Rocks Are Hard

Sometimes Business IS Personal

"It's not personal, it's business." Can't help seeing Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in my head when I say, think or hear this.

So often we take things personally when it's not about us -- and when you're in a service firm, it's ALWAYS not about us.  When people react to an email or request without context it can feel personal, and I do spend time reminding my very conscientious, very hard working staff that "it's not about you -- it's about what they have to deal with" or "they don't know what they're asking."

(Frankly as a side note, "they don't know what they're asking" is probably more prevalent, because everyone thinks they know what we do all day, but most have no frickin' clue what it takes to make our work happen....but that's another blog post.)

HOWEVER -- sometimes business is personal....let me refrain, sometimes the service firm business is personal.When personality and fit and ability to serve define how well you can get your job done - business becomes personal.

And the first rule of personal business needs to be courtesy, or it will collapse regardless of results.  If you find yourself in a situation when you are not being extended the basic courtesies of business (they are: returning phone calls or emails in a timely manner, providing direction when giving feedback, being direct without being rude, being HONEST) that's when it crosses the line and it's time to GET OUT.

When business becomes personal it's time to change or get out of the game. 

Don't Let Mistakes Define You

We all make mistakes -- every single one of us.  From the big to the small. Of course, sometimes what we think is small is actually big, and what could be grounds for termination is actually not -- it all depends on perspective and situation.

For people with integrity - professionals who work hard every day to do their best and make it happen -mistakes are crushing. They can be earth-shattering.  As a manager, this is what you want -- to have the people who work for you feel and react to their mistakes with horror - knowing there is no excuse.   There is nothing you can do to make them feel worse. Nothing you can say to make it OK for these people. If you fired them, they'd think it was justified.

BUT -- mistakes very infrequently made by good people who work hard -- are not the problem. It's the repeated mistake made by people who don't care - who continuously cut corners, or leave their teammates hanging, or don't actually bother to try -- that you need to worry about.  Those mistakes aren't excusable either -- but they are more predictable.  Any predicted mistakes are YOURS, not theirs.

In the end, you don't want mistakes to define your staff -- I think you want how YOU react to them to define you and your business.

Keep It Simple

".....and then on page 42 section 5 paragraph 2 point C you will see how our 14th priority comes to life and really makes the program sing...."

As the creator and consumer of strategic plans, I'm here to tell you that complicated sucks....and seldom works, and NEVER gets remembered.  Boil it down to 1 idea that you can retell over and over again. Take things OFF THE DAMN whiteboard. (My friend Nilofer Merchant calls it "Murder Boarding").    

When you have 1 thing to accomplish, everything is easier -- choosing people, choosing programs, focusing work, getting through the day, putting all oars in the water at the same time....

I must say "Keep it Simple" at least once every day...and ever time I do I hear the song Simple Gifts in my head (it's a Shaker song, but we sang it all the time at my Quaker middle and HS).

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

'nuff said.

Raising Your Hand is Not A Sign of Weakness

I was in Boston last week, where using your blinker to indicate turns or lane changes is considered a sign of weakness, and frankly am suprised that I came home in one piece!

But it got me to thinking -- why not use your damn blinker? Why not give people a head's up on what your plan is so that might let you in their lane or move the left so you can turn right on red faster?

It's the same in business. We're all working together -- with colleagues, clients, partners, media, whoever -- and if we all gave each other a heads up when we needed help or information or more time, it would make life so much easier. Because, you know, people WOULD figure out how to help you get where you're going. Not just to help you, but to help themselves!

So raise your damn hand! Let the people around you help you get to the destination -- even if it's a 3pm deadline.

The End.

Fit is Everything

I had the most refreshing biz dev call I've had in years today.

The CEO (who was referred by a long-time friend and competitor) was pleasant, was direct, told me a lot about where he wanted the company to go, asked some questions and said:

"Well -- let's have you down, give you the whole story, see if we click and figure out a next step."

SEE IF WE CLICK.

We may not, but I'm THRILLED to have this be a make or break criteria for this CEO and company. Why? No matter how good you are, what results you deliver, THAT you can find an agency to FIT with your company is the key to real, sustainable, business success.  You better love each other before you start working together so that when you get to the bump in the road you can go over it, and not have it be the first in a series of evidence-gathering situations.

This should be top criteria in every search.   How will this team FIT with my team?   Can I actually sit in a room with them or does the sound of their voice drive me to drink? Can they HEAR me? Do they UNDERSTAND what we're saying -- our code? And do they have the goods to get the job done.

Agencies can deliver great stuff every day, but if they're not easy to work with, if they're not service-minded, if they're a square peg in a round hole it will not work. 

Better to find out first before investing lots of time and energy to have a relationship dissolve because of this issue and not results.

You Can Do So Much Less When You're Informed

Too often I go to a meeting where I'm bombarded with questions or ideas about how to promote a company, a product, a service, a person, a...whatever.

"What do you think we should do about X?" "Should we go to YYY show?" "I think we should sponsor ZZZ, what do you think?" "When can we start seeing some big hits?"  You get the idea.

I always find it's a good idea to just let this go until the person or people have run out of steam.  Listen carefully and well to substance and intent. Once they pause to take a breath - wait. And then ask:

"What are you trying to accomplish?"

Sometimes the person knows, sometimes they don't. Triangulate until you get a high enough level answer (NOT: "50 promotions on mommy blogs." MORE LIKE: "Dominate the market for non toxic window cleaners" or "Command 45% of the market for jellybeans among women with children who like dogs") -- specific enough, BUSINESS-DRIVEN enough, quantitative enough that you can actually react to it.

Once you have the answer to the question, WHAT to do becomes much simpler to divine -- because in the context of the goal, certain activities that sounded great without the benefit of context will not make sense.  Once you know the resources you have to work with, then WHEN and HOW to do things becomes much simpler to articulate.

You can do a LOT of work in PR and marketing and never get anywhere -- much like a duck paddling against the current.

Too often agencies just move forward without understanding how their work translates to the client's bottom line (or the internal department does not really understand their role in driving the business).

Get clarity at the highest level question possible -- and you'll be able to do a lot less to achieve the goal.

Paddling with the current is always easier.