by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, For Executive Coaches, Leadership Development
Years ago, while I was establishing myself in a new executive coaching practice, I supported my family by working as a part-time, outsourced CFO. Here is a reminiscence of a deep learning I earned during one of those accounting gigs.
I sought help from my own executive coach with the very difficult behavior of a bookkeeper employed by my client. She had called several urgent meetings with the partners and each time threatened to quit, more or less because of me. These meetings were very exasperating as she made charges that were either too vague to dispute or clearly contrary to plain facts. For example, although we repeatedly assured her that she had her job as long as she wanted it she insisted she could not continue to work under such uncertainty and would resign immediately because we were conspiring to take her job away. The partners felt obligated to placate and mollify her because she was the only bookkeeper out of several they had tried who was able to make any progress in getting their bills out to clients.
I said to my executive coach, “I am stressed and bothered because of her unpredictable behavior, of course, but I am mostly bothered by the fact that it bothers me. I am so ‘trained’ and ‘transformed’ I ought to be able to deal with her behavior without becoming stressed, hurt, or angry. I try to remain calm, not react to her outbursts, and keep on working because I need this income. I do what is necessary just to keep getting paid, so why do I lose sleep and spend my non-billable time talking about her with my coach, family, and friends?”
By the way, is this scenario reminding you of anything in your life, right now?
My coach reminded me of the dangers of attachment, of identifying with our property or positions. We confuse preferred outcomes with necessary results. We grasp so avidly to particular bits of property or actions by others that we forget we can still be ourselves without them. We attach money or prestige to ourselves so firmly that we forget that we are not our results or our reputations. What I want is not what I am.
I then remembered the old samurai expression (I suppose all samurai expressions are now old).
The most effective warrior dies before entering the battle.
The bookkeeper was not damaging my body or physically invading my free time. My attachments were the only things making my life difficult. I was attached to looking good in the eyes of my client, I was attached to (more…)
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, Leadership Development, Team Manager Skills
The New York Times recently ran a nice article about how Google–in its usual highly-analytic, data-driven way–measured the results of different management behaviors amongst its own workforce. The recommendations that emerged from this research will be familiar to readers of this blog.
I wish these were practiced as often as I preach them!
Google’s Project Oxygen
Eight Good Behaviors
Be a good coach
Provide specific, constructive feedback, balancing the negative and the positive.
Have regular (more…)
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, Team Manager Skills
Almost all job postings, yours included, describe the absolute minimally acceptable qualifications. Why aim low? You know people will stretch their credentials and experience a bit to apply, so describing the least you will accept will attract many résumés that are totally inappropriate. Sound familiar? Here’s the antidote, with credit and thanks to Vistage speaker Barry Deutsch, my guru for job ads. Some of his advice and training for hiring managers is here. Click here for much more from him.
Based on my memory of his talks and seeing the principles applied by many of my clients, here are some of the keys for writing an ad that attracts the right candidates:
- When searching for a person to fill a job opening it seems natural to describe the history of the person you are seeking. That’s a mistake.
- You’re not in business to hire people.
You’re in business to create results. Therefore…
- Don’t describe the person–describe the results that person must produce to be successful.
- Spend more time on what the person will be doing than what the company does.
- Good candidates will go to the website to learn about you. Disqualify the ones who do not.
- Write it from the seeker’s point of view, in the second person.
- You love to help people get in action on their problems
- You can’t walk away from your desk until everything is double checked, logged, and filed.
- Describe breakout success
- Too many job ads and descriptions detail the minimum requirements.
- Describe outstanding success in detail, with numbers and vivid examples.
- Make it interesting and compelling; describe a place the right candidate would be eager to go every day.
- Sell your culture and values. Employees who resonate with your fundamentals will be productive long-term.
See also, on this blog,
Google Data Show ‘Behavioral Interviewing’ Works
by Tony Mayo | Client Comments
Gave up the “Reluctant CEO” role and became more confident and comfortable in my role as CEO. More focused and more confident in running my company. Repositioned our company’s staffing plans and hired a great CFO.
-Public Company CEO
Name withheld
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners
I studied 100 founders of Inc. Magazine’s 1989 list of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. Virtually all of them had started between 1981-83 in the midst of an awful recession.
But that didn’t prevent those founders from starting a new venture — in fact, in many ways it may have helped. Several had lost their jobs, so they weren’t risking steady employment — and they were able to hire employees who didn’t have great job prospects on the cheap. Landlords offered leases without asking too many questions about credit histories. Suppliers were willing to wait to be paid.
—Amar Bhidé
Columbia Business School
“The Venturesome Economy.”
Why Bad Times Nurture New Inventions
NYTimes.com
by Tony Mayo | Client Comments
Here is the story of one CEO who completed my executive effectiveness course Genuine Success: Vitality, Service, and Outstanding Performance in 1997. Notice how contemporary her concerns sound, twelve years later.
“Everybody is fearful about their jobs,” reports Genuine Success: V.S.O.P. graduate Marta Swymelar, “What will I do if this job gets downsized? We keep hearing: Social Security won’t be there, you can’t depend on your pension plan, you can’t be sure of the stock market…” Like many people sharing these concerns, Marta had some ideas about what she should be doing to protect herself in this insecure era. Returning to school to get an MBA, for example, was (more…)
by Tony Mayo | For Business Owners, How to Set Goals
In 2008, I spoke with two groups of business leaders that I coach on the topic, “What should we be doing now to weather the down economy?” Seven ideas received broad support:
- Stay in touch with your center and manage your outlook.
- Get busy with personal, executive-to-executive selling.
- Cash is king. Watch it closely.
- Conserve cash: make sure every dollar out is going to come back–soon–in sales or profits.
- Cut your marginal players now
- Hire slowly or leave openings unfilled.
Plenty of talent is (more…)
by Tony Mayo | Quotes and Aphorisms
Wise Woman’s Stone
A wise woman traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry. The wise woman opened her bag to share her food.
The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She (more…)
by Tony Mayo | Client Comments
The amount of work I delegate today is far greater than ever. Leaving my people alone has resulted in key increases in our business.
Hire slow, fire fast, and communicate clear expectations of results.
I have been working with Tony as my executive coach since September of 2005.
–Leo Tucker, CEO
The Washington Group
by Tony Mayo | Client Comments
I have been a member of a Vistage group – of which Tony Mayo is the Chair – since 2005. Tony’s coaching and mentoring have been helpful in the decisions I have made for my business. I would highly recommend any business owner hire Tony for his coaching and mentoring skills. Tony offers an objective view and insightful suggestions for how to make your business better — and then he sees to it that you follow-up on your goals.
Tony is adept at facilitating groups to get the most out of its participants and he has great business advice to share. His wide set of capabilities and vision have really made a difference to my TEC [now Vistage] experience.
–Julia Loughran
President
ThoughtLink, Inc.
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