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November 30, 2006
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"Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well better find some way that is going to be interesting." - Katherine Hepburn
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Impact of Your Environment
November 28, 2006
I have been working from home since 1991. At first I worked out of a large closet, then a bedroom, and sometimes a kitchen and occasionally the dining room table. It wasn’t until 10 years ago that I actually had my own dedicated office - in the home.
I highly recommend doing renovations to brighten up your office space whether at home or the office because it will brighten up your mood, at least that has been my experience.
What I discovered was that how you envision yourself and your lifestyle is greatly dependent on your environment. Your environment and how you feel about it not only impacts your mood but also your self-image and self-esteem.
In a conventional business it is common to pay special to your surroundings and environment - to create a certain ambience. we do that in the style of furniture, finishes, and decorations we choose. It is important because we want to make a good first impression on your customers.
For some reason, when it comes to a home business we let ourselves ‘off the hook’ and we ‘settle’ for what is available or what we can afford - that is a major mistake. Even though your customers may never see your ‘office’ it does make an impression - on you.
Unknowingly, you mat be projecting or telegraphing a lack of confidence or dissatisfaction with your business environment. Your customers may or may not pick up on it or even be able to explain why they do not want to buy but how you ‘feel’ about your business and your environment could be impacting your business more than you think.
My working environment and my home are becoming increasingly important as they are a reflection of me and my style. Now that I have discovered the impact that my environment has on me and my feelings - I am paying special attention to it and have invested heavily in ‘feathering the nest’.
Could your environment be negatively impacting your self-image and self-confidence?
Do your office surroundings make you feel proud?
What could you do to improve your environment?
How can you help your staff feel better about their space?
A little goes a long way, it does not have to cost you an arm and a leg. Simple things can go a long way to improving your mood and help to boost your self image.
My Call Center Rant
November 24, 2006
I wrote about my horrible customer service experiences with large companies over at my Small Biz Unplugged blog via Fido Canada Customer Service Call Center Treats Good Customers Badly post.
Check it out.
I was not going to write about it…
November 23, 2006
But reading Ben’s post, I decided that I might as well enter the discussion. Although I will not be linking back to the the Dragon’s Den as I think as a series it stunk and I am not going to reward them with any link love.
In the last episode of the aforementioned show they recapped the progress of some of the deals and followed up with those who did not get funding as a result of appearing on the show.
The discussion that is growing online is about the JobLoft guys and the stupidity they demonstrated when the had ‘allowed’ their professor Dr. James Norrie. You can read more about the stupid comments that Dr. Norrie made in Ben’s post. Suffice it to say that they embarrassed themselves, the investors, and educators in one fell swoop.
Ben suggests that they really wanted to get out of the deal and I agree that it was a not a real good deal because it was based upon bad reasoning. The JobLoft guys stated on the show that they were looking for investors that could take an active role and/or make connections.
“The JobLoft guys got out of a so-so deal with the Dragons. It wasn’t a ton of money, they had to give up a big chunk of the company and more importantly it really wasn’t clear what involvement the Dragons would have.” Via Instigator Blog
But to give up such a huge chuck of money to seed their start up was silly because their concept and business model is so solid they should be able to get out of the starting blocks with friends and family money.
Ben suggests that they wanted out of the deal “…and brought Dr. Norrie in to do that. OK, I can live with that, and it makes sense — have a more experienced person talk to the Dragons “eye to eye”, but Norrie went off his rocker. He got them out of the deal, but he damaged them at the same time.“ Via Instigator Blog
Over at the JobLoft Blog they state:
”Now it seems that we have a story of us, starting from scratch; getting investment and having the carpet pulled from underneath; all in a short period of time. We have to say that the outcome is for the best, and this was an excellent learning experience for all involved @ JobLoft. We are now able to seek greater investment, with a proper company evaluation that is not a made-for-TV drama, which will take JobLoft to a global playing field. So what did we do the day after that boardroom meeting? Business as usual.“ Via JobLoft.com - The sun’s still shining outside the den
So while Ben’s post got me all fired up, I think if you want to learn more about it you really need to include the JobLoft.com - The sun’s still shining outside the den“ post to get a balanced perspective from the founders perspective. Well worth the read and I wonder if the Instigator wrote what he really thought or wrote his post to be provocative?
Always check out the background and stories for yourself and consider the bias of the writer when reading blogs and anything online.
I wonder if the guys at JobLoft are aware of ”Hot Money”? Fifty $250,000 loans with no strings or funny business just give them an equal share when you do go to get funding from a VC.
Role of Love and Joy In Business
November 21, 2006
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful”.- Albert Schweitzer
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Finishing Well: Avoid a Big Mistake
November 20, 2006
"To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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XBOX 360 Playtime, Aggravation and Customer Service
November 20, 2006
I was reminded by my buddy Phil, who has begun blogging at the “Wired Home Weblog“ that playtime is a great way to Make It Great! He wrote about people who were camping out in the hopes of snagging a PS3.
“By the looks of this CNN article, I would say it was NOT worth it. One man was shot while waiting in line, others were held up for their money, because this device is not cheap, with PS3 prices ranging between $499 and $599, $200 more than the PS2 at launch, and $400-$500 higher than what you’d pay to get the first Sony console. Via Playstation 3: Camping out for a PS3 was fun”
Guess what my thirteen year-old son wants for Christmas? A PS3.
I knew that they were going on sale on November 17 and I called the store to ask them how many they got. Depending on the store, I heard 4 and another got 19 units. The store that had 19 units was Future Shop and he told me that they had six people camping out and 19 systems.
I thought it would be a fun thing to ask my son to camp out with me, he was up for it and so we took an hour to get prepared and went to the store. When we got there the line looked a lot longer than the ‘six’ that we expected.
An Future Shop employee was outside and I asked him how things work and he said “Oh, they come out at 6AM and start handing out tickets.” So thinking we were all set, we set up camp and prepared for the long-haul. Just as we get setup, a nice young lady asked if we were waiting to buy a PS3? Then she said that all 19 systems had been spoken for and you had to show a drivers license, they took your picture and gave you a number.
So I went into the store leaving my son outside in the ‘line’ to inquire about the 19 units and the process. I found the ‘guy in charge’ and he informed me that indeed all 19 systems had already been spoken for.
Arrgh! I went outside and told my son what I learned and he was visibly upset. So we packed up to check out another store and along the way he suggested that we forget the PS3 and get a XBOX 360. Well, we went to Best Buy and they had 78 units, which were already all sold out and were told, “But we got lots of accessories and games.” Yea right, buy stuff for a platform we cannot buy now.
The Real Marathon Begins
In the store we looked at the XBOX 360 and I sprung for one and a couple of games an early Christmas gift. So I paid for the system, the extra warranty and we were on our way home.
My son unpacked the system and plugged it in and waited for the game to boot up and we got a black screen with a E67 System Error message. Thinking we got hooked up wrong we proceeded to check and recheck and reboot the machine. My 13 year-old son was exasperated by now. I got on the phone to XBOX and 50 minutes later an agent (a newbie at that) told me to take the system back to the store and exchange it.
So I drive back to the store and got in just before closing and exchanged it for another. Went home, plugged it in and we got the same stupid error. Now the store is closed for the night and we had to wait until the next morning.
Two Defective XBOX 360’s Later
We woke up early and we got there about an hour following the store opening and took the system back. As it happened the same clerk was on the ‘exchange and refund desk’ that exchanged our second unit. I suggested that with a store full of TV’s I would like to test a system before we left the store to make sure that we had a working system and save me all the travel and aggravation.
He agreed, but would need the store managers approval. Well we waited and waited and waited. Finally, the store manager arrived and he reluctantly agreed as long as the clerk could get the department managers to spare an employee from games and TV’s to ‘supervise’ the set up. So about 30 minutes later he had all the ‘approvals’ and paired us up with another clerk.
So we went to the TV department and could not get the thing to power up and then they figured out that the power outlets were not ‘powered’ and when we finally got power and got hooked up it worked! Now it was 60 minutes we had ben in the store. Back to the ‘exchange and refund’ desk we goto get the paper work to make sure that my 2 year warranty was transferred to the new machine.
I happened to notice that the two previous systems that did not work were manufactured in June of 2006 whereas the one that id work was made in April of 2006. I mentioned it to the clerk who summarily dismissed my observation. I wonder if they are going to cull their inventory or are they going to make all their other customers go through the same machinations?
I know I am a dreamer and a small business owner, what am I thinking? Silly me.
Finishing Well: Avoid A Big Business Mistake
November 17, 2006
December 31, 2005 Yaro Starek announced in “Blog Traffic - From 0 to 1000 In Six Months” the results of eights months of serious blogging. I was appropriately impressed and when he announced Jan 3, 2006 that he had plans to create a “Blog Traffic School”:
“Since I am devoting most of my time outside of blogging and BetterEdit.com towards Blog Traffic School I wanted to really focus on it and make sure everyone who is interested knows about it and subscribes to the pre-launch list to stay up to date.“
So I subscribed to get in early and stay up to date. Then in April 2006 Yaro announced he created the “Blog Traffic King” and teach people how to grow their blogs from Zero to 1,000 daily readers. As I remember it, he had plans to share his story about how he got from “zero to 1000“.
He has yet to launch the product or tell his story and I like many am disappointed. Today, November 17 I listened to his podcast about the ”Death of Internet Marketing“ where he spoke about how and why he has not finished creating his ”Blog Traffic School“.
Beware Justification
In Yaro’s podcast, he justifies the delay in finishing his ”Blog Traffic School“ with many seemingly good reasons. In the podcast he talks about his mentor and observations about what he has learned from him and specifically the traps in setting financial goals and pursuing success outside of the context of ones values [my interpretation].
While listening to Yaro on his podcast, he seems conflicted between making money and helping people. Had he kept with his original plan he might have actually have something to show for his effort and a product to sell. Plus he would have helped a bunch of people in the process. I know I keep waiting for the launch.
Energy Drain
The other big issue with ‘open loops’ is the energy they drain. It is like a slow leak in a tire, you do not even know it is leaking until it is almost too late. The same thing happens when we have unresolved personal conflicts, incomplete projects, or broken commitments. Do not let it escalate into self-destructive behavior and keep stacking new projects upon your incomplete projects. It will suck the life out of you.
It’s Easy to Come Up With Good Reasons to Make a Bad Decision
I have been guilty of justifying a bad decision with good reasons myself which is why I can recognize it. We can come up with many reasons to justify our decisions and actions especially when we are uncomfortable with something or sense a conflict. The real reasons can range from procrastination, perfectionism, lack of money, available time, or fear.
Finishing Well
Not often discussed, finishing what you start is more important than getting started because unless you ‘finish well’ you get no money, no satisfaction, and you end up disappointing yourself and your prospects.
Whenever you are reminded about not finishing the project you continue to pay a heavy price and knock to your self-esteem, self-confidence. Plus you will never get any benefit for the time you spent working on a project you never finished. That is the most expensive price you will pay. It is like preparing the soil and never planting a crop and then wondering why your crop is not abundant.
Why not make a decision today to complete your open loops and never start something new that you are not prepared to finish?
Tough Decision To Make? Some Ideas to Help
November 15, 2006
Everyday entrepreneurs seek to find a balance between the risks and the rewards. Personally, I have found that it is so easy to fall into the trap of believing my own sheepdip and so anything I can find to help remove my personal bias is a welcome addition. So when I saw that Tony from Success from the Nest had a post over at Lifehack titled Risk versus Rewards I was intrigued.
I am just getting to know Tony and obviously he has been ‘around the block’ in business. For a ‘creative guy’ he seems to have a fair share of analytical skills. You can read his post and get the Risk versus Rewards excel worksheet.
As Tony states “What you end up with is a clear picture, based on your own thoughts about specific factors, of which direction to take.” Therein lies my concern and advice to be cautious in how you interpret the resulting graph.
“As an example, let say you’re trying to decide whether to go skiing this weekend. You’d begin by listing the rewards - such as fun, seeing friends, etc. - along with a weight on a scale from 0-5 on the importance of each reward. Next you’d list the risks - you can’t ski, breaking something, death, etc. - and the weight of each risk. The worksheet uses a simple calculation to determine the outcome, and displays a message along with a simple bar graph of the results.” Via Lifehack
The is nothing wrong with the tool as long as you remember that it simply reflects a picture of the risks versus rewards based on your own thoughts about specific factors - just make sure that you do not start to believe your own stories. Whenever you are making any major decision make sure that you ask yourself quality questions to uncover other factors that you may have missed.
- What information are you missing?
- What other factors need to be included?
- Who do you trust that can review your list and make suggestions and observations on what you may have missed?
- Is this a decision that could escalate into a make it or break it situation? If so, you need to look deeper for information and factors you may have overlooked.
Take your time when making major decisions, look for confirmation from various sources, use logic, and tools like Tony’s Risk versus Rewards worksheet.
Greg Balanko-Dickson
The Business Performance Coach
If Business is 90% a Mental Game
November 14, 2006
No quote today, just my thoughts. I was reading in profit magazine how 90% of baseball mental, the same is true in business and on that Profit magazine and I agree…
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Embracing Innovation: Harvest Ideas Encourage Creativity
November 13, 2006
"Creative ideas reside in people's minds but are trapped by fear or rejection. Create a judgement-free environment anfd you'll unleash a torrent of creativity." - Alex Osborn
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Acceptance, People Pleasing and Simplifying Life
November 12, 2006
"Accept everything about yourself - I mean everything. You are you and that is the beginning and end. No apologies, no regrets." Clark Moustakas
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Download the Thought Audit Worksheet
Combat Blog Fatique Feed Your Mind
November 12, 2006
I have six blogs and two podcasts and once in awhile I run out of things to write about or comment on. This last week was one of those awkward times when I felt tapped out and struggling to come up with topics that interested me.
What I Learned About My Blog Fatigue
I tend to write for long periods without a hitch and then I am just empty, nothing, zero, ziltch. It is a sign that I need to be more observant about what is going on around me and that I need to feed my mind.
Stimulate Your Mind, Read
To write on a regular basis I need to stimulate my mind. I get Business 2.0 and Fortune magazines each month but felt they had become stagnant and so yesterday I went on the hunt at my local book superstore, Chapters for some business magazines.
I purchased the Harvard Business Review, Alberta Venture, and Profit magazine. The Harvard Business Review cost $20 but was is worth the price and the last two magazines are Canadian. I started reading the Harvard Business Review and immediately was intrigued by a number of articles. Between the three magazines I got a lot of great ideas and concepts to write about. Stay tuned.
Journal or Write About Your Day
Between 1998-2004 I wrote about what I learned that day. Either something I learned about my business or as a result of coaching my clients. It worked great as every evening around 9 PM I would site down and begin writing about my learnings for the day. I found it rewarding, insightful, and productive.
Until today, I had not realized that I had dropped that routine. Looking back I can see that my routine was usurped when I started writing my Buying a Business and Business Plan books. So my plan is to get back to writing and recording my podcast in the mornings and evenings.
Change The Menu
I write about business and that is also what I tend to choose to read. I have begun to experiment with reading about totally different topics. Ideas can come from anywhere, resting my ‘business’ mind by reading unrelated topics allows ideas to come forward.
I often get an idea seemingly ‘out of the blue’ when I am resting, watching TV, or reading new material. The fresh material allows my reticular activation system to go to work and I find myself recognizing ideas, concepts and material I can use.
It is a discipline to write daily, so is reading and refreshing your mind with new ideas.
My Blogging Activity
I write daily at SmallBiUnplugged.com, BizPlanHacks.com, Business Performance Coaching (this blog), Daily Thoughts for Business podcast, my Buying a Business Podcast has been idle for awhile, I contribute to the Joyful, Jubilant Learning forum, with Phil Gerbyshak I am reengineering our Leadership Podcast, I am also a guest writer over at Lorelle on Wordpress.com (sorry I have not been around lately Lorelle) and I have another project I am working on that is a secret for now.
P.S. I just finished the final edit of my 374 page book, Tips and Traps for Writing an Effective Business Plan. I will let you know when it becomes available. 
Exceptional Performance
November 12, 2006
Our time here on this earth is so wonderful and valuable. One day we will understand the value of our time here on this earth, in the meantime I want to ask a question.
What is holding you back? It could be that you think you do not have enough money, time, education, skills, or the right opportunity. I am here to tell you that by making a choice you can freeze those roadblocks. What is your choice?
To make a commitment to be exceptional. You can settle for the best, better, good, or great but making a commitment to being exceptional will change your life and your business. How you do it is quite simple.
To deliver an exceptional performance requires exceptional preparation.
Better, best and good don’t cut it.
You will need to look for ways to push yourself.
Set yourself up for a variety of experiences. Experiences that will take you outside your comfort zone and will force you to stretch and grow. My buddy Phil Gerbyshak wrote a great book 10 Ways Make It Great! and I highly recommend everyone buy one for themselves and one for someone you care about because it will begin your transformation to greatness.
Before you can deliver an exceptional performance you first need to become great. Phil’s book will coach you through to greatness and set you up for an exceptional life.
Check out his blog, where you can also buy this great book. You will be glad you did.
An Overcomers Attitude
November 7, 2006
"Think 'impossible' and dreams get discarded, projects get abandoned, and hope for wellness is torpedoed. But let someone yell the words 'It's possible,' and resources we hadn't been aware of come rushing in to assist us in our quest. I believe we are all potentially brilliant and creative–but only if we believe it, only if we have an attitude of positive expectancy toward our ideas, and only if we act on them." - Greg Anderson, The 22 Non-Negotiable Laws of Wellness
The Audience is Reading
November 6, 2006
The other day I asked the question Should Business Professionals Blog? in response to Lorelle’s blogging challenge.
I have to admit that I can get caught up in the details and easily forget the reader even though I am writing daily, I still forget the basics - write for an audience of one.
This is a writing and marketing fundamental that simplifies the writing process and makes it more engaging and enjoyable for you, the reader. Thanks to Lewis Green for this reminder:
The way it works is, if you can imagine your audience of one, you can write to them in ways that make sense to them; you can share your story in their words not yours; you can create images that they have seen before and so they know what they look like; you can create a picture in their mind’s eye. Via Communicate to an Audience of One
Lest we forget, start with the reader in mind. Picture them going about a typical day and imagine where they are when reading your blog and ask yourself, “Why and what do they care about regarding this topic?” Then answer the question in the content of your post.
Answering that question lead me to composing that simple question that can be used to improve your writing.
What do you do to keep your writing focused, clear, and engaging?
Work: What do you really want to do?
November 6, 2006
I was watching the Larry King Live show titled "The Power of Positive Thoughts" and today are my comments on the show.
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Vision: What is your most dominant thought?
November 5, 2006
"Our innermost dominant thought becomes our outermost tangible reality." - John DeMartini
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Should Business Professionals Blog?
November 4, 2006
Lorelle poses a blogging challenge, Should Business Professionals Blog? and I guess if I qualify as a business professional and the consensus is that professionals should not be blogging, too little, too late.
Personally, I think that blogging removes the mystique of a profession and IMO that can only be a good thing.
What the concerns professionals with accreditation is that they do not violate their professional code of conduct that they are required to adhere to. As one of those professionals commenting on her question engtech states that one can go from “reporting the news to becoming the news“.
It is noteworthy that engtech maintains a pretty active blog.
IMO professionals should blog as long as they educate themselves on best practices, maintain a professional yet friendly tone, and are willing to be open and show their personality.
A Good Story: What Dreams are Made Of
November 2, 2006
"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours." - Henry David Thoreau
I saw this on CBC, the story of Kyle MacDonald who traded one red paperclip for a house. It started with one red paperclip on July 12 2005 and 14 trades later, on July 12, 2006 he traded with the Town of Kipling Saskatchewan for a house located at 503 Main Street.
Originally from Belcarra, British Columbia, Canada, Kyle MacDonald has planted more than one hundred thousand trees, delivered more than one thousand pizzas, but eaten only one scorpion. He has also traded one red paperclip for a house only once.
The story is amazing and a great example of networking. His journey took a year and led to Hollywood and Corbin Bernsen for his second last trade a role in a movie.
Do you and your staff have a good story to tell?
http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/
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