When it comes to attitude you have two choices...

Someone came to me the other day and said it is so hard always to be the one with the good attitude.  It is true to be positive amid negativity can be a challenge, but there are really only two choices when it comes to attitude; either you pass your attitude on or you have attitude passed on to you.  So even though it may be a struggle, there is no middle ground, and you must try to influence others.

Content Marketing Institute: B2C companies have difficulty measuring ROI on content marketing efforts

New Content Marketing Research: B2C Challenged with Measurement

"This is the third year we’ve reported on B2C and it’s been interesting to see how their use of content marketing has evolved. One of the key findings this year is that B2C marketers, like their B2B counterparts, are having difficulty measuring how successful their content marketing programs are."

I saw this article from the Content Marketing Institute about measuring ROI on content marketing efforts for B2C organizations. Now we track ROI very closely and have a good understanding of the measurable returns on our content. So it is not a question of being able to track, I think the biggest question is the framework you are using to measure. Successful content marketing will take a longer amount of time and have a much broader impact than traditional advertising tactics. In fact, the best content marketing is not a tactic at all but a part of your offering.  The best content marketing is also a sign that you care about the customer.  You care that they know your product and you care that they are successful.  

Teams and truth

I have written a series of blog posts around the importance of defining the truth, about how it enables freedom for your team, forces leaders to make the right decisions, and keeps people focused, but what do you do once you have defined your truth?  

It should be alive within your teams and to your employees, a constant focus, a vehicle through which people can teach and correct others.  The truth is not for one person to own but the blood that flows through the entire organization.

If someone breaks a truth, any person within the organization should be able to correct the truth breaker.  There should be regular discussions about how things should be done in light of the truth.   Through these steps the truth goes from being words on paper to being actions with meaning.

When do you resolve your employees' challenges?

As a leader do you ask your employees to give you their struggles, their challenges, and obstacles? Do you take the time to remove those challenges for them? I know as a leader the times I found the greatest progress and greatest satisfaction in my job were the times that I was focused on improving the jobs of my employees.  They should be able to bring to you the challenges that they cannot control so you can help alleviate them. This enables your employees to focus on doing their jobs and doing the work you ask them to do. Through this there's so much more that can be accomplished rather than trying to resolve situations that are largely out of their control. Now this is not to say you handle all their challenges for them, because I believe challenges make people stronger but in situations beyond their influence it is good to ease their burden.
Question: Do you ask your employees about their challenges and then recognize the ones beyond their control and help alleviate them?

How do you execute on your vision? Your Brand.

Where Brand and Vision Meet

I have written about the importance of defining your vision around your customer's success and about how Brand is how you execute on that vision.  The critical point is where Brand and Vision meet and that is with your employees and in the truths that you have defined for your business.  You should be able to say to your employees, "Your actions should be worthy of our vision and our truths."  Doing so means everyone is working together towards the same goal and in the same manner and in faith that ultimately you will be successful.  This unity and focus is a powerful driver to move your efforts forward.  

Can star performers hurt overall performance?

You know that guy who's the star performer? Who thinks he's a star performer that's so good he can't be on a team with anyone else? No one else can contribute to what he does. That's the guy you need to part ways with. No one should be allowed to go it alone . Yes, the "star" sole contributor might accept some feedback grudgingly from his boss or some other superior, but never from a colleague, never from someone who's not an expert like he is. I understand, he's an artist, he's got it all figured out, but that is no way to build a team. That is no way to be successful.  In your mind you think, "Maybe I don't need to address it, his work is good and though people know he is playing by his own rules maybe it isn't hurting the team too much."

The fact is if you don't address it other people will think that is the way they can operate. That is not how you obtain long-term success. Do not let people go alone.  I am not proposing doing work by committee, but there isn't a person in the world today who is perfect. There isn't a person who isn't tempted to take shortcuts, who gets tired, and who couldn't use a little help. You do not want a team that is made up of just individual contributors, you want teammates, people who can work together, who know about how they work and know how they produce. A team that will sink into rhythm and flow.

Having people act as individual contributors without anyone else is a bad situation. You're definitely prone to much greater risk. People who act as individual contributors will be focused on their individual accomplishments, so their success can come even at the cost of team failure.

I would strongly encourage anyone in that situation to make sure there is at least one other person that every team member can partner with.  It is not good for someone to go heads down on their work and then show it at the end of the cycle. This is not a good policy.  They don't get a chance to understand whether the progress they are making is good or bad.  It is better for them to be completely open and expose their work entirely to someone else. In that way, you can find the mistakes much earlier and you can get an understanding of what they're doing fits into the larger picture.

Can the team environment increase people's potential?

Have you ever read a great book, a book that really speaks to you, and even though you have gained a certain meaning from it, someone else comes along and adds thoughts that make your understanding even deeper? Maybe you are part of a book club and you get many thoughts that enrich your understanding allowing you to enjoy the book on many different levels.  It is the same for people.

Because each of us is complex and multi-faceted, working as part of a team brings out depth and aspects of our abilities that are not fully realized when working alone.  As part of a team is where the full potential of your abilities and the abilities of others are shown. Your teammates bring things out in you that you have not developed to their fullest potential, abilities you may not have even known you possessed.  You do the same for them.

The beauty of the team is magnified even further when you see the great aspects of others that other people bring out in them.  For instance, a team member you think of as fairly quiet, could open up in interactions with someone else on the team and contribute great ideas.  The interaction with that other person shows a side of that person that you would never know.    How much greater could your efforts be through the understanding of others?

I am convinced that given the chance, each person can improve projects and strategy by offering their thinking and skills beyond what it says on their job title.  The team environment gives individuals a chance to explore what they can offer beyond their job title. They can give more of themselves. By giving more, people do not just improve their work, but also improve their chances for career success.