Donna Highfill
  • Home
  • About
    • About Donna
    • What People Are Saying
    • My Other Blogs
      • Dame Nation Blog
      • Huffington Post
  • Services
    • Power Up BUSINESS
    • Coaching
  • Books and Tools
  • Blog
    • Fave Products
  • Contact Me

Google, Oz, and the Power of High Touch

AndrewBlog1 commentJanuary 21, 2011

Photo from mylot.com

Imagine that Dorothy and friends have just completed their incredible assignment of elminating the Wicked Witch of the East. Returning to the Emerald City, they link arms and smile as the little trouble-maker Toto skips behind them carelessly.

They stand before Oz, who is busy pulling levers and trying to create his next magical moment. They tell him that they’ve succeeded in their mission, and they’re ready for their balloon ride home, their heart, their brain, and their courage.

He doesn’t even turn around. He tells them in a muffled voice that they already have all of those things. He hands Dorothy a set of instructions for the ruby alippers, and tells the Lion, Scarecrow and TinMan that their respective awards will be sent via interoffice mail.

They walk out of the palace with the answers they need, but no sense of accomplishment or recognition.

In a recent blog about Google’s new CEO, author Peter Cohan says that one of Google’s top three challenges is a “disappointing work environment.” According to his research, “Google does a mediocre job of rewarding talented people — it seems to stack up talent without tapping fully its potential . . . While Google employees work in small teams, teamwork is not rewarded.”

Yes, even King Google fails to tap the people who work for them. We bow at the alter of project plans, while failing to thank somebody for the long hours they put into their jobs so that project could live and breathe in the three-dimensional world called life.

Every year sales trips are coveted because a few people actually get recognized for their hard work. However, it’s usually the same top salespeople that get recognized every year, eliminating any motivation for all of the staff people and others that helped them succeed.

If leaders don’t stop ignoring the emotional, motivational needs of their people they are going to need a lot more magical levers to keep their companies afloat. Leaders need to:

  • Demand fewer Powerpoint deck updates and ask for more stories that involve the people making the project work.
  • Turn away from all computers and Blackberry beeps and bells, and look at the person who has just walked into their office.
  • Remember that the difference between mailing somebody recognition and handing it to them is the power of high touch.

Even though Dorothy and friends already had what they sought, the Wizard still looked them in the eye and congratulated them on making the journey. That high touch moment is what made each of them believe in themselves.

Tags: Change, change management, donna highfill, featured, highfill performance group, motivation

Related Articles

Destructive Floods and Leadership

March 22, 2010Andrew

3 Ways Change Proves Chicken Little is Alive and Well

February 1, 2012Andrew

Breaking Up with “I Can’t”

June 29, 2015Donna Highfill

1 comment. Leave new

Tweets that mention Google, Oz, and the Power of High Touch | Highfill Performance Group -- Topsy.com
January 21, 2011 2:36 pm

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Donna Highfill, Donna Highfill. Donna Highfill said: Google, Oz, and the Power of High Touch: Photo from mylot.com Imagine that Dorothy and friends have jus… http://tinyurl.com/4fd3ezd […]

Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn How to Tell a Better Story and Achieve Success!

Sign up below to receive 48 FREE Energizing Messages.

Connect with Me

Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest

Recent Posts

  • A Cab Driver Who Appeared as if from Nowhere
  • Here’s Some Honesty For You
  • Laughter is My Hero
  • A New Year in Old Clothes
  • Why I Will Face the Fall

CHECK OUT MY BOOK

highfillcover

As a leader, do you implement change only to watch the projects, processes and initiatives stall because you can’t get the people driving them to change? In my new book Real People, Real Change: Stories of a Change Warrior in the Business World I share real stories to illustrate how leaders can move people to action.

Archives

Where Donna Will Be Speaking Next

  • April 22, 2015 - SunTrust Women's Networking Group
  • April 23, 2015 - SunTrust Women's Networking Group
  • May 12, 2015 - LPGA Championship, Kingsmill, Williamsburg VA
  • May 21, 2015 - Education Association of Fundraising Professionals, Eerie, PA

Certified_hi-res

mbti_certified
huffbadge

Learn How to Tell a Better Story and Achieve Success!

Sign up below to receive 48 FREE Energizing Messages.

Recent Posts

  • A Cab Driver Who Appeared as if from Nowhere August 9, 2017
  • Here’s Some Honesty For You March 16, 2017
  • Laughter is My Hero January 10, 2017

Contact Me

804-370-6665
[email protected]
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright
  • About Donna
  • Contact Me
Copyright Donna Highfill 2014