Business Lessons

From http://cbs3.com/health/Health.Alert.Stephanie.2.1877150.html Stephanie Stahl

Teenagers are becoming addicted to texting, according to a new study. In fact experts are saying being hooked on texting can be like being addicted to drugs...

The average teen sends 3,000 texts a month....

"It clearly fits the criteria of an addiction," said Dr. Gary Small, a Psychiatrist....

Neuroimaging studies show the same brain areas are stimulated with both texting and using heroin....

Some texting addiction warning signs include losing track of time because of excessive texting, neglecting eating and sleeping, having a constant need for more, and suffering negative repercussions, like ignoring others or lying because of texting....

"What they like to do is text, rather than talk. So if you call them, they go 'mom why didn't you just text me, why did you have to call me?'" said Cara Steninberg, a mother.

In many of my blog entries, I have raised the concern for loss of focus. The obsession with texting will continue to erode our ability to focus and accomplish important tasks. This problem will continue to impact our workforce as a "texting" generation becomes the next wave of employees.

(c) 2010 - Jim Lindell

Understand the Economy for yourself. Don’t be over-reliant on the good opinion of other people. Many individuals are unaware of the free resources that are available to track economic trends. One of the best tools comes from the Federal Reserve at http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/ipdisk/alltables.txt

The page shows the industrial production by industry for both seasonal and non-adjusted data. In essence, if you want to track a particular industry, there is no need to wait to read the information in a newspaper or a blog. Get the information for yourself and make your own interpretation. For example, the ship and boat building industry data (not seasonally adjusted) is presented as of July 2010 from the link previously referred to. Each of the columns represents monthly data. The data is also listed as IPS – Industrial Production Seasonally Adjusted or IPN - Industrial Production Not Seasonally Adjusted. The following information then is not seasonally adjusted. (Note: The series in the data is: Series ID, Year, Jan - Dec)

G3366: Ship and boat building boat building NAICS= 3366
IPN.G3366 1998 77.7154 76.4769 77.4417 73.0003 78.4545 77.2793 79.2277 79.9203 77.7161 83.1318 83.3754 85.0114
IPN.G3366 1999 81.2649 83.0248 84.2262 79.4988 80.0477 80.2212 79.1561 87.1829 86.567 86.5657 87.876 91.0407
IPN.G3366 2000 87.5872 90.1602 90.6017 89.0554 86.1863 87.6935 86.631 84.7939 79.8662 82.7261 86.2213 85.5277
IPN.G3366 2001 84.4292 80.6533 85.8832 81.4089 83.0756 82.7078 81.6635 78.0686 80.8324 82.0314 85.0271 86.2545
IPN.G3366 2002 86.5545 84.4315 91.5064 90.9403 93.6875 95.4739 83.8494 89.2274 95.6293 94.3411 91.5129 94.8692
IPN.G3366 2003 91.3116 90.6367 96.6679 92.4623 93.9838 95.8826 84.7913 91.7654 96.7991 95.0387 94.4247 92.2472
IPN.G3366 2004 92.0228 94.1356 104.9366 99.0401 98.7157 96.7238 86.1078 91.8224 96.2436 94.6853 90.7968 91.0349
IPN.G3366 2005 91.8575 96.3021 106.8692 103.1725 100.7357 99.1634 84.572 90.6338 84.0774 91.4369 90.2713 95.5123
IPN.G3366 2006 95.6029 93.4566 104.0523 95.1993 96.4354 100.6408 85.1382 87.9755 94.6969 92.6844 89.7758 95.5011
IPN.G3366 2007 97.0109 92.9683 96.9511 97.1001 101.4735 107.5809 92.3686 96.3188 105.7243 103.0968 102.5471 106.8595
IPN.G3366 2008 108.5889 107.712 112.3035 110.8724 105.2275 112.7792 97.1203 100.4989 97.2664 98.9122 92.4011 91.1939
IPN.G3366 2009 84.9463 78.9674 82.4338 77.0116 83.7825 90.1609 87.2618 90.0689 85.3314 77.3386 77.2099 78.595
IPN.G3366 2010 83.0853 83.7035 90.8107 90.9836 93.3699 92.5587 82.0928

If we were to graph out the data, our chart would look like the following:

It is easy to spot trends in the ship and boat building industry. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a significantly favorable trend and this industry will continue to experience difficult times. This observation also seems to parallel the other general economic evidence that the economy is not turning around.

This same analysis can be prepared for any industry and should be a regular component of an organization’s competitive intelligence gathering.

© 2010 – Jim Lindell

This past weekend I was catching up on some yard work and had to burn some old wood. As I threw wood into the fire, I noticed several insects flee from the heat on the edge of the board toward the cooler center of the board. Obviously, this path determined their final outcome. I also noticed a couple of grasshoppers that leapt off the board. One of them landed outside the fire ring and went on its’ way to safety. The relationship to today’s economy and business managers is easy to spot. Managers that take the path of least resistance and flee from danger may inadvertently seal the fate of their organization by failing to act. Nimble business managers that confront the problems that occur may experience difficulties but they will be taking action to salvage the situation.
Does your organization:

1) Confront problems or do you avoid them?
2) Have a process in place that forces you to take action?
3) Know how to “cut your losses?”

Remember, no decision is a decision. Step up and take your best action, right or wrong, you will determine your success or failure as opposed to having fate decide the outcome.

© 2010 Jim Lindell

Many individuals struggle with the issue of forgiving others but not being able to forget the original hurt. The above continuum shows 4 levels on the forgiveness scale (forget, recall, nurse, remember) and the relationship to healing or hurting. When the original hurt is constantly remembered, the pain does not disappear. When the individual’s memory has been triggered by an event that the original hurt is recalled, he/she has an option to either dismiss the memory or to relive it and in essence bring it back to life – re-experiencing much of the original pain. If the memory can be dismissed, the healing can continue. The original forgiveness takes place between the “recall” and the “nurse” stage. When an individual is able to truly forget the original hurt, the pain is eliminated and the healing is complete.

Many times you can identify what stage a person is in based on the way he/she describes the memory.

• Forget – “Oh, I don’t even remember that you did that.”
• Recall – “Yes, that is true but we were able to work it through.”
• Nurse – “That time that you called me a “blank”, it still eats at me.”
• Remember – “I forgave them, but I haven’t forgotten!”

The secret to moving along the continuum is the individual’s own freedom of choice. Victim thought patterns will keep a person at the remembering or hurting side of the continuum. Acceptance thought patterns will move a person toward the forgetting and the healing side of the continuum.

We cannot change the past, but we can change the future.

© 2010 Jim Lindell – Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc.

NBER Says ‘Premature’ to Declare End of Recession in U.S.

By Tim Homan

April 12 (Bloomberg) -- The committee responsible for determining when U.S. recessions begin and end said it’s “premature” to declare an end to the current slump, which it reaffirmed begain in December 2007.

“Although most indicators have turned up, the committee decided that the determination of the trough date on the basis of current data would be premature,” the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research said in a statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy Homan in Washington at thoman1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 12, 2010 07:50 EDT
(Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQgDSuxGlHgU&pos=6)

The making of a great leader is the successful combination of many skills. The illustration depicts two main characteristics: people skills and technical skills. When a leader has neither, they are a complete failure (as a leader). Too many times people are placed in positions where they are destined to fail. It is obvious where they are lacking to everyone but those responsible for the placement, promotion or appointment. With serious mentoring/training/coaching and a willingness to learn it is possible for them to become a successful leader.

When leaders lean too much to either people or technical skills, a couple of things might happen. Too much people emphasis can lead to a feel good culture without accountability. Too much technical emphasis can lead to a sterile environment that lacks any caring or compassion.

Ultimately, the great leader is a balance of people and technical skills. The great leader is comfortable using both areas to move an organization towards its goals. What sets the great leader apart from the merely adequate leader is the gift of conviction. Conviction is the unshakable belief without need for proof or evidence. In many ways it is similar to the rudder that steers a ship. Without conviction, an organization is rudderless. Great Leaders provide the following:

• Conviction
• Vision
• Belief
• Passion

These qualities will inspire other members of the organization to action. Any company that desires to be successful must have the balance in leadership (people / technical) and the qualities above. An individual that aspires to be a great leader must incorporate all of the above.

© 2010 – Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc.

Too many upper managers complain about not being included in the Strategic Planning process. Inclusion is easy when one becomes a Servant of operations. Listen to the brief podcast.



Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell
Thorlessons0002

Our culture has seen a significant increase in the use of coaches. In addition, there has been a significant increase in the different types of coaches. When people use the term coach, we typically think of a sports coach. This entry will discuss the essential characteristics that are necessary for the coach and the “coachee” to achieve the desired goals.

Many people would like to be a coach. Everyone thinks they have the skills to be a coach. Unfortunately many individuals that find themselves in the coaching role or desire to be a coach will never be successful in that role. There are four key areas that a successful coach must have:



• Knowledge
• Experience
• Ability to inspire
• Ability to teach

When it comes to coaching knowledge, there are two types of knowledge that can be addressed: 1) learned or book knowledge, 2) practical knowledge (which is typically gained through experience.) To adequately coach another individual, practical knowledge is more essential. The coach must be versed with techniques and formal knowledge which typically comes from the educational/learning environment. If a coach only possesses learned knowledge, he may be accused of the ivory tower syndrome.

A coach that does not have the experience will have difficulty providing the key wisdom and counsel along with the practical application to the student. Do you remember the Charlie Brown cartoon where Charlie Brown is teaching someone how to stand on their head? Linus comes up to Charlie brown and questions him saying, “Charlie Brown, how can you teach someone to stand on their head when you can’t do it yourself?” Charlie Brown replies, “Those who can’t do, teach.” Now I realize that this is an offensive statement, but in all forms of humor there's some underlying truth. A coach without the experience will not be as successful. It is important to note that some successful coaches can replace other types of experience for the task that they are coaching and be just as successful. This is one of the reasons that major corporations will hire a CEO from outside of their specific industry.

The ability to inspire other individuals is essential. A coach that cannot inspire other people to action is at a severe disadvantage. About the only individual that will work well with this type of coach is the person that is 100% self motivated. The vast majority of people do not have the skill set to continually motivate themselves all the time.

A coach must have the skill to transfer their knowledge and their experience to the person that they are coaching. In essence they must be an outstanding teacher. If a coach cannot teach, they will fail miserably. This ability to teach others also means the ability to understand that each individual has different learning styles. A one dimensional coach that continually uses the same approach will eventually fail.

As we consider these four attributes, all of them are essential for the coach to be successful. However the last two characteristics: inspiration and teaching ability are an absolute necessity. The next characteristic is experience. The last item is knowledge. Remember that practical knowledge is more important than formal knowledge. One caveat needs to be mentioned. There are certain professions like Physicians, Attorneys, or Tax CPAs, where the formal knowledge is an absolute necessity. Otherwise most non technical positions can be coached with experience or practical knowledge.

Now we will consider the person that is to be coached. There are also a set of characteristics that are essential for this individual to be successful. The four characteristics are:

• Desire
• Practice
• Ability
• Coachability

Any student that does not have the desire to accomplish the goal will most likely fail. Each student must understand that the accomplishment of a goal begins with one thing and one thing only - their decision to make a change. Without desire, a goal just remains a dream.

The next characteristic is practice. Whether it is a student doing their homework, an athlete preparing for a game or a match, or an executive preparing for a board meeting or a negotiation process, practice is a must. It is important to note that each person chooses to practice in a variety of ways dependent on their individual style. It is rare that a person can achieve a specific goal without spending the time practicing.

The student must have the ability to accomplish the goal. This is not to put a limit on the individual. However there are times when individuals are placed in positions that the only logical outcome is failure. They fail because the task or the goal is so far beyond their ability. Therefore it is essential for the student and the coach to recognize the ability as well as the untapped ability to make sure that any goal selected is within the reach of the individual.

The last characteristic is the student’s coachability. If the student is not willing to listen to other individuals, to take advice from other individuals, to listen to criticism from other individuals, he will have a difficult time being successful. Anyone who invests time coaching other people knows the pleasure of a student or an athlete that is coachable. It is very typical that when the coach describes this individual to other people he will state that the student, the athlete or the executive is wonderful because they are coachable.

If you would like to make a self assessment of your coaching skills or your ability to be coached, take the four key characteristics under either section, and rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10. 10 would indicate excellence in the particular characteristic; a 1 would indicate very bad performance. Also imagine how another individual of your choice would rate you on the same characteristics. Many times when we put ourselves in the shoes of someone else and envision their rating of us, we will see a natural difference. Sometimes it's more important to understand what we believe are the perceptions of others as opposed to our own self assessment. For any item that you wish to improve upon, I recommend that you take the following three steps:

1) list one thing that you will do to improve this area over the next 30 days,
2) list one thing that you will do to improve this area over the next 60 days,
3) and finally list one thing that you will do to improve this area over the next 90 days.

As a result your coaching skills or your ability to be coached should improve in the very near future.

© 2010 - Jim Lindell

One of the biggest time wasters is email. Many of us start the day or end the day with checking our email. However, I am willing to bet that no one comes to the office and their top goal is to "check my email." Here is the method to tame the beast:

Turn off email notices - the notices destroy focus.

Set specific times to check email - i.e. 10:00, 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00 - I am sorry, there are only a few jobs in the world that truly need to check more often. Guess what? Yours isn't one of them.

Prohibit negative email conversations - if there is a disagreement require people to talk by phone or in person. This will avoid or limit misunderstandings.

Set firm rules for cc: individuals - I am sorry (again). What you think is important and that everyone needs to know is only partially correct. Take the total number of people that your regularly cc: and reduce that by 75%.
Cheers! You now have 15 more minutes to invest in really important things like internet shopping or ESPN!

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

Have you read "The Incredible Journey" or seen the movie? The plot from wikipedia follows:

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredible_Journey)
The animals' owners, the Hunters, leave for England for university lectures and so entrust the animals to John Longridge, a family friend and godfather of the young daughter, Elizabeth. One fateful day, after John Longridge leaves for a 2 week trip of duck hunting, the animals, feeling the lack of their human companions, set out without a trace to try to find their way home to the Hunters. Mrs. Oakes, who is taking care of Longridge's home, doesn't find the animals and concludes that John must have taken them with him.

Incredible Journey

The animals follow their instincts and move westward towards home, dodging danger nearly every step of the way. But when Bodger, the old Bull Terrier, is attacked, they have to slow down. Tao, the cat, is separated from the others because of a rushing river and faces several dangers before he succeeds in finding the lost dogs. Along the way, the animals are offered help several times. When the Hunters and John Longridge come back from their trips they are devastated when they learn that the animals have gone. They try to find the animals, but after giving up almost all hope, the animals one by one appear out of the woods in a happy homecoming.

In many ways our country and economy is on its' own "Incredible Journey". We are like the pets in the story - on our own and in the wilderness. Our leadership is just as absent as the Hunters were. We have experienced excitement, danger and sadness (just as Bodger did) along the way: failed banks, lost pensions, foreclosed homes, lost companies, lost jobs, etc.

I would like to believe that we are coming out of the woods and that our "owners" are there for us. Unfortunately, the Woods may be deeper and darker and our owners are not as deserving as the Hunters. Anyway, I believe that we are only at the first intermission. Go pop some popcorn, grab a soda and relax - intermission is almost over and Part II is ready to begin. Enjoy the show!

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

It is easy to recommend a specific management style for people to follow. Unfortunately, one size that fits all rarely works. I have seen too many managers be unsuccessful because they have little empathy for those that they lead or supervise. The most successful leaders will be able to change their style to meet the specific needs of the employee and the situation. This skill is an integral component of emotional intelligence. Leaders with higher levels of emotional intelligence will be more successful in the long run.

Adapting your leadership style with the aid of emotional intelligence is akin to playing a game of poker. Your approach, your style of bluffing, the cards that you hold, the odds of successfully drawing new cards, your opponents, can change every single hand. Your management style must have the same flexibility to deal with different employees, competitors, deals, situations, etc. It is important that we do not confuse our values with the ability to change our management style. Our values should always hold true and consistent. Our style to handle specific problems can be flexible.

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

When people think of Scandinavia and ships, they inevitably conjure up images of Vikings. The Vikings were the rulers of the seas for several centuries. The story that is oft forgotten is not the legend of the Vikings but Sweden's attempt to regain command of the seas with the creation of the Vasa in the 17th century. Follow the Disaster below and then I will share the implications for our Government and Businesses in the Recession.

The Disaster
(source:http://www.vasamuseet.se/sitecore/content/Vasamuseet/InEnglish/History/disaster.aspx)
In the early 17th century, Sweden was busy building an empire around
the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. A strong navy was essential. During
the 1620s Sweden was at war with Poland. In 1625 the Swedish king
Gustavus Adolphus ordered new warships. Among them the Vasa.

The Vasa was built at the Stockholm shipyard by Henrik Hybertsson -
an experienced Dutch shipbuilder. His experience was much needed
as the Vasa was to be the mightiest warship in the world, armed with
64 guns on two gundecks.

In 1628 the ship was ready. Sunday August 10 was the day of the
Vasa's maiden voyage. The beaches around Stockholm were filled with
spectators, among them foreign diplomats. The maiden voyage was
to be an act of propaganda for the ambitious Swedish king Gustavus
Adolphus.

Vasa

The Vasa set sail and fired a salute. But only after a few minutes of
sailing the ship began to heel over. She righted herself slightly - and
heeled over again. Water started to gush in through the open
gunports. And, to everyones horror and disbelief, the glorious and
mighty warship suddenly sank! Of the 150 people on board, 30-50
died in the disaster. When Vasa had been salvaged in 1961,
archaeologists found the remains of 25 skeletons.

After the disaster the captain of the Vasa - Söfring Hansson - was
arrested. The Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus was not in Sweden at
the time. He was waging war in Poland. It took two weeks for him to
learn about what had happened. When he did, he wrote angrily that
the disaster had happened because of "imprudence and negligence"
and that the guilty parties had to be punished. Söfring Hansson and
many others were called to inquiries at the Royal Castle of Stockholm.

At the inquest people were troubled by the fact that the shipbuilder
Henrik Hybertsson had died the year before the Vasa was completed.
Instead his brother and partner, Arendt de Groot, was held
responsible for the completion of the ship. But in the end no one was
condemned for causing the disaster. The people in charge of the
inquiries concluded that the ship was well built - but badly
proportioned.

Today, the recession has devastated countries, governments and businesses. The remaining institutions are in many ways like the Vasa. The entities that have not rightsized to adapt to the new economy are "badly proportioned" as the Vasa was. The inevitable conclusion will be the same. Consider the numerous states in our country that are in bankruptcy or close to bankruptcy. Piling on more debt, adding more workers, creating more programs is similar to adding more canon and more weight above deck. The organizations will begin to tilt and no amount of strength will rightsize the boat. Now the good news is that the Vasa was salvaged, and is in the process of being restored. Our entities too will be salvaged. Let's just hope that it doesn't take hundreds of years as in the case of the Vasa.

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

What makes a magic show so interesting? Why do people describe certain experiences as being magical? I believe that the magical experience is created for the viewer as a result of the following:

1) The viewer was surprised by the outcome. He/she did not expect the outcome.
2) The outcome seemed impossible to occur.
3) The viewer felt a part of the experience.
4) The magician was a showman or the visual experience was exciting.

What are the lessons for us when dealing with personal relationships, customers, fellow employees, etc.?

If you want to be magical;

1) give someone the unexpected,
2) provide an experience that is unbelievable,
3) involve the other person in the magical experience,
4) use showmanship or create an exciting visual experience (think fireworks display.)

Work these approaches into your relationships and watch the magic happen!

Copyright 2010 - Jim Lindell

Some strategic planning professionals only focus on a specific process or methodology to perform strategic planning. They have learned a specific approach, they have mastered it and they want to use the same process for every client. Do you remember the saying, "if you only have a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail?" Unfortunately, this also applies to the strategic planning process. The process and methodology should be dictated by the Corporate Culture. The first step in the process is identifying the culture and determining which approach would work the best. One prospective customer called me and wanted an abbreviated form of planning. Their company spoke to a number of planning professionals that said it was impossible to do the planning as the company wanted because there wasn't enough time. I talked in depth with the prospective customer and told him that we could lead an "abbreviated planning discussion" with his management team. He was very happy at that possibility. Ask what your customer wants, clarify their needs, use the appropriate tool from your toolbox (even if isn't the one you normally use) and help the company move forward.

Copyright 2009 - Jim Lindell

1) To inspire employees and help support morale.
2) To provide a vision that leads through and out of the recession.
3) To have my actions mirror and emphasize my words.
4) To believe and act in accordance with the concept that my employees are my most valuable asset.
5) To remember that I work to have fun and that work permits me to spend and enjoy time with my family (reminder: this applies to my employees as well)
6) To lighten up and have fun at work.
7) To remember that I cannot remember nor do I know the names of the great achievers of old. This also reminds me not to take my accomplishments too seriously.
To be gracious and kind to all I meet.

Copyright 2009 - Jim Lindell