The More Trust, The More Time To Succeed

Bill Oncken, in his book Managing Management Time, says that the more trust you have with your "universe " of people, the more time you have to do the things that lead to success.

Trust is hard to earn. Once lost it's hard to regain. It's the most precious asset in any relationship - at any level - at any time.

Without trust, time can stand still. Every action can be scrutinized, every request for money or assets or people be subjected to a tremendous amount of documentation. The result is there is no discretionary time - the time to get the really good stuff done.

A story of two Division Presidents about performance and trust:

Division President A, who had performed well for a year and a half in one Division, was promoted to Division President of a new acquisition. Because of his past performance, he came into this assignment with a high level of trust.
President A, in his first budget year, feeling pressure to perform at a high level, put together an optimistic set of financial goals, and they were accepted - with some skepticism. They weren't met. While the corporation was not happy, he argued that things were worse than he had expected, and next year would be better. In his second budget year, continuing to sense that there were expectations to perform at a high level, he again set stretch financial goals. He was reminded that his input was relied on for overall financial planning at the corporate level. The goals were not met. In his third year, he assured the corporation that the changes he had made, and the knowledge he now possessed, would result in success. By this time trust had been stretched thin. The budget was carefully reviewed. During the year he had to travel to corporate every month to review performance. He had no discretionary time - what had been time available to him to communicate, visit customers, develop his staff - were now taken over with financial and operational micro management. By the end of the third year the division actual performance came close to the proposed annual budget. But nobody trusted anything he said. They saw him as unreliable. Within three months Division President A was terminated.

In a separate Division of the same company, Division President B consistently beat his financial numbers. He knew how important making his numbers was in gaining trust. He rarely had to travel to corporate to explain his results, he had a high level of success in wringing capital dollars out of the corporation, his people decisons were rarely challenged. Things were far from perfect in his business, but whenever plans weren't met, or bad news occurred, he communicated - there were no surprises. His reward was trust - and a high level of trust resulted in being left alone. And he and his staff appreciated the freedom - and maintained close contact with their "universe" of contacts within the company - on a proactive basis. After five years of top performance, he was promoted to Group Executive, where he was equally successful.

What successful President B practiced were the essential elements of trust building. It wasn't that unsuccessful President A was not worthy of trust - he in fact had a high level of personal integrity, but he let intentions get in the way of results.

Here are Division President B's essential elements of trust building:

Honor commitments, and do that by being careful to make commitments that can be kept. And make commitments into statements of goals to ensure there are no misunderstandings - that everyone is on the same page.

Respect the requirements of others in your "universe." Realize that not meeting the requirements of others will create a climate of distrust and disrespect. And what should have been an opportunity to show respect for others requirements in the form of a routine report submittal, or a timely expense report submittal, or an on-time budget submission instead become seeds of distrust that can grow and eat away at free time.

Communicate the news - good and bad. Good news is easy - bad news not so much. But trust is lost every time bad news is delayed, minimized or blamed on others. The person that has the courage to communicate bad news on their accountabilities should be respected. Failure to do so leads to increased control - and a loss of time.

Trust but verify. Don't confuse verification with a lack of trust. See it as a necessary step to greater levels of trust. The optimistic manager who provides trust without verification doesn't last long - at least as a trusting, optimistic manager. Verification is a necessary component of a high trust relationship. Proactively providing verification in a routine manner creates trust.

Give trust to get trust. Like most things of value in relationships, giving results in getting. Have you ever seen a low trust- giving person receive a high level of trust from others? It's rare.

Learn to say "No." It's so easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new enterprise, a new project, a new relationship. And it's so easy in that excitement and optimism to commit beyond the ability to deliver. Maybe "No" is too strong a word. Perhaps "let's think about it for ...." is a better way to make sure commitments made can be kept. No commitment can be taken lightly - someone is counting on it being kept.

Respect the learning curve. As knowledge is gained on the path to meeting a commitment, use that knowledge to modify what was originally committed so that results are managed and trust preserved.

Tell the truth as fast as you can, and as you know it to be. At the same time, recognize that what you perceive as truth and what others perceive as truth can be very different. By communicating your own truth, be prepared to be amazed at how different others perception can be. Putting your truth on the table creates the opportunity to deal with the differences.

Honor the promises made to yourself. Every time a personal promise is not kept, personal trust is reduced. On the other hand, every time a personal goal is met - as small as taking that hike on a Saturday morning, or as big as quitting smoking, personal trust grows. And trust in ourselves is the key to trust in others.

Trust comes from accomplishment - not from intention. Intention can be invaluable for creating the goals needed to define performance, but results are the key to trust.

Start today - identify the "universe" of people that can add to or detract from the time you have to do the critical things that can lead to success. Then identify what it takes to give to and get from that "universe." Then cultivate your "universe" and be prepared to gain time - time you may never have known could be available to you.

Written By Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Dr, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

Nine Essentials Of Employee Terminations

It started so well - high expectations and enthusiasm on everyone's part. And then it started to unravel. And in a period of months, that new hire or promotion or transfer is just not working out. And it comes time to part company. At that point, the most critical part of the termination process takes place. It's the place where the people remaining evaluate how it was handled - it's critical because well handled terminations create positive emotions, and poorly handled ones cause the organization to lose credibility in the eyes of its employees.

What are the nine Essentials in a termination situation that can positively impact the morale and perceptions of the people that remain?

1 - Be aware of the "there but the for the Grace of God go I" feelings of many of the remaining people. Terminations, even the most justified, create insecurity in the minds of many of the good people. View the actions taken by the organization through the self interest of the workforce.

2 - It's absolutely essential that respect for the person being terminated is shown. Privacy and providing the opportunity for constructive discussion show respect. It provides employees with the assurance that respect for individuals is part of the organization's culture.

3 - All employees want to know, by the actions of the organization, that there is a system of due process that ensures actions taken are subject to discussion and review before action is taken.

4 - Confidentiality is important. It's tempting to want to justify the termination of an employee by communicating the reasons for it. Don't. Trying to justify and/or gain the approval of others is a lose - lose proposition. Plus the terminated person may feel an obligation to seek recourse because of what is said about them.

5 - Not following what has been written and practised in order to terminate someone degrades the trust the workforce has in the word of the organization. Often aggressive managers - the same ones who would short circuit the selection process, are the ones who want to act without regard for process in termination. It's a poor investment in the morale of any organization - and almost guaranteed to result in legal action.

6 - Offer the opportunity to resign, whenever possible. The most effective action is often one where the boss and the person have a "it's not working out" talk, and the person is given time to seek other opportunities while continuing to perform their duties - or not.This can be tricky - trust is a big part of this kind of arrangement. But in most cases, people are relieved that the opportunity to salvage their self respect and protect their security is offered. Most people who are not performing well know it - they often find the discussion a relief.

7 - The Hiring Manager has to be the one to notify the person of their termination. A representative of the Legal or HR staff may be a witness and may be the resource to provide information on benefits, salary continuation, references, insurance, financial matters - but the Hiring Manager has to respect the individual by informing them of their termination.

8 - It's absolutely essential that as soon as performance issues are identified, action is taken. Failure to take action has the effect of reducing employees expectations of what represents acceptable levels of performance. And once action is deferred, it makes it more difficult to act later - while the bar of acceptable performance has been lowered.

9 - Don't make the same mistake twice. When the dust has cleared and the mistake in selection has been fixed, review what happened and take what was learned and apply it to the next selection. Continuing to do the same things and hoping for a better outcome are marks of a poor manager. And do not tolerate the "throw them up against the wall and see if they stick" approach to selection. That leads to sloppy selection practices, legal headaches, poor performance.

Review your actions when you have the responsibility for terminating someone - then compare your actions and the actions of your organization to the essentials listed. See how you can improve the morale and commitment of the people left to do the work. It's an investment in behavior that will create focus on the future rather than on the past.

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com; Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com/

Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

How To Earn Respect

There's a secret to gaining respect - one that I had the good fortune to learn early in my career - and from a most improbable source. The secret to getting respect is to give respect.

Read on to see how that lesson was taught to me by a very special person.

Early in my career I was Branch Manager of a temporary help service. The largest part of our business was done in the Labor Division. The workforce was made up of day laborers - men who had fallen on the hardest of times. They were paid by the hour, and could receive a daily draw against wages earned. For most of them, working and getting the draw was the difference between having food and shelter or going hungry and sleeping in the Mission - or worse.

Every morning at 5:30 AM our office would open, and in would file the men looking for work.There were as many as a hundred who waited, drank free coffee, and hoped to be assigned and dispatched to a job. Many were assigned - some were not.

Early morning was a time when lots of bad things could happen - anger at not getting assigned - anger at perceived insults - anger at competitors for the same job - anger at life - and anger at being treated poorly by the full time staff. The result had been a number of fights, knifings, and one attempted shooting. Those problems resulted in a decline in business. I was sent there to correct the situation.

Our product was the labor that these men performed. It was definitely in our best interests to maintain a positive relationship with our own people. Unfortunately, many men left for jobs feeling angry, patronized and disrespected. Some never showed up at their assignments, others walked off the jobs, some forged their time tickets.

Observing the situation for a week I could understand why the men felt that way. They were patronized - they were treated as the bottom of the barrel - they were not given any reason to feel valued. And when one was publicly humiliated - and that happened too often - they all felt that humiliation. The only thing most of these men had left was a shred of self respect - or at least the need to feel respected. When that need for respect was abused, when it was not recognized, bad things happened.

The first step to change occurred when my boss gave me a sign to put up in the office- visible only to the full time staff. It said "There but for the grace of God, go I." A constant reminder of the thin line between good fortune and bad fortune.

And then we set up four rules that full time staff were required to follow:

1 - Every man who showed up for work, regardless of his condition or qualifications was to be addressed as "Mister" followed by his last name. First names could be used once the person was known. The use of any abusive name, description or nickname was prohibited

2 - Any discipline would be done confidentially, and without the use of abusive and demeaning terms

3- No assignments that were known to be unsafe would be accepted

4 - Assignments would be given on the basis of length of service, ability, past performance and availablility.

Those were the rules. Some full time staff had a problem with these simple rules - they were replaced.

Into this environment walked a man named Riley Bentley. Mr Bentley was an African American - like about half of our workforce. He was big, muscular and an intimidating looking and acting man. He had a silver earring long before they were popular, and he had a "keep away from me " manner. He was sober, he had no problem filling out the application, he looked you right in the eye. He was hired. From the first day, every job he was sent on resulted in excellent reports. He would come back every night, get his draw, and leave. No talk, no socializing - nobody messed with Mr Bentley.


He worked for us for about six months, then, like so many others, he stopped showing up. We had customers tell us if he came back they wanted to know - so they could get him back. Hard to imagine a man with his capabilities and no obvious vices not having a full time job.

After a three month absence, Mr Bentley walked back in. I was running the Labor Office - it was hard to get and keep full time staff who would obey the rules and treat the men properly, and when they left or were fired, I filled in. I was glad to see Mr Bentley and I told him so. He had lost some weight, but he was still the strongest, hardest working man we had. One night, Mr Bentley came back to the office just before 6 PM - closing time. He looked me right in the eye and said I could call him Riley. I said that he should call me Andy, and we shook hands on it. He walked with me to my car after I had closed up - I asked him if he needed a ride - he said no and kept walking. That became a regular thing. He would arrive at the office just before closing time after working hard all day - and then chat with me and then walk me to my car and head off into the night.

And then Riley was gone - and I hoped he had found a full time job - he deserved one.

A few months later Riley was back, thinner, but still as strong as ever. I noticed he perspired a lot, even though it was fall and cold and he did not wear a jacket. While he was gone we had gone through two new full time staff - and I was back to opening and closing the Labor Office. Riley resumed coming in every night and spending time leaning on the counter and looking out to the street while we talked and I took care of business. Part of the business was paying the men in cash. We kept a large sum of money in small bills for that purpose. We had a safe but it was so busy during the after work hours that the money was in the safe, but the safe was kept unlocked. Anyone could have come in and held me up. Riley could have turned me upside down and taken the money and there would have been no way for me to prevent it. I think Riley read my mind. One night he told me the reason he always stayed until I locked up and why he walked me to my car was to thank me for showing him respect - and his thanks was to provide me with his personal protection. I was ashamed for my concerns - and glad I had Riley - our office was in a very tough part of town.

Riley worked a few more weeks - he seemed to be in distress when he came in at night - perspiring heavily, shivering, but he persisted. He would not discuss his physical condition, and he would never accept a ride or any other kind of help.

And then he was gone. A few weeks later one of our regular men came in and told me Riley had been found in his room - in a chair - and he'd been dead about a week. I was stunned, and saddened, and sorry about the loss of my friend - because we were friends, in our own special way. Riley had given me his protection as his way of expressing his respect. I had given him respect because it just made sense - on a personal and business level, to recognize the humanity of our people. I was repaid a hundredfold for that by Riley.

Ever since that time, Riley Bentley is in my prayers - and he always will be.

Riley taught me the secret to gaining respect. The secret has stayed with me since that time. It's pretty simple. The secret is you get respect by giving respect. I will be forever grateful to Riley for that lesson.

There are other elements to gaining respect, such as keeping your word, making good on commitments, honoring what you promise. But aren't they all part of giving respect? I think so - giving respect is the cornerstone to getting respect.

In your own life, take the time to recognize people that you may have passed by. There's a saying " The true measure of a person is how they treat someone who can do them no good nor any harm." We all can profit from remembering that saying, and making it part of our daily self talk and behavior. And if you're really lucky, maybe you'll find a Riley Bentley in your life.

Start today.

Written by Andy Cox

Cox Consulting Group LLC, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: acox@coxconsultgroup.com, Website: http://www.coxconsultgroup.com/; Blog: http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com

Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved

Building Trust - Starting With Yourself

The most important person you can trust is yourself! Do you trust your self? Do you trust other people? Do you start with the belief that people can be trusted - or with the belief that people aren't to be trusted?

These are questions we ask people as part of our work. Usually the answers are - "Yes, I trust myself", and "Yes, I believe people can be trusted." Predictable answers - most of us really believe that we have a high level of trust in ourselves and in our fellow man. After all, every day we hit the highways we trust our fellow travelers to drive safely. When we dine at a restauant, we trust the food preparation was done safely. We trust our bank to handle our money according to our instructions. We trust the teachers of our children to be competent and diligent in developing the young minds entrusted to them. That kind of institutional trust is essential to our being able to function on a day to day basis in our society. Only when some event creates mistrust - an accident, food poisoning, embezzlement, a failed course, do we question this kind of trust.

But there is a far more important form of trust -

It's the kind of trust that results in success or failure in our lives. It starts with how trustful we are of ourselves. It starts with keeping the promises or commitments or resolutions we make to ourselves. If we have a problem with keeping promises to ourselves, we will transfer that lack of trust to our beliefs in other people. Put simply, if we can't trust ourselves, we won't be able to trust others. Why? Because every one of us assumes that others act and think and feel the way we act and think and feel. It's a bad assumption - but a human one.

So how do we develop trust in others? First, we start by developing trust in ourselves. We start by keeping the promises we make to ourselves. Many people set themselves up for failure by making too many or too agressive promises to themselves. Take New Year's resolutions as an example. Realize that every unkept promise we make to ourselves corrodes our feelings of trust in ourselves - and how can we possibly trust others if we don't trust ourselves?

Second, we gain trust in others by starting with a clean slate - training ourselves to remember that other people are different than we are - and to not assume our behavior is the same as their's.

It's impossible to gain leverage in life through other people if you lack trust in others. It's impossible to reach your goals - assuming your goals are lofty ones, without the help and trust in others. How do you get that trust? You start by developing trust in yourself. Start today - now - don't wait!

Written by Andy Cox, President

Cox Consulting Group LLC, 4049 E Vista Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85032 Ph: 602-795-4100; Fax: 602-795-4800; E Mail: andycox@coxconsultgroup.com. Website; www.coxconsultgroup.com

Copyright 2007 All Rights reserved