Oh, I Like This Service!

I'd heard about this service quite a while ago, but, traveling down the road looking for a phone number, I thought I'd give it a try. The service, 1-800-free411 (1-800-373-3411), is offered just like it says: free. Call from a land line, you pay zero. Call from a cellphone and you just have your regular airtime charges to deal with -- a far cry from the buck or two you can pay for just one regular 411 call.

How can they offer this service? Here's the scoop: like network TV, 1-800-free411 has commercials. Dial in and an automated service will ask you for the location and name of your party and then provide you the number. While you're waiting, you listen to the very brief offer. Do nothing and the offer is declined. A great part of the service is that you can press a button and have the number you're seeking "texted" to your cellphone (if that where you're calling from). Very handy if you want to save the number to your contact manager.

Cleverly, the second time I used it, I'd forgotten the number (and even more cleverly neglected to have them text-me the number). When I called back to get the number again, the nice automated voice asked me if I wanted the service to repeat the last number I called about.

I was in love.

Concerned about privacy (like anyone needs cellphone spam), I read their Privacy Policy. Except for the fact that your number is visible to every 800 service (even if you have it blocked) and that, if you have the service forward you to the party you're seeking, they don't capture your cellphone number at all. There's more on the site, so be sure to read it before you decide.

LNB #037: Messy, the New Neat (organization & productivity)

Neatness makes my head hurt. Really. Turn on the TV and you can see show after show wherein an "organizer" will show up and begin the military march towards organization. Too many nick knacks? They've gotta go? Old paintings that remind you of a former, more creative time? History. What I initially found so unnerving is how they would whisk the home or business owner out of the scene of the crime and then, when they returned, they would have a beautiful new space...and be left there to try to get something done based on what someone else thought was workable.

Jeremy Caplan, in Time magazine article "Messy is the New Neat" says is plainly: "neatness is overrated."

I once had an organizer attach herself to me at a gathering. She asked me about the piles and clutter which, according to her, must be busying-up my space. Didn't have any. Then she went to work, peppering me with questions about where I may be accumulating "stuff" I didn't need. Finally, after several interminable minutes, she pounced: "Icons! Your clutter is in your computer!"

Rather than asking me if what I was doing worked, she started with the assumption that it simply couldn't...and then began offering her services to me in earnest. I found myself blinking at her over my raised soda and lime, trying to remember the quickest way to get my coat and head to the door.

Truth is, I've been a neatness Nazi with my husband, Garland: I just didn't like how he worked. In an early fit of newlywed togetherness, I'd insisted that we share a home office. That lasted about 2 months before his piles of stuff began their blob-like trek towards my shrinking corner of the room. That stuff was alive, I swear it.

On the other hand, I'd been the training partner of another consultant, Rick. He was notorious for only working on one thing at a time and having only those things he needed immediately on his desk. We despised him. Fast forward and there I was, eyeing Garland's stuff like it was a disease.

Looking with an eye towards workability, Garland's way of working works for him, just as my desktop full of icons works for me and Rick's polished desk worked for him.

Where did we get it that there was one way to organize? Peering into Garland's office, there is a logic to the piles that take up every corner of his space. He's crammed in his electric train run, tools, a bookcase that's full, two desks, a file cabinet and then there's the closet. He seems to defy my every attempt to straighten it up, but talks about "getting it together" almost every day.

It's just how he works.

There was a time when organization was considered a sign of an organized, disciplined mind. Clutter on the desk: clutter in the mind. Not so. Moderate mess is an indicator of nothing important about a person's character. Note: I said moderate. I'd been asked to help a woman from my hometown with a criminally messy house (yes, the police were involved) -- it wasn't safe for her or her small children and was an unfortunate sign of a serious mental condition. We threw most of what she owned away (it was all irretrievably soiled). That's something altogether different...and frightening.

People don't think the same way and they don't organize the same way. Me? I think in parallel, keeping several projects going at one time. Others, like Garland or Rick, may keep several things out, but only work on one at a time.

Caplan talks about effectiveness and how well people perform. Banish, the article suggests, the two hours a day straightening up. Use that time, instead, to be with family or advance your business or career. Authors Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman point to an example of serendipitous dot-connecting through paper desk clutter that lead to a Nobel prize winning scientist seeing a connection between cells and hormones. Their book, A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder--How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices, and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place touts the benefits of relaxing schedules, foregoing compulsive filing, making friends with laptop clutter and, generally making peace with clutter.

I'm not a fan of one size clothing or solutions. If you love to straighten and it energizes you, allowing you time to think problems through in new ways -- have at it. If it becomes one more thing on your "to do" list, consider dropping it.

Listen Now: 17 minutes, 17 seconds

LNB #036: Truth Telling While Selling

This episode includes an interview with the fabulous Toni Nell of Springboard Consulting.

Toni Nell of Springboard Consulting is a player. She’s worked with A-List clients (like Morgan Stanley) and been the go-to-gal for such business luminaries as Jim Horan (The One Page Business Plan) and Michael Gerber (The E-Myth Revisited). In her own right, she’s seen and done about everything in a sales context.

Focusing on one of the key steps in her "Stop Selling Like a Man" program, she helps us understand the importance of truth-telling while selling. Now, that doesn't seem like it should be something you'd need to be told, but you'd be surprised (or maybe even surprise yourself) when you think about how quickly the truth can sashay out the door when it's close to month-end and the cupboard's almost bare.

What she’s learned is that selling is truly about understanding and moving into the world of your prospect or client – lock, stock and teardrop. Your PowerPoint presentations and glossy brochures be damned. Key steps to being your ever-so-wonderful, authentic selling self include:

1. Relaxing At a sales call, there may be nothing for you to DO, except be fully competent and ask, “So why am I here?” Your curiosity makes you powerful.


2. Show up


3. Listen without agenda


4. TELL THE TRUTH (this episode)


5. Let go of the outcome

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Stop Selling Like a Man Teleclass: 27 February, 9 Pacific/12 Central.

Check back here or at Toni’s website for more details.

REACH TONI NELL

Listen Now: 23:42

Curious

There are people on my roof. Well, not exactly now -- it's a wee bit below zero outside, but trust me. There have been people on the roof. Lots of them in the past several weeks.

First, there was the roofing tornado -- a team of 8 or so who yanked off the old roof and replaced it with these great dimensional shingles. Yeah, I had to figure out what the pickles a "dimensional shingle" was, too. Here's a sample of a dimensional roof in our new color.

Then, there was the ceiling and dormer team. They painted the cathedral ceiling above my SOHO (small office/home office) and fixed the dormer. Again, lightening speed.

This last pass is the gutter crew. Gutters, now, we've got. Downspouts? Well, that's another matter....

I was on the BzzAgent team for Seth Godin's book, The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable. In it, Seth and the Group of 33 regale us with stories of remarkable businesses -- people who do the sometimes small things that make them memorable. In one story, a bicycle repair service is discussed. Every time a bike job was completed, the owner would add or do one small, special thing -- handlebar ribbons, an oiled chain -- something that would be a unique contribution to the customer.

Having had plenty of time, recently, to watch men scramble up and down on my roof, I wondered: will some kind soul pass a rag across one of the two small windows on the roof (particularly since their processes funkied-up one of them)? Nope. The first crew (the tornadoes) were masters of communication, though. Every step of the way, they told us what they were doing, how long it would take and what to expect regarding clean-up. This last crew, which was much smaller, told us they needed to go back to pick up the right "elbows" for the downspouts...and they haven't been seen or heard from since (about 8 days ago).

This has gotten me thinking about all the ways, large and small, that I can add that extra bit of value to my clients. Free e-books, special podcasts, a magazine article, some extra communication. Something I do just because they're special.

I just don't think it takes much to be remarkable. But, I'll keep you posted on what I learn.

Picking Another Autoresponder (Yay?)

The company I was using for my autoresponder service went belly-up late last year. Proautoresponder was cheap and fairly easy to use, allowing me to easily create pages in html and scheduling when I wanted those messages to go. On the down side, they were also an autoresponder of choice for spammers who didn't do due diligence in reprimanding and cutting off said spammers, so they got sued.

So, here I go, looking for another one. I found a great blog that offers one of the Best Autoresponder Reviews I've ever seen. In the article, they review several of the major players against some pretty sound criteria like: time to delivery, ISP blocking, and more.

I'll keep you posted on what I discover.

Cheers!
Lalita

This is Very Cool

Warning: Evidence of seething tech envy coming in 5...4...3...2...)





Gimme-gimme-gimme-gimme!

I have to admit that I've got it bad. See, way back in the mid-80's, while an intern at IBM, I saved up and got a Sharp PC-1211, one of the very first handheld computers. I got the printer, which it snapped into. I had to program it in BASIC, it had a whopping 2K of memory (!) and it was amazing. An early model, it was more of a handheld computer than a personal organizer, but the capabilities of this machine, at the time, were amazing (See The Evolution of the PDA by Eric Koblentz).


I could see a glimpse of the future...and I had it in my grubby paws. I used it as a calculator and to calculate my checkbook balance, among other things. Small potatoes, by today's standards. But, God was it fun! The OQO Model 02 and other microcomputers of today go far to help people be incredibly productive, while giving people access to the Internet.

Very cool.


Please be expecting more tech envy. I can't help myself.

LNB #035: The Care and Feeding of Partnerships

We spend more time picking an Ob/Gyn that will birth our babies than we do building the business partnerships that provide the income we need to take care of said babes. We know that one out of nine new businesses experience a five year failure rate and that the survivors may not be fairing all that well.

For partnerships, more attention is spent on the legal and financial positioning of the
partnership - whether it was a limited partnership. S or C Corporation, whether it was taxed like a partnership or a corporation and how the partners would get money from the partnership. Little information exists out there on how to have an effective partnership -- one where you don't continually fantasize about pitching one or all partners under the bus.

Once the structure is in place, where do we go to work?

Smaller firms tend to stay more tactical and, unfortunately, have a harder time getting and staying strategic. Business planning is a single event, usually tied to getting start-up funding needed to open the doors, but not an informative, educational process designed to help you understand the needs of the business and the needs and best thinking of the partners.

Business partnerships tend to work best when the partners have done the work of understanding each other. Knowing these things about each partner is crucial to determining how to best allocate them as resources:

• What are you good at?
• What can you do competently, but need support for (like, I can do the financials well, but it really takes it out of me)?
• What do you do badly?

Now, everything in a partnership isn't always a box of kittens (warm and fluffy). Conflict happens. The question is: what do we do when we're not on the same page? Conflict, by its nature, is positional. People square off on things that really don't matter most but, instead, on old wounds or superficialities. By asking partners what they're committed to for the business, the partnership or themselves, you can begin to move towards what matters most.

Consider this book: The Partnership Charter: How to Start Out Right with Your New Business Partnership (Or Fix the One You're in), by David Gage is a good resource for putting together (or repairing) business partnerships. For legal and tax advice, of course, see a legal or tax expert.

Listen now: 24 minutes, 28 seconds

Change or Die! the Presentation

If you're going to be out and about in Indianapolis on 13 February, be sure to visit me at my presentation at the Indianapolis ASQ Chapter. Stop by. I'd love to see you there.

February 2006 Dinner Meeting: Change or Die! (Change and Organizational
Behavior)

Program:
You know the work to be done; you’ve done the research and created the design for the new system; you’ve trained your people and….well, nothing seems to have changed. Threats of process failure and professional consequence seem to make no difference. Are they just sabotaging you? Are they untrainable?

This training is invaluable for quality professionals and managers who are attempting to understand the nature of resistance to organizational or process change. Developed from an extensive study of the mind and human interaction, this seminar emphasizes the role of project coaching and the role of habituation in change. Participants explore a variety of change theories with an eye to supporting people while new systems take hold and new habits form.

Speaker:
Lalita Amos is the principal of Total Team Solutions, a consulting and training firm she founded in 1996. Areas of expertise include business and strategic planning; executive and business coaching; team and leadership development training; and project management. She as served as adjunct faculty at New York University and as senior trainer for Results Coaching Systems. Prior to starting her business, Lalita was a TQM Process Consultant for the world’s largest commercial printer and before that, a senior HR staffer. She’s a licensed One Page Business Plan Consultant, Certified Business and Executive Coach and a Certified Business Referral Trainer and Coach. Lalita a member of Purdue’s Order of Iron Key (leadership honorary) and a member of the College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Advisory Council.

When:
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
5:30pm to 7:30 pm
Registration and Networking: 5:30-6:00
Workshop & Program: 6:00-7:30

Where:
University of Indianapolis
Hanna & Shelby StreetsIndianapolis, IN.
Schwitzer Hall (building 7 on the campus map)
Room: to be determined
Campus map and directions are available at www.uindy.edu/maps

How Much:
$10 per person.
See http://www.indyasq.org/meetings/ for information and RSVP
Click here to register

LNB #034: Stop Selling Like a Man (Be Yourself)

This episode is NOT about women. What it's about is selling in such a way that bringing you're A-Game means you bring yourselves. Toni Nell of Springboard Consulting is a player. She's worked with A-List clients (like Morgan Stanley) and been the go-to-gal for such business luminaries as Jim Horan (One Page Business Plan) and Michael Gerber (The E-Myth Revisited). In her own right, she's seen and done about everything in a sales context. What she's learned is that selling is truly about understanding and moving into the world of your prospect or client - lock, stock and teardrop. Your PowerPoint presentations and glossy brochures be damned.

Key steps to being your ever-so-wonderful, authentic selling self include:
1. Relaxing
At a sales call, there may be nothing for you to DO, except be fully
competent and ask, "So why am I here?" Your curiosity makes you powerful.
2. Show up
3. Listen without agenda
4. Tell the truth
5. Let go of the outcome

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
New Date: Stop Selling Like a Man Teleclass: Tuesday, 27 February, 9 Pacific/12 Central. Conference Call Information: (218) 862-6100, pin 4040#

Call Toni to RSVP (or just show up): 831 464 7776

Check back here or at Toni's website for more details.
Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends

HOW TO REACH TONI NELL
http://www.springboardconsulting.biz/

Listen Now: 32 minutes 0 seconds

Not Just Another Manic Monday

I was brushing my teeth this morning (yes, too much information) and listening to NPR. Now, it wasn't that bad of a start -- a little gloomy and cold, to be sure, but OK. Then, Luke Burbank reported on an interview with Cardiff University professor of psychology and expert in Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Cliff Arnall, and I wanted to go back to bed with extra covers.

Seems that today is the most depressing day of the year -- and for many reasons. Dr. Arnall cited these on his "please hit me until the pain goes away" parade:

• Weather - it's cold, rainy or snowy and dark. Looking outside, I thought "Check! Check! Check!"
• Debt - the ChristmaHannuKwanzaaka bills have started coming in and we've begun eyeing that iPod that little Cindy has been enjoying with mounting hatred.
• Backsliding - while I'm certain that the road to hell is paved with dead batteries and cast-off Swiffer pads, I've been told that the pavers are actually good intentions. About now, those New Years Resolutions stop seeming possible and we begin to slump into the inevitable: this year will only be a little better than the last. If that.
• Work routine - we're now fully back into the grind from a month spent eating and spending.
• Need to take action - we have that feeling...the one that says we should get moving, but gravity has us locked earthward on our quest for the stars.
• Long haul to the next holiday - OK, when the hairy heck is the next holiday?

Now, at this point in the interview (when I was considering garroting myself with my dental floss), Luke asked good ole Doc Arnall when the happiest day was. His answer, Friday, June 22. Why? He didn't say and I don't care. I'm gearing up until then, but I'm keeping that floss handy.

Um, Cheers?
Lalita

Daddy's Little Barbarian

OK. I was watching TV with Garland when they showed Donald Trump getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. No problem with that. The relative merits of the Star have been under dispute and have been discussed in a 2001 ABC News story in which honorary Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant was interviewed (recipients have, among other things, to pay a hefty security fee and are not selected by The Academy or other agency).

Still. Good for Donald.

What worried me was his acceptance speech. In it, he said:

"He's strong, he's smart, he's tough, he's vicious, he's violent -- all of the ingredients you need to be an entrepreneur, and most importantly, hopefully he's smart because smart is really the ingredient," the 60-year-old billionaire said of Baron during the ceremony.

Smart, tough, vicious and violent -- that's Donald's recipe for success. Although the two most loathed professions in the US are doctors and lawyers, one well-placed salesperson behaving badly can clear a room. Seemed to me that Donald had made a world view out of Conan the Barbarian's mantra. When asked in this groundbreaking film (um, yeah) what was best in life, he answered: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!

In Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends, Tim Saunders touts the value of being a corporate love bunny. Pretty simple concept, but I think he's on the mark. While many would love to have Donald's money, we just can't square his behavior or thinking with the basic skills our mommas taught us.

LNB #033: Open Book Management

Watching the Barbara/Rosie/Donald dustup got me thinking: These are three very powerful and very rich businesspeople. Are they good examples of power in the business world.

I hope not.

There's an "old economy" way of viewing power which includes control of information (spin) and resources; domination of co-workers, peers or subordinates; and crushing the competition. But, I just don't think it's what people signed up for when they started their enterprises.

The success of Firefox browser has people quietly wondering how they can be so powerful -- and simply give away their key information (since the release of Firefox 2 and IE 7, PC Week still gives the nod to the Firefox product).

Can you be powerful and still give away information?

Like open source software, Open Book Management seeks to gain market share through the sharing of key data. Wikipedia, Audacity and other products are winning through a business model based on openness and generosity.

Keys to success in Open Book Management are these core principles:

• Provide employees and key contributors with all the information they need to help the business be successful
  * Financial data
  * Profit data
  * Performance data
  * Cost of goods/services sold, etc.
• Train these good people how to use and understand this information.
• Give these people responsibility for the numbers under their control.
• Provide these people with a financial stake in how the company performs.

Whole Foods CEO, John Mackay has been such an evangelist of Open Book Management that all 6,500 of his employees are considered "insiders" by the SEC (for stock trading purposes). In a Fast Company article (Final Word: "I No Longer Want to Work for Money"), Mackay sent a letter to his employees giving them the straight skinny on changes in executive compensation -- that the peeps in the C-Suites were getting a raise (to keep the headhunters from peeling off key talent) and that his direct comp was going to a buck per annum.

A quick reality check will clue you in on a key fact: the people who need to know what's happening in your business (partners, key resource partners, employees) don't and the people you don't want to know (competitors) do. My friend, Dierdra O'Rourke from Intelligent Office told me that she can sit in any Starbucks and listen to confidential information being shared openly.

Listen Now: 17 minutes, 26 seconds

What's in My Reading Room?

Covey said "sharpen the saw." Sounds simple. but for the solopreneur and the entrepreneurial executive the choice may seem "development myself"...."get this project off the ground." Pitting growth against survival is a less-than-zero sum game. The real game is "grow or die:" Standing still is really moving backwards. I remember hearing a talk from Susan Taylor, then editor in chief of Essence magazine, who extolled the virtues on reading -- she plowed through 5 or 6 newspapers before heading off the her office every morning. That message stuck. Her breadth of knowledge about the world and the things and people in it was stunning. Essence, by the way, is a women's fashion mag.

My business associates and friends, particularly those who have ventured into my home office (where I keep the good stuff stashed) have remarked about the variety of stuff I'm reading at any particular time. One of the best gifts I was given (in addition to my life -- thanks, Mom) is a deep and abiding love of reading. Its opened up a world to me as a child that I got to explore as an adult. I remember the Grollier Encyclopedia we had as children. Momma would hand us a letter and tell us to read when we proclaimed boredom. And read, we did. I'd gotten to letter "T" by the time I'd moved away for school -- skimming the stuff that didn't light me up and reading deeply the stuff that did. I learned that there were people who could "talk" with their hands or in different languages from mine. I learned about a country called North West Africa (now called Namibia). Years later, standing on the tarmac in that country, I said a silent "Thank you" to Momma for those encyclopedia from years ago.

Reading has opening my mind and my heart and showed me that I live on an incredible planet populated with people who leave me gobsmacked every day. Its given me new ways to look at business issues -- my clients' and my own -- that have allowed me to grow my company and my insides.

Here it is:
The Management and Control of Quality (trying to understand the role of quality in service and information-based businesses)
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't (always a good one to read and re-read)
Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends (seems that "The Donald" is good TV, but not-so-good business)
Wired (love the innovations they discover)
Asimovs Science Fiction (helps me keep in mind that there's something new coming around the corner...if it's not already here)
O, The Oprah Magazine (love the cool stuff her staff finds)
Indianapolis Business Journal (for a local perspective on business)
New York Times - National Edition (for a non-Midwest perspective on the nation and the world)

Cheers!
Lalita

What's In My Ear (Alternative, Clever Title: MP-Me)

OK, critics. So, this wasn't the most clever sub-title. Anywhere, I've escaped to Panera (great grub, a good cuppa tea and free wi-fi) and here's what I'm listening to:

• Nora Jones: Cold, Cold Heart
• Amici Forever (The Opera Band): Terra e Liberta (Land and Freedom)
• Nora Jones: Don't Know Why (heck, everything else on her first album)
• Soul II Soul: Back to Life
• De La Soul: Me, Myself and I
• Putyourbodyinthemotion: Wiseguys
• Santana: Smooth
• Jose Feliciano/Rick Martin: Light My Fire/Guajire/Oye Como Va
• WNUA Radio

Remember to stop and feed your soul while you're working. Enjoy!

ROA = Return on Affection?

I'm reading Tim Sanders' new book, Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends. For those of you who don't know him, Tim's worked as an executive at Broadcast.com and Yahoo.com. In his book, he talks about the value of, well, being valuable. As an aside, I'm always struck by books that espouse what I'd thought was obvious -- like the Warren Buffet booklet of CEO secrets that explained that you could determine the worthiness of a potential customer, vendor or employee by how well they treated the wait staff at lunch or dinner (lesson: mean people really do suck). But, I guess it becomes a business fact when someone can prove that they can make a lot of money and still not be a son of a gun.

In his opening chapter, Tim recounts a story of a poor sod who, "wired for war" as he was, sought to destroy the competition as well as the "friendlies" in the business only to be sliced when that sword cut the other way -- left out of business dealings requiring creative problem solving and trust.

It gets hard to believe that there can be a Return on Affection in the business world. The Donald-Rosie-Barbara dust-up shows three very powerful (and very rich people) making ratings hay about a lot of nothing. We sit transfixed waiting for the next installment. Donald's stance: if some one's mean to me, I'll return it 10 times over. Rosie's being Rosie ("comic" with a mean edge and a bright smile) and Barbara seems to be playing both ends against the middle. The Apprentice is being taught in business school to a new generation of potential power players who think this is the way money-makers act and years from now will be wondering how they ended up divorced with children they don't understand and who don't respect them?

Sitting across the table at b-Java, my local coffee haunt (where the staff is under strict instructions from Garland not to give me caffeinated java, dammit), a friend shared with me a conversation he'd had with his boss: in a performance review, his boss had asked another staffer where he wanted to be in 5 years. The staffer didn't know. My friend thought this was a telling point about the staffer, but I found myself wondering about the boss. Coaching and support of employees comes from affection and regard as much as anything else. Helping chart the course with someone who's clearly struggling to figure out where they want to be would have been an incredible kindness, helping to secure that employee for the longer term. People, in many cases, don't have career aspirations because they think they're in the eddy currents with no place to go.

Keeping valuable relationships, now, is as much about being willing to put ones self out for another. It's too easy to let someone flounder rather than making an offer to help. However, in the example with the staffer (yes, there's stuff in this story I don't know, but it serves as illustration), the cost of losing him to another company with a boss who gave a damn could cost upwards of 30% of that staffer's annual salary to replace and train another person.

It costs not to care. However, the example of The View/Donnybrook, makes it hard to believe it.

Scorpions on a Plane?

They won't let me bring shampoo...?

I was in my office looking over my immediate business travel needs for the year when I saw this article recounting an incident where a man, traveling from Chicago to Vermont on United, was stung repeatedly by a scorpion (emphasis and horror added). For a healthy adult, they explain, the a bite "can mean numbness or shooting pain extending out from the bite, or flu-like symptoms" (not to mention the insanity, mouth-foaming or death that I was imagining for myself).

Now, I watched Snakes on a Plane with great delight this past summer. I even put in my husband's information on the website so he'd get the call from Sammy Jackson (even more delight), but I never thought that there might be actual critters on the plane with me.

OK, enough on that. I think I'll go ahead and book that travel.

Tomorrow.

Ramen Noodle Inventor Dies...and the Hoards Mourned

You might not know his name, but generations of college students, late-night munchers, programmers and night-shifters have benefitted from his work.

Momofuku Ando, the inventor of instant ramen noodles, died at age 96 Friday in Osaka, Japan.

Mr. Ando invented the quick, cheap meal to help remedy the post-war food scarcity found in his native Japan. His company, Nissin Food Products, now produces over 15 flavors of Top Ramen and Cup Noodles, selling 46.3 billion packs and cups worldwide in 2006. Mr. Ando's ramen restaurant can still be found on Times Square, so if you're ever in New York....

As a poor student and then an even poorer I-got-a-liberal-arts-degree-please-help-me graduate (when I figured out the real value of that degree, I started raking in the dough), I lived on ramen noodles. Here are a few of my favorite recipes (don't laugh):

• Ramen noodles straight-up,
• Noodles with ketchup and spices (the poor girl's spaghetti sauce),
• Noodles with ketchup and bacon bits (imitation for me and the real stuff for my brother Rodney who shared an apartment with me right after I graduated),
• Tuna and peas with noodles,
• Steamed veggies with noodles,
• Scrambled egg with noodles, and when I had gotten a pretty good check that week,
• Noodles with real spaghetti sauce,
• Of course. we can't leave this topic without some recipes straight from Nissan Foods (I really need people to see the Salmon Ramen with Fresh Vegetables recipe -- juillienned veggies and all)

Now, you would think that the very idea of putting any of those combinations in my mouth would have me shiver in revulsion, but there's something comforting about the thought of ramen noodles -- a 3 minute meal that costs a few pennies a spoonful. In fact, I'm going to keep a package or two in my briefcase for emergencies.

OK, now it's your turn. What are your favorite ramen noodle recipes. Give 'em over! Cause I know you've got them.

LNB #032: Staying off the "Road to Hell" (Achieving Goals)

You've heard that old saw: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Well, I believe there's a lot of other litter on the hellbound highway. Part of that litter being business goals and plans. In this episode, we take a look at some of the keys to success.

Considerations for success in achieving 2007 goals

• Courage -- see Wesley Autrey
  Here, I mean the kind of courage it takes to do the really hard stuff. Like that shown by Wesley Autrey, the New Yorker who, seeing a man having a seizure and falling off the subway platform, entrusted his children to the other bystander that was running alongside him to get to the man before he fell -- and jumped on the tracks....and saved both the man and himself.
  
• Structures for existence
  Saying you'll get something done in your business is one thing, but if what you're trying to accomplish is bigger than your previous results, you'll need to have displays and reminders to keep you focused on your new level of performance and results.
  
• Structures for fulfillment
  Get help. Period. You need nothing else to keep doing what you're already good at. However, producing at a higher level takes leaps in thinking and action. It also takes support to turn those leaps into easily repeatable habit.
  
• What matters most
  Achieving goals is heady work. The game is to balance your past excellence in performance with new opportunities to succeed. Knowing what matters most, using a One Page Business Plan, will allow you to work with increasing levels of focus and ease.

Resources:

Landmarkeducation.com's Landmark Forum is a tremendous course for re-booting your thinking.
Try it.

Listen Now: 26:44

LNB #031: What Matters Most

"That which matters most must never be at the mercy of that which matters least."
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

In business as in life, this quote signifies the importance of keeping your eye on the ball -- the real one, not the decoy. Having interviewed people over the past 30 days, here's the golden nuggest of those conversations.

Never confuse what you want in your business with what you'd be willing to settle for. If you want people to respect you and your business, don't settle for respect. Busy isn't a good substitute for effectiveness, either.

Further, be clear that your business exists to fully fund your life and interests -- not just to make money. Be clear what you want the money for, so you make certain that you pay due diligence to those things as well.

Special thanks for 2006:

• John Weymouth (Medisurg.com) and YorkAli Walters (imajination.com) for insisting I podcast (blame them).
• YorkAli for opening up the blogosphere for me.
• Rodney Amos for helping me sort out the the audio issues.
• Jim Horan, Lynne and Toni (onepagebusinessplan.com) for a new world of planning execution.
• Toni Nell (springboardconsulting.biz) for her support and friendship.
• You listeners. Thanks for hanging in with me while I sorted our my podcast "voice."
• My clients for their courage and commitment.

Listen Now: 19 minutes, 48 seconds

The Year that Was...

• The planet-formerly-known-as Pluto (now affectionately designated 134340) got demoted from planet to, well, not-planet. So, the mnemonic for our solar system is now M-VEM-J-SUN (sans P). Don't I have enough to remember?


• I, er we, got named Time Person the Year. Looking at the cheap mirrory-thingy they put on the cover and noting that, by squeezing the mag, I could turn my image into a kind of fun-house, horrible long, skinny me, I thought: "That's about right."
• Big Brother arrived in all of his terrible glory. He can be seen sporting a cameraphone and its aimed at you, so behave (or at least dress nicely).


• Ken Lay escaped prison...by falling over dead.


• "Dead Eye" Dick Cheney shot his best friend in the face, casting a permanent pall on networking events forever. The golf outing: now a venue for certain death.
• Dick Cheney's best friend apologized...for getting shot in the face.


• President Bush, well, never mind.


• Trans fats got the boot in NYC and elsewhere.


• Foreign babies of color were all the rage. Angelina and Madonna sported these kids like new Prada bags. Now, if we can learn that our domestic, melanin-enriched, materially impoverished babes are mighty fine, too...


• China, afraid, I'm sure that marauding packs of celebutants will soon descend on them looking to adopt, have instituted new policies to prevent adoption by fat, old, poor, stupid insane, single people (I'm not making this up).


• Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, is a funny guy. Sure made Jon Stewart giggle like a kindergartner. Who knew?


• Michael Richards, poor baby, learned an important lesson: "Nigger," no matter what Generation Hip Hop says about "keeping it real" (rope, a tree and people shouting "nigger" was about as real as real gets) is never, ever (listen to me everybody), ever OK to say. Don't even think it.


• The Midterm Elections shifted us due Left as people struggle to figure out if we're finally, really in a four-party system (the Dems, the GOP, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Cluster -- "party" is way to liberal a term for these good people).


• An front-runner (George Allen) ran off the rails because of an, um, racial (?) slur and YouTube.


• Jack Abramoff, though he claimed that God sent him 1,000's of hints that he was running afoul of the law, still landed lightly on his feet in the pen...and his friends are sure to follow.


• After centuries of speculation on his identity, Hugo Chavez has finally determined the name and location of Satan: Bush, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I guess all of those burning viburnums should have been a hint.


• Black Republicans stepped it up, telling us that our Civil Rights heroes were Republicans....and Black people didn't care.


• We remain a nation at war: on terror, on drugs, on democracy, on principles, on religion, on the poor, on constitutional rights, on the Geneva convention, on habeus corpus, on environment, on good sense.
• Saddam Hussein's getting ready to try on a new tie.
• Pappa's Got a Brand New Bag -- in heaven (God save you if you don't know the reference).


• and, worst of all, we lost Lou Rawls.

Now, it's your turn. What were your fave (or not so favorite) moments of 2006?

LNB #030: Get the Most of What's Left of '06

On a recent call with consultants from all over North America, we generated a list of things we could do to get the most of this waning year. Here are the highlights of our conversation (with my own offerings added for spice) and my invitation to try some of the things we're doing now to ramp up for 2007.

1. Take someone new (or weird) out to breakfast or lunch.
2. Send out information to begin lining up speaking gigs.
3. Finalize my own One Page Business Plan. Done!
4. Write out 3 things I won't do again in 2007. Oh, Lord -- just 3 things.
5. Remember the power of "Thank You."
6. Pick people to help shamelessly. I like this one.
7. Finish that one project I've been procrastination on. Mine is a booklet on habits, thinking and business success.
8. Build on successes from the past.
9. Schedule two, 1-week vacations for 2007. For me, that means no tech.
10. Write down three things that would make 2007 better.
11. Do year-end check-in calls with clients (as Jim Horan of One Page Plan fame says, "leaving the sales hat off.").
12. Attend holiday parties with a smile and a question.
13. Call five non-clients I haven't spoken with in 6 months.
14. Take the last week of 2006 off.

Listen Now: 14 minutes, 23 seconds

Decidedly Creepy.

Democratic Senator from South Dakota, Tim Johnson, suffered a life threatening brain bleed earlier this week, the result of a congenital condition, AVM, arteriovenous malformation. For those of us in the know, this is the malady that killed off Nate Fisher from Six Feet Under as well. Dropped the poor fellow like a stone and sent women (and many men, I'm sure) into a swoon. Oh, sorry, back to Senator Johnson. He fell ill while being interviewed, not being able to speak, and had to be rushed away (AOL offers up the audio of the interview: Symptoms Apparent During Interview).

Like ants on a dead rodent (should have thought that one to myself), the members of the news media raced to tell a panting public what was likely to happen if the good Senator was unable to serve. And while the family "is encouraged and optimistic," the rest of the folks in the political world are trying to figure out how to jockey for position...without looking like they're jockeying for position. Here's the scoop: If Johnson is unable to return to office, there'd be no run-off. His replacement would be named by South Dakota's Republican governor, Mike Rounds. That would create a 50-50 tie and they'd have to dust off Vice President "Dead-Eye Dick" Cheney for tie-breaking, efffectively moving the Senate due Right. On the other side, there's a long-standing tradition in the Senate of not removing ailing members (See US News for more info).

Regardless of partisan politics, I hope Senator Johnson makes a full recovery. I'm sure the GOP wouldn't want to gain back control, well, this way.

Oh, and think of this when you find yourself inwardly cheering the misfortune of a competitor.

(Cross-posted to the American Values Alliance)

Get the Most out of the Rest of 2006: I Ain't Doing THAT Again!

Some of the stuff we did in 2006 really worked. Some of it didn't. Tell the truth about your actions and results for 2006.

Generate a list of things that didn't work. Focus in root causes (the why behind the why). An example may be that you were chronically late to appointments. Why? Because you were afraid to let the phone ring over to voicemail even when you knew picking up the phone would make you late. Consider what it will take for you to either let it ring over or to make sure you can get your phone forwarded to your cellphone and your headset on so that you can answer without hurting your ability to arrive on time.

Here's how I've parsed out my list:

• Satisfaction: getting these things out of my business and life would increase my satisfaction. Here's one for me: Taking on last-minute speaking engagements. I don't get to to the PR and I'm just there to fill in. Why do I do it? I'm concerned that I might have too few speaking engagements. What will I do to make sure I don't fall into an old trap? I'm going to the Encyclopedia of Associations to find an exhaustive list of organizations, generate a letter to the speaking coordinator and fill up my docket with people who are excited to have me.
• Ease: Some of the items on my list may be relatively simple to get taken care of -- things that I don't want to suffer over anymore. I took care of this one yesterday: the caller-id tag and the white page listing for my home office looked too personal. I called the phone company yesterday and changed it.

LNB #029: One Page Proposals?

While on my "one page kick" I didn't want to leave out one of my favorites: The One-Page Proposal: How to Get Your Business Pitch onto One Persuasive Page. I found the book several years ago and have used the principles the author espouses religiously in my business with great success. I found that it allows me to give a prospect all of the key information they need to make a decision on my and my services without me having to give away the store in terms of specifics on my process or suggested approach. Several years ago I found myself competing with another consulting company on a project where the prospect asked for increasingly detailed information. Turns out they'd already decided to give the business to the other company...and they gifted that other consultancy with a copy of my proposal.

Stinkers.

Here's the lowdown. After reading the book, you'll understand how to write the following sections:

• Title and Subtitle, defining the entire proposal
• Target and Secondary Targets, clarifying the goals of the project
• Rationale, with information about the client's needs and why the project is needed
• Financials, with info on what money is needed and how it will be spent
• Status, showing where things stand now
• Action, listing the next steps and what you need the prospect to do.

While this process isn't workable for all types of proposal opportunities (like the government or grant proposals), it can help introduce you and your thinking to a prospect and have them chomping at the bit for your detailed plan (expanding on the information in your One Page Proposal).

Listen Now: 20 minutes, 57 seconds

Here's another impact of globalization: Height

We know that people want to do business with, hire, promote, marry or otherwise hang with the attractive. Studies have raged through universities asking the question "What is 'good looking' and how do we know?"

This story from the New Zealand Herald showed that doctors in China are beginning to balk in huge numbers from requests to perform height surgery -- breaking the legs of their clients, affixing steel cages around the break point and keeping the gap between the two broken ends opened up while it heals and the bone fills in. This process can add up to 3 inches per leg...it can also leave them with horrible deformities or amputated limbs if the surgery goes badly. Patients say that the pain is excruciating (remember that scene from Gattaca?)

Why do they do it? Oddly, job ads have been including height requirements, particularly for candidates seeking customer interaction positions, especially for those working with customers from parts of the world where people are taller.

Seems a little extreme to me. However, African Americans and others have been altering their appearance to gain acceptance for decades. However now we're learning that acceptance is hinged more on their competence rather than countenance. Still rumors of skin bleaching and hair extension procedures on black actresses fill some with sadness. And black businesses can be notorious for refusing to hire someone who may appear "too ethnic."

I remember working as a branch marketing assistant for a large multinational corporation who's initials stand for "I've Been Moved." One of the reps handed me a copy of John T. Molloy's New Dress for Success and told me not to deviate from it. Hated that book.

I wonder what the impact will be long-term on business and professional relationships. Will the short find themselves backwatered into low wage jobs? And what will the country do about an increasing number of disabled and disfigured workers who endured failed surgeries?

---------------------------
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm

Get the Most of of the Rest of 2006: Thank You

There are friends and business associates who have helped me immensely this past year-- people who've given me ideas, information and support. I'm in the process of contacting them and telling them that they've made a significant difference for me. I'm going to meet them with my "sales hat" off (as Jim Horan said in a conversation with other One Page Plan consultants). I'm just going to thank them and ask them how I can help them in 2007.

Get the Most of of the Rest of 2006: Plan

Review and finalize your business plan. Now, you've done the work to create your business plan, perhaps to get funding or to find partners, but now what? Be certain that you include measures and action plans. Otherwise, you've got a set of good ideas that may be difficult to operationalize.

Get the Most out of the Rest of 2006: Available-One Speaker

Organizations are in desperate need of speakers. Trust me. They'd be happy to find nicely dressed, well-spoken business people to come and read the telephone book. You can do so much more. Some tips:

• Look up organizations you share an interest with. Your local library has a copy of the Encyclopedia of Associations you can refer to (call the research librarian -- he or she is a brilliant, underutilized, college-degreed professional who can find the Moses' mother's maiden name if you asked them to). Generate an exhaustive list and be sure to ask the speaker coordinator if they know of any other groups that regularly have speakers. Get contact information and ask them if they would be willing to drop that person a brief note letting them know you'll be calling.
• Outline several talk topics the speaker coordinator can choose from.
• Tell them what kind of PR you'll need. Listen: give them the run-down of everything you need. If they balk at something key for your success, don't play with them. Some coordinators think you shouldn't be allowed to solicit in any way. They're dreaming. Put the phone down gently. You don't want to wake them. Be sure to arrange for someone else to introduce you and give them your bio in advance (making sure its written so that it sounds like it's coming from them). Be sure that the organization sends out lots of advance information about speakers. Request a link to a key page on your website be listed on their site. You may even want to consider preparing a brief bit of "homework" for the participants so they come ready to get the most out of your talk.
• Set up your apre-talk system: include a link for more information, a sign-up sheet to be added to your news-zine and for additional contact requests.

Get the Most out of the Rest of 2006: Take Someone to Lunch

Take somebody who's a little "out there" to breakfast or lunch. There are lots of innovative people out there that are interesting to talk with and important to know -- you just haven't made time for them yet. Consider this: before he made it big, people would walk right past Bill Gates and Ben and Jerry were two hippies talking about ice cream.

Now, I'm not talking about adopting a stray cat. I'm talking about people who are up to something or in the process of innovation -- people who leap out of bed in the morning because they love what they do or the people they get to work with. Go find them. They bring a certain energy to business dealings that will energize you and you may find an unexpected synergy with them.

LNB #028: Collaborative Business Ventures

OK, you've found an opportunity that's big and juicy and maybe a little bigger than you have the capacity and skills to accomplish. Consider bringing in others to help round out the gaps. However, as you're marshalling the troops, be sure to focus on the things that matter -- particularly before you start creating a business proposal for services.

Joint Ventures
What you need to know about a joint venture (JV) is that it is a business entity (partnership or corporation) that the members or member organizations create. Wikipedia lists these reasons to JV:

• Internal reasons: spreading cost and risk; maximizing financial and other resources, creating economies of scale, accessing new tech and customers, leveraging innovative managerial and process practices.
• Competitive goals: gaining the upper hand on the competition, generating velocity in market entry, increasing flexibility.
• Strategic goals: use of synergies, improved technology and other skills, diversifying and broadening reach.

Collaborative Ventures
Here, several business owners or specialists join forces to gain market advantage. Things to consider, chiefly, are how you'll manage risk and cost -- items that are usually taken care of in a JV arrangement. You'll need to consider how you'll manage budget, communication, contracting among each participant (who'll be the prime contact and contractor and who'll be the subs), fees for each service offered/needed, which services are strategic and which ones are tactical and, of course, you'll need to ensure that everyone has the kinds of insurance and other protections in place.

Ever notice how we're more likely to talk with people about communicable maladies they might have before we swap spit with them and get emotionally entangled than we are to do the kinds of background checks on people we might become financially entangled with? Take the hint: do the background check on each participant. This way you can head off trouble in advance. Anyone who would be unwilling to be checked isn't someone you want to work with. If you're the one with questionable info, be sure you can truthfully and fully explain the circumstance. People can understand if you've fallen and gotten up. No one, however, likes surprises in a business deal.

CHIME IN: Do you have a "win" you want to share -- a time when you partnered successfully with another or several other businesses? Let us know what worked. Do you have a "loss" in your column? Well, that's still a solid opportunity for you to teach us. You can submit your comments anonymously.

Be generous.

LNB #027: Being Remarkable

Everybody says they provide great customer service and I do mean everybody. But most of what we call great customer service is merely more of the same ordinary stuff. Given the amount of noise there is out there, how can you be seen and heard over the roar?

Some considerations:

• Remarkable will get you heard over the din.
• Remarkable isn't what YOU think it is -- it's what your customers, vendors, suppliers and employees think it is.
• Remarkable may be something small.
• People may insist that your remarkable offering isn't feasible, necessary or possible.
• Remarkable may develop over time and be imperceptible to you.

Now, getting an access to what makes you remarkable isn't as hard as you think. Ask the people who know, like, understand and trust you. They know. When I asked my circle of trust, they told me that they valued my forthrightness -- that I'd refuse an engagement with someone who I couldn't (or shouldn't help); they said my ability to connect people and ideas in new ways and my zest for exploration were invaluable. I'd thought those things were ordinary. I was wrong.

Read these books by Seth Godin:

• The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable
• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
• The Big Red Fez: How To Make Any Web Site Better

Listen Now: 27 minutes, 13 seconds

Collaborate, Ya'll!

I listened today to the Tavis Smiley show. On it he had noted evolution biologist, Elisabet Sahtouris, author of Why I Remain an Optimist. She talks about how the world is getting hotter and the people are evolving. We're evolving from a competitive, aggressive world community to one that can spawn YouTube and MySpace.

Her prescription in the face of global warming and war? Collaboration! That makes her a goddess in my book.

Darwin's "Survival of the Fittest" mantra applied to business has gotten us Enron and host of other ills as business men and women strive to win at all costs. Sahtouris asserts that what's moved us out of the evolutionary "fight club" for survival is our ability to cooperate and collaborate.

Question is: What will it take for us to get it? In an increasingly global -- sometimes instantly -- market, we have to do more with each other to gain market share...not less.

LNB #026: Resistance is Futile!

OK. After chatting people up about their systems, strategies and plans, what's left? Their thinking, their habits and their behaviors. Chief among the things I'm seeing with biz owners and execs is resistance.

We're finding that resistance can be on one of two types: conscious ("I ain't gonna...you can't make me") and the unconscious ("Whaddya mean I'm not with the program?") We spend lots of time dealing with the overt conscious resisters, but is there more?

Kurt Lewin's Model of Change:

• Unfreeze: old systems comes back to conscious awareness and there's a commitment to change. Before trying to change the system, strategies or desired results, the behavior of the people in the company is "invisible."
• Move: create and apply the new systems, strategies and plans. Here, it will take a concerted act of will coupled with supports to help people make the changes needed.
• Re-Freeze: lock in new behaviors such that they become automatic

While you're changing, there are several types of resistance mindsets (Carol O'Connor)

• Survivor (Covert/Unconscious): unaware that they're out of sync. Think they're operating from the new system
• Zombie (Overt/Unconscious): seem unable to change and don't see their behaviors as resistance
• Saboteur (Covert/Conscious): pretend to support the change, but inwardly hope the change will go away
• Protector (Overt/Conscious): believe their refusal will help the company

Question: Which stage of change are you in in your business? Which resistance mindset are you in?

Listen Now: 26:30 minutes

Sometimes It's Not What You Think

I was listening to Tavis Smiley today. He had a great interview with Samuel L. Jackson (Snakes on a Plane). Aside from discussing Sammy L's amazing dreadth of work (I saw him first in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever as a jumpy crack addict), he mentioned that Mr. Jackson's the highest grossing actor in Hollywood.

Not Brad. Not Tom. Samuel L. Jackson.

Interesting thing is that Jackson was just released from addictions treatment when he started shooting Jungle Fever. Remember the song from the last post ("There's Hope," India.Arie)?

There's Hope

I got a call from a friend who's a biz buddy (or is it a biz bud who's become a friend) yesterday. I don't think I've heard him this -- flat. He's faced down things that would put anyone else under their car with a hose in the mouth. Still, he's pressing on with his business and his life. He was looking to take another incremental step up and over.

I'm so honored he called me.

Brother of mine, I didn't know what to say to you. Then, I heard this on the radio. I'm borrowing from India.Arie when I say...

There's hope.
It doesn't cost a thing to smile.
You don't have to pay to laugh.
You better thank God for that.

Stand up for your rights.
Keep shining your light.
And show the world your smile.

Brighter days, my friend.

-----
As an aside, catch the NPR interview with India from earlier this summer. It includes a nice selection of music.

LNB #025: Objectives, Strategies and Actions (Biz Plans)

As the final part of this series on business planning, we cover Objectives, Strategies and Actions. These elements round out your business plan and will help clarify what you want to produce, the broad approaches and specific actions you'll take.

Useful Business Planning Resources:

• The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur
• Fast Company (great magazine for business owners)
• Business 2.0 [6-month subscription]
• Listen to the Mastermind Audio info session. Visit
  www.totalteamsolutions.com/success_factory/Success_factory.htm

Requests:

• Record your intro to this podcast. Want to know more?
• Visit my Guestmap (left) and let me know where you're
  listening from
• Click here to take a quick survey on this podcast
• Tell a friend about this podcast and about the e-zine

Listen Now: 23:26

You Know You Shouldn't

I'm on vacation. Right now, I'm on a veranda in Nashville, TN, watching the sun begin to set while I have a quiet moment. My brother, his wife, Amee, and their kids are off to the store and my grandmother is quietly watching a DVD (she's 80 and seeing her with the small player in her lap it just the best).

When my brother gets back, I'm going to be in trouble. I know I shouldn't do, but his kids are going to get some Diet Coke and Mentos and I'm going to give these home-schooled kids a science lesson. Now, I know I shouldn't do it, but this temptation (seeing them run screaming while diet coke jets up 8 feet) is one I'm just not going to resist.

See, I'm going to "own" that this will be messy and leave these kids wondering what else they can drop Mentos in (spaghetti sauce, chocolate milk), but I can live it with, as long as they're doing it at home.

Besides, what good is being their aunt if not to teach them things they will later torture their father with?

I'll bet you know some things you shouldn't have done at work. Maybe it was the deadline you agreed to, pretending you could make it work. Perhaps it was the employees you hired when you felt desperate -- the one that never worked out.

For me, telling the "stank, nekkid truth" (the truth beyond the pretty lies) is about the best thing I can do. It might not change my choices, but it sure gives me power over what comes next.

Until I return....
Cheers!

And Then They Sent Me a Survey!

OK, I’m indulging in a little ranting. I’ll admit it.

To recap: I contacted HP for a replacement non-skid rubber foot for my laptop (around which the angelic hosts circuit). I did get the 5 they promised; only they were attached to extra plastic “doors” for the bottom of my computer and cost a mint. Rather than using peel-n-stick to slap on one little rubber foot (the size of a bean), I’ll need a Philip’s-head screwdriver and a magnifying glass to affix a new door on the bottom my computer (the size of your wallet).

Now, they sent me a survey. A customer satisfaction survey. Being the hopeful sort, I opened the link, pulled my tea close and settled in to respond. The survey was over 30 questions, none of which addressed my concern: I didn’t get what I asked for and no one told me that I would have to rebuild my computer in the process. Oh, and did I say the survey was over 30 questions?

I feel better. Thanks.

Got a favorite customer service rant? Let’s hear it.

LNB #024: Without Vision, the People Perish

Not having a clear vision and mission will add unnecessary complexity to your business. It will be harder to stay on track and to determine quickly whether a new opportunity is consistent with your business model. However, the concepts of Vision and Mission have become obscured with consultant-speak (yeah, we did it).

Here's a simple way to plan these two important factors into your business plan.

• Vision: include your target market, niche, products/services, territory, scope, productivity level, and other key factors.
• Mission: use as few words as possible to convey why you're building the company you're building.

Get these resources:
The One Page Business Plan for the Creative Entrepreneur
The One-Page Proposal: How to Get Your Business Pitch onto One Persuasive Page

Listen Now: 30:10

Aargh! Just Gimme One Rubber Foot!

I saw the FedEx truck and was on my way to the door before I fully realized I was on the move. those trucks do that to me -- like a present under the tree, I just can't wait to see what's there. Anyway, when I finished my pleasantries (with the surliest driver ever), I went to open my package.

It was from HP. You guessed it: the rubber feet I ordered.

Here's what I got: Three different plastic "doors" for different compartments on the bottom of my computer, each of which had at least 1 rubber foot on it.

No instructions, just plastic doors with rubber feet.

Let me see what happens if I escalate this. More soon.

I Just Want ONE Rubber Foot!

Earlier this week, I noticed that one of the little, rubber feet was missing from the bottom of my notebook computer (the one that makes me as happy as a basket of kittens when I even think about it -- the one I decorated.....yeah, I need a hobby or a therapist). Garland, being the helpful sort, interjected that one rubber foot would be impossible for HP to replace -- I'd have to get a package of 5 for $17.50.

Jolly Joker.

So, I went directly to the HP website and IM'ed a nice lady, Patricia (who was probably a prisoner at Attica on an internal work release program). "She" got all of my information and set up a call from their order department.

So far, so good.

I wasn't out of their chat room 5 minutes when "Sam" called. It's weird to be talking with an Indian operating under an assumed "Euro-sounding" name, when I'm a Black American with a very Indian name (named for a goddess, by my Baptist mother). He took down my information and very professionally confirmed my particular needs: one rubber foot. When he gave me the total, I almost passed out: Not $17.50, but $41.29! (I liked Garland's price better).

I want one rubber foot -- these must be made of platinum!

I'm asking myself what I'm going to do with all of these extra-damned-rubber-damned-feet (wonder if they'll breed like Tribbles in my credenza). Here's my current thinking: I think I'm going to raffle them off on my podcast show! Any other suggestions (and be nice, I'm delicate).

LNB #023: What If Everything We've Been Told About Business Planning Is, Well, Wrong!

People know that the chief reason businesses fail is lack of planning, followed by lack of a system for implementation. Still, business owners don't create them and don't operate from them.

What gives?!

Here's what people are saying:

• I put together a business plan for my company when I started it. It was a horrible process and I ain't doing that again.
• I put one together. It cost me a mint and then the consultant wanted more to implement it.
• I don't have time.
• I don't have a business that needs a 70 page business plan.
• My other managers are doing "stuff," but we're not all on the same page.

and more.

People are looking for a process that will allow them to have a business planning and implementation system that's nimble, simple and elegant.

Here are the key questions you need to answer with your planning:

• What are we building?
• Why does this business exist?
• What results will we measure?
• How will we build this business?
• What's the work to be done?

Be looking for a 25 October 2007 webinar on business results. The webinar will be from 11 am - 12:30 pm ET (US). Check back often for additional information, including how you'll sign up for this complimentary webinar.

On Bullshit -- a Great Book

There I was, hiding out at Books-a-Million (there was web stuff back at my office I just didn't want to do). My plausible excuse was that I was supposed to be in a Black Enterprise magazine article that explained coaching and the coaching industry and wanted to pick up the mag to read it. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it -- I've been in the professional coaching industry for over 15 years and from the view here at Babel Towers, this baby isn't getting any clearer.

With the magazine tucked under my arm, I walked up the center aisle to get a cuppa tea and I spotted this book along the way.

Yup. An entire book on the topic of bullshit (well, about 70 pages, anyway). On Bullshit was written by a retired philosophy professor and put out by the Princeton University Press. Pretty reputable, no?

I wondered to whom I could get this little book. I stood and read it and it was real and dear and sweet. A former professor of mine and his wife (THE philosophy power-couple at Purdue University) came to mind. Martin taught me to challenge what I thought was real (I took it as getting a handle on my own bullshit, which has served me well). Yeah, that'll do just fine.

Off to read and sip.

Oh, and there was not mention of me in the article. Just some of the usual and customary -- dare I say it...bullshit.

It's National Meetings Week -- Um, Yay?

Imagine: I'm sitting at my desk, furiously typing on a project with the NPR station playing softly in the background. I'm so totally in the zone, I can barely hear the murmur of the station, which had switched to BBC World News.

What had me stop typing wasn't the report about Congressman Foley and House-Page-Gate. It was the report that in Britain it was National Meetings Week.

Huh? An entire week devoted to events we would rather lie "I've got root canal that day" than attending. In fact, I can think of only one other commonly-accepted time waster -- the off-site --that starts eyes a-rolling.

Seems this annual event started in 2001 was formed to generate more business for, you guessed it, meeting organizers. Crafty.

There are ways to have your meetings be more effective. Chief among them is not having them. If you find you really must get a group together for planning of to discuss execution of a project or process, keep these things in mind:

• Decide what results you want to achieve -- even before you consider anything else.
• Decide whether this is a stategic meeting or a tactical meeting. Strategic meetings focus on high-level issues of planning, guidance and alignment with other capabilities -- the kinds of things you see at 30,00 feet. Tactical meetings focus on how things are getting done, focusing on the work -- what you see on the ground.
• Then choose the people who can best help achieve these results.
• Think about how much time you'll need. Here, you'll need to be thinking about the value of each person's time.
• For the results desired, the people attending and the value of their time, think about whether the meeting needs to be held in-person or virtually. Many meetings are made up mostly of reporting (kill me!), which can be taken care of with a group email. You'd be surprised how many meetings can be cut in half with better communication.

Some other considerations:

• Lunch or breakfast meetings are mostly about the food
• Meetings after lunch are more sparsely attended (meaning: get 'em in early)
• Crackberry addicts (I'm not bitter) will suck up a lot of your time checking emails instead of paying attention
• The higher level the manager, the more late they'll be -- even if they called the meeting

Consider well, gentle Brits, Happy National Meetings Week!

Cheers!

Make Your Own Ringtone? I'm All Over It!

OK, folks. Here it is -- another technological red herring for me to chase. As if I'm already time-strapped (marriage, grad school, business, life), I'm going to make my own cellphone ringtone.

Seems CNN's Techno File report says I can do it. As long as I have a legally-owned piece of music. More as this develops.