FailingCompany - Back to the Basics

I write this post knowing that Halloween is tomorrow. Most kids and a lot of parents look forward to this night. For some, it's their favorite holiday. To many, it's a magical night. Really, the entire Halloween season is magical in it's own way. We see intricate yard decorations and scenes that transport us to another world, haunted houses that sometimes seem so real that even adults are terrified and then there is the amazing costumes! Why is any of this relevant to business?

Halloween gives us permission to truly express ourselves. Even the most self-conscious kid or adult will put on a costume and go door-to-door asking for candy or go to a costume party and not be embarrassed. What causes people who are really shy and who would normally never feel comfortable expressing themselves so boldly to have so much courage one night a year? Perhaps it's simply group think or herd mentality. Everyone else is doing it, so I can too. However, that doesn't explain why some people become so bold. Whether it's a over-the-top costume for a kid or a provocative costume for an adult, something gives them the courage to be far more bold and daring than others. They draw attention to themselves. Some even begin acting like the the character they are dressed as for the evening. Whatever is triggered inside them, most people are proud of their costume and like the attention. Kinda like Cinderella. They become who they really want to be and get all of the attention they desire for one night then go back to living humble meagers lives the rest of the year.

What if we pretended that we there was a Halloween for our businesses. For one day you could do whatever you've dreamed of doing with your business without all of the noise from the critics and negative self-talk? What would you do? How bold would your business costume be? Would it attract attention and compliments from everyone who sees it or would it blend in like the shy kids hanging out in the dark corner at the school dance? Now, what if we declared that Halloween was everyday for your business?? You now have the freedom to be bold with your business 365 days a year? What would change? How would your business be transformed on day 365? What's stopping you from doing that right now??

Here's where it gets real, so hold on tight!! There is no real permission given on Halloween to be bold and outlandish. You don't go apply for a permit or get a free pass in the mail. It's a day just like every other day. Due to the individual choice of each child or parent who chooses to embrace it, it becomes magical. You see, it's not a day with real magic that is sprinkled on everyone to give them courage to transform into someone else for a few hours. Rather, it's individual choice to be bold and transform into something or someone larger than life that makes the day feel magical. Read that again. We can do that everyday with our businesses!! What can you do today to start making your business feel magical for your customers?

Ready to amp up the magic in your business? Need a little extra creativity or help in making the magic happen? Check out FailingCompany.com to find the help that you need. Go sign up for an account or log in to your existing account and start working with someone today.

#FailingCompany.com #SaveMyFailingCompany #BeBold #CreateMagic #TransformDaily #SaveMyBusiness #GetBusinessHelp

I started decorating my house and yard for Halloween like I do every year around this time. Nothing too crazy, but most of my subdivision doesn't decorate at all. I've had a couple of people ask me this year why I waste my precious time decorating my house? I had to really think about that question, because it's a really valid one. My time is limited and, like everyone else, I'm incredibly busy. Why invest hours setting up these crazy scenes and effects for just a few hours of neighborhood kids stopping by to get candy? Doesn't seem like a wise investment, does in?

I first tried to say it was for my daughter. That's partly true, as she enjoys helping me decorate. The graveyard is her specialty. But, my daughter will be with her mom for Halloween this year, so she won't even be here to enjoy it! So, what is it? Why am I compelled to invest the time and energy this year? I've come up with two reasons. These reasons apply just as well to running your business as they do to decorating for Halloween. Are you ready for them? Read on!

The first, and most important, reason is that I want to create a memorable experience for the kids and their parents. I want them to walk up an say "Wow! How cool!!". By doing this, they will talk about my house to their family and friends later that night and when they finally get home from trick-or-treating. They will tell the other neighbors to go check out my house. Finally, they will look forward to coming back to my house the next year to see what's new and different! I still remember some amazing houses that I couldn't wait to see each year when I was a kid!!

What do you do in business to create a wow experience? That experience that the customers will remember, tell others about and will cause the customers to look forward to coming back? Do you have ideas that you've wanted to try but they just didn't seem like a good investment on paper? Not all experiences that you create for your customers will have an immediate or direct hard ROI. Often, the best experiences will create massive indirect ROI through customer retention, increased lifetime value of the customer, new customer acquisition, etc. All things that can be measured by various techniques, but a bit more difficult. Because of this, we tend to put those idea on the back burner to get to them tomorrow. The only problem is that tomorrow never comes. Dust that list off today and think about it simply through the lens of creating a lasting wow experience for your customers. Will any of those ideas do that? If yes, then get a pen and paper, your laptop, iPad, etc. right now and start planning out the next steps for implementing that idea. It may just put your business on an entirely new trajectory!

The second reason is consistency. It's great to create that wow experience once. However, to keep the kids and their parents coming back for more, I must be consistent. They need to feel confident that each year when they turn onto my street that they will see something cool and exciting. There is no doubt in their mind. They know that coming to my house will be worth their time, their kids will think it's cool and that it'll be a pleasant time.

Consistency is key in business. Whether it's consistently creating that wow experience for your customers, providing smooth transactions time after time or simply providing quality products or services everyday, consistency is fundamental. The consistent way in which you serve and deliver to your customers will create extreme loyalty within your customer base and they will begin to know, without a doubt, what to expect from your business. They will know that dealing with you will be worth their time, money and will result in a pleasant experience. Are you being consistent in everything that you do or are there areas that could use a little attention? Take action now and lay out what needs to happen to be as consistent as possible for your customers. It may not have an immediate hard ROI but it will certainly pay off in the long run!

Looking for ideas to wow your customers? Have an idea for a wow experience but need help executing? Looking for a little help with consistency in your business transactions? Check out FailingCompany.com to find the help that you need. Go sign up for an account or log in to your existing account and start working with someone today.

#FailingCompany.com #SaveMyFailingCompany #WowExperience #Consistency #SaveMyBusiness #GetBusinessHelp

I recently got back from a short trip to Gatlinburg, TN with my daughter. It was her Fall Break at school and that is one of her favorite places to go. We usually go 3 or 4 times a year and it never gets old for her. The trip reminded me of two lessons that I learned a long time ago.

The fist lesson is that you must always make time for your family and friends. Yes, you need a healthy balance and laser-like focus on your business right now, but if that business goes south, who will be there to support you? Your friends and family. You never know how much time you're going to have with them, so treasure them and take care of them. Show them that they mean the world to you, because they truly are more important than any business that you may be working on right now. Bold statement, but I stand behind it!

The second lesson may hit a little closer to home. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee are both a major tourist hotspot. They draw visitors from all over the U.S. all year long. It's insanely crowded there sometimes. Many come for the beautiful mountains and hiking while others come for the massive variety of attractions, shows, food and the moonshine! It's a place where you can be entertained to your heart's delight. You navigate insane traffic, wait 2-3 hours for a table a the popular restaurants and hear this scary vacuum sucking sound as you open your wallet to pay for the attraction that the kids NEED to do...all with a huge smile on your face. So, what's the lesson here??

The lesson is that most people will invest significantly more time and money in doing things that bring them pleasure and entertainment than they will in things that will grow them. We will say yes to a $3,000 vacation but talk ourselves out of taking any new seminars, online courses or even buying that $24.99 book that will teach us something new. Maybe we feel guilty spending money on ourselves. Perhaps we can't justify the time investment and tell ourselves that we can't ignore work? Either way, we forego one of the most important investments we can make with our time and money. Investing in ourselves pays huge dividends. It allows us keep advancing in our businesses and careers which, if done properly, affords us more time and money to spoil our loved ones with those great vacations!

I certainly encourage you to take those vacations and make memories with your family. You'll have those memories no matter what happens to your business and they will always be there to support you. I also encourage you to invest in yourself. You deserve to buy that book to read up on something that interests you. You are worth investing in that course to learn a new skill. It may cause your business to leap forward. Create a learning and growth budget for yourself every year! Protect it and ensure that it is the last thing to see budget cuts if times get hard. Would a farmer stop investing in the seed that must be planted in the field to grow a crop? Absolutely not, because the seed is the most important thing. Without the seed, there is no harvest. The knowledge that you gain by investing in yourself is the seed. By investing the time and money to plant the seed, you will have a bountiful harvest!

Are you a little out of balance on the vacationing vs. growth scale? Perhaps you've decided you're worth investing in and need the right partner? Check out FailingCompany.com to find the help that you need. Go sign up for an account or log in to your existing account and start working with someone today.

#FailingCompany.com #SaveMyFailingCompany #EnjoyFamily #EnjoyFriends #InvestInYourself #SaveMyBusiness #GetBusinessHelp

A lot of my articles touch on similar concepts such as the need to keep pushing forward, not giving up, etc. This week I feel like ripping the Band-Aid off and discussing one of the root causes of poor performance. What is that, you ask? Being a victim!!

You're probably thinking, what the heck! I'm not a victim!! Maybe you aren't, but many people develop a victim mentality from a very young age and don't even realize it. Some go through their entire lives being a victim and die not knowing they could live a different way. We become addicted to the attention that we get from others when we talk about our problems. We love justifying our failures to ourselves and others. It makes us feel good when we feel like our lack of success isn't our fault, so we grow to need that reinforcement to feel whole and validated. This way of thinking becomes part of our subconscious programming and starts to run on autopilot!

Having a victim mindset is, in my opinion, one of the single most detrimental things to a person's success. Victims look to place blame on others. Victims look to justify their failures and lack of success. It makes them feel comfortable. Victims seek pity from everyone by talking about how tough they have it. However, once a person wakes up to being a victim, they can take steps to change their outlook. You weren't born that way and it's not permanent. This may require therapy or professional coaching, but it's totally possible to change. Whatever it it takes, it's worth it!

Once you break that victim mentality, or at least become aware of it, you'll find yourself asking new and better questions. Instead saying things like, "I tried before and it failed", you'll start asking, "what can I do differently this time that might succeed?" When you start asking questions like this, your subconscious mind goes to work to help you identify those new and different things that you can try. Try enough of those new and different ideas and eventually you'll succeed at many of the things that you previously failed at. That's good for business!

There is another important reason to kill this old you, metaphorically speaking of course!! Nobody likes to be around someone who complains all the time. Think about your own customers or suppliers. Is there someone that comes to mind that you dread dealing with because they complain about everything and always have a negative outlook? You probably cringed just thinking about it. Now, think about your favorite customer or supplier. Is that person always positive and optimistic? Do they get things done? Move mountains to accomplish the impossible? Always follow through? You are totally energized by interacting with them, aren't you? You want to be that person for every customer or client that you interact with everyday, and you cannot do that from the victim state. Start paying attention to your self talk. If it's always negative and you catch yourself justifying why you can't do something, then you are a VICTIM. Only you can decide to change, but I encourage you to do so ASAP!!

Are you recovering victim looking for some help to get things in top shape? Maybe you're a newly diagnosed victim looking for someone to help get you on your road to recovery? Check out FailingCompany.com to find the help that you need. Go sign up for an account or log in to your existing account and start working with someone today.

#FailingCompany.com #SaveMyFailingCompany #NoVictimsAllowed #YouCanChange #SaveMyBusiness #GetBusinessHelp

I'm a big advocate for a practice called Extreme Ownership. Perhaps you've heard of, or better yet read, the book Extreme Ownership - How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. I encourage you to read the book for the full details, but I'll boil it down here to what it means to me. Please note that my brief interpretation of the concept doesn't come close to doing the book or the leadership concept justice.

Extreme Ownership, for me, means that the buck stops with me. I must fully believe in the cause that my team is working for, set the tone for the team, support the team and take responsibility for any and ALL mistakes made by the team. It doesn't matter if it's a team of one (you) or a team of 1000 and it certainly doesn't matter whose responsibility the failure was, I'm accountable. There is much more to the concept than this, but this is how I internalized it! Why is it important to me?

I see poor team performance almost on a daily basis. Failure to meet timelines, disputes over the real scope of a deliverable, major defects that make their way into production, poor team communication and performance, gossip, back-stabbing and general team dysfunction. You name it, and I've probably seen it...at least in the business world (God bless those who have ever exercised Extreme Ownership on the battlefield!!). These things kill a team and when a team doesn't deliver, you can guarantee there will be impacts to your bottom line.

Perhaps with a very few exceptions, the tone for the team dysfunction is set at the top. Leaders who are never at fault themselves and look to quickly pin blame to some team member who "failed." The person is quickly drug to the sacrificial alter without any understanding of the situation. Or, perhaps the leader doesn't like confrontation and won't hold team members accountable for their performance. Maybe, it's a highly political organization and the leader is hesitant to report out less than perfect progress until things fall apart. Then, they look for the most convenient fall guy or girl. This type of behavior teaches the team members exactly how to behave! You can guess the results that will follow!!

When a team starts behaving in a dysfunctional manner, it becomes exponentially more difficult to deliver what is expected at the original scope, on time, within budget and with a high-level of quality. Perhaps the negative outcomes of a few bad projects can be absorbed by the company. Make it a routine and the company will quickly spiral downhill. Now's the time to do a gut check. Ask yourself what your default leadership style is. Now, go ask some trusted colleagues for their feedback. If you hear anything remotely similar to my examples above, then you have some serious work to do to turn things around, build trust and produce a high-performing team.

Done with our self-examination and have addressed your issues? Good! Now, take a look at your team. Is there any member of the team that is not pulling his or her weight and earning their keep every single day? If you are certain that their behavior isn't a result of the way you were running things up till now, then it's time to have a chat. Perhaps they just need some coaching and clear feedback as to their performance? Perhaps they need to be freed up to find an opportunity that better fits them someplace else? Either way, you as the leader must take swift and decisive action. Poor performers drag the entire team down, jeopardize the team goals and have a negative impact on moral. It's like a car that begins to rust. Once rust sets in, it's extremely difficult to stop. You must own the situation and demonstrate for your team what your expectations are and then follow thru. Being temporarily one person short on a team while you look for a new hire is much better than making excuses for not dealing with the situation. You'll lose trust quickly that way!

Next time you aren't seeing the results that you expect, DO NOT look at your team first. Look in the mirror and determine what needs to change. Then, go look for any loose ends that need to be address that you've been putting off. Make those corrections swiftly and communicate authentically with your team about what was changed and why. Let them know when it was your fault. Taking ownership of your issues builds a faithful following from the team and builds the atmosphere and culture they need to share their mistakes with you before it's too late. Own it...all of it!!

Are you already a really strong leader but the team needs some help or expertise? Perhaps you need a little help getting things in order? Check out FailingCompany.com to find the help that you need. Go sign up for an account or log in to your existing account and start working with someone today.

#FailingCompany.com #SaveMyFailingCompany #ExtremeOwnership #ItsNotMyFaultButIsMyResponsibility #SaveMyBusiness #GetBusinessHelp