E-Tip 263 - The Power of Corporate Gift Giving

Normally, our e-tips focus on ways to improve someone's leadership skills and strengthen their management skills. Nevertheless, with the holiday season only weeks away, we decided to discuss a leadership tool often overlooked or underused: the value and power of corporate gift giving.

Corporate gift giving is more than just an exercise in tradition -- it is a source of energy for team unity and positive employee attitude. Corporate gifts show employees that you value them, and are proven to increase morale and drive throughout the office.

The Best & Worst Corporate Gifts.

Bizjournals, the online division of American City Business Journals, conducted a survey with 200+ businesses about corporate holiday gift giving. In the article (click here to read the article) you will find the "do's" and "don'ts'" of corporate gift giving along with testimonies about the most successful corporate gifts and the effects they had on the recipients.

Here Is A Small Example From The Article...

According to Bizjournals, food gifts are generally received favorably, but only when some effort has been put into them. In other words, plain old popcorn in a can will not go over as well as, say, Omaha steaks.

Click here to read Bizjournals' survey on the best/worst corporate holiday gifts.

Ultimately, it is virtually impossible to please everyone that you give a gift to, but that does not mean you should not give one. What we suggest is to try to put a more personalized touch on your corporate gift giving.

As we have discussed before, being an effective leader is paramount to the success of your team structure. And as any smart leader knows, maximizing relationships is the fastest way to build strong and dynamic teams. They also know that giving a corporate gift is another tool that can help them achieve this and should not be dismissed as just a handout to the recipients.

Executive Summary: The past few years have been hard on the American workforce; companies everywhere have endured tremendous stress and pressure from the tumultuous economic climate. This holiday season, more than ever before, it is important for companies to celebrate their employees' hard work through holiday gifts. By taking heed of Bizjournals' findings, you can avoid giving gifts that feel like handouts and instead give gifts that make people feel appreciated, and that appreciation will translate to increased work drive.

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E-Tip 262 - 10 Tips to Help You Maximize Your Leadership Skills

Having been in the professional training industry for many years, I am often asked what type of leadership tips could augment our leadership classes. With that in mind, I have put together a number of tips to help you or someone you know become a better leader.

10 Tips To Help You Maximize Your Leadership Skills:

1. Build Better Relationships - Great leaders know the value of relationships. Know who people are, what is important to them and what motivates them. Knowing this will help you understand their goals and how you can support them. When you help people, they will care about you and your goals in return.

2. Get To Know People On A Personal Level - If you take the time to get to know someone you like, they will no doubt come to like you, too. Furthermore, it is always nice to ask people about their family and interests. You will also find that if people like you, they will be more open to helping you and taking the extra time to get things done.

3. Develop A Mentoring Program - Great leaders know that mentoring someone will not only help develop that person's career, but also help them refine their skills.

4. Be Upbeat And Stay Positive - In the business world, it is easy to criticize what everyone does and be negative . . . especially in this economy. As a leader, you need to find ways to stay positive and find ways to do things better, faster and more effectively. It is important to remember that people are not perfect, and while you do need to call someone on their poor performance, great leaders know the value of acknowledging when people are doing things right. Doing so builds a positive work environment that helps make people feel appreciated.

5. Know Your Strengths - We are all better at some things than others are. That being said, you will find that it is better to spend time working on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. By working on your strengths, you will find you can rise to the expert level sooner than you would by working on your weaknesses. Bottom line: Know what you are good at and keep at it.

6. Surround Yourself With People Who Complement You - As I mentioned above, we all have strengths and weaknesses. Great leaders know what their weaknesses are and find people who support their shortcomings. Not because they need to cover their weaknesses, but because they know the benefit of having a strong team -- and when the team wins everyone wins.

7. Look At Your Career, Not So Much At The Company - Great leaders know that they are the ones who will create their own career path; therefore, they will work on making it happen. And once they become an expert in their selected career, they will find that they can go almost anywhere they want.

8. Respect Your People - If you do not like to be around people, let alone lead people, then do not take a leadership position. Conversely, if you do want to be in a leadership position, start building relationships with people by respecting what they do. Additionally, it is important that a great leader never miss an opportunity to learn more about the people behind them. Great leaders never skip an employee's birthday gathering or a holiday party because they are too busy -- they know that work will always be there.

9. Balance Your Work And Personal Life - Great leaders are often times driven people, but they know the key to success is to balance work and family. Life is too short for you to live at your job. One day, when work is winding down, you will think to yourself I wished I had changed things. Unfortunately, it will be too late to do so. Great leaders set career boundaries and know when to spend more time with family and friends. Doing this will make you a stronger leader.

10. Evolve Into Someone You Want To Become - Great leaders know that they are individuals and that as an individual, they are not required to be like everyone else. They also know they can take the path less traveled, as the risk is sometimes greater than the reward. If you want to be a great leader, become a person of great interest who has great skills.

Executive Summary: Great leaders know the power of information when it comes time to leading people, information they gather from listening to people they respect. They also know what to say, how to say it and when to say it so that during tough times things get done.

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E-Tip 261 - Great Leaders Have These Traits...

Many owners and executives often ask us what makes a great leader, and what types of skills or traits they should look for in an up-and-coming person. From what we can tell, the fastest way a talented person can learn to become a great leader is to have a mentor, attend seminars and take leadership courses. Sure, certain people have a natural ability to lead others, but great leadership skills are not developed overnight.

Based On Personal Experience And Research, We Have Determined That Great Leaders Have These Traits:

§ A great leader writes down their goals and reads them daily.

§ A great leader is able to inspire workers to work

both smarter and harder. Instead of firing someone,

great leaders know how to get their staff to do their

best.

§ A great leader is open toward learning; they seek wisdom and knowledge from everyday experiences.

§ A great leader does not fear doing what is right, and uses the right words at the right time.

§ A great leader respects people's differences and their opinions.

§ A great leader is willing to take the first step into an unknown challenge and knows how to help others do the same.

§ A great leader knows how to self-motivate.

§ A great leader makes people feel they are important and shows genuine appreciation toward other people.

§ A great leader will tackle tough assignments without complaining about how difficult the environment or situation is for them.

§ A great leader knows the value of preparation.

§ A great leader knows how to teach their knowledge to others; they are great mentors.

§ A great leader is not self-centered; they care about sharing the success with others.

§ A great leader is proactive in getting things done and is willing to take chances.

The Key To Being A Leader

Some of the most important characteristics of a leader are their ability to:

• Provide others with vision
• Motivate others to do a better job
• Inspire people
• Help others to become an innovator
• Help others to become successful
• Share in success
• Recognize people on their accomplishments

Executive Summary: Successful leaders choose to lead and their skill or ability will determine the size of their business, company and even their position in the work place.

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E-Tip 260 - 4 Tips to Drive Innovation at Your Business

Most experienced managers know how important it is to have people provide them with creative ideas because they understand that they cannot experience any type of growth if they try to go at it alone. And without a team approach to creativity, the spark of innovation is quickly extinguished. In fact, many people want to be in a position where their input is not only accepted but also implemented.

How To Drive Innovation At Your Business.

If you cannot innovate, your business you will end up leaving the door open for your customers to look elsewhere for a solution to their problems. To help you differentiate yourself in the marketplace through innovation, we have developed 4 tips that are sure to help drive results at your business:

Tip #1. Acknowledge The Importance Of Other People -Good leaders know the importance of sharing credit when a group comes up with creative ideas. Good leaders also know that their staff will continue to contribute new ideas when their ideas are acknowledged -- even if their idea is not always implemented.

Tip #2. Be Proactive In Asking Your Staff For Their Ideas, Thoughts And Opinions - Face it, you are leading a group of people and must make sure the process and procedures are followed; however, there is nothing wrong with being proactive by asking people for their thoughts on how to get something done faster and better. Do not underestimate your people. They most certainly know more than you think.

Tip #3. Do Not Voice Your Ideas First - We all know there are many people in the business world who like to "play it safe" by not stepping out of bounds with new ideas or suggestions. Be sure to draw out potential ideas by asking them to give you their ideas first, before you give them your own.

Tip #4. Recognize Someone's Innovative Ideas - One particularly strong aspect of human nature is an unconscious demand for approval. This is built into our DNA and is something we all want and need. To maximize someone's potential, do something that recognizes their contribution, such as a small gesture like a $5 gift card for a local coffee stop. Remember, it is more about recognizing their contribution than the reward itself.

Here Are Some Additional Recommendations Based On What Great Leaders Do:

• Tell people you appreciate their input; more people leave their company for lack of recognition rather than lack of money.
• Work on catching people doing something innovative.
• Take responsibility for the "happiness" of your department.
• Ask people for their opinions.
• Tap the creative and innovative perspective of all your employees -- no matter how long they have been at the business.
• Take every opportunity to ask a question and then listen intently to someone's answer.
• Allow creativity by having an open discussion about all types of possible solutions/innovations.
• There are no wrong answers, just better answers when innovating a business.
• Set up a specific time and topic that asks people for their ideas and suggestions on innovating the business and ask them to bring 10 new ideas to the meeting. Provide them with a document beforehand that reads along the lines of "What are 10 ideas on innovating or marketing X, Y and Z."

Executive Summary: Great leaders promote and drive innovation by having a strong and creative team behind them. Yes, technology and money will often drive innovation, but more often it is the realignment of a business' current assets (people and technology) that makes all the difference.

Your Next Step: If you want to find out more about how Dale Carnegie® Training can make your business more effective, or need more information on this subject, please send us an e-mail at the address below.

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E-Tip 259 - Successful Family Succession Planning

Approximately 80% of all businesses in the U.S. are family owned. Unfortunately, most of them never survive beyond the initial generation because the founders and those who hope to succeed them cannot agree on five key areas:

1. The needs and interest of the business.
2. Changes in expectations and commitments.
3. Lack of communication.
4. Lack of adequate succession planning.
5. Failure to separate family needs from business management needs.

In a typical business, the needs of the individuals are a distant second to the company's goal; however, in a family owned business, the needs of certain individuals sometimes overshadows the needs of the business . . . which often times leads to family problems.

The Typical CEO Stays In His/Her Job An Average Of Five To Seven Years . .

Often times CEOs stay on for five to seven years, but in family-owned businesses, the owner stays in their position a lot longer while their children and/or family members sit back until he or she decides to move aside . . . a process that causes tension in the family.

Family-Business Owners Need To Take A Serious Look At Their Own Needs, Their Family Needs And Their Business Needs.

To help family owned businesses succeed, we strongly suggest discussing succession planning sooner rather than later. Statistically speaking, by the time a company is in its third or fourth generation, family members and individual needs tend to be disjointed which often leads to the company being sold off or dissolved altogether.

Three Areas Where Family Members Often Disagree Or Run Into Problems.

1. Someone wanting to take more income out of a business vs. reinvesting it into new technology or equipment.

2. Hiring a family member for employment vs. looking at the needs of their company.

3. Certain family members want to take the business in a new direction vs. keeping the business as "status quo."

Most family businesses can continue without interruptions if members can bring into line the following:

• Provide career opportunities for family members.
• Understand that ownership must be purchased at a fair price.
• Agree to develop clear guidelines for everyone's involvement.
• Develop clear guidelines on management systems and procedures.

Summary: Succession planning can be done on an informal or formal basis, but must be done nonetheless. That said, we suggest meeting three to four times a year to ensure everyone is on board with the current business practices, understanding issues and opportunities. If not, your business will run the risk of operating in areas that are unclear; costing the business tens of thousands of dollars a year. Second, these meetings provide a forum for talking about areas of interest, problem issues and roles, both short term and long term for all those involved.

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