Archive for February, 2012
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012
Great leaders have a lot in common. I have been reading Great by Choice (Jim Collins), which discusses the personality traits common among the most successful CEOs in the country. Things like goal setting, creativity and healthy paranoia are highlighted. As a business coach and leadership trainer, I have worked with many successful CEOs. Based on my experience, I’d like to add to the conversation with three things that the great leaders would never, ever do:
- Pass the buck. The buck stops with the leader. That’s what they are getting paid for, and if something goes wrong within the team they innately understand that it is their responsibility and no one else’s. Great leaders never blame others. I think this is especially important for young managers and mid-level team leaders to remember. Great leaders at all levels don’t play the blame game.
- Say, “I’m too busy.” A leader’s primary responsibility is to set their employees up for success. Period. If employees need help, have questions or want to share their ideas, great leaders always have time and an open door.
- Spend, spend, spend. Great leaders understand that spending company money is a highly visible responsibility, and that they set the example for everyone else. I’ve seen leaders and company owners spend money like drunken sailors and guess what? So do their employees. And at the end of the year when accounting shows them the damage, they have no one to blame but themselves.
Howard Shore is an executive coach and leadership trainer with expertise in leadership coaching and human capital management. To learn more about AGI’s executive coaching, management consulting, and leadership training, please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, eadership trainer, Executive Coach, Executive Coaching, expertise in leadership coaching, Great by Choice, Great leaders, Howard Shore, Human Capital Management, Jim Collins, Leadership, mid-level team leaders, most successful CEOs in the country, Training
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Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
Change management is a crucial part of an effective human capital management strategy and one of the least understood. If you are in human resources or business leadership and need to understand how to effectively manage change in your organization, our new webinar is a must!
AGI is offering a one-hour, info-packed webinar on change management on March 8 at 12p EST.
Get more information on our Seminar/Training events page.
Howard Shore is a leadership coach and trainer with expertise in leadership coaching and human capital management. To learn more about AGI’s executive coaching, management consulting, and leadership training, please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, business leadership, change management, how to effectively manage change in your organization, Howard Shore, Human Capital Management, South Florida Webinar, webinar, webinar on change management
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Monday, February 27th, 2012
Some salespeople swear by networking. They hang their hat on it as their primary sales technique. They go to every networking event they can find hoping to run into a few key decision-makers. Here’s the scenario:
They attend an event with 100 people, where there may be 10 good candidates. From this event, they usually walk away with zero meetings and maybe a few people to call about future meetings. From all those handshakes, one might be a real prospect. In those three hours, all they accomplished was marketing the organization and possibly setting one future meeting.
That same three hours on the phone has much more potential. Imagine how many people could be called and connected within three hours. Even if a large percentage of calls resulted in voicemails, all calls can be directed to a decision-maker in a target client company.
Conservatively, a cold-calling session could achieve 12 phone meetings and two or three prospect meetings. If they are all pre-qualified, those meetings are likely to result in new business.
In most cases, phone calls are the sales technique that yields far better results.
I’m not suggesting you stop networking. Your networks make you powerful. However, I am suggesting that you network better. Here’s how:
1. Network selectively. No more than 10% of your time should be spent networking. If you are in professional services and have to deliver, it should be no more than 5% in order to allow enough time to get on the phone to properly fill the pipeline and to attend meetings with prospects.
2. Network strategically. Stop spending time networking in the wrong places. Do not go to a networking event unless the majority of the people there are targeted prospects. And stop going to events consisting of a bunch of other salespeople.
Take a look at the networking events you attend regularly, and determine how much time you spend there. How many new prospects and new clients have you pulled from those events?
Howard Shore is a sales coach and trainer with expertise in sales techniques and sales force development. To learn more about AGI’s executive coaching, management consulting, and sales training, please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, Better Sales Techniques, client company, cold-calling session, good candidates, Howard Shore, key decision-makers, Network selectively, Network strategically, networking events, networks make you powerful, real prospects, sales technique, sales techniques, salespeople, spending time networking in the wrong places
Posted in Articles, Business Coach, Business Coaching, Business Execution, Communication, Howard Shore, Sales, Written By: | No Comments »
Friday, February 24th, 2012
Your time management habits need to be improved. I’m not trying to single you out, but seriously, most of us could improve the way we manage our time. Especially leaders. In my long tenure as a leadership coach and trainer, I’ve noted that time management is one of the biggest challenges most leaders face and is one of the easiest to fix.
What I’ve noticed is that the same daily tasks and activities are sucking time away from leaders. See if you can spot the ones that are sucking up your time:
- Interruptions: telephone and personal visits.
- Meetings: the long, purposeless ones.
- Tasks that should be delegated.
- Procrastination and indecision.
- Acting with incomplete information.
- Crisis management: putting out fires started by others.
- Unclear communication.
- Unclear objectives and priorities.
- Lack of planning.
- Stress and fatigue.
- Inability to say ‘no.’
- Desk management and personal disorganization.
Guess what? You are probably both the cause and the solution to your time challenges.
Here are a few strategies to avoid the time stealers listed above:
- Put your daily plans in writing.
- Plan your days by listing your activities in order of their priority.
- Delegate.
- Make brief notes immediately following a conference, meeting, or important conversation.
- Keep simple records regarding the routine of your daily life.
- Schedule quiet time – and use it.
- Use wait time wisely.
- Keep your work area free of distractions.
- Stop “living” in your inbox. Check email at set times and be ruthlessly efficient about deleting junk mail.
To be an efficient leader, you must set up and follow a few time management strategies. Just like anything else, when you get into the habit of using your time wisely it will become easier and easier to instill these habits in the rest of the team.
What are your biggest time wasters? Are they avoidable or do you feel trapped by the inefficiency around you?
Howard Shore is a leadership coach and trainer with expertise in time management, leadership coaching and human capital management. To learn more about AGI’s executive coaching, management consulting, and leadership training, please visit www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, biggest time wasters, Business Coach, challenges most leaders face, coaching, Executive Coach, Howard Shore, Human Capital Management, leadership coach, leadership coaching, Stop Wasting Time, time challenges, Time Management, to be an efficient leader, trainer with expertise in time management
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Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012
It’s pretty rare to find a product or service that is truly unique. In my opinion, the only two ways to truly differentiate your business from the competition are through people and company culture. So let’s talk about people. Every leader with whom I’ve consulted says they only want to hire top talent. They say they have pride in their people and mediocrity is not an option. So why do they end up with a bunch of “C” players on their team? They don’t have a solid strategy for the management of human capital, and they ignore the following signs of mediocrity:
- People picking up the slack of others who don’t do their job.
- Positions are created to fit existing employees instead of hiring the right person for a position created to fit the company strategy.
- Managers tolerating the same mistake by an individual over and over again.
- Persistent complaints from co-workers about a particular employee.
- People waiting around to be told what to do instead of taking initiative.
- No innovation.
- High turnover in key positions.
- Higher overall turnover than best-in-class competitor.
- Managers spend more time “doing” instead of coaching, mentoring, recruiting and evaluating performance.
- Employees who aren’t held to the same standard because of their long tenure. i.e. their job is theirs forever.
At their core, these problems are human capital management issues that result in lost revenue, increased costs and lower margins. Ironically, some leaders find it easier to deal with revenue issues and their consequences than to learn how to build the right organizational structure and manage their human capital. By taking the time up front to do it right, they would grow faster, have more time, reduce costs, and expand margins. Instead, they choose what is comfortable.
Howard Shore is an expert in human capital management who works with companies that need help with recruiting, hiring and developing the best talent. To learn more about AGI’s executive coaching, management consulting, and leadership training, please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, Business Coach, coaching, differentiate your business from the competition, employees, evaluating performance, expand margins, find a product or service that is truly unique, High turnover, Howard Shore, Human Capital Management, increased costs, lost revenue, lower margins, Managers spend more time “doing” instead of coaching, Managers tolerating the same mistake, mentoring, No innovation, people and company culture, Persistent complaints from co-workers, problems are human capital management, recruiting, reduce costs, signs of mediocrity, Signs Your Employees Are Mediocre
Posted in Articles, Business Coach, Business Coaching, Culture, Management | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
Take our quick poll and tell us which of these five areas of your business strategy is the one you feel will have the biggest impact on your company’s success this year.
- Talent Acquisition and Retention
- Marketing/Communications
- Sales
- Technology
- New Products/Innovation
TAKE THE POLL
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who provides business strategy and consultation services. To learn more about how an executive coach, management consultant, leadership training, or business coach can help your team, please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, business growth expert, Business strategy, Howard Shore, Poll, Strategy, What is the most important part of your business strategy?
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Monday, February 20th, 2012
Since we celebrate President’s Day today I thought it might be interesting to pull up a little business trivia about some of the past leaders of our republic who were also business leaders.
And they did it all without the help of an executive coach. Go figure.
- George Washington built a whiskey distillery on Mount Vernon the year he left office, which eventually became one of the largest distilleries in the country.
- Herbert Hoover started a mining consulting firm with offices in London, San Francisco, New York, Paris and Petrograd.
- Warren Harding bought a newspaper that was nearly bankrupt and made it so successful that it provided his income for decades, including while he was running for office.
- Franklin Roosevelt founded the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation as a hydrotherapy and healing spa for polio victims.
- Harry Truman opened a clothing store in Kansas City, which was initially successful but eventually went bankrupt.
- Jimmy Carter took over his family’s peanut farm and eventually grew it into a multi-million dollar business that included warehouses, a peanut-shelling plant, and farm equipment supplies.
- George H.W. Bush founded the Bush-Overby Oil Development company and co-founded the Zapata Petroleum Corporation; business ventures that made him a millionaire.
- George W. Bush invested $800,000 in the Texas Rangers baseball team and later sold that share for $15 million.
Thanks to Entrepreneur.com and USAToday.com for the interesting factoids!
Howard Shore is an executive coach and trainer with expertise in leadership coaching and human capital management. To learn more about AGI’s executive coaching, management consulting, and leadership training, please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, Bush-Overby Oil Development, Businessmen, Entrepreneur.com, Executive Coach, Executive Coaching, Franklin Roosevelt, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, George Washington, Harry Truman, Herbert Hoover, Howard Shore, Jimmy Carter, leadership training, management consulting, past leaders of our republic, Presidents, Presidents Who Were Businessmen, President’s Day, Texas Rangers baseball team, USAToday.com, Warren Harding, Zapata Petroleum Corporation
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Friday, February 17th, 2012
Could your competition have a cost structure that gives their business strategy a competitive edge over you? If you are operating inefficiently the pricing you offer customers will reflect it. There are three main areas where inefficiency could be directly hampering your ability offer competitive pricing.
New technology. Are you still doing things manually that you could do more efficiently through technology? If not, you are passing the extra labor costs on to your clients. Your competitors know that and are capitalizing on it.
High labor costs. Are you using any proven systems to evaluate employee performance or are you allowing non-performers to keep their jobs for life? If you used a system like Topgrading you would ensure more “A” players on your team and would be able to get more done with fewer people. Leaner and meaner companies can charge less and compete on price.
Process Failure. Inefficient processes and communications systems coupled with redundancy, unnecessary meetings, ill-timed reviews, and other workflow issues significantly increase cost to each position. Usually this inefficiency is passed on to the client.
These three factors can easily add 40-50% to your overhead costs. Your competitors are paying close attention and address these issues. Then they go to market offering the same services at 40% less and create larger profits and market share.
Have you looked at your competitors’ pricing lately? Are you beating them? If not, it could be because they are beating you with a better business strategy.
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who provides business strategy and consultation services. To learn more about how an executive coach, management consultant, leadership training, or business coach can help your team with employee engagement, please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, Business strategy, coaching, communications systems, competitive edge over you, Competitors, competitors’ pricing, ensure more “A” players on your team, Executive Coach, extra labor costs, High labor costs, Howard Shore, New technology, Pricing Advantage, pricing you offer customers, Process Failure, Strategy, systems to evaluate employee performance, Topgrading
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Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
Customer service is the new luxury. I’m convinced that the company that owns the voice of the customer and uses it to build an organizational culture that focuses on delighting the customer through uncommon service strategy will own the marketplace. Unfortunately far too few businesses think like their customers, which affects their ability to deliver superior customer service and win a major competitive advantage.
What is does enlightened customer service look like? Here are a few examples:
- The family restaurant that has bathrooms cleaner than yours at home; with fresh flowers, lotion and mints.
- The lawn-care company that leaves a lovely bouquet of fresh flowers from your yard after they finish.
- The drycleaner who automatically sews on missing buttons.
- The downtown business that offers to “feed the meter” while you shop.
- The bank that hosts a dinner for their top 30 clients to have an open discussion about how they can serve them better.
- Any store that empowers their frontline people to find a way to say “yes” and solve problems before they escalate.
The list goes on and on with a million different ways to delight, surprise and entertain your customers. Sadly though, I see very few companies that understand how important (and easy) it is to stand out in a crowded world of me-too products and average service.
So how do you find ways to delight your customers with uncommon attention to service? Here are two quick ways:
- Ask your customers. They will be your best source of ideas. Never stop asking and listening to what your customers identify as important to them.
- Borrow ideas from other industries. Basically steal and use ideas that worked for others. Look at other companies you see doing amazing things to service their customers and ask: What can I do with this? How can I make this work for my business? What can I do right away?
What can you do right away?
Howard Shore is a business growth expert who provides business strategy and customer service consultation services. To learn more about how an executive coach, management consultant, leadership training, or business coach can help your team with employee engagement, please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, ask your customers, Borrow ideas from other industries, coaching, Customer Service, customer service strategy, Customer Service Sucks, delight your customers, entertain your customers, Executive Coach, Howard Shore, own the marketplace, service strategy, service your customers, Strategy, surprise your customers, win a major competitive advantage
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Monday, February 13th, 2012
Right now I am engrossed in Jim Collin’s newest book Great by Choice. As a business consultant and unapologetic fan of Jim’s work, I recommend that every business leader read this book. For those who are currently too buried in other must-read books (we’ve all been there), I’ll summarize some of my personal favorite takeaways from the book in a series of articles on my blog.
The book itself is a study of the most productive and successful companies in America—those companies that have consistently performed 10-times better than their competition, despite economic conditions. Why did they outperform us all? What makes them so darn special? The book answers these questions by analyzing the common behaviors of the leaders of these companies, with fascinating results.
One of the most interesting behaviors is what Collins refers to as “Empirical Creativity.” Basically, this means the leaders made a point of moving on new ideas (products, services, trends, etc) they had control over. The market changes, and these leaders focused on what they knew they could control to push towards they future they wanted.
So basically, as you strive to find new and creative ways to compete—whether that’s hopping on the latest technology trend or changing the way you service your customers—don’t take things at face value. Do the research. Analyze the data. Do a study of what your customers want.
Remember that the loudest customers may not always represent the larger community so don’t rely on the opinions of a few squeaky wheels to drive your business strategy. Don’t rely on your guts either. Do your homework to make sure the move is grounded in real intelligence and not someone’s pet-project ideas.
This doesn’t necessarily mean you should favor analysis over action, but made sure you put in the time and due diligence before steering the ship onto its new course.
A little paranoia is always good for business. More on that later…
Howard Shore is a business consultant who works with companies that want to maximize their growth potential. To learn more about how an executive coach, management consultant, leadership training, or business coach can help your team, please visit his website at www.activategroupinc.com or contact Howard Shore at (305) 722-7216 or email him.
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Tags:Activate Group Inc, analyzing the common behaviors of the leaders, Business Coach, business consultant, business leader, creative ways to compete, drive your business strategy, Empirical Creativity, Executive Coach, Great by Choice, Howard Shore, Jim Collin, latest technology trend, leadership training, management consultant, the market changes
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