Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: danzo08

No matter your position, if you’re one of the go-to people then you need to know about “emotional contagion” and how your moods affect those around you. Although much of the research has focused on emotionally negative or positive bosses, it’s actually leaders, whether bosses or not, who have the most impact.

Yup, now there’s proof for what all of us who’ve been exposed to “glass half empty” people already know—negative emotions, especially in leaders, can bring a group down faster than bad ventilation during flu season.

So if you’re a person of influence you need to stay aware of your own mood. Sure, it’s difficult to be upbeat when you walk out of a meeting with an enraged client, or a design review for a project about to go over budget or a difficult review, but if you don’t, you’ll bring down the rest of your team and that’ll blow off the entire day (or week or even longer).

Overcome your mood using a simple approach that I first learned from a book by Napoleon Hill more years ago than matters. He said, “Think, act, walk and talk like the person you want to become and you’ll become that person,” and “Act enthusiastic and you’ll become enthusiastic.”

Put them together and you have an unbeatable, simple, solution for keeping your own morale and, as a result, the morale of your team, positive and productive.

The approach may seem simplistic, but oft times simple is best. After all, you’re not trying to solve the cause, but to mitigate the effect.

How do you deal with a bad mood?

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I cleaned out a ton of files today (it was way too hot to go outside) and came across three mildly sexy comments from Richard Branson, Einstein, and Francis Koenig, so I decided to make today sexy comment day.

“You’ll have at least two ways to get lucky on our flights.” –Richard Branson on his airline’s offering casinos and double beds on it six new Airbus A380 planes. (How lucky are you?)

“When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.” –Albert Einstein (Imagine this translated into today’s language.)

“It’s a market untapped by Wall Street… There are 6 billion people on the planet, and most of them participate in adult entertainment.” — Francis Koenig CEO AdultVest (for those of you who don’t know, AdultVest is a $7.9 billion hedge fund that is dedicated to the adult entertainment industry, including buying iPorn.com—no relation to the iPhone. (A lot more stable and profitable than mortgages.)

What can you add to the collection?

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I frequently disagree with Jack and Suzy Welch in their weekly Business Week column, but in The Connected Leader they offer up good insights as to the effect of the internet on leaders, i.e., bosses, in terms of what it can and can’t do as well as what the leader needs to do.

“The Internet…ushers in a whole new level and scope of employee engagement. Leaders should welcome this development, and most do, but it’s a mistake to treat it lightly. Once employees engage you by speaking out, albeit electronically, they expect to hear back. We would suggest that it can be just as damaging for a leader not to respond to feedback as it is not to ask for it at all.”

Well and good, no arguments. And most leader-bosses are trying to embrace this—even when it scares them silly—because if they don’t they can’t hire. That’s right, engagement is high on the list of employee demands and not just by Millennials and if it isn’t there, well, it’s available somewhere else.

But what I’m cheering is this.

“…one aspect of leadership we believe the Internet won’t change because it can’t. Real leaders touch people… They get in their skin, filling their hearts with inspiration, courage, and hope. They share the pain in times of loss and are there to celebrate the wins.”

It’s called face-to-face and it’s where many leader-bosses are not cutting it. I see too many of them who embrace the orderly world of digital communications as a way to avoid messy, in person interactions—but it doesn’t work.

Current and future technology isn’t the answer—shoe leather is.

That’s right, getting out there and talking face-to-face, knowing your people and giving them the opportunity to know the real you. Not now and then when there’s a special message, but regularly.

As to having the time, you do, because if you don’t your retention will sink like a rock as your turnover soars and you get a street rep that says, ‘give up hope all who join this company’.

How do you rally your troops?

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This week we’re supposed to write about “your business epiphany – what one moment influenced your career or business more than any other?”

Epiphanies are funny things. What we think is an epiphany (AKA, an ah-ha!! moment) when it happens may become more mundane in 20/20 hindsight, whereas a passing thought becomes monumental wisdom in that same hindsight.

What epiphanies I can identify fall in the second category.

Here is the one that’s had the greatest impact on me, because it stopped my laying all those coulda/shoulda/woulda trips on myself.

Don’t judge who you were and what you did in the past based on who you are and what you know now.

It wasn’t until I had to explain it to someone else that I was forced to think through exactly what I meant. Here is how I explained it then and have continued to explain it to clients and others ever since.

Each of us is composed of multiple, past “me’s,” each a different, stand-alone version from the current one.

When you look at past actions (Why did I…) you need to first ask yourself if you made the best decision/action possible based on the information you had at the time in conjunction with the person you were at that time.

If, in fact, you did, then the you you-are-now has no right to judge, i.e., beat up on, the previous you for that decision/action.

This doesn’t mean that you need to condone everything—today’s you may decide that in the future you should move in a different direction, do more research or whatever—but it does preclude you from taking your former self to task.

I hope you’ll consider saving yourself a lot of grief by integrating this idea into your own life.

What was your most important epiphany?

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CandidProf is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at a state university. He’ll be sharing his thoughts and experience teaching today’s students anonymously every Thursday— anonymously because that’s the only way he can write really candid posts.

An uncaring and ineffective professor does not even take into account the possibility that students are not properly prepared for their class. The students who are ill prepared will not have a chance.

So, you have to learn where your students are. What do they know? What do they not know? If a large number of them don’t know the shape of the Earth, then be sure to cover that. If they don’t understand a certain type of differential equation, cover that in class. But, a good leader also recognizes when success is not possible.

Occasionally I have a student who has no chance of succeeding in the class. That is tough for me, because I want everyone to succeed. But, I have students who sign up for calculus based physics even though they do not even have a good grasp of algebra and have never had calculus.

I have students who take the second semester class after taking the first semester class somewhere “easier” where they did not cover as much material as we do in our first semester class. Unfortunately, the second semester class builds on the concepts covered (or supposed to be covered) in the first semester.

There is only so much that I can do. Physics is intense enough. I cannot teach algebra, trigonometry, and calculus AND physics. If students are missing some things, then I can help them and explain those few things. But, I cannot teach them an entire course’s worth of material in a few minutes when they come by my office.

Eventually, you have to realize that some of them need to stop, drop the course, and go back and take the other classes that they need in order to succeed in your course.

It is very difficult having to tell a student that he or she is completely unprepared for the level of your class and needs to go back and learn the basic things needed before signing up for the class again. You know that many of them will just quit rather than doing that. But, you also know that they won’t succeed if they stick with it. That is something that a good professor will occasionally have to do, though.

How prepared were you for college?

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Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: kikashi

Check out my other WW: communications = perceptions

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Today is theme day around the channel, all about graduating and new beginnings in a downturn. For a full list of participants check with Darlene over at Interview Chatter.

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Their reputation precedes them.

Hiring Millennials is an iffy business when your focus is a desire for long term employees.

On top of their sense of entitlement, many have no idea how to be led.

As CandidProf says, “Teaching is also an exercise in leadership, particularly in college. You do not simply download knowledge into student brains… Students need to be properly prepared in order to be led to learning.”

That goes double (at least) in the work arena. Too many Millennials see more value in peer information and advice than in listening and learning from anyone who has been there/done that. Their actions, more than their words, display an ‘I am the sun” attitude; they already know how to do it better and faster—cheaper rarely enters the equation—and see no use in learning other approaches, since theirs is better.

I’m not saying that every 18-35 year-old thinks this way, but plenty do—although the severity of “Millennial Fever” varies by individual.

The problem for you is that turnover is costly and you need to minimize it.

How? By latching on to the number one piece of hiring intelligence that is espoused by the smartest companies—attitude trumps skills.

And if you don’t agree, ask yourself whether you would rather teach someone to program in a new language or convince them to change something in their MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™)

It’s really a no-brainer when you think about it and it applies not just to Millennials, but to all people at all levels—from entry-level to executive.

What do you think? Does attitude trump skills?

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Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: spekulator

By Wes Ball, author of The Alpha Factor – a revolutionary new look at what really creates market dominance and self-sustaining success. Read all of Wes’ posts here.

There is a growing phenomenon among upper-level executives in American corporations that we could easily call, “Corporate ADD.”

Even stretching down to upper-middle management levels, there is a growing problem with having too much to think about too quickly with too little information, but too much pressure to get it done and done right.

Every time I talk with mid- to upper-level execs, I hear the same thing. They can’t get anything done, because there are too many meetings talking about too may things that have to be solved immediately, and the pressure upon them to turn around impossible problems increases almost daily.

This is exacerbated by the stock market for the CEO, who finds himself putting out investor relations and stock analyst fires more than he does even the panicked internal fires that are driving his staff crazy.

Is it any wonder that there are fewer visionary “leaders” heading up companies?

Who in their right mind would step into such a role, if he were a visionary?

Do you have any answers?

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Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: b2logs.com and Ram Sharma

In April I received an email with “Greetings from b2logs.com” as the subject.

“My name is Ram Sharma, high school student and Founder of b2logs.com. b2logs is a website featuring the best business news feeds from all around the world, b2logs also hosts a one of a kind blog informing the world of the latest in business news.”

He went on to say that he’d found the content informative and was featuring Leadership Turn on his site.

Nice, but what truly impressed me was the clarity and skill of his writing. So I wrote him back, participated in his prelaunch feedback contest (they gave away an Ipod Touch) and then requested an interview with him.

Background: Ram is a 16 year old entrepreneur from Canada. He’s a junior in high school, has founded two companies, Karma Design Studio and most recently, B2 Business Network. As you might guess, Ram is competitive by nature and competes in many business competitions. Most recently, he represented Canada at the International DECA conference in Atlanta, Georgia. He also volunteers with IMPACT Entrepreneurship Group, a non-profit organization hosting entrepreneurship week in Canada. You may contact Ram through either of his companies.

In my phone conversations with Ram I found no hint of the entitlement mentality so common today. I found Ram to be thoughtful, verbally fluent and downright charming. Ram represents the best of what’s coming down the line.

I sent Ram these interview questions and the responses are exactly as he sent them.

Who are the founders of b2logs (names, ages, a bit of background)

The founders of b2logs.com are myself, Ram Sharma and my partner, Zan Zhang, both 16 year-old senior high school students.
I am one of Canada’s youngest entrepreneurs; I founded my own website design and development firm, Karma Design Studio.com last year. I am also a technology enthusiast, political debater, and avid volunteer. Furthermore, I am part of many organizations such as Impact, FIRST Robotics, and DECA. In high school, I am a dedicated student and part of the International Business and Technology Program at Gordon Graydon Memorial. I am also the President and CEO of B2 Business network, parent company of b2logs.com.

My partner, Zan Zhang is an enthusiastic student in the same program and high school. He has many talents and hobbies ranging from chess, piano, and robotics, to volleyball, investing and DECA. Zan Zhang is the Marketing Director of b2logs.com and lead author of b2 gurus.

What got you interested in doing a business oriented blog/site as opposed to something else (sports, etc.)?

The idea of b2logs.com started when my partner and I were looking for an easy way to organize our business news feeds without using traditional RSS feed readers. Focusing on only business news feeds allowed us to create something that interests us, plus no one really simplified “business news” for the average Internet user.
What difficulties have you had to deal with in moving your project forward?

My team encountered a few problems. Since I am the main developer, I had to handle layout and browser compatibility issues. Also, while developing the project I had to look into features which allowed my website to stand out and finding the right features was a bit tricky. Plus, we had to juggle this project with many others.
What do your parents/teachers/peers think of b2logs?

Overall, the response was positive, many people found this website useful and easy to use. During the PreLaunch process I received great suggestions that made the website even better. But, I still have to continue to improve the website and make it the best business news network on the web. My parents are especially proud the work that I accomplished.

Do you have any mentors? What have you learned from them?

My personal mentor is my father, Raghu Sharma. He is also a technology enthusiast in the web domain industry. There have been many lessons I have learned from him. In this case, the most important lesson I learned was how to create a website that kept bringing people back. This lesson helped me focus on the “sticky” features of my websites and allowed me to keep the most important people in mind at all times, the user.

What’s the best advice you have ever received and how has it worked for you?

Both my partner and I have learned to always question ourselves in order to find ways to improve and although planning is essential, it is all about the execution. Most of the time this piece of advice would be very helpful because I have very intricate plans and ideas that never get put into action. I believe there is a level of fear when one does something new, but when I overcome this fear the exhilarating adventures begin.

What’s YOUR best advice to others?

Here is what my partner has to say and I think it is what I would say to others:
“My best advice is to all the young people out there. If you think you are busy now, and that you will hold off your plans until later, YOU ARE WRONG. I always thought I was too young to do anything, not enough experience, insufficient responsibility, yada yada, but a friend pointed out how busy I would be when I have a mortgage, kids, a job, grandkids… So don’t procrastinate and follow your dream”

What are each of your career plans?

I would like to go into engineering with a background in business and in the future I would like to continue building tech-based companies.
Zan’s career plan is to go into finance, perhaps getting a degree in accounting or a CFA or a business degree, and eventually one day run a hedge fund.

Do you think that Ram and Zan are representative of today’s youth or exceptional?

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Post from Leadership Turn Image credit: Zoe Armagh

Remember the bestseller All I really needed to know I learned in kindergarden? It still sells because it has a wealth of wisdom that addresses adult issues, but that most adults have forgotten.

Another font of wisdom for adult issues is Dr Seuss.

I think he has better advice on authenticity and motivation in leadership then all the pundits (including me) who blather on about it today. Best, his advice is short, sweet, easy to remember and doesn’t require any outside help to understand it—just compatible MAP.

Horton Hatches the Egg (1940)
I meant what I said,
and I said what I meant
An elephant’s faithful,
One hundred percent.

Horton Hears a Who! (1954)
Don’t give up! I believe in you all
A person’s a person, no matter how small!

On Beyond Zebra! (1955)
I’m telling you this ’cause you’re one of my friends.
My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!

So, on beyond Z!
It’s high time you were shown
That you really don’t know
All there is to be known.

The Lorax (1971)
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (1990)
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.

What are your favorite Seussisms?

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