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Month: June 2018

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Entrepreneurship Leadership Personal Development

Friction for Startups is a Necessity: Five Rules to Transform Heat into Profit

It happened very quickly. The car began to skid in an unintended direction. The tires had lost frictional contact with the pavement when the car encountered a large pool of oily water.

Friction is the resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another. We often think of friction as a negative force—as in there’s too much friction between two people or two organizations.

Yet many things in our lives, such as automobiles, depend on friction to operate. Wheels need friction on the road: encountering a “frictionless” surface causes the driver to lose control of the steering and often results in a crash. A gasoline motor depends on friction. The motor transforms the reaction in the engine into a positive force that moves the vehicle not just down the road, but over mountains as well.

Startups need friction, too. Unfortunately, too many startups totally avoid friction rather than managing or even encouraging creative friction. Too many others explode from destructive friction, which is the result of unmanaged friction that is allowed to get out of hand. Sadly, in both cases, the result is a potentially great product or service never makes it to the marketplace but is instead doomed to oblivion.

How do you know how much friction is right for your startup? Here are our Five FrictionFactorTM Rules for Startups.

1. Keep close contact with the road. Even if the road looks bumpy, you need to get out and drive. Make contact with potential customers and stay in contact, even when the going is tough. If there are no bumps at all, you may have lost contact with the road and with your customers. Stay close to the market and understand what’s happening with them and in the environment around you.

2. Watch your dashboard. You wouldn’t drive without looking at your dashboard. The speedometer tells you how fast you’re going. The gas gauge warns when you need to refill. Warning lights let you know if there is a mechanical problem brewing. Establish similar leading and lagging measures for your startup. Then be sure to check them regularly to anticipate opportunities and to handle problems as soon as they occur.

3. Love the heat. The bigger the friction, the greater the heat, and the greater the potential to be realized. Startups that are most successful have a mindset that says its OK to be uncomfortable, to try things that haven’t been done before. To make an impact that might just raise eyebrows and even voices, don’t be afraid to stir the pot. Keep looking for how you can keep things exciting. In other words, learn to love the heat.

4. Transform heat into energy. Like a car where the brakes lock, too much friction can grind things to a halt while make a smoking ruin of your tires. We have seen friction like this between developers and marketing or sales. Successful startups look for ways to manage friction before it becomes destructive. The secret is to use the energy of that friction to create innovation. How can you take competing viewpoints and encourage collaboration to create an even better option?

5. Keep creating friction. The way to breakthrough the noisy marketplace is by thinking differently. While the simplest form of friction is rubbing two things together, the foundation of innovation is rubbing together two or more ideas. Putting people together with different approaches and ideas may create clashes but it may also result in the energy you need. Always look for what you can do to increase innovation and encourage people to think differently. You won’t achieve breakout success by staying in your lane in second gear. Do more than think big, act big!

In the example above, the driver fortunately knew what had to be done. He steered in the proper direction, applied the right amount of braking and gas to re-engage with the pavement, and regained the ability to control the vehicle.

Following the FrictionFactor rules will allow your startup to keep contact with the market, enabling you to power up to the mountaintop of success.

Linda Popky is a Silicon Valley-based strategic marketing consultant who helps organizations get heard above the noise and the author of Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters. Alan Willett is an expert on transforming the heat of friction into innovation. Alan has consulted with high tech organizations around the world. Alan is the author of Leading the Unleadable: How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and Other Difficult People.

Categories
Growth Health and Wellness

The ABCs of Stinkin’ Thinkin’

Many of us who run businesses are Type A personalities.  We are go-getters who make things happen.  We don’t sit on the sidelines; we are in the game.  However, Type A personalities have a tendency to catastrophize.  Things will crumble and go to pieces if I do not “make this deal happen.”  Often times, this is not true and living in such a manner results in chronic feelings of anxiety and depression.  In the end, feeling anxious and depressed is more crippling to our businesses and our relationships with our team than a deal every now and then.

Thinking has a pattern.  We witness an (A)ctivating event (i.e. a report is due), and we have a (B)elief (“My business will be destroyed if this report is not completed.”).  Finally we have the (C)onsequences which are our emotions (i.e. feeling anxious) and our behaviors (i.e. yelling at our team).  This ABC pattern if done regularly can be troublesome to our health and our ability to garner good relations with others.

What can we do?  One of the easiest things to do is change our Belief by saying something more realistic such as, “It would be best if I completed this task but if it does not work out this time, there will be many more opportunities.”  Other things that can be done would be to change your behavior.  When you start having a negative belief that you believe will lead to a negative Consequence, take a timeout and walk away.  Find something to drink and talk to a trusted colleague who can give you a better perspective.

Changing your thoughts and behaviors can be as simple as ABC!

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Investing Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

Do You Know How To Better Control Negotiations?

“Control is something that everyone seeks in life. Achieve greater control by knowing how and what to control.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

“I’m not sure who was being manipulated, us or the opposing negotiators. They seemed to be negotiating by a hidden power source. Over the 3-week course of the negotiation, they constantly took exception with the positions they adopted. Something kept making them change their position!” Those were the words of an overly befuddled negotiator as he lamented about the tactics the opposing negotiation team employed.

In every negotiation, there are four factors that you should be aware of. Those factors have a profound impact on the flow and outcome of the negotiation. Thus, if you’re aware of how and when to use them, you’ll have better control of the #negotiation. Those factors are money, power, ego, and control.

Money

Some people are motivated by money for its purchasing value. Others use it as a way to keep score (i.e. point the direction of their success, up or down). In either case, the outcome of the negotiation may hinge on the perception one has of how much he gained, compared to how much you got and/or he left you with.

If you’re engaged in a negotiation with someone of this mindset, realize that money is the source through which he’ll evaluate the negotiation’s outcome. To combat this mindset, speak in terms of money per how he’ll lose opportunities if he doesn’t accept your offers. You can also use scarcity (i.e. the offer will only last a short time) to motivate him to take action sooner versus later. Keep in mind that you may possess something more valuable to him than money.

Power

Everyone wants the semblance of power. You need to know their sense of power in order to understand what source(s) might stimulate them to action (i.e. why they want it, what they’ll do with it, how it will make them feel).

Once you understand their sense and source(s) of power, you’ll have greater insight as to how to advantage it. Addressing it may be in the form of allowing the other negotiator to think he has power, based on the demeanor you project (i.e. someone that’s non-confrontational, go along to get along).

Ego

Everyone has an ego. In some negotiations, it may behoove you to deny the recognition of someone’s prestige, accomplishments, or whatever recognition sought from you by the other negotiator. The lack of recognition, related to one’s achievements, can be a powerful strategy to employ. You can withhold or extend acclamations until he acclimates to your position.

You can use praise for this purpose. You’d stroke his ego, when appropriate, to keep him aligned with the outcome you seek. Vary the degree of stroking based on the intent and outcome sought! In either case, make him feel that he’s earned what you grant him.

Control

Control is a human factor that determines how safe or unsafe someone feels. Like the other factors mentioned, control is perceptional. Thus, if you think you have or don’t have it, you’re right.

To create the façade of the other negotiator having control in the negotiation, make concessions that may appear to be to your detriment; red herrings can be used for this purpose. In some cases, granting control at the appropriate time can be a way to control the negotiation. Before granting it, know it’s perceived value.

When you utilize the four factors mentioned above in your negotiations, you’ll be better positioned to use those factors to your benefit. Doing so will allow you to maximize your negotiation efforts … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating! 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#control #negotiatingwithabully #bully #bullies #bullying #uncoversecrets #hiddensecrets #Negotiation #Personal Development #HandlingObjections #Negotiator #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #psychology

Categories
Best Practices Culture Growth Health and Wellness Industries

5 Ways Contractors Trick You Out of Your Money

We have all heard the horror stories about the Big Bad Contractor!  Contractors, in general, are viewed as dishonest and homeowners shake in their britches when something around the house breaks. It is unfortunate, because I have met a lot of contractors and most of them just want to do a good job for their clients and be able to sleep at night. They are normal people who picked a profession that has a lot of variables and it is a balancing act that is very difficult to maintain 24/7, 365, without issues.  

Imagine trying to juggle multiple objects of varying size, weight, and angles, while someone from the sidelines throws in more objects. That is what it is like to be a contractor! Joe fell off a ladder and delays the tile job, the plumber got stuck at an emergency and needs to schedule his part for another day, the homeowner had to reschedule last minute and yet demands the contractor gets done with the project by the end of the week or they will write a bad review.

The contractor’s job is volatile at best and the moment they lose control of the juggling act, they are labeled as bad and their reputation is threatened with the homeowner’s ability to review them or spread a warning about them across social media.

I always try my best to share things like this, because I think homeowners need to understand, going into any relationship with a contractor, that there needs to be a little bit of levity on their part.  With all these objects being juggled, it is likely that the contractor might forget to call them back or would be behind on getting them an estimate. When your hands are on fire, getting the fire put out as quickly as possible, with the least amount of pain as possible, becomes the contractors reaction to being overwhelmed.  In other words, they have to quickly focus on what causes the most pain for everyone.

Do they finish fixing an issue that has them trapped under a house in the mud, or stop everything and run back to their truck to call and say they are going to be an hour late?  The homeowner waiting for them to make the time window doesn’t care what the issue is, they have dinner at 6pm and this rotten, lying, so and so, didn’t even have the dignity to call and say they would be running late.  Is this person a bad contractor? Ask the homeowner that didn’t get the call.

Now, on the other side, let’s look at what people would usually view as a good contractor. The company has tons of resources, a fleet of trucks, can guarantee they can be on time, and when the technician arrives they are super friendly and look very professional. They must be good, because I see them on TV all the time and they offer financing and they are the official contractor to my favorite sports team. When you look on Google, they have hundreds of 5 star reviews!  THIS has to be a good contractor right? Let’s dig a little deeper. They are on TV all of the time, so their marketing expenses run into the millions. They have a fleet of decked out trucks and are fully stocked, so their daily cost for the fleet is running into the tens of thousands, they have SALES technicians that are trained to the hilt and earn a commission when they sell something. It is their job to get into that house on time, be friendly and helpful, and find anything that has a potential of ever breaking down in the lifetime of your home. Oh, and by the way, if we knock all of this out today, we can offer a huge discount and give you zero percent financing (for 18 months and then the interest kicks in).

If you give us a great review on Google, we will give you another $200 off or your choice of season passes to Six Flags!  Now THAT is a good contractor right? Well, not that they are bad at their job, but you now just paid up to 4 times what you needed to pay to fix the original issue and was sold a bill of goods that was nowhere near necessary.  By the way, even these guys could run into an issue and be an hour late, BUT a sweet representative from the office will call and let you know.

So the point of my rant is that it is very difficult to label a contractor as good or bad.  There needs to be a lot more thought that goes into it, than a missed phone call or whether or not they arrived on time.  I would wait all day long, and even be willing to reschedule, for the honest contractor that can fix my problem at a fair and honest rate and won’t try and take me for more than is necessary.

However, as I promised, these are the 5 ways a contractor can trick you out of your money and take advantage of you.

1. Misdiagnosis. You have seen the sting operations on TV. This is basically just a direct lie typically covered up by a bunch of technical jargon.  Don’t just take their word for it, make them show you and explain how they came to that conclusion.

2. Bait and Switch. There are two types of Bait and Switch

  • Couponing– these are the ones who advertise an extremely low price and then after getting to your home reveals what it will really cost to fix your “particular” problem.

  • The Product Switch – The contractor sells you the upgraded model of whatever and actually installs the lesser model since most of us do not know the difference.

3. Under Bidding. When a contractor knows they are competing against other contractors for your business they will sometimes give a lower bid and once they collect your upfront money they “find” an unexpected problem and has to add that to the bill.

4. Ding Dong Ditch. The contractor gets money upfront for materials and disappears off the face of the planet. Nowadays with the ability to get a disposable phone, it is incredibly easy to disappear.  Make sure you do your research and no how to physically get in front of the contractor with ease.

5. High Pressure / High Fear sales tactics. Many companies have changed their format to a commission based selling scenario for their technicians. Commission doesn’t rule someone out, but it obviously opens the door for a technician to use pressure or fear to get a bigger paycheck. It really all depends on how the owner trains their people, but if you combine high overhead with a commissioned sales technician, then it stands to reason that they need to get more money than necessary out of you.

Here at The Good Contractors List, we have worked with hundreds of contractors and there has been only one that I would consider bad and we exposed him AND ourselves on the Channel 11 News!  We messed up and we paid for it, but we did our best to warn anyone else about doing business with them. Click HERE for the story!

In conclusion, when looking for a contractor, I would do my research.  Do more than just read through their website. Go to the Better Business Bureau and see how long they have been in business. Google their name and the owner’s name to see if you can find anything derogatory.  Read through any reviews you find and see if there are any negative patterns that seem to be consistent. Look at the size of the company and aim for the ones who appear to be professional, but maybe not over the top in resources or marketing prowess. Even if you get a referral from a family member, do research on the referral and make sure they are reputable beyond your cousin’s one interaction with them.

Then, go into the relationship understanding that they are dealing with a lot of variables and there could be something that doesn’t go perfectly. It will mean a lot to them to have you rooting them on and working with them to give you what you need at a fair and honest rate.

Categories
Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development

3 Reasons to NOT Treat Star Performers Differently

We love our heroes and star performers.   I love them too. There is very often a mystique about a hero or star.  I watched an interview with Medal of Honor recipient Army Staff Sergeant Salvatore Guinta.  Guinta stepped into the line of fire to help two comrades on the battlefield in Afghanistan.  He acted seemingly without fear in the face of incredible danger.  He succeeded.  He is clearly a hero in every sense of the word.  However, predictably, he didn’t see himself in that way.  He claimed to behave the way he was trained and that every other soldier is expected to behave that same way.  He followed principles.

In January of 2009 “Sully” Sullenberger landed a USAIR flight in the Hudson after both engines shut down from a bird strike.  He was honored by everyone including the President of the United States, his hometown, and 60 Minutes.  He was called a true America hero by many in the press.  His actions were called a miracle.  He claimed that he and his crew were only doing their jobs.  He said, “But I know I can speak for the entire crew when I tell you we were simply doing the job we were trained to do.”  Sullenberger followed processes based upon solid and proven principles.

Why is it so often that our heroes are so modest and downplay their star qualities and give away their accolades?  They know something that we often forget.  They have a system supporting them.

In the case of Sullenberger the flight crew was thoroughly trained to react quickly and decisively in an emergency situation.  Sullenberger took control of the plane and instructed his co-pilot to read through the appropriate check lists.  The check lists and the cooperation of the co-pilot did as much to save all 155 people as did Sullenberger.  They all played a significant role in the coordination of a successful heroic event.  Sullenberger did NOT act alone. He could not have possibly done it alone yet we still want to hold him up as some super natural champion.   Heroes understand systems.  The general public doesn’t yet appreciate the influence a system has on performance.  We don’t yet think in terms of systems.

There are three reasons why we should not treat star performers differently whether it is in the military, the airlines or in our organizations.  First, doing so ignores the overall system interactions that helped contribute to the successes.  We can forget the catcher who snags a wild pitch to save a perfect game for the star pitcher.   We ignore the co-pilot’s role of reading and fulfilling the emergency engine startup check list or the flight attendant who keeps the passengers form panicking even though they need to stand on the wing of a jet in the middle of the Hudson River.  System interactions contribute greatly to a hero’s success.  Acknowledging this helps us engage others and understand a bigger picture.

Second, treating “stars” differently prevents us from duplicating successes in the future.  By giving all the credit to one person that event becomes a “person dependent event” not a system dependent event.  If the success is great don’t we want to duplicate it as much as possible?  Sullenberger is now retired.  Does that mean we cannot teach others to duplicate his actions?  Why can’t we have 100 heroes in USAIR and not just one?

Finally, treating heroes and stars differently prevents us from learning.  It creates a barrier to learning. Aren’t we are saying, “We just couldn’t have done it without them?”  Instead, isn’t it more important to acknowledge their accomplishments and the system interactions and ask, “What can we learn from this?”  Isn’t it just as important to learn from our successes as it is to learn from our mistakes?

So much time and effort is spent now on looking for ways to keep our star performers in our organizations.  We court them, provide opportunities for them, we lavish them with praise and bonuses just to be sure we them happy.  The next time you see a star being honored think about what we might be missing.  What other system interactions need to be honored and who else needs to be engaged?  How can we duplicate that same set of circumstances and interactions such that we duplicate the success?    Finally, ask, what can we learn?   If we want continued success and continued engagement in our organizations we need to stop treating our heroes so differently.

Check out the interview on C-Suite Best Seller TV to learn more about how to stop leadership malpractice and replace the typical performance review: https://www.c-suitetv.com/video/best-seller-tv-wally-hauck-stop-the-leadership-malpractice/

Wally Hauck, PhD has a cure for the “deadly disease” known as the typical performance appraisal.  Wally holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Warren National University, a Master of Business Administration in finance from Iona College, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.   Wally is a Certified Speaking Professional or CSP.  Wally has a passion for helping leaders let go of the old and embrace new thinking to improve leadership skills, employee engagement, and performance.

For more, read on: https://c-suitenetwork.com/advisors/advisor/wally-hauck/

Categories
Growth Leadership Personal Development

Why Executive Leaders Cannot Motivate Anyone

In other words, I am responsible to you, as participants to provide information and a safe, interactive learning environment. But, I am not responsible for what you do with that information. You are responsible for your own actions. You can decide whether you will actively participate. You will decide whether you will actually take action on what you learn.

The same approach should be applied by leaders, executives, and managers. You are responsible to your team – to lead, guide, and coach them, but ultimately, each team member will choose what actions he or she will take.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, I have a newsflash for executive leaders:

You cannot motivate anyone.

You cannot put motivation into another team member or employee. And that’s because all people are already motivated. You, as an executive leader, are charged with tapping into that internal, intrinsic motivation. Rather than trying to put something in that you think was left out, your job is to draw out what was left in.

How to tap into internal motivation:

Get to know the individuals on your team. Before diving deep, you may start off with some basic conversation. Since that is easier said than done for some, check out this article to help you get started.

Find out what their motivations are. For some, it might be money. For others, it might be recognition.  Some people get a huge amount of satisfaction from helping others. Lots of people enjoy forming a lifestyle where they put family first and are able to spend lots of time with those who matter most in their lives. Others thrive on challenge.

Don’t ignore that all people are tuned into the radio station WIIFM – What’s In It For Me. When trying to influence performance and productivity, help them to see how they can get something beneficial for themselves.

Now you know that, we as executive leaders, unfortunately can’t motivate people. But we can influence, inspire, and persuade them to greater performance.

Your turn:

Have you had any success tapping into your team members’ internal motivations? I’d like to hear your perspective on this important topic. Share your experiences with us!

For more resources on leadership and employee engagement, be sure to sign up for our monthly Ezine and you will receive our report: “7 of Your Biggest People Problems…Solved.”

Related articles you might love:

8 of the Best Kept Leadership Communication Secrets

5 Quick Tips to be a More Influential Leader

Ten Tactics for Leading Through Tough Times

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

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Categories
Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

Create Exceptional Experiences for Customers

With Exceptional Attention to Detail

Do your customers know how important they are to you? And when I use the word customer I’m talking about your clients, your patients, your members, your students, your team members, whatever you call them, let’s use the word customers today. How are you paying professional attention to your customers, whoever they might be?

I want to share with you what I call BDA, which is just a fancy name, or process, for before, during, and after. When it comes to truly paying professional attention, and committing to our customers, I want to share with you an experience I had, and a great example of an organization, or really a hotel, that demonstrates what I call intentional attention through their BDA process.

I wanted to surprise a dear friend and she lives in North Carolina, and so I had booked a weekend in New York as a surprise. Now, what happened was before I even got to New York I had the opportunity to go to their website, register all my details, but it was quite a fun check-in process. And one thing they asked about was there any special occasion? So of course, I mentioned my friend Leslie’s birthday. Then, I was thinking about what made it a really great attentive experience before I even got to the hotel. Well, their website’s well designed, there are so many great pictures. All my questions were answered, their registration process was simple. And I had done quite a bit of research on them through social media.

The Exceptional Customer Experience

I had heard about this unique property called the Library Hotel, and I had personal endorsements from others who’d stayed there. So, I want you to have a think about what are your customers telling others? What are people looking at when they view your social media accounts? Are they sharing and seeing what you stand for? And do you make it easy for your customers to do business with you?

There are some ideas before you even get that customer interaction. But let’s talk about what happened during my stay at the Library Hotel. It was a very hot summer day, we had both got into the city in very different ways, and we jumped in a cab to get to the hotel. It was a hot, sticky day. Imagine our delight when we were offered water by the attentive, kind staff who offered us water upon entering. We were early, so our room wasn’t ready for us at that time.

But, what was amazing was that they wished my friend a happy birthday as soon as she walked up to the counter, which is incredible, and they offered us a hospitality suite to be able to change so we could then go and enjoy a luncheon. Not only that, the hospitality suite was equipped with lovely complimentary drinks and snacks, and it was a gorgeous beautiful facility.

We told them a little bit about our day’s plans, a little bit of shopping in Soho, and then lunch at Balthazar. Now, Balthazar is one of my favorite French bistros in New York, and it is just a hustling and bustling very New York type place. I go there whenever I have a chance.

We had mentioned this as we jumped in our Uber to go out after leaving our luggage at the Library hotel. We had a lovely lunch and after returning from lots and lots of shopping, they told us our room as ready and they had sent our bags up to our room.

Now, here’s what’s interesting. When we got into our room there was a birthday card for Leslie, some little chocolates. There were two mugs with the Library Hotel so that we can enjoy them after we left. And I looked across the room and I saw a bundle of my most favorite champagne. How did they know? What was even more remarkable was when I found this. This is the cookbook for, you guessed it, Balthazar.

They had organized for a copy of this book, including a lovely handwritten note from the manager about our experience. Now, this is attention to detail! They gave us a beautiful room overlooking the New York Library – the hotel’s namesake.

Every room is on the Dewey Decimal System. Isn’t that interesting!? You might remember, if you’re as old as me, going to a library and pulling out the draws. And they had those little-indexed cards with the number and then you had to go find the book. I know, before the internet, I’m that old.

But the Library Hotel was a fantastic case study in how, from the moment we set foot on their property, they paid attention, the staff was trained, everyone was attentive. They listened to our conversation and added little tiny moments that would make us remember it for a lifetime. We had an amazing time at the Library Hotel.

Interesting. After we left, so remember BDA, before, during, and after, they also reached out to see how was our stay. They asked for feedback. We got lovely responses, and obviously, we shared our experience on social media. What are you doing for your customers to make them feel seen and heard, before they interact with you, during their interaction with you, and then after they leave you?

Create Your Exceptional Experience

We work hard to get customers to support our business. There are so many tools available for you to you to pay attention and commit to your customers. Your website, your marketing collaterals, your advertising, your social media, your staff training, your policies, your procedures. And the experience of your physical environment if you have one.

What are all the things you could be paying attention to? All those touch points that leave an impact on your customers? I want to challenge you today to have a look at one of these areas, before, during, or after. Think about what could you do differently and commit to your customers in an even deeper way.

Categories
Growth Personal Development

3 Steps to Prevent Growth from Ruining Your Business

‘Growth’, ‘expansion’, or ‘buildout phase’, whatever you want to call it, is the most dangerous time for your business. But outsiders think your business has to be successful since it’s growing. Isn’t it ironic? The expansion itself can destroy your business.

Before the buildout phase, your business had finally reached its first stage of shaky sustainability. You were finally able to pay your bills, and not with investors’ money, but with your revenue—imagine that! You had finally scored a few big clients who helped you achieve positive cashflow for the first time since your launch. Your business had been built up to a point where you proved your stance in the market, and some stability did result, even if only for a little while.

Then, you realized those few big clients that you relied on and were so proud of, actually had you over a barrel. You had all your eggs in one basket. Any of those clients could dictate your terms, or even worse—they could’ve stopped buying, putting you out of business then and there. But, lucky for you, you listened to your salespeople and accountant, who agreed you were stuck in a precarious position—until you found new clients to lessen the risk of financial disruption or coercion.

Given all of that, you decided to expand! You wanted more customers so that you couldn’t be held hostage by just one customer. You chose to protect your revenue with more sources of income. But then what? You hit a wall! Just like so many other buildout companies, you were slammed with overhead and costs you never saw coming. You learned the heard way. Not about the cost of goods, but the cost of sales!

We’ve learned that sales is the number one underestimated cost in business. These costs were absorbed under “general” overhead before the expansion phase. They were spread out. But once you begin to move into new markets, these costs become more and more obvious.

You are now stuck. If you borrow cash for expansion, how long is it going to take to pay off the loan? And if you sell equity to fund growth, how much control will you need to give up? And, most importantly, what are the costs of buildout, anyway? Are they the same across all markets? Can you recognize them ahead of time? And can you cashflow your way to growth?

The implications of expansion are various. Here are 3 simple steps to survive this “Build Out or Blow Out” challenge to your company:

1. Supply. You’ll need extended terms and credit from your big suppliers. If you already have a collaborative partnership with them from your buildup phase, they’ll be more likely to extend these to you. You’ve shown sympathy for them by letting them know ahead of time if you’d be late or short on your payments. You have demonstrated and accomplished payment plans to get and stay current. You’ve shared your plans for growth on a quarterly basis. Through a long-term contract, you’ve given them the security that you’ll stay a loyal customer even after you “make it.” You’ve done these things the whole time, right?

2. Sales Cost Analysis. Your cost accountant has not only identified the cost of goods, but also the cost of sales in several different They have taught you about the probable advantages and disadvantages of specific markets. You took their advice, and created an expansion plan based on a strategy for revenue growth. You first started in the most profitable markets, because they cost the least to compete in. You and your cost accountant, together, have recognized and understood the cost of sales, and how they change from territory to territory. These include (but are not limited to) promotions, advertising, transportation, taxes, fees, representation, merchandising, customer service, discounting, presentations, and the list goes on. You wouldn’t expand into your next territory until the first one pays for itself, right?

3. Incentives and Compensation. Finally, you’ve figured out that you can’t expect expansion by paying your sales team on volume alone. In fact, you can’t really grow without an annually renewed compensation package based on new, higher goals. You understand what growth means in terms of business health and practicality, and now you’ve created a system that rewards your people for growth, reorders, and new markets. You’ve established incentives for those who aren’t on your payroll, who can foster your growth. You’ve chosen to take a smaller piece from a larger pie!

Of course, there is so much more to this tricky expansion business. Just remember to avoid over-extending yourself, grow slowly, make strategic alliances, and take note of what it actually costs to make a sale, service a sale, and keep ‘em coming. Work closely with your suppliers and a cost accountant, and follow a practical strategy so you can build out and not blow out! Remember—you can do this! Right?

For more, read on: http://c-suitenetworkadvisors.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Investing Management Marketing Negotiations News and Politics Sales Women In Business

Who’s Shaping Your Perspective?

“Your thought process is shaped by the filter through which you view life. To better understand it, understand who controls the lens through which your thought process is filtered.” -Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

Do you really know what shapes your opinions and perspectives?

Most people don’t like to be told how to think. They want to maintain their independence and being told what to think infringes upon that. Nevertheless, most people don’t realize that they’re being primed to think a particular way, based on who and what they allow to become part of their thinking process.

No one has to tell you how to think in order to influence your thought process. Instead, all they have to do is tell you what to think about. Once you accept their premises, they’ve begun to steer your thought process towards one direction versus another. That’s the reason why you should be mindful of where your information comes from. Those sources have their own bent on what reality is. As they pass their perspectives to you, they’re also passing on the perspectives of how you should think about a situation.

In order to be more open-minded in your thought process, be more open-minded about the sources from which you gather information. You’ll be able to have an open mind by listening to the perspectives of others from a pro and con point of view. Once you do that, you’ll be better informed and able to understand any point of view from a more concise outlook.

People will always attempt to sway your thoughts to those that appeal to theirs. There’s nothing unnatural about that. It’s a form of validation per the way they think.

The point is, always maintain an open mind by being willing to listen to opinions that might differ from yours. The value of doing so will come in the form of your mind becoming more expanded. That will allow you to expand your thought processes even more, which in turn will allow you to understand the perspective of others better … and everything will be right with the world.

What does this have to do with negotiations? 

When negotiating, you must keep an open mind about how you’re thinking. In order to negotiate more effectively, you need to understand the thought process of the other negotiator too, and how she came to have that mindset; you can influence her mindset by what you suggest she think about. Once you have the insight by which she thinks, you’ll have a better understanding of why she adopts the stances she takes and why she makes the offers that she extends. The added benefit will be in being able to understand her better. At a minimum, that should allow you to have more empathy for her and her position. If you can get her to reciprocate, both of you will be able to engage in the negotiation from a more civil and open process. A silent benefit of that will be a less stressful negotiation, and when it comes to a negotiation, the more stress you can remove from it, the easier the negotiation becomes.

Remember, you’re always negotiating! 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

To receive Greg’s free “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#YourPerspective #NegotiatingWithABully #Power #Perception #emotionalcontrol #relationships #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #ControlEmotions #Psychology #Perception #ControlLife #Control #leadership #HowToImproveyourself #Achievement

 

 

Categories
Growth Management Personal Development

Moneyball for Leadership Teams: Winning with Evidence-Based Insights

Teams are the core work group in any business. Yet few of us stop to think about their impact on the bottom-line. Or how they actually perform relative to their full potential. Are teams falling short? How large is the gap between actual team performance and full team potential? And, how might team shortcomings be holding back business performance? Is there new and little-known information on teams that will yield your firm a competitive advantage?

My name is Sean Gallagher and together we’ll be discovering the answers to these questions on the C-Suite Network in this and future articles.

I’m an evidence-based team coach. I help leadership teams and other organizational teams thrive. I’m a new member of the C-Suite Advisors. Like you, I’ve been a member of great, inspiring teams throughout my career. And I’ve also been on a few painful, ineffective, and depressing teams. It’s pretty obvious which of those two “team extremes” works better and works happier. Most teams are somewhere along those two extremes — they’re not terrible or amazing, they’re stuck in the middle. As a C-Suite Advisor, my purpose is to help you create effective teams, teams that work at their full potential, using the best research available (there’s lots of data out there) and adding context from my personal experience.

This is the first of many articles you can expect from me. I’ll offer actionable, evidence-based advice to boost your business performance. If you apply and tailor this advice to your teams, you’ll be creating greater value, your employees will boost their skills and creativity, there’ll be more fun on the job, and all your stakeholders will win.

What does “evidence-based” mean?

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game is the 2003 book by Michael Lewis. It told the story of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics and its general manager, Billy Beane. It was a New York Times #1 Best Seller and the basis for a successful movie of the same name. Lewis started researching the book with a simple question in mind: How did the Oakland A’s, a motley collection of baseball misfits and utility players with the second-lowest payroll in baseball, playing in a relatively small market, win so many games against teams with much, much bigger player payrolls, fan bases, and available resources?

According to reviewers, it’s a well-researched book that’s a pleasure to read. And the lessons revealed go beyond baseball.

“This delightfully written, lesson-laden book deserves a place of its own in the Baseball Hall of Fame.” – Forbes

“Moneyball is the best business book Lewis has written. It may be the best business book anyone has written.” – Mark Gerson, Weekly Standard

“Is worth reading even if you couldn’t care less for baseball.” – N. Tuzovon, Amazon.com customer review, October 29, 2014

In a radio interview, Lewis said this about the A’s and general manager Billy Beane:

“It was a losing team when he took over in 1997, and it’s gotten better every year under his stewardship. And Billy Beane came into the organization and embraced the idea that there was such a thing as new knowledge in baseball, and you could research baseball and find out interesting things about it by researching it, and that the way baseball teams were conventionally run had all sorts of inefficiencies in it that could be exploited for profit. And so, you’ve got, essentially, one team that’s living purely by its wits and making a good run of it.”

In short, it’s a book about the team’s systematic, evidence-based approach to creating a baseball team with a competitive advantage. Their increase in success occurred despite Oakland’s meager financial resources. Perhaps you, too, find yourself leading a firm with scarce resources, especially in comparison to the bigger players in your industry?

The key insight in Moneyball is that the wisdom of baseball insiders was subjective, flawed and circular. Statistics such as stolen bases, runs batted in, and batting averages, are holdovers from the 19th-century. Lewis argues that Oakland’s innovation was evidence-based metrics of player productive output. The result was the fielding of a team better able to compete (and outcompete, actually) against bigger-market, richer MLB rivals.

New statistical analysis had shown that on-base percentage and slugging percentage were undervalued and actually better indicators of offensive success. The A’s believed that these qualities were cheaper to obtain on the open market than traditional metrics such as speed and contact, mostly because other teams hadn’t deeply explored these alternative but highly-relevant performance metrics. These observations re-imagined player scouting and hiring and flew in the face of conventional wisdom. They also created untapped opportunities for the savvy A’s and Billy Beane.

Moneyball tells the story of challenging assumptions and strategies about what factors produced wins on the field. With this unorthodox approach (and re-imagined metrics/KPIs), the 2002 Athletics competed successfully with the likes of the New York Yankees. This was despite the Yankee’s spending three times the amount the A’s spent on player salaries. In the end, a solid team built with the right, re-imagined, and data-driven metrics in mind beat a bunch of high-salaried, big name superstars. Financial constraints forced Oakland to find players underrated by the market — their new metrics allowed them to play a game only they were playing, which is one great way to compete and win. It also brought the A’s to the playoffs in 2002 and 2003.

Evidence-based decision-making means making decisions, wherever possible, based on provable facts. It means finding research that uses the scientific method to observe, experiment, and winnow truth from delusion, finding what behaviors and indicators lead to desired outcomes (superior profitability). It means NOT accepting the conventional wisdom and following others when there is a better way. Creating a competitive advantage mean, by definition, doing things differently.

Anecdotes are interesting and can be used to illustrate what the research tells us as true. But we must view them critically unless we have clear supporting evidence. I may have been on a successful team, but that doesn’t mean I’m an expert on team design. You may have been in a series of wasteful weekly meetings, but that doesn’t denote that weekly meetings are inherently wasteful.

Conventional wisdom on leadership and other teams is subjective and flawed. That’s good news for you because it creates an opportunity to out compete your rivals. Like Billy Beane, you’ll need to challenge the strategies and assumptions about what factors creates value in your firm. There is new and little-know information on teams that will yield a competitive advantage for you and your business. I look forward to sharing with you evidence-based insights to create brilliant, effective teams.

Sean Gallagher is a business team coach. He lives in Boston and covers the world. Reach him at Sean@InfluenceSuccess.com.