Pre-Employment Testing & Hiring Expert Blog - Dr. Mercer

3 LEADERSHIP LESSONS I LEARNED IN THE FOREST - Part 2

You can learn amazing leadership lessons and skills in a forest – if you pay attention.  I know first-hand, because I have a forest behind my house.  Here are three terrific lessons I learn in the forest – lessons to help you improve your leadership skills.

Last time I revealed the first Leadership Skill called:  LITTLE PINK RIDING HOOD

Here is today's Leadershop Lesson:
IMPERIALIST PIGS TRY TO TAKE OVER EVERYTHING

Every weed, tree and plant in the forest is an imperialist pig.  They try to take over the entire forest!  

I only want beautiful wild flowers and trees I like in my forest.  But every plant and tree produces seeds and tries to take over more and more territory – unless unless I stop them. 

So, I spend many after-work hours in the forest.  I remove plants I do not want – so wild flowers and trees I want can thrive and spread.  

Leadership Lesson =

Every organization lets some bums – unproductive,  irresponsible, lazy employees – sneak onto its payroll.  Bums are corporate weeds:  They see how much they can get away with.  Bums encourage other employees to slack off and lower productivity. 
If left unchecked, that organization will get taken over by ‘weeds.’  Your threefold leadership lesson:

A.  Hire productive, responsible, hard-working people. 

B.  Avoid hiring “weeds,” i.e., unproductive, irresponsible, lazy bums

C.  De-employ bums ASAP

More leadership lessons next time.

 

3 LEADERSHIP LESSONS I LEARNED IN THE FOREST - Part 1

You can learn amazing leadership lessons and skills in a forest – if you pay attention.  I know first-hand, because I have a forest behind my house.  Here are three terrific lessons I learn in the forest – lessons to help you improve your leadership skills. 

Here is today's first Leadership Lesson.

1.  LITTLE PINK RIDING HOOD

I always see deer in the forest.  About 99.9% of deer run away when I walk nearby. 
But, one deer does the opposite.  She walks near me, usually 25-50 feet away.  Sometimes she follows only 5-10 feet behind me.  [Note:  I never feed wild animals, so she does not follow me to get food.]  A few times, this deer walked up to my house, and looked in windows!  

I affectionately call my deer friend Little Pink Riding Hood.  

Once a monstrous, 6=foot tall sandhill crane was walking on a forest trail.  Little Pink Riding Hood walked 5 feet behind that mammoth bird.  Whenever the bird stopped walking, Little Pink stopped.  When the bird resumed walking, Little Pink followed. I consider her my ‘deer friend.’  Sometimes a small deer tags along with Little Pink.   

Little Pink Riding Hood is admirably brave.  Once, six deer stood in the forest, eating leaves.  A coyote walked toward them.  Four of the deer moved away.  But, Little Pink and her small friend calmly walked in a big circle away from the other deer.  

Suddenly, Little Pink and her small friend started running astoundingly fast straight at the coyote!  The coyote ran away. 

 Leadership Lesson =

Most people are chicken or too lazy to take charge of situations.  Thank goodness for brave leaders like Little Pink Riding Hood.  Superb leaders use their brains to plan what needs to be done. and then immediately start to do it.

More Leadership Lessions next time. 

7 TIPS TO MANAGE JERKS - Part 2

In my last blog, we discussed how managers must create productive teamwork.  However, some employees love to argue, criticize, give put-downs, and encourage discord and disruptions.  They have poison tongues, and they aim to poison your work team, department, and company. I though you the first three to managing jerks at work include using pre-employment tests to avoid hiring jerks, plus six other tips.  Briefly, they were:

TIP # 1 = PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS HELP MANAGERS HIRE THE BEST

TIP # 2 = UNCOVER YOUR ORGANIZATION’S CULTURE

TIP # 3 = COMPLAINERS ARE ADULTS THROWING TEMPER TANTRUMS

Here are today's tips:

TIP # 4 = KEY TO CHANGING EMPLOYEES WITH “PERSONALITY PROBLEMS”

Managers and leaders need to remember one principle to transform jerks:  People will not change their personality to get along with others.  But, they will change their behavior or actions.

Your goal as a manager is to focus on changing the jerk’s actions – not on changing the troublemaker’s personality.

TIP # 5 = TEAMBUILDING IN NON-THREATENING WAY

Managers have me conduct Teambuilding Sessions in their departments and companies.  Teambuilding Sessions enable a work team to overcome interpersonal and other problems so the team can vastly increase productivity.

One teambuilding method I use entails sitting the team around a table. Then, each team member gives two comments to each other team member, while everyone else listens.  First, “What I like about working with you is [action.]”  Second, “I could work better with you if you did [action.].”

Notice how I make team members to tell teammates specific actions or behaviors.  I do not allow comments on personality traits.  Reason?  People can continue useful actions and change unproductive actions.  However, they will not change their personality.

For example, one team member may look another team member in the eye, and give these two comments:  “What I like about working with you is you are very organized.  I could work better with you if you talked to me in a soft, calm voice.”

Importantly, the team member remarked on actions, and not on personality traits.  For instance, if the team member commented on personality traits, she could have said, “What I like about working with you is you are neurotically obsessive-compulsive.  I could work better with you if you did not act like a crazed, hysterical maniac.”  No one would react well to being called personality traits, like “neurotically obsessive-compulsive” or “crazed, hysterical maniac.”  However, a person happily can act “organized” and talk “in a soft, calm voice.” 

TIP # 6 = PEER PRESSURE

Joint goal achievement provides a powerful way to get work done while forcing people to collaborate and increase productivity.  Assign a team of employees an important work goal, including measurable result to achieve by a deadline.  Tell them their reward for accomplishing the goal, as well as the dire consequences for failing. 

Peer pressure with a noose dangling over their heads will increase collaboration faster than pleasant counseling or coaching will.  Also, getting a reward for successful goal achievement reinforces harmony and productivity.

TIP # 7 = ‘PUBLIC EXECUTION’ OF A JERK

Here, ‘public execution’ means making a spectacle of firing a jerk.  All the other employees know the jerk likes to criticize, complain, argue, and create discord and distress.  So, a ‘public execution’ shows disruptive, counter-productive behavior is not tolerated. 

If someone does not get with the program of harmony and productivity, at some point a good manager must de-employ the harmful employee.  Doing so sends a loud and clear message about what behavior is not tolerated under your management.

Michael Mercer, Ph.D., is a consultant, speaker, and nationally known pre-employment testing expert.  His five books include “Hire the Best -- & Avoid the Rest” and also “Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change.”  Pre-employment tests he created help many companies hire the best.  You can read more of Dr. Mercer’s articles and get a no cost subscription to his Management Newsletter at

http://www.Pre-EmploymentTests.com or call phone = 847-382-0690.

7 TIPS TO MANAGE JERKS - Part 1

Leaders and managers must create productive teamwork.  However, some employees love to argue, criticize, give put-downs, and encourage discord and disruptions.  They have poison tongues, and they aim to poison your work team, department, and company. I will teach you seven solutions to managing jerks at work include using pre-employment tests to avoid hiring jerks, plus six other tips.  Here are the first three tips:

TIP # 1 = PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS HELP MANAGERS HIRE THE BEST

Pre-employment tests make it easy to hire applicants who have the personality and intelligence to work productively and collaboratively.  In my research on pre-employment tests, I discovered companies staffed with peaceful, productive employees hire applicants who get high test scores on four measures of the pre-employment test:

a.  Teamwork

c.  Friendliness

c.  Optimism

d.  Helping People Motivation

This is not rocket science.  Hire winners, and you get a winning work team.  Hire unfriendly, pessimistic people who love discord and arguing, and you get a jerk breeding ground.

TIP # 2 = UNCOVER YOUR ORGANIZATION’S CULTURE

From research for my fifth book, “Absolutely Fabulous Organizational Change,” I created a definition of organizational culture.

Organizational culture is how every employee knows he or she must act – even when no one is watching.

If a manager or leader has employees who snap at each other’s throats, then that reflects the corporate culture the manager fostered.  So, if you do not like “how every employee knows he or she must act – even when no one is watching,” then you must look in the mirror.  Decide what you need to do to be a better role model, and do it.

TIP # 3 = COMPLAINERS ARE ADULTS THROWING TEMPER TANTRUMS

Insight:  Employees who love to complain, blame and moan are throwing the adult version of a child’s temper tantrum.  They know enough not to cry and scream at work, so they pick on people and bad-mouth the company in a pseudo-intelligent manner.  Beware:  They will throw your work team into disarray if you let them spew their negativity.

Stay tuned for the next tips.  In the meantime please visit http://www.Pre-EmploymentTests.com

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

I found 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 &

http://www.Pre-Employmenttests.com for information on seminars

and pre-employment tests.