Drops of Rain

     A Newsletter From The Rainmaker Group
February 25th, 2009
  
Hello!  
 
We have a great newsletter for you this week to keep you on the track to Maximize Possibility in your organization!
 
In our lead article this week we take a look at four drivers of employee engagement and passion for one's job.
 
In our second article this week we examine the real reason why employee training budgets are the first to be cut and the last to be budgeted. 
 
As usual we have a great QBQ! Personal Accountability QuickNote by John Miller - this week on the topic of job ownership.  
 
In our Featured Guru segment this week we would like to highlight a short video clip of a speech by Malcolm Gladwell.
 
Power quote:
 
"High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation"
 
      - Charles F. Kettering
In This Issue
Four Drivers of Employee Engagement and Passion for One's Job
The Real Reason Training Budgets are Cut First
Featured Guru - Malcolm Gladwell
QBQ! Personal Accountability QuickNote - Job Ownership and True Leadership
Four Drivers of Employee Engagement and Passion for One's Job
It is no secret that employees with a high level of engagement and passion for their job are more creative, productive, and ultimately provide more value to an organization's bottom line than employees who are less passionate and enthusiastic about their work. 
 
The challenge for managers is to find predictive ways to hire employees who are passionate about their work and ultimately foster a high level the engagement among of one's workforce to realize the above mentioned benefits. 
 
In our years of helping organizations identify the best fit candidate for the job we have found four critical drivers of employee engagement and passion for one's job.  Click here to find out what they are...
The Real Reason Training Budgets are the First to be Cut
ScaleAnyone who works in a human resources department or with employee training and development has likely found that during times of economic hardship, the training budget is often the first budget to be cut or eliminated in an effort to preserve resources. 
 
It is unfortunate, but employee training and development is often seen as a budgetary item that can be easily reduced or eliminated in the need to conserve cash. 
 
This is understandably frustrating for HR professionals and employee development specialists alike.  However, few realize the real reason that their budget is so often seen as expendable. 
 
Click here to find out the real reason training budgets are the first to be cut and what you can do to ensure that your training budget is seen as a critical investment regardless of the current economic climate. 
Featured Guru - Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm GladwellMalcolm Gladwell is a staff writer for the New Yorker and the author of three of the most talked about business books to be released in the in the past decade. 
 
His latest book, Outliers: The Story of Success, is a best seller and the topic of this weeks featured guru segment.
 
This week we would like to feature a short video clip of Gladwell discussing the idea of meaningful work and how passion for one's job can be a driver of success.
 
QBQ! Personal Accountability QuickNote - Job Ownership and True Organizational Leadership
John Miller
 
Job ownership is a phrase that is heard fairly often in the workplace these days.  However do we really know what is meant by this term?
 
This week's QBQ! Quicknote addresses the issue of leadership and job ownership. True leaders are found at all levels of an organization. 
 
These leaders don't waste time asking questions that project blame onto others, but rather ask themselves what they can do to solve the problem at hand.  Read this week's QBQ! Personal Accountability QuickNote...


Creating a culture of Personal Accountability should be a top priority for all organizations.  Team members who think and practice Personal Accountability can bring about incredible changes for an organization.  The blame game disappears, morale increases, and customer experiences are enhanced all thanks to the power of Personal Accountability. 

 

The Rainmaker Group is proud to offer powerful day long QBQ! workshops instilling the power of Personal Accountability into teams and organizations across the country.  For more information about these workshops or to purchase John Miller's books, QBQ! and Flipping the Switch Visit our website at: http://www.personalaccountabilityatwork.com

 
John Miller is author of QBQ! The Question Behind The Question, the authoritative guide to practicing Personal Accountability.
RMG Header 
Chris Young and Mike Lindblom, Partners, The Rainmaker GroupImportant questions for you:

Is your organization living up to its full potential?

Is high turnover hurting your bottom line?

Do your team members create the powerful experiences your customers deserve? 

Do team members have difficulty effectively communicating with others?

Bring The Rainmaker Group in to your organization and start realizing your organization's full potential.  Together, we deliver powerful and motivating keynote speeches, design customized training programs and workshops, help identify barriers to communication, and much more.  We don't sell training out of the box, but rather insist on customizing it to your needs!  For more info, send an e-mail to info@therainmakergroupinc.com
Or call 1-866-988-7246
 
About us:

The Rainmaker Group is a People Maximization and Development group located in Bismarck, ND. Our mission is to help those we serve make their difference in the world.

We hope you found this newsletter interesting and informative.  If you like what you read, please give us a shout, we're here to help!
 
 
 

  "Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get" 
 

        - Ray Kroc
 
Sincerely,

All of us here at The Rainmaker Group
 
1-866-988-7246
For More Great Articles and Stories:
QBQ Logo
The Question Behind the Question 
 
The Rainmaker Group Experience
 Start Maximizing Possibility in your organization today!  We offer a variety of services to help your organization realize its full potential.  Check us out today!
 
 
 
 
 
Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni 
Recommended Reading:
Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team
 
Join Our Mailing List
Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell
 
Recommended Reading:
 
Outliers: The Story of Success 
 
By: Malcolm Gladwell
 
 
 
A Rainmaker Group Must Read:
 
QBQ! by John Miller
 
QBQ! The Question Behind the Question
 
By: John Miller
 
 
 

THIS IS A TEST EMAIL ONLY.
This email was sent by the author for the sole purpose of testing a draft message. If you believe you have received the message in error, please contact the author by replying to this message. Constant Contact takes reports of abuse very seriously: if you wish to report abuse, please forward this message to abuse@constantcontact.com.