The Oops Clause or the $30 Big Mac

How do you forgive your customers when they make a genuine mistake? Ever overspend your limit? Today people are running close to the end of their checking account balances and because of the vagaries of the financial world companies put holds on money, banks post bigger withdrawals first and people lose sight of where their actual balance is.

Some institutions have at least a $25 charge for an overdraft, meaning one customer I am aware of ended up spending close to $30 for a Big Mac. Think about it, with the current conditions banks are facing, do the banks really want this revenue stream to stop? Fee income is a significant source of revenue in these volatile times and financial institutions are looking for every way they can to improve their bottom lines. So where are their incentives for teaching better customer behaviors?

Treat your customer like family

Taking advantage of customers with fees such as the $30 Big Mac example doesn't build relationships or trust. The short-term view of customers makes for short-term customers and there is no relationship.

Treat customers like family. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Work with them in their trying times.

Create an "oops clause."

An "oops clause" simply means when your customer makes the rare mistake, you work with them on it; not take advantage of it. Make one late payment after years of on-time payments, or one overdraft situation after years of good money management; we got you covered. Obviously an "oops clause" is different than a "bad habits clause." If you are a financial institution and some of your customers are perpetually in a negative balance situation forgiveness only goes so far. In bad habit circumstances why not require they get some financial help your organization offers for free? There are still ways to help the habitual offender, if you want them to stop that self-damaging behavior.

How can you offer better customer service in your organization with an "oops clause"? What oops would your customers really appreciate your understanding? You are going to create much better customer buzz with your forgiveness in an “oops clause” than in making them choke on a $30 Big Mac.

How a Subtle Shift Can Open a New World

Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to visit the planetarium at the University of Louisville. Remember planetarium visits from high school? Watching shows about astronomy and the stars under a half-dome ceiling looking straight up? That was what I was expected again, but that wasn't what I got.

What if you move the planetarium's control from the science department to the department of education? A subtle shift opens a new world. The science department saw what the planetarium was historically made for: night sky shows. The education department sees it more as an IMAX-type opportunity to educate in all fields of study.

I got to see an animated video teaching me on a particular subject matter. Sure they still have the capability of an astronomy show and I received a bonus show of a Beatles laser show. What a flashback experience for me! The half-dome is the same, some of the equipment is the same, but the intent of the product is completely different.

What departmental walls do you need to be removing for the benefit of your customers and company? What additional input could you gain for production, sales, marketing, and training if you allowed the removal of the departmental death-grip of most department heads?

Subtle differences of perspectives can open an entirely new world of opportunity when you are open to input from outside sources. The planetarium designed for a single purpose in the hands of the science department never had the chance to experience a new life of growth potential until it was in the hands of someone new.

Where do you need to be gathering input from new sources to take your products, services and marketing ideas into an entirely new direction? Imagine the profits awaiting you when you take the risk to open up to fresh ideas.

Is Your Second Right Answer Better?

"Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one we have." -- Emile Chartier

When anyone is totally invested in one idea, right or wrong it becomes the idea they grip too closely. Regardless of facts that say otherwise, people will stick with an idea even to the detriment of the organization.

The heated debate of a healthcare proposal has lost focus on what is best for the country over all and has now become focused on which side of the aisle wins; those with the idea or those against the idea.

Board rooms wrestle in the same ways, just not as publically on the defense and attack of the one idea in the room with health care.

How often is the second right answer even better than the first one? Most of the time. This is why writers edit, why marketers look for the slightly off center and why executives need to explore deeper to find other right answers.

What are the singular right answers in your organization that you hold as infallible truths? The customer is always right? Our logo can never change? We could never move the main office? Our signature product will not change with the times, people like it just the way it is?

Find the second right answer and you will find a better idea most of the time.

Have No Regrets

Tiger Woods is the unbeatable, the dominator, and the standard of perfection. Yesterday Y. E. Yang stood toe to toe with the Goliath of the game and won in a significant major championship. How did this happen and what does this mean for your business? It means plenty.

So often I hear business owners and executives accept defeat when the economy is rocky, when a new player comes to town or when the industry has a significant shift. It's as if they want someone, anyone to make things change in their favor.

Even yesterday golfers were interviewed before the final round of the PGA and to a man they were imploring someone to step up and beat Tiger in these situations. Obviously, they were waiting on someone else to do it.

Don't Wait on Someone Else

When I hear business leaders tell me "We have to wait and see what the economy does." Or, "Once the government stimulus package breaks us out of this situation we are in." Or, "Once things turn around in this industry, we'll be able to go back to how we used to do things." Each of these are direct quotes from people who supposedly are business leaders.

Y. E. Yang didn't wait for someone else to beat Tiger; he didn't wait for someone to tell him Tiger was ready to be beat. He didn't wait for someone else to intervene to "level the playing field" of talent.

He took his best game, and as he told reporters, he plays with no regrets. He knew he had to take risky shots to win and he knew sometimes that means it could go badly if he makes a mistake.

No regrets

When was the last time you hung it all out for the win and played your best knowing you had to take risks? Play with no regrets. Often the best decisions, the best efforts, and the greatest positive shifts happen when the decision maker has no regrets in going for it, regardless of outcome.

Have no regrets, and go for the win.

The Eyes Reveal Winning Marketing Copy

What if you knew the viewing habits of your website visitors? Eye tracking research is finding fascinating results of what marketing copy grabs attention and where is should be placed.

We all know for proper exposure we need to have an active website that generates the right attention. But how do you know what is working?

Do you know how is your website is viewed by your visitors? So often we get caught up in the number of how many hits and page views our blog or website gets, but what does that really tell us?

Eye tracking reveals higher validity in data compared to conventional marketing research methods. Eye-tracking visualizations show that users often read Web pages in an F-shaped pattern: two horizontal stripes followed by a vertical stripe.
According to Jacob Nielsen's research, of the 322 people he studied, although not everyone had the exact F-pattern they all resembled the quick read pattern of two horizontals scans and then a long vertical scan. So what does this research tell you about your web writing for maximum marketing exposure?

1. Users will not read your text as written.

Writers tend to fall in love with their words and spend hours working on the correct prose of their articles, marketing pieces and web information. The fact is, we have such an unlimited access of information and such a limited time to take it all in, people don't read web copy as if they were reading a novel. (Come to think of it, I wonder how novel reading habits have changed in the information age as well?)

2. The lead is really the lead.

Readers are going to read your first paragraph most likely word for word so your most important information must be right up front. A mistake many copy writers make in web marketing is "burying the lead." Get to the point of what you want to say and say it -- fast.

3. Start bullet points with information-carrying words.

The research found that viewers will notice information words when scanning down the left side of your copy; therefore, all of your marketing copy bullets, subheadings and highlighted information must jump with information. If you can make the reader stop they are more apt to scan a few words beyond what catches their attention. Otherwise, the scan of the marketing copy on your website may last less than five seconds.

Have someone outside of your organization do a quick look at your web information and see what jumps off the page at them. What specifically pops? What grabs their attention? Did they lose interest quickly? One caution I will add: too much of a good thing is a bad thing. If you revamp your copy to be so busy with grab words, icons and "hit me" buttons you will only confuse the reader into thinking they just walked into an arcade and went on input overload.

Make your words count where they need to be located.

Get a Hammer and Beat Your Head with It

Customers are probably the most informed, savvy and intolerant of BS than customers have ever been in the history of customers! So why are most companies taking the same products and giving them different names to try to appeal to the current times. You should be ashamed.

This year's car is the same as last year's car. The big development in your beer product is the can turned blue when it's cold -- as if I couldn't tell it was cold by touching the can! The discount you used to give all the time is now the "stimulus discount." Why doncha just get a hammer and beat yourself over the head if that is the best you can come up with.

Come on people. If you want customers you need to act like it. Hundreds of companies all over this country are having great years financially. Many of my clients are showing significant growth this year, the year of recession, depression, and suppression.

So what gives?

Where are your new products and new delivery systems that will get the cynical consumer to sit up and take notice and say to themselves, "I gotta have one of those!"

Do you think a car with 100 MPG capability is going to get the consumers attention when gas stays at the $4 a gallon mark? Do you think the technology exists to make that a reality? Count on it.

Where is the WOW in your products and services? Where is the WOW in your marketing? Where is the WOW in your approach to kicking the competition's ass?

Consumers have very high expectations and feel they have seen it all. Why else do amateur YouTube videos go viral into the millions? Because people want to see something they haven't seen before. They want something that reaches them. They want to be inspired.

What are you doing to inspire your customers with products and services that hit them where they live? That speaks to them? That makes them want to but it right away?

Try this question on for size:

What products do you offer that customers are demanding to own? The products they will eagerly wait in line to get?

If you don't have this -- you need it. If you can't think of what that could be -- find someone who can. If you want to dominate your marketplace, grow your business and have customers demanding your product you need to get off your ass and THINK what would it take to make that happen?!

Cash for Clunkers did it. Concert tickets do it. Every Christmas there is a toy that does it. Now what are you going to do about it?

Are Your Customers Using the Cloak of Invisibility?

This year many business owners and executives feel as if their customers all borrowed Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak because they simply have disappeared. Were you expecting that to happen when you looked forward from 9 months ago? Did you think about how your market was going to shift? Are you prepared for the shift in the marketplace that will happen in another 9 months?

Because we have become such short-sighted in our planning and reporting and we feel the marketplace is changing too fast for us to keep up, executives are being reactive instead of being proactive. Leadership of growing companies need to constantly be looking for the pulse of the customer. What are they craving, what will they be craving in 12 months, what can we offer them they will love but don't even realize they want it?

Did you know you needed an MP3 player before one existed? Did we realize that cell phones were a necessary personal item? Did we even realize back in the day we would need highly interactive websites before we even knew the Internet existed?

Customer choices are driven by what they want and what they think they want. Right now customers want value, personal selling, and low cost. When the credit crisis hit last September and it appeared the American market was in dire straits did you gather your executives to talk about what consumer behavior was going to look like in 12 months? I think most executives were sharing in the panic of looking for survival and getting through current times. Imagine, if you spent the right amount of time to predict where consumers would be right now how much better you would be positioned?

The reason customers are disappearing is because no one was ready for this moment in time. What if GM had decided in January to offer a "Cash for Clunkers" program as a way if stimulating growth? The response has been overwhelming. Could they have saved the company from going into bankruptcy instead of their feeble attempt of begging for money in Washington?

To look forward and predict your marketplace in 12 months you need to be asking the following questions:

1. How will my customer buying behaviors be different than they are today?
2. What are the desired product characteristics that will speak to my customer then?
3. What could I create that would tilt the marketplace in my favor?
4. What type of permission marketing approach will reach my customers at that time?
5. How can I create more nimbleness in my organization to make changes fast enough to stay in front of customer demands and expectations?

By spending time on these questions for the coming year, you will engage in creating predictability through your research and proactive choices. We learn from our hits and our misses, but we have to take action. To please an every changing customer marketplace we have to anticipate those needs before they arrive and create accurate predictions that will guide important decisions for growth.

Market Predictions are Like the Weather

Have you ever seen markets shift as quickly as they do today? GM found out that as fast as they could go from concept to delivery and debut a new car model the market no longer supported such a vehicle. Technology and customers shift like a flock of birds on a windy day making CEO's lose sleep.

What can you do about the whipsaw changes we are seeing as the norm in the marketplace? Get better at predicting those changes, and get more comfortable with accepting mistakes.

We are standing at the cross roads of market forecasting and zero tolerance of mistakes. Something has to give. Ever notice how infrequent the weather forecaster is in her weekly predictions for what weather is approaching your area? Imagine if she were being held to the standard of zero tolerance of mistakes. What to hear her forecasts? "It’s going to be dark tonight, and the sun will come up in the morning – everything else is too sketchy to predict." Does that forecast really do anyone any good?

This week I am going to talk about how to view market predictions from a technology, customer and product delivery standpoint.

Today I am here to encourage you to get comfortable with making mistakes. No one can predict exactly what is going to happen next in your marketplace. The key is to be right most of the time and be able to take immediate action on those correct predictions.

I understand the evolution of zero defect products and thankfully that mindset has improved product quality extensively in many industries. I am in no way saying to relax your production standards. I'm saying you need to be willing to tolerate some miscalculations in long term predictions in order to have any meaningful predictions at all.

Go back to the weather forecaster. When she is asked to make predictions with no mistakes, one of two things happen. Either she makes the safest predictions a person can make (dark at night and light during the day) or she inspires widespread panic, "I know a tornado is coming to this general area, and since I am not allowed to be wrong, everyone run for cover!" Weather is unpredictable and so are markets.

Years ago, the music industry knew if one in 20 bands they promoted and invested in had to be strong enough to make up for the loss on the other ones who failed. The challenge was in knowing who were the winners? More market predictions are going to be the same way. Apple lost millions on the Newton, but they made up for it with the ipod and the iphone.

The key is keep moving and making better educated predictions – something you can't learn if you have to hit the bull's eye every time. Sometimes you have a band that comes out of nowhere and becomes a megahit. Be ready to capitalize on those missed predictions.

Prepare for the Issues to Come

In talking with CEOs I am alarmed at the short-sightedness I am hearing in how they are focusing their businesses. I even heard one CEO remark, "I'll be glad when we get back to how things used to be."

Regardless of when the economic recovery will arrive and to what extent we return to previous operating levels, we will never go back to how things used to be.

I get the sense executives are just doing what they can to keep plugging along waiting for the recovery to happen and then get ready for a collective sigh of relief. This is not leadership and this isn't the focus organizations need to be having.

Look at the future

When the recovery comes there will be new issues facing businesses. Leaders need to be discussing these issues and preparing for their inevitability because even in good times businesses fail when they are unprepared for the events they are facing.
Here are some of the issues CEOs need to be dealing with now to be prepared for when they happen I the near future:

How will the company handle increased demand with a reduced workforce?

What impact will a rush of new employees have on the workings of the surviving team currently in place?

How has marketing changed in the last two years?

What are the spending habits of consumers or businesses I supply, and how do I need to adjust for these changes in behavior?

What are the skills on my team I will need that I don't currently have?

Getting prepared for 12 months down the road is more critical now because we know dramatic changes are in the wind. Are you ready?

3 rules for growth communication

The news has been filled with unclear communication, spin control and the inability to admit a mistake. How are we suppose to grow as a country if we can't even communicate effectively?

The same goes for your business. If you want to grow your business communication must follow these three rules.

Rule #1 Be open and honest

A friend of mine was telling me about a blind date he had with a woman he met on the internet. Toward the end of the date she asked him if he thought she looked like her picture. He told her he felt that a picture was just a moment captured and didn't really indicate who she is in her personality, interests and total beauty. (Is that smooth or what?) He then asked her the same question; does he look like his picture. She told him in real life he looked older, more weathered and not as attractive. Well, thank you very much!

Honesty, doesn't have to be brutal; in fact, I've seen people use it as a weapon to bludgeon someone, usually followed by the words, "Just being honest." We need to be open to communications when people have ideas different than our own. Constructive feedback can improve the operations in an organization. However, communication with malice, no matter how honest, will not grow an organization. Be sure your communications have a greater focus on the intent of the message to be delivered than on the side and hidden meanings that can create confusion, damage and duplicitous agendas.

Rule #2 Respond, don't react

President Obama inflamed the situation between the white officer and the arrested black Harvard professor, who happens to be the President's friend, elevating it to a significant news story of the past week.

By commenting the police department acted stupidly without having all the facts of the situation, the President demonstrated the dangers of reacting to a situation. Later after learning more about the arresting officer and the facts of the situation, his semi-retraction of his words indicate he commented hastily. A reaction is emotional and a response is logical, the difference can be significant when you are trying to make progress and growth in any situation.

Side note: Since I am talking about communications here I have to say I believe the President would’ve been better served with an apology for his choice of words than in saying "I should've calibrated them differently." It is this type of double talk and indirect communication that causes people to distrust the person talking. I don't care what position you hold, if you make a mistake, admit it and move along.

Rule #3 Be clear in what you are saying

I watched the President's press secretary try to respond to a direct question from a reporter who asked, "Did the President apologize to the arresting officer for his remarks?" The press secretary spent many seconds during his response searching for words without saying the words, "Sorry," "Apology," or "Retraction." The song and dance was obvious and painful to watch. Why was it painful? Because a leader who declares transparency will occur under his watch and has the inability to utter the words, "I apologize" instead uses the term, "I should have calibrated my words differently." Is not living into his promise.

It is no different than an executive surveying employees for feedback telling them he will respond to their concerns, and later does nothing with the information. Trust is lost and cynicism increases: two of the worst things that can happen from poor communication.

If you want to grow your organization make sure your communications help you, not hurt you.

George Clooney on Rosanne?

I was flipping channels one evening and ran across a rerun of an early episode of Rosanne. The few minutes I saw had them in a bowling alley and Rosanne was giving her sister hell for making a bet with a guy to see who was the better bowler. In that short moment in that episode stepping up to roll a bowling ball down the lane was a young actor by the name of George Clooney.

How did George Clooney go from a bit player on Rosanne to one of the most bankable actors of our current times? Perseverance.

There is no fast buck. There is no free opportunity to the land of plenty. There is no easy ride. However, there are great rewards and satisfaction when we persevere.
In studying successful people I find it isn't always the smartest people who reach the top. It isn’t always the beautiful people who reach the top. It's the people who persevere in working to improve, make a difference and are fueled by passion.

The comedian Bill Engvall bounced around the comedy club circuit for over a dozen years before joining Jeff Foxworthy’s Blue Collar Comedy Tour. Even then the tour was only moderately successful, and he was still working the clubs, but the video of the tour on Comedy Central was his big break. After years of toiling away at his craft and getting his start on Star Search, Bill Engvall became noticed by the right people and he now has movies, television shows and comedy specials. Over night success? Hardly.

Touring comedy clubs is a brutal existence. The pay is lousy, the travel is hard and the audiences can be brutal. Bill's perseverance eventually paid off, and you can bet every night he give it his best performance and persevered on to the next show.

There are times in our jobs when perseverance is the only way to keep going, and that one more step will always get us closer to the success we are driven for. To grow your business you need to take those tough steps, those steps that feel impossible but you know must be taken.

There is a fine line between success and failure and that perseverance Clooney and Engvall demonstrated to reach the top of their careers could've been skipped and where would they be now? Persevere and reach the top of your career.

The Extra Mile Week: Is Your Marketing an Endangered Species?

I remember the first time I read Seth Godin's book Purple cow. I still find that one of the best rereads I own. Because every time I read it again my mind is in a different place and more new ideas spring forth. We are in Purple Cow marketing times.

Also, marketing is in such evolution, companies need to be looking down the road an extra mile to see where they need to be reaching out and how is the best way to make that happen.

Video marketing

Remember when YouTube was a curiosity site for home film makers posting their version of America's Funniest Home Videos? Now YouTube is a marketing force that millions are using for resumes, promotional videos, and yes pitching products. Imagine making commercials you don't need to buy air time for?

The instant feedback of this type of marketing also answers the old question of which marketing ideas are working. If your commercial or video on YouTube goes viral it rides a wave of the greatest feedback you could ever get in marketing -- word of mouth support and resending the link to the commercial to friends. If it sits there with no views, you are getting cold honest feedback the networks will never provide. Your ad sucks.

Information marketing

Brochures are an endangered species. In fact, print marketing is pretty much no longer necessary with how well society is linked in to mobile information technology. Obviously, everyone knows they need a fantastic website. But what about your website information is attractive and sticky? Sticky means people visiting will stay to read what information you have available. Marketing departments need to spend hours on taking advantage of technology options and forget the traditional marketing methods. They no longer apply.

Information also needs to be information worth hearing! We are so bombarded with information we tune out all but the most attractive. Blogs you write should be attention getting. Your research needs to be up to the minute, and your delivering needs to be spot on for the people you are trying to reach. One size no longer fits all in the information marketing game. Segment and diversify your message. Go that extra mile to be sure your technology-driven information marketing is hitting the target instead of just being "out there" for people to finds.

Social network marketing

The companies who are using facebook and twitter effectively to market what they have to offer are the companies that understand the new age of marketing. Do you have a facebook fan page? As a leader of an organization are you working on the cult of personality for your company?

Google strategies are all about proper positioning within the algorithm to hit front page status. Social media marketing is all about positioning yourself in a core group of fans, customers and business friends. This is the direction marketing is moving because everyone knows word of mouth is the best marketing and the social media marketing program capitalizes on that premise.

Walk that extra mile in the new shoes of marketing and watch your organization capitalize on growth in any economy.

Going the Extra Mile -- Actually 120 Extra Miles

This week's posts will be about going the extra mile in four different aspects of the business to generate, encourage and facilitate growth.

Actually, this was more like an extra 120 miles.

I landed at the Nashville airport once again on my way to serving a client in Bowling Green, KY. I like the Nashville airport because it is clean, bright and frequently has live music playing at a small stage just outside of security check in.

I'm on my way to the Avis lot to get my rental car and I stop by the window in the garage since I didn't see my name on the preferred marquis. They informed me they were out of my class of vehicle and were giving me an upgrade. Great. Only one problem, I was unable to locate my driver’s license. In fact, I left it at home and didn't realize it because I use a passport for security check.

They tell me it is a state law and they can not give me a rental car without an actual license, a faxed copy wouldn't be acceptable. Sure, I fully understood but what was I going to do? I needed to get to Bowling Green in Kentucky.

The manager told me there was a shuttle that made a run there and maybe I should also check with a taxi. As I walked away he told me if those don't work out come back and let me know.

No one was working the shuttle desk -- anywhere. I asked a taxi driver the cost for a one way to Bowling Green and he rolled his eyes and told me it was going to be around $130, That wasn't going to work either.

I walked back to the Avis manager and shared with him what I found out. He put his finger in the air and told me he'd be right back. Within 3 minutes a gentleman walked up to me and asked if I was Mr. White. I replied yes and he smiled extended his hand to shake mine and said, "My name is Leonard and I am here to drive you to Bowling Green." At that point the manager walked up and asked if this would solve my problem. Stunned I only asked one question: How much? The manager smiled and said, "Just keep on using Avis." I thanked him a hundred times and off we went, Leonard and I.

I got to know Leonard as we had wonderful conversations. He knew he'd be getting home late as a result of this trip but he said he was more than happy to help me out.
Years later, I still use Avis exclusively for my rental cars. I will never forget the extra mile they went to overwhelmingly satisfy this customer, who is now a customer for life.

What extra miles should you be taking to get customers for life? The little extra effort will pay huge dividends for your organization.

When Someone Wins, Someone Else Loses: Deal With it.

I learned that:

Winners get the rewards.
Winners get a bounce of confidence.
Winners are more encouraged to work harder because they believe they will see results from their efforts.

My junior high gym teachers (as we used to call them) tried to instill in us that winning was important, that winning made you a better person, and that winning made you mentally stronger. We were a fueled group giving it everything we had to win whatever we played in gym class.

I also remember the day a new gym teacher touring the schools of the district came to our class. He taught us the game of Earth Ball. It was a huge ball we bounced around between the kids and the object was to keep it from hitting the floor. We all asked, "But how do you win?" With a great big smile he told us there were no winners and losers just the joy of playing with the ball was reward enough. Huh?

He could've said it in Japanese and we would've understood it just as well. By the end of the hour of playing Earth Ball the vast majority of us lost interest, we had no desire to ever play that game again and we were thankful he was there only one day. We kept asking over and over, "What's the point?"

We are turning our schools and places of employment into Earth Ball. Because we are so focused on not creating losers at anything, we are losing the winners in the process. If everyone gets a passing grade, if everyone gets the same pay, if every time there is disparity we take from the winners to give to the losers, people are going to quickly start asking, "What's the point?"

If you want to create an organization of growth that is going to improve and become more successful you MUST reward your winners so they will stay and you must send the losers to find a different game to play where they can win. Not everyone is meant to win in every game they play that’s why most successful people find the areas they can excel at and then focus their efforts on building that success.

If we remove all the incentives, rewards and joy of winning we lose the confidence, desire and drive within the organization. Think about it. Do you want people going through the motions to fill the time like Earth Ball, or do you want people driven for success? If you fall into the mind trap of trying to create a system where everyone is a winner, the cold slap of reality is that everyone becomes losers, because you take away the rewards for making the extra effort to win.

Bottom line with winners come losers. Whether you are competing across the street, across the country or across the world, to grow your company you have to want to win with every fiber of your being.

Transparency is Not Always the Best Policy

On twitter and facebook I frequently see people openly expressing themselves in the age of transparency. Some things are best not exposed. It's Wednesday and I have seen no less than a dozen people already talking about getting to the weekend. How can you stay in a job that sucks so bad by Wednesday you are looking for Saturday?
When an individual openly makes such as expression such as, "It's Wednesday, only two more days to the weekend!" I think about the co-workers and heaven forbid the subordinates that work with this person. How motivational is that? How excited are you to have this person on your team? Unacceptable.

People just aren't thinking in this age of tell-everyone-everything by message online. One friend of mine posted on her facebook page, "I don't want to go to work tomorrow." If I am her boss reading that, I would grant her that wish; in fact, I'd make her day be letting her know she never has to work for me again, good bye.

People need to learn that sometimes things are best left unsaid. Even better, some things are best left unthought. If you hate your job as to despise doing it, quit and do everyone a favor. If you are an employer and see an employee who posts online about how much they dislike their job, give them their freedom to find something they do like. Everyone has a bad day at work now and then, but do you want how you feel at that moment in the permanent annals of the internet?

I know there have been many times in my career I bit my tongue and later was so glad I did not say what was on my mind. The last thing you should want in the public view are words from an emotional moment or short term frustration.

If you are going to be a growth organization you need to be populated with people who like what they do and are willing to crank out top efforts; especially, your managers.

One last thing, if you hate your job and post such comments on facebook, twitter etc., do you not think employers and HR personnel are skipping your references and instead checking your online profiles for how you really act? If someone is openly expressing negative thoughts about work, how excited am I going to be to put them on my team?

Keep in mind the next time you want to shout out your feelings to 220 million people on facebook, you are creating a lasting impression one post at time.

What It Takes to Win

Watching Sunday’s Wimbledon epic men's final I saw three specifics about winning that directly apply to growing your business.

1. How you view the competition

It's normal to watch tennis opponents on either side of the net crashing balls back at each other. How would you feel if your most ardent competitor kept slapping your best efforts back at you? In tennis you expect your opponent to be on his game and returning almost every one of your volleys, until you get the advantage and you go for the kill shot.

In business I see most leaders wilt when their competition slams back at them. In fact, I see people get angry that the competition isn't "playing fair!" Are you kidding me? You have to force your competition in to a corner to where they have no option but to respond to your control of the game, and then you hit the kill shot.

Expect your competitors to be good and on their game.

Expect them to give as good a game as you can give.

Expect to work hard to find that slightest of opportunity to exploit.

2. How hard you work

The match between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick lasted well over 4 hours of rocket serves, exhausting volleys and intense pressure. History was hanging in the balance for Roger if he could win his 15th Grand Slam title and the pressure was on for Roddick to win his first Wimbledon title against the best in the game.

What amazed me most was after four grueling hours, neither man looked exhausted. In fact, they didn't even look tired!

The conditioning these men put themselves through in preparation for this sport has to be intense. They work on their physical conditioning and more importantly their mental conditioning. It's what makes them able to last a 30 game 5th set and still be on their game.

In business growth-oriented executives need to work on conditioning as well. To be able to lead organizations to grow in today's economy requires great physical and mental strength. It doesn't happen just because you wish it did. It takes full effort. Compare your job preparation effort with that of these tennis champions. How do you stack up? I think it's time to work on your conditioning a little bit more.

3. Commitment


At the end of the match you could tell both players give it their full commitment. The emotion was on the edge during the trophy ceremony, as the cameras closed in to capture their faces. The cynic may say, "I can't believe grown men cry over a game." I say it's refreshing to see a person totally invest themselves into something they believe in. I've never seen a corporate business person give of themselves as these players have. I have seen the occasional business owner on the brink of losing everything totally commit themselves to save their operations.

Imagine, if we frequently put forth that kind of complete effort as leaders how much further along our organizations and careers would have grown. Wait no longer, make today the first day of doing what it takes to win.

10 Lessons From My First Year as a Business Owner

This week the blog is going to deal with valuable first lessons I had and how important they are to growing a business as a leader.

After leaving the corporate world and going into business for myself I learned a few valuable lessons in the first year that still help me today, almost two decades later.

1. Working for myself is a greater pleasure than working for a large company.

2. It is easier to work 14 hours days for myself than putting in 8 hour days for someone else.

3. There is no one else to blame when you own the business.

4. You have a greater understanding and appreciation of employee costs such as benefits and FICA.

5. Being my own boss means I have to motivate myself to get everything done on time as scheduled.

6. I can take an occasional afternoon off to play golf without having to ask for permission. That's pretty cool.

7. There is no such thing as a paid vacation. All time off is without pay when I own the business.

8. I have a passion for doing what I want to do in the way I want to do it. For better or for worse, this allows me to do it my way.

9. Selling myself takes confidence, guts and persistence; but, there is nothing like closing a deal.

10. It is easy to have my entire life consumed by my work. I have to set boundaries so I don't get burned out.

Bonus lesson:

11. Everything takes longer than expected, I have to work harder than ever before and I love it!

It’s Cool to Hate Work

Thank God It's Friday.

I hate Mondays.

My boss sucks.

All three of these slogans I've seen on t-shirts people are proud to wear and proclaim. When did it become cool to hate your job? In the Great Depression people begged for any kind of work they could get paid for in order to provide for their families. Working people were grateful to have a job. any job.

Somewhere along the line it became the norm to dislike your job. In fact, a recent survey indicated 75% of the American workforce was dissatisfied with the jobs they were in. That is ¾ of our working population unhappy, disgruntled and less than fully committed to performing their jobs. And we wonder why we have an economic crisis?

Most of the reasons people indicate for their dissatisfaction relate to their direct manager. More people leave a job because of who they directly report to than any other reason. How can this be fixed?

It comes from both sides of the issue.

Managers need to shape up!

Leadership in this country is atrocious. We have lost sight of how to lead people. We have lost focus on what are the keys to being a leader in an organization, the most important being good communication. Once corporations took their focus off good employee relations, customer service and product quality commitment, and instead, focused on the bottom line profit numbers, they lost their way.

Managers are also not being given proper training (because of a bottom line profit focus) so the damage continues to be repeated by people ill-fit for the position they are being asked to fulfill.

The long-term damage of poor leadership can ruin a company, create irreparable employee attitudes, and eventually shut down the organization. Management has a great responsibility to give people work they can care about and actually enjoy doing.

Employees need to stop whining!

Being a cynic has become an American past time and employees are using this state of mind to focus on all the negatives they encounter. Get over it. Should work be challenging? Yes. Should work push a person to achieve more and improve on their skills? Yes. As long as the attitude is "I hate my job," nothing productive can come from that mindset. Ever work for a pitifully bad boss? Sure, we all have but is that any reason to carry that animosity into your next job working for the new boss? No, and this is where the American worker needs to stop whining.

Often times our own attitudes and negative behavior creates that which we dislike the most. If my mind set is to dislike work at any job, then I will never be happy, fully productive or satisfied with my work contribution. Considering most of us will have to work 40 to 50 years to cover our financial responsibilities, wouldn't it be more productive and satisfying to be able to have the mindset to enjoy those years?

Managers and employees need to work hard to find a common ground of satisfaction before all American business ends up like the American auto industry. That is a wake up call for everyone to find work you find satisfying, enjoy the parts of the job you currently have, and work with management to open the lines of communication.

Common sense says, having the mindset of enjoying what you do will help you to be more productive where everyone benefits more. In reality, hating your job isn't cool, in fact it could bring down the entire economic system, and then we'd once again be glad just to be able to dig a ditch for a pay check.

The Million Dollar Network is for Everyone

Networking used to be a local leads group meeting over coffee, or a group of executives meeting at a chamber Business After Hours event. Even when we were told about the theory of 6 degrees of separation, we tended to only network locally.

If the social media hasn't dramatically changed that for you, then you are using a buggy whip in rocket sled times. Twitter, facebook, LinkedIn and even MySpace have rewritten how networking can work, the distance it can cover and how it removes the barriers to reaching some very important people.

Twitter has given me over 5200 followers to date and a great way to learn and connect with people I would probably never have met otherwise. If I need to explain twitter then you've been asleep for a few years. If you really don't know what it is, check it out on Wikipedia. If you don't know what Wikipedia is, how did you even find this blog?

With twitter I communicate with people around the globe. Some famous, some dedicated to what they do, and some are just amazingly intelligent people willing to share their expertise. Fortunately, I've also met many great twitter people in the Charlotte area and I get to meet with them semi-regularly for lunches and after hours gatherings in addition to tweeting with them daily.

Networking for business and finding friendships along the way is a great way to build a solid network. Not to mention, anytime I find myself traveling to a city for work, chances are I will be able to meet with a twitter connection.

Facebook is also a great network opportunity. I have reconnected with old high school classmates, found a new easy way to stay connected with my speaker colleagues and yes, make new connections that are adding to my revenue streams. In fact, my facebook connections have actually provided me with a great new revenue stream I have seriously high expectations for!

If you don't have a twitter account or a facebook account, you are missing out on great, easy to use technology. It's good to build your network for so many reasons both personal and professional regardless what position you hold.

Networking has never been easier, has never been 24/7 like it is now, and never been more beneficial. You just have to take action to get involved. Join me on twitter (Growthsolutions) or on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/russelljwhite1) and let's network! I'll help you get started and show you the wonderful benefits of these great places. All you have to do is ask.

Now is the Time for a Rally Call

I am excited to be part of a great new project. This project even has a 30 city barnstorming tour to rally the troops and spread the word on new information and exciting changes on the way. People are actually paying to attend this rally as well! Why?

They believe and are excited about the future prospects and are eager to hear straight from the people at the top what the vision is for the near future.

When was the last time you had a rally call for your employees? Today all I hear from executives is grumbling and mumblings about the economy, how work is a drag and how they are waiting and hoping for the economy to turn around. Wow, I'm so inspired by such attitudes! NOT!

This summer is the perfect time to have a rally call.

Why not plan an event for the end of July where you stop operations and call all your staff together for a day of inspiration, communication and invigoration. Have a motivational speaker kick off the day with a passionate energy building keynote. Have the CEO follow with a program on the exciting future and how everyone has a role in making a difference.

Do a fantastic lunch -- picnic style. Hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, cookies, have tent outside have some music playing. Create a fun atmosphere.

Follow lunch with a Q and A session where employees write down questions on cards and are given to the CEO to answer on the spot. No previews or yanking a "bad" question. Close the day with another motivational moment; either a speaker, a movie, slide show, something to get them excited about what is going on in the organization.
Right now everyone is looking at the gloom and doom and it is choking off any hopes of powering into the new economy with any gusto. The worst thing upper management can do is see the turning around economy and relax saying, "finally" and hoping the rising tide will life all boats including theirs.

This isn't getting stoked! This isn't having a vision! This isn't inspiring! This isn't even leadership. If you want to lead your company that means in attitude and actions more than anything else. Create the Rally Day and inspire your people to get ready for a great opportunity to make a difference in the industry you operate in.

Don't you dare talk about the cost of the day.

If you aren't willing to invest in your staff; close the doors now, because you have already quit -- you just haven't left yet.

Added note: If you think my program "Get Over the Obstacle when the Obstacle is You"
would fit your motivational slot and you mention this blog posting I will give you an insanely reduced price: 75% off my keynote fee! But that fee is only good for a rally day prior to Labor day.