Category: Perspective

With work now defined by the global crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, the current focus of companies is supporting their workforces—at home. Coupled with technological and safety needs, there is still an opportunity to engage in performance development that aligns with the employee and strategic needs.

“Tough times don’t last, tough people, do.” —Robert Schuller

How do we ensure employees continue to contribute positively to the organization?  How do we develop and nurture the right talents to move our organizations forward once we return to a sense of normal work?  We need to identify the agility and strengths of employees who have been key to our sustenance during the pandemic and translate this knowledge to continued talent development, to sustain and grow organizations to achieve better-than-expected results.

We often characterize strong individuals as having the following characteristics:

• Relevant job skills
• Trustworthiness
• Motivation to work

Skill is the learning ability in people to perform a particular task and do something well. Strong individuals should have the ability to understand where they need to be, where they are, and how they bridge the gap to be there. They have the ability to align others to the future picture and influence them through effective communication. They are visible with a focus to execute and deliver expected results. Good analogy organizations and individuals can follow to develop these skills, is the sports analogy: Like an athlete, employees start by acquiring the knowledge needed for that skill, then create a routine to practice with a discipline to repeat the practice. Central to skill development, is action and discipline, as one moves from novice to expert. Good skills require practice and reflection—the continuous cycle of honing one’s craft to become an expert.

Strong individuals are trustworthy. In addition to the skills required for the job, organizations want to recruit trustable candidates; people want to deal with individuals who have integrity. The ethics and values of a person influence decisions, and are reflected in their behaviors. These values of integrity and trustworthiness, ultimately reflect on performance and results. If there is a disconnect, organizational performance suffers.

Strong individuals are intentional. They put their heart, mind and body into action. For a person to focus and deliver the expected results, self-preparation needs to be there. In both business and life, the strong person needs a balance between heart, mind and body.

Heart: Strong individuals provide emotional stability, and are grounded, due to their values and ethics.

Mind: Strong individuals do not make rash decisions; they are analytical and consider multiple options that align with the beliefs and values.

Body: Strong individuals are aware their actions reflect who they are; they know their visible responses and attitudes are evaluated by others. They also recognize the power of their actions in motivating others to achieve results.

Organizations can develop the skills of their employees, and perhaps influence their actions through motivation, and modelling expected behaviours. At the core of a strong individual, are the values and ethics that are key to their intentions and performance.  It is their integrity that is the compass that defines their work and, ultimately, the performance as an organization.

In reference to a recent quote I came across: CFO says to CEO, “What if we invest money to train our employees, and then they leave?” The CEO responds, “What if we don’t invest money in training our employees, and they stay?” As you can see, proper training and development programs are key to building strong individuals—and companies. Strong individuals, therefore, equals strong companies. The elements noted above ought to be in place, for greater success and ROI. And by ROI, I mean both Return on Investment and Return on Individual.

These are challenging times for all of us. The world is under attack by the Coronavirus Covid-19. I’m not going to sugar-coat it, it’s serious. It’s long-lasting. And it’s going to get worse before it gets better. And the financial woes we will all experience and endure will be monumental. But we’ve done this before with world wars, with the Bubonic Plague spread by fleas, killing 100+ million in Eurasia and Europe, during the 14^th century, SARS, spread via respiratory droplets, killing 774, Swine Flu with 18,000+ deaths, and many others. But humanity has always prevailed.

As long as there are new cases of Covid-19 springing up daily, people will remain on the highest alert—to the point where they start to cocoon. Cocooning has been a typical practice by many when global outbreaks or terror-related incidents occur. Safety quickly becomes a top priority—for themselves and their loved ones.

In such a case, like the one we’re all living through now, establishments like restaurants and bars, hotels, air travel, gyms, sporting events, malls, among many more, take the brunt of it—some, to the point where they will no longer be able to weather the storm and will fold.

While most sectors are experiencing challenging times, the grocery sector, as razor-low as its margins are, see a surge in business because food is a necessity. And we’re seeing this now. So stockpiling occurs, based on fear and uncertainty, creating pandemonium. Others also experiencing sales spikes, as a result of government-ordered rules on retail, event and workplace closures, are e-commerce sites like Amazon and Walmart, home entertainment and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, as well as eat-in services like UberEats and Skip the Dishes. If lockdowns with widespread fear and uncertainty continue for lengthy periods, home improvement companies like Home Depot and Lowe’s will also see a spike in sales because “cocooners” will up-build their nests with increased self-efficiencies, to stay safe, and avoid going out, altogether.

Covid-19 is still in its incline, and it is affecting us all. Consumers aren’t taking any chances; they’re planning on staying put—anywhere from three months up to, yes, 3 years, depending on the cohort and where they’re from. But generally, that’s the sentiment. In this particular case, younger cohorts such as Gen Z and Gen Y, are less impacted, for some unknown medical reason, and therefore, do not feel symptoms like their older counterparts, especially the elderly, 70-plus, who are at highest risk of contracting the virus, and often, sadly, lose the battle. This is where we see the statistics on TV; it’s mostly the elderly. Education, and heeding government and healthcare professionals’ orders and recommendations are absolute key during this time. Not doing so has—not can—dire consequences.

Italy, so far the worst affected outside of China has a death toll in the thousands. One reason is because many younger cohorts have their grandparents living with them. As earlier mentioned, youngsters do not typically feel sick, so they go about their daily life as they normally do. BUT, unbeknownst to them, they are infected with the virus, and consequently, are infecting their elders, and more often than not, death is the result.

As well, Italy’s death rate at the time of writing, tallying 2,978, is also based on those with underlying health issues like diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Based on my sources and readings, it appears northern Italy’s delay to impose complete lockdown measures and containment, earlier, across its own epicentre, Lombardy, may be significantly contributing to their high death rate. Consequently, this has overwhelmed their healthcare system. As a result, Italy is now on track to surpass China in terms of fatalities. Italy has a small fraction of China’s population, whose death rate, so far, tallies approximately 3,000. Relatively speaking, this puts Italy a country mile ahead of China in terms of deaths. This is how serious the situation is, folks, and how seriously it must be taken.

Further, Italians—as all humans are by nature—are very social people. As such, some are still gathering with friends in piazzas, and unknowingly, spreading their infection, further exacerbating the situation. This, when the masses are trying so hard to avoid spreading it; and where the government is spending billions to help mitigate its effects, and ultimately eradicate the virus. Florida is experiencing the same thing for mostly the same reasons. Twenty-five percent of their population, like in Italy, who has the second-lowest birth rate in the world after Japan, is over the age of 65. Their beaches, right now, during March break, are filled, again, with younger kids. Such sites need to be closed off to ensure total containment. Any leaks in the system could have dire consequences in Florida—and well beyond, further spreading the virus.

To combat Covid-19’s effects, today and in the foreseeable future, governments are planning stimulus packages; private companies are discounting their services; those who can, are continuing to pay their staff, banks and governments are reducing interest rates, temporarily covering customers’ mortgage payments for six months; mobile service providers are removing data-overage ceilings, as well as offering free data, and the list goes on. And it needs to. Because we are all in this together: every person from every corner of the planet. So it behooves us to stick together—even if it means virtually, for now—to help overcome this invisible assault on humanity and come out whole on the other side.

Are—or were—businesses prepared for this, like a country would be, after dealing with similar-type situations like SARS and the Swine Flu, for example? Toronto, Canada, experienced the highest amount of deaths during SARS, including front-line workers falling victim to the respiratory-plaguing virus. But we learned a lot, since. And we have prepared ourselves for such events, to help us better and more successfully navigate them. If companies did not have the necessary contingency plans in place to prepare for this, they should have; it’s happening more often. Needless to say, lessons learned. So starting now, going forward—in perpetuity—they all need to. Because it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when it will happen again.

Frontline workers in medicine, transit, policing, retail, emergency, and many more, are working day and night—all fully committed to helping mitigate and hopefully halt this virus, while in so doing, risking their own lives and families. Respecting them and what they all do—for the greater good—the least the rest of us can do is respect what we are asked to do.

Everyone needs to heed the rules, keep abreast, understand the gravity—and the very high price of ignorance. Let’s stick together. Let’s do this together.

Stay safe. Live on.

Status quo is not—or should not—be an option for any organization. Organizations need people to deliver better-than-expected results, with a focus on continuous growth, over time. The demands of competition and expectations create constraints and pressures. Often, it is the subtle relationship between pressure and performance, that impacts results. The right amount of pressure can create performance needed for better-than-expected results. In contrast, performance can suffer if there is too little or too much pressure. Leaders need to seek this fine balance of pressure and support, to impact results.

What do results tell us? I suggest that the success of an employee is determined by their ability to achieve results. The diagram below shows how results may, or could, be measured.

These results are directly linked to the actions of employees, which we call performance. Performance may be defined as the way (or the how) a person does the work or activity (task), against an agreed set of measurable objectives defined in the organizational strategy. Performance links to the effectiveness and motivation of the person, and speaks to their skill level, abilities and competencies, and their stresses and level of engagement, and includes the work environment or situation. Since performance drives results, it is essential for leaders to clearly identify the link between performance and results. Likewise, it is critical to identify the challenges and gaps in performance so as to undertake the correct action to support employees, and improve performance, overall.

Since performance drives our results, the question, then, is, what are these factors which can improve our performance, to deliver the better-than- expected results?

To improve Performance, we need to answer these two questions:

1. What do we want to do? (performance structure)
2. How do we want to do it? (performance culture)

What is a Performance Structure?

Structure is a framework of identifiable elements which physically or functionally connect to each other and gives form and stability.

The three elements of Performance Structure are:

1. Planning addresses how to close the gap between where we are and where we need to be by formulating a strategy for achievement. Strategy is a method or series of actions designed to achieve the goal of closing such gap.
2. Alignment speaks to the leader’s ability to engage people to do the work, and the tool to link planning to execution.
3. Execution is the ‘course of actions’ that are required to be taken to produce results.

What is a Performance Culture?

Culture is a common understanding of selected values or ethics, which are reflected by an expected behaviour for a group of people whether they are part of formal structure or not.  While formal processes and structures support this, central to the creation of a performance culture, is the leader.

Within a performance culture, a leader focuses on:

1. Strong people: Those who have the intention, the ability and skills to put their heart, mind and body in action to execute the plan.
2. Working together: Building the credibility to bring people with them, and align them to execute the plan.
3. Understand the customer: In addition to dealing with complex issues, the people in a performance culture engage with the customer to understand their expectations and challenges in order to deliver successful results and minimize the disappointments and frustrations.

A focus on results and performance is essential to organizational growth. It is imperative for a leader to clearly identify the gaps in performance that impact results, and provide both a structure and culture to address the gaps, so as to achieve better-than-expected results. Within today’s highly competitive business environment, status quo shouldn’t be an option. The pressures of performance must be coupled with leadership that influences and supports the people in the organization—to achieve success.

With the use of multimedia platforms, marketers finance million-dollar campaigns, hire several creative directors with the hope of eliciting an emotional connection between the consumer and the brand. By igniting an emotional reaction from the customer, the marketer hopes to attract new customers to their brand; convince new consumers to purchase their product, and even convince existing customers to continue their business with repeat purchases. However, much is dependent on the ability to affect the consumer’s behaviour. Marketing involves tapping into consumer psychology. Although marketing campaigns are dependent on the use of psychology, many businesses remain amiss to the benefits of implementing and considering a psychological component to their advertisements. Before we discuss the possible benefits of implementing consumer psychology, it is very helpful to understand what it involves.

In a description of consumer psychology depicted by Dr. Lars Perner, consumer psychology involves several aspects, including:

1. How consumers think, feel, and differentiate between alternatives, whether it be products, brands or retailers
2. How a consumer is affected by socio-cultural aspects
3. Consumer behaviour while making a purchase
4. How consumer motivation and strategies are used to arrive at a decision, differs between products that vary in price and level of interest
5. And finally, how marketing campaigns can implement this knowledge to successfully attract the consumer.

With the use of all the aforementioned, it’s very possible that a marketing campaign can reach consumers using psychology. But how exactly can they implement such ideas?

In an article for Fast Company, Robert Rosenthal a distinguished German American psychologist spent the bulk of his career investigating this question and describes five ways marketers can achieve this:

1. Run emotion ideas. Studies have proven time and time again that marketing messages accomplish more when they paint a picture of what the consumer will achieve with the product, rather than listing its components and features. Doing this the marketer is essentially creating a new memory map tied to an emotion of hope or excitement, making it much easier to remember.
2. Highlight your flaws. A large part of attracting or maintaining your current client list is the building of consumer trust, and this can be done by being transparent and addressing your product’s shortcomings, instead of trying to deceive the consumer.
3. Reposition your competition. In an ethical and non-insulting way, reframe how the consumer views your competition. This can be done by highlighting how your product can offer a benefit for a key customer need, thus making your product the main contender.
4. Promote exclusivity. Understanding human needs is an important benefit; and by understanding human psychology, you can target your customer’s ego by making them feel special if they were to purchase your brand.
5. Introduce fear, uncertainty and doubt. Underline the possible consequences of their inaction. Loss aversion is an incredibly powerful motivational tool used in psychology that can be used to persuade people to purchase your product if it prevents negative outcomes.

It’s clear that the possible benefits between the intertwining of marketing and psychology are immense. However, there’s also a very fine line between ethical marketing and non-ethical marketing, especially when it comes to implementing subliminal psychological strategies. Several companies in the early 2000s had attempted to subliminally persuade their consumers into purchasing their product by flashing them a picture of the product below the threshold of human awareness.  However, in recent years, the scientific community seems to be in consensus that this strategy simply does not work. Nonetheless, the practice of psychology in marketing should always take into account the ethical boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed when trying to attract customers.