Business Newsletter ~ Volume 6, Issue 6 - July 2007
NOTE: For a printable PDF version of this Newsletter click-here. |
Donald's "Quote of the Month"
"In every business there are people who have, for all intents and purposes, quit...but they keep showing up and hope that you won't notice! What are you doing about it?"
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"Greetings". We have more timely and thought-provoking articles for you this month, so read on. The whole thing will take about eight minutes to read.
1. How many of your staff have "quit", but keep coming in anyway...and whose fault is it?
(time to read this article is about 90 seconds)
Failure to deal with non-performance is one of the biggest problems facing many businesses today. A 2005 survey of thousands of Canadian employees shows that 25% of those questioned admitted that the only reason they show up at work is for their paycheck. They have absolutely no interest in their job, the customers, the rest of the team, or the bottom line.
We've all heard the old expression that "one bad apple can spoil the bunch". Well, what about 25% "bad apples"? What are they doing to your business?
You might think that 25% number is extraordinarily high but in his latest book Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, says that in his experience about 20% of employees in any company are dragging the business down and need to be dealt with it. So, whether the number is 20% or 25%, it's a huge problem.
The first question here is how many of those people are just deadbeats and how many of them are working in businesses that are so badly run that they'd destroy anyone's soul? These are the businesses that are physically, emotionally or financially unhealthy places to be in. Businesses where the good people leave and only the deadbeats are left. So, be honest...is your business a deadbeat 'magnet'? Have you, for whatever reason, created an unhealthy business environment in which only people who don't care can survive?
Note: If you'd like some real and affordable help in creating a more positive business environment that will attract more capable employees and more profitable customers, we have our DVD Seminar on "The Simple Truth About Effective Business Leadership". To order, click-here for a printable version of our order form. In Section 3 of this Newsletter, we also have a very special offer on our DVD Seminar, which we are told is excellent, on "Creating a Winning Culture" for only $20, which you should not miss.
Another possibility is that in a tight labour market you've hired people who have no possibility of success. You've settled for second or third best...and it's killing you. So, you give up and tell yourself that, "You just can't find good people any more!" But the truth is that, even in a tight labour market, the best people have to work for somebody...why not for you?
One client told me recently that she only hires mediocre people because the good ones just leave. I don't make this stuff up.
Is your business such a great place to work that the best people in your area or industry regularly come to you, resume in hand, looking for career opportunities? If not, why not? Where are they working now...and why?
Rather than wasting your energy complaining that you can't find good people any more, take 40 minutes, sit down with some of the best minds and hearts in your business to ask and honestly answer these two simple questions...
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What kind of business do the best people in our industry want to work for?...and, |
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What must we do to become that kind of business? |
Then, commit to becoming the best business to work for, for your target employees.
A third possibility is that your current hiring process is not effectively screening out deadbeats or poor performers. Not having the right people in every part of your organization carries a huge cost in lost business, inefficiency, frustration and missed opportunity!
2. We're just past the halfway mark in 2007. How is it going so far?
(time to read this section is about 45 seconds)
Are you on track to meet your 2007 sales and profit commitments? If you are, celebrate that with your team. Acknowledge your progress and then remind them what the challenges and commitments are for the remainder of the year.
If you're behind in sales, profits, or key projects, figure out what needs fixing to get back on track. Was there a lack of clarity about what was to be done...and by when? Is a lack of training, empowerment or timely follow up the problem? Is your team capable and committed, or are they just showing up...and who's fault is that? Is it a marketing problem...or do you simply not have a compelling-value story to tell in the first place?
When looking for what has really gone wrong, don't just look at symptoms or surface problems...get down to the real root of the problem. And how do you do that? It's actually quite simple. When stating what you think the problem is, add the words, "which is caused by..." and then finish that with what you think is the cause. Then, having stated that, again ask, "which, in turn, is caused by...".
Keep going until you can't dig any deeper, and you've finally uncovered the real or basic problem that needs to be addressed. If you're the owner or manager of the business, often the root problem will come back to you and how you're doing, or not doing, your job...and that's uncomfortable. But, hey, the beginning of wisdom is the recognition of reality.
So, at a little past the mid-point in 2007, how is it going...and what needs "fixing"?
3. A special offer that you should not pass up...one of my best DVD Seminars for only $20:
(time to read this section is about 30 seconds)
When I took a mid-year physical inventory of our excellent DVD Video Seminars, I discovered that we had accidentally ordered twice as many of one of them than we should have...so we're going to clear them out to get inventory back in balance.
This Special $20 Offer is on my "Creating a Winning Culture" Video Seminar, complete with downloadable, step-by-step Implementation Guide. It regularly sells for $80.00...so we're serious about moving these out.
Now, you might think that with a title like "Creating a Winning Culture" that this Seminar is a bunch of "mumbo-jumbo" that's important only for giant corporations. NOT SO! Creating a business culture where everyone on your team is focused, committed and accountable is important for any business, of any size.
Over the years I've discovered that successful businesses have a number of things in common and, on this DVD Video, I tell you what they are and how to create them.
It's a steal for just $20 (plus $5 for shipping in North America and plus $10 elsewhere in the world). To order, click-here.
4. Perhaps we shouldn't be so sanctimonious about child labour in developing countries:
(time to read this section is about 60 seconds)
It's July and in North America the kids are out of school. Why? Is it because their little brains need two months off to rest once a year? NO. It's because, when we were a rural society and a "developing country", back just a few generations ago, the children were needed to work long hours in the blistering heat on their family's farm. It was cheap labour...but it was necessary for the family's survival.
Never mind the farm; when I was a kid growing up in Toronto, who delivered the newspapers for the big, rich newspaper publishers? Young kids who got up at 5 AM to lug big canvas bags full of papers that weighed as much as they did. Why...because they and their family needed the money.
So, in fact, much of our North American economy in those days was built on the backs of cheap child labour.
Now, jump ahead to today and we have lots of folks who choose not to remember our own history, going bonkers over child labour in developing countries. The way some of them talk, you'd think that if these poor kids weren't working at a job, they'd be attending a nice school somewhere. Nonsense...they and their families would be starving in the streets.
Now, before you get all hostile, I'm not condoning harsh working conditions, slave labour, forced labour, exploitation or unreasonably low wages for children...or for adults. We need to put an end to all of that. What I am saying is that in many parts of the world the reality is that everyone in the family needs to contribute, or the family will starve...just like in rural North America just two generations ago.
There is a great cultural arrogance in the western world that leads us to try to impose our way of life on people whose life is nothing like ours. It's part of what makes us unattractive to the rest of the world.
5. Update on our website:
(time to read this section is about 20 seconds)
We've just added streaming video to our website to help you view excerpts of my presentations in real time, at any time.
If your company or industry association is planning a business conference in the next several months, you can view portions of my most requested material by clicking-here. These video clips are available on our website.
The only content that's currently missing is a section on my latest breakthrough work on how to create clarity, commitment and accountability and long-term profitability in any business. We'll have that up and running ASAP. In the meantime, an Electronic Brochure is available on this very important subject by clicking-here.
If your business or industry needs to rethink, reinvent or re-energize itself, this is the presentation that will get you started. It can be delivered as an opening Keynote, interactive Workshop...or transformational 2-day Management Boot Camp. For more info, contact the wonderful Sharen lady at sharen@donaldcooper.com ...or1-416-252-3704 in Toronto, Canada.
6. Bits & Pieces:
(time to read this section is about 90 seconds)
ITEM #1: Newspaper classified ad that says it all: "WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE. WORN ONCE BY MISTAKE. Call Stephanie."
ITEM #2: In the "what were they thinking?" department, the British Columbia Securities Commission has ruled that convictions for armed robbery, kidnapping, theft, murder or extortion should not prevent a person from holding a job as an investor relations officer in a publicly traded company.
ITEM #3: The top 10 easiest countries in which to do business are...
1) Singapore.
2) New Zealand. 
3) USA.
4) Canada.
5) Hong Kong.
6) UK.
7) Denmark.
8) Australia.
9) Norway.
10) Ireland.
ITEM #4: A business lesson from a Build-A-Bear. Building on the phenomenal success of their Build-A-Bear Workshops (now 300 stores worldwide) that appeal mostly to daughters and mothers, the company is now opening Ridemakerz (ridemakerz.com), a concept that invites dads and sons to build their own customized 10" to 12" model race cars.
A business lesson from "the mouse". Disney, who has mastered the art of attracting millions of vacationers to their parks and resorts, has now introduced "Adventures by Disney" through which they offer Disney-guided family adventure packages to prime destinations in North America, Latin America and Europe. Because of the success of this new division, nine new destinations are about to be offered (adventuresbydisney.com).
So what's the lesson here? The lesson is how you might be able to grow your business by offering additional products or services to existing customers or by using your experience and resources to create new products, services or a whole new concept to appeal to new customers. How might that look in your business?
ITEM #5: A "reality check" on our society. Many kids' summer camps now have to have two separate Visitor Days for parents because of the large number of divorced parents who can't get along well enough to go and see their kids at the same time. Camps have had so many unhappy incidents with fighting parents and crying kids that they've had to split the parents' visits up. Sad...but true.
ITEM #6: One day in Malaysia. This coming weekend, I'm off to Malaysia for one day to do a second project for a client who is a global market leader. Last year, I spoke for them in Santiago, Chile.
One of my many theories about life is that if you're not too mean or too ugly, you can get a 'first date' with almost anybody. It's the second date that tells you something about the value that you deliver.
So, in your business, the question is, "Are you getting many 'second dates'? When people have done business with you, do they want more of you, less of you...or none of you in their lives? Do they come back, do they recommend you and do they become your honorary Vice-President of free advertising?"
7. What could you learn from your suppliers?
(time to read this article is about 60 seconds)
We had a friend visit our cottage this weekend who supplies fashion accessories to many of the biggest retail chains in North America. She's a sharp, insightful business woman who's seen it all over the years.
I asked her how many of her customers ever ask for her thoughts, ideas or general input on how to run their business more effectively, and her reply was that in 20 years, it has never happened.
Lots of companies survey their customers to find out how to improve their business...but few companies ever think to ask their suppliers. This is nuts!
I suggest that you sit down with at least one supplier a week and ask them for their thoughts on how you could improve your business, your products or services, your technology or market intelligence in any way. What do they know about market trends or best practices in the industry that you don't know? How could they help you with product knowledge, staff training, system integration, or improved processes?
Ask them if there are any special offers, additional discounts of other buying opportunities that you've been missing out on. Find out if they know of any star performers in your industry who are unhappy where they're working now.
Find out what new things your suppliers are working on and ask to be the first to see new stuff. Offer to test it out for them. Suppliers love that and you get a head start on your competition.
When we listen to our suppliers, two things happen. First, we learn from them...and, second, we honor them. Both of those are good.
Most of your suppliers will be delighted to help you. It's how they add value to the relationship... unless, of course, you're one of those many businesses who beat up on their suppliers so badly that they wouldn't help you even if you begged. If you're one of those, consider the value of a true partnership with your suppliers, rather than what you're doing now.
8. Our "Quiz of the Month":
(time to read this section is about 20 seconds)
"Thanks" to all of you who answered our June Quiz Question, which was, What is the country of origin for each of these famous brands...
a) Nokia.
b) Lego.
c) Samsung.
d) Adidas.
The correct answer (in order) is...Finland, Denmark, South Korea and Germany.
"Congratulations" to Sue Long of IBM, this month's winner who selected as her prize of one of our DVD Seminars.
This month's Quiz Question:
What do the CEOs of Archer Daniels Midland, a $36-billion food company and PepsiCo, the $33-billion soft drink and snack company, have in common?
Send your guess to Sharen Skene, our wonderful Director of Marketing, at sharen@donaldcooper.com. Each correct answer received within 5 days will go into the 'pot' and one winner will be randomly selected. The winner will receive his or her choice of any of our excellent Video Seminars worth $60 to $80.
9. That's all for this month:
(time to read this section is about 15 seconds)
"Thanks" for all of your great feedback and suggestions. We especially love to hear of your successes using our insights.
Don't forget to visit our Free Articles section on our website for lots more valuable info on how to sell more, manage smarter and make more money in your business.
Also, let us know what you'd like to hear more about...or less about. And, do send us your stories and examples of great, horrible or just plain bizarre business practices that you find in your travels.
Finally, if you know of others, anywhere in the world, who will find value in this E-Newsletter, we'll appreciate your sending this along to them and inviting them to subscribe at www.donaldcooper.com.
Donald Cooper, MBA
Certified Speaking Professional
Member of the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame
For information about booking Donald for your company or Association, contact Sharen Skene our wonderful Director of Marketing at Sharen@donaldcooper.com.
Back Issues of our Newsletters are available on our website (along with lots of other valuable articles and implementation tools). |
