Posts from — July 2010

The word “motivation” is one that is often confused with “manipulation.” Motivation occurs when you persuade someone to take an action in their own best interests.

Things like people preparing their homework, accepting responsibility for their performance and finishing their education, are the result of motivation.

Manipulation is persuading someone to take an action which is primarily for your benefit. Things like selling an inferior product at an inflated price or working people overtime with no extra pay are examples of manipulation.

Conflict in the workplace is inevitable. Every manager needs to understand the steps that can be taken to minimize the occurrence of it.

The following action steps will not eliminate conflict, but it most definitely will minimize the amount of severity of it.

1. Be proactive instead of reactive. One morning when I got out of bed and turned toward the bathroom, I cut a tad too close to the bed. My toe caught the leg of the footboard. ! #%*^%$#*!. Once the hollering and jumping around was over, I had a choice to make. I could feel very sorry for myself and climb back into bed. (Not a bad choice, but not particularly productive)

When I was first promoted from the rank and file, there was a popular song by Stealers Wheel entitled “Stuck in the Middle with You”. The lyrics resonated with me because I was struggling mightily with being a newly minted manager.

Here is a verse that was particularly meaningful to me –
Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you
And I’m wondering what it is I should do
It’s so hard to keep the smile from my face
Losing control, yeah I’m all over the place
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
1973, Gerry Rafferty

Human disagreement remains inevitable. When conflict is not addressed, each side becomes defensive, and a person who is defensive will rarely see the logic of the other’s position. These four steps will help you end conflict more quickly.

1. Look for some area of common ground as soon as possible. Nine years ago, I owned a small manufacturing company. We had grown to the point we needed to triple our rented space. I located a building and intended spending a sizable amount of money renovating the space, including adding air conditioning.

How to Create a Winning Season by Understanding What Is Most Important. I love coaching the game of basketball because it provides opportunities to experience lessons that are not only important to creating a winning season but to creating wins in your personal life as well as business.

I have had the opportunity of coaching varsity teams as well as youth teams with players who are playing for the first time. While coaching a 7th grade girls team I was reminded of the most basic and important principles to success; Making sure everyone in your organization understands what is most important to the success of the whole organization.