Entrepreneur Manual

Communication Tips for Leadership - 11 of 15

2011-02-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

Communication Tips (SERIES)

Tip #11. Think Twice, Speak Once

We can avoid confusing our audience by getting to the point as quickly as possible. This less is more approach to communication is most effectively implemented when we have a clear communication objective. A phrase to keep in mind might be “think twice and speak once.”

Think: How can I get to my point faster?

Speak: Focused message with clear objective.

Communication Tips for Leadership - 12 of 15

2011-02-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

Communication Tips (SERIES)

Tip #12. Behind Door #3

Our audience can lose faith in us if we demonstrate an underdeveloped thought or behavior. One way we can avoid this situation is by eliminating pre-determined solutions from our messages. See below for some options.

Best Practices:

Removing the “this OR that” wording — it creates two options when there could be many more
Rewording “THE way to achieve that is…” to state “ONE way to achieve that is…”
Using the word “options”

We hope this helps make your messages more open and appealing to your audiences. Good luck!

Communication Tips for Leadership - 13 of 15

2011-02-10T09:51:00.001-08:00

Communication Tips (SERIES)

Tip #13. Be Relevant

Sharing irrelevant information can make your audience suspicious and/or lose trust in you. Clearly explaining why you are sharing the information helps remove the potential for confusion or mistrust. The following will help you provide this clarity to your audience.

Filters:

Why am I sharing this information?
How do I see the audience applying this information?
What do I want the audience to do as a result of this information?

Something to keep in mind is that we don’t want our audience to feel that they are being bombarded with information. Doing this puts pressure on the audience to (1) make time to read the information, (2) think about it, and (3) determine if their time was well used reading that information.

Communication Tips for Leadership - 14 of 15

2011-02-10T09:48:00.000-08:00

Tip #14. Assume makes an…

Most customers are turned off when we assume to know their needs and how we can fill them. We can be more effective at building a relationship if we avoid making assumptions and instead encourage a dialogue for deeper understanding. Below is an example of how our communication style affects how we build relationships with customers.

Pitch:
We can redefine normal for your facility maintenance process.

Result: Conversation ends.

Dialogue:
We like helping redefine what normal is.
Can you help us understand what you think normal could be or should be?

Result: Conversation begins.

You’ll hear the warning “don’t throw up all over yourself” at Resicom offices frequently. This is a way of saying don’t “word-vomit” about how great we are. Limit what you say about the great things you do until you understand what great things the prospect needs done. They will tell you… so listen up!

Communication Tips for Leadership - 15 of 15

2011-02-10T09:46:00.000-08:00

Communication Tips (SERIES)

Tip #15. Focus

Messages that have multiple calls to action can be confusing for our audience. We can eliminate this confusion narrowing our focus on one call to action at a time. Be mindful of those things that can remove focus from the main objective of our communication.

Common Distractors:

Large, prominent logo
Footnotes of references
Supporting information (put this in an appendix)

Even if one of our objectives is to increase the visibility of our credibility, we must be careful not to let this objective overpower our other communication objectives.

Complacency Is Not Normal

2011-02-10T09:39:00.000-08:00

“Complacency doesn’t make sense for a guy trying to redefine normal.”

-John Fairclough, CEO Resicom

Leadership - Purpose First

2011-02-10T09:37:00.001-08:00

Explain WHY before the WHAT

Being defined by what we do limits understanding and communication opportunities. We remove this constraint by focusing on WHY we do things before we explain WHAT we do. Below is an example of how Resicom has adopted this non-limiting behavior in our company.

Example: Our Elevator PitchWe believe in the bold pursuit of what normal could be. We accomplish this by leveraging communication, accountability, and structure to create smarter options. One of the things we do is protect brands through facility maintenance and repair.

Why: We believe in the bold pursuit of what normal could be.
How: We accomplish this by leveraging communication, accountability, and structure, to create smarter options.
What: One of the things we do is protect brands through facility maintenance and repair.

Consider how your approach to communication, structure, and accountability may limit your understanding by focusing on the WHAT more than the WHY. Reworking this approach creates an opportunity for your coworkers, customers, and community to understand you better.

Leadership - Roles and Ultimate Responsibilities

2011-02-10T09:36:00.000-08:00

Assigning Ultimate Responsibilities

An employee is easily underutilized when they are assigned tasks rather than responsibilities. Consider how you can gain a more dedicated advocate for the company by charging employees with ultimate responsibilities.

Example: Our Offer Letters – New Hires
All employees are charged with upholding the core values and executing the strategy of the company. As Sales Manager, your ultimate responsibility will be to ensure your division is profitable. Specific duties and goals will be designated by the Company with an initial focus on (i) business development, (ii) networking, and (iii) active participation in trade organizations.

Company-specific: All employees are charged with upholding the core values and executing the strategy of the company.
Role-specific: Your ultimate responsibility will be to ensure your division is profitable.
Task-specific: Duties and goals will be designated by the Company with an initial focus on…

Every discipline of a company plays a key role in the short- and long-term success of the company. Take a moment to brainstorm how you could communicate these ultimate responsibilities to your team.

Leadership - Delegation and Desired Outcomes

2011-02-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

Delegate Desired Outcomes

Stifling creativity can be a devastating habit for a company. Avoid this pitfall by abstaining from micromanagement activities. As an example, consider how you can empower your people’s creativity in how you delegate.Example: Our Task DescriptionConnect with Mr. Smith to learn of his interest in becoming a client. He is the president of the company he founded 7 years ago and is may be a someone we can grow with. Be sure to keep your communications brief as he has limited time to review emails and would like to know the objective of your message immediately.

Deliverable: Connect with Mr. Smith…
Objectives: …to learn of his interest in becoming a client.
Tips: Recognize his role; Note the opportunity to grow with his company; Keep communications brief and focused on objectives

With practice, employing desired outcomes throughout your company will stifle micromanagement and encourage creativity. Coupling this list with some tips, must dos, and must not dos creates a broader framework for them to deliver innovative results. Remember, change needs practice… and practice needs patience.

Communication Tips :: Overcoming Writer's Block for Blogs

2011-02-10T09:33:00.000-08:00

We have important (at least we think so) things to say, but sometimes run into a wall for ideas of where to start.

I have created a “cheat sheet” that helps me generate ideas. Since each of my posts has a specific purpose, I have organized these categories to help get me unstuck.
Quick Note – There are a couple of filters I like to apply:

Relevant to recipient, with hope of engaging
Not “salesy” (sometimes hard to do)
Specifically meet a goal

With that, I’d like to add posts specifically meant to:

Engage. Many of the posts will naturally create engagement. Sometimes I want to create optimal opportunity for engagement, so I will post information like: Having a Contest; Posting an open ended question; “Fill in the blank” type of question; Something fun, such as a Puzzle or Riddle.
Recognize Others. This is something specifically designed to acknowledge others: Tribute to mentor, vendor, client, etc.; Their Company – recognize their accomplishments/successes or their partnerships/alliances or their giving back/philanthropy; etc.
Recognize Ourselves. This is meant to acknowledge ourselves: Tribute to employee; Photos and Videosof our work, and our work environment; etc; our accomplishments – successes, partnerships/alliances, or philanthropy; Our Company – our purpose, core values, philosophy, culture, legendary stories; etc.
Educating the Industry. This is meant to push forward our thought leadership by posting: White papers; Case Studies; Compliance Info; Reports/Statistics; Re-posting of other’s content
Educate Consumers. This is meant to boost our social responsibility by posting: Solutions for common problems; Resources available; and Reports/Statistics;
Inform Industry. This is meant to further our goal of being the “go-to” resource for our industry by: Posting about Current Events of Industry such asConferences and seminars; Webinars; Trends; Recognition; etc.
Inform Community. Meant to further our goal of being a good source for our community by: Posting: Local News and Events.
Inspire. Meant to help people dream bigger by posting: Inspirational or thought provoking quotes; acknowledging legendary stories of service,etc.

I hope this helps you redefine your normal.

Setting Expectations About change

2011-02-10T09:30:00.001-08:00

"Change needs practice. And practice needs patience.”

- John Fairclough

Leadership - Is Your Life Balanced?

2011-02-10T09:28:00.000-08:00

Many leaders struggle with work/life balance. Many times parts of our lives are sacrificed for the betterment of another. The problem is that we often do not return to build up the sacrificed areas. This exercise will help you identify where you are at and help you put in place activities that bring you your desired outcomes.

Picture your funeral. Three people give eulogies – one family, one business, and one from the community.

What would they say about you?
What would you want them to say?

Once you have your answers, you have basically set goals.

Next set of questions would be:

What do you need to start doing and with what frequency to achieve the goals?
What do you need to STOP doing to achieve the goals?

Once you have your answers, you can build them into your daily/weekly routine.

Good luck!

What Would You Do, If Only You Had Time?

2011-02-10T09:26:00.001-08:00

Sometimes are dreams get put on hold. The things that give us great joy get put on the side to take care of other things. The problem is, we can lose sight of our dreams and our happiness can become elusive.

This exercise helps you examine what you’d do if suddenly you had an opportunity to do something else.

You have been given an opportunity to take an all expenses paid two-year sabbatical. Assumptions:

Your spouse and family are 100 percent behind you and highly supportive;
Everything at the company is totally under control, a full executive support team that you trust highly is in place;
Your doctor says you are healthy enough to do this
NOTE – In other words, none of the traditional obstacles are in your way.

Instructions:
Take out a clean sheet of paper. Set a time, and in no more than 15 minutes, write down your answer(s) to this scenario:

Describe what you think you would do. Where would you go? What would you try to accomplish?
Explain what you think you would feel about doing this. Would you like to do it? Why/Why not? Would you decline the opportunity? Why/Why not?
Explain what you would try to learn during this period.
How do you think you would change after two years? What might be different about you? Could you actually make the change?

Hopefully this clarifies some of the things you would love to do and encourages you to start taking the steps needed to accomplish these goals. We only get one life. Health is often wasted on youth. Realize your dreams.

This exercise has been modified from an exercise provided by UIC’s Family Business Council.

Why Communicate?

2011-02-10T09:25:00.000-08:00

“Man created language to be understood. It should be normal to understand what people convey to us. Fear, ulterior motives, and closed mindedness are the enemies of understanding.”

John Fairclough

ENTREPRENEUR BLOG TAKES TOP HONORS

2010-07-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Entrepreneur Café-the blog of Resicom CEO John Fairclough received the 2010 Top Blog Award.

Sponsored by OnlineMBA.com and AwardingTheWeb.com, a panel of judges reviews nominees that have been submitted or sourced by the panel’s research team. In the case of Entrepreneur Café, the award comes as a pleasant surprise as the nominating team found Entrepreneur Cafe during independent web searches.

Topics on the blog range from staff accountability to risk management and structural clarity. Fairclough uses the format to experience share personal stories of obstacles and best practices. Often asked to present on business strategy, Fairclough began Entrepreneur Café as a means to communicate lessons learned while building Resicom, a national facility maintenance company.

At 24, John launched the first Resicom office from the basement of his future in-laws. By age 30 Resicom had earned over $1 million in revenue and has since passed the $10 million benchmark. Fast forward to today, Resicom has leap-frogged in size and revenue, now occupying a 15,000 square foot facility in the southwest Chicago suburbs. The strategic vision to surpass the $35 million in revenues benchmark should be realized in under 2 years before John turns 40.

John is passionate about providing guidance, mentoring and other resources to assist first-level entrepreneurs in catapulting their business to the next level. Helping entrepreneurs become better business leaders has been personally rewarding.

Thinking Correctly Under Pressure (TCUP)

2010-04-24T07:40:00.000-07:00

I learned this exercise in London. It was quite revealing to me. Its about preparing your team for situations that may come up where they will feel under extreme pressure. By practicing it, they will be better prepared to handle pressurized situations that may arise.

How To Do It

Need a room with a white board and a group of your team.
Write out a scenario on the board.
Write out the list of the resources the person will have to work with.
Set a timer to a short amount of time (2 minutes or less usually works out well).
Present the situation to one person and have them solve the situation, with no work allowed after timer sounds.
Have the person explain what they did and why.
Ask the rest of the group what is right and wrong with it, then define what the ideal solution would have been.

This is a simple process, but can be used in most situation. How can you help prepare your team for success in pressure filled situations?

Scorecards - Daily Feedback on Performance

2010-04-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

It should be normal for people to end their workday knowing how they performed. It gives them the consistent feedback that reinforces the right activity, while giving the supervisor the ability to have objective performance discussions.

I am in pursuit of having every position in our company be able to have this daily feedback. We have recently adopted it with a certain role within the company, and within the first two weeks, we have made significant changes.

I will share an example of the sales since it is the easiest to explain in a blog post. Our sales team is measured based on revenue, number of clients invoiced, and types of services sold. We measure these three things because they are critical to our company's health and growth.

Quick Notes

Revenue by itself can be deceiving. If we only see that number, we may miss the risk associated with it if we do not know the number of clients that comprise that revenue (if it is one big client, rather than multiple smaller ones there may be a higher level of risk of those revenues).
Number of clients ensures that the revenue is spread amongst multiple treasuries as well as creating more opportunities for growth. If we can continue to add new clients each month, while improving relationships with existing accounts, our company will grow.
Types of items sold shows us opportunities to sell clients other services, creating opportunities for growth. It also shows us a level of risk with a client. If they are only buying one type of service, then decide to suspend all spending for that type of item, our revenues are more at risk. This provides insight to both growth and protection goals of the company.

How We Share It

Everything is goal versus actual. This provides feedback without subjectivity.
It is reported on daily, with weekly, monthly, and quarterly recaps. Providing the information in a timely fashion.
They are reported side by side, so that management can show correlation of all numbers.
The question asked when the numbers are missed is "How can I help you achieve your goals". This is a much different discussion than discussing the fact that the numbers were missed - that is easy to see and does not require a discussion. That already happened. The only thing relevant to that is to learn how we were derailed and how can we get back on track. Autopsy without blame.

This type of approach can help your management team can manage without emotion.

Emerging Leaders Program Overview

2010-04-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

Emerging Business Leaders is a program that we built that brings together young, insightful, talented members of a team to develop their leadership skills. This program serves as a platform for educating members on each discipline of business structure, innovation, improvement initiative development, while developing and acting upon Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis.

The team takes on a 360 degree view of each department of the company and assesses their current culture, capacity, and internal/external interactions. They produce recommendations and options that will assist the company's growth and stability goals.

Promoting global business growth while maintaining a healthy organization is a significant challenge. Members meet weekly to brainstorm, research, and learn from one another and create a list of action items. The team members are kept accountable for both their personal and group achievements.

Keys To Success

Executive Sponsorship. It is critical that their is a key person in the company pushing this forward and managing the feelings that each department head may have with a team assessing its condition.
Member Buy-In. The team must meet their commitments.
Celebrate Success. Each meeting needs to have some accomplishments made between meetings. It builds momentum that cannot be overstated.
Accountability. The team must hold eachother accountable. This is one of the most important lessons of leadership, therefore must be reinforced every meeting.
Diversity in Group. It is important that the group is well rounded, much like an executive team. The team needs to be made up of people from different areas of expertise with different personality types represented. This helps the group develop better options and allows strengths to shine through.

I hope this overview shows the opportunities that are possible in helping people dream bigger and giving them the opportunity to evoke change. It is game changing.

Emerging Leaders Program Basics

2010-04-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

It should be normal that innovative solutions get developed and implemented into a company. We reached a size where this was no longer happening. These solutions were important, but not important enough for the executives of the company to focus on them. We were suffering because of this. It was not acceptable. Because of this, we built an Emerging Leaders Program. Here are the basics of the program.

Qualifications Needed

Desire to be a future leader
Ability to commit the time required
Love for the company
Executive sponsorship

Program Commitments

12 month commitment required
Meet weekly for project reviews
Outside of workday researching and learning
Attendance at Quarterly Training Days

Program Components

Quarterly Training
Project Initiatives

Sales and Marketing
Finance
Strategy
Operations

Assigned Reading
Full Integration into Company

This program serves as a platform for innovation.

Relationships and Success

2010-04-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

The path to success includes many pivotal decisions. These decisions shape our future. I want to share my experience and the price I paid with my relationships as I pursued my dreams.

In the beginning, I had my friends and family, and they were people I could count on. Life was easy and predictable. My life was a routine that my friends and family could relate to. As I started to have some success and dream bigger, my confidence built. I realized that my life could change dramatically if I could reset my course. I had never experienced financial success - I was always between poor and lower middle class, and although it was not what I wanted, I had been comfortable in that range.

The first step for me was to become more self aware. Diving deep to learn about myself was not fun. I was open minded about it, but I realized that I was the person holding me back, and it was hard to accept. I had been comfortable in pointing out what other people's faults were and pointing blame towards them. Now I realized that even if it was someone else's fault, if it made an impact on my life, it was my responsibility to make it right. I did not have the luxury of putting an explanation next to my status. This is when I stopped blaming other people and adopted the mindset that everything is my responsibility (it does not make my situation better knowing that I did not achieve what I wanted to achieve because of myself or others - either way, I am in the same spot).

Many changes were happening in the way I dealt with things - with my wife, family, co-workers, friends, everybody. This is where my relationships began to suffer. I was a different person and the people around me were not ready for it. I took responsibility for my environment and stopped doing and thinking in ways that were destructive to my desired outcome. The effect this has on others was something I completely missed. My approach made people feel guilty about things, triggering some anger towards me. From my perspective, I made myself vulnerable, accountable, and pushed myself to be the best I could be. Others, though, had a different view. Theirs was that I was self-righteous, arrogant, and not the person I used to be. They developed all kinds of reasons for it - "He only cares about money; He forgets who he is; He is all business all the time;" amongst other things not fit for print.

Most every one of my relationships suffered. There was a loneliness, a feeling of being misunderstood, that came with it. I found myself with very few relationships that I really cherished. I had been let down or betrayed by people that were close to me, and it hurt. I never knew that trying to become better and pursuing my dreams would leave so many relationships damaged or ruined. It was a high price to pay.

Back to accepting responsibility for outcomes, if I could do it all over again, I would do things a little different. I would spend a lot more time sharing with other people how I felt, how scared I was, and ask them to help me accomplish what I was trying to do. I would give them the opportunity to support me in my quest, rather than going at it alone. My rationale of going at it alone because they were my issues does not withstand scrutiny. It should be normal for people to be able to count on the people that care about them to help them accomplish their dreams. It would have been easier, and better, had I brought people close to me more into it.

I shared my experience in hope of helping you save some great relationships. Good luck!

Hiring Basics

2010-04-17T11:49:00.000-07:00

There were a couple of steps we established to hire the right people, once we knew what we
wanted. We use this process to help prepare our team for success.

Recruitment

Establish a scorecard to rate each resume, with the intention of removing 70% of applicants, giving us the ability to spend more time with the most likely fits
Building a job profile, with KPI’s for each role
Reach out for referrals within our network

Interview

Phone screen (30 minutes)
Face to face discussion (1 hour)
Full day interview (6 hours)
Hiring - Job Offer or letter within 48 hours
On-Boarding

Minimum two days of on-boarding (most roles require one week or more)
Training for tasks that the employee will be responsible for

Written materials provided
Instructor
Shadowing instructor
Instructor shadowing trainee
Testing

By having a consistent process, we are able to tweak it and trust it.

My Process to Develop Organizational Clarity

2010-04-17T11:42:00.000-07:00

I believe organizational clarity is necessary for a company to enjoy long term success. Early on, I
handled many of the responsibilities of my company, so clarity was not an issue. As my company
grew, I found myself frustrated with decisions that were being made, because they did not align
with our goals, and this compelled me to believe I needed to have my hands in everything.
Unfortunately, this approach does not scale. Realizing the challenges I faced were because of my
own actions, I started working on developing an approach to my business where I would not have
frustrations due to lack of clarity. Here is my blueprint for success.

Laying the Foundation
The purpose of the first phase of building my company was to set the right foundation to build on.
The steps included:

Defining the purpose of why we were in business
Establishing our core values
Determining out current mission/goals
Building a strategy to meet these goals

This helped articulate who we are and where we wanted to go. This self examination helped us
become self aware, a critical component to establishing clarity.

Building the Structure
Once the base was set, I needed to establish a structure that would meet the items established in
the foundation.

Building the organizational chart
Establishing key performance indicators “KPI’s”
Establishing business processes

This is the “how” of our company. This is our structure that keeps us clearly focused on where we
are trying to go, with consistency and order.

Adding the Reinforcements
The right base and structure created the framework. These reinforcements intertwined with the
foundation and structure, strengthened the company.

Policy
Meeting Structure
Internal Communications
External Communications
Hiring
Training
Improvement Initiatives
Performance Reviews

These items strengthen the company. Hiring is an example of this. Once we knew what our
foundation and structure were, we were able to establish the traits and skills required to help us
achieve our goals.

How Can I Build A Creative Thinker Role in My Company?

2010-04-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here are the first steps to bringing this structure into your company:

Identify the traits and skill set needed for this role
Create the initial project list for this role by identifying opportunities and dangers the company would like to research.
Review your current personnel to see if anyone can fill the role. If nobody is capable, look to hire someone for the role.
Once hired, include this person on your executive team so they can be up to speed on everything within the company, giving them insight on things that will help them be more effective in their responsibilities.
Ensure this person lives and breathes your values, mission, and purpose.

This structure will prove to be a key in developing a world class organization. It reinforces organizational clarity, helping keep the company on its desired course.

How Can I Clarify My Organizational Chart?

2010-04-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

Creating the Leadership Team on the organizational chart is important in building organizational clarity. Here are specific basic disciplines of business:

Sales/Marketing
HR
Operations
Technology
Finance/Admin

Businesses may have some of these broken out separately, or combine others as their business size and needs dictate. These roles are typically filled by people with strong organizational skills, as they are responsible for reporting verified information to the CEO. These are present in most every organization, even companies with under 5 employees.

What's Missing?
Most companies, however, miss the role that I call the “Creative Thinker”. This is a responsibility that goes to someone that is curious and can ponder and think outside of ordinary thought lines. They are usually the person or team that the CEO delegates R&D projects to. Here is a sample of what this role would play in a company:

The company wants to expand its offerings by exploring different opportunities. The Creative Thinker researches the market, assesses the opportunity and provides a report to the executive team on their findings.
The company wants to improve one of its processes. The CreativeThinker can research the dangers of keeping things as is, assess the opportunities for improvement, and provide a report to the executive team on their findings, without the bias of having to execute the changes.
The sales team wants to present its offerings to a potential client.The Creative Thinker can demonstrate expertise in an area of focus without pushing the services offered. This unbiased expertise presented strengthens the presentation.

This role has the ability to provide a true differentiation in the marketplace.

How Can I Clarify My Internal Communications?

2010-04-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

Here are the first steps to bringing this type of internal communication into your
company:

Review your discipline and reward processes to see if they are consistent with what the company goals and values.
Mention the components of the strategic plan when rewarding or disciplining an action. This reinforces how important they are and work towards weaving this importance into the culture of the company and its employees.
Measure the things that line up with the values and mission. For example, if one of your core values is around customer satisfaction, figure out a way to measure it. This will reinforce that this is so important to the company that management tracks it.
Celebrate when people act in accordance with the values and purpose.
Make this a part of your management discussion. Ask questions related to the values. For example, when someone does something questionable, ask them “Does that line up with our core values?” or “Does that bring us closer to our goals?”

This approach to internal communication will prove to be key in reinforcing the company strategy and deliver organizational clarity. This will help the company capture opportunities and avoid dangers.

How can internal communications enhance organizational clarity?

2010-04-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

Internal communications keep the company’s team current on the happenings within the organization. Typical forms of this communication are newsletters, company updates, and memos from upper management. These play the role of delivering a message. The other, informal forms of communication are the ones that reinforce this message. These are the ones that are powerful. Here are a few examples:

When the company measures something, it tells employees it is important (customer satisfaction, policy adherence, etc.)
When the company rewards something, it communicates that the action is in alignment (recognition, awards, commissions, etc.)
When the company disciplines an action, everyone learns that it conflicts with the company goals (write up, probation, termination, etc.)

It is similar to body language, coupled with words. If they line up, things are clear. When they are not in unison, there is confusion, doubt, and angst.

Why Do I Need to Do This?
The way a company communicates internally needs to be just as effective as the way it communicates or markets itself publicly. There must be organizational clarity for the company to reach its potential. Growth and profits will be limited and there will be more issues arising from the team acting outside of what the company promises.

A company risks its viability and the management risk their sanity when organizational clarity is missing. A small company may be able to endure this because the leader has a pulse on everything going on, however, as the business grows, the company has a higher likelihood of imploding.

How Can I Clarify My Strategy?

2010-04-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

Here are the first steps to building and clarifying a strategy for your business:

Examine the purpose of the business. Why does the company exist? Ask “Why?” multiple times and when you cannot ask it anymore, you are close to your purpose. This is typically the purpose of the founder of the company. This is not an easy thing to identify. There will need to be a lot of reflection by the founder and revisit the things that helped shape their perspective. The critical junctures in their life helped influence this purpose. Once identified, it will become magnetic to the people you need to attract.
Identify your vision - what you are trying to become. Here is an example: Dell computer’s was “To become the IBM of the 21st Century”.
Identify your core values. Be careful to not focus on marketing catch phrases. These need to be things that will not change, and that you would be willing to suffer financial losses to hold true to them. You also must be willing to fire someone because of violation of them. They should be a couple of words each. Simple statements of a theme. You can support it with information, but the statement needs to be fast. Examples can include “Keep promises”. Then support that with “We keep promises to each other, to our vendors, and to our clients...”
Document it.
Preach it, teach it, post it, live it, and reinforce it. The strategy needs to be visible everywhere in the company, in the way it operates, manages, markets, etc.
Hire people who have the desired skill set and align with the strategy.

This approach to strategy will give the company a sense of direction and deliver organizational clarity. This will allow the company to look at action and structure and measure it against the strategy, helping keep the company focused on what it is trying to accomplish.

How Can Strategy Enhance Organizational Clarity

2010-04-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

A business needs to know its purpose, vision, goals, and core values. The
purpose helps define the reason for being. The vision is what we aspire to be.
The goals are intermediate points that are met during the life of the business.
The core values are the boundaries that underline the behavior of people within
the business, a set of constraints.

When the business manages through its strategy, the team goals are clear, and
management is able to keep the team accountable to them. It is important for
the core values and purpose to come through in the way the business
operates. It can become the thing that energizes employees to excel.
This must be the central piece that unifies the company. This needs to be the
common thread shared by all employees, and all things need to align with it.

Get Out of the Way and Let the Best People Drive

2010-02-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

Business leaders, especially CEO’s, are often reluctant to relinquish having a a direct involvement in all tasks for their business. Rather than fall back on micromanagement, the most successful and productive companies are ones where business leaders can allocate the right work to the right people.

In order to find the right task for the right person, it’s important to identify 4 components of each individual team member’s abilities.

*The four components to abilities are broken down as:

Unique abilities - those tasks which almost no one else in the company can do, and the employee truly excels
Very good - tasks which are performed at a consistently high level
Good - tasks which are performed at an acceptable level
Not a strength - tasks that are not the most productive use of the employee’s time

(*loosely based on Dan Sullivan's approach)

Identifying where a employee excels and attempting to structure his or her responsibilities according to strengths is not only of benefit to the employee but to the whole organization. Ideally, a 10%, 50-60%, 20%, 10% breakdown between the four quadrants promotes individual job satisfaction and ensures that tasks are allocated to the best internal resources.

This exercise frees up the executive to make the biggest impact and increase company productivity by allowing people to play to strengths and reach full potential.

“The conventional definition of management is getting work done through people, but real management is developing people through work.”

- agha hasan abedi

Pencil it In

2009-09-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Why should a significant block of time be scheduled for quarterly strategic meetings when busy executives have so many other pressing responsibilities?

Few phrases elicit as many groans in a company as the dreaded “Let’s schedule our quarterly meeting”. The most effective quarterly strategics should take place over the course of 1 to 2 days. When participants learn quarterly strategics will encompass at least a day, they aren’t just groaning at the prospect, they are now gnashing their teeth! Corporate America has come to correlate “marathon” strategic meetings as synonymous with boring, unproductive, and even a waste of time. Many employees actually see these meetings as a chore that’s simply a formality, with the real decision-making happening afterwards.

It’s a shame that strategic meetings evoke such negative connotations. What is more vital and exciting to a company than determining where the company is going, how it’s going to get there and how the team knows if it got there or not? Too often, companies fail to schedule the appropriate amount of time needed to generate and debate these questions. Instead, meeting organizers bow to the misconception that less is more. To delve past surface issues, dive into poignant objectives and then outline concrete action plans, strategic meetings can’t be rushed. Trying to compress strategic meetings will only result in ineffective discussion where little is resolved. Making the time investment of a strategic meeting is actually investing in a company’s future.

Setting aside the appropriate amount of time ensures the participants can achieve four key objectives:

Review corporate strategy
Review industry trends and competitive landscape
Review key personnel
Review team development

Pitfalls to avoid when scheduling strategic meetings include:

Not scheduling the meeting offsite is inviting disruptions and distractions
Including social activities and inviting spouses/family dilute focus
Over-structuring topics burdens the schedule
Poor planning leads to poor execution

An Order of Perspective with a Side of Innovation

2009-08-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

How do you re-energize strategic meetings that seems to fall flat, or worse- are too complacent with everyone simply nodding their heads in agreement?

Companies that have been successful in building a dynamic team of members in alignment with the organization’s core values and purpose, could eventually run the risk of lack of perspective. When all your cooks are preparing the same recipe, who do you get to taste test it? How do you know when you need to add a little more spice?

Every so often, companies need to invite an industry expert to dinner. You set out your best china- your company structure, your differentiators. They bring the wine- their expertise and experiences, and you sit down to a meal. The result is not only an opportunity to measure your organization’s role within the industry, but as often happens during good conversation over a meal- you find yourself engaged in thought provoking topics.

Having an industry expert present at an occasional strategic meeting provides an energetic perspective that solidifies into action plans. Participants in the strategic meeting should come prepared with questions and a basic agenda. The invited expert should be provided with key points to address prior to the meeting. Some possible ideas include:

What do you believe are pain points for (key members) in our industry?
What type of growth have you witnessed in the industry?
What are the best practices you see being used collectively in the industry or by the competition?
What are the latest industry trends?

Having a dialogue with an industry expert within the structure of a strategic meeting, is an invaluable tool to have an impartial observer qualify and possibly direct your organization’s strategic objectives and initiatives.

Executing a Comprehensive Onboarding Plan

2009-08-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

On-boarding programs assist new hires with acclimating to the organization’s culture and position employees on the right path for personal and career success. Once a company has opted for a formal on-boarding program, a detailed plan must be drafted to ensure the program’s seamless execution and overall effectiveness.

After essential components have been decided upon (discussed in On-boarding- Necessary Program or Waste of Time), HR or other team development coordinators need to map out a strategy to ensure that nothing is overlooked and slips through the cracks. “Project Perspectives” is a resourceful tool to outline ideas and organize tasks.

Each day should be broken down on the Project Perspectives outline. Granular details would include:

General overview for each day
Itemized sections by subject heading
Materials needed for distribution
Lead instructor for each section
Start/stop time for sessions

So that all associates involved can plan their days accordingly, a master calendar broken down by participating associates leading sessions should be included.

A similar agenda highlighting day overview and session titles/times should be provided to each new hire to increase comfort levels as to what the program entails. Delegation to support staff who are not involved in teaching sessions can involve printing distribution materials and booklets, and also organizing practical logistics of the program such as meals and snacks.

On-boarding is often a company-wide endeavor for small to medium business, and relies upon an entire HR/Education department for larger organizations. On the surface, a comprehensive on-boarding program may appear to be an overwhelming responsibility and consume much of associates’ valuable time. However, the benefits to providing a comprehensive program and facilitating a smooth transition will pay dividends in the company’s overall stability.

Onboarding: Necessary Program or Waste of Time? Part 3 of 3

2009-08-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

If employees from several different departments are being onboarded simultaneously, break out sessions provide more in-depth introduction of specific roles and responsibilities. These break out sessions or Training Modules require structure with set objectives, course materials, and some form of testing and feedback to determine that the objectives have been met. These Training Modules can be implemented all at once, or even segmented throughout an introductory period of time.

Department specific break out sessions should also include meeting with department directors and/or team members so that logistical questions can be fielded. Exposure to other departments is effective in providing a well-rounded introduction to the organization. After any break-out session, the entire group should collectively return for brief experience share to report to the group what was learned.

Guest speakers, clients or other industry specific personnel are valuable resources to an onboarding session. Clients and industry partners can provide unbiased insight to a company’s strengths and culture. Guest speakers can facilitate lively round table discussions and prompt thought provoking questions, allowing new hires to view the organization from a completely different perspective. Another valuable tool is a panel discussion that puts new hires in contact with key executives or members with whom they might otherwise not have daily interaction.

Whether your organization opts for a one week, one month or an incremented program throughout the first year, the benefits to a structured, detailed onboarding program help acclimate employees to the culture, and position employees on the right path for personal and organizational success.

Onboarding: Necessary Program or Waste of Time? Part 2 of 3

2009-08-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

The benefits of a full-scale onboarding program are immeasurable, but perhaps the most valid argument for comprehensive onboarding is that it communicates to the new hire that the company is genuinely attuned to promoting the individual’s success and career development within the organization. An effective onboarding sets the tone to introduce the company’s purpose and core values, and how the new hire’s role will be aligned with these objectives.

Purpose and core values must play an important role each day and need to be incorporated into subsequent Training Modules. It’s one thing to have your organization’s mission statement and core values on posters scattered throughout the company, it’s much more effective for new hires to learn from day one how these core values are incorporated into daily activities, operations and the KPIs for which they will be measured.

A successful onboarding session has several different components to ensure the employee enjoys a thorough integration into the organization, and often begins prior to the actual first day of work. A welcome basket or card sent to the employee’s home and touch-base emails from an assigned coach inviting the new hire to view the company’s blog and website help set an inclusive tone.

Once the employee arrives at the organization, set structure and session times are key, while providing the employee a road map of what to expect. Being the new kid on the block is stressful enough without added anxiety of not knowing where to go or what to do. The initial day(s) of onboarding should primarily revolve around general transition and “housekeeping” issues - (agenda, handbook, paperwork, benefits, tours, etc.). Employees need the vitals and want to know to whom they report, who will be their mentor and who is a “Buddy” to whom they can direct initial questions. New hires given the company history and current corporate structure will understand how the company has developed into the organization it is today. Key policies and procedures must be addressed to put employees at ease as to what is generally expected. All these items should be interspersed with engaging, even lighthearted exercises, such as “2 truths, one lie” or career goal drawings to introduce employees to one another and veteran employees orchestrating the onboarding.

Onboarding: Necessary Program or Waste of Time? Part 1 of 3

2009-08-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Companies often debate the value in whether to conduct a comprehensive onboarding (orientation) program or initiating new hires as quickly as possible to jump start productivity. Apart from filling out paperwork, handing over a company handbook/benefits sheet, and perhaps issuing a company I.D., many companies do not invest the resources to properly onboard their greatest assets- their people. However, this limited approach of sink or swim mentality will only serve to bog down HR function and supervisor’s time as the new hire will undoubtedly have addition questions in regard to not just their general role in the company, but the company’s role in general.

Onboarding programs are a vital component to every organization whether hiring an hourly technician or a top level director. In fact, onboarding timelines and program depth for executive level onboarding should increase exponentially accordingly to responsibility. Onboarding programs that only encompass one day shortchange the new hire. At minimum, a full week should be dedicated to onboarding.

Advisory Board Development

2009-03-12T05:48:00.000-07:00

I have run a company for years without a mentor, Advisory Board or Board of Directors, and we plugged along just fine. I had been completely comfortable in my role. The company was growing, I was making the company better and challenged myself to continuously improve what we did. I felt great about this. Then along came Mark.

Mark is a successful person and businessman that mentors me. First thing he did was push for greater accountability of me. I had always viewed myself as an accountable learner that worked continuously to improve my skill set and prepare the company to be better, but he recognized that I although I was improving myself and the company in different areas, all of these improvements lived inside my comfort zone. I was refining skills rather than learning new ones. He was right.

Through Mark's perspective, I was able to clearly see my shortcomings. There were things I was doing that broke down the vision of the company. I created a fragmented company by not saying things that needed to be said and not pushing for things I needed to push for. I was not leading well. I needed to demonstrate a willingness to face difficult situations and lead the company.

Once I started to assert leadership, everything started to fall into place for me. The company unified around an inspiring vision and silos were torn down. I was executing Mark's statement, "Do the hard things first".

I am now in the process of building an Advisory Board, thanks to Mark's suggestion This will create an ongoing process of accountability for me. This will lead to even more scrutiny, but I welcome it. Scrutinize me as much as possible. I want to be great, and by acknowledging my shortcomings, I am better equipped to fix them.

I am grateful to Mark for pushing me to be great. I hope this inspires you to push yourself to be great.

Company Updates

2009-02-07T07:24:00.001-08:00

Company meetings are a great way to get information regarding strategy and goals. Many times they do not happen enough. I like quarterly meetings that are a little bit more formal coupled with regular feedback.

In this environment, there are a lot of questions floating around, job losses are sweeping through the country, and most everyone is nervous. With the economy in the cycle it is in, I have chosen to take more steps to keep everyone in the company current on the state of the company. I circulated a message that ensured my team knows the current status of things so they can properly prepare and know what to focus on.

Send out the information. Make them aware. Give them the opportunity to be a difference maker. If you lead them well, they will follow you wherever you go, so make sure you know where you are going. I sent mine out early Saturday morning and received positive responses from multiple people within 20 minutes. Your team will appreciate your candor and feel more comfortable knowing you have a plan.

Background Checks

2009-02-03T05:43:00.000-08:00

I have been getting requests to write a post about hiring. Why do we hire? Is it to support our desired lifestyle of more time off or is it to make more money? At the core, it is usually to support one or both of these objectives.

Hiring is one of the riskiest things we can do in our business, yet many entrepreneurs spend an hour or less bringing someone into their business. They base it on a "gut" feeling. So much effort is put on driving down exposure within the company, such as safety training, purchasing new equipment, etc. but without someone properly guarding the front door to the business, all of those efforts can become wasted. Why take the chance on a gut feeling when there are so many readily available, low cost background and credit checks. It is incomprehensible.

Here is a blog that I read that has great tips on this topic as well as hiring in general. It was written by Adam Robinson of Illuma, Inc. He is in the business of hiring and has absolute command of his craft. His blog drills down on many topics and provides many best practices and gives a different perspective on hiring.

It is a must read for anyone looking to add to their team.

Ugly Truth on Accountability

2009-01-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

It starts with you. When you aim to lead your organization and people to greatness, you need to be accountable to the company. There are things that people in leadership roles do that they believe are of little or no consequence that other people on the team see differently.

Throughout the years, I have had to come to terms with different things. I used to think it was my right to have the company pay for personal cars, meals, etc. When I really understood what it meant to want to lead my people to greatness, I recognized that these things I did hurt my intentions. I needed to change my approach to things. Even though I owned the company, it was not right to have my wife drive a company car nor pay for my personal dinners. As time went on, I was able to identify other little "perks" that negatively impacted the company and the people in it. The Ugly Truth was that I was hurting the company and the team's morale. I am the driver of the business and while I was pushing the company to be better, I was weakening it. This is not a comforting feeling.

I now view the company and run the company as if I was not the owner. This mindset helps me keep in clear focus the things that are unnecessary. My team now sees firsthand that I do not bleed the company of its money and I do not treat it as if it were my own. I now aim to protect the company from all predators, including myself. It is the best opportunity I have to build a sound financial future and I will not weaken this opportunity by making it bleed to satisfy my lifestyle. Many business owners do not understand this line of thinking, but it is this thinking that helps push businesses to greatness.

The company is on the best track to success that it has ever been on. I hope this pushes everyone to take less liberties in their business and treat it as the best opportunity they ever had for success.

Cost of Keeping a Bad Employee

2009-01-16T08:06:00.000-08:00

I have come across a good article regarding this. It was put out by careerbuilder.com.

There are many blog posts, articles, and books written on the subject. This is a quick, but informative read:

http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobposter/small-business/article.aspx?articleid=ATL_0095COSTOFBADEMPLOYEES

Aggressive Conservatism

2009-01-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

My approach to the financial aspect of business is best summed up by the oxymoron "Aggressive Conservatism". I aggressively approach the financial well being of the company in a conservative manner. Let me better explain:

I pay bills faster than terms. This is not what most people would teach because it has the potential to negatively impacts your rate of return on investment, however, it creates a safety valve that you may need to employ. Consider this situation: If I typically pay my bills within 15 days of 30 day terms, my business becomes accustomed to it. If cash becomes tight, I could slow down my payments and pay within 30 days and boost my cashflow without violating my vendor terms. Benefits of the quick pay approach are potential discounts, usually between 1 and 3%. So this conservative approach can actually create more aggressive returns.
The company needs protection, not my lifestyle. The company needs to be protected and strengthened. Many people bleed their company of its earnings and to support a consuming lifestyle. If that business faces a downturn, the business becomes exponentially more at risk of closing down. This can become extremely stressful, which only makes failure even more likely. I believe in building the business and keeping it financially strong. I do not think of the company's money as money for my own personal use.
I build a safety net. Many companies take on added risk and use their safety net to do so. This compounds the risk the company takes on. When I add risk, I want to make sure I strengthen my safety net. I am not always able to do so, but I recognize it and try to get to my comfort level as quickly as possible.

These three points may not be glamorous, but they have helped me weather a couple of storms. I almost went out of business because I did not have a safety net in plan in the first few years. I worked hard to position Resicom to be financially stable. We are now in the position of leveraging our financial position to take advantage of this dire economic climate.

Completeness

2009-01-13T14:04:00.000-08:00

There is a certain level of anxiety, nervousness, or uneasiness I feel when someone gives me information. I question the information in my mind. I run it through all kinds of internal tests to see if it makes sense.

The first thing I try to do is verify the information. Too often the information is based on inaccurate assumptions, even when the correct information is nearby. The second thing I do is to try and wrap my arms around the information and get a complete understanding of it. Many times I find holes in the information or find it incomplete. Please see Workplace Reconnaissance post for more information on that.

Anyway, I feel much more comfortable when the person providing the information has a quality I call "Completeness". This is where the person approaches any topic and examines it from many Perspectives before passing the information on to me. These people tend to look at components of something independently then as one. This helps me perform at a higher level because I am able to spend less time questioning whether or not the person ran it through a bunch of internal tests and more time on thinking about how to use this information.

The good news is that Completeness is something that can be trained. It takes time and there needs to be a consistent approach that everyone can get used to following, but in the end, it is well worth it. I created Perspectives to bring more people in Resicom to have a higher level of Completeness. By staying firm in my approach and by demanding verification of information, I have been able to successfully raise the level of performance of my team. I hope you can do the same.

Mentor Added Accountability

2009-01-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

Finding a mentor is one of the best things entrepreneurs can do for their business. Too often small businesses do not have a board of directors to keep them accountable. Therefore they do not perform to their potential. Its like the old adage, what gets managed gets done.

A mentor relationship can add accountability to the entrepreneur or business manager. Picture your business if someone was checking YOUR work. You probably spend a lot of time checking your team's work. Even the best qualified members of your team can use the tips you give them and perform better when they are kept accountable. Imagine the most important role in the company being improved.

A good mentor will help you approach situations, deal with the things that you may not want to deal with head on, and keep you to your plan. This accountability is crucial in executing your plan. It makes you answer to someone else. It creates a board of directors type of relationship where one may not exist.

I have mentored many entrepreneurs and helped them strengthen their businesses. My mentor has helped me strengthen mine. I recommend giving it a try.

Experience Sharing

2009-01-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

All to often people share their two cents when not asked. People tend not to follow advice they receive without solicitation. A more effective method of helping one another is through experience sharing.

It is arrogant to assume that you have the answer to someone's complex problems after briefly hearing about the story. There are so many nuances to a situation that one could not possibly understand in a short briefing.

Through experiencing sharing, one is able to help see a route taken and use it to help them develop their own solution to their problem that addresses all of the nuances. This type of thought process is found in the major entrepreneur and president organizations, such as Entrepreneurs Organization.

I have learned many things and created many solutions to my challenges through experience shares of people within my professional circle. I encourage all entrepreneurs to join an organization such as EO and establish a trusting inner circle that will openly share experiences and help sharpen your skills.

Risk Management

2009-01-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

All businesses are indirectly in the insurance business. I am not referring to the traditional types of insurance, rather I am referring to the management of risk. The people we hire, the technology we put in place, the operational procedures we produce are all a form of insurance we invest in to protect and strengthen our businesses. There is the flip side, what is the cost of not having them? What is the risk?

An example: A business is a store that only has one person that works in the store. The store owner feels like he cannot afford the $15,000 annually to hire a part time person. To fully understand his predicament, I have him do a little bit of workplace reconnaissance.

Confirm that the business is operating in a risky manner.
Estimate the potential loss if the employee was to get sick, injured in an accident, or quit?
The owner estimated this exposure at $8,500.
The owner took that risk and deducted it from the costs associated with hiring the part time person and he realize the actual increase of costs is $6,500, not the initial $15,000 that the owner assumed.

Armed with the actual costs the business owner was better able to make his decision. He was now informed and could properly manage his risk.

As business owners and managers, we need to manage this risk. The owner determined that the $6,500 additional investment was affordable so he hired the person. In addition, he understood the investment needs to yield a return. He set forth additional tasks for the two person team to complete to help get more value out of the investment.

This approach will help you make decisions that are based on risk adjusted numbers. This outlook has helped me lower my risk and strengthen my company. I hope it can do the same for yours.

Directional Clarity - The Child Test

2009-01-09T17:13:00.000-08:00

As business owners and managers, we are often put to the test. We face all sorts of situations that there is not a handbook on dealing with. We need to be able to count on ourselves. Here is the test I give myself before taking action.

I imagine my child is watching me and learning from me and I ask myself "Do I want her act in the way that I am about to act?" This relates to everything. If I am disciplining someone, training them, everything. Do I want my child to learn and mimic my actions. Think about it, this approach makes you break down justifications and leads you to make a deliberate choice of doing the right thing or the wrong thing.

This "Child Test" has helped me work through countless situations. I hope it helps you do the same.

Workplace Reconnaissance

2008-12-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

Gathering pertinent information to make informed decisions leads to greater likelihood of success. I call this task "Workplace Reconnaissance".

Lets look a common scenario.

The leader of a business is in the middle of working on something important for the future of their company. They are interrupted by a team member who throws a fire into their lap that requires immediate guidance. The leader gives a quick answer that helps put out the fire. The fire is put out and things resume to normal.

The fire was put out. Things are normal again. Until the next fire...

This situation is scary and frustrating to the leader. What would have happened if they were not available to put out the fire? Who created the fire? How could this fire have been eliminated before it started? These are the standard questions the leader would ask. They are important and should lead to improved processes and training that help lessen the frequency of the fires. But this is not enough.

The other necessary question, which often goes unasked, is "What would I have done if I would have had more facts and a few more minutes to think this through". The results of these snap decisions often do not get reviewed as thoroughly as other decisions. Management does not hold itself as accountable with these situations. It is these decisions, though, that they should be held most accountable for. Managers have the built-in excuse of the circumstance, but that excuse does not show up in the Balance Sheet.

This is why Workplace Reconnaissance is so important. Getting facts together for your leader so that they can make intelligent decisions despite the conditions. This helps limit downside risk, and lets the leader start at a higher point then ground zero. This builds the habit of making informed decisions.

The important process for gathering Reconnaissance should be part of the training program of all direct reports of company leaders. The impact can be significant. It can include saving time, money, and raising the overall level of the company.

Home Run - Defined

2008-12-20T02:38:00.000-08:00

Many breakdowns within a company are related to communication and delegation. With "Project Perspectives", I demonstrated my approach to building an improvement initiative. With "What Does a Home Run Look Like", I am demonstrating how to ensure that the initiative gets completed.

Once the topic is run through "Perspectives", you will have a lot of information that needs to be organized into tasks to be completed. In order for the initiative to be graded, we need to have a set of measurable goals. To develop this list, we build "What does a home run look like".

It should specifically state each part of the project. For example purposes, lets use "Blood From a Turnip". Here Resicom wanted to drive down costs without cutting people, so we created a contest. A Home Run checklist for this could include:

All entries to be submitted by... (must have a deadline so that you can have closure)
Each participant shall prepare all of their entries in a single Microsoft Word document using Helvetica font and 12 point size (consistent format will help limit editing down the line when building a report)
Each entry shall have a name that summarizes the initiative
Each entry shall have a clear description of what your plan would be to get the initiative started (ensuring that more thought is put into the idea and the recipient has some sense of direction for the improvement)
Each participant shall email me the .doc document by the due date (method for submittal)
No entires can involve cutting staff as a method of driving down costs

Now each of the people that are participating in the contest have something to be graded against. Not their ideas, which comes later, rather their completion of the task of generating the ideas. I can ask: were they submitted by specified date; were they in the right format; were they submitted with a name and description; were they sent to me in the proper format; were they within the parameters set (anything except cutting people/salaries).

If the answer is yes to all of those items, then the delegation of the tasks was successful. If the tasks were delegated to the right people within your organization, then the quality of the entries should be good. The focus of this posting is the delegation piece, a future posting will be on training, which will focus on the quality piece.

Project Perspectives

2008-12-03T09:38:00.000-08:00

When faced with an improvement initiative, it is important to look at the topic from many different perspectives in order to develop a comprehensive approach to the executing it. I have created and successfully utilized the following five step approach, which I have named "Project Perspectives":

Identify the intents and purposes of the initiative
Establish a how to process to achieve each of the intents and purposes
Establish a list of the time requirements and deadlines needed to execute
Establish a list of resources required to execute
Establish follow up protocol to ensure the initiative has taken effect and is being executed as desired

Scenarios and Protocols

2008-11-30T07:09:00.000-08:00

Many companies compose operations manuals that demonstrate how to successfully complete tasks. These can become important tools in training and developing people within your organization. Our operations manual did a great job in teaching processes to handle tasks. It is a clearly written step by step checklist that is easy to follow. Despite this, we were still experiencing unexpected breakdowns. Something seemed to be missing.

Many frustrating experiences later, the solution finally came to me. I needed to establish clear processes to successfully handle different situations. Thus, Scenarios and Protocols was born and I was able to clearly document what our team should do on in different situations.

It started off as a couple of situations that had caused us financial loss. Realizing the potential of this approach, I organized a brainstorming session with a few key people from my team and we were able to identify a base of scenarios that needed protocols. It has since grown into over 40 in number and continues to grow. The scenarios included opportunities and challenges. A sampling includes:

What you should do if you have an idea to save or make the company money
What you should do if you know of a potential client
What you should do if you would like to recommend someone to fill out an application
What you should do if you get in an accident driving a company vehicle
What you should do if you will not be able to meet a deadline
What you should do if you witness non-negotiable behavior

My team is now better trained and prepared to handle a multitude of situations. It has saved us time and helped us operate at a higher level of consistency. This section has become a key driver for the success of our personnel development.

Blood From a Turnip

2008-11-29T11:41:00.000-08:00

During difficult economic times, it is important to drive down costs. Although there are many ways to accomplish this, some cost cutting can cause permanent damage to your business. My approach to cost cutting is to turn it into a contest, which I have named "Blood From a Turnip". Here is an overview.

Objective
Find creative ways ways to lower our costs without cutting staff. Our strengths as a company are our people, capital, processes, and reputation. With that in mind, come up with ways of improving each.

Rewards

There will be rewards given to everyone that comes up with improvements that are implemented. Value of reward will depend on the impact the initiative has on the company. The grand prize is a trip to Hawaii.

Requirements

The entry must have a name that summarizes the initiative. Give a clear description of how you would like to go about gathering date to analyze and project impact. Send an email to me to review. I also instituted a deadline.

Summary
These economic times are tough. We need to utilize this pressure as a catalyst for creative ways of managing costs and creating new revenue. We need to look at other opportunities to cut costs, not people. Remember our strengths.

We found over 30 items to improve within resicom that translated into tens of thousands of dollars in annual savings.

Quick Tip on Delegating Tasks

2008-11-29T10:10:00.000-08:00

What does a home run look like? Very easy to understand and describe. When delegating tasks, ask yourself the home run question. For this person you are delegating to hit a home run with the given tasks, they must...

It turns the tasks into small bites of work, each with a picture of what success looks like.

If you can do this consistently, you will find tasks being completed better, faster, therefore, you should be more profitable.

Entrepreneurs and Economic Cycles

2008-11-29T09:56:00.000-08:00

Good entrepreneurs tend to be a misunderstood group. They push when others pull. They take chances when others are cautious. They expand while others contract. All the while, their group of friends and family are left scratching their heads trying to figure out if the entrepreneur is crazy or a genius.

This current downturn in the economic cycle is necessary and healthy. It gives great companies the opportunity to be compared more closely to their competitors, allowing them to capture market share. Companies that shed good employees to save money end up losing all of the money invested in the person and as well as the goodwill with the remaining employees.

It is times like these when entrepreneurs have the opportunity to prove their commitment and faith they have in their team and business by working towards strengthening themselves. Upgrade talent where possible. Spend more to improve the infrastructure and sales teams. Protect the investments made in development of great members of the team.

Resicom believes one of its biggest assets is its people. This is the best opportunity for growth that we have ever experienced. Many of our competitors are closing or weakening themselves through layoffs, while our potential clients are re-examining existing relationships, looking for better solutions. We want to be positioned to service them.