Zane Safrit

Radio Show Guests: Ben Ridler, CRO, and Stephen Lynch, COO, from Results.com

Ben Ridler, CRO (Chief Results Officer) and Stephen Lynch, COO, from Results.com join the show tomorrow. The show starts at 9:30 AM, Central.

Results.com is a global consulting firm with offices in New Zealand and Canada that promises to transform your business potential into extraordinary results.

They have worked for 15 years with thousands of clients delivering these transformative results. And they'll share their story: how they got started, what areas of any business have the greatest potential to generate extraordinary results, how they work to generate those clients and what things businesses can do now to begin their own transformational journey.

I have known Stephen Lynch for 2-3 years, now. We met at a Growth Conference hosted by Verne Harnish of Gazelle's. We stayed in touch over the years and finally, finally, with the power of Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and now BlogTalk Radio we get to talk again.

I'm looking forward to talking with and getting to know Ben Ridler. Judging from his testimonials at LinkedIn, this will be a delight.

You have two listening options:

LIVE:

1. Listen in streaming on-demand at this link.

2. Call-in live during the show: 646-915-9212

ARCHIVE

1. Listen in streaming on-demand at this link.

4 Themes from 3 Startup Successess

BusinessWeek profiles 3 startups and their keys to success. Their businesses are a dog and horse boarding ranch and kennel, an architecture design firm and a staffing provider. The companies and links to their sites are listed below.

I was struck by the themes they shared in their success.

Do what you know, what you love, and that utilize your strengths.

Ultimately, owning your own business is a labor of love. You better love your labors because you’ll be laboring a lot.

Hire the best people. Hire people better than yourself.

It’s the players that win the game...Hire people better than me and make sure those hires get in the habit of hiring people that are better than them.

Part of my growth strategy was to pick people who have expertise in areas that we didn't.

You expand your number one asset. That's your human asset. That's the asset the creates, delivers, sustains and grows your brand. Finding better people means finding better assets to grow your business.

Manage your cash

• Fire your clients when they can’t pay their bills.

• Recycle. Cash. Recycle, reinvest, cash into your business.

• Pay off your debt fast.

• Lengthen your revenues. Add to your current revenue sources.

Network, network, network.

Word-of-mouth remains the best, most effective form of advertising.

Get out in your community. I get out there in the community and I have a good working relationship with the area veterinarians. Most of my business comes from word of mouth. I do almost no print advertising.

Companies Profiled:

* Resource Options provides staffing solutions to the construction, environmental, engineering and information technology industries.

* Space Architectural Design, making the world a better place, one space at a time.

* BYD Ranch and Kennel, where no job is too big or too small, our main desire is to make you feel like part of the family

Duck and Re-Cover: Read It

Duck and Re-Cover: The Embattled Business Owner’s Guide to Survival and Growth.

It’s good. It’s valuable. You should read it.

That’s the bottomline isn’t it?

For me, the bottomline was I read it to the end. As I’ve said here before I rarely read a business book to the end. 5 or 6 books at all times remain unread. I locate them strategically through the house:

• nightstand (2-3)
• my laptop bag (1)
• In the living room (1-2)
• sometimes in the car...

But this book, I read, pretty much, straight through.

Steve Little, the author, does not offer literature. Instead, he offers a conversational writing style that makes it easy to glean the important ideas. These important ideas are ideas, tips and resources, and anecdotes to illustrate them that will help your business duck and re-cover from this recession.

He knows. He knows from experience. He knows a business leader is looking for solutions first, literature later. He delivers that with Duck and Re-Cover.

He divides his book into the same 2 categories you do with your business:

• Pressing Immediacies

• Growth Opportunities

The first chapter in Pressing Immediacies is...What is Your Reality? That’s so simple, so smart. How do you map a path to your goal if you don’t know your starting point? So...what IS your reality.

The first chapter in Growth Opportunities is titled: Get Out of Your Bunker. And he offers specific ways to do that:

• Get face to face with vendors and customers
• Get involved in your community
• Make the most of trade shows
• Gain wisdom through information.

And each of them includes anecdotes, case studies, profiles or data to support his advice.

I’m not going to copy and paste his whole book for you. It’s good. It’s valuable. You should read it. (Get out of your bunker).

Pick one. Do it. Then pick another. Do it. Pretty soon you're past the re-cover mode and back into the growth mode where you wanna be.

He is the former President of 3 fast growth companies. He’s written two previous books, The 7 Irrefutable Laws of Small Business Growth and The Milkshake Moment: Overcoming Stupid Systems, Pointless Policies and Muddled Management to Realize Real Growth. And he’s a highly sought speaker and consultant for small business.

Disclaimer: My copy is a complimentary copy from Cave-Henricks. There’s no obligation to do...anything with it. Not even read it. I read it, kept reading it, because out of all the books left unread in my house, this was most compelling, easiest to read on the fly and kept a stream of ideas and solutions flowing through its pages. And that's what I think my readers here want.

3 Things that Build a Winning Workplace...and cost $0 to Do

I asked Mary Corbitt Clark, Executive Director of Winning Workplaces, this question during a recent interview.

What are three things can companies or people do today, with little or no cash to build a winning workplace?

Here's what she answered:

1. Talk to employees. Find out what they are thinking. Ask them about business issues/ideas. They can help you strengthen your business. You want to build a trusting relationship.

2. Share information with employees. The more information they have about the business, the easier you make it for them to help you to improve and solve the problems.

3. Bring people together to solve problems. The best ideas come from multiple minds around problem solving.  One of the things we see is that team-based work ends up with some of the very best solutions.

3 things you can do...today + $0 cost = Your Winning Workplace. That's math you can love.

You can listen in streaming on-demand at this link to our full conversation.

Here is a post with highlights from our conversation.

Radio Show Guest Highlights: Mary Corbitt Clark, Executive Director of Winning Workplaces

Mary Corbitt Clark, Executive Director of Winning Workplaces, joined the show last week. Winning Workplaces is a not-for-profit organization founded by one of the families who owned auto parts manufacturer Fel-Pro, Inc., which was nationally recognized for its innovative people practices and outstanding financial performance.

Mary and I talked about Winning Workplaces, its purpose, its annual conference titled The ROI of Winning Workplaces, and how Winning Workplaces helps clients create the ultimate competitive advantage: A winning workplace.

You can listen in streaming-on demand at this link.

Mary Corbitt Clark, how are you? I’m not encouraging stalkers, but where are you? What are you doing?

We’re in Evanston, IL. We annually host a conference in Chicago to honor the top small workplaces that will be named in the Wall Street Journal and to share best practices, inspiration, networking, with other small businesses that are interested in improving their business results by creating strong workplaces.

Is everybody at winning workplace having as much fun as you are?

I believe they are. Now, in this economy, it is tough, even for the best workplaces. But I do see that those that have effectively engaged employees are doing far better and coming out of the impact of the great recession more quickly than those who don’t have a strong culture or don’t have their employees fully focused on what it takes to be success.

I wish I had found you when I was CEO of a small company. We had some success creating a winning workplace through trial and error.

It takes some understanding to discover the drivers of your business. Most companies get there by trial and error. Most start up organizations with a handful of employees are more concerned with money, defining product or service, how to go to market, and how do we get out there and then how do we keep ourselves afloat with the financial resources they need to solidify and take off. Fairly often they get to a certain stage and they realize they need to focus on the organization, build some infrastructure and attend to those elements that have a very strong impact over time.

Occasionally, an insightful leader with start an organization and define it by being the kind of place they always wanted to work. These types of companies establish the kind of culture they need because they know what they need to do to accomplish their goals and business.

Your background is in maximizing performance in individuals and organizations and you have worked at big consulting firms. I assume that meant working with larger corporate clients. Winning Workplaces generally is more about small to medium size businesses – what about that appealed to you?

I had already migrated –having spent 13 years with large companies. I had already seen that creating change with them was more difficult with an embedded culture. Its hard to move an ocean liner. I could see smaller organizations are more nimble, more adept at creating a strong organization is easier in a small company. I could see the opportunity to create change. I could see the opportunity to have an impact that I couldn’t have at larger workplaces. I could pursue my mission with Winning Workplaces in a broader sense with the brand of a manufactruing entity that had a strong reputation for progressive workplaces.

Winning Workplaces has been around for eight years. Can you share with us more about the history and founders?

Fel-Pro was owned by a family for 80 yrs and 4 generations of family business. It started out as an offshoot of a business that created brake pads for horse buggies. As the automotive industry grew, Fel-Pro grew as well. It focused on creating gaskets for the aftermarket...they just blossomed. They had 2000 employees. In the late 90’s, as the automotive market changed, it become clear that Fel-Pro must change as well. The family knew they couldn’t run the business they way they wanted too. They ended up selling the biz.

They learned that by treating their employees with respect and creating an environment which open communication was highly valued and by celebrating the fact that they could have a successful business together. It was indeed very generous.

They never had to pay to recruit employees. Their tenure was quite long. They brought in their families and friends. They created a community that till to this day talk with great pride for working with Fel-Pro.

Our annual recognition project which began in 2003, we worked with Fortune Small Business magazine to identify The Best Bosses from across the country and that morphed into The Best Small Workplaces. Since 2003 we have been seeking out outstanding small businesses that have created highly engaging workplaces and have been successful businesses as a result. We see leading edge practices, get to know commited and inspiration leaders. I see the small business sector as the most innovative and progressive part of our economy.

What are some of the practices that they brought from their company into the new organization, Winning Workplaces, a winning workplace?

Many of the elements we see in smaller workplaces are elements we try to live to here. The challenge of talking about excellence is that you always aspire to something that is just beyond your reach. Let me talk about aspirations. We do have a good workplace. We have a strong sense of team. It is difficult to speak about ourselves, but what we create in our culture is what we want to see in others.

The top 3 things, the most important things, for a winning workplace are:

1. Organizations with strong vision and shared values - people who come together because they are committed to what the business is about. Virtually all of our organizations can clearly communicate what they are trying to do and the values with which they operate. This is very important foundation. It draw people to the organization.

2. Open and honest communication. This is so fundamental but such a hard thing for an organization to accomplish. Those organizations in which transparency is really how they operate are more innovative, and their members understand what are the drivers and how they can improve efficiencies and how that shows up on the bottomline.

3. They invest in the workforce in lots of different ways. They invest in employee learning, very careful about how they hire, understand the kinds of people that will be successful in their organization, and committed to providing the benefits employees need. More and more are investing in company wellness centers, whether it’s a fitness center membership or a flu-shot. It’s an important piece or companion to providing health insurance.

Let’s talk about this event next week. It’s great. It’s titled: The ROI of winning workplaces. When is it, where is it?

The ROI of Winning Workplaces has been going on 6 years now. It's held in Chicago here. It is held each fall and held in conjunction with the announcement of Winning Workplaces. It is also a great learning event, a tool to help other small businesses towards success. We talk about current issues and topics effecting companies today. The winners not only create winning workplaces but they can sustain growth by creating a winning workplace.

How do they measure their growth?

How do you get to that balance where you allow your busines to thrive but it doesn’t overwhelm you.

24:01

The organizations that fall into our network are sustainable organizations. What we have seen is that good workplaces may have been hit by the recession, but they are coming back quickly. There are also a fair number of them that haven’t been hit as hard. Some have been able to sustain themselves because of their strong workplace practices.

What I noticed and enjoyed about your event is your list of speakers. As you mentioned, they are all previous winners of the awards. They are companies describing their winning workplaces and how they created them.

One of the things we have learned from small business leaders is that they want to hear from others who have been in the trenches and discovered successful methods and cultures. And they want those who have been recognized by 3rd parties. Winning Workplace doesn’t pick these winners.

What results from the conference is that people come and get a lot of new ideas. What I hear at each show is that people think they are alone and here they find other business that think like they do. There’s a lot of camaraderie and companionship with their peers who share the same values. They realize that they are not alone.

My friend and author Erika Andersen coined a term I really like. It’s reasonable aspirations or hoped-for goal. What was your reasonable aspiration or hoped-for goal with this event?

We wanted to get the message out, as broadly as possible. We believe that a big piece of our purpose is to draw attention to unsung heroes and to make it within reach, a reasonable aspiration, for small business leaders across the country to create winning workplaces or to improve their workplace to improve their business...to strengthen their business.

So much of the emphasis in business writing is about growing your market niche, how you come up with an innovative product. So little focuses on how do you build an organization that can support you to do whatever your business is about. We believe that it is a critical element in the economy, a pivotal leverage point that is under utilized.

That is our message and we want to get it out to the world. Our aspiration for the conference was to make the information more available and create a network of small business leaders who could support one another to do so.

There has to be research that shows that companies who build a winning workplace have better cash flow, happy customers and employees, better growth rates and so forth.

We have created a benchmarking report for the last two years to compare the top winning workplaces to the rest of the pool of other companies who think they have a great workplace. One of the challenges with small businesses is that they are privately held; therefore their financial information is not made public. What we get is their revenue and whether or not they are profitable. We clearly have good data on employee turnover, retention, employee learning. But to get more detailed information you need access to a public company.

Who should attend this event?

Anyone interested in building a strong workplace. It is most valuable for small businesses, but people in larger businesses who want to build a strong team will certainly benefit. It’s an opportunity to get your arms around the soft stuff. It’s not just one program. It’s a combination of things. This conference offers a great opportunity to get a nice dive into and learn more about what I can do about strengthening my company and its workplace.

What are top three reasons people should attend Winning Workplaces? Or three take aways?

I’m going to go right to the promotional materials that capture this best:
1. Examples of inspirational leadership in chaotic times
2. Best practices from leading small business innovators
3. Networking with small business leaders and the leading edge thinkers about small business

Not only leading edge thinkers, but leading edge doers.

YES!

Your speakers are speaking about the current economy and events. How have you seen this economy impact attitude in business towards creating a winning workplace?

I think many small business people have “panicked” and are trying to cope to get through. I can contrast that with one of our business leaders who will be speaking next week, Larry O’Toole, from Gentle Giant Movers, founded in 1980 and now has 17 operations around the country. The business has always been about building very strong customer relations in the moving business and developing employees within the business so that they don’t just hire day movers, they hire and train people how to do the job properly and make the bet of a stressful experience for people who are making a transition.

This economy hit residential moving very hard. They looked at the fourth quarter of 2008 and knew they had to make some serious financial refinements. Most companies cut the staff. They found ways to become more efficient with no layoffs. They focused on taking out the expense, eliminating costs they had developed.

One of the things that allowed them to grow was the development of employees and to do it right. There was a fair amount of investment and hard work, then, customer relationships then to be a lead on a team, and finally the next step is to open a facility within the network. They are able to hire people with aspirations, who want to learn. They aren’t just people who need a job today. There is a long term goal. 80% of their business comes from referrals or return business!

46:53

How does Winning Workplaces work with small to medium sized businesses to create their own winning workplace?

In 2002, we created a website full of information – there is so much there to help with best practices, case studies to read and many tips as well. We do monthly webinars and consulting/training.

When and why do clients contact you for help?

There are 2 different times clients reach out:
1. They want to do better and improve. A lot of leaders who are trying to make a difference, wanting something different and they know there are ways to improve their organization
2. Of if an organization s has fallen on tough times – they see that they are not being as successful as they could be. They want to understand what they need to do differently

How long do you usually work with a client?

It depends, but fairly often we are brought in for a specific engagement. One of the most common is an employee opinion survey or focus group to understand what's going on in the organization and share that with the leadership to problem-solve the issue. We are not there for the long term – we are there to come in, educate and assist the company towards change and understanding.

The best organizations will periodically call us to help them listen, take a snapshot, help them to identify the issues, and help them to address them.

In the past year, have the client’s motivators changed at all in the past year?

Tough times put in relief the problems your company may have. Good times mask some of the issues. Tough times put organizations in a place where they may have limited resources. One of things we are seeing right now as the economy improves is that companies want to position themselves to move forward, in learning how to become stronger. The companies are investing in the stronger economy.

Winning Workplaces has survived two recessions-can you share with us a profile whose business has thrived through working with you?

There is an organization who has been working with us since 2004 who regularly gathers and measures feedback on its performance. It asks for feedback from all of their stakeholders, creating a scorecard for themselves. Employee feedback is so important. This organization is also weathering the recession very well and looking to expand its service base, work from its expertise and strengths, move into a new market niche and they do a particularly good job of retaining their customers and employees. They gather the data and are attentive to it.

What are three things can companies or people do today, with little or no cash to build a winning workplace?

1. Talk to employees. Find out what they are thinking. Ask them about business issues/ideas. They can help you strengthen your business. You want to build a trusting relationship.
2. Share information with employees. The more info they have about the business, the easier they can help you to improve and solve the problems.
3. The best ideas come from multiple minds around problem solving. Bring people together to solve problems. One of the things we see is that team-based work ends up with some of the very best solutions.

Thanks, Mary. Have a great conference!

The ROI of Winning Workplaces starts tomorrow, October 1. You can still register here.

Small Business Already Taxed for Healthcare (or its lack)

And their employees get nothing.

Opponents of healthcare reform, coincidentally those with health insurance, often cite its impact on small business. In particular, healthcare reform opponents cite the provision that small businesses, all businesses, be mandated to provide health insurance for their employees. They costs will be draconian, it's claimed.

Putting aside the inconsistent logic that investing in the health, care and maintenance, of your number one asset is unproductive...let’s look at the current draconian taxes already forced on small business by our current healthcare system.

Bankruptcy costs. 50% of personal bankruptcies are caused by catastrophic healthcare costs. Catastrophic means...their recipient cannot afford them. Their catastrophe arrives from many sources:

1. No health insurance
2. Inadequate health insurance
3. Rejected health insurance claims
4. Delayed healthcare. Like delayed justice, delayed healthcare is no healthcare. A chronic health issue ignored over time becomes a catastrophic healthcare cost. No one chooses to ignore their healthcare. We ignore our healthcare because we cannot afford to pay attention to our healthcare or that of our children.

This number, 50%, only continues to rise as the costs of healthcare grows faster than wages and inflation.

Why does this matter? Debt waived in a personal bankruptcy only disappears from the balance sheet of the bankrupt. It’s passed on to their creditors, who then pass it on to their consumers in the form of higher costs. So, first the bankruptcy debt is absorbed by the business. Then business, in turn, passes on those costs to we, the consumer, in the form of higher prices.

How much is all of this? Let’s look at the math:

* Average amount of debt by those filing for personal bankruptcy was 1.5 times their annual income in 1997. Bankrupcty Action
* Average personal income in 2006 was $36,000. Link
* Number of filings in 2009. 1.251 million non-business bankruptcies were recorded in 2009 (june 2008 to june 2009) US Administrative Court Filings
* Total Cost of Bankruptcies Caused from Catastrophic Healthcare Costs? $33,777,000,000.

(1.5 x 36,000 x 1.251 million = (drum roll, please) $67,554,000,000 and then 50% of this = $33,777,000,000.)

For $33,777,000,000, small business and its employees receive:

* No health insurance, no or inadequate healthcare for its employees.

Job-lock Job-lock is the term used to describe employees locked in their current job. They are locked in their current job for the healthcare benefits the bigger company offers and the small business cannot afford to offer.

What’s this cost to a small business? Quantifying this cost to small business and our economy is difficult. But, did you notice the news that this economic recovery is a job-less recovery. And did you notice that small business remains the top source for layoffs?

Without the talent needed to provide leadership, ideas, skills and strengths, to find solutions, to attract more talent of the same caliber increases the likelihood that both scenarios remain. Why? Small business is unable to provide the healthcare benefit needed to lure the talent necessary to drive their business and create jobs.

Lost productivity. This will come in several forms:

• More sick days
• More employees sick
• More time off to take care of families
• More distractions in the workforce. As more of your employees must spend their resources to deal with the lack of affordable healthcare...you lose their productivity from their lack of focus, from their time spent on the phone with family members and doctors, etc.

Lost employees. See job-lock. This is the flip-side. Your talented employees will leave to find the healthcare benefits you cannot afford.

Like most of our healthcare system, the true costs are hidden or disconnected from their impact, their provider and the recipient.

Small business is already taxed with the costs of providing for our current healthcare system. The difference is there are no benefits received by small business and its employees for these taxes, these costs.

Top four reasons to attend The ROI of Winning Workplaces Conference

Mary Corbitt Clark, Executive Director of Winning Workplaces, talked with me this morning. She shared the purpose of the organization, Winning Workplaces, and its annual event: The ROI of Winning Workplaces and why a winning workplace is so crucial to a business' success.

Being of limited attention-span, or limited time for each project, I’ve grown fond of short lists. A list with 3 items, in fact, is my favorite. I asked her to list The Top Three Reasons to Attend the ROI of Winning Workplaces Conference.

Here’s what she said:. Attendees will gain:

1). Examples of Inspirational Leadership in Chaotic Times Learn from your peer leaders and how they successfully inspired change and built winning workplaces during these chaotic times.

2). Best practices from leading small business innovators. Small business have smaller margins for error and are compelled to innovate constantly. Attendees will hear of the best practices of leading small business innovators.

3). Networking, networking, networking. That’s with your peers who face your same challenges and also with leading-edge doers, not just thinkers, who have created winning workplaces in their companies. You’ll learn from your peers, help your peers and at the same time learn from those who have been successful in creating winning workplaces.

4). Speakers and their Case-Studies. This is my addition. Each presenter shares their story of how they created a winning workplace and the impact it had on their business. They are previous award winners of this event. There are no consultants or agencies stealth-marketing their wares in the form of a presentation.

Nor, are their academic presentations of theories and trends. Those are valuable. But, I much prefer hearing real-world solutions from among my peers for challenges we share and they’ve solved.

You can listen at this link to our conversation.

I will publish more highlights and excerpts from our conversation that occurred this morning. Those should be published here by Monday morning.

In the meantime, if you want to create a winning workplace, you should attend this event, next week in Chicago.

Everything that can be counted

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. Albert Einstein.

Mr. Einstein was a brilliant man. Brilliant minds can hold two opposing thoughts in their mind at the same time. This is almost one of those thoughts.

It’s a fun thought.

It’s fun for barbecues and picnics and late night conversations at the after-hour events with business conferences.

I agree with Al.

But, I think it’s misleading and easily abused to spin the production of intangible, and meaningless, results in business into...tangible and meaningful.

Let’s take counting conversations with social media. Conversations with social media tools may not be countable; they may be countable. Friends and follows, clicks and comments, are countable.

But, unless they result in...sales, in revenues, in repeat purchases, in upsells and crosssells...in cash-flows, then their count or its lack is irrelevant to a business. Well, they're irrelevant unless a business is convincing others that this metric meaningful.

Everything may not be countable. But, ultimately, it will result in something meaningful and that something should be countable.

Quote from 37Signals blog.

istockphoto: abacus, by: Cimmerian

The 6 Biggest Mistakes Tracking Social Media's Impact

Gary Stein at Clickz shares his list of The 5 Biggest Mistakes Measuring Social Media.

Check them out. It's a good post, well-written.

But, it's written from the perspective of a social media agency. That doesn't discredit the post, the perspective, the author. That's not what I'm saying.

However, it's not the perspective of a business owner, founder, principal, CEO, CFO. Their perspective is...cash. And in particular, cash-flow.

I remain amazed at how so few social media agencies, marketing boutiques, branding agencies, whatever, talk about...cash and cash-flow. For their clients. And how their agency improves the cash-flow of their clients.

Now, maybe that oversight is the oversight of the client. Perhaps. But that oversight is short-lived among those organizations who continue to survive and thrive. The rest continue to overlook their cash-flows and soon have none and no cash to discuss. And no business to discuss, either.

Ultimately, you do two things in any organization, for-profit or not.

• You either increase cash-flows or you decrease your cash-flows.
• You either increase your cash reserves or you decrease them.
• You either retain control of your destiny or you relinquish control to lenders and investors.

And all metrics, results, tactics and strategies downstream into this metric. Otherwise, the organization no longer exists.

The advocates of social media too often overlook a grand opportunity for its advancement (and theirs). And that opportunity rests in connecting their metrics (conversations, clicks, follows, friends, whatever) with a key metric for their client: cash-flows.

Failing to even discuss, much less measure, social media's impact on a client's cash-flow not only is the 6th biggest mistake, it remains THE biggest mistake in measuring social media.

BlogTalk Radio Guest: Kevin Eikenberry, best-selling author and speaker

Kevin is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that has been helping organizations, teams and individuals reach their potential since 1993.

Kevin’s philosophy in business and in life is that every person and every organization has extraordinary potential. Investments of time, energy, focus and money are required for that potential to be realized.

We hear this all the time. But, clearly we're not hearing it enough as too many of us and our organizations fail to live by these words. Kevin and his group not only remind organizations of their potential, but work with them to create the means that allow them to honor and live to their potential. The reason I believe this is Kevin's work generates :

A. rave testimonials from his clients posted at his site;
B. huge crowds of followers on Twitter. (Kevin's username on Twitter is...KevinEikenberry.)
C. I've met Kevin. He's one very sincere, genuine, person and professional.

I'm excited to find out more about how he does this. Join us, Wednesday September 23, at 9:30 AM, Central. Choose either of these listening options:

LIVE:

1. You can listen in streaming on-demand at this link.

2. You can call in during the show at 646-915-9212

LATER
1. Use the same streaming on-demand option at this link.

Pop Quiz: What's your mission statement?

If you're like most people in an organization, well over 2/3's of us and our colleagues would freeze if asked that question. And, many of us might answer:

Um, yeah, well it's...I mean we're...um...focused on integrity, delivering world-class customer service using state of the art technology...right?

Wrong. That's the mission statement from the website you were just on. The one you left because they spoke in cliche's.

The irony here, ok, let's be honest, the dark humor here is that according to a recent study for Institute for Corporate Productivity 84% of organizations queried have a mission statement in place, 62% of those companies said that just half of their employees could repeat the company mission statement if asked.

Let's break this math down hammer-time:

* 84% of companies with a mission statement

* 62% of them said half, of their employees or 50%, could repeat their company's mission statement.

* 26.04%. (84% x 62% x 50%)

26% of employees can recite their company's mission statement.

Despite that, "It's not uncommon for people, particularly those in leadership roles,to think that the core message coming from their mission statement is inspiring and that it permeates the company," states Mary Key, Pillar Director for i4cp.

I'm willing to bet that the core message coming from their mission statement was a core message drafted in private by those in leadership roles. People own what they buy or they create. And, no matter how often you tell peopleto memorize your mission statement....they will never buy it. Nor own it.

The trick is creating a mission statement that means something to those asked to memorize it. Here's one process. I'll warn you now: the process can be messy and require more time than your PR agency required to draft your original.

Invite all in your organization to help create it.

Their time and ideas are their investments. They will own the mission statement as its creators. And its meaning will be theirs.

Link from the blog post Is Your Mission Statement a Secret? from Be Excellent® - The Official Six Disciplines® Blog

8 Rules for Adopting to the New Normal

Skip Reardon from Be Excellent® - The Official Six Disciplines® Blog talks about the 8 Rules for Adopting to the New Normal. The list is from the book, “Chaotics: The Business of Managing and Marketing in the Age of Turbulence,” authors Philip Kotler and John A. Caslione.

The list is excellent, as is their description. Check it out.

I noticed that the majority of these rules for managing and marketing centered around communicating: reaching out, seeking help. These include:

Rule 1 - Keep recruiting. Focus on the bigger picture of long-term growth.

Rule 2 - Keep training. Use the downtime to increase education and to re-tool for the changing business scene.

Rule 3 - Keep talking. “Be honest with employees about difficult times...”

Rule 4 - The CEO can’t do it alone.

Rule 7 - Listen to clients and stakeholders. “Chaos has a way of changing everyone, including your core customers,” the authors say. “Their needs and wants are in flux.” Stay close.

Rule 8 - Don’t cut business development. Maintain the marketing budget. Increase it if you can. Keep sharing your story. People want to hear it. they want to know you're still there, there for them. They'll reward you.

Bottomline: Communication is the uber-rule for this new economy. Listening, asking for help, building the new resources you'll need, communicating your brand and its opportunities for your new recruits, your current devoted employees and your customers...that's how we, you and I, you and your stakeholders, us together, we'll thrive together in this new normal.

(Maybe, this is the Uber-Word-of-Mouth that drives a brand. I'll have to think closer on this idea, but at first glance, it reads well. )

Thanks, Skip.

Be sure to follow Skip on Twitter at sreardon.

BlogTalk Radio Guest Excerpted Highlights: Bob Corlett, President of The Staffing Advisor

Bob Corlett, President of The Staffing Advisors generously shared his thoughts with me on leadership, vision, priorities and how everyone The Staffing Advisors grew through 2 recessions.

You can listen in streaming mode at this link as Bob shares wisdom, tips and perspectives that would benefit all businesses, regardless of size.

The Staffing Advisors was formed 7 years ago during the previous recession. It is a retained search firm on the foundation of innovation, dedication to his customer’s success, a proprietary search process that results in customer testimonials on his website. He now incorporates a comprehensive social media strategy to continue to expand his search business during THIS recession.

Everyone is talking about the economy and our healthcare right now, but having been through a few recessions, what characteristics do you see in this recession that points to possible glimmers of hope for our economy?

What is interesting, looking at what people are doing for the fall, 80% of what we are doing is replacing someone who was in a job, not necessarily new positions. Only 20% of our openings are new jobs. People are thinking a lot harder about how they are going to replace someone. The companies use this as an opportunity to evaluate the position and expectations at this point. They're thinking: "We need someone who can deal with this "new" challenge. The good thing about this recession for employers is you really can trade-up and seek a better-talented employee.

Job seekers are looking for longevity and quality companies, a place where they can come in and make an impact.

What can other small businesses learn from your success in this tough economy?

I can tell you only what we have done and the kind of lessons that we have learned after having been through several recessions in the staffing business. When I opened my doors in the last recession, I knew something another recession would happen, again.

I looked at who got punished in the last downturn and it was the staffing people.

They were perceived as money-hungry and less interested in customer service.

The larger companies had to lay off 40% of their staff and that was an easier recession then. Meanwhile the smaller firms were thriving and being more innovative in their approach and tactics.

Customer service is the distinguishing factor in the staffing world. It is vital.

What WERE you thinking starting staffing firm during a recession?

I was a bit of a misfit toy in the business. I wanted to drive out some of the inefficiencies in the industry. I wanted to align our interests exactly with our clients. There's no more tug-o-war. I wanted to align our interests with our customer’s interests. Starting my own firm was the logical decision.

I love this term, reasonable aspiration or hoped-for goal. It’s a term from my friend Erika Andersen in her book Being Strategic. What was your reasonable aspiration or hoped-for goal when you started your business back then?

It wasn't a very ambitious goal. I wanted to make a living doing a part of search work that I loved to do doing. And not doing the part I perceived that didn't bring much value to the client.My skills are solving client staffing challenges. I did not like the cold-calling and had to monetize the part that I most enjoyed. I do believe I have achieved this goal.

The thing I look back on and marvel at is...it's pretty neat to build a company around a different organizing principle.

Our repeat business is excellent.

We are thriving in a recession – receive many unasked for testimonials, we have a great amount of repeat business.There is a culture inside the company that manages behavior norms enabling more of a self-run organization. I don't really have to manage very much.

Kinda astonishing to be in this position during the worst recession since 1981.

When did you notice that your corporate culture reinforced the right behaviors and experiences with your customers?

The culture thing was interesting and we are completely virtual.

There is a lot of trust that is baked into the process. We get together as a team and share war stories: discussing issues and resolutions. We have a relentless sharing of best practices. We have been doing this for years. What is interesting is when they had a best practice and shared this, and it was agreed upon as a best practice, if someone was not practicing this, they would have a deep discussion about why they weren’t doing what was approved. The team would “up each other’s game.”

It is like a friendly competition between the project managers and they became self-referencing and sharing the level of play. It was a culture of continuous sharing and betterment.

We are still finding things every single month that we can do better. It is astonishing that after so many years, we are still improving processes and policies.

22:54

What did you do that allows you to accomplish this?

We are very tolerant of mistakes. We love the first mistake. But, only the first mistake.

We're so comfortable with failure, but when you are experimenting you are going to fail.

It is a great learning tool for testing new and other ideas. At every meeting, there is someone who walks away with something new to experiment with – we are like a team of mad scientists.

Failure is totally fine. It is important to try new things. New ideas are rewarded and embraced.

The culture that was really important to us was that everyone is supportive of one another, but also that you are accountable for your own results. We have key performance indicators for everyone. It is a reference point for self-improvement.

The metrics give people the incentive to better ways to do things.

I know your key performance indicators are confidential, but can you give us a broad overview of what they are?

We set out as a brand, to be the SouthWest Airlines of staffing. They set their customer expectations up front to be the low cost airlines, no frills. We look at the metrics for us: we look to things we do, asking if that improves the customer experience measurably, but more significantly, does that speed up or make the hiring process more predictable. Everything we are driving for is trying to get a search done in about 4 weeks. Most searches take about 5 weeks which is stretching the outer limits of slow.

We want it done in thirty days. We looked at

the performance records to see how long the search took from front to back. We looked at how many times did we have to course-correct along the way where we didn’t have the right profile. At the end of a search, either the client will come back or refer us to someone else, but the metric we count is either repeat or referral business without us asking for it. We never want to have to ask. We want the client to feel as though they did that on their own accord. Key performance indicators for us are speed, efficiency and predictability of a search, and at the end of it, did the client take the next volunteer steps mentioned above.

One of the ways you reached your goals is your proprietary recruiting process. Can you share with us how you did that in such a tough industry?

I was really blessed working for others in the industry.

I got schooled in delivering great service and it can not be an accidental thing that each person in the company invents. You have to have a process, check points, predictable procedures/behaviors.

In this business, some job seekers are over eager. They may make some decisions that may not be the wisest. On the customer side it is kind of predictable that the CEO views the job differently than the CFO. If someone is not included in the hiring process, then it is predictable that they will feel left out and behave badly. There are just things that happen that are entirely predictable in the search process. We looked at this and asked what we can do to engineer them out of the process.

34:43

If we can deal with the really predictable issues, we will spend a lot less time apologizing and wasting time and effort on things that didn’t need to happen.

We need to harvest the value and cut the cost of the search and be more productive and efficient. How can shave out the wasted time? Build a different process? It is not rocket science. Just look at those things that irritate others. It is a results-based hiring process.

What are you reasonable aspirations for one year from now? What will we celebrate?

The thing we are actively doing right now is “de-Bobing” the company.

There is too much “me” in the middle of the process, where I do something with each and every client, each and every search. If we are going to scale, I basically have to take the things I do and transfer them to the project managers. Everything the project managers do, transfer that to the people who work for them.

We call it enterprise sales.

We are a simply flat fee and small companies can afford to use us on a continual basis. The involvement becomes more personal with key account customer service and the customer sees the project manager more. As we build the culture, the employees take over more of the process, as I am not involved with each client, and we can’t go there until the service is impeccable until it is perfect, no matter who is delivering it.

We have made a lot of strides in the last 18 months.

We must hit the service metrics first, not the financial metrics.

Your commitment to the service and customer is inspiring. Why? What made you do the opposite of what most businesses do, making the customer happy?

When you have a financial choice to bring in a dollar and make someone unhappy later, or not bring in the dollar, even though you have to make payroll on Monday, is a difficult decision.

We know that bad news travels fast! We hired people who have an innate desire to serve others.

This is what made me a misfit toy in some of the companies that I worked for. I was told I was an idiot and needed to pay attention to the financial metrics. I would say no, I will not make someone made to make a financial metric number. I won’t leave someone feeling jipped or that we were at odds with their best interest. We were never at odds with our customer’s interests.

What is different about the hiring process in this recession as compared to last? Clearly you take a different but proper approach, but in general, do you see any changes?

There is a complete shift in the recruiting world because of the Internet. What has happened now, the cost of getting at highly qualified people is so easy now. LinkedIn is a great resource for finding high achievers.

The value in the search firm is figuring out what do you want them to solve today? What competencies do they need? The message that you put out is much more important than how you reach people. You used to have to cold- call and now you can use the ease of social media.

A great search firm always had a great pitch and social media allows you to deliver that so easily.

What are three ways small and medium size business can do to help themselves as their industry become commoditized?

The drive to commoditization is just a fact of life. What is interesting, so many buyers are so disappointed. People are irritated by the level of service they receive or not or forcing us to use "self-service". I think small businesses have a tremendous opportunity to understand service now more than their customers do. Customers don’t care about the process; they merely want a predictable experience of getting what they wanted. I think small companies are able to be more nimble and solve the issues.

Service is KING! A guarantee is a sure way to make sure no one walks away disappointed.

Healthcare and small business: What role do healthcare benefits play in your recruiting role and talent?

Every small business feels as though they are at a disadvantage if they can’t provide the benefits similar to a company like GE. Benefits do matter, but they are really a cost issue. It is a trade off. Small businesses really underestimate how meaningful work is an attractor. What really pulls people in is the meaningful work and making an impact. If you offer that, you really can be below market in salary and benefits. People want to make a difference where they work.

What has been your biggest surprise with Twitter and when and how did you embrace Twitterville?

I started with e-newsletters and that is still the biggest touch point with my clients as not everyone is on Twitter. What is amazing is Twitter's world wide network, the thought leadership and how fast it is (so much faster than the news).

Why should companies call you to help with their staffing needs?

If you have a high-stakes hire and you want to be sure you have the right person, be sure they are coming to you for the right reasons, and coming to you for the right money, expectations, and they will be around for years to come, give me a call. I will solve your problem in one month!

Follow Bob Corlett here:

The Staffing Advisor blog
Bob Corlett on Twitter

Word-of-Mouth Discussion with Managing the Edge

From Managing the Edge, hosted by Doug Mitchell and Andy Brudtkuhl, Mario Van Dijk, CFO for Global ID and Director of Fairfield Entrepreneur Association and I talked about our hometown, the secret ingredient in our water supply that creates so many entrepreneurs and ...word-of-mouth.

Considering a Peer Advisory Board?

Are you considering joining a peer advisory board?

If not, you should be. Peer advisory boards are one of the best resources for business leaders seeking solutions for today’s economy. There's statistics that show a higher rate of growth for companies whose leaders use this resource. From the Entrepreneur Circle Blog:

Fast Company Magazine and Business.com sited several statistics regarding business owners who participate in a facilitated peer advisory board. 64% report an increase in bottom line profitability. 56% report an increase in top line sales. 60% report an increase in productivity. Other points that support the idea include: increased quality improvement, improved customer service, improved team work, and increased job satisfaction. The overall positive revenue impact of a peer advisory board can be from 19-43% of gross revenues.

Here are three intangible reasons you should find and join a peer advisory board.

1. Accountability. Peer-pressure works. We all want approval, recognition and praise from our peers. Its power is magnified as it is used to help us reach our goals. A peer advisory boards holds its members accountable for the commitments they make to reaching their goals. The members also help with solutions to reach those goals, as well.

2. Support Group. Peer advisory board members support each other. They support each other with their own solutions and resources, with sharing their own challenges (which in turn brings out more solutions and resources among their peers), with perspective, with creating a safe refuge where C-level execs can share vexing challenges, problems, setbacks in an open, trusting, confidential forum among their peers. And yes, with accountability, too.

3. Authenticity. Peer members keep each other...real. In a peer environment of trust and confidence, leaders can showcase their strengths and non-strengths. And members can help their peers remember them, pursue them and use them to reach their goals. Sometimes, it is as valuable to point out a strategy that does not ring true with a leader’s abilities.

These were shared by Steve MacGill, CEO and founder of Peersight Online, and Dr. James Norris, CEO and founder of KAART Business Solutions. They were recent guests on my BlogTalk Radio show. You can listen on-demand at this link.

Here’s a link to excerpted highlights from our conversation.

Disclaimer: I was a member of Peersight Online’s virtual peer advisory board service. I found tremendous results from my investment in those meetings.

2 Recommendations:

* Virtual Peer Advisory Board. I highly recommend the format. It has all the benefits of a peer advisory board with the added benefit of its schedule and use of technology to save you time. Visit either of their sites, Peersight Online or KAART Business Solutions to find out how to become a member.

* The Alternative Board. The other option is a traditional peer advisory board. I recommend David Halpern’s TAB Boards. Tell him I said ‘hi’.

Main point: Find one. Become a member. Make use of the wisdom of your peers and they of yours.

Radio Show Guest Highlights, Excerpts: Steve MacGill, CEO and founder of Peersight Online and Dr. James Norris, CEO and founder of KAART Business Solutions

Steve MacGill, CEO of Peersight Online and Dr. Jim Norris, CEO of KAART Business Solutions, LLC, discussed the challenges of startups and small businesses and how a peer advisory board can offer peer-reviewed, real-world, proven, solutions.

We spoke together Wednesday, August 19 on my BlogTalk Radio show. You can listen on-demand at this link.

Peer advisory boards offer a valuable collaborative learning resource, in a confidential setting, for business leaders. Today's economy offers unprecedented challenges for businesses. That makes the benefits from membership in a peer advisory board with the convenience and time-saving efficiency of telecommunications and technology even more valuable.

Let’s back up and get a little bit of separate history. Jim can you tell us a little bit about KAART Business Solutions? How long have you been providing solutions for businesses of all sizes, from 5 to 500 employees? How do you help businesses? Why should our listeners be your client?

Right now, we’re working on bringing peer advisory boards to trade associations.

I started consulting in grad school 25 years ago. But, it was what I called ‘binder consulting’. You put all your findings in a binder and hand them over to the owner, pick up the check and the owner puts the binder on their bookshelf without ever getting the resources they need to implement your plan. The result is they’ve spent a lot of money, and are more reluctant to seek help in the future.

I kept asking How do we lift people out of the muck and get them inspired as leaders.

I started KAART five years ago and met Steve just a few years ago. At Kaart, we have two different approaches. One is The Business Support program where they work with business owners on a weekly basis, typically 4 hours per week. Two hours are spent working directly with the owner while the other two are more behind the scenes work, for example representing them at a bank or bringing in specialists to solve a particular problem that they are having. This works really well, but some people are a little reluctant to engage in this process as it can sometimes be cost prohibitive.

I met Steve and his virtual peer advisory board approach and they then created the new process/program to facilitate better engagement and assistance. I don’t like doing the back-office stuff. I ran across Steve and his infrastructure and this seemed a perfect path.

Steve, what are doing? Where are you doing it?

We provide executive coaching advice to help leaders move this business forward. We originally started Peersight online as a peer advisory board. We found that time was so incredibly precious to folks. One of the original things they did was to offer a retail version. We’d work with folks who found us and build peer advisory boards.

What we found out was attracting folks was a pretty pricey approach, so they were introduced to folks who already had a group of current established clients to help create a peer advisory board. Like Jim and other established advisors. If they partnered with the experts, they were able to grow the foundation and a successful board.

We had learned how to provide all the infrastructure, the plumbing if you will. All the little stuff to get a group of folks to together on the phone as well as providing all the support services through the internet and talk in-between meetings.

If we partners with people like Jim, experts in the field with an excellent reputation and a stable of clients there might be a marriage there. We tap each other’s experience and we tapped 10 or 12 folks who became our partners.

Steve, when you began Peersight Online, what were your reasonable aspirations or hoped for goal? Erika Andersen coined that phrase in her book, Being Strategic.

I think there were two. One was to become a major player in the small business, entrepreneurial advice area and do it in a way that others had never done it. The other, and maybe more importantly, was to actually help small businesses and entrepreneurs who wanted to grow and innovate, see their businesses become something they wanted and be there when it happened.

Would you say you’ve reached that goal?

I hope not; there is still so much more to do. The space has a tremendous opportunity. It hasn’t even begun to be tapped yet. It is something that’s a journey vs eventually crossing a finish line.

Jim, what were your reasonable aspirations or hoped for goal when you began KAART Business Solutions five years ago?

I went in like a lot of entrepreneurs. I went in with fairly low level of aspirations, I didn’t want a boss, I had a young family, didn’t want to travel excessively. But as it happens I was able to see potential that I did not see when I first started. The potential is so huge but the numbers are so small. I saw a real opportunity to get this [virtual advisory boards] out to a lot of people. I would like us to be seen as the world’s largest provider of peer advisory boards.

Jim, I want to back up to something you said earlier. Your peer advisory board is focused on members of a common trade or industry. My first thought was I’d be very reluctant to share my challenges with my competitors. Some people may be a little uncomfortable sharing with the competition.

I think that’s a real issue. A peer board in a small market has the same issue. All business leaders in a smaller market say business is great. As soon as you don’t then it’s down the tubes.

We create peer boards with owners at similar stages. Business owners who’d like to retire in 5 years. Their children. Both could create a separate board. What we are looking to do is not putting direct competitors on a board.

We help push people to get people to be outside of their comfort zone.

We want to give people a sense of community when they don’t necessarily have one. There is huge potential and value because I see so many businesses who care about their employees and create family environment. They got it. My big goal is let’s improve the quality of life for the employees and the business owners. I see huge needs out there.

22:14

Let’s talk about your partnership. When did you guys discover there was a mutual, strength-based, partnership possible together?

Steve:
When we on the Peersight side, started looking at the component pieces, the coaches and the infrastructure or plumbing we saw that they did things we can’t do and we do things they can’t do. We didn’t try to do what they did well and vice versa. There wasn’t a lot of competition between us. I couldn’t steal their business and they couldn’t steal ours. Why would either of us want to get into that aspect of the other’s business where they were strongest? I think that’s what candidly may make our partnerships strong. But I think what’s helped Jim and I develop a notch above this is Trust. We talk regularly. But with Jim in particular the level and degree of trust is what separates us.

Jim:
Just to be clear I had trust written down before Steve said it. Trust is the lubrication that allows friendships and organizations to work. We started with phone calls and then Steve sent over a partnership document, which was very opening and inviting. It was more focused on setting a tone of how we are going to interact rather than just all of the legal rules. I trust that there are no hidden agendas. On that basis, that start, we are able to work through things.

On the basis of this success, what would be the three tips you would share with our listeners on how to duplicate a similar partnership for themselves?

Jim:
1. Time: face to face or on the phone. Frequent contact is very important.
2. Extreme openness
3. Care enough to confront

[A longer post on this question was published. ]

Steve:
That is just perfect. I also think it is the blind luck of people with similar values that come together and start doing business together. If the values and trust is there, then the partnership grows stronger.
If you have to rely on suing someone that’s your partner, well, everybody loses.

29:00

Now. In your words, what is the value of a virtual peer advisory board?
Jim:
[Jim shares a great analogy with Steve Winn, casino owner and a Picasso painting. ]

The ability to see in the blind spots. We all have blind spots, but what is interesting we don’t always see them. Peer boards add a structure and outside perspective to help you see your own blind spots.
The board holds people accountable and this pushes people to have the framework for improvement.
I meet with my clients weekly. And I’m meeting with one today. And I bet he’s in his office now getting his homework done.
Looking back over a year, you can see significant progress you wouldn’t see otherwise.

Steve:
If you think about exercise and working with a personal trainer – you have goals, structure, and a customized plan. They point you in the direction with one on one attention. This type of personal attention becomes very costly and maybe redundant after you have laid out your workout schedule. You can check in with them once in awhile, but you don’t need them down the road, as much. It is tough to do it on your own, BUT if you exercise with a group, they are your support group. The people who hold you accountable. Those are the people that are there for you, your confidants. THIS is what the peer advisory board provides in business; the support group! I find that if I surround myself with people who will do it with me, that’s my support group. Those are the people who can encourage, who can shove. They’re there and they become close friends and confidants.

What are three reasons a business leader should join a peer advisory board:

1.Accountability/Support
2.See into blind spots
3.Authenticity

Too often we spend time focusing on trying to fix our weaknesses, when the research shows we’re better of f building on our strengths and too many business owners are not leading their businesses that are authentic to them.Help them find their strengths and mitigate ways around their weakness.

You work with leaders of businesses, large and small, your resource is one of the best there is for any business leader and you shared a little bit about how it works. Can you share with us a story of a member’s challenge that was overcome with the help of the board?

Steve:
We had an individual who was looking to acquire a business. He had even identified 2-3 other businesses that he wanted to buy. At this point, the board had already been together for about nine months and they knew each other fairly well. This member just didn’t seem like an empire builder: growth through acquisition. He seemed more of a developer. One of the members began asking some general questions and soon one of the board members was very direct and reiterated that impression. After a few more meetings and great discussions, he backed off.

40:50

He still continues to grow his business organically today. This was a clear example of how a group can get to know each other and challenge them to do the right thing. Get others to question their choices and think deeply about their decisions.

Jim:
I was thinking of a guy who wanted to do performance reviews, but he never did them, even though he continually wrote them down. It turns out he just hated to give out bad news of any kind or appear confrontational. It took a long time for this to come out.

You two are in conversations with your leaders across the country. What are the three most common challenges that you see them facing and sharing together today?

Jim:
I think the economy is a major one and how you can use the economy to your benefit. I think also finding the right people at the right time. It comes down to finding those intangible assets and how you are going to manage them effectively.

Steve:
The one challenge that I see is not only paying attention to the here and now, it is also important to have a foot in the future. Make sure you haven’t sold off the future for survival today. We know most business that thrive, survive, and innovate; they are starting to plan what opportunities are available.Business leaders have to have a foot in both doors now, constantly.

Why are so many CEOs reluctant to join a peer advisory board?
Steve:
My sense is patience. It takes a good six months in a peer advisory board to develop a strong relationship. To get to day one to the six month mark takes a lot of patience and investment to invest in others and yourself. It is hard work and takes time. The payoff long term is extraordinary though.

Jim:
I agree. There is an old saying: Peer boards are like a NYC playground where you have to step through a lot of poop to get to the swings. I think you are right- the first six months is developing trust and learning how to work with one another; it takes time, but the clear value becomes more evident.

Steve:
A peer advisory board IS about the future!

Your experiences as start up leaders; what has been your best experience as a start up?

Steve:
As you know, working with my son who is technology based – getting to know him and be a part of his life was the one thing that has been the most fun and the best experience.

Jim:
I think it is seeing the value that business owners see in the service. It is those little things in people’s lives that really make a difference.

What are you going to do about this thing called social media? When are you going to jump into this pool?
Steve:
As you know, I have done it off and on. It is something that you almost need someone to hold you accountable to do it.

Jim:
We know it is something we need to do. We're looking at the start of 2010.

What is the one thing you wish you could differently in your startup and why would that matter?
Steve:

I don’t know that I would do anything differently. The exploration, innovation and constantly looking for a better way to do things was fun and it taught me a lot. I never would have learned it, had I not gone through it.

Jim:
I agree with Steve. One thing though would be to be further along in my social media work.

How can people join the Peer Advisory Board?
Jim:

Contact us at KAART Business Solutions, LLC or email me, Jim Norris at Jim at Kaart.com.

Gary Hoover's 8 Principles of Winning Businesses

Gary Hoover shared these 8 Principles that Separate Winners from Losers in business during our conversation on my BlogTalk Radio show.

1. Curiosity: the people who lead and create great enterprises are always looking for answers in unexpected places. People tend to see or discover new breakthrough ideas from outside of their industry. Information is everywhere; it is just waiting for us to see it.

2. Sense of history: learning the lessons of big history and learning the trends and how things change over time. Nothing in business is really new, but there is a huge amount to be learned from the past and its visionaries. Trends – you can only look as far forward as you are willing to look. If you want to see 5-10 years into the future, you have to look that far into the past. Trends happen slowly over time. Look at demographic changes or the changing role of women in the workforce...these changes have slowly evolved over time. Study them.

3. Sense of geography: 90% of the business world does not know the metropolitan geography they live in. Americans are probably worse than most people at not knowing what is going on around us. You need to visit your own neighborhood. Discover that area.Explore! We need to understand where it us comes from. It shapes us. Having that sense of context is one of the most important advantages of an entrepreneur. The winners figure it out and put their business in context.

4. Clear Vision: Clarity: no buzz words, plain English. Straightforward plain talk

5. Consistency: once you figure out what you are going to do and it works, stay with it. Be true to what you love, what you are good at, your passion.

6. Service: The only valid reason for the existence of any enterprise is to provide goods and services!You must put the customer first.

7. Unique:need a unique vision to be successful. Do not copy other companies. You won’t be another great by doing what someone else does. Do your own thing and make it the best.

8. Passion: You must love what you do and without that passion, you won’t be as successful. Whatever you love is where you have the greatest chance of success.

Here's 3 ways you can gain more insights and tips from Gary Hoover:

1. Read the highlights of our conversation

and/or

2. Listen to the full conversation on-demand.

3. Read his blog. Gary Hoover writes a great blog at Hoovers World.

3 Ways Small Business Can Thrive in Today's Economy

Steve Strauss, author of Small Business Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Succeed in Your Small Business and USAToday's Small Business expert, spoke was guest on my BlogTalk Radio show in March. You can listen on-demand at this link.

He shared 3 ways small business can thrive in today's economy:

1.Have multiple profit centers: there is a business cycle and you need to be prepared for when the market changes. You need other avenues of income to ensure a constant flow of dollars. They are also called line extensions.

2. ROO, Return on Office - use your time well and efficiently and take that extra time to market to your company.

3. Find your marketing angle: something cost effective. Steve calls it “shoestring marketing.” These are inexpensive methods to get your name out there, enhancing your company image and selling for little dollars and cents.

These 3 ways work well in every market. Remember them. Economic growth is expected to resume by Q4, 2009. These 3 principles will work then, too.

Suffering from Founder's Syndrome?

Marty Zwilling at Startup Professionals Musings blog shares a quick case study of why Startups Syndrome is a Health Hazard. He bullet-points key behaviors of those who suffer from Founder's Syndrome. And then he describes the result:

The undoing of the company began when a potential investor, after months of search, was ready to put up $1M, but made it clear that his firm would likely need to replace the CEO with someone with credentials and experience in this industry. With that revelation, the founder killed the investment deal, and every other potential deal which raised the same issue.

Ouch.

Is there a way to bring balance to this situation? Ultimately, yes. But, balances is rare in startups and founders.

Founders of startups are rare individuals. Founders are compelled to create their startups. Their vision compels them. So, does the need to create an uniqe environment for their vision, as well as their personality.  Financially, they are compelled.

The two go together. Form and function. Vision and personality. Founder and startup.

There lies the rub. The connection of a founder to their startup approaches that of a mother with their child. (approaches....) The startup is the founder's creation. It is their lifeline, financially and emotionally. Their identity is closely, if not completely, tied up with their startup.

SmallBiz Bee blogged a great list of 7 Steps to an Effective Partnership. They're written on the foundation of equivalence, of equal power, between the partners. They still apply even for employees. Employees have the choice to join or not.

The key ones are:

• Have a written agreement
• Communicate often and effectively
• Evaluate the situation
• Plan for an exit

In an ideal world, the potential investors would be able to communicate openly and effectively with the founder how their entrance would answer these three  questions from the founder's perspective:

• What's in it for me? (Why do you want my child? What will you do with my child? What do I do, where do I go, who am I, when you adopt my child? )

• Why should I care?

• Why should I believe?

And again, ideally...the exit plan would be prepared at the start and include these answers. That would serve as the foundation for all their open and effective communications throughout the partnership. That would allow the situation to be evaluated, restructuring without fear and...the timely exit of the founder.

I once was assigned to help encourage a group of founders to consider a new role. They were sales guys, entrepreneurs, risk-takers. Their growth had bogged down with their success. Their success turned them into administrators and managers. They were unhappy in those roles. The employees were unhappy in those roles. The investors were unhappy with those roles. Customers were unhappy. And still, that attachment to their baby...interfered. The more I answered that first question, the easier it became for them to let go. It was never easy as the 7 steps to an effective partnership were never followed. But, it was possible as I focused on those answers.

An Inventory of Positive News for Our Economy

There are signs of a positive trend in our economy. Here are some:

* Manufacturing Data Boosts Hope of Recession End

The Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing index posted a 44.8 — the best showing since last August, a month before the financial crisis erupted with force.

But in a hint of better days to come, the National Association of Realtors said an index of pending home sales edged up 0.1 percent in May. It was the fourth straight advance for the index, which tracks contracts to buy previously owned homes.

"I think the great recession is winding down," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "Retailing should firm a bit in the next few months, helped by the stimulus package, and I think lean inventories will trigger production increases."

* Factory Orders Rise More than Expected in May

Orders to U.S. factories jumped in May by the largest amount in nearly a year, another sign that the nosedive in manufacturing is nearing an end. The Commerce Department said Thursday that total orders rose 1.2 percent in May, better than the 0.8 percent increase that economists had expected.

* US Service Sector Strongest Activity Since September

The U.S. service sector was still shrinking last month but at a decelerating pace, with activity at the highest since September 2008, when Lehman Brothers' collapse exacerbated the global financial crisis, a report showed on Monday. The Institute for Supply Management said its measure of the service sector rose to 47.0 last month from 44.0 in May. That reading was above economists' median forecast for a rise to 46.0...

* Staples President Sees Recovery for Small Business

Staples (SPLS.O) is seeing a recovery in units within its North American delivery business that serve small businesses, the president of the top office supplies retailer said on Wednesday.

"We have a couple of businesses in delivery, our Quill business and our staples.com business ... that are recovering because they serve more small businesses," Staples President Michael Miles told Reuters in an interview.

* New Jobless Claims are Lowest Since January

The number of American workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell sharply last week to the lowest level since January, the government said on Thursday,..

* Economic Indicators are Up More Than Expected for June

More plans to build homes, higher stock prices and fewer people filing first-time claims for jobless aid sent a private-sector forecast of U.S. economic activity higher than expected in June.

It was the third straight monthly increase for the New York-based Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators, and another sign pointing toward the recession ending later this year.

And, this:

* 1 Million More Volunteers in 2008

A million more Americans took time out of their schedules to volunteer in 2008 than they did the year before even though the economy was in a downturn, a study found.

A report by the government-run Corporation for National and Community Service showed that 61.8 million Americans volunteered in 2008, the largest number since 2005. The number of volunteers in 2007 was 60.8 million.

This last point may be as important. It illustrates the spirit of entrepreneur's, startups and small business. That spirit characterized by  Giving. Helping. Finding a solution. Commitment. Passion. Community. 

There are caveats with each of these points. Most of the trends still show results that indicate the economy continues to contract or at least is not expanding. But all of these trends point now to a new direction for the economy: a slowing of the negative results, some positive direction for the results.

And that's the first steps of a recovery.

I thought we needed some good news.