Monday Mastermind Podcast
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
by Joe
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Sometimes you need to lose control to stay in control.
Some people consider me to have a control mentality and that’s true to a certain degree. I do like to have a certain amount of control over the things in my life. However, a few years ago I found that sometimes fighting to stay in control sometimes takes control out of your hands.
Life is kind of like a river. Sometimes the river is easy to navigate and you can just float down it gently, sometimes there are rocks in the water that are easy to steer around, and other times the water can become very rough and full of so many rocks, it becomes hard to navigate.
But really, it all depends on how you get through the river.
I used to ride down the river in this shiny little power boat. When the waters became rough and things went out of my control, my power boat would smash into the rocks and it didn’t look so pretty at the end of the journey.
What I learned is I needed to trade in my old boat in for a more practical one. Now, I ride the river of life in a big inner tube. When the water is calm, I can paddle myself around. When there are a few rocks, I can gently push myself away from them. And when the water gets rough, I learned to just tuck my legs inside the inner tube, let the river take me, and say, “Weeee!” My inner tube bounces off the rocks and at the end of the ride, it looks just as good as it did in the beginning.
So, the lesson here is this: at times, you just need to surrender! Don’t try to be in control of everything. Just tuck your legs inside your inner tube and go along for the ride!
Monday, September 28th, 2009
by Joe
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Social Media: Why You Need to Get on the Bus!
Social Media 101
Do You Need a Social Media Sherpa?
Friday, August 28th, 2009
by Joe
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Friday, August 28th, 2009
by Joe
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Ten Top Cash Flow Improvement Recommendations
From Bill Goodman, CEO of Schenck Business Solutions
1. Cash is King. Not only does it drive successful operations, it is the key to business valuations and borrowing capacity. Apply significant management focus to improving cash flow.
2. CPA – Complete, Prompt, and Accurate – Don’t provide an excuse for a customer to delay payment by sending an incomplete or inaccurate invoice. Bill as soon as the product or service is delivered. Note a specific payment due date, follow up immediately when due.
3. When negotiating purchase terms – Strive to match due dates for payments with the estimated receipt date for sales. Delay payment as long as reasonable but live within agreed terms. Adhere to the terms agreed to.
4. Establish borrowing arrangements with your bank that fit your needs. Carefully, conservatively, project your cash flow needs and discuss with your bank. If significant deviations come up, re-project and discuss with your bank before you are in crisis mode. Fund operating payments with short term funds, fund long term assets with long term funds.
5. Business managers should focus on the impact on cash flow when evaluating any transaction. Transactions resulting in negative cash flow should be priced to cover the added cost of capital.
6. Understanding the source and uses of cash is a key business necessity. Is your cash flow coming from operations, investment decisions or financing transactions? If you must borrow or liquidate investments to meet cash flow needs for operations, carefully reconsider the cash impacts of operations. Are fixed asset acquisitions drawing cash away from operational needs? Consider financing alternatives to leave sources of cash for operations available.
7. The overriding challenge is to accelerate cash inflows and delay cash outflows. Critically analyze the time period from order to payment – strive to reduce this time period. Do the same with outflow – strive to extend outflow.
8. Evaluate customers based on their profitability including timeliness of payment. Frequently low margin customers are the slowest paying. Is it worth it?
9. Understand DSO’s (Days Sales Outstanding: (AR (or AP) /Sales * 365) for accounts receivable and accounts payables – drive down AR DSO and up AP DSO. In any event AR DSO should shorter than AP DSO.
10. Consider asking for advance payments to cover your cash outlay up front. Billing up front for out-of-pocket costs will greatly enhance your cash flow yet leave the customer covered for potential service issues.
Friday, August 14th, 2009
by Joe
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What is every business person’s greatest asset? Their people!
Too often, leaders build a big ego over time. They find success and allow their ego to take over. They think their company survives because of them alone. In truth, companies survive because of all the people working together who keep the business humming.
Imagine if you walked into the office tomorrow and no one was there but yourself. You wouldn’t be able to do it alone! You depend on many people throughout the course of the day. Every single role has its own importance because it allows you time to do what you do.
It’s your job as a leader to inspire your associates and show them how their role fits into the big picture. Show your people how what they do is important! It allows them to have satisfaction in what they do when they know they’re of importance.
Respect your people by giving them what they need to do their job well; be humble and understand that your ideas may not always be right; be selfless and think of others needs before your own; forgive your people when they make errors because we’re all only human; be honest and straightforward with them, and most importantly, be committed to them if you want them to be committed to you.
Friday, August 7th, 2009
by Joe
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Take Your Impatience and Chuck it Out the Window!
What easily avoidable mistake to entrepreneurs make every day? They become impatient waiting for their latest big idea to stick!
I know the temptation there is to push your newest idea into the spotlight when it’s still in its infancy. You’re excited about it and want everyone to know it right away!
However, this is a mistake! We all know that the most carefully constructed plans are often the most successful, so take the time you need to make sure your big idea is ready for the world. Look at it closely and have others look at it for holes. Determine how you can make it the best it can be before you throw it out there for the world to see. You want the public to be immediately impressed, don’t you? Surely, you don’t want your customers coming back and saying, “This would have been a great product if you had added this feature”.
Patience is what’s going to help you in the long run! Resist the temptation to take shortcuts and figure the kinks will get worked out at some point.
Then, when your idea holds water, share it with as many people as possible. Teach them how it works, apply it to their business, and watch the light bulbs switch on over their heads.
So, take your impatience and chuck it out the window! Patience is what wins!
Friday, July 31st, 2009
by Joe
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Constitutions
The United States Constitution was written by the people for the people. What an empowering thing! However, when it comes to the business world, most companies don’t abide by the same approach. Oftentimes, company rules and procedures are determined by the owners, leaders, or “monarchs” of sort.
If you want to create a strong Company Culture, the power to create the rules and procedures needs to be in the hands of the people. By allowing this power to be in their hands, a leader creates an atmosphere of free will. Additionally, the soldiers out in the trenches usually have a better understanding of what’s going on at the front lines than their leadership may. Trust their knowledge and expertise of their area/department. Your associates will know how they can best improve the status quo and deliver a consistently great Customer Experience.
Customer Experience should always be number one. Thus, all rules listed in a Constitution should go back to that common root–whether it be answering the phones after three rings, or returning emails within four hours, or whatever the case may be.
One great approach is using the Talking Stick. Have all the people in each department get together and pass an object around the table so that everyone is able to speak their ideas freely without being interrupted. Once each department has gathered a hefty list of rules and procedures, go around again as a group and have everyone suggest a way to condense the list. Generally, some ideas will be right along the same lines and can be said more simply.
Once each department collects their Constitution information, it should be typed up into an attractive format and displayed where all can see. Most importantly, all members of the department must sign and agree to these rules and hold one another accountable to carrying them out.
Friday, July 24th, 2009
by Joe
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Interview with Mark Skogen
It’s the last Monday of the month and that means we have an interview with a local Brander-in-Chief! This week, I talked with Mark Skogen, President of Festival Foods grocery store. I spoke with him about the subjects of leadership by authority and customer experience. Here’s what he had to say:
Leading By Authority
The biggest thing that has changed over time is leadership style. If you think back to years ago, people lead with power. They didn’t have to explain their reasons for assigning a job. They just gave their employees their marching orders and went on their way. Employees didn’t expect reasons and simply did as they were told.
That approach doesn’t work today. Employees demand more of their leaders and if they aren’t happy with something, they find other employment. People leave bosses more than they leave companies (ie the reason people choose to leave a company is not necessarily because they don’t like the job description, but rather that there’s a communication issue between the leadership and employees). Leaders need to be straightforward with their reasoning today because transparency has become expected in business. When leaders explain what they want/need done and why it needs to be done, they create a relationship of trust between themselves and the employees.
Customer Experience
Shopping at Festival Foods is often described as different. The reason for this is, at Festival, there’s a real focus on making the customer’s experience the number one concern. You only get one chance to impress a potential customer and if you fail, they may never come back. That’s why Festival strives to create a consistently great experience for every person that walks through the door. It’s this focus on their experience that keeps the company in business as there’s not much to distinguish between grocery stores/commodity businesses.
Friday, July 17th, 2009
by Joe
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What type of Brander are you?
I’ve identified 4 Brander types in business. I believe every single business leader out there fits into one of these categories, almost to a tee.
They are:
Brander Technician: Most fledgling business owners are this type of Brander. They’re really good at what they do except they wear too many hats. They run around their business like a lost puppy because they’ve become overwhelmed by a desire to approve every detail. They try to be hands on, spending hours making the product, working on payrole, cleaning, doing their own marketing, etc. They fear losing control.
Brander Paranoid: These Branders are “yes” people. They hire people less capable than themselves because they want to remain superior to others. They have a desire to always be right and think that no one can do it better than themselves. This Brander type thinks they are a Brander-in-Chief. They fail to trust others and change their minds often. If they don’t see immediate results from a new plan, they decide it’s not working. They are close minded and opinionated.
Brander Phobic: These Branders are wonderful at delegating, however, they often delegate to the wrong people. If they see a need for marketing, they may assign the project to an administrative assistant who has had only one marketing class in college. This, unfortunately, places unnecessary stress on staff members who are faced with responsibilities they’re not prepared for.
Brander-in-Chief: This is the coveted Brander position we should all strive for. These Branders are excellent at delegating and know the correct people to delegate to. Their thumbprint is on every communication piece that leaves the office because they are the chief strategist. They determine the direction of the company and ensure it’s being upheld. They assign the right people for the job and hold them accountable to deliver rather than stepping in and overanalyzing like other Branders. In essence, a BIC does the following well:
1) Understands that a great brand is in it for the long haul
2) Establishes a consistent Customer Experience Factor
3) Practices what they preach
4) Holds their people accountable
5) Practices the teachings of Servant Leadership
6) Are involved in marketing decisions
7) Execute their vision by providing direction, guidance, and feedback
8) Learn from entrepreneurs that came before by reading
Next week, tune in for an interview with a local Brander-in-Chief, Mark Skogen of Festival Foods.
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