Are Leaders Born Or Made?

Have you ever fallen into the trap of wishing that you were like someone else? Imagining what it would be like to have the business acumen of Warren Buffet or the marketing savvy of Richard Branson? Do you wish that you were able to present your product in the compelling manner of Steve Jobs? Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you had the leadership ability of Jack Welch or Carly Fiorina?

These questions beg of us the answer to a deeper question - Are we born into greatness? Do some people just 'have what it takes' and others not?

According to experts in performance management the only people who are born with an advantage are some sportsmen and women whose body size may give them an advantage in their chosen sport.

Every other achiever. in business or elsewhere, has had to work extremely hard to achieve success. However there are certain characteristics that these outstanding achievers share. Here are some of them :

1) They put in more practice than others and do so strategically while seeking feedback from those around them. They know that how you practice is as important as the practicing itself.

2) They focus on building on their strengths and don't worry too much about things that don't matter.

3) Instead of just trying to get the job done, they seek out ways to improve the results of each task each time it is completed. They review constantly and are not satisfied with the status quo.

4) They seek positive criticism and learn from it.

5) They never stop stretching beyond what comes easily.

Small business owners compete in a crowded market. In order to stand out from the crowd they need to show the market that what they offer is far better than their competitors - be that product quality, customer service, after-sales support or whatever. To gain this advantage takes clear strategic planning and a willingness to implement the habits and strategies outlined above.

Your Children Are Watching - Your Business Depends On It

In a world where the new generation is inheriting a planet which is in a worse state of health than ever before in history, small business owners needs to asking what they are doing to limit further environmental damage and repair damage already done. This is not only imperative from an environmental angle but also for future business. Our youngsters, Generation Y, are now very aware of environmental concerns and will choose to associate with those products and services which honour their need for a healthy planet.

This awareness among children is best shown through the Nickelodeon 2015 campaign being flighted around the world - take a look at the Nick 2015 site. Our children are more aware of the environment that we ever were and they are beginning at a young age to think about choices related to the environment. These are our future customers. If we don't get our act together now, what choice will they make about our product or service when they are economically independent?

Some questions to ask :

1) Are you recycling? Does your office have a recycling program? Even home offices can implement this.

2) Are you leveraging technology in a way that reduces the number of trips you need to make in your car or by plane? A round trip from Joburg to Cape Town releases 0.3 metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere! (Go to BeGreenNow to calculate your travel emissions)

3) Do you switch off your PC and other office equipment when you are finished working?

4) Do you use recycled paper for your stationery?

5) Do you screen your suppliers to ensure that they too are adhering to environmentally friendly practices?

Once you have established yourself as an environmentally friendly business, market yourself as such. Use your position as an earth-friendly enterprise to your advantage in your marketing material. Let your customers know that you have made some changes to your business practice and allow them to tell their friends.

Your future customers are watching you - they don't really care what you offer, so many others offer similar products, they care about how you conduct your business and how you relate to your customers. Positioning your business as environmentally friendly is a great way to win them as your customers.

Dreamers And Visionaries

For years I have told teams to "dream big", "dream the impossible and make it happen" and "dream the dreams of champions". I have lead folks through exercises where they write down their dreams and begin to discover what it will take to make those dreams a reality.

The problem has come with those teams who leave the exercise purely at the dreaming stage. No clear action plans are put in place, no commitment is made to ensuring that the dreams of the team become a reality. Over the past year I have been convicted of the need to change my wording as I lead these type of workshops. It has become necessary to differentiate between those who dream and those who have a vision. Vision is such an over-worked word in business leadership circles but it has its place. The most helpful definition of vision I have come across is this :

Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion in the present.

It is the passion that brings energy to the process of working towards the vision. I have discovered that if our thoughts remain only at the 'dream' stage, they are seldom realised.

There is nothing wrong with dreaming - it is a creative exercise which allows us to think beyond the immediate. However, in order for progress to be made these dreams have to morphed into a clear picture of the future that produces passion in the present - a vision of what could be.

Micah Davis in the blog Food Forethought lists these differences between dreamers and visionaries -





It seems to me that entrepreneurs are visionaries while those content to work for others while trying achieve their goals are dreamers. Which are you?

Tom Peters - Top To Bottom

Go on offense.
Give everybody a shot.
Decentralize.
Try a bunch of stuff.
Make it up as you go along.
Get some stuff wrong.
Laugh a lot.
Get some stuff right.
Become a "success."

Extract "lessons learned" or "best practices."
Thicken the Book of Rules.
Become evermore serious.
Enforce the rules to increasingly tight tolerances.
Go on defense.
Install walls.
Protect-at-all-costs today's franchise.
Centralize.
Calcify.
Install taller walls.
Write more rules.
Become irrelevant and-or die.

This list is what Tom Peters calls the essence of his life's work and is a sobering reminder to retain our personal and business identity as our organisation grows. It also reminds us to remember to have the courage to fail at trying something new. Developing a culture of experimentation in your business is critical if you are to be successful in the long-term.

It was Eleanor Roosevelt who said,

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

There are few things as disheartening as seeing a business grow to be successful and then begin to atrophy as the owner/CEO decides to maintain the status-quo instead of continually striving to improve what the business offers. An unwillingness to experiment with new business models, improved product offering, more efficient distribution methods and out-of-the-box marketing, is destined to bring eventual failure.

Be brave - do something different today!

Art Of The Start - Essential Viewing

Every now and again one comes across a piece of teaching that is so valuable it cannot be kept to oneself. This is certainly the case with this video of Guy Kawasaki teaching about "The Art Of The Start".

It can be found on Guy's blog and I highly recommend any person in business to watch it and take notes. It is highly entertaining and informative. The slides used in the presentation are also available for download - all for free!

Enjoy . . .

Revisiting The Basics

It is so easy to become ungulfed in the reality of running your own business that you begin to neglect those basic principles that made you successful in the first place! Like a good sportsman, it is important to be grounded in the basic skills and principles so that when the going is tough you can continue to make progress.

Here then are 10 principles of business basics that we would do well to remember :

1) Know what you don't do - be clear on those things that your business is not offering clients. It is too easy to try to be all to all - a sure shortcut to business failure.

2) Know your market - understand who your business is serving - what is your target market? Write this down and be specific - age, gender, class, location, language etc.

3) Differentiate your service - be prepared to do something different to stand out from the crowd.

4) Watch the pennies - keep a very close watch on the comings and goings of your bank balance.

5) Truly care for your employees - a happy, cared for and affirmed work force is your greatest asset - look after them and they will look after you.

6) Under promise, over deliver - you cannot afford the advertising value of good word-of-mouth referrals (neither can you afford the negative publicity linked to a client's bad experience!)

7) Set goals and go after them - Write down your goals and share them with others

8) Make your business known - explore all options to let the market know what you offer - some creative thought and minimal expense can reap great dividends.

9) Stick it out! - every business will have rough patches - how we choose to react to them can be the difference between success and failure.

10) Always maintain your integrity - have a clear moral compass and ethical values in your business at all times.

- This blog post is adapted from an article by Greg Fisher in the May 2007 edition of Entrepreneur magazine.

A Personal Birthday Touch

Today is a special day - it is my birthday!

Since early this morning I have had numerous SMS messages and phonecalls from businesses with whom I have relationship. Some have been simply "Happy Birthday" while others have offered a special birthday discount on a product or service.

This little personal touch is so welcome in an era where customers are often treated as numbers or just a means to a greater profit margin. I do realise of course that most of these messages are sent from automated systems but nonetheless they come across as a nice personal touch.

Small business owners would do well do sit up and take notice of this personal approach. It could mean the difference between keeping and losing a customer.

PS - Click on one the affiliate links on this blog to see what there is on offer. Think of it has helping me out on my birthday!

Quote of the Week #1

My advice to salesmen is this: Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, "Make me feel important." Not only will you succeed in sales, you will suceed in life.- Mary Kay Ash