Get Ready For Annual Reviews!

It's the most wonderful time of the year . . . Yes — it's that time to prepare for annual reviews. Most leaders look at this as a frustrating zone between a rock and a hard place (is this you?).

Why? On one hand, you're responsible for accomplishing the goals and objectives of the organization — for making sure the job gets done. On the other hand, you have to get that job done with and through other people. And those people have agendas of their own — agendas that sometimes run counter to the goals of the business and your personal expectations.

Add in that everyone thinks that they've done a spectacular job. Mix in the unrealistic expectations of the business (no big raises) and you have a volatile stew of emotions to quell each time of the year. So here's how you do it.

STEP ONE: Schedule all your reviews to occur in one day (this is usually the hardest step). Odds are you should have between 5-7 direct reports (any more and you are not really managing them correctly — a future blog post topic) — so make them 1 hour each — more than enough time. Most executives tend to procrastinate on this step — so get out your calendar and do it! If you can, try to meet offsite so you are not interrupted. I find that office reviews are easily interrupted and that disrupts the entire effect of the review — your personal one-on-one with your direct report.

STEP TWO: Meet with finance/HR and understand exactly how much money you will be working with in 2010. This will allow you to clearly define exactly how much you can increase your team's salaries (and their team's salaries). In larger companies, there usually is a matrix (which I hate) — I feel that the delivery of merit should come from the manager, not HR. At the end of the day, you need to know how big of a bag of money/benefits you have to work with.

STEP THREE: Develop a prioritization schedule of your team — this includes criteria to rank them. I break them up into three areas:

Outstanding Performers (OP) - Your "top of the line" people. They not only get everything done, they surpass your expectations. They are your right hand people (you would be SOL if they left tomorrow). You need to recognize them accordingly.

REVIEW: Keep them happy. Give them the kudos they deserve (and broadcast it to the rest of the team), give them the money (but not too much), and increase their responsibility and exposure in the organization (this is the most important area). Studies show that executives are motivated more by being in on things, exposure, increased responsibility than getting more money. Of course, money is good, but it wears off quickly.

Performers (P) - They do their job. Some do it better and surprise you, some make mistakes that infuriate you. But overall, they get their job done and cause minimal problems. If they left, it would be difficult, but not impossible, to find a replacement.

REVIEW: Your goal here is to turn this opportunity and move these people to Outstanding Performers. This is where the money comes in (show it to them). Acknowledge their work so far and give them more responsibility outside of their area. Recognize their accomplishments and discuss their misses. Your goal is to show them the map to move upwards.

Performance Problems (PP) - They are missing the mark in one way or another. It could be technically — not doing their job correctly OR socially — not communicating, managing, or playing well with others. They could be serial screw-ups, not in the right position, or not doing their job (lazy). They should be reorienting their vision upwards or you will be showing them the door.

REVIEW: These are the most critical. They are either moving up or out. They need to understand what they are doing wrong and show them how to rectify it. These people need to be managed closely — you need to be stern with them (no side conversations). No money — and a possibility that they might lose some money. Usually, PP executives walk away with a task to come back with a plan to do better. Candidly though, this should not come as a surprise to them - if you've been managing them correctly, they should have seen this coming for months. If not, don't wait until the annual review to dress them down.

STEP FOUR: How do you do your reviews?  It's easy (I did this for years and it works like a dream):

Outstanding Performers (OP) - You do these. It's important that YOU personally recognize their performance.

Performers (P) - They do their own. And then you edit accordingly.

Performance Problems (PP) - You do these. It's important that YOU personally provide discipline verbally and in written form.

STEP FIVE: Facts. Facts. Facts. Leave emotion at the door. Every review should focus on three areas: 1. What was expected of them. 2. What they accomplished. 3. How they accomplished it. That's it.

Feel free to add emotion after the review to either congratulate or discipline. My prescription is to increase the congratulations as much as possible and rein in the discipline as much as possible. Just my two cents.

That's it — if you have any questions or comments — let me know!

Reorganize Yourself.

Okay — Thanksgiving is over and you probably are lucky enough to have the day off. Take part of today and devote two hours to reorganizing yourself. Take a fresh look at how you are organized and look for opportunities to improve. You will probably discover several areas where you can eliminate some personal time wasters simply by becoming a little better organized. 1. Throw things away! Yes, even those ticket stubs from your last concert. Ask yourself, "What is the worst thing that could happen if I throw this away?" Most of the time, you can live with your answer, so start filling that wastebasket!

2. If you get heartburn from throwing stuff away, create a "bin of last resort" under your desk. I usually use a Rubbermaid bin to collect the pile. When it fills up, I take the bottom third of the pile and throw it away since I haven't touched any of the papers in 3-6 months. In addition, if you toss something important in there, it's easy to find, because it's in there chronologically.

Happy Tossing!

Business Spotlight: West Star Farms

Every so often, I run into a unique and powerful business offering that I feel is changing the landscape of business as we know it. West Star Farms is one of those businesses. Enjoy!

By Gillian Telling at United's Hemispheres In-Flight Magazine.

“Who ordered the weather?” someone says to no one in particular, as clusters of strangers mill about in a disorderly line waiting to get a cucumber, mint and gin cocktail provided by a local distiller called Death’s Door Spirits. Everyone murmurs in agreement: The weather is amazing-sunny, clear, breezy. The roving outdoor dining outfit Outstanding in the Field has, on this early August afternoon, alighted on the property of West Star Farms, seven miles outside of Madison, Wisconsin. From our perch near the makeshift hilltop bar, everyone watches as a table for 140 is set up in a field below, a bright white tablecloth snaking in between deep green rows of lettuce, scarlet carrots and corn. As gourmet meals go, this tips the scales of casual and pleasant.

“Everyone who brought a plate, please leave them over here!” calls out Katy Oursler, the special events director for the company. As an OITF novice, I didn’t come equipped. I ask the woman in line in front of me if it’s okay. “Oh, sure,” she says. “It just makes for a prettier table if everyone brings a different plate.” (Plus, you bring it home with you when dinner is over, saving the organizers from having to rent flatware or haul it around in the old bus with which they tour the nation. Smart.)

Piles of baguette rounds, sour cherries and three different types of goat cheese have been set out. I fill up a napkin and dig into some of the best chèvre I’ve ever eaten, insisting the women ahead of me try some. But they already know; they made it just three days earlier. Anne Topham and Judy Borree from Fantôme Farm, just down the road, have been producing small batches of the stuff since 1984. With just 14 goats, they sell only locally. “We don’t want to get bigger,” Topham says. “We like staying small. We’re like the opposite of the American dream.” They’re here because tonight’s guest chef, Tory Miller from L’Etoile restaurant in Madison, has been religiously serving their cheese from the first time he tried it, and it plays a part in tonight’s menu. “I love it,” he says, stopping by and saying hello to Topham, who is nicknamed the Godmother of Goat Cheese. “I haven’t found anything I didn’t like it on.” At this point, Oursler and OITF founder Jim Denevan gather everyone around a barn silo to meet our host farmer for the evening and learn about this event, which costs $180 per person.

Ten years ago, as the executive chef at Gabriella Café in Santa Cruz, Denevan was using only locally harvested organic produce long before it became de rigueur. He’d regularly shop for the day’s ingredients at the farmers market, where he chatted up the farmers about their jobs and how they cultivated their crops. Denevan was familiar with farm life; his brother, a hippie 15 years his senior, owns an organic apple farm in nearby Santa Cruz, where Denevan worked during the summers as a teenager. (Bill Denevan was one of the country’s first officially certified organic farmers.)

It dawned on Jim that others might also enjoy knowing how their food was made and where it was coming from, especially since this wasn’t the massproduced fare most of us are used to, but painstakingly grown, cured, churned or raised by hardworking farmers who love and cherish their products. And so he began regular farm nights in 1997, inviting the suppliers of his ingredients to come in and talk about how their harvested bounty landed on the customers’ plates. These farm dinners were such a success that Denevan decided to take the show outdoors, literally setting tables up at the farms themselves. Outstanding in the Field has now spawned multiple copycat ventures, but the original remains the most popular.

Over the years, Denevan has held dinners at any number of magnificent locations: hidden seaside coves, on cliffs overlooking abalone farms, on an island in the Puget Sound where the tide lapped at guests’ feet, in vineyards and orchards and at over 100 organic farms and community gardens around the U.S. Next, Denevan and his team will go global, with dinners in places such as Bali, Italy, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand.

Because the main goal is to bring the food providers and the guests together, much of each evening is spent meeting and learning about the artisans who provide the food and drinks, and of course, the farm on which the meal is served. “Let’s hear it for the farmer!” Denevan calls out, and everyone cheers as he introduces West Star’s George Kohn, a shy, Santa Claus- looking fellow in dungarees. Kohn recalls how he and his wife bought the 40-acre farm in ‘93 and have come to grow around 90 varieties of crops, the majority of which are distributed among 76 families through the local community-supported agriculture group, or CSA. Kohn says he’s so serious about organic farming that if he has the slightest suspicion some crops were accidentally sprayed by the neighboring farm’s airplanes, he has them tested or just throws out the whole batch. He takes us on a complete tour of the farm, stopping to show us cucumber plants treated with a granular form of coyote scent “to keep out the raccoons.”

During the tour, it’s hard not to notice chef Tory Miller chopping multicolored tomatoes in his makeshift kitchen, which consists of two propane tanks and portable grills. The walk around the farm builds up our appetites, and everyone scrambles to the table when dinnertime is announced, free to grab chairs wherever they like.

“Hey, New York!” someone calls out in my direction. “Come sit over here!” My tablemate turns out to be an excitable film producer named Cody who lives in Minneapolis and keeps us all entertained with stories about growing up the son of Montana farmhands, not knowing until he was a teenager that vegetables could actually be bought in stores. The wine is poured liberally, and the first part of the five-course dinner comes out familystyle, in a big bowl: West Star Farm beets topped with Anne and Judy’s “La Roche” cheese, dressed with smoked almonds, white balsamic and wildflower honey.

This is followed by those bright tomatoes we eyed during the tour, topped with Willow Creek pork belly and arugula. The proprietors of Willow Creek roam around, talking about their business. One’s a fourth-generation hog farmer; the other has secret recipes for Polish kielbasa that have been passed down for more than 100 years. The belly is followed by their pork loin atop a sweet corn tamale with dark chocolate mole sauce, and after that comes another main dish of Fountain Prairie Farm ribeye. In between collective exclamations of “yum,” “mmm,” and “ohmygod you have to try this,” conversation is easygoing, 137 strangers bonding over the unique experience of eating well in such an unusual setting.

Meanwhile, the sun has set and a bright moon appears. Thousands of flickering fireflies surround us. Denevan, increasingly relaxed now that most of the work is done, chats with the guests about his life touring the country and setting up dinners. He stops at our section of the table and regales us with the tale of a recent dinner in Minneapolis, during which dessert had to be served in the greenhouse when a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and drenched the farm. “It was maybe the most phenomenal dinner ever,” he says. “We all stood in the greenhouse drinking wine and eating dessert as this incredibly intense storm engulfed us. We were all yelling and having a great time. And then it completely cleared up twenty-five minutes later.”

Denevan’s culinary adventure will continue stateside through December, when he’ll take a little winter break to toil over his large-scale public artworks (gigantic earthworks not unlike crop circles) and confer with Oursler on future OITF destinations. “It’s so exciting to see people have such enthusiasm for knowing where their food comes from,” he says. “It really brings meaning to the table. And everyone likes being outdoors. It’s just fun.”

Launching A New Strategy . . .

How is your job search going? Not too good? Why not try something new?

Get Tough! The Best Jobs Are Never Advertised™ is a powerful workshop that will not

only change HOW you search for a new position in this economy, but how to motivate

yourself when you hit the frustrating ʻdipsʼ in your search. You will:

• Understand the critical factors that are impacting your job search right now.

• Access and employ bullet-proofing strategies against the economy.

• Ramp up every aspect of your marketing with techniques that will reshape the

landscape of your search.

How is your job search going? Not too good? Why not try something new?

Get Tough! The Best Jobs Are Never Advertised™ is a powerful workshop that will not only change HOW you search for a new position in this economy, but how to motivate yourself when you hit the frustrating ʻdipsʼ in your search. You will:

• Understand the critical factors that are impacting your job search right now.
• Access and employ bullet-proofing strategies against the economy.
• Ramp up every aspect of your marketing with techniques that will reshape the landscape of your search.

Rich will be working closely with Margo Meeker, Connecticut's premiere Psychotherapist and Life Coach — together they will present a compelling workshop that will deliver clear strategies on how to find a job coupled with ideas on how to break through the simple obstacles that hold us back while unemployed.

Currently scheduled for:

Central Connecticut State University (only Rich) Wednesday, December 2, 2009 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Temple Beth El in Stamford (Rich & Margo) Wednesday, December 9, 2009 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM

Fairfield Library in Fairfield (Rich & Margo) Wednesday, January 13, 2010 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Give us a call today (203.500.2421) to get this program for your organization or institution.

It's a PROVEN winner.

Made The WSJ Again!

Sue Shellenbarger from the Wall Street Journal called me a few weeks ago. She asked me about what key Time Management tools that I might know of. Over a number of phone calls we discussed the basic philosophy of time management, some key tools that my clients use (GTD, Pomodoro, FranklinCovey), and even introduced her to an incredible coach that wrote a book on time management — Keith Rosen.

In the end, Sue hit another one out of the park with this piece. Check it out!

The Secret On How To Succeed At Almost Anything.

A lot of executives are out there looking for the 'holy grail' of success. They bulk up on education, they cajole and maneuver, they scheme and plan. In the end, it comes down to just one action — performed consistently. Over the past few days, I've been running a series of workshops for a Fortune 50 company. One story I tell is the one where I was a lowly coordinator in the Marketing department. One day, the senior vice-president announced that the executive team is working with a NYC agency to develop a self-running sales CD for all 1000 account executives. This CD would be a virtual brochure — showing how the company does it stuff with graphics, audio, and movies. The price tag was in the millions and it was going to 'change the way we present to clients." Candidly, the SVP was not too happy about this.

I went back to my small office and thought about what I just heard. Let me let you in on a secret . . . I am the king of Powerpoint. Back then (and today) I could do ANYTHING with Powerpoint, even cook you dinner. You have to remember — all Powerpoint slides were a series of bulleted items (and they still are today - a real crime). So I began to play around with it, developing a series of 5-10 slides that had our logos, graphics, audio, and movies (big stuff for 1995!).

After 2-3 hours (and some calls to close colleagues in sales to get their feedback), I knocked on the SVP's door. Let me say, he was blown away. He asked me to stay after work so we could talk more. When 6 PM rolled around, I was the only one in the office and in walks the CEO, CFO, and CMO of the company. My office! My VP says, "Rich, show them what you showed me this morning." So I walked them through it.

Cutting to the chase:

• They loved the idea that it was infinitely modifiable.
• They canceled the NYC agency project the next day.
• I received time, resources, and a budget to roll it out nationally.
• I then went on a nationwide sales training tour to roll it out (the most fun I ever had in business!)

I eventually received a promotion, an incredible raise, and won Chairman's award (10 out of 10,000) win it annually.

Hidden Secret? It was INITIATIVE. I didn't have to do what I did — I could've sat in my office and dutifully done my work.

But I didn't. I took a chance. I used my technical skills — I leveraged my relationships with colleagues — and I took a risk presenting it to the SVP of the department.

How are you taking INITIATIVE in what you do today? Have an idea? Make it reality. See an opening? Go for it. Most of the time, we are too tired, lazy or scared to take charge and change something. There is no special sauce to initiative — you just have to make  up your mind and do it.

So Go Do It.

Go For It. NOW.

Tips To Connect With The Executive Suite & Get That Job - Part Two.

In this climate, it’s usually a waste of time to send out resumes. They go to people who can’t actually hire you. You want to talk to people who can. Here's what you do when you finally meet them. See Part One here to learn about how to connect with them. When the appointed day arrives, keep the following in mind:

• Your goal is to begin assembling a network, not to ask for a job. You've told the person you're not going to do that, and for this to work, you really must not.
• Every supervisor is always on the lookout for talent. They never know when they will need someone, so you really are of interest to them.
• The first thing to understand is that even in times like these, PEOPLE ARE HIRING.
• The feedback you can get from each person will move you closer to a job, even if it's just a little bit, so no matter what, the meeting will be beneficial.
• Ultimately, people are hired as much because someone likes them as because they are qualified.
• Each meeting has the potential to bring you one step closer to a job.

When the meeting starts, begin by thanking the person for his/her time. Then begin by asking questions about their background, how they got to that position, how did they come up with the idea of pet deodorant?

Listen carefully and attentively to all responses, and ask follow-up questions. Ultimately, they are going to turn the table and ask about you. You now have them. Tell them what you DO, not what you DID. Answer every question with enthusiasm and always add a positive spin. They will then ask where you are NOW. You then say: “Currently, I’m in transition and looking for opportunities in the _________ area. Do you know of any?”

This is the hardest question — but after you ask it, they usually start rattling off opportunities, companies, or contacts. Let’s get real — they know the game — but you have taken a real interest in them, they will take an interest in you.

At the end the the time, make sure to thank them for their time, and finish with something like this: “Thank you. This has been incredibly helpful. I will definitely [do something they suggested.] Is there anyone else that you would recommend that I talk to?”

Take down any contact information they give you, thank them, and be on your way. When you get home, immediately write (not email) a thank-you note, and in it, mention specifically one piece of advice that was particularly helpful.

If at all possible (without awkwardness) leave the resume. Remember — it is very important that If you follow this plan and all goes well, at the end of the meeting, you've accomplished the following:

• You've made contact with someone who could, potentially, hire you.
• Your resume is on the desk of someone who could hire you.
• You've made them aware of your qualifications, and demonstrated that you are professional, motivated, and industrious.
• You've gotten another name of someone you can speak with.
• You've started, from scratch, a network of people who know you--who have seen your face and your qualifications--and who can advocate for you.

Often, however, you get more than this. Often the person you speak with will either:

• Say they don't have any openings, but they know someone who does, and put you in touch with that person.
• Say they are hoping to hire again soon, and ask that you leave your materials
• Ask if you'd be interested in some part-time work or contract work with the company.
• Start a process by which you can be hired (by asking you to fill out an application, talk to HR, etc.

Sometimes, btw, this happens after they get your thank-you note, since that is such a rare occurrence in today's world.

I want to be clear--this is not a magic potion that will land you a job immediately. But it is a significantly better use of your limited job-searching time than sending out resumes to people who have never met you.

It is scary, especially the first time you do it, but it really does work. My clients average about 1 job offer for every 5 - 7 meetings.

Tips To Connect With The Executive Suite & Get That Job - Part One.

Let's be candid — In this climate, it's usually a waste of time to send out resumes. They go to people who can't actually hire you. You want to talk to people who can. So here's what you do: Step 1: Identify a few companies (start with 3) who employ people who do what you do. Then identify people who supervise those people. It does not matter in the slightest that those companies are not hiring.

Step 2: Do some research on that person. See if they’ve been interviewed anywhere, just received a promotion, or have been connected in any way with the company’s success (new product, release, uptick in stock price, etc.).

Step 3: Carefully construct a letter to each person you identified in Step 1, writing something like this:

Dear Mr/Ms _____________

I just saw your interview in BusinessWeek a few weeks ago and was very interested in your new focus on Pet Underarm Deodorants. It’s quite a new niche for your company and it brought up a number of questions that interest me since I am in a related industry — I wonder if I might have a few moments of your time.

Please understand, I'm not asking you for a job. I'm just looking to talk to a fellow colleague in the marketplace. Your insight would be invaluable and the meeting would be very brief.

I will call your office next week in hopes of scheduling an appointment. I understand that you are very busy. The meeting will take no more than fifteen minutes of your time. I look forward to speaking with you.

Sincerely, [you]

Most important of all, DO NOT include a resume.

When your letter has had time to reach its destination, make the follow up phone call, and pleasantly request the meeting. Reiterate that you are preparing for a job search and are only seeking advice and feedback. Most people are willing to give 15 minutes. (My clients average well over 50-60% of the meetings they ask for.)

If they hesitate, offer to buy coffee at a nearby spot, and remind them how valuable their input would be.

It's that easy. Tomorrow, we'll cover what you do when you actually meet them. Stay tuned!

Take A Vacation From Your Problems.

The great psychologist Dr. Leo Marvin gave his patient Bob Wiley some sage advice (on a prescription pad) in the movie: What About Bob — "Take a vacation from your problems, Bob." You should too. With the economy, unemployment, increased work pressures, etc., it's hard to focus - it's hard to relax - it's hard to think and act strategically.

In times like these, we tend to think short-term and tactically. Not long-term and strategically.

In times like these, companies don't have a real handle on what's going on - so all the 'balls' are in the air right now. The smart executives are the ones who reach out and catch those balls, not hide under their cubicle desk until things get better.

In times like these, smart executives reach out to key companies and talk to influential movers within that company. They make their future — they engage their peers in the industry — and get that new job or position. I call it 'golfing without clubs'.

But most executives don't do that. They get a 'bad economy' inferiority complex. They feel that they aren't worthy.

Unemployed executives feel less empowered. Why? They are no different than executives who have jobs. They just have more time.

Employed executives are running scared. They are afraid if they stand out and do anything, they will be next on the chopping block.

Well I say - take a vacation from the bad economy. Take a vacation from unemployment. Change your mindset — click that switch that says that you're unemployed and start acting like you have a job. Go out and make appointments with key executives in companies just to talk about the industry. Don't ask for a job - you are there to have a conversation — to connect — to make a new friend. Try to figure out what you can do for THEM.

If you are employed, do the same thing. Start having lunch with key executives inside (and outside) your company. Have a conversation — connect — make a new friend.

You'll find that you will surf these rough seas and come out on top. If you're unemployed, you'll get that dream job. If you are employed, you'll expand your connections and open up areas you never even knew existed. Trust me — it works.

Why Most Executives Experience A "Crisis of Confidence".

Many of my clients have been struggling with what I call a "crisis of confidence" — where their inner guide and strong self-esteem are taking big hits during this downturn in the economy. Do you find yourself thinking this during your workday?

"My boss wants to have a morning meeting . . . he's going to fire me . . . I'm going to lose my job . . . I will be out on the street by Christmas."

"Even though we are posting good numbers, the board is never satisfied. Lately, they never warm to any of my accomplishments or ideas. I am on my way out."

"Every day I lose customers . . . and it's seems that my current ones are not purchasing as much as they did last year."

"I can't find a job . . . I don't know where to look . . . we are going to be out on the street by Christmas."

If you do, read below.

In business, there are ups and downs.

FACT #1: The ups are not as 'up' as we think and the downs are not as 'down' as we perceive. FACT #2: When we feel that we have no recourse or ability to affect the outcome, we actually do. FACT #3: All is not lost, in reality, there are many options open to you.

You just don't see them clearly. The problem is that we let the story overcome reality. Why?

Stories are fun. Stories are interesting and easy to remember. Stories are fun to develop, add characters, and grow as time goes on.

Reality is scary. It is fact-based and hard to remember. It sometimes hits you square in the face and that isn't a pleasant experience.

Example — one story (from a current client): "If I call that executive out of the blue, he is extremely busy on a project, will get on the phone and either blow me off or yell at me for wasting his time."

Same Example — an alternate story (that I made up for the same client): "When I call that executive out of the blue, he will listen to my interest in his company, and make an appointment to see me in the next week."

Both are stories — which one are you telling yourself today? Probably the first one. But you will never know if your story will become reality unless you act on it. And that's the paradox — the story prohibits you from acting on it. So I say — stop making up stories and take ACTION.

Just do it. Try it. Make that call. See what happens.

Look at the facts first and banish the story. Logically look at what needs to get done and DO IT.

What does it mean for you? That's easy — you get out of story-land and actually take positive steps to change your situation. What's the worst that can happen? You get fired. But you would probably get fired anyway for doing NOTHING.

Desperate Times Do Not Call for Desperate Measures.

As a small business owner, you will probably lose some business during the downturn, despite your best efforts, as client companies cut their budgets, shift strategy, or, sometimes, go away altogether. By Julia Rogers at Open Small Business.

The economic downturn has made client and investor retention trickier than ever. Business owners have to do a lot more to compel investors and clients to make long-term commitments and agree that investing in their services or products are essential. According to SMSmallBiz.com and the Wall Street Journal, a lot of businesses are focusing on new strategies – like diversification and re-envisioning current skills or products – that will help them reach new markets and keep the attention of existing clients.

Bernard Nneji, president of Sigma Works Group, a process-improvement agency, suggests a variety of reasons clients and investors say they have lost interest in a small business: the client contact has changed and decides to “fire” the business; budgets and timelines are no longer working for the client; the small business’ strategies and execution of strategies cease to be in line with the client’s mission or the client has outgrown the small business and needs some bigger, fresher ideas. Ultimately, losing clients or investors most often comes down to a basic relationship-building problem –business owners’ inability to identify their clients’ and investors’ real needs from the beginning and a failure to satisfy them.

Regardless of why small businesses lose clients or why interest wanes among their client or investor base, they must focus on building relationships, and there are ways to maintain solid relationships with your best clients and set the precedent for eliciting long-term commitments from new ones.

The truth is, in any economy, chances are, if a small business finds itself with a lot of clients that don’t want to make long-term commitments or leave after one project, it’s often the small business’ problem … not the clients’! The following tips can help you maintain strong relationships with small business clients and investors as you weather the recession.

Know what the sales cycle is and follow a process for bringing your clients through it. Many business owners fail to recognize that the sales cycle is a tangible, consistent process that must be followed with each and every prospect, customer and client. Basically, the sales cycle is the time it takes for a qualified prospect – someone who genuinely needs your products or services and is willing and able to invest in them – to close. The goal is to shorten the sales cycle for each client and increase their trust in you enough to sign on the dotted line. This will make it more efficient to bring in clients. According to Jeff Thull at Inc.com, a key to shortening the sales cycle is bringing clarity to your clients so they are certain you are the best solution to their problems. Figure out what compels your prospective clients and investors – and what ails them – so you can create a sales pitch and a communication style that will appeal to them and keep them interested.

Make real plans to communicate. Many small business owners lose momentum during a sale because they stop communicating with their prospects and investors … or their prospects and investors stop communicating with them. Regardless of which party drops the ball, once this happens, the sale will not close. As a small business owner, you have to take responsibility for communicating with your prospects and clients at all points of the sales cycle with diligent, relevant, planned follow-up techniques … without being a pest. Communication is at the center of any long-term business relationship. According to Denise O’Berry, a resident small business expert at AllBusiness.com, strong relationships – both those within your own company and those with others that are potential and existing clients and investors – will be the best foundation for your business.

Make sure relationships are always mutually beneficial. Facing difficult, desperate economic times and rushing towards a quick sale, many business owners fail to highlight the term “mutually beneficial” as they are proposing agreements and contracts to current and new clients and investors and building relationships. Relationships with clients especially need to take you beyond short-term solutions and center on long-term plans that help these clients better understand where their businesses are going and also help you plan your own future. Take the opportunity to show your clients that you care about their needs as much as you care about your own. Illustrate how signing a long-term agreement with you can bring clients and investors specific benefits, address the long-term challenges they face and add real value. All relationships you build should be built around benefits that keep you and your clients and investors happy and prosperous.

In order to survive through the recession, business owners have to take control of their own businesses and stick to a very solid plan. They need to focus on building solid relationships and staying strong with existing customers and clients.

Will Social Media Be of Any Help to CEOs?

Experts believe social media presents good opportunity for businesses to connect with their customers. By Fayazuddin A. Shirazi at Chief Executive Online.

Although industry analysts are increasingly advocating the usage of social media by companies, CEOs apparently are going easy on the suggestions. As against the increased usage of social media – such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and the fast growing blogs domain - by general public, CEOs are still lagging behind in adopting to such emerging trends and technologies.

Writing for his blog “My Three Cents”, Ken Makovsky, CEO and President Makovsky + Company, a NY based global investor relations company believes, CEOs are losing, what he calls, a powerful opportunity to connect with their customers by ignoring social media.

Commenting on a recent research piece which pronounced most of the CEOs to be social media slackers, Makovsky thinks social media is a rapidly growing community and CEOs should identify and align themselves with these emerging technologies.

The research by UberCEO.com, a blog watch on CEOs, found most of the Fortune 100 CEOs they surveyed were social media hermits. Out of the 100 CEOs analyzed only two had twitter accounts.

Eighty-one percent of chief executives did not have a personal Facebook page. Only 13 had profiles on the professional networking site LinkedIn. Three-quarters of the CEOs did have some kind of Wikipedia entry, but nearly a third of those had limited or outdated information, such as incorrect titles, or failed to provide sources. While some CEOs contribute to other blogs, not one Fortune 100 chief executive had his or her own blog, writes Makovsky.

However, recent research data from Nielsen revealed that people are spending more time on social networking and blog sites than ever before. Nielsen research found the number of minutes spent on social media in the United Sates is doubling over the past year. “Despite an increase (82 percent) in the total number of minutes spent year-over-year and average time per person (67 percent) year-over-years, the CEOs are still staying aloof from the rapidly growing social media community,” wonders Makovsky quoting the Nielsen and UberCEO report.

So why is that CEOs are wary about social media? Experts believe CEOs fear, their open dialogue could spell potential trouble for them as they are closely watched by the law and the governance agencies.

"No doubt regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Reg-FD make CEOs cautious about communicating freely, but they're missing a fabulous opportunity to connect with their target audience and raise their company's visibility," Sharon Barclay, editor UberCEO.com told Reuters, referring to financial reporting regulations aimed at protecting investors.

Experts feel unless CEOs are motivated to use the social media themselves, they really cannot know what it is.

“You (CEOs) can't understand Twitter, Facebook, or blogging by reading an article in a magazine or a report from your CMO. Sure, they can tell you what they are, but you won't be able to truly understand how they could change your business unless you actually use them,” George F. Colony, CEO Forrester Research and the self-proclaimed CEO Guru had observed in his recent blog posting. He says the only way CEOs can understand social technologies is by using them.

“Social is like sex. It's fun to talk about and read about, but you can't truly comprehend unless you do it,” Colony noted in his blog posting at Counter Intuitive CEO.

According to Colony, the CEO of Zappos, Tony Hsieh, uses social extensively and now has 300 customer service representatives at the company on Twitter. Why? As Tony says..."People don't relate to companies, they relate to people."  “This is important insight. You, the 57 year old CEO may not use social, but that doesn't mean that your customers don't use social. You are not your customer,” Colony points out referring to Tony Hsieh’s view.

Makovsky believes, while not every CEO has the skills, inclination or regulatory freedom to blog, it’s worth remembering that the social media represent a powerful opportunity for a company — or virtually any other entity— to really connect with its most important stakeholders.

“Yes, much of the social technology is a titanic time waster. And yes, much of the technology is crap. But there may be real value here for your company -- something that you can't grasp unless you engage with social,” George F. Colony pointed out.

Lots of Enemies? Make Friends With The Press.

Part Five of a series on Ethical Leadership — many more to come. Have I lost my mind? Honestly — the idea of making the press your friend is obscene!

Hear me out — there is a logic to my madness.

When my team coaches businesses on the inner workings of their business, we ask them to develop a Mastermind group. A group that includes a tax accountant and an attorney. Why? In addition to the visionary participants (marketing/sales), as a business owner you need trusted individuals who will tell you the truth — and don't have an agenda — because they stick to the FACTS.

Now I will lay all my cards on the table — certain parts of the press are unreliable, sneaky, and downright corrupt (like all areas of business). But there are certain areas of the press who are ethical, forthright, and just. Reporters who stick to the facts and tell it like it is — whether it is good or bad news. Finally, reporters who are in it to report the NEWS and not just get the juicy story.

Those are the people that you sidle-up to and make friends. Why?

Because they are ethical. And they will keep you on the straight and narrow. It is always refreshing to surround yourself with people that will not only massage your ego, but trusted advisers who will tell you the truth AND let you know when you venture into unethical territory.

Now let's be honest — you don't have to tell them everything. But if you get a trusted editor or publisher that you meet for lunch on a regular basis, you can be assured that they will tell you what's on their mind.

And that my friends, is worth its weight in GOLD.

Harvey McKay: How To Negotiate!

I love Harvey McKay. From one of his first books, Swim with the Sharks, I saw a real professional who was not shy about revealing his tried and true business secrets. He is a one-of-a-kind leader! By Harvey McKay

I got a phone call from a Fortune 500 CEO one week whom I had never met. After decades of begging the government to relax their regulatory grip and let his industry experience the joys of competition, his wish had been granted—and his bottom line had plummeted. He wanted me to talk to his top executives for two hours and zero in on negotiating strategies.

A bit overwhelmed, I said, "I'm very flattered but, frankly, I don't know if I can talk for two hours on negotiating." Then I realized I was actually negotiating with myself. As my brain finally reconnected, I cut myself off. "Well, let me sleep on it and I'll get back to you."

Later that evening, I began to write down some of my negotiating experiences and saw that my problem was going to be holding the speech down to two hours. I'd already brushed up against the first and second laws of negotiating that morning in my conversation with the CEO:

1. Never accept any proposal immediately, no matter how good it sounds.
2. Never negotiate with yourself. You'll furnish the other side with ammunition they might never have gotten themselves. Don't raise a bid or lower an offer without first getting a response.

Here are some more negotiating rules and insights:

• Never cut a deal with someone who has to "go back and get the boss's approval." That gives the other side two bites of the apple to your one. They can take any deal you are willing to make and renegotiate it.
• If you can't say yes, it's no. Just because a deal can be done, doesn't mean it should be done. no one ever went broke saying "no" too often.
• Just because it may look nonnegotiable, doesn't mean it is. Take that beautifully printed "standard contract" you've just been handed. Many a smart negotiator has been able to name a term and gets away with it by making it appear to be chiseled in granite, when they will deal if their bluff is called.
• Do your homework before you deal. Learn as much as you can about the other side. Instincts are no match for information.
• Rehearse. Practice. Get someone to play the other side. Then switch roles. Instincts are no match for preparation.
• Beware the late dealer. Feigning indifference or casually disregarding timetables is often just a negotiator's way of trying to make you believe he/she doesn't care if you make the deal or not.
• Be nice, but if you can't be nice, go away and let someone else do the deal. You'll blow it.
• A deal can always be made when both parties see their own benefit in making it.
• A dream is a bargain no matter what you pay for it. Set the scene. Tell the tale. Generate excitement. Help the other side visualize the benefits, and they'll sell themselves.
• Don't discuss your business where it can be overheard by others. Almost as many deals have gone down in elevators as elevators have gone down.
• Watch the game films. Top players in any game, including negotiating, debrief themselves immediately after every major session. They always keep a book on themselves and the other side.
• No one is going to show you their hole card. You have to figure out what they really want. Clue: Since the given reason is never the real reason, you can eliminate the given reason.
• Always let the other side talk first. Their first offer could surprise you and be better than you ever expected.
• You must be fully prepared to lose a great deal in order to make a great deal!
• "Make every bargain clear and plain, that none may afterwards complain." - Greek Proverb

Successful Startups: The Method Company.

A series highlighting successful startups - big and small. Enjoy! By Margaret Heffernan at Reader's Digest.

Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry were having dinner with their new investors. The 27-year-old entrepreneurs had finally gotten a million dollars in venture capital to kick-start their company, but it came with stiff financial targets. It turned out this was the least of their problems that night. "We were passing our credit cards under the table to each other," Ryan recalls, "but none of them worked, because we had maxed them out. Eventually, we persuaded the restaurant owner we were good for the money."

In the eight years since that embarrassing moment, Ryan and Lowry have built Method into the world's largest eco-friendly cleaning brand. Their green products use natural ingredients like corn, coconut oil, and palm oil and are packed in attractive, recyclable containers. In the process, the two changed the perception of green home-care products—and the industry too.

Ryan and Lowry had been friends since high school, but it wasn't until after college that they hit on the idea of a home-care-products company. "We were shocked to learn how toxic cleaning products were," says Ryan. Why couldn't they create green products that would be just as stylish, fragrant, and environmentally pure as Aveda's skin- and hair-care lines?

When Ryan's mom heard about the plan, she stared at him blankly: "I've never even seen you clean your room!" Undeterred, Lowry, the chemical engineer, experimented with nontoxic ways to clean, while Ryan, the ad guy, focused on marketing. In February 2001, they mixed their first four cleaning sprays and convinced the managers of 20 independent grocers to try them. Once they had their approval, they tapped friends and family and pooled their savings to come up with $90,000 in seed money.

From the start, "Go big or go home" was their mantra. Their first financing—that $1 million—was due to be signed on September 11, 2001. By the time they got it, two months later, says Ryan, "we had $16 in the bank and personally owed $300,000."

Snagging a national retailer proved just as tricky. The friends set their sights on Target, known for its trendy, affordable merchandise. "But Target didn't like the product or the brand," recalls Ryan. "We thought the deal was dead, but then a new senior buyer saw that even though we weren't selling big volumes, we were profitable, just on a smaller scale." They won over Target, but their first bottles of dish soap, shaped like bowling pins, leaked all over the shelves (intrigued shoppers removed the caps for a whiff and left them off). The partners got the mess cleaned up and redesigned the containers.

When they launched their triple-concentrated detergent, they ditched the huge boxes that were the industry norm. "We made it easier to handle, less cumbersome, and better for the environment," says Ryan. "Now almost all detergents are concentrated."

Consumers were hooked on the natural ingredients and exotic scents like ginger, yuzu, lychee, and ylang-ylang. Today, the partners sell 130 products in more than 8,000 stores, and revenues are "north of $100 million." Such hyper-growth has at times stressed the men's friendship. "Eric and I agree on 'what' but never on 'how,'" says Lowry. "Because we are willing to challenge each other, we come up with interesting and smarter solutions. There's a little bit of fire and ice between us."

Q. You launched in the middle of the 2001 recession. How did you pull that off? A. Eric Ryan: To be successful, you have to reinvent some thing, or a process, or have a point of differentiation. A recession forces you to sharpen that differ- entiation. Our customers instantly understood our products. They got the whole style and substance thing.

Q. What do you say to someone starting a business? A. Adam Lowry: Understand with great clarity what creates value for your consumer, and don't be afraid to deliver.

Q. Do you worry when companies copy you? A. ER: No, because part of our mission is to make competitors follow us. We get copied all the time, so we've created an organization that is good at changing.

Q. What's your favorite product? A. ER and AL: Whichever one we've just launched!

Q. Are you pro-clean or anti-chemical? A. ER: We're both sailors, so we are very sensitive to changes in the environment. Green has always been core to our beliefs.

Q. Could anyone do what you two have done? A. AL: Entrepreneurship is one third luck, one third effort, and one third willingness—or naïveté—to take a risk. Not everyone would put in the effort or take the risks we've taken.

Q. Do you clean your own homes? A. ER: I have a cleaning service, but the simplest way to a cleaner home is just not to bring so much crap into it. Take your shoes off! AL: I do most of the cleaning, but my wife helps too. I don't freak out about every speck of dirt. I care more about keeping things uncluttered.

Q. Is money important? A. AL: I have a three-month-old daughter I want to put through college. I live in a 1,200-square-foot apartment, and I have a mortgage, so money isn't unimportant. But it is lower on my list of priorities. What I get from Method is a great sense of fulfillment, and that's far more important.

Staying in the Game With Help on the Sidelines.

A great WSJ article by Sarah Needleman, who has interviewed me a number of times — Enjoy! Executive coaches report steady demand for their services despite the recession. Individual and corporate clients say the one-on-one counseling is critical for career success, especially during tough economic times.

Coaches typically are hired by companies, at $300 an hour or more, to hone the management or communication skills of senior leaders and rising stars. Even with the recession, many coaches say some companies are retaining their services to help them get lean and efficient. Coaches also said they are seeing an increase in individuals hiring coaches on their own.

Eric Chaffin, a 38-year-old partner at law firm Bernstein Liebhard LLP in New York, has paid coach Dee Soder out of his own pocket on a retainer since 2003, and has no plans to stop. "In a down economy, it's particularly important to have someone on your side," he said. "Instead of 10 client opportunities this year, there might be five. You have to make each one count."

Mr. Chaffin said Dr. Soder, founder of the CEO Perspective Group, an assessment and advisory firm in New York, helps him with tough career and practice decisions. For example, in 2003, she helped him weigh job offers from private firms after his four-year stint as a federal prosecutor. He chose a law firm that represents plaintiffs in consumer and shareholder cases because he and Dr. Soder thought it fit well with his blue-collar family background. Last year, he shifted to another plaintiffs' firm, Bernstein Liebhard. Recently Dr. Soder advised him on how to work with clients who are hurting because of the recession. Mr. Chaffin said Dr. Soder gives him a different perspective than business associates. "Most lawyers think alike," he said. "She's helped me understand some of the characteristics of my clients and their motivations."

Executive coaches say they're being hired by more individuals like Mr. Chaffin, a trend that has helped offset tighter budgets at some corporate clients. Dr. Soder says the number of her clients who are individuals paying on their own has nearly doubled since November. Wendy Alfus-Rothman, founder of Wenroth Consulting Inc., a New York executive-coaching firm, said more individuals are scheduling monthly, rather than quarterly, sessions.

A 2007 study commissioned by the International Coach Federation pegged annual revenue world-wide for the industry, which includes life, career and executive coaches, at $1.5 billion, with about half the study's 5,415 respondents in the U.S. Of the respondents, 58% reported executive coaching as their specialty.

Coaches say many companies still use their services to retain top talent and support senior leaders while coping with smaller staffs and recession-starved budgets. Amber Romine, director in global human capital at consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC's Washington, D.C., office, said she fields a steady stream of requests from clients looking for referrals to executive coaches. Gene Morrissy, a management psychologist at RHR International, said demand in the executive-coaching practice of the Wood Dale, Ill., organizational-development firm is up 10% from a year ago.

Denver telecommunications provider Wide Open West Inc. in January canceled merit raises for this year and suspended company matching contributions to employee 401(k) plans. But this year the company will spend $25,000, about what it spends every year, on coaching for three managers. "Our fundamental belief is you have to develop your greatest assets, which are your people," said Colleen Abdoulah, chief executive.

Humana Inc., a Louisville, Ky., health insurer, also is protecting its coaching program. Humana this year will spend between $17,000 and $30,000 for six months of sessions for each of about 50 senior employees, said Jeff Nally, who heads the firm's executive-coaching initiative. The meetings cover areas such as how to build an executive presence, communicate ideas and influence others. "Even in a recession, developing talent in key roles is still important," said Mr. Nally.

Still, Humana is trying to trim coaching costs, which totaled about $25,000 to $50,000 in past years. The company now encourages participants to conduct more counseling sessions by phone, which saves money on coaches' travel fees. And rather than hire outsiders to assess coaching needs, senior executives and human-resources leaders conduct assessments of more junior employees, which cuts the length of engagements by an average of three months.

Some small-business owners use coaches as sounding boards. Nancy A. May, president and chief executive of BoardBench Cos. LLC, a four-employee advisory firm in Norwalk, Conn., pays her own way to meet periodically with Dr. Soder. Ms. May says she relies on Dr. Soder for honest advice."You wouldn't go to somebody junior and say, 'I've screwed up, what do I do?' she says.

Ms. May, 50, began working with Dr. Soder about a year ago on ways to improve her interactions with clients, among other issues. Sessions are held over the phone, and occasionally in person, twice a month for up to an hour. "At times I have a big personality and the enthusiasm can sometimes be off-putting to somebody who's more of an introvert," says Ms. May. "My coach is working with me to manage that based on the personalities of other CEOs or board people I might be working with."

Ms. May says she has noticed changes, particularly "how people are stopping and listening, and being drawn into a conversation with me a little differently."

Paula M. Zwiren, president of Allied Title LLC, a small title-insurance firm in Flanders, N.J., said she was inspired to seek coaching after attending a seminar led by a group of women business leaders. Ms. Zwiren, 33, meets quarterly with Dr. Alfus-Rothman for about two hours. "An executive coach helps you identify things that help you be in control of your destiny," she said.

Ms. Zwiren said Dr. Alfus-Rothman, whom she pays about $3,000 a year, has improved her communications skills. "You have to be very direct at the executive level, very concrete," she says. "She helps me with my power of persuasion."

Executives and senior professionals interested in executive coaching should research prospective coaches carefully because the industry isn't regulated, said Kay Cannon, a past president of the coaching federation and an executive coach in Lexington, Ky. "You want to make sure the individual has some kind of coach-specific training," she says. For example, many ICF members are certified as master, professional or associate coaches, which means they've undergone between 60 and 200 hours of training.

Ms. Cannon also recommends asking for referrals to past clients and getting a sense of whether you have chemistry with a coach before agreeing to a long-term commitment.

Task Ninja: Form the Action Habit.

A lot of us get stuck in inaction — procrastinating, doing a lot of unimportant tasks to avoid the important stuff, worrying about failing or about being perfect, having a hard time starting, getting distracted, and so on. It’s time to start forming the Action Habit instead. Get all Ninja on your actions. By Leo Babauta at Zen Habits.

And it’s really not that hard if you focus on it for a little while. Like any other habit, start in small doses, little tasks, just short bursts, and then build on that momentum.

Some quick steps for forming the Action Habit:

1. Figure out your key actions. Focusing on the right actions is just as important as the doing. Don’t spend a lot of time in this step — just quickly decide your Top 3 actions for today.

2. Pick one key action, and visualize the outcome. How will it look when you’re done? Again, don’t spend a lot of time here — just form a quick picture in your mind.

3. Just start. Tell yourself, “Do it now!” Make it a mantra. Don’t mess around with tools, with distractions, with anything that will get in the way of doing this task. Strip away everything but the task, and get going!

4. Focus on the moment. Just be in this task, don’t worry about the future or what mistakes you might make or might have made before. Just focus on doing this task, as best you can. Immerse yourself in it.

5. Get to done. Complete the task. Feel good about it! Pat yourself on the back!

Now repeat with the next task. The more you practice this habit, the better you get. Do it in small doses, and keep practicing. You’ll fail sometimes. See the next section for how to deal with that. But don’t let failure stop you — just practice some more.

Barriers to the Action Habit: But what if you’re having trouble actually taking action? Some quick thoughts:

Don’t worry about perfect. Too often we want to create the perfect plan, but while it’s important to know where you’re going, it’s more important not to get stuck in the planning mode. And while it’s important to do your best, perfection isn’t necessary.

Stop fiddling. Are you messing around with your software or other tools? Are you playing with fonts and colors and other non-essential things? Stop! Get back to the task.

Remove distractions. Turn off the phone, email, IM, Twitter, etc. Shut off the world around you, and just focus on the doing.

Improve it later. Just do it now. You can make it better later. Writers call this the sh*tty first draft — and while it sounds bad, it’s actually a good thing. You’re getting it done, even if it’s sloppy.

Break it into smaller chunks. Sometimes the task is too intimidating. If the task takes more than an hour, start with a 30-minute chunk. If that’s too big, do just 10 minutes. If that’s too hard, do 5. If you have to, just do 1 minute, just to get going.

Stop thinking so much. Thinking is a good thing. Overthinking isn’t, and it gets in the way. Put aside all the thinking (analysis paralysis) and just do.

If you can’t do something … figure out why. Maybe you don’t have the tools. Maybe you don’t have the authority. Maybe you need something from someone else. Maybe you’re missing some key info.

Maybe you don’t know how to do something and need to read up on it, or be taught how. Maybe you just don’t want to do it, and you should drop it altogether. Figure out what the barrier is, and solve it.

The Shredding Of YOUR Workplace Is Happening NOW.

There's striking disagreement on the shape of the economic upturn – being touted are 'J', 'L', 'V', 'U', 'W' or even a 'saxophone shaped upturn', however what's sure is it's coming. With the upturn – welcome or not – is a complete shredding of the workplace rulebook!

By John Blackwell at Management Issues.

Today's workplace consists of finely balanced interdependencies between people, space, technologies, culture, and management practices. It demands HR professionals talk fluent real estate, real estate professionals talk fluent talent and collaboration, technologists talk fluent culture, and managers be fluent in trust, agility, and social connection.

Get it right and the workplace is a vibrant, inspiring place that motivates creativity, innovation, and untold performance levels. Get it wrong and it's dull and disenfranchising, with staff bored by the tedium.

This isn't some abstract theory – everyone reading this article will, at some point, have experienced a dull workplace and equally will have experienced a vibrant one.

The current economic turmoil has brought about a unique combination of factors that's not merely overturning workplace rules, it's completely shredding the rule book!

Prominent factors in this upheaval are:

1. Unemployment: In OECD countries, unemployment has risen from 6.8% in 2008 to today's 7.8%, and is projected to top 10% by 2010. While any unemployment is distressing, the impact on remaining staff is possibly more dramatic.

How drastic? Research suggests that half of staff have lost trust in their employer and almost as many - 46% - would leave at the earliest opportunity if they had the chance.

This distrust is rooted in staff eyeing ranks of empty desks and an assumption that they'll voluntarily "pick up the slack". Staff are also disenfranchised over the lottery approach to downsizing and the lack of visionary thinking about alternatives. When cost avoidance is today's corporate mantra, this discontent and churn could prove financially crippling.

2. A Shrinking Talent Pool: It's a myth that restructuring is creating a labour market awash with talent2. A shrinking talent pool: It's a myth that restructuring has created a labour market awash with talent. More than 60% of white-collar unemployed are turning their back on corporate life and investing redundancy monies in starting entrepreneurial businesses. Having walked away, this talent won't be returning corporate life.

Clearly, these far-reaching changes to the traditional workplace demand precision metrics and a structured, scientific approach. Everyone involved must be 'on-board', and have a clear view of the 4 P's of change;

Purpose – why change, what's in it for me? Picture – what will it look like after the change? Plan – what's the timeline and what should I expect? Part – what's my part and what's expected of me?

Factor in a 17% decline in 'prime-age' labour (due to decreasing birth rate, increasing adult education, etc), this represents a notable shrinkage of an already rarefied talent market – something that the UK's Department for Work and Pensions is projecting won't return to 'normal' until 2020!

3. Virtual working: Staff are juggling a three-fold increase in project volumes since 2004, compounded by increased matrix working and the outsourcing of non-core activities, which is leading to an explosion in virtual working.

We've projected that, by 2010 staff will be spending just 5% of their day in the same place, on the project, at the same time as their colleagues. 95% of time will be spent working alone, at a different time, place, or on a different schedule.

Consequently, managers have a far looser understanding of their teams, and must rapidly learn how to migrate from command-control to mentoring, motivating, and coaching.

4. Unsustainable office utilisation: Prior to the economic downturn, office utilisation was typically hovering around 50%. One of the first casualties of the recession was corporate real estate values, which has dropped by more than 44%. At the same time, almost every organisation is being forced to – or taking the opportunity to – optimise headcount.

This has created the perennial conflict between dwindling occupancy and the inability to shift surplus real estate – a direct outcome being plummeting office utilisation of 20% or lower, and dispersed staff finding themselves forced into 'intra-office virtual working'.

This commonly leads to reduced business 'fluency'. Just consider, if you're more than four metres apart, the chance is you'll not know the other person in the office.

Shredding the workplace rulebook presents both formidable challenges and great opportunities. We're entering the 'era of interdependence'. A time when all business dimensions – HR, physical space, technologies, culture, and management practices – must work in harmony to deliver effective performance.

The recent Workplace of the Future report shed considerable insight to how organisations are responding to changing work practices. Of the 1,100 business leaders interviewed, 83% perceive significant change, however only 61% have successfully changed in the past, a gap that has trebled since 2006.

The report found that organisations financially out-performing their comparators are investing in radical interventions, broadly grouped into two areas – trust-based, and socially connected workplaces.

Trust-based workplaces allow staff complete temporal and spatial autonomy. Socially connected workplaces actively encourage staff to engage and collaborate with likeminded people far beyond traditional work boundaries. This significantly improves the response to weak signals – competitive and creative developments that might otherwise have been overlooked.

However, change needs to be tempered with caution – it mustn't be dismissed as merely 'engineering' processes or tasks, it's a complex problem of co-evolution at multiple levels (individuals, the community, the environment etc).

A mechanical approach is by its nature dehumanising, and you must remember you get out what you measure. If you set targets, staff will attempt to realise the targets at all costs, ignoring context or the unstated goals that the change was hoping to realise. An awful amount of resource can be wasted managing a measurement system rather than letting the workplace flourish. We all have a stake in addressing the current situation - organisation and individual alike – in creating a brighter, smarter, and more vibrant "workplace of the future". And all of us can take immediate steps to embracing this new order.

Facebook Postings Close Doors For Job Candidates.

More employers than ever are researching job candidates on sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter in order to find out more about their activities and character. And, it turns out, many candidates are doing a great job of showing their potential bosses poor communication skills, inappropriate pictures, and even how many workplace secrets they can leak. By Jacqui Cheng at arsTechnica.

Some of us had the luck of doing stupid things online before most employers knew what social networking was. (I'll admit it: in my early working days, I said some not-nice things online about some of the people I worked with.) These days, however, those looking for jobs have had many years to build up an unsavory history across the Internet, and employers now know how to do their homework. In fact, nearly half of the employers in the US now search for job candidates on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, according to survey results from CareerBuilder. The job-finding firm said that the numbers reflect a twofold increase over those who reported doing so in last year—45 percent in 2009 versus 22 percent in 2008—and cautioned that many employers choose not to hire based on information they find online.

Facebook was the most popular site for researching job candidates this year — no surprise there, since Facebook has exploded in popularity as of late. "Professional" networking site LinkedIn came in second at 26 percent, MySpace came in third at 21 percent, 11 percent read blogs, and seven percent followed candidates' updates on Twitter. Paranoid yet about any of your recent tweets?

If you're looking for a job, you probably should be. More than a third of survey respondents said that they found info that caused them not to hire the person applying for the job, including "provocative or inappropriate photographs," content related to drinking or using drugs, and finding postings that badmouthed previous employers, coworkers, or clients. Other candidates showed poor communication skills on their social networking profiles, made discriminatory comments, lied about their qualifications, or shared confidential information from a previous employer. The one that made us cringe? "16 percent dismissed a candidate for using text language such as GR8 (great) in an e-mail or job application."

On the other hand, some candidates are doing a good job of presenting their professional side when posting online. Half of those who screened candidates via their social networking profiles said that they got a good feel for the person's personality and fit within the organization. Other employers said that they found the profiles supported the candidates' professional qualifications or that they discovered how creative the candidate was. Solid communication skills, evidence of well-roundedness, and other people's good references (we assume this one came from LinkedIn) helped boost people's credentials, too.

For most of us, it seems like common sense not to talk trash on your Facebook wall or post drunk pictures where potential employers can see them, but people are still catching up to the idea that their future bosses are on the same sites as they are. Anecdotally, I have worked at many an office that has casually looked up interns and new employees online, only to find sides of them that were less than flattering (one intern publicly declared that our company's parent company could "f-ing suck it!" immediately after we offered her the job).

Some may argue that employers shouldn't use information they found through a little bit of online stalking (something we've heard in our forums)—after all, what someone does after hours is his or her own business. At the same time, it's hard to deny that discovering truly alarming information—such as leaked workplace secrets—would be good cause for choosing another candidate. These days, everyone hunting for a job needs to exercise some judgment on what to post online and who they let access it if they want to stay in future employers' good graces.

CMO to CEO: Insights & Advice From CEOs Who Have Made The Transition.

Little is written about the options available to CMOs to progress beyond their role as marketers and become key players at the executive committee level. At the Rich Gee Group, we frequently run into many C-Level executives who want to progress to the top rung and help them develop a strategy on what they should be doing to make themselves credible contenders for the CEO berth.

Spencer Stuart has a great report (click here for the PDF) that outlines each of the 10 ways to prepare for a role as a CEO:

1. Take on a general management role in an emerging market
2. Broaden your skill set at every opportunity
3. Gain experience in at least one non-marketing role
4. Get involved in as many mission-critical, non-marketing projects as you can
5. Demonstrate your credibility and track record as a commercial leader
6. Develop close working relationships with other functions
7. Work with the CFO to value the company’s brand assets
8. Hone your communication skills
9. Learn to make the tough decisions
10. Find a mentor who is already a CEO or in a general management position

It's a great read. Enjoy! - Rich