Donald Cooper's Management Newsletter ~ May 2008
Donald's "Quote of the Month"
"We become what we hire. If we hire extraordinary people, we become extraordinary. If we hire mediocre people, we become mediocre."
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NOTE: For a PDF version of this Newsletter click-here.
Greetings and welcome. This month's Management Newsletter delivers lots of helpful business insights and our May Trivia Quiz, with semi-valuable prizes. The entire Newsletter will take about 6 minutes to read.
1. Do you know your staff well enough to honour them as individuals?
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You're not going to believe this one...but, sadly, it's true. Last week, following a ½-day Workshop for business owners, a gentleman came up to me to ask for my help in choosing the perfect gift for an employee who had been with him for 20 years.
I was dumbfounded. How am I supposed to suggest the perfect gift for someone that I've never met? I asked the business owner what this long-serving employee's hobbies or special interests might be, or what he's always wanted to do that he hasn't gotten around to yet.
Here's the shocking part...he had absolutely no idea. After 20 years of working together in a business with fewer than 10 employees, this boss knew nothing about his loyal employee. This is absolutely shocking.
But the question for you is, how much do you know about each person on your team? Would you know enough to choose the perfect gift for them? Never mind after 20 years, do you know enough about your team to honour and engage each of them as individual human beings, in some small way, every day...and do you do that?
2. Why partnerships go wrong:
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I do a lot of work with business partnerships that have gone "off the rails" and figuring out what has gone wrong is always a lot easier than folks think it is. Here's what I've figured out. For a business partnership to succeed, the partners must have...
a) a shared vision for the future of the business,
b) shared values...and,
c) a shared commitment to the business.
Shared vision, shared values and shared commitment...that's it. And, by the way, 2 out of 3 ain't good enough.
Then, there are 3 other factors. The partners must have...
a) confidence in each other's competence,
b) respect for each other's character...and,
c) rapport with each other's personality.
And, once again, 2 out of 3 ain't good enough.
So, if you're in a partnership that isn't working, figure out which of these 6 factors is lacking and then figure out if it can be fixed. If not, somebody has to go. This doesn't mean that somebody's good and somebody else is bad, or that one partner is right and the other is wrong. It just means that it isn't working and it needs to be dealt with. Especially when it's a family partnership this can get messy...but it still needs to be dealt with. Failure to do so will always end badly.
Our family business, Cooper Canada, was originally a partnership. My Father wanted to create a world-class, internationally significant business and was prepared to work hard 7 days a week to make that happen. His partner wanted to keep the business small and was prepared to work 5 short days a week to make sure that happened. They took the same salary and benefits out of the business but nothing else was equal and it simply didn't work. My Father saw the "'handwriting on the wall" and bought out his partner in 1955.
So, if you're in a partnership, or work for one, does it need a reality check? Is it working, or not? If not, use my 2 checklists above to figure out what's missing...and deal with it.
3. Do you have workplace bullies in your business?
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Bullying in the workplace is getting a lot of media attention these days for one very good reason... it's a big and serious problem. My friend and fellow speaker, Val Cade, an expert on this important topic, has written a series of articles and a helpful book on bullying in the workplace and how it damages morale and productivity...and ruins lives.
If you suspect that bullying may be an issue anywhere in your business, you can access one of Val's enlightening articles by clicking the link above. For more information about how Val can help you with workplace bullying issues, contact her directly at val@performancecurve.com.
4. Do you need to increase sales, create a clear plan for the future and develop a top-performing team?
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Managing any business today is tough...and getting tougher. We're all faced with more demanding customers, more and stronger competition, increased complexity and shrinking margins. Mediocrity is no longer an option. On top of that, great staff are hard to find and keep...and that problem won't go away any time soon. So, we must all manage smarter.
Every year hundreds of business owners ask me to work with them and their team to improve their customer value, create a clear plan for the future and develop a culture of commitment, urgency and accountability.
So, we've created, for you, a brand new one-day intensive and effective coaching program on an affordable basis. To make it even more affordable, you can share me with 2 of your business-owner friends...or you can "pony up" and get me all to yourself and it's still a fraction of my regular fee.
Note: Don't even consider this program if you don't want to honestly rethink and transform your customer value, your future and your bottom line. This program is not for wimps and it's not for business owners who want me to hold their hand and sing "Kumbaya".
For complete information about this extraordinary opportunity, just click-here...or contact Sharen Skene, our wonderful Director of Marketing: sharen@donaldcooper.com.
5. Bits and Pieces:
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Item #1: Frightening info re fuel costs for airlines: The fuel cost to fly a Boeing 747 from Chicago to Hong Kong is $500 USD per seat.
Item #2: Here's an interesting observation about money and it's effect on people from Alexander Green, the head of the Oxford Club, a leading financial and investment newsletter. Many people believe that having a lot of money changes people but what Mr. Green believes is that having a lot of money doesn't change you...it magnifies you.
What he means is that if you're fundamentally a good person, having a lot of money will allow you to do more good in the world. But, if you're fundamentally a bad person, having a lot of money will just make you worse. An interesting thought.
Item #3: A new all-time record for being out-of-date. In a medical lab waiting room last week I found a magazine from 1988. That's 20 years old, exactly. What's not up-to-date in your business?
Item #4: Are you a "good news bear"? Many managers are what I call "good news bears". They love good news and simply don't want to deal with bad news. They're in denial and it hurts their business. They should take a tip from retired general Norman Schwarzkopf whose motto was, "Bring me the bad news fast."
Are your people keeping bad news from you...and what is the ultimate cost?
Item #5: The first product ever to have a bar code printed on its package was Wrigley's chewing gum.
6. Is your advertising building or destroying your "brand"?
(time to read this article is about 60 seconds)
Great advertising both informs and delights your target customers. It touches their minds and their emotions...and builds your brand. That's how companies build great brands and great fortunes.
Sadly, and stupidly, much of today's advertising is about off-price promotions and has nothing to do with building a powerful and profitable brand. It teaches consumers to 'cherry pick' and to do business with whomever has 'dropped their pants' the furthest this week.
Unless your clear and sustainable market positioning is to be the price leader, making it all or mostly about price is a marketing strategy that's as addictive and destructive as cocaine. It's all about boosting sales in the short term, while ultimately destroying your profit margin and your brand in the long run.
This doesn't mean that 'price' is not important. Price is important...you can't be 'goofy high'. But you don't have to be cheapest if you offer some other compelling value. So, create and deliver compelling value and then have the courage to charge a fair and profitable price.
So, what's the solution? Start by offering products, services and experiences that 'grab' your target customers, clearly differentiate you from your competitors, make you 'famous'...and grow your bottom line. Think 'amazing'...think 'never been done before'...think about fundamentally changing the game. Remember, mediocrity is no longer an option. Be extraordinary or be exterminated.
Then, look at every aspect of your communication. First, are you being noticed and remembered by your target customers? If you're not noticed and remembered...you don't exist. Then, are you clearly communicating your compelling value and your brand promise in everything you do? Are you delighting and informing your target customers? Are you reducing their confusion and earning their trust by helping them make the best purchase decision for them? Are you making bold promises that you actually keep? Promises about how they'll feel and how their life will be better every time they do business with you.
Are you building relationships, or, are you just spending a fortune in advertising to tell people that you've "dropped your pants" again this week? So, there you have it! What will you do to build your long-term profitability by building a powerful brand?
7. Do you need to be more creative in your business?
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From time to time I remind our readers about Springwise, an extraordinary, free weekly E-Newsletter dedicated to reporting on creative new business ideas from around the world. If you need to be more creative in your business, or, if you're looking to start a new business, Springwise is a great source of creativity...and it's free. To subscribe, simple go to springwise.com and click on the Newsletter icon.
Here are just a few new product and service ideas from around the world from recent Springwise Newsletters...
a) Texas-based "Celeb-For-A-Day" offers a personal Paparazzi experience for people who would like to feel like a star. The service includes being driven to a nite club or event in a limo, being followed and photographed by six paparazzi who shout the "star's" name and being "protected by a bodyguard. For more details go to www.celeb4aday.com.
b) Parkingspots.com connects people who have parking spots to rent with those who need them on a monthly basis. They use Google Maps and PayPal, an internet based payment service, to facilitate transactions.
c) A San Francisco woman has opened an auto service garage for hybrid cars only. The entire operation is run on "green" principles. For more info, check out www.lusciousgarage.com. What niche market could you specialize in that you could dominate profitably?
d) A Swedish designer has developed eco-friendly note paper that has won industry awards and is now selling successfully throughout the world. For more info go to www.whitelines.se/en.
e) Green Homes Concierge is a UK-based company committed to helping homeowners create a more environmentally friendly home...and to save money in the process. They can be found at www.greenhomesconcierge.co.uk.
Clearly, there are hundreds of new service and product ideas waiting to be 'hatched'. What will you do to be more innovative in your business...and how can subscribing to Springwise help you?
8. Our quiz of the month:
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"Thanks" to all of you who answered our April Quiz, which was, "Only one country in the whole world has no traffic lights and calculates its GNH, "Gross National Happiness" index rather than its GNP, "Gross National Product." Name that country.
The answer is: "Bhutan"...a small country in the Himalayan Mountains between India and China.
Congratulations to Larry Stewart of ProfitMaster. He takes home our DVD Seminar on Human Marketing as his prize.
This month's Quiz Question:
I'm all for honouring jobs with creative titles but let's not get goofy. On my way into my favourite casual dining restaurant recently, I noticed a sign in the window that said, "Help Wanted...Scullery Tech". I asked the manager if he'd had anyone apply for the job and he admitted, "Not one."
Of course, no one had applied for the job. Nobody knows what the heck a "Scullery Tech" is. So, can you figure it out? This month's Quiz Question is, "What the heck is a Scullery Tech?
Send your guess to Sharen Skene, our wonderful Director of Marketing, at sharen@donaldcooper.com. Each correct answer received within 10 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 DVD Seminars.
9. That's all for this month:
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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 were sent this Newsletter by someone else and would like to subscribe yourself simply click this subscribe link.
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.
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