Test the New Everything DiSC Profile for FREE

For a very limited time, you can experience the power of the new Everything DiSC Workplace Profile for Free.

This is over a $40.00 value and is a powerful tool for communication skills, relating to others, conflict and teamwork. Please visit FREE Everything DiSC Workplace and indicate you need an access code.

Please also enter my name (Tim Schneider) in the referred by an authorized Inscape Consultant.

Introducing DiSC Workplace-A Great Alternative to MBTI

Now you can help build more effective relationships — one relationship at a time. Everything DiSC Workplace can be used with everyone in an organization, regardless of title or role, to improve the quality of the workplace. The Everything DiSC Workplace Profile is available now!

INTRODUCTORY OFFERS — May 26 to August 31, 2009
The Everything DiSC Workplace Profile will be available to test and compare to MBTI at http://www.everythingdisc.com/training609. Please enter Tim Schneider as the referring distributor.

NEW and FREE – Everything DiSC Comparison Reports Everything DISC Comparison Reports are follow-up reports that can be created for any two Everything DiSC Application Library participants to illustrate their similarities and differences.

Everything DiSC Application Library participants have unlimited access to these Comparison Reports at no additional charge. These research-validated 11-page Comparison Reports help to build better relationships – and they make DiSC® training stick!

FACILITATION The Everything DiSC Workplace Facilitation Kit will be available by June 30, 2009. The Facilitation Kit will be available for the introductory price of $495 — that's $200 off the wholesale price of $695! (Other discounts, including Award Level Discounts, will not be applied to the Introductory price of $495.) We're taking orders starting May 26, 2009, and the kits will ship no later than June 30, 2009. These introductory offers are available only until August 31, 2009.

For more details on Everything DiSC Workplace, go to

www.soaringeagleent.com. After familiarizing yourself with this exciting new profile, you can begin using it in your workplace.

Why Employees are not Happy and Engaged

by Hubert Rampersad

Personal Balanced Scorecard as Roadmap for Employee Happiness and Engagement.

Lack of engagement is endemic, and is causing large and small organizations all over the world to incur excess costs, under perform on critical tasks, and create widespread customer dissatisfaction. The annual financial loss in the US due to disengagement of managers and employees is about $300B US (Gallup Poll, 2005). Improving organizational performance requires a highly engaged and happy workforce. Research on happiness in the workplace suggests that worker well-being plays a major role in organizational performance and that there is a strong relationship between worker happiness and workplace engagement. Our own research indicates that no organization is free of the issue. But what is being done about it? This article entails some new and unique principles that will help organizations tread the above mentioned problems and the demanding and often frustrating road towards sustained employee engagement improvement and stress reduction. Remember what Charles Handy said: "The companies that survive longest are the ones that work out what they uniquely can give to the world not just through growth or money but their excellence, their respect for others, or their ability to make people happy. Some call those things a soul".

What ever happened to employee engagement? Lack of engagement is endemic, and is causing large and small organizations all over the world to incur excess costs, under perform on critical tasks, and create widespread customer dissatisfaction. For example, in Europe it is estimated that what we call mental absence, when the employee's mind is elsewhere than at work, is costing $30,000 per employee per year. It is the same story in the US. "The trend is disheartening", said Optimize magazine in April 2005. "Since 1995, according to a new survey by The Conference Board, appreciably fewer Americans are satisfied with their work. And it's not just one or two facets of work that's making them crankypick a topic, and there's dissatisfaction. Take vacation policies. In 1995, 56% were satisfied. Ten years later, the figure is 51%. Satisfaction with physical facilities is down to 52% from 56%. Age and income don't matter either; the trend is all downward." The average U.S. worker wastes more than two hours a day, and that's not including lunch, according to a new Web survey by America On-line and Salary.com. That means companies spend as much as $759-billion (U.S.) on salaries annually for which they receive no apparent benefit, the research found." Our own research indicates that no organization is free of the issue. But what is being done about it?

The premise of this article is that self-examination is the only road to sustaining employee engagement. In fact, it is the only road for gaining it in the first place. Enter the Personal Balanced Scorecard The Personal Balanced Scorecard (PBSC) is a new personal approach to non-work and work performance founded on self-examination. The thinking process and mind-set change that provide its basis are designed to prepare you for action and, just as important, for inner involvement in your work. The two together foster resolution, passion and energy. The underlying principle is quite straightforward. By writing down your PBSC, you put a mirror in front of you. As you acquire insights, you become more pro-active and self-assured, and find you will learn faster and think more clearly. The PBSC is a scorecard of your work and non-work, encompassing your personal mission, vision, key roles, critical success factors, objectives, performance measures, targets and improvement actions, divided along four perspectives: internal, external, knowledge & learning, and financial. It draws on what is important to you, such as your personal habits, skills and behaviors. These are pointed to your personal well-being and success in society. Your personal ambition (personal mission, vision, and key roles) enables you to express your personal intentions, identity, ideals, values, and driving force, as well as gain more insight into yourself.

The elements of the PBSC are divided among the following four perspectives: 1. Internal: your physical health and mental state. How can you control these in order to create value for yourself and others? How can you remain feeling good in your skin at work as well as in your spare time? 2. External: relations with your spouse, children, friends, employer, colleagues, and others. How do they see you? 3. Knowledge and learning: your skills and learning ability. How do you learn, and how can you remain successful in the future? 4. Financial: financial stability. To what degree are you able to fulfill your financial needs?

These four fundamental perspectives form an integral part of your personal ambition, and together with your personal critical success factors form the bridge between personal ambition (long term) and personal objectives, performance measures, targets and improvement actions (short term). The PBSC can be defined as follows in formula form: PBSC = personal mission + vision + key roles + critical success factors + objectives + performance measures + targets + improvement actions (divided along the four perspectives: internal, external, knowledge & learning, and financial).

From Training Magazine: DiSC Vs. MBTI

4. DISC VS. MBTI: THE LAST WORD
A Training Top 125 reader is considering adding a personality profile instrument to the mix of tools and assessments currently employed for workforce development at her company. "I'd like to know which of the many options others might point me toward. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and DISC assessment seem to be our two frontrunners. What are the relative merits of each for use in corporate settings for workforce development purposes? Which would others suggest I use, if given a choice between the two?"

We've run many responses to this challenge in previous issues. Here's the last word from our Training Top 125 readers on DISC vs. MBTI:

DISC Is It
Patty Beard (Patty.Beard@dcsg.com) says if the purpose of the assessment is self-analysis, and self-analysis only, then go with MBTI. "However, if you are looking to use the assessment for self-analysis, but also want to help leaders begin to understand how to 'flex' their style to meet the needs of others, then I would recommend DISC," she says. "We use DISC, and while people really learn a lot from the self-assessment component, the tool is simple enough they can understand the profiles of others," which is helpful in fostering highly functional work teams characterized by more transparent and constructive interpersonal dynamics, she says.
Beard is senior director of talent and organizational development for Dick's Sporting Goods in Pittsburgh.

Got DISC?
Susan Stamm (susan@teamapproach.com) says the DISC has always been the preferred tool at her company. "I've had the opportunity to follow MBTI through the door as I have joined teams or leadership groups introduced to MBTI not long before I had the opportunity to work with them," she says. "On more than one occasion when I'd ask people to tell me about their style, they could not even state the four letters that comprise their pattern, let alone relate what their pattern means and how they can utilize it to be more effective with others." For Stamm, the complexity of the MBTI model has long been reason to choose DISC over MBTI. "We get less and less time to work with leaders and teams today, so we need a tool that folks can intuitively 'get' and apply immediately. DISC accomplishes both."
Stamm is president of The TEAM Approach Inc.

If the Time Is Short, Use DISC
Karen Hess (kdhess@verizon.ne) says in her consulting business, she has noticed clients tend to gravitate toward DISC more than MBTI. "DISC has been chosen because the model is quickly understood, it is remembered and applied, and it yields the results our clients desire: cultural development, management effectiveness, team effectiveness, enhanced relationships, customer satisfaction, and productivity," she says. "We respect and value MBTI as a complementary tool when time permits and with the appropriate audiences."
Hess is a workforce development consultant located in Medford, NJ.

Ease of Use
Karen Travis (karen@sigmatraining.com) says practitioners should understand the organizational need before selecting any tool, "but I typically start with DISC -- for its ease of use -- to give everyone a common starting point, and then bring in MBTI if the situation warrants. The bottom line is DISC and MBTI both have a place in personal and professional development."
Travis is president and CEO of Sigma Performance Solutions Inc. in Hunt Valley, MD.

Each Has Its Place
Sal Silvester (sal@512solutions.com) uses both DISC and MBTI – but for different reasons. "I believe DISC provides a more practical approach that allows people to use the tool on an interaction-by-interaction basis. For example, if I am speaking with a customer – in person or on the phone – I can very quickly pick up on their behavioral clues – such as body language, tone, and their choice of words – and begin to tailor how I communicate," Silvester says. "MBTI is not as easy to use this way, as it is very difficult to be speaking with someone and trying to figure out which of the 16 types he might be."

According to Silvester, however, MBTI provides a great opportunity for personal reflection and to develop a deeper sense of self-awareness. "I am a firm believer that people don't leave organizations, they leave their direct supervisor or manager," says Silvester. "MBTI provides an opportunity for leaders to learn more about their style and how that style impacts the people they
lead." Silvester is with 5.12 Solutions, a corporate training and professional development company.

DISC Connects the Dots
Pat White has been a certified MBTI facilitator and user of DISC for more than 20 years. "When working with individual leaders who are interested in understanding themselves better in order to be more resilient in tough times, I use the MBTI," she says. "It works well if multiple follow-up sessions are in place to ensure applications are understood, since that is often the weakness of this tool. However, I almost always use DISC because of the insight it allows when looking at one's behavior and the reactions of others to that behavior." White believes employees should be held accountable for their observable behavior, which is what DISC explores. "I also have found that once individuals realize flexing their behavior is akin to giving good customer service -- whether to their employees or peers -- they quickly connect the dots."
White is a certified business coach with The Spectrum Group LLC.

WSJ: Despite Cutbacks, Firms Invest in Developing Leaders

By DANA MATTIOLI
Despite layoffs and recession-starved budgets, many employers are investing in leadership-development programs, hoping not to be caught short of strong managers when the economy recovers.

Identifying and grooming leaders is important in good times, says Bret Furio, senior vice president of consumer lifestyle for Philips Electronics North America. "In times of crisis when the economy is struggling," he adds, "it's imperative."

Like many companies,

Philips Electronics NV is trimming its training budget this year. A December survey of 117 large U.S. companies by Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. found 23% of respondents had recently cut training programs, and another 18% planned to do so this year.

But Philips will offer its annual Inspire program for 30 high-potential employees, stressing subjects such as business strategy and personal leadership. Participants are assigned to teams to work on a business project. Mr. Furio reasons that investing in leadership development will help Philips through the recession and the recovery.

In a nod to the tough times, Philips trimmed the budget for Inspire, eliminating one tutor and tapping more employees, rather than outsiders, as trainers. It's holding the program near Seattle and Boston, where Philips has many employees, saving the company transportation costs. Last year, one seminar was held in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Philips is typical of many companies, according to Bersin & Associates, a research firm that studies corporate training. Bersin estimates that companies cut overall training budgets 11% last year and projects another decline this year, based on a recent survey of human-resources executives. President Josh Bersin says the deepest cuts are in training for "soft skills" such as communicating with co-workers and conducting meetings. He says leadership development is taking a growing share of training budgets.

Yaarit Silverstone, global managing director for the organizational-effectiveness practice at consulting firm Accenture Ltd., says the emphasis on leadership development is a departure from the past. Ms. Silverstone says companies historically cut leadership-development programs during downturns, but the moves backfired, prompting midlevel managers and top performers to leave when the economy recovered. Now, she says, executives believe that without capable managers, "their ability to come through [the recession] in a healthy fashion is diminished."

Consider Estée Lauder Cos. The New York cosmetics maker Thursday reported lower sales and profit for the period ended Dec. 31, and said it would eliminate 2,000 jobs over the next two years. But Lauder is continuing its leadership-development programs, albeit more cheaply. Lauder typically sends 120 executives to a two- or three-week summer program at Vassar College. This year, it plans to send 60, for one week. In all its leadership programs, Lauder will emphasize innovation and managing change in volatile business conditions.

The budget cuts are hurting business schools, which say companies are sending fewer employees for executive-education courses and ordering fewer custom programs, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. David Newkirk, CEO of Executive Education for the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, says the school began to feel the downturn early last year, as financial companies deferred decisions. He says few companies have dropped programs completely, but many are delaying custom program enrollment by six months or so as they watch expenses.
But leadership coaches say they're still in demand.

Author and consultant Paul Hellman has been expecting a slowdown, but says December was his busiest December ever. Mr. Hellman, president of Express Potential, says employers know employees are less likely to jump ship during the recession, and are exhibiting a "let's make sure people are developed" mentality. He says he sees companies cutting costs by using more Web training than in past years; he hosted four "Webinars" in January, compared with six for all of last year.

That's the case at Canon USA Inc., which launched "Canon Academy" in 2008 to expand leadership development. This year, the camera and office-equipment maker is combining Web tools and instructor-led courses to offer training to more newly promoted managers than in the past. The program will touch on strategic decision-making and influencing employees. "Certainly times are tough, but we recognize that employee development needs to continue," says David Metzger, Canon USA's director of management development.

Some consultants see a renewed focus on leadership development, even at companies that are laying off employees. Patrick Sweeney, president of Caliper, a Princeton, N.J., management-consulting firm, says companies are trying to grab managers' attention and focus them on "keeping the ship afloat." Mr. Sweeney says much of Caliper's current work is geared toward identifying employees with high potential and developing their leadership skills.

Everything DiSC Workplace Facilitation Kit

Everything DiSC® Workplace™ Facilitation Kit Now Available

Everything DiSC Workplace Facilitation Kit is now shipping! If you pre-ordered a copy, you’ll receive your kit by the end of June. If you haven’t yet purchased your Facilitation Kit, our Introductory Offer will blow you away!

Everything DiSC Workplace Introductory Offer: Now through August 31, 2009 Save $200 on the Everything DiSC Workplace Facilitation Kit! Buy additional copies of the Facilitation Kit for the introductory price of $495.

The Everything DiSC Workplace Facilitation Kit includes three 90-minute modules using:
PowerPoint® with embedded video
Contemporary, workplace-focused video
Leader’s Guide and handouts in MS Word
Engaging activities
Job aids and sample reports
Online access to resources and research
BONUS: 30-minute optional people-reading module
And like all Everything DiSC Application Library programs, it’s easy to customize to fit your needs.
Everything DiSC Workplace Virtual Showcases

Virtual Showcases give you the inside scoop — from the comfort of your office. Register your to attend one of the following Everything DiSC Workplace Client Showcases:
July 15
July 21
July 23

Achieving Results and the Power of Accountability

By Michael Wilkinson
Certified Master Facilitator Managing Director, Leadership Strategies, Inc. Author, The Secrets of Facilitation andThe Secrets to Masterful Meetings

How often have you participated in planning efforts that resulted in insightful conclusions, innovative strategies, and great projections of success that were then put in a notebook, placed on a shelf and never implemented? What a waste of time!

How do you avoid this? We believe the answer is accountability. We have worked with organizations on strategic initiatives for nearly two decades. Over this period we have seen organizations that have been highly successful and we have seen other organizations that have failed to get out of the starting gate.

Why does this happen? We believe, more times than not, the answer is accountability, or more specifically, the lack thereof. We believe effective accountability has five critical components.
Clear identification and articulation of the work to be done, the expectations surrounding it and a plan for achieving it.

This first step is often where the breakdown of accountability starts. How often is it that work is not clearly defined or expectations not clearly articulated or a plan not delineated for achieving the work?

Accepted Responsibility
Once the work is defined, someone has to accept responsibility for getting it done. Please note, assigned responsibility is not the same as accepted responsibility. Has the person been simply assigned it or has the person accepted that it is his/her responsibility for accomplishing it?

Monitoring and Reporting
Accountability comes from the Latin word that literally means “to give an account.” We may have accepted the responsibility for clearly defined work. However, without a monitoring and reporting process (i.e., without a process for people to give an account), there is essentially no accountability.

Reward for Accomplishment
A key to effective accountability is to have a reward for accomplishing the item for which we are being held accountable. In the workplace, rewards can take a variety of forms, including recognition, time off, gift certificates, convenient parking space, etc.

Consequences for lack of performance.
Consequences are necessary to ensure that there is both a “carrot” for performance and a “stick” for lack of performance. While many organizations avoid the stick, we find it is an essential component for letting people know they have let down the team.
While sometime the lack of performance is so significant and so severe that it requires “freeing up the person’s future,” in most cases, a less severe consequence is more appropriate. One of the strategies we have seen helpful is having the team define consequences in advance. Simple consequences such as cleaning up the break room or taking another person’s team out to lunch may be suitable.

What happens if one or more of the accountability components is missing?
If any one of the components is missing, you will likely have a significant breakdown in accountability.

If two or more components are missing, the level of accountability is so low, for most situations you can pretty much say that accountability is non-existent. The work may still get done, but most likely due to the sheer will and desire of those involved and in spite of, not with the support of, any process, oversight, or leadership.

Improving Assessment Usage

Everything DiSC Pulse: Improving Assessment UseMay 13, 2009
By Mark Scullard and Jeffrey Sugerman

"Show me the value of assessments" is a common refrain heard by many training professionals. We thought we'd ask training participants to weigh in on the debate. We surveyed 2,362 recent participants of corporate training programs about their previous experiences with assessments in development programs. Overall, participants were positive about using assessments in training, giving high marks for usefulness and accuracy of information. We also identified two areas that can boost the value and impact of assessments: follow-up and boss involvement.

The Follow-Up Opportunity"Follow-up is priceless." It's something everyone in training and development can agree on. Follow-up gives participants the opportunity to practice the right way of doing things. Our study supports previous research showing the dramatic impact of processes that support practice and integration of the learning experience.Participants who said their organization followed up on the assessment felt the training was a better use of their time than people whose organizations didn't do any follow-up. When asked if the assessment helped to develop skills that would benefit their career in the long term, 94 percent of those people whose training included follow-up said yes. Among those whose training didn't include follow-up, that number dropped to 79 percent.The difference is even more pronounced when they were asked if the training made them more effective at their job, overall.

The follow-up group was overwhelmingly positive with 93 percent agreeing. For those without follow up, it was significantly less, with 73 percent agreeing. The impact of follow-up also could be seen when we asked if the assessment created a common language that helped the organization communicate better. Among those whose training included follow-up, 90 percent agreed. Only 68 percent of those without follow-up felt the assessment created a common language.Any skill improves with reinforcement. Some skills can be mastered in the course of a training session, and participants can take that skill into their job and use it effectively. But with complex skills, such as those taught through assessments, learning is ongoing and requires "perfect practice." Many times these skills are subtle and can be quickly replaced by old routines, whether because they're easier or simply because they are habits. Follow-up gives the nudge some of us need to keep practicing and developing the skill. And this practice is never more effective than when it is done on the job—making transfer of those skills more likely.Keep the Boss in the KnowKeeping participants' managers in the loop is another way to boost the power of the assessment and the training experience. Participants whose boss had a good grasp of what was taught in the training were more likely to view the class as a good use their time. The difference was more pronounced when asked if the training made them more effective at their job.

Of those whose boss was involved in the process, 90 percent said the training made them more effective; of those without boss involvement, 73 percent.But the boss' understanding of content wasn't the only important factor. Participants also gave higher marks to training effectiveness if they discussed the assessment with their manager. Among those who discussed the assessment, 91 percent said the training was more effective. That number dropped to 72 percent if they did not discuss it with their boss.Being able to talk with their boss about what they learned can give extra weight to the training, but it also gives the participant another check-in point. The manager can serve as a sounding-board for their new skills, giving reinforcement and, if necessary, correction. In addition, when their boss is in the loop, training participants have an additional level of accountability for the skills learned. When the boss isn't knowledgeable or just isn't involved enough to discuss the training, this can send the message that the training isn't important. Or that the boss is too busy to worry about whether or not new skills (and corporate mandates) are being practiced. After all, wouldn't the boss know about it if it really mattered? As training professionals, we should hope so.

Mark Scullard is the director of research at Inscape Publishing, a leading provider of training materials for the corporate market. He has more than a decade of research and data analysis experience in the development of psychological evaluation tools and methods. Scullard received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Minnesota, with a supporting program in statistics.Jeffrey Sugerman is the president and CEO of Inscape Publishing. He has more than 20 years of experience in senior management, marketing, and business development in the technology, training, and publishing industries. He holds doctorate and master's degrees in psychology from Washington University in St. Louis, and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Northwestern University.

Managing the Tweets

Web 2.0: Managing Corporate Reputations-Business Week
Companies are scrambling to silence errant messages while exploiting social networks
By Michelle Conlin and Douglas MacMillan

Zachary Weiner, the CEO of Chicago boutique ad agency Luxuryreach, has had quite a time in social networking land of late. Recent adventures include employees twittering about how demanding Weiner is, how hung over they feel, and how "totally not into" the client they are. Then there's the worker and her boyfriend who are lobbing character assassinations, sexual insults, and details of their therapy sessions at each other on Facebook. "I can't lie, I'd almost like to hear how it ends," says Weiner. "It's entertaining."

Entertaining, yes. But for executives worried about their companies' reputations, oh so terrifying. Every day it seems there's yet another social networking scandal breaking out, like the viral sensation of the woman who tweeted: "Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work." Or the Ketchum public-relations exec who said of client FedEx's (

FDX) hometown: "I would die if I had to live here!"

Read the rest of the article: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_22/b4133000631535.htm