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Getting and keeping the best staff the ‘1-800-got-junk’ way

Posted by Michael under Business Growth, Leadership

Since listening to Cameron Herold in March 2009, I have been interested in the practises of 1-800-got-junk – a company that, under Herold’s leadership, grew to over $106 million. One of their key successes is in recruiting and retaining the best possible staff.

How do they make themselves a great employer?

• The ability to have fun – Herold believes that people who are enjoying themselves collaborate better, communicate more and achieve more. He seeks out those who don’t take themselves too seriously and can ‘hang loose’ because he believes rigidity is damaging to business growth. By making fun part of the work day, Herold encourages his staff to enjoy life and work and to feel they are prioritised by their organisation, not just cogs in a machine.

How do they recruit the right staff?

• Cultural fit – fit first, skills second is Herold’s law – when he’s hired somebody with excellent skills, but whose outlook doesn’t match the views and vision that prevail in his organisation, it’s always gone wrong. Having staff whose focus and beliefs are congruent with the focus and beliefs of the organisation as a whole offers stability and the chance to move forward as one.
• A sunny outlook – optimism and a positive nature are vital to Herold’s view of the organisational ethos. Pessimism creates a negative business culture that is threatened by challenges and opposed to change and that means that stagnation, rather than growth, becomes the desired business model.
• A shared vision – Herold offers a two page ‘picture’ of his own organisation and sees if it inspires the potential recruit – if they get excited about the way he wants to do business and if their own vision for their future makes him feel excited to recruit them, then it’s a match.

How do they maintain growth?

• A fire within – when his staff want to help achieve his BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) for the business, and when they are motivated by the BHAG, not the short term rewards of bonuses or incentives, then growth follows naturally and organically.
• Love of goals – all his staff post their top three weekly and monthly goals above their desks, and this means that the whole organisation ‘trickles up’ to overall success – Herold believes that some people naturally set goals for themselves and those are the people who are more likely to achieve them, so goal setting is one of the key personality traits he’s looking for at interview.
• Tenacity – the ability to manage constant change is what Herold defines as tenacity; it’s not time-serving but the natural response of some individuals to work through challenges rather than giving in to them and he says he sees it in his key employees, time after time, challenge after challenge.

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Entrepreneurs’ Organization Forum meetings

Posted by Michael under Business Growth, Entrepreneur Resources, Leadership

In May I will be taking over the presidency of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization in the UK. Stepping into this role is exciting and has caused me to reflect on the benefits that entrepreneurs obtain from working with EO, notably the peer-to-peer support and expertise of Forum.

What is Forum?

It’s a confidential peer support system that allows individual entrepreneurs both to present challenges and issues that confront them to the group, and to comment on the challenges and issues being face by others, by sharing relevant personal experiences.

What makes it different to a normal discussion?

First, there’s a one day training programme to help entrepreneurs learn to talk about taboo subjects ranging from marital strife to annual profit. This training gives entrepreneurs a chance to explore what good communication is, how a safe environment for sharing sensitive information works, and what their responsibilities are for maintaining integrity and confidentiality.

Then the three key principles come into play at each meeting. They are confidentiality, personal responsibility, and gestalt language protocol. This means:

1. Everything said in forum is ultra-private.
2. That members are reminded that they only get out what they put in – so not only do they have to assist others by sharing their experience where they can, but they also have the personal responsibility of taking back any lessons they learn from the experience of others and putting those lessons into practice.
3. That giving advice is forbidden – only sharing experience is allowed. This is crucial to the development of entrepreneurs and their businesses because it gives priority to personal insight rather than to offering advice – it makes the recipient of the experience wholly responsible for turning it into action, and it means they have nobody to blame for ‘bad advice’ if it doesn’t work out as they anticipated it would.

Each of the monthly sessions focuses on an issue presented by one member, which he or she would like the others to help him or her resolve. After a presentation of the issue, which can last up to twenty minutes, those around the table with the presenter are given three minutes each to ask questions that clarify the problem and illuminate the wider context within which the problem, and the entrepreneur, operate. This, in itself, helps the presenter learn about the problem they’ve identified and whether they have framed it correctly. Then discussion is based entirely on the personal experiences those around the table have had with that issue.

What are the benefits of Forum participation?

• Personal responsibility is enhanced, while new ideas are made available in a safe environment for sharing sensitive information
• The ability to learn from the experiences of others without having to follow any kind of prescriptive course
• Many Forum members feel that by sharing their own experiences they help others avoid or transcend problem issues, so they are ‘giving back’ to the entrepreneur community.

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How businesses should cope with bad news – not like Toyota

Posted by Michael under Leadership

Damage to Toyota’s image is no longer growing by the day – it’s multiplying by the hour. The recall of the latest model Prius hybrid – the car that’s been an icon of Toyota’s engineering and green ambitions – is hammering the nails into a public relations coffin for the Japanese manufacturer.

The global recall has now reached more than eight million vehicles, but the cost of solving the problem technically may be minor, compared to the cost of putting right the debacle of lost public confidence.

Toyota got three things terminally wrong:

1. It failed to explain what it was doing to fix the problem
2. It didn’t apologise appropriately or fast enough

And, a particularly Japanese PR failure this one …

3. It wasn’t humble enough to its customers.

Point 1 – Not only did Toyota fail to recognise and respond to the problem with its cars, it tried to blame a supplier and even suggested that the drivers of the vehicles might be ‘in error’ – it’s a cardinal failure: the customer may not always be right, but even if they are wrong, you don’t tell them so. And you certainly don’t say the problem is in their heads or their ability to use your products, because all you’re doing is telling them that they shouldn’t buy from you in future

Point 2 – the company’s crisis management was invisible. When the company CEO finally appeared on TV, it wasn’t at a press conference – he was pinned in a corner at the Davos summit and forced to comment, briefly, on the issue, before he drove away – in a German manufactured car! There was a hastily called news conference last week, but the spokesman for Toyota wasn’t a board member and seemed unconvincing in his comments. When things go wrong, the public expects to see leadership from the top.

Point 3 – when a Japanese person makes a mistake, they bow low in apology. During the scheduled conference the Toyota spokesman did not bow and address the audience with an apology – while non-Japanese may have failed to recognise the insult, the Japanese press did, and pointed out that Toyota had ‘insulted’ its customers. When a company makes a mistake, it needs to apologise with honesty, speed and conviction.

That insult, on top of the faulty information supplied in trickles from the company itself, might have seemed like the worst that could happen.

Until today – when a senior American lawyer went on air to tell Toyota owners that if they drive their cars, now they have been ‘given notice of a problem’, they could be classed as having taken responsibility for any accident that results from vehicle faults. In other words, American people now believe that if they get into their Toyota car, their insurance has been invalidated. Already car hire companies have reported that they are running out of rental vehicles. The only cars they still have in their lots … are Toyota models.

And even that isn’t the lowest of the low for the Japanese manufacturer. One knock-on effect that the company has no control over is that the price of second-hand Toyota cars has begun to drop and there’s evidence of a rush in the UK to get Toyotas into the scrappage scheme, perhaps so their current owners can buy something they consider more trustworthy.

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UK entrepreneurs confident about the future

Posted by Michael under Entrepreneur Resources, Leadership

Image courtesy of James Cridland

Despite the challenging tax and regulatory environment, entrepreneurs expect this year to be good for business, with many expecting both profitability and revenue to rise.

A recent roundtable, involving some of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs, cast light on a survey conducted by Investec Specialist Private Bank and the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. The roundtable, organised by realbusiness a leading resource for entrepreneurs and small businesses, cast light on the responses of the UK’s entrepreneurs to the current business climate.

While the survey revealed that almost 90% of entrepreneurs expect to increase business revenues this year, there are still areas where the UK does not support its entrepreneurs as well as they might hope.

The survey showed that 83% of entrepreneurs are assuming that the UK economy will not get worse over the coming 12 months while 63% believe it will actually improve.

More impressively, 89% think their business revenues will increase, compared to the 4% who predict a revenue drop.

Peter Selkirk, Chief Executive of Egbert H Taylor and Company, Britain’s largest manufacturer of commercial waste and recycling containers pointed out that, ‘The survey tells you as much about Britain’s entrepreneurs as anything else’ While Bill Laio, co-founder of social network Xing.com and CEO of Finaxis AG said that, ‘The UK could gain from a better awareness of the benefits that entrepreneurs bring. Entrepreneurialism is good for everyone.’

It’s true that adverse economic conditions often bring entrepreneurship to the fore, leading to the establishment of new businesses and the exploration of new ways of doing business. 72% of those responding to the survey said that the current state of the economy could bring them new opportunities.

However, the downside is that the tax and administrative regimes in the UK are seen as a brake, limiting innovation and business grown as far as entrepreneurs are concerned. Less than half of those surveyed 46% were investing in innovation and 10% were actively considering relocation their business operations off-shore.

I expressed the view that there was an entrepreneurship risk for the UK, ‘If measures aren’t taken to encourage people to stay, there are so many other places which are more attractive. Technology has made it so much easier to run a business from anywhere in the world.’ Bill Liao agreed, saying ‘punitive tax policies and short-term thinking are hurting the UK’.

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Business books to read in 2010

Posted by Michael under Business Growth, Entrepreneur Resources, Leadership

Here’s a round-up of some of the best business books I’ve read in recent months – there’s something here for every entrepreneur:

Great Game of Business, author J. Stack – When first published in 1992 this book contained the seminal ‘The Higher Laws of Business’

1. You get what you give.
2. It’s easy to stop one guy, but it’s pretty hard to stop 100.
3. What goes around comes around.
4. You do what you gotta do.
5. You gotta wanna.
6. You can sometimes fool the fans, but you can never fool the players.
7. When you raise the bottom, the top rises.
8. When people set their own targets, they usually hit them.
9. If nobody pays attention, people stop caring.
10. As they say in Missouri: Shit rolls downhill. In other words, change begins at the top.

To which Stack adds ‘The Ultimate Higher Law’ = when you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance.

This book is ideal for businesses focused on teamwork as it contains insightful information on how to get individuals focused and working together to achieve business success.

E-myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber – In an almost opposite way to the previous book, this one aims to fix the work life/balance for the entrepreneur.

Gerber feels that almost everyone who launches a business is a technician and will sooner or later suffer from Entrepreneurship seizure – the E-myth. He says small businesses do not work out because the technician-founder is working IN rather than ON the business, in other words is managing the mechanics rather than the strategy. Gerber takes the reader through installing systems in the business so that anybody can run it. The systems, not the individuals run the business. McDonalds is the key example here – with a constant workforce turnover, it still operates effectively because the systems keep the business going, not the people.

Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Technology Products to Mainstream Customers – author Geoffrey A Moore – This is a little more specialised, but it’s a book that reveals how high-tech products require marketing strategies completely different to those used in other industries. Moore offers ‘chasm theory’ which shows why high-technology products initially sell well to a technically literate customer base, but then hit a lull (the chasm) as they endeavour to cross over to mainstream buyers. But the book isn’t merely descriptive, it offers solutions to the problem by showing how to cross the chasm by getting marketing professionals to create profiles and target specific sections of the population rather than aiming straight for mainstream success, and uses examples such as Apple, Oracle, and Sun to elaborate the theory.

Winning: The Ultimate Business How-To Book by Jack and Suzy Welch – Jack Welch’s personal life is perhaps nothing to boast about in terms of work/life balance, but he does offer some of the most simple, powerful and proven management practices in the business today. His message is simple and clear if you: empower others, ask questions, tap into the potential of all of your associates, choose integrity and honesty over charts, graphs, and politics, and spend more time in action than slaving over budgets, you’ll achieve entrepreneurial success. One of the best sections of this book is the list of questions that need to be answered to develop a winning strategy – another real take-way gem is the material on how to take the pain out of agreeing budgets.

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Is reforestation the solution to global warming?

Posted by Michael under Leadership

At the EO24 London event on 19th November, held at the Adam Street Club, Bill Liao spoke as part of the series of Entrepreneurs’ Organisation events taking place around the world in recognition of Global Entrepreneurship Week. And according to Liao, noted entrepreneur and philanthropist, reforestation is not only the solution to global warming, but also the answer to poverty and water shortages.

His presentation was striking and revealed that:

• 50% of the world’s rainforests have been lost in the last 60 years
• Tropical deforestation causes 20% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions – and is often the result of removing trees to grow soy and corn to make biofuel to meet our oil addiction
• Forests regulate the water cycle by storing and redistributing water throughout their eco-system. Deforested lands often become deserts
• Forests absorb excess carbon dioxide, limiting the effects of global warming
• Reforestation can reduce temperatures by 5 degrees Celsius, and when combined with suitable agriculture, provides food and jobs as well as reducing reliance on chemicals used as fertilisers
• A forest can increase cloud cover and rainfall by as much as a quarter
• Properly designed permaculture ‘food forests’ can feed ten people, per acre, indefinitely. An acre of wheat feeds less than five, and requires water, pesticides and fertilisers
• Perhaps most importantly: reforesting just half of the world’s barren croplands and wastelands could lead to an extra 2% of cloud cover, and Liao says this would halt global warming, giving the world time to develop technology to resolve the problem altogether.

In addition to Liao’s fascinating presentation, those attending were treated to the simple and vital message of the Global Mind Shift Wombat.

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Global Student Entrepreneur Awards: UK Finalists

Posted by Michael under Business Growth, Leadership

The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards programme is the foremost award granted to undergraduate students who own and run businesses while still attending a college or university.

Selected applicants compete against their peers by presenting their businesses to a judging panel that evaluates the student entrepreneurs, giving them invaluable feedback and determining the regional winners who go on to the global level where student entrepreneurs from around the world compete for the 2009 Global Student Entrepreneur Awards Title.

I was honoured to be one of the judges for the 2009 UK final of the Global  Student Entrepreneur Awards and it was humbling to see what these students achieve in their spare time. These were the finalists:
 
Jack Smith – Mediaroots Ltd

Created competitive advantage by localising an overseas business idea and got amazon to stock his products – Mediaroots Ltd was established by two students from either ends of the UK, but despite logistical and time constraints the company is set to become the first major British video training publisher and aims to teach people how to use different pieces of software such as Adobe Photoshop.

Andy Young  – Groupspaces.com

Groupspaces.com acquired a huge user base in a very short period of time with a very innovative and useful product. The company assists leaders of groups such as sports clubs, student societies, local groups and charities by taking away the ‘pain’ of group administration so they can spend more time doing what they enjoy.

Simeon Williams  – Cradles Carbon Ltd

Giving advice to very high profile companies is Cradles Carbon Ltd’s bag. They have swiftly become a leading provider of industry information and analysis to investors, corporations and governments in clean renewable energy and the carbon markets. As part of Cradles and Co they have impressive access to new markets.

Daniel Taylor – Yoonee.com

On a shoestring budget Yoonee.com has developed a strong regional brand that works for a growing niche market. Daniel’s ambition is to ensure every student in his area has access to the exclusive discounts and offers yoonee.com delivers.

David Wick – Biotech  Motorsport

David has been running two business at the same time as obtaining a first class degree. Biotech Motorsport races, develops and tests alternative fueled vehicles in UK motorsports. It has overcome fellow competitor’s negative perception of these fuels to be the first team at club level of motorsport to win on bio-ethanol.

Tom Cohen – Yuza Mobile

Yuza Mobile designs and creates mobile applications, mobile web sites, and mobile marketing strategies, working with high-value intellectual property and brands to extend into mobile space. Yuza has achieved major success in a competitive high growth market with customers such as Virgin. 

James Brown – Red Button Design Ltd

This is an excellent ethical product that has the potential to translate into a financial success that will help millions of people in deprived areas. Red Button Design has already won international awards. Red Button’s first product is a 3-in-1 water transport, purification and storage device, designed to provide safe drinking water for users in the developing world.

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EO Barcelona University is Over

Posted by Michael under Business Growth, Leadership

As I travelled home having spent the last four days at EO barcelona unversity I reflect on what I experienced.

From Joe Duran and Verne Harnish I was able to decide on what my personal objectives and priorities are and how to go about achieving them.

Dr. Mario Alonso Puig showed how physiological factors can have physicological effects on your body and leadership. I learnt by how having awareness can allow you overcome these issues.

Arun Abey showed that affluence doesn’t equal happiness and why you should never work purely for finacial gain. The suicide rate in western countries has risen despite the increase in affulence with the highest rate of depression and suicide is in corporate law.  He had an interesting take on the relationship between marriage and happiness. The biggest take away for me was that to stay happy and healthy, I need to work on projects that I am passionate about and enjoy.

The highlight of the weeks speakers was Nando Parrado. How can a person stay alive 72 days lost in the Andes mountains ? How can a person with no equipment and no experience scale mountains to get help for the rest of the survivors. This was the most moving and inspiring presentation I have ever heard. I didn’t think that it would have had such an impact but it did. The human mind can achieve the most incredibles feats. No matter what your goal if you truly decide you can achieve something you can do it. Nando chose to survive no matter what he had to do. He accepted the brutal reality of his situation and never gave up. Tears were visible as the audience stood and applauded his triumph in the midst of adversity.

Miguel Torres did a interesting corporate presentation, gave some useful business tips (and supplied some lovely wines).

The presentation I wish I had seen was Morten Lundwho was one of the founders of skype who had just blown over a 100 million euros on a failed business and who’s current financial situation had left him with insufficient money to pay for a taxi to the hotel.

Bill Treasurer a former member of the U.S. High Diving Team diver spoke about courage in the workplace. Bill despite his fear of heights completed 1,500 high dives from heights that went up to over 100 feet…sometimes on fire!

I was entertained and had exclusive EO only access to Gaudi designed Casa Batlló, the stunning Gothic Casa Llotja de Mar and listened to a choral concert at the Santa Maria del Mar. I spent time on the beach at Stiges, saw military jets and stunt planes fly past my window in the Red Bull Barcelona air race……..and I partied in to the small hours with a fantastic group on international entrepreneurs.

I learnt from the speakers and from peers and left with plans for my improved future.

What an amazing first EO university experience. Roll on  2010  EO universities in Orange County and Cape town.

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What does a surgeon know about Leadership ?

Posted by Michael under Leadership

Fascinating talk by Surgeon Dr. Mario Alonso Puig at EO Barcelona Univeristy.

Perception-What are the limitations that prevent us from leveraging our own and others potentional. .

Point of View – Often based on a partial understanding but with assumption of complete knowledge.

LISTEN. Open ourselves to different possibilities.

And of course the Gorrilla Video

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What I took from Verne Harnish presentation at EO University

Posted by Michael under Leadership

The presentation gave me a means of deciding and working upon my personal goals. Rather than looking back in years to come at what I wanted to do but never got around to doing I now have a methodology that helps to identify focus and achieve my goals.

In addition to this I heard wise words on Leadership.

“Talk Less, Listen More”.

“Less statements, more questions”

“We have alll the answers, its the questions we dont know”

I also have a list of another 8 books on business to read !

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