Interpersonal Business

Vol. LXXIX

Dear Manager,

At the time it seemed to be a startling comment, perhaps made by an individual who had recently been burned. Now, after thirty-five years of business experience, I’m inclined to believe his sentiment was very close to being on track. Perhaps he overstated his position a bit; I would prefer to go on record stressing only two NEVERS.

Having said this, I’ve certainly seen some well thought out and well-conceived partnerships flourish for extended periods of time. I’ve also personally entered into some successful limited partnerships. My observations over the years, however, show me that the vast majority of business partnerships are fundamentally flawed from the outset. We’ve certainly all seen them fail with similar ramifications and emotions to a divorce, but often even more costly!

THE ENGAGEMENT

This is when two or more individuals develop the concept or strategy for their partnership. Often a partnership is consummated for one or more of the following reasons: capital, convenience or courage. Truth be told, these have also been known to be factors for life’s ultimate partnership: marriage.

In either case, if this in any way characterizes the fundamentals of a new partnership, all parties destine it for failure, disappointment, and potential loss of significant resources. How can so many be so naïve as to believe that this is a match made in heaven? Invariably, and in conflict with most fundamental business judgments, rather than a partnership they are wrapped up in a dream. A dream is a wondrous thing; failure to exercise an equal dose of caution and reality can make it a nightmare.

Capital: The financial resources of two or more people are certainly greater than one. All this confirms is that now there are additional resources to lose. Courage: Many lack the confidence to proceed on their own. This implies that a second party’s judgment and blessing should hold greater relevance than ones own. Convenience: Finally, a vehicle such as a partnership just might be a means to the escape you’ve been pining for!

My best suggestion is to enter any new relationship with a fair degree of suspicion and street smarts. You not only need to evaluate your own motives but clearly evaluate the motives of each of the other players. Are they consistent and compatible with your own? Remember, you are personally liable for their financial investment in equal parts to your own! Are all members willing to not only dwell in the dream but to also tackle the realistic and difficult issues that certainly need to be addressed in advance?

The inception is clearly your window of opportunity to discuss the specific roll of each partner, the financial participation, and the short and long-term objectives. It’s in this period of blush when everyone’s best intentions are clear and everyone will be granted benefit of the doubt. What commitment of time will each member be expected to make, and how will this time be compensated? Who will be making the day-to-day decisions required to seamlessly run a business? There’s nothing worse than “group think” to focus limited resources on whether or not to stock Coke or Pepsi in the company fridge. Seriously, this is absolutely how ridiculous it can become!

By addressing all of these issues you will be providing this entity some form of foundation that provides at least some chance for survival. You should also be evaluating your own level of comfort in proceeding at this stage. With any indication whatsoever that all parties aren’t on the same page, I would bolt, no questions asked!

THE MARRIAGE LICENSE

Prior to consummating this relationship, make sure you have fully discussed your individual and collective exit strategies. What if one party would need to move to another state to be with family? What if a partner dies, how will their stock and compensation be addressed? Have you addressed a buy and sell agreement should members leave or to be asked to leave? This is also the time to document all discussions and execute a mutually agreed upon contract or letter of intent. Leave absolutely nothing to doubt or interpretation.

LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN PLEASE

Now that you’ve crossed every “t” and dotted every “i”, we must also remember that in most cases this is a new endeavor. Often it’s not “the expected” that brings down a partnership, it’s “the unexpected.” All of a sudden, one member’s participation has been significantly altered in some form (in the best interest of the partnership) and unexpected responsibilities are now clearly in his lap. The partnership is now clearly “out of sync.” Do you abide by the original plan of equity under a completely different scenario, or is there a vehicle and scheduled time to review the initial (albeit uneducated) initial plan? If a structure is not established to do so, and in many cases it simply won’t be, the founding pillars will begin to crumble.

Similar to any relationship, a partnership is no stronger than the health and satisfaction of all parties. All parties must think in terms of protecting the interests of others, often before their own. If all partners rely on this fundamental axiom, no partner’s interests “should” be in a position to be individually compromised. The checks and balances should currently be in place and prepared to address all issues in an open forum.

Family and friends often find themselves considering partnerships. While there’s significant benefit in having a history with a potential partner, more often than not these are a form of convenient partnerships. This single question should be asked: With what I know of this individual, is he or she the best possible person to protect and enhance my financial future? If there are others with greater abilities and resources, wouldn’t you clearly owe it to yourself to proceed in that direction? Sadly, the very best way to ruin a relationship is to enter into a partnership!

Quality partnerships are founded on the premise that each member has the individual abilities to significantly enhance the group as a whole, be it financial or intellectual. Each partner holds significant investment in some form and holds substantial respect from other members of the team. In fact, it’s likely that there’s a substantial sense of unease at the thought of losing a member. This alone will serve to assist in protecting the individual interests of all parties.

Significant quantities of trust and integrity are fundamental to a successful partnership. To solve the interpersonal relationships of a partnership is only the first of many steps. Success also demands a significant product or service that creates benefit to the marketplace. Without this, it just won’t matter how perfectly cohesive a group of partners might be! In the end, you must be fully prepared in word and deed to give more than you receive … at least from your perspective.

I hope this reflection on partnerships sheds light on some of the pressure points in this momentous business decision. My objective is to bring pause to the process; while there are certainly matches made in heaven, they are rare. Many principles of business partnerships are no different than those of romantic partnerships. Neither comes with a lifetime guarantee. Once the courtship is complete, take the plunge or beat feet!

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2011. 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. LXXVIII

Dear Manager,

It’s been suggested (at least by me) that one of the highest priorities in management is to surround oneself with exceptional people. I feel we’d have to agree that in essentially every case, the very best organizations we’ve observed flourish within this single advantage. I’d suggest, then, that the second priority (to use a classic real estate term) would be to put these resources to their “highest and best use.”

While having the very best people in a significant position of strength in ones organization does not insure success, it’s my primary criteria for evaluating the potential of a company. While some companies can certainly stumble their way along in first generation, others are debating the nuances of sixth generation. This is what we all strive for. While both may succeed, the contrasts are palpable.

I’d like to approach this month’s issue based on the assumption that we have, in fact, achieved nirvana and our exceptional team is now in place. Now that this is the case, it’s time to move our focus to their highest and best use.

Play Ball!

I’ve always been a big baseball fan. While many may describe the game as slow, once the nuances and heritage are fully understood, it truly becomes a glorious reflection of life, sport, and competition. As long-time readers can attest, I often find analogies between sports and business; baseball is no exception. What other sport relies more on individual competition, the pitcher, the hitter, and eight other players waiting to assist should they be called upon? The intensity of the confrontation between pitcher and batter has even been compared to a medieval clash of knights.

As a big Seattle Mariner fan, and occasional Yankee fan (the last few years more occasional than not) I’ve taken a great interest in the managers of both teams in the 1990s: Lou Pinella and Joe Torre. Both are former Yankee players with traditions, levels of success, and championships seldom heard of in sport. There must be some lessons to be learned here.

As I watched Lou’s Mariners one season set or tie records for most wins in the history of the game, I began to wonder what the magic was. What was it that created this obviously special team? While the Mariners had a crew of very good players, the true super stars were nowhere to be found. What was the secret?

Certainly good fortune graced this team with members who enjoyed and truly believed in one another. Yet, it was clearly Lou who became the glue for this historic season. His sense of timing and his outright respect for each and every player was an amazing motivating force. In one breath, his frankness about a player’s current poor performance was awash with indignant confidence in this same individual’s ability to compete and succeed the next time he was called upon, most likely when the game was on the line.

Over the season, in literally dozens of instances, I’d see Lou make unconventional strategic decisions that would consistently work in his favor: a player in a hitting slump asked to pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth hits a home run; a call to the bull pen for a pitcher who’d been creamed in their last three consecutive appearances shuts out the opposing team; leaving the slowest runner on base in a “must score situation” and seeing him pull off a double steal when he hadn’t stolen a base all season. All of these decisions were made when the game was on the line. I watched all this with my laymen’s eye thinking, “OH NO, not him, not now of all times!!” Boom, we’d win.

These players knew that Lou absolutely believed in them, often more than they could have possibly believed in themselves. When we dig deep as a manager, knowing the organization can only win as a team, it becomes evident that we must first and foremost instill our confidence, and then rely on the team. Lou couldn’t throw a strike, steal a base, or hit in the winning run, but he can build the confidence in a team that will.

Countless times a player who’d been asked to always be prepared was put in at a critical moment and achieved well beyond their historical or typical performance. This decision alone, regardless of the outcome, instilled confidence that only one’s manager can possibly provide. With time, these situations became commonplace, the parties involved simply knew that a successful outcome was imminent. And consistently it was.

What an amazing lesson for all of us. We often let sleeping dogs lie as it relates to our key staff members. Are we using these staff members to their full potential? Are there areas of expertise untapped due to our confidence in their current role? Could members of our staff find themselves underutilized and unfulfilled in their current role? Are we giving these fine-tuned assets of our organization our personal time to assess our collective needs? Finally, have we recently acknowledged their value in word, deed, or a personal note of sincere thanks?

What Position Can I Play, Coach?

Have you ever considered mixing up the duties of your staff on occasion? Beyond their gaining a greater understanding of yours and others’ roles, this can certainly become a great insurance policy against future unexpected events or loss of staff members. How can you better understand ones strengths or capacity without testing their limits? How can you possibly show your confidence in your sixteen-year-old with a new driver’s license without handing them the keys to your favorite sports car? How can one show their commitment and dedication to you, having never fully been put in a position of ultimate trust?

Please, Coach, Just Give Me the Ball . . .

The summer I graduated from High School I worked at a grocery store in the produce department (as I had for a number of summers). The produce manager was going on vacation, and I was the only assistant he had. I begged him for the chance to manage the department in his absence. This was a good-sized store, and I remember a significant reluctance from the store’s manager. But I had my department manager’s support. The store manager reluctantly agreed, and I was sent up to the plate.

Rather than my usual 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM shift, I’d show up at 3:00 AM each morning with the store’s alarm code in hand. By the time the store manager arrived around 8:00 AM, I had the department well in hand. By the time the doors opened at 9:00 AM the produce department sparkled (if I do say so myself). I was on a mission, always staying late to complete the next day’s ordering. I tried to be as nonchalant as possible with regards to my efforts, never letting anyone know of my extra hours. This became my victory, not for anyone else, simply to prove to myself I could do it. Clearly, this vivid memory suggests how meaningful this opportunity was to me at the time. Have you any consistent parallels in your own life, or in your management of others?

Tell Me Again, What’s My Job Description?

Think in terms of how our own or our staff members’ job descriptions have evolved over the years. Was this by design, or simply determined by needs defined at a different place in time? When was the last time you individually met with staff members to determine their (current as compared to former) desires, interests, and observations of their positions within your company?

Surrounding yourself with the very best is only the opening day in establishing your lineup card. Positioning, confidence, and reassessment are all part of winning the series.

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2011. 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. LXXVII

Dear Manager,

There’s no question that these lessons greatly assist the survivors as well as those who venture into business in the future. Which of these lessons might apply to our own business experience? Is there a connection, and can we learn and apply these lessons without having to pay our predecessors’ price?

As suggested, in the aftermath there were many lessons learned including the fundamental need for profitability, and never to put one’s cart ahead of one’s horse. Why did some survive while others with much greater funding and clear potential proceed to fail? The single answer that seems to continue to apply to those who survived the test of time suggests the following: Those who found success never deviated from their model of insuring a positive and clearly rewarding customer experience!

The successful companies only followed applications that would allow them to enhance or improve upon current standards of service for their potential customers in the marketplace. Those who survived executed this premise very well. While it didn’t guarantee their success, in retrospect failure to do so certainly negatively impacted their potential or led to their ultimate demise. How can this lesson enhance our own “more low-tech” organizations?

HOW “USER FRIENDLY” IS YOUR ORGANIZATION?

Anyone who’s spent time on the Internet with business-to-business or business-to-consumer websites will understand the frustrations that can occur in conducting business in this forum. By nature, Internet commerce best accommodates those individuals or companies that are fully prepared to complete an immediate transaction. In many cases these sites are ready and willing to finalize the sale, if we could just figure out what information is required to do so! I’ve found the circuitous routes used by some websites to guide me to the “purchase” button make me want to jump in my car and drive to the mall! Aren’t they trying to grease my path to this mutually productive outcome? One would think so, yet many have failed in this most obvious area of conducting business.

From the outside looking in, how user friendly is your company’s sales process system? Have you ever asked someone with no current awareness of your product or service to evaluate their ability to purchase from your company? There are now very successful companies who are doing this for the high tech industry, so why not for the low tech industries as well?

As often as not we are developing client relationships with individuals with little or no understanding of what we do, who we are or what benefits and services we can provide them. Wouldn’t there be significant value in reviewing current marketing materials, product initiatives, and customer support agendas with this thought in mind? Are you effectively communicating and translating “your best sales effort” with regards to your most basic sales initiatives?

POINTS OF HUMAN CONTACT

This is a great place to begin the process. When a new or existing client initiates contact with your company, what will their experience be? Whether with a receptionist, through customer service, or with a professional sales person, will this be a positive and memorable experience? Do these individuals have the current information readily available to assist this person in meeting their immediate needs? Even though not all these individuals may be classified as “sales people,” do they fully understand their personal value in meeting the sales objective?

Since sales is not part of their formal “job description,” these first lines of contact may not fully understand or implement this clear objective. These individuals must learn to consider every potential line of contact as a sales initiative, and be trained to effectively do so. How often have we contacted companies, only to get the run around with regards to gaining basic information about a product, service, or placing an order? It can make a frustrated client wonder, “Do they want me to buy something or not!?” Develop a training system that will allow these individuals to provide at least basic sales procedures. We must also provide instant access to individuals who can meet the needs of more complex customer demands.

This process should not include leaving messages on a voice messaging system. The objective here is to focus on providing an exceedingly satisfactory customer experience. We want to create the “wow factor” by anticipating their needs, having the answers to their questions, and having all members of our staff on the same page in meeting this goal.

It’s easy for organizations to take these fundamentals for granted. Management often assumes that its staff instinctively understands the need to communicate a positive and supportive sales message with each client interaction. I would encourage you not to assume this. Now is the time to (re)establish a company-wide initiative with regards to this clear objective.

A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MISSION STATEMENT

Based on the assumption we can’t assume anything, wouldn’t this be an excellent time to develop a document and single agenda relating to this objective? This then becomes the standard by which all members of your staff will be judged. As managers we must first establish the standards, and then be prepared to provide the training to fulfill this objective. Finally, we must also – and very consistently – send a strong message in support of this program. Awards should be established for superior performance, perhaps on a monthly basis. Those who are in a position to benefit, including the sales team, should also recognize individuals who have provided excellent sales support.

IN FACT, ASSUME NOTHING!

One would like to assume that in each and every sales environment, our sales people would understand the value and importance of creating a positive customer experience. While this would be true in many instances with our best sales people, it’s not the case in many instances. Creating these standards of customer experience might seem obvious to management, yet fulfillment is totally dependent on the message takers: your sales people.

An addendum to your mission statement should be targeted directly at the point of sale. This document should not only suggest your mission and its merit, it should also suggest the minimum standards of performance related to your expectations in this area. These standards should clearly state defined timelines relating to customer follow up, problem solving, assistance to one another in the sales arena, and the principles relating as to how to exceed your clients’ expectations.

We are no stronger as a company than the message embraced by each and every member of our staff. Clearly these ideals will feed off one another once a consistent and inspired message is delivered each and every day by your management team. You need to become the exception rather than the rule if you are going to improve your “customers’ experience” with the objective to truly dazzle the marketplace. In fact, this could easily become the title of your mission statement.

ENHANCED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND OUR
ABILITY TO DAZZLE THE MARKETPLACE

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2011. 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.

Vol. LXXVI

Dear Manager,

Outside of yourself, and perhaps inclusive of yourself, can you think of a single individual more important than the organization as a whole and all of its team members? Too often I’ve seen management side step this perspective, allowing their decisions relating to individuals to impair their vision, putting their entire organization in peril.

PART OF THE PROBLEM OR PART OF THE SOLUTION

Challenging economic times demand of us as managers to insist upon staff members whose single focus is being “part of the solution.” We can try to get away with less when the pipeline is full; we most certainly can’t when the well begins to run dry. By accepting less, we’re now part of the problem. Often management is looked upon to have and/or implement “all of the answers” to solve current challenging economic times. Excuse me, but it’s only the heroic efforts of the full team that holds the greatest potential for solving challenging economic scenarios. Each member is personally accountable, each member holds personal investment and ownership. Part of the problem…Part of the solution!

There are two fundamental and at times conflicting factors that provide significant advantages, while simultaneously creating conflict in our ability to manage our staff on a day-to-day basis.

TENURE VS. MERIT

This is certainly a decades-old, if not centuries-old debate. While most of us might think of systems based tenure and merit in terms of education or civil service, these systems apply to business as well.

First of all, I’d like to assume there are significant advantages inherent in tenured employees. Many of these individuals instill a sense of heritage to ones organization. As managers, we can rely on their experience to assist us in leading our organization in its forward direction. They may understand the rhythms of our organization having survived and excelled in both the good times as well as the more challenging. They may also act as a source of stability for those who have not yet matured within the organization. There is no greater virtue than loyalty in its purest form.

Having said this, I’ve noted instances where tenured employees are no more than dead wood and a full-blown anchor to the organization. It can appear on occasion that these individuals have exaggerated their self-importance far beyond any reasonable perspective. They soon take for granted their full responsibilities to the whole of the organization. They may even take personal advantage through the knowledge and susceptibilities of the organization that they’ve been entrusted to protect. They’ve paid their dues, and are coasting toward retirement. Tenure based solely on a foundation of “entitlement” should not be rewarded through sustained employment by any organization.

I recently came across a word that really caught my attention: meritocracy. When compared to the concept of tenure, I believe its meaning becomes fairly clear. All organizational members from the sweeper to the President hold the fundamental responsibility to bring merit to their profession as well as to the company.

There is no greater pleasure for any manager than to have an individual who excels in their position. Is there any better reward than to see such an individual advance within the company? He or she has worked hard, gained knowledge and experience to strengthen the company as a whole, and has been rewarded on merit. Why else would we choose to do what we do, if not to enjoy the satisfaction in this process? These are the paybacks for the substantial responsibilities that we hold, and they can only be fulfilled with a staff that is focused and absolutely committed to bettering themselves and the roles they play on behalf of the organization.

I would suggest that in debating the value of tenure versus merit there are no black and white conclusions. All members of our staff must be a positive influence regardless of event or circumstances, merit or tenure. Failure to address the dynamics of this issue on a case-by-case basis is only delaying the inevitable, while creating needless additional risk to the organization as a whole.

You might ask how this is possible. Certainly a manager wouldn’t intentionally make a bad decision of this significance, but intentions and reality are two very different action points. Managers want to protect and nurture. What they often fail to account for is the “chain of events factor” in their tenure versus merit calculations.

Each situation has the potential to set off a chain of events that will continue to impact the company over time. Managers must use their “gut” and experience to think in terms of second, third, and fourth generation with regards to the ramifications of the decision at hand. In most cases the decision is not the issue (it’s obvious!). The issue is the ability to take action that will continue to move each individual and the organization as a whole productively and enthusiastically into the future.

This ties into the decisions we make as managers in less stressful times. The greatest difference is that we have much greater control of the timing, the players, and have a much larger window of opportunity. If we’re unwilling to put this level of significance into the thought process and the actions we must make on an ongoing basis, it would suggest we are also fully entitled to the outcome.

To finally address the answer to my earlier challenge: No, there are no individuals more important than the whole of the organization. I believe this would and does include all of us as well. We’re here to create a successful environment not only for today, but also for future generations to improve upon. All members should feel risk in the event that they fail to bring benefit and a positive influence to this institution.While this topic is very fundamental, its premise is all too often ignored in a business climate. Using the academic concept of tenure versus merit, apply this to your organization. Your sales and office staff are the educators of your clients and caretakers of your company’s promise for the future. Are you more likely to succeed with a “teacher” who feels entitled to their job and is simply putting in time, or with one whose enthusiasm, creativity and loyalty, regardless of length of employment, merits them their position? Solve the equation.

It reminds me of a television commercial I recently saw for Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers, and it absolutely applies to this discussion: “This is why logic makes sense!”

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2011. 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