Tag Archive for: Rules Of The Game

The Rules Of The Game

Rules of the game of life

Why are rules so important? Because in the absence of rules, people make up their own.

Here are the rules we play by:

1.  Be willing to support our purposes, games, rules and goals.

2.  Speak supportively.

3.  Acknowledge whatever is being communicated as true for the speaker at that moment.

4.  Complete your agreements:

a) Make only agreements that you are willing and intend to keep.

b) Communicate any potential broken agreement at the first appropriate time.

c) Clear up any broken agreement at the first appropriate opportunity.

5.   If a problem arises, first look to the system for corrections and then communicate your solution to the person who can do something about it.

6.   Be effective and efficient (Optimize every event … more with less).

7.   Have the willingness to win and to allow others to win (win/win).

8.   Focus on what works.

9.   When in doubt, check your intuition.

10. Be responsible – no lay blame or justification.

11.  Hold the person “innocent” until proven “guilty”.

12.  If an upset lasts longer than 50 minutes, the upset party(s) to seek support, from a neutral third party.

Creative Commons License photo credit: brownpau

Profiling and Team Building

profiling-and-team-building

Profiling and Team Building

When any group of people work together, the team leader and most of the employees are each competent and capable of doing their jobs. However, many challenges can occur if an awareness and leadership emphasis on the “people factors” is missing. When not addressed in the beginning, this dynamic often takes on a “life of its own” as people instinctively compare themselves and make decisions about other people based on their own biases and prejudices of what is “right” and “wrong.” They become defensive, want to be right, look good and not be dominated or controlled by others. They take up sides.

When we add another layer of people’s own personal challenges and agendas – i.e. long drives to work in traffic, family challenges, people holding out on their real feelings, trust not being sufficiently built, and trust levels being violated due to jealousy, lack of understanding, etc., etc., etc. it is no wonder that personality clashes and chaos become the standard or norm – rather than the exception.

Each problem can be solved and none of this need occur when an organization is PeopleSmart. Leaders can create a comprehensive Job Description for each role, clearly defining its behavioral as well as skill requirements. The right people are placed or promoted into the right jobs and everyone knows how to win at work. Performance reviews become a time for growth and development when people Smart policies, procedures, rules of the game, and rituals are clearly in place.

When meetings can be held where a “safe space” has been created, people feel free to share their “real” feelings and handle issues responsibly as they came up – without fear of reprisal. Without this in place, chaos happens with every people issue. Good employees leave and the team leader or owner often has to go back to “square one” – especially if, on top of it all, undetected or innocent mistakes in hiring have been made in the first place.

Carol Dysart and/or PeopleSmart Solutions Consultants help team leaders establish the systems outlined in “Money Making Systems: For People Who Work with People.” They guide you step by step through what is detailed in the book and helps you customize it for your business. They identify your needs and help to carry out what is missing in your business.

These can include the following:

How to hold productive team meetings:
• WIFLS – how to use at regular staff meetings.
• Rules of the Game, Policies and Procedures
• Personal Financial WIFLS to learn what is important to each person on the team and sharing your own personal goals

Profiling Team Leader and Members:
• Introduce profiling administration
• Group Interpretation and Team Building
• Private Interpretation and Needs Assessment
• Teaching how to People-Read to increase team, sales and customer service skills.

Role Profiling – Helping you hire the right people for the right roles:
• Create the Role Profiles for each key job or position
• Apply to Job Advertisements and Job Descriptions
• Role Clarity for specific behavioral expectations required for optimum role performance.
• How to apply Role Profiles to the Employee Review /Performance Evaluation process.

Team Analysis, Growth and Development:
• Meet with the team to help everyone understand what their own and each other’s profile report includes
• Analyze the entire Teams’ Profiles to identify emerging leaders and see where potential gaps will cause an imbalance in team.
• Identify potential interpersonal conflicts and how to resolve.
• Regular training updates to maintain the trust, rapport and communication skills.
• Include members of their families in the profiling service opportunity where appropriate..

Manager Growth and Development:
• Work with each manager to teach them how to interpret the profiles and to work 1:1 with each member of their team.
• How to make role of manager more satisfying and successful.
• How to identify succession or promotion potentials.

For further Book and Products available from PeopleSmart Solutions, please contact Excellerated Business Schools®, +1-619-224-8880 or email info@excellerated.com.

Professional DISC PROFILING Services by Carol Dysart and/or other certified PeopleSmart Solutions Consultants

Image by lumaxart via Flickr

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Proven Business Relationship Agreement – Part 4

281/365 - pop the bubbly.

Proven Business Relationship Agreement

Last 5 Agreements – Part 4

DC Cordova

You made it! Here are the final five business relationship agreements in the 4 Part Series (twenty total business agreements) for creating profitable partnerships. You can read Proven Business Relationship Agreement – Part 1 if you haven’t already done so to get you started right. Proven Business Relationship Agreement – Part 3 was my last post and I’m glad to receive e-mails from some of you with the distinctions you’ve learned. Keep the feedback coming. I like to know what is working for you.

Here’s agreements 16 – 20 for your complete Business Relationship Agreement to use in your current and future partnerships! Enjoy…

16. Prepare for the worst – expect the best

___ We have talked about the worst thing that could happen in the business relationship.

___ We have a plan for a buy-out (exit) clause, or a clause on how to handle the dissolution of the business, including who keeps the rights to the idea of the business and how the assets are divided?

___ We have thought of every possible scenario including how to define “successful performance” and how to quantify or measure the results we expect. (We know that not doing this could cost us not only the partnership but also the business!)

___ We have made contingency plans that will keep our business operating, should unforeseen events in either partner’s life come up.

17. Ethics

___We have an agreement that covers any contingency should one of the partners become involved in any immoral or illegal activity.

___We agree that if so, they automatically default their partnership to the other person.

18. Legal Advice

___ We have identified a conflict resolution-oriented attorney to review our agreements and discuss it as a group.

___ We have included arbitration clauses, so that any disagreement does not have to end up in court.

___ We have agreed to work toward a resolution, rather than get involved in a lawsuit.

___ We have worked through and made clear agreements and have created our own version of the Rules of the Game to apply to the business partnership.

19. Financial Advice

___ We agree to meet at least annually to review our business with a professional tax accountant.

___ We will look into our best plan for wills, living trusts, and estate planning.

20. CELEBRATE! –

___ And finally, we will celebrate our wins together – little ones and big ones – on a regular basis. We know that one of the values of having partners is that we have someone with whom to celebrate our wins! And we look forward to having our business become more and more profitable so that our biggest problems become figuring out how to handle and leverage our money!

Signed this date: ___________________________

____________________________
Partner

____________________________
Partner

You can print these agreements and DO USE THEM! I want you to have fulfilling, profitable and fun businesses that make a difference in the world. As another tool to use in growing your business, make sure you pick up Your Personal Entrepreneurial Strategy – and continue your journey of success.

With loving thoughts,

DC Cordova
CEO, Excellerated Business Schools® and the Money & You® Program

Creative Commons License photo credit: B Rosen

Proven Business Relationship Agreement–Part 2

Secretary Clinton and Romanian Foreign Minister Sign Agreements

Proven Business Relationship Agreement

Part 2

By DC Cordova

In my first post of this series “Proven Business Relationship Agreement”, I discussed and listed the key points to beginning to work in business with partners. The first steps of the Proven Business Relationship Agreement can be read here. You need to be willing to make your partner happy – much like in a personal relationship like a friend or marriage. Next, I want you to create joint ventures first to allow you to learn how you work together. One of the distinctions we cover in my program Money & You® is how you establish trust – you make small agreements. And keep them! This is exactly what a legal contract is… a series of small agreements.

The reason why Money & You® is so powerful is the way it is taught. Most people have experienced learning and education to lectures and notes. For many, this can be extremely tedious, frustrating and boring. We “excellerate” your learning in an experiential environment; it is proven that students learn faster (accelerated) when the medium is auditory, visual and kinesthetic. Meaning they not only hear and see the information but they also experience it.

In this article, you’ll learn the next seven points to creating your Proven Business Relationship Agreement. This series is all about clarity – clarity on purpose, clear rules, clear goals, clear money habits, clear financial habits, clear communication, and clear job descriptions.

If you like what you are reading, please share your thoughts in the comments section below. And to continue from the last post, here’s steps three through nine (3 – 9):

3. Get clear on your purpose

___ We have fully discussed why we are choosing to be together and want to do this particular venture or business.

___ We both know how each other feels about it and have stated out loud why we want this partnership — whether it is:

___ just to make money

___ to learn a new business or skill

___ to learn from our partner

___ because one is providing the funds and we need that money or we won’t be able to do that business.

___ because one is providing the expertise that, without which, we would not have a business.

___ We agree not to keep any secrets from each other. (We know they will come out in the light sooner or later, and later could be detrimental to the trust in the partnership as well as to both of our financial well being.

4. Establish the “Rules of the Game”

___ We are both believers in creating “Rules of the Game” – or policies for our partnership.

___ We have compared our values and found that we are not on opposite ends of the spectrum in what we believe.

___ We know that one of the “Rules of the Game” is to focus on what works.” In other words, each of us has to “get off” our position when something we are doing clearly is not working. Put simply, if there is something not working in the partnership or in the business, we agree to look at it and correct it.

5. Get clear on goals

We have thought about the following and each of us has answered…

___ What are the goals for the business relationship?

___ Why have you chosen to do business together?

___ To learn?

___ To network?

___ To team up with someone that has attributes that you don’t have?

___ What are our financial goals?

___ How much money we want to make together.

___ If we want to sell the business after a certain period of time?

___ If we want to have financial independence out of the business?

___ If we think combining your strengths will give you an advantage over what you could do alone?

___ If it is to take advantage of our differing styles?

6. Where is the money coming from? and who is going to manage the money? We have discussed what Money Habits will be important to each of us and know…

___ Where the money is coming from to capitalize the business.

___ What “learning experiences” each of us has had around money.

7. Financial habits

___ We have looked into my own and my partner’s habits to see…

___If they are similar

___ If each of us save, tithe and invest part of their profits?

___ If we can be confident that we are being mutually responsible and taking care of our selves financially?

___ If we can be confident that the other will not put pressure on the company later to handle any financial obligations they may not be able to meet.

8. Get clear on your lines of communication – We have discussed and know…

___ How frequently are we going to communicate?

___ How are we going to work together?

___ Are we both in the office?

___ Is one on the road and the other “home” in the office?

9. Who is going to do what?

___ What are the clear job descriptions of each partner?

___ Who is responsible for what?

___ Are your personalities complementary? Or is one better at one job than the other?

As you’ll learn, being on the same page, or in alignment, is absolutely essential to create synergy and the results you want in your business. Again, if you missed the first post or just want a refresher, read here my first post in this series of creating a Business Relationship Agreement.

I’d love to hear your comments, I do read them, and I look forward to providing value to your business, your family, your personal relationships and in creating the life of your dreams.

With loving thoughts,

DC Cordova

Creative Commons License photo credit: U.S. Department of State