Champion Leadership #2 - Even an 8-Year-Old Knows It’s About “Belief”

James, an 8-year-old boy, was sitting in the front row of a small class room in which he and 15 other Martial Arts students were listening to my workshop on becoming a Champion Leader.

A few minutes into an exercise in which I asked the students to list people whom they knew that they believed were great leaders, James raised his hand to ask a question. When I recognized him, he asked, “can I put ‘me’?

To which I said, “James, that is an outstanding question and one I’m glad you asked because that may be the most important lesson I am going to teach tonight. Yes, you should put ‘me’ on your list because if you want to be a great leader you must believe you are a great leader.”

As the old saying goes, “from the mouths of babes…”

Do you believe you are a great leader?

You may feel uncomfortable proclaiming yourself a great leader as being braggadocious, or feel you just don’t have the experience to make such a claim.

Get over it!

To become a great leader you must believe you have great leadership tendencies within you, and you do. Own it, take responsibility for it, and look for ways to develop the outstanding leader within.

Believing you are an emerging great leader will give you the empetus to take the steps necessary to develop the skills necessary.

Champion Leadership Tip #2 - Exercise:

Before you move on to the next task of the day upon completing reading this post, write down three experiences you have had in your life that are positive references that you either, a) are a great leader, or b) have the potential to be a great leader.

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“Little” Things Make a “Big” Difference in Customer Service

Often times when I walk into a company for a meeting, whether it be a marketing call on my behalf or a client consulting session I am usually offered a beverage by someone in the company. Sometimes the offer doesn’t come until I meet with my party, other times it comes when I am greeted by reception and I am waiting for my party to arrive.

Today, with regards to customer service I experienced something completely new, different and most importantly - exceptional and memorable

The company is one of the largest and most prestigious CPA firms in the Hudson Valley Region of New York - Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni and Weddell.

After the “Director of First Impressions” greeted me from behind her open window at the reception counter, she promptly called my party to let him know I had arrived, she handed me a menu of beverages. This menu was presented to me as if it were a wine list at a fine restaurant. The options included soft drinks, coffee, tea, sparkling water, and regular water. I chose plain water.

A few moments later she walked out to the waiting area and handed me a real glass full of water. Usually I am proferred a paper or plastic cup, or a coffee mug with water. This was an impressive drinking glass.

In my business consulting I encourage my clients to focus on the “fundamentals” to achieve market differentiation. In football they call it “blocking and tackling,” in ice hockey its skating and stickhandling, in basketball its the free-throws and blocking out under the basket. Every sport has them and all businesses have them.

My musical hero Bruce Springsteen wrote a song a long time ago which is rarely, if ever played, called “It’s the Little Things That Count.” It relates to personal relationships but is just as pertinent in the business setting.

So, today, my vote for a “Champion Business” goes to Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni and Weddell based in Newburgh, NY for the presentation of a beverage “menu” to its guests, offered by their “Director of First Impressions.” Great job!

What are the “little things” in your business that for little or no cost and little additional effort, you could easily raise the bar on the impression you make on your clients, prospects and competitors? Pick one today and start working on it.

It Is Time to Forget About Your Company’s “Mission”

Specific Communication the Key to High Employee Morale

Ever notice how communication in the workplace sometimes is confusing or so non-specific that it forces stressful mind-reading scenarios?

Well, two client incidents this week reinforced in me the belief that one of the most important keys to creating and maintaining a high morale work environment and company culture is the simple concept of “specific communication.”

From frontline employees at a companywide workshop, some of whom were hired as recently as two weeks ago, to a business owner in a leadership position for 25 years, I experienced non-specific communication doing damage to employee morale.

In one instance a new hire was asked by the company owner to finalize a report, the conversation went like this:

New employee: When do you need this? (he said holding up the unfinished report)

Company Owner: NOW!

New employee: Well, I have some questions for you before I can move forward on putting this information together. If we sit down after your meeting this afternoon would by noon tomorrow be soon enough?

Company owner: Oh, sure that’s fine, I don’t need those items to be delivered until late next week.

Had the new employee not stood up for himself and asked for clarification to an unrealistic and unnecessary demand, it would have created tremendous stress and anxiety trying to meet an unrealistic demand. It would also have begun to develop low-trust and low-morale in the new employee.

For more examples of non-specific communication and how they can negatively impact employee morale and sabotage the desire to create a high-performance work environment read my latest article “How to Improve Employee Morale by Improving Organizational Communication” here.

Champion Organization Defined, Does Yours Stack Up?

This morning at a client meeting I was challenged to define a Championship Organization so the company leadership could get a grasp on the concept. That was unusual for me. Usually I’m the one asking the question of the client to get them to focus on what they want to create that is different, better and/or special from where they are at.

The question challenged me to come back to my office and define it for myself sothat I can better articulate it to my clients, here is what I came up with.

Championship Organization Defined:

A Championship Organization is one that stands out from the rest by continually striving to achieve something unique and special from others in its field. A Champion Organization is one that is exceptional in the way it operates, exceptional in the way it treats its employees, exceptional in the way it serves it customers, and exceptional in the way it interacts with its community, and doing it all with a high level of integrity.

The Championship Organization does it in a way in which all stake holders are:

• Enthused to participate,
• Empowered to contribute in their own unique way, and are
• Engaged in contributing to fulfilling the Vision & Purpose of the organization by consistently interacting with other stakeholders according to agreed upon values and behaviors.

Is that the type of organization or company culture that can thrive? If an organization were to fulfill that definition would it or could it be considered operating at a Championship level?

I think so, what about you? Feel free to leave a comment about what you would add or subtract to make my definition even better.

To read about five key traits that Champion Organizations should require of individuals they hire and retain read this article at www.SkipWeisman.com titled - How a Champion Culture Can Give You a Competitive Advantage

Patience & Persistence: Two Drivers of Sales Success

A couple of years ago I hired a new business coach to help me restructure my business and move it in a new direction. The first question out of his mouth before agreeing to take me on as a client was, “what is your business model?”

I’m embarrassed to say as business coach and consultant having been in the business for four years to that point, I couldn’t answer the question, at least not succinctly enough for his liking. He agreed to take me on anyway and that is where we started.

It’s been a huge transformation for me as I now have a systematic process for creating what he calls “marketing gravity,” which is having business prospects gravitate towards me instead of me always reaching out trying to attract them.

It’s been a great transformation, yet even with that approach some prospects who come into sphere of influence become clients quicker than others, and some never do. One case in point is that last January I met a business owner who attended my “End Procrastination NOW!” workshop after just two face-to-face meetings inside of 60-days we negotiated a six-month consulting project.

However, another who has been on my prospect list since 2003  and whom we have discussed various potential projects with which I could help him has yet to bring me onboard, that’s six-years.

The point of this post is that as marketing and sales professionals who are the “rainmakers” for our businesses it is vital that we, a) know our business model, and b) follow it consistently.

I recently read an excellent blog post by Robert Clay titled, “Why 8% of Sales People Get 80% of the Sales” in which he makes note of a various research sources that have consistently shown that 44% of sales professionals give up after just one “NO,” another 22% give up after the second “NO,” 14% more after the third “NO” and another 12% after the fourth “NO.”

The only “NO” I accept as permanent is the one in which the individual tells me to never contact them again and asks to be taken off my mailing list.

Other than that, all prospects once in my marketing reservoir are always considered prospects because you never know when they will need what I have.  One former mentor who helped me get started in my own business always encouraged me to ask the question, “is that ‘no’, forever, or just ‘no’, right now?” Few people ever say “no” forever and allow me to keep in touch with them and send them marketing materials for my latest product or workshop or  pieces of value like articles I’ve written that is pertinent to their business success.

My philosophy is the more value I can provide in my correspondance with the prospect it will gradually move them closer to seeing me as the expert they can turn to when they have a need.

In Robert Clay’s article he noted that only 2% of sales occur when parties meet for the first time. In my business I don’t believe I’ve ever closed a deal on first meeting. I have closed business in two meetings, however, and that is what I shoot for. And, I do it now with a systematic process where I know exactly what my purpose is at each stage of the interaction with my prospect.

Depending on where the prospects comes to me through my marketing gravity system is how I determine the purpose of in the intial and each successive meeting. You must pre-determine in your mind what the next step in your business model is to move towards closing the business.  Many times it will not be closing the business but just closing on a next meeting with a higher purpose that moves the process forward.

What’s your business/sales model look like and how patient are you in following it so that you don’t get ahead of yourself, and how persistent are you in making sure you consistently follow up?

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!

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.”

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