Dedicated to Igniting Brilliance in Your Organization
Issue: 4
Summer 2009
Hello, Welcome back!
The economy remains all over the news as summer brings forth new growth and possibilities. Our Spotlight article reviews how businesses have a choice on how they respond to the current economic environment. The "What About You?" question taps into the motivation of five amazing individuals. Read the article to see what motivates them to adapt and thrive in this topsy turvy economy. Lastly, test your entertainment knowledge with, "Take the Quiz," and you will have a chance to win an iTunes gift card.
We hope you enjoy the latest issue. Happy reading...
Spotlight: Choosing Our Responses
by Kurt Nelson
The economy has been in the headlines a lot recently, mostly with tales of doom and misfortune. Organizations have retrenched and pulled back in the face of decreased revenues and profits. The prevailing wisdom seems to be "just survive." This response is often accompanied by massive layoffs, reducing hours, halting expansion, limiting expenditures and a host of other cuts and reductions.
This has a significant impact on employee morale and motivation; and that impact is 100% negative. However, there is another response, one that lays the groundwork for both current and future success. That response is to face the current economic situation, not as something to survive, but as an opportunity to grow and expand. A response where leaders manifest their daring and lead the way through creativity, commitment, foresight and positive thinking. This "opportunity" response leads to a whole different set of actions than the "just survive" model.
The Opportunity
The Phoenix Effect
The Lantern Group, together with other local companies, have joined together to create The Phoenix Effect. This group of forward looking businesses has come together with a mission of creating: "A community of business people committed to changing the framework for creating value. Helping companies and individuals gain the courage to explore, adapt, contribute and prosper." This collaboration of companies offers a new approach to how we traditionally think of doing business.
The impetus for this collaborative effort was the down economy. Instead of sitting and waiting for the economy to change, Carl Blanz of Oakridge Conference Center contacted a number of people whom he had worked with and asked them this question, "Do you want to be the instigator in bringing the economy back?" With that simple, positive response, he was able to enlist companies such as The Prouty Project, Experience Engineering, Gabe Company and The Lantern Group to freely give of their time and expertise to work on something that could lead to a solution to the economic malaise that we have been in.
The opportunity for those who are daring enough to look past the prevailing wisdom, taps into the motivation and knowledge of a company's workforce, its partners, and sometimes, even its competitors. This can mean some short term pain in the form of decreased quarterly profits or lower stock prices. However in the long run, it can create a company culture and workforce that is not only highly committed and loyal, but also flexible and nimble enough to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.
Taking this approach means that instead of layoffs, you look at new ways of engaging your employees. David Hartwell, president and owner of Bellcome Industries did just that. According to a Star Tribune article by Neil St. Anthony, Hartwell could have laid-off up to 25% of his workforce, instead he chose to keep them employed. He stated, "I had come to the conclusion that shared sacrifice in these times was more important than making the best 'business' decision. We are going to focus on building the business."
The result of this decision: "... the sales staff has redoubled its quest for new business while the production workers help fill existing orders, install and test new equipment, spruce up the plant and spend time working at local charities. Business is growing." The employees of Bellcome Industries have become and will remain more loyal and have higher motivation because of the positive decisions made by David.
Carl Blanz, General Manager of Oakridge Conference Center also looked at the downturn with a different perspective. Carl brought together a wide variety of potential competitors to work with him at formulating a positive response to "jump start" the economy. This group of consulting companies came together around Carl's idea and the effort took off. This led to the formation of The Phoenix Effect and a potentially new way of doing business - not only for Oakridge, but for companies in general [See sidebar]. By looking beyond the obvious, Carl was able to tap into the wisdom of a wide variety of individuals, both inside and outside of Oakridge that will put him and his team in a position to excel.
At The Lantern Group, we also believe in having a positive response. In March, we took our entire team to Mexico (pre swine flu outbreak) to have a strategy meeting to map out new ways to expand and conduct business. This strategy meeting was not only about looking forward, but it also reflected a perspective of rewarding the key contributors to our current success. We are investing in our people, providing an opportunity for them to bond, learn and contribute. The results from that time away were significant: we will have an updated website in a few months, we developed seven new product ideas, a social networking strategy was formulated and we came home with a reinvigorated work force. These results show that it was the right thing to do.
Motivationally Speaking
From a motivational perspective, what both Carl and David did was to build on two of the four motivational drivers. First and foremost, they responded to a crisis in a way that will increase employee's motivation to "Defend" significantly [See the Four-Drive Model of Employee Motivation
click here]. . By showing that they were willing to make "shared sacrifices" these two leaders increased the level of connection that employees had to the organization. Increasing employees' positive perceptions of the company increases the likelihood that they will be motivated to "Defend" the company against threats - such as a bad economy. They also were able to increase the drive to "Comprehend" by offering employees different opportunities to expand their input or engaging them in innovative thoughts and ideas. This provides new ways for employees to learn and grow in their jobs and helps keep their motivation high.
What Response will you Pick?
There is an old saying, "you can't always choose your circumstances, but you can always choose how you respond to them." The way that we respond to the current economic situation embodies this saying. Do you choose to respond by taking the common wisdom approach and retrench and cut costs? Or do you take the opportunity at hand and choose to make the most of it - invest in people, show courage, grow the business, explore new concepts, and prepare yourself to excel in the future!
"What About You?"
by Susan Stone
It seems that the health of the economy is being talked about in a media loop that extends from the early morning news updates to the evening talk shows. The doom and gloom that is presented on a daily basis can turn the most optimistic person into a growling pessimist. Yet there is an undertone of hope that is trying to break through the clutter of negativity and it is this spirit that is tapped into for the "What About You" question.
Five incredibly insightful individuals from a cross section of businesses and backgrounds were asked the following question, "What is your motivation to adapt and thrive in this current economic environment?" Each of them brought a unique perspective starting from a persevering spirit, to a sense that we can all get through this together if we have a global vision that is personally fulfilling and grounded in gratitude. I encourage you to receive your daily dose of motivation and inspiration by reading their insights below.
PERSEVERING SPIRIT: Paul Aspelin, Broker and Realtor, presents a wonderful summary of the persevering spirit that runs through many hard working people in this economy. "Challenges exist in business every day. In economic times like these I find motivation through capitalizing on the many new opportunities that ultimately present themselves when you experience such drastic and quick changing circumstances. These new opportunities create excitement and challenge a person to thrive in new ways that at one time may have never been considered."
ALL TOGETHER: Out of strife and hardship, innovation and new growth can be harnessed in order to shape a new course. The ability to work together as a collective whole vs. every one for themselves will spur positive ripples throughout the nation. Nicole Rice, Communications Specialist, says it best, "It's really about focusing on the positive and using the challenges as learning experiences. Get creative managing limited budgets, expand your experience by taking on new responsibilities, embrace change, and remember that we are all in this together, we will get through this, and we will only be stronger for having endured it."
GLOBAL VISION: Where your daily focus is will drive what you give attention to and what motivates you. Is your focus on the day to day drudgery or do you have a clear vision of what the future will be for you and your family? Sometimes in order to pull our eyes away from the negativity we need to look up and create the bigger vision for ourselves. Lisa Metwaly, Restaurant Owner and Queen of Kindness, has a clear vision that she is taking to not only her restaurant but she is expanding it out to her community and beyond. "We seek to make St. Paul one of the kindest cities in the world. We hope others can see that life is all about you and how people need your kindness. Everyone can build a kinder community and we'd like to get the word out. That's what motivates me, having a bigger vision for our community and our world."
PESONAL FULFILLMENT: What are the skills and talents that you have that can be harnessed to serve others? The motivation to help others thrive and be successful is strong for Amy Zastrow, Kick Butt Business Mentor, "The main reason I am motivated to adapt and thrive in this current economic environment is I love what I do and want to continue doing it! Plus when I thrive, I have the capacity to help others get unstuck and thrive too! Nothing is more fulfilling than helping someone breakthrough and knowing you had a small part in it!"
GROUNDED GRATITUDE: Sometimes all it takes is a shift in your perspective to see the world through new eyes and with renewed clarity. Gretchen Helmer, Aliveness Evangelist and Life Coach knows this shift well, "A focus on gratitude--for what exists in my life that I value. Gratitude sparks a shift in perspective that helps to clarify what is important to me--joy, love, laughter, learning, and connecting with people. These essentials don't require boatloads of cash (or any at all, for that matter) to be experienced--and now there's an added element of creativity and fun in finding new ways to experience them."
We would love to hear from you, "What is your motivation to adapt and thrive in this current economic environment?" Email your responses to:
Thank you to our five volunteers who gave of their time and amazing insights to this article.
Take A Quiz!
"Movie Madness"
Do you remember your movie trivia? Here is a chance to test your movie mojo.
The first person to e-mail the correct answers to
will be recognized in the next SPARK! newsletter and receive an iTunes Gift Card.
Good Luck!
Which film saw the return after 12 years of Sean Connery as James Bond?
What did M*A*S*H stand for?
Which actor played Bruce Wayne in the 2005 film Batman Begins?
On which Shakespeare play is the 1961 film West Side Story based?
Tom Cruise plays a naval lawyer in which 1992 film?
If you have any questions or just want to say Hi, we would love to hear from you.
Spring has sprung and summer has begun, time to for growth and possibilities, enjoy the season and remember that igniting brilliance in your organization is just one SPARK! away.
The economy has been in the headlines a lot recently, mostly with tales of doom and misfortune. Organizations have retrenched and pulled back in the face of decreased revenues and profits. The prevailing wisdom seems to be "just survive." This response is often accompanied by massive layoffs, reducing hours, halting expansion, limiting expenditures and a host of other cuts and reductions.
It seems that the health of the economy is being talked about in a media loop that extends from the early morning news updates to the evening talk shows. The doom and gloom that is presented on a daily basis can turn the most optimistic person into a growling pessimist. Yet there is an undertone of hope that is trying to break through the clutter of negativity and it is this spirit that is tapped into for the "What About You" question. 
Do you remember your movie trivia? Here is a chance to test your movie mojo.