Brody & Associates

CAPTAIN KIRK AT 80!!

2012-03-11T21:47:00.000-05:00

Can it be true? Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is 80!

Tomes have been written about StarTrek. I just came across a recent Forbes article that looks at the leadership style of the legendary Captain James T. Kirk and distills five key lessons on leadership from this iconic TV series.

StarTrek’s (and therefore Captain Kirk’s) creator, Gene Roddenberry, had a distinguished military career in World War II as a bomber pilot. He was no stranger to combat and understood well the nature of leadership and command which he brought to the series.

Here’s the five lessons on leadership from Captain Kirk…and you can learn more about each by reading more here.

Lesson 1: Never Stop Learning

Lesson 2: Have advisors with different world views (join a Vistage group,ok?)

Lesson 3: Be Part of the “Away” Team

Lesson 4: Play Poker, Not Chess

Lesson 5: Blow Up the Enterprise!

FEED FORWARD

2012-02-04T12:30:00.000-06:00

TRY FEED FORWARD VS FEEDBACK

Have your or your people struggled with the evaluation or feedback or 360 process? What do they normally say about it?    Typically the comments are negative and they don't like it. Results are short lived.

Well here is a refreshing alternative to that process from well known Executive Coach, Marshall Goldsmith. Read more about it below and see what you think!!

           Click here for more info

I have observed more than 50,000 leaders from around the world as they participated in a fascinating experiential exercise, in which I ask participants to play two roles.

In one role, they provide "FeedForward": They give another participant suggestions and as much as they can help with a specific issue. In the second role, they accept FeedForward: They listen to suggestions from another participant and learn as much as they can.

Step by Step

The exercise typically lasts 10 to 15 minutes, and the average participant has six or seven such sessions in that time. Participants are asked to:

- Pick one behavior they would like to change. Change in this behavior should make a significant, positive difference in their lives.

- Describe this behavior to randomly selected fellow participants in one-on-one dialogues. It can be done quite simply, e.g., "I want to be a better listener."

- Ask for FeedForward that might help them achieve a positive change in their behavior. If participants have worked together in the past, they are not allowed to give any feedback about the past. They are only allowed to give ideas for the future.

- Listen attentively to the suggestions and take notes. Participants are not allowed to comment on the suggestions in any way, nor are they allowed to critique the suggestions, even to make positive statements, such as, "That's a good idea."

- Thank the other participants for their suggestions.

- Ask fellow participants what they would like to change about themselves.

- Provide FeedForward - two suggestions for helping the other person change.

- Say "You are welcome," when thanked for the suggestions. (The entire process of both giving and receiving FeedForward usually takes about two minutes.)

- Find another participant and keep repeating the process until the exercise is stopped.

When the exercise is over, I ask the participants to complete a sentence - "This exercise was …" - with the one word that best describes their reaction to the experience. The words selected are almost always positive, such as "great," "energizing," "useful," or "helpful." One of the most common words used is "fun."

What is the last word most of us think of to describe the experience of receiving feedback, coaching, and developmental ideas? Fun!

Reasons to Try FeedForward

I ask participants why this exercise is fun and helpful as opposed to painful, embarrassing, or uncomfortable. Their answers offer a great explanation of why FeedForward can often be more useful than feedback as a developmental tool.

1. We can change the future. We can't change the past. FeedForward helps people envision and focus on a positive future, not a failed past. Race-car drivers are taught to look at the road ahead, not at the wall. By giving people ideas on how they can be even more successful, we can increase their chances of achieving this success in the future.

2. FeedForward can come from people we have never even met. It does not require personal experience. One very common positive reaction to the exercise is that participants are amazed by how much they can learn from people they don't know. For example, if you want to be a better listener, almost any fellow human can give you ideas. They don't have to know you.

3. Face it! Most of us hate getting negative feedback, and we don't like to give it. I have reviewed summary 360-degree feedback reports for more than 50 companies. The items "provides developmental feedback in a timely manner" and "encourages and accepts constructive criticism" almost always score near the bottom on co-worker satisfaction with leaders. Traditional training does not seem to make a great deal of difference. If leaders got better at providing feedback every time the performance appraisal forms were "improved," most would be perfect by now!

4. FeedForward can cover almost all of the same material feedback can. Imagine you have just made a terrible presentation in front of the executive committee. Your manager is in the room. Rather than make you relive this humiliating experience by detailing what went wrong, your manager might help you by offering suggestions for future presentations. These suggestions can be very specific and still delivered in a positive way - without making you feel even more humiliated.

5. FeedForward tends to be much faster and more efficient than feedback. An excellent technique for giving ideas to successful people is to say: "Here is an idea for the future. Please accept it in the positive spirit in which it is offered. If you can use it, great! If not, just ignore it." With this approach almost no time is wasted judging the quality of the ideas or trying to refute the suggestions. This kind of debate is usually negative, wastes time, and often counterproductive. By eliminating judgment of the ideas, the process becomes much more positive for the sender, as well as the receiver.

6. FeedForward can be a useful tool with managers, peers, and team members. Rightly or wrongly, feedback is associated with judgment. This can lead to very negative - even career-limiting - consequences when given to managers or peers. FeedForward does not imply superiority of judgment. It is more focused on being a helpful colleague than an expert. As such, it can be easier to hear from a person who isn't in a position of power or authority.

7. People tend to listen more attentively to FeedForward than feedback. One participant in the FeedForward exercise noted: "I think that I listened more effectively in this exercise than I ever have in my life!" When asked why, he said, "Normally, when others are speaking, I am so busy composing a reply that will make sure that I sound smart that I am not fully listening to what the other person is saying. In FeedForward, the only reply that I am allowed to make is 'thank you.' Since I don't have to worry about composing a clever reply, I can focus all of my energy on listening to the other person!"

When to Use FeedForward

The intent of this column is not to imply that leaders should never give feedback or that performance appraisals should be abandoned. The intent is to show how FeedForward can often be preferable to feedback in day-to-day interactions. Aside from its effectiveness and efficiency, FeedForward can make life a lot more enjoyable. When I ask manager how they felt the last time they received feedback, the most common responses are negative. When managers are asked how they felt after receiving FeedForward, they reply that FeedForward was not only useful, it was also fun.

    by Marshall Goldsmith

DIRTY, SEXY, MONEY !!

2012-01-16T11:41:00.000-06:00

What does that mean? All about money for your sales people.....right? I have an upcoming speaker to my CEO Groups next month and was reading some of his material. One of his blogs reminded me about the risks of compensating your people, the wrong way. You might want to consider some of the insights presented below from Tom Searcy.

from Tom Searcy, Hunt Big Sales click here: for the website of Hunt Big Sales

In business, it’s all about the money.

Obvious, I know, but sometimes you’ve just got to seize the obvious, wrestle it to the ground and beat it senseless in order to make it work for you.

Companies get the money side of the deal—affectionately known as commission—wrong a lot of the time. If you want to land large deals, you have to change the money in a bunch of places if you want to make it work.

There are two simple ingredients that go into large accounts sales: time and people. Because it takes longer to land a large account than a small one, you have to hold the attention of sales people, who have the immediate gratification needs of a 3-year old, for a long time. The time-to-money ratio is not 1:1 for a sales person—the fact is that when you double the time it takes to land a deal you have to practically triple the money to keep them engaged.

Sure, part of that triple is built into the incremental commission of a bigger deal—and that can be a lot, depending on the size of the deal. But they’ll probably also need an extra something to keep them on task rather than getting distracted by little shiny objects, like deals that are small and fast to close. Stay with me.

So that’s the problem with time; you’ve also got to deal with people—not just sales people, ALL of your people. To land a whale, you’ve got to load up your boat with people of all skillsets (subject matter experts—or SMEs—who can speak the whale’s language), because one person (a sales guy) with a stick in the ocean is not going to cut it. How do you keep those people engaged as well? If they’re not seeing their efforts translate into money in a meaningful way (profit-sharing, bonus, spiff), they’ll too be distracted by the not-so-shiny-objects of their every day job.

To make this work, here are a couple of approaches:

1. Pay more for whales—spread it around. The sales representative is not the only person involved in the hunt. The fact is, after the initial interest is generated, the internal subject matter expert team does a lot of the heavy lifting.

2. Put a trophy-bonus on the wall. Don’t make it general, make it specific and personal. At one point in my career, I had a competitor for which I had a personal distaste. I wrote up on the wall that competitor’s top 10 clients and told my team, “I will pay a 20% premium on commissions for every deal we land from this list in the next 6 months.” We got 3 and it had a sweet taste.

3. Cut out the money on little deals. You can’t get people focused on bigger targets if they get similar ratios of money for smaller deals. Cut little deal commission in half. This is about changing behaviors and time investment.

Money is the driver and you have the gas pedal

LEADERSHIP - AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART!!

2011-12-22T14:32:00.000-06:00

Leadership is not an affair of the Head.....but of the Heart!!

What does this mean? It is not about thinking of being a leader.....but what is your passion and what do you care about!   With my CEO Group of Vistage leaders, I recently shared a video presentation by Jim Kouzes around this topic. He is the author, along with Barry Posner of The Leadership Challenge. A very well received business book and based on research from thousands of executives.     (check their website at:   http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/)

Kouzes asks the audience a fascinating question. Among the various categories below, who would you choose to model or follow key principles of leadership?

   - Politician
   - Community leader
   - Business Exec
   - Celebrity or entertainer
   - Family member or friend
   - Pastor or religious leader
   - Teacher or Coach

Who would you? What do you think the highest categories are?   Maybe not surprisingly....the highest % was for Family member/friend and Teacher/Coach.   Not Business leader? Are you surprised?    What do we glean from this?   It is someone close to you as a person..... i.e. someone you know well.   Someone who can make a difference with you. So Kouzes point is that the job of leadership is for every manager....not just the top executives.

He then goes on to describe that the foundation of leadership is based on being credible & believable.   Somebody who walks the talk....who models the way....who you would willingly follow. Makes sense.

Another key attribute is regarding sharing an important vision. Not dictating one to your people, but laying out in a compelling way a path to a better future. Key is that they, your people, can see themselves in this future....and it is worth doing. It creates a better place for themself.

The 5 practices then, for exemplary leadership include:

   Model the way
   Inspire a shared vision
Challenge the process
Enable others to act
Encourage the heart

These are the keys to their principles.....good stuff. You can listen to this presentation and hear the explanation by going to YouTube.   Click on:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt3hTGpfrSE

Hope you find it valuable. Then look at your own leadership practices and see what needs to be changed.

What can leaders learn from the U.S. Navy Seals?

2011-11-06T21:00:00.000-06:00

I recently had the privilege, along with a small group of award winning CEO Coaches, to listen to and engage in a leadership conversation with one of the past leaders of the U.S. Navy Seals program in San Diego, CA.

The program is phenomenally impressive.....as you would imagine. The most elite fighting men....the best of the best. A grueling 25 wk program to determine who can make it through to become a Seal. A view from the inside was quite rare and led to some eyeopening insights that can certainly apply to the needs of leadership for most organizations.

Just a few of the numerous insights:

1. Two is one......and One is none
All of the training and exercises are done in PAIRS. For support, for cross-training, to avoid a vulnerability if someone is injured or lost. If you do things alone.....image the increased risk and loss of effectiveness.
Might this apply to your organization? Can you afford the duplication? Can you really afford not to consider this?

2. The main determinant of who succeeds.....who makes it through....is not about the most talented, or skilled, or the best athlete!! It's based on who has the spirit or heart to make it through.

This was HUGE to me!! It's not the fastest or strongest that determines success. It is who wants it the most and who will endure literal HELL to overcome what seem to be superhuman odds. We asked the Admiral....in all of your pre-screening, tests or assessments, you could predict this in advance......right?
He indicated it is not for a lack of trying to determine this. They have never been able to accurately predict which candidate will make it to succeed.

Sure seemed to parallel what we try to do in organizations. We interview for talents or intelligence or past relevant job experience and success. Well why then, do so many new hires not seem to fit the needs to create success after they are hired? Do we focus too much on the talents and not the spirit or heart? Then again.....how would we test or assess for the spirit or the big enough heart or motivation? Seems the same problem that the Seals have. Except they spend 25 wks in actual situations to determine who will make it.

What would be the parallel in our organizations for the 25 wk environment tests to determine success? How many make the investment to do this type of in-depth effort? Maybe we should if we want the same success rate that the Navy Seals have achieved!! Worth some serious thought, I believe.

Thank you, Admiral, for these valuable insights.

Edward Deming's 14 Steps to Quality

2011-10-01T22:25:00.000-05:00

Eliminate grades in school. Eliminate merit increases. Eliminate quotas and numerical goals.
Sounds pretty dramatic.....would you agree with this?

These are some of the key principles from the father of Quality......Edward Deming.
Take a look at the steps below and consider how it just might drive continuous improvement into your organization and remove some of the inter-department conflicts. Worth considering.....I think.

14 Steps to Quality

1. Drive out fear

2. Eliminate quotas and numerical goals

3. Break down all barriers between departments

4. Eliminate inspection. Learn to build products right the first time.

5. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.

6. Remove barriers that rob workers of their right to pride of workmanship.

7. Institute leadership: the aim of leadership should be to help people do a better job.

8. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and production targets.

9. Adopt a new philosophy. This is a new economic age. Western managers must awaken to the challenge, learn their responsibilities and take on leadership of change.

10. End the practice of awarding business based on the price tag. Move toward a single supplier for any one item. Base this long-term relationship on loyalty and trust.

11. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service.

12. Put everybody to work to accomplish the transformation.

13. Institute job training.

14. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service to become competitive and to stay in business and to provide jobs.

Harnessing Your Strengths

2011-09-05T21:36:00.000-05:00

......Do you know what your strengths are? Read this approach from Author Marcus Buckingham.

5 Questions with Marcus Buckingham: Harnessing Your Strengths and True Genius

Q: Can you start by sharing one simple step or tool that Vistage members can use to help them stay open to opportunities and on a "strengths path"?

A: I would say that the most obvious thing to do is to realize that you are the person in charge of what your strengths are. And we'll be talking about this a fair bit on the call itself. But most people seem to think that a strength is what you're good at, and a weakness is what you're bad at. And if we think that, then, we are not the best judge of our strengths because somebody else probably is the best judge of what you're good at and what you're bad at.

But actually, that's not a very good definition of a strength. A strength is an activity that makes you feel strong—it's an activity that strengthens you. And of course, if that's true, if strengths really are an antecedent to performance, there are activities that strengthen you, that invigorate you, that you have an appetite for, that cause you to practice more, that then drive your performance. If that's what a strength is, then there are signs that you can see all around you, if you've got the eyes to see them and the ears to hear them. And I think that's one of the most basic rituals that we can all do, to stay on our strengths path. To keep our eyes peeled for the most obvious signs of which activities strengthen us and which don't.

There are a number of signs, but probably the two most obvious signs of a strength that you could pay attention to and really give your full attention to, is firstly, what do you find yourself positively anticipating, actively looking forward to? And then rapid learning: What do you pick up quickly? What do you find that you get so involved in, that you lose track of time?

So in terms of a ritual, I think obviously, keep your mind open to opportunities on your career path. Keep experimenting. But as you're doing so, remember: You're always looking for those activities that strengthen you. The two most obvious signs are positive anticipation and rapid learning. And when you see those two signs pop up, it's a really good clue that you need to keep orienting yourself toward those activities and tilting your world toward them.

Q: You've written an entire book on "The One Thing That You Need To Know…," which addresses great managing and great leading, as well as sustained individual success. What's the one imperative thing that everyone should know to be successful?

A: I think I would say that the thing we have to remember is that genius is precise. There are some areas in your job where you are probably better than 100,000 other people at those things. And you are wired to be invigorated by that set of activities. And it is non-transferable. So I move you even 5% in your job, and you go from A+ to B- so fast.

Like for me, I'm a good presenter. You put me in a room on a subject I know a lot about, where I'm prepared. And I know my subject. I'm a one in 100,000 presenter.

You turn that into a teaching environment where I've got about the same number of people but now I'm not presenting. Now I'm listening to the learners in the room trying to figure out where they're at with their learning. Trying to tweak what they're picking up so that they can actually understand it better. Responding to their questions. Tailoring what I'm saying to accommodate that particular question. And I'm a B-, maybe a C+. To an outside observer, it looks just the same. It's just a room full of students trying to learn. And there's a guy at the top and he's talking and it looks exactly the same. But it isn't. I go from A to C+ really quickly.

Another example is with a sales person. A person in sales might say, "I'm a good sales person." No you're not. You happen to be a genius at opening up new accounts. You can go into a raw territory that hasn't had anybody in it forever and wake it up. You're brilliant at, not just cold calling, you've got a way of getting people started, getting the momentum going. And you just get invigorated by that. To take something from zero to 10 miles an hour—you're just on fire.

And then lo and behold, you get the territory running and you now have to build existing accounts. You've got to go into existing relationships that are already pretty sizable and turn them into something much bigger. And you're average. It's still the same job. It's still the same job title. You're a SALES person. Same company, maybe. Same product. You're now average.

Your genius, whatever it is, is really precise.

Q: Is genius something that you can grow into? Or is that just all part of the exploration?

A: Yeah. I think that's how genius works. You're born with it. And then you grow into it.
You see a kid who's born with genius. My daughter has genius in influence. So she's brilliant at persuading people to do things for her. In first grade her teachers made her write her goals for next year.
Her first goal is: "Learn to read better," which is fine. It was misspelled, but you know, it was fine.
The second goal is: "Stop fooling the teachers." And I was like, what? I thought maybe ALL the kids are doing that. That it might be generational. But, no, my daughter is the only one. "Stop fooling the teachers. What does she mean by that?" They were like, "Well, she always tries to charm us into the fact that she doesn't know something or can't do something, and to 'please just give her the answer' because it would be easier. And she's just working it all of the time. She's just working it, in a charming, lovely way."

That's a gift. It's a genius gift. My son doesn't have it. He doesn't even know he can fool teachers. In his world that's an impossibility. And it's not a girl/boy thing because there are many girls that don't have it. There are some boys that DO have it. It's just a thing. It's just a part of Lilia's genius. She's got to learn to channel that genius productively so that she becomes one.

You have a genius and you become one by growing into it. Strengths are value-neutral. They can be used for very good ends and they can come out in obnoxious ways. Part of stepping into your strengths or channeling your genius is a growth process. It's something you grow into as you experiment and learn how to best apply yourself.

Q: In the upcoming Webinar, you're going to be addressing the opportunity that we all have as employees to apply our strengths at work to succeed. Can you give us some insight into what it means to be a "strong manager"?

A: I'm going to draw a distinction between managing and leading. Leading is something you do with many people. Managing is something you do with one. A great manager is good because that manager is able to take one person's personality and turn it into performance. So a great manager is somebody who is really good at generating performance out of an individual, one person at a time. And they do it through individualization. Individualization is the key skill of a great manager. Spotting how people are different, how people learn, how people are driven, how people communicate. Knowing that some people don't communicate with email very well at all, some people love email, some people like face-to-face communication, or that some people like texting. That's what a great manager is able to do.
What is a strong manager? Somebody who's able to realize that each person has unique strengths to offer and then is really good at figuring out how to capitalize on those strengths.

Q: Any last thoughts you would like to share with our Vistage members?

A: I think the thing that we'll talk about a bit is, for us all to remember, that this is the responsibility of each individual person. If you want to be a person who actually excels in your life and derives satisfaction from the work that you do in your life, there is no one who cares more about that than you. You can benefit from having a great mentor relationship, or a great manager relationship. But what that person, that mentor, that manager, what they need from you, is they need you to walk in with a full sheet of paper. Not a blank sheet of paper. I think too many of us sit down with a blank sheet of paper and we look at the manager and we say, "Hey, develop me. Help me. Grow me. Challenge me."

And what we really should be doing is actually walking into that room and sitting down and going, "You know what; I know a fair bit about which activities strengthen me and which don't. I've done some really good thinking about it, not just theoretically, but practically. I've looked to the activities that I'm feeling my week with. I try to understand which of those activities strengthen me and which don't. I've looked at the activities that drain me. And I'm going to sit down in front of you right now and I'm going to tell you in vivid detail what those are. So that together we can think about course correction. Together we can think about what kind of things I can do to fine tune where I'm spending my time or what new skills I might learn that can build upon what I now know about myself."

As an individual, you're walking in there with the raw material. You are the best judge of what I say invigorates you and what doesn't. And it's YOUR responsibility to bring that to the conversation that you have with your manager or your mentor. No one else is responsible for that. And besides, you've got more insight into that than they ever will.

So that's the thing I would leave everyone with is, that, it's not that people don't care about you. They do. But no one cares about you as much as you do. And no one knows you as well as you do. And it's your responsibility to bring that knowledge and that awareness to whomever you want to partner with in your growth and your development.

Interview with Vistage Intl

Nov 30, 2010

Leading a Multi-Generational Workforce

2011-08-21T21:14:00.000-05:00

Most of my clients and CEOs are not exactly in the Gen Y workforce. However, it's pretty important for you to understand how to lead these multi-generations today. It just might help lead to your success as a firm.

What do you need to know? How to behave and be flexible with this group?
Recently the Vistage Intl blog highlighted this importance with some valuable suggestions.

You can read more at click here

The article also mentions a fascinating video from Gen. Stanley McChrystal making a presentation at TED with critical lessons from his military leadership for this same generation of soldiers.

Hope you find value in it.

54 Critical Sales & Career Questions

2011-07-10T16:03:00.007-05:00

I recently saw a great list of 54 critical sales, career, service, & loyalty questions for your development. How could these help you?

Questions like.....How am I helping my customers build their business?

Why did the last 5 prospects say no to us?

Why did the last 5 prospects say yes to us?

How can we build on that?

This is from author, Jeff Gitomer and his book.....The Little Red Book of Selling.

Here is the complete list:

1. What are the five most important goals for me to achieve this year?

2. What is my plan for each?

3. Why am I watching TV reruns instead of working on my 5 major goals?

4. What would happen if I lost two of my top ten customers?

5. What am I doing to prevent that loss?

6. How often am I in front of my customers?

7. Suppose my competition was in front of my customer once a day with something of valuable, and all I had was literature about me?

8. What will my website do that will make my customers buy something?

9. What will my website do that will make my customers return?

10. What does my website look like compared to my competition?

11. Do they wish they had mine or do I wish I had theirs? Or do they both suck?

12. How easy is it to do business with me?

13. Am I available to my customers 24.7.365?

14. What's my plan to get there?

15. How much do I hate a computer that answers the phone?

16. Does my company have a computer that answers the phone?

17. What am I thinking?

18. How friendly are the employees at my company?

19. How friendly am I?

20. How's my attitude?

21. Do I try to do one positive mental attitude building exercise a day?

22. What value am I bringing to my customer beyond my product and service?

23. How am I helping my customers build their business?

24. What separates me from my competition in the eyes of a customer?

25. What am I doing to earn my customers loyalty?

26. How vulnerable am I to our competition?

27. How vulnerable am I to a price reduction from a competitor?

28. Will all my best employees or co-workers be here at the end of the year?

29. Why will some customers leave?

30. What am I "known" for?

31. What am I recognized as being "the BEST" at?

32. How excellent are my selling skills?

33. What questions am I asking my prospects and customers that my competition is not asking?

34. Why did the last five prospects say no?

35. What am I doing about it?

36. Why did the last five prospects say yes?

37. How am I building on that?

38. What does my voicemail say?

39. Is my voicemail message smart or dumb?

40. How many hours of TV a day do I watch?

41. How many hours would that be per year? (OUCH!)

42. How many of those hours are helping me succeed?

43. How many books on creativity have I read in the last 12 months?

44. How many books on sales or service have I read in the last 12 months?

45. How many books have I read in the past 12 months?

46. How many self help tapes have I listened to in the car last week?

47. How much time am I devoting to learning?

48. How much time am I investing in promoting and positioning my business?

49. How much am I spending to improve my image?

50. What do the leaders in my industry say about me?

51. How many people are spreading my "word" for me?

52. What's my plan to double my income over the next three years?

53. What will i need to learn to get it? What will I have to give up to get it?

54. How much do I love what I do?

(my questions to you)

54.5 If you don't love it, why are you doing it?

Free GitBit -- Want a great list of books that will build your success library -- and your success if you read them. Go to www.gitomer.com - register if you're a first time user, and enter the words SALES PILLS in the GitBit box.

Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Little Red Book of Selling, and The Little Red Book of Sales Answers.

Want Better Answers? Try Better Questions

2011-06-03T22:59:00.004-05:00

Answers to the future growth of your business depend on your ability to ask the right questions. These are the fundamental questions that underlie the core of your intention.

Why does your business exist? This question reveals your true purpose. It is the most powerful question, and all other questions revolve around this nucleus.

Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks, authored It’s Not About the Coffee and expressed “when organizations are clear about their purpose, they find the energy and passion to do great things.” This enabled his team to carry out the essence of their mission, “to inspire and nurture the human spirit.” The result: a place where people love to meet.

Go beyond just products and profits in expressing your purpose. What is your company’s unique value contribution to the world?

Which business are you really in? This question implies a choice among alternatives. Choosing wisely depends on the linkage you make to your core ideology.

For example, Steve Jobs’ core ideology at Apple is the intersection of technology and the arts. This strategic context led to iPods, iPhones and iPads. Each became blockbuster post-PC successes.

In exploring alternative choices you have for your business, identify which central theme will remain a predominant driver of your decisions. This answer may lead to a fresh examination of opportunities to pursue.

Who are you? This question focuses on your people and brand. Building great brands begins with your own expression of what you stand for, reinforced by the perspective of your customers.

For example, Disney spans amusement parks, movies, video games, music, cruises, and TV. Their brand focuses on one central theme successfully carried out by employees: making people happy.

How do you describe who you are? How does the marketplace describe who you are? Decide which aspects of your identity will remain constant and which aspects will evolve over time?

Where is your business headed? This question addresses your vision and future market position.

For example, Coca Cola’s vision is “to have a Coke within arm’s reach of everyone on the planet.” While perhaps not achievable, this image leads one to explore many possibilities.

Ten years from now, where could your business be positioned? Engage your executive team in “painting the canvass” of your future. With this end in mind, work backwards to determine what it takes to get there.

What are your company’s most important goals? This question demands measurable results over a set timeframe.

As humans, we are energized by a compelling goal. President Kennedy’s goal to land a man on the moon and return safely by the end of the 1960s moved an entire nation to action. His goal was simply stated and compelling.

What single goal, with a metric and timeframe, is moving your entire company to action?

How will you achieve your goals? This question deals with a process or methodology.

For example, GE holds an international reputation for nurturing extraordinary leadership talent in their many businesses. Their leadership development processes include extensive leadership training, constant executive reviews of leadership, top brass getting to know the families of upcoming leaders, 360 leadership assessment surveys, and a culture that revolves around leadership.

How do your business processes directly support your goals? Which areas need to be strengthened or eliminated?

When will you take steps to address critical issues facing your business? This question addresses the timing of taking action. Create a storyboard so that you know how each action step will lead to your desired outcome.

For example, in order for the Washington Business Alliance – a non-profit comprised of CEOs – to address critical issues in Washington State, their first action step is to demonstrate deep understanding of the issues. This leads to the other four elements of their work: collaboration, innovation, advocacy and achievement.

What is the sequence of steps your team must take in order to address the critical issues in your business?

Conclusion: These powerful questions serve as the core elements of inquiry that combine to form strategy. They reveal the fundamental dimensions of intention: purpose, choice, people, position, goals, process and action. If you routinely use The Seven Questions® as a model, you’ll discover better answers for growing your business.

Source: Chief Executive.net

May 10 2011 by Norm Levy

What have you done to Innovate.....this year?

2011-05-08T21:28:00.003-05:00

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO INNOVATE....THIS YEAR?

HOW DO YOU GET LIBERATED FROM THE ROUTINE?

Here's a very interesting approach that several successful firms have used to keep the flow of ideas coming.....plus it helps to motivate the team.

Selling the Best Hour of the Day to Yourself

May 3 2011 by Andy Boynton and Bill Fischer

Here’s an idea to use your time in clever ways to advance your learning and effectiveness.

One of the biggest challenges ahead for top executives is to create learning organizations in which everyone knows more. Contrary to widespread belief and practice, this is not primarily about technology—for example, crafting better web pages or databases. Simply put, the way to become a learning organization is to make sure people are, well, learning—constantly. And the way to do that is to encourage everyone to become what Warren Buffet’s insightful partner, Charlie Munger, describes as “learning machines.” As he explains, these are people who “go to bed every night a little wiser than they were when they got up.”

We believe that such an emphasis on the individual, rather than on technical processes, is the key to forging true learning organizations. The fundamental task is to create a culture in which learning is a well-understood expectation—something done by individuals, starting with executives, every single day.

We don’t need to dwell on the stakes here: acquiring new knowledge and superior ideas are essential for organizations to innovate and find an edge in today’s hyper-competitive markets. By now few senior managers would argue otherwise, and some will, in fact, turn at least part of their focus to the individual. For example, they’ll tinker with training budgets or find some extra time for attending seminars. These are all well and good, but such efforts tend to be intermittent at best. Learning with the goal of innovation is different. It’s a habit—one that calls for conscious strategies every manager can deploy.

Senior managers should start by borrowing a page from Munger, who hit upon one simple strategy when he was a young lawyer. He decided that whenever his legal work was not as intellectually stimulating as he’d like, “I would sell the best hour of the day to myself.” He would take otherwise billable time at the peak of his day and dedicate it to his own thinking and learning. “And only after improving my mind—only after I’d used my best hour improving myself—would I sell my time to my professional clients. And I did that for a number of years,” he said at the 2008 shareholders meeting of Wesco Financial, which he leads, and which is controlled by Warren Buffett’s company, Berkshire Hathaway.

For both Munger and Buffett, reading and conversations are the basic stuff of daily learning time. Both of them have a preference for what Munger somewhat raffishly refers to as “ass time”—parts of the day when they’re perusing published material at their desks.

Of course, not everyone can seal off a choice hour of office time every day for intellectual improvement. Even Munger said he would make an exception when a demanding situation arose. The important lessons here are 1) learning is not something you do only when business is slow; 2) it is an intentional activity; and (3) everyone can make it a priority. Most executives would be able to run with some version of Munger’s “sell the best hour” approach. Most would be able to deepen their knowledge, pursue their interests, and explore ideas on a daily basis—and lead others to do so as well.

Some companies have begun to institutionalize the notion of “sell the best hour.” For example, 3M has long made it a practice to let employees set aside 20 percent of their time for work unrelated to the core business—in search of ideas and innovations. Google follows the same drill. Most of its employees are allotted one day a week to follow their interests and passions. “This has produced more than a few of Google’s technological breakthroughs. Just as important, it conveys a sense of freedom,” writes Ken Auletta in his book Googled: The End of the World as We Know It, adding that the 20-percent rule also encourages engineers to “push the envelope, to assume that their mission is to disrupt traditional ways of doing things.”

According to Google’s main overseer of product innovation, Marissa Mayer, half of the company’s new products have stemmed from the 20-percent allotment. One example is Google News, the automated news aggregator that premiered in 2006. In addition to the 20-percent rule, Google has other ways of nurturing the thinking and conversation behind the innovations. For instance, adapting an idea from university life, Mayer holds open office hours three times a week, welcoming all those who have a notion they’d like to entertain. Following the example set by 3M and Google, a slew of other companies, including Intuit and Facebook, are now offering 20-percent time as well.

At W. L. Gore, a half-day of every employee’s week is turned over to “dabble time” for projects entirely of their choosing. The company is best known for its breathable waterproof fabric GORE-TEX, which is used in many kinds of sportswear. But Gore has also developed such wildly varied products as dental floss, cardiac implants, and industrial gaskets and hoses. “At its core, Gore is a marketplace of ideas,” observes Gary Hamel in his book The Future of Management. The discretionary time enjoyed by employees has served as the main fuel for this innovation machine.

One of the more spectacular fruits of dabble time is the company’s line of guitar strings, which keep their tone several times longer than ordinary guitar strings. This is achieved by virtue of a special coating that was developed from a Gore effort to improve push-pull cables. Elixir Strings were originally a dabble time project; now, they have cornered the U.S. market for guitar strings.

These examples are evidence that breakthroughs happen when people attend to their professional curiosities and set aside time for deliberate learning. Dabble time is not wasted time. It is a seedbed of innovation, a habit that expands the store of knowledge.

Every professional can be encouraged to make time for learning or experimentation, even during the work day. It could be a matter of what they do with the half-hour before they get going in the morning or during lunch. They could be asked: Do you check in on blogs, scan The Wall Street Journal, jot down some wild ideas? Are there any particular web sites that seem to be most deserving of your learning time?

Another avenue is to spend core work hours more deliberately—with an eye toward ideas and knowledge. What kinds of questions are you (and your people) asking at meetings? What sorts of conversations are you pursuing in the hallways? What are you noticing when you visit a partner or come in contact with a customer? How will your work on the project today add to what you know, not just what you do? Henry David Thoreau put it this way: “It’s not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” Everyone today should be busy about learning new things and seeking out ideas.

Whether you’re carving out new time or learning more intently in the course of regular work, the key is to somehow become liberated from the routine. Too often, the normal procedure is to stay narrowly focused on doing the work, rather than on learning what’s needed to improve the work. Executives and indeed most professionals today understand that they need to invest in themselves in order to create extraordinary value for their organizations. One way of doing so is to, literally or otherwise, sell a productive hour of the day to yourself, for continued learning.

Four Tenets of Growth for 2011

2011-04-06T12:28:00.005-05:00

Four Tenets of Growth: How CEOs Can Drive Results and Profits in 2011

Check out the Vistage White paper featuring advice from Vistage CEOs and Vistage Speakers on driving growth and profits in the coming year by focusing on the following four areas:

1. Redefine Your Customer Acquisition Strategy

2. Maximize Your Health Care Options

3. Go Green (It’s not just a fad anymore)

4. Become an Efficiency Machine

What are you doing to drive Growth this year? To read the white paper click: http://bit.ly/h2uHoY

LEADERSHIP A LA BUFFET......

2011-03-17T12:36:00.005-05:00

Warren, that is. Billionaire investor and famed CEO Warren Buffet recently released his annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter. It is always an interesting read and this year is no exception.

There are some interesting insights for Leaders of any size firm. Consider:

* Plain, Straightforward, open communication style
There's no question of his views and opinions, in easy, simple language. Look at yours, how would you compare?

* No Micro-Managing here
He trusts his CEOs. No required lengthy monthly operations meetings. No required conversations. They send in their monthly financials....if they need him they contact. He talks to some daily, others maybe once in 12 mos. How would you compare?

* A Simple, Formal Succession Plan
He does require his CEOs to send him a specific letter with the name of a successor if they ever become incapacitated. List why they chose this person along with strengths and weaknesses. Do it every 2 years....that's it. How would you compare?

You don't have to be the oracle of Omaha to practice these same leadership lessons.

Read a highlight summary at: http://bit.ly/eNIFIA

Read the full letter at: http://bit.ly/enNDzn

LEADERSHIP CAN NOT BE TAUGHT, LEARNED, OR IMITATED…..OR CAN IT?

2011-02-12T09:59:00.002-06:00

Do I have your attention? I had the priviledge of having a very thought provoking and insightful speaker on leadership to my CEO, Executive Groups. He made the above statement….what do you think?

If it can’t be taught, learned, or imitated……then what? It must be DEVELOPED.

Not just semantics here....meaning that you, as the CEO must develop your own leadership agenda. Put it to writing and create an Intentional Culture. Develop your style of leadership….you can not copy mine. Figure out who and what you are and what type of leadership culture do you want.

If you are the Quarterback of the team…the leader…you must run the plays. I can coach or guide you and put you through exercises but YOU have to develop the play. You have to execute and create your style of leadership.

You can read more about this at: www.logistyle.com by Balaji Krishnamurthy, PhD.

Challenge yourself, it could pay big dividends.

THE POWER OF PERCEPTION

2011-01-01T12:07:00.001-06:00

Is it what we see or what we believe....to be true? So how do you make a purchase decision? How does your customer or prospect make a decision?
Do you understand the power of perception? The mind is a strong and powerful organ which influences the way we think, what we believe, and how we act. Even if it is not really true.

Beliefs drive our attitudes.....attitudes drive our behaviors.....and behaviors drive our actions. Influence or change the beliefs and you can change the resulting actions. Remember the Coke formula change in the mid 1980's? The company performed thousands of consumer taste tests (yes they were blind tests....taste product A vs product B and which do you prefer?) One product was the new formula, the other was the existing formula. The new product beat the existing by a significant margin in the blind test. Now advance the clock....Coke rolled out the new flavor, replaced the existing and of course it was no longer a blind test.....it was in a new package called "New Coke."

Well, the results are now a business case study. The consumer was outraged and flooded the 800 lines with complaints. But why? They preferred the new flavor, on a blind basis. What was going on? Coke found the answer quickly.....this was about emotions....about perceptions....not about the taste. How could you take away the product I grew up with? Said the consumer. Coke brought back the original....called it Classic Coke....and the market share increased. How's that for the POWER of PERCEPTION!!!

So the lesson for you.....how can you tune in to the perceptions of your audience? Not just to do a simple test. But what are they thinking and feeling? Not so easy to do but very valuable in the end.

Entering Leadership? How must your perspective change?

2010-12-12T20:35:00.004-06:00

Entering Leadership? How must your perspective change?

I recently viewed a video from legendary GE CEO Jack Welch. It was actually from his last management meeting upon retiring from GE. He was offering some valuable insights for his leadership team as they approach the future.

One powerful section talked about entering “leadership.” How must your perspective change? Think about your own career. On the way up, you are totally focused on yourself and achieving certain performance goals or standards. Then you are promoted into a position of management and now leading a group of people. So what is different?

You must change your focus from you!! You no longer can do everything. Your focus needs to be about them, now!! Your team, the development of your people.....accomplishing things through others. In sports terms....you are moving from the star player to the Coach. Your role is very different.

If you want to hear Welch’s comments go to YouTube and search “Jack Welch final meeting” or click here http://bit.ly/eArcHW

There’s also an interesting interview of the CEO of TheLadders.com that deals with similar insights as he was moving up the leadership curve.

click here to read it http://nyti.ms/h09xQe

He talks about the focus on how to build your team and the importance of sharing the passion, the vision and direction of the firm.....spending more time on communicating the direction than telling everyone else the details of how they should be doing their jobs. Good advice.

So how are you spending your time? If you are the leader, what is your focus and direction with your firm? What should it be?

DON'T TRY TO PREDICT BEHAVIOR....OBSERVE YOUR AUDIENCE!!

2010-11-14T18:20:00.002-06:00

Don't try to predict behavior....observe your audience

Why would we say this? Why not rely on your loyal employees to give you innovative ideas and suggestions. It certainly could be a good place to start….problem is that the longer they have been with your firm, the less objective they are. They have a tendency to take an inside view and believe that they know the customers …. right…. they can predict the desired future demands.

The great marketers know that better and more innovative ideas come directly from your audience….your prospects and your customers. You might be surprised and just have that light bulb go off with new product or service suggestions for your firm.

So how might you do this? Send a survey to your audience to find out their needs. Zoomerang is a good tool to use….driven by your email marketing lists. Include a post card in your next delivery of product to your customer….ask for their ideas. Find a good reason to have a phone conversation with some of your accounts…..see how they are doing….while you are on the line, ask them a few questions about future needs. Send out a message on Twitter….put out a question on Facebook or LinkedIn…see how your contacts might react. Better yet invite an account to lunch or breakfast and find out how you could serve them better. What else could you provide?

Try it….you just might like it and surprise yourself with some great new ideas to grow your business.

Fail often & quick.....then debrief to learn

2010-10-09T23:17:00.004-05:00

The above is my first Cardinal Rule of Marketing. If you are not failing, it means that you're not trying many new things. And if you're not trying a lot of new things it's hard to generate a new product or service success.

I have found that the best marketing lessons are empirical. They are not often predicted or pre-planned. The key then becomes to figure ways to observe the behavior of our customers and not predict what they might do.

So how can this be done? At a reasonable cost? Start small....in a specific geography....or with one or two customers who are willing to work with you. Introduce your new product or service with that customer and follow up to observe the results. What's working....not working.....what needs to be changed?
Now take your learnings....revise the offering....and roll out on a broader basis.

Work this process, to get your organization comfortable with innovation. Test....observe....change.....retest......expand. It just may lead to success.
So happy failures......just do them quick and often!!

DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE SAY....

2010-09-19T16:20:00.002-05:00

DON'T LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE SAY....WATCH WHAT THEY DO!!

In a recent Blog post I mentioned my Cardinal Rules of Marketing. The above was one of them. What does it mean? Does your audience lie to you?

Well it's hard to separate the truth from perceptions when you ask your audience questions. Why....because we are dealing with psychology. People say what they think is positively perceived especially in the presence of other users.

Years ago, as a Brand Mgr for Minute Maid Orange Juice I recall one of those frequently used focus groups. You know, when you ask a collection of your users what beverages do they buy for their kids? In a group, they said "I only serve orange juice or apple juice to my kids." Of course, that is nutritional and they would be perceived as a good mother, right?

Very interesting, however....when you watch what they do, a very different picture emerges. Ask them to open up their pantry to you and you find 8 packages of Coke to 2 packages of juice!! But how can this be? Not what they told you.

So what's the lesson for you? Make sure your marketing and sales people become more skilled at observing behavior than listening to the psychological answers. Look for opportunities to watch what your customer is doing.....with your product/service or your competitors. Learn from their behavior.....it is more accurate.

CARDINAL RULES OF MARKETING

2010-08-15T17:50:00.003-05:00

Based on many years of developing, introducing, new products and services....I have been recently asked "What would be your Cardinal Rules of Marketing?"

I thought that was an interesting question and got me thinking about various insights from the real world of marketing. So shown below is my list....enjoy...see how many might apply to you.

BRODY’S CARDINAL RULES OF MARKETING

- fail often & quick.....then debrief to learn

- don't listen to what people say.....watch what they do & buy

- don't try to predict behavior....observe your audience

- don't roll out new products/services....perform limited tests, first

- with fierce competition, you can't afford to wait to get things 95% right......get it 70% - 80% then start selling somewhere & tweek it as you go

- perception is reality.....find out what's in their mind

- people don't buy based on price ......think Starbucks

- to innovate....get out of your office

- prospects often don't know what they want.....give them options to choose

- narrow your focus.....be black or white....not grey

- all of marketing is about segmentation.....don't try to be all things to all people

- prospects don't want to be sold today......provide information & market intelligence for them to buy

- everyone in your firm can influence & effect your brand presence.....constantly guard & polish it

- don't do mother-in-law research....does any grandparent have an ugly baby? Ask your customers & prospects for feedback....several times per year

STICK LIKE DUCT TAPE!!

2010-07-16T17:14:00.003-05:00

In a previous Blog, I mentioned the first marketing battle....the battle of the Mind. i.e. your ideas & concepts need to be remembered by your audience. You must break through the clutter...lots of it.

So, how might you do this? I just read a highly practical book which provides some tips to help you "Stick." It is by Chip & Dan Heath and aptly titled: Made to Stick - Why Some Ideas Survive & Others Die.

The key concepts include being:

Simple

Unexpected

Concrete

Credible

Emotional

A Story

So, if you want to quack like a duck....walk like a duck....look like a duck...but better yet, have your IDEAS stick like Duct Tape.....read this book to learn how!!

SEGMENTATION - IT'S WHAT MARKETING IS ALL ABOUT

2010-05-22T10:37:00.003-05:00

Can you describe ONE clear niche or segment that your product or service fits? If so, it’s easier for your prospects to remember….and be meaningful to them. Remember most people try to be all things to all people. That’s a recipe for failure!! It’s hard to focus & narrow your audience.

You’ve probably heard it before…..but what is market segmentation anyway? Why is it important? Well, easier to associate. Easier to remember. Top of mind awareness….remember that phrase? Most marketing experts will tell you that the first 1 – 2 Brands that your audience recalls….top of mind….probably has the leading market share. That’s why this is important.

A segment is simply a grouping or cluster of similar characteristics of your product or service. So for your industry…..we can draw out a simple diagram. Think of a continuum from left to right. From low (on the left) to high (on the right.) Low to high on what? Things like: speed of service, quality, variety of features, price, etc. Think about competition and group them into various clusters.

So for example….take the hospitality business or hotels.

Consider Marriott as a hotel: full service, restaurants, ballroom, meeting rooms, appeals to business and personal travelers. Place it toward the right side….maybe ¾ of the way…pricing about $150 - $200 per night depending on the city. Competition would be: Hilton, Sheraton, Hyatt, etc.

Suppose you want to compete on price….more reasonable, but less features. Place to the left of Marriott a segment called limited service. Appeals to business travelers….restaurant really only for breakfast….meeting rooms, but small size….pricing about $69 - $129 per night. Think Courtyard (oh, by Marriott by the way.) Others are: Holiday Inn, Radisson, etc.

Further to the left would be…..economy segment. Restaurant is only continental breakfast, limited….very small meeting rooms, not many….pricing $49 - $99 per night. Think Fairfield Inn (oh again by Marriott….get the picture.) Others are: Hampton Inn, Holiday Express, Motel 6, Drury Inn, etc.

Now go to the far right….luxury segment. Destination locations with maybe golf course or beach resort or mountain setting. 5 star quality and amenities….many restaurants…variety of meeting rooms….recreation activity….pricing maybe $199 - $400 per night. Think Renaissance (gee…owned by Marriott) or Ritz Carlton or Luxury Collection.

I think you get the idea. You can play in just one of these segments or multiple. If you choose more than one….don’t use the same name….it will confuse your customers. Follow the way Marriott Corporation has developed Brands to suit each segment.

Divide your audience opportunities….offer DIFFERENT features for DIFFERENT prices….and you too can increase your market share. Study and analyze the SEGMENTS in your industry…..it’s worth it.

WHAT'S IN A WORD? Positioning

2010-05-02T19:39:00.002-05:00

The first challenge and battle that you have, as a marketer, is the battle of the mind. In the mind of your customer or prospect…..that is. You see, it is critical for you to be remembered and remembered for what you stand for.

This is not so easy, given all the messages and interruptions that bombard your prospect. From tv to radio to newspaper to billboards and now messages to you from email….tweets….facebook….YouTube and many more. So, the question for each of you is….how do you break through the clutter and in a way that is memorable to your audience?

i.e. what is the best “positioning” for your product or service? Plus, do you create that or is it already in the mind of your audience? Your first task is to figure out precisely how and in what context, does the prospect think or remember your product or service. Ask them….they will tell you. Conduct some quick and easy surveys and market research.

Tips include: keep your concepts short, to the point. One or two words, if possible. Use graphics to reinforce the message. Narrow your focus….don’t try to be all things to all people. Choose black or white…..don’t be grey (you won’t be remembered.)

There is a concept referred to as “stickiness.” Certain words or phrases just seem to stick. When I talk to audiences, I often ask folks to complete the following phrase:

Winstons taste good, ____________________

(the answer…..like a cigarette should.)

Interesting that this phrase has not been used by Winston, in advertising, since 1955. And yet, most people in my audiences can correctly complete the phrase. It has stickiness.

What word or phrase would people relate about your product or service? Either real or perceived, the concept must generate recall and also generate some positive meaning. Not easy to create….but well worth the effort.

DIFFERENTIATE OR DIE

2010-04-10T15:23:00.001-05:00

Your salesperson comes back from a presentation. Did we win the business you ask? No…..is the reply…..the prospect said our price is too high!! What is he really saying?

He doesn’t understand that your product or service is any better than your competitors….either REAL or PERCEIVED. Therefore he wants a lower price. Price is always a factor but it has been shown a number of times not to be the most important factor…..unless your prospect does not see a difference between you and competition.

We are too often led down the path that price is the only thing that matters. This is not a sustainable difference unless you are going to follow a strategy of being the low price leader…..not easy to be. This is the Walmart or Southwest Airlines strategy.

Let’s go back a number of years and think about the coffee business in this country. This is a multi-billion dollar industry and at retail, the leading brands were Maxwell House and Folgers. Products owned by General Foods and Proctor & Gamble (not exactly small or unsophisticated firms.) A container would sell for maybe $2.99 per lb and each of the brands would battle for the better sales any given week or month. Any research conducted would not have shown a consumer problem or unmet need with your favorite brand of coffee.

So explain to me, how, a few years later we find a brand called Starbucks selling for $12.99 per lb and expanding their retail shops across the U.S. If price was the number one factor, Starbucks would have failed. They did not compete the same way…..in fact started out in their own retail stores…..selling more the experience and another place to relax vs selling just a BETTER cup of coffee. Once established, then and only then did Starbucks offer their package at retail, at a substantial premium to Maxwell House or Folgers. And created a new category of gourmet coffee. An opportunity… not fixing a problem that openly existed.

So next time you hear that your price is too high…..maybe you really need to work on how to DIFFERENTIATE your products or create a different user experience!!

FAILURE & INNOVATION

2010-03-16T14:17:00.004-05:00

Would you like to increase your chances to succeed? Just DOUBLE the number of failures in your firm!! How can this be? What does this mean?

It’s because most success is not planned or controlled. The great marketers learn to be great observers of behavior. If you want to have that “AHA” moment and trip over a great idea….you must try a lot of things.

This is difficult for most organizations. It depends on your culture of risk taking. Innovation requires taking some risks. In your firm, are people punished for making mistakes? Or trying something that does not work out? What is the reaction…..is it a learning opportunity or is the expectation that things work perfectly? If the latter, you will have a hard time encouraging your people to be creative & innovate. They will be afraid of punishment……i.e. they will avoid risks.

So, create an idea…..commercialize the concept…..find a way to try it with a limited audience i.e. with small costs…..then observe what works. Or what doesn’t work. Learn, revise it, try it again……then “AHA.” You just might surprise yourself and INNOVATE.

GET FEEDBACK FROM YOUR AUDIENCE

2009-12-25T09:18:00.003-06:00

Do you have loyal employees? Low turnover? That's a good thing, right? Well yes, for ongoing operations. Here's an interesting dilemma.....want to improve your business and generate new ideas for your customers? Don't just rely on ideas from those loyal employees. Problem is.....they are no longer objective about your business. You need to get feedback directly from your customers!!

So, how do you go about getting feedback, on a regular basis, from your audience? At a reasonable price. If you are a small to mid-size business, it might be too expensive for you to implement a custom research project, with a professional market research firm. While this is often preferable.....one in-depth customer satisfaction survey with a couple hundred responses can easily cost you $15,000 - $30,000.

Good news.....there are some excellent internet tools that you can use to probe your audience. Services like Survey Monkey, Zoomerang, and others. Your requirement is to be collecting email addresses for your customers and prospects and then structure the questionnaire. You can do this yourself or better yet, have someone help you who has some experience with market research.

I prefer Zoomerang.com They have several pre-formatted surveys that can fit your needs. Sign up to their service, then pick a format (like customer satisfaction, employee morale, etc.) and next edit the questions to make it more appropriate to your specific audience. Send it out and read the results!! Importantly, do this 1 - 2 times per year and look for the trends. You are trying to move the needle and improve......this means that the trend is important to see if you can better serve your customers. Go for it!! I think you will like it.

Choose a Strategy to Focus your Business

2009-10-14T21:53:00.002-05:00

Mktg & Leadership Insight

It’s hard for leaders to choose just one strategy to focus….after all, isn’t it better to appeal to many different audiences? Actually not, if you want your customer to remember what you stand for….how are you different from competition?

This is the suggestion from author Michael Treacy in his book titled “The Disciplines of Market Leaders.” There are some powerful messages here that leaders should probe to increase performance.

The book describes three overall strategic alternatives: Operational Excellence, Product Innovation, and Customer Intimacy. Firms should implement pieces of all of these BUT FOCUS on ONE to truly stand out and be great!! What defines these strategies?

Operational Excellence……think Walmart, Southwest airlines, and Dell Computer as examples. This is a best value, low price focus. Firms tend to be highly centrally controlled regarding decisions and operate in a very disciplined, structured format. Extra frills are rejected….everyone is focused on saving every penny, or dollar and delivering outstanding value to the customer at the best price…..consistently. Does this define your company?

Product or Service Innovation……think Apple Computer, Intel, Sony, Toyota as examples. This is a best product, premium price, and leading edge innovator focus. Firms tend to be focused around product life cycles, they might even obsolete their own products to develop the next generation of features for customer preference. The organization is structured in product teams, often not functional lines, and creativity and best in class is valued. Rapid change is a part of their existence. Does this define your company?

Customer Intimacy…..think Ritz-Carlton, Nordstrom’s as examples. This is a focus on the customer as king and creation of activities based on what the customer wants….the ultimate in empowerment of your employees to do whatever is necessary to satisfy the customer. Your service is premium priced, but the customer is willing to pay for the extra benefits. Your objective is to generate a WOW response from the customer based on your responsiveness and the initiative taken by your employees. Does this define your company?

These three strategies are quite different. The difficult choice is for you to choose ONE to place your focus. You cannot perform all three with equal focus….too many elements are contradictory and you will confuse your audience as well as your team. Be black or white to your audience……pick a strategy!! Try to focus on all three…..you will appear grey to your audience and be mediocre, at best.

Narrow your Focus to Stand Out

2009-08-16T19:49:00.003-05:00

Mktg & Leadership Insight

Does this sound like an oximoron...to be remembered by your audience Narrow the focus....be black or white NOT grey to your market.

There is a great tendency for business owners to want to be all things to all people. After all, this way they can appeal to the whole market, right? Why give up any possible prospect?

Actually this will make it much tougher for you to stand out in your market. Your prospect will not remember you with a clear focus. Your prospects are inundated with messages from numerous places.....especially in today's digital world.

It is remarkable what people can remember if it is focused and has some meaning.
This is what Apple accomplished with the iPod....what Google accomplished with a search tool...and what Starbucks accomplished with a coffee experience.

They were targeted to a clear and narrow niche.....people remembered.....experienced a good product or service and then ironically a very large market developed.

Try it, you just might like it!!

Communicate with Your Employees......especially now!!

2009-05-08T15:07:00.004-05:00

Given the status of the Economy and the anxiety on the minds of your people.....it is ESPECIALLY important NOW to have the right kind of communication with your leadership and your team.

Here is a rather insightful article I noticed recently that you should find valuable. Try it out. Hope that it helps your communication and culture.

Steve Brody
Vistage Chair & CEO Coach

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Don't Live in a Half-Built House

May 6, 2009 Peter Bregman Harvard Business Publishing

There is something curious about a group of houses in Utah. They're falling apart. Windows covered with wood. Roofs patched with blue tarp, blowing in the wind. Walls simply missing.

And yet people live in them. These houses are not being built; they are half-built. This has nothing to do with the real estate crash. It's not a consequence of poverty. Nor is it a design statement.

Their inhabitants simply aren't motivated to finish them. You see, they're fundamentalist Mormons who have been excommunicated by the mainstream Mormon church for their practice of polygamy. And their last known leader, Warren Jeffs had a penchant for predicting the end of the world on a rolling six months basis.

If you think the world is about to end, what's the point of fixing your house?

When I described these houses to a senior leader of a large retail bank — we'll call her Anne — her face contorted with recognition.

"That's exactly what I'm doing!" she said.

"Living in an unfinished house?" I asked.

"Yes!" She told me she hadn't done her usual quarterly all-hands call with her team.

"Why not?" I asked.

"What's there to say?" Anne responded. "Nothing's clear. I have no idea what to tell them. Will they be in their roles in two months? Will their priorities change? Will we even exist? There's too much uncertainty."

She knew it was a mistake not to do the all-hands call. And yet, she admitted to me, she hadn't done many of her normal management routines. She regularly canceled meetings with her direct reports and even skipped their performance reviews and career development conversations.

Why have a career development conversation with someone when there's a good chance they may not have a career with you at all? You're super-busy, understaffed, stressed, and feeling vulnerable yourself.

On top of all that, the people who report to you aren't pushing for conversations either. Sure they want some answers. But they're lying low. Keeping their heads down, trying not to make a splash. Because if you happen to be working on that layoff plan when they come by, you might take notice and add their name to the list. So they try to look busy. And they take the long way to the bathroom to avoid your office.

Here's the problem: When our future is uncertain, we have a hard time functioning in the present.

So what should you do?

David McClelland, a Harvard psychology professor, wrote the book on Human Motivation. It's 688 pages long, but since the world might end in six months, I'll give you the short version. Everyone is driven by three things:

Achievement (the desire to compete against increasingly challenging goals)

Affiliation (the desire to be liked/loved)

Power

Personalized (the desire for influence and respect for yourself)
Socialized (the desire to empower others; to offer them influence and respect)

If people have the opportunity to achieve, affiliate and influence, they'll be motivated and engaged. Even without a clear vision of the future.

So instead of worrying about what life is going to be like tomorrow, focus on these three things today.

Sit in your office for an hour and think, one by one, about each of your people (including yourself). Ask:

Is this person working on something meaningful and challenging; something for which he has about a 50% chance of succeeding?

Is this person relating to other people in the office; people she likes and to whom she feel close?

Is this person being recognized for the work he is doing? Can he influence decisions and outcomes?

If the answer is yes, great. That person will be motivated. If not, then create those opportunities immediately.

Give people clear goals and the autonomy to achieve them. Make sure they are working on something they find challenging and interesting.

Give them opportunities to collaborate (and celebrate) with others. This is especially important because at times of uncertainty, people become more political. They start to suspect that their colleagues are trying to be noticed, take more credit, work on better projects. But as they work on projects collaboratively, their trust grows.

Also give them opportunities to offer their input on how things should be done. Reward their participation with public recognition.

Anne realized that even though she was a "leader" in the bank, she too was paralyzed by the uncertainty of the future. That was several weeks ago.

I met with her again recently and she told me she had held one-on-one meetings with each of her managers that week. In those meetings she made sure each person had some kind of challenging, meaningful project to work on. She also made sure each had at least one project on that involved collaboration with other people. She told me that the third motivation was harder because it felt fake to recognize people for something they had done when she didn't feel they had been doing much. She did give them influence over how they were going to achieve their projects, and as they made headway, she was looking for opportunities to recognize them.

Doing this had a side benefit for Anne. She was considerably more energized when I last saw her. Following through on this plan tapped into her motivation. It was challenging (achievement), helped her connect to the people with whom she worked (affiliation) and enabled her to enable others (power).

So it's time to choose. Do you want to live in a half-built house while you wait for the end of the world? As it turns out, some people have been living in those houses for years.

Or do you want to be like Anne and spend whatever time you have fixing your house, along with your colleagues?

The world may end in six months, but at least those six months can be filled with engaging work, connected community, and empowered action. Since you can't do anything about the future, don't try. But you can do something about the present. And who knows, that just might make for a better future.

Current Economic Trends

2008-11-01T09:55:00.000-05:00

Thought you would be interested to see the latest update from our Vistage Intl Economic expert speakers. ..........

GDP down in the third quarter of 2008

Preliminary third quarter GDP data is out and it shows that the economy contracted from the prior quarter. Given the negative trend in US Industrial Production and the ongoing descent in Retail Sales, it is reasonable to presume that the economy is indeed officially in a recession.

Several thoughts jump to mind:

We are closer to the beginning of this downturn than we are to the end of the process.

Expect general economic conditions to get worse.

Cash flow, liquidity, and moving into new markets are arguably the three most important goals at this juncture of the business cycle.

Even if your business is still doing well, make sure it is because you really are “beating the business cycle” and not because you are lagging the economic indicators.

Be agents of change.
Brian Beaulieu Institute for Trend Research 603-226-9331

Stay Green & Growing

2007-01-21T12:03:00.000-06:00

How would you describe the status or trend of your business? Is it stable? Might it be declining? Or is it growing? And does this really matter? Well, let's think about your employees and either trying to attract new people or retain your best people. Do they desire stability? While on the face of it, many owners or CEOs might state that stability is good. People would have a sense of confidence. In fact, in study after study it is found that your best people want to have some sense of the future and they desire a challenge for themself to continue to learn.....to grow.....to make a contribution to your firm. Growth most of the time is stimulating. It can also be anxiety producing.....why? Because it involves change. And as written about in the best selling book "Who Moved My Cheese" change is difficult for most people. So we have the classic leadership dilemma here......people want and react positively to growth (both business and personal) but they are concerned about and afraid of change. And we know that it is not possible to have Growth without Change!!! So one of your key goals as a leader is to somehow get your people MORE comfortable with CHANGE. How do you do this? This will be the subject of some continuing dialogue and suggestions here.