San Diego Jobing Community Blogs

How did it happen?  Why did it happen?  What can we do to change it? Where did the process break down?

As the first born into a large Irish-Catholic family, I was mentoring my younger siblings by the age of 5.  In college, I was a Resident Advisor and Student Body Treasurer.  As a result, my skills in coaching and mentoring others were developed at an early age and highly influenced my decision to pursue a career in human resources management.

From my perspective, the term "human resources" is synonymous with the phrase "human relations."  Moreover, in my opinion, the function of the HR department is to enhance employee relations, or to help the organization manage and bring out the best of every employee.   On the other hand, the paradigm for many executives and American worker’s is that HR is confined to managing payroll, administering benefits, staying abreast of regulations and ensuring an effective recruiting process.

Unfortunately, this perspective not only undervalues the value HR can have in shaping the culture, environment and the development of staff, it results in HR being buried in administrative procedures rather than being a business partner to the executive team and an advocate for the employee’s.  Consequently, many HR departments have gotten lost and entangled with helping their company properly manage the mountains of government regulations and have forgotten about the real mission of their role in "helping people to grow."

Investors, entrepreneurs and even some employee’s will often say: "What choice do we have?  We must comply with the government regulations. While this “regulatory” role may drain the company’s resources, they must be carefully managed to avoid those draining liability suits.  Therefore, instead of "helping people to grow," which was done primarily through our training function, we got lost with helping our companies comply with all of the government rules and regulations.

Although, what most people don’t know is that by “hiring right” and “empowering” your HR lead to run their HR department as any other department - with an allocated budget and P&L accountabilities.  Accordingly, after a thorough indoctrination on effective HR outsourcing, today’s HR leader’s must, for their company´s survival and their own, get back to the original idea of "helping people to grow."

As HR professionals, our primary function is to develop the human resources. I would start by immediately re-examine, before it is too late, the original purpose of the HR function - to develop the human resources. And the best way to develop human resources is to simply, as the former CEO of Dana Corporation, Woody Morcott would say, "Just ask four magic words of the people that work for you - What do you think? Afterwards, you teach managers and supervisors to support their ideas and let them implement their own ideas. In short, “let them grow from their own ideas.”

Management is there to encourage, train them on new skills and to challenge them to grow.  HR is vitally important to the success of the modern corporation, not in managing the paperwork, but in leading the training effort to help people develop their unending capacity to grow.

To that end, it’s critically important that today’s HR leader’s promote and  foster leadership styles that empower its people, holds staff accountable (to both the “what” and the “how”) and allows employee’s to play a pivotal role in their own development, as well as that of the organization.

Recommended Reading : Conduct a key word search on the teachings and philosophy of leadership by Woody Morcott.

Do you recognize any of these employees?

-  The longtime employee who is well liked and calls in sick every other week, and usually on a Friday or a Monday.

-  The administrative assistant who wears tight clothes with low cut tops and leverages her “attributes” with men in senior management - yet spreads malicious gossip and undermines co-workers within her department.

-  The sales rep whose work efforts are inconsistent, fails to complete paperwork in a timely manner, is never around on Friday’s and considers himself a “rain-maker” who’s above the company’s policies and procedures that apply to everyone else (seems that every sales team has one).

-  The supervisor who comes and goes as she pleases saying she's taking “comp time;”  She lacks integrity, isn’t well liked and  holds her employees to a higher level of performance and attendance then she does to herself.

As employees, we’ve all worked with them…  the employee that consistently delivers marginal performance, engages in gossip, exhibits inappropriate behaviors and lacks respect for co-workers; and then there’s the one’s with the over-inflated ego that think the world revolves around them when, in fact, their simply masking basic insecurities within themselves.

As manager’s, we’ve all had to supervise them…   those employee’s that monopolize conversations, ask inappropriate questions, broadcast negative information, harass and bully others to get their way while putting forth just enough of an effort that (you think) prevents terminating them.  In a given month, these “problem children” will easily consume 80% of your time while your top performers receive less than 20% of your time.

They go by a variety of names and labels including “duds”, “bottom feeders”, “C” player’s,“lazy” or, my personal favorite “problem children” - they aren’t completely failing in their jobs, at least not to the point that you’re ready to fire them.  However, they’re falling short in one or more areas, and you know have two choices: 1.) Invest a significant amount of time and energy trying to bring them along, or 2.) sitting them down for what I affectionately refer to as “a come to Jesus meeting.” 

Assuming those areas in which they are “falling short in” aren’t due to a lack of training and you’re convinced that it’s simply a lack of motivation and an unwillingness to do a good job, it’s been my experience that “C” player’s will only “get-it” if you take the direct, upfront and matter of fact approach.

Specifically, sit them down and let them know that they have two choices: 1.) They can get on-board and be a productive positive contributing member of the team and that you’ll do everything within your power to help them be successful; or 2.) You will work with the employee to create an exit strategy where they will leave the company within a certain amount of time; however, the current path of “marginal” performance and inattentiveness to the details of the job is no longer an option and won’t be tolerated.  “So, what will it be?”

While it requires consistency – if not tenacity, as well as the strength to deliver some difficult messages and perhaps even the fine-tuning of the company’s paradigm as it pertains to accountability, it is possible to get rid of dead weight and send a message to the rest of the team that you’ll not put up with behavior and conduct that doesn’t support the team, your customers and the greater good of the company.

Over the years, many of the clients I’ve worked with have asked for my input and recommendation for dealing with these types of individuals.  Accordingly, one exercise that many of my clients have found to be of value is to conduct a forced ranking.  This exercise was developed by Jack Welch (the former CEO of GE) and it involves the creation of an old-fashioned bell curve.  Simply put, you evaluate each staff member on performance, attitude, attendance and anything else you feel it pertinent and then label each employee as an A, B or C performer. 

Once completed, you’ll have determined who your top 20% “A” players are, as well as which employees make up your “B” or “steady eddy’s” (that middle 60%) and which employee’s make up that bottom 20%, or “C” players rating.  Whether you conduct this exercise once or annually, you’ll then need to determine what you plan to do with the results. 

On an annual basis, Jack Welch would fire anyone labeled a “C” player; however, in today’s competitive labor market, most of the clients I’ve worked with have been reluctant to take such a hard stance and have instead chosen to marginalize their “C” players by prohibiting them from moving to another department or different role.  All too often, unfortunately, problem children are “moved around” the company rather than shown the door because they’re a relative of someone or are simply well liked; however, what sort of message does that send to the rest of the workforce? 

While my personal opinion is that all “C” players should be on probation and actively participating in some type of performance improvement plan, at the very least they should never be given any sort of raise (not even a COLA), bonus award or allowed to participate in any employee related programs such as mentoring, career development and/or any employee committees.

If all that isn’t enough, consider this…

-  Your problem child’s behavior could be so distracting that your top performers might be applying for other jobs and eventually retention within the department and/or company will be a problem.

-  The behavior and conduct of your “C” player’s will reduce productivity and overall job satisfaction for the rest of your team.

-  Liability!  Unfortunately, organizations tend to hang on to bottom feeders for different reasons; however, if their conduct interferes with the work environment and you do little to rectify it, you could easily find yourself defending a “hostile work environment” claim.

-  By not taking proactive actions to change this employee’s behavior or move to terminate this individual, you’re sending a message to the rest of your team that marginal performance is acceptable and, thus, reducing their motivation to do a great job – particularly if they’re required to pick up the slack of your “slack-y”.

-  Moreover, by not taking an aggressive stand with your problem child you’re undermining your own integrity and credibility with the rest of the team and creating perceptions that “you don’t really care…   you don’t have the skills or know how”…   or your “giving preferential treatment to C player’s”. 

Additional methods to consider…

-   Leverage your company’s EAP (Employee Assistance Program); explain how this employee benefit is completely confidential and is offered to help employees be successful.

-  Try to catch the employee doing something right; s cout for opportunities to say, “I’ve heard some good things about your new changes and work style.”  (The # 1 criticism surfaced in all of the focus group work I’ve done is that “positive reinforcement is rare and infrequent.”)

-  Emphasize your expectations; tell your employees, “I expect you to help and support each other”. Let me know “if someone’s specific behaviors prevent you from doing a good job, I want to know.”  If appropriate, sit down with employees to review how each feels about co-worker support.

-   If your company doesn’t have it already, draft a “Code of Conduct” that addresses conduct and behavior in the workplace that further fosters your company’s values, mission and vision.

-   DON’T REWARD poor behavior by giving the problem employee a work station that’s “off the beaten path” in an effort to separate them from others; don’t avoid interacting with this person; and don’t require more of your top performers because you know it will take too much of your time to give the poor performer added responsibilities.

-  Change the paradigm! Stop giving your problem children more time then you do to your “A” player’s.  Not only does this have the potential to create resentment by your “A” player’s, it actually rewards your poor performers.

-  Focus on work behaviors! This keeps the conversation centered on the individual’s actions—not his/her worth; describing unacceptable behaviors gives the employee a concrete picture of what needs to change.

-  Tell the person what you're not saying, this keeps the conversation on track. For example, tell him/her, “I’m not saying your work isn’t of value to the team and the organization, I’m not saying you’re not perceived as being a nice person. I am saying that you must change specific behaviors—behaviors I will go over with you.”

-  Explain that this isn't an option.  Difficult people can be clever with words—good at changing the topic at hand. It’s your job to say, “I understand your viewpoint; however, I must redirect this conversation back to your behaviors; tell the employee why his/her behaviors are unsettling, disruptive and even illegal;” Be Specific!

-  Work to get some sort of agreement in place.  Don’t order someone to change; instead, ask the employee if he/she understands how to change (the EAP could help you out here).

-   Recognize that most difficult people are not objective about themselves. They may not understand better ways to communicate or better ways to critique someone’s job performance. They will need very specific guidance and input (again, leverage your EAP)

-   Lastly, remember that California is at “At-Will” state.  You don’t have to put up with obnoxious behavior, marginal performance and conduct that’s disruptive to the rest of the team and the work environment.  Thus, you can and should terminate these types of individuals A/S/A/P.  The fact of the matter is, the longer you hold into “C” player’s the more liability you’re incurring on a multitude of fronts.

One of the most challenging aspects of supervising others is resolving problems – particularly those involving conflict.  However, as the supervisor, it’s your job is to identify problems and attempt to resolve them as swiftly and as professionally as possible.  While it’s often easy to ignore problems – especially those you might have inherited from another manager or supervisor with the hope that they'll just get it resolved, it takes effort, talent, integrity and motivation to recognize a problem and work to solve it.   

If, after everything you’re read, you continue to have hesitancy and uncertainty on what you should do about a specific employee, PLEASE go to a former blog entitled “The Differences Between Leadership and Management” that I posted on February 27, 2008.  After you’ve read it, ask yourself: “Do I want to be a manager (of people and processes) or a leader (and role model) that “walks the talk?”  You’re also invited to contact me directly if you’d like to bounce a couple of your ideas off of me.  I routinely offer this type of assistance to other HR professionals that are “stuck” on an issue.  My e-mail and office phone number can be found at: www.orgdev-solutions.com

 

 

While the “information age” has transformed the way we do business and has led to increased productivity, a reduction in labor costs and significantly impacted the way information is disseminated within an organization, it’s also led to more of an impersonal method of communicating and altered the ability to build relationships with an open and honest exchange of ideas.  As a result, the human capital component hasn’t flourished with the advent of technology.

Since the term “change” has been thrust upon U.S. Businesses - whether willingly or begrudgingly, the word “change” up to this point meant changing a strategic direction, launching a new product/service or modifying a tactical plan; however, with the unprecedented changes that are beginning to take place within the economy – particularly with today’s workforce and society at large, the “human capital” component must become not only part of the equation, but “the” fundamental central function.

While the past twenty years has presented most senior executives with  unfamiliar challenges, they’re relatively small and minor when compared to those that await them in the next decade as hundreds of thousands of baby-boomers retire and are replaced with the Gen X, Gen Y and Millenial’s (the later was recently coined by Sociologist’s as those born since 1980).  Furthermore, because there will be a shortage of qualified candidiates in the marketplace, factors such as "supply and demand" will  cause some companies to simply going under if they aren't prepared.

In other words, while the information age revolutionized the way companies function and do business, the human capital changes that are just beginning will surpass those of the past two decades in a number of ways.   Consequently, business leaders must possess an intimate understanding of the human side of change management — the alignment of the company’s culture, values, people, and behaviors — to encourage the desired results.

The best laid plans, themselves, do not capture value; value is realized only through the sustained, collective actions of the thousands — perhaps the tens of thousands — of employees who are responsible for designing, executing, and living with the changing and evolving environment.  While many workplace environments have already seen enormous change, it’s really just the tip of the iceberg.  In fact, within just the two or three years, employers are going to be forced to make employee satisfaction as much – if not more - of a priority as that of client satisfaction if they want to remain competitive.

At no time in history have business leaders found themselves forced into roles of social worker, therapist, coach, mentor and perhaps even parent.  Because of the impending shortage of talent, managers must adopt impeccable people skills and become experts in building relationships in order to attract, hire, retain and satisfy their workers. 

Unfortunately for today’s businesses, the changing demographics and competition for qualified talent is only part of the problem.  Sociologist’s and other contemporary scholars theorize that Dr. Spock and Mr. Rogers are to blame as well; they fostered parenting philosophies built on every child being special - a winner, no one was a loser.  In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to point out that all a child had to do was show up (whether it was school or little league) and they were showered with praise, attention and adulation. 

Accordingly, every child has been taught to believe that he/she is special, unique and talented.  Spock and Rogers discouraged, if not repudiated, the parenting methods that most baby-boomers grew up with where a child was disciplined – even spanked - and not all children were special, unique or talented.  While boomers were raised to “work hard… get ahead” and that  “nothing comes easy,” the Spock and Rogers generation has been so sheltered and coddled that they’ve never been faced with harsh criticism or told that they were not good enough – whether it was school, sports or entering the workplace.

Consequently, those same parenting philosophies are now following kids to college and into the workplace.  Prior to just recently, it was unheard of for a parent to call their child’s Professor, or boss, and complain about a grade or a performance review that wasn’t completely positive, affirming and tailored to their child’s unique skills and gifts; however, it’s beginning to happen more and more across this country.  It’s also becoming quite common for parents to write cover letters, send in job applications and even schedule interviews for their recent college graduate.  Meanwhile, their offspring are living at home, going to the beach, getting an allowance and still being told that they’re “special.”

This “helicopter” parent syndrome where today’s youth have never receive harsh criticism or told that they lacked certain skills or competencies combined with an ever increasingly shortage of skilled talent in the workforce is leading to the elimination of the old carrot and stick approach for managing workers and replacing it with the two carrot approach. 

And, while companies are going to need to “change” by finding creative methods to attract and retain their talent that will most likely include things like flexible work arrangements, greater perks and considerably more positive reinforcement and “stroking”, it’s also going to be a rude awakening and a stark change for the Millenial’s as they discover that they aren’t “perfect” or “unique” and that the world does not revolve around them.

Some economist’s predict that the shortage of talent could lead to even further and more drastic changes such as on-site day-care and gyms, more paid time off and a reduced work week as ways to keep and retain employees.  On the other hand, should our economy suffer severe economic setbacks or enter into a deep recession with double digit unemployment and inflation like we saw in the 70’s and early 80’s, the Millenial’s will have one rude awakening; no longer will they be in the drivers seat, thus, finding and keeping a job will be exceptionally difficult and the “bubble” that they’ve existed in up until that time will be popped.

As a result, it’s in the best interest of both employer’s and those entering the workforce to prepare for the inevitable.  For employer’s, a good starting point is investing in some reliable methods to solicit information from your employee’s…  what to they think about their work environment and culture?  The most obvious methods would include things like employee surveys, focus groups and team-building – all of which can be provided by a skilled Consultant.

At the same time, however, today’s younger workers would be wise to attend some job seeking skills seminars that teach them how to apply for jobs, write thank-you notes (an almost forgotten art), how to dress, respond to questions appropriately and how to sell themselves in the interview with confidence AND humility.  While it’s not going to be an easy path to chart as both parties seek common ground and try to understand the other parties perspective, the sooner everyone realizes what’s occurring and begins to change and modify their respective paradigms the more successful they will be in the long run.

Since “change” and “change management” is a core competency of this Consultant, please take a moment to view the attached “ice-breaker” that’s used widely with clients in the course of planning for change within their organization.  It’s always an eye-opener and a great illustration – especially for senior management.

   file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Mike%20Russell/Desktop/RebirthoftheEagle.pps

Part II of this series will highlight methods for transforming your corporate culture.  Enjoy~  www.orgdev-solutions.com

 

Since my background in HR and OD consulting started in 1994 in Seattle and continued once I relocated to San Diego following the “burst of the bubble” in 2001, many of my clients in the past fourteen years have been in some stage of “startup.” 

More often that not, during my first conversation with the key stakeholders, the two top strategies they sought counsel for were:

1.) How do we recruit, attract, hire and retain top talent?

2.) Is our total compensation package competitive with other organizations of our size, age, revenue and headcount?

During phase I of any startup operation, each founder, partner or investor generally hires the first 50 – 100 employees based on a pre-existing personal and/or professional relationship.  While this strategy can help them build early successes, ensure loyalty, as well as hard working employees, it always creates perceptions of favoritism, nepotism, unfair labor practices and an “us and them” paradigm down the road.

For that reason, it’s essential that Owner’s and Shareholder’s adopt some sort of formal recruiting and hiring strategy, or process, to mitigate those issues of potential liability and make certain that they are hiring “the right candidate.” The only way to guarantee that you’re sourcing and hiring the right candidates is to start the process with an accurate job description that details the essential job functions and core competencies for each position. 

Next, each manager involved in the selection process should be well schooled in the art of behavioral interviewing to ensure that each new hire possesses not only the required qualifications, but will also fit into the corporate culture that the founders are attempting to foster. 

So, once you have the “process” in place, how do you determine who are the right people and who are the wrong people?  It’s not that hard to tell. The right people are the ones that really, really want to work with you. You can tell they’re excited to be a part of the team. They actively look for problems to solve, and then solve them. This is a personality type that is very easy to spot once you know what to look for - they have fire in their eyes.

Based upon this author’s twenty-five years of experience, I advise clients to take the fired up employees any day over the more experienced but otherwise meek alternative.  Skills can be learned quickly on the job (excluding certain specialized skills). But if you aren’t already the kind of person who’ll just get the job done no matter what, you’ll likely never be.

Throughout the selection process, it’s also important to look for potential problems or “warning signs” - particularly during the interview; people who care about status symbols like titles, people who resent the success of others, people who act like they’re doing you a favor by talking to you and people who want to negotiate salary endlessly but couldn’t care less about the stock options aren’t what you want.

If you hire badly, it isn’t just that employee who’s not performing. They poison the entire organization. If everyone is pushing hard to get a product out the door, but one sulking individual is passive aggressive about working late, morale drops across the company. It spreads like cancer; therefore, while startups are consistently hamstrung by a limited supply of talent, from a strategic perspective, it’s better to not hire anyone at all if you can’t find the right person. 

Moreover, if you’ve got a product to launch and you’re ultimately trying to disrupt a bigger and better funded company, it’s likely that you are going to need a superhuman effort from the team. I sincerely doubt Google’s early employees complained about the hours.  Accordingly, while “work-life” balance has risen to the top of the list of considerations for many potential candidates, the vast majority of those involved with any startup operation would rather work an extra three hours per day then spend time with family or friends.  For that reason, it’s not uncommon that the average age of those employed within many startups is less than 30.

The simple truth for most startups is that they cannot waste money.  If they do, the likelihood of failing is increased significantly.  What that means is that they must find a real cheap office to start and don’t even think about administrative assistants – that’s a luxury reserved for more mature companies that have a long track record of success.  Other possible cost containment approaches could include doubling up in hotel rooms and not installing desk phones for each employee but rather give each employee a cell phone.

This belt tightening approach would also extend to the company’s benefits package as well.  For example, things like a matching 401k, pension plan, profit sharing, three or more weeks of vacation and free or inexpensive health benefits aren’t going to be part of the equation for most startups. 

The rule of thumb should be to spend wisely!  Thus, get your developers the hardware and software they need; pay your employee’s cell phone bills (the nice thing about reimbursing expenses is that it’s tax efficient to both the company and the employee).  Also, only attend those conferences that are necessary to push the business forward.

In addition, make sure your accountants and lawyers know that you are watching every penny by referring to your cost control methods often. The likelihood of “padded bills” will be far less if you do.  Although, you might consider balancing that with making sure they know that there’s upside - a successful client that raises venture capital, gets sold, enters into a lot of deals, etc. will generate fees for them down the road.  Ideally, you want them to see you as a business partner and not a cash machine.     www.orgdev-solutions.com

 

 

Over the years I have worked for several organizations in performance-oriented positions. Some of them were good and some of them not so much. The biggest difference I have noticed between the good and the bad is the way sales people are trained to handle conversations with their perspective clients. Fortunately, I am a corporate trainer in my company, which gives me the opportunity to influence the way my trainees form relationships with their potential clients. Before you read any further (or decide if sales is even for you), you must answer some of these questions to yourself.

1. Do you believe sales is a numbers game?

2. Do you think sales is like a tug of war, or a war period?

3. Do the friends and colleagues of your clients call YOU to do business?

4. When your client has a concern (objection), do you jump straight to your "rebuttal"?

5. Do you buy in to the ABC (always be closing) mentality?

Ok, so now that you have answered these to yourself, I will give you a little insight into my responses and thoughts on the above.

1. Guess what? Sales does not have to be a numbers game! In fact, sales is not a game at all. It's a business; a people business. Treat every client like a potential life-long friend and you will see how your sales calls/meetings will change. Understand that you are starting a long-term relationship so what you say to this person will come back to haunt (or benefit) you. Think of how you start a long term relationship with a potential mate and what the special ingredients to starting a successful relationship are. We all have daily, weekly and monthly goals in sales, which sometimes make us forget why we really pick up the phone, go on a sales call or perform the other activities which lead to sales. Do not get lost in the numbers, or you will lose in sales. Focus on taking great care of your potential client's needs and the numbers will follow!

2. The old way of selling tells us that you have to go into a sales call as if you were going into battle, armed with information and ready for the worst.  In this way of selling there can only be one winner, it's either you or them. Well, if you do what is in the best interest in your client, you can count on always getting the sale. It may not happen today or tomorrow, but if you are not pushy or abrasive you will earn your client's business and even the business of their colleagues and friends.

3. If you listen to numbers 2 & 3, this one should be a no-brainer. If you build a great relationship with client and always do what is in their best interest and profitable for them, you will have their friends and colleagues calling you to do business with you. Think of it as when you first start dating a great person, you want to show them off to the world don't you? If you treat your client like they have never been treated before, not only will they tell people, they will want to show you off. Get ready to meet their friends!

4. Objections are only opportunities to build value in your product or services. If you see objections as things that need to be "rebutted" with some clever line you have perfected, you may want to change your viewpoint. If a client expresses a concern, that is your cue that this is something important to them. Take the time to discuss your client's concern and show them how your product or services can meet their needs and solve the concern. Do not ever dismiss their concern as not important or valid. Instead, build value by sharing how their need can be met with the features of your product and how they will benefit from it.

5. When you take the time to get to know your client, address their concerns, solve problems and just plain LISTEN to what they have to say, the next logical step will only be to sign the contract! Make them close you! "So where do I sign up?" is what we want to hear at the end of every conversation!

There are many more things that separate the common salesperson from the top-performing consultant, but those are some of the key elements. Remember, it's all about the approach! Focus on the client and watch the sales, referrals and testimonials roll in! Happy consulting!

Alby Bocanegra, Training and Recruiting Manager

In 1994 I began researching at great length the nature of man. I wanted to know why it is we do what we do the way we do it. Over the next 14 years I continued my quest for THE ANSWER. In 1998, as I examined my own compilation of work, I came upon what was revealed to me as THE ANSWER in great detail. This work, not to be confused with other books and CDs with similar titles, reveals how man shows up in nature. Where the popular book and dvd "The Secret" opened eyes, THE ANSWER, allows people to SEE. Visualization and manifesting dreams into reality is great but handling life as it stands before you can often present obstacles that slow us down. THE ANSWER permits one to recognize solutions and develop strategies that are designed to enhance their unique physical presentation, performance and maintain the integrity of who they are. Showing up authentically requires intelligence and unfortunately our ability to access intelligence got lost in translation over hundreds of thousands of years. In fact, "We still are striving to recognize ourselves in our own individual states of authenticity, knowing deep down inside that there is a reason why we show up the way we do in this life. Yet, we still refuse to take the time to discover WHAT we are but rather prefer to subscribe to who we are. We are a species that can easily differentiate between a cactus and a willow but cannot see itself. We recognize that a cheetah runs faster than a cow but often judge man as inferior if he naturally moves a bit slower than another. This lack of sight is largely due to the noise of our lifetime and it likely all began when man uttered his first word."*

The wonderful results of enlisting a tool that affords one the ability to see the nature of another without uttering a word dramatically improves the decision making process. If you know you are looking at a cactus you are not going to recommend planting him in the snow. All too often we place recommendations and advise based on what works for ourselves. We are all very unique and cannot be homogenized. This lifetime prides itself in dumbing us down so that we can begin to understand ourselves. I am not so sure this is the right approach. However, I am sure that if everyone had THE ANSWER, there would be complete acceptance based on the OBVIOUS rather than opinion or subjective reasoning.

THE ANSWER is an overview of an in depth understanding referred to as the Knowledge of Y.O.U.. This body of information is grounded in science, founded in nature and serves as the impetus for the latest advanced human assessment technology today "THE ULTIMATE LIFE TOOL".

If you are life coach, a relationship expert, educator or HR professional you can benefit a great deal from this tool. To request THE ANSWER cd or learn more about YCG's services, simply contact YCG,LLC at 760.230.8016.

*Excerpts from the book THE ANSWER by Zannah Hackett

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San Diego Job Corps in Imperial Beach, CA offers free education and trade training for 16-24 year olds.  Job Corps is the largest nationwide education and residential of its kind with 122 Centers throughout the U.S including D.C. and Puerto Rico.

Contact us at 619 429-8500 for more information.

Pick me...pick me...that was the secret longing of my heart whenever it was time to pick teams when I was a kid! "Team"...it certainly didn't feel like a team especially when I heard those dreadful words "ok...I guess we'll take her." I believe it's the secret longing we all have...to belong, to be a part of something bigger than we are and be able to share it with those who appreciate us. It seems so simple and yet how many of us really feel that we are a part of that "team"...especially at work. It's "dog eat dog" out there...an utter competition at times to see who can throw who under the bus first. It is such a rarity that you find yourself part of a real "team." At the Marriott Gaslamp Quarter we are very careful in selecting our team because we truly believe that "one wrong hire could ruin an amazing atmosphere!" However, for those hired they will never hear the dreadful words that still ring in my ears to this day...they hear "welcome to the team!" And although those childhood memories are with me to this day...I can finally say...I am a part of the team and I contribute to it's success every day. What a great feeling!

The Bradley Court in El Cajon offers a great opportunity for CNA's and LVN's looking for a new home. We are hiring for all shifts - please call Tanya at  (619) 448-6633 for more info.

Ever wonder how important your resume is in catching the eye of a company? Recently, I was talking with a recruiter. He informed me, he spends an average of 8 seconds looking at each resume! He skims the page looking for key words (particular skills, degrees, and experience)and if he doesn't see these key words, it is time to move to the next resume.

If his eye catches the key words, he will then spend about 1-2 minutes looking for other important aspects such as accomplishments and work stability. This 8-year veteran recruiter will not read a resume over 2 pages long, no matter how good it looks at first glance. He just doesn't have time to read all that information. He loves bullet points, short sentences describing what has been achieved, and a clear job objective. One of his 'pet peeves' is a resume with a generic job objective!

When posting your resume on line, go back often to update or refresh your page. Many recruiters will seek a certain number of resumes at one sitting. If they find what they are looking for after skimming the first 15 resumes, they simply stop looking.

So, next time you send or post your resume:

• be clear and specific about what you are looking for
• be concise in your job qualifications and descriptions
• focus your resume to the employers needs, skills, and experience
• update your resume often to keep it current and 'on top of the resume stack'

Think about all of those Friday mornings when you would just love to get out of the office and network for a couple of hours.

Maybe you’d like to discover more about making learning stick. Or how about managing high-risk employees? On top of it all, what about networking with your peers in regard to figuring out how to go home without being exhausted from work?

You could learn about these topics, and many more, by attending the Training & Development exchanges each month through San Diego State University’s College of Extended Studies. The workshops take place the second Friday of each month from 8:30-10:30 a.m. , starting again on Sept. 14 with “Train to Ingrain: How to Make Learning Stick.”

Sounds like a good way to spend Friday morning once a month!

For more information, visit www.ces.sdsu.edu/tde.html or call (619) 594-1138.