Management

This past Monday was the New York Times Small Business Summit. American Express OPEN was the founding sponsor, and they invited me to participate in something called the OPEN Advice Cafe.

The OPEN Advice Cafe consisted of an area in a meeting room where business owners could come in throughout the day and grab a cup of coffee, check their email at public terminals, have their story filmed for the OPEN Forum, and also meet with me for advice.

I talked with numerous business owners one-on-one, and also hosted 3 round-table discussions (one of them is pictured). I thought you might be interested in what was top of mind for other business owners, based on the topics we discussed in the round-table discussions (I am sharing only public discussion topics, not anything conveyed confidentially):

Online Marketing, Partnering and Hiring Among the Key Issues

Partnering – Interest in partnering with other businesses to share leads and referrals was big. Typically it is a good option for consumer-based services such a home remodeling, interior design, electrical, landscaping — as well as for some professional services, such as business plan consultants teaming up with CPAs and attorneys. An IT consultant who services Mac products pointed out that he got business from being listed in Apple’s website for Mac certified consultants, and by getting referrals from the local Apple store. read more

They say “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”  The same philosophy should be applied creatively by small business owners to take advantage of the financial conditions and possible slow down in their businesses.

Any event that generates extra time for a small business owner is a gift that should allow time to reflect on the business and think about business and personal growth plans and taking the business to the next level.

There are a myriad of ways to enhance a business when one finally has the time to give the project full attention.  For example, a slow down in business opens up time for the owners to modernize marketing materials and technology, to cross train their employees for greater flexibility, or to shore up their own capital either by accepting an open line of credit or accepting the many offers of new business credit cards that arrive daily for businesses based on sound financial footings.

These ideas are not unique to any one industry, although I apply them to the solo law practice I run, and I previously owned a small law firm that navigated successfully through the last economic slow down/market crash.

Protect your business read more

The client-service industries are infamous for ideas that exist outside of the realm of possible. For consulting, idea-generation, advertising, and advisory-type companies, there is often a struggle to really identify with a client’s needs, goals, and situation. There is a tendency to propose ideas without consideration for the “execution experience.” Questions like “will the team go crazy trying to do this?” “do they have the energy to pull this off?” and “can they even afford this?” are often secondary and left unconsidered. Some of the most productive service-based organizations we have interviewed insist that the only way to really understand a client’s reality is to make something yourself. Method, a brand experience agency, is a perfect example of a company that has grounded its client-facing approach with multiple internal projects. Their own website, method.com, was described as a “challenging and very personal branding exercise” by CEO Robbie Vann-Adibé. “We were committed to applying the design fundamentals, strategy, and technical expertise we use for our clients in order to fully support our own brand.”  They benefited from taking a taste of their own medicine.Another great example is New York agency Brooklyn Brothers - the advertising agency that also produces Fat Pig Chocolate, PMS vitamins, and a series of children’s books (see previous interview). The team at Brooklyn Brothers believes that making a product lends invaluable insights into logistics and the real amount of time and effort it takes to execute. Not only do their own products boost profitability (and fun), they are also a competitive advantage when serving clients.  read more

I hope that you never have to lay off or fire people, but the reality is that you will as you advance in your career. If you are scoffing (“Guy, you are clueless: We’ll never downsize, because we’re growing so fast, and I’ll never make a bad hire”), then you’re my intended reader.

1. Take responsibility. Ultimately, it is the CEO’s decision to make the cuts, so don’t blame it on the board of directors, market conditions, competition, or whatever else. In effect, she should simply say, “I made the decision. This is what we’re going to do.” If you don’t have the courage to do this, don’t be a CEO. Now, more than ever, the company will need a leader, and leaders accept responsibility.
2. Cut deep and cut once. Management usually believes that things will get better soon, so it cuts the smallest number of people in anticipation of a miracle. Most of the time, the miracle doesn’t materialize, and the company ends up making multiple cuts. Given the choice, you should cut too deeply and risk the high-quality problem of having to rehire. Multiple cuts are terrible for the morale of the employees who have not been laid off.
3. Move fast. One hour after your management team discusses the need to lay off employees, the entire company will know that something is happening. Once people “know” a layoff is coming, productivity drops like a rock. You’re either laying people off or you’re not—you should avoid the state of “considering” a layoff. read more

Drastic times call for drastic measures.  With so much uncertainty surrounding our economy, it is time for all small business owners to take a deep look at their business and figure out where they can “trim the fat”.

In most cases, if you REALLY look closely at what you are paying for and the benefit you are receiving, you will be surprised at how much you can cut back.  Most of us get lazy and start paying for luxuries through our business because we think we need them or just because we can.

Well, times have changed.  If your bottom line is shrinking, it is time to take action NOW!  Don’t wait for the economy to turn around.  Take this opportunity to really trim the excess fat and create a more efficient business.  Then, instead of just surviving in this economy, you will thrive in it.  And then, once the economy does turn back around, you will be that much better off.

Now, I know this is hard to do.  I have been doing it in my own business - and it is HARD.  Change is never easy; it’s easier to just continue on the path that we are on and hope that we will still make it to our destination.  Unfortunately, by not ADAPTING to our current economy, it’s comparable to following a road map from the year 1980 - chances are, the roads have changed and if you are looking at the wrong map, you are going to get LOST! read more

Hospitals like Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingson, New Jersey and New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City have added the study of literature into residency programs. This broader approach to medicine has made residents into better doctors by encouraging fresh thinking, fostering greater empathy, and lowering of barriers between doctors and patients.

According to this New York Times article, more and more schools over the last fifteen years have included the reading of Virginia Woolf and Leo Tolstoy in medical school. They call it “narrative medicine.” But this is the first time hospitals are trying this approach in residency programs.

For example, for over a year at Saint Barnabus Medical Center, a doctor named Richard S. Panush has been incorporating literary discussions into his internal medicine residents’ daily rounds. This includes a daily routine in which he and his colleagues discuss poetry, short stories, and essays with their residents in the context of their patients. As a result, they
found significantly better scores on patient evaluations of residents and of quality of life.

Another example: Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons found that doctors interacting with literature were more willing to adopt another person’s perspective, sometimes after just four one-hour workshops.

A second-year resident at Saint Barnabas, Dr. Benjamin Kaplan, had this to say about the effects of the program on his fellow residents, “Their management of patients changed. They remembered to do things that I don’t think they would have otherwise done, like always talking to the family, gently touching patients, and continually explaining the course of treatment and what the doctors are thinking so patients know.”

If “narrative medicine” can make better doctors, perhaps “narrative management” can make you and your staff better business people too. The first book that I’d recommend is If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland. If you substitute the verb for whatever you do (for example, “program”) for the word “write,” you’ll see how it can apply. I am willing to bet that it will help you build a better business, so check it out.

I agree with John Jantsch’s statement “The current state of economic affairs cries out for leaders.” (Lead for Selfish Reasons, October 27, 2008.)

How could a political leader take charge and walk on the correct path if the country looks like it is divided into separate parts instead of being integrated into a whole map with independent states that are united? I think you could see that division in an historical perspective and look back what happened eight years ago. Here is an eloquent example by Robert Tracinski from his article, The Two Americas: read more

When it comes to politics, I’m pretty quiet.  In fact, few people typically know which way I “lean”.  And that’s OK with me.  When I find myself in conversations with people on the matter, I tend to contribute more by listening.  And frankly, I can generally see my conversation partner’s perspective on it.

I mean what platform is “correct?”  Who has the “best” political model? Republicans? Democrats? Independents?  Well, I believe it’s subjective and depends upon the context.  Each typically comes along with salient points.  This is not to say I don’t stand for one thing.  I do…and I always encourage active participation in the process.

But when you truly reflect on the impact an election has on your life and business…I invite you to consider how it compares to the effect you (and your management team) have on it.  My guess is that your active participation and control of the business dwarfs the trickle down effects of a change in political leadership.

We’ve just gone through an exciting time in our nation’s history.  Some consider this to be a “new beginning”.  I think that’s wonderful.  If it helps to spur healthy change, I’m all for it.  But if you believe that new political leadership is going to drastically change your business and life, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed.  The universal truth is that real change takes place from within. read more