Protecting the Top 20%

"Who would begrudge Giggs his 100th goal with the performance this the one today?" the commentator remarked in admiration during when Manchester United was leading Bolton 2-0

I always identify and nurture my top performers, because the most dangerous situation a company faces is losing the top 20% of its workforce - either when they leave the company or lose their motivation.

In 1 focus-group discussion about turnover which my HR friend was facilitating, one comment was noted: "If these great people are leaving, what does it say about me that I'm staying?" Sounds like he was troubled by the fact that he was staying.

I am a firm believer that to keep the best performers on my team, and get good financial results over the long run, I need to treat my team members well...especially my top 20%

Sense of urgency

"More than a quarter of the staff at the Singapore office of private bank RBS Coutts have quit in a mass resignation and some are joining Swiss rival BSI. The RBS Coutts spokesman said the bank plans to hire 200 more staff in Asia over the next five years and aims to double its assets in the same period." Saeed Azhar reported for Reuters.

During the past 20 over years, I've hired quite a lot of people and have supervised the hiring of many others. Along the way, I've hired some doozies, made some mistakes, and have hopefully learned some valuable lessons.

One of the most important lessons is that if you hire employees and it turns out they aren't moving as fast as you need them to move, there are only 2 possibilities: there are too many speed bumps or you hired a turtle.

Unfortunately, when most managers realise they've hired a turtle, they have a tendency to defend their selection because their ego can't handle admitting mistakes. It becomes a face issue.

My entire work culture is built around being fast. If one doesn't like speed, then they can't work with me. I can't be fast to market a new product, close a deal unless I am surrounded with people who move with a sense of urgency in everything they do.

From right: Shirley and Rae

The national pastime

"World may end in 2012: Doomsayers" This headlines on the Yahoo homepage jumped out of the PC screen and grabbed me.

Most people are better at the doomsday thinking than they are at contingency planning. Worrying - not football - is really the national pastime.

Worry starts with the words what if. For example: "What if I don't meet the budget." The trick is to shift the anxiety to anticipation with if...then. For example: :If I don't meet the budget then I will..."

I find that changing worry to preparation is empowering. It frees us the negative energy and makes it available to create opportunity. It also increases confidence. I'm less worried because I have a fall-back strategy.

Making eyes

During a presentation, making eye contact with the audience helps to regulate the flow of communication and increase the speaker’s credibility - this was in the Effective Presentation Techniques outline I'd received via email.

The eyes are central to communication.

People who are intimate can hold eye contact for far longer than others (though there seems to be a case of diminishing returns to this principle in long-term relationships/marriages)

Many people are very good at using eye contact effectively when speaking, mainly because they want their message to be heard and using eye contact is another way, in addition to effective speech, to driving the message home.

I always look people in the eye when I'm 1st introduced to them to show interest in them and approachability. I also consciously employ eye contact as a listener, accompanied by the occassional head nod, leaning forward and open gestures to convey interest, attention and respect.

Show of confidence

President Obama said Friday he was "most surprised and deeply humbled" to win the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, adding that he accepts the honor as "a call to action to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

If there was a Nobel prize for confidence, there would be a lot of sales leaders running for it. Zain Puteh, one of my guru told me before: "I have never met a sales person who has built a business who has not got a big ego." Truly, I believe, if you can't build your own brand, how can you build brands for people who pay you for it?

Confidence is thinking about what is possible and how to make it possible. Of course, we might be misunderstood for being arrogant. Arrogance, to me, is thinking we are better than other people in general. Confidence has nothing to do with a comparison of ourselves to others.

The only secret is (as Jude in the movie "Across the Universe puts it): It's not what you do; it's how you do it.

Passion at work

"Paul is a very passionate salesperson," Virginie introduced me to Karen and Anthony Jepson. "We noticed the passion he has for the job and his product," Anthony replied. "Unlike most other salespeople who would just show us and ramble about the rooms, meeting facilities, etc. After all, a room is a room is a room."

If we try to sell something we don't believe in, people have a good reason to suspect a scam. We must believe that we are performing a valuable public service and meeting genuine human needs.

The 1st time we talk with a particular buyer, we're the remotest strangers. As a stranger, our ethics are in question. Never, ever, do anything to cast doubts on your honesty or fairness. For that reason, never "wing it" in response to a question. A better approach is "I don't knw the answer, but I will find out and get back to you."

1st impressions...

"1st impression counts," Marilyn said as-a-matter-of-factly. "That's too bad," Francis shot back. "My 1st impression of you was formed at the pump room."

It has been said before - it is worth repeating: You don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression.

1st impressions are strong and lasting ones. But customers aren't the only people who get fast and firm 1st impressions, so do employees.

What is the 1st impression that most new employees get on that 1st day of work? Well, almost 1 in 10 just go to work and get to work. Some are treated like parts in a machine. They are given varying degrees of information which includes an official welcome, statements of missions and values, explanations of benefits and policies, paperwork processing and perhaps a code of ethics along with a menu of penalties that code violaters might expect.

I prefer to keep it fluid and personal.