A few minutes a day is all it will take.  Yet most of us will use the excuse that we just don’t have any more time to cram into our daily schedules or we have other pressing issues that need our “immediate” attention.  The problem is that we have made every issue a pressing issue and of the utmost important that as a result, we spend too much time working in our business instead of on our business. The downside to the instant flow of information in the business world we now live and work in have giving us the perception that the busier we are the more effective and successful our business will become.

When is the last time you silenced your phone, closed your email, sat with a pen and paper (or Word doc if you so choose) and really thought about your business.  What is going well and what needs improvement?  Where do you want your business to be in the next 3-5 years?   It can be a daunting task to say the least if you are trying to cram all of your thinking and planning into one brainstorming session.  Instead, why not try the following exercise: Take 10 uninterrupted minutes (no email, phone) every day to focus on your present and future business by doing one or more of the following exercises:

1.  Analyze your web site to see if there are any areas that can be altered to be more attractive to both your potential customers and search engines.
2.  Focus on your social media presence by sending out one quality Tweet, Facebook post or YouTube video each and every day. The goal is to use the social media platform to expand your brand.
3.  Research your competitors to find out how they are attracting and keeping their customers. What is their go to market strategy?
4.  Spend the time reading an industry specific article or book to gain further insight on your industry.  Even if you are not the industry leader, the goal is to be a resource for your customers to turn to.
5.  Focus on personal development by reading an article or book on leadership, sales or marketing.

The reality is there will always be more work that needs to be done, issues that come up and the pressure to squeeze more activities into the work day. We often fool ourselves by letting every issue, task, and deadline blow up and become a “hair on fire” crisis. We need to always remember, our goal each and every day is to work on our business and not just in our business. 
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What's Your Why? 07/25/2011
 
People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.  The goal is not to do business with everybody who needs what you have; the goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe. A company like Apple and even people like the Wright Brothers and Martin Luther King are great examples of this. Check out this great video that challenges you to ask yourself “What’s your why?”

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I have a confession to make. I have watched every season of the Reality TV show Survivor.  Not only do I enjoy watching it every week with my teenage daughter but surprisingly there are some good business lessons to be gleaned from this show as well. Survivor is a microcosm of today’s business environment.  There are many aspects to the game of Survivor but at its core, it really is a social game. People are thrown together from all walks of life and are part of a team (at least at the beginning) with the ultimate goal of being the one to outlast, outwit and outplay everyone.  They have to learn to live and work together in less than perfect conditions. The contestants face many hurdles in the forms of challenges and puzzles that have to be figured out, not to mention the severe competitive nature of everyone knowing that only one person will come out on top.  What is quite fascinating to watch is that each season there are a few contestants who underestimate the importance of the social aspect and they inevitably don’t do very well. When you stop and think about it, business really works in the same fashion.  So much of a business environment can be broken down to learning to get along with co-workers, superiors and being part of a team, to achieve a common goal (business plan).  The consequences in business however are far more damaging than just getting kicked off a TV show.  Here are some other common aspects that both Survivor and business share:

Survivor                                               Business

Tribe mates                                       Co-workers

Competitions                                    Deadlines, projects, unplanned events

Tribe leader                                       Boss, immediate supervisor

Lack of food and resources           Budget constraints, cost reductions, staff reductions

Tribal Council                                   Employee reviews, promotions, demotions

Success is business often comes down to the business relationships you have. How is your social game at work?  Are you playing to win or merely survive?

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One of the challenges that all businesses seem to have to some degree, is miscommunication. As businesses grow and become more complex the need for employees and departments to communicate amongst themselves is more critical.  Bigger problems seem to grab our attention first therefore increasing the age old problem of miscommunication.  Sometimes in order for a company to go forward they need to step back and focus on the basics, such as communication. If you think this is confined to certain industries, you would be mistaken. Meaning, if you have been married or in a relationship for any length of time, you have either been on the giving or receiving end of this, probably more than once.  Communicating unclearly or mistakenly often results in walls being built within departments or distance and mistrust being created in relationships.

What you say is the big deal about miscommunication? How much damage can it really do to an organization?  Look no further than Toyota for an example of the damage that can be done.  Who could forget all of those news reports or newspaper articles written on the multiple recalls that plagued Toyota? In fact, in the last 12 months Toyota has issued a dozen recalls ranging from floor mats to faulty accelerator pedals to rusted out spare-tire carriers.  According to their former Chief American Spokesman Jim Olson, the root of the issue was miscommunication. Jim writes in a book to be release in November, The Little Red Box of Management “internal distrust and flawed communication are the root causes of its current crisis.” There was a clear division between Toyota’s decision making and execution teams.  Jim argues that this slowed the company down and prevented communication and planning within Toyota. The results were obviously devastating to the family members of those hurt or killed in accidents caused by these problems. Time will tell but these problems could also have a devastating effect on the future health of Toyota.

I recently experienced miscommunication on a personal level and from this realized that no industry is immune from this problem. My father in law was in the hospital in critical condition and it was evident after a couple of days, his team of Doctors were not communicating clearly amongst themselves. This was an extremely difficult, emotional time but to have this miscommunication happen only added stress and confusion, on top of an already delicate situation. The miscommunication surfaced in completely different progress reports that were given to the immediate family. One Doctor would give his diagnosis and then the other Doctor would give a completely opposite diagnosis. It was as if the two doctors didn’t come together and compare notes. This miscommunication led to anger and confusion and eventually resulted in him being transferred to another hospital.  For me what was so surprising was that I didn’t expect to experience this at a hospital, during something as serious as a patient in critical condition.

Good communication is the backbone of any organization. As an organization grows and becomes more complex, there is more opportunity for miscommunication to spread within. You can see from the above two examples, it can have a damaging effect on an organization and its customers. How well do your employees and departments communicate with each other?  Are there any walls that need to come down to prevent miscommunication?
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There is a daily battle that goes on in most people’s email inbox. This battle has to do with trying to keep your inbox current while at the same time responding to and completing tasks associated with emails received. Email can be used effectively to communicate quickly and to a large number of people or groups. At the same time however, it can be a barrier for those trying to communicate to someone who they have never spoken to or communicated with. The email barrier is what you must break through if you hope to get a reply. It can be very challenging to get a prospects attention through email and can lead to both frustration and potential lost business opportunities.  The good news is that there are some ways to increase your chances of making sure your emails do not end up in the trash, but rather are read and responded to.

President and founder of KLA Group, Kendra Lee explains that there are three questions that one asks themselves when they receive an email:
1. Do I have to respond to it right now?
2. Can I delete it?
3. Do I need to hold onto it? 

Our goal is to get the person who receives the email to take action right away. This requires that we not only get their attention but give them a good reason to not delete our email but rather want to read and reply.  Furthermore Kendra has highlighted some great ways that we can make sure our emails break through this email barrier:
1.       Emails should feel like a quick read.
2.       Emails should draw the recipient in with compelling information
3.       Emails should be easy to act on.
4.       The goal of the subject line is to try to hook them in. For example, “Shall we
       meet?” “Can we meet on?”
5.        Emails should have a compelling first sentence. Use a triggering event to
        catch the prospects attention.
6.       The body of the email should look short. Vary the lengths of your paragraphs 
       and use less than 200 words total.
7.       The email should not be about you.
8.       Get conversational with your email and don’t be afraid to drop the perfect
       grammar.
9.       Use a creative signature such as your Linkedin or Facebook profile so that the
       prospects can click through to find out more information about you.

 
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The one commodity always in demand is time. We are always searching for more time and ways we can use our existing time, more wisely. In the workplace, the one question you always seem to hear is, “I know what I should be focusing on, but I just don’t have the time.” Questions like these are often raised but never seem to get answered. While we can’t wave a magic wand to produce more time, there are things we can adjust and remove from our daily schedules that will produce a similar result. In my profession, I work with a number of different companies and interact with various departments within these organizations. I can tell you no company from what I have experienced is immune from this struggle for more time.  As companies continue to run lean, employees today more than ever are struggling to keep up with their daily workload. Here are some ways that you can add more valuable minutes to your work day:

o    Establish a no interruption time (no answering phone or emails) at the beginning of your workday, for at least 30-60 minutes. Try to work on things that require your focus or undivided attention.
o    Relegate lower-end tasks when you only have a few moments so that you can use your quality time when you can find it.
o    Avoid multitasking-Contrary to popular opinion it actually kills time. Every time you switch your attention to something else it takes more cognitive time to re-focus.
o    Look for and utilize programs such as Google Alerts which can push information to you instead of spending time searching for it.
o    Sounds crazy but exercise actually gives you time! NASA did a study that shows that people who exercised daily worked at 100% efficiency after 7 hours, while those who didn't exercise saw a 50% drop, meaning it took them twice as long to accomplish the same thing. 
o    Pick up the phone- We sometimes forget that instead of taking time to type out emails, texts, etc it would actually save time to pick up the phone and talk.
o    Clear your desk at the end of the day. This will save you time by not having to get organized the next day.
o    Take 15 minutes or so at a specific point in the day to work on something that you are passionate about. At the end of the week you will have spent one hour on something that gives you passion.
o    Be productive when you are commuting- Listen to audio books, make phone calls or utilize a dictation device to jot done ideas, notes or solutions.
o    Utilize online tools such as Rescue Time can show where you are spending time or wasting time
o    Only touch things once. Don't put things down and then have to pick them up and put them away later.
o    Scheduling- Pick certain days to do certain tasks. This can create further structure and make you more efficient.
o    Try to slim down your email inbox- If you have multiple newsletters from the same industry, keep the most valuable ones and cancel the rest.
o    Before you take a break, get your desk or workplace ready for your next project so that when you come back, you won't be off to a slow start
o    Avoid Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter for large periods of your day.
o    Try to get a few extra things done at the end of the day- it will give you a jumpstart on tomorrow's work
o    Make your to-do list before you leave the office at the end of the day.
o    Try to automate your processes such as emails by using email filters.
o    If you are having a hard time focusing, try taking a few smaller breaks throughout the day, if you can.
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Anyone who has had the opportunity and challenge of leading others knows how difficult this task can be. It is one thing to lead people but it is quite another to lead people effectively. Over the years, many books and training courses have been writing on the subject of leadership. Libraries and bookstores are filled with what at the time, was the latest and greatest book on how to be a successful leader.  Leadership is not a one-time event nor are there crib notes to study, to pass the test. It is an ever evolving skill that can’t be mastered in a short amount of time. You probably don’t have to think very long about who the greatest leader or manager you have ever worked for is. In contrast, we most likely have all had the experience of being lead by a poor leader. The common denominator is the fact that in both cases, a mark was left on us.  A great leader can motivate and push their employees to heights they never thought they could achieve while poor leaders can damage not only their employees but the company overall. The cost of recruiting, hiring and training a new employee is quite high and this does not include the impact that departing employees may have on both the moral and productivity of the company. There is an old adage, “People don’t leave companies…they leave managers.” Although, it might be assumed that salary or lack of promotion opportunities would be top reasons why employees quit their jobs. This however does not seem to be the case. A Gallup poll of more than 1 million US workers concluded that the Number 1 reason people quit their jobs is a bad boss or immediate supervisor.

To lead people effectively, you must first look at what traits or attributes make up a good leader. Sometimes wealth is not found in new ideas but in gold that has been previously mined. In his 1937 legendary book “Think and Grow Rich” Napoleon Hill gives us the following attributes:

The Major Attributes of Leadership

1.       UNWAVERING COURAGE- the ability to exude both courage and self-confidence.

2.       SELF CONTROL- the ability to know when to listen, speak and act.

3.       A KEEN SENSE OF JUSTICE- fairness is critical to maintain the respect of his followers.

4.       DEFINITENESS OF DECISION- wavering shows that he is not sure of himself.

5.       DEFINITENESS OF PLANS- you must plan the work and then work the plan.

6.       THE HABIT OF DOING MORE THAN PAID FOR- willingness of the leader to do more than he requires of his followers.

7.       A PLEASING PERSONALITY- a careless person cannot become a successful leader.

8.       SYMPATHY AND UNDERSTANDING- understanding both the employees and their problems.

9.       MASTERY OF DETAIL- a strong attention to detail.

10.   WILLINGESS TO ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY- not shifting blame but realizing that he as the leader is the one who failed.

11.   COOPERATION- leadership calls for power and power calls for cooperation.

Now the question you must ask yourself is, do I as a leader possess these attributes and if not, what can I start doing today to become a more effective leader?
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