Business Relationships – Build Them At CFSA!

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Next week I will be heading to Carlsbad, California to attend the Community Financial Services Association annual conference and I’m starting to get excited about making the trip.  At first, I thought it was because I will be escaping Kansas City’s winter for a few days and be able to run outside without 2 or 3 layers of clothing.  Then I started thinking it was more than just an escape.  I am excited to reconnect with some co-workers from a prior life and see some others in the industry that I haven’t seen in a while.  It’s interesting because this will be the first time I have attended as a business coach instead of an operator/customer.  Will my approach to the conference be different?  Will I have to work harder at networking?  What do I hope to gain from this year’s conference?  The more I think about it, the more I believe that events like these are the perfect opportunity to create and strengthen relationships.  As someone who is focused on helping others improve and grow their businesses, this is a perfect opportunity for me to meet others that will help me along this path.

Working with the Alternative Financial Service Providers Association and their “Ask A Pro” segment has given me the opportunity to meet hard-working business owners who need a little help in different areas.  In some instances I can offer valuable guidance and direction, but there are a few instances when I would reach out to my existing contacts for additional help.  This has made me realize the value of fostering business relationships.  Over the years, I have had the pleasure of meeting many excellent experts with different areas of expertise.  Its been valuable to me as a consultant and business coach to have access to so many experts.  I also now know that there are relationships in a few areas of expertise that I need to develop.  This will be one of my key objectives at the upcoming CFSA conference – meeting others in the industry with the expertise and desire to help others grow.

My other key objective at the conference is to gather information that will be important to business owners as they continue to grow their business in these turbulent times.  Based on my conversations with many in the industry and my personal opinions, the key areas I will be focused on will be:

  • Alternative Lending Products – are installment loans the best option to diversify a payday loan portfolio?
  • CFPB Rules – will the agency strategically publish the rules before or after the conference?
  • Banking Relationships – what banks are still partnering with businesses in the industry?
  • Omnichannel – are there any options for smaller players to provide a seamless storefront and online customer experience?
  • Data Analytics – what options are out there to improve risk management, customer performance, etc.?
  • Trends – what are the newest trends for the industry?  What does 2015 – 2016 look like?

The industry is in an interesting time with fast-moving technology improving the customer experience, while the regulatory overhang is making many hold their breath and consider their future.  I am excited to have the opportunity to attend and hopefully get some clarity on many of these issues.  If you are attending the conference and would like to compare industry notes, please contact me.  If you are unable to attend, but would like to discuss my insights and experiences from the conference, definitely reach out to me.  As always, I am here to help you grow your business!

 

Contact Mike

Goal Status Check – How Are We Doing?

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What is SMART?

We’re one month into 2015, which is the perfect time to evaluate the goals you set for 2015.  Earlier we talked about the importance of using SMART to make our goals.  (See Be SMART)  Below is a brief overview of what SMART means in relation to goal setting.

  • Specific – you need to know what you are trying to achieve
  • Measurable – you need to be able to quantify your goal
  • Attainable – you actually need to be able to reach your goal
  • Relevant – it should be important for you and your situation
  • Time-bound – your goal should have a target date

Using this as a guide to create your goals will increase your chances of success.

Goal Review

There are many factors that can affect the success or failure of each of your goals.  I will discuss a few of these and give you suggestions on how to overcome some hurdles.  Right now, let’s take a few minutes and review where you are with each of your goals.  If you wrote your goals out (if you didn’t, do so now), take out the piece of paper or open the document, put today’s date on it and write a few notes detailing where you are with achieving your goal.  Be honest.  Be candid.  Are you where you thought you would be at this point?  If yes, great job and keep up the momentum. If not, consider what happened or didn’t happen and write that down. Next, write down what you are going to do next to continue (or start) the progress on your goal.  Keep in mind that you are going to be reviewing these notes again in March.  Did that make you think differently about what you wrote?  Lastly, go to your calendar and create an appointment (with reminder) for March 3.  This will be the day you go through this entire process again.  The best way to commit to achieving your goals is to commit to reviewing your progress.

Goal Trippers

As I mentioned earlier, there are many factors that can keep you from reaching your goals.  I’m going to cover a few that are within your control and give suggestions on how to overcome them.

Lack of Commitment

When we sit down and start developing our goals, especially around the first of the year, we have the best intentions of achieving success.  We are excited, energized, and probably visualizing how things will look when we have succeeded.  Then, when the goal-setting process is over, do we file them away and get back to our day-to-day routine?  After a period of time we may remember that we have goals and work on them for a while, but then put them aside again.  Eventually, the due date has slipped by and we have completely forgotten about the goals.  While writing goals down greatly helps the chances of success, unless you regularly review your progress, the chances of success drop.  Depending on your goal and it’s timeframe, you should create a structured review of your progress.  It may be once each month or maybe it’s even weekly, but it needs to happen and you need to keep putting it in writing.

Fear of Success

Pick one of your goals and visualize how things look when you have succeeded far beyond your expectations?  How does this make you feel? Are you really excited or do you get a little nervous and feel uncomfortable?  One of the main reasons why goals are not met is because people get uncomfortable with the prospect of change.  Many people will focus on succeeding at their day-to-day tasks instead of working towards accomplishing their goals.  The day-to-day is what they are used to and is well within their comfort zone.  Getting outside of our comfort zone is not always easy, but is what it takes to attain your goals and grow your business.  While it is important for us to understand that things will change whether we want them to or not, understanding that does not always prevent it from blocking goals.  One way to handle this fear is to talk about it with others.  Whether it is in a peer group, business coach, spouse, friend or anyone else that you trust, discussing your fears and concerns is one of the best ways to get a grip on them and overcome them.  You would be surprised how differently you feel once you have this conversation.

Accountability

In my mind, one of the biggest reasons goals do not get accomplished is lack of accountability.  As a business owner, who are you accountable to, besides yourself?  Who can you confide in to help validate your progress or discuss issues?  If there is no one holding you accountable, it is so much easier to focus on the day-to-day issues and let the goals you set slide to the next year.  How often is that happening to you?  One of the best ways successful business owners handle this issue is to engage someone outside their business to help them.  This can be a mentor, peer group, or a business coach.  Someone that will collaborate with you and at the same time give you candid feedback.  If you met with this person on a routine basis, discussed your issues, and created action steps to accomplish your goals, do you think it would have an impact?

Your Next Goal

To increase the likelihood of attaining your goals, I want to give you a new goal.  Find someone that you can review your goals with on a routine business.  Make sure this is someone you can confide in and will give you honest, candid feedback on your progress.  Ideally, this person will be able to give you suggestions on how to overcome obstacles and collaborate with you on action steps for you to complete.  While I may be slightly biased (ok, a lot), a certified professional business coach might be the ideal candidate for this role.  The important thing is for you to accomplish your goals and succeed, so if you do not have access to a business coach or peer group, a mentor or trusted friend is also a good option.  Make sure you write this goal down and review it on March 3!

Customer Service – Is Your Smiler Broke?

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During recent shopping trips in a few of the national big-box retail chains I noticed they all had one thing in common – multiple employees walking around with a broken smiler.  You know, that thing between your nose and chin that is supposed to show you are having a great time at your workplace and you want to help people.  Your smiler!  I assumed their smilers were broken because why would so many people want to be someplace that makes them unhappy.  To be fair, in a place that employs large amounts of people you are going to occasionally find one or two that are not having a great day.  Totally understandable – that’s life.  What I have been seeing are people in all areas of the store that are not enthusiastic about being at their job.  The outward expression of their emotions range from grumpy to apathy. If employees are a reflection of the company’s attitude towards service and its culture, what is this saying about these companies?  Why would I want to do business with an organization that has this culture?  What about my employees?  What do the visitors at my business think about their customer service experience?  Here are a few things to consider when examining your customer service.

Create A Positive Culture

Employees thrive in a positive culture, that’s just a fact.  One of the first steps to ensure you have a positive culture in your business is to create an environment that promotes success.  Make sure you have comprehensive training programs in place and that continued learning is expected from each member of your team.  Promote and encourage constructive communication within your team.  If there are customer service issues, and there will be, make sure you share it with the appropriate team members and use it as a learning experience.

Get Feedback

Make it a habit to constantly get feedback from your employees and your customers – especially those that might have something negative to say.  If you get a customer complaint, if the opportunity presents itself, have a dialogue with the customer about ways they can improve their experience.  While they might not be in the most positive frame of mind, they may be willing to give you constructive feedback.

Another great way to get feedback is to use a secret shopper.  Certainly there are very capable companies out there that provide this service, but you can also enlist family and friends to help you out.  Whether they call in and ask a few questions or visit your location, they can give you a great idea of how your team works when you are not there.  As I said before, make sure you share the feedback with your team – good or bad.  It’s a great opportunity to use each of these experiences as a training opportunity.

Build Your Team

Do you have the right players on your team?  Are your employees a positive representation of your brand or would they be better off as an actor in a zombie movie?  Not everyone is wired to be in the customer service role. There are a multitude of tools you can use to help identify if a candidate is a good fit for your customer service role.  Whether you do it through interviews or testing, it is critical to make sure the team members that represent your brand do it in a way that will grow your business.  This is not an area where you can afford to take chances.  Ask yourself these questions – “If we make someone happy, what are the chances they will tell someone else?” or “If we make someone unhappy, what are the chances they will tell someone else?”  I think we all know the answer and it can be pretty scary.  Knowing this, think about the team you have in place and honestly evaluate them.  Are they the best?

With so much data available to consumers for shopping or comparing prices via their portable devices, when you have someone in your business ready to buy, your number one priority is to make their experience as pleasant as possible.  You don’t get many second chances to win a customer and you want them to come back, right?  How many team members do you have with broken smilers?

Whether you need help with reviewing your customer service or other areas of your business, a business coach is a great resource to help you grow your business.  Contact us today to schedule a free session – we are here to help you!

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Management Reports – Drowning In Data?

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One of the recent new buzzwords is “Big Data” and as technology progresses, all forms of data will continue to play a bigger and bigger role in our lives, especially in business. While the ability to access data and use it to make informed decisions is exciting, it is also challenging. It is getting easier to reach data overload and the dreaded “paralysis by analysis” – the state where you have so much data you just don’t know how to make a decision. As business owners, it is our responsibility to sift through all the data and identify the key points that drive our business. This is especially true if you have a management team in place that will also be reviewing the same data. What’s important to you will be important to them.

Financial reporting is critical to every successful business and a frequent, in-depth analysis of your income statement, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows should be happening. I am assuming that this is already happening in your business and we will not cover it. I am focusing on management reporting and how we should be using it to operate our business. I am going to look at three areas from a high level and hopefully create some thought-provoking items for you.

What should be in my reports?

Maybe the better question should be, “What shouldn’t be in my reports?” As we get access to more and more data, there is a tendency to continue to create more and more reports to capture that data. More is better, right? Not always. Like other things, there is a point of diminishing returns. If you have 20 reports available to your team, each with 5-20 different data points, how often do you really think they are using it effectively to evaluate the business? I encourage you to sit down with your team and identify the Key Performance Indicators for your business and design your reports around them. My recommendation is to keep your KPIs around 8 to 10 or fewer. More than that and my concern would be that some of the important data is not being seen. If your business has multiple divisions, you would probably have a unique set of KPIs for each division. Remember, your KPIs are the measurements that illustrate how your business is doing and the direction it is going.

Who Should Look At Reports?

I’m a fan of sharing data, so I would be in favor of everyone in the organization having access to management reports. What a great way to make sure everyone is focused on the same goals. This may not be comfortable for all business owners. I would suggest that, at a minimum, you provide relevant reports all the way up to the team members that are providing the service. It’s important for them to get feedback on their hard work. The other benefit of sharing reports with everyone is that it helps create a team environment. Also, take the extra step and have a training session with your team to make sure everyone understands what the reports say and how you can use reports to help the business. Don’t assume everyone understands the reports the way you do.

We’ve looked at the reports – now what?

Once you have reviewed your management reports, what do you normally do? Do you identify areas to focus on? Do some data points prompt you to look deeper? If you see a negative trend do you create a refresher training session? When you see a positive result, how often do you send out an email high-five to the team? Many times we are looking at data for negatives, when it could be used as a powerful motivator when results are good. It’s important to remember that data is just that – data. It’s your interpretation of the data that prompts action. How many times have you looked at results and come to one conclusion and then, after talking with your team, come to a different conclusion? Before taking any actions based on report data, you should ask yourself and your team if you have all the information needed to make the best possible decision. Only then should you consider making a change.

Next Steps

I encourage you to take a hard look at what reports you are currently using and talk to your team. Do your existing reports cover your KPIs correctly? Do you have reports that no one is looking at? Does your team understand what the reports are saying? This is a great opportunity to take a hard look at how you are measuring your progress and successes. It’s an even better time to align your entire team and make sure you all are focused on the same items. Management reports should encourage analysis, communication, and action. The other step I would encourage you to take is to start learning more about data analytics and how it can help your business. This is an evolving area of business that, if implemented correctly, will give some businesses a competitive advantage. Don’t get left behind.

If you would like a fresh set of eyes and perspective to help you and your team review your management reports or identify your KPIs, don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here to help you.

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“My success, part of it certainly, is that I have focused in on a few things.” — Bill Gates

 

New Year’s Resolutions – Be SMART

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This time of year always makes me reflective on the events and activities that occurred throughout the year.  I will even look back to see how my New Year’s resolutions panned out.  Actually, maybe the better expression is how they flamed out.  Like most people, I pick one or two things to focus on and work hard to make them happen; until I see the shiny light somewhere else and instantly forget about my good intentions.  The year of 2014 was very different for me.  I picked three significant goals and vowed that 2014 would be the year I stuck to my plan.  As I look back on the year, I can honestly say that I accomplished two of my three goals.  The third goal was really unattainable and I now know it won’t happen.  I can also honestly say that out of the two accomplished goals, one was by pure luck.  That left me with one goal that I methodically worked on and accomplished successfully.  While 1 out of 3 is a great batting average, it is nowhere near the level of success I would look for in personal goal setting.  As I think about how my personal life sometimes can be used as a lesson for the business world, I realize that my resolutions did not follow the practice of creating SMART goals. SMART is the acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.  Here is a quick overview of what each means.

Specific:  Your goal needs to be specific enough for you to know what you are trying to achieve.  An example of a non-specific goal is “I want to read more.”  While that is a worthwhile cause, it is hard to pinpoint what you are actually trying to accomplish.  If you read one magazine does that accomplish your goal?  A better way to say that would be “I want to read one book a month.”  That is more specific.

Measurable:  Let’s go back to the prior non-specific example of “I want to read more.”  How do you quantify more?  Like we mentioned before, does one book get you to your goal?  If we defined the goal as “I want to read one book a month”, we would know at the end of each month whether we are on track or not.  Did you read a book or not?  Pretty straightforward.

Attainable: What if your goal was “I want to achieve world peace”?  That is also a very worthwhile goal, but the problem is it is probably not attainable on a personal level.  If you want to make a positive impact that might help encourage world peace, maybe an alternative goal could be “I want to donate one hour each month to feeding the hungry”.  If your goal is not attainable, you will quickly become frustrated and focus your efforts elsewhere.

Relevant:  A goal should be important for you and your situation.  For example, if you are an accountant and your goal is “To learn how to design an eCommerce website” you might say that is not the most relevant goal for their situation.  However, if the accountant’s hobby was website building, this could be a great goal – as long as it meets the other SMART criteria.  A goal that would be easier to quantify as relevant for an accountant is “To learn all new 2015 tax code changes to help my 2016 tax preparation business”.

Time-bound:  Your goal should have a target date to help you stay focused on achieving your results.  The timeframe should be realistic based on the goal you set.  If you take our accountant’s goal of learning the new 2015 tax code changes, a target deadline of 12 months is not realistic.  First, the new tax code will not be published until later in the year – giving the accountant plenty of time to completely forget the goal.  Second, once the accountant starts working on the goal, he realistically only has a couple of months or less to get up-to-speed to help his clients.   Creating a realistic timeframe for your goal is critical to keeping you honest and on track with your objectives.

Not hitting all of my 2014 goals was not overly disappointing to me, I picked three tough goals and did not use any methodology when I set them.  The other important thing that I remind myself is that it is ok to not always hit every goal – I’m human.  However, my chances of achieving future goals will be greatly improved if I follow the simple SMART method and then hold myself accountable.  Here’s a tip that I encourage you to think about using – share your goals with someone else.  Sure, some are personal and you may want to keep them private, but if there are goals you can share with someone else, it will dramatically increase the chances of achieving that goal.  Why?  Accountability.  You will now be holding yourself accountable for your goals to the other person.  Want to improve your chances even more?  Periodically check in with that person and give them an update and discuss how things are going.  One of the best benefits of being a Business Coach is helping people attain their goals.  If you have goals that you’d like to improve their chances of being completed – give me a call.  I’m here to help you.

 

2015 – What’s Your Plan?

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As 2015 draws nearer, many businesses are starting to work on their strategic planning.  I thought it was an opportune time to share the importance of having a strategic plan in your business, no matter what size your organization. Before we start talking about strategic plans, ask yourself a few questions to see if your business would benefit from one.

If you walked up to a handful of your employees and asked them “What is the vision of our company?”, would they all say something different or not know?

Is the business environment you are operating in changing over the next couple of years or sooner?

Do you ever hear “I don’t know why we do this, we have always done it this way”?

Do your customer’s wants and needs change over time?

If you responded yes to even a couple of these questions, your business would benefit from a strategic plan. Before we get into the benefits, let’s define what we are talking about.

What is a strategic plan?

A very straightforward definition of a strategic plan is: a formalized document describing the path of the organization.  It describes where you want the organization to go.  There are many schools of thought on how long and detailed a strategic plan should be. My recommendation is that it should be the length that you need to ensure you use it. If you create a strategic plan that fills a three-ring binder and then you set it on a shelf to collect dust – that is not an effective strategic plan. Some organizations could benefit from a straightforward strategic plan that is one page. The other consideration is what time period a strategic plan should cover. If you are just going to look at a one-year time horizon, you are probably selling the strategic plan short; unless you are in a very tumultuous industry. A solid strategic plan should look out over several years. Remember, this is planning on where your company is going. There are definitely other factors involved in the effectiveness of a strategic plan, which we will cover, but it is important to know the benefits of a strategic plan.

What are the benefits of a strategic plan?

One of the best benefits of a strategic plan is it ensures that everyone in the business is focused and working on the same goal. I’m sure you have had the scenario where you asked a small group of people to problem-solve an issue. By combining the efforts of the individuals in the group, you were able to achieve great things. What if you used that process for the whole organization? What if the entire organization focused on this one vision? Think of the possibilities – it’s staggering!

The other major benefit of a good strategic plan is it will guide your organization to use resources correctly. It will be harder for a group to go off on an unproductive tangent that is not benefiting the long-term success of the business.

The strategic plan is also a great tool for making difficult decisions. You can weigh the outcomes of a decision on how it will affect the strategic plan. This is a very powerful roadmap for everyone in your organization to use.

How do I create a strategic plan?

A great way to start the process of creating a strategic plan is with a SWOTT analysis:  Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, and Trends. I won’t go into the details of how a SWOTT analysis is completed; that is a great discussion for a later time. However, it is critical that you involve the right group of people to participate. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain insights from your employees, vendors, and especially customers. They all have powerful information for you to use in crafting your strategic plan. If you want buy-in on your completed plan, and you do, the best way to ensure that is to have these groups participate. If this is the first time you have gone through the strategic planning process, I would highly recommend pulling in an outside expert to help facilitate the process. This is a great way to bring in expertise to help your group think outside the box and get out of their comfort zone. We need to remember that the long-term success of our business will require change.

What a strategic plan is not

A strategic plan is not your business plan. Your business plan is a separate document and will have very specific steps on how to accomplish what is in the strategic plan, but it is a separate document. Each department in your organization may have a business plan that helps them achieve their part of the overall strategic plan.

A strategic plan is not static – it is a living document. As I mentioned earlier, if the plan is to create a strategic plan and put it on the shelf, save your time and energy by not doing it. This is a document that needs to be a part of the day-to-day operations in the business. It can change. As our business environment changes, the strategic plan should be reviewed and possibly changed. This is an ongoing exercise and benefit.

A strategic plan is not a top-down initiative, although there must be 100% commitment from the leadership team in the initiative. The best way to get a strategic plan to not work is to not have a diverse group of participants. Beyond making the plan more comprehensive, having a representative group helps with buy-in for the whole organization.

Next steps

Now that you know a little more about the benefits and mechanics of a strategic plan, your next step is to begin the process.  This is a great opportunity to enhance the success of your business, improve employee engagement, and come up with some innovative ideas for the future.  While it may seem like an imposing initiative, the benefits of a solid strategic plan can be game-changing.  If you would like more information on strategic plans or would like help starting the process, contact us today, we are excited to help you grow!

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.”  – Warren G. Bennis

Business Roundabout

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Some of the newer additions in Overland Park, Kansas, the city that I live in, are roundabouts – those wonderful circles that are supposed to help control traffic without using stop signs or lights. Have you come across one that has multiple lanes, entrances and exits? It’s difficult to tell what lane you are supposed to be in and where you are supposed to turn to go in the direction you are intending. Most have very detailed signs illustrating the proper lanes for turning, but even then it’s hard to watch the signs and navigate the turns. Sometimes you may exit only to find out you are going the wrong way. Back into the roundabout you go! In some instances, it is almost easier to go around the circle several times prior to navigating your way out. I wonder what the record is for circling around a roundabout? What is the motivation for them finally making a change and getting out?

I can’t help but relate this to the business world and business owners. How many times do businesses move along smoothly until they encounter a “business roundabout” and then become stuck circling in the same place until they move forward? The “business roundabout” could be employee turnover, shrinking profit margins, tight cashflow, time management or any other of the very common problems successful business owners face. What causes them to stay in the roundabout and what helps them negotiate the lanes and turns to finally break free and move forward?

As a former executive of a publicly traded company, a small business owner, and a newly certified professional business coach – I have firsthand experience in solving many of these “business roundabouts”. Many times these common problems seem hard to overcome until you look at them from a different perspective. At that point, you often find that you had the solution within your grasp, but you just needed some guidance to make the right turn. Like the street signs that are present to help navigate the traffic circle, there are similar options for business owners to help them navigate to the right turn to solve their problem. One of the many benefits of using a professional business coach is the guidance you receive to help navigate the common problems successful business owners encounter on their journey. We’re here to help you reach your destination and enjoy the ride.

What Do You See?

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During my career I have had opportunities to work in many different locations all over the country.  Each location had a completely different view.  If I was in a retail location, the view was generally of a busy street with passing cars and pedestrian traffic.  A hotel meeting or conference usually did not have a window to the outside world, so you saw mostly hotel guests and generic artwork.  A corporate office view would range from a picturesque landscape that covered countless acres to a dark alley that made you glad you were inside.  Prior to my new venture, my personal office looked over acres of trees and rolling hills that overshadowed the highways and office buildings in the area.  It was really quite beautiful, especially when a midwestern thunderstorm would roll in.  I noticed that in each location, over time, I would become accustomed to the view and almost not even notice it.  This “phenomenon” not only happens with the visual things we see everyday, but with the other important things we encounter on a daily basis.  How many times over the years do things change so gradually that we fail to notice that “suddenly” they don’t look the same anymore?  If we don’t stop and take a hard look at our business on a regular basis, what are the things we miss?

You hear about the horrible fraud cases where someone trusted within an organization has been defrauding them over a long period of time.  How did that situation happen?  Was there someone that should have been taking a hard look at things, but instead did not notice the gradual changes that were taking place?  The same could be said for long-term clients.  Do you ever get surprised because you have a sudden departure from what you believed was a very satisfied client – “They never said they were unhappy.”?  Did you take the relationship for granted and not notice the gradual unhappiness creep in?  If you are a manager in a retail location, do you ever get surprised when you get feedback that the appearance of your shop is “tired”?  As you walk in every day it looks clean and organized.  How do you notice that over time paint, signs, and other fixtures become faded and lose their lustre?  All of these situations require us to take a hard, honest look at the things we see on a daily basis.  If we cannot be the objective eye to identify the opportunities for improvement, who do we task to give us this critical information?

My new venture has the wonderful view of a rooftop.  I see roofing, air conditioning units, and depending on the season, leaves blowing around.  While others may see this as an eyesore, I see it as the view that was given to me as I explore my new opportunities to help others with their vision.  I see this as my avenue to adventure.  Over time, to make sure that I do not miss the gradual changes or become accustomed to the view, I will need some objective help to remind me that this vision needs to stay on track.  Who will you have do this for you?

 

What’s Your Passion?

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As I start my new venture, I continue to encounter the question, “What are you passionate about?”  It has come from many sources and in various forms, but it always comes back to this same question.  You’ve probably had these types of questions before – they are very broad, but hard to really define in a couple of sentences.  I thought it would be an interesting and challenging topic for me to write about, as it pertains to my new venture.  I’m going to focus on my passions as they relate to business, but be assured that there is a significant overlap between my personal and business passions.  I imagine that is the case for most people who have a difficult time separating the two from a time-management perspective.  I am going to talk about four areas of business that I am very passionate about:  Professional Development, New Business Ventures, Turn-Arounds and Team Building.

Professional Development

I have always been a reader and a studier.  When I encounter something new, I try to absorb everything about it and understand it from multiple angles.  My current new area of interest is data analytics. I have been trying to attend as many conferences as my schedule allows to learn about Big Data, The Internet of Things, and how analytics can help grow a business.  Not having a mathematics or statistics background, it is a little more challenging to understand the concepts.  I find myself researching terms and definitions while I am reading an article.  While it gets a little frustrating that it takes additional time to power through a technical paper, it’s gratifying to me once it’s done and I understand it.  Unless I am flexing my mental muscle, I tend to get complacent.

New Business Ventures

I have encountered this learning curve multiple times throughout my career when I learned a new discipline, whether it was creating a new division in a different industry, a new platform to deliver an existing product, or developing an entirely new product.  While it is never easy working through the curve, once you are on top, you realize it was worth the effort.  The key to success in this area, in my opinion, is defining your path up the curve.  There needs to be an adequate amount of planning and preparation completed prior to starting up the curve.  Shortcuts along the way usually end up costing you.  You also need to be prepared to handle the occasional curveball thrown while you are executing your plan.  While it is great to have a thorough plan, inflexibility can potentially cost you just as much.  I’ve enjoyed being nimble enough to balance these two and execute in a variety of complicated situations.

Turn-Arounds

I love fixing things.  I have grown throughout my career with my ability to go into a troubled situation and turn it around, usually in pretty short order.  I’ve had the opportunity to work on issues as small as a process to a large multi-state business division.  While the sizes are on each end of the spectrum, the approach was the same.  I will probably write future posts that cover this in more detail, but the simplistic explanation of how I approach these situations is to take an appropriate amount of time to understand all of the issues.  Once you really understand what you have to do, the rest is fairly simple.  You just break down the issue into manageable portions, prioritize and begin to execute.  Where I have seen the process break down is when there is not enough time spent on understanding all of the issues or making assumptions about the issues without getting all the available information.  Similar to New Business Ventures, as soon as you start in the wrong direction, it’s extremely difficult to correct your course.

Team Building

While this is the last area I am discussing, it is, by far, the most important part of an organization’s success.  I am a firm believer in the importance of great teams being the ultimate driver in an organization’s success.  You can have the best product or service, but if you don’t back it with the best team, you will never maximize the organization’s performance.  As leaders, it is our responsibility to create, develop, challenge and reward our teams.  In my mind, there is not much more rewarding than seeing a team I am leading perform.  I love the opportunity to congratulate people on doing a great job and succeeding at their goals.  Ultimately, this is my passion – helping people.  This is the overlap for me between my business and personal life.  The satisfaction of helping people and subsequently improving their business, is the driving force in my new adventure.  I am excited at the opportunity to continue to make a positive difference in people’s lives.  I look forward to sharing my journey.

Are We Excited Yet?

/in /by

It’s been 10 days since I left my my “cushy” corporate job that I have spent over 22 years as an operations executive to start a consulting business from scratch.  I have spent almost half of my life and most of my professional life with the same organization.  I started with QC Holdings, Inc. when it had less than 20 locations and as I am leaving it has over 400 locations.  I helped transition QC from a one-product company to multiple products over multiple divisions in two countries  We went from a small, privately owned company to a larger, publicly traded company.  As I look back at the time I spent at QC, I am amazed at all the memories I have, both good and great.

Why in the heck would I leave this?

I asked myself that question and have been asked that question many, many times over the last couple of weeks.  The answer is I need to wake up and be excited for the day.  Not just from the perspective of spending time with my wonderful family, but with creating something meaningful at work.  QC is doing exciting, meaningful things, but it just has not been invigorating for me lately – and that’s how I knew it was time to do something different.  There used to be times I would wake up in the middle of the night with my adrenaline going because of something exciting we were working on.  Recently I would wake up in the middle of the night because one of our three kids is crying…  While that is part of being a good father, from a business/career perspective, I used those early mornings as a barometer of working on challenging, exciting projects.

My passion over the years has been growing our business and creating new product opportunities.  As I contemplated my departure from QC to the great unknown, I realized I would need to find an opportunity that allowed me to focus my passion and energy on something that I loved, but at the same time had enough variability that I would stay challenged.  The obvious answer to me was to start a consulting company that focused on helping businesses grow.  I want to help businesses take their growth to the next level.  I want to have the opportunity to match my passion for growth with their passion for their business.  I am excited to see how I can leverage my 20+ years of diverse experiences to help others succeed.  Truthfully, I am nervous about leaving the safety net of a regular paycheck and solid structure for the vast unknown of the world of entrepreneurs, but I am exhilarated that it is something new and exciting.  I am looking forward to the new opportunities that will be available to me.  I am excited!