Leaders Start By Leading Themselves . . . First

Leaders Set Standards and Goals First For Themselves

The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.

Ray Kroc

We are all leaders - leaders of our businesses, leaders of our families and yes . . . even leaders of our own lives. And before its possible to lead anyone else, you must first learn how to lead your own life and follow your own guidelines and standards. Because if you don't believe in and follow the ideals that you espouse, then no one else will either.

I know that may sound funny - following yourself, but it is something that happens more than you think - or it doesn't.

Your subconscious mind will follow your conscious lead. It will believe and follow you to the ends of the earth, if you truly believe and act on your words - and not just say them. But this requires integrity - consistency of action and deed - "Walking your Talk".

You have to live with integrity, be consistent and focus on the standards (and goals) within your life or your subconscious will not follow. Because when it comes right down to it, you, of all people, know when you are telling the truth and when you aren't. And you can pretend to lie to yourself, but your subconscious doesn't always follow your words - it follows your deeds.

What are the standards you set for yourself?

Do you have daily expectations that you hold yourself accountable to?

Do you have weekly, monthly, or even yearly goals that you review and ensure that you are fulfilling - again doing so with accountability in your life?

Or do you simply go about life, living willy-nilly - just doing a cursory review every year on how things went on New Year's Eve and on your milestone Birthdays.

When you say you are going to do something, do you deliver on your promise to others? To yourself?

These are all tough questions . . . intended to challenge you and get you to look at yourself differently. Most people I talk to want to change their surroundings but don't, but rarely follow their own lead.

So if you want to lead "Change" in this world, start first by leading yourself . . . and following your own advice and words. Or you should expect that no one else will either.

Don't END The Same Way As This Small Town Restaurant

There is a restaurant in a small town near where I live that has recently been closed and "bought out" by a new owner. The original restaurant was seemingly a perfect match for the small town folk it set itself up to serve. Unfortunately, it didn't last.

Here is a short story about what happened and the lesson to be learned.

For a couple months the small town restaurant did VERY well. Any time of the day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, it didn't matter. It was busy. People not only came in to try it out, but also because they enjoyed the fact that they had a "new" meeting place, to visit with all of their friends and family.

Bottom line . . . business was good. And it looked like it was going to be good for quite some time.

But, as is often the case with small businesses, especially restaurants, business started to fall off. Slow at first, but eventually quite rapidly. And with little word, the doors closed unceremoniously for the final time under the old management.

What Happened?

Depending on who you ask, you will likely get different answers to that question.

For example, if you ask the owners, they will blame the economy and the "cheap" town folk. from their point of view, it wouldn't matter how good or how cheap the meals were, there just wasn't enough interest in the small town for the restaurant.

But. . . if you ask the patrons, they will tell you a whole other story. A story of inconsistent product and deteriorating quality that seemed to be common knowledge amongst the town folk.

So, what was it? The customers or the business?

Far too often business owners make excuses for the decline of their business: the economy, the new business across town, finicky customers, and / or even cheap customers. And rarely face do they face the real truth - they aren't meeting the needs of their clientele.

The truth is, most customers (people like you and me) love to find a place that we can call our own - a business that we can rely on and that makes us feel like we matter. And if it is really good, we will brag about it to every one we know - not only to help the business grow, but to be the show everyone how great we are to have found it first.

Unfortunately though, in order for us, as customers, to come back, not just once, but again and again, we have to know what we are going to get - we have to feel like we are going to get the same service, the same food, the same EXPERIENCE every time we walk through the doors.

And that my friends, is what this small town restaurant failed to produce - a consistent experience each and every time people came back for a meal.

You see, when they first opened, it was the owners that did everything. They cooked, they waited and bussed the tables, cleaned, and of course managed the entire operation. The experience their patrons had and the meals they enjoyed were born out of the pride of the owners. But very rapidly, the business grew beyond the owners' capacity to support on their own and they were forced to hire help. And so, they did exactly that - they hired good, experienced help.

They hired cooks with previous experience in short order cooking and a wait staff that was fully capable. And they did so, because the one thing the owners didn't know how to do was teach anyone how to do it like them - nor did they want to take the time to learn how.

With the new staff, came a NEW experience for the customer. Not necessarily a bad experience, but DEFINITELY not the one they got when it was just the owners doing everything. And so, slowly but surely a lot of the original, reliable customers stopped coming in.

Although the owners noticed a small drop off in patronage, there were enough new customers that were coming in that seemed to like the food and the service with the hired help that the business was able to survive. And besides, the owners liked feeling like they didn't have to do EVERY THING all the time.

Unfortunately though, as months passed, and the bills continued to exceed the sales, the owners had a make a decision - cut expenses or go out of business. So. . . they decided to cut in two arenas, they reduced (just slightly) the quantity of servings (that seemed only natural since most plates had lots of food left over after the meals) and they cut their experienced staff and hired some high school students with little / no experience (heck if McDonalds could do it, so could they).

Although it might make financial sense to impose these cuts (and often it does create a benefit in the short term), good financial sense doesn't always mean good business sense. And as it turns out, it was the beginning of the end of the restaurant.

In fact, it was only 4 short months later that this decent restaurant in a small town, aching for a nice restaurant, declared bankruptcy.

The Lesson To Be Learned

What it came down to was the fact that the owners failed to realize one VERY important fact when it comes to business:

It's easy to get new customers to walk through your doors - all you have to do is promise them an experience that appeals to them. But running a business isn't getting them to come in once - success in business is based on the ability of the business to deliver the same experience the customer enjoyed, again and again and again.

In the case of this small restaurant, it wasn't that their food or service were bad, it was that every time customers came in the door, they didn't know what they were going to get. Literally, it was like walking into a different restaurant every time they visited.

So with each visit, the customers got more and more disenfranchised and frustrated, until one by one, each decided to stop patronizing.

And in the case of this small restaurant in this little country town, there just wasn't enough potential customers in the pool to keep it afloat.

The lesson is simple . . . quality is great to get people to come once. But consistency is the key to long term success. And the key to consistency in product / service is to build your business based on systems, not people.

How Strong Is Your Network?

How strong is your network?

How much do you rely on your network to benefit you, either personally or in business?

I have a friend who started a business / social networking group that was designed to help his friends and family market their businesses (as well as his own). His motto was "People prefer to buy from people they know and trust." So he built a network of his friends and family and brought them together - weekly.

It worked really well . . . for him. But no one else really gained from the network like he did. It wasn't his fault. Because it wasn't "his job" to network for everyone else - that was their own job. But no one else in the group really understood what he knew in his soul - it's not just about showing up at networking events, it's about what you do in between the events that builds the trust needed to tap into the power of networking.

I don't care if you are going to Chamber of Commerce Business Card Exchanges, attending networking groups like LeTip or BNI, leveraging the power of Social Media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc), it doesn't matter who big your network is. What matters is how many of those people actually trust you. And how many of those people are willing to act on your behalf to support your vision / mission.

It's NOT Just A Numbers Game

Truth is Numbers will get you started, but they won't get you nearly as far as developing quality relationships built on real interaction.

You can have a 1000 friends on Facebook or in your CRM database, but if you haven't interacted with them in the past couple weeks or months, your networking isn't even half as strong as someone who has 50 friends that he connects with daily or even weekly.

Think about it. What if you have some money that you want to invest, but don't know what to do. Who are you more likely to listen to?

- The celebrity that comes on the TV and tells you to buy Gold.
- The Salesman that cold calls you last night and tries to sell you a timeshare in South Carolina.
- Your cousin, who is a Wall Street Stock Broker, that you see once every three years who has a hot tip for you.
- Or your personal banker, who calls at least once a week to discuss your position and that you actually have a personal relationship with who tells you to buy a 3 yr CD, because the market is too risky right now.

In the past, you might be tempted to follow any of the first three, because their messages might not be drowned out in a sea of other marketing messages. But in today's world, now more than ever, most people are going to trust their personal banker - not because he knows more, or is more ocnservative - but because there is a relationship there that goes beyond the money.

Networking Is All About Building Trust

What most people fail to recognize is that networking is about trust more than anything else. And trust requires that people "feel" that you care about them - not just their pocketbook. They need to feel that you understand who they are and what makes them tick (at least at a cursory level).

You don't build trust by telling people who YOU are.
Instead, you build trust by understanding who THEY are.

And you build trust by being consistent and trustworthy.

Trust takes Time

There is no magic trick that you can use to magically get others to trust you.

Because building a trust is a natural law that requires investment of time and energy. It requires you being who you say you are, again and again - day in and day out.

Sure you can act trustworthy for a short time period, gain a basic level of trust, but if you don't carry that forward in the future, the effects of it will wear off - and so will your influence.

It's Not Who You Know, It's How Well, Who You Know Trusts You.

Take some time this week and look at your network. But instead of just counting the numbers of people that you know, count the number of people that actually know you and trust you. Count how many people you have influence over - not how many you can email.

This is the true power of networking - when you understand this, you can begin to change the way you network, and leverage the real power behind networking.

Taking Control and Making It Work!

In spite of his industry averaging a 20% decline in sales because of the recession, one of my clients is actually setting out this year to achieve a 25% increase over last years gross revenue numbers. Is he crazy thinking such a thing could happen? Some think so.

I don't! He would only be crazy if he did the same things, took the same actions that he did last year, and thought he would still reach his goals.

But he's NOT! He's taking control and making it work.

In fact, he is taking such big steps to make his goals come true, there is a chance that he could do 50% better (or even more) than last year - that is if he keeps his focus and continues to push himself out of his comfort zone.

However, in spite of the "lofty" goals, what he's doing isn't magical. And it will probably sound simple to many of you - but the key is what he's doing, but instead that he is doing it. He's not waiting for the market to turn or for someone else to come in and save his business. Hes taking control and making it work, because you can't count on either of those two things happening anytime soon.

His strategy is simple - develop a consistent product that generates repeat clients, while leveraging inexpensive measurable marketing methodologies to attract new customers into the fold. To make this happen, he's broken down his strategy into three definable action areas:

- Go aggressively after B2B (Business to Business) clients - Realizing the stability of B2B revenue, my client is focusing considerable effort on this phase of his business. It was part of his business that had been very lucrative for his him in the past. However, because of a lack of well defined systems, management of this effort was insane - often causing him sleepless nights countless headaches. But now, he has committed to putting together both operational systems to keep his services consistent and sales systems to gather more of reliable clients and begin gathering market share (while others are retracting).

It's a bold plan, but he is beginning to see the benefits of his efforts -getting more and more B2B clients signing up for his services. Meanwhile, with his new operational sytems in place, the management of the service is becoming easier and easier.

- Do everything he can to keep his existing clients happy and returning for more business - Again, focused on leveraging the stability of income from keeping his existing customers happy, my client has stepped up his commitment to seek out and understand their needs and concerns. He's now going well beyond just providing a service, but also providing VALUE beyond their expectations. And again, it's paying off, as repeat B2C sales are up as well as referrals and the numbers of unsolicited testimonials.

- Attempting to get new B2C (Business to Customer) clients while leveraging less costly marketing methodologies that have very measurable results. Recognizing the cost and unreliability of his past marketing methods, my client is beginning to get smarter about attracting new clients to his business. Simply stated, he's taking more control into his own hands and making it work.

In the past, he would handed it off his marketing to other agencies and trust that they had his best interests in mind. That was costly and very unreliable. But now, he is learning how to do much of the work himself. In addition, when either time is limited or real expertise is needed, he is being more proactive with the teams he contracts out to. He is aggressively holding those that are supporting him accountable to produce what they say they will produce.

All three of these methods may seem common sense to some of you. But I ask you, how are YOU taking different actions this year to achieve your goals? How are YOU taking control of your business's destiny instead of "hoping" things will get better?

What is your strategy for improving your bottom line in the coming year.

How are YOU taking control and making it work?

In Marketing, Are You The Hare Or The Tortoise?

So many people start their "marketing" journey with a big burst of speed like the fabled hare - with great ideas and lots of energy. Unfortunately, like the hare, they tire of the process and eventually quit before they reach the finish line - resting by the side of the road, until they fall asleep from boredom. The tortoise on the other hand, with his slow and consistent mindset, never gives up. And in the end, even though he doesn't always see immediate results with each step, reaches his goal.

It's not how fast you start, but how you finish.

So are you the Hare or the Tortoise?

If you are like about 95% of all small business owners, you are always looking for the quick fix, the answer that will turn your business around today. Unfortunately, there isn't one. And if there is, I haven't found it. And, if you want my opinion, any one who tells you differently, is selling you something.

So what is the answer. I've found the best answer to this quandary is....

Consistency, Consistency, Consistency!

The purpose of marketing is creating your message (your promise) and then delivering it to perspective customers so that they choose to give you a chance to sell them your product or service. So if we break that down, we need to be consistent in message and consistent in delivery.

The truth is your potential customers are being bombarded with marketing messages every day (some experts believe as many as 20,000 messages per day). So in order for you to stand out, you have to one, deliver a message that strikes a chord with them (touches their needs) and two, deliver it again and again. Because by the time they even realize you tried to reach them, they've seen or heard 20-30 or more messages for different products or ones just like yours.

Now that doesn't mean you can't be unique and "remarkable" in your message, but you have to make sure the message is consistent.

The "hare" gets so excited to market himself that he doesn't spend much time on his message and blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, using the media format that is most convenient or easiest. This message usually resonates in his own mind, but rarely within the minds of his perspective customers.

Conversely, the "tortoise" recognizes that he doesn't get a lot of chances to make an impression with perspective customer. He knows that he has a very limited budget, so he takes some time to find out who his perspective customers are, what they need, and how best to contact them.

The "hare" starts so fast and spends so much money broadcasting his message, that if he doesn't see immediate results, he either burns out on the process (feeling that marketing really doesn't work) or he runs out of money, because the results are coming quick enough to sustain his spending pace. The last, and quite frankly the worse, alternative is that the small business "Hare" is distracted in the middle of his current marketing plan by another marketing idea / campaign and immediately gets chased down another "rabbit hole".

Meanwhile, the 'tortoise" knows that his perspective customers are being bombarded with thousands of marketing messages a day, but if he is consistent with his delivery and his message with his unique / remarkable promise, he dramatic increases the likelihood that his perspective customers will give him a chance to deliver on his message.

So the question that I asked at the beginning of this article, and I hope you are now asking yourself . . .

Are you a "hare"?

Or a "tortoise"?

Learn a Lesson from US Air Flight 1549

Yesterday, the crew of US Air Flight 1549 were complete pros. They flawlessly handled an airborne emergency that could have injured or killed dozens. And what makes that even more impressive is that it comes off the safest two years in American aviation history.

American airlines (not the company specifically, but the industry as a whole) has in incredible safety record. They fly millions of passengers to their destination every year, employing hundreds of thousands of flight crew, and they have nary a hiccup. In fact, I would venture to guess that compared to every other industry, they are probably the best at delivering their product (passengers safely arriving at their destination) consistently, regardless of the situation. And believe me they see more "unique" situations than most of us can even imagine.

How do you think that happens?

Luck?

Not likely.

The truth is, that the airline industry most likely, strictest "procedural-driven" industry out there. Some of those procedures are directed by the government, but most of them aren't. The entire industry lives by procedures, because when they don't, they lose consistency in product. And in the aviation business, inconsistency costs lives.

Yes, the pilot of US Air Flight 1549 actions were amazing - I don't mean to take away anything that he did. From all accounts, he was truly heroic. But I would venture to guess that what he was best at, in a time of high stress, was following procedures - procedures, that most likely have been rehearsed and tested countless times to ensure they produce the desired outcome each and every time.

In the aviation world, the cost of inconsistency is human lives. But what is the cost of inconsistency in your business? What is the cost of weak or no procedures in your industry? Maybe the hamburger won't taste quite as good, the carpets won't be quite as clean, or maybe the package gets there a day late. Think about it. Does the cost end there?

Airlines aren't much different from you - if they don't take care of their customers, they won't stay in business. The difference between them and most small business owners is that they take it so serious that they have checklists for everything, they train their crews constantly, and do everything they can to make sure those procedures will handle any and all situations that could arise.

So the question is . . .

How serious do you take delivering consistent products / services
to your customers every time they visit?