Welcome to the connected economy

. . . where advantage is temporary and nothing is fixed in time or space.  Relationships rule! Here is how things are today: - Change is constant and quick.  Every aspect of business in a connected organization operates and changes in real time. - Imagination and knowledge are more valuable than physical capital. - Products and services are blended as ‘offerings’ and what’s important is making sure you can serve, immediately, be connected and deliver anywhere. - Adaptability is paramount as more companies build permeable networks of business relationships with suppliers, distributors, employees, and even competitors. - Everything is electronically connected to everything else.  Products, people, companies, countries……everything. You are ‘with it’ if you are an effective social networker. Today, dictators are being overthrown by Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.  Propaganda hasn’t got a chance.  Relationships are built or destroyed in a flash.  Everyone wants a better career or better business.  Social networking can be a great tool.  Effectiveness means you block out 15 – 19 hours per week to stay on it.  That eliminates two thirds of those who begin and then drop it.  Like anything else, social networking won’t produce results unless you put in the time and stay committed. It isn’t just about technical tools.  It’s about core ‘Dale Carnegie’ principles says Corey Perlman, author, consultant, and leader of networking boot-camps.  For example: 1.    Becoming genuinely interested in others.  Giving recognition, assistance, time, and referrals to your network, leads to reciprocity.   You will gain lots of referrals from dedicated relationships with a diverse group of contacts. 2.        Don’t just use the technical tools, be a leader.  Be the one to connect others in meetings, shows, seminars.  Be the one who does the introductions, brings people together, and acts like the host.  Be the go to person and opportunities will come your way. 3.   Be a personality. Stand up, speak out, add enthusiasm and feeling in one-to-one conversations and in your public speeches.  People connect with you on a personal level because you are an expert and are engaging..  Write about your expertise and give it away to a target audience and your network. 4.   Be a value-adding friend, help others get what they want.  Find a core group of motivated supporters, people who can leverage their connections and create buzz for you and your business.  Ideally, they are your customers, suppliers and friends.  Again, focus on helping them get what they want.  (If you are thinking “Wait a minute, I want to get what I want”, then delete this e-mail now.  Networking won’t work for you.) The old Rolodex and address books still rules with corporate leaders, even though, today, it is done through technology.  You can be more influential by building your network through networking efforts. Other Actions: - Volunteer in a community activity.  Be more visible while doing personally rewarding, selfless work. - Send real cards such as thank you, good to meet you, thinking of an idea for you, birthday, etc.  (not just e-mails) - Maintain communications by bringing your network together for a lunch, dinner, drink, etc. -                     Get involved in a professional association, service clubs such as Rotary or Chamber. - Offer to host an event at your office, or dinner party, or ball game.  Bring your contacts together and pick up the tab. - Another Dale Carnegie principle…. Learn, again, to be a better conversationalist.  Listen more, ask pertinent questions, don’t talk about yourself, get people on the right topic.  Being a self possessed bore doesn’t work except on TV or in the movies. -                     Occasionally, write a press release about newsworthy events or accomplishments.  Again, the best ones are about showing others recognition. - Create a book of testimonials.  Send them to someone who is asking about your business or services.  Remember to ask them for success stories, and use them in introductions or discussion-starters with first time clients. - Always write your own introduction to a speech.  Never let anyone wing it.  A bad or inaccurate first impression is difficult to overcome.  Effective introductions should humanize you, give you credibility, talk in terms of the listeners interests and get their attention as to why they should listen to you. - Once a year, find a way to garner feedback from customers and let those who participate know the results and tell them of any actions you are taking. - Ask for referrals.  Get good at asking in a natural, but not ‘cheesy’ way. - Start a Master Mind Group or join one. - Set up an advisory board and become available to other boards. What one action  will you take this week that will advance your connections within our connected economy.? Have a great week.

Breathe In, Breathe Out, Now Move On…….

February 28 2011

Breathe In, Breathe Out, Now Move On…….

This was the mantra Larry recently gave to me on the beach in Salchi, our small community in Huatulco, Mexico.  With the terrific, fun loving bunch of neighbours we have there, it is easy to live by that mantra.  Once back home in our hurried business lives, we can become wired to over-analyze, worry too much, and die emotionally from the monotony of the grind, the issues and problems.  Yet when we are on vacation and actually slow down, we are more capable of taking in what is really going on in nature and with people, and more inclined to see a bigger picture.  We realize that life and people have patterns of ups and downs and things are what they are.  Most of the time, everything works out.  Life isn’t good or bad…. It just is.  It is our attitude and perspective that makes it so.

When they are there my neighbours at Salchi, George, Rizwan, Stu, Wendy, Ellie, Trish, Terry, Rick, Larry, Teresa, Gail, Dennis, Brian, Max, Anne, and many others, are blessed to see the ocean, the whales, the birds, the hills, the mountains.  They become more appreciative of life.  Anita, whose home is on top of the hill, loves her gardens, pool, fruit trees, and most of all her friends.  She has such an enthusiasm for life.  She brings that to everything she does.  How do we emulate this state of mind to simplify our business life? 

One way is to be enthusiastic about everything you do.  You could complain about the work to be done, daunting challenges, and the bad news that spreads like wild fire OR, you could be grateful for what you are building and creating.   Let your face, your walk, and your talk reflect your enthusiasm and commitment.

In Salchi I am reminded of another principle.  We all need to slow down and be more appreciative of the people around us including customers, employees, and associates with all their uniqueness and differences.  Then we’ll find they will be more interested in us, our vision, our services, our products.  How simple.  Appreciate what is there.  Get interested in others.  Don’t try to manipulate, force or push your perspectives on others and life and business becomes easier and enjoyable.

Here are three simple, but important actions you could take:

ACTION #1

1. Genuinely care for your people.  Totally engage others in direction meetings.  Ask “Where are we going and how are we going to get there?”

2. Ask them about their future aspirations and how they want to learn and grow.

3. Structure and pay for learning, teamwork and skills development.

4. Only bring in people who complement your learning culture.  A good rule of thumb, “hire for attitude”- skill can be taught.  Bring on board people who can help you live the vision, your values and strategic direction.

ACTION #2:

Recreate your core reason for being in business and brand it by living up to every customer promise.  Exploit what you have and what got you there.  You need to understand the trends and behaviours of your markets.  You need to adapt your offering and make what you have work better than anyone else can, while keeping your eye on profits.  You will not only survive, you will win!

ACTION #3:

Focus on creating value, rather than just getting sales, especially where you lose money by competing on price alone.  Regardless of the economy or size of your company, customers come to you because of what they value.  Low value and low prices cause customers to leave.  Know your customers, know what they value, stand tall and sell.

Which of these simple actions will you take this week to build your business and make the ride more enjoyable?  Jimmy Buffet sings “A crazy man sold me a watch and the only time it tells is…. Now.”   Things are often that simple. If this isn’t true for you, then listen to Margarita Ville with a pop in your hand and sing along.   Places like Salchi or wherever you vacation, is a state of mind and we all need a little more of it.

Have a great week.

Emotional Intelligence is a Myth

Monday, February 21, 2011.

Wow! Today I read a report by a guy who tried to explain the problems of human resources and human capital management.  He went on to say that, “Emotional intelligence is a myth.”  Emotion and logic don’t mix, but both are in us.  The more I read the more confused I got, but I am sure some people found it interesting since he made lots of academic distinctions.

The quality of our interactions, whether it is with customers or internally, determines our productive or non-productive actions, not to mention the productive use of our time and the results we achieve.  You could say these kinds of conversations we have in our organizations create our habitual, unconscious culture.  And the culture greatly affects our results.  Manage the conversations around your business to create productivity.    

I always say to those I coach to watch out for conversations that lead to ‘that’s interesting.’  It usually means, “Thanks for the mental break, but I am not going to use that information and I have to get back to work.”

In business, and in life, we are not in an academic exercise, we’re in a real-time game. Ideas have to pass some tests to prove they will help us with what we are dealing with, and where we are going.  Good questions to ask automatically about these ideas are:  “Will it help me reach my goals and what we need to do in the business?  Is it the best use of my time?  Am I capable of using the idea immediately?  And does it make sense?”

The principles behind successful businesses are usually logical, but sometimes we get lost and confused in analysis, and conversations.  As a result we don’t take enough productive, new actions. It is as if we expect everything to be confusing and complicated, and nothing is going to happen anyway.  I am suggesting that all of us could be even more productive in conversations that build relationships, have value and create action, next steps.  This in contrast to what I call recreational and irrelevant conversations. 

For example:

            -   chronic complaining
-    blaming
-  information with no outcome attained (“that’s interesting”)
- creative ideas with no strategic context
-  solutions NOT on behalf of where we are going

· Define, constantly and clearly, how we define winning around here.

· Ask what is the outcome?.  What do we want to achieve?

· When people give you reasonable plans, ask them to go ahead and try it.

· If it is a problem conversation ask, “What is the problem? 
What are the possible causes?
What are the possible solutions?
What is the best possible solution?”

· Give feedback.  (“Here is what I like about what you said (or did).”)

· Ask if things were the way we wanted, what would be happening? 
How do we make them happen?

·  How are you doing according to plan?

·   What are the most important outcomes to focus on today?

When budgeting time for the most important activities, focus on the uncomfortable activity first and manage the conversations within your culture, and you will boost performance.  Most importantly, keep your eye on the prize -what are you creating for your business and team?

ACTIONS:

Watch yourself this week.  How many recreational and irrelevant conversations are you in? Manage the conversations.  Focus on questions and comments that cause everyone to act on the most important things.   

Try one or two actions mentioned above.

Have a productive week.

Can you be compelling?

Monday, February 14, 2011.

Let's assume you have answered the big questions I have asked throughout January.  You know what you want for the business, and you have examined your offering so it matches what your market wants.  You are ready to take actions to take you from where you are to where you want to go.

A normal action is to define in words what impact you have on your customers, and what you actually do to create that impact.  All too often, smart business people can organize operations and direct and engage their people, but can't tell me, in 60-90 seconds, what they do for their customers.  Most feel doing this is too old hat and it doesn't mean much, so they label it an elevator speech, unique selling proposition or just a simple marketing pitch and stop there.  Can you describe what you do for customers? Can you do it in a way that is relevant, clear, and impactful?  In our Twitter, Linked-in world, attention spans have shrunk; our choices are many; and we seem almost over educated.  What we need is relevance and a compelling message that stand-out.  Even speed (Twitter), without relevance is useless.

So, Mr. and Mrs. Smart and Successful Monday Morning Reader, how relevant are your thoughts and words to your customers?.  You are at a cocktail party, or sitting next to someone on a plane or you are in front of a new prospect or long term customer.... Explain to them what you can do for your market??  Take three minutes right now and answer this on paper:

-  Who are you? (in the market)

-  What is your offering?

-  What impact do you have on the market? 

-  What promises do you deliver on?

Impact isn't just a list of products or what you do.  It is what you do for the market.  A bright, young financial adviser who reads our Mentors, re-branded his work  He said, "I quarterback all the elements and professionals who are advising my business clients on behalf of predetermined strategies.  This gives my clients what they really want, when they want it."

I heard another from an insurance company executive.  "I help people solve the problems of becoming disabled, living too long or dying too soon."

Last week, on a monthly strategy huddle teleconference call that I do for a world wide organization, the leader described how he had everyone in his organization engaged in understanding their offering and then got everyone to practice describing it and presenting it within 60 seconds.  Whether they were in operations or in the field it didn't matter.  Everyone is engaged in thinking from the offering and doing what it takes to support it.

ACTIONS - Part II

Regardless of what you do for your company, some of the things you should do are:

 

1.Engage in the offering analysis asking what impact does our offering have, as it relates to what our customers want?

 

2.Write down your offering and the promises you make to your market.

 

3. Practice it, in front of associates and friends.  Ask for suggestions and improve on it.

 

4.Get everyone on your team to know it so they get it, feel it, mean it.

Every time you are out in any business or social situation give it.  At the beginning of business meetings, group presentations, (one slide), proposals, etc.  Turn on your market.  This is not something you read about.  This is something you do.  You are a highly, productive business player.

Have a great week!

You're not illiterate, are you?

Monday, February 7, 2011.

Einstein said, "What is the point of reading the world's greatest books? If you don't put their lessons to use, you are no different than the illiterate person who has not read them." I ask questions every week that I know some people won't take the time to answer, especially on paper.  I know knowledge is important but I realize it is only a ticket to the game of business.  You still have to play. In January, I have been asking you to consider the big picture.  What is it you aspire to create? What is important to you?  Why do you do what you do?  What do your customers want/need?  How do you change your customer's lives, etc?  Why?  You can't apply a micro solution to a macro problem.  If your business or career is poorly designed, it won't matter how you tinker with your present methods.  You won't succeed at the game.  The most important part of a good business design is having an offering that matches your clients' wants/needs and the operations component of your business is organized to support it.  In other words, you have everything in place to make it work and you are able to access the market with compelling stories, launches and marketing.  If you don't design these three things, nothing else will matter much. Recently a young 'want to be' entrepreneur asked me to look at his idea.  I asked why he thought he could take his idea and turn it into a commercial success.  He said "My passion."  I remember when I was 20, I tried to buy a confectionary store because it was close to the University, a beautiful riverfront park, and a big church -all good reasons for a broke, 20 year old.  Then there was the building of a fishing lodge at the mouth of a river that housed the world's largest speckled trout.  The only small issue was that the Natives of Hudson Bay would automatically be my 50% partners.  I could go on and on with ideas that I created by passion alone. Passion may be the source of some creativity but, until you have stared at the ceiling at 3:00 a.m. and wondered out loud, "How are we going to get through this financial mess?" you won't realize how important the design and execution of a well conceived business plan that attacks those three elements is.  If your business is growing and making profits, you probably have an adequate design and are able to pull it off with your customers and your people.  If you aren't growing, then you can't kid yourself.  You are what you are.  Success once is not ultimate success and even if you are winning right now, don't hold your breath.  Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or a 45 year veteran, you need to constantly take stock of what you do for the market.  Do you deliver the value your customer's demand and can you access the market to leverage, market, and sell like heck to grow your business? There has never been a better or more important time for a business of any size to get back to common sense and no nonsense, aggressive building approaches. Laziness and ego not allowed.  You can't expect old business-as-usual approaches to work.  We all know the world has changed, but you can't expect financial gimmicks or technological innovations to substitute for solid principles and the work it takes to implement them.  If you are willing to truthfully answer the necessary questions and take the necessary steps to improve no matter how different, drastic or difficult they are, you will succeed.  Competitors are growing up in your space.  Opportunities are born from other's wants and needs- and that is a fact.  You can match up with them and convince your market to buy from you.  I just attended a launch session for Microsoft's New Dynamic 2011 CRM.  We are in the middle of installing, training, etc. of this system.  What struck me is the detail given to the product so it helps organizations (its' customers) provide better client experiences, know their customers better, interact and engage clients, integrate with all electronic tools for better presentations, etc.  They designed the product this way because they really got to know what organizations, large and small, need.  I was impressed.  It just wasn't a technical improvement.  It was an improvement based on what could change their customer's lives.   Today, I read that the CEO of General Motors of Canada said, "Our arrogance is over.  We didn't listen and everyone knows what happened.  We were too concerned about our goals (staying #1) and not about our customers."  Wow!  How about us?  Don't leave January behind without examining how you can do the same.  In February we will begin to work on tactics to execute and boost performance. ACTIONS - Part 1 - January   What actions do you need to take to examine whether or not your offering adequately matches what your market is motivated to buy ?  What new offering could you begin to explore? What could be a possible story to the market?  Is it compelling? Now I realize that this is a macro action; but show Einstein that you aren't illiterate.  Take some time knowing the impact of your offering and begin to describe it.  Next week we will work on the story. Have a great week! Kevin D. Crone Your Monday Morning Mentor

Friday's with Bentley

Monday, January 31, 2011.

As part of a succession plan, I have not worked on a Friday since September and we have put bright, young tigers in place to help lead our business to the next level.  What has it been like so far with every Friday off??

Bentley on the trail

First I take Bentley, my two year old, frisky, funny, beautiful Springer Spaniel, on long, brisk walks alongside the Burlington Beach.  This beautiful, long path goes on for miles.  What is weird is that I didn't even know it was there, only ten minutes from my house, and I have lived in Burlington since 1973. "What" you say??  I've been busy working for forty five years, you know, highways, planes, meeting rooms, boardrooms...always another meeting to go to... always building something, a business, a team, a customer relationship, a financial portfolio.  That's how entrepreneurs are!

In Winter, when it is too cold by the water we, walk in the woods that are part of the magnificent 1000 mile long Bruce Trail.  It is invigorating and fun watching Bentley run enthusiastically in the woods.  He loves the snow.  After an hour and a half or so, we go to Jake's Boat House Restaurant in Burlington owned by my friend Jamie.  This is a great establishment with excellent food and service.  Here I meet up with a bunch of old business friends.  For the past 30 years this Motley Crew has been meeting there (usually after tennis).  What do we talk about??  We discuss our life after business, taxes, travel, family, what is going on in our lives, and eventually, new business opportunities.  Why would we talk about that?  We can't help it, we are wired, rigged, structured to be business opportunists.

This is what keeps us juiced.  It's amazing to hear this successful bunch describe how to succeed.  I wish I had their savvy throughout my 45 year business career, but I guess life has another plan.  We seem to have to learn from experience, take risk, pull the trigger on deals even when they aren't perfect and go with a vision and a plan.  Lose some, win some, but overall it is important to enjoy the roller coaster ride - the excitement of building something.  It is really humorous to hear the mistakes and inspirational to hear their victories.  Entrepreneurs are a little nuts but I believe they all deserve to go to heaven.  (I'm Irish so I get an automatic ticket.)

The staff at Jakes' Boat House always find a way to sneak som

Bentley

e premium, left over food out to Bentley waiting patiently in the car.  In the summer and fall, he sits right next to us at our patio table and seems to enjoy the meetings as well.  After lunch, Bentley and I head to my grand
children's school where we pick up Taylor who is 13, take her home to change, and then off to dance.  She is amazing and gorgeous.   Then we take Shalayne (what a beautiful name), who is almost 12 and also gorgeous and sweet, to guitar lessons.  Then we pick up Taylor again and take her home, and so on.  There is also Caelen who is perfect in every way and 8 going on 18.  She is a real girlie girl, and my hockey player, Liam who has to put up with all these women, Keenan the terror, and baby Tristan who is always happy and funny.  I know there are quite a few but guess what.... My son Kevin Robert has another on the way in February....another Grandson.  Who could get so lucky???  Talk about 'juice'.  Today, everyone of my business lunch friends would drop any meeting for a little time with their grand kids.... A double dose of 'juice'.  OK, now back to business.

Building a business, finding business opportunities, knowing how to capitalize on them, building a life with all the other things that give us meaning that are important to us, makes for a great life.  Entrepreneurism is the great source of all that.  All the rewards are there for innovative entrepreneurs and professional people whether you work for a small business, own one, or work for a multinational corporation.  All of us need the 'juice' that comes from entrepreneurial thinking.

Entrepreneurial thinking is about doing the very best job you can with what you have and not accepting those limited resources as a license to practice the cowboy capitalism of ready, fire, aim.  On the contrary, you know what you are good at and where you can create and communicate a business strategy where every system and person makes it work.  You build a strong, intimate relationship with customers; you listen and know what turns on your market; you create the innovative solutions your customers need to support their wants; you map out all the opportunities available; and most of all, you pull the trigger on the best ones.  It is pulling the trigger that officially makes you an entrepreneur.  Simple to describe.   Winners make this happen most of the time.  Who doesn't need more of this entrepreneurial thinking in their business?

It's there.  It's inherent in every group. You simply need to allow it to flourish through conversations and meetings with a team.  The entrepreneur is the most important player in the re-building of our economy and the 'juice' they get, is deserved.

ACTION

Take a few minutes and go into a mental dark room with yourself.  How about you?  What are you building?  Can you articulate what it is and what your business strategy is to help you get there?  Does your team see it, feel it and know how their role connects?  What new opportunities are you evaluating?  Which is your best opportunity?  When are you going to pull the trigger? 

What's Your Next Step?? 

Are you consuming, showing up, or producing?  We need a culture of producers.  These are exciting, new times.  Every Friday with Bentley I get more 'juice' and more spirit.  I hope you find your way to get more of it as well.

Have a great week!

IT'S A NEW YEAR..... starting all over is an option.

 

It is interesting to see how sports franchises start over every year.   Of course they have to create the team, on the field.  They have to have strong community involvement and presence; market and sell tickets; make good financial decisions; have a positive impact on the media;  scout, hire, and develop future players.  And they do this one year at a time.  In the end, all that matters is the scoreboard... wins and losses.

Wow, this must take incredible focus, work and alignment of a great number of elements to produce success.  The policies, budgets, and job descriptions must pull everything together on behalf of the strategic plan.  Now if you have a great brand like the Toronto Maple Leafs or an NFL franchise, it helps in guaranteeing financial success.  But few teams are like the Maple Leafs or Saskatchewan Roughriders or Green Bay Packers where business success is almost guaranteed because of the passion in their communities and their TV deals.  For most sports franchises everything, and I mean everything, has to come together every year for the business to succeed.

It sounds like regular businesses could take inspiration from this yearly focus.  In the non sports world, we have the same need to put the right, spirited and competent team together; have community presence; market and sell a compelling; relevant offering; have an impact on the media, and of course win over our competition.  Our wins and losses are measured in market share, ROI to shareholders, budget attainment and many other financial variables.  The number of new customers, increases in size of sales, more and bigger sales to repeatable customers also tells us how we are doing.

It must get tiring yet exciting for the management of a sports team to start over every year, often with new management, new coaches, players, and many other changes. (Who said people can't handle change?)  Regardless, all the elements of what it takes to succeed never change.   Some put it all together, some don't.  What can make a difference is the spirit, sense of urgency, alignment and togetherness of the team whether it is sports or regular business.  Although owners care about the financial and customer wins the most, employees remember and appreciate the relationships and the teamwork. It provides, for them, energy and momentum.  You can cement those two business desires together in your plans and meetings.  Whether or not you have a strategic or operations plan, I suggest you get a team together to do the following:

1.  Review what is actually going on.  Can your talent take you to the next level?  The same with your management -   can they help you go where you want to go?  Do you have fresh leadership who will rally around the vision, the ideas, strategies, and the planning it takes to start anew?  How is your offering?  Are you adequately matching up with the trends and motives in the marketplace?  Is your involvement in the community adequate enough to be seen as a recognizable brand?   Does your marketing tell a compelling, relevant story in everything you do?  This may sound elementary but, are you aware of the set budgets, have you read the job descriptions to see if changes should be made to reflect the present business strategy and everyone's role in it?  How about the policy manual, what needs re-working?
    
2.  Decide on the new plan, new goals.  You could be driven by problems and circumstances and make incremental changes that you need to fix again in a year or two when the tension and attention is off them or you can begin your planning by truly creating the business you want.  You do this by designing the desired state of your business or department with all the elements in place.  Turn each outcome into specific goals and begin your action planning on how to get there.

Begin the year this way.  You will be changing your thinking, you will be motivated to learn, develop, work hard (what's new?), work strategically, and to put in place the alignment and organization required to take you from where you are (your assessment) to where you want to go.  Do this and you will have a 'sports team like' sense of urgency.

It's a new year.  My e-mails to you in January are about analyzing, re-thinking, and planning to begin the year to make 2011 and the next couple of years great.  

ACTIONS

Preferably with a team, take an hour and:

1. Make an assessment of talent, management, leadership, community involvement, numbers you measure, offering and story to the market, etc.
    
2.  Take out a piece of paper and write what is the desired state of your area of responsibility (business, department, role) Be sure to state the clear outcomes you want.
    
3.  Begin to plan and organize what it will take to go from your assessment to where you want to go this year.

'Just do it' could be your theme this week.  Sports teams have no choice but to do this every year.  You have the choice, so you will need some 'fire in the belly' leadership to get going.  You can handle it, believe me.

Have a great week!