Business Keys To Success: Enlarging Others

Enlarging others is an important key to success. As a young employee and ultimately business owner I was striving for success and somehow it was always painful. It turned out that I had the wrong attitude. Instead of enlarging others I was always trying to beat them in an effort to win.

I had played team and individual sports in high school and college and understood the value of team. When I started working after college, initially for large companies and eventually on my own, all that sports training had no impact.

Step 1: Enlarging Yourself

I just kept getting it wrong. In sports I always valued my teammates. Somehow at work I looked at my co-workers as competitors. They were competition for me to overcome in order to rise in the company.

With this totally self-centered attitude I was miserable. Finally I realized that as long as I was trying to beat others or hold them down, that a part of me was down there with them.

At the time, I was working for a large metropolitan newspaper, The Denver Post. I realized that if I was to rise in the company that I had to believe in my teammates, not try to keep them down. This turned out to be a critical step in enlarging myself.

Some people enlarge themselves through more online training, corporate training, business training or business courses. These are all good but there is one thing that is critical to being an enlarger. Learning without application is nothing. And the first person that the learning has to be applied to is you.

So the first step to enlarging others is that I had to enlarge myself.

Enlarging Adds Value To The Team

As I enlarged myself and became more focused on the team and what we supposed to accomplish some great things started to happen.

I was able to have truly meaningful connections with my team members. Instead of viewing them as adversaries or impediments to progress I saw them as human beings trying to do their best. I offered encouragement. I started to receive encouragement in return.

Along with the encouragement I began to know what they liked, disliked and was able to connect with them even better. As I became an enlarger an amazing thing happened. I got promoted. Six months before I thought I was at a dead end.

Enlarging Makes You More Valuable

As I went through this transformation from a team member that detracted from the team to an enlarger I started a process where I became more valuable. I wasn’t doing this just for me personally, but also because it helped others.

Not only was I connecting better which allowed me to communicate and integrate at an improved level, I was making myself better which was making me more valuable.

In my personal business coaching practice I look for opportunities to enlarge not only my clients but how my clients can become enlargers in their companies. I firmly believe that a great deal of small business success in based on the business owner’s ability to be an enlarger.

As a self-employedbusiness owner, entrepreneur, solo professional, corporate executive or individual how are others seeing you? Do they see you as an enlarger? Do you make them better than they are alone through your inspiration and contribution? Do you know what your teammates value?

There are many more pluses to being an enlarger. I learned an important lesson that has stayed with me to this day. Be an enlarger of others. When you are enlarging others the odds are in your favor that they will promote and enlarge you.

Business Keys To Success: When To Make Decisions

Decisions-Take The Time

Very often we make decisions without even thinking about the context in which we are making them.  This can lead to some bad consequences.  Are things going well?  Are they going badly?  Are you under a lot of stress?  Remember there is good stress and bad stress.  And bad stress is called “distress.”

When making decisions, especially the major ones we need to step back and understand where we are at.

Decisions When Things Aren’t Going Well

For the self-employed business owner, entrepreneur, solo professional, corporate executive or corporate manager decisions are made very often when things aren’t going well on a particular day.  As a personal business coach I have observed how many times my clients and even myself have made major decisions on a day when things aren’t going well.

Small business success and growth are about the business owner’s ability to make good decisions.  And to be successful whether you are starting your own business or running a small business requires that you make many good decisions.

What happens is that the decisions are made more to look for relief in the emotional valley instead of waiting for the clarity that comes from being on the mountaintop.  Why does this happen?  Because it takes a lot of effort to get to the mountaintop and when we are in the valley we won’t put in the energy necessary for good decisions .

And as John Maxwell says, “…when you’re experiencing the darkness of the valley, it’s always tempting to make changes that you hope will relieve the discomfort.”

Decisions from the Mountaintop

Maxwell goes on to say the time to make decisions is when you are at the top of the proverbial mountain.  Here’s why:

You can see your situation more clearly

You are moving to something, not just from something.

You leave those around you in a better position.

You decide using positive data, not negative

You are more likely to move from peak to peak instead of valley to valley.

Decisions-When to Make Them

When you’re in the valley, the most important thing you can do is persevere.  If you keep fighting, as Maxwell says in his book, The Difference Maker, “you will get a second wind.”  It is said that only when runners are exhausted enough to reach that place do they find out what they can truly accomplish.

If you keep persevering while you are in the valley, not only will you likely make it to higher ground where you can make better decisions, but you will also have developed character which will serve you well throughout life.

Therefore, use the clarity of mountaintop moments to make major decisions.

For More Information Visit Site: www.businesskeystosuccess.com

Who’s In Charge The Case For A Job Description

A job description can be the tipping point to having a successful smallbusiness.  Too often,the self-employed business owner becomes immersed in performing the business and really doesn’t know what his employees are doing and how they are doing it.

This is a recipe for disaster or a near disaster as one of my personal business coaching clients discovered.  He had a small company of four employees and was ready to add a fifth.  When I first started collaborating with him I asked him for a job description for each employee as well as himself.

As with most business owners he balked at having to create them.  His response was, “We’re doing great.  Everyone knows what they are doing.”  I replied that “Yes, everyone knows what they are doing.  But do you know what they are doing and are they doing it right?”

Job Description—What Are You Doing?

For those of you who have taken online training, business training or business courses you understand the importance of a job description.  A job description not only defines a job but how the job is being done.  A job description brings accountability to measure performance.

This last part, measuring performance is critical.  Without accurate measurements, most businesses will ultimately drift into failure.  Running a small business is part art or feel and part logic, the thinking.

When my client said his people knew what they were doing he was correct in one sense.  They did know what they were doing.  The first question was whether or not what they were doing was positioning the company to grow.  Were they doing things the right way?

It turned out much to his surprise and disgust, they certainly did know what they were doing.  The problem was that much of it was related to making their positions as easy as possible and they were actually detracting from the performance of the company.

Job Description—Know What You And Your Employees Are Doing

Without a job description it is hard to have any meaningful accountability.  Why?  The job becomes whatever and however the employee chooses to define it.  And, that definition can change to suit the circumstances.

The scattered self-employed business owner is focused on everything at once which means that much gets overlooked.  And, when it comes to trusting employees without a job description you are writing the formula for failure.  Failure and ignorance go hand in hand.

 Job Description To The Rescue

After discovering a multitude of problems because each employee had no job description this self-employed business owner embraced the process.  Within two weeks each employee and himself had a job description.  Yes, there was some resentment with some of the employees and ultimately two of them were let go.

But, the result was everyone knew their responsibilities, a chain of command was established freeing up the self-employed business owner's time.  Each job description brought accountability and improved performance.  Also, a definitive work flow was established.  Things calmed down.

And, where this business had been stuck for two years it was able to grow significantly with a solid foundation in place.  The key as this owner found out is not to hire the best people.  The key is to have the best process.  When you have the best process you will increase the odds of having people do their best.

And, the center of the best process is to have a written job description for each employee.  It created standards.  Without a job description in place for each team member it is not possible to have a vibrant and long-term team.

Business Coaching The Power Of The Personal Hand Written Note

Personal hand written notes are powerful.  I once heard it said that “You have the power to make someone’s day at the end of your pen.”  And, I have seen the truth in this not only in my own life but in the businesses and lives of my clients.

In my personal business coaching practice I engaged a new service company as a client.  The company consisted of the owner.  He wanted to grow.  But, as is often the case when you are starting your own business, he was short on capital.

Personal Hand Written Note Marketing

As a self-employed business owner he knew that his ability to connect with others was his best marketing business plan.  The challenge was, and this happens to many small businesses, if he went out and marketed he would have to close down his shop.

After exploring various strategies including the hand written note, he was stuck.  He thought the hand written notes were a good idea but he had never written one.  Very often, necessity is the mother of invention, or in this case new action.

He decided to commit to hand written note marketing.

A Personal Hand Written Note For Every Customer

Every customer that came into his shop received a hand written note thanking them for being a customer and telling them that if they had any concerns to immediately contact him.

From my experience, I knew that this marketing could work and could have big results.  At first he got Thank You cards from Office Depot.  In the beginning he was writing 1 to 2 notes a week.

At times he became discouraged.  Business would rise a little bit and then fall back.  But overall, it was moving in the right direction.  In fact, it increased enough in the first six months to where he hired his first employee.

 Build Referrals-A Hand Written Note Converts A Customer To A Friend

At the end of his first year he had done $50,000 in sales.  Four and a half years later he is on track to do $800,000.  He has done no other advertising.  He now has 7 employees.  And, he still writes every customer a personal hand written note.

To amplify his the hand written note marketing he is now able to get out into the community and do volunteer work which has also had a very positive effect on sales.

His customers have become his friends and his referral business is huge.  The hand written note is central to running many businesses by referral.  If you are looking for an inexpensive way to make a very positive impact use the personal hand written note in your marketing business plan.

I have seen the power of this for many self-employed business owners.  The personal hand written note pays value to others who are helping you get to where you want to go.  And, the most important aspect of the personal hand written note is that it builds relationships.

If you are looking for more business that is better use the personal hand written note.  You do have the power to make someone’s day at the end of your pen.  That power is the personal hand written note.