Be Real: The Art of Overcoming Exceptionalism Roadblocks: BE REAL, #3

By Julian M. Allen

The Art of Overcoming Exceptionalism Roadblocks provides tools that remove counterproductive team member behavior based on generations of mover and shaker team development experince. We begin by addressing adult learning, and progress to informal team member behavioral discipline. We visit control of unacceptable risk for the individual, the team, and the organization. Real world case studies in routine business situations provide guidelines to address problems that impede team progress. We end with a method to turn formal dismissals into a positive for both the team and your career. These behavior modification tools ensure team leaders, supervisors, and managers turn a losing team into a winner in the most humane and effective way possible.

You are encouraged to investigate BE REAL: The Art of Creating Your Exceptionalism, and BE REAL: The Art of Creating Team Exceptionalism. You may find BE REAL: The Art of Creating Exceptionalism in Modern Business which includes all BE REAL titles by this Author a more cost effective choice. Every title is a collection of "cheats" in the business game that can refine and accelerate the career of someone who is responsible for others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Julian M. Allen
• Release date: Nov 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540139849

Book preview

BE REAL

The Art of Overcoming Exceptionalism Roadblocks

Julian M. Allen

N B S Press

NBS PRESS

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 - Understanding The Adult Learning Process

Chapter 2 - Managing Team Member Risk

Chapter 3 - Informal Behavior Modification

Self-Actualization and Esteem Needs Levers

Case Study - Rob

Case Study - Lucy

Case Study - Ray

Case Study - Buddy

Case Study - Jeremy

Case Study - Dan

Case Study - Jimmy

Chapter 4 - Hard Core Informal Behavioral Change

Case Study - Nick

Chapter 5 - Changing A Losing Team Into A Winner

Chapter 6 - Taking A Shrunken Head

Publically State Expectations

My Bad - First Non-conforming Behavior

Your Bad - Second Non-conforming Behavior

Your Have My Full Attention - Third Non-conforming Behavior

Best Wishes for the Future

POSTSCRIPT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RECOMMENDED READING

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

I WANT TO THANK all who taught me to handle responsibility in such a way that the individuals who came under my umbrella would find their lives improved.

My Father pounded the importance of morals, ethics, experience, empathy, commitment, perseverance, and teamwork through my thick skull. His desire was that each of his five children become decent, God-fearing, productive, and law abiding citizens.

My First Mentor was the master of finding humor in the simplest communication. If you fail to laugh every chance you get, you will always be less effective with people than you should be.

My Headhunter convinced me that I was cocky and that I tended to motivate others to oppose me.

The Bloodline Prince confided Every word spoken by a superior carries the risk of becoming reality—whether it is good, bad, right, or wrong.

The CFO Ninja drove home the importance of signatures for every expense approved by a superior.

The Turnaround Artist insisted I keep everyone in the loop when working at the edges of my responsibility. The broader your reach and the faster the rate of change, the more important it is to keep those above you informed about what you are attempting to do.

The Prophet pointed out that even the worst superior has at least one great attribute: If you make it your own, one day you will be a combination of the best of all your superiors.

The Big Cheese was adamant: Just because someone is your superior in rank or wealth, it does not mean they should be.

My Literary Mentor made me promise to give her the opportunity to read my work one day.

My Vermont Touchstone demonstrated exceptional intestinal fortitude by guiding me through the editing process.

To each of you, I hope the investment you made in me generated satisfactory returns.

fo·ment

verb \ ˈ f ō - ment \

To cause or try to cause

The growth or development of …

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That which has been is that which will be,

And that which has been done

Is that which will be done.

So there is nothing new under the sun.

-Ecclesiastes 1:9

PREFACE

OUR SOCIETY CONSIST OF three groups of people: those who lead, those who follow, and those who depend on the first two in order to survive and prosper. We inhabit each of these groups during our life; some for an extended period of time, and others only briefly. Within each group you will also find individuals who are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Your commitment to improving your soft people skills indicates your desire to transition from a follower into a leader while, attempting to avoid becoming part of the problem. Accepting such a challenge brings a lifelong commitment to exceptionalism and mastery of soft people skills.

Unfortunately, interpersonal interactions are not always pretty, politically correct or edifying. The only truth about humanity is that we will eventually figure out a way to ruin all of God’s creation. This is my attempt to support those I may never meet in life who are striving to step forward as my generation begins the transition into one that is dependent on the leaders and followers to survive and prosper. Thank goodness there are people who aspire to accept responsibility for the well-being of others and who willingly tackle the unending human-based problems that plague society. Those who are most successful will be thrust forward into greater responsibility by followers who recognize their gift, and willingly follow them wherever they choose to lead.

I was blessed with an unusually broad selection of mentors and experiences during my private sector career. I never found an organization without at least one crippling problem; the only question was where the problem was located and how severely it hindered the organization’s journey toward success. The real world experiences of those who have already carried responsibility can help lay a strong foundation to support the forward progress of others—your forward progress. My greatest hope is that you leave the world a better place than you found it by building on the experience of those who came before you, instead of wasting your lifetime just learning what to avoid.

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You are what you repeatedly do.

Excellence is not an event

- it is a habit.

- Aristotle, 384-322 BC

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INTRODUCTION

THANK YOU FOR YOUR interest in this book over those more seductively packaged and touted by experts compensated by those who choose writing as their primary focus in life. I have attempted to include only what is important, because we are all far too busy to waste our precious time. Most chapters are self-contained discussions that you can finish during a five minute break. You will find the soft skill tools that deal with those who deviate from the common good stern, but as respectful and humane as possible. Things you will be exposed to as you read will remain relevant until humanity has run its course.

You should know that I consider myself to be a management generalist since I’ve been a team member in four major facility startups, as well as multiple cutting-edge business expansions and advanced manufacturing technology revolutions. We were always tasked with achieving things that were unreasonable or at least yet to be demonstrated, and in the face of challenging odds, all of which forced an ongoing development of my personal leadership skills. My experience in managing change was gained over fifteen industries and nineteen individual sites. I worked on the transition from push to pull operations, the integration of computerized systems in business, and the adoption of formal certified quality management systems.

This taught me to utilize everyday, real world examples that anyone can comprehend and some may find amusing. I admit my plan was to make you laugh as often as possible, in order to keep you focused on your personal exceptionalism development. My sole objective is to pass on information that will give you