Member You - Business

Corporate Gifts Offer Great ROI
How do you make the most of your marketing budget? Any marketer will tell you that the key to getting the most mileage of your finances is to choose activities that offer high ROI value. A corporate gift-giving program offers excellent ROI in many different avenues on the marketing spectrum. For just a bit of pocket change, you can catch the attention of your best prospects, woo them to visit you at a trade-show booth, keep yourself in the forefront of their minds, trade on their loyalty and turn them into adverts for your services. All it takes is a little planning and foresight, and some insight into the type of gifts that will grow legs and run for your business.Obviously, gift-giving is no substitute for offering excellent service and quality products, but when you make corporate gift-giving a part of your marketing tool chest, you’re showing that you understand your clients and have their interests in mind. Here are five times in the business relationship when the right corporate gift – and presentation – can help your company score big on memorability poi

t's pretty easy to know what to do with these ones: reward, motivate and develop them

those who neither have the values nor deliver the numbers - again, easy: these people need to go

those who have the values but don't deliver the numbers - these people should be given a chance. The intentions are good and maybe the performance can come good with time

those who deliver the numbers but don't have the values - these are the ones who are often kept on because they get results, even though they typically create huge problems such as high turnover, low morale or damaged organisational reputation. Welch suggests that these are the people you have got to be prepared to fire, and be open about why you're doing it.

Applying your defined boundaries in this way requires courage and the strength to 'walk the talk', even if it goes against what is normally accepted. The highest performing teams and leaders will be able and prepared to behave in this way because they have considered wha

Large Helium Balloons for Advertising
Jackyln is an executive for one of the largest companies in the mid-West. After the recent major between another firm in the Upper East Coast of Manhattan, the CEO wanted to go national.This meant Jacklyn and the others in the department will have to do a lot of advertising to capture the market. Since the budget for this to happen did not get any increases, this made it more challenging to accomplish the desired objective.Driving home from work, Jacklyn saw one shop that was using an inflatable balloon. The establishment had a promotional sale and this has somehow attracted some drivers to park nearby and check it out.Seeing the potential, Jacklyn checked and found out that inflatable balloons were quite cheap. This may not work to get the company moving so something bigger had to be needed such as a large helium balloon.Jacklyn checked out a few suppliers and found one that could fulfill the requirements of the company. All this person had to do was submit a design so that the shop can make it and give it after 2 weeks.Since the qu

Most team development specialists would agree that defining a set of team rules, or a team charter, is one of the steps in a successful team's development. Step 2 in our 8-Step Model for high team performance is to develop a set of ground rules. I see this as a very important step in the team development process, and it is not merely focused on rules around attendance, dress code, attendance at meetings or production of reports. It is much more than that: defining your ground rules is about establishing the laws, or boundaries, by which your team will live every day.

Boundaries and standards - one and the same?

Boundaries and standards are different. Standards are levels of behaviour that you set with your team and make yourselves honour - in other words, how others experience working with your team. Examples of standards could include quality, punctuality, accuracy, attention to detail, and so on.

Boundaries, on the other hand, are more inwardly focused and describe the lines that you draw in order to be treated as you would wish. These could include such things as courtesy, respect, listening, positivity or honesty - there is no limit and no 'correct' list.

You might refer to these types of behaviours as 'values'. I prefer the concept of boundaries because for me the word conjures an image of lines; lines that I draw around myself and my team; lines that should not be crossed under any circumstances.

Why so important?

We all have our personal boundaries. Think of them as filters by which we allow people into our lives or not. These filters contribute towards defining us and shaping our personal brand. In the same way, the boundaries that we apply within our teams help to define our team brand; that is, how people see and experience us as a team of people.

Once you define your team's boundaries, you must apply them both internally and externally. This means that you make them real, both in terms of how you treat one another within the team and how you allow yourselves to be treated by others.

The former is usually easy: we agree how we will behave towards one another and, if those rules are broken, we openly call it out and deal with it. Applying your boundaries outside the team can test your mettle somewhat more, but the benefits are huge.

I recently joined a teleseminar run by Tom Heck about expanding your team's boundaries to improve your team's performance. Tom suggests that there are several benefits to establishing firm team boundaries:

trust increases
people respect you and your team more
fear diminishes significantly
the team grows faster.

In the teleseminar, Tom described a real-life example of marking out boundaries in business. When some of his team were being upset by abusive customers, David Durovy, President of TapeResources.com, 'fired' the customers who overstepped his organisation's boundaries. He simply explained to them that their custom was not welcome within his organisation.

Extreme? Maybe. But the result? People woke up and realised that this was an organisation that cared about them more than it cared about just making another sale. Imagine the power of showing your team members that they are more important to you than simply making profit. You will reap the rewards in terms of staff retention and knowledge retention, morale, commitment, effort, performance, attendance, ... the list goes on and on. And that's not to say we don't do business; just that we don't do business regardless of the cost to our values and principles.

Living with your boundaries

GE's Jack Welch says that an organisation's values need to be at least as important as the numbers. He describes four kinds of employees:

those who demonstrate the values and deliver the numbers - it's pretty easy to know what to do with these ones: reward, motivate and develop them
those who neither have the values nor deliver the numbers - again, easy: these people need to go
those who have the values but don't deliver the numbers - these people should be given a chance. The intentions are good and maybe the performance can come good with time
those who deliver the numbers but don't have the values - these are the ones who are often kept on because they get results, even though they typically create huge problems such as high turnover, low morale or damaged organisational reputation. Welch suggests that these are the people you have got to be prepared to fire, and be open about why you're doing it.

Selling Ice Cubes to Eskimos - It's Not All It's Cracked Up to Be
We use an exercise in our sales development workshops to help our participants discover some myths about what makes a great sales person. We examine our feelings as buyers toward the sales people we experience. As our participants share their opinions and experiences, we build two lists. You might try this yourself.From your experience as a buyer/consumer, what are the attributes of the ideal sales person?• _____________• _____________• _____________What are some attributes of the sales person from hell?• _____________• _____________• _____________The IdealWhich attributes for the ideal sales person did you value in the exercise above? Traits that I typically hear are:• Good Listener • Understands my needs • Caring• Knowledgeable • Doesn't try to sell me something I don't want• Helps me make the right decision. • IntegrityWhat do we call a sales person that exhibits all of these traits? "Rare!" said one of my participants. These rare professionals expose the myth of

cribe the lines that you draw in order to be treated as you would wish. These could include such things as courtesy, respect, listening, positivity or honesty - there is no limit and no 'correct' list.

Why so important?

trust increases
people respect you and your team more
fear diminishes significantly
the team grows faster.

Living with your boundaries

GE's Jack Welch says that an organisation's values need to be at least as important as the numbers. He describes four kinds of employees:

those who demonstrate the values and deliver the numbers - it's pretty easy to know what to do with these ones: reward, motivate and develop them
those who neither have the values nor deliver the numbers - again, easy: these people need to go
those who have the values but don't deliver the numbers - these people should be given a chance. The intentions are good and maybe the performance can come good with time
those who deliver the numbers but don't have the values - these are the ones who are often kept on because they get results, even though they typically create huge problems such as high turnover, low morale or damaged organisational reputation. Welch suggests that these are the people you have got to be prepared to fire, and be open about why you're doing it.

Become a Dental Hygienist
If you have ever considered a career as a healthcare professional, the dental hygiene career might be right for you. Dental hygienists are important members of the dental health care team who work with dentists in the delivery of dental care to patients. Hygienists use knowledge and clinical skills to counsel patients on dental hygiene care. These dental professionals must like helping people, enjoy working with their hands, and are interested in helping to prevent disease. A dental hygiene career offers women and men of all ages and backgrounds excellent career opportunities.Dental hygienists are an integral part of a dental practice. They perform technical duties in addition to teaching patients appropriate oral hygiene techniques. The also counsel patients about good nutrition and its impact on their oral health. Employment of dental hygienists is expected to grow faster than average for all occupations through 2014. They also rank among the fastest growing occupations in response to increasing demand for dental care and an increased use of hygienists

treat one another within the team and how you allow yourselves to be treated by others.

trust increases
people respect you and your team more
fear diminishes significantly
the team grows faster.

Living with your boundaries

GE's Jack Welch says that an organisation's values need to be at least as important as the numbers. He describes four kinds of employees:

those who demonstrate the values and deliver the numbers - it's pretty easy to know what to do with these ones: reward, motivate and develop them
those who neither have the values nor deliver the numbers - again, easy: these people need to go
those who have the values but don't deliver the numbers - these people should be given a chance. The intentions are good and maybe the performance can come good with time
those who deliver the numbers but don't have the values - these are the ones who are often kept on because they get results, even though they typically create huge problems such as high turnover, low morale or damaged organisational reputation. Welch suggests that these are the people you have got to be prepared to fire, and be open about why you're doing it.

How Do I Know If I've Been Bugged?
Are you a potential target?1. If eavesdropping on anything you say, write, or do could increase someone else's wealth or influence, then the answer is yes, you are a potential target.2. Others know your confidential business or professional trade secrets.This is the most obvious indicator of covert eavesdropping activities. Theft of confidential information is a multi-billion dollar underground industry in the United States. Often the loss of your secrets will show up in very subtle ways so you should always trust your instincts in this matter. When your competitors, associates or co-workers know things that are obviously private, or the media finds out about things they should not know, then it is reasonable to suspect technical eavesdropping or bugging.3. Secret meetings and bids seem to be less than secret.Confidential meetings and bids are very popular targets for corporate spies. How would you like the plans for the corporate takeovers you're planning to become public knowledge? Would copies of your product designs be of any use

f TapeResources.com, 'fired' the customers who overstepped his organisation's boundaries. He simply explained to them that their custom was not welcome within his organisation.

Living with your boundaries

GE's Jack Welch says that an organisation's values need to be at least as important as the numbers. He describes four kinds of employees:

those who demonstrate the values and deliver the numbers - it's pretty easy to know what to do with these ones: reward, motivate and develop them
those who neither have the values nor deliver the numbers - again, easy: these people need to go
those who have the values but don't deliver the numbers - these people should be given a chance. The intentions are good and maybe the performance can come good with time
those who deliver the numbers but don't have the values - these are the ones who are often kept on because they get results, even though they typically create huge problems such as high turnover, low morale or damaged organisational reputation. Welch suggests that these are the people you have got to be prepared to fire, and be open about why you're doing it.

Should You Hire a Professional Dallas Office Cleaning Company
Are you a business owner who runs a business that is set in an office setting? If so, how does your office get cleaned? Do you have your traditional employees clean your office in their spare time or do you do the cleaning or do you have your own onsite janitor? If so, you may want to reevaluate the way that your office is getting cleaned. If you haven’t heard of a Dallas office cleaning company before, which is also sometimes referred to as a Dallas cleaning service, you are advised to look into it more. After a close examination, you will see that there are a number of benefits to using the services of a professional Dallas office cleaning company.One of the many reasons why you should think about hiring the services of a professional Dallas office cleaning company is the results. To actually be considered a professional Dallas office cleaning company, the company in question must have some experience or at least their employees must have some experience. This experience often translates to on the job experience. Essentially, this means that the employ

t's pretty easy to know what to do with these ones: reward, motivate and develop them

those who neither have the values nor deliver the numbers - again, easy: these people need to go

those who have the values but don't deliver the numbers - these people should be given a chance. The intentions are good and maybe the performance can come good with time

One of the ways to start being able to apply your boundaries consistently is to define them with your team - as opposed to just telling them - and for everyone to commit to living by them. You may then need to consider other stakeholders and how you will get them to agree to your applying those boundaries every day.

Challenges to boundary setting

One of the challenges to setting team boundaries is that it requires the entire team to be bought in. If one or two people disagree you can be pretty sure that they will apply different rules and permit different behaviours from the rest of the team. This will result in an inconsistent image, or brand, presented by the team and hence confusion amongst those who deal with the team. People will see the team as a group of individuals to whom different behaviours are acceptable and will behave accordingly.

In defining and applying your team's boundaries it is a good idea to give people a chance to adjust. If you have never previously taken a stand against, for example, negative language or expletives and you suddenly start to object when people use them you will likely find yourself faced with indignation and confusion. You need, therefore to think about how you will communicate your newly defined boundaries to those you deal with in order to ensure their understanding and acceptance of the new rules.

Your action steps for this month:

Make a list of your personal boundaries - what are the lines you do not allow people to cross no matter what?
Now make a list of your team's boundaries - are they the same? If not, why not? What's different and why?
How extensive are your team's boundaries - would you consider them strong or weak?
How have they been defined - by the team as a whole or by one person who then told everybody else?
How have they been communicated - do members of the team and other people know what the lines are? Have people been given time to get used to
Do you live by these boundaries day-to-day - what happens to people who cross them? Can you think of some examples?
If you don't apply your boundaries consistently, why is that? Is it because your organisation's culture doesn't support the boundaries you have defined? Go back to the question of communication - have you managed your stakeholders adequately?

If you have never done it before, it is worth putting some time into answering these questions. Perhaps take some time at your next team meeting to start talking about boundaries and how they could be applied, and take it from there. Strong, consistent boundaries that are clearly communicated and applied will enhance your team's brand and hence will support you in your development of a truly high performing team.

To see the steps in our 8-step model, click here.

Ann Greene is the founder of Allagi and a specialist in corporate team development. She blogs and produces a monthly newsletter offering strategies, tips and articles on developing high performing teams, and can be contacted at www.allagi.ie.

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