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.
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.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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.
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:
While you're changing, there are several types of resistance mindsets (Carol O'Connor)
Question: Which stage of change are you in in your business? Which resistance mindset are you in?
Listen Now: 26:30 minutes
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)?
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.
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:
Requests:
Listen Now: 23:26
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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).
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:
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:
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.
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.
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:
Some other considerations:
Consider well, gentle Brits, Happy National Meetings Week!
Cheers!
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.
