Interpersonal Business

Vol. XXVII

Dear Manager,

As individuals, we would never consider defending ourselves in a court of law; the outcome’s too risky. We would never consider performing surgery on ourselves; simply too much blood. We would never consider risking our personal net worth with an amateur; those winter nights can be cold on the streets!

WHAT WE SEEM TO BE WILLING TO RISK

I am constantly amazed by the willingness of management to risk their hard-earned profits in areas where they hold little or no expertise. While it may seem very exciting, creative and (with some rationalization) motivated by increased profitability, management can too quickly come to the conclusion that “we can make those.”

Management then proceeds to make “those,” often without a basic knowledge or understanding of why or what “those” are. Substantial amounts of capital are often “invested” in a project or product that, with more inside knowledge, could have been more wisely invested, or not invested at all!

Consider this scenario: Management asks their staff to figure out how to make “those.” The staff proceeds, finds a resource and gains what surface knowledge they can. The new resource is very excited to assist (perhaps motivated by its own profits), offering encouragement and support for the project to the staff members.

Management is very enthusiastic, and it is the objective of the staff to please management. In most cases the staff carries minimal personal risk, as the final decision to proceed is always that of management. Given this scenario, does management have all the valuable information it needs to make an informed decision? The entrepreneurial spirit has taken hold with limited awareness of the down side – it’s the unknown that will kill you.

In many cases, thousands of dollars have been flushed away for lack of timely, product-specific information. All of a sudden, there seems to be more to making “those” than was initially anticipated. This is certainly a trap for small companies, and has put many out of business. It is also a fundamental flaw for large companies who rely too heavily on their past success.

Just because you have succeeded in one area, there is no reason to believe you can automatically succeed in an area outside of your given expertise. In fact, your previous success alone will rarely serve your needs in any new endeavor. Instead, your confidence may provide you with false security and ultimately betray you.

ASSESS YOUR ORGANIZATION’S STRENGTHS

I believe that in most cases, unnecessary risks are taken as a result of management’s failure to calculate the collective strengths and weaknesses of the organization. When I think of a management team, I think of it in relationship to ones involvement in a college or university. College students spend four or more years developing a major. This major becomes a personal strength, and is what they are individually noted and recruited for upon graduation. Along the way, these same students have developed a minor, enhancing their strengths and overall value, both personally and in the marketplace.

Individuals within a management team should be looked upon from a similar perspective. Each member has major and minor strengths which define their capacity to contribute to the organization. These may have been developed through a college curriculum or over a period of years in their careers. It goes without saying that for each individual on our management team there are classes that simply have not been attended!

This is no reflection on them individually. Just as we each have major and minor strengths, there are many areas in which we have no knowledge. All too often, individuals cross their own line of expertise at the very great expense of their organizations. Pride and ego play a role for all of us, yet it is self awareness and good judgment that will save the day. It is our responsibility as managers to not only have a true understanding of our own capacity, but to maintain a full accounting of the individual strengths and capacity of our staff.

FIND ME AN EXPERT!

These are the words that management should translate to their staff. Without an expert, how can we possibly proceed? There will certainly be instances where a staff member is capable of providing you with very good advice, and in most all cases it will be human nature for them to provide you with their best advice regardless of its true value. Make them prove to you that they can consult with you like an expert!

YOUR UNTAPPED RESOURCE

Without question, the most under-utilized management resource is a consultant. I have personally invested and lost in areas in which I had no business assuming I could succeed. If I had simply proceeded with a bit more caution, been more patient in the process, and demanded of myself that I find a qualified individual to assist in the early stages, thousands of dollars could have been saved. Once again, would we risk our own personal financial future with an individual who has little or no expertise? In retrospect, the greatest lesson learned was to insist upon the use of only expert advice.

The first dollar invested in any new endeavor, let alone in solving an ongoing problem, should be in gaining timely information and options of how best to proceed. A minimum of 5% to 10% of any new product development budget should be set aside for consulting services. It would be very interesting to see how often this single investment would save the balance of the 90% to 95%!

STOP THE WHEELS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

With the need for protecting personalities, multiple priorities and increasing our profits, we are often too close to the center to maintain our objectivity. If for no other purpose, this is the first reason to hire a qualified consultant. A consultant’s sole objective (and professional future), is based on their ability to provide you with their major on a focused task. Their objective is to perform for one individual: you.

Because we cannot financially afford a staff of qualified experts in the many areas that impact our business, I believe all organizations should make use of consultants in some form. Be it in marketing, product development, customer services, key account development, employee management or computer technology, the list of consulting resources goes on and on.

First, define those areas of your business that, from experience, carry what I call the nagging anxieties. Are you absolutely confident in all aspects of your business? We all have areas that we know are not performing well. Now define the primary role or objective an expert in the field could provide.

Now is the time to pull out all of your resources to find the right individual to assist you. This can be accomplished first by looking within your own industry, researching companies who seem to excel in your areas of concern. Does your staff have an area of strength that could assist in their needs? Could an exchange of these resources be accomplished without a compromise to your organization? Next, look into the option of asking a retired executive from your industry or a similar industry to assist in a specific objective. The resources are there.

Initially, a little pride may need to be swallowed by staff members, and a few egos will need to be left at the door. If there is an unwillingness to freely assist and participate in management’s objective to provide the very best product or service possible to their customers, they have firmly planted themselves in a position as part of the problem.

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2008. Duplication of this publication is permitted for both personal and business use. Excerpts may only be quoted with acknowledgment of INTERPERSONAL/INTERPERSONALBIZ.ORG as the source. For re-publication rights, please contact the editor at KEENAN@INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM

Vol. XXV

Dear Manager,

What more can any manager ask than to have the most up-to-date, field-tested information at their fingertips? How do we create systems and develop the resources to ensure the flow of accurate and timely information, allowing us to make informed decisions critical to our organizations? How do we supply information to individuals “in the trenches” that will assist in our mutual success? From my experience, management receives less than 50% of the information most critical in making decisions. Over the years I have seen effective programs to enhance this flow of information to the benefit of manufacturers, sales agencies, field associates and their customers. TIMELINESS is essential in a fast-paced market; we make decisions using the information we currently have. Is it enough?

A DILEMMA FOR MANUFACTURERS

Manufacturers have some of the greatest need to gain timely, market-driven information yet, without a proactive role, have the least opportunity. Their offices are often geographically detached from the day-to-day reality and consumer-driven aspects of their products on a national basis. Certainly, sales information is tabulated as consumers send in their votes in the form of orders. Sales figures can easily be misinterpreted, however, as they do not address the reasons behind a product’s success (or lack of it). Why is this product selling? Are there areas of the market where it isn’t selling? What changes would make the product appealing to more consumers? Decisions are being made without all the knowledge needed to make an effective judgment!

On a quarterly basis, knowledge-based management needs to develop systems to insure the information they are reacting to is the closest possible to market reality. When effectively approached, I sincerely believe this information is easily attained; someone is simply waiting to be asked. In varying degrees, some information does get through the pipeline. When was the last time you took an aggressive approach to maximize this resource?

All managers need to acknowledge human nature’s role in the communication process. These principles include:
• Field representatives are often reluctant to share what may be perceived as a negative perspective. It is much safer to tell the manager what they believe the manager wants to hear.

• Field representatives are independent by nature. When properly asked (and often compensated), they are much more likely to assist and participate.

• Time for a field sales representative is always at a premium. Requests for long, drawn-out meetings or detailed, time-consuming reports will not be favorably received.

With these thoughts in mind, there are some very effective forms of communication that are well received and incredibly valuable in benefiting all parties. I have found the most useful tool to be a questionnaire.

FIELD INPUT: A MANUFACTURER’S GOLD MINE
HOW TO GET WHAT YOU NEED

Begin by developing a format and establishing a time frame for distributing your questionnaire, i.e., once per quarter. Secondly, emphasize your desire to gain the valuable input of your sales people regarding their market perceptions and field knowledge. Thirdly, emphasize your need for candid feedback, explaining that anything less is of no advantage to anyone. Finally, attach a $20 bill to each questionnaire as a gesture of your understanding of their time and value to this project (a touch of guilt never hurts in encouraging participation, either!).

Your questionnaire should be no more than three to four pages in length. Your questions should be direct with limited space to respond; three or four lines are normally adequate. I suggest that, for the most part, completion of the questionnaire should take half an hour or less. I would encourage, but not require, participants to include their name at the end of the questionnaire. This will assist in developing a core group to call upon in the future. A self-addressed stamped envelope for its return is also a nice touch.

Once you have received this information, ask your marketing, product and creative team to analyze the results. I absolutely believe you will be both very pleased and much better informed for having done this. If you receive responses from 100 field associates, this insightful, manufacturer-specific, field-tested information was provided to you for $2000.00. By all accounts, this is a very cheap thrill!

In addition, you have drawn your organization together as a whole; everyone now feels much closer to the process for having participated. Be sure to share highlights of the questionnaire with the participants, as well as a few of your plans to react to the opportunities and concerns that were addressed.

Over the duration of your quarterly questionnaires you will begin to develop an awareness of those individuals with a high degree of natural insight, an ability to candidly and eloquently voice their thoughts, and a strong willingness to participate in this process. These individuals should make up your core group. If you find their information to be consistently useful, develop a second-generation vehicle to reward these participants and gain further insight into your business. Conduct a three or four day President’s Council in your offices or, if you are looking for a bit of flair, a warm resort would certainly reward these participants.

I also strongly suggest that participants be compensated financially for their involvement. It would not be equitable to reward your most talented advisors with a loss of field income, while those whose input had less impact are not only home earning an income but will eventually gain benefit from their peers’ participation. We have a tendency to take advantage of (and take for granted) those individuals who are the most gracious with their time and most capable of assisting in our needs.

VOICE MESSAGING
IT’S NOT JUST AN AGGRAVATION ANYMORE

There are other ways to gain and share information that are convenient and effective for manufacturers. I believe the most effective use of voice messaging is to develop a blind box, with a toll free number, to promote the sharing of suggestions, quick thoughts and timely issues. This should be made available to all interested parties including sales representatives, field sales managers, customers and, in certain instances, consumers.

When a sales associate comes to me with a terrific suggestion, my first question is always, “Have you passed this on to the manufacturer?” Very often, they have not. In most cases, a call to the factory means a commitment to a twenty-minute conversation they are unable to take time for. With a blind box it becomes a three-minute commitment and is now worthwhile.

Proper emphasis on this type of field input can be a wonderful source in this age of information. Can you imagine the response if every twentieth call to the blind box was somehow rewarded? The flow of information would be ongoing and tremendously effective in taking the pulse of the marketplace.

A second use of voice messaging is the establishment of a rep-accessible message box with recorded information regarding the best-selling products, product outages and new product information. The manufacturer’s message can be updated on a weekly basis and is an excellent way to promote communication through short, focused topics applicable to field representatives.

I have seen the implementation of these concepts succeed, yet am at a loss to explain why more factories do not establish these and other types of information channels. In all honesty, it is very rare. Could it be that owners and managers do not generally accept suggestions well? Can professional managers make critical product and marketing decisions without an information system that lends itself to a comprehensive view of their products and market?

While it is our desire to stay in touch, in reality it simply does not happen. By creating additional means to communicate, we establish a new emphasis and commitment to gaining critical information to insure greater success and stronger decisions for our organizations. The failure to use these systems is the failure to take full advantage of one of your greatest resources.

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2008. Duplication of this publication is permitted for both personal and business use. Excerpts may only be quoted with acknowledgment of INTERPERSONAL/INTERPERSONALBIZ.ORG as the source. For re-publication rights, please contact the editor at KEENAN@INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM

Vol. XXIV

Dear Managers,

Preparing for a new year brings a sense of anticipation; a time to reflect on the past year and to prepare to build the fortunes of a new year. What can I do today to prepare to meet these future objectives, while maintaining a close eye on our current expectations? Let’s start by examining what is going well, and what is not.

ARE WE EVER SATISFIED?

Probably not. A manager’s daily emphasis must often be on those areas that are just not working. They become nagging anxieties, like a headache that won’t go away. Difficult issues require added focus and attention. They have a tendency to become magnified by the fact that they never completely pass; with every solution comes a new area of concern ready to take its place.

On balance, these areas of concern are a small fraction of the whole picture. Most areas are working very well. Similar to a medic who deals with life and death each day, our perspective can easily become skewed by constant problem solving. As a result, the many successful areas neither command our attention nor prompt our sense of satisfaction.

DOCUMENT YOUR SATISFACTION

It is essential to begin by bringing greater focus to those aspects of your life and business that deserve your full satisfaction. Develop a comprehensive list of those areas that you feel good about. Essentially, this is a list of all your non-financial business and personal assets. It is time to search for your nagging fulfillments rather than your nagging anxieties! This process will only serve to enhance, replicate and renew itself with proper focus and attention.

Your list should include:

• Areas that have exceeded your expectations for the year
• Individuals who have established increased value to your organization, making
your job easier and more effective
• Steps you have taken that have proven to be successful to your organization
• Personal victories that at one time seemed insurmountable
• Clear benefits you enjoy due to the success of your organization
• Even the smallest of pleasures from both a business and personal perspective

I guarantee that as you develop your document, those areas that may have loomed very large have now been knocked down to a much more realistic perspective. Having spent months in the throws of a very difficult time, the potential exists to retain your sense of anxiety and concern well after the problems are solved. You may awake one morning to realize the crisis has passed … only you didn’t take the time to notice!

Be sure to keep this document for reference in the future. It is all too easy to lose a balanced perspective and overlook the many areas that are working well.

NOW CAN WE LOOK AHEAD?

With the satisfaction document close at hand (Glued to your forehead! Pinned to your shirt!), begin to establish your objectives for the year.

• Define the areas that will best prepare your organization for the opportunities a
new year holds.
• Define and evaluate areas that have not lived up to your expectations.
• Separate the minnows from the whales; know your impact priorities.
• Project your priorities six months in advance – what preparation is required?
• Finalize your agenda and plan of action for the new year.
• Begin to establish your areas of focus for the short and long term with your
staff members.

Now that the two documents are complete, be sure to compare the results. I have no doubt that your bottom line looks pretty good. Sit back and enjoy the many assets of your organization and what you, and those with whom you are associated, enjoyed and accomplished.

SYNCHRONIZE YOUR RESOURCES

Prior to the end of the year it is essential that your entire staff be on the same page. They, too, have the responsibility as professionals to define their individual objectives and strategies for the new year. Establish your expectations for their participation in the planning process. Is it time to redefine the job descriptions of your staff based on their individual strengths and potential?

Review each member’s major and minor roles within your organization. I often find there is a desire to assume a greater responsibility for their roles when I share my confidence in their individual and professional skills. By nature, many underestimate their own potential or don’t want to step on another’s toes. Explain that steel tipped shoes may be required in your organization!

Obviously, the most qualified individuals to establish goals and objectives for your sales regions are the sales associates servicing those regions. While the overall company objectives will need to be established in your office and shared with your associates, it is only their expertise, knowledge and commitment that will allow these goals to be implemented and achieved.

In preparation for the new year, all parties should make the effort to write down the specifics of their individual goals. Schedule a meeting with each associate and ask that they come prepared with their objectives clearly defined. You may find instances where some goals are too lofty, or your perception of a territory’s potential has been overestimated, but a common ground can be found.

All parties gain a much greater insight for having participated in the process. Professionals expect and deserve to be a part of the process that establishes their goals for the year. No one wants to simply be told what their region must produce.

HO, HO . . . HUM!

Outside of the holidays and all they entail, has the month of December become a productivity wasteland? I have found that it completely breaks the rhythm nurtured over the previous months, and can take up to three months to re-establish. We all enjoy the holiday season, but is there a way to make this month a bit more rewarding professionally, retaining our focus and rhythm? With this concern in mind, I implemented two ideas.

Several years ago I began a December Promotion program which offers special incentives to our customers. The key to the program is that customers must see their representative and place orders during the month of December to receive the benefits of the promotion. Creating a sense of urgency (now) and the reality of a missed opportunity (don’t you dare), can be a very productive tool in gaining your customers’ attention at an undeniably hectic time of the year.

In addition to our December Promotion, I decided a year ago to change our company’s calendar year for forecasting purposes. Rather than starting our forecasted year on January 1, it begins December 1. By doing so, I believe it brings greater energy to a difficult month, and a heightened emphasis to starting the calendar portion of our year on the right foot. The objective is to insure that everyone is at full speed by January 1.

Not only did this maintain a better rhythm for the group, I found it to be much more efficient to prepare the forecasts a month earlier, as it preceded the clerical crunch inherent with a new year.

HOW YOU START…

The time to finalize your plans is well in advance. Use the excitement and anticipation – that back-to-school feeling – to maintain rhythm in your current year. It will allow you to begin your new year at full stride.

… IS HOW YOU WILL FINISH.

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2008. Duplication of this publication is permitted for both personal and business use. Excerpts may only be quoted with acknowledgment of INTERPERSONAL/INTERPERSONALBIZ.ORG as the source. For re-publication rights, please contact the editor at KEENAN@INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM

Vol. XXIII

Dear Manager,

The demands on management’s time can be voracious and unrelenting. What was once our priority must now be delegated to maintain balance and perspective toward the ever-changing needs of our organization. To say the least, this is very difficult. Have you ever completed a day and, in review, been unable to determine if an event occurred on that day or a previous day? As your organization continues to grow, so do the demands and expectations on your time. Everyone seems to want you. Are you effective in disciplining your time for those areas and individuals that can provide the greatest benefit to the organization as a whole?

From a personal perspective, I believe that on a daily basis this is management’s greatest challenge. My expectation to maintain a personal and intimate relationship with all aspects of my business is no longer realistic. What was once my ability to work closely with customers, manufacturers and sales associates must frequently be delegated to qualified assistants.

Certainly, I could make the effort to accomplish it all, and have, but in doing so the quality of my efforts and personal satisfaction diminish, and the greatest asset to my organization, its planning, takes a sabbatical. This chain of events occurs at some point for all managers. A lack of professional purpose and personal satisfaction can best describe this feeling. Conversations seem to become surface in nature, my creative juices dry up; what brought fulfillment in the past is now redundant.

For the manager, fighting these periodic cycles (and we all have them) signals a prime time for reevaluation. If we are unwilling to step back and redefine our personal and organizational objectives, we are destined to continue to accept our current set of circumstances.

In your estimation, have you made time available to focus on the aspects of your business life that can truly make an impact? I have found myself for periods of weeks and months in what can only be described as a “low impact” cycle. I worked as hard as in the past, the company wheels continued to spin and, upon reflection, my greatest achievement was that all disasters were avoided.

Ask yourself: Are any of these low impact cycles fulfilling? Are these periods meeting your long-term organizational needs? Because of a very demanding schedule, have you accepted a cruise control attitude towards your organization’s future? Have you instigated plans and procedures to accommodate all foreseen and potential circumstances? Are you willing to allow your business to simply take its own course?

This is not to suggest that within all organizations there is not daily planning, often low impact in nature, taking place. This month’s Interpersonal is dedicated to the “high impact” responsibilities for a strong business. The high impact aspects of business receive the least amount of our attention, yet without question hold our greatest opportunity. We must develop the resources that will insure our company’s future, energize those around us, sustain our fulfillment, and maintain our personal satisfaction.

As a business owner or manager, beyond all the individual needs and responsibilities of our associates and employees, what is the single priority for yourself and these individuals? There is only one: the continued profitability of your company. If our companies are no longer viable and profitable in the marketplace, all of the peripheral concerns become meaningless. Similarly, I have always stated my absolute and sincere desire for our manufacturers’ profitability, for in the absence of their profitability, my position no longer exists! If we are unwilling to commit the time to those resources that will insure our own financial health, our organization’s collective future is in jeopardy. Find and develop these resources; create a Circle of Influence.

A CIRCLE OF PEERS

Whether you are the company’s owner or manager, I believe all of us have peers to whom we truly listen; people with whom we have a primary relationship. When we are involved in conversations with these people, their words ring true. They have a much deeper understanding of our daily lives and offer an objective, non-emotional viewpoint of our current direction. High impact management is a product of strong primary relationships.

There are two very distinct qualities in a primary relationship. These individuals have earned our highest regard for their opinions and approach to their profession. Their words and examples challenge us; their thought process is fundamentally sound and their judgment and integrity consistent with our own.

The second quality these individuals provide is the courage to be honest. Their objective opinions can address a very specific, immediate topic or offer a general assessment of our current direction. These individuals have the rare quality to almost feel our pain, and to enjoy our success as if it were their own. And yet, their greatest influence is in their ability and willingness to tell us when we are off track, and we listen. As we mature in our career, these are the individuals within our industry who will assist in illuminating our path. These are the peers who should make up our Circle of Influence.

THE PERSONAL CIRCLE

There are individuals who, from a personal health and financial perspective, can often individually or collectively impact your life and business at an even higher level than yourself! Unlike a circle of peers, your personal circle includes professionals outside your specific industry for whose time and guidance you most likely pay. Building and maintaining an ongoing relationship with your personal lawyer, accountant, banker, clergy or physician can hold keys to your ultimate success. Depending on your position within your organization, it is not uncommon for many of your personal/professional relationships to impact your company as well.

You will note I used the word “personal” to describe each of these professionals. Have you personally chosen these advisors? It is more common than we are willing to admit that these relationships are not chosen, but are developed purely by chance. NOW is the time to analyze your existing primary relationships. Are these the individuals whose advice you would trust? On a daily basis, are these the individuals who are capable of assisting you in making the very best possible decisions for you personally and for your organization? Unfortunately, it is human nature to make use of their services only in times of need or personal crisis.

We all know individuals who have suffered the effects of bad advice. In times of crisis your options are reduced, yet decisions must be made. I would be willing to guess that most of us decide to proceed with what is familiar, hoping that what is familiar is good enough! Establishing confidence in your circle is essential.

SCHEDULE TIME TO MEET WITH AT LEAST
ONE MEMBER OF YOUR CIRCLE ON A WEEKLY BASIS

Now that we have discussed both the personal and professional influence in your circle, take the next step by writing down their names on a piece of paper. With your current list complete, resolve to make it a priority to meet with these individuals on a consistent basis. Outside of your family, are there relationships more important than these?

Your Circle of Influence will reward you, strengthen you and, when given the chance, lead you. There is so much opportunity for the low impact aspects of our lives. Resolve to give equal billing to the high impact and influential aspects. What greater priority can we bring to ourselves individually, or to our company, than to surround ourselves with a group of personal and professional advisors who will strengthen the whole? There is never enough time to meet all of the expectations in our day. Now could be the time to change our priorities, making time for the obvious impact that only these types of advisors can provide.

So much of our lives seem to be left up to fate (and often default!). There is huge benefit in maximizing the strengths of this group towards one single purpose: our future. One of the greatest values in these relationships is inspiration. We can all become so involved in our life and business that a new perspective will be both enlightening and refreshing. These individuals should challenge you and, by doing so, will bring you personal satisfaction for having made an impact on your personal and professional lives.

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2008. Duplication of this publication is permitted for both personal and business use. Excerpts may only be quoted with acknowledgment of INTERPERSONAL/INTERPERSONALBIZ.ORG as the source. For re-publication rights, please contact the editor at KEENAN@INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM