Since then, Warren Buffett, Berkshire’s founder, has
successfully navigated the changing tides of business and
financial markets over the years to built one of the most
successful companies ever.  Unlike Microsoft, and Intel
which had relatively few important shifts in irresistible
forces, Berkshire Hathaway has weathered many by
redirecting its resources and energies into new, more
promising directions.

After having been primarily a portfolio manager of a
handful of common stocks for many years, the company has
recently shifted again to emphasize purchasing and
operating companies.  You too can learn to catch the full
benefit of today’s volatile and rapidly changing forces and
spur your enterprise on to greater and more rapid growth
than ever before.

Be Prepared:  Being in the Right Position to Optimize
Opportunity

Many business people are fond of saying, “I’d rather be
lucky than smart.”  Everyone has experienced the
exhilaration of an unexpected boost from favorable
circumstances and wishes it would happen more often.
Choosing a strategy that puts you in the right position is
a way for you to create your own good fortune.

You will achieve more favorable results by thinking
differently so you work smart, not hard.  When asked why he
scored so many goals in hockey, NHL scoring champion Wayne
Gretzky replied that he always skated to where he thought
the puck would be going. That gave him an important edge
because most other skaters go toward where the puck is
already.

But it isn’t enough to just be in the right place at the
right time.  The tightrope walker working outdoors in the
wind prefers that the wind be at her back, because a side
wind could more easily knock her off balance.  Setting up
the tight rope to make the breeze’s direction favorable can
provide the necessary advantage for her.  She can further
improve her security by using a balance pole.

To move your enterprise from its current position to a
better one takes careful thinking  It’s like the tightrope
walker finding the wind coming from the wrong direction,
and demanding a move in the tight rope’s location before
she performs.  The equipment handlers have a lot of hard
work to undo and redo.  That’s the bad news about getting
into the right position.

The good news is that once your company has reached its
ideal position, your subsequent need to change will be
less.  In the long run, this means less change, less work,
as well as better results.  Like the Olympic wrestler who
fights his way to a position securely on top of his
opponent, you will be able to seize superior positions that
will allow you the advantage no matter how your competitors
react and your business environment changes.

Most organizations today are unfortunately like the
wrestler’s opponent, operating subject to the whims of
powerful competitors and vagaries of circumstances as their
noses grind into the smelly, dirty mat.  Is yours one of
them?

If your enterprise is like most, it operates according to a
plan.  Your business now pays attention to executing that
plan.  When things go wrong, most people in your
organization will try to protect their self-interest and
their chances for achieving the plan’s goals.  If things
get really bad, they’ll be stunned into inaction.

These behaviors reflect some of the many faulty thinking
patterns you should abolish and replace in order to achieve
a winning position in an increasingly volatile and
unpredictable organizational environment.  You need to
focus on getting the most benefit from your enterprise’s
irresistible forces rather than trying to fend off the
forces.

Every change in irresistible forces provides new
opportunities to those who think that way.  For very
cyclical businesses, when demand is strong, you can sell
high-cost facilities and obtain long-term relationships
with attractive customers.  When demand is weak, you can
buy low-cost facilities, repurchase your own stock,
negotiate lower prices from suppliers and get complementary
competitors interested in merging with you.  There is
always some optimal opportunity being presented, if you
learn how to look at the circumstances with an eye prepared
to gaining important advantages from your business’s
environment.

Once an opportunity is recognized, you need to be properly
prepared to take the right actions at the right time.  You
have to have the flexibility to take advantage of rapid and
extreme changes in irresistible forces.  Such flexibility
can be developed through the use of planning extreme
scenarios that greatly exaggerate the future impact of
these forces to clarify opportunities.

This thinking requires using an improved kind of scenario
planning for possible future circumstances, most of which
will never occur.  By studying these scenarios uour
enterprise will then locate and be ready to implement its
“Always-Win, No-Lose” opportunities, that minimize the down
side, while leaving the up side open-ended, regardless of
the irresistible forces.

This new form of strategy replaces the costs and delays for
your organization learning primarily through broad scale
trial and error.  Irresistible force management is the
missing element that makes this possible.

Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved

—————————————————-
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an
Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The
Ultimate Competitive Advantage. You can find free tips for
accomplishing 20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .

How to define Brute Force management? It’s the “just keep
working harder, working longer, and working smarter and
everything will be OK.”

It’s the “just do what I tell you to do when I tell you to
do it.”

I had a Brute Force  boss whose standard answer to “What’s
the most important thing?” was “Everything’s the most
important thing.” We were in a crisis mode and there was a
lot to get done, but what that “Everything is important”
direction led to was a lot of counterproductive behavior
-.do what you’re told to do, and then ask “What’s next?”
After a year of that no leverage management style he was
fired – but not until some very good people had left the
organization.

Managers that take the “everything is Number 1″ approach
are often rewarded for being tough, no nonsense, aggressive
problem solvers. The fact that they created many of the
problems they then solved seems to go unnoticed. Instead of
leadership, they use the  brute force approach to getting
things done. That often works in a crisis situation, but
when everything becomes a crisis, those managers lose their
effectiveness and their people become cynical about how
they are treated. Brute force managers rarely have goals
they share with people, and even more rarely do they have
their people participate in any meaningful way in setting
goals and priorities. To many of them, sharing information
and open communication are threats to their control. Many
of them are quite happy with a compliance level workforce -
the “Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it” people. There
is no leverage in the Brute Force management style.

How do effective leaders create priorities that maximize
their own effectiveness and the effectiveness of their
organization?

They start with a clear understanding of what the three to
five most important things are, both personally and
professionally. This is tough – there are always many more
issues vying for attention than there are resources
available to address them. The leader makes the tough
decisions – the Brute Force manager doesn’t.

Then the leader enlists people in the areas of importance
to help arrive at ways to succeed in meeting the most
important requirements.

Then the leader creates and communicates and negotiates
goals that support the most important three to five issues,
or challenges, or opportunities.

The goals are used to create supporting goals, expectations
and understandings of importance in the universe of people
that can contribute to meeting the goal.

Then leaders act – and expect action from their people.

Leaders protect their own time, and the time of their
people, so that maximum focus can be kept on the critical
few, and not frittered away on the unimportant many.

And then leaders evaluate, change if change is necessary,
and continue to use the process as the basis for action
throughout their organization.

And they insist that this process be kept as simple as
possible – minimum bureaucracy here. Don’t wait for an
enterprise wide software system to capture all the data and
sign ups and goal statements. More good goal setting
systems have drowned of their own administrative weight
than for any other reason. Leaders fight that. Leaders know
the critical intersection in goal setting and prioritizing
is at the person to person level – not at the form
completion and submission point.

And the resulting action they get is so different from the
“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it” people. Lots of
leverage in a shared goal environment – on both a personal
and work level.

Leaders know most people want to help, want to contribute,
want to be involved in a worthy enterprise, want to be
recognized for their contribution. Leaders also know most
people work best and most effectively where they have
structure and an understanding of what needs to be done.
Once they have that, great things start to happen! The
people doing the work no longer have to say “Just tell me
what to do and I’ll do it” – they know the priorities and
what is most important. They can use the freedom that
knowledge provides to keep their eyes on the few big balls
- and not be distracted by all the little balls that will
always bounce around and take up all the time people will
let them take up.

Leaders also know there are times when brute force may be
the only appropriate tactic – a public safety health
product recall, a natural disaster, a systems failure, a
fire – all call for everybody pitching in to get things
done – whatever that means. But leaders know the brute
force tactic is the exception to the rule, and is only used
when absolutely necessary. And their people know it – and
rather than take it as just another in a long line of fire
drills, they pitch in and know their efforts will be part
of a worthy enterprise’s efforts to succeed. The result is
maximum leverage when needed.

If you work or live in an “Everything is important”
situation, be careful of burning out. If you can take what
leaders do and apply it to your work and your personal
situation two things will happen – you’ll have more time
for the really important things, and your personal and
professional success will increase – I guarantee it.

And on those brute force days, or weeks, keep the leader’s
model of goals to priorities firmly in your sights – and
get back to it as soon as possible. Start today.

—————————————————-
Andy Cox founded Cox Consulting Group in 1995 after
extensive experience in leadership positions in Fortune 500
corporations. His focus is on helping clients select,
develop, retain and enhance the performance of leaders and
emerging leaders Click on http://www.coxconsultgroup.com
for more information on the selection of the right people
for the right jobs.

Almost 50% of the new companies formed in the US and Canada fail within the first 3 years. Just because that happens to be the case, it doesn’t make seeing a business that somebody worked so hard for die any easier to watch.

I hope the following information will make an impact on curtailing the business death rate.

Under capitalization. Money is the root of all evil and it may well be the leading cause of small-business failures. Far too many small-business owners underestimate how much money they’re going to need, not merely to get the business started, but also to survive the inevitable up and downs that occur while trying to make a spot for themselves in the market.

Not having enough money from the onset of your business can start a spiral that you may never get out of.

Bad cash flow. This is the often-unseen relative of a lack of capital. Even businesses that move past the embryonic stage often collapse when incoming cash doesn’t at least offset expenses and other costs.

Your business can be making a ton of revenue but if the inflow of that revenue is less than the outflow of expenses, you have bad cash flow, which will spell trouble no matter how much revenue you generate.

Inadequate planning. Not surprisingly, this is the reason problems like capitalization and bad cash flow happen in the first place. It’s critical that you map out as comprehensive a business plan as possible, covering financial issues, marketing, growth and an array of other elements.

Granted, it can be time consuming, as a well-prepared plan can take weeks or months to complete. That time may also tell you that the new business venture or company expansion is not worth the time and money it will take to accomplish.

No target market. This is a two-part issue.
Part 1: Not setting a target market is a huge mistake made by many business owners, even in established businesses. Who will think your products/services are useful? It’s essential to develop a marketing strategy not merely to identify who might buy from you, but why.

Make certain your marketing strategy sets you apart so customers can clearly see why they would rather go to you than a competitor. More importantly, break down your target market as much as possible, especially if your product/service is not something used by a general audience.

Part 2: A solid target market should also keep you from making the mistake of trying to provide too many services or products, which will cause you to spread yourself too thin. Small, and especially new, companies often tend to look for a way to make money in any form they can instead of sticking to core products and services.

If this happens, the company will not be able concentrate already limited resources to selling and servicing the things the company was built for.

No competitive edge. Once you have determined a target market, now you have to make them know why you are special compared to the other guys selling the same thing. To gain an edge on your competition, you need to go into business with a Unique Selling Point (USP).

This is critical to gain some mustard behind the company and having something to exploit over the competition. Whether it’s a slightly different product or customer support that goes beyond your competitors; earmark that one element that sets your business apart.

Sometimes a “me too” operation works, but that usually happens when you are the first to bring a product or service to a market that has yet to be exposed to it. Figure out your USP and that will give you something specific to help market your company both online and offline to your target market.

Inadequate flexibility. This is where being one of the little fish is much better than being a goliath company. Big business has a lot of advantages when it comes to things that cost money and resources but they are fat and very inflexible. The small company has the ability to change directions on a dime.

Never forget to remain flexible. If a product isn’t quite right or a marketing campaign isn’t really flying, don’t be afraid to tinker. Making those sorts of on-the-fly adjustments is much tougher for the big guys.

Ignoring customer service. Don’t give the farm away and do tons of things free for customers or potential customers but be prepared to give a little extra. You and your employees should be looking to help out a customer when needed to show your appreciation for them providing a paycheck.

An overbearing customer is a problem but showing a little extra courtesy that doesn’t cost too much time and effort should be a given. That’s what keeps people coming back.

Trying to be everything to the business. As an entrepreneur or manager in a smaller company, you often have to wear many hats. The thing to avoid is wearing more than what fits on your head. Don’t try to be all things to your business.

If you can’t build a website, don’t try to become a website guru or do a half baked job, get some help. When a legal issue crops up, don’t rely on your self appointed legal skills to evaluate the legal ramification. Establish a long-term relationship with an attorney, preferably one with small-business acumen.

Great boss, so-so staff. A solid business with a knowledgeable, enthusiastic owner can often be brought down by inexperienced and unmotivated employees. Make certain your employees are well-trained, fairly compensated and somehow share in the desire that you have to be part of a great business.

Uncontrolled growth. This may make no sense, but it’s true; a small business that simply succeeds too quickly often pushes itself into an early grave. If your production fails to keep pace with demand or necessary expansion coincides with insufficient cash, the growth you dream about as an entrepreneur can actually threaten your business’ very existence.

Again, cover foreseeable growth in your original plan and track it adequately to make certain that it never gets dangerously out of hand.

Today ended with me relaxed, at ease and totally happy with
our accomplishments….her licking her lips and enjoying
being petted and praised.

What changed?

I began our session today before I ever went into the round
pen… By thinking about and analyzing:

what went wrong in our ride yesterday

how her personality played into our interaction

figuring out what Tasha, my big bay horse needed to be
comfortable and progressive

how my thoughts had to change for us to be successful

how my actions had to change for us to be successful

what my breathing pattern had to do with our success

what I needed to do with the energy my body was giving off

You’ll notice that none of these things have to do with
changing her but instead all have to do with changing me
and how I present myself and how I interact with her.

Which leads me to these 5 essential acts of Great
Leadership:

1.Begin with your inner most thoughts and attune your
thought patterns and energy to the situation at hand. For
example if you want a calm and collected interaction then
your thoughts need to be calm, slow and collected
maintaining a quiet peaceful rhythm.

2.Next be aware of your breathing pattern. Do you want more
energy in the interaction?… If so then you might be
breathing at a faster clip and with more energy…if not then
breathe slow and deep…allowing your body to feel each
breath and slow your senses down.

3.Your body is giving off energy…is it fast and action
oriented or quiet controlled and calm? Do you want a slow
measured response from the person you are interacting with?
Then control and measure your energy…they will sense and
respond to the energy you put out.

4.What is the personality of the person you are working
with? Are they quiet and calm and need a slight push? Or
are they full of energy and anticipate what they think you
want so that you need to slow them down?  Be willing to
change your style to meet the needs of the individual and
the situation.

5.Be willing to slow down…analyze the situation…and back up
if you need to…so that you can move forward once again to
meet your goals.

Great leadership begins by Taking the Reins of your
emotions, thoughts, energy, breath, body and actions.

—————————————————-
Jean Starling has an MBA in International Business and is
an author, speaker, trainer, business consultant and coach.
With over 20 years in corporate leadership, management,
consulting and training she is an expert at helping
individuals and businesses reach their goals. Author of
Taking the Reins, a book of stories that teach leadership
in a new more innovative way.
http://www.taking-the-reins.com . Contact
mailto:jean@Taking-the-reins.com .

Many managers feel constrained by the rules and regulations
of their organizations. They feel that their hands are tied
when it comes to rewarding their people – that their
actions are controlled by others, and there is little of
any real value they can do to motivate their people.

Here are 12 Ways  leaders let their people know how
important they are:

Way #1 – Leaders truly believe the work performed by their
people  is important. This may sound pretty basic, but that
is an absolutely essential belief. Without it there is
simply no way people can be convinced  that what they do is
important.. How often have your heard – or been guilty of
saying – or thinking – “Oh, she’s just the receptionist”
or, “He’s just the janitor” or “They’re just trainees” or
“They’re just a staff weenie?”

Way #2 – Leaders expect the best from everyone, and settle
for nothing less. Nothing makes people feel more important
than high expectations for their performance. Leaders  make
sure their people share in setting the expectations.

Way #3 – Leaders create goals that are shared and that show
the tie in of individual work with the success of the
organization.

Way #4 – Leaders select the best – in every opening they
have. Every tool is used to ensure that the best possible
decision is made on who is selected. People watch very
carefully to see who is picked – they need to be involved
in the selection process whenever possible. Leaders know
that actions taken in selection communicate how important
the open position is. Who is selected is  seen  as a direct
reflection on the quality of the  people in the
organization.

Way #5 – Leaders are their people’s institutional champion!
What’s that mean? When their pay is wrong, leaders  get it
right. When their reviews are scheduled, leaders  ensure
they are done accurately and on time. When their raises are
due, leaders make sure they are handled properly and on
time. Leaders jealously guard their relationship as the go
to person for their people. Institutional support people
can help, but leaders know they are the key contact for
their people.

Way #6– Leaders are  absolutely intolerant of unsafe,
disruptive or other negative behaviors. They act on them
quickly and decisively, and never let their people see them
knowingly ignore a bad situation. Leaders know these
situations will not go away, regardless how much “wish’in
and hop’in and pray’in” might be done.

Way #7 – Leaders know that trust and respect are not the
same thing as being liked. It is nice to be liked, it is
absolutely essential that  people trust and respect their
leader.  As a comedian said: “If you want to be liked, get
a dog.”

Way #8 – Leaders cultivate a climate of civility for their
people. In their relationships with their people, they make
sure their actions reflect a fundamental respect for others.

Way #9 –Leaders get every one of their people some form of
self development activity on a regular basis. It may be a
seminar, it may be tuition refund, it may be a book, it may
be a CD set, it may be reimbursement for a Webinar or a
podcast, it may be a Community College course – it does not
have to be expensive and time consuming, but the act of
creating added value through the investment of personal
effort supported by organizational resources is a powerful
way to express importance.

Way #10 – Leaders respect their people’s time – it’s their
most valuable asset. Leaders start meetings on time, end
them on time, keep meeting commitments. They do what they
have to do to ensure their people have the use of as much
of their work time as possible.

Way #11– Leaders keep the rules and policies to an absolute
minimum. If there is  workable set of cultural and
organizational “Way’s Of Doing Things” then  the basis for
treating people with individual regard exists. If they
don’t exist, leaders set them in their own area of
responsibility.

Way #12– Leaders celebrate  the successes – they create the
opportunity for group recognition to happen all over the
place – if Safety is an issue, they create a Safety Award
process that celebrates progress. They make the celebration
events frequent, the rewards modest – but they do it all
the time. Leaders know the frequency of awards and the
opportunity for celebration are as important, actually more
important, than the annual lunch or dinner or whatever.

Did you notice one thing about all 12 Ways? Not one of them
deals with lots of money, or more capital, or new policies
or procedures. All do require beliefs and behaviors – and
they are the most challenging, most high leverage efforts
that can be made to improve an organization. It’s always
tempting to do a feel good seminar, or buy something, or
take some action that shows a high level of commitment to
the people.. But the truth is that the way to greater
success is through a  focused, day to day effort to improve
the level of commitment of the people in an organization,
and that takes hard work, leadership and the acceptance of
change.

If you can see Ways that can help you organization or your
work group or yourself in this article, take them and run
with them – they are the basis for successful managers
becoming successful leaders.

—————————————————-
Andy Cox and the Cox Consulting Group have helped many
organizations in designing and implementing change. To
reach the Cox Consulting Group, go to
http://www.coxconsultgroup.com .

A story about trimming trees:

I have a tree in the backyard. A Palo Verde tree -
absolutely beautiful. Green trunk, delicate leaves, many,
many branches and, like many desert trees, it’s covered
with hard, sharp thorns. Tough to trim without my becoming
a pincushion – so it didn’t get trimmed.

Up until last year it had lots of foliage – even in the
driest months. Then something happened, and this year there
are any number of small and large branches that are dead -
dry as a bone. There’s still some foliage, but not what it
had been. The tree looks like it’s dying. We increased the
water, and some of the branches flourished, but many others
didn’t. I trimmed the outer branches, and removed a lot of
the dead growth – but still no real progress.

Finally I consulted a tree expert to see what could be
done. The expert took one look at the tree and knew exactly
what had to be done. He could see that the tree had grown
without any trimming. Lots of small limbs that should have
been trimmed had grown into large limbs. There must be 15
or 20 limbs that are creating this pattern of unrestrained
growth. Only problem is that the tree’s root structure
can’t support that much foliage – this is a desert tree,
adapted to a low water environment. The result is going to
be the death of the tree – unless the number of major tree
limbs are reduced to no more than 5 to 7.

Since talking to the expert – my tree coach,  I’ve stood
back and circled that tree any number of times, and now I
know which limbs to remove to get down to 5 to 7 major
branches. Looking back, if it had been trimmed periodically
it wouldn’t need this kind of major surgery. Once the
trimming is done, I will have a tree that won’t look so
good for a while, but it will flourish as it recovers from
its foliage overload. My tree expert/coach -  told me if I
hadn’t sought out somebody with knowledge of the type of
tree, its structure and needs as well as its growth habits,
and then followed the advice given to reduce the burden on
the tree root structure, within two to three years the tree
would be dead, or blown over by one of the violent summer
storms we get in Phoenix.

Now that major surgery is being done, I promise to trim it
every six months, and not let this situation occur again.

What does this have to do with goals?

I sat down to review my goals for the first half of the
year and wasn’t too pleased with my accomplishments. Oh
sure – I had gotten a lot done, but there were so many
things I had included as either goals or as action items
that my list of the things I completed looked pretty puny
next to the list of things I wanted to get done. Then it
occurred to me that my goals and that Palo Verde tree had a
lot in common. And just like that tree, my goals had grown
to the point where I could no longer sustain and meet them.
I had gotten myself to the place where I had put too much
on my plate at one time, and was busily trying to support
too much with too little. I realized I had to admit my own
limitations.

My goals had become so numerous that many were wilting on
the tree – they were undernourished. And yet, I was working
my butt off to support all this wild growth.  Luckily, I’m
stepping back – like my tree expert/coach advised – and
taking a really hard look, and cutting back this thicket of
goals to 3 to 5 major goals that I can support. I will be
better for it – and more successful – and able to support
more things in the future, but first I have to trim the
tree – keep the 3 to 5 most important goals as the most
important goals, and then work them – hard. Leaders know
you have to nourish the major branches – and in doing that,
allow for stronger long term growth.

Take a look at your own tree of goals, along with your
thicket of must do’s and have to do’s – and if you see too
many branches for your resources, trim – and trim
aggressively so you can focus on success in the main
things. And while your at it, take leadership and get the
other people in your universe to do the same.

Do it today – the beginning of the second half of the year
is a great time to adjust, reengage, reevaluate, and come
out of 2007 with success in the truly most important things.

—————————————————-
Andy Cox and the Cox Consulting Group have helped many
organizations in designing and implementing change. To
reach the Cox Consulting Group, go to
http://www.coxconsultgroup.com .

This is a question I hear from business leaders every day .
. . yet the question often comes to me after the fact . . .
when people are up in arms and ready to bolt. A change can
be something as simple as new stationery or as tumultuous
as a merger or acquisition, and while the change is often
seen by top leadership as necessary to move ahead of
aggressive competitors, this is not always the case for
employees. Why? I believe the answer is this: Your
employees are not angry about the change itself . . . they
are angry because they are often the last to hear, you did
not get their buy-in, their vote didn’t count , and bam . .
. Trust is shattered!”

Imagine this: During a strategic planning meeting, the
executive team of a large technology company makes the
decision to launch a new product line and ditch an existing
one. Ditching the existing product line means that a few
talented employees will become obsolete, and the new
product line will require a new pool of talent. The
executive team chooses to “keep this quiet” until they are
ready to launch (yeah right!) They begin to meet after
hours in a locked room to discuss their plans. As human
behavior often teaches us, it is very hard to keep a secret
when you know you have one inside you. So . . . Sally
Smith, CIO, makes the decision to tell one person outside
the executive team: “I have something to tell you, but you
have to promise not to tell anyone” (yeah right . . .
again.) In addition, the janitor knows something’s up . . .
he cleans after hours and sees the big dogs locked in a
room every night for three weeks, and he begins to whisper
in the halls to his comrades. Suspicion builds and the
grapevine begins to circulate rumors: “I hear the company
is closing,” or “I heard we are merging” or “I heard that
we are headed for a 20% lay off” or “I heard that the
company is in big trouble” and so on. The fear, doubt,
worry and anxiety begin to build. People are not sure what
is going on, but all they know is that it must be big, and
they are nervous . . . very, very nervous!

Change efforts are delicate, and they require finesse . . .
they can’t be taken lightly, and they must be communicated
from the top to the bottom of the organization. I believe
that the key to success during any change initiative
includes three very important aspects:

1) Communication- Communication needs to be clear,
consistent and repeated again and again. Repeat the
communication until you hear yourself and others saying
“Okay, okay . . . we got it . . . we are tired of hearing
about it . . . we are on it!” Communicating a change takes
time for people to really hear it. The have to roll it over
in their minds, talk about it with others and get clear
about what’s what. The first time employees hear about a
change, they are usually hearing it through filters of
fear, doubt, worry, and confusion. So . . . don’t expect
them to get it the first time, and by all means . . . don’t
send it in a memo! Use verbal communication . . . talk to
them, talk to your managers, talk to your team, and keep
repeating the message again and again.

2) Gain Commitment – During a change initiative, it is
critical for a company to gain buy-in from everyone in the
organization. You want each person in the company to
support the change and to feel as if they have been a part
of planning the change initiative. Empower your employees
by inviting them to collaborate during the change. The
“town meeting” format is perfect for this purpose and
coupled with smaller management meetings. This approach can
provide an open forum for people to be able to clear (a
form of venting which is highly constructive . . . allow
for 10 minutes of clearing in the beginning of each town
meeting,) ask questions and above all to allow their ideas
to be heard and implemented.

3) Coaching – Emotions will be running high during a period
of transition, and I believe that coaching for the entire
organization during this time is not a luxury…it is a
requirement. Managing people during change is one thing but
managing their emotions is an entirely different animal. It
requires listening, empathy and the giving of time.
Coaching during change can support an organization in
building teamwork and can foster a sense of support and
trust. As thought leader Phil Harkins, President of
Linkage, Inc and author of Powerful Conversations: How High
Impact Leaders Communicate says “The organizational change
coach operates like a free safety-a term for the player who
can move freely around the field as the play requires. In
other words, the coach must be able to work when and where
the need arises, in order to facilitate the shift that is
taking place.” From The Art and Practice of Leadership
Coaching by Howard Morgan, Phil Harkins, and Marshall
Goldsmith.

—————————————————-
This article was authored by Bea Fields.  Fields is an
Executive Coach and the President of Bea Fields Companies,
Inc. (http://BeaFields.com).  Fields specializes in
leadership and team development and in generational issues
in the workplace.  She is the chief principal of The Gen Y
Project and the author of Edge: A Leadership Story
(http://Edge-Book.com).

You know your business inside and out because you’ve had
your hand in every decision and every move from the get go.
Essentially you have become your business!

But wait!  What happened?   Suddenly, you’ve got more
business than you can handle on your own.  You’ll have to
bring in new people, new systems, new processes.  Making
that shift can be daunting if not completely debilitating.

This growth phenomenon is a very common challenge shared by
entrepreneurs.  We have seen this process time and time
again.  An entrepreneur’s business starts to grow, and then
he or she wakes up one morning and decides to close the
business doors.  Over the last decade, I have noticed that
most businesses don’t fail because they go bankrupt, but
rather because the owners decided that the amount of effort
they must put into their businesses is simply not worth it
relative to the payoff they are currently receiving.  When
it all boils down, this credo holds true:  Learn to work
smarter, not harder.  First, here’s the typical cycle:  The
business grows, and the owner pulls back because he or she
is faced with more decisions.  More decisions mean more
fear and indecision.  More fear and indecision mean less
dialogue because people shut down when they’re afraid.
Weakened dialogue means that business is becoming less
visible and well known in the marketplace.  The less that
business and its principles are expressed, the more fear
the entrepreneur feels, because he or she is sensing the
downward spiral.  It’s a vicious circle, and suddenly
people start saying “What happened to John?  Is he still
around, or did his business fall off the face of the
earth?” If this scenario sounds familiar, you may be asking
“What do I do now?”  The down and dirty answer is this: 
You shift your thinking from being an entrepreneur to being
a leader!  You may have begun as an entrepreneur.  To grow
and thrive, however, you must become the leader of your
company…and not just in word but in deed.  Take
responsibility for deciding what you want your business to
look like, and start taking the bold steps you need to take
to make things happen!   Follow these five principles, and
your actions will speak volumes for you.

1) Vulnerability: This may sound like a touchy feely word,
but it’s really quite practical.  First, identify the
weaker threads of your leadership and/or your company.
Recognize any weak spots or sinkholes in your foundation.
Second, address specifically-with your team, your Board,
your coach or mentor-how you’re going to work on those
issues to shore them up.  Be specific.  Many leaders are
afraid to discuss their shortcomings for fear of appearing
incompetent.  The truth is that vulnerability engenders
trust, which engenders camaraderie, which engenders growth!
People respect honesty because it creates a level playing
field where they know who’s in what position – what the
strategy of the game is.  Ironically, addressing your own
vulnerability will make you less vulnerable in the
marketplace because you’ll inspire the loyalty of your team.

2) 50/50 Likeability: With a new business, it’s easy to
fall into the trap of doing whatever it takes to attract
the greatest amount of business, being everything to every
person you meet.  You want to make everyone happy,
regardless of whether or not their request falls outside of
your business principles, core values or mission.  One
piece  of advice…Stop this insanity!  Instead, work to
create a leadership style that demands a reaction from
people; they’ll either love you or they just won’t like
you, and that’s okay.   Think of leaders like Abraham Lincoln or Elizabeth I.  They served and lead amidst
inconceivable controversy and left some of the most amazing
marks on humanity.  Think of an Apple vs. Microsoft
computer.  Each has its own function and reaches a unique
market.    Allow your customers, your clients, your
team-the people whose lives you touch-to experience a
legitimate emotional reaction to your business.  They’ll
remember you and they’ll return because they know what you
stand for.  As you develop 50/50 Likeability, you will be
attracting people who are perfectly suited for your
business, and when people are perfectly suited for your
business, you will do your best work, which results in very
happy customers.

3) Find the gold in toxic feedback: How often do you get
negative feedback about your business?  Whether that
nasty-gram of an email or that verbal tirade came from
someone on your team or from one of your customers, look at
it closely.  It may be exaggerated, but there’s most likely
a nugget of truth in there. Realize first that it’s just
feedback; you have a choice as to what to do with it.   For
starters:  Don’t take the feedback personally.  Step back
from the feedback, boil down the issue, address it, and use
it to help you grow as a leader.  If someone has had a
negative reaction to your business, look closely at what
you have done to contribute to the problem.  Chances are
very good that this feedback will be the key to unlocking
your next business opportunity.    Last but not least,
thank the person for the insight!  Shift your perspective
and realize that they’ve given you a fresh perspective for
examining your business and your style as a leader.

4)  Delegate: Yes, it’s the “D” word.  Most entrepreneurs
have spent so much time in total autonomy mode that
allowing themselves to delegate is a monumental task.  I
highly recommend a simple three step process for delegation.

a) Clearly articulate your expectations, but don’t be glued
to an exact vision of the outcome.  Leave some wiggle room
for people to bring their own energy into the process so
that the outcome is stronger.

b) Communicate in spades the process you want to see.  Be
specific about the who, what, when, why and how of the task
you are delegating.  People respect and respond well to
boundaries, so don’t be afraid to spell things out in
detail.

c) Provide feedback and make adjustments.  Respectfully
interact with your team and employees as you move toward
completion of the task at hand.  Let them know exactly what
they are doing well and what types of improvements you want
to see, and above all, give your employees permission to
fail.  If you are afraid to delegate, because you are
afraid people will fail, chances are very good that your
team and your business will never grow into its full
potential. The synergy created in delegation should be
greater than you.  Let people exceed your expectations.

5) Agility: Say the word agile, and you probably think of a
gymnast.  Instead, think of yourself and your business. 
Learn to bend…not break.  You can grow in many more
exciting directions when you have the courage to bend and
stretch beyond your comfort zone.  The beauty of it is,
you’ll inspire your team to do so right along with you!
And the more you’re willing and able to find out what’s new
and different in the world on a daily basis-be it
technology, information or even something as seemingly
simple as expanding your team or seeing their skills in a
different light-the more your agility will develop.  Soon,
you’ll be doing cartwheels around the competition! The
proof is in the pudding.  These principles can be
instrumental in your own evolution from entrepreneur to
leader.  When that shift happens, hang on!  Your company
can then take the amazing journey from successful to
significant!

—————————————————-
This article was written by Bea Fields and Corey Blake. Bea
Fields and Corey Blake with Eva Silva are the co-authors of
Edge! A Leadership Story. Fields is an Executive Coach and
the President of Five Star Leader Coaching and Training.
Blake is an author, screenplay writer and the President of
Writers of the Round Table, Inc.  http://Edge-Book.com .

Bodacious Career builders know that in today’s business
world value lies in relationships. Everything is
introduced, evaluated, negotiated, bought, sold, resolved,
ended, and enjoyed based on relationships.  The
technological advancements that have evolved over recent
years serve as both metaphors and evidence of our demand
for an infinite ability to make connections through
computers, modems, phone lines, and air waves, as well as
among people in organizations.  Even with all this
high-tech stuff, it’s still all about people.

What I’m about to say flies in the face of all good girl
coding most of us have had embedded in our systems from the
day we first heard, “Now play nice.  That’s a good girl.”
And it might make you so mad that it will cause you to stop
reading this article and move on to something else.  I
certainly hope not.

But in the name of authenticity and full disclosure, I have
to tell it like I see it:  To build a Bodacious Career,
deliberately seek relationships with people according to
who they are, who they know, what they do — and what they
can do for you.

Sounds horribly selective, doesn’t it?  But it isn’t really.

Think of how you’ve created relationships at work in the
past.  My guess is that more often than not, you’ve created
friendships based on those around you who you easily
connected with or felt some kinship because of working
closely together or having something in common.  These
approaches are okay, but they don’t do much to increase the
quality of the selection.

Your mother always said to choose your friends wisely,
right?  Now it’s time to do it strategically.  Proactively
create relationships with people who can support your own
growth, who can contribute meaningfully to your journey.
Do the same in return.

So what kind of people would be best for building your
Bodacious Career?  Perhaps it’s someone with a particular
kind of experience that you’d like to have.  Or, someone
with an organizational rank that you want to make sure
knows you exist.  Maybe it’s an internal or external
customer whose performance is linked to yours?

While there are no “right” one-size-fits-all answers, here
are a few suggestions of the kinds of people to seek out
when creating deliberate relationships:

- People who are in key leadership positions

- Women or men who are successful in your profession or
industry

- Women who represent an achievement or personal growth
spurt that you would like to experience

Once you’ve brainstormed a list of 2 -3 people, reach out
to them.  Send an e-mail, call them up, invite them to
lunch or coffee, or ask for a phone appointment.  Yes, you
can do this, even to very successful people!

Make sure you identify what’s in it for them to invest
their time with you, be it something emotional like a the
positive boost for being recognized and appreciated, or
something practical like offering your talents on a project
they need done.  If you’re able to succinctly and
gracefully capture what you have to offer, you’ll get their
attention sooner.

Thinking of developing relationships this way may feel
awkward at first, but I encourage you to give it a try.
You have nothing to lose but the potential of meeting
someone who could make a huge difference to your career.

BODACIOUS CAREER BUILDER #2:  Decide who in your company or
organization could help your career in some way and how you
will go about getting to know them.

—————————————————-
Mary Foley, author of “Bodacious! Career: Outrageous
Success for Working Women” inspires women to be
courageously in charge of their lives, careers and
businesses. You can be inspired, too! Get her free e-book
“10 Bodacious Ways for a Bodacious Career today at
http://www.GoBodacious.com/ebook .

“Inadequate leadership”‘ is the answer.

Steven Covey, in his book, The Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People, mentioned the discovery of an interesting
phenomenon when he reviewed success literature written
during the last 200 years. The success literature of the
past 50 years emphasized the importance of personality and
skill development. The literature of over 50 years ago by
writers such as Emerson, Thoreau, and others, emphasized
character and inner development.

What happens if we do not build a strong foundation through
inner development? We have witnessed charismatic
politicians, ministers, athletes, and others with
tremendous communication and interpersonal skills who ended
up in disgrace and/or prison. What was missing? The
foundation. It was either missing or unstable. Character is
the foundation upon which we must build skills, techniques,
and strategies for effectiveness which can withstand the
test of time and temptation. Without strong character the
likelihood is that our skills will be misused and
improperly channeled, which may be damaging to us and
others.

Competent leaders with character and integrity who lead by
example are needed. We need principled leaders who
genuinely care about the welfare of others.Where are the
great leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, and
Mahatma Gandhi? We need leaders of this caliber.

The good news is that we can develop successful leaders. We
can achieve this by examining great leaders and systems
that are producing results. Then we can create and use
models of what is working. This is an effective way to
address the problem.

Schools are one place where we can start developing future
leaders. Our schools need to teach character education and
create a climate where kids strive for excellence and learn
to care about others.

Are there examples of such schools? Fortunately there are
many. For example, kids from the poorest neighborhoods who
go to KIPP charter schools, who are on the average two
grades behind when they start, are outscoring students from
excellent schools on standardized tests. The students
develop character traits and work in a spirit of
cooperation to help each other succeed. The teachers are
excellent leaders whose dedication inspires students to
bring out their best.

True leaders are torch bearers who nurture the seeds of
greatness in their followers. Helping others to unfold
their potential is education and leadership at its best.
Developing more of these types of leaders is a solution to
the leadership crisis.

Copyright 2007. Raymond Gerson

—————————————————-
Raymond Gerson has over 40 years experience coaching and
teaching career and personal development. He is also an
adjunct professor of college success strategy courses. He
is the author of five books, including Create the Life You
Want. Two of his career how-to e-books and a motivational
audio presentation are available as free gifts. Go to:
http://www.raymondgerson.com/freeGifts_landingPage.html