Author Archives: Holly G Green
Are You Keeping Up? by Holly G. Green A colleague sent me an interesting report the other day – 125 Linked-In Job Search Tips. It’s a great read that got me thinking about how much things have changed in the employment landscape since I started my career. It also reminded me of how critical it is to keep up to date on changing trends, practices, and approaches. Remember how we all cringed when e-mail burst upon the scene in 1999? Just when everyone was getting tired of voicemail, along came this new technology that made it even easier for others to intrude upon our attention. Nowadays we can’t imagine living without e-mail, although I suspect most of us would love to. Which reinforces the point that unless we keep up with evolving employment trends and technologies, we may find ourselves perennially un- or under-employed. In the “old days,” getting a … Continue reading
How is it keeping you from winning? by Holly G. Green It’s hard to beat experience, strength and knowledge, right? Try telling that to the Los Angeles Lakers. Conventional wisdom said the Lakers were primed to win their third consecutive NBA title this year. They had a tall, dominating front line with Gasol, Bynum and Odom. Their coach had won more championships than any other NBA coach. They had the most battle-tested team in the playoffs. And of course they had Kobe Bryant, rated by many as the game’s best closer. But as so often happens in sports, conventional wisdom got taken to the woodshed. The Lakers got swept in four games by the Dallas Mavericks. And they looked old, slow and disinterested in the process. One reason I enjoy watching sports is that it affords the opportunity to see conventional wisdom get turned on its ears. In fact, the … Continue reading
Your Best Defense Against Restless Feet by Holly G. Green Suppose one-third of your employees suddenly walked off the job. Think it might impact your ability to serve your customers and achieve your strategic goals? Granted, the odds of every third employee taking a hike all at once are slim. But according to a recent survey conducted by MetLife, 36 percent of employees hope to leave their job within the next 12 months. Some turnover can be healthy for a business. Especially when it’s the low performers exiting the organization. But 36 percent of your workforce? I don’t think so! The survey, which polled more than 1,500 employers and 1,400 full-time workers, also reported a significant decline in employee loyalty. Less than half (47 percent) of the respondents said they felt “very strong loyalty” to their employers. Interestingly, a slightly larger number (51 percent) felt their employers had very strong … Continue reading
Expose yourself? No, I’m not talking about trench coats or the number two activity on the web (porn is BEHIND social media these days!). I’m referring to common communication challenges that can be easily overcome by pausing to bring others along in your thinking process. When we present ideas to other people, especially new ideas, we tend to focus on the recommendations rather than the thinking processes that led to our current position. We push hard on the “what, when and how” while often overlooking the importance of “why.” We’re also usually in a hurry to get to the end of our presentation so we can jump right into overcoming objections and ensure that people see things the way we do. The only problem is that people often don’t see things the same way, even after we finish talking. That’s why pausing to bring others along in our thinking process … Continue reading
How to Stop Wasting Time, Talent, and Resources on Projects that Don’t Go Anywhere by Holly G. Green Remember the old adage, “what gets measured, gets done?” Well, what does not get measured may still be getting done in your organization as well. Unfortunately, it may not be what you want done or what gets you to your destination. In today’s volatile markets, goals set in January can easily become out of date by March if significant internal or external forces have impacted your operating environment. Just because a project was announced as a top priority in February doesn’t mean it will remain that way for the entire year. To ensure that employees retain clarity on what they should be working on, I recommend periodically conducting the “Plate Exercise.” Three months after the strategic planning framework has been completed and communicated, review all significant ongoing projects and initiatives (what is … Continue reading
Resilient (ri?zily?nt): able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed; able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Wow. Talk about the perfect description for leading an organization in the current business environment! Today’s business leaders need an increasingly diverse and sophisticated array of skills, traits, and aptitudes. And with virtually every industry getting stretched, compressed, turned upside-down, inside out, and every which way but loose, I can’t think of any trait more important than resiliency. These days, change comes at us so quickly and from so many different directions, that it seems we operate in a perpetual state of not quite keeping up. Keeping employees focused, aligned, inspired, and engaged requires a resolute leader who can quickly bounce back from adverse circumstances not just once, but over and over again. What does resiliency look like in terms of specific behaviors? According to … Continue reading
