Human Resources Management & Leadership Expert Blog - Dr. Mercer

COULD PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS HAVE SAVED LEHMAN & MERRILL LYNCH?

Pre-employment tests plus corporate culture convulsions could have saved Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, according to industrial psychologist Dr. Michael Mercer. 

CORPORATE CULTURES OF CIRCULAR FIRING SQUADS

“The corporate cultures of Lehman and Merrill were like circular firing squads,” observes Dr. Mercer, of Barrington, Illinois.

“Their bizarrely wild risky behavior naturally led to blowing themselves up,” says Dr. Mercer, author of “Hire the Best and Avoid the Rest.”  “It is like someone acting crazy at a rowdy party, and then committing suicide to cap off the night.”

Interestingly, Dr. Mercer had close encounters of the Lehman kind.  He was a member of the board of directors at a publicly-traded company that received unsolicited calls from Lehman.  At board meetings, he heard about pushy “Lehman bankers calling to peddle other companies to us, or trying to sway us to sell our company.”

“Those antics made Lehman seem like obnoxious children throwing frequent tantrums – hoping they eventually might get their way if they harassed us enough,” commented Dr. Mercer. 

 

Corporate culture trickles down from the top brass, just like children copy some of their parents’ behaviors.  “Now,” observes Dr. Mercer, “the whole world sees the horrible result of what trickled down from the top of two huge investment banks.”

PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS HELP AVOID HIRING KAMIKAZES

If corporate culture changed, then pre-employment tests and other hiring methods could have helped Lehman and Merrill Lynch hire ambitious but cooler heads.  “Apparently, Lehman and Merrill hired many sensation seekers who felt thrilled executing a suicidal strategy.”

“Pre-employment tests could have helped Merrill and Lehman avoid hiring kamikazes,” quips Dr. Mercer.

“The pre-employment testing at Lehman and Merrill should have focused on helping hire investment bankers with healthier ambitions,” Dr. Mercer remarked.  “For instance, the pre-employment tests could have helped them hire bankers who were less aggressive, keenly followed rules, and focused on service rather than unquenchable greed.”

Of course, now it is too late to alter the harm and mischief Lehman and Merrill did to themselves, hoards of investors, and the financial markets. 

Nevertheless, Dr. Mercer feels optimistic:  “Some people need to learn the hard way.  Lehman and Merrill gifted millions of people with useful lessons about pushiness, sensation seeking, risky behavior, and immediate gratification.  I’m sure this debacle taught many people to act wiser.”

Tags:  Pre-employment Tests, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, pre-employment testing

John Edwards & Pre-Employment Testing???

Pre-employment tests may have caught John Edwards, former presidential candidate, as a person who may lie or not be fully honest.

 

John Edwards denied “National Enquirer” magazine reports he had an affair and baby with a woman his presidential campaign paid to produce videos.  Recently, John Edwards admitted having an affair with the woman.  He denied being the father of the baby.

 

Companies should not hire job applicants who lie.  Also, the American public and the world should not have a leader who lies.

 

Also, imagine if John Edwards was not caught before the election, was elected president, and then an unfriendly nation found proof of this affair.  As President, he would have been ripe for manipulation by an unfriendly nation that threatened to expose his lies unless he caved in to its demands.

So, I recommend pre-employment testing of all candidates for U.S. President.

A personality-based pre-employment test can catch a job applicant lying on the hiring evaluation. 

Would not it be wonderful to have all Presidential candidates take a personality-based pre-employment test?  Then, everyone would know what each presidential candidate really is like, rather than the slick persona they present to the American electorate.

In fact, John Edwards’ pre-employment test results may have warned the public that what he says he does may not match what he really does.

John Edwards actions and lies probably hurt his spouse.  The American public never will know the pain and suffering this caused Mrs. Edwards.

Pre-employment personality tests could have saved the John Edwards’ family and supporters a lot of grief.  Also, think of all the people who donated to his campaign who now discover he never could have been elected if the truth had been known.

So, using employment tests and assessments also can save the American electorate a lot of time considering a Presidential candidate that should not be viewed as a serious contender.

 

Tags:  John Edwards, Pre-Employment Tests

Leadership Skills Lessons From Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton represents many things to many people. And now she inadvertently offers fantastic lessons in leadership skills. Her crimes – DUI, breaking probation, driving without a license – and follow-up botches offers lessons to leaders on how not to handle key leadership problems.

Here are five lessons Paris Hilton taught all leaders.

Leadership Lesson #1 = LEADERS ADMIT THEIR MISTAKES

Ms. Hilton claimed her 45 day jail sentence “punishment is cruel and unwarranted.” In contrast, a smart leader admits mistakes and accepts the consequences. Employees admire leaders who come right out and admit they did wrong. Honesty in trying circumstances shows the leader is a human being who admits blunders and whose heart is in the right place.”

Leadership Lesson #2 = HIRE THE BEST

Paris claimed other people handled her mail, including legal papers concerning her convictions and punishments. Well, Paris Hilton and every leader needs to hire assistants sharp enough to tell them when monstrously important pieces of mail arrive or read all their mail themselves. I delve into how to hire productive, dependable employees in my third book, “Hire the Best -- & Avoid the Rest™.” At some point, leaders should not blame other people for their major mistakes.

Leadership Lesson #3 = APOLOGIZE – & TRULY MEAN IT

“When a great leader apologizes, everyone feels the leader really means it. In contrast, Paris Hilton seemed more concerned with wiggling out of jail than feeling heart-felt regret for her dangerous and illegal missteps.

Leadership Lesson #4 = ONLY SIGN DOCUMENTS YOU READ & AGREE WITH

Leaders sometimes get so caught up in their big-shot, big-picture activities that they sometimes forget some details require their total attention. Sarbanes-Oxley has brought this truth to the fore. Paris Hilton said she signed some legal papers without fully reading them. Signing important papers without reading and agreeing with the contents is a leadership crime no leader ever should commit.

Leadership Lesson #5 = SHOW UP & SHOW UP ON-TIME

Paris Hilton failed to show up properly in two big instances: She never attended alcohol education sessions required after her DUI conviction, and she arrived late to court. True leaders absolutely must do what they must do on the schedule they need to do it. Absolutely fabulous leaders know failure is not an option. No one appoints a leader – or Paris Hilton – king or queen so they might think they can do whatever they want and are not required to show up and show up on-time for crucial meetings and events.

Fortunately, Paris Hilton’s unfortunate actions give fantastic leadership lessons to leaders everywhere. At this point, it is better to learn from Paris than to be Paris.

March is Optimism Month

March is Optimism Month.  This blog will teach you how to be optimistic and happy.  Being optimistic is the key to HR, leadership and professional success.

5 WAYS TO FEEL SUPER-OPTIMISTIC

Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you often expect bad things to happen? Pessimists are like the fairy tale about Chicken Little. In the fairy tale, Chicken Little kept shouting, “Help, help the sky is falling.” In contrast, optimistic people expect the best.

            Don't worry!  I co- founded OPTIMISM MONTH, which runs from March 1st –31st, 2007. If you are a pessimist, don’t get discouraged. Optimism is not a disposition you are born with or without. It is a learned skill – and a very important ingredient determining your level of happiness.

Optimism is the hidden key to your personal and business success.  Optimists possess a clear vision of an exciting life, confidently work on goals to achieve their vision.  They take self-responsibility.  In contrast, pessimists have no clear vision of a fantastic life, and they love to complain, blame, and moan.

How can you become more optimistic? 

I will divulge five little-known “secrets” to help you immediately feel upbeat, confident, and optimistic.

Research:  Why Optimism Is Good for You

Tons of research prove optimists do vastly better than pessimists in their

+  Health

+  Wealth

+ Career success

Health.  A growing body of “psycho-neuro-immunology” medical research links how a person’s emotions affect his or her health.  Some intriguing findings:  Optimistic people are less likely to get sick than pessimistic or depressed people.  This includes illnesses ranging from common colds to cancer.  Optimistic people also get well faster than pessimists.

Wealth.  A fascinating study found that self-made millionaires worry much less than people who earn as much money but have not achieved millionaire status.  What is the connection between being optimistic and making yourself into a millionaire?  Optimists are much more likely than pessimists to make a goal of achieving millionaire status.  They also keep plugging away at being frugal, investing wisely, and working hard to turn financial dreams into reality.  In contrast, pessimists are less likely to set net-worth goals or consistently take actions to become millionaires.

Career Success.  Many companies use my firm’s Abilities & Behavior Forecaster™ pre-employment tests when choosing applicants.  To start, a company has high-achievers take the test.  Also, underachievers may take the test.  Then, we identify how the high-achievers score, so the company can prefer hiring applicants who score like its profitable, productive employees.  Intriguing finding:  One of the Forecaster™ test’s 18 scales is Optimism.  Typically, high-achievers score high on the Optimism test scale, while underachievers score moderate or low on Optimism.  This repeated finding verifies that optimists achieve greater career success than pessimists.

            So, how can you boost your optimism to achieve greater health, wealth, and career success?  Here are five immediately useful techniques.  Each takes only one minute to do, so you can start fast and get results today.

1^st Technique = Straight Posture & Big Steps

Optimistic people use straight posture, walk fast, and take big steps.  Pessimistic people slouch, walk slowly, and use small steps.  Imagine seeing someone walking with his or her head held high, shoulders back, walking fairly fast with big steps.  That person exudes confidence.  In contrast, a person whose head and shoulders slouch and walks with slow, small steps reeks a gloomy mood. 

Why is a straight posture crucial?  Because before you can straighten out your head, you first need to straighten up your body!

2^nd Technique = Cheerful Voice            
A lightning quick way to feel upbeat is to use a cheerful voice.  Think of a time when you felt annoyed.  Then, your phone rang.  You answered it, and the caller was someone you wanted to impress.  I bet you spoke in a cheerful voice so you would impress your caller.  Result:  You immediately felt your mood lift. 

Why is a cheerful voice an incredibly powerful optimism tool?  Psychological research proved that a person emotionally feels the emotion he or she is acting at the moment.  So, if you act cheerful, you feel cheerful.  And a cheerful voice is the fastest way to act optimistic.

3^rd Technique = Use Upbeat Words            
You can use types of words:  (1) upsetting and (2) upbeat.  Pessimists relish using upsetting words, while optimists excel at using upbeat words. 
Examples:

Upsetting Words

Problem
Tired
Depressed

Upbeat Words
Opportunity
Recharging

Bumming

                        

For example, a pessimist says, “I have a problem.”  In contrast, an optimist would say, “I have an opportunity to do better next time!”

4^th Technique = Use Upbeat Attitudes            
I find the chief way to become an optimist simply is to focus on solutions – and not focus on problems. Every time a difficulty pops up, immediately create solutions and put them into action. 

Examples:

Upsetting Attitudes

Focus on problems
Dwelling on weaknesses            
Thinking about financial woes

Upsetting Attitudes
Focus on problems

Dwelling on weaknesses            

Thinking about financial woes

            Why is a solution-focus ultra-important?  Because you can only have one thought in your head at a time.  So, if you focus on solutions, you cannot wallow in problems, complaining, blaming, or moaning.

5^th Technique = Be a Magnificent Role Model                        

Remember a time you were a role model for someone.  As you helped that person, you also helped yourself.  As the proverb goes:  “What goes around, comes around.”  If you are a delightfully optimistic role model for employees, co-workers, family and friends, then you simultaneously make yourself optimistic.

How do you do this?  Make sure people see you (1) using straight posture and big steps, (2) speaking in a cheerful voice, (3) using upbeat words, and (4) focusing on solutions.

Your 5 Ready-To-Use Optimism Tips

            Anyone can become an optimist – including you.  When people use these five techniques, they invariably tell me they feel heavy burdens lift off their shoulders.  They feel positive, upbeat, and confident.  You only need a few minutes to put these tips into action.  They can be your key to enhanced your health, wealth, and career success.

HAPPY OPTIMISM MONTH!

YOU CAN OBTAIN MORE INFORMATION ON OPTIMISM

You can go to http://www.DrMercer.com for information on one of his five books, entitled, “SPONTANEOUS OPTIMISM®:  Proven Strategies for Health, Prosperity & Happiness.” 

You also will find more articles to help you.

EXCELLENT LEADERS ARE EXCELLENT CHEERLEADERS

GREAT LEADERS USE RELATIONSHIP SECRET

Question:  What is a secret shared by fantastic leaders and also great spouses and life partners?

Answer:  Cheerleading! 

That is, people with excellent leadership skills cheerlead after

*  positive events

*  victories

*  a job well done

They also buoy up employees who experience a setback, bad news, or mistake.

KEY LEADERSHIP SKILL RESEARCH

Recent research showed that a person who responds enthusiastically – like a cheerleader – to his or her partner’s good news produces a stronger and healthier relationship than a person who responds compassionately to bad news.  This was found in research by Shelly Gable, Ph.D., UCLA psychology professor, and reported in Journal of Personality & Social Psychology (Vol. 91, No. 5).

This relationship research sheds light on a key leadership skill:  Leaders who ‘bond’ and form strong, productive relationships with employees and colleagues excel at cheerleading.

Gable and fellow researchers videotaped 79 couples talking about positive and negative events.  Then, trained raters coded their partners’ responses for

*  Usefulness:  constructive or destructive

*  Enthusiasm:  energetic or passive

Example:  A person proudly tells their partner that she or he just landed a promotion.  Then, there are four possible responses to accomplishment:

1.  Best response:  Energetic – Constructive = “You really deserve it!  You’ve been working hard for that promotion, and you earned it.”

2.  Wishy-washy response:  Passive – Constructive = only saying, “That’s nice.”

3.  Lousy response:  Energetic – Destructive = “Are you sure you can handle all that responsibility?”

4.  Ultra-lousy response:  Passive – Destructive = changing the subject

The research participants also filled-out a relationship satisfaction questionnaire eight weeks later, focusing on their partners’ response style to positive and negative events.

FINDINGS REVEAL USEFUL LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Super-useful finding:  People with partners who typically give Energetic – Constructive responses to positive events reported the highest level of relationship satisfaction.

Another useful finding:  A partner’s Energetic – Constructive response to positive events does more good for their relationship satisfaction than a partner’s sympathetic response to bad news.

2 TIPS FOR LEADERS TO BECOME CHEERLEADERS

So, how can managers, executives and other leaders use these intriguing research findings?

1^st Tip – for positive events = When your employees or work colleagues do something wonderful, make sure you immediately give an Energetic – Constructive response.  Translation:  Act like a delighted and enthusiastic cheerleader.

2^nd Tip – for negative events = When your co-workers or employees hit roadblocks or make mistakes at work, a fabulous leader immediately

*  acts understanding

*  resists the temptation to push their face in the mud

*  makes sure the employees do not wallow in their problems

For example, if an employee makes a mistake, you can say, “I realize that bothers you.  I know you usually do a great job.  How can you avoid making that mistake again in the future?”  Transform the negative event into a mood-lifting comment and encouragement. 

LEADERS BENEFIT FROM ‘WHAT-GOES-AROUND-COMES-AROUND’

As leaders, you can apply this relationship research in your day-to-day leadership skills.  The results will be a stronger emotional bond with your employees.  Since ‘what-goes-around-comes-around,’ the stronger the bond, the more likely your employees will

*  enthusiastically support your leadership vision

*  see to it that your goals get accomplished

*  achieve high productivity – to earn your delightful cheerleading response again and again

Please visit http://www.DrMercer.com for information of my leadership topics.

7 Gifts to Give Your CEO - Part 2

In this holiday season, people love to receive gifts.  Well, what gifts would your company’s CEO love to receive from you?  Here are seven “gifts” you really need to go all out to give your CEO.

As the saying goes, “What goes around, comes around.”  So, give these gifts and you will earn yourself the right to some magnificent “gifts,” also.

In my last blog i revealed 3 of the 7 gifts to give your CEO.  Here are the remaining gifts.

4th Gift = Ooze Enthusiasm for Your CEO’s Vision for Your Company

A good CEO has a big, exciting vision, or key goal, for the company to achieve.  In my book entitled, “Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change,” I revealed the vision of 11 superb companies.  For example, Intuit’s vision is this:  “Our key goal is to revolutionize the way people
do financial work.”

Your job is to find out your CEO’s vision, and help your CEO achieve your company’s vision.  Your CEO will cherish such a gift from you.

5th Gift = Ooze Key Benefits of Your Corporate Culture

Each company operates successfully or unsuccessfully, within its corporate culture.  He defines it as follows:  “Corporate culture is how every employee knows he or she must act, even when no one is watching.”

I discovered a quick way to uncover a company’s culture:  “Find out what stories every employee hears about the company the first week on-the-job, and re-tells to new employees.”  Hearing the story implicitly tells a new employee how to act on-the-job.  For example, every Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company employee hears a story about how the company’s president’s first job was in a fancy restaurant.  From that job, he discovered a luxury establishment is composed of ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.  He instilled this insight into The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company where he now is president.

In fact, I found every Ritz-Carlton employee carries a card that says, “We Are Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen.” 

So, a gift your CEO want from you is for you to uncover your company’s culture, put it into action in your work, and make sure other employees do the same. 

6th Gift = Make a Fantastic Impression

CEOs are like parents.  Parents feel proud if their children make a good impression.  Likewise, CEOs feel proud when their employees make a good impression.

So, I suggest a gift for your CEO is to make a fantastic impression on everyone who can make-or-break your company.  This includes customers and other employees.

7th Gift = Impress Your Company’s Top Executives

It is ultra-important to impress your boss, your boss’ boss, and anyone who has direct contact to the CEO.

Well, how do you impress your company’s big-shots?  The answer is for you to give the gifts listed above. 

Your Reward = When You Give These 7 Gifts, You Get Gifts

Ifound that by giving your CEO the seven gifts, you put into action the age-old truism of ‘What goes around comes around.’  Giving the seven gifts to your CEO opens doors to opportunities you never dreamed of for your company and, importantly, your career.

Have a Happy Holiday Season!

Dr. Michael Mercer

7 GIFTS TO GIVE YOUR CEO - Part 1

In this holiday season, people love to receive gifts.  Well, what gifts would your company’s CEO love to receive from you?

Here are seven “gifts” you really need to go all out to give your CEO. As the saying goes, “What goes around, comes around.”  So, give these gifts and you will earn yourself the right to some magnificent “gifts,” also.  Today I will tell you the first 3 gifts.  Stay tuned later in the week for the remaining gifts.

1^st Gift = Improve Profits & Productivity

I interviewed 20 CEOs for one of my books.  One question I asked each CEO was “What is the most important thing for you to get your employees to focus on?”

Overwhelmingly, CEOs answered, “The most important thing for me to get employees to focus on is this:  Improving profits and productivity.”  So, I suggest you remember, “Everyone who is part of the profit-generating team in your company is ultra-important, a true VIP.”

2^nd Gift = Hire Employees Who Improve Profits & Productivity

A key way to improve profits and productivity is to hire applicants who turn into productive and profitable employees.

In my seminars on one of my book entitled, “Hire the Best – & Avoid the Rest,” I teach, “The fastest and cheapest way to have productive, dependable employees is to hire people who are productive, dependable human beings!”

That means you gift your CEO by only putting employees on your payroll who improve ‘the 2 P’s.”  I also recommend, “De-employ employees who do not contribute to, or detract from, your company’s bottom line.”

3^rd Gift = Develop & Train Your Employees So They Become More Profitable & Productive

CEOs – including your CEO – craves for you to transform the good employees you hired (see 2^nd Gift, above) into magnificent employees.  The best way to do this is to “test your superstar employees, find out their test scores, and then help your average employees develop talents possessed by your superstars.”

You will learn about the remaining gifts on Friday.

In the meantime please visit http://www.DrMercer.com

Peek Inside The Heads of Successful Leaders

Would you like to know what really goes on inside the heads of astoundingly successful leaders?
 
Here is your chance.  Part of the research for my book "Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change™" involved highly successful executives filling-out my Abilities & Behavior Forecaster™ pre-employment test.
Each of the executives I tested had planned and implemented organizational change resulting in $10-million - $1-billion in profit improvement.  They hail from America’s best-run companies, including IBM, VF Corporation, Intuit, Ritz-Carlton, Outback Steakhouse, Campbell Soup, Excell Global Services, Robert Mondavi Corporation, and more.  In other words, you will discover what the best-of-the-best leaders at top-notch companies really are like.

My research revealed the fact that absolutely fabulous leaders are incredibly optimistic people.  These leaders consistently scored high on the Forecaster™ test’s Optimism scale.

This prompts the question:  What is an optimist? 

In a book and audio-book I co-authored, “Spontaneous Optimism®:  Proven Strategies for Health, Prosperity & Happiness”, my co-author and I defined an optimist as someone who overwhelmingly

Ü  focuses on solutions, not problems
Ü  possesses a compelling vision for an exciting life
Ü  spends most of his or her time working on goals to achieve the vision

Ü  persists
Ü  takes total self-responsibility for personal successes and failures

For example, Leonardo Inghilleri, senior vice president at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, emphatically told me:  "Optimism is absolutely significant.  I’m an optimist in life -- both my professional and personal life.  You have to be positive.  Nothing positive is created through negative thinking. Starting when I was a teenager, I always have had a personal mission statement to help me in my life.  It helps me know where I’m going even when I am challenged."

Or, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

Highly Creative
Results on my Abilities & Behavior Forecaster™ tests show that absolutely fabulous leaders are extremely creative.  On the Forecaster™ tests, the leaders’ scores show a classic pattern for creative people:  Specifically, they typically score both
+ low on the Following Rules scale
+ high on the Creativity Motivation scale

If you think about this, it makes perfect sense.  After all, what is creativity?  It is not always following all the rules, as shown in the leaders’ low score on the Forecaster™ test’s Following Rules scale.

But, that is not enough.  On top of that, these leaders also feel strongly motivated or enthused to do creative work.  This is evidenced in their high score on Creativity Motivation.  When you combine creative thinking with motivation to actually do innovative work, you wind up with the
hallmarks of intensely creative people.  Indeed, absolutely fabulous leaders certainly excel at conjuring up innovative, yet practical, solutions to propel their companies to vastly boost profits.

In fact, a chief reason for high-level success in business and in life is a person’s ability to continually create desirable opportunities.  General Douglas MacArthur summed this up when he pointed out, “There is no security in this life.  There is only opportunity.”

Tremendous Brainpower
Absolutely fabulous leaders usually are very, very smart people.  This was verified in their scores on the Abilities & Behavior Forecaster™ tests.  Specifically, these amazing leaders scored amazingly high on the Forecaster™ test’s Problem-Solving scale.  This scale measures a person’s general level of intelligence or overall brainpower.  The successful leaders also scored high on three other Forecaster™ test scales of mental abilities, namely, Vocabulary, Arithmetic, and Grammar.

What does this mean for you? 
For starters, if you are a bright person, use your brains!  If you have average intelligence, then do everything you can to boost your brainpower.

Take advantage of this old saying, “Use it or lose it.” 
First, read books and articles to expand your mental horizons. 
Second, find absolutely fabulous leaders to be your role models.  Carefully observe how they think through situations. 
Third, get the nutrition and rest you need to use your brain at its peak potential.  Fourth, practice thinking through situations, and discuss your ideas with highly successful people who will help you sharpen your thinking. 
Overall, make sharp thinking into your habit.

What’s in Your Head?
Now, you have the opportunity to examine yourself.  How do you stack up compared to incredibly accomplished leaders?  What precisely is your own level of optimism, creativity, and intelligent thinking?  By peeking into the heads of magnificent leaders, you can use them as your role models when you decide how to improve what is inside your head.

Learn more about pre-employment tests