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Awesome Office: Lead. Create. Inspire.

The Awesome Office Show is all about helping you lead people, create culture, and inspire Awesome at your company. Each week we talk to a business leader, entrepreneur, HR pro, or engagement specialist at the most successful and buzzed about companies in the country, and learn their most actionable tips, tactics, and best practices - and share them with you. This is a behind the curtain look that you’re not going to find anywhere else. If you care about developing stellar cultures that provide lasting value for employees, customers, and shareholders, then this is the podcast for you. The Awesome Office Show is hosted by Sean Spear. Similar to Entreleadership and HBR Ideacast.
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Now displaying: December, 2015
Dec 31, 2015

The end of 2015 is rapidly approaching, and that means it's time to set our sights on the things we want to accomplish in the New Year. 

There is a sense of hope and optimism in the air. A new calendar year is a chance wipe the slate clean, start fresh, and begin anew. All the old habits you swore you'd break, now's your chance to actually break them. 

It's time to finally lose the weight, become more productive, get that promotion. 

But as most of us are familiar, all our good intentions often fall by the wayside as soon we hit the first stumbling block or feel the first tugs of resistance.

It's usually not because we don't want to improve. It's because we didn't approach our goal setting the right way.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

In fact, with a little planning and commitment, 2016 can easily be your best year ever.

That's where we come in.

In this episode, Awesome Office host Sean Kelly shares his goal setting tips, a set of best practices will help you make massive breakthroughs in 2016.

So what makes Sean a goal setting expert?

The answer is simple - he's failed. A lot.

Over the last fifteen years or so, he's tried dozens of strategies, and has developed a set of practices that works - and will work for you too. Think of him as your own personal goal-setting guinea pig.

Instead of blindly charging into 2016 with vague intentions and fuzzier plans, now's the time to pause, reflect, and visualize the things you want to accomplish next year.

Who do you want to be? What do you want to accomplish? How do you want your team and your organization to grow? Does the future excite you? Is your vision compelling? How will you make your vision a reality?

That's what today's episode is all about.

For your reference, we've put together a cheat sheet summarizing the points Sean explores in depth in today’s episode:

11 Super Effective Tips to Make 2016 Your Most Awesome Year Yet

1. Start early
Pilot new habits before January 1. Test them out and make adjustments early on so you can be confident in your approach once the New Year commences.

2. Set your intentions
Think about who you’ll become once you achieve these goals. That person should excite you.

3. Goals must make you a little uncomfortable
Your goals should spur breakthroughs and help you grow, and therefore should be hard... but not too hard. Studies show that you should push yourself 4% beyond your ordinary daily limit (not 40%).

4. Don’t worry about "the how" the first time around
Just set your sights and get after it. The how will come as part of the process.

5. Don’t set too many goals
Shoot for no more than 10 goals total, for all areas of your life - career/business, health, spirtual, etc. 5-7 is the sweet spot.

6. Make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T.
S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. It should be obvious whether or not you achieved your goals, and timing is important.

7. Write down goals and make them visible…review goals on a weekly basis
Print them out and put them someplace where you'll see it everyday.

8. Create goals, not action plans that you’ll never be able to execute
Don't set yourself up to fail by creating ridiculously elaborate, year long plans that you'll abandon as soon as you deviate from them.

9. Make your first goal to consistently check your goals
This is where most people fail - they don't check in and hold themselves accountable. Commit to your goals to see real progress.

10. Remember that you’re human
You will fail. Expect it, plan for it, and know that it’s all part of the process.

11. The 5-4-3-2-1 System
Once you set your goals, this system will help you stay on track in the New Year. For 2016, determine:

  • 5 things you must do
  • 4 things you should stop doing
  • 3 new habits
  • 2 people to hold you accountable
  • 1 new belief

BONUS - 5-4-3-2-1 Worksheet

As a bonus, we've put together a worksheet to get you started. Download the worksheet here (right click and choose save as), then print it, fill it out, and put it somewhere visible - at your desk or on your mirror - as a constant reminder of the goals and the habits you intend to keep.

We hope you enjoy this episode, and want to thank you for your continued support of the Awesome Office Show. We've grown tremendously in a short time, and that's all because of all the great people who - like you - are committed to changing the way we work. We've got some big plans for 2016, and we're so grateful you've chosen to join us on this journey.

As always, if you haven't yet, please subscribe to, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

Dec 23, 2015

 

 

 

If you were to look at Richard Sheridan’s business card, you might be surprised by his official title:

“Chief Storyteller, Tour Guide and CEO.”

As we learn in the second part of our epic interview with the Joy Inc. author, storytelling is an essential part of his role at software developer Menlo Innovations - so much so that the company’s founder and chief executive leads daily tours and considers telling the Menlo story to be one of his most important roles.

The act of storytelling, Richard explains, helps hold himself and his team accountable, and reinforces the cultural values at the core of Menlo’s culture.

We talk in depth with Richard about how to tell better stories, why it's so important to do so, and many other topics, including why organizational change must first start with personal reflection, and why boomerang employees - employees who leave and come back - remain a huge missed opportunity for most companies.

Key Takeaways

  • Richard tells us why he had to first rethink his own role in the organization before he could start to think about organizational change.
  • Richard shares the insight that his eight year old daughter gave him regarding his own leadership style.
  • Richard explains why low attrition isn’t necessarily the sign of a good company culture, and how some of the worst cultures he’s seen are ones in which no one ever leaves.
  • Richard explains how boomerang employees can be a source of fresh ideas and innovation, and why so many companies miss out on them.
  • Richard describes the tours he gives at Menlo, and how this daily story telling benefits himself and his team.
  • Richard tells us why he believes the most important breakthroughs won’t be technological, but will be based on the expanding concept of what it means to be human.
  • Richard shares why the biggest people-oriented crisis facing businesses today is a crisis of human energy - and why this represents a huge opportunity for organizations.
  • Finally, Richard enters the ring and takes on…the Minute of Magic.

Links

Recommended Reading

Like this episode? Then let us know! Subscribe, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

Similar to Entreleadership and HBR Ideacast.

Dec 18, 2015

 

From kid programmer in 1971 to Forbes cover story in 2003, Joy, Inc. author and Menlo Innovations CEO Richard Sheridan has never shied from challenges, opportunities, nor the limelight. His focus has always been around technology, but his passion is actually process, teamwork and organizational design, with one overarching goal: unlock the business value of Joy.

Strangely enough, it all began in 1967, when a ten year old Richard Sheridan decided to surprise his parents by building a piece of furniture while they were away for the evening.

In today’s Awesome Office interview, Richard tells us how this experience - and the joy he felt after delivering a wow moment to his parents - was the start of a journey that would lead him to his mission of changing the way we work.

The laboratory for his radical ideas about workplace joy has been his own company, Menlo Innovations, a software design and development firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

An avid reader and historian, Sheridan insists that he and his team didn't invent a new culture, but copied an old one - Edison’s Menlo Park New Jersey lab.

Richard was a pleasure to talk to, and we hope you get as much value out of this conversation as we did.

Key Takeaways

  • Richard takes us back to one of the most formative experiences of his life, and explains why he credits this lesson as the inspiration behind Joy Inc.
  • Richard explains that, while he’s a technologist, his greatest innovation came in the way he thinks about people, organization design, and process.
  • Richard describes why we typically lose our sense of joy as we transition from childhood to adulthood, and why that’s detrimental to our businesses and our lives.
  • Richard opines why most managers fall into the trap of mimicking their predecessors, and how that has perpetuated harmful organizational cultures and management practices.
  • Richard explains how playfulness and productivity aren’t mutually exclusive, and how the TV show M.A.S.H. actually demonstrated that levity can exist in the midst of stressful or important work.
  • Richard tells us the utterly unique way that Menlonians schedule all-staff meetings, and how the company is able to conduct these meetings in under 13 minutes.
  • Richard explains why ear buds are forbidden at Menlo, and why he believes chatter helps fuel creativity.
  • Richard describes the Menlo hiring process, which actually involves no resumes and no interview questions whatsoever.

Links

Recommended Reading

Like this episode? Then let us know! Subscribe, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

Dec 11, 2015

 

“You can’t be good at any job if you’re only doing it for a paycheck.”

That’s the mantra that has served Joe Lozowski throughout his career, and what ultimately inspired him to leave a lucrative career and start all over in the furniture business. 

In part one of his Awesome Office interview, we learned why the CEO and President of Tangram Interiors feels it’s so important for young people to bet on themselves, and why he views his company as a “platform for success.” In part two, Joe dives deeper, and shares why, in this world of longer hours, work life integration, and increased expectations on all sides, you have to love what you do in order to be successful.

Joe also shares the secrets that have helped him rise to the top of his game and lead Tangram into $100 million+ in sales, including his daily routine (which begins at 4 am).

And perhaps most surprising of all… Joe explains why Ohio State hiring coach Urban Meyer is actually a good thing for Michigan football.

Key Takeaways

  • Joe describes the biggest mistakes he’s made as a leader, and what he's learned.
  • Joe explains why it’s so important to love what you do.
  • Joe walks us through his morning and tells us why he wakes at 4 a.m. each day.
  • Joe explains the connection between mental and physical fitness, and why it’s so important for leaders to set good examples for their employees in this regard.
  • Joe explains what he means when insists that it’s “all about the people,” and why he meets with or entertains clients 2-3 times a week.
  • Joe talks about the importance of personal relationships and trust, and tells us that it’s no accident that the senior leaders at his company have all been there at least 12 years.
  • Joe also explains why friendships at work are a part of the culture at Tangram, and why he thinks its a big part of their success.
  • Joe talks about why sometimes you have to let failures happen, even when you see them coming.
  • Joe shares the one thing that actually makes him angry as a leader.
  • Joe tells us why Urban Meyer is actually a good thing for Michigan football… and how that’s a metaphor for success in business and in life.
  • Finally, Joe shares the lessons he’s learned over the course of his career that he wished he’d known twenty years ago.

Links

Recommended Reading

Like this episode? Then let us know! Subscribe, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

 

Dec 5, 2015

We like to say that one necessary part of an Awesome Office is a “space that wows,” and there are few people more qualified to speak to this than Joe Lozowski.

That's because Joe is the majority owner, President and CEO of Tangram Interiors, the largest contract furniture distributor in the Western United States. With offices and showrooms in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, the San Fernando Valley and the Inland Empire, Tangram has emerged as a model dealership in North America, employing 275 people.

With all this success, you might be surprised to learn that Joe's foray into the furniture industry involved leaving a lucrative career in a different industry - and taking a 100% pay cut in the process.

That's all part of what Joe calls "betting on yourself," and it’s not only a key to his own success, but something he tries to instill in Tangram employees.

That’s why he thinks of Tangram less as a company, and more as a “platform for success.”

Joe tells us what it takes to bet on yourself and win - and much more - in this two part Awesome Office interview.

Key Takeaways

Joe explains what he means by betting on yourself, and why he decided to take a 100% pay cut to join Steelcase early in his career.
Joe describes why he thinks of Tangram as a platform for success.
Joe tells us what it takes to create a “space that wows.”
Joe explains why he hasn’t had an office in 13 years, and why
Finally Joe tells us the most important question he asks clients while working on their interiors.
Links

Joe on LinkedIn
Tangram Interiors
@joelozowski
University of Michigan Football
Recommended Reading

Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, by Phil Jackson
Like this episode? Then let us know! Subscribe, rate, and review the show in iTunes. This show grows by word of mouth, and the more we grow, the more Awesome we can all create together.

Similar to Entreleadership and HBR Ideacast.

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