The Person I Could Have Been

 

One of the goals of anyone battling average is to “close the gap.” As a kid raised on a farm, I heard the statement, “be sure and close the gap” hundreds of times.

The gap I am closing now does not involve barbed wire and a wood post. It is the gap between “my current performance” and “my potential.” It is not about comparing my performance with others.

My favorite oldest grandson recently designed a website and it had the tagline, “A flower does not compete with the flower next to it; it just blooms.” I shared with him why I loved that tagline.

A flower, barring insects or disease, blooms to its fullest potential. It takes advantage of every bit of moisture and nutrient available. Sadly, humans do not do this. We neglect, ignore, or do not take advantage of many of the opportunities in front of us.

I recently thought about meeting the person I could have become 20-25 years from now. How close will he be to who I am? I began thinking about getting closer and closer to my potential. It inspired the following poem;

The Man I Could Have Been©2018.

There’s a man I want to meet, but I’m not ready yet.There’s health, wealth and wisdom, still there for me to get. 

I must be in a hurry, my time I cannot take.Judging by the flame, of the candles on my cake.

The man I want to meet, I must remove the danger.That when he looks at me, he doesn’t see a stranger.

You see, this man I want to meet, is the man I could have been.And when he looks at who I’ve become, I hope he sees his twin.

Greg Gilbert – BattlingAverage.com

As you continue to Battle Average, “don’t forget to close the gap!”

Greg GilbertMarginFinancial.com

When A Helicopter Rolls Over On Your Head!

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One of the many things I love about what I do is the people I meet. One of my recent customers was retired military. He was my last appointment of the day so I stuck around and just listened to some of his stories.

He had been shot, blown up, was in a helicopter crash and lived to be telling me about it. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why he bought an accidental death policy from me.

The helicopter crash story was one for the books….or the blog. They crashed but no one was killed. As it crashed, one of his crew members was thrown from the helicopter. The helicopter then rolled over on his head where he couldn’t move. He evidently was not hurt too bad as he was screaming to get him out before the helicopter blew up.

My customer, I’ll call him Sgt. Doe, got everyone out of the helicopter. One crew member began to pull on the legs of the trapped soldier as the rest of the crew tried to rock the helicopter. As they were rocking the helicopter, one young Private, began tapping Sgt. Doe on the shoulder and screaming “Sgt. Doe, Sgt. Doe.” Sgt. Doe told him to shut up and rock the helicopter.

He complied but quickly began yelling again, “Sgt. Doe, chin strap, chin strap.” Again, Sgt. Doe told him to shut up and rock the helicopter. He complied but quickly began yelling again, “Sgt. Doe, chin strap, chin strap.” Sgt. Doe told me, “I controlled my emotions long enough to pay attention to what he was saying. I reached down and unbuckled the trapped soldier’s chin strap and he immediately popped out of his helmet, unhurt.

I was amazed by this story. I told him I would write this with his permission. I came up with many morals to the story before I left the house. 

Since this is the Battling Average Blog and Online Radio Program, I will address some of the morals of the story from an Unaverage standpoint.

What is your chinstrap? Honestly, what has you trapped under Average? Is it a habit, addiction, hobby, TV, credit cards, debt, anger problem?

Whatever is holding you at average, more than likely, it is something that is above your chinstrap.

Not everything has to be handled with brute strength. Sometimes we are better served to use our head.

When emotions are high, it is very difficult to really, truly listen.

Sometimes the one in charge doesn’t have the best ideas.

A buckled chin strap could save your life.

I’m interested in what your moral of the story could be? Please send me your ideas and keep on Battling Average!

Greg Gilbert

Margin Financial Group

MarginFinancial.com

Welcome to Battling Average, the Blog and online radio program of Margin Financial where we create margin by battling average.

The young man stuck around after a presentation. He was the first of three with a question. He wasn’t much older than my oldest grandson. I am very seldom without words but his question deserved my full attention. He asked;

“How does an average person get ahead in life?”

I asked if he was in a hurry and he said no. I asked him to have a seat and I would be right with him. I answered the two questions of the other attendees and sat down with the young man.

Below is a short summary of my suggestions to the young man;

“The first thing you must do is not ever refer to yourself as average again. Your performance will never exceed your opinion of yourself.

You must do whatever you can to put average in your rear view mirror and press the gas. Average people are overextended, overweight and over stressed.

The only way to remove yourself from average is by reading, listening to, attending and watching what average people will never read, listen to, attend or watch. You must also limit your time around average people.

There will always be average people and there is nothing wrong with average unless you want more out of life. Divorcing yourself from average must be intentional; it cannot be accidental. Once you separate yourself from average, you will be amazed at the opportunities that will come your way.

Being Unaverage has very little to do with your income. If you live within your means, you have already separated yourself from the average American.”

I suggested a few books, YouTube videos and podcasts that were part of my personal growth journey. We discussed some other items and we parted ways.

There is an old saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. That afternoon, I was the teacher. Later that night and as long as I am able to speak or write, I will be the student of that young man. He made me realize I must fight average every day of my life or Average will win. I must become UnAverage and it MUST be intentional and daily.

I have begun to look at each aspect of my life. My Faith, Family, Finances, Health, Career and social life. Where am I average and what can I; 

Stop

Start

Improve

Repeat

Click HERE for a graphic of the average American's finances.

My future writing and programs will be dedicated to helping every willing reader, listener and attendee become UNAVERAGE. You can join us at BattlingAverage.com

Thank you for your time as we Battle Average together.

Greg Gilbert

Margin Financial Group

Stay With Me. It’s Time For A Change. Let’s Find Out; “Who Has My Margin?”

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Welcome to Who Has My Margin.

Some of you have joined me over the years as I shared leadership lessons and “Mr. HR With A Guitar” from St. Louis to San Antonio, Boston to Biloxi and Paris, TX to Pennsylvania. Some have joined me through my books at GregGilbertAuthor.com Thank you for trusting me with your time. The more candles I put on my cake, time becomes even more precious.  That is why in 2016, I began a new chapter in my life.

I have spoken to hundreds of audiences and thousands of attendees about the principles of leadership. In 1978, an attorney scared me when he said, “If it’s not written, it did not occur.” I began journaling immediately. I recorded the ah ha and the oh crap moments of my life and what led to each. I recorded the successes and failures I witnessed over decades of leadership, Human Resources and life. The material in my presentations and books came from those real life experiences.

I’ve been privileged to share these lessons with thousands. The feedback kept me doing it but one of my slides and 72 attendees convinced me it was time for a change. This is the slide;

I had no way to measure if I was making a difference. I wasn’t willing to fall for the overused motivational speaker starfish story of “I made a difference to that one.” (Google it if you haven’t heard it. It’s good the first time but gets old after the 50th speaker tells the same story.) The only thing I could measure was the number of attendees. Over the years, I was fortunate enough to share the lessons of great leaders and mentors in my life to over 7,300 people. Here is how 72 people convinced me that it was time to do something different.

I was speaking at a three day conference that was attended by 80 leaders from all over a particular state. I had them for only 90 minutes and there were many speakers that could help them become “Better” in their jobs. I heard a few of the speakers and took notes from the other speakers. I watched the crowd. I counted only eight attendees taking notes at any given time during the time I watched and listened. The others didn’t even have pen and paper or an electronic device to be able to take notes.

When I spoke, it was no different; the same eight took notes. It’s not that I have earth shattering leadership news but I promise, I shared lessons that could improve their quality, quantity, safety, moral and attendance if taken home and applied.

I called them on it. I challenged each one to return to work and show their manager what it cost in transportation, meals, salary and conference fees to attend the three day seminar. I then challenged them to show their manager how they would return that investment just two times. Not 10X, just 2X. I have the utmost confidence that did not occur. It would’ve much cheaper for those companies to keep those managers on the job because NOTHING WOULD CHANGE for most of them.

“I’m still the same old me” is a line from a country song. It should NOT be our personal mission statement.

A few months before this event, I began studying to take my Life and Health Insurance exam. I’ve had an interest in life insurance because I have seen the benefit a few times in my own family. I knew it could be measured. I knew if I did a good job, someone would use what I provided and eventually someone would benefit. It could be decades after we sat at a kitchen table and I may not even be here to see the impact When I walked off that stage in St. Louis that day, I knew what I wanted to pursue. I wanted something I could measure. That brings us here.

This sign even made me feel better about what I was doing. I was curious about what I could accomplish and I joined a company that had a list of over 130,000 customers nationwide that were wanting to be served by major carriers. That allowed me to measure my impact and clarify my purpose.

Let me put you at ease. I’m not trying to convince you to sell or buy insurance although we are hiring. I need help getting to those 130,000 potential customers. We will split them; 65,000 each.

I named my company Margin Financial Group. Our Mission Statement is; “Offering Peace Of Mind And Bigger Memories.” I’m very familiar with compensation plans because of my HR background and I know that wages have not kept up with expenses. The salary increases I experienced in the 80’s and 90’s are a thing of..well..the 80’s and 90’s.

Many families have little or no MARGIN between their income and their expenses and there are only two ways to change that; cut expenses and/or increase income. Life insurance will increase Margin in the case of a death but increases expenses immediately. We must have the Margin to plan for the unplanned. Life insurance is more about priorities than a budget. The insured will never benefit from life insurance. It is a very unselfish act because they never see the harvest from their seeds. That is where some of the Peace Of Mind comes in.

The rest of the Peace of Mind and the Bigger Memories come in NOW instead of LATER. I want to help people increase their Margin NOW. It starts with the slide above; “What Matters Is Measured.” The first thing we must do is answer this question; “What is my margin?” The next question is; “Who has my margin?” More detail is covered on the webpage WhoHasMyMargin.com

I want more families to have Bigger Memories like this;

I want more memories like that.

This blog and upcoming podcast will address short ideas (much shorter than this blog)  that we can all use to increase margin in our life. Margin does not only exist in our finances. It exists in our vocations, relationships, marriages and our health.

I can remember the first time I heard one of my HR buddies say; “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room.” It was funny and the entire room laughed but it is NOT the way I want to live my life. I don’t want my life to be like a self imposed haunted house. The more candles on my cake, the less I like surprises.

I hope you stay with me for this ride because I believe we can all make a difference in our families by changing just a few things. As I’ve said from the stage hundreds of times; “My job as a speaker is not to tell you what to do. Most of the time you know what to do. My job as a speaker is to inspire and encourage you to ask yourself four questions;

What can I stop?

What can I start?

What can I improve?

What can I repeat?

That will remain my job as a speaker, writer, Online Radio Host and Insurance Consultant. My goal is to increase my Financial Margin to 100%. That means my expenses are half of my income. Join me on the journey. Let me know of your successes AND your BIGGER MEMORIES when they occur. I can’t wait to hear from you. If you know others that could use a Big Ol’ Slice Of Margin, tell them about us. Just send them to WhoHasMyMargin.com

Greg Gilbert

The Golden Rule PaysComment0Share

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“What advice would you give a friend or family member that accepts a position as a manager or supervisor?”

I have asked thousands of leaders this question in my leadership development sessions. Although I’ve received many great answers, the most common one is “treat others as you would want to be treated.”

It applies in all aspects of a leaders role. It applies in discipline, praise, treatment of vendors, contractors, customers, team members and your manager.

However, the much referred to “Golden Rule” is not restricted to leadership. It can and should be applied in all aspects of everyday life. In fact, not applying the “Golden Rule” is a selfish choice. Applying the Golden Rule can help others and gives us the personal satisfaction we DTRT, Did The Right Thing.

The Golden Rule could also have an unexpected financial reward. A few months ago my favorite youngest daughter, Autumn, witnessed a car hit a parked car outside of a store. She watched and waited for the person to stop and leave a note or go in the store to find the owner.

Neither occurred. The driver left the scene of the accident. My daughter documented the license number and type of vehicle. Then came the moment of decision. Would she take the selfish, easy way and not get involved or follow the Golden Rule? She knew how she would want to be treated. I’m proud of my daughter. She DTRT. She Did The Right Thing.

She went inside and found the owner, told them what occurred and gave them the information. They thanked her and my daughter went on with her day.

My daughter was contacted by both insurance companies concerning the accident. A few months later she was contacted by the owner of the car that was hit. They were so grateful. Autumn’s actions had saved them hundreds of dollars on their deductible. They wanted to know where Autumn worked and if she had children. Autumn shared this information and told them she and her husband were expecting their first child.

A few days later Autumn is surprised by a visit from the car owner. She hands my daughter a Thank You card. Inside the card is two $100 Visa Cards. One for Autumn and one for my future favorite granddaughter. My daughter is overwhelmed with appreciation.

Friends, Doing The Right Thing ALWAYS pays. It had already paid with the personal satisfaction of treating someone else like my daughter would want to be treated. The $200 was an unexpected but welcomed bonus.

Do you have any examples of financial or emotional rewards when following the Golden Rule?Greg Gilbert conducts Leadership and Personal Betterment Programs On-Site and at locations around the country.  He is the author of “The Power Of Better Series – Volume I – Leading Like You Own It! Why We Never Wax A Rental Car.”  and the fiction book 50 Days Of Hay – A Life Changing Summer. He is committed to assisting the willing to “Become Better” through increased Education, Engagement and Accountability.

Visit GregGilbertCoaching.com for more information.

Click the photo above to receive a quote for your leadership team.

Where Do You Rank Your Raising?Comment0ShareTweetShareprintemailRanking conceptIjust read a post by Dan Miller of 48Days.com on social media about trimming trees on his property. There was a photo of Dan on his John Deere tractor with the results of his morning labor on the trailer behind the tractor. My wife and I have been a fan of Dan, his family, his books and products for years. We have both attended events at the Sanctuary on his property in Franklin, TN. His post and photo inspired this blog.In much of Dan’s content, you can hear and read the influence of his childhood on a farm.In the past two months, I have completed two books. One is a leadership book that has been in the developmental stage for over 30 years. It is “The Power Of Better Series Volume I – Leading Like You Own It – Why We Never Wax A Rental Car!” It is a “journey through my journal.” It began in 1978 when an attorney told a newly promoted Greg Gilbert, “if it’s not written, it didn’t occur.” I began journaling everything.The other book is a fiction story titled “50 Days Of Hay – A Life Changing Summer.”It was eight days from inspiration to completion.In the dedication section of both books, I thanked my first leaders, my parents. Even though they have both passed on, I am so grateful they moved us to our farm outside of Hope, Arkansas when I was 11 years old.I moved from Hooks, Texas where I could ride my bike and “play” with dozens of kids to the country where I was basically trapped with a kid sister.I spent thousands of hours in an old barn building and repairing all sorts of things with my dad.I learned about;• Electricity• Wiring• Plumbing• How to use different tools• Welding• Life• Leadership• Family• Fabrication• CarpentryOther aspects of the farm taught me;• The importance of a work ethic• The concept of sowing and reaping• The care of animals• How to work on machinery• How to occupy myself. (I’ve never known the word boredom.)• The entrepreneurial spirit (I made money with a Grit route, cucumber patch, hauling square hay and discing land for others. The worst thing that happened to my entrepreneurial spirit was taking a job.)• Some of life’s greatest lessons are covered in chicken manure. If I had to rank the importance of my developmental years, it would be;1. My 12 years as the primary Human Resources contact to over 2200 team members. I learned quickly the only person I can change is Greg Gilbert.2. My years on the farm. (A very close second.)3. My years in a classroom, seminars, books and personal development.I realize that some people experienced horrible childhoods. This is not fair to these children. That is a result of the same problem that exists in many organizations, a lack of leadership.I am thankful for the opportunities and lessons provided throughout my life and career.My parents, leaders, mentors, HR career and farm raising are sprinkled; no; they are poured heavily throughout all of my written and spoken content.Where would you “Rank Your Raising” in importance in your life? Wait, here is a more important question. Our raising is in the past and cannot be changed, only reflected upon. If you have kids at home, how will they rank their raising? That is where can all get “Better.”I would love to hear your comments. Greg Gilbert conducts “The Power Of Better” Leadership and Personal Betterment Programs On-Site and at locations around the country.  He is the author of “The Power Of Better Series – Volume I – Leading Like You Own It! Why We Never Wax A Rental Car.”  and the fiction book 50 Days Of Hay – A Life Changing Summer. He is committed to assisting the willing to “Become Better” through increased Education, Engagement and Accountability.Visit GregGilbertCoaching.com for more information.

Sometimes Life’s Greatest Lessons Are Covered In Chicken Manure.Comment0ShareTweetShareprintemail When I was 13 years old, I owned a paper delivery, hay hauling and basic farm labor business. My first purchase was a 1953 Chevrolet for $50. Since I was too young for a driver’s license or permit, I was restricted to the gravel roads surrounding the farm. I made a mistake one hot summer that allowed me to participate in that old cliché, “experience is the best teacher.”One of my hay hauling customers owned a chicken house. He asked if I would clean the inside of his chicken house. I agreed because all I saw was an income opportunity for the business.In those days, there were no tractors or front end loaders involved. I accomplished this clean out with a large scoop, a wheel barrow, hundreds of trips and plenty of sweat equity. Before you get the wrong impression, this was not his chicken house for a few laying hens. This chicken house was home to thousands of chickens and measured approximately 24 X 60 feet.I don’t remember the time involved, but I do remember it being many days of work. It was thousands of scoops of chicken manure, sawdust and hundreds of wheel barrow loads.Upon completion, I drove my Chevy to the owners home for compensation. He asked for a ride to the chicken house for a quality inspection prior to payment. I had no problem with this because I had the concrete floor clean enough for an old-fashioned barn dance.After we had arrived at the chicken house, he proceeded to check the results of my work. He was satisfied, and I remember him making what I call a BPM, (Back Pocket Move).He pulled out a leather wallet that appeared to be from a Tandy Leather Wallet Kit. He tilted the wallet back towards himself, so I was unable to see the contents. In anticipation, I watched his thumb and pointing finger squeeze each bill to insure no “double payment.”He first handed me a five. I thanked him for the five knowing this would be the first of many visits to the wallet. The next trip only produced a one. I was okay with this knowing there would be many more visits to the wallet. He again pulled out a one. I thanked him, assuming there were many more wallet trips to follow.I was wrong. The wallet went back into his pocket. He stuck his hand out, thanked me and asked me if I could drive him back to his house.I was shocked. I shook his hand and agreed to drive him home before you could say “seven stinking dollars.” I dropped him off, backed into the road and probably threw a little gravel as I headed home. After just being a victim of what I considered felony extortion, I barely heard him yell he would call me again when it needed cleaning.I was hot! Seven dollars for cleaning out a chicken house? I needed some counsel and sympathy. Mom and Dad would be home in a few hours. I couldn’t wait until they arrived. I knew Dad would help correct this huge injustice. I was wrong.After sharing the story of the highway robbery, my anger increased as Dad began laughing. I thought he would never quit. I failed to see the humor and began questioning his love for me. After Dad finally quit laughing and using his hanky to wipe both eyes, he asked one question; what price did I agree on before I began?I said I didn’t quote him a price but…but…but. My Dad didn’t want to hear the buts. He began laughing again. I remember his words as if they were yesterday; “Son, you have just received a great life lesson, and you made $7.00 while you were learning. People pay money to learn these in college and don’t get paid.”He said, “this is what happens when you allow another person to establish your value, and you don’t know what value they placed on your work. Your value must be established up front when both parties have a chance to walk away. Consider it a lesson and move on.”It was obvious Dad wasn’t planning on having a talk with the felon that had just robbed me of what I consider a full weeks pay… but he was right. When I hauled hay, I let the customer know up front what I charged. If they tried to negotiate, we both had the opportunity to walk away.Although I would’ve taken the money at that age, I am so thankful my Dad didn’t try to “make it better” by slipping me a twenty.Thankfully, there was no “bailout program” for foolish 13-year-olds. That would have totally removed the lesson. If you are the parent that constantly bails out your kids, shame on you. You are treating them like a rental car and making short term decisions with long term negative impacts.Teach your kids to take ownership of their actions. There MUST be a consequence to change performance or behavior. I saw this hundreds of times as the primary Human Resources contact for over 2000 team members.Every job I have held in my life has been an agreement for my work in exchange for their pay. I knew what they wanted, and I knew what they paid. If they hired me and I didn’t fulfill the job requirements, they could walk away. If I thought the pay was too low for the value I bring to the job, I could walk away. We should agree on the price before we pick up the scoop and wheel barrow.I displayed no leadership or responsibility when I agreed to the chicken house job. Luckily, no family members or team members were placed in jeopardy because of my inexperience, ignorance and lack of leadership.These were the lessons from that experience; If you don’t establish the value of your work, someone else will.Lessons without consequences are not lessons.Sometimes the greatest lessons in life are covered up with chicken manure. You may have to do a little digging to find them but it is worth it. This content was taken from Greg Gilbert’s new leadership book; “The Power Of Better Series, Volume I – Leading Like You Own It! Why We Never Wax A Rental Car” available on Amazon or his website at PowerOfBetter.comJoin those that are wanting to “Get Better” and receive our Free download!* indicates requiredEmail Address *First Name *

The Peyton Process – Nine Things I Learned From Peyton Manning’s Voluntary Pay Cut!Comment0ShareTweetShareprintemail Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos have recently agreed on a new contract for the 2015 season. The five-time NFL MVP will take a $4 million pay cut to provide more cash for the team to do business on the free-agent market, which opens with the new league year Tuesday. It is very obvious that Peyton is not and has not been working for the money for some time. It has been humorous reading some of the envious comments weakly disguised as sarcasm on social media. I realize “not working for the money” can occur much quicker making millions but it can also be accomplished making thousands. The concept is the same. Let me introduce you to what I call “The Peyton Process”; Decide what you intend to do in life. This is done by being drafted, starting a business or submitting an application or resume. Work your butt off at whatever you decide to do whether you are in a two-a-day practice, the weight room, exhibition game, Super Bowl, clocking in, drawing a salary or running a business. Make the decision to enjoy what you do and have a good attitude. Have the mindset that you “get to” go to work, open your business, practice or play a game. Never say “I have to”. Be grateful for what you do. YOU picked your vocation. Saying “I have to” really makes you look foolish for making the wrong decision. No one likes “having to” do anything. Since YOU applied for it, decide to become great at what you do. Be a positive influence on new team members. They will step up their game making the overall team better. This applies to the Denver Broncos, your crew, department or business. Stay out of trouble. This applies whether you are recognized by the world or by family, friends and co-workers. This preserves your assets. Protect your health. You can accomplish this by having a great offensive line, being able to release the ball in the blink of the eye, regular exercise and eating healthy. Pick the options that apply to your life. Add exceptional value to your team whether it is the Denver Broncos, the originator of your W-2 or 1099. If you own a business, give exceptional value to your customers. Make smart financial choices in life whether it involves buying multiple Poppa John franchises, what company you endorse or spending less than you make, living within your means, having no debt and saving some money. Do these things and there will be a time when every one of us are not working for the money. We can make the decision to continue working (with or without a pay cut) or take another path. But wait! Stop the presses! What if Peyton NEVER worked for the money? Could it be possible he implemented “The Peyton Process” early in life knowing that the money would take care of itself? The beauty of “The Peyton Process” is that it can be started at any stage of life and can easily replace any current, non-working process. Thank you Peyton for your contribution and inspiration.  Greg GilbertGregGilbertCoaching.comClick here to listen to this On Demand Radio Program or Download this episode (right click and save)Greg Gilbert conducts Keynotes And Local Management Development Sessions On-Site and at locations around the country.  He is committed to assisting the willing to “Lead Like You Own It” through increased Education, Engagement and Accountability.Visit GregGilbertCoaching.com for more information. Click HERE for information on the Tri-State SHRM Leadership Program for Managers, Supervisors and HR Managers in Texarkana, TX on 3-10-15 from 8AM to Noon.Click the photo above for information on our local training or to receive a quote for your leadership team.

The Unwritten, Unspoken, But Fully Implemented MEMO That Is Killing American Business!Comment0Share0Tweet0Share0printemailWith some of the survey answers we have recently received from team members of different companies, we have recognized a problem. After hearing manager after manager complain about no support on discipline and not being given the authority to use every one of the leadership tools available, I have decided to help.There is a lack of education, development, team engagement and accountability in many organizations. It is like this unspoken, unwritten memo has gone out to all team members (wink-wink). Well, I believe in full disclosure. I have created a template that these organizations can copy and paste to their own letterhead. Let’s go ahead and clear the air.To: All Team MembersFrom: Upper level Leader/Owner Mindset boss/employee mindset1. Effective immediately, all formal and informal training will be stopped. Although there has been no developmental training in years, we wanted to totally remove all glimmer of hope that we are interested in your success. In the past we have used the excuse of tight budgets when we really just didn’t want to spend the time, money or effort on you.We have chosen more of a “let’s see if we can hold our own” approach over improvement. We consider team development an expense with no return on investment. This is especially true when no one is even remotely held accountable. (See item 3 below.)  We have decided to discontinue our effort of acting like we want to develop and invest in our team members. We will equip you to do your job and any extra developmental training will be at your cost on your time. If the company or the customers benefit from your personal development, we don’t want to know about it. Keep it to yourself.2. Effective immediately, all one-on-one discussions outside of our rubber stamped, all rated the same, totally useless annual review will stop. There will be no further one-on-one discussions of our expectations, your progress, the company culture or the company vision. You can figure this out on your own. We will no longer solicit your ideas for improvement, offer suggestions on how to improve your performance, make your job easier or give you praise. We realize this has not taken place in years and we wanted to squelch the rumor that we might begin informing, including or engaging you in the future.We have no plans to introduce this time consuming, make you feel included process back into our culture. (Oh, wait, we don’t have a culture. In fact, effective immediately, our culture is to not have a company culture. Our culture will be established by tolerance of future behavior.) There have been reports of a few rouge leaders attempting to establish a culture but it will cease immediately. We will not have isolated groups feeling informed, included and engaged.3. Effective immediately there will be no documented performance improvement plans or levels of discipline initiated on poor performers on quality, productivity, safety or attendance. Those of you that are high performers will have to just pick up the slack. Since no one has ever been placed on written performance improvement plan, a level of discipline or dismissed for poor performance in years, this will not be much of a change.  We can strive to improve in other ways and we will let you know when these ways are discovered. We realize that removing this paper trail virtually eliminates our ability to dismiss an employee for poor performance. Our response to this is “oh, well, we weren’t doing it anyway. We just wouldn’t formally admit it”. We are admitting it now. No secrets. Full disclosure will be part of our new culture if we ever establish one! This will serve as formal notice to all newly promoted leaders as we gradually remove all pee and vinegar. We will gradually transition you into bosses that realize spending time on documentation is unnecessary and will not be tolerated. Time spent documenting, addressing performance problems and developing team members is better spent by putting out fires and handling the exact same problems that occur day in and day out. Dismissals will only occur as a result of extreme misconduct or violating these rules. The practice of using documentation and the time tested basic tools of leadership to improve performance have been discontinued effective today.    Note: All of  “Our employees are our greatest asset” posters will remain on the wall. Each poster will be joined by our new mission statement. “We know how we got here and we believe with very little effort, we can stay here.”Signed,Your upper level boss/employee mindsetWell, how does this grab you? Does it hit close to home? You would NEVER say or write these words but many of you are allowing all three of these rules to occur every single day. There is absolutely no documentation of education, engagement or accountability in your organization. This occurs from lack of training and/or lack of accountability. THIS is the reason 50-80% of employees are not satisfied in their positions. It has very little to do with the functions they perform. They signed on to perform the functions. It’s the treatment and lack of inclusion they didn’t expect.(Note: If you are one of the bosses that say “they get their inclusion every other Friday OR if they don’t like it, they are hiring at McDonalds”, please e-mail me [email protected] Please provide the name and location of your employer. Where you see a paycheck, I see an opportunity.)Whenever there is time or money spent, there are expectations. With every paycheck there should be expectations. The consequences of not meeting those expectations should be performance improvement plans, discipline and ultimately dismissal. With every hour spent by a team member, there are expectations also. It should be fair treatment, a feeling of worth to the company and fair compensation.When the expectations of the team member and the company are both met; your competition does not stand a chance.If this memo could have come from your organization (but won’t) wink-wink, go to our contact page and let us know where to send a copy. We would love to help. ggGreg Gilbert CoachingClick here to return to our website  www.GregGilbertCoaching.comThought for the day: Only a dozen vertebrae separate a kick in the pants from a pat on the back but the end result of each is like day and night.Can you think of any other wild messages that would never be sent out but may be occurring?Greg Gilbert conducts Keynotes And Local Management Development Sessions On-Site and at locations around the country.  He is committed to assisting the willing to “Lead Like You Own It” through increased Education, Engagement and Accountability.Visit GregGilbertCoaching.com for more information. Click HERE for information on the Tri-State SHRM Leadership Program for Managers, Supervisors and HR Managers in Texarkana, TX on 3-10-15 from 8AM to Noon.Click the photo above for information on our local training or to receive a quote for your leadership team.

No One Keeps You In The Loser’s Bracket Of Life But You!Comment0Share0Tweet0Share0printemailPush, Push! I See Its Head. Congratulations! You are the shameful parent of A Bad Idea!Two Tennessee high school girls basketball teams were banned from a post-season tournament after they “made a mockery of the game” by tanking free-throws, making intentional turnovers, committing blatant rule violations and trying to shoot in their opponent’s goal, officials said.The suspensions came in response to a Feb. 21 game between Riverdale High School and Smyrna High School, who met in the round of a tournament that would determine who would be seeded third in a regional showdown. The winner of the game would have faced a powerhouse squad from Blackman High School, the defending state champions, officials said.“Both teams played to lose the game,” a referee told the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. The referee recalled watching each team play their backups from the start. Players on both sides passed the ball around with little apparent intention of scoring. When the Smyrna coach told his players to foul Riverdale to give them easy free-throw opportunities, Riverdale players intentionally missed the shots. In the third quarter, the referee said he called both coaches together after seeing Smyrna player try to shoot at the wrong basket.How was this idea conceived? This bad idea began as all ideas begin. This did not begin with all players and coaches initiating the idea in unison. No, this began with one person. This person then convinces others to buy in to the bad idea through persuasion, authority or intimidation. When this occurs, you have a 500 pound, seven foot tall bad idea in a Bad Idea Maternity Ward. It is ready to run out and wreak havoc on lives and reputations.I call these Rental Car Decisions. The title of our Leadership and Personal Development Program is “Why We Never Wax A Rental Car.” We never wax a rental car because it is short term. We don’t take OWNERSHIP of the car. We don’t care about the resale value because it does not impact our lives or finances. At the end of the rental we slide a debit card, turn in the keys and leave that part of our life behind.We cannot slide the keys of leadership and life across the counter and just wipe the slate clean. Rental car decisions are short term but they may have long term consequences. This basketball game is one of them. The coaches that convinced a group of followers to do this have created an embarrassment that will follow these girls for years.Here is my greatest concern. Let’s give the parents of these players a pass. Let’s assume this bad idea was born at the start of the game. Let’s assume none of the parents had the opportunity to pull their daughter from the long term impact of this bad idea.How did two full teams of high school students think this was right and go along with the bad idea. At what grade is the difference in right and wrong taught? What would have occurred if one player gave birth to the good idea of refusing to participate? What if others followed? Yes, it probably would’ve resulted in getting removed from the team. Think about the life lesson that would occur when the administration does the RIGHT thing; terminates the coach and reinstates the player(s).Some of you will say but they are just kids. I was waiting on you to say that. That’s where the parents lose their free pass. Honesty, integrity and doing the right thing MUST be taught throughout life. Every parent across the world should be using this story as a teaching moment to every child old enough to comprehend.  We must learn at all ages there should NEVER be long term punishment for doing the right thing. Honesty and integrity must always win. It is a major role of leadership to insure this occurs.Life is much like this basketball tournament. We will always face powerhouses. These will be in the form of challenges in our health, finances, relationships and our career. We will be placed in the loser’s bracket by life many times. You see, not everyone in the loser’s bracket is a loser. There are winners in the loser’s bracket. The losers are the ones that chose the loser’s bracket and stay there.Greg GilbertGreg Gilbert conducts Keynotes And Local Management Development Sessions On-Site and at locations around the country.  He is committed to assisting the willing to “Lead Like You Own It” through increased Education, Engagement and Accountability.Visit GregGilbertCoaching.com for more information.