| OPUS-FOCUS Newsletter
Focus on
People, Productivity and Profitability
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Sorry, Wrong Personality
Would you like that humble pie ala mode?
 Know your limits. If not, you'll pay the price.
Just like I did. "Detail" is not my middle name. I know that.
But I was in a hurry, and I was excited about a project I was
working on. That project is the newly created "Handy Guide to
Personality Styles." I needed to get the finished product to the
printer in time for a conference I was attending. There was real
time pressure, but, don't kid yourself, it was really the excitement
that did me in more than the time pressure. I certainly did have the
extra 30 minutes I needed to go over the document with a fine tooth
comb, and ask one or two people to do the same.
But no, I didn't do that. I told the printer to go ahead with
the production of 2,000 five-color copies, and every one of those
2,000 five-color copies has three (count ‘em - THREE!) typos. Oh
well, the next printing will be perfect, and for $500 I will have
solved my problem. That's a pretty cheap price to pay for a good
solid smack in the head by a two by four, isn't it? This one is
pretty black and white.
How is it for you? Are there situations where you have the
wrong personality strengths doing the wrong job, and although the
results may not be this clear cut, the cost is enormous. The
salesperson that doesn't know how to push hard enough for the order.
The consultant that doesn't know how to build a relationship of
trust and confidence with the clients. Or the sales manager that
doesn't know how to guide the team to meet their numbers. The impact
of these "behavioral challenges" can be silent killers of revenue
and profits. Watch out for them.
The important lesson to be learned is that we're not going to
be good at every aspect of any job. Let's be sure that we do the
most important ones well. In my case, it's inspiring people to
utilize OPUS services, and then delivering those services. A second
lesson is to remember to "call for help" on those things that
genuinely do not fit our own skill set. Lastly, when we find
ourselves brought down by being ourselves - fix it, pay the price,
and move on. I only hope that you too can keep your losses to
$500
Handy Guide to Personality Styles
OPUS is proud to have these "handy guides" available for all
interested parties, and they are free.
Included on this two-sided, five-color document is a
breakdown of the strengths, challenges, likes, dislikes, and
communication styles of each of the four cornerstone personality
traits. We have also included the trait interactions between each of
the four traits, and a guide for you to know how to communicate
effectively with each personality style, irrespective of your own
style. We've printed them on nice quality paper, and, as you already
know, in five colors. Please drop us an e-mail with a request for a
copy of it, and be sure to include your mailing address. We're happy
to send it out to you immediately. Should you be a Sage Partner and
will be attending Insights during the week of May 8-11, then please
stop by the OPUS booth (722) to pick up your copy.
Opus Marketing is now Opus Productivity Solutions
You might say I was a bit attached to the name OPUS
Marketing. Seeing that it has paid for college tuition for my
children, my home, my time share, and countless autos, you can
likely appreciate why I might be attached to it. That said, I have
been convinced by people far brighter than me (and no, I didn't need
to look all that far and wide to meet that criteria) that the
company would be better served by a different name. The name change
will likely help us if someone stumbles upon us on the Internet, so
that is a good thing. It does not, however, mean that any of the
services that we have been providing are changing. That may happen
as the needs of our clients change, but not for the present. Our old
Web address for the profiling tool will work indefinitely, but you
can also get to everything via the new Web address:
Suggested Reading:
The War for Talent
By Ed Michaels, Helen Handfiled-Jones, Beth Axelrod
Winning the war for talent is more than recruiting tactics.
It's about the timeless principles of attracting, developing, and
retaining highly talented managers. This playbook for talent
management is based on a five-year research study of 13,000
executives at more than 120 companies performed by McKinsey &
Company.
Upcoming Webinar Schedule
"The Six Things Management Does to Kill Morale and Employee
Productivity, and What You Can Do To Fix It"
May 23 and June 20
"Five Most Common Mistakes Made in the Hiring Process, and
How to Avoid Them"
June 1
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We'll have more book and Webinar suggestions for you in
future editions.
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