I have talked to several leadership execs in the  last few months who are saying that they have cut leadership development and recruitment efforts for top talent from their budgets…that all they can do right now is just pay the bills.

I completely understand this, but in my opinion, this view is very short sighted and not very creative.

When it comes to building a strong company for the present and the future, focusing on recruiting top talent and then developing that talent are two critical steps which will secure your future.  We have to all be seeing the big picture.

I have read a lot of top leadership books, and of course, we have written a leadership book (EDGE! A Leadership Story,) and at the end of the day, people will tell you that they will leave a company over salary and benefits, but if you dig deeper, they will tell you that they are bored, tired of the same old, same old and they are restless for something exciting.

So, it’s time to really buckle down and start considering how you can pull in some top talent without breaking the bank and how to begin developing out your entire team so that they stick around.  Once the economy does turn around, we are all going to be back on the topic of war for talent, and you don’t want to be the company left without strong employees who can move your company in the direction of innovation.

So…here are just a few ideas on the topic:

1. Start looking closely at top talent who are sophomores and juniors in college and offer them a low cost paid internship.  They will develop loyalty to your company if they can get their foot in the door.

2. Treat people like you would treat your grandmother…yes…you have to treat people as well as you can.  Show them respect and compassion and keep people happy.

3. Come up with at least five creative ways to train people without spending a dime.  This could be an internal shadowing program, a “tip of the day” posted on a big white board or a tour to a local historical site…a site that would stimulate ideas and growth.

4. Don’t ignore Generation Y.  They need your focus right now.  Simply because you are not in “hiring mode” does not mean that you can ignore this generation.  If you cannot hire them, then look for creative ways to educate them about your company and about topics related to your industry.  This can be accomplished with a great blog and a forum to get Gen Ys to interact with you.

5. Bring in a movie that has a leadership message and offer a two-hour lunch break one day for brown bag and to watch the movie.  At the end of the movie, have a discussion about the leadership lessons learned while watching the movie.  A few that are tops for this purpose are movies like 21, Wall Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, Hoosiers or Citizen Kane.

I want to extend many thanks to Mike Michalowicz and Scott Bradley for including me in such a well respected group of women entrepreneurs in their TPE post today:  Women Entrepreneurs:  The Next Wave of Leaders.  I encourage you to check out the post and the biographies of the women posted…as I said…indeed an honor to be included in this group.

I am a news junkie…I admit it.

But I have found myself recently not turning on the news…or should I call it the “olds?”  The same old, same old stuff.  Madoff takes off with billions of dollars, AIG is begging for million dollar bonuses, and Anna Nicole Smith’s boyfriend and doctor are in trouble for prescribing medications for her to the point of stupification.

As an executive coach, I am always looking for the bigger message.  From where I sit, the problem is not with the actions (although they are staggering)…the problem is with our DNA.  As Americans, we have this code being woven into our DNA that reads:

1) Do anything to get ahead

2) To be successful, you must be rich!

3) Go to extreme measures to either be a celebrity or be around a celebrity

4) Bend the rules…just this one time, becuase you deserve it

5) So what if I get a $1 million bonus while the economy is falling apart…you HAVE to have me, so PAY ME!

You see, the issue is that we don’t have integrity sewn deeply into our DNA.  Even our government is having problems with integrity, and it is like a twisted maze to see how to get out of this.

We are going to have to start practicing some behaviors and holding people accountable to:

1) Telling the truth

2) Following the rules

3) Being transparent

4)  Disclosing information to our customers and constituents

5) Doing the right thing when no one is looking

6) Enforcing consequences when the above 5 are broken

Sounds simple, but this is so difficult to follow.  Somewhere along the way, we went down a path as a nation that was built on greed, sex appeal, power and manipulation.  And, the more we have of these things, the more we crave them.

Today, as you are reading this post, I encourage you to take one step…a step in the direction of walking closer to the line, telling the truth and disclosing more of what you need to.  If each person in our world just took one step to get back to some strong core values of integrity and doing the right thing, our world would be a much better place.

I’m almost embarrassed to say that our company is thriving in this down economy. The last three months have been the best ever by more than 10%.  What’s the secret?  One word: TRUST.  In this environment people are looking to trade their hard earned dollars for an experience they trust.  In entertainment, ticket sales for movies are strong.  My wife and I were at the theatre last week and the house was packed. Why?  Because we trust the experience we’re paying for.  In business, this principle works the same way.  So how do you build trust amidst this chaos?

What we’re doing is focusing on articulating our customers core values and then infusing them into the work we are doing for them.  It’s cutting out all the extraneous B.S. in their marketing materials and making them leaner machines that get to the heart of their customer’s needs. When their core values are accurately expressed in their marketing materials (writing AND design), their customers have a subconscious reaction to their materials, an intangible feeling of love or hate. What happens is that they attract the customers who are most perfect for them, while turning others off so they’ll not waste their time!  This leaves our customers with more time to nurture their perfect customers, deliver results to them and increase orders as our results drive more customers to them.

And you don’t need to hire a company like ours to help you to articulate your core values and then infuse them into your materials. Send me an email to corey@writersoftheroundtable.com with Core Values in the subject line and I’ll be happy to send you a step by step approach to help you articulate your core values. The process will take you less than 30 minutes in total!  Then you can take those results and hand them over to your own writers and designers to ensure your marketing materials are built around the values of your organization.

It’s actually really easy once you understand the power of the principle.  I was fortunate to learn about core values when working with Bea Fields on EDGE! A Leadership Story. I truly believe that the power of core values can make the difference between thriving and dying in this economy.

Nina East had a great post on February 8 about the fear of criticism.   It just reminds me so much of a few leaders I have coached in the past who built a wall of “yes men” around them…that fear of hearing negative feedback is just too much to handle.  In the leadership coaching arena, some of us call this “CEO disease!”

But in our world today, we are all going to be criticized more openly.  Generation Y has a scrutinizing eye, and it won’t take long before our businesses, projects and programs are criticized, and the question becomes “What do we do with this feedback?”

For starters, there is usually a negative emotional response to criticism.  Leaders may put up a great front, but it is very common for people of all developmental stages to get just a bit defensive.  It bites to be criticized.  But, in each critique is a silver lining, so here are a few steps you can take.

1) Listen to the full complaint.  Put your mute button on, and listen carefully to the criticism.

2) Thank the individual, and let them know you will address the concern.

3) Step back from the criticism and look closely at your next steps.  What did you learn and what can you do?  Is something not working that you can fix?

4) Create a plan of action.  This can be to work on a behavior, make a change or to implement a solid action plan.

5) Go back to the person who criticized you and offer a solution.  Let them know exactly what you plan to do and when your action plan will be implemented.

In the end, this approach can strengthen your position as a leader.  It can make you, your team and your company much stronger by taking action on those negative comments that are sure to come your way in the future.