Saturday, June 6, 2009

The Upturn of 2010

Last month, the U.S. lost only about 350,000 jobs. Now, while that number is still alarming, contributing to the national 9.4% unemployment rate, the number is about half of what it has been in previous months. There will be more to come, once the ripples from the GM bankruptcy start to wash over the many small and large businesses that supported the auto industry. But, while announcing the GM bankruptcy, Press Secretary Gates said that GM would emerge even stronger in a couple of months. This action came with a positive prediction...a built in recovery.

Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke predicted in a recent speech that the recession will begin to turn around in 2010. This may be wishful thinking or a little Washington magic, but one thing is for sure. No matter how long it lasts, there will be a time when things start to get better. The 4.6 million jobs that were lost will need to be filled once again. They may not be the same jobs with the same requirements, though. The question is...will you (me, too) be ready to step up and qualify for the opportunities of the upturn of 2010? Will you have the skills necessary to step into the new jobs in the retooled marketplace? Will you have kept up with changes in your industry or field in order to compete with the millions of displaced workers vying for jobs?

Now is the time to take stock and take a class, participate in a webinar, buy some books for some self-study, volunteer, job-shadow, and get the experience or education so you'll be ready to compete with the best of them. If you were one of the lucky ones that still have a job, how have you become more valuable, knowlegable, or effective to be one of the keepers when all that new talent becomes available? When those upper-level management jobs that were eliminated open back up, will you be considered to move up, or be beaten out by someone from the outside with better skills, experience and value?

2010 is only seven months away. SEVEN months!!! Where do you want to be in seven months? What goals have you set for yourself professionally and personally? That's the first step. The second is to determine the one thing you can do in the next seven months that will have the greatest impact on your marketability and employability. What course will you enroll in come September that will keep you in the running, or move you to the front of the pack? How can you improve your professional image (lose weight, exercise, update your wardrobe) and your resume. What measurable accomplishments can you add to your resume in the next seven months that will put your resume at the top of the stack.

Like Annie sang, "The sun will come out tomorrow..." Ben says it is coming out in 2010. Now is the time to get ready to take your place in the sun.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Celebrate "May Day"

Today is May 1, May Day as it is called. Over the world, there will be many celebrations, but this particular event hasn't caught on the in the US, like Valentines Day or Mothers Day, which will occur on May 10. I don't know why. Maybe it's because we associate "May Day" with "Mayday!!" the universal call for help.

I recently watched the original version of "The Poseidon Adventure." In the opening frames, the ship hits the wall of water from an earthquake, and Leslie Nielsen, playing the Captain, gets on the radio and starts shouting,"Mayday! Mayday!" The bells rang, sirens blared, and the passengers panicked. Did someone hear the distress call? Or was it just luck that led the rescue team came to the outside of the hull of the ship just as the few survivors had arrived at the same location on the inside? Even though it was filmed many years ago, it is a real cliffhanger.

Mayday!! Mayday!! How many times do people want to call that out when in real distress, but for some reason, are silent? Even though disaster is imminent, they say nothing, tell no one. Their fear or embarrassment or pride keeps them from asking for and receiving help in time of trouble. It could be someone suffering from the fear or reality of abuse. In some cases, the fear of walking away and the uncertainty of the future is somehow worse than enduring a painful present. Someone afraid of disappointment or rejection. Or a business owner too embarrassed to admit they need help to survive. Some people with great ideas or abilities are silenced because of the fear of failure or rejection. So many people lead lives of unfulfilled greatness because they are "Scared Silent." The fear is real to them, and in some cases, to them alone. Somewhere they learned that to ask for help is weakness, or to be avoided at all costs.

In this economy, there are many people who may be part of this group of the "Scared Silent." They sit in their houses, or go through the motions of a job they don't like but are afraid to leave. Don't rock the boat, for fear of setting someone off, be it a boyfriend, spouse, boss, or client. They have the next great business idea, best seller or hidden talent, but keep it hidden, far from the view of critics, real or imagined.

Speak up! Get out of the house! Take a chance. Get back into the game. Have a "Plan B." Talk to someone you trust who will be willing to help you find a place of refuge when things get rough, or can give you advice to turn your business around. Take one tip from all the books you have sitting around about dieting, or marketing, or self-improvement, or finances, or success and DO IT! Make a plan. Start now. When you shout "Mayday" out in your head, answer it with your own positive action. You may find that help is closer than you think.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

New Look for MJNH Consulting

Someone said that the only thing that never changes is that things will change. Read the newspaper, watch the news on TV, log on to your Internet provider and the first thing you will see is a list of news stories...things are always changing. Some changes are better than others, and one that I am excited about is our new website. MJN Consulting, founded in 1992, has emerged 17 years later as MJNH Consulting. After 10 years consulting as MJN Consulting, many changes took place -- I've added six years experience as a Human Resources Director, part of that time working in a union environment, achieving SPHR certification from SHRM and HRCI. I've experienced one job ending and the revitalization of a rewarding and energizing business, reconnecting with past clients and gaining new ones. I've found that love really does have a second chance with my new husband, Walter, and discovered the joy and wonder of living in the most beautiful city in the USA, Savannah, GA.

The latest change is our new website. Check us out at www.mjnhconsulting.com. New look, new experiences, new services, continued commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.

Over the past year, conducting seminars across the country, I've talked with hundreds of people working in many different industries, from different age groups and in various jobs at different levels of their companies. The faces change with every seminar, but the challenges are basically the same -- difficult employees and co-workers; managers who are inconsistent, micro-managers, and non-supportive; too much work and not enough appreciation. Lack of resources, training, money, and opportunities for advancement. One new challenge is the gap between the generations in work habits, company loyalty and techno-savvy. Uncertainty in the future with our current economic climate weighs heavily, but there are also a lot of companies and employees that are thriving. Lots of challenges, but opportunities as well.

Whatever your challenge, MJNH Consulting can help find solutions. With a wide variety of experience in management and organizational development, customized training, quality systems, process redesign, customer service, recruiting and retention, teambulding, motivational speaking, career transition/resume writing, or technical writing (policies, procedures, handbooks) MJNH Consulting will partner with your team to bring about positive change that helps your business grow. Call us. We can help.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Rethinking Work

It's interesting to read the papers and watch the news during our current economic crisis. We have cut a record number of jobs, yet the executives are still working and getting bonuses and raises. Hey, aren't these the guys (and women) that are responsible for the management of these business, making the financial and strategic decisions that got them in such a mess in the first place? So why is the solution to lay off or fire the people who are actually serving the customers, making the products, implementing the processes, procedures, and policies? I think it's time to rethink how work and companies are structured. Here is my solution (or at least idea) of how to turn things around.

I have spent the past 25 years working with all kinds of companies, consulting, training, speaking and writing on workplace issues, process improvement, quality and customer service. I have spoken to (and listened to) thousands of employees from all levels of the organization -- from the person on the assembly line and customer service help desk to the CEO and GM of the company. Hourly staff, for the most part, have the closest contact with the customers and can make or break the customer experience that causes a consumer to buy and continue to buy from a provider.

The housekeeper in a hotel has a lot more influence on my decision to stay at a hotel AGAIN than the GM does. Because I come in contact in a very intimate way with the result of their work. If the room isn't clean, the bed made correctly, and the light bulbs don't work, I may or not complain. If the hotel operator or front desk agent doesn't answer the phone at least by the third ring and are not pleasant and helpful when they do answer, I may not complain. If the breakfast eggs look green instead of yellow, and the eating area isn't clean, I may not complain. But I can also choose not to come back. These are the areas that I see and use, which are not directly the result of the managers, but of the hourly staff. They are also the ones that are paid the least, do physically and mentally challenging jobs, and are regarded as the least valued employees. They work closest to the customer, but have the least to say in the decision making process on how best to serve the customers and make them happy. They are occasionally included in a brainstorming session on process improvement, or encouraged to offer suggestions on how to make improvements, but often those suggestions are shot down or ignored. After awhile, they stop believing in all those "motivational" programs that are supposed to make people happier at work. What they really want is respect...for my work, my ideas, and my contribution. What would happen if all the housekeepers and maintenance staff didn't show up for work one day in a major downtown hotel? Chaos!!! What would happen if the managers didn't show up for one day? The rest of the staff would probably get more done without a lot of meetings, interruptions, micro-managing, and e-mails to respond to. It would be interesting to try it out and see.

TQM turned the pyramid upside down and made the customer the top, with management supporting the process at the bottom. I suggest we put the employees who work directly with customers and have the most influence day-to-day at the top of the pyramid, pay them more...on a par with their value to the company, value and respect their work and contribution, and utilize their ideas and suggestions for process improvement. Making beds may not have the glitz and status of middle management, but every person who stays in a hotel is going to eventually slip between the sheets and directly experience the expertise and talent of the housekeeper. That experience has more to do with the bottom line than a supervisor or manager sitting in a boring meeting.

Hire the best for the most important jobs in your company, and "important" doesn't necessarily mean the highest title. Ask your customers what matters most to them, and it will probably be having work done correctly, the phone being answered on time, the food hot and cooked properly and the premises clean and orderly. I would bet it won't be having a lot of managers hanging around.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

What's "IN" and What's "OUT" List

I used to live in the Washington DC area, and every year I would look forward to the "IN" and "OUT" list that would appear in the Style Section of The Washington Post (TWP). Here it was, for those not savvy or self-assured enough to know instinctively, what was going to be THE thing to wear, eat, think, do, and avoid in the New Year to achieve maximum personal and professional success. Out went the old books, food, clothes, phrases, electronics, etc., and it was a frenzied trip to the mall to stock up and be "IN" as quickly as possible. How great it felt to have a visitor to your home glance at the coffee table and comment, "Oh, you're reading the latest book from Blah, Blah." You could then nod your head and smile smugly to yourself, knowing you haven't even leafed through the table of contents. The "List" had done its job, positioned you, like that crisp unread book on the coffee table, as one of the "IN" crowd. At least among those who also read the list. Or who cared about the list.

This year's List is interesting. I was surprised to hear that "drinking like Mad Men (the TV show) is now IN. I was a young secretary during that era, and I witnessed first hand what that was like. Vodka gimlets for lunch. The cut crystal liquor carafes in the office, which made it easy (and even acceptable) to have a drink during a meeting or casual discussion in the bosses office. I wonder how long it will take MADD to remind TWP about the statistics on alcoholism, drinking and driving and the AMA about liver disease.

I'm a little surprised at "vampire rights" as IN. I haven't heard many news reports on vampires protesting or marching to relieve unjust oppression. I am glad that boyfriend jeans are now IN, since they are way more comfortable than those designer, pencil thin, show your muffin top and more jeans that I see (not bigger than a size 2). I wonder when "Mom" jeans will come back in vogue? 20011?

I'm sorry to see that Fuji apples are now OUT, replaced by Honeycrisp. I really like Fuji, and though I risk being labled an old fuddy-duddy, I will continue to buy them and eat them. So there, TWP. They are just too good to pass up.

Finally the list found out what all us mothers in the 60's new...pots and pans in the bottom cabinets or drawers in the kitchen were THE best toys for toddlers. Organic toys are OUT, you young mothers. The problem is, a lot of moms don't cook, since the kids diet consists of frozen chicken fingers, microwaved macaroni and cheese, or something out of a box or bag, handed to them from a drive-thru window. I wonder if this listing will trigger a buying run on Calphalon (has to be designer for the young X and Yers). I can just see them texting Williams Sonoma to send the deluxe set NOW --- Tiffany or Dylan, the little darlings, are getting cranky!

The list goes on and on. I'm not going Goth, nor will I begin to wear white piping. To be honest, I don't even know what half the stuff was on the OUT list, or what the stuff was to replace it with on the IN list. Who cares. How much is driven by marketing, advertisers, and the desire to motivate people to spend, spend, spend. The desire to be IN -- in the know, "in with the IN crowd," in step, in front of the crowd. These basic desires lie behind the success of these lists. They also serve those of us who want to stand out, be different. It can be viewed as a list to avoid for 2009. Find what fits for you without the list for the Herd. Stand out. Be different. Be yourself. That's my mantra for 2009.

So much for that. I just noticed that it's already seven days into the new year. I have to get to the mall! Have a great day!