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Tasco 119215 Camera Review

2010 Tasco 5MP 16 count Red Flash Camera Review

This camera is just a handful measuring 5 X 4 X 2 inches. We had this camera during the summer to do some prerelease work and found it basically not functional. When it became available I had it on the list of cameras we would test this year. The order arrived and we went through the initial inspection and right off we found that the good old boys failed to include the proper manual and sent a manual for a completely different camera. There are some simple incomplete instructions inside the door in faint 1/32 inch print. Next we attempted install the four AA cells to begin the programming. This did not go well. We have seen this exact same problem two times before. The battery box is more in tune with the Chinese sized AA cells which are a bit shorter. We were able to install the batteries but with great effort. The battery box was warped out of shape at the bottom. After a whole lot of effort we determined that the camera so far is not functional and does not work. Not holding the program when batteries are pulled is another issue. I have pulled it back down and am going to go through it about 4 AM in the morning with a very good cup of coffee and some special analyzing tools to see if I can get this camera to start sensing and taking pictures. These Superior Optics cameras are all about the same so I may be able to get it going.

Two long hours of meddling with this camera I finally was able to get it to work. When I say �work� I mean it does work but not well and without all the proper documentation and nothing on the web site I was on my own to figure it out. This is a little greener than a BTC and a bit smaller. The finish is non reflective and should be easy to hide. Latch pins are stable and did not seem to drift out of place with use. The seal is continuous and well in place. Inside the door is a small rubber foam block to hold the batteries in place but due to the tightness I have to use a tool to get them out. The warped compartment causes the door to drag a little at the bottom when opening and closing. I tried to reshape the battery contact area so this was not a problem. The front of the cam has a small panoramic (wide angle) PIR sensor at the top and the lens is just below that, The IR array and function indicator is at the bottom front. A small lock loop on the door is the only security. The back of the camera just has the belt loops for mounting. There is a USB cable in the box which may indicate that there might be internal memory. Without the documentation we do not know this but will probably test it though this cam does not appear to work if the card is not installed. It could also be used maybe to view pictures if there is no card reader on the owners PC. The only other thing in the package was the strap.

This is a basic camera but it will do video we assume because it appears on the menu. It is rated at five MP with a low option which could mean two different resolutions for pictures and maybe two different video resolutions. This is just a guess by going by the limited menu and the way it is displayed. The box indicates that the time/date and moon phase is displayed on the images and the max card size is 1 gig. It also says that an extra wide strap is provided to help prevent theft; hmm I wonder how that is going to work? Video option is pre set to 14 seconds in length. PIR sensing is supposed to be out to 35 feet. My testing this morning at 75 degrees was very hard to trigger at 18 feet but did a little better at ten feet. Walk tests seem to indicate that it may have a decent trigger time if the camera will sense. This time of year with the temperatures being so high the PIR function becomes weak but at a 20 degree difference between displayed body heat and a 75 degree background it should still function fairly well. Two hours on the un official trigger test bench and the results were zero. I could not get the camera to trigger even one time. The sensing seems to be broken. I have about 10 hours invested so far and very little results. It looks like this unit is going to have the same end result as the pre production camera and end up with out a review. I am going to take this to Anthony for a day but I feel we will close this review. We had one other fellow on our forum that gave his a day before returning it due to dissatisfaction. Before I could make the trip Anthony showed up here with an arm load of cameras and we took on the task of re evaluating this camera again. Going back to basics we took a 512 Scan Disk card and formatted it in the camera again and went through the program to insure that it was correct. We did get some results this time and now we figure that this camera may be partial to certain cards. As of now we could get it to only work with this one card. Further test will be done to see if other cards will work. The 4 other brands I have here would not work. The format procedure in the menu is also very questionable and does not always seem to take for some reason. Anyway it looks like we are again on our way and may be able to work our way a little way further before we forced to install it at the 100 yard line on the rifle range if it quits again. Another couple hours and we have determined that the rebuild this morning evidently saved the patient. The cam will now take the 1 gig cards we normally use and appear to have normal function now. The delay period can be set all the way down to 5 seconds (not recommended to go below that) which makes this cam kick Moultrie butt all day. The day range and 8 plate analysis tells us the color tones are close to nature and not saturated. They are not too bad for the price and above average compared to some other more expensive cams tested this year. Back to what we felt would be another hair pulling cam cussing trigger analysis and we are still cussing a little and we have to go back once we find out why this camera is giving us the results we are seeing. There appears to be a reverse in day/night times. The day trigger seems to be as much as a second more than the night with flash times which is normally the other way around but not by that amount of time.

Going back over all the notes and findings so far and I see a pattern of short periods of function followed by long periods of non function. We discussed this and were trying to figure why the formatting in the camera would work but not consistently. Then all of a sudden the camera worked with most all the 1 gigs we had. Further examination and the fact that it all of a sudden began to appear to have normal function led us to another area. This is the SD card slot, which was very stiff and hard to take the card when it came out of the box. We have had this happen before and function at first is intermittent and then greatly improved with use. This would also explain the difficulties during programming because the camera must see the SD card in order to begin function and programming. Further tests show that this camera does act like it has some type of light metering going on. If this is not aligned (in the firmware) correctly it tends to throw trigger times off when put under certain conditions, much like what we had happen with one of the top of the line cameras this last month. We are setting up now to see if there is a way around the previous trigger results. We had to pull out our special light metering system to get this cam to settle down. During regular lighting when the cameras light metering does not have to work the camera will have a trigger time of 1.6 seconds. If the light conditions force the metering to work conditions then the trigger times can be stretched over two seconds. We were able to provide those conditions and record repeatable tests of this fact. This is a firm ware bug and will eventually have to be addressed. Tasco should not feel bad because the Reconyx did the same but not out past the one second mark. We will just have to say that most of the time this camera will have under two second trigger time.

07-11-2010 update: Flash range was somewhat weak for the 16 emitters but some detail could be seen in the center at 40+ feet. The sensing was 55 feet at a little over 80 degrees. The eight plate had pretty good detail at a 200% zoom so that says that photo editing would work if more detail was needed at a greater distance. The performance of this cam started off pretty rocky but now that the card slot has settled down we are starting to see a degree of steady performance that in areas is weak but still somewhat functional. We do like the delay time feature on this priced camera.

07-12-2010 update: About dark we ran out of steam so we just stuck this cam on a stand with the hopes of getting our first examples of actual field pictures. We pulled the card at noon today and we did manage to capture a few. First off we see that this camera wants to stay in the day mode and not switch to night. We had a number of pictures that were color but black with some detail of the animal. The ones from the filtered sunlight through the canopy were somewhat fuzzy but readable. Color tones were not over blown. The night flash seems to do a fair job out around 25 feet as long as the animal was pretty well centered. The description we have heard in the past was �tunnel flash� where the array fails to spread the light and just shoots right down the center. We are coming closer to what I had earlier stated. This camera does work but just not very well in some areas except delay which seems to work just fine.

07-13-2010 update: After a hard fought battle to get this far we are going to pull this camera and end the review. There are some nice things we liked about this camera but the negatives so far with the black pictures and other marginal functions are just too much to keep on burning hours on a camera that has this amount of problems.

See the best equipment for hunters  MOULTRIE ALL IN ONE TIMER KIT

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Choosing the Most Reliable Manufacturers

Getting a  door opener (for example: MIGHTY MULE FM200 ) isn’t a quick and easy decision that can be made overnight, it’s one that takes time and research in order to know that you have chosen the right one for you. By just going out and buying any old garage door opener is a bad idea as you could spend a fortune for the door to experience problems and ultimately break on you.

In this article we wanted to guide you through some of the best garage door opener brands so when you come to pick one for your garage you can have the peace of mind that you have chosen one that is reliable, long-lasting and does the job you need it to do without any hassle.

With any garage door though, remember that they do need maintenance and cleaning throughout the season. Keeping your door opener in good shape just helps it last that little bit longer. Without further ado here are the bet garage door opener brands on the market at the moment.

Chamberlain Premium

If you hear the words garage door opener then the first name that comes to mind if Chamberlain as they seem to dominate the industry with outstanding reviews. The Premium model of garage door opener in particular comes out on top with its advanced backup power source which you don’t find in many other models on the market.

Aside from lock mode, manual release, infrared beam and motion detector lights the Chamberlain Premium unit also comes with a control panel and keyless entry pad.

The second model that springs to mind when talking about Chamberlain is the Ultra Quiet garage door opener which has 1/2 horsepower and a belt lifting system. The only drawback with this model is that its maximum lifting capacity is 300lbs where other models in the industry offer 550lbs.

Liftmaster 8550

In at second we have the Liftmaster brand which is another popular garage door opener that is recommended by many people across the country. The Liftmaster 8550 in particular offers the same design features and spec as the Chamberlain Premium, including a backup power source, and a timer-to-close function that allows you to set a certain time period before the garage door closes automatically behind you.

All the major security features are present on this model, including rolling code, automatic reverse (in case any obstruction should get in the way of the door as it begins to close), and a manual release feature.

The only major drawback with the Liftmaster 8550 is that it doesn’t contain a keyless entry pad like the two Chamberlain models that we mentioned in the first section of this article.

Craftsman ¾ HP Chain Drive

In at third are Craftsman and their chain drive operating garage door opener which is slightly cheaper than the belt operated ones but does lack home automation compatibility through MyQ and Homelink. It does however pack ¾ Horsepower and has a 550lbs lifting capacity which makes this one of the best chain driven garage door openers on the market at the moment.

There won’t be any backup power source to this model, or a timer-to-close feature because of the nature of the product but you can expect a keyless entry pad, a 3 button remote control and a control panel.

You will also benefit from all the great safety and security features that we have mentioned in the other brands, such as automatic reverse, rolling code and lock modes.

Genie QuietLift 800

Genie have developed a number of different garage door openers and the belt and chain versions are definitely up there with the rest of them. The QuietLift 800 is the belt version of their garage door openers and this model boasts HomeLink and Car2U compatibility, with a maximum lift capacity of 350lbs and ½ horsepower. The ChainLift 800 version also sports the same features in its design-build.

The only missing safety and security features on both models of Genie that you do find on most other products is the motion detector lights so if this is an important part of a garage door opener for you then they aren’t part of the package.

2 remote controls are includes, both version have 3 buttons but only the QuietLift 800 boasts that keyless entry pad system. The only other knock backs with these two Genie garage door opener systems is that the motor warranty lasts for 10 years (the Chamberlain products are offered as Lifetime), the Belt/Chain warranty lasts for 1 year (again Chamberlain provide Lifetime), and finally the parts warranty is offered at 1 year (Chamberlain provide a 5 years warranty period).

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GOAL ZERO YETI 150 SOLAR GENERATOR KIT Review

The GOAL ZERO YETI 150 SOLAR GENERATOR KIT  – Works on the principle of capturing energy from the sun.

Gathered energy is passed through to the charge controller which in turn feeds it to the battery for storage.

The primary role of the Off-Grid RVs is thus, nothing but battery charging.

GOAL ZERO YETI 150 SOLAR GENERATOR KIT complete kit has everything needed to produce free and clean power from the sun.

Whether this is for a boat, cabin or power backup, this kit has everything needed for providing the power.

On the top of it, it is also simple to install and comes at an affordable price.

The home solar panel kits include a piece of 100-watt solar panel, User adjustable LCD 30-Amp Solar Charge Controller with Battery Temperature Sensor, 40 feet of UL Listed 12 AWG Solar Cable, all necessary MC4 Connectors for wiring, and all the necessary mounting hardware (4 Solar Panel Mounting Brackets and Fastener Sets).

A 12-volt battery and a DC-to-AC convertor is all that is required to turn the energy of the sun into power. A digital display also comes along with this kit and this display provides system information about the battery voltage, temperature, etc. The charge controller has MODE, UP and DOWN buttons to adjust system settings like voltage of solar disconnect, voltage of load disconnect, etc.

Best Features

The GOAL ZERO YETI 150 SOLAR GENERATOR KIT home solar power system is designed for multiple applications. Whether it is used in a boat, RV or at home, it is simple to install and use. Depending on how sunny the day is, it is capable of generating 350Wh per day. Here are some of the top features of the product.

100W Solar Panel System:

The kit comes with a 100-watt WindyNation Solar panel for use with a 12-Volt system. The one panel given in the kit is perfect for charging a 120volt battery bank.But if the user wants to use more solar power, it is possible to do so.

The controller has the capacity of handling up to 4 100-watt solar panels (12-volt system) or 8 100-watt solar panels (24-volt system), thus providing an average of 350 Watt Hours or 33 Amp Hours of charge per day depending on the availability of sun light.

WindyNation’s Solar panel is UL 1703 certified and the efficiency is high along with long term usability, reliability and stability. Its electrical performance is outstanding even at high temperature and low irradiance conditions.

Battery temperature Sensor:

This is an external temperature sensor. This sensor is software controlled and accurately adjusts over charge and over discharge voltages in order to maximize the batteries’ life.

Charge Controller with LCD Display:

The Charge controller is WindyNation’s P30L PWM 30 Amp solar charge controller. This controller has the ability to prevent the battery from overcharge. This ability saves the battery from damage due to overcharge by the solar panel.

The controller has been designed to provide multifunctional charging and power management for solar charging of 12 and 24-volt battery systems. The controller has a detect function to identify the battery voltage upon connection.

There is also an inbuilt protection to provide protection to the battery during overload, short circuit, reverse polarity, lightning/surge, PV Panel Reverse current, overcharging and discharging.

This helps the system in remaining undamaged in the event of short circuit or overload. The parameters of these controller can be controlled by the LCD screen display. The controller is enclosed by using durable plastic.

LCD Display:

The charge controller has an LCD display. With the LCD display, it is easy to adjust the different settings and the power output of the instrument. The LCD Display also displays various other factors like the DC load draw, temperature, voltage, amperage, and a lot more, with the charge controller.

Solar Panel Mounting Bracket and Fastener Set:

The Mounting Bracket and fastener set is made up of anodized Aluminum and stainless steel. These are corrosion resistant materials and has a longer life. There are 4 anodized aluminum brackets Z-brackets and 4 sets of stainless steel fasteners. These brackets and fasteners helps in quickly and easily mounting the solar panel to a boat, roof or RV.

Cable and Connectors:

The UL listed 12 AWG solar extension cable is continuous and 40 feet long and it comes along with a pair of MC4 connectors. The MC4 connectors provide for a waterproof connection of the extension cable to the connectors attached to the back of the solar panel.

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The Hard Thing About “Digital Transformation”

Premise:

Everywhere you go on the internet, there is one thing that is prevalent. No, I am not talking about Donald Trump, though he seems to be prevalent almost everywhere as well. I am referring to “Digital Transformation”. I have been reading about digital transformation everywhere i go on the internet for sometime now and yet, I don’t yet see true success story of a brand or a business that has actually successfully gone through and transformed, in the true sense of transformation. The question is why is this so?

Any transformation is difficult, digital transformation, more so:

As any leader who has attempted to change an organisation or a team of people will readily accept – change is difficult, both at a personal level and more so in a group. And if the change is not small but is at a scale where it can be called a transformation, the scale of difficulty goes up by a few notches. In the case of digital transformation, it is change at every level.

It is about how the business engages with their customers, partners, vendors and other stake holders. It is also about how they work within the organisation. It is also about how they think about these things. It is also especially difficult because this also requires everyone in the organisation to learn new tricks (and we all know how difficult it is for people who are senior enough in a organisation to first accept that they need to learn as well, then to go on to actually learn).

Is there a playbook for successful digital transformation?

I don’t think so. If someone says that they have one, I would assume that they truly don’t understand the magnitude, complexity, customisation and the level of difficulty involved in running a digital transformation. No two organisations are the same and have the same challenges and hence can be transformed in the same way. So, that, in my opinion rules out having a playbook for digital transformation. Whatever approach one takes, it needs to be custom built for that specific organisation and developed in-house, maybe in consultation with external consultants.

So, What does that mean?

This means that digital transformation is a virgin territory. Every leader or an organisation will need to figure out how to traverse in this territory. Having said that, the same basic concepts that are important for every change project is applicable here.

Some of these concepts are:

Self Realisation: As with every other change effort, it should start with self-realisation that there is a need for change or transformation. If you start a project for digital transformation, just because, everyone else seems to start one or every alternate vendor is talking about it, then you are doomed to fail, even before you start.

Start with the why: Once the leader senses the need to change, it is important that they communicate this insight or understanding with their team. It would serve them well, if they are able to clearly articulate, why the need for change and what will happen if they don’t successfully change (we all know that negative consequences are more powerful motivators than positive outcomes).

Then move to Where: Once it is clearly articulated and the teams buy-in the reason, why change is imminent, the leaders need to work with the team to create a vision of what the successful change could look like. While it is important for the leader to have a vision herself, it is equally important that they don’t share it with the team upfront, to avoid HiPPO’s (Highest paid person’s opinion) bias to take hold. Leaders would be surprised with the creativity and passion that could be unlocked within their teams, once they give them the permission to revv up their imagination and imagine what the future could look like.

What would need to be true: Once the vision for the future is agreed upon, you might think about the assumptions that you have made while imagining the future. You can think of it as a series of “what would need to be true for __x__ to be real”.

Experiment to test the assumptions: Once the assumptions have been identified, we need to create experiments to test these assumptions and learn from them. The learnings need to be communicated to the team and the vision updated accordingly.

Pick a starting point: The easiest way to lose a change project is to go big. While there are change projects which are big and transformative, that succeed, the probability of such a project (specially, one which is going to be in unchartered territory) to succeed, is small enough for me to suggest that, it is best to start small. The way you do that is to pick a starting point. It could be as simple as updating your internal IT system to enable cross-functional collaboration or training employees on the basics of new technologies or how you engage with your customer in the sales cycle. I would pick a starting point that is totally in the control of the leadership team and doesn’t involve external stakeholders first. Also, the important point to remember in this step is that we need to pick something that forms the foundation on which we can build the transformation effort. Usually, it is about changing mindsets or toolsets, and in some cases both.

Create a ripple effect: Once you have identified a starting point, enroll the people who will need to change to make the transformation work. Find ways to create some initial success and build on the success. Once you have successfully done transforming the first phase, pick the next point of transformation. Once you have done two and learnt what works (and more importantly, what doesn’t work) in your organisation, incorporate the learning back into the next phases. Once this is done, then look at involving external stakeholders.

How to select the projects: There are multiple ways to select which areas should be picked for transformation and in what sequence. Some people pick the areas that can have the most impact, some pick the projects that are the easiest to successfully complete, some rely upon the recommendations made by consultants that they have engaged. My personal opinion is that we should pick the projects, just the way an architect builds a building. The most important is the foundation on which the entire building will rest. Then comes the walls followed by plumbing, electricals and finally fittings, flooring and finishing. The leader needs to discuss and decide what is this sequence for them. The only criteria is that each project’s success should make the next one easier to complete and succeed.

Communication is the key: As any change manager would readily agree, it is critical that you monitor and report progress through good communication with the entire team. Regularly. All through the change effort.

This transformation doesn’t stop: Unlike other change management projects, digital transformation is unlikely to have an end date or state. Also, because of all the rapid change that is happening in the world of technology, it is quite possible that you might have to re-visit your vision to ensure that it is still valid and the right one to go after. And due to this, I believe that the digital transformation would not end-up being a project but will become a way-of-life.

Conclusion:

All of this means that while we all hear a lot of noise and too many people trying to sell their own IP on how to go through digital transformation, leaders need to be aware that it will take much more than that in order to truly transform to the digital era. It also might mean, that as a leader, you are the first person who needs to understand and personify the kind of person it takes to go through such a change initiative, so that others can learn and model them (the list of characteristics that they need to display is a topic for a separate post sometime soon).

In conclusion, I would just argue that Digital transformation is not a project to complete, but a way-of-life to run your business by.

I hope you have all the success in your journey.

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7 Ways Emotional Intelligence Can Help Us Cope With Stress and Prevent Burnout

According to the American Institute for Stress, “Numerous studies show that job stress is far and away the major source of stress for American adults and that it has escalated progressively over the past few decades.” According to their statistics 80% of workers feel stress on the job and 40% of those reported that their jobs were very or extremely stressful. Half of those that reported stress indicated that they needed help in managing the stress. Three quarters of those surveyed believed that they had more stress at work than previous generations. A study carried out at the Athens University of Economics and Business at the University of Greece found that higher levels of emotional intelligence were associated with lower levels of stress in the workplace.

The University of Maryland Business Administration Program has also done a great deal of work around the area of emotional intelligence and work performance. One of their conclusions is that employees with higher EI can handle pressure better and perform better even when conditions are less than ideal.

Here are 7 ways that emotional intelligence can help us cope with stress and prevent burnout:

Self-Awareness

People with higher levels of emotional intelligence are more aware of their feelings, what causes them and why. This awareness allows them to recognize stressors earlier and come up with techniques for coping with them. They recognize situations that will bring out strong emotions for them, allowing them to prepare their coping mechanisms, therefore not allowing their emotions to override their thinking. Knowing how they react to stress gives them advance warning that something is wrong and helps them deal with their emotional state before they become overwhelmed.

Awareness of others

The higher our emotional intelligence the more we are aware of others emotional states. This makes it less likely that we will take the stress of others and their actions personally. This awareness helps those high in EI put things into perspective and not get caught up in a stressful situation that they have no control over. Awareness of what may be causing stress in others allows people with high EI to have more empathy with others around them, allowing them to not take others reactions personally.

Ability to respond rather than react

When we feel threatened, verbally attacked or any kind of threat at work our initial response is to lash out at the source of whatever it is that is causing us stress. If we don’t give in to our initial impulses we often can diffuse the situation and get to the real source of the problem. Instead of making the problem worse we can make progress towards a solution. Instead of becoming stuck on the problem emotionally intelligence helps us focus on solutions.

Deep listening ability

Most people are too busy thinking of a response instead of listening to understand. Everyone has a need to be heard and understood. A lot of conflict and stress at work can result from people feeling that they are not being heard. While we may disagree it is essential that everyone at work be listened to, even though we may disagree. Higher emotional intelligence allows us to hear and understand others better, decreasing the levels of frustration and stress of those around us.

Having an extensive emotional vocabulary

The ability to accurately identify and express what we are feeling helps us to cope better. For example, just by saying we are frustrated helps settle feelings and move ahead. Being able to identify what they are feeling and make choices about how they will deal with those feelings helps us to work through them in a healthy manner.

Ability to see different viewpoints

Emotional intelligence increases our ability to be able to see situations from a broader perspective rather than strictly black and white. Even though they may not agree with someone, the ability to see things from their perspective allows them to step back from judgment and becoming emotionally involved in arguments and conflicts. This allows us to navigate conflictual and stressful workplace situations by being able to imagine the stress of others and what is causing it.

Ability to be aware of our limitations and ask for help

When experiencing a large amount of stress it is crucial that we recognize it and ask for help when necessary. Emotionally intelligent people are aware of their limitations; know when they can manage and when they need to ask for help. They have no problem reaching out to others and have built a strong support network that they can rely upon. As well they recognize when they are in over their heads and do not hesitate to get professional help when needed. Their awareness makes it more likely that they have looked into and used meditation, mindfulness and other methods that have been shown to be effective ways to reduce stress.

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3 Crucial Paradigm Shifts for Unparalleled Leadership Development

I’m in my 19th year working with the human side of business. Within that duration of time and exposure to a variety companies, you’d think nothing related to human resource or talent managment would surprise me. But still, there is.

One of the most significant relates to leadership development. For years now, the same ineffective approaches and practices have been and still are being used. Millions of dollars are wasted each year on leadership training and initiatives that over the long term garner little substantial or sustainable results.

1998: The Billion Dollar Mistake: “Not only as there no improvement, but those executives who attended were rated by their bosses, on average, less effective in these competencies than before the seminar.” Working With Emotional Intelligence, Dr. Daniel Goleman

Training Magazine: “Almost 75 percent of respondents to Brandon Hall Group’s 2013 Leadership Development Benchmarking Survey said their leadership development programs are not very effective.” 

HBR: According to a 2014 survey from Deloitte, 86% of business leaders know that their organizations’ future depends on the effectiveness of their leadership pipelines — but a survey of 2,200 global HR leaders found that only 13% are confident in their succession plans, with 54% reporting damage to their businesses due to talent shortages

A large majority (nearly 60%) are dissatisfied with their organization’s investment in leadership development activities, and more than 65% state that the level of their organization’s investment in these activities has, in recent years, declined or stagnated.

Here’s what you’ll notice, I’ve shared just a few stats ranging from 1998 to 2016 and they pretty much give the same report. Rarely have I seen stats that rock progress and effectiveness.

If you’re in any related industry to leadership development — think about that for a moment.

And yet, if you ask any leader from just about any organization, they will tell you that leadership development is an imperative for growth and competitiveness.

A few more stats from the 2016 report:

Leadership Development is believed to be a main driver for ensuring delivery of business results (43%) and business growth (20%).

Nearly half of respondents (44%) characterize leadership development in their organization as poor, and more than half (54%) describe it as ineffective.

A majority (56%) believe support from top management to be a critical success factor for ensuring effective leadership development within organizations.

29% of respondents are not aware of their organization having any kind of leadership coaching or mentoring program.

What does all this mean? I’d love to hear your conclusions, please leave your comments below.

Webcast, March 28th: Beyond the Landing Page

From my point of view, considering my past experience and current client work, in order for businesses and the talent / human resource industry (and other related industries) to move beyond this perpetual albatross, 3 fundamental shifts must occur:

3 Essential Paradigm Shifts

1. Leadership development needs to be seen as a foundational, non-negotiable element to business building. Right now it’s not. It’s seen primarily as “training and development” — a good thing to do – not as an essential business function.

Leadership development is business building.

2. Leadership training and development needs to be seen and treated as installing and reinforcing a piece of business infrastructure. It’s the human framework of effective business operations. Here’s how Infrastructure is defined: An underlying base or foundation especially for an organization or system.

Leadership development is installing operational infrastructure.

3. Building that infrastructure is seen as a permanent strategic need and function which requires continuous investment. For most, it’s currently seen as periodic, and as a cost vs. an investment.

Leadership development is a permanent function requiring continuous investment.

Permanent implies ongoing and consistent. This approach offers continuity (in content, core values, philosophy), relevance, market responsiveness, strategic integration and a path for promotion and succession planning as well as creation of an intentional leadership culture — the precursor to company culture. (Many companies have a confused company culture, because they do not have a defined leadership culture.)

Consider how common it is for a company to identify pre-promotion candidates and then say, “Now, let’s get them some leadership training and development.”

Unless decision-makers see leadership development in these 3 ways, it will continue to be used and treated as an optional, secondary activity (“when it can be afforded”) and not given it’s rightful place as a core business function that supports operational success.

Additionally, many (and I dare say most) of the employee performance challenges many companies experience are the result of not having an active, successful leadership infrastructure in place. Employee performance is not at its best unless strong, secure, clearly defined leadership is in place.

Where many HR & talent mangment professionals think an employee engagment initiative may be needed. What most likely is needed is the installation of an effective leadership infrastructure — very few companies have one.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you’re a decision-maker, a final note regarding continuity and consistency: Years ago when I delivered leadership/management workshops for a seminar company, I came to realize how many different leadership messages managers received depending on the speaker of the day.

I’d get to hear what was taught at the last “training” that in my view was appauling. I would think to myself, “If I were the leader of this company, I would not want my staff to follow this type of leadership information. As a leader, I would want my leadership philosophies to be promoted, to have a reliably consistent leadership culture.”

As leaders, if you don’t define your own leadership standards or engage someone whose material you’ve vetted to mirror yours – you confuse your leaders, which confuses your employees and greatly diminishes effectiveness.

In truth, most companies practice buffet leadership in which leaders can select and practice their own. This practice is additionally promoted through the variety of speakers and competing management/leadership workshops offered touting their brand of what works.

This approach to leadership training communicates to the leader, “Whatever leader you want to be is fine by us because at this point, we’ve not made it a priority to offer and hold you accountable to our branded leadership standard because we don’t have one.”

And thus, a potpourri leadership culture prevails…and sometimes, it’s not a pleasant smell.

=> Recommended action item – Assess your leadership development. Starter Questions:

How do you currently view your leadership training and development?.. overall company attitudes?

Is it consistent?

Is the content consistent and relevant to specific business needs?

Is it robust enough that it is provides a core leadership standard, culture and infrastructure? Does it incorporate performance accountability?

Is it evolving because it is tied to business strategy/objectives?

Is it one time or developmental?

Has every manager and leader gone through it so that at least everyone has heard the same principles, philosophies, values, etc.?

Is it included in new hire on-boarding? (if not — missing a great opportunity here.)

Do you know how to track the roi of the initiatives?

Is ongoing execution of development initiatives built into the overall spending plan?

I know these questions will help as these are my initial questions in meeting with potential clients. They are eye-opening.