Why are your orders not complied with?

Most executives want employees to understand their orders. There is an important, often missed, factor that needs to happen before understanding is likely to take place.  That is “Duplication”. When one receives a communication or an order one interprets it as he duplicates it. Any failure at the receiving end to duplicate leads to a different than intended understanding occurring. This leads to the common workplace scenario of “Why are you not doing what I ordered?”/ “I am doing exactly what you asked for!” This has a thousand and one variations – but commonly stems from the fact that the original order was not duplicated.

What can you do about this as an executive? You can observe the person in front of you and communicate instructions in the most easily duplicable manner for that person. To speak from your level of expertise to a ”rookie” in your field, without accounting for his level of knowledge, is often quite unrewarding. Be sure what you’ve said is duplicated.  If there are still problems in execution it is now much easier to narrow in on what has not been understood. You can cause real frustration for both yourself and your employee by looking for what is not understood before knowing duplication has occurred and that you are actually both talking about the same thing.

As an aside – you will run into situations where the employee has no or minimal intention to duplicate or understand you. This you would need to address on an individual basis.

Considerable stress can be alleviated by applying this concept.   

 

Renata McDonald

International Licensed Business Consultant

Hubbard Management System Expert

Is competence the same thing as experience?

 

I don’t believe so. Competence doesn’t just come from being well schooled. By competence we mean alert, clever and willing. Given those – one is able to learn and become experienced.  When you see a group of employees drifting about, rather ashamed of appearing quick and eager, you can predict a rough road ahead for that section or company. This is true even if these employees are experienced. Have you noticed this?

 

Renata McDonald

International Licensed Consultant

Hubbard Management System Expert

How do you recognize a valuable employee?

So which employee should you most value? This can certainly be looked at from more than one perspective. One such is how well an employee can complete an action. Any action has a beginning – continuation – completion. Sounds simple… is simple…. but if you observe employees and executives around you it becomes apparent that not all have an equal ability in regards to these three points. Someone who correctly knows when a product is achieved and is willing to be responsible for stopping on that action and the starting a new cycle is very valuable. An employee who will only continue an action but consistently needs a senior to decide or confirm that it is complete obviously has less value, and so on. By training it is possible to improve performance on those points. However you get there – your most valued employees should be those who are strong on all three points. What do you think?

Renata McDonald
International Licensed Business Consultants
Hubbard Management System Expert

Who do you want to work for (and with ) you?

Well in my experience the more your co-worker or junior is willing to be in control of his environment the more he will add to the success of your endeavors. Conversely, the less he is willing to control his environment the less useful activity you can expect from him. At the low end of this spectrum he can actually be a hindrance to production.

Control of the environment is not black and white. The dividing line is can you effect the environment – or is the environment effecting you. The competent person is able to control and run the various factors in the environment and the overall environment itself. We’ve all run across the reverse –often covered up with excuses or attempts to misdirect regarding responsibility. I’m sure you have observed this for yourself.

Know-how, genuine interest and the desire to be effective are all important parts of the ability to control the environment. These three items can be worked on to improve employee performance where it is lacking. A gradient scale should be applied.

Renata McDonald
International Licensed Business Consultant
Hubbard Management System Expert

Personal Relationships: granting someone else the ability to be who they are

I have to be honest! I haven’t always found it to be that easy to allow someone to be who they are. I find myself battling with my own viewpoints, my own ideas of what I consider to be right, cool or correct. Yet personally, I felt the best when someone else allowed me to be who I really am – and did not judge me for my viewpoint, ideas and decisions. Hence my conclusion that if I felt that good when someone else allowed me to be who I am, I better do the same for others – as, by personal experience, it invigorates and energizes life in people.

Renata McDonald
International Licensed Business Consultant

What is the true power of an individual?

I have traveled the world and I met a lot of people. I have discovered that truly powerful individuals – who are so, no matter who they are or what position they hold in life – have these characteristics in common:

1) They can usually correctly identify the true source of problematic situations.

2) They know how to, and do, execute the proper solutions to them.

You recognize them by their correct actions.

Have you observed the same to be true?

Renata McDonald
International Licensed Business Consultant

Does it pay to lie?

Like with anything else in life, there are no absolutes.
In regards to the subject title of this article, I would look for the intention behind the action. What was the intention behind the lie?
If your friend was about to go into a business presentation, where it could land him his biggest account ever, you could tell him that his wife is fine, if he asked, even though you saw her cheating on him. However I would tell him the truth afterwards.
Only in these extreme circumstances it would be OK to lie – and it wouldn’t be OK if the intention were for personal gain and without taking in consideration the welfare of the group, family and mankind.
That’s just a viewpoint to look at this subject from. I would say that the intention behind it is the key factor, which intention is then carried through by the actions –not the words spoken.
You obviously have to be conscious in regards to other people and have a certain level of responsibility, to even realize what I am talking about here. This is not a “me, I only” world we live in and neither is this conversation all “only about me” – it takes into account that you are part of a family, groups and mankind, without whom you couldn’t possibly survive on this planet.
To engage in lying as a shortcut to producing real products results in loss of trust, loss of respect from one’s peers, loss of respect for oneself – regardless of the apparent “gains” attained by lying.

Renata McDonald
International Licensed Business Consultant

Does life follow your attitude or does your attitude follow your life?

What monitors your life success? At the end of the road the answer will always be: you.
Depending on your attitude, in any circumstances, you can predict your success or failure.
To stay true to your own goals, you must have the ability to believe in yourself, in your judgment and your decisions. If you make a mistake, you get back up and you learn from it.
Your attitude towards life is the control factor of your journey’s steering wheel. You can factually be cause over achieving your goals, but in order to do that, you need to first realize that you and your attitude are its controlling factors.
The mechanics of your job will then follow automatically and aid you in your success.
Your knowledge does not substitute for your outlook in life. Your attitude in life is senior and is more powerful than your education and training in regards to the quest of achieving success.

Renata McDonald
International Licensed Business Consultant
Hubbard Management System Expert

Leadership and Attitude

Your attitude is what monitors your goal’s attainment. That is what most people miss.
Great leaders know how to change and reshape people’s attitude. Some call them great “motivational speakers”, because of this ability..
What I am about to say might sound rhetorical, yet funny at the same time: you do affect your life and when I say you I am specifically referring to your attitude.
If you think you are going to have a bad day, you will! The trick is that you have to believe in yourself and if you look you will see that great leaders permeate their self -confidence throughout their space.

Renata McDonald
International Licensed Business Consultant
Hubbard Management System Expert

It’s all about results: here is what Mrs. Eisenstark, a CPA from Las Vegas has to say:

To Whom it May Concern,

I have been working with Renata Schmitter-McDonald of My Business Consultants for several weeks now. It has been a pleasure working with her both on a personal and professional level. She is able to promptly identify and address the most major outnesses in a business situation. I particularly like her use of the management and administrative technology to get rapid results.

Renata communicates well; people who are not experienced in the technology are able to understand and follow her direction.

Being an accountant, I am not impressed until I can see actual results. Does the program provide what is promised? And I can state that Renata delivers what she promises and business owners/executives at all levels can definitely improve their companies with her assistance.

It is a pleasure to work with her. I highly recommend her to anyone interested in improving their business and have the willingness to follow her guidance.

Suzanne Eisenstark, CPA
Las Vegas