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Ask “Who” Not “How”

In a recent Dan Sullivan podcast, Sullivan stated that many small entrepreneurs stay small because they take on every task for every aspect of their business. Essentially, they get stuck in the “How?” mindset. They have an excellent idea and then get bogged down with the implementation details.

Conversely, small entrepreneurs that break this mold to grow into successful large companies don’t get bogged down like this because they have a “Who?” mindset. When they have an excellent idea, they ask themselves, “Who would be the best person to implement this great idea?” They spend their time finding the best person to execute on the idea and they then enable that person to be successful!

Without a doubt there are times when every entrepreneur needs to get their hands dirty and do the work needed to become or to stay viable. Bill Gates coded, Steve Jobs designed and Michael Dell assembled. However, there came a point in time where these guys realized that to remain viable they would need to find people to take on these roles so they could step up and lead their organizations.

Essentially, they were able to make the change from a How person to a Who person.

So, how do you become a “Who” leader?

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Growth is Not Easy But It is the Only Option

In order to grow in your ability as a business leader you must change. This is basically an empirical law . . . there are no exceptions to this!

 

GROWTH = CHANGE

Before you change, it is wise to understand that any change is accompanied with a certain level of disruption. This is also an empirical law. The amount of change you go through is directly proportional to the level of disruption you experience.

CHANGE ∝ DISRUPTION

And, with any disruption there is always discomfort! In fact, the level of disruption is proportional to the level of discomfort that you will feel.

DISRUPTION ∝ DISCOMFORT

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Captivate

The Science of Succeeding with People

The book review for this week is Captivate by Vanessa Van Edwards.

Van Edwards takes the reader through a detailed study of the art and the science of networking. She explains the power and benefits of building your network and covers many of the aspects of starting and building genuine relationships.

My takeaway from this book is the fact that anyone can be a great networker. You do not have to be an extrovert. In fact, Van Edwards herself is an introvert and provides quite a few humorous examples to prove this!

Follow her 14 networking hacks (below) and your skills will improve dramatically!

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The 30 Things Your Customers Value Most

It is no secret that the value you create for your customers with your products and services will either make or break your business.

But did you know that “universal building blocks” of value exist and you can leverage these to create, bolster, and propel your business forward?

In the August 2018 issue of Rotman Management, Eric Almquist and Jamie Cleghorn presented “The Elements of Value” models for consumers and for business to business. These models are based on their extensive research and fit nicely into the Maslow Hierarchy of Needs framework. This post provides the basics for their Business to Consumer model.

The Consumer Value Pyramid

According to the authors and their research, there are 30 fundamental building blocks of value in the business to consumer model. These 30 elements organize nicely into a four level Hierarchy of Needs pyramid. They are shown in the diagram below and, for the most part, the model is self explanatory.

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How to Increase Profit and Wages Simultaneously

All business leaders today are looking for ways to decrease costs, while increasing productivity and profit. Many businesses today are taking a one time profitability boost by reducing costs at the expense of the employees.

Cost cutting always seems to be the first action taken by companies as they try to increase their profit. I understand that some businesses are in trouble and this may be their only recourse. However, many businesses rely on this cost lever rather than looking at all the other options available to increase profitability.

Henry Ford

Most people know that Henry Ford was quite famous for piloting the assembly line factory and for increasing the productivity of his factories. But did you know that he was able to simultaneously increase profits while decreasing production costs, increasing productivity, and increasing employee’s wages?