More Money, Less Work, More Fun ™

With the passing of June, 2009 is half over.  Take a week off and think about these questions:

1.  What do you still want to accomplish in your business this year?

2.  What do you still want to accomplish in your personal life this year?

3.  Do they mesh?

4.  How do you need to adjust your business goals for the year?  With the economic condition still uncertain, be conservative and it’s okay to re-write your annual goals.

5.  What are you doing to refresh yourself daily? weekly? monthly?

6.  Are you making more money?  Why or why not?

7.  Are you working less hours?  Why or why not?

8.  Are you having more fun?  Why or why not?

Remember, alignment starts inside the leader then connects to your business strategy.

As I pulled out of my driveway today I saw my two 16-year old neighbors busy at business.  One year ago they started a lawn mowing business, and they must be thriving for their equipment was upgraded and they were wearing uniforms.

Uniforms for lawn mowing?!?  Green shirts with khaki shorts.  What I love about this is that at an early age, they understand the importance of consistency in their business.  Their uniforms give them credibility, which at 16 years is admirable, and it sends a message to their customers, prospects, referral sources and the community.

Too many growing businesses do not value the importance of doing the same task the same way all the time.  They suffer from inconsistency, which sends a poor message to customers and the public.  When we buy a service or a product, we expect to be treated well, with respect, and consistently.  Imagine going to a spa and getting a different level of service each time.  Imagine buying new computers for your office and having each installed differently…or delivered on different days.  Imagine have a different due date for your loan payment every month.

At your next planning session and daily huddle, address consistency for your business.

One of the most talked about topics when coaching entrepreneurs is partnerships.  Everyone knows about an entrepreneurial business partnership that broke up, and it always makes for good conversation, unfortunately.  I have one simple rule…date before you marry.

Most entrepreneurs I know get wrapped up in the romance of having a partner before they work out all the details.  Then, when the relationship starts showing cracks, they get scared, and because they did not date first, they have to go straight to divorce court.

Before becoming partners, consider working together on a project(s).  Then, being employees.  Finally, think about tying the knot.  You will know that you are ready for a business partner when the two of you can sit down together and agree on employment agreements, buy-sell agreements, and a non-compete agreement (of course you still like each other AFTER the attorneys give their blessing and draft the agreements to both parties’ liking).

This link to Inc. Magazine provides an excellent checklist of topics:

http://www.inc.com/guides/leadership_strat/23041.html

Another great resource is the book “How to Run Your Business So You Can Leave It In Style” by John Brown.

Every baby crawls before it walks and runs.  Don’t start with the running in business partnerships.

Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman of Zenger-foldman Leadership Development Consultancy just finished two studies to find out why leaders fail and came up with the top 10 flaws in the worst leaders, including:

lack of energy and enthusiasm; accepting their own mediocre performance; lack of clear vision and direction; poor judgement; no collaboration; don’t walk the talk; resisting new ideas; don’t learn from mistakes; lack of interpersonal skills; failure to develop others.

Zenger and Folkman used 360-degree feedback on more than 11,000 leaders to identify the 10% who were considered the least effective leaders.

Compare that list to the 24 emotional intelligence competencies from the Emotional Intelligence Profile developed by CEO Partnership and for which Pam Watson Korbel of SmartGrowth, Inc. is certified.  The competencies include:

Emotional Self Awareness,  Empathy,  Accurate Self Assessment,  Service Ethic,  Personal Power, Organizational Awarenes,  Emotional Self Control,  Developing Others,   Integrity,  Powerful Influence,  Innovation & Creativity,  Communication,  Initiative & Bias for Action,  Conflict Management,  Resilience,   Achievement Drive,      Catalyzing Change,   Sttress Management,   Building Bonds, Realistic Optimism,  Teamwork & Collaboration,  Intentionality, Building Trust

Instead of waiting to find out if you are an effective leader from your boss or subordinates, take the Emotional Intelligence Program and start a coaching plan to improve in all these key areas.   Emotional intelligence is a key ingredient for success for leaders of any organization, fast growth companies, corporations and non-profits.

For more information, contact Pam Watson Korbel at pam@smartgrowth.com or 303-790-9131 or go to www.smartgrowth.com.

I’m reading Influencer: The Power to  Change Anything by Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, McMillan, Switzler (2008: McGraw Hill) and paid for the book with one simple paragraph in the chapter two.

“When researchers interviewed unsuccessful team members, they learned that their cynicism stemmed from three experiences.  First, when they offered innovative ideas, their supervisor usually shot them down.  Second, they had irresponsible teammates no one ever dealt with, and therefore they concluded that improvement ideas were a crock.   And finally, they felt powerless to question management policies or decisions that appeared to obstruct their improvement efforts.” (pp. 39)

The authors learned this information after conducting research for a company that paid for 4,000 employees to take Six Sigma training and only three work teams implemented the material.  My response…don’t pay for training for your employees if you don’t want to change via implementing what they learn…also the three scenarios described above.

This learning also evokes several questions about the emotional intelligence of the firm members.  Did the team members lack personal power and conflict management/communications skills so that they felt like they could not challenge anyone in authority?  Did the managers lack self awareness, organizational awareness and empathy so that they did not create an open environment?

While we might say that it is common for employees to question their ability to challenge management, it should not be.  Employees at companies built with “A Players” have mastered this skill.

If you feel like shaking up your mode of operation, consider two free educational events offered by SmartGrowth, Inc.  (go to http://www.smartgrowth.com/new/events.htm):

1.  May 8 Teleseminar - “Balanced Leadership: How Emotional Intelligence Grows Sales and Profits” with Dr. Laura Belsten, founder of the Emotional Intelligence Profile and the CEO Partnership.

2.  May 18 book club - to discuss “Influencer” (see citation above).  You can order the book at the events link here too.

When I started my business in 1996, my first client was a gracious woman business owner.  She shared that every Monday morning she started the day by writing 5 handwritten (not e-mail or typed) thank you notes to people who had helped her the previous week.  What a positive way to start the week!

In 2000, I became an affiliate of Gazelles, Inc., which espouses the 27 Rockefeller Habits of discipline in growing businesses.  One of them is to write 5 handwritten notes (not e-mails) a week.  Some people disdain this discipline when I teach and coach it.  However, answer these questions:

– how many handwritten notes do you get a week?

– do you remember the last one that you got?

– how many pieces of mail do you get a week that are not a bill or a promotion?

– what mail do you open first?

You know by answering these questions that hand written notes are appreciated, remembered and make you stand out!  It’s the simplest marketing tactic in the world.

Now, with the recession I have noticed that there are two kinds of people - the grateful and the ‘almost dead.’  The grateful recognize the positive attributes in their lives and build upon them.  The ‘almost dead’ recognize the negative aspects of their lives, family, the economy, etc. 

And as I coach and train the grateful and the ‘almost dead’ there is a positive correlation between their success…the grateful are experiencing success even in this economy.

So write your notes and start habits of positivity.

There are two kinds of people in the world:  those who want to know more about themselves and those who don’t.   Using Ken Blanchard’s words, ‘feedback is the breakfast of champions.’  So, extrapolating that concept, there are two kinds of people in the world…champions and those who are not.

Consider the sources of feedback that athletes receive…

   Olympic champion Shawn Johnson of Des Moines, Iowa (my hometown) practices 9 hours a day with her coach.  Does it take nine hours to run through each of her routines?  No, she stops and receives feedback througout the run-through on the tiniest of details…hand placement, eye contact, etc.

   World Series winning pitcher Brad Lidge practices 5 out of 7 days during the offseason.  He lifts weight under the guidance of a strength coach who ensures, again, that the tiniest details are met…that maintain the proper form to appropriately strengthen each muscle.  He also runs through pitching drills and pitches from a mound with a coach.  Even at age 28, he expects to learn something new…maybe even develop a new pitch.

From an early age, athletes learn that feedback and coaching is imperative to become a champion.  So why do so many business people not learn the same?  As I talk to employees, managers and executives, the body language of those who do not want to know more about themselves is obvious.  They fold their arms across their chests, look off to the left rather than directly in the eye, shift back and forth.  Do they not want to be champions in their own field?

If I have two employees working for me and let’s say both are underperformers, I will willingly spend time helping the employee who embraces feedback and I will look for a way to get rid of the one who will not.  Why?  I want people who believe in themselves enough to want the very best for themselves.

If you want to embrace the concept of ‘feedback being the breakfast of champions,’ consider taking these steps to develop:

1.  take a personality profile and embrace the results;

2.  take an emotional intelligence profile and embrace the results;

3.  find an accountability buddy and help each other see strengths and weaknesses;  set goals together and check in;

4.  get a business coach;

5.  take 15 minutes daily to meditate and get to the core of your beliefs;

6.  read every day for 15 minutes - fiction or non-fiction - this will give you more insight into yourself.

In fast growth companies, it is even more imperative that you hire “A” players with high emotional intelligence.  These companies are dependent upon having people willing to do 120 to 150% every day so that the company achieves its vision.

For more information about business coaching, the emotional intelligence profile and/or a personality profile, contact pam@smartgrowth.com or www.smartgrowth.com

A new report from McKinsey & Co., the Boston-based consulting firm, shows the smartest way to grow your business is to concentrate on selling more to your existing clients and get referrals from them.  In its 12 annual global survey of CEOs, respondents said that during the recession they are concentrating on existing markets and customers. 

Don’t grow the difficult way…looking for something new to do with new customers or new products and services.  Just stick to your knitting as Tom Peters said in “In Search of Excellence.”  Get in contact with every customer and deepen the relationship.  Think about:

• better customer service
• more customer appreciation events
• surveys to ascertain needs
• executive visits to client sites
• incentives to staff for client retention

Here’s the survey link:

http://www.pwc.com/ceosurvey/balance.html?WT.mc_id=09ceo_googaw_responsible1&WT.srch=1

And others who think they have terrible bosses…

In business, it is not uncommon for leaders to explore its options to move employees around so that the firm can positively change the dynamics to meet its goals.  Jay, do you know what the Broncos’ goals are?  How do you help them meet those goals?

The conversations about moving people around are not public.  They provide a mechanism to ensure that the right person is in the right job.  In my experience, 80 per cent of the conversations don’t go anywhere.   Executives are entitled to have these conversations without divulging them to anyone or everyone.

The point also needs to be made that in a team-oriented environment no one person is more important than another.  Whose team are you on?

And lastly, it’s probably over Jay.  In my experience, whenever managers start talking about how someone is not working out, the employee and the firm part ways 95 per cent of the time.

Jay, you might want to take a year off to work with an emotional intelligence coach.

I bet you CAN NOT envision how I can write one blog covering snow, emotional intelligence and profitability.  Well…read on.

It’s snowing here in Denver today.  Traffic is all backed up.  And as an employer you’re grinding your teeth about all the employees who are late to work.

Consider this employee scenario as the first test of emotional intelligence.  How can snow predict your level of emotional intelligence?  Last night, most Denver-ites went to bed knowing that snow during rush hour today was highly likely.  Those with higher emotional intelligence planned for it.  They set their alarms to get up early, checked the roads status, left home early to be on time.  They have initiative, bias for action and resilience, three of the important competencies of self management and emotional intelligence. 

Those of you with employees know that some people took advantage of the snow…’I can have a shorter work day.’  How many meetings were delayed in your company today? cancelled?  How much productivity was lost?

Now for profit… human resources are likely your largest business expense.  Effective management of your human resources then contributes significantly to your profitability.  If 100 people missed 30 minutes of work today because of snow, that’s 50 hours at an average pay rate of $20/hour or $1000.  What could you do if you had $1000 more?

Furthermore, is it fair to your customers if your employees were not available while they straggled into work today.  How much productivity did they lose?  More importantly, how much customer loyalty did you lose?  If each customer contributes $1000 profit/year to your bottom line, how many can you afford to lose?

And lastly, did you as a manager show high emotional intelligence by stating the expectation that ‘even though it might snow 2 inches, work still starts at 8 am.’  That demonstrates your ability to engender a service ethic in your oganization and influence others.

I did it.  I’m sure every employee in Denver will regret it now.