Problem Solving

Breaking the mold!

Being an innovator and inventor, I find it exhilarating to go from the extreme of a person not understanding your new idea to the opposite which is completely embracing and even endorsing it. This has become my journey with The About Me Card program. This process for me has taken more than three years. Most people get frustrated and give up. They have a product or process that they know will be successful but when they are met with resistance they say, “Forget it!” I am not a patient person by nature. I am often antsy and uncomfortable when things are not moving fast enough. Then I realized, “Hey, I’m a human being! I can choose to be patient if I want to be.”

I know it seems impossible for some to be patient. I had to learn to be when it comes to others embracing a new concept or change. I’ve learned that the first meeting when presenting a new idea has the same weight as the last meeting, as this is when people decide to accept your idea because they fully understand it. If there were 100 meetings between them, they would all carry equal weight. People need to be reminded. You must not steal that process from them. Or more accurately, you can’t take it from them. It is what it is.

We all must learn on our own terms and for the “new idea person” that means patience and perseverance … That’s all! Hang in there long enough and you’ll be a star!

Joe Kiedinger

Action Plan:  Practice patience this week. Perhaps with just one person or one project. It’s necessary for success!

Good-to-Great leaders understand three simple truths!

Today’s wisdom comes from Jim Collins and his book, Good to Great. You’ve heard me talk about Servant Leaders. The fact is Jim Collins was close to using that term and instead went with Level 5 Leaders. I agree that for the masses that was the right decision. Collins felt people would misinterpret the term as fluffy or weak. Servant leadership is anything but that. It’s tough but fair to say the least.

The three simple truths of Good to Great leaders as pointed out on page seven in his book:

First, if you begin with who rather than what, you can more easily adapt to a changing world. If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get 10 miles down the road and you need to change direction? You have a problem.

Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up.

Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction. You still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.

Making bad hiring decisions can cost a company a lot of stress and money. I know, I’ve picked people who were talented but not the right fit. A fit in culture is more important than a fit in knowledge. People can learn the information that they need. Take your time and hire wisely.

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: If you would like help in hiring, e-mail me. I’ve learned much that will help you make better decisions.

You’re invited this Tuesday!

Thank you for bearing with me. This past month I’ve been tying in my Wisdoms to the new About Me Card system we’ve invented. Well, the world premiere is this Tuesday, April 27th, at 3:00 p.m. at the Meyer Theater. It’s free and I hope you can make it. I received a real compliment from my wife today and I need to tell you about it! My parents just arrived home from Florida. When they left, we had just purchased a building to house About Me International and Prophit Marketing. They were anxious to see the remodeling and everything that went on while they were gone.

The old Joe would have met them at the building and showed off all the hard work. However, I remembered Danica’s About Me Card. On it she states, “Let’s enjoy this together.” I told my folks it would need to wait a day so Danica could join us. They called her to set the time, and when I got home from work she thanked me for that! Hey, I don’t know about you guys but these “points” are what I live for with my wife. Her About Me Card taught me how to respect her the way she wants to be respected. I love these little cards.

Please join us this Tuesday to witness the world premiere of this beautiful program.

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN:  Join us!  Learn more at www.aboutmecard.com

We are all fundamentally the same!

Across this great country and around the world, human beings are fundamentally the same. Obviously our physical make-up is the same but our mental wiring is similar as well. Mother Theresa has said, “Human beings crave appreciation more than food.” Appreciation is a major driver for satisfaction. Show me you appreciate me. I want to feel respected and I want to be a contributor. I just received an e-mail today from China. Below is a first response to the About Me Card Program with a group of Chinese students written to Chris Elliott, Managing Director:

Chris,
We used the About Me Card Program with two teams today.  It was awesome and received great reviews!  We should be able to get a video clip of Bonita talking, as we have some quotes from some students.  I will use the program with two more teams on Thursday.

More to come soon!
Angela Owen | President
TBL Leadership Partners

I want to personally thank Angela and Bonita who are advancing our About Me movement around the world! Would you like to be able to show your spouse, adult child or co-worker that you appreciate and understand them? The About Me Card Program World Première (www.aboutmecard.com) is only two weeks away! Meet Angela from TBL Leadership, Dan Swift of Dahl Automotive, Tom Thibodeau from Viterbo University, Mark Skogen of Festival Foods, and others who have experienced this program and its success.

The World Premiere is April 27th at 3:00 p.m. at the Meyer Theater in Green Bay. It’s FREE so bring anyone you know who would like to connect with someone in 60 seconds. RSVP is appreciated. Help us change the way people communicate!

Joe

ACTION PLAN: Mark your calendar and join us! More information at www.aboutmecard.com

How I Offended My Wife!

It’s been a year of adventure and excitement at Prophit Marketing and About Me International. One reason for the excitement is the new building that Danica and I purchased to create a new home for all of our Prophiteers! We stripped out the old space and rebuilt it from scratch. Very exciting times indeed. One day I came home excited because of what happened at work. I explained to Danica that I brought one of our graphic artists, Sue, over to see the new space and to ask her opinion on space layout. Sue felt special that I took the time to give her a private showing.

Danica became upset as I told the story. I thought she would be excited at how inspiring my story was. For several hours she gave me the cold shoulder. I could not figure out why she was responding this way. Once the kids went to bed we talked about it. It turned out that I violated one of her driving forces on her About Me Card. One of her key motivations for happiness is “enjoying things together.” Sue was not the first Prophiteer I had a special one-on-one showing with and Danica was feeling disappointed that she wasn’t there to share it with me. She loves enjoying things together so I should have waited until she could join us. That way, Sue feels special and important, Danica’s motivations are met and my need to inspire would also be satisfied.

I love these little cards. My relationship with my wife has grown so much stronger. I still make mistakes and so does she, but now we have a way of communicating disappointments that happen from time to time by using our cards. I hope you can join us April 27th at the Meyer Theater in Green Bay at 3:00 p.m. for the World Premiere of this amazing new communication tool! Click here (WWW.ABOUTMECARD.COM) to learn more. When someone becomes short with you, it’s not because of what you did—it’s because of how you did it and how you made them feel. As we go through life, we all have certain expectations that we would like people to respect. This tool connects you to another person in 60 seconds!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: R.S.V.P. For the World Premiere at INFO@ABOUTMECARD.COM! You’ll be entertained and you’ll learn a few things, too!

Words empower great leaders!

I think we would all agree that what you do is your character. You can tell your kids not to smoke, but if they see you smoking everyday guess what they may be doing later in life? What you do is your character; however, how you say things is key to becoming a great leader. What starts wars … words! Are you in the race to become a great leader? Great leaders have the ability to communicate uniquely to each unique individual in their care. We are all wired differently and like to be communicated to differently. Some folks are detailed-oriented while others only want the big picture. Some folks may want you to lighten up while others may prefer you to be more serious. What kind of leader are you?

I’m not suggesting you change who you are. That would not be authentic. However, when communicating one-on-one with an associate it’s important that you respect the way this individual would like to be approached. Don’t you wish there was a magic wand that you could wave over a person and have their rules for engagement suddenly appear! Well, there is! OK, it’s not a wand. It’s an automated web-based software I invented called the About Me Card program. The World Premiere will be held April 27th right here in Green Bay. The event will be like an Apple IPad introduction. There will be a live band, performers, and most importantly the people who are using the program and seeing great results.

You will witness how with the touch of a button you will get the words a person needs to hear to connect with you. You will learn how to connect with someone in 60 seconds, resolve conflict and reduce tension in the workplace. You will also see the future of the About Me Card with About Me TEEN and About Me Kids. Imagine knowing the motivations of your seven-year-old—knowing how they like to be treated and how you can support these motivations. Even more amazing … connecting with a teenager! I just had a “WOW” moment with my 14-year-old son this weekend based on his About Me Card.

You don’t want to miss the introduction of this groundbreaking technology that has taken three years to develop and automate!

Joe Kiedinger

Uncharted Waters

Why didn’t I take it slow the second time? Alex, my 13 year-old, just received his boating license this summer. Over the 4th of July holiday he was with his buddy on our 18-foot runabout when the propeller hit a rock. Luckily he was going very slow so there was no damage done to the propeller and the engine. Alex warned me of the spot and pointed it out.

Later, and pulling a water-skier, I headed right into that rock at 35 mph. Guess what? Damage! And lots of it! $1,600 later I had my beautiful boat back. Fast forward to our trip up north this last Labor Day weekend…we decided to navigate the Wisconsin River. This water we have never navigated. Alex wanted to go skiing and so I pulled him on a stretch of water that was calm and had no traffic.

I learned why that was…BAM! Up went my motor again. I immediately stopped the boat and looked back. There was a large tree trunk that floated to the surface, tumbled a bit, and sank. Whew, luckily there was no damage! Apparently soggy, floating wood is more forgiving than rocks. How could I make that same mistake twice?

We do this in business as well. The water looks safe so we dive in and get to it. Then, BAM, we hit a rock, that unforeseen but predictable hazard that, in hindsight, could have been avoided had we done a little research and navigated more slowly.

I do believe there are times when you need to jump in, do it, and then fix it. However, there are times when slowing down and taking your time is a good thing. Stop banging your engine (and your resources) around. Be wise: navigate and chart your destiny!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Slow down, think, and evaluate.

Shortcuts Can Lead to a Longer Road

I’m a true believer in efficiencies. I’ve seen comparable businesses operate with similar success but one made much more profit than the other. The only difference was efficiency. I don’t want you to confuse shortcuts with efficiency. They are two totally different things. We often look at shortcuts as “cheapening” a product. The shortcut is usually followed by, “the customer won’t notice the difference anyway.”

How many of you have stubborn drivers in the family? I know I can be one sometimes. “Forget the map, I know a shortcut.” Meanwhile I’ve just sent my family on a wild goose chase through backcountry trying to guess at a shorter path. And, yes, sometimes (ok, most of the time) the shortcut leads me to a road that went out of my way or delayed our arrival.

Impatience is the contributor to shortcuts. Entrepreneurs are so driven and passionate about what they do that sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that things aren’t moving fast enough. So we pull out our duct tape and patching tools and try to get our ideas to stick before they’re ready. You know, a good plan with a good strategy works like Elmer’s glue.

Remember in school? Using this white goopy glue would get frustrating. If you opted for taking your project home the art fell apart. However, those that left it to dry on the heat vents overnight returned to school the next day with a solid masterpiece!

Allow your ideas to take form. Allow your plan to be worked in a consistent venue. As you introduce your ideas to others you’re adding more pieces to the artwork. You’re feeding your prospects glue – meaning they’re interested but not fully committed. By being patient and staying consistent your prospects begin to see your benefits and slowly dry into your framework. Be patient. Keep using the glue, but give it a chance to dry!

- Joe Kiedinger -

ACTION PLAN: Give impatience the boot!

A Win-Win

I’m sure most of you have heard of Fortune magazine’s annual list of “100 Best Companies to Work For”.  But did you know that many of the top companies included in this list share one common thread? Servant Leadership!

For those of who you don’t know, Prophit Marketing is also a Servant Leadership company, as influenced by grocery client Festival Foods which has been successfully practicing it for years.

As rated by employees, the top companies in Fortune magazine’s list are shown to simultaneously deliver outstanding service and financial returns while being a great place to work. These companies also have the following in common:
1) 50% lower turnover than industry standards
2) Make an effort to create a supportive and inclusive company culture
3) Take more steps to engage employees
4) Greater concern for employees’ quality of life
5) Contribute to the community by participating in charitable programs
6) High employee satisfaction as a result of staff support services and policies
7) High customer satisfaction as a result of satisfied employees
Great profit and growth as a result of customer satisfaction

The bottom line: satisfied, loyal, and productive employees create value for the customer and, in turn, higher profits. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Read more on the subject in Focus on Leadership: Servant Leadership for the 21st Century with essays by Warren Bennis, Stephen Covey, Margaret Wheatley, and John Bogle.

Wisdom from a Campfire!

I know I’ve been talking about my 13 year-old, Alex, lately but for any of you who are raising a teenager, it’s a whole new challenge. Magic happened over the six days of camping with Alex… he talked! No, really, he did!

Take away the cell phone, video games, and skateboard and what else is there to do but talk! We hiked three miles, drank from a pure cliff stream, and biked seven miles through the paved wilderness.

I’ve realized something through this. Even though our kids tell us “I don’t want to talk about it,” they really DO want to talk about it. I learned more during one bonfire with Alex than I learned in the entire month of June. It’s so important to create opportunities for our kids to spend one-on-one time with their parents–especially when they’re the oldest and are asked to take on adult responsibilities like babysitting and helping out with younger children.

I think even in business we need to get one-on-one with as many of our people as we can. With our own kids I suggest a scheduled time. Even if your kid hems and haws, he or she really does look forward to it and will eventually open up to you with the things they’re feeling about life. Remember, it’s not about saying to our kids, “Ok, tell me what’s going on.” It’s about creating an atmosphere for open communication and allowing it to happen naturally.

Ah, so much wisdom coming from the serenity of the campfire!

Joe Kiedinger

ACTION PLAN: Put that schedule together for one-on-ones!