A key foundation of business is to work toward a defined outcome or a measurable result. The achievement of that result is what we use to define our success, and often a benchmark for the next project. We create specific goals and expectations for the results and whether it's making a certain amount of revenue, achieving a defined level of results or walking away with a "satisfied" customer, we have a picture of how it should look. The challenge I find is that I often become so attached to how it should look, that I lose sight of how it "could" look. My focus and desire for my results to be as they should be often keep me from being open to other possibilities. And then, when things don't work out as I planned, there is disappointment.

I believe in putting positive energy and intentions into the world, both for myself and for others. A practice of daily affirmations can not only shift how one feels about their circumstance, but bring the intentions into view, where they can be seen, shared and manifested. Declaring my intentions in both specific and general terms and being open to the results appearing however they do, has made a significant difference for me.

This doesn't mean that I just sit back and let the world turn without doing my part to affect the results I desire. Quite the opposite! By powerfully stating my intentions,I begin to actualize those results in my work and interactions with others. I focus on both specifics and generalities, stating my desires clearly and concisely but also intending great results and success overall.

Quite often my specific desires come to fruition. Just as often my results look different from what I originally intended and have been even better than what I imagined. The key for me has been to let go of my attachment to how it should be, and to be open to how it could be. It's given me freedom to be creative, flexibility and less stress!

You might enjoy reading this blog, Letting Go Leads to Success, by Suzanne Blake, PCC. I found it to be interesting and in alignment with my views on getting freedom from attachments!

http://careerandmoneymanifesting.com/2010/01/25/letting-go-leads-to-success/

Are you having challenges letting go? What gets in your way of having the success you desire? And when you get stopped, how do you react?

When starting a business, an entrepreneur will put his or her heart and soul into creating it.  It often begins
with an amazing idea, one that wakes you up and night and excites you.  The vision begins to be formulated, shared, and modified into something that actually could be.  It is without question that it will have the characteristics and passions of its creator, and that it will be personal.

I find myself wondering when so much of oneself is put into the idea and creation of the entity if is it possible to exclude ones spirituality? Whatever your faith or practice, I say the values and beliefs you hold most dear cannot help but be transferred to the business whether consciously or not.  The question for me is what would happen if they were included deliberately? By design?  If all that we put out into the secular business world were inclusive of our deepest, dare I say it, 'religious beliefs', would it make a difference?  And what is the place for ones faith in the business mix?  How do you integrate it?

When I look at a company's vision or mission statement, I look beyond the words and try to understand the deeper meaning. I believe a vision is formed from deep within, and by giving it words, we create our mission. 

What do you think?  Do business and spirituality mix? Has it worked for you? Or not? 

Often, when I am shopping or trying to use the services of a particular company, I can anticipate the kind of service I am about to receive by the attitude and interactions of the staff.  For example, I have been privey to negative conversations between employees about the management or policies they are required to follow because they are oblivious to the fact that I am standing there in their presence, listening.  I sometimes overhear comments concerning an employees’ dislike for another employee, or their absolute lack of enthusiasm at my wanting to purchase their merchandise.  Managers have confided to me how they would love to help me with my needs, but the “powers-that-be” won’t allow them to make that decision.  My particular current favorite is walking into a store and being asked if I plan to buy anything or am I just wasting time.   Apparently, people simply looking through the store at the merchandise is a source of irritation to the employees.

I’m aware we are in still in very difficult times, and in fact, will go out on a limb and say that we don’t need to state that anymore as it is painfully obvious.  Yet; when I go to these stores and businesses, I have the sense that the “powers-that-be” have filtered this common knowledge down to all levels of the organization.  This is one way that a little thing called company culture, the “personality” as it were of an organization gets created.
 

Culture is a crucial aspect of an organization.  It can define a company as it will set the tone of how a company is viewed by its client or customer base.  Culture almost always established and defined by the behavior and leadership of upper management, the founder or owner.  So you really can’t blame your front line personnel for being less than cordial to your customers, if you’re less than cordial to your own employees. 

I have had numerous conversations with business owners and upper level executives who state that they just can’t find good help or their staff seem to be in a “funk”.  My first question is, “What training have you done to set the example of how to perform within the company?”    Stated another way, if the “powers-that-be” are hostile, unfriendly, rude, short, curt, dismissive, irritated, gossipy, or anxious toward the staff,  it is likely that the staff and front line personnel are reflecting that “personality” to customers.  It takes training, leadership, positive examples, positive reinforcement, and dedication to a mission of excellent service to shape a positive corporate culture (very similar to raising children).  Otherwise, your business will be the reflection of the negativity that is observed and filtered down to your staff.  Take stock in the culture, attitude, and “personality” of your leadership and business as a way of calibrating how your customers are observing your operation.  The more positive and ethical the corporate culture, the more positive and ethical the service.

From the time we are very young, we are taught lessons about success and failure.  We’re taught that success is good, and failure is bad; that success is the result of hard work and failure, the result of laziness.  We are rewarded for our successes – prizes, parties, trophies, food, and money.  But if we fail,
there are no rewards.  We are left with our bad feelings, our negative judgments of ourselves and others, and often without hope.  We are told that we should learn from our failures, persevere and the next time we will succeed. 

As I mature and grow in business (an un-ending process), I realize how important and valuable failure is, and how imperative it is to ones success.  Failure is a daily occurrence, and that gives us the gift of knowing where things are compromised or not working as designed.  In the world of science, failure is not viewed as a barrier, but as a tool for discovering the ultimate solution.  Without failures we can’t know what really works, or experience true success.   It has been said that winning without struggle is not really winning.  It has no depth, no meaning, no value – for it is in the struggle that we grow and expand ourselves, becoming more than we ever imagined.

I recently experienced a failure in business that one might say is significant.  It afforded me all the self criticism and judgment one could imagine, along with guilt and shame.  But it also gave me gifts – a gift of humility, a gift of allowing someone to help me, a gift of being told that in spite of the failure (which by the way, is done and over), I am a remarkable, talented and successful business woman.  It gave me important lessons for my future, as well as hope for what is to come.  I learned that I am not defined by the failure, but rather that the failure is just a part of the mix.

Today, and every day, I embrace my failures.  The opportunity as I see it is to strengthen and support the processes and systems I use so that I may ultimately achieve the success I desire.  With each failure, with each risk I take, I get a little closer to that achievement. The road is filled with many bumps, turns, and occasionally a road block.  But bumps can send us flying out into the sky, on a fabulous journey, which we only begin to understand when we land.

How have your failures enhanced your business?  What successes have you had that you can attribute directly to earlier failures?

Is it me or are there an overwhelming amount of articles and pundit discussions concerning our lack of leadership?   Intellectuals and “experts” ponder the lack of crisis management and leadership while asking the question, “How could this or that have happened and who was suppose to be on watch?”  Amazingly, they really don’t seem to be any closer to answering these questions concerning the state of our economy and business today than they were several months ago.   There are books, articles, blogs, and endless news magazine specials all trying to pin down the problem.  I think the question isn’t so much about why we are in a crisis situation with our government and economy, but how we need to proceed to navigate ourselves out of these crises.

These current crises have landed squarely on the shoulders of business owners, executives, and entreprenuers.  They are expected to lead their organizations out of the fog and into the light of a brighter, more secure future.  Since the “experts” haven’t provided clear guidance, I’d like share some thoughts on leadership in times of crisis.  You may have seen the movie, Apollo 13, based upon the true story of the United States astronauts who went to space in the Apollo 13 spacecraft.  I like anything to do with the NASA program, and have been a fan of space exploration ever since I was a kid and shook the hand of John Glenn at a political rally for Robert Kennedy (that just dated me!).  I recalled watching the incident of the Apollo 13 mission on TV, but had no idea of the seriousness of the situation until the book and movie came out.  The movie demonstrates how people, when properly prepared and trained, can manage a crises successfully.

In the movie there are three incidents that I feel really exemplify the type of leadership and response needed for business today, and I’d like to share them with you:

Example 1: At the initial realization that the command module is disabled, the flight controller asks the simple question, “What do you have on the ship that is good?”  Translation, instead of focusing on what is not working, the focus is on that of what is working that can be used to salvage the situation.   This is an important moment in the mission;  the leader immediately shifts the attention of everyone in that room from the impending problem to a possible solution – to what is working. 

Example 2:  The staff at command central gather in the meeting room and the flight controller tells them to forget the flight plan by symbolically throwing it into the trash.  From that moment on, the staff improvised “ a new flight plan”  that included thinking outside the design characteristics of the craft.  This is a great example of  “thinking on your feet and being resourceful.” 

Example 3:   Words of wisdom were spoken in the flight controller’s constant mantra of “let’s work the problem, let’s not make things worse by guessing.” 

I think today’s business world is facing similar challenges and I’m surprised at how leaders are dealing with these challenges.  Many business owners or managers cling to or give value to old marketing plans when they’ve outlived their usefulness.  Some leaders guess and give answers that have no real data to support them.  Others focus on only the negative aspects of their business climate, and then directly relate this negativity to their team.

Not only are these tactics counter-productive in resolving their business issues but they do not inspire staff to rise above the problem to find a solution.  Our economy is damaged, but not destroyed.  It can be repaired and restructured, but for this to happen, we need to train, re-organize, and inspire people to work toward a positive goal of bringing the life back into our businesses.    I encourage everyone reading this blog to watch the movie or read the book Apollo 13 from the perspective of  leadership.  You may discover some other bits of wisdom of your own hidden within the story of our nations’ astronauts.

Perhaps you've seen those old movie reels of the thousands of people standing in line to receive food or work during the Depression Era.  Those are images of a time in our history that damaged the very psyche of the nation.  Today, we have something very similar to this image, that of many professionals standing in line at job fairs and seminars, all waiting to spend four minutes in front of some recruiter, only to be thanked and sent away.  The new “trying to earn bread” line consists of the many individuals recently laid off from their jobs and now competing for just about any position.  Now, I want to first commend every person out there striving to find work and not giving up on themselves.  That is a courageous action and to anyone in that situation, you have my utmost admiration. 

The problem I have with this scenario is that some, certainly not all, companies participate in these job fairs yet do not offer legitimate employment opportunities.   I know from personal observation and research at these job fairs and from speaking with some of the attendees that this happens frequently and creates a very demoralized group of people.  For this blog, I want to address those organizations and employers who attend these events and offer my suggestions on how to market and recruit solid talent, while maintaining respect for the attendees. 

First, participate with the understanding that employment opportunities do exist and you are not just taking in resumes.  I went to a job fair and after standing in line for over an hour, I was told the company was not hiring but in fact just laid-off a large amount of work force.  I asked why they were participating at this job fair and was told it was in order to have a pool of names to fill positions of the laid off group in the event the company improved.

Second, remember that all of the people you meet at job fairs have come with their resumes, waited in long lines, and are people in search of honest employment.  Please treat them with respect and honesty, not with the attitude they are not worthy of your time.  At one event, the recruiter I spoke with at a booth was irritated, “huffy”, and short with me when I started asking questions about their positions and company.  I was told, that if they decided to contact me about the position, I could ask those questions then.  I know that the people on the other side of the table are under stress and tension, but they did agree to participate in the event; therefore, they should at least be willing to have a respectful conversation with the attendees. 

Third, everyone is in the same position and under varying degrees of stress.  Encouraging and professional tones are appreciated by both those seeking and providing employment.  Even if an attendee does not meet specific qualifications or there is an abundance of applicants; behaving in a professional and tactful manner is the right way to treat people.  Remember, all things are cyclical; whereas today there are fewer jobs and many applicants, tomorrow things will change.  People may not remember specific conversations or names, but they do remember how they are treated.  Social awareness and accountability for an organization is tested and monitored at job fairs.  Be an organization that is known for fairness and integrity when it pertains to employment opportunities and the treatment of potential staff. Do you have a similar story from your job search you’d like to share?  What do you think would make the difference?

When I first went into business for myself in 1999 with my meeting planning company, The Laureli Group, Inc., I did what a lot of first time business owners do and jumped right into business without a business plan or even a thought to how things were going to look in 3 years, let alone 3 months.  I was focused on the moment and on the next piece of business.

Three years later, I decided to apply for the highest levels of certification in the meetings industry, the Certified Meeting Management designation.  It was in the process of earning this designation that I created my first business plan, as it was required as part of the curriculum. Wow, what an eye-opener!  It took all that I I knew about my business, marketplace and finance and combined it with the results of market research and resulted in a 3-year plan complete with projections for future growth.

The amazing part was when I read it again about 2 1/2 years later, and discovered that most of what I had projected had come to be.  Just the process of writing down my desires and putting numbers and ideas into place gave me so much more clarity.  And with that clarity, I was able to direct my company and its future growth.

Today, at Pick My Brain, the greatest need we see with our customers is the need for a business plan.  Many of them are working hard, setting goals, but often without a strategy or without accurate information.  I believe that the greatest value in building a business plan comes from the planning itself.  A business plan is not an end goal.  It is a live process, and it is in the planning and implementation of the steps created that the success comes.  Sure, if you want to secure funding, you'll need an actual finished product to present; but if you want to grow your business, you must always be planning, projecting and taking action on those plans.

Because of this need, we've implemented a 12-week Business Plan Package that takes our clients through the steps of creating a plan a step at a time.  We've found 3-months to be a time frame that allows the busiest of business people the opportunity to build
their plan while still managing the business at hand.  

We'd love to hear from you!  Are you in the process of creating a business plan?  What are your challenges?  What have been your successes?  What would you recommend to others going through the process?
 

It’s check-up time for your business plan.

Many companies – large and small – have gone through the teeth-mashing experience of writing a business plan. Maybe it’s a strategic business plan, a business strategic plan, or perhaps you called it your marketing and strategic business plan as sort of a catchall. Whatever the term, you have probably taken the time at some point your business to write out the pearls of wisdom that would be the guide for your organization…then you placed it in a file somewhere and that was that. Now, during this economic crisis (yes, it is a crisis) you find that your business is struggling or your marketing just isn’t attracting new customers or vendors.

But look on the bright side, you and your company now have the time to reinvent and restructure your processes in order to survive. 

It is time to bring out that business plan, dust if off and review your business principles. Restructuring is as difficult as the start-up process because you must understand which elements are working and which are obsolete. Questions concerning customer retention, talent retention, technology updates, sales and marketing strategies, as well as leadership are all subject to evaluation. Are these elements still working, are they in sync with the current economy, is the pricing competitive, is our marketing attracting the right customers? In other words, a systematic review of every aspect of your plan – including your vision and mission statements – is in order.

I can attest to the fact that there are literally thousands of websites and books dedicated to the mechanics of structuring and restructuring a business plan. Most have excellent suggestions and procedures that facilitate your needs. But, a simple place to start is the tried and true form of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). It is easier to decide what kind of restructuring you need and which plan format is appropriate once you have an idea of these four elements within your business.

Basically, planning and restructuring are about using assessment tools to help you understand how your company’s internal operations are functioning within their external markets. The SWOT analysis is a well-tested form of assessment; however, there are many tools and formats to use in order to evaluate your current structures. Whichever you choose to help in the review of your business plan, the important step is that you are actually reviewing your business plan. As painful as that may be, it is necessary to the continued success of any business.

Please share you questions or comments concerning assessment or restructuring plans, we’d be happy to jump in and help you take your business to the next level.
 

Web Weaver takes the guesswork out of creating website metadata.

Web Weaver is a free tool that makes life easier and puts you in control of creating complicated metadata for your website. I first came across the tool a couple of years ago and it’s a bookmark I revisit again and again.

Along with offering links to website template sites, clipart and design tips and tricks, Web Weaver has an amazing metadata generator that makes creating those infamous title, description and keyword tags a snap. You still need to do the legwork to figure out what terms work best for your particular website, but this generator will count characters and create the HTML code to provide to your web designer.

I’ve used this for a couple of websites with great results.

Keep in mind, if you do plan on using the Meta tag generator, don’t get carried away. It offers you the option of creating a number of advanced tags outside of title, description and keyword. If you would like other tags incorporated into your site, consult your web designer.

So browse the Web Weaver site and let me know what you think. So many great tools in one place makes this a site you won’t want to miss!
 

Do you have a comfy or cliquey organizational culture?

Have you ever had the feeling that you were the only one wearing brown shoes at a black tie event? Do you feel like you’re the one person in the office your boss doesn’t like? Does it seem that you are not let in on the jokes or the conversations about last night’s program? As a manager, do you notice some team members not participating or contributing to your projects?

We have all had these uneasy feelings of rejection and ostracism in our lives, including at school, social events and work. Employers and managers must realize the effect these feelings make on the bottom line of your organization’s output. The perceptions or actual occurrences of ostracism can have a significant impact on your team’s ability to work together to achieve a specific goal. Psychologists have studied how humans are conditioned in nature to perceive even the slightest hint of such behavior as a defense mechanism in order to change or confront the behavior.

We no longer have to worry about maintaining our place in the cave society to survive; however, now we are concerned about our position in the organization as it relates to our superiors and colleagues. As a manager, it is very difficult to build and maintain cohesive teams, especially in a volatile economic environment. Work cliques that form at the expense of another employee compound this difficulty. Even the slightest off-hand or unintended comment can define how an employee perceives (real or imagined) his/her relationship with a manager or colleague.

The manager’s problem arises when the work output of the employee that experiences these feelings of rejection or exclusion is compromised. Employees may even resort to sabotage, inefficiency, passive/aggressive behavior, non-contribution or anger and resentment. The importance of recognizing these issues and defusing them quickly is vital to building a tolerant work environment.

It’s not realistic to curtail friendships or formation of groups, but it is realistic to set the tone and cultural tolerance for the company by example and policy. A manager can:

• Ensure that company behavior is sensitive to all multicultural groups and genders
• Write policies to reflect current labor laws
• Plan social events to be inclusive of all employees.
• Ensure every employee receives fair and equitable treatment, not matter their position in the company.

Remember, even the slightest perception of exclusion can result in an unhappy or anxious employee.

With the right examples and policies that are instigated by the leadership of an organization to the entire group, a company can do a great deal to ensure everyone feels a part of the team and continues to work towards the mutual goals set by management.

Please share your experiences with companies that either where proactive in creating a comfortable work environment or where negligent in addressing exclusion issues…