My thanksgiving is perpetual

I am grateful for what I am & have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite — only a sense of existence….O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.

-Henry David Thoreau, letter to Harrison Gray Blake, 1856.

Make Results Matter More than Face Time

Every smart employer knows that results matter more than face time. Judging employees chiefly on the number of hours they log in at work is not only demoralizing but does little for company performance. In fact, sixty-nine percent of employers report that supervisors at their organizations are encouraged to assess employees' performance by what they accomplish and not just by the hours they work.
This statistic — from the 2012 National Study of Employers conducted by Families and Work Institute (FWI) — indicates there is movement in the right direction. After all, it's obvious why employers encourage supervisors to focus on results. In this competitive, 24-7 economy stretches across the world's time zones, adhering to the notion that presence equals productivity is simply out of date.
But there are two problems: One, employees don't fully buy it. And two, many managers don't really know how to do it. About two in five workers think that if they focus on achieving results instead of punching the clock, their careers will suffer, according to FWI's Workplace Flexibility in the United States. Moreover, managers don't have the tools they need to accurately measure results.
So what can companies do to prove to skeptical employees that results really matter more than time worked and give managers the data they need? Here's what one company did.
Ryan, LLC - Getting rid of a sweatshop culture
Ryan, a global tax firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas, had a business problem. CEO G. Brint Ryan started the company in 1991, growing it from a two-person organization to a 1000-person one. He was proud of the business's track record, helping Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies solve complex tax problems. But in 2007, a disturbing trend developed. "We started experiencing a rapid loss of talent. And I'm not talking about just general talent — I'm talking about the stars," Ryan says.
He realized his firm had developed a "sweatshop reputation". People felt they were working long hours even if it wasn't necessary to get the job done. Ryan and his leadership team decided to experiment with re-focusing the company on results. He describes what they were aiming for:

We wanted a results-based work environment where if you meet financial results and you meet client service scores, you can work whenever you want, wherever you want . . . work when you're most productive, when you're most engaged. And we'll change the culture so that what really matters are results.

This was a radical change for the company. And required they rethink how they measure performance. Managers were skeptical. "The biggest concern was the fuzziness of flexibility. They simply didn't know how to manage teams when traditional boundaries were removed," says Delta Emerson, the company's executive vice president and chief of staff. Even Brint Ryan himself was concerned. He admits that he and his partners were "scared to death" the organization would fall apart.
Still he felt it was a bet they had to make. So they spent considerable time creating a system to support the new culture. The tool, called Success Measures, allows employees to easily track their own performance through an online dashboard that aggregates client service scores, revenues, leadership, core competencies and other firm-wide initiatives.
Each functional team has its own team page in the dashboard that displays the team's "scores" based on performance in key areas such as meeting financial goals and client service. Each employee's overall score in these key areas contributes to their team performance, similar to a baseball team's individual averages and statistics.
The employee's overall score is a weighted average of his or her scores in the areas of client service scores and financial goals (which account for 80% of the score), and firm-wide initiatives, leadership management and core competencies (20% of the score). Employees are only scored in categories that are relevant to their position.
This system worked. Since 2008, when the initial tool was introduced, voluntary turnover dropped from an average of 18.5% to less than 10%, compared with the industry average of 21%. At the same time, client service scores increased — 97% of clients rated them as good or excellent in the performance of their service.
"Probably the most remarkable statistic — the one that I think I would share if I had one thing to share with any CEO," says Ryan, "is this: in 2009, in arguably the worst economic conditions in my generation, we posted record profits and revenue. And then in 2010, we beat it again."
There are four things any company looking to change its culture of face time can learn from Ryan's experience:

1. Base it on a real organizational need. In this case, it was the loss of top performers. Brint Ryan knew he had to do something to stop the turnover or the company would be in trouble.
2. Create a way to measure individual and team performance. This is the crux of their success to date. As described above, instead of tracking hours spent at work, employees are held responsible for their performance.
3. Don't adopt a results-focused initiative off the shelf. Although the company shopped around for programs that could plug and play, it settled on a customized approach, recognizing it needed something to fit its unique needs and culture.
4. Fine-tune the process. In addition to employee surveys, Brint Ryan and Delta Emerson, hosted town hall meetings to hear directly from employees and gauge how the new system is working. After a town hall, leadership posted the problems employees raised on the company's intranet site along with action steps to resolve them.

What does your company value more: the hours you work or the results you produce? If you work in a company with a results-focus, please share your story of how it is working.

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/11/make_results_matter_more_than.html

26 Lessons from a 26 Year Old CEO

On April 25th I turned 26, and a few weeks later my web marketing agency turned two. What started as a single person mini-business, has turned into a 27 person global web marketing firm in just two short years. I’ve been immensely grateful for the opportunities life has presented me with. And, as I look forward to the future, it would only be fair to look back as well.
Here are 26 lessons I have learned as a young entrepreneur and CEO:

 
1. A written vision of what you want your company to look like in 3 years is important. The pen (or keyboard!) has power. It isn’t enough to envision your goals in your mind. You must have a blueprint on paper. Every decision you make, ask yourself: does this help me get closer to my vision?
2. Learn to listen to your clients. When we started, we were only offering social media consulting services. But, clients quickly demanded more. We eventually ended up serving as their web marketing department. The marketplace will tell you what it needs. You have to listen, and then deliver.
3. Half the job is keeping up. The pace of technology will only continue to quicken. It doesn’t matter what your industry is, you have to keep up in order to constantly leverage it for your business.
4. Always think in terms of value — not price. Always judge based on the value something or someone brings to the table. Price is arbitrary.
5. Only hire people who have fire. This is especially true if you are running a small to medium sized business. In a large corporation, there is room for many types of personalities and people. In a smaller business, passion is a must in every position. Hire people who are driven to do well and see your business succeed.
6. If you must fire, be graceful and professional about it. This is hands down the worst part of being a CEO. It is tough to let people go, but for the greater good of the business, sometimes it must be done. It doesn’t matter if you are firing or being fired, don’t burn bridges.
7. Learn to forgive. Things happen. People change. You can’t move forward in business — or in life — if you can’t forgive and move on.
8. Cash flow is crucial. This is especially true in a recessionary economy, and if you are growing quickly. Work with clients to get payments upfront.
9. Balance is overrated. Aim for joy. When work is fun, you don’t feel the need to take as many breaks. Balance in today’s world looks very different than it did just 20 years ago. Embrace it.
10. Don’t underestimate the power of PR. The power of the press may now be in more than just the hands of journalists (umm…social media, anyone?). Learn to be a friend to the press.
11. Treat your team well. People will follow a leader who treats them with respect. Learn to value your team’s input, and always reward them for a job well done.
12. Focus is the most underrated skill that you must master. 90 percent of the time, what is on your computer screen is not resulting in a positive ROI. Learn to focus on what truly matters in your business. Then, do it consistently.
13. Multitasking doesn’t mean greater productivity. Don’t put “good multitasker” on your resume. Numerous studies have shown that multitasking decreases brain power.
14. Age isn’t just a number. Age does matter. Managing a Gen Y employee is different than managing a baby boomer.
15. Appearances matter. I just interviewed an intern who showed up in an outfit more appropriate for an 8 a.m. class. I had to wonder how he would represent us in front of clients. Whether we like it or not, appearances matter. Dress appropriately.
16. Learn to view situations objectively. Just because you would or wouldn’t do something, doesn’t mean others are the same way.
17. Life is short, and very easy to take for granted. Sounds like something you’d read in a self-help book, but true nonetheless. Life is temporary, and the only thing that matters at the end of the day is how you treated those around you.
18. Pets make the workplace better. I propose that every office should have a mascot. Ours is a little Maltese-Poodle mix named Snoopy. No day is a sad day.
19. A support network is crucial. As much as you try, you can’t do it alone. Building a personal and professional support network is imperative.
20. Give luck its due. Luck has played a huge part in my life. I don’t deny it. I am just grateful for it.
21. Hard work is a given. Struggle doesn’t have to be. I’ve learned that there is always work that will need to be done. The task list is never complete. So, just enjoy it!
22. It IS lonely at the top. And, yes, the view & the food are both amazing.
23. Ignore the trolls. They like the power the anonymity of the internet gives them. Don’t pay them any attention.
24. Be picky when choosing your friends. My friend list (and I don’t mean Facebook) is short. Surround yourself with people who inspire you.
25. Karma exists in business and in life. The old adage says “what goes around, comes around.” The older I get, the more I see this being true. Think twice before you act.
26. Being a CEO means being a CVO. CVO stands for Chief Value Officer. Always ask yourself: How can I create value for our clients? Our prospects? Our internal team? The answers will guide you to building a better company.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2011/07/25/26-lessons-from-a-26-year-old-ceo/

50 Unfortunate Truths About Investing

1. Saying “I’ll be greedy when others are fearful” is much easier than actually doing it.
2. The gulf between a great company and a great investment can be extraordinary.
3. Markets go through at least one big pullback every year, and one massive one every decade. Get used to it. It’s just what they do.
4. There is virtually no accountability in the financial pundit arena. People who have been wrong about everything for years still draw crowds.
5. As Erik Falkenstein says: “In expert tennis, 80% of the points are won, while in amateur tennis, 80% are lost. The same is true for wrestling, chess, and investing: Beginners should focus on avoiding mistakes, experts on making great moves.”
6. There are tens of thousands of professional money managers. Statistically, a handful of them have been successful by pure chance. Which ones? I don’t know, but I bet a few are famous.
7. On that note, some investors who we call “legendary” have barely, if at all, beaten an index fund over their careers. On Wall Street, big wealth isn’t indicative of big returns.
8. During recessions, elections, and Federal Reserve policy meetings, people become unshakably certain about things they know nothing about.
9. The more comfortable an investment feels, the more likely you are to be slaughtered.
10. Time-saving tip: Instead of trading penny stocks, just light your money on fire. Same for leveraged ETFs.
11. Not a single person in the world knows what the market will do in the short run. End of story.
12. The analyst who talks about his mistakes is the guy you want to listen to. Avoid the guy who doesn’t — his are much bigger.
13. You don’t understand a big bank’s balance sheet. The people running the place and their accountants don’t, either.
14. There will be seven to 10 recessions over the next 50 years. Don’t act surprised when they come.
15. Thirty years ago, there was one hour of market TV per day. Today there’s upwards of 18 hours. What changed isn’t the volume of news, but the volume of drivel.
16. Warren Buffett’s best returns were achieved when markets were much less competitive. It’s doubtful anyone will ever match his 50-year record.
17. Most of what is taught about investing in school is theoretical nonsense. There are very few rich professors.
18. The more someone is on TV, the less likely his or her predictions are to come true. (U.C. Berkeley psychologist Phil Tetlock has data on this).
19. Related: Trust no one who is on CNBC more than twice a week.
20. The market doesn’t care how much you paid for a stock. Or your house. Or what you think is a “fair” price.
21. The majority of market news is not only useless, but also harmful to your financial health.
22. Professional investors have better information and faster computers than you do. You will never beat them short-term trading. Don’t even try.
23. How much experience a money manager has doesn’t tell you much. You can underperform the market for an entire career. And many have.
24. The decline of trading costs is one of the worst things to happen to investors, as it made frequent trading possible. High transaction costs used to cause people to think hard before they acted.
25. Professional investing is one of the hardest careers to succeed at, but it has low barriers to entry and requires no credentials. That creates legions of “experts” who have no idea what they are doing. People forget this because it doesn’t apply to many other fields.
26. Most IPOs will burn you. People with more information than you have want to sell. Think about that.
27. When someone mentions charts, moving averages, head-and-shoulders patterns, or resistance levels, walk away.
28. The phrase “double-dip recession” was mentioned 10.8 million times in 2010 and 2011, according to Google. It never came. There were virtually no mentions of “financial collapse” in 2006 and 2007. It did come.
29. The real interest rate on 20-year Treasuries is negative, and investors are plowing money into them. Fear can be a much stronger force than arithmetic.
30. The book Where Are the Customers’ Yachts? was written in 1940, and most still haven’t figured out that financial advisors don’t have their best interest at heart.
31. The low-cost index fund is one of the most useful financial inventions in history. Boring but beautiful.
34. For most, finding ways to save more money is more important than finding great investments.
35. If you have credit card debt and are thinking about investing in anything, stop. You will never beat 30% annual interest.
36. A large portion of share buybacks are just offsetting shares issued to management as compensation. Managers still tout the buybacks as “returning money to shareholders.”
37. The odds that at least one well-known company is insolvent and hiding behind fraudulent accounting are high.
38. Twenty years from now the S&P 500 will look nothing like it does today. Companies die and new ones emerge.
39. Twelve years ago General Motors was on top of the world and Apple was laughed at. A similar shift will occur over the next decade, but no one knows to what companies.
40. Most would be better off if they stopped obsessing about Congress, the Federal Reserve, and the president and focused on their own financial mismanagement.
41. For many, a house is a large liability masquerading as a safe asset.
42. The president has much less influence over the economy than people think.
43. However much money you think you’ll need for retirement, double it. Now you’re closer to reality.
44. The next recession is never like the last one.
45. Remember what Buffett says about progress: “First come the innovators, then come the imitators, then come the idiots.”
46. And what Mark Twain says about truth: “A lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is putting on its shoes.”
47. And what Marty Whitman says about information: “Rarely do more than three or four variables really count. Everything else is noise.”
48. The bigger a merger is, the higher the odds it will be a flop. CEOs love empire-building by overpaying for companies.
49. Investments that offer little upside and big downside outnumber those with the opposite characteristics at least 10-to-1.
50. The most boring companies — toothpaste, food, bolts — can make some of the best long-term investments. The most innovative, some of the worst.

http://www.businessinsider.com/50-unfortunate-truths-about-investing-2012-11

10 ways to make your business more efficient

Takeaway: If your business isn’t taking off — or worse, if it’s going downhill — it’s time to look for inefficiencies that may be plaguing your systems and practices. If your business isn’t running at top efficiency, you’re failing. In today’s world of instant access, social networking, and constant connection, working with inefficient systems and software could quickly lead to a series of micro-fractures that can bring your company to its knees. Though you may not see it happening at first, at some point the failure will become obvious. To avoid this, your company must be working at peak efficiency. But when you’re already deeply embedded in your systems, software, and managerial practices, how can you retool your company for a more efficient environment? Here are 10 tips that can help.

1. Don’t expand too quickly
I’ve seen this happen many times. Businesses start seeing dollar signs and think that the bigger they get, the better their bottom line. Those dollar signs blind them to the fact that expanding too quickly means the proper systems and training can’t be put into place. When you’re small, your workflow is designed accordingly. If you expand too quickly, you can’t properly adjust workflow, the systems that support workflow, or the employees who must manage the workflow.

2. Don’t employ technology until it is thoroughly tested and understood
This is another issue I have not only witnessed but have fallen victim to. Companies are often seduced by the idea that a piece of software or hardware will make their workflow infinitely easier. A PR-pro can easily sway them with numbers and user quotes. But you can’t always tell whether that piece of software is well suited for your needs and staff. If you’re thinking about new tech, get a demo of it and test it before you buy it or insist your employees start using something that will, in the end, cause serious inefficiencies.

3. Don’t make technology decisions unless you have considered the users
I’ve been on both sides of this coin, and I know how frustrating this can be. There are users within your company who, in many ways, know how things work better than you. They’re in the thick of the workflow every day. Those people need efficient tools and systems in place if they have any chance of getting their jobs done. If you’re about to pull the trigger on a technology decision, make sure you have discussed this decision with those it affects.

4. Make communication a crucial component
One of the last aspects addressed within business is communication. When communication is poor, work is inefficient. Period. Communication could be as simple as an open door policy or as complex as a content management system designed to ensure every single piece of work is documented. Regardless of what you do, place the highest priority on communication. Make sure staff can easily communicate with their fellow workers. Make sure the company can communicate with clients. The second communication fails, efficiency fails.

5. Use secure and reliable technology
There are times I have been on the receiving end of technology that simply doesn’t work. When I work within an office, I make sure I can use a Linux box for the majority of my day because I’m far more efficient with that platform than any other. When you deploy technology, make sure it is secure and reliable. Having to work with unreliable software (or hardware) is one of the prime reasons people can’t get their work done. Viruses, malware, underpowered hardware… it all adds up.

6. Prepare for disaster
It doesn’t take a natural disaster to bring down your business. A break-in, dead server hardware, a disgruntled employee — many issues can cause a company disaster. Unless you have an effective means of dealing with disaster, you will be dead in the water until the ship is righted. And even after the ship is righted, it may take awhile to get workflow back up to speed. Make sure your disaster plan continues through getting hardware back up and running and getting users working productively again.

7. Don’t create redundant management tiers
Micromanaging is bad enough. But when you add redundant layers to management, you wind up with too many cooks in an already complicated kitchen. Those managers can often wind up in a war of egos, causing further roadblocks to efficiency. Make sure your chain of command isn’t clogged to the point of confusion and paralysis. If you expect efficiency from your staff, make sure the managers above them can also work in an efficient manner.

8. Don’t give your employees more work than they can handle
You know when an employee quits and you dump their work on another employee, thinking you’re going to save a dollar? That is one of the single worst roadblocks to efficiency you can put in play. Once employees reach a certain saturation with duties, their efficiency drops exponentially. If you don’t overload your employees, you should be able to expect efficient work from them.

9. Have a sufficient network pipe to handle your network load
How can your staff possibly work efficiently if you have insufficient or unreliable data pipes? With a constantly clogged pipe, your staff won’t be getting much done. As a remote engineer, I have experienced plenty of instances where a data pipe was either too slow to do my job or a network connection was dropped. This is one of those issues that’s simple to resolve: Just upgrade your pipe. Don’t let those things that are easily controlled caused problems.

10. If an employee has an idea for a more efficient way of handling a task, listen!
Sometimes, those whose job titles don’t start with the letter “C” might come up with a brilliant idea. Not only will you benefit from that great idea, but employee morale will get a nice bump from the understanding that you trust and respect your staff. Besides, those staff members are the ones who actually have to do the bulk of the work — they probably have some killer ideas on how to improve it.

Other tips?
Efficiency should be one of your top priorities if you want your business to thrive and grow. Without efficient systems in place, each phase of growth will only cause more issues, perpetuating the cycle of inefficiency. Take a close look at your company. If you can honestly say that everything was designed and built for the most efficient workflow, you’re already miles ahead of your competition. Have you experienced inefficient practices and environments with your own work? What suggestions would you add to this list?

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-ways-to-make-your-business-more-efficient/3499

5 Reasons Your Top Employee Isn't Happy

There has been a bit of a furore in recently as both Apple and Microsoft let go key senior executives (Scott Forstall and Steve Sinofsky, respectively) who were both categorized variously as "abrasive," "difficult," and "arrogant."

In almost every popular account of the firings, the two executives have been painted as "out of control" and having lost the confidence of their peers--to the extent that in each case the CEO (Tim Cook at Apple, Steve Ballmer at Microsoft) had no choice but to reluctantly let them go. "More in sorrow than in anger," as a number of reports put it.

There's only one problem with this narrative. It's so one-sided as to be dangerously naive.
Look, no-one with any knowledge of the individuals concerned has demurred with the general perception of Steve Sinofsky and Scott Forstall as being prickly, arrogant and occasionally insufferable, but look at who they were working alongside: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. None of those men could be described as shrinking violets.

Nor is it the case that these two executives were Johnny-come-lately's who didn't "fit in."  Sinofsky joined Microsoft as a software design engineer in 1989 (24 years ago!), and Scott Forstall came over from NeXT when it was purchased by Apple in 1997. Both had a sterling track record of innovation and execution that ran parallel with their occasional bouts of petulance.

In my experience, this isn't a case of time running out for two people who had it coming. It's clear that both Sinofsky and Forstall had in the past found ways to manage their outbursts that kept them within (barely) acceptable boundaries, but that each found the environment within which they were working becoming increasingly intolerable.

In other words, Cook and Ballmer allowed changes to happen in the culture at Apple and Microsoft that eventually pushed their "jerk over-achievers" to blow.

It happens all the time. A free-wheeling, autocratically-managed company has room for (frequently maddening) visionary mavericks, until, one day, it doesn't. Unfortunately, from that point on the organization is in Treadmill, and headed toward irrelevance.

Here are the top five reasons high-performing maverick employees go ballistic, how to spot them, and what to do about it:
 
1. Inconsistent / Frequently Changing Priorities
Why It's a Problem: Nothing irritates a top performer more than, ditch to ditch or fad-based management.
How to Spot It: Employees hunkering down every time a new initiative is introduced--glazing over at strategy meetings.
What to Do About It: Set a short-, medium-, and long-term strategy and stick to them for a reasonable period without being distracted by the newest new thing.

2. Condoning Mediocrity
Why It's a Problem: The #1 reason high performers leave organizations in which they are otherwise happy is because of the tolerance of mediocrity.

How to Spot It: Disdain and distance between top performers and others who are not pulling their weight. Dissatisfaction with rewards (compensation, bonuses, awards, etc) given to others.
What to Do About It: Set high goals for the entire organization, and build in both rewards (for success) and consequences (for failure). Apply both consistently and fairly.

3. Round Peg / Square Hole Syndrome


Why It's a Problem: High performers like to do what they're good at ‚ not  be used as a a stop gap in some other way. They view themselves as Ferraris, and get frustrated if they think they are being used as a golf cart.

How to Spot It: Disengagement from their allocated tasks and responsibilities. Lack of follow-up and accountability. General mopiness.

What to Do About It: Review (with them) what you want this person to do. Freshen up job descriptions and re-orientate top performers to tasks that only they can do.

4. Underutilization
Why It's a Problem: Same as above: when you're a Ferrari (or think you are) you don't want to spend your time idling at the curb.
How to Spot It: Freelancing in areas that aren't their responsibility. Getting under everyone's feet. Going rogue.

What to Do About It: Have the employee produce a list of what they could/should be doing to occupy free time. Review and agree on utilization. Look at your own delegation skills--if you have an underutilized top performer, it's a sure sign you're a micro-manager who has problems delegating.

5. Playing Favorites
Why It's a Problem: Top performers not only believe in a meritocracy. It's their air and water. Start playing favorites and bypassing people despite their results, and your top performers will be out of there before you can say, "Holy second cousin."

How to Spot It: Your sister Sarah's son Jimmy seems much happier than your best sales person.

What to Do About It: If you need to be told, you shouldn't be managing people.

http://www.inc.com/les-mckeown/5-reasons-your-employee-is-unhappy.html

How to Criticize Employees: 6 Rules

Even if you're an experienced executive, it's likely you often find it very difficult to tell other people where they need to improve. Praising a good performance is easy; everyone likes to receive a compliment. But what do you do when a kick in the butt seems more appropriate than a pat on the back? Here's how to do this effectively:

1. Treat criticism as a form of feedback.
The term "criticism," while accurate, carries the baggage of negativity. By contrast, the term "feedback" implies the participation of both parties--a two-way give-and-take where both people learn and grow. Feedback is an opportunity for mutual growth. You learn by getting feedback, and you learn by giving feedback. The moment you reposition your criticism into the context of feedback, both you and your employee will feel more relaxed and receptive.

2. Provide criticism on an ongoing basis.
Many bosses delay criticism until an employee's yearly performance review. That's ineffective because the employee will be so concerned with money issues that he or she won't be able to concentrate on personal growth. Remember: reviews are about salaries; criticism (i.e. feedback) is about developing the employee. This entails paying attention to the employee's behavior, stepping into the employee's shoes, appreciating his or her experience, and helping to move that employee into a learning mode.

3. Dole out criticism in small doses.
If you stockpile problems, waiting for the "right moment" to bring them up, chances are the employee will simply be overwhelmed. Criticism is best given real-time or immediately after the fact. Don't wait until problem fester. The very best time to provide criticism is whenever somebody is making positive progress but there's still room for improvement. Rule of thumb: balance out every criticism with seven honest compliments.

4. Begin by asking questions.
Your goal is not (or should not be) to convince employees to do things the way that YOU would do them. Instead, dig deeper and find the roots of the specific problem. Ask questions, like: "Why do you approach this situation in this way?", "How could we have done better?" and "What do you think could use improvement?" Such questions lead employees to discover their own solutions and their own insights.

5. Listen, acknowledge and learn.
You may think that you understand what's going on and why something happened, but you might easily be wrong. When you listen to an employees and acknowledge what he or she has to say, you learn about the world from that employee's point of view. That in turn gives you more understanding of the employee's motivations and desires, which in turn helps you to better understand how to help them change their behavior.

6. Address the behavior not the person.
Never say something like "You're unreliable! You've been late three times this week !" Instead, address the behavior that's troubling, like so: "You're usually punctual, but this week you've been late three times. What's up?" Similarly, when you want to change a behavior don't address it as a personality issue. Asking "What can you do to become more reliable?" is a dead end. What's more likely to work is something like: "What can you do to ensure you'll be on time more often?"

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/how-to-criticize-employees-6-rules.html

11 Ways to Sleep Better at Night

Owning your own business has many cool outcomes. A good night's sleep may not be one of them, though, especially when you're overwhelmed or stressed--which could be most of the time.
(Old joke: Entrepreneurs sleep like babies: They wake up crying every two hours.)
If that's you, forget the Ambien and the warm milk. Take steps to fix the source of your stress or anxiety.
Try a few of these--or all of them:

1. Step back from one thing you care about but have no ability to impact.
For some people it's politics. For others it's family. For others it's global warming. You care--and you want others to care.
Fine. Do what you can: Vote. Lend a listening ear. Recycle, and reduce your carbon footprint. Do what you can do. Be your own change--but don't try to make everyone else change.
They won't.

2. Set up formal warning systems.
The larger your operation, the more you have to worry about. The list is endless. You're always on edge, especially at night. So you check your email. You call to make sure everything is OK. A lot.
The fear of the unknown drives you crazy.
Instead of worrying about what you don't know, make sure you do know. Decide what you need to know when, and set up systems to support it. Let your employees know what constitutes an emergency--and, just as important, what doesn't. Create automated systems that notify you of problems.
A friend runs a 1,200-employee manufacturing plant. He has a separate phone for emergencies: Employees call that phone or send emails to emergency@. He turns off his regular phone at night and sleeps soundly, because he knows if something comes up, he'll know. He doesn't have to check.
Determine what you need to know and create systems to ensure you will. Then you won't have to worry.

3. Be grateful for criticism.
At least someone cares enough to want you to improve: your product, your service, your work.
You only need to worry when no one cares enough to criticize you.
Criticism creates an opportunity. Embrace it.

4. Write it down.
David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done, told me this:

Most people try to use their psyche as their systemic process, which means issues gain importance based on your emotions. I've never met anyone who said they didn't feel a little better if they sat down and made a list. Nothing changes when you write things down except how you engaged with your issues: Then you can be objective and also be creative and intuitive.
Your head is for having ideas, not holding ideas, and it's certainly not for filing them away. Without exception you will feel better if you get stuff out of your head.

Try it. Write down your challenges. List your problems or concerns.
I bet you'll start to feel better right away. You'll realize things aren't as bad as you think. You'll also start to figure out ways to make things better--because now you won't passively worry. You'll actively problem solve.
5. Lay off the conspiracy theories.
No one is out to get you. Even if someone is, they're really not the problem. Most of us do a better job sabotaging ourselves than someone else ever could.
Besides, you can't control what other people might do. But you can control what you will do.
6. Stay out of other people's business.
Help. Offer guidance. Encourage. Motivate.
But don't gossip. Don't get mixed up in politics. It always ends badly. Never put yourself in a position where you're worried that Phil will tell Allen you said something snarky about Stu and... *

7. Reduce the number of judgment calls.
The more prepared you are to handle a situation, the easier it is to be objective--and to avoid stressing out later over whether you made the wrong call.
Create price lists that take into account unusual requests. Set up guidelines for responding to customer complaints. Create employee policies for objective areas like attendance, quality, and performance.
Think about situations you struggle with, and decide what you will do before things get stressful or confrontational. Then you can make better decisions and greatly reduce your level of stress--and regret.

8. Create a cutoff time...
Yeah, I know, you're a 24-7 entrepreneur. But that's impossible. Decide when you'll stop working each day, no matter what.
And if stopping makes you feel guilty?

9. ...Then create a plan for tomorrow.
Write down what you need to do first thing tomorrow. You'll rest easier knowing you have a plan to take care of what didn't get done today.

10. Spend a few minutes every day getting better at something unrelated.

It doesn't matter what you pick. Just make sure it's not business. A musical instrument. A foreign language. A hobby. Whatever it is, spend a little time on it. Get a little better.
Step outside your daily grind and do something for yourself. In the process, you'll gain a little perspective.
Perspective soothes the soul.

11. Count your blessings.
Take a second before you turn out the light. In that moment, quit worrying about what you don't have. Quit worrying about what others have that you don't.
Think about what you do have. Thought so. You have a lot to be thankful for.
Feels pretty good, doesn't it?
Feeling better about yourself is the best sleeping pill of all.
* Bonus points if you get the (admittedly easy) reference

 http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/11-ways-to-sleep-better-at-night.html

How to Cultivate Truly Loyal Customers

"How do I create loyal customers?" a reader emailed recently. Good question: Customer loyalty is an issue every business owner cares about greatly.

So I turned to Larry Freed, CEO of Foresee, a global leader in customer experience analytics, for the answer. He graciously allowed me to share the tips below from his book Managing Forward: How to Move from Measuring the Past to Managing the Future, a great read if you're interested in better satisfying your customers.

"In business terms, I think of loyalty as a faithfulness or allegiance to a company or brand," Freed says. "In short, when I am loyal to a company, that company is my first choice."
But in broader terms, Freed says there are four basic forms of customer loyalty:

Purchased Loyalty
The best example of purchased loyalty is a customer rewards program. Other examples include memberships, coupons, and rebates.

Basically, purchased loyalty pays customers to be loyal, and there is nothing wrong with that practice. In many industries and market sectors the purchased loyalty strategy works extremely well.

The main problem with it is that purchased loyalty can be easily stolen because the customer is loyal to the program, not the company.

Say you have a frequent flier account with a particular airline. If the only reason you are a loyal customer of that airline is its points system, then when another airline offers a more advantageous system you will immediately switch.

Every business wants a sustainable competitive advantage and a purchased loyalty program can provide one--even though it can be very tough to sustain.

Purchased loyalty can also produce unintended consequences. Some programs condition customers to expect deals, discounts, and loyalty rewards, causing many to be loyal to the deal or discount and not to your business.

Convenience Loyalty
The local market, the corner dry cleaner, the coffee shop on your way to work. You might be loyal to those businesses simply because they're convenient. You're likely to remain loyal unless competitors come along who are equally or even more convenient.

Convenience loyalty can apply online as well, although less commonly. If you own the right real estate on a home page or portal you may create loyalty through convenience.

Still, convenience advantages online are generally fleeting.

That's why location matters... until it doesn't.

Restricted Loyalty
Restricted loyalty exists when there is no other game in town. Your cable company may enjoy restricted loyalty, especially if you live in a rural setting and there is no competition. (Although it is easy to argue that other options do exist, like online services.)

Utilities tend to enjoy restricted loyalty. Most cities do not have multiple electricity providers.
A corporate travel program with a company like American Express may be a form of restricted loyalty, especially if you feel no other programs are competitive. Arguably some Walmart locations enjoy a form of restricted loyalty with a dollop of convenience loyalty mixed in. If Walmart is the only game in your town you naturally are "loyal." When customers have no options, loyalty is their only choice.

Constraints often create loyalty. Restricted loyalty is great for a business--if you can get it and maintain it--but restricted loyalty is increasingly a thing of the past. Competition exists in almost every consumer situation, both within an industry or category and in the larger marketplace.
Companies compete, especially in down economies, for a larger share of wallet--across industries and across markets.

True Loyalty
True loyalty is earned loyalty. True loyalty is undying allegiance to a brand or product based on an incredible level of satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction breeds true loyalty. When you are highly satisfied, when your needs are completely met and your expectations are consistently met and even exceeded, you simply cannot imagine using another product or service.

True loyalty is the holy grail of customer satisfaction and is something every business should aspire to create.

How?
Clearly the ultimate goal for almost every business is to create and foster true loyalty. When you measure the right things, listen to your customers, and make changes and improvements that will increase customer satisfaction, you can create truly loyal customers.

That's great: Loyal customers come back. You don't have to pay to acquire and keep them. Loyal customers are more profitable as well since new customers are much more expensive to acquire.

But in order to achieve true loyalty you must first measure loyalty the right way.
For example, measuring a potential behavior, such as likelihood to recommend, does not measure loyalty. Likelihood to recommend measures positive word of mouth. We worked with a fantasy sports provider and found that 27% of its users said they would not be likely to recommend... but only 3% said they were actually likely to share that kind of feedback with others.

The fact that, when asked, people said they were not likely to recommend the service did not automatically mean they would volunteer that information to someone else.

The key is to understand customer needs and expectations, measure your results, and make changes that positively impact the customer experience and meet the real needs of customers. Creating truly loyal customers by satisfying customers is a long-term, sustainable advantage.
So don't be lazy. Purchased loyalty has its place as long as you also practice fiscal responsibility. (After all, it's easy to satisfy your customers if you don't have to be fiscally responsible. Simply spend what you want!)

Convenience loyalty can be wonderful, especially if you choose the right locations or modes of delivery. And restricted loyalty is great if you can get it.

But those forms of loyalty are difficult to obtain and tend to yield fleeting advantages.

True loyalty, based on customer satisfaction, is the ultimate goal of any business and the only true long-term competitive advantage.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/how-to-cultivate-truly-loyal-customers.html

8 Ways to Find the Best Long-Tail Keywords

Ranking well for competitive keywords is incredibly tough for the average small business. That's why more specific and less competitive keywords can make a huge difference. For many, long-tail keywords (in aggregate) add up to the majority of their website's search-driven traffic.
(If you aren't familiar, "head" terms are more popular and more frequently searched: like "road bike." Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific: "aluminum vs carbon frame road bike.")
A long-tail keyword could be the title and topic for a highly targeted blog post or article (or video or infographic or other content.) Or a long-tail keyword could be used to further optimize a longer article or guide that targets one primary keyword.
And if you're running pay-per-click (PPC) ads, long-tail keywords are usually a lot less expensive.
The key, of course, is to identify the best long-tail keywords for your business, so I asked Elisa Gabbert, a Content Manager at the PPC and search engine marketing company WordStream, for tips:

1. Use Google Suggest
Google Suggestions can be a great source of long-tail keyword variations. Simply start typing your primary keyword into the Google search box and check out the variations Google suggests.
Longer-tail keywords that Google suggests are phrases people actually search for. You may not want to use them all but you will get a great indication of which search terms are popular. You'll definitely uncover some surprising combinations.

2. Use Google Related Searches
The same principle applies as with Google Suggest; Related Searches appear at the bottom of the search engine result page, below the last organic result.
Keep in mind the suggestions may be somewhat personalized for your geographic location.

3. Use a Variety of Keyword Research Tools
If you only use one keyword tool every time you do keyword research, you're selling yourself short and probably missing out on tons of long-tail keyword variations. The Google Keyword Tool is a great basic tool and a good place to start, but if you're looking for more long-tail keywords, try these other options too:

• WordStream Keyword Tool: A free keyword tool that will generate more long-tail suggestions than most other tools. (The Keyword Niche Finder is great for this purpose, too.)
• Google Trends: To determine currently popular searches.
• Social Media Tools: For example, YouTube's Keyword Tool and Twitter Search.

The more keyword tools you consult the more long-tail keyword variations you're likely to find.

4. Dig into Your Analytics
Your analytics will tell you many, if not all, the keyword phrases that lead visitors to your website. By digging through those keyword referrers you'll find a number of long-tail queries that are already driving traffic.
Those keywords may be relevant to your business but not yet highly targeted by a single page on your site. For example, a few years ago Wordstream found that a lot of people wound up on its site by searching the phrase "what's a good click through rate." At the time, the company didn't have a page with that title--so the team wrote one and now it drives tons of traffic.
To find your own private store of long-tail keywords, go into your analytics and locate your organic keyword referrals (in Google Analytics, the path is Traffic Sources -> Sources -> Search -> Organic).
You can scan all the terms for good, relevant long-tail keywords you can turn into content or you can set the time frame to something fairly broad (depending on your traffic flow, try a three-, six-, or 12-month period.) Then search for patterns. For example, you might search for question keywords (like terms that begin with "what," "why," etc.)

5. Dig into Your Search Query Reports
If you're running a PPC campaign in AdWords, don't forget to use your Search Query Report the same way you use your analytics. The Search Query Report shows the search queries that drove people to click on your ads rather than your organic search results.
As an added bonus, you get more comprehensive access to this data than you do with organic referrers in Google Analytics.
It also may be easier to see which keywords are driving conversions and not just traffic. High-converting long-tail keywords are especially worth chasing.

6. Browse eHow
Sites like eHow are basically fueled by keyword research--primarily long-tail keyword research. They use powerful algorithms to find long-tail keywords they can rank for with hyper-targeted content.
You might not have their data sources or content algorithms on your side, but you can still learn from their methodology.
Take a look around: If eHow is targeting a keyword phrase you can bet it has search volume and advertisers interested in buying placement on those pages.
Another good bet? Whatever they produced to target those keywords is generally lame. The content eHow churns out tends to be thin--and it's precisely the kind of content that post-Panda Google no longer favors.
If you create strong content with real value that is also hyper-targeted you have a good chance of eventually outranking the content farms.

7. Browse Wikipedia
Is Wikipedia the most optimized site on the Internet? It's definitely up there. That means you can learn a lot by copying Wikipedia's on-page optimization.
When doing research around a base term, try checking the Wikipedia page. For example, look at the table of contents for a fairly broad term; say, "horse racing."
Check out the Contents box. Many of the headings translate into long-tail keywords: "history of horse racing," "history of thoroughbred horse racing," "types of horse racing betting," etc.
You can also do a page search for your primary keyword to see variations that appear throughout the text. And the "See also" section at the bottom of many Wikipedia articles can help you find clusters of related terms.

8. Borrow From Your Competition
Start with head and mid-tail terms that you want to rank for, then see what keyword variations are used on the pages that rank in the top five to 10 spots.
For example, say the head keyword you're chasing is "gift baskets." It's no surprise that the page that ranks first for that head keyword is filled with "gift basket" combinations. You may not be able to beat them with the head or mid-tail term, but the longer-tail versions could definitely be up for grabs.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/8-ways-to-find-the-best-long-tail-keywords.html

Choose a Great Name For Your Company: 3 Tips

When I started my business, my husband and I decided to name our company after something that resembled our clientele: exotic, bold, and beautiful. That's why--among other sentimental reasons--we decided to name it The Orchid Boutique. Looking back, this was probably a mistake. We've had a harder climb when it comes to branding because the name is not immediately associated with our product--luxury swimwear and accessories for women. I'm reminded of this every time someone asks me if we sell flowers.
Here's what I've learned about naming your business:

You have two options: Name it something relevant or something extremely catchy
Most smart entrepreneurs go with the straightforward option and name the business something relevant to their industry or goal. "Charity:water" is a great example. It doesn't get more straightforward than that. Often times this will give you the easiest and more fireproof way to brand your business: Just utter its name.
Often times, however, companies with bigger budgets will make up a cool-sounding non-word that's extremely catchy. "Squidoo" and "Piperlime" are examples of that. I personally like this option better. It's more of an uphill climb to brand your company, but worth it when you get there.

Follow the KISS rule: Keep it short and simple
I cannot even begin to describe the issues we've had by having such a long name (and hence URL) attached to our company. It's hard to pronounce, and it's hard to remember. Don't make our same mistake. Stay short, stay simple, stay close to your idea. Ten letters or less is ideal. You want people to be able to retain the name and concept after just a glance.

Choose a font that can be easily translated into a big, eye-catching sign
Assuming the risk of being generic or boring with your logo, you may want to think closely about the repercussions of choosing a font that may be hard to incorporate into a big LED sign--a sign that one day will be at the forefront of your expanding locations. Our original logo had a cursive and thin font, and we had great difficulty trying to find around for a sign company that wouldn't butcher the aesthetic feel of it. We finally decided it would be in our best interest to change the font to one that could be reproduced more easily, lending itself to LED lighting (or any other type of lit sign) in the future.
If you are--like most of us--a typical business owner with no outside funding, most potential consumers won't know about your company until they've had exposure to it. You want them to know what you're about as soon as they read your name. Take it from someone who learned the hard way.

http://www.inc.com/mayra-jimenez/choosing-a-great-name-for-your-company.html

5 Things That Really Smart People Do

Most people don't really think much about how they learn. Generally you assume learning comes naturally. You listen to someone speak either in conversation or in a lecture and you simply absorb what they are saying, right? Not really. In fact, I find as I get older that real learning takes more work. The more I fill my brain with facts, figures, and experience, the less room I have for new ideas and new thoughts. Plus, now I have all sorts of opinions that may refute the ideas being pushed at me. Like many people I consider myself a lifelong learner, but more and more I have to work hard to stay open minded.
But the need for learning never ends, so your desire to do so should always outweigh your desire to be right. The world is changing and new ideas pop up everyday; incorporating them into your life will keep you engaged and relevant. The following are the methods I use to stay open and impressionable. They'll work for you too. No matter how old you get.

1. Quiet Your Inner Voice
You know the one I am talking about. It's the little voice that offers a running commentary when you are listening to someone. It's the voice that brings up your own opinion about the information being provided. It is too easy to pay more attention to the inner voice than the actual speaker. That voice often keeps you from listening openly for good information and can often make you shut down before you have heard the entire premise. Focus less on what your brain has to say and more on the speaker. You may be surprised at what you hear.

2. Argue With Yourself
If you can't quiet the inner voice, then at least use it to your advantage. Every time you hear yourself contradicting the speaker, stop and take the other point of view. Suggest to your brain all the reasons why the speaker may be correct and you may be wrong. In the best case you may open yourself to the information being provided. Failing that, you will at least strengthen your own argument.

3. Act Like You Are Curious
Some people are naturally curious and others are not. No matter which category you are in you can benefit from behaving like a curious person. Next time you are listening to information, make up and write down three to five relevant questions. If you are in a lecture, Google them after for answers. If you are in a conversation you can ask the other person. Either way you'll likely learn more, and the action of thinking up questions will help encode the concepts in your brain. As long as you're not a cat you should benefit from these actions of curiosity.

4. Find the Kernel of Truth
No concept or theory comes out of thin air. Somewhere in the elaborate concept that sounds like complete malarkey there is some aspect that is based upon fact. Even if you don't buy into the idea, you should at least identify the little bit of truth from whence it came. Play like a detective and build your own extrapolation. You'll enhance your skills of deduction and may even improve the concept beyond the speaker's original idea.

5. Focus on the Message Not the Messenger
Often people shut out learning due to the person delivering the material. Whether it's a boring lecturer, someone physically unappealing, or a member of the opposite political party, the communicator can impact your learning. Even friends can disrupt the learning process since there may be too much history and familiarity to see them as an authority on a topic. Separate the material from the provider. Pretend you don't know the person or their beliefs so you can hear the information objectively. As for the boring person, focus on tip two, three, or four as if it were a game, thereby creating your own entertainment.

http://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/5-things-that-really-smart-people-do.html

7 Unusual Things Great Bosses Do

Where employees are concerned, great leaders don't take. Great leaders give--especially these seven things:

They give a glimpse of vulnerability.
To employees, you're often not a person. You're a boss. (Kind of like when you were in school and you saw a teacher at the grocery store; it was jarring and uncomfortable because teachers weren't people. They were teachers.)
That's why showing vulnerability is a humanizing way to break down the artificial barrier that typically separates bosses from employees. One easy way to break down that barrier is to ask for help.
But don't ask the wrong way. Don't puff out your chest, assume the power-position, and in your deepest voice intone, "Listen, John, I need your help." John knows you don't really need his help. You want him to do something.
Instead ask the right way. Imagine you've traveled to an unfamiliar place, you only know a few words of the language, and you're both lost and a little scared.
How would you ask for help? You would be humble. You would be real. You'd cringe a little and dip your head slightly and say, "Can you help me?" Asked that way, John would know you truly needed help. You've lowered your guard. You're vulnerable. And you're not afraid to show it.
By showing vulnerability, you lift the other person. You implicitly recognize her skills while extending trust.
And you set a great example: Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness.
It's a sign of strength.

They give a nudge.
From the employee's point of view the best ideas are never your ideas. The best ideas are their ideas, and rightly so. So don't spell out what you want done. Leave room for initiative. Leave room for ownership.
When you describe what you want to be done, paint with a broad brush. Give employees room to take your ideas and make them their own.
They'll do more than you imagined possible--and they'll feel a sense of satisfaction and gratification that simply following instructions can never provide.

They give unexpected attention.
Everyone loves attention. Unfortunately you don't have unlimited time to devote to each employee.
So make the most of the time you do have. Don't just comment on the big stuff, the stuff you're supposed to focus on.
Notice a small detail. Praise a particular phrase she used to smooth the transition from customer conflict to problem resolution. Praise how he swung by another employee's desk to grab paperwork he could deliver on his way to another office. Pick something small, something positive, something helpful--something unexpected--to show you really pay attention.
Pick out details and employees know you're watching--in a good way--and not only will they work harder, more importantly they will feel better about themselves.

They give employees a break.
He messed up. Badly. Not only are you a little pissed, this is a teachable moment. You feel compelled to talk about it, possibly at length.
Don't. For a good employee, the lesson is already learned. Catch his eye, nod, let it go, and help him fix the problem.
Once in a while employees can all use a break. When they get one they never forget it. And they try really hard to show they deserved that break--and to make sure they never need another one.

They give a peek inside.
My boss was nearly yelling at a supplier who hadn't met a key timeline. It wasn't ugly but it was close. In the middle of their "discussion," when the supplier glanced away, he turned and winked at me.
My boss was signaling that his emotional display was partly for effect, that he had a plan in mind and that I was in on things. I was an insider. We were partners.
We were in it together.
It's easy, as an employee, not to feel like you and your boss are in it together. Make sure your employees do. Give them occasional peeks inside.

They give an undeserved compliment.
Compliments don't always have to be earned. Sometimes a compliment can be like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When you see something in employees that they don't see--at least not yet--they often try hard to fulfill the belief you have in them.
That happened to me. I went out for wrestling in ninth grade and was nervous, scared, intimidated--pick any fearful adjective. It fit. A week or so into practices I heard the coach talking to one of the seniors. "That kid there," he said, referring to me, "will be a state champion by the time he's a senior."
He was wrong. It turned out I wasn't. But I immediately felt more confident, more self-assured, and incredibly motivated. Those feelings lasted for a long time.
He believed in me.
And I started to believe in myself.

They give a hat rack.
Employees who need something--whether it's a day off, a favor, a break, a chance--often come to you with hat in hand.
They're vulnerable because they need.
Take their hat and hang it up for them. You may not be able to provide what they want, but you can work through their issue with compassion and generosity and grace.
Never let an employee stand with hat in hand. It's one of the worst feelings possible--and one you can make instantly disappear.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/7-unusual-things-great-bosses-do.html

Top 12 Development Goals for Leaders

I help a lot of leaders create individual development plans using some variation of this process. This time of year (January) is always especially busy.

Although every leader I work with is unique, it seems like the development goals end up being somewhat common from year to year.

To help you get a head start on your 2010 leadership development plan, here’s a list of development goals that may apply to you too. I’d recommend picking no more than one and really working at it for at least 6 months. Do not attempt to work on all 12, just because there are 12 months in a year.

For 2010, I’d like to improve my:

1. Strategic thinking. Improve my ability to see the big picture and take a longer range, broader business perspective. Learn to step back from the day-to-day tactical details of my business and focus on the “why”, not just the “what” and “how”.

2. Listening. Learn to pay attention and demonstrate to others that that I value what they have to say. Use active listening, open-ended questions, body language, and eliminate distractions that get in the way of my ability to listen.

3. Coaching. Shift my leadership style away from always directing and telling and learn to guide and develop my direct reports. Work with each of my direct reports to create their own individual development plans.

4. Financial acumen. Learn how to understand, interpret, and use “the numbers” to improve my business.

5. Cross-functional knowledge and perspective. Learn about other aspects of the business other than my own functional silo.

6. Industry, competitive, and customer knowledge. Improve my understanding of our industry and our competitors. Get closer to our customers and find out what they need and value.

7. Leadership presence. Improve my ability to “command a room” and communicate in an authentic way that inspires others.

8. Change leadership. Be more of a change catalyst, a champion of change. Learn to implement and sustain change in my organization.

9. Remote management. Improve my ability to manage my remote direct reports and organization. Make better use of technology to plan, communicate, and collaborate virtually.

10. Collaboration. Improve relationships with my peers. Be a better partner, understand their goals and needs, and learn to work together to help achieve each others goals.

11. Talent management. Improve my ability to assess, hire, promote, and develop. Fill all open positions with nothing but “A” players and replace chronic underperformers. Develop a “virtual bench” for all key positions and a succession plan for my own position.

12. Time management. Get a handle on where I’m wasting time and shift my focus to more value-added activities. Learn ways to work more efficiently and prioritize.

http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2010/01/top-12-development-goals-for-leaders.html

7 Unusual Things Great Bosses Do

Where employees are concerned, great leaders don't take. Great leaders give--especially these seven things:

They give a glimpse of vulnerability.
To employees, you're often not a person. You're a boss. (Kind of like when you were in school and you saw a teacher at the grocery store; it was jarring and uncomfortable because teachers weren't people. They were teachers.)
That's why showing vulnerability is a humanizing way to break down the artificial barrier that typically separates bosses from employees. One easy way to break down that barrier is to ask for help.
But don't ask the wrong way. Don't puff out your chest, assume the power-position, and in your deepest voice intone, "Listen, John, I need your help." John knows you don't really need his help. You want him to do something.
Instead ask the right way. Imagine you've traveled to an unfamiliar place, you only know a few words of the language, and you're both lost and a little scared.
How would you ask for help? You would be humble. You would be real. You'd cringe a little and dip your head slightly and say, "Can you help me?" Asked that way, John would know you truly needed help. You've lowered your guard. You're vulnerable. And you're not afraid to show it.
By showing vulnerability, you lift the other person. You implicitly recognize her skills while extending trust.
And you set a great example: Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness.
It's a sign of strength.

They give a nudge.
From the employee's point of view the best ideas are never your ideas. The best ideas are their ideas, and rightly so. So don't spell out what you want done. Leave room for initiative. Leave room for ownership.
When you describe what you want to be done, paint with a broad brush. Give employees room to take your ideas and make them their own.
They'll do more than you imagined possible--and they'll feel a sense of satisfaction and gratification that simply following instructions can never provide.

They give unexpected attention.
Everyone loves attention. Unfortunately you don't have unlimited time to devote to each employee.
So make the most of the time you do have. Don't just comment on the big stuff, the stuff you're supposed to focus on.
Notice a small detail. Praise a particular phrase she used to smooth the transition from customer conflict to problem resolution. Praise how he swung by another employee's desk to grab paperwork he could deliver on his way to another office. Pick something small, something positive, something helpful--something unexpected--to show you really pay attention.
Pick out details and employees know you're watching--in a good way--and not only will they work harder, more importantly they will feel better about themselves.

They give employees a break.
He messed up. Badly. Not only are you a little pissed, this is a teachable moment. You feel compelled to talk about it, possibly at length.
Don't. For a good employee, the lesson is already learned. Catch his eye, nod, let it go, and help him fix the problem.
Once in a while employees can all use a break. When they get one they never forget it. And they try really hard to show they deserved that break--and to make sure they never need another one.

They give a peek inside.
My boss was nearly yelling at a supplier who hadn't met a key timeline. It wasn't ugly but it was close. In the middle of their "discussion," when the supplier glanced away, he turned and winked at me.
My boss was signaling that his emotional display was partly for effect, that he had a plan in mind and that I was in on things. I was an insider. We were partners.
We were in it together.
It's easy, as an employee, not to feel like you and your boss are in it together. Make sure your employees do. Give them occasional peeks inside.

They give an undeserved compliment.
Compliments don't always have to be earned. Sometimes a compliment can be like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When you see something in employees that they don't see--at least not yet--they often try hard to fulfill the belief you have in them.
That happened to me. I went out for wrestling in ninth grade and was nervous, scared, intimidated--pick any fearful adjective. It fit. A week or so into practices I heard the coach talking to one of the seniors. "That kid there," he said, referring to me, "will be a state champion by the time he's a senior."
He was wrong. It turned out I wasn't. But I immediately felt more confident, more self-assured, and incredibly motivated. Those feelings lasted for a long time.
He believed in me.
And I started to believe in myself.

They give a hat rack.
Employees who need something--whether it's a day off, a favor, a break, a chance--often come to you with hat in hand.
They're vulnerable because they need.
Take their hat and hang it up for them. You may not be able to provide what they want, but you can work through their issue with compassion and generosity and grace.
Never let an employee stand with hat in hand. It's one of the worst feelings possible--and one you can make instantly disappear.

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/7-unusual-things-great-bosses-do.html

The Upside of Inefficiency

In the last few days, I've heard New York City described as a tale of two cities: one city of people who were drastically impacted by Hurricane Sandy, and another of those who were merely inconvenienced by it.

I am fortunate: I live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which was minimally affected. Our kids were out of school for several days but we never lost power and our apartment suffered no damage. We also own a car, which we filled with gas the night of the storm, "just in case."

So when we received several emails announcing an effort to collect and deliver supplies to some hard hit neighborhoods, we were prepared to help.

By the time I arrived at the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, its lobby was piled high with clothing, food, toys, toiletries, blankets, flashlights, and other necessities, all packed in black garbage bags. There were people to sort, people to pack cars, and a leader who was sending people to designated distribution spots in the hardest hit areas.

They had already sent a hundred cars filled with supplies and by the end of the day, they sent over a hundred more.

Isabelle and Sophia, my two oldest children, joined me to take part in the distribution effort. It took volunteers about 60 seconds to fill our minivan and send us on our way to Staten Island.

Then I got a call from a friend who told me not to go to Staten Island. The distribution centers were full, he said. Go to Far Rockaway instead.

Several hours of traffic later, when we got to Far Rockaway, the distribution center was already maxed out. So we went to a church we heard was acting as a distribution center. Again, we were turned away — they had as many supplies as they could handle. We found a third, bigger distribution center but were turned away again.

As we slowly drove through Far Rockaway looking for distribution centers, we witnessed devastation of a kind I have never seen. Entire blocks of houses destroyed by fire, with only the front steps standing, leading to charred rubble. Sand and debris — including entire boats — strewn on the streets, left by receding waters. And mounds of discarded wood, furniture, toys, even walls piled high at the curbs for the sanitation department to pick up.

I simply could not believe that the people in these neighborhoods had all the supplies they needed. And yet, here we were, a car filled with supplies but without a distribution center to give them to.

That's when I realized the problem: All this coordination was invaluable — to a point. It got our car to the right place, filled with the right things. But now? The coordination was getting in the way.

I can't quite explain the enormity of this mind shift except to say that with this realization I shifted from an employee to an entrepreneur. I stopped doing what I was told to do and started doing what I saw needed to be done.

So we drove down a random street where we found a number of people clearing debris from their houses.
That's where we met Mike and Kelly. Their just re-finished basement had flooded to the ceiling like a pool, the water level rose so high it completely submerged and totaled their two cars and, after three asthma attacks from all the dust, they finally sent their son to stay with his grandmother in Westchester.

Yes, they told us, we could really use your supplies. And so could others on this street. So we all worked together to unload our car onto Mike's porch where he said he would distribute things to his neighbors.
Mike and Kelly described the night Sandy came, the loud bang when the water broke through the basement wall. Kelly took the time to teach my kids about the ocean and the bay — how the water came from both sides and flooded everything. She talked about how they were sharing food with neighbors and trying to help each other in the clean up. And she gave my kids way more leftover Halloween candy than I approved of.

As I heard about Mike and Kelly's devastation as well as their courage, I felt the blessing of the organizational breakdown.

Without coordination, I never would have gotten to Far Rockaway with a minivan full of necessities. But had it all worked smoothly, my kids and I would have given it all to a nameless bureaucracy and never would have met Mike and Kelly and heard their story. And they would never have met us or had the opportunity to tell us their story.

New York City is not two cities; it's eight million cities. This hurricane affected each one of us in a particular way. And to reach across the darkened neighborhoods, debris-strewn streets, and waterlogged houses to hear those stories is a critical — and inspiring — step in this recovery.

Yes, food and clothing and blankets are necessary for survival. But so are the conversations, connections, and sense of community that come from real people sharing with other real people.

Those are things we're losing as we distance ourselves from each other in large organizations and efficient modes of communication — as our digital lives overwhelm our in-person ones. We don't have to lose them — after all, organizations are made of people. But the more we act like employees, operating to get the job done as efficiently as possible, the less human we become.

Sharing supplies and stories with neighbors is inefficient. Maybe Mike and Kelly will end up with things on their porch that they can't use and can't give away. Maybe they weren't the people who needed the supplies the most.

But our trip to Far Rockaway helped me see the usefulness of that inefficiency. How much better is it for a neighborhood when one neighbor tells the others to come to his front porch and take what they need instead of signing up for necessities through a distribution center?

At first, I'm embarrassed to admit, I'd had the thought: What if they keep it all for themselves? That's precisely the mistrust that leads to — and emerges from — impersonal bureaucracies.

The truth is, maybe they will keep it all for themselves.

But I doubt it. Mike and Kelly are good people; that was clear from way they treated me and my kids. As soon as we arrived at their house, Kelly offered us some of their limited supply of bottled water. They'll take what they need and share what they can.

As we drove back home late that night, we felt great. Not just because we helped out a neighborhood that could use the help. And not just because we tapped into our entrepreneurial initiative, which we were proud of. But because we met Mike and Kelly and connected with them.

That, it turns out, is the upside of inefficiency.

http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2012/11/the-upside-of-inefficiency.html

6 Things Extraordinarily Successful People Do

You have great ideas and you're passionate about them. So where's your path to great success? Let these golden rules of successful entrepreneurs guide you.

A successful entrepreneur can be defined and measured by a number of different standards. But an extraordinary entrepreneur possesses qualities and strengths that make them stand out from the crowd.

They build on life's lessons, rather than resent and resist them, and they demonstrate a keen wisdom, often beyond their years. Perhaps they are shrewd in the boardroom--but these extraordinary entrepreneurs also follow their hearts. And for that, they are rewarded in many ways, including wealth. Yet they remain accessible, grateful, and committed to their vision.

Here are six qualities that I see in the extraordinarily successful entrepreneurs I coach. How many do you possess?

1. They face their fears.
Entrepreneurs who are living their dream have learned not only the strategic maneuvers that take their businesses into six and seven figures (and beyond), but also have honed the character strengths associated with leadership and success. One of those strengths is the ability to identify and work through internal barriers. Those barriers include fear.
These extraordinary people know that it's not a lack of funding, or any other external circumstances, that prevent growth. They know the only true limits are one's own limited beliefs, and the fears associated with them.
The extraordinary entrepreneur is able to set aside ego. He explores his fears, and successfully either releases them or move forward in spite of them.
Bonus tip: If you are stuck, the reason probably lies within you.  Find a coach, peer, or mentor to help you identify the sticking point and work on it.
 
2. They don't do it all alone.
Sure, we all think we are great at delegating. Buth, honestly, how many of you will admit to being control freaks about your business?
You've heard it before; successful people surround themselves with smart and resourceful people.  Great employees, advisors, mentors, and coaches are crucial to success. Extraordinarily successful entrepreneurs listen as others express their opinions and advice and are able to trust other reliable people to carry out parts of the mission.
Bonus tip: Begin small; outsource administrative and book keeping tasks. Surround yourself with supportive, brilliant people and read up on the leaders whom you most admire.
 
3. Extraordinary entrepreneurs are willing to change directions for the greater good.
An entrepreneur is at the helm of her company and understands the need to change course from time to time. Determination is an admirable quality. Stubbornness is not. Extraordinarily successful entrepreneurs know that ideas change shape; the end result may not be exactly as originally intended. Sometimes an entrepreneur's knowledge and experience simply doesn't match that of an advisor or even a senior-level employee. The extraordinary entrepreneur will set their ego aside and embrace input from someone whose expertise exceeds his own.
Bonus tip: Listen to your customers. Your products and services must change with the demands and desires of the consumer. You may believe that the produce you are rolling out is perfect just the way it is, but others may have a different idea. Be flexible and open-minded about change.
 
4. They aren't afraid to fail often--and fail quickly.
There's a big difference between entrepreneurs who see failures as missed opportunities and those who see them as learning experiences.
Extraordinary entrepreneurs quickly let go of any guilt or blame associated with loss. They are strategic about the next move and have a recovery plan in place. They also know how to mitigate risk.
Bonus tip: When you have an idea, explore its viability and hop on it. Launch a limited version of your idea and see where it goes. Learn from the experience and listen to feedback.
 
5. Extraordinary people are authentic. They stay true to their values.
Our values guide us through decisions. They also get us through the difficult times. Extraordinary people understand that their most important values dictate their corporate culture and assist them in developing their "why" (what I call the "vision beyond the vision").
Our values drive our passion. They remind us of why we are committed to the process. Extraordinary people are clear on their top values and develop a corporate culture that honors those values.
Bonus tip: Consider the qualities and experiences that are most important for you. Identify your top values and live by them. When you are out of sync with your desires, revisit those values. They are a roadmap leading to success and happiness.
 
6. They give generously of themselves.
Recently I reached out to an author I've admired for many years. When I e-mailed his assistant, I hardly even expected a response.
What I got was a 90-minute phone call with my virtual mentor. He not only shared his wisdom and answered my questions, but he inquired about my life and business as well. And he listened. In fact, he acted as though no one else existed in the entire world during our time together.
Extraordinary people want to help others become successful. They don't show envy; rather, they demonstrate pride and admiration for others who achieve their dreams.
Bonus tip:  Learn from teaching others. Find opportunities to share what you know without imposing your beliefs on others. Give from the heart, with no strings attached. This act alone breeds success.

http://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/6-things-extraordinarily-successful-people-do.html

The 3 Real Reasons for Business Success

If you're like most people, you probably think business success is the result of innovative products, strong financial backing and long work hours.
But you'd think wrong.

Most successful business ideas are stolen from other companies. And millions of companies have spun through billions of dollars, only to fold up and die.

As for long work hours, as I explained in this post, consistently working more than 40 hours a week actually makes you less productive.

What, then, are the true reasons that people (and the companies they create) become successful? There are three:

1. Ability to Empathize
There is simply nothing so important in business as understanding what other people are feeling and likely to feel in the future.
This capability determines whether customers will want your products, whether employees will accept your leadership, whether colleagues will work well with you, and whether investors will be willing to take a risk on you.
Without empathy, there's absolutely no way that you'll get all these folks pulling in the same direction.

2. Clarity of Purpose
In the science of physics, unfocused energy is quickly dispersed and that's true in business as well.
Vague all-encompassing corporate statements like "we're a one-stop-shop," "we sell to a broad customer base," and "we have a worldwide focus" are certain signals that a company is destined to fail.
Successful people and companies concentrate with crystal clarity on a single highly-desirable product or service that they can make or provide better than anyone else.
 
3. Sense of Timing
Every good business idea has a brief period in time when it's ripe for the plucking. Move too soon and you'll be a footnote; move too late and you'll be an also-ran.
Business history is littered with great ideas that died because they were before their time: Altavista, Lisa, Friendster, Newton, Visicalc and Wordperfect, just to name a few.
As for the "me-too" products that were late to market... why, they're not even memorable enough to mention.

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/the-3-real-reasons-for-business-success.html

The Analytics Lesson from the Obama Campaign: Keep Your Data Organized, Secret

Time magazine just published a fascinating account of how President Obama's campaign team used data to microtarget voters. At HBR, we've been tracking the rise of Big Data in the private sector for some time, and see this as a useful case study of how one organization actually implemented those analytic principles to get results. I spoke over the phone with MIT's Andrew McAfee, a regular contributor and principal research scientist at the Center for Digital Business in the MIT Sloan School of Management. What follows is an edited version of our conversation.

Even though there's a push for data transparency, it seems like Obama's key to success was the opposite: to keep his data and algorithms as secret as possible. Organizationally, does it make sense to keep your data team siloed off from the rest of the team, or do you want them to work together more closely?

In this case, it's easier to identify the downsides of sharing that data more broadly. It could leak out, leak to the press, leak to the other candidate. If there is some secret sauce, you want to keep that close. If either the data asset itself or the algorithm on top of it seems to be cutting edge or proprietary, I wouldn't go shout it from the rooftops. You want to have the data team say to the volunteers, "Call up these people, knock on these doors, go to these neighborhoods." The volunteer doesn't need to know why; they just need to know they're knocking on the right doors.

That seems to be a move away from this movement we've been reading about about information wants to be shared, data wants to be free, everything should be transparent —

From any rational standpoint, that line is nonsense. That's like saying, "All money needs to be free," or if you're a trucking company, "All trucks need to be free." Data is an asset, like everything else.

In the spotlight on Big Data that we just ran in the magazine and online, we focused heavily on making the case that executives really do need to use it. We focused less on the execution piece of it. But it seems to me that having the data is only one part of the problem; you really need to know what to do about it.

There are two different questions to the execution piece. First, there's executing with the data resource and the computing resource itself. A lot of organizations aren't good at that because our data is fragmented. The amount of centralization and rationalization to take real advantage of big data is pretty daunting for a lot of organizations. To take the Obama campaign as an example, look at their move from having two databases in 2008 to one in 2012. I guarantee you that was not easy. That was technically pretty challenging, and it was organizationally super, super difficult — it means you have to convince one group to let go of their database and let go of being the sole keepers of that data. That's hard.

The second side of the execution, though, is the question of what do you do with the data. Which ads do you serve up, which doors do you knock on, which streets do you go down? Campaigns have been doing this for a long time; they know how to knock on doors. That's not the hard part. But to my eyes, what big data can do is help them be more efficient, by allowing them not to knock on every door on that street. You can say to the volunteer, "Just go knock on house numbers 14 and 18, and then skip the next six houses and go knock on house number 30."

Big data lets you be small. It lets you do really precise, targeted interventions. I see evidence of this over and over, in all kinds of organizations. It started with marketing, but that has led the way to operations and the supply chain also using those kinds of precise data-driven interventions. And then you can do that at scale.

So you're saying it lets you be small, but at scale? Are you then big again? [Laughs]

It's a very different kind of big; it's not mass production. "Mass customization" is an overused phrase and it's been around for a while, but in this era of big data we can really do that. It's no longer just configuring my car so it has the upholstery I want. It's that campaigns no longer need to do the kind of mass mailings they're always relying on; they can get the right kind of mailing to the right kind of voter. Maybe this one cares about women's rights, but that one cares about economic policy.

For the Obama campaign, that was at the heart of their ground game advantage. In our HBR article, we included an example from the health care sector. Over and over we're seeing this ability to be precise and differentiated, at scale and repeatedly, with a lot more efficacy.

How would this work in the business world, say in health care?

Take the example of Aetna. They have around 20 million lives under care. Because they're the company that pays the doctor, the lab, the pharmacy, and so on, they have all this information about my health. There are huge confidentially concerns, of course, but let's put that aside for a moment.

What that means is that they have better data about my health than any other player in the system; than my doctor, my hospital, my pharmacy. What Aetna can do at scale, in real time, over and over, is check across the millions of lives in their system and say, "Do we see any obvious gaps in care here?" They can then send a message to the doctor or to the patient. Now, we need to be careful about confidentiality, and we need to make sure the messages are phrased the right way so they're not ignored, but we can use this database to do mass scale interventions into health care delivery. And that means we can improve outcomes without having to rejigger the entire system.

Okay, so say everyone starts doing that. Then do you get to a place like we see now in baseball — where a few years ago, crunching the numbers gave some teams a big advantage, but now everyone does it and it confers less of one? Look at the Oakland A's. Using data used to give them a big advantage, but since every team started to do it, it really doesn't seem to give them much of one.

Yes, you've got to move on. It's not going to give you an advantage forever, but if you are analytically oriented, you can push ahead and get finer-grained insight and advantage. In baseball, the science of sabermetrics has moved on. They're doing increasingly sophisticated things. Billy Beane and the A's were able to pick the low-hanging fruit and do really well for a while because they were able to do the simple things better. Now everyone has those insights so they've got to work harder. The marginal benefit might be less, but you've still got to do it. If you just go back to scouting players like you did in the 1990s, that's a great way to have a terrible team. Standing still is a very bad strategy.

What's interesting to me is that the volumes of data are exploding terribly quickly. The toolkit is also expanding by leaps and bounds. This is a real new arms race. You might not love it, and you might wish the world was predictable and calm and that Excel would get you through — but that would be a recipe for disaster.

http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/hbreditors/2012/11/the_analytics_lesson_from_the.html