A Timely Reminder Of Email Best Practices

A Timely Reminder Of Email Best Practices

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

I put this together some time ago. A compilation of things I have learned from experience and from others. The topic has come up a lot lately, so I thought I would share this with you.

Professor Albert Mehrabian’s research into verbal communication is often quoted in this simplified form:

Words – 7%,  Tone – 38% – Body Language – 55%

Email, being only words without tone and body language, leaves the reader with fewer queues for interpretation. For this reason, recommended email best practices are:

  • Email is for communication, not conversation
  • Use Email for two purposes: transmit information or schedule meetings
  • Choose your words carefully, sometimes slang words, e.g. “yeah” can be misinterpreted
  • After 1 response – pick up the phone
  • Reply only to the sender
  • Reply to all – ONLY if sender requests or the information in your reply will benefit everyone on the distribution list
  • Only put in an Email something you would want to appear on the internet, on a billboard, in the news – you get the idea
  • Don’t send an Email when you are angry – see previous bullet
  • Never negotiate via Email
  • Never send an important Email w/o an advance phone call and a follow-up phone call to discuss and prevent/correct misunderstandings
  • Be brief, most people read Emails on their IPhone, Android, etc.
  • When sending an important Email, ask someone else to read it before sending it, with three questions:
    • What would you think?
    • How would you feel?
    • What would you do?

Anything you would add?

Elisa K. Spain

 

The Answer Is In The Question…

The Answer Is In The Question…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

One of the life lessons I have learned, since becoming a Vistage Chair six years ago, is the answer is in the question. By asking better questions, we enable others to come to their own resolutions. Most of us in business are problem solvers, and often the answer to someone else’s problem or challenge seems obvious to us. Therefore, we rush in with advice, without stopping and asking questions. What I have learned, and continue to be reminded of daily, is that by asking more poignant questions, the resulting answer may not only be better, it may also be different than what we perceived as obvious before we asked.

Following is a quote from one of my CEO members that, to me, captures the essence:

“I had a very interesting life lesson yesterday. Another member was leading and that was probably a little difficult for me to have someone else in charge. Once I accepted my role and decided to listen instead of work hard to offer my opinion, my perception of how I could add value changed drastically. I remember that Elisa said, ‘work to ask questions and not just offer suggestions’. I struggle with that as I always want to solve other people’s problems for them. It’s like counseling, the counselor never seems to tell you your problem, they just keep asking questions until you have the realization and state it yourself. That always bugged me. I now realize that until someone deeply understands their own problem, they will not take action nor will they truly support any action that they do take based on another’s understanding.  I think I got more value out of the meeting than any other person in the room. That value was directly linked to not talking”.

 

Leadership Quote: There Are Only Two Ways To Influence Human Behavior..

Leadership Quote: There Are Only Two Ways To Influence Human Behavior..

by Elisa SpainNo Comments


This month’s leadership quote: There are only two ways to influence human behavior, you can manipulate it or you can inspire it. Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek is well known for his Ted Talk, How Great Leaders Inspire Action. If you haven’t seen it, it is worth the 18 minute investment.

Bottom line, when you start with “Why”, your customers, employees, and all stakeholders will be inspired. Manipulation lasts only so long (until the “target” figures it out). Inspiration, on the other hand, can last a lifetime.

  • Who has inspired you to be who you are today?
  • Who have you inspired to become who they will be tomorrow?

Elisa K. Spain

The Elephant In The Room

The Elephant In The Room

by Elisa Spain2 Comments

The other day, I was asking for feedback from a team I was working with about the value of the program. One of the members came up to me afterwards and said, “please don’t take this personally” and gave me some additional feedback. My response was,” the elephant is in the room whether we talk about him or not. For me, I would prefer to know what you are thinking and feeling so that I can modify the program to give you results that meet your needs.”

Yes, the elephant is in the room whether we talk about him or not.  There he is, clomping around, banging into things.

And yet, we often refuse to talk about him. Why is that? Here are the reasons I hear:

  • I don’t want confrontation
  • I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings
  • We can’t do anything about it anyway
My experience is that our reluctance to confront causes the elephant to cause more damage than if we just talked about him and got him out of the room.
It is our role as leaders to invite and initiate the conversation. With the elephant out of the room, we can get on to business. As long as he is there, we are focused internally instead of externally.
What has been your experience?

 Elisa K. Spain 

When Managing By The Numbers Is Not Enough

When Managing By The Numbers Is Not Enough

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

It’s all about profitability right? Certainly, we are all in business to make money. Even not-for-profits must have net income to continue to operate. And, is being in business for a purpose or a mission reserved only for not-for-profits? What about the professional managers running privately held businesses and leading large companies? What drives them?

Recently I had two conversations in one day with business owners expressing frustration with the lack of progress of talented leaders in their businesses. They both have open book policies, their key executives and in one case, all of their employees, have full access to the company’s financial statements. All this makes sense from the point of view of managing by the numbers. And, is managing by the numbers enough?

The questions I asked these two owners are:

  • In addition to company profitability and individual compensation, what drives these individuals to succeed?
  • Whose goals are they working toward, yours or theirs?
  • If the answer is yours, how can you make the goals their goals while still being consistent with yours?
  • “Purpose” is individual, have you explored what theirs is? Revisiting the book Drive by Dan Pink is a good place to start and then a conversation.

What questions would you add to this discussion?

Elisa K. Spain

Rush To The Urgent, Or Plan For 2013?

Rush To The Urgent, Or Plan For 2013?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

As we enter the fourth quarter of the year, are you still focused on 2012 or planning for 2013?

At a recent meeting with a group of business leaders, all from the same company, we went around the table and asked “who is on plan or ahead of plan this year and who is not?” A common theme emerged amongst those who answered that they were meeting their plan or ahead of plan.

Here is what I heard:

  • 2012 is over – we are already planning for 2013. We did the same last year and hit the ground running in January (actually before then)
  • everyone on the team knows their contribution to the goal and where each of them stand – i.e. we set individual goals as well as team goals, measure performance and make it public

Seems so simple and yet, only about 1/3 of the people at the table were actually achieving their goals.

Here are some questions for your consideration:

  • I wonder what stops the two-thirds  from following the practices of the one-third? Is it perhaps rushing to the urgent and missing the important along the way?
  • How does this all fit with what you are doing this quarter?
  • How might the experience of these successful leaders perhaps impact the choices you make in the remaining few months of the year?

Elisa K. Spain

Getting It Done Or It's All About Execution.

Getting It Done Or It's All About Execution.

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

One of my Vistage members asked me this question this week, “What is the common theme among the businesses you know that have grown significantly?”

Or to ask the question another way, why is it that less than 1.5% of  U.S. companies are greater than $25mm in revenue and less than .27% are greater than $100mm*. And, why is it that Vistage members outperform their counterparts in their same industries?

The answer quite simply is the combination of a scalable business model and ruthless execution.

Peter Drucker says businesses have more than enough leaders; what they really need are “competent managers who can do the hard work of decision making, planning, and coaching”.

The leaders of companies I know that have scaled understand this.  These are the companies that develop plans and execute on those plans. They follow the DIME method – continuously Design, Implement, Monitor and Evaluate.  For more on the Dime Method, see 7/22/12 blog – Is Your Leadership Team Your Co-Advisor.

Elisa K .Spain

*Source Keith McFarland, Breakthrough Companies

Are You A Bad Boss? Are You Sure You Aren't?

Are You A Bad Boss? Are You Sure You Aren't?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

Most of us think of a bad boss as one who explodes, intimidates and otherwise behaves badly. The reality is this type of bad boss represents less than 20% of the behavior that actually defines the worst bosses (based on research conducted by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman). For the full results of Zenger and Folkman’s findings, click here.

The more common “bad boss” shows up in one the following ways (in order of most to least fatal):

  1. Failure to inspire.
  2. Acceptance of mediocre performance.
  3. Lack of clear vision and direction.
  4. An inability to collaborate.
  5. Failure to walk the talk.
  6. Failure to improve and learn from mistakes.
  7. Inability to lead change or innovate owing to a resistance to new ideas.
  8. Failure to develop others.
  9. Inept interpersonal skills.
  10. Bad judgement – leading to poor decision.
In short, even if we are kind and soft spoken; if we aren’t demonstrating leadership, we are not good bosses.
Vistage members know this and that is why they join. As you read through the list and the accompanying article, I encourage you to ask yourself:
  • Which qualities on the list do I excel at?
  • How might I become a better boss by focusing on #6?

 

 

Economic Uncertainty… What To Do, What To Do?

Economic Uncertainty… What To Do, What To Do?

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

As summer winds down and attention focuses back on business, the subject on the minds of business people continues to be economic uncertainty. We lived in a world of prosperity for such a long time, prior to 2008, that many of us forgot that the economy moves in cycles.

The Vistage economists, Brian and Alan Beaulieu from the Institute for Trend Research tell us the next recession is not until Q3 or Q4 2013 and yet, any softness in the economy is read by the general press as a beginning of a recession. In some cases, the perception exists that the recession of 2008 continues, despite results that prove otherwise.

So what’s my point?

While macro-economic factors will impact all businesses, what matters most is what we do each day. One of my Vistage CEO members who owns a commercial construction business said it well. When asked the reason for his success during the real-estate debacle, his answer was simply, “While we are one of the largest privately held businesses in our industry, we do business nationally. We are a small % of the overall construction business in the country and therefore there is and was plenty of business out there for us. Our team recognizes this opportunity. And every day, we deliver world class service to our current customers and continually focus on acquiring new ones.”

  • What is your story of prosperity?
  • How are you benefiting from the current economic uncertainty to gain an unfair advantage in your business?

Elisa K. Spain

 

Leadership Quote: Giving People Permission To Fail…

Leadership Quote: Giving People Permission To Fail…

by Elisa SpainNo Comments

This month’s leadership quote: Giving people permission to fail is more important than giving them the tools to succeed.

In my experience as a leadership coach, many, if not most leaders, struggle with this one. We often know the answer and are quick to give it. Or, even step in when we see the situation “going south”.

And, we become frustrated when our staff chooses the safe choice rather than the best choice.

Is there perhaps a correlation here? What if instead we explicitly give people permission to fail and let them, what might the outcome be?

Please share your stories.

Elisa K. Spain