Calculated Risks to Achieve Results

You cannot manage the future by looking forward. Businesses have to believe that they can manage the future by understanding the past. Most, if not all of our management reports, report the past; financials, sales, and market research. Businesses use this information to anticipate, forecast, and make decisions about future results. Running a small business requires an amount of experience, gut intuition, and a belief that they can do something different; something better.

Businesses will have some ups and some downs. Anyone can feel good about running a business when the company is doing well. It is easier to have a larger vision under these circumstances. The real challenge comes when we acknowledge we want to grow and scale the business and need to implement. It takes courage to act and implement based on the future goals and visions.

This challenge can destroy future goals and visions. It takes discipline, awareness, and ability to implement and take action. It is not easy to take the risks. If it was, everyone would be a business owner. But business owners take risks to achieve results.

Boredom is the Result of Ineffective Processes

There is no question that doing business can be more complicated than ever. But many owners and managers operate in a process vacuum. There's nothing more worthless than a perfunctory executive meeting where everyone just goes through the motions and no strategic decisions are made. Over the years, how often were there times when sheer boredom was the only item accomplished on the agenda?

Every business has their own style and culture, but some patterns of behavior inspire people to perform. Here are five real-world lessons to avoid the process vacuum.

1) Remove the blinders and see where you are. The most important part of a process is articulating the vision; where you are and where you need to be. In an effective business process, managers rise above the paperwork to have clarity of the process and navigate through the activities that lead to a specific result. 

2) Don't lose your sense of humor. There’s a huge difference between serious business decisions with big implications and taking yourself too seriously. People and teams are more effective and make better decisions when the mood is lightened.

3) Hard work is the best inspiration. Objects in motion are more likely to stay in motion. Nothing inspires great work more than working hard, accomplishing goals, achieving milestones, and winning business. Absolutely nothing.

4) Challenge people to excellence.  The best and most successful CEOs expect their people to be the best at what they do. Hold people accountable for their responsibilities, provide necessary resources and training, support decisions, and acknowledge efforts.

5) Measure and track results. Focus on measurable goals to track the impact of your work. Establish a continual process of asking questions so results are relevant and perceptive.

Effective business processes focuses on meeting the needs of the customer and delivering a good or service that will fulfill that need. 

Propel Growth by Aligning Purpose

There is a renewed model of connection and leadership in business. Some folks do this naturally, and the rest of us require a little bit of practice. For those of us that require some practice, build a shared vision, a business PURPOSE that guides and propels progress. The most effective and remembered leaders of our time, and the most successful companies, will be builders of purpose, which inspire the people both inside and outside the organization.

Geoff McDonald, Global Vice President HR for marketing, communications, sustainability and talent at fast-moving consumer goods company Unilever, suggests that businesses with a clear purpose and that align leadership and infrastructure to realize and support that purpose will be able to create sustainability in the longer term.

Using Customer Touch Points Effectively

Good customer relationships depend on the little things, but it takes more than just a pop-up notification to follow-up from your CRM software to build meaningful customer relationships. Studies prove that relationships are maintained more effectively when there is regular contact. It's a simple concept, really. Increase the number and frequency of high-quality touch points with your customers, and you stand a better chance of being top-of-mind when it’s their time to buy.

Touch points are ways of connecting with your customers and potential costumers. Smart marketers know that touch points must be varied and relevant to the customer, otherwise it’s a waste of resources, both time and budget. Continually calling on a customer can lead to frustration and potential rejection. Relevant and varied touch points are key. One simple touch point that is often overlooked is the use of business events and topics.

Resources for Those Beyond Start Up

I hear from business owners that there is a lack of resources and support for small to medium size companies that are beyond the start up but do not have the budget or time to attend national training and seminars. There is a real need for companies with 10-75 employees to find resources that not only provide knowledge but also focus and support growth strategies. Designed exclusively for results-driven small to medium businesses, Purpose Boards provides business owners with the specific insights, strategies and leadership development to achieve results.

Driving Growth or Rejecting Traditional Business

The Millennial generation has captivated academics and the media alike. They have helped shape the direction of technology, how we communicate, the care of the environment, and the popularity of social media. They have helped foster the change in how we educate, well, them and future generations. We have been hearing and reading about this generation for years and today, Deloitte’s third annual Millennial (Generation Y) Survey that explored what this generation wants from business, government, and the future workplace was published.

Besides the interesting tidbits of information that can be gleamed from surveys and reports, why should business leaders be paying close attention to the Millennials? The Millennial generation will have the greatest impact on our economy, and yet many business leaders may not fully understand why or how.

Redesigning Leadership

I came across this post by John Maeda talking about Creative Leadership vs. Authorative Leadership that I thought was a good quick summary of changing leadership styles.

This chart represents a summary of the kind of creative leadership that is rising -- and needed -- in the face of our increasing interconnectedness due to global economies, mobile devices, and social media. In an age where anyone can "friend" the CEO, and where complexity and volatility are the only constants, what should leadership look like? I often say we are now operating within a "heterarchy" though I've also cleverly seen it called the "wirearchy." In any case, it's a world where I believe the natural perspective of artists and designers -- who thrive in ambiguity, fail productively, and rebound naturally -- will be become more and more useful in leadership contexts.

The chart was originally created for a workshop at the Davos World Economic Forum in 2009 and became the basis of my book Redesigning Leadership, written with Becky Bermont. In my own observation, there are authoritative leaders and creative leaders everywhere -- it's not something wholly determined by industry, generation, or position. And every leader will need, on any given day, a little bit of both types of leadership.

I share it here because it's been frequently requested -- I hope it’s useful. -JM