Executive Club Newsletter

October 2008

Posture, Poise, Well Being, and You:

A demonstration of the Alexander Technique

by Ellen Schmidt

Thursday, October 16 Champaign Country Club
11:30 a.m.:  Registration and Networking
11:45 a.m.:  Buffet Opens
12:15 p.m.:  Mtg/Program
Reduce pain and stress. Live more fully. Experience greater pleasure and comfort.

The Alexander Technique improves posture, ease, balance, movement and presentation. Efficient use of your body and mind makes more energy available to you.

The technique provides expanding awareness and ease for any discipline, art, sport, hobby, performance, job, or activity. Move and think with ease, confidence, and poise. Enjoy improvements in posture, breathing and balance.

“Ten years ago I began doing the Alexander technique. My job was very stressful, and a friend suggested it. In my family we get what we call “the neck thing” which is a painful knot in the neck and shoulders caused by scrunching up one’s shoulders in reaction to stress from the environment. When I began Alexander, I got the neck thing less and less, and now I rarely if ever get it. Body positioning and use can cause many related problems in all parts of the body. One does not realize how one is even using the body—for example—curving the back, hunching over the computer, not sitting up straight, contracting the abdomen. Body awareness is one of the marvelous benefits of the Alexander technique. By using the body in correct ways, many problems can be eliminated. Stress can cause one to use the body in harmful ways.”

Testimonial of Nancy Casey, President, Casey Consulting Group

Jeff Tessler is a certified Alexander Technique Teacher based in Indianapolis and Champaign. He has had a life-long interest in sports and movement-based performance arts.

Please check Jeff’s website for testimonials. http://jefftessler.com

Registrations are due by noon on Monday, October 13. Please indicate if you are bringing a guest. Contact the Treasurer with questions about registration. Register online now!

*Remember, there will be a $5 late fee for reservations received after the Monday Noon deadline. Attendees with late or no reservations will be permitted to attend as seating is available.

Pre-register online and send a check for $15 to ECCC, P.O. Box 61, Champaign, IL 61824-0061 OR pre-register online and pay on day of luncheon.

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You’re the Boss. Be a Great One!

President’s Message

by Hope Wheeler

In July I attended a seminar on how to be a better manager, not of spreadsheets or production targets, but of people. With our Club being a group of “executives”, I thought this may be a topic of interest to all of us in supervisory roles. The premise of the seminar was that there is an epidemic of undermanagement. The speaker was Bruce Tulgan, author of It’s Okay to be the Boss (Collins 2007). In it, he says that hands-off management is not really management at all. He says that strong managers need to manage every day. They need to spell out expectations, track performance and learn to talk like a coach. In short, they need to be the boss.

He emphasized that what most employees need is real empowerment through regular guidance, direction and support from their supervisor. He has devised eight steps that any manager can take to “get back to the basics” of effectively managing people.

#1 Get in the Habit of Managing Every Day

Set aside an hour every day for managing your people and pressing your agenda. Do it before anything goes right, wrong or average – just do it. The goal is to make these one-on-one sessions routine, brief and simple.

#2 Learn to Talk Like a Performance Coach

Get extraordinary performance out of ordinary people by talking to them about the work and building a rapport. The most effective managers have a way of talking that is both authoritative and sympathetic; demanding and supportive; disciplined and patient. This is exactly how a performance coach talks –

· Tune in to the individual you are coaching

· Focus on individual performance

· Describe the employee’s performance honestly and vividly

· Develop concrete next steps

#3 Take It One Person at a Time

As you talk with each person face-to-face, tune in to that person and adjust your approach to fit their individual needs. Every employee is different, so why try to force a “one-size-fits-all” management style on a diverse group? You’ll be more successful as a manager – and get better performance from employees – if you fine tune your approach to account for individuality, rather than asking employees to all work and act the same just for the sake of consistency.

#4 Make Accountability a Real Process

Accountability only works as a management tool if the employee knows in advance that he or she will have to answer for his or her actions. Employees must also trust and believe that there is a fair and accurate process for keeping track of their actions and tying their behavior to real consequences.

#5 Tell People What to DO and How to Do It

The best way to engage employees in adopting best practices is to convert best practices into standard operating procedures – and then requiring employees to follow those procedures precisely. Give them step-by-step checklists whenever possible. Follow up. Ask employees to think out loud about how they might approach their assignments: “Can you do this? What do you need from me? How are you going to start? What steps will you follow?

#6 Track Performance Every Step of the Way

Monitor, measure and document performance – good, bad and average – with every employee, every step of the way. Refer to an ongoing, written record of exact expectations, goals, deadlines and requirements. How did each employee’s concrete actions match clear expectations? The more you keep track, the easier it will be to keep track.

#7 Solve Small Problems While They’re Small

Without regular daily or weekly management conversations, managers have no natural venue in which to provide employees with regular evaluation and feedback. In the course of regular guidance and direction, addressing one small problem after another is what ongoing, continuous performance improvement actually looks like.

#8 Do More for Some People Than Others

Give every person the chance to meet the basic expectations of their jobs and then the chance to go above and beyond – and to be rewarded accordingly. Expand your repertoire of rewards and start using every resource you have to drive performance. Make a point of making special deals and small accommodations in exchange for extra performance. Help people earn what they need every step of the way.

I know that I left this seminar energized and ready to implement some new management techniques. It is a matter of making the time. I haven’t perfected the new process but I feel I have become a more effective manager of people. Please consider some or all of the steps for your workplace.

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Join ECCC Book Club

Our newest book club is coordinated by Celia Elliott. Celia reports that they can accommodate a few more book lovers. Books read to date include Widow of the South (set in Franklin, Tennessee during the Civil War), Water for Elephants (the story of a Depression-era traveling circus), City of Thieves (the adventures of two mismatched young men set in the siege of Leningrad during WWII), and River of Doubt (the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s nearly fatal expedition to the Amazon).

This month, the selection is Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo. Each month, a member is assigned to bring the names of three books that she would like to read, and the group selects one as its next book. Meetings are at 7:00 p.m. at Celia’s house, 3808 Deerfield Drive, Champaign.

The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 30, with the potential for change, if necessary. If interested, contact Celia: home phone number is 351-5810 and work is 244-7725, or email: celia.elliott@gmail.com.

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Remember to pay your membership dues

You should have received a notice in the mail recently reminding you to pay your ECCC membership dues. October 31 is the deadline for getting your dues in.

We hope that you have felt that the networking, member events and programs have been worth your time and well earned $.

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Did you know.....

You can pre-pay your monthly lunches? That way you don’t have to worry about sending in a payment every month. For more information contact the Treasurer.

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September Speaker Summary

Learning to Landscape

by Ellen Schmidt

Kaizad Irani, Associate Professor of Horticulture at Parkland College was our September speaker. Kaizad was born and raised in India. Kaizad talked of Creative Design Strategies. He offered different strategies for creating an environment that promotes physical and spiritual well-being.
Strategies included the use of colors especially taking into consideration their blooming potential, height and their particular season of growth. Kaizad offered that adding annuals could cheer up a landscape when surrounding landscape loses its luster.

Garden art can greatly bring notice to plants within a landscape. Other structures such as benches or fences can help to bring balance to your yard. It is important to keep scale in reference to structures and plants in your garden. Kaizad noted the importance of not having a plan for every inch of your property.

Keeping a color theme can bring continuity to your entire landscape and adding texture can put some spice in the look of your garden.

Planting and maintaining a garden can be very therapeutic as well as providing a creative outlet.

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Member Profile

Kathy Reeves

Kathy Reeves, is ECCC’s Social Events and Networking chair. She is a Commercial Real Estate Appraiser for Whitsitt & Associates. In her job she likes seeing what is happening in Champaign from the developer’s perspectives. “It is exciting to catch people expressing their dreams.” Says Kathy.

Kathy grew up in La Fontaine, Indiana, near Wabash, Indiana. She lived on a farm enjoying the beauty of the Indiana countryside and working outside on the farm. Upon graduation she headed to Ball State University. When I asked her about her college memories she stated “I remember how grumpy all students looked in the winter in Muncie, Indiana. When the sun came out in the spring, the faces of the students changed to smiles and there was a lot of playful energy. It was a real awakening in the spring.” In addition to Ball State Kathy has also attended Lincoln Land Community College, and Sangamon State, (now UI Springfield).

Kathy enjoys gardening, building primitive furniture pieces, playing with my grandkids, traveling, and reading. She likes music of almost every kind, but has a special place in her heart for the classics like the Rolling Stones. One of her favorite movies is Shawshank Redemption.

One thing you may not know about her is that her family used to have a little solar company. They built solar panels in a farm shed for agricultural applications. They designed and created the tools, as well as the products.

Kathy is looking forward to working as the social events chair. She says “I t is a pleasure to get to know the women in Executive Club, a bunch of capable, interesting, energetic people!”