Still Re-Training Your Employees? Is It A People Problem Or A Training Problem?

“Nothing will work unless you do” – John Wooden

So you trained this person at least six times on how to complete this report and it’s still not the way you want it? I didn’t say this out loud as I was really trying to listen to the issues one of the manager was having with her team. Apparently, she feels that she spends most of her time re-training people on things they should already know. I’ve heard these comments from managers before though. There is re-training on how to make proper phone calls, servicing customers, updating systems or using technology.

Throughout my career I had the opportunity to develop training programs, develop staff members and work on professional development with different groups. Currently, as part of the Leadership Build group, I have the blessing to lead corporate trainings for different companies in multiple industries and I hear the same comments from different managers from different organizations working in different industries. After hearing out the managers I typically ask this question: do you think this is a people problem or a training problem? Can you guess what the typical response is?

Most managers believe they did all they could to train a person or a group of people properly. They claim that they already “told” their team multiple times how to do it. Some might even claim that they specifically “showed” the group how to do something. However, many times, the problem isn’t the group being trained. How do I know this? I was one of those managers. Before giving any consultation, I always dig deeper to find out the root cause of this particular issue.

How Effective Is The Trainer?

Most managers are not trainers. Most managers are also not teachers. Most managers have never been taught how to train or how to teach. This doesn’t mean that there might be some managers that successfully train their team or lead their team, but it is very difficult to find a manager that can manage multiple tasks, lead a group of people, train them, coach them, meet all targets, be empathetic, meet all deadlines and think outside the box to improve a process. We are asking for a lot in managers.

Most of the companies I have worked with do not have a process to effectively evaluate the trainer. Most managers or trainers are left to figure out how to train their employees. Therefore, most managers might put a few powerpoint slides together, or decide to just stand in front of a room and talk. Talking is not training. An effective trainer facilitates the entire process, checking for understanding and has specific goals to achieve during the training. Did the trainer communicate well? Did the trainer show, taught, explained or discussed the content of the training? Was the trainer prepared? Did the trainer give specific examples? Many times, we don’t ask these questions to really understand how effective our trainers might be.

How Effective Is The Training Program?

Similarly, most internal training programs are not evaluated. Many companies do their own training and cross their fingers afterwards, expecting employees to perform per expectations. This might work in certain instances, but many companies I have consulted with struggle as their company grows. The tiny training given at the early stage of the company’s lifespan might have worked, but as the company and industry grow or change, the training requires more structure, standardization and quality. Recycling trainings year after year might not work at this point. These were three characteristics not thought of during the early stages of the company’s training.

Therefore, it is important to ask the efficacy of the training program. Notice that I included “program” after the word training. Most sports teams and successful corporations have a training academy or training program. Training is not a one-time thing. Is there follow up after the training? Was the training adaptive? Was there a reason the training was done in-person as opposed to online? Are we seeing results immediately following the training? Was everyone trained? Are there any learning gaps that might need to filled?

In the end, if you can positively answer all my questions throughout this article regarding your training and you know your trainer and the training program is effective (since you have seen positive results in the majority of the people trained), then maybe we can look at the people problem. Just remember: a heavy focus on developing your people will pay off.

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way. 

What In The World Is A 401k?

"When you retire you switch bosses from the one who hired you to the one who married you."
- Gene Perret

When I first began my career, I was ashamed to admit that I really didn't know what a 401k was. Although I did my undergrad in business, we never discussed retirement, finances, or personal budgeting. No professor ever did a lesson on 401ks, IRAs or investments. However, everyone was telling me that I needed to save for retirement and that I needed start my 401k. So what did I do? I began to do research and eventually took courses to understand what a 401k really is and what was the history behind it.

Later in life, I realized that I wasn't the only one that didn't know what in the world was a 401k. Many people don't really know what a 401k is and how it works, and many of them think that a 401k is the only option when it comes to retirement. My goal today is to give you a quick history of the 401k and detail more or less what it does. In the next few blogs I'll explain the different types of 401ks that exists so that you can make better decisions when choosing a plan and hopefully manage your 401k much better. Let's get started.

The Era of Pensions

The 401k actually has a short history. Before they existed, some companies offered a pension plan to their employees. The Center for Economic Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research believes that the old-traditional pensions would do much better now than the traditional 401k we have now. However, most workers in the private sector did not have a pension plan and according to the Center of Research on Retirement Income at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, most employees working in the private sector weren't working long enough with a single employer to qualify for a full pension. Now there are few employers that offer pension plans and the proportion of private workers participating in traditional pension plans is less than 20%, according to the Department of Labor. 

The Birth of the 401k

In 1978, after much debate between employers and the IRS, the Revenue Act of 1978 included a new section code which allowed employees to not be taxed on the portion of income they elect to receive as deferred compensation rather than as direct cash payments. This idea was introduced by Ted Benna, a benefits consultant for Johnson and Johnson and over the next few years the law went through different variations. Finally, the regulations were issued in November of 1981 and shortly after, companies like Johnson and Johnson were adapting 401k plans for their employees. This was called the Internal revenue Code (IRS) Sec. 401 (k). Many employers adopted the 401k plans simply because they were inexpensive.

The Evolution of the 401k

Originally, the traditional 401k plan only had two investing options: a conservative fund similar to a money market fund and a stock fund. That was it.  However, over the years the 401k plans seemed to have gotten more complicated. Many traditional 401k plans now offer more than 15 investment options 'depending on your style'. This becomes very confusing for an average employee who has no investment knowledge. In fact, it's confusing even for those that do have investment knowledge.

So, how does a 401k work and what types of 401k plans exist? That will be the topics of my following blogs. If you're interested in learning more about the history of 401k plans, or you just want to do a little bit more research yourself, please feel free to use the following resources:

The Surprising Origins of Your 401(k) - an article from Nasdaq.com

401(k) - Wikipedia

History of 401(k) Plans - an article from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)

401k Fallout - a 60 Minutes segment

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.

Keep The End In Mind: Remember Your Dreams

"Begin with the end in mind."
- Stephen Covey (author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People)

When I was a little kid, I used to love science. I use to look up at the sky and stare at the stars and the moon for hours. I owned a toy telescope and imagined that one day I would be an astronomer and would discover a meteor that I would name "Allen." By the time I got to college, I hated science. During my years at UC Riverside, I tried to avoid any science classes. My interests seemed to change as I got older.

One of my earliest blogs (Read What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?) discussed the difficulty many adults still have when deciding what they want to do in the near (or not so near) future. During the first financial planning session I have with my clients, I typically ask my clients what are their goals and many of them have difficulty answering me. During my upcoming blogs, I will continue to write about money, but will elaborate more on cash flow, retirement plans and investments. However, before I continue with the 'money discussion,' I want to make sure that we back up a little and think about our goals, our dreams.

A picture is worth a thousand words

"The first thing I want you to do," I ask my client (who we will call), William, during our first financial planning session, "is draw a picture of what your future will look like." I then give William a box of crayons and leave him alone for a few minutes. Williams gives me a look of disbelief, but moves forward with the assignment as soon as he realizes that I wasn't kidding. 

I recommend that everyone who read my blogs does the same assignment. Hang it on your fridge if you want to, but draw out what you envision your future looking like. If you have a spouse, I recommend that you and your spouse do this assignment separately, and then come together to discuss your picture. You will be surprised how the conversation about your future just 'never came up'. I see this all the time when I meet with couples.

What would you do with your time if money wasn't an issue?

Most people think their dreams are silly. After drawing their picture and explaining to me what they drew, they'll follow up with comments like "but this was just an assignment," or "these are just dreams, you said I can draw anything." Most people think their dreams are an impossible thing. They give up on their dream before they even begin dreaming. I say, keep dreaming and imagine money wasn't an issue. Strive to keep dreaming and don't forget that dream. You can overcome the 'money' obstacle if you really try, but you must believe that your dream is a possibility. As soon as you believe that your dream is a possibility, 'money' will no longer be an obstacle. 

Write down your goals

Many people keep their personal goals in their head and a few might share them with someone here and there. Write down your personal goals and I will guarantee that they will align with your financial goals. Most of the goals people write down have a dollar sign attach to it (i.e. traveling, buying a home, etc.). After you write down your goals, put a deadline on it. Napoleon Hill once said, "A goal is a dream with a deadline." Writing your goals will help you remember what your shooting for. 

There will be people that will help you along the way. There will be challenges you will face. There will be times when you feel you'll never get to the end result. Just keep believing in yourself, in your ability to make your dreams happen. Your ability to make your dreams come true are strongly tied to your will to make things happen and the will to believe in yourself.

Share your thoughts and good luck accomplishing your dreams. 

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.

How To Turn Your Cash Flow From Negative To Positive

"Discipline is doing what you know needs to be done, even though you don't want to."
- Unknown

Yesterday, I began to tell my story (Read How I Survived With $11 In My Pocket). Let me pick up where I left off...

So I finally got a job and things started to look a lot better. However, if you remember the story, I was still deep in debt, I received a lawsuit, shortly after a sheriff came to my office to let me know that my wages were going to be garnished, and I still had some bill collectors calling me consistently. 

It took me a few years to get out of this financial hole. This is not easy to do, but yet I was able to do it and I wanted to share the two main ways I was able to turn things around. At the time, I felt as though i was living paycheck to paycheck and most of my money went to paying bills, debt and other people with little or no money staying in my bank account. I had negative cash flow every single month for years. This is how I eventually got out. 

Sacrifice
I used to hate the word sacrifice. It pretty much means that you give up things that you like. Most people kind of want to change their situation, but they don't really want to do anything about it. Most people worry that they're in a financial hole but they don't want to give up anything to get out. I'm sorry to put it this way, but the most effective way to get out of a financial hole is by committing to sacrifices.

In order to prioritize my life and financial goals I gave up quite a few things that were not easy to give up. For five years I didn't own a television. This meant that I also didn't have cable. I had to be content with the car that I drove that was falling apart. I drove that car until (literally) the wheels fell off. For three years I didn't have a bed, just two mattresses on the floor. Beds are expensive and so are cars. If you add up the total amount you would spend on a TV and on monthly cable, it also begins to be expensive to have those luxuries. The phone I had was never new. In fact, I was trying to downgrade at one point but T-Mobile wouldn't let me. I bought clothes maybe once or twice a year and tried to take care of them so that they would last me for five more years. I also gave up going out so much so I can save a little on gas and dining out.

Discipline
As I mentioned before, none of this was easy. Most people feel that they need to reward themselves immediately after they receive a paycheck. Some people I know spend half of their paycheck the Friday they get paid. 

If you really think about it, I didn't have enough money left over (positive cash flow) to buy a new TV. Most people buy things with money they don't really have. I strategically put money aside every month for the bigger goals in life. For over four years I tracked my income and expenses on a spreadsheet (until I learned about mint.com three years ago.) Every month, I sat down for hours to look at where I needed to cut, what other sacrifices I needed to make and stuck to my plan. I also made sure that if I had money, I didn't spend it. the biggest discipline I attained was the ability not to spend money when I had it. I read tons of books and articles about managing expenses, investments, getting out of debt, how to save, how to develop better habits, how to become more disciplined, time management, all read to help me achieve my goals. I read (or listened to) a book every month. I read articles every single week. I forced myself to wake up earlier every morning although I convinced myself in college that I wasn't a morning person. I even gave up french fries for 9 months and eventually became vegetarian. People ask me why I became vegetarian and my simple answer is that I just wanted to see how long I could do it. It's now been five years. 

Throughout this experience, the money I made had nothing to do with me getting out of a hole (read Why How Much Money You Make Doesn't Matter). It was truly the discipline I developed and the sacrifices that I made that eventually helped me reach my goals. What was the end result? Now, I have a TV ( and I do have cable but I just bought it to watch the World Cup games - I'm about to cancel it) and a better car. However, I'm more proud of the fact that I have no loans, no credit cards, positive cash flow and I have been able to reward myself lately with trips to Hawaii, Cancun and Orlando. It also takes discipline to reward yourself at the end. 

Warren Buffet once said, "The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging." Can you stop digging?

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.

Interested In Improving Your Monthly Cash Flow? Follow These 5 Steps...

"Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving."

 - Warren Buffet

Yesterday, I wrote about the concept of Cash Flow (read Why How Much Money You Make Doesn't Matter). For those of you that might not have had the time to read my blog and are in the dark of what Cash Flow is, let me quickly explain it. Cash Flow is what you have left over when you calculate what you earn (i.e. your income) against what you spend. Your monthly Cash Flow might be positive or negative depending if you make more money than what you spend or you spend more money than what you make on  a monthly basis. 

If you think that I'm going to give the top five secrets on how to make more money or how to reduce your expenses, you are wrong. Realistically, yes, there are only two ways to increase your Cash Flow: Either you have more money coming in or you have less money coming out. Instead of going over how to make more money or how to spend less, I decided to go over something a lot more valuable. 

Before I continue, I definitely wanted to let you know that in no way do I currently have a crazy amount of positive monthly Cash Flow. Although my monthly Cash Flow is consistently positive, it's important to note that for many years my monthly Cash Flow was consistently in the red. I share this with you because I hope to encourage you a bit more. I hope that you feel as though your situation is not unique and that things can turn around just like they did for me. Below are five things I wanted to share about how I was able to turn my monthly Cash Flow from negative to positive.

Enjoy The Hard Work
People are always looking for a quick way to make money. They prefer to hear the stories of someone who won the lottery and became rich instantly instead of the true stories of those who have worked hard with their blood, tears and sweat to become wealthy over a course of many, many years. Most successful people that I know never got rich immediately. It was their hard work that paid off. They happily worked more than 60 hours a week to move up the ladder in their company. They worked tirelessly day and night because they opened up their own restaurant and they had no time to sleep. In fact, I met a guy at a conference once who said he's working hard because he doesn't like to work. His goal was to retire by age 35. Hard work will pay off. Enjoy the ride. 

Get Educated
If this is the only blog you read, then you're in trouble. Most people think of education as a plan to go to a university and get a degree. However, you can almost learn anything through books and now that we have YouTube, you can practically learn how to do anything on YouTube. Be proactive. Learn about controlling your expenses. Learn about how to accomplish your goals. Learn about investing, how to play the guitar, how to sing, whatever it is, but learn. A few years ago I decided to read a book every month. That type of education was relatively cheap and it helped me learn more about improving my Cash Flow. 

Give More
You're probably thinking, "Wait a minute...if I give more, how will I be able to keep more of my cash flow?." It's the law of life. I'm just not talking about money, but anything that you might have that you can share or give to others. Give your time to someone in need, or give more time to spend with your children. Give your heart to more people and you will see how it will open up doors you never knew existed. Even during times of struggle, I tried to give what I could to others. I had no money to give to anyone at the time, but I gave away my knowledge by volunteering to teach kids how to play mariachi music. I also tutored kids and got shrimp tacos in return. Eventually, everything worked out for the best. Give. 

Make Better Decisions
Most people would rather not think about money and convince themselves that money isn't important. They base their decision on this philosophy and they find themselves struggling consistently to make ends meet. A spontaneous trip to Vegas means nothing to them although they might have spent $800 on the trip that they are now trying to work hard to make up for. Eating out every day and spending almost $900 a month on fast food doesn't matter, right? Take responsibility. Start now. Put down your phone as you read this blog and start making changes immediately. 

Believe
Nothing is impossible in this life. Most people get discouraged because they 'don't make enough money.' Others decide that it's impossible to become as wealthy as the people they see on TV. Your mentality is half the battle. If you think the worse will happen, then it will. If you don't believe in yourself, then why should anyone believe in you? If you truly want to change your situation around, whether it's a financial struggle or something else, you must believe that it is possible. Don't defeat yourself before you try. You'll be surprised how strong you are inside and how believing can come a long way.

This article might not have been what you expected, but I felt I would be doing you a disservice if I continued to give you tips that you wouldn't put into action. Do you really want to change things around or is it just a nice thought? As I mentioned before, half of the battle is setting your mind to it. The other half is really just doing something about it. 

Was this blog helpful? Please share your comments. 

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way.

A Deeper Look Into Our Habits

"Successful people are simply those with successful habits."

 - Brian Tracy

Last week, I disclosed some results from a study that compared the habits of the rich and poor. I wanted to spend some time going over these results and giving everyone more insight into the numbers and what this all really means. 

"I maintain a daily to-do list" 
The rich have the tendency to have a set plan for the day and follow the plan as closely as possible. Many of us might have one or two things to do for the day, and we might get lucky if we accomplish one of those things. 67% of the rich complete at least 70% of their daily tasks. 

"I love reading"
Although 86% of the rich love to read, they don't like to read for pleasure. 88% of the rich read self-improvement books at least 30 minutes a day. The rich heavily focus on improving their skills, their business, their finances and their happiness. Only 2% of the rich read self-improvement books more than 30 minutes a day. 63% of the rich actually listen to audiobooks during their commute to work, whereas only 5% of the poor listen to audiobooks. The rich strategically use their time to improve, even if it's in the car. 

"I do more than my job requires"

A job is just a job - right? Well, the mental aspect of what we do many hours a week is crucial for our daily lifestyle. 86% of the rich work an average of 50 hours or more a week, compared to 43% of the poor who work as much. Yet, when surveyed, only 6% of the wealthy individuals found that they were unhappy because of work. 

"I focus on my goals every day"
Goals are one of the key differentiators between the rich and poor. Remember - a goal is not a wish. It is not something that you hope will happen but something that you need to make happen.  Interestingly enough, 67% of the rich put their goals in writing.  The wealthy set daily, monthly and annual goals. 

"I watch reality shows on TV"
Looking deeper into this comment, I found out that 67% of the rich spend one hour or less a day watching TV! No wonder they don't watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The rich don't watch TV because they're against it, they would just rather use their time doing something more productive and they don't think much about watching TV. Instead, they created a daily habit of reading. 

"I play the lottery regularly"
The rich decided not to play the lottery, not because they don't want to risk their money on the jackpot, but because they would rather not rely on luck. Besides, most people that win the lottery lose their money within a few years after hitting the jackpot. Instead, the rich spend their time building their knowledge and taking other risks with their businesses, purchasing businesses, taking over investments and managing risks. 

In the end, no matter what you want to do in life, many of what we succeed or fail to do will be determined by our daily habits. Where are you spending your time? With who? Are there any habits you need to get rid of or be more consistent with? Share your thoughts.

Don't forget to share this blog so you can encourage others: family, co-workers, friends. Give them something to get motivated! You never know what they might be going through. A few words of encouragement can go a long way. 

Do you have what it takes to be wealthy?

"We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." 

- Aristotle 

I recently ran into an info graphic (see below) about the habits of the world's wealthiest people. We sometimes fool ourselves in believing that there is a "reason" why someone is rich and we're not. We convince ourselves that we can't possibly do what they did so we never try. However, one way to begin is by breaking our bad habits and creating new ones that might be closely aligned to those that are successful. 

What bad habits do you need to break? What habits of the wealthy can you incorporate immediately?

Don't Wait Any Longer! 5 Strategies That Will Help You Accomplish Your Goals

Earlier this week I ran into a friend I haven't seen in a while. We told jokes, reminisced and joked some more. We then discussed our plans for the future. During the middle of our conversation my friend gives me a sheet of paper with his writing on it and it lists the following:

Lose 15 lbs.

Save up $ to buy a house

Go back to school

Learn how to play the piano

Learn Spanish

Give guitar lessons

Travel to Europe

"This is great!" I respond after looking at the list. "The first step to accomplishing your resolutions is to write them down!"

"Actually..." my friend says with a bit of disappointment, "this is a list I wrote back in 2009. I've kept it because every year I tell myself I'm going to finally accomplish those seven things. I've only accomplished a some of it. I lost 2lbs."

It's been a week since 2014 began. If you made goals for yourself, you probably really want to fulfill them. However, have you already pushed back your goals because you don't have the 'time'? Have you convinced yourself that it's better to start tomorrow? Or have you already convinced yourself that it's 'not that bad' if you don't meet those goals?

There are goals that I haven't met yet but there are many that I've accomplished. Here are some strategies that have helped me accomplish some of those goals and how they might help you as well:

1. Surround yourself around people that will motivate you. Most people feel as though the first thing they need to do when trying to meet certain goals is to schedule a day to start. However, I suggest taking a different approach. First, start with talking to someone who you know will pump you up so much that after talking to them you suddenly realized you signed up for a gym membership. Make it a priority to talk to that person who will lift you and will encourage you to reach your goals.You want your motivation to be higher than 100%. Don't surround yourself around negative people or someone who will just drag you down.

2. Take advantage of your momentum. Once you get into the groove of things, take advantage of it. Make the momentum worthwhile and last as long as you can. If you're learning how to play an instrument, don't stop now! Listen to more music, watch YouTube videos about your instrument, but keep going. 

3. Celebrate the small victories. Sometimes we think it's silly to celebrate when we lose one pound. Are you kidding? That calls for a party! Be proud of that pound because that is one pound closer to your goal! Things don't happen overnight so enjoy the ride and celebrate. However, if one of your goals is to lose wait, you might not want to celebrate with a Twinkie like I have done in the past. Celebrate in a way that won't disrupt your progress.

4. Find ways to stay motivated. After a few days, or weeks, temptation kicks in. You feel like you want to take a break or just stop for one day. The adrenaline has worn off and you start to convince yourself that 'at least you got that far.' Getting that far is not your goal. Meeting your goal is your goal. If your motivation is at 10% then find a way to get motivated! Go back to step one or find the one or two things that will get you self-motivated. Do those things immediately. If you wait too long, you lose momentum, you lose motivation and you lose sight of the goal you wanted to accomplish. 

5. Share your progress. As you continue to push yourself to reach your goal share it with someone. My recommendation is to share it with someone who either (a) cares or (b) will encourage you to keep going. Be careful of sharing it with someone who might respond with a "that's it?" or a "well, I already surpassed your goal." Even sharing it on Facebook or through your social networks might get you a few likes or words of encouragement that will help you keep going.

It's been a week since 2014 started. Let's start with step one. What's your motivation level? 10%? 20%? Who is motivating you?