KEY

Keep Extending Yourself.
Coaching and motivational maxim.
A reminder of the importance of striving to improve yourself and always to be seeking new challenges.

The 80/20 Rule?

We all have heard about the "80/20 Rule"

I wondered where it came from who invented it?

Answer:
the 80/20 Rule
Known by various names, including The Pareto Principle, The Pareto Law, Pareto's Law, The 80/20 Rule, The 80:20 Rule, Pareto Theory, The Principle of Least Effort, The Principle of Imbalance, The 80-20 Principle, The Rule of the Vital Few and other combinations of these expressions.

The Pareto Principle (at a simple level) suggests that where two related data sets or groups exist (typically cause and effect, or input and output):

• "80 percent of output is produced by 20 percent of input."
  or alternatively
• "80 percent of outcomes are from 20 percent of causes"
  or alternatively
• "80 percent of contribution comes from 20 percent of the potential contribution available"
  

There is no definitive Pareto 'quote' as such - the above are my own simplified interpretations of Pareto's 80-20 Rule. The Pareto Principle is a model or theory, and an extremely useful model at that. It has endless applications - in management, social study and demographics, all types of distribution analysis, and business and financial planning and evaluation.

In actual fact the Pareto Principle does not say that the 80:20 ratio applies to every situation, and neither is the model based on a ratio in which the two figures must add to make 100.

And even where a situation does contain a 80:20 correlation other ratios might be more significant, for example:

1. 99:22 (illustrating that even greater concentration than 80:20 and therefore significance at the 'top-end') or
2. 5:50 (ie, just 5% results or benefit coming from 50% of the input or causes or contributors, obviously indicating an enormous amount of ineffectual activity or content).
   

The reasons why 80:20 has become the 'standard' are:

• the 80-20 correlation was the first to be discovered
• 80-20 remains the most striking and commonly occurring ratio
• and since its discovery, the 80:20 ratio has always been used as the name and basic illustration of the Pareto theory.

Here are some examples of Pareto's Law as it applies to various situations. According to the Pareto Principle, it will generally the case (broadly - remember it's a guide not a scientific certainty), that within any given scenario or system or organisation:

• 80 percent of results come from 20 percent of efforts
• 80 percent of activity will require 20 percent of resources
• 80 percent of usage is by 20 percent of users
• 80 percent of the difficulty in achieving something lies in 20 percent of the challenge
• 80 percent of revenue comes from 20 percent of customers
• 80 percent of problems come from 20 percent of causes
• 80 percent of profit comes from 20 percent of the product range
• 80 percent of complaints come from 20 percent of customers
• 80 percent of sales will come from 20 percent of sales people
• 80 percent of corporate pollution comes from 20 percent of corporations
• 80 percent of work absence is due to 20 percent of staff
• 80 percent of road traffic accidents are cause by 20 percent of drivers
• 80 percent of a restaurant's turnover comes from 20 percent of its menu
• 80 percent of your time spent on this website will be spent on 20 percent of this website
  and so on..

Remember for any particular situation the precise ratio can and probably will be different to 80:20, but the principle will apply nevertheless, and in many cases the actual ratio will not be far away from the 80:20 general rule.

Such a principle is extremely useful in planning, analysis, trouble-shooting, problem-solving and decision-making, and change management, especially when broad initial judgements have to be made, and especially when propositions need checking. Many complex business disasters could easily have been averted if the instigators had thought to refer to the Pareto Principle as a 'sanity check' early on. Pareto's Law is a tremendously powerful model, all the more effective because it's so simple and easy.

For example, consider an organisation which persists in directing its activities equally across its entire product range when perhaps 95% of its profits derive from just 10% of the products, and/or perhaps a mere 2% of its profits come from 60% of its product range. Imagine the wasted effort... Instead, by carrying out a quick simple 'Pareto analysis' and discovering these statistics, the decision-makers could see at a glance clearly where to direct their efforts, and probably too could see a whole lot of products that could be discontinued. The same effect can be seen in markets, services, product content, resources, etc; indeed any situation where an 'output:input' or 'effect:cause' relationship exists.

Pareto's Principle is named after the man who first discovered and described the '80:20' phenomenon, Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923), an Italian economist and sociologist. Pareto was born in Paris, and became Professor of Political Economy at Lausanne in 1893. An academic, Pareto was fascinated by social and political statistics and trends, and the mathematical interpretation of socio-economic systems.

An exciting exploration into "Your Personality" and IQ

Last week I started reading "Let's connect!" by Jan Vermeiren.
If you have some questions about your job, relationship, personality, IQ, Passion,... this is the place2Be.
On www.allthetests.com you can check your knowledge in particular disciplines - here you are, anxious about your new relationship - don’t hesitate and test your second half, just in a mood to relax on a lazy sunny afternoon - a perfect fun test collection is waiting for you. Looking for a job but don't know what you exactly want?What about testing your Intelligence Quotient?

Software Team Turnover

Interesting article I read last week: Software Team Turnover: Why Developers Leave (And What You Can Do About It)

Thanks Pieter

WYGIWYD (What You Get Is What You Deserve!)

We all know WYSIWYG but WYGIWYD???

What You Get Is What You Deserve. A maxim for life and personal responsibility: you get out what you put in - you reap what you sow. WYGIWYD is also a great reminder that people are more likely to perform to their fullest potential when they are given fair reward and recognition. Also relevant for project planning and all matters of investing in people, development, plant and equipment, etc: if you want good results then invest properly and act with integrity. WYGIWYD also emphasises the importance of communicating fully and properly with people whom you expect to produce results of any sort: internal and external staff and suppliers, designers, programmers, writers, etc.

Successful selling goes beyond 'sales training'

Selling and sales training ideas, courses, programmes, products, etc., are just part of the picture.

Modern selling requires understanding and capabilities that extend way beyond traditional 'sales training' skills.
Modern selling is about life, people, business (and increasingly ethical business and corporate responsibility), communications, behaviour, personality and psychology, self-awareness, attitude and belief.
Selling is about understanding how people and systems work, and enabling good outcomes. (By 'systems' I mean organisations and processes and relationships, not just systems in the sense of tools and IT.)
Sales training of course addresses some of these issues, but not all of them.
So consider and learn about other aspects of modern business, management, and self-development that interest you, and extend this principle to your people if you are a sales manager or coach.
Develop your experience and understanding of organisations, management and business - beyond sales training alone - and you will greatly increase your value and effectiveness to employers and clients, and to the organisational and business world generally.
The more you understand about how people think, how organisations work and how they are managed, the more effective you will be.
Look beyond sales training and selling, and strive to become an enabler and a facilitator of good outcomes.
This is the role of the modern sales-person. It's a highly valuable, sought-after and transferable capability.

How to motivate people?

The acronym "PRICE" refers to the "P.R.IC.E. Motivation System," which stands for "Pinpointing, Recording, Involvement, Consequences, and Evaluation."

• You start with PINPOINTED OBJECTIVES that are easily identifiable and measurable. Then, you check to make sure that they are also realistic, meaningful, simple to understand, and perceived as personally worthwhile by everyone involved in their implementation!
• The second step in motivating employees is "RECORD KEEPING." It is essential to establish a score keeping system by which employees and supervisors can tell how fast and how far and in what direction their motivation is taking them!
• INVOLVMENT - Making each team player a part of keeping the scores as high as possible!
• CONSEQUENCES - Making teamwork an everyday working reality!
• EVALUATION - You can consolidate the motivational drive of your work teams and ensure that they will operate at peak performance when you deliver predictable positive consequences!

1990's adapted hierarchy of needs

In the 1990's 3 steps were added to the hierarchy of needs:

6. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.
7. Self-Actualization needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.
8. Transcendence needs - helping others to achieve self actualization.

The first must be fulfilled to get to the second and so on,... some examples

You can't motivate someone to achieve their sales target (level 4) when they're having problems with their marriage (level 3).

You can't expect someone to work as a team member (level 3) when they're having their house re-possessed (level 2).

Check the Patéo Consulting website for a good visual

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

Each of us is motivated by needs. Our most basic needs are inborn, having evolved over tens of thousands of years. Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs helps to explain how these needs motivate us all.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself.
Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied are we concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal development.
Conversely, if the things that satisfy our lower order needs are swept away, we are no longer concerned about the maintenance of our higher order needs.
Maslow's original Hierarchy of Needs model was developed between 1943-1954, and first widely published in Motivation and Personality in 1954. At this time the Hierarchy of Needs model comprised five needs. This original version remains for most people the definitive Hierarchy of Needs.

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.
2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.
3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.
4. Esteem needs - self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.
5. Self-Actualization needs - realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

Are performance appraisals truly beneficial?

Think about everything that performance appraisals can achieve and contribute to when they are properly managed, for example:

• performance measurement - transparent, short, medium and long term
• clarifying, defining, redefining priorities and objectives
• motivation through agreeing helpful aims and targets
• motivation though achievement and feedback
• training needs and learning desires - assessment and agreement
• identification of personal strengths and direction - including unused hidden strengths
• career and succession planning - personal and organisational
• team roles clarification and team building
• appraisee and manager mutual awareness, understanding and relationship
• resolving confusions and misunderstandings
• counselling and feedback
• manager development - all good managers should be able to conduct appraisals well - it's a fundamental process
• the list goes on..

performance appraisals, performance evaluation and assessment of job skills, personality and behaviour

Last week we had our assignment review. What about it? Is it usefull?
What can we learn from it?

Performance appraisals are essential for the effective management and evaluation of staff. Appraisals help develop individuals, improve organizational performance, and feed into business planning. Formal performance appraisals are generally conducted annually for all staff in the organization.
Each staff member is appraised by their manager. Annual performance appraisals enable management and monitoring of standards, agreeing expectations and objectives, and delegation of responsibilities and tasks. Staff performance appraisals also establish individual training needs and enable organizational training needs analysis and planning. Performance appraisals data feeds into organizational annual pay and grading reviews, and coincides with the business planning for the next trading year.
Performance appraisals generally review each individual's performance against objectives and standards for the trading year, agreed at the previous appraisal meeting. Performance appraisals are also essential for career and succession planning.
Performance appraisals are important for staff motivation, attitude and behaviour development, communicating organizational aims, and fostering positive relationships between management and staff.
Performance appraisals provide a formal, recorded, regular review of an individual's performance, and a plan for future development. In short, performance and job appraisals are vital for managing the performance of people and organizations.

You don't compete only with products anymore, rather with how well you use your people.

"Why should I train my Soft Skills? I know everything about IT!"

Too often we focus on what employees need to "know" when evaluating and hiring them instead of "who they really are."

I will try to illustrate this with an example.
John was promoted to Technical Project Manager at his consulting company. Some people wondered why John had risen to this level of management. His educational level was lower than others in the firm and his degree wasn't in an area that pertained to consulting. However, one of the strengths that was nowhere on his resume was his ability to be positive in all situations and to naturally motivate people. He was quick to smile and see the positive side of every project. He was generous in praising people and was consistently happy. These were his strengths - his natural attributes. They made up the sum of who John was. These soft skills are just as important as what John knows.

Do You Make Your First Impression Your Best Impression?

No matter who you are or what you do, the way you dress and present yourself has a major impact on your success.

Within the first three seconds of a new encounter, you are evaluated… even if it is just a glance.
People appraise your visual and behavioral appearance from head to toe. They observe your demeanor, mannerisms, and body language and even assess your grooming and accessories – watch, handbag, briefcase. Within only three seconds, you make an indelible impression. You may intrigue some and disenchant others.
This first impression process occurs in every new situation. Within the first few seconds, people pass judgment on you – looking for common surface clues. Once the first impression is made, it is virtually irreversible.

The process works like this:

• If you appear to be of comparable business or social level, you are considered suitable for further interaction.
• If you appear to be of higher business or social status, you are admired and cultivated as a valuable contact.
• If you appear to be of lower business or social standing, you are tolerated but kept at arm's length.
• If you are in an interview situation, you can either appear to match the corporate culture or not, ultimately affecting the outcome.
  

It is human nature to constantly make these appraisals, in business and social environments. You may hardly have said a word, however once this three-second evaluation is over, the content of your speech will not change it. When you make the best possible first impression, you have your audience in the palm of your hand. When you make a poor first impression, you lose your audience’s attention, no matter how hard you scramble to recover it.
You can learn to make a positive and lasting first impression, modify it to suit any situation, and come out a winner. Doing so requires you to assess and identify your personality, physical appearance, lifestyle and goals. Those who do will have the advantage.
Success comes to those with integrity, those that are resourceful, and those that make a fabulous impression!

Global Image Group

Drop your egg meeting instead of reading the complete project plan

At one of our customers we have a weekly "Leg je ei meeting - Drop your egg meeting" .
Just to let the other team-members know what you've been doing and what you're planning to do, where you've problems with and where you found solutions for. It takes only 20 minutes but everyone stays up to date,...

meeting sequence

Put the less important issues at the top of the agenda, not the bottom. If you put them on the bottom you may never get to them. Ensure any urgent issues are placed up the agenda. Non-urgent items place down the agenda - if you are going to miss any you can more easily afford to miss these.
Try to achieve a varied sequence - don't put all the heavy controversial items together - mix it up.

meeting outcomes

Decide what outcome (ie what is the purpose) you seek for each issue, and put this on the agenda alongside the item heading. This is important as people need to know what is expected of them, and each item will be more productive with a clear aim at the outset. Typical outcomes are:

• Information
• Decision
• Discussion
• Planning (eg workshop session)
• Generating ideas
• Getting feedback
• Finding solutions
• Agreeing (targets, budgets, aims, etc)
• Team-building/motivation
• Guest speaker - information, initiatives, etc

planning and running effective meetings for business,...

In my next posts I'll try to reflect on some essential elements to run an effective meeting.
Priorities, Outcomes, Sequence, Timings, Agenda, Date, Time, Venue.

meeting priorities
What is the meeting's purpose? Always have one; otherwise don't have a meeting. Decide the issues for inclusion in the meeting and their relative priority: importance and urgency.
You can avoid the pressure for 'Any Other Business' at the end of the meeting if you circulate a draft agenda in advance of the meeting, and ask for any other items for consideration. ('Any Other Business' often creates a free-for-all session that wastes time, and gives rise to new tricky expectations, which if not managed properly then closes the meeting on a negative note.)

Meetings - basic rules

Very simple,.. but I think a lot of people still don't know!

1. plan - use the agenda as a planning tool
2. circulate agenda in advance
3. run the meeting - keep control, agree outcomes, actions and responsibilities, take notes
4. write and circulate notes
5. follow up agreed actions and responsibilities

Building confidence for motivation

Learning something new and completely different liberates the mind. Facing a challenge, meeting it and mastering it helps build confidence

Saying thanks is hugely motivational

Saying thanks and giving praise are the most commonly overlooked and under-estimated ways of motivating people. And it's so easy. Saying thanks is best said naturally and from the heart, so if your intentions are right you will not go far wrong. When you look someone in the eye and thank them sincerely it means a lot. In front of other people even more so. The key words are the ones which say thanks and well done for doing a great job, especially where the words recognise each person's own special ability, quality, contribution, effort, whatever. People always appreciate sincere thanks, and they appreciate being valued as an individual even more. When you next have the chance to thank your team or an individual team-member, take the time to find out a special thing that each person has done and make a point of mentioning these things. Doing this, the praise tends to carry even greater meaning and motivational effect.