The Building Business Value newsletter has one purpose - to assist midmarket business leaders in their never-ending quest to build better companies. Whether you are the CEO of your own company, a senior manager of a business unit, or a leader in a company that serves those in the midmarket, you will find something in each newsletter to help you serve your stakeholders. Each month we will cover a variety of topics, all focused on leading in the midmarket.
We are very conscious that you spend much of your day buried in e-mail, so it is with your permission that we send this newsletter your way.
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| Vulnerable Leadership
Admit Your Own Mistakes |
In Peter Bregman's Harvard Business Publishing blog "I Want You To Apologize", he speaks on the power of an apology. Those of us in business leadership roles sometimes find it hard to apologize ... especially if the corporate culture discourages such behavior.
Many years ago while playing rugby, I happened to be on the wrong end of a very dirty play. I was in a vulnerable position and one of my competitors took a real shot at hurting me. After the play moved on, I found myself sprinting toward the guilty party and as I got closer, I realized my options were limited. He was bigger, looked menacing and seemed to be itching for a fight. Without thinking, I ran up to him, put my hand out to shake his hand and said to him "you're too good of a player to resort to do what you just did." He was stunned. He was actually ready to fight. Nothing else was said on the pitch, but when we met after the match for a pint, he apologized, I accepted and we moved on.
I've used a similar technique in business leadership roles ever since. It has changed a bit as it morphed in the sandbox of leading people and I've renamed it "vulnerable leadership." Leaders can often feel let down by the performance of their staff. They have the urge to run down the hall and really "give it to" that incompetent wretch! Well this approach may make you feel better ... for 30 seconds .... but it always has a long term negative impact.
Many leaders talk about empowerment, encourage their staff to ask for help, ask colleagues to bring mistakes and errors to light, but if the leader is viewed as flawless, it is very difficult to approach them with a whopping mistake.
The basic concept of "vulnerable leadership" is that leaders need to admit their own mistakes. Show you are vulnerable. Use examples. Show you are a real person and you'll be amazed how a culture can change from one that holds everything in and hides mistakes to one an open culture where mistakes are looked upon as tuition. People will begin to ask for help before they bury themselves and the organization.
Thanks for the reminder, Peter. All businesses would work better if the culture encouraged a simple apology.
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| Listen to Your Customers
An Important Way to Build Business Value |
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I visited my friendly neighborhood US Post Office recently to officially mail in my tax returns. One envelope was for the Feds and one envelope was for the State. An elderly women in front of me had a package to mail. It was a rectangular package, about two feet long and about eight inches wide. Sort of a long shoe box.
As she made her way to the counter, the postal employee asked her how she'd liked it mailed. The answer? "Cheapest way." Then the next question.
"Would you like it delivered Express Mail?"
"Is that the cheapest?"
"No ... would like you like Priority Mail ... delivered in 2-3 days?"
"Is that the cheapest?"
"No ... would you like First-Class Mail"?
By now the patron was getting a feel for the routine.
"No thanks", she said.
"Would you like insurance?"
"Does it cost more?"
"Yes"
"No thanks"
"Would you like Delivery Confirmation?"
"No, just the cheapest way"
"Confirmation of delivery?" "No"
"Signature Confirmation?" "No"
"That will be $4.55"
On my drive back to the office, I made a mental list of my clients and wondered if my ear was a tin as this postal worker's ear. Your customer base is a key driver for building business value. How well are you listening to your customers?
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| Optimize the Value of Your Off Site Meeting
5 Tips to Keep Momentum Moving |
| Why don't all business owners and C-level executives focus on value creation as job one? In my experience working both as a C-level executive and as a consultant who has worked with a number of mid market companies, the answer is obvious: it's hard to think about the future when you've got so much to worry about today.
Most leaders function in an atmosphere of juggling crises. They step off a flight to 116 new e-mails and have to devote their most precious resource ⎯ their time − to figuring out what needs to be handled immediately, what can wait for a few hours, and what can wait until tomorrow. In today's hyperfrenetic business climate, it's all but impossible for leaders to indulge themselves in the ultimate luxury ⎯ uninterrupted time devoted to thinking about and planning for the future.
The typical solution for harried C-level executives is an off-site meeting, but such meetings typically devolve into extended bull sessions in which people utter a lot of high-minded, well-intentioned platitudes about the future but rarely figure out how to translate those impressive sentiments into action items. You know the feeling, that "off-site euphoria" you experience as you wrap up the meeting with optimism and energy. But that feeling is soon replaced by the harsh reality of the daily grind as the wave of missed deadlines, extended due dates, and lack of follow-through on the meeting's action items becomes apparent. The reality is that everybody gets in a few days of golf, but then it's back to the office, with nothing changed.
So how can you optimize off-site meetings? How do you extend off-site aspirations and strategies into achievable goals that withstand daily business challenges?
Try these five tips to keep that offsite momentum moving.
1. Make sure your stated goals for the off-site meeting are clear.
Preparation is the leading indicator for success. An old adage about speeches goes like this: there are only three kinds of speeches - one you plan to give, the one you give, and the one you wish you gave. Like speeches, preparation for off-site meetings will ensure that you can meet your objectives and motivate your leadership team to take action.
2. Develop a full script for the offsite meeting.
If you plan to add a team-building element, consider the appropriate time. If you've developed exercises to tackle an organizational need, develop a flow that will lead to positive outcomes and outputs. If you think you can "just wing" the facilitation of the meeting, you might just as well stay on the golfcourse.
3. Write everything down.
I can't tell you the number of times that I've asked for off-site meeting documentation to find it doesn't exist. Meeting documentation will give you a transcript of your decision making process and most importantly keep the organization accountable for commitments made during the meeting.
4. Establish clear communications on action items.
Assign a team to each initiative and be clear on who the leader is and how and when the team will have to report progress. Make sure each initiative team knows how each initiative will add business value to the company.
5. Include initiative updates as part of your operations.
Integrate the initiative updates into your normal operations meetings and hold leaders accountable for the results. Consider including initiative results in your future incentive plans. No excuses.
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As a business operator, I have been in a position to lead a company during troubled times. Concerns over the direction of the company, sleepless nights worrying about debt and cash flow, high anxiety over closing a deal or a transaction⎯the challenges seem endless. But I've also experienced the highs of leadership⎯the real joy of meeting client needs, the fulfillment of shaping a team, and the satisfaction of watching a vision become reality. As tough as it can be, there is really nothing quite like being a leader in the midmarket.
It is my sincere desire that this newsletter will support leaders in the midmarket as they navigate their way to building stronger, more valuable companies. I welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
Marty
Martin O'Neill
Corsum Consulting, LLC |
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| Marty O'Neill |
Marty O'Neill founded Corsum Consulting, which focuses on one goal: helping companies build business value. He is a frequent speaker and consultant on leadership, corporate culture and building business value and is the author of Building Business Value (Third Bridge Press) and the co-author of Act Like an Owner (Wiley). As a business operator, Marty started and sold a company, positioned another for an LBO, and helped a third sell for a significant premium. Marty lives on the Magothy River in Maryland with his wife and three children.
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Building Business Value: How to Command a Premium Price for Your Midsized Company
by Martin O'Neill (Third Bridge Press)
Hardcover 
List Price: $22.95
Our Price: $15.96 Buy Now
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Act Like an Owner Owner: Building an Ownership Culture
by Martin O'Neill (Wiley)
Hardcover
List Price: $39.95
Our Price: $24.53 Buy Now
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