Ed Burke’s experience is pretty common. Many of us labor under the delusion that our job is to tell other people what to do. It’s not. The wisest among us use their intellectual gifts to come up with better questions.
While we think taking in extra gets us recognition, I’ve been coaching some folks to say no more to improve their leadership.
Before the pandemic, the World Health Organization identified burnout—defined as workplace stress left unmanaged—as an occupational phenomena. In fact, WHO attributed more than 745,000 deaths to overwork.
It’s hard to say “no” to work requests because we are pro-social creatures, says Deborah Grayson Riegel, coauthor of Go to Help: 31 Strategies to Offer, Ask For, and Accept Help.”We have been wired since the beginning of humanity to want to work together for the protection of the community,” she says.
In addition to being pro-social and wanting to help each other, we also have a reciprocity bias. “If you do something for me, I want to do something for you, and vice versa,” says Grayson Riegel. “Saying ‘no’ to a request for help interferes with what we think of as being helpful, friendly, and cooperative.”
We may also fear reputational and relationship costs associated with turning something down, asking ourselves questions like, “Will turning something down show up negatively on my performance review?” or, “Will I be seen as somebody who isn’t a team player?” or, “If I say ‘no’ to this, will they ask someone else when they have a more exciting or high-profile project next time?”
And working remotely can also make it hard to “no.” “There is a loss of visibility when you’re not in physical proximity,” says Grayson Riegel. “I think saying ‘no’ to things can feel harder because we are missing some of the relational connectivity that we get from running into somebody in the hallway or grabbing lunch together.”
WHY YOU NEED TO SAY “NO”
While there are plenty of reasons we resist saying “no,” there are just as many reasons to stop saying “yes,” says Grayson Riegel.
Most important, if you don’t turn things down, you are likely to get overwhelmed. And the truth is that saying “no” won’t mean your job will disappear and your reputation will be tarnished. In fact, saying “yes” to everything sets a precedent where people see us as always available and always willing. And that can backfire.
“When you don’t realize you have too much stuff on your mind or too many things on your plate, you’re much more likely to make mistakes,” says Grayson Riegel. “And that leads to the very kind of reputational damage we fear saying ‘no’ would cause us to be engaged in.”
Deciding to say “yes” or “no” to a request should come from a relationship and career perspective, she says.
“Women in particular are asked more frequently and tend to say, ‘yes’ more often to what are known as non-promotable tasks,” she says. “It’s following up on birthdays, getting the cake, setting up the meeting minutes. These are all things that do not have a positive impact on a woman’s career growth.”
HOW TO START SAYING “NO”
Like any change you make to behavior, it helps to start small with requests that don’t impact your career trajectory. For example, if a colleague asks if you could quickly proofread for something for them and you don’t have the bandwidth to add something else to your plate, it would be easier to say “no” to this request as opposed to a request from your boss.
“It’s something quick and it’s something that somebody else probably could do,” says Grayson Riegel. “Start with low hanging fruit that won’t have the same kind of reputational threat. Start with somebody who is likely to understand and be forgiving.”
Saying “no” to your boss is the next step. Grayson Riegel recommends having a conversation about it.
“Frame it in terms of, ‘I want to make sure that I’m focusing my time, energy, and attention on the most important strategic priorities for the quarter or year,” she says. “Make it more about wanting to say ‘yes’ to the more important things. And ask your manager, ‘Could you help me think through what those things should be?’ Then you’ll be in agreement on the right things to do.”
You can also get better at saying “no” by setting career goals. This will help you get clear about where you see your career going. Then you can measure whether the task is something on the pathway to getting there.
“Sometimes the pathways are internal to the organization, such as taking on new projects, and being exposed to certain people, education, and experience,” says Grayson Riegel. “If you don’t have a goal and haven’t had career conversations with your manager, it makes it hard to identify the important steps.”
While Grayson Riegel says saying “no” gets easier over time, you have to be clear when the request is a request and when it is a command. “A request is something to which you can say ‘yes,’ ‘no,’ or make a counteroffer, by saying, ‘I can’t do this, but I can do that,’” she says. “If it’s actually a command, saying ‘no’ isn’t an option.”
A FastCompany article
Image used by the courtesy of BD Hypno Plus, and linked here https://www.briandcruzhypnoplus.com/
Marc Emmer shares some long run insightful strategies to see the opportunities in these inflationary times.
In March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the Producer Price Index rose a staggering 11%.
Inflation is an inconvenient truth–it rebalances supply and demand. As a result of globalization and a vibrant economy, we have had the luxury of over-indulgence and unlimited, unfettered access to products from around the world.
This version of inflation is different from what most of us have seen before. We had a supply shock as a result of the pandemic and tariffs in China, followed by a demand shock due to a wage-price spiral, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and escalating energy prices. Markets will correct–they always do. However, some economists fear the U.S. is headed toward stagflation not seen since the ’80s.
But, with chaos comes opportunity. Companies will be forced to reevaluate:
Optimizing the supply chain
We are headed toward a new global supply structure. The U.S. and China are embroiled in an economic, military and digital rivalry. In lieu of free trade, it feels like the global economy will be split in two: the East and the West, governed by trade lanes, security, transportation costs and trade policy. This will promote trade hubs in Central America. Supply chain shocks will amplify trends toward vertical integration.
Redefining customer relationships
Given the aversion to price increases, inflation is prompting new dialog with customers. Imagine the following conversation: “Mr. Client, I can pass on an 8% price increase, I can stop serving you, or we can discuss how to be more efficient partners.” This is a time where vendors can hold customers accountable for paying on time, providing timely purchase orders, adopting digital transformation and communicating their buying intentions.
Passing on price increases
Providers have literally forgotten how to pass on price increases. Vendors should not be apologetic when costs rise or when they deliver more value. Now is the time not only to pass on price increases, but to create an annual system for doing so. For example, some contracts have “price riders” that automatically increase prices on an annual cadence.
There has never been a time when customers were more accepting of price increases than now. But the timing and method for communicating them is important–consider incremental increases supported by data. By communicating clearly, your customers can be more prepared for the realities ahead.
Embracing dynamic pricing
Today, algorithms drive real-time pricing for hotels and flights. Ridesharing services not only price in real time, but also use surge pricing when there are more riders than there are drivers. While wildly unpopular, surge pricing does instantly rebalance supply and demand.
Surge pricing will impact the behavior of buyers and sellers in way that will optimize markets. Marketers need to find ways to capture premium pricing when available. For example, speed is a driver of value. Companies should be charging more for expedited orders and access to inventory.
Competitive advantage
Famously, KLM hedged their fuel cost in 2022 while American, United and Delta did not. On the common international routes where they compete, KLM will have a significant cost saving and competitive advantage. Progressive companies are investing in various risk mitigation techniques such as currency hedges.
Slow labor costs
The wage-cost spiral is a trap. Companies are raising prices in part because of escalating labor costs. If companies create situations where a higher percentage of revenue is in salaries, labor becomes a fixed cost. Whenever possible, providers should try to build a structure where labor cost is variable with demand. This can be accomplished by skewing compensation toward incentives and outsourcing when possible.
Digital transformation
Companies are seeking even greater efficiencies through digital transformation, robotics and automation. But it takes time to realize a return and efficiencies from these investments.
We find ourselves at a unique intersection in history, where providers will have to make hard decisions about where to place their chips. Automate more and employ less? Pass on price increases or protect customers? There are no easy answers, but companies who approach these problems from 40,000 feet with a long-range view are more likely to sustain advantage than those who react to the rising costs of the day.
The author has a great father. As employers we can create loyalty if we do these things for our people.
Learning how to manage money was a required field of study in my childhood home. The first day of the month, my dad would sit at the dining room table to balance his checkbook and pay the household bills. My four siblings and I knew what would happen if we walked by when he was in that zone. We’d get a lecture on financial responsibility. I retained four valuable lessons that many adults, specifically those in the Black and Brown community, were not privy to.
First, pay yourself first. Before you spend anything, set aside savings. The amount may change but the act must be routine. Second, never live beyond your means. If you can’t afford to pay for it, you don’t need it. Third, your ability to repay a loan is a greater asset than what you make. And finally, more money does not solve money problems. If you can’t responsibly manage a $100 budget, you won’t be good with $100,000, either.
My father prepared his children to navigate a far different work world than his generation experienced. Today, most workers no longer have jobs that provide a pension. Instead, it is more up to individuals to save for retirement by contributing to 401(k)s or other retirement accounts. People also hop more often from job to job and so face financial choices at each juncture. What’s more, a quarter or more of today’s workforce is in the “gig” economy, which provides even fewer workplace-managed financial benefits.
All told, the burden of financial wellness has steadily shifted from employer to individual, but I see signs of a small pendulum shift back the other way. Given today’s talent shortage, the challenges of Covid-19, and a wealth of online financial-wellness tools and products, companies are in position to focus more on the financial wellness of employees, which is highly desired. More than half of employees say they’d be attracted to a company that cares about financial wellness, versus their current employer, PwC research shows.
I see three areas employers are focusing on to ensure better financial wellness among workers. They are:
Equity
This year, Equal Pay Day in the U.S. fell on March 15. It highlights how far into a new year a woman must work, on average, to earn what a man did in the previous year, given similar jobs with similar skills and experience. Many companies are working to close this gap–and keep it closed. For example, my company’s 2021 review revealed a less than 1 percent disparity between what women and men earn globally at Ceridian, and a less than 1 percent disparity between what White and non-White employees earn in the U.S. In a commitment to pay equity among our global employees, our company will conduct another analysis in the second half of 2022.
It is no surprise that gender and racial inequities continue to plague our society. The systemic barriers in place faced by women and people of color will take decades to knock down. As noted by President Joe Biden in a proclamation regarding Equal Pay Day, over the course of a career, the pay gap can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost earnings, particularly for women of color, significantly impacting retirement savings and uniquely burdening households led by single mothers.
Employers of all sizes need to work to close these gaps, and to keep them closed, so that all workers have the fairest chance possible to enhance their financial wellness.
Access
This is what my father talked about when he said my ability to repay a loan was a great asset. But not all people have equal access to credit. Historically, minorities are disproportionately faced with exclusionary behaviors and systemic barriers that have contributed to economic disparities, including limited access to federal mortgage lending programs and geographic restrictions to physical banking locations. While 5.4 percent of U.S. households were unbanked in 2019, almost 14 percent of Black households and 12 percent of Hispanic households were unbanked, government data shows. Without ready access to traditional lines of credits, these groups are more likely to use high-interest payday loans.
On-demand pay, or earned-wage access, is an emerging benefit increasingly embraced by employers enabling workers to access earned wages when they need them most. Four in five U.S. workers (83 percent) between the ages of 18 and 44 believe they should have access to their earned wages at the end of each workday or shift, before the traditional payday, research from my workplace shows. Mizuho Securities USA speculated that on-demand pay could be both the biggest change to the payroll industry since the 1960s and a disrupter to the $11 billion payday loan market.
Literacy
Companies have a fiduciary responsibility to provide financial education to their employees. They have the people to manage the corporate bottom line, and the wherewithal to help employees manage their bottom lines too. Money problems are only solved with education, dedication, and a plan put into motion. Companies that meet this need will find willing students among the workforce. A full 87 percent of employees want help with personal finances, PwC notes.
My father delivered lessons on financial wellness because he cared about his children. In any organization, people are the most important asset. We entrust our employees to service our customers, promote our brands, and grow our businesses. The healthier they are, the more present they’ll be both at and away from work.
As a coach I have to ask good questions. As a leader you do too.
After running three companies—and now leading four separate Vistage groups for a decade—Ed Burke admits it took him a while to figure out what his most powerful tool is. “My real value is asking questions.”
For those of you who do not know, Vistage is the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize business leaders. Each Vistage group brings together 12-16 entrepreneurs for regular gatherings, in which they both help each other as well as learn from outside speakers. Burke leads four groups in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area; the revenues of companies in his groups range from a few million to several billion dollars.
“Back when I was leading companies and managing people,” recalls Burke, “80% of the time if I had an answer in my head, I would suggest it to my team. 80% of the time, my answer wasn’t adopted. Why was that? Maybe I didn’t understand the problem well enough. Perhaps my team members didn’t get emotionally connected to my suggestion enough to actually take action.”
In other words, the smart boss comes up with a smart answer, but it doesn’t actually solve the problem because no one else buys into the answer.
But now, after working with many dozens of entrepreneurs across numerous industries, Burke realizes that it’s not the CEO’s role to solve every problem. In fact, he says, that’s a lousy way to behave.
“I found that the secret was asking questions to help others see the problem more accurately. Once this happens, you can help them find the answer to the actual problem.”
This participatory approach works not only because it gets to the core of the issue, but also because it gives everyone a vested interest in the solution they develop together.
Burke shares that he recently heard a quote that captures the essence of this approach, “The thing beneath the thing, is the thing.”
So, whether we are analyzing why Burke is skilled at helping entrepreneurs, or what it is that successful entrepreneurs do better than those who merely bark orders, it comes down to a simple tactic: ask questions that others have not yet asked themselves. Put forward a fresh perspective, but frame it as a question, rather than as an instruction.
“25 years ago,” says Burke, “I was living and dying on the answer. I was the engineer. I was the manager. I was the answer man. In retrospect, the right time to stop being the answer man was when I became a leader.”
ITR Economists say it’s not going to be a recession. Read why.
Hello. I’m Brian Beaulieu, CEO and Chief Economist for ITR Economics. Thank you for joining us for this edition of TrendsTalk.
Short and sweet, to the point. In the media, there’s a lot of doom and gloom, negative talk, recession this, recession probability that. I got to tell you, we vehemently disagree with that. There was an inverse yield curve that was intraday, which statistically is insignificant. We’re following the retail sales trends very carefully. We’re back to using the Redbook weekly data, which has not fallen off since the war. Americans are continuing to spend as they were before the war. That’s incredibly good news.
Department stores are up 5.2%. We have total retail sales at 15.8%. So, obviously, e-commerce is propelling that further forward. No sign of slacking out, the consumer balance sheet looks great. They’re handling their debt really well, including mortgage debt. I know people are concerned about housing prices, housing starts slowing down because of interest rates going up. We’ve done the analysis on that. It’s just going to change the slope. It isn’t going to put these things into your reverse. Businesses are in really good condition also.
Now, many of you have seen our leading indicator dashboard. Next time you see it, you’re going to find that single family housing starts has gone from that amber decline into green rise. And we’re going to put in the macro indicator column, soft landing is indicated. We’ve had that 112 rise for at least three months; it has been three months. It satisfies our technical criteria for a probable low. I ran the numbers out through June. It looks like it’s going to hold, means that we’re on target for our third quarter 2022. [inaudible 00:02:07] already changed for housing stars for single family units and that puts us on target for our business cycle low out there in 2023. It’s beginning to fall in place. This is, if anything, just a couple of months early. I think it’s a great signal.
We have a tentative upside signal coming from total industrial production capacity utilization. That may not hold. I mean, we run the numbers and that one isn’t going to show up on the dashboard just yet. It may, but we want little higher probability of its occurrence. The housing starts one, that’s good news. The Redbook data for retail sales is good news,. Now, we follow this very carefully. As you know, with the March data for retail sales, overall retail sales, adjusted for inflation, that 112 already changed. So the March ’22 compared to March ’21 data came in at like minus 1.4. And that obviously got us looking into the data, and it’s because last year, February to March raw data increase was the single strongest rise, 28% increase, that we’ve seen in the history of retail sales. So that’s what we call reciprocal noise. It’s not really an issue. It’s not indicative of the consumer running out of fuel.
Speaking of fuel, the numbers continue to show that the increase in fuel costs, while a lot of people are lamenting this and saying they’re not going to take their boats out as much or take the long drive. Let’s see how that’s really going to work out. There’s lots of disposable personal income out there, adjusted for inflation. People are getting raises at their jobs. History suggests that retail sales, even with these higher energy prices, are going to continue to rise. I can’t imagine we’re going to tell our kids we’re not taking that drive to the lake or taking the drive down to see Grampy and Grandma down in Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina.
So from our perspective, it’s still a soft landing, not a recession. We think it would be a mistake to start battening down the hatches instead of figuring out where you need to invest in order to really maximize your upside potential, as the economy slows down, and position yourself to be ready for that next power rise that’s coming in late 23 and will encompass all of 24. That’s where your head should be at. Thank you for listening to me, I appreciate it, and hope you join us for another TrendsTalk.
Local Alb CEO shares some digital missteps to avoid in this Fast Company article.
The fourth industrial revolution is here. Advances in big data, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and high-performance computing are changing the way organizations compete and evolve. In this new age, winners and losers will be decided based on how quickly they can see trends and disrupt industries.
If you look at organizations that can predict needs and get products to market faster, they’re having exponential results. Take UPS, which developed a data and AI-driven system to create optimal routes and increase delivery speed. As a result, the company improved customer experience, cut fuel costs, reduced emissions, and now saves an estimated $300 to $400 million annually. Meanwhile, the Postal Service is struggling to keep up.
Technological innovations have always given some an edge while leaving others behind, and because COVID-19 sped up digital transformation, we’re now in an environment where keeping up with modern technologies is essential. In fact, 79% of executives reported an increase in digital transformation budgets in response to COVID-19, and 69% of companies surveyed indicated they will spend the same amount or more on such efforts this year as compared to 2021.
Such efforts range from health systems increasing telehealth offerings to firms investing in agile supply chain management and companies adopting new digital tools to enable remote collaboration.
To stay ahead of the curve, I suggest looking at your own processes and identifying how you can harness the power of big data, AI, and other transformative technologies that can take your organization to the next level.
So how do you prepare for a digital transformation journey? Here are four mistakes to avoid and tips for getting started.
MISTAKE #1: NO CLEAR GOALS FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
One common mistake is failing to set clear, measurable goals for digital transformation efforts. To help define your vision, start by asking, “What would you do if you knew?”
What do you wish you knew about your customers? What data or automations could you use to improve efficiencies? How could higher confidence and more precision in your decisions help make a bigger impact?
By considering the question most pertinent to your organization, you can start to uncover areas of opportunity that data, analytics, and digitalization can capture. Take the time upfront to identify the real question you’re trying to address and set yourself on a clear path.
MISTAKE #2: NOT UNDERSTANDING THE DATA AVAILABLE TO YOU
There’s a statistic I like to quote: 90% of the world’s data was created in the past two years, but we only use a fraction of it. The second common mistake in digital transformation and data maturation initiatives: not tapping into the data that is relevant and available to you.
First, identify the data you have within your organization. You’re probably already capturing rich data sets about your customers, products, supply chains, and more. Information may be trapped in silos, but it can be organized and integrated to inform smarter decisions.
Second, identify external data sets to augment your understanding. You can integrate publicly available data, like census or weather data. IoT and digital data is also more prominent, with the average cost of IoT sensors significantly dropping and the number of connected devices projected to increase 652% from 2015 to 2025. Industry-specific data, open-source, proprietary, public, crowdsourced, cellphone, and mobility data, and much more, can be combined with your data to improve insights and create a competitive edge.
At my company, for example, we’ve found that leaders from health care, parks and recreation, emergency response, and urban planning can all benefit from a combination of public and proprietary data. Specifically, we’re helping them use mobility and location intelligence to create more holistic understandings and better serve their communities.
The value of working across different types of data is being able to find new insights that have never been seen before because the information never existed together.
MISTAKE #3: NOT BUILDING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY TO GATHER INSIGHTS
A successful digital transformation journey requires more than assembling data. You need people with the right skills to build a culture of data-driven decision-making. That brings us to another common mistake: not investing in the skills or structures required to make insights actionable and part of daily workflows.
To advance your digital transformation efforts, create a strategic data analytics capability. This is achieved by retaining analytics talent that can help you put tools and technologies in place to increase your business intelligence (BI) resources, define data governance, and build a roadmap for priority analytics investments.
For example, if your goal is to reduce manual, redundant tasks, then you should invest in technologies that can automate processes so people can devote more time to critical and creative thinking.
MISTAKE #4: CREATING SYSTEMS WITHOUT EMPLOYEE BUY-IN
New technologies change the ways employees work. Don’t overlook the importance of employee buy-in. If employees believe new technology will upset their workflows instead of improving them, then there’s little chance the technology will be successful.
Many times, companies will purchase an expensive business intelligence tool but never fully utilize it due to a lack of training. To avoid this mistake, put people at the center of your digital transformation journey, involving them in the conversation early and often. Communicate the benefits of new technologies and improved analytics and empower people to adopt new processes that drive organizational success.
EXPERIMENT, LEARN, AND EVOLVE
The organizations that learn how to tap into big data and pair it with today’s technologies will be better positioned to accomplish their goals and make an impact.
Like any major organizational change, digital transformation initiatives are no easy task—but the rewards can pay off faster than you might realize. By investing in the right technology and giving yourself a plan for leveraging new insights, you can take a huge step toward making better, smarter, faster decisions that will help your organization thrive.
Charles Rath is President & CEO of RS21, an Inc 5000 fastest-growing data science & AI company & Fast Company Best Workplace for Innovators.
You can be intentional about these suggestions whether you’re the remote worker or managing them.
Contributor: Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli is director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources and author of The Future of the Office: Work from Home, Remote Work, and the Hard Choices We all Face (Wharton School Press, 2021).
The Goal
Whether you are fully remote or in a hybrid work environment, avoid the “Zoom ceiling” by understanding and working around the potential pitfalls that come from lowered visibility in the office.
Nano Tool
When remote work was mandatory and all or most of your co-workers, your boss, and many of your external stakeholders were remote, the playing field was level. There was a real sense that we were all “in this together.” People were remarkably understanding and accepting of quirky situations, whether IT related or the result of the blurred line between home and work (think dogs barking and children crying during meetings). That kind of tolerance is now rare. And it’s just one of many pitfalls for remote workers.
Elora Voyles, people scientist at human resources software company TINYpulse, coined the term “Zoom ceiling” to describe the potentially career-limiting results of remote work. Whether you are now working out of the office full- or part-time, consider the five steps below to position yourself better for greater visibility to ensure that you are getting recognition for your accomplishments and staying in line for promotions and desirable assignments. Make sure your employer knows you aren’t stepping off the ladder.
Action Steps
- Understand the playing field: Previous research about telework reveals a lot about work environments that include some remote workers. The drawbacks are clear: It’s hard to get attention and easy to get forgotten. The importance of being in the office, of “face time” for signaling value, is real. Those at home often have to work harder for the same recognition or opportunities.
- Clarify your arrangement: Ideally, you want your employer to be explicit about performance management — here’s what we want you to be doing and how we want to measure it — and to require supervisors to do more check-ins with remote workers to head off problems. That means there’s attention being paid to the development of supervisors who are able to manage remote workers. If that’s not the case, you will need to initiate the conversation, asking about check-ins and performance metrics. If there are no formal or even informal arrangements, it’s up to you. The first step is to schedule regular check-ins. You could also suggest metrics, some that could apply longer term and others that apply to individual projects. Then make sure to explicitly refer to these metrics in conversations and correspondence (which will create a record of your progress).
- Widen and deepen your circle: Staying in close touch with your colleagues in the office, and creating new connections, is more important than ever. You need sources for the kinds of information you used to have access to in casual, water-cooler conversations. Whether you schedule regular check-ins or make time for face-to-face lunches or coffee meetings, relationships with colleagues are a critical lifeline to help you stay on top of what’s really going on in your organization.
- Promote yourself: Don’t wait to be noticed. You can no longer expect news of your accomplishments to spread by word of mouth or be overheard in the office. Tell your manager or team leader regularly about your accomplishments. It’s not only about sharing today’s good news but also about signaling commitment for future assignments. If your work has been recognized by someone other than your manager or team leader, share it.
- Keep predictable work hours: Research also tells us that fully remote workers make more personal sacrifices than their colleagues, including volunteering to do extra work or working late hours. To create better work-life balance and prevent burnout, consider keeping regular hours. They don’t need to mirror exactly the norm of the office, but they must be consistent so your manager and colleagues know when you’re working and are available.