REPOST: 15 Great No-Cost Ways to Supercharge Your Employees

This article from Inc.com shares some tips for business leaders on how they can motivate their employees to achieve more.

Image source: http://www.inc.com/

Many bosses think that the best and perhaps the only way to get their employees motivated to do a better job is to pay them more, in the form of higher salaries, bonuses, or other cash rewards. This is a mistake. In reality, there are a lot of things you can do to supercharge employee performance that won't cost you a single dime.

Consider the example of Factory 360, an experiential marketing firm based in New York City. Company founder Michael Fernandez decided to convert an unused office into a yoga studio for employees. Together they practice their yoga moves in the repurposed space. Not only has team morale improved but Fernandez reports that the amenity has helped employees build stronger bonds with one another--and with him.

Try the following no-cost ways for supercharging your employees' morale and performance. You (and your customers) may be surprised at what a difference they make.

1. Don't just tell your employees what to do, explain why they should do it. (And while you're at it, make sure the reasons are good ones!)

2. Provide employees with prompt and candid feedback on their performance. (If improvements are needed, help them understand what they need to do to do better.)

3. Catch your employees doing something right. (And praise them when you do.)

4. Ask your employees what you can do to improve your business. (And implement their suggestions whenever it makes sense to do so.)

5. Really listen to what your employees have to say. (Show your sincere interest by focusing your full attention on your people when they are talking to you.)

6. Ask your employees, "What's one thing I can do better for you this month?" (And then tell them one thing they can do better for you that month.)

7. Assign small projects to your employees that require them to learn new tasks and grow in their jobs. (Serving on a task force to deal with a pressing business problem or presenting a proposal to top management are just two possible options.)

8. Rotate team leadership positions among all members of the team. (Provide all employees with leadership training so they are prepared to lead.)

9. Don't punish employees when they try something and fail. (Instead, help them learn lessons that will help them succeed the next time.)

10. Open your books to employees. (When employees know how what they do at work contributes to the bottom line, they will do more of it.)

11. Communicate a long-range vision for your company. (Make sure it's inspiring and clearly stated.)

12. Share customer letters and email messages of complaint and praise with all employees. (And do it promptly and regularly.)

13.  Expect perfection. (But accept excellence.)

14. Always treat your employees with dignity and respect. (Just as you yourself want and expect to be treated.)

15. Allow your people to be great. (You have the power to let your employees be great, or to shut them down.)







The Bertrand Management Group offers series of organizational and employee trainings to help businesses enhance the performance of their workforce. Follow this Twitter page for more resources on better business practices.

The daily habits of effective leaders

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Being a leader is no easy feat. Apart from having the responsibility of making important decisions that could make or break a team, leaders are constantly under a microscope, where everything they say and do is scrutinized and met with strong reaction. Thus, it is truly remarkable when a leader excels in his or her duties given the intense pressure he or she is in. However, being a good leader isn’t an innate skill; it requires a daily effort to fully understand what it means to lead.

The following are some habits that successful leaders practice each day:

Image Source: Success.com

Listening - Regardless their industry, one thing is certain: Effective leaders are great listeners. It is by listening to their subordinates’ concerns and opinions that leaders determine the strengths and weaknesses of their team and create a friendly environment that encourages employees to participate and speak up.

Making decisions - Of course, a big part of a leader’s responsibilities is decision making. But what sets apart the effective leaders is their ability to make decisions and stand by them. Effective leaders earn the respect of their employees when they show that they are firm on their beliefs and are not easily swayed.

Trusting their people - Leaders who trust their workers foster a healthy working relationship with them because it makes workers feel that they are important in the team. This goes both ways, too. Leaders should also prove themselves worthy of their workers’ trust as they carry the responsibility of representing the whole team.

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By practicing these habits, leaders and those aspiring to be one can ensure the success of their team’s endeavors and create lasting friendships with their workers. 

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REPOST: How Intel Gets Social Responsibility Just Right

This Time.com article shares how Intel incorporates "social responsibility" to achieve success.

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Intel co-founder Andy Grove once noted that some of his fundamental views on running a business were based on reading Peter Drucker’s foundational work, The Practice of Management, 30 or so years after its publication in 1954.

The experience, Grove said, illustrated “how long some of the principles . . . last and retain their appropriateness, even as things change.”

Another 30 years down the road, whether they know it or not, the folks at Intel are living out what Drucker prescribed on those very same pages—especially in the book’s concluding chapter, “The Responsibilities of Management.”

Last week, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich announced that Intel was the first company to reach a significant milestone: It is now manufacturing and shipping only “conflict-free” microprocessors—that is, computer chips devoid of minerals that come from those mines that pass their profits on to warlords in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other violence-ravaged parts of Africa.

Armed groups, which reap more than $100 million a year from the mineral trade in eastern Congo, regularly slaughter innocents as they jockey to control the region’s most valuable mines and transportation routes. Meanwhile, the minerals being illegally extracted—coltan, tin, tungsten and gold—wind up in a host of name-brand electronic products.

“The minerals are important, but not as important as the lives of the people who work to get them,” Krzanich said.

At a most basic level, Intel’s initiative is a reminder that businesses do not exist in a vacuum and that many of their everyday decisions ripple far out into the world—a notion that Drucker spelled out in The Practice of Management, long before the term “social responsibility” first came into fashion.

“What is most important is that management realize that it must consider the impact of every business policy and business action upon society,” he wrote. “It has to consider whether the action is likely to promote the public good, to advance the basic beliefs of our society, to contribute to its stability, strength and harmony.”

Lest there be any question as to what he was driving at, Drucker reinforced this idea in his 1973 book Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices: “One is responsible for one’s impacts whether they are intended or not,” he asserted. “The social impacts of the organization are management’s business.”

Drucker added that management has a particular responsibility “whenever its special competence gives it authority” to act.

Such was certainly the case here. Intel—and Intel alone—possesses the knowledge to manage its supply chain in a manner that promises to eliminate the company’s use of conflict minerals.

Even then, it was “a significant challenge for us,” Carolyn Duran, who helps direct Intel’s global sourcing and procurement, told NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Indeed, it took several years for the company to figure out how to trace what is mined in the Congo to a series of smelters and then verify the provenance of the various minerals through third-party audits and on-site visits. Already, she said, Intel has seen smelters “changing their behavior” because of the pressure.

Some observers have dismissed Intel’s efforts. They point out that Krzanich and his team have been motivated, at least in part, by a 2010 law that requires companies to publicly disclose whether their products contain conflict minerals.

“The new U.S. law doesn’t restrict any sort of trade,” the web magazine Engadget remarked when the measure first came out. “It does, however, allow companies that don’t use bloody rocks to label their products ‘conflict-free,’ so we’re sure astute marketing gurus are developing plenty of new all-plastic gizmos even as we speak. For the children, of course.” Another report suggested that Intel and other companies aren’t “too keen on the bad PR” that might stem from their electronics being branded full of conflict minerals.

But so what? If customers care about this issue—and I sure hope they do—then what is wrong with trying to give them what they value in this regard? What’s the problem with using “conflict free” as a marketing advantage?

“The ideal approach,” Drucker declared, “is to make the elimination of impacts into a profitable business opportunity.”

Duran leaves no doubt that Intel is, in fact, aiming to do just that. “It will be up to the public and ultimately consumers to determine and highlight those that are doing the right thing and those that are choosing to turn away,” she said.

After all, many companies have failed to respond as aggressively as Intel has. A 2012 report by the Enough Project, which is working to end the atrocities in Sudan, eastern Congo and elsewhere, ranked Intel, HP, Motorola Solutions and Apple as having made the most progress on conflict minerals. It put Nintendo, HTC, Sharp, Nikon and Canon at the bottom of the industry list.

Intel’s latest step—though neither foolproof nor a panacea—marks a “huge breakthrough,” said Sasha Lezhnev, an Enough Project senior policy analyst. “It really does help move the supply chain from being opaque and turning a blind-eye on its sourcing to being more transparent.”

If Intel attracts customers as a result, that should be a cause for celebration, not cynicism.


Bertrand Management Group offers series of organizational and employee trainings to enhance their workforce, both in quantity and quality. Follow this Twitter page for more updates.

REPOST: 10 Ways to Motivate Anyone

This article from Inc.com shares the importance of understanding how certain types of employees think and how business leaders can use this information to better motivate them.

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I am often asked about how I keep employees inspired and productive. It's an essential question since companies today must accomplish more, with fewer people. The most successful start-ups must be lean, nimble, and fierce.

In a nutshell, you should hire bright, energetic, innovative employees. Then offer them the right incentives--the ones that will impact their personal brain and personality types--to keep them mentally and emotionally invested in doing their best.

It's impossible to talk about motivation without mentioning Drive, a book by best-selling author Daniel Pink. (His TED lecture was turned into a fabulous video.) Pink notes that people perform best when they are given autonomy, opportunity for mastery, and the belief that their task is meaningful. He says money is not the best motivator, and that employees want to be "players, not pawns."

Pink believes Google's "20% time," in which employees may spend one day a week on whatever they want is a shining example of how allowing intrinsically-based motivations (a sense of accomplishment or purpose) can flourish. Personal endeavors from "20% time" resulted in Gmail, Google News, Orkut, and AdSense. Long before Google--back in 1948--3M instituted the "15% solution" or "dream time," which yielded both Scotch Tape and Post-It Notes.

Image source: slowdownfast.com

There's no question that intrinsic motivation is essential. However, I do not agree with Pink that all extrinsic motivation (raises, bonuses, commissions, awards, titles, flex time, and other perks) is harmful. A skillful entrepreneur keeps employees motivated with a combination of both.

That said, there is no cookie-cutter approach to motivating your people. What inspires one person may leave the next cold. When you understand an employee's thinking and behavioral preferences, you'll be able to maximize his or her enthusiasm. This will help you get your workforce aligned and moving in the same direction, and you'll see incredible returns.

1.   Analytical types want to know that a project is valuable, and that their work makes a difference to its success. They need a leader who excels in a particular area, and whose expertise they believe benefits the group. They prefer compensation that is commensurate with their contribution. If they have done a tremendous amount of work on their own, don't expect them to be happy if you reward the whole team.

2.   People who are "structural" by nature want to know their work aids the company's progress. They prefer a leader who is organized, competent, and good with details. They like to be rewarded in writing, in a timely manner, in a way specific to the task. An encouraging email is appropriate to communicate with them.

3.   Social people want to feel personally valued, and that what they are doing has an impact on a project. They go the extra mile for a leader who expresses faith in their abilities. They prefer to be rewarded in person with a gesture that is from the heart. If your own preference is for written communication, send a handwritten note to a particularly social employee.

4.   Innovative employees must buy into a cause. To them, the big picture matters more than the individual who is leading the charge. They prefer to be rewarded with something unconventional and imaginative, and would find a whimsical token of your esteem very meaningful.

5.   Quiet staffers don't need a lot of fanfare, but they appreciate private, one-on-one encouragement.

6.   Expressive people feel more motivated when assignments are openly discussed and an open door is available. They like public recognition, with pomp, and ceremony.

7.   Peacekeepers hope everyone will move in the same direction. They'll never demand a reward or recognition, so it's up to you to offer it.

8.   Hard-drivers are independent thinkers. If they agree with you, they'll be highly motivated. They will let you know what they'd like as an extrinsic reward, and they tend to want whatever it is right away.

9.   Those who are focused team members must have confidence in the leader and in the project, or their motivation may falter. They want know up front what kind of reward they can expect. Make sure you follow through on whatever is promised.

10.   Flexible people go along with the team, as long as a project does not contradict their morals or beliefs. They're also happy with any kind of recognition.

Image source: robertsontrainingsystems.com

Watch for the weakest link among your employees. If you have a slacker who consistently does less than everyone else but seems to get away with it, this can dampen the motivation of everyone else.



Bertrand Management Group is a management consulting company that seeks to provide effective solutions to help businesses grow. Find on this Facebook page more resources on management strategies.

REPOST: Look After The Suits - They Drive Competitive Advantage More Than Strategy Or Innovators

Sebastian Bailey shares in his article that every individual has a unique contribution to a business' success or failure.

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What makes the biggest difference to revenue, brilliantly creative people, a ground breaking strategy, lean processes or strong middle management?

In 2008, MIT School of Management researcher Ethan Mollick set about to discover what has a greater impact on performance within the computer game industry: people or process. Armed with data about the revenue and ratings of 1,536 games across 602 firms, he looked at what proportion of performance could be accounted for by individual contributors – the game designers and managers – and organizational factors. Controlling for team size, the year the game was released, the genre, publisher and whether the game was a sequel or included licensed content, he discovered that individual contributors accounted for 25% of the difference in revenue generated and 19% of the difference in ratings. This was at least equal to the variance accounted for by organizational factors. What’s more, individuals in managerial roles had a greater impact on performance than the creative designers. When the blockbusters and flops were removed – the top and bottom 10% according to revenue – designers accounted for just 7% of the variance, compared to 27% accounted for by managers.

Far from being interchangeable, individuals uniquely contribute to firms’ success or failure. And even in an industry which rewards creativity, managers had a greater influence on performance than the innovators. For all the hoopla surrounding the innovation process and the attention and rewards lavished on innovative individuals, managers are the ones who facilitate communication, encourage organizational commitment and, ultimately, translate that innovation into reality. Perhaps it is no surprise that Tim Cook went from COO to CEO – for all its emphasis on the shiny and new, Apple knows that what really drives success is good quality operations.

Of course, a single entrepreneur can influence an entire market; some say that top computer programmers produce the same amount of work as 10 – 20 average programmers and, according to some estimates, 6% of publishing scientists account for 50% of published articles. Clearly, individuals do matter. But few industries pay as much attention to individuals at the lower level, like middle managers, who are often largely responsible for making the strategic vision happen.

The lesson for business leaders from Mollick’s research? Middle managers matter more than you think – so it pays to invest in them. 

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