CBS Money Watch
By Margaret Heffernan
(COMMENTARY) News Corp. (NWSA) has announced that James Murdoch, heretofore regarded as heir apparent to his father's media empire, will step down from his role as executive chairman of News International, the U.K. publishing subsidiary. To seasoned Murdoch watchers, this comes as no surprise: When Rupert Murdoch visited his Sun newspaper offices recently, the fact that he was accompanied by his son Lachlan (despite the latter's lack of involvement in the business) signified that James' luster was fading.
Murdoch son resigns as News International exec
James Murdoch will now be based in New York, not London, and he will be responsible for television, not newspapers. This new assignment is a clear attempt to draw a line underneath the scandal surrounding the U.K. newspaper business, in which News International journalists and editors have been accused of phone hacking and making payments for stories to the police. That James gave an unconvincing, banal - and at times incoherent - explanation of these corporate shenanigans when questioned by parliament has signaled three weaknesses: He lacks his father's political instincts, he lacks presence and he isn't on top of operational detail. In normal companies, this would mean that he was out for good. But News Corp. is not a normal company.
Whether James can redeem himself in his new role remains to be seen. But no one should count Murdoch Jr. out yet. The television businesses are more profitable than the old style newsprint products and their growth potential is greater. On the other hand, there is still a distinct possibility that News Corp. may face further challenges in the U.S. A small group of shareholders has brought a suit claiming the board has mismanaged the business, while the payments to members of the British police force may leave News Corp. vulnerable to the Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act. If either of these looming threats materializes, James' continued presence within the leadership will become poisonous.
This scandal has brought the British government, and British business as a whole, into disrepute. It is a business that has always been always been run as a private company which is why the board has failed at any point to get ahead of the bad news. Allegations of corruption, mismanagement and poor governance aren't going away. Neither is Rupert Murdoch.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The Secret to Success: Be Nice
CBS Money Watch
February 27, 2012 7:00 AM PrintText
By Steve Tobak
COMMENTARY The other night I was watching a Ron White comedy special called "You can't fix stupid." The guy's hilarious. And, in addition to being right, he's also a jerk.
I don't mean that in a bad way; I've always sort of admired that in people. After all, I'm a pretty big jerk myself. But recently, through a strange course of events, I've come to see the error in my ways. I've come to realize that "You can't beat nice."
That's right. The whole "nice guys finish last" thing is dead wrong. Organizations are far more effective when people are nice to each other. Nice wins.
Now, anyone who knows me has got to be cracking up right about now because, like I said, I'm not a very nice person. But lately, I've been advising some friends on their career strategy. One woman, a friend of my wife's, is so smart, open, and downright nice, I don't think she has a clue what a pleasure she is to work with. I'd do anything for her. That's just how nice she is.
Mind you, I've helped loads of friends and associates get jobs, and while I'm sure they're appreciative, some of them just aren't that nice about it. Years ago I hooked up one guy with a company I used to work for that was looking for a CEO. He got the job, the company went public, and he made a bundle. I don't think he ever thanked me.
How to schmooze your way to business success
Political correctness is childish -- time to grow up
Do nice guys really finish last?
But my wife's friend is so not like that. In fact, she's been at one company for so long that she really wasn't up on how competitive the job market has become and how sophisticated and cut-throat job seekers are these days. And it occurred to me that, once she gets to a live human being, she's got a real competitive advantage. As I told her, "Just be yourself, be genuine, be nice, and people will respond in kind. Things will work out fine for you."
How do I know that if I'm such a jerk? Well, when I want something, I can be really, really nice. And it comes across as genuine because I genuinely really, really want that thing and, if I have to be nice to get it, then I'll be as nice as I have to be. And you know what? Nine times out of ten, it works. That's because people are suckers for nice. Here's why:
First of all, it's human nature. I mean, if somebody's staring you right in the face, they really need your help, and they seem really nice, you'd have to be some kind of antisocial creep not to help them. And while email and phones aren't quite as personal, again, once you've made some sort of personal appeal or connection and you're nice and transparent about it, most people will help if they can.
Then, of course, there are those all-important Karma points. A lot of people really believe in that sort of thing, even if it is in more of a superstitious way than anything. So they'll help a nice person just to cover their bases, just in case. That's especially true of someone who's been more or less a jerk their whole lives, has seen the light, and is desperately trying to redeem himself -- again, just in case. That's right; it does explain why a lifelong jerk is helping all these people. Now you're catching on.
Lastly, people have a natural tendency to personalize everything, especially things with emotional content. We just imagine ourselves in the other person's position, the shoe being on the other foot, as it were, and we react the way we'd want them to react to us. Deep down, that's actually an egocentric or selfish tendency, but in this case, it actually comes across as a nice gesture. Whatever works, right?
The moral of the story is both simple and powerful. I don't care if you're an administrative assistant or a CEO, an engineer or a salesperson, in HR or in IT. No man or woman is an island. Organizations are matrices of teams and stakeholders. And they're far more effective at getting things done when people help each other and are nice to each other.
Not only that, but you always have a better chance of getting what you want if you're nice. And you''ll also rack up so many Karma points that you won't have to redeem yourself later. Yes, I know what you're thinking. "How about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates? They weren't nice." That's true. But you're not them. And neither am I. So take it from me. Be nice. It'll pay off.
February 27, 2012 7:00 AM PrintText
By Steve Tobak
COMMENTARY The other night I was watching a Ron White comedy special called "You can't fix stupid." The guy's hilarious. And, in addition to being right, he's also a jerk.
I don't mean that in a bad way; I've always sort of admired that in people. After all, I'm a pretty big jerk myself. But recently, through a strange course of events, I've come to see the error in my ways. I've come to realize that "You can't beat nice."
That's right. The whole "nice guys finish last" thing is dead wrong. Organizations are far more effective when people are nice to each other. Nice wins.
Now, anyone who knows me has got to be cracking up right about now because, like I said, I'm not a very nice person. But lately, I've been advising some friends on their career strategy. One woman, a friend of my wife's, is so smart, open, and downright nice, I don't think she has a clue what a pleasure she is to work with. I'd do anything for her. That's just how nice she is.
Mind you, I've helped loads of friends and associates get jobs, and while I'm sure they're appreciative, some of them just aren't that nice about it. Years ago I hooked up one guy with a company I used to work for that was looking for a CEO. He got the job, the company went public, and he made a bundle. I don't think he ever thanked me.
How to schmooze your way to business success
Political correctness is childish -- time to grow up
Do nice guys really finish last?
But my wife's friend is so not like that. In fact, she's been at one company for so long that she really wasn't up on how competitive the job market has become and how sophisticated and cut-throat job seekers are these days. And it occurred to me that, once she gets to a live human being, she's got a real competitive advantage. As I told her, "Just be yourself, be genuine, be nice, and people will respond in kind. Things will work out fine for you."
How do I know that if I'm such a jerk? Well, when I want something, I can be really, really nice. And it comes across as genuine because I genuinely really, really want that thing and, if I have to be nice to get it, then I'll be as nice as I have to be. And you know what? Nine times out of ten, it works. That's because people are suckers for nice. Here's why:
First of all, it's human nature. I mean, if somebody's staring you right in the face, they really need your help, and they seem really nice, you'd have to be some kind of antisocial creep not to help them. And while email and phones aren't quite as personal, again, once you've made some sort of personal appeal or connection and you're nice and transparent about it, most people will help if they can.
Then, of course, there are those all-important Karma points. A lot of people really believe in that sort of thing, even if it is in more of a superstitious way than anything. So they'll help a nice person just to cover their bases, just in case. That's especially true of someone who's been more or less a jerk their whole lives, has seen the light, and is desperately trying to redeem himself -- again, just in case. That's right; it does explain why a lifelong jerk is helping all these people. Now you're catching on.
Lastly, people have a natural tendency to personalize everything, especially things with emotional content. We just imagine ourselves in the other person's position, the shoe being on the other foot, as it were, and we react the way we'd want them to react to us. Deep down, that's actually an egocentric or selfish tendency, but in this case, it actually comes across as a nice gesture. Whatever works, right?
The moral of the story is both simple and powerful. I don't care if you're an administrative assistant or a CEO, an engineer or a salesperson, in HR or in IT. No man or woman is an island. Organizations are matrices of teams and stakeholders. And they're far more effective at getting things done when people help each other and are nice to each other.
Not only that, but you always have a better chance of getting what you want if you're nice. And you''ll also rack up so many Karma points that you won't have to redeem yourself later. Yes, I know what you're thinking. "How about Steve Jobs and Bill Gates? They weren't nice." That's true. But you're not them. And neither am I. So take it from me. Be nice. It'll pay off.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Executive Onboarding: The Key to Accelerating Success and Reducing Risk in a New Job
FORBES
by George Bradt, Contributor
+ Follow on Forbes
LEADERSHIP
|2/15/2012
The most effective executive onboarding includes:
1. Getting a head start
2. Managing the message
3. Building the team
Failures in new roles almost always come back to either poor fit, not getting done what needed to get done, or something changing. Everyone involved tends to blame someone else.
Failed executives say, “They turned out to be different,” or “They didn’t give me the resources I needed,” or “They changed.” Conversely, the bosses of the failed executive say he or she, “Wasn’t what we expected,” or “Didn’t get done what we needed,” or “They changed.”
Writing for Fortune, Anne Fisher points out in her article New Job? Get a Head Start Now on February 17, 2012 that
About 40% of executives who change jobs or get promoted fail in the first 18 months.
She goes on to note that research shows that failure rate has “stood at about 40% for at least 15 years now.”
Whose fault is it really when a new executive fails? It’s everyone’s fault. If everyone paid attention to the basics of executive onboarding, there would be far fewer failures.
Get a Head Start
As football coach Vince Lombardi put it, “The will to win is not nearly so important as the will to prepare to win.” Getting a head start begins with crafting a new leader’s 100-day action plan. If you don’t have a plan, you’re relying on the kindness of others for your success. Your career is too important to leave it up to that.
Then, take advantage of the “fuzzy front end,” which is the period between accepting a job and actually starting. Use this time to begin implementing your plan to get ahead of the curve on set up, learning, and most importantly, jump-starting relationships with some pre-start conversations keeping in mind the power of vulnerability.
Obvious candidates for these conversations include your boss, team members and direct reports, but leaders often forget to speak with:
• Your boss’s assistant
• Key clients and customers (external and internal)
• Key founders or “shadow” board members who may not have a significant role in the day-to-day operations, but still wield significant influence
Determining who these people are will be difficult, but generally speaking there will be a human resource contact and/or internal mentor who can help identify them.
Good examples of this include Larry Page getting a head start before assuming the CEO role at Google, and Ajay Banga easing into the CEO role at MasterCard.
Manage the Message
Everything communicates. Everything you say and do and don’t say and don’t do communicates. If you haven’t clarified your message, you’ll be reacting in the moment and improvising on the fly. This works for some. For most, it’s far more effective to have thought it through in advance.
Also, keep in mind these common mistakes that leaders make on day one:
• Don’t tell anything but the mildest joke.
• Don’t decorate your office.
• Don’t say anything (good or bad) about your former company.
• Don’t say anything negative about anybody in your new company.
• Don’t use a PowerPoint presentation to introduce yourself.
• Don’t tell too much information about your personal life.
One good example of this is how the Red Cross’s Charley Shimanski oozed his message from every pore in the early days of his new role.
Build the Team
The only thing a new leader can do all by himself or herself after day one is fail. All success at that level requires a team effort. The most successful leaders over-invest in building their teams over their first 100 days by jump-starting their strategic, operational and organizational processes, often using an imperative workshop as the turning point between converging and evolving.
One of the easier and more effective strategies new leaders can utilize is identifying and over-investing in an early win during the first six months. When the goal is accomplished, celebrate it publicly. This will give the team confidence in itself and you as a leader.
Onboarding Others
Mitigating those same issues of poor fit, poor delivery, and an inability to adjust to change from the hiring manager’s side requires a slightly different perspective. A good analogy is putting on a show and thinking sequentially like a producer, director and then stage manager.
As the producer, focus on assembling the right team to mitigate the fit risk. Get people aligned around the new role. Acquire talent in the right way, leveraging The Only Three True Job Interview Questions. As the director, get new employees’ expectations aligned to mitigate the poor delivery risk. As the stage manager, follow through, supporting the new executive behind the scenes and helping them identify and manage the inevitable changes.
More on the Basics
These are just the basics. If you’re a new leader yourself, request an executive summary of our book “The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan” by clicking here. If you’re bringing someone in to work for you, request a summary of our “Onboarding” book by clicking here. Or, to read about each step in The New Leader’s Playbook, click here. Now there is no excuse not to leverage those basics.
————————————————————-
The New Leader’s Playbook includes the 10 steps that executive onboarding group PrimeGenesis uses to help new leaders and their teams get done in 100-days what would normally take six to twelve months. George Bradt is PrimeGenesis’ managing director, and co-author of The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan (Wiley, 3rd edition 2011) and the iPad app New Leader Smart Tools.
by George Bradt, Contributor
+ Follow on Forbes
LEADERSHIP
|2/15/2012
The most effective executive onboarding includes:
1. Getting a head start
2. Managing the message
3. Building the team
Failures in new roles almost always come back to either poor fit, not getting done what needed to get done, or something changing. Everyone involved tends to blame someone else.
Failed executives say, “They turned out to be different,” or “They didn’t give me the resources I needed,” or “They changed.” Conversely, the bosses of the failed executive say he or she, “Wasn’t what we expected,” or “Didn’t get done what we needed,” or “They changed.”
Writing for Fortune, Anne Fisher points out in her article New Job? Get a Head Start Now on February 17, 2012 that
About 40% of executives who change jobs or get promoted fail in the first 18 months.
She goes on to note that research shows that failure rate has “stood at about 40% for at least 15 years now.”
Whose fault is it really when a new executive fails? It’s everyone’s fault. If everyone paid attention to the basics of executive onboarding, there would be far fewer failures.
Get a Head Start
As football coach Vince Lombardi put it, “The will to win is not nearly so important as the will to prepare to win.” Getting a head start begins with crafting a new leader’s 100-day action plan. If you don’t have a plan, you’re relying on the kindness of others for your success. Your career is too important to leave it up to that.
Then, take advantage of the “fuzzy front end,” which is the period between accepting a job and actually starting. Use this time to begin implementing your plan to get ahead of the curve on set up, learning, and most importantly, jump-starting relationships with some pre-start conversations keeping in mind the power of vulnerability.
Obvious candidates for these conversations include your boss, team members and direct reports, but leaders often forget to speak with:
• Your boss’s assistant
• Key clients and customers (external and internal)
• Key founders or “shadow” board members who may not have a significant role in the day-to-day operations, but still wield significant influence
Determining who these people are will be difficult, but generally speaking there will be a human resource contact and/or internal mentor who can help identify them.
Good examples of this include Larry Page getting a head start before assuming the CEO role at Google, and Ajay Banga easing into the CEO role at MasterCard.
Manage the Message
Everything communicates. Everything you say and do and don’t say and don’t do communicates. If you haven’t clarified your message, you’ll be reacting in the moment and improvising on the fly. This works for some. For most, it’s far more effective to have thought it through in advance.
Also, keep in mind these common mistakes that leaders make on day one:
• Don’t tell anything but the mildest joke.
• Don’t decorate your office.
• Don’t say anything (good or bad) about your former company.
• Don’t say anything negative about anybody in your new company.
• Don’t use a PowerPoint presentation to introduce yourself.
• Don’t tell too much information about your personal life.
One good example of this is how the Red Cross’s Charley Shimanski oozed his message from every pore in the early days of his new role.
Build the Team
The only thing a new leader can do all by himself or herself after day one is fail. All success at that level requires a team effort. The most successful leaders over-invest in building their teams over their first 100 days by jump-starting their strategic, operational and organizational processes, often using an imperative workshop as the turning point between converging and evolving.
One of the easier and more effective strategies new leaders can utilize is identifying and over-investing in an early win during the first six months. When the goal is accomplished, celebrate it publicly. This will give the team confidence in itself and you as a leader.
Onboarding Others
Mitigating those same issues of poor fit, poor delivery, and an inability to adjust to change from the hiring manager’s side requires a slightly different perspective. A good analogy is putting on a show and thinking sequentially like a producer, director and then stage manager.
As the producer, focus on assembling the right team to mitigate the fit risk. Get people aligned around the new role. Acquire talent in the right way, leveraging The Only Three True Job Interview Questions. As the director, get new employees’ expectations aligned to mitigate the poor delivery risk. As the stage manager, follow through, supporting the new executive behind the scenes and helping them identify and manage the inevitable changes.
More on the Basics
These are just the basics. If you’re a new leader yourself, request an executive summary of our book “The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan” by clicking here. If you’re bringing someone in to work for you, request a summary of our “Onboarding” book by clicking here. Or, to read about each step in The New Leader’s Playbook, click here. Now there is no excuse not to leverage those basics.
————————————————————-
The New Leader’s Playbook includes the 10 steps that executive onboarding group PrimeGenesis uses to help new leaders and their teams get done in 100-days what would normally take six to twelve months. George Bradt is PrimeGenesis’ managing director, and co-author of The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan (Wiley, 3rd edition 2011) and the iPad app New Leader Smart Tools.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
How to sell more using one magic word
February 15, 2012 7:24 AM
By Tom Searcy Topics Marketing .
CBS Money Watch
This is the year for all sales people to learn a new language to increase their sales. No, not Chinese, Spanish or Korean (although those are all good ideas, too). Learn how to sell more with the tongue that contains the sweetest words of all to a prospect: the language of increase. Here are four ways to attract more revenue with these magic words:
1. Go to the Source. You should read the classic best sellers of success authors like Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and Og Mandino, and the recent generation such as Stephen Covey, Rhonda Byrne and Ken Blanchard. But go to the source and read a book that inspired all of these authors, titled "The Science of Getting Rich," by Wallace Wattles. Byrne told a Newsweek interviewer that her inspiration for creating the 2006 hit film and book "The Secret" was her exposure to "The Science of Getting Rich." Byrne's daughter had given her the Wattles book to help her recover from a breakdown. To sell more, Wattles says we need to convey the impression of advancement with everything we do. In addition, communicate that we advance all who deal with us. "No matter how small the transaction, put into it the thought of increase, and make sure the customer is impressed with the thought," wrote Wattles.
2. Talk About More. So when potential clients ask you what you do, please don't just give them a list of services and capabilities. Instead, use the language of increase to describe your products and services. For example, you can say that you:
-- Improve lead generation
-- Help clients maximize revenues
-- Increase lead conversion rates
-- Improve company productivity
-- Reduce wasted expenses
-- Enable clients to maximize prices
-- Help departments exceed goals
3. Sprinkle the Words Around. Add the language of increase to your conversation, your websites and your proposals. This is what clients want. There are fortunes to be made by giving clients what they want. Back these statements up with testimonials that document the increase with numbers, percentages and time factors and you are way ahead of the competition.
Here is a real (but not real name) example:
"In one year, all of the 70 employees we hired have gone through XYZ personality profile testing and candidate screening. This improved hiring process has helped our company increase productivity per sales person a total of 21 percent in the last two years. In addition, while the national average for sales person turnover in our industry is 40 percent, we've been able to cut that in half with the help of this sales force screening."
John Smith
President, ABC Company
4. Follow My Lead. Here is how I use the language of increase in my work. I say we're aiming at accounts ranging from $500,000 to $100 million and add that, typically, people hire us for one or more of three reasons:
-- They're looking to "double their double." They want to double the speed with which they can double the size of their company and they believe that landing large accounts is the way to do it.
-- They want a manageable and scalable approach to running their sales process, measuring it and improving their success rates.
-- They have a mega-sale that they want to land and they want me to be their adviser and coach.
Overall, focus on creating the impression of increase to attract more sales. According to Wattles, increase is what all men and women are seeking. His advice was that you should feel that you are getting richer, and that in doing so you are making others richer and giving benefits to all who deal with you.
By Tom Searcy Topics Marketing .
CBS Money Watch
This is the year for all sales people to learn a new language to increase their sales. No, not Chinese, Spanish or Korean (although those are all good ideas, too). Learn how to sell more with the tongue that contains the sweetest words of all to a prospect: the language of increase. Here are four ways to attract more revenue with these magic words:
1. Go to the Source. You should read the classic best sellers of success authors like Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and Og Mandino, and the recent generation such as Stephen Covey, Rhonda Byrne and Ken Blanchard. But go to the source and read a book that inspired all of these authors, titled "The Science of Getting Rich," by Wallace Wattles. Byrne told a Newsweek interviewer that her inspiration for creating the 2006 hit film and book "The Secret" was her exposure to "The Science of Getting Rich." Byrne's daughter had given her the Wattles book to help her recover from a breakdown. To sell more, Wattles says we need to convey the impression of advancement with everything we do. In addition, communicate that we advance all who deal with us. "No matter how small the transaction, put into it the thought of increase, and make sure the customer is impressed with the thought," wrote Wattles.
2. Talk About More. So when potential clients ask you what you do, please don't just give them a list of services and capabilities. Instead, use the language of increase to describe your products and services. For example, you can say that you:
-- Improve lead generation
-- Help clients maximize revenues
-- Increase lead conversion rates
-- Improve company productivity
-- Reduce wasted expenses
-- Enable clients to maximize prices
-- Help departments exceed goals
3. Sprinkle the Words Around. Add the language of increase to your conversation, your websites and your proposals. This is what clients want. There are fortunes to be made by giving clients what they want. Back these statements up with testimonials that document the increase with numbers, percentages and time factors and you are way ahead of the competition.
Here is a real (but not real name) example:
"In one year, all of the 70 employees we hired have gone through XYZ personality profile testing and candidate screening. This improved hiring process has helped our company increase productivity per sales person a total of 21 percent in the last two years. In addition, while the national average for sales person turnover in our industry is 40 percent, we've been able to cut that in half with the help of this sales force screening."
John Smith
President, ABC Company
4. Follow My Lead. Here is how I use the language of increase in my work. I say we're aiming at accounts ranging from $500,000 to $100 million and add that, typically, people hire us for one or more of three reasons:
-- They're looking to "double their double." They want to double the speed with which they can double the size of their company and they believe that landing large accounts is the way to do it.
-- They want a manageable and scalable approach to running their sales process, measuring it and improving their success rates.
-- They have a mega-sale that they want to land and they want me to be their adviser and coach.
Overall, focus on creating the impression of increase to attract more sales. According to Wattles, increase is what all men and women are seeking. His advice was that you should feel that you are getting richer, and that in doing so you are making others richer and giving benefits to all who deal with you.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Win Big Deals Without Being Lucky
February 3, 2012 9:45 AM PrintText
By Tom Searcy
"Luck," unlike recent racetrack movies like "Seabiscuit" and "Secretariat," is not about the glamorous world of horse racing. Rather, this is the not-so-pretty reality of racing. Series creator David Milch ("Deadwood") takes a dark look at the gritty underbelly of the sport.
My namesake grandfather, Tom Searcy, was a professional gambler up until my grandmother made an honest man out of him. But Grandpa Tom never bet the ponies. He knew he didn't have any control in those bets, so he didn't like to make them. Like most entrepreneurs, he bet on himself: golf, bowling and cards.
Personally, I don't do any gambling, not even scratching a few lottery tickets. No need to. I'm a professional sales person, and that takes care of all my gambler's itch.
Most business managers I have met know a great deal about gambling. That's because every day they bet their company, careers and causes. The main question, week after week, is this: Is our company going to win or not? When managers take on projects that are long-shots, there are going to be a lot of losing bets.
Take going after a big deal, for example. What's needed is a Texas Hold'em poker approach to pursuing any big deal. If you have ever played Texas Hold'em, a game with an ante and then four rounds of betting, then you know that the players who win the most amount of money play the fewest number of hands. These players actually fold more than 92 percent of the time before the final card is dealt. They know more hands against them than in favor of them.
The game begins with each player being dealt two cards. So players must master the two-card question (Should I stay in the game or get out now?), because that is the cheapest time to fold. In Texas Hold'em, there are only four conditions when it makes sense to stay in the game and keep betting: two of a kind, two of the same suit, two in sequence, or a face card. If a player doesn't have any of those combinations, then the answer to the two-card question is to get out while it is still cheap. There are two winners in every Texas Hold'em hand: the person who wins the pot and the person who folds first. The biggest loser in a hand is the person who finishes second. They expended the most chips without getting anything in return.
The same logic is true in negotiating a big deal. Do you have quality control standards up front at the beginning of your sales process to screen your prospects? If the prospect isn't right, get out early while it is still cheap. With the right focus, a company can eliminate unworthy and unworkable prospects before the stakes get too high.
Be selective. A company should know enough about its marketplace that it can do the research in advance and not waste precious resources and time. Treat prospects like nightclubs and the velvet rope. Be choosy on who you let in. There are certain prospective deals a company shouldn't waste its time on just so it can finish second. In the businesses I've grown, I've discovered that the best business you do is the business you don't do.
Avoid long-shot prospects, toxic clients and circumstances where you will finish second. That will give your company much more time and energy to spend on the chances worth taking.
By Tom Searcy
"Luck," unlike recent racetrack movies like "Seabiscuit" and "Secretariat," is not about the glamorous world of horse racing. Rather, this is the not-so-pretty reality of racing. Series creator David Milch ("Deadwood") takes a dark look at the gritty underbelly of the sport.
My namesake grandfather, Tom Searcy, was a professional gambler up until my grandmother made an honest man out of him. But Grandpa Tom never bet the ponies. He knew he didn't have any control in those bets, so he didn't like to make them. Like most entrepreneurs, he bet on himself: golf, bowling and cards.
Personally, I don't do any gambling, not even scratching a few lottery tickets. No need to. I'm a professional sales person, and that takes care of all my gambler's itch.
Most business managers I have met know a great deal about gambling. That's because every day they bet their company, careers and causes. The main question, week after week, is this: Is our company going to win or not? When managers take on projects that are long-shots, there are going to be a lot of losing bets.
Take going after a big deal, for example. What's needed is a Texas Hold'em poker approach to pursuing any big deal. If you have ever played Texas Hold'em, a game with an ante and then four rounds of betting, then you know that the players who win the most amount of money play the fewest number of hands. These players actually fold more than 92 percent of the time before the final card is dealt. They know more hands against them than in favor of them.
The game begins with each player being dealt two cards. So players must master the two-card question (Should I stay in the game or get out now?), because that is the cheapest time to fold. In Texas Hold'em, there are only four conditions when it makes sense to stay in the game and keep betting: two of a kind, two of the same suit, two in sequence, or a face card. If a player doesn't have any of those combinations, then the answer to the two-card question is to get out while it is still cheap. There are two winners in every Texas Hold'em hand: the person who wins the pot and the person who folds first. The biggest loser in a hand is the person who finishes second. They expended the most chips without getting anything in return.
The same logic is true in negotiating a big deal. Do you have quality control standards up front at the beginning of your sales process to screen your prospects? If the prospect isn't right, get out early while it is still cheap. With the right focus, a company can eliminate unworthy and unworkable prospects before the stakes get too high.
Be selective. A company should know enough about its marketplace that it can do the research in advance and not waste precious resources and time. Treat prospects like nightclubs and the velvet rope. Be choosy on who you let in. There are certain prospective deals a company shouldn't waste its time on just so it can finish second. In the businesses I've grown, I've discovered that the best business you do is the business you don't do.
Avoid long-shot prospects, toxic clients and circumstances where you will finish second. That will give your company much more time and energy to spend on the chances worth taking.
Monday, February 6, 2012
7 Tips to Manage Your Boss -- and Yourself
CBS Money Watch
February 3, 2012 6:33 AM PrintText
by Steve Tobak
Another take: When employee and boss don't see eye to eye.
(MoneyWatch) Sometimes I think employees think their bosses are all-knowing and all-seeing, like a divine being or Santa Claus. They're not. They're regular flesh and blood people, just like you and me. And they've got bigger things to worry about than you. Not only that, but the reverse is also true. At least it should be.
People focus way too much on their bosses. Probably the most common dynamic is when the boss, employee or both are dysfunctional. The more dysfunctional, the more disproportionate the focus. We have micromanaging bosses, but we also have lots of employees that overload their bosses with unnecessary and unwanted information, communication and attention.
In some ways, it reminds me of children with alcoholic or abusive parents. In the name of survival, kids learn warning signs to watch out for. But the workplace is different because you're an adult with adult responsibilities and adult choices. Your boss isn't your whole world, even at work. At least he shouldn't be.
If you find that you're thinking, worrying or stressing about your boss an alarming amount, I can almost guarantee that she's not ecstatic about the relationship either. Here are seven tips to try before you end up shooting yourself in the foot, going off the deep end, or doing irreparable harm to your relationship, reputation and career.
Remember why they pay you: to do your job. People often get confused about the whole boss thing. If you're in a company bigger than, say, 10 people, you don't really work for your boss, you work for the company. You were hired and you're paid to do a job. So focus on doing it and doing it well.
Take the initiative. Executives and managers don't just like it when employees take the initiative to solve big problems and get things done -- they love it. Thus the expression, it's sometimes better to ask for forgiveness than permission. I like to say, "What your boss doesn't know won't hurt you." It's usually true.
Focus on yourself. If there's an issue between you and your boss, there's a 50-50 chance that it's you. And, between the two of you, you're better off focusing on yourself rather than your boss. The reason is simple. You can't control or change your boss; you can only control or change you. Tolstoy wrote: "Everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself." Smart guy, that Tolstoy.
Give your boss what he needs to do his job -- no more, no less. Of course, there are micromanaging control freaks who should probably see a shrink. But oftentimes, bosses micromanage because they're not getting what they need to do their jobs effectively or they're concerned that you're not cutting it. The best thing to do is ask what's going on and what he needs. Then give it to him -- no more, no less.
Why your boss doesn't always listen to you
Busting the bad boss myth
Have periodic one-on-one meetings. If you have weekly one-on-one meetings with your boss, you should be able to cover everything that needs to be covered and then be on your way. That often relieves a lot of the disruptive ad-hoc communication and unnecessary fire drills.
Get advice from someone who knows your boss better than you do. If you're really befuddled about how to work with your boss, ask somebody who knows him well. I once had a CEO who was micromanaging and it was driving me crazy. Him, too. So I asked the president who had worked closely with him for many years and, lo and behold, he told me what I needed to know. We had a great relationship after that. No kidding.
Be open and honest...with yourself. If things aren't working out, then maybe it's time to move on. Sure, it's a tough job market, so that may take a while, but it's almost always for the better and you'll both be relieved once the dust settles. Of course, you can try to wait him out, but you may end up getting fired, in which case you'll be leaving on her terms, not yours. Something to consider.
February 3, 2012 6:33 AM PrintText
by Steve Tobak
Another take: When employee and boss don't see eye to eye.
(MoneyWatch) Sometimes I think employees think their bosses are all-knowing and all-seeing, like a divine being or Santa Claus. They're not. They're regular flesh and blood people, just like you and me. And they've got bigger things to worry about than you. Not only that, but the reverse is also true. At least it should be.
People focus way too much on their bosses. Probably the most common dynamic is when the boss, employee or both are dysfunctional. The more dysfunctional, the more disproportionate the focus. We have micromanaging bosses, but we also have lots of employees that overload their bosses with unnecessary and unwanted information, communication and attention.
In some ways, it reminds me of children with alcoholic or abusive parents. In the name of survival, kids learn warning signs to watch out for. But the workplace is different because you're an adult with adult responsibilities and adult choices. Your boss isn't your whole world, even at work. At least he shouldn't be.
If you find that you're thinking, worrying or stressing about your boss an alarming amount, I can almost guarantee that she's not ecstatic about the relationship either. Here are seven tips to try before you end up shooting yourself in the foot, going off the deep end, or doing irreparable harm to your relationship, reputation and career.
Remember why they pay you: to do your job. People often get confused about the whole boss thing. If you're in a company bigger than, say, 10 people, you don't really work for your boss, you work for the company. You were hired and you're paid to do a job. So focus on doing it and doing it well.
Take the initiative. Executives and managers don't just like it when employees take the initiative to solve big problems and get things done -- they love it. Thus the expression, it's sometimes better to ask for forgiveness than permission. I like to say, "What your boss doesn't know won't hurt you." It's usually true.
Focus on yourself. If there's an issue between you and your boss, there's a 50-50 chance that it's you. And, between the two of you, you're better off focusing on yourself rather than your boss. The reason is simple. You can't control or change your boss; you can only control or change you. Tolstoy wrote: "Everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself." Smart guy, that Tolstoy.
Give your boss what he needs to do his job -- no more, no less. Of course, there are micromanaging control freaks who should probably see a shrink. But oftentimes, bosses micromanage because they're not getting what they need to do their jobs effectively or they're concerned that you're not cutting it. The best thing to do is ask what's going on and what he needs. Then give it to him -- no more, no less.
Why your boss doesn't always listen to you
Busting the bad boss myth
Have periodic one-on-one meetings. If you have weekly one-on-one meetings with your boss, you should be able to cover everything that needs to be covered and then be on your way. That often relieves a lot of the disruptive ad-hoc communication and unnecessary fire drills.
Get advice from someone who knows your boss better than you do. If you're really befuddled about how to work with your boss, ask somebody who knows him well. I once had a CEO who was micromanaging and it was driving me crazy. Him, too. So I asked the president who had worked closely with him for many years and, lo and behold, he told me what I needed to know. We had a great relationship after that. No kidding.
Be open and honest...with yourself. If things aren't working out, then maybe it's time to move on. Sure, it's a tough job market, so that may take a while, but it's almost always for the better and you'll both be relieved once the dust settles. Of course, you can try to wait him out, but you may end up getting fired, in which case you'll be leaving on her terms, not yours. Something to consider.
How to Reboot a Stalled Brain
CBS Money Watch
February 2, 2012
By Margaret Heffernan
(MoneyWatch) Leaders always face difficult, apparently intransigent problems. You can look on the bright side and appreciate that this pain always represents learning. But the reality is that, all too often, getting stuck is frightening. Here are some ways to get un-stuck:
Stop working
The natural tendency, when up against a tough problem, is to keep working at it. And, up to a point, that's what you should and must do. But we all reach a moment of diminishing returns, where we are retracing the same old thought lines, beating our heads against the same brick walls. At those moments, it's crucial to stop. Running around the same track won't change the scenery; it will just wear you out. Those of us with a strong work ethic find this very difficult. So just tell yourself that stopping is work too - because it is. To find new approaches means you have to do something new too.
Do something completely different
Codebreakers will tell you that often the best way to solve a problem is to look away from it. Many of my best ideas and solutions came while I was driving home from the office. Go to the gym (with a notepad!) Exercise brings a rush of oxygen into the brain which definitely helps. If that's impossible or too time consuming, walk the dog. Walk the halls. Just cross your office and look out of the window. Even the slightest physical movement can jolt you out of the mental rut in which you are stuck.
If you work from home, put in a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher. Don't start something that takes time - that's displacement activity. Just choose a simple enough task that will shift your thinking while you do it.
Have a conversation (not a meeting)
Conversations about the area you're working in will force you to frame the subject, to define and articulate exactly what it is you are working on. The very act of articulating it may help you to see it differently or to define it for yourself more clearly. It is virtually impossible to do this in a dialogue with yourself but inevitable if you are trying to explain your topic to someone else. I usually find that the very act of expressing what the problem is changes it.
Ask for help
Don't expect a solution. That isn't the way that problem solving works. Instead, discussing a range of approaches may spark a chain reaction that eventually leads you to see the solution - or at least part of it. I think of problem solving as somewhat akin to a pinball machine: You need to bounce off a number of different ideas before you can score.
Go to sleep
My father-in-law has been known to solve equations in his sleep. I've untangled anagrams. I know so many people who have had great ideas in their sleep that now, if I'm working on something particularly intractable, I will deliberately think about it just before I doze off. I want my mind to work on it. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't, of course. But even if I don't have a revelation, the next morning I'm alert and ready to try again.
Remember
Don't panic. Remember: You've been here before. High achievers easily lose sight of the hurdles they've already overcome: Once cleared, usually forgotten. But confidence is not a requirement for success; it is the product of success. So don't forget that you already have those successes under your belt. You've confronted horrible obstacles before and cleared them. That means you're very likely to be able to do so this time. As long as you keep your nerve and keep going.
February 2, 2012
By Margaret Heffernan
(MoneyWatch) Leaders always face difficult, apparently intransigent problems. You can look on the bright side and appreciate that this pain always represents learning. But the reality is that, all too often, getting stuck is frightening. Here are some ways to get un-stuck:
Stop working
The natural tendency, when up against a tough problem, is to keep working at it. And, up to a point, that's what you should and must do. But we all reach a moment of diminishing returns, where we are retracing the same old thought lines, beating our heads against the same brick walls. At those moments, it's crucial to stop. Running around the same track won't change the scenery; it will just wear you out. Those of us with a strong work ethic find this very difficult. So just tell yourself that stopping is work too - because it is. To find new approaches means you have to do something new too.
Do something completely different
Codebreakers will tell you that often the best way to solve a problem is to look away from it. Many of my best ideas and solutions came while I was driving home from the office. Go to the gym (with a notepad!) Exercise brings a rush of oxygen into the brain which definitely helps. If that's impossible or too time consuming, walk the dog. Walk the halls. Just cross your office and look out of the window. Even the slightest physical movement can jolt you out of the mental rut in which you are stuck.
If you work from home, put in a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher. Don't start something that takes time - that's displacement activity. Just choose a simple enough task that will shift your thinking while you do it.
Have a conversation (not a meeting)
Conversations about the area you're working in will force you to frame the subject, to define and articulate exactly what it is you are working on. The very act of articulating it may help you to see it differently or to define it for yourself more clearly. It is virtually impossible to do this in a dialogue with yourself but inevitable if you are trying to explain your topic to someone else. I usually find that the very act of expressing what the problem is changes it.
Ask for help
Don't expect a solution. That isn't the way that problem solving works. Instead, discussing a range of approaches may spark a chain reaction that eventually leads you to see the solution - or at least part of it. I think of problem solving as somewhat akin to a pinball machine: You need to bounce off a number of different ideas before you can score.
Go to sleep
My father-in-law has been known to solve equations in his sleep. I've untangled anagrams. I know so many people who have had great ideas in their sleep that now, if I'm working on something particularly intractable, I will deliberately think about it just before I doze off. I want my mind to work on it. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't, of course. But even if I don't have a revelation, the next morning I'm alert and ready to try again.
Remember
Don't panic. Remember: You've been here before. High achievers easily lose sight of the hurdles they've already overcome: Once cleared, usually forgotten. But confidence is not a requirement for success; it is the product of success. So don't forget that you already have those successes under your belt. You've confronted horrible obstacles before and cleared them. That means you're very likely to be able to do so this time. As long as you keep your nerve and keep going.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)