Business Courses

Mastering The Difference Between Leadership And Management

It is a common belief that management and leadership are the same role. While it is common that a manager also plays the part of the leader, these two roles are truly separate in function and in the way they add to the success of an orginization. By understanding the difference between management and leadership you will become more effective in helping others see the road ahead.

To understand the difference between management and leadership, consider the construction of a new road. To build that road there are workers, machinery and tools which are all vital in the road’s construction. Managers help ensure those workers, machinery and tools work together in the most efficient way possible. A manager makes sure those workers are well-trained, motivated, rested and that they know what they’re supposed to do next. The manager does the same thing with the tools and the machinery to make sure that they’re working correctly and that the workers are able to use them efficiently and safely. This is the role of management. On the other hand, a leader makes sure that the road is going in the right direction before the construction begins. That leader also monitors conditions in new situations to ensure that the road under construction is still the correct one and is still going in the right direction.

How does this affect you as a leader? Are you spending your time managing people when you should be making sure that the road ahead is the one that you want to be on? To expect to be an effective leader you must present a clear vision and a trail you are willing to walk on first. While there are times when it is appropriate for a leader to fill a management role, it is vital to understand the difference between leadership and management so you can be effective no matter which role you happen to be filling at a given time. If you are a leader overseeing managers, it is important that you provide them with the correct perspective so they may be effective in their management role. Don’t manage the managers. Lead them.

If you are not in a formal leadership role, it is also important that you understand that when a leadership opportunity arises there is a difference between being a leader and managing the effort. Even if you end up filling both sets of shoes it’s important to understand the difference in roles in order to fill them effectively. If, on the other hand, you learn how to lead by showing people that you are walking down the right road, you will become a natural leader and will be able to help many others find success as your achieve your own.

Mentoring Programs for Professional Service Firms: Creating Mentoring Relationships that Serve the Individual and the Firm

It seems almost everyone can use a little something extra to help them increase their effectiveness or give them a ompetitive edge. Those in professional service firms are no exception; however, they do face unique challenges. With so much emphasis on billable hours for accountants and lawyers, how can they find the time to devote to personal development? Could asking for help demonstrate needed initiative or threaten credibility? Despite these challenges, more professionals are seeking mentors.

Contrary to popular belief, mentoring programs are not solely for the young and new in their careers. Even more seasoned professionals find benefit by addressing issues related to personal development, business development, and life/work balance. Mentoring conversations are less about learning the ropes, and more about thinking strategically about goals.

Before you start your search for a mentor, decide what it is you would most want to accomplish through the process. It will help you make the best decision.

Where do you find good mentors? Here are a few places to look:

- Inside your firm. Fortunately, more organizations are identifying ways to help employees create and develop mutually rewarding mentoring relationships. Some offer formal mentoring programs. Formal mentoring programs should not be a simple matching game. While it might seem logical to pair a more experienced professional with an individual newer in his career, other issues should be considered first:

a. The needs and goals of individuals
b. An individual’s commitment level to personal growth
c. A potential mentor’s commitment level to the process
d. The organization’s top priorities

If there’s no formal mentoring program, simply ask someone whose work you admire if they would be willing to spend some time with you over the next few months to help you focus on some goals. You don’t even have to use the word “mentor” which can seem too daunting of a role for some.

- Outside your firm. There are some mentor programs that exist apart from the organization. They attract individuals from a variety of organizations. Participants in these programs are assigned a mentor from outside the organization. These programs help you foster relations beyond your own internal network and across industries. Such programs can be found at national and local levels.

Not everyone should be in a mentoring program. These programs work best for those who are self-motivated and open to change. Mentoring programs can be structured a variety of ways. Some include peer coaching or group coaching. Ideally a mentoring program should be integrated with the strategic objectives of the firm. Determine the specific desired outcomes of the program and measures of success.

You may also consider working with an external coach. An external coach provides a personalized approach to help you achieve specific goals. Explore the possibility of your organization sponsoring a coaching engagement; otherwise, consider the process an investment in your own development.

Whether you’re working with a coach or a mentor, here are some tips on how to make the process most successful.

- Determine the outcomes both of you want to achieve first. For example, some may want to learn or hone a skill like presenting or strategic planning. Some may want to gain more knowledge about a particular career path. Some may want support dealing with a particular challenge or opportunity.

- Establish best ways to communicate. Will you meet in person, by phone or both? How frequently will you meet? Meetings need not be time consuming when you’re highly focused.

- Set a goal. Set a specific concrete goal to accomplish during a given time frame. Make sure it’s not too general such as, “I want to be a better leader.” Instead it might be something like, “I want to meet with each person in the practice group within 30 days to get feedback.” Initiate a particular meeting or project that helps you exercise the specific skill you want to develop. Being goal focused helps establish greater accountability for results.

- Debrief. Establish checkpoints along the way to assess how things are going for both of you. Determine what would make the relationship or process even better.

While mentoring relationships can be interesting and enjoyable, they should also be productive. These relationships should provide opportunities for both learning and action. The best relationships have the potential to create value for the employee, the mentor and the firm as a whole.

Merchant Account Set Up

Owners of small businesses who hope to increase their profits may have questions about a merchant account set up. Although perhaps interested in applying for this special type of account through a banker or preferred lender, they may be unsure of the costs and other requirements for getting equipped to process credit card payments. Since it is always wise to find out about required expenses before asking for a new account, business owners should carefully review the terms and fees associated with a merchant services account, along with any other information that will help them understand how to set up a merchant account.

One of the first things you will need to know is how to apply for a merchant account set up. This part is easy enough. You just have to do an Internet search to find a list of the available lenders who are eager to offer your company this valuable service. Those that seem to be a little iffy you will want to avoid, naturally. These are the companies with whose names you are unfamiliar or who have not been in business very long. It is probably a good idea to look for companies with a solid reputation or history. In fact, you may want to ask trusted business colleagues for a recommendation. Another option is to check with the bank where your company has its accounts at present. Perhaps that lender offers a good rate on a merchant account.

After being approved for a merchant account set up, the next step is to decide what type of services you would like your business to implement. Do you want to set up a simple credit card processor for checkout transactions in addition to check and debit processing? This could speed checkout time as well as please customers who prefer to use a credit card instead of cash or check for your products or services. Another way to use your merchant account is to purchase or lease a wireless credit card processor for point-of-sale payments, which will help you avoid the added step of mailing invoices and then awaiting payment.

Your merchant account set up will be based on certain fees, possibly including but not limited to an application fee, set up fee, gateway expense, or annual membership cost. Don’t forget that there will be a per-transaction fee or monthly percentage rate that you will need to pay for merchant account services. If you decide to put up a company Website, the merchant account could cover basic set up fees and maintenance service, though you will need to work this out with your account provider. Make sure you understand all of the terms and conditions of your merchant account before you sign an agreement.

Your company can enter the world of electronic commerce, or “e-commerce,” almost immediately and bring your customers into the 21st century of bill-paying when you qualify for a merchant services account. Start browsing offers by established lenders today to find the best deal for your merchant account set up.

Merchant Credit Card Account Applications

Since a personal credit card provides us with the means to make life easier and more enjoyable, can you imagine what a merchant credit card account can do for your business? This type of account is more than just a line of credit. It is an entire service package that offers support to help your company flourish and grow. Of course, as with any other type of credit account, it is important to use it responsibly. The first step toward obtaining this type of financial and technical support is to submit an application.

Finding a merchant credit card account company is not hard at all. You just have to check with bankers in your area to see if they provide this service and are willing to work with you. Barring that route, you can do an online Internet search to find merchant account providers who are accepting new clients. There are plenty of banks and professional lenders who are looking for entrepreneurs to work with. They often will take a chance on new business owners if they think you have the potential to become a trusted client. But first you will need to pass muster by demonstrating your company’s capabilities in a few distinct areas. One is that you have a solid credit history and are not in bankruptcy. A copy of your company’s credit history should be adequate proof for this requirement. A second criterion is that your business has enough income to meet the new expenses of a merchant account. Bank statements or an annual report should help with this concern. Another thing the lender will want to know is the type of business you are doing. If you traffic in pornography, are engaged in telemarketing, or have left a trail linking your company to some unsavory dealings, the underwriter may decline your application. Conditions can vary; so ask about the eligibility requirements before applying.

The next step toward applying for a merchant credit card account is to submit the application. Some lenders provide an online form that you can submit electronically, although you may be charged a fee for this privilege. Other loan agents will let you download a print application that you can complete in ink and mail by U.S. post. Either way, you will probably receive a response to your application within a few days by e-mail or in a letter. If your application is accepted, you can immediately begin to use your credit line and service package to set up a credit card processing system. Working with an account associate, you can arrange to install a credit card processor at your store’s checkout area. Or you can buy a wireless model for several hundred dollars and take it with you on the road when you service computers or appliances, or make deliveries to homes or businesses. Discuss the applications of your new merchant account with the loan officer to clarify limits and equipment options for your company’s use.

You won’t be able to enjoy the use of merchant services until you apply for them, so ask your preferred lender about the application process for a merchant credit card account.

Merchant Services

Can merchant services make a difference in the way you do business? You bet they can! A merchant services account can equip you to conduct e-commerce with the latest credit card processing technology. You may be able to manage your company with fewer employees to handle billing and collect payments when you implement technical credit processing equipment that can save you time and money. In addition, a merchant account will place you in the ranks of your industry’s foremost professionals, adding status to stature.

Find out if your company’s bank offers merchant services. If it does, ask about the acceptance criteria and consider making an application there. If not, however, you can find literally dozens or hundreds of lenders who are looking for customers like you to whom they can offer a merchant services account. The lenders charge fees that can take many forms, including an online application expense or an annual membership fee; perhaps both or even others might be required for your to receive the account. Being able to hold merchant status, though, might be worth the cost of such fees, since you will be able to accept credit card payments with the help of specialized technology and a gateway liaison. Your merchant account lender will process each credit card payment for you and deposit the money in your company’s bank account. Your fees for this service may be billed or automatically deducted as worked out in advance with the lender.

How can merchant services help your business? For one thing, a merchant services account will let you install a credit card processor at your place of business to accept credit payments onsite. Many consumers today prefer the convenience of paying by credit card, and they will love the fact that your company is keeping up with current trends and technology. Another way that merchant services can assist your business is by providing telephone dial-in credit card payment technology. You won’t even have to staff each phone call with a person to answer and manage the payment. An automated recording will guide your customers through the credit card payment process.

Many business owners who want to widen the path to welcome new clients are using merchant services to set up a company Website. There they can display all the company’s products and pricelists, along with a FAQ page and testimonials that can provide customers with extra details and helpful information. Your Website can become your company’s window on the world to invite potential new customers to come and have a look around. If they decide to order, they can do so immediately, making it easy for them to get the price they want and for your to get paid quickly. After a successful first “shopping trip,” they are likely to return repeatedly for easy, prompt transactions.

Obtaining a merchant services account is a great way to move your business to the next level of expertise. Accepting credit card payments will be beneficial to your customers and great for you, too. Find out if you are eligible to apply for local or international merchant services.

Merchant Services Account

Can a Merchant Services Account really help your company to grow? Dozens of satisfied business owners claim it can, and they eagerly support this type of service for use with many kinds of companies and enterprises. Basically, a merchant account will allow you to collect credit card payments from your customers in a variety of ways. You’ve probably heard all about these from other company owners in your area, but if not, here is a basic rundown of what to expect.

Getting approved for a Merchant Services Account means that your company will be able to accept credit card payments. You can collect these in several interesting ways, depending on the nature of your business and your clientele. If you operate a retail shop or a restaurant, for example, you can set up a credit card processor onsite in the checkout area to receive payments from your customers. On the other hand, if you deliver home-baked goodies to customers at lunchtime in their business offices, you can take along a wireless unit to collect payments while making the delivery. All transactions can be concluded at the point of purchase, leaving your time free to do more valuable things than collect back checks or send out monthly statements.

A Merchant Services Account can help you set up a digital credit card payment program. For example, you can arrange for customers to call a toll-free number, listen to a menu of choices before pressing the telephone keypad number that corresponds with their reason for calling, and shop for products that are described briefly on the phone in a pre-recorded message. If they purchase anything, they can pay for it promptly with a credit card by punching in the requisite account numbers. Your customers will love the ease with which they can call your company, shop without coming into the store, and make payments without the exact amount of cash.

Opening a Merchant Services Account also can equip you with additional technology, like a pager, a wireless phone, or a debit and e-check processor. You can reduce the amount of help you will need from employees by relying more on technology to help you run your business. One of the most expansive credit card payment options is to set up a Website that represents your company’s business. You can promote the latest products or sales, list prices, include links to related sites, and let customers make purchases that they can pay with a credit card right at the site that operates in real time. Your lender will coordinate the payment-processing program so that the amount paid by your customer will be deposited directly in your company’s bank account.

There is no need to keep on doing business the old fashioned way when you can easily upgrade to an e-commerce structure. Costs are manageable, and benefits are noticeable in short order. Ask your banker, a colleague, or an Internet Website for details about how you can apply for benefits that will help your company become all it can be with a Merchant Services Account.

Mismanagement At The New York Times

The New York Times Company (NYT) isn’t just reporting the news – it’s making the news. At yesterday’s annual meeting, shareholders withheld 28% of their votes for the four directors elected by holders of the company’s common stock. Nine other directors are elected by holders of the Class B shares, effectively granting control of the company to a group holding less than a 1% economic interest in the business.

Most of the large newspaper companies have not done a great job of earning the best returns for their shareholders. Some of these companies overdid acquisitions. The New York Times Company illustrates the danger of adding to the empire – you dilute the crown jewel.

In 1993, the company bought The Boston Globe. Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of paper that will be hurt by online news sources. Second-tier major city dailies are not in a strong position, because they try to be all things to all people.

A newspaper can thrive by dominating a specific niche. That niche can be geographical or topical. Community newspapers can thrive, because they still have no real competition. The news they report is unique. It is very important to a very small group of people.

A company that owns clusters of these papers in wealthy suburbs will do fine. By reporting on local schools, sports, and events these publications set themselves apart from all other news sources. They have a mini-monopoly both on the news they provide and on the ads they run.

There are places in states like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvannia where advertisers benefit from targeting specific communities, because the demographics of the next town over are not nearly as attractive. A lot of this has to do with public schools. I don’t see that system changing anytime soon. So, I imagine these properties will fare much better than big city newspapers.

The New York Times Company has one great asset – its brand. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal each have a very valuable national brand. People all over the country have been exposed to them through other media outlets. The value isn’t really in the size of the circulation. If you think of the entire country as their potential market, their circulations are tiny (the news business is very fragmented).

A few years ago, it would have been crazy to think of the entire country as a potential market for these publications. But, I don’t think that’s the case today. These papers could earn a lot of money online. Of course, they have to figure out how to earn money online.

Long-term, I don’t like the idea of expensive online subscriptions. It looks like a great idea now, but it could limit future ad revenue. Becoming a dominant online news destination would prove extraordinarily profitable. Unfortunately, no one is going to capture more than a tiny sliver of the online news market by charging a lot of money for their content.

It isn’t just an issue of people not wanting to pay. It’s also an issue of exclusivity. The less exclusive an online news source is the more often it will be cited. People who don’t visit your site are far less likely to reference it. Just as importantly, no writer wants to exclude any part of his own readership. So, many writers simply won’t cite a subscription service.

Some online writers do reference subscription services. Knowing how strongly people react to being excluded, I think writers who cite paid services are absolutely nuts. Even if it isn’t consciously acknowledged, readers will enjoy your site less if it points out something they can’t have.

Both The New York Times Company and Dow Jones (DJ) went the route of buying an established online destination. I’m always skeptical of these kind of me too acquisitions. These businesses did need to go online, but they needed to do it in their own way. The acquisitions will probably work out better than I thought they would. But, I still think the real value is in the brand.

Is the New York Times Company cheap? It’s close. If you agree with me about the potential for a real national news brand, the stock looks cheap. Otherwise, it looks about fairly priced.

Newspapers have been beaten down a lot recently, but they were so well-loved to begin with that they aren’t at the kind of levels that guarantee market beating returns regardless of how well they’re run. That’s happened in other businesses. You could extract more cash from a dying business than the stock was selling for. That isn’t the case here. The stock is currently priced as if it were a continuing (albeit mature) business.

If the New York Times is truly a dying business, it isn’t worth the current price. But, if there is real value in the brand, it’s a bargain right now.

I’m not confident in the decision making at this company, because I’ve seen how capital was misallocated in the past. Many of these questionable investments were small relative to the value of the core franchise. But, that doesn’t excuse the lack of focus and the lack of a true owner oriented culture.

The favorable economics inherent to the business are no excuse either. There are very profitable companies out there that aren’t nearly as profitable as they could be. For instance, Campbell Soup (CPB) consistently earns good returns on capital; but, I haven’t seen any evidence that those returns were the result of skillful capital allocation. I think much the same is true at the New York Times Company. A great franchise helps cover-up less than optimal uses of capital – and the Times’ management has benefited from inheriting a great franchise.

If I were confident about the way this company will be run and the way capital will be allocated, I’d be buying shares right now. There’s real value and real opportunity in this franchise. But, I’m not sure there’s the will to do what needs to be done.

Mission Statement Drift/ The Corporate Cancer

Most if not all organisations these days have a published Mission Statement which should explain their reason for being. It is also true to say that most if not all organisations today suffer from ‘Mission Statement Drift’.

Why is this?

There could be any number of reasons. However organisations suffering from this malaise are almost certain to have internal problems with communication and or interpersonal relationships. Their processes and procedures are also likely to be somewhat ragged.

All companies large or small follow a corporate script, whether they are aware of it or not.

The modern day corporate script has usually just evolved unnoticed as a consequence of the daily processes running within the organisation. Sadly corporate scripts directly devolved from the corporate mission statement seldom if ever exist.

Why? Because most companies are blissfully unaware of the damaging effect of performing to an inappropriate corporate script.

If left unchecked and ignored an inappropriate corporate script may well develop into a commercial cancer which quietly eats away at the organisations’ effectiveness.

Recognisable title examples of corporate scripts which have just evolved surreptitiously are those such as;

A Victorian melodrama.
A Victorian Mill Owner.
A farce.
A Greek Tragedy.
The Roman Empire.
Megalomania.
Charge of the Light Brigade.
I’m alright Jack.
A thriller.
A ‘who done it’?
A comedy of errors.

Some of the above may well be familiar to you. You may even have played a role in such a production yourself.

It is obvious that the performers in these productions are all corporate employees, from the longest serving employee to first day recruits; from the gate keeper to the CEO they all have their part to play and play it they do.

The problem is that they are unaware of the fact that they are performing at all, let alone to a script which is totally inappropriate and potentially damaging.

The corporate script should of course devolve from the Mission Statement and its’ subsequent corporate objectives.

So, how should a company approach the task of rewriting their corporate script? This is a task which will be beyond all but those CEO’s and main board members who are most committed to the long term health and viability of the company for whom they presently have final accountability.

The positive pay off for commencing such an arduous task will most likely not be felt for a few years. It is therefore a most unselfish task for a board to agree to embark upon.

However if anyone would like to seriously consider writing a definitive corporate script which is in trim with their corporate mission statement then the following may be of assistance.

Please feel free to contact me for any clarification or further information. msm@e-trainme.com

26 stage approach to developing an effective Corporate Script

1. Confirm the business you are in.

2. Confirm your market place.

3. Reaffirm your mission statement.

4. Map the mission statement in fine detail.

5. Identify and map the critical corporate objectives.

6. Identify and map the critical tasks to support the corporate objectives.

7. Group the tasks into job title roles.

8. Identify measure and map the competencies and performance attributes for each key job role title

9. Group job title roles into team roles.

10. Group team roles into divisional roles.

11. Match the mapped aggregated divisional competencies and performance attributes with the mapped detail of the corporate mission statement.

12. Apply critical gap analysis to identify any areas of incongruity.

13. If you have an acceptable level of congruence with the corporate mission statement you have a corporate script.

14. Now it is time to cast the key job roles.

15. Identify measure and map the competencies and performance attributes of the total workforce.

16. Match the workforce with the job role titles.

17. Reaffirm the appropriateness of the team groupings by matching aggregated team competencies and performance attributes with team objectives. Apply critical gap analysis to identify any areas of incongruity. If there is an acceptable level of congruence with the team objectives the team structures are in trim.

18. Reaffirm the appropriateness of the divisional groupings by matching aggregated divisional competencies and performance attributes with divisional objectives. Apply critical gap analysis to identify any areas of incongruity. If there is an acceptable level of congruence with the divisional objectives the divisional structures are in trim.

19. Reaffirm the appropriateness of the total workforce by matching total aggregated competencies and performance attributes with corporate objectives. Apply critical gap analysis to identify any areas of incongruity. If there is an acceptable level of congruence with the corporate objectives the human element structure is in trim. If not...............?

20. Monitor the corporate non-fiscal performance by continuously applying items 21-25.

21. Measure and match corporate objectives with your mission statement.

22. Measure and match divisional objectives with your corporate objectives.

23. Measure and match sub-team objectives with divisional objectives.

24. Measure and match actual aggregated sub-team member competencies and attributes with sub-team task driven competencies and attributes.

25. Measure and match team member competencies and attributes with their respective Job Title required Role Competencies and Attributes.

26. Re-assess at least every 12 months.

There are a number of ways in which the above tasks could be approached.

Please feel free to contact me for further information or clarification.

Mobile CRM - It's Here Now

Today’s workforce is truly mobile. Most of us now work at the office, from home and on the road. ‘On demand access’ to critical customer information from anywhere is becoming a ‘must have’ facility.

Now customers demand CRM access using a remote desktop or laptop accessing data through the Internet or on a handheld device. Suppliers are expected to have all the information at their fingertips at the moment of interaction. The same insight into their business and affairs are expected in a one-to-one meeting is expected when they phone into a call centre.

Remote access is a genuinely useful tool that can help your company to reduce duplicate entry, administration time, travelling time and costs for remote workers. It will also enable you to improve your customer service, and improve the quality and usefulness of data input.

Staff want the technology. Surveys have shown that sales management and field representatives both felt strongly that providing PDA access to CRM systems would drive increase productivity of the sales force. Eighty-three percent of sales representatives felt that a PDA sales solution would make them more productive in the field and 90% said they would use their CRM system more if they had handheld mobile access. Sales management agreed: 82% believe PDA access for sales representatives would drive field usage of CRM and 91% believe mobile CRM software on PDAs will become an important sales tool for their organization.

Two factors have stopped many companies from adopting mobile technology to improve their business functions. Firstly, companies are just inexperienced when it comes to applying mobile technologies. Secondly, even though it is not true, companies percieve the cost associated with mobile solutions to be greater than the benefits gained because they can't immediately identify how to apply mobile data to improve competitive capability. A mobile data delivery solution must be cost effective and allow organisations to experiment with mobile technologies and to gain insight on how to gain a competitive edge from the technology.

It should have the following:

* Access to information from any remote location covered by a mobile network.

* Low start-up costs allowing development of mobile strategies through experiments.

* Simplified user interface making it easy to administer data.

* Quick search and find.

Success can be measured by:

* Improved cycle times in providing a customer with accurate information.

* Efficiency increases for buyers and sales people free them to focus on developing key account relationships

* Empowered sales people and buyers with information when they enter negotiations through remote access to data

* Allowing management to be up to date with information where ever they are engaging with suppliers, customers, partners or shareholders.

* Experiments with mobile strategies to define ways of improving current business processes and prepare for new wireless technologies that will reshape the business environment.

Thanks to broadband and 3G technology this is no longer just the preserve of large companies. Now SMEs can also use the web and PDAs to access their CRM systems remotely giving benefits such as:

* Accessing important account contact and history information
* Updating account information
* Cultivating stronger sales relationships
* Improving customer service
* Scheduling activities and appointments

Money In Reward And Recognition Systems

The role of money as a motivator is indisputable if you don't have enough. With bills to pay and mouths to feed, most hunter/gatherers will push themselves to get enough money into the bank account to remove those troublesome worries. However, once the threshold of comfort has been reached and there is a steady flow of money coming from a job that is well understood, can money be used as a further motivator?

The answer is firmly in the realms of "it depends". It depends on the individual. Some people will always "jump for the jellybeans" because their lifestyle and their conditioning demand that they acquire the next best car, house, entertainment center or vacation. Others satisfy themselves with smaller dreams that they can achieve without being overly ambitious.

Why Reward Systems?

You will have ambitions for your business. It is important to you that you make the most of your investment both in money and in time and it is important that the people who work with you are focused on the same outcomes that drive you. A well structured reward system can accommodate everything that your people desire and can demonstrate to those who want to do better for themselves, just what it is they need to do to make it happen.

A reward system is more than pay levels, bonuses and stock options. It should encapsulate other forms of recognition for a job well done including promotion, reassignment and a range of flexible bonuses that can be selected to match the particular life-style of the individual person.

Reward systems should be based on the fundamental premise that "You get what you pay for". The old adage "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys" could never be more true however you also don't want to bankrupt the company, so the balance can be a fine one.

The reward system also has to be responsive. People tire of stretching themselves for future promises. How many times have you heard "If you do this well I'll consider a pay rise at the next review."? If you fail to reward appropriate behavior quickly, you stand less than an even chance of getting the right result.

What is the Reward Strategy?

Like all business activities, it is important to be clear for everyone concerned how the reward system interlocks with the business mission. The Reward Strategy is designed to demonstrate how the company values its people and how the payment practices it adopts help to engage and motivate employees.

The Reward Strategy should deliver the following:

A framework within which the rewards provided by the business will operate
Clarification of the reward objectives
An outline of how reward will be managed
A link between the expressed values of the business and the methods used to manage reward

The total Reward System is, of course, much more than just pay and benefits. Employees also see value in career opportunities, personal and professional development, the management style and, coincidentally, recognition.

Monsters in Meetings - Part 1, How to Manage Unproductive Behavior

It happens easily.

You're conducting a meeting and suddenly a small side meeting starts. Then two side meetings develop. Soon you have many meetings going at once, and all of them are out of control.

Or maybe someone introduces an unrelated issue. Someone else ridicules the new issue. Everyone laughs, except the person who mentioned the idea. Then someone insults the person who told the joke. Two people stand up and walk out. Others complain that the meeting is a waste of time.

So, how do you prevent things like this from happening?

Or how do you bring your meeting back on track?

Let's begin with basic strategies for dealing with unproductive behavior in meetings.

Respect other people.
Always treat others with respect, even if they are doing things that seem wrong. Their "bad" behavior could be based on many things, such as a lack of skill, a misunderstanding, or a response to a threat. It could also be a simple mistake. Or maybe they're expressing an indirect warning, complaint, or cry of pain. If you respond with disrespect, such as with a counterattack, you will make a bad situation worse. They will either retreat, which means they stop contributing to your meeting, or they will retaliate, which can escalate to an argument that ruins your meeting.

Ask questions.
Use questions to find out what is really happening. For example, if someone introduces a new issue, respond by saying, "That sounds interesting, and I wonder how that relates to what we are working on." Notice that this is a neutral, gentle question. It is not a trick question like, "What are your trying to do, ruin my meeting?" and it is not a command like, "Hey, stick to the topic." Hostile responses are bad because they put the other person in an awkward position, which always ruins cooperation.

Focus on the behavior.
Your goal is to hold an effective meeting -- not teach lessons. If you attempt to punish people, through admonitions, ridicule, or threats, you will make enemies. In the short term, that can ruin the effectiveness of your meeting, and in the long term it can ruin your career. So, when unproductive behavior appears in your meeting, talk about the behavior. For example, if a side conversation starts, you could say, "We seem to have more than one meeting going on now, and that's preventing us from working on the budget."

Apply diplomatic courage.
Leaders project strength and confidence; losers project negativity and fear. Detach from the behavior that seems bothersome, realizing it is simply something that the other person is doing. Assume that there is no personal intent to hurt you. Just talk about what is happening and ask for what you want to happen as shown in the above paragraph.

Show what you expect.
Be a model of effective meeting behavior. If it is your meeting, or if you hold a leadership role in your organization, realize that others regard you as the standard for their actions. If you arrive on time for meetings, others will interpret this to mean that they should come to your meetings on time. If you make positive, appropriate contributions in meetings, others will infer that this is what you expect from them.

Apply these strategies to make your meetings effective.

This is the first of a seven part article on Managing Monsters in Meetings.

Monsters in Meetings - Part 3, Drifting From the Topic

We welcome new ideas, sort of.

True, new ideas lead to creative solutions. But, they can be a challenge when they interrupt or distract the work on an issue.

Here's how to bring your meeting back on track when some offers an amazing (seemingly unrelated) idea.

Approach 1: Question the relationship to topic

When new ideas seem inappropriate, say:

"That's an interesting point (or question). And how does it relate to our topic?"

"Excuse me. We started talking about our budget and now we seem to be discussing payroll administration. Is this what we want to work on?"

"We seem to be working on a new issue. I'm sure this is important, and I wonder what you want to work on with the time we have left?"

These statements greet the ideas with compliments and requests for clarification. This recognizes that the other person could believe the idea relates to the topic, which it may.

Approach 2: Place in the Idea Bin

Use an Idea Bin to manage unrelated ideas. And Idea Bin is a blank chart page posted on the wall with the title: Idea Bin. Some groups call it an Issue Bin or Parking Lot. The scribe writes new ideas on this chart page or the participants write their ideas on Post-it(™) Notes that they place on the page.

Direct new ideas to the Idea Bin by saying:

"That's a great idea. Could you put it in the Idea Bin?"

When you plan the agenda, leave time at the end of the meeting to check the Idea Bin. You will find that many of the new ideas were resolved during the meeting.

I prefer to avoid working on new issues without learning about them and planning an approach. There is always more to know about a new issue. And sometimes they can be resolved without a meeting, or if a meeting is warranted, it may be a meeting with different people than the ones in the current meeting.

Thus, tell the group that you will contact those who introduced the issue and plan an approach for dealing with it.

This is the third of a seven part article on Managing Monsters in Meetings.

Monsters in Meetings - Part 4, Quiet Participants

Sometimes you have people who appear to be spectators in a meeting.

There are many reasons why someone would decline to participate. For example, the person may feel reluctant to speak out, may disagree with the approach endorsed by others in the meeting, or may be tired.

And yet, your job is to put the participants to work.

In fact, an effective meeting depends upon fair and equitable participation from everyone. Here's how to make it easier for quiet participants to contribute.

Approach 1: Encourage participation

When you notice a quiet participant, ask for contributions by looking at the person and saying:

"How do you feel about that, Chris?"

"What results do you expect from this, Pat?"

"Chris, how will this affect you?"

Sometimes a quiet participant will test the environment with a tentative reply or a minor, safe point. Respond positively and with encouragement to any response that you receive. Then probe further to explore for more ideas.

Sometimes you can encourage quiet participants to contribute by making direct eye contact, pausing, and letting your expression say, "What do you think?"

Approach 2: Change the process

Use sequential participation (a round robin) to collect ideas. This provides quiet participants with opportunities to speak. Introduce this process by saying,

"We want to hear from everyone, so let's use a round robin. Who wants to start?"

Use these techniques to involve all of the participants.

This is the fourth of a seven part article on Managing Monsters in Meetings.

Monsters in Meetings - Part 5, Dominant Participants

Most meetings are attended by a giant.

These are the people who dominate a meeting with big ideas and big voices and big talk.

While dominant participants contribute significantly to the success of a meeting, they can also overwhelm, intimidate, and exclude others. Thus, you want to control their energy without losing their support.

Here's what to do.

Approach 1: Ask others to contribute

Asking quiet participants to contribute indirectly moderates the more dominant participants. Say:

"Before we continue, I want to hear from the rest of the group."

"This is great. And I wonder what else we could do." (Look at the quiet participants when you say this.)

Approach 2: Change the process

A balanced dialogue equalizes participation and sequential participation (a round robin) prevents anyone from dominating the discussion.

Approach 3: Include them in the process

Ask dominant participants for their support during the meeting. Meet with the person privately and say:

"I need your help with something. It's clear to me that you know a great deal about this issue and have many good ideas. I also want to hear what other people in the meeting have to say. So, I wonder if you could help me encourage others to contribute."

You can also retain control by giving away minor tasks. For example, dominant participants make excellent helpers. They can distribute materials, run errands, serve as scribes, deliver messages, post chart papers, run demonstration units, operate projectors, change overhead transparencies, act as greeters, and (in general) perform any logistical task related to the meeting.

Approach 4: Create barriers

Simply move away from the more aggressive participants and make less eye contact. If you are unable to see them, you are unable to recognize them as the next speaker.

Use this approach with moderation and support it with complimentary requests for assistance. Ignoring someone conveys disapproval, which could change a potential ally into an adversary.

Approach 5: One point at a time

Sometimes dominant participants will control a discussion by listing many points in a single statement. They cite every challenge, condition, and consideration known, which completely clogs everyone else's thinking. End this by asking participants to state only one point at a time, after which someone else speaks. It is very difficult to monopolize a discussion when this technique is used.

Quiet participants often hope to be ignored; dominant participants want to be noticed. A quiet person may feel overbearing after making two statements in an hour. A dominant participant may feel left out after contributing only 95% of the ideas. You will be most successful moderating dominant participants by building bridges between what they want and what you need.

Approach 6: Interrupt with "excuse me"

Use the words "excuse me" as a wedge to interrupt a long monologue. It's important that you say "Excuse me" with polite sincerity. For example, you could say:

"Excuse me, this seems interesting and I wonder if you could tell me how it relates to our meeting."

"Excuse me, I'm sure this is very important and since we have only five minutes left for this issue, I wonder if you could summarize your main point."

Use these techniques to hold effective meetings by moderating contributions from the more outspoken participants.

This is the fifth of a seven part article on Monsters in Meetings.

Monsters in Meetings - Part 6, Deadlocked Discussions

This one creeps up on you.

And if you let it continue, it will ruin your meeting.

At first it seems that the participants are working toward an agreement. They raise concerns. Then they explore the concerns. It all seems normal.

But it keeps going.

In fact, it expands. And soon you have an argument where neither side will let go. Your meeting is now stuck in a deadlock.

So how do you fix it?

Approach 1: Form a subcommittee

Ask for volunteers from the opposing viewpoints to form a subcommittee to resolve the issue. This is a useful approach, because: 1) The issue may require extensive research, which is best completed outside the meeting, 2) The people who caused the deadlock will be responsible for solving it, or 3) The effort to resolve the issue will test its priority. That is, if no one wants to spend time finding a solution, then perhaps the issue (or at least the controversy) is unimportant.

Ask for a subcommittee by saying:

"There seem to be concerns about this issue. Rather than use everyone's time in the meeting, I want a subcommittee to resolve this and report back to us. Who wants to be on it?"

Of course, if no one volunteers, that ends the deadlock. Then you say, "It seems that we lack support for this issue. In that case I want to return to our agenda. The next item is . . . ."

What else can you do?

Approach 2: Ask for an analysis

If a minority obstructs resolution, ask them to analyze the issue and propose alternatives. You can say:

"Some of you seem to view this issue differently. Could you help us understand your position by preparing an analysis of the issue with workable alternatives?"

As with a subcommittee, this approach will either uncover essential considerations or test commitment. In either case, it moves the deadlock out of the meeting so that you can proceed.

Notice that each of these approaches begins by acknowledging the truth, which is, a deadlock exists. Then it puts people to work on resolving the deadlock.

There's one more point.

Leaders work in a world of gray. In this case you have to allow some disorder and disagreement during the meeting as part of achieving a result. And you have to monitor the level of disorder because if it goes on for too long, you will have to intervene.

It's like recognizing that your car is about to run out of gas. This means it's time to buy more, rather than sitting there, holding the wheel, pretending that everything will be okay.

Use these techniques to put your meeting back on track.

This is the sixth of a seven part article on Monsters in Meetings.

Monsters in Meetings - Part 7, Personal Attacks

You remember these people for the wrong reasons.

They are the monsters who hurt others with insults, ridicule, and sarcasm. They bully. They threaten. They attack.

And that ruins your meeting.

Personal attacks are unacceptable because if one person is being hurt in your meeting, everyone else feels it. As a result, the participants retreat into making safe and generally useless contributions.

So, how do you respond to attacks?

First, take a big breath. Grab your courage. And then use one of the following approaches.

Approach 1: Speak to the group

Respond to a hostile remark by making a general comment. Look at the middle of the group and say:

"Just a moment. Let's pause here to calm down. I can tell we're upset about this. And we want to find a fair solution for everyone." (Take slow deep breaths and relax to model calming down.)

After saying this, pause a moment to let the group respond. Often, someone else will support your request. Then continue as if everything were normal.

Avoid looking at the attacker when speaking to the group. Making eye contact acknowledges and returns power to the attacker.

Approach 2: Explore for the cause

Sometimes people throw insults from behind an illusion of presumed distance. You can respond by calling for an explanation. In this case say:

"Pat, you seem upset with that."

"Tony, you seem to disagree."

"You seem to have reservations about this."

I realize these statements may sound like naive responses to an insult. However, such understated responses improve the situation because they sound less threatening, feel easier to deliver, and preserve the other person's self-esteem. Realize the attacker may have viewed the attack less seriously than it sounded.

These statements also transfer the focus from the target to the attacker's feelings. And this is what you need to talk about in order to resolve the dispute.

After you speak wait for the attacker to talk about what caused the attack.

If the attacker continues with hostile remarks, interrupt with:

"Excuse me, we need to respect each other. And I wonder what makes you feel upset over this."

"Excuse me, we heard that. Now, what makes you feel that way?"

"Excuse me, I'm interested in hearing what your concerns are."

Approach 3: Call a break

If the first two approaches fail to end the attacks, then call a break or end the meeting. This will give you a chance to meet privately with the attacker, rewrite the agenda, rebuild communication, and (if appropriate) schedule another meeting without the attacker.

You could say,

"We seem to be at an impasse. I want to take a break so we can calm down."

"This hostility makes it impossible to get any work done. So, I'm adjourning the meetings. We'll work on this later and then reconvene at another time."

"We need to work on this outside of the meeting. So let's adjourn."

Note that some people use anger to intimidate others into cooperating with them. If you adjourn the meeting, you will have to meet with the attacker to resolve the conflict.

Meetings are a forum for finding solutions, making decisions, and reaching agreements. When you apply these approaches to disruptions, you will maintain the productive environment necessary to accomplish your goals.

This is the seventh of a seven part article on Monsters in Meetings.

More About Background Check

Trust is something hard to come by especially if one does not know the person. To make this happen, companies and people do background checks on the individual to avoid being swindled or victimized.

An example is when people apply for a job. The company has to do a background check to see if that individual is for real or a fraud. Human resource practioners do this by letting the applicant fill up a form.

This usually has the name of the applicant and other details such as where the person worked before. In the bottom, these people ask for 3 individuals to be used as character references that have either worked or known the individual.

Some companies do not have the budget to do this so it is left to an employment agency to do the necessary checking before forwarding the application of the person to the client company.

When calling references, questions such as how long the individual has known the person and at what capacity. If the one being called is a co-worker or the employer, questions such as what the strengths and weaknesses of the person, why did the person leave and would the company re-hire the individual if there is an opportunity.

Another way of doing a background check is going online. The person can check if the applicant has a criminal record and other important details such as the social security number that may cost a little but it will all be worth it if the person is clean.

Background checks are also done when a person applies for a loan in a bank. If this person has not done business with the bank or has only recently opened an account, this is needed to avoid being victimized by impostors or other criminal elements.

The bank will do this by asking for some information such as where the person lives, documents that may be used as collateral for the loan such as the house or the car. A check online will also determine if the person has a criminal record or not before the loan can be processed and given to the individual.

Credit card companies do the same. Aside from filling up the form, other documents need to be presented such as one’s pay slip to know how much the person is earning. Once this has been done, the creditor can determine how much credit can be given to this customer.

Some companies who are in the same industry for example retail have an association among it’s members. Should an applicant who worked in one company decide to work in another but has a bad record, that individual will be blacklisted and will surely not get the job.

Whether an individual applies for work or needs something done, background checks are needed for the safety of the firm and the people who work for it. By implementing these procedures; a person who deserves the job fills that vacancy, a loan can be granted to the right people and the person can shop until the card has reached its limit.

Security is something needed in modern society. It separates the good from the bad and those who deserve something or not. Without it, people will fall victim to criminal elements and businesses will not flourish.

Move Inventory, Not Workers

A plant can save space, time and money with a carousel

Many companies think material handling automation is a nice idea, but something for the big guys. After all, computers and automated systems cost money. Automation is designed for high-volume shops. It takes up space. It requires training, and that means hours spent away from production. Once installed, automation needs to be maintained-and that means more downtime. Too often, the decision to automate is put off until a future day when the company thinks it's big enough to need it-or big enough to afford it.

In reality, material handling automation comes in many sizes. It saves far more productive hours than it takes in training, installation and maintenance. It can actually save space. It's not something that requires a plant to be of a particular size. In fact, it's an excellent way to help grow to the size you want to be.

Consider these examples:

An electronics company had four or five people picking orders from shelving on about 2,000 square feet of floor space. Installing two simple horizontal carousels allowed one or two people to handle the same volume while needing only 700 square feet.

In another application, eight to ten people worked two shifts picking airline parts from an area of about 15,000 square feet. With the installation of an automated storage system and its software, the floor space requirement was reduced to about 8,000 square feet-and the payroll to three people.

While the companies in these examples aren't huge multinationals, they still could use the savings. Eliminating perhaps 1,300 square feet of sorting space might mean putting off a move to larger facilities. Eliminating five or six related salaries might make the difference between loss and profitability.

In both examples, the basic automation tool is the carousel-an automated storage and retrieval system that rotates to deliver the proper part to a particular workstation. Instead of sending people wandering around vast shelving storage areas, carousels send the shelves to the worker, who stands in one place ready to do the next step: load the delivered part to the machine, work on the delivered assembly or pack the part for shipping.

At its simplest, the concept works like this. A vertical carousel in a machine shop is loaded with commonly used tools and small parts. This arrangement uses considerably less floor space than a standard shelving system. When a particular part or tool is required, the operator punches a keypad, the carousel rotates, and the needed item is brought within easy reach. Yes, it takes a little while for the operator to learn which buttons to push. But the first time the operator doesn't have to waste time looking for a part that has been mislabeled or placed on the wrong shelf makes up for the learning time.

On a more sophisticated level, carousels can use software to control the flow of inventory from the delivery point to storage and, when an order is received, from storage to the fulfillment and shipping areas.

Storing Discontinued Parts 

For example, a company regularly discontinues old parts and gives its distributors a specified time to return unsold merchandise. As the returned parts arrive, an operator keys the part number (or scans a bar code) into the system. The carousel sends the proper bin to the workstation for the operator to store the parts. Then the software updates inventory figures.
When the grace period for returning this particular part ends, the system informs an operator, who empties the bin and sends the parts to inactive storage. The available bin now can be assigned another purpose-probably another discontinued part. Because software controls the system, similar parts don't need to be stored next to each other. Any available space can be used for anything that will fit, which eliminates the need for reorganizing the entire storage system periodically.

Volume

A plant with three or more workers, each making more than 1,000 picks a day from inventory, might benefit from the productivity gains that horizontal carousels offer. The horizontal carousel can serve several stationary pickers simultaneously. Workers no longer have to walk from bin to bin in search of parts.
While vertical carousels also offer productivity gains, it's usually not as a result of increasing volume. Vertical units usually serve individual workers who become more productive when they don't have to spend time picking when they should be doing something else.
If acreage is at a premium, carousels can help. Horizontal systems may reduce space requirements to some extent just because of more efficient storage and a reduction in the number of workers needed to do the work, but the real savings come with vertical carousels. They use the top half of a facility that most plants underutilize-without requiring extra space for forklifts or ladders to reach something stored on upper shelves. In this case, the carousel brings the parts down to the stationary picker standing on the floor.

Accuracy

Software-driven carousels encourage accuracy. Even with simple keypad-controlled systems, workers are far less likely to make mistakes. In addition, items are less likely to be stored incorrectly, eliminating time wasted looking for lost items. In most material handling applications, accuracy is important not only because it contributes to productivity: it also can have an impact on customer satisfaction, return rates or subsequent stages in the manufacturing process.

Inventory Control

When a plant installs a carousel system, it must revise storage procedures. This usually requires a thorough physical inventory and a rationalization of the process to produce a clean baseline for a fresh start with accurate information and better procedures. The carousel's accuracy makes it much easier to maintain the pristine condition.
With software-controlled systems, the situation is even better. The computer specifies which picks to make and moves the proper bin to where it's a simple matter for an operator to make the picks accurately. Then it removes the picked items from the inventory record.

Productivity

Vertical carousels deliver the correct part or tool to a worker quickly and accurately. Horizontal carousels, like vertical types, allow for enormous productivity gains.
Horizontal systems are usually installed in pods, with perhaps two carousels serving each operator. The now-stationary operator follows the instructions on the computer monitor and light trees on the carousel. Because the operator does nothing but pick, the number-of-picks rate rises dramatically.

Moving Pallet Rack

In 2005, the P.R. Skate, LLC introduced its “Pallet Rack Moving System” to the Material Handling industry. The P.R. Skate’s pallet rack moving system is a pallet rack accessory that changes the way pallet rack can be relocated saving facility down time and labor expenses.

In the past moving pallet rack from one location to another location was overwhelming and time consuming. The process of relocating pallet rack first begins with unloading all of the stored material from the storage system (pallet rack) and finding a temporary home for it until the new location is ready. After the storage system has been unloaded, the tear down or demo of the rack would begin. The tear down process seems to be less time consuming than the rebuilding of the storage system but equipment such as forklifts and scissor lifts are need for both the tear down and rebuilding of the storage system adding another cost to the project. After the pallet rack is torn down or disassembled, the components would be stacked and organized for stable movement to the new location. Upon arrival at the new location, re-assembly of the pallet rack would proceed. After the storage system is re-assembled and anchored to the floor, the pallet rack is ready to store material. Sounds easy and it is but very time consuming and considerable downtime of the facility has to be expected.

By using a pallet rack moving systems, pallet rack can be moved and relocated in 1/3rd of the time. The system is designed to move the pallet rack intact with material still on the storage system. Down time, labor costs, and equipment costs are saved due to minimal product displaced, no rack demolition, and no re-assembly of the pallet rack.

When using a pallet rack moving system the process is simple. First you would raise the pallet rack using the lifting assembly and place the rack on the skates. This process could be done literally by one person. When all of the storage system (pallet rack) is on the skates, the pallet rack is now ready to move to the new location. At this point it would be necessary for more people to help in the process to help push and steer the moving rack. After the rack has been moved to the new location, the rack would be lifted off the skates and lowered to the floor. Again just one person could do this part of the process. The last step is to anchor the racking. Once anchored the process is complete and there is minimal to no product or materials to stock in the storage system.

By using a pallet rack moving system, you can now lift your pallet rack up, put it on wheels (skates) and move it to its new location with minimal product displacement. The moving system is simplistic in design and easy to use saving up to 2/3rds of the normal project costs.

The moving system contains ‘skates’ and a lifting assembly. The ‘skates’ come in both HD (heavy duty) and LD (lite duty) models that have capacities ranging from 5,000 lbs. to 12,000 lbs. More information can be found at www.palletrackskate.com.

Multi-Channel Retail - Plan For Success

The maturation of multi-channel commerce

More and more retailers are realizing the benefits of multi-channel retailing. Leveraging brand equity in multiple touchpoints has been proven to drive loyalty and interaction among consumers. With trends clearly showing the Internet as the core component to pre-purchase research, brick and mortar brands can ill-afford to take a wait and see approach as it relates to core multi-channel offerings.

Three core enhancements must be executed flawlessly to have true multi-channel integration:

• In-store associate kiosks

Leveraging the eCommerce store within an in-store environment solves fundamental out of stock situations, provides a new channel for up/cross selling, and maximizes profitability per square foot.

• In-store pickup

Incorporating buy online and pickup in-store functionality eliminates the barrier of shipping in the online sales equation. With shipping costs being the number one driver to why shoppers choose to not purchase online - this initiative help reduce key customer based purchase inhibitors while drive incremental sales in-store traffic. The solution also provides added convenience and satisfaction to the consumer, as they no longer have to wait to receive their merchandise.

• In-store returns

Returning products that were bought online, in-store, can bring many back-end technology bottlenecks to the radar screen. Forward thinking retailers must accurately map their order processing and inventory data to empower service associates with the data they need to reconcile and close the transaction efficiently at the POS.

Slow processing and a poor return experience will virtually erode a consumer relationship that was costly to start and maintain.

Getting your organization on board with change

Convincing company executives that these initiatives deliver ROI may be challenging, but that challenge pales in comparison to what is faced in your store network. The perspective change within the rank and file employees in your organization will prove to be your most daunting task as it relates to these initiatives.

Within all three of the solutions above, the web transaction integrates with the physical store. The store is the final piece of the puzzle in all three scenarios, making it the most crucial element to deliver a proper transaction. If your employees do not execute properly on this level, the result will be an un-utilized solution, or even worse, a customer perspective that your employees are incompetent.

The key is getting your employees aligned with multi-channel change. This happens by driving two key operational strategies in conjunction with a multi-channel technology solution.

• Training

Store managers must take the lead in understanding multi-channel solutions, while leading efforts to replicate this knowledge among customer-facing employees.

Prior to solution launch, be sure to communicate the internal and external value among the manager base, create a solution handbook for employee questions, and bring managers in to the home office for a ½ day workshop to become experts right before the solution goes live.

• Incentives

Employees must feel that the web-generated order still has some benefit to them. To drive accountability, some type of carrot must be given to ensure that employees have reason to treat the web-driven transaction seriously.

Because in-store employees receive bonuses for comp sales, create some type of awards program for efficiency as it relates to in-store multi-channel solutions. Or provide a piece of all web sales, distributed on a regional basis.

Understand the dynamics of your employees - how they work and what motivates them. By closing the gaps in training and incentives, multi-channel success becomes much closer to being reality.

Musketeer Management: All For One and One For All

There’s nothing like being in a great team. It is one of life’s greatest highs and one of the real pleasures of going to work. Unfortunately, though, for many, it is a dream to be longed for rather than a daily reality. In teams that don’t click, the experience is frustrating, painful, and stressful. And for the organization that allows such teams to exist, an unproductive waste of talent.

But all that can change.

With 7 simple acts of teamwork, teams can change from being the source of our greatest anguish into being the source of our greatest joy. Here’s how.

1. Sharing. If you want to measure the strength of your team, do a sharing audit. Simply record the number of acts of team sharing in any day. That’s sharing information, sharing ideas, sharing feelings, values and needs. Or simply just sharing being together. Your score will tell you just how together your group is. The most important feature of team sharing is goal sharing. If your people don’t even share the team goal, chances are you have a bunch of individuals who happen to work near each other, not a team.

2. Asking for Help. Strong teams are strong because the individuals in it have different but complementary qualities. Sue’s a great detail person. John sees the big picture. Ron gets on with everyone. Jill is a loner. And so on. That means that when anyone has to do something they’re not particularly gifted at, they can turn to someone else in the team for help. In strong teams, you frequently hear people asking for help. In poor teams, it is considered a sign of weakness.

3. The 3 A’s. Another audit you can do to find out if you have a team or just a bunch of individuals is the 3 A’s Audit. The 3 A’s stand for Appreciating, Accepting, and Acknowledging. They are the features of great teams and stand in contrast to the 3 C’s of poor teams: Criticising, Complaining, and Condemning.

Accepting means letting people know they’re valued members of the team. Acknowledging means letting them know they belong. And appreciating means letting them know the team just wouldn’t be the same without them.

4. Valuing Others. We all need to feel important. When we are valued, we take pride in who we are and what we do.
Warren Bennis, professor of business administration at the University of Southern California, describes his campus as “a dry, crack-infested part of LA”. But, he says, every morning is a delight because the grounds of the campus are so fresh and well-kept. He adds: “It makes a big difference to me. But I wonder if anyone has reminded the gardeners of the importance of their work.”

Have you told someone in your team lately how much you value them?

5. Giving Feedback. Strong teams are defined by the amount of interaction there is between team members. When interaction is low, so is team morale. One essential type of interaction in strong teams is feedback. It can take 3 forms:
• positive feedback given by anyone in the team to someone else when they do something that benefits the whole team
• constructive feedback given by anyone in the team to help someone else in the team perform better
• requested feedback from anyone in the team when they want someone to help them with their performance.
•
When there is a constant exchange of these kinds of feedback, given skillfully without criticism and rancour, the team cannot help but grow and develop.

6. Building On Others. When management consultant Peter Honey explored the differences between teams and groups, he found that one of the key differences was that teams pick up on each others’ ideas and build, whereas groups don’t. This feature is also known as convergent listening. Team members are intently interested in what others have to say. Rather than let it go by without comment, they take something from it and develop it into something worthwhile.

7. A Friendly Climate. A friendly climate is the result of team morale. Morale is a state of mind that radiates confidence in people. It happens by itself when everyone feels sure of their place in the team. Nobody is anxious to prove themselves to anyone else. Nobody shows off. Nobody seeks to be better than anyone else.
When this happens, individual egos disappear, and team spirit emerges.

This isn’t Utopia. It’s reality in workplaces throughout the world. But it does have to be worked for and it does require commitment from everyone in the team. Whether you’re a team member or team leader, the results are worth that commitment.

Musketeer Management: All For One and One For All

Next Years Planning

I'm amazed at how each year slips by just a little more quickly.

Only a few weeks ago I was running the San Juan River in Utah - blazing sunshine and ninety degrees in the shade. Now it's Fall already. And hey, I live in Southern California - in some places it's almost winter. Friends of mine back East are talking about 30 degree temperatures - or colder. Even snow flurries.

Blink - and it will be November, then Thanksgiving, and right its heels - New Year's. All of which is great if you love to ski, or snowshoe...

Which brings me to every businessperson's favorite indoor sport - planning.

Each year around this time I urge clients to dust off last year's business plan and compare it to what is really going on. Because many people - believe it or not - forget what they committed to for the year. Oh - they know their sales and profit projections - but most people don't pay close enough attention to the other issues. Things like market development, new customer growth, distributor relationships, customer services improvements, even new products: all the things that make it possible for a businesses to grow and prosper year after year.

If you haven't done so recently, now is a great time to review this year's results, and plan for the coming year. Take a look at how you are doing compared to how you hoped you would do. It doesn't matter what month you are in - just compare your results to date to this month last year. And if you've already built next year's plan, you may want to consider it in a new light.

The typical approach to planning goes like this:

Start by setting a goal for next year's sales growth.

This figure is often arrived at by multiplying last year's results by some acceptable factor. In business school they taught us to use 10% if we didn't have a better idea. This ten percent shows up again and again - I think it has something to do with having ten fingers. Standards vary from industry to industry - ranging from 5% to 25% . But in today's economy, many people will consider it a win if they just remain even with where they were last year.

Next, add solutions to a few key problems you've been meaning to address. Follow this by some enhancements to your product line - and there you have it - instant plan!

Those of you who've read my book know that I encourage people to think differently.

Here's a process I've used with all kinds of clients; it has led to some truly inspiring - and profitable - results:

Step 1

What do you - in your heart of hearts - want to accomplish this coming year? The key words here are "want to do." Not what do you think will happen, not what will the market let you do, but what do you want to do.

When you answer this question, it does help to think about things like money - revenue, profits, cash-flow (as if anyone wouldn't) - but also consider other non-monetary details as well.

Think about what new products or services you'd like to introduce, what markets you'd like to branch into, how you'd like to improve your relations with customers, how many new distributors you'd like to add, how you will make things better for your employees, partners, even your community, and of course, what lifestyle and "work- style" changes you'd like for yourself.

For each of the targets and goals you are about to set - why do you want to set these targets. Make sure your reasons strongly support you.

Step 2

Learn what you can from whatever has happened over this past year. This is something many of us simply don't do.

For example, make this year the year you act on the knowledge that it takes three months to train a new distributor, not the four weeks you generally plan for. You'd be surprised at how many entrepreneurs repeat variations on the same mistakes over and over again.

Deliberately capturing the lessons of the past year, and thinking about how to use that new knowledge can provide major opportunities to boost profits.

Step 3

Set targets which will inspire you and your team and get out of bed every morning (even when it's snowing.)

Instead of using that 10% multiplier - or 25% or whatever - come up with growth numbers that you believe in and which will make it all worthwhile. Say you are committed to 35% growth. But you've never had more than 15%. Well how are you going to do that? What would it take? Is it possible? If you believe it is, but you don't know how yet, don't worry. You'll tackle that in a minute.

Step 4

Now is the time to review changes in your market.

Are there new factors - changes in customer buying behavior, shifts in the demographics, new issues in your industry and fresh competitor activity? Consider how these changes will make it easier or harder to achieve your bold targets.

Do any of these changes cause you to rethink the targets you've set? If so, go back and make adjustments you feel are necessary.

If you'd like a list of the kinds of questions I ask businesses, send an email to stratq@lemberg.com.

Step 5

Figure out how to reach the targets in Step 3.

How can you achieve the targets you just set? Do you know how? Will that plan work? You may have to work backwards using the Merlin Method. (For those of you who don't know, Merlin was a wizard who was born old and lived his life getting younger. What he called seeing the future was really just looking into his own past.) So use this idea to create action plans.

This is the method I use successfully with my consulting clients to transform their businesses. I'll give you a quick overview:

Visualize those bold targets as already met. Looking back from the future to the present, ask what was the final step or milestone you achieved before completing the goal? And what was the step before that? And before that? All the way to the present day. Check for reasonableness.

That's your action plan.

Believe me, this works! Do this for each of your targets and goals, then execute that plan, and you can almost guarantee a breakthrough year.

In a future article, I'll write more about the critical success factors you need to review.

Best regards,

Paul Lemberg

Nine Reasons Why Mentoring Matters to You

There are many roles we play or hats we wear in our lives. We are professionals, family members, brothers, sisters, co-workers, leaders, coaches, friends, parents, and neighbors to name just a few. While you may not wear all of the hats I listed, you can likely add several more that I left out! Many of these roles are a given – we don’t have much choice of having the role – they come with being a responsible adult.

Because of these many roles, we find ourselves very busy. Many tasks and priorities find us perhaps busier now than we have ever been before!

With these two factors, many roles and little time, it may seem absurd to write an article that encourages taking on yet another role and adding another task to your over-booked calendar. But that is exactly what I am going to do. In this article I’m going to show you why, despite the competition for our time and energy, being a mentor is one of the best things you can do.

There are many reasons why being a mentor is valuable to the other person. They get the value of your expertise, knowledge, and experience. They get a chance to advance more rapidly and create greater success than they would have been able to without your insight and advice. While these are altruistic reasons, they don’t say anything about how you benefit. And while we all like to help others, sometimes we need to see what is in it for us as well.

There are benefits to you personally to spending your time and energy, sharing your expertise with others as a mentor. In fact, there are at least nine benefits that you might derive from being a mentor. These include:

You’ll develop a close relationship with your mentee. We can never have enough close relationships. And chances are the person you mentor will be someone you benefit from being around. After all, they are interested in improving themselves, care about learning, and are likely excited about the possibilities in their future. Which brings me to the second benefit…

You’ll be re-energized personally. Get around someone enthusiastic, and you naturally become more enthusiastic yourself. Some activities sap our energy while others spark it. Being a mentor is like carrying a book of matches with you. If you want to re-energize yourself to your own possibilities, be a mentor.

You’ll increase your commitment to your own career and organization. This one applies most if you are mentoring in a business situation. You can see how this would happen – as you get more enthused, you see new ways you can contribute. You see how your mentee can make a difference in the organization and this new vision will increase your commitment.

You’ll learn more by talking about and teaching things. It is funny how our brains work. When we teach something or explain something to someone else, we then understand it more clearly ourselves. As a mentor you will relive experiences, teach or share ideas. And when you do this you will learn and re-learn these concepts for yourself. Often you will find yourself “taking your own advice” to your great personal or professional benefit.

You’ll expand your impact in your organization. Not only will your personal commitment grow, but as you help others be more successful, the organization will succeed at higher levels. Think of the satisfaction you will get from knowing you are playing a part in making that happen.

You’ll enhance your self-esteem. It just feels good to help others. You will feel better about yourself and your abilities when you share your wealth of knowledge and experience with others. Your self esteem will rise because you are doing good things for someone else.

You’ll increase your skills. As you mentor others, you will become a better mentor. The skills that make you a better mentor; empathy, listening, caring, building trust (to name just a few), make you more effective in many other parts of your life. Being a mentor is actually great training in itself!

You’ll grow more confident. The culmination of many of these other benefits is that your confidence will increase. You’ll be more confident in many sorts of interpersonal relationships and conversations. You’ll know that you can have a positive impact. You’ll know that you can make a difference.

You’ll leave a legacy. Successful athletic coaches do more than grow their teams and win lots of games. The best also create a linage of coaches that leave their staff to become head coaches as well. This is an important legacy that they leave – a statement of their influence and impact. By mentoring others with care and compassion you will be adding directly to your legacy.

Take minute now to be selfish. Think about yourself as a mentor. Identify what you see as being in it for you. Envision how it will feel to give back to someone else. Then go out and become a mentor – you, along with your mentee, will be glad you did!

Nine Ways to Get Your Productivity Up

We’ll all been there. Ballplayers call it a slump. Some call it a lull or a funk. These are the times when you don’t seem to have as much energy or passion for your work. You can’t seem to get as excited (or excited at all) about the tasks in front of you. You are less productive, and you don’t feel as good about your work either. Beyond that, the quality of your work you are getting done may be slipping as well.

This situation can be caused by many things and it can affect both individuals and teams. Regardless of the reasons for the situation, there are specific, predictable ways to get past the funk. When you apply these suggestions (and some of them you can apply within one minute of finishing this article) you will lift both your spirits and your productivity, and begin to give you your rhythm back.

Since there’s no reason to wait any longer, let’s get started!

Get started. Action is the most important force we have. Taking action, whatever it is, will make a big difference. Often our energy is drained by procrastination. Lou Holtz, the longtime football coach said, “When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.” Stop talking about it or thinking about it and get started. Do something. Do anything. Get started!

Fake it. Dale Carnegie taught us that if we “act enthusiastic, we’ll be enthusiastic.” This is a fundamental truth. If you don’t immediately take action, you can begin by getting yourself excited about the task. If you are having trouble getting excited about the task, get excited about getting over your slump. That will motivate you and help you get going.

Start small. The first actions we take don’t have to be large. We may even feel a bit daunted by what is in front of us. In fact, the size of the project or obstacle in front of us may have been what caused the slump to start with. The size of your actions doesn’t matter. Take a small step right now.

Think big. While you may start small, you can still think big. Having a big vision can help motivate you and get you excited. It can be incredibly helpful to have a big vision.

Set a goal. Of course the “think big” suggestion is related to goal setting. But you can have a big vision without truly having a goal. Again, at this point the size of the goal is less important than having a clear endpoint that is something you really want. I didn’t make this the first suggestion, though you could argue it should be. Why didn’t I? Because sometimes people procrastinate in setting a goal! You need this step, and if you can get that clear focus at the start, all the better.

Get some help. Sometimes a task is easier if you have someone to work with. Get a co-worker to share the load on your project, and offer to help them in return. Ask a neighbor for a hand. Their helping hand or their camaraderie may be what stimulates you, or maybe it is the accountability that comes from another person saying, “I’m ready, where do we start?”

Get some advice. Talk to someone who knows about your project or task. Ask for the benefit of their experience. Get their ideas about how to proceed. Their advice will be helpful, and you will likely feel some support for your actions.

Have a daily plan. Do a little bit more each day. A big effort today is great, but if it isn’t followed up tomorrow you might find yourself right back where you started emotionally and psychologically. Have a daily plan and work that plan. Consistently work on the task or project and you will find your energy and enthusiasm growing. Soon your slump will be a distant memory.

Set a reward. Maybe you will reward yourself with your favorite dinner, or a night out, or a new CD. Pick something commiserate with your task and something that is motivating to you (or your team). It won’t be long until you will be enjoying the rewards you set for yourself.

Johnny Cash wrote and sang a song called “Get Rhythm,” and the last chorus goes . . .

Get rhythm when you get the blues
Hey, get rhythm when you get the blues
Get a rock 'n' roll feelin' in your bones
Get taps on your toes and get gone
Get rhythm when you get the blues

All of these suggestions come back to that musical advice. When we get into a rhythm, we get out of our lull and into greater joy… and productivity.

Go ahead, get rhythm today!

Business Courses

Pages

Mastering The Difference Between Leadership And Management

Mentoring Programs for Professional Service Firms: Creating Mentoring Relationships that Serve the Individual and the Firm

Merchant Account Set Up

Merchant Credit Card Account Applications

Merchant Services

Merchant Services Account

Mismanagement At The New York Times

Mission Statement Drift/ The Corporate Cancer

Mobile CRM - It's Here Now

Money In Reward And Recognition Systems

Monsters in Meetings - Part 1, How to Manage Unproductive Behavior

Monsters in Meetings - Part 3, Drifting From the Topic

Monsters in Meetings - Part 4, Quiet Participants

Monsters in Meetings - Part 5, Dominant Participants

Monsters in Meetings - Part 6, Deadlocked Discussions

Monsters in Meetings - Part 7, Personal Attacks

More About Background Check

Move Inventory, Not Workers

Moving Pallet Rack

Multi-Channel Retail - Plan For Success

Musketeer Management: All For One and One For All

Musketeer Management: All For One and One For All

Next Years Planning

Nine Reasons Why Mentoring Matters to You

Nine Ways to Get Your Productivity Up

friendly Sites