by Doug Gray | Jul 2, 2013 | change, Coaching, Leadership, Managers, money, Success, talent
Recently a client was struggling with two related issues: 1. How much to pay his employees and subcontractors, and 2. How to manage his accountant who regularly arrived late for scheduled meetings.
I suggested that he should bill the accountant at least $1.00 per minute that he is late.
“Huh?” He asked.
Then I reached into a day timer and showed him the following image. (I tried to find a better image online but was not successful.)
The column headings are Salary year/ Salary week/ Benefits= 40% Total salary/ Total week/ Value per hour/ and Value per minute.
For instance, if your salary per year is $70,000, your Salary per week is $$1,346, your Benefits are $538, your total week is $1,885, your Value per hour is $47.00 and your value per minute is $0.79.
So why wouldn’t you charge the accountant at least $1.00/ minute for being late? His tardiness is 1) expensive and 2) unprofessional. I urged him to charge a retroactive late fee. And I referred him to other accountants.
The second question is more complex. How much should you pay employees and subcontractors? The market response is “as little as possible, according to their value.” That is why we pay minimum wages and low salaries for remedial work.
For most business leaders, we are slow to pay others for remedial work.
The best business leaders, however, ALWAYS delegate low paying tasks to others. And they refuse to do remedial work.
Back to my client. I asked him, “So, what do you think your time is worth?”
He said, “At least $70,000/ year.”
I said, “OK then, why aren’t you excited about the opportunity to pay others $10-24.00 per hour to do work for you?”
And that, of course, led to a deep conversation about self-worth and the need to delegate low paying tasks to others.
So, what is your time worth?
7
by Doug Gray | May 12, 2013 | Business, Coaching, strengths, Success
Imagine a mega-lottery where they winner gains a lifetime of wealth…
All you have to do is rank the following in the correct order.
Question: what are the most important secrets to success in life and work?
____ talent ____ luck ____ambition
Yes, there is a correct answer.
Yes, I know the answer.
DO YOU?
Call me at 704.895.6479 or comment below…
by Doug Gray | May 6, 2013 | book review, Business, change, Personal Development, strengths, Success
You may know that John Maxwell has written several best sellers, including “Developing the Leader Within You” and “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.” At one time he managed two leadership training companies- one in the business world, and one in the christian world. IMHO, no one bridges these worlds better than John Maxwell. He has been called the leadership guru of the century.
He defines “leadership” as influence, nothing more or less.
I have trained teams and individuals using the 5 levels of leadership content: 1. position based upon rights, 2. permission based on relationships, 3. production based on results, 4. people development based upon reproduction, 5. personhood based upon respect
Here are some of his gems:
1. You can’t export what you don’t have. Specifically, you can’t be a “leadership consultancy” unless you have proven expertise leading others.
2. My greatest leadership challenge is not leading others, my greatest leadership challenge is leading my self. Nothing is harder. And nothing is more important.
3. Examples prove concepts. When I use an illustration it “brings the cookies to the lower shelf” so that everyone has access to the cookies. See the point?
4. Leaders are readers. There are so many great ideas that others have explored. We need to sift through those books and blogs and determine what we need, so that we can serve others.
What are some of your favorite gems from John Maxwell, or others?
by Doug Gray | Apr 22, 2013 | change, Employment, money, Personal Development, strengths, Success
Recently I watched a Netflix video on the Dalai Lama…
And he stated that poor people smile more often.
If the reincarnated Buddha, a fountain of wisdom and mystery for hundreds of thousands of people, were to hit me with a hammer, then perhaps I should listen. Is that true? Do poor people smile more often? He certainly made me think…
The Dalai Lama explained that westerners, and wealthy people in particular, do not smile as often.
With higher net worth comes fear of protection. He called it “excessive greed.” Hmmm….
Is that true?
So I did a quick “Thought Experiment.” Just like years ago in graduate school. I imagined two isolated control groups and tested this thesis.
Group 1: A recent gathering of parents and independent school students. Dressed to kill for Prom. At a private backyard. With a photographer. Spectacular flowers and layers of gardens. Private waterfall. Limos waiting outside. Dozens of spectacularly dressed young people. Casually dressed parents. Gnoshing on appetizers, wine, beer, cake pops on a stick. Casual conversations. Smile factor among the higher net worth crowd: 4 out of 10.
Group 2: A recent gathering of college students at an independent coffee shop. Gatherings of 1-3 people. Macbooks and ear buds. Light music. Sunlight cascading through the hexagonal shaped room. Windows retrieved from some ancient church. Plants overflowing from colorful ceramic pots. Ripped jeans and tatoos. Black grunge tee shirts sitting next to red flannel shirts. Occasional outbursts of laughter. Smile factor among the lower net worth crowd: 6 out of town.
These results are inconclusive.
What do you think?
Do poor people smile more often?
Call me with your story and examples… at 704.895.6479
by Doug Gray | Apr 22, 2013 | Business, change, Coaching, Employment, Leadership, Managers, Personal Development, strengths, Success
… maybe.
Consider your antecedents.
“Antecedents” refers to your family or origin, parents, and grandparents. These are “your people.” They left you with strong messages about your probability of success.
If in doubt, read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.
If still in doubt, reflect on the messages passed on by your antecedents.
Here are two examples:
My running partner, George, has parents who met in the second grade, as school children in the midwest. One grandfather took him for ice cream almost every day. The other grandfather took him on weeklong trips every summer. His extended family lived within blocks of one another. They slept at each other’s homes. Some family members disliked each other. But they traveled together and kept their differences to themselves. And in the depression, one patriarch left the banking world to sell life insurance. He made money for over 50 years… In a similar way, George does the same work that he started at age 17 when he joined the Air Force. Executive assessments and coaching and consulting. His antecedents taught him something about independent judgement, business, and long term focus.
My former client, Harry, has family roots from Ontario and Buffalo, NY. Everyone in his family skates backwards. His grandfather was the personnel manager at the largest local business. As such, he hired hundreds of people, including all the sisters at Harry’s grandmother’s side of the family. All of them were employees, workers. They measured success by hours endured at work. During the depression Harrys’ grandfather on his mother’s side was given enough wood to build a cottage on Lake Erie. For generations thereafter, hundreds of his descendants gathered there for summer picnics and volleyball games. Then they returned to work early Monday morning… In contrast, Harry rebelled against that life style. He travelled the world. He became a masterful salesman. Then he started his small business. He became very successful. His passion? Harry refused to life the same life as his antecedents.
So, take a minute to do the following:
1. Make a list of “who” and “what.” Who were you antecedents and what did they teach you?
2. Share that list with 6 people in your Inner Circle. If you do not have 6 people, then you need to invite them. Or hire me.
Success is largely shaped by our antecedents.
For details on how to be more successful, then call me at 704.895.6479
by Doug Gray | Apr 19, 2013 | Business, Coaching, Leadership, Managers, money, Personal Development, Resources, Sales, Success
Since 1997, I have provided an unconditional guarantee on coaching services from Action Learning Associates.
There is no “fine print.”
If you are not happy, then I do not want your money.
With many clients, I offer a coaching for results guarantee. If we agree to work together, and you do the work, then you can pay me at any time. I guarantee high value. To date, after hundreds of clients, 100% of them have paid for their coaching services. Some agreed to pay a lesser amount than we had expected. Some agreed to pay more. Virtually 100% found the coaching to be valuable.
Here is why I provide that guarantee. When I was in high school I had two paper routes. And I worked at a warehouse after school. And I cleaned windows and did lawns in the neighborhood. One neighbor wanted the windows cleaned. I said, “Yes of course.” It took about two days. Imagine sweaty grimy paper towels and windex. Three stories of filthy windows. Midsummer heat. I was tired… but I did my best to do the job. When the neighbor asked how much to pay me, I countered with, “Let me ask you two questions and then we will likely agree on a number.”
The first question was, “Were you delighted with the service I provided and would you hire me or refer me if the need arose again?” She said yes.
The second question was, “What was the value of this service for you?” She said a number that was higher than what I expected. I said thank you.
That was in 1981 or so… and I have used that process ever since.
Recently I learned that Marshall Goldsmith, a premier executive coach, uses a similar model when coaching for results. Here is that model:
Our coaching tracks the proven eight-step process:
- Select the appropriate coach
- Measure baseline performance
- Identify areas for skills development
- Formulate a custom training regimen
- Secure stakeholder buy-in
- Implement the training regimen
- Follow up with stakeholders
- Measure results
I like this model and this list. There are no “fine details.” All about coaching for results.
So, are you ready to work together? Give me a call now.
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