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What's New
GIFTs: PLR Newsletter - January 2007
This month’s newsletter has all sorts of new news to start the New Year—new format, new opportunities, new beginnings! Libby’s Article focus this month is on your team and its foundational agreement—how to make sure you’re all on the same path. Big news with the purchase of Influencing Options from Bob Weyant & Associates! Looking for a great professional development opportunity? Check out upcoming events. Meet Jill Grenier, Cascadia PM’s passionate leader and how she helps her team balance relationships and results. Check out a new book for leveraging the best performance from your employees. Ready for an amazing 2007? Let’s get going!
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Libby's Articles
Creating a Team Agreement:
Foundational Element for Success
At one point in my career as a manager, I took on the task of helping instructors prepare to teach at a new employee academy. The four-week academy was designed to prepare new staff members to learn the logistics, philosophy and specifics of their new jobs. The material was intense, controversial and challenging. The participants were educated and experienced in a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise ranging from health care, human services, law and justice, risk management and sociology. They were all grown-ups.Read Full Article
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Current Events
Training for Trainers Event
March 2007, Seattle USA
Are you an independent consultant or trainer who works with companies to improve performance, strengthen teams and
create cultural change? Or, do you work within an organization whose values support creating ethical approaches to
creating high performing teams, superior customer service and increased profits? Join the Influencing Options
trainers team so that you can offer your own classes and training.Visit Influencing Options or call 206-906-9203 for more information and application materials.
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News and Events
November marked an important event when Libby Wagner and PLR, Inc. purchased the intellectual property for
Influencing Options from Bob Weyant & Associates. Bob’s legacy of helping people learn ethical influencing
and managing high performing teams has created an impact on many professionals and transformed organizations all
over the world for the past 30 years. I am honored by the trust he’s placed in me to grow and develop the
business of creating effective options for influencing and confrontation without conflict, all built on the
essential foundation of strong relationships and trust. The concepts and model are integrated into PLR’s
philosophy and if you haven’t had a chance to experience Influencing Skills or Managing for High Performance
and Retention, look for upcoming workshops and trainers in your area to bring these practical, immediately usable
skills for transforming culture and improving the bottom line for organizations— productivity, customer
service, retention and profits. Customized classes are available for your organization and past clients include:
Nike, Philips, Zenith, ST, Avocent Corp., eBay, TIGI: Tony&Guy, Coldwell Banker, Aveda, Cascadia PM, colleges
and universities, health care organizations, law enforcement and corrections agencies, small businesses, hospitality
organizations, and many others.
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Leader Profile
Meet Jill Grenier, CEO of Cascadia PMVisit Website a leader in
Northwest project management for the wireless industry with multiple locations in Washington, Oregon, Colorado,
Arizona, Montana and Hawaii. I had an opportunity to meet Jill’s fantastic team and to ask her some questions about
what she’s learned about leading a great team and especially about how she creates a vision for her company.
“I don’t sell a vision,” she says, “I explore mutual interests and shared values.”
One of Cascadia’s core philosophies is in their passionate commitment to balancing relationships and results
—each person is encouraged to end every interaction by genuinely offering, “Is there anything else I
can help you with?” Grenier, a veteran wireless expert, created Cascadia PM with the notion that her company
could provide excellent, competitive service and still respect the people involved. Cascadia employees are located
in multiple states and travel is minimal so that they can stick close to families and communities that are important
to them. Prior to founding her company, which manages multi-level projects integrating contractors, vendors and wireless
carriers, she knew the drawbacks and costs of a traveling career. “I was stranded in the Lake Charles airport in
Louisianan on my 40 th birthday, and it was a turning point for me,” Grenier shares with her employees at a recent
all-company meeting in Vancouver, Washington.
Grenier has got a talented team of committed experts and she believes their professionalism sets them apart from the
competition—they give great service, always, and they often beat out larger companies on contracting bids. She
knows that the “feet of the leader determine the feet of the pack” and strives to lead by example, utilizing
Rob Lebow’s philosophy of establishing a “heroic environment” based on values and ethics.
Regardless of the complexities of juggling the needs of clients and the business results desired, Grenier strives to provide
a fun environment that utilizes the strengths of individuals. Her commitment to bringing together the whole team each year
for professional development and creating community is a big investment that she thinks is worth it. She prides herself in
working to empower her employees to problem-solve and make decisions. Each month, she commits to calling five team members
at random, just to check in and see how things are going. She takes care to recognize things like birthdays, anniversaries
and touch points. She also holds people accountable—setting high goals and high expectations and creating high
energy. Just being around her is exhilarating! Grenier embodies another trait of a great leader—humility—and
it was difficult to get her to take credit for the good work of her team (or come up with a photo I could include in the
article!), though she’s passionate about Cascadia’s growth and success, especially with her team size doubling
in the past year. “We work hard,” she says. “We have a lot of fun, too, but everybody works hard.”
Thanks, Jill, for your good work and commitment to your team!
Interested in more ideas on leadership? Check out Million Dollar Consultant Alan Weiss’ thoughts on leadership in this month’s Writing on the Wall:Visit Summit Consulting. Dr. Weiss is mentor to an international community of top-notch consultants who work with great leaders and companies world-wide and the author of several books on leadership and performance management.
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Resource Review
I’d like to say I’m not one to gush, but those of you who know me would challenge me on that
one—I am one to gush about something I really like or really believe in—but I am picky! My latest
recommended reading for leaders, managers, and supervisors is The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers
Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent and Accelerate Performance by authors Adrian Gostick
and Chester Elton of O.C. Tanner. It’s soon to be released by Free Press in early 2007 and you can pre-order
it at Amazon.com right now! I had a chance to examine a review copy which I devoured while I criss-crossed the
U.S. during my crazy travel schedule this autumn. Loved it. Loved it! You’ll be able to read my full review
upcoming onVisit Website but here are a few things to note:
- Their findings are based on an extensive research study in collaboration with the Jackson Organization to examine the role that recognition plays in accelerating the bottom line elements for organizations.
- The Carrot Principle is based on a foundation of the “Basic Four” of good managers: setting clear goals, communicating openly, building trust and holding people accountable, all of which I find to be the differentiators of great leaders. According to Gostick and Elton recognition is the accelerator that creates the greatest impact on long-term results, especially when it comes to productivity, creativity and retention.
- One of my favorite chapters is “Carrotphobia” which is chock full of the reasons that some managers and leaders cite for not recognizing their people for good work performance, i.e. it’s their job, they’ll expect it, they only want cash—and why these are bogus.
- Many will enjoy the chapter, “125 Ways to Recognize,” which includes ideas from the most silly to the most elegant and helps you identify which is appropriate for each situation, i.e. consistent performance, career performance, above-and-beyond performance.
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You can check out their website atVisit Website to find out more about their carrot theories and I was thrilled to
hear that Seattleites can meet Chester Elton in person when he speaks to local Chamber members on January 18, 2006
— for more informationVisit Website.
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