Communication is the Mechanism of …Everything and 6 ways you can make yours better

“If I went back to college again, I’d concentrate on two areas: learning to write and to speak before an audience. Nothing in life is more important than the ability to communicate effectively.” Gerald Ford

“Communication is the real work of leadership.”  Nitin Nohria 

“The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives” Anthony Robbins 

“One of the best ways to persuade others is with your ears – by listening to them” Dean Rusk

Want to be a good Leader, Marketer, Spouse, Parent, etc.? The key to being good in any interactive role is good communication.

Leadership

Objective:

Change

·         Motivate/Inspire

·         Ability to Deal with Conflict/Resistance

·         Coach/Develop

Key Components:

Trust

Shared values

Marketing

Objective:

Persuade

Key Component:

Appeal

Parent

Objective:

Nurture

Key Component:

Love 

While the objectives and key components of these examples vary, much of the methodology does not, given overall effectiveness is always a result of effective communication.

Pundits agree that if you want to be a good communicator then you need to be a good Story Teller. There are a lot of books on the subject but one I like is “Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins” by Annette Simmons. She defines Story Telling as a reimagined experience, narrated with enough detail and feeling to cause your listeners imaginations to experience it as real. It fosters the ever important curiosity, and trust.

Another interesting source of information is a TED talk done by Nancy Duarte:http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/nancy_duarte_the_secret_structure_of_great_talks.html It’s about  the Secret Structure of Great Talks where she noted the following:

The great orators contrast what is with what could be; flipping back and forth between the two. What “could be” is portrayed as a “New Bliss” where the orator marvels at how wonderful the New Bliss will be. Literally modelling for the audience what the speaker wants them to feel. Repetition is often used to drive points home and help the audience to remember. Metaphors are used to poignantly illustrate points. And the orator leverages his audience’s experiences and agendas in a way that will have his ideas resonate with them.

Nancy Duarte demonstrates how Martin Luther King and Steve Jobs both followed this formula to obvious great effect.

In summary, here are 6 techniques we can all use to be better communicators:

1.       Tell a story. Paint a compelling picture with words.

2.       Use Metaphors to compellingly illustrate points.

3.       Contrast the current lacking state with a “New Bliss” desired future.

4.       Marvel at the New Bliss. Model the desired audience reaction.

5.       Some repetition can reinforce ideas.

6.       Use the audience’s language, concerns, frustration, needs, agendas and wants so your agenda – the New Bliss, will resonate with them.

Reducing Uncertainty

“The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.” ― Eric Ries

I think it’s pretty typical that if we’re unsure of something then we tend to avoid it. Or, if we feel it’s really important, we may cautiously dip our toes in to see what happens. For example, I know a lot of Business Owners who feel marketing is really important but don’t feel they have the know-how to do it effectively. Some tentatively try different approaches hoping that it’ll make a difference but they frequently end up being frustrated with the results. And, since they don’t see the point of pouring a lot of money down the drain, they typically only invest minimally. The options seem to be: Go big or go home, or go slow and be left behind. But the truth is that both are risky. Are there other options? I think there may be.

I recently read “The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses”, by Eric Ries. The premise is how to effectively and efficiently innovate using lean methodologies. It was intriguing because my thinking is that lean innovation is an oxymoron.  You can’t be efficient and “creative” at the same time but I also think Eric Ries ideology’ makes sense; that innovation can and should be “managed”. That while “learning” efficiently is challenging, there are ways to reduce uncertainty and it can be done in a lean manner by developing and testing what he coined “Minimum Viable Products “(MVPs).  MVP’s are products or services produced quickly with minimal resources in small batches. One example he used was setting up a prototype on- line concierge service. The MVP was done using a staffed, fully manual call centre to “test” the idea. The plan was that if it worked, then they’d expend the resources to automate.

And while Eric’s book is mainly focused on developing a Business’s primary product or service there’s little doubt that his methodologies can be applied more broadly. The caveat is that some Business Owners try to make up for their lack of a good product or service by thinking everything can be solved with good marketers or sales people. You can’t sell your product without these kinds of resources but you also can’t make up for an inferior product or service by trying to make it seem desirable or needed if it’s not. So how do you know you’re succeeding? Most Business Owners would argue that as long as you’re making money it’s all good but the problem with that is it’s a historical perspective. There are no indicators that you’re on the right track moving forward. For that you have to understand how your customers believe your product and service is helping them to accomplish their agenda versus your competitor’s products and services. And the only way you can do that with confidence is by proving it which means metrics and statistics; paired comparisons, etc.

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”Albert Einstein

 “There are no reliable proofs for feelings.” Annette Simmons

What’s intriguing about this is something Annette Simmons writes about in her book, “Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins”, and that is that people have a tendency to try to reduce risk by trying to measure issues when they aren’t readily measurable. She hypothesizes that people try to resort to data when it’s actually much more effective and compelling to tell stories. She argues that objective data can be used to prove hypotheses but when issues involve trust, loyalty, faith, respect, engagement and inspiration that learning is typically best accomplished by using metaphors or storytelling.

Annette Simmons argues that Storytelling is particularly apt when there are conflicting values. Most organizations can relate to the struggle of valuing effectiveness versus valuing people. At what point is it appropriate to fire someone? It’s impossible to measure and what’s right for one Business isn’t necessarily right for another. Jim Collins argues that if someone doesn’t fit into the culture and share the organization’s values, then they should be “ejected ... like a virus”. I don’t think he’s wrong but what if the employee is considered marginal? If it’s about achieving excellence then marginal likely won’t be considered good enough but  it depends on why they’re considered marginal. If it’s because they generate conflict, some will desire to eliminate conflict to optimize efficiency, others may value the diversity and feel better decisions result from it, somewhat like a bipartisan government. If you wanted to use the measurement paradigm, you could use GE’s methodology and rank everyone and then get rid of bottom 10%. They believe this increases their performance but you could argue that it also fosters a healthy dose of fear which can be counterproductive if people spend valuable time trying to manage it. Does it make sense? Their success would suggest so. Regardless, it’s always about looking at things in new and different ways which is a form of learning.

But what is innovation if not the development of hypotheses? And if you can “prove” a hypothesis it obviously makes sense to do it sooner rather than later. If you’re a Drug Company being able to produce a new drug (innovate) and prove its viability, is what it’s all about, as with any medical hypothesis or treatment. We expect a certain amount of due diligence in determining cause and effect. The difference is most businesses don’t have the same resources but it can still be done but requires what Eric Ries terms actionable metrics that are typically based on customer engagement. He terms things like ROI “vanity metrics” because the link between cause and effect may not exist, especially during the development stage and if it doesn’t, then it’s not a good predictor of future success. So, not any measurement will do. The metrics have to demonstrate the desired outcome which is most often some form of customer engagement.

I think a common mistake is to assume that where leads are currently coming is an indication of where the best opportunities are for them to come in the future.  It’s not necessarily so. For example, a website might not be generating a lot of leads but it’s quite possible that with some investment and work it might generate more. It depends on the business but you’ll never know if you don’t explore it and track it.

In Summary: 

·         In order to develop viable hypotheses of what will work, you must understand what is of value to the customer; which can only be accomplished by talking to the customer. (Hint: asking them what they want isn’t effective. A much better question is: “What are you trying to accomplish/get done?”)

·         To prove a hypothesis you must have some meaningful way to measure it that correlates strongly with customer response.

·         To learn you must prove/disprove hypotheses.

·         To effectively innovate, you must figure out/learn what works.

·         To survive and thrive, you must innovate.

The Sales Process: You need more than Objectives

Advertising is, actually, a simple phenomenon in terms of economics. It is merely a substitute for a personal sales force - an extension, if you will, of the merchant who cries aloud his wares. Rosser Reeves

Sales processes are typically confusing to many so it’s no surprise that many business owners can’t tell you what theirs is and the ones that can, typically frame it as high level objectives. And even though I’ve inquired to some very accomplished sales people what methodologies they feel are most appropriate, most have had trouble detailing them. The classic response is that sales is about building relationships and it is but there’s a reason people have trouble finding good sales representatives, it’s because many simply don’t know how to go about building relationships with prospects in an effective way that works for their business. Talking about objectives isn’t specific enough; you need to drill down to techniques and methodologies (they’re synonymous) and decide which ones are most appropriate for a given situation.

For example, knowing that increasing the number of touch points will increase the probability of a close isn’t enough. Nor is indicating that a sales representative needs to keep in touch, they need to know how to do it comfortably. Sales people need to have methodologies such as knowing to call to inquire if the prospect has been able to connect with a reference or e-mailing to summarize offerings, etc. It may seem like micromanaging but I’ve never been in a sales strategy meeting where it didn’t get down to this type of detail and the participants didn’t feel it was worthwhile. It’s about making sure the sales rep is well prepared so they’re more likely to be successful.

Sales objectives should precede methodologies but both are important to develop and understand well. Sales are too important to be done in a cavalier fashion.

Sales Process

1.       Objective: Identifying and connecting with prospects

There’s confusion as to how to effectively prospect. I can’t tell you how often it becomes the focal point of conversations I have with business owners as they struggle to figure out how to best go about it. Everyone wants the secret sauce; I believe it’s unique for every business and needs to be pertinent to the times. What this means is that the business offerings (their value propositions) need to be relevant and promotional tactics and strategies need to be able to make it on to people’s radar.

Sales focus (push):  it’s about getting to meet with prospects

·         Leveraging networks to facilitate introductions. I’ve heard this suggested as being the most effective tactic/method but it’s important to note that developing a network takes time.

·         Leveraging referrals

·         Buying prospect lists, and cold calling

Marketing focus (pull): it’s about getting found

·         On line: Websites, Blogs, SEO, etc.

·         Off line: Signs, Events, etc.

·         Common to on or off line: Advertising, e.g., promotions, Calls to action, video (YouTube, TV), audio (Radio), etc…

Considerations:

·        Given the increase of on line/social forums, consumers have a much louder voice than ever before which has created a shift, where pulling more and pushing less is considered more productive. This is because manipulative tactics are less effective as consumers are becoming savvier and more cognizant of disrespectful and manipulative behaviours. There is some confusion about this as the effectiveness of Neuromarketing tactics has not changed, i.e., humans are still very predictable in how they will react to certain stimulus. For example, using contrast (before and after examples) is an effective and compelling technique to demonstrate benefits. The trick is that it has to be credible.

·        Marketing is typically a key component in any sales process given its purpose is to generate leads. Many factors go into it but it’s always about communicating in a way that resonates with prospects and generates interest.

·        A common tactic regardless of a sales or marketing focus is to go to or be where the best prospects are. 

2.       Objective: Get to know your prospect, and make them comfortable. Build rapport.

·        This about communicating in a way that puts prospects at ease by conducting yourself in way that generates trust. Trust maybe earned over time but you need to establish it as soon as possible. The better you can “read” a prospect the more likely you’ll be able to respond to him or her in an effective manner. Many experts suggest mirroring (literally adopting their posture) and using the prospect’s language.

3.       Objective: Investigate/discover their need/problem. Ask questions – generate interest.

·        The objective is to discover how you can help them in a non-threatening, comfortable manner. Being respectful of their time while taking the time required to discover their concerns is a balancing act. Efficiency is important to keep a prospect from disengaging.

4.       Objective: Show you can solve their problem. Provide solutions.

·        Using Storytelling to demonstrate how you can solve their problem is considered to be very effective but an actual demonstration is good too. You need to show them, in a compelling manner, that you can solve their issue(s), while being efficient and respectful of your prospects and their time. Pitching is an art and taking the time to learn how to do it well can be a great investment. Think about what a difference a minor change in closing ratios can make. Avoid use of methodologies that are likely to be perceived negatively such as “death by Power Point”.

5.       Objective: Involve the client in the solution.

·        Have them try it. There’s a reason so many businesses offer free samples. Try it, you might like it.

·        Education: Sometimes free samples aren’t practical so another very effective method is to “educate”. Obviously this needs to include benefits but it can also be a very effective way of establishing your business as an authority. If a prospect feels that you can provide the best product or service then they’ll do business with you.

6.       Objective: Negotiate. Overcome objections. Ask for action. Close the sale.

·        I like the Win, Win or walk philosophy meaning it needs to work for everyone or there’s no deal.

·        When it comes to objections many successful sales people like to include rationalizations for the most common ones in their pitch. It can save time if the prospect has those concerns but it wastes it if they don’t. To the extent possible, customize the sales presentation so that it is most applicable to the prospective client.  As well, address objections as they become evident. The key is to be comfortable in addressing objections which means doing the required preparation work.

7.       Objective: Sustain – Follow up. Nurture the relationship.

·         Ideally you want them to be so thrilled with your product or service that they actively advocate for you and, unfortunately, that takes a lot of work.

Additional Considerations

Cost of acquisition: There are always many potential permutations and combinations but typically the most important consideration in sales is the cost of acquisition of a new customer. If your budget is limited then lower cost methods will be used but at the end of the day they better attract business or you’re wasting your time.

Relationships: It’s always about developing relationships which in turn, is always about developing and maintaining trust. The telemarketers that keep talking even while you’re hanging up are a great example of what not to do. And while you may think the need to build relationships isn’t necessary for one transaction businesses it is if they want to get any referrals. It’s even true for a restaurant where someone may try it on a whim, but it’s more likely that they’ll go there because it was recommended and they won’t return if it wasn’t a good experience.

Focus: Strategizing to figure out what methodologies will prove effective is necessary if you want good sales numbers. And as with everything, it takes lots of practice before proficiency is established.

Context is an important part of focus. Trust is important in the context of the product or service you provide. It’s not about making friends although that may happen. Friendship implies a mutually beneficial relationship that’s not based on money. An example of not considering context is when I saw a “professional” spend a lot of time telling jokes in an effort to put prospects at ease. It didn’t work because even though he was funny people weren’t there to listen to unrelated jokes. Focus needs to be maintained on why the prospect is giving you their time.  You wander off, so will they.

Flexibility: A common mistake is to think of the sales process as linear. It will be much more effective if you think if it as, “If x, then a.”, “If y, then b.” etc. Or think of it as using the appropriate methodology, technique or tool for the situation.

Credibility: A good test for whatever you do is to ask whether it will increase your business’s credibility. If it doesn’t then don’t do it. And trust your gut, it always knows what right for you.

3 Common Small Business Hiring Excuses and what to do about them

“If you think hiring professionals is expensive, try hiring amateurs.”

“I am convinced that nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day you bet on people, not on strategies.”  Larry Bossidy

“If we weren't still hiring great people and pushing ahead at full speed, it would be easy to fall behind and become a mediocre company.”  Bill Gates

"Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it." Henry David Thoreau

Small Business Owners generally aren’t good at hiring. Most believe they have more important things to do but unless you’re a one-man show and want to stay that way, there are a few things you may want to consider about hiring.

1.       Excuse: “I can’t afford to hire someone good.”

You can’t afford not to hire someone good.

Most Business Owners don’t think in terms of ROI when it comes to hiring. They’re generally more focused on whether they can afford it which is a function of available cash/cash flow. But hiring costs are typically just the tip of the iceberg:  training estimates of $ 10,000/employee are not unusual and can come from just taking an inordinate amount of the business owner’s time. But whether it be hiring or training costs, a more important consideration is how much the prospective employee {?] will attract or detract business/customers over the long term?  Because hiring an employee is not just a one-time expense, they’re an investment.

One company I work with hired someone to help them with their books and during the honeymoon phase they couldn’t have been happier. The new hire was fantastic! Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to figure out that while she was great when she was there, they couldn’t count on her to show up regularly. She turned out to be unreliable. Could they have found that out if they had done thorough reference checks? Probably but that presumes knowing how to get a reference to talk candidly. (Hint: be curious and ask a lot of open-ended questions such as, “What concerns did you have with the candidate?)

2.       Excuse:  “I’ll know it when I see it.”

Define employee requirements in terms of criteria and skills/attributes.

Small Business Owners are notoriously bad at defining what they need in prospective employees. You won’t find the perfect person (nothing and no one is perfect) but as long as there are people available who are a good fit then it’s just a matter of finding them.  Another business that I work with has been frustrated with the customer service their employees have been providing and plan to address it with training but they also know that they have some employees who don’t have what it takes. They understand that they want employees who can put customers at ease which is why they feel that an employee’s ability to easily engage in “chit chat” is essential. They’re considering how to test for that ability in an interview but are thinking they’ll just use some stall techniques prior to starting to see how easily and well the prospect engages with them. The criterion or objective is to put people at ease. The attribute or skill is the ability to engage people in short conversations. 

3.       Excuse: “The people I need don’t exist.”

Finding Good People that “Fit”.

Are you looking for people in the equivalent of a small pond? Business Owners frequently favour hiring by Word Of Mouth (WOM) or through their network. And while many people have large spheres of influence, it’s rarely bigger than the equivalent of a small pond. So they shouldn’t be surprised when they find they land the equivalent of a small pond fish. What’s nice about this method is there’s less likely to be a problem with culture-clash. Your network generally understands you and isn’t likely to propose someone who would violate your values. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean they know anyone who has the skills you require. Maybe you don’t know where else to look and haven’t had great success with advertising. It doesn’t really matter. Always leverage your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses so if you don’t have a great track record hiring then hire someone who does. You may not be the equivalent of great fisherman but there are those who are and they can help you land the big one if that’s what you’re after. It’ll cost you some money but if that’s what you have to have then it can be done and so too with finding good employees. Contracting a HR professional isn’t difficult and can make a very big difference.

Another Business Owner I work with did just that and couldn’t be happier with the result. She ended up with 2 new employees that she knows are head and shoulders above the quality of people she had hired previously and she believes the long term pay-off for her business will be “huge”.  And maybe, most importantly her stress levels are the lowest I’ve seen in a long time even though her business is bigger than it’s ever been before.

What Business Owner’s need to do to hire good people:

• Understand the criteria or objective you’re trying to achieve so you can define the skills/attributes you require for the position.
• Cast a large net/advertise where good candidates will notice you.
• Interview/test to discover if they have the abilities you require.
• Offer at least competitive pay.
• Ask yourself if you believe a prospective employee will attract or deter customers over the long term. Consider what their long term ROI will be.
• Do thorough reference checks.
• If you need assistance with any of the above, contract the services of a HR professional.

Lean; Reducing Waste for the Customer’s Sake

Kaizen (改善), Japanese for "improvement", or "change for the better" refers to philosophy or practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing, engineering, game development, and business management.

“Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.” Shaquille O’Neal

A place for everything and everything in its place

I’ve never met a Small Business owner who didn’t think that their businesses were lean but many misunderstand that lacking resources is not the same as being efficient. Most are just understaffed and are anything but efficient. I had one owner explain that she didn’t think or could see how Lean applied to small business and yet was thrilled at how a procedure she had recently implemented had made things so much easier. She had implemented a “Lean” methodology without realizing it. Most people hate structure because they feel it can stifle creativity but there really isn’t anyone who can’t benefit from Lean methodology including highly creative individuals. If an Artist, Writer, Engineer or any other creative person knew where everything was and had it within easy reach; would it not facilitate their creative process? The example I like and think just about everybody can relate to is car keys. Have you ever been unable to find your car keys? For most people, the answer is yes and tends to happen when you’re about to leave for work, etc. For most people, the solution is that they put their car keys in the same place day in, day out: a place for everything and everything in its place. To me this is the essence of lean. The simple act of putting something in a designated place can save a significant amount of time that might otherwise be spent searching. Searching is wasted motion. There’s no value in it and “Lean” is about minimizing waste or anything that does not provide value to the customer. People have varying interpretations of what adds value but for the most part it’s just a matter of perspective. An Engineering Director decided to cut cleaning staff to save costs which meant that the emptying of the Engineer’s desk garbage containers by the cleaning staff was eliminated. His rationale was that it was better than eliminating even one of the many Engineers. Quite a few of the Engineers saw garbage disposal as beneath their station in life and were un-cooperative. Their argument was that it was just one more interruption to make them less productive. Multi-tasking is the bane of any creative individual so it’s better if disruptions are minimized/controlled but everyone also needs breaks to eat, recoup, etc. And emptying a garbage container out occasionally on a trip to the bathroom (assuming convenient locations of appropriate receptacles) is likely only a matter of a few additional seconds. In the big scheme of things, the productivity of the collective Engineers was likely reduced much less than it would have been if an Engineer had been laid off. It’s just that the Engineers were thinking about their personal productivity and egos while the Engineering Director was thinking about overall Engineering production. Of course, nice rational arguments like that rarely enter into people’s psyche when they perceive an unpleasant change and it’s no surprise that the Director had a hard time selling it. I think he finally came up with some unempathetic angry response like, “Suck it up!” And for the most part everyone acquiesced. They knew better than to mess with him. He was tough. The point being that it’s not always easy to see the forest for the trees or to truly understand what’s of value to the customer but there’s no doubt organizations like Tim Horton’s or McDonald’s get it. You know you don’t have to wait; that they’ve got all sorts of systems and processes to minimize anything that doesn’t offer value to the customer. I noticed a McDonald’s had an automated French fry basket indexer under a hopper that automatically filled them. Having a person just open a bag of fries and unceremoniously dump it in a hopper is definitely more efficient than having to repeatedly fill multiple deep fryer baskets from a single bag. There would be undesired variation and likely waste in terms of serving sizes, etc... McDonald’s definitely gets Lean and they also have the resources to do it really well.

As said, Small Business always has limited resources but they can still benefit from implementing Lean concepts. I know too many businesses that complain of lost equipment especially when it’s regularly transported. What if you they had the equivalent of transportable shadow boards so it was obvious when something wasn’t packed? What about utilizing a placement mat (footprint) for laying out equipment on location? Wouldn’t the time it took to set it up be worth it to save on replacement costs? Probably.

I know most people feel they don’t have time to implement Lean principles but if they expend resources (time and money) searching, looking, or replacing any items then that’s an indicator that there’s an ROI in it for them. It’ll reduce stress, and save much needed time and money. To me it’s a no- brainer. And if a Business wishes to achieve World Class then they’ll be adopting Lean because these days you can’t be World Class without it.

And if you don’t know where to start, there are many books and consultants more than happy to help.

Some Lean terms:

Muda – 7 forms of waste: Transportation, Inventory, Motion (e.g., any walking is always considered non-value added), Waiting, Over-processing, Over-production, Defects

Value Stream Mapping - is a lean manufacturing technique used to analyze and design the flow of materials and information required to bring a product or service to a consumer. At Toyota, where the technique originated, it is known as "material and information flow mapping". It can be applied to nearly any value chain. (Source: Wikipedia) This can be used on any process!

Work Place Organization – 5 S: Sorting (Seiri), Stabilizing or Straightening Out (Seiton), Sweeping or Shining (Seiso), Standardizing (Seiketsu), Sustaining the Practice (Shitsuke)

Visual controls - is a technique employed in many places where information is communicated by using visual signals instead of texts or other written instructions. The design is deliberate in allowing quick recognition of the information being communicated, in order to increase efficiency and clarity. These signals can take many forms; from different coloured clothing for different teams, to focusing measures upon the size of the problem and not the size of the activity, to kanban and heijunka boxes and many other diverse examples. In the Toyota Way, it is also known as mieruka. (Source: Wikipedia) Examples include shadow boards, footprints for equipment, or inventory, etc.

Error Proofing - Poka-yoke (ポカヨケ?) [poka joke] is a Japanese term that means "fail-safing" or "mistake-proofing". A poka-yoke is any mechanism in a Lean manufacturing process that helps an equipment operator avoid (yokeru) mistakes (poka). Its purpose is to eliminate product defects by preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur. The concept was formalized, and the term adopted, by Shigeo Shingo as part of the Toyota Production System. (Source: Wikipedia)

Books:

The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production by James P. Womack, Daniel T. Jones, Daniel Roos

Fundamental Principles of Lean Manufacturing by Shigeo Shingo

5S for Operators: 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace (For Your Organization!) by Hiroyuki Hirano

Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success by Masaaki Imai

Zombie or Superhero: It’s a Matter of How You Manage Your Energy

There’s been a lot written on Energy Management being the superiour paradigm to Time Management and yet not many Business Owners seem to be aware of it, much less practice it. I’m not sure why this is but think this could be an appropriate place for the adage of communicate, communicate and then communicate some more. I think it’s important enough to dredge up yet once again because I simply meet too many Business Owners complaining of exhaustion; of having reaching their limits and having nothing left to give.

 In Dr. Jim Loehr’s book, “The Power of Story” (I think a better title would be something like, “It’s Your Story and the impact of sticking to it”), he spends a significant portion of the book on Energy Management. As a Performance Psychologist who’s worked with many of the world’s top athletes and Business Executives, he has a long and very credible track record of optimizing performance.  He does this by helping his clients find the purpose they’d risk their lives for and applying the resulting motivation to their careers. It has to be “true” which is a lot harder to attain than it sounds as demonstrated by the cliché “It’s my story and I’m sticking to it.” We typically only say that when we know something is wrong with it. He correctly asserts that a lot of our “stories” are flawed and not true to/consistent with our values.  And, of course, no one attains greatness without action and lots of it, but you’ll never get to that point without first discovering your “true” purpose.

Jim Loehr paraphrases this as Purpose, Truth & Action and based on my own experience, he couldn’t be more on the money. And, of course, there’s a lot more to the “story” but you’ll have to read the book if you’re interested in learning more. I believe it’s worth the investment of “time”.

One of the things that Jim Loehr says about energy management that I found particularly apt is “You cannot expend more energy than you create.” Still I didn’t think there was anything I personally could improve on. However, I reluctantly tried his suggestion of eating within an hour of waking, and to my surprise, my energy noticeably increased. (My old habit was to have something to eat about 3 hours after waking.)  None of us like to change our habits and rituals. We are creatures of habit but if you know you’re running out of gas before you run out of day, then you might want to think about this. We have all been conditioned that what we’re giving isn’t enough; that we need to give more but, in trying to do so, most of us deplete our energy reserves day in, day out; doing the equivalent of trying to run a marathon all day long. No wonder so many of us end up like the walking dead; shuffling along with no more purpose than to relentlessly, inappropriately consume and contaminate the rest of the living. In the real world, the equivalent to the Zombie “infection” transfer mechanism is the pressure to conform to working long hours with inadequate nutrition and rest. It may be peer pressure or pressure from management but there’s no denying that the infection is rampant.  And there’s no denying that a business full of Zombies isn’t likely to be particularly productive or profitable.

Wouldn’t it be better to embody the Superhero archetype? We all know them: the people who appear to have endless and infectious energy, the super achievers. They all have super purpose too: to save the world from evil, super villains and to endlessly and tirelessly improve the human condition.  Do you think Superhero’s don’t get enough sleep? Don’t supply their bodies with the fuel that they need? The Superhero Archetype always has a super strength source whether it comes from an alien planet (Superman) or wealth and know how (Batman, Ironman), but most of the time, from some sort of contamination. It doesn’t matter if they accidently stumbled upon “the secret sauce”; the point is that they all have. They’re the equivalent of Super Performers whether they be Top Athletes, Einsteins, Corporate legends or A list Actors. Do you think top athletes don’t get enough sleep? Don’t train adequately (but are careful not to over-train and become a zombie)? Don’t carefully control their nutrition and diet? Of course they do.

Loehr also writes about the Energy Pyramid which is one of the other things that provides a helpful framework. “If you lack physical fuel, there will be a ripple effect on every story you tell and everything you do or attempt to do.” If we’re tired and/or hungry, we just don’t have the resources we would otherwise. We’re more likely to be short-tempered and it’s unlikely we’ll be able to produce anything of value.

The following is an abbreviated list of Jim Loehr Energy Management recommendations.

           Nutrition

• Eat within an hour of waking. 
• Eat a meal rich in carbohydrates within 2 hours before exercising and after exercising.
• Eat every 2 to 4 hours except when sleeping.
• Eat only what you need for the next 2 to 3 hours of your day. Practice eating less food to assess how long the meal lasts.

          Exercise (you must exert yourself)

• The more we move the better we feel. Move at regular intervals. Lack of movement = lack of energy.
• When it comes to exercise - Comfort: bad. Pain: bad. Discomfort: perfect e.g., if running you should still be able to carry on a conversation.
• Regular exercise (at least 3 times/week) for 30 minutes with no more than 2 days between.

          Recovery and Sleep

• About 7 ½ to 8 hours of deep sleep/night. (Fitter people require less sleep.)
• A 30 to 60 minute nap each mid-afternoon. (I can’t see this as being accepted in our culture in my lifetime.)
• Breaks (periods of disengagement 5 to 15 minutes) are vitally important ~ every 90 minutes.

First, you have to understand what makes a difference, but after that it’s a choice. What do you want to be a Zombie or Superhero?

Differentiate by leveraging Opportunity

Progress is measured by the degree of differentiation within a society. Herbert Read

In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different. Coco Chanel

Niches are found by recognizing Opportunity

I met one very on-the-ball Business Owner who said to me that people who don’t take advantage of opportunities made him really angry. What fascinated me about that is if you think like that, then you can’t help but see opportunities. It opens you up to them. But why? Belief? Purpose? Identity? I believe all are part of the equation but I think there are two major keys to finding out just not any opportunity, but the all-important low hanging fruit. You need to spend the time not just looking for these great opportunities; you need to develop them. You also need to understand them well enough to know what makes them special. I think most Business Owners don’t do this well. They have a tendency not to put in the effort to find the best “fruit trees”, much less to cultivate/nurture them for optimal production. I think many simply don’t know “how to”, nor do they see the value of learning to do so. It’s a matter of searching, seeking, uncovering and understanding enough to be able to fit it all together; solve the puzzle. To actively seek and understand the potential.

You can’t be everything to everyone

Restaurants are a good example of why differentiation is important. There are so many of them that it drives a hyper-competitive environment. Can you imagine a restaurant trying to serve everything? I don’t believe it’s logistically possible. No one can be good at everything. They couldn’t afford the equipment required to make a great breakfast, pastries, gourmet dinner, pizza, Chinese, Sushi, etc., much less have the expertise and especially when starting out. The same is also true in other industries. Imagine a small law firm trying to market themselves as the end-all, be-all of all things, law. Not even large law firms try it, although, given large box store success, I wonder if there might not be a place for a one-stop type of shop, but that in itself is a niche and supports the point. I recall a pair of entrepreneurial hopefuls that answered the question, “Why would someone want to do business with you?” with, “We do everything.” I suggested that if they couldn’t provide a compelling answer to that question, then their efforts would likely be wasted. If you have no competition, and are the only game in town, you might be able to get away with a lack of focus/differentiation. But, bring in a single competitor who can offer their wares in a more compelling way and you’re in trouble.

Businesses need to provide a reason for customers to choose them

Why do you go to a particular restaurant? There’s a reason why you choose a particular eating establishment and it certainly isn’t because they offer everything. More likely, it’s because they have the best Shawarma’s around, or it might be because they’re quick and inexpensive, or that you can count on them to be the same every time, or maybe you’re just in the mood for something particular, etc... People make choices for a reason and your business offerings need to satisfy those reasons.

Differentiation is the key to “succeeding”

I worked with one exceptional business person that has differentiated really well. So well that the company’s revenues doubled in a year, but even for this talented business person, it took some time to figure it out. And, interestingly, despite that amazing accomplishment, he still feels he hasn’t quite nailed it yet. As he puts it, he’ll talk to anybody, but what he’s really saying is that he’s more than happy to take the time to search for treasure under every stone. He spent time to understand his company’s strengths and what was important about them. And he figured out that it put him in a unique position to work with a relatively untapped and lucrative market segment. And of course, there’s a lot more to it, like this particular business of not only understanding the opportunity, but also having the confidence, talent, motivation and wherewithal to pursue it. It was pretty impressive to watch what resulted from the committed focus on the evolution of insights when no particular component seemed of particular significance. So, while an insight may not feel particularly significant, that doesn’t mean that the sum of them won’t add up to something amazing!

You Need a Compelling Purpose to provide the required impetus/motivation/drive

I know another business owner that was in the same industry (he’s getting out) that wasn’t interested in taking the time to explore improving his business. He’s also very smart, self-motivated, all the things you’d think an entrepreneur needs to be and yet he woke up one day and decided he simply didn’t want to do it anymore (classic burnout). His business had become drudgery to him, lack-lustre and without excitement. It didn’t allow him to be creative, as he desired, and his lack of progress frustrated and drained him. Nothing is perfect, and we can’t have it all, or even have every day be a good one, but you want your vocation to be compelling for you; to provide you with enough purpose to act and feel good about it. If it doesn’t, then you’re in the wrong profession. I believe he made the right choice. There wasn’t any light at the end of the tunnel unless he did things differently and he simply wasn’t interested in doing so. And, he’s not unique. I’ve met many like him. But, if he had taken the time to understand what purpose could be compelling for him, and how his business supported him in that, would it have made a difference? I believe so, but here’s the thing: you need to figure that out before it’s too late. And obviously, the Business Owner in the first example had that figured out. The point being that a precursor to being able to leverage opportunity is you have to a reason to explore it in the first place.

In summary:

The first business owner took the time to understand what he needed to do to take advantage of a unique opportunity and ended up differentiating in a compelling way. So, the next time you think that spending the time to really explore your strengths, and finding low hanging fruit, is a waste of time: think again. Businesses need the time to work through that type of understanding, and I’m not personally aware of anyone being able to do it in isolation. It takes ongoing work, focus, and input from multiple sources (we all need muses), rumination, etc. So, why don’t more people do it? I’m guessing because most don’t understand the pay-off or don’t know how to. The first step is to understand and accept it (if it’s true), and it would be wondrous if this article helped some people with that. The next step is to get to work and leave no stone unturned!