Posts Tagged ‘Founder Brad Sugars’

The Good And Bad of the Twitterverse

August 16th, 2010 by stevezog

Twitter is fast-becoming as popular as Facebook.

Chances are you’ve heard of a little, tiny social media website called Twitter. Barbara Walters is on it. Lindsay Lohan is on it. The New York Times is on it. ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars is on it.

If you don’t know what Twitter is, in short, it’s a website you can update with anything – what you’re doing, what you’re thinking, links to funny videos, products, etc, as long as it’s under 140 characters – and people can follow you so they can read all your updates.

When used responsibly, it’s a very good thing. The times, they are a changin’ – virtually all companies now are on Twitter to promote products, news stories, anything to get their name out there on the Web and where lots of people will see it.

In addition, people from all over can “tweet” about their experiences with companies, positive or negative. When negative things about your company are out there for all to see, it can become a bad thing – Twitter can come up in Google searches, as well. For example, Horizon Realty is actually suing a “tweeter” who tweeted what they claim are defamatory statements about their company.

Concentrating on customer service is something that gets lost in the mix for a lot of companies, but it’s a very important aspect of business.

It is vital to keep customers coming back. The easiest way to do that is by keeping them happy.

Do this, and ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars agrees. Happy customers can mean referrals, word of mouth advertising and, of course, repeat business.

All of which are great things for a company.

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Brad Sugars on Twitter

February 9th, 2010 by stevezog

One of the important things on ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars’ to-do list is updating his tweets. He’s a big fan of Twitter, the micro-blogging site, and uses it to communicate and build thought leadership while staying connected to the market and ideas and issues out there.

Sugars is not alone in doing so. He joins the likes of several other high-profile CEO tweeters – Sun Microsystems’ Jonathan Schwartz, Zappos’ Tony Hsieh and Kodak’s Jeff Hayzlett, for example – who have embraced this new medium to communicate with employees, fellow executives, investors, shareholders and consumers.

CEOs are quickly becoming Twitter-friendly and creating brand awareness through this seemingly simple social media tool. According to Business Week, the number of CEOs using Twitter had jumped over the past year as Twitter became more of a mainstream communications tools.

“I use Twitter to communicate ideas on entrepreneurship,” Sugars said. “This is a great brand-building tool. and I enjoy the efficiency that comes from brief comments compared to blog entries that are much longer and require more commitment in terms of time.”

CEOs and executives who use Twitter are considered part lead brand ambassador, part-celebrity. They have the ability to personalize their brands and are able to create more brand awareness and networking opportunities through a growing following on Twitter.

Sugars, who in less than three weeks’ time, built a solid following of 1095 people, emphasizes on having a clear objective as well as a commitment to the medium before getting on the bandwagon.

It is crucial to first determine what you would like to achieve through your tweets –in other words, who comprises your target audience –and then, make a commitment to tweeting several times a day,” he said.

Follow Brad Sugars on Twitter and watch the man in action!

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Coaching at the U.S. Open – Similar to Business Coaching

September 4th, 2009 by stevezog
Despite being sidelined for nine months with an injury, Sharapova defeated her opponents in the first two rounds.

Despite being sidelined for nine months with an injury, Sharapova defeated her opponents in the first two rounds of the U.S. Open.

Maria Sharapova wasn’t in the rankings of the top 25 players at day two of the U.S. Open, but don’t count the 2006 U.S. Open champion out of the tournament quite yet.

Sharapova was sidelined for nine months with a shoulder injury, and has only played seven events this year. However, she’s shown promise in those seven events – reaching the semis and the final of the last two events she’s played in.

Sharapova has always been a focused player, and this makes her a real threat to who she plays in the first few rounds.

How is Sharapova such a great player? The answer is simple: coaching.

Sharapova was coached from the tender age of seven…all the way to winning a Wimbledon title in 2004 at the also tender age of 17. Well, it’s a tender age to beat older, more experienced players to win a big championship, at least.

Coaching obviously served Sharapova well. And we would know – ActionCOACH is in the business of coaching, as well.

Just like sports coaching guides athletes to success, business coaching guides and trains business owners to better streamline strategy and operations, do more with less and stay on top of all their responsibilities, while working on, not in, their business.

Focus on numbers, accountability and systems are key factors in the ActionCOACH approach – factors that also highlight the best practices of the world’s most effective sports coaches.

“Every great athlete relies on a coach to develop a great training plan or a game plan to achieve success – and more business owners than ever are relying on a business coach to help them develop a winning business plan for a more profitable business,” ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars said.

Sports athletes benefit from coaching, and businesses benefit from business coaching.

It’s a simple concept, yet many businesses don’t take advantage of this service. Compare it to an athlete – have you ever seen an athlete without a coach?

Something to think about.

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Timing is Everything

September 1st, 2009 by stevezog

13-year-old Laura Dekker wants to sail around the world.

13-year-old Laura Dekker wants to sail around the world.

Having confidence is excellent to have, especially when you’re young.

However, just because someone is confident, this doesn’t always mean something they want to do is a good idea to actually do right then.

For example, Laura Dekker, a 13-year-old Dutch girl, is an avid sailor. There’s no doubt she’s good at sailing – at just six years old, she mastered control over her single-handed dinghy and was sailing on lakes in the Netherlands, and at age 10, she skillfully sailed a 7m boat. She’s completed several training courses and has more than proved to her parents, she thinks, that she is capable of sailing around the world.

Unfortunately for her, Dutch child protection agencies challenged her “tour,” and Dekker is banned from attempting to sail around the world.

She already got in a bit of trouble for crossing the North Sea by herself (with her father’s approval). Once in England, she was detained in a children’s home, before her father came to get her.

The courts ruled on Friday that Dekker is too young to attempt to sail around the world. As experienced as she is, there’s no telling what could happen when she’s out there all alone with no one to help her if need be.

But that doesn’t mean she needs to give up her dream. She just needs to keep learning, keep gaining experience, and once she’s really ready and able to handle anything that comes her way, she can attempt to sail around the world.

The same model can be applied to businesses.

As ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars says, it takes about seven years to build any business.

Why? It takes that long to really “learn how to earn” money in a business.

That said, patience is key, and businesses shouldn’t set out to accomplish their goals all at once. It takes time and work. Eventually, though, a business will be able to achieve every one of its goals with proper work, effort and guidance.

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Health Care Debates Might Benefit from Be-Do-Have

August 27th, 2009 by stevezog
President Obama talks about his proposed health insurance plans.

President Obama talks about his proposed health insurance plans.

President Obama’s proposed health plans are being met with scrutiny from the Republicans and some of the American public.

Obama is proposing a public health care option, where a government-run health care insurance provider would compete with private health care insurance providers at a more affordable price. In case that doesn’t pass, he is also proposing a private non-profit co-op option.

This would be the same as the public option essentially, except it would be run by a private entity, not the government.

So why is Obama having trouble getting his vision across to the country?

It may come down to the pitching process. Obama isn’t pitching his plans well enough. The Republicans are pitching their opposition well, and it’s benefiting their stance.

The use of language in sound bite form – such as the use of the term “death panel” – has proven to be effective.

This is in contrast to the minutes-long speeches Obama has given on the subject.

To fix this, Obama should take a cue from ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars and Be-Do-Have.

In order to have great results, you must be what you need to be to get results, then do the work to get there.

If Obama showed more passion and helped make the complex simple, he might have more success in getting his plan passed.

As Brad Sugars often explains, business begins with your customers first and what they want or the problems they are having.

Then, you deliver what they want or solve their problem.

It seems that Obama is trying to make his customers like his product rather than offer a product that his customers really like.

If he were to do that, his explanations may get more clear, and his true passion for his “product” would shine through.

His customers would also see more clearly “what’s in it for them,” making his “sale” even easier.

Is your business in good health? Take our Business Health Check and find out.

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Anonymity and Ethics

August 26th, 2009 by stevezog

Is there free speech on the Internet?

It would appear that there is – but bloggers should still follow a code of ethics, just like most publications do (even though they have the right to publish free speech), there still are legal boundaries and limitations.

A court recently ordered Google to hand over the IP address and identity of a blogger using its blogging system in New York, who defamed model Liskula Cohen by declaring her the “skankiest model in New York.”

To defend herself, Cohen filed a $3 million defamation suit against the no longer anonymous blogger, Rosemary Port, who, as it turns out, is an acquaintance of Cohen’s.

For her part, Port is reportedly looking into suing Google for revealing her identity, which she apparently presumed to be anonymous and private.

Google fought to protect Port’s anonymity, but lost after Cohen proved she was losing modeling jobs due to the remarks on Port’s blog.

However, this isn’t the first time the courts have seen a case like this. Recently, after a Maryland Dunkin’ Donuts store manager claimed anonymous posters in a forum were defaming him by calling his restaurant dirty, the court reversed an earlier decision to reveal the posters’ identity.

When people are able to hide behind an anonymous blogging name, they feel free to write whatever they so choose to, even if it’s not true.

But when someone’s byline is on the line, so to speak, a certain code of ethics and legal boundaries must be followed, or it means a lawsuit for the publication.

In the new era of online content and blogs, more ActionCOACH Business Coaches are working with businesses that actively blog. So what are the “rules of the game” for businesses that blog?

ActionCOACH counsels that all of its clients who blog should have a similar code of ethics seen in other print media.

It’s really not too “out there” of an idea – after all, many people depend on a variety of blogs for news and information nowadays.

In fact, several reputable publications with their own blogs – the New York Times, Business Week and Time Magazine – blog and add content with their code of ethics in mind.

Like gossip magazines, some blogs only write about gossip and rumors, but even gossip magazines have a code of ethics they follow to prevent lawsuits.

Similarly, for a lawsuit claiming defamation by a blog, recent legal guidelines asks the plaintiff to do the following:

  • Notify anonymous parties that their identities are sought.
  • Give the posters time to reply with reasons why they should remain nameless.
  • Require plaintiffs identify the defamatory statements and who made them.
  • Determine whether the complaint has set forth a prima facie defamation, where the words are obviously libelous, or a per quod action, meaning it requires outside evidence.
  • Weigh the poster’s right to free speech against the strength of the case and the necessity of identity disclosure.

As a successful international company, ActionCOACH always advises that a codes of ethics be followed whenever it comes to blogging. Even on its own blog and blogs related to ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars, there are certain rules and guidelines for blog content.

It’s important to stay consistent with business ethics, and no matter what business you’re in, it’s important to conduct all facets of business (including your blog content) in an ethical manner.

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Miss Universe – Opportunities Abound

August 24th, 2009 by stevezog
Miss Venezuela won the Miss Universe pageant over the weekend.

Miss Venezuela won the Miss Universe pageant over the weekend.

The Miss Universe pageant occurred over the weekend, and Miss Venezuela, Stefania Fernandez, was declared the winner.

The Miss Universe Organization puts on the pageant, along with the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.

The first pageant of its trilogy of pageants, Miss USA, started in 1952 as a local swimsuit competition in California. Who would have thought the event would grow into an international beauty competition that millions of women vie to become a part of?

The competition was, and is, appealing to women because besides being beautiful women, contestants need to be smart, savvy and goal-oriented.

Winners of the competition and even those who compete have more opportunities than ever to accomplish their overall goals, be they humanitarian goals, helping those in need or career goals.

The same idea was ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars’ idea, too:  using business coaching to creating opportunities for ActionCOACH franchise and firm owners and Business Coaches.

In fact, many current ActionCOACH Business Coaches are former clients and customers who saw in ActionCOACH a new opportunity to use their training and learning and business success in new ways.

When people join the ActionCOACH family, they are given the opportunity to begin helping small to medium-sized business owners, and help them accomplish their goals, increase their profits and help them work on, not in, their business.

Miss Universe contestants compete for the crown for the opportunities they receive if they win. ActionCOACH Business Coaches number one reason for becoming a Business Coach is to help and teach people. Those are great new opportunities they can leverage in the ActionCOACH system.

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Revenge of the Hackers

August 21st, 2009 by stevezog
Small businesses are just as vulnerable to computer hackers as big businesses are.

Small businesses are just as vulnerable to computer hackers as big businesses are.

If you promote your business on Twitter or Facebook, or you’re just a social media addict, you probably know that both sites were hacked into last week, causing both sites to freeze, move slowly and crash, much to the frustration of their users.

This isn’t the first time hackers have ruined sites. In this instance however, the hackers only cost Twitter and Facebook convenience – not money. The recent hacking scandal with Heartland Payment, however, did cost them; about 130 million accounts were hacked into.

Surprisingly, lots of companies aren’t protecting themselves against hackers. Maybe looking through this list of companies who were hacked into will make business owners think twice:

· Like the Twitter/Facebook virus, a denial of service bug shut down eBay, Amazon and Yahoo in February 2000. Hackers flooded servers with network data, which made these sites load beyond slow, then eventually crash. This caused an estimated loss of $1.2 billion.

· The total cost of damage of the hacking of TJX Companies Inc. is hard to pin down; the parent company of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls was robbed of approximately more than $300 million. A hacker used a decryption tool to access 45.7 million credit and debit card accounts.

· The man behind the TJX hacking was guilty of one of the biggest data breaches in history, and was charged for it just yesterday. Albert Gonzalez, 28, was trying to cause businesses havoc again, this time hacking into computers and stealing an estimated 130 million credit and debit card numbers from Heartland Payment Systems, Hannaford Brothers Co., and 7-11.

· A hacker got lucky and an employee got in major trouble: a data analyst from the federal department brought a laptop and external drive home without permission, his home was burglarized and it was stolen, and veterans’ names, Social Security numbers and birth dates were all stolen. The damage led to a lawsuit against the department to the tune of $20 million.

These are big companies that were hacked. Smaller businesses’ systems are even easier to hack into.

Unless you are prepared.

ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars advises business owners to prepare themselves.

“Many small business owners wrongly assume they are not targets for criminals and believe only larger companies are susceptible to these practices,” he said.

“It is clear small businesses need to adopt a big business mentality in order to prevent fraud. They need to invest in security systems and keep sensitive files and information under lock and key with access to only those employees who would need it.”

Your business is your business, so protect it from the unexpected – otherwise, it could cost you.

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It All Comes Down to Making the Least Mistakes

August 17th, 2009 by stevezog
Y.E. Yang beat Tiger Woods in the final round of the PGA Championship over the weekend.

Y.E. Yang beat Tiger Woods in the final round of the PGA Championship over the weekend.

In the PGA Championship over the weekend, Tiger Woods was slated as the predicted winner, with a 2-9 chance of winning, according to oddsmakers. Y.E. Yang ‘s chances were 20-1.

Yet, Y.E. Yang won the PGA Championship.

Even more impressive – he came out ahead of Woods in the final round.

Woods led the tournament, and then was tied with Yang until the 14th hole. Yang hit an eagle chip from 80 feet to take the lead.

When asked to comment on the loss, Woods simply said, “I played well enough to win the championship. I did not putt well enough to win the championship…I made absolutely nothing. I just have to say, terrible day on the greens.”

“You never know in life,” Yang said through his interpreter at the press conference.

How true that is – not only in life, but in sports and in business, as well.

Just because you’re ahead of the game in terms of your business doesn’t mean something unexpected won’t happen. Being a winner, in sports and in business, all depends on who makes the least mistakes.

ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars knows there are several common mistakes business owners and entrepreneurs make, and avoiding these are key to staying ahead in business.

Everyone makes mistakes, but those who make the least amount of mistakes – and don’t repeat their mistakes – are the ones who make it through the game, and eventually, win.

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Preparing for Fall and Winter

August 12th, 2009 by stevezog

It’s the end of summer, heading into fall, for most places in the world…and for some countries, the weather is spring, heading into summer.

If you’re a business owner, you know very well that there are business “seasons,” as well. And while the U.S. continues to operate in its “economic winter,” parts of the Asia Pacific are in full fledged “economic summer.”

But, as ActionCOACH founder and CEO Brad Sugars knows, even though it might be an “economic summer,” that doesn’t mean businesses don’t need coaching.

That’s the myth of the business – that when a business is successful, it doesn’t need any coaching. But the truth is, every business could be doing better – no matter what economic season the world is in.

Sugars started a five-day ”Business is Booming” tour on August 10th in Brisbane, Australia to help dispel this myth. He’ll speak in a different city each day – Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide – and share with small and medium-sized business owners successful selling strategies, how to attain and keep repeat business, and how to plan for successful outcomes and results, among other strategies.

Tickets to attend were free, and his first show in Brisbane was sold out. More than 1,000 people were in attendance.

Business owners often look at needing a coach as a sign that they’re not doing well on their own. But that’s not always the case – Plenty of athletes, like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, won titles and championships after guidance from their coaches.

It just goes to show that people are thinking smart about business, and even if a business is doing well, it’s silly to turn down business advice that could help business begin to boom. Especially when it’s free!

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