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Featured forum member

Jul 2

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, People!, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments


1. How did you get started in business?

I think I got started in business from birth. My Mum and Dad had corner stores and I was taught business skills at an early age. (I can remember balancing the till while in primary school… It was one of the ways we learnt to count).

After school I worked in One Hour Photoshops, working my way to Manager by the time I was 19. In 1995 I was offered a “job” at a lab as manager.. Turned out they wanted someone to buy it, so I did. This led to the expansion to 2 suburban Kodak Express stores. In 2001 someone offered me an offer too good to refuse so I took it ? (I took a year off and then took up a position as the EA to the Managing Director of the No 3 Photographic Supplier in Aus.)

Meanwhile my hubby, Mick, had been working in various companies doing Security Screens, Window installation, Blinds, Awnings etc. In 1998, I convinced him he should go out on his own. This business – Abacus Screens and Security – while successful, it suffered from my lack of time to manage the business side of things. (Advertising not planned, very much RE-active rather than PRO-active).

In 2000, he was offered a job at one of his suppliers so he took it. Lesson 1: ONE business at a time ?

Fast forward to 2005 and we moved from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast. Mick secured a position at a local screen company. (I am still travelling to Bris 3 days a week). Mick learnt very quickly, the coast was grossly under serviced in the security screen business, so we resurrected Abacus Screens in October 2006

Understanding the problems from “Abacus Mach I” we put a number of things in place up front.

  • We made sure we had enough money to start. Printing, advertising, good ute, etc etc etc. Also enough “buffer cash” for 3 months wages, just to take the pressure off.
  • We joined a couple of networking clubs, so we had people to talk to and bounce ideas off.
  • Mick spent a fair bit of time scoping out who he knew (Lots of his old colleagues have moved to the coast and are now in management and decision making positions with building, window or aluminium companies)

Nearly 2 years down the track and all in going along VERY well.

2. What inspired you to become part of the FBT forum?

Gosh it is soooo long ago now ? From memory I was googling something to do with business and came across FBT. I am a forum junkie and join anything !!! Most though get deleted from my Favourites after 3 months or so when I get bored. So I guess the fact I have been a fairly active member for the past 24 months or so is testimony that the forum is vibrant and above all RELEVANT!!

3. What have been your three biggest business challenges (so far) and how have you overcome them?

  • Finding staff- As with many communities, we have a skills shortage on the coast. (Hmmm Well maybe not We have a “committed worker shortage”. Talk to many business owners (especially “tradie types” in any coastal community) and , if the surf is pumping, the sickie rate is high ?)
  • We have overcome this by asking prospective employees LOTS of questions (I asked the forum to give me some questions to ask – Thanks Guys!!) and following up references. My number one telling question with references is “Would you be happy to have “Fred” work for you again?”
  • Marketing – With my background in retail I have great skills in creating a rapport to keep customers coming back and back. Abacus presents a different scenario wherein, generally, we only see our customers once or twice Overcoming this is an ongoing process. I ask a LOT of questions of similar, non-competing businesses. Eg our local winner of “Young Woman in Business” is in the steel shed business, so I rang her up, took her out for coffee and picked her brain.
  • Managing Growth – Mick is getting a reputation among builders for being good ? So being able to say NO is difficult. We have learnt to say No gently, “No you can’t have it in 5 days but is 7 ok?” If he delivers in 5 Great!! But at least he doesn’t have to. Having a buffer allows us to outsource the manufacturing if need be.

4. What five tips would you give to a person starting in business?

  • Know your craft. (It astounds me how many people have NO idea about any part of the business they are in – Often seen in franchise owners)
  • Learn the basics of book keeping. It is VITALLY important to know the basics of profit and loss and the difference between Gross profit and Nett profit. I see too many people who think they can buy something for $10, sell it for $20 and think they have made $10!!
  • Work ON the business. Of course you will read that everywhere, but what does it mean? It is the time to do bookwork, time to think of marketing strategies, time to work on staffing, time for networking. You need to MAKE time. If you feel you have no time because you are actually doing the job- get some staff and let them do the job!! If you have staff for 1 day, use that day to work ON your business.
  • Make sure you (and your family)are healthy. As an employee, it is ok to have a day off to be sick or look after the kids when they are sick. It is much more difficult to do this as a small business. Keep fit and eat well.
  • Balance family life Keep a diary. USE it. I have been known to schedule family time. But it IS important to block time out in your diary for yourself. Remember that in the overall scheme of life, your kids and family is worth FAR more than any business. Little Billy’s birthday party is infinitely more important than any business meeting. If you already had a meeting with Client A and Client B wanted to meet at the same time, you would reschedule… Family is ALWAYS Client A!!.

5. Is there anything you would like to say about being in business, and or being an active part of learning more from Internet type forums?
Internet forums can be a good source of information and networking. FBT has a great cross section of industries and people who are ready to help. There is no such thing as a silly question!

6. The best part about being in business is…
The journey ?
I like to think of any of our businesses like a baby. They took a year or so of sleepless nights and teething troubles, then they walk all by themselves and eventually don’t need you anymore ? Along the way you need to guide and point them in the right direction, they won’t just grow on their own. Discipline is important and , if you get it right, you raise a healthy self sufficient entity, with a life of its own.

Mick Moynihan & Sue Josephson

Abacus Screens
25/6 Beerburrum Street
DICKY BEACH Qld 4551
Ph 5491 5489
Fax 5439 4125
www.abacusscreens.com.au

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The eco friendly recruiter

Jul 2

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, People! | 1 Comment

When your business is madly intent on hiring staff, they probably do like many others do and follow a standard formula…

Advertise  - get responses – sort – send a note back saying “we have received” – Then a “thanks but no thanks” note to the short listed ones… – interview etc… Oh what a hassle.

Some of you will be Thinking cut out the note sending part…  “I just ignore the people it’s my business and why should I care”. Sorry to feel you might think this way, however a short letter can at least let the good folks know you do care and respect their time and effort for applying, after all their efforts in your business could make you extra $$.

However if things are done a little differently you could make things a little easier and in the process possibly speed things up.

Recently I saw something, which turned the standard formula slightly on its head. First the company asked for short email responses to a bunch of simple criteria (less paper up front, and it shows they have SOME degree of computer literacy.) Then they replied to the email with the following email letter.

The response letter simply read…. “Thanks for your application, if you are required for an interview we will call you.”

Nothing more to say, no need for a second letter out, no need to say “The standard of applications was high etc.” none of that.

The other thing they did, was not ask for a resume or long responses to a heap of selection criteria… They asked for just short responses in the first instance. If the person then “made the grade” they got a phone call for a brief phone interview.

The good thing about this from my perspective was the way they would have probably caught a heap of people off guard, those who are used to the selection criteria bit… They would have had to think outside the square.

Interesting, they saved paper, they saved time, tested some IT skills and therefore saved money…

Are there other ways we can all recruit staff which will save us time and money and probably show a little creativity to boot? Yes.

Feedback and Communication

Jun 27

Posted by Steve Gray in People! | No Comments

.

Dear Manager, you have a job to do, and most of the time you execute the details of the job well, you crunch numbers, place orders, induct staff, roster staff, look after OHS issues, keep staff on track, organise stock-takes, and who knows, probably a WHOLE lot more. You are clearly a busy person, so here are a few questions which hopefully might lead to making your job easier and less stressful…

Do you:

  • Provide feedback to staff you chat to, (after a few weeks of them being with the organisation), which is fair and unbiased, clear and concise? Is it based on fact and does it drag up old information which should be excluded from the new feedback discussion? (e.g. their performance in their first few days which was probably rocky at best…)
  • Set times with the new staff member to catch up and explore how they are going and provide relevant feedback?
  • Gather relevant facts on situations you may walk into and probably prejudged (even though what you may have said at the time seemed to be the right thing.) Or did you not think to ask, but acted first… Oh and how will it feel if you have to apologise later…
  • Have a guidelines to follow, which are fair and reasonable for a new staff member to learn and is that clearly communicated to them when they start?
  • Outline how you will measure a new staff members performance against your performance guidelines?
  • Keep a list of what training opportunities are available and are sure about how they are communicated to the new staff member, not having to rely on your memory? “Oops, sorry we missed you in that training session, we do this session every so often and will include you next time.”
  • Get feedback from people on your team to ensure your communication style works with them and not against them or you in the long term?

Yours faithfully

Interested observer…

.

If you, as a Manager, answered a few of these with some doubt or trepidation you should stop what you are doing and rectify the situation immediately. If not the pain of inaction might just cause you more grief in the future.

Ask, how do I:

  • Induct new staff? – Do you know what you expect them to learn and what they should know?
  • Track their progress? – Is it a simple paper based checklist, indicating things they are shown, if they are competent, then proficient? and in what sort of time frame is all this expected…
  • Provide feedback – Try following a, Praise – Improve – Praise model, where you praise them for a few things, list a few things for possible improvement and finish on a few positive praise points. Then outline ways YOU will mentor and coach them to overcome any challenges. This PIP model can make them feel more at ease knowing you follow a positive model with them.
  • Edit what you do to ensure challenges like this are caught well in advance, so you and the team you work with are happy, effective and enthusiastic members of the workplace.

I’m sure you will want less stress and minimal hassle in the organisation and adding some of these to your repertoire of management tools will go a long way to building a culture where respect and fairness are the hallmarks, not fear and derision..

Bitter, grumpy annoyed… get over it!

Jun 24

Posted by Steve Gray in Chill out!, Excellence!, People!, Personal Development, The Customer Service Dept | 2 Comments

I have been on about good customer service for years now, and while I recognise it can take a lot to make it happen, it’s a thing, which needs to happen.

In my more recent travels I have noticed bitter, grumpy and annoyed people operating businesses. It’s one thing to have grumpy staff, but quite another to see the operator of the business in this “state”. Seriously if you want to be in business and be a grouch stay out of site of the customers…

I guess it’s in part due to the Global Financial Crisis or at least compounded by it, to the point where people are wondering about where the next customer and cash is going to come from. Okay so you may not be able to do much about that, (especially if you have spent all your marketing budget already!) So you have to sit and wait… BUT if that can’t change, what about you?

To alter being a “grump” you may have to take a stance and force yourself to be happy. try a few of these.

  • Write a sign for yourself “Be Happy!” and put it where it can be seen by you and not the customer, make a bunch of them, put them up and act on them.
  • Make a list of things that make you happy and each day “do” something on that list somehow… and DON”T give me the line of “Oh I don’t have time…”
  • Get or make a CD of a bunch of funny things, jokes etc by comedians you really like and laugh at even though you have heard them a zillion times, play it on the way to the office, and LAUGH heartily!
  • Look up, yes it’s that simple, look up and try to not feel good, hard to do eh? Note how glum people tend to look down a lot, makes sense right…
  • Tell  your staff to tell you to smarten up… Go on I dare you to.
  • Make a list of the things getting you down, now write a bunch of ways to fix them, then act on it… go on do that now! Keep adding to the solutions list.
  • Take a five minute stroll, go out of the office or store, walk briskly and get the blood pumping.
  • De stress, mediate or do whatever thing helps you to de stress (without hurting others or things…)
  • Get an unreasonable friend, one who can hold you to your promises, and chat to them about ways to work around your challenges, share a few jokes etc.
  • Kick a footy, It won’t de stress everyone, but It might work for you, heck even going to a sports shop and buying one might break your routine enough, no cash? Borrow one off a kid in your street… hey imagine going door to do and asking “Does your kid have a footy I can borrow for an hour?” Heck that kid has probably been looking for a kick to kick friend for ages.
  • Go to an Art Gallery or five for a few minutes, I used to do this when driving around in a van all over the city, I would drop in to see contemporary art, (no cost!) and I knew where heaps of them where so I could get to one fast for a break in routine. Oh and turn your mobile off for the few minutes you are there. ;) Seeing other people’s “views” on and about the “human condition” can be useful.
  • Put a picture of yourself up on the fridge at home and yell at yourself… Did you like that? Now think about the last time you yelled at someone, did that feel good? Perhaps for you, how about them? Get the point, it’s not good.
So make yourself a “grump free zone” and get out amongst the customers with a happy disposition and see if that impacts well on sales or even just staff morale.

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Good connections

Jun 15

Posted by Steve Gray in Innovation and Creativity, People!, Planning, The Marketing Dept | 1 Comment

One of our guru lads over here is Ross Hill, on his Blog is a great piece of intriguing information I think all businesspeople and educators can learn a lot from.

He starts off talking about games and what makes them addictive… Then he goes on to show the comparison to social media (“aint” that the buzz at the moment) then I figure if you know what makes social media addictive, you could create a business that is addictive for your customers.

Imagine that people addicted to what you have, and they keep coming back to buy more… Yep the old loyal customer routine. Only now (thanks to Ross and others…) we can start to build an understanding of how that happens, so lets do it for business. Oh I mentioned educators as well, in a stale classroom, sit down, shut up, take down these notes… a fresh perspective on what engages people has got to be useful!

I’m going to cut to the chase here… The five central elements of Game Mechanics are:

  • Collecting things.
  • Earning Points.
  • Getting/giving feedback.
  • Exchanges/Gifting.
  • User Customization.
In looking at the game mechanics and the social media link up to it there are plenty of things that make these points work, If you ever played pinball, getting the high score was way cool, in the latter day digital gamers world collecting things to give you more power, gifts, tokens etc was way cool too. then in a connected world being able to give feedback via facebook, twitter etc became a big buzz. then they allowed “games” of giving flowers, plants (virtual etc…)
Let’s go across to:
Business…
  • Collecting things – Tokens in adverts.
  • Earning points – Buy five things get the sixth one free or at a discount (loyalty card ticked off.)
  • Getting/giving feedback – Hello – how are you – query form.
  • Exchanges/gifting – For every $10 you spend we give $1 to charity…
  • Customisation – if you have an online store they can personalise in some way then that’s useful.
Education…
  • Collect and bring things for show and tell.
  • Get points for good behaviour.
  • Discussing progress – giving feedback on what they liked in class.
  • Exchanges of information in group sessions
  • Customising by selecting which type of final assessment device they want to choose.
These are a few examples of possibilities, I’m sure there are plenty more, the thing is making sure you can provide enough to ensure your service is the one they are addicted to.
If you are still not sure about any of this check out Mc Donald’s and think about their happy meals for kids… you get a toy to collect, while the parent is there they probably buy something too, so even just having a single part of the formula in place can be highly valuable. Now put on your thinking caps and come up with a few ways you can use this information to your advantage.
I’m almost excited about the prospect of saying AND… lets add in our target market personality types, motivators and Drivers it would really assist us to be able truly effectively hit them between the eye’s with solid targeted information they want to act on… but perhaps I better leave that for another day… Oh and remember if you need assistance to figure out ways to do this sort of thing chat to your friendly branding expert, they are sure to help.

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Workplace Bullying Policy

Jun 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Health and Safety Dept, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

Don’t turn off and stop reading because you are a small business, Don’t stop reading because you believe you have all the bases covered on this one, and just because your people in the HR department say there is no need for such a thing due to no cases of it at this point be wary of that.

Imagine you employ a bright eyed graduate or fresh faced school leaver brimming with interest and potential, then after a few weeks you see them with less of a smile, less of a pep in their step. For most people watching this person they might say, yep the realities of being in a job have kicked in, he he!

That can be the case, but what if they have found their supervisor or a co-worker has given then some grief, a few terse words, a few statements which have impacted on their esteem. This might seem like petty stuff but the impact of this sort of situation can get out of hand very quickly, the worker may feel powerless, in a bind, awkward, berated, useless and so on.

Your business has a duty of care,  you have a duty of care and this needs to be stated up front that everyone in the organisation also has a duty of care. Therefore that being the case guidelines need to be in place to clearly out line what actions are taken in situations like this and to spell out some basics as to what might constitute bullying, harassment and other situations which might impact a persons esteem.

Okay so now a bunch of  you are saying “Hey the hell do I have to care about a persons esteem? Heck I pay them to do a job, they should do it and put up with the situation, they should harden up, the world is a tough place…”

My view on that is how can you not care about a person you employ… If you are not into caring, avoid being in business. If you don’t care, your customers won’t either and then your staff will soon disappear. Yes it’s that basic, and you need to ensure you have the situation covered or you could be caught out VERY QUICKLY.

So do the right thing and have one ready to implement now, I suggest at the very least you do a search on google and see what comes up, grab one that suits and use it. for a rock solid start try the public service in your country and see what they have you can edit to make it your own. one I looked at recently had a 44 page doc you could download easily enough and it had various examples as well. http://www.apsc.gov.au/ethics/respect.pdf

To finish, imagine this, you are interviewing people for a job, on telling them about the organisation you are able to show them a copy of your bullying policy. It shows you care, it shows you will not tolerate people who don’t care, it shows you want to have happy people enjoying being part of the team, together everyone feels safe and in a organisation which values people, enough said…

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Basics are basics…

Jun 1

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Growth, Leadership, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

It’s June 2009 the global financial crisis is still happening. Watched a documentary on Chinese businesses going under, huge factories closed down, lots of out of region migrant workers now displaced. Sure this was one province (Guangdong) and particularly one city Dong Guan, so probably not a big cross section to measure by. The show was on SBS Australia’s Dateline (May 31) and showed a range of businesses closed and gutted out.

Here’s a quote from the show “In Guangdong province alone, 60,000 factories have now closed down and millions of migrant workers are searching for work.”

My first thought was what were they making? well it’s interesting the businesses included a printing plant, toy factories, and jewelry manufacturing… My second thought was do they make for the local market or export, export… third question, is the product a need or a want, mainly want.

So it comes down to the basics if the majority of what is produced is not for needs when a downturn comes the wants are dropped first. When an external order from overseas is pulled then the whole thing can collapse quickly. as the local economy is hanging on wants, the failure of one is felt across all.

Learn from this huge scale disaster and make sure you have a balance of income from needs based sources as well as wants based sources. If you have shares in a grocery company Co for example it seems logical that they supply the needs of people, then take your own business think about how you can supply to the needs based customers. Think carefully about this as a form of insurance to ensure you can balance your wants and needs to ensure sustainability.

Happiness – workplace style…

May 19

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

Just for a moment think about your life, do you do things better when you are happy or grumpy/sad? Now think about business, do  you prefer to deal with people who are grumpy/sad or happy?

It’s a no brainer really, however there are many people looking to change jobs, move on, move up, move out! Why generally because they are unhappy. As an employer it’s part of your unwritten “duty of care” to provide an environment where staff are happy.

A small family business might seem like a great thing and how you treat family can be quite different from general staff. You might be happy to work at an old desk loaded with irrelevant papers and bits and pieces, but an employee probably will be put off by that.

I guess the moral of this is think about it. Take time to evaluate, if a new employee is due to start next week, make it a major priority to make their starting off in your business fantastic.

Here’s a few reasons why:

  • Change can be difficult for people, new surrounds new names, new everything! It can take a while to get used to.
  • Moving jobs means altering routines, wake up times, transport changes, family routines alter.
  • A new job with different systems can take quite a while to adapt to.
  • A new role may mean there are changes to who is leading who, this can cause challenges.
So imagine starting them off in the ideal situation…
  • Start them with half a day’s work, late in a week, so there is little monday rush and weekend panic.
  • Be their “work buddy” show them where everything is and how things are done.
  • Check in with them regularly to see what stands out as issue, then aim to resolve them fast.
  • Make sure all the “paperwork” is sorted for their superannuation and so on, early…
  • Advise all other staff to wear their name tags more often in that start up phase so the new person does not stress about things like names.
We could make a really long list here (please do!) and I hope you get the idea. Happiness even in a recession is vital to ensure your staff perform to their best ability, perhaps not in the short term but later on when they are up to speed.
Make time to be there for the new recruit and ensure as many things as possible go right for them so they feel at ease.

Are you Yammering?

Apr 22

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, People!, Planning, The Operations Dept | 2 Comments

https://www.yammer.com/

This is like Twitter, but just for your organistation. If you have a bunch of people with intra company email addresses, they can connect and chat, just like twitter does on a global scale. It works on the premise of “what are you doing now?” as the main question. Then as people use it they find others working on things similar to them, or they may have an answer or a resource for someone else where working on something.

Productivity tools just got a kick in the backside folks!

Free Training YAY! ??

Apr 19

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

Local paper, classified training section, courses on offer with local accredited training org’s there are free courses in pre apprenticeship training, and various others to assist to up skill people… seems good, fairly non eventful stuff. It looks like the government and trying to boost things along with the freebies (have done for some time now…

However I looked down to see a small business start up course to explore new biz ideas, read through, looked okay but you have to pay… hmm at first I ranted and raved to the wife about “THIS SHOULD BE FREE!! dammit!” then got the raised eyebrow and a chat about “yeah, yeah… bla blahhhh… get over it..” and I stopped, then thought…

Hmm they should pay but then at the successful completion of the course get their money back… a money back redemption, perhaps a discount or a carry over to another course to take the idea further, or better still a chance to thrash the idea out that bit deeper with a mentor.

A nine week program, Perhaps I should go along and play devils advocate… thoughts?

Companies shirk responsibilities

Apr 18

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

Ok so this is my view… but how dare a company employ people and not cover their entitlements when the whole thing goes belly up…

Here’s an example from our local newspaper, on Melba Industries.

The company does not have the funds to cover their staff entitlements now they are being liquidated. As business go along they find the money (put it away earlier) to cover tax requirements, and allegedly the same with Superannuation payments etc… so why not put away an amount to cover entitlements.

Or at worst I guess it could come out of a DRF (Debt Reserve Fund) of some kind. How about some form of insurance they have to pay into, or a compulsory savings plan for employee entitlements, that way the real profits could show through and the issue could not be so big.

Hey folks don’t hold your breath waiting for the government to do something about it, do the right thing from the start, take the whole duty of care situation more seriously and cover those entitlements.

Falling? Then get up…

Feb 23

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

I’m always finding myself saying “Fall down 5 times then get up six times…” But I can’t say it as well as this guy!

In times of challenge you need to be in the right frame of mind to come out on top, check the video and let me know what you think…

Crunch time is nigh…

Feb 18

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

On the news this morning more jobs lost 600 here 400 there and that’s just in Australia… so where to from here?

Well people will pull their heads in then even more slowly let them out, I guess the smart money is on businesses, which provide a need for customers, then there’s those which put a spin on their want type of business so it sounds like people need it. (check out any of the infomercials selling “stuff” on the TV…)

The challenge as I see it, is being able to overcome the time factor in the ongoing “recession” just how long will it take to get beyond the tipping point and back to reality? The last recession we had was in the late 80′s and once revealed I guess it was 9 – 12 months before things bounced back.

During that recession, I was delivering Pizzas and attending my second chunk of Uni. So I was more or less out of the loop so to speak. One thing, which stood out, was, although there were plenty of people doing it tough, there were still people with cash to spare (Most nights of the week our little Pizza store had upwards of five drivers zipping about the burbs delivering $15+ hot and tasty pizzas… ok more luke warm and barely tasty…).

So now we are starting to see the jobs fall, and people panic a little what really happens in the background?

Well, bigger businesses have less exports, then they put off workers in big chunks, that causes the local community those people come from to hiccup… Once previous solid communities reel under the instant burden of a whole bunch of homes coming onto the market, the good people from those homes scramble to find work, relearn, redeploy, retire, relocate or rest… The real estate and share prices take a beating and things stabilise as they find their value.

In the scramble the majority of folks and businesses will be running about screaming “the sky is falling!”, while at the top of the heap, (read top 3 – 10%) a bit of shuffling takes place in their seats, buttons are pushed, memos are sent, meetings are held and a dip in their finances is about all that shows as they adjust the position of their sails, nudge the tiller and head for clearer open water. It seems these businesses have different GPS devices to the rest…

The lesson from the top of the heap is to cover your butt and make sure that during the up times you let your profits run, so in the lean times you work the profit margin hard so it shows it’s true worth in the lean times. The lesson from the bottom of the heap is “PANIC!, push and shove, the fastest and fittest will survive…”

Tough times show the real side of people and businesses I guess, lets just hope there are more of the top of the heap types about, so we can learn from and heed their advice.

We are dumb… USE IT!

Feb 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept | 1 Comment

Ok.. some of you are… (not you specifically…)

I wanted to raise your interest in a thought I had this morning watching the news, someone did something dumb and I thought “Derrh! what an idiot”, then I started to mentally add up the dumb stuff…

  • Stop violence against women, great idea, but why not just Stop Violence…
  • War, probably the dumbest concept of all time…
  • Teachers stand and deliver to classes with an attention span of two seconds, heck cut the crap give the kids engaging material which causes them to want to be interested.
  • Cigarettes, no nutritional value, no other value, not even cool anymore… BUT people buy them. I don’t get it, never have, never will, dumb…
  • Barriers on high bridges to stop suiciders jumping, no biggy put them in NOW! Or give them a trampoline to make it a fun exit… (apologies if that offends).
  • Transport ticketing systems that cost millions and don’t work, hmm other countries have systems that work, copy them…
  • Solar panels for power on roofs, umm, hey guys someone start a publicly listed energy Co that wants to put them on the roofs of businesses, let alone houses, the economy of scale makes it useful surely. Could be a way of stimulating the share market again…
  • Cars that burglars can break into easily still. just set a std guideline that says the car Co’s have to fix the problem now… how long has this been an issue… grr DUMB.
  • Paperless offices, great idea, simple answer, stop selling printers… then watch people sort out the issue fast.
  • Empty shops, as long as shops are owned by private enterprise there will be issues. Too many too expensive and in poor order. Too many are running at a loss so they don’t have to pay too much tax, yep that’s why there are so many crap ones about.
  • Too many grumpy old guys, over fifty, out of work, become grumpy and a burden somehow. No one likes a grumpy person, and too many guys over fifty (oops that’s me too!) have to contend with being redundant and replaced (young kids are cheaper, faster and tech savvy…. grr!) run down… I call it “Death of a Salesman syndrome” (after the play and book of the same name.) The wisdom these guys can have collectively should be used (somehow) and not shelved.
  • Councils… (I guess that speaks for itself in some ways.) many people whinge about them…
  • Defence forces (perhaps that should be offence forces) what if they were peace keeping forces that if a hostile situation broke out they could be quickly retrained to shoot etc… a humanitarin force not in combat camoflague.
  • Water, it’s every where, but not a drop to drink (too salty) but hey we have to import the technology and use up precious power to run a desalination plant… (when we get it) and will it be enough? and hey why not put the water in to the top of the river system so the whole state can benefit… dumb, and why not investigate a solar powered one? Anyone go a prototype of a portable model?
  • Too much alcohol is causing major punch ups and violence… so stop serving it in ways where people can consume too much.
  • No power, we are running out of power on hot days to run airconditioners, they still sell heaps of them though… any solar power cells in your area? What about a wind turbine? Heck there are enough power poles, can we have mini turbines to mount atop these?
  • We have water usage issues, yet they still sell inefficient washing machines, dishwashers etc. DUMB, just sell us the best, hey do that for power too.
  • Every year thousands of new businesses start up and lose HEAPS of money when they go belly up in a few months… DUMB! Lets come up with ways to set up these start ups so they have the BEST chance of thriving. lets create “thinkubators” to make it easy for them to learn about business, research, get started and supported in the all too important start up phase. heck a stimulus package for businesses like this could have BRILLIANT flow on effects… I guess this means the government ins DUMB for not thinking of it.
  • $2 shops, heck I can buy all sorts of garbage for next to nothing, do we need it? nope, do we want it? not really does it help the economy? hmm ask people in local manufacturing if it helps them… does it help the businesses in high st anywhere look good? nup… dumb…
  • Op shops that open in main streets next to or near fashion shops… ooh nothing drags down retail areas more than an op shop. OKAY! they have their place BUT can we have some control please… and why so many…(It’s a sign of the times I guess…) DUMB (perhaps it’s the council for not providing guidelines here.)
  • Hand done signs on windows of stores, sure Uncle Harry is a dab hand with a brush, but your specials painted by him on the window look like garbage… you saved how much? and made how much? Nup not bright… in fact DUMB.
  • Bullying… As the economy slips further down the gurgler, Bullies everywhere are able to inflict more pain and hassle on their victims… “they can’t go elsewhere, so they have to put up with me…” (sinister chuckle ensues). Its an OHS ISSUE plan for it, do something and kick their butts.
  • I need a license for a car but not to be a parent, that makes sense… NOT, DUMB… how many dysfunctional families can the world take! Teacher’s everywhere will be able to tell you the hassles they cause. Simple tip folks, a parent’s key role is to build the child’s self esteem… Does it happen enough… nope.
  • Welfare organisations, why so many? Surely five admin departments is better than 25… The cost saving surely is worth it. DUMB! “Oh lets help more people… oops no money left… oh what a pity…”

Go on add to the list (in the comments section please.)

BUT figure out ways to make money out of any of these ideas and you might well be sitting on a goldmine… :)

A thought to finish on… Frank Zappa (musician) in one of his songs loosely said “If we are created in gods image, therefore if we are DUMB then GOD IS DUMB, and maybe even a little ugly on the side…”

 

Change Happens, Handle it…

Jan 23

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

With lots of things happening in the world it makes sense to get a perspective on things, some change you are experiencing may be good, some the opposite. Here are a few things which you may find of value in changing times.

  1. Be positive and have a sense of optimism – So things are changing… You can say “Oh woe is me…” or you can say “Whoa! Things are changing WOO HOO!” the choice is yours, an optimistic approach generally works out for the better, it puts your “spirit” somehow into the right frame to handle and accept things.
  2. Change can be good – Ignore it and it can be bad too… – You need to decide fast what’s happening and what fits to your core values and beliefs, if it fits well then go for it, if it doesn’t consider taking another path.
  3. You have a range of skills to handle change already – You’re an adult right? You have fallen over and picked yourself up from an early age, some of us may seem to fall over more often, so some of us may have more skills to deal with the situation. Reflect and remember all those things you have overcome, were you stronger at the end of it? Chances are yes… Tally up the skills you have, now put them into action.
  4. Not letting excuses and negative emotions stop you – Feel the fear and do it anyway can be useful at times, and this may be one of them. Ask yourself what are my excuses and negative emotions around this issue and what would I prefer them to be? Go on write them down so you can tackle them HEAD ON.
  5. The more you resist change, the more things may not happen how you want – I am not saying this is always the case but often it seems this way, and have you ever met someone that said “I should have done this earlier?” uh huh… and where would you prefer to be, starting out early or late? And ask this was anything I resisted in a change way in the past ever really that bad?
  6. What stories are you telling yourself? – Your self-talk is the one thing, which might just be holding you back, check out No: 4 again… is it your self-talk trying to “protect you?” from what? The unknown? Is it really unknown? Or is your self-talk wanting to “set you free” and explore everything this new change may bring…
  7. Deeper meaning, is it part of that? – Some of you will have a faith, which may suggest you are part of a bigger plan, some of you may have figured it out for yourself… Some of you look at the chaos and challenges and say meaning is impossible, check out No:1 again and ask “Which do I want to be part of, a bigger plan or not, Chances are  your “gods” (or demons…) will make sure it happens for you the way you want.
  8. Get a support team – Ask who can help me, who will understand? Then take a leap of faith to get them on board, they might be an email contact, a person to call on the phone, a buddy you can catch up with live. Whoever and however, carefully consider getting a team, a rock solid positive team of people who can hold you to the standard you want to be held to.
  9. Create a plan and take action – If you have not started jotting down things from the above list already I would be surprised. I care not for what sort of plan it is, but write it down! Perhaps keep a plan journal, consider reading your key plan points daily, or a wall plan, gather photo’s and collage a new you lifestyle plan on a wall chart… Keep it simple, real and vibrant. It’s your life, live it the right way, the way that makes the most sense to you. Oh and yes, take action, all the best thoughts in the world are worthless without action.

Recruiting in tough times

Jan 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

The economy is in turmoil, your staff are jittery, the sales forecasts are still okay and you actually need more staff, we live in interesting times! But to recruit takes up precious time and resources, the position you have in mind is just not quite up to using the recruitment company so you want try a more creative approach, after all the standard methods still have some quirks, issues and challenges. The number one thing is the time they take up.

You get some ideas together and decide to go for it, but what might be a way to cut back on the sheer volume of applications the role might attract from job seekers?

Consider a different approach, here are some thoughts.

  • The role and the job – You probably have a fairly good idea of the responsibilities the new employee will undertake, logical task skills are one thing, however knowing the type of personality which will fit with the role, the team and the company is another. Visualise the right type of person, how they act, hold themselves and perform, now go and find that person.
  • The advert – Normally adverts cost a bunch, but if you keep it short sharp and to the point you can keep costs down.
  • The web edge - It’s not new to have a recruitment section on your website, (usually an email address to send applications to) but as a filtering device it might be a fresh approach. Use the advert to send people to the web page, there you can set up a page relatively cost effectively and alter it to suit. Ask the big questions you want answered after telling them the basics about the job and remuneration. Also outline the process in steps so they have an idea of what’s happening.
  • Keep your resume – They are usually a few pages, a lot of scanning and or printing has to take place etc… what a hassle, I would rather scan a single page than 4+. Therefore ask the applicant to create a one page response to a few questions citing examples of how they did things in set situations.
  • Call them – From the process above you now have a bunch of one page responses from candidates. Now you can formulate a quick phone interview process,  you ring and tell them you want some short responses to assist you in going further… it might go something like this… “Give me a snapshot of your resume, e.g. a few places you have worked and achievements,  you have 1 minute” time them and see what happens, if they are engrossing in a positive way you can decide to let them chat on or stop them. You could even make it 30 seconds. Add a few questions to delve deeper on some key issues (team work and communication might be a start.) Now make sure you can short list from this bunch and let the really no goers know via email.
  • Short list – The good ones are left, you could pick a few and re call them and ask more questions, you could invite them to a group session (five people in a room for 1/2 an hr is cheaper time wise than five 1/2 hour sessions at separate interviews.) Or you could ask them to create another 1 page response, or even send in their resume… You could also just interview them, either way go with your heart on who stands out from the crowd first and then go for the logical fit later.

This type of process can be useful for many roles, it makes it easier to sort the main players out and gives you the chance to get through the candidates fast. Happy hunting!

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Asset protection

Nov 7

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

In turbulent times there are the basics that need to be looked after like revenue needs to be more than expenses, but then again that should always happen, but in doing the basics an asset protection policy is always good too, who would like to loose a good performing asset right? but I am seeing too much of organisations not looking out for their assets, in particular the employees. So check this article out, It has a few clues.

Even in our own site we have lots of articles on employee engagement to give you more clues.

In closing I think that the basics are often underrated, so ask yourself what are the basics of a successful business and how can we maintain and then build on the basics, provide protection (security) and communicate that your organisation is here for the long haul, in an environment of fear, the security or sense of it will be well worth it in the long run.

Change, innovation and pure survival…

Oct 29

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | 1 Comment

In the tumultuous financial crisis and the uncertainty it causes, there is one thing for certain, Change is happening. Sure it’s not a change that organisations implemented, and for many it’s a change they did not have a contingency plan for but it’s happening and if your organisation needs to do something about it, then your training in innovation will put  you in good stead… What’s that you have no training in innovation… ooh.

Well lets get one thing straight the ability to handle change is important, the attitude, the planning, the stance the leadership skills, they are all important in an age where Improvise, adapt, overcome becomes the hallmark of a survivor.

If you need to be able to think about new strategies and brainstorm with others, then petty office politics and ineffective interpersonal communication needs to be put aside. In a crisis it can be “every man for himself” or “Lets get the team together and nut out the best way forward NOW…”

Either way it probably comes down to you the leader to find a way forward, to make the right moves (or at least have a go) sure you might make mistakes, sure the road might be tough, sure there can be unexpected thing pop up, but if you don’t face reality then you might be wondering what’s happening next.

Wonder no longer, and be the one that sets the team up to thrive, if they fall short of that they survive, so the high goal needs to be there to ensure things go on. It’s up to the senior people in the organisation to provide the leadership, to use innovative and creative techniques.

In sot if you are not providing the right environment, skills, attitudes and mindset to make it through then folks the end is nigh, but if you are putting you best feet forwad, then if the grim hand of failure comes your way you will have known you put in a top effort to weather the storm. I guess the decision to act and make a stand is up to you, or not…

On the edge…

Oct 27

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

When tough times strike my heart goes out to those businesses on the edge, and of course instead of talking about daily things that can trip up a marginal business, we are now talking about bigger fundamental global meltdown type trip ups.

So when the going gets tough how many of the businesses on the edge have a debt reserve fund, or a plan b, or an innovative structure, system, marketing plan etc to get them out of the jam? probably too few. Then on the business front, if they are a “want” type of business do they have their fingers in the pie of a “needs based” business to be able to handle the changing spend patterns of consumers… probably not.

Here’s 8 quick points to give you the edge in tough times.

  1. Have a plan A, then have a plan B, just in case!
  2. Have some reserves, stuff happens so be ready for downturns.
  3. Needs based V’s Want based, if you sell gifts for example, you might want to look at developing a needs based business to complement it, this way you cover your butt when customers walk away from the niceties. Consider diversifying into an online business of some kind that is easy to manage from your want based business, get busy while it’s quiet.
  4. Keep marketing, but make sure it’s making you money, don’t throw money out and get NOTHING back, measure it carefully, get smart about how it works.
  5. Keep the team informed, fear can run deep and fast, let them know what you are doing or plan to do to weather the storm. Batten down the hatches but make sure they know where the exits are…
  6. Lead, now more than ever the team needs you, teach them GREAT customer service, if people get picky  you need to have the BEST people upfront, with the BEST service, now more than ever. Get out on the floor and look for gaps, are they smiling, are they happy, do they know the products and or services inside and out? No? train them…
  7. Be nimble, change is a given so learn to love it, zig when the others lag or zag. This way you can be there when the others have fallen by the wayside.
  8. Improve your systems, now is a great time to tighten up on how things tick over, ask hard questions like “Are we doing things the best way?” “How can I jump start and or utilise my peoples collective intelligence to give us a lasting edge?”

You get the idea, make a difference, a poisitive difference so your business can take on the challenges tough times provide and see it through successfully. So jump up to the whiteboard and make a start NOW!

Think Globally, Act Locally

Sep 21

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | 1 Comment

I have just been to see WALL•E the animated film, it was fantastic, the graphics, the story, the whole concept was exceptional. So the environmental message? Yep there was one, and as such I figure on a local basis we can be doing things to prevent a “Wall – E – World” from happening… (hey that’s not new is it…)

I know our “Local Authorities” have a long term plan, is it all about growth or does it take into account looking after things,  being the guardians of the planet at a local level. If “all hell broke loose” Could our region survive? Would we have enough of the “right resources” to keep going?

Chances are the long term plan is laced with “Innovation” and “Leadership”, “growth” and the such like, yet down on the ground realistic local action that I can tangibly say “Yep they’re doing something…” is not visible.

Lets take it to our businesses, do we have the ability to diversify in a way that gives us a support base if things go bad? A Debt Reserve Fund of some kind? A range of other “business interests” that allow us to fully serve the wider community? Mostly… No.

I figure that if I went to the local “Planning guide for the next 50 years” created by local authorities and searched in there for business “goals” or “ideals” to assist my business I might go away a bit befuddled by the academic language, the jargon and the rhetoric, however I probably should be silent until I see the “beast” and let it prove me wrong, (or right…)

I urge all business people to act responsibly and find ways they can make positive impacts at all levels of “stake holder interaction” (there’s my chunk of jargon for the day… :) ) so our future can stand the test of time.

The sprung leader…

Sep 12

Posted by Steve Gray in Chill out!, Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, The Customer Service Dept | No Comments

Following on from the spring cleaning theme… is your leader leading the charge? did they “twig” to the change of season? did they come in the door with a renewed spring in their step? Well if the answer is no, maybe you should take the lead and remind them.

Get them focused – ask them to be flexible – give them support and watch them flourish (if not just run the show yourself and do your bit to make the Biz better.)

You see, often it’s the small stuff which happens that makes a difference, and people notice. In a retail setting, pull things off shelves and give the place a great wipe down. In the office, get in a tad earlier and clear out the “crusty” bits from around your area, in the lunch room, in the client areas… make a difference, do it for you and of course you are doing it for “them” the customers.

Reframing, renewing, refreshing it’s all good, so make the most of it.

Wisdom comes in many forms…

Aug 28

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

Fast thinking and wisdom can work wonders, I saw this today and thought it’s well worth reproducing here, enjoy!

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company.

One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he’s lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old poodle thinks, ‘Oh, oh! I’m in deep doo-doo now!’ Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, ‘Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?’

Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. ‘Whew!’ says the leopard, ‘That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!’

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, ‘Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what’s going to happen to that conniving canine!

Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, ‘What am I going to do now?’, but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn’t seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says ‘Where’s that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!

The moral of this story….

Don’t mess with the old .. age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill! Knowledge and wisdom only come with age and experience.

I am in no way insinuating that any of you are old, perhaps some are just youthfully challenged!

Over time I have come to respect the wisdom of the more “mature” around us, and as I get older I hope I  can benefit more from my own wisdom and have the good sense to draw more on the wisdom of others.

In business it can seem like we know it all, (or we think we do) but the reality can be different. I guess the point being to know the difference and profit from it.

Their vision v’s your vision…

Aug 22

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

How about this, an organisation has the following core values as part of it’s vision.

  • Responsibility and Leadership
  • Achievement and Excellence
  • Citizenship and Community
  • Initiative and Commitment

Sounds great, things to aspire to… one problem they don’t do it, well not all of it, here are some points…

  • Staff are failing to take responsibility, citing they do not have the resources to do their jobs fully.
  • Leadership is lacking, no one sure as to who they should follow or what they should do… whose roles is who’s and where do the ‘borders’ stop.
  • Excellence… again resources or the lack of them are cited as an issue… Systemic issues are cited… not enough time… not enough support…
  • Initiative and commitment… A stakeholder took initiative and they basically shunned it, the same stakeholder is working with another stakeholder to build commitment… guess what shunned again.

Not much left except for the third point and they probably have issues with that too…

The vision statement goes on to make a lot of claims about excellence in the provision of service etc… It’s all interesting but they are failing at it. My view, they are failing to hold up the core values and use them as a solid foundation to work from, instead it has become a blame game.

Here’s the irony if you like, this organisation is a school.

A bit deeper look will show that it’s not a simple organisation as there are various stakeholders, parents and students, teachers and admin/managerial staff, so the connections between each, if tenuous, can create a nightmare approach to communication, who said what, when, why, how and so on.

I would love to share the details but the story still has depth despite names and specific issues, but basically a parent supporting their child to achieve, have a commitment, and be accountable has come across some barriers in being able to make this happen.

The big point here is that a symbol has been created (the vision statement with core values) but not followed or fully utilised. I suggest the school (or any organisation for that matter) could alter this disasterous set of situations simply by making sure at every step that the foundation is used to build on, not to branch out from with tenuous connections.

Learning opportunity, if you have a foundation to work from, your role as a business operator, principal, teacher, owner operator, director or whatever. Do your best to work with that foundation, in this case the foundation extols excellence as a hallmark and so it should, but to have a range of stakeholders pointing at each other blaming and shaming, then the end result is far from excellent. By the way, you can “rest assured” the parent is sticking to their guns and will be holding the school accountable to their foundation or core values and hopefully the end results will be worth the rigour and affront.

Things to do to avoid just the title of leader…

Aug 7

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

Think in symbolic terms, if you were a warrior or a goddess, then the title of leader can become more, much more. If you imbue your role with this kind of title (perhaps even just internally) you can then develop a model to work with.

Lets go deeper. I have used the terms Goddess and Warrior, male and female counter rankings. Note I didn’t call the guy a god (that would be a bit much) yet it seems the title of “goddess” is one our culture is comfortable with.

Each of these would share traits in common, so lets put some key traits to the title of leader in here first and then we can start to build a deeper profile from there…

- Strong
- Ethical
- Wise
- Flexible
- Empowering
- Forthright
- Strategic
- Humble
- Hunter – Gatherer
- Spiritual – Inner knowing – Outer reflective
- Commitment
- Powerful
- Focus
- Patient
- Trusting
- Service
- Positive, beliefs and values

So there are “Some” traits a leader might have… and note they can be applied to either the Warrior or the Goddess… so then lets now split hairs and find the things that could shoe the differences between the Goddess and the Warrior.

The following are “loose lists” of possible traits that we can use as starting points for discovery (feel free to add your own to personalise the list for yourself).

Goddess
- Beauty
- Mystery
- Symoblic
- Imagination
- Radiance
- Healer
- Divine
- Evoke/invoke wisdom
- Inner glow

Warrior
- Awareness
- Discipline
- Athletic
- Bold
- Brave
- Openness
- Diplomacy
- Clarity
- Lead by example

Using these lists of “possible traits” our role as leader can now take on a fresh dimensionality. We can now explore what traits we want to build up and those we may like to regress. Some may want to use both the male and female traits and explore them as natural guideposts for the development of our leadership skills.

Think beyond basic leadership skills and open your hearts to the ideas of being a leader that can explore a higher state, a spiritual state if you will, so that the depth of integrity you exude as a leader can include heightened depths of excellence, both for you and for those you lead.

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The important parts of business

Aug 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | 4 Comments

In the “game of business” it would pay to know about the important things, what they are. To me my list is fairly short. To you they might be different altogether.

  1. Product and or service – You better have something of value to offer or they won’t buy.
  2. Leverage – Your time, you work hard, then over time you create a business system that leaves you out of it so others can do it for you, you get the big rewards for the risk taking.
  3. Leverage – Your money, If you started with little or a lot you want to end up with more.
  4. Leverage – Your passion/ideas, You want to get into business perhaps because you have a passion, it may have started as a hobby or an insight into a possible business and now it has you in a tight vice like grip, and as time goes on it becomes even more compelling. So use it to your advantage and let the passion provide the energy drive to motivate you to make it work.
  5. leverage – People. Just because you have an idea or passion doesn’t mean it can’t be improved on, so utilise others to either work directly with you or to gain more information from to make your product/service all they can be. People are the soft resources that make the hard resources a reality.
  6. Systems – At first they might be crude systems to get you going, but over time these should evolve into more elegant devices to make a positive difference (save time, save money, improve health and safety).
  7. Get creative – Note I did not say “Innovate”… Creativity can assist with problem solving and give your business the edge, there are lots of ways to do it. Having an idea is just the beginning, getting things to evolve into practical outcomes might take some harder work, that’s where other practical problem solving might come into the equation.

There that’s a start… do you have any other points to add?

Don’t yell at me lets chat first…

Aug 3

Posted by Steve Gray in Chill out!, Negotiation, People!, Risk Management | No Comments

Many of you know I have a business seminars listing service on another site, I have a bunch of events put in there as a service to the wider business community so people can find events in a “one stop shop” approach for aussie businesses.

I list only publicly available events and have done for about 6-12 months now.

This weekend I got a nasty note “take down our events off your website or we will take legal action”… whoa lets not get too pushy now. So I sent back a note, apologies for not asking permission but hey can we now have permission?

Short answer no… Okay so I pull the events off and send back an apology for creating hassles.

1. There is no need to shout (offering legal action straight up is a bit much in my view) I hear you okay…

2. If the guy had said, “Hey Steve, thanks but no thanks, please remove within 24 hrs as it upsets our measurement systems etc, hope you understand…” I would have been more than happy to do so. Now it just gives me a chance to write another blog entry on communicating.

Ok… so it’s not a big deal but why should he “shout”, when a “chat” would do it just as elegantly and effectively.

Why do I need to lead?

Jul 29

Posted by Steve Gray in Leadership, Personal Development, Starting out in business | No Comments

“Leadership, why do I need leadership skills?” This is a question I get asked often. So  in quick response to that I often come out with… “Oh you need this for lots of reasons…” and then stumble through some of them… sometimes I even forget some of the gems.

Leadership why you need it.

If you are in business.

  • Who provides the direction for the team to follow?
  • You get asked to supervise or “manage” a team?
  • Who ensures the team have the resources they need to do their tasks well?
  • You want more from your current role and need to find a way forward.
  • Who gets and keeps the team focussed?
  • You can see things can be done more effectively but no one is “stepping up to the plate.”
  • Who keeps the red tape to a minimum for the team so they can do what they need to do?
  • An emergency situation arises and time is crucial, you either jump in and lead or sit back and wonder what might have happened.
  • Who goes into “bat” for a team member?
  • You are recognised as being great at what you do, and you are asked your opinion on issues, you can shy away or…
  • Who gets in and gives a hand?
  • You want to start a business and have the “skills” to do the tasks well, but you lack the drive to go the next step.
  • The boss is off sick with the flu, you could sit back and slack it out… or?
  • The value of businesses is shown to be higher when decent leadership is in place. (According to the Institute for Strategic Change, the “stock price of ‘well-led’ companies grew by over 900% over 10 years, compared with 74% for poorly led companies”.)
  • You deal with customers in a service capacity and not just as an order taker, and you want to deliver sterling results.
  • Who knows how to do all these things and more…

In general life

  • What if you get asked to be part of a committee for a club you are part of?
  • Who provides direction when you go out to dinner and decisions need to be made (which restaurant, which food style, which menu options…)
  • Who makes sure things happen in their right order for special events…
  • You want to get more out of the people you deal with on a daily basis and not end up repelling them with nagging in a bid to get results.
  • Who provides the direction for daily living to make it a great experience day in day out…
  • Who sits back and watches their children explore creative play options and steps in to provide direction when needed?
  • You want to boost your confidence and forge new ways forward in life.
  • You want to seek out fresh opportunities in the way you live your life.

Discovering you are living in a world loaded with challenges is sometimes difficult, and over time I have learnt there are some things you can do to make the challenges less of a hassle.  I hope the 7 Steps to Leadership Excellence program is able to give you the edge in this challenging world.

“In life there are opportunities to excel, or not… you get to choose.” Steve Gray

Motivated or driven?

Jul 7

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Personal Development | 1 Comment

In business you deal with people and as such they are an important aspect to the business (in fact read that as VITAL to your business!) so vital that without them things don’t get purchased, sold, manufactured etc… So in the scheme of things you need them, and as such the big question is do you DRIVE them or MOTIVATE them

Firstly the difference as I see it.

DRIVE – Push, bully, manipulate, rush, yell at, demean…

MOTIVATE – Influence, encourage, coach, mentor, support, work with them, respect them…

This goes for internal and external customers, (the staff and the paying customers) if you want the paying customers to stay and buy more of what you have, treat them right, and if you want to keep staff turnover to a minimum, the same TREAT THEM RIGHT!

Simply put figure out what you do, and what other people in your organisation do and see if it is MOTIVATING, because if it’s driving them, it will be driving them away.

Go on, take a REAL look at what’s happening, and if changes need to happen, make them and make them NOW!

Do you want business success?

Jun 12

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchisees, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business | 2 Comments

Getting started in business is one thing, gaining success is another. Many of us will have seen and heard of people who have failed in business even though they felt they had a great business idea and the finances to put behind it to get started… So what went so wrong that it failed?

Lets look firstly at one possible factor, it is said that about 10% of society is motivated to achieve, and of that about 3 % are probably the ones with enough active risk taking motivation or drive to actually get started and see the business through to fruition.

So if you take 100 people and only 3% have the drive or motivation to be able to pull it off, then what happens next?

Out of that possible 3% there may be those that blindly go forth and try being in business and will flog it like a dead horse to try and get a result, even when all the money is gone or vanishing fast.

I guess it’s a time when the emotion of going into business takes over from the logic of it, and before long if there is no “balancer” the person starting the business can run off the rails with ease. Indeed the balancer may well be a person that “holds the purse strings”, figures out the budgets and projects forward when money can be spent.

The “business achiever” on the other hand will still come up with ideas and use their energy and enthusiasm to forge forward, but now within some reasonable constraints.

I figure without the emotional side being constrained by the logical side, all hell can break loose.

So here’s to better business, know your limitations, and balance things out, your long term success might well count on it!

Some before the sales stuff…

Jun 8

Posted by Steve Gray in Negotiation, People!, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Lets say you have done things right and you have a good service or product to sell, and yet people are not buying… What next? Well consider these three interlinked points and see if you can do something with this.

Firstly people start off as suspects, they move to prospect next, then when they buy they become a customer.

So lets figure out the ‘suspect to prospect’ part and see if we can find ways to get them engaged enough to want to buy what you have.

Here are the three points.

1. You are not offering them what they want right now – In a shop, they might walk in to kill some time, or they might want something but they can’t see it right now…

2. Not offering them enough information for them to “sell themselves” on what you have to offer -You can have the best product or service in the world, but if the info is not there to support it how can they ‘process the information.’

3. They don’t want to talk to you, maybe they want to check things out a bit first – This can be a case of “I want to look first and see if it’s okay by my ‘standards’.”

That’s the three points, so lets pull it apart a little.

Okay so we are talking about the psychology of sales, or more correctly, pre sales. So what’s going through the persons head? Probably at a sub conscious level they have a need or want to be met and are “cruising” to find a solution. If they have no need or want, they may be open to an idea, if it fits with their values and beliefs.

So they may be on a search for an answer or could be open to an idea. If they are searching in a retail context for something they “want” they might be readily put off by a sales person that says “Can I help you”, the suspect does not make it to prospect. If on the other hand they have a strong need for something they might respond more positively to the “call for help”…

Lets go for the person that has no idea of what they want, a blank canvas… a person comes along and offers them a “Business opportunity” they may turn straight off. Why? well the idea does not appeal to their values and beliefs, the things they find important at a core level.

If however the sales person was to set things up so they were in alignment with the persons values and beliefs, they will probably have a much better chance of success.

An example… You have a business proposition, the economy is down and you have a sure fire way to assist them to get through it.  1. figure out what they want, $$, financial freedom, peace of mind they can get ahead, that sort of thing. 2. Give them info that shows the benefits of fitting to those needs. 3. Give them the chance to check it out a bit first, no hassle, no bother…

The challenge is to do it in ways that do not put them ‘offside’ in the process.

A little enthusiasm can go a long way….

May 30

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

Here’s a short video from Tom Peters, if ever you wondered what comes first passion or skills, here’s Tom’s answer…

Thanks to Tom and the team at Skill Soft.

What’s A Burned Business Bridge Smell Like?

May 29

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, Growth, People!, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

The reason burning business bridges are so fatal is because when you burn a bridge … it releases no odor. That means, you can be burning business bridges all over town and never even know it — until it smacks you in the face later.

Here’s an example:

There is a woman with whom I’ve been attempting to establish a business relationship. We spoke over the course of a couple months at a monthly business expo. She expressed interest in my products and services and sent me her e-mail for some “ideas”

I followed up asking for a face to face or a phone conversation so I could get a better handle on her advertising and promotional needs, wants and desires. I called, left a message and e-mailed her. No response.

After seeing her again at the business expo, I wrote her a lengthy memo detailing some great, usable ideas. I hand delivered the memo to her in an envelope at the next business expo. Again, I followed up by e-mail and phone several times. No response.

Today, here name is in my e-mail in box. “Wow”, I thought as I opened the e-mail. “Wow” quickly became “ow”. I shook my head in disbelief. This woman, who can’t or won’t return my phone calls and e-mails, has the audacity to send me an impersonal, e-mail blast solicitation for a donation to her golf outing.

It’s not gonna happen.

I simply can’t get across that bridge she burned by not taking the time to, at the very least, tell me she’s not interested. Yes, by ignoring me she “told” me that. Bottom line is: Now she wants something from me and she’s not getting it.

Are you burning bridges by not responding to vendors? Are you burning bridges by being rude to people you deem as “unimportant”. If you want it to matter to me when it matters to you … treat me like I matter — even when I don’t.

This is the basis of effective networking — making people feel as though they matter … even if they don’t. Sometimes it’s as simple and easy as acknowledging them with a return phone call, a smile or a nod.

Burned business bridges emit no smell. On the other hand, those who burn bridges do.

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It’s monday, what now?

May 26

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Leadership, Planning | No Comments

The weekend has been and gone, and here you are back at Monday, ready to face another week… Firstly are you excited about the prospect of another week? Or is it something you wish would end quickly? Whatever your state of being right now, take a moment to focus.

Grab a sheet of paper, then quickly write down the company goal, or mantra (if you have one) and then look at it. Now ask yourself, “Am I achieving the goal, is my team achieving it too?” or “Do the team even know what the goal is?”

Okay so the goal is sorted, and before you “beat yourself up” for not working towards the goal as well as you would like, then I suggest you jot down things you can put in place today, right now… to help to make the goal a reality.

Perhaps you can take each area of the business and focus on that.

- Marketing – Is this focussed towards the goal?

- Operations – How are things being done that help to achieve the goal?

- Management – Of all the things under this heading, what things are focusing me towards the goal?

Now you have your week off to a flying start. make all your plans, to do lists etc work from that.

Have a great week, make it a great week, but make it fit to the plan!

Leaders seek out top talent

May 15

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

Leaders are an interesting lot, often found wandering, “dazed”, plodding, planning, scheming and making sure everything is in it’s right place for the team to do what the team does best. So in the plodding and wandering the astute leader searches and hunts down exceptional people to be part of the team. They also work hard at developing the talent they already have.

Leaders find great ways to recruit or “poach” people to cause them to “come over” to their team.

The reason great leaders go for top talent is really simple, they want the best in their field to be part of what the leader has, and make it the best it can be. Over time the leader might have a few top people and then lose them to another leader, but then all they do is soul search, tweak a few skills and attitudes (their own) and move on to find even better people.

Training people to be better at what they do means being a good evaluator, negotiator, assessor, mentor, coach, trainer… the top leader then influences their teams skill uptake to ensure they are at the top of their game.

Remember Great leaders love people and therefore it’s simple that they would seek out the best, finding and keeping them becomes another thing entirely.

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How to Select the Right Person to Join Your Team

May 8

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Growth, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning | 2 Comments

The reason people select the wrong person is because they don’t ask the right questions in the interview, they don’t probe to uncover real competencies and capabilities, they don’t explore the person’s true personality and attitude, and they get swayed by enjoyable ‘chats’ that should in fact be probing interviews.

We all like to work with people we like, but we also need to make sure those people we employ are going to deliver and produce results for us. The process of selecting the right person is both subjective and objective, but it does need to be a process.

Focus on doing these 7 things:

  1. Know what you want done – write the Position Description first.
  2. List the attributes of the sort of person you want (not physical attributes..!)
  3. Understand your culture – be honest – and know what sort of person would or wouldn’t fit that.
  4. Then, after you’ve done that, meet and interview.
  5. Don’t be swayed by anything other than your original set of criteria, because that is what you want.
  6. After the interview, give the person a rating against your set of criteria, and use that objective method of assessment to recruit the right person into your team.
  7. You could also go to this website http://www.bossgroup.com.au/products/28 and download the 12-Step People Management Blueprint and simply follow the 12 steps! It really is that easy! (But hurry! The price will increase significantly after May 30th, 2008, so if you purchase before then you’ll make a big saving !)

So how do you “grade” your training?

May 5

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Planning | 1 Comment

Recently over a very serious business lunch, the matter of grading came up in regards to karate, I suggested in one of those “A-ha” moments, that the same principle could be applied to staff training.

You see the person I was lunching with is a karate ‘nut’ and mentioned his new staff member was like a while belt and he, is like a green belt (a much higher grade), she knows little about his business, he knows lots.

So the idea came that he could use that to build a foundation for the staff training and make a series of clear distinctions at each level of training as the staff member’s competency grew with what they learnt and practiced the basic skills to build proficiency.

In simple terms the idea would be to use a system that followed the colours of Karate ranking. now to save confusion (as there are lots of Karate ranking systems and styles) lets go for white as the beginner and as we  move through the spectrum the aim is to get to black, highly competent and very proficient at the business.

so.

white

yellow

green

blue

purple

red

brown

black

That gives you 8 levels, if  you want more you can add a coloured strip to each “belt” or “colour” so a white belt with a red or yellow tip would mean the basics have been taught, the person operates within the basic constraints and is ready to be “graded” or tested on the skills taught at this level.

A plain coloured belt means the person is in the process of learning the tasks and skills at that level and are competent in the level below.

So all that remains is to figure out what the tasks are at each  level and set in place the training and then assessing of each task at each level!

Do You Have What it Takes to Lead?

May 1

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Leadership, People!, Planning, Starting out in business | 1 Comment

Think about the leaders you’ve had in your life – that is, the people you’ve respected and listened to, and in many cases followed. School teachers, uni lecturers, people you’ve worked with, mentors, coaches, captains of sporting teams, friends, family.

Why did you see those people as leaders? Why did you accept them as your leader at the time?

I had a discussion with a friend the other day, and we were discussing the fact that leadership is not about being the head of a company or a team, it’s about a way of being. It’s having the ability or the presence to inspire people to trust you. You can’t lead if you don’t have the trust of those around you.
I came up with my list of what leadership means to me, and what attributes a person must have to be a leader:

Talent
To me, a person needs to demonstrate talent – they need to have ability and capabilities, they need to be able to lead by example, and also be a high performer that sets them ahead of the pack. They need to be very good at what they do.

Judgement
To me, this covers many qualities and attributes. A leader has good judgement with decision-making, delegation and being able to recognise what to delegate to whom for maximum results, they need to have good judgement when it comes to understanding their impact on others, and have the right balance of empathy and objectivity.

Commitment
A good leader can give the same as they expect – they can put in and demonstrate that they’re in it for the long haul. Self discipline underpins commitment, and without it, a person will never be able to improve and grow their skills. Leaders have commitment and self discipline.

Strength
Having the strength to do what needs to be done and to support others when they need it, is a core part of leadership in my mind. Leaders need to be strong for the people who follow them, and they need to be able to weather the storms, as well as forge new pathways.

Focus
A leader needs to know which direction to lead the team – a focus on both the journey and the outcomes is important. In my mind, a good leader needs to be really clear on the game plan and the end game.

A person who consistently demonstrates strength of character, talent, commitment, judgement and focus will gain the trust of those around them.
Finally, as the quote above says, you can’t have leadership without trust. Do you have what it takes to lead?

How to Attract the People You Need

Apr 29

Posted by Jenny Stilwell in Growth, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Planning, Starting out in business, The Operations Dept | No Comments

Just because you select an ideal recruit for your business, doesn’t mean they will automatically want to work for you. Why not?

Many businesses overlook the fact that they have to sell their offer and make it an attractive option for prospective new employees.

If you operate in a competitive environment where good recruits are scarce, or when you are trying to attract very high calibre people, it is essential that you make your business, and the position, sound as appealing as possible.

Here are some factors to consider:
1. Consider what drives people to join new companies. They typically want:
a. a new challenge
b. more money
c. opportunities for promotion
d. to work in a larger company
e. to work in a smaller company environment
f. to work closer to home
g. to work in an environment where they can improve their skills and learn
h. to work in a company full of friendly people
i. to work for a market leader
j. a manager who will spend time with them to teach and mentor

Does your business offer any of these enticements?

2. If it doesn’t, you may have issues with how the business is structured, or how it is performing, and may need to make some internal assessments and adjustments before you are able to attract the kind of people you need and want.

3. If you do meet some of these criteria, then the next question is, how do you sell your business and the position to the candidate? At every point possible!

a. The advertisement
i. Outline what’s positive and different about your company
ii. Make it sound interesting
iii. Provide several ways to respond to the advertisement (email, phone call, fax) – it appears more professional
b. Your website
i. Presentation – professional or amateurish?
ii. Overview of your business – should provide reasonable detail
iii. Clients – some reference to clients is a positive indicator
c. The interview
i. Reception and greeting – friendly, and again, professional
ii. Positive interaction – encourage questions at the end
iii. Be animated when interviewing and talking about your business
iv. You and the company must reflect the culture (professional/casual, committed, creative, service focus etc.)
d. Follow up
i. Needs to be a fast turnaround if you want the person
ii. Well organised – timeliness, information in the offer

If you do all of these things it is more than likely that you will be able to employ a candidate who matches your requirements, and the culture of your company. Good luck!

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How to be a great coach.

Apr 25

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

Firstly.. Why be a Coach?

You would not expect your favourite sports team to be effective without a coach… nor would you expect the people you lead to be effective without a leader.

To get high-level productivity from the team your role as a leader takes in a great deal of coaching and mentoring skills. Therefore your aim should be, to be the best coach you can be.

How to be a great Coach…

Here are some great points on what makes a great coach, take a look a them and decide which of these skills you already have and which ones you may need to work on.

  • Love people – Great coaches know they are leading people in a great cause of some kind and that the value of that is very high, to get the most out of the team and therefore the task at hand they know that people will be the device that makes the task happen. If the coach loves people they will then find ways to enhance their teams skills to be all they can be. To do so they have to love people after all it’s all they have to get the job done.
  • Motivate them – If you want the best out of people yo need to motivate them in ways that inspire them to do great things, to go the extra mile and see the results of their efforts and be pleased with them. Motivation is NOT driving them, yelling and screaming, pushing them hard, its more about finding ways to encourage them to find those things in themselves if they need to.
  • Be a coach – Being a coach might even entail you putting on a Coach’s hat, then working with your people. Consider this, what if you had a team meeting and you did just that, put on a hat that said Coach. It would probably lighten the mood and let the team know you are coaching them, providing support, motivation, guidance and the skills to encourage them.
  • Get their opinions and thoughts – Why should you be the one with all the ideas? Let the team use their collective intelligence to explore more effective ways of doing what they do. You might just get a lot more than you thought.
  • Explore mistakes– In learning to walk you stood up and fell down a few times until it all came together, after a while the bruises, scratches and scrapes healed and you explored walking some more, no one said you couldn’t do it did they?Mistakes therefore are just opportunities to learn and grow and you need to ensure that in the pursuit of better outcomes that the more mistakes the team makes should therefore mean they are pushing the boundaries further to discover better ways to get results.
  • Be a great communicator – Listen a lot and when you speak or write make it elegant and effective. You will also want to be asking great questions so you can get great answers and allow you people to be all they can be.
  • Know there are differences and work with them – We are all different. A great coach will be aware of this and find ways to connect effectively with all people despite their differences.
  • Empower people – You have a team, how do you want them to do things? To their full potential or less? The answer HAS to be full potential anything else is a cop out. Therefore it is your solemn duty to find out how to empower them, and keep looking for ways to take it further.
  • Solve challenges and problems together – As a coach you may ask questions, which are more about how to solve challenges and problems, than telling them how to do things.
  • Keep meetings effective – Get to the point and stay on track with the agenda, get very strict about the meeting structure, that way you can sort things out better. Any chace you get, train your team rather than merely meet with them.
  • Work on the positive and reward the behaviour you want – Who wants to push a “negative barrow” about? After all it’s hard and like an uphill trudge, the more you push the heavier the barrow gets and the steeper the incline. When it’s positive you might just find the barrow carries you for significant parts of the ride, with the team taking it in turn to push.
  • Be an advocate for your people – As much as your team “puts in” to get results, be sure and back them up if the need arises. If they need a reference do it. If they need support in dealing with other issues at work do it. Be there for them, after all they are there for you and the tasks at hand, the pay off will be a team of truly committed people wanting to readily go the extra mile.
  • Self edit – As a coach your commitment to being all you can be will mean you are leading by example. Before long you will be seeking out every opportunity to hone your skills in all aspects of being a coach and editing yourself to get better results.
  • Take full responsibility – If you want your team to perform at incredible levels then you need to take full responsibility for them and for the results. Just because you have a person above you who you think should put their 2 cents worth in every now and then so you don’t look like the bad guy, think again. He or she probably put you in control to get results, while they may like to throw their weight around to maintain an air of authority, perhaps if you were taking full responsibility they might actually get on with doing more important things.
Put just some of this into action and see positive results fast. Put all of into action and let me know!

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Give your team the edge

Apr 22

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, People! | No Comments

If you want to run a business that has a team with real power in what they do I have one piece of advice, in fact I will give you a really easy way to take that advice and put it into action… ready?

Coach them… too simple eh? but it works, you be the coach and say to yourself “If I am going to be a coach and asisst my team to be all they can be then I need to know about being the best coach I can be…” so lets grab that notion for a moment and run with it.

So to put the notion into action, grab a writing implement… now jot down as many attributes you would like a fantastic coach to have… write fast, write now, and go for a really long list. If someone comes past your door grab their attention (not by throwing a writing implement at them you need that…) and ask them for three really top attributes they would want to see in a coach.

Do you have a good list with over 15 attributes on it? Okay so now tick the attributes  you already have and run a line through any of the points that are to do with yelling at people, and otherwise negatively driving them to perform.

Over the next few days keep the exercise happening in your mind and search for more things to add to the list,  your list.

Now work on it, take all the positive qualities and do your best to tweak them and put them into practice.

Want to go further? Start  your own coaching journal with all the attributes listed in the front of the journal and jot down notes on how  you went and what you did to introduce these points into your own personal style of doing things. before long you will be finding great ways to work with people and get even greater results!

Happy coaching :)

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