Good to Great

Good To Great is a book for people looking for success – to take that step towards greatness. Despite it mainly be aimed at companies, I feel as an individual there is plenty you can take from it. For that reason, I have included the eight key points to take away from the book – enjoy!

1. Great leaders have humility and professional resolve
They are not focused on self rewards, instead they are driven to see their company be successful as they want to put their company first.

2. Hire/work with the right people
Companies are only as good as their employees. To be successful, you must identify and work with the best people available. The right people are your biggest asset, so pick the right recruitment company to work with.

3. Must find brutal facts and difficulty realties in order to overcome them
When doing this, you must believe you can overcome this and it will make you better because of it. The biggest recommendation to achieve this is, don’t work with ‘Yes’ people and be transparent, honest and direct in your actions/communication.

4. Find what you’re best at and stick to it
Companies and individuals often stick with what they’re known for or what they have been doing for years but this may not be the best decision going forwards. Instead, they must find what their core competency is and ensure they stick to it.

5. Be self-disciplined
The right people are self motivated and focused on the company’s and their goals. This means there won’t be a need for discipline or incentives which may cause distraction or resources that can be used elsewhere.

6. Use technology to accelerate your goals
Technology should be used to accelerate and build on the individuals or company’s success. Positive financial results are often dependent on the success and efficiency of the technology that is acquired and used.

7. Be persistent, patient and consistent
Going from good to great doesn’t happen over night. Instead, it requires patient effort in order to achieve it over time.

8. All the principles are timeless
Economies are always changing and moving. There is always another challenge. However, the principles that ‘Good to Great’ provide are timeless as laws, regulations and people change – you can still use the principles provided to reach a level of greatness.

Dear Business Leader, writing as a Millennial…

READING TIME: 90 Seconds

I feel we are at a breaking point or a tipping point within organisational leadership. It is certainly an opportunity point.

With 63.3% of executives retiring over the next 5 years and millennials numbering over 50% of the workforce by 2020 (PWC) it is time for organisations to invest in the future of their millennial workforce. Attracting, inspiring, nurturing. This is where your legacy will be defined and future proofing for your organisation will be assured.

My concern is validated by one survey by Beyond.com which established that HR Professionals say only 9% of millennials can lead – yes, the same people who are reshaping the economy, changing the way consumers consume and organisations do business.

Please, take action now to change this outlook for business, we have the experience, expertise and pure passion to support you in transforming your organisation. Now is the time…

Begin to invest in a leadership team of the future – by building a Mirror Board programme. This programme will increase brand loyalty and is core to Naked Leader’s promise of 3 times more value, confidence and agility for your organisation.

Hand over responsibility and let your millennial employees know why their performance on a specific project matters to the greater good. Your young people, perhaps even more so than any other generation, like to feel that the work they’re doing is making a difference – your organisation needs to be a Force for Good, internally and externally.

Build a team of leaders – Young people have a team-ethic approach and need to feel they are a valued part of the team. Within this group, young people are more open to discussing ideas and changing their points of view. They’re more curious, innovative and less rigid than their parents.

Provide a clear pathway – Millennials expect rapid career progression as they have an ambition and desire to keep learning. And they are happy that progression happens horizontally across an organisation, rather than the traditional progression of promotion upwards.

Give your young people the platform – Multi-tasking is a way of life for young people and this high energy means they require a challenging environment to be able to be successful.

From our experience, I make you this promise: they may be the highest maintenance work force, they will also be the highest performing if you as an organisation make the above choices now.

Karl Sharman
Lead Youth Advisor
Naked Leader

View Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1S-GpdMz7Q&list=PL26D903FA9740016E&index=15

DO NOT READ THIS unless there is something still holding you back

Right now, you and every single person you can be, and every single person that you know and every single person reading this, have one thing in common.

One day, you will close your eyes, stop breathing and die.

So, why would you fear anything?

Success is very simple for us all

The idea that to pursue your dreams means giving up everything that is dear to you is nonsense:
– Success does not necessarily mean leaving your present company – indeed, it may be to stay and grow and find fulfilment.
– Success does not necessarily mean anything to do with work or your career
– Success is yours – it is yours to own and no-one else has any right to tell you that your success is wrong, if you do not hurt, or damage, someone else.

Success is indeed very simple, for anything in your life:
– Know what you want to do, or where you want to be
– Know where you are now
– Know what you have to do, to get to where you want to go, or where you want to be
– And, do it!

Whatever you want in life, you have massive power and potential to make it happen, to bring it closer and there is no point having such huge potential, if you do nothing with it.

Your future is your choice, always. You, me, everyone can always choose what we do, how we act. And: whilst we may not be able to control other people, events around us and in the world, and things that happen to us, we can always control how we react.

Adapted from: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naked-Coach-Business-Coaching-Simple/dp/1841127566

Showing Millennials attention will provide a greater ROI

To get the best out of millennials for your organisation to get a return of investment, you must give them your total attention. Attention sounds very negative when people use the word in relation to providing attention to another individual however, all negative stereotypes can be turned into positive attributes when understood.

If you’re in a leadership position to millennials: the first thing you must do to show them attention is to be a coach; not a boss – they want access, they’re looking for a mentor and they want an environment where they can have a platform to be successful.

Perhaps even more so than other generation, Millennials want to feel that their work is making a difference and they would like to be recognised for it. For this to be achievable they need constant feedback (weekly minimum) and the feedback must be critical, best using the Sandwich Technique, to get the best out of their potential. You may also be surprised to know that while they’re brilliant at navigating the digital landscape, they prefer face-to-face communication so when you feedback ensure you sit down and have a conversation about it.

The final part on attention is to give the young person a significant role on a project – this responsibility will provide a lot of confidence in the person to go and progress further and feel like he or she is valued within the organisation. This one move could significantly increase loyalty and performance to generate further returns to your organisation.

What do millennials want #4

Millennials want freedom within a frame work. They’re fed up of the rigid corporate structure and environments that many organisations still rely on, now they’re driving for freedom within a structured organisation.

Millennials have a true entrepreneurial mind-set; they like flexibility, independence and are determined to pursue their passions. This means that within this framework there needs to be freedom to roam and grow. To second this: 66% of millennials want to be entrepreneurs (Bentley University, 2016). This trend has led to more frequent job mobility until a satisfactory environment is achieved to meet the needs of the millennial. From the same report, 79% reported that their employer encouraged creativity (impressive!) and 78% reported they’re loyal to their company because of this (hint).

My advice to assist you: is create a hackathon competition/events to drive creativity within tasks to see what ideas and initiatives can be created within your suggested framework. This will drive confidence, stronger relationships and better communication between employees as well as management.

What do millennials want #3

Millennials want to see a pathway within the organisation they work in or have been offered by. They expect a rapid progression in a varied and interesting career – the latest figures suggest a graduate in this generation will likely change their job 8-10 times in their life.

Millennials have ambition, a desire to keep learning and see the job as a development opportunity. Millennials value development more than other generations do which is a key difference. Gallup’s, How Millennials Want to Work and Live, reveals that 59% of millennials say opportunities to learn and grow are extremely important to them when applying for a job.

My recommendation to develop the millennials within your organisation is to show them a potential pathway if they can achieve the goals you have set them – this will drive focus, productivity and profit. The second recommendation is to build a two-way mentorship programme between a senior member of staff and a millennial to ensure that development is ongoing for every individual within the organisation.

Millennials are inpatient and don’t want to wait – it’s simple either develop your young people or they will leave to develop.

What do millennials want #2

Millennials want to be heard – it is that simple. Young people, especially in the UK, feel that the older generations do not understand them or listen to them. If you want to grow engagement within your organisation I suggest you try not to understand millennials but rather focus on listening and giving them a voice.

Millennials have many great ideas and opinions and it is my view that many ideas go to the graveyard because other generations don’t let the young people have a voice. When being listened to they expect your full focus as they don’t take kindly to being ignored so it becomes more paramount that you act on their voice.

For this to be successful – everything between a leader or older member of your team and the young person must be two-way. Ideas, opinions and final say must be communicated and discussed both ways. To initially encourage this, you may want to start two-way mentoring between a leader and a millennial.

If you’re a leader, I suggest when you’re looking to develop a millennial you do the following: Listen, watch & act.

What do millennials want #1

By 2020 Millennials will represent over 50% of the workforce – but people are still trying to understand what a millennial is and more importantly why do they do what they do? I have spent the last six months telling leaders and organisations my views on the complex force of a millennial but it’s time to be honest – they’re not complex at all.

Over the next few weeks I will tell you the main reasons of what millennials want and now it’s time for the first request.

#1 They want to shape where they work

Millennials want to shape where they work because they need the freedom to express themselves – they’re very anti-corporate structure. Millennials want a flexible approach to work with regular feedback and encouragement. The environment must provide a good work-life balance as well as creating opportunities for growth and change.

Millennials don’t believe in a 9-5 working week, in fact often they are willing to work later but they look to be rewarded and recognised for their work. They want their environment to be surrounded by technology – the millennials are the first generation that are digital natives as they have been absorbed by new technologies.

If you want to be successful and attractive for millennials – you must re-think your environment as each employee will want a workplace that engages, inspires and motivates them each day. Each person is different but you can listen to them ALL and you can act – that is the power you have as a leader.

The centre point of success

I have listened and watched a variety of individuals who feel they have been successful and there is one centre point to their success: gratitude. I would expect you to say that it must be easy for successful people to have the feeling of gratitude but a lot of what I see or they say, suggests they gained gratitude along the early part of their journey.

You are fortunate as you can write your own story – this is because everything is your choice which includes the feeling of being grateful. Gratitude is the centre of success as it is a huge factor for law of attraction. The term ‘Law of Attraction’ is the name given to the maxim “like attracts like”, basically meaning that if you have positive thoughts than positive actions will follow. Gratitude is no different to this – as it brings positivity to your outlook, leads to happiness and ultimately productivity.

This one change to your thoughts will help you eliminate fear and any negativity in your day, furthermore it will improve relationships as it will become an infectious feeling for those around you. The final benefit of gratitude is that it will increase your health and emotional wellbeing – helping you to be more focused and learn more efficiently.

Gratitude will grow and strengthen with deliberate, intentional use. To do this I suggest every day or week, list everything you’re grateful for – say each one out loud to yourself and the others around you each morning. Keep repeating this process – you will feel stillness and fulfilment come into your body that will set you up for the day.