Business Toolkit – Page 69 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

How rigorous is your organization about business planning?

May 19, 2016/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Poll, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

Our poll today asks: How rigorous is your organization about business planning?

– Very — we write thorough business plans: 21%
– Somewhat — we’ll write OK business plans: 36%
– Not very — we rarely write business plans: 31%
– Not at all — what’s a business plan?: 13%

Business Plans Aren’t Only for Startups. Any time you’re investing in something new to grow your business, it helps to lay out a plan. The extra time spent up front thinking about how you’ll roll things out, the barriers and risks you face, and contingency plans you can put in place now will save you headaches down the road. There are many myths about business plans and how they’re only for entrepreneurs. If you can get past those and look at business planning as part of the normal course of doing business, you’ll find your new ideas fare better in the market with far fewer negative surprises.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

Getting the Most out of Your Alma Mater

May 18, 2016/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Your college education is worth much more than the math and English you learned. If you’re not taking advantage of (and giving back to) your alma mater, you’re missing out on some great opportunities.

My college experience was… well… less than fun. The United States Military Academy prides itself on giving you the most spartan of college experiences. We never cracked the top 500 of “Best Party Schools in America” while I was there. That said, the education I received there was stellar and set me up to be successful in almost any field I chose to enter.

Many of you have similar experiences. You went to a university or vocational school and learned a lot of things that can be applied to your chosen career. But classroom learning is only a small part of the gifts that were imparted to you. You learned how to socialize, live independently, manage your budget, deal with debt, prioritize, manage your time, and have a good time with great friends.

You also built a network of people who have shared experiences and beliefs. A group of people who are willing to help out just because you both have a class ring from the same school. These assets can do more to advance your career than any physics or philosophy class ever could. But that only happens if you nurture and use those assets judiciously.

Using Your Skills

Think back to all the non-classroom stuff you learned in school. Look at what you can apply to your current job. Are there skills you’re not taking advantage of? Are there things you did well back in your school days but you don’t focus on now? It could be things like scheduling and planning your week or making sure you find time to socialize so you stay in balance.

Spend some time cataloging the things you learned outside the classroom. They’re most likely soft skills although some will be more concrete like budgeting and scheduling. Once you have that list, ask yourself “which of these skills am I not using to my fullest abilities and how can I apply them to be happier and do better at work and in life?”

Pick a few areas where you can benefit from applying these skills and focus on applying them for a few weeks. You’ll find you slip into old (good) habits relatively easily. The application of these skills will hopefully make you more efficient, effective, and happier with your work.

Using Your Network

Upcoming Event: Change Management Conference

April 20, 2016/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Career, Leadership, Project Management, Training, Upcoming Events /by Mike Figliuolo

Change management and project management professionals face obstacles between the planning and execution process ranging from lack of consensus, lack of resources, poor communication, poor management support and employee resistance. Because all of these can factor into the success of your initiative, these challenges can lower both the program’s success rate and the manager’s motivation.

At ACMP’s Change Management 2016, you can get the tools required to take your change management skills to the next level. Taking place May 15-18, 2016 at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas, Texas, this 3-day conference focuses on providing solutions and best practices in a collaborative environment. Whether you are a seasoned professional or new to the challenges in change management, this conference will provide you with insights to break through these barriers to successful results.

There are five key reasons for attending Change Management 2016:

Update Your Toolkit – Whether you’re just starting out in change management or are a seasoned professional, there is always room for improvement. Stay up-to-date in this ever-changing industry with educational opportunities that add to your skillset. Earn professional development credits while doing it.

Network with Your Peers – Make connections that will advance your career. When you meet with your peers, you have a chance to collaborate and hear new ideas that may inspire you to implement something similar or validate your perspectives. The program has built-in networking events. View the various networking opportunities here.

Meet with New Vendors and Suppliers – The exhibitors are industry experts. Vendors in the exhibit hall can help you learn more about the future of change management. If you’re interested in becoming a vendor or sponsor, learn more here.

Hear From the Experts Read more

6 Fantastic Negotiating Techniques that Help You Win the Deal

April 6, 2016/5 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

Negotiating can be tricky business. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could get fleeced. But with these six great tools you can increase the odds that you end up on the right side of the deal.

Over the years, I’ve learned some great negotiating techniques and tactics. I’d like to share them with you – with the promise that you don’t use them against me because I’ll know what you’re doing.

The Invisible Man

One of my favorites is called the invisible man. That’s where you’re in the heat of a deal and you don’t want to give an answer right now, or you don’t like the position that the other party is taking. You just say “Well, I have to check with my colleagues before I can give you an answer.” Unfortunately that other party isn’t in the room.

By using this approach, you’ve pushed back the negotiation, you’ve bought yourself some time, and now you have the ability to go back to the other party and say “I know you wanted a 20% discount, but I’ve spoken with my colleagues and the best we can do is 10%.” You’ve created an invisible authority that the other party has to negotiate against.

The Bogey

The second technique is called the bogey. Act like something you don’t care about at all is really important to you. Then as you go through the deal, fight hard for that one point. This gives you the ability to trade it away later like you’re making a major concession but it doesn’t really cost you anything. You create negotiating leverage for yourself by making the other party believe they’ve won something big when instead you were able to extract something of true value to you.

The Nibble

The next technique is called the nibble. This technique is about taking a tiny bite right as time is expiring. At the last minute, right before you get a deal done, ask for something extra. Don’t go after something big enough to break the deal. But beware, this approach can upset the other party.

For example, imagine you’re out shopping for a suit. You buy two suits and you’re spending a lot of money. At the last minute, right at the register say “Well, you know what, I’ll buy the suits. Can you throw in a tie and belt?” The salesperson is looking at a really big commission and they’re not going to lose that big commission over a tie and a belt. It’s a small nibble right at the end.

High-Ball and Low-Ball

How to Harness the 4 Aspects of Focus

March 14, 2016/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Business Toolkit, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Multitasking doesn’t work. It’s only through true focus that you can make meaningful progress on your work. By using the four aspects of focus, you can excel at any task you put your mind to.

Today’s post is by Achim Nowak, author of THE MOMENT: A Practical Guide to Creating a Mindful Life in a Distracted World (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Let’s face it. Pretty much every facet of our work lives conspires against us staying focused. We rush from one meeting to the next. We have too many emails to answer in any given moment. There are days when it seems we do nothing but respond to last-minute requests and fly by the seat of our pants.

And yet, the leader who stays focused is the one who creates exponentially more success.

Focus, at its very best, is our exquisite commitment to a goal, and our full engagement with the process of attaining this goal. Before we explore some common-sense focus practices, let go, once and for all, of the notion that multi-tasking works. Yes, you know how to do it. You are likely quite good at it. Research, however, consistently shows that multi-tasking dilutes the effectiveness of the tasks we perform. We tend to confuse motion with achievement. Instead of our relentless focus on achievement, why not focus on the art of focus?

One activity at a time is a fine place to begin. Successful focus, however, is defined by the levels of awareness you and I bring to the performance of this single activity. The following four aspects of focus help us shift from the purely transactional performance of a task to a deeply conscious engagement with this task:

3 Tips for Making Your Staff Meetings Not Suck

February 10, 2016/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Business Toolkit, Communications, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Staff meetings can be incredibly productive. Or unproductive. More often the latter. If your staff meetings are terrible, it’s your fault because you’re not structuring them well. With a few small changes, you can make those meetings valuable (and shorter).

One of the most surreal business experiences I’ve ever had relates to a staff meeting. I had joined a new team and my boss’ assistant sent me all the calendar invites for the division’s recurring meetings. One invite in particular grabbed my attention. When I saw it, I immediately called her.

“Hey, I think you made a mistake on the staff meeting invite you sent me. You set it for 8AM to 10PM. I think you meant 10AM.”

“No. The invite is correct.”

“Um, what? A FOURTEEN HOUR staff meeting?!? Every month?!?”

“Yes. You guys start at 8AM and run until about 5. Then everyone goes home and changes and meets for dinner at 6 and you guys meet until 10.”

“Alright – setting aside the 8-5 part, it’s just a dinner afterward, right?”

“No, you guys work during the meal.”

My head exploded. I had no idea how this was possible. When I went to my first meeting, I understood. We went around the table and every person briefed a status update on EVERY PROJECT THEY WERE WORKING ON. Folks with dashboards walked through EVERY METRIC THEY MONITORED (even the ones that were “green” and were fully within variance expectations). For items requiring a decision, people walked through THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE PROJECT DATING BACK TO THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. Read more

The Key to Snapping Out of Analysis Paralysis

January 13, 2016/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Entrepreneur, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Analysis paralysis runs rampant in our organizations. The mountains of data available to us are a blessing and a curse. You may find you’re constantly doing more analysis but never making a decision. There’s a simple question you can ask to break out of this dynamic.

Making executive-level decisions requires you to exercise judgment. You’ll never have perfect data. Gathering data takes time and effort. While you’re gathering incremental data, the world changes while you wait, and you’ll need more data to reduce those new sources of uncertainty. Your job is to manage the trade-off on risk, certainty, reward, and speed of making the decision.

When you go to gather incremental data, or the members of your team are saying “we need more information,” ask yourself “Does it change the answer?” If that incremental data you’re going to gather won’t change the decision, just make the decision. This simple question can break you out of the data’s grip on your throat.

One situation I was involved in, as far as using data but exercising judgment and speed, was an acquisition. We were looking at buying a business that had a fleet of trucks. Truck maintenance costs were in question because they were a driver of some of the economics of the deal.

I spent a lot of time gathering and analyzing data and discussing that data for what the maintenance costs would be. Ultimately, I baked an assumption into the model. When I discussed that assumption with some senior executives, we got into very fine detail on what those costs would be. The conversation devolved to the level of “When was the last oil change for this truck? How old were the tires on this one vehicle?” I found myself gathering more and more data about every truck in the fleet in order to answer these questions.

The Simplest Sales Boosting Technique EVER

January 6, 2016/4 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

Sales are the lifeblood of any company. No sales, no company. In a cluttered, competitive world, it’s hard to get through to your prospects and make the sale. The good news is there’s an incredibly simple technique that should immediately boost your numbers and you can start doing it right now.

Strap yourself in. You’re about to have your mind blown.

Ever since grade school when I sold anything that wasn’t nailed down, I’ve been drawn to sales. It started with pencils I painted with custom designs and people’s names on them. I then graduated to selling comic books. Then I sold table space at comic book conventions I put on myself (at age 14). Over the years I’ve migrated to other sales roles and, in the day to day running of thoughtLEADERS, I’m the head of sales.

I won’t lie – sales can be a grind especially when facing competitive situations or making big ticket complex sales. Long lead times, budget constraints, and prospects who are tough to get a hold of make selling efforts difficult.

But I’ve found a secret. I’ve found a way to get in touch with clients and prospects and engage them in a sales conversation 100% of the time. Not only that, they’re excited to talk to me about it and they’re usually ready to buy by the time we finish talking. I’ve been astonished with how effective this technique is and it’s beyond simple. I’m going to share it with you now and it will change your life.

Ready?

Best of thoughtLEADERS 2015: Even Better than Last Year

December 16, 2015/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Entrepreneur, Innovation, Leadership, Sales, Social Media, Strategy /by Mike Figliuolo

It’s time again for our annual year in review list of the BEST posts we’ve published over the last 12 months. Welcome to the 2015 edition of The Figgies (our SEVENTH YEAR of em! Wow!) which are the awards we give ourselves for writing awesome blog content (here are the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 editions of those awards).

This is an annual event at the thoughtLEADERS Blog. This list is comprised of our most viewed, most forwarded, quirkiest, most provocative work. Enjoy. Share. We’ve loved writing them. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading them. I don’t ask a lot of you folks so I have two small requests as your holiday gift to me (you are getting me something, right?):

1. Invite all your coworkers, friends, and family to come check out the blog and become readers. The only way we all get better is by raising everyone’s game. I’m not asking a lot here. If you found this blog helpful at all this year, here’s your chance to return the favor for all our hard work. Just email folks and tell ’em to come take a look.

2. Pick up a copy of my books. They make great holiday gifts for the professionals in your life. The titles include:

One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful Personal Leadership. In the words of Roland Smith (former CEO of Wendy’s/Arby’s) “This book could change your life.” To get a sense for what the book is about, read this free ChangeThis Leadership Manifesto which is based on the book. If you like the manifesto, you’ll love the book.

Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results. “Finally, a leadership book that cuts through all of the noise. This book needs to be on every leader’s desk!” – Andrea Procaccino, Chief Learning Officer, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

The Elegant Pitch: Create a Compelling Recommendation, Build Broad Support, and Get it Approved. If you’re looking to get to “yes” for your idea, this book will give you the method for doing so in an efficient and effective way.

Thanks for your incredible support in ’15 and best wishes for ’16! We hope to be a part of your future success! Now on to the best of list!

4 Ways to Unlock the Innovation Power of Your Team

November 23, 2015/0 Comments/in Books, Business Toolkit, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Innovation, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Want to be a more effective innovation leader? Use these four ways of thinking—called “The Four Lenses of Innovation”—to bring out the best ideas from your team.

Today’s post is by Rowan Gibson, author of The Four Lenses of Innovation: A Power Tool for Creative Thinking (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Your company may have taken on innovation as a strategic priority or a corporate value, but what if you feel more comfortable improving execution than with being the creative leader of your team? Let’s face it: generating new ideas, recognizing those with breakthrough potential, and then mobilizing your team to drive those ideas from the mind to the market – often in the face of substantial risk and uncertainty – is not something every leader feels cut out to do. But in today’s value-based innovation economy, it’s precisely these leadership skills that need to be learned.

So let’s get started. Here are four proven ways to unlock the innovation power of your team and to generate the kinds of new products, services, strategies, and business models that have the potential to drive top line growth and perhaps even revolutionize your industry.

1. Challenge Orthodoxies

Remember, innovators are usually contrarians by nature. They are people who tend to question common assumptions and overturn conventional wisdom inside a company, or across a whole industry.

Recall how James Dyson fundamentally reinvented the vacuum cleaner by asking why it needed a bag, and why it couldn’t be a sexy design statement instead of the ugliest thing in your home. Or how Tesla’s Elon Musk reconceived the automobile by challenging the conventional wisdom of Detroit’s seasoned executives about the viability of electric cars. Just over a decade later, every car company—and even Apple, too —is asking itself how it can learn from Musk’s playbook.

So try to work with your team to identify and challenge some of the dogmas that represent the dominant thinking in your industry. What are the broadly-shared and deeply-held beliefs about the “right” way of doing things? What if you systematically challenge these assumptions? What new innovation opportunities might present themselves?

2. Harness Trends

Are You Stuck In The Manager’s Dilemma?

October 26, 2015/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Books, Business Toolkit, Career, Communications, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

A by-product of our “overworked economy” is that it is increasingly easy to inadvertently slip into unproductive habits that make it hard to get great work done. However, one quality that distinguishes the good leaders from the truly great ones is the capacity to recognize and shift those patterns in real-time.

Today’s post is by Jesse Sostrin, author of The Manager’s Dilemma (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

The Manager’s Dilemma, a phenomenon that affects roughly 80% of all managers, is one such pattern that is riddled with deceptive tendencies that make it difficult for leaders to change the subtle, but destructive habits that cause even the highest-achievers to get bogged down.

The dilemma gets triggered when your demands and responsibilities increase, yet the resources you have available to meet them do not. The problem with this inverse equation is that when demands outpace capacity you end up negotiating with yourself about which fire of the day you will put out while others are painfully neglected. I call this set of imperfect choices the manager’s dilemma because it is truly a no-win situation without an obvious solution.

How a manager approaches his or her dilemma becomes the crucial pathway to either breakthrough and success or burnout and failure.

The dilemma is more than your everyday stress. There is a big difference between episodic stress where you might say “I’m feeling maxed out!” and the consistent form of stress caused when you are stuck in the manager’s dilemma. For one, stress increases when you have too much work, too little time, and too few resources to do it. A temporary imbalance of these factors triggers normal stress in the average person. If you are in an industry that has peak periods where your workload fluctuates significantly, then you may even be able to predict spikes in your level of stress.

6 Reasons Your Offsites are Terrible

October 21, 2015/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Leadership, Project Management, Training /by Mike Figliuolo

Your offsites and training programs aren’t effective because of a few typical planning mistakes. With a few tweaks and openness to changing your approach, you can run a great offsite.

Offsites are a great way to share focused content, build relationships, spend time away from the office discussing key issues, and re-energize your team. More often than not they turn into rushed, mind-numbing wastes of time filled with forced fun. Why do they devolve to this so often?

Planning. Plain and simple. Poor planning.

I’ve seen and run my fair share of offsites. Sometimes I’ve been a participant. Others I’ve been in charge. Still others I’ve been the content being delivered. After over a decade of doing this, I’ve identified a few common issues that make for terrible offsites. I’d like to share those issues and more importantly offer some thoughts on how to rectify them.

Issue 1: You Put Ten Pounds of Crap in a Five Pound Sack

“Hey we’ve got 8 hours of offsite time. Let’s have eight one-hour sessions.” Fail. People see offsites as a rare opportunity to get everyone together and as a great way to share a ton of content with that group. Unfortunately we try to share too much information during the offsite.

Let’s talk planning math. If you have an 8 hour offsite, you can have 5.5 hours of content. No more. Why? 1 hour for lunch, 30 minutes for breaks (one morning and one afternoon), 30 minutes of “meeting friction” in the morning as people arrive late and 30 minutes of “meeting friction” in the afternoon as folks leave early because they have a flight to catch. 5.5 hours. Period. And if your offsite is more than 50 people, take off another 30 minutes because the breaks will take that much longer because you only have two restrooms. Stop jamming too much content into the allotted time. You won’t get to it all and if you do, it’ll be rushed and won’t stick.

Issue 2: You Rely on Time Warps