It’s time to Reflect & Refocus

“And time for reflection with colleagues is for me a lifesaver; it is not just a nice thing to do if you have the time. It is the only way you can survive.” Margaret J. Wheatley

 “We need quiet time to examine our lives openly and honestly. . . spending quiet time alone gives your mind an opportunity to renew itself and create order.” Susan Taylor

“If you've lost focus, just sit down and be still. Take the idea and rock it to and fro. Keep some of it and throw some away, and it will renew itself. You need do no more.”  Clarissa Pinkola Estes

If there’s one thing you can count on approaching the New Year, it’s that there will be reviews of the previous year’s highlights, and, of course, the predictable predictions for the future. Just the word “New” triggers a natural response that it is time to take stock and to refocus. And it should be no different with business. It’s especially important for businesses that lack comprehensive Key Performance Indicators, which is most of the “small” ones. Having Financial Reviews done by an accountant is great, but it only looks at the financial side and there’s a lot more to business than that.

Here’s how I like to take stock:

Focus on what is/was Important?

For some, it’s about growing revenue; for others it can be about strengthening foundations to support sustainability, etc.

Ask yourself these key questions:

·         How has what’s important changed from last year?

·         If what’s important to you has changed, then why? 

o   New influences?

o   Changing/evolving environment? (It always is.)

o   Learning that has changed your perspective?

o   Change in circumstances?

How was your Business’s Performance?

·         What worked?

·         What didn’t work?

This is always about leveraging your strengths and mitigating your weaknesses but when you look at it from the perspective of what’s working, it also incorporates the nebulous, but important, premise of opportunity (which can be so elusive). It can be a great way of honing in on opportunity.

Progress made?

·         Where are you relative to where you want to be?

·         How off-course are you?

Drift is normal. Try to walk a straight line in the snow where’s there’s no obvious path; from one point to another. It doesn’t need to be far, a couple hundred feet will prove the point. It inevitably won’t be straight no matter how hard you try to make it so or how well you think you’re doing/have done.

Here’s the funny thing about Progress: it can lag Performance because you need to have the resources, systems, and expertise in place and that can take time. And here’s the funny thing about Performance: we generally over-estimate our performance. Same phenomenon as with more than 50% of drivers thinking they’re better than average drivers. Some are unfortunately wrong. So while some excuses may be valid, the most important value in reviewing Progress is that it’s a reality check.

All this, of course, just lays the groundwork for the really important task of recalibrating your Strategic Plan. It’s about taking what you’ve learned and incorporating it into how you’d like to move forward. And it’s always about moving forward in a positive way.

So, while we may not necessarily look forward to our report card or review or whatever you wish to call it, it’s helpful in deciding how to move forward. If you take stock and adjust your plans accordingly, it can be the difference between a great result and getting side-lined. What may seem like small insights can make a big difference. Figuring how to make things work always looks easy in hindsight but it rarely is. You have to keep picking away at it so the culmination of many small insights can develop into something significant; it is like eating the elephant a bite at a time. It can seem overwhelming but over time progress is made. And, if you can look at things from different perspectives, they can be like having a bit of old sandwich mold contaminate your beaker and providing the breakthrough that you need. But it still takes rumination and lots of it. Even Einstein didn’t figure out the theory of relativity without significant rumination. And most of us probably need to ruminate more than he did.

Want a great “team”? Lessons from Moneyball

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” Ryunosuke Satoro

 I repeatedly see Business Owners struggling with employee performance which inevitably leads to discussion about the “team”. But, thinking “it’s the team’s fault” won’t fix it.

Getting the right people is the boss’s job

“Blaming a bad team for one’s difficulties is, by definition, a personal failure.” Christopher M. Avery, “Teamwork is an Individual Skill”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve discussed “employee problems” with Business Owners, and whether a team member should be fired or coached. The question always comes down to: “Can they or will they be able to do what you need to run the business?” And, I’ve yet to find a business owner who can’t answer that question off the top of their head, i.e., they know the answer but that doesn’t mean they’re ready, willing or able to “fire” the person when the answer is negative. People hate hurting others but here’s the rub; it is the “Leader’s” responsibility to take care of the whole and not the individual, regardless of how distasteful that may be. As well,  there may be times when the choice is made to not reach full potential as an organization by choosing to accommodate versus liquidate. It’s a choice but as a Business Owner and Leader, it’s important to understand the implications. The critical question is always: what will make the team more successful?   

In the movie “Moneyball,” Billy Bean (played by Brad Pitt) wanted to win a championship and was willing to do whatever he could to do so. It wasn’t about taking care of individuals and what he accomplished was amazing but he “fired” a lot of people in the process. Rightly or wrongly, greatness isn’t accomplished by being nice.

And “Team Building” may be fun (especially if it is activity-based) but it doesn’t fix anything. That’s not to say that coaching can’t make a difference because, of course, it can (and over time it can make a huge difference) but hopefully you’re not hiring people who need to be taught how to co-operate. As in the movie, “Moneyball,” few have sophisticated algorithms to identify the best employees or even have the equivalent of experienced “scouts” who are adamant they incorrectly know best. That still doesn’t negate a Business Owner’s responsibility to find the right/best people for their business. It might not be easy but finding and implementing a way to succeed is always the Leader’s job.

Providing meaning, resources & clarity is also the boss’s job

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”  Unknown

“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” Vince Lombardi

Unfortunately, having the right people won’t do you much good if they don’t know how, don't want to or don’t have the equipment and tools to get the job done.

You need people who want to win and are passionate about “winning”. But, what’s winning in business? It’s less obvious than in baseball. It is crucial that you take the time to understand and define what winning is and communicate it to the team. How else are your employee’s going to know what to do? Cultivating motivation and commitment are also crucial but can be done only to a degree. You can only influence, you can’t control, although some people are a lot better at influencing than others. It’s about providing meaning and is the essence of what a leader needs to do. It also helps to provide coaching on how to get on base as is working on or finding bats to hit further and shoes to run faster so your team can get on base faster and score more runs. Bottom line, in order to have a great team it pretty much all comes down to Leadership. Sorry.

Question is, as a Business Owner, are you willing to step up to the plate to figure it all out and do what needs to be done?

How to Find Your Sweet Spot

Sweet Spot: The Intersection of Passion, Talent, & Economic Opportunity, Marelisa Fábrega

Sweet spot. You have one... You can do something in a manner that no one else can. Max Lucado "The Cure for the Common Life"

“The problem isn’t that we aim too high and fail, it’s that we aim too low and succeed.” — Sir Ken Robinson

I was recently at a Strategic Planning session where, of course, one of the exercises was to work on the company’s “Sweet Spot”. An unexpected, off-the-cuff sexual innuendo caused the room to explode into hysterics. Thankfully, someone had the good sense to recommend a break or else I don’t know that things would ever have gotten back under control. It was one of those rare, hilarious moments that would be the envy of any comedian. And while you wouldn’t have expected it to be a “productive” use of time, it was in a strange way. It, ironically, provided a pretty good analogy for understanding the impact of finding your “Sweet Spot”.

I personally think of a sweet spot as meeting the following 3 criteria:

Potential

What - It can be thought of as being based on strengths or talent but it’s always about optimizing unique attributes and/or abilities.

Potential Pitfalls - It’s normal to overestimate abilities. For example, most people feel they’re a better than average driver and a lot of them are wrong. It can also be difficult to understand. For example, while it might not be difficult to understand that someone with short legs isn’t going to be a great runner, it can be more difficult to figure who’s the most likely to succeed at winning Survivor.

How – It’s not only about working hard; you also need to find ways to get the prerequisite resources. You won’t win Gold at the Olympics without a good coach, the best equipment and facilities, and a lot of hard training.

Passion

What - You have not only to care but to really care. This is about providing motivation. Without it you have nothing.

Potential Pitfall – If you sacrifice what you care (really care) about “to make money” it simply won’t work as well than if you can find something that you really care about that can also make you money. And it’s not an easy thing. It takes a lot of work. You need to do a lot of self-reflection to discover treasure, and unfortunately, most people don’t know where to start, much less have the drive to see it through. And while most people think they “know thyself”, most don’t “know thyself” as well as they think. No one gets a perfect score on self-awareness.

And it saddens me when I see great people frustrated because they’re “comfortable” and afraid to change. You won’t find your “Sweet Spot” by being comfortable. It takes iterative, extensive exploration to figure it out.

How – Value identification exercises will help, as will peak experience reviews, or simply answering: What’s most important?

Opportunity

What - Where (as per Jim Collins) you understand (it’s all about the insight) the key factors that create revenue enough that you can articulate it as profit/x. And, this is so difficult that I’ve never come across anyone who could do it on the 1^st try and generally not on the 2^nd or 3^rd either.

Potential Pitfall – It’s elusive. We’d all love to come up with a great idea but it generally doesn’t work that way. Timing is everything. We’re all a product of our time and so are opportunities, but few have what it takes to capitalize on them at the optimum moment. So, when opportunity comes along, don’t hesitate or it might be too late. The trick, of course, is to recognize it. No one is all-seeing but certainly maintaining awareness is key.

How – Keep looking until you find one/it.

In my experience, finding a person or a business that’s in their sweet spot is a rare thing and yet I think it’s something every person and business should be striving for. Why wouldn’t you want to? It’s always about leveraging strengths and militating weaknesses. It’s just a lot harder than it sounds.

Twitter, Innovation and Product Life Cycles: It’s always about the Customer

It is not necessary to change.  Survival is not mandatory.  ~W. Edwards Deming

A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem. Albert Einstein

Twitter

I was at a TAB meeting when one of the participants asked me if I was on Twitter. When I replied “No”, her response was, “You have to. You’ll learn so much.” And so I signed up. My initial impression wasn’t great as I seemed to only be learning about weather anomalies. Thankfully, I figured out that it’s a matter of whom you follow so I “un-followed” the Weather Channel and started looking for credible business Twitterers. In the interest of full disclosure: I’m a neophyte given that savvy social networkers follow thousands of people while I find my current 126 like drinking from a fire hose. C’est la vie. Interestingly enough, my meeting companion proved correct in that I learned some things. Well, maybe re-learned would be a better way of putting it. Regardless, it got me thinking.

First, I discovered an interesting article on Social Media that suggested that social media isn’t about advertising. It’s about (wait for it) socializing. Really? Interesting concept, albeit not new. Lots of people have been suggesting for a while that the online rules of engagement shouldn’t differ significantly from face to face interactions. Still, it did seem somewhat novel given that I think many forget this simple common sense concept, even many of the apparently Twitter-wise. Pestering is annoying and when something is annoying we just want it to go away. And while some might get away with doing things like sending promotional e-mails without an unsubscribe feature typically it just demonstrates ignorance and hurts credibility.

Innovation

I also came across a link to a book that will be coming out soon about innovation. I won’t put in a plug for the author given I haven’t read it and to be truthful I’m not sure I’m going to. But his premise did intrigue me; that you need to innovate to stay viable in business. While this concept also isn’t new, it got me thinking. For example:

·         What’ job’ does your product or service ‘get hired’ to do?

The answer generally isn’t as obvious as you might think. For example, years ago I read, “The Innovator's Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth” by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Raynor. There was one story that stood out for me: a quick-service restaurant chain wanted to increase their milkshake sales revenue.  When they asked their customers “What job are you hiring the milkshake to do?” they found out, to their surprise, that people were ‘hiring’ their milkshakes as a breakfast alternative when they had long commutes. The milkshake could be handled easily while driving and wasn’t as likely to be as messy or difficult as bagels or breakfast sandwiches. It could also be made to last which took some of the boredom out of the commute. The findings were significant: people would sacrifice healthier alternatives for convenience and still being able to make it to lunchtime without feeling uncomfortably hungry.

I’ve often wondered if this singular insight is what drove the plethora of Smoothies being introduced into the market: a logical innovation. Smoothies provide everything the milkshakes did but have the added benefit of being a healthier choice.

The factors that innovators need to take into account are:

·         An innovation is only worth pursuing if it is better at accomplishing the customer’s desired aim/job than existing alternatives.

·         Entrepreneurs/Businesses need to understand what those jobs are.

·         Sales and Marketing people are good at understanding customer’s needs. Engineers are not; they’re good at developing technical solutions. As Engineers are typically the innovators, they need to work with Sales/Marketing to understand what the customer wants.

To put this in perspective, Jim Collins (author of “Good to Great”) says that great companies have indicated that technology was way down the list on factors that contributed to their success. But it is important to note that this is not the same as being able to practically apply, or adapt, technology in a way that resonates with the customer. It may seem like a minor distinction but is consistent with ‘Guru’ Collins evangelizing “First Who, Then What” as being critically important.

Product Life Cycles

Which brings me to Product Life Cycles because it’s not something most entrepreneurs think about but they should.

·         Where is your business/product/service in its life cycle? Young? Old? On its deathbed?

Some businesses have much longer life cycles than others which are affected by many factors such as:

·         The current market

o   How do competitor’s offerings address getting customer’s ’jobs’ accomplished? Where are they in their life cycle? Are you in a different/unique space or fighting in a crowd?

o   What effect is the economy having?

·         Where is the market going or trending?

o   No one has a crystal ball but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that manufacturing is on the decline, as is printing. Printing is long in the tooth, technology- wise, and manufacturing is more economically viable in other parts of the world. You don’t want to be left trying to sell buggy whips when the market is moving on.

o   Will the economy improve, stay flat or worsen?

o   If not manufacturing, then what? Pundits believe that business offerings need to be creative. Hence consultative types of businesses are on the rise.

o   Are new competitors likely to emerge? How will their offering differ/address the job they’re being hired to do?

In summary, business owners need to figure out how to evolve. The only constant is change. Unfortunately, many business owners are way too bogged down in the current crisis of the day to focus beyond the here and now. They can’t see the forest for the trees. Too bad because it’s the ones who keep their focus on satisfying customer’s needs (help them to accomplish the jobs they’re trying to do) in the most effective way possible, that will have the best chance of long term survival.

Motivational Myths

“I have come to the conclusion that my subjective account of my motivation is largely mythical on almost all occasions. I don't know why I do things.”  J.B.S. Haldane

 “Classic economic theory, based as it is on an inadequate theory of human motivation, could be revolutionized by accepting the reality of higher human needs, including the impulse to self actualization and the love for the highest values.” Abraham Maslow

I recently read “Drive” by Daniel Pink. He suggests that some well accepted, long standing business practices are bad for motivation; effectively debunking a number of myths. His introduction includes a review of Edward Deci’s work who argues that: Rewards can deliver a short term boost…Just as a jolt of caffeine can keep you cranking for a few more hours. But the effect wears off… and worse, can reduce a person’s longer-term motivation to continue the project. Edward Deci further postulates: Human Beings have an inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise their capacities, to explore, and to learn.

Some of the myths debunked are:

Myth # 1: That big contingent individual bonuses, especially for short-term results, will increase employee performance.
From Drive: External rewards and punishments can work nicely for algorithmic[1] tasks. But they can be devastating for heuristic[2] ones because they interfere with people’s creativity.

Myth # 2: Goal setting will improve performance.

From Drive: Goals imposed by others – sales targets, quarterly returns, standardized test scores and so on…. can sometimes have dangerous side effects, including unethical behaviour. Goals that people set for themselves, and that are targeted at attaining mastery of their crafts, are usually better predictors of superior performance.

Myth # 3: Professionals (lawyers, accountants, etc.) should use billable hours for charging their clients.  
From Drive: Mechanisms such as the “billable hour” are “the most autonomy-crushing mechanism imaginable”. “Focus inevitably veers from the output of their work (solving a client’s problem) to its input (piling up as many hours as possible).

Myth # 4: All you need is talent.

From Drive: Grit[3] may be as essential as talent to high accomplishment.
 
Myth # 5: Good “Management” is critical.
From Drive:  If managing is about control then Pink suggests it is an out dated paradigm, and that providing autonomy produces better results. The acronym he uses in the book is ROWE: for results-only work environment. The closer you can get to it the better the results will be.

The Motivational ‘secret sauce’: Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose

Autonomous people working toward mastery perform at very high levels. But those who do so in the service of some greater objective can achieve even more.

The book “Drive” helps develop understanding of what motivates us which most Business Owners know they need help with and I believe is worth taking the time to read and understand.

You can also see a 10 minute YouTube video summarizing Drive’s key concepts by clicking on the following:

RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

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[1] Algorithmic - a logical sequence of steps for solving a problem.

[2] Heuristic - arrived at by a process of trial and error rather than set rules.

[3] Grit - determination

Seven E-Mail Marketing Tips and a bit about Video

 

I had Geoffrey Claydon of Web Communications in to talk at a recent TAB Meeting about E-mail marketing. He uses all of the knowledge that he acquired in his extensive corporate experience to work with businesses of all sizes to improve the message that is communicated to their existing and future clients and customers. The points that stuck with me are:

1.       E-mail marketing must contain value for the recipient to prevent them from “unsubscribing”.

Value offerings can vary depending on the business (I offer business tips) but it can also be promotions, specials, discounts, new offerings, etc.

2.      Anything that engages prospects (for example, surveys) can really increase the “effectiveness”.

3.      Branding needs to be consistent and professional.

4.      Frequency should be at minimum once a month. This resulted in quite a debate; mainly because entrepreneurs are typically inconsistent when it comes to marketing approaches.

5.      Unsubscribing is permanent.

6.      Analytics are needed if you want to understand the “effectiveness” of your efforts.

7.      E-mail marketing can be an affordable and effective marketing alternative.

Of course the discussion included must-have content like links to websites which also opened the conversation up to video marketing. I became so inspired and convinced of video’s importance that I decided to make a video blog. After 20 some odd consecutive takes I finally decided I’d figured out how to produce reasonable sound quality and hoped the content would work. As I mentioned in the video, I’ve seen a lot of bad video: people just standing there, looking awkward; stilted dialogue; inappropriate backgrounds, etc. Interestingly enough, upon review of my video, I couldn’t control my hysterical laughter because I found it so funny, which, of course, didn’t bode well as far as professionalism goes. I wasn’t trying to produce a comedy. So, “Do It Yourself” webcams don’t work for me and I’m not ready to invest in professional productions at this point, although Geoff did pass on a good contact that I might investigate. Thankfully, I like the written word. It appeals to me in a way video doesn’t. I’d rather paint pictures in my mind then have them supplied for me.

Another lengthy discussion was whether unsubscribing is a “good thing”. General consensus is: it is. Knowing who “unsubscribed” tells you who isn’t interested so you don’t need to waste precious time and resources on them. Although, this isn’t always true. My example: I finally, and reluctantly, unsubscribed from Reed’s Flowers e-mail promotions. I use Reed’s primarily for condolences which are difficult to schedule and I’m not interested in things like Mother’s Day offerings (not applicable to me). To sum up, although their e-mail offerings didn’t contain value for me, I don’t think it’ll change how I do or will do business with them in the future. I trust them. They’ve never let me down where as other on-line flower deliver services have. Was that good money spent on their part? Not with me but it might be with others.

What works in marketing your business?

Seek First Clarity; to Find Meaning and Commitment

“The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” Nathaniel Branden

“The world is not a problem; the problem is your unawareness.” Bagwan Shree Rajneesh

"Your mind, while blessed with permanent memory, is cursed with lousy recall. Written goals provide clarity. By documenting your dreams, you must think about the process of achieving them." Gary Ryan Blair

Achieving Goals

There was a study done by Psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews on Written Goals. She found that when people wrote their goals down, shared them and gave regular updates, people were (on average) 33 % more like to achieve them than those that merely formulated goals. It seems fairly obvious that they were more successful because they spent more time thinking about how to accomplish those goals but the act of sharing their progress was also important in that it affirmed their commitment. No one wants to “publicly” fail. It’s uncomfortable. We’ll take the time to fix a problem (reactive) but we rarely give ourselves permission to do it right the first time around (proactive). Stephen Covey’s (“7 Habits of Highly Effective People”) matrix of Urgent & Important is well known and yet I believe most people can’t bring themselves to move out of the urgent and of low importance quadrant and into the Important but not urgent quadrant. Why? It’s easier. When we lack clarity on how to best move forward we resort to being reactive.

Case in point: in “Switch” written by Chip & Dan Heath. They point out that a surprising thing they found out about change is that what often looks like resistance is simply a lack of clarity. Attaining clarity can be onerous and most people don’t know where to start much less be willing to give themselves permission to take the time.

Meaning

The question is: is formulating and achieving goals important? Yes. People are meaning-seeking and achieving goals is a way of fulfilling purpose.

“What also fuels their passion for work is a larger sense of purpose or passion. Given the opportunity, people gravitate to what gives them meaning, to what engages them to the fullest commitment, talent, energy, and skills.” – Daniel Goleman

Clarity

And where do most business owners lack clarity? Most would say marketing but I think, more importantly, many lack clarity about their business as a whole.

I understand that for most, Marketing is a seemingly impenetrable quagmire but Business Owners should keep in mind that it’s only part of the picture. Although, I will admit a big part; it’s not unusual that 1/3 to 1/2 of the price of a product or service is due to “marketing”.

Marketing Analytics are becoming more and more mainstream. Google Analytics are considered a must by many but Analytics for the small business should probably encompass a wider scope than just the internet. What’s most effective? Direct mail? E-mail? Telemarketing? You need to measure it to know. Measurement can be DIY; other methods could include hiring a school intern or one of the many marketing analytic companies.

Unfortunately, things change so effective marketing strategies are not the sort of thing you measure once and go “Yeah! I’ve found the magic formula”. You have to keep experimenting and testing to understand the impact. . For example, I was surprised when I learnt that Facebook Fan pages get a lot more hits than most company websites. Does that make it more effective? I suppose that depends on whether it results in more revenue.

Other interesting tidbits:

• I recently read Malcolm Gladwell’s book, “Tipping Point”, where he states that telemarketing’s effectiveness has decreased about 50% in the last 25 years. It should also be noted that’s why phone companies have been able to capitalize on offerings such as call display and call blocking.

• I keep coming across various forms of Multi-Level Marketing that are touted as the wave of future. Buyer beware: Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a network of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation. Other terms for MLM include network marketing, pyramid selling, and referral marketing. Critics have complained that MLM-based businesses have few representatives that make much profit which may be due to the recruitment of the general population who have little or no business training or experience. But it may also be because most people do it as a supplement to their “real” job and the necessary focus and commitment is lacking. (Reference Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-level_marketing)

Does that mean we should stop going to things like Pampered Chef parties? It’s unlikely we will because as Dr. Robert Cialdini mentions in his book “Influence”: “the attraction, the warmth, the security, and the obligation of friendship are brought to bear on the sales setting. The strength of that social bond is twice as likely to determine product purchase as is preference for the product itself.” Which, I suppose, is why companies do it but it begs the question of just how far you should go to get a sale. I’d suggest if you’re all about techniques and not about value that your focus is in the wrong place. It’s been repetitively and consistently reported that companies that focus on profits do not make as much as those that are passionate about, and focus on providing, value. This also seems fairly obvious and yet so many business people can’t get beyond the siren call of profit.

To be fair, profit is crucial in the context of survival. I believe Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” applies almost as well to business (when viewed generically) as it does to the individual.

Commitment

At the end of the day, however, it’s all meaningless without commitment. There’s no moving forward or impetus for action without it. In Dr. Gail Matthew’s study, she includes weekly updates as being important and again this seems fairly obvious. This kind of accountability both forces and renews focus so you’re more likely to resolve challenges given that we all want to appear credible when we tell someone we’re going to do something. And especially if we’re reinforcing it with updates, it makes a significant difference. And if what we’re trying to accomplish has personal meaning, which also fosters commitment, then success is just that more likely again.

Thankfully this is a large part of the Value Proposition of The Alternative Board. It provides a forum to discover clarity, with respect to meaning, and fosters the commitment and accountability that Business Owner’s need to move forward and succeed.