Friday, October 13, 2006

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

MP3 File

Thursday, October 12, 2006

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.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

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).

Friday, October 06, 2006

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.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

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.

Monday, October 02, 2006

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!

Sunday, October 01, 2006

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.

Friday, September 29, 2006

LNB #022: Great Wizard, I Just Want C-c-c-courage!

Funny how we're told to show courage and innovation, but we're not rewarded for having the kinds of key failures it takes to succeed like mad? Ever notice how, starting in elementary school, the teacher asks who knows the answer rather than asking who doesn't? The kids who know the answer don't provide much, when you come to think about it, but asking a kid who doesn't know the answer to come up to the board for help with by the teaching in figuring things out can provide much to the others -- including those who knew the answer, but, perhaps, couldn't tell you how they came up with answer if you held a snake to their heads.

I've been pondering several kinds of courage, trying to understand why we (that includes me, here) tend to show such bravado but balk when it comes to turning talk into action. Here's what I've come up with so far. Adrian Furnham talks about the courage to fail. He hints at the courage to innovate. I don't see being "fearless" here, though some might see if differently. Fearlessness, like color blindness, is evidence of a disability in a key adaptive area. People who claim to be fearless scare me, frankly. They pretend not to see threats, but seem to let others take the hits when things go awry. Color blindness, well, isn't something you can have and get a job printing 4-color materials.

Innovation comes when people can fail. Now, by failing, I mean flat-out didn't work, screwed the pooch, f-ing it up. There's nothing like trying to dry your travel mug by holding it out the window at 55 miles/hour and dropping that rascal that will teach you something very valuable. I figured out some really important things about who the right clients are by having worked with the wrong ones (slow pay, slow thinking, low risk tolerance, high fear, lots of excuses -- get it?). Now, I can spot the wrong ones, Name That Tune style, after just a couple of notes. That also means that I can find the right ones almost as quickly.

Furnham talks about interpersonal courage -- the kind of of state where you can be with a customer or employee's strong emotions and not get upset just because they are. This is the skill of the manager who doesn't try to shut up a crying woman employee who's complaining of harassment -- just because he can't stand seeing someone cry -- and risk landing the company in court when it goes to the hounds.

The last kind of courage here is interpersonal courage. When Furnham talked about this as the courage it takes to resist temptation, I thought of President Bill Clinton. No wonder he's considered the First Black President: Like so many brothers I know, he can't seem to pass by a sweet, available young thing. As much as the Republicans challenged his policies, they despised him for his moral failings. African and Russian business dealings dealings are long-storied quagmires of bribes and payola, choking much-neede economic development.

Question: Where in your business dealings are you having trouble showing courage? (If you're feeling a little timid, you can answer anonymously). It might be in sales, telling the plain unvarnished truth to your partners about the financial State of your Union, dealing with an employee or resisting the temptation of a delicious-looking married staffer.




Here's a treat: the audio of Bert Lahr (the Cowardly Lion's) Address: Audio mp3 of Address delivered by Bert Lahr where he declares


Cowardly Lion:
Courage. What makes a King out of a slave? Courage.
What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage.
What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?
What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage.
What makes the Sphinx the 7th Wonder? Courage.
What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?! Courage.
What makes the Hottentot so hot?
What puts the "ape" in ape-ricot?
Whatta they got that I ain't got?


All answer: Courage!

Lion: You can say that again!

At One Company, Email Gets Fridays Off

I sat at a coffee shop, trying to get some work done in a different location (you know, the geographical project relocation cure). It wasn't working -- too warm and sunny. I found my attention drawn to the other business types with their Treo-Berries.

Certainly, I was jealous. You know me: Inspector Gadget.

Then, I really started to watch. None of the people was alone; however, each of them put a finger up "hold on" style while they checked to see what the little buzzer what signifying. I wondered how important each of those messages was, whether they could have waited and what the impact was on the relationship with the person across the latte from them.

Listening to NPR (I'm a junkie, listening to NPR, the Daily Show, the Colbert Report...and Bill O'Reilly -- no clue on that last one), I head an article about a company, PBD Worldwide Fulfillment Services who, by edict of Scott Docktor, the CEO, has banned internal emails on Fridays. He spoke of the many unnecessary emails (the CYA's), the manners-zapping ones (a manager emailing during a meeting) and the silly ones (he and his assistant emailing...in the building...just steps from each other.

Interestingly, he's found that Monday's inbox isn't as full as one would have thought, finding little to no impact. His verdict: more banned email days.

Listen to the NPR audio article.

Friday, September 15, 2006

LNB #021 - When Good Habits Go Bad

Change in your organization is made up of more than discussions of character or morals. Change requires shifting to new habits -- repeatable behaviors that become "automatic" and produce the same results over time.

Lewin's model
: Unfreezing the old habit, moving of transforming behavior, re-freezing an altered or new habit.

Prochaska & DiClemente's Model of Change
: Pre-contemplation (not now), Contemplation (someday, but not today), Preparation (someday soon), Action (now), Maintenance (locking it in).

Get some help. Your organizational and individual habits have staying power. The "buddy system", an advisory council, a Mastermind Group or individual coaching should help you to make the necessary shifts -- and keep you on track when your old systems and habits call

Email llamos@totalteamsolutions.com to discuss how coaching can help
you win.

Interested in the power of a facilitated Mastermind Group? Click here for more info and to register for an informational session.

Listen Now:



Friday, September 08, 2006

Victory from Defeat!

This was really good. A jilted bride who found out that her man was cheating only after the invites had been sent and the money was spent, turned what could have been a very sad and expensive day into an opportunity to make a difference. Get this: she turned her wedding reception into a charity event and took her mother on her "honeymoon" trip!

Sweet! I love that this woman, at such an upsetting time, had the presence of mind to find another way to think about her situation.

LNB #020 - Make it Simple, Cancel Complexity

Happy 40th Birthday, Star Trek! No one could ever predict that a cancelled television show could spawn 6 series, 10 moves, hundreds of books and an entire language. This ground-breaking program (featuring, among other things, the first televised interracial kiss) was considered a failure after only three seasons. It just didn't fit the mold.

Some Simple Ways to Cancel Complexity in Your Business:

Duration: 29:16 File Size: 7.03 MB

Listen Now:

Friday, September 01, 2006

LNB #019: What Were You THINKING!

One of the biggest challenge for business owners is what we think we know. It gets in the way of our being able to see things in new ways or explore new options.

When asked why an action was taken, most people can't come up with a really well thought-out reason: "Why is your business plan written this way?" Because someone else said to do it. "Why are you at that location?" Because other people who seem to be successful are there.

But, do you understand how you arrived at that decision? Many times our own thinking is a mystery to us.

Please visit my website for books and other materials to challenge your thinking.

Listen Now: 27:01


MP3 File

This is the End of Civilization as We Know It!

I love Shani, my husband's daughter. When I met her, we struck up a conversation in the ladies room at a restaurant. We were chatting very happily together for quite a while before we realized we were there to meet each otherl. We walked out of that ladies room like we'd known each other forever.

It's that a family comes together -- not how it comes together -- that matters.

So, when she called to ask us to watch her on the MTV Video Music Awards, of course I said "yes!". I promised to record it for her and, at 8 last night, settled down to watch (she was going to be one of about 20 dancers painted pink or yellow -- piece of cake).

I cut class to watch MTV's birth. I remember the first two videos -- "Video Killed the Radio Star" (huh?) and Pat Benetar (who I could listen to sing the names in the phone book). MTV has been just like that for me: a collection of hits and misses. Last night was no exception. Jack Black (who is famous for what exactly?) did his best "look-at-me-being arch" routine and was about as funny as tooth extraction with string and a slamming door.

So I waited for Shani's dance number with Busta Rhymes (whose stuff I generally like quite a bit). While I waited, I endured almost 3 hours of inconsistent performances (Justin - yay, OK Go - fine, Beyonce -nice, the Jackass guys - kill me, Al Gore talking about glaciers - what?...really, I mean WHAT!). The statuettes kept falling apart and so did the show.

Finally, there was Busta -- for about a minute. I'm going to have to scan frame by frame to find Shani, but it's worth it. She's perfectly wonderful.

In the end, I turned off the tv and stared at Garland. It was like having watched a traffic pile-up...from inside the pile.

At least I got to see my girl...kind of. Shani's been on SNL dancing with Nelly Furtado and on an Elephant Man video among others.

Keep calling, Shani. I'll be watching -- no matter what!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Kill Me Now!

OK. This one hurts.

Remember a few years ago when advertisers were convincing poor (silly) college students to walk around with logos and branding materials on their heads? Well, this goes quite a bit further down the road.

CBS is tattoing eggs with logo information...on eggs.

Really.

Here's a potent ad message, critical to the progress of civilization: "CBS Mondays - Leave the Yolks to Us."

Business innovation is being driven by design and creativity. However, we need to consider not just what we can do, but what's worthwhile. This falls into the "just because you can do it, doesn't mean that you should" category.

I fear for us all.

Read the Money.cnn.com article.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Dell Computers Burst into Flames?!


This is choice.

You know I've been on a computer jag for quite a while. From smoking, crackling computers to levitating Lenovos (keep reading this blog to figure out what the hairy-heck that one was about) to laptops that grow legs and run away -- it's getting dicey for us GOSSIPS (gadget obsessed, smugly superior, internet professionals). Now, they just catch fire.

Here's the scoop. Turns out that Dell computers equips some of their computers (about 4.1 million of 'em) with an additional, no-cost feature...a high-yield heating source, great for those chilly Midwestern winter nights. However, during these sultry summer days, it's not such a good thing.

Every evening Garland (hubby-fabulosa) and I retire upstairs to watch The Daily Show and tap out the last of our work for the night (actually, Garland's queuing-up tasks for the next day, and I'm learning something random from wikipedia -- tonight was about Cheddar, England and, yes, I need another hobby). Garland stepped away to get something from his office and, I sat there staring at his Dell computer, sitting there innocently on his side of the futon.

My brother in Hotlanta, told me that an FAA rep assured him, on a recent flight, that airplane fire retardants were sufficient to put out any computers that catch fire, particularly in the holds. His concern? That one catch fire on the tray table in back of his seat (no sense of adventure, that one).

I'm wondering why this is an issue now, particularly when, as it turns out, Dell can trace this pesky problem back to around July of 2004! For how long have they known, I wonder? The government has been on a tear about cigarette companies who, knowlingly promoted their deadly product. If they knew about the problem, it could run Dell afoul of the same laws that are plaguing cigarette manufacturers -- the RICO Act.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Ramsey Suspect Captured, But Who Else Might We be Killing?

Just weeks after Patsy lost her life to ovarian cancer, it appears the murderer of her six year old daughter, JonBenet, may have been captured.

The JonBenet Ramsey case is an unfortunate example of negative buzz -- the kind of "where there's smoke there's fire" thinking that spreads almost as fast as the hype around "Snakes on a Plane." The public immediately seized on the peculiar nature of the pageants that JonBenet participated in with her mother, another pageant winner and lifelong pageant enthusiast. Under a cloud of suspicion, Patsy Ramsey tried to live her life, raise her son and struggle with cancer while grieving a daughter that many thought she'd killed.

Let's face it: We're a nation of gossips. And I don't mean GOSSIP -- Gadget-Obsessed Socially Superior Independent Professional...those cats who have a blackberry, a personal and work cellphone and drink pricey, branded coffee even if the coffee's free at work. Our amusements are rife with reality programs that allow us to voyeuristically eavesdrop on people and then chat, IM, blog and talk about it the next day. But the line between what's real and what' spun is getting blurrier. One story can become a runaway train with little hope of turning or slowing when new facts come to light.

A couple of years ago, a local businessman was rumored to have hit his wife. It wasn't true, as it turned out, but people were talking about it. He was shunned, asked to step down from a public accountability and his business suffered. His wife, a chick with some substance, denied the rumors and even found the person that had started it -- a little self-aggrandizing that got out of control -- but it didn't matter.

For me, when I met with him shortly after this began to heat up, I felt a little ashamed of what I'd heard, so I told him what I knew and from whom I got it. Then, I went back to my "Don't talk about that with me or I'll squeal" policy that had been so useful years before.

One of the worst things I think we do in business is assume. We do it when we network, when we prospect, when we hire. We shortcut our thinking because, many times, it works....Except when it doesn't. Now, I'm not saying never assume. What I am asserting is that assuming without assumption-testing is worst than going off half-cocked. See if you're right about your assumptions.

Our most powerful weapon against false info: the question. So, be sure you ask.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Samuel L. Jackson Called My Husband


OK, fine! So it wasn't actually Samuel L. -- it was a recording of Samuel L. that called Garland. When he gathered the voicemails on Sunday, what did he hear? "I can't stand all these %@#!$#@%#@$ snakes on this %@#!$#@%#@$ plane!"

Choice.

Now, I'm not entirely sure that this movie is my cup of tea. Yes, I enjoyed lots of slasher movies in my earlier years (Shu-shu-shu-shu-shu. Hah-hah-hah-hah-hah.*). However, I think I've grown significantly over the years.

Not really.

I had a point. Oh! The cool thing about the movie isn't the scene where a couple, trying to get into the Mile High Club buys the farm in the lave (evil laughter). It's the fact that Samuel L. solicited so much word of mouth to generate buzz for this flick. He listened to his fans and supported them, even when they suggested substantive changes to the movie. An army of fans rallied around the project, starting websites, selling t-shirts and other merchandise. They even pressured the studio to change the name of the film from Pacific Flight 121 to Snakes on a Plane, which the studio did.

This movie has achieved cult status -- and it isn't even out yet.

What does this have to do with your business?
The studio execs were surprised and Time magazine did an article on this "phenomenon." Though word of mouth is the least studied marketing method, it just happens to be the most effective...and the oldest.

There is an endless list of products that people have bought because someone else said it was the neatest thing since deep-fat fried turkey (I ate it only because I heard people raving about it --Eh!). Our customers know what they want and, for the most part, there's no amount of focus grouping or consumer psychology that will shake them once they've decided that a thing is cool.

The thing is: How to we more effectively dial-into WOM buzz? Companies are beginning to spring up to answer this question. Their magic bullet? Ask 'em. Customers will tell you what they want when we stop talking. They'll tell us what they want, how they want it, when they want it, what color they want it in and what they want you to call it.

We just need to do more listening than talking.
Like this movie, the fans decided that they "owned" the film. They were more than consumers. They were stakeholders of the highest order and they felt that their opinions counted. Luckily for them, Sam Jackson listens to fans. As he pointed out in a recent Time magazine interview, most directors only work on about a dozen films in their professional careers -- he has over 100 movies to his credit. In all that time, he's learned that his fans are smart about their entertainments and will vote with their feet if they don't get what they want.

Your customers, too, are voting every day about you and your product and services.

Have Samuel L. Jackson call a friend and tell them to see his movie...

Cheers!

* A reference to the Jason, Friday the 13th movies that dominated the 80's and 90's slash and dash movies.

Friday, August 11, 2006

LNB #018 - The 7 Deadly Sins of Marketing (Pt. 5)

Leighton Haynes, of Twin Phoenix Marketing, continues his marketing series with
Lalita, discussing the power of brand and customer sensitivity on business success. He urges

  • Not taking customer relationships for granted -- with both internal and external customers
  • Authorizing employees to take immediate action for customers with the tools needed to satisfy them, rather than passing it along to management.
  • Leading, or anticipating, customer needs -- not waiting for a complaint or a need
  • Measurement!

Leighton suggests the book, Primal Branding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future. Also, pick up must-read magazines Business 2.0 and Fast Company.

Contact Leighton, 202 203 7737

Duration: 27:25 File Size: 6.58 MB

Listen Now:

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Crazy -- Just Like Me!

There are a lot of places where I must be crazy. I started a business at the bottom of the Tech Bust. I'm in a marriage that I believe will last (just like the 60 or 70% of the others who've said the same thing -- right before filing for divorce). I think people in the Middle East want peace and I think there's a good alternative to fossil fuels hanging out out there.

Yup. I'm a nutter.

I play a lot of music at home, at work, in the car. Right now, I'm between songs (getting ready to turn on NPR's Ed Gordon to wind down the afternoon's work).

The song, below, is Crazy by Gnarles Barkley. He's done about 50 different versions of this song (and videos to match) -- in one, he's dressed up as Darth Vadar (the song is about being crazy). They're all good. I like the lyrics. Sounds a lot like the lives of the me and the people around me. Unsure about the world. Hopeful.

What music is playing for you right now?


Gnarls Barkley - Crazy EXCLUSIVE Slow Version LIVE!!

Lyrics to Crazy, by Gnarls Barkley

"I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that place
Even your emotions had an echo and so much space
And when you're out there without care
Yeah I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough I just knew too much

"Does that make me Crazy
Does that make me Crazy
Does that make me Crazy
Possibly

"And I hope that you are having the time of your life
But think twice, that's my only advice
Come on now who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are,
ha ha ha bless your soul
you really think you're in control well

"I think you're Crazy
I think you're Crazy
I think you're Crazy
Just like me

"My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on the limb
All I remember is thinking I want to be like them.
Ever since I was little, ever since I was little It looked like fun
And there's no coincidence I've come
And I can die when I'm done

"But Maybe I'm Crazy
Maybe you're Crazy
Maybe we're Crazy
Probably"

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Mean People are Made to Pay!

Earlier I blogged about workplace bullying and mobbing (Mean People Suck!), a prevalent system of mistreatment that amounts to psychological abuse. This mistreatment can include exclusion from workplace information and resource networks, humiliation, gossip and rumoring (which has destroyed personal, as well as professional, relationships), threats and intimidation. It can be caused by one person acting alone or by a group, or mob. Bullying and mobbing steal productivity, cause rampant turnover and create a relatively dismal work environment. In the extreme, bullying is a precursor to workplace violence.

Still, companies see it happening and do very little of any substance to make it stop. Some attempts are half-hearted, leading to more entrenched behavior. Now, companies who don’t effectively settle these claims in their HR departments are settling them in the court systems.

The British courts have just awarded a former female employee of Deutsche Bank $1.5 million in what is the largest award ever for workplace bullying. She claimed that she was subjected to "offensive, abusive, intimidating, denigrating, bullying, humiliating, patronizing, infantile and insulting words and behavior" – that she was ignored and excluded, her authority undermined and, as a result, found herself increasingly stressed-out, to the point of illness. Beyond catty, the Deutsche Bank "Gang of Four" (four other female staffers) moved quickly from the petty and catty to derisive, relentless personal and professional commentary and attacks on her competence and humanity. They didn't stop, even when she had been admitted to the hospital on a suicide watch.

Maybe we’ll start getting point: Mean people really do suck…and now they’re being made to really pay.

Read "Mean People Suck" or the article on YahooNews!

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

I Want One...Gimme!

As I mentioned before, I'm the short, Black Inspector Gadget. I've got it bad. I've got a gizmo for everything. By the by, the new breadmaker is in (the other one...melted). My husband (who has a fresh-baked bread "problem") is rolling in fresh, steamy bread (weird metaphor, to be sure) and I can send a loaf to everybody in Congress with more leftover.

My Kyocera 7135 smartphone, a lovely and dependable little gizmo is getting long in the tooth. It's 2 1/2 years old, which in high-tek years, is 175! While my heart is heavy, I'm planning for its replacement. I looked at the usual suspects: Treo 650/700 and the Crackberry, which (is it just me?) is ugly and a little too wide for my girl-sized paws.

On my radar screen is the Nokia E61. It comes with Bluetooth and can use VOIP over Wi-Fi. No camera (yay), which I just don't need (I'm counting on using Garland's -- which is why...um, I got it for him last Christmas).

I'm still looking. But this does feel like petting trusty old Fifi on the head, while plotting for her replacement.

Monday, July 31, 2006

Off-Site and Out of Our Minds!

I can think of some pretty horrible things a boss could say to his or her employees: "We're downsizing and, although we appreciate your contributions".... "We've been bought out by the Lithuanians and, you're really going to think this is funny, but they've got this language requirement"...."We're instituting office sharing and you get Tuesdays and Thursdays".... "We think it might be SARS, but we've been assured that our new Ionic Breeze air cleaners will take care of it"...

Nothing, however strikes eye rolling and sighs of disgust as "Everybody. We're going on an off-site."

My last JFSEWB (job for someone else with benefits) was off-site-happy. We were lousy with "great ideas" to get away to think things over. We had the obligatory ropes course avec trust fall. Of course. We also had a strange gathering of managers with a Junguan analyst where we were treated to massage (I'm not kidding) and required to draft personal mission statements after walking out into the wilderness (of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin) until we found a place that "called to us." I"ve been camping and skiing. I've seen talking sticks (you can only speak while you're holding it -- a practical joke from our Native American brethren and sistren, to be sure) and colored hats, pebbles with adjectives on them (we were to speak from this adjective for the entire weekend) and a whole host of other trite attempts to be productive with forced togetherness.

When my clients ask me about off-sites, I sigh deeply and, trying valiantly to keep my opinions to myself (I fail here), I ask them why they think this would be a productive use of their time. It must be the tone of voice, coupled with the fact that my clients are superiorly clever, intuitive people (down to the last man and woman). They pause and contemplate, sensing their coach ready to pounce, then offer: "Because we can get a lot more done out of the office?"

Good answer. But, is it true? Consultants who study the effectiveness of training and planning interactions offer that off-sites, in the main, are only about 10% effective, wasting a lot of time with games and filler, while workers back at the office become increasingly incensed at having to hold down the fort. Companies with strained or superficial workplace relationships use off-sites in an attempt to cement relationships and wind up spending more time at this than in planning, brainstorming and focus-grouping (they try to wedge it in anyway).

When I work with my clients, they find that they need much less time in an off-site than they thought. I ask them to consider using long lunches to work on one problem at a time, rather than to try to get several things done at once. This way, they can build their off-site skills.

Questions to be answered can be:

  • What are our commitments? This could be the business goal or strategy we're involved with right now on this project? If we're doing strategic planning, this could be the creation of Mission (chief aim), Vision (the future for our business that provides us with a context from which to operate) and Values (what are we commited to not leaving out)
  • Where do we say we need to be on this project? With the company?
  • Are we there?
  • Why or why not? Is there something missing, the presence of which would make a difference?
  • If we don't know, how will we find out?
  • Relationship managemet: Whether we win or lose, does everyone feel valued and cared for? Blamed and deflated? What do you need (to re-energize yourselves)?
  • What possible actions can we take to get there?
  • How will be pick an action to develop and implement?
  • What are our next steps?


I think effective off-sites are cultural in a business. Meaning, that if a company hosts them frequently, tied to business strategy, and the results of the off-site can be seen in the organization, they make a difference.

Chime in: What are your best and worst off-site stories. Do share!

Sunday, July 30, 2006

Apple of Death

I'm hanging with Garland at a bookstore. A perfect way to wind down a weekend. I found a great magazine, Mental Floss that aims to challenge our thinking. In it, they explain that eating apple and apricot seeds - something momma told us not to do will actually kill you.

I wonder what other tidbits of mother-wit we've discounted....that turn out to be true?

Friday, July 28, 2006

LNB #017 - Create Your Kitchen Cabinet (Advisory Boards)

Business advisory boards are tools for furthering your business interests, increasing your networks, generating new ideas and advancing projects -- all of this without the formal responsibilities of a Board of Directors.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

  • Your business and personal goals

  • Who can best help you

  • What do you need them to do

  • How you will reward them

  • How to work with them

There's more information in the White Paper. Visit www.totalteamsolutions.com and follow th e link to E-Books/White Papers for more.

Duration: 33 minutes, 42 seconds File Size: 8.09 MB

Listen Now:

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Um, My President Just Felt Up the German Chancellor.


I'm going to send in a proposal to do sexual harassment training for the White House. I'll keep you posted.

Aside from the fact that this is surprising and a little sad, it brings home the fact that harassment and sexual harassment have so fallen off the radar that even the President can find himself touching inappropriately.

Question for you is: do you know what constitutes the kind of speech and touches that can get your company dropped into the soup? Having done this kind of training and coaching for a number of years, I'll bet the answer is "No."

Friday, July 21, 2006

LNB #016 - Are Incubators Hatching Sound Businesses?

Business incubators were started 40 years ago in Batavia, New York to address common concerns – that first-time entrepreneurs with good ideas weren’t getting the funding, resources and support they needed to succeed and great business ideas were being lost. They address issues of expertise, resources, and social capital with

  • Resources: supplying printing, clerical support, internet and telephone services as well as funding,
  • Expertise: with business consultants and mentors who can help draft and review business, marketing and operations strategies and plan and
  • Social capital: by offering networking opportunities and introductions to key business allies.

They are designed for 2-5 years of participation and the incubators charge either a monthly fee or a percentage of ownership (many times in the range of 20 – 50%).

Issues
There’s very little research and scant results to show the effectiveness of incubators. Few begin their incubator-incubatee relationship with measures, goals and timetables for success.

Conflict of interest when incubators are pushing decisions that support their investment but may not be good for the business’ hopes for long-term growth. Many incubators do not utilize the resources afforded to businesses in the new economy (cheap, fast internet; virtual offices, lean staffing, web delivery) and my offer too much structure, preventing business owners from developing fully as entrepreneurs.

Networking, coaching and mentoring are weak, with the client driving much of the interaction without the proper training to get the most out of these relationships. Also the “coaches” are often untrained consultants who have little skill in helping entrepreneurs challenge their thinking and reshape the personal and professional habits that may hinder business growth.

Considerations
Good incubators are out there. However, business owners must have good insights regarding their needs and must be able to insist on a set of services that would best support them rather than taking a pre-determined set of services that may not fully support their specific development areas.


Further Reading:

Indy Nite Ride -- where one ne'er-do-well podcaster spent a Saturday night!

Duration: 29 minutes, 28 seconds File Size: 7.07 MB

Listen Now:

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Go Back...Give Back

I'm standing at an online kiosk at Purdue University's Black Cultural Center, having just finished up lunch with the BCC's director, Renee Thomas. I had committed resources from my family back to Purdue and was meeting with her to see what she needed from me in terms of time, energy, money and/or effort. Her response: all of them (that's why she's got that job!).

We talked about how things used to be. We talked about how things are and we talked about her vision for students at Purdue and the impact of the BCC on their lives and futures. What, I think, makes Renee the powerhouse that she is, is that her vision, embraces everyone rather than focusing narrowly. She knows that we're interconnected and that the lives of the Black students she serves will impact the lives of the citizenry of the world. Great work, given that she heads one of the premier Black Cultural Centers on any college campus anywhere.

She reminded me of why I came to Purdue: to get a universal education.

I shared with her about a trip I took to Namibia, one of the countries under the apartheid regime. I'd traveled there shortly after liberation and found myself very surprised by the reception I'd gotten. Everyone who'd been to college anywhere in the world knew of Purdue University (sometimes called the "Harvard in the cornfields" -- sigh). Every university I visited offered me a faculty position.

I didn't know what I had.

In the book, The One Minute Millionaire (yeah, another of the "you, too, can be a millionaire series of books that proliferated the market a few years ago that only made millionaires of the authors), suggested that we "tithe where we're spiritually fed." I've found myself thinking about that one line in that book over and over in the past several years. I'm not a church-goer, so I had to challenge myself to find places that had fed me so I could "pony-up." I gave to the churches of my friends, I'm made anonymous donations to temples and other religious organizations. I gave money to charitable groups.

And then I remembered: Purdue, with all of the good (a world class education) and the not-so-good (an attempted cross burning my freshman year) was the place where I'd really been fed. I found my husband there. My best friend, Carol, I met at Purdue (she was holding a sledgehammer and tearing into some old sidewalk on a weekend student event). My mother and I were students there and graduated a semester apart. I'd learned to become so bold that I'd start my own company (OK, bold and crazy!) and travel the world.

It's not a lot by Warren Buffet's standards that I give. The point is that I do. What surprised me was the warmth of Purdue's embrace back to me. But that's not why I gave.

I gave back for that one person who would find their life's mate or study late into the night with a family member or travel and be proud of who they've become.

See what you can do... and then do it!

Cheers!

Friday, July 14, 2006

LNB #015: Say You're Sorry!

You screwed up. It happens. Now, how to you go about cleaning it up while maintaining great relationships with customers, vendors, suppliers, partners and employees?

Screwing up, in itself, is less impactful than trying to "step over" a mistake or broken biz promise. This has lingering effects on our relationships and our ability to focus (tap dancing around a broken deadline can reduce your ability to do your best work).
Triune Brain:

  • Reptilian brain: oldest portion. Designed for survival and reproduction
  • Limbic brain: designed for feeling and emoting
  • Cortex: newest portion. The highest thinking part of the brain


How to Get an Apology Done:

  • Acknowledge what happened (tell the truth)
  • Acknowledge the impact on them
  • Explain what happened (only if you know what you needed to fix)
  • Explain that you're willing to make it right
  • Make an offer to make it right
  • Ask if this fits the bill and does, in fact, make it right (Note: shut up and listen.
  • Don't put your reptilian brain on "speakerphone."
  • Ask them if they will accept your apology.

Read Seth Godin's The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkablefor ideas on how to remarkabilisize (I didn't make this up) your business.

Listen to NPR's Marketplace report, "Prescription for Doctors: Admit Your Mistakes."

Duration: 30:33 File size: 7.33 MB


MP3 File

Monday, July 10, 2006

Craig's List Sued Over Housing Ads Content

Craig's List has been sued over discriminatory postings made by some of its members. Does Craig's List's woes impact your internet-based business? Listen to Ari Shapiro's NPR report and send in your comments

Note: This content may require the latest RealPlayer, which is not available on Windows 95, Mac OS9 or Linux systems.

Friday, July 07, 2006

LNB #014: Think Outside That Box, Then Burn It!

I'm wrapping up the business week here at Net Heads (http://www.netheads.com/), which is not your father's internet cafe (no high priced burnt coffee here!). Interesting people, snack-style foods (the manager reminded me that the geeks made the food - hmmm....) and bandwidth to burn. They also had B-Movie icon, Bruce Campbell (well-known for his starring role as Ash in the Evil Dead trilogy) here the other week (missed it, damn!).

What I really love about this place is that they created a business model that combined money and passion (internet gaming, chat, movies, business workers, learning) -- they knew that conventional wisdom about this business would put them in a box, and they happily snickered at it when they put this place together several years ago.

See, we all know that the chance of new business success is pretty dismal: one in nine. We know many of the key factors for business failure:

  • Lack of planning
  • Lack of adequate capital (cash reserves)
  • Poor marketing
  • Bad staffing (sometimes including having the owners running the business)
    and the list goes on.

But, there are those business endeavors that start out right: seemingly armed with all the necessary tools for success, but they still fail. What gives? The common human condition is that our thinking is more conventional than we know. The challenge of that reality is to stay ahead as the business landscape changes. Its what we think we know that gets in our way. We operate with a certain set of business and life "facts," forgetting that they're sometimes just a collection of most-used premises, and not set in concrete.

There's the story I tell about the matriarch who was known for great Sunday hams (I don't eat pork, but follow me anyway). She was also known for cutting off the ends of those hams before baking them and, to ensure success, each new generation of cooks followed her example. On her 80th birthday, they asked her why she cut off the ends of all those hams. They leaned in to hear her soft reply (like the drama?): "My pan was too small." They'd been following a formula for generations they neither needed nor understood.

Question is: Where are we "cutting off the ends of the hams?" It could be in the way we deal with our customers or with a belief that we have to have our website look a certain way.

Kelly, a technical writer, told me when we first met, that no one could make money as a coach. She wanted to hire me to help her build her business (a coaching business). But with that mindset, the only thing that was in the way for was her own belief that it couldn't happen. Truth was, the way she took on building her business was designed to prove her right. Her struggle was epic and very painful to watch.

Brian, an attorney, believed that he couldn't not answer a customer phone call, even when he was heading out the door for a court appointment. He couldn't see any other way to deal with phone calls and was increasingly late for court appointments. Challenging him that he could answer the phone and be on time, he created a system where he gathered up his court materials an hour before he had to leave and then transferred his desk phone to his cell phone. He could pick up the phone if he needed to without having to rush off to make his court date, satisfying both needs without sacrificing his customer relationship.

Getting outside the box is one thing: staying the hairy-heck out of it is quite another. Let me spin out some options – some free and other costing cash. You can

Duration: 20:58 File Size: 5.03 MB

Listen Now:

Thursday, July 06, 2006

I Have a Confession to Make...

My husband, Garland, refers to me as "Inspector Gadget" and for a micro-enterprise business owner, I have to confess: It's true.

I've got the Gadget phone (a kyocera smartphone), the Gadget computer (an HP Pavilion that does it all), and so you don't think this is limited to my business, I've got the the Gadget breadmaker, which suffered a tragic meltdown recently (let us pause for a moment of silence) , the Gadget George Foreman grill...you get the point.

Proudly, I say to you that I use them all, but here's something interesting I noticed about myself: when I'm creating or trying to capture notes on the fly, I use pencil and paper. I had a smartphone and the best little laptop computer in the world, but I have to tell you that I'm hooked on these smart little notebooks. My favorite is pocket-sized and I carry it with me, tucked in my bag for those times when I just have seconds to jot down a note (or don't want to be caught tryping to graffiti a note into my Kyocera....dangit...how...do....you...make...a...."K"?!).

This one comes with a charming story (it was the notebook of choice for Hemingway and Picasso) and its beautiful. Sleek, simple and small. While you're reading it, think about a habit you have which might seem counter -intuitive, but it highly effective. Find one and make good friends with it.

Moleskine Small Ruled Notebook - The Legendary Notebook of Hemingway, Picasso, and Chatwin - Moleskin Blank Book Journal Imported From Italy

MOLESKINE IS THE LEGENDARY NOTEBOOK, USED BY EUROPEAN ARTISTS AND THINKERS FOR THE PAST TWO CENTURIES, FROM VAN GOGH TO PICASSO, FROM ERNEST HEMINGWAY TO BRUCE CHATWIN.

This trusty, pocket-size travel companion held sketches,notes, stories and ideas before they were turned into famous images or ages of beloved books.

Originally produced by small French bookbinders who supplied the Parisian stationery shops frequented by the international avant-garde, by the end of the twentieth century the Moleskine notebook was no longer available. In 1986, the last manufacturer of Moleskine, a family operation in Tours, closed its shutters forever.

“Le vrai Moleskine n’est plus” were the lapidary words of the owner of
the stationery shop in Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie where Chatwin stocked up on the notebooks. The English writer had ordered a hundred of them before leaving for Australia: he bought up all the Moleskine that he could find, but they were not enough.

In 1998, a small Milanese publisher brought Moleskine back again. As the self-effacing keeper of an extraordinary tradition, Moleskine once again began to travel the globe.To capture reality on the move, pin down details, impress upon paper unique aspects of experience: Moleskine is a reservoir of ideas and feelings, a battery that stores discoveries and perceptions, and whose energy can be tapped over time.

The legendary black notebook is once again being passed from one pocket to the next; with its various different pagestyles it accompanies the creative professions and the imagination of our time. The adventure of Moleskine continues, and its still-blank pages will tell the rest.

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

What (Comedian) Jackie Mason Says about Starbucks

I resisted getting a copy of Starbucks President, Howard Schultz' new book Pour Your Heart into It : How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time. Seems PT Barnum (a business maven from another time who was one-half of the Barnum and Bailey Circus) summed up his business model with his own: "There's a sucker born every minute, and you are right on time."

As I sit at the health club, feeling smug about my cheap cup of Joe (I'm not a coffee drinker, so this isn't going to go well), I read this funny take on the Starbuck phenom.

You want coffee in a coffee shop, that's 60 cents. But at Starbucks, Cafe Latte: $3.50. Cafe Creamier: $4.50. Cafe Suisse: $9.50. For each French word, another four dollars.

Why does a little cream in coffee make it worth $3.50? Go into any coffee shop; they'll give you all the cream you want until you're blue in the face. Forty million people are walking around in coffee shops with jars of cream: "Here's all the cream you want!". And it's still 60 cents. You know why? Because it's called "coffee." If it's Cafe Latte -- $4.50.

You want cinnamon in your coffee? Ask for cinnamon in a coffee shop; they'll give you all the cinnamon you want. Do they ask you for more money because it's Cinnamon? It's the same price for cinnamon in your coffee, ask for coffee without cinnamon - 60 cents! that's it! But not in Starbucks. Over there, it's Cinnamonnier - $9.50.

You want a refill in a regular coffee shop, they'll give you all the refills you want until you drop dead. You can come in when you're 27 and keep drinking coffee until you're 98. And they'll start begging you: "Here, you want more coffee, you want more, you want more?"

Do you know that you can't get a refill at Starbucks? A refill is a dollar fifty. Two refills, $4.50. Three refills, $19.50. So, for four cups of coffee - $35.00. And it's burnt coffee. It's burnt coffee at Starbucks, let's be honest about it. If you get burnt coffee in a coffee shop, you call a cop. You say, "It's the bottom of the pot. I don't drink from the bottom of the pot." But when it's burnt at Starbucks, they say, "Oh, it's a Blend. It's a blend. It's a special bean from Argentina...." The bean is in your head.

Do you remember what a cafeteria was? In poor neighborhoods all over this country, they went to a cafeteria because there were no waiters and no service. And so poor people could save money on a tip. Cafeterias didn't have regular tables or chairs either. They gave coffee to you in a cardboard cup. So because of that you paid less for the coffee. You got less, so you paid less. It's all the same at Starbucks, no chairs, no service, a cardboard cup for your coffee - except in Starbucks, the less you get, the more it costs. By the time they give you nothing, it's worth four times as much. Am I exaggerating?

Did you ever try to buy a cookie in Starbucks? Buy a cookie in a regular coffee shop. You can tear down a building with that cookie. And the whole cookie is 60 cents. At Starbucks, you're going to have to hire a detective to find that cookie, and it's $9.50. And you can't put butter on it because they want extra.

They don't give it to you. They tell you where it is. "Oh, you want butter? It's over there. Cream cheese? Over here. Sugar? Sugar is here." Now you become your own waiter.

You walk around with a tray. "I'll take the cookie. Where's the butter? The butter's here. Where's the cream cheese? The cream cheese is there." You walked around for an hour and a half selecting items, and then the guy at the cash register has a glass in front of him that says "Tips." You're waiting on tables for an hour, and you owe him money? Then there's a sign that says please clean it up when you're finished.

They don't give you a waiter or a busboy. Now you've become the janitor. Now you have to start cleaning up the place.

If I said to you, "I have a great idea for a business. I'll open a whole new type of a coffee shop. A whole new type. Instead of 60 cents for coffee I'll charge $2.50, $3.50, $4.50, and $5.50. Not only that, I'll have no tables, no chairs, no water, no busboy, and you'll clean it up for 20 minutes after you're finished."

Would you say to me, "That's the greatest idea for a business I ever heard! We can open a chain of these all over the world!"


No, you would put me right into a sanitarium.

Get a Mac - Get an iLife


Have you noticed this new ad series by Apple? They're appealing to an interesting combo of lifestyle and functionality, focusing on the hip, trendy, grande-skinny-mocha-frappa-whozit crowd.

Friday, June 30, 2006

A State Lottery Gets It's Ticket Punched

Many of you who know me, know that I'm a news hound -- world reports and news of the weird. While on the road for our weekly extended family dinner, this is one I heard.

Get this. In 1996, an Indiana man bought a $2 lottery ticket. When he learned, several months later, that it was a $5 winner, they said "Too late."

Annoyed, he sued. Overjoyed, he won $15,000.

It cost the state $450,000 in legal fees, the $15,000 settlement...and the $5!

Great googily-moogily!

Don't We Wish!


If you've ever seen a laptop take a tumble (hope it wasn't yours), you'll appreciate this.

Sometimes, Bad Things Happen to Good Laptops


Worse than being stolen, you can plug yours in and have this happen!

LNB #013: The Laptop Lament (laptop security)

Laptop Thefts of Note:

  • Veterans Administration: 26.5 million records (including those critical for identity theft)
  • December, 2005: Ford employee lost a laptop with 70,000 records on workers
  • January, 2006: Ameriprise laptop missing with 215,000 records on workers and customers
  • February, 2006: Deloitte & Touche auditor left laptop in airplane seat pocket
  • March, 2006: HP lost a computer with 196,000 records on employees

Thefts Stats:
In 2003, the Safeware Company reported that 600.000 laptops are stolen annually. The Gartner Group reports a 1 in 10 chance of being a victim of laptop theft. The FBI reports that the chances of you getting your laptop back are a dismal 3 in 100!

Key Areas of Day-to-Day Vulnerability:

  • Coffee shop (inside and in the parking lots)
  • Conference centers
  • Hotels
  • High-end restaurants (where visiting business people take clients while on travel)

Keep Your Computer Safe

  • Back up your data with Data Life Boat. Be sure to tell Ken that you heard about them from this podcast.
  • Use a laptop security cable. Try this one from Kensington: Kensington Master Lock Universal Notebook Security Cable (Black). Use it when you're at a cyber cafe (even if you don't plan on leaving your computer, when you're at a conference (don't believe them when they say your stuff is safe) and when you have to leave your computer in your hotel room.

    Duration: 19:15 File Size: 4.62 MB

    Listen Now:

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Keep It Simp....Oh, Hell With It!

This week, I spoke with several business owners who shared the same lament: They had no internet presence (aside from their xxx@someone-else.com email addresses) and they wanted one. Their thinking was similar as well – that it would take lots of resources (time and money) to get a website done, that they weren’t internet-types (no DIY here) and that they didn’t know where to start in engaging a firm to do this work for them.

Now, I admit that from-scratch web design is challenging even for the most adept designer and that there are websites that all but read themselves to you (and some that do that, too). Until I changed my thinking, putting my own website together myself was like building a Hummer with a set of dental tools (very hard). I found I really wanted to know why they believed it had to be hard -- what had them on the squeaky gerbil-wheel, trapped into a solution that they just knew they couldn’t execute? After some good exploration, they both discovered other options that got them into action, using blogs (free) and 2-3 page webs (simple and inexpensive) and had a whole new way of looking at where they got trapped in their thinking.

Gerbil-wheel mindset isn’t limited just to dealings with the internet. I’ve found that each of us has our own places where we limit our options because our thinking is limited to a few (or one) choices when there is a world of options. One attorney I spoke with explained that “everyone did it”, when talking about the way he managed his client interactions. Trouble was: it wasn’t working for him or anyone else in his practice of law to operate the way he did.

There’s an old story I don’t like much, but it’s illustrative. It’s the story of the young women who, after baking hams for Sunday dinners exactly the way Grandma did, finally asked the matriarch, “Grandma, why do we cut off the ends of the ham? We’ve been doing it for years, but we don’t know why.” Grandma’s answer: “Because my pan was too small and I had to cut it to fit.” Ouch!

Question is: Where are you cutting off the ends of the ham, doing something the hard way without challenging your thinking to come up with new options? Dig in and find one and then go to work on it. Dare you!

Friday, June 23, 2006

LNB #012: Mean People Suck! (Workplace Bullying)


Remember the bumper sticker? The one that proudly proclaimed that "Mean People Suck?" Well, we do. Workplace bullying sucks the life, energy, time, effectiveness, money and morale out of companies.

Bullying costs you. Talented people leave. Your company becomes known for bad workplace culture, making it more difficult to find good people. Your company pays more in health-related costs like medical insurance and Worker’s Compensation. Productivity plummets as the Bully's Target becomes less inclined to be there (coming in late and leaving early), performs poorly or requires more and more supervision, while Bullies stir-up other workers into back-room conversations about the Target that take valuable time away from productive work. As bullying continues, bullying costs companies in legal fees they can ill afford.

This podcast will help you understand how bullying can manifest itself in your organization and some steps to take when it does.

As a wise person once said: "Don't confuse fear with respect."

Duration: 32:18 File Size:7.75 MB

Listen Now:

Friday, June 02, 2006

LNB #011: The 7 Deadly Sins of Marketing, Pt. 4 (Interview with Leighton Haynes of Twin Phoenix Marketing)

Still messing up your marketing? Listen into an interview with Leighton Haynes of Twin Phoenix Marketing for tips on how to thwart this 4th Deadly Marketing Sin.

Find Leighton in Washington, D.C. at 202-468-5069.

Duration: 18:18 File Size:4.39 MB

Listen Now

Monday, May 15, 2006

Cooling Our Heels...While Boiling Inside!

I had a day that, I think, plays itself out over and over in business. I had several business meetings on a rainy Friday. Nothing new here, but what I did notice was a problem with those meetings that mounted over the course of the day.

People were late.

Let me break it down for you, so you understand what happened. The first meeting, a teleconference, was scheduled for 9:00 am. At 9 sharp, my phone rang. Perfect. Then it started to slide. The second meeting started 20 minutes late: one participant got trapped on the interstate behind an accident on a rain-slick road. He did contact both of us by email (he was sitting long enough that he got out his trusty Treo (yes, I'm still jealous) and tapped out an urgent missive. Next, a meeting right after lunch. I was to introduce a business owner to a banker for a possible referral relationship. I'd confirmed the meeting with them both a few days before and still, strangely, got a call from one of the participants 10 minutes before the scheduled start asking when and where the meeting was to be. He arrived 30 minutes late -- right after I sent the banker back to her office with my apologies. Then, a 3:00 meeting where the participant showed up 45 minutes late and rounding up the day with a call 90 minutes after the scheduled time.

Now, what was interesting was that none of these meetings were sales calls -- people feel quite free to "blow off" sales people (I think rude is rude, but there it is). They were opportunities for me to network and help other business owners make contact with other business owners.

We're getting really weird about time. More so, we're not getting the relationship between integrity and people's willingness to do business with us. You can't be on time for a meeting -- you won't be on time with my order or with a contact I give you.

Question is: who do you blow off?

Thursday, May 11, 2006

LNB #010: The 7 Deadly Sins of Marketing Pt. 3

As if the first 2 sins weren't deadly enough, Leighton Haynes is back to share more common things we can do to mess up our marketing!

Listen Now: 12:45


Saturday, May 06, 2006

LNB #009: Take Your Vacation!

Plan ahead for maximum relaxation with minimum checking in.

As soon as possible, commit the time and the money. Let people know that you're planning a vacation.

If your business is seasonal, think ahead and plan your vacation for the downtime. Another tack is to plan your vacation when you know your clients will be gone. How will you know? Ask them. They’ll happily tell you all about when they’ll be lying on the beach in Aruba (wouldn’t you)?

Combine business with pleasure. Plan a vacation at the end of a business trip to save you airfare and, perhaps, give you some leverage to negotiate a lower hotel rate.

"I’m too important to my company to take a vacation. If I’m not there, things fall apart.” You, my friend, may have other problems. Your staff should be able to run the core aspects of your business in your absence. The Marines, your mayor, the head of your utility company and even the president of United States takes vacations every year (note: more than one). If you don’t trust your employees to cover for you – you may have a simple issue of training. Write out procedures detailing your accountabilities and have them shadow you. If you still feel uncomfortable you may have the wrong people in place or may need help learning how to let go. Be sure that you have written procedures and have trained your employees how to follow them.

If a week-long vacation is out, plan what fellow coach, Susan Levinson of Leverage Your Power calls a "Power Trip" – 2-3 day weekends scattered throughout the year, some coupled with personal development.

Right Before You Leave
  • Create project lists with key details and expectations for the people who will be covering for you.

  • Establish one point person you’ll be in contact with and a system for contact.

  • Let your clients, prospects, vendors and suppliers know you’ll be gone and who to contact in your absence.

  • Set up an away-message on your email account.

  • Pre-plan for your re-entry. Keep your calendar clear your first day back. You’ll need it to get caught up.

While You’re Away

Check in once a day if you can’t go cold-turkey. If you have to check your email while you’re gone (yes, that’s me), schedule any non-critical email replies to go out the day you get back.

Upon Your Return

Take a day to sort and plan.
Pitch the junk mail, trades and newspapers – you probably won’t have time to read them and they aren’t attractive lining your credenza. Collect your voicemails and emails and do a little triage, figuring out what needs your attention now, later, needs someone else to take action and need never be seen again.

Create a message to say that you’re back and when people can reach you.

Email your clients, vendors and suppliers letting them know that you’re back.

Thank the people who made it possible for you to be away.

Listen Now: 8:16

Friday, April 28, 2006

Caught Between a Rock and Our Parents' Place

Many of us have reached an interesting phase in life: the Sandwich Generation. We're young enough to have children who need our help and old enough to have parents who are starting to have trouble managing at home alone. We find ourselves tip-toeing around issues with our parents, often to their detriment, and working longer, less productive hours because we're losing focus at work.

The condition of their home will be your best guide for whether your parents are having trouble managing alone. Look for spoiled food, dishes piled up, unwashed laundry, disheveled clothing or lightbulbs that need to be replaced -- anything that just isn't consistent with who you know your parents to be.

One sales executive I spoke with recounted his concerns for his newly-widowed mother in another state "I just can't seem to concentrate on work when I'm at work and I'm not really with her when I go visit -- I'm just the handyman." Through our work together, I helped him land an elder-care concierge, someone who run errands, arranges rides and help around the house. His productivity at work increased dramatically and his visits home were much more enjoyable (for him and for his mother).

Talk with your parents. Be straight about your concerns for their welfare, remembering that they have been in it -- living with their home conditions -- and may be unaware that conditions on the homefront have gotten out of hand. One conversation with my Father, explaining that, unless the house got back under his control I'd move back in for a few weeks and snap things back in shape was all he needed. He knows how pushy this daughter is -- he raised her.

Visit MyParentsConcierge.com to learn how this service can add peace of mind for you and those who raised you.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

LNB #008: Customer Rage on the Rise!

Customers. They're the source of life for companies and fuel our economic engines. But, they're also getting increasingly, um, grumpy. Given the fact that everyone with a business card says they differentiate themselves with excellent customer service, what's behind the dramatic increase in customer rage?

Listen Now: 11:45

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Business Travel

Business travel, particularly lengthy junkets, can be made so much easier by contacting the hotel manager a week in advance and asking for upgrades, particularly when you've stayed at that hotel before. For more tips, check out The Unofficial Business Traveler's Pocket Guide: 165 Tips Even the Best Business Travelers May Not Know, written by Chris McGinnis, CNN travel correspondent.

LNB #007: Email Hell (Are you a Crackberry addict?)

You thought you were just being productive...when you checked your email...in your pajamas...before you brushed your teeth. Is this productivity tool causing just the opposite effect?

Listen Now: 6:14

Dialing for Dollars: The Best Time to Strike

Jay Levinson, author of Guerrilla Marketing for the New Millennium, noting that micro-enterprise business owners have little time to play telephone tag, offers this brief list of the some of the best times to reach your prospects (organized by business/speciality).

Be sure to ask "Is this a good time for an xx minute conversation?" If they say "No," ask when a better time will be and commit to talk then. Show sincere respect for their time and they'll be more likely to listen to you.

Guerrillas know the best time to reach their prospects by telephone:

  • Accountants -- Standard business hours except between January 15th and April 15th.
  • Bankers -- Before 10:00 am and after 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday
  • Clergy -- Between Tuesday and Friday
  • Dentists -- Between 9:00 am and 11:00 am, Monday through Friday
  • Doctors -- Before 9:30 am or after 1:30 pm, Monday through Friday
  • Engineers -- Between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday
  • Executives -- Before 9:00 am, during the lunch hour, and after 1:30 pm, Monday through Friday
  • Farmers -- Between 12 noon and 1:00 pm
  • General contractors -- Before 9:00 am, during the lunch hour, and after 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday
  • Grocers -- Between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm
  • Heads of businesses -- Before 9:00 am, during the lunch hour, and after 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday
  • Homemakers -- Between 10:00 am and 11:30 am and between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Notice -- never during dinner.
  • Lawyers -- Between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm and between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday
  • Nurses -- During the half-hour before or after scheduled duty hours. Call the hospital to get details about shift schedules.
  • Pharmacists -- Between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm
  • Teachers -- Between 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday

Monday, April 24, 2006

LNB #006: The Small Business Owner's "Secret" Manual

What are the new rules for owning a business? Business and Executive Coach, Lalita Amos, discusses what it takes to have a business that you enjoy --rather than one you
just survive.

Listen Now: 6:57









Monday, April 17, 2006

Mean Girls: We don't like 'em. So why do we follow them?

Is there a place for cruelty in your organization? I'd like to think there isn't, however I think I may be wrong.

Sitting in a Purdue University classroom listening to a distinguished graduating senior talk about relational aggression -- a type of interpersonal behavior that can be insidious and very sophisticated and has been studied mostly in girls -- I found myself surprised.

Aimee discussed the results of her experiment. Her subjects reported that, although they liked the women they identified as "nice," they still picked the aggressive, unlikable women to work on projects with when given the choice.

Thinking ahead to the kinds of woman-to-woman situations I dealt with in my old HR days, I found that most could be said to have been "relational aggresion:" hurtful rumors; withdrawal of attention, support and help; exclusion. The aggressor, in each situation, was someone who people didn't much like or trust, but they followed her fairly relentlessly.

Organizational power, in relational aggression, may not directly parse to the job descriptions of the people involved. I've been called in when a group secretaries decides a woman manager must go or when the nurses on a shift have squared off against a woman doc. The nurses and the secretaries don't have title power, but are, arguably, some of the most powerful muscle-flexors in an organization's social fabric.

Why? Are we geared to consort with the aggressive? Is there a difference between what we say we admire and what we follow? I wondered: are our efforts to blunt the aggressive tendencies of our employees (like sales reps, for example) hurting their effectiveness?

While we don't like the mean, we still pick them when we want to win.

Read the Fast Company magazine article about aggressive execs.