Keep Your Professional Edge - Find Your 1%!

 The Power of 1%

In all the years that I’ve conducted seminars and workshops across the country, I’ve come to this conclusion: It’s not about how much you know or the volume of knowledge you possess. But - is what you know relevant and is that relevant knowledge being applied to gain meaningful, intended results? (By the way, you always get results; the question is, are these results what you really wanted)?

I’ve also learned that great, relevant knowledge can come in small packages.  It could be one quote or one principle that when applied can gain significant results.

Consider this brief story:

I recall an executive coaching client several years ago who was seen as ineffective in his new role as vice president.

In our initial meeting, one of the first items we discussed was what he considered to be the critical priorities that would substantially improve his effectiveness (mind you it wasn’t working more hours…he was working plenty).  We determined the most essential action was taking the time to plan.

You mean it was something as simple as applying one principle - taking the time to plan was the initial targeting solution? 

Believe it or not - yes! The simple act of planning his week and in that mapping in his schedule the most critical, non-negotiable actions that absolutely needed to happen to create meaningful results.

The result?...within just a few weeks his direct report saw a complete turn-around in his performance.

Awh….there’s the formula - one simple principle applied generated a significant, meaningful, intended result.

Therein lies the premise of this book.

I’ve taken many of my “small package” simple tips, principles, and how-tos and laid them out in a compact book format for your consideration.

This is a tool for targeted learning for busy professionals.  Targeted learning is intended to get at the meat or essence of something quickly…so it can be used just as quickly.

It comes in a portable handbook format or an expanded version which includes coaching questions and a place for notes:

Order handbook here - The 1% Edge - the handbook

Order workbook here - The 1% Edge - the Workbook


You can also follow the blog: www.the1percentedge.com

The Power of a Success Quote

Ever consider the power packed use of a quote? There are entire informational industries centered around sharing success quotes and success sayings.

Upon further examination success quotes are a powerful tool for employee training, building company culture, team management, personal motivation and more!

Here's a link to my coaching blog that expounds on this thought:

Worth a read: A Success Quote equals Bite-size Coaching

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Consider Thanksgiving a Year Round Event – The Power of “Thank You”

What to impact employee motivationn and employee retention?

Several years ago, there was a survey done among a certain segment of the healthcare population and one of the questions that was posed in the survey was this: If you could get anything from your boss, what would it be?

The number one most popular answer was this, “a handwritten thank you note from my boss.” Wow! We think handwritten thank you notes are somewhat a thing of the past. But you know what? I think they probably should come back.

I recently encountered a manager at a workshop that I conducted that did exactly that. But she added one other element to it that I think is worth your consideration. This manager had 150 employees and in an effort to express to her employees how much she appreciated them, she did write a handwritten thank you note to every member of her staff.

However, rather than distributing them at work, she thought it would be much more effective and have much more impact to actually send the notes to their homes. You know, I thought, “How brilliant. What a great idea!”

You know the place of recognition in every home that is tried and true?...the refrigerator! I would suspect that even for the shyest employees, to have that handwritten thank you note posted on that refrigerator would be a great source of pride. They would get to see it in the privacy of their own space every day and also, to be able to display it to their other family members.

That constant reminder of their manager’s gratitude, I’m thinking that would go a long way in motivating an employee on an ongoing basis. Talk about making lots of deposits in their emotional, psychological, and spiritual fuel cells.
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Best Buy Scores - A Brilliant Brand Management Idea

Best Buy has initiated an idea that I suspect will be long on return on investment in multiple ways from brand management, to employee motivation, building company culture, and I'm sure you can think of more.

As if they don't have a significant corner of the market already, they will up their brand awareness with a clever campaign to find the best carolers from their employee ranks for commercials this holiday season, conducting their search from coast to coast. They are filming all the stages of the search, turning them into episodes, and posting them on Youtube for all to see.

I'm thinking will Best Buy be a happier place to visit while holiday shopping? My experience with them is they in general are pretty friendly and helpful. Let's imagine the vibe when you go in now as they combine their holiday promotions with boasting employee morale, making their employees the stars of the show this holiday season.

I wanted to blog about this to springboard ideas from this idea in these areas: increasing brand awareness, brand perception, boosting employee morale, employee motivation, nurturing a fun company culture, and with all that contemplating how the bottom line might be impacted.

I hope the powers that be will be tracking the results of this initiative and I can't help but think that it might drive more buyers into the store this season. We'll see.

Here is Episode #1 (it's fun to watch and does have a bit of an American Idol feel to it). There are more episodes posted.