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Business Dreams Come True

5/18/2010

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Business Dreams Come True
The Six Elements that Make it Happen


Conway Daily Sun
May 19, 2010

By Michael Kline


Do you remember your dream or did it get lost somewhere along the way? Where is that dream now?  When was the last time you really thought about what you want from your life between now and the time you die? Not to be morbid, but that is the ultimate deadline and we’re not getting any younger, you know!

Nothing changes until we take action. Before we take action, we need to know what to do; we need to ask the right question, which goes along the line of “How do I do _______ given my current circumstances, in such a way that I can enjoy ______?”  But, to ask that question, we need to fill in those blanks - to identify our ultimate goal.

Some people don’t know what their goal is; they feel they have no particular passion. If that sounds like you, we need to talk fast. Thoreau said “Most men live lives of quiet desperation and go to their grave with their song still in their heart” - don’t be one of them.

Entreprenologist Warning: Most of us know someone who abandoned their responsibilities and even their families to pursue a pipe-dream. That is not the intent of using this quote, but rather to chase your dreams, find your voice, live responsibly, and help others find their voice and fulfill their dreams. This “living well” is hard work and sounds daunting, which is why so few do it.  Once chosen however, it is easier than not living well which is far more daunting.

Goal setting is not an easy task. Often, I find otherwise successful business owners who mistakenly settle for goals that are actually just a strategy for their real goals. One technique for getting to your real goals is to ask “What is my goal?” then ask “Why” - get an answer, then ask ‘Why” again and again until you get to the ultimate true goal. For example, let’s say you have the goal of being rich. You might find that is not a goal, but actually a strategy to achieve the goal of being happy. By the way, I totally respect the strategy of being rich, but it is more strategy than goal. My point is the exercise is worthwhile before you devote your life to your goal.

Another source of soul-searching and goal setting is to contemplate your talents - what are you good at or could be good at?  Consider your passions - what do you really love and care about?  Consider physical needs of your own and of the marketplace. Finally, ask your conscience what you should do - what feels right to you - not by the standards of others; but in your gut.

Our most personal dreams and our businesses are inextricably linked, if our businesses are to be a tool for achieving the dreams. Further, skills are most effective in the workplace with correct intent and participation of the entire workplace team. For a comprehensive strategy for business and personal development, we concentrate on six key elements. Think of these elements as the essential vitamins that make your business grow up big & strong.

Passion, Talent, Focus, Alignment, Trust & Communication. Passion & Talent - Experience, for most businesses and even most jobs, is not nearly as important as talent. Experience is a study of our past; not our future. For most small businesses, (brain surgeons and astronauts need not apply) appetite and talent are far more important than years of practicing a skill. Most businesses that fail are begun by workers motivated by their desire to “be the boss”. A dramatically different scenario is an entrepreneur creating a company around passion and talent.

Focus and Alignment - Relentless focus on the goal moves you toward your dream when actions, relationships and support are in alignment. Incongruent words and actions can usually be found separating a frustrated entrepreneur from their goals. Finally, Trust & Communication - high trust equals low cost and speed. Low trust equals high cost and slower speed. Communication skills allow the creation of the interdependent relationships that make the dreams possible.

These six elements, studied and applied, will help any entrepreneur realize their dream regardless of the economy or other limitations they may face. Remember, learning about it is good, but knowledge in itself is not power.  Knowledge applied is power.
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People Vs. Systems

5/4/2010

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Can People by Systematized? 

Conway Daily Sun May 5, 2010
By Michael Kline


Is your success in business a result of your work or in spite of your work? Chances are if you’ve found success in business, you probably discovered the power of creating systems, at least for certain processes. The more advanced a small business, the more likely they are to have pretty good systems. Systems are created to produce predictable results again and again in any given task. Most small businesses start with an owner who is excellent at what they do. Developing systems is the best way for employees to produce results similar to the owner, freeing the owner to work on the business and grow beyond their own personal capacity for work. This is a must if the owner ever wants to grow their business, sell it, hire someone else to run it, or even to really enjoy running it themselves.

Ideally, systems run the company; people run the systems. Even the most advanced companies, who have their processes down to a science, realize that the beautiful, creative and unpredictable nature of people creates the biggest challenges. Can the leadership of unpredictable people be systematized without killing the creativity and valued differences?

If people are our most important resource, is it possible to create “people systems” to cope with the complexities of managing, developing, and leading our people? What about dealing with difficult people or smoothing communications between the Greatest Generation and Generation X or Y?  Each of course, thinks the others have no understanding of the workplace, so how do we tap the incredible value each brings to the table? If you have a liberal definition of the word system, then I say yes, systems are possible. As we discussed in last week’s sales article, we all generally fit into one of four major personality types. Each personality type filters and presents information in their language. Add to this, the complexity of the self-esteem and self-image baggage people carry with them (didn’t you ever wonder what was in those backpacks?) and how that impacts their productivity and attitude at work. Now consider those who are too passive (at-risk for passive-aggressive), those who are too aggressive (at risk for driving a passive to become passive-aggressive), and we begin to wonder how people ever work together. If we add to the mix, vastly different motivators, you have what we call the US Congress!

The good news: Science has been researching the human psyche forever. The wisdom of the ages hasn’t changed that much, but how we perceive it changes dramatically every twenty years or so. Modern studies teach us how to bridge the communication gap of generational differences, personality types and self-image based fears, confidence levels and other issues.  To a large extent, this communication bridge resolves conflict, miscommunication, absenteeism, lack of motivation and lost productivity, and drives high morale, higher productivity, less turnover, and a more profitable and pleasant work environment.

It is important to learn and use these communication skills in three ways. First, they are critical to succeed in sales, customer service and even bookkeeping. Second, in leadership and supervisory roles, it’s no longer acceptable or effective to use the military approach; you can’t really tell your staff to “drop and give you twenty” when they step out of line. No, you’ll need to understand the meaning and the position your staff is coming from if you are to communicate what you want from them. You can fight for your old-fashioned rights all you want, and being the boss, you will win the argument but you will lose the productivity and eventually the talent.  Finally, you will want to consider the great balancing act; how to balance the need for strict systems with the desire for input and continuous improvement created by the people running the systems.

The goal is to create a company culture in which everyone learns the communication skills, so their other work skills can be their most productive. To create an environment in which ordinary people use extraordinary systems to produce extraordinary results.

Michael Kline is a local retailer, Success Coach and trainer. He may be reached through his website www.klineseminars.com or email mike@klineseminars.com
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