Big Rocks, Little Rocks, Sand, and Water
We learn about order of operations in elementary mathematics. The idea that a process must follow a pre-scripted series of steps to insure the correct answer is found. Order of operations does not apply to just math equations. In fact, it applies to everything from financial decisions, HTML code, product launches, publishing a blog post, and prioritizing your company’s resources. Consider you have a large jar. Around it, you have a collection of large and small rocks, a pail of water, and a bucket of sand. If you pour the sand in first, you can be assured the rest of the material will not fit in the jar. Same with…
Your Brand’s Brand
Throughout history, we’ve used branding to mark everything from bread to livestock. Bakers would cut unique marks in their bread dough as a way to signal trust to their consumers. Ranchers used iron to sear their brand and track commingling cattle. Today, we associate branding with our businesses. Branding serves the same purpose: to give consumers, workers, and users a sense of what to expect. Actors use their personal brand to build anticipation around their upcoming theatrical release. Companies backfill their brand with “Best Place to Work” awards or Fortune recognition. Automobile manufactures intentionally place their logo on cars where we expect to see — the brand. Brands work best…
Time Invested is not Time Wasted
We live in an ever-connected society. The technology that was supposed to make our lives easier, actually makes it more frantic. Our need to be connected often shortcuts our ability to connect with those around us. The same with time. Our time-saving technology has tricked us into believing that there is a microwave option for nearly everything. We can summon rideshares, check real-time reports, gauge user response, and click ourselves to exotic far off lands through the lens of a smartphone. What we forget is the long game. The view that is only accessible by taking the walking path. Or the efforts now that will help us next week, or…
Playing Politics In Business
DISCLAIMER: This post contains political topics. I am not going to debate the merits of the topics themselves; this post talks of a brand’s response to an issue. You can replace guns with any topic you wish and the argument stands. Thursday, the outdoors equipment retailer, REI, decided they needed to be in the pro-gun/anti-gun debate. If you’re keeping track, that list includes Delta, United Airlines, Enterprise Holdings, Dicks Sporting Goods, Walmart, Kroger, MetLife — and now REI. It is beyond puzzling why a giant corporation decides to jump into political hot-button issues where they are likely to alienate half of their base. It is possible to have an opinion or personal stance about a…
I Don’t Know
Three very powerful words. Takes a lot of courage to admit that you don’t know something. In a world where we reward know it all’s, experts, and the “always right”, it is refreshing to find someone who can admit they are not Encyclopedia Brown. Perhaps even more impactful words, the ones the lead to real change: “…but I will find out.” With this mentality, we develop a community of insightful leaders. Rather than staying stuck with what they don’t know, they press forward with a commitment to learn more. Imagine the impact you can have to those around you when you approach each problem with an open mind and the…
Confusing Complexity with Capability
Last week, I met with two different entrepreneurs, in two very different industries. Yet they had the same problem. Internal complexity masking as capability. Any consulting session with me generally starts with a discussion about where you are, and where you want to go. It includes me asking a series of clarifying questions to get to the root of the frustration you’re facing. Often, the problem isn’t what has been self-diagnosed. If it were, you would have fixed it instead of calling me. (grin) These pointed questions often reveal layers and layers of complexity that have built up over time within the organization. Not just layers of management, or layers…
Cultivate a Culture of Compassion
Compassion is seeing a long face and genuinely asking what’s wrong. Compassion is seeing another struggle and offering to help. Compassion is knowing the news will be bad, but asking anyway. Compassion is the essence of care and concern and being willing to help when possible. Compassion is digging deeper than the glossy surface. It is seeking to learn more, even if it will be unfavorable for you. It is getting out of your own safety and security to help another in a bad situation. It is inconvenient. It is easy to pass over and ignore. It takes intentionality. But the payoff is without measure. The impact you have on…
Your Business, 2 Years From Today
The savvy business leader is looking at tomorrow and beyond. She is aware of the challenges today, but focused on the challenges of what is coming up. She is looking at the horizon, around the corner, seeing the unseen. I see many entrepreneurs fail to invest in their business today because they are obsessed with the challenges of today. This approach lends to a continual cycle of reactive actions. Always feeling like you are a little behind. Constantly putting out fires. It leads to knee-jerk reactions rather than smooth transitions. Not only that, it gives competitors an advantage. The farmer invests in the future by planting seeds before he needs…
Encouragement. For you.
You matter. You have a message worth sharing. You are changing the world. You are good enough. You inspire someone. Your words resonate with readers. I talk a lot about content marketing, using social media, how vanity metrics don’t matter, how being helpful and giving of yourself will result in more customers. Let me encourage you: It works. Someone is reading, even when you can’t tell. Your message is meeting someone where they are, when they need you the most – even if they have never made themselves known to you. They are out there. Reading, listening, watching, and learning. Analytics paint incomplete pictures, don’t get hung up on the…
Advantages of an Advisory
My client watched his business grow from two locations to seven in seven years. On the surface, this isn’t a bad pace. But when we dig into the details, we see how the growth happened. It started slowly, the first two stores were in operation for about five years before Store 3 and Store 4 opened within a year of each other. The ownership is a frugal and methodical bunch. Conservative in finances, staffing, and decision making, overall. They have deeply ingrained core values that serve as a strong foundation for the first chapter of their story. Then construction started on Store 5 just as an opportunity for Store 6…
Are We A Good Fit?
You wouldn’t commit to marrying the first person to talk to you in a crowded bar. Nor would you buy the first car you see in your favorite color. Everyday, we evaluate, vet, and aim to select the best option for us in the moment. Except in sales. Freelancers, consultants, and entreprenuers often commit to partnering with someone at the first sign of interest. We disregard redflags, imagine to the best possible outcome, and put the sale ahead of our own survival instincts. Instead, we should have a method of filtering potential partners (this includes clients, customers, business partners, and teammates). Consider: Do I like this person? Will we work…
How Buying Social Media Followers Erodes Trust In Your Brand
The news is tripping all over itself to report on the widespread habit of brands and celebrities buying social media followers. The practice has been around for awhile, but is finally going mainstream and people are talking about it. What does it mean for a leader or brand? It means that we have to look beyond vanity metrics that can easily be skewed. The number of followers you have makes NO DIFFERENCE to your business. You can have 1 follower and sell a million dollars of product. Alternatively, you can have a million followers and go out of business for a lack of sales. – Note: I wrote this post…
What Separates a Good Salesperson From a Bad Salesperson
Sales is a cutthroat business! Yet a necessary one. Some of us may be naturally gifted at closing the deal, while others battle an internal voice telling us we cannot sell. Being “good at sales” is actually “being good at people”. People have needs. We have solutions. Since mankind has existed, we have been in some form of trade (or, “sales”). Whether we’re dealing sheep, berries, airplanes, or software, we exchange what we have for what we want. “You want sheep to better your farm and produce wool for your family? I have an excess of sheep. Let’s make a deal.” Standardized currency drastically changed the game; no longer did…
Hate Has No Place In Your Organization
I hope we can all agree that hate has no place within your company. However, hate manages to be present even when we don’t realize it. Hiding in unlikely places. It hides in anomosity, resentment, hostility, antagonism, revenge, antipathy, griping, and spite. If allowed to fester, the many faces of hate eat away at company culture, employee happiness, and long-term success. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love… Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding.” Within your…
Work Worth Doing
Passion and good intent are funny things. When we get an idea for something, we pursue it with great fervor. We think of the grandness of our vision and how it will change the lives of those around us and those who use it. We think about our future with this new idea in place. Not long after the inspiration strikes, we start to get less passionate about our work. Procrastination sets in. The vision board gets pushed aside. The goals, mission, and value statements find themselves in a dark drawer. The outline of the book gets buried in Evernote. The passion fades. But the idea did not get worse.…
Comparison is Killing Your Business
It’s common to want to emulate those who we look up to. We hear the success stories of other business tycoons and think ourselves, “If I can just do that, I will experience the same success they enjoy.” The fallacy is that we are comparing our beginning to their middle. We are privy only to curated snippets of their life or third-party reports of how they operate. In reality, we miss out on the context of what has lead them to where they are now. From the mountain base, we see them at the summit. We didn’t see the arduous journey to the top. We see what they are doing…
The Two Ps to Consider in 2018
The start of a new year serves as a blank slate, a chance to change, and the excitement of new opportunities. Right now, consider how 2018 will represent positive change in your organization. What will be different from last year? Answer these two Ps: 1. What needs to be put down 2. What needs to be picked up Don’t go into the new year with unnecessary burden. And, don’t forego carrying something important because your luggage is full. Instead, go into this year with intention, direction, and organization. Happy New Year!
Books I Read in 2017
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”] As a child, I devoured reading material. My mom toted me to the library at least twice a week for the quota of age-appropriate books. I excelled at reading speed and comprehension. Between books, I would read the daily newspaper while I ate breakfast. I read. A lot. But that happy habit faded as I aged. Late this year (October, if we are being honest), I decided I wanted to get back into purposeful reading. My business partner and I agreed to read each day and followed a reading schedule that would…
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Is It Hustle? Or something else?
How to Talk to People
Step 1: Don’t talk to people. Don’t talk at people, either. When we talk to or at people, it presumes we will be doing the talking. Instead, talk with them. Listen to them. This is especially important in difficult conversations. Instead of trying to win the argument, listen and share your story. When we listen first, our verbal posture changes to become more welcoming for a conversation instead of a defensive argument. – Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash
Is It Hustle? Or something else?
Staying up late on a Sunday night working on a project. Is that hustle? Working 16 hours a day on a new idea. Is that hustle? Foregoing social outings in lieu of shipping your product. Is that hustle? “Hustle” has become the drug of choice for many entrepreneurs. A glorification of doing what no one else will to see success that no one else will experience. What is it exactly? Hard work? Taking action? An attitude? Getting out of bed an hour earlier? Is it working faster? Is it applying yourself? Is it something to covet and celebrate? Working hard has never gone out of style — and I am not suggesting…
What Will Your 2018 Story Be?
This time of year, many services recap your year with them. My Bible app shows how many days I read the daily devotional (only missed 9), MapMyRun shows how many miles I’ve run, and Pocket tells me that I consumed more than 10 books worth of content in their app in 2017. In some ways this is inspiring, a way to look back and quantify what I spent my time doing. Looking back is also a great time to look forward. What do you want 2018 to say about you? What do you want to achieve? What will your highlights be? I encourage you to take action now. What is…
How to Fire a Client [3 Scripts!]
We spend so much of our professional lives fearing that we’ll get fired from our jobs that when the tables turn, we have no idea what to do or say. Becoming a freelancer, consultant, or owning your agency means that you have the power and flexibility to take on the projects you want and work with the clients you like. That also means that you’ll inevitably be faced with firing a problem client, which can be as scary as getting fired yourself. Here’s a quick guide about why you’d want to fire a client, what to say, and how to do it: Why Would You Fire a Client? Not all…
Replacing Urgent with Important
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we place priority on events on our lives. From taking care of our children to finishing work projects, it is easy to become overly focused on the urgent and lose sight of the important. [Tweet “What if we commit to being more intentional about spending our time on what is important; not just what is urgent.”] A late night email from a client may be urgent; but it is more important than quality time with your spouse? Or spending 30 minutes with your child in the morning over hot cocoa rather than forcefully tackling the To-Do list. Each day, we are blessed with…
How to Respond When Someone Asks You for Coffee [Template]
How many “Do you want to grab coffee sometime” emails do you get each week? To clarify, these are not the fun, catch-up sessions over a hot cappuccino. These are the “do you want to meet for coffee so you can give me free advice about my business” types of coffee invitations. One or two of these requests can be flattering and easy to accommodate, but the issues arise when you get handfuls of these every week. [Tweet “How you handle ‘Let’s do coffee’ requests says a lot about you as a business person. How do you respond?”] What do you do? How do you decide who is “worth” meeting and…
