Archive for October, 2011
Monday, October 31st, 2011
Have you ever heard the adage that 15 minutes early is on time, on time is late and if you are late, well, you may as well not have shown up for your meeting/appointment/interview? True story! A truly effective executive keeps his/her time commitments. Regardless the industry, position one holds, function you are in, or size of the company, it is critical to take being on time seriously. In addition, I believe that if you do not get to most meetings at least 15 minutes early you are losing huge opportunities. While being on time and keeping your meetings is necessary, being 15 minutes early can be a gold mine. I have had clients partially apply this secret, and the results were automatic.
Here are some examples of the problems that can be caused by cancelling, re-scheduling, or showing up late to meetings:
- Reduced employee loyalty/satisfaction because of frustration, disappointment, or even anger, which in turn leads to decreased productivity and/or increased employee turnover
- Reduced customer loyalty/satisfaction because of frustration, disappointment, or even anger, which decreases revenue
- Increased errors, which can reduce customer service or product quality, leading to a rise in product returns, reduced revenue, increased charge-backs, etc.
- Decreased productivity while people wait around for meetings to start, or stop for recaps of material already covered for the benefit of latecomers
- Increases in the length of time it takes to make critical decisions, sometimes by months, which costs you revenue and sometimes extra expenses.
We all know how important it is to be on time, in any situation, and yet the vast majority of people fail to use this simple idea of the “15 Minutes Early Plan”. If you are on time and keep your meetings with someone, you help earn trust, which in turn helps earn power with someone, and then the sales process has a chance of happening. On the other hand, if you cancel meetings, make people wait, show up late, and constantly reschedule, you lose their trust. You lose power with that person, and there is no deal. It is that simple!
To add to your success, try the “15 Minutes Early Plan”.
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who works with companies that want to maximize their growth potential by improving strategy, enhancing their knowledge, and improving motivation. To learn more about him or his firm please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or shoreh@activategroupinc.com.
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Friday, October 28th, 2011
Have you made time for a day of working on your business and aligning your team to accelerate growth in 2012? Join us on Thursday, November 3rd and your leadership team will walk away aligned and ready to make next year a breakthrough year!
Register Today!
Workshop:
Four DecisionsTM Executive Workshop
Spend a day with a senior certified coach and you will GAIN:
- An overview of the Four DecisionsTM (People, Strategy, Execution, Cash) you must get right to grow.
- A considerable start on your 2012 One-Page Strategic PlanTM, to focus and align your team.
- The Rockefeller Habits checklist to strengthen your ability and accelerate your growth.
- An aligned, accountable and enthusiastic leadership team, ready to hit the ground running at 2012.
Registration & Networking: 7:30 am
Start Time: 8:00 am
End Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Signature Grand 6900 West State Road 84 Davie, FL
November 3rd, 2011
Sponsored by Gazelles
Register Here
Learn about all our upcoming events at: http://www.activategroupinc.com/events/
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Tags:accelerate growth in 2012, Activate Group Inc, aligning your team, Executive Workshop, Florida Workshops, Gazelles, Howard Shore, Mastering the Rockeller Habits, workshop
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Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
Many of the companies we work with and come across define their recruiting criteria incorrectly and some do not even realize they have a problem. The typical initial problem statement is, “We need to fill a position with a qualified candidate.” Defining “qualified” is where they tend to go wrong. Some go on to say, “We will have better results when we hire from the inside than from the outside.” Others insist, “We should only look at people that previously have worked in this particular function for a certain number of years.” Or, “We want someone that has been in our industry before so we won’t have to teach them our business.” What these criteria and the initial problem statement often overlook is the real problem in the company. There is not an “A Player” in every position, and the company does not make defining, finding, keeping, and growing “A Players” a necessity.
When filling positions in a company, there is one common denominator that gets overlooked consistently in almost every company I come across. If you want to solve a problem, it is important to first define it correctly. Once you have defined it correctly, you can then come up with the questions you need to answer in order to solve your problem. Redefining “We need to fill a position with a qualified candidate” as “We need an “A Player” in every seat” forces you to redefine your expectations for the position and the criteria for the candidates. Many people you might have hired using the old definition should not get past your screening process.
The next time you fill a position in your company, ask the right questions:
- What are the key performance indicators of “A” performance for this position?
- What are the key success factors for producing this performance?
- What qualities does the person need to have to produce this performance?
- What track record do you want to see for you to trust that they can do this job?
- What are the cultural aspects of your company that are important to consider when choosing a candidate fit?
- What values must a candidate have in order to be hired, and what questions will you ask to test whether they’ve demonstrated those values in the past?
- What early warning indicators will you put in place so that you can tell whether things are working?
We can help you find the “A Players”.
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who works with companies that want to maximize their growth potential by improving strategy, enhancing their knowledge, and improving motivation. To learn more about him or his firm please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or shoreh@activategroupinc.com.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, can do this job, coaching, Executive Coach, fill a position in your company, find the “A Players”, Finding the Right Employees, Howard Shore, key performance indicators of “A” performance, make finding “A Players” a necessity, need to fill a position, qualified candidate, There is not an “A Player” in every position, We need an “A Player” in every seat
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Monday, October 24th, 2011
Let’s say you just spent 3 hours at a networking meeting to increase your sales pipeline. Maybe there were 10 good client candidates out of 100 people at the event that you were able to meet. It’s entirely possible that at the end of the event you walked away with zero meetings. Best case, perhaps some people would take a phone call about future meetings and maybe 1 is a real prospect. While you may have accomplished marketing your organization, introducing yourself to some new people, and possibly setting one future meeting there are a lot of “maybes” and “perhaps” in this scenario.
Now let’s take that same 3 hours and use the phone. The average person starting out may not have a very large contact list and may need to do a lot of cold calling, but a seasoned salesperson and partners in a professional services firm should have amassed more than 2,000 contacts willing to take their call. The people being called also know people, and may be willing to give referrals. So, imagine how many people could be called and connected within 3 hours.
I am not suggesting that people do no networking. I believe that your networks make you powerful. The key take-away is use of time. We must be careful not to confuse what makes us feel good with what is best for generating business. Most people do not put the time into making phone calls because they do not view this as an exciting part of their day. If everyone put as little as an hour per day, or five hours per week into filling their pipeline with meetings, they would always have a full and productive pipeline and find themselves in the top 25% of their peer group. Many people have found that they complete the whole sales process without ever leaving their desk.
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who works with companies that want to maximize their growth potential by improving strategy, enhancing their knowledge, and improving motivation. To learn more about him or his firm please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or shoreh@activategroupinc.com.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, Business Coach, business coaching, business growth expert, Howard Shore, increase your sales pipeline, networking meeting, sales process, use of time, what is best for generating business, whole sales process, your networks make you powerful
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Friday, October 21st, 2011
STOP…wasting money on team-building exercises and retreats that, in the end, fail to bring about the desired results anyway. A significant reason that team-building initiatives fail is that too much emphasis is placed on the misconception that team-building should be fun. The purpose of team-building is to improve the performance of a work group, thereby creating better outcomes. This requires change, and for most people change is not fun … it is hard work. Team-building can be fun… if the members of the work group enjoy the learning process and relish the opportunities that change will bring.
If you want to improve teamwork and performance in your organization you have to look at the four core elements to driving team performance: relationships, goals, roles, and rules. All four of these elements must be executed well for the organization to flourish.
Relationships
Ironically, improving relationships is probably the last area you should focus on. Yes, the area that most leaders spend most of their time addressing is usually the symptom, not the problem. Almost every organization that has team-building issues will find their root of their problems in goals, roles, and rules. In my experience, when we address goals, roles, and/or rules, many of the relationship problems disappear.
Goals
The first step toward achieving success as a team is to state your goals properly. You know your goal is well stated when anyone who reads it knows exactly what you are trying to accomplish and in what time frame. The better a person states the goal, the easier it is to create the action plan. An acronym commonly used for stating a goal properly is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistically High, and Time-based).
Roles
In order for a team to function properly it is important that every member of the team understands specifically the actions and/or activities assigned to them. This is not as simple as some make it out to be, which is why this is usually an issue for team. There are two different types of roles: task and maintenance. The “task” roles relate to driving the desired outcome of a team. The “maintenance” roles relate to managing team processes and relationships among people on the team.
Rules
Rules are a very important component of teamwork. This is one of those areas many leaders, particularly in entrepreneurial and family-owned businesses have the biggest concern with. Everyone is fine with rules as long as they apply to others. You cannot have one set of rules for some people and another set for others.
Contact us if you need team-building ideas.
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who works with companies that want to maximize their growth potential by improving strategy, enhancing their knowledge, and improving motivation. To learn more about him or his firm please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or shoreh@activategroupinc.com.
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Tags:acronym commonly used for stating a goal properly is SMART, Activate Group Inc, Attainable, Executive Coach, goals, Howard Shore, improving relationships, Measurable, need team-building ideas, Realistically High, Specific, success as a team, Team Building, team-building exercises, Time-based, wasting money on team-building exercises and retreats, when we address goals, work group
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Friday, October 21st, 2011
I am going to suggest something that may make you squirm a bit: Maybe that pain-in-the-butt client needs to go—for good. I know the economy has taken a turn for the worse. I know everybody is in business to make more money. I know firing a client means less revenue—or does it? (more…)
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, clients, core attributes of your company, Define the mission, Evaluate the profitability of each client, Executive Coach, Executive Coaching, expectations on working together, growth-killing clients, Have you ever had to fire a client?, helping you achieve this mission, Howard Shore, in business to make more money, less revenue, new clients in complementary, revenue, What traits do your favorite clients share?
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Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
I read a fantastic Sales Do’s and Don’ts blog post today. I especially like No. 13: “DO leave a voice mail for of “What’s In It for Them” compelling benefits.” I would take it a step further and say: DO your research to find their pain points and how your company can alleviate them.
What would you add to the list of sales do’s and don’ts?
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Monday, October 17th, 2011
Just like the people who work for them, CEOs and leaders come in all different sizes, shapes, styles, and backgrounds. As you can imagine, those variations influence how their people behave, who they hire, the systems and processes they use, and the strength of the team they have around them, etc. Dave Kurlan of Objective Management Group put together a list of 10 ways some CEOs react to recommendations he makes about their sales force. They are exactly the typical answers we’ve heard from the CEOs and seniors regarding unsuccessful projects of all types:
#1 – “Thank you for your advice. I’m not comfortable with that.” Who says that you have to be COMFORTABLE? You have to do the right thing for your company!
#2 – “I’m not quite ready for that. How about if we do that in six months?” This is a less honest version of #1 – at least be straight with me!
#3 – “Whatever you say. You’re the expert.” This tends to work out a lot like #1. Yes, they agree with whatever I say but are no stronger with management than with me and can’t drive change.
#4 – “This is B*ll S*it. They’re just going to have to do what you say, right now, or they’re gone.” That’s the spirit, but it isn’t driving change. You can’t pound people with a sledgehammer to drive change; you have to inspire them to change.
#5 – “Let me see if I can get some consensus for this.” Oh-oh, this isn’t going to work. You never get consensus from people who don’t want change in the first place!
#6 – “OK. Let’s talk about how we’re going to accomplish that, given our challenges.” Much better! At least we’re going to talk about how we can implement…
#7 – “Great – can YOU deliver that message for me?” This is even worse than #5!
#8 – “I’m not going to drive this. One of my senior managers will have to drive this.” OK, how many years are you willing to wait to find a genius who finds value in this AND isn’t threatened by it or me?
#9 – “Why aren’t my people doing what they’re supposed to do?” Because you have to be strong enough to tell them that it’s a condition of continued employment rather than quietly sitting there, not saying a thing, and expecting something to change!
#10 – I don’t want to do it your way. I think it should be done my way instead.” Ah, excuse me, but isn’t that the same way you were doing it for the last 10 years – and it didn’t work then either?
Remember, your people won’t be committed to change if leadership isn’t.
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who works with companies that want to maximize their growth potential by improving strategy, enhancing their knowledge, and improving motivation. To learn more about him or his firm please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or shoreh@activategroupinc.com.
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Tags:10 ways some CEOs react to recommendations, Activate Group Inc, business growth expert, coaching, Commitment to Change, Dave Kurlan, Executive Coach, Howard Shore, improving motivation, Leadership, Management, Objective Management Group, senior managers
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Friday, October 14th, 2011
Knowing the individuals that work for you and knowing their goals will make it easier for you to motivate them. Making sure they are in the right place and involved in the right tasks for them will help project completion and help your business to run smoother overall. Take the time to know and understand their strengths and weaknesses so that their performance reaches top levels. If your people feel that they have reached their own goals and the company’s and are properly recognized for doing so, they will continue with that upward momentum. If you find you have people that are apathetic about reaching not only company goals, but their own, find out why.
Here are some things to remember when it comes to motivating your people:
- To motivate someone you have to understand what is important to each one of them.
- Are the intrinsically or extrinsically motivated?
- Are their goals as high as your goals for them?
- Do they have an action plan to achieve their goal?
- Ask them to show or explain it to you.
- Help them see whether their detailed action plan to achieve their goal makes sense.
- Has the action plan been working so far? If not, help them see what you see.
- Once you are both at the same place ask them if they want their goal bad enough that they would be willing to try something new.
Remember, we can only motivate someone when they feel they are achieving their own goals. They will accept our advice when they see they are off course and believe they need help. You have to help them see and they have to agree they need help. Otherwise everything you say is white noise. As soon as you walk away they go back to what they were doing.
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who works with companies that want to maximize their growth potential by improving strategy, enhancing their knowledge, and improving motivation. To learn more about him or his firm please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or shoreh@activategroupinc.com.
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Tags:achieving their own goals, Activate Group Inc, business consultant, business goals, business growth expert, business to run smoother, Executive Coaching, Howard Shore, increasing motivation in workplace, Motivating Your People, performance reaches top levels
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Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
In today’s business environment, it is essential that we find ways to make our organizational resources more productive. In many organizations, the most prominent and expensive resource we have is our people. As a result, a lot of time is spent on creating processes and conditions that drive and motivate our employees.
A lot of research has been conducted over the years to identify the factors that have the most dramatic impact on productivity. While pay, fringe benefits, and working conditions are important, research has shown that absence of these factors produces a lack of motivation, but their presence has no long-range motivational effects. Long-range motivational factors are recognition of a job well done, sense of achievement, growth, participation, challenge, and identification with the company’s goals and vision.
Here are 15 ideas proven to provide for long-term motivation:
- Create a clear vision. Identify the organization’s mission and goals, and make sure that everyone understands the rationale behind them and how they contribute toward achieving them.
- Clearly communicate departmental objectives, and solicit input from your employees on what they can do to help achieve them.
- Make an effort to compliment each of your direct reports on at least a weekly basis.
- Make employee development and retention a primary objective of each manager and leader and reward their success accordingly.
- Ask employees for advice in areas where they have expertise.
- Involve everyone at all levels in the goal-setting and planning processes, particularly if they are responsible for the results.
- Let people know what is expected of them, and do everything you can to make them successful.
- Develop a “servant leader” attitude, and be there for your people rather than having them there for you.
- Treat everyone with dignity and respect.
- Stand behind your employees and back their decisions.
- Show the courage to let your employees learn from their mistakes.
- Take time to listen carefully to other people’s interests, opinions, concerns, and goals.
- Meet individually with your employees; help them clarify their personal goals and values; and assist them in identifying the skills they need to achieve their goals.
- Find ways to enrich the jobs of your employees by increasing their authority or span of control.
- Encourage employees to expand their comfort zone.
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who works with companies that want to maximize their growth potential by improving strategy, enhancing their knowledge, and improving motivation. To learn more about him or his firm please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or shoreh@activategroupinc.com.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, business growth expert, C-level, Clearly communicate departmental objectives, coaching, company’s goals and vision, dramatic impact on productivity, Executive Coach, goal-setting and planning processes, Howard Shore, improving motivation, improving strategy, long-range motivational, long-term motivation, organizational resources
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