Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Profit, Planning, Process and People

"Our research shows that 85% of all businesses
never execute their plans."
- Harvard Business School

"At most companies, people spend 2 percent of their time recruiting and 75 percent managing their recruiting mistakes." 
- Richard Fairbanks, CEO of Capital One

"Up to 87.7 percent of America's workforce is not able to contribute to their full potential because they don't have passion for their work." 
- Deloitte Center for the Edge

I could have used 20 quotes I have socked away for this post but these 3 seemed to get across the message the best.

I just got back from speaking to about 80 industrial distributors in Las Vegas last week. Jennifer Murphy the President of Net Plus Alliance, a buying group located in Lockport, NY, asked me to speak on the subject of planning. Net Plus has a membership of about 320 industrial distributors and about 100 manufacturers from all over the US.

Jennifer has been a client for a couple of years now and she and her team have taken my process (borrowed from many highly respected business advisors) The Leadership Matrix and embraced it like no other client I have. She knows that planning is not enough - the biggest problem in business is lack of execution of the plans we build.

Thus I sat down, and knowing I only had 30 minutes to present, put together a presentation that covered the most powerful truths I have learned over the last few years working with small business owners. It is called "Profit, Planning, Process and People". (Another title could be "Labor Should Be An Investment Not an Expense".

I recorded it and if you are interested in watching and learning how to execute and leverage your biggest expense (Labor) to increase your profits click one of the options below:



Regards,

Rick Wallace
  

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Make Time

"The great dividing line between success and failure can be stated in five words:
I did not have time."
-  Henry Davenport

From Steve Chandler:
 
"I attended a writer's workshop put on by the popular mystery author Lawrence Block. Writers in the audience asked him, "What about time management? How do you make sure you find time to write?"  

He was cruel, but honest, in his response. He said that if you're not writing, it's simply because there are things you are doing that you'd rather do. And if you don't want to write, why bother anyway? When you have something in your life you really want to do, you don't have to "find" time, because you'll "make" time.

This is true of anything I want to do more of. I remind myself that time is made...not found." 


 I'll add to that.

The only sure fire way I have found to get the important things done in your life and career is to block time on your calendar to focus on them. Then commit as though that is the most important appointment you have all week. It is easy to break commitments like that with ourselves - a customer calls and wants to meet, a "big crisis" unfolds, easier things on the to-do list entice you away.

Anything can wait an hour (except a real emergency at home). A customer calls and wants to meet at that time? What if you had a meeting with your most important customer at that time? You would simply say, "Well I have another meeting scheduled for that time, could we meet at ......?"

As a client of mine once did, put up a sign that says "I am my most important customer", and treat appointments with yourself like appointments with your "most important customer".

Put those Rocks in the bowl first and I promise the pebbles will fit around them.

Regard,
Rick Wallace

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

How to Attract Great People

"At most companies, people spend 2 percent of their time recruiting and 75 percent managing their recruiting mistakes."
- Richard Fairbanks, CEO of Capital One

Whether you network your jobs through employees, customers, associates and people you interact with every day or just run ads, or I hope do all of the above all the time (VIRTUAL BENCH), this information will increase the A Players you attract.

Why focusing on what you need in a candidate rather than what your company can offer them could mean hiring the wrong person for the job.

By Stephanie Vozza

Before you rush to fill that vacant desk, consider this: 66% of U.S. companies have been affected by a bad hire and, for 27%, the decision cost the company $50,000 or more, according to a 2013 survey by Career Builder.

Hiring mistakes can be damaging. In addition to lost revenue, they can negatively impact productivity, client relations and employee morale, but a new study published in the Journal of Business and Psychology found that minor changes to the wording of job ad can increase the size and quality of an applicant pool, giving hiring managers a better chance of getting it right.

The Power Of Needs-Supplied Postings
"The typical job ad focuses on what the employer wants from the applicant," says David Jones, associate professor of business at the University of Vermont and one of the study's authors. "Ads that focus on what employers can offer job seekers--such as autonomy and career advancement--result in better employee-company matches."

For the study, Jones and his co-authors wrote real job ads for a Canadian engineering firm. Some focused on "needs-supplies," what the organization offers applicants, while others focused on "demands-abilities," the skills the organization would require of candidates. Needs-supplies ads received almost three times as many highly rated applicants than demands-abilities ads.

"It's a no-brainer that the time it takes to add a few extra sentences has a really huge implication on the size of applicant pool and the number of candidates that are the very strongest job applicants," says Jones.

To write needs-supplies ads, hiring managers should consider what candidates want: universal desires include autonomy and respect, says Jones. Candidates also look for an opportunity to grow and learn, and have an impact on the organization.
The time it takes to add a few extra sentences has a huge implication on the size of applicant pool and the number of candidates that are the very strongest job applicants.
 
The best ads are a combination of the two kinds of statements--what the company can offer and what it needs. This will screen out those who aren't qualified, while at the same time considering the process from the applicant's perspective.

Jones offers five examples of needs-supplies statements:

·        You will have the opportunity to work on a variety of tasks and develop your skills in many areas.
·        The job will also provide you with autonomy as you will be required to complete tasks with minimal supervision.
·        This position is on an important project, so the successful applicant will have the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the organization and see the project through to its completion.
·        Employees are given many opportunities for advancement within the organization.
·        You will have many opportunities to collaborate with talented people

Demands-abilities statements might include:

·        The successful applicant will have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
·        Job incumbents will be required to show initiative in prioritizing tasks and carrying them through to completion.
·        We are seeking people who want to contribute to the collective effort of their group and are committed to helping the project team achieve their goals.
·        We seeks people who are interested in constantly expanding their skill set and developing their potential.
·        The successful applicant will enthusiastically support and cooperate with others to develop effective solutions.

A mix of the two kinds of statements is ideal, but the most important part of the job ad is that it's accurate and truthful, says Jones."When job applicants form expectations about things that will happen when they work for a company and then those things are unfulfilled, they will react negatively," he says. "They often withdraw and are likely to quit. In that case, nobody wins."

My Input

People want a place to work where: 
    1. They have some autonomy
    2. They can and do master their job
    3. They share the values and purpose of the company
    4. They are appreciated
    5. They are" in on things"
    6. They see they can contribute
Use huddles, weekly coaching conversations and coaching to ensure you offer these things to your people.

All the best,

Rick Wallace

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Stuck? Take Action

"Action is Magic. Thinking about it is fatal. "
- Rick Wallace

I had a client that had committed to draft a plan or punch list to address a big issue in her company. In our mastermind group we had taken a whole session discussing and helping her with this struggle she was having. She committed to having a plan together to share with the group at the next call.
The day before she sent us an email in which she opened with the following message:
"Honestly ladies, I am just plain stuck.  I sit down to outline a plan and stare at a blank word document with "My Plan" at the top and the rest of the page is blank.  I just don't know where to start.  So here is what I have done about being stuck."
Then she proceeded to outline 10 things she had done to address this issue. She ended it with:
"All of that said, I don't have a plan to discuss/present to you this week as promised."
So I sent her an email :
"Action is magic, thinking about it is fatal. I think you have underestimated what you have accomplished. You did what we all need to do when we get stuck - you took action. ACTION melts away the fear. ACTION is much better than inaction - either one is a decision, but ACTION will get the results you want instead of letting things evolve on their own. Just keep taking action - step by step - as (another member of the group) says, "Knowing what to do is not enough" and I always add "Doing is all that matters". Good work.
"Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy."
- Dale Carnegie, Author
She sent me a response the next day with this picture of the sign she posted in her office:


Regards,
Rick