Lettuce, ICE, and the Inferior Kid Podcast
May 30, 2006
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Phil and I have a new podcast show up called Lettuce, ICE, and the Inferior Kid – Show 7. I tell some of my story, Phil has a formula for dealing with bullshit leadership and I have a few observations on why entrepreneurs struggle in business. I think it is well worth a listen.
- No Bullshit Leadership Podcast: Subscribe to the podcast, direct to your MP3 player or iPod.
- Business Tips and Traps Podcast: Subscribe Via Feedburner
- BUYING a Business Podcast: Subscribe via Feedburner
Break the Status Quo! Reinventions to Transform Your Work and Business
May 26, 2006
Tired of the same old, same old? Today could be a unique day in history if you implement just one of the 14 ideas at Rosa Say’s Talking Story Reinventions at Work and in Business: a Ho’ohana Community Forum.
I have to disclose that I was asked by Rosa to submit a article in the spirit of Reinventing Business. Despite my bias there are an additional 13 reasons to visit Rosa’s forum at her blog. Here is the list of the 14 articles and ideas to encourage you to visit:
- Reinventing Brainstorming at Work
- In search of a job spec that inspires
- Reinventing Business, Making the Transition from Advertiser to Facilitator
- Employee Evangelism
- Coyote and Jackalope
- How to Kill Creativity
- Robots R Us: Crisis in Customer Service
- Manifesting Possibility
- The Most Valuable 10% of your Job Description
- The Resistance
- Want to be a great place to work?
- Why do young leaders leave organizations?
- Vaporizing Limitations
- Information Sharing: Don’t Hoard your Knowledge
- Passion for the Good Customer Experience: Circle Recognition
- A Reinvention Revolution; 3 Sacred Cows to Start With
- The Reinvention of Human Resources
- Got a job to fill? Tell it like it is
- Great Project to consider: A Compensation Overhaul
I am inspired to reinvent, how about you? Stop by the forum to add to the conversation or add your comments.
Good, Better, Best or Very, Very Good vs. Great – Which is better?
May 24, 2006
View All Posts Tagged: Communication Skills
What is your business strategy?
You could choose to be good, better, or best. Maybe Very, Very Good or perhaps Making it Great like my buddy Phil Gerbyshak likes to say. But Kevin Stirz from the Smart Marketing Blog asserts that You Don’t Have to be the Best. Just be Very, Very Good.
“To be successful, we don’t have to be the best. In fact the concept of “number one” shouldn’t even be in our brains. It takes up valuable mental space that could be put to better use.
But, whatever you do, you should strive to be very, very good.” Via Smart Marketing
No one aspires to produce sub-standard products or services. I suggest that we buy and make due with buying just ‘good’ products a lot more often than we realize.
In fact many large companies, even the Fortune 500 get by with good everyday. As customers we buy good products all the time.
If I asked you whether you wanted to buy a good or great product I suggest that you would choose great over good. In fact, if you could make a side by side comparison and the great product cost more money you would buy the great product.
How do I know you would pay more for a great product?
Companies that produce great products know their customers needs, wants, and perceptions better than their competitors. When a company goes to that much trouble to really understand their customers they also know how much you are willing to pay.
Leaders of great companies have a great attitude. I believe that great products and services start with leaders who have a great attitude. They need to get in alignment with their customers needs and wants and know how to use that information to do a superior job of marketing and communicating the value of their products.
In your opinion which is better Very, Very Good or Great?
Are you a generous blogger?
May 24, 2006
Easton Ellsworth from Business BlogWire has written a excellent post titled “Seven Essential Traits Of Highly Effective Business Bloggers” where he documents his observations about seven essential character attributes or traits of highly effective business bloggers.
So, the name is somewhat reminiscent of Steven Covey’s book but he makes great points and it is well worth the read. He talsk about the role that confidence, humility, kindness, sincerity, integrity, patience, and diligence play in the blogging game. Make sure you stop by to read Eastons’ thougthful post.
What does this have to do with being a generous blogger?
Well I have only known Easton for a short time but he exhibits the traits of a generous person and blogger. Plus he is part of our Generous Web project. BTW: stay tuned, some exciting announcements are upcoming.
Have You Been Poisoned by a Toxic Leader?
May 23, 2006
In building your business your ability to show the way, create a reason, motivate, and cause someone to follow your lead is what overcomes human inertia.
We face leadership opportunities throughout our lives. We do not always recognize them as opportunities because our context of leadership is based upon what we have witnessed or experienced.
For the show notes, visit the podcast blog.
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Stop Working Harder – Lead
In the process of operating your business it is not uncommon to experience fatigue. Because you are so busy trying to get everything ‘just right’ or so busy trying to keep up, you find yourself running on empty.
We are exhausted because we have pushed ourselves beyond our limits and personal capacity. In a recent podcast we talked about the ‘cult of overwork’. It is one thing to show initiative in action, it is quite another to think that if you work just a little harder you will save the day. The problem with that assumption is that you are the only one who can ’save the day’.
If you do not provide opportunities for members of your team to win or keep hijacking their job why should they care?
Unless you lead them to something better mediocrity sets in and they quit on you emotionally.
Unfortunately, left unchecked you will turn around one day looking for some support and help only to discover – nobody is following you.
Whether you are a solo entrepreneur, manager of a large multi-national, or owner of a small business you are a leader whether you you see yourself as a leader or not.
I guarantee your employees hope you are a leader. Your suppliers, creditors, and business partners expect you to provide leadership.
The Leadership Gap
Until recently leadership was not included in the curriculum of most secondary education programs. While leadership training is certainly on the rise there is a significant gap in our need for leadership and the availability of effective leaders to model and mirror.
Why is the availability of effective leaders so important? Leadership is something we recognize when we see it.
Until we witness a selfless and powerful leader in action we are in stasis.
Literally our leadership abilities are hidden behind our self-image in a state of perpetual equilibrium.
Something powerful happens when you observe a leader in action your own ‘leadership awareness’ is piqued. Which gives rise to your own curiosity about this leadership thing.
Leadership = Personal Congruency + No Poisoning of Relationships (Zero Toxicity)
Personal Congruency: If I asked 100 people to define leadership in the context of business I would get almost as many different definitions. However, to lead others you first need to lead yourself or allow someone else to lead you. (that is why we have coaches) Personal leadership begins with personal congruency i.e. being in a state of harmony with yourself in what you do, how you do it, and why you do it.
Be true to yourself and actively cultivate a state of personal harmony. Start with examining your integrity. Do you exhibit the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles? There will be temptations and you will need to work hard to remain whole and undivided.
Poisoning Relationships: When leading a group of people or an organization will require that you put your knowledge into action. This will require skill and skill only comes with learning and experience but first you need to recognize the symptoms of toxic leadership.
- Lack direction.
- Staff are confused or are having to lead themselves.
- You make constant changes in direction and focus without finishing tasks or projects.
- Your business and staff are experiencing chaos.
- You hear political posturing, passive and aggressive behaviors.
- Conflict arises due to differing agendas.
- Witness communications breakdown.
- There is strife and in-fighting among employees.
- You find yourself sabotaging your projects.
- You are complacent, smug, feeling a sense of uncritical satisfaction, making do with ‘good enough’.
Are You a Toxic Leader?
The antidote to fear and toxic leadership is personal awareness. Has a leader injured or killed your drive or ended a relationship? If so, that is like poison and unless you are careful you too will become toxic. Answer the following questions.
- What relationships have poisoned me and made me toxic?
- Am I aware of what or how I was poisoned?
- What could have poisoned the ‘person’ who is toxic?
- What has happened to make the way we relate toxic?
- Am I simply having a toxic ‘reaction’ to a personality trait or quirk that has poisoned my perspective?
- What do I fear?
- Have you been poisoned?
- Are you poisoning others?
If someone has poisoned you take the opportunity to clear the air with the offending individual and try to work out your differences. If you are unable to speak with them, it will be up to you to let go and get on with your life and operating your business.
If you are a toxic leader you may not even know that you are toxic. Regardless, for things to change you will need to change. Part of what needs to change is the way you communicate, relate to, and view those you whom you lead. Get support from someone you trust and get counselling. Then you will be able to get on with running your business and living a life of abundance.
I promise that making the change is worth the effort. Theodore Roosevelt says it best:
“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself on a worthy cause; who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
If I can be of assistance, I am only an email or phone call away.
Regards,
Toxic Leadership Podcast Show 6 with Jodee Bock
May 22, 2006
I had the distinct pleasure of co-hosting this weeks show with a special guest Jodee Bock. Jodee joins Greg in a conversation about leadership, toxic leadership. Jodee can be found at: Bocks Office and her blog.
The show notes have the two quotes that Jodee and Greg shared.
To subscribe to the show, use our feedburner feed.
If Markets Are Conversations Then Blogs are a Marketing Tool
May 19, 2006
As I was saying yesterday Web Sites Tell but Blogs Relate and “Markets are conversations.” Via the Cluetrain Manifesto Yesterday Business Week’s The ABC’s of Beginning Your Blog asserts:
“A blog can be a great part of your marketing effort, but it should be planned appropriately with strategy in place,” says Ruth Bielobocky, president of Ion Design, a design and branding consultancy based in Frederick, Md. “A blog should position you as an expert and demonstrate your experience. But don’t forget the true needs of your target audience. If the information from the blog doesn’t directly help them solve a problem or address their wants and needs, it will not work.”
Once you’ve got an idea of what you want to accomplish with your blog, read other peoples’ blogs and get a handle on what they’re doing, advises James Governor, a technology analyst with Denver-based RedMonk. Reading blogs within your industry will give you a sense of what niches are underserved and will help get your own creative juices flowing so you can write authoritatively when it’s your turn.
Shout out to Blog Business Wire for pointing me to this Business Week article.
Your blog should get the same TLC as any other marketing decision and expenditure. In fact, probably more attention because it is going to become known as the ‘voice’ of your business.
Are you an Innie or an Outie?
May 18, 2006
No I am not talking about belly buttons or navels. I am talking about how you evaluate an idea or make a decision. In my post How People Evaluate Proposals I state that:
People Are Either Internally Or Externally Motivated
Today, I plan to expand on this premise considerably. Yesterday I had a fascinating conversation with my Mastermind group and one of the many distinctions we discussed was depending on a person’s ‘frame of reference’ they evaluate ideas differently.
Managing the Static and Interference
One of the most challenging things about being an entrepreneur is dealing with the expectations of:
- Customers
- Suppliers
- IRS or Canada Revenue Agency
- Municipal Bylaws
- States or Provincial Governments
- Family
- Friends
- Accountant
- Lawyer/Attorney
- WCB
- Media
With so many ‘voices’ vying for the business owners attention I often wonder how we keep it all together. It wouldn’t be so bad if they were all saying the same thing. But the reality is that for every ‘voice’ there is a different ‘message’ all trying to get your attention about their expectations – of you the business owner.
Stop the Train I Want to Get Off
I think it is amazing that we do not hear more entrepreneurs saying they want out more often. Because with so many conflicting messages, opinions, and expectations it can easily create confusion, doubt, and fear in the most experienced of entrepreneurs. There is one group that manages better than the other in coping with static and interference – they have a strong ‘internal’ frame of reference.
The Innie’s
This group has a very strong internal frame of reference. Opinions, pressure tactics, or authority does not easily sway them. They tend to be more analytical than the rest of the population. In fact, without the ‘right’ information they find it almost impossible to make a decision.
You cannot just dump massive amounts of information on them, they like their information to be presented to them in n orderly manner. In fact, if your information or presentation does not follow a specific order that make sense to them – they will not ‘get it’.
When confronted with a decision they look ‘within’ their life experience to form their response. They can unknowingly waste time looking for information, or thinking about making decisions when they need to ‘just do it’. This need for details can also be a weakness. Unless they have learned to manage the details they can quite literally get lost in a sea of information. When this happens they freeze, anxiety rises, and struggle to get out from under information overwhelm.
One of their big bug-a-boo’s is becoming corrupted by ‘the system’. They do not want to be unduly influenced and because of that can appear cold and do not easily trust others. See they have an huge need to follow their own voice. It is about being true to their priorities and maintaining their personal integrity.
The Outie’s
Exactly opposite to the Innie’s the Outie’s look outside themselves for an ‘external’ frame of reference. They work hard to please others and seek recognition, fame, and external affirmations. There are two types of outies, one is confident and the other lacks confidence.
1) The Confident Outie
This type is confident, rushed, and controlling Type A personality. They are clear about what they want and how you are going to help them get what they want. They pursue their goals with unwavering focus. In fact, achieving their result is more important than making friends.
They make quick decisions and can be demanding. The confident outie needs to learn to slow down, do a little research and take some time to ’smell the roses’.
You can find them by following the trail of broken relationships left behind in the wake of achieving their goals. They can be quite engaging and tend to have many acquaintances but few real friends. They are driven to achieve the trappings of success so they can ’see’ that they are successful.
When dealing with them make sure to recognize their achievements and acknowledge their presence.
2) The Insecure Outie
This one will fool you. They look and act a lot like the confident outie, with one major distinction – they lack confidence and they know it. They will be well dressed, groomed, and well spoken just like the confident outie. They are emulating the confident outie whom they aspire to be like.
They feel they can just ‘fake it’ until they make it. It is not that they lack integrity they are simply trying finesse their way through life. They desperately want to grow, build relationships, and are a party waiting to happen. They spend a lot of time talking, visiting, and just connecting with others.
They do not have a mind for details and when dealing with an analytical think their time is being wasted. They wonder why people cannot just ‘trust’ them and get on with making a decision. They make great sales people because they are highly social, which also makes them very different from the confident outie.
Like the confident outie, they seek approval and recognition except their motivation comes from a place of insecurity.
So, are you an Innie or an Outie? What have you learned as a result of reading this and would you like to read more of these types of articles?
Blog = Give and Take aka SHARE
May 18, 2006
Some bloggers are f$#^*!* stupid it makes me sick. If you are one of those bloggers (aka takers) consider this a spanking.
The ‘takers’ come to blogging with a narrow and selfish mentality. They are like mad scientists who hoard all the goodies. They wrap their arms around ‘their stuff’ and quietly say “It’s mine, all mine.” with an evil little chuckle.
To Be a Success in Blogging, Change Your Mind
Blogging is to the Internet what open source is to software. It is a open platform, open not closed. Designed, built, and structured to ‘share‘. There it is those five little letters.
S = Simple
H = Heads Together
A = Assist
R = Relationships
E = Everyone
Simple
How else can I describe a blog, straightforward. It is simple and easy to use from it’s content management system (CMS), being organized in reverse chronological order, and extending to the built in connectedness (blogroll, trackback etc.).
Heads Together
Hello!? It is not about shouting on your website but engaging in a civil conversation. A conversation is not the one sided comment and run (thanks, I got a link back to my website) I got what I came for and now I am leaving. A conversation is a two-way, two-people, two-sided, it takes two, two heads are better than one. Figure it out yet? Together, we are better because we put our heads together.
Assist
Bloggers work toward the same end by assisting one another. Most are not ‘takers’ buy they give because it is the right thing to do. Not because they will get a link back but because they like the content or points made by the author of another blog and they want to assist their audience to find interesting, helpful, and useful information.
Relationships
Dropping by and reading a blog via your feed reader or through a web browser is the ‘neighborly’ thing to do. Reading a blog without making a comment is like walking up to your neighbors house, walking around the house, peeking in the windows, and then walking away without introducing yourself. If someone did that at your house you would think that was some strange behavior and call the police. Come on people be good neighbor.
Everybody
Blogs are not a exclusive platform but something everybody can do. There are many free blogging platforms including hosted (for a fee) versions.
So don’t be a pig and a taker. Give and take. As the song goes “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love And Understanding” (Artists: Curtis Stiger). Give z little bit of love.
Do You Manage and Motivate with Logic or Emotion?
May 16, 2006
This could be the single most important article I have ever written, enjoy.
The traditional approach to management uses logic and fear to motivate and get people moving. It does work as it does tap into our fight or flight response. However, managing through logic and fear has its limitations. Especially when an employee disconnects because when they disconnect or give up it is an emotional response.
Trying to overcome an employees disconnect with fear and logic only exacerbates the problem and drives both parties further apart. So what can an employer do? Look at yourself.
Do you believe in what you do?
I bet you answered, “Yes.” or “Of Course.”
What I am talking about is not whether you are committed to the business. Rather, I am referring to knowing deep within your being the work you and your employees do, really matters.
It has a purpose beyond the job itself.
Now what is your answer to the question?
To motivate others you first have to believe in what you do. I heard Dick Richards on Brain Brew Radio, he is the author of “The Art of Winning Commitment – 10 Ways Leaders Can Engage Minds, Hearts, and Spirits” and he spoke about what it takes to get exceptional commitment from employees.
What I took away from listening to Dick’s remarks was we need to be able to practice emotional transference. It is the transference of emotion that engages people plus identifying with an idea or higher purpose beyond the job itself.
Connect to a Higher Purpose
So how do you find a higher purpose for your business? It starts with having compelling insight into the needs and aspirations of the people that your organization serves. Which starts with knowing the needs, wants, emotions, and perceptions of your ideal customer.
Then using that insight formulate an ‘idea’ that has meaning for both you, your customer, and your staff.
Sell Your ‘Idea’
Until someone actually takes action and does something a business is just an idea. So if you want exceptional commitment from other people, you need a compelling idea. A good idea or logic is not enough because it is the combination of intellectual and emotional commitment that makes the difference. It connects them to a larger purpose beyond their own achievement. It is not just a job, we are all working for a cause.
It answers the question, “Why is operating your business a good use of your life?” a bigger purpose. You cannot lead others into an emotional and spiritual commitment if you do not have it yourself.
Making an Emotional Connection
Identification with a higher purpose, an idea, is what people emotionally buy into. As people make an emotional connection to your ‘idea’ it makes a huge difference because their purpose is about more than just their job or achievement. It is about pursuing an ‘ideal’ or concept.
It is about personal growth, an internal journey they are on. Can you see how this can extend their commitment beyond the job to a higher purpose?
It Starts and Ends With You the Manager or Owner
What is your commitment? You need to have the same type of commitment that you expect others to have because they will mirror the commitment you exhibit.
Is your commitment intellectual or emotional commitment?
You have to figure out what that is because sometimes what you are going to ask people to do will require a leap of faith. Faith in the ‘idea’. If you have not made the same connection and sense of higher purpose they will think you are nuts.
That is when they disconnect.
When they disconnect you loose the battle.
You are in the fight of your business life. The fight is over an idea. Either you give them an ‘idea’ or purpose to adopt or they will make up their own. The moment that happens you have lost the battle.
Will you Allow Yourself to Win?
The greatest battle you will fight in growing your business is the battle within yourself. The battle between what know you should do and what you actually do. This is the field of battle where everything will be lost or won – the purpose or ‘idea’ is what makes people excel.
We loose this battle because we lack purpose.
We have lost connection with what we care about and sometimes we have just stopped caring. If this is you then you need to get out of the business – you have disconnected and given up.
We give ourselves excuses and reasons why things did not work out.
Rarely, do we recognize that the reason things did not work out was because we lost the battle – the battle for an idea. Your business needs a purpose, an idea. Are we willing to grow beyond our comfort zone? If so, you need information about how you can build a business that works.
That is what I do as a business coach if you are interested to learn more, see my Coaching Menu.
You do not know everything but you need to be willing to search to find meaning. I had a tennis instructor who would often say that “Practice does not make perfect, practice makes it permanent.”
She would go onto to say that our “Muscles have a memory and once trained playing tennis will come as natural as breathing.”
The first few times we do anything for the first time it is stressful, challenging, and may feel awkward. In time those feelings disappear if you practice. Know that the time spent practicing is well worth the effort because gradually you will begin to feel more comfortable with your ‘idea’ for your business.
Finding a Idea Worth Pursuing is a Journey
Remember, “Practice does not make perfect, practice makes it permanent.” so to the process of finding your ‘idea’ is not perfect. But that is how we “practice” in business. Growth happens as we wrestle with the tension within that causes us to move forward.
You will never know how far you can go until you have gone too far. The comfort zone is not a wall it is a curtain. A curtain you choose to hide behind so that you do not have to confront the reality of what needs to change.
But that would be sad because hiding in our comfort zone prevents us from discovering and developing what we know we are truly capable of achieving.
The growth of your business is directly tied to your personal growth. To the degree you grow so to will your business.
What is your choice?
What has been your experience in dealing with the employee disconnect?
Stop Internet Plagiarism
May 16, 2006
I was fortunate to have met John yesterday from Plagiarism Today and stopped by today to look over his site. I was pleased to see a guide with the title Stop Internet Plagiarism. It is a good guide
- How to Find Plagiarism
- Contacting a Plagiarist
- Finding the Host
- Contacting the Host
- When All Else Fails
- The Long Haul
The site also has an introduction of what copyright is and the limitations of copyright. John is not an attorney or lawyer, he is simply a webmaster/writer frustrated with the plague of plagiarism online.
One of the tips I picked up was using Google Alerts to find people plagiarizing your content. I use Google Alerts but never thought of using it to find content thieves. I highly recommend visiting Plagiarism Today the articles are well written and full of information to get you up to speed. Well done John!
Top 10 Lies told by Entrepreneurs
May 10, 2006
On the topic of lies and managers and Top Management Lies from Creating Passionate Users, More Lies from Management via my buddy Phil, and Guy Kawasaki’s Top 10 Lies of Engineers – I add my own list of Top 10 Lies Entrepreneurs Tell Themselves:
1. “Were concentrating on product development right now, but the marketing plan will come later.”
… then they spend all their money on developing a product and need to go for another round of funding to test market it…
2. “If we get 1% market share worldwide, we will make millionaires.”
… yea right, everyone is going to be a millionaire and if everyone who actually used the 1% analogy actually accomplished it there would be no market left for the rest of us…
3. “All I need is another $50,000 and then I will be able to do the marketing to raise our profile.”
… why wasn’t marketing part of your plan in the first place? What were you thinking?…
4. “I haven’t got any financial projections yet, but once I get the funding I will create a budget.”
… Yo Dude, a budget is not a the same thing as a financial projection. What you don’t know you don’t know is killing your business…
5. “We serve a niche market. All we need is 600 customers to break even.”
… what is the total size of the market? I had an actual client who made that statement to me and upon investigation discovered the entire market was only 400 which meant they would have to sell 100% + 50% of the market, not exactly realistic…
6. “Why can’t I find good people? Why can’t people do what I tell them to do?”
… you are most likely part of the problem and not set proper expectations or provided adequate training…
7. “I am working on closing a large client and with that business I will surpass my break even and be all set for the year.”
… What happens if you loose that large client? If you cannot afford to loose that client you cannot afford to take them on as a customer because it will put you out of business. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket…
8. “I am just too busy to stop and plan, maybe after I get through this month end I will get started.”
…you can always afford to do the right thing. The time you spend planning will easily be made up because it provides clarity and focus…
9. “Yellow Pages is the best type of advertising for my business and brings the most leads.”
… when you ask them what else they do to advertise and promote the business, they often have no other strategy. When you suggest ways to diversify and increase their leads they say “I can’t afford that.” and when you ask them why they say because the Yellow Pages ad costs $1,500/month and that is already more than I can afford. Thanks for playing but that is the wrong answer….
10. “I am just one guy trying to make a living, I cannot do everything.”
…unless you start to delegate you will never own a ‘business’ because it cannot run without you. That is not a business, it is just a job you purchased…
Guy Kawasaki’s #1 lie of engineers would be funny if it wasn’t so true.
1. ‘We’re about to go into beta testing.’ This is a meaningless statement because it doesn’t matter when you go into beta testing–what matters is when you come out of beta testing. (The only hard and fast deadline for coming out of modern-day beta testing is ‘before you run out of money.’)
In the good old days, ‘alpha’ used to mean ‘all features are implemented though not necessarily working properly. ‘Beta’ used to mean ‘there are no more repeatable bugs. Nowadays beta means ‘we’ve gone as long as possible past the shipping date that we promised our investors.’
My co-host and podcast buddy Phil asks the question So what can we do about this? Here is his answer…
So what can we do about this? For starters, admit you have a problem. If your culture is one of bullshit, say so and start fixing the problem. Once you admit you have a problem, maybe, just maybe, you can overcome it.
Second, CARE about the answers why you’re in a culture of bullshit leadership. If you’re the one slinging it, then recognize that and stop it. You’re killing your team, and your own career.
Lastly, you can just stop cold turkey. It won’t hurt you, honest! Just STOP already!
Or you can keep slinging it, and we’ll talk about you here at No Bullshit Leadership. That’ll keep us in business, and entertained for weeks, or at least for a post or 3-?
What do you think? There’s got to be so many other ways, so please share your favorite ways of overcoming the bullshit, or your favorite/least favorite reasons for slinging the bullshit.
Over at Creating Passionate UsersMore Lies from Management my personal favorites are”
“I know you’re working hard now, but we’ll make it up to you later.”
“Riiiiiiiight.”
“Hey, you’re preaching to the choir here. I’m on your side. But upper management just doesn’t get it.”
“You just don’t get it.”
What bullshit, lies, and untruths do you hear?
Leadership Assets
May 8, 2006
You will not find these on your balance sheet but relationships really are a business asset and my new friend Ed Brenegar from Leading Questions makes a great point that business relationships are a strategic asset, for example:
How does your product or service help the person who will recommend you, but may not actually use your product? By serving their clients in a way that they do not, you may be helping them make a better case for their own product or service. Strengthen my client’s business and you strengthen mine.
He points to his article at the Citizen Times titled “Understanding the impact of your business can help you build relationships” it is a really great article and a must read. He mentions three facets of business relationship building:
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Confidence
The Citizen Times article really is a must read as it contains some really great questions you can ask yourself to help understand the impact of your business. Ed states that as you understand how your product or service impacts people it will also help you with the ‘people side’ of business. Check Ed’s site and the Citizen Times article. Keep up the great work Ed!
New Podcast: No Bullshit Leadership
May 8, 2006
My buddy Phil Gerbyshak and I are doing a podcast together. Our goal is to confront mediocrity, exposing bullshit leadership, and helping real leaders get the word out.
We have four shows up at nobullshitleadership.com Every show has a different topic and once in awhile we hand out No Bullshit Leadership awards.
Podcast Feed via Feedburner: Subscribe to the podcast, direct to your MP3 player or iPod.
Is Net Neutrality the First Amendment of the Internet?
May 7, 2006
I have been reading and listening to the discussion about Net Neutrality but have yet to comment on the issue. But today I was reading the Achievable Ends post titled “Tim Berners-Lee on Net Neutrality” got me thinking about how the open Internet has facilitated our ability to interconnect, build, and maintain relationships.
Have we forgotten that the Internet was founded upon open, cooperation, and collaboration? Without Net Neutrality we will end up with “government sponsored discrimination” and the level playing field we now enjoy would change. As Tim says:
“It is of the utmost importance that, if I connect to the Internet, and you connect to the Internet, that we can then run any Internet application we want, without discrimination as to who we are or what we are doing. We pay for connection to the Net as though it were a cloud which magically delivers our packets. We may pay for a higher or a lower quality of service. We may pay for a service which has the characteristics of being good for video, or quality audio. But we each pay to connect to the Net, but no one can pay for exclusive access to me.” Via timbl’s blog
Restricted access to the Internet would simply set up walls that would restrict our ability to build relationships, facilitate communication, and indirectly moderate the exchange of ideas. We need to think of Net Neutrality as the first amendment of the Internet that guarantees that all Web sites and online features have unfettered access to the Internet regardless of the size of their bank accounts.
This Is a Power Play by Telcos
Ask yourself, “How do you use the Internet?” I use the Internet to get my news, communicate, market and promote my company, pay bills, and buy goods and services from providers I would never have met without the Internet.
“To actually design legislation which allows creative interconnections between different service providers, but ensures neutrality of the Net as a whole may be a difficult task. It is a very important one. The US should do it now, and, if it turns out to be the only way, be as draconian as to require financial isolation between IP providers and businesses in other layers.” timbl’s blog
The one thing that Tims post does not address is future network development costs that will be required as the Internet becomes more ubiquitous. Do we want the Telco’s deciding how much to spend on infrastructure development? What happens when bandwidth consumption starts to exceed the Telco’s capacity?
The capitalist in me thinks they would be stupid to not make the investment. However, I could see a CEO waiting until the last minute to make the investment, so they could increase their prices and blame it on the Internet.
An Internet Tollway Already Exists
The Internet as a tollway is not a new concept because we all pay for access to the Internet – albeit universal unrestricted access. My cable Internet access has always been throttled by my cable provider, by slowing file transfer uploads. I pay an extra $10 a month which doubles my upload speed and increases my download speed by approx. 30% which I think makes my Skype connection more reliable.
The Telco’s are already making money that trickles down to them from every web hosting company. See, every website hosting plan includes a fixed quota of bandwidth and when you go over your allotment, you pay extra. It has always been that way.
Think about this, without the content on our websites, blogs, and podcasts there would be no content to consume and therefore no bandwidth consumption. The growth of the Internet represents a business opportunity for the telco’s and they should make the appropriate investments to protect their interests.
I think the slippery slope lies in large corporations being able to filter my content based on their agenda whether they would choose to block access to certain sites in favor of their own or based upon their political or business agenda.
I want the Internet to remain an unfettered platform with a level playing field that businesses can use to innovate, create, and build relationships.
What is your view on Net Neutrality? Is Net Neutrality the First Amendment of the Internet? What information, opinions, or views may I have missed writing this post? Your feedback is appreciated.
Startup-Fertilization Stage
May 6, 2006
Business ideas that solve problems, the fertilization stage of a startup, what we can learn from Steve Wozniak the engineer of the Apple I, II, III through to the MacIntosh, and what Dolly Parton can teach business owners.
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A Beginners Guide to Blogging
May 5, 2006
I have been talking to a lot of business owners who tell me that they really do not know much about blogging. This post is a start on providing some basic information about blogs, blogging, and the benefits they offer.
Why I Blog and the Benefits: 12 minutes about why I blog, how I got into it, and the mistakes I have made.
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Podcast: Business Tips and Traps.
Rather than reinvent the wheel, I have assembled some information from a few trusted sources, Wikipedia, Lorelle Van Fossen, and myself. 
First, a quick definition of a weblog:
A weblog (usually shortened to blog, but occasionally spelled web log or weblog) is a web-based publication consisting primarily of periodic articles (normally in reverse chronological order). Although most early weblogs were manually updated, tools to automate the maintenance of such sites made them accessible to a much larger population, and the use of some sort of browser-based software is now a typical aspect of “blogging”. Blogs can be hosted by dedicated blog hosting services, or they can be run using blog software on regular web hosting services. – From WikiPedia the free encyclopedia.
Like other media, blogs often focus on a particular subject, such as food, politics, or local news. Some blogs function as online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic.
If you plan to blog you will want to understand the structure and features of a blog. Here a some Blog Basics Via WikiPedia
The term blog is a blend of the terms web and log, leading to web log, weblog, and finally blog. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called blogging. Individual articles on a blog are called “blog posts,” “posts” or “entries”. A person who posts these entries is called a blogger.
A blog entry typically consists of the following:
- Title – main title, or headline, of the post.
- Body – main content of the post.
- Permalink – the URL of the full, individual article.
- Post Date – date and time the post was published.
A blog entry often includes the following:
- Comments – comments added by readers
- Categories (or tags) – subjects that the entry discusses
- Trackback and or pingback – links to other sites that refer to the entry
Alongside the regularly updated entries, a blog site often has a less-frequently-updated list of links, or blogroll, of other blogs that the blog author (blog-master) reads; and/or, with whom he or she affiliates.
My friend Lorelle, invited me to blog about writing as a guest on her blog. Here are my posts about blogging at Lorelle on Wordpress:
Recently, Lorelle was awarded the prestigious “Successful and Outstanding Bloggers” (SOB) award. Here are some tips about blogging from the lady herself:
- The Best EVER Set of Instructions on How to Start Your Own Blog
- Wearing Two Hats – Writer or Blogger?
- Why Do You Blog? Do You Have a Purpose?
- 10 Things You Need to Know Before You Blog
- Linkability – Link Popularity
- What is Comment Spam?
- Getting Started With WordPress
- WordPress versus Movable Type: Choosing a Winner?
I jumped into blogging because I liked the Dashboard and the ability to add content using an easy to use Content Management System (CMS). If you are new to blogging, take the time to educate yourself on the terminology and types of blogs.
Make sure your blog topic(s) are narrow in focus. If you are blogging for business take time to decide why you want to blog and your purpose.
Feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to answer your questions about blogging.
Intellectual Property Ripoff – How Can You Protect Yourself In the International Community?
May 2, 2006
“Third Shift” caught my eye while reading the latest edition of Fortune magazine. It documents how counterfeit products are getting so realistic and the challenges outsourcing and protecting your Intellectual Property (IP) worldwide.
Counter Culture
With 600,000 engineers graduating in China each year the lure to tap into that talent and low cost labor is hard to resist. New Balance ran into their own, well publicized problems in China when the plant making their shoes decided to put on a third shift that built a knock off of the New Balance shoe and then started selling it and creating their own brand. The story is well documented in the May 1, 2006 issue of Fortune (pages 108-116).
Example: Legal System In China is Impotent
Take China for example, from 1966 to 1976 the court system was dismantled. Since 1979 the legal system has been entirely rebuilt. Except judges outnumber lawyers in China 200,000 to 140,000 The infamous New Balance case that the courts basically asked for $300,000 to get a decision from the court. (source: Fortune magazine, May 1, 2006, page 115)
A Simple Strategy
I know of an oil field manufacturing company that used a simple strategy for licensing their IP. They sold it for a big upfront fee plus a percentage of revenue as a royalty. The found out quickly that they would never get a dime in royalties because the licensee had the blueprints and the cost of suing someone internationally was prohibitive.
So they set up two pricing schedules. One for North America (where litigation is effective) and the second which was priced at much higher price points for those companies that are offshore. They just planned in advance that would never to see a dime in royalties from offshore licensees. They simply doubled, tripled and quadrupled their upfront ‘license fee’ to offset potential lost royalties from any company not located in North America. . This strategy works for them because they get a capital infusion and if they ever get the annual license fees that is a total bonus and unexpected event.
A Reality Check
Make no mistake in a country whose culture, values, and morals differ greatly, so to will the way that business is transacted will differ as well. North American business owners need to do a reality check and really think twice before handing over your blueprints and IP to Chinese manufacturers.
Should I Buy a Distressed Business That Is Losing Money?
May 2, 2006
I got an inquiry over the weekend from a entrepreneur who located a business that the existing owner listed for sale. The question I was asked was how much is the business worth? How do I come up with a price?
A Deal with Some Hair On It
The important part of the inquiry is that the business technically showed a profit except for the fact that the owners did not take salaries, pay rent (they own the building), or invest in marketing/promotion. So when factoring in the costs associated with those expenses the business is losing money.
I have seen businesses whose owners do not take an income from the business or do not show that they are taking income – sometimes it is just the owner treating the business as an investment. Other times it is a tactic they use to hide income and paying taxes. If it is the later, avoid that business like the plague.
There are two common methods to buy a business:
- Purchase the shares of the corporation from the previous owners and takeover control of the corporation along with all the assets and liabilities.
- Buy the assets of the business including the land, building, and equipment. Buying the assets of a business is popular because you have none of the encumbrances that you assume when you do a share purchase.
Buying a distressed business can represent a real opportunity provided you know the industry and have experience with the business. Without direct experience buying a distressed business can be a nightmare except when you wake up the nightmare does not go away.
Cost of a Start Up vs. Buying the Shares of a Business
The first comparison that needs to take place is what the cost of a startup would be including advertising, marketing, and sales costs to achieve the same level of sales. Then compare that to what you would have to pay for the business including the cost of the capital (or loan) used to buy the business.
If the total purchase (interest, loan repayment) is less than what it would cost to set up the business from scratch then it might make sense to make a deal. With an established business you get an established customer base, almost immediate cash flow.
Buying the Assets of a Business
The simplest transaction is to buy the assets of a business and then operate under your own corporation. Just make sure that you check to see there are no liens on the equipment otherwise you could end up losing your equipment and the cash used to buy it.
The Hybrid Deal
For every situation there are always exceptions. I have seen deals where the owner of the business sells the equipment for a negotiated price and then a separate deal is made for the customer list. You get access to customers, an endorsement from the previous owner, and the equipment but without the liabilities.
Whether you are buying assets or doing a share purchase make sure you include a non-compete clause that prevents the previous owner from operating the same type of business down the street or within a certain geographic area.
Personal Decision
Making a decision to buy a distressed business is a personal decision that requires a lot of self-knowledge, discipline, and intuition. You know you can make the business work but the real challenge will be in transferring that knowledge to paper and a business plan because your banker will want to see what you plan to do with the business.
If you plan on self-financing the purchase, you owe it to yourself to apply the same due diligence as a banker or investor because you are the investor. You need to be able to switch roles from investor/banker, business owner, and entrepreneur when needed. That is a discipline that you can learn but requires focus and the ability to switch perspective.
Article Series - Buying a Business
- Business Myth Busted: Starting a Franchise is Safer Than Starting Your Own
- Do Not Start a Business, Buy a Business
- Should I Buy a Distressed Business That Is Losing Money?
- Partnerships and Buying a Business
- Innovation, Fear and Their Role in Buying a Business
- Reduce Your Risk When Buying a Buisness
- Buying a Business – Obstacles and Deal Breakers
- Buying a Business – The Goodwill Controversy
- Long-Term Vision: Buying a Business Podcast
- Strengths and Structure: Buying a Business Podcast
Reduce Your Risk When Buying a Buisness
May 2, 2006
How to reduce your risk, business brokers, classified ads, goal setting traps.
MP3 File
Article Series - Buying a Business
- Business Myth Busted: Starting a Franchise is Safer Than Starting Your Own
- Do Not Start a Business, Buy a Business
- Should I Buy a Distressed Business That Is Losing Money?
- Partnerships and Buying a Business
- Innovation, Fear and Their Role in Buying a Business
- Reduce Your Risk When Buying a Buisness
- Buying a Business – Obstacles and Deal Breakers
- Buying a Business – The Goodwill Controversy
- Long-Term Vision: Buying a Business Podcast
- Strengths and Structure: Buying a Business Podcast
Getting the Price Right
My Books on Amazon
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