Why is it that, according to a Fortune survey, 82% of CEOs were concerned about their companies’ ability to execute the company plan?  Why is it that only 27% of the time the workload of employees are considered in making these plans?  Why is it that only 5% of managers can really articulate their company’s strategy?  One company recently bragged it had over 100 initiatives to achieve its customer loyalty strategy. What do you think the odds are that they will make excellent progress?  Kotter says 70-75% of these change efforts don’t work or meet expectations.

This Catch-22 of grand strategies and failed attempts plague businesses and managers everywhere.  There are many reasons for the failures–here are the top ten:

• Lack of clear goals
• Lack of buy-in
• Resistance to change
• Too many priorities
• No accountability for results
• Lack of capability in the team or resources
• Poor on-going communication
• Little personal responsibility
• Lack of planning detail
• Rewards not tied to success

Then of course, disaster strikes when the company has the wrong strategy, like what has happened with a large clothing retailer recently.  All of these obstacles tend to paralyze or demoralize employees and managers alike to produce poorer results. It costs companies millions of dollars in lower productivity.  Ineffective managers lose potential career opportunities and rewards.  So, what can you do as a manager to overcome this and SUCCEED?

To begin with, focus on these four key principles:  Clarity, Competence, Commitment and Consistency. These will help you become more effective than others, and most likely gain you flawless execution, which will be noticed by top management.

Clarity

Once you know the strategy, establish your goals and plans. Include your team in this process; you will get better ideas and buy-in. Then, review this with your boss for input and confirmation.  Create individual plans for each employee. Then, track results and discuss these with your team regularly. We have found that 80% of performance issues are because a lack of clear expectations and goals.

Competence

Ensure that your team can win by making sure that they have the knowledge and skills they need.  Schedule regular on-going training to support your team.  Partner with your HR team for parts of it and the rest you could do yourself by enhancing your own knowledge and skills.  ‘Best In Class’ managers deliver 50-60 hours or more of training to their teams every year.  And, they conduct one on one sessions at least monthly with each employee. Guess what? Their employees outperform everyone else!

 Commitment

 You have to work at gaining your team’s belief and trust in implementing goals and plans. It starts with you being a better leader, where your team knows that you can lead them on to greater success.  Include them in your planning, as discussed. Give them the credit and recognition for a job well done. Follow-through on your commitments.  Make yourself readily available, show that you care about each person’s success on the job, and learn to listen to your team.  These types of behaviors will help you build a team that will go the extra mile for you. These means become a leader-coach.

 Consistency

Finally, you must execute day in and day out, not once in a while.  This is all about renewing your team on a daily basis. In each of the above areas it means, for example:

• Clarity–review and adapt goals for more effectiveness on a weekly or monthly basis.
• Competence–training and coaching needs to be done on a regular schedule all year long.
• Commitment–this is about the work climate you create and the teamwork you establish by doing business with integrity and caring.

Remember these words, “Leadership consistency means following a good plan even when it is inconvenient and hard. And, as you do, raising your performance to another level of effectiveness.”

Do you want to assess your leadership potential and improve your effectiveness? If so, check out this complimentary self-assessment:

http://wcwpartners.com/superstar-leadership-model-self-assessment-download/

Also, do you want to continue your self-development and advance your career? If so, check out our new book on leadership:

http://wcwpublishing.com/wcw-programs/performance-improvement-books/superstar-leadership-model/#

Execution of business strategy determines the winners and losers today in the marketplace. For example, many companies have strategies to improve customer loyalty. Nationally the customer satisfaction rate is 76.3 according to ACSI. This is at best average, and is an indicator that many companies are wasting their efforts. Kotter says 75% of efforts to change fail. The majority of leaders today are skeptical about their managers’ ability to succeed in implementing the company plan. This bears poorly for any manager’s opportunity to climb the corporate ladder. This video will give managers 4 key approaches for brilliant execution of any objective and action plan.

By the way, do you want more information to improve your leadership effectiveness? Check out this complimentary assessment: http://wcwpartners.com/superstar-leadership-model-self-assessment-download/

Or, do you want a more in-depth proven process to make a bottom line impact improving your customer experience? Then check out this book: http://wcwpublishing.com/wcw-programs/performance-improvement-books/superstar-leadership-model/ Rick Conlow is CEO & Co-Founder of WCW Partners, Inc. and co-author of the SuperSTAR Selling, Superstar Leadership and twelve other books.

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Most managers today are extremely busy chasing multiple priorities. It seems in every organization there is too much to do and not enough time to do it. You will be reminded about what’s important in this video. Rick will use a calculator, an IPhone and a book to demonstrate the positive side of your leadership nature.

By the way, do you want more information to improve your customer experience and loyalty? Check out this complimentary assessment: http://wcwpartners.com/superstar-leadership-model-self-assessment-download/

Or, do you want a more in-depth proven process to make a bottom line impact improving your customer experience? Then check out this book: http://wcwpublishing.com/wcw-programs/performance-improvement-books/superstar-leadership-model/

Rick Conlow is CEO & Co-Founder of WCW Partners, Inc. and co-author of the SuperSTAR Selling, Superstar Leadership and twelve other books.
http://www.wcwpartners.com
http://wcwpublishing.com/#
http://wcwpartners.com/our-blog/
1-888-313-0514

Here is the way to start to answer that question. Think of a time in your career when you did your best work ever. Choose a situation that exemplifies your highest performance. Olympic athletes today use technology to analyze personal best performance and then compare it to the best in world. Then they use superb training and coaching to bridge the gap to reach their highest potential.

You can initiate this as well through this mental exercise. Get a clear picture of the event in your mind of what you accomplished. Relive it with as many specifics as you can. Replay it in your mind as if it were a movie. Think of the details – people, problems, sounds, feelings and surroundings. Review in your mind what happened, how you behaved, what you felt and what you achieved. This type of mental rehearsal is called the master skill to high achievement. It helps some people to write you answer to these areas:

• Describe the situation
• Outline the challenge or problem
• Identify your actions as a leader
• Summarize the end result: customer behavior, teamwork, bottom-line metrics
• List 3-5 lessons learned

Too often as managers we replay or review our shortcomings or failures not our successes. We focus on the obstacles not the breakthroughs. This actually can diminish your effectiveness as your attention is on the negative.

Next, ask yourself, how can I replicate this positive experience? What lessons learned can I apply to a current challenge or goal? How can I become even more effective?

To be the best leader you can be, make a commitment to personal development and excellence. Attend leadership course, read new books and listen to CDs or watch DVDs. Get a coach to mentor your activities. If you want to be exceptional, do exceptional things. The difference between winners and losers is that the winners do what losers won’t do at all or won’t do enough of. Author John Maxwell said, “Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential.”

Boil down all the research and literature that describes successful leaders and here’s what you get: they’re passionate about their vocation, they’re goal-oriented, they coach exceptionally well, they involve themselves in ongoing education and training, they have mentors to guide them, and they become superb communicators.

Adapt these characteristics to yourself and you will become, overtime, the best that leader you can be. Finally, remember this, if you want your people to be better you have to be better.

By the way, do you want to learn how to be a more effective leader? If so, I suggest you check out this complimentary leadership assessment: http://wcwpartners.com/superstar-leadership-model-self-assessment-download/
Or, do you want a proven gameplan for leadership effectiveness? If so, check out my new book, http://wcwpartners.com/superstar-leadership-model/

Most companies today have poor to average customer service. It costs them millions in lost sales and profits. Few managers or executives know how to fix the problems. Rick will share the five cultural habits of customer driven companies. Leaders and companies who learn these habits and apply them create gold mines for their organizations.

By the way, do you want more information to improve your customer experience and loyalty? Check out this complimentary article: http://wcwpartners.com/creating-sustainable-customer-loyalty-and-sales-increases-complimentary-download/

Or, do you want a more in-depth proven process to make a bottom line impact improving your customer experience?  Then check out this new EBook: http://wcwpublishing.com/wcw-programs/e-books-leadership-improvement-downloadables/designing-a-superstar-experience/

Rick Conlow is CEO & Co-Founder of WCW Partners, Inc. and co-author of the SuperSTAR Selling, Superstar Leadership and twelve other books. http://wcwpublishing.com/  1-888-313-0514

Here’s a question I received from a manager. Why do people in top management positions allow company politics to influence their business decisions – resulting in actions that, at times, don’t appear to complement the overall company?

Being political means seeking to use or gain position power and influence. Why are leaders so political? Like it or not, politics is partly inherent in their jobs. Leaders are constantly making decisions to gain advantage for the company over competitors, creditors, customers, investors, vendors and, at times, employees. One way to evaluate decisions you think are political is to ask this key question: “Are the decisions being made for the good of the organization or for the executive’s self-interest only?”

Then, too, you must keep in mind that employees usually don’t have access to the same information as upper management and may misinterpret an executive’s actions. Management can minimize the perception that a decision is being made out of political self-interest by constantly communicating to clear up any misunderstandings. When employees draw their own conclusions without management’s the view, the result will often be erroneous.

Some managers have a skewed understanding of how to influence employees in the workplace. Here’s how the owner of a mid-size company operated: “Employees are children,” he said. “Give them sweets once in a while and they’ll be happy and do what you want.” Now, there’s an example of a leader who has low regard for his employees and treats them accordingly. It’s no surprise that there’s high turnover and low morale in his company. In another example of misused power, an owner deliberately pits his managers against one another. What’s the result? The customers receive bad service because internal business departments aren’t cooperating.

Some leaders are extremely greedy and only out for themselves. This is a fact of life. They do what they do to advance their career and position without much regard for others. We see many of these high-profile examples in the news media when their shenanigans are exposed.

Why are managers so political? Part of the reason is certainly human nature and a characteristic of organizations as people jockey for position.. But from a business viewpoint, playing a political game may seem attractive in the short-term, and lead to win-lose situations in the long-term. The best advice is stay out of it, and do your job the best you can.

There are a few enlightened companies that are breaking the traditional political mold to forge new standards in ethical operations. Companies like L.L. Bean, Google, and Southwest Airlines are examples. Managers who focus on win-win want the employees and organization to do well besides themselves. People who really care like this are like apples of gold. Employees appreciate that and respond with exemplary service and performance. What sane thinking manager wouldn’t want that?

What do superstar performers do to stay on the top of their game? How do you become one? Rick describes four actions to help you stay positive, optimistic, and excel at whatever you do. Do you want to bolster you self-confidence? Watch this video, act on the ideas and take steps to change your thinking today!

By the way, do you want a gameplan to help you achieve your goals? Check out this complimentary article: http://wcwpartners.com/5-laws-of-goalpower-download/#

Or, do you want a in-depth proven success system to make this year your best ever? Then check out this new EBook: http://wcwpublishing.com/wcw-programs/e-books-leadership-improvement-downloadables/goalpower-how-to-increase-your-personal-performance-and-career-success/#

Rick Conlow is CEO & Co-Founder of WCW Partners, Inc. and co-author of the SuperSTAR Selling, Superstar Leadership and twelve other books.

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http://wcwpartners.com/our-blog/

1-888-313-0514

Rick shares the five strategies of customer service superstars . You will learn how to:
1. Stay positive-always!
2. Help customers with uncommon friendliness!
3. Delight your customers as you serve them!
4. Go the extra mile and make your customer smile!
5. Solve problems and complaints like a top performer!

For more information on improving Customer Loyalty and to download a complimentary white paper, click here.

Has that ever happened to you? Did you give up on your childhood dream? Have you ever had a goal you didn’t achieve? Do you even set goals? You know, goalsetting has a bad rap. First most people have tried it and failed so why bother with it. Second, so few people do it anyway. Some studies suggest that less than ten percent of people do so. I have heard many people associate goalsetting with failure not success. People aren’t prophets for heaven’s sake. Maybe all of these self-help gurus who proselytize about goals are just trying to sell books and DVDs. Maybe it is futile to try to dictate your future. So much of life is influenced by situations and circumstances that we don’t control.

So, what’s the alternative in your quest for success and happiness this year? I believe it begins with reflecting on your life using a series of questions. A new year is a good time to do that but so are the various seasons in your life. By seasons I mean times of change-a new job, being laid off, getting married, having a child, moving to a new part of the country, becoming a empty nester. These are the times you choose for your reasons not because the time clock clicked one second forward and a new year began. When you reflect for your reasons, you have the power over time it doesn’t have power over you.

What’s one thing small children do that often drives their parents crazy? They ask questions. I have six children and lived to tell the story. Children ask why over and over again, and the parents are suppose to have the answers. Children are curious and imaginative, so they keep asking their questions. It’s natural. Parents put the period at the end of the sentence. Many adults lose curiosity over time and we have to institute special programs in companies to encourage innovation. Here are a few questions to consider as you reflect on your life’s purpose, goals and roles.

What matters most to you now?
What contribution to you want to make in your career, family or community?
What are you good at and want to keep doing?
What gives you the most satisfaction in life?
What do you need or want to learn to enjoy life more?
What do you really want out of life?

You can ask many other questions. I have learned we need to keep them as positive as possible with a present and future focus. If you try to over analyze all lost hopes and dreams, you risk becoming bitter and immobile. While you don’t control everything in life, you do control what you think, the choices you make and the actions you take. Life always seems to send us unexpected challenges-that’s a given. Your response to those challenges determines the quality of the rest of your life.

Reflecting through a series of precise questions like the ones above, will help you make better decisions about how you live your life now, and point you in a better direction. If you don’t seriously reflect, life events will certainly control you and most likely not to your satisfaction. You will like a ship at sea without a sail, tossed about by the waves.

Consider this quote by Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get. But we make a life by what we give.” Whatever questions you ask, make them count.

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