I Wish You Would Just... Responses Top the 5,000 Mark!
As many of you know, we started our I Wish You Would Just… research back in 1997 when we began asking employees and their managers what each could do to help the other be more successful. Since that time, over 5,000 individuals have shared their thoughts, which in turn have helped to enlighten thousands of other leaders and team members across the globe through our book, video and training programs.

If you are one of the 5,000—thank you! Your honest, thoughtful responses have provided a base of content that has truly made a difference.

We recently had an opportunity to work with a department of a well known financial company. Thirty managers had their employees share their thoughts and ideas. The survey resulted in 259 responses from employees to their managers on what the managers could do to help them be more successful and in turn make the manager more successful. This information was used as a basis for a four-hour retreat where managers reviewed the comments and developed specific strategies to meet the needs of their team members. A focused follow up has allowed us to determine that while not all actions have been taken, many have...and with very positive results. In a perfect world, all actions would be taken. But we know we don’t live in a perfect world and we know that leadership is a journey, something that develops daily, not in a day. Seemingly small changes on a daily basis add up and create leadership momentum!

If you would like to harness this momentum for yourself consider testing our I Wish You Would Just… research strategies FREE. Check out our offer below where we will survey 100 of your employees free of charge!

Continued Success!
Todd McDonald, Co-Author, I Wish You Would Just…
 

Top Iowa Leaders Share What it Takes to Be Successful
I recently had an opportunity to facilitate a panel of Iowa Success Stories at the annual Iowa Association of Business and Industry Convention. Listening to these great stories reminds us of what it takes to be truly successful. As a last question to the panel, I asked them the following, “If you could share just one thing with other leaders in the room to help them be successful, what would it be?” The answers were enlightening and included:

• Have a passion for what you do and for your people.
• Surround yourself with the right people and let them do their job.
• Always treat people with respect.
• Remember that your leadership is needed most not when things are going well, but when times are tough. Be ready to step up.
• Be fair.

As I look back at my notes from the discussion and specifically this question, I am pleased to see that what these leaders believe it takes to be successful is around passion and people, treating people with respect, being there when needed and the tried and true—be fair. It’s easy to talk the talk; real success comes when you walk the talk and these companies and individuals are doing just that.

Thanks to the following individuals for their insights:
Ron Geiger: Harker’s Distribution
Kirk Tyler: Atlantic Bottling
David Bernstein: State Steel
Cy Chesterman: Chesterman Company
Garry Smith: American Popcorn Company
Marty Palmer: Palmer Candy