Drops of Rain

     A Newsletter From The Rainmaker Group
September 18th, 2007
    
Greetings!  
 
We've got a great newsletter this week.  Our lead article covers an issue we see far too often - Corporate Welfare.  At the core of this issue is a fundamental lack of Personal Accountability in an organization's culture. 
 
Also, as promised, we have Part 2 of our Job Benchmarking series - If the Job Could Talk, What Would it Say?, as well as a featured article from Stephen Covey and a new QBQ! Quicknote by John Miller.
 
Best wishes,
Your partners at The Rainmaker Group
 
 
Power quote:
 
"If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad"
 
      -Denis Waitley
In This Issue
Personal Accountability - It's Time to End Corporate Welfare
Job Benchmarking - If the Job Could Talk What Would it Say? - Part 2 of 2
Featured Guru - Stephen Covey
QBQ! Personal Accountability QuickNote - "Why Can't Customers Follow the Rules?"
Personal Accountability - It's Time to End Corporate Welfare 
Entitlement Thinking and Corporate WelfareThere is a Corporate Welfare epidemic spreading in the workplace.
 
At the heart of this epidemic is a fundamental lack of Personal Accountability and pervasive entitlement thinking. 
 
You might be asking yourself - "Corporate Welfare? What exactly are these guys talking about"
 
When we say Corporate Welfare we are referring to the practice of allowing under-performing employees to remain in positions where the costs they incur to the organization are far greater than the value they add.
 
These under-performers have "put in their time" or "paid their dues" and feel entitled to coast through their workday, leaving immediately at "quitting time" because they don't get paid "to put in extra effort"
 
Corporate Welfare seriously damages team morale, drains the bottom line, and drives "rock star" performers out of the organization.
 
What is the cause of this corporate epidemic?  The managers who allow it to take place.  Read on...
If the Job Could Talk, What Would it Say? Part 2 of 2
Chris Young - Founder, The Rainmaker GroupChris Young - Founder, The Rainmaker Group
 
If you've ever read any of our blogs or visited our website there is a pretty good chance that you've noticed us discussing the importance of job fit and having the right people in the right positions in your organization. 
 
In Part 1 of this series we discussed the most common mistake made when implementing a job benchmarking process : benchmarking the job based on the top performers currently in the position. 
 
This can be a risky practice as the current top performers are likely not  the best possible performers for the position and shouldn't be used to form the job benchmark.
 
Another mistake we noted in the first installment of this series is the common practice of only examining behaviors when establishing a job benchmark.  A major opportunity is missed with this approach as an individual's values and personal skills are also incredibly important to success in any position and as such should be used in the job benchmark as well.
 
Part 2 of this series focuses on using the values and personal attributes necessary for top performance in a position in addition to behaviors to establish a truly comprehensive and reliable job benchmark. 
 
Read Part 2 of our Job Benchmarking series here...
 
Miss Part 1 of the Job Benchmarking series? Check it out here!
Featured Guru - Stephen Covey
Stephen CoveyStephen Covey is a true heavy hitter in the management world.  In 1996 he was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 25 most influential Americans.
 
In 2002 his best selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was recognized by Forbes as one of the top 10 most influential business books ever written.
 
This week we'd like to feature Stephen Covey's best selling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and a subsequent article he authored following the book that identifies the "unique human endowments" associated with each of the 7 habits.
 
If you haven't read Covey's book, we can't recommend highly enough that you read it.  It is a truly powerful book.
 
In case you were wondering, the 7 habits of highly effective people that Covey identifies are as follows:
 
     1.  Be proactive - take responsibility for everything in your life
     2.  Begin with the end in mind - know where you want to go in
          life and then takes the necessary steps to get there
     3.  Put first things first - prioritize work associated with
          long term goals
     4.  Think win/win -  seek out mutually beneficial solutions that
          benefit not only oneself, but others as well
     5.  Seek first to understand, and then to be understood -
          be empathetic and understand another's problems before
          giving advice
     6.  Synergize - learn to work with others to find solutions to
          problems by utilizing the diversity gained in teams -
          "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
     7.  Sharpen the saw - practice "balanced self-renewal" by
          engaging in carefully selected recreational activities
 
QBQ! Personal Accountability QuickNote - "Why Can't Customers Follow the Rules?"
 
John MillerWe've all been there and can agree that it is never much fun: being called out by an organization's employee for "not following the rules".
 
For example, when ordering lunch you ask to substitute a salad for the cup of soup included with the meal.  The server's response: "No substitutions allowed" and proceeds to direct you to the bottom of the page to prove they are right. 
 
How is that for a customer experience? 
 
Rules and policies are established by organizations for a number of reasons.  I can respect that. 
 
However the way in which a team member enforces these rules depends on the employee's level of personal accountability and can make or break a customer's experience
 
Read John Miller's Article here
 
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 GroupIs 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 Chris or Mike to your organization and start realizing your organization's full potential.  Chris can 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!
 
 
 

"In the past a leader was a boss. Today's leaders must be partners with their people.. they no longer can lead solely based on positional power."
        - Ken Blanchard
 
Sincerely,

All of us here at The Rainmaker Group
 
1-866-988-7246
For More Great Articles and Stories:
12 Choices for being successful
A powerful book about success...how to achieve, keep it, and enjoy it by making better choices
 
Only $14.95
 
QBQ Logo
The Question Behind the Question 
 
Five Dysfunctions of a Team - Patrick Lencioni 
Recommended Reading:
Patrick Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team
 
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!
 
 
 
 
 
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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Recommended Reading:
Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People