Welcome to the December 14, 2004 issue of The Total View

Your resource for cutting-edge news, tips, and tools to help you hire, manage, and motivate top-performing employees.

If you are receiving this issue as a forward, and want your own subscription, visit
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=11&c=292

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In This Issue
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1. Twas 10 Days Before Christmas - A Tale According to DISC.
2. Get Access to 750 Competency-Based Interview Questions.
3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #306 to #310.
4. The Secret to Hiring Employees With A Positive Attitude.
5. Have You Taken "The Age Test"? Find out What Side of The Generation Gap You Land On.
6. Analyzing Performance Problems in 3 Easy Steps.

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The Total View is written and published each Wednesday by Ira S. Wolfe, founder of Success Performance Solutions. (Yes, Ira writes every article, every week!) and is distributed with permission by The Chrysalis Corporation.

Ira S. Wolfe 2004 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

To learn more about The Chrysalis Corporation or to read back issues of The Total View, visit our web site at
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=12&c=292

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1. Twas 10 Days Before Christmas - A Tale According to DISC.
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Ten days and counting ‘til Christmas day. Sales staff, beleaguered from the crush that started on Black Friday, prepare themselves for the impending frenzy of last-minute shoppers. How bad will it be? Using the DISC model, I can make some predictions based on the behavioral styles of the shoppers. Remember DISC identifies four behavioral styles that define how each of us responds to a job, a task, stress and, believe it or not, even shopping.

According to DISC theory, millions of people will purchase goods and services—on-line, by phone, or in person—during the next 10 days in one of four styles. There is no magic or hocus-pocus to identifying these styles. All you need to do is look and listen. Here are a few examples of DISC shopping styles in action:

The high D behavioral style says “Ten days? What's the big deal? There's plenty of time left.” D types love the challenge. Ironically, the remarkable emotion of D behavioral style is a short fuse – traffic jams, long lines, crowded stores and D types don’t mix. Internet shopping is tailor made for these direct, results-focused individuals. Gift cards and certificates are near perfect because they are much more efficient and they believe can’t go wrong with cash or its equivalent. It's never a surprise to find high D behavioral types doing last minute shopping on Christmas Eve. It’s easy to spot this shopper – he’s the one on the lightening strike mission. Then again, the D behavioral style person might cajole his administrative assistant to make the shopping list, check it twice, and be Santa’s little helper. High D behavioral types give gifts that identify with increased productivity.

The high I behavioral type loves the holiday season, and the shopping, parties, and crowds that go with it. Shopping is an event, a day out at the mall. The I behavioral type plans a shopping trip with the attention normally given to planning a wedding. Shopping begins early and centers on meals. After all, how can you possibly shop without a big breakfast, numerous breaks for snack and lunch, lunch, wrapping up the day with a sit-down dinner? By the end of the day, the high I behavioral type has had a great time regardless of the success of paring down the gift list. The High I person is optimistic. Ten shopping days means at least 10 more trips to the mall. There’s always time for shopping! The high I behavioral type is highly influenced by those gifts with the most attractive wrappings, even if what's inside is not always practical. You can be sure he/she's an I if you hear, "I just couldn't resist buying it. It had my name all over it. I hope you like it too."

The high “S” behavioral style favors handcrafted gifts and homemade food. Christmas shopping begins and ends early. This steady, methodical shopper makes lists, clip coupons, and maps out a shopping itinerary before leaving the house. Although Black Friday marks the start of the shopping season for most consumers, December 26th is the right time to get a head start on next year’s shopping list. The S behavioral style kicks into high shopping gear right after Labor Day and with few exceptions, gifts are bought, wrapped, and shipped before Thanksgiving. December is set aside for making cookies and preparing Christmas dinner and making a list. On Dec. 15, the high S behavioral style thinks, “Only eleven days until after-Christmas sales begin.”

The high C and S behavioral styles share shopping styles. C behavioral personalities work to avoid big crowds and don’t understand how anyone can leave shopping to the last minute. The gifts they choose differentiate these behavioral styles. S personalities give gifts with a personal touch. The more practical C behavioral type purchase gifts that will last, and makes certain there are appropriate warranties. During September and October, they do research to find the best-made, highest quality and most reasonably priced gift. These logical analytical types prefer to give gifts with a proven track record and can’t understand why anyone would waste money on this year’s fad.

If any of these types seem familiar, that is because they are. DISC is the universal language and dates back to....well as far back as Christmas itself. Learn more about DISC and its history. Contact us to determine if your company qualifies to receive a complimentary DISC report. Visit:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=2&c=292

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2. Get Access to 750 Competency-Based Interview Questions.
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Your interview is only hours or days away. You're wondering WHAT Questions to ask?

You're looking for

--New Questions.
--Intelligent Questions.
--Smart Questions that are job relevant.

Questions that will help you probe a candidate's true character.

But.. where do you find find them? Stop trolling the internet and wasting time looking for the 'right' questions. 750 Competency-Based Interview Questions are all in one place, available to you on a sliver platter. To find out more, go here:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=15&c=292

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3. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #306 to #310.
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Fact #306: The rate of unscheduled absenteeism has climbed to a five-year high of 2.4 percent. (Source: CCH Inc.)

Fact #307: Late minute no-shows cost organizations an average of $610 per employee. (Source: CCH Inc.)

Fact #308: Only 38 percent of employee who fail to show up for work are due to personal illness. 62 percent are for other reasons including family issues (23 percent), personal needs (18 percent), stress (11 percent) and entitlement mentality (10 percent). (Source: CCH Inc.)

Fact #309: Paying the price for low morale: Organizations reporting low employee moral have higher rates and costs of absenteeism. Rates are more than one-third higher among companies with poor/fair morale. (Source: CCH Inc.)

Fact #310: Employers with poor'fair morale set aside 4.9 percent of their budgets to cover the costs of absent workers compared to just 4.0 percent for organizations with good/very good morale. (Source: CCH Inc.)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - $7.95 includes no shipping costs for limited time only. Follow this link to learn more:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=7&c=292

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4. The Secret to Hiring Employees With A Positive Attitude.
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SELECT Associate System is a pre-employment screening system to identify work-related behaviors such as Positive Service Attitude, Accountability, Frustration Tolerance, Acceptance of Diversity, Multi- tasking and more. It also includes a Validity Check and the Integrity Index. Each customized report includes a step by step interview guide including recommended interview questions. The following report versions are available:

--Customer Service
--Administrative Support
--Retail Sales Associates
--Entry Level Retail Management
--Call Centers
--Production & Distribution
--Healthcare
--Personal Service
--Convenience Store Associates
--Hospitality
--Office Staffing

Learn how to hire employees with a positive attitude here:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=6&c=292

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5. Have You Taken "The Age Test"? Find out What Side of The Generation Gap You Land On.
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Take your best shot at answering the following questions, then follow the link below to see how many you got correct.

1. Name the four Beatles.
2. Finish the line: "lions and Tigers and Bears, !"
3. Hey Kids, what time is it?
4. What do M & M's do?
5. What helps build strong bodies 12 ways?
6. Long before he was Mohammed Ali, we knew him as .
7. You'll wonder where the yellow went, .
8. Before his role as Skipper's little buddy, we knew Bob Denver as Dobie's best friend .
9. Brylcream, .
10. Bob Dylan advised us to never trust anyone over .

Answers:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=17&c=292

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6. Analyzing Performance Problems in 3 Easy Steps.
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Dealing with poor performance is one of the most dreaded activities a manager has to do. On top of that, there are dozens of traps managers fall into. Follow the link below to read about a 3 stop process for "Analyzing Performance Problems".

"Analyzing Performance Problems" is just one of hundreds of pages of reproducible facts, tips and sample evaluation forms included in Janus Performance Managerment System.

Begin to improve your employee appraisal process today with the Janus Performance Management System.

Analyzing Performance Problems:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=16&c=292

More information about the Janus Performance Management System:
http://www.chrysaliscorporation.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=14&c=292

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Contact Information:

The Chrysalis Corporation
2001 Hammock Drive
Valdosta, GA 31602
229-257-0665