Be Thankful Specially To All Those Naysayers For They Will Make You Stronger- Dr. Luciano Santini

What a weekend? I hope that all my readers and families had a beautiful and wonderful and full of joy Thanksgiving!!! There are so many things to be thankful for. I talk to so many people who do not realize what they have to be thankful and grateful for but complain about everything.

One has to be happy just to be alive to be able to wake up the next day and say wow! I made it another day. Each day that I awake I am grateful and thankful to spend one more day with my beautiful wife and kids. When I speak to people or clients regarding their attitudes towards others they flinch and well the responses are not very nice: So I ask them why and of course I get every excuse not to be nice, thankful or grateful. My job at this point of course is to bring them back to reality and ask the right questions.

Do you have food on your table? Yes is the answer. Well there are many who struggle each day. Is your health good? Yes is the answer: There are those who struggle to breath each day. Do you have kids that have good health? Yes is the answer: There are those parents who spent their days in the hospitals around the world next to their kids to make it another day.

The world is not a very nice place people will always say and I say it is  not the world that is not nice but the individuals who live in it and who create the environment around them. There is so much hate,greed and miscommunication that it creates wars around the world and our neighborhoods. People then ask me questions like; Tell me how do you stay so positive.

It is not easy but you have to make the effort if peace is what you want. You have to smile when you should be screaming. You need to walk away from an argument when you feel like punching that person in the face. You need to cry whether you are a man or a woman when something hurts including words.

Be thankful not just for all that you have but also for what you do not have. Be thankful for all those that you love and also for those who hurt you because those will be the ones to give you strength and poise and push you forward while they will live in their negativity and not know it. 

Think about how sad it is for those who try to hurt you and you just smile at them. Think about those who have tried to make you look bad at your company and you just continue to help. Think about those who wish you harm or failure only to find them fail within. I would say be thankful for all of the above.

How many time have you had a great idea and share it only to be taken and used before you had an opportunity to use it yourself. It happens all the time to me and that is why I only share stuff that is old and has been used by me prior and has been published somewhere. IDEAS!

Ideas-Napoleon Hill

Ideas are intangible forces, but they have more power than the physical brains that give birth to them. They have the power to live on, after the brain that creates them has returned to dust. 

Remember, you can place under obligation to you anyone you can induce to accept favors from you.

It is a very basic human characteristic that we tend to respond to others in the same way they treat us. They will always remember the kindness you extended, and someday when you need it most, help will appear from a totally unexpected source. The kindness and courtesies you extend to others need not be large and expensive. 

 

A kind word, a friendly greeting, or assistance with a favorite project lets others know that you care enough about them to lend a helping hand. When you help another cheerfully and enthusiastically without asking for anything in return, the law of compensation places that person in your debt. You have made a friend who is now interested in your success.

"The first step will always be the most difficult to take"-Dr. Luciano Santini

"The first step will always be the most difficult to take"-Dr. Luciano Santini

 

  Hello and here we are again to start a great weekend  and wondering why so many people seem angry at everyone around them specially those who are in high leadership roles and no one knows how they were able to get to  that position. Well let us see if I can bring some light to this ongoing question.

I find that so many people ask me during research or interviews with high executives and staff. The question that I would like to focus on today is one that comes up all the time. Why and how did that guy become our leader?

Question number two: Why does that person try so hard to keep me from promoting? I always tell them that I will try to find out the answers. Here is what I have found out. I believe that the answers go way back in time a time where there was no need to have a real education but hard work and learn as you go type of training.

However do not get me wrong there are some great leaders that have had no education and have been great leaders and have proved to have great teaching skills. The questions come from people that are from today's era the new generations that seem to want constant change.

 I have learned that some so called leaders who are in top positions have no idea how to manage knowledge but people only and they base whether to or not  to promote on what they believe is close to their type of education which seems to fail them constantly.

I have found that people get promoted based on how many favors you can do for them or how many times you invite them to lunch or coffee. I know you know the type I am talking about. Today's organizations are on a constant change and that is because change is inevitable and is the only thing that is constant in the circle of life and business.

 I know for a fact that most leaders know and understand this constant however they seem to fail on the part to teach and find the right people to do the jobs with the skills that are needed today and not yesteryear's.

I love this quote from Napoleon Hill and I also believe that there is so much truth to this;

It’s a sure thing that you’ll not finish if you don’t start. Napoleon Hill

An ancient proverb says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” You have probably known people nearing the end of their life’s journey who looked back and said, “If only I had done things differently…. If only I had taken advantage of that opportunity when it came along.” Unfulfilled lives are filled with “if onlys.” 

They are the refrain of the timid souls whose lives were finished before they ever really got started. Life is filled with many opportunities — for great successes and spectacular failures. It is up to you to seize the initiative, to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. You are condemned to a life of mediocrity — unless you get into action. Don’t delay; do it today! 

I believe that today's leaders again not all of them but those that seem to be failing with their staff because they are bad staff and they do not listen when the truth of the matter really is that they have no idea how to manage this types of knowledge and they become frightened by them which then becomes an issue and hinder them from promoting. 

There is only one way to succeed and be able to move forward if these type of leaders cannot be removed from their positions. The issue is that these leaders are so mind formed in their old ways that the only way this will change is to have them removed or forced to retire. Sometimes they can be retrained if they allow themselves to do so with an open mind but I can tell from research that most would rather retire then to make any type of change.

There are so many other issues in every organization that need to be resolved but leaders have to be able to understand that change is needed. So many organizations believe that because people somehow manage to get by despite language and cultural barriers, that this is not an issue when in face is a really really big problem.

The one thing that they need to understand is that there is a real cost to operational efficiency, also a cost in team cohesion, and a cost in safety. If these leaders whether old school or new era leaders can learn to improve efficiency, cohesion and safety by addressing language and cultural skills then and only then will business results be improved.  

I love the fact that when my blogs are read I find that leaders always call me or ask me how they are able to use some of my techniques and ideas which makes me so happy to see in action. 

Here is one last fact for you; 90% of business leaders surveyed stated that their staff have a deficiency in language and has become a very big challenge and also that only 1/3 go to HR to try to solve the issue and the rest just try to make it by which will lead to a dysfunction within the company and by the time the leaders get a whiff of this happening the organization will already be in distress. 

"If a person cannot say what they feel then they will feel what was never said"-Dr. Luciano Santini

Good morning to all my readers and thank you for your continued support. Today I would like to talk  about a few things but one being people of character do what they say they will do, when they say they will do it, and according to agreed-upon conditions. They are the leaders, the individuals to whom others turn for guidance, because they have demonstrated that they care, that they can be trusted. If you respect yourself enough to keep commitments even when it’s inconvenient to do so, others will come to respect you too. Dependability, like any other character trait, is a habit

I know that sometimes I write perhaps what I like to call controversial stuff but hey someone has to say it! I believe:

 "If a person cannot say what they feel then they will feel what was never said"-Dr. Luciano Santini

The one issue that I always seem to have when training and teaching executives is that though they usually think that their peers and employees believe in them and trust them. This is such an issue almost in all corporations in both government and privates sectors. What I found while doing surveys and interviews with both top leaders and staff was that those thoughts were completely made up in their minds because when talking to middle management and then employees the truth was and still is that most of the time they are not respected but both middle management and employees will follow policies and procedures to keep top leaders off their backs giving the perception that all is well and yet everyone is dysfunctional. 

I can tell you some reasons why this happens. One reason is by simply saying that any solution to a problem that was not their idea (Top Management) is rejected. I can tell you that most of the top management is very good at one thing which is deception. They will play the good cop bad cop and deceive good hard working people and you just have to be just as good to be able to see their deception and in today's world it is not very difficult to see.Then there is also a favorite that is used today which is (Top Management) will create the process to the solution using mechanics which will become boring and no one will want to do it. 

Then there is the favorite of all to break up the solution into so many pieces that to many people will be involved thinking that they are doing the right thing and yet at the end come up with so many ideas that nothing will make sense and once again the top leaders will of course reject at the end.

My favorite joke of all time. We have an open door policy!! How many times have we heard this one before! I understand the reality of this world today in business and I also understand what it means to have a true open door policy. I have personally worked with some amazing leaders who knew and understood what it meant to have "An open door policy" And unfortunately I have also worked side by side with leaders who openly voiced their open door policy but was the biggest joke among all staff.

In many surveys and in many interviews with top leaders in top organizations both government and private I would ask the question; What does open policy mean here? Most would just simply say that they had no idea what it meant or that nothing like that existed currently and yet I would see postings by a leaders office that stated the open door policy.   What most said was the following; "It means that if you do not like the way we do things around here leaders would be more than happy to show you the open door" I know pretty sad but yet it is a true reality among most organizations today.

In today's world of business I find that most  bosses do not ever say that someones idea is not wanted or that it will never work. I always find that when you bring an idea to a leaders that manages by power of position that a few raising of the eyebrows or well placed frowns or a reiteration of the issue and of course their time in the company is enough to kinda tell you that your ideas are not welcomed. One of my favorite of course is the conspiracy of silence from peers! What do I mean by this well let me explain. 

Let us say you have worked with a team for a while and you have some great ideas that have been proven among top leaders. Then at one time or another you do something that is so good they look bad somehow and yes it was not their idea. They also know you have the intellectualism and are afraid of it.

 What the so called top leaders will begin a conspiracy to manipulate those around you that allow themselves to be manipulated to simply stop speaking to you or the best one yet make themselves so busy all the time that they will not return phone calls or give you assistance. 

I will tell you again you have to be able to see it to survive in an organization because if you do not then you will drive yourself insane. I have seen great managers leave organizations when the so called 'Top Leaders" do such things but once again if you see it! I can tell you that it is the funniest thing to watch as it unravels.

Many conversation from my research and interviews admitted to me that they contributed below their capacity simply because so called top leaders had no idea how to manage people's knowledge. I worked with an individual who had been a dishwasher for over ten years in a hospitality organization.

 He did not speak one word of English. One day I asked him how we could streamline a process to avoid so much breakage of dishes and glasses. We were buying cases and cases every month to replace the breakage. He responded that his supervisor never listed to his ideas and so he stopped saying anything.

 I listened to him implemented his ideas with his direction and voila we saved close to one hundred thousand dollars across the organization and yes he was well taken care of and was sent to management school where he learned English and management skills that eventually made him a top leaders in the company.

My friends the Psychology of managing and learning must be a competency for management. The issue is here that to many so called leaders are not leaders at all but somehow ended in a leadership role and simply manages by power of position which is the worse thing a company can do to their staff.

The Psychology Of Training And Learning The New and more Effecient Way

I am sorry I missed writing the blog for you this past weekend but I have a good excuse. I had surgery and was literally out and bedridden for five days. I am much better today and well all I could think was about writing my blog and well here we go.

While I was learning and studying psychology I have to tell you that it is not an easy subject. I have learned that while you may think you know people there is always something that will bring about a new way to think and to study the human mind. I have found that when leaders treat people with respect and dignity they will always earn their respect. 

I have always found it challenging to know that research brings out so much more in a person the when they had before they started the research. So how has recent psychological research taught us in leadership?

I have learned that there are several factors in the human mind that needs to continuously stay alert and ahead of the times including technology.

I will give you an example: So many leaders or people in leadership roles still believe that when you offer a reward to someone that they will actually do a better job but the reality is that there persons motivation will decline more so then when there is no reward but simple become ,more competent in the learning  process of the human mind.

 This will also have an affect on their ability to focus on one task at a time because leadership will assume that because this person is so smart that they can do more than one task at the same time which by the way will inhibit the person from doing completed staff work and when they are done they will feel as failures because they will attribute their failure to the ability of within as opposed to the effort that should have been given from within to complete the task.

Another great example is that when leadership in any organization fails to understand the way to teach and train properly not because the leaders are not good trainers but because they are not good teachers nor will they have real life examples to share where the staff can become real and also be able to understand.

When top leaders have a clear understanding that from where they sit and look down that they clearly have no idea what is going on and that they should involve those who actually do the work to create new ideas and policies  by actually letting them structure the models for all to follow including leadership because what I have found is that simply put most leaders are so out of touch from reality that when they create their new policies they are so wrong and actually inhibit their company from moving forward.

It has been proven that when staff are allowed to come up with a better solution to a problem the solution that they come up with has been much more efficient then the policy that was written by upper management.

Leaders have to understand sooner or later I prefer sooner but in most cases they do o not understand until it is way too late in the process. They must ask great questions like reflective questions;

• Recount their thought processes as they attempt to solve a problem; and
• Make graphic representations of their thoughts and knowledge

We frequently hear that staff have disparate learning styles: That some are auditory learners, while others are visual or tactile or kinesthetic learners (who learn by manipulating objects or engaging in projects) or analytical learners (or prefer information presented in sequential steps), or global learners (who do not like to be bored and prefer various kinds of stimulation). Then there are other learning styles: competitive, collaborative, independent, dependent, participatory, resistant, and avoidance.

 Rather than placing staff in rigid categories, it appears that most staff learn in multiple ways and that it is best, therefore, to present information in multiple ways and yet it is always thought such that one way fits everyone and thus failure will occur and still upper leadership does not understand.

How does work environment affect staff? It influences their verbal, quantitative, and subject matter competence, their cognitive skills, their identity, self-concept, and self-esteem, and values and attitudes.

Students’ psychological development does not end at adolescence. Indeed, it is clear that the working years are just as important in employee cognitive, emotional, moral, and social development. 

 The leadership group is the single most important source of influence on employees development: on personality development, attitudes and values, behavior patterns, career development, and satisfaction with their current work.

As a leader, one of our most important tasks is to guide, motivate, and assist employees through this maturation process. Employees must recognize the limits of their current skills, knowledge, and perspectives. They must realize that leadership is there to help them understand where they are.

 I found that most leaders in leadership roles tend to go from an approach —such as rote memorization, the mechanical use of formulas, or the parroting back of ideas from a policies written so long ago that the words do not make sense to the new generations.These types of training's and teachings  no longer are enough the work environment, where a premium is placed on originality, high-level analytical skills, and facility in writing.

     

The Mind is A Beautiful Thing Learn To Use It--Dr. Luciano Santini

Hello everyone, today is a day that I will talk about a few different things. How many times do you either receive or give a performance review? How many times do you feel that what you were given does not come close to your true evaluation?

I have found that so many people are so disappointed when the receive their performance review because what management feel needs improvement doe snot make sense half the time. I did a research on this subject and what I find is that most management in both for profit and non profit organizations are so out of touch from the real world that instead of giving a real performance review what they give is a ready made template.

What does this do to both the organization and to the person receiving this performance review? Well for starters it hurts the organization simply because the person will either feel great or feel like leaving the company and leaves a question in their minds: Does this manager really know what he/she is doing?

My friends this is a failing process because most of the time the leadership do not know how  to improve the persons performance unless they actually place themselves in a position to actually teach the skills needed to improve performance. 

I hear so many times that older people do not function as they should in today  world when the truth is that management focus on the issues and the age instead of actually focusing on the behaviors people show. Leaders need to focus on what the needs are and train and lead by example and give praise when they succeed.

When management sit down with a staff member and give them their review sometimes things are not understood as they were meant to be and people will assume they do understand what they heard.Often, however they fail to check for accuracy of what was stated and thus creates issues in the future. Management need to be able to expand on what they say to staff members making sure that there are no problems with what was written or explained and this is where many will fail

One other issue that I find in many organizations is that management rarely sit down with staff and ask them about any issues they may be having which may affect their jobs. Ok Ok perhaps some do but then they do not follow up and fix the problems and that can sometimes become a bigger problem because then staff will not trust anything you say. if you fix the problems staff informs you then it will show responsiveness and they to will respond to your needs when called upon.

By doing the above shows that you are not only trying to help create a better working environment but actually engaging them and creating a better working team. I have to tell you it is much better to have a team that works as one. On e thing that I always suggest to organizations and their leaders is that when you assist your staff be genuine be a real person even if it mans that you may have to lower your guard a bit.

 leaders are human too and make mistakes like everyone else, however real leaders will laugh at their own flaws and they do not play make believe because they know that it is better to be than to seem to be.

Character is accurately reflected in one’s mental attitude.

Napoleon Hill

Without a strong foundation built on positive character traits, success will not long endure. It is virtually impossible to fake good character. Phonies are quickly spotted because they haven’t the substance and determination to maintain the charade. Developing good character begins with a positive attitude. Your desire to be a good, decent, honest, considerate person must first take place in your mind. When you make the decision to become a person of character, you will also find that you are much more willing to do the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do.

The Will To Learn New Technology And Be Ready To Accept Innovation Equals Great Leadership-Dr. Luciano Santini

Here we are once again and of course I will continue to talk about leadership in this world today. In many organizations I find and have found in the past when I had to do research that every company wanted the best of the best to work for them but somehow never had the best of the best and the question I always asked them was WHY?

There answers were really not good or specific but disturbing. Some would say that it was because they were always getting the wrong people or people in general lied regarding their skill sets. I would ask again and again why? and What do you think the problems is? Again the reasons were always the same and never specific.

In order to get the best of the best for your organization you will have to take risks with some people and yes you will make mistakes but have a process in place in case you do make mistakes and of course most organizations do not have any type of process in place.

The key to acquiring the best of the best is that your leadership within the or any organizations is to have great leadership that will know who they are interviewing. The problem that I have found over and over is that leaders end up in positions not understanding their competition nor the trends on hiring which will always fail because trends are always changing as I always have said change is inevitable.

One thing that is hurting our economy is that today the need to fill positions in every industry is growing fast but the real issue is that the talent cannot be found.In order to know the trends you have to do your research and most leaders today which come from the directive/control era do not have the knowledge to do the research and the people they have working for them do not either simply because of resistance to change.

The issue is growing that most of today's leaders have no idea of what is coming. You have to learn to stay ahead of the game and look for the talent to assist specially the millennials. The millennials have the knowledge and the skills to move your company. The organizations must be able to understand that innovations are needed with every step that any company wants to take.Another issue is the that the technology available today can break and ruin a company and today's new workforce understand that and they can assist in making things right that have gone wrong.

I will say this again and again that the direct and control management styles do not fit well in today's world of Leadership or management these have to change but time after time they stay the same.Organizations like staff agencies will always tell organizations that they have the best of the best talent for them but let us be honest they have a hard time finding talent due to companies wanting the best of the best and guess what; If they are the best they do not need a head hunter or an agency to find them employment they will use technology and knowledge.

By finding smart and motivated people, you begin to change into a place where they drive themselves harder than any boss could. Excellent employees are continually raising the bar on themselves; any mediocrity will be obvious. That’s when positive attrition begins to kick in, similar to a sort of exponential “top grading” — you inevitably end up with an entire team of excellent workers.

"Bang Your Head Hard Enough ideas Will Come"-Dr. Luciano Santini

Wise persons are those who think twice before speaking once.

Napoleon Hill

Perhaps the greatest quality in a leader and the most valuable skill in building relationships is the ability to think before you speak. If you have a tendency to speak hastily in anger and regret your actions at leisure, the childhood admonition to count to ten before speaking will still serve you well. When you pause — if only for a moment — to consider the consequences, you may think better of what you were about to say. And if you must speak strongly, it’s a good idea to sugarcoat the words — just in case you have to eat them later. 

This is something that I truly believe when you have a leader that you are working with. I have seen so many so called leaders open their mouth thinking that either people do not see their incompetence or that their staff are blind to their mistakes when it comes to people. So called leaders just do not understand people in general and so they will say things in front of people like little stabs thinking that people do not understand what is happening. So -called leaders have no idea when they stick their foot in their mouth and it is pretty sad to see it happen right before your eyes.

It is no wonder these so called leaders have no idea how to build a team. It is difficult enough to get people to come together but it is more difficult to live with a team that does not ever come together and the so called leaders turn their face away and simply avoid the real issues. One thing i teach and train leaders to do is to continuously visualize a positive end result as a team.

The leadership must always use the 70-20-10 rule which is 70 % listening 20 % to inquire with just the right amount of advocacy of course most leaders do not know or understand what this means.One of the most important things that a leader needs to learn is to always  put other people's needs to express his or her agenda ahead of their own. The biggest issue is that most leaders care about their agenda and suggestions then other people's ideas and what they do is shut them down.

One thing that I see across the board in both private industry and non profit but mostly in government jobs and positions is that leadership are not capable of getting the job needed for success done because they are afraid to remove people who are failing to help them build success instead these that stop success and others from moving forward will be rewarded simply to get them out their hair and thus avoid the real issues.

One other thing that I find is that employee\s today are hungry for real life training that will actually teach them something. Ineffective legacy training programs are so costly and actually under serve the organization's learner's. In this scenario about 40 % of training will fail and yet knowing this organizations continue to bring in this type of training for their employees. you have to understand as a true leader that when you bring in the right kind of training and at the right time and in the correct way your staff will respond stronger.

According to Grovo.com the five most important key values most people specially the new era employees such as the millennials are as follows;

Development- meaning  Hunger for learning the correct way.

Meaning- Have training and learning that matters and will make a difference in their lives.

Autonomic- Most people hate micromanagement and micro managers.

Efficiency- Train in a way that will always show a better way and be open to new ideas and suggestions.

Transparency- As leader you need to share information so employees know and understand the why.

'We need to believe that we can lives through information and the correct way of training so people can learn what and why the changes must take place'-Dr. Luciano Santini