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Lean the SMART formula and set specific measurable goals that are relevant and achievable within a time frame.
Carol says she is successful because she constantly sets herself daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals. She distinguishes between short-term and longer-term goals and introduces the team to the goal acronym: SMART. Sam says S is for Specific - goals should not be vague (such as aiming to be better) - and offers WH questions: "What do I want?, Why do I want it? and What steps will I take to get there?". Steve adds that people should also ask "Who do I need to help me get there?" and "When will this happen?" Goals also need to be Measureable and Achievable. Goals must be Relevant and achieved within a Timeframe. Carol invites the team to set themselves a SMART goal. She introduces them to PEA: Persist, Evaluate and Ask. A mentor can be instrumental in achieving goals; one should ask for help.
Welcome them, give feedback, encourage new skills and be a good role model.
Carlos has been asked to help newcomer Dion settle in, like Alex helped him when he was new. Skills covered include first introducing newcomers to the corporate culture (Marcus does this with two fluffy toys to a bemused Dion and Tatiana) and to welcome questions. The second step is to offer practical help to build skills; Dion tries unsuccessfully to adjudicate an argument between Sam and Michael. They give Dion tips on how not to interrupt a personal discussion between colleagues. Giving time and encouragement is also important; Alex coaches Dion on how to answer the phone properly. Carlos complains to Steve that Dion is often late; Steve advises Carlos to explain to Dion how this disrupts his schedule. Be a mentor; don't flood the person with suggestions but give them different ways to consider a problem. If they make mistakes, what did they learn? This video is divided into chapters:
Listen to customers, build rapport and demonstrate you care by being efficient, knowledgeable and a problem solver.
Service is integral to Cutting Edge; if a client is not happy, they can lose business. Marcus likens service to a gecko's suction capacity; once you get a client, you never let him/her go. Marcus introduces Barney Bradley who instructs everyone to close eyes and imagine a computer support frustration. He then asks them to imagine the joy one feels when great service is finally delivered. Sam explains the importance of GECKO. Get it right first time - no mistakes. Efficiency - one can simultaneously field a call and acknowledge the presence of someone who needs service. Having a Can-do attitude is vital - the notion that a company "might" do something, conveys the impression it won't happen. A client who can count on you has a sense of confidence. Alex likes her customers to feel special; it is how they grow their customer base. Sherry loves Knowledge - finding out about her customers; the more she knows about them, the better the service she can give, whilst for Serena knowledge is part of preparedness. Outcomes is about finding an answer, setting a deadline and sticking to it. Steve's motto: turn a complaint into congratulations!
Staff must question strangers, check ID and speak up if they see something.
Marcus reports the sad news to the team that Casey's pet ferret's ashes were stolen from her desk. Serena points out that nothing in the office is safe. Carol asks Carlos if he checks visitors' identification and notices that he is not being rigorous about this. Dion tests Carlos with a weak disguise but Carol secretly arranges for an attractive friend, Marlene, to approach Carlos at reception and flatter him into letting her use the restroom without ID. Carlos falls for the bait; Marlene slips into the office and swipes several important items. When the theft is discovered, Marcus and Serena call an emergency meeting. Although most noticed a tall strange woman in the office, no one asked her who she was or why she was there. Carol produces the "stolen" items, and introduces Marlene. The team discusses the importance of keeping valuables locked up and asking for proof of identification. If you see something, say something. Then Marlene - wearing a wig and glasses - tries again, but Carlos doesn't allow her in this time. Marcus proposes his security measure: that everyone wears badges. Serena congratulates Carol on revealing the weakness of their office security. Marcus and Serena sing a security message.
Steve teaches Carlos 6 key skills so problems don't escalate with difficult people.
We all have to deal with difficult people. Carlos complains to Steve about difficult people he has to contend
with on a daily basis. He often feels like hitting them, which Steve naturally discourages. Carol offers her
six ways of dealing with difficult people, explored by Steve and Carlos:
(1) Observe calmly, do not get sucked
into people's dramas.
(2) Listen and show empathy. Acknowledge people's frustration.
(3) Focus on facts: see what people want, and what you can do for them.
(4) Ignore bad behaviors, no matter what people are dishing up (this can be easier said than done).
(5) Give feedback about bad behavior in a constructive fashion.
(6) Build your skills by rehearsing dealing with difficult people. As Steve says, "be 100% Zen". And believe it or not,
dealing with such people helps you get to the next level.
An amusing program about managing the expectations and behaviors of the newest recruits.
Carol is underwhelmed when "dude" Dion (Marcus' nephew) rocks up to commence work as an intern, and also isn't impressed by the entitled Tatiana. Marcus explains to the interns that Cutting Edge is there to help them move forward. Carlos is welcoming - offering Dion a desk to help him feel at home. Carol objects to the interns' "text speak" and use of emoticons; not to mention time wasted on social media. Dion points out that companies allowing employees a given amount of time on Facebook are actually more productive. Steve explains the importance of dressing professionally; while Serena makes time to talk with the interns, perceiving their potential. Carol's assessment of Dion is blunt; she believes he has no place in their office. Serena asserts that constructive feedback is the better path. Steve coaches Tatiana through what to say (and not to say) in job interviews. Carol concludes with some slightly tempered advice for Dion and he makes a positive suggestion. The video is divided into chapters:
Learn excellent skills for controlling respectful exchanges and facilitating solutions.
Alex and Sam are in dispute. Alex is incensed that Sam has rewritten her press releases. Sam argues that she is not putting in the correct information as per company policy. Carol is called in to try and resolve their clash but uses a game show technique to work on the 'resolution' - but soon loses patience. A busy Marcus steps in, offers a limited time and asks Alex and Sam in turn to respectfully listen to each other and give their side of the story. He listens actively for what's behind their assertions, asking each to come up with a solution to the problem that respects the other's needs (and area of expertise). Marcus controls the discussion - who is talking at any one time and what is being covered. He summarizes a position that is largely acceptable to both. He then asks them to write a statement (which he will review) acknowledging the other's problem with the issue and detailing how each will go about minimizing the potential for conflict in future. Alex and Sam quietly (but slightly grudgingly) agree to this.
When facing setbacks recognize when you feel stuck and move forward.
For Sam, the key to overcoming setbacks is to stay positive. Michael complains to Sam about setbacks that prevented him being chosen for Chicago. Sam proposes a policy that limits people's (namely Michael's) tendency to vent angrily about perceived setbacks. Marcus explains to his team that it is important to shake off setbacks, as he did when he applied for a job that he didn't get. He tells his team to be open, confident, flexible, and move forward - all a problem for Michael. The rest of the team relay effective examples of where they overcame perceived setbacks in their personal and work lives. Sam emphasizes that instead of focusing on what went wrong; focus on how to make things better next time. Marcus advocates a peer support program whereby people can ask for help; Sherry adds that others may have strengths that balances one's weaknesses. Believe you're a champion, attitude counts - so tell yourself you can do it.
Marcus sets up a dangerous evacuation drill with dire consequences.
Marcus and Carol wear safety jackets for a risk awareness meeting. Marcus affirms that as the manager, if an emergency presents itself, he will be the last to leave the office (when the others have been safely evacuated). The team is confused about the location of the fire extinguishers - everyone points in a different direction. Sam says he is the best qualified to be head of emergency; the others agree with him. Marcus has showcases the contents of a small disaster kit - and asks what the others would like to contribute. Chapstick, dry shampoo, toilet paper, condoms, duct tape, glue, water and a skeleton key are offered. Serena declares the importance of an emergency evacuation plan. Sam raises the importance of first having an emergency meeting place (the coffee shop in their case). Marcus plans an emergency drill and hands out blindfolds for the staff and blows a didgeridoo as a warning signal for an evacuation. This approach proves to be dangerous, culminating in staff falling down the stairs and knocking out Serena.
A great program on essential skills for preventing and resolving conflict with best outcomes.
As Carol's manager, Serena has observed that she is egotistical and doesn't listen. Serena notes that conflicts often occur in the workplace because people are territorial, aloof, negative or antagonistic. People need to learn to respect individual differences; they may be experiencing difficulties elsewhere in their lives. You must manage your own emotions, particularly when feeling overwhelmed or stressed. When staff are upsetting, Serena adopts a bland expression (even if she is screaming or crying internally). People should be factual - not attacking or defensive. Sam points out to Michael how he is overly critical of Sam's policy work. Alex and Sam role-play a customer dissatisfied with a product; and how to acknowledge and apologize. They recognize it is best to follow rules and find common ground - to hold relationships together, despite people's differences. Focus on fixing, not frustration - this is tough for Michael, who complains about stale food in the fridge, and a messy copy room but must learn to remedy them.
Listen supportively by clarifying, reflecting, advising with care and probing (CRAP).
Carol tells the team that people do not listen supportively or respond thoughtfully to each other. She uses the acronym CRAP when she talks about supportive listening. In Clarifying, Sam and Michael demonstrate an example of when to clarify a statement. Reflecting is repeating back what you think a person is saying to ensure you are on the same page. Carol believes she is expert at Advising. Alex believes it is not beneficial to offer unsolicited advice. The group discusses the best ways to offer advice. Probing is the skill of seeking more information. Sam offers his view that probing is non-judgmental questioning and gives an example. Serena interrupts the team meeting, angry about the inappropriateness of 'CRAP' on the whiteboard. Carol tells Serena that she is deflecting the purpose of their meeting and adds a D - CRAP'D. Ever-angry Sanjay surprises everyone with his positive reaction to CRAP.
Avoid defensiveness, be open to receiving and give specific balance feedback.
Marcus leads a team meeting to develop positive feedback approaches, but Carol presents Serena with a less-than-glowing critique. Tammy praises Casey for her support but asks her to avoid telling long stories. Dion commends Carlos for being approachable, but worries that he has encouraged Carlos' tendency to make jokes about women in the office. Sanjay welcomes Sam's endorsement of his opinions, but says Sam's noisy breathing interferes with his ability to concentrate. Throughout the session, Marcus recommends welcoming feedback, staying calm and not defensive, openly discussing the problem and its impact on performance, linking the feedback to rules and agreements, asking the other person for their view and suggestions for solutions, and listening. Sam later gives Michael feedback, thanking him but also criticizing his negative tendencies, and recommends that he be more constructive. Michael praises Sam for his policy-writing skills, but deplores his habit of bringing up their personal lives during work hours. Both agree to work on their faults. Marcus advises the team to be open to feedback, but postpones the team's opportunity to assess him.
Avoid a closed fragmented culture and ensure caring, sharing and collaboration.
In honor of "Blue Moon Day", everyone wears blue and Marcus dons a blue carnival mask before his assembled team. Casey presents a tiny personalized number plate to Carlos; she also has one. Marcus praises this 'sharing" gesture and explains that Blue Moon Day signifies a cohesive work culture. Despite this, Carol criticizes Tammy for always being blue in meetings, and notes that Serena habitually wears a scowl unless dealing with her Australian client. Marcus switches the subject to SILOs, explaining that the team needs to break out of its silo and learn to share. SILO for Marcus means "Stuck Inside a Limited Outlook". Sanjay wants to know why being in a SILO is bad - "there's no-one to bother you". Marcus explains that being in a SILO means that one is fragmented, inwardly focused. Marcus wants collaboration and a unified talent development solution. He proposes a grid showcasing staff's particular talents, in the interests of improved collaboration between staff and the better allocation of resources. Carol proposes reversing SILO to OLIS: Opportunity to Listen and Invite people to Share.
Define goals and consider reality, obstacles, options and way forward.
Serena presents the GROW model to a skeptical Carol and Marcus. She says that GROW helped her become vice-president at Cutting Edge. G is for setting a Goal. Carol's goal is increasing the number of keynote speeches she gives to international audiences, while Marcus wants to lose weight. Steve raises with Marcus his goal of working in Carol's role while she travels. R is for Reality: where you are in relation to where you want to be. Serena explains how 'grew' into a VP. Steve checks the reality of his goal with Marcus . O is for the Obstacles to achieving one's goal and also for the Options in overcoming those obstacles! Although critical of Serena's GRO-OW, Carol nevertheless sees her lack of languages as an obstacle to her international stardom. Sam presents a third O - obstacles present Opportunities for him. W is the Way forward. What are the concrete steps that can be used to move ahead? Marcus will cut down his lunch cycle! He congratulates Steve for his initiative in stepping up for Carol's job.
Ethics Made Simple is a short but comprehensive workplace ethics training program that covers virtually every major workplace ethics topic in 8 and a half minutes. Make sure your employees are armed with the facts about what behaviors are unacceptable in your workplace.
Harassment Made Simple for Managers is a short but comprehensive harassment prevention video that covers every aspect of this important legal topic for managers in just 11 minutes.
This Harassment video covers:
The managers responsibilities in preventing harassment
Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment
Discrimination from employment actions
Taking a harassment complaint
Documentation
Progressive discipline
The Protected Groups
Hostile Environment Harassment
The Reasonable Person Standard
Prevention Techniques
Physical, Verbal and Cyber Bullying
Texting Harassment
E-mail Harassment
Social Networking sites
Gender Harassment
Disability Harassment
Sexual Harassment
Same Sex Harassment
Religious Harassment
Pregnancy Jokes and Comments
Sexual jokes
Gossiping and spreading rumors
Menacing, threatening or intimidating
Insensitive jokes or comments
Slurs or epithets
Exclusion or Isolation
Use of demeaning or offensive names
Legal consequences for harassers
Harassment by Non-Employees such as customers, vendors, consultants or delivery persons
E-mail has become one of the top forms of communication at work. This brand-new October 2013 production covers every legal aspect of email and texting in the workplace. The program starts with the simple facts of email - that its permanent and Not private - then moves on to educate the viewer on what should never be sent via email and the repercussions of sending inappropriate email.
So often we focus on what makes us different, but in reality there is far more that we have in common. This emotionally moving, inspirational video follows the circle of life as it highlights the common values and motivations that we share as human beings.
A compelling way to start any diversity training program, Are We Really So Different You and I will put your audience in the right frame of mind to discuss the critically important topic of diversity.
This diversity training video comes with both a male narrated version and a female narrated version on the same DVD.
Every man, woman and child on the planet wakes up each morning with the same 1440 minutes. It's what they do with them that makes all the difference. Every day contains 1440 minutes. This motivational meeting opener challenges the viewer to use every minute to it's fullest. Using both historical footage and beautiful HD imagery, 1440 minutes will inspire any audience to greet each day with passion, inspiration and urgency. We all struggle with time. Days seem to move in fast forward and there never seems to be enough time to accomplish our goals. However we have the same amount of time as the most successful people in history. Amelia Earhart, Frank Lloyd Wright, Albert Einstein, concert pianists & violinists, Thomas Edison, Jonas Salk, Henry Ford, Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Roger Bannister, Mother Teresa, astronauts, firemen, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong are all featured in this inspirational video.
Why be ordinary when there are so many ways to be Extraordinary! Extraordinary features colorful inspiring images, video and words set to upbeat motivational music. A great way to open or close any meeting, Extraordinary will put your group in the right frame of mind for success.
Why be ordinary when there are so many ways to be Extraordinary!
Why not have passion in everything you do?
Why not be courageous?
Why not have a positive attitude?
Why not find beauty in everything?
Why not be a leader? A coach? A mentor?
Why not do something you've never done before?
Why not dream big?
Why not have conviction, character, value?
Why not attack every problem with determination?
Why not believe in yourself?
Extraordinary features colorful inspiring images, video and words set to upbeat motivational music. A great way to open or close any meeting, Extraordinary will put your group in the right frame of mind for success.
Harassment Made Simple is a short but comprehensive harassment prevention video that covers every aspect of this important legal topic in just 6 minutes.
This Harassment video covers:
The Protected Groups
Hostile Environment Harassment
The Reasonable Person Standard
Prevention Techniques
Physical, Verbal and Cyber Bullying
Texting Harassment
E-mail Harassment
Social Networking sites
Gender Harassment
Disability Harassment
Sexual Harassment
Same Sex Harassment
Religious Harassment
Pregnancy Jokes and Comments
Sexual jokes
Gossiping and spreading rumors
Menacing, threatening or intimidating
Insensitive jokes or comments
Slurs or epithets
Exclusion or Isolation
Use of demeaning or offensive names
Legal consequences for harassers
Harassment by Non-Employees such as customers, vendors, consultants or delivery persons
Sexual Harassment Made Simple is a short but comprehensive sexual harassment prevention video that covers every aspect of this important legal topic in just 6 minutes.
This Sexual Harassment video covers:
Quid Pro Quo Harassment
Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment
The Reasonable Person Standard
Prevention Techniques
Sexting
E-mail Harassment
Gender Harassment
Harassment by Non-Employees such as customers, vendors, consultants or delivery persons
Same Sex Harassment
Pregnancy Jokes and Comments
Sexual jokes
Verbal behaviors such as suggestive whistling & catcalls
Unwanted repeated requests for dates & flirting
Leering
Physical behaviors such as back rubs, back scratching & hugs
This classic has been revised with all new footage and the addition of Nelson Mandela's story.
We all face obstacles but amazingly some of the most successful people in history have overcome some of the most difficult obstacles.
Amelia Earhart, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Henry Ford, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Nelson Mandela and Helen Keller are profiled in this 3 minute motivational meeting opener. Watch how these great historical figures overcame deafness, blindness, Polio, poverty, sexism, stereotyping, bankruptcy, racism, homelessness and much more.
A great way to start or close any business meeting or training, What's Holding You Back? Will put your staff in the right frame of mind for success.
Workplace Bullying Made Simple is a short but comprehensive workplace bullying prevention video that covers every aspect of the important topic in just 5 and a half minutes.
Workplace bullying is not a new problem, but only just recently has the plague of bullying at work been quantified. Conservative estimates put the loss in productivity at over a billion dollars in the USA alone. Decline in employee morale, loss in productivity, employee turnover, health problems and loss in organizational reputation are just a few of the problems that the bullying causes.
This production covers every aspect of bullying.
Taunting, teasing or making jokes about a co-worker.
Sabotaging another employee's work or copying, plagiarizing or stealing work
Deliberately isolating or excluding a co-worker from work related activities.
Yelling, screaming, sarcasm, or other verbal abuse
Menacing a co-worker with threatening looks, gestures and body language.
Hazing or initiations
Unreasonably creating conflict or refusing to work with a co-worker.
Physically threatening, shoving, striking, or touching a co-worker
Gossiping or spreading rumors about co-workersˇK
The planting of false information or using private or confidential information to defame a co-worker.
Setting unrealistic standards and deadlines which are unachievable or that are arbitrarily changed without notice or reason.
Giving excessive, unreasonable and unending amounts of work to a subordinate employee.
Deliberately denying a co-worker the resources necessary to do their job effectively.
Ignoring, ridiculing or belittling a co-worker's contribution or deliberately failing to acknowledge their good work.
Giving unjustly negative performance appraisals or taking unwarranted disciplinary action.
Singling out or treating a co-worker differently
Holding a subordinate employee to different standards than their peers.
Excessive, unneeded and negative micromanagement that undermines an employee's ability to their job.