The Stand Up Meeting

"Stand up when you're on the phone. A USC study found that your brain's information processing speed increases 5 to 20 percent when you're standing. Think you may look a little goofy standing around your office? You'd be in good company. Thomas Jefferson, Ernest Hemingway and Winston Churchill all stood while working."


~David Cottrell

I once worked at a very large company that had so many meetings nothing could ever be executed.  They decided to institute a timer so that speakers at the meetings would get off of their soap-boxes and stick to the point.  This worked for all of about 3 days. 
 
The company had a counterpart in the UK.  They actually held the same number of meetings each day but in less time. When asked how this could take place, the answer came back with the following:

1. a clear agenda with only 3 points max.
2. only decision-makers attended the meetings
3. every meeting started on time no matter if all were in attendance or not
4. the attendees could leave the meeting if the host did not appear within 3 minutes of the start time without advanced notice
5. all meeting were held standing up - NO chairs in the room

Pretty simply, this led to efficiency and productivity all around.  While the decision-makers were at the meeting, others were able to work on projects to meet deadlines.

Imagine that!!?  Try it!  It works.

On-boarding Talent

What is your story? Why would I, or anyone else, want to work for you and your company? Leaders need to face the facts that people join companies because the find an affinity to the values, the culture, the reputation and most importantly, the other people who work there. In order to attract talent, leaders and the human resource teams need to ensure the atmosphere in the workplace is properly translated into the job posting, the interview process and the on-boarding process.


If your company is very one dimensional in decision-making, having a job posting that describes team decision-making would really not paint a true picture. This would also hold true of a panel interview when only one person is going to make the decision.

If the company dress code is blue suits, ties and pumps, then having the interviewer dressed in jeans does not connect. Same goes with a call from the company that has music in the background, noise other distractions, that do not reflect the quiet, calm that is what the potential hire will live in during their tenure.

Attracting talent is really a marketing plan. This plan needs to be built on the brand of the company. Each segment of the hiring process needs to follow the plan. Most important, and most neglected is the on-boarding process. It is no longer acceptable to have to wait 3 days or a week to get access to company email, voicemail or tools. It is no longer acceptable to hope people will just figure it out. As much as we may think that this time spent is wasted, it will actually set the tone for the rest of that new hire’s time in position and their ability to refer people to the company as future employees or clients. You will need to be very methodical and literal in your explanation of policy, tour of area, introductions to all key players and more. This list, although not all-inclusive, would be a great start to build an on-boarding program.

□ Basic tour of entire work area and building including washroom facilities, emergency exits etc.

□ Overview and completion of all on-boarding paperwork with deadlines for returning any outstanding documents – especially for health benefits, this will eliminate future issues.

□ Review of employee handbook or operations manual that describes key company policies, including specific policies that would affect the new hire’s role. For example: a field salesperson will need more in depth review of travel and meal expenses than the customer help line new hire.

□ Introduction to all members of the team – leadership team included. Building a schedule for 15 minute sessions with each area would help the new hire familiarize themselves as well as get comfortable with the new team.

□ Members of own team – develop schedule for 30 minute sessions for each team member so that they can get to know each other one-on-one and then a team session to go over current projects, priorities etc.

□ Show desk area and supplies, as well as how to handle getting more supplies – order process or cabinet, who is responsible for that etc.

□ Work with new hire to develop a calendar for training opportunities that are unique to your company – culture-based learning, e-learning, off-site courses or classes, required meetings to attend. This will help the new hire develop a routine within the business as well as understand the support that is available to them

The list could go on. If your company does not have a structured on-boarding process, I would advise that you develop one. To start, think back to when you started with the company....how did you feel? How did you find out everything? What did you miss and find out later? Build the rest around the brand.

Untapped Business Opportunities

You are sitting at your desk, or better yet,  outside at lunch just relaxing and breathing for a moment.  Suddenly it hits you.  The idea of a lifetime.  You say “why didn’t I think of that before?”  it’s a business opportunity that has not yet been tapped. Perhaps it’s a new way to segment your market or a new way to market to your niche; it could even be a completely different industry, and you have discovered an innovative way to tap into it. 

What do you do now?
Try this:


□ Write out exactly what you have discovered

□ List all the resources & references that you will need to look at to investigate your new opportunity

□ Determine if you will need investors

□ Create a short plan with dollars and cents so that you can do a high-level evaluation of the plan.

□ Look at your lists and match that to your current available time to determine where this untapped business opportunity will fit into your timeline

It’s a start. You need to understand if the time you will spend here will be worth it in the end. From this decision, you will need to create your business plan and move forward.

Who knows? Through your investigation, you may figure out that this is a brilliant untapped opportunity for someone else – don’t be shy to pass it along.

Share with us....

The Customer Experience at Sephora

Every now and again you come across exemplary service. Las Vegas, Nevada is an amazing place – you would expect service. I got amazing service! Being from the southernmost part of Canada and visiting there in January, I noticed that my skin was very dry and I needed some moisturizer. I walked into the Sephora store that is located at the base of the Venetian Hotel & Casino and was approached by a wonderful, sweet lady who asked me what I needed. I explained the moisture situation and she got into action – finding the products that would solve my dry skin. This lovely ‘angel’ spent almost 45 minutes with me....and yes, I left with product – Philosophy product – but only exactly what I was looking for even though the ‘angel’ graciously showed me about 10 different items. Not only did she show me the products, she tried them on my skin, told me how to use them, alternatives, ingredients and more information than I could believe was available. She was very knowledgeable. I felt very comfortable taking advice from this ‘angel’. I thanked her and even mentioned the awesome service to her manager (who was on the salesfloor – if you can believe that!!!) I left smiling and happy.


Now after a few weeks of using the products as instructed, my skin looks even better, and the cold Canada winter that is hitting can’t even change my look. I have even had compliments on my skin.

Thanks ‘angel’ and Sephora – for the awesome service and product knowledge. Thanks Philosophy for the skin care products!

Sometimes You are the Product

Sometimes YOU are the product – it is the service that you provide that is what the client sees as the product, you need to be focused on building the relationship for whatever amount of time it may take (statistics show that people need to hear the same message at least 9 times before they act on it)

 Listening is critical – we need to provide the response to their needs – sometimes we cannot do this right away as they are not sure what their questions/needs are – listening and continuing to ask questions of the prospect or client will help us get there.

 Providing value-add information with the letters and emails – so not just a pitch, but interesting information that make the client & prospect look forward to your information.

As the product, you are responsible for delivering what the client is looking for....are you ready for that?

Group Coaching

Group coaching is about getting together (in person or by teleconference) with people who have like goals or a common agenda.  Group coaching can help open your eyes to challenges and roadblocks as well as successes and milestones that other have reached.

Your progress in group coaching can quickly and efficiently help you move towards your goals.  Group coaching is a great way to test out the 'coaching waters' and see if a Professional Success Coach and one-on-one sessions can help you create the life you want to live.

Topics covered in Group Coaching are:

• Business Energizer
• Create Your Vision 
• Get Control of My Time 
• Ready to Change 
• Solo-preneurs & Start Ups 
• Get Your Business Out of Neutral

 

 Click here for more details on Group Coaching.

Networking vs. Relationships

There was a 2 week period in the last month where I was invited to more than 10 different networking events.  Through Facebook, LinkedIn and even from groups that I already belong to, the invitations kept pouring in. 
Now, I know I am not that popular...my business is barely a year old.  I started to look at the invitation lists - because on Facebook you can see who else is invited, attending or not...and noticed that there was not really a selection process, more or less, just everyone from someone's list.
I also noticed that many of the same people were invited to all the events, and a few were attending all of them.
That got me to wondering:

• why would I go to all the events to see all the same people?
• when do these people actually spend time working ON their business or with clients if they are out at an event everyday?
• what focus is there on building relationships not just networking?

What do you think?

I think that as an entrepreneur there is great value to being out in the marketplace to be visible and get introduced to people.  I also believe that the value comes from taking time to get to know others, listen to their story, find out what makes them so passionate about their business so that you can understand them and your connection to them.  They may turn into a client - they may not...they may also be able to refer you to others, but it does not stop there...it becomes continued connection through emails, or social media...staying in touch and following up for a personal meeting, even the odd phone call to see how life has been treating them - professionally of course!

What I have learned from all of this is the following:

1. be selective in the events you attend and do your research ahead of time - who is the host, what is the goal, who is attending
2. set a goal for yourself describing why you are attending - to meet how many people or which types of business owners
3. say 'No' to the ones that do not fit with you, your business or your schedule - there is no point in wasting time, and energy