Small Business Success | Small Business Mentoring

By Maynard Brusman

We are all trying to understand and cope with the enormous changes in our work and personal lives. Mostly we react in a positive and productive manner. However, many people are describing their lives as so busy, working so many hours, trying to balance work and personal lives that we often feel physically and emotionally exhausted.

I work as a consulting psychologist and executive/career coach specializing in helping leaders and lawyers with work- related problems. Let me tell you a brief story about a company leader I helped with a career transition.

Steve was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at a San Francisco Bay Area financial institution. He was seen as a high potential during his initial years at the company. Steve was referred by the Director of Human Resources for career coaching. Several employees had given 360 degree feedback that Steve was arrogant and often condescending to others contributing to a negative work climate. Steve’s behavior was causing a morale program at work. They described the CFO as being critical and demanding. The culture of the company valued openness and collaboration. The company truly valued Steve and wanted him to be happy whether at this job or whatever he might choose to pursue.

At our first coaching meeting, Steve appeared to be fatigued, de-moralized, dispirited, sleep-deprived, and burned out. He described himself poignantly… “My soul was asleep on the job”. As we explored his situation, Steve related how the company had been through two mergers. There was the imminent possibility of another downsizing (euphemism for firing people). Steve as well as the other “survivors” was overloaded with work. He had resisted most of the changes, lacked motivation and his feelings were all “bottled up”. Steve was frankly not fully engaged. As I got to know Steve better, it became apparent that he had some good leadership skills, but was unhappy in his work resulting in making coworkers miserable.

Steve’s stated goal was to improve his emotional intelligence and discover work that he loved. The best way to build a healthy personality involves understanding yourself and your emotions. He wanted to become more engaged at work, but eventually to transition into a new career.

The client brainstormed various options on how he could achieve his goals. He asked if I could recommend an article on emotional intelligence and agreed to take the BarOn EQ-i emotional intelligence assessment. Steve scored low in self-awareness, happiness and stress tolerance. Our initial work focused on Steve discovering a better sense of self including his core values and identity.

Our career coaching work together transitioned into Steve learning how to delegate and collaborate with others as a way of building relationships and establishing trust. Considering the work overload, Steve felt it was important for him to learn to prioritize work based on what was truly important. We began to talk about his values and interests and possible career options.

The client discussed the obstacles that might arise in terms of his resistance to change. We worked on Steve challenging his negative thinking about change which was the major obstacle getting in his way.

I coached Steve by role playing how the obstacles, in this case negative thinking could be managed. He learned to challenge his limiting belief by asking himself “Is it true that I am stuck and have no options”? Steve learned to focus his energy on what he could control and to live in the present moment. I asked him what he would like to end (corporate job) and explored future possibilities. Most importantly we focused on Steve discovering a sense of purpose…what was truly important to him. Who am I and what are my core values? What is most meaningful in my life? What am I trying to do with my life? .Do I feel fulfilled in my life? Do I use my talents to the fullest extent? Am I realizing my dreams?

As I got to know Steve better, I discovered that Steve’s real childhood love was art. And that he had gotten into finance in his 20’s as a way of making a living when he first moved to the Bay Area.

Steve created the following homework exercises that would help him develop his emotional intelligence and create the self-insight needed for a career transition. He agreed to begin the following week.

1. Practice mindfulness meditation.

2. Write in my journal.

3. Read Victor Frankel’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”, Po Bronson’s “What Should I Do with My

Life”, and “Work With Passion” by Nancy Anderson.

After a few months of career coaching, the client had gained sufficient self-awareness and was more open to change. Steve decided to do something pretty dramatic. Steve told me he was taking a vacation and going to Costa Rica to surf! I was surprised that he was passionate about surfing as it seemed out of character. Upon his return, he told me how he had come upon the idea of starting a business designing surfboards! What wonderful synergy of taking action, tapping into his essence – the love of art and creating an entrepreneurial business of his own. Finally, he was leveraging his considerable strengths of resourcefulness, love of adventure and creativity.

Steve continued to work for the company, but with a new sense of commitment. He was much more positive and happy. 360-degree feedback from co-workers indicated that he had developed more collaborative work relationships. He continued to work part-time on his decorating surfboards business with the goal to transition into his own business in a couple of years and move to Costa Rica. 

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Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist, executive coach and trusted advisor to senior leadership teams.

We provide strategic talent management solutions to select and develop emotionally intelligent leaders and lawyers.

The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded two rare Board Approved designations for Dr. Maynard Brusman in the specialties of Executive Leadership Coaching and Trusted Advisor to Attorneys and Law Firms.

Dr. Maynard Brusman

Working Resources

P.O. Box 471525 San Francisco, California 94147-1525

Tel: 415-546-1252 Fax: 415-721-7322

E-mail: mbrusman@workingresources.com

By Maynard Brusman

Creating Opportunity in Uncertain Times

Are you working in a company or law firm where your Human Resources Department hires executive coaches to help high potentials develop their leadership capability? Does your Human Resources Department currently have sufficient resources to offer employees essential training and development programs?

One of the most powerful questions you can ask is “Are leaders receiving the coaching help they need to stretch their inherent capabilities?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders provide leadership coaching and leadership development programs for their best and brightest.

Crisis or Opportunity?

The upside of a financial crisis and recession is that they offer all of us the opportunity to stretch our skills in our current jobs-and I mean everyone. That means you. But you already know you’re being stretched, don’t you? You feel it. The question is, how are you going to welcome your own particular crises and use them to benefit your personal and professional development?

Managers often redirect people’s careers based on insufficient evidence that they have talent (or lack thereof). Unfortunately, we don’t give ourselves the same opportunity. We’ll try something new, and if it doesn’t come naturally or we don’t immediately excel, we conclude we have no talent for it. We often don’t give ourselves the time and effort it takes to establish new behaviors.

We abandon pursuit. We never give ourselves the chance to practice and make progress. We don’t like the feeling of discomfort that comes from doing something poorly, so we don’t hang in there. Scientific evidence, however, is beginning to show that our definition of talent is wrong. In fact, “talent” may not mean anything at all.

In studies of accomplished individuals, researchers have found few signs of precocious achievement before their subjects began intensive training. Similar findings have turned up in studies of musicians, tennis players, artists, swimmers, mathematicians and chess players. Accomplished athletes and artists get better by developing a strong work ethic and putting in hours of hard work to improve their skills.

Leaders at all levels can get better by getting out of their comfort zone and be willing to make mistakes as they learn and grow. Nothing can replace a lot of hard work and stickiness to achieve success in new endeavors.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help company leaders develop top talent. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision and mission of your company or law firm.

Subscribe to Working Resources FREE electronic newsletter at http://www.workingresources.com

Visit Maynard’s Blog at http://www.WorkingResourcesBlog.com

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist, executive coach and trusted advisor to senior leadership teams.

The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded two rare Board Approved designations for Dr. Maynard Brusman in the specialties of Executive Leadership Coaching and Trusted Advisor to Attorneys and Law Firms.

Dr. Maynard Brusman
Working Resources
Tel: 415-546-1252
E-mail: mbrusman@workingresources.com

By Rick Johnson

The state of the economy is a fact. How you feel about that fact and what it means to you personally is a belief. Your beliefs have a major impact on your employee’s attitude. Beliefs that drive your sales behaviors are the keys to becoming successful in a down economy. If you believe that this economic crisis can provide you with opportunities than your attitude will drive the behavior of your employees.

Sales Belief

One sales person might believe that a “bad” economy means it’s going to be harder to make a sale. “It’s just not possible to hit my numbers when the economy sucks.”

Another sales person might believe that a “bad” economy means you can now win lots more business. “I am a good sales person and I am prepared for this downturn. We have quality value propositions coupled with our ability to reach out – network and build customer relationships is far superior to the competition that generally only has price going for them. I know I can take business from the competition”

So, ask yourself these questions.

What Do Your Sales People Believe? What Do You Believe?

Is Your Glass ½ Full or ½ Empty?

If you believe the glass is ½ Full, then you believe there is a window of opportunity built on the following foundation.

• Distribution market share growth normally occurs in the down cycle

• High unemployment creates opportunities for the upgrade and recruitment of quality people from competition-

• Cost containment means trimming the fat from the “Top Down” – NOT the bottom up

• You take the “Smell the Blood approach”

• Taking advantage of vendor discounts and special promotions because inventory management has always been one of your core competencies and you are now in a position to capitalize on it.

• Refocus on customer service

• Refocus on best practice

If you believe the glass is ½ Empty, then you have adopted an attitude that may demonstrate fear, panic and confusion. Your leadership model becomes one of panic response management built on the following foundation.

• We must fight to keep from losing customers – cut prices

• We need to cut cost and the quickest way is a reduction in force (RIF)

• Cut expenses to the bone “Bottom Up”

• We must “Stop the Bleeding” which includes RIF

• Cut commissions

• Sell off inventory

• Reduce services

• During economic turbulence judgment can become cloudy and you can confuse personal needs with business needs. This means you put your personal wealth and objectives ahead of the business needs and objectives. This is a major mistake.

Attitude

This is Not the Time to Panic. Yes, there are economic problems, but there are also opportunities! Leadership during these tough economic times is about not panicking, and that’s exactly the message I want to get across… don’t panic! Panic causes knee jerk reactions, and they’re rarely correct. This Economic Panic that could be caused by “Media Sensationalism” can create a knee jerk reaction that negates effective leadership.

Panic Creates Fear —– & Fear

• Paralyzes Potential

• Ruins Relationships

• Sabotages Success

• Inhibits Initiative

• Circumvents Creativity

• Promotes Poor Productivity

We must understand the difference between panic and caution.

Panic – (noun) a sudden overwhelming fear, with or without cause that produces hysterical or irrational behavior that often spreads.

Caution – (noun) a prudent forethought to minimize risk: a warning, a precaution.

Deliberate Leadership, clear thinking and solid strategies leads to success in any economy. Panic leads to failure. As leaders we need to be deliberate, thoughtful, and take the actions necessary to stabilize the future of our individual businesses.

The Pygmalion Effect

The wrong attitude can create a Self fulfilling Prophecy. It’s called the Pygmalion Effect. You Must Believe in Yourself. You must believe in your own ability, the ability of your team. You must have the will to succeed even though times are tough. You must openly demonstrate the desire to succeed. Look inwardly at your own thoughts. Thoughts are powerful as they shape your attitude and your attitude shapes your beliefs which control your actions. Hard work is a direct expression of your beliefs. Effective leaders fall back on the five basic principles of success.

1. Commitment with a passion — Leaders must demonstrate a commitment for success that leaves no doubt in the minds of their employees.

2. Realization that “You don’t have to have all the answers. Seeking input from employees and openly discussing ideas and strategies is the best way to demonstrate a confidence in the team you have and the employees that will execute your vision.

3. Empowerment & Delegation

Delegation is the handing of a task over to another person, usually a subordinate. It is the assignment of authority and responsibility to another person to carry out specific activities. It allows a subordinate to make decisions, i.e. it is a shift of decision-making authority from one organizational level to a lower one. Delegation, if properly done, is not abdication. The opposite of effective delegation is micromanagement, where a manager provides too much input, direction and review of ‘delegated’ work.

Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the empowered developing confidence in their own capabilities. In the sphere of management and organizational theory, “empowerment” often refers loosely to processes for giving subordinates (or workers generally) greater discretion and resources: distributing control in order to better serve both customers and the interests of the company.

4. Employees are the most precious asset — This means you must walk the walk and invest in employee development and employee training even more during tough economic times. Employees are the profit and success creators of every organization.

5. Communicate intentionally & effectively following these ten tips.

• “Manage by Walking Around”. Get out and meet your people, talk to them, show an interest in them and in the job they are doing for you. This includes everyone from the forklift driver to your Vice President of sales. Everyone likes to know they are appreciated.

• Eliminate unproductive – unnecessary lengthy meetings. I know a CEO that refuses to allow chairs in the conference room. All meetings are held standing up. I don’t believe there is a company that exists that can’t do a better job making their meetings more productive.

• Written communication should be precise and clear. Don’t write like you are a journalist for USA today. Avoid excessive and lengthy diatribes that become confusing.

• Create flexibility in your organization structure. Rigid organization charts that are too restrictive can get in the way of getting the job done. job functions and descriptions must have clarity but don’t make them so restrictive and detailed that cross functional inter action, support and cooperation is limited.

• Open your ears and your heart. Learn to listen more effectively. That means becoming disciplined at not interrupting. You might be amazed at what employees will tell you if you just listen. You might be amazed at what employees can do for you and the company if you just let them.

• Constructive feedback can be helpful. Don’t criticize the messenger. Frank opinions can be helpful if we allow our ego to get out of the way.

• Put a filter between your brain and your lips. A passing comment that seems frivolous to you could devastate your entire staff and you may never hear about it. Think before you react spontaneously. Don’t say what you think they want to hear and remember; even the simplest or dumbest complaint to you is serious to the one expressing it. Be sensitive to the environment, the values and the culture of the person or persons you are communicating with.

• Don’t build a kingdom on the backs of your employees. If economic times dictate cutbacks, layoffs and expense control… Start at the top. Share the pain. Look at corporate overhead, perks and fringe benefits of management and the executive staff. Consider a pay cut at the executive level.

• Keep your hand on the pulse of your business environment. Make sure you are well informed on the external and the internal environment of your business. Network with industry colleagues. Benchmark friendly competitors or businesses outside your region. Stay close to the communication channel of your vendors.

• Make sure you have a definitive focus on employee training and development. This must always carry a priority. Make sure your orientation program for new employees is continuously updated. The first sixty days is critical to retention. Communicate the company’s value effectively.

Today’s Reality

Unemployment expected to reach 10%, Consumer spending is falling like a rock and it represents seventy percent of our economy. Recovery could take two years — so…….Don’t count on the government bailout to fix things. Seek New Ways to Improve

If you are like most people, you are content with the status quo until something disturbs it. You should be constantly re-evaluating not just your sales plans, but all of your business strategies including policies, pricing, and employee performance. The idea is to eventually be as efficient and effective as possible so your company runs smoothly and profitably. Look closely at your competitors. Talk to business leaders you respect. Read business management books. Experiment; solicit feedback from your workers and customers. By doing several of these things you will accumulate a wealth of knowledge and experience crucial to the survival of your business.

Take Advantage of the “Window of Opportunity”

In a practical sense, what this means is that you view this time as providing you a unique window of opportunity to cut the non-profitable elements of your sales and marketing system away, to pare down to a dedicated and competent core, to sharpen the focus of every element of your system, and then to expand your market share so that you can weather the hard times and be stronger when the economy inevitably turns.

Evaluate your markets. Over the past few years have you stretched into markets which are not profitable? Are they unprofitably siphoning time and talent that could be more effectively focused on your core markets?

Evaluate your customers. The same approach applies here. You are probably losing money on half of your customers. Get tough, prioritize and target your accounts based on the stability and likely growth of their business

Carefully and methodically exam each piece of your structure. Look at this temporary economic downturn as a window of opportunity to jettison some of the policies and procedures that are vestiges of the past, and reconfigure your system for the next wave of future growth. Look at your inside sales department, customer service staff, marketing and sales administration, etc., with the point of view of reducing the unprofitable and focusing on the profitable.

Focus on gaining market share. Approach your good customers with sole source proposals. Capture the business and lock it up by forming long-term contractual relationships with those customers who are solid and supportive.

Finally, keep your antenna sensitive to the opportunities to add key salespeople, managers and executives. Many of your competitors will struggle to stay in business. Some good people will become available. The pool of available talent will swell. Look for opportunities to upgrade your personnel by picking off proven talent when it becomes available.

Turn Your Vision into a Cause

“Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them”. If you aren’t a visionary —- hire one —- more importantly — turn your Vision into a Cause. I wonder how many of you remember the movie “Rebel without a Cause”. Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 film directed by Nicholas Ray that tells the story of a rebellious teenager played by James Dean. In this movie James Dean played the part of a rebel but he had no cause that could provide direction, guidance or an ethic to get him on the straight and narrow path; the path to success.

Paradoxically to Dean in this movie, every effective leader I have ever known has had a vision. But, having a vision alone does not make you an effective leader. In fact there are hundreds of “Unsuccessful “companies and “Ineffective” leaders that have Vision Statements posted on their web sites, in their brochures and even posted in their lobbies. A Vision without a Cause? You see, almost anyone can have a vision but if you have a “vision without a cause” you are just a dreamer. Let me repeat that — “A vision without a cause” simply makes you a dreamer. I have known plenty of dreamers in my lifetime whose ship never has and never will come in. One thing I know for sure — If your ship misses the harbor — it’s generally NOT the harbors fault.

http://www.ceostrategist.com – Sign up to receive “The Howl” a free monthly newsletter that addresses real world industry issues. – Straight talk about today’s issues. Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com. Don’t forget to check out the Lead Wolf Series that can help you put more profit into your business. E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for your special Howl discount order form. Get the CEO Strategist Interview Guide and Conducting an Effective Sales Training Session Guide just for signing up for “The Howl”. Don’t forget to check out the Lead Wolf Series that can help you put more profit into your business. E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com for your special Howl discount order form.

By Alvah Parker

Your confidence can erode during a job transition. As you move from the known to the unknown you feel unsettled and off balance. It is easy to begin to doubt your own abilities. This can happen during any type of job transition. Whether you doing a job search, have accepted some new responsibilities added to your old job, or are starting a new job, transitions can be rough on your confidence level. Here are some exercises that will help you build and maintain your confidence.

1. Think about what success would look like for you. Write it down and review it regularly. It will help you to determine your path and help you to see the progress you are making.

2. Create a victory list. Include the things you have accomplished in your life on your list. Write your list on a small piece of paper or file card. Carry it around with you. Review it often in order to feel energized and confident.

3. Examine the negative beliefs you hold about yourself. Develop some positive truths to replace them. (A coach can be helpful in working with you on this.)

4. Talk to someone you trust about your fears. Get the support that you need by talking about your fears with the person and then brainstorm ideas about ways to address your fears.

5. Join a support or strategy group. Use the group for positive reinforcement and to generate new ideas to raise your confidence. This type of group can be very useful in a transition.

6. Examine worst case scenarios for strategy and planning purposes only. Focus on best case scenario with plans to overcome problems. Once worst case scenario has served its purpose, let it go. It is there only so you know what to do if something happens.

7. Use imagery to build confidence. Think of the good things sticking to you like Velcro and the bad sliding off you like Teflon. Continually visualize this image so that it gives you energy.

8. Recall past successful experiences. Think about times you took a risk and won. Remember times when through trial and error you solved a problem. Confidence comes from recalling past experiences in which you overcame an issue, problems or risks. This gives you mental energy and the exercise builds your confidence.

9. Take direct action to complete a task or make a decision. Schedule the task or the decision at a certain time in the future. Complete the task or decision on time to gain mental energy and feel success. Divide big projects into small pieces and schedule them to complete in the future. Celebrate the success!

10. Mindfulness builds mental energy. Stay in the moment. Pay attention to what you are doing. Don’t multitask. Do one thing well and feel good about it.

Alvah Parker is a Practice Advisor (The Attorneys’ Coach) and a Career Changers’ Coach as well as publisher of Parker’s Points, an email tip list and Road to Success, an e-zine. Subscribe now to these free monthly publications at her website http://www.asparker.com/samples.html

Parker’s Value Program© enables her clients to find their own way to work that is more fulfilling and profitable. Her clients are attorneys and people in transition who want to find work that is in line with their own life purpose. Alvah is found on the web at http://www.asparker.com She may also be reached at 781-598-0388.

By Ian D Smith

This is a challenging time to be in business but there lies the opportunity. I’ve listed 10 specific characteristics of downtimes and 10 positive strategies that embrace and capitalize on them.

1. More time to create a focused business: Use this slower paced market to revisit the business you are in – what defines you. This is the perfect time for repositioning, selling off non-core subsidiaries, sharpening up product road maps and value propositions.
2. Flight to price and quality: Now is the time to revisit your product mix and pricing strategies. Buying behavior changes dramatically in a recession. Lower priced versions of your product or subscription based business models may be relevant to ease customer cash flow pain.
3. Measuring the signals is vital:> Mistakes made in downtimes can prove fatal.
   Convert your Accounts Department into a Metrics Center. Trap and visualize your key performance indicators. Audit the signals and constantly interpret the significance to your strategies.
4. Acquisitions just got cheap: PE ratios of the majority of public companies are in single digits and the valuations of private companies are low. Consider a proactive approach to acquisitions by building a robust acquisition process that is proven to work.
5. The “C” level suite just got a free pass to visit their customers: Never has there been a better time for the inner cabinet to visit their customers to understand the specific issues challenging them. It’s not only productive, it’s essential for shaping strategy. Define your engagement strategy and get on site.
6. Value Propositions must improve a customer’s performance: Receiving a purchase order, confirming a big deal is very satisfying but it’s not enough. You need to be invested in the improved performance that will be achieved because your customer uses your product. Does your sales process achieve this?
7. Curiosity & Urgency of managers dramatically increased: Well it certainly should have. This new level of alertness (perhaps it’s fear) needs to be channeled to produce results. Difficult projects shelved in better times are prime candidates for this energy. Staff want to be effective and busy to get things moving again. Tap into this momentum.
8. People and tasks are mis-aligned: Now is the time to think like a start-up. The key –Define Performance Profiles that your company needs to be executed, not job specs but tasks that need to be done well. This will cause old jobs to be merged and new jobs to be created.
9. Silo Management is broken: Urgent initiatives will fail without cross-functional support. Company visions need to inspire and flow across functions. Build cross functional teams to execute top priorities.
10. Competition thins out: It might be difficult to create double digit growth but you can grab market share. The best companies don’t just survive bad times; they grow and develop into more robust and valuable businesses.

As an experienced business leader, Ian Smith is passionate about maximizing the potential of fast-growing companies. The Portfolio Partnership offers Corporate Development Services on an advisory, operational or investment model. Specifically we execute growth strategies by repositioning companies organically and/or by acquisition.

Ian was educated in Scotland, earning a BA degree from the University of Strathclyde and qualified as a Chartered Accountant of Scotland with Grant Thornton. Post qualification he joined Thomson the publishing giant and became one of their youngest divisional Finance Directors at 26 and was awarded the prestigious, UK Accountant of the Year ahead of many experienced FDs. From 1988 to 2000 he successfully built up two major boutique M&A advisory firms, Livingstone Guarantee and Capita Corporate Finance. During this period he completed over 40 acquisition, disposal or finance transactions, many cross border, many in the technology sector. He assisted dozens of entrepreneurs execute their vision.

In late 2001 he moved to the states to successfully reposition and grow Teamstudio, an IBM business partner with HQ in Beverly, MA and offices in the UK and Japan. During the next 5 years the top line was grown by over 45% and losses were turned into EBITDA of over $10m. high achiever, Ian expects the highest performance from his staff but always mixed with a Glaswegian sense of humor!

Ian lives in Wenham, Massachusetts with his wife and two teenage daughters. http://portfoliopartnership.com/index.html

By Jay Forte

We are in a period of massive change as our economy moves from the skill-focused industrial age to today’s talent-focused intellectual age. Yesterday’s manufactured products have moved offshore and have been replaced by today’s networked and thinking service economy. We made things; we now collaborate to make ideas. Everything about this process is new; everything about this process is in transition. How we hire, the future of work, how we build relationships, collaborate and manage a business are all changing. We are truly in a period of massive change. As we struggled in the move from the agrarian economy to the industrial economy (we reinvented work from farms to cities and manufacturing centers), we now struggle to move our economy from manpower to brainpower.

Many of today’s business support systems are failing because they support our previous and now outdated industrial-age structure. The new technology and intellectual age requires organizations to be more fluid, nimble and responsive. Structured, military-inspired, command-and-control industrial-age systems are now too slow and too cumbersome to respond in our speed-of-the-click world. Their structure inhibits easy and open communication, innovation and collaboration. Stuck in outdated structures, the high-tech world continues to zoom past industrial-age organizations making them more and more out of date and ineffective today. To survive in today’s period of massive change to an intellectual and networked age, build these ten must-do things into your workplace.

1. Create and maintain the best and most employee-focused workplace. Employee-focused workplaces openly value their employees and by result, attract the best candidates and retain the best employees. Employee-focused workplaces create opportunities for employees to fully develop their talents and abilities, while driving results and owning their performance. These workplaces solicit information from employees about the things that will activate their passionate performance and build as many in as they can to address employee needs, so employees can stay focused on customers and performance.

2. Hire for talent – invest in the right people. In an intellectual workplace, talents are the driving force behind each employee’s success; skills and experience were more valuable in an industrial-age economy. To succeed, organizations must be adept at defining talents (natural thinking and strengths) needed by responsibility and role, assessing candidates for good fit, and hiring the right employees. This process is more time consuming but it realizes that since your people are your profits, a commitment must be made to understand how to hire the right employee for the right role/responsibility in an intellectual age.

3. Redefine how work is done. In an industrial age, it was important to have defined roles with standard job descriptions. Employees were required to show up to a specific location (plant, factory, facility) in order to work. Today’s intellectual workplace changes this model. Today, employees’ contributions do not necessarily need to be in a specific location or in even in a defined role. Today’s workplace allows employees to work (intellectual contribution) remotely. It also encourages managers to redefine staffing into a small fixed component of workers and a larger variable component, hired by task or responsibility. This introduces the concept of “just in time and just long enough” workers – workers hired for particular responsibilities or tasks and then released. This allows an organization to acquire the best talent in a particular area without the requirement of hiring those talents in a full time role; these new roles now require limited overhead, office space and other industrial-age systems, systems that in today’s world cost money and add little value. This allows employees to step in and out of organizations, doing the things in which they are the most talented, gifted and interested. This builds a new workplace model, limits spending, space and fixed manpower in favor of greater talent matching, variable contributions and higher productivity.

4. Constantly recruit the best. With a new focus on a fixed and variable workplace, build a sustainable and robust fixed and variable sourcing and recruiting plan. Define the expectations of each role and responsibility to clearly define the talents needed in each to be successful. Network with others. Create a solid pipeline, particularly of variable, flexible employees, who can be called for specific projects or responsibilities and then released. Share the expectations and talents needed with all fixed employees to engage them in the sourcing talent process for the organization.

5. Clearly define role and responsibility performance expectations. All fixed and variable employees/contributors must be held fully accountable for performance; each role and responsibility must have clear performance expectations from which they are reviewed, compensated and retained. All employees must now have a greater sense of performance ownership and this starts will clearly defined performance expectations that define performance outcomes but allow employees (fixed or variable) to develop achievement plans. These expectations can be used to pay for performance, attract top talent and hold employees (fixed and variable) accountable for performance and results.

6. Understand your world – become a strategic thinker. Stay connected to the world around you and your business. Know the impact of the economy, regulations, demographics, social trends, technology and others factors affecting your industry and business. Know trends, facts and key indicators. Include employees in the review of business challenges, innovation and opportunities. Base your responses on the world in which you find yourself – stay current.

7. Communicate effectively, move information around, and use it to be great. In an intellectual workplace, information is both power and capital. Organizations that stay connected to their world use information to share what they know, what they hear, and what they think; they use information to activate new ideas and solutions and move ahead of the competition. Develop ways to openly share news, suggestions, ideas and concerns. Ensure information moves clearly and effectively both down and up the organizational chain.

8. Commit to an unwavering standard of excellence. Define, live and assess all performance by its ability to support and provide your defined standard of excellence. Be the best at what you do, without exception. Be the most responsive, the most innovative and the most professional in customer contact, ideas brought to market and quality at every level. Customers and employees commit to organizations that commit to excellence. As the workplace and products/services change, a guiding commitment to excellence will always insure the organization stays ahead.

9. Constantly recruit, educate and develop customers and employees. Commit to knowing the most. In an intellectual workplace, performance power is in knowledge. Successful organizations constantly educate both their customers and employees – in good times and in bad. They focus on education, thinking and developing raises the bar for all involved. Customers are as important to educate as employees because in their education, they become a greater part of your collaborative approach to products and services. Gone are the days of organizations creating products/services for customers without their input, guidance and suggestions. Raise the bar for everyone – it encourages greater performance.

10. Applaud successes with wild enthusiasm. We are in tough period as we usher in a massive change and economic transition. Successes are difficult when so much change is present. Activate your employees and customers by applauding successes in an extraordinary way. See each success as one step forward on the road to redefining business success. “What gets rewarded, gets repeated.” Applaud, celebrate and praise successes, innovation and performance; it activates the performance and encourages more. Word gets out quickly about organizations that value, honor and celebrate their employees and customers. These are the organizations that great employees (fixed or variable) want to work with.

We are truly in a period of massive change as our industrial age gives way to a new more networked, collaborative and thinking intellectual age. This requires us to be more involved in actively ushering in our new age, understanding how to succeed as we change and staying focused on value of and for our employees and customers. Now is no time for timidity. Leaders and managers need to step up or step out. Provide the clear voice, a solid strategy and an understandable view of how to impact results in this changing world. Massive change is on our agenda; learn how to use it and respond to it. And when the new age is fully ushered in, watch the horizon for the next age approaching and reinvent your plan to stay successful.

Jay Forte is a powerful performance speaker, consultant, author and founder of Humanetrics, LLC. He works with managers who want to be more successful in activating and inspiring exceptional employee performance, to significantly drive customer loyalty and improve company profitability. Jay, a CPA/financial executive turned educator, turned consultant, is renowned for producing significant results. He is a highly engaging speaker and author of the new book “Fire Up Your Employees and Smoke Your Competition; How to Invite, Incite and Ignite Employee Performance.” He has developed a new talent assessment process to help organizations attract and hire the right employees. For more information on talent-focused hiring and ways to fire up your employees, visit his new site http://www.FireUpYourEmployees.com For great business tips and information on speaking, programs and keynotes, visit http://www.Humanetricsllc.com or call: 401-338-3505.