How to keep quiet politeness from killing your sales, marketing and probably your business.
I’ll admit it. I'm not a particularly nice person. In fact some consider me brutal with my honesty. (Some just call me a New Yorker.) Either way they’re right. I don’t coddle. I don’t insult, but I call it like I see it and often I offend. I don’t do it to be mean. I do it out of integrity. I believe (often foolishly) that when people engage me in conversation that they are truly interested in my opinions and experiences. So I share it, willingly.
A colleague of mine claims one can offer blatant truth, and still be nice. She says: “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” I don’t buy it. I have often witnessed, when someone has invested their heart, soul and ego into a project, and you tell them truthfully and nicely why it will never work, they still think you are cruel and non-supportive. Don’t take my word for it. Just watch Shark Tank, or American Idol. Except maybe Kevin O'Leary, most of the investors or judges aren’t actually rude or impolite. (Not since Simon left anyway.) They simply point out the errors in the unfounded beliefs of the contestants…dashing their dreams and crushing their spirits…thereby appearing to be cruel and non-supportive.
The alternative to us truth-sayers is people with discretion. They grew up under the rule: If you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.” They either lie and say something “supportive” when you bring them your hideous, doomed-to-fail idea, or worse they exhibit what I call Quiet-Politeness and simply say nothing. Most likely they’re not vested enough in your success to engage in conflict with you over your passion.
These nice people are not doing you any favors. In fact they are sabotaging you in three ways.
1. Nice People Waste Your Time.
This happens in sales all the time. You meet people at networking events. They’re polite. They never actually tell you they won’t do business with your company. So you optimistically think they’re worth keeping in your tickler file. You follow up every couple of months. You email them a birthday card. You tell yourself that someday they will come around. They won’t. They politely return your email or take your call, again omitting the fact that they’ll never buy and are generally annoyed with your persistence. In fact they would better serve you both, by stating that they already buy from their brother-in-law or that they hate your CEO, and just cut you loose. In sales, nice people suck up the majority of your time and resources. Just look at your conversion numbers.
2. Nice People Encourage Low Standards.
Most people ask for opinions in hopes they are on the right path with a project. A marketer who has passionately invested months in a new campaign runs it by a nice colleague for her feedback. The nice colleague thinks it’s a six on a scale of 10. The nice colleague supportively says: “ Looks good. Keep it up.” Why create unnecessary conflict in the cubicle next door? She thinks. The marketer feeling reassured, continues on his path of mediocrity. The campaign has lackluster results.
3. Nice People Enable Failure.
When an achiever is passionately driving down a fatal path, nice people tend to clear out of the way. Some are simply avoiding conflict. Others don’t want to appear non-supportive as the achiever reaches the point of no return. The nice people demonstrate their own brand of silent cruelty by not sharing their knowledge that can avert the disaster.
I’m not suggesting we round up all the nice people and ship them to parts unknown. Neither should we abandon all rules of polite society. But if you are an achiever in the business world, nice people will create unnecessary obstacles without some precautionary steps.
1. Defend against the “Golden Rule”
State clearly you do not want to be treated by nice people the way they want to be treated. Tell them instead to openly share their honest opinions and experiences or don’t engage. Tell them you intend to do the same.
2. Reward Bluntness
It doesn’t matter if you are an entrepreneur, manager or employee. When you seek feedback, show that you appreciate truth and constructive criticism no matter how harsh and painful. Show you can apply input so people are encouraged to provide more of it.
3. Give Nice People a Safe Path to Disengage
Most nice people can’t help themselves. Help them form nice people cliques and let them sabotage each other en masse. Perhaps you can identify them with an embroidered N on their lapels so they can find each other easily. This way you can avoid them and come hang out with those of us who will be brutally honest and give you the necessary feedback for success and achievement. We’ll be supportive by helping you overcome your real obstacles and we’ll encourage you to do the same for us. Come on over anytime. (You can find many of us at the Bull and Bear.)
It may not be a nice time, but it will certainly be refreshing.
I look forward to reading all your comments both good and bad. Of course I don't expect the nice people will say anything.
http://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/dont-take-business-advice-from-nice-people.html
3/22/12
Don’t Cut Your Price: 6 Tricks
The pressure to discount can be overwhelming. These conversational tricks can help you push back.
Here's a sentence no seller wants to hear: "Can I get a better price on that?"
The information explosion, globalization and economic pressures have created an environment in which everyone believes that they can get anything you are selling for a lower price. Buyers have access to many more suppliers and can make a decision with greater confidence–even without a personal or local relationship.
Here are six smart ways to win sales without having to compromise on price.
1. Bring new information.
Often the buyer is using inaccurate information or inaccurately applying information. By bringing new insights and new facts to the conversation, you can move the conversation from “price only” (or worse, “cheaper only”) to real issues.
Recently one of my clients was faced with a “drop your price by 35% or else” ultimatum. By demonstrating the real raw cost numbers for materials, they were able to disarm the “drop or lose” threat.
2. Give buyers a different way to look at information.
Misunderstandings often are rooted in context: A prospect or client may not be considering seasonality, expedited vs. standard shipping, regular vs. remnant pricing, full featured vs. basic specifications. One way to change the conversation is to ask: “Which characteristics of our more fully featured approach would you like to remove in order to receive the deeper discount?”
3. Let the customer control the conversation.
Customers often feel powerful and informed–so if you try to take control of the conversation, you may create a confrontation. By letting a customer have control and talk themselves through the pricing concerns, you can steer a conversation rather than fight it.
As one of my mentors often says, “Don’t be frustrated; be fascinated.” Ask questions and guide rather than argue. Read more: 3 Things My Mentors Taught Me
4. Focus on yield, not price.
Many times, the difference between prices is not seen in the inputs, but the outputs. How will your product, service or solution affect the yield of your customer’s process? By keeping the discussion on the buyer’s business issue, you align your prices with their real needs.
5. Understand your own math.
Smart sales people understand the numbers of the buyer’s industry and competitors as well as their own. This allows you to be more versatile in the conversation.
6. Be prepared to walk away.
Easier said than done, I know. However, if you're not really willing to walk away from a bad opportunity, you can waste a great deal of time with bad prospects.
Often, you face a buyer who learned that pounding on suppliers for lower prices demonstrated strength. That buyer missed the rest of the lesson: the value of being effective. In a situation like that, you have to diagnose early and exit fast.
http://www.inc.com/tom-searcy/dont-cut-your-price-6-tricks.html
Here's a sentence no seller wants to hear: "Can I get a better price on that?"
The information explosion, globalization and economic pressures have created an environment in which everyone believes that they can get anything you are selling for a lower price. Buyers have access to many more suppliers and can make a decision with greater confidence–even without a personal or local relationship.
Here are six smart ways to win sales without having to compromise on price.
1. Bring new information.
Often the buyer is using inaccurate information or inaccurately applying information. By bringing new insights and new facts to the conversation, you can move the conversation from “price only” (or worse, “cheaper only”) to real issues.
Recently one of my clients was faced with a “drop your price by 35% or else” ultimatum. By demonstrating the real raw cost numbers for materials, they were able to disarm the “drop or lose” threat.
2. Give buyers a different way to look at information.
Misunderstandings often are rooted in context: A prospect or client may not be considering seasonality, expedited vs. standard shipping, regular vs. remnant pricing, full featured vs. basic specifications. One way to change the conversation is to ask: “Which characteristics of our more fully featured approach would you like to remove in order to receive the deeper discount?”
3. Let the customer control the conversation.
Customers often feel powerful and informed–so if you try to take control of the conversation, you may create a confrontation. By letting a customer have control and talk themselves through the pricing concerns, you can steer a conversation rather than fight it.
As one of my mentors often says, “Don’t be frustrated; be fascinated.” Ask questions and guide rather than argue. Read more: 3 Things My Mentors Taught Me
4. Focus on yield, not price.
Many times, the difference between prices is not seen in the inputs, but the outputs. How will your product, service or solution affect the yield of your customer’s process? By keeping the discussion on the buyer’s business issue, you align your prices with their real needs.
5. Understand your own math.
Smart sales people understand the numbers of the buyer’s industry and competitors as well as their own. This allows you to be more versatile in the conversation.
6. Be prepared to walk away.
Easier said than done, I know. However, if you're not really willing to walk away from a bad opportunity, you can waste a great deal of time with bad prospects.
Often, you face a buyer who learned that pounding on suppliers for lower prices demonstrated strength. That buyer missed the rest of the lesson: the value of being effective. In a situation like that, you have to diagnose early and exit fast.
http://www.inc.com/tom-searcy/dont-cut-your-price-6-tricks.html
3/20/12
The 6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers
You're the boss, but you still spend too much time on the day-to-day.
Here's how to become the strategic leader your company needs.
In the beginning, there was just you and your partners. You did every job. You coded, you met with investors, you emptied the trash and phoned in the midnight pizza. Now you have others to do all that and it's time for you to "be strategic."
Whatever that means.
If you find yourself resisting "being strategic," because it sounds like a fast track to irrelevance, or vaguely like an excuse to slack off, you're not alone. Every leader's temptation is to deal with what's directly in front, because it always seems more urgent and concrete. Unfortunately, if you do that, you put your company at risk. While you concentrate on steering around potholes, you'll miss windfall opportunities, not to mention any signals that the road you're off is leading off a cliff.
This is a tough job, make no mistake. "We need strategic leaders!” is a pretty constant refrain at every company, large and small. One reason the job is so tough: no one really understands what it entails. It's hard to be a strategic leader if you don't know what strategic leaders are supposed to do.
After two decades of advising organizations large and small, my colleagues and I have formed a clear idea of what's required of you in this role. Adaptive strategic leaders — the kind who thrive in today’s uncertain environment – do six things well:
Anticipate
Most of the focus at most companies is on what’s directly ahead. The leaders lack “peripheral vision.” This can leave your company vulnerable to rivals who detect and act on ambiguous signals. To anticipate well, you must:
Think Critically
“Conventional wisdom” opens you to fewer raised eyebrows and second guessing. But if you swallow every management fad, herd-like belief, and safe opinion at face value, your company loses all competitive advantage. Critical thinkers question everything. To master this skill you must force yourself to:
Interpret
Ambiguity is unsettling. Faced with it, the temptation is to reach for an fast (and potentially wrongheaded) solution. A good strategic leader holds steady, synthesizing information from many sources before developing a viewpoint. To get good at this, you have to:
Decide
Many leaders fall pretty to “analysis paralysis.” You have to develop processes and enforce them, so that you arrive at a “good enough” position. To do that well, you have to:
Align
Total consensus is rare. A strategic leader must foster open dialogue, build trust and engage key stakeholders, especially when views diverge. To pull that off, you need to:
Learn
As your company grows, honest feedback is harder and harder to come by. You have to do what you can to keep it coming. This is crucial because success and failure--especially failure--are valuable sources of organizational learning. Here's what you need to do:
Do you have what it takes?
Obviously, this is a daunting list of tasks, and frankly, no one is born a black belt in all these different skills. But they can be taught and whatever gaps exist in your skill set can be filled in. I'll cover each of the aspects of strategic leadership more detail in future columns. But for now, test your own strategic aptitude (or your company's) with the survey we've developed at www.decisionstrat.com. In the comments below, let me know what you learned from it.
http://www.inc.com/paul-schoemaker/6-Habits-of-Strategic-Thinkers.html
In the beginning, there was just you and your partners. You did every job. You coded, you met with investors, you emptied the trash and phoned in the midnight pizza. Now you have others to do all that and it's time for you to "be strategic."
Whatever that means.
If you find yourself resisting "being strategic," because it sounds like a fast track to irrelevance, or vaguely like an excuse to slack off, you're not alone. Every leader's temptation is to deal with what's directly in front, because it always seems more urgent and concrete. Unfortunately, if you do that, you put your company at risk. While you concentrate on steering around potholes, you'll miss windfall opportunities, not to mention any signals that the road you're off is leading off a cliff.
This is a tough job, make no mistake. "We need strategic leaders!” is a pretty constant refrain at every company, large and small. One reason the job is so tough: no one really understands what it entails. It's hard to be a strategic leader if you don't know what strategic leaders are supposed to do.
After two decades of advising organizations large and small, my colleagues and I have formed a clear idea of what's required of you in this role. Adaptive strategic leaders — the kind who thrive in today’s uncertain environment – do six things well:
Anticipate
Most of the focus at most companies is on what’s directly ahead. The leaders lack “peripheral vision.” This can leave your company vulnerable to rivals who detect and act on ambiguous signals. To anticipate well, you must:
- Look for game-changing information at the periphery of your industry
- Search beyond the current boundaries of your business
- Build wide external networks to help you scan the horizon better
Think Critically
“Conventional wisdom” opens you to fewer raised eyebrows and second guessing. But if you swallow every management fad, herd-like belief, and safe opinion at face value, your company loses all competitive advantage. Critical thinkers question everything. To master this skill you must force yourself to:
- Re-frame problems to get to the bottom of things, in terms of root causes
- Challenge current beliefs and mindsets, including their own
- Uncover hypocrisy, manipulation, and bias in organizational decisions
Interpret
Ambiguity is unsettling. Faced with it, the temptation is to reach for an fast (and potentially wrongheaded) solution. A good strategic leader holds steady, synthesizing information from many sources before developing a viewpoint. To get good at this, you have to:
- Seek patterns in multiple sources of data
- Encourage others to do the same
- Question prevailing assumptions and test multiple hypotheses simultaneously
Decide
Many leaders fall pretty to “analysis paralysis.” You have to develop processes and enforce them, so that you arrive at a “good enough” position. To do that well, you have to:
- Carefully frame the decision to get to the crux of the matter
- Balance speed, rigor, quality and agility. Leave perfection to higher powers
- Take a stand even with incomplete information and amid diverse views
Align
Total consensus is rare. A strategic leader must foster open dialogue, build trust and engage key stakeholders, especially when views diverge. To pull that off, you need to:
- Understand what drives other people's agendas, including what remains hidden
- Bring tough issues to the surface, even when it's uncomfortable
- Assess risk tolerance and follow through to build the necessary support
Learn
As your company grows, honest feedback is harder and harder to come by. You have to do what you can to keep it coming. This is crucial because success and failure--especially failure--are valuable sources of organizational learning. Here's what you need to do:
- Encourage and exemplify honest, rigorous debriefs to extract lessons
- Shift course quickly if you realize you're off track
- Celebrate both success and (well-intentioned) failures that provide insight
Do you have what it takes?
Obviously, this is a daunting list of tasks, and frankly, no one is born a black belt in all these different skills. But they can be taught and whatever gaps exist in your skill set can be filled in. I'll cover each of the aspects of strategic leadership more detail in future columns. But for now, test your own strategic aptitude (or your company's) with the survey we've developed at www.decisionstrat.com. In the comments below, let me know what you learned from it.
http://www.inc.com/paul-schoemaker/6-Habits-of-Strategic-Thinkers.html
Sir Jonathan Ive: The iMan cometh
Sir Jonathan Ive, Jony to his friends, is arguably one of the world’s
most influential Londoners. The 45-year-old was born in Chingford — and
went to the same school as David Beckham. He met his wife, Heather
Pegg, while in secondary school. They married in 1987, have twin sons
and now live in San Francisco.
As Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, he is the driving force behind the firm’s products, from the Mac computer to the iPod, iPhone and, most recently the iPad. He spoke exclusively to the Evening Standard at the firm’s Cupertino headquarters.
Q: You recently received a Knighthood for services to design - was that a proud moment?
A: I was absolutely thrilled, and at the same time completely humbled. I am very aware that I’m the product of growing up in England, and the tradition of designing and making, of England industrializing first. The emphasis and value on ideas and original thinking is an innate part of British culture, and in many ways, that describes the traditions of design.
Q: Is London still an important city for design?
A: I left London in 1992, but I’m there 3-4 times a year, and love visiting. It’s a very important city, and makes a significant contribution to design, to creating something new where previously something didn’t exist.
Q: How does London differ from Silicon Valley?
A: The proximity of different creative industries and London is remarkable, and is in many ways unique. I think that has led to a very different feel to Silicon Valley.
Q: Why did you decide to move to California?
A: What I enjoy about being here is there is a remarkable optimism, and an attitude to try out and explore ideas without the fear of failure. There is a very simple and practical sense that a couple of people have an idea and decide to form a company to do it. I like that very practical and straightforward approach.
There’s not a sense of looking to generate money, its about having an idea and doing it - I think that characterizes this area and its focus.
Q: What makes design different at Apple?
A: We struggle with the right words to describe the design process at Apple, but it is very much about designing and prototyping and making. When you separate those, I think the final result suffers. If something is going to be better, it is new, and if it’s new you are confronting problems and challenges you don’t have references for. To solve and address those requires a remarkable focus. There’s a sense of being inquisitive and optimistic, and you don’t see those in combination very often.
Q: How does a new product come about at Apple?
A: What I love about the creative process, and this may sound naive, but it is this idea that one day there is no idea, and no solution, but then the next day there is an idea. I find that incredibly exciting and conceptually actually remarkable.
The nature of having ideas and creativity is incredibly inspiring. There is an idea which is solitary, fragile and tentative and doesn’t have form.
What we’ve found here is that it then becomes a conversation, although remains very fragile.
When you see the most dramatic shift is when you transition from an abstract idea to a slightly more material conversation. But when you made a 3D model, however crude, you bring form to a nebulous idea, and everything changes - the entire process shifts. It galvanizes and brings focus from a broad group of people. It’s a remarkable process.
Q: What makes a great designer?
A: It is so important to be light on your feet, inquisitive and interested in being wrong. You have that wonderful fascination with the what if questions, but you also need absolute focus and a keen insight into the context and what is important - that is really terribly important. Its about contradictions you have to navigate.
Q: What are your goals when setting out to build a new product?
A: Our goals are very simple - to design and make better products. If we can’t make something that is better, we won’t do it.
Q: Why has Apple’s competition struggled to do that?
A: That’s quite unusual, most of our competitors are interesting in doing something different, or want to appear new - I think those are completely the wrong goals. A product has to be genuinely better. This requires real discipline, and that’s what drives us - a sincere, genuine appetite to do something that is better. Committees just don’t work, and it’s not about price, schedule or a bizarre marketing goal to appear different - they are corporate goals with scant regard for people who use the product.
Q: When did you first become aware of the importance of designers?
A: First time I was aware of this sense of the group of people who made something was when I first used a Mac - I’d gone through college in the 80s using a computer and had a horrid experience. Then I discovered the mac, it was such a dramatic moment and I remember it so clearly - there was a real sense of the people who made it.
Q: When you are coming up with product ideas such as the iPod, do you try to solve a problem?
A: There are different approaches - sometimes things can irritate you so you become aware of a problem, which is a very pragmatic approach and the least challenging.
What is more difficult is when you are intrigued by an opportunity. That, I think, really exercises the skills of a designer. It’s not a problem you’re aware of, nobody has articulated a need. But you start asking questions, what if we do this, combine it with that, would that be useful? This creates opportunities that could replace entire categories of device, rather than tactically responding to an individual problem. That’s the real challenge, and that’s what is exciting.
Q: Has that led to new products within Apple?
A: Examples are products like the iPhone, iPod and iPad. That fanatical attention to detail and coming across a problem and being determined to solve it is critically important - that defines your minute by minute, day by day experience.
Q: How do you know consumers will want your products?
A: We don’t do focus groups - that is the job of the designer. It’s unfair to ask people who don’t have a sense of the opportunities of tomorrow from the context of today to design.
Q: Your team of designers is very small - is that the key to its success?
A: The way we work at Apple is that the complexity of these products really makes it critical to work collaboratively, with different areas of expertise. I think that’s one of the things about my job I enjoy the most. I work with silicon designers, electronic and mechanical engineers, and I think you would struggle to determine who does what when we get together. We’re located together, we share the same goal, have exactly the same preoccupation with making great products.
One of the other things that enables this is that we’ve been doing this together for many years - there is a collective confidence when you are facing a seemingly insurmountable challenge, and there were multiple times on the iPhone or ipad where we have to think ‘will this work’ we simply didn’t have points of reference.
Q: Is it easy to get sidetracked by tiny details on a project?
A: When you’re trying to solve a problem on a new product type, you become completely focused on problems that seem a number of steps removed from the main product. That problem solving can appear a little abstract, and it is easy to lose sight of the product. I think that is where having years and years of experience gives you that confidence that if you keep pushing, you’ll get there.
Q: Can this obsession with detail get out of control?
A: It’s incredibly time consuming, you can spent months and months and months on a tiny detail - but unless you solve that tiny problem, you can’t solve this other, fundamental product.
You often feel there is no sense these can be solved, but you have faith. This is why these innovations are so hard - there are no points of reference.
Q: How do you know you’ve succeeded?
A :It’s a very strange thing for a designer to say, but one of the things that really irritates me in products is when I’m aware of designers wagging their tails in my face.
Our goal is simple objects, objects that you can’t imagine any other way. Simplicity is not the absence of clutter. Get it right, and you become closer and more focused on the object. For instance, the iPhoto app we created for the new iPad, it completely consumes you and you forget you are using an iPad.
Q: What are the biggest challenges in constantly innovating?
A: For as long as we’ve been doing this, I am still surprised how difficult it is to do this, but you know exactly when you’re there - it can be the smallest shift, and suddenly transforms the object, without any contrivance.
Some of the problem solving in the iPad is really quite remarkable, there is this danger you want to communicate this to people. I think that is a fantastic irony, how oblivious people are to the acrobatics we’ve performed to solve a problem - but that’s our job, and I think people know there is tremendous care behind the finished product.
Q: Do consumers really care about good design?
A: One of the things we’ve really learned over the last 20 years is that while people would often struggle to articulate why they like something - as consumers we are incredibly discerning, we sense where has been great care in the design, and when there is cynicism and greed. It’s one of the thing we’ve found really encouraging.
Q: Users have become incredibly attached, almost obsessively so, to Apple’s products - why is this?
A: It sound so obvious, but I remember being shocked to use a Mac, and somehow have this sense I was having a keen awareness of the people and values of those who made it.
I think that people’s emotional connection to our products is that they sense our care, and the amount of work that has gone into creating it.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/sir-jonathan-ive-the-iman-cometh-7562170.html
As Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, he is the driving force behind the firm’s products, from the Mac computer to the iPod, iPhone and, most recently the iPad. He spoke exclusively to the Evening Standard at the firm’s Cupertino headquarters.
Q: You recently received a Knighthood for services to design - was that a proud moment?
A: I was absolutely thrilled, and at the same time completely humbled. I am very aware that I’m the product of growing up in England, and the tradition of designing and making, of England industrializing first. The emphasis and value on ideas and original thinking is an innate part of British culture, and in many ways, that describes the traditions of design.
Q: Is London still an important city for design?
A: I left London in 1992, but I’m there 3-4 times a year, and love visiting. It’s a very important city, and makes a significant contribution to design, to creating something new where previously something didn’t exist.
Q: How does London differ from Silicon Valley?
A: The proximity of different creative industries and London is remarkable, and is in many ways unique. I think that has led to a very different feel to Silicon Valley.
Q: Why did you decide to move to California?
A: What I enjoy about being here is there is a remarkable optimism, and an attitude to try out and explore ideas without the fear of failure. There is a very simple and practical sense that a couple of people have an idea and decide to form a company to do it. I like that very practical and straightforward approach.
There’s not a sense of looking to generate money, its about having an idea and doing it - I think that characterizes this area and its focus.
Q: What makes design different at Apple?
A: We struggle with the right words to describe the design process at Apple, but it is very much about designing and prototyping and making. When you separate those, I think the final result suffers. If something is going to be better, it is new, and if it’s new you are confronting problems and challenges you don’t have references for. To solve and address those requires a remarkable focus. There’s a sense of being inquisitive and optimistic, and you don’t see those in combination very often.
Q: How does a new product come about at Apple?
A: What I love about the creative process, and this may sound naive, but it is this idea that one day there is no idea, and no solution, but then the next day there is an idea. I find that incredibly exciting and conceptually actually remarkable.
The nature of having ideas and creativity is incredibly inspiring. There is an idea which is solitary, fragile and tentative and doesn’t have form.
What we’ve found here is that it then becomes a conversation, although remains very fragile.
When you see the most dramatic shift is when you transition from an abstract idea to a slightly more material conversation. But when you made a 3D model, however crude, you bring form to a nebulous idea, and everything changes - the entire process shifts. It galvanizes and brings focus from a broad group of people. It’s a remarkable process.
Q: What makes a great designer?
A: It is so important to be light on your feet, inquisitive and interested in being wrong. You have that wonderful fascination with the what if questions, but you also need absolute focus and a keen insight into the context and what is important - that is really terribly important. Its about contradictions you have to navigate.
Q: What are your goals when setting out to build a new product?
A: Our goals are very simple - to design and make better products. If we can’t make something that is better, we won’t do it.
Q: Why has Apple’s competition struggled to do that?
A: That’s quite unusual, most of our competitors are interesting in doing something different, or want to appear new - I think those are completely the wrong goals. A product has to be genuinely better. This requires real discipline, and that’s what drives us - a sincere, genuine appetite to do something that is better. Committees just don’t work, and it’s not about price, schedule or a bizarre marketing goal to appear different - they are corporate goals with scant regard for people who use the product.
Q: When did you first become aware of the importance of designers?
A: First time I was aware of this sense of the group of people who made something was when I first used a Mac - I’d gone through college in the 80s using a computer and had a horrid experience. Then I discovered the mac, it was such a dramatic moment and I remember it so clearly - there was a real sense of the people who made it.
Q: When you are coming up with product ideas such as the iPod, do you try to solve a problem?
A: There are different approaches - sometimes things can irritate you so you become aware of a problem, which is a very pragmatic approach and the least challenging.
What is more difficult is when you are intrigued by an opportunity. That, I think, really exercises the skills of a designer. It’s not a problem you’re aware of, nobody has articulated a need. But you start asking questions, what if we do this, combine it with that, would that be useful? This creates opportunities that could replace entire categories of device, rather than tactically responding to an individual problem. That’s the real challenge, and that’s what is exciting.
Q: Has that led to new products within Apple?
A: Examples are products like the iPhone, iPod and iPad. That fanatical attention to detail and coming across a problem and being determined to solve it is critically important - that defines your minute by minute, day by day experience.
Q: How do you know consumers will want your products?
A: We don’t do focus groups - that is the job of the designer. It’s unfair to ask people who don’t have a sense of the opportunities of tomorrow from the context of today to design.
Q: Your team of designers is very small - is that the key to its success?
A: The way we work at Apple is that the complexity of these products really makes it critical to work collaboratively, with different areas of expertise. I think that’s one of the things about my job I enjoy the most. I work with silicon designers, electronic and mechanical engineers, and I think you would struggle to determine who does what when we get together. We’re located together, we share the same goal, have exactly the same preoccupation with making great products.
One of the other things that enables this is that we’ve been doing this together for many years - there is a collective confidence when you are facing a seemingly insurmountable challenge, and there were multiple times on the iPhone or ipad where we have to think ‘will this work’ we simply didn’t have points of reference.
Q: Is it easy to get sidetracked by tiny details on a project?
A: When you’re trying to solve a problem on a new product type, you become completely focused on problems that seem a number of steps removed from the main product. That problem solving can appear a little abstract, and it is easy to lose sight of the product. I think that is where having years and years of experience gives you that confidence that if you keep pushing, you’ll get there.
Q: Can this obsession with detail get out of control?
A: It’s incredibly time consuming, you can spent months and months and months on a tiny detail - but unless you solve that tiny problem, you can’t solve this other, fundamental product.
You often feel there is no sense these can be solved, but you have faith. This is why these innovations are so hard - there are no points of reference.
Q: How do you know you’ve succeeded?
A :It’s a very strange thing for a designer to say, but one of the things that really irritates me in products is when I’m aware of designers wagging their tails in my face.
Our goal is simple objects, objects that you can’t imagine any other way. Simplicity is not the absence of clutter. Get it right, and you become closer and more focused on the object. For instance, the iPhoto app we created for the new iPad, it completely consumes you and you forget you are using an iPad.
Q: What are the biggest challenges in constantly innovating?
A: For as long as we’ve been doing this, I am still surprised how difficult it is to do this, but you know exactly when you’re there - it can be the smallest shift, and suddenly transforms the object, without any contrivance.
Some of the problem solving in the iPad is really quite remarkable, there is this danger you want to communicate this to people. I think that is a fantastic irony, how oblivious people are to the acrobatics we’ve performed to solve a problem - but that’s our job, and I think people know there is tremendous care behind the finished product.
Q: Do consumers really care about good design?
A: One of the things we’ve really learned over the last 20 years is that while people would often struggle to articulate why they like something - as consumers we are incredibly discerning, we sense where has been great care in the design, and when there is cynicism and greed. It’s one of the thing we’ve found really encouraging.
Q: Users have become incredibly attached, almost obsessively so, to Apple’s products - why is this?
A: It sound so obvious, but I remember being shocked to use a Mac, and somehow have this sense I was having a keen awareness of the people and values of those who made it.
I think that people’s emotional connection to our products is that they sense our care, and the amount of work that has gone into creating it.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/sir-jonathan-ive-the-iman-cometh-7562170.html
4 Principles Apple's Chief Designer Lives By
Jonathan Ive opens up about what makes Apple's design process work. Here's how to make it work at your company too.
It's not often that Apple head designer Jonathan Ive gives an interview. Not only does Apple have its secretive culture, but he is reportedly a private person. However, give an interview Ive did to the London Evening Standard recently, and it's full of lessons for entrepreneurs who want to take markets by storm with great products.
Do Something Well, not Different
Many companies focus on differentiating themselves from the competition. And, certainly, that is important if you want to offer strong reasons why customers should do business with you and not a competitor. But any difference has to be organic and not contrived. "A product has to be genuinely better," Ive says. "Committees just don’t work, and it’s not about price, schedule, or a bizarre marketing goal to appear different—they are corporate goals with scant regard for people who use the product." If you're not trying to do something better, then you're not focused on the customer and you'll miss the possibility of making your business great.
Focus on the Idea
Although Ive has been key to Apple's success since the early 1990s, he's a cultural outsider in important ways—raised and schooled in London and getting his first experience in design companies there. So he still has an outsider's eye for what makes Silicon Valley different. When asked what he liked about the area, he said this: "There’s not a sense of looking to generate money, it's about having an idea and doing it. I think that characterizes this area and its focus." If you focus first on making money (an important part of commercial success), then you're less likely to pay attention to the ideas, which are the basis of products and services. You lose direction and then are back at contrived differentiation.
Remember the What If
According to Ive, the least challenging approach to innovation is when there's a problem you're aware of. The need is obvious. However, it may be obvious to others, as well. What is more rewarding, and more difficult, is when you see an opportunity. "It’s not a problem you’re aware of," says Ive, "nobody has articulated a need. But you start asking questions, what if we do this, combine it with that, would that be useful? This creates opportunities that could replace entire categories of device, rather than tactically responding to an individual problem." Solve the nagging problems, but look to the possibilities to set the world on fire.
Put in the Time
Ive says that even solving a tiny detail of product development and design can take "months and months and months." But a good product has integrity, in the sense that everything works together. You can't ignore the small details without which you can't address the big issues. Of course, there's no guarantee that you could attain the success of any of Apple's products. But principles are important. Follow the ones that have been proven to work and you're closer to attaining your own goals.
http://www.inc.com/erik-sherman/design-better-products-the-apple-way.html
It's not often that Apple head designer Jonathan Ive gives an interview. Not only does Apple have its secretive culture, but he is reportedly a private person. However, give an interview Ive did to the London Evening Standard recently, and it's full of lessons for entrepreneurs who want to take markets by storm with great products.
Do Something Well, not Different
Many companies focus on differentiating themselves from the competition. And, certainly, that is important if you want to offer strong reasons why customers should do business with you and not a competitor. But any difference has to be organic and not contrived. "A product has to be genuinely better," Ive says. "Committees just don’t work, and it’s not about price, schedule, or a bizarre marketing goal to appear different—they are corporate goals with scant regard for people who use the product." If you're not trying to do something better, then you're not focused on the customer and you'll miss the possibility of making your business great.
Focus on the Idea
Although Ive has been key to Apple's success since the early 1990s, he's a cultural outsider in important ways—raised and schooled in London and getting his first experience in design companies there. So he still has an outsider's eye for what makes Silicon Valley different. When asked what he liked about the area, he said this: "There’s not a sense of looking to generate money, it's about having an idea and doing it. I think that characterizes this area and its focus." If you focus first on making money (an important part of commercial success), then you're less likely to pay attention to the ideas, which are the basis of products and services. You lose direction and then are back at contrived differentiation.
Remember the What If
According to Ive, the least challenging approach to innovation is when there's a problem you're aware of. The need is obvious. However, it may be obvious to others, as well. What is more rewarding, and more difficult, is when you see an opportunity. "It’s not a problem you’re aware of," says Ive, "nobody has articulated a need. But you start asking questions, what if we do this, combine it with that, would that be useful? This creates opportunities that could replace entire categories of device, rather than tactically responding to an individual problem." Solve the nagging problems, but look to the possibilities to set the world on fire.
Put in the Time
Ive says that even solving a tiny detail of product development and design can take "months and months and months." But a good product has integrity, in the sense that everything works together. You can't ignore the small details without which you can't address the big issues. Of course, there's no guarantee that you could attain the success of any of Apple's products. But principles are important. Follow the ones that have been proven to work and you're closer to attaining your own goals.
http://www.inc.com/erik-sherman/design-better-products-the-apple-way.html
The 10 Worst Things to Say When You Fire Someone
Firing someone is hard -- but getting fired is always harder. Don't make it worse by putting your foot in your mouth.
Letting an employee go can be a stressful and even painful experience. Possibly that’s why making the firing process as easy as possible—for the boss—is something of a cottage industry.
That’s too bad, because while terminating an employee is hard for you, getting fired is way harder for the employee.
So forget about your feelings. Whenever you have to fire an employee you must protect your business from a legal aspect.
After that, your only goal is to treat the employee as compassionately and respectfully as possible.
Your feelings are irrelevant.
Which is why you should never say any of the following:
1. "Look, this is really hard for me." Who cares if it’s hard for you? The employee certainly doesn’t. Any time you talk about how difficult the situation is for you the employee thinks, "Oh yeah? What about me? How hard do you think this is on me?" If you feel bad—and you will—talk through your feelings later with someone else.
And also never say, “Look, I’m not sure how to say this…” You’re sure what to say. You’re just uncomfortable saying it.
Never even hint that the employee should somehow feel your pain; that’s just selfish.
2. "We've decided we need to make a change." You're not an NBA team firing an unsuccessful coach. And you're not holding a press conference either. Skip the platitudes. If you've done your job right the employee already knows why he's being fired.
State the reason for your action as clearly and concisely as possible. Or just say, "Mark, I have to let you go."
3. "We will work out some of the details later." For the employee, getting fired is both the end and the start of another process: Collecting personal items, returning company property, learning about benefits status, etc.
It's your job to know how all that works—ahead of time. Getting fired is bad enough; sitting in limbo while you figure out the next steps is humiliating for an employee who wants nothing more than to leave. Never make an employee wait to meet with others who are part of the process. Once you let them go, the employee is on their time, not yours.
4. "You just aren't cutting it compared to Mary." Never compare the fired employee to someone else as justification. Employees should be fired because they fail to meet standards, targets, or behavioral expectations.
Plus, drawing comparisons between employees makes it possible for what should be an objective decision to veer into the “personality zone.” That’s a conversational black hole you will struggle to escape.
5. "Okay, let’s talk about that. Here’s why..." Most employees sit quietly, but a few will want to argue. Never let yourself be dragged into a back-and-forth discussion. Just say, "Mark, we can talk about this as long as you like, but you should understand that nothing we discuss will change the decision." Arguments almost always make the employee feel worse.
Be professional, be empathetic, and stick to the facts. Don't feel the need to respond if an employee starts to vent.
Just listen—that’s the least you can do. And the most you can do.
6. "You’ve been a solid employee but we simply have to cut staffing." If you truly are downsizing, leave performance out and just say so.
But if you're not actually downsizing, and you're hiding behind that excuse so the conversation is easier for you, then you do the employee a disservice—and you open your business up to potential problems, especially if you later hire someone to fill the open slot.
Never play games to try to protect the employee's feelings—or, worse, to protect your own. Just be straightforward.
7. "We both know you aren't happy here, so down the road you’ll be glad." Whether or not the employee will someday be glad you let them go is not for you to judge. Employees can’t find a silver lining in the fired cloud, at least not at first. Let them find their own glimmers of possibility.
8. "I need to walk you to the door." I worked for a company where the policy was to immediately escort terminated employees out of the building.
An employee you fire is not a criminal. Don’t put them through a walk of shame. Just set simple parameters. Say, "Mark, go ahead and gather up your personal belongings and I'll meet you back here in 10 minutes."
If Mark doesn't come back, go get him. He won't argue.
9. "We have decided to let you go." The word "we" is appropriate in almost every setting, but not this one.
Say, "I." At this moment, you are the company (even if, in fact, you’re just an employee.) Take responsibility.
10. "If there is anything I can do for you, just let me know." Like what? Write a glowing letter of recommendation? Call your connections and put in a good word for him? (Of course, if you are laying off good employees due to lack of work you should do anything you can to help them land on their feet.)
Absolutely say, "If you have any questions about benefits, final paychecks, or other details, call me. I'll make sure you get the answers you need." But never offer to do things you can't do. You might feel a little better because you made an offer, but the employee won't.
Remember, when you fire an employee it's all about the employee, not about you—and especially not about what makes you feel better.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-10-worst-things-to-say-when-you-fire-an-employee.html
Letting an employee go can be a stressful and even painful experience. Possibly that’s why making the firing process as easy as possible—for the boss—is something of a cottage industry.
That’s too bad, because while terminating an employee is hard for you, getting fired is way harder for the employee.
So forget about your feelings. Whenever you have to fire an employee you must protect your business from a legal aspect.
After that, your only goal is to treat the employee as compassionately and respectfully as possible.
Your feelings are irrelevant.
Which is why you should never say any of the following:
1. "Look, this is really hard for me." Who cares if it’s hard for you? The employee certainly doesn’t. Any time you talk about how difficult the situation is for you the employee thinks, "Oh yeah? What about me? How hard do you think this is on me?" If you feel bad—and you will—talk through your feelings later with someone else.
And also never say, “Look, I’m not sure how to say this…” You’re sure what to say. You’re just uncomfortable saying it.
Never even hint that the employee should somehow feel your pain; that’s just selfish.
2. "We've decided we need to make a change." You're not an NBA team firing an unsuccessful coach. And you're not holding a press conference either. Skip the platitudes. If you've done your job right the employee already knows why he's being fired.
State the reason for your action as clearly and concisely as possible. Or just say, "Mark, I have to let you go."
3. "We will work out some of the details later." For the employee, getting fired is both the end and the start of another process: Collecting personal items, returning company property, learning about benefits status, etc.
It's your job to know how all that works—ahead of time. Getting fired is bad enough; sitting in limbo while you figure out the next steps is humiliating for an employee who wants nothing more than to leave. Never make an employee wait to meet with others who are part of the process. Once you let them go, the employee is on their time, not yours.
4. "You just aren't cutting it compared to Mary." Never compare the fired employee to someone else as justification. Employees should be fired because they fail to meet standards, targets, or behavioral expectations.
Plus, drawing comparisons between employees makes it possible for what should be an objective decision to veer into the “personality zone.” That’s a conversational black hole you will struggle to escape.
5. "Okay, let’s talk about that. Here’s why..." Most employees sit quietly, but a few will want to argue. Never let yourself be dragged into a back-and-forth discussion. Just say, "Mark, we can talk about this as long as you like, but you should understand that nothing we discuss will change the decision." Arguments almost always make the employee feel worse.
Be professional, be empathetic, and stick to the facts. Don't feel the need to respond if an employee starts to vent.
Just listen—that’s the least you can do. And the most you can do.
6. "You’ve been a solid employee but we simply have to cut staffing." If you truly are downsizing, leave performance out and just say so.
But if you're not actually downsizing, and you're hiding behind that excuse so the conversation is easier for you, then you do the employee a disservice—and you open your business up to potential problems, especially if you later hire someone to fill the open slot.
Never play games to try to protect the employee's feelings—or, worse, to protect your own. Just be straightforward.
7. "We both know you aren't happy here, so down the road you’ll be glad." Whether or not the employee will someday be glad you let them go is not for you to judge. Employees can’t find a silver lining in the fired cloud, at least not at first. Let them find their own glimmers of possibility.
8. "I need to walk you to the door." I worked for a company where the policy was to immediately escort terminated employees out of the building.
An employee you fire is not a criminal. Don’t put them through a walk of shame. Just set simple parameters. Say, "Mark, go ahead and gather up your personal belongings and I'll meet you back here in 10 minutes."
If Mark doesn't come back, go get him. He won't argue.
9. "We have decided to let you go." The word "we" is appropriate in almost every setting, but not this one.
Say, "I." At this moment, you are the company (even if, in fact, you’re just an employee.) Take responsibility.
10. "If there is anything I can do for you, just let me know." Like what? Write a glowing letter of recommendation? Call your connections and put in a good word for him? (Of course, if you are laying off good employees due to lack of work you should do anything you can to help them land on their feet.)
Absolutely say, "If you have any questions about benefits, final paychecks, or other details, call me. I'll make sure you get the answers you need." But never offer to do things you can't do. You might feel a little better because you made an offer, but the employee won't.
Remember, when you fire an employee it's all about the employee, not about you—and especially not about what makes you feel better.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-10-worst-things-to-say-when-you-fire-an-employee.html
The Best Way to Fire an Employee
These tips won't make it any easier on the employee (or you) but they will make the process go as smoothly as it can.
Recently I wrote about things you should never say when you fire an employee. A few people emailed to say, in essence, "Great, but what should I say and do when I fire an employee?
Fair enough.
Here's how to make a bad situation better—or at least as "better" as it can possibly be—when you have to fire an employee for cause:
Be certain.
Seems obvious, right? Not always: The heat of the moment can cause you to make a snap decision that is neither correct nor fair.
Even if you have a zero-tolerance policy for certain behaviors, take a few minutes to make sure the employee's action truly falls within the parameters of that policy. When you're mad (or really disappointed) it's easy to think, "That's it... she has to go," and unintentionally forget about guidelines and precedents. While you can bring an employee back on after you make a mistake, no one will ever forget what happened.
Especially the employee.
Don’t be Hansel or Gretel.
Except where zero-tolerance policy violations are concerned, firing an employee should always be the last step in a relatively formal and structured process: Identify sub-par performance, provide additional training or resources, set targets and time lines for performance improvement, follow up when progress is lacking—and document each step in writing.
Documentation not only protects your business, it also helps ensure the employee was given every chance to succeed. You—and the employee—deserve more than a trail of bread crumbs.
If you don't have a paper trail, don't be tempted to go back and re-create one. Start now and follow the process. Remember, it's not the employee's fault if you haven't done your job.
Get every duck in every row ahead of time.
How will the employee return company property and collect personal items? What happens to his benefits? When will he receive his last paycheck?
If you don't know the answers, you need to. The time between when you say, "You're fired," and when the employee actually leaves the building is awkward for everyone. Make things easier by knowing every detail in the process so it goes as smoothly as possible.
And if you need to bring in other people, like an HR staffer to talk about benefits, line them up so they will be available immediately. Never make an employee you just fired sit and wait.
Get a witness.
While not absolutely essential, having someone else in the room eliminates the risk of the employee later claiming you said things you did not. At the same time, a witness makes an awkward situation even more awkward. The employee might feel the second person is in the room simply to provide protection or backup if he gets angry.
That's a little insulting... but in the end your job is to protect your company, so bring in a witness. Safe in this case is better than sorry.
Know what you will say.
Unsure? Try this: "Mary, I'm sorry, but we have to let you go."
That's it.
If you've done your job correctly and followed your process there won’t be a reason to explain why. Mary already knows why.
Why keep it so simple? No matter how many people you have fired before, you'll still feel uncomfortable so you'll be tempted to talk. A lot.
Don't. The less you say the more dignity the employee retains. Stick to the point and be professional. And don't feel bad for not mincing words—at this point the employee has almost no interest in hearing you spout platitudes anyway.
Never argue.
Most people who get fired are fairly quiet. Some get mad. Some argue and then get mad.
No matter what the reaction, don't let yourself get sucked into an argument. If you're certain about your decision and have the documentation to back it up, there is no argument. Just say, "Mary, I'll be happy to talk about this as long as you wish, but you should understand that nothing we say will change the decision."
Arguing about or discussing the fairness of your decision almost always makes the employee feel worse and it could open you up to legal issues if you speak without thinking.
By all means let the employee vent, but stay away from arguments or debates.
Don't offer to help when you can't.
If you are firing an employee for cause there are very few ways you can help them get another job. (If you are laying them off due to a lack of work, obviously there are a number of ways you might be able to help.)
So don't toss out well-meaning platitudes like, "If there's anything I can do, just let me know..." There almost never is. And in those rare circumstances where you can help, be specific about what you can do or may be willing to do.
Otherwise, just wrap things up by saying, "Even though this did not work out, I wish you the best." Shake hands and let the person leave.
Then accept that you'll feel terrible, no matter how much the employee deserved to be let go. Feeling terrible about playing a role in changing someone's life for the worse is something you will never get used to.
Nor should you.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/how-to-fire-an-employee.html
Recently I wrote about things you should never say when you fire an employee. A few people emailed to say, in essence, "Great, but what should I say and do when I fire an employee?
Fair enough.
Here's how to make a bad situation better—or at least as "better" as it can possibly be—when you have to fire an employee for cause:
Be certain.
Seems obvious, right? Not always: The heat of the moment can cause you to make a snap decision that is neither correct nor fair.
Even if you have a zero-tolerance policy for certain behaviors, take a few minutes to make sure the employee's action truly falls within the parameters of that policy. When you're mad (or really disappointed) it's easy to think, "That's it... she has to go," and unintentionally forget about guidelines and precedents. While you can bring an employee back on after you make a mistake, no one will ever forget what happened.
Especially the employee.
Don’t be Hansel or Gretel.
Except where zero-tolerance policy violations are concerned, firing an employee should always be the last step in a relatively formal and structured process: Identify sub-par performance, provide additional training or resources, set targets and time lines for performance improvement, follow up when progress is lacking—and document each step in writing.
Documentation not only protects your business, it also helps ensure the employee was given every chance to succeed. You—and the employee—deserve more than a trail of bread crumbs.
If you don't have a paper trail, don't be tempted to go back and re-create one. Start now and follow the process. Remember, it's not the employee's fault if you haven't done your job.
Get every duck in every row ahead of time.
How will the employee return company property and collect personal items? What happens to his benefits? When will he receive his last paycheck?
If you don't know the answers, you need to. The time between when you say, "You're fired," and when the employee actually leaves the building is awkward for everyone. Make things easier by knowing every detail in the process so it goes as smoothly as possible.
And if you need to bring in other people, like an HR staffer to talk about benefits, line them up so they will be available immediately. Never make an employee you just fired sit and wait.
Get a witness.
While not absolutely essential, having someone else in the room eliminates the risk of the employee later claiming you said things you did not. At the same time, a witness makes an awkward situation even more awkward. The employee might feel the second person is in the room simply to provide protection or backup if he gets angry.
That's a little insulting... but in the end your job is to protect your company, so bring in a witness. Safe in this case is better than sorry.
Know what you will say.
Unsure? Try this: "Mary, I'm sorry, but we have to let you go."
That's it.
If you've done your job correctly and followed your process there won’t be a reason to explain why. Mary already knows why.
Why keep it so simple? No matter how many people you have fired before, you'll still feel uncomfortable so you'll be tempted to talk. A lot.
Don't. The less you say the more dignity the employee retains. Stick to the point and be professional. And don't feel bad for not mincing words—at this point the employee has almost no interest in hearing you spout platitudes anyway.
Never argue.
Most people who get fired are fairly quiet. Some get mad. Some argue and then get mad.
No matter what the reaction, don't let yourself get sucked into an argument. If you're certain about your decision and have the documentation to back it up, there is no argument. Just say, "Mary, I'll be happy to talk about this as long as you wish, but you should understand that nothing we say will change the decision."
Arguing about or discussing the fairness of your decision almost always makes the employee feel worse and it could open you up to legal issues if you speak without thinking.
By all means let the employee vent, but stay away from arguments or debates.
Don't offer to help when you can't.
If you are firing an employee for cause there are very few ways you can help them get another job. (If you are laying them off due to a lack of work, obviously there are a number of ways you might be able to help.)
So don't toss out well-meaning platitudes like, "If there's anything I can do, just let me know..." There almost never is. And in those rare circumstances where you can help, be specific about what you can do or may be willing to do.
Otherwise, just wrap things up by saying, "Even though this did not work out, I wish you the best." Shake hands and let the person leave.
Then accept that you'll feel terrible, no matter how much the employee deserved to be let go. Feeling terrible about playing a role in changing someone's life for the worse is something you will never get used to.
Nor should you.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/how-to-fire-an-employee.html
3/15/12
Change Table Structure in SQl Server 2008
We recently upgraded to SQL 2008R2 and everything has gone well. Until I tried to create a new field in a table and also when I tried to modify a field type. I kept getting the following error:
An option in SSMS "prevent saving changes that require the table to be recreated" is the culprit
Therefore, go to the following to correct.
Saving Changes is Not Permitted.The Changes you Have Made require the following tables to be dropped and re-created.you have either made changes to a table that can't be re-created or enabled the option prevent saving changes that require the table to be re-created.Rather quickly I found the following solution while searching the internet. Therefore I wanted to share the solution.
An option in SSMS "prevent saving changes that require the table to be recreated" is the culprit
Therefore, go to the following to correct.
Tools - Options - Designers - Table and Database Designers and de-select "prevent saving changes that require the table to be recreated"
3/7/12
4 Rules For an Effective "Thank You"
They are the two most powerful words a leader can use. Don't waste them.
A university professor began reflecting on the people who had a positive impact on his life. In particular he remembered a schoolteacher who had gone out of her way to instill in him a love of poetry. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her in many years, but he located her address and sent her a letter of thanks. A short time later, he received this reply:
My dear Willie, I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and, like the last leaf of autumn, lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I taught school for 50 years and yours is the first note of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue-cold morning, and it cheered me as nothing has in many years.
The teacher’s note brought the professor to tears – and then he began searching for others who’d shaped his life, just to say thanks.
If only more people held onto gratitude the way they hold a grudge!
None of us got to where we are alone. Whether the assistance we received was obvious or subtle, acknowledging someone’s help is a big part of understanding the importance of saying thank you.
Retailing giant Sam Walton wrote ten rules for success, and the Walmart founder didn’t mince words when it came to being thankful. The fifth of Walton’s rules is “Appreciate everything your associates do for the business.”
I wish I could convince every business owner to adopt that attitude. If you have hired well and provided the necessary tools that allow your staff to perform their jobs, and they have achieved accordingly, the next logical step is acknowledgement of their efforts.
The cost of praising someone is nil – but every psychological study shows the payoff is huge. Employees want to be seen as competent, hardworking members of the team. You want satisfied, motivated, and productive staff members. What better motivator than thanking employees for their contributions to the company’s success?
How to best praise effectively? Try these four ideas.
All links along the chain are essential to your success. It’s so easy to ignore the person who delivers office supplies, the techie who unfroze your computer, or the customer who referred you to a great new account. Big mistake. They all deserve acknowledgement, especially if you want to preserve the relationship.
http://www.inc.com/harvey-mackay/4-rules-for-an-effective-thank-you.html
A university professor began reflecting on the people who had a positive impact on his life. In particular he remembered a schoolteacher who had gone out of her way to instill in him a love of poetry. He hadn’t seen or spoken to her in many years, but he located her address and sent her a letter of thanks. A short time later, he received this reply:
My dear Willie, I cannot tell you how much your note meant to me. I am in my eighties, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and, like the last leaf of autumn, lingering behind. You will be interested to know that I taught school for 50 years and yours is the first note of appreciation I ever received. It came on a blue-cold morning, and it cheered me as nothing has in many years.
The teacher’s note brought the professor to tears – and then he began searching for others who’d shaped his life, just to say thanks.
If only more people held onto gratitude the way they hold a grudge!
None of us got to where we are alone. Whether the assistance we received was obvious or subtle, acknowledging someone’s help is a big part of understanding the importance of saying thank you.
Retailing giant Sam Walton wrote ten rules for success, and the Walmart founder didn’t mince words when it came to being thankful. The fifth of Walton’s rules is “Appreciate everything your associates do for the business.”
I wish I could convince every business owner to adopt that attitude. If you have hired well and provided the necessary tools that allow your staff to perform their jobs, and they have achieved accordingly, the next logical step is acknowledgement of their efforts.
The cost of praising someone is nil – but every psychological study shows the payoff is huge. Employees want to be seen as competent, hardworking members of the team. You want satisfied, motivated, and productive staff members. What better motivator than thanking employees for their contributions to the company’s success?
How to best praise effectively? Try these four ideas.
- Be sincere. Give praise only where it is due.
- Give public praise. The goal is to encourage employees to keep up the good work, while simultaneously encouraging others to put out greater effort. Praising in public raises general morale.
- Be specific in your praise. Identify exactly what the employee worked on and what he or she accomplished. Don’t just say, “Well done, Maggie.” If the employee feels the praise isn’t genuine, it could have a negative effect.
- Provide some lasting recognition. Consider a letter in the employee’s file or a simple celebration for the department that overcame a tough challenge. Appreciation is not a one-shot event. It needs to be ongoing.
All links along the chain are essential to your success. It’s so easy to ignore the person who delivers office supplies, the techie who unfroze your computer, or the customer who referred you to a great new account. Big mistake. They all deserve acknowledgement, especially if you want to preserve the relationship.
http://www.inc.com/harvey-mackay/4-rules-for-an-effective-thank-you.html
3/5/12
3 Beliefs That Create Success
To a large extent, your belief system determines your success. See which beliefs to cherish--& which you should avoid.
What you believe about yourself determines your level of success. If you want to be successful, incorporate the following beliefs into your daily way of thinking:
1. “I am confident.” If you believe in yourself, you tend to see problems and challenges as speed bumps rather than roadblocks, and have certainty that you’ll eventually succeed.
2. “I am committed.” If, in your heart of hearts, you are absolutely determined to succeed, you’ll find that motivation emerges naturally from that commitment.
3. “I am in control.” If you view yourself as the captain of your destiny rather than a pawn of fate, you’ll have the motivation to continue moving forward–even when the going gets a bit rough.
How to Create Failure
On the other hand, if you want to be a failure, incorporate these three very different beliefs into your daily way of thinking:
1. “Nobody believes in me.” Some people define themselves based upon how they suspect their boss, their co-workers, their relatives and friends see them. Convinced that people think poorly of them, such people suffer from low self-esteem and lack of confidence. If you had a big project that needed handling: Would you trust someone who didn't even trust himself?
2. "I am probably going to fail.” Some people believe that failure is so unpleasant that it must be avoided at all costs. Because of this, they avoid all situations where failure is a risk. But any meaningful endeavor entails risk–so such people seldom (if ever) accomplish anything significant.
3. “Fate controls destiny, so why try?” Some people believe that their status in life and potential as a human being is determined at birth or by the circumstances of their lives. Believing this allows them to deflect the blame for failures onto things over which they have no control, thereby lessening the pain. But it also gives them an excuse to remain on the sidelines, avoiding real attempts at success.
Changing Your Beliefs
You've probably noticed that these two belief systems are in direct opposition to each other. Most people actually fall somewhere between these two poles.
The trick is to slide your own beliefs towards the pole that creates success, rather than the pole that creates failure.
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/three-beliefs-that-create-success.html
What you believe about yourself determines your level of success. If you want to be successful, incorporate the following beliefs into your daily way of thinking:
1. “I am confident.” If you believe in yourself, you tend to see problems and challenges as speed bumps rather than roadblocks, and have certainty that you’ll eventually succeed.
2. “I am committed.” If, in your heart of hearts, you are absolutely determined to succeed, you’ll find that motivation emerges naturally from that commitment.
3. “I am in control.” If you view yourself as the captain of your destiny rather than a pawn of fate, you’ll have the motivation to continue moving forward–even when the going gets a bit rough.
How to Create Failure
On the other hand, if you want to be a failure, incorporate these three very different beliefs into your daily way of thinking:
1. “Nobody believes in me.” Some people define themselves based upon how they suspect their boss, their co-workers, their relatives and friends see them. Convinced that people think poorly of them, such people suffer from low self-esteem and lack of confidence. If you had a big project that needed handling: Would you trust someone who didn't even trust himself?
2. "I am probably going to fail.” Some people believe that failure is so unpleasant that it must be avoided at all costs. Because of this, they avoid all situations where failure is a risk. But any meaningful endeavor entails risk–so such people seldom (if ever) accomplish anything significant.
3. “Fate controls destiny, so why try?” Some people believe that their status in life and potential as a human being is determined at birth or by the circumstances of their lives. Believing this allows them to deflect the blame for failures onto things over which they have no control, thereby lessening the pain. But it also gives them an excuse to remain on the sidelines, avoiding real attempts at success.
Changing Your Beliefs
You've probably noticed that these two belief systems are in direct opposition to each other. Most people actually fall somewhere between these two poles.
The trick is to slide your own beliefs towards the pole that creates success, rather than the pole that creates failure.
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/three-beliefs-that-create-success.html
Cheap Ways to Make an Old Computer New Again
Sprucing up the office computers is a lot more affordable than replacing them.
Your PC is a year or two old. It takes forever to boot. It runs slower. And you’re running out of disk space.
Time to buy a new one, right?
Nope. The problem isn’t your computer—the problem is what you’ve allowed to happen to your computer.
According to Chris Cope, the founder and CEO of SlimWare Utilities, a company that provides a suite of products to clean, repair, update, and optimize personal computers, removing optional applications and unnecessary start-up items can increase boot speed by over 40 percent—and free up a ton of hard drive space.
So I asked Cope for simple ways to dramatically increase the performance of any PC.
We'll start by pretending—since the same advice applies to an old computer—that you just bought a new computer and want to get off to the right start:
What to remove: New computers come with a variety of pre-installed programs. Many run at start-up and stay running in the background. Applications you probably don’t need include games, programs that provide support and documentation, online shopping applications, a browser (or two) you’ll never use, games, and some antivirus software.
Go to Control Panel –> Add or Remove Programs and remove what you don’t need. Or use SlimWare’s SlimComputer; it’s free.
Keep in mind most pre-installed antivirus programs are the result of an arrangement between the computer manufacturer and the antivirus provider. Since you need antivirus protection, first determine if the installed program is one you already own, since many subscription-based applications can be transferred.
If you don't own antivirus software and don't want to pay, there are several good free antivirus programs. Microsoft Security Essentials is one, and AVG and Avast are also very popular.
“Decide which antivirus software you’ll use,” Cope says, “and make sure you uninstall any you won’t use, including, if you’re not going to pay for it when the trial runs out, whatever came pre-installed. A lot of people have two or more antivirus programs installed, and leaving two running is a leading cause of lockups, blue screens, and other problems.”
What to update: Always keep Windows updated. Go to Start –> Programs –> Windows Update and turn on automatic updates.
Then update your installed drivers; some have bugs that have been fixed. If you don’t know how to find and update your drivers, try SlimDrivers, SlimWare’s free driver maintenance and update utility.
Then update Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) and Java. “Adobe and Java are two programs that, if not updated, create significant risk of infection,” Cope says. “When a security flaw is found, they update their software and announce the reasons for the update. If you don't install the update, that’s a little like telling criminals how to break into your house. Always keep those two programs updated.”
What to install: Then install any programs, like Office, that you plan to use if not already installed.
“Just don’t install ‘maybe’ programs,” Cope says. “You won’t remember to uninstall them.”
Then once your computer is cleaned up, updated, and antivirus protection is in place, use imaging or back-up software to create an optimized back-up. Norton Ghost is one popular product. That way if something happens later you can easily restore your computer.
Now let’s look at how to improve the performance of an older computer.
What to clean up: Start with files. “Computers that haven’t been cleaned in about a year,” Cope says, “typically have about 10 gig of data files: history files, log files, temp files, recently stored files, etc. That makes your hard driver work harder and perform slower.”
One way to clean up old files is through Start –> Accessories –> System Tools –> Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter. Or you can use SlimWare’s SlimCleaner, a tool that uses community-sourced feedback to clean and optimize PCs.
Then focus on removing unused applications and programs. You may have installed a program by accident or downloaded a program you stopped using and never removed. Check out all your applications and make sure they’re still relevant and necessary.
Then check out your browser. Over time you probably installed a number of plugins, toolbars, and extensions that not only slow down your browser but also clutter your screen—and make you more vulnerable to viruses, especially if you don’t keep them all updated. Remove what you don’t need (which, if you’re like me, is about 80 percent of what you’ve installed.)
What to add: “Once your computer is clean,” Cope says, “the best way to further boost performance is by adding RAM.”
In most cases you can double the amount of RAM on your computer for $100 or so. (I tripled the RAM on my old computer for about $130.)
How it turned out: I decided to test Cope’s advice on a computer in my office that’s at least eight years old. (Hey, it's a great conversation starter.)
I’m reasonably computer savvy so I started by removing programs and drivers manually. That got old really fast so I tried SlimWare’s free tools: First I ran SlimComputer, then SlimDrivers, then SlimCleaner.
They're easy to use, and they work. I found a lot of stuff I didn’t know was on the computer. And it was cool to see what the SlimWare community says about specific programs and applications. In some cases I took the crowd’s advice, in others I didn’t, but either way I learned a lot.
So what were my results? I freed up 33 gig of hard drive space. I removed 17 programs, including four that ran at start-up. Even before I added RAM the computer booted up in less than half the time, applications like Photoshop started up about 20 percent faster, and memory-intensive functions within Photoshop also ran a lot faster.
Performance improved even more after I added RAM.
Time to buy a new computer? Nope.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/free-ways-to-clean-up-pcs.html
Your PC is a year or two old. It takes forever to boot. It runs slower. And you’re running out of disk space.
Time to buy a new one, right?
Nope. The problem isn’t your computer—the problem is what you’ve allowed to happen to your computer.
According to Chris Cope, the founder and CEO of SlimWare Utilities, a company that provides a suite of products to clean, repair, update, and optimize personal computers, removing optional applications and unnecessary start-up items can increase boot speed by over 40 percent—and free up a ton of hard drive space.
So I asked Cope for simple ways to dramatically increase the performance of any PC.
We'll start by pretending—since the same advice applies to an old computer—that you just bought a new computer and want to get off to the right start:
What to remove: New computers come with a variety of pre-installed programs. Many run at start-up and stay running in the background. Applications you probably don’t need include games, programs that provide support and documentation, online shopping applications, a browser (or two) you’ll never use, games, and some antivirus software.
Go to Control Panel –> Add or Remove Programs and remove what you don’t need. Or use SlimWare’s SlimComputer; it’s free.
Keep in mind most pre-installed antivirus programs are the result of an arrangement between the computer manufacturer and the antivirus provider. Since you need antivirus protection, first determine if the installed program is one you already own, since many subscription-based applications can be transferred.
If you don't own antivirus software and don't want to pay, there are several good free antivirus programs. Microsoft Security Essentials is one, and AVG and Avast are also very popular.
“Decide which antivirus software you’ll use,” Cope says, “and make sure you uninstall any you won’t use, including, if you’re not going to pay for it when the trial runs out, whatever came pre-installed. A lot of people have two or more antivirus programs installed, and leaving two running is a leading cause of lockups, blue screens, and other problems.”
What to update: Always keep Windows updated. Go to Start –> Programs –> Windows Update and turn on automatic updates.
Then update your installed drivers; some have bugs that have been fixed. If you don’t know how to find and update your drivers, try SlimDrivers, SlimWare’s free driver maintenance and update utility.
Then update Adobe Acrobat (or Reader) and Java. “Adobe and Java are two programs that, if not updated, create significant risk of infection,” Cope says. “When a security flaw is found, they update their software and announce the reasons for the update. If you don't install the update, that’s a little like telling criminals how to break into your house. Always keep those two programs updated.”
What to install: Then install any programs, like Office, that you plan to use if not already installed.
“Just don’t install ‘maybe’ programs,” Cope says. “You won’t remember to uninstall them.”
Then once your computer is cleaned up, updated, and antivirus protection is in place, use imaging or back-up software to create an optimized back-up. Norton Ghost is one popular product. That way if something happens later you can easily restore your computer.
Now let’s look at how to improve the performance of an older computer.
What to clean up: Start with files. “Computers that haven’t been cleaned in about a year,” Cope says, “typically have about 10 gig of data files: history files, log files, temp files, recently stored files, etc. That makes your hard driver work harder and perform slower.”
One way to clean up old files is through Start –> Accessories –> System Tools –> Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter. Or you can use SlimWare’s SlimCleaner, a tool that uses community-sourced feedback to clean and optimize PCs.
Then focus on removing unused applications and programs. You may have installed a program by accident or downloaded a program you stopped using and never removed. Check out all your applications and make sure they’re still relevant and necessary.
Then check out your browser. Over time you probably installed a number of plugins, toolbars, and extensions that not only slow down your browser but also clutter your screen—and make you more vulnerable to viruses, especially if you don’t keep them all updated. Remove what you don’t need (which, if you’re like me, is about 80 percent of what you’ve installed.)
What to add: “Once your computer is clean,” Cope says, “the best way to further boost performance is by adding RAM.”
In most cases you can double the amount of RAM on your computer for $100 or so. (I tripled the RAM on my old computer for about $130.)
How it turned out: I decided to test Cope’s advice on a computer in my office that’s at least eight years old. (Hey, it's a great conversation starter.)
I’m reasonably computer savvy so I started by removing programs and drivers manually. That got old really fast so I tried SlimWare’s free tools: First I ran SlimComputer, then SlimDrivers, then SlimCleaner.
They're easy to use, and they work. I found a lot of stuff I didn’t know was on the computer. And it was cool to see what the SlimWare community says about specific programs and applications. In some cases I took the crowd’s advice, in others I didn’t, but either way I learned a lot.
So what were my results? I freed up 33 gig of hard drive space. I removed 17 programs, including four that ran at start-up. Even before I added RAM the computer booted up in less than half the time, applications like Photoshop started up about 20 percent faster, and memory-intensive functions within Photoshop also ran a lot faster.
Performance improved even more after I added RAM.
Time to buy a new computer? Nope.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/free-ways-to-clean-up-pcs.html
The 5 Qualities of Remarkable Bosses
Consistently do these five things and the results you want from your employees--and your business--will follow.
Remarkable bosses aren’t great on paper. Great bosses are remarkable based on their actions.
Results are everything—but not the results you might think.
Consistently do these five things and everything else follows. You and your business benefit greatly.
More importantly, so do your employees.
1. Develop every employee. Sure, you can put your primary focus on reaching targets, achieving results, and accomplishing concrete goals—but do that and you put your leadership cart before your achievement horse.
Without great employees, no amount of focus on goals and targets will ever pay off. Employees can only achieve what they are capable of achieving, so it’s your job to help all your employees be more capable so they—and your business—can achieve more.
It's your job to provide the training, mentoring, and opportunities your employees need and deserve. When you do, you transform the relatively boring process of reviewing results and tracking performance into something a lot more meaningful for your employees: Progress, improvement, and personal achievement.
So don’t worry about reaching performance goals. Spend the bulk of your time developing the skills of your employees and achieving goals will be a natural outcome.
Plus it’s a lot more fun.
2. Deal with problems immediately. Nothing kills team morale more quickly than problems that don't get addressed. Interpersonal squabbles, performance issues, feuds between departments... all negatively impact employee motivation and enthusiasm.
And they're distracting, because small problems never go away. Small problems always fester and grow into bigger problems. Plus, when you ignore a problem your employees immediately lose respect for you, and without respect, you can't lead.
Never hope a problem will magically go away, or that someone else will deal with it. Deal with every issue head-on, no matter how small.
3. Rescue your worst employee. Almost every business has at least one employee who has fallen out of grace: Publicly failed to complete a task, lost his cool in a meeting, or just can’t seem to keep up. Over time that employee comes to be seen by his peers—and by you—as a weak link.
While that employee may desperately want to “rehabilitate” himself, it's almost impossible. The weight of team disapproval is too heavy for one person to move.
But it’s not too heavy for you.
Before you remove your weak link from the chain, put your full effort into trying to rescue that person instead. Say, "John, I know you've been struggling but I also know you're trying. Let's find ways together that can get you where you need to be." Express confidence. Be reassuring. Most of all, tell him you'll be there every step of the way.
Don't relax your standards. Just step up the mentoring and coaching you provide.
If that seems like too much work for too little potential outcome, think of it this way. Your remarkable employees don’t need a lot of your time; they’re remarkable because they already have these qualities. If you’re lucky, you can get a few percentage points of extra performance from them. But a struggling employee has tons of upside; rescue him and you make a tremendous difference.
Granted, sometimes it won't work out. When it doesn't, don't worry about it. The effort is its own reward.
And occasionally an employee will succeed—and you will have made a tremendous difference in a person's professional and personal life.
Can’t beat that.
4. Serve others, not yourself. You can get away with being selfish or self-serving once or twice... but that's it.
Never say or do anything that in any way puts you in the spotlight, however briefly. Never congratulate employees and digress for a few moments to discuss what you did.
If it should go without saying, don't say it. Your glory should always be reflected, never direct.
When employees excel, you and your business excel. When your team succeeds, you and your business succeed. When you rescue a struggling employee and they become remarkable, remember they should be congratulated, not you.
You were just doing your job the way a remarkable boss should.
When you consistently act as if you are less important than your employees—and when you never ask employees to do something you don’t do—everyone knows how important you really are.
5. Always remember where you came from. See an autograph seeker blown off by a famous athlete and you might think, “If I was in a similar position I would never do that.”
Oops. Actually, you do. To some of your employees, especially new employees, you are at least slightly famous. You’re in charge. You’re the boss.
That's why an employee who wants to talk about something that seems inconsequential may just want to spend a few moments with you.
When that happens, you have a choice. You can blow the employee off... or you can see the moment for its true importance: A chance to inspire, reassure, motivate, and even give someone hope for greater things in their life. The higher you rise the greater the impact you can make—and the greater your responsibility to make that impact.
In the eyes of his or her employees, a remarkable boss is a star.
Remember where you came from, and be gracious with your stardom.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-5-qualities-of-remarkable-bosses.html
Remarkable bosses aren’t great on paper. Great bosses are remarkable based on their actions.
Results are everything—but not the results you might think.
Consistently do these five things and everything else follows. You and your business benefit greatly.
More importantly, so do your employees.
1. Develop every employee. Sure, you can put your primary focus on reaching targets, achieving results, and accomplishing concrete goals—but do that and you put your leadership cart before your achievement horse.
Without great employees, no amount of focus on goals and targets will ever pay off. Employees can only achieve what they are capable of achieving, so it’s your job to help all your employees be more capable so they—and your business—can achieve more.
It's your job to provide the training, mentoring, and opportunities your employees need and deserve. When you do, you transform the relatively boring process of reviewing results and tracking performance into something a lot more meaningful for your employees: Progress, improvement, and personal achievement.
So don’t worry about reaching performance goals. Spend the bulk of your time developing the skills of your employees and achieving goals will be a natural outcome.
Plus it’s a lot more fun.
2. Deal with problems immediately. Nothing kills team morale more quickly than problems that don't get addressed. Interpersonal squabbles, performance issues, feuds between departments... all negatively impact employee motivation and enthusiasm.
And they're distracting, because small problems never go away. Small problems always fester and grow into bigger problems. Plus, when you ignore a problem your employees immediately lose respect for you, and without respect, you can't lead.
Never hope a problem will magically go away, or that someone else will deal with it. Deal with every issue head-on, no matter how small.
3. Rescue your worst employee. Almost every business has at least one employee who has fallen out of grace: Publicly failed to complete a task, lost his cool in a meeting, or just can’t seem to keep up. Over time that employee comes to be seen by his peers—and by you—as a weak link.
While that employee may desperately want to “rehabilitate” himself, it's almost impossible. The weight of team disapproval is too heavy for one person to move.
But it’s not too heavy for you.
Before you remove your weak link from the chain, put your full effort into trying to rescue that person instead. Say, "John, I know you've been struggling but I also know you're trying. Let's find ways together that can get you where you need to be." Express confidence. Be reassuring. Most of all, tell him you'll be there every step of the way.
Don't relax your standards. Just step up the mentoring and coaching you provide.
If that seems like too much work for too little potential outcome, think of it this way. Your remarkable employees don’t need a lot of your time; they’re remarkable because they already have these qualities. If you’re lucky, you can get a few percentage points of extra performance from them. But a struggling employee has tons of upside; rescue him and you make a tremendous difference.
Granted, sometimes it won't work out. When it doesn't, don't worry about it. The effort is its own reward.
And occasionally an employee will succeed—and you will have made a tremendous difference in a person's professional and personal life.
Can’t beat that.
4. Serve others, not yourself. You can get away with being selfish or self-serving once or twice... but that's it.
Never say or do anything that in any way puts you in the spotlight, however briefly. Never congratulate employees and digress for a few moments to discuss what you did.
If it should go without saying, don't say it. Your glory should always be reflected, never direct.
When employees excel, you and your business excel. When your team succeeds, you and your business succeed. When you rescue a struggling employee and they become remarkable, remember they should be congratulated, not you.
You were just doing your job the way a remarkable boss should.
When you consistently act as if you are less important than your employees—and when you never ask employees to do something you don’t do—everyone knows how important you really are.
5. Always remember where you came from. See an autograph seeker blown off by a famous athlete and you might think, “If I was in a similar position I would never do that.”
Oops. Actually, you do. To some of your employees, especially new employees, you are at least slightly famous. You’re in charge. You’re the boss.
That's why an employee who wants to talk about something that seems inconsequential may just want to spend a few moments with you.
When that happens, you have a choice. You can blow the employee off... or you can see the moment for its true importance: A chance to inspire, reassure, motivate, and even give someone hope for greater things in their life. The higher you rise the greater the impact you can make—and the greater your responsibility to make that impact.
In the eyes of his or her employees, a remarkable boss is a star.
Remember where you came from, and be gracious with your stardom.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-5-qualities-of-remarkable-bosses.html
How (and When) to Give Advice
Great leaders reserve their advice for the people and situations in which it will do the most good. And they never forget one key secret.
One afternoon when American League baseball umpire Bill Guthrie was working behind the plate, the catcher of the visiting team repeatedly protested his calls. Guthrie endured this for three innings. But in the fourth inning when the catcher started to complain again, Guthrie stopped him.
“Son,” he said gently, “you've been a big help to me calling balls and strikes, and I appreciate it. But I think I've got the hang of it now. So I'm going to ask you to go to the clubhouse and show them how to take a shower.”
There is a time to provide advice and offer an opinion, and there is a time not to. Don’t be too quick to offer unsolicited advice. It certainly will not endear you to people. You have to be judicious in doling out advice, and it’s generally better to wait for people to ask.
Before you advise, breathe
Over the years I have been asked for business advice, career advice, public speaking advice, writing advice, travel advice, fundraising advice, and advice on topics I’ve never even heard of. Each time, I take a deep breath and hope what I have to offer will be helpful and pertinent.
Before you respond to a request for advice, heed habit five in Stephen Covey’s classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
To my mind, Covey means this: When you have the strong urge to make someone understand your point of view, step back and think before you speak. Why? Because you need to ask yourself what kind of situation you are commenting on. Has your opinion been requested? Do you have the experience or authority to offer help?
If you give advice, will it be appreciated, or rejected out of hand? If the other person truly is seeking help in solving a concrete problem, then advice might be appreciated. If not, you should consider that the other person might merely be looking for someone to listen to his problem. In this case advice is not usually appropriate or desired by the other party. This is a skill that is learned over time: determining the best response to another’s needs.
The golden rule of giving advice
And never forget, the real secret of giving advice is this: Once you’ve given it, don’t concern yourself with whether it is followed or not, and refrain from saying “I told you so.” When advice is freely given, the receiver is free to use it as he or she sees fit.
The bottom line is to be picky about when you give advice, and to whom you give it. If you think your words may make you responsible for undesirable results beyond your control, think twice before you speak. If you know the person is asking for your insights just to be polite or politically correct, don’t feel obligated.
And as you are choosing your words and who will benefit from them, keep this in mind: The best way to succeed in life is to act on the advice you give to others. If you wouldn’t follow your own advice, don’t offer it.
http://www.inc.com/harvey-mackay/how-and-when-to-give-advice.html
One afternoon when American League baseball umpire Bill Guthrie was working behind the plate, the catcher of the visiting team repeatedly protested his calls. Guthrie endured this for three innings. But in the fourth inning when the catcher started to complain again, Guthrie stopped him.
“Son,” he said gently, “you've been a big help to me calling balls and strikes, and I appreciate it. But I think I've got the hang of it now. So I'm going to ask you to go to the clubhouse and show them how to take a shower.”
There is a time to provide advice and offer an opinion, and there is a time not to. Don’t be too quick to offer unsolicited advice. It certainly will not endear you to people. You have to be judicious in doling out advice, and it’s generally better to wait for people to ask.
Before you advise, breathe
Over the years I have been asked for business advice, career advice, public speaking advice, writing advice, travel advice, fundraising advice, and advice on topics I’ve never even heard of. Each time, I take a deep breath and hope what I have to offer will be helpful and pertinent.
Before you respond to a request for advice, heed habit five in Stephen Covey’s classic, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
To my mind, Covey means this: When you have the strong urge to make someone understand your point of view, step back and think before you speak. Why? Because you need to ask yourself what kind of situation you are commenting on. Has your opinion been requested? Do you have the experience or authority to offer help?
If you give advice, will it be appreciated, or rejected out of hand? If the other person truly is seeking help in solving a concrete problem, then advice might be appreciated. If not, you should consider that the other person might merely be looking for someone to listen to his problem. In this case advice is not usually appropriate or desired by the other party. This is a skill that is learned over time: determining the best response to another’s needs.
The golden rule of giving advice
And never forget, the real secret of giving advice is this: Once you’ve given it, don’t concern yourself with whether it is followed or not, and refrain from saying “I told you so.” When advice is freely given, the receiver is free to use it as he or she sees fit.
The bottom line is to be picky about when you give advice, and to whom you give it. If you think your words may make you responsible for undesirable results beyond your control, think twice before you speak. If you know the person is asking for your insights just to be polite or politically correct, don’t feel obligated.
And as you are choosing your words and who will benefit from them, keep this in mind: The best way to succeed in life is to act on the advice you give to others. If you wouldn’t follow your own advice, don’t offer it.
http://www.inc.com/harvey-mackay/how-and-when-to-give-advice.html
3/1/12
Top 5 Myths About Selling
Conventional 'wisdom' about selling is frequently dead wrong. Here's a reality check.
The business world is full of conventional wisdom that gets passed from office to office. Sometimes that so-called wisdom is, well ... unwise. (And occasionally it's really stupid.)
Here are the five dumbest beliefs that people have about "how to sell":
1. The Customer Is Always Right
This myth has been repeated so many times that many people think it's a law of nature. In fact, though, customers are frequently unreasonable and overly demanding. A big part of selling is educating such customers so that they have more realistic expectations. This means telling the customer he's wrong when he actually is.
2. Customers Know What They Want
In fact, customers frequently often have bizarre ideas about what they want and need–and, consequently, about what they ought to buy. Don't cater to these whims. It's up to you, as a responsible seller, to figure out what’s actually needed and provide your best opinion about how to satisfy that need.
3. Every Prospect Is a Potential Sale
If you think that everyone is a customer, you'll end up pursuing fictional opportunities. (This is called "chasing garbage trucks, not Brinks trucks.") If you're selling something, your No. 1 job is to eliminate prospects that don’t have enough money to buy your offering or don't have enough need to justify the purchase. That will let you focus on your actual prospective customers.
4. You Should Never Take 'No' for an Answer
When prospects have all sorts of objections to buying, you're probably wasting your time trying to sell to them. Sales opportunities are like buses; another one comes along every 15 minutes. Don’t obsess on any one deal–and always remember that if you hear "no" more than once, it means "no."
5. The Best Salespeople Are Extroverts
Many (even most) of today's sales situations are best suited for people who are a little bit introverted, and better at listening than talking. In fact, some of the best and most effective sales training programs available today are based on listening techniques originally developed for psychologists and counselors–who aren't known for being extroverted.
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/top-5-myths-about-selling.html
The business world is full of conventional wisdom that gets passed from office to office. Sometimes that so-called wisdom is, well ... unwise. (And occasionally it's really stupid.)
Here are the five dumbest beliefs that people have about "how to sell":
1. The Customer Is Always Right
This myth has been repeated so many times that many people think it's a law of nature. In fact, though, customers are frequently unreasonable and overly demanding. A big part of selling is educating such customers so that they have more realistic expectations. This means telling the customer he's wrong when he actually is.
2. Customers Know What They Want
In fact, customers frequently often have bizarre ideas about what they want and need–and, consequently, about what they ought to buy. Don't cater to these whims. It's up to you, as a responsible seller, to figure out what’s actually needed and provide your best opinion about how to satisfy that need.
3. Every Prospect Is a Potential Sale
If you think that everyone is a customer, you'll end up pursuing fictional opportunities. (This is called "chasing garbage trucks, not Brinks trucks.") If you're selling something, your No. 1 job is to eliminate prospects that don’t have enough money to buy your offering or don't have enough need to justify the purchase. That will let you focus on your actual prospective customers.
4. You Should Never Take 'No' for an Answer
When prospects have all sorts of objections to buying, you're probably wasting your time trying to sell to them. Sales opportunities are like buses; another one comes along every 15 minutes. Don’t obsess on any one deal–and always remember that if you hear "no" more than once, it means "no."
5. The Best Salespeople Are Extroverts
Many (even most) of today's sales situations are best suited for people who are a little bit introverted, and better at listening than talking. In fact, some of the best and most effective sales training programs available today are based on listening techniques originally developed for psychologists and counselors–who aren't known for being extroverted.
http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/top-5-myths-about-selling.html
8 Guaranteed Ways to Drive Customers Away
If your long-term customers are leaving--and not coming back--you're probably making one of these mistakes.
Your most profitable customers are almost always long-term customers. Don’t lose them by making any of the following mistakes:
1. Change too many players. It’s tempting to assume long-term customers love your brand. More often than not they love your employees.
Customers don’t buy from companies. They buy from people—your people.
Since relationships are the lifeblood of a small business, don't rotate salespeople, customer service reps, or key contacts unless you have to. Do everything possible to protect and foster the relationships your employees forge. Employees are rarely interchangeable where strong business relationships with customers are concerned.
2. Treat new and existing customers too differently. Offering discounts or incentives to land new customers is often necessary, but existing customers can quickly resent the fact their loyalty is not rewarded.
Think hard about the carrots you offer new customers and make sure you “reward” existing customers just as much—if not more. Never forget that while new customers create an immediate top-line impact, sales to existing customers typically result in a bigger impact on your bottom line.
3. Focus too heavily on price. Being the low-cost provider is a definite competitive advantage.
Good luck maintaining that advantage. Somewhere, someone is planning to steal your customers through lower prices.
Your goal is to provide the best value. Value is an advantage you can maintain through a combination of price, schedule, service, and relationships. If your marketing focuses mostly on price you'll train customers to constantly look for a lower price, both from you and your competition.
Spend at least as much time finding ways to increase value as you do finding ways to lower costs and prices.
4. Push too hard to grow same-customer revenue. Trying to sell more to existing customers is smart, but don't do so blindly. First know what each customer needs and only then try to meet those needs. Never suggest a product or service a customer doesn't need.
And never ask, “Is there anything else we could do for you?” unless you already know the answer and are ready to provide a great solution.
Otherwise you're just pushing, and customers hate being pushed.
5. Accept high employee turnover. While high turnover is a fact of life in a few industries, in most cases employees leave because they aren't treated well.
So do customers.
Unless systems truly drive your business, you can’t expect to have long-term customers unless you first have long-term employees. If turnover is high, find ways to fix it. Otherwise customer turnover will always be high, too.
6. Forget what keeps the lights on. Every business has principal products or services that form the foundation of the business. Every business also has key customers that form a foundation.
Over time key products and services—and key customers—can get taken for granted while newer, sexier, higher profile initiatives get all the focus.
Make a list of the customers you can't afford to lose. Then list what those customers buy. That list is the foundation of your business.
Never forget what keeps your lights on.
7. Reward the wrong employee behaviors. This happens most often in sales, like when commission rates are much higher for new customers than existing customers. If that's the case and I'm a salesman, why should I work to maintain existing accounts when I get paid a lot more to find new ones? That approach only works if your systems ensure someone else takes over the responsibility for forging great relationships with existing customers.
Think about the incentives you provide and goals you set for your employees, and make sure they encourage the outcomes you really want.
8. Make problem resolution painful. Policies and guidelines are great for ensuring that employees comply, but a customer with a problem doesn't care about your policies. She just wants her problem fixed.
Let employees use complaint-resolution policies as guidelines rather than rules. Give employees the freedom to make judgment calls.
Resolving a customer problem or complaint can help your business establish an even stronger customer relationship when you give employees the freedom to make that happen.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/8-reasons-why-youre-losing-customers.html
Your most profitable customers are almost always long-term customers. Don’t lose them by making any of the following mistakes:
1. Change too many players. It’s tempting to assume long-term customers love your brand. More often than not they love your employees.
Customers don’t buy from companies. They buy from people—your people.
Since relationships are the lifeblood of a small business, don't rotate salespeople, customer service reps, or key contacts unless you have to. Do everything possible to protect and foster the relationships your employees forge. Employees are rarely interchangeable where strong business relationships with customers are concerned.
2. Treat new and existing customers too differently. Offering discounts or incentives to land new customers is often necessary, but existing customers can quickly resent the fact their loyalty is not rewarded.
Think hard about the carrots you offer new customers and make sure you “reward” existing customers just as much—if not more. Never forget that while new customers create an immediate top-line impact, sales to existing customers typically result in a bigger impact on your bottom line.
3. Focus too heavily on price. Being the low-cost provider is a definite competitive advantage.
Good luck maintaining that advantage. Somewhere, someone is planning to steal your customers through lower prices.
Your goal is to provide the best value. Value is an advantage you can maintain through a combination of price, schedule, service, and relationships. If your marketing focuses mostly on price you'll train customers to constantly look for a lower price, both from you and your competition.
Spend at least as much time finding ways to increase value as you do finding ways to lower costs and prices.
4. Push too hard to grow same-customer revenue. Trying to sell more to existing customers is smart, but don't do so blindly. First know what each customer needs and only then try to meet those needs. Never suggest a product or service a customer doesn't need.
And never ask, “Is there anything else we could do for you?” unless you already know the answer and are ready to provide a great solution.
Otherwise you're just pushing, and customers hate being pushed.
5. Accept high employee turnover. While high turnover is a fact of life in a few industries, in most cases employees leave because they aren't treated well.
So do customers.
Unless systems truly drive your business, you can’t expect to have long-term customers unless you first have long-term employees. If turnover is high, find ways to fix it. Otherwise customer turnover will always be high, too.
6. Forget what keeps the lights on. Every business has principal products or services that form the foundation of the business. Every business also has key customers that form a foundation.
Over time key products and services—and key customers—can get taken for granted while newer, sexier, higher profile initiatives get all the focus.
Make a list of the customers you can't afford to lose. Then list what those customers buy. That list is the foundation of your business.
Never forget what keeps your lights on.
7. Reward the wrong employee behaviors. This happens most often in sales, like when commission rates are much higher for new customers than existing customers. If that's the case and I'm a salesman, why should I work to maintain existing accounts when I get paid a lot more to find new ones? That approach only works if your systems ensure someone else takes over the responsibility for forging great relationships with existing customers.
Think about the incentives you provide and goals you set for your employees, and make sure they encourage the outcomes you really want.
8. Make problem resolution painful. Policies and guidelines are great for ensuring that employees comply, but a customer with a problem doesn't care about your policies. She just wants her problem fixed.
Let employees use complaint-resolution policies as guidelines rather than rules. Give employees the freedom to make judgment calls.
Resolving a customer problem or complaint can help your business establish an even stronger customer relationship when you give employees the freedom to make that happen.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/8-reasons-why-youre-losing-customers.html
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