Business Book Summaries

Few things matter more than someone’s network in today’s tightly-knit world. Yet far too many people and companies neglect the networks they establish. Are you doing what you can to keep your old contacts in touch and up to date, or are you simply working on making new ones and are inadvertently – or intentionally – letting the old ones fall out of touch with you?

Well, if that’s the case, you’ve got to stop what you’re doing. Because there’s nothing like a close-knit network to sustain a business and keep it going, especially when times are tough.

It’s almost tautological, but the best way to keep your network alive is, well, to keep it active. Keep on contacting people even if it seems there’s nothing important to say. Try to help people along – if someone passes along an email asking for help or advice, or changes his Facebook status message and puts up some sort of request or plea, respond to it even if you can’t really help. Send notes or emails of condolences, congratulations, or simply something funny to a friend you haven’t been in touch with for awhile.

Show people that you’re interested in how they’re doing, and they’ll “return the favor” with a show of interest in you and what you’re up to. And when it comes time for you to ask for help or offer something for sale, it’ll be much easier to get other people on your side, doing what they can for you – whether it can directly benefit you or not. They could for instance pass on your own pleas or requests to members of their own networks who might be able to help you.

Don’t underestimate the power of your network. It can be there for you when you need it to be – but you have to keep it alive if that’s what you want it to do.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, networking

It's simple – your customers are your lifeblood; if they leave you high and dry your business will die in short order. Plus it's an accepted fact that a disgruntled customer is more than likely to tell everyone about why they're unhappy with you – thus driving other customers and would-be customers away.

Here, then, are a few things you SHOULDN'T do when dealing with customers' complaints and issues.

Firstly, make sure you deal with customer problems pronto. DON'T ignore them or put them on hold endlessly or tell yourself you'll deal with them later, because while the problem isn't apt to go away by itself, the customer sure will if you neglect him or her. Do this even if you're busy, or get someone else to do it who knows what to do – just get it done right away! And most importantly, make sure the customers know that something is being done about their issues.

Next, when dealing with whatever issues he or she may have, DON'T be rude or defensive with them for whatever reason. The old saying that goes "the customer is always right" is still in use these days because it's still true, and perhaps will be even hundreds of years from now. It can be hard to not be rude to customers who're rude to you or if you're having a trying day, but resist the urge to snap at them. It won't solve anything and you just might lose their patronage as a result. Stay cool, calm and collected and be as efficient as possible – show the customer that you're scurrying and doing your best – and he or she just might calm down.

Lastly, if in case despite your best efforts the customer isn't satisfied and asks for an exchange or, worse, his or her money back, DON'T make it hard for them to get their expense refunded or their purchase exchanged for something else. In the case of refund requests, remember that even though the customer might not have been happy with this particular purchase, it's still a foot in the door – they may still consider you for a future purchase, IF you don't mess this particular one up. So if you give them what you want, they won't blacklist you and might just come back to you for something else. The experience always, always matters, even if the goods and services being sold may not stand out all that much.

The customer is king and must be treated with respect if you want his or her repeat business. Keep this in mind always!

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement

A successful company always begins with a vision, or ends due to a poor one or the utter lack of one. Its head honchos must be able to set a grand, sweeping (yet realistic) vision and communicate this to their staff. Otherwise, for want of such an overarching vision, the company will fall prey to the day-to-day foibles and failures of its staff and management, and will come to nothing sooner or later.

Take the example of the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market, run by John Yokoyama and the subject of the acclaimed book "When Fish Fly", authored by Yokoyama and business author Joseph Michelli.

When Yokoyama started with the Pike Place Fish Market, it was nothing more than a little stall on the verge of bankruptcy that did nothing more than sell fish. Yokoyama set out to overhaul the troubled company by starting with its employees – by inspiring them through conceiving and communicating his idea of what they should be doing instead of just selling fish.

He changed the name by adding "World Famous" to the start – thus indicating to both the employees and their customers that this was a brand new company. By declaring themselves “World Famous” even before it became a reality, Yokoyama and his employees made a conscious decision not just to sell fish but to make a positive difference every day in the lives of each of their customers, suppliers, and colleagues.

With the declaration of “World Famous Pike Place Fish”, the company evolved from one that existed totally to sell fish to one that was interested in extraordinary service to its customers and its world. Merely selling fish was no longer the main reason it was open for business.

This vision is large enough and clear enough that it guides the company’s staff in day-to-day operations. It generates a more meaningful reality for all of the employees, who now know that they are not simply fish salespeople; they are agents of change. Anyone can sell fish – few can make a world-famous difference while doing it.

A purposeful vision has power like nothing else – breakthroughs happen as a result. Looking past the everyday demands of the bottom line, every employee continually seeks to love the company’s vision, World Famous Pike Place Fish. For them, the vision is the bottom line. If "World Famous Pike Place Fish" is present through them, all else falls into place.

So work on that vision today!

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, Joseph Michelli, John Yokoyama

Let’s face it – the work environment nowadays is exceedingly competitive, and in addition, the ongoing economic crisis is making even the top companies think twice about who to keep and who to let go. So you have to make sure that your name is one of those that comes up when it comes time for your boss to pick his top people for whatever reason.

Of course, if you’re already part of that exalted “inner circle” where you work, you may already be making use of several of these tips. But go through this list just the same just to be sure. I suppose that could be considered item zero on this list: you must always be open to learning more and accepting guidance!

Here are the other tips:

Regarding yourself:

• Know your company and your job inside out. Don’t just memorize its goals, vision, mission, strategies – internalize them! Learn the structure of the company – learn who holds which position – and then learn its dynamics, namely who is REALLY in charge despite whoever might hold whatever title. That sort of thing.

• See how you can link your own personal goals, vision, mission, and so on and so forth with those of the company.

• Make sure to craft a detailed career plan with career goals and targets and training and coaching requirements.

• Always manage your time as effectively as possible. Prepare for a future in which you will need to deal with many more things than you are handling now. (Especially true in volatile and uncertain situations such as what we are facing nowadays.)

• Be as organized and systematic as you possibly can. Learn to plan and prioritize your work very well. Aim to be as productive as you can possibly be.

• Think out of the box. Try to see things differently from how other people see them to come up with compelling new solutions.

• Never accept something as perfect; look at everything as something that can be improved upon.

• Seek to manage your emotions. Don’t just fly off the handle when things go wrong; be objective and cool and rational.

• Keep your life balanced. Learn to juggle the demands of your professional and personal life without one cannibalizing the other. Be disciplined.

• Your office may already do so, but audit yourself periodically, perhaps quarterly and yearly. Your office won’t be able to help you determine whether you’ve fallen short of your personal goals, for instance. Point out your accomplishments, be unsparing of your issues, and learn to be proud of yourself and what you’ve achieved.

• Always be as professional. Commit yourself to push for excellence in all that you do! Always try to exceed what other people expect of you – submit earlier than a deadline, exceed quality expectations if you can and if the rest of your work won’t suffer as a result.

• Learn to go for the kill! Be decisive. Learn to be a person of action, not just of words (in fact it’s better if you don’t talk up a storm, that can cause its own problems).

Regarding how you relate and work with your officemates:

• Strive to develop close ties with your peers at work and with upper management – everyone as a matter of fact. Learn to communicate as effectively as possible, and do so with all people in your company. Maintain these relationships actively, but be careful not to go out of bounds. You might be misconstrued as a brown-noser if so.

• Don’t be shy about asking people for feedback regarding the work you do. Learn to be objective regarding this feedback – neither take negative comments badly nor let glowing reviews go to your head – just be objective and learn from everything.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement

For entrepreneurs, a lack of money (or the refusal to spend too freely, which more or less amounts to the same thing) doesn’t have to be as limiting or as problematic as it appears to be. There are ways of making do with even the most minimal of budgets; here are some of them (some very basic, some not).

Firstly, make sure your business concept and plan are sound – and that you really do know enough about the business, your product, your industry and the competition to be able to hack it. Learn all about finances, financial tools, cash flow, break-even points, profit and loss, and so on and so forth. Is what you want to achieve realistic? Do you and your staff have the skills you need to be able to succeed? Are you starting off on the right foot? If not, you’ll just be wasting your money.

Next, check your timing. Are you launching your venture at the right time? Do your research. You might think that your rhinestone-studded dog-collar idea can be a success, but you might want to think twice if the country you live in is in recession. This holds true also for seasonal or cyclical businesses (for instance, trying to sell fruit shakes on the beach won’t work if there aren’t very many people because you’ve decided to put up shop in the rainy season).

Thirdly, make sure your costs are properly planned. It’s madness, suicidal, even, to start a business without having the correct costs and financial projections. Make sure that your projections are consistent with all other sections of your business plans.

Fourth: ensure that you have a good source of funds for your business. You can’t run a business on the kindness of your parents or relatives or friends. Talk to a bank, get a loan that requires as little collateral as possible while carrying the lowest interest rates and gives you the longest payback period.

Fifth: spend the least amount of money possible on fixed assets, like delivery vans, furniture, or an office, and put as much money as you can into working capital and inventory, which will help you generate even more cash. Watch those expenditures! You can only operate if you have enough cash to handle your financial obligations, so if you spend on things that aren’t absolutely necessary, you may find yourself in a deep hole that you can’t get out of.

Sixth: start marketing in order to bring in sales right away! Your financial obligations will not wait for your business to start becoming profitable; you’re going to have to pay them somehow. And of course it’s suicidal to contemplate borrowing just to service older debts. That’s a slippery slope you definitely don’t want to go down.

Getting by on a really tight budget means making the most out of every nickel and dime you have!

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement

It’s often been said that business success is overwhelmingly dependent on hiring the right people. But you must know that it’s not only hiring the right people that’s important – it’s also knowing what to do with them – what jobs to give them, how they should progress in the company, even how or whether or not they should be given management positions –  even after the hiring process is through (and as a matter of fact, you will only really be able to know your people after they’ve been working for your for some time).

First and foremost, you need to realize that you can grade your people on a curve and classify them into three: the A players, the top 10 to 20 percent of your staff; the B players, the middle 60 to 70 percent; and the C players, the bottom 10 to 20 percent. As a matter of fact you may already have been doing so, even if you may not have realized it.

Decide where you can strategically place your A players to make the best use of their existing talent and aptitude. Since they are already standouts and have thus proven themselves, promote them if they are ready and/or if any management or junior management vacancies already exist; if not, keep them in mind just in case you should need someone for any such position. And make sure to compensate them and treat them well, as standout players such as these are frequently wooed by other companies.

Challenge your B players to improve and perhaps reach the level of the A players. Keep tabs on them and their development. You may have several potential A players in their midst who may need assistance to develop; request your HR department to craft training programs to help them along.

As for your C players, you will need to act decisively regarding them. If you need them around, keep them – but don’t allow them to rest on whatever ‘laurels’ they have. These are your poorest performers and any amount of coddling may be misconstrued as acceptance of their subpar levels of performance.

Make sure you place the right people in the right jobs and you’ll go a very long way towards making your organization a success!

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement

Having the will to succeed is as important as having the skill. With will, skill is often acquired. But even then, circumstances can conspire against one’s best efforts. External circumstances can and do impact on business results; therefore, they can and do make things tough from time to time.

When judging others who are expected to achieve a result and do not, the reaction is to look to them and their performance. When judging ourselves, the tendency is to look for the reasons that stopped us, and it is the exception to examine first our own attitude. But it is common for the attitude to be a major cause of results that do not come up to what is expected. If the targets are ridiculously high, then shortfall could be expected. But most businesses today understand the process of involvement and ownership to ensure that the targets are achievable – but at a stretch. It is the last bit that can and does cause the problem.

What attitude is a problem? As Graham Little tells us in his book “5 Steps to Successful Business Leadership”, any attitude that undermines our giving of our best is a problematic attitude. A perennial problem encountered is in commission sales teams and with some mature people. Assume someone is 45 years old – male or female, it makes little difference. They are very skilled and capable. They own their home, their partner works, a modest income is all they need, so £40,000 is easily achievable for them, when with some stretch, they could make £100,000. But they do not do it. The management of the company can become frustrated, tensions set in and it falls apart. The person is on commission and sees him or herself as self-employed. Who is right? There is no simple answer. Both sides need to make concessions to the needs and pressures of the other. Perhaps a target income figure of £60,000 could be set, and the problem then put from people’s minds.

It should be your consistent experience that you know in your heart when your attitude lacks the vigor it otherwise could have. We sometimes choose to cease striving just before we are really sure that the result is impossible. It is at those moments that only a thorough-going intellectual honesty, a brutal honesty with yourself, that can save your efforts.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement, Graham Little

Yesterday I gave you tips on how NOT to give employee feedback. It's a little strange that many managers and supervisors are so poor at giving proper and timely feedback, but there it is. It's a problem that must be dealt with immediately.

Without further ado, then, here are some tips on how to give your employees feedback the right way. Follow these tips and you'll learn to give excellent feedback in no time:

1. A little proactivity isn't just desired, it's a necessity. You can't simply be in "firefighting" or "knee-jerk" mode – you can't just do something about employee feedback problems when they rear their ugly heads. Your approach must be systematic – these activities have to be part and parcel of what you do on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. See your employees periodically and frequently, say, every month or every quarter – not just every year.

2. A systematic approach requires some sort of a plan. Make sure you outline to everyone at the start that you will be meeting them frequently and periodically, and at every meeting make sure to mention what's praiseworthy, what's subpar, and how each employee needs to change – and note this down so you'll be able to see by the next meeting if there really have been any changes.

3. Don't be vague; vague feedback is misleading and doesn't really help. You must be clear, specific and definite when you give your employees feedback. Supply them with examples, or better yet, actual cases – state what really happened. (Just don't go for kilometric answers; you might lose your audience after the first five minutes or so. And be careful not to be confrontational – be professional and keep your cool, even if the employee can't manage to do so.)

4. Lastly, make sure to establish a connection between employees' performance and the company's overarching goals, targets and milestones. Show them exactly how what they do ties them into the company by letting them realize exactly how their work is useful for both the company itself and the customers.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement

The ability to give feedback correctly to employees is one of the most basic skills required of supervisors or managers. Proper and timely feedback is one of the essential day-to-day responsibilities of these people. However, not every manager or supervisor is able to get this most basic task right.

Some of the most common feedback mistakes committed include:

1. Putting things off until they can’t be put off any longer – not confronting a staffer until his or her performance or behavior is completely unacceptable. Such behavior can in some cases be nipped in the bud early on. Some people may also only give feedback on a staffer’s performance, whether positive or negative, after some time and not immediately (which should be standard practice in such cases).

2. Performance review errors – failing to conduct regularly scheduled performance review meetings; simple praise without specifics or explanation, such as “excellent performance this quarter” but no details or suggestions for improvement in case of negative comments.

3. Only confronting a staffer if and when he or she makes a mistake; not praising them for a job well done.

4. Conflict avoidance – not taking responsibility for criticism (“the Director says that your report was substandard”); providing feedback via email or instant messenger.

5. Giving someone negative feedback when other people are within earshot, most especially if you are higher up in the office hierarchy.

So if you’re guilty of one or more (or all) of the abovementioned, mend your ways – because the way you’re going about giving your staff feedback, it’s not working like it should. You’re just ending up hurting someone’s feelings and getting in the way of work – and this can lead to some ominous situations further down the road.

Tomorrow we’ll share some tips on how to get employee feedback right.

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement

Managers’ lives aren’t exactly the easiest despite their relatively privileged positions. They are expected to take the reins immediately upon being hired – this despite the fact that they are supposedly given a ‘grace period’ to get to know the company, its people and how it does things. Command responsibility applies – should their unit commit an error, they are held responsible. And this of course means that a new manager is placed under the microscope by upper management.

Of course not everyone passes such close scrutiny. Studies show that fully 4 out of 10 managers are let go within the first year and a half of their new jobs. And these are the top reasons for their being let go so abruptly:

1. The managers failed to create constructive partnerships or teams with their colleagues, peers and staff. Managers are expected to oversee teams, leveraging the strengths of each member in order that each team achieves its goal. Regardless of whatever else they are expected to do, and whether or not they are explicitly told to do so, managers must establish these partnerships because if they fail to do so, there is absolutely no way their teams can achieve their ends and goals.

2. The company’s expectations were unclear. The mission, vision and values of the particular business unit were not absorbed properly by the managers, or they simply were not informed (but that is of course not a valid excuse at that level).

3. Some managers demonstrated low levels of political savvy. This relates directly to the first point, but it also points out that that some managers are not able to work with upper management. This is a definite liability, as liaising between the team and upper management is part and parcel of managers’ responsibilities.

4. Some managers took too long to learn the ropes. This is self explanatory. In some posts managers are expected to deliver almost from day one.

5. Other managers were unable to balance their work lives and their personal lives. Managers are particularly visible, and any sort of slip-ups in this sense become equally visible to both the team itself and upper management.

So if you are a manager, focus on improving in these key areas!

Technorati tags: book summaries, business books, business productivity, self improvement