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I really found this web post about mediocrity quite inspiring and a great business post. It comes from Jeff Swanson of Ardent Consulting, and I found it worth sharing.

The Danger of Settling for Mediocrity

As business owners and leaders we cannot let good employees at any level get away from us. People leave for many reasons, some external ones we can control, but all internal reasons we must beware of and work hard to mitigate.

One such internal reason for employees leaving happens when mediocrity is allowed to become pervasive in organizations. The best people want to work for great leaders and will not tolerate mediocrity at any level.

Never Settle for Mediocrity in Your People Especially Team Leaders

Recently, a company hired a manager to take over and lead a very high performing team. This manager’s credentials were solid. They had the experience and, seemingly, the leadership qualifications the company needed.

Unfortunately, this manager did not strive for excellence, and did only what they had to do – not what their staff and the business needed them to do to be successful. This manager’s subordinates realized this first, and the ones that appreciated strong leadership, high standards, and wanted to succeed, all started to quit. Those who that had lower standards, or those who did not understand the hard work and organization it takes to be successful, remained.

With this transition to mediocrity, the business showed signs of decline with basic things not getting done, customer count dropping and the best team members leaving.

The company coached and retrained the new manager, but good team members still quit and the people they were being replaced with were not qualified. In addition, other managers in the company were demotivated by the presence of a peer who did not have the same level of accountability and excellence. It was feared they too would leave.

Be Decisive and Quick

Even though a vacancy in this key position would put stress on other associates, and could leave business at risk by being short handed, the choice was made to terminate the new manager quickly and decisively. Along with the obvious short term problems this manager was causing, the reputation of the business externally and the internal culture built in the company was deteriorating which could take months and years to repair.

Allowing the mediocrity to continue would erode the company’s culture of excellence and accountability, which had made the business successful. Externally the company suffered an injured reputation in two ways.

First, the best people that quit were the ones the company wanted to hire more of. Their peers knew of the problems with the new manager so an excellent source of talent diminished.

Second, customers noticed the loss of quality employees because the level of service they came to expect deteriorated over a short time period, resulting in a loss of customers. Worse yet, customers stopped talking about the business positively and told negative things to prospective customers. This hurt critical word of mouth advertising.

Mistakes Happen – Remedy Them

Obviously the company did a poor job hiring, but that is another topic of discussion. Mistakes happen and the company remedied the situation by not tolerating the mediocrity of the now former manager. The company’s quick and decisive action stopped the mediocrity from hurting the business deeply long term.

If you have managers that consistently have high turnover, or are always complaining about how their staff underperforms, look closely at that manager’s behavior toward their staff and in how they hire and train their workers. Usually when this consistency exists, the manager needs to be coached and retrained and hopefully reformed. This will enable their team to become stronger so your company can grow and not wallow in mediocrity.

Whether an operation is large or small, it’s not that unusual for an OSHA inspector to show up for a surprise inspection.

When that happens, everyone in the building should feel involved in the process. Management has to have the required paperwork in order, but that’s just the beginning.

How each person treats the inspector can make a difference in his appraisal of our operation. Treat the inspector like the VIP that he is. Smile and be cooperative. That can go a long way toward his view of the business. Never be rude or defensive.

The inspector could pick you at random to ask questions about your training and its effectiveness. For example, you might be asked to locate the solution you use in your portable eyewash station.

If you are selected, be sure you understand each question. Think a minute before replying. Answer briefly and give only the information that was asked for without rambling on. Don’t answer questions that have not been asked.

Generally, the inspector will want to inspect only one or two parts of the operation, but the inspection is not limited in scope. The inspector can and will inspect whatever OSHA wants to inspect.

Make the inspector’s visit as pleasant as you can. Be polite and respectful. He is not an intruder but someone doing the job he was hired to do.

We have updated the auto-login system. In response to requests from our customers, the Auto-Login option is now tied directly to the website where this option is chosen.

This only applies to those people who:
– Have checked the box for “Remember my password on this computer” that displays on the My Jobs page, or
– Have checked the box for “Remember my password on this computer” that displays on the My Account sign in pages, or
– Have turned on this option in their Contact Info page.

Again, this option will now apply only to the website where it was set.
Visiting another MyOrderDesk website will not result in you being auto-logged in to that second site unless you specifically select that option on the second website as well.

For example, if your customer uses the auto-login option on your website, and they then visit another website that uses MyOrderDesk, they will NOT be auto-logged into the second website. They can select auto-login as an option for the second website, but it will be their decision, not something MyOrderDesk does automatically.

Here’s some good news: Saying you’re sorry is a sign of strength, not weakness. Some people think it’s the other way around.

A survey by Zogby International asked people why they ordered pearls from The Pearl Outlet (the pearloutlet.com). Often the gift was given as an apology to a wife or girlfriend. The survey discovered one other fact.

People who were more willing to say they’re sorry earned more money than those who didn’t. It seems that apologizing is a factor in maintaining good relationships

About 90 percent of those who earned $100,000 or more apologize when they believe they are wrong. Only 84 percent of those earning $75,000 to $100,000 did the same. About 52 percent of those earning $25,000 or less would apologize. The survey was reported by Ann Fisher in Fortune magazine.

Even when they felt completely blameless, 25 percent of high earners apologized compared with 13 percent in the lowest income group.

Those who say they’re sorry now and then are viewed more positively. Others think they are willing to learn from mistakes and mend relationships.

Another explanation may be that high earners feel more secure and are less likely to go on the defensive when challenged says Marty Nemko, author of Cool Careers for Dummies (2001).

Maybe next time we are reluctant to apologize, we should remember that high earners do it pretty often.

It helps the work run smoothly.

They are gaining popularity in dorm rooms, at sleepovers and in living rooms. Flashy new vinyl records with a wonderful sound have come back, to the delight of music executives.

Many in the iPod generation are buying new turntables specifically for LPs. The new fans like the warm sound, but they also appreciate the elaborate album covers and liner notes that come with albums. They especially like sharing their music with friends as opposed to listening alone though earbuds.

Young people often rediscover LPs when they look through their parents’ collections and listen to one or two, only to discover music they may not have heard before.

Baby boomers are coming back to vinyl records as well. They’re not only rediscovering the sound but capturing a nostalgia for their youth.

A password is your final line of defense in computer security. We often hear complaints about how hard it is to remember passwords. So typically people choose bad passwords because they are easy to remember. Here are some tips on making a memorable, strong password.

Suggestions for Creating a Strong Password:

• Should be at least eight characters long
• Contain Uppercase letters
• Contain Lowercase letters
• Contain Numbers
• Contain Characters
• Does not contain your user name, real name, or company name.
• Does not contain a complete dictionary word.
• Is significantly different from previous passwords.

Avoid the following in creating your passwords

• Name of family members, friends or pets.
• Personal information about yourself or family members.
• This includes the generic information that can be obtained about you very easily, such as birth date, phone number, vehicle license plate number, street name, apartment/house number etc.
• Sequences. i.e consecutive alphabets, numbers or keys on the keyboard. for e.g. abcde, 12345, qwert.
• Real word from any language
• Word found in dictionary with number substitution for word look alike. for e.g. Replacing the letter O with number 0. i.e passw0rd.
• Any of the above in reverse sequence
• Any of the above with a number in front or back.
• Empty password
• Do NOT use single “hacker phrases” as passwords e.g. “M1cr0$0ft” or “P@ssw0rd”
• Do NOT write down the password on a post-it and stick it on the monitor.

So how do I create a strong password that I can remember?

Creating a strong password is a challenge. Creating a strong password that you can remember is even more of a challenge. A true strong password should could be part of a “passphrase”. A passphrase consists of a phrase that has special meaning to you, therefore making it easier to remember. For example:

Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer, ever!

One simple approach to create a better password is to take the first letter of each word in your passphrase, giving you:

mpitgse

That looks seemingly random, and it’s a fairly hard password to crack. But it is only 7 characters. We could make it stronger by using the punctuation from the sentence.

mpitgs,e!

That is a much harder password to crack. Let’s step it up a bit more by capitalizing some letters and adding some numbers, say, the year he broke the record for the gold.

MPitgs,e!08

Feel free to liberally salt it with non-alphanumeric character replacements for greater difficulty. For example, replacing “s” with a “$”, leaving us with:

MPitg$,e!08

This is a unique and strong password, and it is easy to remember.

Email has a lot of advantages.

You can reach people without having to find them first. You don’t have to bother with initial pleasantries, and everyone knows that your brief message doesn’t have to be nice. It just has to be factual.

But email has taken over business communication in ways that would be better handled by face-to-face contact. Telephone contact works almost as well. How many times have you changed the tenor of what you will say next because of the reaction to your last statement.

Would a problem with a customer be handled more quickly if the customer’s response was immediate? The nuance of the spoken voice includes information you would miss with electronic communication.

One major organization has initiated “no-email Fridays” and encourages people to pick up the phone for a conversation on any day of the week or to see others in person.

The company says that within a few months’ time, they experienced better problem-solving, better teamwork, and happier customers.

According to New York University’s Stern School of Business, as few as half of recipients get the tone or intent of an email. And most people “vastly overestimate” their ability to relay and comprehend messages accurately.

At Syracuse University, they say misinterpretation is highest when the email comes from a boss.

There is an almost endless number of stories about people who were led astray by the GPS devices in their cars. Right now, are 49 million users in the United States, including in-car systems, portable units and smart phones, according to Telematics Research in Minnetonka, Minn. It’s not surprising that outdated routes, closed roads, and bad directions are found.

Problems arise with information put into the devices in order to provide directions. Map data companies like Tele Atlas and Navteq have employees in the field checking everything they can, but GPS makers also rely on other sources including transportation departments, building associations and public records. Keeping information current is a battle.

When your GPS directs you off the main road or in the wrong direction, think twice before taking that route.

When you hear the word “work,” you might associate it with sitting at a computer or cutting the grass. Yet, there are three aspects of work that few consider.

The power of listening
Listening well is a job that takes plenty of work. To do it right, you have to pay attention and make appropriate eye contact.

And you have to be thinking at the same time, not of something else but about what you are hearing. What’s more, even if you think you have something to add, you can’t interrupt. You have to wait your turn to comment or to ask a question.

The importance of admitting
Admitting that you don’t understand is basic to getting more information. It works in conversations, but admitting that you will need help with a job or project is even more important.

Some people won’t admit to making a mistake. They are afraid that it will hurt their perfect image, bring more work or invite future blame. While pretending to be infallible, however, they may not learn or grow.

The virtue of thanking
Thanking someone for a favor or extra help shouldn’t be work; it should be an automatic response. The one who should be thanked will notice if you don’t do it.

Stories abound about people finding money, returning a wallet, or saving someone’s life, and not a word of thanks was given.

Sometimes people are embarrassed or self-conscious of the fact that they needed help, lost something or needed to be rescued. That shouldn’t keep them from showing appreciation.

Simple courtesy requires a thanks for little things. A note, email, or gift is better for a big thing like saving your life, literally or not.

We have updated the auto-login system. This only applies to those who have the auto-login option turned on – the check box for “Remember my password on this computer” on the My Jobs and My Account sign in page.

If you are signed in to your site because of this “Remember my password”
option, visiting another MyOrderDesk site will no longer result in you being auto-logged into the second site.

This is a free upgrade for everyone and takes place immediately.