Successful Business Performance: It’s About Raising Your Standards

Successful business performance and how it is tied to raising your standards was the focus of a client meeting I had at the beginning of the year. He was looking for 2010 to be a breakout year.

Things were going well. The marketing of his company was producing very positive results. His forays into advertising had shown him some possibilities that really worked. In 2009 he had gotten his policies and procedures into a manual. Personnel policies and procedures were in place. He had good employees and was starting to put together a management team.

In the financial area, the company was profitable and he was drawing a good salary. His taxes were current. Sales had increased although there was some seasonality to his business. It was all good.

For most small business owners they would keep doing what they did in 2009 expecting a better 2010. That could happen and many times does. Small business owners stay in the comfort zone. Ultimately, when things do change, and they will, they are caught off guard. And, when you are in the comfort zone and things change it can quickly become the zone of mediocrity or failure.

We talked about the fact that when things are going well it is a good time to look ahead to changes that could make the business stronger. The question when things are going well is where do you start?
It is not easy to answer. I asked him to go back over 2009 and focus on things he didn’t like or that nagged at him in his business. I even asked him to look at his life. The result was a list that had many items.

The good news was that many of these things could be corrected or delegated. After all the goal is to design a business and life around who you are. The bad news was that when we looked at them they were draining him of focus and energy. How do you go about getting rid of or diminishing those things that aren’t working well for you?

You have one simple phrase you live by. “Raise your standards.” When you raise your standards what you are tolerating starts to go away. But, change is not easily done with a change of phrase.

Raising your standards has to become a mindset. In the beginning it is best to start with small things that can be easily corrected. The paper work flow in his business was not efficient and could cause some delays. He changed that. Then he changed some job descriptions that started making every one’s life better.
He kept raising his standards and as he did things became easier. He built momentum. And, as of this writing he is enjoying more business and he is having a more satisfying life.

Too often in small business we create a job for ourselves and not a business. Start raising your standards. When you do you will start to grow and move beyond just having a job to creating a business. Creating a business that earns money and where you don’t have to be there all the time.

For More Info: http://www.thehoustonbusinesscoach.com/

Business Keys To Success: Leader-A Larger Field of View

Leader-The Larger Context

 

A leader has a larger field of view. John Maxwell in The 360-Degree Leader shares the following thoughts.
Most people evaluate events in their lives according to how they will be personally affected. Leaders think within a broader context. They start by asking themselves, How this will impact those they lead? They also look at how something will impact those that they don’t immediately lead. They try to see everything in terms of the whole organization.
To be an effective leader you want to ask the following questions:

• How do I fit in my area or department?
• Ho do all the departments fit into the organization?
• Where does our organization fit in the market?
• How is our market related to other industries and the economy?

And as industries in our economy become more global, many good leaders are thinking even more broadly!
You don’t have to become a global economist to lead effectively from the middle of your organization. The point is that 360-Degree Leaders see their area as part of the larger process and understand how the pieces of the larger puzzle fit together. “If you desire to be a better leader, then broaden your thinking and work at seeing things from a larger perspective.”—John Maxwell, The 360-Degree Leader.

Leader-The Application

 

The question for all of us is how does this apply to me? Secondly, what am I going to do about it? In my personal business coaching practice I very often focus on leadership. For the self-employed business owner with a small business leadership first and foremost is about how he or she chooses to lead themselves. In a small company, as you are putting the processes in place for growth, how the owner leads himself and models his behavior has a ripple effect on everything from sales to marketing to hiring to the bottom line.
Interestingly, with larger corporate clients the same is true. The difference is that they have many processes in place that support leading a large organization. How often have we seen a CEO of a large company fired and the company does just fine? We see it quite often. Why? With multiple layers there are other leaders in place in upper and middle management to carry on.
But, the smaller companies can take a big hit when the CEO leaves or gets fired. You may have a few people who can step in and again you may not. The health of a smaller organization can be in the balance. To minimize the loss it is critical for small companies to have good processes in place that have taught others how to lead. But, if each area in a small company has created their own “silo,” it becomes hard for them to pull together for the common good once the strong leader is gone.

A Leader Encourages The Exchange of Information

 

Good leaders understand that silos in an organization are deadly. They prevent free exchange of information, hamper team building across groups and ultimately are counterproductive when it comes to efficiency and profit. Leaders who see the whole picture understand this. Look at your business. See the whole business and all the effects of how you do business. When you do you will become a better leader because you are viewing people and processes in a larger context

for more info : http://www.thehoustonbusinesscoach.com/

Business Networking 1

A great deal has been written about business networking. Whether you are a self-employed business owner, entrepreneur, solo professional or an executive or manager with a large company, business networking is important for several reasons.

One of the primary reasons to invest time and effort into business networking is to get more business. Yet, for many the outcome of greater business remains elusive.

Business Networking—How To Get More Business

As a personal business coach one of the first things I ask a potential client, whether it be a self-employed small business owner or a corporate manager or executive, is if they are doing any business networking. Most of them will tell me that they do some business networking.

The main reason they do business networking is to get more business. When I ask how successful it has been the answers range from very successful to virtually no success at all.

How come one person has great success and another doesn’t. Is one’s product or service in greater demand? Possibly, but very often it has nothing to do with that.

Business Networking—Success Is About How You Fish

For a moment visualize a business networking event as a big pond with many fish. You have come together with a group of other people and all of you are fishing in the same pond. Some of you will catch fish, prospects, referrals and customers. And most of you will put your bait on a hook and come up with nothing.

What’s causing the difference in results? It could be the pond you are in. Maybe the fish you are swimming with aren’t ideal for you or your business. But, more often than not it is not the fish in the pond that is the problem.

The problem is how you are choosing to fish in that pond. Especially for small business owners seeking more small business growth and success how you fish is a critical determinant in your results.

Running a small business is a big enough challenge to your time and energy without engaging in business networking that is not producing positive results. So if the pond of your business networking is not yielding the results you desire, yet appears to be a good pond, then you must change the way you fish in the pond.

Business Networking—It’s About The Human Being And Not The Human Doing

How do you catch a fish? It’s easy. You give him some bait where he wants to bite on your hook. The best hook you have is you. It’s not your business. It’s not your service. It is who you are. Most people when you engage them do not need your product or service.

The key is that they certainly may need it at some point in time in the future. The goal is to start building a relationship with them based on who you are, not what you do. In the end they will do business with someone they know, like and trust.

The key to successful business networking is to get beyond the human doing, your business, and let others get to know the human being. Focus on learning about who someone else is. Reveal to them more about yourself. It will give you and them many more reasons to build a solid relationship.

Focus on the human being, not getting business. And, the last part is the most important. If you have business networking functions every month attend them regularly. Even if business is good and you feel too busy attend them regularly.

Great relationships aren’t built with intensity but with regular contact over a period of time. Be consistent in showing up and persistent in building your relationships. When you approach business networking as an essential marketing activity focusing on human beings instead of human doings you will start catching a lot more fish in your pond and even greater small business, large business and personal success.

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For More Info: http://www.thehoustonbusinesscoach.com/