by Tara Powers

This article is about clarity of purpose for you, your team, and your business. It includes simple yet powerful steps that when discussed, analyzed, agreed upon, and written down, will provide a clear expectations and a compelling direction for 2010.

The steps outlined in this article are not confusing or difficult. However, many business owners, teams and individuals don’t do it. Why? Here are the excuses that get in the way:

• not a high priority item
• don’t have enough time
• my team won’t want to participate
• I am not comfortable leading this discussion
• executives should be doing this stuff, not us
• my business is doing fine the way it is
• my team is doing fine the way it is
• I am doing fine the way I am

I can relate to many of these excuses because I have used them myself and have heard them being used in companies I’ve worked for. These excuses are “vision crushers” and must be seen as obstacles to be removed.  I promise that once you begin using these steps, it becomes a method for accomplishing anything as long as you have the right attitude and determination to implement what you have defined.

Step 1: Identify Values
What are the values that you, your business and/or team live by? What is important to each team member? What is important to the team? What are the standards by which the team makes decisions? How are actions and words a model for values? Are we rewarding behavior that exemplifies our values?

When a team has clarity of values and each team member personally aligns with those values, that is when team commitment, loyalty and pride is high.

Step 2: Develop a Compelling Vision
Where do you want to be a year from now? What will it look like? How will your team be working together? How does this vision of the future appeal to team members values defined in Step 1?

Developing a story about your vision for the future is the only way to engage others and help them see the possibilities and opportunities ahead.

Step 3: Determine Business Model(s) OR How To Support Them
A business model describes the rationale of how a business creates, captures and delivers value. What model of doing business will help you achieve your vision? It may include direct business models, distribution models, low cost carrier business models, loyalty business models, subscription business models, etc. You may use more than 1 model to grow your business and create new revenue streams.  If your team is not involved in determining the business model then the conversation should be about understanding the model and figuring out the best way to support it.

Step 4: Outline Goals
What are the goals within your business model that are necessary to accomplish your vision. This is where you would identify improvement goals, product goals, revenue goals, customer goals, etc. Each goal should have a time frame associated with it. Also, if it’s a big goal then you should break it down into smaller more easily achievable sub goals.

Step 5: Define Methods and Measures
What are the ways that you will accomplish the goals you have outlined? How will you know when you have achieved your goal? Defining methods and measurement is the only way to clarify expectations about what you should be prioritizing and focusing on day to day.

Step 6: Identify Resources
What resources (skills, experience, people, technology, tools, etc.) do you currently have available to help you accomplish your goals? What resources do you need? How will you get these resources and by when?

Using these 6 steps when discussing goals is the best way I know to chart a clear path to success. It is simple, straightforward and effective and represents a strategic plan for growth.

© 2011 Powers Resource Center

International trainer, consultant, and founder of The Toxic Workplace, Tara Powers partners with organizations interested in improving their company culture to boost their bottom line. If you’re ready to make changes in your business that will make employees happy AND make you money, get your FREE tips now at PowersResourceCenter.com.

by Zoe Training staff

During the past several years, David C. Sanford has answered the demand by global companies to provide insights into how to successfully understand and communicate effectively with Indian nationals. Having spent more than thirteen years living and working abroad including assignments in the UK, Taiwan, India, Iran, Italy, and Japan, he has an intimate understanding and insight into the challenges faced by those living and/or working in multicultural environments.

1. What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

The challenge of communicating with someone from a different culture. As the world has become flatter we are now all interacting more than ever with people who view things such as punctuality, the word “YES,” and building trust radically differently than we do. Whether it is the Help Desk person that we contact, the grocery store clerk or co-worker, my skill is creating communication bridges so that all can communicate more effectively.

2. Why did you become a speaker/trainer?

My mother, bless her heart, often said that I had the “gift of gab.”  Having been raised outside of the USA in Taipei, London, and New Delhi, I have always been fascinated by travel and learning about new cultures and perspectives. My passion to share this curiosity and “wider world view” with others led me quite naturally into speaking with others about my experiences and insights.

3. What are some things that surprise you or inspire you about your interactions with clients/participants?

Participants’ willingness to look at their own assumptions and be open to communicating and in some cases behaving differently than they generally do.

4. Three words that describe your presentation style:

Interactive, Engaging, Enthusiastic

5. Do you have a favorite quote? What/why?

“Culture hides more than it reveals, and strangely enough, what it hides it hides most effectively from its own participants.”
–Edward Hall, world-renowned anthropologist, lecturer and consultant

When someone asks us what are the main values of our culture, we often find it difficult to list and describe them as they are so close; we don’t usually think much about them; rather we discuss topics such as politics (or we avoid this one), news, weather, or how our favorite sports team just did. It’s only when we are faced with trying to understand someone’s behavior from a different culture that we must reflect on our own.

6.Tell us a recent book you’ve read and would recommend:

Sky Burial by Xinran: An epic story of a Chinese woman who searches for her husband, spending 30 years living with the nomads of Tibet. This is a short, fascinating read that captivates.

Inquire about David Sanford

by Jeff Thredgold, CSP

The U.S. Economy

What we now call the Great Recession officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009.  It was the longest, the deepest, and the most painful recession since the Great Depression.

By my count, that suggests that the current U.S. economic expansion is now reaching the two-and-a-half year mark.  The current expansion has been less than satisfying both statistically and emotionally, with major headwinds still in play involving weak residential and commercial real estate markets, uncomfortably high unemployment, major European financial risk, and elevated levels of anxiety about the direction of the federal government.

The current U.S. economic expansion has been especially lackluster when considering the massive and unprecedented levels of both fiscal and monetary stimulus.  While modest economic growth has returned, a “recession of confidence” remains center stage.

Economic growth in the new year about to unfold is likely to remain substandard, with most forecasts congregating around a 1.5%-2.5% real (inflation adjusted) rate of growth.  More bearish forecasters see particularly anemic growth in 2012’s first half.

The size and scope of a possible European financial implosion could lead the U.S. and much of the world back into recession, although that is not the consensus view.  Nevertheless, investors around the globe have taken a “shoot first, ask questions later” approach to European sovereign (national) debt markets and the contagion that has now spread to more and more members of the euro community.

Government

Political theater of the absurd has been commonplace in the nation’s capital, with extreme partisan politics today’s reality.  The government’s ability to live within its means remains highly elusive, even as European developments should be sending strong signals to Washington DC about damaging annual budget deficits and a more than $15,000,000,000,000 gross national debt.

Various economic studies have suggested that any nation’s ability to prosper and grow at a satisfactory pace is endangered when its gross national debt reaches 90% of that nation’s annual economic output.  We are now at 100%…and rising quickly.

Trillion dollar plus budget deficits of the past three fiscal years will continue for as far as the eye can see.  The biggest threat to this nation is the financial cancer of irresponsible government deficits.  As noted frequently, the need to slow the future growth pace of entitlement programs is mandatory.

2012 Elections

Already tired of the political battles underway?  Just think…only 342 days until Election Day!  The failure of the “super committee” was the latest in government missteps.  An emotional national debate about 1) the size and growth pace of the federal government, and 2) who pays for it will be one key element of political discussion during most of 2012.

U.S. Employment

Wary business leaders and worried consumers have contributed to the weak level of American job creation during the current economic recovery.  The nation has regained only one-fourth of the eight million jobs lost during the crisis of 2008 and 2009.  Unless and until confidence levels improve, weak additions to employment will continue.

The nation’s unemployment rate has averaged 9.0% for the past three years. Most forecasters see an unemployment rate of not less than 8.5% by the end of 2012.

To be heard frequently during the Presidential campaign now well underway…no sitting President in the past 75 years has been rewarded with a second term when the unemployment rate was above 7.2%.  Whether the President can shift the blame for high unemployment to intransigent Republicans in the Congress will have a telling impact on election results.

U.S. Inflation

Consumer prices are expected to rise roughly 3.5% during 2011, with a slightly lesser rise the consensus view for 2012.  Weak global economic growth could lead oil prices lower, a key element in that forecast.  Over a longer time horizon, the debate continues between those expecting higher U.S. inflation and those seeing a Japan-style deflation in theU.S.

The Federal Reserve

The Fed’s most critical interest rate—the federal funds rate—has been at an all-time low target level of 0.00%-0.25% since December 2008.  Moreover, the Fed’s Open Market Committee has stated they expect this rate to remain unchanged until at least mid-2013.

In addition, the Fed has tripled the size of its balance sheet by buying massive amounts of U.S. Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities.  The intent?  To drive long-term interest rates lower.  While such actions have been largely successful, weak home prices across the nation, high unemployment, and a more paper-intensive lending industry…negatively impacted by the Dodd-Frank financial legislation…has not led to a strong surge in mortgage refinance activity.

Housing and Mortgage Rates

Most forecasting economists see national home prices stabilizing by mid-year 2012, with very modest price appreciation to follow.  At the same time, conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have been at a 60-year low near 4.0% in recent weeks.

One could make a case to delay a home purchase for 6-12 months, but mortgage rates could rise enough to offset any slightly lower home price.  Now may be an outstanding time to purchase a new or foreclosed property and to refinance a mortgage.

Global Keys

Chinese and Indian economic growth are likely to slow somewhat, while Japan struggles with very substandard performance.  High oil prices have boosted oil producing nations at the expense of user nations.  The Canadian economy has slowed, whileMexicoandBrazilare doing well.

However, these days it’s all about a fragile European economy. Greece, Ireland, and Portugal have already been bailed out, while major anxiety about Spain and Italy exists.  Even the French have seen borrowing costs rise as questions about that economy have surfaced.  A possible French downgrade from their current “triple A” status could send additional shock waves across Europe.

The Germans and the International Monetary Fund will face rising pressure to stem European debt contagion, even as impacted nations face the real need to get spending and debt issuance under control.  No other issue is more critical to global economic performance in 2012 than a solid resolution of the European debt crisis.

Jeff Thredgold, MS, is the only economist in the world to have earned the CSP designation, awarded by the International Federation for Professional Speakers and the National Speakers Association. He has spoken more than 1,000 times during the past 20 years, traveling more than 1 million miles in the process.

Inquire about Jeff Thredgold

by Zoe Training staff

When Tara Powers isn’t busy running her own training and development organization, she is also managing her other venture, Mama Means Business, a resource that coaches and supports “mompreneur” businesses, providing already proven resources that help women launch successful businesses FAST. In this interview, Tara gives us some insight into her passions for her career and everyday life.

Why did you become a speaker/trainer?
I organically got into training 15 years ago when I was asked to train a bunch of managers on how to understand their budget. The jolt of energy and excitement I got when I was teaching someone was enough to make me go back to school and get my master’s degree in Organizational Management. This led me into the HR field for many years where I was able to grow and build a training department. My experience has helped me to understand that I have a real opportunity to change people’s lives for the better if I can help them identify how to make small behavioral shifts that can give them fast results and big impacts on their team and company. I believe that it’s up to each of us to ask what we want to be known for, get clear on our values and vision, and make decisions that are in alignment with who we are. This is what I try to get across when I am speaking or training.

What are your favorite groups of people to work with?
Emerging leaders and emerging teams. They are eager to learn how to do it right with less struggle, they come with open minds and always are great contributors to the learning process!

Three words that describe your presentation style:
Collaborative, Fun and Interactive

Do you have any pets? Kids? Unusual hobbies?
I have a Plott Hound named Guinness who will never rest until he catches a rabbit. I have two tireless little girls, Kyla, four years, and Fallon, two years. They get me up way too early, love my “mama” hugs way too little, and make my life more full of joyful moments than I could have ever imagined.

Do you have a favorite quote? What/why?
“YOU are the only one who creates your reality. For no one else can think for you. No one else can do it. It is only you. Every bit of it you.” – Ester Hicks

Standard Starbucks order:
Grande Soy Latte one pump sugar free vanilla. Can’t go wrong with this one.

Inquire about Tara Powers

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by Mike Faber

Dede Osborn is a Senior Fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. She’s also a student of Hawaiian leadership and values, and is the author of the paper Leadership Styles in Modern Hawaiian Organizations: Island Culture at Work. Looking at a variety of leadership measures, her studies determine that the three most frequent Hawaiian leadership behaviors are:

• Treats people with dignity and respect
• Follows through on promises and commitments
• Gives team members appreciation and support

Not rocket science, right? So why are these behaviors not practiced more widely and more consistently?

Part of the answer lies in what we tell ourselves. A study of leadership communication once showed that three-quarters of a group of business executives thought of themselves as “great” communicators. The same study polled employees, and their assessment of their leaders’ communication skills produced inverse results. Three-quarters of employees thought those same leaders exhibited “poor” communication skills! Those leaders were convinced of their mastery, without understanding that they had a huge blind spot.

Here’s a great exercise to learn more about your communication skills. Copy/paste/print the three leadership behaviors cited above. Post them in a prominent place at your workspace. When others come to visit, ask them whether they see these behaviors in you, and ask for specific examples. While they’re being candid with you, be a listener and do not react. Thank them for their honesty, and use what you hear to build action steps to improve your skills.

Better yet, bring an Aloha Leadership keynote or workshop to your audience and let them experience the change together!

Mike Faber is a speaker, trainer and certified professional coach who has taught thousands of business leaders to communicate passionately and effectively. His work with Hawaiian business and community leaders forms the foundation of Aloha Leadership™, a new keynote that teaches leadership with an “Island” twist! Mike brings the lessons of a 30-year career in sales, management and broadcasting to audiences in a unique style that combines humor, candor, and lessons that can be applied to all walks of life. He is the author of three books, including 89 Seconds to Sales Success and 89 Seconds to Leadership Success, and recently released The 52 Greatest Business Development Questions Ever! card deck.

by Zoe Training staff

Jayne Gnadt, a seasoned professional with an extensive background in project management, is also an energizing and memorable keynote speaker who shared some insightful gems with us in this interview.

What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

I love to speak on motivational and rather “edgy” topics because my greatest thrill from a speaking perspective is to have everyone laughing and smiling from ear to ear!

3 words that describe your presentation style:

Energizing, Fun, Engaging

What’s the most unusual location (or circumstances) you’ve presented in?

I’m actually getting ready to facilitate a class in Broken Bow, Neb., at the country club as there isn’t any other place in town large enough to hold a class for 25 people!!

Tell us about a presentation experience that went wrong:

I was keynote speaking in front of a very large audience at a fancy conference and my mother Skyped me and appeared on the huge Trinitron screen behind me! One of the funniest, embarrassing and great learning experiences for all. I still tell stories about that experience in many of my classes and keynotes!

Do you have a favorite quote? What/why?

Life should not be a journey to the grave with intention of arriving safely, in an attractive well-preserved body. But rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming Woohoo! — I love this because it describes how I love to live my life – to the fullest, full of energy and enjoying the ride!

Tell us a recent book you’ve read and would recommend:

“Left to Tell” by Immaclee Ilibagiza.  It’s a story of survival and faith that changed my entire outlook on life and provided amazing inspiration.

Inquire about Jayne Gnadt

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by Tiffany Dahlberg

One of my favorite tools that I use when I teach college students or train Project Management, Business Analysis, or Leadership for organizations is the Team Contract.

The team contract is a document outlining agreements about how the team will work together. Team contracts contain topics such as “Commitments,” “Participation,” “Communication,” “Problem Solving,” “Decision-Making,” “Conflict Management,” “Use of Technology,” and “Meeting Guidelines.”

Looking at the group dynamics of Forming, Norming, Storming, Performing, and Adjourning, the team contract speeds up the Norming phase and helps prevent/mitigate the Storming phase, so the team can get to the Performing phase faster–making your team more efficient.

The team meets and decides what agreements, ground rules, and behaviors they want to abide by with each other. Going through this process formally and quickly outlines the “norms” of acceptable behaviors.

When the norms are documented, it serves as a reminder and communication mechanism for how that team operates together. The bonus is that since the team creates the contract together, the team enforces it together.

Creating a team contract also serves as a team-building exercise and helps new members get up to speed more quickly. But remember that the contract belongs to the team. Each member needs to participate in its creation and sign off that they agreed to it or it will not be effective.

This simple yet highly effective tool will promote understanding among its members, and consequently can help your team performance improve dramatically.

Tiffany Dahlberg, MA, PMP, president of Achievement Consulting and Training, Inc. (a solutions provider for project management, process improvement, and employee training) has 20 years of experience in helping organizations improve their processes, better manage projects, and implement positive change.

by Zoe Training staff

Starting with a strong foundation in accounting, Dan Chenoweth has a broad background in American and international business. His focus on general management issues inherent in today’s changing business environment involves organization leadership; business process analysis and improvement; project management; strategic supplier relationships; team development; and change management. In every situation, Dan helps clients take their strategy to the bottom line.

What’s your favorite topic(s) to present on? Why?

Business ethics.  It is a multi-faceted, complex topic and there is no lack of “fresh/new” material!  Ethics do count!  They are relevant and we need to have more discussion about them in these tumultuous times.

Three words that describe your presentation style:

Relevant, interactive, different.

Why did you become a speaker/trainer?

I always wanted to be an educator. I got a BS in accounting and immediately went for an MBA specializing in accounting thinking I would be a college professor.  Then realized I needed a PhD to teach at the college level.  I then decided to go into public accounting instead but always regretted not doing more in education.  Years later, after my corporate career, I was fortunate to get back into training and education.  I now provide seminars for CPAs throughout the country.  I love working with mature audiences who push back on points and add their own insights from their own experience.

Tell us about a presentation experience that went wrong:

I had done an ethics session for a farm co-op group in Denver and it went quite well.  I was then asked to do a similar presentation in Springfield, IL for a large farm co-op conference.  My session was a “pre-conference” session.  Therefore, it was not very well attended (about 50 people) but the room was set up for 500 people for the next day’s events!  It is excruciating to try and have a dialogue with participants in a cavernous facility like that where the 50 folks were scattered throughout the room.  I felt like a rock in a tin can!  I was not able to make a connection and it didn’t go well.

What are you most grateful for in life?

I have a loving wife and family.  While there have certainly been ups and downs with all three of my children, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  I am now blessed with three grand children and one great grand child.

Do you have a favorite quote?

“The pessimist complains about the wind.  The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sails!”

Inquire about Dan Chenoweth

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by D.J. Vanas

The magical, mystical glue that holds teams together is trust.  With it, we see people follow their leaders through the fires of change, challenge, doubt and fear.  Without it, people won’t follow their leader to the bathroom.  But how do we build that trust and strengthen our relationships, our connections and ultimately influence how well we lead others?

Through communication.

We are all like human radio stations, transmitting information to those around us at all times.  We communicate through e-mail, texting and speaking, but also through our body language and most importantly, through the example we set with our actions.  In the end, our goal as leaders is to communicate in a way that strengthens the bond of trust and enables us to have more influence and impact with those we lead. Whether they are teammates, co-workers, fellow community member or our own families, good communication is a must.

In the extreme, miscommunication can cause injuries or even death in arenas such as the military, operating heavy machinery or medicine. However, if we don’t continually work to prevent miscommunications in our own lives, we can create disruptions that can break down trust, waste energy, time and money and cause confusion or chaos.  To prevent this, three elements of great communication require us to be:

Clear – Before we communicate, we must ask ourselves Am I trying to communicate clearly or am I trying to impress others?  Sometimes when egos get the best of us instead of trying to communicate clearly, we try to impress those around us with flowery speech and a stunning vocabulary.  Speak and write in the simplest terms you can get away with, not to “dumb down” the message, but to make sure it’s being transmitted in a way that all will receive.  The goal here is clear communication – not showing off.

Concise – Why write something in three pages that could be communicated in three paragraphs?  Why say something in ten minutes that should take two?  Bigger is not better, especially in communication.  We live in an era where information overload is the new normal.  The longer and more complex we make our messages, the less impact they have on the intended audience.  Instead, be concise in your communication with your people; trim the fat and the fluff until what you have left is a message worth their time – and attention.

Consistent – The first time water flows over a prairie, it spreads everywhere.  The second time, it starts to follow a pattern of flow.  By the thousandth time, it’s cut a deep channel.  Communication works the same way.  If we say positive, encouraging and clarifying statements to our people over and over again and they accuse us of being like a “broken record” we can just smile.  We’ll know that our communication is working.  And when your people are confused or stressed, what messages will cut through the clutter?  You got it, the broken record messages that you’ve provided will keep them resilient and on track.  Provide a safety net of good ideas and consistently affirming communication to your people and you’ll see how easy it is to keep the team headed in the right direction.

Follow the 3 Cs of great communication and you’ll become a more effective leader, see how much better your teams respond and perform, and how much easier life and work are when everyone is on the same sheet of music!

by Eleanor Hubbard

Ten years ago I was a professor of Gender in the Sociology Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Almost every semester, I taught a course in Sex, Gender, and Society and several times during that course I invited a M2F post-operative transgendered person, “Terri,” to discuss transgender issues with my students.  I had several conversations with Terri outside of class, and she told me about feeling like a woman trapped in the body of a man, who went through counseling, cross-dressing, hormone replacement therapy, and costly operations to become the woman she perceived herself to be.  I used to joke with Terri that she was more female than I, which meant that she wore stilettos, clothes that showed her curves, and talked in a high voice, none of which I did.  From Terri, I learned about being transgendered from a person, not a textbook.  She told me about family, work, and personal relationship issues that she faced in her transition and about her daily decisions whether or not to tell people she encountered about her “secret.”  Terri also told me about the danger and fear she lived with daily as a woman who passed, but whose secret might be revealed to someone who perceived her as a threat. As a woman and an intellectual, I was well-informed, I thought, about being transgendered.

Then Cameron came into my life.  He called me that summer and asked me to supervise him in an independent study so that he could read extensively in the area of transgender issues.  When Cameron walked into my office, I was expecting a F2M transgendered person (he had already told me that much on the phone) who looked, sounded, and acted “manly.”  Cameron, however, was short, skinny, and smooth-faced.  He was pre-operative who had never taken any hormones.  He could have passed as a young boy or a young girl; in truth, he was more androgynous than stereotypically gendered.  I quickly realized that I had a lot more to learn about being transgendered.

Since that day, Cameron and I have read and discussed gender and all its permutations.  I supervised him in his research in which he interviewed young gender variants about their understandings of gender, and worked with him in writing a series of papers (still yet unpublished) about his research.  I watched him take leadership roles around campus by counseling transgendered students who were dealing often unsuccessfully with significant others, family, and friends during their transitions. He also worked with campus administration to create a safer environment on campus for transgendered students; he was instrumental in uni-sex bathrooms being available around campus, for instance.  I taught Cameron everything I knew about gender intellectually, and he taught me everything he knew personally about living in a gendered world as one who didn’t fit neatly into a gender category.  In the past ten years, I have remained a woman and an intellectual, but through Cameron became an ally of transgendered persons.

Being an ally of any marginalized group is a rewarding and frustrating experience.  Marginalized people, whether because of race, class, sexual orientation, age, or gender often have a deeper understanding of their society than those of us who live in the mainstream.  As a sociologist and academic, I am fascinated by the stories of those who live on or outside of our gender boundaries. They help me understand better the processes and structure of our society.  This is the rewarding part, for me, of being an ally of transgendered people.  But transgender stories are not just interesting, they require a decision about whose side I am on in this society. This is the frustrating part for me, because the boundaries of gender and other social categories create an us and  them.  The “us” are those who fit, no matter how well or poorly inside, the gender paradigm, and the “them” are those for whatever reason who do not.  Society rewards those who can successfully stay inside gender boundaries with privileges.  As a gender normative, albeit not stereotypically, female, I can continue to revel in the privileges I receive for not stepping outside the gender boundaries. Or as an ally of a marginalized group, I can use those same privileges to speak up for and insist upon equal treatment for those who are marginalized.  That is what it means to me to be an ally of Cameron, specifically, and other transgendered people more generally.  As best I can I intend to share Cameron’s story with those who live inside gender boundaries and have never met a transgendered person.  I intend to work within whatever social structures I am a part of to ensure more equitable treatment for people like Cameron.  I intend to speak out  about media injustices about the portrayal of  people like Cameron.  But most importantly, for me as an ally, I intend to continue to learn about the gender variant community from Cameron and his cohorts, about its ever changing variety, and continue to be open by them to the many ways gender is expressed.