Let’s take a look,

Mostly addiction is about chemicals – Illicit drugs are the obvious ones, but the brain is ‘excited’ by all sorts of chemicals, Serotonin, Dopamine, Caffeine, Alcohol and Adrenaline to name a few. Some seem to last just a short time, while others may be longer lasting.

The power of these chemicals is often VERY strong (some more than others) and while in most instances these lead to positive outcomes, the opposite may also true. The upshot of the chemical addiction is the physical acts which come as part of that process.

Years back I worked with unemployed people on Job Search programs, occasionally I could get them ‘excited’ and in a ‘buzz’ about jobs and life in general and see their eyes light up. I would then joke about me giving them ‘free drugs’ (Serotonin, Dopamine etc.) just from having a chat, that generally gave them a chuckle. Some came in the next day with stories of telling their partner and or families that I had given them free drugs, we got a good laugh at the shocked responses they got. After that, all I had to do was say “more free drugs!”

With workers (and yourself) it would pay to know about the administration of these drugs to enable your team to be the best they can be.

So how do you cause these ‘chemicals’ to be released, the right ones at the right time to get the right result? Read more free business tips that’s how. Then implement a bunch of initiatives to get the ball rolling. Before long you could become the drug dealer of choice! If it worked really well, customers will arrive in droves and you will have more resumes from willing workers than you can ‘shake a stick at.’

Let’s look at this in terms of staffing issues and how you might minimise ‘bad things’ happening.

So what sorts of ‘things’ am I talking about here?

Negative changes to:

• Attitudes
• Interest in the work
• Interest in work mates
• Interest in solving challenges (policies, procedures, politics, creative thinking to solve challenges).
• Interest in themselves (self-esteem)
• Enthusiasm to work
• Quality of work
• Interest in the company
• Interest in the industry
• Interest in customer services
• Interest in their work space, facilities, equipment etc.

With this many things on this list (and probably a HEAP more) you can appreciate there are many variables which people can be affected by, some of these can be long term things The big question some of you will now be asking is what causes some of these things to happen, followed by what do I do about it?

Some Possible Causes:

• Communication issues – Interpersonal – Intra-personal – Clarity of and or interpretation of the information
• Leadership – Too much, too little, wrong sort (power and control)
• Management – Too much, too little, wrong sort (micro managing – power and control)
• Management fads – Things changing again, policies, procedures, values, beliefs… oh look we reinvented the wheel, lets go back to how things ere it was better… frustrating!
• Too many chiefs – Who would you follow?
• Wants to fly like an Eagle, but is hanging out with Turkeys
• Frustrated by lack of – Progress – Systems – Planning – Politics – Idiots – Resources – Facilities
• Work changes – Things got more techo but little or poor training was put in place – more things added to the list of things you are meant to be doing
• You (the supervisor/leader) became a freak, time freak, detail freak, communication freak etc… all this simply FREAKS people out, stop doing that
• Self-image – team image – High – low
• Changes to personal tastes (e.g. once liked the industry and now not so much – liked the work environment and is now tired of it.)
• Bullying etc…
• No releif from constant work pressures
• Made suggestions but nothing happens… or little if any recognition for suggestions or just being good at what they do
• Politics in the business, got bad and never really recovered!
• Departmental rivalry (more politics)
• Travel too far to get to work
• Personal situation has altered (break ups, divorces, family hassles) yours or theirs, yours can impact on them, their own is probably more direct
• Drug issues (not enough – too much) you, them, others
• Health issues

Clearly there are personal issues you as a boss or supervisor may not have much influence over, but the work issues should be able to be dealt with. Make a list of the items and check out to see if any of them can be tweaked to make things better. Over time you might find the range of things which would normally go from good to bad will reduce, a little prevention is better than a lot of fix ups.

Anyone who has done some meditation and have experienced the benefits will soon tell you this is nothing new. For me what could be new is using its benefits to enhance your business, less stress, less anxiety, less hassles, that can only mean less staff absenteeism, and therefore greater productivity. Couple that with “less issues in the play ground” and you could be on to a big winner!

The challenges would be to cause your business culture to alter enough to accept it, followed by which method to use, when it would be used and if the whole team started the day with a meditative session or not.

Once the initial questions have been pondered you might start out by offering an in house learning session with a mediation teacher who would give some simple short sharp options people could practice readily. Add a few links to articles on the web and perhaps a handout as a reminder they can pin up at their desk could be useful.

For those who think there could be issues with certain religious types not taking to a ‘new form of prayer’, set them straight by letting them know that very little meditation is related to religion and more to do with the science of holistic relaxation and better health.

Do a quick search on the net and find some simple strategies on how to do this, then follow up with your team every few weeks and discuss the benefits, issues etc to see how it works for your business. You might just get a pleasant surprise!

I get a picture of whole office spaces filled with cubicles of staff starting the day with 10 mins of chill time, following some basic steps to ‘Breathe in, breathe out and repeat…” all to aid the health and well being of all concerned. Perhaps all of this might add to the teams sense of belonging, connectedness, sense of achievement, a feeling of having a unified purpose and a sense of organisational integrity, all due to one simple process repeated daily… nice.

People will do more, if certain things happen, often these ‘things’ are not too much to consider in the scheme of things. Let’s take a look.

People put in when…

• They can see the business is well led – People respect good leadership, clear decision making and planning is taking place and they know about it.
• The business is secure – They know they have a solid income base and can see the products and services they provide are of value to the consumers. They also sense the future is rosy because of good planning, use of innovation and the profits not being squandered somehow.
• They are respected – People who sense they are respected often go the extra mile, “You respect me – I respect you”. This happens from the leaders in the organisation and is infectious across all in the team.
• Communication is clear, open and honest – Keep people in the dark for too long they may not see the light at the end of the tunnel. Therefore keep them in the light, let them know what’s happening.
• They know the business cares by… – They provide quality resources, tools, technology, good work environment, good systems, policies and procedures. This of course includes OHS as a given, not a ‘have to have’ add on.
• Their work environment is stimulating – Comfortable, well maintained, safe, secure and interesting enough to keep them engaged in what they do.
• The cultural values and beliefs provide a solid foundation – At the core of the business, the culture is driven by the values and beliefs, if your team know these have suitable guidelines to live by they will fit to and often exceed expectations, especially if these values and beliefs are spelled out and details provided of scenarios of the values and beliefs in action to serve as positive examples.
• Sense they are part of the solution – Customers have wants and needs and if these can be met and the team feel as though they were a positive contributor to the solutions then the results can be the team feels they have a sense of purpose.

Now set to work and focus on each point as a matter of urgency so your people can be all they can be and set stunning examples for new team members. Your customers will love the people who go the extra mile and return with more cash more readily in the future. That can only spell one thing, more business success.

A great person to work in our business…

I find it rather strange that businesses will say “You can’t get good people these days” and people will say “You can’t find a good business to work for”

Both statements have an element of realism about them, yet both are unrealistic views all at the same time. I know for a fact that great businesses exist, and they can find great people to work for them, and the same for those looking for work, what’s different is the approach.

I guess it’s the ‘self talk’ taking place in people’s heads (your business does not think…) the sort of talk that causes self fulfilling prophecies to happen. Yes you ended up with another team member who won’t work how you want, and the worker ends up with another business full of poor work practices and low pay.

Let’s turn that around… “I keep finding great people to work with me to make this business great” or “I love looking for companies with great credentials who provide a great environment to be a part of.”

The more you look the more you find, if you search for great things then that is probably what you will find, and remember the opposite is also quite feasible.

People who have the ability to ‘land on their feet’ seem to be the ones who make it their business to know where to look for good outcomes, others amongst the population may be so used to less favourable outcomes they land on their feet, but up to their knees in mud…

The answer, develop a set of outcome ideas and focus on that. e.g. a worker looking for a great company to be part of, make a list of the qualities they have, where they would most likely be and then do research to find out about them and what they do.

The same in a search for a worker, list the qualities, abilities and skills sets you want and search from there.

In part it’s creative visualisation, followed with great guidelines for finding more ideal environments and situations which suit our needs.

These simple tactics enable you to be focused on your outcome, rather than leaving things open to interpretation by ‘the powers that be’, so you stand a much better chance of finding what you want. Remember the more you look, the more you will see.

Based in biology terminology, this ‘stasis’ relates to organisms and the way the ‘whole’ can be maintained, the right amount of light, nutrients, etc to ensure the organism can survive. The organism dies when things get too far out of balance and things go astray. With limited ability to improvise – adapt – or overcome a simple organism has little chance of survival.

In business the ‘organism’ becomes more complex, there are more variables, in many cases it is a range of little ‘things’ which can make or break it’s ability to thrive let alone survive.

Lets look at a few variables

• Staff – motivated – skilled – communicating well?
• Systems – complex – simple – effective?
• Strategies – Marketing – Management – Operations – in place or not?
• Values – minimal – developing – fully developed – where are things at?
• Resources – tools – materials – workspaces – finances – training – well utilised?

Now you can see your business as a complex organism and one where the balance of all the factors to make it successful, have to be juggled carefully to keep things in harmony. In this case harmony can equal a static situation which does not allow for growth.

For the sake of your business, figuring out what is keeping the status quo where it’s at could be important in the logical approach to evaluating the situation. OR you could take a ‘quantum leap’ and step over that, avoid the analysis and look at a range of things that can be done that might not already be done, to head things in a healthier direction. A bit like doing a range of exercises to build core strength in a body when you thought you could get away with just one or two exercises, often the result is better in the long run.

What you can do

• Communication – Discuss – projects – people – resources – aim to connect – synergise – empower – inspire – what works – what doesn’t – distil lessons learnt & distribute – reduce barriers – reduce hassles
• Create a learning cycle – Assess a project before it starts – assess it inn progress – evaluate the aftermath, what went well, what didn’t and what can you learn from it
• Aim for excellence – “If it could be done better do it!” look at all aspects to what makes things tick- Systems – strategies – skills – structure – service – quality (to name a few)
• Provide a sense of belonging – achievement – contribution
• Goal set – share the info – share the wins – explore the challenges and shortcomings.
• Love your people – they make the hard resources move – they do the ‘stuff’ that pays the bills and builds the profits if  you love them they will love the customers
• Love  your customers – connect – discuss – focus – ask – explore them – know them – let them know you and your team

All of these things can keep your team nimble and exploring a wider range of actions and thinking processes than their usual comfort zone allows. All of this should allow your business to explore the idea of thriving, not just standing still in a warm spot where things are comfortable but pushing at least some of the boundaries to make things work better.

Compile the guidelines into your master operating procedural documents, begin to live it, refer to it and explore all it has to offer.

Any future steps the organisation takes should be done in light of these core values, then over time these can be ‘tweaked’ to suit.

Now you are fired up to tackle this as a project (even you small business operator…) then here is a link you can email to your team to work with.

Adaptable

Quality

Passion

Accountability

Integrity

Collaboration

Tolerance

Respect

Leadership

And another article on values to tie it all together

Now look at how you bring the various aspects of this together to create great results for your business by taking positive action.

Oh and while you are at it, get your team to explore any other values they think would be useful for your business, drop me a line to let me know via the comments for this post and I will take a look and consider adding them in.

Adaptable: We are able to take initiative and embrace projects and challenges with the guideline of “Improvise – Adapt – Overcome”

I like the ideas of ‘improvise – adapt – overcome’ I think it makes a neat mantra your teams could follow, and if you are brave enough you will provide a working environment where you trust your people to go the extra mile because they are following the mantra and have ‘nutted out a way forward’.

You know you have set up your team to value the idea of being adaptable, perhaps they might have to work varying hours while a team member is on holidays, or having to be part of a brainstorming team to come up with some fresh ideas. Perhaps it’s having to find solutions using creative approaches in a ‘blink’ and doing it with confidence and poise.

You know you can be adaptable too and value the word so highly you often find yourself having to be more adaptable than most, but then  you treat that as a starting point to train others in how to be even more adaptable. Notice how you have to become more creative to be even more adaptable… How will you teach your people to value creativity and explore it with ease?

Quality: What we do, we do well – We openly explore ways to improve at all levels – A commitment to personal and professional excellence – A commitment to great service at all levels – Aiming to be a highly professional team

It’s not just products, it’s so much more, the delivery, the service the sales presentation, the effectiveness of communication at all levels. It’s the way your business holds itself, it’s stance or posture, it says tot he market place ‘we are quality’.

If you have a quality system that relates to some standards of practice or certification  you will have all manner of quality device in place to ensure every last check box is ticked and minimum standards are met. If you don’t have a quality system in place what can you do to create one? How will your people respond and use it, how will they help to develop it and how will you ensure it is being used at all times by those who count, everyone in your business!

Perhaps you were lucky and your passion is so infectious your team became mini clones of you and before you knew it the passion bug struck and they all got deeply passionate about the business and all it stands for. Wow! lucky you! Chances are though the passion may not last and preventing it from fading becomes an challenging task so ask lots of questions about it so you can impress upon your team the importance of it.

Passion: Committed in heart and mind to get great results we can all be proud of

How does passion show up in your business? How do your people respond to it when they see it? Is it different from your response? What can be done to keep a rising passion happen for the business to grow and be an exciting place to be for all?

Ask people about the passion they have for your business, from the customers to the staff, what gets them excited so much they are loyal followers and supporters of all the business does and is. Knowing more about the passion your business is built on probably should be your major quest, an illusive Holy Grail if you like. A secret notion, ‘potion’, concept, aspect, feature, benefit etc… it’s one or more of those which creates the passion.

Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me – See something, Do something, take action to make things right – Think globally, act locally – Hold true to a high level duty of care.

Who is accountable in your business? Your immediate answer should be everyone… Each to their own degree of influence in their ‘part of the business’. Who is will ing to put their hand up and say ‘it’s my problem I caused it’… depending on the degree of the problem will probably depend on how much they put up their hand and take responsibility for the challenge.

It all comes down to a duty of care, to  ourselves, our team, our customers, our business. To do that takes action, seeing things may not be right and taking action to set that thing right. What things are your people accountable for and what is your expectation of them when things go astray? Now ask how can we as a business explore what’s happening and how can we all be more accountable for what happens?

How is it instilled in your business? how is it explored and developed? How do you do your part to ensure that from the top down integrity is a hallmark of all your business stands for?

Integrity: Consistency of honest working principles and beliefs – Build trust through our positive actions – Build our structural integrity to ensure sustained growth through a solid foundation – We build with a culture of mutual respect for all – Aim to be ecologically sustainable.

Honour, virtue, honesty, trust are all part of this one word and the values it represents. How does it show up in your organisation, what things communicate to people your business has integrity from the words and actions it uses to the physical aspects of the business (from signs, furniture and the actions of its team)?

Now take action to build the integrity by knowing all the small things in your organisation can be tweaked to increase the integrity people experience and believe in. What will you strengthen first?

How do your people collaborate, and are they aware they do it, almost constantly in your business? Are they aware of how well they do or don’t do it?

Collaboration: Leverage collective genius – work cooperatively with others – Comply with all legal and statutory authorities – Explore ways to develop profitable business relationships.

Collaboration is like some sort of guideline, knowing the boundaries and exploring the lines and levels of communication so people can do what they do well. The more your people communicate in a collaborative manner the more chance you have of the organisation really exploring it’s strengths and abilities. over time weaknesses and poor skills will be replaced by a more positive approach.

Collaboration as a value is important to recognise and find ways to make it prosper and grow.

On the staffing side, how well do your people tolerate each other, perhaps they shouldn’t need to tolerate bad behaviour (bullying, harassment and such and should have ways to work positively with these kinds of issues.) But how do differing nationalities get on? and the difference in values people might have due to a range of personal beliefs and values.

Tolerance: Of others, their views, beliefs and values.

In business we have to deal with many things, handling differences is part and parcel of things and our ability to be flexible in our approach is probably key to making differences work.

Take a look at what people in your team tolerate from each other and customers. Do they handle the differences well or not. If not what can you do to show people there are differences and that they can simply be other peoples beliefs and values, they are not good or bad, just different. Then yo will have a great starting point to build from.

Respect: For each other, the people we serve and the environment – From the way we communicate to the way we act on all levels.

How then do you build respect? Explore it’s meaning to you and others in your organisation first, then look at ways of implementing high level respect. It could be better communication, from you as the business leader to to your team communicating with you. Then to the way everyone communicates with the customers.

How do your actions encourage respect, are you too laid back, not clear in your communication, not clear about your goals, the organisations goals, the way the team/s interact… and the list goes on.

If you value the notion of respect you will find more ways to make it happen for yourself and your team. May I suggest you make a BIG list of the ways respect shows up in an organisation and how these can be tweaked in your organisation to foster some growth. the bigger the respect gets the better chance you will have of creating a positively buoyant organisation, and that has got to be good for the longer term stability of the enterprise.