Grow Your People, Grow Your Business

Karen Jett

Description

The Seeds of GreatnessTM I believe that every human being contains the seeds of greatness. This doesn't necessarily mean that everyone will grow up to become a CEO or President. It does mean that every person out there has the potential to become the best me they can possibly be.

When the seeds of greatness start to sprout, all kinds of wonderful things start to happen. As individuals begin to grow they start to do better work, they begin to do every task to the best of their ability which helps them to grow faster and stronger. Eventually they begin to flower and set fruit. They start to expand their abilities and knowledge and become better. And then just like vegetables need to cross pollinate in order to bear fruit, they begin to look at others and see how by helping them they can also help themselves.

While some seeds have the ability to grow wherever they land, usually the seeds for the most desired plants need to be planted correctly and then tended with loving care to get them to grow and produce fruit. As a manager of people, you have the opportunity to provide fertile soil, water, nutrients, and needed supports to help your people grow. And as they grow, you will grow also. Over time, they will nourish you as you have nourished them.

I believe that every human being contains the seeds of greatness. I love to farm people and help them to develop their greatness. If you would like to do the same, then this book is for you!

Sujets

• Gestion d'équipe
• Business
• Economics
• Gestion et management
• Human Resources
• Personal Management

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 12 juin 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456617202
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Grow your People
Grow your Business

Grow your People
Grow your Business
Karen L. Jett, CMA
Copyright© 2013
All rights reserved.
What kind of values-based book would this be if the very first sentence admonished you about all the things you can’t legally do with its text? While it is correct that all rights are reserved, we understand that many readers will want to share snippets with their friends or use brief passages in an innocent manner. This is acceptable when proper credit is given. However, plagiarism is not; so, within any commercial context, if significant parts of this publication are used as a reference or resource, we ask that you seek permission first. We’re easy to get along with. Do the right thing.
Illustrations by Lee Felbinger
Cover design by Singles Design
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
ISBN: 978-1-4566-1720-2

Testimonials

“Karen provides practical methods that enable managers to help their staff grow, and shed the obstacles that are holding them back. If you have employees who are not living up to their potential, you must read this book!”
Kathy B. Dempsey
Award-Winning Author of Shed or You’re Dead™:
31 unConventional Strategies for Growth and Change
“Karen emphasizes the importance of hiring the right people and her book gives you great tips and tools to help you identify the people with those personality traits that make your business grow and mesh with the staff you already have.”
Joel L. Schwartz, MD
Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Abington Memorial Hospital
“Karen uses her experiences to back up down-to-earth, practical advice to get the best out of the people who work for you.”
Karen Lawson, PhD, CSP
Author of Improving Workplace Performance Through Coaching
“Karen takes challenging management tasks like hiring staff and breaks them down into easy to understand and implement steps.”
Ronald D. Luther
Director - Accounting Policy, Cummins, Inc.
“Karen Jett presents the power of ethical behavior in a most unique, practical, and insightful way. This book is a must-read for anyone, particularly in a leadership position. Her down-to-earth examples, combined with practical techniques and wisdom, make this book a great read!”
Frank Bucaro
Author of Trust Me! Insights Into Ethical Leadership
“I find the contents to be a treasury of wisdom and usable suggestions that will be of huge benefit to new managers. And yet, it includes a fresh perspective that will appeal to even experienced managers.”
I. Ross Dickman
Philadelphia Flower Show Market Vendor and Large Booth Manager
“Karen has learned much of value from her experiences, and she shares her insights in a direct, readable, and enjoyable way. Anybody who manages, or will manage, people can gain much of value from this book.”
Joel Wagoner, CPA, CMA, CFM
Assistant Professor, Arcadia University
“Clearly written and very relevant. Karen Jett possesses a depth of knowledge which reinforces tried and true business principles. You must read this book!
Steve Coscia
Customer Service Expert, Coscia Communications Inc.
“There are few books about managing people that give such practical and visually provocative examples of basic principles and everyday, working-environment situations. I will remember the effectiveness of trust and values-based leadership long after I finish this book.”
Constance M. Romer-Quirin
Licensed Psychologist

Dedication

To my husband, the wise farmer Thad, who knows when to fertilize, when to weed, and when to leave the plant alone to grow strong on its own. I love you!
Foreword

At first glance, you may think this is a lawn and garden book, but when you read beyond the chapter titles, crafted from an agricultural model, to the subtitles, you soon find out that this book is really about successfully growing people, not plants. It seems that growth cycles for plants and people are remarkably similar. In 24 concise chapters, Karen Jett uses these similarities to vividly demonstrate how you, as a leader, can successfully “grow” your people.
Agriculture has shaped the growth of our civilization for 10,000 years and it is still one of our largest, and, arguably, most important industries. Where better to find a cornucopia of growth examples, and what clearer, simpler, comparisons than these could be possible? It’s all in here: till the soil; plant healthy seeds; water generously; supplement with nutrients; provide personal support; rotate your crops; harvest thoroughly. The book’s message is simple – manage your “farm” and your people will grow.
Peter Drucker, who I was fortunate enough to have as a mentor during and after my time as a vice president with the American Management Association, once said, “Our challenge (in management) is not in getting results from extraordinary people, it is in getting extraordinary results from ordinary people (and that’s almost all of us).” We all have to be cultivated.

In one of my favorite chapters, “Chemical Fertilizer or Natural Fertilizer? - Bases of Power,” Karen breaks down the exercise of power within organizations into five archetypes that cover the power, authority and influence “territory” admirably. They are: legitimate, coercive, reward, expert, and referent power.
This book is a fertile field of real-life experiences, taken from both research and from Karen’s own career and daily life experiences. Her husband, after all, is a farmer.
“Managers have a multitude of powerful ways to promote growth or get the work done. They, like farmers, need to have a complete understanding of both the fertilizer (power) and the plant (employee) in order to produce the most work.” It doesn’t get much simpler, or more powerful, than that.
“Building Up The Soil – Trust and Respect” is another favorite chapter. Here, Karen recognizes that “building up the soil doesn’t end with nourishing the plant.” And building up an employee doesn’t stop at the end of the workday. It’s an ongoing process, rooted in mutual benefit in which a glimmer of hope satisfied leads to greater trust. To have healthy, productive workers, we need healthy organizations.
Finally, one of the most impressive aspects of this book is its well thought through grounding in successful leadership techniques and personnel development tools, presented in such a way that you can adopt any one (or more) of them almost immediately.
It is not a book best buried among corporate reports, or left sitting on a shelf. It is a book you can use, and take with you anywhere you go. It is a book that provides ready reference for some of organizations’ greatest challenges. And each learning point is presented in a unique and entertaining way. Business books, after all, don’t have to be dull! Happy reading.
John Reddish, MS, CMC, works with entrepreneurs and leaders who want to master growth, transition, and succession to get results faster, less painfully and in ways that work for them. Consultant, author, speaker and mentor, John is celebrating his 30th year in the consulting business and is a former executive with the American Management Association, IBM and the Edison Electric Institute. He also believes in the integrity and quality of Karen Jett’s work.
Organic Vs. Non-Organic
Values-Based Business Development

The first big decision farmers must make is whether to farm organically. This must be decided up front because it impacts all future decisions, such as where to plant, which seeds to select, how to fertilize, and what to do if plants attract pests or get the blight.
What does this have to do with you, as a manager of people? Well, the first decision a manager should consider is whether or not to manage organically.
Managing organically translates into values-based management. Making this decision early on helps because it impacts all future decisions, such as who to hire, how to train, what to train, and what you’ll do if an employee doesn’t seem to be working out.
Ideally, the organization that you work for already has clearly defined values and has taught you how to put these values into action to make decisions. Unfortunately, only a small number of companies have done this.
But wait, are you skeptical that an organization can even have values?
For many years, business theory was predicated on the idea that businesses were inanimate beings that had no values and could not be held to the same standards as a person. Not only is this theory flawed, it’s dangerous. This theory permits companies to plunder our resources, pollute the earth, and rip off consumers and investors with very few consequences.
Pick a business – it may be one you work for, one you want to work for, or one that operates down the street. It may be a huge conglomerate, a franchise, or a small mom-and-pop shop. Regardless, all businesses have one thing in common – guaranteed! Can you guess what it is?
All businesses were started by and are now run by people. One or more people are in charge. Other people work under those managers, who oversee even more people – and hundreds, or even thousands, of additional people run around completing everyday tasks that earn money for the company.
So, if a company is made up of people – people who all have values – shouldn’t that organization have values as well?
Ideally, an organization looks within itself to locate its unique values. These values may be lofty: “We give back to the communities in which we operate.” Or, these values may be imminently practical: “We operate to earn a profit.”
But frequently, these values are somewhere in-between: “We value diversity in the workplace and in the marketplace, and therefore work to ensure that minority opinions are understood and considered before making all decisions.”
To be clear, all organizations have values. And employees will pick up on them, given enough time. If individuals disagree with the company’s values, then they may insert their own.
The organic busi