Do Something Remark-Able

In Seth Godin’s 2003 book called Purple Cow, he challenged businesses to stop playing safe by continuing to do what they have always done, or making small changes to existing product/service lines, and rather try more radical ideas to take a market by storm. The business world is a bit different now than in 2003, but the principal remains very relevant, I believe. The opportunity to gain significant market share by coming out with revolutionary ideas for new products or services are just as good now as they were 10 years ago.

Seth used the analogy of a Purple Cow. Nobody really notices one cow from the next. They are very familiar and pretty boring. A PURPLE cow however. Now that is something that would grab your attention and be something to talk about. Imagine if you could come up with a purple cow in your business. What level of free publicity would that provide and in these days of social media, how fast could that positive talk spread? How “able” is the idea to make people “remark” about it to their friends and become “remarkable”? What sort of additional sales and profit could that lead to?

Seth provided a guideline in his article to help you in the thinking process. I have included it below and I encourage you to talk to your staff about this list and challenge them to think about purple cow ways you can change the company. It doesn’t need to be a totally new and radical product that will cost millions to develop either. It can just be a radical new way to answer the phones or provide customer support, or guarantee customer satisfaction.

Here is Seth’s list to help you in the thinking process:

1. Differentiate your customers. Find the group that’s most profitable. Find the group that’s most likely to influence other customers. Figure out how to develop for, advertise to, or reward either group. Ignore the rest. Cater to the customers you would choose if you would choose your customers.
   
2. If you could pick one undeserved niche to target (and to dominant), what would it be? Why not launch a product to compete with your own that does nothing but appeal to that market?
   
   
3. Create two teams: the investors and the milkers. Put them is separate buildings. Hold a formal ceremony when you move a product from one group to the other. Celebrate them both, and rotate people around.
   
4. Do you have the email addresses of the 20% of your customer base that loves what you do? If not, start getting them. If you do, what could you make for them that would be super-special?
   
   
5. Remarkable isn’t always about changing the biggest machine in your factory. It can be the way you answer the phone, launch a new brand, or price a revision to your software. Getting in the habit of doing the “unsafe” thing every time you have the opportunity is the best way to see what’s working and what’s not.
   
6. Explore the limits. What if you’re the cheapest, the fastest, the slowest, the hottest, the coldest, the easiest, the most efficient, the loudest, the most hated, the copycat, the outsider, the hardest, the oldest, the newest, or just the most! If there’s a limit, you should (must) test it.
   
7. Think small. One vestige of the TV-industrial complex is a need to think mass. If it doesn’t appeal to everyone, the thinking goes, it’s not worth it. No longer. Think of the smallest conceivable market and describe a product that overwhelms it with its remarkability. Go from there.
   
8. Find things that are “just not done” in your industry, and then go ahead and do them. For example, JetBlue Airways almost instituted a dress code– for its passengers! The company is still playing with the gift certificates. A book publisher could put a book on sale for a certain period of time. Stew Leonard’s took the strawberries out of the little green plastic cages and let the customers pick their own. Sales doubled.
   
9. Ask, “Why not?” Almost everything you don't do has no good reason for it. Almost everything you don't do is the result of fear or inertia or a historical lack of someone asking, “Why not?”
   
10. What would happen if you simply told the truth inside your company and to your customers?

I challenge you to come up with a remarkable, purple cow in your business and then milk it for all it’s worth!

For a full copy of Seth’s article, click here.

Andy Burrows

Business Advisor, Coach and Mentor.

Find me at www.iconbusinesssolutions.co.nz

Need More Time in Your Day?

(Adapted from an article by Trent Hamm, March 2009)

If one of your New Year resolutions was to spend more time doing _______ , (you fill in the blank) just how will you find the extra time to achieve it? One way is to stop doing some other activity, but that is not always practical as it may be important and necessary for the successful running of your business.

Another way is to get better organized and find some “extra” time in your day to use as you see fit. But how do you do this? There are many books and systems around on time management. Some are good and some are not. Rather than investing a lot in new software, try a few of these no cost ideas, implement them CONSISTENTLY, and together they should enable you to find some of that extra time you need to help achieve your New Year resolution.

1. Avoid multitasking like the plague.
Research has shown that multitasking has a similar level of effectiveness to someone smoking marijuana (without the benefit of feeling good). Switching from one task to another makes it difficult to tune out distractions and can cause mental blocks that can slow down your progress

Focus on only one task at a time. Pick the most important one and let the rest slide. Work on that one task in bursts – at most an hour in length. Then stop and catch up on any incoming messages you need to deal with, take a break, and so on. To optimise your results, bunch similar activities together and block out dedicated time in your calendar to complete them. If you have client calls to make, set aside a regular time each week in your diary, then commit and follow through, without getting distracted by any other activity.

2. Keep a notebook with you and write down your ideas.
We all have lots of good ideas float through our heads throughout the day: things we need to do, ideas for future directions, facts we need to look up. Many people try to just trap these in their conscious mind until they can do them, but doing that makes it harder to concentrate and really bear down on an important task.

Instead of doing this, keep a pocket notebook with you at all times to jot down any small things that pop into your head. This enables you to quickly clear the mind and return your focus to the (more important) matter in hand.

3. Process documents/mail/ideas once or twice a day.
Take some sort of action on all of those stored-up items – toss them in the trash, file them away, take care of the task, pencil it in on your calendar, or so on. I have a small sticker on my monitor saying R.A.F.T. This reminds me to handle a piece of paper only once and do something with it: get RID of it (give it to someone else), ACTION it, FILE it or TOSS it in the bin.

The goal needs to be eliminating everything in your “inbox”. You should strive to get to “empty” once a day, with everything in there dealt with in some capacity. If you let it build up, it will grow out of control.

4. Keep a project list – and focus on it at least an hour a day.

Keep a “to-do” list that is a maximum of thirty items long for projects that are perhaps not urgent but you would like to get done. Order it by the date you thought of it so that the oldest one is always at the top of the list. If the list has thirty projects on it and you want to add another one, you need to decide on which one to delete. It probably will be the oldest one as it will be the project you are least interested in.

5. Stop procrastinating

Procrastination in itself isn't bad. What's bad is what happens to whatever you're procrastinating about when you do it. Problems grow. Misunderstandings multiply. Rubbish piles up. Dealing with things when they're smaller not only saves time but makes it much easier on yourself too.

6. Learn what your personal time wasters are and eliminate them. Personally, I can easily spend forty-five minutes browsing the internet in the morning checking out the Herald online, Metservice and other “essential” information sites. Guess what? It will make NO positive difference to my business and I will eliminate it. Once you know what your favourite personal time wasters are, it's usually easy to come up with a strategy to stop doing them. Can’t decide on what to wear in the morning? Decide the night before and lay it out.

5. Keep a PRIORITIZED to-do list for each day.
Keep a to-do list and review it each day. Decide on the 5 MOST IMPORTANT things that need to be done and then rank them from most important to least. As a guide to deciding what to start on use the self-question, “if I could only work on ONE item today, what would that item be?” This will be your #1 item. Start on it and try to finish it (or reach a logical stopping point) before moving on to the next item.

The most important task may not be the most fun or the easiest. In fact it may be the worst one and one that you would prefer to avoid. Suck it up and as Brian Tracy suggests, Eat That Frog! Look at your lowest pay-off activities and consider delegating to someone else, or contracting these out. Consider a bookkeeper for example to process your day-to-day accounts.

6. Check email only twice a day.
Email is almost always a major time sink. It’s rarely a simple matter of just reading messages. Many messages demand responses, and some messages demand follow-up tasks. Leaving that email window open throughout the day ensures only one thing – your concentration will be interrupted constantly by messages that come in that need responses.

The solution is to simply close the program. Open it only two times a day or so and do an email session, where you deal with everything in your inbox. Then, close the program completely (including notifications) and move onto something else. If it’s truly urgent, someone will come directly to you, so don’t worry about missing out on something vital.

7. Create Procedures and Check Lists

Document the specific way you do things and begin to standardise your processes. Creating ‘How-To’ guides for your core activities will make it easier for you to tweak them over time and hand them over to someone else. Plus, by using your processes, you can start to repeat your successes time after time.

8. Automate Actions

Creating ‘set and forget’ systems will save you buckets of time. Assess each activity to determine how you could put it on autopilot. For example, when people sign up to your online newsletter, you can automate the thank you message they receive. You could set up a series of autoresponder messages to provide clients with information at pre-determined intervals. Or create a FAQ page on your website to direct people to, rather than repeating yourself.

9. Take lots of microbreaks (or at least switch to very different tasks regularly).
One of the biggest enemies in a workday is lethargy. It’s easy to find yourself in a low-energy period, sitting there having trouble keeping your eyes open or concentrating on anything. Once you’re there, it’s often very hard to pull yourself out of it – you’re running on low energy for the rest of the day, even if you do rebound a bit.

The best way to combat it is to never let your energy level get that low. That means not sitting at your desk or your work area for long periods. Get up and move on a regular basis. Instead of eating a big, heavy lunch, eat smaller snacks throughout the day. Stretch. Drink water. Do this as often as you can – bookend task sessions with a microbreak where you do these things.

10. Become fitter.
I know that I perform better and can get through work faster if I am feeling good and physically fitter. Do not ignore your personal well-being and schedule some time (ie. book an appointment with yourself in your diary) every day for some physical exercise.

A bit of short term pain will have tremendous long term gain, both for your work and your personal life.

There's a saying, "It's better to light a candle than curse the darkness". The good news is that these strategies to leverage your time and get more done in less time will help you light the candle in your business and help lower your stress. For help in implementing any of these strategies contact me at andyburrows@iconbusinesssolutions.com or phone me on 09 912 1901 for a no obligation chat and further information.

Are Business Plans a Waste of Time?

As a business advisor it may seem strange that I should ask that question at all. Don’t all advisors/mentors/coaches stress the need to have a business plan and say things like, “fail to plan is a plan to fail”?

In my opinion it comes down to the type of business plan that is produced and the length of time it takes to produce it. Many business plans ARE a waste of time because they are too wordy, too “corporate”, don’t motivate staff and are not connected to the day-to-day operations of the business. I read an article recently on writing a business plan (unfortunately I can’t remember where) and it said that a business plan could take between 400 and 500 hours to produce. ARE YOU KIDDING! Who in small business ownership world has a spare 500 hours to produce a business plan, and probably one that no one will look at again for another year! Get real. That would be a HUGE waste of time.

What is of real value is the PLANNING PROCESS involved in putting a business plan together. It’s all about the journey, rather than the destination, in my opinion. I do encourage business owners to take some time (not 500 hours however) and examine where their business is at, what went right and wrong over the past 12 months (a SWOT analysis can help here), set some realistic goals for the next 12 months and think about the strategies, budget and tactics that will be required to achieve those goals. Then regularly review progress towards their goals using a combination of monthly reporting and quarterly themes that aligns people’s daily activities.

The output from this process need not be a 50 page document that is put on a shelf to gather dust, but a summary on a couple of pages that remains a living, working document on a constant basis. There are a million planning templates out there that you can use to base your own planning process off. Most unfortunately focus on the end document and tend to result in a long and dusty plan that fails to inspire. One model that I have used with success in several businesses is the 1-page plan (actually 2 if you use A4 instead of A3) developed by Verne Harnish of Gazelles.com.

It takes a bit of time and effort to develop the foundation part, but once you have done that, you can quickly update it on a quarterly and annual basis to provide a short but clear path to guide your business into the future. Here is the link to download a copy of Gazelle’s classic 1-page plan and then you can either go to their website to download a guide on completing it, buy his book, The Rockefeller Habits, that also explains it, or book a planning session with me to fast track you to success in 2012.

Andy Burrows

Business Advisor Phone 09 912-1901

Create the Right Environment in Your Company

An owner/manager is a motivator and hence you need to ensure that you, and any supervisors or managers reporting to you, are motivating your staff to come to work every day.

To generate job satisfaction and an environment that will stimulate and encourage your team to attend work you will need to assess and apply the following where possible;

1. Encourage internal promotion and select new recruits with care. Hire for attitude and cultural fit first, skills second.

2. Recognise and give regular feedback to your employees. Understand the importance of their work and show your appreciation.

3. Ensure people are paid fairly and competitively. Remember under-paying staff does de-motivate them and they should be rewarded accordingly.

4. Provide acceptable working conditions for all staff. Where possible implement new systems and technology and give your staff as many facilities as possible.

5. Always have regular meetings that identify work in progress. This can also be an ideal time to have group discussions and input for certain business activities or decisions.

6. Set and revisit objectives or targets. These must be clear, concise, measurable and regularly assessed to ensure that everyone is on track.

7. Measure individual staff member’s contribution.

8. Set high standards. These may require people to take an extra step or go out side of their boundaries, however this is what it is meant to do. You want your team to be able to take calculated risks and grow with your business.

9. Never make promises. You shouldn’t make promises if your intentions are otherwise. Offering rewards and then retracting them will make your staff angry and lack confidence in you.

10. Be honest with your staff. If you have bad news tell them as it is better coming from you instead of anyone else. Honesty also relates to good news. Praise them where you can.

11. You must set an example to your staff as if you imply a bad or unprofessional impression then they will assume that this is the standard the behaviour will be accepted.

12. Measure absenteeism and staff turnover. This will be clear indicator if staff are finding their positions difficult or unsatisfying and will present a pattern of what the company must do to ensure that the position is filled should staff leave.

Having a fair, diplomatic and structured environment will keep your employees active and enjoying their jobs. By simply applying the techniques above you will be able to have a more efficient and accepting work environment for your employees to attend to every day.

For help in building the right environment and culture in your company, Contact Me by email or visit my website for other articles and resources - click here: Business coaching

Andy Burrows - Business Advisor

A Problem Shared....

Last month I started the first group “coaching” program for 2010, called the Icon Business MasterClass, at my office in Albany. Participants are well through the first “Your Business Defined” diagnostic phase and already seeing the benefits of coming on-board.

I knew from my experience that participants would receive tremendous value in the 3-way analysis that is conducted on their businesses, but I was pleasantly surprised of a benefit to the program that I did not rank nearly as high as the participants themselves.

That benefit is the power of working in a group of like minded business owners and the opportunity to share their dreams and frustrations with people who they don’t know (yet), but can relate to very easily. This benefit is ranked ahead of the much lower cost that the group format affords and was the key driver to most people joining. The fact that they can save themselves a heap of money in the process is just a bonus!

If you have been thinking in the back of your mind that getting some outside advice on the business would be useful, but the cost and risks of signing up to an intensive 1-on-1 program are too high, I urge you to look at a group training type program. Obviously I would like it to be mine, but it doesn’t have to be. Look around in your area as to what is available, weigh up the benefits and costs of each and then DO IT. You won’t regret it, as long as you implement what you learn, steadily and consistently through the program and beyond.

For further details on how my Business MasterClass works and the commitment required, send me an email to andyburrows@iconbusinesssolutions.com