Welcome to the August 3, 2005 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside:

1. The one thing that separates the best from the rest.

Talent is usually considered the people who are in the upper 10 percent of what they do. What separates the best from the rest who perform well? To be good at anything requires some knowledge, skills, and technical know how. Both the best and the rest have that.

One thing that separates the best from the rest is the ability to adjust, adapt, respond to, and be resourceful in the face of change. You could call it "performing well under first-time conditions." How well do you do if you have never done exactly that before? This ability to take meaning from the past and fit it to something different is one of the things that separates the best from the rest.  (Source:  For Talent Management, Lominger Limited, Inc.)

How can you know if a prospective employee has the ability to adjust, adapt, respond to and be resourceful? You can certainly check references but even if you could find out the truth, how will you know how well this employee might act or react in a situation they have never faced before?

While experience is a good indicator of past success, personality traits and cognitive abilities can be a reliable predictor of future performance.

For example, have you ever worked with anyone who could convert Fahrenheit to Celius before you could even remember the formula? That's the essence of high cognitive abilities. Individuals with higher abilities tend to think logically, process and comprehend information, and visualize solutions more accurately and quickly even when time pressures and deadlines are bearing down.

But not all jobs require this speed, and therefore high abilities. Employees with lower abilities may be among the best educated and most experienced people you know but when push comes to shove and time is of the essence, these people may hesitate making critical decisions because they need more time to review and re-evaluate the information. While they may have the knowledge, they can't access it nor apply it quick enough under pressure or unknown conditions. They may want to adapt and respond, but they are caught like a deer in the headlights when confronted with "first-time conditions. On the other hand, well-educated employees with lower general abilities may be the experts when it comes to highly skilled but tedious or redundant work, such as research and computer programming.

Personality traits also affect how employees might respond to the unknown and unfamiliar. Conscientiousness is one such trait. While following the rules and preferring tradition to innovation and spontaneity may have its merit in certain situations, it also means these individuals will rely heavily on past experiences and familiar solutions to address both old and new problems. But change requires flexibility and risk taking, behaviors that are extremely unnatural and uncomfortable for the highly conventional and organized employee. On the other hand, the innovative and reactive employee thrives on change and may rely too much on "winging it" when he finds himself in unchartered territory.

With so many variables, how can you know who will be the best and not like the rest? The first step is understanding the degree and intensity of abilities and personality traits required by the job and tolerated by your company environment. The next step is identifying reliable assessments to evaluate candidate (and employee) preferences to change and risk. The TotalView Assessment System and its proprietary job fit analysis is a best practice solution at skimming off the top 10 percent of the talent pool.

To learn more about evaluating the ability of candidates and employees to adjust, adapt, and respond under first-time conditions, email us about TotalView Assessments.

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #431 to #433

Don't miss day-to-day updates on Perfect Labor Storm. Save the Perfect Labor Storm blog to your favorites.

Fact #431: The number by which U.S. male births exceed female births per thousand: 48. (Source: National Center for Health Statistics)

Fact #432: The number by which male births have exceeded female births since 1940: 5.7 million. (Source: National Center for Health Statistics)

Fact #433: The age at which the number of females in the U.S. population surpasses the number of males: 39. (Source: National Center for Health Statistics)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3.  NEW! Order DISCstyles™ Today and receive a PeopleSmart book FREE.

An indisputable fact is that people prefer to interact with people they like. The ability to create rapport with people is a fundamental skill in sales, management, personal relationships, and everyday life. The goal of DISCstyles is to create personal chemistry and productive relationships. You do not have to change your personality. You simply have to understand what drives people and recognize your options for effectively dealing with them. DISCstyles teaches you powerful life-skills that will serve you well in all your relationships: business, social and family.

Completing the DISCstyles™ online assessment, you receive:

1. Your personalized in-depth 29-page DISCstyles Report;

2. You can Invite an unlimited number of observers to complete the Observer Assessment FREE...for 30-days;

3. View and print your Graphs I, II and III;

4. View and print your Observer Composite Report;

5. View and print the FREE PeopleSmart eBook:

6. Access your home page for 60 days;

7. And Access an interactive online component on how to effectively deal with others.

To fully experience the magic of DISCstyles, order your DISCstyles Online Assessment today....

......and receive your FREE PeopleSmart eBook (294 pages) by Tony Alessandra and Michael O'Connor.

4.  Pocket Guides for the Busy Manager

Today's busy leaders and knowledge workers are looking for informative, to the point self-study resources that will answer questions, stimulate new thinking and help solve problems.

These management development pocket guides are ideal for self-directed learning, training and coaching workers, corporate universities, or to use in seminars and workshops.

Each guide covers an important topic such as managing generations, mentoring, creativity, project management, knowledge management or strategies for handling people issues such as conflict management, sexual harassment and performance.

Order the complete library of these 32 best selling Manager's Pocket Guides for only $279 - that's like getting 5 books free, a savings of $39. Start your management development today by ordering all 32 Pocket Guides for Management Development here or call us about our Manager's Book of the Month Club..

Manager's Pocket Guides can be ordered individually for $9.95 each plus shipping.

5.  "Fore" Styles To Improve Your Golf Game

What's your "best" mental golf style? What's your preferred style when preparing to take a shot, managing the course, or working with your golf instructor? Get your head in sync with your physical swing - Get your Mental Golf Profile at Success Performance Solutions.

Ira S. Wolfe. 2005 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

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