"Be happy courageous to reach your goals whatever they may be"-Dr. Luciano Santini

Hello to all my friends around the world who continue to support both my skills and knowledge regarding leadership development and staff development along with continued support for my speaking abilities. It has been a great year so far. I always say any day that you open your eyes to a beautiful day is a great day.

I find that sometimes we forget that though you may not have that great job that pays you a six figure salary does not mean that you are not happy and that life has not given you what you want. I find that people in general want to be happy and do a good job at their respective jobs and positions whatever they may be.

I also find that leadership falls under so much scrutiny and yet the people doing the scrutinizing have no idea how to lead themselves so they find their scapegoats early in their career so it becomes easy to delegate fault when things go wrong.I have had so many mentors in my life and many of them are no longer with us but I will tell you this; that some of the lessons you learn from good mentors will always stay with you.

All enduring success is founded upon harmonious human relationships. Napoleon Hill

Most of us are incapable of “going it alone.” Whether it is in our careers, in our personal relationships, or in life, we all need others if we are to achieve the level of success we desire. Besides, what’s the point of having it all if we have no one we care about to share it? You may choose to work with others, you may ignore them, or you may choose to work against them, but the greatest successes in life come to those who work harmoniously with others.

 When your personal goals coincide with those of another, not only does the power of your combined labors benefit you, but such cooperation also creates a synergistic effect that allows you to achieve far more than the simple sum of your individual efforts. Know that friendship freely given and gratefully received is one of life’s greatest gifts. 

I find that when leaders ignore their staff and do not take the time to listen or simply ask: How is your day going so far today miss the human touch and the opportunity to be human and earn a little something about another human being. I always ask leaders one simple question which seems to be difficult to answer for most. 

What do you want to conquer in life? Most leaders will say their staff and to get them to do what they want them to do. I giggle every time I here this because my answer is a human being must conquer their own mind first and then find the skill set that will bring people together,learn to listen to people and then be able to communicate to them. I believe that these are the main characteristics of a great leader. A leader must conquer their fear of others first; then conquer their fear that other want their positions because honestly I find that most people do not want to lead but do a great job and feel needed and wanted and the biggest of all appreciated!!!!.

One of the biggest issues I have found when I do research with staff when I coach or have to restructure processes for any small or large organization is that leaders fail big when it comes to criticizing staff for their faults. I can tell you from experience that if someone tells me that I suck at one thing or another and I can tell you honestly that in my career and life have made mistakes and I mean big mistakes but I have also made some changes and I mean BIG changes in the lives of others whether staff or friends or people that I have never met in person and my friends that is the biggest satisfaction that anyone can accomplish.

I have also made some BIG changes in my life for example people ask why do I do what I do when I could be making over six figure salaries and my answer is yes I could be and have in the past but I found early in life and in my career that choices have to be made and sometimes those choices can be life changing as they were for me. early in my career I made the choice to leave the hospitality industry where six figure salaries were easy to make-hard work and extremely long hours but I was missing my kids grow up and so I made a choice a very difficult one at the time.

I resigned and took a much lower paying position but I was closer to home and was able to make that first birthday and well the rest is history. You see my friends sometimes the choices we make can either makes us a great leader or a horrible leader that holds a high position but has no idea about that human touch that most leaders do not have and will never ever have no matter how much they try simply because of that choice they made that one time that cause them to turn on friends and family and all for that might dollar.

My friends do not misconstrue the money here-MONEY is a good thing specially for businesses! What i am trying to say here is simple when you treat your staff with respect and allow them to say what they have to say without feeling afraid and give them the time of day to listen to them the money will roll in because your customers will be happy to give you their money because you care about your staff which in turn will care about them and it will show in their ability to relate to them.

With all that said my friends-

"Be happy courageous to reach your goals whatever they may be"-Dr. Luciano Santini

You Cannot Manage What You Do Not Understand--Dr. Luciano Santini

Hello to all my friends who continue the support and believing in my skill sets to train and motivate your employees and your leaders in your organizations.

This last week has been a tough one as you know I am known for being very transparent and allowing people into my life for the simple fact that I believe that if you know that I am as much a human being as you are then we have a better understanding of where we stand in both business and personal. This last week has been one of those weeks where you wish you did not have to have it done but you know you must or it will get worst as time passes.

I had septoplasty surgery and those that have had it know how painful this surgery can be. The pain medicine well it is basically take it and sleep and when you wake up it feels like you have been under for much longer and you cannot drive anywhere so it has been painful and boring and finally I am able to get in front of the computer to write to all my friends.

Why am I telling you about this in my life? Well because it is just like your business because when you know as a leader or a business owner that you need to take care of something in your business because it is bringing it down and yet you let it go only to make it worst as time passes. I want you to think about that my friends. How many time in your business or career have you let things go because of whatever reason.

Reasons can be from not firing that person who upset your last client to an argument you had at home with your significant other and never resolved it instead you let it go in hopes that either it will be forgotten or never talked about again.

So before we worry about the issues we must take care of them before they get worst or one must deal with the future because we never took care of the issue from the past.

Before worrying about how to get more pay, try thinking how you can do a better job and you may not need to worry.

When you devote your time and efforts to doing your best at every job you do, instead of developing persuasive arguments why you should be paid more for what you do, the pay raises will take care of themselves. When you approach every job enthusiastically in a spirit of friendly cooperation, you distinguish yourself from the vast majority of people whose primary concerns include breaks, benefits, paychecks, and quitting time. Don’t complain about your status or your pay to anyone, not even to your best friend. Word will eventually get back to the boss. Which type of worker would you rather have on your team: one who complains constantly or one who is always helpful, cheerful, and reliable? 

I like what Leslie says below and only because it is so true. 

You Cannot Manage What You Do Not Understand--Dr. Luciano Santini

 Hire slow, fire fast---Leslie Barber

Many people before me have recommended we hire slow, fire fast. Tony Hsieh, co-founder of Zappos.com, was the most recent employer that echoed these sentiments. He alleges that bad hires have cost Zappos.com over $100M. Wow, imagine what bad hires are doing for small businesses?

As small business owners, we often hire fast, fire slow. Business takes off and we need help right away, so we hire the first person who walks through the door. I get it -- been there. However, once business slows down, we sometimes realize that person might not actually be a good fit for our business. Then we’re faced with having an awkward conversation and owning up to our mistake. Take the time to know the role you need to fill and the culture you are trying to create. But in the end, pull off the Band-Aid with a bad hire. Yes, it stings at first but with a little time, it heals and you forget the Band-Aid was ever there.

I will leave all of you to think about millennials  and to get to know them and understand them before you make a judgement on anyone of them. Times are changing as we all know and of course the old saying has been around for thousands of years which is that time is constant change and we as owners must always be willing to change with the times or die in the business world because you will not survive unless you understand change.

The biggest issue that I find in most if not all organizations is that in today's fast paced world people are still trying to manage as opposed to leading. When you speak of Millennials you cannot manage them but you can lead them. These guys can be the greatest employees specially if you are a leader that teaches them their passion.

Unless you are an army officer, you can get better results by requests than you can by orders. Napoleon Hill

Good morning everyone and once again like always I would like to thank you all those who continue to support my skill sets and my knowledge which I share with the world which allows me to continue to learn why people do that things they do and why people do not do the things they should do.

Someone asked me the other day which characteristics of a leader are the most important to me and the same question was asked of other people in the room and I was set back by some of the answers not because of the people in the room  but because of the people who made the statements because none specified transparency or mentioned the word.

I believe and always have that if a leader is transparent which means to show that you as a leader are a human being and that you also make mistakes and that you actually care about your employees by showing them where your company stands and why you are making the changes that you need to make and give them the option to leave or stay makes a big difference instead of only giving them half the truth and expect them to follow you!!!!! Are you F#$%^#@& crazy because it may work for a little while only and until they figure you out and then they will no longer trust you or respect you as a person. They may continue working but only doing just enough to get them their paycheck!!.

I have done so much research and spoken to so many so called leaders and to some great leaders which I learn from both and the create my own theory and put it to work and this is somethings that I found on why the so called leaders are not transparent; According to Glen Llopis who writes for Forbes magazine which I agree with the article where he states the following:

“The reason most leaders are not transparent is because they believe they will be viewed as less authoritative; that the credentials they worked so hard to attain will lose their power, leverage and gravitas,” Llopis opined. “This is the problem with most leaders – they are not aware of the reality that exists around them. People want to relate to … leaders. People want to know that their leaders have experienced the same problems and/or how they have overcome personal hardships.”

Of course, this state of affairs was not always the case, but all that has changed in an era when it’s de rigueur for people to publish their innermost thoughts and feelings online for the whole world to see via tweets, Facebook statuses, blog posts and the like. In the context of the digital age, it’s far less acceptable for firms to adhere to the traditional model of C-suite privacy. Executives should avoid being cloistered in the boardroom, routinely discussing matters to which the rest of the organization may never be privy and making decisions without soliciting any input from the workforce.

“Keeping things secretive makes employees less trusting, and less trusting employees are less likely to stick around,” explained Forbes contributor Ilya Pozin in a separate article for the news source.

Communicate everything workers need to know “clearly, succinctly and often.” Unless there’s a structured system in place to pass this along, important information will likely fall through the cracks. Make sure managers know what to say when put on the spot by those working underneath them.

“Anticipating tough questions, formulating the right keywords and sharing them with leaders at all levels allows everyone to answer them consistently,” Studer noted.

A lack of preparation can result in mid-level managers blaming those above them or offering inaccurate explanations, both of which can cause discord within an organization.

I wish I could take credit for this great article written by these two individuals because it is a great article to read. I believe that what is written here is some of the most important issues that hold back organizations from having a great team.

Did you know that in most big organizations 54% of good employees will leave when they work with bad leadership that is a lot of people leaving. This will also occur when you have toxic employees who are the that one in a group of 20. When you have a toxic employee on a team this will cause people to quit and the cost for replacement of that employee becomes about $13k  

OK so now understanding the above mentioned what if you have a toxic boss who uses power of position to  manage people with issues like bullying  then it becomes much more difficult to manage and to work under someone like that.

Many of you know how I have studied Napoleon Hill for many many years and a few more people from that era. I leave you with this thought:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unless you are an army officer, you can get better results by requests than you can by orders.

Armies spend endless hours training people to follow orders without question. It’s an essential quality in a soldier. In everyday life, however, things don’t work that way. Business, political, and civic leaders have learned that ordinary people will perform exceptional tasks when they are asked-not ordered-to do so. 

 

Even when you are managing other people, you will achieve far more if you convert every order to a request. Introductory phrases such as, “Would you mind …” or, “Could I ask your assistance in …” or the always effective, “Please …” will ensure success far more often than intimidating those who work for you. And when you need help from those whose paychecks you do not control, you will find them far more responsive to requests than to orders.

In a 2012 piece for Forbes, Glenn Llopis outlined several ways transparency can benefit a firm, including :
– more efficient problem-solving as a result of laying all cards on the table from the outset
– easier team-building through the open acknowledgement of groups’ strengths and weaknesses
– authentic interpersonal relationship growth between members of the organization
– greater trust and respect for company leaders as a result of executives presenting themselves in a more human light
- See more at: http://www.caldwellpartners.com/why-is-transparency-so-important-for-executives/#sthash.sqqzAKh1.dpuf

Transparency in the workplace has been linked to a number of positive trends, including higher rates of employee retention, increased worker productivity and an uptick in corporate loyalty among staff members. - See more at: http://www.caldwellpartners.com/why-is-transparency-so-important-for-executives/#sthash.sqqzAKh1.dpuf

Transparency in the workplace has been linked to a number of positive trends, including higher rates of employee retention, increased worker productivity and an uptick in corporate loyalty among staff members. - See more at: http://www.caldwellpartners.com/why-is-transparency-so-important-for-executives/#sthash.sqqzAKh1.dpuf

Caldwell Partners

Transparency in the workplace has been linked to a number of positive trends, including higher rates of employee retention, increased worker productivity and an uptick in corporate loyalty among staff members.

- See more at: http://www.caldwellpartners.com/why-is-transparency-so-important-for-executives/#sthash.sqqzAKh1.dpuf

Caldwell Partners

Transparency in the workplace has been linked to a number of positive trends, including higher rates of employee retention, increased worker productivity and an uptick in corporate loyalty among staff members.

- See more at: http://www.caldwellpartners.com/why-is-transparency-so-important-for-executives/#sthash.sqqzAKh1.dpuf

" Leadership Is When You Make Others Better Simply By Listening"--Dr. Luciano Santini

Hello everyone and well yesterday was day of driving all over town attending baseball games and there were some nail biters. I saw the leadership of one of my sons take over a game of course there was some coaching involved. There were down 17 to zero in the first inning. It was the first game of their season and what everyone saw unfold before their eyes to me was incredible.

The team began to speak and communicate with each other on the field. I heard my son telling the other team members "It is the first inning we have many more to go" I saw him cheering each member and then the rest followed the cheers and what happened next was unbelievable. In the second inning they scored 4 runs and held the other team through communication on the field.

The third inning the other team were held but scored one run. The fourth inning came along and at this point our team had to score three runs or it would be a mercy call and stop the game. The cheering started up louder then ever and just like that bases are loaded and one teammate smacks the ball out of the field and just like that the score is 17-8 and so the game continued.

 The fifth inning comes on and they hold the other team. They score one run. The sixth inning starts up the other team  gets two players on base third player comes to bat hits it to second and one out throws to first to my son and just like that double play and they hold them again no runs scored.

The bottom of the sixth inning comes up the cheering and by now of course the fans are screaming and cheering and bam! one gets on base the second hitter gets on base my son comes up and hits a triple two runs in and now 17-10 no outs. Then two more get on base and again a triple now it is 17-12 and no outs. Then a fly ball and one out bases loaded. One hitter comes up gets on base and then another bases loaded boom a triple not we are at 17-15 then two more hitters and two outs the end score was 17-15.

What I saw was a team that in the first inning were demolished and their coach was crushed to see their team like this but then the cheering the communication and the effort and the passion to win came through and all I can say was WOW!!!!!.

Now my question is how different is this from  leadership in organizations? I have seen it so many times where leadership just gives up on their staff and fires them because they have given up on them no cheering them along! no guidance nothing!!

A leader must have the capacity ti guide the vision of the organization! What does this mean well my friends this is what it means according to Warren Bennis-You must always be professional and know where you are leading your people to. You must have the knowledge and persistence to face issues and setbacks and perhaps even failures.  

You must have passion for what you believe in and yes you must love to do what you do and be able to show it.

I believe that this is the most important lesson to know. You as the leader must know your strengths and you must know tour weaknesses. You must always stick to your principles which by the way many leaders miss or do not have. A leader must learn from experience and be willing to learn from others.

Leaders must  earn peoples trust. A leader must be willing to take risks and be willing to try new things.

One thing that I have learned through experience is that you must be a great listener to the people you serve and to the people you are to lead but never ever become a prisoner of public opinion because a great leader is never ever defined by what other think or say.

There have been so many leaders through out the years and I have found through mush talking and much much research that the one thing they all had in common and I have said this many many times is that they have willing followers in other words people believe in them that they will do their best to dot he right thing in every situation.

There are many leaders out there that are well not leaders but they believe they are because they sit in a position of power which almost always will fail unless they are in a position where there is no way of having them removed. Why are these leaders great in their own mind but never with the people and have no willing followers well because simply put they focus on to much on systems and structure as apposed to focusing on people!!!

Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance!! Albert Einstein

Hello and here we are once again my friends. You know this past week was a hard week because a friend of mine passed from Cancer and the one thing that i will always remember about her was that she always stood up for what she believed to be the right thing to do whether you or I agreed or not she stood for what she believed to be the right thing to do and I have to say that that is a quality  that cannot be trained or learned because either you have it or you do not not. In life you have to believe in doing the right thing as many times as possible or else the question becomes who are you really?

In business and leadership it is really the same thing because either you are a good leader or you are not. I know that leadership skills can be learned or taught, however the individual will need to make the mind change to be a good leader and sometimes must go against the status quo.

One of the reasons that through my research and many talks both on radio and local television shows si the Leadership fails because they have no idea how to engage people and even more important than that how to empower them and even better than that inspire them to reach higher then where they are at that point or any point in their lives.I find that in all or most of all the training that I have done for small businesses has been the big question that owners or managers ask me is how do we engage,empower and inspire our employees to believe in t themselves and the vision of the enterprise?

The answer is really simple I tell them: You have to listen to their stories get to know them as human beings and not just as employees. If you want to truly engage them then you have to ask them what are their needs to reach a goal. I have found that when you want true engagement with any one employees,spouse or kids you need to listen to their stories.

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As a leader you need to allow people to vent their frustrations and as hard as it might be to sit there and just listen to them sometimes as a leader you learn to appreciate the people that actually do the work for you.

The question now becomes do you as a leader know what is engagement? To me and what i try to assist leaders to understand is that engagement is whatever the employee brings to the organizations as an investment from themselves to give to the establishment. When a leaders listens it equals engagement it also means employees will do their best work.

When leaders and believe me there so many that just do not get it no matter what you teach them or tell them. Leaders will just simply turn away and say that is not my issue or I do not need to know who they are they have a job to do and these are the type of leaders who will diminish from employees because employees will never ever have any kind of relationship with them and they will never ever trust them to do the right thing when it concerns them.

Let me say this that not all leaders are bad some are really good and they care for people in general. They will take the time to listen to an employee and actually take the time to help them if help is needed.

When employees feel this way they will feel supported and they will also become more productive and let me tell you when employees feel this way regarding leadership and management this becomes a big advantage.

I always tell both leadership and employees the following:

One thing that all leaders need to know at this time in history is that according to research done by Grovo.com is that only 31 %  of employees are engaged which means that the 2/3 of the workforce in any organization is liable to leave and as always have said and I try my best to let Leaders and managers know that great employees will always leave their leadership and not the organizations.

Albert Einstein said said something a long time ago:

He said that condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance!!

"I wouldn't mind if I failed because I tried something worthwhile.Siggi Hilmarsson

Hello to all my friends around the globe who continue to support my journey in changing the perspective of life one mind at a time. We go through life making mistakes and that is OK as long as you the individual making those mistakes learns from them. I find personally that in my life I have made mistakes that have cost me dearly from loosing friends and relationships to loosing out on jobs. I have also learned that if you learn from those mistakes you become stronger and a much better person then you were before.

 

Learning from people is one of the most rewarding times that a great leader can have when they are willing to listen and share their lives with them. many leaders today are missing this ingredient to success and I have to say is that they will eventually fail as leaders.Leadership is not about power and wielding that hammer down when a member of your team makes a mistake it is about listening and teaching the correct way and with a smile. I have studied Napoleon Hill for over twenty years now and I have to tell you that this man had and to this day continues to teach me many things about life,history,mistakes and how to overcome them.

Failure seems to be nature’s plan for preparing us for great responsibilities.

If everything we attempted in life were achieved with a minimum of effort and came out exactly as planned, how little we would learn — and how boring life would be! And how arrogant we would become if we succeeded at everything we attempted. Failure allows us to develop the essential quality of humility. It is not easy — when you are the person experiencing failure — to accept it philosophically, serene in the knowledge that this is one of life’s great learning experiences. But it is. Nature’s ways are not always easily understood, but they are repetitive and therefore predictable. You can be absolutely certain that when you feel you are being most unfairly tested, you are being prepared for great achievement. BY Napoleon Hill

Leadership today in many organizations are failing their organizations and their people. The biggest issue is that leadership believe that they know it all and they know what people think and should do when the facts are that most of the time they are so disengaged that they miss opportunities and ideas from people in general. Leaders should set aside any preconceived notions they may have about any topic, and listen attentively and not be a judge towards the words that come from another.

 Quote of of the day:

"I wouldn't mind if I failed because I tried something worthwhile.Siggi Hilmarsson

 According to Glen Llopis: Leaders fail in their primary role and responsibility of enabling the full potential in people and the business they serve because they don’t know the difference between substitution and evolution.   Instead of leading the organization and its people to continually evolve, they get stuck in a cycle of complacency and the substitution of activities associated with it.   

As a result, the company cannot grow or its growth cannot be sustained.These leaders practice substitution over evolution. Substitution is when you believe you are taking a different approach, but in reality it is all too similar to how you have led in the past – and not what the business needs to grow and compete in the 21^st century.   This type of leader seeks recognition for maintaining the status quo, rather than seeking to earn respect by identifying constructively disruptive ways of challenging the status quo.

Isolation Never A Way Or Technique To Lead--Dr. Luciano Santini

Hello to all my friends and well another week has passed now and here we are together again and so let us talk about  leadership a bit more because this seems to be an ongoing issue with everyone I speak to.

I believe that what seems to be and keeps coming up is that we have so many baby boomers trying to manage the new generations that are coming into the workforce with their old ways of managing which by the way is somewhat antiquated. Do not by any way think that there old techniques that do not work because the truth is that old way of managing can be good with the right way of training and implementing.

The main issue here seems to be understanding and isolation. What the hell do I mean by isolation you are asking? Well my friend let me tell you that in most cases I have found not only from experience but through research that I personally have done and tests that I have tried with my bosses and tests that I have tested in groups with staff members and I find that the biggest problem is isolation from leadership where they come to work and the only way or times that they will listen to you is if you stand in front of them or in their way as they walk in and they have to say excuse me to get passed you.

They walk into their offices and close the door and then they isolate themselves from having any kind of contact with people.What happens now is that people that you are supposed to lead begin to feel disconnected meaning they will do everything possible to avoid any contact. They will never ever trust you and perhaps start to sabotage the leadership members.People will also begin to feel unsupported and only do what they need to do to get by as far as work performance.

Here are some things people have said regarding leadership:

vlindervrij on April 11, 2013 at 5:11 pm said:

 

Three very important keys of being the most effective leader are:
1. Leaders are the most effective when they always investing in strengths.
2. Leaders are the most effective who surround themselves with the right people and maximize their team.
3. Leaders are the most effective who understand their followers needs.
When Leaders or anyone are without an awareness of their strengths, it’s almost impossible for them to lead effectively.
We all lead in very different ways,based on our talents and our limitations. Serious problems occur when we think we need to be exactly like the leaders we admire. Doing so takes us out of our natural element and practically eliminates our chances of success.

Ajay Kumar Gupta on April 10, 2013 at 7:40 am said:

  Leaders tend to isolate. More they reach up in hierarchy, more they tend to isolate people under. Since there are few people at the top and the responsibility is different, they generally feel to isolate people. And people below also tend to isolate them in routine matter. Leaders can overcome such tendency by remaining connecting with the people. The major problem why leaders or other people get disconnected is the perception of power.

 Lower level people or employees feel powerless and leaders are perceived powerful. And this feeling makes the difference. So, leaders need to create a feeling of equality, caring and approachable. Leaders should create a feeling that employees are not fearful from leaders.
Leaders on the other hands, should be humble and encourage more interaction with the people. They should come out of their cabin and make effective communication. Generally, lack of interaction, communication and interaction by leaders is perceived negatively. People perceived leaders biased. So, communication and visibility is the key.

I believe that when leadership isolate themselves it creates so much chaos and sometimes leaders because they have no idea how to have or create a dialogue with another human being it become difficult to manage anyone.My friends isolation is a killer in business in any business.

One thing we should all know and have a very clear understanding is that people are not stupid!!! They know when you are not a leader.

I hope you enjoy this article and if you do please share with leaders and if you are a leader then read and reread over and over.