Weekly Business Idea

Main Idea:

When are you most likely to experience significant failure?  When are you most likely to avoid taking risks? 

 Expansion of the Idea:

I have found it fascinating to read about JP Morgan’s $2,000,000,000.00 loss in the paper.  This has been an ongoing story about one of the best run banks in the country.  How did they allow the loss to occur?  This bank came through the financial crisis with very few problems.  They watched and managed their risk.  Yet here was a factual situation that had grown out of control.  Why did this happen?  From reading the articles, it seems that key leaders at JP Morgan took their focus off the very things that made them a success.  The problem is that once you are successful, you stop doing some of the things that made you successful.  You stop looking at all of the details.  The people around you may not question something that they would have questioned when you were not successful.  Everyone is afraid to speak up because everything is going so well.  However, that is exactly the time to look carefully at what you are doing.  You might have to stop doing something that is profitable because now is the time to switch to something that will lead to profits in the future.  You might need to go back to basics and meet with customers when you otherwise don’t meet with them.  You may need to answer phones even though you have customer service people who do that.   You may need to speak up and question something that looks odd.  I know that this may seem like much ado about nothing because JP Morgan may be about 2,000,000,000 times the size of your business.  However, when was the last time that you received such great service from a small or large business that you just had to shout it from the mountaintops.  I know that I would like my service to be at that level but it normally isn’t.  Life gets in the way.  We have to stay focused on the details and not be complacent in running our businesses and serving our customers.  It is a constant battle and we have to keep battling.  We will never make it to the top because there is no final destination. 

 Points to Ponder:

1. Have you become complacent with your success?
2. Do you encourage a culture of openness where your team is allowed to question what is going on?
3. Do you focus on the details like you used to?
4. What part of your business needs to be fixed but you are afraid to do so because you are making money?

Main Idea:

What do you do when a customer or fellow worker responds that they are fine?  Do you look to see if they really are fine?  Do you do a good job of taking a customer’s order?  Do you look for ways to better serve the customer?  Do you focus on the customer’s wants or do you look for insight into their needs?  Will you walk away from a sale if it doesn’t accomplish what the customer really needs?  Do you CARE?

 Expansion of the Idea:

A few weeks ago I sent out my weekly idea on the power of words.  (I apologize that I have been negligent since.)  One of the recipients of the weekly idea, Barbara Archer, who is a wealth manager here in St. Louis, responded with a reference to a youtube video on the power of words.  I would encourage you to watch this video.  It has sound but you will get the picture even if you can’t play the video with sound.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Hzgzim5m7oU&vq=medium

 The main point of the video is the power of words.  However, it also underscores the importance to look beyond the words and look at what someone really needs.  Too often we take care of the obvious but we don’t dig deeper into really helping our customers, our team members, or our suppliers.  There was a famous comedian, Freddie Prinze, who had a great line, “It’s not my job.”   He would utter this anytime someone asked him to do something that was not explicitly in his job description.  Anytime we go beyond our jobs and focus on what the people around us really need, we create a much better connection.  Connections end up creating teamwork with coworkers, loyalty with customers and better support with suppliers.  Ultimately, we create better businesses and better work environments. 

 Points to Ponder:

1. Do I just do my job or do I go further?
2. Do I look for opportunities to help those I work with?
3. Do I focus on what people need? 

Main Idea:

Are you a liberal or a conservative?  Do you know what I mean by each of those terms?  What do you mean by them?  Isn’t there a common definition of words?

 Expansion of the Idea:

I was reading Thomas Paine’s book “Common Sense” the other night and I came across a concept that I had not considered before.  (For those of you who have forgotten, this book/pamphlet helped the American people understand the morality and the possibility of breaking from England in the Revolutionary War.)  This book is actually something that most Americans should read because it outlines a great premise on the proper role of government and why government is a necessary evil.  The introduction was done by a man named Gregory Tietjen who states that Paine’s book “ushered in a New World of liberal values displacing the Old World of aristocratic entitlement.”  I started thinking about whether or not I was a liberal.  Anyone who knows me would call me a conservative.  However, I do believe in the constitution and in what the founding fathers were trying to accomplish.  That would make me a liberal.  The issue is not whether or not I am conservative or liberal.  Right now I would not know how to classify myself.  The issue is how we use words, both in print and verbally.  We have to understand where people are coming from to fully understand their thoughts.  And we have to think about our audience and where they are so that we properly communicate our ideas.  This was reinforced to me this week with some friends who terminated a business relationship this week.   They received some communication that could easily have been misunderstood.  This could have had bigger ramifications for one of the parties and could have impacted his business.  He recovered and explained himself but it reinforces the need to carefully evaluate our communications.  Words can easily persuade others but they can just as easily turn people off.  I know that this has hurt my business in the past because of how I used words.  I also know that while I have improved I have a long way to go.  If you do not want to compete just on price over the internet, communication is one of the key things that we can work on to help us.  It builds relationships and that is what we are trying to do.

 Points to Ponder:

1. Do I communicate my thoughts easily and with great clarity?
2. If I am writing a critical letter to a customer or vendor, do I have someone review it for first impressions?
3. What can I do to improve in this area?

Main Idea:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”  – Mahatma Gandhi

 Expansion of the Idea:

“In the case of flying with small children, please put your oxygen mask on first and then help your child put their mask on.”  What was your thought the first time you heard the flight attendants say that?  My initial thought was that it was wrong.  I would put my children first.  Then I started to realize the wisdom behind it.  If there is a problem I have to be in control to help them.  The same is true of our businesses.  When I look at my business I have to take responsibility for the problems, even if I did not create the problem.  I need to fix my problems before I can ask my team to fix their problems.  We can work on these issues at the same time but I have to start first.  I have to lead.  I have to model the behavior that I want to see.  I have to be a good teammate if I want my team to work as a team.  In “Good to Great” Jim Collins writes about the best leaders attribute success to factors besides themselves or to their team, but they take responsibility for the failures.  Change has to begin with us individually.  Then it can ripple out to those closest to us and then to our whole organization.  This may seem to be a little contrary to my idea from last week on teamwork.  In reality they are integrated.  We can’t win without being part of an effective team.  Yet we can’t have an effective team unless each individual develops themselves and works on their individual strengths and weaknesses.  I do love Mahatma Gandhi’s quote because it applies to every area of our lives.  He changed a country by being true to his beliefs.  What would happen to our businesses if we first modeled the changes that we want to see?

 Points to Ponder:

1. What is one thing that goes wrong in your business as a result of human error, attitude or neglect?
2. Carefully evaluate how you contribute to that problem. 
3. Decide on one thing that you can change in yourself that will help.

Main Idea:

Do you normally start thinking about all you have to do on the way to work?  Do you worry about not getting your work done?  Would you think I am nuts if I wanted you to add one more thing to your to do list?

 Expansion of the Idea:

March is a great time of year.  Tax season is almost over.  It is warmer outside.  And there is basketball.  I was watching some of the basketball games last night and I started thinking about how some teams win and lose as a team.  Other teams are just a collection of individuals.  Most of the teams still playing college basketball right now are operating pretty well as a team because ultimately you will go further.  However, that is contrary to how a lot of us think.  Our natural instinct is to think about ourselves first.  We worry about what we have to do.  We worry about how well we did our job.  We don’t walk into the office and think how we can best serve the other people on our team.  Yet that may be our most effective first step every day.   I know my office is operating a little ahead of last year and we have one less person.  I think we are working better as a team.  We still have a long way to go but we are getting more work done.  I think it has been an evolution. I was not as intentional as I should have been in creating the right environment.  However, we have improved.  The reason for the improvement is that all of my team has a better understanding of what we are trying to accomplish and we are focused on helping each other.  Most of us can help our businesses grow just by focusing on teamwork.  It creates a healthier working environment.  It helps efficiency.  It provides for better customer service.  There are probably a dozen other benefits.  The point is that it doesn’t just happen.  We must have the right attitude every day.  We need to stop thinking “I” and start thinking “We”.  It doesn’t matter if you are the boss or if you are the customer service person.  That attitude towards teamwork needs to rub off on everyone around us.  When that happens, teamwork starts growing and so does our business.    

 Points to Ponder:

1. Do I use “I” more often than I use “We”?
2. Do I think about how to support and help my team?
3. Do I give credit to my team?
4. What is preventing me from being a better team player?
5. What can I do to better support others on my team?

Main Idea:

Have you ever gone into a store or restaurant where the person serving you was fake?  They had on a fake smile.  They pretended to be interested in you.  Or maybe you had a feeling that the person serving you was just very uncomfortable.

 Expansion of the Idea:

This time of year is one of my favorite seasons.  I love college basketball.  Of course it is in conflict with my given profession because I am really busy at work.  However, I do get to watch a few games.  I have not been able to watch much basketball this year and because of that I was watching a lot of teams for the first time.  I don’t know why but this year I was struck by the many different styles of each of the teams.  Each team does have a very unique style.  I suspect that there are 5 to 10 teams that could win the tournament.  The difference in the athletic abilities for those teams is probably small.  The ultimate deciding factor in whether or not they win is how well they play together as a team and how true they are to their style.  They have to be authentic to their vision of their team and to their abilities. 

The same is true for us and for our businesses.  We have to be authentic.  We have to be ourselves.  We have a basic script for how we answer the phone in our office.  However, there are differences in how each person answers the phone.  Some of the differences are in the tone, some in the words, and some just in the timing.  If you plotted the words, at first glance you would say that they are all the same.  Yet each person is going to connect to our clients in a slightly different way and that is good.  If we are not authentic, we will not connect.  We have to find that authentic level of service, manner of service and type of service.  The key is to find the level of service that fits our clients, fits how we are wired, and that we firmly believe in.  When those things are aligned, we can succeed. 

 Points to Ponder:

1. Do I believe in our service or product?
2. Do I believe in the way I sell or relate to our customers?
3. Am I doing something that is inconsistent with how I am wired?
4. What can I change to be more authentic to how I am wired yet accomplish the goals of my business or job?

Main Idea:

Do you know where your next sale is coming from?  Are you acquiring new skills for the future?  When an employee quits, is it the end of the world because it will take forever to get a qualified replacement?

Expansion of the Idea:

Recently we have been hearing about the Keystone pipeline which is the proposed oil pipeline to bring oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast.  Over the next nine months, we will hear a lot more about it because of the effect on jobs.  I don’t want to get into the political aspect of that, however it is a good metaphor for our businesses.  I think each of our businesses have different pipelines that we need to build to protect our future.  Most of us need pipelines for new customers and sales.  We need to spend time developing them.  We need to invest in our marketing systems and referral systems even if the payoff for doing that is one or two years away.  However, we may not think as much about the need to develop new pipelines for other key aspects of our business.  I was recently involved with a nonprofit organization which is doing great work.  They have a huge need for the right volunteers with very specialized training.  They need to develop a pipeline to acquire those volunteers.  Most businesses don’t spend enough time building new employee pipelines.  It can be a disaster if someone quits or threatens to quit.  Businesses that sell products may need to develop the right pipeline to acquire new products.  On a personal level, what skills are you acquiring that will allow you to thrive in the future?  Our skills become stale if we don’t add to them.  The point is that no matter who you are, you probably have one or more pipelines that you need to work on.  You may have a bunch of pipelines to work on (as I do.)  The key is to start.   This is your future.  The exciting part is that you can create it if you want.  The choice is yours.

Points to Ponder:

1. Do I need to build a sales and marketing pipeline?
2. Do I need to build a new employee pipeline?
3. Do I need to build a new product or vendor pipeline?
4. Do I need to build a skills pipeline?
5. Which one should I start with?

Main Idea:

How do you sound?  Have you taped yourself and actually listened to how you sound on the phone or in person?  Do you sound like the teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? 

 Expansion of the Idea:

Several things have happened this week that have reinforced to me the need to make sure that we know what our communications sound like.  My son is helping my office during tax season.  He brings energy and enthusiasm to the phone.  A high school friend and client called and talked to him.  After hearing how he answered the phone, my friend told me that my son should be promoted to managing partner.  We joked about that but then I started thinking about how my communications have slipped.  They have been professional but I allow busyness and distraction to get in the way.  I don’t bring that same enthusiasm and energy to every interaction.  I suspect that most people don’t.  Yet that is how you built your business to begin with.  A relentless focus on the other person will build a business.  That brings up the other issue that happened this week.  I talked to a client about his tax records and I said a few things that I meant but the client heard something different.  The client has had a rough year and I should have thought about his position first.  I can’t back down from doing the right thing but I can do a better job of empathizing with the client and helping him get to the right spot.  This is a critical skill that I have to get right.  I deeply offended the client and we ended up meeting.  He understood what I meant and he accepted my apology but what would happen if he just switched accounting firms.  We don’t always get a second chance to explain ourselves.  We need to make sure we do it right. 

 Points to Ponder:

1. Energy – do you show it in all interactions?
2. Enthusiasm – does this spill out from you?
3. Empathy – do you look for situations where this is required?

Main Idea:

Do you wonder why you are in the position that you are in?  Are you stuck in a rut?  Have you hit a plateau and you can’t get to the next plateau?

 Expansion of the Idea:

Most of us lie.  Every day, we tell a string of lies to one person.  Generally it is the same person.  OURSELVES!!!  We tell ourselves that we will fix the customer service issue tomorrow.  Yes it is okay to have that order of dessert.  We think the problem employee has fixed their attitude and we should not have any more problems.  I will be able to clear my to-do list even though it includes items from 2008.  (The client waiting for that particular call back is dead now.)  We feel we have our spending under control.  I believe that all of us have at least one and normally a string of lies that we tell ourselves every day.  Most small business owners are basically optimistic and believe in the future.  The problem is not optimism but realism.  We have to critically evaluate life.  Do I have personal problems that are impacting my business?  Do I really have the right number of people or should I hire someone?  Do I need to invest in more training for my employees?  What can I delegate to a team member that can better serve the business and our customers?  Do I need to find additional financing to allow the business to go to the next level?  Do I need to invest in myself with additional training or coaching?  When we start asking ourselves the hard questions and follow up by answering truthfully, our businesses can flourish.  We can start fixing ourselves and our businesses.  This is actually very hard to do.  We would rather work 18 hour days than answer these tough questions.  This may involve having a touch conversation with someone you like.  It may involve being vulnerable and showing a weakness.  Sometimes we need someone else asking the questions to force accountability.  We need to do whatever it takes to ask and answer the tough question. 

 What question do you avoid every week?

 Points to Ponder:

1. Make a list of problems that have been around you and/or your business for a long time.
2. What are the critical things that contribute to the problems?
3. Why have you not addressed the problem?
4. What one thing can you do to start fixing each of the problems?

Main Idea:

Have you ever been in a situation where the customer service was so confused that you wondered how they stay in business?  Do you know what your customers experience when they deal with you? 

 Expansion of the Idea:

I recently had the wonderful experience of going to a nursing home to visit a family member.  She had a knee replacement and was in the nursing home for rehabilitation.  The rehabilitation worked well but the communication was absolutely awful.  The nursing staff did not know if she should be on bed rest or not.  They allowed her to drink something that interacted poorly with the medicine.  There was almost no communication with family members and when it did happen they called the wrong family member.  When they were going to keep her in the place for an extra 10 days past when we thought she should get out, we started asking a lot of questions.  She was then released two days later.  We did not trust anything that they told us because there was so much confusion.  It is hard for us to judge the overall quality of care because all we see is the bad communication.  All of us have these types of stories about health care.  The question is “Are there these types of stories about your business?”  Our businesses can even be thriving and customers are not switching because they don’t have great alternatives.  They may fear switching to an even worse organization.  Yet we are vulnerable.  At the right time, our customers may switch as soon as there is a great alternative.  We need to make sure that they do not want to switch and that they are completely loyal.  One of the best ways of doing that is to take an honest look at your business from your client’s point of view.  If you can deal with your own company, how was the transaction?  How is the checkout on your website?  What is it like calling your offices?   Do you observe the customer interactions?  Is it positive and engaging or is it completely devoid of energy?  If you were a customer, would you deal with your company?  If not, then figure out the systems and people that you need to get in place.  If you would deal with your company, then figure out your biggest weaknesses and work on them.  In a lot of situations, the biggest problems might appear to be small but they are huge to the customer.

 Points to Ponder:

1. Do I know what it is like dealing with my company?
2. Who do I know that could buy from my company and give me honest feedback?
3. What is one thing I need to work on to improve the customer experience?