Successful Blog

Irresistible Consistency: Are You Suited Up for Soccer When Golf Is the Game?

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Right People, Right Positions, Right Game

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In the NYTimes bestseller, Good to Great, author Jim Collins laid out the foundation of an outstanding enterprise class organization. When I heard him speak, last October he said that the winner is the one with the best team. To achieve the best team,

  • A leader has to identify the right people who are the smartest.
  • A leader has to put them in the right positions.
  • A leader has to value, reward, and celebrate teamwork.

Those who change the world are enormously consistent in how they do it. The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency. – Jim Collins, World Business Forum, 2010

It’s my experience that Mr. Collins’ short list brings constant improvement in situations where the game never changes. The hidden assumption is that the playing field, the conditions, the climate, the trends, and rules of business remain the same.

They didn’t. They don’t. They never will. They won’t.

Are You Suited Up for Soccer When Golf Is the Game?

I don’t doubt for second that Mr. Collins knows that and chooses his people to match the game that’s currently in play. Yet, when I work on strategy with big corporations and small business, too often I find their still suiting up and running the plays for the game that was on the field yesterday. It doesn’t work if you’re suited up for soccer and golf is the game.
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The Internet has moved the field, changed the rules, disrupted conditions, upset the culture, sparked new trends, shifted the playbook with new models and more flexible teams, and relocated the executive locker room.

The consistency that was a strength also built silos, sales scripts, and standard procedures that has lead some of those “smartest people” not to see what they see and not to know what they know in deference to rules build to ensure one-size-fits-all consistency.

Those companies suited up for a highly consistent playing field are finding their sales numbers and their service reports frustrated by customers who value responses that are custom-made for what they need. Because to over-value consistency is to focus on process, when it’s people who help a business thrive.

So how can we use Jim Collins’ Good to Great research and insights to leverage the opportunities of the new people-focused game — the social business culture, changes in the way companies and customers communicate, constantly moving metrics and toolkits, trend shifts, and elastic team dynamics of the 21st century online and off?

What Are the Highest Values of Your Business?

For 21st century organizations to move fluidly and fluently through multiple platforms and cultures, we need to look at the old short list in a slightly new way. The winner will still be the one with the best team, but now to achieve the best team, leaders will ignite communities of like-minded leaders at every level inside and outside the organization — employees, partners, vendors, customers, evangelists, friends, and fans who also want to invest in taking something from good to great.

Long-term, loyalty — trust — is a value-based relationship.

  • Live your highest values.
  • Be able to recognize the people who share them.
  • Invite those people to help build your business.

Consistency will win — a consistency of valuing the people who share your highest values is irresistible business strategy.

What are the highest values of your business?

Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Right People, Right Positions, Right Game

Beach Notes: The Gathering

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by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

It is Swell Sculpture Festival time at Currumbin and as we drove down the street this sculpture stood out for me. When we viewed it close up we found it was the piece that had been acquired by the Gold Coast Council and will have a home somewhere on the coast in some public place.

I liked the name The Gathering and that the artist Col Henry started that he was exploring the ideal of community and it’s importance to a sense of well-being and connection. That’s one of the benefits we get on a daily basis from our participation in Social Media.
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Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

What Works Best to Get Your Home Office Working for You?

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A Guest Post by
Rachel Carlson

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Successfully Working From a Home-based Office

It didn’t take long for me to make a mistake when I first started working from home. It wasn’t an obvious “You were wrong” kind of mistake, but the painfully subtle realization that I was going about this whole working from home thing with the wrong attitude. I took the opportunity to finally get a dog, set up a plain desk in the living room, and worked whenever I wanted. And who can blame me? Working from home ranks right up there with passive income – the Holy Grail and Ark of the Covenant in the Internet marketing world. It’s supposed to be easy right?

Internet workers (especially writers) tend to embrace the idea of working from home. Businesses increasingly favor it as a logical alternative to stuffing hundreds of workers in a cramped office space. In fact, the United States Small Business Administration estimates that around 50% (or about 16 million) of all businesses in the country are based at home.

Oddly enough, we also tend to forget the basic rules of success. Working from home is not a license to relax – there are still challenges to overcome; work that must get done. The discipline you must show when working from home is unmatched by the office environment. You only get paid for work – no wasting five minutes at the water cooler here, checking your Facebook page whenever the boss isn’t looking there.

So, what were the critical mistakes that I made when I first started working from home? You might be surprised at just how many of these strike a bit close to home in your own situation.

I Tried to Work Regular Eight Hour Days

The funny thing about doing creative work from home is that you can only really do so much before your brain completely fries. This is especially true with writers. Most writers get to a point in the day when, no matter how easy their next article is, quality takes a severe dive.

The cap for most writers is about 4,000 words of high quality content per day. After that, it can be tough to come up with new ideas or stay true to your style. It’s tremendously easy to put big projects off until the last minute when you work from home, even easier to think that writing 8,000 words on Monday will give you the day off on Tuesday to go to the beach.

When you choose to work from home, forget everything you know about the Western approach to working, and take the opportunity to find what works best for your personality. Ultimately, you might find that even 6 hours is too long of a day for your work, and you’d rather work in four hour long sessions with 20 minute breaks between. You might also find that you are the kind of person that can work two 20 hour days and enjoy the rest of the week off (lucky…).

No matter what, set a schedule that works best for you and stick with it until it gets boring. Then, try switching it up a little. There’s usually nobody to tell you when to work when you work from home, especially if you do freelance work.

I Took Shortcuts on Internet Service

When you work from home, nothing is more important than a stable, clear wireless Internet connection. I was flat broke when I started working from home – more of a choice of desperation after losing my “normal job.” So when I finally landed a writing job, I rushed to find a cheap Internet service.

If you work from home, buy the best Internet package that you can afford. If you only get paid for the tangible work you actually perform (instead of hourly or salary wages), any time lost waiting for pages to load is wasted. Even worse, losing your connection for even a single day can cost you hundreds of dollars in lost wages.

I remember one day when my Internet went out. The call to my ISP didn’t help (I think they’re trained to just say “we’re doing testing in your area” or “we have reported outages in your area” to get you off the phone). After yelling at the poor customer service rep for at least five minutes, I managed to secure a $1.72 refund on my next month’s bill. I spent the rest of the day drinking coffee at McDonalds, pillaging their Internet connection and ignoring the “why are you still hanging around” glares from the staff.

I Didn’t Keep My Home Office Separate

Granted, I lived in a one bedroom apartment with very few options for separate living space and a home office. But when it came down to it, I cleared out a walk in closet that I was lucky enough to have, found other storage for clothes and such, and used the closet as my office. Sure, it wasn’t as welcoming as a 30th floor office surrounded by windows, but there were great reasons that I ultimately decided to go this route.

As a work from home entrepreneur, you will constantly fight a battle between your work life and home life. Allowing the two to blend can spawn more distractions than you can handle. If you have a family, make it clear that your work time is private time – they should act as if you aren’t even there unless it’s an emergency.

There are also, of course, financial reasons for setting up a home office separate from your living space – taxes. According to Entrepreneur, you can write off a portion of your home or apartment that you use exclusively for business, even if you’re renting. This is the same as writing off utilities used for work, or even writing off your cell phone bill if the majority of calls are made as part of your job.

Although you’re supposed to have a contractor measure your home office space and provide a signed letter (useful if you get audited) verifying his or her measurements, I measured myself and prayed that no audit letter would come. So far, I’ve been lucky.

When you work from home, you will make mistakes. The temptation that comes with a flexible work schedule is like going on a diet – you become very good at convincing yourself that taking that extra donut (or taking yet another break) will be good for you in the end. Few people enjoy their job 100% of the time (does anyone, really?) and not having a direct supervisor to keep that television off can spell disaster for even the strongest of wills. In the end, the most important aspect of working from home is to bring the focus that you had in the office, and combine it with the freedom to spend more time with your family and work on your own schedule. Only with that balance can you get closer to finding that Holy Grail for which you’ve been looking.

What works best to get your home office working for youi?

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Author’s Bio:
Rachel Carlson is a writer and student that works from home. While she spends a lot of her time writing, she also helps different companies like Clear Wireless with gaining exposure through various blogs and websites. She has recently started a new Twitter account and is finally going to give it a real shot. She can be followed at @carlson_rachel.

Thanks, Rachel. Even the seasoned pros at home need reminders like these!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

Beach Notes: Discovering the Echidna Sculpture

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by Guest Writers Suzie Cheel and Des Walsh

Today, on our regular Sunday visit to the beautifully pristine Fingal Beach, we noticed for the first time in the beachside park area this striking wooden sculpture of an echidna. The carving is of one piece with the supporting block, but there is no plaque or other indicator of who the artist is.

The echidna, also known as a spiny anteater, is – with the platypus – one of only two egg-laying mammals. It is found only in Australia and New Guinea (Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, and the independent nation of Papua New Guinea). Despite its popular name and the fact that ants form part of its diet, the “spiny anteater” is apparently not particularly related to the true anteaters of the Americas.

Would we have discovered this echidna sculpture sooner if the story of the art and the artist were there for people to share?

Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

Top 3 Little Challenges of Working From Home

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A Guest Post by
Rachel Carlson

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Last week, we covered some of the big, client-end challenges of working from home, but what about those little challenges you’ll face on a daily basis? The top three little challenges of working from home are:

Trouble Staying Motivated –

Without a big bad boss checking your every keystroke, motivation can tank when you work from home. Remember that you’re working to survive, not to please a boss. Set an honest goal just above what you need to do each day and do everything you can to achieve it. It takes a while to switch your mindset over to working because you want to, not because you need to make someone else money. But you will get the hang of it.

Too Many Distractions –

This is a big one. You can literally do almost anything you want when you work from home. I often put a movie on when I’m working on something boring, but this doesn’t work for most people. Try different things when working from home and pay attention to how they impact your productivity. Sometimes having some music on while working can make you more productive, but again, this isn’t the case for everyone. This challenge will require some trial and error.

Taxes –

Most people can look forward to tax season with the possibility of a refund. Work-from-home people dread April. Keep track of everything you do in a spreadsheet, and have it ready for tax season. Try to save 20% of all the money you make in a separate account meant only for taxes. Better yet, pay the government 20% of your earnings every quarter. If you put off taxes until the last minute, you could find yourself in a terrible money pit with the government. I still owe taxes from my first year working from home because tax season caught me by surprise. Don’t make this same mistake – it can cost you thousands of dollars in fees and more than a few sleepless nights.

Every job has challenges. What are the little challenges that get in your way when you work at home?

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Author’s Bio:
Rachel Carlson is a writer and student that works from home. While she spends a lot of her time writing, she also helps different companies like Clear Wireless with gaining exposure through various blogs and websites. She has recently started a new Twitter account and is finally going to give it a real shot. She can be followed at @carlson_rachel.

Thanks, Rachel. Great follow up to last week’s post!

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

No Time this Week to Do It Right? Stop! Right There!

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Why Those Four Day Weeks Seem Even Longer

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I’m not sure who make the sure that most holidays would be celebrated on Mondays, but I’d like to to talk to … ahem … brilliant person who first had that backward idea.

The way I see it play out in reality often looks something like this …

  • The Sunday night “impending doom” of the new work week that usually sets in some time Sunday afternoon still shows up sometime Sunday afternoon as we forget that we have Monday off. For just a few moment, thoughts of work intrude on what is supposed to be a “free day,” before we brush them off.

  • The usual Monday buffer that eases us into the rituals of the work week     becomes another Sunday with that “impending doom.” We enjoy the off time, but feel it going, going, and then gone — knowing, knowing and then well aware that we’re facing a week with 20% less time.
  • Tues must rise to the challenge of handling the Monday rituals

    • while carrying the weight of the regularly scheduled Tuesday catch up meetings.

  • And Wednesday through Friday – we fret the time we lost, while reminding each other quite often which day it is because our weekly calendars are screwed up.

Certainly, a better way would have been to choose to offer Fridays as the recurring holiday – Then we’d get our work in order and be able to enjoy the day off without guilt or confusion that the Monday holiday causes. Just a thought.

Of course until that happens, we really ought to give our responses to recurring short weeks a little more thought.

No Time this Week to Do It Right? Stop! Right There!

Rather than “hit the ground,” might I suggest that we stop there, reflect on what actually needs doing and then slow down to thoughtful walk.

Early in my career I heard this saying …

We never have time to do it right, but always have time to do it over.

Short weeks seem to bring out more of that “never have time to do it right thinking” than ever. Part of what gets the momentum of a over-stressed, “no time to do it right” short week going is that we buy into having the same amount to do in less time. We think of ourselves as “time poor.” Time poor thinking is running into a situation because we start out sure that we don’t have enough time to walk. That leads us to

  • shallow planning
  • half-attention
  • inefficient participation
  • false engagement as we “multi-task”
  • unfriendly, hurried responses – that make the work more important than the people we work with
  • hyper-responses to small interruptions
  • an air of contagious agitation

all of which can be alleviated by walking with a “time rich” approach to the the week.
“Time rich” is being generous with the time we have and realizing that we have all of the time we need for important things. We’re more aware of what it means to connect for others who need help. In a short week, that would bring …

  • setting realistic priorities
  • listening and participating fully in important events and conversations
  • focusing and engaging in what can move things forward most efficiently
  • knowing that taking care of the people will often make it so they can take care of the work they do.
  • a welcome response to news and a easy way of making a later date for less urgent to dos
  • an atmosphere of breathing easy and control

I’ve found it’s a truth in my life that
Every time my brain needs to run faster — that’s a time that I need to slow to walk. So I remind myself that …

If we plan it and do it right the first time, we won’t have to do it over at all.

How do you get to “time rich” thinking to do right, when everyone is thinking “time poor”?

Be irresistible
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!