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Planning for the New Year?

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The New Year is almost upon us. Many small businesses are wrapping up their year as they wrap Christmas and Hanukah gifts. Some entrepreneurs are feeling a sense of achievement along with the goodwill and peace this time of year evokes. Others are feeling a combination of relief and hope as they close out a tough year while anticipating how to make next year better than this one. We are setting goals and resolutions for the New Year, our fresh new calendars are out and we’re marking deadlines for new goals.

While you have that calendar out, try adding a few of the following items to grow your business while strengthening your personal health and vitality.

1. Vacation: Not only is it important to schedule breaks away from your business but studies have shown that just the act of planning a vacation brings happiness from the anticipation. As an entrepreneur the year will fly by regardless and if you don’t mark your calendar in advance, “something will come up” preventing you from following through. Can’t afford long exotic vacations? Book a few long weekends to your schedule.

2. Reflection : It’s not enough to simply measure your year by dates and projects achieved. Quiet time to reflect on your personal and business growth, acknowledge your achievements, and refresh your soul provide perspective and an energetic strength you need for the next leg of your business journey. I personally need a few days of quiet reflection every few months but suggest you start with a day or two every quarter or six months. Once you get started, you’ll be addicted to how good you feel during and after.

3. Personal Care: My guess is the perennial favorites of exercise and healthy eating are already on your list of goals for the coming year – they are on my list! How about scheduling some other activities to take care of your body and soul? Schedule spa appointments for the next few months. If you find a massage relaxing, make the call and schedule a standing appointment for the year.

4. Relationships: As you look back on this year, are there some people you wish you’d made more time for in your life? Whether personal or professional relationships, we often put those to the back burner while building a business. Choose one day a week to lunch with colleagues. Pick one weekend a month to dinner with old friend…it’s a start and may lead to new traditions.

5. Giving back Time. Every year you talk about volunteering and then don’t have time when the opportunities present themselves. Start with one day. Pick a cause. Pick up the phone and offer your help.

6. Fun: When was the last time you indulged your hobby? Hobbies have been proven to relieve stress and entrepreneurs certainly need that! You love to fish but haven’t been in a few seasons? Or you love the theatre and concerts? Check out the schedule for your local area and mark your calendar in advance. Or perhaps it’s time to pursue a new hobby? Schedule a class or pick up a book on the topic. Gardening is a great stress reliving activity for me and I enjoy planning for the coming year as much as I enjoy harvesting the cutting garden and eating fresh vegetables.

7. Big Picture Time: It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day details and looming deadlines, losing sight of our long-term vision. Schedule time to review your long-term business vision and your life vision. Spending time with your vision leads to clarity of purpose. Clarity feeds confidence and passion, two critical components of success.

8. Personal Development: Think about the skills you want to develop in the coming year. Look to the list above along with your goals for the coming year to identify some ideas. With all the training options available these days whether online or in a traditional classroom, there is an option for every schedule and no excuse for not investing in your own personal learning.

9. Team Building Activities: Some of the above activities can be combined with team-building activities as a way to strengthen bonds and improve overall team performance. Invest in a facilitator to enable you to be an active participant with the team and to encourage open dialogue for best results. Schedule a team party or team picnic. Plan a community volunteer day.
Some may resist the items on this list, perceiving the list as unproductive or “soft skills” – expect resistance from those who are focused on goals alone. But these softer skills and activities essential to running a business all contribute to your health, a clear mind, reduced stress and the positive mindset needed to run a business.

Small steps to a Better than Ever Business…

Grab your calendar and start with 2-3 items from the above list. Just the simple act of scheduling an activity increases the odds of your success. Does it make you feel enthusiastic about the coming year? If these items are a challenge for you or you feel resistance, invest in a coach or join a mastermind team to keep you accountable in the coming year. This time next year, you’ll look back with gratitude because you built habits of vitality and passion into your calendar. Cheers!

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Indispensible or Dangerous?

iStock_000049939328LargeWho is the most dangerous person in your business? If I suggest you start by looking at your “indispensable” employee as dangerous, would you be shocked? In fact, it’s not unusual to find most career experts include advice to “make yourself indispensable” among their recommendations. So what’s the problem? Let me make a distinction – there’s a difference between what I call the indispensable heroes and the indispensable martyrs. The savvy business owner knows how to encourage heroes, recognize and eliminate martyrs.

How do you distinguish the indispensable martyr? Generally, it starts out innocently enough…she is the go-to gal! She gets things done! She creates the procedures and organizes your systems. And she is rewarded for all the above so she continues to amass more authority and responsibility. You cannot imagine your business without her and there’s not a decision or a project that this person doesn’t have a hand in. Sounds harmless…and it is in the beginning. Imperceptibly, a line is quietly crossed and this person goes from being the hero of your business to a martyr and it’s time to take action.

How do you know the line has been crossed? A martyr is generally defined as someone who suffers or dies for a cause – in this case, the cause is your business. There are a few warning signs. The indispensable martyr has an astounding amount of knowledge but is ungenerous about sharing it. Hoarding knowledge to maintain their power and position is common. She works long hours, rarely takes a vacation and when she does, some projects and responsibilities come to a hold until her return. Or worse, work must be redone when she returns because no one knows how to do it “right.” She’s known for being too busy to train anyone to relieve her workload. Team members simultaneously in awe and intimidated by this her – her authority is unquestioned. Systems and procedures designed to help grow the business may automate the martyr’s authority rather than deliver on strategic efficiency initiatives. Ultimately your business growth will be inhibited because systems and procedures won’t scale under the control of one person.

Fire the martyrs, even if it’s you. OK…firing is a strong action. But your business future depends upon taking swift action to minimize the risk of dependence on any single individual. And the truth is the martyr can be your greatest partner in making the transition if you proceed with care.

It all starts with you! Be the hero of your own business by modelling behaviors based upon your Core Values. If you value “innovation,” encourage a questioning culture unafraid to fail. If you value “empowerment,” model cross-training and reward delegation and resourcefulness. If you value “efficiency,” reward those who recommend and implement streamlined processes and systems. If you value “teamwork,” foster a culture that celebrates team successes. If your goal is growth, involve all employees in designing personal performance goals and rewards tied directly to your mission and strategic initiatives.

If you’ve unintentionally rewarded martyr behavior in the past, these changes may initially be difficult for the indispensable employee. Bring her on board early and encourage her participation in fostering a new culture which rewards heroes. The truth is a martyr simply wants to contribute and feel valued for her contribution. Appeal to her need for validation and she may become your biggest business hero. Recognize this person may not have the organizational credibility and trust necessary to lead the transition– that’s your job – but she can help you champion cultural changes rather than see them as a threat.

Small steps to a Better than Ever Business…
Spend a few minutes imagining the culture you want to create and brainstorm ways you can transform your martyr into an indispensable hero.

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Do you feel a sense of Achievement?

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Do you feel a sense of achievement about your business? Or just busy and overwhelmed? The workday is just as long in either case, but how you feel at the end of the day provides clues to whether your business is on track towards your vision.

Achievement is being built upon a strategic framework when daily work is infused with mission, purpose and a sense of contribution to a vision. Purpose-driven achievement creates a positive daily sense of momentum in a business that leads to a cycle of higher achievement.

Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation. ~ Robert Schuller

If you’re missing the feeling of achievement at the end of the day, ask yourself a few questions to assess if you have the essential elements for an achievement-focused business:

1. Are you mastering the measurable? An achievement oriented business is driven by key performance indicators and critical success factors built upon the mission and goals. Stakeholders know the goals AND know how the business is performing against the indicators. Projects have deadlines and are directly lined up to strategic objectives. Every activity performed during the workday can directly be linked to the strategic mission and objectives of your business.

2. Have you made “systems” your friend (and technology your B***h)? What are the key systems required to deliver on your company mission? If you serve consumers, do you have a customer experience system? Is there an ideal set of processes, procedures, schedules, software applications, and so forth that efficiently move product to the hands of the customer? Technology is critical to automate systems and processes but is ineffective unless you’ve first defined HOW the process should work from the customers’ viewpoint.

3. Is business being hurt by an indispensable employee? Perhaps it’s time to get rid of the martyr mindset, starting with yourself. Busyness does not equal business and often the “indispensable” employee can become a bottleneck. If your business cannot function without the day-to-day work of any single individual, time to re-evaluate what and how that person can contribute to the business in a more innovative fashion. A culture of achievement is fostered in an environment of employee empowerment and one in which everyone feels essential but not critical to the company mission.

4. Are communication and team conflict issues slowing progress? Cultivate a high-achievement culture by establishing team norms. Norms are acceptable standards of behavior in a team – teams who define and operate according to agreed-upon norms generally perform at higher levels than those without norms. When team members understand norms and expectations, they are more empowered to resolve communication, conflict and decision-making issues – rising together to higher levels of achievement.
Keep in mind, all four elements of an achievement oriented organization are built upon the foundation of strategic goals, mission, vision, and core values AND are best continually nurtured, modelled, and communicated by the organization’s leadership team.

Small steps to a Better than Ever Business…
Awareness is the first best step. Take a look at your answers to the above questions. Which area is causing you the greatest pain, preventing achievement of your goals? Now choose one action item you can complete which moves you closer to mastering the habits of achievement. Share your experiences here.

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Creating Business Momentum: Small Steps or Big Strides

My daughter is a runner. She has loved running for years and is competing with her schools track and field team, running the 400 m, 800 m and anchoring the 400 in the medley. She wants to win. She practices daily, measuring her progress by timing her runs. On the other hand, I am a walker. I have been walking for fitness for over 20 years. Although I ran one pitiful season of cross country in high school and tried running for fitness, I honestly never liked it. I walk because I love getting outdoors, occasionally hiking, and I want to stay healthy. I never measure my steps or my timing although I have been told I walk at a fair clip. We recently went to the high school track a few times to “work out “together. The truth is I was her carpool, and the only time we had “together” was in the car and back.

I started my walk after a enjoying a morning cup of coffee. She ate a performance friendly breakfast and has been watching her nutritional choices since training began weeks ago. I prepared with a quick stretch (just to say I did), while she spent more time preparing her body for the run. I think I may have gone a full lap before she began running – I was ahead albeit briefly.

In the space of 45 minutes or so, she lapped me several times on top of performing some kind of training sprints and “progressions”. I just kept up my same old pace, going round and round the track. In the end, we were both pleased by our workout. I completed a few miles and felt invigorated. She was thrilled because she bested her last time on the 800m and felt excited for her upcoming race.

Whether with easy steps or big strides, we were both making positive progress towards our respective goals – each of us has momentum.

As a business owner, it is often hard not to get so wrapped up in what everybody else is doing that you forget why you are on the track. If you spend all your time watching your competitor, you take your eyes of the finish line. If you are like most entrepreneurs, the finish line is a very personal thing. You started your business because of your passion. You molded it to fit with the vision you have of the life you want to lead. You decided early on whether you wanted the marathons or the sprints and the sacrifices you were willing to make for your vision to become a reality. As long as you are happy with the progress you are making towards your goals, don’t be concerned.

For many years, I watched other consultants build full-time practices, write books, give speeches. I was content with low key marketing, taking only referral clients and working an easy 25-30 hours per week while taking care of personal priorities (like a sickly child who is now lapping me). I was getting “lapped” but I wasn’t feeling beat. Momentum was at a slow pace, but it was my pace, my race, my finish line.

Should you be concerned if you are getting “lapped” by a competitor if you both have the same goals? You bet. Ask yourself a few questions: Is your goal clear? Is your target measurable? Have you prepared? Do you need to run more progressions? Are you nurturing your mind and body between the races so you can be ready? Are you feeding yourself a high performance diet?

The important point is that you set your own goals and build momentum by creating disciplines and practices which move you forward to your personal objective. Measure your progress. Change your strategy. Change your tactics. But, keep moving. Momentum comes from taking steps, small and large over time. Before you know it, you will reach the finish line.

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SPRING CLEANING THE SOCIAL WEB

Over the course of this month, I have been cleaning out the clutter from my online world. Consider it a form of weeding, making room for my important relationships to grow and new relationships to take root. Here’s what I did:

1. Unfollowed most Tweeters who don’t follow me back on Twitter.
2. Used the “Hide” option on the Facebook Pages I “fan” because their message is irrelevant to me, personally and professionally. I was trying to help them get enough fans to secure their unique name but I know I will never buy their products and/or they send me too much marketing.
3. Deleted LinkedIn contacts I do not know who have only sent me invitations to social media webinars. Decided to reconsider my open invitation status on LinkedIn and ensured all my contacts there were private.
4. Checked on all the FB friends whose status I have hidden because their marketing or Farmville activities were annoying. If all they do is market, I consider “unfriending” them or kept them hidden. For Farmville fans, I unhide the friends and hide Farmville – thanks to FB for providing this ability.
5. Unsubscribed to Blogs and RSS feeds that clutter my Google Reader and Netvibes dashboard.
6. Canceled all Google email alerts except essential alerts which require immediate attention.
7. Unsubscribed to all the email newsletters I never read.
8. Withdrew from LinkedIn and Facebook groups that long lost their value.
9. Unsubscribed to paid membership forums that I never visit.
10. Deleted profiles on a few social networks I never use so I can focus on just a few communities.

I feel better already but plan to take a few more steps in the coming week:

1. Create Twitter Lists to make it easier to support and appreciate my important relationships.
2. Organize groups of friends on Facebook so I can be certain to check the status of key people in my network and engage with them.
3. Update my social marketing planning calendar to make sure I prioritize time for essential communities and people. Now that the weeding is done, my important relationships have room to grow and I have more time to nurture them.
4. Create a set of guidelines for deciding whether or not to join groups, fan pages, communities, and social networks in the future.
5. Create an email address dedicated only to web subscriptions. Many times, I give my name and email address to someone in return for a report or e-book, etc and end up on the mailing list. I will only give out my daily priority email addresses to people I meet in person or want to meet in person.

How about you? What can you do to weed out online distractions to focus on your most significant relationships and profitable activities?

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