Posted by Asa Beavers on Tue, Apr 28, 2009 @ 08:02 AM
Just exactly when does a situation become desperate? Desperate, to me, is one of those words that seems, well, so desperate. Or as defined in one Wiktionary entry as hopeless. Now, since I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy, I tend to look at what might be a desperate situation as one that is a great challenge. It’s an opportunity to stand up and fight and give it your best shot because that’s what winners do.
Which brings me to the other definitions of desperate found in Wiktionary, 1) reckless abandon in the pursuit of extreme desire, and 2) extremely intense.So what got me started on this rant today? The sports page of the local paper. I’m a hockey fan and to me there’s not too many sports that carry the drama of a Stanley Cup playoff series Game 7. The sports writer raised the question of who is the more desperate team, and answered his own question with, the team who faced elimination and won. That was the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 6. And now in the game tonight deciding which team moves on to the next series, both teams are desparate, and I doubt that either consider it hopeless.
So let’s talk business for a minute. Are we in desperate economic times? If you pay any attention to the media it’s easy to come to the conclusion that the economy is in big trouble. For businesses large and small that are falling or on the brink of failing it could be construed as hopeless. But wait a minute folks, sure business is down, but the real reality is business is now different. The economy is adjusting from the biggest economic boom of all time, and it’s affecting all businesses and yours is no exception.
How are you responding to this new, different economy? My guess is it depends on your level of desperation, or intensity. As a business leader you’re having to make difficult decisions you believe are in the best long-term interest of your business. Cutting expenses and labor is one of those decisions every business leader has had to face, but that can only go so far before it begins to affect the level of service you provide to your customers. And this is no time to be testing your customers’ loyalty with shoddy service.
So have you raised the intensity level with your team yet? They see and hear what’s going in the economy, and if they are to believe the news they may see it as desperate too. Not the message you want your team conveying to your customers.
It’s not business as usual any more, it’s different. You may need to be different, and your business may need to be different. It’s up to you, the business leaders, to raise the bar and bring the team up to the “playoff” intensity. You do that by clearly communicating your expectations, reminding them of the importance of being at the top of their game, and of going the extra mile each and every time.
In these desperate economic times which is it in your business, hopeless or intense?
Posted by Asa Beavers on Fri, Apr 17, 2009 @ 05:15 AM
Like many of you, I am in awe of the level of leadership exhibited by Captain Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger, who piloted the US Air flight to a successful crash landing into the Hudson River, and now Captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship, whose crew fought off the Somali hijackers and allowed himself to be taken hostage to reduce the risk to his crew and ship. The stories are so remarkable they give me shivers to think about how I might react in the face of such a life or death scenario. Would I be up to that level of leadership?
I love how Jim Collins in his book, Good To Great, defines Level 5 Leadership. Level 5 Leaders exhibit a combination of extreme personal humility with intense professional will. They look out the window to attribute success to factors other than themselves, and when things go poorly, they look into the mirror and blame themselves, taking full responsibility. That’s exactly how these two brave captains handled their duties.
Now, quite honestly, plane crashes and Somali priates aren’t necessarily how I would want my leadership to be tested and I’m sure it wasn’t theirs either. But each of us get thrust into situations in our businesses and lives that test our leadership, and how we handle it comes through in our actions and decisions.
Preparation for these tests come from our collective experiences, the training we take, the books we read, and the people we associate with. Here at Redline Business Solutions we provide tools that help you in your preparation for tests that we hope won’t be as exteme as the two captains’ experiences, but still equally important to each of us in our own context.
Please take a moment to consider the tools we have for you this week. The Business MasterMind is an opportunity to interact with other business leaders discussing important and relevant business issues. And in the Vibrant Business workshop you’ll learn more strategies than you can implement in the next 6 months, but it only takes one done right to get massive results. Both are definitely worth the investment of your time.
Posted by Asa Beavers on Wed, Apr 01, 2009 @ 11:00 AM
It was just 4 or 5 months ago my two college-aged kids, who are both Facebook savvy and have been for a long time, got a “friend request” from their 65 year old uncle. Both were just a little freaked out about having an old person in their group of friends and they chose to ignore the request. My wife and I, being non-facebook users, thought it was a bit strange that her brother was “friending” our kids. We thought Facebook was for the younger crowd who would rather communicate in short text sound bites than have real conversations. And of course there’s the sensationalized media stories of indiscrete adults using social networking as a way to “meet” young people. I was convinced it wasn’t for me.
Now fast-forward to just two months ago when some of my peers are asking me if I’m on Facebook. Imagine my body language and tone in my voice when I respond with “are you kidding me, you’re on Facebook?” And it wasn’t too long after that I began the process of trying to figure out what possible value being on Facebook could have for me and my business. What I was failing to understand was why anybody would want to know what’s on my mind. In all practicality it was useless so why would I want to invest any time into it.
Finally, just two weeks ago I was meeting with a client who is an admitted computer-phobe. While she struggles with email, spreadsheets and documents, she’s got Facebook all figured out. It was during this meeting when she turned the tables on me. Usually I’m the one saying to her that she’s “over-thinking” a project or issue, and that taking action is more important than analyzing every step and doing nothing. Then somehow Facebook entered into our conversation and it was obvious we were truly in her realm, she the expert and I the incompetent. As I raised my objections and put up my guard, she quickly diffused me by saying, you guessed it, “stop over-thinking and trying to analyze why, and just give it a try”. Good advice. She had me.
So I’m now on Facebook - or, at least I have an account set up. Without even trying I actually have several friend who have found me. I’m not sure yet just how much time I will invest in this new endeavor. It’s easy to see why some people can spend hours on it.
Most importantly, I have created a separate page for my business. This is the real reason I now find Facebook so intriguing. It’s tough to ignore a medium where I can communicate easily and casually with friends of my business - for free! I’m a convert and in all probability you will be too. Social media is here to stay, and it’s not a kid’s game at all - no kidding!
Come on, give it a try. Follow the link to friend me, or fan me on Facebook.