Month: July 2011

Categories
Planning & Management

Should You Be a Big Fish in Two Ponds?

Article Contributed by Jeff Beals

On a dark and stormy night…

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. No serious writer would start his article with such a tired old cliché. You probably think I’m some boorish amateur.

But seriously, it is a dark and stormy night. And kind of lonely too. And other than the thunder, it’s awfully quiet.

It’s late Wednesday night, and I’m sitting by myself inside a barbeque joint in Kansas City, Missouri. There’s nothing like driving rain to keep people away from late-night pork ribs and baked beans, so essentially, I have the place to myself. In fact, I’m kind of surprised they bothered to stay open.

So, the scene here is set – stormy night, deserted restaurant, and a booth next to the window which constantly fills with flickering light from cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. It’s the perfect time to think, contemplate and reflect.

Right now I’m thinking about the day that was. It was a good day, a productive day. I attended a meeting here in Kansas City earlier this evening.

As a professional speaker, I’m a member of the National Speakers Association. It’s a professional association designed to help speakers become better at their craft and find new sources of speaking business. I joined NSA a couple years ago, but I was never a member of a local chapter. My city doesn’t have one. Kansas City has a very good one. The Kansas City chapter is 165 miles away, but it is the closest to my home. So, despite the distance, I attended a meeting and submitted an application for membership.

As a new guy, I enjoyed a warm welcome. The current members seemed amazed that someone would drive so far to attend the meeting. I heard comments like:

“Wow, I’m so impressed you came all this way.”

“Sorry you had to drive so far.”

I must admit at one point I did question myself, thinking it was an awfully long way to drive for a meeting, but then I remembered why I sought out this organization in the first place. Like people in any industry, professional speakers benefit mightily when they have a group of colleagues they can help and from whom they can receive help.

But as I quietly sat in that restaurant, another thought came to mind. By joining this “local” organization, I get the rare opportunity to build a “local” base in two geographic markets. In fact, it’s a privilege to be involved in a local organization outside my home market.

Think about it. I’m already well connected at home. I have lived in Omaha, Nebraska most of my life. I work there. I’m raising my kids there. I host a radio show there. I like it there. I already have great colleagues and trusted mentors in my home town. In other words, I’m doing things right at home.

By joining a local organization in Kansas City, I now have the chance to build friendships, develop referral networks and foster mutually beneficial professional relationships in a different place. It also gives me easier, more direct access to a whole new market of prospective clients.

It’s like I’m living two professional lives!

Hmmm…Perhaps I’m on to something. Maybe other people could benefit from this.

Admittedly, some readers of this article work only “virtually” or have a truly national or international focus. Most of us, however, benefit by having a strong local base. We can milk that base and also use it as a foundation, upon which we can stand as we chase national or worldwide business.

Given all of this, there are several questions you might want to ask yourself. How can you broaden your local base? What can you do to make areas outside your home market feel like your own turf? Does it make sense for you in your industry to dip your toes in two local ponds?

What a great day this turned out to be. Something as simple as seeking the closest NSA chapter appears to be leading me to potential benefits I didn’t quite grasp just a few hours ago.

I’m looking forward to seeing what opportunities arise from my new “local” colleagues in Kansas City, and I’m hopeful that I can help them do better in their businesses as well.

Uh oh…The bus boy is giving me dirty looks. I have overstayed my welcome. Problem is…I don’t want to leave. I like it here. It’s really cool sitting by this window thinking and writing – protected from the storm.

Oh well, all good things come to an end. I just hope I can run to the car fast enough to avoid a complete soaking. After all, the 165-mile drive to my real home town won’t be comfortable if I’m drenching wet.

About the Author:

Jeff Beals is an award-winning author, who helps professionals do more business and have a greater impact on the world through effective sales, marketing and personal branding techniques. As a professional speaker, he delivers energetic and humorous keynote speeches and workshops to audiences worldwide. You can learn more and follow his “Business Motivation Blog” at JeffBeals.com.

Categories
Planning & Management

Psychology and Leadership: Flow and Goals

Article Contributed by Gary Jordan

Leaders with the Flow Perceptual Style challenge the generally accepted meaning of the word ‘leadership.’ They suggest, encourage, and endorse specific actions; with a word here and a comment there, they gently nudge the direction of events. People with the Flow style tend to seek input from everyone involved, build consensus, and secure buy-in before taking action. They value community and create it around them.

Because those with the Flow style lead so subtly and unobtrusively, others are often unaware they have been led. Flow leaders attract followers through listening and advising; people follow them because it feels right to do so.

Flow leaders often gravitate to “behind the scenes” roles and shine the spotlight on their followers instead. Consequently, it’s hard to find real world examples that are well known, but some that come to mind are political leaders Jimmy Carter and Mary Parker Follett, psychologist Carl Rogers, and religious leaders Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama.

The Goals Leadership Style

Those with the Goals Perceptual Style exist on the opposite end of the spectrum. They epitomize traditional notions of leadership, boldly and courageously setting sights on new directions, taking decisive action and steering a confident path toward the future.

Individuals with this style tend to charge ahead with any endeavor, rallying those around them with exhortations to heroic action and self-sacrifice. They make quick decisions and move into action assertively and confidently, taking advantage of opportunities as they present themselves.

Leaders with the Goals style do not hesitate to tell others directly what needs to be done and what they want each person to do. For this reason, they may elicit resentment when there is no crisis at hand—but when chaos and confusion arise, this style tends to be respected and welcomed.

The Goals person’s clear direction and confident demeanor provides a focal point around which others rally. They attract followers because their dominating style provides practical direction and action when the answers may not otherwise be clear.

Examples of Goals leadership are abundant, as those with this style are drawn to the spotlight. Goals leadership is exemplified in actors such as Clint Eastwood and Katherine Hepburn, military leaders like George S. Patton, and political leaders such as Winston Churchill and Dick Cheney.

*It is impossible to determine another’s Perceptual Style (PS)by observation alone. This is especially true for public figures. The examples provided ‘appear’, based on their public behavior, to be the PS for which they are used as examples. However, without a complete Perceptual Style Assessment, their particular PS is simply an educated guess.

About the Author:

Gary Jordan, Ph.D., has over 27 years of experience in clinical psychology, behavioral assessment, individual development, and coaching. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology – Berkeley. He is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. He’s a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., a consulting firm that specializes in helping people discover their true skills and talents. For more information, visit http://www.yourtalentadvantage.com.

Categories
Human Resource

Do You Want to Train Your People or Do You Want to Fix the Problem?

Article by Skip Weisman

When approached and I ask Human Resource directors and corporate training directors, and even CEO’s about how they feel “training” is going to help their organizations, I usually learn that they have grossly over-estimated what “training” can be expected to do.

Personnel problems? Bit of training will fix it. Sales down? No problem, bit of training will fix it. Inter-office problems? Training will fix it. Productivity down? Training will fix it. Cooperation non existent? Training will fix it. Low morale? You guessed it… bit of training will fix it.

The problem is that often there are issues occurring in the work environment that training can not help and can, in fact, even make the problems worse. Training is not a panacea for all a company’s problems. Of course, training can be of immense value and benefit in addressing many problems, but if the cause of the problem comes from higher up or outside their area of influence, then it can be a waste of time. You need to address the root cause of the problem if you want to stop it and rebuild and retrain effectively with positive, long term results.

A classic example is communication. A lack of directness in communicating can be devastating to a work environment.

Throwing “training” at a work environment problem, which often means it is steeped in low trust and respect between team members, will exacerbate the problem. This plays out in almost every training I deliver where none of the managers or organizational leaders participate in the trainings. At the end of the trainings, at least 30% of the feedback forms I receive respond to the question “What could have been better about this training?” with “If all of our department team members, including our managers and other company leaders had this training.”

If the individuals most responsible for the team or organization’s culture and performance are not participating with their team members, the training to “fix” a problem is guaranteed to do more harm than good.

Another issue is that often the issues the training addresses offer solutions that require sensitive or challenging conversations between individual participants in the training. Since the open forum of the training environment is not the appropriate environment to address these issues head on, participants become frustrated and resentful of the training and it just reinforces the negative situation.

Here’s another example. In a meeting with the VP of Human Resources and VP of Operations for a large manufacturing firm, the first half of which we discussed management and leadership training for their middle managers and shop managers, I used the phrase “toxic” to describe some of the work environments I’ve helped transform.

The VP of Operations shot back in his next breath, “Toxic, hmm, that’s what we’ve got.” To which I informed him that training was not going to fix it.

They both nodded their heads in agreement and the conversation took a turn in a new direction.

We began focusing on inviting the President/CEO and other senior leadership team members to discuss addressing issues at the very top of the organization. And training will not be on the agenda, at least not initially. It is going to take some significant team development and trust building activities and consistent accountability to a new approach to leading and communicating in this company.

So, the next time you think you need “training” for your organization ask this question –

“Why and what ‘problem’ are we trying to solve?”

About the author:

Skip Weisman is The Leadership & Workplace Communication Expert. He’s the author of the white paper report titled, “The 7 Deadliest Sins of Leadership & Workplace Communication: How Leaders and Their Employees Unknowingly Undermine Morale, Motivation and Trust in Work Environments.” The white paper is available as a free download for a limited time at www.HowToImproveLeadershipCommunication.com . If you’d like to learn how you can improve your work environment by improving communication contact him directly with any questions, or for a complimentary Strategy Session at 845-463-3838 or e-mail to Skip@WeismanSuccessResources.com

Categories
Entrepreneurship

10 Big Businesses That Started in a Garage

Article Contributed by AccountingDegree.com

Every big business had to start out somewhere, right? Some have come from more humble beginnings than others, launching with no more than some basic equipment, a couple employees, a garage space and a big idea. Whether you’re a business or finance student hoping to follow your own path to entrepreneurial success or already working in your own garage on the next big thing, these stories of companies that rose from obscurity to be multi-million (or billion) dollar industries can be a big inspiration. They may very well help you finally realize your dream of getting out of that garage and onto bigger and better things.

1. Apple: Today, consumers will wait in line for hours just to get their hands on some of Apple’s latest products, but once upon a time this electronics giant was a mere blip on the technology industry’s radar. Back in 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniack and Ronald Wayne started a business out of a garage in Cupertino, CA, putting together one of the first prototypes of their personal computers. Over the next decades, the company would introduce several more models, including their Macintosh line in 1984, arguably what turned them from a struggling startup into a fully fledged business. Today, the company manufactures much more than computers, has almost 50,000 employees and brings in revenues of over 14 billion each year.

2. Google: Google might be a household name today, but back in 1998 the search engine giant was just starting out. Their corporate headquarters? A Menlo Park, CA garage. For the next five months, Google’s staff of three would work out of this garage, perfecting their search algorithm, indexing web pages, and raiding the refrigerator of their friend’s attached home. By the next year the company had outgrown the garage and eventually moved into what is today known as the Googleplex. To celebrate their 8th birthday, Google purchased the garage and intends to preserve it as a lasting legacy to the humble beginnings of their business.

3. Mattel: Mattel wasn’t always the toy maker we know it as today. When the Handler’s got their start in the 1940’s in a Southern California garage, they were making picture frames, not toys. Ruth Handler began taking the scraps of wood from those frames and making doll furniture, a side business which proved quite successful. Because of this, the entrepreneurs decided to change their focus to toys instead. In 1959, they introduced the first Barbie, and afterwards became a household name. Today they’re home to big names in the toy business like Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, American Girl and a number of board games.

4. HP: Back in 1939, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard decided to establish their own electronics manufacturing company. Based out their garage in Palo Alto, CA, with an initial investment of only $538, the two helped establish the technology hub that would become Silicon Valley. When they started out, they made everything from high-tech electronics to agricultural products but by the 60’s were homing in on the tech market exclusively. Today, the company is an electronics giant, with some of the highest quality personal computing products on the market. They have opted to preserve the garage where they got their start, making it into a museum.

5. Amazon: In 1994, Jeff Bezos laid the foundations for what would be the online retailing giant Amazon in his garage, hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow garage entrepreneurs HP. With a strong foundation, the company grew very quickly, and before long was in need of a much bigger space to house their operations. Today, there are few people who haven’t shopped with the online retailer, buying everything from food to televisions to electronic media. This small business had become one of the leading retailers in the world, with billions of dollars in sales each year.

6. Disney: While he would go on to build an animation and entertainment empire, Walt Disney’s first studio was a tiny, one car garage in Hollywood. There he worked on a variety of animation products, setting up a makeshift studio in the space, while he waited to see if his Alice in Wonderland pilot would be picked up by any major distributors. It was, and the company quickly moved out of the garage into a proper studio. These days, Disney is an entertainment giant for kids and adults alike with movies, theme parks and products around the world. That tiny garage was almost torn down, but the dedication of a few interested citizens helped to save it and interested visitors can go there today to see where it all began.

7. Microsoft: In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft, with just a few resources and an available garage space. Unlike Apple who developed both software and hardware, Microsoft homed in on the software market. Working with IBM, the company licensed their first OS for a mere $80,000. Later, they would go on to develop more sophisticated operating systems that would evolve into those we know as Windows today. The business would grow to be one of the most profitable and powerful in the world, dominating the personal computing market.

8. MagLite: Anthony Maglica started his dream of owning a business by working long hours to earn the money it would take to put a down payment on his first lathe. Working in a Los Angeles garage, he began to design and build precision parts for industry, aerospace and the military. By 1974, he was incorporated as Mag Instrument and the company was gaining a reputation for the quality of their products. In 1979, MagLite released their first flashlight, the product they are best known for today. It would help them to become a household name and secure their place in the market.

9. Yankee Candle Company: Unable to afford a present for his mother, young Michael Kittredge created his first scented candle from some melted crayons in his garage. Neighbors saw the candles and began purchasing them from him, eventually motivating the high school student to found a business with two high school friends. Kittredge sold the company in 1999 after a cancer scare, but it has gone on to even greater success and is now sold at many major retailers and a number of its own standalone stores.

10. Harley Davidson: It makes complete sense that a company selling vehicles would get its start in a garage or outbuilding, because that’s where those products eventually end up. Harley Davidson did just that, starting out in 1901 with a small business that built engines for bicycles. Of course, it wasn’t long before they started developing the motorcycles for which they are known, and in 1903 they had already released their first racing bike, constructed in a small wooden shed. Buoyed by the popularity and speed of their motorcycles, the company expands, constantly rethinking the best ways to build a bike. Today, they’re still known for producing some of the biggest, best motorcycles on the market and have become a household name.

10 Big Businesses That Started in a Garage [AccountingDegree.com]