Is Your Business Under The Weather?

Most businesses today have a fatal flaw that will take down their entire client base. It’s the fear of doing something . . . anything . . . NEW. They know it ‘might’ fail — so they do nothing.

I’m here to tell you that doing nothing (most of the time) is worse than failing. Why?

Let me give you an example:

Let’s say you’re quite sick. Now many people will disregard the symptoms, say they are not sick — because they feel that the diagnosis or the treatment will be worse or possibly hurt them more than the illness. So they do nothing. What they don’t understand is that the initial reason why they are sick is not being addressed — and it will slowly grow to infect other parts of their body.

Now if they just tried one type of treatment or just went to the doctor and asked for a complete work-up, they would at least make a positive move forward in treating their sickness. Let’s say it failed – they should try something else. And something else — ad infinitum — until they felt better.

I did this with a recurring allergy. I first went to my general practitioner who gave me LOTS of pills. Nothing happened. So I went to a specialist. They took tests (63 pokes of a needle) and also gave me LOTS of pills. I got a little better, but then it came back. I then finally tried an old, but simple cure (a Neti Pot). Guess what? It worked. And I feel GREAT.

It’s like business. People will just act like nothing is wrong and “stay the course” while they see their clients and profits drain away. The problem is that they are afraid of taking any action — it might be wrong — it might worsen the situation — they might lose the business.

But at the end of the day, they need to understand that what is making their business sick can be cured. Here’s the simple process:

1. Realize that you’re sick. You might get better, but you’re probably going to get sicker. And sicker. And then die.
2. Understand why you’re sick. Get a good diagnosis. Find out what the causal elements are — Get the facts. Work with a partner or coach.
3. Take action. Make a list of possible treatments — list them by how much effort (time, money, resources) they will take and what impact they will make.
4. Pick one and take action . . . NOW. Accountability is key.

It’s that simple. As Nike says: “Just Do It.”

Are You A Bonus Delivery Officer?

You're not a CEO. Or a CMO, COO, CIO, CTO or any other C-Level title. You're not a GVP, AVP, MVP or VP.

You're not a Senior Director, Partner, Manager, Owner, etc.

You are a Bonus Delivery Officer.

Your primary role in your position is not to deliver on projects, motivate the team, present information, or hob-nob with the hoi-poloi.

You are a Bonus Delivery Officer.

You may ask:

"What is a Bonus Delivery Officer?" It's a person who delivers bonuses to their people — it's that simple.

The problem is most managers — from someone who only has one direct-report to the CEO — do not see themselves as Bonus Delivery Officers (or BDO).

A BDO is someone who ensures via financial planning and sheer determination to reward their staff. With MONEY. Not the phrase, "You're lucky you still have your job." They need to keep their eye on what I call "What's Left" or Revenue minus Costs.

Unfortunately, most companies and their executives are graded by a number of other measures which don't trickle down the MONEY. How many organizations in the past few years have delivered reductions in pay or flat payouts while upper management and major shareholders still receive outlandish payouts and bonuses?

Get where I'm going? What I've described is not a healthy enterprise. And sick enterprises easily control and keep their people during bad times (because there's nowhere else to go), but when times begin to turn around and improve — WATCH OUT.

You're going to see a tsunami of your best and hardest-working people leave to better-performing and better paying positions. And they will never look back.

Why am I so harsh? Because it's the responsibility of the people in the higher echelons to deliver profits — by planning, anticipating the market, understanding the consumer, and managing all the moving parts. But for many years, they have been caught with their pants down and their hand in the till — a "Whoops, sorry" attitude, a "We'll do better next year" attitude, or a "Sorry, I have to do this to YOU" attitude.

No more. The world is changing AGAIN. Get ready for the Tsunami. 

The idea for this post came from a good friend and client — Thanks Lisa B!

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