Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com July 27, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 21 BIZ BOOKS Keys to managing change "T riggers — Creating Behavior That Lasts" by Marshall Gold- smith and Mark Reiter (Crown Business, $27). Whether it's at work or in our personal lives, change always presents a challenge because it takes us out of our comfort zone. Doing different things and doing things differently requires three elements: motivation, understanding and ability. If you lack any one, you won't create long- lasting change. Merging the three into an action plan starts with understanding that structure, simplicity and help form your plan's foundation. Structure defines your approach. Sim - plicity makes your plan and your progress easy to follow; it also allows for quick adjust- ment when facing obstacles you'll surely encounter. Help involves the support of others because no one succeeds alone. When synched, you can answer "Yes" to the authors' six I'm-engaged questions: 1. "Did I do my best to set clear goals for the day?" Without something to accomplish you take your eye off your prize. 2. "Did I do my best to make progress toward my goals today?" List steps taken. Also, list what you didn't do and the "why" behind your inaction. This reminds you of what's left to do and shows you how quickly other things can derail your plan. 3. "Did I do my best to find meaning today?" Meaning drives to the integration of motivation, understanding and ability essential to behavioral change and job satisfaction. 4. "Did I do my best to be happy today? This doesn't simply focus on today's results; it involves your out- look. While difficult and daunting, change means a better tomorrow, in which meaningful work creates and promotes self-confi- dence and self-esteem. 5. "Did I do my best to build posi- tive relationships today?" In order to thrive, you need allies. Build relationships by thinking in terms of colleagues' needs, not yours. Reciprocity will come. 6. "Did I do my best to be fully engaged today?" If there's a "No" answer to any of the preceding five questions, there's work to be done; find ways to turn it into "Yes." Key takeaway: Embracing change and chal- lenge today triggers achievement tomorrow. • • • Demystifying Talent Management — Unleash People's Potential to Deliver Superior Results" by Kimberly Janson (Maven House Press, $24.95). Businesses routinely ask customers for feedback to learn more about their prod- ucts and services in the marketplace. Yet, when it comes to what internal customers' (i.e. employees) needs, they rarely ask. Why not? Two reasons: 1. Management tends to be more concerned with the today and the short term, and 2. HR isn't well-connect- ed to the firm's strategy and tactics. Add employees' fear of expressing their views on their career development and you end up with poorly-managed talent, which results in less-than-optimal productivity. Janson believes that conversations between all three affected par- ties organized around SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attain- able, Relevant, Time-based) goals produce better results. The initial "What do you need to do?" conversation requires significant preparation. Man- agers and HR need to take into account the expec- tations of the employee and those with whom the employee interacts. On the employee front, managers need input about resources (including assistance) needed to do the job. By using common denominators in employee input, HR can develop training programs. Relative to interaction, there's a per- formance assessment guide; it deals with the manager's self-evaluation and those of other stakeholders. It comes with the fol- lowing advice: "For any answer lower than nine, what are you going to do about it?" Why the high standard? It's about align- ing expectations of many inputs to create SMART. The "need-to-do" conversation explains the "why" to obtain employee buy-in. Once there's agreement, the other conversations — "What do you need to grow?" "How are you doing?" and "How did you do?" flow. Janson believes these conversations need to be ongoing so there are no sur- prises and provides numerous assessments to keep manag- ers on track. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak TALKING POINTS How to get the right job to find you By John Graham E mployment is on the up side. Employers are actively looking. Offers are getting better. Even so, many find themselves stuck where they are with no light at the end of the tunnel. Keeping your fin- gers crossed that a rising economic tide will take care of you or that your luck will change is, to put it bluntly, naïve, or stu- pid. You have better odds at the lottery. Getting ahead requires a different strategy, one that changes how you think and what you do. Instead of relying on a job search to find the right job, a better way is to get the right job to find you. Here's how to do it: 1. Be a source of ideas. Most of us grew up with someone telling us to be humble. "Keep your head down." "Don't make waves." "Play it safe." "Stay beneath the radar." By not calling attention to yourself, the boss won't yell at you. What actually happens is that the boss won't see you, let alone think of you. Just doing your job may also be the best way to get passed over and replaced. Coming up with ideas is dangerous. Some will be lousy. Don't worry about it. The people who make a difference can recognize that you want to do more than merely doing your job. You can think and you want to contribute. 2. Be the real deal. "Clothes don't make the man," an oft-quoted line a songwriter wrote years ago. But it's the next line that makes the point: "It's the man that makes the clothes." Even though it may not be politically correct today, it makes the point that faking it, attempt- ing to transform yourself into something you're not, won't work. It's being the real deal that counts. Maybe that's one reason why Apple's Tim Cook, Face- book's Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla's Elon Musk, as well as others, enjoy such widespread respect, not for what they wear, but for coming across as genuine, smart and competent. 3. Solve problems. If you're lucky enough that someone asks you to solve a problem, grab it. Challenge yourself by taking on problems you don't know how to solve. It's called learning by doing. Or, if you see a problem, let it be known that you're willing to take it on. A problem doesn't need to be earth shaking, either. There are more than a million apps, and 90 percent solve small problems like automati- cally watering your plants or finding your car in a huge parking lot. Start with your own job, something you're familiar with. What could make it easier, reduce the cost, make it more convenient for customers, encourage cooperation, speed up something, unblock a bottleneck or get rid of something that's unnecessary. 5. Demonstrate expertise. OK, don't go away, at least not yet. Whether you're 23 or 53 years old, if you're like most people who have expertise in one or more areas, you doubt your competence, particularly when compared to others, or feel embarrassed if someone asks your opinion. We're all the same, and it didn't happen by accident. Mother told us not to play in the front yard — don't brag, know your place and don't be pushy. It's good advice, but only up to a point. While modesty is a virtue, self-doubt isn't. It programs us to downplay or underestimate our capabilities and to think it's in bad taste to feel we're good at or experts at anything. 6. Be open to the unexpected. It's OK to play in the front yard. Sure, it's daring and a bit scary, no doubt about it. But it's the only way to make your own luck. Being too sure you know what you want or being too goal- oriented may hinder you, limiting your pos- sibilities and holding you back. One man's experience makes the point. He was about 40 and had been trying to change careers for several years, but noth- ing seemed to click, even though he had good contacts. No one seemed to see him in a different field. Then, he was asked to chair the committee for a major program. Someone recognized his skills and recom- mended that he be hired to run the program. He accepted and when he left the program he launched his own business. His new career had found him. More often than not finding what we want becomes a dead-end, and we settle for some- thing less, while being open to the unexpected gets us where we want to be. n John Graham of GrahamComm is a mar- keting and sales strategist-consultant and business writer. John Graham ▶ ▶ Embracing change and challenge today triggers achievement tomorrow.

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