging employees to put in the most effort. The goal of the book is to help you add meaning to any organizational mission, find the internal significance of every employee, eliminate negativity from the workplace, and create unique opportunities of personal growth.
This book is perfect for entrepreneurs who run an organization of 5 or more employees and are looking for the best ways to create a work environment that mimic the best places to work.
I am pretty certain that I am the first author to ever put data to the concept that creating meaning at work is a great way to motivate. I also include dozens and dozens of practical tools that you can apply the very minute after you finish reading the book.
I suggest reading it once through and then go back and use it as a reference guide.
If I had to pinpoint one thing it’d be the concept of what I talk about in that book of what I call profound performance. I’ve learned that when you facilitate meaning it not only drives the employees to engage, it takes them beyond engagement to elevate a performance in true fulfillment. There are so many things that can capture an employee’s time and attention very temporarily but meaning holds the engagement of the employees at the deepest and most fulfilling level that sustains over the long haul.
The book is divided into ten chapters.
In the first chapter, Why Meaning Matters, I really paint the case for just that. The truth is that way too many of us feel a lack of true significance and meaning in how we spend our precious hours at work. In this chapter I lay the case out and put hard data to how the creation of meaning can serve as a competitive advantage in what I call compassionate advantage.
I dive into chapter two, The Markers of Meaning, and things get really interesting here because I have found through my research that there are seven distinct markers of meaning that when you intentionally meet them you can drive meaning and fulfillment. The markers are divided into three sections, when you yield a calming and clarifying sense of interdiction, when you create conditions that lead to a satisfying sense of self-discovery and growth, and when you create conditions that engender devotion to ones work at a deeper connection between the employer and employees in a greater good. And I get really specific within that.
In chapter three I start to dig deeply into each marker meaning. This chapter, The potency of Purpose, I walk through very specifically how as a manager you can carve for yourself or carve out for your people a six step path to purpose. If you follow these six steps I can promise you that by the time you’re done you will have identified what you want your purpose at work to be.
I move on to the fourth chapter where I talk about how to leave your legacy behind. This chapter is broken into two pieces and the first part is called the five footprints of legacy. Then I round out this chapter with what I call The Five Step Footpath to Leaving Legacy Worthy Results at Work.
In chapter five I talk about the power of learning and personal growth at work. I spell out seven very specific ways you can craft an environment that’s rich with learning and personal growth.
In Chapter six I talk about the next core marker of meaning and way to create a sense of Significance at work which is to create a meaningful decision making and influence based culture as well. When people feel like they are a part of making decisions it is incredibly motivating and I spell it out as well as eight things you can do to create autonomy as a manager.
Chapter seven moves on to teach you how to create cultures of consequence and those are cultures that are built on a core of caring, authenticity, and teamwork.
In chapter eight we talk about meaning making leadership very specifically. I talk about how as a leader you can create meaning more so than any of your competitors and I go over four traits of meaning making leadership.
In chapter nine I go the other way and talk about cutting off corrosive behaviors or behaviors that can destroy a sense of certainty, confidence, or community.
I round off the book in chapter ten on how to weave all of the concepts together into a meaning making plan and I provide a couple of options for how to do that.
NOTE: That was just a summary. To get the full deep dive, play the audio clip at 05:29
“We are all at a pivotal moment in life; we just may not know it and you have to live as if you did.” – Scott Mautz
I am an author as of March 4th, when Make It Matter hit the streets. I am also a keynotes speaker and have a fulltime job as a director at Procter & Gamble where I run the company’s largest business. And over my 20 plus years at Procter & Gamble I have run a number of different businesses all multimillion dollars in size.
I have been studying the field of motivation for almost a decade and about seven years ago I discovered a stunning statistic that has been proven over and over again. Which is that almost 70% of us may actually be coated as disengaged at work and even if you’ve heard that statistic before, what’s stunning is that is doesn’t get any better. Year after year the data will show you it keeps declining so whatever we are doing to motivate clearly cannot be working. That has been haunting me for the last half dozen years and I really started working hard at trying to find a way to crack this code. I came across this concept that it’s not pay, it’s not perks, and it’s not promotion, it’s really meaning where you can bring significance into your work and make it matter more. That’s what kept me going and was the inspiration behind this book.
Good to Great by Jim Collins
Buy Make It Matter by Scott Mautz on Amazon today
Visit ScottMautz.com to learn more about Scott and his book
Follow Scott Mautz on Facebook and Twitter
Download the full transcript here (coming soon)
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher , and SoundCloud
Related books:
Everybody Paddles by Charles Archer
The Hidden Leader by Scott Edinger
The Best Place to Work by Ron Friedman
What did you like and not like about this episode? Fill out this one minute survey here.
The post A Preview of Make It Matter with Scott Mautz appeared first on The Entrepreneurs Library.
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