FINISH STRONG^®

THE SUPER BOWL

For most of us it's about the game, the party with friends and food, or the ads. But for the players, it's about being recognized as the best.

Your employees may not be as competitive as professional athletes are, but they likely will perform better "when there's something to play for." A paycheck is good, but it's rarely the prime motivator of outstanding performance.

While the owners' goals may be financial -- the highest EBIT in the industry; the fastest sales growth -- it's a rare non-owner that gets revved up about those things. Do you really expect your employees to go the extra yard and stay away from their families to get you from a 10% EBIT to 11%?

To reach the goals of ownership, leaders must understand what supplants the Super Bowl for their team. Most people just want to be appreciated. It may be as simple as "thank you for everything you do for us." For a production worker, it may be a business trip to a customer to see how their output is used. Just knowing that they won't be second-guessed, that their professional opinion is trusted, is all others want. Don't underestimate the importance of working for an admired and trusted coach.

Almost every NFL player not on Sunday's winning team is disappointed in their season because they didn't win it all. But most can take pride in attaining some of their goals. Those not retiring are already getting ready for next year by working out and practicing, trying to get better.

Do your employees know what they are "playing for?" Are they passionate about it? Outsiders may not plan a party, schedule their calendars, or create ads around your Super Bowls, but wouldn't it be great if your insiders did.

UPCOMING EVENTS

February 16, 2012: OHIO: Andrew Savitz, author of The Triple Bottom Line, will talk with executives from 8-11 a.m. about practical steps in creating a profitable and sustainable organization in this era of challenging environmental and social pressures. And the price is right: FREE!

February 29 - March 1, 2012: UTAH: Have a class ring from high school? Maybe a trophy? OC Tanner likely made it. The company is opening its doors for 2 days to share how they make customized pieces one at a time profitably. This workshop explores the company’s Lean journey, policy deployment, order fulfillment system, right-sized equipment, problem-solving, TWI, visual management, logistics and employee engagement. In other words, attendees will see the results of one-piece flow made possible by a True North culture focused on respect for people and continuous improvement.

March 28-29, 2012: BOSTON MA: MicroManufacturing and NanoManufacturing joint conferences are presented by SME, the Society for Manufacturing Engineering. Whether you are interested in coating, machining or micro molding, or nanomaterials, applications, or metrology, this conference includes the academic research and practical product development information you need.

April 23-25, 2012: INDIANA: Walk world-class manufacturing operations at the Industry Week Best Plants Conference. You may not consider Indianapolis a hotbed of leading-edge manufacturers, but perhaps you should.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MISTAKES

You order an expensive steak cooked medium rare. It comes out well done. The restaurant's mistake (whether it was the server or the chef doesn't really matter to you) is irritating and unacceptable.

It's rarely good when the customer is negatively impacted by mistakes.

In your organization, an employee has an idea he wants to try, with very specific reasoning and expected outcomes. You encourage him. He was wrong, but a team invests time finding out where the logic failed. They learn. They change the experiment, and this time it is successful. More learning. Your organization is better now. Only because you weren't afraid of mistakes.

Internal mistakes are a good thing. If none are made, your organization must already know everything, which means it is both lying to itself and losing ground.

Make mistakes. Protect the customer, but make mistakes.

FINISH STRONG^®

The Starting Pistol

Tom Krause:
"If you only do what you know you can do- you never do very much."

The Tape

Rebecca Morgan:
"Stretch, grow, learn. Otherwise you already are all you will ever be."

TALK WITH FULCRUM VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

ABOUT REBECCA A. MORGAN