Focus on Teamwork Is Misguided, Needs Paradigm Shift

There is much focus today on teamwork in the workplace. It’s about building more effective teams, working more effectively with each other in teams, supporting your teammates, etc. It’s become almost like muzak on an elevator ride to nowhere.

Focusing on teamwork in the workplace is misguided. It is misguided because most employees are rewarded for serving customers through direct sales or service, and/or manufacturing a product at a margin that leads to profitability, not for working as a team. Even if individuals are hired with “teamwork” in their job description or expectations it is a nebulous concept at best.

Many times working as a team means having to support a team member whom, a) they may not like and b) whom they may see as threat to their job security. Also, there is usually is no direct incentive for working as good team player. Company’s rarely reward based on the results of “teamwork” because it is hard to quantify, unless a specific team is brought together to achieve a specific outcome.

I believe we need to shift our thinking. We need to shift our paradigm on the concept of “teamwork” in the workplace. Let’s forget about it!

Instead let’s focus on customer service. “Internal” customer service.

Internal customer service takes a back seat to “real” or “external” customer service, which is servicing the end user of our product or service. Yet, its the internal interactions between team members (teamwork) that can drastically impact how your external customer service is applied.

Whereas many companies promote teamwork to the cynicism of the masses few encourage their workers to see their “teammates” as true customers, customers of their internal product/service delivery. What would happen if they did?

Most employees understand the value of servicing a customer and will do backflips to make the customer happy (many times to the detriment of company profits and building value in the eyes of the customer, but that’s a post for another day) while “internal” customer service and the treatment of co-workers is deplorable in many companies. As such I believe making this shift will help tremendously in raising the bar on performance for three reasons:

1) Employees understand the importance of “customer service” and adding to the definition of who their “customers” are should be an easy adjustment;

2) It is much easier to hold individuals accountable to customer service metrics than “teamwork” metrics;

3) It is easier to define in the workplace a “customer service” situation than a “teamwork” scenario thus allowing for the sharing of resources to be more easily facilitated. This alleviates the instance of those who hold back on resources in a teamwork setting due to uncertainty of the relationships necessary to achieve desired results (helps to break down the silo mentality that is ingrained in so many company cultures).

My entire shift in addressing issues of company culture and improving performance results is going to focus on “internal” customer service. As such I believe outstanding teamwork will become an easy and natural by-product of of this approach.

Curiosity May Have Killed the Cat, But Indecision Kills Leaders

One of the first articles I ever wrote for publication was called “The 3 D’s of Leadership - Decisions, Delegating & Diplomacy.” The more coaching and consulting with business leaders I do the more I’m concerned with the ability and willingness to make the tough decisions.

A lack of will in stepping up to address key issues in their division or their own company, if owners or CEOs, and the stories used to justify avoiding the tough decisions is mind boggling.

In January, in the midst of 50 other business leaders at an introductory version of my End Procrastination NOW! workshop, one business leader of a $20 million dollar company, admitted in front of the audience that his habit of procrastination has cost him personally $5 million over the last 10 years. He is now a client.

Last week I met with the managing partner of another $20 million firm who admitted to me that he has been procrastinating on addressing key issues at his firm, including updating their partnership agreement and marketing initiatives in their own backyard where competition has edged in front of them in key networking organizations, business alliances and Chambers because a decision to make it a priority and to hold team members accountable to following through has not made it to the top of the list.

These are avoidance issues all based in fear. As my hero Bruce Springsteen sings in his 2005 song about a soldier in harms way in the Iraq war, “fear is a powerful thing…fear is a dangerous thing, it’ll take your God filled soul…”

This is 100% procrastination. Procrastination is an interesting term that evokes strange reactions in people. Despite working with many intelligent business owners over the last 7 1/2 years of my coaching and consulting practice I continue to be amazed at the lengths many go to engage in this costly habit.

Procrastination, and this flawed decision-making, action-taking strategy is a killer. It is a killer of success, it is a killer of hopes and dreams, it is a killer of self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth!

Can someone please explain to me how such intelligent, high level, successful business leaders can engage in this behavior that is killing their business and costing them, their partners and employees millions, if not, billions of dollars worldwide?

Procrastination Comes In Many Forms, But Not Really

My laugh of the day, many of you will all appreciate this…

I received a call late this afternoon from the mother of a recently graduated Law School Student, who has already passed the bar exam.

She was asking if I would help him with “career coaching.” When I told her that was not my specialty and referred her to another coach, she asked me about my Procrastination Coaching, which I said, “now, that’s a different story.”

She proceeded to explain to me about her son’s habit of procrastination that has kept him from obtaining an internship to gain experience in his chosen profession and is now costing him valuable time in finding a job in a tough and crowded marketplace in a down economy.

Mom had done enough research online about procrastination to know that her son’s issue, a self-proclaimed “perfectionist” is based in fear. His procrastination habit, as with most “perfectionists” was based in fear of being judged and rejection. It’s a common pattern.

After about a 15-minute discussion I told my minimum fee for a minimum 90-day coaching program after which she gulpedcontinued the discussion, which went like this:

ME: I will only agree to a coaching arrangement after I speak with him to determine if he is coachable and someone I could work with to get results.

HER: Oh, do you want his phone number?

ME: Umm, you are asking me to call someone with a habit of procrastination to ask him if he wants me to coach him? Do you see the irony in that request? NO, this is the beginning of his lesson to break through procrastination. If he is serious about being coached he can call me if and when he’s ready to do something about it. I only work with clients who know they need help and want that help to get better.”

I did tell her to let him know that whenever he calls it will be a “judgment free” zone and we will work on the basis of a complete blank slate.

We’ll see if he calls (of course, according to mom, he’s going on vacation with his girlfriend on Wednesday and won’t be back ’til July 10th so he “probably won’t call ’til after he gets back). We’ll see. I’ll keep you posted.

How to Sell Like a Champion in the 21st Century

One of my best friends and business colleagues called me today to tell me a story that offers lessons for all sales professionals in the 21st Century.

My buddy is a business development banker for a large regional bank. This afternoon he picked up a hard copy of a newsletter sent out by a regional CPA firm that his bank has been targeting to develop a business banking relationship for a number of years, but has had little progress in getting through for even a basic appointment.

While reading the newsletter my buddy, John, found an article he thought had tremendous value for those who are on his e-mail list which he invites to read his personal Business Banker Blog. So, he called the CPA firm’s principal partner and asked if he could have permission to run the article. The answer was a resounding “yes” and so now you can read it on his Business Banker Blog here.

During the discussion John learned that the CPA firm’s principal had just come back from a conference where blogging was a topic and was beginning to investigate how it can help the firm’s marketing. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

So, John and the principal of this firm imediately engaged in a deeper discussion about the value of blogging. By the end of the call John was invited to lunch to continue their discussion.

The moral of the story for all of us in the sales game in the 21st Century is to focus on giving value upfront first, with no expectation of reciprocation because it has the power of opening doors that have been being knocked on the traditional sales way for YEARS!

What opportunities do you have to give value or to contribute to helping your prospects first without expectation of direct reciprocation, doing it with a totally altruistic mindset to either a) open, or b) build a deeper, relationship with one of your most challenging business prospects?

Appriss - One Example of a “Champion Organization”

There has been a lot of chatter in the media, the blogosphere and the micro-blogosphere (Twitter & Facebook) about the outstanding corporate culture and customer service of online shoe retailer Zappos.com

The hype over Zappos.com is well-deserved as it offers an outstanding model to follow. I’d like offer another company I’ve been referred to through a contact I made on Twitter that seems to also have the right approach to company culture.

Thanks to a link provided me on Twitter from one of my followers I was pleased to watch the corporate recruiting video for Appriss, a specialized software company in the midwest.

I encourage you to spend a couple of minutes (5-minutes to be exact) watching their Great Place to Work Video on their “About Us” page. It’s worth the time as it shows what’s possible.

They tell their story very well but I’m sure their employees can tell the story even better. According to my Twitter follower Appriss “management that treats employees with trust & respect…they tell us the truth & keep us in the loop on important decisions.”

I’m sure there are other Appriss team members that also have things to say about their Champion work environment. I encourage them to leave comments below and encourage comments from a  from their satisfied customers about the products and services.

One of the key’s to a Champion Organization as I wrote in a previous post is having a compelling Vision, Strategy & Purpose. From what I’ve read and heard, the Appriss mission and how the company came into being is certainly compelling and the company is filling a tremendous role in our society in the field of criminal justice and crime victim advocacy.

If you are an employee or customer of Appriss, feel free to leave a comment offering other company’s your view of the #1 thing that makes Appriss a Champion Organization that other business owners and CEOs can learn from.

Appriss, keep up the good work!

5-Steps to Create Effective Strategic Alliances To Explode Your Business

A little over twelve months ago I began to get concerned about the direction the economy was going. I made a pro-active decision to shift my marketing strategy into high gear and being that like most small businesses with limited marketing funds I had to get creative. So, I decided to begin marketing a marketing idea among a group of business associates whom I trusted and respect, the concept of Strategic Alliances.

Strategic Alliances are a powerful marketing approach that allows you to leverage your value and maximize your efforts and energy. We’re only halfway through 2009 and I can pretty much guarantee this is going to be my best year of my eight years in business.

Basically, the way I view Strategic Alliances is that they are one or more businesses that offer complimentary products and services that have significant to a similar target market. For my business which focuses on improving the bottom-line and company culture of businesses my ideal strategic partners are in the following industries: commercial insurance, commercial banking, commercial lending, accounting, bookkeeping and payroll services, advertising specialty firms, web and internet marketing companies, and traditional advertising/marketing/pr firms.

Here are some tips for getting started on adding Strategic Alliances to leverage your marketing efforts:

STEP 1
Brainstorm the types of businesses that go after similar target markets with complimentary products and services.

STEP 2
Identify the specific components of your product and service offerings that you could proivde as a “value added” offer to your alliance partners (e.g., I offer a 2-2 1/2 hour introductory workshop for the clients and prospects of my alliance partners, which is a $3,000 retail value).

STEP 3
Identify individual businesses from #1 above that you already have established relationships with. Then grade those relationships on an A, B, C scale for those that you have a high “know, like, trust & respect” factor.

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NOTE: Notice that two of my upcoming speaking events, August 5th & August 6th, in the column to the right are Strategic Alliance programs!

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STEP 4
Create your offer to your Strategic Alliance partners in a way that they can easily see the benefits of offering your expertise as a “value added” service to their clients/prospects. Always craft the pitch so that it focuses solely on the value the SA partner receives by joining forces with you.

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*side note here: these Strategic Alliances are all around you, once the Reticular Activating System in your brain is engaged by understanding this concept you will begin to notice them. I just noticed one this morning as I was watching the US Open Golf Championship on NBC-TV. When the network cut away to its “Sports Update” at the top of the hour the anchor read a story about the Wimbledon Tennis Champions starting in two-days and that defending Champion Rafael Nadal withdrew due to an injury. This was a valid news story any network would have announced, but particularly pertinent since NBC-TV hosts the Wimbledon Tennis TV coverage. After the story, the announcer told the audience to pick up a copy of USA Today on Monday, the first day of the Wimbledon Tournament to get all the tournament news including a feature on 5-Time Champion Roger Federer. Behind the announcer was a very prominent USA Today logo. It clearly shifted from a true news story to a cross-promotion with the newspaper. Another example is when Disney releases a new animated movie, or the latest Star Wars, Star Trek or Super Hero movie comes out. The Hollywood production houses always partner with fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, etc. and the soft drink companies because they are catering to similar targets, families and kids.

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STEP 5
Begin calling your “A” list, letting them know that you have identified them as your first choice as someone you’d like to work with in their industry and that if they decide they are not interested you have other competitors of theirs you will be reaching out to.

Results for me have been truly outstanding. I’ve delivered eight SA workshops in the last 10 months which has exposed me to over 300 new business prospects. It has brought me two significant clients this year I wouldn’t have secured otherwise, allowed me to sellout a “open enrollment” workshop that I offered mostly to those new members of my database which allowed me to net about $3,000 for a one-day program, and finally I’m meeting next week with three new prospects for consulting projects directly related to my Strategic Alliance marketing efforts.

That’s all there is to it, other than delivering on your promise in the Strategic Alliance, of course. Get started. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me at Info@SkipWeisman.com

Championship Lessons From the Two Newest Champs

Two things that make an organization a true Champion is consistency and resiliency. Those traits exemplify the two most recent Champions crowned in North America’s winter long professional sports leagues, the National Basketball Association’s Los Angeles Lakers and the National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penquins.

Consistency is the Lakers’ trait, for sure. The franchise has won 15 NBA Championships in its history and nine in the last 29 years, since 1980, winning five in the 80’s and four since 2000. Their coach, Phil Jackson, now has 10 NBA Championships on his coaching resume after winning six with the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls in the 90’s before moving to Los Angeles to start a new dynasty with the Lakers.

The Pittsburgh Penguins on the other hand have been the resilient franchise. After winning two Stanley Cup Championships in the early 90’s with Hall of Fame Center Mario Lemieux leading the way, the team struggled in the early part of this decade rebuilding its player personnel and fighting to financially stay alive.

Lemieux saved the franchise for the city of Pittsburgh by putting together and ownership group and becoming its managing partner. He has since negotiated with the city for a new arena to replace the antiquated Civic Arena. Lemieux’s hockey personnel have rebuilt the team by taking advantage of top draft picks and adeptly identifying role players that make the sum greater than their individual parts.

Which is a great lesson for all of us looking to build Champion Organizations, when you focus on team members strengths and put them in positions to leverage their what they do best, a team without a lot of superstar performers can achieve great things (in the case of the Penguins the mixed three superstar performers Centers Sydney Crosby and Evgeni Makin and goaltender Marc-Andre Fluery with a superb supporting cast).

The Lakers took the much the same approach by leaning on superstar Kobe Bryant but looking to teammates to step up and lead the way when called upon.

Now, there’s a recipe for Championship success. Where are the opportunities in your organization to do similar work?

How to Be Motivated & Fulfilled Like a Champion Every Day

A Tale of Two Competitors’ Corporate Cultures

A visit to the campuses of Microsoft and Google provide some insights into the corporate culture of the two global high tech leaders and competitors. You can read more about it in this Inc. Magazine article by Joel Spolsky who was on a missionary journey for his recently launched website “Stack Overflow.”

When Is Not Procrastinating, Procrastinating?

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