Because of the way this site is structured, all posts regardless of category show on the “Home” page. Specific posts related to categories / pages like “Success”, “Excess”, “Log Entries”, etc. appear on those pages. Why, I don’t know. Yep, I’m confused too.
***** S&E *****
I noticed this image in an article on leadership.
And it struck me that articles and publications on leadership continue on a regular basis. I did a bit of research on the status of leadership in business and industry. I found this to be my preferred image representing the topic.
It does a good job of representing the differences between management and leadership. It also certainly depicts the complexity of great leadership. That is, the many and varied actions, traits and behaviors necessary to lead and manage effectively.
So aside from terminations for cause and business downsizing/involuntary turnover driven by economic fluctuations, the leading causes of voluntary employee turnover is, by many sources, laid at the feet of leadership (failures).
Fifty-two percent of exiting employees say that their manager or organization could have done something to prevent them from leaving their job. (Gallup Poll). And according to indeed.com, here are some of the major causes for employee turnover:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/high-employee-turnover
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the overall turnover rate is 57.3 %, but that number drops to 25% when considering only voluntary turnover, 29% when considering involuntary turnover, and just 3% when looking at only high-performers.
Almost 25%, that is huge and expensive. And considering high performers make up a very small percentage of the workforce, that turnover is insignificant as the heart of the workforce is experiencing the greatest percentage of voluntary turnover.
It Is All About Leadership!
Look at the causes of voluntary turnover, the reciprocals of those causes are the solutions!
“Join a company, quit a boss”.
***** S&E *****
In an earlier post https://successnexcess.com/2022/12/18/saying-goodbye-to-shelby/ I noted how tough it was to say goodbye to our Labradoodle of 15 years.
So there is an ongoing conversation about another one. And not just us, lots of pressure from the kids (41 and 44 — still kids) about getting another pupster. They like big, like a Bernedoodle, 80 pounds would be on the small side! They do not live at our home so big is OK with them as they are not here to suffer through puppy-hood. If they were home I’m sure they would be missing in action most of the time when it came time to care for the mutt.
And we want another pup but I thought I’d use the blog to write down just some of the reasons why, NOT YET!
When we pull the trigger on a pup, it will be another doodle of sorts. It’s got to be a pup.
Why not (in order of importance)?
I’m not listing all the reasons why we should go get another doodle as it would only be cannon fodder for running out and getting one. : < )
***** S&E *****
This is significant:
February 23, 2023, news article: “Supreme Court hears Gonzalez v. Google, focused on whether YouTube is exempt from liability for terrorist content uploaded to the platform; case has potential ramifications for how internet companies moderate content on their site”
When this graphic from “Chartr” is considered:
Then think of the impact of the media, and specifically harmful or radical content, on the kids and young adults who are in highly impressionable age groups.
Latest update. The judges say they are worried about lawsuits. Well, judges, you could always throw them out if they are frivolous.
***** S&E *****
… however it is interesting to see the history.
***** S&E *****
Ethel was 5’1″ tall, age 23. A guy she dated, Hector, filed a domestic abuse complaint against her. He was 6’1, 220 pounds. Ethel did not have a history of finding great guys.
She solicited help from the public defenders office, the assistant district attorney (ADA). The ADA told the prosecuting attorney that if he didn’t find in Ethel’s favor and drop the case, she would look forward to taking it to court and watching the judges reaction to Ethel, 5’1″ allegedly abusing Hector, 6’1, 220 pounds.
Ethel was in the ADA office when the 6’1″, 220 pound plaintiff, Hector, walked in the building. He passed the ADA in the hallway. The ADA immediately hunted down two police offers in the building and told them that the guy smelled like a marijuana joint. The cops approach the guy, gained entry to his car and told the ADA that there was smoking joint in the car. Hector was arrested for possession and the prosecuting attorney dropped the case against Ethel.
You just can’t make that stuff up… : < )
***** S&E *****
Bell shaped curves can be applied to data on an almost infinite number of subjects.
In the example below, the curve displays an example of employee performance; where the vertical axis is the number of employees, the horizontal axis performance levels or ratings.
Bell shaped curves only work if the data sample or universe is sufficiently large. In the case of employee performance, it likely would not work work for a group of 20 employees, but probably would work for 100 employees.
More to the point, it can be informative and assist with decision making if you considered the curve for data like:
Curves are useful as they tell the user on what data groupings to focus on to move the data/distribution in a favorable direction.
In the example of employee performance, if some of the population in the “meets expectations” or “below exceptions” groupings on the graph could be moved to the right then one might assume that with this improvement, business performance may improve as well.
Charts and graphs and numbers are the language of business. Notwithstanding the type of business, numbers and their graphical representation, assuming the data is accurate, tell the story of how well the business is performing and of equal importance, the performance of the leadership team.
Skills in graphical presentation are particularly important to support functions (HR, purchasing, IT, etc.) as they can be persuasive in supporting recommendations to operating executives.
***** S&E *****
Feedback is given in a variety of situations. Some examples are for performance reviews at work, soliciting behavior changes, and social interaction and parenting, to name a few. Feedback usually seeks a desired response which is sought by the one providing the feedback. The response could be verbal or behavioral.
Responses to feedback can be varied depending on how it was given and how it was received. Some factors that affect responses are tone (verbal or written), the message itself, and body language. Also if the the sender and receiver have a history of interactions on a regular or occasional basis, the quality of those interactions can also affect the current message and response.
Generally a message is always intended to solicit a response/feedback. So if a positive reaction or response is desired, the feedback needs to be given in such a way that:
It is given with genuine interest, care, and integrity.
It should not be just negative.
It can be both positive and negative.
It needs to be given in such a way that it provides an opportunity for improvement and response.
A consultant I used to retain for leadership meetings provided some of the advice above. She also reinforced the fact that when something goes awry in a relationship, organization or social situation, 90 percent of the time it can be traced to inappropriate, poor, inaccurate, or an absence of communications.
***** S&E *****
Just received a Republican Congressional District Questionnaire. It was so biased, unbalanced, and pathetic, I had to send it to the Republican National Committee Chairwoman with the following letter.
Chairwoman, Republican National Committee August 16, 2022
Ronna R. McDaniel. Chairwoman
310 First Street, SE.
Washington, DC 20003.
Re: August 2202 Republican Party Congressional District Canvas
Dear Chairwoman
The canvas cover letter starts with “Stopping Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Radical Democrats…” Well, that statement plainly speaks to its all about the party not the country. The two parties are so divided it’s now just all about “stopping” the other. And you wonder why the country is divided.
And the cover letter asks me for money to help ensure fair elections. We’ll, prior to the Trump Administration, the country never heard about unfair elections. So what happened Republicans? Maybe bad leadership? Leadership that led to January 6th? Leadership that divided the country like it has not been divided in decades?
And the cover letter also includes a questionnaire that asks me questions like:
If you were connected to the country’s citizenry, you would know the answers to these questions. Most of the citizenry is boiling with disgust with “DC”. I’m not listing all 44 questions. The country is a mess and it is that way as you guys on both sides of the isle can’t manage the country and the special interests that drive it.
About you Republicans and Trump: He’s not a leader, he can’t pick talent, he fired most of his hires, he’s a micro manager, he lies, he’s dishonest, it is all about him … plainly one ugly human being. And the majority of you guys don’t have the courage to stand as leaders and tell him to stick it. If you owned a business in the private sector would you hire Trump as one of your reporting executives, based on his record to date? The only reason he’s not in prison is he has teams of attorneys holding authorities at bay. If a private citizen did what Trump did the private citizen would be serving many consecutive life sentences.
I’m changing my voter registration to Independent as I no longer want to receive these self-serving, biased, unbalanced communications from the party, nor do I want to be associated with it.
For the record, I don’t vote for a party, I research candidates and vote for the best qualified that has the judgment and balance to address the critical issues in the country. Unfortunately, most candidates are consumed by the party.
***** S&E *****
Get it together (literally) and elect a Speaker. Do your jobs and lead the country. Want some ideas of who should be Speaker?
List the names in the house in order of best LEADER, just select the name on the top of the list!
What was that? You can’t find one. The list is a straight line (no vertical order – no leaders). We understand, that is not new to us.
C’Mon DC! There has to be one in there somewhere….
***** S&E*****
There is no doubt in this blogger’s mind that a degree from a college or university adds value for the graduate. It enhances critical thinking, analytical ability, and in many cases is valuable in “getting your foot in the door” for employment opportunities.
Taking a look back over 34 years in human resources, domestic and international work and locations, the performance graph for degreed employees is not a straight line relationship with having a college degree. That is, a degree is no guarantee of competitive, professional success. If anything I would suggest that looking at a meaningful universe of degreed professionals, the relationship of success and earnings to degrees may be closer to a bell shaped curve.
And in balance, there are definitely earnings opportunities that come with other than a university degree, when one chooses a skilled trade or technical school degree or certification.
Thoughts for this blog entry come from an interesting article from CNN Business, “Perspectives”. https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/13/perspectives/college-degrees-careers-roslansky-auguste/index.html
The perspective for the CNN article is driven by the changing employment environment employers have and are facing in recent years.
Of course I would have to cite my opinion on the value of behavioral competencies related to professional success. No matter the type or level of education, absent competencies like integrity, hard work, intellectual rigor, team work, professional presence, analytical ability humor, good judgment, kindness, and others, there is not much chance of building a successful career or business.
***** S&E *****
Success & Excess 