A to Z and Soup to Nuts

…Maybe. But maybe not.

Are you trying to have your business

be all things to all people?

It’s easy to see why any business owner would choose, or be tempted to choose, a path of omnipresence.

First in the line of reasons is the motivation to survive a continually worsening economy (spawned by the federal government’s continuing business incompetence, and aggravated by its dumb and dumber insistence that the recession ended last June!).

Reasons enough to drive any entrepreneur scrambling up the wall of desperation.

Second, we need look no further for examples of others making “Sales Offering Sprawl” work, than to tune in to the examples offered by many product-based companies.

Traditional product specialization offerings have been sidetracked, integrated, absorbed, and demolished.

In retail and online businesses alone, we can barely keep up as consumers with where’s the best place to buy what.  

We’ve watched drugstores evolve over the past generation from independent prescription pharmacies supplemented by inventories of OTC (over-the-counter) drugs and some limited HBA (health & beauty aids) products, plus maybe a 6-stool soda fountain and some penny candy, into today’s behemoth supermarket and electronic warehouse (even furniture) chains that seem to sell everything under the sun.

Most notable of course is the inclusion of complete in-store professionally staffed medical facilities — and the forerunner of that: tucking entire pharmacies under the same roofs, as a number of industry-leading retail giants have done.

So why wouldn’t it seem appropriate to aspire to include a little bit of everything under your own roof?

Maybe it is appropriate, but don’t just think so and then do it. Entrepreneurs take only reasonable risks. That “Best Guess” path is not a wise or reasonable risk. Take the time and trouble and energy and expense to define, set up and run focus group discussions with target clients/customers to determine what they really think instead of what you think they think.

Design a strategic plan. It need

 not be fancy, but it needs to exist.

The good news is that if the November elections can produce enough upstart representation by people who understand that new small businesses are the nation’s only source of job creation and that job creation is the only way to turn the economic tide, business can be more free-market and free-wheeling and more competitive again.

But the bad news is that until that point actually occurs (probably 2-3 years away at best), decision making about what your business is in business to sell needs to be more cautious and needs to be based on more than opinion.

Service businesses are not product businesses.

B to B businesses are not B to C businesses.

Avoid getting caught in that tangled tidal wave of confusion by sticking to what you specialize in, by developing strategic plans for how to proceed and by encouraging more than SBA lip-service and make-believe assistance to small businesses.

# # #

 Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals!

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

When tug-of-wars threaten 

family business . . .

call TIME OUT!

Not to act is to act… Not to stop the roller coaster long enough to raise the issues (and question yourself), puts you out of control!

Conflict is inevitable in any business. But eliminating conflict can destroy a business overnight because it pulls away the blanket of trust and blocks the path to innovation all in one fell swoop.

The goal needs to be to manage conflict productively, not chase it away. Properly managed conflict can breed creative thinking, mutual respect, and boost business growth.

If you want to get technical, some organizational development experts and behavioral scientists would insist that the inability to manage agreement is a far more critical issue to address than the inability to manage conflict.

Experience with hundreds of family businesses though seems to dictate that where conflict is present, manage that first. It’s hard to agree to much of anything once fists are flying.

__________________________________________________

Start by questioning yourself >>> What do I need to do when a conflict issue is critically important to me but not to others? >>>Am I inflating or accelerating an issue and making it worse than it really is? >>> How important is it for me (and for me to help others) to speak up, and not “hint”? >>> For issues that are critical to others but not me, can I mediate better with active listening and questioning?

_____________________________________________

Here are some quick-fix rules of thumb that can lead you out of the dark tangles and into the sunlight:

1) Be willing to listen more. Ask the presenter(s) to slow down so you can write down a bullet list of items he/she/they want to deal with (When you do this, you slow down the attack potential and reduce the odds of getting overwhelmed with a bombardment of unrelated issues. When it’s agreed that the list is complete, ask for help prioritizing it, then focus on #1 only until it’s resolved, before moving to #2, etc. Divide and conquer the issues.

2) Stay 100% focused on the issues and on behaviors, not on the individuals themselves or their personality defects or character traits.

3) Resist being defensive or attacking back. Rebuttals only stimulate more rebuttals. Even if you’re right and win the battle, you can lose the war.

4) Be pleasantly direct about expressing what you want and feel. Use assertive language that respects others and their rights, that is objective and clear. More use of words like “I” instead of “you.” If things get heated, call TIME OUT! and follow with statements like “I came here to discuss, not argue” and “I want to know your feelings about this” and “I want to hear your position on this.”

5) Practice substituting the word “and” for the word “but” when trying to work through differences [“I agree with your thinking that we need to increase sales, but I think how that happens should be the responsibility of the sales department” is NOT as effective as “I agree with your thinking that we need to increase sales, and I think how that happens should be the responsibility of the sales department.”] Words like “but” (and “though” and “however” which are simply polite “buts”) serve to discredit…whereas “and” suggests a process of building on a mutually agreeable idea.

To deal effectively with another person’s anger, you must –above all– not get hooked by it.

Second, accept it as belonging to the other person.

Third, affirm the other person’s angry feelings as real, and that you hear and understand them.

Fourth, acknowledge that you may or do feel defensive, and state clearly how you feel about having any anger directed at you.

Fifth, ASK for clarification, for examples, for diagrams; diagnose the cause — take it apart piece at a time.

Sixth, renegotiate the relationship.

And remember what grandma used to say: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

(or call or email Hal -see below- for some free pointers)

Resolving conflicts? It’s always worth doing. It’s your business.

302.933.0911 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Your business has just been 

beaten up. NOW what?????

The Small Business ER. Paperwork. Name? Date of birth? sole proprietorship, Sub-S or LLC? Address? History of ailments? Next of kin? Organ donor? 

The Business Doctor. A diagnostic work-up. What seems to be the problem? Take a deep breath! http://bit.ly/bo3ZJy Where does it hurt? Let’s see – does this hurt? 

What did you do, get mugged on the way to a sales presentation?

No insurance? Hmmmm. Ah, Helen, let’s see if we can slide this business in under some kind of federal coverage — maybe one of those stimulus plans?

Sooooo, the good news is you’re not gonna die from this. Take your business home, ice it, give it aspirin and lots of rest; keep the bank loans floating, drink prune juice and call me in the morning.

In the meantime, I’m giving you a rehab prescription — you’ll need physical and mental therapy both, but it may only be for six months to a year.

If by then, things haven’t straightened out, we’ll need to do some MRIs and consider a frontal lobotomy, or we may decide it’s just best for you to simply fold your venture and go to work for the government or a large corporation …which would be something like a lobotomy anyway.

Someone here to drive you? Good. You should feel better in a year or two. Have a great day! 

Yuh! Well, things could be worse, said the bloated cow that hadn’t been milked for three days.

The point is that very little compares with the mental anguish, and painful feelings associated with your business taking a beating at the hands of incompetent government agencies, overly-aggressive industry or professional competition, the two-faced-forked-tongue media, the IRS, or your cousin Vinny.

But YOU are an ENTREPRENEUR! Everybody calls you that. You have a reputation to uphold. You’re a free spirit. Nothing gets you down (well, almost nothing).

So the bottom line is that it’s time to get up off the floor (or examination room gurney) and pick up the pieces and set some new goals that are realistic, specific, flexible, and have a due date. http://bit.ly/95XCJN

Yes, it’s true that entrepreneurs typically do not like to plan anything, but the point here is that when your business and/or business ideas have been assaulted, and you’re thinking about chucking it all and heading for the islands, you need to PLAN.

Most recoveries of any type do not generally occur miraculously. They take planning. http://bit.ly/c4puBz Just as you set goals for yourself when you started your business, set them anew for making a recovery.

You CAN do this.

You know why? Because it’s a choice! http://bit.ly/9GydiP 

www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

How you see

your business

is not how

others see it!

We see what we want to see. We hear what we want to hear. We feel what we want to feel.

How others experience your business and your business message has almost nothing to do with you. It’s all about selective perception.

Pretend your business

is sponsoring a special event . . . a charity fundraising reception, for example. Your biggest customer has donated a pile of merchandise for the feature event drawing. Your assistant has done all the decorations. Your major suppliers have donated hor’ devours and beverages, the local newspaper and TV news reporters are covering the reception. The Mayor is there.

Selective perception

dictates that your biggest customer heads directly to check out the donated prizes when she comes through the door (and to make sure the reporters get the charitable company’s name and address right), your assistant will be fussing with the ribbons and streamers and balloons, your major suppliers will head straight for the bar and foodservice trays (along with the media people who are only there for the freebies), and the Mayor is working the room for votes.

Most attendees are there to be seen.

Getting people to attend an event that they’ve contributed to in some way is easy. Getting them to pay attention to your message and the reason YOU wanted them to be there is not. And the people representing the charity think every one’s there to spotlight and assist their needs. But reality is that everyone who attends, attends for their own reasons, and searches out their own payoffs.

No, it’s not being cynical; it’s being honest. Most people will never admit that they go to or participate in a charity event for any reason other than to help the charity, but the truth is there’s something more in it for them. Nothing wrong with that because –in the end– the charity benefits, but don’t kid yourself into believing that others see things the same ways you do.

The charitable event is merely an example. Others fail to see your perspective in the ways you represent your products and services. Probably 100% of customers and prospects could care less about all the great product and service features you embrace. The “What’s in it for me” benefits are all that really matter.

Are you triggering their emotional

buying motives…or yours?

In fact, NO ONE sees things the same ways you do. No ones sees and hears and processes things in exactly the same ways as anyone else. The perceptual filters in every brain vary with age, health, environment, experience, and circumstances among other factors…and they can change at the drop of a hat.

Some people still walk around blaming a bad upbringing or poor potty training as reasons for certain shortcomings or personality defects. They don’t see the world (or your business) the same way you do.

Well, that may all strike you as fairly depressing news, but there’s nothing depressing about having a heightened awareness of the fact that you need to reach customers and prospects with the sets of words that appeal most to THEM, not you. That’s important stuff!

You might want to consider having a professional experienced, sales-focused  marketing writer with strong psychology training handle the creation and production of the words that represent your business. Your business messages need to feel solid to your target market. Having that happen is not a matter of luck.

Look for someone who knows how to capture and excite a broad spectrum of selective perception filters, who can help direct attention your way, and who can create messages that will trigger emotional buying motives for you.   

Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Is There a Crack in Your

Business Liberty Bell?

Dear Ship Captain:

Maybe your people were never at liberty to learn how to hold on to customers when economic seas got rough? No, bungee cords are not the solution! Giving your people the freedom and incentive to learn is the solution. Why now when every penny counts? Because every customer counts! And the bigger the waves, the more widespread the sense of panic — for your customers and customer businesses as well as for your own.

Your customers may not be in the same boat 

. . . but they’re in the same boat!

This of course doesn’t apply if you’re working in a cushy, tax-dollar-supported government position — one of those newly-created jobs we hear about that are simply adding to our catestrophic national debt. (Sorry, had to get that dig in because, regardless of who did what to whom or who blames whom, the fact remains that those artificial “new jobs” are a large part of why things are the way they are.)

Bottom line is that you have to know that being in the same boat as your customers (and your neighboring and affiliated businesses) translates to the need for teamwork in order to survive in storms, and help ensure that every one’s rowing in the same direction. (You’ve seen the Olympic motivational poster: TEAM…Together Everyone Achieves More. It’s true in business too!)

What can you do about weathering this storm

beginning first thing Tuesday morning?

How can you take a firm foothold of quiet leadership? How can you promote and foster teamwork between your own unsteady business and your nervous or floundering customers who may be on the cusp of giving up their loyalty to you, in favor of less expensive products and services?

The first answer: SET AN EXAMPLE. Show your employees and your customers (and other businesses) how to lead your common interests out of the darkness. Sure you have a vote in November, but that’s 60 days away and, even with sweeping changes, it maybe another year before any entrepreneurial-job-creation relief surfaces. (This may help you get started: http://bit.ly/bo3ZJy)

The second answer: FIRST AID. Give your staff a “refresher” crash course on how to trip over yourself trying to delight every customer and every prospect. Keep reminding them to treat every business visit and contact the way they would want their closest family and friends to be treated. Make sure that “The Customer Is Always Right!” is not just a token expression.

Check out an A-1 classic customer service training video entitled “Give ’em the Pickle!” with Bob Farrell http://bit.ly/gD1b6

Develop an incentive planor program that rewards exceptional customer care efforts. Keep in mind that cash is not always the best or most sought-after reward. Read up on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs motivational theory; it works. Start with Net MBA:  http://bit.ly/mKk7D Scroll to “Implications for Management.”

The third answer: LONG-TERM CARE. There are many competent training organizations that specialize in customer service and customer relationship development and management that you can contract with for ongoing or quarterly session programs. Annual and semi-annual efforts are a waste of time and money. Here are two of the best resources to contact: 

Consider a customer-centric “Train the trainer” style leadership program from an organization like TBD Consulting (contact Jonena Relth) www.TBDConsulting.com for options that can bring your designated human resource person up to speed to be able to run ongoing in-house programs.

Another strong alternative –and one that can work independently or in concert with a program like Jonena’s– is Pro-Star (contact Meredith Bell) www.ProStarCoach.com –an exciting new way to provide every employee with their own individually customized computer skill development training and follow-up program, one that also allows for each participant to communicate regularly with her or his hand-picked skill development support team. 

www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Feuding Families,

Combative Couples,

Peeved Partners  and

Belligerent Boards

Constant arguing, bitter and mean-spirited discussions, “business infidelity,” resentment, continuous bickering and back-biting, breaking trust and undermining confidences, changing changes.

. . . I want out and it’s time to go!

Or, as the renown Scottish farmer/poet Robert Burns’ prophesied in 1786 with his “Ode To A Wee Mouse” in what may be the world’s most quoted and paraphrased bits of advice: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.” (often go awry, or wrong)   

                                                        

How can you continue with the financial problems? The Mission and Vision disagreements? Operational differences? Business expansion and “parenting” plans vs. consolidation?

Do your business and business relationships look increasingly fragile? Are partners distancing themselves? Does collapse seem imminent?

Divorce between married couples is now in the mainstream of American life, and unfortunately serves to set the table for acceptance at a business level. What else is a business partnership besides a marriage? And family business upheavals can be the worst of all because they frequently involve or contaminate marriage relationships that are the very underpinning of a business structure.   

And those who are caught in the middle typically suffer the most. In a couple marriage relationship, it’s the children. In a business partnership it’s the partner families, employees, employee families, investors, suppliers and vendors and last, but not least, the customers! Nor does the damage line always stop there. In many instances, a neighborhood, community, town, region, industry or profession can also be negatively affected.

Ways to patch things up:

Start with giving the other person or people involved the benefit of doubt. You got into this relationship because something was extremely positive. By re-focusing on whatever that was, you may find that existing differences can be easily reconciled. Isn’t it worth a try? Don’t you have a lot invested in each other? Wouldn’t it be easier to move the business forward if differences could be worked out than to simply part ways and have to start all over again?    

So here’s the plan:                             

• If you can get past that first step of thinking, sit down and write out on paper with a pen, a statement of agreement to seek to resolve differences. Each principal involved in the dissension climate must be willing to do this.

• Exchange copies of these statements without commenting or responding.

• Plan a follow-up Q&A clarification discussion the next day (no rebuttals permitted) to review one another’s comments.

• Plan an open discussion of the Q&A clarification discussion a week or so later.                                    

• Next, and again something all involved must be willing to do: write out one sentence on paper that identifies exactly what you identify as the most critical problem.

• Then each needs to write out clear specific improvements desired in the form of a goal statement that is specific, flexible, realistic, and has a due date. 

Or get professional counseling:

An “outside” consultant who is experienced and skilled in both business management and human relations can help each individual involved put her/his differences in writing, channel productive exchanges, and foster committed attitudes aimed toward working through the differences.

A professional can help set up a recovery path with a schedule for renewable  efforts, and a contingency exit plan that can serve to strike a balance and encourage renewed efforts to make things work. Many leadership training-based organizations can provide assistance in identifying and retaining qualified coach/counselors.

This is always a better solution-approach than slamming the door and walking out! And it just might work! 

 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

First and third OR

first and reverse?

Given the enviable place to have runners when you’re up (first base and third base), you might think tonight’s post is another baseball story, or first down and a reverse hand-off in football . . . Sorry, sports fans: This one’s about an unusual car, and your unusual business decisions . . . but that’s getting a step ahead; let’s get back to the car. 

I once had a choice of gear combinations for a car I was purchasing. I needed something to get back and forth to college, back and forth to work, and back and forth to parties (some things never change!). A friend of mine, Joe, had THE car for me!

It was an all-black 1954 Sunbeam Talbot 90. Now you may think that sounds like it should be on  the kitchen counter for blending your okra and lima bean smoothies, but it was a car — a classic luxury vehicle in England in its heyday.

It had a sunroof, leather interior, rumble seat, running boards along each side, a hidden pull-out bar in the back, fog lights, six hidden compartments, and barely a mark. It was only a few hundred dollars “because it had a little gear problem,” but “had to be seen,” Joe said. He was right. It was a dream car. Almost.

The “little gear problem” meant I would have to make a decision. I could have only first gear and third gear, OR only first gear and reverse gear. Hmmm. First and third meant revving the thing up to 20-25 mph (which sounded like a dozen weedwhackers in flight), and then quickly “pop” it into third gear (it had “Synchromesh” for gear shifting with some ease) and cruise along, having completely by-passed the missing second gear.

OR . . . I could have first gear and reverse gear – always a good thing, said Joe, in case I ever needed to back up! I asked about speed, but was advised that “something had to go” and I could only have one or the other. With first and reverse, I would of course be able to parallel park, and get out of sticky situations (a date’s driveway?) without having to get out and push.

I could floor it in first and get to the weed-whacker noise level, then pop it into neutral and coast to a crawl, then pop it back into first and floor it again, etc. I took first and reverse. My decision didn’t please a lot of other drivers, but I couldn’t imagine never needing to go backwards.

Has your business been forced to go backwards in this economy? Were you prepared for it? Were you barreling along going forward when you first saw the telltale signs of government incompetence rewarding big dumb companies for doing everything wrong instead of smart small businesses for doing things right? Did you have to shake your head like a wet dog? Are you still?

Decisions that plan for future disaster (building an underground bomb shelter, investing in emergency crank-up radios with every news item about increased awareness of terrorist “chatter,” taking a loss on eBay for your world series ticket options for the Cubs and the Mets) are not always the best to actually implement, but thinking through contingency arrangements is always a good thing.

Developing an exit strategy for a brand new business is like having a pre-nuptual agreement. It seems like a stupid negative influence at the moment of highest positive attitude. It flies in the face of gut instinct. But it is not a bad idea, and it will almost always be of primary concern to any person or entity who is investing in the new business. 

Leave your self and your business “wiggle room.” You may not need to build a bomb shelter, but you’d better know where to go  and when if the business/market/industry or profession you’re involved with, or your state/region/nation continues to step deeper into an economical abyss. Have a plan. Keep it in your pocket. But have one. You might need to back up a little some day. 

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

302.933.0116    Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

What you target

for your business

may not be healthy!

Think of it this way: You really want a bacon-wrapped sausage smothered in melted cheese on a slice of buttered white bread with side orders of scrapple and syrup, chili cheese fries , Buffalo wings and onion rings with ranch dressing, finished off with deep-fried cream-filled chocolate cookies and a glass of buttermilk . . .

Uh, if that description makes your mouth water and you decide to head out to some nearby junk-food drive-in, make it one that’s very close to the Arizona, Indiana or Pennsylvania Heart Institutes, or the Mayo Clinic, and be sure your health insurance is paid up! “C’mon, Hal,” you say, “nobody is that dumb who would eat like that.” I have 2-words for you: Observe People!

Not only does stupidity find it’s way to the dinner table (or car-hop tray…yes, there are still car-hops!), but it’s also often used as an excuse for not knowing better because the excuse-giver is too preoccupied being a workaholic to worry about stuff like tumors, and fat, and stents, and clots, and cancer. But being smart doesn’t mean being worried. Worry only achieves stress.

Why all of this banter? Because many small business owners and entrepreneurs who do take care of themselves and who at least make an effort to eat and sleep right, fail miserably when it comes to sizing up what’s best for their businesses. Some who do a nice job of being realistic enough to recognize their own mortality seem to think their businesses are invincible.

“Whaddaya mean this is a bad time for a bank loan? Can’t you see that this idea of mine will revolutionize the whole wind-shield wiper blade industry?”

“These services my family and I have been providing have worked like a charm for a hundred small businesses. Now it’s time to go get those corporate giants with the bailout money. Business is business, right? Just because they’re bigger doesn’t mean they can’t benefit as well.”

I spoke recently with restaurant chef/ owner partners who decided to be able to outdo the competition and market “farm to table” freshness, they would get up at 4 am every day and drive around to nearby farms themselves to hand-pick what they would cook for each meal. Considering they weren’t getting to bed until midnight, you can imagine the rest of that story. . .

                                                                     

If any of these examples causes you to think: So what’s wrong with those ideas?, you should maybe consider going back to the opening paragraph and head on out for one of those tasty meals. If you think these are all nut case examples, you should probably join the guy in the last sentence.

If it’s time for you to get with it, and adopt a more realistic attitude toward your business pursuits, then do it! It’s a choice. Behavior is a choice. You need to “stick to your knitting” when business times get tough. Rushing into anything is not generally a productive way to cope with an economy as catastrophic as this.

Use the time and energy instead to plan for when things get better (hopefully after November) and to make the most of what you have right now. Give customers more for their money and bite the bullet. Give employees increased responsibility and recognition instead of pay raises. Give suppliers consolidated orders you put together with other businesses to get better rates and discounts.

Switch your marketing emphasis from high-priced media buys to free social media and news release opportunities and find people who can help you make those work. Dress up and upgrade your website instead of trying to expand or add locations. Stay tuned into your industry, profession and markets on a day-to-day basis. Outsource tasks that take time and attention away from selling. 

 www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Sounds like a plan . . .

There’s something in your mind that you

want to go after and try to make happen?

You’ve been dreaming about it for, it seems, forever. You’ve been careful about not telling too many others, but those you do mention it to give you the same 3-way response: a “that’s nice” smile, an agreeable nod of the head, and a pointed effort to steer the conversation in a different direction. They humor you. They don’t get it.

If you’re in big business or government work, those responses are enough to douse your fire. You get second and third thoughts and then back away and abandon your idea. You’re too invested in your own job security to dabble with ideas that will preoccupy your mind and lead you too far astray from your 401k and pension plan payoffs when you retire in twenty years.

If you’re an entrepreneur, you don’t much care what anybody says, nor with whether they “get it” or not. You’re going to make your idea work regardless of the odds, the opinions, the financial insecurities associated with developing things to a startup stage, and beyond. Retirement and payoffs –even profits from sales– are the farthest thing from your mind.

The corporate executives and government administrators measure their innovative thinking in terms of whether the ideas they come up with fit into the grand scheme of long-term and strategic plans that blanket the organizations they serve. Entrepreneurs innovate without plans. Entrepreneurs have goals. They seek only the “end-result” of making their ideas work.

The odds for reaching a destination point are dramatically increased when goal-setting meets certain requirements and, once acknowledged, the focus is on each step that leads to the goal —- instead of on the goal itself.

                                       

For goals to be meaningful, they must satisfy all four of these criteria:

 they must be realistic, specific, flexible, and have a due date.

                              

Many people give up on goal-setting because they don’t want to feel like failures if a goal is not achieved. If it’s flexible, that won’t happen. Flexible goals can be redefined and be given new dimensions and new due dates. A goal in concrete is not a goal; it’s just a pile of concrete. Those fear-of-failure folks also need to be reminded that fear is a behavior, and behavior . . . is a choice! 

Those who think they have goals, but don’t adhere to all four criteria, have only wishes. And wishes only work for Disney characters!

Reality dictates that what “Sounds like a plan” rarely ever is, and what trys to pose as a goal without being specific, realistic, flexible and due-dated is simply a self-absorbing waste of time and energy, and often of money. Reality calls for disciplined action backed by burning desire. Reality is the stuff entrepreneurs are made of.

Entrepreneurs, some would argue, don’t plan; they just act. This is often true when it comes to describing the ways entrepreneurs appear to function in their business activities, but when it comes to getting started, and their daily pursuits, those who are most successful will inevitably point to having and constantly adjusting genuine goals to make their ideas work! Sounds like a plan, eh?  

 Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

What keeps small business

owners awake at night?

With appreciation for the inspiration for this post to Meredith Bell info@2020insight.net (publisher of a great free weekly self-development newsletter titled GOLDEN EGGS), based on yesterday’s conversation with Meredith about what keeps CEO’s awake at night.

As recently as three years ago this past May, a respectable study identified worrying about the caliber and extent of employee skills to get the jobs done that needed to be done (I’m paraphrasing here) as the number one reason that CEOs were unable to sleep at night.

But the economic impact on business was nowhere near as catastrophic at that time, and consumers were nowhere near as rambunctious.

Today’s business owners and managers are losing sleep over the inability of their business’s marketing efforts to keep up with the break-neck speed of change in the consumer marketplace (and slightly slower-to-respond industrial and professional service marketplaces). Wasn’t it just yesterday that $137 Kindle electronic readers were $400?

Without belaboring what’s prompted all the consumer scrambling for better greener quality with better warranty coverage at lower prices and faster delivery with improved customer service –because everyone is acutely aware of the maddening pace of information access and exchange– suffice it to say that marketing tools, methods, approaches, and people must rise to the occasion.

The place to start is at the point of word creation. If the words you use to market your business don’t work, nothing else can work.

If the words you’re using aren’t doing the job, it doesn’t matter how dramatic your graphic designs are, how friendly your website is, what fantastic salespeople you have, how terrific your operations are, how low your overhead is, how many awards you’ve won, or how spectacularly your products and services perform.

It doesn’t matter.

What does matter are the words you use to get your prospects and customers to be aware of and buy into all of those assets of yours.

Business owners need to be evaluating their market performance daily, not quarterly or monthly, or even weekly.

In this centrifuge of market activity — unless you enjoy being thrown up against a high-speed spinning back wall, anything less than some form of daily analysis will not leave you enough time to adjust today what did or didn’t happen yesterday.

This doesn’t mean you need to get yourself caught up in some kind of delirium and start behaving like The Mad Hatter. It means you need to keep a sharper eye on the changes that are taking place, even as you read this, and be prepared to make adjustments if and when and as they become necessary . . . not a month later. 

Except for branding themes and policies, marketing words can be changed in a day! If your words are not doing what you need them to be doing this morning, change them tonight.

It’s true that one word is worth a thousand pictures. Not convinced? Consider how many images your mind can produce when you see or hear any of the following words:

• AMERICA
• TODDLER
• GORGEOUS
• STRESS
• FREE
• HAPPY
• HOME
• NOW
• HEALTHY
• NEW
• LOVE
• WATERFRONT
• BIRTHDAY
• PUPPY   

 www.TWWsells.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!