Attacking the Opportunity

In the business you are going to have to attack opportunity when it is available. In most cases people let opportunity slip away they not because they do not see it rather because they assume it will be there again. When teaching sales I have always stressed the importance of taking the customer out of the marketplace quickly. This is for the simple reason that regardless of the product you are selling someone will always promise to deliver it cheaper and with better service. Although this promise is often made the results are rarely honored. This ultimately causes the customer pain and remorse. Here are a couple of sales tips to remember when entering the market:

• Engage the customer into dialogue and build rapport, personal interaction will deliver higher results as the customer feels valued
• Move the sales transaction through the process swiftly, under promise and over deliver
• View each transaction as a relationship, set future expectations with the customer
• Follow up and be accountable to the clients needs
• Return your phone calls
• Give each client individual attention
• Work for referrals, "who else do you know that could use my services?"
• Never downgrade the competition explain what sets you apart
• Never sell based on price, sell based on benefits, (faster, accountable, service)
• Continually touch base with clients
• Ask for the business

Although there are many other areas that you can focus on; however, if you do each one of these effectively you will increase sales and production. Sales is not rocket science however most people make it more complicated than it is. The simple fact of the matter is you have to talk to more people each day who are interested in your products, build long term relationships, and ask for the business. Once you have established yourself in the market place it will be time to refine your sales process as times will change and new relationships will need to be built.

Leading

There are going to be times in which you have to lead and make tough decisions. In organizations I think it is important as a leader to think about the long term strategy rather than the short term gain. I have recently experienced a situation that will be very difficult to handle. I have decided that it is neither in my best interest professionally nor monetarily to address but as a leader I cannot turn a blind eye. I think this is one of the times that will define a person as a leader. As a leader people have to understand you are addressing issues, making changes, or sacrifices based off of their best interest not yours. Until this level of trust has been built it is very unlikely you will be viewed as a leader.

As I have mentioned in the past I think there are 2 characteristics that a person can be categorized into by answering 2 simple questions.

1. When you arrive at an office are people happy to see you, are they glad to spend time with you, and are they upset when you leave?
2. When you arrive at the office are people on eggshells, do they change their behaviors, is the tension in the office higher, are they relieved after you go?

Obviously we would all like to be #1. The challenge is making people feel comfortable giving you the feedback if you are a #2.

Remain Humble

Regardless of your overall success it is important to remain humble. Remaining humble enables you to build relationships that will drive more success. Everyone wants to be a winner but nobody wants to hear the winner tell others how good they are.

Surprise Feedback

Today I had a firm conversation with an employee about perception and leadership. It is amazing to see how people act when feedback is giving. Although she has been an outstanding producer I feel like she has been somewhat misguided when it comes to leadership development.

Unfortunately she is faced with some major obstacles that are in her way that she will have to remove. The obstacles are not going to be easy to change and she is going to have to want to change. As we began to talk she asked me how? How do I change? I said it is simple the 1st step is to identify areas that you might want to change. I once has a manger explain to me the importance of self awareness, although this might seem like a simple concept most people do not understand it. In this case she has been buying her staff gifts, food, etc but ultimately what they want is direction (guess what, that is free these days).

As a leader you have to understand who you are, what you can be, and how you are going to get there. This is not going to happen overnight and certainly will never come to a point when you can say I have mastered this skill. Leadership is ongoing it is not a kit that you can buy in the store. Leadership is individualized not only for you as a person but for the people you are surrounded by. If you are not willing to change and adapt than leadership is not for you.

Perception

How do others perceive you? This is a question that most people cannot answer intern could cause harm in their professional career. Most people have the feeling that everyone likes them and therefore are not constantly looking for feedback in order to change behaviors. I once worked with an employee who said "feedback is a gift." She could not have been more right, and being open for feedback is what will make the leader learn to change and grow.

Leadership is not defined by hitting huge monetary results leadership is defined by leading people to a common goal. I remember being told once you are not a leader until people choose to follow. This comment will make anyone think, what would happen if I left? Would people want to come with me? Could I call them if I needed a favor? Would they run through a wall for me? If the answer is yes than you are a leader! If you are not sure what the answer is it might be time to think about gathering feedback on what you can do to make yourself more productive.

Making people think

Yesterday I was speaking to a former employee who has recently taken over a new team. During our discussions we were talking about performance management and how to develop the metrics that he is going to use. Initially he was thinking about rolling out metrics to each person. As a new manager coming in I warned him that this approach needs to be sensitive as the people who really care about the business are going to take this personally.

Today he called me back and has made a decision to address each one individually. As you think about performance development and management this is the best approach to take. Unfortunately, Corporate America in most cases has to play the role of being fair and consistent to avoid litigation.

As a manager and a leader I would challenge each person to establish a system in which they are coaching their team to higher results. As the results increase begin to set stretch goals for each person individually. Since each person has different motivations you will find this process time consuming but ultimately more rewarding.

Team Meeting

Today we had a meeting with my peer group. The group has a very interesting dynamic and the leader of the group is trying to integrate the team. It is amazing to me to see how people react in group situations. Today we were able to brainstorm a few ideas that were going to take our business to the next level. Some people were very positive and open to ideas others seemed to shoot down everything.

A point that I brought up, that we will be integrating, is to create a mentor system amongst our peers. This is to build good team unity and relationships. The team lacks a sense of loyalty to each other and is working toward making this a focus in 2007. I am really looking forward to working with my peer, she is pregnant and she will be going through some challenges in the upcoming months. This is going to be an outstanding opportunity to build a relationship with someone who is going to be going through an emotional roller coaster.

I really hope to see the team work through this process as if done correctly it can build trust amongst each other. It will be the responsibility of a few of us to create the environment that is open to new ideas and are willing to make changes to adapt to the team. For those who are not willing to adapt and learn it will be their choice if they want to be part of the team in the future.

Day Off

Today the my team had a day off. I cannot stress the need for days like this to happen in order to maintain high levels of productivity. About a year ago I was in a completely different role which required me to work about 70 hours a week. For some reason I really enjoyed this stress and it pushed me in ways I would otherwise have not tried. However one thing I would not do is let my team do this. For certain people this is an acceptable life style however the majority of people would not choose this approach. After working all of these hours I began to think of a question.....Is it better to give 100% for 40 hours or 75% for 60 hours?

I would argue that if an employee is disciplined, highly effective with time management, and task oriented it is possible to be more effective in 40 hours at 100%. The problem that arises is most people are not this disciplined and causes slow downs in production. In the course of my career I have always taught sales people to make one additional call. This means that no matter what they are going to do make one extra call, restroom, water, lunch, or leaving for the day. If every sales person would do this it would result in 10 more calls a day or 50 more a week. Seems like a simple thought process but very few can grasp the concept. The other area that I preach is removing the non-value added items. These would be items that are holding you back from generating business. Certainly it is impossible to eliminate all of these the but the fewer you have the more productive you will be.

Another thing to remember is once you see someone burning out give them some time off. Even if it is just a Friday afternoon this will help refresh and rebuild. After all it does not help if they are not productive as this usually results into negativity. 40 hours or 60 hours the choice is yours!

Coaching

Today I had the opportunity to coach and develop a couple of my team members. There is really nothing better than to watch people develop and grow. Regardless of age or experience if people are willing to learn and adapt they will be successful.

Today I have a group that is mixed with some experience and some who have relatively no experience. The challenge is making sure the team members that have experience are able to utilize their skills when it comes to long term success of others. In the business world it is sometimes tough for people to realize that leadership is more about developing others rather than personal development.

When the development of others happens a leader begins to build a legacy. This legacy is what I call Residual Leadership. This is something that is taught and will carry throughout your career and through the careers of many others. Residual Leadership is like a family tree of sorts, who have you lead, who have they lead and who will they lead. Another words regardless of the role a leader is in today they are molding the future of the organization.

Valentines Day

Yesterday was Valentines Day which is celebrated across the world. For most this is time to be shared with your significant other. However this is a holiday that leaders can really utilize as a time to really say thanks and that they care about their team. Valentines day for some is about love but in business it can be about caring .

If there is one thing you can do every day for your team is show them you care for them. It is not good enough to show them you care about results you have to care about them as individuals. In business we are sometimes concerned about driving our results from our team we sometimes forget we should be driving our team to the results. However if you do not show that you care for them as individuals you will be facing a constant battle. Today loyalty for a company can be lost very quickly but if you can build personally loyalty the rewards are endless.

Snow Day

What happens when a manager is faced to make tough decisions about results vs. employees well being? Well the answer is simple, choose employees well being as they are the ones who will drive the results. In business there are going to be days in which adverse conditions are going to happen, this might be due to weather, technology, or illness. The key is to effectively manage these situations and build trust with your employees.

These are the best times in which managers can become leaders. The employee will see a side of personal concern rather than the bottom line. Thus will lead to a more dedicated workforce since they realize you have their best interest in mine rather than just simply caring about results. These times do and should not happen very often so take advantage of them as they can be a springboard to building trust that could last a lifetime.

Lead by Example

Lead by Example, is this a management concept or a way of life in your organization. So many organizations say that their leaders manage by this method; however, if you ask their employees you will probably hear a different reaction. Is this method effective? In a recent study I was able to determine that a high percentage of associates would rather see their managers lead by example rather than any other strategy. The most alarming point of the research was the associates did not necessarily care if the manager had success or failure. The fact they were willing to dig in with them was enough to understand their daily struggles.

In business we as leaders sometimes forget about the daily grind that our front line has to deal with each and every day. It is always a good idea to understand their challenges and opportunities and there is no better way to accomplish this than just jumping in. If a manager is viewed as someone who is not willing to jump in and help out. They are not looked at as part of the team but rather an outsider.

Employee appreciation = customer appreciation

Have you ever thought the way that you treat your employees will result in the way they treat your customers? This is something that I have been thinking about and I am convinced that treating an employee well will carry through when it comes to customer satisfaction scores. The biggest question is how can this be quantified? Why would this have any correlation?

I think the correlation is two fold and starts with long term employees engage long term customers. Today people change jobs, locations, and careers faster than ever. For the younger generation the thought of doing the same job for the next 10 years is just not an option. Competition for talent is tougher than ever before and this is because very few people are willing to make the tough sacrifices to become successful. However the number one reason people leave is because they do not feel appreciated. If your employee does not feel appreciate how are they going to treat the customer?

It would be interesting to poll the top 500 corporations see is attrition rate is correlated to customer service score. I would predict the lower the attrition rate the higher the score. I think the real point is our employees are our customers and if we do not take care of our customers someone else will.

Taking the Chance

As I spoke with a friend today I was realizing how passionate he was becoming about opening up his own business. This is a huge chance since he walked away from a large corporate role with a ton of perks. However at the end of the day the perks, big salary and responsibility were not the passion that was driving him.

I think this is a great way to look at life in general. You have to have passion for what you do or the largest paychecks in the world will not mean anything. Ultimately each person will have to measure success differently but the ultimate goal is to have fulfillment each and every day and a passion that drives you to higher results. During our conversation he asked me, "how many people do I know that are real go getter's?" It took me a while to think of a few people that are trying new things each and every day to change where they are either financially, professionally, emotionally, or spiritually.

However the few that I could think of find a way to be successful regardless of the task at hand. It is people like this that you have to associate yourself with as they will teach you how to win and how to fail. Although no one wants to be a failure you have to be able to recognize when you failed and why as this will result in future successes.

providing feedback

Providing feedback to a team member is one of the best opportunities a leader has. It is important that the feedback has substance and proper timing. It is important for a leader to recognize when feedback is appropriate and where it should take place. Great leaders make sure to praise in public and provide feedback in private. If feedback happens in front of others you will not only lose trust in the individual who is receiving the feedback you will also lose trust from others who witenessed the action take place. Why is this? Simple they do not know when they are going to be next on the list.

Positive feedback is always welcomed, however an organization will not grow if developmental opportunities are addressed. Behaviors will not change unless the behaviors are addressed. Make it a priority to provide constructive feedback at least quarterly to your team. The other key to providing feedback is being willing to receive feedback and adapting to change.

Managers vs Leaders

Leaders are hard to find and defining who a leader is is even harder. I think a leader can be defined as a person who is willing to challenge the status quo, redefine processes and create innovation that will take their companies to the next level. However the most important characteristic a leader has is to be willing to learn and adapt to unforeseen circumstances. The challenge that some managers have is allowing future leaders to perform these special talents.

Why does this happen?

The answer is very difficult and there are many reasons why this might happen. I think one reason would be lack of confidence from the manager. In some regards they fell threatened and change could result in additional work or worse loss of employment. Another reason would be they are blind and do recognizing the talents of their employees. They might not value the creation of new ideas or want to personally challenge the status quo.

In business there are many managers; however, there are very few leaders. If you have a chance to work with someone who is an excellent leader take advantage of the experience as it is likely they will be moving to larger roles.

Some of the Top Leaders I have worked for: Jim Nowak, Bob Binnie, Brian Call, Nonnie Williams if you ever get a chance to work for these people jump at the opportunity as you will be a better leader for it.

Email Communication

In today's day in age email is more common than ever. In some cases this is more popular than talking to people over the phone and can cause major problems. This can happen for a few reasons which I have outlined below:

1. The tone for the email is tough to determine. Depending on who is writing or who is reading it the tone can be perceived 2 different ways. For example if an employee just walked out of a tough meeting and was very frustrated, regardless of the content of the email, this employee will probably be viewed the wrong way. Although the author might not have planned this to happen it is a common mistake that happens in the work place.

2. Eliminate emotion and keep the email short and to the point. This is something that most people really seem to struggle with and make the emails much longer to try to get their point across. A best practice is to make sure the email is no longer than one page. The longer the email the less likely it will be read. It is very common for people to displace an email that looks time consuming. People today are very busy keep the email short, factual, and to the point.

3. Reply to ALL? This is something that can be blown way out of control and cause nightmares for the team. In most companies there are a few people that would be classified as reply to all bandits, feeling they need everyone to know their opinion. This usually take place because of lack of attention when reading the email. When reading the email make sure it states to please share your opinions with the group, if it does not say this then replying to the author individually is appropriate. There is nothing worse than opening your email and seeing the same name in the subject for 15 different emails. This wastes time and is rarely productive.

Lastly know your audience, who is going to be reading this? If you have not built a strong relationship with someone and you display a negative email you have just dug a whole you are unlikely to craw out of. Never give negative feedback in email this is gutless and is sure to lose respect quickly; on the other hand, positive feedback is fine and is usually very welcomed by any audience.

Closing a chapter

Although it was a very short time that I spent with my recent team it was an outstanding experience. We capped it of tonight by going out unwinding in a very casual atmosphere. It is great to see a team come together and really enjoy working as a team rather than individuals.

Once you can say you have strong friends at work you are likely to share success, failures and feedback more often, This is because you will be building trust which is the single most important trait in any relationship. If a person does not have friends at work and distances themselves from others you can almost count on them resigning in the next few months. However if you can engage them, understand them, and recognize them you will have an employee and friend for life.

Over my career I have built outstanding relationships with people that I have worked with. These people might have been my employees, bosses or peers. However today I would call them my friends.

Pursuit of Happyness

Today I was able to attend a public speaking appearance from Chris Gardner. Early this year I hear about Chris and his story from an employee of mine who I was helping take his career to the next level. We read his book together and discussed concepts along the way. I thought tonight's presentation was outstanding and included these key points

1. Provide for your family, whatever it takes
2. Focus on the baby steps that you make in life it is important to recognize that you are moving forward.
3. There is only one person in control of your outcomes and that is you.
4. Stop the cycle, whatever that may be, (health, failure, family neglect) stop the cycle that might be happening in your life as it will effect others in your legacy.
5. Create a legacy by having an impact in your community

As I think about my career and my life there are things I need to do better, today's results will lead to tomorrows plan.