Rethinking: 10 Strategies for a Challenging Era

By Jim Cathcart

In October of 2008 our markets and institutions experienced a permanent shift. That's twice now since the Millennium that the game has changed. On September 11, 2001 I was shocked into the awareness that not only had we experienced a tragedy of epic proportions, we had also experienced a permanent shift in our daily life and business patterns. Never again could we trust at the level we had trusted before. That was true for our military and domestic defenses and now we find it true for our economy. 

Now is a time for us to rethink virtually everything. 
We have entered a challenging era, one in which previous assumptions about what was safe and what would work are no longer reliable. We must increase our scrutiny of our businesses and our lives before some government agency does it for/to us.

Here are 10 areas worth re-examining: 

1. The value we deliver to our customers. What do they really get by doing business with us? Is the cost worth the outlay or can we make it more valuable to them without unduly increasing our cost of delivery? How can we increase their satisfaction right now?  I call this "Up-Serving", looking for ways to be of more service without more cost. 
   
2. The customers and markets we are pursuing. Is there another group or subgroup that could benefit from and afford our offerings? Are we seeking the optimum consumers of our services? Can we offer more or different products/services to our existing customers? Should we be pursuing customers who were never on our radar before? 
   
3. The safety of working here. Is this a place where workers can relax in the assurance that we are looking out for them as well as our owners? Do we seek ways to show our people how much we value them? Do they truly know that they are appreciated? Do we listen to them, really? Do we protect them? 
   
4. The margin of profit from each of our endeavors. Are we truly spending $100 time on $100 activities or do we often expend prime time on low payoffs? Let's become more efficient and more effective simultaneously. 
   
5. The attitude we show day to day. People who work with us and buy from us are acutely aware of our own fear or confidence. We need to be intentionally and consciously building optimism and inspiring innovation. The only posture to operate in during challenges is Proactive & Positive. We need to be watching for ideas and opportunities on every front, especially from our own workforce. 
   
6. Sales efforts from every level. Nobody is exempt from sales efforts unless they plan to leave the organization. At times like this we need every clerk, assistant, technician, accountant, machine operator, driver, courier and cook to be "Thinking Sales." How and where can we see an opportunity to help someone else at a profit? All of us circulate in the world and become de facto ambassadors for the company. That means we are walking sales reps even though we may never make a sales presentation, nor ask anyone to buy. Let's train everyone to recognize sales opportunities and show them how to pass along the leads for our best responses. Incentives will help too. 
   
7. Our own work patterns. What worked last year may not work next year. We may have to begin doing some things we thought we had outgrown. It may be that we will need to re-ignite some old practices in order to generate new business. What time each day does your truly productive work begin? What do you regularly spend time on that has a low payoff value? Where is the highest and best use of your time? 
   
8. In what ways are we "spoiled"? Have you grown accustomed to certain luxuries or freedoms on the job that no longer make sense? What items that were once goals & dreams have you lately come to consider as entitlements? Lean and mean is the need right now. Roll up your sleeves more often and do what must be done. 
   
9. Our primary relationships. Everything we do is done through others on some level. When we change the nature or mix of whom we spend our time with, we also change our results. Give some strong consideration to who you'd benefit from associating with and who might be holding you back. Cut back on the limiting relationships and increase the high payoff ones. (See my other posts about Relationship Intelligence).
   
10. Our expenditures. This is where most organizations begin their reactions to challenges. But most organizations don't do very well. Those who thrive in tough times are the ones who realize that nobody ever saved their way to more income. You don't increase sales by cutting expenses, you do it by increasing the payoff from each expenditure. Look for ways to increase high payoff expenses and eliminate low payoff expenses. Ask what items and efforts could be re-purposed toward sales. 
    

The biggest challenge in meeting tough times is MINDSET. 

As FDR said, "the greatest thing we have to fear is fear itself." Mindset is the beginning point for all behavior. We must cultivate an abundance mentality: there is opportunity out there and we will find it. We don't have to fear our competition, we simply need to value and serve our customers. We needn't worry about customer's being loyal to us, we will begin by being more loyal to them. 

The second challenge is SKILLSETS. We must assure that everyone obtains the skills they need in order to:

• increase sales, 
• improve service, 
• identify opportunities, 
• generate innovative solutions and 
• sustain optimism. 
  

You don't just become better by deciding to. You must have the training, information and inspiration to do so. 

The third challenge is SYSTEMS. We must systematize processes and set standards that cultivate the right habits for success. 

When we do these things, challenge will be our friend. Let me know how we can help you communicate these messages, train people in these skills and refine the systems needed to make success a habit, even in tough times. 

Jim Cathcart 

www.cathcart.com 

Turnover is evidence of errors in leadership

by Jim Cathcart
copyright 2007, www.cathcart.com

If people are regularly departing from your team then something is wrong with your approach to leadership. How many people have come and gone from you in the past several years?

Am I saying that the problem is you? Not exactly, but if people aren't staying then something is missing. It might be that your compensation package doesn't hold up to the competition or size of the workloads. It might be that situational or geographic issues like long commutes could be the problem. Or it even might be poor selection processes; you just haven't been recruiting the right people.

But more often than not, heavy turnover is a symptom of poor leadership. I know, that hurts to hear. (Just bear in mind that I am not thinking of you personally as I write this.) Now, before your defense mechanisms start claiming, "but I have great motives and I'm a generous boss", or "I work harder and give more than anyone else around here," stay with me for a bit.

Good intentions do not make you a good leader. Great persuasion ability doesn't either. Hard work and personal dedication doesn't make you a good leader. Many things are required, but let's see if you even need to hear all this.

Question: Have you had trouble keeping good people?

If your answer is Yes, then you have a leadership problem.
Now we need to find out where the problem lives.

The Role of a Leader is to become progressively unnecessary.
Read that again.
At first everyone looks to the leader for direction, inspiration and guidance. But if they keep looking to you then you aren't leading, you are managing. Managers have to work indefinitely. Leaders grow their own replacements. They work themselves out of a job by developing the vision, motivation and skills of others.
If you have been "leading" for more than a year and nobody is in place yet to become your ultimate replacement, then changes in your behavior may be in order.

Here are a few thought stimulators to get you started in finding elements to improve.
1. Are your meetings fun, fascinating and full of energy?
2. Do people look forward eagerly to their next meeting with you?
3. Do you look forward eagerly to listening to what your coworkers think?
4. Do you find yourself complaining that others just don't "get it"?
5. When hiring do you look for people with talent or people who agree with you?
6. Do you feel like all the work is on your shoulders and others aren't stepping up?

Why do others not step up and take charge?
There are many reasons. Here are a few: (How many are you guilty of?)
You don't let them lead. You appoint them and then interfere with all their decisions.
They end up with all the work and none of the control. You don't delegate the necessary authority to go with the duties.
You don't celebrate or appreciate others effectively. They feel they are not valued.
They have seen others work hard only to have you change the plans at the last minute, thereby wasting all that effort.
You make decisions on your own and then announce them to the group, instead of seeking their input and approval. When it is "my way or the highway" most people will take to the highway to get away from you.
They don't want to do something just out of obligation or need. They want the joy and satisfaction of doing things that matter and doing them happily.

If you feel that nobody knows or cares as much as you, then you need to spend some serious energy developing the knowledge and caring in others. Otherwise, you will still be alone at the top next year and your team will have left you...again.

Stop the insanity! Change the way you lead. If you can't change then step aside. Life is too short for you to be constantly pressured and unhappy. Besides, you are probably making many others unhappy as well. So, make a change! Step aside and give up the power. Put someone else in charge and then assist (not control, just assist) them as they take the reins.

If you want to stay in charge then get some help to become more effective. Hire a coach or find a mentor. Turn to someone who doesn't fear telling you the truth.
Admit to the team that you see how you have missed the mark, but that you are willing to work differently in order to give everyone a chance to make a difference.

The greatest leaders of all time were people who listened to advisers and admitted their own weaknesses. They sought direction as well as gave it. To be the best leader that you can be you must make job one Telling Yourself the Truth!

Take a look at what is going on today. Ask yourself;
If nothing changes where is this headed?
At what point will there be a BIG problem if we don't change?
How much longer can I avoid telling everyone the whole truth?
What will the effects of that problem be after the initial crisis?
What can we, not I but WE, do about it? Don't try to go it alone.

Use all your strength, call on the people you care about and those who care about you and your "cause". Truly listen to them and consider following their lead instead of only asking them to follow yours.

Also, ask yourself, when is the time for me to step aside and be a supporter instead of "the leader?"
The purpose of your organization is to make life better for the people it serves.
How's that working for you?
If you aren't getting the results you want then now is the time to change the behavior patterns that created your current reality and start some new ones that will generate the outcomes you desire.