Moving On....To Great Managing

To thrive in this world will require of us a new skill...focus. Focus can refer to your ability to sort through many factors and identify those that are most critical - to be able to focus well is to be able to filter well. You must be able to cut through the clutter and zero in on the facts or events that really matter. You must learn to place less value on all you can remember and more on those few things you can never forget." ~ Marcus Buckingham
I'm a person who loves knowledge, learning and discovering new things and to think I must place less value on what I can remember and more on those things I can never forget is both terrifying (what must I never forget?) and refreshing (since my memory is not what it used to be at this point.)
Regardless of our 'arena' of life, we all must manage the information that comes into our lives as well as our own individual success and at some time or another most of us will manage people. I've just finished a great new book, The One Thing You Need to Know...about Great Managing, Great Leading and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham, who is also the author of Now, Discover Your Strengths which I've mentioned many times. The One Thing You Need to Know is what you'll be hearing about for the next few newsletters.
According to Brad Anderson, vice chairman and CEO of Best Buy, Buckingham's grasp of the pivotal difference between great managing and great leadership and how to act on that knowledge has been enormously helpful for the key leaders of Best Buy. I offer you some of these insights in a nutshell:
Select people effectively - know what talents you are looking for
Define your expectations clearly - Only 50% of employees claim they know what is expected of them at work. As elementary as it may sound, consider asking: "What do you think you get paid to do?"
Motivate people by focusing on their strengths and managing around their weaknesses Learn how to steer them toward roles that truly fit them
Recognize excellent and praise it - leverage your employees' talents and turn it into performance. With praise and recognition, show you care! Make your employees believe their success is your primary goal.
Employees need to feel supported, challenged, understood and stretched. Be sure to acknowledge tiny bits of growth. In this way, you will coach them to success by building on small steps they can see and recognize. Never praise hard work, instead tell her she succeeded precisely because she has become so good at deploying her strengths. The more an employee is acknowledged on what they do right, the more self-assured they become and self-assurance drives performance.
Even though talent and skills are important, those who are unrealistic about what is possible are the most successful. In other words if they believe they can do something and you support this belief, chances are they will succeed. Research has shown that realistic self-assessment retarded performance while unrealistic self-assessment stimulated it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that coaching is so successful: a coach is a champion, a cheerleader, a partner and a sounding board. In short, the state of mind you want to create in the employee is one where he has a fully realistic assessment of the difficulty of the challenge ahead of him, and, at the same time, an unrealistically optimistic belief in his ability to overcome it.
When you do encounter failure....is it a lack of skills, knowledge or training or do they need a partner/mentor?
Keep in mind there are several styles of learning:
Analyzing - they understand a task by taking it apart, examining its elements and reconstruction it piece by piece. These people crave information and every piece is important.
Doing - the best way to teach a doer is to throw him in the middle of the a new situation and tell him to wing it. The learning moment is during the performance. Where for the Analyzer, it's prior to the actual performance.
Watching - watchers are sometimes viewed as poor students because breaking things down or practicing won't do much for them. However, Watchers can learn a great deal when they are given a chance to see the total performance. Let these people ride along with one of your most experienced performers.
Great managers discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it. Mediocre managers assume or hope their employees will be motivated by the same things, driven by the same goals, desire the same kind of relationships and learn roughly in the same way.
Managers are the catalyst for speeding up an employee's talent which translates to speeding up the company's goals. Best Buy uses 12 simple questions to measure employee engagement. These include such questions as "Do you know what is expected of you?" and "At work, does someone seem to care about you?" What they discovered is that when they could increase their employee engagement by just 2%, it resulted in an additional $70 million in profitability!
Lastly, one of the '5 great needs' we have as humans (more on this in the next issue) is that we need RESPECT. We have a fear of insignificance. Managers are critically valuable because they have the greatest opportunity to identify, recognize and provide many avenues that will fulfill this need for respect; look for ways to do this.

Moving? Be sure to do your homework

Moving? Be sure to do your homework

More than 43 million Americans will move this year, according to www.ourtownamerica.com, meaning 20 percent of us will be hauling our stuff to another location in the upcoming months.However, according to the site, 50 percent of all those moves will take place from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In just three months, more than 20 million people will relocate across town, across states or even across the country.
With more and more people moving this time of year, it is critical for those who are packing up to know how to protect themselves and their homes from being taken advantage of.Those who plan to use a moving company should be forewarned: While there are many reputable and safe companies in business today that are capable of the job, there are those that are not.The real problem with moving companies, according to the site, began three decades ago. In 1980, the Household Goods Transportation Act was passed. This act gave movers the right to provide customers with “binding estimates.” Prior to this act, there were few national moving companies and little to no competition in the market. Now, companies would compete on the basis of price instead of customer service, making competition much fiercer.Moving companies, therefore, had to lower their prices more and more to stay competitive, yet that cut the margin of profit for these companies. And so, onslaughts of moving scams became more prevalent.Estimates were re-written after a family’s goods were packed.Delivery was withheld if families did not pay large, additional fees.Goods were broken or missing if rates were too low.While many of these scams have decreased with the advent of self-moving trucks and trailers, Web sites like http://www.moverworldwide.com/ still give people who need to use moving companies insight on how to make their moving experience efficient and satisfying. Here are some of their tips:n Check references very carefully. Be especially careful with Internet-based movers. There are obviously reputable firms online, but there are an unusual number of horror stories from customers who hired movers online.n Get referrals from local real estate firms.n Get several estimates -- in writing -- from the companies you've chosen. Do everything you can to check out the moving company in advance.n Do a search online to make sure the company isn't already a known scammer; go to the address of the company and check out their yard and their trucks.n Once a reputable company is found, get the full legal company name, length of time in business, full legal company address and all phone numbers.n Get their Department of Transportation and any other state or federal license numbers.n Most importantly, ask them for references -- and call them.n Find out if the company is insured.n Call the FMCSA's consumer complaints hotline at 1-888-368-7238 to inquire about the company's history.n Make to be given a copy of a booklet called "Your Rights and Responsibilities When You Move." Moving companies are legally obligated to give it.Adding to the list, Joe Boyle, president of Dun Mar Moving Systems, which has a branch in Suffolk, said that consumers need to be aware of moving companies found on Internet sites.“We’ve gotten some black eyes because of what’s going on in the Internet…I think the consumer really needs to be aware of some of the Internet sites that are available for moving,” he said. “In a lot of cases they are truly scams…they’ll let the consumer think they are the mover, ask for a deposit and then you’ll never hear from them again. I think if a consumer is going to use the Internet, they need to be very much aware.”Boyle said that consumers should have in-house estimates that are “relatively precise” and to get two to three estimates before signing a contract with a company.“Moving is a very stressful time,” Boyle said. “The consumer wants to deal with a company that’s providing a service level that’s not just ‘I am going to put in the truck, take it the destination and good luck'… There’s been a lot of dirt thrown at our industry and it’s because of the very few who have discredited our business.”Perhaps because of those scam artists, many sites remind movers that they do not have to rely on moving companies to do their dirty work and risk being scammed at all. In fact, many sites and companies, such as www.upack.com, have packing guidelines and tips on how to pack everything from digital equipment to furniture.“We know this is not always practical either, but it's something to seriously consider. Rent a truck, round up your friends to help pack and load your household goods, and drive away yourself,” the Scam Busters site read.But if all the hard work and heavy lifting is not the road movers want to go, they can try the site’s number one recommendation: Start all over.“Sell everything and start again. This may sound extreme, but dozens of people who've had their household goods held up by a moving company wish now that they had done this.”

Source: http://www.suffolknewsherald.com/articles

Is Moving Painful?

PAIN! It can be everywhere in our lives and sometimes the very things that are supposed to bring us joy, instead bring us pain. For instance, computers…for the most part, they are designed to make our lives more efficient and perhaps even more fun. They certainly can be a great tool…..that is until they mess up, or WE mess up using them. It’s the same way with moving to a new home, or relocating to your new job. It’s supposed to be an “adventure” - perhaps bring a pay raise, or a bigger and nicer home. But what about the process of getting there? Ohhhhh, now some of that can be painful.
Coming back to the computer for a moment. The mere fact that you are reading this very post or any other post on this site is a testament to the grace of God. Why? Because, not more than an hour ago, while doing some routine file cleanup, I deleted every single article on this site. THAT hurt!! Frankly, it’s amazing that I have not done that before now (being the relative technical klutz that I am at times). But what I was able to do was find the backup files on the server and reload all of them…WHEW, they were just backed up yesterday, so nothing was really lost.
So, now what about moving? What if you lost all of your belongings due to faulty or under strength boxes? Or your packing tape failed and the boxes burst open? Or worst yet, the rental truck or the professional mover company you chose was in an accident with a big-rig and caught on fire. Ohh, the PAIN that would cause. It’s not as though you lost your life, but you did just lose your tangible memories and you’ll have to replace everything.
So what is the moral to this story - WELL, keep fresh backups available for your computer and as it pertains to either moving across the country or across your hometown, be sure to first orga ize your move well. Take the time to think through what you need, and choose your packing and shipping products carefully. While there are few if any guarantees in life or in moving your belongings, good preparation will go a long way toward giving you peace of mind.

Preparing Your Car For Shipping

If you've received your car transport estimates and have selected a car transport service there are some preparations you need to take before your car shipping company comes to pick up your car or when you leave it at the car shippping service's terminal.Take these steps ahead of time to minimize potential problems that could arise while your car is being shipped:Unless you are shipping a non-operating car or truck, like an antique automobile, and your car shipping service knows about it, have your car serviced ahead of time so that it will start, stop and roll like it's supposed to.Check your car's fluids, battery charge and air pressure in the tires. Secure or remove any bolted on accessories, like roof racks, extra mirrors, air dams, spoilers, etc. Lower or remove all antennas. If you have an E-Z pass device remove it before shipping. Thoroughly wash the car and clean the interior. If shipping the car overseas, have the undercarriage washed. The destination country may require it. Have any fluid leakage problems corrected. If you car is leaking fluid, make sure the car shipping service knows about it in advance and that the driver is aware of it so your car doesn't get placed above another car in transit and damage it.

By Idan Lavi

How to Plan Your Move

Summer time is the busiest time of the year for movers. In addition, the beginning and end of each month are traditionally busier than mid-month, regardless of the season. If you are planning to move during one of the times, plan well in advance so your mover's schedule will fit yours.
Now it is time to contact the movers on your list. Inform them of your destination and the timing of your move. Ask movers to provide you with a written estimate, and have them explain the services listed in the estimate in detail. Carefully compare each estimate to see which company best suits your needs and budget.
-Packing
Proper packing by a trained packer using specially designed cartons and materials is crucial to a good move. Schedule packing with the mover a day or two before the moving van is loaded. If you are packing yourself, it is never too soon to start. While packing yourself can save money, movers will not usually accept liability for damage to items packed by owners.
Be present when your goods are packed. An inventory of your goods will be made and it is important to resolve any disagreements prior to signing the inventory. Make sure all copies are legible and all items are numbered. Have valuable items listed separately. Some appliances may require servicing prior to the move. Your mover can schedule these services for you.
There are several options for insuring your goods. All household goods shipments move under limited liability. However, you may purchase additional liability coverage from your mover.
-Planning Your Moving Day
Your mover may ask you to select several consecutive days during which your goods can be loaded and a second series of dates during which your goods can be delivered to your new home. A spread of days gives you and your mover the flexibility needed to keep your move on schedule. Remember that summer months are the busiest, and some movers offer lower prices between the months of October and April.

Planning On Relocationg Your Office

PLANNING ON RELOCATING YOUR OFFICE? HUMBOLDT STORAGE AND MOVING PROVIDES THE BLUEPRINT TO AN EASIER MOVE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Steven V. Dubin, PR Works, (781) 878-9533, sdubin@prworkzone.comPLANNING ON RELOCATING YOUR OFFICE? HUMBOLDT STORAGE AND MOVING PROVIDES THE BLUEPRINT TO AN EASIER MOVEDATELINE: SEPTEMBER 22, 2003...A smooth transition from one office to another is essential for profitability, continuity and sanity. Whether you're moving a few blocks, across town, or across the country, you need things to go smooth and efficiently. While moving an entire office can be difficult, Massachusetts based Humboldt Storage and Moving advises on several aspects that can make the move much easier on you, your staff and the movers.1. Keeping Costs Down. Summertime and weekends are the busiest times of year to move. If you try and schedule a mid-week move during the fall, winter or spring, you'll get a better rate.2. Extra Costs. Don't forget that the labor is not the only thing you will pay for. There will be a travel-time charge, which is drive time from the moving company's home office to your original home to your destination and back again to the moving company's home base. You should also budget for packing supplies such as boxes, tape, bubble wrap, pads, etc. Generally, moving supplies can run approximately 10-15% of your labor costs.3. Be Honest. Did the conference room table not come into the office in one piece? Have you remodeled an entrance way and access is smaller? Can you not get access to the elevators? Any details that would impede the emptying of your office need to be told to the movers before they show up so they can make special arrangements if need be. 4. Price overruns. Most moving estimates are non-binding. And the best way to ensure that your moving costs doesn't escalate is to give the movers an honest list of what to expect and how easy or difficult access is.5. Moving Insurance. Your belongings should be insured during the move against any unforeseen circumstances. Check with your insurance policy. If your insurance provider does not cover items while in transit or in someone else's vehicle, or if they only cover against major disasters versus minor damage to individual items, you should definitely purchase moving insurance from your moving company. Without insurance, per Massachusetts State law, moving companies are only liable to cover your goods for 60 cents per pound. As for the amount of coverage you should purchase, most moving companies insure the goods as a whole, and don't insure individual items. Therefore, you should consider the total value of your goods and purchase enough insurance to cover all of the contents of your home.6. Labels. To help organize your move, be sure to label all boxes and equipment as to what room or area they will be going to in the new location. This will speed up the unloading of the truck and save you money in the long run.7. Get a Recommendation and References. Don't be afraid to ask the moving company for a list of references, types of moves they had, and dates of the move. Be sure to speak with previous clients to make sure you're getting what you think you are in a mover.8. Check With Your Local BBB for Complaints Against the Company. Almost every mover will have a few complaints lodged against them. Just be sure that the mover you use has a record with the Better Business Bureau of responding to and resolving those complaints quickly and fairly.9. Verify their license. Call your local state's Department of Transportation or other regulatory body as required by law and make sure that the mover's certificate number is legitimate. Make sure the mover you are considering is duly licensed by your state as well.10. Should You Tip the Movers? Moving is a service industry. While there is not a set amount of gratuity expected by movers as there is by servers in restaurants, for example, if you feel that the job was done efficiently and effectively, you should feel free to tip your movers accordingly.Humboldt Storage and Moving, Greater Boston's largest United Van Lines agent, is a leader in assisting seniors with sensitive down-sizing relocations; coordinating highly technical lab and hospital moves; time-sensitive office relocations; and household relocations that are around the block or around the world. With the company's new 90,000 square foot headquarters and warehouse in Canton, Mass., Humboldt Storage and Moving continues its tradition as one of New England's largest and most dependable storage and moving companies.

Burberry checked over move to China

Burberry checked over move to China
Independent, The (London), Jan 2, 2007 by Antony Stone
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Burberry bosses are to be questioned by a parliamentary committee about plans to axe a UK plant with the loss of 300 jobs.
Campaigners fighting to keep the brand British claim that bosses will be forced to justify sending manufacturing jobs overseas.
Workers at the plant in Treorchy, south Wales, have been told it will shut in March with production transferring to China.
But the announcement last year was immediately condemned, and triggered a high-profile campaign to keep the factory open.
Actor Ioan Gruffudd, who played Hornblower in the television series and who grew up in nearby Aberdare, has thrown his weight behind the campaign.
His intervention is all the more embarrassing for the company as he and the actress Rachel Weisz were recruited as the brand's global faces in 2005. Other high-profile backers have included the Prince of Wales. Leighton Andrews, AM for Rhondda, who has been instrumental in the campaign, said: "We have always believed that the factory is profitable, and this will force Burberry to put figures on the table in public.
"Burberry claims to be a luxury brand with a distinctive British sensibility. Yet here they are seeking to move jobs to China."