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Inspiring Solutions Newsletter - Volume 35 - March
27, 2007 |
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New Workshop!
Business Savvy 101
Teaching Employees the
Unwritten Rules of the Corporate World
In my first job out of college, I remember being in
awe of the CEO and VPs. They seemed so
sophisticated, intelligent and savvy. They dressed
expensively, spoke eloquently, negotiated explosive
situations with tact and diplomacy, dined with
perfect etiquette and always seemed to know exactly
what to do and say at the right time. I wanted to be
just like them. I scoured bookstores, looked for
seminars and talked to friends, but found nothing on
business savvy and how to learn it.
Then a mentor volunteered to
show me the ropes, and I learned the unwritten rules –
the secret codes – that helped pave the way for my own
success in the workplace.
Where’s the book?
These many years later, employees still have no
instruction manual on how to attain the business savvy
they need to get ahead where they work.
As executives, we’re too
busy with our 100-mph workdays and mile-high workloads
to mentor our own people, and there still aren’t any
good books on the subject. When we hire, we silently
pray that our new employees will at least have good
manners and a modicum of professionalism. We screen as
best we can during an interview and even take
higher-level employees to dinner, just to make sure they
won’t embarrass us after we hire them.
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Important Links
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Just a Reminder!
Buy DiSC profiles before
the price increases - effective April 1, 2007!
You can beat the higher prices by ordering your
profiles, facilitator kits, EPIC credits and other
products today - online - before April 1st!
Please click here to save! |
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But it’s hardly a
thorough analysis, and always a big risk. We don’t
really know someone’s “savvy quotient” until we see him
or her in action, already hired, under pressure, in the
fray…where a lot of damage can be done, or at the very
least, where the employee won’t achieve the highest
productivity possible because business savvy isn’t his
or her strong suit.
When Business Savvy is
Missing
A manager told me recently, “I hired a guy who was
mid-40’s, intelligent, hard working, honest, a real
‘expert’ with a great work history, who got so drunk at
the Christmas party he couldn’t walk without assistance.
He’ll never get the same level of respect again –
everyone saw how out of control he was.”
A director said, “I
thought I had a real catch: the young woman I hired was
bright, articulate and experienced. But at a trade show,
she introduced one of our top clients to our president
using his least-favorite, much-snickered-about nickname,
thinking it would be funny. It wasn’t, and it left a
lasting, negative impression.”
A CEO recently stated,
“When one of my VPs sent a flaming email to his
department rather than meeting with them, and the email
then got routed by an unhappy staff member to every
inbox in the company as well as the Register, I was
forced to get involved. It made me question his judgment
– permanently. I’ll never promote him.”
Employees also feel
“burned” when the rules aren’t clear: when the HR
department reprimanded a New York-based director for
using foul language in a videoconference with her
out-of-state
peers, the director complained, “That’s how we talk in
the New York office and it’s no big deal – everyone does
it.” |
Signs that Business
Savvy Training May be Needed Company-Wide
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More than a few
employees are constantly at odds with each other, rolling
their eyes in meetings, sighing, yawning or sitting with
arms folded to show disapproval
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Employees yell, cry,
leave meetings in anger, or show other signs of heightened
emotion
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Employees dress
inappropriately, despite guidelines
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Gossip and “tattling”
are common
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Email is unprofessional
and sent to inappropriate groups
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HR gets complaints
related to a lack of professional behavior
The Benefits of
Teaching Business Savvy
Employers today would be wise to go beyond employee
orientation into the realm of teaching the basics of
business savvy for several reasons:
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a) In order to behave as
expected, employees need to know exactly what it is
that’s expected of them. Most weren’t exposed to the
basics at home or in school.
b) Employees are happier
and feel better able to contribute at work when they
understand the unwritten rules their bosses live by
and expect them to live by.
c) A company’s
collective productivity can soar when people are
professional, happy, and able to work together
effectively. |
Key Training Points
to Achieve Savvy
Meet with your top executives and managers to learn
what behaviors drive them crazy, then customize your
training around the following key areas:
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Email savvy
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Emotional control,
including avoidance of anger, crying, complaining and
gossip
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Cube behavior
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Confrontational vs.
productive words, tone and body language
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Drinking behavior at
company functions
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Trade
show/seminar/conference/meeting savvy
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Practical jokes (that
aren’t)
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Dining etiquette (for
employees required to travel or entertain on company time)
In a couple of hours of
good training you can pave the way for increased
productivity, improved morale and lower turnover.
Now that’s demonstrating your business savvy.
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Chris Miller, Director of Marketing, Dice Inc.
Ms. Miller has had a successful career in Marketing
Management and Sales in a variety of industries
including television, technology, advertising,
consulting and manufacturing.
For more information or
to schedule
Business Savvy 101
with Michele,
click here or call Inspiring Solutions at
866-225-1249. |
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- Congratulations
to Betsy Johnson Regional Hospital of Dunn, NC
for passing the Joint Commission accreditation
process with flying colors! After a 3-day intense
survey, they earned the honor of having minimal
requirements and supplementals to correct…only 2
Requirements for Improvements! Michele has been
working with them on a 3-year Service Excellence
Initiative through Custom Learning Systems.
- Join us in
welcoming Cole Douglas Carney! He was born on
March 10, weighing 7 pounds and 19 inches long. He
is the third child of Amanda (Michele’s
step-daughter) and Joe. He has a big sister, Chloe
and big brother Connor waiting to play with him.
- Only a Few Days
Left!
Buy DiSC profiles before
the price increases - effective April 1, 2007!
You can beat the higher prices by ordering your
profiles, EPIC credits, facilitator kits and other products today
- online - before April 1st! To check out our
product selection,
please click here (and save)!
- Got News? If you
and/or your company have something worthy of
recognition…please let us know!
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Inspiring Specials - Special Product Feature! |
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Runaway Best Seller! Attitude: The Choice is
Yours - 2nd Edition |
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“Make a choice and this book will give you the
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Mark Victor Hanson, co-author of #1 New
York Times Best Selling series Chicken Soup for
the Soul®
Written
by Michele Matt, CSP, Attitude: The Choice is
Yours helps people to tap into their personal
attitudes to better understand, analyze, adjust,
and maintain the right frame of mind at work and
at home.
Click here
for more information! |
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