Susan Schneider’s Blog

Serve by Leading…Lead by Serving

Last week our company hosted our annual employee kickoff. This year’s theme was “Serve by Leading…Lead by Serving.”  It is interesting, when you ask people about serving, their descriptions often focus on responsiveness and high levels of customer service. These are by all means important, but it is still missing one major element; leading.

Leading is not just for “leaders.” Leading is about anticipation and being proactive. It is the willingness to be in front and taking responsibility for those behind you. Whether your customers are employees, spouses or corporations, the need to guide them in the right direction is true service. Think how much better you feel when someone anticipates what it is you might need and brings the solution to you before you even have to ask. The ability to instill the trust in others, that you have their best interest in mind, will cause others to let you lead, and transform the service experience.

A great example of servant leadership is mentoring. Think about the people in your life who have truly supported you in your education, your career, and your dreams. Whether these people realized it or not, they were acting as great leaders. Personally, I would not be where I am today if it had not been for the mentors in my life. Because of them, I have taken “professional leaps” in my career that have led to several highlights in my life. These people who for no return, were willing to invest in me and my future. This experience has helped me commit to providing mentorship to others each year. I challenge you to do the same, the reward to the person you lead will be invaluable. I promise it will be the next step into turning you into a GREAT leader.

It’s a Kick in the Arrears

Like it is not difficult enough to understand the components and payments of property taxes, but the whole “in arrears” concept can create some challenging conversations with transferees; especially if they are a bit short on equity. A simple equity calculation takes the current sales price, less any outstanding mortgages and of course taxes.

So imagine walking through an equity statement with an employee who lives in Illinois. Illinois is actually on a two-year cycle for taxes with assessments starting at the beginning of the year, but the payment is not due for another 12 months, thus creating the arrears payment. Explaining to this employee that you are going to charge them now, for taxes from last year, can create quite the conversation between the counselor and the lender. This often results in confusion and frustration. In addition, identifying simple, easy-to-use resources to help explain the process is difficult at best. If anyone reading has found some good tools, please feel free to share.

Not only do we have to counsel transferees about taxes in arrears in Illinois, we also have to deal with the frustrations of people in California, who are worried they will not get the money owed to them by the government. A recent  announcement indicates that their state is running low on cash. In response to this crisis, they are considering taking up a solution of offering IOU’s for tax refunds which could impact nearly 10 million individuals. They anticipate a decision by February 1st. I guess this is just one more issue for us to be aware of as we counsel candidates and employees on their future endeavors.

I hope all of you got the chance to watch the Inauguration yesterday. No matter what side of the aisle you sit on, we can all agree how wonderful it feels to watch history in the making.

Stepping over Dollars to Save Dimes

You can’t walk down a hallway, enter a conference room, read the paper, or talk to a peer without someone mentioning the unfortunately, over-popular phrases of “cost-containment" and “overhead reduction.” We are all finding ourselves in the eye of the “trimming the fat” storm and there aren’t many lifeboats waiting to save us in the near future. The reality that lies before us requires a diligent focus on our business expenses.

But, how many times do we tend to lean to the “easy” solutions and find ourselves cutting out the items that save us pennies here or there, all the while missing the elements that could create major cost savings. I hear it all the time among corporations; cutting travel, cutting benefits, cutting overhead. My question is at what cost? Does that mean you might elect not to visit a client face-to-face? Does it mean that an employee will end up receiving a lesser package than what is needed to move them successfully and create productivity? Might you end up paying for this negatively in the end? Will you end up throwing more money at the problem months down the road?

I guess my point is that sometimes, buried within and beyond the income and expense statement, lie greater opportunities for cost reduction and it is not always in the form of immediate dollars. I regularly challenge myself and others to look at some of the less “glaring” cost saving opportunities, such as savings through efficiencies, utilizing alternative resources, or re-prioritizing initiatives. Some of these may actually end up giving you a bigger bang for your buck!

It’s Official

I am now becoming part of the human race as it relates to technology. Last month, I created a Twitter account which was the extent of that endeavor (not sure I want to tell people where I am all day). Last night I inadvertently (shows how inept I am) created a Facebook account. Although I intended to sit down over the holidays and get this Facebook thing off my to-do list, it always seemed a bit too daunting. Little did I know all it required was an e-mail and password. Then BAM, here I am seeing pictures of people I went to high school and college with, people who work with me, and friends of friends. I am even chatting with my nieces and nephews. With that said, I believe I have entered what I now refer to as the Twilight Zone and have a bit of a “tech-hangover.” For someone with my personality, this could be a nightmare.

For all of you reading this, perhaps you have already joined this “secret” (or not so secret) club. The question that is plaguing me today is how is this type of socializing going to affect the way we do business? Will it move to be more than just a way to catch up with friends and become a tool for communicating with clients, transferring employees, and supplier partners?

Nonetheless, if you haven’t traveled down the Facebook path yet, I suggest you take a look. Trust me when I say, it is easier than it looks. Remember how we felt with e-mail a decade or so ago? Heck, I had trouble moving from Word Perfect to Windows.

Just remember to do your Facebook-ing outside of work hours, it is all consuming. I would recommend however, grabbing one of your “younger” cohorts and have them help you with all of the details.