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 mid market, 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 mid market.
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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Have You Thanked Someone Today?
You are not in the position you hold based solely on your own efforts.
| Last week I had one of those meeting days. You know the type of day I mean. Back to back to back meetings from sunrise to sunset. I rarely have those kinds of days anymore given the nature of how I make a living but it just worked out that way.
During one of the early meetings, it was obvious the boss was in a bad mood. There were milestones that had slipped to the right so there was some room for concern. Yet there was also a tremendous amount of progress being made. The tone in the meeting was all business, no room for personalizing the results and as a result, no room for thanks.
The meetings went on and on (four different groups in three cities) and what became very obvious was the body language of the participants with respect to the feedback they received. When the meeting leaders were organized and prepared, the meetings ran smoothly. People were on their toes and ready to respond. No surprises here.
But a noticeable theme consistent throughout this long day was how people responded to the response they received when reporting on their work. When John was thanked for his work, you could tell he understood that his boss understood just how hard he had worked. When Denise took constructive criticism on her work product, the criticism was delivered in a productive and encouraging way ... "this is on the right track, but I know you'll find a way to work with the team to make this a remarkable document." When Janey took the brunt of the criticism for a late product delivery, it was delivered in such a way that it was hard to find a silver lining.
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| How to Speak and Write Clearly - 5 Quick Tips
5 simple but powerful ideas for improving your clarity in both areas.
| In an era when everyone feels overwhelmed with information and many think that their attention is the most precious gift they can offer someone, clarity of speech and writing is essential. If you're going to ask a friend, a colleague, or an audience to pay attention to you, you need to have your thoughts in order. Following are 5 simple but powerful ideas for improving your clarity in both areas.
1. In writing, start with the known and move to the unknown. In writing, you want to begin with something that your audience knows and agrees with you upon, by and large - call it a situation. Associated Widgets has had many years of uninterrupted growth. That will get your audience nodding its head. Then, you want to hit them with the news, your reason for writing - the complication: But these last two quarters have seen tough competition from Global Undercutters. Then ask the question that is the purpose of your communiqué: What can we do to respond to this incursion? And then you're set up to answer the question in the body of your memo, or proposal, or whatever: I'm proposing a new kind of widget, priced at half the competition's price, to grab market share back. The rest of the proposal will describe this widget. And it can do so in a series of sub-heads answering the inevitable questions about cost, design, manufacturing, and so on, each of them following the same structure of situation - complication - question - answer.
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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 a 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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A resource full of smart ideas to help educate and inspire decision-makers.
Each issue includes features, interviews, case studies, columns and other departments designed to help this region's CEOs face the daily challenge of running a business.
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The Alternative Board
| The Alternative Board provides a free business newsletter, Tips from the Top®. This business management newsletter will provide you with articles and tips with the knowledge you need to operate a profitable business. Tips from the Top® is written for those at the top by those as the top- business owners, presidents and CEOs.
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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 The Power of an Internal Franchise (Third Bridge Press),
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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 | | Luke Garwood | |
Luke Garwood has owned and operated technology-based businesses for the past 21 years. He has professional experience in leading Information Technology (IT), Systems Integration, and Construction companies. His specialization is in operational excellence. He has been heavily involved in start-up and high-growth companies for most of his career. He has extensive experience in the overall development and delivery of technology-based solutions, services, and products to the commercial, federal, state, and non-profit sectors. Luke has performed many functions across the companies he has been involved with to include general operations, service delivery, product management, sales, marketing, strategic planning, leadership development and vendor management.
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"Of all the attitudes we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the most life-changing."
~ Zig Ziglar
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