BBQ, Planes, and Coffee - Keys to Customer Loyalty

I'm fortunate enough to travel to some great places to serve my clients. During those travels I can't help but have many customer service interactions from which to draw lessons. Today I'll share how BBQ, airplanes, and coffee can teach you a few things to do (or not do) to create a better experience for your customers.

Coffee

Last week I was in Chicago and Memphis. In Chicago, I showed up early for a breakfast meeting. I got there 15 minutes before the client team arrived. The restaurant was still setting up the private room for breakfast. The wait staff was running around doing last minute preparations. I decided to stay out of their way and await the arrival of the client.

The hostess was helping set up the room (apparently the team was a little short-staffed that morning). When I arrived, she stopped what she was doing and asked if I would like some coffee. When I eagerly said "Yes!" she set down what she was working on, went and got me a cup of coffee, went back into the kitchen and made a second trip to my table to bring some cream and sugar. Her actions sent a clear message - even though she was busy, her customer was more important than what she was working on in that moment.

How often do your team members stop what they're working on to help a customer? Do they treat the customer's arrival as something special and important? Have you created a culture where your team is encouraged to behave that way? Consider doing so. It makes a difference.

BBQ

When in Memphis, I always visit Corky's for some great BBQ (www.corkysmemphis.com). As I sat at the bar eating my ribs (which were amazing), the bartender was hustling to take care of his customers. It would have been easy for him to focus on his assigned tasks and in doing so he would have delivered a solid service experience.

Instead, he engaged his customers. He discussed basketball as he poured beers. He talked about movies as he cleared plates. He asked trivia as he brought out food (his trivia question was "Name 8 Division 1 football teams whose names do not include a color or end in the letter 's'" - for the answer, check out the bottom of this post). We got to know him as a person. His energy and enthusiasm was tangible. He not only delivered great baseline service - he created an experience.

Are your associates empowered to let their personalities come out or do you encourage conformity? Do your team members engage customers at a personal level or is it all about basic service delivery? Try creating an engaged environment and see how much more your customers talk about your company in a positive way.

Airplanes

I was supposed to be on a 7:20 PM flight home from Memphis. I received an email at 5 PM notifying me my flight would now be departing at 8:30 PM. Kudos to the airlines for communicating in a timely manner with their customer (me) in a manner in which I wanted to hear from them (via email to my BlackBerry).

When I arrived at the airport, the status board changed to 8:45 PM. Okay. No big deal. Then it was 9:00. Then 9:15. As the board continued to change, there wasn't a gate agent in sight to explain the reason for the changes. The weather was perfect both in Memphis and back home in Columbus. Passengers grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of information. The board changed to 9:30. Then 9:45. Then 10:00. Still no agent. Then came the payoff - "CANCELED" flashed on the screen. Still no agents.

When the agents did arrive, they couldn't answer questions until the system updated (which was out of their control). Ten minutes later the system told them it was canceled for "weather" reasons (which I still don't believe). The crowd went wild because that meant there would be no reimbursement for hotel accommodations.

Fortunately the agents themselves were graceful under pressure and got all of us answers on our rebookings as fast and as politely as they were able. They apologized for the inconvenience and helped the customers as best they could.

Two lessons here - the HQ folks making the delay and ultimately cancel decisions seemed to forget there were customers on the other end of those monitors. To us it felt like the big machine in the sky didn't care about us. It was simply making changes to a system of numbers and letters and forgot the human element. Do your processes incorporate ways to communicate with your customers as PEOPLE when you make decisions "remotely" and at a distance from your customers? All people generally want is a straightforward, honest explanation and usually they're pretty understanding.

The second lesson - are your people prepared to deal with upset customers? Are they trained on how to handle crises? Have you ensured they understand they are the face of your organization? That they are your "brand delivery mechanism?" Consider giving them the tools and information they need to be able to handle this critical role to the best of their ability.

There you go. BBQ, coffee, and airplanes. Take a hard look at your customers' experience through these lenses and make changes that ensure your customers' satisfaction and loyalty. Remember - the customer is the person who ultimately pays your salary...

Oops. Almost forgot... the answer to that trivia question. You can find the team names in the post on our Facebook fan page for my upcoming book. I hope while you're there you take a few minutes to learn more about the book and like the page so you can get our updates as we move toward publication.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC - Get the latest updates on my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - CLICK HERE

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5 Steps to Becoming a Great Coach for Your Team

Today's guest blogger is Mary Jo Asmus. You can read more about her at the bottom of this post. If you haven’t read her blog yet, you should go read it and subscribe to it by clicking here. Enjoy her thoughts!

Many of my clients are beginning to see the value in coaching their staff to prepare for their future careers or to get better at their current position. My clients are very smart people. They know that coaching isn’t just about telling their employees what to do and how to do it. They’ve recognized that coaching others is a leadership tool that helps their staff to figure out a lot of things for themselves and to also sustain their learning.

When I ask a roomful of managers “how many of you are pretty good at telling people what to do?” about 90% of them raise their hands. Telling your staff what to do and how to do it is pretty easy for most of us. But it doesn’t always impart learning that is sustainable over the long haul. Coaching can help your staff learn and retain what they’ve learned, but it requires some new skills that are often very different than the ones you’ve used in the past.

How do you begin to coach others? Here are some of the things to be considered:

1. Choose staff members who want to learn and grow. Coaching those staff members whom you would give a grade of “C” or lower is a lesson in futility. One saying we have in the coaching world is “if you are working harder than the person you are coaching, then coaching isn’t the right tool for them.” Choose wisely who you will coach, because it takes time and emotional effort. Consider coaching your “A” and “B” managers – an “A” can become an “A+” and a “B” still has lots of room to grow. Give them the choice and ask if they would they like to be coached by you. An enthusiastic “yes” from them means they are ready to learn.

2. Plan to meet often and regularly. If you schedule coaching meetings on a regular basis – say once a month – they can be brief and focused. Sometimes a half an hour is all that is needed. These meetings don’t have to be face to face either. Many leaders have a dispersed and globally-located staff, and coaching them can be quite effective over the telephone or via web cam (until the web cam technology gets better, my personal preference is to use the phone). Regular meetings will help to move the person you are coaching along toward achieving their goals.

3. Recognize that those being coached know best what they need to get better at. Respect your coachee’s intelligence and ability to learn by embracing the fact that you don’t know what’s best for them. When you can let go and allow the coaching conversation to unfold through the use of great questions that help them to think, you’ll be surprised at what you hear. It isn’t what you expected, and that’s a good thing. It’s a reminder to you and to them that they are smart, complete, and fully aware of the changes they need to make. Accept what you hear, and continue to be a catalyst to help them make it happen.

4. Remember that what gets written down gets done. Goals and action steps toward reaching those goals should be recorded as the foundation for your coaching relationship. Drafting the action plan is not your responsibility – see #3 above. The person you are coaching will be responsible for drafting and updating their action plan. This plan becomes the underpinning for each of your meetings, helping to maintain the focus of your coaching conversations.

5. Prepare to do more listening and asking questions than they do. This seems like the simplest thing to do, but most leaders are great talkers and find it difficult. Because #3 is so important, listening and asking becomes an essential part of helping your staff to learn and develop. Once you fully embrace that, you will more easily find your way to listening deeply and asking the questions that are important for the person you are coaching.

Many leaders find coaching their staff one of the most satisfying aspects of their job. If you are interested in doing so, you just need to start. You’ll soon be able to enjoy the progress your staff makes.

Mary Jo Asmus is an executive coach and the president of Aspire Collaborative Services, LLC, a leadership solutions firm. She also blogs about the importance of workplace relationships to leaders at www.aspire-cs.com.

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Your Thoughts on 2011 - Signs of Optimism

As many of you know, I write the weekly analysis of the SmartPulse poll for SmartBrief on Leadership. If you're not reading SmartBrief, you HAVE TO (www.smartbrief.com). Great articles. Great abstracts. Anyway, we just conducted the end-of-year poll and I want to share the results with you here.

The end of year polls covered three major questions.  The theme of all three is what do you think the new year has in store for all of us:

- What strategy will be central to your effort to enhance profits in the new year?

- Which of the following is of most concern as you look forward to the coming year?

- What of the following best describes your top personal goal as a leader for 2011?

The poll results are both interesting and encouraging. From the looks of your replies, 2011 should be trending in the right direction. I know it's still scary out there but there are signs of hope. Check out the poll results and my analysis on each of them...

A eye on innovation



It's encouraging to see many of you focused on innovation and new growth, rather than cutting costs. New products and services are where you'll see the greatest return long term. Those of you not planning to make any changes to your business run the risk of being left behind. Your business is going to change. Either you can change it or the market will change it for you.

Big-picture worries



Unemployment is top of mind for many of you, which makes sense: When consumers aren't buying, your business is not expanding. There is a silver lining -- with unemployment so high you can afford to be more selective in your hiring. If your business is on stable ground, you should be out there searching for talent.

The personal side



Improving your time management skills barely beat out improving your physical health. The two are likely linked. If we don't have the time to get all our work done, how can we possibly find the time for fitness? I suggest defining a reasonable, achievable new routine and schedule that includes time for exercise. Stick to it for at least a month. Do your best to permit no exceptions to getting out of your routine. By the time you've ingrained this new schedule into your routine, both goals should be well within reach.

Bolstering skills and learning about new parts of your business are critical to your development and often fall by the wayside. Build them into your professional goals for the year. Have your boss or a respected peer hold you accountable to that goal and enlist their assistance in achieving it. Trying to go it alone is a recipe for failure.

So there are your replies (and the replies of thousands of other SmartBrief on Leadership readers) and there's my take on what the numbers mean. Do you agree? Disagree? Do you have anything to add? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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If You Don't Read This, You're Going to Die

As we get more senior in our organizations, we get a lot smarter. Our wisdom grows. We understand the business better than those around us. Newfangled management ideas come and go but we're now wise enough to believe we know everything we already need to know.

Then - WHAM! The world smacks us upside the head with a powerful "didn't know that, didja?" Your business is in turmoil. Chaos. Confusion. Cows raining from the sky. Armageddon.

There's only one thing I know that can prevent those kinds of moments - learning. Ever heard "the day you stop learning is the day you die" thrown around before? Yeah. That. (Or as Yoda might say "Die you will that day when stop learning you do" or something like that).

If we all know that to be true, why do we insist on not learning? My thought: hubris. We demonstrate excessive pride and believe we've learned everything we need to. That's just flat dangerous.

So how can you avoid this fate of dying due to dumbness? I'm glad you asked...

Accept You Don't Know Everything

You're smart. I know this because you're reading this blog. I also know I'm preaching to the choir because clearly you're interested in learning (that's why you're here). Perhaps you should forward this post to the office know-it-all.

If you've had this forwarded to you because you are the office know-it-all and you're about to stop reading because you really don't need to learn what's in here since you know everything, let me ask you this: what's the atomic weight of Americium? And no cheating on Google. See? You don't know everything.

If you're not sure you fall in this camp, go read this post about being Mr. Smartypants - it'll give you a few ideas on how to think about this problem.

Once you accept you don't know it all, you've opened your mind to being better at what you do.

Figure Out What You Want to Know

I'm sure most of you don't need to know the atomic weight of Americium (it's 243). But you should lay out what you do need to know. Step back from your business. Identify a few major trends that will affect it in the coming 2-3 years. Ask yourself how much you know about those trends. Target the one you're dumbest about.

You can also ask "what does my organization need to do better" and target getting smarter in that space. I had the distinct privilege of training several C-level execs recently on a topic they were very familiar with (can you say intimidating?). It was an awesome experience. Even though they were very experienced in the overall concepts, they were open and eager to learn new tools for applying those concepts. They didn't just pick up new tools and techniques in the session.  Their attendance at the training also sent a very strong signal to the organization that the concepts are important.  That signal drives the organization to learn and grow.

What do you want to know and learn about? Create a little curriculum list for yourself entitled "Stuff I Gotta Learn More About This Year" and use it as a checklist. Monitor your progress against that learning agenda in 2011.

Go Learn

Find the opportunities to amass this new knowledge. It could be a book, a training course, a seminar, reading blogs, or simply sitting down to lunch with people who are really smart about that topic. Immerse yourself in the subject. Keep your mind open to new tools, ideas, and techniques. Challenge your conventional wisdom and ask yourself how the new knowledge changes your existing view of the world.

Apply the learning too. Pick targeted aspects of the new ideas and try them out. For example, if you're a social media idiot, open a twitter account and start following and tweeting. See how you can do old things in new ways. You must apply the tools to truly learn how to use them and integrate them into your existing knowledge base.

Learning is a lifelong sport. The minute you stop, you die. What new things are you learning about right now? How do you keep yourself focused on learning and growing?

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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You're a Bad Teacher Because You're Too Smart

Today's guest post is by Michelle Braden, CEO of MSBCoach. She's running the Authentic Leadership Summit (you can read details at the end of the post). Join me in welcoming her to the blog.

I was recently reading the book, "Brain Rules" by John Medina. In the book, Medina teaches us that in order for learning to take place we have to connect with those we teach. He gives several examples of how to do this, but one in particular stood out to me. This example is that we have a tendency to forget that the information we are sharing is NEW to those we are teaching.

This hit me like a brick when I began to realize as leaders, mentors, and teachers we take for granted the information we have accumulated and how long it took us to master it. I first reflected on this insight within myself. I realized that I often move very quickly when teaching and coaching new concepts to those I am working with. I have a tendency to just assume they “have it” and are ready to move on; often I do not want to "bore" them (or myself).

According to Medina our brains:
- can only process 10 minutes of information at a time and
- can only focus on one thing at a time.

He also provides proof that our brains
- do not pay attention to things we are not interested in
- are inspired by emotional arousal and it helps the brain to learn.

This book enhanced and brought validation to concerns I already had. I began developing ways that I can more consciously connect with my audience – even if it is an audience of one. I also began to think about the executives I work with and how frustrated they get when people do not "get it" like they do, do not "get it" quick enough, or make mistakes.

Here are some of the tools that I use to connect with my audience. I encourage other executives I work with to do the same. Hopefully they will help you too.

1. Create interest - people do not pay attention to what is "boring" to them

2. Reduce multi-tasking - especially when new information is being learned

3. Help those you are training to connect to the big picture first and fine tune the details later

4. Tell a story (or something) to emotionally connect your learners/staff to what you are teaching

5. Only teach 10 minutes at a time and then pull your audience or staff back in by creating a hypothetical situation they can connect to - even better if it involves their emotions

6. Create an open environment for learning. Make sure your staff or audience are comfortable making and owning their mistakes and asking questions, otherwise, people will tell you they "get it" when they do not.

The next time you are coaching, training or mentoring someone, remember people need time to learn, process, store and practice the new information. Everyone learns differently and at a different pace, so get to know the person you are training and adjust your style accordingly.

Do not take for granted the learning process and reflect on how long it took you to master the subject matter you are teaching. Remember that while you may be proficient with a certain subject, it might not be your audience’s strength. This is vital if you really want people to learn and not just a perfunctory process to check off the list.

What do you think? Do you have anything you have found works (or even does not work) when training people? If so, we would love to hear from you.

- Michelle Braden is CEO of MSBCoach. She's running the Authentic Leadership Summit on October 14-15 (www.authenticleadershipsummit.com). The Authentic Leadership Summit is bringing the highest caliber of leadership education to Central Virginia’s executives and emerging leaders. The Summit taps top leadership trainers, coaches, and educators from across the nation to guide participants in increasing and refining their leadership skills.

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8 Critical Steps to Getting Your Talent Management Strategy Right

Today's guest blogger is Heather McCulligh talking about talent management strategy. It's a great complement to this three-part article we've written before on the subject of why HR strategy fails (check them out too).  Here's Heather:

Great companies have a well-articulated strategy that guides their business decisions. But many of them fail to then take that strategy and translate it into a talent management strategy. Yet the successful execution of a strategic talent management plan can determine your company's ability to succeed.

Let me explain how…

Why is it important?

More and more research is showing the strong link between mature, integrated talent management processes and financial results. The Hackett Group recently found that companies with more mature talent management capabilities have on average18% higher earnings, 54% greater net profit margins, and greater return on equity and assets than their counterparts without mature capabilities.

The Aberdeen Group's latest research finds that companies who integrate their talent management processes see significantly greater performance gains, and can measure a correlation between their talent management efforts and business operational results. IBM, HCI, IDC and others have shared similar findings.

Truly successful companies are realizing that the only sustainable competitive advantage they have is their people. It's clear that to achieve your goals, you need to effectively manage your workforce.

Now let's stop for a minute and look at what I mean by a talent management strategy.

What does a talent management strategy encompass?

Some companies or even HR groups would tell you that all you need to do is make sure you have sufficient resources to support your business strategy, and draw the line there.

But an integrated talent management strategy looks at all the processes you need to have in place to support a high-performing workforce – from hire to retire – and ensures that every one of those processes is working to support your business strategy.

It should start by examining:
- business goals and priorities
- internal and external business drivers and challenges
- identified gaps

Your HR team should then establish goals and priorities to ensure the company has effective talent management programs in place to address all of these – at all stages of the employment lifecycle.

For example, if your analysis of drivers and gaps reveals a need for additional skills/resources in the organization to support growth in a particular market, you need to do more than just ensure you have recruiting programs in place to hire those skills. You should also ensure your retention, job description management, competency management, employee development, performance appraisal, succession planning and compensation/reward programs all support the strengthening of these skills too.

An effective talent management strategy takes a bigger, broader look at your workforce and business needs and attempts to support your company's strategic goals, not just its HR/employee management needs. Without this tight linkage to business strategy, your HR and talent management programs risk becoming nothing more that administrative processes that yield little business value.

Many companies have some or all of these talent management processes in place, but they often function as disparate, independent programs that are in no way tied to business strategy. They typically fail to integrate, share and aggregate data that allows your leaders to effectively manage your workforce and address challenges before they become stumbling blocks to success. They therefore fail to contribute to the organization's strategy and success in tangible, measurable ways.

All your talent management programs, including recruiting, job descriptions, onboarding, goal setting, competency management, performance appraisal, employee development, compensation, succession planning and offboarding, need to be grounded in employee performance and linked to your business strategy, so they contribute directly to its achievement.

Where do you stack up?

Do you have a strategic talent management plan and associated programs that support your company's strategic goals? Does your HR team have goals and priorities in place that directly link to business goals/priorities/strategy?

If not, here's what you need to do:

1. Identify corporate goals and priorities
2. Identify the key drivers and challenges (both internal and external) that could impact the company's ability to achieve its goals. (e.g., highly competitive job market, new or changed legislation/regulations, new technology, etc.)
3. Identify any gaps that need to be addressed in order for your company to achieve its goals
4. Based on the goals, challenges and gaps identified in steps 1-3, define HR priorities and goals
5. Inventory the company's current talent management processes and determine if any changes are needed to support the company's goals
6. Ensure all current process address high level business goals as well as HR priorities and goals
7. Implement new processes as needed (e.g., succession planning, development programs, recruiting, etc.)
8. Measure the results of HR goals and communicate successes/contributions

Heather McCulligh is a blog coordinator at Halogen Software, one of the leading providers of talent management software solutions. For more of her insights on talent management, read her posts on the Halogen blog.

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Leadership 103: Leading Your People

Here we go with another step in the leadership maxims process. We've already covered how to lead yourself and lead the thinking (be sure to go read those posts). Now it's time to articulate how you plan on leading your people. This concept is the third major section of my upcoming book One Piece of Paper - go learn about it by CLICKING HERE.

This step is NOT about feedback forms, progress reviews, goal setting sheets or any other template. This is about setting the expectation for yourself and your team on how you plan on working with them.

Expect this part of your toolkit to grow almost every day. I encourage you to reflect upon the success or failure of your leadership efforts and constantly look for new ways to improve. It's hard. It's a lot of work. It's incredibly rewarding and can differentiate your team and your business from your competitors.

Creating your maxims in this third aspect of leadership is comprised of four areas of concentration:
- Knowing and living your style
- Understanding your team members' wants and needs
- Living your team members' lives
- Challenging, inspiring and developing your people

Let's explore, shall we?

Knowing and living your style

If you're anything like me, you're probably not too keen on the "be something you're not" dynamic. That mindset needs to spill over to your leadership.

By now you've likely found approaches that are comfortable for you and others that aren't. I come from the school of play to your strengths and make your weaknesses irrelevant. That means knowing your style, articulating it, and being comfortable living it every day. It's the key to being authentic in your leadership.

There are two maxims I love in this area. "Kick up, kiss down" (translation: hold your leaders accountable while at the same time praising and supporting your people. This is the same premise as being the human crapshield I've written of in the past).  For deeper exploration of this maxim, you can read a fuller post on it HERE.

The second is "Don't bring me problems. Bring me solutions." It sets an expectation with my team that I expect them to try to solve a problem before bringing it to me. By the same token, it forces me to try to solve problems before bringing them to my leaders.

Which aspects of your leadership style are most comfortable for you? Can you articulate them in one or two clear, concise statements?

Understanding your team members' wants and needs

The better you understand your people as individuals, the better you'll relate to them. It's that personal foundation of the relationship that creates the common ground of trust and respect necessary for a good leadership environment.

One maxim I have that forces me to pay attention to my team is "You have two ears and one mouth for a reason." Translation: shut up and listen. It's amazing the things you can learn when listening versus talking.

The second maxim I use to remember that people are different and have specific needs is "He drinks 7Up." Rather than tell the whole story again in this post, I encourage you to go read it here. This maxim is deeply meaningful to me because of the story behind it.

Living your team members' lives

If you want to get respect, get dirty. Roll up your sleeves and do the job you're asking your team to do. First of all, you'll better understand what they go through on a daily basis. Second of all, you signal to them that you're not above any work you're asking them to do.

The better you understand the tasks they routinely perform, the higher the likelihood the tasks or projects you ask them to take on are possible and reasonable. To ensure you demonstrate this behavior regularly, you need to create a maxim that is a reminder to get out there and get dirty.

The maxim I use is again related to a story. It's "He's under the tank, sir." It's about a time I crawled under one of my tanks to pull maintenance on it. You can read the full story here to better understand why I've chosen this as one of my leadership maxims.

Challenging, inspiring and developing your people

No one wants to have a job where they're not challenged and where there's no opportunity for growth. Your job as a leader is to create that environment for your team. The problem is we often forget to do so during the daily chaos that is our life. Creating this environment is overtaken by deadlines, projects, and other crises. You need to write a maxim that helps you remember to challenge and develop your people.

For me, this maxim too is related to a story. The maxim is "But he's never done that job!" It is about a time I put someone in a role when they had never performed that role before. It was a risk and I took a chance on someone's development. Click here to read the full story about this maxim.

What maxim will you use to remember to focus on your team's growth? How will you ensure you challenge and develop them regularly?

So that's a great start for creating your Leading Your People maxims. Up next is Leading a Balanced Life.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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The Best of thoughtLEADERS 09: Why Your Team Hates You and Other Gems

I'm an idiot (no comments). I almost forgot to give you this year in review list of the BEST posts we've published this year. This list is comprised of our most viewed, most forwarded, quirkiest, most provocative work as judged by you the readers (with a little of our discretion thrown in). We've also included a few hidden gems we think deserve another shot in the spotlight. There's also a kicker bonus post on the list just for good measure (it's a "wayback" - and speaking of wayback, check out the photo on the trophy... yes... that's me '80's style baby!).

Enjoy. Share. We've loved writing them. We hope you've enjoyed reading them. Thanks for your incredible support in '09 and best wishes for '10! We hope to be a part of your future success!

Enough sentimentality. Here's the best stuff we've written all year:

Most Viewed and Forwarded Post: 10 Reasons Your Team Hates You (They Just Won't Say It To Your Face). This post was viewed over 20,000 times. In 2 days. Wow. I'm pretty sure I pushed every button I could when I wrote this (insecurity, paranoia, a 10 point list, etc.). Learn the 10 most destructive behaviors you can exhibit as a leader (and learn how to fix them).

Most Controversial Post: Don't Waste Your Time Hiring High Performers. This one generated some pretty vitriolic response especially on another site where it was reposted. The bottom line: hiring high performers is stupid and wasteful if you haven't properly prepared to do so.

Best Attack Post: "Expert?" Um, I Don't Think So... I hate charlatans. People who are self-titled "experts" are usually nothing more than that. To be clear - only THE MARKET can proclaim you an expert. This post exposes the myth of the expert and helps you avoid the risks associated with working with them.

Best Employee Empowerment Post: Why Kenny Kicks Tiffany's Butt. Aside from the awesome picture of the guy with the Mohawk, I love the message of this post. If you empower your people to make decisions and take action, great things can happen. If you don't you'll screw up your business.

Best Social Media Bashing Post: Are You Slowly Destroying Your Network? Social media is awesome... if you want to be nothing more than some ones and zeroes to the important people in your professional life. Learn how to get beyond the screen and actually maintain a powerful network.

Best Guest Post: Making Your Service Ethic Contagious. Ray Taylor nailed it in this one - you are the source of your organization's service values. I love the story he uses to illustrate the point (as did many readers).

Best Career Enhancement Post: How to Avoid 4 Major Job Interview Mistakes. Hopefully the economy will continue to turn in '10 and hiring will pick up. If you don't want to blow your interview, I highly suggest checking out the 4 major mistakes you might make.

Most Practical Business Growth Advice: As the Chili Peppers Say, Give It Away Now! I'm sure all of you are looking to grow your business this coming year. This post lays out a clear set of techniques for doing so (the first of which is give away what you do or sell).

Funniest Picture Accompanying a Post: This one is a tie between Donnie the Mustard Man and Spinach Boy. The pictures are priceless (and the posts are good too). I won't ruin it by putting the pics in this post - you gotta work for 'em and actually click...

Best Use of a Monkey to Make a Point: 3 Reasons No One Listens to You. As Pink Floyd says "your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying." Guess what? People aren't listening to anything you say. Seriously. This post explains why and how to fix it.

Best Foot in the Behind to Get You Ready for 2010 Post: Courageous Decision Making - Quit Being a Wimp and Lead. This post is pretty in-your-face (like that's a surprise coming from me?). It's a great way to fire yourself up and lead your organization to a better place in 2010.

The Wayback Award Winner: Managerial Miscues - The "But(t) Sandwich." This was from way back in January 2008 but as you're going into performance review time, it's some incredibly practical and important advice on how to/how not to deliver feedback. There's no pic for this one 'cuz it's so wayback that it was written before I knew I could put pictures into blog posts.

That's all of 'em folks - our favorites from this last year. I hope you enjoy them. Again - thanks for all your support this year. I'm really looking forward to getting even edgier in 2010!

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Don't Waste Your Time Hiring High Performers

It's all about the people, right? If you hire right, you'll do well (so states the conventional wisdom). The problem is hiring high performers isn't all it's cracked up to be. Doing so can create tremendous problems for your organization and you're the root cause of those problems.

Yes. You.

Hiring high performers can work out great if you do it for the right reasons and if you create the right conditions to bring them in. More often than not, however, we hire for all the wrong reasons and never think beyond our immediate needs for hiring that superstar. When we do so, all we've done is arm the timer on an employment bomb that will go off in our faces.

Why do we want to hire high performers in the first place? There's the belief that their amazing skill set can either save us from the dire situation we're in or can create that massive new growth idea we've been desperately seeking. We believe their stellar track record will rub off on our teams and make us all better at what we do. Sure those things might happen.

Usually what happens though is we bring that high performer in, they burn brightly at first, and then they either sputter or get frustrated and quit. Those are the problems you cause. How? It's pretty simple...

To successfully hire high performers, you have to first understand the near-term rationale for hiring them and also think through the longer term implications of their personal growth rate relative to opportunities the organization can provide.

The Rationale

We usually hire high performers to fix something that's broken or create something brand new that didn't exist before. Prior to hiring them, clearly articulate what the near-term need is, how you'll measure success, and why that high performer's skill set and background are ideal for solving that near term problem.

If during this assessment you find you don't have to hire a high performer, then don't. If you have the talent already in the organization, give someone else a shot even if they've never done that job before. You'll save money and grow the talent you already have on hand.

If the job does require a high performer, be sure to spell out these near term objectives to them during the interviewing process. These aren't the kinds of people you hire to make the donuts every day. They're movers and shakers. And if they don't see how this role allows them to shake and that they can move after they've achieved the goal, you'll have a hard time hiring them.

The Future Growth Path

Let's assume the opportunity you define above is interesting enough to attract that high performer. Hit fast forward to a point when they've achieved the goal. The question quickly becomes "now what?"

If you don't have an answer ready for that question, you're already creating a flight risk. The high performer is looking for advancement and challenge. If you can't offer it, they'll go to another organization that can provide it. The more thorough you are about thinking through where this person will go after they've achieved their initial goal, the higher the chance you'll have a motivated and excited employee.

Unfortunately, I've seen many organizations hit a growth plateau and they don't have any new challenges for their high performers. In many cases, they hired too many high performers at once. When those individuals grew and were ready for larger roles, those roles simply weren't available due to the growth plateau. I'm sure you can guess what happens next in those scenarios - the high performers bail. Given the cost of hiring, training, and knowledge transfer you can't afford to create those situations.

The Fix

Before you go on your hiring spree when the economy improves, take a moment to assess both the near term needs of the organization as well as mapping out growth and role progression for the people you'll hire.

Think 3-4 years out beyond their initial hiring. If you can provide compelling opportunities all along that path, you'll likely be successful in hiring high performers. If not, you'll be turning them over like pancakes. And to be clear - that scenario leaves both sides feeling burned.

What successes and failures have you seen as organizations hire high potential candidates? Please share your thoughts and help your fellow readers!

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Did You Blink? 4 Leadership Trends You Can’t Afford to Miss

It’s been a crazy year. Bank implosions, wars, Adam Lambert not winning American Idol... craziness I tell you! It has also been a crazy year for leaders. Leading organizations through a turbulent economy has been a Herculean effort.

Fortunately for me, I sit in a position where I can watch leadership trends unfold across the many industries and companies we work with here at thoughtLEADERS. We’re blessed to have the opportunity to train some of the brightest client organizations out there.

This year, we’ve seen four major trends take center stage. If you’ve missed them, you’re missing huge opportunities to improve your organization. As a leader, you need every edge you can get so I encourage you to explore these trends and figure out how you can take advantage of them. So in no particular order, here are trends you can't miss as a leader:

Trend #1: Social Media and Expanded Use of teh Interwebz

Yes, I’m pandering by writing about this. Just saying the words “social media” guarantees your article will be forwarded and retweeted across the blogosphere. Try it – click the little “tweet” button at the top of this post ;). It’s nauseating to see how explosive this space has been and the plethora of “experts” it has produced. Many of those so-called-experts are charlatans and you need to tread cautiously in this space.

That said, social media’s explosivity is a major trend leaders must appreciate. Your teams are using these tools (Toobla, twitter, facebook, blogs – if you haven’t heard of these you need to check them out). They read blogs like this one (unless your IT organization is SO paranoid that it blocks any form of streaming media including blogs – and yes, I know several that do). Your competitors are using it too (some better than others).

Figure it out. Understand the medium. Know how to play and how to manage it. You need policies on it. The best policy I’ve heard so far was a one liner: “Don’t do anything stupid.” You can’t regulate this stuff to death. Embrace it.

Use social media for recruiting, business development, and market research. My firm has benefited greatly from embracing it (new customers, partners, and insights). If you’re not fully aboard the social media train, buy a ticket. And yes, I deliberately misspelled “teh Interwebz” above – if you spent more time online you’d know it’s a web-funny that all the hip kids are saying these days.

Trend #2: Innovation Caused by the “More With Less” Dynamic

I sat in a meeting the other day where a very senior leader was lamenting his charter to do more with less. Two sentences later he said the current challenging times were requiring him to innovate more but he didn’t have the money to innovate. Wow. I was speechless. Hello! McFly! Ever heard the phrase “necessity is the mother of invention?” PLATO said that back around 340 BC!

Technology and connectedness afford us unbelievable opportunities to innovate at ever-decreasing costs. Example: a colleague of mine has created a very cool learning platform called Emerging Leadership Circle. It makes accessing great leadership training incredibly affordable for organizations (head on over to ELC for a look-see). The innovative part is he’s leveraging great content providers from other companies and delivering the service in the format of video lessons for a fraction of what other training costs. Innovative.

Great organizations regularly find ways to innovate by looking at how they can do things better, faster, and cheaper. Look at what Intel and AMD have done for computing based on Moore’s law. They’ve generated incredible innovations stemming from a drive to make things cheaper and better.

Ask yourself how your organization can be more innovative. How can you blow up your business to simultaneously eliminate waste and create new opportunities?

Trend #3: People Are Our Most Valuable Resource (cough, cough)

This is one of the emptiest statements I regularly hear organizations espouse. When someone says this, I ask one penetrating question: can you show me the actions that back up that statement? Befuddled faces follow.

Saying people are valuable and showing they’re valuable are two very different things. The statement looks great on a recruiting brochure but if you’re not backing it up with action, your associates will quickly figure that out and head for greener pastures.

Before you say something stupid like “Unemployment is 10% so they’re not going to leave if I don’t invest in them” I’m going to ask another penetrating question: what are they going to do when the job market recovers? They’re going to bail on you. Your choice is to train them now or lose them later.

I run a leadership development training company. Folks regularly ask me “How’s business?” My response is always “Fantastic!” They’re confused by this because many organizations cut training budgets as soon as things get tough. Fortunately we serve clients who invest in their people regardless of the economic environment. These companies understand investing now gives them an edge later.

Are you really investing in your people and backing up the “most valuable resource” statement? Because your competitors are…

Trend #4: Letting Your People Do Their Jobs

Okay, you got me – this isn’t only a trend from this past year. It has been a trend forever (at least for leaders who “get it”). The trendy thing about it is that many organizations AREN’T doing it so the ones that are have an edge in the marketplace.

You hire people and spend gobs of money paying them. You may as well get some return on that investment. The only way you can get that return, however, is to make them do their jobs. Here’s the rub – the great leaders in the audience who read that last sentence winced at the way it was worded. Great leaders don’t “make” people do their jobs. Great leaders create environments where people are excited to do their jobs. They’re excited to go above and beyond to perform outstanding work.

I constantly see examples of leaders who do this well. I don’t care what industry you’re in – EVERY leader can create an environment where their people can shine. I’ve seen it happen in retail stores. I’ve seen it happen at beer distributors. I’ve seen it happen in the military. Unfortunately I’ve also seen my share of “leaders” who are really detail oriented control freaks masquerading as leaders.

Is empowerment REALLY happening in your organization? Why not? Go change that. Now. If you don’t, there might be another reason for your team to hate you on top of the 10 reasons they already hate you.

The Trend is Your Friend

Stock market investors are familiar with the phrase “the trend is your friend.” Hopefully you, as a leader, are at the forefront of the aforementioned four trends. If you’re not, there’s still time to jump on them and do what you do best: lead your organizations to a better place.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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4 Ways NOT to Run an Internship Program

An internship program can be great for your company, but don’t do it simply because everyone else is. Just like Mom used to ask, “If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you?” Make sure you can provide a mutually beneficial opportunity, and make sure you’re thinking from both perspectives – the employer and the intern – when you’re developing your program.

One of my favorite references of real-life internship nightmares (and how to prevent them) is Krista Reaves’ “Do Interns Take Lunch Breaks, Too?” It’s a pretty candid look at shocking internship debacles, including some of these common mistakes:

Mistake #1: Do you really need an intern?
I’ve worked with companies who act quickly before asking this question. Don’t hire – or even thinking about hiring – an intern if you don’t have realistic, meaningful opportunities to offer. Needing a body to fetch coffee and organize filing cabinets doesn’t count.

Among Reaves’ stories is that of Anne, who interned for a market research firm but ended up doing everything from picking up her boss’ dry cleaning to walking his kids home from school. She was even asked to appear on his behalf in court to ask for an extension for a non-work-related lawsuit. Um, no.

Solution: Don’t substitute an intern for a personal assistant, and don’t only think about it as a chance to help college students. It’s a chance to elevate your business as well. Say you’re a small, consumer products company that wants to target a new demographic but your full-time staff haven’t had time to do the research. This is the type of project where an eager, ambitious intern could help. Additionally, there are definite long-term economic benefits involved with hiring interns. They’re more likely to stick around after graduating from college, meaning your organization may have a work-ready employee who can step right in without much training.

Mistake #2: Lookin’ for interns in all the wrong places
Many companies run into the obligation of hiring a friend or colleague’s child instead of the most deserving candidate. I’ve seen this situation many times. It rarely turns out well for either party. As an employer you’re potentially stuck with unqualified help, and the intern either feels a sense of entitlement or is well aware that they’re not deserving of the position. It’s a negative, bitter situation you want to avoid.

Solution: Start with local colleges and universities. They have career services departments and will be more than happy to spread the word to their students for free. Also check out local chambers of commerce or other organizations that assist with workforce development. Resources like ColumbusInternships.com, a site including both internship opportunities and student resumes, is a good example of what’s happening in central Ohio. The Columbus Chamber of Commerce created this site to make the internship process more effective. In 2009, 5,000 students and 400 employers registered, and 800 internship opportunities were posted.

Mistake #3: Unclear or inconsistent workplace “rules”
Are office guidelines like appropriate workplace attire and acceptable work hours unclear to your full-time employees? Probably not. Then there’s no reason these expectations should be unclear to your interns. Although they’re temporary employees, interns should be a seamless extension of your full-time staff. I’ve heard of companies with summer interns calling in multiple “sick days” after a wild weekend, and expecting payment for time missed. If it wouldn’t fly with your full-time staff, it shouldn’t fly with your intern.

Things can go badly when guidelines aren’t established up front. In “Do Interns Take Lunch Breaks, Too?,” ambitious Lauren bought hundreds of dollars worth of business attire for her summer publishing internship only to show up on day one to a sea of jeans- and flip-flop-wearing co-workers. She was then banished to the basement without knowing when she could take lunch, where the restroom was located, or even what time she could leave the office.

Solution: Avoid these problems by clearly defining start and end dates, office policies, etc. up front. Although interns are not a full-time employees, it’s still important to give them a clear picture of office culture. If there’s a strict dress code – or if it’s a casual environment – make sure that it’s communicated in advance. Discuss attendance policies around academic duties like mid-terms and finals, as the intern will likely be doubling as a student. And, for the love of humanity, point your intern to the nearest restroom and communicate details on lunch breaks and quitting time.

Mistake #4: Closing the line of communication
Don’t think your work is done once the hiring process is over. Interns need day-to-day guidance regarding job tasks and regular follow up to see how things are going. Unfortunately you can’t simply unleash an intern in a new environment and expect them to thrive automatically. Companies I’ve seen take this approach end up with one of two things: an intern who lacks overall productivity and motivation, or an intern who quits and moves on to bigger and better things.

Intern Whitney, who Reaves describes in a case study, is a perfect example. She experiences a roller coaster ride of miscommunication with her interior design boss, ranging from being accused of stealing an expensive fabric sample to being “invited” to a pricey, two-glasses-of-wine lunch (and being asked to foot the $50 bill), and then being asked as a personal guest at the supervisor’s family outing. Not only were her actions confusing for the intern, they were just plain wrong. Standard rules of human contact still apply with interns.

Solution: Assign an employee-mentor to the intern, involve them in external meetings and lunches and evaluate the intern’s experience before parting ways. Be friendly (and consistent) in your communication, and use constructive criticism. These tactics will make your intern feel more engaged and place more value on the tasks at hand. At the end of an internship, it’s important to ask what worked well and what didn’t so you can reevaluate for the next internship position.

For more information about implementing an effective internship in your organization, check out ColumbusInternships.com.

Dave Cofer is an internship consultant with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, and also the founder of Cofer Consulting Solutions, a full-service provider of entry talent management solutions. You can contact him at David.Cofer@CoferConsulting.com.

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Leaders Who Empower: Why Kenny Kicks Tiffany’s Butt Every Time

Within a 4 hour period on Friday I witnessed excellent leadership and an abject failure of leadership. Both experiences occurred with the leaders in absentia. I’m basing my assessment of their leadership on the performance of their team members.

I needed a new tap for my beer keg because mine was busted. It was a crisis situation. I called the beer distributor at 4:47PM and spoke with Kenny.

“How late are you open?”

“We’re open until 5 but I’ll be here until 6 so no worries. Here’s my cell number. Just call me when you get here and I’ll hook you up.”

When I arrived, I called Kenny’s cell. A skinny 24 year old with an awesome Mohawk came around the corner and said “Hi, I’m Kenny. Don’t shake my hand, I’m covered in grease. Let me see what's wrong with your keg.” At this point, things got interesting.

Kenny quickly assessed my problem – it wasn’t the keg. It was my old tap. He went back to the office and came out with another tap. “Here you go. Take this one. I’ll just take your old one and rebuild it or use it for parts.” It was a nice tap. Probably cost around $35 or so. I shook Kenny’s hand (and yes, I got greasy), thanked him, and left.

From there I stopped by the video store to clear up a $32 charge I didn’t recognize on my account. Tiffany, the 24 year old clerk, looked through my account and said “You had two movies that were late so we sold them to your account.”

“How could they be late when I drove them over right after I got your phone call saying they needed to be returned by close of business that day?”

"I don’t know. But the system says they were late.”

“Can I speak with your manager?”

“Ummm, she’s out getting a bite to eat. You can come back later.”

So far, I’ve “gone back later” two more times since then. Both times Tiffany’s manager was out getting a bite to eat (seriously). Both times, Tiffany’s response has been “well she’ll be back later if you want to come back.”

I almost slammed my head off the counter the third time I got that response.

So here’s what I do know: Kenny’s boss is awesome and Tiffany’s boss is a control freak who doesn’t trust her subordinates. I’ve never met either one (and I’m sure if I drive over to the video store now, Tiffany’s manager is still out to lunch – both literally and figuratively) but I’m going out on a limb and making an assessment of their leadership skills anyway.

Kenny’s boss understands the concept of empowering his subordinate to make decisions. He gives Kenny free reign to make a call when he’s not around. Kenny knows he has the latitude to be master of his domain when his boss isn’t around. Kenny makes decisions and takes care of business. He’s also a pretty happy guy who seems to enjoy his job. He had a smile on his face and was more than happy to help me at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon.

Tiffany’s boss is afraid to give up any control over her domain. Tiffany probably can’t make the call on whether the peanut or regular M&M’s should be on special this week. She hasn’t taught Tiffany how to think on her own or given her guidelines on how to behave in her absence other than “don’t do anything until I come back.” Her boss would do well to read about how not to be a taskmanaging micromanager.

Tiffany looks like she hates her job. No smile. No enthusiasm. She was embarrassed to say “she’s out to lunch” for the third day in a row.

The Kennys of the world will always beat the Tiffanys.

By giving Kenny freedom to operate and providing him some authority to make decisions, his boss gains leverage. He can focus on more bossly things rather than making the call on switching out a $35 tap.

Tiffany’s boss will forever be mired in the minutiae of the day to day. Thank goodness – by being stuck there she won’t have the opportunity to manage more people and make them as miserable as she makes Tiffany.

Back in my army days (about 15 years and 20 pounds ago) we HAD to act like Kenny’s boss. I had to empower 18 year old privates with the authority and decision making latitude to possibly take another human life. That private had to make decisions in my absence. He couldn’t exactly wait for me to get back from lunch to ask if he could shoot someone who was attacking him.

That delegation of authority made my soldiers feel competent and trusted. They liked their jobs and were enthusiastic about growing personally and professionally. Dime to a dollar says Kenny’s boss subscribes to a similar leadership approach.

My prediction: Kenny will someday take over his boss’ job and go on to train a bunch of mini-Kennys. Tiffany will quit her job soon because clearly she’s not needed around there since her boss is a micromanaging control freak who gives Tiffany responsibility without authority.

So are you more like Kenny’s boss or Tiffany’s? How much latitude do your team members have to make decisions without having to check in with you? Do you truly empower them or just say you do?

As a leader, you have to give up control at some point. Give it a try – your team members will surprise you with how talented they are and how ready they are to make decisions on their own.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Customer Service Isn't Hard - Just Be a Mind Reader

How many times have you had a customer service interaction where you walked away in disbelief over how clueless the person "helping" you was? You've sat there at least once saying "I cannot believe they just don't understand my problem."

Now think about how many times your customers have said this about you or your organization. Scary, isn't it?

I'm not only talking about customer service reps in call centers - I'm talking about anyone who interacts with a customer (salespeople, relationship managers, marketers, executives, etc.). Any one of those individuals can completely destroy a customer interaction by not connecting to the customer's need. This disconnect occurs because the person providing the service comes at it from their own perspective rather than the customer's.

Why does this happen? Probably because your metrics are screwed up and you create incentives for bad behavior. Remember - Hobbes pointed out that man is inherently selfish. Your people will behave in a manner that maximizes their own well-being (cash, advancement, free time, etc.). But don't despair. There's a simple thing you can do to generate the behaviors that will have your customers rave about you: become a mind reader just like Karnak.

When a customer is asking for help, they have a problem. While this sounds obvious, how often have you or your team really listened to what the problem is? I didn't think so. More often than not you're thinking about your own objective function (make the sale, get off the phone, minimize the refund, etc.) and not truly listening to your customer's issue.

If you simply stop and try to read their mind, you'll be amazed with the results. Case in point - I'm a huge fan of Hilton hotels. I have 9 bazillion Hilton HHonors points. I've achieved Vanadium status in their rewards program.

I just applied for a Hilton HHonors American Express card. When I filled out the online application, I mistakenly clicked "No" when it asked if I wanted to get my account number now. The result was I'd have to wait until the cards arrived by mail. That was a bad thing because I was going to stay at a Hilton before the cards arrived and I'd therefore miss out on getting the gibungous point bonus for using the card for that stay. Still with me?

I called AMEX and explained my plight. For security reasons, the rep was unable to give me the account number over the phone (which I applaud given the fraud risk of doing so). I sighed and said I understood. I casually mentioned I was disappointed in my mistake because I'd be missing out on a great point bonus. She apologized for not being able to help me. End of call. I figured the cards would arrive in 4-5 days.

The next day, the UPS guy shows up with an overnight envelope. In it was a brand new shiny Hilton HHonors American Express card. I was pretty surprised because I hadn't asked for the card to be expedited nor had the agent said she'd do that. But she delivered on two great brand messages (from Hilton and AMEX): she said those brands cared about me and solving my problem was important to them.

Creating that wow wasn't hard - she simply read my mind. She wasn't concerned about average handle time of her call. She didn't care about doing a little extra work. No. She read my mind and saw I was concerned with getting some bonus bling points for using their card. She read that I was disappointed to miss that opportunity. She read that I would be happy if she could fix that problem.

And by reading my mind, she left a lasting positive impression on me about her company and how they treat customers.

Imagine the impact such a mind reading mindset could have on your organization. More sales. Happier customers. More repeat business. In this economy, there are few of us who couldn't use those things.

Are you teaching your team to read your customers' minds? What metrics do you have in place that discourage this mind reading behavior (and more importantly, when are you going to change those metrics)? Have you seen other organizations do this well (and not just in their call centers)? Who are they? What did they do that impressed you?

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Please Don't - A Great Tactic For Successful Strategy

High-falootin' strategery sounds awesome. Unfortunately the best strategic plan in the world can come crashing down if you don't have tactics in place to support it. And these tactics have to occur on a daily basis.

This is where, as a manager, you're probably missing the boat. I know your intentions are good but your dysfunctional behaviors are the root of strategic destruction (how's that for being provocative?).

I've mentioned before that strategy is about saying "no" and I'm unwavering on that point. The organization has to know where it's going and pursue a balanced set of initiatives to get there. It has to be a mix of building your core business so it can spin off the cash required to invest in new ventures. It's about hitting the sweet spot on balancing between growing the core or expanding beyond it. Let's assume you're already doing those things.

Here's where you're screwing up though: your daily behaviors and coaching to your associates are causing mission creep and dilution of your efforts. Don't worry though, it's pretty easy to diagnose and fix.

I read a great article about Home Depot the other day. Back in the Nardelli days, there was an internal slogan hung up in every store. It said "IMPROVE EVERYTHING WE TOUCH." After Nardelli's ouster, Frank Blake took over as CEO. In a pointed message to his management team he said "You know that sign that says IMPROVE EVERYTHING WE TOUCH? Please don't."

It was a strong message. Blake understood that the tactical daily impact of associates trying to improve every aspect of the business was dilutive to more strategic efforts. It led to managers running around trying to manage over 30 metrics on a daily basis. I don't know about you but if I have more metrics than I have fingers, I'm in a bad place.

Look at the daily messages you send to your associates. Look at your metrics. Are every one of them aligned with your higher strategic focus? If not, whack it. Stop giving the coaching to be incredibly operationally efficient if your strategy is to deliver over-the-top customer service (those are in conflict). If your strategy is to be the most efficient operators in the world, pushing your employees to smile and greet every customer is at odds with that. I know these are extreme examples but you get the point.

Take a moment to diagnose the messages you send to your team. Are those messages and metrics consistent with your strategy? If not, you're causing confusion and dilution of effort. Ultimately that leads to a strategy where you stand for everything and do nothing particularly well.

- Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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Come Join Us at The Ohio Growth Summit June 9th and 10th!

How is this country going to come out of the economic crisis? It won't be by spending our tax dollars on federal bail-outs, large corporate downsizings or paying large bonuses to CEOs for implementing bad strategies.

The way this country is going to succeed is by entrepreneurs developing more innovative ways to do business. The Ohio SBDC is here to support small businesses. Their passion is helping you find ways to ignore the economy and continue to take your business to the next level. The Ohio Growth Summit on June 9th and 10th is "your" event. It is a celebration of your entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to making your dream a reality.

The Ohio Growth Summit features speakers (including Chris Brogan, Jim Canterucci, and Mike Figliuolo), partners and networking specifically tailored to helping you grow your small business. Register HERE for the event! Here is a rundown of what to expect this year:

Ohio Growth Summit Tweet-Up, June 9, 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Talk about a place to do business? Is a couple hundred small businesses looking to build networks and partnerships to take them to the next level not to mention our brand partners who really support small business growth good enough for you? In addition, we will have a number of local inventors displaying some very cool things as part of our "Product Commercialization Showcase."

We are also presenting the Ohio Growth Summit Tweet-Up Keynote: Mike Figliuolo, founder and Managing Director of thoughtLEADERS, LLC. Mike will explore simple yet powerful methods to articulate your leadership philosophy. The Ohio Growth Summit Tweet-Up is open to the public regardless of whether or not you are able to attend the Summit the next day. The cost to attend is only $6. Don’t miss it.

Ohio Growth Summit, June 10, 8:00 am - 3:00 pm
It's the day we've all been waiting for. You will benefit from the wisdom of great keynote presenters and be able to customize the experience by participating in one of our business growth breakout tracks. You will walk out at the end of the day with the tools to not only survive this economy but to, as inaugural Summit Keynote Guy Kawasaki says: kick butt!

Opening Keynote: Jim Canterucci, author of Personal Brilliance
Jim will help you bring out your brilliance in everything you do. Jim will discuss the four catalysts of Personal Brilliance: Awareness, Curiosity, Focus and Initiative and show how successful entrepreneurs have harnessed the four catalysts to take them and their business to a new level. Also, everyone in attendance will receive a complimentary copy of his best seller Personal Brilliance. Be sure to visit My Personal Brilliance to learn more about Jim.

Business Growth Breakout Tracks
This is your opportunity to customize the Ohio Growth Summit to your needs. Each track will include two, one hour sessions on a specific topic area. The tracks include:
• Social Media: Your Customers Are There, Are You?
• How To Successfully Take Your Company Global
• Invent, Build, Go To Market: Successful Product Commercialization Strategies
• An Entrepreneurs Guide: How To Get The Bank To Say "YES"

Closing Keynote: Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs
Chris Brogan is one of the country's foremost authorities on social media and its applications for business and branding. Chris will show you strategies to reach your customers and others who need your product. Be sure to check out Chris' incredible blog, www.chrisbrogan.com to learn more about the power of social media and networks to build relationships and deliver value.

"Pitch It" Competition
You've all heard about the need to have an elevator pitch for your business but do you have one? If you do you could be selected to be part of the "Pitch It" Competition. You will get two minutes to pitch your business from the Summit's main stage to the audience and a panel of judges. The winner gets $500! Not too bad for 120 seconds of work.

You may be saying this looks great but much is it to attend? $200? $500? Why would we charge you that much? It's all about you. We want you to succeed and to succeed you need to be here. Registration is only $75. This includes a copy of Personal Brilliance, cutting edge business content, unparalleled networking and connections as well as breakfast and lunch (I know it's really all about the food).

Click here for registration. We hope to see you at the event!

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