In celebration of the release of The Power of Your Past, John will be leading a complimentary teleseminar on Thursday, April 21^st at 5:30 PM Pacific time (8:30 PM Eastern). Whether your top priorities right now are personal or professional in nature, join John for what will be a thought-provoking and inspiring conversation.

Special Note: If you buy the book on April 13th, all the proceeds go to Whole Child International. To sign up for the free teleseminar and to learn more about John Schuster and Whole Child International, simply click right here.

In a recent New York Times article, Samuel Culbert elegantly skewered the entire concept of Performance Reviews.

As Professor Culbert puts it:

“In my years studying such reviews, Iíve learned that they are subjective evaluations that measure how ìcomfortableî a boss is with an employee, not how much an employee contributes to overall results. They are an intimidating tool that makes employees too scared to speak their minds, lest their criticism come back to haunt them in their annual evaluations.”

And Google has been doing a deep dive into their effectiveness too. Their key discovery: the top three reasons people leave Google (and likely, or any other company) are: (1) They donít feel a connection to the mission of the company, or sense that their work matters. (2)†They donít really like or respect their co-workers. (3) They have a terrible boss ó and this was the biggest variable.

But if Performance Management Systems†are generally so ineffective, what should we do in their place?

Here are some general tips for reinventing this entire process:

1. Announce a Clear New Direction: declare your intention to introduce an entirely new approach to “people management” which will become a system-wide commitment to “inspiration”. Starbucks did this when Howard Schulz returned as the CEO to reinvent the future of the company. That means “A Changed Starbucks.† A Changed C.E.O.“.
2. Abolish the Entire Existing System - don’t tweak.† This is a lesson brilliantly learned by Microsoft when they ditched their old buggy Windows Mobile 6.0 software and started from scratch to invent Windows Phone 7.0 - now the best operating system in wireless telephony – better than Android and better than the iPhone and light years ahead of Blackberry. That’s what we should aspire to here – a new system that is significantly better than the one it replaces.
3. Create a Conversation Among Peers. The reasons people abhor the Performance Review process is because they are†often autocratic, top-down, †subjective, critical, judgmental, demeaning, intimidating and painful.† So let’s build something that aspires to be the opposite: caring, other-centered, focused on personal growth and development, in tune with personal aspirations as well as corporate objectives (which, at The Secretan Center we call “attunement”)[1]. In other words, make it a mutual dialogue of shared interests, which seeks to heal and mend and grow relationships, create possibilities and inspire both parties. The key question to ask is, “How may I serve you?”
4. Remove Fear: Make it clear that the purpose of the Conversation is not to punish, appraise, evaluate, set compensation or assess promotional prospects. There will be no recriminations or repercussions from the conversation.† Its sole purpose is to seek understanding and to clarify aspirations, hopes and dreams and to create a plan to collaborate together in a way that realizes them. Make it safe to tell the truth – in both directions – something that rarely happens in traditional performance reviews.
5. Remove Metrics: Believing that there is any science in all of this is absurd. It is an art – and it can be taught. Focus on metrics that are agreed by each party and use only those to assess progress in the discussions. This means that all Attunement Conversations are personal and individual, custom-designed to fit the needs of each person.
6. Timing: Eliminate “annual reviews” and replace them with regular conversations. Inspiring conversations about dreams, possibilities, goals and growth should be frequent, and structured, and part of the ongoing relationship between managers and their employees. This removes the fear and dread of anticipation that comes from “annual” inquisitions.
7. Train and Coach: Leaders will need to be educated in a system-wide review of the new process.† Central to this training and coaching will be a raised level of respect for each other, and a commitment to be inspiring in the process.

To learn more about dismantling the reviled Performance Appraisal processes in your organization and how to reinvent a new model, please see the “Torch” section of my new book The Spark, the Flame, and the Torch.

[1] Attunement: being or bringing into harmony; a feeling of being “at one” with another being

Today, she launches her new book The MAP: Finding the Magic and Meaning in the Story of Your Life.† In this excellent work, she points out that we all†have a powerful personal map that reveals our lifeís journey and she shows us how to†plot points on this map to discover all the archetypal landscapes we have been throughóthe plains of pain, mountains of joy, mirages, beautiful oases, wastelands, and moreóthe reader becomes the mapmaker with the ultimate capacity to shape their own destiny.

When Colette first began working as an intuitive counselor some 22 years ago, she help my wife and I make dramatic shifts by encouraging us to envision our lives as a Map and look at the details of our inner landscapes. Since that time, Colette has worked with over 33,000 clients using this process and has helped many achieve remarkable inner and outer transformations. These discoveries and successes led to the design of the MAP described in her new book, The Map: Finding the Magic and Meaning in the Story of Your Life!

With The Map, Colette shows you how to use the magic of metaphors to delve into the most profound aspects of your subconscious, the places within you that light the way to lasting change. As you discover the details of your inner landscapes, you can transform negative experiences from your past or present. Whatís more, you can also choose to navigate to a desirable location on this interior map, to a place where youíll find joy, excitement, balance, and serenity. Change where you are on the inside and the emotions and qualities you experience internally will†take form in your everyday life.

My life work is about creating inspiring lives and inspiring corporations, which, in turn, can†lead to an inspiring world.† Colette has added a great gift to this cause by writing this book.

On the other hand, perhaps it is time for us to catch up to the Internet age.† Here is the new reality:† There are NO secrets anymore. See the Huffington Post.

If you lie on your resume, you will be exposed.† If you plagiarize someone else’s work, you will hear about it. If you send a libelous e-mail to a friend, you may find yourself in court.†If you gossip on Facebook expect to be challenged. † The Internet is our new conscience.† There is nowhere to hide anymore.† State secrets will find their way into the public domain no matter how many safeguards are put in place.

This suggests that we are vulnerable.

But another way of looking at all this is that we have entered a new era of transparency that requires†a new way of conducting ourselves – personally, organizationally, politically and nationally.†† The more open we are about†our motives and intentions, the more others will trust us. Less suspicion will lead to greater collaboration in pursuit of the good of the whole.

It suggests that we need to follow a new rule – Never say or write anything that you wouldn’t want your mother,†your best friends, or even your enemies, to know. If it is something that improves the world, you will be loved for it.† If it is something that harms the world, you will be pilloried for it.

So we are back to basics really – not just the Golden Rule (Always treat others as you would like them to treat you), but the Platinum Rule: “Always treat others as they would like to be treated”.† The Internet may be new, but the rules for creating an inspiring world, and being an inspiring leader, are as old as time.

Things are so bad, the government has decided to level the playing field and go to bat for customers. How did we get to a place where the government (that paragon of customer service!) has to wade in on behalf of customers, a third of whom, according to recent research, receive unexpected charges on their monthly wireless bills?

My grandchildren tell me this is a North American problem – in Europe, the cost of phones is so low it would make North Americans cry.

Why don’t we do this:

1. Switch the†emphasis from meeting the needs of the carriers to meeting the needs of customers.

2. Eliminate all multiple charging and fee systems – just one rate that includes everything.† No need to check your bill, there are no details.† Flat fee – plain and simple.

3. If you don’t like your carrier, change – no restrictions.† If†I don’t like the company that services my car, I don’t have to buy a new car in order to change my service provider.

In other words, let’s make the cell phone the inspiring miracle of technology and social connection that it is and invite the wireless industry to set an example by being†the kinds of companies that†we are all longing for – in every industry.