Biz Coach Steve

Tag: Leadership

  • The Vacation Liberator

    The Vacation Liberator

    Some people have called me the “vacation liberator.” I am not a travel agent, nor do I represent a vacation destination, or am on any city travel destination organization. I am an executive coach.  The reason some people have called me this is that I get business owners and leaders to take a vacation.

    How many of us have heard a business owner/leader state, “Have haven’t taken a vacation in BLANK.” Fill in the blank with a number that is greater than 2 years.  They say it with pride. Like it’s a badge of honor.  They imply that without them in their business – it will fall apart and burn down.

    Do you think their staff or family feels the same way as this person?  I bet not. After speaking to numerous staff members and the families of these vacation phobia individuals, they have a different points of view. 

    The staff is frustrated that the owner/leader is proud they haven’t taken a vacation because they don’t trust the staff to run the business while they are gone. The staff maybe has not been coached or empowered fully to do the job they were hired to do and feel the owner has taken some of that power away from them.

    Their family is upset with them because they want to take a family vacation, but this person is “too busy” to take the time off and recharge their batteries.  For those of you that have children, understand they grow up very fast and we must MAKE the time to be with them during this time. For those that are married, you know how your spouse views you by not going on a vacation with them.  It does not support a positive healthy relationship at home.

    According to an article in Forbes (Feb. 2014) by Tanya Mohn stated, “Not taking vacation time is a bad idea, as it harms productivity and the economy.”  There is countless research on this topic.  The general gist is that not taking a vacation harms your business and your family life impacts the economy and demoralizes your staff.

    So, how does one liberate these anti-vacation individuals?  Simple.  BOOK A VACATION NOW! When proud business owners inform me about their last vacation 9 years ago, I had them call their spouses at that moment so I may speak with them. Then, just asked the spouse if you went on a vacation, where would you go and what would you do?  The owner/leader hears this conversation and usually confirms what their spouse states.  After that very brief call, I sit with the owner/leader and have them book that vacation at that moment.  Once the vacation is booked, I have them call their spouse and let them know when and where they are going on vacation.  You will not believe the positive response the spouse has, and it makes the owner/leader feel good about their decision.

    The next step is to have them round up their staff and inform them of their vacation and put it on all the calendars. We must now get the owner to assign some of his duties and functions to his staff, so they cover for him/her.  One of the main goals is to make sure the owner/leader does not log in to their emails, call the office or be able to check on the business while they are gone.  This is usually done by having their right-hand person be in charge and only contact the owner/leader if something is really bad.  Since every business does have a different dynamic, it depends on how deep we go with making sure the owner/leader enjoys themselves on their vacation and does not think about work.

    So, now are you one of those proud “I haven’t had a vacation in…?” If you are, stop everything and book your vacation now.  Get your spouse/significant other involved in that decision. Inform your staff-empower them to cover for you.  Go and enjoy yourself and re-charge your batteries.  When you return, your business will still be there, all is going to be OK, and you, your spouse, and your staff will like you much better.

    Stop lying to yourself. Recharge your batteries and take a real vacation.

  • Eight Signs it’s Time to Hire a Business Coach

    Eight Signs it’s Time to Hire a Business Coach

    As a leader, you might think you should have everything figured out already, but this simply isn’t true. While all of us have our talents, leadership skills are often something we have to learn along the way.

    Enter the business coach. A business coach oversees and guides a manager or founder in starting, growing, or developing a business. Like a sports coach, a business coach’s job is to help you develop the skills and resources you need to be successful. A coach is there to assist you in your business, not to tell you how to run your business. They can see your shortcoming and provide you the tools and resources to fill in those gaps to grow your business and improve your own skills.

    Whether you’re overwhelmed, in need of advice, or want to see better results, here are 8 signs that it may be time to bring in a coach into your business.

    1. You Are Overwhelmed

    One of the top signs that it’s time for a coach is when you hit that feeling of being overwhelmed. You are overwhelmed by feeling like there is too much to do and too few hours in the day to get everyone accomplished. You are overwhelmed by not knowing how much profit you are making at the end of your month. And you are overwhelmed because you don’t feel like you have control of your business, your employees, or your vendors.

    2. You Need a Confidant to Talk About Your Business With

    Standing center stage expects excellence. Who can you trust to speak without feeling exposed, or impairing your credibility or reputation within the organization or its clients? How would it feel to have a safe sounding board for honest feedback on your ideas and a partner to support you in the process of design, implementation, and evaluation? Time to hire a coach!  

    3. You Intellectually Know What to Do But Don’t Do It

    You need a coach when you “know” what to do but don’t implement. Lack of change typically occurs because you need to experience some paradigm shifts that require someone with an outside perspective to challenge your assumptions and because you need someone to help you translate general principles into specific steps that you can take in your own life.

    4. You Aren’t Getting the Results You Want

    Sometimes we think we know the right path to take in our career growth or business growth, but we come to find it isn’t working. To get the results we want, we may need guidance from someone who can see things from a more objective view, not a subjective view. Turning to a business coach can increase ROI, surge active engagement, and allow one to remove obstacles that are precluding results.

    5. You Want to Save Time and Money

    If you’re business or thinking about starting a business and thinking, “Wow, I could use someone to help me figure out the best way to do this,” you should be considering getting a coach. Going the “lone wolf” route can cost much more in wasted time and money, and that can all be avoided by working with an excellent coach.

    6. You Find Yourself Listening Only To Your own Ideas

    You need to hire a business coach is when you find yourself only listening to your own ideas. The higher up the ladder you are, the more people tend not to be honest and just comply. The same thing can happen to entrepreneurs because they have a tendency to work alone; they tend to only hear their own ideas. We all need checks and balances. A coach can help you.

    7. You’re Feeling Stuck and Frustrated by Others

    Einstien stated the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I hear this all the time. My clients often have a similar story reappearing in their lives in different ways. A great time to work with a coach is when you find yourself repeatedly frustrated by others around you at work, or if you can see that you have some unhealthy workplace dynamics, but you’re not sure how to really shift them. The unbiased perspective of a coach can be just what that executive needs.

    8. You Want Your Company to Grow

    If you’re alive and breathing as an entrepreneur, you need a coach. I’m not only a coach I am also the CEO of my company with multiple people in the organization. I’ve hired half a dozen coaches (and have 2 coaches), been the beneficiary of a couple of dozen mentors, and worked with multiple strategic partners. Your company only expands at the rate of your own growth. Find a coach you can rely on and get to work. The ROI is ridiculous.

    Stop the madness and wishing your company can grow. Get the help you need to really have your business take off. It will be one of the best investments you ever made in your business and yourself.

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    Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, Author, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals, and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations, conducts workshops, and training.  Focusing on lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

    Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you to get the results you want in your business, [email protected], or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today.

    #bizcoachstevef #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #business #smallbiz #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #leadership #marketing #speaking #keynotespeaker #meetingprofs #eventprofs #meetingstoday #businesscoachnearme

  • The Manager – Coach and Confidant

    The Manager – Coach and Confidant

    Your people are your most precious resource. Only your people can be made to appreciate you and the value you bring to them. All other resources and corporate assets depreciate over time. You need great people in your organization to grow your business.

    People leave jobs due to their manager and that person’s poor leadership and managerial skills. People stay at bad jobs due to how great their manager treats and lead them.

    Many organizations have managers that were promoted because; they talk a great game (the BS’ers), or performed well on a project, are great at shuffling paperwork, are well networked in the organization, due to nepotism, or were hired externally to make changes within an organization. Many managers are just that – managers and not leaders. There is a big difference between managing and leading.

    Bad managers may or may not know they are demoralizing their staff through their words and actions. The worst managers do not believe they are negatively impacting the business but believe the business is declining due to the staff.

    One big area I have seen managers and business owners fail at is providing effective coaching to their employees. They believe having that annual review with their staff, beating them up over something they cannot remember 10 months ago, and providing nothing, but negative comments are showcasing their great managerial skills.  They are doing it because that is all they know, and they need to check a box to say they did the review.

    The fastest and most effective way to increase the productivity and performance of your people is for you to give them timely and relevant coaching and counseling at the proper times in their careers. This is the exact opposite of what many managers believe. People cannot grow without honest, objective feedback and instruction from someone who can look at their performance and tell them exactly how they are doing.  The best managers are always communicating with their staff, coaching and guiding them. Correcting them if needed but in a positive and supportive manner.

    Everyone needs feedback and counseling from someone he or she respects and trusts to improve and to get better at their work. Many average people have become star performers within their organization as the result of a manager taking the time to guide them and instruct them on how to improve in critical areas of their work.

    One of the best managers I have ever met never wanted to run the company. They were very happy in their manager role looking over 50 people who were on the manufacturing floor.  The reason being his employees in his division had the highest output compared to other locations the company had as well as the industry average. His employee turnover was unheard of at 99% retention. He told new staff members that they will only work for him for a maximum of 5 years. His goal is to provide his staff with managerial and leadership skills to get a better job within or outside the organization. He had monthly group and one-on-one meetings. He did little talking at all the meetings. He listened. Asked the right questions at the right time. Provided guidance and support to everyone. All his current and prior staff members would walk through fire for this guy.  His passion was to be the best manager and develop leaders.  Could you emulate his vision and actions?

    You need to learn how to give timely and accurate coaching and counseling to each of your staff members regularly. If they are performing below par, take them aside and find out why. Ask them questions. Don’t start criticizing them and threatening them about their performance. You may be shocked to find out that person may have lost a close family member and that has impacted their performance. You don’t know. Treat them with respect and ask questions.

    Make sure you are clear about what is expected from your staff. If you just tell them to produce 100 units an hour, that is an expectation. Go deeper. Show them how to produce 100 units an hour. Sit with them. Ask them how they could produce 100 units an hour. What could they improve on to produce more?  Be clear on your expectations and be the coach and confidant.

    “The number one demotivator in the world of work is not knowing what is expected.”

    A great strategy is to have short monthly one-on-one meetings with your staff. The manager is there as a facilitator, the coach, guiding the meeting, but doing the listening and asking questions. To make these meetings effective and to coach your staff, they create the agenda for the meeting. Let them tell you what they have been working on in the past month. What their goals were in the last month and if they achieved them or not and why. They will tell you their goals for the next month and how they will achieve them. You will just ask questions to clarify anything they said and to push them a little bit to learn something new. Improve their production, their leadership skills, whatever it may be. You are the coach. Coach them. Be clear in your communication. No fluffy stuff. Be open honest and caring. Have them always reaching higher to achieve their personal goals and to achieve the goals of the business. 

    What are you going to do to be the coach and confident in your business?

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    Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, Author, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals, and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations, conducts workshops, and training.  Focusing on lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

    Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you to get the results you want in your business, [email protected], or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today.

    #bizcoachstevef #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #business #smallbiz #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #leadership #marketing #speaking #keynotespeaker #meetingprofs #eventprofs #meetingstoday #businesscoachnearme

  • You’re Not Fit to Lead If Your Greatest Strength is Seeing Weakness

    You’re Not Fit to Lead If Your Greatest Strength is Seeing Weakness

    That may sound a little harsh. But many business owners and leaders are truly not fit to lead their team because they are only seeing weakness in others.

    We all know, or have worked for, or even are, that smart talented leader that finds it easy to point out inadequacies, describe what’s wrong, and explain disagreements.

    There’s no creativity in pointing out weaknesses.

    There’s no imagination in disagreement.

    There’s no innovation in explaining what cannot be done.

    There’s no added value in tearing someone down.

    What this does is put them into a self-supporting superior feeling due to the lack of true leadership abilities.

    Working with business owners for the past few decades I consistently hear these phrases from ineffective leaders.

    1.        I disagree.

    2.        That won’t work.

    3.        We already tried that.

    4.        You’re wrong.

    5.        You should be better at….

    Ineffective leaders find fault like it’s the only thing leaders do. They believe they need to find fault in everything to justify their position.

    The ability to see wrong, point out a weakness, highlight mistakes, and declare deficiencies is important and necessary. But don’ts, won’ts, and can’ts stabilize the past and move the business forward.

    It’s safe and powerful for leaders with the authority to prevent change, end exploration, and tell people what they can’t do.

    Now, here’s what highly effective leaders love to ask:

    1.        Have you thought about…? Offer alternatives when you disagree. What if…?

    2.        How about…? Have the courage to make something better, rather than simply pointing out inadequacy.

    3.        You’re great at …. How can you bring your strengths to this challenge? The future depends on the strengths of the people around the table.

    4.        How might we make this better?

    5.        What are we trying to achieve and why does it matter? When you’re ready to point out a fault, ask yourself, “What are we trying to accomplish?”

    The future belongs to the curious.

    They ask questions and look for alternative solutions instead of showcasing fault and blame.

    So, how can a leader change their ways and stop finding fault and start pursuing excellence within their business?

    Here are 3 simple tips:

    1.        Notice three strengths for every weakness you point out.

    2.        Say what you see when you see progress. Highlight your wins and positive movement.

    3.        Leverage positive energy. Figure out how to apply energy to positive outcomes. Positive energy equates to positive outcomes. Negative energy leads to negative outcomes.

    If you see growth, other solutions, ask questions, seek input from others, have a positive mindset, your business will grow and be successful.

    On the other hand, if you thrive on pointing out fault, don’t ask questions, blame everyone and everything around you, refuse to listen to anyone but yourself and have a negative mindset, then your business, employees, customers, and vendors will not want to have anything to do with you and your business will die.

    So, take a deep look at yourself. 

    Are you fit to lead?

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    Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, Author, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals, and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations, conducts workshops, and training. Focusing on the lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

    Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you to get the results you want in your business, [email protected], or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today.

    #bizcoachstevef #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #business #smallbiz #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #leadership #marketing #speaking #keynotespeaker #meetingprofs #eventprofs #meetingstoday

  • Can leadership training help my business bottom line?

    Can leadership training help my business bottom line?

    “Because we have always done it that way!”

    That is a phrase that I have heard from many business owners and leaders when asking them about something that is not working in their business. My next question is usually, “And why is it done that way?” Most often, it’s not the old-style patriarchal leadership way. When it comes to progress and success in today’s competitive environment, the authoritarian business leader is as effective as kings and dictators are for their nations’ economies. Many businesses know something is not working within their own business, but yet hold on to past ways that keep the business and their employee from moving forward.

    This way of thinking is not only hindering the business, but they are controlling their people and in doing so, they create an environment of stagnation that fails to tap into their population’s talents and ambitions. Leadership training can help a business owner learn how to lead people in a way that brings out their best and encourages them to take ownership.

    We live in a diverse country, which requires business leaders and owners to know and understand generational and cultural differences and they need to learn the best approaches to communicate and motivate each one. Doing it, because that is the way you have always done it-will not work now and into the future.

    The best leaders and managers invite staff to fully invest in their own success.

    The top-down, one-way communication style died many decades ago, but some business leaders and owners still use it because they are used to making all the decisions.

    With today’s demographics and the high demand for experienced, knowledgeable workers, small businesses have to have a very solid plan for attraction, retention and succession. All that starts with the leader’s vision and leadership style.

    Demand and control as an effective management style is dead – and still prevalent in many businesses today –because that’s not a style that will work with younger employers. You need to engage them if you want to keep them, and if you want to keep them you have to actually understand where you want to go and they have to see you as a person who wants to develop them.” Today’s employees want more than a JOB, they want to feel wanted, their ideas contribute to the business, as well as being respected.

    Business owners and leaders believe they can change and adapt, but the reality is they revert back to their old ways.  They need to embrace outside leadership training. Then they can learn how to use what they have learned from experience, pass it on to their team and engage them into the strategic planning process. Today’s best leaders are the ones who can instil leadership skills in all their employees. They are the ones that value their employee’s contributions.

    But, the experts say, part of that means that the leader must know how to walk the talk.

    Integrity is a big part of this.

    You will not motivate, and you will not lead people well if you say one thing and are doing something else entirely. Leadership by example is one of the strongest ways to get alignment and alignment is key to achieving your goals. Be a better leader and you will attract and retain the best people.

    What are you doing in your business to empower, lead, inspire your employees?

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    Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, Author, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals, and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations, conducts workshops and training.  Focusing on the lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

    Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you get the results you want in your business, [email protected], or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today.

    #bizcoachstevef #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #business #smallbiz #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #leadership #marketing #speaking #keynotespeaker #meetingprofs #eventprofs #meetingstoday

  • 8 Signs an Employee Is Exceptional

    We can all spot a great employee: she’s dependable, proactive, hardworking, a great leader, and a great follower. She brings a wide variety of easily defined attributes, but they also have some hard to find soft skills to the table.

    Some employees, though, are exceptional. They have skills and qualities that aren’t evaluated on performance appraisals but make a huge impact on that individual’s performance, the performance of the people around her, and especially on the company’s results.

    Here are eight signs an employee is truly exceptional:

    1. They think beyond job descriptions: The smaller the company, the more important it is that employees can think on their feet, adapt quickly to shifting priorities, and do whatever it takes, regardless of role or position, to get things done.

    When a key customer’s project is in jeopardy, exceptional employees know without being told there’s a problem, and they jump in without being asked, even if–especially if–it’s not their job.

    2. They’re quirky: The best employees are often a little different: a little eccentric, sometimes irreverent, even delighted to be unusual. They seem slightly odd, but in a really good way. Unusual personalities shake things up, make work more fun, and transform a plain-vanilla group into a team with flair and flavor.

    People who aren’t afraid to be different naturally stretch boundaries and challenge the status quo, and they often come up with the best ideas.

    3. They know when to rein in their individuality: An unusual personality is a lot of fun–right up until the moment it isn’t. When a major challenge pops up or a situation gets stressful, the best employees stop expressing their individuality and fit seamlessly into the team.

    Exceptional employees know when to play and when to be serious; when to be irreverent and when to conform; and when to challenge and when to back off.

    It’s a tough balance to strike, and a rare few can walk that fine line with ease.

    4. They praise other people in public: Praise from a boss feels good. Praise from a peer feels awesome, especially when you look up to that person.

    Exceptional employees recognize the contributions of others, especially in group settings where the impact of their words is even greater.

    5. They disagree in private: We all want employees to bring issues forward, but some problems are better handled in private. Great employees often get more latitude to bring up controversial subjects in a group setting because their performance allows greater freedom.

    Exceptional employees come to you before or after a meeting to discuss a sensitive issue, knowing that bringing it up in a group setting could set off a firestorm.

    6. They ask questions when others won’t: Some employees are hesitant to speak up in meetings. Some are even hesitant to speak up privately.

    An employee once asked me a question about potential layoffs. After the meeting I said to him, “Why did you ask about that? You already know what’s going on.” He said, “I do, but a lot of other people don’t, and they’re afraid to ask. I thought it would help if they heard the answer from you.”

    Exceptional employees have an innate feel for the issues and concerns of those around them and step up to ask questions or raise important issues when others hesitate.

    7. They are self-motivated: Self-motivation often springs from a desire to show that doubters are wrong. The woman without a college degree or the man who was told he didn’t have leadership potential often possesses a burning desire to prove other people wrong.

    Education, intelligence, talent, and skill are important, but drive is critical. Exceptional employees are driven by something deeper and more personal than just the desire to do a good job.

    8. They’re constantly exploring: Some people are rarely satisfied (I mean that in a good way) and are constantly tinkering with something: reworking a timeline, adjusting a process, tweaking a workflow.

    Good employees follow processes. Great employees tweak processes. Exceptional employees find ways to reinvent processes, not just because they are expected to…but because they just can’t help themselves.

    How can you recognize these employees? Encourage them? Provide them with the resources and developmental skills they want?  Let that employee know they are doing a great job and support them. They are the ones to ask about your business and will help you grow your business.

    #

    Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, Author, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations, conducts workshops and training.  Focusing on the lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

    Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you get the results you want in your business, [email protected], or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today.

    #bizcoachstevef #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #business #smallbiz #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #leadership #marketing #speaking #keynotespeaker #meetingprofs #eventprofs #meetingstoday

  • 10 Easy Ways to Resist Change

    Having worked with many owners, leaders, managers and employees and a theme that keeps coming up is how to deal with change. The standard way of dealing with change in most workplaces is to get really upset and run around in great distress. Many people dwell on how things used to be and clutch desperately onto the old ways of doing things. In one business where I had to change the culture, everyone told me “but, that’s the way we have always done it.”  My response was the same as well. Doing that way is why the business is failing and we need to change how it is done so everyone has a job in 6 months. This dynamic usually happens because leaders and organizations do not have the systems in place to welcome change or view it as an opportunity for growth.

    Many people fear change. Change can be scary and daunting but what I’ve noticed affects workplaces negatively is how they deal with the situation. People don’t consciously try to complicate things, it’s just that they don’t know what to do and very often their leaders aren’t helping them through the challenging times.  The next time you’re experiencing change in your organization make sure that you do the following things to make it more difficult.

    1. Pretend it’s not happening.  The put your head in the sand and hope the change blows over.

    2.  Stubbornly keep doing what you’ve always done. No matter what is said and done, just keep doing the it way you’ve always done and hopefully no one will notice.

    3.  Whatever you do, don’t change your perspective.  Stay on your course. Do not look at anything from another perspective.

    4.  Complain to as many people as you can. My favorite. Be the poison in the water. Why not, the squeaky wheel gets the attention.

    5.  Don’t buy-in to new ways of doing things. Blockbuster loves this one. The world is changing and don’t buy into the hype that it is changing.

    6.  Actively resist doing anything differently.  No matter what do NOT try anything different.

    7.  Stay nervous at all times. Be that long tailed cat in a room full of rockers. By being nervous you can spread some panic to those that do want to change.

    8.  Run around aimlessly. Like the old FedEx commercial. Busy being busy. This way people may think you are changing, when you are really just spinning your tires in mud.

    9.  Feed into the hysteria as often as possible.  Find others with the same fears as you and really build the hysteria- just like the media does.

    10. Don’t offer any solutions.  Remember you need to be the problem and not the solution. Giving a solution means you are open to the change and that is not good.

    I know I have seen all these 10 things being done withing businesses that are trying to change for the better. But, if you do these ten things, you’ll find that you will reverse the rotation of the earth and everything will go back to how it was. Realistically, you will have little to no impact on the changes going on which really leaves it up to you to decide how you’re going to deal with what’s actually happening. You have the ability to take even the worst situation and focus it any way you want. You choose whether the change is a tragedy or an opportunity. It’s just like when you want to support your point of view, you can always find someone to support it on the Internet, but maybe not support it in real life. By resisting the change, you will actually cause change, in that you will have to look for another J.O.B. If you are the owner and resist change, then you will probably have to close the doors to your business.

    The world changes. Your customers preferences changes. Buying habits change. Technology changes. Economics change. Regulations change. And so much more.  Smart leaders expect change and need to plan for it in order to grow their businesses.

    What will you do to welcome change and use it to grow and succeed?

    #

    Steve Feld, MBA, Certified Business Coach, Author, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations, conducts workshops and training.  Focusing on the lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business.

    Contact Biz Coach Steve today to see how he can assist you get the results you want in your business, [email protected], or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today. #bizcoachstevef #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #business #smallbiz #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #leadership #marketing #speaking #keynotespeaker #meetingprofs #eventprofs #meetingstoday

  • 4 Simple Strategies to Manage Your Online Reputation

    True story: In 2017, Devon an 18-year old was charging his Dell laptop on his couch. It let out a big bang and then burst into flames. He blew the flames out. Unplugged the laptop and put it on the table outside. It exploded again. This time he used a fire extinguisher. As that wasn’t enough, it exploded again. It was all caught on home security cameras and became viral overnight and spread like wildfire across the internet. Thousands of bloggers started bashing the company and demanding they apologize. In a matter of days, the company’s hard-earned reputation and goodwill in the marketplace was in jeopardy as Dell issued the biggest product recall in computer history.

    Michael Dell started his computer company in his dorm room and transformed it into a multi-billion-dollar company. He spent years building his legendary empire and suddenly, the company’s reputation was at stake thanks to the power of Social Media.  This could happen to your company.  Are your prepared to handle your online reputation?

    Bad things Happen to Good Companies

    The internet is filled with stories of companies and individuals whose reputations have been in ruins overnight. Honest businesses fall prey to manipulating competitors out to ruin them and steal market share in return. Many businesses have experienced, through no fault of their own, scheming competitors bad mouthing and spreading false rumors about them through social media. Heck just read the fake Yelp reviews. These days, the means to spread rumors about a business are many and as a result, it is imperative for businesses to proactively manage their online reputation.

    In a study by McKinsey & Company, they stated how consumers really make decisions. Part of the study stated, that the number one-way consumers make a decision to buy a product or service is through online reviews and ratings. Online reviews are not just for major sites like Amazon. Today, a customer can research a product or service just about anywhere including blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and of course, within the dreaded search engine result pages. As such, business owners need to ensure that their company reviews are clean. By clean, I mean over 90% of reviews for your products and services should be positive. Of course, every now and then you will have that rogue customer who is not satisfied with your product or service and even though you may have gone the extra mile to satisfy him or her, it just didn’t cut it for them. But that’s the cost of doing business.

    Reputation Management online is not as tough as one would imagine and can be broken down into four solid pieces. Monitor, Listen, Respond and Amplify. Let’s look at each one of them:

    Monitoring your Reputation: 
    The starting point of online reputation management requires businesses to begin proactively monitoring conversations happening about their brand. Automated keyword searches can quickly reveal the topics and themes that customers (and competitors) are talking about. Companies often feel overwhelmed in the beginning due to the large volume of content on the internet. But proper configuration and tweaking of keywords can help tremendously. It is easy to set up Google Alerts. Use your company’s name as a keyword and have Google send you what it finds about your company. Set up a few different alerts. Include your name on one of the Alerts, Organizations you are affiliated with, Etc.

    Listening to your Customers:
    In this critical piece of online reputation management, a business needs to separate the noise from the real conversations taking place on social media about their products or services. The real conversations can be separated into two distinct categories; those that are actively talking about your business, and those that may warn of a storm on the horizon. The latter category requires you to listen carefully and diffuse the storm before it gains strength. Most social media managers categorize and separate these conversations into those that need “immediate attention” and those that require “active listening.” This allows them to be prepared and to strategize ways to diffuse the situation before the conversation turns into an ugly rant against their brand. Listening requires a careful plan of action with a fine balance between coming across as overprotective and defensive and simply monitoring your reputation.

    Responding is an Art:
    Effectively responding and diverging crises is an art. You don’t want your communication to sound like a well-honed PR message. People complain on social media channels because they are not satisfied, and they are usually hoping for a resolution. Always be sympathetic and put yourself in the customer’s position.  This does not mean that you should allow a customer to take your brand hostage while they are ranting against your company. However, responding means first analyzing what went wrong and how you can make it right. Most large companies follow a certain set of processes to ensure that they are responding to customer complaints on social media in a fair manner. These set processes can be setting up special email groups, hiring additional employees in the customer resolution area, and coming up with special offers to win these customers back.  Responding negatively will only do more harm than good. Watch your words.

    Amplify your Wins:
    I have seen many companies go to great lengths to satisfy an angry customer on a social media platform. It is not uncommon for complaining customers to receive complimentary gift certificates, free services, heavy discounts, you name it, in response to their public complaints.  At the end, both the customer and company are happy, and all is forgotten.

    A very critical piece that companies often neglect is to amplify the positive actions the company took to satisfy the angry customer. Traditional customer service folks are not trained on how to amplify positive remarks. This onus typically falls on the social media managers to let the world know that your company goes great lengths to satisfy their customers. Amplification of positive experiences with your brand or services goes a long way in the social media world. This amplification is not just leaving a comment behind but finding strategic, meaningful ways to communicate to the rest of the world. This is the art of social media.

    These are just some of the high-level strategy pieces that a company of any size can employ to manage their online reputation.

    What strategies are you going to take to manage your online reputation?

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    Steve Feld, MBA, provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals and executives. Steve also speaks to organizations, conducts workshops and training.  Focusing on the lead generation and revenue creation to get growth results for the business. Contact Steve today to see how he can assist you grow your business, [email protected], or www.bizcoachsteve.com. He is in the business of growing businesses. Need a speaker, contact Steve today. #bizcoachstevef #entrepreneur #smallbusiness #business #smallbiz #coaching #businessowner #businesscoach #leadership #marketing #speaking

  • Complacency Kills

    When a business’s culture stagnates and complacency sets in, performance declines, growth stalls and existing customers sense the lack of drive and erosion of value occurs. In many situations where a business has lost its drive and is backsliding, the cure it to reset to a performance-based culture. This is a move that can have a significant impact on the organizations long-term financial performance.

    But how to instill a performance-based culture as a means of improving a product or service and concentrating on three main components: Goals, Incentives, and Measures.

    Have you ever noticed the companies that are consistently growing are always changing? Having a strong culture to keep inventing is usually directly correlated to consistent growth. That culture starts with leadership but can diminish over the life of the business as other coefficients of culture become more powerful.  Undoubtedly, a company’s culture is impacted by many factors. Sometimes corporate culture is nurtured by involved and caring management where it flourishes and sustains, while other times the culture gets dinged and damaged over the years to the point of being unrepairable. Among the many no-so-positive factors that might harm the culture are: major restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and frequent changes in leadership at the corporate level.

    Mission Drift: Businesses naturally evolve and change. Executives, staff and customers come and go. Change and evolution are good and to be expected, but over time, businesses can experience “mission drift.” When a business starts it is focused on its mission, as the business grows the organizations workforce expands with the business’s growth. Roles change, key resources stretch to take on new responsibilities and try to transition their knowledge about their old role to someone else. Mis-interpretation creeps in, so does improvisation.

    The original organizational culture has changed, it gets diluted as fresh blood gets pumped into the environment. This is also when the culture transforms, sometimes positive with new ideas and innovation. The key is to stay in check and preserve the core mission of the business, but yet keep it moving forward.

    Relentless Charge:  Expansion creates fatigue and burnout within the organization and can also lead to an exhausted and ambivalent workforce that is detrimental to growth, innovation and operational excellence in the business. This does not mean that a business should not push ahead, or coast along and slack-off. It does mean that we must have a formula to fuel the business for the long-run. Think in terms of running a marathon and not a sprint. The formula must be mixed with the new culture and be attuned to the business’s strategies and goals.

    During boom times, business leaders must listen to the signals the business is sending to them. Organizations get tired and need rest cycles as well. Not like us humans need to rest, but the business cannot endlessly expend energy with replacing it along the way. Business cycles go in spurts of work and then rejuvenation. Constant full-speed accelerations without maintaining the organizational pistons will wear out the engine and momentum will slow. A balance is needed between the need to constantly move the organization forward and the need to recharge energy and celebrate successes along the way.

    Complacency: One of the biggest enemies a business culture faces is complacency. Complacency can come from having reached a level of comfort that accompanies some degree of achievement and feelings of success. Sometimes when an organization reaches a significant milestone the employees throughout the company sometimes gravitate towards a place where it is comfortable and safe. Why risk what we’ve works so hard for? Complacency develops out of our natural desire for the predictability of a routine over the uncertainty of change.

    The primary issue with complacency is that we cannot remain in a fixed position with the external environment is moving and changing. This guarantees that the organization will be passed by competing businesses that embrace change.  Businesses that do not systematically strive for improvement and growth will plateau, stagnate and then decline. Those businesses that continue to reach beyond the status quo and adapt to evolutionary changes in their environment will thrive.

    Strong leadership during growth periods is essential to curtail dilution and avoid organizational complacency. Non-proactive leadership during a growth period can slowly erode confidence throughout the organization and lead to complacency and disconnectedness.  It may seem counter-intuitive, but these outcomes are exposed when people begin to focus on the wrong things as a result of the business-essential tacit knowledge held by the original core team being stretched and worn thin. Some workers may begin to feel overworked, while others may feel underutilized.

    So, what do you do when your organization’s culture has been pummeled and is no longer reflective of the workplace that it once was?

    What’s your ideal target?  Clearly, a broken culture must be addressed by changing it, but that requires a vision of the target culture be in place before attempting any transformative actions as well as a realistic plan for change. Ultimately, the goal of the culture reset is to create a strong and positive culture that is well-aligned with the organization’s core values.

    A strong organizational culture is one that is extremely well aligned to a common set of core values, making policy and procedure changes easier to introduce. However, rigidity and group think are two rick factors that accompany strong organizational beliefs and corporate dogma. Having a strong culture is certainly preferable to a weak one but is not entirely the optimal situation.

    A healthier model is a performance-centric culture, striking a balance between the desirable attributes of a strong culture and the equally important ingredients of goals, incentives, measures, flexibility and acceptance. A performance-centric organization allows for and promotes diversity in thought and business innovation but does not tolerate complacent behavior. These organizations have developed a corporate structure that promotes accountability and rewards performance target achievements, while accepting and embracing challenges to the status quo. Bureaucracy and group think are viewed as the demons of innovation that must be kept in check in order to allow fragile new and game-changing business ideas to survive and one day be implemented. Research has shown that organizations with performance-centric cultures experience better financial growth.

    The Reward: A culture with a bias for action: Make no mistake, transforming a culture is not easy and requires an organization to seek change. Unfortunately, an organization in mission drift, exhausted from the relentless charge and/or suffering from complacency is not an ideal patient to respond quickly to any treatment. Conditions that developed over a long period of time will require a careful and paced culture change program as opposed to an attempt to introduce quick fixes that create more disruption and distraction.  Those organizations that succeed in change the rewards are enormous.

    Realizing the benefits: Performance-based cultures unify employees and naturally bridge the organizational gaps such as hierarchy or geography. In a performance-based culture, the organization feels and behaves much like a family. This commitment helps guide employees to do the right things right and strive to advance the business in the absence of explicit direction.

    Perhaps most importantly, employees in performance-based cultures demonstrate a marked bias for action remaining fundamentally dissatisfied with the status quo and thinking and acting more like owners of the business. They show accountability and take personal responsibility for overall business performance and not just their own domains. As such, the culture tolerates very little bureaucratic debate and expects team players who display high levels of passion and commitment to achieving organizational goals.

  • START 2019 OFF RIGHT 14-DAY GOAL SETTING

    “Any road will get you there, if you don’t know where you are going,” – Lewis Carroll

    ”A goal without a plan is just a wish” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    As they say,a goal with a plan is just a dream. Do you often find yourself daydreaming of having something-whether that’s brand new car, increasing your monthly income-personal and for your business, but then never working towards that goal?  That’s because you don’t have a plan of action.

    This 14-Day Goal Setting exercise is for anyone who is looking to achieve a specific goal in their personal and professional life, no matter how big or small. If you’re unsure of how to go about starting on a path to achieving your goals, then this exercise is for you.

    By completing this exercise, you’ll gain clarity into exactly what you want to achieve in every area of your life and determine a clear-cut plan for how to achieve those goals. We will be focusing on your BUSINESS goals. Of course, you can apply this exercise to your personal life as well.

    The 14-Day Goal setting exercise outlines exactly what you need to do during each day of the challenge to be successful. We want you to set yourself up for a fantastic 2019 and take your business to the next level and beyond. Over the course of the next year we will be expanding on your business goals and provide you with some more information that you can use to achieve your 2019 business goals.

    Day 1 -THINK: Think about your business as it is now and write down the things that are most important to you for your business.  I.E. What do you want your revenue to be at the end of 2019? How many new customer do you want to have every month?

    Day 2 -IMAGINE: Imagine that you could wave a magic wand and make your business perfect in all areas.What would it look like? I.E. Having a team that is all on the same page,working effectively to grow your business.

    Day 3 –WRITE IT DOWN:  Using your thoughts from Day 2, write down each goal you’d like to achieve in your ideal business. Make your description clear and detailed in every sense. I.E. You need to make X number of call a day to close Y number of clients that equal Z number of revenue per quarter, per month, per week, or per day.

    Day 4 –DECIDE UPON YOUR MAJOR DEFINITE PURPOSE: Ask yourself: If I could achieve any business goal on this list within the next 2 weeks, which one goal would have the greatest positive impact on my business? I.E. Upgrade the computer system to streamline the sales process.

    Day 5 –SET A DEADLINE:  Think of a reasonable date for you to achieve your goal. If your goal is big enough, set sub-deadlines. I.E. Will upgrade the computer system on X day and test it out on Y day, everyone will be on the new system on Z day.

    Day 6 –IDENTIFY ANY OBSTACLES: Identify any potential obstacles that you will have to overcome to achieve your goal. Determine how to overcome each of them.  I.E. Getting the IT department to install and upgrade the system. Find an outside IT firm that can do the job within the next couple of days.

    Day 7 –IDENTIFY THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS YOU’LL NEED: What one skill, if you developed and did it consistently, in an excellent fashion, would help you the most to achieve your most important goal? I.E. If you are not well versed in accounting, speak to your CPA or take a basic accounting class so you can understand your numbers to make better decisions within your business.

    Day 8 –MAKE A LIST: Make a list of everything (each and every step) you will have to do to achieve your goal.  I.E. Just start a list of each step that needs to be taken to move your business from where it is now to the goal. 

    Day 9 –ORGANIZE YOUR LIST INTO A PLAN: Organize your list into a series of steps from the beginning all the way through to the completion of your goal. I.E. If you need to make 10 calls a day, then your list should be made the day before on who to call with their contact information the day before, why you are calling, even have your call script ready to go.

    Day 10 –WRITE YOUR PLAN DOWN IN AN AGENDA: Write down each phase of your plan in your agenda all the way through completion of your goal. Plan each day, week and month in advance.  I.E. Block time in the day to make the calls,then put the result of that call in your sales tracker.

    Day 11 –DETERMINE YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM: Make a list of every person in your life that you will have to work with or work around to achieve your goal. I.E. Contact your CPA to have them explain your numbers. Contact an IT company to upgrade your system. ETC.

    Day 12 –MAKE YOUR GOAL PUBLIC: Tell others what goal you intend to achieve and by when, especially those in your support system.  I.E. Get a Score mentor and tell them your goals along with the result you want with the date you are going to accomplish the goal. Join a master mind group.

    Day 13 –PRACTICE VISUALIZATION OF YOUR GOAL:  Create clear, vivid,exciting, emotional pictures of your goals as if they were already a reality.  I.E. Visualize yourself, your business after you achieved your goals. What does your business look like? How does that make you feel?

    Day 14 –DO YOUR FIRST TASK:  The hardest part is starting. On the last day of this exercise, complete the first task you’ve outlined for yourself and get started on the path of success.  I.E.JUST DO IT!! You first task may not be perfect, SO WHAT?  Just do it! Do not put this off and start taking action TODAY.

    By following this 14-Day goal setting challenge it will get you to develop your 2019 business goals. Be as descriptive as possible with realistic deadlines. Get the people in place to help you achieve your goals.

    Every month we will give you more information to keep you moving forward in your business,but you need to know where you want your business to go to before anything else. An archer needs to know where the bull’s-eye is on the target before they pull the string back and fire an arrow.  Start today to be successful in 2019.

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    Steve Feld, MBA is a certified business coach that provides training and business performance coaching to business owners, professionals and executives.He has owned and operated 6 businesses and operated 3 large corporations with Fortune 500 Companies and assisted hundreds of business owners achieve their business goals. #bizcoachstevef