Take responsibility for positioning

Some business owners say “You don’t understand my business, it’s different” and “That doesn’t apply to me because I’m in this particular business (or location) and we don’t have that kind of opportunity”.

But in the end the leader is responsible for what business you are in and where.  If you selected a crappy business or location in the first place, you don’t have to make excuses about it forever – you can change it.

The limiting factor in your business

A business will not outgrow the thinking of its leader.

If your business is stuck, it’s because the leader is stuck.

How’s your thinking these days?

You built this monster…

…and now it’s attacking you!

Take responsibility – you built it wrong.  What did you do wrong?  What did you allow to happen?  What did you abdicate responsibility for?  What systems and processes don’t work?  How do YOU know how to do this anyway?  Do you need training on how to lead?

Learn how, take control, and fix it – before it steals your life or kills you.

Telling Stories About the Future

Instead of “Once upon a time…”, tell your people “One day soon (or on a given date), –

we will be…

we will go to…

we will have achieved…

and you will (feel, get, earn)…

Give them something specific to step into.  A leader must make their team feel that the future will be better than today.  Ask them to modify their actions today to bend the future into reality.

What story will you tell at the next opportunity?

Do your own stunts

If you have an idea that is at all radical, that’s great.  Radical ideas are the seeds of breakthroughs.  But don’t drop it on your people and leave it to them to pull off.

Instead, take the idea to the front lines – the department that will employ that radical idea, and do it yourself or stand next to the employee who is trying it.  Observe for yourself.

Not only will this make the cycle time for judging your idea really fast, but you can learn what adjustments need to be made to develop the idea further, or if it was a bad idea to begin with.  Collaborate with the team members doing it.  An idea only gets better when more minds are applied.

Do your own stunts.

"So and so is screwing up"

Since I don’t work with many of my 310 employees directly, I rely on the opinion of other employees and managers for information about how others are doing, their value, and if they are having problems or are a problem.  It could be formal communication, or the grapevine.  Sometimes I’ll hear a negative comment about so and so from someone.  

I have learned that you have to be careful about taking these first comments as truth.  Consider the source, and the situation.  Be aware, but don’t act.  Get more information, second opinions, and if you aren’t sure, see for yourself.

If you are getting a number of the same opinions from people you trust, then it’s a pattern of judgements you can rely on more.  

If you act on one opinion, you’ll make mistakes, and get played by those that have your ear.

Two approaches to motivate people

One is to yell and demand and be bossy.

The other is to tell stories about the future, encourage, believe, train, nudge, invite, smile, ask and create the conditions necessary.

What’s your approach?

Make work visible

Does EVERY department know what results they are trying to get/improve today and this week?

Get a white board or flip pad and put a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) up there, or what number they hit yesterday/last week.  Tell them that you will write each day’s/week’s numbers on there and that their goal is to beat it.

Keep the number very present and visible in the middle of the department.  Ask them if they need anything to accomplish their goals, and give it to them.  If they hit their number, celebrate and recognize their performance.

Keep work visible.

The Vision of the Entrepreneur

Throughout the centuries men and women with vision have created our world.  Solving problems and figuring out how to delight people has made a world with far less suffering, and a far higher standard of living for us all.

What are YOU doing to continue this tradition?

Passion?

What exactly does that mean? At work it means finding and sustaining emotional energy.

What about what your business makes your heart race? What really ticks you off about the world that your business is trying to fix? Do you have a WHY for being in this game?

What drives you forward each day?