Articles | - Part 4

Customer Loyalty Begins With Employee Loyalty

Posted on May 25, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

Customer loyalty is fast becoming a key strategic initiative for most businesses because loyal customers stay with your organization, and will continue to buy your products or services. Revenue and profitability are important business indicators, but too often they reflect decisions an organization made yesterday; whereas growing a loyal customer base is a key predictor of future success. When an organization is focusing both on profitability and loyal customers, they have the best chance of creating a sustainable business.

A key factor that many organizations miss is the fact that they cannot have loyal customers if they do not have loyal employees. Employee loyalty can be defined as employees being committed to the success of the organization and believing that working for the organization is their best option. It is not about employee tenure. It is about wanting to contribute to the success of the organization.

Finding good employees can be challenging and time consuming. However, once you find the right fit and nurture the employee relationship, it can be quite costly to see that relationship go by the wayside. Depending on what research you read the cost to replace a hourly employee can be anywhere from 35% to 50% of their salary, and for a professional staff person, the replacement cost can go as high as 125%.

How can your organization foster employee loyalty?

Share your vision and strategic plan.
Communicating what the organization stands for, where the organization is going, and how that impacts all stakeholders, particularly the employees, is key. Employees want and need to know what they are a part of and how their contribution will make a positive impact on the success of the organization. Give them a reason to be there!
Encourage ideas and feedback.
Create an organizational culture that is open to new ideas and fresh perspectives. Your employees are on the front lines and they can tell you what is working and what might work better. In a recent client engagement where we were working with a cross functional team, a woman who had the least to do with the process made one simple suggestion that ended up saving the organization hundreds of thousands of dollars. Loyal employees make positive contributions!
Walk your talk.
Everything you do and say needs to embody the values and culture of employee loyalty. Recognize and respect your employees. Let them know when they are exceeding goals and objectives, and praise accordingly. If there is a challenge, then give your employee the details straight up. Give employees open and honest feedback and they will reward you with loyalty.
Measure Your Company’s Employee Loyalty.
You cannot manage or improve what you are not measuring. Your organization cannot improve its employee loyalty factor unless you know your starting point. Do you have a system in place to capture that data? If not, create one or find one. Give your employees an opportunity to tell you what is going well and what needs to be improved. Based on the data you will be able to make strategic decisions that will continue to foster employee loyalty. Your people really are your greatest asset!

Creating a loyal customer base can be the measurable difference between you and your competitors. Enhance your ability to accomplish that strategic goal by creating and maintaining loyal employees. Your employees will always be the key!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses assess, measure and improve their employee and customer loyalty. Learn how at www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

Don’t Threaten Me

Posted on May 20, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

I was at breakfast with a friend the other day and we were talking about networking and building our respective businesses.

“I don’t think I’m threatening enough.” He said.

Excuse me. I wasn’t sure I heard him right so I asked him again. He reiterated that a very successful sales coach told him he’d build his business much bigger if he was more threatening.

“You’re too nice a guy”, he said. “Everyone likes you and feels very comfortable with you so it’s hard for you to switch into sales mode.”

My friend felt very uncomfortable with this. He didn’t feel comfortable switching into “sales mode”. He genuinely likes people and doesn’t like to pressure anyone into a sale.

This pressuring, “sales mode” attitude is why most of us hate salespeople. It’s also why most people are uncomfortable selling. Hard driving sales tactics and techniques are just not who we are. They make us uncomfortable and make our prospective clients put up a great big wall between us.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in, and coach people, on sales processes and techniques that increase the likelihood of making the sale. However, these don’t need to be aggressive and unnatural. These can help you to build relationships instead of tearing them down.

Here are 3 tips for a no-pressure, natural, relationship building sale:

Don’t throw up

The most important thing to all of us is…ourselves. So when we meet someone new at a networking event, or we meet with a prospect, why do we show up and throw up? Why do we insist on talk about ourselves so much before we know anything about them? If people are most interested in themselves, we should spend 80% of the time asking them open-ended questions to find out more about them. They’ll love you for it and it’ll have the added benefit of telling you what their “hot buttons” are and if they’re a true prospect.

Consult, don’t sell

People don’t want to be sold. They want their problems solved. Instead of selling them, try to help them solve their problems. This shows them what you can do to help better than a canned sales pitch or a PowerPoint presentation. Some people are concerned that would mean giving their services away for free. However, spending 15 minutes or an hour helping someone solve their problems seems like a small investment to make to gain a new client.

Are you open?

”Are you open to some help with that?” If you haven’t “thrown up” and you’ve “consulted” instead of “sold”, closing the sale becomes much easier. Instead of closing hard using a traditional sales technique, all you have to do is ask this one simple, non-threatening question. Most people are “open to some help”. It doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to make the sale, but it does mean you’re much more likely to openly discuss the potential to do so.

Selling this way will ensure that if you don’t make the sale, you’ll at least make a friend. And friends refer other friends. You win either way.

What’s worked for you? What tips do you have to make the sale and make a friend at the same time? We’d love to hear them.

Take a Look in The Mirror

Posted on May 20, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

Since at least the time of Plato and Socrates some 2400 years ago, mankind has been implored to “know thyself,” in life and in business. Individually, this is often taken to mean knowing your strengths so you can leverage them and knowing your areas of weakness so you can improve them or compensate for them. But it involves much more than this. While at the business level, many organizations struggle with getting more done with fewer people and less resources. As your employees have changed roles or added responsibilities, you need to have confidence that you have the right people in the right positions to get the best possible results.

In some cases you do have the right team members in the right places and in some cases you probably made some wrong choices, as we all have. Companies forced to reorganize made quick decisions resulting in people landing in the wrong roles. Likewise, companies that have experienced significant growth have ended up with similar staffing outcomes. Diagnostic assessments can help you identify performance gaps and help your company effectively understand and align the talents, behaviors, and motivators of every employee. Having the right employee in the right position is as critical to each individual’s success as it is to the success of the entire company.

The first step in bridging performance gaps is for management to commit to a people development process for employees. It should be based on the skills, attitudes, and behaviors necessary for them to do their jobs successfully. If the size of the organization is large enough, it can be implemented by HR. Regardless, the objectives and strategies of developing employees, and how those employees are going to help drive results, needs to be owned by management.

After commitment has been gained and the objectives have been identified, diagnostic assessments can help determine individual performance gaps, since developmental opportunities will be employee-specific. Assessments can also be utilized as an important tool for creating skill development as well attitudinal and behavioral improvement while eliminating employee and organizational resistance to change.

There are a multitude of individual assessment tools available, but regardless of which we utilize, when working with clients we focus diagnostically on the whole person as defined by these three key areas:

WHAT natural talents do your employees possess? An analysis of TALENTS gets at a person’s ability to do things, how they make decisions and interact with the world around them, as well as how they perceive themselves.
WHY are your employees motivated to use their natural talents, based on their personal motivators and drivers? An analysis of MOTIVATORS gets at why people do things. Everyone has their own unique mix of personal drivers and motivators that help guide them toward success. Understanding what really drives a person is a crucial element of success.
HOW do your employees prefer to use their natural talents, based on their preferred behavioral style? An analysis of BEHAVIORS gets at a person’s manner of doing things; how they do things. Since each individual has their own unique preferences and habits for how they like to behave, this understanding is crucial when working with team members as a leader or a manager, or in an environment that requires conflict resolution.

Establishing new behaviors requires that the employee feels able to adopt those behaviors and feels comfortable doing so. A well-designed people-development process focused on objectives leveraging diagnostic assessments drives long-term change. After the completion of a development process, we consistently see high levels of adaptable change with sustainable results. To learn how to achieve these types of sustainable results for your people and your business give us a call or visit www.pb-coach.com.

When you are looking in the mirror, you are looking at the problem. But, remember, you are also looking at the solution.

Two Distinct Minds

Posted on May 4, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

We have two distinct minds—our conscious mind and our subconscious mind.

Most of us are very aware of our conscious mind because we “seem” to spend a great deal of time there. However, depending on which study you read, it has been proven that 60-95% of the decisions we make and the behaviors we exhibit are generated by our subconscious mind. Think about that staggering percentage and now think about your daily routine. When you got up this morning did you give any specific thought to the routine of getting ready and preparing for your day? Did you implement any step out of traditional order? If you took the kids to school or drove to work, did you drive the exact same route as yesterday? As you have continued through your day have you given any specific thought to breathing? There is always an exception to every rule, however, in most cases the answer to all these questions for many would be ‘no.’

As we live new experiences our subconscious mind very quickly stores data, creates neuro-pathways, and develops routines that allow us to easily duplicate an action or process in the future like driving to work and, yes, breathing. These pre-existing processes are convenient and even helpful. However, there are two questions I think are important to ponder.

Are you comfortable spending a significant portion of your life on autopilot?
How can you tap into the power of your subconscious mind to accomplish what is meaningful in your life?

Autopilot is fine for certain things like which to do first take a shower or have a cup of coffee. However, being on autopilot allows us not to be ‘present’ and provides for missed opportunities. How many opportunities have you missed with your family, your spouse, or at work to do, say, or be something better simply because you were on cruise control. Applied knowledge is power and understanding the power of our subconscious mind allows us to step out of autopilot and unleash our untapped potential. Do you really know what you want? Can you see it clearly in your mind down to the smallest detail? Have you written it down in a clear and concise manner? Do you know why you want it? Do you believe you can obtain it? Charles Simmons, author of Your Subconscious Power states, “Your subconscious thrives on knowledge. In dealing with a condition of life, whether it is a problem or an opportunity, consciously observe its traits. Then decide how you deal with the condition. Assign your knowledge, and your intention to act, to your subconscious. With its reserve of knowledge, your subconscious will then come to your aid.”

Tapping into the power of your subconscious mind can begin by committing to two things. First, deliberately focus your conscious action on positive and results-oriented action. Your subconscious will record these patterns which will help you maintain a positive attitude and focus even when life events take place that could take you off course. Second, change negative influences by deliberately cultivating positive habits that offset negative ones. You cannot erase a negative or bad habit; however, you can replace it with a new and positive influence by simply creating a new pattern your subconscious mind finds noteworthy and is worth repeating. Affirmations are a great system to help make these positive changes take place.

There are so many things in our environment that we cannot control nor influence. However, we have an incredible power source in the combination of our conscious and subconscious mind that is totally within our control. Take control of your destiny, your life, and your success by effectively using the power of your two distinct minds.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching, and youth leadership. For more information visit http://www.resourceassociatescorp.com/ or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

How to Cure an Ailing Sales Process

Posted on May 2, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

“Selling’s hard,” she moaned, shoulders drooping. “I get told “No” a lot more often than “Yes” and I’m not sure how long I can keep this up.” How many times have we heard comments like this from a sales person? Selling is hard, but for many it’s harder than it needs to be. With a proper mindset and the right approach, sales can occur much more “naturally.” So what does it take to be successful at sales?

1 – Sales Requires a Buyer’s Mindset

Many sales people have a selling first mentality, focusing primarily on their products and services. Their approach is all about the sale, the transaction itself…closing the deal. I’ve heard it termed the NIGYYSOB (“Now I’ve got you, you SOB”) mentality. A more appropriate mindset is that of an “assistance buyer,” which is all about helping your prospect understand their challenges and address their problems. This approach requires getting to know each other, building rapport, and discovering the prospect’s wants and needs, instead of merely “throwing up on them” about your wonderful products and services. Jeffrey Gitomer says that “People don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy.” If you can help solve their problems versus merely trying to sell them something, your chances of success increase substantially.

2 – Selling Takes Time

Sure, some sales happen quickly, but they are the exception. Relationships need fostered, trust and credibility developed, and an understanding of each other’s needs and wants gained. Typically, all of this takes time, and frequently it takes lots of time, involving multiple contacts or “touches,” as shown by these sales statistics (if you are not familiar with them they might surprise you):

2% of sales are made on the 1^st contact
3% of sales are made on the 2^nd contact
5% of sales are made on the 3^rd contact
10% of sales are made on the 4^th contact
80% of sales are made on the 5^th to 12^th contact

If you believe these numbers, what do they say about your sales process? If it is true that only 1 in 5 sales occur before the 5^th contact, what do you need to change? Are you staying in touch and adding value throughout the entire buying/selling process or are you pushing too hard or giving up too soon?

3 – Selling Needs Tracking

Sales people don’t always effectively track their sales activities. However, there are some fairly simple metrics that can be utilized. At a high level, T. Scott Brumley recommends the following five ratios for tracking the effectiveness of a sales person or entire sales team:

Ratio 1: Total sales compensation/gross sales = direct selling costs (%)

Ratio 2: Gross sales/total hours worked by salespeople = sales dollars per hour

Ratio 3: Number of sales/number of full-time-equivalent salespeople = number of sales per salesperson

Ratio 4: Gross sales/number of full-time-equivalent salespeople = sales dollars per salesperson

Ratio 5: Gross sales/number of sales transactions = average sales dollars per transaction

In addition, at a more tactical level, utilize metrics such as:

Number of new connections made with targeted decision makers
Number of meetings and conversations held with targeted decision maker
Total number of contacts made with targeted decision makers (see sales statistics above)

Tracking can help you pinpoint the problem, analyze it, and take action. If these particular ratios are not applicable to your business, then I challenge you to identify which ones are. Whether or not you currently have a sales plan, the numbers you get from these measures might be used to develop sales quotas or targets.

4 – Selling Requires Management

Sales managers need to be hands-on and spend as much time with their sales people as possible. Regular “one on one” meetings are an effective way for both parties to monitor sales activities and targets. Sales guru Hal Becker recommends four areas to cover each and every week:

1. Go over the previous week’s sales and the sales person’s weekly goals. Look at the sales person’s calendar for the week that just ended to gage level of activity and results.

2. Plan the next week’s activity and short-term goals. Look at the sales person’s calendar for the coming week to see what they have scheduled.

3. Take a look at the sales person’s list of prospects. Match sales calls with prospects or orders to see what has closed, what is pending, and what new prospects have been added.

4. Ask the salesperson what areas he or she thinks need improvement.

The more knowledgeable sales managers are about progress towards sales goals, the better that priorities and activities can be adjusted to improve results.

5 – Selling Demands Consistency

Most sales people and sales managers are not consistent: they do not do the right things all the time. It’s been said that “Consistent persistence will win out over talent every time.” Don’t let paperwork, e-mails, budgets and all the “office stuff” keep you from doing your job! Sales requires discipline at prospecting, making calls, meeting with contacts, providing support, issuing proposals when necessary, relationship-building, and getting commitments for sales. Discipline must be used to perform these activities all the time, not just when sales are slumping. Have a plan that works for you and stick to it. Schedule time and put the appropriate activities on your calendar, and then execute on those actions to maintain forward momentum. Be proactive and constantly measure progress against your goals.

Sales can be relatively easy if we focus on what we want to learn about our prospects and how we can address their issues. Sales people often have their own way of doing things, but rarely is this done consistently. Follow the above recommendations to improve the health of your sales process and get better resu

The “I bought a boat” Theory of Taking Action One Step at a Time

Posted on February 28, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

I once heard a terrific story that illustrates the power of taking action one step at a time. It came from a general manager of a yacht sales dealer. His typical customer would purchase new yachts and other boats for $1 million dollars or more.

He tells the story this way:

One morning, several of the sales people were standing around, and they were having some fun razzing the newest sales person, a young woman who didn’t really fit the part of a wizened “boater” like most of them did. Into the showroom walked a couple who also didn’t really fit the part – they weren’t dressed very nicely, and they appeared to be young and probably not quite ready for a $1 million dollar investment in a new yacht. So, they all “offered” to have the newest sales person talk with the couple – since they didn’t think it would amount to anything.

After quite a while, it became obvious that the couple was serious, and that they planned to purchase a yacht that day. However, the husband confessed that they hadn’t come prepared to purchase and didn’t have a credit card or much cash to make a down payment. The new sales person, undaunted, asked them what they did have? “We only have $100.” So, the sales person took the cash, and shook their hands. The couple left the showroom with a huge smile on their faces.

When the new sales person came back to the group of sales people, she was the laughingstock of the group. The group exclaimed, “You took a $100 deposit on a $1 million dollar boat? That’s ridiculous!” But the general manager knew better. He celebrated the sale with the new sales person and responded back to the sales team with this (now famous) conclusion:

“You may think that they didn’t actually buy anything, and you are right that $100 isn’t much of a deposit on a $1 million new yacht. BUT, what do you think is the first thing that couple did when they left the dealership? When they saw people they knew? They said, “We bought a boat today.” Now they didn’t really buy a boat – they only put down a $100 deposit on that boat. But once they told everybody they knew about that new yacht, do you really think they weren’t going to follow through on the rest of the sale?”

Since I first heard that story, I have reflected on the lessons from it many times. Let’s see if you agree that these are the lessons learned from the “bought a boat” theory.

Any action taken towards a goal will get you a step closer to actually achieving the goal itself
Just START on your way to the goal – step by step, you’ll get there
Once you say your goal out loud to those around you, you are much more likely to follow through
Stating your goal as if you are already there, as in, “we bought a boat today” helps you to take action and keep moving toward your goal. (Note: When was the last time you said your goal out loud as a way to keep yourself motivated?)
And, not everyone looks like they can purchase a $1 million dollar yacht, but looks can be deceiving!

What “boat” are you trying to buy? What goals are eluding you this year? Make the commitment today to take a step – “buy that boat” – and then take another step tomorrow. Step by step, you WILL get there.

A Winning Team

Posted on February 16, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

As children and teenagers most of us have played on a sports team. Can you remember what it felt like to be part of a winning team or a losing team? Remember the elation you felt when your team won a big game and the despair of losing the big game or championship? It is something special to experience being part of something bigger then yourself.

In my experience the concept of a “team based culture” is something a lot of entrepreneurs, business owners and executives want but find very difficult to achieve. The difficulty begins with the definition. Plato said that wisdom begins with the definition of terms. So what does Webster’s Dictionary have to say about teams: “a number of persons associated together in work or activity”. Webster’s goes on to describe teamwork as: “work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole”. This is a good start but does not give us enough practical detail and guidance in the business world. Steven Yelen a New York based Business Coach with over 20 years experience in supporting organizations and teams give us some guidance with his ideas on fundamental principles and behaviors that work.

Fundamental Principles of a Successful Team:

-Common Purpose

-Clear and mutually agreed to working approach

-Appropriate balance of task focus and relationship focus

-Agreement on Measurements and Aligned Rewards

Behaviors that support Successful Teams:

-Push for high quality communications

-Help create a climate of trust

-Play your position and bring talent to the team

-Help drive discipline into the team

-Be prepared to sacrifice for the team-be a good sport

-Help new members make the entry

-Strengthen the leader through good followership

-Play down yourself and build up others

Why Teams fail to deliver results?

The biggest root cause of team failures in business can often traced to the lack of establishment of clear purpose, goals, measurements and rewards. Without these foundation pillars in place trust is often the first casualty followed by a lack of energy and sense of helplessness. Finally, if the leadership is not walking the talk then you can expect cynicism to spread quickly and undermine any opportunity for success.

Final Thought:

There are many examples of organizations that have achieved excellence and delivered exceptional results by creating a team based culture. Some examples include GE, Motorola, McKinsey and Pall Corporation. Do your research and look at the top players in your industry and you will often find a team based approach separating the leaders from the followers.

A great resource for helping you understand and build high performance teams can be found in the book “The Wisdom of Teams” by Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith.

The Formula For Success

Posted on February 9, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

STRIVING. PERFORMING. ACHIEVING. Those three words say a lot. When you STRIVE, you work hard and exert yourself, often against the tide of conventional opinion, competition, and your own complacency, doubts and fears. When you PERFORM, you are using your skills and abilities to do something…to execute and to get results. Ultimately, when you ACHIEVE, you are living a purposeful life. You reach a level of performance that is indicative of true success: you’re achieving your goals and dreams!

We understand that success is a journey and a way of living purposefully, not a destination. The foundation of our business coaching work is represented by The Formula for Success:

A ( S + K ) + G = PBC IR (O, P)

Attitudes plus Skills & Knowledge directed by Goals delivers Positive Behavior Change which yields Improved Results, both Organizationally and Personally.

Let’s look at each component of the Formula, working from right to left…

IR

The first thing we look for is how our clients define success. We start out by asking what improved results (IR) our clients want to achieve in their organization or in their personal lives, and how that will be tracked and measured. The importance of a thoughtful definition of success is that it provides a target toward which everyone can aim. Everything else we do is specifically geared around achieving those results.

PBC

Wouldn’t you agree that if that target is different than where you are today, then you must do something (behave) differently to get there? PBC represents positive behavior change. A definition of insanity is doing the things you’ve always done, but expecting different outcomes.

G

G represents goals. Goals provide focus, otherwise there is no direction. Doesn’t it make sense that if people had goals on which to focus their energy, it would be easier to change their behavior in a way that can be sustained? Goal setting is the tool that generates the activity necessary to turn ideas into strategy, strategy into plans, and plans into reality.

S+K

S+K represent the necessary skills (the how to do something) and knowledge (the where and when to do something). Our process focuses on development of behavioral management skills, meaningful communications, influencing or selling skills, problem solving, decision making, organizing time, disciplining, developing subordinates, delegating authority, motivating others, appraising performance, etc. Everyone needs to be very competent in these areas, but especially in the workplace, where more than 50% of any manager’s job involves using these skills.

A

The A stands for attitude (the want to). Our coaching approach is based on a result-oriented philosophy that first involves developing a goal-oriented attitude among people. Attitude is more of a multiplier of skills and knowledge that will directly influence the goals they set and achieve. People will directly determine in many cases whether they turn a problem into an opportunity, or succumb to it; whether they behave in ways that benefit the entire organization or maintain fiefdoms; whether they expand the client base and services provided or allow atrophy to set in; and whether they diligently look for continuous improvement, or remain satisfied with the status quo.

The results we get depend upon our behavior and attitudes toward the people or events involved, and toward ourselves. If attitudes are basically negative, goals will be set low, and it will be difficult to progress. Growth and promotion will be all but impossible until a positive mindset is developed.

There are many ways and opportunities for individuals and organizations to better focus on results, attitudes and behaviors, skills and knowledge, goal setting and achievement. If you are interested in taking an important first step, let’s chat.

How Many Partners Do You Have?

Posted on February 3, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

“I want to take my business to the next level. We need to grow by 40% this year and 150% over the next 3 years. But…”

I heard this from a business owner just last week. His “but” was his concern that his staff wasn’t prepared to get it done. They didn’t follow procedures, spent time on unimportant tasks, didn’t think out of the box and looked to him for all of the important answers. With those issues, taking his business to the next level will be difficult if not impossible.

What he needs are some partners. When I say “partners”, I don’t mean legal partners with a financial investment in the business. I mean people who have an emotional investment in the business. He needs to find ways to make people feel like owners even though they’re not. As the true owner of the business, he may never have a team that’s a passionate as him about growing the business. However, there are things he can do to dramatically increase his team’s level of ownership and passion. By doing this, he can create a team that feels ownership, even if they’re not true owners.

Here are some ways to make that happen:

1. Conduct Joint Planning & Goal Setting – Typically, goals are set by leaders and passed down to the “rank and file”. Since the team had no hand in setting these goals, there’s never total buy-in. What’s worse, when goals aren’t met, the team blames unrealistic goals, rather than their own performance. Leaders should give their team enough information (company goals, historical performance, strategic objectives, etc.) to set their own goals. Of course, leaders should still be responsible for approving all goals; challenging those goals that are either too aggressive or not aggressive enough.

2. Help Employees Understand the WIIFM – Most leaders try to motivate by rallying the troops around what’s important to the company. That’s important…but there’s something much more important. People are more motivated by What’s In It For Me (WIIFM). It’s not that they’re selfish, it’s just human nature. Work with your team members to understand how they’re personally impacted by the business goals that have been set. Notice I didn’t recommend you tell them how they’re impacted. Everyone is different. You (and/or your leadership team) need to work with each team member to find their own unique “why”.

3. Don’t Have All The Answers – Don’t let your ego get the best of you. Stop dictating decisions to your team and ask your team for advice. This doesn’t mean “management by consensus”. Ultimately, as a leader, you need to make the final decision, but it’s critical to make your team part of the process. Even if you think you know the answer, ask your team what they think first, before dictating a decision.

4. Encourage Conflict – Does your team get along great? Do you always seem to agree with each other? Do you have trouble remembering your last major team conflict? This may seem strange, but if you answered yes to these questions…you’ve got problems. A team needs conflict to evolve. Think of it as Darwin’s theory of evolution for business. If good ideas don’t crush bad ideas, and great ideas don’t crush good ideas, a business (and its employees) will grow stagnant and die.

Implementing these ideas will certainly allow business owners to do a great deal more than just increase revenues. Having additional “partners” in a business will also increase productivity, improve morale, enhance customer loyalty, increase margins and maybe most important of all, reduce stress.

How are you cultivating partners in your business?

How Do My Goals Contribute To The Strategy?

Posted on February 2, 2011August 16, 2013 by admin

Strategy and goals should influence everyone’s behavior in the organization!

The work at the top of the organization in creating strategy and goals is intended to influence behavior that drives results. Unfortunately, it’s not unusual for the primary impact of the work to remain at the senior management level. It’s kind of like having a car with an engine and no wheels. Despite the importance of driving the strategy and goals deeper into the organization, the messages as to how the strategy relates to execution typically become unclear and confusing the further down they go.

Passing goals down without creating meaning causes frustration…

The responsibility for creating clarity around what the strategy means at the business unit, team and individual levels, and for ensuring that the strategy is executed is a shared management responsibility.

There are many dynamics within fast paced changing organizations that contribute to the lack of alignment. However, the biggest obstacle appears to be “a lack of understanding.” Why is this? Repeating the company strategy is easy enough, but without translating strategy into relatable actions with those who are expected to execute at every level of the organization, has limited impact. When managers involve people and teams they lead in these discussions, SMART goals can be written that connect everyone’s contributions to the strategy. It also improves sustained commitment through the ability to measure ongoing results.

Planning backwards focuses on results…

Managers can facilitate the process by asking three questions:

How does the strategy affect our unit?
What must we accomplish?
How will we accomplish it?

Through this process a shared language and framework for how to think and talk about alignment occurs among the team/department enabling them to match their behavior to a set of commonly understood goals and actions. To create focus on the truly critical goals to your team and the company, apply the following questions as a litmus test to each of the existing goals:

What is its economic impact? – How will this goal contribute to company performance?
Is it aligned with the company’s strategy?
How will it satisfy stakeholders?
What is my level of passion, talent, and energy for it?
Do we have the resources?

If people in the organization don’t understand how the company is supposed to be different and what opportunities they are to pursue, how can they make the tough choices that they have to make every day? (Porter, 1980)

We Turn Potential Into Performance

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