Monthly Archives: December 2009

Go for the gold

Posted on December 31, 2009 by | Leave a comment

With less than 45 days until Vancouver hosts the 2010 Winter Olympics there really is little else our city has on its mind right now.  As I sit looking out the window in Whistler village watching another round of glorious snowflakes fall,  my thoughts draw to the parallel of how corporate business is so much like the business of sports. In looking back over 2009 there is so much we have to be thankful for and so much we have achieved.

Surrounded by images of athletes in the  Olympic village of Whistler, I find  the journey of a professional athlete fascinating. Not so much as to their almost,  and at many times, celebrity status, but for the power of the mind of these tremendous individuals.

When I think of professional sports the first thing that comes to mind is courage. As I flew down a double black run on Whistler mountain yesterday on my newly tuned skis chasing my 8 year old daughter, I couldn’t help but think of courage. The classic story of  how Pheidippides, the Athenian messenger who ran 25 miles from Marathon to Athens to deliver the message of ‘rejoice, we triumph!’ and who then falls dead is an original example of courage.  Lululemon Athletica states on their iconic sustainable bags, ’do one thing that scares you each day” is also testament to this message. Courage. It’s what drives athletes to succeed and business to reach breakthrough performance.  Courage makes teams strong. But it is in knowing when to shake it off and when to actually step away that athletes and businesses succeed or fail.

‘Encourage’ means literally to build courage into someone else. To encourage is to inspire.  2009 was all about courage. For us and for most businesses, this was a unprecendented time in our history where patterns of business were out of balance. Or perhaps this event actually sent us wildly spiraling towards balance. It brought about new realities.  Just like it may be said for athletes as for businesses that achieve success, it might be some part luck, but mostly it is the right amounts of courage.  Looking back on the year, we kept our eye on the storm this past year and faced it head on. We didn’t dive for cover or seek shelter. We drew upon the tools and skills we knew had made us strong.  And with courage and iron will we did it.  And we leave 2009 stronger and on a solid growth trajectory. Now the key for our success will be found  in our ability to ensure that we can handle our growth and provide leadership to our growing team.   Business leadership’s role is to do just that- lead. But to encourage is perhaps one of the most powerful tools a coach can share with their team. We plan to.  Here’s to much success and courage in 2010!

~ Sarah McNeill

photo credit: Tim in Sydney

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Posted in Inspiration, Leadership and Team Building

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Validation – the art of smile

Posted on December 23, 2009 by | 2 Comments

We just love this video! And with the holiday season upon us this is such a heartwarming feel good piece. And for however busy it may be at this time of the year it seems that we always find time to sneak a peek at good content. You might even find yourself replaying it again and again. We did.

It’s about the human condition and how much we all thrive on positive messages. We guarantee that you will smile. And definitely more than once. Corporately, the take home is clear.  We challenge you to apply your own variation of the ‘art of smile’ into your corporate culture.

Too often in this fast moving life of ours we seem to have forgotten one of the simplest messages. Acknowledgement. Remember the last time someone acknowledged you. How did it make you feel? Especially this past year.

Our last December’s post on our recipe for success still stands true: ‘Think: more smiles, more motivation, more happiness- we have forgotten to acknowledge people.  its the simple things.’

So have a ‘nog and spread some holiday cheer!

~ Sarah McNeill

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Posted in corporate culture, Employee Engagement, Inspiration

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Hire for attitude

Posted on December 17, 2009 by | 1 Comment

One of McNak’s favourite models of the ultimate service experience is the Four Seasons Hotels. It has, after almost fifty years, stayed true to founder Isadore Sharp’s vision to create a second to none service culture. If only more companies could translate their style into their own businesses. 

“We hire for attitude, then we train for skill” – Ellen du Bellay, vice president of learning and development, Four Seasons Hotels

A lot of us wonder about respect, especially when it comes to workplace culture. As any follower of our blog knows, McNak is all about finding the cultural fit in an organization, and respect is an integral part of that. Respect is essential to the success of McNak’s business – how we interact with our candidates, how we develop relationships with our clients, and how every member of Team McNak works together to ensure a truly respectful workplace. If respect is core to a company’s belief system then the bond is almost unbreakable and is a powerful tool for personal and corporate success.

Respect in the workplace starts with the individual – whether it’s a management position, a junior administrator, or the CEO. This is the core of the message in Erica Pinsky’s ‘Road to Respect: Path to Profit’. Pinsky, a local author, speaker and consultant, recently took the time to discuss her insights at the BC HRMA book group.

The economic realities of the last year have had a tremendous impact on workplace behaviour – the stress that comes with an uncertain economy can push people to unkind behaviours. The fear of losing a job (or not being able to find another one) can compel individuals to stay in jobs where they are not being treated with respect, putting up with unacceptable behaviour.

Surprisingly, bullying is one of the greatest concerns in Canadian workplaces, causing severe damage at both a personal level, as well as to corporate profitability. Unfortunately, while Canadian Labour Law protects individuals from discrimination, it has yet to deal with workplace bullying. While it may be impossible to legislate respect, corporations that deeply believe in it find themselves with a truly competitive edge.  A healthy company can’t be all shiny on the outside and tarnished and bruised on the inside. It just doesn’t work any other way.

Some of us are fortunate enough to have employers truly committed to developing a respectful workplace. Aretha Franklin nailed it with her lyrics ‘ ‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T – find out what it means to me…’

~ Bradley Cuzen

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Posted in corporate culture

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Ask the hard questions. Fuel culture.

Posted on December 10, 2009 by | Leave a comment

It’s hard for anyone to admit to themselves or to others that they aren’t perfect.  In this ‘keep up with the Jones’s generation it makes it that much more ridiculous to even consider getting off the treadmill. For businesses, this might seem like cultural suicide.

Common sense may go so far as to dictate that companies have a commitment to their stakeholders, internally and externally to strive for the closest thing to perfection.  While this may hold true in many situations there is a paradigm shift that is needed:  in order to be best in class at something you have to dig down and recognize that you must also accept that you need a counter balance of  being worst in class at something.

Wow. So the bandage is ripped off now. NOT good at something….Its really just an emotional obstacle, one that can be removed with a team prepared to look at the business differently and that is prepared to bravely go forward with a fierce and united discipline.  What can you afford to give up or stop doing? Or rather what can your business do better than the competition. What is essentially unique to your company and what do you not need to be better at than them? Reverse engineer what the company wants to be great at and it will be easier to decide what you can stop focusing on or remove all together. The upside is that your company will be transparent to the marketplace, customers will self select and your internal team will feel happiness and pride in their work.  This is powerful because deeply satisfied customers will further fuel your team’s culture.

Once clear on what you are prepared to be good at and not good at it is easy to move the team into alignment of a clear and united mission. Until a company is totally clear on it’s ‘great at’ and ‘bad at’,  it is hard to move the team forward. There will always be a disparity of focus and competing interests within the team. Out in the open and exposed, the team can really see the company for all that it is and that it can be.

There is nothing stronger culturally  than  a team with a united mission. Company – forward MARCH.

~ Sarah McNeill

photo credit: midiman

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Posted in corporate culture, Employee Engagement, Leadership and Team Building, Management Excellence

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Teamwork.

Posted on December 2, 2009 by | 1 Comment

I should be sleeping. But after spending such a phenomenal day doing strategic planning that included a delicious wind up dinner, family style, at one of our favourite restaurants, with my ‘other family, team McNak, it is so good to close off the day knowing that this was time well spent. I just had to share.

Our  day’s objective: to get clarity around a major goal and set the course for the next quarter.

Our day began extremely smoothly. I think we can attribute this to knowing that we have a team that is prepared to share and take risks for the best interests of our McNak family. We agreed to a no hold back, tell it like it is session. Rip the bandages off if you must. Expose the rocks and then set a plan in place to remove them. The adage that people need to weigh in before they buy in is so very true. We finished the day knowing far more about each other and with a clearer course than when we began. And we left in alignment.

During this session we got on the topic of what we have now called Family loyalty. This is when you know that the relationship has set a course on its own beyond your own controls. Its on autopilot. Loyalty high, trust high.  Bradley Cuzen nailed it with his comment by a recent placement who had called us with new business and had proudly said to him ‘we’re family now’. I think our whole team beamed when he told us the story!

Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team – A Leadership Fable had the perfect opening line from this book for today’s retreat. He said, ‘Not finance. Not strategy. Not Technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.’

As we shared our reflections on the day over a delicious dessert platter we concluded some things that we are certain of. Families aren’t perfect. People aren’t perfect. Trust is crucial. Commitment – everything. And when you take the time to know how each person fits, combined with a single unified goal, the ultimate power of a team is magic.

Row in the same direction and your outcomes will be substantial. We can hardly wait to embark upon our united objectives of the next quarter in our business together. How sweet it is.

~ Sarah McNeill

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Posted in Leadership and Team Building

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