WHAT DO YOU TALK ABOUT?

FORMULA FOR ACHIEVING SUCCESSFUL RELATIONSHIP

While I was in Kulim for three days from 16-18 January 2012, I was assisted by a public transport entrepreneur, Encik Zamri, with whom I enjoyed a nice chat and exchange of ideas. After listening to his takes on various current issues, I am more resolved that the formula for achieving a peaceful and successful relationship with anybody is actually very simple:

If you are wrong, apologise.

If you are right, just shut up!

How much time is left for you?

Try this metaphor. The measuring tape has a finite number: 60 inches. Our life has a finite number, albeit unknown. So, if your finite age is 60 and you are 50 years old, how long is your 'measuring tape' left?

The most important thing to do now is...what are you going to do with what is left? Time management is basically about improving the quality of your life by concentrating in quality activities only, and eliminating the non-necessities. Concentrate only on what is important in your life - physical, mental spiritual, social, financial, career and family - and be useful to others, expecting nothing in return. I assure you that you will lead a quality and meaningful life.


Remember what Albert Einstein said: Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.

What can I do if my superior 'steals' my time?

Someone from Batu Gajah asked me a couple of days ago: What can I do if my superior 'steals' my time? My answer was similar to what Steve Jobs said above. Be true to yourself. Have the courage to stand up and say what you truly feels. If you are afraid of the consequences, and say or do things against your will, you will be forever trapped as a prisoner of your own conscience. 

And you have no one else to blame, but yourself!

How do I motivate my subordinate to perform above expectations?

One of my ex-programme participants asked me via e-mail a couple of days ago:  

How do I motivate my subordinate to perform above expectations? To put it another way, how do we obtain the ability to awaken their enthusiasm, commitment and passion to go the extra mile?

The thought of engaging employee's discretionary effort has always been appealing to leaders. Why? Obviously, because engaging employees discretionary effort plays a major role in shaping the success of the talented few leaders who know how to do it well.

The basic premise that we must use is that everyone is motivated by WIIFM – What’s In It For Me. If your subordinate / follower refuses to go the extra mile, you have to ask these 6 questions to yourself to determine why he doesn’t do what you want him to do:

1. Does he know what he is supposed to do?;

If he doesn’t have a clue on what he is supposed to do, how can he be motivated to do it? Your job is to ensure that the task is doable, and explained to him clearly. DO NOT ASSUME that he knows.

2. Does he  know how to do it?;

Your subordinate may be technically competent to do his job. But that doesn’t mean that he also knows how to do the extra task that you asked him to do. Make sure he does, and DO NOT ASSUME.

3. Does he think that he is already doing it?;

If he thinks that he is already doing it, you need to correct this misperception. You need to tell him the exact results that you expected.

4. Are there obstacles beyond his control?;

Sometimes in order to perform the extra task, the subordinate needs to get cooperation from other people or other department. Maybe due to his inability to work well with people, he couldn’t get the much needed cooperation. Your job is to remove the obstacles and provide all the support that you can give by bridging the gap between him and other stakeholders.

5. Does he think that something else is more important than the extra work that you asked him to do?;

You really need to talk to him on this. If you discover that he is working two jobs because he needs the extra money, for example, you need to counsel him on company policy and persuade him that this extra work you asked him to do is just as important as whatever something else he is doing. Please bear in mind that you should NEVER undermine or bad mouthing his something else just so that your extra task shines. NEVER!

6. Is he rewarded, in some ways, for not doing it?

Why was he promoted in the first place? Was it some kind of emotional bribe that you can use later? Please go deep into your conscience and answer this truthfully. He may not have been a promotable employee in the first place, and the fact that he got a promotion despite a ‘B’ grade performance can bloat his ego that he is so good that he can still expect to be rewarded even if he is not performing his best. If this is the case, then you need to counsel him and pop-up some ego balloons so that he will understand where he really stands. Please do this discreetly.

What to do now? Once you have determine your answers to the above questions, provide him with FEEDBACK. Yes! Frequent and meaningful informal feedback is more effective at unlocking discretionary effort than all other leadership techniques. This truth was discovered by the American Institute of Human Resources which commissioned research into the drivers of employee performance. They discovered that frequent, meaningful informal feedback has more impact on employee performance than any other leadership technique. All that is required is for you as the leader to illustrate how the employee’s performance, strengths and personal characteristics are critical in helping your team or organization to achieve your respective goals.

Yes, motivation comes from within. However, that doesn’t mean you as the leader cannot do anything to motivate your people. Yes, you can do something within your power to use these 5 keys to unlock the human side of supervision, which acronym is I-CURE:

1. Make people feel IMPORTANT

Demonstrate that the extra task is meaningful and important to you and the company. Make sure that he understands that the extra task you give him is actually a vehicle for his growth. As his leader, after you have made your goal clear you must empower him to perform on his own.

2. Show that you CARE

Take a sincere interest in his private life. But you need to draw a line where you shouldn’t cross.

3. UNDERSTAND  the person behind the employee

What makes him tick? His family? His hobby? His ambition? His extra time with his friends? What makes him feel satisfied?

4. REWARD employee’s efforts

Only give reward if you sincerely believe that he really deserves it that you will give it to him even if he is your worst enemy. Make sure that the reward is immediate, specific  and meaningful. Remember this general guideline: PRAISE IN PUBLIC, REPRIMAND IN PRIVATE. The operative word here is “general guideline” because there are people who are not comfortable to be praised in public.

5. ENCOURAGE two-way communication

Finally, you must be approachable at any reasonable time so that he can come to you for advise, guide or just to talk. Make sure you make some time to talk to your people EVERYDAY. Yes, everyday! And it doesn’t have to be long; 1-5 minutes a day per person is good enough. Don’t hide behind your never ending reports and meetings until you don’t have time for your people.

Finally, what you need to do now is to talk to him privately and without interruption, as in counselling. Prepare what you need to talk about, and how you are going to say it. If it doesn’t sound right, rephrase. And then practice, practice, practice until you are confident enough to say it without offending him or anyone else. 

Remember that you are not paid for what you do. You are paid for what your people do!

Tune Hotels to open in Kulim this September

Seri Malaysia Hotel in Kulim...read this...If you do not look after your customers well, someone else will. So, buck up or buck out!

Aug 23, 2011

Tenth Tune Hotel in Malaysia: Tune Hotel Kulim

Tune Hotels, the pioneering value hotel chain under Tune Group, is adding another property to its portfolio with the opening of its latest hotel in Kulim, Kedah next month. It is going to be the 10th Tune Hotel to open in Malaysia, bringing its worldwide network to 13 hotels including two in Bali, Indonesia and one in London, England.

Located at the Kulim Landmark Central, Tune Hotel Kulim is strategically located between Kulim old town and its new town centre. It is also about 3 km from the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, the first high technology industrial park in Malaysia.

The new Tune Hotel that has 50 rooms comprising 32 doubles, 17 twins and a wheelchair-friendly room is scheduled for opening on 23 September 2011.

To kick-off its pre-opening sale, Tune Hotels is having a special promotion where rooms at the Kulim hotel are going for as low as RM10 per night. Booking starts today until 26 August for stay period from 23 September 2011 up to 31 August 2012.

Tune Hotels Group CEO Mark Lankester says: “We are spreading the Tune Hotels brand and quality to all over Malaysia and the opening of Tune Hotel Kulim scheduled for next month is a testament to our commitment. We look forward to serving the needs of particularly business travelers to the third largest town in Kedah that is home to one of Asia’s top business parks, the Kulim Hi-Tech Park. With its vicinity to Penang, Tune Hotel Kulim also acts as a satellite to our hugely popular Tune Hotel Downtown Penang. Our guests will find Tune Hotel Kulim a great option as the town is very close by to the North-South and East-West Highways.”

CUSTOMERS ARE NOT SALES RESISTANT; THEY ARE ACTUALLY SALES PEOPLE RESISTANT.

In our programme "How To Be A Winner, Not A Whiner" in Melaka, Ipoh and Petaling Jaya, many participants complained of the fact that their product is slightly more expensive than their competitors. And they found it difficult to be competitive.

I advocated two things to facilitate the process of selling - the establishment of a solid and mutually respectful relationship, and to add value to their service.

With all due respect to the sales professionals who attended the programme, I am of the view that CUSTOMERS ARE NOT SALES RESISTANT; THEY ARE ACTUALLY SALES PEOPLE RESISTANT. 

This view is supported recently by a sales expert, Mr. Geoffrey James, who discovered the order of how most customers make a buying decision, when they are contacted by the sales professional:

• #1: Do I want to do business with this particular sales professional?
• #2: Do I want to do business with the firm this sales professional represents?
• #3: Do I want and need the product this sales professional is offering?
• #4: Does the value and price of this product meet my expectations?
• #5: Is this the right time to make a decision to buy this product?

Sales happen quickly when these decisions are made in the correct order and sales are delayed when a sales rep allows the decisions to be made in the wrong order. So your job is to address those decision-making points — in that order. 


Then, you'll have nothing to whine about!

Life is full of options

Some people might say, "I don't have a choice." or, the victim mentality  "He made me do it, I didn't have a choice." or "Between life and death, I had to relent. I really had no choice." All these statements are fallacies. Life in fact is full of choices. Even your refusal to choose, is a choice. So in short, life is full of choices. Sometimes life hands us many choices, sometimes just two options to choose from. So you need to make up your mind. Are you here or there? No beings can be neither here nor there. Fence sitting by itself is a choice, albeit a temporary one. 

So what is your choice?

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