A Geek Leader Podcast - inspiring technical and creative leaders around the world

The Power of a Field Trip One way to inspire creativity and to motivate yourself or your team is to take a field trip. This will work if wherever you work for a nonprofit organization or a traditional office. Take a field trip. I’m going to tell you two stories to prove how beneficial field trips of any size can be.  Small Field Trips My team took a little field trip a couple of years ago. We rode around with some technicians in their trucks. We wanted to see how they were using our products. We created a way for them to look at trouble tickets on their mobile phones. The close button was located at the bottom of the ticket, beneath all the notes, and they had to scroll all the way down to get to it. We thought that it worked well since they could work on the ticket, look at the notes, and then close it. But it just wasn’t working for them for some reason… We found out that the technicians would read the notes going down, work on the ticket, then go straight to the next one and do the same thing. At the end of the day, they would have to close the tickets. That meant right before they got to go home and relax with their families, they had to scroll, scroll, scroll, close ticket, scroll, scroll, scroll…. on and on. They’d only spend 5 minutes or so on each ticket, but multiply that times ten to twelve tickets per day over a hundred technicians. That’s real time! That’s not time that the company could get back. That’s time that we could give back to the employees so that they could get home quicker. That’s what a little field trip can do to inspire you. So we made a 30 second change and moved the button… giving our guys time with their friends and families. Big Field Trips The next story involves a little more impact. Doug Dietz designs MRI machines. Have you ever had an MRI? I tore my ACL and had to get one. They’re not fun. They are loud, smell sterile, and are covered in warning stickers. Not to mention, they look terrifying. Almost like you’re going into a barrel of a gun. It’s not a great experience. Doug designed an MRI machine and he wanted to watch it in action; to see if he could make any improvements. He was so excited. That is, until the first pediatric patient came. She walked down the hall crying. She wasn’t afraid of her diagnosis, but she was afraid of the machine. She came into the room that was painted beige, on gray, on beige and covered in warning stickers. She saw a machine that had a huge hole in it and smelled the room’s sterile hospital smell and she lost it. Her parents lost it. Doug lost it. He left broken, but also inspired to fix this. He brought in a team of children to help him get that creative spark. He turned a scary machine into something from a fairy tale. Doug turned a machine that looks like this… Into one that looks like this Just a little bit of paint and some aromatherapy, and everything changed. Kids would walk down that hospital hall filled with bright, white walls and lights, into an adventure land. When they saw the machines, their fears would settle a little bit. Their parents also benefited. They would come in and smell that relaxing beach smell and smile. Before that, their biggest fear was how to get their kid through the procedure. Now they were relieved to see that their kid wasn’t scared anymore. Children would see their parents smile and calm down even more. Prior to Doug’s changes, 80% of pediatric patients had to be sedated to go through an MRI. Now that number has dropped to less than 20%. That’s the impact you can get from a field trip. https://vimeo.com/39861611   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jajduxPD6H4   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

When we react to situations, we’re on defense.  You rarely score on defense.  Its much easier to score when you’re on offense.  On offense, you’re responding to the situation, not reacting.  There is a difference.  Responses are thought-out, planned and not usually emotionally driven.  Reactions are usually hap-hazardous, emotionally driven, and not thought through.  Mistakes often happen when we react instead of respond.  In this episode I talk about the need to respond instead of react, what happens when we overreact to situations, and some ways to avoid stress so that we learn to respond and not react.   What Happens When We Overreact A couple of weeks ago I talked about building trust with your team. Overreacting to situations is one sure-fire way to make them trust you less.  If you can’t keep your cool, people want follow you when times get tough.  When you overreact to situations you allow the situation to overtake you.  You stop looking through a practical, logical lens and begin looking at the world through a panicked lens. Your cortisol levels increase in your body, and you being to hyper focus on situations, probably the wrong situations.  Remember when I spoke about the biology of leadership, cortisol is the stress chemical.  It does good things when we’re in danger, but it comes at a cost.  It slows down our metabolism, and weakens our immune system.  Its only supposed to be in us for a brief period of time, when it persist, and we overreact, it causes serious health issues. We tend to make bad decisions when we overreact. The first thing that comes to our mind we move forward with it.  Its hard to think things through when we’re trying to stay on top of a tense situation.  Overreaction makes tense situations more tense.   Why Do We Get Stressed Out at Work? The Unexpected Happens.  Sometimes we’re confronted with events that we didn’t see coming and we’re not sure what to do.  When that happens, we might panic and get stressed. Fear. We’re all afraid of something.  I’ve done 2 episodes on fear and anxiety and being brave in the past.  Take a listen to them to learn how to battle against your fears. Overwhelmed. If you’ve been in Technology for any amount of time, you’ve felt overwhelmed.  We all get overwhelmed from time to time.  When I get overwhelmed, I get stressed.  honestly, I don’t know anyone that doesn’t get stressed when they are overwhelmed. Competition. At the workplace, we are sometimes compared and contrasted against our peers.  This creates competition.  Sometimes competition is a good thing. It can inspire and encourage innovation.  But it also leads to stress. Non-Work Situations. Things that happen outside of work, can creep into our office life. People say you should separate work and home, and I agree, but its super hard to do… no, its impossible to completely do.  You are You.  Whether you are at work or at home, you are still you.  You carry your life with you everywhere you go.  Now, that doesn’t mean you should bring your drama into work, but understand that things that happen outside of work, can influence your stress levels at work and vice versa. Remember somethings are more important than work.   Ten Ways to Stay Calm at Work Understand the big picture. Many times things that are big to us, are small outside of our perspective.  Think about the big picture.  Unless your an emergency response person, in the military, or in the medical arena, no one is going to die due to the thing you are currently working on. I regularly tell my team “relax, no one’s going to die.”  I think about my kids.  My son will panic and pitch a fit over not being able to get his straw into his juice box sometimes.  To him, that is the biggest problem in the world right now.  To me, that’s silly, just ask for help.  Work can be the same way sometimes.  We’re just like my son, trying to get that straw into a juice box.  Getting stressed out over something that is small in the grand scheme of things.  If my son could just see things from my perspective, he would realize that someone is there to help him out, and its not the end of the world.  There are other straws and other juice boxes. Remember Good enough, is just that… Good enough.  Sometimes I suffer with need for perfection. Perfection is a mirage.  Its unobtainable, however, I strive for it.  I get stressed out when I don’t achieve it.  I know I could do better.  I was talking with someone today about this.  They said they always ask themselves “what they can do better.”  My response was, “why?”  Aren’t you doing good now?  I stress and worry over good things, trying to make them perfect instead of just enjoying how good they are.  If I stop for a minute and think about how good it is now, and realize, its good enough.  My stress reduces and I feel better. Remember 80/20 (The Pareto principle).  I need to do an episode just on this.  The Pareto Principle, also called the 80/20 rule is the idea that 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people, etc.  Pareto discovered this with his pea pods.  80% of his peas came from 20% of the pods.  You can use this with about anything, not just work output.  80% of the goal can be achieved by 20% of the tasks.  So, if you’re like me and you get stressed out trying to finish something that you’ve started but find it harder as it goes on, then just remember the Pareto Principle.  if you’ve done 20% of the tasks, then your 80% done with the project. Focus on the fix.  Some might say this one as “Think Good Thoughts.”  I like to say, “Focus on the Fix.” Instead of talking about the problems, and the things that aren’t working, focus on what is working, and what will get it working.  Think about solutions, not problems. As humans we’re hardwired to solve problems. When we focus on the solution, our brains emit dopamine which makes us feel good, and inhibits the cortisol in our body which causes stress.  Solving problems at work while focusing on the solution is a stress reliever, just like working a puzzle at  your house.  Don’t worry about the things going wrong, just like you don’t worry about the pieces scattered about your kitchen table.  Worry about the final solution, just as you look at the puzzle box to see what the final picture will look like.  Make work a puzzle. Document Progress. There is nothing that makes you feel better about where you are, than looking back on where you’ve been.  When you start to make small bits of progress, write them down.  Journal them, or put them in your iphone notes app.  What I like to do is to use a Trello board with a “done” column. If I get discouraged about my personal progress, I can look at that Trello board and see all of the achievements I’ve made this year.  All of the progress I’ve made and the stress of where I am now seems to diminish. Set Boundaries and Deadlines. Learn to say NO.  Seriously.  Try it out sometime.  Just say “no.” But do it politely.  After the birth of my second kid, I started to set boundaries at work.  I told my boss that I wasn’t going to stay in the office late anymore. I was going to leave around 5:30PM or so and go home and not check email or my phone until my kids go to bed around 8:30PM or so.  At first he was a little nervous, because at that company the culture of IT was to be available.  We pushed code releases every Tuesday evening and there might be problems. I firmly said “I’ll be available to help after 8:30PM.”  These boundaries are still with me today. After doing this, I got a rush of relief.  I’m no longer bound to a phone 24×7. And the best part is that I was respected more by my boss and peers for standing up for myself and my family.  Setting boundaries keeps you from being walked over, and gives you space to free your mind and think.  Now, setting deadlines may seem contradictory, but its not.  You need to set boundaries of time for yourself.  These are called deadlines. I used to stress about getting a podcast show written up, recorded and out the door. Then I setup a schedule and gave myself a simple deadline to get things done.  The stress of knowing when I’m going to do something and the guilt of putting it off longer and longer went away. I now know when I’m going to do them and I don’t have to worry or stress about that anymore. Take it 1 step at a time.  Just like in scrum, break your stories down.  Make them smaller and smaller. Do this with whatever you’re working on or whatever tasks you have to complete.  For example, with this podcast episode I broke down the show notes into 3 sections.  And this section, “Ten Ways to Stay Calm,” I broke into… you guessed it, ten steps.  Each way was a single step. I took them one at a time.  I saved the draft after each one. Sometimes I keep writing to the next one, sometimes I took a break and came back and finished later.  But by breaking it down into smaller steps, I could see progress. I could see myself getting closer to the goal.  The more I got done, the better I felt. If I didn’t break this podcast up first into smaller pieces, I may not know how close I am to the finish. Trust yourself.  You are where you’re at for a reason.  You were hired for a reason. You are good at what you do. Period.  Trust your instincts.  Your experiences, education, instincts has helped you get to where you are now. Trust yourself. I get super stressed about decisions when I don’t trust myself. Looking back on them, its so stupid.  I should just look at my track record and say, “I’m pretty good at this technology stuff.  I trust my instincts.”  When I do that, I make better decisions and feel better about them. We all suffer from the imposter syndrome in some form or fashion. If you need help dealing with imposter syndrome or want to learn more about it, check out episode 7. Delegate.  You don’t have to be a boss to delegate.  That’s a myth that many people believe.  Just ask for help, ask if someone can take something off your plate.  Humans have a desire to help one another.  That’s why we’ve made it so far as a species.  Ask for help, or if you are the boss, delegate your tasks.  Trust your team and they may just surprise you on how good they can do things.  Once you delegate it, its off your plate and you can focus on less things. Breathe.  If you find yourself overwhelmed.  Just breathe.  There is power in a simple breathe.  I met Jonathan Winn a few years ago at TEDx Charlotte where he gave this talk on Breath. Take a breath, relax and enjoy the talk below.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oqYovTjD6Q   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

This is a special treat for all the listeners to A Geek Leader Podcast.  My guest today is David Neal. Like me, he’s from the south and I’m sure you couldn’t tell that by either of our accents.  He’s a well known keynote speaker, software developer, Microsoft MVP, and technical leader. He’s a father of 5 sons (that’s right FIVE!!!) and an amazing artist who sketches all of his keynote presentation slides. I’ve met David several times at conferences in the Southeast and most recently at CodeStock 2018.  After hearing David’s Leadership Guide for the Reluctant Leader talk (see the video below), I had to get him on the show, and lucky for us, he agreed.   Visit David’s website at reverentgeek.com Check him out his social pages: https://instagram.com/reverentgeek https://twitter.com/reverentgeek https://github.com/reverentgeek https://speakerdeck.com/reverentgeek https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidneal     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EWiSJj0q_0  

Your team doesn’t just “trust” you because of your title.  When I started at my most recent position where I head up the IT group at a mid-sized company just south of Charlotte, NC, I wasn’t granted full trust of my team.  Just like, when you get a new boss, you don’t fully trust them. You can’t tell them just anything at first.  You have to learn how they react to things, how they accept feedback, etc.  As a leader, we must remember that trust works both ways, and people don’t automatically trust you because you’re their manager.  You must earn that trust.   Building Trust with Your Team is Critical A leader must provide the vision and direction for their team.  Then the team pours in their focus, assets, time and energy (FATE – from Todd Henry) into the project. Many times the team has no idea what is just around the corner and what might come of the work they are putting in.  They trust the leader to guide them.  If they don’t trust you, will they really put in the hard work? You must build trust over time and ensure that your team trust you and that you can trust your team.  If you don’t trust each other, it makes working with each other very difficult.  You’ll always be watching your back, spending time verifying petty things that you should need to do.  When I have members of my team that don’t trust each other, I find it difficult to watch them work together.  Their work doesn’t flow, it doesn’t jive, it doesn’t move in an efficient way. It’s just meh.  But when a team trust each other, their work has an artistic type of efficiency that is beautiful to watch. If you want to build the best team you can, then trust is critical. Trust is Dynamic It takes a longtime to build trust, but you can wash it away in an instant. Trust can also vary based on a person’s mood, how they are feeling that day, and what situations they may have encountered that day. Trust is fluid and dynamic, its not a constant.  Trust varies from situation to situation and from circumstance to circumstance.  My team trust me to make a good technical decision on purchasing software or equipment, but they don’t trust me to tell them how to go sky diving.  Trust is fluid and dynamic.  If you understand that you must build your trust in different areas at different times and at different paces, you will do a better job of mastering trust with your team. For example, when I started my new position, it wasn’t long before I built up trust on my technical knowledge of Active Directory and server infrastructure. It took longer for me to build trust about my direct reports skill sets.  At first people were afraid to let me in on what exactly they were good at and what they weren’t.  They didn’t know how I would judge them.  I had to earn that trust by being vulnerable myself.  Showing them the areas I wasn’t good at and letting them know that I understood that everyone is good, maybe even great, at somethings, and not good, or even downright terrible at others. And that it is fine.  It took time to communicate that I don’t expect perfection, just a strive for perfection.  And that I don’t want to focus on your weaknesses, but rather, focus on your strengths. Make your Actions Match your Words If you say you’re going to do something, do it.  But more than that, if you say its “not okay” for someone on your team to do something, then you better be sure that you’re not doing that thing.  For example.  If you’re a boss who is strict on employees coming in on time, then you better make sure you’re never late.  If you tell your team that its important to show up to meetings on time, then you better not be late to meetings either.  If you are, then your actions aren’t matching your words.  I know this may seem petty, but it actually matters when it comes to building trust.  Our brain does a good job of figuring out in the background what matches and what doesn’t.  They say the easiest way to spot a counterfeit $20 bill is to put it on a table next to several real $20 bills.  The subtle differences stand out like a sore thumb.  The subtle differences in your actions to your words stand out too.  Another example based on the last episode about dealing with vendors, if you don’t allow your team to accept gifts from vendors, then you better not accept them either.  If you get caught doing what you’ve told your team not to do, then your trust will take a damaging hit. “You typically don’t lose trust in only one area. If you prove yourself to be untrustworthy in one situation, people tend to generalize that lack of trustworthiness to other areas as well.” – Todd Henry (Herding Tigers) Don’t use words like “Always” and “Never” When you use words like “Always” and “Never” you’re setting yourself up to be wrong.  There are very few absolute truths in Technology and the landscape is always changing… see what I did there, used “always.”  But seriously.  You can say things like, “that is unlikely to happen” but don’t say, “that would never happen” because you maybe setting yourself up to be wrong, and too many of these mistakes will put you into a category where you appear to be wrong as much as you’re right, which makes trusting your judgement become difficult. Be Realistic up Front with Your Team As a leader your job is to be honest with your team.  Sometimes its easy to hide some of the details that make things look gloom or negative and only emphasize the positive. Be realistic on the situation or circumstance your team is in.  They aren’t stupid and they appreciate upfront honesty. Don’t be Afraid to Say “I Don’t Know” I say this a lot.  Mainly because there are a lot of things I don’t know.  For example, someone just came to me today and asked me about chiropractors. My honest answer is that I wouldn’t use them, but I don’t know if they are helpful or not.  I know that there are lots of skepticism around the science or pseudoscience around their practice, but I’m not an MD or a DC so I really don’t know.  Don’t be afraid to tell people you don’t know, because if you portray you know everything and it turns out you don’t (which it will) then you’ll look like a fool and your creditability on the things you do know will suffer as well.  Its like the boy who cried wolf. Explain Your Viewpoints Tell your team how you see things and listen to their perspectives.  Understand that everyone has their own lens in which they see the world.  I plan on doing a future podcast episode just on lenses, perspectives and viewpoints.  We all look at things differently and it builds trust when others can see things from your eyes and see that you’re trying to see things from theirs.  Before I do my one-on-ones, I spend a few minutes trying to picture what work is like for the employee I’m about to meet with.  I try to see what they feel like with the workload I put on them and my management and leadership style. I try to think about their home situations and if how I lead them is affecting them outside of work and what I can do better.  Its very helpful to take other people’s viewpoints into consideration when building trust. Make Mistakes Explain your mistakes, don’t hide them.  Learn from your mistakes. Share your mistakes, so that others can learn from them.  Being human is to make mistakes.  People relate to humans that make mistakes because they make mistakes.  We all do.  If you hide them, then you’re hiding things, which is counterproductive to building trust.  Don’t hide stuff, especially mistakes.  Mistakes are valuable. Neil Gaiman said it best in his commencement speech. “Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.” – Neil Gaiman, Make Good Art It’s Okay to Change Your Mind As I just stated, we all make mistakes.  There is no problem in making mistakes, but the problem is when we don’t learn from our mistakes.  Sometimes we have beliefs or ideas that we hold on to.  When we’re proven wrong, or when new information comes in, we need to change those ideas.  In politics this can be calling flip-flopping on points or issues.  But I think a more accurate description would be to call it changing your viewpoint in light of new evidence or information.  Don’t just “change your mind” for the sake of it, but feel free to tell people that your views on something has changed based on more information that what you had when you formulated those views.  A previous boss of mine once hated scrum.  He thought it was just a buzzword or a fad and that we didn’t need to go to it.  But after seeing it successfully implemented on mine and other teams, he changed his viewpoint.  He then came around to scrum and no one thought less of him as a leader because of it.  It actually helped us trust him more, because we saw that he follows the truth and is willing to admit he was wrong and change his mind. Be Open To Feedback A good leader will always ask for feedback from those around them.  In everyone of my one-on-ones I ask my team for feedback on the job that I’m doing.  Just asking for feedback isn’t “being open” to the feedback.  Being open to feedback is inviting it in and then responding to it appropriately.  Accept feedback as a way to improve.  Don’t get defensive when you receive it, but welcome it as a challenge to make you a better leader. Followers trust leaders they can confide in and provide feedback to without fear. Just before recording this, I came up with a silly acronym that I thought might be helpful… T= Tell the Truth Try to always tell the truth.  If you don’t know, say “I don’t know” R= Relate to your team Use empathy to try and relate to people on your team. Try to see things from their point of view U= Understand your team Seek to understand what is said before speaking.  Listen, listen, listen… think, then speak.  Always try to understand fully before offering your take, opinion or solution. S= Serve your team As a leader, you are hear to serve.  Serve your team. T= Talk to your team Be open with your team. Talk to them about your successes, your failures, and even your weekend.  Open up a bit.  It goes along way to building trust.   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even one sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Being an IT leader you get lots of opportunities to work with vendors.  Sometimes you welcome the calls, most of the times you don’t.  This episode I’ll go over some tips to help you work with vendors and make the best choice when deciding which vendor go with.  Vendor management is an important aspect of leading a technology team. Vendors at conferences or trade shows They usually are giving way gifts in exchange for a scan of your badge. Remember nothing is ever free.  If they scan your badge, you can bet they will email you and most likely call you.  Think about the value of that fidget spinner vs your time when you go to get your badge scanned.  My rule is, if you’re not at least somewhat interested in the product, don’t even approach the table.  The swag may look enticing, but you’ll just be wasting your time and the vendor’s time.   Stay away unless its legitimately a product you’re interested in. Cold call vendors What to do when vendors cold call you?  That’s tough, I usually don’t answer the phone if I don’t know who is calling me, but every now and again one gets through.  For starters, don’t be rude, but also don’t be too open either.  Be brief and have them get to the point. If its a service or product that you 100% know you aren’t interested in and will not be interested in anytime soon, then politely say “no thank you, we’re not interested, please remove me from you call list.”  Now, if they don’t take no for an answer, I usually say it again, and then say “goodbye” and hang up.  Try to always be as nice as possible, but don’t continue a conversation that’s going no where. If you might be interested in the product or service, but not right now, tell them.  Say, “hey, I can’t talk now, and I’m not ready to move on anything right now, but feel free to call me back in XXX months and maybe things will be better for us to talk.”  I usually go with 4 months as a standard.  This gets you off the phone, and doesn’t burn any bridges incase this is a service or product you might be interested in in the future. If you are interested in the product and have time to take the call, then do so.  Talk it out, ask questions, but never commit to anything more than another call. Schedule the next call on your terms, and ask for information you can read or research prior to that next call.  I usually don’t ask for references at this point, I wait until its time for a quote or SOW before I ask for references.  Its best not to get ahead of yourself.  Before the next call, be sure you have researched the company, product/service and checked for reviews and complaints. When you call vendors If you cold call a vendor, the vendor should feel like they’ve won the lottery.  But honestly, they rarely act that way. Be mindful of their time.  Don’t expect to get all of the information you’re looking for on that call.  The initial call is to make a request, and expect to get the information on a followup call/email/meeting, etc.  If you’re looking for a product such as a software suite or cloud solution, ask to schedule a demo.  Feel free to ask about pricing, but understand that they are only giving you their first offer at this point.  Discounts could be in the works when you get to the negotiation stages. Don’t show your hand too much on these calls, I never tell what my max budget is or even what range I’m looking to spend until I’ve seen a demo. Be sure you’ve done some research prior to calling, don’t expect to get 100% of the info on the call.  Its a better use of your time and the vendors if you’ve read about them, written down some questions and have a couple of dates/times in mind for follow up meetings and calls. Do your homework before sending that email or picking up the phone. It will save an enormous about of time. Deciding between vendors This is the point where you should probably make a note to listen to the “Art of Negotiation” show once you’ve finished this episode. Below are a few things you need to do before deciding between vendors: Ask for and check references – always ask for a few references, either companies in your industry or in your geographic region that are willing to share their experience.  Call those companies and ask about their experience.  Ask about the migration process (if there is one), how support has been and what they would do differently if they were deciding on a solution. If a company sends you 3 references, call them all. Compare the costs and benefits – I usually try to make a list of total costs for each vendor I’m deciding between.  Cost as if the price on the invoice or SOW+ the cost of my team’s time and any recurring or ongoing support/maintenance costs.  Also look at how each vendor stacks up against your requirements, your nice to haves, and your wow that was cool lists.  Try your best to compare apples to apples and steak to steak. Don’t accept gifts from any potential vendor – I have a hard rule on this.  I don’t accept gifts from any potential vendor.  If one offers, I tell them I don’t accept them.  If they ship me something anyway, I either send it back or dispose of it (depending on what it is). Accepting gifts can change your way of thinking on a sub-conscience level.  I don’t even allow vendors to take me to lunch.  If we are meeting for lunch, I buy or we go dutch.  This way there is no way for the sub-conscience mind to make me feel like I owe them anything.  I don’t want my judgement to be clouded. For this reason, I don’t even accept gifts from vendors that I’ve had long standing relationships with.  I don’t want golf tickets, baseball or NFL tickets from a vendor.  I’ve turned them all down and will continue to. If I need to switch vendors or look for another one, I will and I don’t want the gifts they gave me to cloud my judgement. Always negotiate – Be open and honest about other vendors being involved in the process.  Let them know that you are deciding between 2.  Honestly and openly discuss prices you are getting, but never say who you are getting those prices from.  Many vendors will ask, “what other companies/products are you looking at?”  Don’t tell them. Just tell them the features you’re getting and the price you’ve been quoted and see if they can beat it.  Play the game some and get the best deal you can.  But always ask for a better price.  Sometimes just asking will get you huge discounts.  Once I sent emails to all of the software vendors that I had maintenance agreements with stating that I was happy with their software, and we were long time users/customers and rarely called support.  Could we get a discount on our maintenance going forward for being such great customers.  Almost half gave me a 10% discount just for sending that email.  One company we were paying 18% in annual maintenance and they reduced it to 10%.  A savings of nearly $10,000.  That’s a great return on a single email.  Be sure to listen to the “art of negotiation” episode for more tips. Don’t get locked in – Try not to get locked into a long term agreement if you can avoid it.  Try to have an “out” in your contract.  For any agreements that have to be longer than a year (for new vendors) I ask for them to include a clause in the contract that states if we’re unhappy in the first 3 months we can cancel with no penalty.  Almost everyone will put that in without pushing back.  Its a good way to protect your investment. Avoid buyers remorse – Once you’ve picked a product, and signed the MSA or SOW, don’t continue to look.  Don’t revisit competitors or and stop shopping around.  The decision has been made, don’t look again unless this product/service isn’t meeting your needs or its time for renewal. Maintain the relationship – Try to stay in touch with your sales rep or sales engineer after the sale.  Don’t discard them once its over.  Continue contact, build a relationship so that they are there for you when you need them…. and be there for them too.  Offer to be a reference if you love the product.  They will appreciate that, and sometimes give you a discount on renewals or professional services or toss free or discounted training your way.  Be the kind of customer that you would want them to be for you too. Don’t forget that a person is on the other end of the transaction – many times we forget that another person on is on the other end.  Business to Business isn’t a company to a company.  Its a person within a company to a person within another company.  There is always another person on the other end.  You don’t know what they are going through or what challenges they may have in their life.  Treat them with respect and hold them to high standards. They will appreciate that.  Don’t be rude and develop a bad reputation. You only get 1 reputation. I hope you enjoyed this episode and if you have any questions feel free to hit me up on twitter @johnrouda or using Speak Pipe (the “leave a voicemail” link on the side).  I’m open to taking any questions on leadership or management.  I’ll either email you back a response or answer your question on an upcoming podcast. (must listen to get the real value out of this episode) I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

I recently gave a talk on Employee Engagement for millennials.  Here are my thoughts on the subject: Engagement Stats https://www.themuse.com/advice/10-shocking-stats-about-employee-engagement 70% of employees not engaged at work 89% of companies think employees leave for more $$$ but only 12% actually do 43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least 1 time per week but only 13% of disengaged employees receive weekly feedback 75% of people voluntarily leaving their job, don’t quit their job, they quit their bosses. Why people quit their job They hate their boss Their work doesn’t matter Adding Purpose Add purpose doesn’t always have to be the big “P” Purpose, like saving the rainforest. It could just be the little “p” purpose, like why we do what we do.  This is another example of how Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” is so important in leadership. Ignoring Boss If a boss ignores an employee… they are 40% more likely to “actively disengage” from work and their company.  To “actively disengage” you aren’t just not engaged… you are actively  looking for non-work related things to do.  Like gossip, blogging, searching for other jobs, etc.  These activities are not only be bad for the employee performance, but also the performance and attitudes of those around this employee. Critical Boss A Critical boss causes 22% increase in actively disengagement… that means, being critical is better than ignoring. At least critical bosses are paying attention, right? A Praising Boss  A Boss that praises 1 out of 10 successes usually has less than 1% of employees will actively disengage. So this means you only have to recognize and compliment 1 out of 10 great things your team members do… its not that hard. Motivation and Management Management is old school.  Management was creating in the 1850’s as a way of gaining compliance in the workforce.  It works great for compliance, not so great for engagement.  If we want engagement, we need Leadership, not Management.  If/Then doesn’t work 4 reason if then don’t work Engagement is intrinsic and IF/THEN is 100% extrinsic It puts individuals against one another in a competition, instead of working as a team It causes some folks to rationalize their ethics, leading to cheating and cutting corners It lacks emotional growth FACT – Money is a motivator Pay people fairly and enough to take Money off the table. Happiness is far more important than small raises. Dan Pink described motivation the best I’ve heard it in his book Drive. Autonomy Freedom in your job.  Maybe its where you work, how you work, what you work on, or who you work with. Mastery Getting better at things that matter. This could be training, personal growth, business growth, learning something important.  Getting a certification, or going or speaking at a conference. Also empowering (i hate that term) employees to do more, to stretch their role. Purpose Working on something that matters.  Making sure their job matters in the big picture. To hear more about purpose, check out my TedX Talk. (must listen to get the real value out of this episode) I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

If you’ve every flown on an airplane then you’ve heard the flight attendant say: In the event of the cabin loose pressure, an oxygen mask will automatically appear in front of you. To start the flow of oxygen, pull the mask towards you. Place it firmly over your nose and mouth, secure the elastic band behind your head, and breathe normally. Although the bag does not inflate, oxygen is flowing to the mask. If you are traveling with a child or someone who requires assistance, secure your mask on first, and then assist the other person. That last statement may seem odd to anyone that has children.  I’ve got 3 kids and as a father, my natural tendency is to help my kids first.  But the instructions clearly state not to do that. Ever thought about why? Well let’s think about it.  What happens if you run out of oxygen?  If you’re out, then you can’t help others.  You have to take care of your own need for oxygen first, then you can assist others. The same is true when you’re leading a team. You have to put your oxygen mask on first.  Make sure you’re healthy enough to lead the team.  If you run out of oxygen trying to save others, then its likely you both will perish. So as a leader, how do we put on our oxygen mask to ensure that we’re taken care of? This is a super vague question with dozens of possible answers. I’m going to hit the highlights here.  For details on these 7 things, please listen to this episode: Take care of yourself physically – physical health goes along way with mental energy Take care of yourself mentally – take time to work on your mind, learn something new, not related to work Make time for Deep Work – Block off large blocks to time to immerse yourself on a single task or problem Make time for brainstorming – Many times the solutions to our largest problems come in the blank spaces, or the margins of our busy schedule.  Block time on your calendar for brainstorming.  I like to take a walk around the lake outside my office to think. Make room for growth – prune less valuable work relentlessly Empower others – Your team will never grow if you don’t give them the opportunity. Delegate like a champ. Disconnect from time to time – When you’re off work, you’re off work.  Take time off, without your phone, laptop or iPad.  Disconnect and let your brain recover.   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

So you got a new job and now you have to deliver the bad news that you’re putting in your 2 week notice.  How do you do it without burning bridges, saving face, and leave the position better for you having been there. Below are some tips that might help you out: Have a plan. I don’t recommend quitting a job until you’ve already accepted an offer somewhere else, or have a side income stable enough to cover your basic needs (food, rent, etc.) Write a formal resignation letter.  Before you tell anyone, be sure to have written a formal letter of resignation.  Proof it and make sure its good, it could be the last written work your current employer has of yours. Tell your boss first.  Always give your boss the news in person before telling anyone else.  This is a respect thing.  You need to leave in a respectful way and nothing screams disrespect than having your boss find our your quitting from someone else.  This also means don’t update your linkedin until after your last day of employment with your current employer. Keep the conversation short, polite, positive and respectful.  Be appreciative of the opportunity, even if you know you’ll never come back to work here, you still want to leave on a good note, as potential future employers may call this company for a reference. Be ready for questions. Make sure you’ve created a transition plan if you think the company will back-fill your job. Have some sort of written “manual” on things that depend on you and only you to do.  If you have accounts that need to be transitioned to someone else, be sure they are documented.  Be prepared for the counter offer.  In today’s economy its common to receive a counter offer to stay, but don’t count on it.  Some bosses, like me, don’t like giving counter offers.  If you get one, be sure you know what you’ll say before hand.  See my episode on negotiation skills for more details. Don’t hide where you’re going, that’s just creepy.  Be honest and open, but never talk about salaries. Remain professional and work your butt off for your remaining days.  Don’t succumb to the temptation to slack off. This is the time to work your hardest so that you can ensure you leave the best possible impression on your co-workers and your boss.  You want them to remember you at your best incase you need them for references… plus, it’s just the right thing to do. Once you’re time is up, leave respectfully.  Be sure to go out of your way to spend a few extra minutes telling folks bye and thanking them for the knowledge and experience you gained from them.  Feel free to send out a group email to folks with your personal contact numbers, etc. if you want to stay in contact with anyone. Avoid saying anything negative about your current boss, job or employer. Follow up.  Try to reach out to folks on your old team, your old boss or others that you’ve built strong relationships with.  Offer to take them to lunch and keep in touch.  Tell them about your new job and ask questions about how things are going.  It’s important to maintain those relationships the best you can.  Its good for you and them.   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

I’ve been noticeably absent from the podcast for the past couple of months, so where have I been? I planned to take 2-3 weeks off from the podcast and take my family on a much needed vacation to Turks and Caicos.  On our 3rd day of the trip I got the call that no son wants to get.  My dad has cancer.  At first the doctors were optimistic said they thought it was treatable so they scheduled scans and started chemo. I made it a point to spend as much time visiting him as I could. I decided to put the podcast on hold, and spend that time with my dad.  I traveled to visit and spend time with him every week and called every day.  I was blessed to be able to ask him the things I needed/wanted to ask him.  He told me about Vietnam, and got to say all the things he felt he needed to say to me. My friends and family prayed for his healing, and we got it.  Not necessarily in the way that I was hoping, but I know the cancer is no more, and I know he’s happier and better than he was the last couple of months of his life. My father went to heaven. I was able to talk to him and say my goodbye on one of his last fully coherent days.  My dad told me he was proud of me, and I said the same back to him.  He said he loved me and for me to take care of my mom and sister.  It was sad, but then when the doctor came in and asked him about life support, he said heck no.  I’m ready to see Jesus and get to heaven.  My work on Earth is done.  Dad passed a few days later. This was a tough time for all of us, but we’re at peace and we know that he’s better off and that we’ll be okay. Lessons Learned I learned, in real life, what I’ve been talking about all along.  Family trumps work 100% of the time.  We can always find another job, delay our work, but our time on Earth is short, and family matters the most.  Leaving a legacy is more than just doing good work, or having a good job. Its about making life better for the generations that come after you.  Billy Graham said it the best when he said, “The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” The 2 things I want you to get out of this episode, is that I’m back and hopefully will be sharing on a more regular basis now, and that life is more than just great work.  Leadership is more than just leading at work, its about leading at home, with your friends and family, and leaving a legacy. Focus more on leaving a great legacy, rather than building a great resume. Build a Legacy So how do you build a legacy?  Its about impacting people, not projects.    “Begin by with the end in mind.” – Steven Covey.  Imagine your funeral.  Who will come?  Does it matter if they come?  Who will be glad they met you?  Who’s life have you directly impacted?  I’m not 100% sure how to build a great legacy, but I can tell you what I’m doing. First, thinking about the people that matter most to me, and making sure that I’m investing into them. I’m paying attention to where my “FATE (Focus, Assets, Time, & Energy)” is going.  I find myself asking, is this the best use of my time more often than I did before.  The next thing I’m looking into is my scope of impact. How can I grow those in my network, my reach, the people I can impact?  What does that look like?  What do I have to give up to build a legacy?  What legacy do I want to leave?  And lastly, how can live my legacy right now.  In order to leave a legacy, you have to live it. Think about how you want to be remembered, and start living that way today.  I want to hear what your legacy is. Leave me a message on twitter @johnrouda with what you want your legacy to be. I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!

Whenever I talk about leadership at an event, I usually get a several people that either email me or talk to me afterwards to tell me how great that it all sounds, but that they can’t do those things.  For some reason, something won’t let them.  It’s usually either fear or a lack of confidence, which I address in previous episodes: But sometimes its this thought or belief that we have to be perfect in order to be a leader.  I heard a really smart man one time say that: Leadership is about Progress, not Perfection – Steven Furtick That means to me, that you don’t have to be perfect to be a leader, just willing to make progress.  No one is perfect, we all know that, but we all don’t believe that.  With social media and the ability to filter and post what we want people to think about us, the realist view of most people is completely distorted.  If you want to lead others, and be a great leader, just make progress.  One step in front of another. Step, step, step… that’s all it takes.  If you’re moving in the right direction, people will follow you.  The problem is that many of us are afraid to move.  We’re afraid that any attempt to move, could cause us to loose ground.  That may be true, but you can’t lead if you don’t move. Onetime I asked my daughter, when she was 3 years old, what a leader was.  She said, “It’s the person in the front of the line.” I followed that question up with one asking her what do leaders do?  “They go where we’re supposed to go.”  she said.  That answer was profound for me at the time.  It told me that in order to lead, I must go somewhere.  I don’t need to be there yet, just make progress towards it.  As I’ve said countless times on this podcast and in my blog, when developing into a leader, the destination is a mirage.  It’s a place we’ll always be traveling to, but never reach.   I hope you enjoyed this show, please head over to iTunes and subscribe and leave me a rating and review, even 1 sentence will help spread the word.  Thanks again!