Soaring Eagle Enterprises-Professional Development and Seminars

Best Auto Responder Messages

2008-07-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

1. I am currently out of the office at a job interview and will reply toyou if I fail to get the position. Please be prepared for my mood.
2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn't have received anything at all.
3. Sorry to have missed you, but I'm at the doctor's having my brain andheart removed so I can be promoted to our management team.
4. I will be unable to delete all the e-mails you send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
5. Thank you for your e-mail. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first 10 words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.
6. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection. Yourmessage has not been delivered. Please restart your computer and trysending again. (The beauty of this is that when you return, you can seewho did this over and over and over....)
7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system.You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive a reply inapproximately 19 weeks.
8. Hi, I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.
9. I've run away to join a different circus.
10. I will be out of the office for the next two weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Lucille' instead of Steve.

Growing Customers with Drip-Marketing (Excellent Article)

2008-07-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

or Everything I Needed to Know about Business, I Learned in My Garden
By Jim Cecil:

I am sure of this. When trust must go before commitment, that relationship is always a multiple contact affair. There have been many useful metaphors chosen to illustrate the intentional and careful cultivation of customer relationships. I have found growing customers to be a lot like tending my garden. The right amount of thoughtful planning and preparation, intelligent nurturing and diligent cultivating — and, yes, intentional even ruthless pruning nearly always pay huge dividends at harvest time.

Here are a few nurturing tips to help make your own customer garden positively blossom. Go ahead, play in the dirt and remember 'as ye sow, so shall ye reap'.

http://www.nurturemarketing.com/

Workplace Wonders-Great Article from the Las Vegas Review Journal

2008-06-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

Two local businesses earned spots on a list of the nation's 50 best small to midsize employers, and their inclusion on the roster holds lessons for other companies angling to boost employee morale in tough economic times.

The Society for Human Resource Management's Best Small and Medium Companies to Work for in America includes Las Vegas heavyweights in advertising and finance. Ad agency R&R Partners ranked No. 24 among small employers with 50 to 250 workers, and Nevada Federal Credit Union came in at No. 21 among medium-size companies with 251 to 999 employees.

To develop the rankings, the society evaluated 321 businesses in credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. Two-thirds of each entrant's score came from the results of a 57-question employee survey assessing trust between workers and businesses.

Read the rest of the article from the Las Vegas Review Journal http://www.lvrj.com/business/22706849.html

Current Events - Guns at Work?

2008-06-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

The right to bear guns at work – the struggle between individual rights vs. the employer’s obligation to provide a safe workplace. What do you think?

This battle is currently being played out in courtrooms across the country. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Washington D.C. ban on handgun ownership, upholding the 2nd Amendment. In the same week, six died in Kentucky when a worker went to his car, got a handgun, shot his supervisor and several co-workers before turning the gun on himself. The question is this - should business owners have the right to ban guns from the workplace?

Colleen Lohide Receives Professional Certification

2008-06-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

Colleen Lohide has received her Certified Protection Officer certification from the International Foundation for Protection Officers .

Colleen is a prior graduate our of Leadership Certification and Security Management Certification programs and currently a security trainer at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Congratulations Colleen!

Succession Planning

2008-06-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

Coach Eagle Welcomes Minerva Mendoza

2008-06-18T17:46:00.000-07:00

The team of professionals here at Soaring Eagle Enterprises continues to grow in order meet the ever changing demands of our clients. Our friends, colleagues and clients, like us, are very demanding; so we are very picky. Over the next few months, I will take this opportunity to introduce you to our team, as Partners in your Success.

What does it take to become a member of SEE? After almost a year of intense recruiting efforts, only a select few “survived” our Coaching Clinic this past Spring. This month it is my pleasure to introduce you to one of the chosen few, and the most recent Success Partner to join us at Coach Eagle.

Ms. Minerva Mendoza, MBA

Minerva’s passion for educating young people has made her the successful leader she is today. She is very involved with her children’s activities, a role model and community leader. Minerva currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern Nevada Hispanic Employment Program. SNHEP She has a commitment to mentoring young people to help them achieve their dreams. She brings that same passion for seeing others succeed, combined with her extensive knowledge of human resources and practical business processes to her coaching practice.

Professionally, Minerva is a specialist in Human Resources & labor relations with over a decade of practical experience in executive development, teaching, coaching and management. She earned her M.B.A. graduating with honors, and is beginning work on her doctoral program. Minerva is also very active in volunteer leadership of Society for Human Resources Management at the local and national level.

You can reach Minerva at m.mendoza@coacheagle.com

Question of the Month

2008-05-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

What skill or competency is most lacking in newer employees?

Leadership Communication-Frequency Matters

2008-05-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

As far as leadership jobs go, the strong, silent type need not apply. Leadership requires a consistent stream of quality communication to team members. Communication frequency is at the core of group performance issues like trust, understanding direction, achieving objectives and even integrity.

One common mistake made by leaders is that volume makes up for frequency. So instead of talking frequently with team members, the leader simply conducts a marathon staff meeting once a month. During that meeting, the leader pines endlessly about all the issues past and current and indulges in a pontification designed to prove their commitment to quality communication. A three hour state of the organization address does not make up for a lack of consistent and frequent communication on a more personal and individual level.

In comparing volume and frequency, consider the human disconnect point in communication. In any dialog, humans report that somewhere between ninety seconds and three minutes, when the object of the dialog is not forthcoming and the content has suspect value, people disengage and cease listening. So, as a leader drones on endlessly, the target audience is left day dreaming. Visualize a Far Side cartoon when the dogs hear “blah, blah, blah, spot.” More frequent and shorter interactions will cure this phenomenon.

The other big issue surrounding communication frequency is trust. Without frequent communication, team members will often mistrust the motive of the leader and lack the personal connection and loyalty needed to be as effective as possible. Equate this to personal relationships. When communication is infrequent, trust will often sag dramatically. When communication occurs, even in troubled relationships, trust can be established as a baseline for moving forward. Relationship therapists will always work to establish frequent communication prior resolving other issues in the relationship.

Team members also report that one of their largest frustration is not knowing where they stand with the boss. They are unsure of their future and don’t know where they fit in the organization. All of these issues are curable by increasing the frequency of leadership frequency.
The easy way to improve frequency is to remember that the leadership legacy is about other people’s achievement and not your own work flow. With increased communication, your team will gain trust and work harder for you.

Leadership-Communication and Richness

2008-05-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

The needs for effective communication in a leadership role are indisputable. The role of poor communication patterns and skills is equally known and understood. In fact, most issues surrounding team morale, lack of involvement, poor accountability and bad performance can be traced back to the communication of a group’s leader.

Communication is a tricky combination of art and science. In it’s basic form, communication is the flow of information between humans. The last part about being a human phenomenon is important to remember. Communication is a human connectivity that is critical to the leadership role because it enjoins people in a unique and personal way to the tasks and mission of an organization. It also relates directly to the personal nature of leadership and the connection point of why people will follow a leader. To have people to want to follow, the leader must communicate with them.

If you look at leadership as the consistent and constant application of skill sets, communication is the foundation upon all others will be built. Failed communication is the cardinal sin of leadership. Effective communication will be the rock on which the other skill sets rest.

Richness

The first concept of communication effectiveness in leadership is to understand message richness. Richness describes the total content within any communication and the connect points that a communication receiver is able connect. Richness is also highly related to the emotional nature of humans. Our team members are creatures of emotion and not creatures of logic. The greater the degree of richness, the greater the emotional connection to the message.

In-person interaction has the highest degree of richness because all parts of the message sender and receiver can be evaluated and processed. Body language can be read. Tone can be interpreted with accuracy. Clarification can be requested. Understanding can be evaluated. Rapport can be built. By far and away, one-on-one personal dialog has the highest richness.

When using the telephone, richness begins to diminish. Although tone can still be evaluated and clarification can be achieved, there are no non-verbal messages to evaluate. Similarly, in public communications, meetings and presentations, richness also fades because of the lack of interactive elements related to clarification and understanding.

Richness takes a final hit when we convert communication to the written word. With the exception of Nobel Laureate winners, most people cannot achieve any type of meaningful connectivity in writing. Even with emoticons, colored backgrounds and dancing symbols, emails have a coldness and lack any ability for clarification. Written communication also has a high probability for misinterpretation and misunderstanding. Humor and personality can rarely be translated in the written word.

One challenge to consider is compare the amount of time spent recovering from a misunderstood email to the amount of time spent to walk down the hall and talk to the recipient. Consider how much time you might spend repairing a relationship from a terse one line email. When possible, engage in interpersonal, one-on-one communication.

Unbelievable Sportsmanship with Some Great Life Lessons

2008-05-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

(CBS/AP) With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had never done, in high school or college. She hit her first home run, which cleared the center field fence.

But it looked like the shortest of dreams-come-true when she missed first base, started back to tag it, and collapsed with a knee injury.

She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch-runner could be called in, and the homer would count as just a single.

Then, members of the Central Washington University softball team stunned their home crowd in Ellensburg by carrying Tucholsky around the bases Saturday so the three-run homer would count - an act that contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs.

Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman, the all-time home run leader in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, asked the umpire if she and her teammates could help Tucholsky. The umpire said there was no rule against it.

So Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace put their arms under Tucholsky's legs, and she put her arms over their shoulders. The three headed around the base paths, stopping to let Tucholsky touch each base with her good leg. "It was the right thing to do," Holtman told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen Thursday. "She'd hit it over the fence. She deserved the home run."

"It's kind of a big blur at the moment," Tucholsky said to Chen. "I didn't really realize what was going on -- I've had people tell me -- until I actually had time to reflect on it." "The only thing I remember is that Mallory asked me which leg was the one that hurt," Tucholsky said. "I told her it was my right leg and she said, `OK, we're going to drop you down gently and you need to touch it with your left leg,' and I said `OK, thank you very much.' "

"We started laughing when we touched second base," Holtman said. "I said, 'I wonder what this must look like to other people.' ""We didn't know that she was a senior or that this was her first home run," Wallace said Wednesday. "That makes the story more touching than it was. We just wanted to help her."

Holtman is a business major from White Salmon, Wash., who hopes to study sports management in graduate school. She said she and Wallace weren't thinking about the playoff spot and didn't consider the gesture something others wouldn't do. As for Tucholsky, the 5-foot-2 right fielder was focused on her pain. "I really didn't say too much. I was trying to breathe," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I didn't realize what was going on until I had time to sit down and let the pain relax a little bit," she said. "Then I realized the extent of what I actually did." "I hope I would do the same for her in the same situation," Tucholsky said.

As the trio reached home plate, Tucholsky said, the entire Western Oregon team was in tears. Central Washington coach Gary Frederick, 70, a 14-year coaching veteran, called the act of sportsmanship "unbelievable." For Western Oregon coach Pam Knox, the gesture resolved the dilemma Tucholsky's injury presented. "She was going to kill me if we sub and take (the home run) away. But at same time I was concerned for her. I didn't know what to do," Knox recalled. "It's a great story," Knox observed to Chen, "something I'll never forget -- the game's about character and integrity and sportsmanship, and it's not always about winning and losing." Tucholsky's injury is a possible torn anterior cruciate ligament that will sideline her for the season, and she plans to graduate in the spring with a degree in business. Her home run sent Western Oregon to a 4-2 victory, ending Central Washington's chances of winning the conference and advancing to the playoffs.

"In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much," Holtman said. "It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run."

Question of the Month

2008-04-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

Who will play in the 2008 world series?

Ten Certificate Programs that Add Dollar Signs to Your Resume'

2008-04-11T19:34:00.001-07:00

From Careerbuilder.com

By Kathleen Nicholson, Classes USA
How do you train for the next level up on the company ladder, get skills that will match a new promotion, boost your earnings or even change careers without a hefty time commitment?
A short-term certificate program that focuses on specific skills within a profession or trade might just be the answer. Often offered online or part time for working professionals, they can take less than two years to complete and often serve as a springboard into of-the-moment careers that offer top earnings and job security. Here are some of the hottest certificate programs at campuses nationwide:

5. Negotiation or Leadership and Management: "Certificates [in these areas] can make an executive more marketable, or a CEO gain the knowledge they may not have to lead the company," says Peter Schatschneider of University Alliance, a group of online universities. "Professionals can learn soft skills or hard skills like project management."
The University of Notre Dame's Mendoza School of Business in conjunction with University Alliance offers these two executive certificates each consisting of three eight-week courses. Taught by Notre Dame professors using streaming video lectures, VoIP and interactive chat rooms, e-mail and whiteboards, for many executives it's a chance to learn specific skills that will further their careers. One recent certificate graduate, Richard Multack, used his Notre Dame certificate to get a promotion to chief medical officer for an 80-physician medical group in the suburbs of Chicago.

Kim Stott Earns PhD

2008-04-10T15:06:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Kim Stott for earning her doctorate degree in Educational Leadership.

Way to go Dr. Stott.

The Price of Gas

2008-04-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

Contribution from PA in Arizona, Nevada and California.

Meeting a Star

2008-03-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

While on vacation recently, we met someone at Universal Studios who is a star. Pretty cool stuff.

Better yet, she was our waitress.

Still better yet, she was totally okay with being a waitress and being a star and being from Las Vegas. She was an outstanding waitress.

After our interaction with her, I wonder how many of us would be okay with being near the top of a mountain and then joyously working below and outside of our talent levels. Which police officer would become a janitor to pay the bills? Which executive would work at the book store? Which insurance agent would mow lawns?

Anyway, it was very cool to meet Mikalah Gordon and best of luck to her with Gone Country and the Tyra Banks show.

Question of the Month-Burnout

2008-03-30T08:32:00.000-07:00

An interesting dialog occurred recently related to team member burnout. Someone suggested that those employees who are committed, focused and really connected to the organization's mission often suffer burnout. This is because they want to perform at high levels and exceed expectations.

The alternate perspective was about those team members who are not committed experiencing burnout. I would be very interested to hear about your perspective and who you think might be a higher risk candidate for burnout, the committed or the unattached.

Moses and Latin

2008-03-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

The Easter weekend tradition of watching the Ten Commandments or, at least pretending to watch them, was recreated again this year.

One of the most interesting observations is when Charlton Heston, as Moses, returns from the mountain with the ten commandments. If you look closely at the stone tablets you will see they are identified with Latin numerals. So not only did Moses get the commandments but he also discovered Latin in the process. And maybe more amazing, was able to keep this secret for 3000 or so years.

Tim

SPHR Certification for Jill Elliott

2008-03-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

Long time friend, associate and co-worker, Jill Elliott has achieved a great accomplishment related to the human resource profession. Way to go, Jill!!!

Jill Elliott, Senior Vice-President, FrancesPerkins Consulting, LLC) recently earned certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

The certification, awarded by the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), signifies that Jill Elliott possesses the theoretical knowledge and practical experience in human resource management necessary to pass a rigorous examination demonstrating a mastery of the body of knowledge in the field.

"Certification as a human resource professional clearly demonstrates a commitment to personal excellence and to the human resource profession," said Susan Meisinger, SPHR, President and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). HRCI awards two levels of certification: Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

To become certified, an applicant must pass a comprehensive examination and demonstrate a strong background of professional human resource experience.

HRCI is the credentialing body for human resource professionals and is affiliated with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world's largest organization dedicated exclusively to the human resource profession. The Institute's purpose is to promote the establishment of professional standards and to recognize professionals who meet those standards

Movies that Inspire

2008-02-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

With Academy Award season upon us, I am curious about what movies inspired other people. Maybe provided inspiration for various reasons. Maybe evoked a good cry or an unsophisticated belly laugh.

For me, Breaker Morant (1979) is a great tale of honor and perseverance. Patton is always great to watch, if for nothing more than the soundtrack. For mindless fun, Young Frankenstein is a hoot.

I am very interested in your movies of inspiration.

Tim

Innovation Versus Replication

2008-02-24T09:30:00.000-08:00

In a recent program, we had a spirited discussion about innovation versus replication and best practices. The leading question was about if replicating the best practices of others was really innovation.

Many people believe that they are innovating or inventing when they are just copying or borrowing the work of others. Even when they add their own spin or own take on the matter, is it really innovation?

This is a tough concept. Drawing the line between what I built and what I built using something I saw and liked is very thin. Maybe the best definition is about the number of potential solutions to an issue. When no single solution is sought, innovation can be acheived. When we work towards a single, defined solution, that is more likely to result in replicated activities.

Tim

Mouth Control

2008-02-21T10:45:00.000-08:00

Ever say something that just sounded ridiculous? Wanted to have the words come back the minute they left your mouth?

Yesterday, I approached a homeless guy and asked him if he was a little down on his luck. Although he was very polite (I think he knew he as about to get lunch or beer money), his look back at me immediately told me what an idiot I was. Of course he was down on his luck. This was not Donald Trump in deep disguise. This guy did not win the lottery and was planning how to spend it. What a baffoon I was.

Besides feeling like a total loser, the lesson is clear. Clearer after I got back into my truck. Remember to engage that carburetor between my mouth and brain.

Tim

MESSAGE RICHNESS

2008-02-18T16:01:00.000-08:00

The first concept of effective communication is message richness – the message (content) and the way the sender and receiver are able to connect.

Richness is highly related to the emotional nature of humans. In essence, the greater the degree of richness, the greater the emotional connection to the message.

First and foremost, it’s important to base the importance of message richness on this undeniable fact: We’re creatures of emotion, not cold, disassociated creatures of logic. And it’s vital to understand how message richness is achieved.

In-person interaction has the highest degree of richness because all parts of the message can be evaluated and processed. We take in and process all nuances. We understand the message better simply by watching body language. We best interpret tone. When we're there, right then and there, we can seek clarification. We can evaluate understanding, and rapport.

Over-the-phone interaction diminishes richness. Although tone can still be evaluated and clarification can be requested, we miss the non-verbal clues.

Perhaps surprisingly, in public communications, (meetings, presentations and the like), richness also fades because of the lack of interactive elements related to clarification and understanding.

Richness takes a final hit when we convert communication to the written word. With the exception of Nobel Laureate winners, most people cannot achieve any type of meaningful connectivity in writing. Written communication has a high probability for misinterpretation and misunderstanding. Humor and personality can rarely be translated in the written word. And, even emoticons, colored backgrounds and dancing symbols, emails have are impersonal and lack ability for clarification.

So how do you establish richness?

Compare the amount of time you might spend recovering from a misunderstood email to the amount of time it takes to walk down the hall and talk to the recipient. Whenever possible, engage in interpersonal, one-on-one communication.

COMMUNICATION = CONNECTIVITY

2008-02-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

Communication is a tricky combination of art and science. In its basic form, it is the flow of information between humans. In all its complexity, it surely must be regarded as a human phenomenon. Why is it so important to management leadership?

Communication is human connectivity. It enjoins people in unique and personal ways to the tasks and mission of an organization.
Communication is the inspiration point, the catalyst of why people follow a leader. To have people want to follow, the leader must consciously hone communication skills.

Get out your playbook. Over the course of this blog, we're going to hone communication skills specifically for managers, leaders and those aspiring to improve their lives. We're going to offer advice and easily executed tips. We invite your comments and dialogue.