212 Degrees

A colleague of mine sent me a link this morning that took me to a video on a site called Just212 that was very inspirational. The point of the site/video is to use the fact that it only takes an increase of one degree in temperature to create boiling water which creates steam that can power a locomotive. That analogy spills over into how you approach your profession, your home life, your existence. You can order the book 212 The Extra Degree, authored by S.L. Parker, from this site. After viewing the video, I am compelled to order his book to read more about the 212 concept. Has anyone already read this book? If so, what did you think?

Do you have room for one additional degree worth of effort in your performance? How the "degree" looks and feels based on your profession could differ greatly, but there is little doubt in the fact that extra effort pays off. The pay off could be in separating your own performance from your peers in order to progress in your profession, it could mean attaining higher commissions or more bonuses, etc.

All too often people use the fact that they have too much on their plates as a way to justify their performance or lack thereof. I frequently ask those folks if they do not want to further advance their career. I ask this question because undoubtedly any advancement will bring the need for additional responsibility, not less, which means more of a demand of one's time. What people often forget is that as they move up in their profession the game speeds up (football players use this analogy to describe what it is like to go from playing college ball to pro ball).

I think using 212 degrees as a way to communicate the fact that a little extra effort goes a long way is right on target. If watching the very creative video doesn't increase your temperature by one additional degree due to getting fired up you might as well be in a professional coma.
In these days of "recession" and "tough times" it will be the individuals, the businesses, the organizations that take the 212 degrees approach that will not only achieve success but will also create separation from the competition. Define what effort and responsibilities you perform on a daily basis that are the most important to your success, and turn up the temperature!

Let’s say you are an inside sales representative. If you average 25 sales calls each day and average one sale per day and increase your daily calls by five per day you could increase your total number of sales by one additional sale per week. Here at Employment Guide Media this small increase in activity could mean as much as an additional $5,000 or much more in annual income.

This reminds me of an exercise I used to conduct with my team when I was a local manager leading our efforts at the St. Louis Employment Guide. Together we would conduct an income check-up that would in essence be a backwards math exercise that would take our great sales team (they are great!) through the process of understanding what they would need to commit to in order to hit their personal financial goals. We found this to be a great way to create a game plan for each member of the team, because each individual had different levels of expectations and goals related to their personal incomes, like wanting to purchase a new car, or buy their first house, etc. I was impressed with how clear everyone's personal goals were that were tied to their finances. You might find this exercise of great benefit to you personally or to your team. It was always clear through these kinds of exercises that effort created opportunity and increased opportunity led to obtainment of personal goals.

Take your effort to 212 degrees verses 211 degrees and see if it makes a difference in some aspect of your life. Where can you apply this practice and make the biggest difference? At work? At home? Give it a shot. What do any of us have to lose by putting forth a greater effort and being the best that we can possibly be at everything that we do? Let's be difference makers!

I have also added a video that I found on You Tube that also promotes the 212 philosophy.

Booming Work Ethic

As a child of the late 60's, I would be classified as a Gen X'er. I grew up in a household with two brothers and a sister. My father worked full-time and went to school full-time for just about my entire childhood. He would also get up at 4 am every Sunday morning to prepare to teach the adult Sunday school class at our church. My father was a great provider for our family. He was also and still is a great role model. His incredible work ethic served as a great example for all of us in the Littlejohn household. I attribute my father's mentoring as to why I would consider myself to have a Boomer work ethic even though I am, as mentioned before, a Gen X'er.

I guess that is why it is difficult for me to understand the mentality of folks when it comes to cutting out of work early without permission or taking advantage of certain work-related situations. This includes folks that are extended the ability to spend the company's money but yet do not exercise the same fiduciary responsibility as they would with their own pocket book. Individuals who operate in this manner typically think that they are "getting away with something." What they need to understand is that people do notice. People do talk. It will be these same people or co-workers who will culturally expunge these individuals from the organization whether or not their manager, supervisor or leader chooses to do so. From a leadership perspective you have to decide on whether or not it is worth the additional investment in these folks to correct their behavior verses replacing it. This behavior might just be what tips the scale in favor of replacing, although it has been my experience that it is always less expensive for the organization to correct behavior whenever possible.

To me it is the little things, the small extra effort, one more sales call, one last message or banging out one more email to a customer that separates the staff members of very successful companies from those that are marginally successful. Some of our biggest sales have come in the final hours of a day or week prior to a deadline. After all, if our organization has interwoven the principals of having high expectations and a low tolerance for poor performance into our core ideology then shouldn't we always maintain this philosophy? I believe the old saying "hire for attitude and work ethic and train for skills" is still applicable today.

All of this being said, it is still very important for a company to constantly work on building and maintaining morale. So it is wise for leadership in the organization to be mindful of the aforementioned issues and to make decisions that will improve performance verses increasing conflict. It is a delicate balance of effective leadership verses high levels of self-accountability that will eventually provide for a strong work-ethic friendly environment.

You, as a leader in your organization, can influence this behavior through a 360-degree leadership strategy. Or, just like my role model, you can also greatly influence this behavior by being a great example. After all, part of being an effective leader is being an example of what you expect from those that you lead.

Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on your own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon. - Dr. Denis E. Waitley, author of The Psycology of Winning, Being the Best and The Joy of Working.

What are your expectations?

Leaders Reward

One of the fun parts of being in a leadership capacity is the ability to recognize good performance. Most businesses have a reward system in place that offers a bonus, plaque, etc., to reinforce positive behavior or actions. While these are effective and serve a purpose, there is another quality way to reward your employees for good performance. A simple "good job" or "thank you" can go a long way in letting someone know that you recognize his or her efforts and you are aware of the contributions the employee is making to the overall success of the organization. Through recognition and making an effort to catch people doing the right things a leader can reinforce positive actions and build morale while building the level of buy-in into their leadership.

If you want to try something fun, try making an effort to catch everyone in your operation doing something right on the same day. This can be a lot more difficult than one might think. It will take your time and attention, which is really what the act of personal recognition is all about. It is the fact that the leader invested a few minutes of their time to recognize individual performance and contributions. In many cases this simple process can make the difference between job satisfaction or conducting a job search. This action will also build additional equity with key performers on your team who will be willing to step up and offer their assistance when you need it due to unforeseen circumstances.

Make the time to recognize performance. Your folks will greatly appreciate the gesture.

I would like to hear back from you on your experience with this subject. Comment on how this experiment goes. Were you able to successfully complete the task? Did you get any unexpected reactions from those that you lead?

"I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among men the greatest asset I possess. The way to develop the best that is in a man is by appreciation and encouragement." Charles Schwab

"Note how good you feel after you have encouraged someone else. No other argument is necessary to suggest that one should never miss the opportunity to give encouragement." George Matthew Adams