Here’s our latest press release - just  out this morning - on motivating employees.  Please read on, it may alter some of your assumptions about how to retain top talent and motivate people –through this economic recession and beyond.

The Top 5 Myths About Motivating Employees

Dangerous in a recession, deadly in a recovery

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sal Vittolino
Phone: (610) 359-8773
mailto:salvitt@comcast.net

In a typical workplace, only 29 percent of employees are actively motivated and engaged in their jobs, while 71 percent are unmotivated and disengaged - either not engaged at all (54 percent) or are actively disengaged (17 percent) - according to the Gallup Management Journal’s Employee Engagement Index.

“While there has been a slight uptick in employee motivation in recent surveys, this may be only temporary because it’s based on survival. As the pendulum swings back, employers should watch out - because employees will look at their jobs and their companies differently,” said Bates.

The Top 5 myths about motivating employees, according to Bates and “Motivate Like a CEO,“ are:

Myth #1: Money is the number one way to motivate employees. “Salaries and bonuses have been the staple of motivation. Most companies relied primarily, even completely, on monetary rewards,” said Bates. “Money is only one of many factors in motivation. Yet companies have become lazy about motivating people instead of giving them what they really crave, which is recognition, praise, and the opportunity to learn.”

Myth #2: If you want to motivate people, don’t let them in on the bad news. “This is a particularly damaging myth. Bad news always gets out to employees. They hate it when you hide bad news; they consider themselves partners in the company, and they long for a chance to contribute and make a difference, especially in tough times,” said Bates. “The surest way to motivate people is to empower them even with terrible news, so they can come to terms with reality, think their way through the crisis, and contribute to creative solutions going forward,” said Bates.


Myth #3: Most employees know what motivates them. “Many people are searching for a larger purpose, and they are not finding it in their work,” said Bates. “In challenging times, employers can become a powerful source of motivation and pride among talented people. In a downturn, leaders must talk to employees and help them discover who they are and what motivates them. Spend time with them; ask them why they enjoy the work, what they enjoy most, how they want to contribute, and where they see themselves in the future,” said Bates.

Myth #4: You simply cannot motivate everyone. “This was true in boom times, when organizations were bloated and some people you hired were marginal. Those days are over,” said Bates. “Now that companies have downsized and are arguably leaner and meaner with the best talent, this is a damaging assumption. It is a leader’s responsibility to motivate employees. It’s time to stop blaming employees, and start looking to leaders to ignite the spark,” said Bates.

Myth #5: People are just grateful to have a job, and this attitude will survive the downturn. “Top talent will always have a place to go, and while they may have had less mobility during the recession, your competitors are already looking around to see who is unhappy and ready to leave,” said Bates. “Employers who keep believing their people are just grateful to have a job will be blindsided when their top talent walks out the door because they don’t have leaders who are engaging them, praising them, recognizing them, and giving them opportunities to grow.”

If you are member of the media and would like to schedule an interview or set up a time to speak with Suzanne, please contact: Sal Vitollino - salvitt@comcast.net

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The turnaround is coming.  You may already feel it.  The phone is starting to ring. Customers are coming out of their caves.  They’re talking about new projects and purchases they’ve been putting off, things that they just don’t want to delay any more.  Yes, budgets are tight, but you sense things beginning to happen.  It’s in the air.  And, you may think you’re more than ready– it’s been a long, cold winter.  But is your organization ready for the upturn?  Are your leaders ready to lead in this new world?   

Let me give you an example of where some companies may get tripped up.  Let’s say you’ve completed anticipated layoffs but the restructuring is midstream; there is still a lot of confusion within businesses or groups, as people try to figure out roles, responsibilities and priorities.  Leaders who are new in their roles are just locking in on strategic objectives and have not yet communicated those to their teams.  

A round of musical chairs at the top – with new people in key positions, creates a tremendous amount of uncertainty.  If they were promoted from the ranks to take their boss’s place, they may have the raw talent, but lack the preparation and training.  Sure you can watch them sink or swim, but you need everybody swimming right now.  They have to be effective immediately.  This means learning to think and act strategically, and also being able to effectively communicate a plan and get people moving in one direction.

A leader’s role is really not to do the work, but to motivate and inspire others to do the work of the enterprise.  And these workers have been through the ringer over the past 12 to 17 months.   Many employees are still stressed out.  Their spouses may still be unemployed, they’ve taken pay cuts, their former colleagues and friends may still be out of work, and they may not be certain the other shoe isn’t about to drop. 

This means your leaders must manage the emotional side of their organizations, create a positive, productive atmosphere.  They need to listen well and develop a strong feedback loop so they know what’s really going on deep in their organizations, where the creativity lives.  They need to be able to cull the best ideas and energize their teams to innovate and find solutions.  This requires a level of communication skill that many leaders have not yet developed.  They’re excellent technically and have good business minds, but now they need to communicate as leaders.

In addition, there’s the issue of attracting and retaining the best talent.  If your company grew leaner over the last six months, that’s probably a good thing; however, if you had cut with an ax instead of a scalpel, you’ve had some brain drain.  This may leaves gaping holes that you need to fill – talent you need to hire.  That’s exciting.  But also daunting. 

One secret to attracting new talent is to have leaders in place who are known for their ability to develop people.  Talented young people want to go to work for leaders they admire and respect.  Knowledge workers and high potentials are looking for a boss who appreciates them, engages them and understands their value.  So getting ready for the upturn is something your organization needs to take seriously.  In the new world, leaders have to be very good at connecting top talent to the organization and creating a strong culture.  

We’re not there yet.  We’re poised for the return of the buyer.  The Business Roundtable First Quarter 2009 CEO Economic Outlook Survey found CEOs actually expect a decrease in sales, capital expenditures and employment.  However, it’s coming soon.  Harold McGraw Hill III, Chairman of the group, as well as Chairman, President and CEO Of the McGraw-Hill Companies, said, “Fortunately, both U.S. and foreign governments have recognized this need (for economic stimulus) and taken significant steps to spark demand. And while recently implemented Administration policies will take time to have an impact, they already have begun to restore confidence in our markets, which is a critical first step.”

Six months is no time…in business … everybody knows you need to be ahead of the curve.  That means preparing your leaders to lead.  There is nothing more valuable than the ramp up time you have right now to develop their talents and skills.  When business returns, the companies that invested in their leaders will be the ones poised to seize the day.    

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Are the people who have kept their jobs after a layoff more stressed out than those who were shown the door?  Eben Harrell reported recently in Time Magazine’s online version Time.com that at a conference at the University of Cambridge researchers reported yes-they are.  Compared with people who are straight-up laid off, “those who keep their job but are under a constant threat of losing it suffer a greater decline in mental well-being.”

When you think about it, it makes sense.  If you lose your job, as stressful as it is, you have the opportunity to go through a grieving process, to start anew, and perhaps even find a better, more suitable opportunity.  As stressful as it is financially and emotionally to lose a job, you can focus on health, exercise, family, relationships and self care.   

Not that losing your job is a cakewalk, either, says Carl Schneider, a Cambridge-based career counselor and psychotherapist.  Today’s Boston.com quotes Schneider saying, “It helps people if they can remember that being laid off brings irritability and sleep problems,” he says. Expect to feel hurt, angry, rejected, even depressed. Remind your partner or your roommates you’re not going to be at your best. Cut yourself some slack.

But back to the research on those who remain on the job.  Brendan Burchell, a Cambridge sociologist, suggest that employed people who feel insecure in their job display similar levels of anxiety and depression as those who are unemployed. What’s fascinating is that a newly jobless person’s mental health may “bottom out” after about six months, and then even begin to improve.  However, the mental state of those who still have jobs, but are perpetually worried about losing them, “just continues to deteriorate, getting worse and worse,” Burchell says.

Furthermore, while workers may still be in a ’shock’ period,” after they endure the ongoing threat of being fired — they may begin to suffer severe symptoms of anxiety and depression, such as insomnia, substance abuse and lethargy.  All of this stems from the frustration of not being able to plan for their future or feel in control of their life.

How can leaders communicate with a stressed out workforce?  

• First, accept the issue of stress is real.  This doesn’t mean you need to coddle people - in fact quite the opposite.  You reduce stress by telling them what’s happening
• Communicate this “straight up” information on a regular basis, not just in a crisis meeting, so that people always know where things stand. 
• Remember, it’s not false comfort people are seeking, it’s to know what you know, when you know it.  They want the truth about the situation.  And they want to know how they can help.

If this research is correct, then not knowing is the most stressful part of being employed in uncertain times.  Therefore, as a leader you need to bring some measure of certainty about the facts as you know them today, even if you’re not sure what the future holds.  What I know from experience in working with executives is they tend to go behind closed doors, fret, and stew, and even try to “protect” people by keeping a lid on bad news and imminent risks. 

If employees know more, they can contribute more.  They will arguably be more productive, because they aren’t spending all their time worrying about things that may or may not happen.  Don’t sugar coat the news, but be optimistic about what they can do- in other words, tell them which parts they can control.  No leader has a crystall ball, but you do have a current picture of the business today.  Why not open up and share what is relevant with your employees?

When I started writing Motivate Like a CEO, times were better, and yet even then, our survey found that leaders could do a far better job keeping people in the loop.  Here’s a sample of what they said:

“I need my company’s leadership to communicate to me and my colleagues to provide a context for our work and a purpose for our everyday contributions”

“I feel like I need that high-level, overarching vision to motivate me t6o do my best work and to focus my work toward what helps the company bottom line.”

“Employees are not mind readers.  It’s important that they stay connected to a vision larger than their own to succeed personally and help their company succeed.”

“If employees understand why they are doing certain things and what the ultimate goal is, they will be more enthusiastic and take ownership.”

Employees long to be part of a greater purpose and want their leaders to communicate with them and tell them how they can do so.  What greater purpose exists right now for them than to marshall all of their creativity and energy to helping their own companies survive and thrive?   

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As the owner of a small business, you have no doubt heard that Congress isn’t going to bail you out.  It’s up to you.  The massive $787 billion stimulus package contains virtually nothing for small businesses, even though they employ about half of all American workers.  Yes, it’s unfair.  Have a good cry and get over it.  Howard Anderson, profession of entrepreneurship at MIT’s Sloan School of management told the Boston Herald, “The small businessman who looks to rely on the government for help is the one who isn’t going to make it out of the recession.”

Aside from the obvious remedies: cut expenses, delay paying bills, ramp up collections, market in low-cost ways, alter your business model — what else can you do?  How about keep your employees motivated?   You can’t rescue your business all by yourself.  You need people in your company to be creative, focused and resourceful. 

Is there such a thing as an incentive that doesn’t cost you money?  Forget about those big Wall Street bonuses.  There are plenty of ways.  Begin by recognizing that money is only one of many factors in employee motivation.  When people enjoy the job, like their co-workers and believe their pay is basically fair, they don’t focus on money.  A Gallup Poll of 540 adults employed full or part time in 2006 found the top three things that made people happy were “doing what suits me best/is fulfilling,” “interacting with the public/helping people,” and “freedom/flexibility to do my job my own way.”  

Here are some low cost/no cost ways to keep people motivated in challenging times:  

• Send out an email thanking people each week:  I like to take a few minutes each Friday to email our team, highlighting something each person has achieved that week.  If you have a small company, you actually mention everybody.  This is an empowering exercise, not only because you make other people feel good, but also because it forces YOU to look at what’s going right!  It will take you away from the worries and restore your faith, too. If you have a larger company, pick out a few people to highlight each week.  You won’t believe the affirming response you get from these communications - I guarantee it will start an electronic chain of congratulations all around.   
• Have a Lollapalooza Day where you connect with customers:  Last year, our firm started setting aside one day per quarter to get in touch with our clients and prospects and find out how they are doing.  We ask them questions about their projects, thank them for the opportunity to work with them, and when appropriate, offer in some small way to provide assistance or advice at no charge.  We write handwritten notes, call, and send emails, often with attachments to articles we think they would like to read.  The result is we often get back heartfelt responses with updates about things that have happened since we last saw them. This is not just good marketing; it’s a tremendous boost for employee morale.  When your employee gets back a note from a customer telling them what a difference they made, they not only treasure it, they share it with others.    
• Use downtime to send employees to seminars where they can learn something new: There are many very low-cost or no-cost professional development opportunities out there.  For example, there’s tremendous value many programs that happen to be marketing events for other companies, and typically they are free of charge.  Many of the area business meetings are low cost and high value, as well.  Think about it — when you’re busy, you often can’t spare your employees for a half day or full day, but by giving someone an afternoon each month, they’ll get a break while improving their skills and knowledge.   Learning is cited as a major incentive by younger generations of employees, although I’ve found good employees of every generation like to learn.  
• Offer employees new projects beyond the scope of the job description:  Another way to provide employees the opportunity to learn and contribute is to empower them to do something important that may not be in their job description.  What needs to be done right now?  My executive assistant just did an amazing job editing two of our new products, booklets called “Jumpstart Sales with Powerful Presentations” and “The Power of Adversity, Communicating with Customers in Challenging Times.”  These are by the way available on our web site in the online store.
• Make it fun to care of office “chores”: We started”office clean up days” a couple of times a year.  They cost nothing but a cheap lunch.  You’re required to come to work in blue jeans.  You get assigned a task in a public area of our office and you get a bottle of Windex, Pledge and a rag.  Everybody organizes files, magazines, equipment, and supplies.  After sandwiches and a good laugh at lunch, we adjourn to our offices to bring order to the chaos there. You wouldn’t believe what a great feeling everyone has when they walk out the door that night, knowing they’ll be coming back to a clean, organized, more inviting office the next day.
• Hold morning “Standup Meetings”: We instituted these 15-minute sessions at the beginning of this year and the result was amazing - now, each morning, before we head to our own office or cubicle, we stand in a circle and share what’s happening.  Without really planning it, this evolved into a positive conversation about what’s ahead for the day.  Even when we face challenges or disappointments, people are there to boost each other and offer help.  It’s an empowering way to start the day.  Try it. You’ll find that instead of watching people head to their offices where they’ll feel isolated or overwhelmed, they’ll share, get energized, and feel more prepared to tackle the tough stuff.
• Bring people together to share business success stories:  In my new book, Motivate Like a CEO, I talk about how important storytelling is to boosting employee morale.  When you uncover stories about your successes and communicate them to the team, they get excited.  Get the group together.  If you’re a small company you can invite everyone.  The pre-meeting assignment — come in with a story about a successful project or customer interaction.  Explore what you learned how it can be applied to your present situation.   And then write down these stories and use them again in the company newsletter, employee presentations, and those Friday emails. 
• Small gifts make a high impact:  When someone does an outstanding job and goes far above expectations to deliver, it is especially motivating to recognize them in a special way, even during lean times.  Do something meaningful for that individual.  Give them an extra day off; let them bring their dog to work one day; give them a small gift certificate to a local restaurant, beauty salon or hardware store they like; take into consideration their hobbies, interests, and family.  The more personal the gift the more appreciated it is– especially in tough times when they understand that money is tight.
• Consider a 4-day work week for the spring or summer:  This isn’t just good for your bottom line; it could improve morale and mental health.  If it makes sense for your company, you can avoid a big layoff and keep your valuable team intact.  Offer across the board pay cuts but give people a four day work week.  Of course there is financial hardship but you avoid the stress of deciding which employees have to go, as well as the inevitable survivor guilt felt by those who keep their jobs.  People may use that time for personal pursuits, to spend time with their kids or elderly parents, exercise more regularly, or something for themselves.  While there are hardships involved in pay cuts, you may find that for a period of time, people will actually appreciate the time off.
• Use the company newsletter to highlight successes: Again, this sounds like a no-brainer but if you have a newsletter, make it something people enjoy reading!  Tell them about all the cool and useful things they are doing.  Ask employees to contribute stories.  Don’t fill it with stuff nobody wants to read.  Be creative in looking for fun ways to reward and recognize good work.
• Create employee awards and hand them out often:  Many large companies have employees of the month, why can’t you?  Better yet, how about an award for Idea of the Month, or another award that reflects your goals and values. Purchase a few trophies and give them out monthly. These are always best when they encourage employees to do the things that are going to make a difference in your business.  Big companies do this and so can you. 
• Walk around often, and tell people they’re doing a great job.  Sounds simple, but in times like these, we tend to hunker down in our offices and stare at balance sheets.  Our energy is low and our anxiety is high.  When you feel stressed, your instinct is to dump it on whoever walks in the door.  Don’t!  Instead, make it a point to stop people in the halls, go to their offices, and thank them or congratulate them every day.  Tell them how much their work means to you, and how vital they are to the future of the company.  Let them know that you believe in them.  Leading is not shifting your worry list onto others.  Come up with a positive message and focus on their contributions. 

I’m looking for more ideas from you!  Send me your creative ideas on no cost and low cost ways to motivate employees!  Respond to this blog, or, send me an email at info@bates-communications.com

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So Congress has passed a $789 billion stimulus package to confront the worst recession in decades.   We all hope that it will at least nudge the economy back to life.  However, reports are its going to provide less near-term support for the economy and make it less likely that the economy will pull itself out of recession before late this year.  The White House and Democrats in Congress have made it clear that we won’t see a quick turnaround.  

In the meantime, we have to take action to help ourselves.  We need to create our own business stimulus packages.   We can’t print new money like the government and we can’t issue bonds.  We may or may not be able to tap a line of credit. 

So what do we do?  We use brain power.  We create our own stimulus package.  The line items will include innovation, creativity, ingenuity and good old fashioned hard work.   I know, we’re all working harder than ever, and some of us with fewer resources.  But what choice do we have?  We have to stimulate our businesses right now, to survive and position ourselves for quick recovery.  

I’ve been talking with a lot of business leaders and paying attention to what they’re doing.  Some are actually in growth mode.  Some have had the rug pulled out from under them.  But one thing I’ve noticed about those who are plowing ahead - they’re getting up every morning, coming to work, and taking action. 

Here are 7 steps you can take right now to create and implement your own business stimulus package:

1.  Reach out - Get on the phone with your customers and find out what problems you can solve for them.  Even if they don’t have a budget right now, you can become a trusted advisor and consultant.  If you hit on a problem that is challenging enough to solve, they may even “find” money for the project.

2.  Tap collective wisdom- Get your team together to come up with some new offerings that are more targeted to your customers needs right now.  If you get everybody together in the same room you’re going to be able to tap into their collective wisdom and find creative approaches

3.  Reinvent - Based on what you’ve learned from your customers/clients and your own team, create a high value solution to a common problem and put it out there to your customers and prospects.  Find out what they would be willing to pay for this; it may be a lot it may be a little but if it is on the mark they will buy it and this will increase immediate cash flow.

4.  Approach a crisis with massive action - You may be feeling especially jittery or vulnerable if your business has been hit more severely than others, and when you feel that way it can paralyze you.  Get a good night’s sleep, take care of yourself, and come to work every day energized and refreshed.  Take action in the first few hours of the day that can move your business forward.   Give each activity some time to “take” and keep going.  

5.  Take advantage of down time - If the calendar is emptier than usual, use every minute of the time you have right now to enhance your brand in low cost ways.  This is the time to raise your visibility and profile in your market place.  This is the time to build relationships with customers.  It’s also time to do favors for friends and colleagues who are influential and can help you develop business.  Schedule time with them, and help them with their projects.  You can also give presentations, write articles, blog, twitter, and offer help that way.  In your downtime you can really ramp up the marketing - which is important because you need to keep your name out there.  People do business with people and companies they know and trust. 

6.  Think future opportunity- read the paper, read respected business newspapers and journals, and pay attention to trends.  Think about where the opportunities are and how  can you position yourself for these opportunities now.  These are times to break out of your rut.  Look at healthy growing industries, refocus and consider how to adapt or reinvent your product, services and marketing to get into those channels.

7.   Have faith:  Most of us are familiar with the power of positive thinking, and successful people know how effective it is.  Our thoughts become our reality.  Remember that you have to think powerful, positive thoughts, then you need to communicate those to your team and the people around you, in order to have a positive impact on your business or organization.  In my new book, Motivate Like a CEO, I define leadership as connecting people with purpose and passion toward a common goal.  Have faith and believe in the vision, and communicate it to others, every single day.  Start fresh today - lock in on that vision, walk into the next meeting and tell people about it.  Faith will carry us through.

In the spirit of helping you stimulate your business, we are offering significant early bird discounts right now on all of our popular Speak Like a CEO Boot Camps.  Our goal is to help you tell the story of your business and make a powerful impact on your important audiences. These are two-day intensives that have helped hundreds of business executives transform their speaking skills.   I’m not going to spend a lot of time explaining it here, but if you want to learn more contact Meredith O’Connor, moconnor@bates-communications.com .  She’ll give you all the details.

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What do the world’s business leaders need now, in the midst of economic gloom and doom?  At Davos, those attending the World Economic Forum are trying to revive their enthusiasm and passion.  They are heading out in droves to a seminar where they stand on the chairs and sing at the top of their voices.  

The program is delivered by Benjamin Zander, the famous conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, who knows the power of music to lift the mood and reignite passion.   “There is even more need for music in times of trouble,” he said before delivering a speech on an artist’s approach to managing complexity.

Purpose and passion are vital to building and sustaining a business.  It is virtually impossible to succeed without it.  In times like these, we need workforces that are engaged, excited, and passionate about what they are doing. I wrote Motivate Like a CEO , Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act! to provide people with practical, simple steps to discovering their passion and communicating it to others.  

Your passion attracts like-minded people who enjoy throwing themselves into a project - surveys show that employees long to be connected to a powerful purpose — something greater than themselves.  Work is where we discover our talents and passions.  Leaders who are in touch with their own purpose and passion connect others, who can then do great things.  Passion and energy are needed now to ignite the creativity and resourcefulness that will allow us to overcome the business challenges we face.

As a leader, you have to feel the passion - and then learn to communicate it to others in a powerful way.  When you think about it, this is really the highest definition of leadership.  If you believe your organization has lost its passion, I’d like to share an analytical tool from Chapter 7 of the book: Create Momentum and Keep it Going.  This tool is a 5-point Questionnaire that will ignite a conversation among your leadership team, and your larger organization, and help you to rediscover why you do what you do. 

The power of this tool is in part, to help you articulate the story of your organization.  Through storytelling we discover why we do what we do, and why it matters; we also discover how we’ve overcome obstacles in the past; and what makes us truly successful.  Once you find these stories you use them to help others connect with mission and purpose.   The tool also helps asks you to examine what’s caused you to lose a connection to purpose.  These are essential  questions right now, while we are rebuilding our organizations, and our economy.

If you would like a complimentary copy of the Story of Your Organization Questionnaire, which is from my new book, Motivate Like a CEO, please contact Shellie Dunlap: sdunlap@bates-communications.com

Click here to listen to a brief interview with Benjamin Zander by Evan Davis of the BBC.  When you get to the page, scroll down to number 0824.

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Reuters reports this morning (Monday January 26, 2009) that the U.S. business climate is the worst in 27 years.  The National Association of Business Economics‘ (NABE) quarterly industry poll found that the economic slump worsened in the fourth quarter and the majority of respondents expected gross domestic product to contract at a faster pace in 2009.

“The NABE’s industry survey depicts the worst business conditions since the survey began in 1982, confirming the U.S. recession deepened in the fourth quarter of 2008,” said spokeswoman Sara Johnson.

I’m not posting this to promote the gloom and doom news.  I’m want to talk about how leaders … how you…must act now - to focus your organizations, survive and position yourself for the future. 

First, remember while times are still challenging this is historical data.  There will be an economic stimulus package out of Washington.  While the details are being hammered out - we can hope it will address both the credit crisis and lending, as well as job creation and infrastructure.

Moreover, what we need right now is for business leaders to step up and lead the way.  We need to hear from America’s top business leaders and get their voices engaged in the public discourse.   Business leaders have a role in restoring public confidence.  We cannot leave it all up to Washington.

In the meantime, what we need to recognize is in our own organizations, there is a “secondary crisis” of confidence.  As we started New Year - looking ahead to the inauguration of President Obama in sight, most of us felt hopeful about a recovery, if not immediately, at least this year. 

But the drumbeat of economic news — and the fact that we still don’t have a stimulus package is now creating a pervasive, sense of malaise in many companies that is going to take over if we don’t manage our own emotions and give people hope.

Pessimism and doubt threaten to undermine the very qualities within your organization that will speed a recovery – productivity and creativity.  This is why now more than ever, business leaders need to get out front, and motivate and inspire their teams.

As a leader, you have no control over the credit crisis or the stimulus package but you can and must manage the motivation of your own team and keep people focused on what matters now.  The biggest mistake many leaders are making at this moment– they are not communicating often enough with their own teams.  You need to open up the channels of communication, even on a daily basis – by email, blog, through meetings let everyone know how they can help – and solicit their ideas.  In crisis mode, executive teams tend to become insulated – instead they need to put more time on their calendars for communication and make sure they are in the loop with employees and customers.

While writing Motivate Like a CEO, what I saw in the interviews and research was clear - a motivated workforce is the key to building a strong culture that will survive the ups and downs of the economy.   

What’s the biggest worry on the minds of your employees?  They’re hearing that 1.9 million jobs were lost in the last four months of last year. The NABE report said job losses are expected to continue in the first half of 2009. 

Even if you are still uncertain about what lies ahead:

• Get out front with a positive message
• Tell people what you know
• Ask for their ideas - get them engaged
• Focus your message on the most important things they can do
• Communicate good news immediately, even if it’s small
• Be honest about where things stand - don’t sugarcoat
• Tell them you believe in them
• Reward and recognize achievements

Today ONLY, I want to let you know that we have a 24-hour complimentary offering of gifts, if you purchase a copy of my new book, Motivate Like a CEO, Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act! 

Purchase the book, copy your confirmation number and send it to moconnor@bates-communications.com and we will send you a full page of links where you can collect dozens of complimentary gifts like audio programs, white papers, tip sheets and other valuable offers from authors and experts like Keith Ferrazzi, (Never Eat Alone); Lois Frankel (Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office); Lynn Robinson (Divine Intuition and Trust your Gut); Sheryl Lindsell Roberts (Business Writing books galore) and many, many more! 

Among those who are also “buzzing” about the book today are Jeffrey Gitomer (Little Red Book of Sales) David Allen (Getting Things Done) and we have endorsements from among others, Ken Blanchard (One Minute Manager).

Remember, copy and paste your confirmation number from amazon, and email it to Meredith O’Connor: moconnor@bates-communications.com

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If you had already completed your budget planning for 2009 around October 1st, you are probably bemoaning the fact that you’ve had to throw out your budget and start over.  When the  stock market started plummeting and economists began their doomsday predictions of a prolonged recession, the orders came down to cut back.  So you know you can’t go into the board of directors or the senior management team with the original presentation on your budget for next year. 

At the same time, you’ve put a lot of thought and careful planning into the budget for next year.  You know the rationale still exists for many of their projects.  In fact, some of these projects seem absolutely critical, given the challenges ahead.   

 The question is how should you adapt your presentation when the financial landscape shifts?  Should you throw it out and start over again?  The answer is yes, and no.  Of course you have to demonstrate that you’ve tightened your belt, eliminated excess, done without, and become more efficient.    However,  your budget should have been clearly linked to important strategic initiatives that lead to revenues and profits.  If it was, make your case.  Do your homework and have the courage to present your projects and advocate for them in the best interests of the company.  Cut back in some areas and then take a stand where it will make a difference.

If you’ve prepared a plan that focuses on the company’s most important objectives, it should be easy to present a clear and compelling case.  You need to tie the investment directly to growth, profitability, productivity, efficiency, competitive advantage, and new opportunity.  If you do this then it should be easy to demonstrate measurable ROI.

 When we help our executive clients prepare presentations, we always start by thinking about the end “user.”  That is, who is listening to your presentation?  What would persuade them?  What are their concerns?  Forget about the beautiful slides, graphs and charts.  Put it all aside and write down the top five questions on the minds of your audience.   Then be sure you have great answers. 

For example, when you walk in the door to make your presentation, they might be thinking:

·         What do you want to do and why?

·         Can we get by without it?

·         How does it help us right now?

·         What’s it going to cost?

·         How can we do it cheaper, better, faster?

If you don’t answer those questions right up front, you will lose them.  Get right to it.

So my advice is, before you blow up your presentation, see what you have that works.  Then, write down the top of mind questions.   Answer them with compelling facts.

FI you don’t do this,  you’re doomed to fail.  If you do, you may walk out with exactly the budget you hoped for, or something close.  As the song goes, you don’t always get what you want.  But if you try sometimes, you get what you need.

For more tips on how to prepare important presentations, click here

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In times like these, this country more than ever needs visionary, courageous CEOs who can keep people focused on the future and give them reason to have faith in their companies.  Yes, it’s been an enormously challenging few weeks, but folks, this is the United States of America.  We survived the Great Depression, fought and liberated countries through two World Wars, and built the greatest economy on the face of the earth.  We just need leaders and all Americans to recognize this for what it is, a crisis of confidence.

One of the reasons I am writing my new book, Motivate Like a CEO (McGraw Hill, January 2009) is because now more than ever, we need leaders to step up and be leaders.  They need to keep people focused on the vision and strategy and and motivate and inspire them to keep moving toward their gaols. 

During this time of economic uncertainty when many people are growing fearful, anxious and depressed, CEOs and leaders need to be a beacon of hope in their companies.  Now is not the time to hide in long meetings with each other.   Leaders need to get out, show their faces, talk to people and reassure investors, the public, even the media.  Leaders need to keep people focused on the future and what they can do right now to keep the economy moving. 

A few CEOs are giving the title a bad name right now, those who caused this crisis should give back their ill-gotten earnings and spend some timein jail if they’ve committed crimes.   

At the same time, we have many great CEOs and leaders in this company who can help lead us out of this mess.  Now is not the time to stop doing business, but to move forward together as one nation, believing in each other and keeping the engines of commerce moving.  This will take courage on the part of every leader.

I was reading an interview with Warren Buffet a few weeks ago on CNBC http://www.cnbc.com/id/27116449 just as the credit crisis began to unfold.  Buffet takes the long view on the market:

“You know, five years from now, ten years from now, we’ll look back on this period and we’ll see that you could have made some extraordinary (stock market) buys. That doesn’t mean it won’t get more extraordinary a week or a month from now. I have no idea what the stock market is going to do next month or six months from now. I do know that the American economy, over a period of time, will do very well, and people who own a piece of it will do well.”

Now is the time when we all must believe in ourselves.  We are a great country, American business is innovative and resilient, and our economy, the strongest in the world.  

Tyler Mathisen of CNBC’s “The Call”  says they are receiving on their late morning program lots of questions about where all the leaders have gone: http://www.cnbc.com/id/27120332/site/14081545

Mathisen says, “When they have tried to speak up and lead, why haven’t they been heard? Maybe it’s because we’re all too rattled to listen. Maybe it’s because no single soul, in business or government, has the clarity of understanding to express fully what we face. Maybe it’s because none of our leaders, in public or private sectors, has the stature, the standing, the voice, the rhetorical power to break through the din.  Maybe it’s because the lawyers or the PR guys have gotten to them and said, “Go on CNBC? Now? Are you nuts?” Or maybe it’s because we’re four weeks from a Presidential election, with a lame duck president and two candidates who, like all candidates, would really rather score political points than speak clearly and sometimes uncomfortably to the people they say they want to lead.

“Whatever the reason, Mathisen says it’s time for America’s leading CEOs — the Fortune 500 guys — to blow past their lawyers and handlers and get their messages to shareholders, customers, employees and the broader public.

“I know they’re worried about Sarbanes Oxley. I know they’re afraid of saying something that could come back to haunt them. And I know that quite a few of them have spoken out, many on our air, and we are grateful to them. Warren Buffett, Wilbur Ross and Mike Jackson of AutoNation come to mind. But more of them need to. Many more.”

CNBC and other networks are trying to get CEOs to step up to the microphone and provide public leadership - but many are indeed avoiding the spotlight.   Companies like Fidelity, Vanguard, T Rowe Price and others  could also help calm fears in the market if they were more visible.

I can understand why CEOs don’t want to be in the hot seat publicly now, but the country needs leaders in every sector, not just financial services, to speak up and reassure the nation.  I hope they are at least meeting with their own employees letting them know we can survive and thrive if we work together.  That is real leadership — and that is what will keep this country from suffering a long, deep, painful recession.  We simply have to reject fear, and start believing in ourselves.

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