Earlier this year I finally admitted I was having trouble hearing. The excuses of “you need to get my attention first” or “you need to speak up” or “there’s too much background noise” were wearing me and my family out. I expect they were wearing out my friends and business colleagues as well, they just didn’t voice their frustration. Thanks to those of you who gave me a free pass on what I’d guess were multiple occasions. So yes – I did the research online and purchased an excellent set of hearing aids. I’ve been wearing them for 6+ months for the record. There is still work to do on my listening skills but at least I can hear.

One of the excellent features of this Audien model is they are Bluetooth connected. I can listen to music, replay baseball highlights and no one knows! OK, they probably know, or at least suspect. Great features but with Bluetooth on I also get notifications when I receive a text message or the Ring cameras at front or back door at home are activated. Not really a big deal but I continue to notice the volume of the conversation I’m involved in is turned down (not off) when the notification happens. It brought home the fact that not only do I not listen well when distractions happen but  I can’t focus enough to even hear well. This doesn’t happen only with notifications but I effectively turn down someone else’s conversation when I have to check a baseball score and even see the pitch location that resulted in a home run on a 0 balls, 2 strikes count. Yep, checking the score and details is not going to change the outcome, but I sometimes can’t help myself. Please tell me I’m not alone in doing this!

One of my New Years resolutions for 2025 was to Listen. Just a reminder for me, and maybe you, that it’s impossible to practice good listening skills if you don’t put yourself in a good position to HEAR. 

At least my grandson Clive knew I was talking and turned around. Allison on the other hand?

But how about “ongoing?” A couple of professional colleagues recently asked me to share a document titled “New Employee Start-Up.” A very well-done document, of course I’m the author. Onboarding is important for any number of reasons, but how many of us think about ongoing?

It hit me at Wendy’s in Jeffersonville, Ohio while returning from the Jerry Seinfeld and Jim Gafigan comedy show in Columbus – it was excellent. A young gentleman is working the register. I’d guess he’s in his late teens and fairly new to the job. He appears to be doing well for someone who seems new on the job. In the span of 60 seconds he is verbally assaulted by two more tenured employees. He asks the first “I’m sorry, what did you say?” The barked response, “I’m not talking to you!” Not 30 seconds later he steps toward the employee calling out order numbers as they are ready. I’d guess he was going to view the ordered items to tell who belonged to the order. Before he opens his mouth he hears – “get out of my space, I can’t stand it when people get in my space.” How long will he stay working there?

That’s a harsh and isolated example you say, that would never happen in our “professional world.” If young professionals are leaving your organization as soon as they are trained and qualified for a new role then I’d bet harsh treatment by co-workers is a primary reason. For bosses who say, “I don’t understand what I could have done differently,” the problem may be what others are doing and the fact that you aren’t confronting it!

My vacation in July wasn’t the “kick back and relax” type . It was , however, a vacation from the daily, weekly and monthly office to-do list. From my perspective, vacationing with young children makes it so easy to move those lists to a place that is both out of sight and out of mind. That “putting away” is what allows me to recharge and return refreshed to my professional responsibilities.

The steps certainly add up while allowing my two year old granddaughter to explore the aquarium “on her own.” I stayed just 1 or at most 2 small steps behind her and was always there when she turned to check. Her joy in the exploration and my focus solely on her might be exhausting to some but I believe the focus required with her is what gives my professional battery time to shut down and recharge.

Add in my then three month old grandson and several wonderful hours holding him. Bonus time with my nearly seven year old great nephew playing with the gaggle of children at the birthday party and swimming in the pool. A birthday visit from another nephew and his family and I left that brief vacation fully recharged and maybe a little physically exhausted. How refreshing was your most recent vacation?

Have you rescheduled a meeting with a prospect lately? In my business, that could be an individual seeking help in their career search or a potential new company client. What were your reasons? In a personal contact intensive business it’s easy to decide you need to stay, as my old boss Pete Wolfe used to say, “closer to the $$” and move on from your plan.

You know, that well-crafted annual plan broken all the way down to monthly, weekly and even daily goals you promptly filed away. It was designed to further existing relationships and build new ones. Instead you consistently cancel meetings and calls, especially with new introductions where you can’t see how this ever turns into a return for you.

I’m so glad I didn’t cancel the breakfast with Steve Stolz, then an executive with Sara Lee during their relocation of Food Group Headquarters to Cincinnati in the early 2000’s. He was referred as an individual as he was considering exercising his option to exit the company and simply wanted advice about Greater Cincinnati executive employment market conditions. From what we thought we knew the recruiting for the team at Sara Lee was done. I could have told him over the phone that Cincinnati is typically a very resilient market but post 9/11 there were relatively few executive level finance openings. After our breakfast he shared they really needed help with as many as 20 critical accounting and finance roles and “was I interested?” I contained my outward excitement and we negotiated a multiple hire fee agreement and filled 15 of those positions over the next 9 months. Many more examples I could elaborate on – First Financial Bank, National City Bank (now part of PNC), Panini North America, Michelman, Inc., TGW International and more.

The lesson I strive to keep in mind – take the call or meeting, be available to help someone regardless of their ability to engage you on an assignment and there will be a return on your investment.

The photo is from April 17, a first meeting for me and my granddaughter with her then less than 24 hours old little brother.

So when did common courtesy become so uncommon? You just finished the annual review (employer or employee), bonuses and salary adjustments will be in effect by March 15. The company had a good year and the “lift” you see or feel will last for a while – if you’re lucky all the way to May 1. So why is turnover trending upward before June 30?

Limited recognition is often cited as the most common reason for leaving an employer. Not in your standard exit interview – too much “feeling” to discuss in that setting. People feel undervalued and underappreciated and it’s not because of your salary and benefits. Competitive salary and benefits are a “ right” each employee expects. The key to retention and performance is consistent recognition of a job well done. Many of you are now thinking “this is going to get expensive”, but it doesn’t have to! Some of you are also thinking “this is common sense”. I agree, but common sense is all too uncommon and far from common practice!

The best recognition programs recognize real and desired performance and result in frequent recognition awards. When your employee handles a particularly difficult situation especially well – recognize it now. Follow the Golden Rule – think how you would like to be treated in that moment and you will understand the importance of the seemingly simple, but often forgotten, sincere thanks for a job well done.

This sounds easy, so why don’t we do it? Give me some practical advice you say? Here’s an easy one. We all have a “to do list”, whether on a post it note or your Evernote app (I love this app). Everyone in your organization who has even a single employee reporting to them (directly or indirectly) should put their reporting employee’s names on that “to do list”. Cross the employee’s name off the list each week only when you have found a genuine reason to recognize their positive performance. Thanking people in person too “touchy” for you? Write them a note – yes handwritten, this is supposed to be your personal touch, remember? When others wrote notes of thanks, congratulations or encouragement to me they always found their way to a file I still maintain. I believe I still have every note I ever received from a parent or child for coaching a team or leading a Cub Scout adventure. My mother had every sympathy card her family received when my Uncle Bill Dierker was killed over Leyte Island in the Philippines on November 1, 1944.

Follow this practice for three months and it will be a hard habit to break – but if you’re anything like me, please keep the list, it works!