…personal development for smart professionals
management
Your Worst Enemy
23 days
Working in the mental health field for nearly 20 years, I’ve grown accustomed to asking people if they hear voices other people don’t hear. Truth is, we all hear voices in our head no one else hears.
We’re usually so acclimated to the voices in our head we barely even notice them. Hopefully, we can distinguish between the voices in our head and those of the person standing 3 feet away.
The voices in our head can be constructive or destructive. Sometimes the voice we hear in our head is the voice of our mother, father, grandparent, aunt or uncle. Sometimes the voice is a critic and sometimes its a fan. Sometimes the voice is like a play-by-play announcer just describing what it observes or the color announcer that provides opinions and commentary. The voice may be like a close friend giving advice; the advice is sometimes good and sometimes bad.
Otherwise known as our inner dialogue, these voices are often our worst enemy. Political cartoonist Walt Kelly once said through his character Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
The instant we’re exposed to a new idea, person or situation, the inner dialogue begins judging the new stimuli based not on facts but on past experiences and expectations. Like an opinionated friend, our inner dialogue sometimes gives us bad advice. Past experiences and expectations are so powerful, unless you are very careful, you’ll make decisions using faulty data based on history and preconceived ideas rather than on the facts.
LEARNING FROM THE PAST
Our inner dialogue has good intentions. Making judgements based on past information saves time and energy. If a metal object is glowing red, chances are, it’s hot and will burn if touched with the bare hand. Having to re-discover the pain and discomfort caused by touching hot objects with your bare hand would be disastrous to the survival of our species. Likewise, the stern look from your father means he disapproves of something you said or done.
Conditioned responses are sometimes accurate and provide us with helpful information in the decision-making process.
EXPECTATIONS
Our expectations also have an enormous influence on our perceptions and decision-making process. A colleague who is acting strangely might in fact be angry at you for some reason OR she may be upset about something entirely unrelated to you. If you’ve had negative experiences with colleagues in the past, your brain is primed to see signs of impending negative experiences in the future. When we look for the negative in others, we can usually always find it.
THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
There is a popular drawing that contains the image of both a young and attractive girl AND an older, much less attractive woman. At first glance, people typically report seeing one or the other. It usually isn’t until the opposing figure is pointed out that most people realize the drawing contains both an attractive young woman and an old hag. Our past experiences and expectations influence our perceptions of the images we see in this visual experiment. Our mental programming also influences how we treat new people we meet and even new ideas that challenge our way of doing things. Our experience of the world is unavoidably colored by our past experiences and expectations.
TAKE OFF THE BLINDERS AND TALK BACK
Our inner dialogue is, more often than not, highly opinionated. It also has a limited view of the world through what amounts to dark sunglasses.
Imagine meeting a young woman but treating like the old hag some people see in the image. Or, meeting the elderly woman but treating her like the beautiful young woman other’s see in the drawing.
Knowing we have a tendency to judge the present and future based on past experiences and expectations is the best tool we can use to build a better life or business. One of the most powerful things you can do to improve your life is to routinely ask yourself, “what other ways can I look at this?” It doesn’t matter who you are, your perceptions are WRONG more often than you realize or may be willing to admit. By remaining open to different ways of looking at people, situations and ideas, you free yourself from self-imposed limitations.
Sounds simple doesn’t it? It is simple. In fact, it is so simple many people I work with are hesitant to even try it at first. We tend to look for big, spectacular ways to improve our lives when in reality, it’s the cumulative effect of little things that hinders us the most.
photo credit: R. Smith Photography
Make Yourself Scarce!
85 days
photo credit: Steve Parker
Normally, when someone tells you to make yourself scarce, it isn’t a compliment. They want you to go away.
There is a different way to look at this. Scarcity creates value. We tend to value things we can’t get much of. Indian head pennies, for example, are worth much more than a penny minted last year; in some cases, hundreds of dollars more. Original paintings by Van Gogh fetch among the highest prices in the art world.
In the business world today, there are many things that are scarce, uncommon and even downright rare like customer service that exceeds expectations. Stellar customer service has become so rare that when we encounter it we are almost suspicious.
A young man at a fast food hamburger joint waited on me and some friends a few weeks ago. How many times has someone sold you a hamburger then come to your table a few minutes later to ask, “is everything alright?” That’s the sort of thing you expect anywhere except at a fast food hamburger joint, but this guy’s enthusiasm was truly impressive.
My prediction is, unless somewhere along the way he gets hypnotized and brainwashed into subscribing to the status quo, this young man will find his way to the top of whichever organization is lucky enough to employ him. Maybe not right away, but he will eventually find an employer that values the employee that goes out of his or her way to provide 5 star customer service even when it isn’t expected. Customer service for this young man is an art. Not just art, art that is rare and valuable. I wouldn’t be surprised if this young man ends up owning his own business because he gets so frustrated with the lack of enthusiasm others have for providing stellar customer service.
I’m not exaggerating much when I say, this kid is probably more valuable to that company than most of the senior management staff, yet he is paid a miserable fraction of the salary.
- What about you?
- How valuable to your business or profession are you?
- If you’re not at work for a week, do customers even notice?
- Is what you do art or just marking time and following the crowd?
It’s easy to create stellar customer service that is scarce. Just ‘go the extra mile’ as the old saying goes. Most people are too lazy or brainwashed by a culture that seems to value the status quo over doing anything above and beyond the call of duty.
Look around you. The businesses and professionals that thrive, even in a down economy, are the ones that provide something competitors aren’t providing. Its time to get busy creating scarcity by doing something your competitors aren’t doing — even when you’re tired, even if its Monday morning or Friday afternoon, even if you don’t think it makes a difference.
5 Things to do more of -RIGHT NOW!
94 days
1. Tell someone in your work/professional environment that you really appreciate their contribution to the success of your business or organization.
2. Turn off your phone next time you’re with a close friend. Close friendships are more valuable than almost any potential interruption. If the world comes to an end, you’ll know about it as soon as you turn your phone back on -in fact, you’ll have a more supportive friend to help you cope.
3. Stop, smile, then say “Thank you” next time a store clerk helps you locate something.
4. Realize this, you’re not nearly as smart as you think you are. Sometimes people whom you least expect can teach you something. ASK for help and other opinions/viewpoints.
5. Shut up, listen then think. Resist the temptation to begin formulating your verbal response before the other person is finished speaking. When words have stopped coming out of the other person’s mouth, THEN decide what to say in response.
BONUS:
Breathe! You’re probably already doing that one but taking time out several times per day to quietly observe 5 in and out breath cycles will work wonders to clear your mind. A clear mind equals a more efficient mind.
WOW Me or I’m Gone!
127 days
The most successful companies in the world are ones that WOW their customers. They don’t all WOW in the same way, but they all go out of their way to impress the socks off their customers and potential customers.
There are different ways to WOW customers. Wal-Mart WOWs with low prices, Apple WOWs with innovative bells and whistles, Starbucks WOWs with the coffee shop experience, zappos.com WOWs with free shipping and easy return policy.
All of these companies have one thing in common; in certain areas they blow away the competition. Notice I said “in certain areas” not “in all areas.” Virtually all of those companies fall short in areas -but not in their core competency. In their respective core competencies, these companies clearly outshine their competition.
What makes Wal-Mart so attractive is their relentless attention to low prices. Most small businesses can’t compete on price. For most small businesses, to compete based on price is like getting into a race to the bottom in which all the competitors will ultimately lose.
The experience of using an Apple iPhone surpasses by far that of using a prepaid, disposable phone that you buy at a department store. The phrase “there’s an app for that” gets at the heart of what an iPhone can do and that is, NEARLY EVERYTHING. Apple is in the business of putting a product in your hands that will do so much to make your life easier you may wonder how the human race ever survived this long without Apple’s advancements.
Starbucks is not in the business of selling cheap coffee. If you want cheap coffee, there are plenty of other places to find it. If you frequent Starbucks, chances are it isn’t for the cheap coffee. Is probably for the ambience, the made fresh while you wait experience. You can get a cappuccino from most convenience stores but it’s nowhere near the caliber of what you will get at Starbucks.
zappos.com competes with the bricks and mortar shoe stores in the mall by making it almost as quick and easy to shop online as it is to drive across town to the mall. Their no-hassle and quick turnaround policy for returns makes it less trouble to send shoes that don’t fit back and get a replacement pair in a surprisingly short period of time.
How about you? In what area do you WOW your customers. What is it that you do that makes your customers tell their friends about you?
Failure to WOW in at least one area is very predictive of failure. Chances are, there are dozens of people out there who do exactly what you do. If you ever expect to stand out from the crowd and thrive as a business, you’re going to have to focus more on finding things your customers want and need and less on selling them what you have. By getting out of your box and into your customer’s world of needs, wants and desires you will find new opportunities to WOW them. It’s the business that WOW customers that survive and even thrive despite the ups and downs of the economy.
How do you WOW customers? Easy, do something they don’t expect which will make their lives and experience with you better than they expected. It sounds cliché, but EXCEED EXPECTATIONS must become your mantra if you really want to succeed in business and leave your competition in the dust. If you don’t exceed expectations, someone else will. Find the one or two areas where you can absolutely blow the doors off your competition then focus on delivering a product or service that WOWs your customers and potential customers.
80% of Small Businesses Fail: Can you beat the odds?
158 days
by Lee
in management
photo credit: Caveman Chuck Coker
According to the United States Small Business Administration, 80% of small businesses will be out of business within the first 5 years of opening. That startling statistic flies in the face of the old saying “experience is the best teacher.” Experience isn’t the best teacher, its the devourer of the naive.
What does it take to make a successful small business? It takes more than technical expertise. -You might be good at baking cookies; that doesn’t mean you can necessarily make a comfortable living for yourself baking cookies and selling them to others.
There is a big difference between being good at something and being good enough at business to make a living doing what you are good at. It takes more than baking good cookies to have a successful bakery. You have to have a level of business expertise that doesn’t necessarily come natural to people who are good bakers, massage therapists, personal trainers, lawn care professions, etc.
photo credit: istolethetv
Would you get excited if I asked you to put on a blind fold and walk unassisted across a busy city street or highway? No? You may be doing the entrepreneurial equivalent if you’re not regularly using the tool I’m going to talk about in this article.
Getting from where you are now to where you want to be tomorrow requires strategy. In fact, mere survival requires a strategy. According to the Small Business Administration, most small businesses fail within the first 5 years. That startling statistic flies in the face of the old adage “experience is the best teacher.” Clearly, if experience were the best teacher, that statistic would be different.
As I see it, one of the primary reasons for that disturbing statistic is failure to realistically examine both internal and external determinants of business success. Many self employed business people I’ve worked with over the last few years don’t really have a solid, written strategy for growth and survival. Many of them subscribe to the notion “build it and they will come.” Failure to have a growth strategy (or a ‘survival strategy’ for that matter) is like playing Russian Roulette with your business.
If you have a goal to increase revenue next quarter by 15%, you need to have a strategy. In this article, I’ll discuss one of the most powerful tools for developing a strategy:the SWOT analysis. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. The SWOT technique was originally created by Albert Humphrey at Stanford University in the 60’s and 70’s.
A SWOT Analysis is a tool used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a project or business enterprise.
Briefly, here is a description of each category:
- Strengths: characteristics of the business that gives it an advantage over others in the industry (Internal factors and generally within your control)
- Weaknesses: characteristics that place the business at a disadvantage relative to others (Internal factors and generally within your control)
- Opportunities: external chances to make greater sales or profits in the environment (External factors and generally beyond your direct control)
- Threats: external elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business (External factors and generally beyond your direct control)
A SWOT analysis is one of the most powerful tools for strategic planning and can be as simple or as complex as your imagination. For the purpose of this article, I will focus primarily on your personal attributes that impact on your potential success or failure. I believe this to be the best approach because the majority of my clients are sole proprietors and practitioners. A quick search of the internet will yield plenty SWOT analyses of well known national and international companies.
Regardless of the goal, you will only make progress toward that goal if you have a realistic strategy. Ideally, your growth strategy should be formulated after performing a through SWOT analysis.
Advancing toward the goal without first doing a SWOT analysis is like trying to cross a busy highway while blindfolded. It can be done, but theres a realistic chance of not just failure, but catastrophic failure.
Performing a SWOT serves to remove the blindfold that seriously impairs your ability to safely arrive at your desired destination. SWOT is a tool that has obviously been around for a while but its usefulness cannot be overstated. SWOT can be used to develop a company strategy or adapted for a more personal application to address personal and professional goals or objectives. Regardless strategy type, SWOT is a great place to start. A word of caution however: if a SWOT analysis does not start with defining a desired end state or objective, it runs the risk of being useless.
Once a clear objective is established, a SWOT analysis will help flesh out a specific tactical and strategic approach to reach the goal. Performing a SWOT analysis is the equivalent of removing a blindfold before attempting to cross a busy street.
Whether you are trying to cross a busy street or hoping to increase revenue by 15%, performing a SWOT analysis is a vital first step.
Objective
Conducting a SWOT analysis of your business isn’t something you do just for fun. You should establish a goal before you begin. In this example, SWOT analysis is used to examine both internal and external factors that impact the ability of a fictitious personal trainer in a make-believe town that wants to increase revenue by at least 20% during the next 12 months.
Strengths
Strengths are elements of your business that give you a competitive advantage over others in your industry. Strengths are internal assets than can be leveraged to help you achieve your identified objective.
- Strong communication skills
- Knowledge of successful and proven training methods
- Ability to motivate people to excel
- Competitive price due to limited overhead
Weaknesses
Weaknesses, ME? Yes, despite what you may believe, you have weaknesses that may have a negative impact on your business.
Weaknesses are the absence of strengths. Typical weaknesses are as follows.
- Lack of reputation and credibility due to being new
- Lack of knowledge of advertising and marketing
- Uncomfortable with sales process
Opportunities
External opportunities for profit and growth.
- Very little competition
- New technologies offer innovative ways to help clients achieve goals
- Obesity is an epidemic that is unlikely to be resolved soon
Threats
Changes in the external environment that jeopardize your company’s wellbeing and survival including such things as:
- Potential competition due to low barrier to entry
- New technologies that make trainer obsolete
- Client’s potential economic sensitivities -hiring a trainer is a luxury
Now What?
It isn’t enough to know your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. What are you going to do about them? That’s the pivotal question.
The ability of the personal trainer in our example to achieve 20% revenue growth in the coming year is limited only by his or her ability to take the necessary actions to maximize strengths and opportunities and at the same time guard against the dangers inherent in weakness and threats. Control what you can and minimize the damage from the things you can’t control -that is the ultimate benefit from regularly conducting a SWOT Analysis of your business.
Will a SWOT analysis keep you from going out of business? Not necessarily. The exercise of carefully considering the factors that impact your business will help you spot small problems BEFORE they become big enough to destroy your business.
Ready to cross the road? Take an afternoon off to carefully your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Take off the blindfold and RUN!
