How to Engage Employees in Any Economy

Prior to my life as a Leadership Keynote Speaker and Executive Coach, I was a corporate executive for a long time. During that tenure, one of the most interesting comments I heard about my leadership results was:

"I don't know what you're doing over there but your teams sure are happy. They work longer hours than anyone else and they are always having fun."

This was even more interesting a comment because I heard it during the depths of the recession when hiring and salaries were frozen, our staff numbers were thinned through attrition, and all the "extras" were a distant memory. Now, I knew that this observation was a bit of an exaggeration because my teams obviously weren't always happy. No one in corporate America is, especially during tough times.

I understood why this senior executive held this perception, though. He sat nearby my team for a year or so and, during that time, he saw spontaneous dance contests, singing in the halls, boisterous and frequent conversations over the cubicle walls, and lots of group screaming in front a hallway television screen during Monday Night Football (we never got out in time for people to watch at home! Heck, it was advertising).

Why this comment was most interesting, though, was because I never set out to have a "happy" team. Now, don't get me wrong, I was thrilled that they were happy, that they got along, that they occasionally danced in the halls. But that wasn't the goal.

My priority was their welfare, their growth, and their security and, in turn, the welfare, growth, and security of my company.

Sometimes that meant they didn't like me very much. Sometimes it meant that they weren't so happy that day... or week. If I knew that their thinking I was Attila the Hun occasionally was getting them through a challenge, then I was o.k. with that.

Ultimately, they climbed over that challenge, then another, then another. They knew they had earned the "stuff" to make them successful. They knew that they were valuable. That's why they were happy. That's why they sang in the halls.

As a leader, you need to care deeply about your people's welfare, their growth, and their security. They sense it. They know when you think they are valuable. They also sense it when you don't.

In this case, the chicken and the egg argument is obvious.

You can't create a happy team by throwing parties or having group lunches.

The appearance of happiness in the halls, and often times of that ever elusive engagement, comes from an employee who knows that their organization and their leader cares about their welfare, is interested in growing their careers and not just in getting the job done, and is empowering and equipping them to create their own security no matter what challenge is thrown at them.

For more information on employee engagement, please feel free to contact me at http://www.thecoryellgroup.com

The Top Components of Strategic Planning

If you already know what is strategic planning, then the next thing you'd have to be familiar with before learning the process of strategic planning is its key components.

Number one on the list is vision. This summarizes what the organization desires to be, or how it wants the world in which it operates to be. It is a long-term view and focuses on the future. It should be one that should inspire and motivate the members of the organization.

Second is the mission statement. The mission statement is an predominant, endless statement of your purpose and goal. It also tells what your organization wants to accomplish and in what ways you plan to accomplish them. It's a pronouncement of the reason for your company's existence.

Next values are then specified. Values are the organization's basic beliefs about the way you would run the company or organization. It provides an idea to the management and staff on what behaviours is acceptable and what are not. Most of the time values is connected with the culture of the organization.

What follows is the setting of the goals, objectives and tasks. Goals are defined as a list of wide-range strategies and tactics that have to be done so that the company can reach its mission. Objectives on the other hand, are SMART (specific, measurable, action oriented, realistic and time bound) strategies or activities that are need to reach the company's goals and vision. Then, tasks are precise activities and actions members, employees have to carry out day by day. They, too, should be specific, measurable and time bound.

Then, there's the strategy. It is a blend of the results the company or organization want to achieve and the ways by which it is seeking to get there. Another name for strategy is roadmap because it tells the company what path to take so that the goal or vision can be achieved.

It is at this point that strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are pointed out. These four are simply represented by four letters - SWOT.

Also, there are the action items or plans. These are definite statements that point out the ways in which a goal will be accomplished. An example of which is stating that the company would have to use quality management software to evaluate quality of products or performance.

Second to the last is the scorecard. It is used to easily record the information of the key performance indicators and is also used to measure performance against the monthly targets.

Last but not the least is the financial assessment. Data gathered here are dependent on historical record and future predictions. This is used to plan and forecast the future, assisting you to have much better control over your organization's financial performance.

Strategic planning is important for any company that is poising itself for growth. As companies in various industries are working to provide their consumers with better, more targeted products and services, knowing how to work on quality management software which has become a rising imperative even for small businesses.

Map What Matters To People With Power

If you're going to deliver for someone, make it your priority to deliver up. That gives you breathing room to deliver for everyone else.

Figure out who holds power

You know where to start: your boss, plus your boss's boss and/or board of directors.

To determine the rest of your list, ask:

• Who above you in the organization will freak if you fail to deliver on commitments? This probably includes some of your boss' peers.

• Who, if they slacked off for a month, could destroy your ability to deliver? This includes most, perhaps all, of your directs.

• Who else must continue to cooperate for you to meet your significant commitments? Consider key customers, firms running important and hard-to-replace outsourced operations, and suppliers of critical components.

I call these people "powerholders"-the subset of your stakeholders who can make a real difference in your ability to deliver and reap rewards.

Map what you want from each other

Create a "Power Map." Make a spreadsheet, with a row for each powerholder or group of similar powerholders. Add these columns to your spreadsheet and drop in some bullet points. Or, if you're comfortable with mind-mapping or organization chart software, make an org chart and annotate it with this information:

On what bases are they formally rewarded: Sales? Variance from budget? Share price? How often: Quarterly? Annually? On what sets of data: Accounting data? CRM monthly reports? An industry report?

• What informal rewards are important to them: Industry visibility? Support for their "brand"-running a tight ship, being a great mentor, pulling off the impossible?

• What do they want from you/your role: No surprises? Achieving the quarterly sales target? New products to market faster than their peers' divisions?

• What do you want from them?

Catalog what you can do for (and to) each other

How could they help you get what you want? How could you help them get what they want?

Make sure to consider this question both from the capabilities you have today and from possibilities for the future. For example, your head of R&D wants external visibility as a leader in green materials. Later this year you'll be starting work on next generation, eco-savvy products. You could offer her the opportunity to become the public face of this initiative. In Influence Without Authority, Cohen and Bradford catalog ways you can build your power by helping others get what they want. Make a habit of noting what's important to the people you meet and identifying early and appropriate opportunities to use your resources to be of service.

If you're in a tough environment, you'd be wise also to keep an eye for the rough stuff. What could they do to you (especially below the radar) if they want to turn up the pressure on your group? Refrain from labeling people as "friendly" or "unfriendly" to you and your team; instead identify the current and potential flows of information, money, and support between your group and theirs.

Now, identify other stakeholders and their interests

When you can take a few more minutes, add the other groups of people who are interested in what you do and could help or hinder, but don't meet the power criteria above. Often these include:

• People who were passed over for your job

• Junior players who want to hitch to your star

• Diversity groups across the firm

• Customers (if your own customers are internal)

• Consultants who have worked with your group

• Who else is relevant for you?

Update your map as power shifts

Calendar a meeting with yourself at least quarterly to update your map. Consider the relationships between your powerholders and other stakeholders- who listens to whom. Determine your next actions to delight, satisfy, or minimize damage for your powerholders.

© 2012 Pam Fox Rollin

This excerpt by Pam Fox Rollin, courtesy of Editor Laura Lowell, is Rule 7 from "42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role" Second Edition. Pam Fox Rollin coaches executives to succeed in broader roles and guides senior teams to make the most of new talent. Pam is known as a dynamic speaker and valuable thought-partner to leaders navigating themselves and their organizations through complex change. You can get a free, no obligation excerpt for this book and others at the 42Rules book store.

Make Your Job Doable

Very few people thoughtfully manage the scope of their job. I suggest you do.

Reframe the criteria for success

There's no shortage of ways to view your job. At a minimum, there's what you think you're supposed to be doing, what your boss thinks, what your team thinks, and your by-now-buried job description. Chances are, these four views of your job are all different. Even worse, none of them may be doable.

You want to be evaluated on a short, relevant set of metrics. Refine your criteria to the critical three to five priorities, and then align expectations for what you will deliver.

While you'll find more flexibility in small and mid-sized companies, mid-level leaders in larger companies can sometimes alter formal company metrics. In any case, you can definitely use metrics to drive the off-P&L understanding of your function.

Organize your priorities

Let's start by considering what leaders do:

• Set direction (strategizing, planning)

• Engage and mobilize people (developing, communicating)

• Enable execution (hiring, budgeting, coordinating)

• Other stuff only you do

I offer the first three buckets with thanks to Sharon Richmond, now Director of Cisco's Change Leadership Center of Excellence, and my co-author on leadership research. Sharon developed this simple yet powerful model of what leaders do. The fourth bucket reflects the reality that many leaders have an "individual contributor" component to their job.

For each of these buckets, note the priority responsibilities of this job. Said an executive I interviewed: "You can only really care about three things at a time, maybe five." Note what you think you should be doing (how many hours per month you'd allocate to each, to maximize business results). Finally, leave yourself some time to participate, lead, or initiate cross-functional efforts that drive value to a broader P&L.

Then note other initiatives that take significant time, but either don't fall into these buckets or aren't priorities for you. "When you find an individual opportunity, hand it down with your mentoring," says Pat Arensdorf, CEO of Critical Diagnostics. "You can't do many of those yourself. Turn most over to your team."

Laying out your priorities in an organized way prepares you to have a conversation with your boss, coach, and others who can help you redesign your job and re-set expectations to line up with value for the business.

Deflect early requests to go off-mission

Especially in small companies or recession-decimated larger ones there tend to be too few bodies, which leads to many requests to take on extraneous tasks. While some of these "yanks" are non-negotiable, saying yes will derail you from bigger goals. Again from Pat Arensdorf: "You can be a hero by clearing the plate a bit but beware: you might be successful and this might become expected, and you may never get to what you were hired to do."

Another challenge arises for new leaders from underrepresented populations. "Finally! A Latina on a divisional exec team! Let's get her in the mentoring program." "Finally! Someone in product design with a materials engineering background. Let's pull him onto the green team." Etc. Totally understandable. And, if this is you, you're in for some tough but valuable conversations about when would be the right time for you to add which of these activities.

© 2012 Pam Fox Rollin

This excerpt by Pam Fox Rollin, courtesy of Editor Laura Lowell, is Rule 37 from "42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role" Second Edition. Pam Fox Rollin coaches executives to succeed in broader roles and guides senior teams to make the most of new talent. Pam is known as a dynamic speaker and valuable thought-partner to leaders navigating themselves and their organizations through complex change. You can get a free, no obligation excerpt for this book and others at the 42Rules book store.

Leadership Lessons From The BBC's George Entwistle

It's George Entwistle under the cosh from the House Of Commons Culture Select Commitee. The Director General is asked by Conservative MP Damian Collins, whether he is really just an Editor in Chief or The Director General?

It's a damning comment for it implies that Entwistle does not carry the bearing and presence of a man in full grasp of his leadership brief!

The Committee then goes on to compare the DG's leadership stance with that of News International's James Murdoch, who under inquisition from the culture committee, found constant refuge in the defence of 'Im sorry, I don't know'. Thus leading to the same charge of a 'wilful lack of curiosity' being levelled at both men.

One could also include G4S's CEO Nick Buckles in this category as well. Buckles exhibited a minimal grasp of the details of his companies Olympic recruitment strategy, and was made to look weak under pressure from the Home Affairs Select Committee.

All of which begs the question, as to why these leaders seem to lack one of the most vital of leadership qualities of all, which is curiosity. Did they ever have it? And if so where did it go? Or did they never have it in the first place, in which case what qualifies them to be leaders in this age of change?

Curiosity is vital for a leader. It comes from an open mind and genuine interest in both life and the organizations which they lead. Curiosity allows them to pick up on details, patterns and other behaviours which informs them about the current health of the organization.

And that curiosity for detail helps them instinctively pick up on mis-alignments that could lead the company off-track, or behave in a way that is contrary to the agreed core values.

The leader is the standard bearer of the organisations core values. It is from out of these values that they read the runes. Thats why it is vital for a leader to walk the floor; meet people; find out what is happening; whats new?

Sure there are meetings to attend to, challenges to handle and the future to strategize for. But surely one of the main functions of a leader is to maintain a daily curiosity on what is happening in the business?

Note: New thoughts, ideas and opportunities can just as easily turn up with a junior member of staff as they can with senior managers. Especially if you create a culture that encourages people at all levels to feel a part of the business.

When there is lots to do, and not much time to do it, a form of mental shutdown can occur. The leader, can easily become no more than a good general manager of stuff, rather than a champion of a new future. Thus being curious is not an aid to success, but more a hindrance, as they learn to manage on a 'needs to know' basis.

It's easy for habitual thinking to become the norm, as anything new simply adds to the mental workload. The leader can thus be highly capable in 'the known' and the familiar, but out of their depth when it comes to 'the unknown' and the not yet appeared.

To keep curiosity alive, the leader has to put aside time in their day, when they simply do nothing more than read the runes of the business. It may involve them just sitting alone in their office casting their mind out across the business to scan and sense. To get in touch with their gut feeling and instincts, which will pick up things which don't feel right.

Or they can get out and about, with a keen sense of curiosity, and talk to people in the business, to find out what they are up to. Howard Schultz, The CEO of Starbucks, religiously visits twenty five of his stores a week. Not to check up on staff, but because he is interested in what is happening in the coffee houses, where the essence of his business can be found.

As we enter times of change, leaders can't be expected to know everything. But by being curious, they can draw from others the vital nuggets of insights, that can create a bridge into the future.

You don't need to have all the answers. But it helps if you have a mindset that keeps you open minded to possibilities that exist outside of your habitual frames of reference. It's a leadership lesson George Entwistle will have learnt the hard way this week.

Martin Perry is a Leadership Coach. He helps leaders build confidence, self-assurance and calmness as they lead their people across the bridge of change.

Small Business Management

Running a small, start-up business has it share of ups and downs. When I launched my company nearly nine years ago, running my own small business has been both rewarding and challenging. It has enabled me to establish greater balance in my life as I have reduced the administrative burden that corporate America places on each of its employees and replaced it with more time spent on developing content for my clients.

Given the choice, running my own small business is the best option for me at this stage of my life. I can work out of my house, see my kid on a regular basis, focus my work effort on content, rather than administration, and yes golf a tad. That being said, I am asked continually by others "what is it like to be in business for yourself?" as they contemplate the leap from corporate to sole proprietorship.

While it is not for everyone, here are some of the points of consideration that one should mull over before making the jump to starting your own small business:

One Stop Shop: One of the benefits of being a small business owner is the autonomy of "calling the shots". You are the boss and clearly can steer your company as you see fit. Many think they relish this set-up but in reality, when it comes to being the self-motivator that is required to be successful - the "guy" to go to - lots fall short. Before you read any further, ask yourself if you are cut out to be the "go to guy". If not, you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration. Simply stay in the corporate world.

Develop A Business Plan: So, why is business planning so crucial? In a word, it provides "clarity". Investing time to develop a plan provides precise clarification of the company vision. In addition, it provides a mechanism to gauge the results of the business and provides the foundation for future growth plans. In the long haul, it enhances the company valuation through fiscal responsibility, which provides the story of opportunity to any future investor or employee. Business planning is one-part strategy and one-part tactics - but where the sausage actually gets made is in the execution. Execution comes in the hard work necessary to carry out a plan and the accountability for your activities by tracking them.

Understand Tax Burdens: Regardless of the political rhetoric surrounding the tax code and its impact on small business, the fact of the matter is that these entities are levied with a myriad of taxes. I am shocked by how many budding entrepreneurs fail to understand the taxes that small businesses pay. My company has essentially one of the easiest business operating models that a small business can have. I invoice a few clients per month; receive a few checks a month; pay a few bills a month; and have very little inventory and/or depreciation of capital assets. Despite that, my tax return was 84 pages last year. Filing as an S-Corp, my outlay on taxes is between 25% and 39% of federal taxes; North Carolina state income taxes ranging from 6.0% to 7.5%, social security and medicare (twice as a matter of fact for employer and employee) of 15.3%, so nearly 50% of all income goes to taxes and fees.

Replicate Yourself: Given the fact that you are a one stop shop, a small business owner needs to replicate themselves wherever possible. Tools such as social media and the acceptance of telecommuting through online collaboration have enabled small business owners to be in many places at one time. In order to be successful, small business owners need to tap these tools to maximize their exposure to potential clients as well as reaching customers outside of their immediate trade area. Prior to these tools being readily available, my business was limited to the state of Illinois (where my company was originally based). Since I have utilized these tools to replicate myself, I have had clients in thirteen different states.

Navigate Third-Party Challenges: A small business owner wears many hats and relies on third-party entities for key alliances. When Go Daddy had their website and email server outage in September, roughly 5.3 million small business websites and emails were knocked out. Small business owners rely on these support companies and at times, are held captive when issues arise. While my company does not conduct a lot of commerce via my website, many small operators lost online revenue due to the outage.

Be Wary Of Scams: Lastly, where there is a small business owner, there is a criminal waiting to prey on the unsuspecting operator. In fact, this past week, I received a letter from a group claiming to represent the State of Illinois. Having been in business nearly nine years, I am keenly aware of all of the annual expenditures that my company pays. As an Illinois corporation (operating in North Carolina), I received a letter stating that I needed to send in a $125 fee for my "Annual Minutes Records Form". I didn't recall ever doing this, and when I contacted my CPA, he shared the following press release with me:

In short, starting and running a small business may be the best decision you may ever make. Having the facts in advance of that decision are critical to ensure that you are positioned for success. Once you fully vet your decision-making for starting your small business, the rewards can be amazing...

John Matthews is the founder and president of Gray Cat Enterprises, Inc., a strategic planning and marketing services firm that specializes in helping businesses grow in the restaurant, convenience and general retail industries. With more than 20 years of senior-level experience in retail and a speaker at retail-group events throughout the U.S., Matthews has recently written two step-by-step manuals, Local Store Marketing Manual for Retailers and Grand Opening Manual for Retailers, which are available at http://www.graycatenterprises.com.

Management Consultant for Primary Market Research

Primary Research is a form of research where the data is collected directly from a respondent. Market research is done to understand an area in-depth. Understanding the marketing environment is a must. Market research helps in finding out how the market is. Being aware of what's going on in the market is called Market Intelligence. The areas that are considered a part of market intelligence are-

- Product Position- The position they have in the market favourable, unfavourable or neutral? Primary Research answers these question, so that the marketing efforts can be designed based on the position to brand, product or service.

- Market segmentation- Understanding the market segment is a must, the product or service needs to be positioned accurately in the dynamic market. Research finds out if the product should be marketed to seniors, working professionals or teenagers. This also helps in tailoring the message.

- Consumer Behaviour- Understanding a consumer's behaviour is a must, their personality, their attitude, motivation and other intrinsic factors. Primary Market research is one on one research.

Management consultants help with primary market research. As a type of research primary market research takes a lot of time, by hiring a management consultant they would be able to conduct an in-depth research which would provide conclusive and empirical results.

Primary market research has several steps, this steps need to be clearly defined at demarcated, the following are the six major steps-

- Defining the problem statement- The problem must be clearly stated i.e. what are you trying to find out or prove. An example could be finding out the sales forecast for a period of a month. The time and place needs to be clearly defined.

- Method of data collection- The method needs to be defined and followed spot on. Whether the method adopted is going to be a survey or an interview. If a survey is selected, is going to be a telephonic interview or an online survey. The method needs to be defined in the beginning, so that the questions can be devised.

- Sampling technique- Defining the sampling technique is a must, random, stratified, cluster or some other technique. A mix of techniques must be avoided, for primary market research the company must use stratified sampling. As a technique for data collection, stratified sampling the researcher divides the entire target population into different subgroups, then selects the final group or sample. This method is adopted when the population size is vast, complete enumeration cannot be possible when the sample size is large.

- Analysis of data- After the process of data collection, the data must be interpreted through statistics. The researcher must define the software they are using to interpret the data. The statistical measures they are going to use to prove the problem statement.

- Error checking: This step is very crucial, the researcher must check if the data is entered accurately, if a hypothesis is stated it needs to be proved or disproved at this stage. The data or evidence must be corroborated at this stage.

- Research Report Writing- All the chapters of the research must be combined, the charts, tables and other forms of pictorial representation must be written at this stage. The Interpretation of the research findings is finished at this stage.

Management consultants can conduct in-depth works of research. Market analysis in general takes time and primary market research is more tedious, companies must hire management consultants to carry on this task. The steps are many and each step takes a lot of time, the end result is that market research answers many questions that companies are asking.

MBA & Company is a company where business management consultant offers primary market research services for you projects.They have highly accomplished researchers who provide tailored market research services. For further details you can visit http://www.mbaandco.com.