Infinite’s Opportunities Continue to Grow!

Elizabeth Gouwens was recently promoted to leadership. This is no surprise a result of her hard work and dedication. Elizabeth shared:

When I got promoted to leadership I felt extremely honored. My consistency in the field and hard work has shown through and I proved to myself and others my capabilities.

What motivates me in the field is knowing I am competing against everyone else in the office. I know that my goals are entirely up to my work ethic and mentality.

My future goals are to finish my senior year at Saint Joseph’s College this fall, and then move to the city working at a job pertaining to marketing and/or public relations. 

 I wanted to thank Infinite for giving me this opportunity to experience the ins and outs of the business and to further develop my work ethics. I have already prospered in many ways this past month and look forward to the challenges that I will face.

Again, congratulations on your promotion Elizabeth! Keep showing us what you are made of!

http://myinfinite.net/

Infinite Team is Growing!

Infinite is happy to announce Haajra Narmawala was promoted to “Leadership” this past week. We are very happy for Haajra's opportunity and Infinite wanted to share some of Haajra's words:

It feels incredible to be promoted to leadership as a result of hard work and staying consistent in the field during training. As a leader, I am even more motivated to compete for success among the other leaders and work harder than the rest. It is a great opportunity to learn and build up management skills that set you up for success in every field. As a leader, it means that I will be taking more initiative to set myself as a good example for the trainees by working hard, following the system and being prepared that will allow me to stay consistent in the field. I plan to stay consistent in the field and gain responsibilities and opportunities to build a successful team. Through the process, I will also be developing training and interviewing skills. This promotion is not the last milestone; it is an opportunity to collaborate with other leaders, learn from them and enhance their leadership skills.

Great job Haajra!  Team Infinite is very excited for your opportunity and we know you can accomplish anything you set your mind into. Keep it up!

http://myinfinite.net/

21 Ways Rich People Think Differently

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/21-ways-rich-people-think-differently.html?page=1

By Mandi Woodruff | Business Insider – Tue, Sep 4, 2012 10:50 AM EDT


World's richest woman Gina Rinehart is enduring a media firestorm over an article in which she takes the "jealous" middle class to task for "drinking, or smoking and socializing" rather than working to earn their own fortune.

What if she has a point?

Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think," spent nearly three decades interviewing millionaires around the world to find out what separates them from everyone else.

It had little to do with money itself, he told Business Insider. It was about their mentality.

"[The middle class] tells people to be happy with what they have," he said. "And on the whole, most people are steeped in fear when it comes to money."

Flickr / C. Pajunen1. Average people think MONEY is the root of all evil. Rich people believe POVERTY is the root of all evil.

"The average person has been brainwashed to believe rich people are lucky or dishonest," Siebold writes.

That's why there's a certain shame that comes along with "getting rich" in lower-income communities.

"The world class knows that while having money doesn't guarantee happiness, it does make your life easier and more enjoyable."

2. Average people think selfishness is a vice. Rich people think selfishness is a virtue.

"The rich go out there and try to make themselves happy. They don't try to pretend to save the world," Siebold told Business Insider.

The problem is that middle class people see that as a negative––and it's keeping them poor, he writes.

"If you're not taking care of you, you're not in a position to help anyone else. You can't give what you don't have."

Getty Images3. Average people have a lottery mentality. Rich people have an action mentality.

"While the masses are waiting to pick the right numbers and praying for prosperity, the great ones are solving problems," Siebold writes.

"The hero [middle class people] are waiting for may be God, government, their boss or their spouse. It's the average person's level of thinking that breeds this approach to life and living while the clock keeps ticking away."

4. Average people think the road to riches is paved with formal education. Rich people believe in acquiring specific knowledge.

"Many world-class performers have little formal education, and have amassed their wealth through the acquisition and subsequent sale of specific knowledge," he writes.

"Meanwhile, the masses are convinced that master's degrees and doctorates are the way to wealth, mostly because they are trapped in the linear line of thought that holds them back from higher levels of consciousness...The wealthy aren't interested in the means, only the end."

I Love Lucy screencap5. Average people long for the good old days. Rich people dream of the future.

"Self-made millionaires get rich because they're willing to bet on themselves and project their dreams, goals and ideas into an unknown future," Siebold writes.

"People who believe their best days are behind them rarely get rich, and often struggle with unhappiness and depression."

6. Average people see money through the eyes of emotion. Rich people think about money logically.

"An ordinarily smart, well-educated and otherwise successful person can be instantly transformed into a fear-based, scarcity driven thinker whose greatest financial aspiration is to retire comfortably," he writes.

"The world class sees money for what it is and what it's not, through the eyes of logic. The great ones know money is a critical tool that presents options and opportunities."

7. Average people earn money doing things they don't love. Rich people follow their passion.

"To the average person, it looks like the rich are working all the time," Siebold says. "But one of the smartest strategies of the world class is doing what they love and finding a way to get paid for it."

On the other hand, middle class take jobs they don't enjoy "because they need the money and they've been trained in school and conditioned by society to live in a linear thinking world that equates earning money with physical or mental effort."

8. Average people set low expectations so they're never disappointed. Rich people are up for the challenge.

"Psychologists and other mental health experts often advise people to set low expectations for their life to ensure they are not disappointed," Siebold writes.

"No one would ever strike it rich and live their dreams without huge expectations."

BarackObamadotcom via YouTube9. Average people believe you have to DO something to get rich. Rich people believe you have to BE something to get rich.

"That's why people like Donald Trump go from millionaire to nine billion dollars in debt and come back richer than ever," he writes.

"While the masses are fixated on the doing and the immediate results of their actions, the great ones are learning and growing from every experience, whether it's a success or a failure, knowing their true reward is becoming a human success machine that eventually produces outstanding results."

10. Average people believe you need money to make money. Rich people use other people's money.

Linear thought might tell people to make money in order to earn more, but Siebold says the rich aren't afraid to fund their future from other people's pockets.

"Rich people know not being solvent enough to personally afford something is not relevant. The real question is, 'Is this worth buying, investing in, or pursuing?'" he writes.

11. Average people believe the markets are driven by logic and strategy. Rich people know they're driven by emotion and greed.

Investing successfully in the stock market isn't just about a fancy math formula.

"The rich know that the primary emotions that drive financial markets are fear and greed, and they factor this into all trades and trends they observe," Siebold writes.

"This knowledge of human nature and its overlapping impact on trading give them strategic advantage in building greater wealth through leverage."

12. Average people live beyond their means. Rich people live below theirs.

"Here's how to live below your means and tap into the secret wealthy people have used for centuries: Get rich so you can afford to," he writes.

"The rich live below their means, not because they're so savvy, but because they make so much money that they can afford to live like royalty while still having a king's ransom socked away for the future."

richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com13. Average people teach their children how to survive. Rich people teach their kids to get rich.

Rich parents teach their kids from an early age about the world of "haves" and "have-nots," Siebold says. Even he admits many people have argued that he's supporting the idea of elitism.

He disagrees.

"[People] say parents are teaching their kids to look down on the masses because they're poor. This isn't true," he writes. "What they're teaching their kids is to see the world through the eyes of objective reality––the way society really is."

If children understand wealth early on, they'll be more likely to strive for it later in life.

14. Average people let money stress them out. Rich people find peace of mind in wealth.

The reason wealthy people earn more wealth is that they're not afraid to admit that money can solve most problems, Siebold says.

"[The middle class] sees money as a never-ending necessary evil that must be endured as part of life. The world class sees money as the great liberator, and with enough of it, they are able to purchase financial peace of mind."

Kim Bhasin / Business Insider15. Average people would rather be entertained than educated. Rich people would rather be educated than entertained.

While the rich don't put much stock in furthering wealth through formal education, they appreciate the power of learning long after college is over, Siebold says.

"Walk into a wealthy person's home and one of the first things you'll see is an extensive library of books they've used to educate themselves on how to become more successful," he writes.

"The middle class reads novels, tabloids and entertainment magazines."

16. Average people think rich people are snobs. Rich people just want to surround themselves with like-minded people.

The negative money mentality poisoning the middle class is what keeps the rich hanging out with the rich, he says.

"[Rich people] can't afford the messages of doom and gloom," he writes. "This is often misinterpreted by the masses as snobbery.

Labeling the world class as snobs is another way the middle class finds to feel better bout themselves and their chosen path of mediocrity."

Flickr / Wei Tchou17. Average people focus on saving. Rich people focus on earning.

Siebold theorizes that the wealthy focus on what they'll gain by taking risks, rather than how to save what they have.

"The masses are so focused on clipping coupons and living frugally they miss major opportunities," he writes.

"Even in the midst of a cash flow crisis, the rich reject the nickle and dime thinking of the masses. They are the masters of focusing their mental energy where it belongs: on the big money."

18. Average people play it safe with money. Rich people know when to take risks.

"Leverage is the watchword of the rich," Siebold writes.

"Every investor loses money on occasion, but the world class knows no matter what happens, they will aways be able to earn more."

Flickr / Ibrahim Iujaz19. Average people love to be comfortable. Rich people find comfort in uncertainty.

For the most part, it takes guts to take the risks necessary to make it as a millionaire––a challenge most middle class thinkers aren't comfortable living with.

"Physical, psychological, and emotional comfort is the primary goal of the middle class mindset," Siebold writes.

World class thinkers learn early on that becoming a millionaire isn't easy and the need for comfort can be devastating. They learn to be comfortable while operating in a state of ongoing uncertainty."

20. Average people never make the connection between money and health. Rich people know money can save your life.

While the middle class squabbles over the virtues of Obamacare and their company's health plan, the super wealthy are enrolled in a super elite "boutique medical care" association, Siebold says.

"They pay a substantial yearly membership fee that guarantees them 24-hour access to a private physician who only serves a small group of members," he writes.

"Some wealthy neighborhoods have implemented this strategy and even require the physician to live in the neighborhood."

Getty Images21. Average people believe they must choose between a great family and being rich. Rich people know you can have it all.

The idea the wealth must come at the expense of family time is nothing but a "cop-out", Siebold says.

"The masses have been brainwashed to believe it's an either/or equation," he writes. "The rich know you can have anything you want if you approach the challenge with a mindset rooted in love and abundance."

From Steve Siebold, author of "How Rich People Think."

Infinite Wins Q4 Cup For National Campaign Being Recognized For Outstanding Performance

We are so proud of our team here at Infinite.  The company has been recognized as the nation's most profitable, productive vendor for our client. 

Throughout the last few months, the team at Infinite has been in negotiations to continue to evolve the relationship with our client.  Due to these negotiations, we were able to outperform every other vendor in the nation.

We doubled in size in the last month and the new promotion to our executive team, Alex
Huynh, will allow us to take on an even larger client load.  We expect to open an additional location in the next few months.

Great job team!

A New Year’s Resolution for Business Success: Build a Better Leadership System

http://lasvegas.informermg.com/2013/01/07/a-new-years-resolution-for-business-success-build-a-better-leadership-system/

 By Dr. Ray Benedetto and Tom Walter

What are you going to do to make your company better in 2013?  Shooting for financial targets is hardly enough.  Chasing financial goals is futile if the company lacks the human talent necessary to achieve such goals.  In brief, making any company better depends on how leaders retain and leverage their human assets as a distinctive competitive advantage.

Our research has shown how entangled companies sustain distinctive competitive advantages in various industries by building unique and enviable cultures that stimulate creative thinking, constantly generate new ideas, motivate high performance, and consistently delight customers.  Leaders of high-performing companies view their business as a system that requires the synchronizing of key subsystems.  Great leaders know that the future success of any enterprise rests on the strength of their leadership subsystem, which includes the current and future direction of the enterprise and their leadership pipeline—how tomorrow’s leaders are being developed today.

The leadership pipeline is a lot more than merely planning for leadership succession. The pipeline is a set of integrated steps that begins with having the right people on board, extends to daily reinforcement of right behaviors, and manifests itself in discretionary thinking and exceptional performance. If you want to do better in 2013 and beyond, assessing your leadership subsystem is a good place to start. The following questions spanning eight key areas can help you begin:

Core values.  Does the company have a set of explicit core values? Was staff from all levels of the company involved in creating these values?  Are the values easy to understand?  Does the set of core values, taken together, convey the spirit of the company?  Are the values conspicuously displayed throughout work areas to remind employees about the values the company holds most dear?

Code of conduct. Have employees created a code of conduct that exemplifies how core values appear in daily behaviors?  Do employees hold themselves and others mutually accountable for right behaviors? Does the performance evaluation and management system recognize and reward employees for exemplifying core values?

Organizational Purpose.  Does the vision for the company’s future inspire suppliers and key partners as well as employees? Does the company mission clearly state daily commitments in serving the stakeholders?  When employees meet formally to conduct company business, do they review and reinforce the organizational purpose (values, vision, and mission)?

Leadership Philosophy.  Does each employee understand the difference between leadership and management? Is every employee viewed as a leader who has influence upon others?  Does each employee have a defined circle of influence through which he or she can affect change?

Trust and Caring. Is each employee trusted to act as a responsible adult? Have the company shed a 20th century command-and-control management approach for a 21st century trust-and-track leadership approach? Does each and every leader work on building relationships based on trusting and caring for others?  Does the performance evaluation and management system recognize and reward leaders for relationship building? Are leaders who fail to meet this standard assessed, counseled, and coached to develop these skills?  Are leaders who fail to respond to positive development efforts relieved from duties and encouraged to find employment elsewhere?

Learning and Growth. Are employees at all levels taught how to read company financial reports and to assess functional performance related to cost and expense management and revenue generation? Does each employee understand how his or her daily performance contributes to company goals and objectives? Does each employee have an individual development plan that identifies three strengths to be leveraged as well as three improvement areas for the next performance year?

Transparency. Are employees receiving all the necessary daily and weekly information from which to make decisions?  Do employees receive routine, comprehensive reports of company operations they can use to improve service to their internal customers?  Are employees engaged in decision-making at the lowest levels related to cost and expense management as well as revenue generation, if appropriate?

Accountability. Is each employee held accountable for meeting objectives?  Does each employee provide a formal accounting of performance, such as weekly huddles (The Great Game of Business -1992 – by Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham, New York: Currency-Doubleday)?  Responsibility without accountability results in less than optimal performance!

Although answers to some of the above questions may not be easy, they provide a starting point for improving the leadership system within any company.  The eight areas above serve as a framework through which leaders can work during the course of a year.  Some areas are sequential, such as the code of conduct following establishment of core values, while others can run concurrently, such as learning and growth along with transparency.  The keys to success are doing honest assessments, confronting the brutal facts, and pursuing solutions for each response that lacks a definitive “Yes!”

Dr. Ray Benedetto, DM, is a retired USAF Colonel. He founded a consulting firm that helps leaders build high-performing, character-based cultures in addition to his teaching leadership and strategic planning for the University of Phoenix Chicago Campus MBA program. Tom Walter is a serial entrepreneur and nationally recognized speaker on entrepreneurship, leadership and business culture. They are the co-authors of It’s My Company Too! How Entangled Companies Move Beyond Employee Engagement For Remarkable Results. For more information, please visit, www.ItsMyCompanyToo.com.

Customer Experience Lessons From The Voice

By Annette Gleneicki, Published December 21, 2012

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/customer-experience-lessons-from-the-voice-0362962#Df2SP95KZ24UmVg8.99

The third season of the hit series The Voice just ended this week, and I’ve been sitting on a blog post for my “Customer Experience Lessons… ” series since the previous season. For obvious reasons. I started to create my own TV series about The Voice (of the Customer) for the post; that didn’t quite work but isn’t dead yet! I’ve rewritten the post three times! Here’s what I’ve ended up with.

Constituents
There are three key constituents of the show: (1) coaches/mentors, (2) artists, and (3) the audience. Each one plays an important part in the show.

In your business, there are many stakeholders, but the three key constituents of the customer experience are (1) employees, (2) customers, and (3) leadership/executives. You could make the connection that the coaches/mentors are the leadership or management team, setting the example for the rest of the organization, driving the customer focus and culture; the employees are your artists; and your customers are your audience.

Coaching
In the early stages of the show, the coaches each choose the artists that will be a part of their teams. Once the teams are set, they coach and mentor their team members, giving them advice and sharing best practices and secrets to success.

Coaching is critical to the growth of your employees, as well to their alignment with the customer-centric focus. Role playing, sharing your expertise, providing feedback, offering opportunities for career development, and recognizing a job well done are all part of coaching. In addition, creating a relationship of mutual trust, showing employees that you stand behind them, and expressing your commitment to their success will improve the employee experience, which, in turn, yields a much better customer experience.

Training
The artists spent a lot of time doing their homework, learning their songs, and practicing in preparation for the show every week.

Your employees must and will do the same. Don’t assume that they know how to deliver great service, especially to your company’s standards. Assume that you need to clearly spell out for them your expectations on how they will interact with your customers and then train them on those expectations. Employees should constantly be learning about your products and services and updating their skills in general, as well, evolving and growing with the business.

Teamwork
While only one person wins The Voice, the artists are split up into teams. Each individual on a team forms a close bond with the other members of their team over the course of their time on the show, as well as with their team leader, their coach.

The same is true for your employees. They are part of a team, whether its their individual departments or the company as a whole. A team collaborates and works together toward a common goal.

Backstory
Every artist on The Voice has an interesting life story, whether it’s a personal tragedy or just an awesome lifelong dream to become the next big pop star. The backstory is part of what creates that connection for the audience with the artists.

In the customer experience world, there are two types of backstories:

    The Customer’s Story. Know your customers. Every customer is unique. Tailor experiences to the customer. You can’t meet their needs until you understand who they are and what their needs are.
    The Company’s Story. Your company’s story is its history, it’s purpose, its reason for being. Everyone, both customers and employees, need to understand the company’s story.

As with the artists, these backstories also for the foundation for the connection between the customer and the brand.

Competition
The show itself is obviously a competition. Artists compete with other artists, but they also compete against themselves, striving to always do better than the previous performance. Coaches and the audience remember.

Customers have choices. Customers remember. Don’t dwell on what your competition is doing; instead, dwell on what you’re doing.

Performance
The Voice is all about the performance, about artists giving their best performances every time they’re on stage.

Your customer experience is only as good as your weakest link, right? Make sure every link, every touchpoint, is delivering a perfect 10 performance. Just like in The Voice competition, consistency is only important once you’re performing at your absolute best, better than everyone else. Once you reach that level, the experience your customers have with your organization must consistently exceed their expectations.

Focus
The artists were missing their families and friends, but they needed to remain focused on the task at hand.

For your business, that focus needs to be on delivering the best customer experience possible. End of story.

Goals
Every single competitor had a goal: to win The Voice. They had dreams of being the next big thing. Many overcame obstacles to be there, to stay true to their dreams, and to achieve their goals.

The goal of a customer-centric organization is to not only meet but to exceed customers’ expectations. Turning customers into raving fans is the ultimate goal. Make sure employees are in alignment; to do so, fall on your brand promise. As I wrote previously: “The brand promise aligns all of the activities of the organization; that promise guides people, processes, products, systems, etc. Everything you do must support and reinforce the brand promise: every product, every person, every interaction, every touchpoint, all of it. Every time.”

Listening
An important component of a music competition is listening, i.e., for the coaches and the audience alike. Coaches are typically listening for pitch, tone, runs, etc., while audience members are listening for great-sounding voices and songs that make them feel something.

You cannot have a customer-centric culture without listening to your customers. Or without really hearing what they are saying.

Feedback
The Voice contestants were constantly receiving feedback about their performances from their coaches and from others around them.

As an organization, you should be encouraging and receiving feedback from your customers. As an employee, you should be receiving feedback from your mentor/manager and from your customers.

The Voice
The name of the show is, obviously, The Voice. Ultimately, the coaches and the audience are looking for the winning voice, the best-sounding artist from all the choices they have. The coaches’ initial votes are truly about the individual voices, as they have their backs turned to the contestants and cannot see them. They hit their buttons to weigh in, to select an artist for their teams. Artists have a choice, if multiple coaches hit their buttons.

Your customers have a choice. Actually, they have lots of choices. They don’t have a button, but they get to weigh in. They get to vote with their wallets.

Your customers have a voice. Bring that voice into all aspects of the organization, to every touchpoint. Make sure it’s heard. And acted upon.

The Journey
The artists who make it into the top 10 have quite the journey – behind them and ahead of them. The journey behind them is much shorter than what lies ahead. Even if they didn’t win the show, they have built a fan base over the weeks and months that will stay with them well into the future. Those artists in the top 5 – 10 will do well and have great careers ahead of them.

The customer experience is a journey, as well. And just like the artists, your company’s journey behind is much shorter than what lies ahead. What lies ahead is a lot of hard work and focus, a lot of learning and improving, a lot of adapting, a lot of communicating and sharing. It’s never-ending. It’s not an easy road, but those that stay the course find that the reward far outweighs the effort to get there.

When people talk about successful retailers and those that are not so successful, the customer determines at the end of the day who is successful and for what reason. -Jerry Harvey
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/customer-experience-lessons-from-the-voice-0362962#Df2SP95KZ24UmVg8.99

5 Traits of Leaders Who Are Ready for Social Good

http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghanbiro/2012/12/09/5-traits-of-leaders-who-are-ready-for-social-good/

Meghan M. Biro, Contributor

‘Tis the season to do good. You might not believe it if you’ve just come from the Mall, but the spirit of good is out there. Perhaps unexpectedly, good deeds and real social change are coming from business leaders who understand that success carries with it the opportunity to exercise social responsibility without the burden of government mandate.

The path to becoming a socially-responsible leader is not as difficult as one might think. It’s a logical extension of the passionate leader’s journey. Not all leaders take it, of course; I could find no real good numbers as I researched this post but my instinct tells me less than 50 percent of successful business leaders go on to contribute to social good in a meaningful way. I’m hoping these numbers continue to increase.

Todd Warren, my fellow Forbes contributor, educator and thought-leader on startup culture, has proposed an awesome post about five attributes of entrepreneurial leaders: vision and dissatisfaction with the present, knowing and taking advantage of one’s unfair advantages, ability to recruit people to extend your vision, flexibility and ability to learn and adapt, and persistence and execution. These attributes are, in my view, the basic requirements for a socially-responsible leader – but wait, there’s more. Warren’s five attributes may make a good entrepreneur but they don’t go far enough to explain why some business success stories – for example Bill Gates – go beyond business success to become social activists and philanthropists. For every Bill Gates there are 20 or 30 Carl Ichans, Mark Cubans, even – and I am a fanboi – Steve Jobs, who achieved enormous personal success and wealth but have not contributed back significantly to society. So how does a business leader transcend personal success and extend his or her skills to the realm of the do-gooder?

I’d argue there are an additional five traits necessary to be a socially-responsible leader:

1) Heightened situational awareness. It’s one thing to be focused on being aware of the business landscape by staying open to ideas to extend and perfect your vision. It’s a different skill to be aware of the world around you. In the movie Scrooged, Bill Murray is completely unaware of his assistant’s life challenges until the ghosts visit him; once his awareness is engaged and the focus expanded from his wants and needs to encompass those of others, he is transformed into a socially-responsible, charitable soul. To become socially responsible, leaders must look beyond themselves to see what motivates, or holds back, those around him. Then he or she can see the need in others – in the world – and turn the intense focus of the entrepreneur to solving larger social problems.

2) Emotional intelligence. Yes, this is one of my favorite themes, for a reason. Until a leader opens
his or her heart and mind to others, turns what is undoubtedly prodigious intelligence and focus outward to understand the challenges of others, there can be no authentic social leadership. If you see an emotionally limited leader doing good works, look for a smart tax advisor standing in the wings.

3) Empathy. This isn’t the same as emotional intelligence. I know lots of emotionally intelligent people who are more cerebral than they are empathetic. They can understand why people behave a certain way, and adapt, but at some level it does not reach them. Empathetic people are open to the world of hurt that exists on the periphery of the world of things; they know not only why people have needs, but also why it is important to meet those needs.

4) Media savvy. This might not seem like an attribute but it is. Look at Bill Gates then look at Steve Ballmer. ‘Nuff said. The media savvy leader has an advantage when he turns his attention to social good. Bono, no stranger to the media or financial success, has done tremendous good because he knows how to work the media to advance his cause. And some media, notably HuffPo and Mashable, are making it much easier for socially-aware leaders to do good. HuffPo’s HuffPost Education Section is a media hub for all things relevant to the country’s failing education system. The brain child of Brian Sirgutz, SVP of Social Impact at The Huffington Post/AOL, HuffPo’s Education Section came about after the media channel’s executive leadership watched the movie Waiting for Superman. It’s a content channel devoted to charting what’s wrong – and what could make it right – in our education system. It may not meet your criteria for doing good, but when you’re a media channel, access is your gift and your gold. Then there’s Mashable’s Social Good content channel. The editors of Mashable, led by Meghan Peters, Community Manager for Mashable, scan the Interwebs for news and evidence of individuals, leaders and organizations dedicating resources to social good. Sometimes all it takes is a light shining on a good act, or a horror, to alert society (and leaders) to the opportunity for social good. PS: My #TChat World of Work Community will be featuring both the talented Meghan and talented Brian this week as we celebrate via social media channels.

5) Selflessness. This is the tough one. Some entrepreneurs and successful (wealthy, not merely well-off) people are not acquainted with selflessness. They do things because their personal calculus tells them there’s a benefit. Maybe it’s the unreconstructed Catholic in me but by my reckoning, you haven’t done a social good if you expect to deduct it on your taxes. You do a social good when you have no expectation of repayment of any kind – we’re not buying indulgences here.
Non-profit, for-profit, individual or business leader – we can all learn a lesson during the festival of light, the season of charity and goodness. Open your hearts and minds before you open your wallets. Charity doesn’t count if you don’t understand the motivation.

 

Four Characteristics Of Pivotal Leadership by Doug Dickerson

http://www.ibtimes.com/exnet/four-characteristics-pivotal-leadership-891102


Pivot -- n; a person or thing upon which progress, success, etc. depends -- World English Dictionary

A story is told about Charles Francis Adams, a 19th century political figure. He kept a diary and one day his entry read: “Went fishing with my son today -- a day wasted.” His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary. His entry was far different than that of his father. His read: “Went fishing with my father -- the most wonderful day of my life!” The father thought he was wasting his time while fishing with his son, but the son saw it as an investment of time.



The illustration reminds us how our perceptions shape our reality. What the father perceived to be a waste of time was perceived in a totally different light by his son. It also reminds us of the importance of leadership. Leaders come in many stripes and styles and each possess their own unique approach. In short, leadership development is a work in progress.



In considering the qualities of exceptional leadership I turn to a word that is rarely used to define it --pivot. No, it’s probably not the word on the tip of your tongue in your leadership vocabulary. But in the context of the definition above, it might just grow on you. So what are some pivot points of exceptional leaders? Here are a few for your consideration.



A pivotal leader puts forth a clear vision. Success will only come to your business or organization if those in leadership have a clear vision for where it is going.  Leaders who are directionally challenged by a lack of vision will not go far. “A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future," leadership guru Denis Waitley said. "You must break out of your comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.” When a leader presents a clear vision he sets into motion the opportunity for success.



A pivotal leader shapes core values. Core values are the non-negotiable principles of how you operate. These values define who you are, who you hire, the way in which you treat your customers and your competitors, and how your reputation is measured. When decisions flow out of core values it elevates everyone to a higher standard.



A pivotal leader has a positive attitude. “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference,” Winston Churchill said. And he’s right. Pivotal leaders are acutely aware of the power of a positive attitude and the difference it can make in their organization. The challenges of leadership can be daunting but a positive attitude will defuse stress, keep the team focused, and build strong morale.



A pivotal leader shows grateful appreciation. One of the endearing attributes of any successful leader is that of gratitude. Smart leaders understand that their success is tied to the hard work and dedication of those around him. When leaders recognize the contributions of others they are exercising a degree of heart intelligence that is just as valuable as their business smarts. Tangible acts of appreciation go a long way in building team confidence and indicate that you recognize that it was a team effort.



Are you a pivotal leader?



Doug Dickerson is a nationally recognized leadership columnist and speaker. He is the author of the new book, "Great Leaders Wanted," and is available to speak for your business. Visit his web site at www.dougsmanagementmoment.blogspot.com for more information.

How Successful Companies Sustain Innovation By Faisal Hoque

http://www.fastcompany.com/3002324/how-successful-companies-sustain-innovation

Innovation is widely regarded as the single most important ingredient in today’s economy. But innovation as a destination isn’t enough.

Sustained innovation is a high-productivity state in which an organization strives to innovate in all aspects of its business, including management, divisions, operations, customers, and suppliers. It requires a seamless, structured management approach that begins with board- and CEO-level leadership and connects all the way through technology investment and implementation. Above all, sustained innovation is a journey, not a destination. The enterprise doesn’t stop innovating after attaining one goal; it’s engaged in a continual process of reinvention, invention, and discovery.
Consider the following three examples:

• The one-hit wonder: The smartphone market is red-hot, with Apple and Samsung engaged in the most fierce race for dominance via product innovation. But let’s not forget the once ubiquitous handheld of choice for most employers and business people: the BlackBerry. A mere five years ago, Research In Motion was one of the most celebrated technology companies in the world, as the BlackBerry, or “CrackBerry” as it became known, led the smartphone market. But the meteoric rise of the iPhone and Android devices has made R.I.M. and its big innovation a relic in a world of constant reinvention.

• Rising from failure: In 1919, Cornelius Vander Starr was the first Westerner to sell insurance to the Chinese, and he did so successfully until Communism drove him and American International Group back to the U.S. in 1949. AIG quickly grew it business globally, and in 1962 Starr gave management of the company's slowing U.S. holdings to Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, who revitalized the company by moving from personal insurance to high-margin corporate coverage and selling through independent brokers rather than agents to slash those salaries. The company went public in 1969 and continued to thrive until 2005, when AIG became the high-profile subject of fraud investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Justice Department, and New York State Attorney General's Office. Greenberg was booted amid an accounting scandal in February 2005 and the company was battered by a liquidity crisis when its credit ratings were downgraded below "AA" levels in September 2008. Thanks to government bailouts in 2008 and 2009, AIG has bounced back and regained its status as a vital American multinational corporate titan. AIG isn’t taking its rescue for granted. The insurer unveiled a new corporate logo as part of a major rebranding overhaul aimed at its continued growth and success.

• Ongoing success: Pfizer, the world's biggest pharmaceutical company by revenues, constantly develops blockbuster medicines and vaccines with household names like Zithromax, Lipitor, and Viagra. Founded in 1849 as a manufacturer of fine chemicals, Pfizer's discovery of Terramycin a year later launched its successful and ongoing expansion into a research-based pharmaceutical company. The drug maker has augmented its research by building its brands, pipeline, and profile through a series of major acquisitions. The company continues to lead the market with treatments for myriad maladies. Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer’s Bosulif, which treats a rare type of leukemia that usually affects older adults.

3 Principles for Sustained Innovation

Sustained innovation is powered by people who come together to share ideas, compare observations, and brainstorm solutions to complex problems. Enterprises with a strong focus on sustained innovation share three common principles that act as the glue binding people together in productive collaboration. They are:

1. Converged disciplines: Ideas aren’t isolated; they’re celebrated in groups that enable the entire organization to act as one entity. Of particular importance is the convergence of business and technology management to ensure that no one unit or division is missing the opportunity to capitalize on new ideas and possibilities.

2. Cross-boundary collaboration: No enterprise operates in a vacuum. Every manager, employee, and contractor potentially has a piece of the puzzle to create a new breakthrough business opportunity. Suppliers, partners, distributors, and customers are an equally valuable source of information and ideas.

3. Innovative business structure: Not every organization can empower an unstructured development culture like the Lunatic Fringe who led innovation at groundbreaking tech pioneer Texas Instruments; most require structure that compels convergence of disciplines, management, and operational units.
To bring these principles to life, enterprises operating with sustained innovation focus on three distinct, intimately related practices that require business/technology/management convergence to perform at a high level of organizational maturity.

Sustained Innovation Playbook

Designing and operating organizations capable of sustained innovation requires a playbook that demands a systemic process constructed around the following core steps:
• Listen broadly for ideas through vision, innovation, and external networks. Listen to the customer. Listen to the front lines in your organization.
• Understand who your actual and potential customers are, what they want and need, what they will need, and why those needs have not yet been met.
• Organize the innovation team to include those with a stake in the innovation, organize the innovation program, and organize the resources and investments needed to address the problem.
• Create an environment and capability for innovation by giving the team the ability to fail. Create many alternative solutions by leveraging the cascaded innovation lifecycle.
• Experiment and learn from failure. Conduct many experiments in parallel, using prototyping and other iterative, feedback-driven techniques.
• Listen again to the customer to help them imagine. Use prototypes to elicit feedback. Listen to customer acceptance/buying criteria. Listen to what could go wrong, but don’t let the devil’s advocate take control.
• Design the concepts to address customer-centric values, such as cost, intuitive use, ease of change, and sense of enhancement.
• Implement the final go/no-go decision. Consolidate or eliminate competing alternatives to a manageable number. Send concepts back for reinvention, retesting, or redesign. Implement the second stage of the innovation lifecycle: manifestation
.
Get Out of the Garage

Sure, some people work better alone. But most people are more prolific as part of a team or extended community of ideas and talents that fosters some of the world’s most important inventions. Garage inventors can’t possibly compete with myriad breakthroughs born from sustained, systemic innovation. The first single chip microprocessor publicly introduced by Intel in 1971, the first car safety air bags offered in the 1973 model Chevrolet, and the depression game changer drug Prozac in 1988, are all considered great innovations developed and perfected by teams, not individuals. Even Oppenheimer needed the Manhattan Project team to create the atomic bomb. The true test of sustained innovation isn’t the invention itself, but the ultimate and ongoing benefit produced by the innovation for the business.

Discipline and innovation are not opposites, but complements. Establishing an innovation culture consumes a great deal of organizational energy in overcoming the forces of inertia and entropy. But once an idea has been successfully commercialized, respected champions emerge to drive new sources of the energy, creativity, discipline, and resources that sustain and grow an enduring culture of innovation. Successful organizations manage innovation from concept to commercialization so that good ideas not only get created, but also continually find their way into the products and services portfolio.

--Faisal Hoque is founder, chairman, and CEO at BTM Corporation and founder of research think tank BTM Institute. His newest book is The Power of Convergence. Follow him on Twitter @faisal_hoque.

Inside the Successful Leader's Mindset

As a business leader, you are mired in the everyday details of your company's success. You're worried about your bottom line, your sales goals, or your next board meeting. Amid the chaos, it's easy to forget that intangibles -- like your beliefs -- play an important role in your success.

The most successful entrepreneurs share a set of core beliefs that help them persevere as they grow their businesses. These four tips will promote a positive mindset and increase your chances of success:

1. Trust that you'll adapt to new challenges. Successful entrepreneurs approach uncertainty with confidence. When faced with an unfamiliar challenge, they think of similar situations they've handled before or skills sets that might apply. "Focus on the abilities you do have and apply your general knowledge to whatever comes your way," says Matthew Della Porta, a positive psychologist and organizational consultant.

If you focus on your current skills and your ability to learn new ones, you'll be less likely to feel overwhelmed. "Trust your ability to adapt," Della Porta says.

2. Attribute your success to hard work, not luck. Successful leaders believe their achievements are due to hard work, not just lucky circumstance. "That's a result of self-efficacy," Della Porta says, meaning that people who believe they've worked hard trust their ability to master new or unfamiliar skills.

Leaders who are confident in their ability to learn are more likely to seek out and persevere through tough challenges, increasing their chances of success.

3. Believe that you are unique. Every great entrepreneur stands on the shoulders of giants, but successful leaders champion their individuality. In other words, they don't try to become "the next Steve Jobs." To be successful, learn from the people you admire but don't try to emulate them.

"You need to focus on being the first you, not the next someone else," Della Porta says. If you foster the unique strengths that you bring to the table, then you will be far more likely to stand out in a crowded industry.

4. Challenge your negative beliefs. If you want to succeed, stamp out negative beliefs that might be holding you back. "People have a tendency to self-handicap," Della Porta says. For example, an executive who believes he won't meet his sales goals is more likely to prioritize other tasks, giving him a preemptive excuse for a poor performance. His belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Notice the goals or tasks that you shy away from and articulate your beliefs about them. Challenge any negative thoughts by reminding yourself that you will succeed if you apply yourself. When your beliefs are confident and positive, your actions will promote success.

Employee Recognition of the Week

Congratulations to Alex, Jamie, and Christopher! for being nationally recognized in the top 20 most productive reps in the country. Great job, Keep up the good work!

8 Leadership Lessons That Buck Showalter’s Success Teaches Us Leadership

http://www.business2community.com/leadership/8-leadership-lessons-that-buck-showalters-success-teaches-us-0303133

By Lisa Swan, Published October 10, 2012

Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter turned around a failing baseball franchise and made the team into a baseball postseason powerhouse. And he did this without the financial resources of the competition, in the toughest division in the game. This is the fourth time the manager has worked such miracles with an MLB team, making the postseason with three different teams. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, there are good leadership lessons to be learned from Showalter’s career that may help you in your company:

Changing the culture:  When Showalter took over as manager of the New York Yankees in 1992, he inherited a team with a slew of malcontents. One of them was an outfielder named Mel Hall, who bullied Bernie Williams, one of the most promising young players on the team. Hall called the shy Williams “Bambi” and treated him badly, hazing him and hurting his confidence. Showalter got rid of players like Hall and saw Williams become a star. Leadership lesson: Don’t be afraid to get rid of bad actors in order to build your work team.

Spotting and developing talent: Former Yankees first baseman Don Mattingly, who played under Showalter and is now an MLB manager himself, said that Showalter has “the ability to spot talent that people miss.” In 1990, as a coach for the Yankees, spotted a young, unheralded pitcher in the lower levels of the Yankees farm system that he knew would be a star. The hurler? Mariano Rivera. Leadership lesson: Learn what makes a great employee at your company, and how to spot diamonds in the rough.

Expecting accountability: Employees are accountable not just to Showalter, but to each other.  As he told the New York Times last month, “When you see something done the wrong way, you say, ‘Hey, that ain’t good enough.’” He said that as time goes on, “you get the players to do that for each other,” where they expect the best from themselves and their teammates.  Leadership lesson: Holding your employees accountable can eventually result in their taking ownership of not just themselves but their co-workers.

Showing no fear of the competition:  Showalter currently manages in the American League East, the team with the toughest competition in baseball, with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Tampa Bay Rays as rivals.  Before he got there, his team played with fear of the superstars on the other teams. For his part, Showalter showed that the teams were nothing to be afraid of by, as he put it, taking the fight to his opponents, exhorting his players to play hard, and giving them a vision of success to strive for. He took the Orioles from 93 losses in 2011 to 93 wins in 2012 and their first playoff appearance in 15 years, a remarkable achievement. Leadership lesson: Don’t be afraid of taking on the big dogs in your industry.

Paying attention to detail:  In each of his managerial stops, Showalter has shown great attention to the little things, from picking the colors of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ uniforms to redesigning the Orioles’ spring training facility to more closely resemble Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the team’s stadium. Doing so has raised the bar as far as creating a team ethos. Leadership lesson: You can change the big things by changing the little things.

Be prepared: Showalter puts in the preparation, staying hours after the game to work on strategy.  He also makes sure to impart this knowledge to his players, so they can execute this strategy. That preparation is one of the reasons why the Orioles have a won-loss record that is 11 games more than they should have this year, given how many runs they score. Leadership lesson: Put in the work if you want to run with the big dogs.

Expecting the best, and establishing consequences: When Showalter first met with his Orioles players after taking over the team in the summer of 2010, he had a dry-erase board in the background listing replacements from each player in the minor leagues. This was done to let the players know that they couldn’t be complacent about their spot on the team. Leadership lesson: Don’t let you staff feel that they can have a job forever, even if they don’t produce.

Changing with the times:  While nobody will ever call Showalter mellow, the 56-year-old manager he showed that he was capable of lightening up a little, and communicating with players 35 years younger, when he got the job with the Orioles after not managing for four years. The notoriously austere manager even allowed the Orioles to have a ping-pong table in his spring training facility, something they didn’t expect him to let him keep. Leadership lesson: Be willing to relax a little if it means gaining better relationships with your staff.

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/leadership/8-leadership-lessons-that-buck-showalters-success-teaches-us-0303133#qSpP4sBiF7fE2Iol.99

Seven Keys To Sales Leadership - Scott Edinger, Contributor

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottedinger/2012/10/04/seven-keys-to-sales-leadership/

The sales leadership job is one of the toughest in business today. I have previously written about why this is so, but suffice it to say it is a few critical jobs rolled into one: super seller, coach, strategist and business leader. I have had the chance to work with thousands of sales leaders over the course of my career and have observed that the most successful among them possess key characteristics: the seven keys to being a great sales leader.

1. Create useful success metrics that mark progress, not just report results. Most sales leadership jobs demand a series of metrics that indicate results that have been achieved. Revenue and profit contribution are classic examples of these very important measures. But there is another side of the metric scale which includes those measures that are indicative of progress toward those goals—successful sales calls, implementation planning meetings, and the like are examples. The key difference is creating a balance of those that are backward-looking or lagging indicators, and others that are forward-looking, or leading indicators. Having both is vital to success.

2. Provide visionary leadership. There are few audiences more cynical than sales professionals (I have found lawyers and accountants to come close), so providing clear and definitive leadership is critical. Since most sales organizations serve as the nosecone of the business, as customer and product or service issues impact them first, they benefit greatly from having a vision for the entire team. The sales leader must be the exemplar of that vision, as the team will be watching. Pithy and concise are the themes for your sales team’s vision, which should dovetail with the organization’s vision.

3. Develop talent and coach relentlessly. Many a sales leader has risen through the ranks as a great seller to a sales leadership position. One of the problems I frequently hear about sales leaders is that they were great individual contributors but they haven’t quite taken hold of what it means to be a sales leader. Most of the time, the fundamental issue is a lack of coaching and development of talent. All too often they are narrowly focused on the role of super closer in an effort to drive business instead of building sales capability across a team.

4. Pay close attention to your selling roles and understand how you get involved in sales cycles. I have seen four distinct roles that sales leaders take on: Model—you run the call, Observer—you observe only with an intent to coach following the call, Teammate— you engage in joint selling with clearly defined responsibilities to take on specific topics during the call, and Strategist—you provide pre-call planning guidance and post-call support. Each of these selling roles has a unique purpose and impact, so it is imperative that the sales leader is intentional about what role they are playing as they support business development efforts.

5. Focus on creating value in the sales process. For many, success in selling is far less about what they are selling and increasingly about how they sell. Said simply, it’s about how, not what. That how is creating value in the sales process, and sales leaders can engineer the sales experience of customers to be one that is worth paying for. The litmus test for this is, as sales guru and a former boss of mine, Neil Rackham, has said is: “Would the customer write you a check for the sales call?” A sales call worth paying for is the pinnacle of value creation, and those interactions provide insights, new approaches and ideas for solving problems, and innovative opportunities to capitalize on, instead of simply a description of products and services.

6. Forecast with an understanding of where the customer is in the buying process. By and large, forecasting tools are centered on a series of tasks that sellers perform during the course of a sales cycle. What they too often lack is the perspective of the buyer and where the buyer is in the decision process. One of my mentors, John Hoskins, often said “if you want to learn how to sell, learn how buyers buy.” When forecasting, include milestones of customer behavior and joint accountabilities like “mutually reviewing a proposal together” versus “proposal sent” to have a considerable impact on forecast accuracy.

7. Motivate with recognition and rewards. I’ve said before that sales professionals have a reputation for being prima donnas, and, having spent my career in sales, I think the stereotype is correct. (It takes one to know one, right?!) That means a good sales leader has the opportunity to use this to their advantage and develop a strong rewards and recognition program. Rewards and recognition ought to be timely and relevant, and while an annual awards banquet is great, in order to reinforce behaviors it needs to be more frequent. Top performers value financial rewards for certain, but they also crave regular feedback on performance, autonomy, and degrees of freedom. Consider the myriad ways to reward and recognize in non-monetary form and you have a good recipe for an important element of sales team motivation.

This Month's Employee Recognitions

Congrats to on your recent promotions Alexandra, Gary and Doug! Great job stepping it up. We look forward to what you will accomplish in the coming months. Keep up the great work!


Congratulations Jamie for being the top performing client representative in the nation! Great Job!! Keep up the good work!


Congrats to the entire team at Infinite for bringing our client more revenue than any other vendor in the nation. 

We are looking forward to a strong finish to the year!

 

Infinite Partipates in Charity Dodgeball Tournament for Operation Smile

Infinite traveled to Miami for an annual retreat hosted by its client broker.  The weekend was hosted at Miami Beach's Eden Roc Hotel.  In addition to client hosted dinners, talent contest and awards ceremony, attendees participated in a charity dodgeball tournament.

The tournament raised $3600 for Operation Smile.

Operation Smile, a non-profit organization founded in 1982, is an international charity for children.  The organization is a mobilized group of doctors and nurses who provide reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

Since inception, Operation Smile has created a presence in over 60 countries and has helped more than 2 million people with evaluations as well as conducted over 200,000 free surgeries.

The dodgeball tournament involved several teams of 6 competing in a best out of three bracket style competition.  Each team paid an entry fee of $100 to play.  One hundred percent of the donated entry fees went to Operation Smile.  

Congrats Jess! On Winning The National Talent Show At Client Conference

Congrats to our talented Human Resource Director for winning first prize in the talent show at the Eden Roc.  Great Job!!

Have fun with your $1000 grand prize!

Infinite Travels To Miami For Business, Charity, And Fun

Infinite with Execs from across the country hanging out on the beach in Miami

Jess winning the national talent show!  Good job!

From the Battlefield to the Boardroom: A Navy SEAL's Guide to Business Leadership Success

http://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2012/09/18/from-the-battlefield-to-the-boardroom-a-navy-seals-guide-to-business-leadership-success-part-1-of-3/

Former Navy SEAL combat veteran and passionate entrepreneur, Brent Gleeson, is the co-founder and CMO of Internet Marketing Inc. You can follow him on Twitter at @BrentGleeson.


I spent five years as a Navy SEAL supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and the war on terror. During “capture or kill” missions in Iraq and clandestine operations in Northern Africa, I gained a unique perspective on teamwork, leadership, and what it takes to succeed in a competitive and challenging environment. What I didn’t realize at the time was that my experiences in combat had given me a highly valuable and applicable set of tools that translated well to entrepreneurship and leadership in business.

In Part 1 of this blog series, I will focus on six important aspects of military leadership that are critical to building a business, a driven team, and profitable organization.

    Mission Communication: Defining Reality for Your Team - There are three things you have to do well to be a SEAL operator: Move, shoot, and communicate.  While all three are important, communication is the most crucial. When we would call up the chain of command saying “pass the word,” that meant, “tell us what the hell is going on!” Sound familiar? When the team understood the big picture and everyone knew their specific roles in accomplishing the mission, we were always set up for success. In a business, when the team has a clear vision of where the company has been and where it’s headed, and more importantly how their contribution to the end goal matters, they will have a much deeper sense of ownership.

    Mission Planning: Strategizing in a Chaotic Environment – Many factors affect the outcome of any great plan. However, a great plan is worthless without proper execution. Planning for contingencies is imperative in combat as well as in business. There are many factors at play in our new economy. These externalities we face in running a growing business include the impact of emerging technologies, economic shifts, generational gaps among employees, and dynamic industry conditions. These factors can create a chaotic environment in which planning becomes even more critical. Any great special operations team or professional athlete will envision what winning looks like before they go on their mission or start their race.  Define what winning really looks like to your team outside of just the financial aspects.  I am a big believer in a one-page business plan that keeps things simple, focuses on your top priorities, and leaves flexibility to change as conditions evolve.

    Mission Team: Maximizing Engagement and Inspiring Innovation – One of the most interesting differentiators about the special operations community, and specifically the SEAL teams, is they are rather flat organizations. The traditional military is more like corporate America, where special ops is similar to the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship. Team guys, as SEALs often refer to themselves as, are generally very well educated (most enlisted SEALs have college degrees), freethinking professionals who have an unstoppable will to succeed. We, as leaders, must learn how to inspire our team members within our organizations to have the same drive and enthusiasm that we do. As Dwight D. Eisenhower once said: “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because they want to do it.”

    Mission Structure: Respecting the Chain of Command – The special ops’ community is known for its casual culture and the common respect shared between all team members whether enlisted or officer. Everyone follows the same grueling path to become a SEAL.  That said, chain of command is still critical especially when bullets start flying. Having a team of free thinkers is good, but the direction still needs to come from the top. Respecting the chain of command is not just a bottom-up philosophy. It is just as important for senior leaders to respect the chain of command from the top down. Not doing so by going around middle management not only destroys the fabric of authority, but also causes mass confusion. Never disrespect the chain of command by going around your middle managers.  If you find yourself doing so you most likely need to examine your personal leadership style or ask yourself if you truly trust middle management.

    Mission Debrief:  Allowing Your Team to Have a Real Voice and Offer Transparent Feedback - One of the things that really builds camaraderie in the SEALs is that we can always count on our fellow team members to tell us when we screwed up! There is always an after action review or mission debrief…always a review of the tough lessons learned from each mission. This is how we have constantly improved our tactics. In the same way, successful business leaders learn as much from their failures as their successes. But as long as you collect the right intelligence and properly apply what you have learned to the next situation, you can ensure more successes than failures down the road.  Build a culture around transparency and encourage anonymous feedback with 360 degree reviews.

    Mission Training:  Preparing for the Next Mission - Always be learning and always be training.  A SEAL team will rehearse every single mission prior to execution without fail.  As mentioned above, once the mission is completed, one of the most important elements in the mission debrief is the discussion of “lessons learned.” What are we going to take away from this operation to help us improve as a team and always develop as an organization?  The most successful companies are often the most innovative.  So how do they become innovative? They do so by encouraging and supporting growth, providing resources for constant learning, and rewarding creativity.  People succeed when they are inspired and excited to come to work.  When we love what we do, it’s not work.  This is what we want from our talent and it’s up to us as leaders to ensure they have it.