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7 Steps Get the Best Leadership Thinking from Your Team

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10-Point Plan: Teaching Leaders to Think

“I Don’t Pay You Think” Doesn’t Work Anymore

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For years we marketed one-size-fits-all solutions, it worked to grow the numbers higher and higher by allowing companies and corporations to focus on how to give us more for less. We had access to more products at lower prices because of it.

And in that one-size-fits-all environment, it’s fairly certain that at least once in your career you heard a manager say the famous words, “I don’t pay you to think.” In fact the system relied upon carefully controlled decisions … only a few people were allowed “to think.”

Rogue thinking upset the carefully constructed system of industrial production that made the whole thing work. Even customer conversations were perfected down to scripts so that no maverick thought could undermine the “perfected” process of handling relationships.

Except customers never did find those scripts the making of a perfect relationship and now as customers have ways of connecting with each other, they’re letting us know that they’re spending their attention, time, and money with companies and corporations who build one-of-a-kind things, offer customized and personalized service, and develop true and loyal relationships.

What 20th century company or corporation was designed to manage that?

7 Steps Get the Best Leadership Thinking from Your Team

It’s been decades of businesses that have preached the mantra “I don’t teach you to think.” Leadership reaches out to build together what can’t be build alone. Ironically, it gets stronger when everyone thinks.

How does a leader build a team that leaves behind black-and-white safety of scripted relationships to the gray decision making that actually serves customers and the company? Without the right environment, support, and commitment in place it’s likely to be a mess of good intentions that foul up things.

Here are 7 steps to building a thinking, influential leadership team.

  1. Trust your team. It goes without saying that if you picked the right team, they’ll do the right job. If after reflection, you find that trust isn’t going to come. It’s time to change your own thinking about the people you want on your team.
  2. Start with a small crew. A change in management style cannot be made via a toggle switch or a pendulum swing. Rather than announcing new “rules of behavior.” Enlist a small crew who has already shown they understand both customers and what drives the business.
  3. Agree on the definition of a good result. Strategy always begins with knowing where we want to go. Set a goal. Define what a successful completion of that goal would be.
  4. Let the crew plan how to get from here to success on that one thing. You’ve agreed on the outcome and you’ve chosen the right crew. Let them show you their most efficient process for achieving it. Let them work out the details without you.
  5. Review the plan by asking questions. Have a short meeting for the crew to show you what they’re going to do. Limit yourself to questions rather than advice. You now have the benefit of being outside the thinking and so you can test it for holes and hidden assumptions — something you couldn’t do when you were part of building the plan. You can learn from the new ideas they bring to it.
  6. Stay out of their way as they execute. Ask them to keep you apprised via status updates and meetings, but stay in question so that you can be tester of the thinking rather than the only thinker in the room. When people look to you for an answer, answer with, “You have more information, than I, what seems the most appropriate action to you? Why do you think so?”
  7. Celebrate Success and Value What You Learn Every status meeting take a moment to celebrate successes. Invite the crew to do the same with you. Also take time to highlight and value new things, surprises, and misfires that teach what not to do.

The days of “i don’t pay you to think” are thankfully long over. True leaders are people who don’t want to do all of the thinking. Leaders are people who want to build something innovative, elegant, and useful that they can’t build alone.

Care-filled thinking, well-thought action, and thoughtful response has become the gold standard of business growth, innovation, and loyalty relationships. When everyone is thinking, the customer and the company become a community and the business thrives. Thinking is the new ROI.

The way and the level at which we value our teams’ thinking is directly proportional to the value of the thinking they return.

How do you get the best thinking from your team?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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9 Types of Listeners’ Responses – on Twitter and Everywhere Else

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I’m a curious observer. I look, listen, connect things and identify patterns. Then I ask questions to test what it is that I think I’m finding. That’s one way that I keep learning new things about how the world works and how the people in it decide to do things.

Recently on Twitter, Calvin Lee @mayhemstudios posted an link to an article on Business Insider revealing data about Twitter users who don’t listen. Derek Overbey @doverbEy read it and retweeted it. As did I.

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As you can see by the image, four people passed it on again.

What to Do About People Not Listening – on Twitter or Anywhere

Reading the data about people not listening on Twitter got me curious and turned me into an observer. As I looked, listened, connected things, and identified patterns, I asked a question to test the ideas that we’re coming together.

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Asking questions gives me a chance to listen for myself. Question influence people to respond and in their response are hints and clues to how they think. The response I received fell into a pattern I’ve found predictable when I put an open ended question to the group. I’ve named the types of responses to reflect the group they represent.

  1. The observers retweet the question without sharing their response. Obviously, they’re listening. It would seem that they find the question interesting to pass it on. But they’re not sharing their own opinion on the thought. Maybe their objective is to spread the conversation and listen in to what other folks think. Or maybe they just want to raise their retweet count.
  2. The responding retweeters add a word or two to state whether they agree while retweeting the question to include the reference. They add value with their answer, offer it quickly and share with their friends it in a way that invites others to participate.
  3. The conversationalists add a new thought on the question.They extend the thought with an experience or an additional idea. They’ve considered the question and bring their own thinking to it to share with the group.
  4. The clarity checkers ask for further information about the question. They want further explanation to be sure they understand the question before they join with an opinion.
  5. The controversy seekers find what’s wrong in the premise of the question. Their response is not to seek further understanding or explanation, but to call out the the question itself as wrong.
  6. The contrarians find an answer that’s outside the scope of the question. If you ask whether they prefer fruits or vegetables, they’ll answer steak.
  7. The opportunist teachers see the question as their chance to show how smart they are. They start by answering with what they know on the subject, whether it answers the question or not. Then they continue for several tweets asking questions for which they already know the answers.

    8. and of course,

  8. The spammers find a keyword in the question or an answer to drop a highly promotional link in as if they’re commenting on the conversation. They are people who don’t follow anyone in the tweet stream. They use keyword search tools to interupt for their own spammy purposes.

    9. and the

  9. The lurkers who heard you but choose not to respond They hard to differentiate from the ignorers and the folks who just didn’t show up, but don’t make the mistake of assuming they’re the same.

It’s been said that we can’t talk without talking about ourselves. The words we choose, the metaphors we use, the choices we make of what to respond to and what to leave there all reveal things about our own view of the world and ourselves.

Paying attention to the listens on Twitter is a great way to learn how people think and respond uncovers valuable information that strict data reports cannot – valuable information to any product or marketing person, no matter the conversation or the question at hand.

What might be more important to keep in mind is that we find every one of these types of listeners in every walk of life online and off. If we listen to identify them, we soon some to realize that every kind of listener is looking for a different sort of response and a new question arises …

Some listeners seem to signal by their response that they’re better left to have the final word. What do you think on that?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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What Gets Rewarded…

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 By Jael Strong

…gets done.  That’s what my father has always said.  I think I have some pretty strong experience in this arena.  Let me explain.

One day I pulled into the garage, my son sitting in the passenger seat next to me.  Finally disgusted with the deplorable conditions of the garage, I said, “What will it cost me to get this garage cleaned up?”

My son, sensing opportunity, said, “A new Xbox 360.”

I told him that was too much, but if he cleaned the garage, shed, and patio, I would buy him a used Xbox 360.  I was naive.  I knew my son’s work speed and I had mentally done the math. These tasks were monumental; three years worth of clutter made these jobs mind-boggling.  I figured it would take three work-filled weekends, one weekend for each space, to finish this job and do it well.  In the end, I would have a clean garage, patio, and shed, and Jackson would be gleefully playing with his Xbox 360.

The truth is four hours later I was standing in line at the store buying the Xbox 360.  He had worked tirelessly and conformed to all of my demands.  The work was done quite well.  I had made a promise, so I had to keep it, but I did inform him that I didn’t really think he would be done that fast.  My father’s words rang in my ears:  What gets rewarded does really get done.

What does that have to do with blogging?

There are many reasons why we blog.  Yes, it is just like our English teachers told us:  we write to inform, entertain, and persuade.  So, for those of you blogging to persuade (or even inform), this one is for you.  We want people to be motivated to action. Often when we blog, our goal is get the reader to take action, even if it is a small action, because we feel it will benefit them personally or society as a whole.  How do we convince them of  that?

We have to put some incentive out there.  We may write well, even creatively, but no matter how engaging our writing is, we want the reader to walk away and remember what she read.  Better yet, we want the reader to apply something new in their lives.  The reader will not do that unless we convince them of that there is some benefit, some reward, for that application.

To that end, ask yourself some questions:  What do I want the reader to take away from this post?  What is the benefit of applying what I’m writing about?  Am I clearly communicating that benefit?  If that great reasons are clear to you, they will be clear to your readers.

How does this benefit you?

Again, there are many reasons why we blog.  Our reasons may be personal.  We may be convinced of a certain societal or political view and we may express those views via a blog.  If that is the case, motivating your readers is essential to the nature of your blog.  The more clear the rewards, the more likely readers will take decisive action based on what you write.

Many of us write for business reasons.  What benefit to us does motivational writing  provide?  For one, it could make us more attractive in the professional world. People want a writer who is able to motivate, if not galvanize, the reader.  Learning to focus your readers’ attention on the rewards of a certain course of action will make you an asset in the business world, particularly in the marketing world.

As bloggers, we need to do more than spout off random ideas.  Focus on the rewards, and your writing becomes elevated above well-written ranting.  It becomes a tool for motivation. Motivate some sort of action, and your job is done!

Let us know: How do you motivate readers to action? 

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Jael Strong writes for TheWriteBloggers, a professional blogging service which builds clients’ authority status and net visibility.  She has written both fiction and non-fiction pieces for print and online publications.  She regularly blogs at Freelance Writing Mamas .

Thanks, Jael

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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How to Be an Opportunity Magnet

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Do You Really Think You’ll Have More Time Later?

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Where we’re working at home or working in an office, at this time of year, time is hard to find, hard to manage, and basically not there. What’s new about that?

Stop! Think for a moment. When do you remember having too much time on your hands?

Do it now!

Bet it’s been a while since you didn’t have plenty to do even if it was things you didn’t want to do. I’m guessing that finding time to do everything that you could, should, or might be doing to move ahead right now is one of the biggest problems you’ve ever had.

How to Be an Opportunity Magnet

Strategy is a realistic plan for taking advantage of how opportunity fits our unique situation and skills. Yet, opportunity can pass us by and keep on moving, if we don’t have time for it.

To be ready for the opportunities coming our way, we have to create space and time to handle them. Here’s a few ways to be ready when it does. Become an opportunity magnet.

  • Tell people where want to be giong. The more people you tell, the more people who can be passing along opportunities.
  • Know your focus. Not all opportunities are equal. Look for those that match your focus.
  • Know what you need to move you forward. Some opportunities will be in your line of focus, but they’ll be just more of what you’re doing. Look for chances to meet new people, gain new skills, and expand your expertise and experiences.
  • Stop again to ask questions. See every person as a chance for learning. They know about shorter ways to get to where you’re going. That makes them opportunities too.
  • Don’t do everything yourself. Enlist your network and friends to help you with those things you’re not so good at. Let them help you build what you’re building. They’ll know better how to refer you and how to help you find the opportunities you need.

One single NYTimes has more information than an average 18th century person learned in a lifetime. We’re not going to get away from the constant noise and time burden. But we can create a space where opportunity can squeeze and flourish … if we know how to recognize the right opportunities and develop the habits that will attract them.

What do you do to attract more opportunities to your life?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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Michael Jordan, The Old Spice Guy: Why Characters and Celebrities Can’t Humanize Your Brand

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A Celebrity Doesn’t Humanize a Brand

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I don’t watch TV much, but lately when I do this Hanes commercial with Michael Jordan keeps cropping up.

Does this commercial “humanize” Hanes? Of course not. It’s a traditional celebrity endorsement and if anything, it makes the celebrity look smart and the customer look informed, but not so socially adept. We may want to ibecome a bigger fan of Michael Jordan, but do we want to join a group of the guys who act like the guy talking to him?

Is the commercial really about making a relationship with Hanes or with the celebrity who wears Hanes? I say Hanes built a commercial about humanizing Michael Jordan, not Hanes.

The Old Spice Guy and Mr. Clean

Last year when the “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” Old Spice Campaign came out, everyone I knew passed on it on to someone else. We sat at lunch at SxSW sharing it on our iPhones because the clever copy and innovative camera work made it fun and worth talking about.

And then, the Old Spice Team at Wieden and Kennedy knocked our socks off when the Old Spice Man started answering comments with YouTube Videos.

But did the Old Spice Man humanize the brand? Again, I think not. What is the Old Spice Man? A celebrity work for hire? A human Mr. Clean? A character we can make a relationship with?

We’re still not making a relationship with Old Spice or the people who work for the brand.

Why Characters and Celebrities Don’t Humanize a Brand

Being human is about having humanity — a benevolent compassion for other members of the species. That’s a job that doesn’t stay on a TV screen, in a magazine, or on a website. It’s a relationship that goes both ways. It responds to questions, finds solutions, picks up the phone, answers the email, and celebrates great ideas.

As much as they add personality and glamour, even a sense of the way that people who run the brand want to relate with us, characters and celebrities can’t humanize a brand. They are cardboard cut outs of people not real people we can form a relationship with.

Here’s just a few things they don’t do.

  • They don’t listen and respond in meaningful human ways. They don’t ask us about our ideas, thoughts, wishes, needs, or the real ways we use their products. Surveys and questions are about them, not us. How do you like me? Isn’t a relationship building question.
  • They don’t act on our behalf. They don’t carry back our thoughts, ideas, and information to the people who make the products, do the marketing, and solve the problems when something isn’t working.
  • They don’t have true two-way conversations. They are paid or made to represent the brand in the same that packaging does — to underscore and represent an idea or a feeling in an outgoing direction.
  • They don’t build communities. Their work is not intended to help customers connect as people, but rather to connect customers to their products or the brand.

In other words, characters and celebrities don’t build relationships. They keep the brand conversation all about the brand. Humans who only talk about themselves, think about themselves, and work to promote themselves are considered lacking in humanity as well.

It takes real people who love their work and care about real customers, who work with real vendors, partners, and customers to reach real customer goals and solve real customer problems to humanize a brand.

Celebrities and characters don’t do that. People like @AmberCadabra @GeorgeSmithJr @ZenaWeist @vick08 @bsimi @connieburke and @LionelatDell do.

What brand do you know that’s done a great job at showing its humanity?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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Does Curiosity Kill the Brand?

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Watch a small child learning about the world. See a bundle of questions.
Watch a great listener, and you’ll see the same thing.

Children learn how to tell a shoe from a sandal from a sneaker by asking questions and constructing new models.

A great listener is curious about the person who is talking, curious about the information, curious about how the ideas fit together, and why they are of interest to the speaker.

So is a great brand.

Curiosity is easy. It’s sexy and attractive.
Curiosity is key to constructing meaning.
We move from the known to the unknown most easily by asking questions; listening to answers; and adjusting the model of what we already know.

Imagine doing the same thing to get closer to how your customers think. Curiosity that challenges our models has real value to understanding what we know and what we only believe. It also establishes relationships that opens communication so that we keep learning more nuances and details that take relationships deeper and fill in meaning.

Just a few curious questions can

  • form a bond between speaker and listener.
  • give conversation focus.
  • demonstrate value and respect people we serve.
  • telegraph self-confidence, integrity, and trust.

Genuine curiosity draws people into a conversation.
AND curiosity is contagious. If your brand is curious about people, they’ll become curious about you.

Curiosity might have killed the cat, but curiosity builds brands.

Where does curiosity fit in your strategic plan?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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