Systemize Growing the Staff and Become Great

For a business to grow and flourish, the people in the business need to grow their capabilities to grow with the company. While some people delight in personal growth and are always looking for new challenges, many will linger back and resist efforts to increase their skills. Having a system in place to help staffers become better at their jobs helps the company increase its capabilities for higher levels of performance, higher levels of customer satisfaction, and increased job satisfaction which usually results in better staff retention. Lots of good reasons to work towards having a more capable, happier staff. But you can't do it by wishing.

It takes a system to help people grow and be able to take on new challenges and responsibilities. This system has a number of different components including written policies, manuals, job descriptions, training, mentoring, compensation structure, career path, and performance reviews. Each component supports the others.

Policies and Manuals describe how the work is to be accomplished. Job descriptions outline the responsibilities of the position and the limits of those responsibilities as well as personal goals, quality and time levels, workflow, and how one's work will be evaluated. Training and Mentoring help the jobholder become proficient at carrying out job duties as quickly and expertly as possible. The compensation structure must be competitive and, if extra effort or expertise is to be rewarded, a bonus or commission structure should be included. A Career Path for those who excel will help retain outstanding staff because it holds out the promise of a greater future with the company. Performance Reviews give a structured evaluation of progress being made and sets future expectations for continued growth. Take away any element of this system and there is a gap in understanding the job and speed of learning which becomes a gap in performance that impacts the whole company's performance in terms of customer satisfaction and service.

Work on creating the system. Build it piece by piece. Before long, the system will be rewarding you for the effort by building a better staff which transforms into a better company and then a great company!

By Larry Galler

Larry Galler coaches and consults with high-performance executives, professionals, and small businesses since 1993. He is the writer of the long-running (every Sunday since November 2001) business column, "Front Lines with Larry Galler" For a free coaching session, email Larry for an appointment - [mailto:Larry@larrygaller.com]Larry@larrygaller.com. Sign up for his free newsletter at http://www.larrygaller.com

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Learn to Embrace Change

There is something about seasons that we must remember: they change. Many of us have already stored away our summer attire and pulled out the light jackets and sweaters. As it is with the seasons so it is in our lives. There's no way around it. We can either resist change and forfeit the newness that life offers or we can embrace change and experience greater blessings and fruitfulness.

Perhaps you're in transition either in your career, family, spiritual life, etc. and you're feeling somewhat fretful. It's important that you understand that fear is a normal emotion for one to experience when stepping into the unfamiliar. We are not always given the luxury of being able to see very far up the road ahead. We're usually only given enough light to take the next step. Quite frankly, in many cases, that's enough! Because sometimes, if we knew in advance the rough terrain we'd have to travel to reach our destination, many of us wouldn't even begin the journey.

I can certainly relate to the fear one can feel in stepping out of one's comfort zone, as I took the step of faith to begin presenting quarterly seminars. "What if nobody shows up?" "What if?, what if, what if?..." These were questions from my fears and doubts. But, because I knew this endeavor was in line with my calling, I forged ahead in spite of my trepidations. I became more committed to my dream than my fears in order to help enrich the lives of others. The fruit was worth the temporary discomfort!

Change is a gift. As uncomfortable as transition may be, change is a necessary cycle for growth in our lives. Without change we'd remain stuck in a state of complacency and frustration. If you're going to live your dreams and become all you were created to be, you're going to have to accept change as the bridge between your present and pre-destined state. When you can't see your way, you must have the inner assurance that your circumstances are being divinely orchestrated.

I haven't always handled the transitions in my life very well. I often found myself stumbling in the direction in which I was being led. I tended to hold on to the familiar longer than I should. At times I've hesitated and need to be "nudged" into the next assignment in my life. Yet, inevitably, it was a peaceful place--a contented state of mind.

With every new challenge there is fear--just know that. Once you conquer your fear in one area and get ready to face a new challenge, you're going to face fear. We should use fear to energize us rather than make us shrink back. You'd be surprised to know that the people you most admire for their great accomplishments, also face fear. But the difference between them and the majority is that they use fear as an adrenaline to push them forward.

Although you might not be able to see very far up the road ahead, your part is to step into the light that has been revealed to you rather than trying to figure out every step of the way. If you're going to get to the next level in your life, you're going to have to walk by faith. Don't allow yourself to get hooked on any one road to get you to your next divine assignment. Just relax and enjoy the journey!

By Rebecca McClain

Rebecca McClain is a certified life and business. She is the founder and president of Life Treasures, LLC. As an entrepreneur, author, speaker and coach she is recognized as an expert in personal and professional success and fulfillment. Visit her website to receive a complimentary download of, "Top Ten Secrets to Having the Life You've Dreamed About" at http://www.rebecca-mcclain.com

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Your Potential is in Your Own Hands

You may have heard of the so-called Law of Attraction - where this phrase was coined I'm not quite sure. Unfortunately, however, the "Law of Attraction" as popularized by books and videos like "The Secret" is viewed by most of the people that I meet 'logical, successful people if a variety of walls of life - as an old-wives' tale, one-step removed from crystal ball gazing. It's an awful shame that its entry into pop culture has trivialized something that is not just fundamentally true but one that is, as we speak, having a profound influence on your life, whether you know it or not.

Essentially, we're talking about what quantum physicists call the Law of Potentiality. Unlike it's pop psychology or self-help counterpart, this is actually a scientific law from the world of quantum physics, originally postulated as a mathematical theory and then proved experimentally within the last decade. Basically, this law states that particles - of energy, of matter - can potentially be anything or anywhere until we observe them to be as they are. Consequently, it might be useful to consider the question as to whether the universe (including your little bit of it) is as your perceive it or does you perceiving it make it appear so. This is not some form of Zen conundrum, rather it begs the question - is your life, your world, and the lives and worlds of those whom you affect, no more than the consequence of your own expectations? Let's read on.

Quantum physics proves that energy responds to expectation - energy does and is what we expect it to do and be. But, here's the bad news. Psychology has proved conclusively (there are literally decades of research from pretty much every continent) that the normal person only perceives what he or she expects to perceive. Normal people's expectations rarely rise above the normal. In fact, as we will see in a moment, normal people actually expect nothing other than a mundane life. Add to this the fact that US research provides us with evidence that the normal adult default state of mind is negative and we're all in real trouble. You see, this has massive consequences for you, me, our friends, family and children. About 96% of people on this planet believe that, if their lives are mundane, they're doing well! This expectation results in universal energy giving us precious little in return.

Quantum physics proves that energy responds to energy - in other words, the energy of the universe responds to whatever energy input into it - in simple terms, energy in: energy out. Decades of psychological research prove that the normal person puts about 1% of their energy into the only place and time the universe exists - the here and now. The rest of the normal person's mind is wandering - distracted by random useless thoughts or, more seriously, obsessed with the darker voices of the subconscious mind - as my clients say, "the little voice that whispers 'No, you can't!'" So between our negative predisposition and the fact that we're quite literally not all here, it's little wonder that the normal life turns out to be exactly what the normal person expects - at very best, not too bad.

These proven scientific facts - from the twin disciplines of psychology and physics - point the way to how you can change your life. No old wives' tales or crystal balls, hard science tells you that if you expect something different, something different will happen, as sure as night follows day. But what does "expect" mean?

I prefer to use the word "belief" - belief is kind of a subconscious expectation - and it is your subconscious mind's beliefs that suck your energy away from being more present. That being the case, for starters, you need to give your subconscious mind some new beliefs - not just ones that are positive (a little positive thinking can be a dangerous thing) but ones that actually excite and energize you. You've got to "picture" the exciting things that your heart desires out of life - exciting means beyond the norm, beyond the mundane, something that really turns you on. Once you have a feeling of what would really excite you - what would get you leaping out of bed each morning - write it down, as if you have it already. Hand write it, using only the present tense - it's the language of the subconscious. This then means that you expect something different - and, sooner or later, something different will happen.

Sooner or later? Yes, it depends on just how much energy you put in - not into focusing on your goals, put on what you're doing in the here and now. Otherwise, your mind will wander back to the default position - otherwise, you're as good as dead if you are, like all normal people, only 1% present in the here and now. So, you need to learn how to pay attention to the here and now - you need to fine tune your innate ability to experience the present moment as if it is the only moment that you have. Of course, in reality it is - life is lived moment to moment, success is achieved in what we do and how we behave moment to moment - the universe responds to our input, moment to moment.

By Willie Horton

Copyright (c) 2009 Willie Horton

Willie Horton's acclaimed two-day personal development seminars have been running for thirteen years. He teaches that a clear and present state of mind creates extra-ordinary personal and business success. His vast expertise is now available in his Online Workshop at Gurdy.Net. His website also offers daily free personal development video seminars, articles and a Free Personal Development Ezine published every Monday morning.

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Speed and Flexibility - Required to Hire the Best

Regardless of what you are reading in the business tabloids, when it comes to the talent that your company wants to hire...you know, the "A" level candidates who make the biggest impact on your company's bottom-line, NOTHING HAS CHANGED. High unemployment or low unemployment, these game-changers are always in demand, and the swiftest to the finish line wins the prize.

Case in point-I've just witnessed one organization take nearly two months to go through a hiring process with an "A" level candidate who, through a re-organization, was downsized. Another company who had actually JUST LET SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE GO, decided they needed someone of his caliber, and within 10 days had conducted two interview sessions and made an offer. Company Two Months made their offer in the same week, but alas, our star went to company 10 Days. Moral of the story- If you have someone who is perfect for the job, you don't have forever to make the call-someone somewhere will also see the value in "your" candidate, and will move mountains to bring them on board.

If you are in a position to do so and you have a great candidate, change your schedule to speed-up the interview process, make a quick decision even if you don't have everyone's buy-in (seriously, do you EVER have everyone's buy-in?), stop interviewing the "B" candidates that you think you should just because maybe they might be good, and MAKE THE OFFER. If you don't, believe me, someone will have an opening pop up and will swoop in and snag your prize before you even know what happened.

By John Mallon

John Mallon is a Principal and co-founder of Eagle Bentley Group, a boutique search firm specializing in recruiting insurance, employee benefits, and finance professionals. For the past eleven years he has worked closely with Fortune 500 organizations as well as start-ups in attracting top level talent to their organization. Please visit us at http://www.eaglebentley.com
where you'll find our blog and more information on Eagle Bentley's recruiting services.

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