WorkPuzzle

The Progress Principle

Since reading the books "Flow" and "Finding Flow" summarizing the empirical research of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, I constantly think about improving work tasks and how to keep them from being too boring or anxiety producing. 

The book, "The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work" by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, does an excellent job reminding us what goes on inside the heads of those we are responsible for and how to improve their engagement at work. Analyzing nearly 12,000 diary entries, provided by 238 employees in 7 companies, the authors explain how managers can cultivate progress and enhance work life. 

 The diaries themselves can provide insight to the inner turmoil people experience, and that alone might be worth the price of the book. However, the real value comes in their insightful recommendations. Not only are the recommendations well worth considering, but existing research also agrees with the suggestions.

 In the book, the authors demonstrate how to remove obstacles to progress, such as pointless tasks and toxic relationships, how to enable progress, using clear goals matched with autonomity, and how to nourish interpersonal events that demonstrate respect and foster collegiality. 

 The following video is rather long, at 18 minutes, but, if you have the time on an upcoming flight, it may be worth a look. 

 

  

Knowing how to get and keep your team engaged may  qualify as one of the top three tasks of being a leader. You can work on many other factors, but, if you have disengaged workers, the progress will be slow.

Question:  Are you able to keep those around you engaged?  Share the techniques that you've found effective in keeping those on your team engaged.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

The Science and Benefit of Failure

    "Never underestimate the magical properties of failure. It rewires the brain and gets the creative juices flowing."

This quote caught my attention in an article I found in a recent edition of Psychology Today. The reason: I have lived that statement in so many ways. People who know me might not even know this,  I tend to forget my failures from time to time, but I failed a lot.

When I was in the 4th grade, I was a miserably poor reader, and was put in the lowest of the 3 reading groups. I was too active to sit still long enough to read, however, my 4th grade teacher saw something in me that led her to believe I could read better. She took the time after school, for what seemed like months on end, to get me up to speed.

When I graduated from high school, I had a 2.6 GPA, which continues to be embarrassing to admit. I eventually managed to set my sights on greater things. However, I had to spend the first two years in a mediocre college achieving a 3.8GPA to qualify for a more prestigious college.

Then, after being rejected in my application to graduate school, I found out, through some investigation, that I had been  considered  "on the bubble" for admissions due to stiff competition among the other applicants.  So I convinced the person in charge of the committee for admissions to the Psych program to an agreement: Admit me in as a provisional candidate, and, if I achieve less than a 3.8 GPA in the first quarter of school, then they can let me go. Conversely, if I achieve that GPA or more and am viewed by the professors as a valued student, then I'll be accepted to the program. I made the GPA and was voted as student representative to attend faculty meetings.

Those types of initially frustrating experiences have tended to follow me around in life. My hunch is, that if most of you who have been marginally successful think about it, you can come up with similar stories and events in your own life.

But what’s happening in our brains as these experiences occur that seem to lead, eventually for some, to success? Here is one explanation:

"With success, people keep on doing the same thing. When they fail, they are forced to adapt and change. That is not just a human characteristic but constitutes a basic feature of how the mammalian brain works.

If a lab rat no longer gets rewarded for pressing a lever that had yielded food pellets before, it gets visibly upset. As its frantic efforts fail, it resorts to all manner of strange, or novel, reactions; from grooming itself to biting the lever, or leaping into the air. It is learning that the world has changed and its brain is getting rewired, so to speak.  When one combines emotionalism with originality, that is fairly close to what most people think of as artistic creativity. Artists are not necessarily frustrated people but tend to be dissatisfied with what they have accomplished previously and try to do something better, or something new."

How do you handle failure? And...How do you view and treat others who fail?

The answers to those key questions may be two of the most important differentiators between the best leaders and the worst. Don't get stuck hiring only people who have succeeded recently. Many of those who have failed recently may have the best success tomorrow. (With the exception of people who fail at moral and character failure- we have to be more careful here).

Question:  Do you have a failure in your life that later contributed to your success?  Share your story—we’d enjoy hearing your experiences.

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn. Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, a Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Why Bad News for the Real Estate Industry May Be Great News for Recruiting—Part 2

Last week, I started a discussion on the historical price trending in the real estate industry.  I highlighted  a recent interview that was done by Robert Shiller on Bloomberg television. 

The interview centered on the notion that home ownership has historically been a mediocre or poor investment.  In his opinion, treating it as an investment was a  “fad” based on short-term economic conditions that probably will not happen again.

Wow…did I get an earful back from several of the WorkPuzzle readers! Apparently, many of you don’t care for Dr. Shiller (in general) and did not find his analysis very thoughtful. 

Here is part of an email I received shortly after publishing:

“…to think that [drawing the conclusion that] this real estate cycle, however severe, will change these longer term trends is a rush to judgment. I’ve always found Shiller coy, playful, and not entirely serious in the way he comes across. Or so he seems on TV.  His index was full of bubble markets and, I always felt, distorted (and made worse) the perception of real estate in the 34 states that were not bubble markets.”

Here is another one:

“…the problem [with Shiller’s analysis] is it ignores rents, or imputed rents.  Over time, rents rise, but housing debt service is more or less fixed.  Eventually, when the house is paid off, you live there 'rent free.' No matter what, you’re paying rent, either to your landlord, or to yourself.  Yes, you have maintenance, taxes, and so forth, but so does a landlord.  And you get the psychic reward of owning your own place, and can do what you want with it.

I can’t believe a smart guy like Shiller doesn’t get this.  Compare the net worth of homeowners and non-homeowners…there’s no comparison, and the house is a big part of that.  Sorry for the rant, but seeing a knowledgeable guy like Shiller run down housing just frosts me.”

There were several other good points as well.  I’m glad I prefaced my original introduction with the statement “I’m not a real estate expert…”   I think that I've proven that to be true, and it appears that some of the talking heads on television may not be experts either! 

It’s certainly good to know that it's not all doom and gloom for the real estate industry.   That’s encouraging.

So, what does all of this have to do with recruiting?  Suprisingly, it is what I initially found interesting is the historical housing price graph above.  There is great news in this data.  And, there is especially great news for real estate companies focusing on “new to real estate” recruiting in the future.

Regardless of whether you ascribe to Shiller’s vision or the more hopeful scenarios outlined by many of our readers, I think there is a consensus that what happened between 2000 and 2010 will probably not repeat itself (at least not in the short-term).

It is much more likely that the graph will either flatten out to the right or begin a slow and steady rise that keeps pace with inflation.   As one reader put it,

“…all the talk was about how real estate may never be any good again, because it will 'only' appreciate at about the rate of inflation.  It’s SUPPOSED to only appreciate at the rate of inflation.  It’s a consumable…someone has to be able to afford to live there to rent it.  If it appreciates faster than people’s incomes, it becomes unaffordable, and we just saw what happens when that happens. “

That makes sense.   And if it’s true, then this recruiting principle will help you be successful in the future:

Recruiting is most effective in stable markets.

This idea may seem counterintuitive, but it’s definetly something that goes through the minds of talented candidates as they consider changing careers. And this principle has already had a profound effect on real estate recruiting over the last 10 years.

Think about it--if you were attempting to recruit between 2000 and 2006, it was much easier to get warm bodies in the door, but it was difficult to hire the right people.  What drew many of these new hires into the industry was a “get rich quick” mentality.   These new hires not only left when the easy money dried up (more than 600,000 agents left the real estate industry between 2006 and 2009), but also they caused disruption and harm to many organizational cultures along the way.

Of course, hiring “new to real estate” agents during the backside of the real estate bubble (2007 to 2009) has been very challenging.   While the press constantly paints a negative picture of markets undergoing correction, talented individuals naturally shy away from the turmoil. 

So, where does that leave us now?  For the past couple of years, there seems to be some stabilization happening.  As we move to the right on the graph (the future), many experts are suggesting (Shiller included) that we may be in for a period of slow and steady growth.

Here is the recuting lesson to take from this discussion:  Slow and steady growth is the ideal environment for hiring “new to real estate” agents. 

How do we know this?  We've seen it with our own eyes.  As we consult with real estate companies we constantly see truly high-quality agents who have been with companies over 15 years.  When did those new agents come into the industry? During the previous period of stability.

As you know, it’s difficult to predict the future.  However, if there is a sustained period of slow real estate growth ahead and the real estate industry experiences the retirement of many of it’s mature agents (those 55 and older now), there could be a perfect storm brewing (in a good sense) in the world of  “new to real estate” recruiting. 

I think we’d all enjoying seeing that happen.  Make sure you're prepared to take advantage of it.

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Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Why Bad News for the Real Estate Industry May be Great News for Recruiting

As real estate buffs, I’m sure most of you are familiar with Robert Shiller’s work.  As you may recall, it was Dr. Shiller’s infamous book, Irrational Exuberance, that accurately predicted the bursting of both the dot-com stock bubble and later the housing bubble.  The first edition of his book was published in 2000, and the second edition (that focused more on the housing market) was published in 2005.

Since Dr. Shiller predicted the collapse of these bubbles (especially the housing bubble) so accurately, he has risen to “prophet status” in the minds of many media pundits.  At least once a month, it seems I read an article where he is cited as the expert on what the future holds for the real estate industry.

Most of the prognosticating, seems to center around some form of the chart below:

While there are many different ways to present this historical housing data, most of the discussions, with Dr. Shiller focus on the right side of this graph.   “ Are we at the bottom of the market?” “Will housing prices return to their previous levels?” “Will housing prices now follow a more traditional trajectory?”etc.

After watching a number of these interviews, I’m starting to think Dr. Shiller is getting tired of these questions.  This is especially true for the interview I saw last week on Bloomberg television.

At one point, the interviewer (Trish Regan) challenges Dr. Shiller’s lack of enthusiasm for the most recent housing stats that suggest a rebound may have started.

“"Then why buy a home?" she asked. "People trap their savings in a home. They're running an opportunity cost of not having that money liquid to earn a better return in the market. Why do it?"

"Absolutely!" Shiller exclaimed. "Housing traditionally is not viewed as a great investment. It takes maintenance, it depreciates, it goes out of style. All of those are problems. And there's technical progress in housing. So, new ones are better."

"So, why was it considered an investment? That was a fad. That was an idea that took hold in the early 2000's. And I don't expect it to come back. Not with the same force. So people might just decide, "Yeah, I'll diversify my portfolio. I'll live in a rental." That is a very sensible thing for many people to do."

Notice what he said about viewing housing as an investment—he clearly believes “investing in housing” (for the purpose of getting a financial return) is a bad idea.  He goes on later in the interview to show that the real return on a housing between 1890 and 1990 amounted to a 0% return. 

You’re welcome to watch the whole interview here (be warned, it’s about 10 minutes long):

 I’m certainly not a real estate expert, but this seems like a major paradigm shift for the real estate industry, and possibly for society at large. 

Ever since I bought my first home 15 years ago, I’ve heard and believed that my house was a good investment.   While that has personally worked out well for me, the future will likely be very different for those who are buying homes today.

If we relook at the housing graph that we considered to start this discussion, it seems that Dr. Shiller is suggesting that we’re headed back to the left side of the graph.  This would mean some sort of steady growth that really amounts to negligible growth. 

While this doesn’t seem very exciting for real estate sales (perhaps many of your are feeling depressed by this analysis), I think it is great news for real estate recruiting. 

Why?  I'm out of time for now.   I’ll share these thoughts in my next discussion.

Question:  Do you belive the Dr. Shiller is correct?  If so, how could this be good news for real estate recruiting?

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

Successfully Influencing “New to Real Estate” Candidates to Make a Career Change

One of the questions we often get from hiring managers is…”How do I consistently get high quality candidates to make the commitment to become real estate agents?” 

As we observe this process, it always seems the best candidates are on the fence because they don’t have to become agents.  Since they have talent and marketable skills, they usually have the option of doing something else.  Often, that “something else” is just staying in their current job or career field.

How do you get these candidates off the fence and headed towards becoming your next top performing agents? 

According to new research recently published in Harvard Business Review, keep them focused on a great outcome they will personally realize if they become real estate agents.

The research on this topic was conducted by Dr. Mark Goulston and Dr. John Ullmen and is summarized in a new book called Real Influence: Persuade Without Pushing, Gain Without Giving In.   Here is a excerpt from the HBR article:

“ Few people like to be pushed into doing something, or sold hard on it. And few like to push or deliver a hard sell. But at the end of the day, or even the end of a conversation, you do have to move things forward. So how do effective leaders really get things done?

As part of the research…[we] interviewed more than 100 people who "get things done," but who aren't pushy. But when we asked them, "Who persuaded you to do something really important?" more than a few arched their backs and replied defensively, "Nobody persuaded me to do anything important!"

When we switched tactics and asked, "Well then who positively influenced you to become the person you are?" they leaned back, smiled, took a deep breath of satisfaction and replied, "Now that's a different story!"

This small change in perspective seemed to help the researchers uncover several consistent and repeatable patterns among great influencers.  As a hiring manager, these patterns could be very helpful—don’t you think?

I won’t steal the author’s thunder by revealing all their secrets, but I did find one of their techniques very compelling:  Great influencers learn to communicate great outcomes.

“When people paint a picture of a great outcome, they're not trying "to persuade people to do something important." They're trying to "positively influence them" to get them to a better place.

Take the story of Jim Sinegal, co-founder and former CEO of Costco, largely seen as the heart and soul of that great company. Jim is very humble and doesn't like to be given too much credit for his and Costco's success.

He often tells the story of how, as a recovering juvenile delinquent still headed in the wrong direction, he was working as a bagger at FedMart in San Diego. One day he was singled out by the legendary Sol Price, the founder of FedMark who is viewed as the father of the warehouse store concept.

Price saw beyond where Jim was, even beyond where he wanted to be, to where and who he could be — and focusing on that "great outcome" let him influence Jim, even as others had failed to persuade him. Price's dedication to customer value and the caring treatment of employees lived on through Jim and is so ingrained in the Costco culture that those values live on beyond his stewardship as CEO.”

For a real estate hiring manager, there is an important lesson in this approach. If you try to persuade someone to take the next logical step in their work life (ie. become a real estate agent), you’ll likely come across as “salesy” and meet resistence.  

But, if you effectively “paint a picture of a great outcome” for the candidate during the interview (and consistently during the follow-up process), the research suggests that this will produce a different result.   You’ll become a positive influencer rather than a ineffective persuader.

Question:  What type of “great outcomes” do you think would be compelling to the candidates you are interviewing?

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Engage in the WorkPuzzle discussion by joining the TMOC private social network.  Commenting on a public blog like WorkPuzzle can be a little intimidating, so why not join the discussion inside the privacy of the TMOC discussion group?  

By joining TMOC, you'll get to see who else is in the group and your comments will only be seen by those whom you trust.   Joining TMOC is quick, easy, and free (no kidding…this takes less than 2 minutes).   To get started, click here.

Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

 

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Editor's Note: This article was written by Ben Hess. Ben is the Founding Partner and Managing Director of Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. 

3 Tips For Successfully Building and Working Your Network

Over the years I have trained many managers on a piece of software we developed called the TalentPipeline.  We developed this software specifically as a recruiting tool for managers to diligently and thoughtfully keep track of their recruiting efforts and their recruiting network.

Shorty after introducing the software, I saw a pattern develop quickly among the majority of early adopters. Most managers seemed to have an insatiable desire to dump a VERY large database of agent contact information into their TalentPipeline, even though I had advised against that and advocated for a smaller more manageable pipeline.

Steve Tobak, a management consultant, discusses the benefits to a quality versus quantity network in the excerpted article below.

“Success in business is all about relationships. Your network is your most important asset. Treat it that way…

Business life has always been about connections. Business leaders spend decades building and cultivating those relationships. They cherish their networks because they know it's their most valuable asset.

If your networking strategy is simply to grow it, then you're likely doing more harm than good. Contrary to popular wisdom, bigger networks are not necessarily better networks.”

Steve provided a list of ways to build and maintain a network of strong, quality relationships.  The following strategies are worth noting here;

1. Respect contacts as individuals.

Remember that contacts are real relationships with real people. They have their own lives and they're busy. Your urgent needs may mean squat to them. You have to respect that, meaning you can't just send out blanket, generic requests to groups of people and expect anything in return except a lot of irritated contacts.

When it comes to relationships of any kind, you've got to remember that it's a two way street. You have to give to get. The best way to do that is to always, and I mean always, ask yourself: What's in it for them? It doesn't have to be quid pro quo, but it helps if you do something for others before asking them to do something for you.

And never spam them. Ever.

2. Keep your network current.

Let me tell you something interesting about contacts. They don't age well. They get out of date really, really fast. That's because it's a crazy, complex world so people are constantly adapting to changing conditions.

The truth is you're better off keeping your list of key connections short and staying in touch with them as appropriate.

3. Make your network personal.

Look, success in business is all about relationships. That's how all opportunities arise between individuals. And there's a big distinction between old school networking and social networking. A personal relationship creates a level of trust that really sets you apart from the virtual hordes.

In other words, one personal, face-to-face relationship is worth a thousand online ones. That doesn't mean you shouldn't network with people on LinkedIn or wherever you want to spend your time. Just keep in mind that, if you never really get to know someone, that relationship isn't likely to amount to much. So why bother?”

If you want to be successful in managing and nurturing your network you must be mindful of the people not the numbers.  If your network is too large, the valuable work of cultivating those relationships is either non-existent, or not genuine.  While it may appear on paper that you have a large network, it only becomes valuable if it is being tended to with value, authenticity and time.

Question:  How many candidates are you able to successfully maintain in your talent network?  

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Already of a member of TMOC?  If so, join the WorkPuzzle Dialog Group by clicking on the WorkPuzzle Group icon on the left side of your TMOC homepage.  Questions?   Email the WorkPuzzle editor (workpuzzle@hiringcenter.net) and we'll walk through the process.

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Editor's Note: Lee Gray is the Senior Account Manager at Tidemark Inc. Lee is a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle. Comments or questions are welcome. .