by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, Leadership Development, Recommended Books, Team Manager Skills
Are you a business owner thinking about whether coaching might improve the performance of your COO or another key executive? My answer is, “Yes,” in most cases, but only if the CEO is being coached. I’ve learned the hard way over the years that I can have a major, enduring impact with a COO or other direct report only when I am also coaching the CEO. I believe this is generally the case with true executive coaches.1
Any growth or development on the part of a subordinate that is not shared by the boss is likely to have two unwanted effects. First, the boss’s unchanged behavior will undermine and thwart the direct report’s new behavior. Second, the developing key executive will either abandon the changes or judge the boss to be the bigger problem and leave. As one blunt coach said to a prospect, “If I fix your VP without you moving in the same direction, you will become the problem.”
If your COO needs only “management training” there are plenty of less costly ways to get it. Start with the basic books, for example, Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends & Influence People, Ken Blanchard’s One Minute Manager, almost anything by Peter Drucker, starting with Management, and the classic by Bill Oncken Who’s Got the Monkey? (free download)
Stay away from inspiring stores of genius leaders such as Steve Jobs, Harold Geneen, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, etc. They are unique, lucky, and extraordinarily difficult to work with. They certainly were not copying anyone. Anyone attempting to copy them is likely to cause disasters both financial and personal.
These recommendations for management training, as with executive coaching, require the ultimate leader and influencer (you, the CEO/Owner) to learn and practice the same techniques.
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1 I say true executive coaches because, these days, every consultant, trainer, and even many salespeople now call themselves coaches. That’s a topic for another post.
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners
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Before you reduce the size of your workforce with furloughs or layoffs consider reducing hours per employee. Some states are offering “Work Share” unemployment benefits. If employee hours and pay are reduced, for example, by 25%, employees may be eligible for 25% unemployment benefits. This lets the (more…)
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, For Executive Coaches
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WHO & CDC recommendations for physical distancing A/K/A social distancing do not fully protect bystanders from a sneezing person who carries a viral infection, presumably including SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Stay home!
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JAMA Insights
March 26, 2020
Turbulent Gas Clouds and Respiratory Pathogen Emissions
Potential Implications for Reducing Transmission of COVID-19
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Good luck, get plenty of sleep, & WASH YOUR HANDS!
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, For Executive Coaches
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You are NOT different.
You CAN make a difference.
To be human is to wonder, “Why?” We are addicted to cause and effect, to explanations and understanding, to discovering sequences of events, to bolstering our illusions of control.
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- Control of our thoughts.
- Control of our bodies.
- Control of our diseases.
For as long as I can remember, everyone greeted news of (more…)
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, Team Manager Skills
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A client recently reminded me of this suddenly very relevant Tweet I sent years ago.
All energy and attention used to prevent what we dread
reduces the energy and attention available for realizing what we desire.
–Tony Mayo
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Download this new poster for your break room(!) in the wake of (more…)
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, Technology Tips, Videos & Podcasts
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I recommend this excellent, free webinar, Would Your Business Survive a Coronavirus Outbreak? Watch and listen to the 47-minute video by clicking here. Yes, it has 1.5 and double speed options. A condensed PDF of her slides is here: http://tiny.cc/HR4VIRUS No fee, no registration.
One key slide is:
One key takeaway: Check to see if (more…)
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, Technology Tips
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Use this link to download a .PDF of two posters I urge you to post over your sink, next to the elevator, wherever. Share! https://tiny.cc/washmore
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Good luck, get plenty of sleep, & WASH YOUR HANDS!
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by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, Meetings
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What you need most right now and for the coming weeks isn’t alcohol wipes or N-95 masks. It is reliable information. The difficulties of obtaining it are examined thoroughly and frightfully here, in a broadcast from WNYC, On the Media | Covering a Pandemic: Epidemic Voyeurs No More
My top 3 recommendations.
#1: Rely on information directly from scientists and medical specialists.
Here are reliable sources:
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#2: Get Ready NOW! (more…)
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, Technology Tips
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Basic Protective Measures
- Maintain 6 feet or more of Physical Distance. Stay Socially Close.
- Wear a mask near others. Two is better than one.
- Avoid touching your face: eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Stay home if you are tired, nauseated, feverish, or coughing.
- Cover every cough or sneeze with clean tissue or sleeve.
- Clean knobs, handles, & switches daily.
- Wash hands with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds.
- Do not share towels. Label your own. Wash it every other day.
- Replace shared towels with disposables.
- Use only hand sanitizers with 60% or more alcohol.
(more…)
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, Technology Tips
A global pandemic now seems inevitable.
Get ready!
You’ve no doubt heard the advice about handwashing and avoiding crowds in confined spaces: concerts, aircraft, conferences. I’d add, “Do everything you can –STARTING RIGHT NOW– to stay healthy and strong: adequate sleep, regular exercise, and good food (including weight control).”
Here’s one you may not have thought of:
The U.S. CDC recommends getting a flu vaccination.
The CDC has detailed guidelines for employers here:
In particular, I’d suggest:
- Have a clear and well-communicated policy for various epidemic scenarios.
- Step One: How will employees know whether to stay home?
- How will you communicate your status to clients and vendors?
How will they communicate their status to your business?
For example, what if your cleaning service abandons you?
- Implement “Work from Home” technology and policies. This should include:
- A staggered schedule of “dry run” tests by every single employee who might need to work from home.
- Plan and prepare projects that can be postponed until people are at home, so they have things to do in case their regular duties are exhausted or rendered unnecessary under the circumstances.
- Make sure you have all essential positions filled. You don’t want to lose people to illness when you are already short-staffed.
- Stock up now, before the rush, on hand sanitizers and face masks, including wipes for conference tables, telephone handsets, doorknobs, coffee machines, keyboards, etc.
Any other ideas?
Add yours to the comments below.
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