With summer sneaking on stage in the final act of spring, this may be a good time to remind all of us that friends and clients of mine, public works employees, will be out in force on roads, bridges and highways improving our nation’s infrastructure with designated stimulus fund resources.  The “Give Them a Break” signs are not threats; they are reminders for us to slow down and provide a safe place for these people to serve us.

Your boss tells you the only option to stay with the organization is to geographically move your family.  How will you make this decision?

First, slow down.  Before you call U-Haul, stop the newspaper or go online to see the options for new schools, take a deep breath and ask your boss these three questions:  (1) “If I do move to another location, can you assure me my job will be secure for at least three years?”  (2) “Who in our organization will I be reporting to if I make this move?”  (3)  “If I choose not to accept this offer, can I assume you will provide a strong endorsement of my work as I look for a new place of employment?”

The answers to all three inquiries will be essential to your future.  

Second, do you want to stay with this organization?  You need to decide if the choice just posed by your boss is a convenient exit sign that will give you the platform and rationale for making a decision you have wanted to announce for some time.   Your public reason for cutting ties will be for the “sake of the family” (which is true) and will guarantee a set of positive references.

Third, and most important, can the integrity of your family handle a move to a new community?  Losing a family can be tantamount to losing self-respect for…a lifetime. Yes, we can all “start over” but, at what cost?  This is a question that needs careful consideration and, obviously, a spouse has to be an equal voice in the decision.

Finally, there are some people who do advance a career and enrich their family life by calling the movers.  I am convinced if your family system is presently healthy, a physical move to another community can be just a new address for your family to continue your love for each other and grow your career at the same time.

Undoubtedly you will recognize the name, Jim Collins.  Collins is the coauthor of Built to Last and author of Good to Great.  A regular contributor to Fortune and The Economist, Collins has distinguished his writing as well-researched, insightful and always challenging.

You have to pick up Collins’ latest book, How the Mighty Fall (ISBN: 978-0-97773264-1-9).  Here is the first compendium of factual information on why some of the economic giants of this past year have stumbled and fallen.  Collins’ research is complete and his insight riveting.

Instead of sitting around doing our complacent “Monday Morning Quarterbacking,” you may want to treat yourself to factual information on how this economic debacle became a reality in what we considered to be a bullet-proof economy.

New Article for Free Download

Like everyone else I am trying to intellectually and emotionally digest the daily news alerts that another behemoth of American economic might has either permanently closed the doors or filed Chapter 11.

General Motors was the bad news for today.  I have written an article that may especially be of interest if your organization’s newsletter has yet to address this phenomenon.  The title is, “What Have We Learned…While Sifting Through the Ashes of Our Rome?”

Using the illustration of Emperor Nero who fiddled while Rome burned, I propose four lessons we should have learned while watching this debacle unfold day after day.  My premise is if we have not learned anything then the future will just repeat the past.  

To access the article, go to my website at www.execenrichment.com and choose the Downloadable Resources option.  After filling out a brief form, you’ll see a list of current articles available.

CD Training Program—“Skills to Increase Sales”

This is a captivating 50 minute interview I conducted with Dr. Alan Weiss.  Dr. Weiss is the author of 27 commercially printed books and a world-renowned expert in growing sales volume.  Dr. Weiss is also a friend of mine who also is a valued mentor.  Give me an opportunity to introduce you to Alan and his amazing insights.

To order a copy of the CD, go to my website at www.execenrichment.com and choose the Our Products option.  You’ll see all the current products I have available.

Your cell phone.  The best and worst communication device you have in your arsenal of electronic tethers that weave over your every move and thought.

This is what etiquette suggests you should not be doing with this palm-sized giant.

First, in a business environment your cell phone ring should never be audible unless you are in a setting where the phone is not on your person.  To be in a meeting, a conversation or at a work-related lunch and the theme from the 1812 Overture or some ditty from Sting begins to fill the airwaves is just…irritating.

We can all program our phones to be on silent (the screen lights up when a call is received) or vibrate.  If you are in a business-related conversation or meeting, do not take the call.  If it is an emergency, leave the room.

Second, do not take personal calls at work.  This problem is becoming epidemic in our workplaces.  Your organization is not only paying you for what you know or how to do a certain task; they are reimbursing you for your attention and concentration.  

Third, if you do believe you may have a personal or professional emergency that may take place in a meeting or one-on-one conversation, say to the other person(s) at the beginning, “I am expecting an emergent call.  I will monitor my cell phone during our conversation and would it be alright with you if I excuse myself and take this call?”  Notice I asked permission.  If the other person(s) are not in agreement, reschedule the meeting or turn your phone off.

Fourth, never…ever chew gum, drink a 96 ounce Big Slurpee, bite into an Almond Joy, open mail, rattle ice in a glass, suck on candy or work on your computer keyboard while talking on the phone.  Have you ever talked with someone on the telephone who gave you the message, with the extraneous activities going on at his/her desk, that you were a dispensable interruption?

Fifth, if you have to sneeze, cough or deal with some random gastric distress, remove your cell phone from your face and then, once recovered, say “Excuse me.”

Sixth, if you hear an electronic interruption indicating another caller is trying to reach you, you have two choices.  You can ignore the “call waiting.”  In business this normally is your best choice.  Your second choice is to interrupt the person presently speaking to you and say, “I have another call waiting right now, can I take this or would you rather I call you back?”  Always give the person two choices.

It is important to note that if you decide to even ask the question about another call waiting, you have insulted the person on the line.  If he/she was important to you, another call would not get your attention.

Since this is a developing technology, etiquette will have to be constantly updated.  Stay tuned!

Have you ever said, on the way home after a very busy day, “I didn’t get anything done today!”?

Yes, you were busy but you did not accomplish or wrap up one particular task.  You certainly worked hard, but you have no finished product to reward your frantic efforts.

I have a suggestion that will rock your productivity boat.

The problem is not hard work; the problem is you are working hard on a plethora of tasks and getting none of them completed.

So, here is the methodology for driving home with a sigh of satisfaction.

First, decide what is the #1 priority for your day.  Start to work on that task and when a crisis or interruption derails your best plans, drop your #1 and take care of the episodic demand.

Second, and here is the hardest part, go back to #1 and keep trudging on with this task.  If another crisis screams for your attention, hose that problem down and drag yourself back to #1.  

Third, if you make significant progress on #1 or even eliminate it, take a few minutes for celebration.  You will leave work knowing you got “something done” today.

I am not sure if you heard about this latest advance in printing out your boarding pass for your next flight.

Continental Airlines is presently giving you the option of printing out your boarding pass on the screen of your cell phone.  When you go through security and finally pass through the boarding gate you will “scan” a barcode which appears on the screen of your cell phone.  In a nanosecond, your electronic footprint will beep approval that you have a valid ticket for this flight.

Obviously, a barcode will become our new identity card.

My latest addition to your MP3 files is a recording entitled “Mouth to Mouth Resuscitation for Dead Meetings.”

If you are leading or attending workplace meetings which are the worst waste of your time in any workday, this MP3 file may give you ideas and methodologies that can breathe new life into these anemic sessions.

Download this file onto your cell phone or MP3 device.

To access the file, go to my website at www.execenrichment.com and choose the Downloadable Resources option.  After filling out a brief form, you’ll be able to choose the Podcasts option and download the file.

What is your response if a client or customer is displeased with your product/service?

Listen carefully and ask for details.  Make sure you emotionally stay non-defensive and keep asking questions like, “Tell me exactly how this product/service did not meet your needs?”

Here is the bottom line:  if you want to keep this customer/client, and you believe there is genuine disappointment (the person is not trying to cheat you), give back his/her money!  If you remain resistant to the person’s perception, be prepared to not only lose this client in the future but also kiss off the potential business with everyone he/she can corner to tell “the customer betrayal story.”

Do you remember from 7^th grade English class the difference between “active” and “passive” voice?  The “voice” is how you are using verbs.

Business writing, from my experience, is inundated with the passive voice.  So what’s the problem?  The passive voice loses the reader’s interest.

It works this way.  The passive voice is, “My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me.”

Notice two things about this sentence construction.  First, the “direct object” of the sentence comes first.  Second, the passive voice will normally make a liberal use of prepositions (“…by me”).

The active voice begins with the subject and eliminates a need for the preposition, “I will always remember my first visit to Boston.”

The active voice engages and entices the mind of the reader.  Watch beginning your sentences with an object and frequent use of prepositions.

Thank you for reading this entire edition of LeMonAide (active voice).