These competencies form the basis of job descriptions, hiring and promotion decisions, performance reviews, and professional development plans.

At the same time, it is important for you as an executive to have your own point of view about what makes a successful leader.

Many executives cringe when consultants and coaches talk about fuzzy “feel good” concepts like mission, purpose, values, talent, and passion.

Like you, many have been through so many fad programs, wasted retreats crafting mission statements, drives to achieve quarterly results no matter what and short-sighted restructuring, that they get cynical when it comes to these concepts.

Despite this reluctance, you need to be willing to understand your own deeper aspirations and reasons for coming to work. Therefore, as you engage in conversations about vision, purpose, values, talent, and passion, acknowledge to yourself that you feel uncomfortable and skeptical. However, also be willing to explore the reasons that drive you to do the work you currently do.

All of the above work begins to form a foundation for you and your coach. To fill the gap and achieve their vision, the leader will need to have competency in the following areas:

Strategy - Strategy means defining what type of organization the company will be, setting direction for the organization, and creating a plan to achieve that direction.

Relationships – Nothing gets done in organizations without a committed, energized, and aligned group of people. The leader needs to be outstanding at engaging people and forming alliances to achieve extraordinary results. In today’s world, it is no longer acceptable to get people on board simply through formal influence (e.g., having a title).

The leader needs to command respect and influence people based on an ability to connect with people on a personal level.

Results – At the end of the day, leaders make things happen in significant, measurable ways. They know how to get things done, move things forward, get resources, anticipate and mitigate risks, and execute their plan.

The foundation of this triangle is attitude, behaviors, and talents/skills.

Attitudes are the mindsets that drive successful results, including passion, professionalism, a sense of possibility, and a desire to win.

Behaviors are the actions that motivate people and get results, and include powerful communication, influence skills, and taking time to build relationships.

Talents are the things the executive does well, while skills express those talents in relevant ways.

Involve the Entire Team:

In order to have an effective and efficient implementation system, it is essential to have everybody on the team involved.

This will also be a major contributing factor for the business owner, in moving closer to the next goal – letting go of the business and making it work on its own, by handing the reins of the business to those who will be ultimately responsible for running it.

Give Them Responsibility: The business owner can’t expect team members to work hard without giving them true responsibility for their jobs. If the business owner gives accountability, he also has to give responsibility. In addition, there has to be a system in place for rewards based on results.

It may be a share of the profits, for instance. This can bring out the best in all the team members.

Delegate: Delegating work goes far beyond just handing over responsibilities and jobs to other people; it means handing out the functions completely. It has much to do with letting go, instead of wanting to do everything oneself.

This is where one can see the true test of a leader.

Hands Off: It can be very useful to a general manager to run the business so that the business owner can step back more easily.

This is one good way of handling this situation, and in this manner, the business owner can leave the business in the hands of the expert who has been hired.

Easing Out: There are a few tips, as discussed in my Instant Systems book that can help a business owner ease out of the business, including:

- Not interfering with the work being done by the team members. They were hired to do the job, so let them do it.

- Giving up a parking space or office. Not having a place in the business will help keep the business owner from showing up all the time.

- Staying away from regular meetings, and just getting a brief from the general manager on the phone or via e-mail.

- Keeping all lines of communication open and remaining accessible.

- Scheduling periodic meetings or visit at the office from time to time, or showing up for specific meetings as required.

Handling Semi Retirement: While everyone hopes to achieve this state, many are not able to handle it when they really retire or in this case, semi-retire.

This is because they have been busy doing things and have been part of something productive.

However, the proposition of not having to go to work and still be paid can also be irresistible. One can deal with the pitfalls by developing a social life that you do not have to trade for money anymore.

But this doesn’t mean that the business owner will go back and start working in his business all over again.

This will mean investing.

An owner will now be making money with money to create wealth. While becoming a different type of business person in this sense is more challenging, in the end, many former owners find it is much more profitable.

This is because a business owner is often involved in designing, planning and implementing systems to run a business.

It becomes very difficult for the business owner to get free from the business and hand over duties to others.

It takes a courageous business owner to make an enormous change in the way he or she approaches business in order to make the much-desired transition from having a job to becoming semi-retired.

This is because all change is difficult due to fear – mainly fear of the unknown.

There is also fear of change, as a move to semi-retirement means an owners needs to change the way the he or she works with the company and team-members, and also in the way he or she views money.

Instead of taking a wage from the business, an owner will now be making money by maximizing profit. This will completely change the mindset of the business owner.

As a result, the owner’s whole relationship with the business will undergo a change of mammoth proportions.

To ensure the entire process of change is handled carefully, here are some ways to ensure a smooth transition – making sure the business can operate successfully and profitably without the business owner:

Create the Right Environment: If the existing conditions are not conducive change, transition to any change will be difficult. The team members within the organization should be willing and ready to introduce new systems and should genuinely believe in the urgency and importance of any new system.

The environment should be oriented for change in another way as well. There should be a climate of trust within the business, because a change usually involves moving away from status quo and requires the team members to step outside their comfort zones.

Open Communication Channels: One way of creating the right environment for change is having open communication channels so that the business owner is able to communicate with team and vice-versa.

That’s why it is important for team to feel there is an “open door policy” as far as communication is concerned.

There is a need for effective communication within the business, which means that the messages being communicated are actually received, and understood in terms of content and intention. It also means that they are acted upon, if necessary.

This is because any communication must result in some type of action.

Provide Continuous Feedback: It is crucial to have strong leadership through this process of change.

The business owner needs to employ a leadership style that keeps the owner on the right path. The best way of doing this is by providing the team members with constant feedback. This can be done by tracking their progress with the system and keeping them in the loop on the developments taking place.

It helps to offer encouragement and support and encourage them to provide feedback.

Communication is a two-way street and it is the lifeblood of any business; make it a priority.

The process of business coaching makes it a perfect resource for owners looking for business help for their companies.

Why?

Because a good Business Coach will not only help you get to your goals quicker, he or she will also keep you accountable to getting the results you say you want.

That is the main difference between business coaching and business consulting.

Most consultants simply give you a list of strategies or “things to do” to help turn your business around.

A good Business Coach will do that, but only after using a series of questions to determine the main problem areas and points of opportunity in a business.

By questioning and getting answers from the owner, the coach will then guide the owner in developing his or her own “to do” list … and will follow-up the next week to make sure those “to do’s” have actually been done.

This level of process and accountability are key in the coaching process.

It is also important that the business owner be willing and open to be coached, because if he or she isn’t, coaching (or any type of business help) is doomed to fail.

So what areas can a Business Coach help improve? Here are a series of questions that a coach may ask (and you can ask yourself) about your business right now:

1.Do you have a plan that will help your business do better this year than last year?

2.Do you know exactly what you want your business to do for you and your family?

3.Do you know what your best-selling product or service is?

4.Do you know what the profit margin on that product or service is?

5.Would you know how to grow your sales if you only had one or two product or service lines? If you are looking for business help on how to grow your sales and get more profits, business coaching may be a great resource for you.

Great leaders are always open and willing to discover new tools and tactics for success.

If you are willing to look outside of your company for business help business coaching can help:

- Build better teams

- Get more profits

- Get more time for yourself to better run your business, or spend time away from your company

- Get better planning and organization for your day More accurately and profitably price your products and services

- Generate more cashflow

- Choose the right technology for your company, from computers to phone systems

- Determine the numbers that will grow and drive your business to new levels of profitability

Business coaching is one of the most effective ways to get exponential (versus incremental) growth in any type of company … and it just might be the best way to get the same in yours.

Often I meet people who think they’re in business for themselves and yet, by my definition, they’re not. Let me explain.

My definition of a business is the following: a commercial, profitable enterprise that works without me. Anything else has to be classified as something other than a true business.

As with most things in life, there are so many different levels to ‘being in business.’ Lots of people say they play sports, but at what level? Lots of people say they’re in business, but once again, at what level?

It’s not just ‘getting into your own business’ that will make you rich. Just as it’s not just doing some exercises that will get you to the Olympics.

There are specific strategies, skills, and so many more things you’ll need to follow to turn your business and wealth dreams into reality.

As you most probably know, it’s said that 80% of businesses fail within five years of start-up. I imagine these numbers are true, but I want you to remember this: most businesses do not fail because the owner didn’t work hard.

They don’t fail because the owner wants them to fail; they failed because the owner did not know what to do. In most cases they failed because the owner remained ignorant of the rules of the game.

I’ve always believed that business is a game, and if you want to play the game, you’d better learn the rules. What’s more, you’d better learn them from someone who’ve succeeded at the game. Not from the scorekeepers (accountants), the rule makers (lawyers), the spectators (employees), the money holders and collectors (bankers), and definitely not from other ‘D’ grade players (business owners who are just getting by or even failing).

You’ve got to learn the game from the best players and the best coaches. It seems so simple when you look at it from this angle. This, of course, raises another question. Who are the best players?

Before I answer that, I want to make one other point very clear: most people who fail in business can always find an excuse for their failure (some use fancy words like reasons), others just blame everyone around them other than themselves, and still others just bury their head in some sort of denial of the predicament they are in.

These three ways: blame, excuse and denial, are very much a product of the employee ‘specialist’ mentality — they help you play the game of the employee where you just want to keep your job.

On the other hand, there is only one way you’ll truly succeed in business. That is to throw out these ways, to stop playing the role of the victim and to start to play the role of the victor.

Learn that if you do make mistakes, take full responsibility for them, learn from them, correct, do some more, and so on— this is the path of a generalist entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs truly take accountability and responsibility for their own lives, and as one you’ll realise that for your life to change, you must change.

Remember, it’s usually not the major concept (getting into business) that helps you create enormous success, it’s the fine distinctions and the small details you learn along the way that will allow you to jump from average to high performance.

Article reprinted courtesy of My Business Magazine

Ever since Tom Hopkins and the dozens of other Americans hit our shores to preach how you can make more sales, boost the bottom line and get that client to part with their cheque, we’ve followed blindly. All the while assuming what we were taught is going to make our lives easier and our wallets fatter.

Well, I’m here to declare the old form of selling is officially dead.

The 24 best closes, the ‘Benjamin Franklin close’, the ABC, always be closing, and all of the techniques that have been taught in some form or another since the 70s have been murdered.

They’ve been killed by a far better educated, far more sophisticated consumer who in some form or another has been sold, oversold, and closed to the point of rebellion.

The old ways have been rejected outright by a consumer who now has the ability to research every purchase from you, your company, and every competitor of yours over the internet.

So, what do we, as salespeople, do now? How can we convert prospects if sales is dead? Well, we have to go back to the one thing that has always worked… RELATIONSHIPS.

All things being equal people buy from people they like. And to take that one step further, even when things are not equal, people would still rather buy from someone they like, more than someone they don’t.

So, is your business set up for relationships or a quick sell job?

Here’s a simple test: Do you send a brochure or a salesperson? Do you answer the phone or put people into a machine? Do you send an email or pick up the phone?

Do you record the person’s purchases or their family member’s names or both?

Do you have at least eight customers you now call a ‘good friend’?

Most companies we coach today are set up for making a sale, not building a relationship. It’s funny, the bigger a company gets the further away from relationships they tend to move. That’s your advantage as a business owner. You are a real person and you build real relationships.

Never ever think a big company can out-perform you in the area most important to customers today. People still think price is the most important factor and EVERY survey I have ever read shows it’s not true.

A relationship and people liking you is the most important thing in sales. That being said, we need to seriously move with the times. Much of selling and relationship building today is done before the prospect even walks through your door or picks up the phone. Your website needs to be your best information provider, and the ability to find you through Google today is vital.

Go to www.google.com and type in what any prospect of yours would when they think of buying your products or services. Where do you rank? If you’re not even on the first 2 pages, that’s a killer today.

Here’s a simple example, type in business coaching and see where my company is. If it’s not at the top today, it will be very close to it. Remember the old way of selling is dead; people have already researched their purchase long before they come to see you. They don’t tend to trust what a salesperson tells them so they ask their friends and then they ask the internet.

That’s why your website has to be a great sales tool for you.

You need to get people involved, you need to educate your prospects and let them complete their research so they already trust, understand and know your product or service before they contact you.

One final point. Every new customer could become a lifelong buyer if you treat them right. But if you build a relationship, they will not only buy from you, often they will convince their friends to buy from you too.

Business is not a short-term game, it’s not about the quick buck this month. It’s about the long-term relationships you build. You see, in business, it’s not who you know that matters, it’s who knows you.

Article reprinted courtesy of My Business Magazine

1) Make a clean break. This is the easiest way to replace yourself. Here, you basically go out and hire a pro to come in and run the business. That person comes in, and you go out. Obviously, this isn’t recommended for a number of reasons. The new person has little or no institutional knowledge of your business or its history.

Secondly, such change is usually too drastic for customers and employees. Sometimes, it’s even too drastic for the business owner – who in many instances undergoes a change of heart six months or a year down the road and decides to come back. Many times, the company that the owner returns to is not the one he or she left.

2) Put a family member in charge. This is also an easy way to replace yourself, and it is also not recommended. The reasons for this are obvious: resentment among top management and employees; perceptions of nepotism; the idea that skill sets don’t match the high standard of a founder.

Putting a family member in charge could be an option if the plan of succession for a business is already laid out that way; if all team members are aware of that plan, and the person tapped to lead the company has paid his or her dues working in the company from the ground up. Most times, however, owners aren’t so prepared or long-term oriented in this regard, and the envy and resentment of family members in charge leads to problems from which most companies never recover.

Maybe you’re the person who had the great idea, the brilliant innovation or the breakthrough product. But maybe you’ve taken the business as far as you can take it. Maybe it’s time to get out of the way and let a new team of professionals take over so you can move on – and start your next business.

Recognising you are not the perfect sales person, manager or marketing director isn’t bad. It can be liberating. Realising you’re the perfect entrepreneur can be the just what you need to really succeed in business – at a level you may have never dreamed possible

It’s a tough question. Entrepreneurs are not always the best managers. In fact, they are often some of the worst.

For entrepreneurs who find themselves “stuck” or see their companies at a growth plateau, a great question to ask yourself is whether or not your greatest strength is managing what you’ve built. For most owners, it isn’t. For most of them, what they really need to do is get out and start a new venture or enterprise.

Because entrepreneurship is what they do best. What are the characteristics of a great entrepreneur? They’re different from those of a manager or employee. That’s why owners are entrepreneurs in the first place.

Beyond a vision and drive for something more, true entrepreneurs realise trading time for money is not the way to get rich.

However, being stuck as a manager in your own operation is not productive, especially when your talents lay elsewhere.

But how do you get out of your own business in a way that benefits everyone – including yourself?

First, you must recognise that “you” may be the issue. Once you admit that, options and opportunities become clearer.

Ideally, you already have some systems in place in your business and a good team you can trust to run at least some portions of your operation.

Then, you must take a leadership position to put new leadership in place. There are a few great ways you can successfully make it happen that have proven effective for other owners in your position over the years:

1) Recruit two or three high calibre people and let them work their way to the top. Don’t let them know you are looking at them as your replacement one day. Instead, mentor them and let them lead their various divisions and see for yourself who would be the best fit for the company long-term.

2) Look within. Here, you’re looking at your current roster of executive staff you currently have for one or possibly a group of employees who could take over the company and run it long-term. You might even find a way to create an income flow for yourself long-term from this type of arrangement – one that would let you do something else.

3) Find and run a business that is not dependent on you. Ideally, this is the business you start after you sell or find a creative way to get your cash out of your existing business.

1. Find a business that is surviving despite itself

Target a business with bad service or poor presentation that still seems to be making money. Sometimes it is the only supplier in town (better for you). Sometimes, just a few changes can greatly increase sales and profits.

2. Focus on cashflow, not assets

It’s easier to get an increase in sales in a service, retail or wholesale business versus a manufacturing firm. Focus on cash flow instead of tying up your dollars in depreciating assets.

3. Find a business that requires low skills and offers a staple product or service

Focus on businesses that employ people who are easy to hire, easy to train, won’t cost a lot and are easy to keep. Also focus on businesses that are based on what I call the ‘Shoes Principle.’ Everyone wears shoes. Don’t worry about inventing something new; just sell what people want to buy.

4. Find a business with bad sales and marketing

Poor marketing is a sign of great opportunity. This could include no real measuring of results, or having a list of past customers that has never been used as a marketing tool. Typically, a few fixes can greatly leverage efforts.

5. Hire a great jockey

If you’re blessed with cash, hiring the right person to run your business is a great way to go. Say you meet a fantastic chef or barkeeper, then you could buy a restaurant or bar. If you met a great hairdresser, you could buy a salon. The key is to find a great jockey first and then find a great horse for them to ride.

6. Find a business with high upside

If you can’t get a lot of upside improvement, you can’t make a lot of money. Focus on companies that are nowhere near running at full capacity.

7. Be patient for a great deal

Always set your price before you walk into any deal-making session. In fact, walk out of your own door
with a firm price in mind. And whatever happens, never, ever pay more than that price.

Article reprinted courtesy of My Business Magazine

No matter what you read in the newspapers, business is — and has always been — the best way to build wealth. The biggest money investors on the planet are the venture capitalists (VC’s). They are ‘big money’ people who have excellent reasons why they put those dollars into certain deals.

Generally, they look at both a company’s management and opportunity for success. And in doing so, they don’t buy shares or property.

They buy whole businesses. Yes, they may acquire those firms through the purchase of shares. And they might get some property in the package. But overall, the world’s top VCs look for whole businesses they can buy. Some VC’s look at emerging industries in markets with high growth potential, while others look at existing industries and companies that are underperforming in their market or category.

The aim?

Turning those companies around.

Once a VC owns a company, a few things can happen. VC investors could split a company’s divisions up and sell them off in parts. Or they could decide to put their own management in place to help leverage growth. Or they may use a single business to buy other similar kinds of businesses to leverage cashflow and profits through acquisitions.

Whatever they may do, the point is the smartest and best money people in the world buy businesses. And if that’s what they do to make money, maybe it’s something you should do, too.

Why?

Because ownership allows control of day-to-day operations, something you can’t do when you buy shares in Microsoft.

Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer have their own team to do that. You can’t do that with property either — primarily because longterm capital appreciation is based on a variety of factors — most of which are outside your control.

But you can control business operations that produce and generate cashflow, and return on investment from profits on cashflow is the key to creating long-term wealth in a business. For the majority of entrepreneurs, I recommend the VC strategy of buying an existing business and turning it around. There are a lot of reasons for this, but the ‘find, fund and fix’ model is probably the simplest way I know to get into business for yourself to take advantage of everything entrepreneurship has to offer.

Article reprinted courtesy of My Business Magazine