When you are taught something, you can do one of the following:
1.Dispute what you have been taught
2.Ignore what you have been taught
3.Learn and grow from what you have been taught
Sadly, if you choose option 3, I think you might be in the minority!
Something to think about
Have a great day!
Lawrence
When trying to determine the cause of something it’s common to look at patterns and look for a common denominator. As an example, if your organization is constantly making the same mistake, over and over, look to see who is involved in each of these occurrences. This person might be the common denominator.
On the other hand, if your sample size isn’t sufficient, you might come to some inaccurate assumptions. As an example, if in a soccer game you feel one team is making a lot of bad passes, you might pick out two passes and look for a pattern. With only a sample size of 2, you might come to many “conclusions”. If both are Gemini’s you might conclude all Geminis are bad passers. However, if you had looked at 50 as your sample size, you might have realized it wasn’t because they were Geminis but rather it was because they were receiving poor support on the field (I admit it, it’s a terrible example but hopefully you get the point)
When looking for a pattern or common denominator, make sure the sample size is sufficient to make an accurate conclusion.
Have a great day!
Lawrence
The difference between being good and great is not what many people think it is. In sports, people thing the difference between the good players and the great players is the ability to do the spectacular. The reality is, the difference between the good players and the great players is usually the great players are just that much better at the fundamentals.
The same concept applies in business. The businesses that have strong fundamentals will continue to be successful. The businesses that are weak on their fundamentals (regardless of industry) will fail
If the difference between good and great is fundamentals, how are YOUR fundamentals?
Have a great day!
Lawrence
When discussing a point, it’s important for everyone to be on the same page. Too often, people are arguing about things without really understanding what the other person is saying. If everyone were to define their terms, early, be willing to reword when there isn’t complete understanding and ask questions when there is confusion, discussions would go much better.
Instead, people prefer to assume everyone understands exactly what they mean, are unwilling to reword but instead, just repeat (frequently louder than the first time) and are unwilling to ask questions because of fear of not being all knowing.
We can save a lot of time, energy and money if we make sure everyone is on the same page. This doesn’t mean everyone has to agree with all points, but rather, that they understand all points in order to make an informed decision
Have a great day.
Lawrence
When you are hiring for a specific position, do the requirements you are asking for actually make sense?
For example, if you are hiring a medical doctor, it makes sense to require a medical degree and they have passed all required boards etc. On the other hand, if you are hiring for some other positions, is the degree really necessary?
Yesterday a company I have a great deal of respect for posted a job opening for a new operations manager (person to be in charge of their computer systems). The job was listed on their site as well as on their blog and a job board they run, A comment was made on their blog “I looked at the job posting to see what kind of degree requirement you were interested in, but to my surprise, no degree requirements were provided. Surely there is one, though. Why not be up front about it? “ This person just made the assumption that a company of this size would require a degree or two. The president responded “we don’t require degrees”. This is a company that has MANY people wanting to work for them and they can afford to be picky to get the best so if they don’t see it as a requirement, why do some others?
Other companies require X number of years experience before they will consider hiring for a position. The problem with that is with experience comes habits. Some might be good and many might be bad. When dealing with Internet and communication, someone with many years of experience, who hasn’t stayed up with the latest trends will probably be LESS QUALIFIED than someone with less experience but who has stayed up with the trends.
My point isn’t that degrees or experience is bad but rather, really determine if what you are looking for matters for the position you are hiring for
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Some people seem to be always available and willing to help others in need. Those people should be thanked and appreciated. However, have you ever thought that those people might need some help sometimes too?
Just something to think about
Have a great day!
Lawrence
How much do your employees know about your business?
Do they see your books and know what is profitable and what isn’t?
Do they know what each other makes?
Do they know upcoming risks to your organization?
Do they understand upcoming opportunities?
Should they?
Just something to think about
Have a great day!
Lawrence
It’s not any one individuals responsibility to employ people but have you given some thought to what you might be able to do to decrease unemployment?
Is there a job in your organization that can be created that will allow for you to hire one more person? The key is this shouldn’t be a “charity hiring” where they cost you money and don’t, at the very least, pay for themselves. Can a position be created where you hire someone so they get a nice salary and in return, you make a profit or get some other benefit?
If you can hire just one additional person and it helps them and it helps you, it’s a true win/win and society benefits as well.
Truly give this some thought and many of you might find it’s easier than you think to make a difference
Have a great day!
Lawrence
Are you in an industry that requires continuing Education units in order to maintain your certification or license? If so, do you do the bare minimum or are you looking for more opportunities to learn and grow?
If you aren’t in an industry that requires CEU’s, do you require them of yourself? Do you require them of your employees?
How do you plan on continuing to grow if you don’t keep pushing yourself?
It doesn’t matter if these “CEU”s” are from formal education or other means, put some high requirements on yourself and your staff and see how if helps your business
Have a great day!
Lawrence
There is so much misinformation out there. There are people creating websites that teach people how to do things they don’t really know how to do themselves. Coaches teaching age groups they have never coached. People assuming since they have read a book or blog on how something happens they therefore can do it themselves so assume they can even teach others.
A person doesn’t have to be great at something in order to be great at teaching it. There are many basketball coaches who weren’t great players (and some who weren’t even good players) but they have truly learned the game and have learned how to teach the game.
You don’t have to be a master at something in order to be able to teach it. However, if you don’t know anything (or much) about it, leave the teaching to someone who does.
There is enough misinformation out there, don’t add to it
Have a great day!
Lawrence
If there is one thing Lawrence Fine is most passionate about it's teaching. From sharing his knowledge about soccer as a soccer coach, he now shares his expertise in the field of human resources and the Internet. (More...)