80/20 Rule

Most of you know the 80/20 rule:  80% of your business is going to come from 20% of your clients. It doesn't matter what your industry is or what you provide in service, most of your new business will be created from existing relationships.  What does this mean?  You need to cultivate these relationships by having regular contact with the decision makers and the people who place the orders or those who directly do business with you and your company.  We live in a time and society where things are changing constantly at a very rapid pace especially in the areas of technology.  Make it a point to set up regularly scheduled check-in (maybe quarterly, semi-annually or the very least annually) to see what has changed with your client.  Asking questions around how you are performing, what is something you need to know about them to service them better or differently, etc.?  This will serve you in the long run and keep you on track with your clients.

How Approachable Are You?

If networking is a must do for you in your business plan, it's very important to be approachable.  What does that mean?  When you are attending events, functions, business centric affairs where you want to build relationships you want people to approach you so be aware that body language is very important here.  The first 20-seconds is where first impressions are made.  Simply smiling, standing confidently in the space of believing in yourself, being open to receive conversations will help you meet people who want to meet you. If you were to choose between introducing yourself to someone who is smiling and open to a dialog or someone who is closed down, not smiling or immersed in their blackberry or iphone, who would you rather introduce yourself to?  Think about this the next time you go to a meeting or event.  An interesting exercise is to observe the room at the next networking event or meeting you attend.  What's going on with people?  How are they engaged and interacting?  Who looks approachable?  Who looks distracted and not comfortable?  If this is hard for you, create a plan where you can be more approachable and practice, practice, practice.

Another component to all of this is offering a firm handshake and asking about the other person instead of going into your story first.  We tend not to listen to others enough and by practicing listening you are setting yourself apart from many others which in the long run will serve you in creating new relationships and business opportunities.

Ten Reasons to Hire An Executive Coach

Here are some comments which could trigger why you would benefit from coaching:

1. 1.     “I just never seem to have enough time for anything but my work.”
   2.     “I am so disorganized and because of it I never feel like I have accomplished what I need to accomplish.”
   3.     “It’s getting harder and harder to find clients and it’s also getting so competitive. Frankly, I think we have lost our edge.”
   4.     “We just can’t seem to keep good people consequently we continually experience high turnover.”
   5.     “We have experienced tremendous growth over the past few months and quite frankly I am concerned how we can manage it successfully.”
   6.     “There is a complete breakdown in communication and collaboration between management and employees.”
   7.     “I am not very good at delegating and I find I keep taking on more and more and it’s affecting my focus.”
   8.     “There is a lack of trust and collaboration in our company and because of this we don’t work as a team.”
   9.     “If I don’t step back and find a new way of leading my team, we are going to run this company off the track.”
   10. “I need to get better at managing my time.”

Trust and Collaboration

Trust and Collaboration - two huge issues for many companies especially in South Florida.  I have been working with companies around these issues which really stem from the lack of open communication and transparency.  It starts at the top in leadership and trickles down to everyone so it's important to tackle these challenges to be able to move forward.  It's the responsibility of leadership to convey a clear message of what's expected, admit mistakes when they happen, praise people and learn to trust others to help you guide the ship to smoother sailing.  I have created surveys I send to leaders who are open to taking a pulse of what people's feelings are and the belief systems inside of the companies.  From the results, work can begin on changing the culture allowing for more collaboration, better communication and eventually trust will start to show up. Be aware of the value of trust and collaboration and start doing something about before it affects your business.

The Tremendous Value of Practicing Yoga

While practicing yoga at my gym this morning, I thought about how wonderful I felt being there.  There is such great benefit derived from the practice - fluidity of the body, mind and spirit.  It's a tremendous stress reducer and has been proven to slow down the process of aging.  If every person would integrate the practice of yoga in their everyday lives, they would be less stressed, more aware of being in the present moment and be more willing and able to live a work/life balance which we all strive to have.

Honoring the American Worker

Today being Labor Day I want to write about greatness of being an American and recognize our labor related laws and the opportunities we have here in the U.S.  I believe we are blessed to live in a country that has structured laws to protect human beings who labor to create the quality of life we have and are exposed to.  There are far more countries around the world who don't take care of their workers or give them opportunities to create quality living.  Yes, we are dealing with a lot of challenges, high unemployment and financial concerns here in our country but we also have the freedom to pick and chose what we want to do even if we have to risk stability and comfort to do so.  We have structured labor laws, unemployment insurance, worker's compensation and social security  to name a few of the pieces put in place to protect us.

I want to acknowledge those workers who work very hard in manual labor to keep our system running smoothly  and those in the service industry who are there to protect us and keep us out of harms way.  I am proud to be an American and feel very blessed to be given the opportunity and freedom I exercise and am aware of.