Every business owner knows that doing strategic planning this time of year is essential to success in 2016. But, how many of us lack the motivation (or impetus to make the time) to do so? Answer: Many business owners!
I don’t know about you, but once I give a passing nod to that, and many other aphorisms, I often mutter agreement under my breath, immediately forget what I heard, stay in my rut, and am even more discouraged from starting. I may ask myself, “But isn’t the key to great strategic planning having brilliant, fresh ideas, a well-thought out plan and precise KPIs? Well, let’s imagine that your firm could compete for an award like the Academy Award’s Best Picture award for business. Imagine it is possible for you to have a shot to win that award every single year. 100% of the time. This is not hypothetical, but a real possibility. How I know your firm has a shot at the "Business Academy Award" every year:If you follow the Academy Awards, you probably pay attention to who wins the Best Picture award. What you may not know is that since 1981—for the last 35 years—every single Best Picture winner was at least nominated for or won Best Editing. Michael Kahn has been nominated the most times—eight—and has won three times. Some of the films he’s edited are Saving Private Ryan, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List, and Lincoln. So, if you and your team understand what a Best Editing award is, might you, at least, be in the running for that Business Best Picture award? Of course! Might that then give you the motivation to start your strategic planning? I hope so! Who doesn’t want to become a winner? As 2015 closes, you actually have access to the nearly completed movie of your firm this year. Just look at your monthly and quarterly P&L, Balance Sheet, and the narrative of your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). This data provides you with the unedited version of 2015. Now, with the vantage point of 20/20 hindsight, you can begin your editing. You and your team must do as Kahn does. And what does he do? As Steven Spielberg’s right hand man, he doesn’t always do what Spielberg tells him to do. He does what he thinks Spielberg really wants. He understands Spielberg’s overarching intent. So too, you and your team must practice editing 2015. Ask yourself, “If I could edit out/revise/cut/kill projects, clients, unproductive initiatives that turned into rabbit trails, etc.
Then, as you do your 2016 strategic planning, take that practice into your planning. The Best Editing award in business is simple but not easy. You have to be a ruthless editor. A business owner and his team must be editors who decide what they want the business to be. The verb decide comes from a Latin root, cid or cis, means “to cut” or “to kill.” Even if you do nothing else in your strategic planning other than assessing your 2015 successes and stumbles, you’ll have practiced the art of knowing how to edit the activities that drain your business in 2016. Go forth and do likewise in 2016! Ideas/Quotes From: Greg McKeown’s Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, pp. 155-161 Toolkit:Try this exercise:
And, more importantly,
The article 1 Surprising Tip to Kickstart Your Strategic Planning (Part I) Find more on: American Business Advisors in Denver via Blogger 1 Surprising Tip to Kickstart Your Strategic Planning (Part I)
0 Comments
Just how powerful is motivation, really?Our goal at ABA is to help our clients with solid business council that will help them outwit their competition, grow their business, and create wealth. In so doing, it is our desire that they use a portion of that wealth to “give back” to their communities and to worthwhile causes wherever in the world they exist. In the last two editions of the monthly ABA Insider we have been offering practical advice on a subject which has great power and, yet, seems to be one of the greatest mysteries to business leaders. It represents perhaps the area of greatest positive potential for improving the performance of your business. That subject is BUILDING YOUR TEAM and the challenges that surround MANAGING it. We have called our series, “Solving the People Puzzle.” Some people really enjoy working on and solving puzzles, and some really find it exhausting and somewhat maddening. But, like it or not, your team is the key to your success as a business, and even more so during this challenging business climate. Most leaders who find this part of running a business the most difficult, feel their skills are inadequate in this area, and/or haven’t ever learned the principles which define how to build and manage a successful and growing team. We will continue to discuss some of those principles in this article. Team Building’s Most Critical ComponentsPreviously, we have tackled the issues of Attitudes and how profoundly they affect your ability to build and manage a winning team which sets your company apart from your competition. Another important building block which must be in place if you are to achieve optimal performance from your team is Clarity of Expectations for every member. They must each fully understand exactly what good behavior looks like for the position they fill. Additionally, they must have been given all the tools and resources they need in order to be successful. One such tool is Empowerment, which allows people to do their best work and leverage their strengths for the benefit of the company as well as themselves. There are others like: Mutual Trust, Alignment with Mission, and Leadership by Example. What’s Next? How to Motivate a TeamThe mortar which holds all of the building blocks of successful behavior together is motivating people to produce. 1. Defining Motivation.Before you can motivate people to produce at high levels, you must know exactly what it is. First of all, the definition of motivation comes primarily from the two words inside it. They are motive and action. Therefore, motivation is “the creation of desires and situations which move people to action.” All human activities (or actions) are undertaken as a direct effort to meet some need. In other words, everything we do, from the simplest act to very complicated tasks, we do for a reason, and that reason is based around a need that we have. That need has to do with either something in our lives, or the lives of those we love. It may be something we want to acquire, (Psychologists call this “approach”) or something in our lives, or the lives of those we love, that we do not want (avoidance). 2. Types of Motivation.The two basic types of motivation are fear motivation and incentive motivation. Obviously, the former has to do with avoiding the things we do not want to happen and the latter has to do with the things we desire for us and for those we love. Both types of motivation can be effective tools in moving us to action, but they each have specific limitations and guidelines for their use. In terms of needs which we want to fulfill or avoid in our lives, there are both biological needs and psychological needs. To design an environment of motivation for your team, you must understand which needs are the strongest for which members on the team, and then proceed to set up a system of cause and effect which allows them to meet those needs. Though, this is not a simple task, the rewards of your doing so are huge. For when you create a clear path for a person to meet their needs, whether they are biological or psychological, you ignite a very powerful cache of human dynamite. 3. “Win-Win.”If an effective system of motivation is to be established, all team members must be committed to the principle that everyone in the equation must win.. They must perceive that no one in the company or who is touched by the company will win at the expense of anyone else. Any and all systems of motivation which do not have this win-win component are doomed for failure. Although we cannot treat everyone the same in our company, we must establish systems, policies, and procedures that are fair. Volumes could be written regarding motivation, and still everything would not have been covered.. But we at ABA do know from experience how incredibly valuable it is to understand its principles. That understanding has revolutionized the business of many or our clients. To create an effective system of motivation you must know your team members and what’s important to them. Additionally, you must really care about them, and they must feel that caring attitude from their leadership. Finally, you must understand exactly what are the needs, goals, and resources of your organization, so that you can meld the two agendas effectively.. Once you have done that, hang on for the ride — it will be an exciting one both for you and your team. The Strategic Edge is published by American Business Advisors, Inc. to provide business and personal improvement information and ideas. All material is presented to provide general and broad information only. The information found in this publication does not constitute business, tax, financial, or legal advice and should not be acted upon without seeking the counsel of professional advisor. The blog post Solving the People Puzzle III: How to Motivate a Team See more on: http://abadvisors.com/ via Blogger Solving the People Puzzle III: How to Motivate a Team New Belgium Brewery (NBB) discovered in 2006 that its customers didn’t recognize that NBB was the brewery that created not only Fat Tire Amber Ale but also a number of other popular brews. Consequently, NBB changed its logo to reflect its product. Like many Fat Tire aficionados, I was surprised to learn this! (For a brief history of this local Colorado company, watch this.) Their current logo: As I see it, NBB moved through the liminal dimension of being a brand known only by its most famous brew to the clarity of an expanded NBB identity. Let’s take a similar journey as you consider your own brand. In Part 2 we examined the challenge of being typecast into the narrow role of being a “Fat Tire producer” as was New Belgium Brewery. As we examine this doorway of clarity, I’d like to suggest that there are at least five stages to becoming utterly referable for your clients—to being on the right side of the doorway of brand clarity. I use the acronym FOCUS to summarize the path through this doorway. Let’s see if we have FOCUS:
Toolkit:This questionnaire will help summarize what I’ve said about creating the illusive “silver bullet” of gaining referrals. Taking this brief questionnaire is the first step in becoming an advisor who is easy to refer. On a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high), evaluate your practice on the following:
Score: 5-14 Don’t despair. What one area is the best place to start, to create the most positive impact to your practice? 15-22 You’re on the way. What one area can you focus on for the next quarter to become “best in your world?” 23+ Congratulations! You have a world-class practice. Keep doing what makes you easy to refer! The Silver Bullet for Gaining Client Referrals, Part 4: Being Referable was first seen on American Business Advisors Consulting Firm via Blogger The Silver Bullet for Gaining Client Referrals, Part 4: Being Referable Liminal DimensionsLead Foot, Rabbit’s Foot or Gazelle’s Foot?[caption id="attachment_203" align="alignright" width="172" caption="Jon Hokama is the Principal and Founder of Jon Hokama and Associates, LLC."][/caption] In preparation for my participation in tomorrow’s panel discussion I want to share two reflections on the power of a business owner to drive change. I have the privilege of joining two thought leaders tomorrow (Tuesday, June 12, 2012) on “Accelerating Growth through Branding and Technology.” (Learn more here). Panelist Michael Doyle expanded my notion of brand to include the characteristic expansive—“owning the space”—when we first met. Next, fellow panelist Jonathan Senger introduced me to paradigm contrasting Enterprise 1.0 (E1) and the emerging Enterprise 2.0 (E2). You can get a sense of E1 by looking at businesses run by older Boomers and contrasting E2 by looking at businesses run by Millenials. Every business owner is on that threshold—in the liminal dimension– somewhere between having an E1/brand as it is today and an E2/brand on the “far side” of where we want it to go. (Compare this to stages of ownership). When we set an intention to move through that liminal dimension, we typically fall into one of three postures and have a:1. Lead Foot: blindly hitting the pedal, adopting technologies and social media practices in the mistaken belief that speed will conquer all. For example, unless you have unlimited funding, SEO alone will not drive people to you. You’re using a typical E2 tool out of the outmoded E1 “push” marketing mindset/paradigm. 2. Rabbit Foot: a wishful thinking, “random hope” strategy. We choose random strategies in the hope we will get lucky and achieve a business result by copying what our really smart and successful Rotarian friend does in her business. Those strategies may or may not be well-vetted assessments for our businesses! 3. Gazelle’s Foot: an agile, swift, adaptive approach. You’re able to enjoy grass, imbibe water and instantaneously accelerate to elude lions. Like the agile software project management paradigm, development proceeds iteratively, collaboratively and organically, not according to some set-in-stone master plan. It builds on the Delphi effect, i.e., the wisdom of the team is greater than the genius of a single manager or director. All business boils down to human relationships. For example, the best enterprise sales executives don’t actually close the deal by innovative financing or highlighting better product features and functions alone. The best ones offer “solution selling,” directly addressing the individual human aspirations of their clients—such as making a mark on their organization or earning the promotion from CIO to CEO. At the end of the day, the business owner will effectively negotiate the liminal dimension between E1 and E2 through key strategies which I will outline at tomorrow’s panel discussion. I hope to see you there! Toolkit:Let’s apply this to choosing the next step in your next social media strategy. Consider this question: what is your tolerance for change or cultural “discomfort”? How fast can you and your organization move past this discomfort threshold toward E2?
Then repeat A-C.
The following article Liminal Dimensions: Going from Enterprise 1.0 to Enterprise 2.0 was originally seen on http://www.abadvisors.com via Blogger Liminal Dimensions: Going from Enterprise 1.0 to Enterprise 2.0 Two challenges face every business owner: the challenge of optimizing our use of time and the challenge of gaining wisdom to sift through the oceans of information to find the pearls of professional excellence. An old concept in a new form can address these needs: develop your team. (more…) Teaching Old Concepts New Tricks: Develop Your Team is courtesy of American Business Advisors Blog via Blogger Teaching Old Concepts New Tricks: Develop Your Team How many dimensions do you operate in?
Financial planners, like most of us, live in a two-dimensional world of measurable data—time and money: how much time, money, and cash flow do our clients have to optimize their life dreams? Consider the broader question: how do we create the “muscle” to fully live into the n-dimensional world of the dreams we long to inhabit? (more…) The post Are You a Flatlander? was first published to American Business Advisors in Denver via Blogger Are You a Flatlander? This week before Thanksgiving finds each of us in a different place. Some of us are preparing to close up early. Others of us may be facing a pre-holiday, pre-Black Friday rush in our business or in last-minute preparations for family. And some of you Coloradoans may even be taking a ski day! But, for all of us who own businesses or provide financial advice to those who do, this week provides a good opportunity for us to slow down enough to discover gratitude for our life and all the blessings we are experiencing. In addition to the intrinsic benefit of giving thanks, there are objective reasons for doing so. According to U of California Davis professor, Robert Emmons1. People with neuromuscular conditions similar to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) who kept a gratitude journal report
Based on this and other research, Emmons concluded is that gratitude is a choice and one’s happiness “set-point,” unlike our weight set-point, can be modified through grateful responses to our life experiences. In another study, Emmons and his colleagues divided participants into three groups who each made weekly entries in a journal. One group recorded five things they were grateful for. Another group described five daily hassles, and a control group listed five events that had affected them in some way.
Last year I experimented with the first exercise I recommend below. I found that intentionally remembering and recording and ruminating on 5 “good, true, and beautiful” happenings or people each day is a powerful elixir for elevating my attitude. Won’t you join me in doing this exercise? This year I find myself deeply thankful for my new partners in American Business Advisors. So, I encourage you to look for the good in your business and your life in this week leading up to Thanksgiving. Then “go public” on Thanksgiving Day with your gratitude experience! Toolkit:Here are three simple suggestions to help you start (or re-start) a regular practice of expressing gratitude: 1) Keep a Daily Gratitude JournalThis is probably the most effective strategy for increasing your level of gratitude. Set aside time daily to record three to five things that you are grateful for. Schedule in your calendar a regular time at the beginning or the end of the day. According to Emmons, the act of writing "allows you to see the meaning of events going on around you and create meaning in your own life." It is a powerful way to connect with your own Big Why for living. 2) Use Visual RemindersTwo obstacles to being grateful are forgetfulness and lack of awareness. You can counter them by giving yourself visual cues that trigger thoughts of gratitude: set alarms on your phone or tablet or make generous use of sticky notes to remind you to pause and consider your blessings. 3) Live Out a Public Commitment to GratitudeFind at least one other sojourner and hold each other accountable for growing gratitude in life! In addition, consider: who can you thank? When and how will you do that? Consider sending up a prayer, mailing a card, making a phone call, or inviting that person to lunch.
1 The research is summarized in Robert Emmons' new book Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/library/counting-your-blessings-how-gratitude-improves-your-health The blog post Discover the Gratitude See more on: American Business Advisors in Denver via Blogger Discover the Gratitude
My wife and I had the privilege of visiting Kennedy Space Center a few weeks ago (see above). Yes, we are absolutely dwarfed by the massive Saturn V that sent three intrepid explorers to walk on the moon July 20, 1969. This “rocket garden” gives you a hint of the strategic plan to get to building the Saturn V. Every rocket—from the slight Vanguard, which launched America’s first satellite, to the Saturn IB, which was the predecessor to the Saturn V—was part of a strategic plan to learn what was needed to get man to the moon. These stepping stone rockets remind us that it took a specific plan to achieve the moon landing. When we see the math and engineering it required to test and build all the interconnected systems and processes to get those men to the moon and back, we begin to realize the careful planning and practicing that was required to make sure any contingency could be addressed. Then it struck me: just as it takes a living, breathing organism of teams to enable a business to fly up through success to significance, it also takes creating a specific kind of plan –a formal strategic plan--to enable the company owner to lead his team to fly his business through success to significance, or as we at American Business Advisors say, Creating Cash Cows® and Improving Quality of Life®. So how do you know that as an astronaut or a business owner, you have a strategic plan, which is sufficient to achieve your purpose? Let’s explore the essential elements of a formal strategic plan.
A strategic plan is more than the end product of a weekend retreat. It is not even an annual plan or even a three-year master plan. Your strategic plan encompasses that and much more. A Formal Strategic Plan builds upon your company purpose and provides the unique engineering and architectural plan for your business. Your strategic plan cannot be a “me-too” plan. Don’t think you can take someone else’s plan off the shelf, tweak a couple things, and have it work for you. In order to create a true plan, it requires thorough analysis and understanding of factors like
Your strategic plan should “work” no matter what changes in or around your business over time. A properly architected Formal Strategic Plan will also provide guidance for making decisions no matter what befalls your company. Question: Do you have the right plan? TOOLKIT:If you want to examine whether or not your plan is robust enough to be a true strategic plan, here are some questions you can use to interrogate your plan:
“The Right Stuff: The Second Key for Your Business” See more on: American Business Advisors in Denver via Blogger “The Right Stuff: The Second Key for Your Business” What is the one essential that you must attend to as a business owner or leader in 2017? [To learn more, check out this Insider, Your Leadership Success One Essential Every Business Needs] It’s trust. Consider these facts:
To those of you who are feeling uncertain where to begin building trust in your company, we are providing you with the first step. This ancient Asian proverb reminds us that “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” Or as a friend reminded me, “The best time to plant a shade tree was 50 years ago. The next best time is today.” Your journey begins with an accurate and honest assessment of the strength of the trust bonds within your company. Here is a free tool from American Business Advisors to help you get started: Our Company’s Trust Quotient InventoryHave each of your executive team members individually evaluate your company’s current “Trust Quotient” and then discuss as a team. Rate each of the following statements on a scale of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree) and total your results:
_ TOTAL SCORE SCORE: 50-45 - Congratulations, Rock Stars, on the high trust company you’ve built! [email-download download_id="17214" contact_form_id="14796"] Our Company Trust Quotient Inventory Evaluation Toolkit:At your next team meeting, take a few minutes to complete “Our Company Trust Quotient Inventory” and discuss your findings. Do the same thing at the end of the year as a part of your annual review and planning for the following year. Tell us what you’re learning. Send your comments and questions to [email protected] The article Your Leadership Success: The Tool Every Business Needs is republished from http://www.abadvisors.com/ via Blogger Your Leadership Success: The Tool Every Business Needs Last week I shared the concept called The Sawyer Effect: Reward turns play into work.My friend, Chuck Blakeman, says that Industrial Age thinking about retirement gives The not so subtle message… that work and play do not mix, and that you are really supposed to live two lives – your work life and your meaningful life (shouldn’t work be meaningful, too?). Imagine if we were able to live out the positive side of the Sawyer Effect: Focusing on mastery makes work play. How might we reward mastery? There’s an old saw that some people who’ve been in a job for ten years have one year of experience repeated over and over. That’s certainly not mastery!
Mastery is its own reward. Mastery is attained when there’s a match between what a person can do and what that person must do. If the “can” exceeds the “must,” boredom develops. And when the “must” greatly exceeds the “can,” anxiety ensues. Mastery is about tackling “Goldilocks” tasks—neither too hard nor too easy— where one is “’walking the tightrope between accident and discipline.’”1 Practice is like being on stage at Carnegie Hall. How do we develop mastery in whatever we do? Daniel Pink suggests three keys to developing mastery:
What a great way to finish well! Toolkit:[caption id="attachment_203" align="alignright" width="150"] Jon Hokama is the Principal and Founder of Jon Hokama and Associates, LLC.[/caption] Want to be on the path to mastery this week? Which of the three tools will you take with you:
I welcome your thoughts/comments!
1p. 117, Pink, Daniel H., Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York: Riverhead Books, 2009. 2Ibid, p. 125 The following article Shocking Incentives Read more on: American Business Advisors of Denver via Blogger Shocking Incentives |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |