Thincubator - Simple remedies for business success

Have it your way

Having had an insomnia moment last night and getting involved in the #blogchat. I was left reflecting on the conversation I had with @techguerilla, @danperezfilms & @ambercadabra.  What struck me during the conversation was the fact that I was stuck in a corner....not in a bad way, but in a way that was of my making. 

I need to apologise to the team I was debating with for the fact, but it really got me thinking.  I could offer the excuse of being somewhat tired - I suppose it was nearly 4.00am!  That aside though, blogs are a form of communication, in a marketing sense.  Just because they are on-line doesn't mean that they are exempt from good communication practices.

All communications professionals (a very wide group indeed) know that the key to good communication is understanding who your target audience is, knowing the message that you want to get across to them, and then choosing not only the media to deliver that, but also how to deliver it.

I was guilty of forgetting that in the small hours.  It makes no difference how my blog is written, there are no rules.  I write to 'appeal' to an audience.  There is nothing wrong or right with that writing, it is what it is.  I may choose to change it because I feel it is not working but in actual fact it is right if I believe it to be and my target readers are going there and taking something away.

We can be quick to forget that.  Unlike many other media, the web, allows anyone to deliver the messages they want, when they want.  It makes no difference if the 'whole world' is your target, or if you are only looking to target those with an IQ of 180 plus.  How it is written & how it is delivered will determine how, who & why.

@techguerilla was spot on with some of his commentary.  I have to agree that you have to be true to you, and what you want/wish to represent.  Intellect in blogs is not wrong, it can, like all language be used in the wrong way.

So I took 2 lessons away this morning. Firstly, don't do 'heavy debates' at 4.00am.  The second was that it is for me to decide if my blog is right or wrong.  If others disagree with what I say they have the choice to ignore/leave but unless I feel it is right I should not try to be all things to all men at all times.  Like the Burger King adverts you really can 'have it your way'.

Natural Born Leaders

Over the last few weeks there have been some fascinating discussions on Twitter.  One was started by @TheSimonJordan regarding entrepreneurs in jobs or not. I have seen a discussion with @EtcEtcOnline & @SMARK_IT regarding teams, the pareto rule & how to win in business.

The thing that has struck me through all this, at the risk of being struck by those on twitter, is that entrepreneurs appear to come in 2 groups.  There are those that have great ideas but not the skill nor the desire to be a ‘real’ leader, and those that are natural born leaders.

What brought this about was thinking about the definition of an entrepreneur and the conversation about if they are/could be employed or not.  Some of the greatest military leaders in history are arguably entrepreneurs.  There is no greater sacrifice/risk than ones own life, but these people were natural born leaders.  However in the same category, for example, is Richard Branson, but also Steve Jobs.  So we have an employee, a business owner, & a military commander, who all, by the definition of entrepreneur are/could be one.

Significant to the debate then is wondering if there is really a separate category called entrepreneur or not.  Do we create entrepreneur as a category to describe something that doesn’t fit the normal pattern.  Aren’t these people, though, either a ‘sub-set’ of leaders or a ‘sub-set’ of managers?

It had me really thinking, and maybe, the reason that there was no consensus on twitter is because we have created an ‘artificial’ section of people to help us try & fit something neatly in to a box.  It is common practice in team creation.  Managers, in many cases, are arguably ill-equipped, or skilled to develop teams.  They may be good at managing them, and the tasks they perform, but just because you promote someone to manager doesn’t make them instantly qualified to pick the right people to make a team.

Look at Sir Alex Ferguson or Jose Mourinho, and many others.  They are natural born leaders, even entrepreneurs but critically know that the best team is not necessarily populated by the best 11 individuals.  They know that the best qualified person for the role may not be the best ‘fit’ for the role.  Is it that skill that potentially separates them from the rest of the pack?

So maybe, after all, entrepreneurs don’t exist.  Maybe, just maybe, they are either maverick managers, or natural born leaders, and their employment status is immaterial?  Let’s be honest, after all, it would take some fairly big investments to place successful entrepreneurs at significant risk anymore. So by that rationale you can only be a successful entrepreneur once, but a failed one for life?  Surely not.

Who gives a Gen Y

I was talking on the phone earlier with the fantastic @malcolmlevene we were discussing how the world of coaching & business support is changing forever.

What struck me through all of the conversation was the fact that Gen Y people are still seriously, underestimated/mis-understood.  I am not sure which it is but for sure Gen Y are far more impactful than most business leaders appear to recognise. 

For example look at the changes in medium sized cars, the engine 'down-sizing'.  This is driven, predominantly, by the fact that Gen Y's are now entering their 30's and having families.  They are not driven by having big V6 & V8 engines in cars, so in place we now see smaller turbocharged units.

In the world of digital they talk about Digital Immigrants & Digital Natives - In simple terms Gen Y are natives as they grew up in the digital world, whereas the rest of us were slowly exposed to it as we got older.  This has a massive impact on how we see the world & our ability to filter and process information.

In business, though, Gen Y has changed the face of working forever. They don't 'do' political agendas.  The do 'do' multitasking & cutting to the chase on what is required, and those of us a little 'longer in the tooth' could do well to learn from these traits.

There are some Gen Y 'drawbacks', short planning horizons & attention spans are amongst them but they can learn from 'older' generations.  The key question for me is: Are the current leaders prepared to learn from our Gen Y colleagues as success requires it.

Are you a Gen Y person who is totally misunderstood, or are you someone who finds Gen Y in the workplace difficult?

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Positive Intent Lacks Objectivity

In business & life I have rarely come across truly EVIL people. Few people go out of their way to ruin days, businesses or lives. Don't get me wrong I don't think we live in a fairy tale but I genuinely believe that most people operate in the pursuit of 'greater good' for whatever party they represent.

The 'problem' is that far too many people base their decisions on the one thing that lacks ANY objectivity - emotion! Emotion in business is needed but so is clear objectivity.  I said during the election that I was not going to vote. I stood by that, not because I don't believe one party to be better or worse, or even because of a lack of trust for politicians. I did it simply because politics is based, on the main part, on a raw emotion.  Just look at the emotive outbursts, with zero evidence to back them up.

Rarely are the full facts evaluated in decisions. Party political manifestos have decided what the issues are BEFORE the party can have had chance to evaluate so we end up in a situation where the numbers are only ever used to prove why a party were right in the first place.

The student debate was deemed wrong by those in the student arena, and right by the politicians who only needed to save money....before any real consideration took place.

The other morning I suggested that Ladbrokes should give me odds on @DanniiMinogue replying to my tweet. Based on little/no fact I had a stream of responses from people saying that there was no chance on earth that she would reply to me. Dannii responded to me inside 10 minutes, helping me raise money for my charity in the process.  Those responding saying she wouldn't reply only did so because they felt she wouldn't.  They were not trying to ruin my day or anything, they were trying to help.

So where is this post taking me.  In simple terms it is the responsibility of people in any position of power, for example @Nick_Clegg, to consider facts, & do their utmost to put the emotions of the situation to one side.  For all others it is also to remain objective and to challenge, again based on fact.

The more we respect the actual detail in any given situation the easier it will be to make collective progress. As the saying goes, to err is human, but hell let's at least do it based on the facts, so that when we look back we can say objectively, when we got it wrong and move in the right direction.

Moment of truth

There is one universal truth in the private, public & 3rd sectors.  All, without fail, are busy tying themselves up in knots.  These knots cost them £billions a year, in lost sales, in increased costs, or even just in lack of clarity.

I am 110% behind the need to make sure that we 'stamp out' corruption.  I am 120% behind the fact that we need to make sure businesses are safe & look after their employees.  I am 150% behind making sure the consumer gets choice & protection....however......we are so guilty of overthinking and over engineering solutions to this.

Take, for example, the approved supplier list for Government contracts.  The process is so involved and drawn out (in some cases from tendering to be able to supply it can take up to 18 months for the approval to be given) that many drop out and even more importantly we don't get value as a tax payer.  I know of specific cases where local authorities have to use suppliers that are in excess of 50% more expensive because they are ON the list.

Take this example a step further where some lists are not reviewed for 4 years. This means as a taxpayer, if a 'breakthrough' solution to a problem came through just after the review cycle had finished, I (we) could be funding huge inefficiency for 5.5 years until the system caught up again!

This issue though is not just the 'ghost' of the public sector.  Private sector don't help themselves either.  Yes they are blighted by tax legislation that is, from I understand, now 4 x times longer (the pages in the manual) than it was 15 years ago, but more importantly they also curse themselves.

Quick, let's talk strategy. Oh....but which strategy?  Exactly I say in response.  Go in to any reasonable sized business and you will find more strategies and presentations about strategies than you can read in a life time.......either that or there will be none.  Either way, chaos reigns.  I saw a client at the start of this year where just one section of the strategy ran to.....wait for it.....750 pages! How the hell can anyone be expected to remember that.

Not to leave out the 3rd sector, let's try accountability here.  Ask many 3rd sector employees or volunteers who is accountable for 'something' in the business and you are almost exclusively going to get an answer that says a panel/a board of some description.  This is where the inefficiency of 3rd sector comes in.  Someone (not people) needs to have accountability for a particular task.  If you don't have that then inefficiency and indecision rule.

This is not just a 'random rant'.  We all need to exercise the moment of truth principle in whatever type of organisation.  Ask yourself one question.....one simple question....if x happens, who gets the phone call?  If you cannot instantly answer then the chances are I am 'victim' to some force of the above.  Sure I am being overly simplistic, as there are other questions you could ask but in all cases if you don't instantly know either (a) the answer, or (b) where to get the answer then you have a problem waiting to happen.

For workers it is frustrating as hell.  For customers it just gets in the way.  The bottom line is that all three sectors need to work together to help reduce this issue, and to learn from each other.  Stop seeing the world through their own 'lens', there are rarely new issues in business, just the same ones appearing in different places, or in front of people who haven't seen them before.  Before you write a paper, a strategy or a policy to cover it....step back and see how you can deal with it using what you already have.

The Blame Game

So it has been an eventful morning.  Have been discussing with @AlisonDuker the fact that children are far less active than they were 20 years ago.  The debate on Twitter gathered some pace.  There were references to lack of outside safety, lack of government funding, etc etc etc blah blah blah.....

To be honest though it's all a load of codswallop....this is exactly the thing I see in business each day.  This didn't work because x didn't do their bit, or because our competitors did this instead.

I am not trying to be unsympathetic to people or business but we really need to stop forward and take responsibility for our own actions.  For someone who has bitter personal experience in the area of weight management I have learnt a very important lesson over the last year.  Only I can make that difference, there are no miracle cures, fad diets, tablets, operations that will work.  The harsh reality I came to realise was that unless I personally take responsibility for the issue then no progress can be made.  So 2.2 million rowing meters later I realise that to get what I want takes blood, sweat and tears....as well as a healthy balanced diet.  In short Nanny McPhee only exists in fantasy.

How often do you see in business the same issue arising?  The fingers being pointed all over because senior managers don't wish to take personal accountability for things.  I have even been in businesses where an issue was the fault of the customers....for goodness sake, just accept the facts for what they are.

Facts are facts no matter how inconvenient that they may be to your view of the world.  If customers stop buying your products it is your product that is at fault not your customers.  My weight issue was because I didn't exercise enough, nothing more.  It may have been unpalatable to me, it may have been inconvenient but as soon as I got off my arse and did something about it I lost 6.5 stone in 6 months.  Proof enough me thinks.

The moral quite simply is this.  Accept the facts of any situation. Don't attack them. Don't blame them.  Focus your energies on changing them by making positive strides in the tight direction - it is no more complex than that. Period.

It's my scientific speciality

Oh the irony!

The quote above comes from that lovable kids film 'The Never Ending Story' and perfectly reflects my blog this week as inspired by @SarahPluves.

Sarah asked the age old 'Never Ending' question about specialist v. generalist.  The challenge with this question is that it is all about a state of mind both for you & your potential clients.  My advice.  Do what you enjoy & makes you happy because after all you can't get the time back once it is gone.  To illustrate why I so strongly recommend that I will relate to a couple of meetings that I had a few weeks ago.

One of the meetings came as a result of the presentation I did on Woolworths. At the end of the meeting the client leant over and said to me 'that must be a very specialist job that you do to know business like that'.  Quite amazing for me to hear when I have ALWAYS considered myself a generalist and that has always been my 'strength' that I understand business from many different angles.  I can bring in the 'tax' person should you need them.  In the infamous words of the famous song....Others see the crescent but I see the whole of the moon.

The second meeting happened straight after the first and was as a result of my webinar on 'Changing customer needs'. This time I was referred to as a generalist but the client suggested that they were looking for a specialist.  Like the phrase 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' I realised that in fact it makes no difference which one of those I feel I am, it is the potential client that decides how they see me and more importantly if that is of value to them.

The real challenge to any business is accepting you cannot be all things to all people and for as many people that 'love' there will always be many more that don't.  As @MarkShaw says on Twitter, it is not the number of followers you have but the real value of those followers in the fact that they actually want to follow you.  That is critical and why many social media 'gurus' could be argued as being nothing more than hobbyists, or enthusiasts.  If you are Coke you are in a pure numbers game, but many products need more thought, and even Coke are not powerful everywhere.  For example Pepsi has around 90-95% of the Cola market in India!!

In summary, be what you want and feel right doing.  Be clear on what you are doing, why you are doing it, and who you are targeting.  If you do that then anything can be your scientific speciality.

Follow through

Having spent some time recently working with a number of businesses on various 'issues' the concept of follow through is something that has been 'bugging' me.  I think it all stems from the fact that so often in business you hear people talk about what they are going to do but they don't consider how that action is going to deliver against the ultimate goal.  What is worse is that I am witnessing an increasing trend for people to 'post rationalise' that they did 'good'.

In order to be effective business has to know what the objective is.  Having a clear 'target' will frame any actions you take.  It is possible to go back and ask yourself the question 'does this activity get me closer to my goal'?

A discussion I had this year highlighted this perfectly.  A particular company needed x number of customers.  They then decided that they were going to target a certain business type. When we sanity checked the idea it transpired that they would need a 112% market share!  It is this type of issue that would have been avoided had they considered what they needed to do in 'some detail' up front.  By breaking down an objective you can define how much you need to charge, how many customers you need etc etc. 

Without it the business I refer to here would have gone off chasing an impossible target, missed their goals but would have had no idea that was a self fulfulling prophecy and then the madness of congratulating yourself for what you did achieve starts, or worse still you beat yourself up for not succeeding when you never could.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not saying you can plan for everything but you should have a general idea and be clear on what can get you there.  It's always a good idea to ask someone you trust to 'sanity check' but if that is not possible ask yourself 'so what' on every assuption just so you can at least have some degree of confidence.

As Malcolm Levene says quite rightly, being authentic to yourself, your business & others is critical to success.

Own goals...

It has been a few weeks since my last blog and the reason for that is nicely tied in to the theme for this entry.  The role of goals in business & in personal life.  My blogging has had to go on hold as it was not 'in service' of my goals during this period.

This blog is inspired by requests from @hlsbs and @codebluecomms  

I have been working on three things recently:

1. My continuing fitness drive.

2. The Go For Growth Awards.

3. A big long term project.

In my experience that is probably about as many things as you can realistically manage at once, but more importantly in the context of goals it shapes the things we do/don't do.

I said in a #bizgptip today 'Being clear on your objectives means you can be clear on what you do (or don't) do.

In business, as in life, we need some 'frame of reference' which drives what we do and keeps us true to the original intent.  For example I have been training for a 50k Charity Row in aid of  Camp Quality the charity that I chair.  By focussing on this goal it drives my behaviour, so for example it is pointless being able to row the worlds fastest 5k (in my dreams) if I can't stay the distance so I have focussed on stamina, not speed to start ensuring I can do the 50k first and worrying about times later.  So having completed my 50k 'dry' run in 3hrs 47minutes I then accepted a further 'refinement' to the challenge from @JamesMarsh1974 to bring that time down below 3hrs 30minutes.  As you can see from the example my first objective was to 'just do the distance' in support of a worthy cause.  I could then refine that as I developed.

This model can also be applied to @codebluecomms question posed to me for this blog.  The focus model can be applied to recruitment of new staff very well.  So firstly you have to ask yourself 'What is the purpose of recruiting this person?'. What role are they to perform?  Within this you need to be clear not only on the skills you require from them but also the personality traits you need and the role they will play within the overall team.

Many mistakes are made in the final part of that last statement.  It is always easier to recruit for technical skills and 'rarely' do people get those quantifiable things wrong.  Of course 'can someone do the job or not is an easier measure to perform'.  The real challenge comes when you don't have a clear focus on the goal of 'What role does this person play within the overall team?'.  Getting that right is critical. How often do you hear about a new hire not working out because they just didn't fit in......the harsh reality is that in many cases the recruiting manager failed that person as much as the person failed the business.

My final point on recruitment is that just because someone is a line manager doesn't mean they are best equipped to recruit.  That person may lack the skills or aptitude and so sometimes in smaller businesses you may have to think very seriously about who recruits talent for the organisation.

My final point on goals is this.  Goals not only focus you on what is important, but more importantly they allow you define your success in achieving them.  It is okay to get goals wrong as long as you are measuring and framing your efforts using them.  It is a 'cardinal sin' to just do anything without any plan....you are failing yourself, and your customers in that case.  Having no goals may feel liberating as it means you can choose to do anything, reality is, though, that anything doesn't pay the bills.  If it did everyone would be rich.