Transitions Business
Newsletter, Volume 1 Dale Carnegie Business Group www.dalecarnegie.ca
A winning combination
Human Engineering mixed with technical competence
An interview with John Pearson, P.Eng., Hatch’s* Global Managing Director, Energy. John is a member of the Hatch Board of Directors and a graduate of Queen’s University. Beginning with the senior leadership team, we have trained hundreds of our staff worldwide through Dale Carnegie. They use a process of engagement that explains to people why they’ve been chosen to participate. This engagement process describes the business strategy the program supports and that this will impact their future. During my session, I was quite clear that I did not want to participate and almost made the wrong choice. Looking back I see how important it was to my future on several levels. My reticence to take the course stemmed from an experience early in my career at Hatch. Gerry Hatch invited me to make a presentation to the board of directors about a project I was on. I was very uncomfortable talking to people at that level and the presentation was a disaster. That experience with the board left a permanent scar on me so when Hatch invited me to participate in Dale Carnegie, at first I said, “You know what? I’m a senior engineer today and I’m happy to remain a senior engineer the rest of my life. Thanks, but no thanks.” Fortunately I’m usually not one to shy away from management invitations to try things, so I reconsidered. I’m so glad I took that step.
wide spectrum of different people with diverse skills and talents to excel. We still worked hard, still did good business, but, on average, we produced a much bigger result with less attrition. I told the team, “In the future, you’ll be running this place.” That’s pretty true today with ten members of that team in senior global positions. Some of the skills Dale Carnegie gave me helped us create a unique combination of technical excellence and human engineering. There are plenty of people in professional services organizations that are brilliant at what they do. Eventually they find themselves in situations requiring high-level interpersonal skills. I don’t mean to be trite about this, but some people do things that you just should not do. If you get this wrong, you’ll be perceived as arrogant which can be a major problem. Put yourself in a potential client’s shoes You may be the best person in town and you might do the best project known to man, but if they see you as arrogant, and they just don’t want to work with you they’ll pick a person they prefer to be around. I strongly believe that you need to be both the best at what you do, the one they want to work with, and look forward to the journey to excellence.
During that time I was asked to open our office in Sudbury. This was my first chance to be the “boss” and I thought I’d have to do “boss-like” things, say “bosslike” things, and act in a “boss-like” manner. I decided to forget all that and create a professional environment. Over five or six years we became dominant in that city. We faced most of the challenges a business faces like competition, big projects, tight deadlines, budget issues, and a recession in which we could have collapsed. We overcame all of those challenges by creating an environment and culture that allowed a * Hatch supplies engineering, project and construction management services, process and business consulting and operational services to the mining, metallurgical, energy and infrastructure industries
Advance my career - reduce costs in a tough economy - increase top-line sales
Gain the willing cooperation of a team My objective for participating in Dale Carnegie was to advance my career and be acknowledged as a leader in the industry. Participating helped me to approach my short-term and longterm goals with clarity and decisiveness. Applying the fundamentals of Dale Carnegie in day-to-day activities gives me the tools to contribute to the attainment of the operational goals of my department and the organization as a whole. Applying the core principles helped me gain the willing cooperation of my team. My future goal is to apply these business skills to support management in developing action plans to minimize funding gaps, and provide valuable information to stakeholders. - Josephine Ortega, Sr. Case Costing Performance Analyst Mount Sinai Hospital
Overtime down by 20%
I chose to attend Dale Carnegie to be a more effective leader and, as a result, improved my listening and coaching skills, which had a dramatic impact on my team’s performance. We produced a more realistic, effective and purposeful service plan and our programs have timelines and measurable outcomes. I’m confident that we will meet each and every one of them. I now manage budgets more effectively, my performance appraisals are completed on time, and our goals for this coming year are inspiring and energizing. Thanks to the application of principles from Dale Carnegie, everyone’s workload is manageable now and our overtime is down 20%.
89% increase in registrations
- Lisette Pedicelli Foster Care Supervisor Children’s Services Department Peel Children’s Aid
Dale Carnegie empowers you to take off the limits that you put on yourself, so you are able to think outside the box. During the course, I set a target to double my registrations. I’ve had an increase of 89% from the previous year. Before attending Dale Carnegie, I would have told myself this was impossible. I attribute this success to learning how to effectively engage others. I was trying to do everything myself, now I collaborate with and engage others. - Shelley Bond, Manager Primary & Critical Care, Centre for Continuing Professional Education The Michener Institute
A sample of surveys from three GTA projects Hard numbers
Percent of improvement 54%
Goal oriented Ability to lead
59%
Ability to sell self & ideas
52%
Engaging others
48%
Build & motivate teams
63%
Create business results
55%
0%
20% 20%
40% 40%
60% 60%
80%
Innovation - teamwork - bottom-line results - focused action
Innovation team produces breakthrough results
An interview with Jesse Hawthorne, General Manger, Jeld-Wen Toronto Window Plant, Vaughan, Ontario Almost everyone in our management group has participated in Dale Carnegie, which means they have a set of tools they can apply to a variety of issues or management problems they face on a daily basis. Dale Carnegie provides a diverse toolbox that anyone can use, production, sales managers, operations – everybody. I remember when I took Dale Carnegie; I applied the concepts and it was great when I used these techniques and stuck with them… they worked! I find when our managers take Dale Carnegie they have a similar experience. We need people to have the ability to present in front of people, not just public speaking, but getting things done by communicating in an effective and appropriate way. For example, one of our Dale Carnegie graduates accelerated an initiative by conducting ten-minute stand up meetings. When I ask Dale Carnegie graduates to do this kind of thing, they are excited to do so. When we started, a lot of people were working on different projects that weren’t necessarily priorities. Dale Carnegie helps us create focused, cross-functional teams willing to try a different approach. One of our biggest challenges was accounts receivable - an issue we’d been working on for over five years. The Dale Carnegie Innovation Team Process brought us a completely different, informed, outsider’s perspective. In an issue like accounts receivable, emotions and many different personalities are involved, including those of our clients. We’ve always looked at receivables a certain way and I discovered we were looking through the wrong glasses. Working with the Dale Carnegie team, using their innovation process, helps our teams become even more openminded and productive. In the toughest economy to collect money we’ve seen in years, and using the Dale Carnegie Innovative Team Process, we collected almost $500,000 of past due money. We maintained our customer satisfaction and retained important accounts critical to our future. The real value to me is getting people focused on accomplishing things that add value to our processes. Getting everyone moving in the same direction and creating genuine innovation is critical to our future.
Dale Carnegie innovation process principles We cannot problem-solve our way to prosperity; we need genuine innovation. Organizational success depends on people working together. The pressure is intense to communicate productively, quickly turn ideas into profitable action, and consistently lower costs while delivering quality results. People working from a sincere appreciation of the differences in others will be the foundation of our future success. The way to a high-performing bottom-line is through high-performing teams. Team meetings take 90 minutes or less.
Steps in the Dale Carnegie Innovative Team Process 1. Fact Finding We work from the understanding that a “business as usual” mindset is one cause of a breakdown.We listen for reality, rather than what we think or interpret is happening or what we think should be happening. “Shoulds” limit our thinking and snag our emotions.
2. Create Action Plans
We develop a clear action plan including breakthrough goals, payback etc.
3. Lead the Implementation Process
We prepare and implement a complete solution, including the human element - especially gaining stakeholder’s willing cooperation. Innovation teams take a stand for desired results!
Select the process that’s right for you and your organization The Dale Carnegie Course We’ve kept what works in the legendary flagship program and retooled it for today’s competitive environment. It enables participants to master competencies, and learn business tools to achieve breakthrough goals, solve complex problems, and develop collaborative solutions. Newly acquired self-confidence, communication and leadership skills, provide long-lasting benefits to individuals and their organizations.
Leadership Training For Managers
To succeed in business today, managers focus on trust, teamwork, empowerment, and accountability. This course is designed to facilitate the mastery of practical management skills needed to be effective business leaders. It develops the essential skills of communication, delegation, problem analysis, time management, and motivation. Class projects relate specifically to the workplace where skills can be applied immediately.
Sell Like A Pro
This sales improvement process uses an accelerated learning format. we cover the entire sales process, including prospecting, getting appointments, establishing rapport, crafting solutions, overcoming objections, closing the deal, time and territory management, and creating a personal sales success plan. Participants learn how to boost selling confidence, build interest and rapport, increase closing ratios, and how to find, secure, and service new accounts. They also learn ways to pry accounts away from competitors while protecting shrinking margins and innoculate their customers against the competition.
High Impact Presentations Aimed at individuals and organizations, this fast-paced, video-intensive program cultivates powerful communication skills. Participants learn how to plan and deliver a persuasive presentation, convey a credible message, connect with any audience, and defend challenges to their ideas.
Call: 905-826-7300 Ouside GTA call: 1-800-361-2032
Customized Corporate Solutions Our BusinessNext consulting team helps clients: Increase capacity by 25 - 40%+ Handle increased workload to support their strategic intent and hit stretch goals at minimum cost Rethink and clarify a competitive business strategy and business offering that matches their market’s motivation to buy Organize the components of their business to work together to accelerate desired results Connect people to the business strategy, how the business works, and clarify their part in it Create a climate of focused action
Clients Include BMW Canada CIBC Consumer Contact Delta Toronto East Hotel Direct Energy Jeld-Wen of Canada Fairmont Royal York Hotel Royal Bank of Canada TD Canada Trust Bank of Montreal Canadian Tire Dealers Nissan Canada Microsoft Canada Ellis Don Construction Ltd. Universal Music Hatch Best Buy Canada Gap Adventures
info@dalecarnegie.ca www.dalecarnegie.ca
* Dale Carnegie is a registered trademark of Dale Carnegie and Associates Inc.