Only a relative few have made significant, successful
adjustments to changing conditions from irresistible forces
(such as financial markets, weather, demographics, new
technology, and attitude shifts).    There is perhaps no
more interesting an example than Berkshire Hathaway, which
started as an owner of a failing textile mill that
eventually did go out of business due to adverse conditions.

Since then, Warren Buffett, Berkshire’s founder, has
successfully navigated the changing tides of business and
financial markets over the years to built one of the most
successful companies ever.  Unlike Microsoft, and Intel
which had relatively few important shifts in irresistible
forces, Berkshire Hathaway has weathered many by
redirecting its resources and energies into new, more
promising directions.

After having been primarily a portfolio manager of a
handful of common stocks for many years, the company has
recently shifted again to emphasize purchasing and
operating companies.  You too can learn to catch the full
benefit of today’s volatile and rapidly changing forces and
spur your enterprise on to greater and more rapid growth
than ever before.

(more…)

Setting goals as the way to create priorities is what
leaders do to maintain direction and focus. Unfortunately,
many managers take a tremendous amount of potential
leverage out of their organizations by not prioritizing.
Many do it by using the Brute Force style of management.

How to define Brute Force management? It’s the “just keep
working harder, working longer, and working smarter and
everything will be OK.”

It’s the “just do what I tell you to do when I tell you to
do it.”

I had a Brute Force  boss whose standard answer to “What’s
the most important thing?” was “Everything’s the most
important thing.” We were in a crisis mode and there was a
lot to get done, but what that “Everything is important”
direction led to was a lot of counterproductive behavior
-.do what you’re told to do, and then ask “What’s next?”
After a year of that no leverage management style he was
fired - but not until some very good people had left the
organization.

Managers that take the “everything is Number 1″ approach
are often rewarded for being tough, no nonsense, aggressive
problem solvers. The fact that they created many of the
problems they then solved seems to go unnoticed. Instead of
leadership, they use the  brute force approach to getting
things done. That often works in a crisis situation, but
when everything becomes a crisis, those managers lose their
effectiveness and their people become cynical about how
they are treated. Brute force managers rarely have goals
they share with people, and even more rarely do they have
their people participate in any meaningful way in setting
goals and priorities. To many of them, sharing information
and open communication are threats to their control. Many
of them are quite happy with a compliance level workforce -
the “Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it” people. There
is no leverage in the Brute Force management style.

How do effective leaders create priorities that maximize
their own effectiveness and the effectiveness of their
organization?

(more…)

Copyright (c) 2007 George Sierchio www.actionbusinesspartners.com

Almost 50% of the new companies formed in the US and Canada fail within the first 3 years. Just because that happens to be the case, it doesn’t make seeing a business that somebody worked so hard for die any easier to watch.

I hope the following information will make an impact on curtailing the business death rate.

Under capitalization. Money is the root of all evil and it may well be the leading cause of small-business failures. Far too many small-business owners underestimate how much money they’re going to need, not merely to get the business started, but also to survive the inevitable up and downs that occur while trying to make a spot for themselves in the market.

Not having enough money from the onset of your business can start a spiral that you may never get out of.

Bad cash flow. This is the often-unseen relative of a lack of capital. Even businesses that move past the embryonic stage often collapse when incoming cash doesn’t at least offset expenses and other costs.

Your business can be making a ton of revenue but if the inflow of that revenue is less than the outflow of expenses, you have bad cash flow, which will spell trouble no matter how much revenue you generate.

Inadequate planning. Not surprisingly, this is the reason problems like capitalization and bad cash flow happen in the first place. It’s critical that you map out as comprehensive a business plan as possible, covering financial issues, marketing, growth and an array of other elements.

Granted, it can be time consuming, as a well-prepared plan can take weeks or months to complete. That time may also tell you that the new business venture or company expansion is not worth the time and money it will take to accomplish.

No target market. This is a two-part issue.
Part 1: Not setting a target market is a huge mistake made by many business owners, even in established businesses. Who will think your products/services are useful? It’s essential to develop a marketing strategy not merely to identify who might buy from you, but why.

Make certain your marketing strategy sets you apart so customers can clearly see why they would rather go to you than a competitor. More importantly, break down your target market as much as possible, especially if your product/service is not something used by a general audience.

Part 2: A solid target market should also keep you from making the mistake of trying to provide too many services or products, which will cause you to spread yourself too thin. Small, and especially new, companies often tend to look for a way to make money in any form they can instead of sticking to core products and services.

If this happens, the company will not be able concentrate already limited resources to selling and servicing the things the company was built for.

No competitive edge. Once you have determined a target market, now you have to make them know why you are special compared to the other guys selling the same thing. To gain an edge on your competition, you need to go into business with a Unique Selling Point (USP).

This is critical to gain some mustard behind the company and having something to exploit over the competition. Whether it’s a slightly different product or customer support that goes beyond your competitors; earmark that one element that sets your business apart.

Sometimes a “me too” operation works, but that usually happens when you are the first to bring a product or service to a market that has yet to be exposed to it. Figure out your USP and that will give you something specific to help market your company both online and offline to your target market.

Inadequate flexibility. This is where being one of the little fish is much better than being a goliath company. Big business has a lot of advantages when it comes to things that cost money and resources but they are fat and very inflexible. The small company has the ability to change directions on a dime.

Never forget to remain flexible. If a product isn’t quite right or a marketing campaign isn’t really flying, don’t be afraid to tinker. Making those sorts of on-the-fly adjustments is much tougher for the big guys.

Ignoring customer service. Don’t give the farm away and do tons of things free for customers or potential customers but be prepared to give a little extra. You and your employees should be looking to help out a customer when needed to show your appreciation for them providing a paycheck.

An overbearing customer is a problem but showing a little extra courtesy that doesn’t cost too much time and effort should be a given. That’s what keeps people coming back.

Trying to be everything to the business. As an entrepreneur or manager in a smaller company, you often have to wear many hats. The thing to avoid is wearing more than what fits on your head. Don’t try to be all things to your business.

If you can’t build a website, don’t try to become a website guru or do a half baked job, get some help. When a legal issue crops up, don’t rely on your self appointed legal skills to evaluate the legal ramification. Establish a long-term relationship with an attorney, preferably one with small-business acumen.

Great boss, so-so staff. A solid business with a knowledgeable, enthusiastic owner can often be brought down by inexperienced and unmotivated employees. Make certain your employees are well-trained, fairly compensated and somehow share in the desire that you have to be part of a great business.

Uncontrolled growth. This may make no sense, but it’s true; a small business that simply succeeds too quickly often pushes itself into an early grave. If your production fails to keep pace with demand or necessary expansion coincides with insufficient cash, the growth you dream about as an entrepreneur can actually threaten your business’ very existence.

Again, cover foreseeable growth in your original plan and track it adequately to make certain that it never gets dangerously out of hand.

Yesterday my riding session with my bay mare ended with her
dripping sweat, her sides heaving… me with a beet red face
struggling to maintain any semblance of control
whatsoever…then me giving her a bath to cool her down and
walk her and myself up and down our driveway to calm us
both.

Today ended with me relaxed, at ease and totally happy with
our accomplishments….her licking her lips and enjoying
being petted and praised.

What changed?

I began our session today before I ever went into the round
pen… By thinking about and analyzing:

what went wrong in our ride yesterday

how her personality played into our interaction

figuring out what Tasha, my big bay horse needed to be
comfortable and progressive

how my thoughts had to change for us to be successful

how my actions had to change for us to be successful

what my breathing pattern had to do with our success

what I needed to do with the energy my body was giving off

You’ll notice that none of these things have to do with
changing her but instead all have to do with changing me
and how I present myself and how I interact with her.

(more…)

Leaders know the old saying  “How you act shouts so loudly
I can’t hear what you’re saying” is the truth. They use it
to their advantage. Leaders know the greatest sense of
accomplishment and importance often comes from non –
monetary rewards, and from positive recognition from the
person who is the  boss. And they know they can do it
without “breaking the rules” or incurring big expenses.

Many managers feel constrained by the rules and regulations
of their organizations. They feel that their hands are tied
when it comes to rewarding their people – that their
actions are controlled by others, and there is little of
any real value they can do to motivate their people.

Here are 12 Ways  leaders let their people know how
important they are:

Way #1 – Leaders truly believe the work performed by their
people  is important. This may sound pretty basic, but that
is an absolutely essential belief. Without it there is
simply no way people can be convinced  that what they do is
important.. How often have your heard – or been guilty of
saying – or thinking – “Oh, she’s just the receptionist”
or, “He’s just the janitor” or “They’re just trainees” or
“They’re just a staff weenie?”

Way #2 – Leaders expect the best from everyone, and settle
for nothing less. Nothing makes people feel more important
than high expectations for their performance. Leaders  make
sure their people share in setting the expectations.

Way #3 – Leaders create goals that are shared and that show
the tie in of individual work with the success of the
organization.

Way #4 – Leaders select the best – in every opening they
have. Every tool is used to ensure that the best possible
decision is made on who is selected. People watch very
carefully to see who is picked – they need to be involved
in the selection process whenever possible. Leaders know
that actions taken in selection communicate how important
the open position is. Who is selected is  seen  as a direct
reflection on the quality of the  people in the
organization.

(more…)

Managing goals, leaders and trimming trees? Hang with me.
Let me tell you, I am a goal junkie. I constantly set goals
for all kinds of things in my life. They are all SMART
goals - they meet the criteria for good goals - I know how
to do that. The only problem is my wants always exceed my
gets. And that’s a problem. How many of you have the same
problem? Too many goals - too little time - too many unmet
goals that have the ability to demotivate. You know what
you want - you know how to get there - but the results
simply do not meet the intentions. Leaders know how to fix
that all too common condition.

A story about trimming trees:

I have a tree in the backyard. A Palo Verde tree -
absolutely beautiful. Green trunk, delicate leaves, many,
many branches and, like many desert trees, it’s covered
with hard, sharp thorns. Tough to trim without my becoming
a pincushion - so it didn’t get trimmed.

Up until last year it had lots of foliage - even in the
driest months. Then something happened, and this year there
are any number of small and large branches that are dead -
dry as a bone. There’s still some foliage, but not what it
had been. The tree looks like it’s dying. We increased the
water, and some of the branches flourished, but many others
didn’t. I trimmed the outer branches, and removed a lot of
the dead growth - but still no real progress.

Finally I consulted a tree expert to see what could be
done. The expert took one look at the tree and knew exactly
what had to be done. He could see that the tree had grown
without any trimming. Lots of small limbs that should have
been trimmed had grown into large limbs. There must be 15
or 20 limbs that are creating this pattern of unrestrained
growth. Only problem is that the tree’s root structure
can’t support that much foliage - this is a desert tree,
adapted to a low water environment. The result is going to
be the death of the tree - unless the number of major tree
limbs are reduced to no more than 5 to 7.

(more…)

I need to make a change in my company…How do I do it, and how do I manage it?

This is a question I hear from business leaders every day .
. . yet the question often comes to me after the fact . . .
when people are up in arms and ready to bolt. A change can
be something as simple as new stationery or as tumultuous
as a merger or acquisition, and while the change is often
seen by top leadership as necessary to move ahead of
aggressive competitors, this is not always the case for
employees. Why? I believe the answer is this: Your
employees are not angry about the change itself . . . they
are angry because they are often the last to hear, you did
not get their buy-in, their vote didn’t count , and bam . .
. Trust is shattered!”

Imagine this: During a strategic planning meeting, the
executive team of a large technology company makes the
decision to launch a new product line and ditch an existing
one. Ditching the existing product line means that a few
talented employees will become obsolete, and the new
product line will require a new pool of talent. The
executive team chooses to “keep this quiet” until they are
ready to launch (yeah right!) They begin to meet after
hours in a locked room to discuss their plans. As human
behavior often teaches us, it is very hard to keep a secret
when you know you have one inside you. So . . . Sally
Smith, CIO, makes the decision to tell one person outside
the executive team: “I have something to tell you, but you
have to promise not to tell anyone” (yeah right . . .
again.) In addition, the janitor knows something’s up . . .
he cleans after hours and sees the big dogs locked in a
room every night for three weeks, and he begins to whisper
in the halls to his comrades. Suspicion builds and the
grapevine begins to circulate rumors: “I hear the company
is closing,” or “I heard we are merging” or “I heard that
we are headed for a 20% lay off” or “I heard that the
company is in big trouble” and so on. The fear, doubt,
worry and anxiety begin to build. People are not sure what
is going on, but all they know is that it must be big, and
they are nervous . . . very, very nervous!

(more…)

You’re energetic.  You’re focused.  You start off with a fabulous idea that you are absolutely certain you can take you to places of amazing success.  It’s not just you who
thinks that your business concept is a great one.  Nearly everyone you talk to offers their support for your bold move.  Some of them even envy your chutzpah.  You embody the stuff dreams are made of.  You are proud to call yourself an entrepreneur.

You know your business inside and out because you’ve had
your hand in every decision and every move from the get go.
Essentially you have become your business!

But wait!  What happened?   Suddenly, you’ve got more
business than you can handle on your own.  You’ll have to
bring in new people, new systems, new processes.  Making
that shift can be daunting if not completely debilitating.

This growth phenomenon is a very common challenge shared by
entrepreneurs.  We have seen this process time and time
again.  An entrepreneur’s business starts to grow, and then
he or she wakes up one morning and decides to close the
business doors.  Over the last decade, I have noticed that
most businesses don’t fail because they go bankrupt, but
rather because the owners decided that the amount of effort
they must put into their businesses is simply not worth it
relative to the payoff they are currently receiving.  When
it all boils down, this credo holds true:  Learn to work
smarter, not harder.  First, here’s the typical cycle:  The
business grows, and the owner pulls back because he or she
is faced with more decisions.  More decisions mean more
fear and indecision.  More fear and indecision mean less
dialogue because people shut down when they’re afraid.
Weakened dialogue means that business is becoming less
visible and well known in the marketplace.  The less that
business and its principles are expressed, the more fear
the entrepreneur feels, because he or she is sensing the
downward spiral.  It’s a vicious circle, and suddenly
people start saying “What happened to John?  Is he still
around, or did his business fall off the face of the
earth?” If this scenario sounds familiar, you may be asking
“What do I do now?”  The down and dirty answer is this: 
You shift your thinking from being an entrepreneur to being
a leader!  You may have begun as an entrepreneur.  To grow
and thrive, however, you must become the leader of your
company…and not just in word but in deed.  Take
responsibility for deciding what you want your business to
look like, and start taking the bold steps you need to take
to make things happen!   Follow these five principles, and
your actions will speak volumes for you.

1) Vulnerability: This may sound like a touchy feely word,
but it’s really quite practical.  First, identify the
weaker threads of your leadership and/or your company.
Recognize any weak spots or sinkholes in your foundation.
Second, address specifically-with your team, your Board,
your coach or mentor-how you’re going to work on those
issues to shore them up.  Be specific.  Many leaders are
afraid to discuss their shortcomings for fear of appearing
incompetent.  The truth is that vulnerability engenders
trust, which engenders camaraderie, which engenders growth!
People respect honesty because it creates a level playing
field where they know who’s in what position - what the
strategy of the game is.  Ironically, addressing your own
vulnerability will make you less vulnerable in the
marketplace because you’ll inspire the loyalty of your team.

(more…)

“Bodacious” means to be bold, outstanding, and remarkable.
Take those attributes to work and you’re on your way to
building a fulfilling, bodacious career.  Does having a
bodacious career sound exciting to you?  It is!  After
starting as an $8 an hour customer service rep, I rose
through the ranks of AOL, accepting four promotions and
surviving over six layoffs to become the head of corporate
training for 12,000 employees.  Along the way I learned I
needed to be bodacious to achieve the career I wanted.  Out
of that experience I created my “cheat sheet” of ten
essential Bodacious Career Builders.  Here’s number two:
Create Deliberate Relationships

Bodacious Career builders know that in today’s business
world value lies in relationships. Everything is
introduced, evaluated, negotiated, bought, sold, resolved,
ended, and enjoyed based on relationships.  The
technological advancements that have evolved over recent
years serve as both metaphors and evidence of our demand
for an infinite ability to make connections through
computers, modems, phone lines, and air waves, as well as
among people in organizations.  Even with all this
high-tech stuff, it’s still all about people.

What I’m about to say flies in the face of all good girl
coding most of us have had embedded in our systems from the
day we first heard, “Now play nice.  That’s a good girl.”
And it might make you so mad that it will cause you to stop
reading this article and move on to something else.  I
certainly hope not.

But in the name of authenticity and full disclosure, I have
to tell it like I see it:  To build a Bodacious Career,
deliberately seek relationships with people according to
who they are, who they know, what they do — and what they
can do for you.

Sounds horribly selective, doesn’t it?  But it isn’t really.

(more…)

VA hospitals neglecting our veterans, global warming, a
poorly rated public education system, unaffordable health
care, and corporate corruption running amok have all been
in the news. What’s going on here? What do all of these
have in common?

“Inadequate leadership”‘ is the answer.

Steven Covey, in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People, mentioned the discovery of an interesting
phenomenon when he reviewed success literature written
during the last 200 years. The success literature of the
past 50 years emphasized the importance of personality and
skill development. The literature of over 50 years ago by
writers such as Emerson, Thoreau, and others, emphasized
character and inner development.

What happens if we do not build a strong foundation through
inner development? We have witnessed charismatic
politicians, ministers, athletes, and others with
tremendous communication and interpersonal skills who ended
up in disgrace and/or prison. What was missing? The
foundation. It was either missing or unstable. Character is
the foundation upon which we must build skills, techniques,
and strategies for effectiveness which can withstand the
test of time and temptation. Without strong character the
likelihood is that our skills will be misused and
improperly channeled, which may be damaging to us and
others.

(more…)