WHAT SOCCER (EUROPEAN FOOTBALL) CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS!

Leo Messi is the greatest footballer in the world.  His peers say so.

He plays for Football Club Barcelona.  3 of the other world top 5 footballers also play at FC Barcelona.  Leo Messi doesn’t play with his best friends from school.  He doesn’t keep a space on FC Barcelona for a friend who just happens to be available.  He doesn’t, but most business people and entrepreneurs do.

Why do we treat football differently than business?  Is it less important?  Is it more important?

How to run your talent program like FC Barcelona

At a conference at IESE Business School last week, Geoff Smart spoke to the audience about how to source, select and attract top talent to your organization.  He asked “has anyone ever hired someone who looked great on paper, only to find out weeks or months later that it was a terrible decision?”  Many hands were raised in the air.

Hiring for football is easier – we see past performance, in business it is possible to hide the past in paper (CVs).

Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, says that the very first step of leaders who create massive success in their businesses is “get the right people on the bus”…  and the corollary…  get the wrong people off the bus.

There are four parts to hiring well.

1.       Know clearly what you want the person to achieve. Go beyond vague descriptions of skills. eg. “Analytical Thought Process” develop further to “Distinguishes key facts from secondary factors; can follow a progressive thought process from idea to idea; makes sound observations.”  Jonathan Davis, founder of HireBetter says that this is a big failing of hiring managers

2.       Go to where the best people are. Where are the best people? They are not looking at job adverts.  They are not spending their weekend reading job websites.  They are passionate about their current role.  It is unlikely that those who are actively searching through non-personal channels are top performers.  The top performers are still doing well in their current jobs. How to find the best people? There is only one way: Network. If you want talent: ask who the best people are, get to industry events, meet people at conferences. Watch people in action, know them through their activity, read their books, their tweets, their Quora profiles, their blogs.

3.       Selecting the A players: focus on the past, not the future. Don’t ever ask “how would you solve the problem?”.  Ask “tell me about a time when you solved a similar problem?” Everyone can tell you a great story about what they would do.  The top performers are not smarter, don’t have better to-do list systems, better technology.  The differentiator is that they have found the way to overcome procrastination.  They actually do the things that they say they will do. Give them a present problem and ask them to solve it. See their creative thinking, not necessarily the solution. Look for performance, don’t ask for opinions.

4.       Selling the opportunity, building the culture. Selling the opportunity to an A player does not mean “be their friend”; it means sell them on the personal growth, the professional growth the opportunity to impact the world on a massive scale.  This is what great people want.  Not more friends. They want to be pushed and demanded and be allowed to change the world for the better. Jonathan Davis says that culture is hard to build and easy to destroy. Jonathan turned down a hiring contract recently with a big company.  He told the CEO “You cannot be client of ours.  I’ll tell you why. Your VP of sales is a !@#$%^!. He won’t waste an opportunity to tell you how awesome he is.  We can help you recruit a great employee, but he will leave.” It is the culture that you build that will really attract and keep the top talent.  If you create a great culture, you don’t need to pay employees to bring people in…  they will bring their ambitious, high performing friends in.  The online shoe retailer Zappos pay $2000 for people to leave.

How do you do this without any effort?  You don’t.  Good talent doesn’t just happen because you are showing up.  One of the hardest things in business life is removing a loyal but mediocre performer from your team.  There may be bonds of friendship, there may be many good shared experiences in the past, feelings of connection.  However, the continued presence of mediocrity in your team is a cancer that will eat away at your ability to achieve important goals.  One way to reduce the pain of having to let go of mediocre performers is to get very good at only hiring star performers into your team.

My father once told me that the greatest service you can do for an unhappy, underperforming employee is to let them go – it frees them to search and find a place where they can contribute and find greater meaning.  They won’t thank you in the moment, but this is the service of a leader – it is not about giving – it is about serving; it is not about the easy answers, it is about the right answers.

Highly Demanding, with Love

How would you get Leo Messi to play for your football team?  It would help if you had 3 of the top 5 footballers in the world already on the team.  How do you attract the top talent to your team?  Build a culture of high performance around you.  This starts with a zero tolerance of mediocrity.

A participant on my course last year began his speech “I have often wondered whether it is better as a parent to be permissive or authoritarian.  Which is better?  At a conference a few years ago, I had the opportunity to speak to one of the world guru’s on child development.  I went up to him after his talk.  I congratulated him.  I asked him the question: ‘is it better for a parent to be permissive or authoritarian?’  The guru smiled and said ‘highly demanding with love’.”  It is the same as a leader – can you be highly demanding, with love.  Expect the best from those around you and they rise to the challenge.  Accept the worst, and they will coast in comfort.

 Article by Conor Neill

 Article Source: http://www.activegarage.com/origin-leaders-7-players-surrounding-people

Conor Neill is the professor of Leadership Communication at IESE Business School in Barcelona and an entrepreneur who has founded four companies. Years ago, he was a manager in the Human Performance consulting practice of Accenture. He loves rugby, mountain climbing and will run a marathon next march. Conor frequently blogs atconorneill.com and tweets as cuchullainn.

25 Essential Entrepreneurs Online Resources

When you're starting a business, where do you go to get the help, advice and tools you need? There are plenty of resources out there -- so many, in fact, that you might have trouble sorting through them all. We cut through the clutter, selecting 25 essential resources for startup small-business owners.

1. Small Business Administration. Find information, links and resources to help you start and grow your business, including SBA-guaranteed loans.

2. SCORE. Get matched with an experienced SCORE mentor to receive free counseling and advice, in person or online.

3. Small Business Development Centers. Expert business advisors at the SBDC near you can help with all aspects of starting and growing your business -- for free. And don't forget the Women's Business Centers.

4. International Franchise Association. Considering buying a franchise? Start your search at this site, which includes information, resources and links to help you find the right one.

5. BizBuySell. Looking to buy a business? This site includes listings nationwide and helps you find businesses for sale as well as business brokers in your area.

6. Bplans. Learn from 500-plus free business plan templates, read useful articles and buy best-selling business plan software Business Plan Pro.

7. Microsoft Office 2010. Make this essential business suite even better by integrating it with Microsoft SharePoint 2010 for easy collaboration, file sharing and remote data access.

8. The Company Corporation. Make incorporating or forming an LLC easy: This site handles all the filing and paperwork for you.

9. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Need to file for a patent, trademark or copyright? This site has the resources, answers and tools you need.

10. VentureBeat. Described by The New York Times as one of the best blogs on the Web, VentureBeat covers the venture capital industry. VentureBeat keeps those seeking investment capital "in the know" on who got funded from whom, also providing the latest on hot industries like mobile technology, social networking and green business.

11. CharityNavigator. We all realize how important it is to give back, but it's hard to know the best (and most legitimate) causes to donate to. Charity Navigator is the nation's largest charity evaluator, rating and evaluating the financial health of over 5,500 national charities.

12. American FactFinder. Get your market research started with U.S. Census and other demographic data in an easy-to-use form.

13. FedStats. Statistics from more than 100 federal government agencies to help in your market research.

14. IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center. Stay on the right side of the tax code with the latest tax news and forms.

15. FindLaw Small Business Center. Get legal forms, find answers to common legal questions and even search for lawyers at this site.

16. Employment Law Information Network. Information and advice on federal and state employment law, including guidebooks on and sample policies for all aspects of HR.

17. BuyerZone. Ready to equip your startup by buying business products and services? Visit this site to research your options and connect with sellers.

18. TopTenReviews. Before you buy or upgrade your tech tools, read the reviews here.

19. MarketingProfs. Articles, guides and resources covering everything you need to know about marketing, from creating ad copy to attending trade shows.

20. PRLog. Distribute press releases to major search engines for free at this site, which also offers tools and guides to help you write releases that get results.

21. Evernote. Bid bye-bye to Post-it notes with this app that lets you capture notes, ideas, photos and links in the cloud and search and access them quickly from all your devices.

22. Capturengo. No more typing (or losing key data) with this app that captures business cards and receipts on your smartphone and stores them in the cloud.

23. Vlingo. Make driving and working safer with this free voice interface tool that lets you browse the Web, dictate texts, e-mails and actions, or find contacts by speaking into your smartphone.

24. GoPayment. Boost cash flow and convenience by using your smartphone to accept credit cards on the go, whether at a customer's location, trade show or event.

25. FreeDigitalPhotos.net. Whether you need an image for marketing materials, business projects or your website, it's often too expensive to hire a photographer or use a stock photo house. This site boasts thousands of images available for free download and limited use (higher-resolution pictures are extra). Check with the site for any other restrictions.

 Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219967

Five Critical Questions Your Business Plan Should Answer

If I may adapt a line from John F. Kennedy's famous 1961 presidential inauguration speech to make a point about business plans: Ask not what you can do for your business plan. Ask instead what your business plan can do for you. Here are five key questions and how your business plan should help you answer them:

 

1. Is my price right?

There are two essential components of pricing that should be included in your business planning:

·         Consider whether your price is in line with your message. If you say you offer a high-quality custom product or service, you can't post a low price without contradicting your own marketing message. You should set your prices according to the relative value you offer, or risk confusing your potential market.

·         Your business plan should include your revenues and costs on a per-unit basis, your overall direct costs and overhead. These factors can help you establish the constraints related to making enough profit. You have to cover costs, which can include expenses beyond the direct costs of buying what you sell, such as rent and payroll.

2. Can I afford to hire?

Especially when you're running a new company, you might not be able to help thinking that hiring additional employees might help you with the mounting list of tasks that have to get done. What would happen if you hired an extra salesperson? Could an extra administrator solve some of your problems?

Go back to your business plan and determine what happens to projections if you add the extra salary and benefits. Guess whether the improvement in people power will add to your revenue, or cut costs.

Or perhaps you should consider hiring a contract worker. Of course, hiring someone is almost always cheaper -- but only if there is a long-term need that justifies adding the fixed costs. If it's a short-term need then the cost won't affect your overheard forever.

Either way, working those numbers won't eliminate the uncertainty but it can make it easier to understand the variables.

3. Am I implementing my strategy? 

Test your strategic alignment: Do your milestones, spending for marketing activities and new product or service development, and related expenses show the same priorities that are reflected in your strategy? In my business planning coaching I've repeatedly run into client situations in which people say one thing in their strategy but do something different thing in their actions and spending.

For example, you say you're going to emphasize your extensive computer expertise in your strategy, but you pay your service staff below market rates. Or you say you're going to emphasize one side of your product line, but your advertising spending emphasizes the other.

4. Can I afford to relocate?

Sometimes new business owners need to relocate to help cut costs, or want to take better advantage of a prime sales area. If you need to switch your location, get back to your basic numbers and break the problem into its business plan parts.

Estimate how much more your monthly rent will be at the new location. Also estimate your moving costs, costs for fixing up the new location and costs of the business lost while you're absorbed in the move.

Then adjust your sales forecast to either add in the additional business you'd be able to do there or the costs you'd be able to cut. If you don't see enough long-term improvement, then perhaps you shouldn't move.

5. Am I stunting my own growth?

Go back to your business plan and give your assumptions a fresh look. Consider your target market and strategy, and add in your business offering and distinctive differences. Does your business offering match your market? Are you sending the right messages to the right kinds of people?

Related: Three Things to Keep in Mind When Scaling a Business Quickly

Think about things you could easily add on to sell more per customer. Is there some low-hanging fruit you're missing? Maybe your restaurant customers, for example, want mugs, t-shirts or desserts. Maybe your computer servicesclients want automatic back-up services, or system upgrades.

Now look at marketing. Is your message changing enough to match changes in the market? Is your marketing mix adjusting to technology and media and social changes? What if you spent more money and time on marketing? Could you increase sales?

Your business plan isn't a static document -- it's your best tool for steering your business. Answering these questions periodically can help keep long-term goals in mind while you adjust your immediate steps and actions.
 

Article Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219969
Article Author: Tim Berry

SHIFT YOUR MINDSET, SAVE YOUR BUSINESS!

We are shifting from mistakes and closing a business to how to revive it and make it better! This is Juli's true story!

Juli Oliver got into the business of professional organizing because it matched her high-energy personality. Since she launched her company, OrganizeNY, in 2005, she's had a steady stream of long-term clients. But by the end of 2009, in the depths of the recession, business was dropping fast and so was her morale. By January 2010, business had slowed 80% from the previous year.

"I never slow down or stop," says Oliver, 34. "Not having anything to keep me going was a very strange feeling. It was awful. [But] I knew I couldn't sit inside my home every day and mope around."

For Oliver, finding ways to socialize with other small-business owners was invaluable in changing her attitude, which helped her make a business comeback. Today, her revenues are back to pre-recession levels.
Here are five steps to get in the right mindset for a business turnaround.


Step 1: Be social, even if you don't feel like it.
Shutting yourself away from everyone is a common mistake too many business owners make when times are tough, says Debra Condren, a New York-based business psychologist and author of Ambition is Not a Dirty Word (Broadway, 2008). "Sometimes you can be your own worst underminer," Condren says. "You start feeling like a fraud."

 

When Oliver's business slowed down, she started going to more networking events for women and small business owners, while raising awareness of her business through social networks and daily-deals sites.
"[Business] started to pick up because I kept fighting the recession and I kept promoting myself and getting my name out there," she says.
"Talk to people who have been there and done it and fallen through the same hole," says Mark Parkinson, a Somerset U.K.-based business psychologist and author of Using Psychology in Business (Gower, 1999).


Step 2: Avoid naysayers and watch what you feed your mind.
It's easy to start and end your day watching the news, but beware of the negative messages you're getting from headlines, says Condren. She suggests limiting your news intake to once a day. "You want to stay current and skim the headlines, but stay away from the rest of it," she says.
Read something inspiring instead, ideally just before bed and right when you wake up. "The last thing you put into your mind before you go to sleep is what you are going to focus on," says Condren. She recommends books like the 1937 classic Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (Warner Books, 2003) and The Luck Factor by Richard Wiseman (Miramax, 2004).

Step 3: Get up and move.
Exercise is one of the first things people skip when under pressure. But when we are feeling stressed our body produces noradrenaline, a stress hormone that can affect our attention and quality of thinking. Exercise spurs endorphins to counter the buildup of stress hormones in the body. "Literally, your brain does work better if you exercise. The quality of your thinking is improved," says Parkinson.
Even if you can't make it to the gym, you can still find small ways to incorporate exercise into your day. Condren suggests taking a few flights of stairs instead of the elevator or simply walking around the block to get your blood pumping and help clear your mind.

Step 4: Keep learning and stay on top of industry trends.
While solving day-to-day problems can be all-consuming, taking the time to learn about new aspects of business is an important way to stay focused on solutions -- not just your problems. Condren suggests starting simple, like reading an article related to an area of business that's been giving you trouble, taking a half-day workshop or attending an industry conference.
If you don't have the time or money to spend at a conference, consider online educational videos. Not only can they get you thinking about your business in new ways, they can help you stay current in your industry. "Instead of watching the news while you're cooking your dinner that evening, listen to a home-study course," Condren says. "You have to stay current, or you will feel left behind."

Step 5: Be your own cheerleader.
Studies have shown we remember uncompleted tasks better than we remember what we've accomplished. But even if you're faced with a never-ending to-do list, Condren says it's important to remember everything you've already accomplished. For example, if a client sends over a complimentary note or you close a major deal, print out the email or document and put it in a file you can turn to when you're feeling discouraged. Also, update your resume, even if no one else sees it, as a reminder of your achievements.
It's tapping back into your passion for the business that will ultimately help turn it around, says Parkinson. "You've got to remember all that positive stuff that got you fired up in the first place," he says. "It's like falling in love. You've got to remember what it's like and then you might want to do it again."

Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219810
Article Author: Jane Porter