4 Reasons Why You Should Hire for Attitude Over IQ

I found that some of the best teams I have ever been a part of or managed all had one thing in common: people with great attitudes.

As I have helped Porch.com, a home-improvement network, grow, I have put a premium on attitude when managing and developing teams. In fact, I consider attitude as a lead indicator when I make hiring decisions.

Here are four reasons why you should hire for attitude.

Related: 3 Simple, Yet Critical Musts for Onboarding Success

1. These employees can fly above the noise and help keep everyone focused.

Nothing drives me crazy like gossip and rumor mills. These time sucks are often born from negative attitudes -- people who are looking for the worst in people and situations. It is nothing but noise and it leads to unproductive and inefficient cultures.

I have found that people with a great attitude fly above the noise and refuse to be distracted by the pull of negative chatter. In many cases, their desire and focus to keep moving the bar can be contagious. Their positive attitude gets people focusing on the right behaviors, which ultimately lead to better business results and overall employee satisfaction.

2. They are able to promote a positive workplace.

Simply put, people with a great attitude are more fun to be around.

At work we often spend more time with our co-workers than we do with family and friends. A great attitude can be a determining factor in whether a person is going to exceed their goals -- and many times they do, because they have the support of those around them.

Related: The 3 Secrets to Building An All-Star Startup Team

3. These staff members know that celebrating the small wins leads to big wins.

Part of having a great attitude is being able and willing to celebrate the daily wins. These wins (which may seem trivial at the time) are actually motivators for building long-term success.

If you are a company that wants to achieve big, audacious goals, you need to be pragmatic enough to know that these goals are not accomplished over night. You need to work towards them. That requires consistent and meaningful motivation, so people can see how the hard work of today pays off tomorrow.

Employees with a great attitude appreciate the journey and they make it easier for those around them to give their all, day in and day out.

4. They lead to great teams because they celebrate the 'we' over the 'me.'

I have found that above all else people with a great attitude are more successful at driving and leading winning teams. Part of the reason is their focus on the “we” over the “me”.

Whether it is through accountability, shared commitments or lack of emphasis placed on their own goals, they are able to get others to work together to accomplish something great. They don’t obsess over titles, visibility or favor and promote interoffice politics.

As the saying goes, “A bad attitude is like a flat tire. You can't go anywhere until you change it." If you focus on hiring people with a great attitude right off the bat, you won’t have to deal with cultural or business derailment down the road. 

Related: Why That VP From Google Is Probably Not the Best Fit for Your Startup

Craig Cincotta

6 Surefire Ways to Prepare Your Business for Growth This Year

Recently, the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) said it expects the U.S. economy to enjoy the fastest economic growth in a decade in 2015. With predictions that the (GDP) will expand by 3.1 percent, job creation will increase and there will be an upswing in consumer spending, business owners would be wise to plan accordingly.

As we begin a new year, this is the ideal time to press pause, celebrate your achievements, and prepare for a strong business 2015.

Here’s an easy checklist to help your business enter this year on solid ground:

1. Take a look at your team and make adjustments as needed.

Success comes down to people. You need to have the best people in the right positions equipped with the necessary resources to excel in business. Get your arms around who is on your team and how they are performing. Assess strengths while also addressing weaknesses.

Related: If You Want to Succeed, Here Are 5 Things You Need to Do Differently

If you’re preparing for growth, where do you need additional talent? Who do you need to promote or manage out? Where is your team stressed? What skills are lacking and what training might benefit employees?

People are your greatest asset. Build a team empowered to deliver greatness.

2. Evaluate and enhance your infrastructure.

Whether you run a technology company or a brick-and-mortar business, your infrastructure sets the stage for everything you do. Review your infrastructure from your phones and cloud solutions to your software and physical space needs.

Are there areas you’re overspending or places you need improvement? Are you storing your data management safely? Is your technology reliable? Scalable? Are you running out of space and need to lease more? Be proactive when it comes to securing a solid infrastructure.

3. Refresh your social-media accounts and strategy.

While social media is increasingly important for business, it’s also easy to let it slip through the cracks. Revisit your social-media strategy and accounts. Are you taking full advantage of what’s available and what makes the most sense for your business? For instance, are you on Facebook but missing out on Twitter? Consider and leverage all of your options.

As importantly, are you using these applications effectively? Be sure your pages are up-to-date in terms of brand, bios and other assets. Delete posts that are no longer relevant. Also, make sure people within the company are sending unified messages that align with your brand.

4. Poll your key advisors.

Connect with your key advisors, including recruiting, legal, accounting and marketing partners. Share your growth plans and projections for next year, so they are positioned to support your goals.

Related: Skirt Roadblocks to Succession Planning

Do you project tripling your revenue? Do you intend to double the size of your team and lay off the underperformers? Give your accountants a chance to address how this will affect your tax year. Launching a new product? Give your marketers a heads up to start thinking creatively.

Get ahead of the game, so you and your allies can work together to lay the groundwork for success.

5. Funding your growth takes planning

Weigh your company’s spending and needs. Where are you planning to spend more and where can you decrease spending? Negotiate with sources you spend a lot with to secure best pricing or look at new sources to increase competition.

Planning alongside your finance and accounting team will help ensure you’re not caught off guard when you need to fund a major ad campaign or grow your team.

6. Ensure a meeting of the minds.

Getting everyone aligned with your company’s mission, brand and goals isn’t always easy, but it is crucial -- especially for your executive team. This time of year can be hectic but making time to get together can transform chaos into focus in the coming year.

While making your list and checking it twice, if you add a little business planning to the mix, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes. Set some tactics in motion, envision your future and then begin 2015 with a strong start and reap the success of what you sow.

Related: Successfully Orchestrate the Expansion of a Growing Company

Monica Zent

Good Communication Skills Will Help You Find Long-Term Success

Learning how to effectively communicate with others while choosing the right words can literally make or break your growth in the marketplace.

If you are a business owner, having the ability to communicate and point out small successes to your employees is a vital key for long-term success. If you are an employee, knowing how to become a more skilled communicator will increase your value to the company and marketplace.

Related: 7 Powerful Public Speaking Tips From One of the Most-Watched TED Talks Speakers

Let’s take a look at three ways why mastering the skill of communication can improve your business and increase your success rate.

1. Expand your reach in the marketplace

You can know everything there is to know about your business, services, mission statement and vision, but if you can’t express it with the right words out in the marketplace, chances are your growth will be very minimal.

Think of all the great business leaders in the world. I can almost guarantee that they are poised and excellent communicators. If they have an idea or plan, they know exactly how to effectively communicate that idea or plan to the world.

Expand your reach in the marketplace by mastering the skill of communication.

2. Leading and educating employees

Over the years, I have come across and realized that the best educators not only have exceptional communication skills, but they make sure their employees walk away with new skills and abilities.

Think of it this way: You can have the most crafted and thought-out job description, but if you can’t verbally express to your employees what your vision, goals and plan of attack is, your growth rate will be hindered.

3. The ability to motivate

One of the most valuable aspects of mastering the skill of communication is having the ability to inspire your employees. The best business owners out there know the importance of finding the time to inspire their employees and help them see past the roadblocks and setbacks that may be present in their lives.

Related: 7 Tips to Get Your Team to Actually Listen to You

The hustle and bustle of everyday life confronts everyone on different levels, such as when an employee is going through a divorce and may need some words of encouragement. The list goes on, but the bottom line is mastering the skill of communication vastly increases your ability to motivate employees.

When employees are motivated and inspired by your simple, heartfelt words, they are willing to go the extra mile and work even harder. Just like parents encourage and give words of empowerment to their children, the same applies to business leaders.

Improving the skill

Now that we have listed three ways as to why mastering the skill of communication is so important in determining business success, what are some ways you can improve your communication skills?

The first step is to take out a sheet of paper and list what you feel are your strengths, along with where you need to improve. Do you feel you can effectively go out in the marketplace and talk all day and night about your services, but your ability to motivate employees is lacking? Whatever it is, write it down. You can then start to develop a plan of action to increase your communication skills. Here are three ways to get started:

• Enrolling in a speaking class is a powerful way to improve communication skills. There are many classes throughout the country to help aid in communicating effectively.
• Putting a dictionary in the bathroom is another way to slowly but surely increase your vocabulary, which always will help with boosting your skills.
• Hiring a speech coach is another route you can look into. Working one on one with an expert can quickly speed up the process.

Do you know of any good practices to improve communication skills? Let us know in the comments section below.

Related: Public Speaking Tips to Maximize Your Reach and Revenue

Matt Mayberry

10 Ways to Crush It in 2015

At the beginning of the every new year and even a little bit before then, everyone has the same theme, or at least they think so. This theme is, “This is going to be my best year yet!” Unfortunately, once the end of the year rolls around again, they quickly realize that the past year was just like all the other years.

Nothing was really different. The same habits, the same achievements, the same goals and the same mediocre results. Please don’t fall into this category that will rob so many people of greatness this upcoming year.

Related: 20 High-Powered Business Leaders Share Their New Year's Resolutions

Here are 10 ways to help you crush it in 2015.

1. Get serious!

To truly make this year your best year yet and absolutely crush it in 2015, you must get serious about doing just that. A majority of people will get excited for the first 30 days and then fall victim to complacency and just coast along from that point on. Get serious about your life. Get serious about your business. Get serious about your health. Get serious!

2. Learn and let go of 2014.

The whole last week of every year I spend every single day reflecting on how my previous year went and how I can grow and get better from it. I analyze my wins and losses and how I can build momentum going into the New Year. 

But once I am finished with this process, I let the previous year completely go. I erase it from my thinking and encourage you to do the same. If it was a successful year for you, great, but don’t let that define your 2015. Build new successes and reach for new heights. If it wasn’t the best of year for you, there's incredible opportunity ahead because you have a whole year to absolutely crush it and make up for lost ground in 2014. Don’t let one bad year turn into a bad life.

3. Take your health and fitness to the next level.

If you are going to take your success, income and business to the next level, then you must not forget about your health and fitness. This is one of the greatest assets that you have. Never take your health for granted. If you keep your body in unbelievable shape, you will increase your productivity levels like crazy and boost your self confidence.

4. Get very clear about what you want.

Setting a goal to lose weight, get in better shape or make more money won’t cut it. Maybe for the first month you might be motivated but over time this type of clarity won’t cut it. When you get extremely clear about what it is you want, your desire and commitment to actually make it a reality will skyrocket. Get clear about what you want.

5. Take massive action.

If people decided to actually get going on their new year goals and resolutions instead of just talking about them they would begin to see an amazing shift take place. One thing is for certain if you are going to really crush it in 2015: You must take massive action! Less talking and more doing.

Related: 5 Things to Do Every Day in 2015 to Be a Better Entrepreneur

6. Let this be the year you let your mind work for you, not against you.

As hard as it may be at times, we fully control what goes into our minds and what we think about. Instead of letting your fears get the best of you or letting self-diminishing thoughts convince you that you are not capable, really work at what goes into your mind and what you think about. Come up with a routine that nourishes your mind and builds you up. Read the book As a Man Thinketh by James Allen to help get you started.

7. Hang around those who are doing better than you.

Take the time to analyze your relationships. As I say all the time, “Association is everything.” If you constantly surround yourself with others who aren’t doing big things then guess what? You won’t do big things. The weak and mediocre get jealous when they are surrounded by others who are doing better than them. Champions, on the other hand, love being in the presence of greatness. They not only admire other peoples’ success, they let it fuel them to be great themselves.

8. Create a personal growth plan.

Make 2015 all about your growth as an individual. I am a big believer that self-education is the best kind of education. Possibly nothing else could impact your life more in 2015 than creating a personal growth plan.

9. Stop the take-take mentality and operate out of the give-give mentality.

In business and in the game of life, always try to give more than you take. Be known as someone who gives freely and is always looking to serve others.

10. Create a sense of urgency!

Nothing gets on my nerves more than someone with a lack of urgency. Life is short, so live that way! If there if something you want to do, do it. If there is someone you love, tell them. If you have a passion, follow it. What a shame it would be if you missed out on something special all because of a lack of urgency. I see it happen all the time.  

I hope this year is the year everything changes for you. I hope this year is your best year yet. I hope this year is the year you absolutely crush it and end up changing your life and business forever. Don’t settle for average. Happy New Year!

Related: Want to Ace Your New Year's Resolutions? Remember, Attitude Is Everything.

Matt Mayberry

4 Simple Rules to Cut Down on 'Evil' Meetings

I hate meetings. I avoid them as much as possible. They bore me and all too often represent a colossal waste of time.

I am not alone in my thinking here, either. Management guru Peter Drucker felt the same way. Note his not-too-subtle take on the subject as stated in his classic work, The Effective Executive:

“Meetings are by definition a concession to deficient organization. For one either meets or one works. One cannot do both at the same time.”

Business meetings need to change -- like right now!

Related: How to Make Deathly Dull Meetings Fun Again

If I were running your meetings, I would implement these four rules immediately:

1. No end goal = no meeting

Every meeting should include a brief and clearly defined objective before ever getting scheduled and everyone attending the meeting should clearly understand this end goal. A goal indicates a bias for action, not merely a discussion. Everyone in attendance must agree to drive toward the goal as rapidly as possible.

2. Cut the planned meeting time in half

Determine how much time you need for the meeting and then divide it by two. Most 60-minute meetings I attend can easily be handled in 30. Give the meeting a firm time limit and watch everyone become amazingly efficient! (Shorter sentences, no unnecessary chatter, etc.)

Take this an extra step further by changing the default meeting duration in your Outlook or Google calendar from "60 minutes" to "30 minutes." Even better -- set it to "15 minutes"!

Related: The 7 Must-Know Rules of Productive Meetings

3. Limit the number of participants

The more people who attend a meeting, the more time wasted, and the harder it is to stay on target. (Think: “Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth!”) Meetings with two people are far more productive than those with three, etc., assuming they are theright people -- so send meeting invitations selectively!

Jeff Bezos famously adheres to the "two-pizza rule": Never hold a meeting where two pizzas can't feed the entire group. If you work in a larger company, consider adopting this as a rule of thumb going forward!

4. Absolutely no tangents

Someone must play the role of "enforcer" to keep the conversation on point at all times. Of course, this means establishing a clear outcome for the meeting to begin with. No one wants the role of conversation police, but someone has to do it. “I’m sorry -- that might be an important topic, but it’s not for this meeting.”

Meetings still exist, of course, as a necessary evil. But you can significantly diminish the evil while unleashing your team's productivity by implementing these four very simple rules.

Related: 3 Small, Doable Ways to Become Wildly More Productive 

Jeff Shore

4 Steps to the Most Productive 15 Minutes of Your Day

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you are trying to run on ice? You scramble and rush while feeling pressed for time and yet, you get nowhere fast.

I always feel shocked when I look at the clock after sitting at my desk for four hours and realize that I have not accomplished anything that really matters. It is amazing how busy one can feel without being actually productive.

Related: How Knowing Yourself Leads to More Productivity and Efficiency

What if I told you that you could accomplish more in 15 minutes than you often accomplish in an entire afternoon? It is the truth and it is possible. Productivity depends on one word: intentionality.

You can create productive time for yourself today. You can create a plan for it right this moment. Here’s how create the most productive 15 minutes in your day:

1. Block out a 15-minute chunk of time.

It doesn’t matter when or where -- you just need 15 minutes of completely uninterrupted time.

2. Determine the most powerful possible use of those 15 minutes.

No shuffling papers or pounding out emails. Go for quality. Follow the Stephen Covey model and choose “Quadrant II” activities (important but not urgent). Find something that will make a real impact but where no has a gun to your head to get it done.

Related: 10 Things Exceptionally Productive Entrepreneurs Do Every Day

I had my mastermind group complete this exercise recently and they came up with a variety of effective activities:

• One manager used the time to compose hand-written notes of appreciation.
• Another used the time to research a prospective client he would be meeting with later in the day.
• A third used those 15 minutes to plan out a killer date night for her and her husband.

3. Make that productive time holy.

This means no phone, no email, no Facebook, no distractions of any kind. You might want to leave your office (without your phone!) for this exercise. Otherwise, let others know that you are in a "do not disturb" zone: post a sign on your door that reads: “I cannot be disturbed. If you knock on this door, your hair better be on fire.”

4. Put your head down and power through.

No daydreams and no rabbit trails. This is all about being productive. Work as furiously as you can on the task at hand. Focus with everything you’ve got.

You will find that these 15-minute blocks of time are incredibly powerful and exceedingly productive. In fact, you will feel amazed at how much you get accomplished.

Set aside 15 minutes to achieve massively productivity every day. The habit of intentionality can change your world.

Related: How to Stop Wasting Time at Work                                           

Jeff Shore

Retrain Your Brain to Feel Confident About Public Speaking

Picture yourself sitting in an audience, listening to a presentation at a conference. The speaker on the low platform at the front of the room suddenly grabs a mic and says to the crowd, “To prove my point, I am going to need a volunteer.” He begins walking in your general direction.

How do you feel right now?

Some of you are thinking, “I feel great and I hope he picks me!” But perhaps you are one (of the majority) who is not feeling great. Does even imagining this scenario make you start sweating a little? Maybe when you have found yourself in this kind of position, you have applied the age-old "must check my phone and be fully focused on the most important message of my life" trick. 

Related: The Common Advice Barbara Corcoran and an Astronaut Used to Conquer Fear

Anything to avoid being put on the spot in public. If there was someone in the crowd asking for volunteers to leave right then to go get root canals, you would be the first one out of your seat. Anything to avoid Satan and his microphone!

The experience simulator

If your reaction to the idea of public speaking is fear and loathing, you are reacting according to what Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert calls the “experience simulator,” a function of your prefrontal cortex. This is the area of our brains where we play out versions of what might happen next in any given set of circumstances.

For a few lucky people, the experience simulator presents a positive scenario with an optimistic outlook. “Oh yes! I am going to grab that mic and I am going to look good.” But for most people, the experience simulator presents a train wreck with the corresponding message of “Oh no … he is going to pick me! I won’t know what to say! I am going to look like an idiot! I will never live this down!”

That’s the thing about the experience simulator: for most people, it is a worst-case scenario machine, churning out intense, movie-worthy "possibilities" at a ferocious rate. In other words, your own brain can be your own worst enemy.

Retraining your experience simulator

Public speaking worst-case scenarios that your brain can serve up include but are not limited to the following fears: stumbling over words, going completely blank, being laughed at by an audience, tripping, falling, passing out, wetting oneself, or most realistically of all, the fear of all of these things happening simultaneously. In reality, only the first of these possibilities is even remotely likely.

Related: 7 Communication Skills Every Entrepreneur Must Master

Yes, you might stumble on your words. Put the brakes on your brain right there. When was the last time you saw a speaker pass out or lose bladder control on stage? Be honest and reasonable and do not let your mind wander into possibilities that will simply not happen.

With your imagination in check, begin to retrain your experience simulator by focusing only on positive outcomes: the applause, the smiles, the encouragement, and most importantly, the impact your speaking will have on people’s lives. You have a message to share that will bless people around you. You are doing the world no favors by not sharing it.

Trust that people will hear your heart, even if you stumble on your words. Focus all of your thinking about speaking on your audience vs. on yourself. This retraining and re-focusing will radically change how you feel about public speaking.

In his (excellent) book, Stumbling on Happiness, Gilbert points out that the brain has a difficult time distinguishing reality from synthetic reality. In short, we can create synthetic positive scenarios in our brain by retraining our experience simulator. It all begins by keeping worst-case scenarios out and putting thoughts and images of positive outcomes in. Get inside your own head!

When you have a public-speaking opportunity (or when that speaker from the stage is heading straight towards you in order to make his point), focus your mind on the good you can bring to an audience and let that picture dominate your thoughts.

Grow your confidence, and you will change people’s world.

Related: The Deadliest Presentation Mistakes Anyone Can Avoid

Jeff Shore