Let's Start Moving Your Path

The financial goals are clear, the playbook set,  deadlines are clear and the team has the tools, time management, compensation and environment to succeed.

As Steve Jobs said: "I hired you to do a job, do it". Hire the right people, train them, express confidence in them, then let them do their job.

Identify what is going right vs. your plan and re-enforce those actions. The ones not, find out why, and change the trend - today.

NEVER tolerate negative people or performance, especially both. PJM'er: Negative people recruit, pollute and dilute.  They recruit you to think like them, pollute your mind and best case, dilute your enthusiasm.  Rid them of your organization. It starts with hiring practices - see HR section.

A staff that doesn't know what is going on is a direct reflection of poor leadership.  Don't blame the team, blame yourself.  It starts with the #1 skill to improve universally through out the company and your life:  Listening.  Are you listening or simply waiting to talk?

Great businesses have their HR leader on the executive team - period.  They are actively out with team and they are daily, ensuring Actions #2 and #3 are a staple in the business.  The HR leader is viewed owner of the principles of the company and never allows leadership to waiver.

What is a Master List? Each position in the company has a clearly defined list of skills and knowledge that leadership EFFECTIVELY trains them on, that the employee masters, so that they are successful.

Every employee is different.  While the most successful people have a mix of strengths when it comes to drive, analytics and relationships, most employees are dominant in one.  HR needs to lead managers in identifying, communicating and training each employee to their dominant learning and personality type. 

Walk in to an office that is dynamic with ample meeting space, modern equipment and more and I find happy employees.  Over 70% of what we learn is visual and when employees nothing but top of the line, they are motivated to give you their best.  Making it that way doesn't cost a fortune - just time.

There is no faster way for a company to lose a prospect than poor on-line reviews.  You can't measure opportunities lost to customers who never come to front door because of a poor rating.  Master this - get your customers to give you reviews and address ANYTHING that is nothing short of five star immediately.  

A bad website is like driving a rusted-out car with bad tires.  Your website is everything and top companies never cut corners on this.  If your website is sub-par, invest in paying a pro to do it and immediately.  Like a bad review, a bad website means you lose a customer long before they walk through your front door.

If you post something online, within two minutes it is estimated that it has traveled down 34 billion lanes on the information superhighway.  When your brand and individual posts align, it means your story is told accurately 68 billion times.  If not consistent?  You do the math.  Align your message and watch your engagement soar.

Companies struggling consistently don't measure their progress including the group in charge of getting the message out to the world.  Want to improve your marketing?  Stop all that you are doing and do two things.  First, review Google Analytics.  Second, and MORE important, determine how many TRUE sales came from your marketing efforts.  

You want to see if your marketing efforts are working?  Do a survey at least once quarterly.  Ask your clients if they know of this, that and the other thing.  This, That and The Other Thing are what you are trying to push.  Companies struggling have customers who simply don't know what you are doing.  Period.  The stats are lying if the survey says “No one knows”.

Companies that excel have a great customer service leader and team.  They are described as relentless.  PERIOD.  They are well trained, polished and fix challenges.

Great products have great leaders who set routine check-ins with all of their clients at all times.  In-person and virtual business reviews are conducted just as stringent as a sales call. 

Your  service team becomes the face of the company once the sale is made.  That customer staying a customer depends on them not only taking care of challenges, but representing your brand at the highest level.  Their actions speak louder than any words.

Companies struggling have a common theme I hear ALL. OF. THE. TIME.  Their support staff either is hard to reach, don't answer and/or never call or visit.  You want to see if this is the case for your company? Take a blind survey and do not ignore the results.  

Having trouble keeping customers?  Is the service call history from your customer base nearly empty?  Again, take a survey and the most frequent answer I hear after Opposite #1 is that customers call in and have to start over every time they talk to someone let alone original actions to solve issues are not fulfilled.  Want to solve this? Send an email through your CMS every single time that includes  hyper-links to ticket status.

Every great company has one person the Finance group who comes to meetings and is pushing the trends that grows the business.  This person is not feared but welcomed as they help identify the trends that drive actions that drive success.

Why silos when I stress TEAM? Every number in a well run business is owned by someone.  That person owns that statistic and moving the needle.  You eliminate the "whose job is that?" excuse when everyone owns something.

Not only do the results count, but the numbers that feed in to them also.  Annually, companies invest hours of work in to projecting what they will do.  Monthly, great companies measure how they compare to what was "their best laid plan" and take actions to beat that plan.

If the numbers from Finance are wrong, no one trust any numbers they are given.  This leads to Opposite #2.  They are either all right or they are seen as all wrong.

When numbers are not trusted or not given on a routine basis, leaders spend time creating manual reports to try and track where they are.  Time spent creating reports is time not spent leading their departments and companies.  

If you're a tech company, your product needs to be something that customers can pick up and use.  And the software you have your employees use, must be the same.  Whether your selling software or deploying it, if it doesn't work well, it will create problems down the road.  

First impressions are everything.  Over 70% of the time, first impressions are made within 8 seconds.  If your interface is ugly, it doesn't matter if it works well, it won't be used.  Let your marketing team put the final touches on the software by making it look good.

This may be the most obvious statement I can say but the reality is, there are numerous products sold every day that simply don't work well, including software.  And this means it works for your clients.  Your software needs to do what they need done, now what your software team thinks they should be doing.

Ever click on a website and their security certificate is expired?  Statistics show that over 20% of software and websites lack some form of critical security element.  Struggling companies use or sell security deficient products.  Change it.

We have all been there.  That printer that never works, the computer that is slow and more.  When I call in to a company and they tell me "my computer is being slow today", my immediate response is "get a new computer".  Technology should always work.  

You either have goals or you are a ship floating in the ocean of life.  If you don't have goals written down, then this is your first time investment.  They are not only written but have timelines to achieve them, scheduled check-ins and specific actions to execute them.  

The most successful coaches, athletes, executives and people have a plan - they put together their playbook and run the plays.  Period.  They have a plan for everything and while they won't have perfection, by having their playbook they know how to get back on track.  And when they do deviate, they go back to Action #2 and be real with themselves to ensure they stay on track. The foundation: Winners schedule their day starting with their critical individual and business actions being done first.

At some point every day, my Apple Watch goes off every 21 minutes.  Every business day and most mornings every weekend, that 21 minute reminder has me evaluate my priorities, am I focused, get up and move for a moment or two so the blood flows to my brain, stretch, drink water and more.  This constant reminder keeps me focused and energized so I win the moment and win the day.

I have said repeatedly, take inventory.  Have you ever worked in a restaurant kitchen? Have you ever heard of the term "86 that off the menu".  It means it is no longer available and if you want to achieve, you need to 86 the actions and people who take you away from actions that and mindset that help you achieve your goals.  Take inventory every 21 minutes if need be and watch what happens when the time wasters and attitude killers are gone.  

We live in a world where convenience and impulse is everything and patience lacks.  There is NEVER a sacrifice for doing something right vs. getting it done fast.  Nothing short of right is right.  Find mistakes at work? Often it is because people rush to get it done vs. getting it done right.  Struggling to make progress in life? Take inventory of your actions and are you rushing and over-loaded?  Stop working on stuff that doesn't matter and start getting s*** done right.

Seek a daily victory. This requires you celebrating the wins that sometimes come without a finish line.  Winning the day means you ran the plays in your playbook.  When you spend time on the actions that help you accomplish goals, it fuels you to keep on the plan.  The Opposites: Spending time on the wrong stuff and you don't progress. Take inventory and celebrate the win.