Successful salespeople will tell you that the most important thing they do every day is help people feel so good about themselves that they´ll want to buy. Extending this principle, we can help clients, customers, and our employees feel good about themselves by empowering them to make their own decisions - to buy from us, to work for us, and to take responsibility for their actions.

According to Fast Company magazine, today´s mantra for success is no longer faster, better, or cheaper, but "change, learning, and leadership." If you can help others deal with these critical factors, they can become their own heroes. How can you educate them and bring new insight? And how can you lead and motivate them so that they´ll seek to improve their lives and careers? If you and your organization can answer these questions, you´ll develop a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with them. Here are some tips to consider:

1. Become an active listener. Seek to understand before you seek to be understood.

2. Don´t give your advice or opinion without being asked. Wait for such magic words as "What do you think?" "What´s your advice?"

3. Let people make their own decisions. Rather than saying, "you should," allow them to say "I should."

4. Reinforce their positive decisions. For example, you might say something like "I really like the way you handled that customer!" "That´s a great decision!"

5. Finally, don´t assume or guess what people want or need to make themselves feel better. Ask them and you´ll be sure to find out.

THE RULE OF SEVEN

Make the "Rule of Seven" a powerful tool in your management arsenal. This principle tells us that it´s difficult to manage more than seven relationships at a time. Early hunter/gatherer groups generally topped out at seven members. Armies are based on a command hierarchy of no more than seven people at a time (fire team, squad, platoon, company, battalion, or regiment). Tom Peters´ management classic, In Search of Excellence, uses the Rule of Seven in recommending that no division of a company should have more than 50 people (seven teams of seven each).

The human mind can only handle so much. Studies have shown that seven digits are the maximum number we can remember. That´s why local phone numbers have seven digits. Are you asking managers to evaluate the performance of more than seven people? Are you trying to juggle more than seven strategic relationships at a time? If so, you´ll need to focus on process, duplication, and constant improvement -- and even then, it´s best to follow the Rule of Seven.

THE POWER OF ONE

The key to management success is implementation, implementation, and implementation. To start the ball rolling, implement one strategic objective per month. For example, the HR That Works! Program´s 39-step process toward mastering compliance and productivity occurs one step at a time.

Make one management commitment per month and plan ahead for no more than three commitments. That way, things will get done. Your employees will understand the difference between right and wrong when it comes to sexual harassment issues. They´ll know how to listen to each other and work as team players. They´ll learn how to lead through example, not control. They´ll have strong motivations to come to work, rather than staying home.

Has your company implemented any of the suggestions or Forms of the Month from these newsletters? If not, why not? These strategies and tools can make an incredible difference. Get in the habit of implementing one step every month and watch the effect of compounded excellence take hold. Make each step impact your bottom line with continuous and never-ending improvement. A few years from now you´ll look back at the impact on your organization and be glad that you adopted the Power of One.

´OWN´ YOUR CLIENTS AND CUSTOMERS

In many organizations, employees are detached from the client or customer base. They might manufacture a product that they never get to see the client use. Or they might be in the back office of a service organization. How can your employees work "on purpose" if they don´t have a direct relationship with your clients and customers?

Here are two suggestions to bring your relationships home. First, get pictures of your clients and customers (if possible, using your products or services.) Put these pictures on your company walls and Web site. Then post as many pictures of your workforce as possible on your walls and Web site so that clients and customers can see who´s working on their behalf behind the scenes.

Second, have each employee conduct a client/customer satisfaction survey that asks three basic questions:

1. What are we doing right?
2. What can we do even better?
3. What else would you like to share?

There´s no reason not to have every employee do at least one survey per month. Have them share the results during weekly or monthly meetings. Reward clients and customers who participate in the survey by giving them follow-up on their input. You can also conduct a raffle for all survey participants and announce the winner, together with your survey results and intentions.

Remember, if you want your employees to act like "owners" they have to feel like owners and have a connection with your customers and clients.

MARKETING TO EMPLOYEES: THE SPRINKLER EFFECT

How many times have you seen a lawn that´s bright green except for right underneath the sprinkler? The same thing might be happening to your organization. Businesses spend big bucks on marketing. We have slick brochures, we train our clients, and we send them our message repeatedly. We know that marketing isn''t about fire-hosing them; it´s about nurturing relationships.

Why not take a marketing approach with your workers? Like clients and customers, they´re bombarded by thousands of competitive messages every day. To reach employees with your message, apply these marketing practices to them:

1. Spend time pre-qualifying them. Just as a qualifying process lands us "A List" clients, qualifying workers lands us "A-List" employees. You can´t spend enough time hiring right. Skill tests, character assessments, extensive background checks, and a shared set of values will produce remarkable results.

2. Send your messages repeatedly. Every business needs a powerful vision supported by its mission, goals, and values. You can´t afford to send your message only in an annual meeting or report. Make it part of your "core story." It has to show up everywhere possible: On your walls, your employee handbooks, your monthly meetings, and in the performance management process.

3. Make it colorful. We treat our clients and customers in color and our employees in black and white. To show you what we mean, place your employee handbook side to side with your marketing material. Now imagine what it would be like if your marketing material was in black and white legalese. Documents such as your employee handbook offer an incredible opportunity to communicate your message boldly, and in color!

4. Offer unexpected surprises. We all know the importance of keeping clients pleasantly surprised. A call on their birthday, a note of congratulations on their new promotion, or a weekend at our vacation home are some suggestions that come to mind. Uncommon surprises go a long way with employees too! The unexpected thank-you note, the banner announcing an accomplishment, or a fresh bouquet of flowers create and strengthen emotional attachments.

5. Test, test, test. There´s no "one right way" to market. Savvy marketers assume nothing and test everything. Have you tested different ways of hiring, managing, or motivating your employees? Chances are if you´ve been doing something the same way for a while there´s plenty of room for improvement. You´ll never know how much until you test to find out. The great thing about testing is that you can target part of your workforce at a time. Then compare results to see which approach works better. By constantly testing you´ll constantly improve your bottom line.

There are plenty of other examples from the marketing arena that can help build your company´s work force.

"Don''t get too comfortable. Remember, if you stay in the middle of the road long enough - you´ll get run over!"