Susan Scott's Blog, page 68

Fierce Resource: How I Did It LIVE Featuring Laura Alber, CEO of Williams-Sonoma

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Harvard Business Review and describes how Williams-Sonoma learned to blend art with science to successfully introduce new brands and products.In the How I Did It LIVE video, Laura Alber describes her journey from a Pottery Barn Senior Buyer to President and CEO of Williams-Sonoma. She credits a combination of gut intuition and big data analysis as the main driver in helping to grow the business into a $4.4 Billion home goods empire.What is your gut telling you? Do you trust it?“If Williams-Sonoma has a ‘secret sauce,’ it is these teams working together in remarkable alignment to develop and execute our strategic and tactical priorities. In my 19 years at the company and four years as CEO, I’ve found that the very best solutions arise from a willingness to blend art with science, ideas with data, and instinct.”Watch the full interview.

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Meet Our June Fierceling of the Month: Lisa Colvin

Here at Fierce, we honor a person once a month with the coveted title of Fierceling of the Month. The qualification for a Fierceling is someone who has been nominated by peers for exceptionally exhibiting the fierce values and the 7 principles of our work. There are some great internal perks including choosing your favorite restaurant to cater a company-wide lunch. Each month I look forward to interviewing these amazing people.This month, I had the honor to connect with Lisa Colvin.Why did you come to work here? I believe in the concepts that Fierce teaches. As a previous Director of Learning & Development, I saw the impact it made on leaders and how they approached their role and relationships differently after attending the fierce workshop.What are some responsibilities for your role? Develop relationships with Global leaders within HR, OD and Talent Management to recommend and assist in the implementation and deployment of fierce programs. I also help align our client’s leadership competencies to the appropriate fierce learning programs and work with leaders to reinforcement the learning.What’s the coolest thing you are currently working on? I’m currently on a client’s Supplier Diversity Council, and it’s been fun to meet other diversity companies and align with larger Global Diversity and Inclusion leaders. I’m also deploying all of our fierce programs to a very large client in Latin America, and that’s been very interesting.What is your favorite thing about working at Fierce? I love learning, and I’m constantly involved and learning about our client’s leadership strategies. It’s fascinating to see what skills and behaviors organizations are focused on developing for leaders at different levels, and within different industries. It’s exciting to see lives change and leaders becoming more effective because of the work we do. I’ve heard some impactful stories and have personally grown being a part of the organization.When you’re not at Fierce, what are you most likely doing? Spending time with family and friends. I love to run, hike, and garden. Oh, and I really enjoy good food and wine with friends.What fierce principle are you working on this month? Obey your instincts.What inspires you? My daughter inspires me. She’s an optimist. She remains hopeful in all of life’s joy and challenges.What else do you want to ask Lisa? Tweet @fierce_inc #fiercelingofthemonth to ask any other questions.

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Obey Your Instincts

You know it. You feel it. It is the tug inside – when you know viscerally that what you are observing or talking about isn’t the whole picture. Maybe something is off.Don’t shy away from your instincts. They have real impact on results.In fact, research, by business psychologist and author Chantal Burns, indicates that professionals who follow their gut feelings will be right 70% of the time. The study suggests that overthinking a decision can have a detrimental effect on leaders – with one fifth of managers, directors, and employees experiencing damaging impacts to their companies as a result of excessive pondering.As John Lennon’s song Intuition states:And as I play the game of life I try to make it better each and every day And when I struggle in the night The magic of the music seems to light the way Intuition takes me there Intuition takes me everywhereSo I ask: Do you let your intuition take you where you need to go?This week’s tip is to pay attention and obey your instincts. This is not about trusting your instincts – this is about obeying them. Yes, that means you must do something about it. Your instincts may not be correct. However, you have to take the steps to check them out.Ask about what you sense. Have the conversation.

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Fierce Resource: Workplaces Aren’t Creating High Well-Being

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Gallup.com and describes the 5 secret ingredients to achieving well-being in any organization.In Workplaces Aren’t Creating High Well-Being , Jim Clifton, the CEO of Gallup, addresses the two biggest issues facing workplaces: employee engagement and well-being. Gallup has found that a majority of employees believe their job is detrimental to their well-being. In partnership with Healthways, Gallup has thrown out the “corporate wellness program” and replaced it with a program that drives results by considering the individual ways employees live their lives.Does your organization’s wellness program positively impact the mind, body, and soul of your employees?“We have zero interest in the satisfaction of our employees at Gallup. What we do have interest in is the individual development of every Gallup tribe member — at every level. Gallup cares that each person is working on a team and project that changes the world a little to a lot every day. We run a highly individualized strengths-based culture where our purpose is to change the world one client at a time. Our culture is that simple and our work lives that meaningful.”Read the full article.

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The Practice of Courage

A martial arts sensei said, “You are always practicing something.  The question is – What are you practicing?”  Darn good question.Whether we are practicing one-upmanship or cooperation, truth telling or lying, mentoring or self-promotion, fluency in three-letter acronyms or plain speaking, anonymous feedback or face-to-face feedback, our practices have an impact on our careers, our companies, our relationships.In Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, written during his year in a one-room cabin with few possessions, is this quote.“The cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life that is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.”He was talking about the bigger house, and all the stuff we buy that ends up owning us, keeping us awake at night.  Amen to that!Let’s substitute the word “practice” for “thing.”The cost of a practice is the amount of life and, ultimately, dollars that must be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.There is a direct link between our practices and our results and in my work with leaders and their teams, the practice that, when it is missing costs us the most, and when it is present makes the greatest difference, is courage.  Backed up with skill.Courage is a noun that shows up as a verb. It comes from old French corage, from Latin cor, “heart”.  We recognize it by what people do.  We do what frightens us, even in the face of perceived or real personal risk. The man who ran into a house that was fully engulfed in flames, to save a neighbor whom he barely knew.  We demonstrate strength in the face of pain or grief. The hiker trapped beneath a boulder, who escaped by cutting off his own arm with a Swiss Army knife.  No anesthetic.While we recognize courage in once-in-a-lifetime, go-down-in-history heroic deeds, it is far more powerful as a daily practice.  Though you might have run into that burning house, your courage may be failing you where it counts most – in your day-to-day interactions with the people who are central to your success and happiness.How can you practice more courage every day?

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Fierce Tip of the Week: Take Care of Your Health

June is Professional Wellness Month, and it is time to focus on your well-being. Does this make you jump for joy? Or make you want to evaporate?  We all know health is important, yet, it can be something we overlook.As Buddha said, “To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”So I ask: On a scale from one to ten, how satisfied are you with how you take care of yourself?In a recent survey we conducted with women executives, 70% said they were stressed due to work/life balance. They cited depression, weight gain, and loss of sleep as top health issues related to the stress.Some of the most successful leaders I know always prioritize exercise and/or “me” time. They know taking care of themselves is critical to bringing their best selves to their work.For me, I practice yoga five to six days a week. It has been transformational for me. It allows – okay – forces me to physically step away from technology. Because yes, I was the lady jogging on the path checking her work email. With yoga, I have to disconnect. It is a safe harbor. A place to sit with myself. A place that is familiar yet has a lot of unchartered territory.This week’s tip is to take time to plan how you will take care of yourself in June and put it into action. Will you join a new gym or studio? Take up meditation? Plan some extra vacation time?Make the commitment for the next 30 days.

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Fierce Resource: Building a Giant in the Heavy-Equipment Industry

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on Gallup.com and highlights how the RDO Equipment Co. grew into a construction and agricultural empire by focusing on employee and customer engagement through radical transparency. Building a Giant in the Heavy-Equipment Industry describes one company’s journey from struggling public corporation to a thriving family-owned business.  Enticed by the prospect of substantial profits in the public sector, RDO soon learned that the grass wasn’t greener on the other side. As the pressure mounted, they decided to stop talking about meeting analyst expectations and start talking about the customer and the culture again.How wide is the gap between the “official” truth and the “ground” truth in your organization?“In RDO’s modern culture, top leaders at the company say they maintain their success internally and externally by adhering to a set of action-oriented core values for business operation. These values include collaborating with employees, building customers for life, creating opportunities and committing to doing what they say and playing to win.”Read the full article.

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Listen to an Intimate Chat with Fierce Founder, Susan Scott

Susan Scott, CEO & Founder of Fierce, Inc. talks with Andrew Bateman from Human Capital Institute. In this interview, Susan and Andrew discuss:The origin of FierceBusiness trendsPersonal inspiration Some direct quotes:“Everybody basically wants real. They want real. They want real in their relationships. They want real in their work. They want real in their organizations. They want real with their leaders. There is not as much of that going around as we would all like to think.”“Nobody teaches us when we are young (to be real). Nobody teaches us that it is important for us to be authentic and what that means. Although a lot of people love the word authenticity, sad to say, wouldn’t know it if it ran over them.”

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fierce tip of the week: honor memorial day with meaningful conversations

Memorial Day in the United States is upon us, and while many of us enjoy the long weekend with family time and fun barbeques, it is about something bigger.Honor those who have served our country by having conversations that are meaningful and express gratitude for those who have served our country. Outside of the United States, other countries have time dedicated to honor their fallen heroes who have courageously sacrificed their lives. Universally, we share this desire to say thank you.Do not shy away from what this holiday is about. There is real opportunity to engage in conversations with others about sacrifice, courage, and death. If your family has lost a loved one, it is powerful to remember them through conversation.Take the time to fully engage in conversations about sacrifice even if it is difficult.We at Fierce would like to take this moment to say thank you to those who have served in our armed forces and to their families.We would also love to hear from you: how are you honoring Memorial Day?

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Fierce Resource: Driving Employee Engagement through Leadership

This week’s Fierce resource was originally published on TrainingIndustry.com and explores the multiple drivers of employee engagement, from workplace pride to empowering team members. Driving Employee Engagement through Leadership examines the impact of an employee’s relationship with their direct manager. A recent study by Dale Carnegie found that 80% of employees who were dissatisfied with their direct manager were disengaged. To put it simple, employees leave because of people, not organizations.When was the last time you connected with your employees on a deeper level? It’s time to start the conversation.“Successful leaders are open to receiving feedback from their team members, leadership, peers and customers. Feedback from others helps leaders to understand the impact (positive or negative) they have on others.”Try these six tactics to drive engagement in your organization.Read the full article.

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