Do first impressions really matter? While they shouldn’t, the reality is that they most certainly do. As the old saying goes “you only get one chance to make a first impression,” and often times it is the perception of appearance that determines whether or not you are even afforded the opportunity to get up to bat. The truth is most people when first meeting someone will quickly attempt to size them up. Whether consciously, or unconsciously, they will make quick value judgments in an effort to assess your credibility and flesh out your agenda. In today’s post I’ll examine how managing appearances can have a substantial impact on your personal brand and your success.

In a perfect world professionals would only be judged solely on their character, skill sets, competencies, and performance. But alas, we do not live in a perfect world. While appearances shouldn’t matter, the reality is that the car you drive, where you office, the clothes you wear, whether you’re in good physical shape, the vocabulary that flows from your lips, the company you work for, the publicity and PR you put out, whom you choose to associate with, how you appear online (social networking platforms, search engine results, etc.), and any number of other appearance specific issues can add to, or detract from, the strength of your personal brand.

I want to be clear that I’m not advocating for form over substance, extreme self-indulgence, narcissism, or masking insecurity by the trappings you surround yourself with. Rather, I am a proponent of paying attention to detail and facing reality. Even the most discerning people make value judgments at the subconscious level – it’s only human nature to use the power of observation in an attempt to validate perception. We want those with whom we work to not only be competent, but there is also an innate desire to have them look the part as well, as those individuals we choose to associate with will often times influence other’s perceptions of us.

In most cases, the old saying perception is reality isn’t too far off. If the right person, enough of the right people, or even enough of the wrong people believe something to be true, it may not matter that they’re wrong. Perception can in fact shape reality, even if said reality turns out to be a false reality. Managing impressions, perceptions, and opinions is important if you want to be in a position of influence. Put simply, what people think of you matters. We’ve all met many an individual quick to state “I don’t care what people think of me.” The person who utters this statement usually cares very much about what people think. If they don’t they are either very naïve or very arrogant.

While the next statement might seem a bit callus, I believe it’s true as it relates to both personal and professional relationships. At a base level, most people will very quickly attempt to discern whether you are a person of significance or insignificance, ally or adversary, friend or foe. In most cases people will perceive you in one of two ways – as a person who can help them, or as a person who can hurt them. Which camp you fall into will largely determine whether or not you’ll be included or excluded – whether you’ll be part of the inner circle, or to relegated to the periphery always finding yourself on the outside looking in.

Let me be transparent and use my personal situation as an example. I actually prefer to play to the middle in that I am neither understated nor overstated, but I am comfortable with who I am and my approach to the market. While I will dress in a suit and tie when appropriate, you’re much more likely to find me in jeans and casual sport coat. While I have driven a variety of luxury imports over the years, at this stage of life my Chevy Tahoe seems to fit my lifestyle the best. While I have a few swiss watches, my Timex Ironman is still my favorite. I will always attempt to put my best foot forward, but like me, love me, or hate me, I simply won’t feign appearances to win business…what you see is what you get.

The advice I give to my clients is to be true to yourself, and authentic in your approach to creating a great first impression. As an example, I don’t really care what someone pays for their clothing or automobile, or even how expensive their office accoutrements are, but I do notice whether or not they are well maintained and appropriate for the given situation. We’ve all witnessed the shallow attempts made by insecure people who are living large in an attempt to impress others, as opposed to creating a lifestyle that is authentic, within their means, and personally satisfying. The bottom line is that your appearance should be one that both you and your clients/customers/stakeholders are comfortable with. You should manage appearances on creating a feeling of comfort and engendering confidence…not on trying to impress. Most importantly, your family needs to be comfortable with how you conduct yourself.

While much is often said about “first impressions,” this phrase in and of itself implies subsequent impressions are made as well. Professionals must be just as diligent in their management of future appearances and impressions. I am a huge proponent of being consistent and having a high degree of continuity of impressions/appearances. If you happen to be someone who makes a great first impression, but cannot execute and/or deliver up to expectations you are just setting yourself up for failure and your clients will be even more frustrated than if they had never engaged you to begin with. A negative experience is worse for your personal and corporate brand than no experience at all.

Here’s the thing – it is not about how much you spend or spin, but the authenticity, integrity, and appropriateness of how you manage your appearance that matters. When who you are on the inside is completely congruous with who you portray yourself to be on the outside you’ll find that life will just seem a bit more enjoyable. Disingenuous and insincere positioning may get your foot in the door, but when the door slams into your backside as your engagement or relationship blows-up, don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Thoughts?

Is the customer really always right? How far should a company go to satisfy their clientele or customer base? What is the lost opportunity cost associated with customer churn? Is there a point when satisfying the customer is actually harmful to the enterprise, or back to the original question, is the customer always right? In today’s post I’ll share my opinion as to the validity of this old business axiom, and also offer a few insights on where to draw the line…

I believe all businesses should use great care and concern when determining how their customers and clients are treated. The time, energy, and cost associated with acquiring a customer are substantial, the benefits of retaining customers are considerable, and the costs associated with customer churn are significant. I’m always amazed at how much money will be spent to acquire a new customer, but how little care is given to insuring customer satisfaction after the sale.  There is great truth in the old axiom that states: “if you’re not serving your customer well, someone else will.”

If as an executive you believe customer service is someone else’s problem, you have a much bigger problem than you realize. While I believe most CEOs have a grasp on the concept of lifecycle value, I’m not sure they really understand the true cost of losing a customer. Let’s just assume that the lifetime value of a customer for company X is $2,000 dollars. If company X loses just one customer, the total lifecycle loss could run well into the tens of thousands, if not the hundreds of thousands. If you don’t believe me consider the following 7 points:

1. The Initial Churn: First you have the $2,000 dollar lifetime value loss attributed to churning the account itself.
2. Sunk Acquisition Costs: Don’t forget to add in the cost of acquiring the account to begin with. You spent very real dollars to acquire the account so you need to factor that into the total equation. I’ll let you pick the percentage you want to use and add that into the total number.
3. Replacement Costs: Remember the cost of acquisition number you just calculated above? Well, you need to add it back in again, because now you have to go out and replace the customer you just lost. By the way, you should probably multiply the cost of acquisition number by 5 since it costs about 500% more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one.
4. Lost Ancillary Revenue: On average, a single account is good for a 30 -40% cross-sell/up-sell revenue increase over time as new products, services, joint ventures etc. are brought on line and offered to existing accounts. This means you can conservatively expect to lose another $600 dollars of upside in our $2000 dollar example.
5. Lost Referral Revenues: Depending on your business, and whether or not you have a solid customer acquisition process in place, a single account should be good for a minimum of 2-3 referrals (direct or indirect) on an annual basis. Over a 10 year period of time, assuming only 2 annual referrals, without any cross-sell or up-sell value being added-in, you just lost another $200,000 dollars.
6. Loss of 2nd & 3rd generation referrals: But wait; it just gets worse….Those lost referrals mentioned above would have also given you 2-3 referrals each year, and if you carry this formula out over 20 years the loss of a single account could easily cost your organization more than a million dollars in lost revenue.
7. Negative Brand Impact: If it isn’t bad enough already, a lost account can easily have a negative impact on future sales due to spreading the news of their bad experience with your company.  The average dissatisfied customer will persuade 10-20 other people from doing business with your firm. If the upset customer takes their dissatisfaction online and amplifies it via social media you could see a much bigger problem. This will not only impact your revenue, but can also taint your brand equity.

The bottom line is that it is very expensive to lose an account. That said, I also believe there is a point where customers can begin to abuse the good will of the merchants and service providers who work so hard to earn their business. So, when does a customer cross over to the dark side and become your worst nightmare? The answer is a fairly simple one – when the squeaky wheel becomes so loud that the brain damage involved in greasing it becomes too high, if an account doesn’t deal in good faith, if they become unprofitable to keep, or when you can replace them with more profitable accounts.

Regrettably, experience has shown me that a small percentage of customers/clients live for the chance to wield their perceived power over their merchants, vendors, suppliers and professional service providers. These customers are the proverbial “squeaky wheels” that demand to be greased. These are the verbally abusive customers who expect special consideration, and whose demands can far exceed the boundaries of reason. There is in fact a point where “bad customers” can erode margins, negatively affect morale, or even tarnish a brand. These customers not only are not right, they deserved to be fired…

The following tips will help you minimize the amount of bad customers served by your enterprise and will show you what to do once a customer crosses over to the dark side:

1. Align Expectations: Where possible, and especially if your business has the luxury of choosing your customers, make sure that mutual expectations are both defined and aligned at the outset of the relationship. Ensure your client understands what types of customer behaviors will be accepted and what types of behavior will not be tolerated.
2. Develop Customer Scorecards: You should actually profile your clientele such that you understand the difference between good accounts and bad accounts. Much like you have performance reviews for your employees, you should also conduct an analysis of how your customers are performing. Not all accounts are accretive, and more accounts than you think may in fact be dilutive.
3. Turnover Bad Accounts: When a client is identified as being a bad account either not capable of being saved nor worthy of salvaging, you should strongly consider firing the client. Evaluate the bottom tier of your clientele each year, and look to upgrade your clientele either by improving account performance or by releasing the client and replacing that business with a better quality account.

Those of you who have worked with me know that I state very clearly at the outset of any new relationship that I reserve the right to terminate an engagement if said engagement turns out to be less than a fruitful endeavor. While I feel privileged to serve my clients, and am thankful for the opportunity to earn their business, I also believe that the relationships should be reciprocal in nature. Business as they say is after all a two-way street…

Thoughts?

With 2012 staring us right in the face, I thought I’d dust off an old post as a useful reminder as you plan the year ahead –  ”help” is not a dirty word. I have always believed asking for help is a sign of maturity as a leader. I think John Lennon said it best: “I get by with a little help from my friends.” So my question is this - are you easy to help? Think about it…do you make it easy for others to want to help you, or is your demeanor such that most people won’t lift a finger to assist you in a time of need? How many times during the course of your career have you witnessed executives and entrepreneurs who desperately need help, but either don’t recognize it, or worse yet, make it virtually impossible for someone to help them? In today’s post I’ll address the importance of positioning yourself to be helped…

If your pride, ego, arrogance, ignorance, the way you were raised or any other excuse (yes I did say excuse) keeps you from asking for help, it is precisely those traits that will keep you from maximizing your potential. I hate to break it to you, but you don’t know everything or everybody, so why even bother pretending that you couldn’t use a bit of help? No single person can or should go it alone in today’s business world. The more partners, sympathizers, champions, allies, supporters, enablers, influencers, advisers, mentors, friends, and family you have helping you succeed, the faster you will achieve your goals. Without question the most successful business people on the planet are those that have learned to blow through self-imposed barriers to openly harness the power of broader spheres of influence.

I don’t know about you, but I am so tired of all the “self-made man” propaganda floating around business circles. I sincerely believe there is no such thing as a “self-made man”. While I take complete responsibility for all my failures and shortcomings, I take very little credit for my own success. Virtually all of the good things that have happened to me over the years have been the result of the collaborative efforts of many. I don’t see asking for help as a sign of weakness, rather I see it as a very smart thing to do, and I therefore tend to seek out help wherever I can find it. I have long made it a practice to encourage others to help me succeed. My personal and professional network are far more important to my success than my individual competencies. My clients hire me not solely on the basis of what I can personally do for them in a vacuum, but rather what the collective influence of my network and resources can accomplish for them when I operate outside of my own personal bubble.

If you take anything away from today’s post let it be the following two statements: 1.) If a single day passes where you don’t ask for help you have failed yourself and those around you, and; 2.) If a single day passes where you have not helped someone else you have failed as a leader. If you desire to enlist others in your success the following 5 items are the basic prerequisites for getting others to help you:

1. Be Trustworthy: Say what you mean, mean what you say, and do what you say you’ll do. By simply honoring your commitments and being reliable you’ll be someone who easily engenders the trust and confidence of others. People clearly do things to help those whom they trust, and will quite obviously avoid going the extra mile for those whom they don’t.
2. Don’t be a jerk: While people don’t necessarily have to like you in order to help you, it certainly doesn’t hurt. However I can promise you that if you’re perceived as a jerk people will not only go out of their way not to help you succeed, but they will do everything possible to impede your success. I have long been a believer that contrary to popular opinion, nice guys (and gals) do in fact finish first.
3. Go out of your way to help others: Do unto others – what goes around comes around – you reap what you sow, and any number of other statements to that effect ring true more often than not. If you are sincerely interested in helping others, and make it a habit to go out of your way to do so, then those people will likely be inclined to reciprocate.
4. Know what you want and focus your efforts to that end: You must develop a clear picture of what it is that you want to accomplish, and then apply laser-like focus in the pursuit of your goals.
5. Make your goals known to those that can help you: It is not only important to communicate your vision to those in a position to help you succeed, but always make sure and ask for their help. Don’t be bashful or embarrassed, but rather confidently recruit others to become enablers and evangelists of your cause. You need to believe that one of your top priorities is team building, and consistently seek out greater numbers of people to champion your cause and scale your efforts.

In the final analysis it’s really all a matter of perspective…you can either view yourself as part of a hierarchical world sitting at the top of the org chart puffing your chest and propping-up your ego, or you can view yourself as the hub at the center of a large and diverse network. The latter is both more profitable and enjoyable than the former. You can either choose to build your personal brand and your success at the expense of others, or by helping others.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts about the importance of asking for help no matter what your title is, or where you sit on the org chart…Thoughts?

Even though few would dispute the value of being an engaged leader, many still do not practice what they preach. The harsh reality is that great numbers of leaders continue to operate in a vacuum by sequestering themselves away in the corner office and attempting to lead from afar.  Trust me when I tell you that being out of touch is never a good position to find yourself in as the CEO. I rarely come across leaders who couldn’t benefit from being more meaningfully engaged on both a broader and deeper basis, and hope that today’s post will encourage you to do just that…ENGAGE.

I have consistently espoused the value of walking the floor (hat tip to Tom Peters – MBWA), dropping in for meetings on an impromptu basis, proactively engaging key stakeholders, and any number of other items that focus on raising your awareness. Don’t think span of control – think span of awareness.

My advice to CEOs, regardless of whether you’re running a start-up or a Fortune 500 company, is to go see things for yourself. I think you’ll find your view of the world will change dramatically when you validate impressions based upon your own observations, as opposed to sole reliance on what you read in a management report, or what you hear third or fourth hand in a meeting. Think about it…when you’re sitting in front of the board, on an analyst call, providing testimony, talking to the media, or speaking at the annual shareholder meeting, wouldn’t it be great to actually know what your talking about as opposed to interpreting what someone else has told you?

So the real question is this…how does a CEO get to the point of being so disconnected from operations that he or she just doesn’t have a clue? The reality is that there are any number of reasons why this can happen, a few of which I’ve noted below:

• The Optimistic CEO: I have met a number of CEOs that simply choose to view the world through rose colored glasses. They will believe what they want to believe regardless of what they hear or what they observe. Even in the worst of times they believe nothing to be insurmountable. While optimism is generally a great quality for a CEO to possess, there is a point at which unbridled optimism can disconnect a person from reality.
• The Arrogant CEO: These CEOs believe they can will their view into reality in spite of circumstances, situations, or events. The arrogant CEO doesn’t value the input of line and staff management. These CEOs see management opinions as inconsequential, unless of course, they happen to be in alignment with their own beliefs and opinions.
• The Unaware CEO: These CEO’s will take any report or piece of information at face value. These CEOs are overly trusting, and often politically naive. They fail to seek clarification, validation, or proof supporting the information they have been fed. This is a very unhealthy state of mind for a CEO hoping to survive over the long haul.
• The Fearful CEO: These chief executives hide in fear of making a mistake, revealing shortcomings or inadequacies, or in an attempt at managing perceptions. CEOs guided by fear often suffer from indecision and analysis paralysis. The worst thing about a fearful CEO, is that executives who refuse to make decisions and take risks will transfer that thinking to others within the organization. Leadership is a contagion – good or bad. Oddly enough, the biggest sign of a fearful leader is when a leader fails to engage. Leaders who avoid personal interaction, or shy away from social media for all the wrong reasons are likely fearful leaders.
• The Disconnected CEO: Unlike CEOs who understand how to leverage time and resources via delegation while remaining connected to management and staff, the disconnected CEO does just the opposite. They have reclusive tendencies which cause them to often completely abdicate responsibility and remain disconnected from management. Sticking one’s head in the sand will not make the circumstances of a particular situation go away, rather that type of thinking will likely on exacerbate the issue.

If you’re a CEO with clouded vision and desire to change the view from the top, it is critical that you maintain open lines of communication through a variety of channels and feedback loops. All good leaders maintain a connection and rapport with both line and staff. Furthermore, savvy CEOs are always working to refine their intuitive senses. A good CEO demands accountability and transparency. They challenge everything of consequence. They understand that acceptance of general statements and ambiguity, or blindness to hidden agendas will only contribute to limiting their vision…

If you’re a CEO and you haven’t personally spoken with your top customers, suppliers, vendors and partners, you’re doing yourself and your company a great injustice. If your CFO handles all communications with your banking relationships, and your Chief Investment Officer handles all of your investor relations, you’re flat out missing the boat. If your CMO is making all of your brand decisions there will be h*ll to pay down the road. Moreover, in today’s litigious and compliance oriented world where the CEO is no longer out of reach, it’s just plain smart to take a more hands on approach. Remember that there is a major difference between delegating and abdicating responsibility. I think President Reagan said it best: “trust but verify.”

Let me be very clear…I’m not suggesting that you become a micro manager or that you stop delegating, I’m simply suggesting that you do the job the way it is supposed to be done. Great leaders champion from the front…they are not disengaged invisible executives. As the CEO you are the visionary, influencer, champion, defender, evangelist and you must have a bias to action. You can be none of these things as a recluse…

Engaged leaders are very visible and very active leaders - they question, listen, assess and react. I can promise you one thing…If as a leader you don’t have a clear read on the pulse of your organization, it won’t have a healty pulse for very long.

Thoughts?

Bonus or no bonus? That is the question. This is the time of year where expectations are high, and so is the volume of chatter around the water cooler in anticipation of that great corporate tradition…The year-end bonus. So what’s it going to be this year…a turkey, an extra paid day off, a cash bonus, stock/options/warrants, something creative or nothing at all? Complicating matters further for CEOs, Boards, and Comp Committees attempting to determine what to do about bonuses is all the recent media attention and public outrage in regard to what is perceived by many to be excessive, frivolous compensation. In today’s post I’ll take a look at the well intentioned but often misguided practice of year-end bonuses…

Here’s a question – do bonuses work? There is a tremendous amount of conflicting data as to whether or not incentive compensation in any form is an effective motivation tool. Perhaps the best summary for this position is the short video by Daniel Pink. There are those who passionately argue for and against the merits of year-end bonuses. My experience is that bonuses are absolutely effective given this caveat: they must be structured and implemented properly.

In order for bonuses to be truly effective they must be relevant, meaningful, in alignment with cultural values, and tied to the right set of metrics. It is not the bonus that is right or wrong, but the manner in which it is rolled-out. I have witnessed company bonuses work marvelously well, and I have seen them create great animosity and discord. I have witnessed bonuses motivate the correct behaviors and I’ve watched them motivate abhorrent behavior. The validity of a bonus should not be at issue, but the wisdom, motives and expertise of the bonus program architects should come under great scrutiny. Keep this in mind – the best bonus plan in the world won’t retain top talent if the qualities mentioned in Dan’s video above are not present as well.

I can’t even begin to communicate the number of times I’ve heard employees complain about the size of their year-end bonus…It was if they felt entitled to significant rewards solely based upon the fact that they happen to be employed. Is a year-end bonus a right of entitlement or a privilege to be earned? I believe that it can actually be both, but that decision lies solely with the employer, and is not really up to the employee no matter how much they might feel it is.

Some employers believe in providing a little something extra to all employees during the Holiday Season as an expression of gratitude for their loyalty and contributions during the year without regard to performance. While showing gratitude for work well done is in alignment with the proper spirit behind a bonus, regrettably it is in this type of culture where I believe employee expectations can easily confuse the difference between a gift and a reward…Let’s say that in the previous year the company provided what was considered by most to be a fairly generous bonus, but in this calendar year, the company struggled while also needing to make heavy expenditures in Q1 of the upcoming year so it opted to distribute no year-end bonus. How do the employees feel about this? One would hope that the employees would understand and put the needs of the enterprise ahead of their expectation that this year’s bonus should eclipse that of the previous year, but would they? I’m certain not distributing a bonus would only spawn a sense of resentment among many, and the gossip at the water cooler would shift to criticizing the CEOs car, or how much vacation time he/she took that year…

As contrasted with the environment discussed above, some cultures distribute annual bonuses based on a formulaic approach calculated on metrics designed to reward individual, team or company performance according to the goals of the specific entity. While many tend to favor this structure, it is far from perfect as well. It is very typical that in this type of environment that the controversy shifts from company vs. employees, to employee vs. employee. As an example, the marketing assistant who receives a comparatively small bonus when contrasted to that of a sales person feels that his/her contribution is minimized and feels treated unfairly. Imagine working at Goldman Sachs where bonuses in any given year are expected to range from secretaries receiving $10,000, analysts garnering close to $100,000, junior executives seeing as much as $2-4 million and top income producers receiving upwards of $40 million dollars in bonus money…You don’t think there’s a bit of green-eyed bonus envy at Goldman Sachs each year?

Regardless of whether your firm embraces a meritocracy, a tenure based system, a highly sophisticated compensatory system, or some form of a benevolent dictatorship, bonuses are always an issue. Should bonuses come off the top-line, bottom-line, be based on contribution margin, be subjectively or objectively distributed, be paid in cash, stock, options, profit sharing, perks, or some other mechanism? The structures of corporate bonuses are as varied as there are numbers of entities.

At the end of the day, employers should hire well, bonus generously, and provide public thanks where merited. Employees on the other hand should be thankful for the privilege of having gainful employment and be grateful for any bonus compensation received. Whatever the bonus, I hope it works for the grantor as well as for the grantees. For those on the receiving end, I hope you enjoy it and will perhaps consider giving some of your bonus to those less fortunate this season…

I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts about incentive compensation. Please leave a comment and let me know whether or not you think bonuses are effective, describe creative bonus structures you’ve observed, or share what you’re thinking about doing this year, if anything.

“But my business is different!” Well actually, no it’s not. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I’ve had a CEO tell me that certain immutable business principles just don’t apply to his/her business because, “this business is different.” I don’t dispute that all businesses have certain unique characteristics or contextual differences - I don’t even dispute that recognizing and leveraging said differences are important. What I do vehemently dispute is the assertion a particular nuance is reasonable justification for flawed business logic to prevail. In today’s post I’ll share why most businesses have far more in common than most executives and entrepreneurs care to admit…

Marketing, Branding, Leadership, Sales, PR, Advertising, Business Development, Operations, Administration, Finance, Accounting, Information Technology, Human Resources, Innovation and the list goes on…These functional areas are representative of things that all businesses must pay attention to. All business (for profit or not) provide goods, services, or intellectual property/capital to a market (or markets) for some form of consideration. All businesses have competition, serve stakeholders and other various constituencies, and must do certain things to avoid failure while on the path to creating a sustainable endeavor.

Let me give you a great example; It is not at all uncommon for an executive to tell me that his/her business doesn’t really have any competition. If you tell me that your business doesn’t have any competition, I don’t buy it. All businesses have competition at some level. If you don’t have direct competition, you’ll surely have indirect competition. You will also be competing to retain talented employees that other companies would like to lure away. What about competing against the innovation of others that could cause the obsolescence of your product or service? What about competing to maintain key business relationships with vendors, suppliers, partners and the like? How about competing for the attention of your existing and  potential clients? I could go with this line of thinking, but I’ll assume that the point has been sufficiently made.

Moving on…Believe it or not, CEO is not always synonymous with all knowing business guru. Even the most savvy CEO may have blind spots in his or her skill sets, core competencies, or voids in the org chart which can also distort perspective. Even in this day and age, I still run into CEOs that don’t understand the value of leveraging technology, utilizing outsourcing to lower costs and improve efficiencies, the tremendous power that comes from embracing the Internet, the benefits of creating multiple distribution channels, the value of building brand equity, or any number of different issues.

Bottom line…Just because a business has a particular advantage doesn’t mean that it can disregard sound business logic. Moreover, just because a business has embraced a certain methodology or practice doesn’t mean that it cannot be improved upon, or perhaps that said business practice or methodology should even be disregarded in totality. Great businesses are in constant search of improvement, innovation, change, disruption, knowledge and other strategic leverage points that lead to a competitive advantage or operational enhancement.

Don’t fall into the rut of allowing your business to be trapped in a perpetual state of static thinking. Great businesses are dynamic, fluid, vibrant and ever changing. Get outside of your old thought patterns and seek out people, technology, collaborative relationships, process enhancements, and any other solutions that can improve your business. Your business isn’t really different, but it can become better…

Thoughts?

Visioning for CEOs is a topic that I often address on this blog. I don’t do so in an attempt to torture you with redundant thought, but rather because I believe it is a message that is often taken far too lightly by chief executives. A CEO’s ability to perform effectively is so closely tied to their ability to form a clearly articulated vision, evangelize the vision and then to execute on their vision, that no real discussion on executive leadership should take place without an emphasis on vision. Put simply, I believe that leadership absent vision is a train-wreck waiting to happen. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that you simply cannot decouple the two without causing an organizational implosion. In today’s post I’m going to share a few brief thoughts on visioning for CEOs, as well as providing you with the thoughts of others on the importance of vision…

Examine any list of great leaders and you’ll find that to the one, they have a clarity and purpose of vision. The good news is that CEOs without vision will take care of themselves in short order, as they simply won’t survive for long. However worse than the CEO with no vision, is a CEO with the wrong vision. These CEOs can often go undiscovered for great lengths of time before their poorly constructed vision bubbles-up to the surface, by which time it is often too late to repair the damage. Many a good enterprise has been blown to pieces by a CEO with either no vision or the wrong vision.

It’s important to understand that vision statements are design oriented.  The vision is bigger picture and future oriented – it is the vision that defines the end game. Vision statements, as implied in the construction of the phraseology itself, put forth a statement of envisioned future. This vision, if successful, must be underpinned by core ideology (values) and then expressed with clarity and conviction. A non-existent, ambiguous, or ideologically weak corporate vision is nothing short of a recipe for disaster…It would be akin to the proverbial ship without a rudder adrift without any direction or control. A well articulated corporate vision should be capable of being easily understood and distributed throughout the value chain.

As magically vibrant and illustrative as a vision can be, a vision isn’t really about what can be imagined – it’s about what can be delivered. A leader’s vision must be distributed, adopted, and deeply embedded into the daily fabric of the organizational culture. A leader who doesn’t possess clarity of vision cannot expect those they lead to have clarity in thought or deed. A shared vision based on common values is the gold standard of corporate alignment.

It should be clear by now that I believe your vision or lack thereof will shape your destiny as a CEO. But hey…you hear that from me on a fairly consistent basis. So in today’s post I thought I’d share the thoughts of others on this topic so you can see that I’m not alone in placing great emphasis on the correlation between great vision and success as a leader…

“The empires of the future are empires of the mind.”
- Winston Churchill

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, but of choice. Not something to wish for, but to attain.”
- William Jennings Bryan

“To grasp and hold a vision, that is the very essence of successful leadership.”
- Ronald Reagan

“Dissatisfaction and discouragement are not caused by the absence of things but the absence of vision.”
- Anonymous

“The future belongs to those who see the possibilities before they become obvious.”
- John Scully

I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can’t find anybody who can tell me what they want.”
- Mark Twain

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.”
- Henry David Thoreau

“After character, the ability to create, articulate, evangelize, and execute on your vision is what will make or break you as a leader.”
- Mike Myatt (couldn’t resist slipping one in)

“Create your future from your future, not your past.”
- Werner Erhard

“No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see the possibilities – always see them, or they’re always there.”
- Norman Vincent Peale

“Where there is no vision the people perish.”
- Proverbs 29:18

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it,but that it is too low and we reach it.”
- Michelangelo

I hope these thoughts will inspire you to take stock of your vision, and focus on its attainment as a top priority in the execution of your duties as a leader. I would love to hear your thoughts and observations in the comments section below. Don’t be shy – jump right in…

Creating a talent advantage begins with smart hiring. That said, it never ceases to amaze me at the number of people who are charged with hiring who possess absolutely no skill at doing so. While I rarely meet a CEO who is completely comfortable with turning the hiring process over to HR, most of them still seem to acquiesce and do exactly that…”Who should do the hiring?” is a question that more CEOs should spend time pondering. Here’s the thing; Anyone can make a hire, but not all hires are good hires. Smart leaders do more than just hire smart people – they have a smart hiring process and/or methodology. In today’s post I’ll share my philosophy on the best way to insure that you hire tier-one talent.

Put simply; talent matters. The problem is that very few people actually possess the talent to identify talent. Identifying and recruiting talent requires much more than screening a resume and having a set of standard interviewing questions to guide you. There are issues of values, vision, culture, context etc., that need to be creatively and intuitively addressed in the hiring process that often go overlooked because the wrong person is evaluating talent.

Further complicating matters, is just because someone has succeeded in the past doesn’t mean that they’ll be a success for your company. Likewise, just because someone has failed in a previous position doesn’t mean that they might not end-up being a top performer for your company. Assessing talent is in fact a talent… Adding even more complexity to the hiring process is that not all those capable of identifying talent are capable of recruiting the talent by sealing the deal…Think about it, does the person in charge of your hiring process have the experience and charisma to convince a top performer at another company to take a pay cut to work for your company?

While CEO’s can’t be in charge of recruiting, it’s important to realize that CEOs still own responsibility for the outcome – the buck always stops at the desk of the chief executive. I also believe that if HR is solely charged with the recruiting efforts for senior management and executive level positions you’ll end-up with a very weak management and leadership team. Unless your company is a large enough organization to have a Chief Talent Officer, I don’t believe recruiting is an HR function (other than for administrative positions). Rather in most instances, I believe HR should be a compliance, training and risk management function. It is HR’s function to make sure that processes are implemented and followed, but having a mid-level manager attempt to identify or recruit tier-one senior talent is a recipe for disaster. The following commentary came from Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft when he was asked about his philosophy on hiring:

“I did all the hiring myself for a long time. No one joined Microsoft without my interviewing them and liking them. I made every offer, decided how much to pay them and closed the deals. I can’t do that anymore, but I still invest a significant amount of time in insuring that we’re recruiting the best people. You may have technology or a product that gives you an edge, but your people determine whether you develop the next winning technology or product.”

I tend to be similar in positioning to Steve in that I believe one of the highest and best uses of time is to make sure that we attract the best talent for our company and our client companies. I believe that C-level executives can’t afford not to keep their hands in the talent function at some level. In order to insure that you make the best hiring decisions possible, I would strongly recommend that you follow the practices listed below:

1. Definition: Make sure that you know exactly what you are looking for, both in terms of the job description, and the profile of the individual most likely to be successful in that role. If you can’t define what you’re looking for, you shouldn’t be looking.
2. Timing: There is wisdom in the old axiom “hire slow and fire fast.” Don’t panic and end-up making a regrettable hire out of perceived desperation. Give yourself plenty of runway. You’ll be much better-off taking your time and making a good hire rather than using the ready, fire, aim methodology and end-up terming the new hire before they eclipse their probationary period.
3. ABH: Always Be Hiring…Never let your organization be put behind the talent 8-ball, as great talent is rarely available on a moment’s notice. In the world of professional sports the search for talent often starts during the middle-school years, which is long before the potential talent being tracked by the scouts has matured. Your organization should always be on the look-out for great talent whether that talent is still in graduate school, in the military, working for competitors, or working outside the industry. Some of the best hires I’ve made over the years were executives that I spent months, and in some cases, years developing relationships with.
4. Identify Your Talent Scout: Look for and identify the person within your organization that has the best nose for talent. Regardless of what position this person holds, get them involved in the process. If you don’t have a natural talent scout internally, seek outside assistance in the form of a consultant. Don’t turn your talent scout into just another corporate bottleneck, rather give them leverage by having them collaborate with outside recruiters. Outsourced recruiting is very effective and affordable if managed properly.
5. Team Based Hiring: While I’m not generally in favor of management by committee, hiring based upon a team approach works very well. In a perfect world, a hiring team would consist of your HR manager (compliance), your internal and external talent scout (the gut-check), the direct supervisor over the position being hired for (competency, capability, and compatibility) and the senior executive who is the best at selling your organization (the closer). Hiring in a team based fashion eliminates many of the typical mistakes that can be made in the hiring process.
6. Values Based Hiring: You can either spend time finding employees who share your organization’s values, or deal with the brain damage of managing conflicts that arise due to opposing values. Smart companies focus on the former and not the latter. It simply isn’t necessary to compromise on core values to get talent. A new hire should desire to be part of your company for more than the ability to maximize immediate earning potential…they should be interested in your company because there is a sincere alignment of values and vision. Trust me when I tell you that compromises in this area which seem insignificant during the interview process will become visibly and materially significant down the road.
7. Hire Leaders: I have a basic premise when it comes to hiring – most companies get exactly what they deserve. When companies complain about a lack of leadership, or how difficult it is to identify leaders, my question is simply this: Why didn’t you hire a leader to begin with? Sure, leadership can be learned, but not everyone is willing to learn, and even if they are, education takes time and has a very real cost. Let me be clear, I’m not knocking leadership development initiatives – there is no perfect leader, and all leaders need to focus on development. What I am saying is that development of an existing leader is faster, easier, and more effective than creating a leader.
8. Cultural Fit: Culture matters – forget this and all other efforts with regard to talent initiatives will be dysfunctional, if not lost altogether. Don’t allow your culture to evolve be default, create it by design. The first step in cultural design is to be very, very careful who you let through the front door. People, their traits, attitudes, and work ethic (or lack thereof) are contagions. This can be positive or negative – the choice is yours. The old saying, “talent begets talent” is true.
9. Pay for Talent: I cannot even begin to count the number of times I’ve witnessed companies pass over the right hire, or worse yet, not even look for the right hire because they let self-imposed financial constraints serve as a barrier precluding sound decisioning. I’ve actually personally observed HR managers filter better qualified candidates because they were a few thousand dollars outside the “top-end” of the salary range. It is precisely this type of thinking that will keep a company from being competitive in the market. To put it bluntly, you get what you pay for…Real talent produces real results, and is worth the investment. Always hire up where possible…find the right talent and then do what it takes to secure the services of said talent. You cannot afford not to invest in talent.
10. Constantly Upgrade: You can hire the best talent in the world, but remember that “best” is a subjective evaluation largely measured within the context of a snapshot in time. Obsolescence can take root in anyone if growth and development are not focus points. Development needs to occur at every echelon of the workforce  - the top, middle, and bottom performance tiers. Top performers need to be stretched, mid-tier performers need to be challenged to up their game, and you should always look to upgrade the bottom 20% of your workforce. This can be done through training and development or via new hires. You need to ask yourself the following question: Who are the least productive members of your team? Why? Coach them to productivity or replace them – there is no third option.

Hiring is a blend of art and science. The reality is that those organizations that identify, recruit, deploy, develop and retain the best talent will be the companies who thrive in the market place. As always, I welcome your comments and feedback below…

The old saying ”everybody loves a comedian” has regretfully given birth to a time where everybody thinks they’re a comedian. Sadly, what many have failed to realize is the old saying noted above was meant to be sarcastic…We all love good humor, but the truth is all humor is not good. The timely and appropriate use of humor is an asset to any leader. Likewise, distasteful or inappropriately timed humor can be a significant liability.  As a leader it’s quite easy to get a laugh - your title will virtually guarantee it. Therefore it’s important for leaders to become skilled at distinguishing the difference between a compliant chuckle and a sincere chortle. Good humor can bring people closer, but poor humor can be one of the strongest repellents known to man.  

Did you hear the one about the pastor, priest and rabbi who went skydiving? Just kidding…The very nature of humor is it’s misunderstood more often than not. This makes humor a proverbial two edged sword – it can slice through the toughest of situations to your advantage, or cut sharply against you. When levity is used to appropriately ease a burden or relieve tension it is greatly appreciated. However when your rapier wit is used as a weapon of humiliation or intimidation you are confusing humor with arrogance. I believe it was Winston Churchill who said: “Humor is a very serious thing.” Just because you find something funny, doesn’t make it so. Put simply, to use humor to mock, belittle, undermine, or attack isn’t good humor, and it’s certainly not good leadership. Remember – many a slient tear has been hidden behind a public smile.

One trait that consistently ranks highly among the most admired leaders is they’re confident enough to poke fun at themselves. When leaders understand the difference between false humility (self-serving) and authentic self-deprecating humor (benefiting others) things quickly transition from awkward to funny. Smart leaders have long recognized the best punchline – themsleves. Use the levity surrounding your experiences, mistakes, failures, challenges, etc., to turn teachable moments into unforgettable lessons.

Just because you could, doesn’t mean you should. The mental picture of a whoppie cushion in a board meeting might be funny, but it wouldn’t be appreciated. A general rule of thumb would be if something would get a laugh at a fraternity party, it’s likely not appropriate in the workplace. Jack Benny said: “Gags die, humor doesn’t.” Workplace humor is a tricky thing to be sure, and I’m hopeful the following thoughts will help keep you from falling down the slippery slope and having your jokes land with a thud: 

• Don’t confuse being a leader with being a comedian. Leadership is job number one.
• An attempt at bad humor is not an acceptable excuse for unacceptable behavior. Racist, sexist, ageist, and other forms of discriminating acts won’t be tolerated because you attempted to cloak them in bad humor.
• Use humor to lift people up, not to put them down. Don’t laugh at people – laugh with them.
• Don’t force it – if you’re trying too hard to be funny your humor will fall on deaf ears.
• Use your humor to make people feel more comfortable rather than more awkward.
• Gags and practical jokes should only be used when those on the receiving end find them funny.
• Don’t use humor to single someone out, use it to help them acclimate.
• Sarcasm is not a license to belittle someone. Saying “I was just joking” doesn’t cut it.   

Please leave your comments below, and if you have an appropriate joke to share, please do that as well. The best joke will win an autographed copy of my book…

While you might be lucky enough to survive in business with little or no advice from others, you will certainly not maximize your potential for success by doing so. All CEOs and entrepreneurs need advice in a wide variety of constantly changing areas…That said, I’m always somewhat perplexed as to why people hire certain professionals. The nature of my business is that I often succeed other advisors who have failed in their assignments, and I have witnessed first hand the carnage that can occur from unsuccessful engagements/implementations with third party professionals. So, in today’s post I’ll share some thoughts on both selecting and managing outside advisors…

Even though many of the CEOs and entrepreneurs reading this next sentence won’t agree with my conclusion, I am nonetheless obligated to share the reality of what is most often times the harsh truth…When you engage a professional advisor, the outcome you receive will most often times be the outcome you deserve. You see, as with any other profession there are excellent practitioners, middle of the road journeyman, well intended light-weights, and brilliant academics with no practical experience or common sense. The reality is that if you hire someone who doesn’t meet your needs, the fault rests with you.

Making things even more complex is the fact that talent, while clearly an important consideration, is only one factor in determining whether your engagement will have a successful outcome. A smart advisor doesn’t necessarily translate into a good advisor. Just because someone possesses an advanced degree doesn’t mean they have any practical experience. Most consultants don’t graduate from business school with any real world business experience. Furthermore, the real world experience they do possess may offer little benefit or applicational value to your specific circumstances. It is imperative that you select advisors who are not only a subject matter experts in their practice area, but that also possess solid business acumen and a bit of savvy. I have a very simple rule that I’ve followed for years in evaluating whether or not to hire a consultant: If an advisor is not fluent in my business, they won’t be retained by me to represent my business…end of story.

As nice of a thought as it might be, the reality is that you cannot just hire an advisor and expect all of your problems to be solved. As a C-level executive you should be bright enough to realize that if you turn the asylum over to the lunatics, chaos will certainly ensue. At the risk of enraging many in my profession, consultants and advisors are not superheroes, they are role players. Now mind you, the role can be of a complex or critical nature, but it is still just a part of the equation. The outcome of your engagement will be largely be dependant upon the following items:

1. Problem Identification: You’d be surprised at how many executives retain professional advisors to either solve problems they can’t even define or articulate, or worse yet, to provide a solution to a problem or challenge that doesn’t even exist. If you don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish, how are you going to direct and manage an outside advisor. Moreover, how are you going to assess whether you are receiving great advice or flawed counsel? Don’t engage an advisor unless you know specifically what it is you are trying to accomplish.
2. Selection: Did you hire the right advisor for the right reason? The first step in the selection process should not be based upon talent, price, availability, geography, past track record, etc. Rather it should be based upon value alignment. Do the consultants engaged share your values, understand your culture, understand your market, and understand your objectives? If not, their track record and their solutions will be meaningless. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve witnessed companies select advisors who were “high-powered” or “trendy, hip, and avant-garde” only to find their recommendations to be nothing short of a train wreck because they were not consistent with the values of the client they were supposed to be serving. Why would you ever let someone tinker with your brand, your credibility, and your business who didn’t share your values? Trust me when I tell you that if you do, you’ll regret it…
3. Cost: Hire the best practitioner you can afford, not the cheapest you can find. As with any profession, there is value in experience and knowledge, as well as a competitive advantage to be gained with talent, reputation and connections. Never hesitate to get a second opinion as there are very few stock answers to any business issue.
4. Accountability: The best way to manage your engagement risk is to be proactive not reactive. Assess your risks and take aggressive and proactive measures to mitigate said risks by being actively involved in the management of the engagement. As a principal owner or senior executive the buck stops with you. You need to manage the advisorand the process to the best possible outcome, and this cannot be accomplished with a passive management style. You can either manage the engagement process or let it manage you. Make sure the project deliverables are clearly understood, and that a plan with benchmarks, milestones and deadlines is put forth outlining how to reach said deliverables.

So how do you know if the advisor you’ve hired is as good as they say they are? Match-up their rhetoric with the following warning signs:

1. Beware the Part-Time Expert: My father has an old saying that I’ve found to be very accurate over the years: “part-time efforts, yield part-time results.” If the person seeking your business has a day job that constitutes something other than the services he or she is pitching, run for the hills. If your potential advisor is moonlighting then they really have no business asking for your business.
2. Beware of those with no Social Presence: If you want to get to know someone, do a little social snooping. If you don’t like how an advisor engages online, you probably won’t like what you see when you get face to face. If your would-be advisor cannot be found online, doesn’t blog, tweet, or is invisible on the major social networking platforms you might want to rethink their qualifications. Important Caveat: the mere existence of a website, blog, YouTube channel, LinkedIn profile, Facebook account, or a Twitter page doesn’t guarantee competence…anyone can amass thousands of followers on Twitter – those with a large following on Twitter often just follow-up to the Twitter maximum, wait for others to follow them back, delete the others and then repeat the process. Look for someone who has amassed a quality list of followers, who has more people following them than they follow, and who actively engages with their followers.
3. Beware the Expert without Clients: No referenceable clients equals zero credibility. Your position should be one of “don’t tell me – show me.” It’s one thing to show you their own work, but quite another to show you demonstrated success on behalf of paying and satisfied clients. Equally as important, have they served clients similar to you? Have they served clients who have already been where you want to go? Don’t let someone cut their teeth on your business. Experience counts.
4. Beware the Expert without Industry Recognition: Good advisors cannot remain in stealth mode. Talent can’t hide, because news of performance spreads. If your so called expert doesn’t have a professional body of work you may want to think twice. If your expert isn’t referenced as such by credible, independent third parties, isn’t published, doesn’t speak, lecture or teach, hasn’t received any industry recognition, etc., then they might not be a true expert.
5. Beware the Expert too Aggressive in their Pursuit: There is a big difference between professional follow-up and desperation. Let me be blunt…most professionals at the top of their game haven’t made a cold call in years. In fact, even in this down economy they typically have more business than they know what to do with. If your world-beater of a consultant is chasing you down like a hungry dog after the meat wagon then you may want to take pause.
6. Beware of Bargain Basement Expertise: In most cases the reality is that you get what you pay for…True expertise doesn’t come cheaply, but is well worth the investment. Few things in business will get you in as much trouble as not getting advice and counsel when needed, or worse yet, getting poor quality or incorrect advice. I would much rather pay an expert a larger fee for 30 minutes of their time and get what I need rather than pay someone $50 dollars an hour who is hoping to fake it until they can make it…Questionable advisors will take much longer to get from point a to point b (if they get there at all), and will likely cost you more money at the end of the day when contrasted with true professionals.  

As a consumer of professional services, the phrase “Caveat Emptor” (Let the buyer beware) applies in spades. If you take an informed and proactive approach to managing your engagement risk you will fare better than those who don’t. A plus might just be that if you hire the right advisor for the right reasons, you may in fact end-up developing a strong personal and professional relationship that won’t end-up as subject matter for another horror story or consulting joke.

Thoughts?