Archive for category Leadership

Carnival of Australia – February 27, 2008

Feb 27

Posted by Bren Ryan in Chill out!, Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

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Welcome to the February 27, 2008 edition of Carnival of Australia.

Thanks to all the contributors, some great stuff there, enjoy your reading!

Elias presents The day we said “sorry”! posted at Ramblings of an Australian teacher, saying, “I hope I can still squeeze in the current carnival.” – Yes and No Elias! I think you wanted to be in last fornight’s carnival, but you are welcome in ours

John Crenshaw presents The Biggest Scam Your Bank Gets Away With Everyday posted at Truthful Lending dot Com, saying, “This little known scam accounts for a huge portion of fees paid to banks every year and is going on right under your nose. The worst part is, it’s completely legal.”

Micellaneous Mum presents Project book – introducing my Illustrator! posted at Miscellaneous Adventures of an Aussie Mum, saying, “The next installment in the series on how I’m going to publish my book this year.”

Business

D Robinson presents Diana Williams and Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs | Australian Women Online posted at Australian Women Online, saying, “This interview with Diana Williams is just one in a series of articles on successful women in business featured on Australian Women Online.”

Kathie Thomas presents Being Ready To Receive posted at soho-life.com, saying, “Helping clients to receive information.”

Leela Cosgrove presents How to Write a Professional Bio posted at Leela Cosgrove.

Leela Cosgrove presents The Seven Step Book Leveraging Program posted at Leela Cosgrove.

Michael Crooks presents Promotional Marketing Articles posted at Crooks Advertising Alliance, saying, “This article explains how salespeople can prevent children from sabotoging a sale.”

Martin Russell presents 5 Keys To Word of Mouth Marketing posted at Word of Mouth Marketing.

Dr. Gavin R. Putland presents Can you stop paying the mortgage and keep the house? posted at /etc/cron.whenever/, saying, “In America, thanks to reselling and repackaging of mortgage loans, the answer is often “Yes” because nobody can prove to whom you owe the money.”

Culture

bryce presents Tropfest Tumblings posted at a strangled duck, saying, “Tropfest was a great night with some great movies.”

Suzie Cheel presents There is a Fork In The Road: Which Path Will I Take? posted at The Abundance Highway, saying, “One morning walking on the beach I was fascinated how a tree branch thrown up by the tide was so beautifully positioned on the beach. For me, it was a fabulous image for a fork in the road. I knew then that one day I would find a saying or the words that would be just perfect to go with the picture.”

Michelle Sweeney presents My How Times Have Changes posted at Tonic Gifts.

Current Affairs

Dr. Gavin R. Putland presents Rationalizing stamp duty posted at Putland Uncensored.

Environment

Carole Fogarty presents Your Wealth Location for 2008: posted at THE HEALTHY LIVING LOUNGE, saying, “Locate your prosperity and wealth energy for 2008 and then elementally enhance and energetically uplift to bring new opportunities into your life. This is a potent energy that given the right conditions will surprise you.”

jen presents Semantically driven: blogging about blogging, parenting and living in Australia. » True blue posted at Semantically driven, saying, “This is a bit about what I do to save and reuse water.”

Family

Carole Fogarty presents The ultimate guide for a calmer driving experience: posted at THE HEALTHY LIVING LOUNGE, saying, “Ten practical and simple ways to ensure your car is not a metal container full of adult and children stress. Turn the calm dial up in your car now.”

Megan Bayliss presents Alleged sex predator masquerades as parent blogger posted at Imaginif…, saying, “What’s the time Mr Wolf? Time to take care because I have seen the avatar of an alleged child sexual abuser on many of your sites. Posing as a family blogger and all round decent human being is an easy thing to do…particularly when you want something. Be aware of who you are letting in the front door of your virtual home. Child protection is serious business. An investment in it nets returns beyond any current financial investment.”

PlanningQueen presents Ten things we should never say to kids. posted at Planning with Kids, saying, “A reminder to me as a parent about how I can impact my child through what I say to them.”

Food

Lightening presents Zucchini Lovefest posted at Lightening Online, saying, “Need some help using up those zucchini’s. Here’s a recipe or two for you to try.”

Gillian Polack presents Food History at the Royal Canberra Show – #1 posted at Gillian Polack, saying, “There’s a second article on bush foods, too. http://www.foodpast.com/food-history-at-the-royal-canberra-show-1-2/”

History

Romeo Vitelli presents Constance Kent posted at Providentia, saying, “Either a tragic victim or a brutal murderer (and maybe even Jack the Ripper). You make the call.”

Music

Duncan Macleod presents The Presets produce My People posted at Duncan’s Music Videos, saying, “Music video for My People, by Sydney electro pop duo The Presets, directed by Kris Moyes, younger brother of Kim Moyes. “I’m here with all of my people, locked up with all of my people. So let me hear you scream if you’re with me”"

Travel

Raymond presents Airline Credit Cards That Offer Free Miles posted at Money Blue Book.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of australia using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Tags: blog carnival., carnival of australia

Lets say sorry and move on…

Feb 13

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

In an historic address to the nation today Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said “Sorry” to the stolen generation. He said sorry for the pain, sorry for the ongoing indignation, sorry for previous governments not apologising, for taking indigenous children from their families many years ago.

In essence he is saying we are sorry for the human rights abuse that took place in less enlightened times.

In analogy, is this any different from a business which, may treat its people poorly, that may provide only scant regard for safety, that may let its policies of profit grabbing rather than capacity building be the norm, that may let or indeed support bullying and harassment.

In these enlightened times, lets say sorry for these indiscretions, and actively seek out ways to make our workplaces, places where people can be engaged without hostility, or fear, for our safety, security, esteem and lifelong education.

Let’s find more ways to truly engage with the people we do business with, and those we employ. Together we can ensure the future of contemporary business is one where the “vanguard avant-garde”, is a beacon of hope and inspiration. In doing so we can only hope these champions of business embrace the ideals of sharing to allow others the opportunity to follow in their mighty footsteps.

Lets say sorry for past indiscretions, lets forgive those that perpetrated those acts, lets then take steps to embrace the future by taking positive action to fully engage all levels of business to ensure we can stay clear of the problems and utilise the precedent which has been set to full advantage.

Good honest copy…

Jan 20

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Leadership, The Marketing Dept | 1 Comment

On a recent holiday we caught up with a family friend, retired well and truly from business and now taking a well earned lifestyle break from as he put it “All that stuff”.

He got chatting about his fathers business, it turned out he had a couple of retail stores that were really big and his business made it through the depression and WW2. So I asked (how could I not) about what made these businesses successful… He said “You know what I asked my father this on a number of occasions and he was unswerving in his answer. Be great with people and always have honest headlines and honest copy.” that was it.

I know I have even been guilty of trying to make copy do things it can’t do as it stretches the truth between the lines, but our friends father was implicit that the honesty be there.

I recall thinking how elegant the response was, ‘Great with people and good honest copy’. Task No 1, take a look at yours and ask how good is the copy, and of course if you are followers of great business practices you will already be working solidly in being great with people.

How to train to Win/Win

Jan 11

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchisees, Franchising, Growth, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept | No Comments

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.

Training to win/win
You and your staff should be trained to make the whole show win, then the customers can win too. A great position to get to and stay in. For some the idea of training staff means showing them the bare basics of their job, but go a bit deeper and encourage thinking around the idea of Win/Win, when they get the idea the concept will probably become infectious.

Find out more about win/win and how you might create some examples you can discuss with your team.
Look for examples of win/win already at play in your business.
Use the concept to develop a team get together every so often to ask about and pass on ideas in business development.

Getting all this together is a great way to cause the team to work effectively together and can build the business to a strong position where people feel valued. This will then pass on to the customers and cause them to feel valued as well, in the end that’s what we all want.

How to create a business with great values

Jan 10

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchisees, Franchising, Growth, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.

Upholding great values
People love it when you are on a positive footing and in the values area it’s a great place to start (integrity – honesty, truthfulness etc.).

Start the business with a strong stance on the rights and wrongs, if you get caught by a staff member or a customer ripping people off, word will spread fast, not a good thing to have happen. Make your act squeaky clean and others will follow.

Make a list of the sorts of values you want the business to uphold, google them on your computer and find out more about what other businesses have as values, then find ways to integrate them into what you do, yes even if you have a one person business.

You may find you already have these values, they are automatic and things that inherently are of interest to you. But there may be areas you want to tweak so you can be better at those ones as well.

Over time the staff and customers will be certain to know your business has high integrity, honesty etc.. In a highly competitive market place these things can set you apart.

How to create a business that is enjoyable to run

Jan 8

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchisees, Franchising, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.

Enjoyable to run
Who wants a business, which is a hassle to run? Who wants to work in a tough field? No one… Make it a joy to be part of for you and staff and the low hassle enjoyable nature of the business will probably rub off onto the customers over time.

Make the systems simple effective and clearly understood, no one wants to run a system they have little idea of why it is being done, especially in larger organisations.
Ask the staff for suggestions on ways to make the work more enjoyable, perhaps multi tasking could be a useful starting point.
Figure out the culture or if it’s a new business create a suitable culture one that is inclusive, cooperative and has fun some times, this way you will be encouraging the best from everyone involved.
Make a Profit! This is an obvious point but without it the stress you suffer might soon spill over into the business. Take it easy that bad stress can wipe you out! So make sure you “juggle” things properly to ensure you have a profit and not just cover the overheads and wages.
Smile, show you love it, show you love being there, show you love the staff, (yes love them!) let the positivity rub off.
Ask lots of questions from all angles, the customer, the staff member, the senior staff and you… if there are common areas to be tackled then focus on those first.

If your business is enjoyable to run now, what would it be like if you went through and made it MORE enjoyable to run!

How to create an easy saleable range

Jan 7

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchisees, Franchising, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.

Creating easily saleable products and services
You want people to buy, not to um and err then walk away, so it should be easy for them to select what they want and then make the purchase with great peace of mind. Especially people in your ideal target market.

It may be one thing to provide a prestige product and another thing to have enough people in the right target market to meet the needs you have. Again it might be a case of having some prestige products and more of another not so prestige product.

When it comes to business you should be making sure that customer satisfaction is a number one concern, and a big part of that is the service and support your business provides. Make it EASY for people to get things serviced, not a hassle. Make it easy for people to select the right product, Make it easy for them to find a sales person, the list goes on.

So take a customers viewpoint and walk in and out of your store as if you were them, how quickly are you attended to? how gracious was the enquiry “How are you today sir…” How easy was it to get your bearings on where things are (online or in a physical sales environment…) Now ask yourself what can be done to make changes so the people walking in and out are really satisfied.

Also look at the things you may want to add to your range… How easy are they to market? And will people readily make enquiries that could lead to sales… These are all aspects of easily saleable products and services.
Taking all these things into account you should be able to”pull apart” the customer experience to know what’s working and what you can do about it.

How to create a business people love

Jan 5

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.

Creating a business that people love!
Customers and staff a like love the business and what it does, heck why have a business that people despise? Go for love, it’s much better. But that’s easy to say… what can you do to make people love it?

Find ways to engage the customers. – Consider a database and keep in contact – Create special deals they can’t get anywhere else (think packages) and the list goes on, get creative and explore.
Engage the staff. Right from the start, cause the staff to ‘buy in’ to the philosophy, ethics, and other values and beliefs the business has, make it strong, make it real and make it matter, make it so the idea of turning up to work is a vital thrill in their day.
How about you? Do you love the business? Why shouldn’t you aim to create an entity that really rocks, so you want to be there in such a way that it causes everyone else to believe in what you have created and it builds from there.

Now you have some starting points, what will you do to go the next step? research, evaluate, plan, budget, implement? Whatever order you put them in, make it work for you.

Retain and engage staff, or else…

Dec 23

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

In the race to maintain and or grow their business many business operators find another hurdle that pops up far to easily, and that’s staff turnover. Some call it churn, but whatever you call it it costs the business $$.

Some businesses try to keep their wages above the award rates in the hope it will keep people in the business and not move on. Some use other tactics to retain the employees and even engage them further than the usual 9 – 5 arrangement.

In reality a lot has been written on this subject over many years and the fact that it is still a major issue is testament to the fact that not a lot has been done, or not a lot of understanding about the issue has filtered it’s way through.

Whatever the situation and the outcome, the effective engagement and retention of staff requires innovative approaches to ensure they are mentally stimulated enough to want to hang around and give positive input rather than just being driven by the $$.

Over time people can fade in their energy and interest levels, and this can have wide ranging effects on productivity, leadership, communication and probably a whole raft of other things in the business. So to ensure ongoing engagement, a variety of techniques should be employed, not just one.

Giving cash is one thing, but it’s often a short term fix, giving training is a good option, but should not be the only option as not all people want to be taken away from their work to attend leadership training for example. The astute business needs to find ways to adapt to the person and become more flexible in the delivery of retention devices.

Issues around working hours, family friendly work practices, and now health schemes are becoming more obvious as options for the team. Again innovative approaches need to be used to implement and develop these practices so the staff member can not grow or feel complacent, but rather feel more valued as the various options get rolled out.

Imagine a workplace where a range of options were put to staff, where they could elect some of the options to retain them, then there are more options they do not get to choose but are put in place as well (formal and informal training for example.) The upshot of all this is that an employee feels valued, to the point where they don’t want to go elsewhere, they want to simply contribute at 110%.

In an age where quality workers are lured by better players in the market any employer needs to consider the best ways to get and keep the best players, otherwise their business could find itself on the scrap heap faster than it might care to know about.

Jerry Seinfeld’s 3 rules of life

Dec 10

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchisees, Franchising, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Starting out in business | 2 Comments

Here’s Jerry’s 3 rules of life, pretty simple… so lets add some business thinking points to it.

Print it, use it, tick things off as you do them, make notes, add to the list, include some of these points in your staff training and see what happens.

Thanks Jerry lets see what happens now…

Bust your ass…

Work hard, work smart, if it’s not fun, do something else.
Following your passion, you will then want to do the work, in fact the work will be so enjoyable it won’t seem like work, you will be early and rarely late….
On something that will make a difference for more people than just you, you win they win.
On being exceptional, who wants to be mediocre? Ok so lots of people do, but why do you have to be…
Getting the next goal, and then the next, the journey of a thousand miles begins with that first step. The sense of achievement is a powerful drug.
Providing what the market place wants, you will soon be happy with the sales, they will be happy you provided what they want and those that work with you will be happy you thought of it.
Getting people to know about your business in the start up phase and then to come back for more of what you have, often.
To influence others in your circle of influence to be exceptional at all they do.
To surround yourself with great people who want to pass on great information you can all utilise.
Living life to the full, when the show is over it’s over folks…

Pay attention…

To the details so that you can understand the bigger picture from within. No point in having a business that no one knows what’s going on, especially you…
To planning. No plan no house, it should be the same in business.
To how you present what you have to the market place… Get great at marketing and sales, then do it with the rest of your team.
To the way you learn, then you will be able to pay attention more effectively.
To how others liearn, your role as a business leaer means you will probably do a fair bit of instructing on how things are done, so teach others in ways they prefer to be taught.
To the way you communicate, so get very specific about what you communicate.
To the way you listen… Be an attentive listener, that’s why you have two ears and one mouth.

Fall in love

With what you do, how you do it how your team does it…
With causing others to fall in love… with the job, the business, the customers, the service the products, their life, their significant others.
With life. Life is what we do day to day so we should get great at loving it.
With how others see the world. This level of fascination is from the old American Indian idea of “walking in another mans moccasins” it hlps to give us perspective.
With the people you surround yourself with. Are they all lovable? Are they all worth fighting for?
With the glory and beauty of nature. If the view is lousy, I wonder what you are looking at?

The business of red-hot core values

Dec 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

In business it’s too easy to fall into the trap of just doing business, then it can become a grind, the details become a blur and the idea of lifestyle enhancement as a value you wanted to chase can become minimal, in fact you may as well have just kept a job.

So where is the depth, the meaning that gives hope, strength, clarity, stamina, creativity, innovation and a whole raft of positive/emotive sensations?

These positive values are the core mechanisms that enable us to keep going even in tough times, to enable us to fall down and get up again, the resilience to bounce back, with a vengeance.

So here’s a loose definition of these “valuable business intangibles” as I see it, in this context. “Showing refinement, distinction and concern for the higher things in life.” This is where it comes down to the red-hot core values and some bigger questions to ponder in the business, and by individuals.

The points that follow are concerned with both team and individuals and how they connect or not. It’s about looking for and working with these distinctions to be able to create a business, which embodies these with a degree of ease and efficacy without having to consciously working towards them. So a degree of unconscious competence can kick in.

In reading the list, feel free to say, “If I had a business that had all these things I would be delighted, but it’s not going to happen today, nor tomorrow for that matter…” I appreciate this viewpoint and suggest the following… “You have these things in your business already, it’s a matter of ‘to what degree’ you have them”.

Your aim as the business-person would be to look at what you do in the improvements to your business that will add to the value of any of these. An example might be if you were wanting your team to service the customers more effectively, In chatting to them about the issue/s you might find yourself suggesting they be more tolerant, cooperate more with the customers and staff, show higher levels of respect and so on.

As you have just seen it may not be difficult to work with these as a group of items, but in isolation it might be. Note also some o the items are team based while others are more individual in their appeal and approach.

Honesty
Sensitivity to Others
Responsibility
Emotional Balance
Tolerance
A Deep Compassion for Humanity
Cooperation
Accurate Self Image
Respect
Development of self and others (for intrinsic and extrinsic value)
A Deep Sense of Mystery
Connectedness
Vision Mission – Personal and professional
Inner Peace
Freedom
Simplicity/Elegance
Strength – integrity
Holistic approaches to the development of – People – Environments – Culture/s

Taking a look at the list may be daunting, but I hope to show you ways to utilise each of these to enhance your business to be all it can be.

Finally, don’t think for a moment that this list is complete, feel free to add words you and your team might find that can be utilised to enhance the business further.

Risks are what business is all about… or is it?

Dec 8

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchisees, Franchising, Growth, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

This is the eighth in a set of posts designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of “how to” as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s it, I need to do that”, and then forget it and let it go.

Risk taking (all business is this, the further you go the more risks seem to ‘pop up’)

These days there is a lot of talk about risk management to ensure your business is not exposing itself to too many risks that could undermine it. In this article I wanted to point out that being a risk taker is often a useful device in starting a business, without the ability to take a risk we might never start one and spend the rest of our lives wondering what would have happened if we had…

Do your business research to ensure the risks you are taking on is minimised where possible.
Know how far you can go with the risk you are undertaking, if you pull out at any stage, will there be “something in reserve” or will the project finish you?
Explore the unknown, often great ideas come from the strangest places or mishaps in scientific research, sure there are risks involved but the ‘pay off’ can be worth it.
Making mistakes often leads to learning opportunities, far too often we are risk adverse and fail to give things a try. When you or an employee make a mistake, are you ridiculed by others for the mistake or is it seen as an opportunity to learn and grow?

Its not all risk taking but hopefully when the challenges arise you can be ready to accept the challenge and not merely dismiss it.

10-20-30 the planning guide for the rest of us…

Dec 8

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Finance, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Negotiation, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

I have been on about the Guy Kawasaki 10 – 20 – 30 planning device for a while now (since I found it in early 07) Well this week I had the good fortune to use it myself and have created a template to be used in Power Point.

Unfamiliar with 10 -20 – 30? It’s a simple device for pitching ideas, I see it as a way point in the planning process, not so much as an endpoint which seems so logical when you figure it being used to pitch ideas to investors etc. Ideally if you have a business idea I would STRONGLY suggest you use this to assist in sorting out its usefulness.

So it’s 10 slides presented to a max of 20 mins and the smallest text is 30 Pt. see I said it was simple… but of course there are fairly explanatory headings and some body text in it to assist you to make your pitch viable/useful. I feel sure you will be charmed by the thing once it’s used a few times.

The 10-20-30 power point business presentation

As you will see when you download the file, it is a plain old BxW, simple presentation. All you need to do is put the words in that fit for your project even the basic animation is done (when you view the slide show, you can click the forward button and see each point come up one at a time, how it should be, and not a whole page of text.)

I used it on an idea as a way to ‘flesh out’ a few things and in following the headings I found I was really challenged to come up with appropriate answers, after quite a while of cutting, pasting and soul searching I got it to a point where it seemed to work.

I see all sorts of possibilities with this. For pitching ideas to a boss on an area of business or a dept, which is not doing too hot, to put thoughts together for a business partner to look over, then of course to show info to prospective investors. These days when people pitch ideas at me I say to them to do this, then show me the result, thing is not one has actually done it (yet).

Those in the know, figure that’s because it causes people to look at things logically and not just emotionally.

Have a play with it, read it though, jazz it up with imagery etc and see what happens, I’m sure it has lots of uses, I hope you find the same.

Using Gossip As An Effective Management Tool

Dec 2

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Starting out in business, The Operations Dept | No Comments

Got a note from my 4th grade son’s school the other day. Seems he and a small group were standing in line and were overheard making comments about “getting wasted” in reference to drinking alcohol. They were immediately hauled down to the principal’s office and verbally reprimanded about “inappropriate topics of discussion.” What’s sad, is that the children learned they must be very, very careful about expressing their thoughts for fear an adult will hear it and over-react and “get them in trouble”.

One of the few ways we can know what’s on a kid’s mind is by hearing what they say. Once we know what’s on their mind, an opportunity presents itself to have a thoughtful discussion on the subject mater.

“Hey, kids. You know that alcohol has devastating effects on the developing minds of smart young people like you. “Getting wasted” can get you into a lot of trouble. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them for you.”

What does this have to do with business? Plenty.

While the common adgage is, “Loose lips sink ships”, I believe loose lips can also help repair ships.

How many managers and bosses are walking around clueless to what’s on in the minds of employees because the employees are scared to be frank, open and honest? How many business boats are sinking because managers and bosses have created an ATMOSFEAR instead of an atmosphere within their organization.

With the exception of slander, racist remarks and vulgarity, when employees feel they are free to express their opinions, feelings and yes, even doubts … bosses and managers can “catch wind” of potential problems, insights can surface and opportunities for thoughtful discussion are created.

For instance. A manager overhears or “catches wind” that an employee is complaining about the manager. Instead of jumping down the employee’s throat and dishing out reprimands — what if the manager asked the employee for a brief meeting?

“Thanks for meeting with me, Jim. I think you’re a great employee and you have a lot of potential. But I sense there’s something I may be doing that’s keeping you from really achieving your best. What can I do … or stop doing to help you?”

Are your employees working on the good ship Stifled Expression? Or do you have an atmosphere that allows you to take full advantage of what is referred to as the grapevine, viral communication or the arena of the overhead?

Ancillary, random communication among employees can yield golden opportunities to effectively and productively solve problems and keep your business afloat and profitable.

Who are you supporting?

Nov 25

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning | No Comments

In the crazy mixed up world of business we can often forget why we are in business… of course it’s to make a profit but what kind? is it just money or are there other profits to be had?

Other profits might include

• People learning more and benefitting society by utilising their new found skills and abilities.
• Suppliers to your business having to grow their business because your business provides them with the need to create more product due to increased sales on your behalf.
• Local community growth due to your business providing increased capacity for the local community to spend and earn.
• More community support due to your business providing executives on loan to not for profit groups.

I am sure there are many more ways you are supporting the community and those near and dear to you, often I find businesses that realise their impact is so vast they start to smile a lot wider, and get a warm feeling in their heart. It’s not just the cash, its the wider community benefits as well.

You may not plan for it or you might want to plan for it… Either way when it happens it makes the whole idea of business take on a fresh new meaning.

The people service continuum

Nov 15

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

In the service stakes, there are those who connect with the people they need to serve and those that quite frankly wish the customers would go away. There are of course levels within that and as always I would like you to focus for a moment on the top end.

People who serve in those lofty heights, have a few qualities which makes them stand out from the crowd, but don’t let that descriptor fool you, you probably will not see anything different in the way they interact with the customers to give away the fact, that they have this high end skill.

In simple terms what they do is often invisible, it has great depth, it is a level of intimate connectedness. This allows them to encourage, influence, involve, engage, be in alignment with, but above all it allows them to be effective with the customers.

It also means customer loyalty is built in a way that makes it hard to erase, these customers do not fade away, they become advocates of what the service person has provided for them, which is much more than a product or service, it’s that intimate and deep connectedness all great relationships have.

The customers who come into contact with this exceptional sales or service person, will follow them if they leave the company.

For the company to ensure this type of customer service person is attracted and retained, they need to carefully look at their culture and the environment they provide. In short they need to become employers of choice.

For the employee that has or wants to develop this skill level, they need to make sure they listen actively, find ways to connect genuinely with the customers (and most probably their team mates).

Great service is its own reward, and the return of customers time and time again due to the intimate connectedness of the service people, is what the sales and service game is all about.

Tags: love your customers

Activity and decisions, there effects on your business

Oct 29

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

Have you ever thought about the activity and decisions that takes place in your business, or in your life for that matter? Let’s get a handle on things to explain more about what I mean.

Active and inactive – It’s either one or the other and not much in between, of course at the either end there can be a lot or a little of each.

Reactive and proactive – the other aspects to activity one being positive and the other negative.

A situation takes place, e.g. an employee makes a mistake, a proactive stance could be “Well you made a mistake, did you or are you able to learn from it?” reactive could be “YOU DID WHAT! what will that cost us!!! Oh No!!!”

An inactive stance would be to do nothing and an active stance is to do something. The question is how do you make the decision and do you think much about it?

Okay enough of the basics, which way you turn with this can have a solid bearing on outcomes in your business, in the case of staff if they keep getting reactive responses from you on all issues, after a while they will not tell you anything. On the other hand if you are always proactive they can (in time) see you as a “soft touch” a person that always sees the positive even though it may be doing great damage to the business.

The flexible approach is to be able to flip responsibly between each area, you could choose to do nothing, something, react or be proactive. Lets pick another example, a person slips on the floor of your shop, you could do nothing (inactivity) and perhaps act as if it did not happen. Yet if you react and tell them off for not seeing the puddle on the floor it could go against you as well. A proactive stance might be to offer them assistance (but probably avoid mentioning that it is the companies fault.) and see if they are okay.

The choice is up to you, so you hope the decision you make is the one that is the best option all round.

Here’s the point about all of this, it’s about making decisions and often snap decisions at that. Many people say making decisions is hard and that can be true, the challenge is to make more of them (even poor ones) so that you get used to making them often and therefore get comfortable with making them.

Once comfortable with making decisions you can check consciously if they are reactive, proactive or inactive. Then in time you will probably make more of the right decisions automatically.

Rich with the gifts of life

Oct 27

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

Business can be fickle, some succed, others fail, some just plod along making just enough to struggle on even though the market might be very buoyant.

In the end many will say business is just about money. Yes and no… I like to think I get more than just money out of what I do. In many cases I get a great deal of satisfaction out of being in business.

I recently came across a summary of the success classic Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, its simple, practical and highly effective… the thing is you need to know that richness is not about money… its more about the things. Things like how you feel, what you won, what you control, what you develop, what you create, Its all there you just need to know the simple formula for making these things happen.

Hills book was based on the success of many people and using extensive research he was able to distill the results into this classic.

Knowing that it’s easy to implement helps, but you have to be able to overcome procrastination, other peoles intervention, fears at all levels, above all you have to accept abundance is the norm, not the exception.

Stop now and think, am I rich with the gifts of life, or am I merely existing and chasing my tail… If you are ready to take on a full and rewarding life then do so by reading or re reading the classic.

Innovation and the fight to make it work

Oct 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

An article by Kirsten Le Mesurier in the Age on innovation struck a chord.

The premise of CEO’s and senior exec’s saying innovation must happen… rarely works, it’s often a directive that can be buried in red tape and politics. Too many times the ideas are wanted but the process becomes a durge and in no time people resent the “new thing on the block” in this case innovation. For most it’s business as usual but with more headaches.

Organisations need to think carefully about taking on innovation as a systemic device as well and not just as a think tank option for new products and or services.

Innovation should (in my view) be about involving all, and working towards creating elegant buisness options, not just some products and services to make the profit look good.

“Brand You” trademarking…

Oct 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

In a previous post I mentioned trademarking as a development tool and I discussed “See something – Do something” It’s a nice simple model for business but it can be taken further than a business context, here’s how and perhaps why…

In the branding stakes there is a lot of mention these days about “Brand You” If you look at yourself as a device or commodity (how strange) branding is therefore important, on the basic personal level a resume is the marketing ‘hype’, and your actions (should you land the job) are the results. In a decent brand the hype or spin matches the end product… So the same with Brand you. It’s about congruency, things working in alignment.

I am sure you have met people that are full of ‘hot air’ and they say more than they do, well in their case there is a low level of alignment between their words and actions. that’s where this newer idea of trademarking comes in.

Using the premise of “See something – Do something” the astute brand developer, would say I have things to develop in me that will benefit me and then probably benefit the company, in the long run. This is fairly standard personal development thinking for some of you whilst for others it will seem like a new thing ripe for the picking.

In the business context the see and do device is relatively easy to work out (focus on marketing – operations and management) bu for the individual its a bit different. However in the business owners context they could map across from the business context, by noting “In each of the areas of the business I can influence, how well do I do those things?” leadership therefore becomes an issue, the management and then communication, then time management.

So make a list of the areas you want to improve then do your level best to chip away at those areas to make them count, not just for you, but for the business as well.

See something, do something…

Oct 11

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, The Customer Service Dept | No Comments

Earlier in 2007 I did a post on Trademarks not what you think… It gave some starting points and some background to an idea that is really all about values and beliefs but does so in a more street smart way.

I thought it was time to pull out a few more and explore how they can be developed and a bit about why they can be developed (e.g. the end product of doing all this.)

Trademarks, the notion is that it sets you apart from anybody else that might have a similar business name (in the traditional use of the word), but beyond that it says “This Co does things in certain ways, ways that set it apart.” so the same with our trademarks.

It can be used to provide guidelines and information on bigger picture things in the business Marketing – Operational issues – Management. Then of course it can go to smaller issues within each area right down to the last ‘nut and bolt’

One key to using “Trademarks” is to utilise an overall device to assist with the development of each area within the framework lets call it a mantra.

“See something,
Do something”

If one person in the organisation saw something that was not “right” within the organisation they can invoke this mantra and take it from a saying to a thing to be acted on. If anyone says we can’t do that ‘because…’ then the person putting forward the idea need not feel put down, they were just doing what was asked of them, their aim might be to look deeper to find a way that can alter the first point they raised.

An example a customer service indiscretion is witnesses, you would (under ideal circumstances) report it as a matter of urgency or act on it immediately in some other way (take action) as it would effect a key area of the business (Customers!). If a mistake was spotted in an advert, “see something, do something” should then kick in immediately before it’s too late. (Again a key area of business and one that needs to be right.)

Using this simple mantra can give the business a developmental edge in all areas… so what to do, how to go about putting it into practice… make a sign “See something, do something” and put it up, everywhere! email people in your organisation about it (keep it brief) and support it at all levels, (from the customer down…)

Next, make a list of all the key areas in the business (to raise awareness) and give a few examples of how this system could be used in each, then start developing the business from that stand point. If profit is down, start with that, you will soon see what things are preventing your profit from developing and so you will be able to action those things more strategically.

Imagine, you know have a way of creating an improvement culture in your organisation simply and effectively. So go ahead, you have seen this now do something.

Franchising and the “family connection”

Oct 10

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchisees, Franchising, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning | No Comments

In the world of franchising there are many chances to connect with the Franchisees and the Franchisors, meetings, conferences, and the initial training. As the leader of the franchise (or franchise division) or as the franchisee, search for more ways to connect with each other. Then pass on that ‘connection’ attitude or skill to your team/s.

In the process of business you will soon find you are part of an organism or a family if you like, some members you may never see (like distant cousins) and others you see often as they are very close. In franchising it’s the same with lots of family type links, The challenge is to make sure the links lead to solid loving relationships and not just sibling rivalry or a runaway “missing person”.

In the start up phase there will be lots of connection opportunities (if any) but as things more through to adolesence there is a chance that the connection can be come frayed.

The challenge is to overcome the disconnection and cause people to work together in harmony (as much as possible.) Importantly it’s a two way street and both parties need to be aware of that and do their bit to make it work.

One situation where this can happen is in training. the Franchisor can be training the Franchisee and they can pass it on to their staff and train them as well. This could be leadership skills, mentoring skills, delegation, and negotiation skills, the list could be endless.

Training can be formal or informal and why not do it over the phone, via a short video on the internet, or face to face at a franchise meeting. What ever way you do it, it can be ongoing, and benefit both parties. Over time the franchise ‘family’ will experience grater connectedness due simply to both parties being engaged in a worthy process.

I found something interesting…

Oct 1

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, The Board Room | No Comments

In flipping about the net I came across this link. http://www.bcg.com/

Simply put the publications section has some great resources for businesses of all sorts, check it out, there’s plenty for everyone…

Very professionally put together, usually when I come across resources like this you end up having to pay or need to be a client with a special password to get in. So it was refreshing to come across this one from a large consulting group.

Crafty management

Sep 30

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, The Board Room | No Comments

A blog that chats about the craft of management now that’s useful! Check out the ten x 3 article I liked them all!

Management as a craft seems to resonate with the idea of the manager as an artisan, with a unique blend of artistic and practical skills. If this is the case the business could then be evaluated for its beauty, craftsmanship, structure, design and practicality. In a cultural context there is probably a lot more philosophy and depth that would show through as well.

I think if we take it further and imagine the artisan creating a clay bust for example, it needs to be built around a solid armature and the end use needs careful consideration, if the craftsman gets it wrong the bust could crack, not hold the clay or be unusable for a range of other structural reasons.

On the other hand if it is well constructed and suits its purpose the result will be a thing of beauty with a sense of elegance that enthralls the viewer. Now that’s the art of business.

Find the champions

Sep 27

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Leadership, People!, Personal Development | No Comments

I live in Geelong and as we come up to the final of our Australian Rules football season Our Geelong team is a hot favourite to win, so to find a champion down here at the minute is very easy! Just name any one of the team members and I will agree!!!

These kinds of chapmpion are easy to find because they have been consistent performers all year and the winning streak of 16+ games was sensational.

How about in buisness? In particular your business, your team, or your division?

Might I suggest you find a few ways to do just that and discover what are the qualities you might look for in a champion.

Make a checklist of possibilities, then award a weekly champion and record it, then a monthly one, and so on, in the end the champion of the year would be the one with the most wins. The results? maybe mixed, some might embrace the idea, while others might squirm, so go with the positive outcome and invite a few of the team to push the idea and become involved in the process of selecting the champion.

People generally like to be noticed so notice them, for all the right reasons.

Transparent, secure and solid.

Sep 26

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Finance, Growth, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

In Australia today, a transport company in Sydney McArthur Express has gone into receivership and has been found to be insolvent. This means the company is not viable and they will sell everything and pay out the creditors as best they can.The plight is a miserable one for workers, the creditors and operators of the business, let alone the customers… so the aim of this blog the idea of creating a secure and solid company through transparency.

I want to provide two ideas here… The first idea mooted is an old one it’s called open book management, the aim being to provide all staff with the opportunity to see exactly what’s happening in the organisation and I mean everything. In short the aim from doing so is to provide an environment and foster a culture of openness inclusion and interest. The second idea is to create a solid foundation for any sized organisation but in this case for a larger employer. The idea is to create a debt reserve fund, or a wealth account.

By being open with the “books” those interested can ask questions, see the stability and get a feel for the organisation as a whole. In reality many people do not take up the opportunity however the resultant positive effects can speak volumes in terms of trust and honesty. It tends to send the message that the company cares. The idea is simple enough but it often takes courage on behalf of the business operators to be so open as for most its “Their baby”. I tend to hold the view that sure its your baby, but the minute you employ someone its a shared baby.

The second idea of a wealth fund or debt reserve fund is to create the ultimate backstop, one that you hope will never be used! The idea is simple, out of the profits the company makes a % of that is put into a bank account, when it grows to a set size some of the funds can be put into other assets that earn a higher return. The amount int he initial account grows again and so on. As the company grows there is a point where the initial account amount should get bigger before the % amount leaves the account for bigger things… this gives the Co the liquidity it requires in an emergency.

The trick with both of these ideas is having the strength to do them, the will power to keep them growing and the sense to make sure they stay in place to build a solid foundation for everyone int he company and not just the owners.

To all involved in the crushing blow to McArthur Express, my sympathy, to those wanting to avoid these sorts of tragedies, I hope the ideas I present are useful…

The entreprenurial franchise?

Sep 22

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchising, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Planning, Starting out in business, The Board Room | 1 Comment

It’s probably thought of as a no go zone, the franchisor wants their members to follow a system, and the franchisee wants to have a system that ensures ongoing viability, and therefore $$ in the bank to fund their lifestyle.

For most the entreprenerial activity in a franchise will happen at the “top end”, where the franchisor develops the business and puts a lot of effort into finding opportunities the franchisees can utilise. This is the real entreprenurial catalyst area, being proactive, being innovative and taking risks… But wait, what would happen if the franchisees did that too! ARRGH! You want them to follow not to lead… well yes… to a point.

Imagine you have a franchise with 100 franchisees, and only you provided the system and there as no feedback, sounds ideal right… but What if… they were to find ways of doing things better and pass them on to you. If each of them put in one small idea that impacted the business by 1% then you would have a business that was 100% better! (okay stop laughing its a concept not a mathematical model! But you get the point.)

Many franchises have fully functioning adults as franchisees, and over time you could utilise their collective intelligence to make a difference to the overall business, to their business to our business experiences as customers. Often all you need to do is ask.

- Provide an avenue for the franchisees to have input into the business, from start to finish.

- Encourage them to think outside the square (not to create headaches) to find ideas and opportunities that could make a positive difference to the way the business runs.

- Explore focus groups and think tanks so they can feel part of the whole business and ts overall success.

- Become a business that is known for listening and then acting when appropriate. Then encourage your franchisees to do the same.

Whatever the orientation of your franchisees entreprenuerial or not… utilise their expertise and experience to build a business that can offer greater stability and strength, in the long run a well managed entrepreneurial franchise will always beat the compeition hands down, due simply to being one step ahead of the game.

The one BIG thing

Sep 21

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchising, Leadership, People!, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

Experiences are everything, if you have any sort of business that sells to people then the experience the customer has is vital to your operation.

In a franchise the franchisor would then have a greater duty of care to ensure the prospective franchisee has customer service skills, is customer aware, is able to communicate effectively and willing to go the extra mile.

Apart from aiming to build exceptional customer experiences of the franchise business the aim is to also assist the franchisee to build repeat business and know they are well ahead of their competition dues simply to providing exceptional experiences.

In the same vein they should also be serving the customers (the franchises) so they can feel the experience of great service. (lead by example).

So in the end its about finding ways to be exceptional in the people stakes, being able to connect, communicate and value their part in the scheme of things.

To start the ball rolling, consider…

- Have I or any of my staff called a franchise to just have a catch up chat (not because I have anything I want to tell them, but just because I could…)

- Have we kept an online blog going of what’s happening in the business for our franchisees?

- Have we found ways of opening the lines of communication further so they feel they can call us at any time, (and do they? If not why not…)

Take these ideas further… Now show your franchisees how to do it (you are the role model here…) give them ideas on how to build the customer experience so it becomes a rock solid foundation for them to build a successful business from.

Remember it’s all about the experiences we have, yours, theirs and the customers…

For more on franchising

Open the floodgates!

Sep 20

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchising, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

Who is blaming whom? In the failed business stakes there are those with the crushed ego from the fall who want to blame anyone but themselves. They will claim the system failed them, customers failed them, area supervisors and suppliers failed them… then of course the franchisor failed them!

In all the blame game generally gets people nowhere and often it happens too late.

No one wants a business to fail, so what happens? really it’s a simple cycle, born out of the old adage resistance, resentment and retaliation… lets take a stab at a possible scenario.

A franchisee gets started and is niggled they can get a support person to call them back from the main Co. (its been a busy time for the Co recruiting and starting a bunch of new franchisees). the franchisee gets miffed and start to build a sense of resistance, and becomes standoffish despite the supervisor apologising profusely.

In some people this resistance clears up and in others it festers in the background.

If this and other things continue the franchisee starts to resent the situation and the hollow they now find themselves in… (Often though these things start from a small issue though.) The retaliation when things have multiplied out of control becomes a range of finger pointing and blame and before long a hostile situation looms and any issue seems to push things further into a downward spiral. The flood gates have opened and Voom the rush of water knocks over everything in its path.

Seriously it does not take much to see this happen, in a franchise, personally run business or in general life!

Here’s the aim for the franchisor, stop it happening before it multiplies.

Herea re some simple points to make things happen more effectively…

- Open the Company communication floodgates – Make the franchisee see that everything is being done to assist them, pester your team to find out who they contacted in the past few weeks, and if they haven’t why not.

- Open the family communication floodgates – successful businesses have family support, its important that you know if a franchisee has this support if not find ways to boost it and get the family interested, supportive and involved.

- Make it a great start up – Before the business gets started make sure the franchisee has the right mindset and attitude to run the business and is willing to learn ways to build their skills in all areas.

- Train them and train your people, to be exceptional communicators – To do this, find ways to get them together to really get to know each other (and don’t wait for the next conference to make this happen.) for people to REALLY communicate effectively they might need to work more like a family.

- Make BIG! promises - And KEEP them. If you say you will jump, make sure you tell them how high it will be. Hollow promises cause a lot of problems. To make sure they happen set up simple and effective systems so your team can ensure they are done.

If you make these a major priority for your franchise business you will form a positive foundation to really set up a caring company that shows it is interested whole heartedly in its members. That’s my view on ways to make the 3 R’s that can damage any relationship (in this case business relationships) and make it less of an issue. Hopefully this is enough to calm the madding crowds!

Red hot testimonials, with ease.

Sep 19

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Leadership, People!, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 4 Comments

The guys in the sales dept of your business just love to use testimonials from happy customers, the ones that willingly tell how good the company and product was. In some cultures its hard to ask for a testimonial (or as I like to call them a Yestimonials!) The one thing that stands out to me as to why businesses do not have red hot testimonials is that they do not ask for them.

Maybe the person asking for the testimonial is not sure that the person is really happy with their service or product, perhaps they think its going to take up their precious time, or cause them undue stress. Whatever they think its a shame, because an opportunity to gather another red hot Yestimonial.

So here are a few ways to get one.

1. ASK! – Tell the customers you love to get testimonials as they make the marketing so much easier and if they provide you with one it would only be as an endorsement of the service they got today. “Hey I’m being open here, if you don’t like the service write that down too!” Be open and honest.

2. Put it in a survey – The survey reinforces in the customers mind the things they experienced with the sale, at the bottom of the survey ask for a comment, a short testimonial to be used in your marketing.

3. Prompt them – Okay the sales is done and you might say “Thanks for buying from us today… I would like to ask you what did I do today to earn your interest and for you to buy form us?” they tell you a few points. “Thanks for that its important for me to know as I want to be surrounded by happy customers and the more I get to remember that the better we get. I wish I could have that in writing it would be useful to add to our testimonial file…” then hand them a business card so they can address the letter to you personally. It may not be as obvious as the first two ideas but with some customers it may well be the only way to get one.

4. The advantage? – Once you have peole giving you testimonials you can probably ask for referrals with ease as well, especially if it’s been a multi part sales process and the prosepcts have taken a lot into considerationbefore buying from you. the level of trust has built along with the relationship.

Make a list of your own and search for ways to get real testimonials so your buisness can stand proud on the service it provides.

The exceptional organisation.

Sep 17

The exceptional organisation according to Tom Peters associate Ed Michaels, is one that provides and nurtures rigourously the following…
â€œRemarkable challenges, rapid professional growth, respect, satisfaction, fun, stunning opportunity, exceptional reward, amazing peer group, full membership in ‘Club Adventure’, maximized future employabilityâ€¦â€

All this leads to attracting more of the right people both internally and externally. In a world where skilled and motivated people are in hot demand then this list is just a starting point. Now take the list and make your organisation â€œfit the billâ€ or miss out, the race for influencing great people to partner with your organisation is fast running out of options!

The info was sourced from www.tompeters.com and makes for great reading.

Suggestion, make a list of the items above and get your team and or yourself to create a list of ways to make it happen, I would do it as a table or matrix and see what’s already in place and what can be added. Go on go for a WOW organisation!

The ideal monkey

Sep 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Planning, The Sales Dept | No Comments

No this is not about Homer Simpson getting a helper monkey! it’s about the ideal clients we all want to chase, but hey there are issues about going for gold, its time, money and often our attitude.

Firstly the ideal customer “monkey” is at the top of the tree, try to climb it too fast you might scare the monkey (not good!) Those that have wooed the monkey in the past know that once they are off the ground and climbing, they have to entice the monkeey (influence it if you will) with the right food, if you have things right the monkey may even come to you!

Secondly you have to be aware that the non ideal monkeys don’t like to work so hard to get to the top of the tree, and therefore they stay to the lower branches and on the ground, they are lazy and want you to go to them, enticement or not, they cost time and money in the long run, but they help to pay the bills. These monkeys create a hard bond to break.

Okay, so it would be good if you could climb the tree quickly and quietly and be back in time to look after the monkeys on the ground, but the top monkey wants to be courted on their terms, not on yours, so what to do?

In an ideal world your sales rep could be trained to court the monkey in the right way while you keep the lower end monkeys happy, but until that happens not much can happen, and note how the lwer level monkeys keep you too busy and not earning enough to hire a sales rep?

Its an age old conundrum, if you take the slow path, costs can overrun you, but once the top monkey is in the giving mood you can then free yourself up to look after more of them and jump readily from tree to tree as the other top monkeys can see you coming at their level and are often more welcoming.

To get to the top monkey takes a strategy, and an action plan to ensure you have the steps in place to get to the right monkey at the right time. This is called a sales process, its a step by step method of research, sending info, and building up to the final presentation. Then and only then if they are happy with what your offer, will they give a little.

Some monkeys are a pest, but a top monkey can be a sought after leader in the pecking order of business, If you want to get the “monkey of your back” you have to find ways to get to the top monkey.

The attitude or the money?

Sep 12

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

In business there are many things to consider, but one of the most overlooked is the fact that you have to deal with people, staff, customers, suppliers, partners and support teams (accountants coaches and the like). The factor that makes or breaks the relationship that’s built is your attitude. But what is it, and specifically how does it fit to a business context.

Here are a few points to consider that go some way to making up your overall “business attitude.”

- Service orientation

- Persistence

- Practical and direct business skills (or lack of them)

- Planning and organisational skills – to set achieveable goals

- The ability to achieve

- Creativity and innovation

- Desire to succeed

- Honesty, intergity and sincerity

- Communication and leadership skills

- Motivation and drivers

All of these have a bearing on your attitude and if you take one or a few of them away or skew them poorly the money vanishes, or at best fades. In business profit is king, therefore you should be finding ways to enhance your “attitude” so you can attract more of the “right stuff” into your business and personal life.

Your aim is to have a Positive Mental Attitude and avoid a Permanent Bad Attitude!

My 3 favourite articles…

Sep 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

Â Okay world, here are my 3 favourite articles for the period Sept 2006 – 2007 our first year of www.freebusinesstips.com.au

Jenny StilwellÂ 3 pillars… Because at the time it knocked me flat! I loved the depth yet a simplstic approach that ANYONE in business could follow. I love most of Jenny’s work and so the link is her name, but this one article grabbed me, and to think that its available free for all to use WOW!

Business profiling a 3 tiered approachÂ Because it has the potential to make waves, waves of understanding, there is still more to come to add to this but time will tell. I am very proud of this one, and yes its mine… It came about because of freebusinesstips.com.au and my involvement in it, it was like shuffling through so many options and possibilities and then it hit me, it had to be done.

My third choice is a culimination of the many “Cries for help” that have echoed across the forum posts, some are loud, some are probably caught between the lines as pockets of distant hope, pockets loaded to the hilt with grief, drama and pangs of guilt. To those with the strength to put up their hand I salute you, to those that put in to the whole web page experience here at free business tips, then I say a HUGE thanks for assisting us to make this all possible.

“From the dirt and moisture comes a sprout, a tiny green organism pointing skyward, its roots grabbing tight to the ground its potential unknown. It may be a weed, a strangling vine or a mightly tree that lasts for a few hundred years. Either way it makes its imression on us, lets hope that impression is highly valuable.”Â

My Favorite FTB Stories of the Past Year

Sep 4

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, Growth, Leadership | No Comments

When asked to write a short article on my favorite Free Business Tips blog stories I answered, “yes” before I should have. Have you read the stories?! Choosing my favorite stories is like choosing my favorite child. I mean sure, I’m always going to choose my own â€¦ but then when it comes down to choosing between two of my own â€¦ I can’t decide!

Well, creativity being the better part of indecision, I believe my favorite Free Business Tips story of the past year is â€¦ the story of FreeBusinessTips.com.au.

Two guys that didn’t owe anyone anything decided to do the world a favor. The result? Probably one of the most insightful, comprehensive and educational libraries of business articles on the face of the planet. More than 6500 articles on everything from waterless tattoos, negotiating and sales to marketing, better business practices and e-commerce. Articles written by people who are actively and successfully involved in the subject matter about which they write.

My second favorite story of the past year is the story of those who overcame business struggles with the help of Free Busines Tips.com.au. The dozens and dozens of start-up businesses that sought out and received solid advice, suggestions and insight from their peers and sometimes their competitors.

Sometimes, I can actually feel the anguish, fear and frustration about which a troubled business owner is writing. Equally as impactful, is the sigh of relief, written between the lines, of posts from grateful business owners thanking those who helped steer them in the right direction or through a minor difficulty, seemed large.

My third favorite story? Well, that’s the one that has yet to be written. For that’s the story of the future. A future that is made up in part, by a thousand little successes stories that had their beginning with FreeBusinessTips.com.au.

Thankful are we, to those among us who listened â€¦ when mommy told us to share.

Your magic business…

Aug 30

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Finance, Growth, Health and Safety Dept, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Today you are doing what SPECIFICALLY…

- to make your business more profitable?

- to cause the staff to LOVE you?

- to cause the customers to LOVE you and your team?

- to cause your suppliers to jump through hoops to give you great deals (and LOVE you)?

- to ensure your workplace is the best place to work, form both a safety and aesthetic perspective?

- to cut down on red tape?

- to create more elegant systems?

- to ensure your business is growing well?

The list can be as long as you like, with out this kind of input your business can stagnate and fade, in short it can shrivel up and die… So do something today to make it thrive.

Caring leads to loving… yes loving!

Aug 28

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Health and Safety Dept, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, The Customer Service Dept, The Sales Dept | 2 Comments

Caring for your staff can lead to respect, the word caring means showing positive and real interest towards each other. I am suggesting we take a caring approach to build the love we have so we can avoid, bullying in the workplace, foster greater connection with our customers and staff.

This article mixes well with “Your staff and service made easy” and should probably be seen as the next step on from it.

Of course there are various levels of love and I am sure you will appreciate and respect peoples personal boundaries and expectations in this regard, the aim is not to get into “hot water” but rather prevent hostilities!

In the beginning love needs to come from people who appreciate love and indeed have love for themselves (I’m not talking about egocentric over the top love here…) so on the list of “lovers” it would probably look like this.

1. They love themselves – then they know what its like and can lo ve others.

2. They love others, their close personal team – family then friends and workmates.

3. They love the customers - without them you are not in buisness so give them some love too!

4. Love being in business – no point in doing something you hate…

5. Love your offerings - are you selling great products and services or???

6. Love you business environment – take a look around, is it a gret place to work? really? get witht he progra and sort out some of the details so you can make thing humm!

7. Love the work teams - you may not be able to have much input into how they work together but if you love the team principles you can have a more productive and fun work place.

8. Love their communications – go on foster some great communications, break down some barriers and watch the teams flourish.

9. Develop a love for leadership skills – and instil these in everyone, make them all leaders (of their own projects.)

Okay so how would you do all of this?

1. Get great at coaching – mentoring – supporting and leading. Find out what you can do to be good at these and you will become a powerful support device to cause your business to fourish.

2. Create systems and methods to create closeness – then watch how the individuals and teams work to make the most of the situation.

Your aim in doing all of this is to create a work culture that supports, cares, holds people in high regard… in short it builds the love.

Your staff and great service – EASY!

Aug 27

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Planning, The Customer Service Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Your staff and great service – EASY!

When it comes to service, practically all organisations I come across say they aim to have great service and if they don’t have it they will work on it. Problem is not many know how to make their service great, let alone good. Lets check out a bunch of points and shed some light on this always, topical issue.

Firstly there are a few things we need to get our head around, each business has people at the front line, they then have an environment (virtual and actual) and these coupled with human interaction create a culture. I put these in simple terms I call PEC’s (People – Environment – Culture). When these are coupled with Marketing, Operations and Management you have the nucleus or foundation structure of business.

Most people in business recognise this but are at a loss (often due to being too involved in the business to see it clearly) to be able to do anything about it. One feature of businesses that can improvise, overcome and adapt to situations are able to innovate and find creative ways to instigate the changes required to make things happen.

Lets put together some points to assist in the development of a customer excellence strategy.

Why should they? – Chat to the staff about why good service is of value to them, the WIIFM or ‘what’s in it for me?’ try working the job security angle, or how it will make them feel giving great service.
Train them – Ask them ‘Coach them – Model it’ By raising these issues and finding ways to create better service and setting the example yourself, you will be leading by example and acting as their service coach.
Variety - Develop with the staff a range of ways they can respond to customers so they have to think more about the interaction move from ‘Can I help you?’ through a range of other responses to make the relationship develop further than just a buyer and seller one. Give them the chance to build some depth with the customer.
Do it in doses - Break up long customer service face-to-face and phone contact so that staff, don’t burn out.
Put them in the customers shoes – Change the role around and let them critique the service exchange you could do it as a role play in a training session or simply send them to a few stores to buy things and report back on what’s working and what’s not.
Develop great communication skills – “Ask lots of questions” use please and thank yous and explore building rapport which helps to build stronger relationships.
Talk about caring - You cannot pay people to care (long term) but you (as the leader) can learn to push their buttons so they can learn more. Caring for each other builds trust and that equals easier sales processes. if you can figure out the staffs buttons, they will be able to learn customers buttons as well. Here’s a clue its all about their motivation

There is more, lots more but for now that should give you and your team a great start to building a great service skill set and a culture of service excellence.

Listen to Others and They Will Listen to You

Aug 24

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Excellence!, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, The Sales Dept | 5 Comments

If you are willing to learn how to listen, it will take hard work to learn the skills and constant practice to stay in shape. However, it is all worth it. Remember, people feel relieved when they find someone who understands what they have to say. Once you truly understand others by actively listening to them, they will most likely reciprocate by listening to you and trying to understand your viewpoint. Isn’t that what effective communications is all about?

Fight off distractions. Train yourself to listen carefully despite such external distractions as a ringing telephone, passersby, or outside noises. Focus on words, ideas, feelings, and the underlying intent of others.

Do not trust your memory. Take notes, when appropriate. However, keep your notes brief, because listening ability is impaired while you are writing. All you need to write down is something to jog your memory later so that you can recall the complete content of the message.

Use feedback. Constantly try to check your understanding of what you hear. Do not hear only what you want to hear. In addition, consistently check to see if the other person wants to comment or respond to what you have previously said.

Relax. When your people are speaking to you, try to put them at ease by creating a relaxed and accepting environment. Do not give the impression you want to jump right in and speak.

Listen attentively. Face others straight on, with uncrossed arms and legs, and lean slightly forward. Establish good eye contact. Nod affirmatively and use appropriate facial expressions when called for, but do not overdo it.

Create a positive listening environment. Try to ensure an atmosphere of privacy away from sources of distraction. Do not violate the other person’s “personal space.” Take great effort to make sure that the environment is conducive to effective listening.

Ask questions. Ask open-ended questions to allow others to express their feelings and thoughts. The effective use of questions shows them that you are interested and that you are listening, and it allows you to contribute to the conversation.

Be motivated to listen. Without the proper attitude, all the previous suggestions for effective listening are for naught. Try to keep in mind that there is no such thing as an uninteresting speaker — there are only disinterested listeners.

Sustain your good image with Pausitiveness

Aug 23

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Personal Development | No Comments

For a sustained good image, master emotional self-control. “Those who command themselves,” goes an old saying, “command others.” That is true, and it means being disciplined enough to put your personal feelings on hold even when tempted to blow your stack.

If you otherwise make a great first impression, yet allow yourself to be pushed over the edge to rant and rave and to say and do things that you later regret, that is the “you” that will be remembered. Your hard-won image of positiveness or enthusiasm can be shattered in an instant. It will take much damage control to undo even one such outburst.

One executive, whom I’ll call Harry, seeks to project himself as fair, sensitive, highly knowledgeable, a good listener, and, above all, tranquil under fire. However, his volcanic temper is never far from exploding. Moreover, when it does erupt in an outpouring of vitriol, no one is safe. After his emotional eruptions, no one looks him squarely in the eye for quite some time as he tries to resume his role as good ol’ Harry, the wise, imperturbable leader.

What Harry needs is what I call pausitiveness: the ability to pause and refrain from giving immediate feedback. Many an argument can be avoided if one side refuses to be defensive. That is because feedback, while generally a good idea, can be like throwing gasoline on a fire if you misunderstand the intent of the other person’s message.

Another example: I once was at the home of some friends and was chatting with the wife when her husband, who was running a little late, burst into the room in an apparent huff. Pointing at his shirt collar, he demanded loudly, harshly, “Where did you get this shirt cleaned?” Many spouses, fearing a rebuke, might have counterattacked. However, this woman, in a calm voice without disturbing body language, just named the dry cleaner and said evenly, “Why do you ask?” The husband said it was the first time any cleaner had done his shirt properly and he would like all his shirts done there from now on.

Therefore, clearly, there are times when it is best just to pause, bite your tongue, and restrain your body language and gestures in the face of an implied threat or criticism until the smoke has cleared. Maybe, as it sometimes turns out, there is no crisis at all, or perhaps you wrongly inferred that the other person was being critical. In any event, by remaining calm, you may defuse the situation and, at the very worst, you will not aggravate it.

Remember: People will always believe that what you say in your worst moments is closer to your true beliefs than what you more carefully tailor for their consumption in calmer times.

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