T ECHNICAL A RTICLE

The Human Factor II: Creating a High Performance Culture in an Organization

Minnesh Kaliprasad, CCE
ABSTRACT: An organizations long-term success depends on the ability of that organization to sustain the delivery of quality products and services, yet many organizations fail in the area of a sustainable high performance culture. This article explores the three major deterrents to sustaining this high performance in an organization. The key aspects of what constitutes an organizational culture, and more importantly, a high performance culture will also be discussed, as will the "Four Cultures Model," providing some clarity on the central tendencies of all organizations. The stronger the culture, the more resistant it is to change. For an organizational culture to maintain its strength and adapt to shifts in its environment requires contribution, candor, and constant learning. Having a high performance culture has financial implications, as indicated by a study showing non-high performers increasing net income by just one percent over an 11-year period, compared to the 756 percent improvement for the organizations identified as having high-performing cultures. The importance of establishing a culture of business excellence is also discussed as is the dynamics of striving beyond business excellence. What is key throughout are the concepts of teamwork, global thinking, and dynamic leadership, with specific focus on solutions. A sustainable high performance culture model is also discussed highlighting five key success factors. It has to be said that the only way that organizations can be considered as high performing is if the people who comprise these organizations succeed. Performance can also be influenced from any number of factors, including not just the internal elements such as organizational culture, structures, processes and leadership, but also external elements. High performance depends upon the alignment of internal systems with the larger system within which the organization operates. KEY WORDS: Organizational performance, education, leadership, profits, and team work

contrary to a sustainable high performance culture, as the softer issues of culture are what in reality enable the quantitative measures to grow positively. Also consider the findings of a study done by Healy, Krishna, and Ruback [5]. That study finding was that, 55 to 77 percent of such deals (mergers and acquisitions) failed to deliver the organizational and/or financial results that were intended, and more than 50 percent of those failures are attributable to serious cultural incompatibility. CREATING A HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE IN THE ORGANIZATION What is a High Performance Culture? This is a question often asked, What is organizational culture? The following is one definition provided by E.J. Schein [11]. A pattern of shared, basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid, and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.

t is often said an organization's longterm success depends on the ability of that organization to sustain the delivery of quality products and services. [9] However, if this ability to sustain high performance is a learnable competence, then why do many organizations fail to do so? The answer to this pertinent question often lies in the following three major deterrents to sustaining high performance.

Organizational systems and processes often fail to support the organizational vision and strategy. As a result thereof, Simply stated, an organizational the focus of organizations is incorrect culture is, The way we do things around in that the wrong things are being here [3]. focused on and measured. These definitions will become inherently clearer as one looks at the characteristics of a high performing culture. In a true business setting or environment, the organization culture is often also referred to as the corporate culture. It is often said that the cultural differences can have a major effect on the performance of organizations and the quality of work life experienced by its members. Characteristics of a High Performance Culture The culture of an organization is created when the founders of the organizations, make decisions and take action based on their personal views of the world. Depending on the success of these actions, and the continuation of success

The senior management of an organization could have an inaccurate understanding of the marketplace in which the organization is to compete. Should this be the case, undoubtedly, the vision, mission, and strategies of the organization are also inappropriate. The behavior required to successfully implement the business strategy could be misaligned with the customer and marketplace requirements. This is usually true for leadership or employee behavior.

It is this very responsiveness to the marketplace, leadership and employee behavior, and systems and infrastructure design and deployment that creates an organizations' culture. It is also the set of shared beliefs and experiences that essentially define the identity of an organization and ultimately guides its behavior. Culture, inevitably changes over time, but also guides the notions of value, opportunity, and reality. Usually rewards and punishments that have become normative in an organization are preceded by these very beliefs being expressed. One such belief is that quantitative measures are more than adequate to measure the performance of an organization. However, this belief is

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applying these actions, a culture embodying these predictable patterns is formed over time. This is said to be the organizational culture. Over time, as successes continue, the culture is said to be highly ingrained to the point of being invisible to the members of that organization. However, very often an organization will also have subcultures and countercultures. Subcultures are unique patterns of values and philosophies within a group that are consistent with the dominant culture of the larger organization. Strong subcultures will generally be found in high performance task forces, teams, and special project groups within an organization. It is this subculture that binds the individuals to working in a certain manner in order to get a task or activity accomplished. Individuals working within a strong subculture often share in the dominant values associated with working with the organization. Countercultures, on the other hand, are the patterns of values and philosophies that outwardly reject those of the larger organization. Within an organizational setting, countercultures may be produced with mergers and acquisitions. Employers and managers of an acquired company may hold certain values and assumptions that are quite inconsistent with those of the acquiring company. An organization with a strong highperforming culture does share common elements across the entire organization. This has the positive side that there generally is no need to debate certain issues as everyone knows of the correct ways of getting things done.

By default, a developed culture will strive to preserve the tried and tested. If the organizational culture aligns itself with an appropriately developed strategy, the net result is a stronger culture, and ultimately, a high-performing organization. This scenario calls for the leader's role to reinforce the existing culture by way of modeling, encouraging, and rewarding behavior. According to Edgar Schein [11], Leadership and culture are two sides of the same coin. Leaders create and change cultures, while managers live within them. Two approaches to high performance include a humanistic framework and a rational process framework [13]. In the former, high performance will be attributed to organizations which value trust, and empower their people, work collaboratively, and connect effectively with the wider community through, for example, the involvement of stakeholders external to the organization. In the latter framework, high performance will be attributed to organizations which exhibit characteristics such as the ability to interpret the business environment, the ability to foresee and act upon new business opportunities and the flexibility necessary to maintain core values while still being able to adjust its output to meet new market demands or conditions. Furthermore, the willingness to implement employee remuneration strategies such as stock ownership schemes which increase productivity and financial returns to the organizations are prevalent. Further elements of a strong organizational or corporate culture include the widely shared real understanding of

what the organization stands for. There is also a concern for individuals over rules, policies, procedures, and adherence to job duties. Organizations with a strong corporate culture also have a recognition for heroes whose actions illustrate the company's shared philosophy and concerns. These organizations believe in building a common identity where there is a wellunderstood sense of the informal rules and expectations, thus enabling the members of the organization to understand what is expected of them. There is also a belief that what employees and managers do is important and that it is equally important to share information and ideas. In summary, the important aspects of an organization's culture will emerge from the collective experience of its members. These emergent aspects of the culture help make it unique and may well provide a competitive advantage for the organization. Some of these aspects may be directly observed in its day-to-day operations and workings, while others may be discovered, for example, by asking its members to tell of important incidents in the history of the organization. By observing specific employee actions, listening to experiences, and asking members to interpret what is going on, enables one to better understand an organization's culture. Let us now turn our attention to the Four Cultures Models, which highlights the central tendencies prevalent in all organizations.

Figure 1 Four Culture Models

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Figure 2 The Three Core Elements of Healthy Cultures

The Four Cultures Models Organizational cultures will no doubt be different from one organization to the next. However, all organizations will have central tendencies that allow them to be categorized into one of the four culture models as proposed by G.A. Moore. [8]. This model does warrant a brief explanation of the various quadrants. Competence An organization with a competence culture has more regard for individual contribution than group contributions and believes more in the quantitative aspect than the qualitative aspects. These organizations are highly competitive and driven by achievement. Furthermore, these organizations are constantly asking the question, How? These organizations succeed through the efforts of their goal-oriented people. Microsoft is an excellent example of a competence culture. Control Organizations in the control quadrant emphasize building and following plans accompanied by systems, processes, and procedures to make them work. The typical question asked in these organizations is, What? A further trait of these organizations is belief in the concept of continuous improvement, with IBM being a typical example. Collaboration

In the collaboration quadrant, which is a team-focused culture, the typical question asked is, Who? Organizations in this quadrant win by their in-depth knowledge of customers and other stakeholders. Their ability to create and nurture strong relationships also sets these organizations apart from the rest. HP exemplifies this type of culture. Cultivation Finally, in the cultivation quadrant, a lone individual believes in his/her dream, no matter what is said or published. At their best, these dreamers deliver dramatic innovation that disrupts the current order, and usually win by a total change of the game. The early Apple is a very good example exemplifying this type of organizational culture.

to the shifts in the environment. There are three core elements of culture that are adaptable across the culture models defined in the previous section and are also sustainable over a period of time [1]. These components are depicted in figure 2, and together, embrace change and allow each of the culture models to excel in its individual area of strength.

Contribution Contribution is the actual value added within which the people of the organization operate. This aspect is said to part of the culture when results are valued more than mere hard work, and when performance is considered more important than political connections being recognized and rewarded. Individuals are also expected to take personal responsibility for their actions and there is The next question is how do we create usually a tolerance of unusual styles of behaviors of the people who actually a healthy culture in an organization? perform the work. Creating a Healthy Culture It was earlier mentioned that as long as Candor Candor has been identified as a the culture supports the strategy and is appropriate for today's marketplace, it is critical requirement for overcoming an beneficial to the organization. However, organization's defensive barriers [2] bear in mind that the stronger the culture, Candor is said to be part of the the more resistant it is to any form of organizational culture when the following occurs. change. Therefore, the challenge lies in creating a culture in which perpetual People are frank, even when ideas directly confront those of superiors. change is one of the stable elements [11]. Doing this enables the culture to maintain People challenge the unsupported talk and actions of others. its strength while simultaneously adapting

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People routinely stop to reflect about what they are doing and why they are doing it. Exemplary performers are regularly observed and analyzed to fuel continuous improvement efforts.

Revenue Workforce expansion Stock-price growth Net income

High-Performing Cultures +682% +282% +901% +756%

The Rest +166% +36% +74% +1%

Table 1 Corporate Cultures Impact on Long-term Economic Performance

Constant Learning Special significance is given to constant learning in making a culture amenable to change. This is primarily because an organization having to actively listen, understand, and align with the issues and feelings of all stakeholders (internal as well as external) in order to constantly change. Constant learning is part of a culture when:

What Are the Aspects of a High Performance Culture? Establishing a high-performance culture in any organization can also be equated to establishing a culture of excellence within that organization. As demonstrated earlier, this highperformance culture is vital for an organization's success. Aspects of so-called business excellence and the dynamics enabling an organization to go beyond continuous improvement is valued; excellence are equally important. But how innovation is prized; appropriate knowledge-management does one excel in the first place and subsequently go beyond that excellence? systems are in place; and quality failure is acceptable. Business Excellence Business excellence, in the context of a Having looked at the healthy high-performance culture, is said to occur organizational culture, let us now look at when the following occurs [4]. the financial importance thereof. The Financial Importance of a High Performance Culture There is a strong justification for considering high performing cultures as a primary indicator of performance. Table 1 presents key findings from a study comparing the financial successes of organizations exhibiting high-performing cultures versus the rest [6]. This study was conducted over an 11-year timeframe with dramatic results. As can be seen from the results of this study, the non-high performers increased net income by just one percent over an 11year period compared to the 756 percent improvement for the organizations identified as having high-performing cultures. What is also apparent are the major differences in the other factors investigated, i.e., revenue growth, workforce expansion, and stock-price growth, all of which show significant growth in organizations classified as having a high performance culture. What is key, therefore, is that the organization culture simply cannot be ignored. But what are the aspects of a high performance culture? The concept of teamwork is apparent throughout the organization. The CEO, president, and senior management communicate and support the concept of business excellence. Internal, as well as external, outstanding service is provided. Creative thinking is encouraged throughout the organization. Open communication is practiced with the freedom to voice opinions, share ideas, and make decisions. Appropriate discipline is exhibited by all employees of the organization. The workforce comprises high performing and dedicated individuals who believe in continuous improvement, thus setting higher goals once the initial goals are met. On-going education is encouraged. Bureaucracy, while not completely eliminated, ways and means are continuously being sought to reduce the unnecessary red tape. A simple and consistent system of checks and balances, guidelines, principles, performance standards, and appraisals exists.

Fairness, caring, and integrity is consistently demonstrated by all.

Beyond Excellence Some of the dynamics that enable an organization to go beyond business excellence or high-performance are the following. Excellence is viewed not as a destination, but rather as a continuous journey. Excellence is pursued for its own sake, simply because you cannot imagine doing something any other way. People are solution focused. There is constant learning from the best practices of top performing companies but the organization formulates its own best practices and continuously builds on them. Dynamic leadership is constantly enforced. Individuals answer to each other for their attitude and performance and not only to management People take ownership for their role and continuously strive to be better contributors. Remember that all the motivational or teambuilding programs will not help in business if people do not have a distinct sense of purpose, and believe that their contribution is acknowledged and have a sense of ownership [12]. All employees have a global perspective, and understand and accept that delivering their best is what will ensure better futures for themselves, as well as their organization

Ultimately, members of any organization will need to solve two critical survival issues, these being a question of adapting from an external point of view as well an integrating internally. The former question is simply a look at what needs to be accomplished and how best can these be done. The latter is a resolution of the daily problems associated with living and

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Figure 3 Sustainable High Performance Culture Model

working together. Let us look at these in What are our goals within the organizational context? more detail. How do we best achieve or accomplish these goals? External Adaptation External adaptation is associated with What external forces are important and effect achieving these goals? the reaching of set goals and also dealing with outsiders. The issues members are How do we best measure our results? concerned with are the tasks or activities to What do we as members of the organization do when we do not be accomplished, the methods used to achieve these goals? achieve the said goals, and the methods of coping with success or failure. Members of the organization, through Internal Integration Internal integration deals with the communicating their shared experiences, usually develop common views that aid in creation of a collective identity and with them carrying out their day-to-day duties. ways of working and living together within In order for this to be successful, the real the organization. This process usually begins with the mission of the organization needs to be clearly communicated, enabling the establishment of a unique identity, members of the organization to develop an whereby each collection of individuals or understanding of how exactly they can group within the organization develops some kind of a unique definition of itself. contribute to the mission. can only be successfully In order for the external adaptation to This work, members of the organization also accomplished through interaction with need to differentiate the more important others, whereby individuals need to decide external forces from the less important collectively how best to allocate power, ones. Ways to measure their status, and authority within their world. A accomplishments need to be developed (if shared understanding of who will be not already in place). Furthermore, the rewarded and sanctioned for specific real reasons behind not achieving set goals actions needs to be established. The group of individuals needs to needs to be known and communicated. decide on who is a member and who is not, In summary, external adaptation develop an understanding of what is requires the members of the organization considered as being acceptable behavior to be seeking answers to the following and what is not, as well as separating friends from enemies, if working together is questions: to be successful. In summary, internal integration What is the real mission of the requires answers to the following questions: organization? How do we as members of the organization contribute to the mission What is our unique identity? How do we as a collection of of the organization? individuals view the world?

Who is a member and who is not? How do we allocate power, status, and authority? How do we communicate with each other? What is the basis for friendship within the group?

The Keys to Creating Sustainable High Performance, The Five Success Factors A sustainable high performance organization is said to be one that is able to remain responsive to the marketplace expectations, while also sustaining the behaviors required to meet these expectations [9]. But what does this mean and more importantly what do you as an individual within an organization have to do? A core set of elements drives the organization's ability to maintain high performance. Success is only determined by the alignment of these core elements. The model presented in figure 3 helps explain these elements. This model presents the following five key factors. Senior leaders' perception of the marketplace. A shared vision, mission, values, and strategies which are aligned with the realities of the marketplace. Leadership practices that are congruent with the vision, missions, values, and strategies of the organization. Infrastructure which supports and reinforces the vision, mission, values, and strategies of the organization. Employee behaviors that meet customer needs.

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Maturity Level 5 Optimizing

Focus

Process Area

Continuously improve and align Continuous workforce innovation personal, workgroup, and organizational organizational performance alignment Continuous capability improvement capability Empower and integrate workforce Mentoring competencies and manage performance organizational capability management Quantitative performance management quantitatively Competency-based assets Empowered workgroups Competency integration Develop workforce competencies and Participatory culture workgroups, and align with business Workgroup development Competency-based practices strategy and objectives Career development Competency development Workforce planning Competency analysis Managers take responsibility for Compensation Training and development managing and developing their people Performance management Work environment Communication and co-ordination Staffing Workforce inconsistently practices applied

4 Predictable

3 Defined

2 Managed

1 Initial

Table 2 The People Capability Maturity Model

Furthermore, this model indicates that there is an inherent cause and effect relationship among these factors. In order for business performance to improve, an alignment of these five factors is required. These relationships have to be actively managed so as to create and sustain the alignment of these five factors. Also inherent in this model are the following five performance gaps. Gap 1Marketplace and senior leaders' perception of the marketplace. Gap 2Senior leaders' perception of the marketplace and the organization's vision, mission, values, and strategies. Gap 3The vision, mission, values, and strategies and direct leadership practices. Gap 4Leadership practices and employee behaviors that meet customer needs. Gap 5Enabling infrastructures and support of behaviors compatible with sustainable high performance.

These gaps have to be addressed if an organization is to sustain its high performance culture. If one had to look at one's own organization, it has to be stated that the best place to start is to fully understand the current environment in which the organization operates. As employee and customer attitudes are ingrained in the current organizational culture and practices, a prerequisite to improving the organization's capacity to sustaining high performance is to perform an environmental audit. Employees and your customers should be asked to evaluate your performance and your behaviors on the key dimensions of high performance. The organization's current vulnerabilities should be identified and then defined, designed, and embedded. Also embed in the organization the processes and behaviors that will enable one to achieve the goal of sustainable high performance. Progress toward shaping the behaviors and attitudes that contribute to high performance

should be monitored. The focus should be on performance improvement. A bias for action within the culture by rewarding and recognizing success should be created. Let us now look at one model based on state-of-the-art workforce practices and another based on faces. People Capability Maturity Model (People CMM) The People Capability Maturity Model (People CMM) is a conceptual model based on state-of-the-art workforce practices. It was said that incorporating People CMM into the Intel IT environment helped the organization plan, develop a strategic implementation roadmap, and also to implement staged improvements. People CMM helps Intel's IT organization develop a workforce that can execute business strategy, characterize the maturity of its workforce practices, prioritize workforce capability improvements, and integrate improvements in process and workforce.

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[10]. Table 2 provides more detail on this model. As can be seen, the maturity level directly impacts on the focus of the team, as well as the process area being looked at in order to remain in that level of maturity. The optimizing maturity level is the level that organizations with high performing cultures should be operating in. However, it has to be remembered that in order to do so, there is a natural progression from one level of maturity to the next. Figure 4 The Faces Model - Five Faces of Teamwork The Faces Model of High Performing Team Development The faces model is a new model of team development which describes teams using five common patterns, called faces [7]. This model assumes that teams wear one face, then move to wearing another in a somewhat random order, unless members proactively drive their teams to wear a face or engage in a pattern, which they believe is more desirable than the others. The faces are known as either the informing face, the forming face, the storming face, the norming face, or the performance face. These faces are shown Member behaviors in figure 4, and of particular interest is the performance face, since this is the most desirable pattern for most teams in organizations. This is the stage when performance is at its best. The process of team development using this faces model, is best described by the interventions or actions likely to help a team move from each face to the high performance face. It should be remembered that the interventions mentioned could be conducted by a team member, the manager to whom the team reports, or a facilitator, provided that adequate competence in the area of team development is present. Table 3 looks at the high performing face, with respect to the member behavior, questions, and interventions. In order for an organization to be considered as being high performing, the member behavior should be aligned as below, with the necessary questions being posed, and interventions as and when necessary. t has to be said that the only way that organizations can be considered as high-performing is if the people who comprise these organizations succeed.

Members trust and are totally honest with one another Roles are clearly assigned yet members step into one another's roles as needed Each person's distinctive contributions are recognized Members take initiative and accept initiatives from each other Members openly discuss and accept differences in personalities, backgrounds and approaches to work Members challenge one another's ideas, leading to creative problem solving Members challenge one another to do better and support one another, leading to individual growth Members seek feedback from one another to improve How can we continue growing at this pace? How might we share our learning with each other? Why is it that others are not having as much fun as we are? What will I do when this project is over? How will I ever find another team, which is as good for me as this one? Jointly set challenging goals Look for opportunities to increase the group's scope Questions assumptions, norms and traditional ways of behaving Develop mechanism for ongoing self-assessment by the group Celebrate each member's contribution Develop members to their fullest potential through task assignments, training, education and feedback Enable team members to help conduct training for other teams Enable teams members to help facilitate team development processes with other teams

Member questions and concerns

Interventions to move to high performance

Table 3 The High-Performing Face

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Ultimately, the path to a high-performance organization is simply a case of improving one's understanding of people so that a better nurturing work environment can be created and maintained. This allows people to be free to do their jobs in a supportive and positive environment. This also creates the platform for any insecurities to diminish. Performance is also subject to be influenced from any number of factors including not just the internal elements such as organizational culture, structures, processes and leadership, but also external elements. High performance depends upon the alignment of internal systems with the larger system within which the organization operates. The goal of any organization should be that of operating with a high performance culture. Two models highlighting the high performance aspect within an organization were discussed; i.e., one based on state-of-the-art workforce practices and another on faces. A sustainable high performance organization is said to be one that is able to remain responsive to the marketplace expectations while also sustaining the behaviors required to meet these expectations. Pay attention to the five success factors presented in this article, as well as the performance gaps, which also need to be addressed. Ultimately, members of any organization will need to solve two critical survival issues, these being a question of adapting from an external point of view, as well an integrating internally. The former question is simply a look at what needs to

be accomplished and how best can these 9. be done, while the latter is a resolution of the daily problems associated with living and working together. N REFERENCES 1. Alexander J.A. Creating a HighPerformance Culture: Leadership Roles and Responsibilities, Professional Services Leadership Report, 4th quarter edition, AFSM International, Fort Myers, Florida. (2001). 2. Argyris C., and D.A. Schon. Organizational Learning II, MA: Addison-Wesley. (1996). 3. Burke W.W., and G. Litwin. A Causal Model of Organizational Performance. In J.W. Pfeiffer (ed.), The 1989 Annual: Developing Human Resources, San Diego: University Associates. (1989). 4. Corelli C. Creating a High Performance Culture of Excellence, Expert Magazine,ExpertMagazine.com. (2003). 5. Healy P.M., G.P. Krishna, and S.R. Ruback. Does Corporate Performance Improve After Mergers?, Journal of Financial Economics 31, (1992): pp 135-175. 6. Kotter J.P., and J.L. Heskett. Corporate Culture and Performance, New York: Free Press, (1992). 7. Kur E. The Faces Model of High Performing Team Development, Vol. 17, No. 1, Leadership & Organizational Development, (1996). 8. Moore G.A. Living on the Fault Line, New York: Harper Collins, (2000). 10.

11. 12. 13.

Owen K., R. Mundy R., W. Guild, and R. Guild. Creating and Sustaining the High Performance Organization, Managing Service Quality, Vol., 11 No. 1, (2001): pp 10-21 People Capability Maturity Model: How Intel IT Uses People CMM to Improve Workforce Practices, Intel Information Technology White paper, (Feb. 2003). Schein E.J. Organizational Culture and Leadership, 2nd ed., San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, (1992). Staff Revel in a Real Sense of Purpose, Business Day, 1st edition, (Feb. 16, 2004). Willcoxson L., Defining and Creating a High Performance Organization, Vol. 4, No. 1, Australian Journal of Management & Organizational Behavior, (2000).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Minnesh Kaliprasad, CCE, is a cost engineer with Murray & Roberts Engineering Solutions of Bedfordview, Gauteng, South Africa. He is an AACE International member. He can be contacted by sending e-mail to: minnesh.kaliprasad@murrob.com

Technical Articles - Each month, Cost Engineering journal publishes one or more peerreviewed technical articles. Unless noted otherwise, these articles go through a blind peer review evaluation prior to publication. Experts in the subject area judge the technical accuracy of the articles, advise the authors on the strengths and weaknesses of their submissions, and what changes can be made to improve the article before publication.

SPECIAL TACTICS FOR MEETINGS by Steve Kaye

BE BUSY Fill your calendar with activities that relate to your job and responsibilities. If your calendar is filled for the next two months, then office software that puts people in meetings will be unable to send you to one. You can now choose between: a) wasting time in a pointless meeting or b) completing a report on time. Now, you can say, I have a conflict. Note: if youre interested in the meeting, ask for a copy of the minutes. BE CURIOUSAsk questions to determine if the meeting is a good use of your time. Ask, What is your goal for the meeting? A meeting without a goal will produce nothing. What is your agenda for the meeting? A meeting without an agenda (or with an incomplete agenda) will waste time. What is my role in the meeting? A vague answer suggests that you are being invited only to watch others. Your time is too valuable to waste in pointless, unplanned, useless meetings. In such cases, use the tactic to decline or the tactic to help. BE HELPFULIf you are invited to a meeting about an important issue and there is no agenda, offer to prepare one. This gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your leadership and organizational skills and helps accomplish tasks that are needed for your business. Similarly, you may be able to help the chairperson by asking guiding questions, such as the following: What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to have by the end of this meeting? How can we help you? BE CONSTRUCTIVE Instead of coping with bad meetings, schedule a workshop that shows your staff how to hold effective meetings. This will help your business earn more. How? Find out at: http://www.squidoo.com/OneGreatMeeting or, call me at 714-5281300 to talk about effective meetings can improve your business.

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