"The secret to getting everything you want in life is helping enough others get what they want.”
Many of us recognize this Zig Ziglar quote that he’s been saying for 50 years. It was true then, is true today, and will be true 50 years from now.
Earlier in my career I consulted for a Franchise Company and helped identify key strategies for its growth while designing and creating much of the infrastructure for the organization. The business model was sound. Unfortunately, the Founder had his heart and focus in the wrong place. Each month he could tell me exactly which Franchise Operators had paid him on time, yet he could never tell me how much business each of the Franchise Operators had generated for themselves. He was preoccupied with filling his own pockets and genuinely didn’t care about the people that invested their savings (in some cases their life’s savings) and whether or not they were getting a return on their investment. This is the story of the golden goose, except that he had an entire flock that he was ignoring.
In the 1990’s the Chicago Bulls won six NBA Championships. Head Coach Phil Jackson was given the reins of the team and was put in charge of the greatest player in the game…Michael Jordan. In Jackson’s book, “Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons from a Hardwood Warrior”, he wrote that the key to getting the Bulls to win their first championship was getting Michael Jordan to trust his teammates. Jordan was reluctant to pass the ball to forward Horace Grant fearing that Grant would turn the ball over. Once Jordan learned to trust and support those around him, they were able to win as a team. Their second Championship series was against the Phoenix Suns. With time winding down in Game 6, Jordan drove down the court with the ball while being double-teamed. The old Jordan would have forced the shot. The new Jordan spotted a wide-open John Paxson outside the 3-point arc. Jordan hit Paxson, Paxson hit the three and the Bulls won Championship number 2.
The story is the same. Once the focus goes to making those around you successful, success will find you.
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising. Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Top 10 Marketing Blunders for Small Businesses
At some level, we all feel like we understand marketing because we "know what works for us." Personal preferences and assuming that what attracts us will attract others are major obstacles for small business operators when they try to implement an effective marketing program.
My top 10 Marketing Blunders for Small Business are:
1. Lack of a plan.
2. Not understanding who the target customer is.
3. Failing to understand the difference between frequency and reach.
4. Inconsistency in your efforts.
5. Expecting money spent to deliver overnight results.
6. Personalizing the business with family photos, personal pictures, commercials featuring the local operator.
7. Trying to communicate too much with advertisements.
8. Not getting feedback and not measuring results.
9. Putting all your eggs in one basket.
The top three reasons businesses fail are poor management, undercapitalization and lack of an effective marketing plan. All of these reasons are directly tied to running a smart marketing plan. Smart businesses are always marketing in every thinkable way. All contacts with your facilities, vehicles, personnel, products and services must be a branded experience. Be bold and implement relentlessly!
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising. Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
My top 10 Marketing Blunders for Small Business are:
1. Lack of a plan.
- Many successful business owners I've worked with have a one-page marketing plan that they refer to constantly to ensure that they stay on track. The key is what is behind the plan. They understand their value proposition, the competition, who the target customer is and what their objectives are.
2. Not understanding who the target customer is.
- Technology and demographic data allow for targeting strategies that were unthinkable just a few years ago. Build a profile of who your customer is and focus on getting in front of just them as much as possible. Selling to b2b calls for difference strategies and tools than selling b2c. Take the time to understand and lay out your plan.
3. Failing to understand the difference between frequency and reach.
- The goal of marketing is to reach top of mind awareness. This occurs after trial use and that typically occurs only after multiple exposures to the brand. This is the key to frequency. Reaching the masses may be right for some businesses, but not when the target is specific. It is possible to spend to much reaching the wrong people.
4. Inconsistency in your efforts.
- Business operators get bored with the look and feel of their marketing materials and they assume that the public feels the same. Mixing up colors, logos, images and layouts misses the goal of building a consistent image in the minds of consumers.
5. Expecting money spent to deliver overnight results.
- This circles back to frequency. A retail strip center business operator once told me that his marketing plan was "word of mouth". He said he "tried a direct mail piece once and it didn't work so never again." He was doing 20k a month and the top unit in that system was doing over 100k monthly in a similar space. So sad.
6. Personalizing the business with family photos, personal pictures, commercials featuring the local operator.
- Ma & Pa businesses are known for the family photo in their ads. While this warm and friendly approach has a feel good quality about it, this will KILL your exit strategy if you ever want to sell the business. Promote the brand, sell benefits, not personalities.
7. Trying to communicate too much with advertisements.
- In today's crazy world that is bombarding us with advertising everywhere we look, less truly is more. Simply your message. "Just Do It!"
8. Not getting feedback and not measuring results.
- To maximize returns and minimize wasting dollars, you have to measure the effectiveness of ads. Many marketing companies have automated ways that make this easy. Always find out how your customers heard about you to the very best of your ability.
9. Putting all your eggs in one basket.
- This speaks for itself, but it is important to include the fact that over 70% of purchasing decisions are now being influenced by the internet. There are many tools including search engines, social media and advertisements that drive activity. Diversify your efforts.
- 16 years of my career was spent with a company that dominated the market share in the upper Midwest markets we occupied. We did this with aggressive, relentless marketing. Fear and uncertainty often prevents spending. The greater fear is failing to generate revenue and this is the fear that must dominate.
The top three reasons businesses fail are poor management, undercapitalization and lack of an effective marketing plan. All of these reasons are directly tied to running a smart marketing plan. Smart businesses are always marketing in every thinkable way. All contacts with your facilities, vehicles, personnel, products and services must be a branded experience. Be bold and implement relentlessly!
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising. Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Effective Communication in a Fast Moving World
Most people will agree that breakdowns in communication are often the culprit when things go wrong. The following points are basic "blocking and tackling" reminders for interpersonal communication. The digital revolution we are living through is changing the way we communicate. With the speed at which information is now shared and the sheer volume that we encounter each day, communicating effectively is more important than ever.
The first reminder is that communication is a Two-Way street. Human nature has us far more focused on the outgoing message than what is coming in. This is exactly the opposite of how we should perceive communication. The old adage "seek first to understand, then to be understood" rings true here. The more we know BEFORE we communicate, the more pertinent, concise and effective our message will be. This will lead to desired results.
Listening
Listening is extremely difficult because your mind is processing information at about 2000 words per minute while those speaking are spitting it out at about 300 to 400 words per minute. When someone speaks to us our minds jump ahead to finish sentences and thoughts for the speaker. We begin to formulate an opinion of their point and a response before they have finished speaking. How many times do you have to repeat yourself because the other party didn't listen to you all the way through. We have to listen actively and listen well enough to be able to repeat what was just said to us. As some say, listen empathically so that you truly understand the other person's point of view.
Another factor that works against us is that our favorite sound is our own voice rather than someone else’s We tend to listen with the intention of responding rather than learning. Remember, it is the quality of what you say rather than the quantity. You must listen first in order to deliver quality.
A physiological factor that makes listening difficult is ego. Face it, we all have a sense of pride. If we allow someone else’s thoughts change the way we think, we might actually feel like we have lost and they have won. People are competitive by nature and we must be aware of this tendency. A great example is like when a person of opposing political beliefs tries to get you to see things their way. You assume a defensive posture and constantly prepare counter-points to their messages. Your mind is closed and getting your points across is all you are concerned about.
How important is listening? Psychologists say that one of the most basic psychological needs of people is to be understood. People feel understood when you’ve listened to them. How we can be better listeners?
• Refrain from interrupting—often the tendency when someone brings us a problem…jump right in and start solving.
• If people are talking about their feelings, a response with a solution may back fire. Simply start by acknowledging that you understand how they feel.
• People really feel understood when you repeat back what they’ve said to you.
• Know you don’t always have to solve their problem (more in personal than business situations) but is very important with angry customers.
• Ask clarifying questions. This shows interest and that you’re tuned in.
• Use non-verbals, nodding, uh huhs, and so on
• Check for understanding…So what you’re saying is …
Effective Speaking
Non-Verbal 93% of what is communicated is non-verbal. Be conscious of your tone and even the speak with which you speak. Matching the tempo of the person you are addressing will actually make them more comfortable and will help them capture your message. Also, remember the all important action of making eye contact while you speak. It helps keep the listener engaged and demonstrates integrity of your message.
Additional speaking tips include the following:
• After giving instructions or when teaching especially, ask for a repeat back “To ensure that I said this properly, please tell me the message I conveyed”. Wording it this way puts the onus of effective communication on you rather than them. Avoid asking someone "Do you understand what I just said?" or "Do you follow me?" as it will typically elicit a "yes" because the listener will not want to admit that they missed your message.
• Try to speak about others as if you would if they were in the room. If you speak critically of someone in a way that you would not if they were present, listeners will lose respect for you and lose your message.
• With all of the e-mailing that goes on, remember that most people can speak 8 to 10 times faster than they can type. Pick up the phone!
• Avoid leaving the voice message “please call me”. Tell people exactly what you are looking for and ask them to leave detail on your voice mail if you don’t pick up when they call you back. This is a huge time saver and will eliminate most games of phone tag.
• Consider using this voice mail greeting…"I am sorry I missed your call. Please leave a detailed message, I or the appropriate party will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you."
Written
Now that e-mail and even text messaging has become so prevalent, consider these tips to increase your effectiveness and professionalism:
• Use spell check. Your attention to detail reflects upon the quality of the work you do.
• In e-mail and texts messages, be careful with upper case letters. Words or sentences with all upper case come across as if you are yelling electronically.
• Only write what you would say face to face. I've seen some horrible e-mail messages in the work place and most of these would never have been spoken face to face. If you are angry pick up the phone, schedule a face to face, or simply take some time to cool off before you start typing.
• Less is more. Edit written messages before sending and eliminate as much as you can while maintaining the key message. People deal with more messages today than ever before. Get your point across briefly to ensure that it is comprehended.
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising. Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
The first reminder is that communication is a Two-Way street. Human nature has us far more focused on the outgoing message than what is coming in. This is exactly the opposite of how we should perceive communication. The old adage "seek first to understand, then to be understood" rings true here. The more we know BEFORE we communicate, the more pertinent, concise and effective our message will be. This will lead to desired results.
Listening
Listening is extremely difficult because your mind is processing information at about 2000 words per minute while those speaking are spitting it out at about 300 to 400 words per minute. When someone speaks to us our minds jump ahead to finish sentences and thoughts for the speaker. We begin to formulate an opinion of their point and a response before they have finished speaking. How many times do you have to repeat yourself because the other party didn't listen to you all the way through. We have to listen actively and listen well enough to be able to repeat what was just said to us. As some say, listen empathically so that you truly understand the other person's point of view.
Another factor that works against us is that our favorite sound is our own voice rather than someone else’s We tend to listen with the intention of responding rather than learning. Remember, it is the quality of what you say rather than the quantity. You must listen first in order to deliver quality.
A physiological factor that makes listening difficult is ego. Face it, we all have a sense of pride. If we allow someone else’s thoughts change the way we think, we might actually feel like we have lost and they have won. People are competitive by nature and we must be aware of this tendency. A great example is like when a person of opposing political beliefs tries to get you to see things their way. You assume a defensive posture and constantly prepare counter-points to their messages. Your mind is closed and getting your points across is all you are concerned about.
How important is listening? Psychologists say that one of the most basic psychological needs of people is to be understood. People feel understood when you’ve listened to them. How we can be better listeners?
• Refrain from interrupting—often the tendency when someone brings us a problem…jump right in and start solving.
• If people are talking about their feelings, a response with a solution may back fire. Simply start by acknowledging that you understand how they feel.
• People really feel understood when you repeat back what they’ve said to you.
• Know you don’t always have to solve their problem (more in personal than business situations) but is very important with angry customers.
• Ask clarifying questions. This shows interest and that you’re tuned in.
• Use non-verbals, nodding, uh huhs, and so on
• Check for understanding…So what you’re saying is …
Effective Speaking
Non-Verbal 93% of what is communicated is non-verbal. Be conscious of your tone and even the speak with which you speak. Matching the tempo of the person you are addressing will actually make them more comfortable and will help them capture your message. Also, remember the all important action of making eye contact while you speak. It helps keep the listener engaged and demonstrates integrity of your message.
Additional speaking tips include the following:
• After giving instructions or when teaching especially, ask for a repeat back “To ensure that I said this properly, please tell me the message I conveyed”. Wording it this way puts the onus of effective communication on you rather than them. Avoid asking someone "Do you understand what I just said?" or "Do you follow me?" as it will typically elicit a "yes" because the listener will not want to admit that they missed your message.
• Try to speak about others as if you would if they were in the room. If you speak critically of someone in a way that you would not if they were present, listeners will lose respect for you and lose your message.
• With all of the e-mailing that goes on, remember that most people can speak 8 to 10 times faster than they can type. Pick up the phone!
• Avoid leaving the voice message “please call me”. Tell people exactly what you are looking for and ask them to leave detail on your voice mail if you don’t pick up when they call you back. This is a huge time saver and will eliminate most games of phone tag.
• Consider using this voice mail greeting…"I am sorry I missed your call. Please leave a detailed message, I or the appropriate party will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you."
Written
Now that e-mail and even text messaging has become so prevalent, consider these tips to increase your effectiveness and professionalism:
• Use spell check. Your attention to detail reflects upon the quality of the work you do.
• In e-mail and texts messages, be careful with upper case letters. Words or sentences with all upper case come across as if you are yelling electronically.
• Only write what you would say face to face. I've seen some horrible e-mail messages in the work place and most of these would never have been spoken face to face. If you are angry pick up the phone, schedule a face to face, or simply take some time to cool off before you start typing.
• Less is more. Edit written messages before sending and eliminate as much as you can while maintaining the key message. People deal with more messages today than ever before. Get your point across briefly to ensure that it is comprehended.
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising. Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
Monday, January 17, 2011
A Time for Resolutions
Every New Year brings talk of resolutions. We've all heard people commit to losing weight, exercising more, working smarter, spending more time with loved ones and so on. It is not surprising that so many people make resolutions. It's human nature to want more out of life. What surprises me is that we call them resolutions instead of goals. The word "goal" has a completely different feel to it. A goal is something that will take focus and effort to attain. A goal is something that takes planning, scheduling, action and measurement of results versus objectives. A goal is something where the risk of falling short or fear of failure may be the one reason that people don't want to venture into this uncomfortable territory.
The old adage that smart people learn from their mistakes and that successful people learn from other's is pertinent to this discussion. Countless studies show that individuals who lay out their goals in writing accompanied by an action plan are the ones who get what they want out of life. So why is it that such a small percentage of us lay out our goals each year. In life, rewards go to the bold. If you haven't already begun a regimen of writing down your goals annually, today can be your new beginning.
Consider these tips for laying out your goals:
Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
The old adage that smart people learn from their mistakes and that successful people learn from other's is pertinent to this discussion. Countless studies show that individuals who lay out their goals in writing accompanied by an action plan are the ones who get what they want out of life. So why is it that such a small percentage of us lay out our goals each year. In life, rewards go to the bold. If you haven't already begun a regimen of writing down your goals annually, today can be your new beginning.
Consider these tips for laying out your goals:
- Commit about 2 hours for this.
- Lay out long-term (the rest of your life) and short-term (this year) goals.
- Categorize your goals by the areas that are of the greatest importance to you. For example, I use the following categories: Health, Spiritual, Relationships, Career, Financial, Adventure and Educational. The key is that you find the categories that match your life.
- Under each categories, list your goals. This is actually fun. We remember making our Christmas lists when we were kids. This is your Christmas list for life and you are in charge! Next to each goal, list the action steps you need to achieve the goal. Remember that you can enlist the help of others here. Then, next to each action step, list a deadline. As they say in the newspaper business, without deadlines, nothing gets done.
After you've writing your goals, set them aside and go back to them a day or two later. This is a dynamic document and you should be tweaking it as you go. Once your goals, actions steps and planned completion dates are laid out, pull out your calendar and ensure that the actions you need are placed into your schedule as your top priorities. Ensure that things of lesser importance always follow these which are of greater importance.
Review your goals at least monthly. For me, the beginning of each month is the trigger for review. It's amazing how looking at them frequently keeps you grounded and focused. You will find yourself working on your priorities rather than someone else's. Your results will improve and you'll find yourself getting what you want out of life!
Happy New Year!
Jim Pascale
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of franchising and small business operations.Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Is Your Business Floundering?
The age-old Value Equation of Price + Quality + Service is something we've all read about, talked about and maybe even studied. I submit that it may be the most overlooked, critical factor affecting the performance of small and medium sized businesses today.
In today's world, businesses have to be competitive in all 3 areas of the Value Equation, but to grow and succeed, they must very clearly identify one of those 3 areas and excel at it. I've recently done work with with a franchise organization that has positioned itself as the premium quality product and service provider in their space. Yet a conversation with a struggling franchisee revealed that he does not spend money on marketing or on improving in any aspect of customer service and product expertise. He simply spreads word of mouth that his products are the cheapest in town. Clearly there is a breakdown between the value his brand would like to provide and what he has decided to provide on a local basis. It is no wonder that marketing material messaging and tools "do not work for him" because he has not bought into providing the component of the Value Proposition that the company's training, tools and marketing address.
Look at your business and determine if your best competitive advantage should be 1) A lower price (a dangerous game unless your operational efficiencies are better than the big guys), 2) Providing Quality that the competition can't match (allows you to make the margin you want), or 3) Superior levels of Service. Many companies fool themselves by saying their business is all about service when that is the last thing they truly provide. When you know what your edge is, ensure that everything about your organization screams that message. It's the way you recruit, hire, train, manage, market, price, look and communicate. It should be the over-riding theme that guides every decision made within your organization. Figure out what your niche is and then blow the competition away!
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising.
Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
In today's world, businesses have to be competitive in all 3 areas of the Value Equation, but to grow and succeed, they must very clearly identify one of those 3 areas and excel at it. I've recently done work with with a franchise organization that has positioned itself as the premium quality product and service provider in their space. Yet a conversation with a struggling franchisee revealed that he does not spend money on marketing or on improving in any aspect of customer service and product expertise. He simply spreads word of mouth that his products are the cheapest in town. Clearly there is a breakdown between the value his brand would like to provide and what he has decided to provide on a local basis. It is no wonder that marketing material messaging and tools "do not work for him" because he has not bought into providing the component of the Value Proposition that the company's training, tools and marketing address.
Look at your business and determine if your best competitive advantage should be 1) A lower price (a dangerous game unless your operational efficiencies are better than the big guys), 2) Providing Quality that the competition can't match (allows you to make the margin you want), or 3) Superior levels of Service. Many companies fool themselves by saying their business is all about service when that is the last thing they truly provide. When you know what your edge is, ensure that everything about your organization screams that message. It's the way you recruit, hire, train, manage, market, price, look and communicate. It should be the over-riding theme that guides every decision made within your organization. Figure out what your niche is and then blow the competition away!
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising.
Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Career Searching in the 21st Century
Each day we hear about people in our personal networks who have been downsized and outsourced. Searching for a position with unemployment hovering around 10% can be daunting...even for top performers.
Time proven strategies for a successful career search still include networking, on-line portals, executive recruiters, and so on. It is very important to know that technology is playing a larger part than ever. 80% of resumes submitted are now added to data bases and your resume has in effect become your own personal web home page.
Databases used by recruiters and employers use the same search functionality that a web browser employs. They search for keywords that are part of your resume. To get noticed, ensure that you do on-line research for keywords that relate to your target career. You will find great suggestions under categories ranging from account management and sales to technical positions. Be sure to take the extra time to ensure that key words are included on your resume and you will greatly increase the chance of employers finding you!
Good luck in your search!
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising.
Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
Time proven strategies for a successful career search still include networking, on-line portals, executive recruiters, and so on. It is very important to know that technology is playing a larger part than ever. 80% of resumes submitted are now added to data bases and your resume has in effect become your own personal web home page.
Databases used by recruiters and employers use the same search functionality that a web browser employs. They search for keywords that are part of your resume. To get noticed, ensure that you do on-line research for keywords that relate to your target career. You will find great suggestions under categories ranging from account management and sales to technical positions. Be sure to take the extra time to ensure that key words are included on your resume and you will greatly increase the chance of employers finding you!
Good luck in your search!
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising.
Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Where are you headed?
This simple and straightforward question gathers significant meaning when directed at one's career or one's life. In plain terms, if you don't know where you are going, you certainly don't know how to get there. The old line "we don't know where we're headed, but we're making great time" applies to to many professionals these days. But how do we get out of this rut?
The answer is simple, but it's not easy. The key to know where you are going is taking the time to lay out a plan. This plan begins with fundamental goal setting. We've all been to the seminar when the speaker asks the group how many of us have our goals written down and on our person. Typically about 5% to 10% of the group will raise their hands; and half of them are lying.
Effective goal setting takes patience and focus. I recommend the following process. Begin by identifying the roles you play in your life. They could be spouse, parent, business owner, sales manager, sibling, son or daughter, friend, church volunteer, coach, and so on. Next, think about the components that describe all the important areas to having a balanced life such as family, career, finance, health, spiritual, adventure, relationships and so on. List these categories on a sheet of paper. Next look at each of these categories and consider each of your roles as listed above. Write down what you want to accomplish in each category and under each role. List goals for the current year, and for 5 years. Making this list should be fun. It reminds me of being a child during the holidays when we would take an old style catalogue and circle what we wanted for Christmas. Rather than toys we now list things like being debt free, improving our physical condition so we feel great, having a great relationship with our spouses and children, getting that promotion at work and so on.
The next step is the one that was a pleasant surprise for me. After you list the things you want while considering your roles, being to list the action steps required to attain each of those objectives. The surprise for me is that I already knew what I needed to do. The key was committing the steps to writing and then adding target dates and getting them onto my calendar.
For example, under finance, you may have a vehicle loan that you would like to pay off in the coming year. After writing this down, you think about the additional funds you'll need. Now you start to look at your budget at home and see where you can save the amount of money you need each month or even better you look at your bonus plan or business to see where you can find additional income there.
The key component to this is how we spend our time. The old adage, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten" holds true. Even worse, with the way the world is changing around us, if we do what we've always done, we'll get even less. Ensure that you block time on your calendar for the things that bring results. In this day and age, effective prioritization may be the most important skill for an entrepreneur or executive to have. When planning your schedule, do it in this order. 1 Personal things. If you don't put your life and your family life first, it will come last. 2 Required or Mandatory meetings. If the boss says you have to be there, be there. (Sometimes the boss is your customer rather than an employer.) 3 Time to execute the actions on your plan from your goal list. Don't let other people's priorities become your priorities. Schedule major blocks of time for major initiatives and don't allow other things to interfere. Minimize distractions like e-mail and voice mail. Check those twice daily, on a schedule and use the major blocks of each day for accomplishing your objectives.
The clear key to all of this is identifying the objectives, laying out the plan, committing the time (your most precious commodity) and executing. The results from this simply but disciplined course of action will change your life forever. Guaranteed.
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising.
Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
The answer is simple, but it's not easy. The key to know where you are going is taking the time to lay out a plan. This plan begins with fundamental goal setting. We've all been to the seminar when the speaker asks the group how many of us have our goals written down and on our person. Typically about 5% to 10% of the group will raise their hands; and half of them are lying.
Effective goal setting takes patience and focus. I recommend the following process. Begin by identifying the roles you play in your life. They could be spouse, parent, business owner, sales manager, sibling, son or daughter, friend, church volunteer, coach, and so on. Next, think about the components that describe all the important areas to having a balanced life such as family, career, finance, health, spiritual, adventure, relationships and so on. List these categories on a sheet of paper. Next look at each of these categories and consider each of your roles as listed above. Write down what you want to accomplish in each category and under each role. List goals for the current year, and for 5 years. Making this list should be fun. It reminds me of being a child during the holidays when we would take an old style catalogue and circle what we wanted for Christmas. Rather than toys we now list things like being debt free, improving our physical condition so we feel great, having a great relationship with our spouses and children, getting that promotion at work and so on.
The next step is the one that was a pleasant surprise for me. After you list the things you want while considering your roles, being to list the action steps required to attain each of those objectives. The surprise for me is that I already knew what I needed to do. The key was committing the steps to writing and then adding target dates and getting them onto my calendar.
For example, under finance, you may have a vehicle loan that you would like to pay off in the coming year. After writing this down, you think about the additional funds you'll need. Now you start to look at your budget at home and see where you can save the amount of money you need each month or even better you look at your bonus plan or business to see where you can find additional income there.
The key component to this is how we spend our time. The old adage, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten" holds true. Even worse, with the way the world is changing around us, if we do what we've always done, we'll get even less. Ensure that you block time on your calendar for the things that bring results. In this day and age, effective prioritization may be the most important skill for an entrepreneur or executive to have. When planning your schedule, do it in this order. 1 Personal things. If you don't put your life and your family life first, it will come last. 2 Required or Mandatory meetings. If the boss says you have to be there, be there. (Sometimes the boss is your customer rather than an employer.) 3 Time to execute the actions on your plan from your goal list. Don't let other people's priorities become your priorities. Schedule major blocks of time for major initiatives and don't allow other things to interfere. Minimize distractions like e-mail and voice mail. Check those twice daily, on a schedule and use the major blocks of each day for accomplishing your objectives.
The clear key to all of this is identifying the objectives, laying out the plan, committing the time (your most precious commodity) and executing. The results from this simply but disciplined course of action will change your life forever. Guaranteed.
Jim Pascale is a 20+ year veteran of consulting with small business owners and has comprehensive knowledge of small business management and franchising.
Contact Jim at jimpascaleminnesota@yahoo.com.
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