Chris Farmer's Blog

Problem solving for managers

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This is one of the best pieces of advice a manager can learn

Memorize it and quote it to others.

“Do what you can, with what you have, from where you are.”

October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919; pronounced was the 26th President of the United States. He is well remembered for his energetic persona and his leadership.

There will always be some managers who will shy away from taking action because they claim that they don't have:

• Enough time
• Enough money
• The right software
• The right hammer
• Boots big enough
• A penknife small enough

In short, conditions are not yet right, so “we should put it off again”.

The net result is that NO forward steps are taken;
Momentum is lost and replaced with inertia.

The Theodore Roosevelt Formula is the antidote to procrastination

“Do what you can, with what you have, from where you are.”

Let us look closely at the meaning

“Do what you can...”

There is much you cannot do. But there are SOME things that you CAN do.

Focus your mind exclusively on the elements of the job that you can do. And put your mind on that section of the job.

As you pour effort into the area that you CAN do, it will expand. You will find that your accomplishments will make the previously impossible, possible.

With what you have....

We know that the tools at your disposal are not the optimum tools.

But you do have some tools. You do have some resources.

Use the ones you have and you will find that as you make forward progress, more will become available.

Where you are.....

We know that you are not starting from an ideal situation.

Some people have improved circumstances and that things "aren’t fair”.

Start from where you are. There is nowhere else for you to begin.

The important point is that you BEGIN.

Visit the Corporate Coach Group website for more information about our Management Training Courses

Help for managers with poor communication skills

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A common management mistake you should avoid

There is a common mistake made my many managers.

It is a cause of “errors in judgment”.

Managers, since your future is based partially on your “good judgment”, sources of error should be eliminated.

Here is the source of the error.

It is called “cause-correlation” error.

The cause correlation error is defined as:

The error of assuming that one thing causes another, because they occur at the same time, or one habitually follows the other- i.e. they are linked in time (but NOT necessarily, in logic.)

Examples of the cause correlation error include:

1. There is a change of government and the next week London share prices fall 3%

The papers say “New government causes collapse in confidence”.

2. You get a new IT manager and the computer system fails the following day.

You say “The new guy didn't take long to make a bad impression!”

3. You lose your umbrella, and then the rain clouds empty themselves on your head.

You say “the gods are against me!”

The point to bear in mind here is:

Sometimes there is a real cause-effect relationship that exists when two things that “go together”.
And often there is NOT.

Examples of true cause effect pairs:

Lighting is followed by thunder: They are logically linked.

Three bottles of wine is followed by a bad head: they are logically linked.

Going over your overdraught limit, is followed by higher bank charges; they are logically linked.

But sometimes things that go together are NOT logically linked.

1. Poverty and crime:
Poverty and crime are not necessarily linked.
(Poverty does not cause crime, though they often go together).

2. High sales and good profits:
They are not necessarily linked.
(High sales do not guarantee good profits, though they often go together).

3. Hard work and success;
They are not necessarily linked.
(Hard work does not guarantee success, though they often go together).

4 Money and happiness:
They are not necessarily linked.
(Money does not guarantee happiness, though they can be found together).

The goal is:

To check your thinking:
Check that those things that you have classified as "going together" are logically and necessarily linked.

Do not make the mistake of instantly and uncritically assuming that two that occur together, are logically linked, simply because they come in pairs.
In the words of my good friend, “John, the philosopher king”

Think it through!

Visit the Corporate Coach Group website for more information about our Management Training Courses

Mind control - Control your mind

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Fri, 8 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How to control your mind

May I recommend an author to you?

Go onto the web and find James Allen: and his small book “As a man thinketh”.

It is a free e-book because the copywrite has expired.

I have paraphrased some of James Allen’s work below.

Your mind is similar to a garden.

You may look after it and use it to produce food, fruit and flowers.

Or you may neglect it.

But if you neglect it, your mind will still produce: it will produce the equivalent of weeds.

Be like a good gardener, who would cultivate his plot, keeping it free from weeds.

In your mind, plant and cultivate the equivalent of good crops, which are good ideas, thoughts of a bright future and your next big achievement.

Keep your mind off wrong, useless and fear producing thoughts.

By pursuing this process, you may discover that you are master gardener of your own mind and therefore, the director of your life.

You might also discover the laws of thought, and understand with ever-increasing accuracy, how your mind elements operate in the creation of shaping of your character, circumstances, and destiny.

Visit the Corporate Coach Group website for more information about our Management Training Courses

New year resolutions

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Mon, 4 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

New year is the time for resolutions

1. The adoption of a new good habit.
And
2. The elimination of an old bad habit.

If you have been scratching around looking for a resolution to adopt, let me suggest one of each type

• Something that would be good, to initiate
• Something that is bad, to eliminate

New habit to initiate

Whenever you say that:
1. you should,
2. you could,
3. you intend to,
4. or you will do something,

Then, IMMEDIATELY pull out your planner and specify the exact day on which you will do it.

If you do this simple act, you will gain the following advantages.

1. You will not forget the task.

2. You will actually do the things you say you will do.

3. You will impress those who don't follow through.

4. You will get lots more done.

An old habit to eliminate

You may have a bad habit that is “Leaving a trail”.

Many people leave a trail of destruction and mess behind them: so others say things like:

"OH NO! Steve has been here again: look at the mess he has left!”

So,
Eliminate your trail: put things away as you go!

If you do this simple act, then you will gain the following advantages

1. Order will surround you, not chaos.

2. People will be happy you came by, not moan that they have been left with mess.

3. You will know where all your stuff is.

If one of the secretes of an improved life is improved productivity

Then adopting these two habits will help along the way.

1. Write down the exact day you intend to do the things on your list.

2. Eliminate your trail.

Visit the Corporate Coach Group website for more information about our Management Training Courses

Persistence

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Lindsey’s Christmas Puzzle

Over Christmas lunch 2009, we opened Christmas crackers.

Inside one cracker we found a simple “Chinese puzzle”.

It consisted of two metal sections that were entwined.

The question was “how to separate them?”

Everyone tried to solve the puzzle.
Everyone tinkered with the entangled steel pieces.

Everyone failed.

After half an hour of frustrated effort, I concluded that, “If I could not do it - then it cannot be done!"

Eventually, after two hours everyone else gave up too.

Everyone except one person:
Lindsey kept going.

She kept coming back to the problem.

I said to her, “You are wasting your time- it cannot be done”.
Lindsey smiled and said “I bet it can. “

Lindsey battled on (periodically) all day and evening.
Nothing!

She picked it up again the next day, Boxing Day.
Boxing Day evening, at 8 PM Lindsey let out a sudden yell and said "YES! I DID IT"

In triumph, she held up the two separate metal pieces.

I said, indignantly, “NEVER!
“How on earth, did you do that???"

Lindsey took great pride in demonstrating to us all “the method”.

The ONLY method of separating the puzzle.

She had been right:

There is a way to win.

And Lindsey has found it.

This story caused me to ponder the following truths:

1. What seems impossible may actually BE possible.

2. What seems impossible is in reality, EASY, but ONLY IF you first struggle to find “the method”.

3. That without “the method”, even simple things SEEM impossible.

4. That you should not accept defeat too quickly.

5. That intelligent persistence is finally rewarded.

6. That achievement gains the respect of others.

7. That achievement is more to do with action rather than educational qualifications.

8. That Lindsey is fabulous!

Now,

Learning all that from a cheap Christmas cracker, was worth more than the 50 pence I paid.

Visit the Corporate Coach Group website for more information about our Management Training Courses

Leadership training skills

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Leadership skills - How to know what to believe

There are so many conflicting opinions about every issue how can you know what to believe?

• How do you know what is true?
• How do you know what is false?

This question is important because can lose everything you have worked for if you

• Believe something that is false
• Dis believe something that is true

And you can have more of everything you want, if your judgment is sound and you can recognise

• Truth when you see it
• Falsehood when you hear it

Here are the primary ways that people use to determine truth

I will lay them out before you, and for each one I will ask you:
“Is this method a reliable guide to truth?”
Try to answer “yes” or “no”

1. Direct sensory experience

Direct sensory experience is what you see hear and touch, taste and smell

• If you see it with your own eyes
• If you hear it with your own ears

Do you trust the direct evidence of your senses?

If you can see that it is getting better, and other people tell you it is getting worse, which do you believe?

• Your own senses?
• Or the assertions of the others?

“Is your direct sensory experience a reliable guide to truth?”

Try to answer “yes” or “no”

2. Your powers of Reason- logic

There is an infinite number of things that are beyond your direct experience.

Examples:
• You may not have seen Australia first hand; so can you be sure it is really there?

• Nobody has seen an electron (they are too small to be seen). But scientists and engineers know they exist and they know how to make use of them.

How much trust do you have in your powers of reasoning and logic?

“Is this Reason and logic a reliable guide to truth?”
Try to answer “yes” or “no”

3. Majority opinion

Those who do not trust their own logic, often substitute the majority opinion.

"They say that the prices will go up, so we had better buy now."

The majority opinion is very persuasive to many people.

After all, if you say it is better to go LEFT and 99 other people say it is better to go RIGHT, they must be correct, mustn’t they?

How much trust should you have in the power of "the majority opinion" to be a guide to truth?

“Is this majority opinion a reliable guide to truth?”
Try to answer “yes” or “no”

4. Gut feel- instinct

The next method of determining truth is "gut feel".

Do you ever have a clash between what your brain is telling you, and what your "gut instinct" is telling you?

Your brain says “He looks fine to me!" your gut instinct is screaming "Yes, he looks fine, but I do not trust him"

• If there is a clash between a gut feeling and your logic, who wins?
• And if there is a clash between a gut feeling and your logic, who SHOULD win.

“Is your gut feeling a reliable guide to truth?”
Try to answer “yes” or “no”

5. Faith
Faith is the belief in an idea even when there is no logical proof to support it.
• Faith does not require proof in order to believe
• Reason -Logic does require proof in order to believe

So sometimes there is a clash between what your logic is telling you and what your faith is telling you.

How much trust do you have in “faith” as a method of gaining truth?

“Is this Faith a reliable guide to truth?”
Try to answer “yes” or “no”

Your mission should you decide to accept it is:

To go through this list and ponder to what degree you ought to trust each method
1. Direct sense experience
2. Reason –logic
3. Majority opinion
4. Gut feel – instinct
5. Faith
Then adjust your thinking accordingly.

Visit the Corporate coach Group website for more information about our Leadership and Management Training courses

Effective Leadership and Management

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There are many qualities of effective leadership and management.
Here are fifteen of them.
Read them and score yourself out of ten for each.
Add up your score.
If you have scored less than 75 points book yourself on the two day programme.
Fifteen qualities of leadership and management

1. Are you committed to “continuous improvement”?
This presupposes that improvement is always possible.
Also that the nature of business is to improve.
Never to be 100% satisfied.

2. Goal focused
Clear goals unify the team and inspire creative thought.
A diffused goal lacks power.
Laser like goal- focus can cut through obstacles.

3. Self belief and confidence
Self belief is the ability to trust that your mind is capable of solving the problems that face you.
Lack of trust in the ability of your own mind will cause your spirits to leak out and you will feel deflated.

4. Personal initiative
Personal initiative is the power to act without anyone else telling you what to do.
It means not being passive.

5. Creative imagination
The ability to combine and re combine your knowledge into new permutations that look like new ideas.

6. Logical analytical
The ability to analyse and identify the facts, and the cause and effect relationships that exists between events and then come up with logical plans

7. Self control
Is the ability to stop yourself from doing the wrong thing, even when doing it wrong may seem expedient or pleasurable.

8. Enthusiasm
Is the ability to create emotional energy in the pursuit of a goal?

9. Willingness to “Go the extra mile”
Is the willingness to exceed the expectation of others, by doing more than was originally agreed?

10. Financial prudence
This means spending less than you earn and investing the difference in those things that will generate an income
The opposite is: to spend MORE than you earn and then BORROW money to buy things that lose value.

11. Accurate thought and decision making
Accurate thought is the ability to see things as they are (no better, but no worse either) and then, on the basis of the facts, to make a decision.
As opposed to guessing or delaying decisions for fear of making a wrong decision.

12. Concentration of effort
Concentrating on the one or two of the most important things, and making good progress on them.
As opposed to spreading yourself too thinly over too many things, and getting nowhere.

13. Pleasing personality
• Being easy to talk to.
• Being good to be with.
Not arguing for entertainment value.
Not being rude, crass, silly or embarrassing

14. Ability to learn from mistakes (“Teachable”)
Being able to admit errors and learn from them
Not being to arrogant to admit mistakes or too stubborn to refuse to change

15. Co-operative (can work well with others)
Recognising and being able to draw out the talents of others
Cultivating other people’s success.
Not trying to look good by making others look bad.

Add up your score.
If you have scored less than 75 points book yourself on the two day programme.

Visit the Corporate Coach Group website for more information about our Leadership and Management Training courses

How do I give constructive criticism?

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Get the timing right

When you are intending to give

• Corrective feedback or
• Constructive criticism

it is important to get the timing right.

When giving critical feedback to another, what does "Get the timing right" mean?

It means four things

Do it soon

You need to give people accurate feedback on their performance

The feedback can be positive or negative but it should always be

1. accurate
2. factual
3. specific

Do not leave it too long before you say something.

Do it sooner rather than later

Do it soon unless one or more of the following three conditions apply

You, yourself are very angry

If you are highly emotional, and angry you may want to delay your message until you have regained self-control.

If you speak when too angry you will almost certainly mess up.

You will say the wrong thing and make a bad situation worse.
Wait until you have calmed down

You are in public
Try to keep criticism private.

Don’t try to change people in front of their friends: their ego will prevent them from accepting correction in front of friends and colleagues.

You will stand more chance of success if you wait and catch them on their own.
Do it in private.

You do not have all the facts
Do not act in the absence of facts.

Do not act on rumour, or guesswork.

Act only when you are sure you have enough facts to warrant the action.

if you criticise peoples performance based on an inaccurate assessment of the situation, your message will be taken badly.

Your message will taken as an injustice

And there is nothing worse than INJUSTICE.

When giving critical feedback to another: Get the timing right

What does "Get the timing right" mean?
It means four things

1) Do it soon
2) Do it only when you are in control of your tongue
3) Do it in private.
4) Act only when you are sure you have enough facts to warrant the action.

Visit the Corporate Coach Group website for more information about our Leadership and Management Training courses

How to manage yourself during the recession

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Thu, 3 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What should you do when it is difficult?

Each year has four seasons:
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter
It is in the winter that we have most trouble.

Each work project has the same four seasons. Spring, summer, autumn and winter.

We sometimes find ourselves in a “winter of discontent”.

The four seasons
• Spring is easy: you are starting the new project and feeling good.

• Summer is fun: when the sun is shining and the project is going well.

• Autumn: when the leaves are falling off and the skies begin to darken.

• Then, winter!
• Winter: when things become difficult.
• Winter: when things are hard.
• Winter: when the prevailing wind is against you.

What should you do when the winter storms are blowing?

Here are four points to remember:

1. Winter does not last forever

If you keep your head down and keep working on, eventually the winter storm will pass.

How can I be so sure?

Because ALL storms in 4.5 Billion years of earth history, are known to have eventually
blown themselves out.

Your personal storm will blow itself out.
HANG IN THERE!

2. During the winter storm, you can spend your time getting better

Use the winter to as a time for honing your skills.

Think of it as a workout, not a disaster.

Think of the storm as a way to make you stronger, not as something that will weaken you.
Neitzsche said something profound “That which does not kill you, makes you stronger”.

• The spring always comes
If you use the winter to develop your skills, then when spring arrives, you will be in a better condition to take advantage of its abundant opportunities.

• The same rain falls on everyone
Remember that fate has not selected you personally for torment.
That, problems are not reserved exclusively for you.

Everyone has them.
Even those that don’t complain, have their problems.
They have learned, not to advertise their problems,
but to grow with them.

Summary
We sometimes find ourselves in a “winter of discontent”.
What should you do when the winter storms are blowing?
Here are four points to remember
• Your storm will eventually blow itself out. SO, HANG IN THERE!
• Think of it as a workout, not as a disaster.
• The spring always comes carrying with it, abundant opportunity
• Don’t complain. GROW with the flow.

Visit the Corporate Coach Group website for more information about our Management Training Courses

Leadership training question

Chris Farmer info@corporatecoachgroup.co.uk — Tue, 1 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I recently had a conversation with a manager from a service sector organisation.

Her name was Susan. She was a senior manager with a problem.
I asked “What is troubling you, Susan?”

She frowned and said “We have a number of managers that need to hold interviews with colleagues in regard to the colleague’s breaches of standards.

These interviews have, on certain occasions, been badly handled. For example: one person holding an interview seemed to prejudge the issue and failed to ask the correct questions.

As a consequence, we have identified the need for a number of managers to be shown how to hold a proper interview, using the correct techniques.”

I said “It is becoming a common problem."

Susan asked “What are the points to bear in mind?”

I said “Susan, there many points to bear in mind. Let me give you four points to ponder….
1. Be more OBJECTIVE, and less SUBJECTIVE when holding an interview.
2. Learn how to gain specific information.
3. Learn how to listen for contradictions.
4. Learn how to take accurate written notes of the interview.

Let me give you some notes on these.....

More OBJECTIVE and less SUBJECTIVE when holding an interview.
Objective language is factual language- not emotional language.
Stick to facts
Don’t allow any anger or frustration to enter the interview room with you.
If you become emotional and angry, you will mess the interview.

Learn how to gain specific information.
Demand specific information.
Don’t accept vague descriptions
The easiest way to do that is to ask for numbers. How much how many how long questions are good.
For example He says “ I waited for him for a long time before I left to come home”
You ask “For how many minutes did you wait?”

Learn how to listen for contradictions.
To listen for contradictions.
A contradiction is where one thing is asserted, and then it is later denied.
For example the person says “I am on a diet”
Then later he admits “I ate some lovely flapjacks cakes last night. They were so nice I had five pieces!”

In an interview situation you must notice any contradictory explanations.
Contradictions are evidence of
1. Error, or
2. Evasion, or
3. Lying

Don’t let contradictions pass unnoticed.

To take accurate notes of the interview.
Remember that when the meeting has finished, the written notes you have represent the meeting.

If your notes are terrible, then the meeting was terrible (even if it was a good meeting).

Here is the thing to remember:

1. Some people can make written notes and ask intelligent questions and listen at the same time.

2. Some people cannot make written notes; ask intelligent questions and listen- all at the same time.

If you are part of the second group you have four alternatives you have a problem.

Pick one from the following four options.

1. DO NOT permit yourself to be the interviewer. You are not up to the job.
OR
2. Learn how to make written notes and ask intelligent questions and listen at the same time.
OR
3. Have a second person with you, who will take the notes.
OR
4. Tape record the interview (with the consent of the interviewee)

Visit the Corporate Coach Group website for more information about our Leadership and Management Training courses