Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE) ACE Blog

Beware Marketing SOS (Shiny Object Syndrome)

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 20:57:12 GMT

Voice search. Hyper targeting. Artificial intelligence. Geo-fencing. Data and marketing technology are exploding. There’s so much opportunity to augment our marketing toolbox these days, but so little time to step back and think about what we are really trying to accomplish. Most companies are drowning in data, confused by the myriad options to gather data, or are just plain frozen, possibly at risk of being passed by.

Opportunity or Shiny Object?

Whether your company is targeting consumers (B2C) or businesses (B2B), the world of digital marketing has become super-hot, but also super-specialized (and as a result, super-confusing). That’s created an enormous amount of what would seem to be opportunities. But are they really? Or are they just “shiny objects”? How do we know whether something is a distracting shiny object or if it represents a real opportunity to gain more insights, be more efficient or create more prospect touch points? Balancing marketing innovation and keeping your eye on the prize is no small task, but it’s key to successfully reaching your most desirable clients.

Get Your Strategy Foundation in Place First
Before we adopt a new marketing technology, it’s important to address the basic foundation of our marketing strategy. Are we trying to be all things to all markets and decision makers? Who are our most “Ideal Customers”? When you “check in” on your customer list, reviewing who your customers are, how much do you actually know about them (demographics), where they came from (marketing or networking source), what have they purchased from you and how did that revenue rank among your customer mix? And it’s not just about top line revenue. It’s important to consider which customers have been profitable, and which ones haven't been. As the business saying goes, “if you are losing money on every sale, you can’t make it up in volume!”
We seem to have the time to read the articles about the newest innovations in marketing our companies, ways to grow revenue and improve our customers’ journey, but we never seem to have the time to ask ourselves if we are clear on the three foundations of our strategy - the WHO, WHAT and WHERE? Equally important is what I call the “Fit Factor”: did they fit well with your company, not just were they happy customers, but was your team happy serving them? Were client interactions efficient and collaborative? In identifying your Ideal Customers, you’re looking for a high ranking for revenue and margin as well as the Fit Factor. And it’s important to look at aspirational customers: who fit the criteria of your Ideal Clients, but you haven’t been able to successfully attract, at least not yet?
The WHO, WHAT, WHERE Pillars
WHO are the Ideal Customers that value what you do, are a good fit for your company and are willing and able to pay for that value?

WHAT do you say to your Ideal Customers to engage them? Are your marketing messages focused on your company or on your target? Do you speak to their pain, struggles, challenges and worries they have right now? So much has changed in the past 2 years for your customers – is your messaging current? In this highly competitive environment, you can differentiate by adopting your customers’ mindset and speaking to their pain points, the impact you have on those pain points and the value you bring. (Not your process, your services or products or your credentials. Not yet – that comes later.)

WHERE does your marketing messaging appear? Are you using the right marketing channels? Where are your decision makers? Is the time, money and energy you’ve invested in building your marketing machine getting you in front of your key decision makers? Are you “in the room” with them, virtually, figuratively and literally? Do you belong to the Industry Associations that support your Ideal Clients’ markets? Do you share your expertise where they can hear you? Most marketing budgets regardless of company revenue size don’t have enough money to bring their customers to them. The key is to go where they are.

Once you have your WHO (Ideal Client), it’s easier to develop your WHAT (Messaging) to say to engage with them and ensure you are WHERE (Channel) they are to be seen and heard. If you have this strategic foundation in place, then you can consider what you need to know and do to expand further. The latest in marketing technology may help you get there but having a clear strategy foundation can minimize the distraction of shiny objects. Remember, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you may wind up somewhere else!”

Innovation is Easier Than You Think

Matthew Opuda — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 20:00:31 GMT

Innovation, as a discipline, has a bit of a reputation. There’s no shortage of books, frameworks, how-to videos, and workshops on the topic, making it difficult to understand how to apply it on our own. Let me set some anxieties at ease and say that innovation is nothing more than doing something new. The scale can vary from an improved process in a small office, to a market-disrupting new product, with all the many points in between.

Of course there are nuances, and challenges, and while you can’t “innovate wrong” you can fail to create something of particular value. This failure can come at real cost, between lost time, unrecovered expenses, and even loss of customer confidence. Let’s look at how we can mitigate those risks, using the example of an ice cream shop. This may seem an odd example for innovation, but remember that improving a process is innovation just the same as new product development. The same rules apply, just at different scales.

Why?

First off we need a clearly defined and articulated goal. This is always harder than it sounds, but applying SMART or your favorite goal setting acronym can help. I find the best goals focus not on an output, but instead on an outcome. Having a cup of coffee in my hands is the output of making coffee in the morning. Being awake and personable enough to interact with fellow humans is the outcome.

Turning our attention to our ice cream shop example. “Make the shop entrance less chaotic” is a good place to start the conversation, but it’s a lousy goal. What does less chaotic mean? Is it too noisy, are people bumping into each other, are customers clumping, or something else? “Alleviate the congestion inside the shop entrance” gives us a clear understanding of the outcome we want to achieve, and even some additional information about the scope of the problem: inside the shop.

Who?

Next, we need to understand our stakeholders, and what matters to them. While these are two different things, I find that considering both at the same time helps define new details for each. The key is to understand who you are impacting, and what matters to them. A way of framing the question I often come back to is to ask “What about this process creates value for the stakeholder?”

Back to our example ice cream shop, we have our customers, who want to understand what options are available to them so they can make a purchase. But wait, is everyone who comes into the shop there to make a purchase? Some people just want to know what options are available to them, and have no interest in making a purchase. Already we have two types of stakeholders with different needs, one driven by the need for information, the other to make a purchase with that information.

What?

The third step is to understand what metrics, measures, and data you are able to use towards realizing your goal. The level of rigor you should bring to your innovation process will vary depending on the scale of the goal. The amount of metric tracking and data analysis needed to bring about a new flagship product will be very different from a simple workflow improvement. While the former may require objective measures with large sample sets, the former could be fine with a few subjective measures. The important thing here is that we’re making our decisions and determining success based on evidence, instead of gut feelings.

In the context of our ice cream shop, let’s measure the number of people clustered within 10 feet of the entrance. What are those people doing? Are they reviewing the menu and leaving, or reviewing the menu and purchasing? How long are they reviewing the menu? Each of these data points helps you understand what solutions you can try, and provide a baseline against which you can measure success.

Continue...

The final step, if we can call it that, is to iterate. Do as little as possible to move towards the goal, and check your measures to see if you’ve made progress. Again the scale of your iterations will vary wildly with the scale of the goal. A new physical product may require months of design and fabrication, while a new process in an office setting may require nothing more than an alignment meeting. The intent of iterating is to check if what you thought would work actually does.

Going back to our ice cream shop, let’s try encouraging traffic to flow in a particular direction. Maybe a few signs indicating where to form a line would do it. Perhaps putting a menu outside so people can see it without congesting the entrance. Then wait, measure, and decide if we need to modify the solution, or if it has accomplished what we set out to do. How many iterations will be necessary is going to depend on the cost of further iterations, and the potential benefits thereof.

While that was an innovation process on a small scale, the same rules apply to a larger innovation effort. A new strategic approach, a new product, or a complete overhaul of your organization's way of working will see the same patterns. The timelines will be months or years, instead of hours or days, and the complexity will be that much greater, but the patterns remain.

While that may be the last step, it’s not the last piece of the puzzle. The culture of your organization will have a huge impact on your ability to innovate. If success is the only important thing, then the safe options will always be chosen. If on the other hand, learning new lessons, and attempting new approaches is rewarded, then your organization will be that much closer to innovation as a habit.

How to Scale Your Role from Founder to CEO

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 20:50:35 GMT

Most founders wonder at some point if they have what it takes to ascend in their role from founder to CEO. Regardless of their experience, as the company grows, so too do the requirements on their time, attention, and decision-making. Those founders who find themselves spinning from task-to-task can get so caught up in the day-to-day that they struggle to make complex business decisions. Successful founders scale their leadership and executive capacity as effectively as they scale their operational and commercial systems and processes.

All founders have CEO potential if they are deliberate about their growth.

Finding the white space for founders to think and determine where to scale (both individually and organizationally) can be almost impossible at an early-revenue stage. Those founders looking for accountability and structure to identify weaknesses, learn, and grow can partner with a certified executive leadership coach to help deliberately align their actions and behavior to achieve peak performance.

This approach may sound nearly impossible given most founders’ frenetic schedules. But when founders keep themselves mired in the day-to-day, it can be difficult to figure out the next best decision for the company, much less find their blindspots. Instead, they may make decisions that add to the chaos and leave others wondering what comes next.

For example, a founder caught up in the spin may determine it’s time to grow the sales force, only to later find out that production is unable to keep up with demand and even if they had the inventory, they lack adequate transportation to bring the product to market. The result is a lot of unhappy customers and a mess to clean up…quickly.

Executive Coaches Can Help.

Once sought after to address under-performance, executive leadership coaching is used today by executives all over the world to help enhance their impact. Even four-star generals have coaches, and why wouldn’t they? If both coach and client are committed, coaching has a significant return on investment as well as a whole host of benefits to both the founder, and their organization.

The professional leadership coaching process helps founders create the mental white space and structure to be their own think tank, learn, and grow. Coaches help founders better understand their values by guiding them to gain clarity around what matters most - their “why,” and their mission, vision, and values. Through feedback, coaches help their clients see where their actions differ from their “why” and stated objectives, as well as recognize their individual and organizational blindspots.

Coaches then help founders develop plans that result in transformational change and inculcate their vision and values into the fabric of the company culture. With that clarity, founders can improve hiring decisions, retention, and teamwork and communicate more clearly with stakeholders and customers who share their passion for their product or service.

Another important benefit of leadership coaching is that it teaches founders a process for making intentional and well-informed decisions. Hasty decisions are avoidable when founders take the time to consider the bigger picture instead of jumping from one impulsive action to the next. By taking founders through a structured process of inquiry and exploration, a certified coach can help founders avoid decision making traps and develop and analyze a broad range of options. Once founders determine a particular course of action, a coach can guide them through implementation and contingency planning.

Coaching helps Cultivate a Coaching Culture.

Additionally, being coached teaches founders how to coach and helps them model coaching for others. A coach helps founders empower decision making in the rest of the organization by modeling how to ask better questions, listen to understand the growing needs of the organization, and provide feedback to help others grow. Organizations with coaching cultures have increased employee engagement and collaboration, a growth mindset, and are better prepared for leadership succession.

Lastly, coaching helps executives nurture a proactive rather than reactive company culture. Staying ahead in today’s fast-paced market can be exhausting, particularly when founders find themselves caught off guard. Coaching helps executives focus on what’s most important, integrate new behaviors into the workplace that improve results, and take intentional steps to address barriers to success. An executive coach helps founders communicate more effectively and empower decision making at all levels of the organization, accelerating growth and product or service market fit.

The first years of company growth are critical to a company’s success, leaving founders under intense pressure to invest their time and resources wisely. Founders who grow their executive capacity and leadership skills while concurrently building operational and commercial systems cultivate a values-aligned culture and ensure the next time they wonder if they have what it takes, the answer is yes.

How to jump start your sales

Donna Brassard — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 13:00:00 GMT

You find yourself at the end of your fiscal year with a sales number that’s the same as last year, or worse, lower than the previous year, despite your best efforts. You may think that outside factors are the reason for your sales stagnation: the economy, the marketplace, competitors. However, I challenge you to consider inside factors first.

Remember the old adage: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” Working harder or for more hours without real results may mean that you are working on the wrong things. Let’s not be crazy. Let’s be strategic.

Information drives sales strategy.

To develop a sales strategy, you need information. Take some time to evaluate your revenue streams. Data can tell you a story about your business. How deep an understanding do you have about where your sales come from and how they come to you? Sure, you can quote the top line, but dig deeper: which revenue “bucket” is growing or static or losing sales? And why. Which product is most profitable?

This analysis can show you that you may need to make changes in pricing and/or or marketing promotion. I’ve seen cases where companies have put the most effort into selling the least profitable product.

Know your customers, the market.

How well do you know your customers and why they do business with you? How has your relationship and their buying habits changed over the years? And do you know why prospects don’t do business with you?

What’s your customer churn? Don’t expect that every client will remain a client, or even have the same buying habits every year. In fact, expect the opposite. Turnover is a given, so you need to replace lost business before you can grow your top line. Are you replacing 20%, 30%, 50% or more every year? Do you have a clear picture of who your best prospects are, and what may motivate them do business with you?

Have there been changes in the marketplace? How are your competitors doing? Are you in a position to act on new opportunities as they become available? If no, why not?

Have a well-trained and motivated sales team

Is your team stuck in their comfort zone? Are they selling the same products to the same clients and happy with the “rinse and repeat” book of business?

Does your team understand the value of your products and pricing, or are they addicted to discounting? Do they anticipate price objections before hearing any response from the client? Are they selling with fear?

Are your sales people motivated to build a book of business or are they comfortable where they are? Bonuses or more commission as a reward for performance can work, but only if the sales person is motivated by the additional earnings. Often a sales person can become complacent with what they are earning and don’t need to make extra effort to earn more. It may be time to revamp your compensation plans with your sales team.

How committed are you to training your sales team? A high-performing sales person needs clear direction and tools to help and motivate them to push themselves beyond the “rinse and repeat” mode. If you are accountable to them for providing what they need, they will be accountable to you.

To jump start your sales will require you taking a combination of actions that are informed by the data you collect and the analysis you do on your internal situation.

Donna Brassard is owner of Strategies+, a business consulting firm that helps businesses maximize their potential.. Learn more at www.strategiesplus.biz, and you can reach Donna at db55me@gmail.com.

Story Closing

Robert LaBrie — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 15:09:39 GMT

Story telling in selling has been around a long time. One of the most effective methods of closing a sale is called Similar Situation Closing - which is telling a true story about a previous customer who was in a similar situation as your current prospect. The goal here is to explain why the previous customer made the decision to invest in your product and why it makes sense for your prospect to do the same thing?

Example: Years ago, I was in Life Insurance Business. One of the frequent objections I would get is, typically, one parent would object adding the children to the policy.

There are a number of ways to try and overcome this, but I had one that never failed. I would tell a story of when I didn't want to add my own kids to my policy but was convinced to add a small amount to guarantee insurability of my kids should they become uninsurable due to illness. I go on to say Thank God I did that because 4 short years after I took out the policy, I got a phone call from my 21 year old son in Texas telling me that he had a severe backache. After a couple of trips to the hospital, he was diagnosed with Colon Cancer that had already spread to his other organs, spine and brain. He had 8 weeks left to live. Had I not put that small $25,000 life insurance policy on him, I would not have been able to afford to fly his body home for a proper family funeral.

I would tell that story and look at the mom and ask her if she ever wanted to be put in that situation? Usually through tears, she would say no and then we would both look at the dad who did not want to add the kids to the policy. I've never had a dad or mom say no after that story.

If your story is compelling and you are able to put the customer in the same situation, you will be surprised how effective Story Closing can be.

You can also tell a story with a happy ending because someone invested in your product.

Authentic Networking

Douglas Packard — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 19:54:15 GMT

Many people dread the networking process. However, if you create a plan — including clarifying your goals — and work hard on being sincere and likable, you are likely to enjoy success and actually come to love networking and its benefits.

Their viewpoint counts most

As you begin networking conversations, focus on the other person's perspective. These are the thoughts, in order, that most people will have as they listen to you (even though they don't realize it):

• Do I like this person?

• Do they care about me?

• Can they help me?

If the person you approach does not like you, or if they sense you do not care about them, they won't consider if what you have to offer might be of value to them. Many networkers fail because they jump to the third step too quickly.

Plan-Do-Adjust: The 10/80/10 paradigm

It’s tempting to spend too much time planning without ever jumping into the arena. Others fail to plan or never adjust their approach. I generally recommend the 10/80/10 paradigm: Spend 10% of your networking time on planning, 80% on doing, and 10% on adjusting.

The “plan phase” includes defining your targets based on a description of your perfect prospect, for which you need to define the common attributes of your best customers. Once you have defined your target, you need to find out where they hang out. This includes the business and personal functions they attend, publications they read and online tools they use. Uncovering this information gives you an idea of where and when you can approach your targets.

Next, you need to create a compelling “elevator pitch” so that once you establish likability and demonstrate you care, you can effectively communicate how you can help. How well you communicate also impacts how much they like you and whether they think you truly care about them.

Create a message that's not only understandable, memorable,and unique, but also leaves people wanting to hear more. You’ll know you’ve succeeded when they start to ask questions, opening the door to go into a bit more detail and, more importantly, to explore their needs.

For the “do phase,” look for opportunities to give something of value to the people you network with.

Suggestions for this tactic include asking them to describe their perfect prospect so you can look for referrals for them. You could also suggest helpful resources, tools, books or events.

And don't forget, the first step is likability. To accomplish this, mirror your target's demeanor and their dress. Other key tactics include arriving early and staying late — when there are fewer people to contend with. Also make sure you get the other person to do most of the talking by preparing interesting questions. Avoid spending the majority of time with people you know; unless they are a target with whom you want to deepen your relationship.

In the “adjust phase,” when attending networking events I strongly recommend having a tag-team partner. In addition to enabling possible conversations for each other, you can rely on each other for feedback. Then define when and how to change your approach based on your results and the feedback.

Start small and find a partner to celebrate success

Learning to love networking and achieving success can seem overwhelming and will take some time. Be patient with yourself and start with small steps such as creating your elevator pitch, picking one event, trying your approach and recording what you learn.

A mediocre but well-executed plan usually beats out a great but poorly executed plan as long as you follow the 10/80/10 paradigm: plan, do, adjust and repeat. Also be sure to find a networking partner. In addition to getting candid feedback, you can also celebrate your successes.

What Your Maine Business Needs to Know About ARPA Funding

Carrie Green (Yardley) — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 17:13:03 GMT

Co-Author: Terry Johnson

(This post will be updated as new information becomes available.)

Keep your eye on these direct grants to private business:

Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry:

	21-22	22-23
Support farms and food processors	$19,792,888	$0
Recovery funds for forest products industry	$10,000,000	$10,000,000
Competitive infra-structure grants for seafood processors and dealers	$10,000,000	$0

Department of Economic and Community Development:

	21-22	22-23
Covid – 19 recovery grants.	$20,000,000	$0
Recovery grants for businesses and entrepreneurs not previously qualified	$5,000,000	$1,000,000
FAME loans and guarantees, including rural development projects	$33,400,000	$15,000,000
Business assistance programs through FAME for innovative business financing and organizational models (e.g. B-corps, cooperatives and ESOPs)	$5,000,000	$5,000,000
Technical assistance for new businesses and entrepreneurs	$2,000,000	$2,000,000
Business diversity initiatives	$800,000	$200,000
Matching grants to encourage investment in technology sectors (through the Maine Technology Institute)	$25,000,000	$14,646,609

Efficiency Maine Trust

	21-22	22-23
Energy efficiency matching grants	$15,000,000	$35,000,000

Department of Health and Human Services

	21-22	22-23
Grants for Improvements to child care facilities	$4,898,297	$4,893,417

Maine State Housing Authority

	21-22	22-23
Technical and planning assistance to public and private entities for affordable, energy-efficient housing	$10,000,000	$40,000,000

Department of Professional and Financial Regulation

	21-22	22-23
Assist small businesses providing group health insurance	$19,500,000	$19,500,000

Marketing vs. Sales

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:31:09 GMT

Marketing versus Sales: What is the Difference?

I’d like to thank my co-authors, ACE members Tom Morgan, of Breakthrough Sales Solutions LLC and Bob LaBrie, of LaBrie Training and Consulting, for their contributions to this post.

Marketing is company-focused; it communicates your brand identity and message. Sales is customer-focused; when you approach a potential customer you need to convince the customer that his, her or its need can be filled by your unique value proposition.

Marketing provides critical support for your sales team. Through marketing you promote who you are, make it easy for customers to find you, and measure your reach. Your brand, your message, your website content, and your newsletter are all opportunities to communicate your brand personality, and all of them must appeal to your target audience.

Your success is not measured in dollars, but in reaction. As you’ve discovered, in the digital world you can measure your audience response down to the click. You can determine whether a marketing campaign or initiative makes an impression. How many people enter their email address into the pop-up page when they look you up on the web? How many later unsubscribe from your email?

One way or other sales are measured in revenue, or revenue opportunities. A sales process is critical to the success of any organization and always starts with the customer need. To improve your revenues your sales team must understand that need and demonstrate how your product or service can fill it.

A typical sales process will involve these steps:

1. Prospecting for and identifying potential clients
2. Discovering the prospect’s needs
3. Offering solutions
4. Proposing terms and asking for the sale
5. Negotiating and addressing final objections
6. Agreeing on terms and plan for the service

Your marketing research and efforts should be directed toward identifying potential clients. A successful marketing campaign will allow you to identify and qualify specific clients or groups of clients to contact for a meeting.

In the meeting, your objective is to understand the client’s true needs. The most successful salespeople understand that thorough discovery is well worth their time. They ask questions regarding need, timing, and budget. We recommend preparing questions ahead of time that will allow you to understand the client’s “pain points” and goals, also known as pleasure points. Once you fully understand the pain and/or goal, you can propose solutions to remove it (pain) or achieve it (goal) in terms that resonate with the client.

A successful discovery process allows you tailor your proposal to your client’s specific need, and lets the client know that you have a genuine interest in providing a solution. Take care to express your scope of work clearly. Your client should have no difficulty understanding what you will do, and what it will cost. At this point what you have to offer should be well-established and sets the stage for another meeting with the client to review the proposal, reach final terms, and close the sale.

In this meeting you will almost certainly hear objections. Often the objection is because the client misunderstood. Don’t freeze! Instead, ask a few simple open-ended questions to get the client to explain the misunderstanding.

Why open-ended? Because you want the client to open up and tell you what is bothering them. A simple “Can you tell more about what you do not like?” should help you understand what you need to know to overcome the objection. Make sure you answer the client’s concern, first by restating the concern, and then by reframing your explanation of how your product or service can solve their problem.

The final step in the process is to insure you have agreement on scope of work and payment terms.

Good luck!

* * *

We participated in a panel discussion for ACE on October 15, 2021. The question-and-answer period was particularly lively, so we thought we would take the opportunity to present a few of the key questions and answers here. We will add a link to the video once it is available.

Q. Do solo professionals have to sell? I have past sales experience, but as a professional I have trouble selling myself.

LaBrie: Everyone needs to sell, but it might help you think of selling as persuasion. Any time you persuade someone to do something that he hasn’t thought of before, you sell a new idea.

Morgan: Selling is fun when you believe in what you are selling and in yourself. We spend too much time talking about “the close” when selling is really a process of finding out what the client needs and catering to the need.

LaBrie: You need to believe in yourself, and to be able to explain what people get from working with you. A professional should always bring integrity and expertise to the table. You need to convey empathy and build trust.

Q. What do you do when the client’s objection is funding?

Morgan: This is something you need to address early in discovery. For most clients funding is never enough, but they still have a problem to solve. If this is the case it might make sense to move out your time line and learn more about when the client’s financial constraints might ease.

When a client passes on a proposal they are not necessarily gone forever because they still have a need. When I send a proposal, I assume that I am sending it to a client. If a client passes, do not assume they are gone forever. Stay in contact. Send meaningful articles, congratulatory notes, and other “on purpose communications.” Keep the door open.

Renehan: You should also make sure that the client understands the impact of your services on its bottom line. My trade association collects data on improved employee retention and productivity resulting from well-honed leadership skills. In that case the question isn’t whether they can afford to hire you, but whether they can afford not to.

LaBrie: Understand the difference between an objection and a condition. Funding is usually an objection and is there to be solved. A condition, on the other hand, can’t be eliminated. So, for example, an NBA player will never fit into a Toyota Yaris, and there is no point trying to sell him the car. Discovery will help you determine whether you have an objection or a condition and how to proceed from that point.

Q. It can be hard to maintain the discipline needed for a sustained sales effort. Do you have any suggestions?

Morgan: You need to set up metrics. I keep track of how many times I reach out to a contact and measure them against specific goals. These “reaches” include any contact – coffee with a referral source, a conversation at a networking meeting, or a thank you note. Then you can compare your reaches to how many actual client meetings you have, how many proposals you are asked for, and how many completed sales. These in turn let you evaluate the quality of your contacts so that you can fine-tune your approach.

LaBrie: Make every contact count.

Knowledge is Power - Tips for B2B Data-Driven Marketing

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 16:03:32 GMT

Successful digital marketing is more than just clicking through options on a Google or Facebook ad campaign and hoping for more sales. It requires a collaborative approach between marketing, data analytics and business teams to set objectives, design campaigns, find and interpret data, and measure results. Digital tools let teams test and iterate rapidly to achieve and maintain messaging that will influence target decision makers. This is the digital marketing advantage!

Digital tools have shifted the focus of business-to-consumer marketing to resemble the long-term relationship building that characterizes business-to-business (B2B) marketing. McKinsey’s Consumer Decision Journey has evolved the way we think about the traditional sales funnel. It adds a loyalty loop and, as a result, resembles the iterative consensus building and problem solving required of a successful B2B firm.

As digital tools have matured, it can feel as if they are built for consumer marketers. You may ask why a 100-year-old commodity manufacturer needs to have a Twitter account. Maybe it doesn’t. Your business objectives, not the latest trends in digital technology, should drive your digital marketing presence.

I asked Joy-El Talbot, a talented data analyst, collaborator, and founder of Iris Data Solutions (https://www.irisdatasolutions.co/), how data influences digital marketing strategies. Joy-El says, “As with traditional marketing, data is the background to all campaigns. There is data about when, what, where, and to whom content goes live. There is data about the impact of the campaign: clicks, hits, conversions. There is data about the business before, during, and after the campaign: product launches, inquiries, sales.”

Joy-El and I answer some questions, below, that you might have when considering a digital marketing campaign:

I'm overwhelmed by data - how can I start?

Start with stories and questions. Tell the story of how your company got to where it is today. Where will it go next? How will we know when we have arrived? What would it take to get there? As you discuss, you will start to identify data you already have and gaps that need to be filled.

Consider the goal, "We want to increase sales of our custom products." Questions such as which products or industries, by how much, how much we sell now, can all be answered with data. Then it is simply a matter of going down the list to find the sources for each answer - sales reps, accounting systems, delivery schedules, etc.

I’m no expert – can I just hire a data analyst and see what she comes up with?

Data analysts work magic with interpreting data and developing visualizations that help solve complex business problems. However, an analyst can only be effective if she understands the business objectives and desired results, which is why collaborating with the marketing strategist and product expert is so important. Effective digital marketing is a team effort.

The product expert and strategist will determine marketing objectives. For example, if your business objective is to increase revenue, choose a marketing program that builds awareness of your brand. If increased volume is the objective, tailor your campaign to ensure you are a top contender in the consideration set. If you are trying to shift to a higher profit margin customer base, work toward repositioning the brand or growing loyalty.

I’m not a digital native – how do I pick a platform?

People purchase from companies (and people) they like and trust. In the B2B world it is imperative to understand the user, technical expert, and buyer. They have unique personalities and rely on different sources of expert information. Choose platforms that your target decision makers use and trust.

How will I know if my digital marketing campaign is a success?

The digital marketing team should work with senior management to define what success looks like. Set goals, metrics, and preliminary key performance indicators (KPI’s) that align with the business goals early in the strategy development process. Formulate a hypothesis to help you control the process and to analyze data against objective criteria. As you analyze incoming data against these KPI’s, you will determine if your campaign is achieving the goals or needs further refinement.

I already have a website - won’t my customers get confused if they receive other digital messages?

In digital marketing, it is important to contact prospects and customers on a regular basis and in the context of when they make decisions. Creating consistent messaging across all platforms reinforces your brand during the decision-making process. As you proceed through the campaign, make limited adjustments in order to analyze which versions resonate best with your decision makers.

I’m a product manager not a data scientist – how do I make sense of all this data?

Here’s where your data analyst shines. She will work with the team to gather, analyze, and organize that data into a meaningful analysis tool. In addition, she will help you mitigate analysis bias that may creep in. Finally, the data analyst will guide you with creative data visualizations that tell the data’s story to decision makers and provide clear recommendations.

My head is swimming - what is the most important takeaway about digital marketing?

Iteration, speed, and flexibility are the hallmarks of digital marketing. You don't have to have all the answers at the beginning. Understand where you are, have a general idea of where you are going, and be disciplined to keep checking in with every iteration. Negative insights or ideas that flop are as useful as the ones that make you feel like a marketing genius! Digital marketing is so much more cost effective than tradition marketing that we can afford to take chances, analyze results, then swiftly adjust as needed.

What’s the bottom line?

In digital marketing, perfection is the enemy of good enough. Determine objectives, make assumptions, choose meaningful metrics, and go for it! Have the bravery to stick with a plan long enough to gain meaningful information from it. Your data analysis will help you perfect your journey based on actual, rapid results. Prospects and customers will thank you for it!

How To Keep Up With Changing Regulations

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 22:08:33 GMT

Businesses must be prepared for new regulatory requirements, but it can be difficult to stay up-to-date with constant developments. Change comes from many directions, including municipal ordinances, agency rulemaking, federal and state legislation.

Maine legislators enacted over 500 bills in 2021, with over 400 new pieces of legislation going in effect this October. Rates of regulatory change reached new levels in response to COVID, with rapid modification of municipal policies, legislation, executive orders and department rules.

Preparation is Key

Business viability increasingly depends on whether one is able to effectively adapt to rapidly evolving regulatory requirements.

Regulations can determine business practices by restricting scope and scale of operations, locations, distribution, packaging, technology, and marketing, expanding recordkeeping, reporting, employment, or licensing standards, mandating updated health and safety practices, and creating penalties for failure to comply with new requirements.

Uncertainty resulting from rapid change has created significant challenges for small businesses and organizations seeking to maintain balance in constantly shifting regulatory terrain.

The first notice many businesses receive of regulatory change comes upon renewing a state or municipal license, with updated applications listing new reporting requirements, fees, or limitations on operations. With deadlines to meet and little advance planning, businesses must rush when determining how to maintain day-to-day operations. It can take many months to implement changes necessary to maintain compliance.

Understand Media Limitations

An increasing number of business owners depend on social media for information on regulatory changes. The telephone-game effect of social media communications can promote a collective misunderstanding of how law-making processes work and of how regulations are implemented. Important details of policy changes are lost in one-line postings.

Social media portrayals of 2018 federal legislation to revise the classification of hemp drove a gold-rush mentality that resulted in thousands of people investing in large-scale hemp and CBD-production and processing businesses. Most of the new businesses became untenable within a year due to restrictions on the marketing, licensing, and distribution, resulting from federal and state agency rule-making. These mistakes could have been avoided if professional guidance had been obtained prior to making costly business decisions.

Newspapers, radio, and tv are similarly limited in their ability to provide comprehensive information on regulatory changes. Unless there is an organization with a PR budget promoting or opposing a specific policy change, legislation and rulemaking are rarely featured in mainstream news. Hundreds of regulatory changes each year are adopted while receiving no media coverage, though industry-specific news sources can provide more in-depth coverage of policy changes.

Monitor Regulatory Processes

Business owners are responsible for staying up-to-date on regulations impacting their operations. Monitoring policy developments affecting your business is key to being prepared.

Most legislative committees and State agencies maintain email lists for interested parties. It is worthwhile to subscribe to lists of committees and agencies developing policies that may impact your business. Department websites (DACF, DAFS, DEP, DOT, DHHS, OSHA, DOE, EPA, FDA, etc.) provide information on agency rule-making processes, though finding specific information can take significant digging and frequent monitoring of the sites for updates. Maine legislativecommittee and agency rulemaking calendars and mailing-lists can be found at maine.gov.

Think Local

Municipal ordinance changes can impact day-to-day operations of a business at least as much as federal and state policy revisions. Monitoring calendars and websites of any localities where you are operating can help you stay informed of hearings, committee meetings, and ordinances, though accessibility and timeliness of posted content varies between municipalities.

Participate in Professional Associations

Many professional and industry associations provide advocacy on legislation and rulemaking impacting members and valuable updates through newsletters, networking, and workshops. By joining and participating, you can draw organizational attention to concerns about proposed regulations impacting your business that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Obtain Guidance

While most large businesses invest in regulatory compliance services and expertise necessary to keep up with evolving government policies, many small businesses are unprepared for new regulatory requirements. The cost of attempting to comply at the last minute with unexpected regulations can be significantly more than the cost of obtaining professional guidance prior to making major business decisions.

The work necessary to be prepared for regulatory change is time-consuming, but essential for long-term business viability. A regulatory compliance expert knowledgable in local, state, and federal regulatory structures can review current business practices and help you develop a plan to successfully adapt to changing regulations.

About the Author

Hillary Lister is a solo practitioner providing professional guidance for small businesses and organizations seeking to effectively navigate Maine's changing regulatory landscape.

Hillary can be reached at hillarylister@mainematters.net.

How to Develop and Commercialize New Products

Tove Rasmussen — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 20:06:38 GMT

To be released soon.

The Role of the Office After Covid

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 20:45:04 GMT

Times have changed.

Since COVID-19 caused a mass exodus from offices in March 2020, 47% of employees who have been working from home would rather quit than go back to the office full time. However, many employers want their people back in the office – and many bosses want them there five days a week. In what could be a rude awakening for company leaders, 94% of employees say they would like to work remotely 1 to 4 days a week.

Employees’ resistance to returning to the office is not surprising. People proved that they could be productive while working remotely; money is no longer the only compensation employees expect from employers. They want choice of when and where to work.

And there are good reasons to change with the times.

Employees experienced improved productivity while working from home. Prior to the lockdown, primary complaints about the office were 1) noise, 2) constant interruptions and 3) no quiet places to focus to escape distractions. Working from home gave people the peaceful, productive spaces they craved. Of course, not all home working situations are equal – home-schooling parents and employees with roommates did not have quite the same experience.

Approximately 40% of jobs can be accomplished remotely at least some of the time. Leesman, an organization which measures workspace performance globally, has one of the largest databases on workplace effectiveness and workspace performance. Leesman has data showing that employees ranked their productivity while working at home at 83% whereas they ranked productivity while working in an office at 64% (pre-Covid).

Most employees indicate they want to spend some time in the shared office – socializing, collaborating, and connecting with colleagues. They believe that the office can better support activities that require learning and brainstorming. The results of a recent client survey showed that 60% of respondents would use the shared office for collaboration and 72% would use their home office for heads-down work. When in the office, 53% indicated they also needed places to focus and do independent work.

Bricks and mortar aren't all they are cracked up to be.

Here are some known facts about office space:

Before COVID-19 workstations and desks were empty 40% to 60% of the time.
Private offices were empty 73% of the time.
Commercial buildings contribute 39% to carbon emissions.

Office spaces are often vacant because many of the tasks performed by knowledge workers allow people to be mobile – they are in meetings, off site with clients, sitting in spaces with colleagues talking and brainstorming, or sitting in a quiet area (when they found one!) using their laptop. Employees no longer need to be tethered to one place in an office and they often welcomed that ability to roam. Employees were instinctively finding their own means of escape, not from work, but from working conditions.

A possible solution: shared space.

What do new work habits and empty spaces mean for the role of the office in the future? If employees can embrace the idea of sharing workspaces with other people, then there is a world of possibilities for businesses. Let’s pause right here – because this one idea of sharing desks often opens a tsunami of objections.

We share many things in our day-to-day lives. We share bus, train, and plane seats. We share library books, church pews, restaurant tables and shopping carts. In our homes if we live with others, we share kitchens, bathrooms and living rooms. In our offices we share meeting rooms, lunchrooms, and restrooms. There are four things we never share: our toothbrush, our bed pillow, our cellphone, and our desk.

Once we recognize that we do not need to have a workstation assigned to us, and if we are provided a variety of spaces to choose to work from (including private focus rooms in the office, window seats, sit/stand desks, library zones, lounge areas, and home offices) then we can reimagine a workplace that has a smaller footprint, and allows us to better connect and collaborate with colleagues.

Having a desk assigned to you in 2021 is not sustainable. It is as crazy as expecting the supermarket to provide you a shopping cart with your name on it for your use only. I hear the cries of, “What about the photos of my family?” and “I want to personalize my surroundings!”

Your family and friends matter, of course, but how about putting their photos on your screensaver? You want to express your personality? Awesome – create a personality wall that includes images and information about all of your coworkers in a space where more can view it (this expression can be physical, and it can be digital).

We know that 80% of people worldwide are not engaged in their work (Gallup Poll). Research shows that connection to purpose is an intrinsic human motivator. It may not be glaringly apparent where you are employed, but you are part of a company that is working hard to make a difference for others. The vision and mission of the organization that you are devoting your waking hours to should inspire you and make you feel like you are contributing to that goal. This is why installing story walls in an office is such a great way to provide a visual reminder for anyone in the space. Story walls are not “brag” walls to attract clients and customers; they are creative expressions of how the company is making a difference with its work – illustrating the organizational values and purpose – and exist solely to inspire employees.

Less space translates to lower cost and a smaller carbon footprint.

Remote work can result in significant overhead savings for businesses. A global insurance company recently determined that it could save 82% of its real estate expense by embracing hybrid work and downsizing its real estate portfolio. As commercial buildings contribute so much to carbon emissions, both in their construction and in their operation, using less space can also be good for the planet.

Imagine this: an office that is beautiful, one-half to two-thirds the size of its previous version, and where people leave the space at the end of the day feeling more energized and engaged than when they arrived. Envision a business that exceeds profitability projections, has its highest retention and engagement numbers, and contributes to achieving a net zero outcome.

That stuffed bear collection on your office bookcase? Sorry, that needs to go. Not only is it collecting dust, but wouldn’t a little kid somewhere in the world benefit from having a lovable stuffy?

Rethinking the purpose of the office can engage employees, build community, and improve your bottom line. Now is the time to create the world of work that is better for the planet and great for people.

# # #

Lisa Whited is founder and chief transformation officer of Workplace Transformation Facilitation based in Portland, Maine. She is also a senior associate for Advanced Workplace Associates, a global workplace change management consultancy, based in the UK. Lisa’s first book, “Work Better. Save the Planet” will be published in the summer of 2021.

Find links to Lisa’s presentations: “Build Community and Drive Innovation with Remote Work” (Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce Growth Basics for Business, June 2020). “Is the Hybrid Work Model a Sustainable Model?” (WorkInSync, July 2021). Check back for a link to her ACE presentation last month.

Lisa will participate in a panel on The Modern Workplace August 25, 2021 at the MaineBiz Small Business Forum.

Drafting your Scope of Work: A Checklist

Carrie Green (Yardley) — Mon, 17 May 2021 17:06:38 GMT

coming soon.

Posting Presentations: Basic Copyright Considerations for Presenters and Organizers

Carrie Green (Yardley) — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 20:49:03 GMT

In the age of virtual meetings, no one seems to think twice about hitting the record button. When a recording captures a prepared presentation, though, it is important to respect the author/presenter’s copyright in the material.

What is a copyright? A copyright is a legal right granting the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution. Note the plural: a copyright is not a single right; it is a bundle of rights. The owner of the copyright has the rights to:

Copy the work

Distribute the work

Display the work

Perform the work; and

Adapt the work.

These rights are independent. If an author gives someone the right to copy a long passage from a book, that does not mean that the author has granted them right to distribute the copy, to read it aloud to an audience, to set it to music, or to hang it on a wall. Each of these would require separate permission from the author.

What is a Creator?

Every time an original work takes on a new form, the person transforming the work becomes a creator for purposes of copyright. A performance is considered a new “original” work, even though it is derived from the work of another author. The same is true of a recording of the performance. The performance and the recording are both considered “derivative works,” a term of art in copyright law. The original author controls who can make derivative works.

Therefore, authors are creators, presenters are creators, and recorders are creators. They have copyrights as follows:

The author of the speech has copyright in the speech.

The presenter has copyright in the performance.

The recorder has copyright in the recording.

What does this mean to creators of derivative works, such as presenters and recorders?

Practically speaking, the author of the presentation must agree that the presenter can perform it. The author and the presenter must agree to record. The distributor (often the organizer) must have permission from the author, presenter, and recorder to distribute.

Internet Realities.

Content can now be captured, edited, and distributed with a few keystrokes. New content is always in demand. There’s a lot of unlicensed content floating around the internet, being linked, copied and pasted with reckless abandon.

We won’t explore the ins and outs of working with highly compensated speakers – they have agents for that. However, it is not that difficult to stay on the right side of copyright law if you are an organizer, nor is it particularly difficult to exercise reasonable control over your content if you are an author or presenter.

Real World Advice.

Remember that once content hits the internet, it is very hard to get the genie back in the bottle, and this is where you need to focus. The last thing presenters and organizers want is viral infamy, so it is in everyone's interest to agree what content will be uploaded, and how it will look before clicking “Post.”

Talk about the issues up front. At most local business presentations, the speech's author is also the presenter. The organizer and the presenter should always have a candid conversation about how the content will be used. Most speakers will agree to recording, but increasingly they want to know where it will be posted, and how it might be edited. They may want to know if the organizer intends to charge for access, or if access is limited, who it will be limited to.

Be proactive. Presenters: If you show slides, brand them. If you provide downloadable material, brand it. If you present from a remote location, brand your background. Organizers: Think about co-branding.

Write it down. Many organizers have a standard presenter contract. It should cover recording and distribution rights, revenue sharing, co-branding requirements, etc. Frequent presenters should have their own standard agreement. If your primary motivation is to get your name in front of new audiences, and not money, your contract can be straightforward and unintimidating. Think about how you want audiences to see you and make sure you retain reasonable control.

Be flexible. Both creating the presentation and getting it ready for distribution are hard work. Appreciate the contributions of your better half. Do not automatically reject requests because they are not your usual deal. You might pick up some ideas you’ve never thought of. A mentor once told me that “every deal is an opportunity to review your forms.”

Content is valuable. Presenters should ask for copies of the recording for a copy of the recording, and for permission to recycle it as a derivative work for your own purposes.

How to Eliminate Zoom Gloom

Rick Pollak — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 18:31:21 GMT

How to Eliminate Zoom Gloom

Virtual meetings don’t have to be boring. Concise and compelling content is what captures and keeps the attention of a remote audience. This blog post will show you successful strategies to run virtual meetings that leave the participants energized instead of exhausted.

Two of the major causes of Zoom gloom are:

Lack of direction
Content overload

Here’s how you can improve both the management and presentation content of your remote video meetings.

A Made in Maine Success Story

Marty Grohman and Adelaide Taylor at the Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech) have successfully pivoted from in-person meetings to virtual events. Their expertise in hosting live events with multiple panelists and Q & A sessions helps them plan virtual meetings that keep their audience engaged.

E2Tech meetings have multiple speakers in multiple locations. To avoid communications glitches, they plan practice rounds with each speaker using the setup they’ll be using during the meeting. The speakers also rehearse sharing their slides to prevent surprises the day of the event.

Marty and Adelaide also coach their speakers on how to become effective remote presenters. They make sure presenters have their webcam at eye level, their phones muted, and their pets and kids far away from the camera and microphone.

Their advance direction results in virtual sessions that replicate the “buzz in the room” of their live events.

How to Declutter Your Virtual Presentations

Direction isn’t enough to cure boring presentations. The secret to giving an interesting virtual talk is to distill everything you want to say into just what needs to be said. Cutting the information clutter and making your point quickly and concisely will engage your audience more effectively than asking poll questions or asking for “thumbs up” emojis.

Your slides need to be visually appealing and easy to understand. Putting only one idea on a slide is a good way to keep your audience engaged. Showing a barrage of boring bullet points on a single slide will tempt your remote audience to check their e-mail or head to the fridge. Once you lose their attention, you’ll have a hard time getting it back.

When I’m coaching speakers for TEDx talks or business presentations, I ask them to define their big idea and call to action (CTA). Here are two questions to ask yourself or your speakers to help structure a compelling talk:

If you just had one thing to tell the audience, what would it be?
When you finish your presentation, the audience will (fill in the blank)

Once you’ve determined your big idea and CTA, the next step is to work the three “cons” into your presentation.

Connection, Context, and Contrast

Here’s how to use connection, context, and contrast (the three “cons”) to develop a presentation that makes your audience care, remember, and act.

Connection is an effective way to give your audience a reason to care. When you explain “what’s in it for me” from their point of view, you’re letting them know you understand and care about their situation. When your material focuses on the audience instead of yourself, you’ll build trust and get them to remember and care about your big idea.

Context is a powerful tool that helps your audience understand your big idea. Using analogies and metaphors that reference a concept familiar to the audience are a good way to explain your material. When Steve Jobs announced the Apple iPod, he didn’t mention the size of the unit or the number of gigabytes in the hard drive. Saying “a thousand songs in your pocket” was a successful use of context to explain his big idea and get people excited enough to follow his CTA to buy the music player.

Contrast and context are a dynamic duo. Once you’ve established context, you can use contrast to differentiate your solution from the status quo. The stronger the contrast you show between before and after, or with and without, the higher the probability the audience will follow your call to action. If your contrast isn’t compelling, chances are they won’t act on your big idea. Presentation materials (slides and stories) that effectively contrast your big idea with the status quo will help convince the audience that following your CTA will help them achieve their goals.

Are you using all three “cons” when you’re presenting? Are the speakers in the meetings you’re running connecting with the audience and using context and contrast to explain their big idea?

Your Call to Action

There’s a lot you can do to eliminate Zoom gloom. Using the strategies in this blog post will help you run virtual meetings that engage your participants. If you provide direction and help speakers declutter their content, you’ll end up with a smooth-running virtual meeting with clear, concise, and convincing presentations.

Rick Pollak is the founder of Presentation Medic, a consulting company specializing in curing boring virtual presentations. He coaches speakers for TEDx talks, executive presentations, and technical workshops. Rick is a member of ACE, and president of ACE’s sister organization, Boston-based Society of Professional Consultants. He can be reached at rick@presentationmedic.com.

Why You Need a Coaching Culture

Mon, 28 Dec 2020 19:16:10 GMT

Why is it important for the leaders and managers in any organization to use coaching as part of their leadership style? There are a growing number of organizational leaders who recognize the importance of coaching in their companies. They see that effective coaching by leaders at all levels will empower, engage and develop employees. According to a 2016 survey by the Human Capital Institute the business case for a strong coaching culture is higher employee engagement and higher revenues.

What Will Prohibit a Coaching Culture?

Many will tell you that they do not have the time to be a coach. The red flag here is your managers are telling you they do not have the time for the people for whom they are responsible. If managers do not have time for employees, they (employees) know and feel it which can lead to a disengaged team. Another reason is the lack of accountability. If the leaders of an organization want a coaching culture they need to:

Develop the skills themselves.

Provide professional development for all leaders to learn coaching skills.

Hold all accountable to use the skills (hint, put it on their personal development plan).

In other words, one just cannot say we want a coaching culture and expect it to happen. Finally, some leaders or managers will not be able to add coaching skills to their leadership style. Effective leaders would take appropriate action as their company permits for these non-responding individuals.

What Are Coaching Skills?

The International Coaching Federation (ICF) has identified eleven skills to be an effective coach. Some top skills are, establishing trust, asking powerful questions, being open, flexible and confidant and practice active listening.

For the leaders and associates establishing trust will be the foundation for a solid coach/coachee relationship. Leaders build trust by being honest and supportive, show the team that you genuinely care about them and by being competent. This will promote open communication and constructive feedback for both.

A leader who is asking powerful questions is helping associates discover their own insights. Asking open ended questions to get the other party to speak and being comfortable with dead air (allow time for responses) are both good practices for effective questioning. Powerful questions are simple but meaningful and should always have a purpose. Michael Bungay Stanier author of The Coaching Habit focuses on seven questions leaders can use to help their teams.

The Kickstart Question: What’s on your mind?

The Awe Question: And what else?

The Focus Question: What’s the real challenge here for you?

The Foundation Question: What do you want?

The Lazy Question: How can I help?

The Strategic Question: If you’re saying “yes” to this, to what are you saying “no”?

The Learning Question: What was most useful for you?

A leader who is open and flexible is showing employees that their way is not the only way. In other words, these leaders are receptive to other thoughts and ideas and they do not have to have all the answers.

Great listening skills are essential for a coach! Many of us have learned that active listening is making eye contact, nodding and appropriate responses show you are engaged in the conversation. In addition, great listeners will ask clarifying questions to promote understanding. This will create a deeper conversation and result in the associates feeling that they have been heard.

Coaching Culture Conclusion.

Implementing a coaching culture, like any cultural change, will take time. The senior leaders must invest in the employee’s development with the appropriate training. All stakeholders must be held accountable. Senior leaders need to walk the talk and become coaches themselves, all leaders in the organization need to be held accountable to practice the coaching skills they have learned and employees must own the coaching the receive.

Over time in your organization, you will see that the leaders will understand the difference between coaching, which will empower people to find their way and directing, which will require specific actions.

Tom Renehan, of Tom Renehan Coaching and Leadership Development, is a Certified Professional Coach working with individuals and groups to improve their leadership skills. He is also certified in Leadership Effectiveness 360, an assessment that measures 22 leadership behaviors. He can be reached at tom@tomrenehan.com. He is based in Yarmouth, Maine.

Video Boredom: Hacks to Regain Creativity

Francis Eberle — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 16:46:49 GMT

What’s happened to creativity?

A client asked me, “Our team has settled into the routine using video for meetings, although everyone seems to be either tired or a little irritable. They are productive, but what can I do to get their creativity back?”

Productivity is good, isn’t it? Some studies have shown that video meetings can be more productive than face-to-face meetings. Virtual work skills – managing media-based interactions, establishing communication norms, building social rapport, and demonstrating cooperation – enhance trust within teams and increase performance.

Where’s the disconnect? Work gets done, but the team lacks energy or creativity. Team members are not engaged.

The root of the problem.

Two factors are at play. First, the human connection is missing. Video meetings jump right into the task without socializing. There are no greetings, chit chat, physical taps to say “Hi,” or side conversations before and after the meetings. There’s sensory deprivation: no smell of coffee, perfume or even body odor.
Second, the physical environment never changes. Those quirky human interactions, and “time away” from our work areas create mental space to clear the mind. Creativity jumps into that space.

Productivity isn’t everything.

Creativity is important. Today’s challenges are both complicated and complex. Technical challenges are complicated, but their solutions are linear. Complex challenges are multidimensional; they are messy, unstable, unpredictable, and ill-defined. They require strategic and innovative thinking, and the solutions cannot be found in a straight line, requiring multiple people or organizations. They require creativity.

Connected leadership is a term I use to describe sharing and engaging others as leaders. Connected leadership facilitates innovation, creativity, and develops new interactions and wide-ranging ideas. Diverse teams are better teams. As a leader knowing when to step up and when to step back and let others lead begins to allow for more thinking from others.

Several recent studies by Google³, ADP, and Gallup have found that when people in teams are engaged, they are more productive, more creative, and happier.

Hacks to promote creativity and engagement.

Thinking differently builds resilience, flexibility, learn and be creative; these are all good for business. These skills of the future can be developed.

Preparing agendas for different types of interaction requires different planning. Mix up meetings so not all have the same level or kind of interaction. Interactive meetings are more inclusive and engaging for all members of a team. And that encourages creativity.

Here are some things you can do to promote creativity on your team in video meetings.

1.      Simplify the Number of Digital Tools. Stick with one or two platforms to minimize glitches.   Learn them well. Resist the allure of new technology; your team members will thank you if they do not have to learn a new platform every few months.

2.      Individual AND Group Brainstorming. Group brainstorming is over-rated. Individuals can be more effective than groups in generating new idea, if you give them time to think. Have your team members brainstorm individually before a meeting and bring their ideas to the meeting. Start with the full list of ideas, brainstorm some more, then prioritize them. Seek contribution from all of the members of the team.

3.      Create Opportunities to Connect. Remember you are working with humans, and humans need to connect. Design a variety of groupings, breakouts, of people. Let them be together for enough time to express their ideas and to chat. Bring them back, discuss the ideas. Send the ideas back to the groups. Mix them up to discuss if time allows.

4.      Encourage Transition Space. Provide transition time between meetings. End them early. Don’t meet on Fridays. Take lunch breaks away from screens.  Encourage team members to make a clean break from the work day. Rather than respond to email, suggest that they “commute” back to personal time by doing what they need to distinguish personal time from work: cooking, spending time with family, yoga. Let them know it’s fine to take a walk around or go outside and walk if time allows. They shouldn’t feel compelled to stay glued to their screens; they can stand up and walk away from their workspaces when they feel stale.

5.      Loosen up. The possibilities are endless: costumes, screen shots of silly faces, stories of embarrassing moments of video calls. I saw a photo of a leader wearing h a funny hat and expression; it became a team meme – with stickers.

6.      Adjust Timelines. Spread sessions over several days so the team can think about the task between sessions. Rather than strive for 100% productivity, understand that some tasks take longer without face-to-face communication.

7.      Diverge and Converge. Zooming in and out is great for planning and thinking about strategy or goals. Zoom out for a couple of sessions. Ask “What else?” at least three times. Then rank the ideas for as a way to solve the problem. Take the top three and zoom in. Focus on each idea and explore it in depth. If one seems best, zoom out again to predict the larger implications of the idea to the company, customers, and partners.

For more about creativity and team dynamics contact francis@price-associates.com

Read more about connected leadership in my new book: Connected Leadership, engaging your workforce to lead themselves. Aloha Publishers.

https://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20201130/b8/d8/6d/60/129dbee1bc7e5d3f7f30f85e/Personal_Excellence_November_2020.pdf

Further reading:

Dulhigg, Charles and Graham, James. “What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team,” NewTimes Company, 2016.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/whatgoogle-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html

Ferrazzi, Keith. (2014). Getting Virtual Teams Right. Harvard Business Review. December.

Learning To Lead

Dana Morris-Jones — Sat, 28 Nov 2020 19:37:04 GMT

John Shorb co-authored this post.

Great leaders are not born with mystical qualities. Leadership is about the ability to take advantage of opportunities to develop yourself and rise to the challenges you are handed. Contrary to conventional wisdom, leadership is not about ambition, charisma, or gaining power.

Hallmarks of an Effective Leader

Effective leaders have certain tried and true qualities in common:

● Self-knowledge: Awareness of personal predispositions and preferred styles, use of self-knowledge to inform choices and decisions, being open to feedback

● Culture: Understanding the importance of culture, ability to create organizational culture based on values, and establish consistent practices and policies to reinforce it

● Alignment: Clarity about the organization's purpose and values, ability to align structures and practices with values, and build relationships across and within all parts of the organization in support

● Motivation & Engagement: Understanding what motivates people to do their best work and ability to create culture and practices that create those conditions

● Building High Performing Teams: Ability to align mission, goals, roles, practices and relationships to maximize team effectiveness

● Leading Change: Recognition that change is constant and having the ability to adapt, able to engage others in accepting and implementing change including communication and conflict resolution

Leadership is learned…….

Jim Collins, a highly regarded expert in the leadership field, says under the right circumstances – with self-reflection, a mentor, a significant life experience – the seeds of leadership begin to develop. The problem is, how do you create those circumstances if they have not come to you?

……Therefore, it can be taught.

This was a question posed by alumni of the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs’ business development programs. “Business founders who had gone through other MCE programs were telling us ‘It’s lonely out there’, says Skip Bates, Senior Vice President of Bangor Savings Banks and Director of’ Main Street Banking. He joined the MCE board last November. “They need trusted colleagues confronting similar issues, and access to leadership expertise.”

“MCE’s programs are designed to offer a continuum of care from early-stage startups to national distribution,” according to Tom Rainey, Executive Director of MCE. “A leadership program was an obvious next step for us.” At the same time as these ideas were forming, staff of the newly launched University of Maine Graduate and Professional Center (Maine Center) wondered how they could best support growing businesses in Maine and provide development opportunities for their leaders. The Maine Center brings together programs in law, business, policy, and public health to provide interdisciplinary educational opportunities for graduate students and Maine professionals.

The Visionary Leadership Program (VLP) is a collaboration between MCE, Bangor Savings Bank, and the Maine Center and launched in early October. Through monthly virtual meetings, the VLP builds a strong peer group for emerging business leaders, develops leadership skills and tools for today’s business challenges, and introduces participants to experienced Maine business and thought leaders. Facilitated by Skip Bates and Alexa Dayton, COO at the Maine Center, the sessions feature a lineup of leaders from the Maine business and leadership communities. The pilot cohort has 16 members representing a range of sectors and businesses from across Maine.

“Strong leadership drives the economy, and leadership can be cultivated through a combination of information sharing and experience sharing,” said Alexa Dayton. “VLP is an approachable program, designed for growing Maine businesses. It’s responsive to what the participants need to know to be successful Maine leaders and for their businesses to excel.”

Learning through Experience

The experiential aspects of the program are critical. One goal of the VLP is to help each participant take advantage of their current situation to move closer to that ideal by exchanging past experiences with one another and continuing to use one another as a sounding board as they apply what they have learned. Participants work together to apply concepts as well as complete assignments related to their own business situations.

Marada Cook, General Manager of Crown O’ Maine, participated in the first Cultivator class, and accepted the invitation to be in VLP’s pilot cohort. Crown O’ Maine is a Kennebec County business distributing product for a network of independent, small to mid-scale food producers from Maine. “We care a lot about our employees’ experience. I’ve learned more about the different strengths people are showing through their actions, and how to interact with those people in ways that enhance their natural strengths and talents.

“My classmates’ experiences are also valuable because our businesses are quite different. We do one-on-one meetings with another business leader between the sessions. Crown O’ Maine is a wholesale distributer, but other businesses in the program are retailers. Our customers are retailers. This is a good opportunity to explore my customers’ perspective through the eyes of a business owner/manager.”

“I am honored to be part of this conversation,” says Kerem Durdag, President and CEO of GWI, guest presenter at the November session.. “The pilot group members share experiences, work together to solve real problems, and have volunteered their businesses as classrooms. They are forward thinking, candid, and are experts in their fields. VLP provides tools, space, and expertise to help them grow. I believe, firmly, that theirexperience here will put them in a position to address larger socialchallenges. They are the business leaders we need.”

Learning to Lead is a Continuing Journey

Becoming a strong and effective leader is a lifelong pursuit that is never complete. The opportunity to explore and reflect on what that pursuit looks like for oneself, along with a cohort of other leaders, is invaluable. This pilot program will be the first for Maine business leaders who want to further their growth toward leadership greatness, with more to follow.

Dana Morris-Jones and John Shorb have been principals of The Delphi Group, an organizational effectiveness consulting firm, since 1998. They will be VLP guest presenters in February 2021. Reach them at jshorb@thedelphigroup.com or dzmorr@thedelphigroup.com, or 207 883-2333.

Other Visionary Leadership Program presenters include Kim Pope, David Pease, and Bob Montgomery-Rice from Bangor Savings, Tara Jenkins of Conscious Capitalism, Richard Bilodeau of USM, Steve Musica from Lean East, and Sam Fratoni of Maine Angels.

Using Interns Effectively in the Gig Economy.

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 21:32:11 GMT

Finding reliable short-term help for your business can be a daunting task. While a skilled professional member of the gig economy can be one option, an intern can potentially serve you well – if you know how to use their talents effectively.

Make a plan

The first step to incorporating and using new talent effectively is developing a detailed understanding of your organization’s needs. Are there specific projects or initiatives that you need help with? What steps will be required to finish them? Breaking a project down into pieces can be a useful exercise, for you, too, and will help you identify areas where you can enlist help.

Say you’re developing a stakeholder report. You can’t hand off that project to an intern wholesale, but by putting together an outline of the needed pieces, you’ll be able to select areas where an intern can help with research, information assembly, or other tasks.

A solid understanding and documentation of what you want an intern to accomplish is key to a successful experience for both parties, says Renee Kelly, assistant vice president of the Office of Innovation and Economic Development at the University of Maine and one of the coordinators of the Innovate for Maine Fellowship program, which connects Maine’s best and brightest college students with exciting, growing companies in the state for meaningful internship experiences.

“An internship is not the same as hiring an employee,” says Kelly. “It’s about a learning experience for the student. Employers shouldn’t expect to find someone who can do everything right out of the gate – part of your responsibility in hosting an intern is to mentor them and teach them and guide them.”

That mentoring, teaching, and guidance requires active participation from the employer throughout the internship experience.

“If you want your intern to be engaged, you need to be engaged with your intern,” says Emma Wilson, co-coordinator of UMaine’s Innovate for Maine program. “Most employers want to offer a great experience to an intern, but other demands can get in the way and interns tend to get stuck doing low-level work when they’re capable of much more. Employers who plan projects and organize check-ins around deliverables and goals create a much better and more efficient experience for the intern and for themselves.”

This is especially important in the COVID-19 era, when an intern may be hired from afar to work remotely.

“When your intern is not working in your physical office, it’s even more important to establish plans with milestones and connect regularly in a one-on-one virtual meeting,” says Wilson.

Goal-setting and regular check-ins are key to ensuring that expectations are well understood. Employers should focus on communicating clearly and encourage interns to reiterate assignments to verify that important details have not been lost in translation.

Experience not (always) required

Though you may feel you need a more experienced worker, there are some surprising advantages to incorporating entry-level talent, such as an intern.

“Interns bring a fresh perspective that can really add value versus being locked into a traditional way of doing things,” says Kelly.

In addition to helping employers innovate, interns can grow into roles or help reshape them.

“Sometimes employers don’t realize that an internship can help them develop someone who can hit the ground running,” says Kelly. “It may start out as a short-term need but hiring an intern can help you define or redefine a role and nurture talent for the long term. Productive internship experiences build goodwill and a sense of investment that’s hard to replicate.”

Finding talent

Now that you’re armed with some strategies to make effective use of an intern, how do you find one and bring the person on board?

Colleges and universities are a great place to start, says Kelly, and winter is an ideal time to recruit.

“You want to start early,” says Kelly. “Students are already exploring their options and starting your own planning process now ensures you’ll be able to onboard your intern swiftly so they can get right to work.”

Programs such as Innovate for Maine can help employers not only find talent but manage the HR logistics around hiring and training that individual. This can be especially helpful for startups and small businesses who can benefit most from an intern but may lack the hiring infrastructure enabling them to bring a new person in easily.

“A program such as Innovate for Maine helps identify strong candidates, provides training, supervision and mentoring throughout the internship, and handles all the paperwork, including around payment,” says Kelly. “For early-stage companies or even established businesses, these services can really streamline the process and ensure the employer can focus on providing the best experience possible.”

To learn more about Innovate for Maine, please visit the program website.

This is the fourth and final post in ACE’s Blog Series on the Gig Economy. Our next series will be on Leadership. It will begin on November 30, 2021 and will run through January 2021.

What Employers Should Know about the Gig Economy

Carrie Green (Yardley) — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 14:58:25 GMT

As my colleague, Terry Johnson, noted in the first installment in ACE's Gig Economy series: “From an employer’s perspective, independent contractors, hired on a project basis, and free to take on other gigs, may make more sense than a full-time hire in a bad economy.” That having been said, it’s unlikely that employers look at a downturn as an opportunity to replace their workforces with a fleet of contract workers. Moreover, there are legal limits on when it can be done.

There are serious consequences to misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor, and classification is not always clear-cut. The IRS weighs twenty (20) factors to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. State laws vary on matters such as workers compensation and tort liability.

There’s good reason to be cautious. In general, though, these are the usual hallmarks of an independent contractor:

The worker is responsible for a result, as opposed to a series of incremental tasks, and is free to determine how the result is achieved;
The worker has a skill set, achieved through education or experience qualifying her in a trade (electrician), profession (optometrist), occupation (hair stylist), or business (distributor);
The worker keeps profits associated with accomplishing the result cost-effectively;
The worker is free to hire or contract with others to assist in accomplishing the result; and
The worker is free to offer her skilled services to others, provided she fulfills her contractual obligations.

Under these circumstances the worker, in most cases, could be an independent contractor or could also be hired as an employee. At this point a business can look at economics, which will obviously include matters such as insurance, access to benefits, withholding, and payroll taxes, as well as the potential cost of misclassification.

An employer does not need to be so risk-averse that it automatically puts every worker on the payroll. The legal rules allow a fair amount of flexibility in staffing a project and assembling an expert team. To take advantage of this flexibility you need to ask a second question: Who should be the employer?

Shifting Employer Responsibilities by Contract

Temporary Agencies

A temporary staffing agency is a simple example of an alternative employer, and the business model has been around for a long time. Typically, the agency acts as an employer, and is responsible for payroll, payroll taxes, wage and hour requirements, and other legal employer responsibilities. The agency and the business have a contract where the business pays a set hourly rate for the services of an agency employee, inevitably at a higher rate than if the business had added the worker to its own payroll.

The temporary agency is both an employer AND an independent contractor in this scenario. It can provide workers to other businesses. It can re-deploy its employees once it has fulfilled its contractual obligations. If it can keep its direct and indirect costs down it will be profitable.

Creative Variations on the Theme

With the Gig Economy’s expansion, the staffing industry has developed creative variations on the traditional “temp” theme.

Ed McKersie, founder of ProSearch, a staffing and recruiting agency in Portland, says that his firm has been increasingly involved with skilled freelancers, particularly in information technology. ProSearch effectively acts as a matchmaker. As McKersie describes it, gig workers come to his firm, his team evaluates the skills and experience of that worker and matches them with the staffing needs of the firm’s client, but not necessarily as a “temp hire” or permanent placement.

Custom-Built Back Rooms. For example, if your business is quality winter wear, your suppliers are far away, and a significant portion of your sales is online, you rely heavily on IT, but it’s not your core business. You may not be able to create an in-house tech team to meet your needs. Nor do you want to manage a tech team of independent contractor specialists because, quite frankly, you wouldn’t know where to begin.

Instead, you might consider contracting with a business that has access to a wide variety of IT workers, has the expertise to assemble them into custom-built teams, and coordinates their efforts to deliver the services you need. The workers might be employees or independent contractors, they may work part time or full time, but that is not your problem to solve.

Project Staffing. Besides contracting for a custom-built backroom, an outsourcing strategy can also apply to projects demanding a high degree of expertise across several disciplines. In this case, the contractor might retain an experienced project manager, then work with the project manager to identify and recruit gig talent to staff the project from a well-vetted portfolio of skilled professionals.

Note that the service the business buys in these cases is not expertise in a particular profession or trade, but rather the ability to assemble and manage a team that requires different kinds of talent, and the ability to correctly classify employees and contractors, and to serve as an employer when legally required to do so, without risk to the client.

Before the COVID pandemic, Upwork, a leading digital platform, projected that by 2027 more than half of U.S. workers would be self-employed. An employer does not need to stretch definitions of employee and independent contractor and risk liability for misclassification. As the gig economy expands, we can expect to see more creative approaches to allocating employer responsibilities contractually, and honoring employees' legal rights.

This is the third installment in the ACE Blog’s series on the Expanding Gig Economy.

See previous Gig series blog articles:

Maine’s Expanding Gig Economy, by ACE President, Terry Johnson

Preparing Yourself Financially to Join the Gig Economy, by Allison Bishop, CPA

Preparing Yourself Financially to Join the Gig Economy

Allison Bishop — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 14:16:19 GMT

Starting a business comes with a lot of considerations. If you have the luxury of having another job while you prepare to join the gig economy, you can – and should - take care of some important items while still collecting a paycheck.

Preparing to Take the Leap

First, building up a cash cushion is critical to get you through those first months of getting your business off the ground. The alternative is to start off your newfound independent life by incurring debt for your basic needs. Also important: creating a website and other marketing materials, arranging physical space if necessary, setting up a business bank account and credit card, and figuring out your health insurance.

Make sure you have a good sense of what your personal monthly cash needs are. It can be as simple as going through your bank statements and making a list of everything you’ve spent money on for the past few months (maybe going back to your pre-pandemic spending habits). Understand how you can realistically make enough money through your business to cover at least those basic expenses, and a timeline for when that might happen. Forecasting your business income in this way can help you to gauge whether you’re on track to meet your goals and help you to estimate how long your savings will last.

Managing Unpredictable Income

Once you begin your business, you may be living off of your savings for a while, but at some point you will be making more than you need to cover your living expenses. If your income fluctuates from month to month, it can be difficult to manage your personal finances. A simple way to handle this is to set up your finances so that you’re paying yourself a salary. Figure out how much it costs you to live (for easy math, we’ll say $2,000 per month). Set up a regular transfer – maybe weekly of $500 or bi-weekly of $1,000 – from your business account into your personal checking. If you don’t use a separate business bank account, you can deposit your gig earnings into a traditional savings account. Over time, as long as you’re making more than you need to live on, you will gradually build up a cushion that you can dip into during slow times to keep your personal income smooth and predictable.

Taxes

Income taxes are tricky for gig workers. Often it takes a few years to make positive taxable income, so during those first years you don’t have to worry too much about putting money aside to pay Uncle Sam. However, once you are making money, make sure that you’re putting enough aside every month to cover your tax liability. Often a separate bank account specific to taxes is a really good idea, so that money stays safe.

It may take a while to perfect the percentage of your gross income that needs to be put aside every month. You might start with 25-30%, which should cover federal and state taxes. Depending on your personal situation, including your spouse’s income and withholding, as well as number of children and other income or deductions, the right number for you might be more or less than that.

Once you’re making taxable income, you’ll owe self-employment tax of 15.3% - although you can take a deduction of 50% of that.

Taxes are a moving target: if you get yourself into a situation where you owe a lot, you have to make more money to pay it off, which means that you’re always incurring new tax debt. Making the effort early on to stay current with your taxes can save you a lot of stress and heartache down the line.

Retirement Planning

Once your business is up and running, and generating a profit, you can turn your thoughts to the future. You no longer have a 401(k) set up for you, so preparing for retirement is entirely up to you. At first, a traditional or Roth IRA might be enough (2020 contribution limits are $6,000, plus $1,000 if you’re age 50 or older). Once you outgrow those accounts, you will have multiple options available to you: a SEP IRA, a SIMPLE IRA, a solo 401(k) – all of these are designed for self-employed individuals or small businesses.

Don’t forget to look at your full family picture; if your spouse has a retirement plan through work, make sure you’re taking advantage of that – particularly if there’s an employer match on the table.

For more on this topic

See also the November 2, 2020 MaineBiz AskACE column, "How do I prepare myself financially for running a business?" Allison also presented on this topic at a virtual event for the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce on October 20, 2020, called "What They Didn't Tell You About Starting a Business."

Maine's Expanding Gig Economy

Terry Johnson — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 17:21:00 GMT

Gig workers are independent contractors, typically service providers. They run the gamut from Uber drivers to freelancers to highly paid professional consultants. They are paid by the project…. the “gig.” The Gig Economy is the sum of those contractors, the work they perform, and the businesses that pay them.

Entrepreneurs are the foundation of the Gig Economy, and when you join you become an entrepreneur. You are starting your own business and becoming a member of the start-up community. You are also an essential contributor to the health of the startup world.

Remote work and an Economic Downturn Set the Stage for Expanding the Gig Economy

Before the COVID pandemic, Upwork, a leading digital platform, projected that by 2027 more than half of U.S. workers would be self-employed. The pandemic added two key drivers to this trend: 1) a pivot to remote work; and 2) an economic downturn.

Remote work is here to stay. Never have so many employers and employees tooled up for remote work. According to Dr. Ryan Wallace, Director of the Maine Center for Business and Economic Research at the Muskie School of Public Service, from 2000 to 2016, before COVID, remote work expanded 123% nationwide, compared to 18% for non-remote work. By 2016, more Maine workers worked remotely than worked in the entire forest products industry. As a share of overall in-migrants, in 2018 mid-coast Maine had the highest concentration remote workers than anywhere else in the US, while two other regions in Maine also made the top 20. As remote strategies post-COVID have succeeded, both employers and employees have warmed to the idea that work can get done outside a traditional workplace.

Live + Work in Maine, a non-profit initiative designed to increase awareness about Maine career opportunities, has watched this trend carefully and considered its potential to attract talent to Maine and to keep it here. Director of Engagement, Katie Shorey says “Maine ranks high on things that matter: healthcare, educated workforce, public education, safety. Talented people with high-level skills have been thrown into the deep end of remote work because of COVID, and they like it. They find it more efficient, and less stressful. If being close to the office doesn’t matter anymore, they ask themselves why they shouldn’t live where they want to. Maine’s quality of life naturally supports remote work and deepened interest in moving here.”

Gig work makes sense for skilled workers in an uncertain economy. Unemployment numbers are high due to the pandemic. There are more skilled service employees looking for work, willing to accept – even embrace – contract work.

Technological innovations allowing employers to pivot to remote work are essential to gig workers’ ability to be in more (virtual) places at a time, for more than one client. Instead of moving for work, once again placing all eggs in a single employment basket, why not stay put for the quality of life, and take on discrete projects for a larger number of businesses…including businesses outside Maine that have embraced remote workers?

What does this mean for Maine?

If remote workers who relocate here already work for out-of-state employers, how does that help Maine employers fill positions? If they are traditional employees, how can they be members of the Gig Economy? Aside from adding a few employees from away, how does it foster new business?

If you bring them, they will mingle. Isolation is a challenge in remote work; work may be possible from a distance, but workers continue to crave human connection. Shorey notes that nearly 100 freelancers and remote employees attended a social networking event for remote workers in Portland last winter. The event was organized by Luke Thomas, Founder of Friday - a South Portland software startup focusing on how remote workers can improve communication.

Economies are dynamic. Talent stands out. Workers change jobs. Employers lose employees. All other things being equal, personal connections count in hiring decisions, and personal connections are easier to make….in person. If talented remote workers come to Maine, it is just a matter of time before they will become known and available to Maine employers.

They will also develop new businesses. According to Wallace, it’s a matter of critical mass and proximity. “When enough talented people are in one place at one time you get ‘knowledge spillover.’ This leads to more opportunities and more new business.”

When gig workers come to Maine, they will also settle in and raise families which adds future generations to the workforce and entrepreneurial environment, thus providing long-term sustainability.

Fluidity. Participation in the gig economy is fluid. Side hustles abound and may be a wise financial hedge in an economic downturn. Side-hustles evolve into full time self-employment, by themselves, or with a nudge from a declining economy. From an employer’s perspective, in the same way that “just-in-time” supply strategies save manufacturing costs, independent contractors, hired on a project basis, and free to take on other gigs may make more sense than a full-time hire in a bad economy.

Start-ups, by necessity, rely on the gig economy. Skilled professionals, available on a contract basis, are essential for launch, and ultimately for scale-up. It is not financially feasible to hire the skilled talent a start-up needs, but the start-up still needs the talent. The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs relies on its Mentor Network to support its TopGun, Cultivator and MarketShare programs. Members of the network are largely independent consultants, and many go on to a continuing role with the companies they mentor. Technical grants are often available to pay for contracted professional services for promising new companies.

Conclusion

Gig workers are within seven years of becoming most of the US workforce. Traditional job opportunities have shrunk, and skilled service workers have an incentive to become entrepreneurs. Remote work has long been the norm for talented skilled independents; COVID has altered employer perceptions that physical workplaces are superior, and they have responded by retooling infrastructure to retain skilled employees. Remote workers are now looking at Maine as a lifestyle choice, adding to a talented pool of potential independents whose knowledge will spill over into new ventures. Start-ups particularly need access to skills outside of a traditional employment relationship.

This is an ideal set-up for expanding Maine's Gig Economy.

What Are You Missing When You’re Paying Attention?

Francis Eberle — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 19:58:01 GMT

By Dr. Francis Eberle

July 22, 2020

Recently I came across a familiar video I had not seen in a while. It has two teams, one in black shirts and the other in white shirts, passing basketballs to each other. As you watch it, you are asked to count the number of passes. Sounds easy, right? If you want to watch the original video, go here.

After you report how many passes you saw, you are asked if you saw the gorilla. And yes, during the video a gorilla strolls into the middle of the action, faces the camera and thumps his chest, and then walks away. When groups of people watched the video for the first time and were asked if they saw the gorilla, about 50% answered no. I have shown this video to groups and seen the same reaction.

Two researchers, Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons, developed this experiment at Harvard University in 1999 while studying unintentional blindness. They did the experiment thousands of times, and half of the people who watched the video did not see the gorilla. This experiment is described in most introductory psychology textbooks and is featured in dozens of museums.

The experiment reveals how we miss a lot of what goes on around us, though not always intentionally. In fact, most times we don’t know what we are missing. This second point is the most striking. We don’t get the chance to decide if we want to notice everything or not. If you are a fan of detective or police television shows you know that eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable. We miss a lot.

Paying attention, really paying attention, is critical all the time, but probably more so right now for your team, colleagues, and partners. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, you could walk over to, have lunch, meet for coffee or call team members and colleagues to easily connect with them. If you haven’t noticed just how much the human interaction part of work is different now, you’re not paying attention.

Being aware that things have changed is different from paying attention to your people because they have changed. And taking the time to learn what has changed, instead of assuming that you know, is paying attention.

In a recent McKinsey & Company poll, more than 80% of respondents said they would remember companies that did they right thing by their workers around safety and layoffs. At the same time 75% said they wouldn’t forget those businesses that took missteps long after the COVID-19 pandemic is done.

Harvard Business School professor Hirotaka Takeuchi completed a recent study of Japanese companies based in the Tohoku region where the 2011 tsunami hit that continue to operate today. Despite facing serious financial setbacks from the disaster, many are thriving. One of the reasons was their dedication to responding to the needs of employees and the community first, over business. Pursuing layoffs and other cost-cutting measures were not part of their moral commitment to their people.

To increase your attention as a leader, there are three things you can do: increase visibility, remove roadblocks and have renewed focus on what is important.

Increase Visibility. There are often behaviors and actions that go unobserved because of the pace of work. Slow down and make them visible or transparent. If a behavior offends at the worst or is biased at the most subtle, make it visible by asking why, what was the motivation, did you really mean, and how does that make others feel? Build support for good works through recognition. Note those quiet people who don’t speak up but always deliver quality work. Put your people first. Paying attention like this can help increase inclusion and promote quality work and employees.

Remove Roadblocks. Consider, what is holding people back? Move from a closed mindset where if people don’t deliver then they are somehow not capable, to an open mindset that asks what is the potential and what was in their way. Roadblocks can run the gamut of power positioning, not giving all the information, budgets, or outright blocking. Until you pay attention to the barriers, they will continue to exist and be put up. Some employees in your company will not have access to success because they were not given the opportunity. Paying attention is seeking out the roadblocks to preempt them and not waiting for them to appear.

Renewed Focus. This is the most basic way to pay attention. Focus in this case is not only narrowing but instead an expansion of what a leader might see including monitoring, accountability, identifying problems, observing, adapting, improving, searching for people’s talents and celebrating milestones. It is also narrowing the focus on the larger goal and not getting distracted by office politics, behaviors or structures. Know the context for each employee. Paying attention is really seeing your people, processes and structures, and noticing how they work to ensure they will accomplish the best for your company.

The noise around leaders is loud right now and so much seems to be vying for our attention. Internal and external interactions, social media, marketing, newsletters, offers and news are relentless. Paying attention to your people, focusing on what you what to accomplish and helping them get there will help everyone be successful.

To talk to Dr. Eberle about focus and attention as a leader, email him at francis@price-associates.com.

How Can We Help You During COVID-19?

Mon, 11 May 2020 13:53:41 GMT

Panel discussion with members of the SPC and ACE.

We shared what we’re doing to get through the crisis and recommended potential solutions and resources to help you through these tough times.

How Do I Apply for SBA Loans? The CARES Act made loans available for consultants and solo professionals. Robin Hamilton shows you how to navigate the maze of PPP, EIDL, and other SBA programs so you can apply for economic relief for your business.

How Can I Use Online Talent Platforms to Find New Clients? – Online services like Catalant and Business Talent Group match consultants with projects. Gina Abudi will show you how she’s found new clients through these platforms and shares her best practices for success.

How can we manage our reactions to stress-related client demands? Under stress we don't behave as we normally do...and neither do our clients. Join Theresa Peek as she explores this topic during this time of stress. How can I pivot my business focus as the economy changes? The world has changed - and it continues to change.

How do you pivot amidst the changes to keep your business healthy? Join a conversation with Terry Johnson to discuss innovating your business.

My Team Isn't Working Well Anymore

Francis Eberle — Sat, 14 Mar 2020 21:47:33 GMT

I have heard some version of this many times from clients over the years. Leaders often tell me that a team isn’t as effective as they once were, team members don’t want to participate, or they need more cooperation so they can move faster.

Many leaders forget that teams are fluid. What I mean is they change over time due to variable factors. These can be things like someone joining or leaving the team, projects changing dramatically, tasks becoming routine, fear about job safety due to changing market forces, or more. All of these dynamics impact the people on a team and their performance.

Teams are more important now than they have been in the past, partly because problems are more complex than they have been in the past. Solving them requires multiple perspectives and experiences.

Studies of highly effective teams find that appealing to employees around purpose and their role in accomplishing that purpose is more effective to teamwork than other approaches, such as incentives or accountability systems. Not only that, but teams need ongoing support and encouragement when it comes to purpose. People have a tendency to relax or regress if not constantly reminded of their role in making the company work well, according to Andy Johnson, author of Pushing Back Entropy.

Leaders aren’t immune from this either. Johnson calls this regression entropy, or the natural decline into disorder or lack of energy. If one energy state is left alone without an infusion of new energy, it moves to lower energy states—or more simply put, goes “downhill.” A leader’s job is to help his or her team continue “up the hill” with support, appreciation and acknowledgement for what they are doing to meet the larger company purpose.

Additional studies from Google, ADP Research and Gallup found that when people on teams are engaged, they are more productive, creative and happier. To engage them, leaders need to guide purpose to accountability—but in a thoughtful way. One negative outgrowth of intense accountability systems is that people may act solely to achieve their performance measures, losing sight of purpose.

Jack McGuinness wrote about the important features of effective teams and how they optimize collaboration in today’s workplace. He agreed that an important factor was gaining clarity or purpose, as well as being clear about how to integrate that into how people work.

Doing the foundational work to ensure teams understand purpose can seem like a slow start, but without a strong purpose, frustration, floundering and miscues are more frequent.

McGuinness also stressed the importance of reinforcing collaboration principles on teams. As team members move into action, what is the behavior they have agreed to? Have they discussed how they will work? McGuinness’ skills for leaders fostering effective team collaboration are:

Communication—Be clear, direct, honest and talk often
Listening—Demonstrate that you value people and they are important
Feedback—Give and receive feedback, and adjust as exchanges occur
Compromise—Seek to understand, which means compromise and being humble
Dependability—Be accountable to yourself and the team

While these may not be new, and may seem quite simple, they are hard to do consistently. Actions such as team building days or retreats can help a team learn about each other. Even better, though, is to use these principles weekly so they become part of the way you work. This approach has a longer life span and more impact than one-day events.

I frequently use these basic principles with leaders and teams. Clients have seen results such as improved communication, reduced workplace conflict, uncovering hidden skills of team members, and overall positivity at work. Since our people are not static beings and will change, we as leaders need to continuously review and refresh our approaches with them.

To discuss these tips for teams and more, email Francis@price-associates.com.

Stay in Your Lane, Pay Attention and Remember Whose Hat You Have on (Fiduciary Responsibilities of Nonprofit Board Members)

Carrie Green (Yardley) — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 16:12:50 GMT

At ACE’s Board orientation last month we took time to get back to first principles and talk about what board membership means at ACE.

As the lawyer on the board I suppose it was inevitable that I’d be asked to talk about fiduciary duty. A fiduciary duty is the highest duty imposed by law; it means that as a board member you are in a position of trust and must always place the interest and purpose of the organization before your own.

Somber stuff. And much more intimidating than necessary.

Board members do not need to lie awake at night worried that they might make a mistake and lose the house. They are not responsible for every loss or mishap if they act reasonably and in good faith.

You just need to do three things:

Stay in Your Lane: The Duty of Obedience

The duty of obedience means that Board members must obey applicable law, and the nonprofit’s governing documents. These are your organization’s rules of the road.

I am sorry to tell you that this means that you are in for an hour or so of dull reading, but you owe it to your organization. All nonprofits are organized under a state statute, receive tax-exempt status under IRS regulations, and have articles of incorporation and bylaws.

Why is this important? Tax-exempt nonprofits come in a variety of flavors; there are things they must do and things they cannot do if they want to remain tax-exempt.

For example, a nonprofit charitable organization’s revenue comes from donations, grants, and program revenue. Its funds must be spent to advance the organization’s mission, usually to provide a public service (e.g. library) or serve a disadvantaged group. (e.g. individuals with disabilities)

As another example, a nonprofit business membership organization’s revenue comes from dues and the organization’s program revenue. By law it must focus on advancing the business interests of its members. Chambers of Commerce are good examples of this type of organization, as are trade and professional associations (like ACE).

To get up to speed, I’d start with the articles and bylaws and read them once. It’s easier if you know what you are looking for.

Organization Type. This is your first lane marker: The articles and bylaws will tell you what kind of organization you represent. You should find it in the first paragraph of the bylaws.

Once you know your organization type, go to Google. The following searches will turn up a wealth of information: “charitable organization” “business league” “nonprofit membership organization” “mutual benefit corporation.” For bonus points over-achievers can include their state in a separate search, e.g. “Maine charitable organization.”

Somewhere at the top of the search results you will also find references to the section of the IRS code governing the organization’s tax-exempt status. A Google search on the section (e.g. 501(c)(3)) will give you many, many hits. One of the top 10 will tell you what you need to know about what your organization needs to do (or not do) to maintain its tax-exempt status.

Back to our examples. A charitable organization’s donors can deduct donations, a business organization’s donors cannot, but they can deduct business expenses paid to the organization, like dues or sponsorships. A business organization can lobby, a charitable organization cannot.

Organization Structure. The second lane marker: Bylaws describe the board, the officers, any standing committees, and meeting, election other voting requirements like quorums. In a membership organization I’d be particularly careful to pay attention to what issues require membership votes.

Your organization may have a policy or procedure manual of some kind, and if you are lucky it will be well-indexed. Whereas the bylaws tend to be skeletal, the manual provides detail on how the organization performs its day-to-day activities. Read it for general familiarity so that you know what it covers and where to look things up.

Pay Attention: The Duty of Care

The duty of care is all about financial and management oversight.

A well-run organization should provide you with the information you need to oversee its finances, and to determine whether management is doing its job. The information should include:

A plan;
A budget;
Periodic financial reports, ideally in a standard accounting format; and
Progress reports on the plan.

The documents’ complexity will depend on the size and complexity of your organization, but they are unimaginably important to financial oversight. Donors, members, grantors and beneficiaries look to you to spend the organization money wisely to serve its mission, including spending on management. An organization needs to document what it plans to do, how it plans to pay for it, and measure its spending against the plan.

If the organization does not regularly report this information to the board, your first duty as a board member may be to insist.

Not all organizations have staff, but if yours does you should understand the difference between oversight and micromanagement. Oversight means you approve the budget and its objectives, then measure progress. Implementation is left to management. Try not to be “one of those” board members.

Remember Whose Hat You Have on: The Duty of Loyalty

Membership on a board may be “good for business,” but the benefits are indirect: connections and a reputation for effectiveness and community dedication. When it comes to direct benefits, you must always, always put the organization’s interest before your own.

You cannot wear two hats if you want serve on a board. For the sake of the organization you must:

Be prepared to give up business opportunities for yourself, your business and your family members;

Be prepared to recuse yourself from discussions in which you have a personal stake;

Be prepared not to use insider information, and particularly not in a way that might hurt the organization; and ultimately

Be prepared to resign if you can’t resolve a conflict of interest. It’s time to take the organization’s hat off.

Remember that your authority has limits. No matter how laudable your intentions, you are not entitled to go rogue.

The organization is your client, not the other way around. Would you broker a deal without a client’s permission? Would you speak on a client’s behalf without guidance? Would you attach a client’s name to an initiative without checking?

There’s another aspect of the duty of loyalty that’s often missed: loyalty to your fellow volunteer board members and to the organization’s staff. Respect their time. Answer their calls and emails. Read their reports. Follow through.

And relax. You're doing a good thing.

Emotional Intelligence and David Brooks

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 12:49:16 GMT

Reconsidering “The Strange Failure of the Educated Elite” by

Columnist David Brooks in Relation to Emotional Intelligence and Consulting

For some time I have had a suspicion that the NYT’s Columnist, David Brooks, has been exposed to and even been trained in the leadership model of Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Frequently he has written about the inadequacy of technical and IQ intelligence when it leaves out the human connection, the sense of community, and the concern for others close by and in the larger population.

This is certainly the case in his opinion piece last year “The Strange Failure of the Educated Elite.” To read the full article, please go to https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/28/opinion/failure-educated-elite.html.

Brooks’ initial theme is that over the past generations we have moved from a system based on birth (White, Male, Protestant) to one based on talent. We opened our educational and corporate institutions to an egalitarian, boomer ethos that was socially committed to fairness, social consciousness, and to ending bigotry. And this is good. But Brooks goes on to say:

“A narrative is emerging. It is that the new meritocratic aristocracy has come to look like every other aristocracy. The members of the educated class use their intellectual, financial, and social advantages to pass down privilege to their children, creating a hereditary elite that is ever more insulated from the rest of society. We need to build a meritocracy that is true to its values, truly open to all. . . But the narrative is insufficient. The real problem with the modern meritocracy can be found in the ideology of meritocracy itself. Meritocracy is a system built on the maximization of individual talent, and that system unwittingly encourages several ruinous beliefs.”

What I gain from his article is that we have so focused on the individual that we have lost a sense of community. That results in only seeing one’s worth or value to society in relationship to others.

Here is where I connect Emotional Intelligence with Brooks’ fine opinion piece. I am listing his five “Ruinous Beliefs” and, in bold, indicating how each belief relates to one of the EQ Competencies (listed in bold).

David Brooks says that we have developed these ruinous beliefs:

Exaggerated faith in intelligence - “Today’s educated establishment is still selected on the basis of I.Q. High IQ correlates with career success but is not the crucial quality required for civic leadership.” An EQ Competency - Emotional self-awareness: the ability to understand our own emotions and their effects on our performance.

Misplaced faith in autonomy – Our youth are urged to go on . . . “a solitary unencumbered journey through life toward success. If you build a society upon this metaphor you will wind up with a society high in narcissism and low in social connection.” An EQ Competency - Organizational awareness: the ability to read a group’s emotional currents and power relationships, identifying influencers, networks and dynamics.

Misplaced notion of the self – “If you base a society on a conception of the self that is about achievement, not character, you will wind up with a society that is demoralized; that puts little emphasis on the sorts of moral systems that create harmony within people . . .” An EQ Competency - Empathy: the ability to sense others’ feelings and perspectives, taking an active interest in their concerns and picking up cues to what is being felt and thought.

Inability to think institutionally – “The current generation sees institutions as things they pass through on the way to individual success.” Thus the work of the institutions such as Congress, educational systems, and yes, the Church, are blind to their social and community responsibility. An EQ Competency - Teamwork: the ability to work with others towards a shared goal; participating actively, sharing responsibility and rewards, and contributing to the capability of the team.

Misplaced idolization of diversity – “Diversity is a mid-point not an endpoint . . . Diversity for its own sake, without common telos is infinitely centrifugal and leads to social fragmentation.” Thus diversity becomes the focus as a concept and not as a means to a more inclusive society. An EQ Competency - Inspirational leadership: the ability to inspire and guide individuals and groups to get the job done, and to bring out the best in others.

Brooks concludes with this rather jarring comment: “Those dimwitted, stuck up blue bloods in the old establishment had something we meritocrats lack – a civic consciousness, a sense that we live life embedded in community and nation, and we owe a debt to community and nation, and that the essence of the admirable life is community before self.”

Is this not what we who strive for “Consulting Expertise” are about in our interaction and work with our clients?

C. Waite Maclin, M.Div

The Relentless Manager

James Milliken — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 20:02:03 GMT

“News is what I say it is.”

That was my editor friend Brad, demonstrating the plain-talk part of his straight-up style of management.

It was a while ago, when the news industry was in one of its periodic fits of self-examination, ignited by public outcry over some now-forgotten issue of what’s news and what isn’t.

Uncertainty about that definition troubled Brad not at all. He devoted no time to such matters.

The point of this reminiscence is to introduce Brad as a model of leadership clarity. You didn’t always agree with Brad or like his way of doing business, but you always knew where he stood.

“This is going to be the worst three months of your life,” he’d tell a newly hired staff member. “But if you make it, you’ll know the job.” That was intended to tell you to take 90-day probation period seriously – as Brad himself surely did.

The daily newspapers of New England eventually became thick with Brad’s graduates. Beginners who survived Brad-style probation didn’t stay long at his paper. They cashed in elsewhere on the tough-love training – other editors with fatter wallets knew what they’d get by hiring these newswise professionals.

Brad’s assurance in his concept of news grew from his knowledge of his readers’ tastes. He had done his homework. Brad’s paper was stuffed with small-town minutia in an era when most dailies were dropping such material in favor of longer magazine-style studies of metropolitan issues.

And Brad posted circulation increases as everybody else lost ground.

His way might not have worked anywhere else . . . but he wasn’t anywhere else. He was in his territory, supremely unaffected by trends and fads that periodically sloshed through the industry. He was local, editing a very local newspaper.

Brad made it his business to know his business, and he was relentless in his management of it.

And that’s what set him apart from every other editor I met in my 30+ years in that business. Others could meet deadlines, and many knew writing, reporting and/or the other specific skills of newsgathering, as did Brad.

His margin was in his unparalleled ability to organize and lead groups of people in a situation that demanded accuracy, energy and the efficient deployment of curiosity and imagination. He got results.

He never deviated. His people, once learning his expectations, never had surprise problems with their assertive boss.

There was nothing specific to the news business in all that. Brad’s management essentials were universal, and we all could learn them – whatever our specialty or profession – by doing what Brad did.

His highest-level skills were not core practices of news. Any manager is only as good as her/his ability to achieve high productivity through the work of other people.

Brad’s gruff manner actually was the initial act in sorting out those who could handle news reporting from those who couldn’t.

Any kid intimidated or put off by a blunt introduction to his/her new boss would have struggled in workaday conversations with small-town cops and politicians. Likewise if your self-confidence couldn’t sustain the prospect to being on trial for three months.

But Brad’s set of management skills was much broader than just that.

He was a good teacher and a thoughtful counselor. Once the ground rules were unmistakably established, the way was clear for introducing the how-to stuff, and that’s what Brad did.

I’ve known other managers who would grump, “I didn’t take this job to be a handholder.”

Of course you didn’t. But if you can’t educate your people in ways that really help, you don’t have the capacity to contribute to their professional growth.

They depend upon your leadership. You must know what they need, and you must give it to them. Withholding what you know guarantees you’ll always have a ready supply of inadequate staff people to complain about.

You won’t develop the quality group output you’re being paid to produce.

Brad didn’t lean on his senior management or his peers and associates. If they all had known what Brad knew, management would be significantly better, and not just in newspapers.

Of course, Brad made sure his owner knew and approved of what he was doing. Brad was confident, but not crazy. In his case, the boss was very happy and the relationship was excellent.

Brad’s thorough homework included knowing the chosen strategies and direction of his senior management, and he stuck with them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to work there.

Brad’s attitude toward the editors of other papers was friendly and positive, but his philosophy and opinions were his own.

Brad was liked and respected. And relentless.

Question: How do you balance empathy and certainty in your relationships?

Cooperating with Your Competition

Fri, 02 Jun 2017 17:31:54 GMT

When considering cooperating with your competition, there is a natural tendency to resist. In many instances those relationships can be beneficial and can lead to business growth, as well as flexibility to take on different work and improving your reputation.

An engineering manager recently rehired a project engineer who worked for his company in the recent past. Shortly after the original hire, the manager told him that their work backlog was insufficient for sustaining their group. Based on tenure, his position would likely be eliminated. Out of respect for their relationship, the manager called a competing engineering firm, with whom he had an established relationship, to let him know about the project engineer’s situation. The manager described the situation and shared the project managers’ resume, along with a strong endorsement.

Keeping in good standing with your competition just makes good sense. The sudden turn of business wasn’t the fault of the manager, and the project engineer appreciated the willingness of the manager to make the introduction. Referrals and recommendations to a competitor are great examples of how collaboration can benefit everyone who is part of a business community. With the changing needs of the marketplace, your competition may exchange employees with your company on a regular basis. In Maine, we see this happen frequently.

– – –

Yacht manufacturing is a business that would seem not to be affected by the fluctuations in the economy, but that is not the case. Layoffs were a part of the companies’ culture to adjust with their level of business. This is common with most manufacturing firms but nevertheless damaging to their reputation. Since 2008, one particular company has been on a tear with a 30% increase in orders from last year. The business is very labor-intensive, so skilled tradesman/craftsman are critical to the success of the organization.

Five years ago, the company hired a new General Manager , one who has struggled for the last 3 years to find the level of talent necessary to meet the demands of their growth. This past year, his focus shifted. Along with tapping the local technical trade colleges for talent, he started speaking with his competition to ask them about establishing an alliance by providing their shops with overage work if they have the capacity.

The hope is that it would minimize the need to bring in more people and would require training and on-boarding resources only to be released in a 2-3 year time-frame, when their workload leveled off. If they could stem this continual hiring influx, they can concentrate on developing their core competencies; processes/lean optimization, materials enhancements, leadership skills, product development/brand development. By developing a sub-contractor workforce with the competition, they hope to develop a stronger client focus and reduce the negative impacts that are associated with layoffs.

– – –

Liam Holt is a recent owner of a machine shop on the 495 hub of Massachusetts. Having been in the business for over 20 years for 8 different employers in the industry, he knows all the machine shop owners in the area.

“It’s very competitive but also supportive,” Holt explains. “People lend tools and give advice freely [whenever someone] encounters a problem. It’s a favor bank that you help your local shops, because you never know when you will be in need of help. The ultimate respect is when your competition recommends you on a job”

Recommending your competition happens in business all the time. Your ability to accept work depends on many factors, including current workload, logistics, or willingness to undertake an all-or-nothing project. If you can best serve an existing customer by referring a better suited competitor, it speaks volumes for your understanding that your customers needs come first.

Selecting a Competition Partner

When considering business partners, there has to be potential where both businesses benefit by working cooperatively. Trust and understanding are critical for determining consideration. When you refer a business or recommend a person, you take ownership in being a part of the process, good or bad. There is risk associated with taking on any job, but when you recommend a business that you don’t fully know, that’s using bad judgement. Before you refer someone, you must know and trust them implicitly. Do they have the same values/business ethics? Do they stand by their product or service? Are they known as a company that overstates and under delivers? Or vice versa? Do they conduct themselves in a nonprofessional manner?

As you get acquainted with a prospective partner, be sure to speak with a few people/customers who know and/or have used their service. After making your choice, collaborate on smaller projects that would minimize risk for damaging your reputation. When there is a deliverable involved, be sure to have periodic reviews for measuring performance for both parties for quality and customer satisfaction considerations.

Opportunities to Partner

In the spirit of cooperation, here are comments from fellow ACE Member Doug Packard’s Coopetition article from Mainebiz May 30, 2011, about selecting a partner competitor.

The extent to which you partner with a competitor can take many forms. You may decide to rely on a range of partnerships, depending on the competitor and the type of customer engagement, such as:

– Referral system: Both businesses inform each other of opportunities that the other can handle more efficiently in return for an agreed-upon referral fee. To work well, both firms must refer business to each other on a regular basis.

– Sub-contractor relationship: Depending on the situation, the sub-contractor can represent the originating firm or themselves. The originating company invoices the customer and handles project management while the sub-contractor takes on particular tasks or skill requirements.

– Joint project partnership: Both firms work directly with the customer, and each invoices the customer for work performed. But the two firms also work closely in supporting the customer and collaborating on the project.

Developing New Partnerships

Getting comfortable with new partners can be daunting, but it can also help you to grow. Establishing a relationship with a trusted competitor can lead to discovery, awareness, or information that wasn’t known previously. Keep an open mind for fostering competitive relationships, since it can lead to a better bigger-picture understanding.

In my friend’s words: “Many business leaders may not be ready to take the coopetition step. But those who are successful over the long run usually earn a reputation for thinking of customers’ interests first, and coopetition is one of the best ways to demonstrate that. There are few secrets you need to worry about protecting from competitors, because business success usually comes down to relationships and execution. If you do both well and take care of customers, you will succeed. Try developing a matrix of your products and services by industry and geography to see if there aren’t some opportunities to accelerate success with a coopetition strategy.”

– – –

Bland Marketing – Don’t let your brand lose focus

Wed, 12 Apr 2017 19:36:37 GMT

April 7, 2017

Bland Marketing – Don’t let your brand lose focus

Contact: jim@caseyommunications.biz

There was a time not long ago when BRAND implied a highly focused strategic basis for what a company promised the public - what it stood for. The brand was the ultimate competitive advantage, and marketing the brand was a full-time job. These days, more and more it seems to me that brand marketing has become bland marketing - undifferentiated, me-too and dressed up in the latest designer look & feel.

It amounts to brand blasphemy perpetrated on one’s own business. It’s not fair to the consumer or the company. But in these difficult economic times, unfortunately, too many companies settle for expediency rather than strategy.
Instead of engaging and earning the trust of consumers bland marketing triggers suspicion and ire, which becomes the standard consumer posture.

Understanding why this is happening is pretty simple. Most marketers just don’t do the hard work of identifying their company’s true raison d'être, assuming they have one. They are pressed for results so they settle for an idea that feels like a USP and works...in the moment. I’ve seen lots of examples of one brand annexing a competitor’s brand, adding a slightly different spin (hey, if it’s working for them, it can work for us!). The resulting marketing is uninspired, un-motivating: bland marketing.

Let me be clear, there are many, many, many great brands out there. They are great because at the core they stand for something important to the consumer and the company. They represent value; they deliver on a promise that is important to the consumer and that engenders trust and allegiance. Internally, that promise drives the actions of the company. Great brands are nurtured continually by everyone in the organization. It’s hard work.

Bland marketers need to pay attention to and learn from the greats.

Creating a brand is hard work. Creating a successful brand is hard work, continually.

Don't Argue with Me

James Milliken — Sat, 04 Feb 2017 15:53:48 GMT

“Don’t argue with me – I have debated before the American Bar Association.”

     That is one of the more efficient discussion killers I have collected in a lifelong study of human conversation. If the remark doesn’t instantly freeze the other party, it sets an agenda for a losing exchange. You are put down and set up in one neat pre-emptive strike.
     Are you going to now argue about whether you’re arguing, or debate debating with a master debater?
     You got into the conversation originally to explore differences and seek understanding. It hadn’t occurred to you that it was a competition. If that’s what it is going to be, you’ll need to reorder your entire frame of mind. Probably need to do some research, too.
     That is, of course, if you buy the choice you have been so smoothly locked into. If you don’t buy it, how would you rate your chances of resetting the basis for why we’re talking?
     Perhaps the politic thing to do is just acquiesce and withdraw.

Here’s another, this one relying upon blunt force to nail a point:

     “That’s where you’re wrong.”
     Hey, I was just offering an idea, not picking a fight. Wrong or right wasn’t the point. Now that it unexpectedly is, I’m either flummoxed or mad . . . or both. If I’m not careful, we’re off into an utterly irrelevant argument about manner, facts, sources or events.
     I’m not prepared for that, and the sour outcome pretty much kills off whatever it was I started out to explain.
     Both of those examples involve managers and staff members, and both accurately reflect how the relationships were conducted as a regular matter. When the exchanges occurred in the presence of third parties, they were instructive for all – and sometimes intentionally hyped for that purpose.
     As with all communication between people, each of the conversations had two main components: Intention, or purpose; and tactics, the visible/audible action to execute the intention.
     If you think such a description makes too big a deal out of a simple comment/response, you’re mistaken.

Think about it: There are people you are in regular contact with who make you feel good, just by the way they relate to you. They’re cheery, interested, responsive, always happy to see you. Your working arrangement with them may be virtually nonexistent, but they’re in your daily life and you’re happy to have them.

     If, on the other hand, they are directly above you in the organization’s hierarchy, it can be a pleasure to go to work each day, to exchange suggestions, carry out assignments and resolve problems. You can feel yourself growing, and you love everything about it.
     Now back to those two put-down artists. When someone fixes you with a steady gaze, pauses and says in a firm, even tone, “Now that’s where you’re wrong,” the statement sticks. The moment takes on some importance, and the criticism cuts somewhat deeper, because that is the obvious intention.
     Generally, with such a person you never know when you’re going to absorb a gratuitous slam. They ambush people, and you’re going to be cautious and restrained around them.

As with so many other workplace realities, this intention/tactics consideration has a heightened effect in Project Management.

     When your project is heavily characterized by complexity, dependency, risk, time constraints, etc. – that is, is a real project – the project manager and key decision makers really need to trust one another.
     The relationships do not necessarily need to be close and warm, but the personal agendas must be open and truly collaborative. The moment-to-moment interactions must demonstrate sincere respect and responsiveness.
      When something needs fixing, including the actions or behavior of a teammate, there is absolutely no question that a constructive outcome is the sole strategic goal . . . and professional courtesy characterizes the tactics.
     Effective project managers make sure it’s that way. No argument.

Potential useful resource

Fri, 18 Mar 2016 17:27:07 GMT

I just met a guy providing services to small consulting firms and individual consultants that allows us to get information comprehensively and inexpensively. His name is Guy Cohen and his company is Ask Wonder. Here's how it works. you go to askwonder.com/request, and write your question. They charge $30 / question and you get really a lot of information including all the sources they researched in answering your question. There is no membership, no fees involved. Here are some sample questions asked. Click on them and you can see the responses and sources:

Typical use cases are:

Competitive landscaping: Who are Slack's key competitors?
Market sizing: What is the market size and growth rate of the food container industry in North America?
Data / Statistics: How many teens take online drivers education each year?
Prospecting: Find contact info for heads of surgery at different hospitals (see spreadsheet)
Insight: I want to understand trends in retail behavior for millennial moms buying toys for their kids (age 5-11)

Take a Look at Student Ideas to Improve the Maine Economy

Tove Rasmussen — Wed, 09 Mar 2016 23:28:00 GMT

http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20160222/CURRENTEDITION/302179991/students-offer-innovative-ideas-to-stimulate-maine's-economy

Nifty Graphics tool to share with the group

Fri, 18 Dec 2015 22:01:24 GMT

For those who are making presentations and want nice graphics - here is a site that was brought to our attention. Uli Stewart posted this through to the ACE Linkedin groups but was spammed as "inappropriate"

Data Visualization Template Tool

Nice (free) Infographic tool that our talented marketing partner recommended. Can you apply it to your business or does anyone want to share their experience in using it? https://infograph.venngage.com/templates Thanks Louise Merriman!

Mentoring Facilitation

Fri, 20 Feb 2015 16:13:53 GMT

On Thursday, February 20, I will be facilitating an open Round Table discussion, “Building Your Mentoring Program,” for members of the Association for Consulting Expertise (ACE).

It has been suggested that ACE organize a mentoring program for our 60+ consultant members, with their varying levels of consulting for marketing, sales, management, process improvement and coaching, to name a few of our areas of specialty.

This is a subject of vital importance to all of us, so I am using the occasion to offer some ideas on how it should be done.

Background

Most successful organizations use mentoring to simulate learning and creativity. This is a way for newer people to benefit from the knowledge and more experienced colleagues. When they have a structured/formalized programs, members can take the time to develop their skills. That offers great rewards to all those who participate, as well as the companies/groups that foster them.

I have mentored several people over my 25 years in the recruiting field, and have found it an enriching experience. Seeing people grow and thrive over time has been a wonderful experience that has helped shape the person I am today.

Our preferred model for hiring has been to bring on people who have no specific recruiting experience, and train them. We have always been competitive within the industry and among the branches in our company.

Mentor Success Factors

While mentoring that results in enhancing teammates’ performance is very gratifying, by no means is success a given. Factors that weigh on the outcome include communication style, personality, receptiveness to feedback and ability to focus on the needs of the individual client.

The mentor must take ownership of the role. One’s ability to be coach, adviser, instructor and advocate is critical in communication as a mentor. Determining the mentee’s learning style is very relevant, as are strong listening skills to meet the necessity for open feedback.

Prerequisites are patience, persistence and thoughtfulness on the mentor’s part in establishing a trusting relationship that builds confidence in the process. Confidence in and comfort with the depth of the mentor’s proficiency is illustrated by their use of stories.

Conducting the Process

The mentor needs to gauge the mentee’s enthusiasm and drive for learning to determine how to plan and execute the training process. If the mentee is to fully engage, he or she has to be open to the subject matter, and see the value in it. Reinforcing the learning process by employing those practices should be a part of any successful mentoring program.

Proper mentoring takes that into account by having a plan in place to closely monitor and evaluate progress to maintain alignment with the set goals and objectives. Open and honest feedback by both parties is especially essential here.

Being a champion for the mentee is one of the most critical elements for success. Frequent praise, support, acknowledgement of progress and of good ideas will generate enthusiasm, and encourage the furthering of the mentoring process.

The end goal is to have the mentee be comfortable and confident enough to employ the newly learned material, growing and evolving the use of the skills.

How to Proceed?

“Success through Collaboration” is the defining statement of ACE, and that underlies the intention of establishing a formal internal mentoring program. The mission of the mentoring program will be to provide a framework for building members’ consulting skills – thereby meeting our responsibility to be the best we can be for our clients, and for ourselves.

Given the varying needs and experience levels of the 60+ members, the methodology is as-yet unclear. As a start, here are the initial steps we will discuss at the February 20 Round Table discussion:

1) Application Process

Mentors

Mentees

Where are we now? The plan is to develop a more formal mentorship program with a clear vision for a working program. Should it be a requirement of ACE members to participate? Where should meetings be held? What would be the time commitment?

2) Matching Process

Defining the needs/wants of participants; defining the application/matching process.

Who are the mentors and how would a potential mentee reach one? What does the mentee in a mentor; is there a suitable match for addressing the need?

3) Mentoring Process (needs analysis)

Any successful program requires goals and objectives. Goal setting can be difficult but defining the parameters correctly makes for a tight alignment. Using metrics to gauge progress and outcomes is critical.

4) Process Improvement

After a mentoring period, there should be an evaluation from both parties. What was learned? How will the subject matter be reinforced? What might be future considerations?

Seeking a Consultant? Think about It

James Milliken — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 22:09:03 GMT

By JIM MILLIKEN

Association for Consulting Expertise

What do you want? What’s it worth?

“When you’re thinking about bringing in a consultant, your eye should be on the prize,” says David Fields, the international mentor-consultant and best-selling author. “How do you expect to be better off at the end of this – and what is the value of that?

“That’s a different conversation than ‘How do we have you work on this for $40 an hour?’ –which is about cost.

“The project is aimed at solving a problem or achieving an outcome. That should be the focus of all the work and all the contracts and all the rest.”

Fields, who wrote “The Executive’s Guide to Consultants,” is a prolific presenter and blogger, as well as a writer and consultant.

He was interviewed after his recent presentation to Maine’s Association for Consulting Expertise. The ACE program was aimed at advising consultants. This interview explored the other side of the relationship – the client.

It is a mistaken tendency of many executives, he said, to look at cost up front (Wrong!”) and to compare a consulting fee to employee salaries: “Why, I could hire four fulltime employes for that.”

Fields answers: “That’s an apples-to-Oldsmobiles comparison.

”You’re hiring a consultant to help you solve a problem or achieve an aspiration, and the value they’re supposed to be delivering, compared to the value full-time employees would deliver is what you should compare. Across all industries, the average return on labor costs is around 6-to-1, so if your consultant is giving you more than a 6-to-1 return that’s a better investment than an employee. (Keep in mind also that a new employee would have to deliver that 6-to-1 return every day, month and year you have them employed.)

“Before the person even talks to a consultant, have they figured out the value of the project? The first thing they should do is answer the question, ‘Why bother?’ What’s the reason to bother – solving the problem or achieving the aspiration – and what’s the value?”

They should determine whether they really need outside help, he says.

Mistakes are made both ways: “They often can get close enough without that help – they can get 80 to 90 percent there – all they really need. It matters because consultants are disruptive.

“On the other hand, people frequently do things on their own that they shouldn’t. They should go to the outside if it is not in their core expertise. This is especially true with small companies, and even more when the founder is involved. It’s hard to bring in an outsider.”

When there is a considered decision to hire a consultant, Fields says, the first thing the client and consultant should do together is thoroughly examine six topics:

1. What is the situation? Specifically, what has changed and why does the client need outside help?
2. What’s the desired outcome? Fields urges care to ensure that a simple deliverable is not mistaken for an outcome. If communication training is conducted to cut down on outcome errors, improved communication does not mean the desired outcome was reached if the errors are still happening.
3. What are the success indicators? How will you know you have achieved the outcome? This should be settled at the start. There can be qualitative indicators (improved confidence on the part of executives) as well as quantitative indicators (cost control, schedule improvement).
4. What are the risks and concerns? There are threats to the project that must be considered, but also risks in bringing in a consultant.
5. What is the value? What hard and soft benefits will the solution or achievement bring to the client’s company, its employees and its customers?
6. What are the parameters? These are the limits, assumptions, etc.

What if the project doesn’t go well? “I place the blame on the client,” David Fields says. “The client didn’t hire well. In most cases, clients do a lousy job hiring consultants. Just as with marketing, not as easy as, well, just anybody can write copy. Not so – there are some best practices that you need to follow.

“I do put some blame on consultants. They’re the ones who let this go ahead.”

One problem is that clients “tend to hire people who are experienced in their situation, instead of someone expert in the outcome. You already have the experience in your organization. You need someone expert in where you want to go.

“You shouldn’t look for someone who has been a scorer in a particular sport. You need someone who has scored goals in a variety of sports. Or no sport at all – but has a talent for team energy, who can bring that to everyone.

“You need someone who knows how to help coaches communicate with players.”

David Fields looks for the vision and skills that account for the broad scene, anticipate possibilities of all kinds and ask lots of questions before formalizing a project.

He provides a dash of cold logic based on taking that approach:

“Everyone thinks their situation is unique – client and consultant. Not so. None of us is unique.”

One question Business Survey... on the Frustration with Online Marketing

Tue, 24 Jun 2014 19:28:48 GMT

Frustrated that you are using online tools to try to grow your business, but it feels like you are spinning your wheels?

Are you delivering the right message, the right way, in your online marketing efforts?

An upcoming Portland seminar in Sept will be offering support with these problems, but to insure that your specific online marketing concerns are covered, please respond to the following one question survey:

Do you feel your company is getting a good return for your online marketing efforts (such as social media, your website, blog and/or e-newsletter)?
Why or why not?

Leadership Communication x 4

Sat, 24 May 2014 16:56:12 GMT

http://www.fastcompany.com/3030939/4-pillars-consultants-need-to-effectively-communicate-with-clients

Here's a link to an article I wrote for Fast Company. It's about a new communication tool I'll be presenting at the July ACE Roundtable. This tool is versatile and straightforward. I use it to:

Guide leadership communication
Focus professional development conversations
Structure difficult conversations
Plan communication strategies
Diagnose communication breakdowns

Create a Culture That Supports Innovation

Dana Morris-Jones — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 19:14:10 GMT

To read the article I had published in Mainebiz, follow the link below. Its about helping innovation flourish by supporting cross discipline interactions in organizations

http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20140310/CURRENTEDITION/303069995(http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20140310/CURRENTEDITION/303069995(http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20140310/CURRENTEDITION/303069995(http://www.mainebiz.biz/article/20140310/CURRENTEDITION/303069995

Dilbert

Fri, 28 Mar 2014 13:50:07 GMT

A series of cartoons on consultant is running. This is one of them.

http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2014-03-28/

When to Quit

James Milliken — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 19:20:30 GMT

We’ve talked and thought – a lot -- about what makes a good project manager. It’s all in what that person does, and I’m now down to three Ps in describing it: preparation, persistence and perspective.

Preparation. How many project problems, hassles and stunning bad surprises can be traced back to sloppy and/or incomplete work at the outset?

Do we, are we allowed to, invest adequate attention up front in gathering, organizing and analyzing enough information so we are confident we have the right problem definition, a sound situation analysis and a clear purpose statement?

Are we empowered? Has our organization’s leadership delegated to us sufficient authority – and made it fully known down the hierarchy – that we carry full authority to ask for support and resources adequate for the needs of the project?

Is the team up to the challenge? Do we have enough team members, and do they have the right skills and intentions, to do what it will take?

Persistence. How can you be sure you are you sticking with a tough challenge through thick and thin, a rare and noble thing? When are you just being stubborn, refusing to see the obvious that everyone else sees in a losing proposition?

How can you know the difference, and how can you tell when the prospects switch from favorable to hopeless – or in the other direction, from lost cause to golden opportunity?

Answer: You can never know, you can never be sure.

One certainty, though, is that worthwhile opportunity, really worthwhile opportunity, always comes with risk. Generally speaking, the higher the potential payoff, the greater the risk in pursuing it.

All you can do is stack the prospects in your favor as much as possible (see preparation, above).

Perspective. This is an operating function of wisdom. It is a clear view of the ongoing balance of the odds in this dicey operation we call project management.

As project decisions, efforts and investments produce results, there is constant realignment among the three competing imperatives: cost, schedule and quality. By the time there is much evidence of the direction of the project, it may be too late. A clear perspective is an outcome, not a working tool.

Perspective is essential to the project manager, and it requires confidence in one’s judgment arising from competence in the first two Ps. You know when the project meter ticks into the red zone because your accumulated experience alerts you to it.

For the professional project manager, preparation is pretty much a continuous thing. You don’t just live in the moment, and you have little use for unreliable human memory.

While you’re continuously alert to every part of your project, you ensure that all meaningful facts about its functioning are captured, in real time, in a permanent record. Understanding the meaning of that record contributes to fine tuning of managerial judgment.

The project manager gets better and better at knowing just when to introduce change. When any part of the project has been squeezed for every bit of value, the leader pulls the plug. Not a moment too early or too late.

We’ve all admired people who stuck with some worthwhile endeavor long after we suspect we would have packed it in. And they pulled it off.

We’ve also seen people too stubborn to admit defeat, who forced their team and their organization into a lost and senseless grind. And, conversely, those who just gave up.

When to quit. Part of knowing how to succeed.

14 Sources of Competitive Advantage

Tove Rasmussen — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 22:32:06 GMT

Competitive advantage comes from many places beyond simply the product and/or service. So below I have outlined 14 possibilities for advantage. They are supported by considerable data, research and experience - with the sources noted in a bibliography. Sources of competitive advantage lie all along the value chain..
Click here to continue reading: http://www.partnerscreatingwealth.com/14-sources-of-competitive-advantage/

By Tove Rasmussen, Business Growth Advisor & President, Partners Creating Wealth
1-207-409-7576
www.PartnersCreatingWealth.com

'I Hate Mistakes'

James Milliken — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:59:48 GMT

People who hate mistakes are dangerous people.

They rarely come right out and say they hate mistakes, but the markers for the attitude are obvious anyway. If you’re a manager, you can’t afford to ignore them.

When mistakes happen – as they inevitably do – the most devoted mistake-haters tend to react ferociously. Not only do they strongly, instantly distance themselves from any association with the problem, but they come down hard on the designated perp. That person can expect blunt and unforgiving condemnation.

It’s an entirely different matter when the mistake is made by this hater himself/herself. If it can’t be ignored or dismissed, there will be a vigorous, campaign to evade the blame. Someone else really is the one who did it, or did something that is the real cause. Or the person who revealed the problem is a bad person, for whatever reason the hater can drag in or manufacture.

This mistake-hating syndrome is not always so open and obvious. Haters sometimes limit themselves to chilly disapproval or simple withdrawal. But, if they really have the conviction, the silent ones are just as immovable as the others.

Whatever the personal style, this person who truly hates mistakes is not capable of understanding or helping a colleague who has made a mistake, or of owning his or her own.

What Are We Talking About?

Let’s be frank about mistakes. They are actions, decisions, words, whatever that turn out to produce undesirable, often unpleasant, results. Mistakes are viewed in endlessly different ways, but the concept always includes the element of responsibility. Somebody did it.

Sometimes mistakes pop like quick little whiplashes that generate momentary discomfort and embarrassment, then subside into the wash of ongoing experience.

Other times they arise massively, unexpectedly. Through some unnoticed, untended accumulating series of factors, they burst upon you with paralyzing force. Back in the day, I suffered loss of executive support on occasion through my inattention. I didn’t notice the judgments that were building up in higher places because of my thoughtless, inappropriate actions and comments.

And there are situations in which you see it coming, as a developing relationship or circumstance is shadowed by threatening clouds. It's surprising how often we don't take this seriously. Take it seriously. Fix it. You don't need unforced errors.

We all make mistakes. We all will continue to make mistakes. We hope they won’t happen, maybe are tempted to scramble away when they do, deny their occurrence or downplay their effects. All of those are transparent and self-defeating. Dumb.

Let’s instead acknowledge we’re human, take the hit and get on with it. Avoidance and evasion are exhausting and demeaning. You don’t fool anyone, and you damage your standing with the people who see you doing it.

There is no way to avoid making mistakes. If you try to avoid mistakes by doing nothing – that’s a mistake. Or would be, if it were possible.

You Can’t Ignore It

As a manager, you have to engage the problem. One mistake-hater can kill a workplace. In the presence of such a person, co-workers find that caution is ever-necessary. It is less dangerous than creativity and innovation.

When you try something new, you’d better be very careful to make sure it will work, or that it isn’t too different from what we’re doing already.

There is a predator on the prowl, and the effect is chilling.

Your personal attitude becomes more inhibited and less enthusiastic. It’s better to just keep your head down. Commitment and contribution tail off as people avoid possible embarrassment and nurse their suppressed anger. Some join in a growing culture of attack and counterattack, sarcasm and negativism.

The instigators are dangerous because this visceral revulsion of theirs doesn’t stop mistakes. It doesn’t even stop the very mistake-hating persons from making mistakes, and it doesn’t cause them to help their co-workers and organizations conduct mistake-free business.

Nor does it necessarily mean they try particularly hard to avoid mistakes. It just means they hate mistakes. Too often, this attitude is a marker for a whole nest of submerged problems.

Your response as a manager is to make sure you detect the phenomenon at its start,

separating it from the healthy give-and-take of organizational discussion and decision-making.

What Do You Do?

If you ascribe overmuch to the open-management concept of free idea exchange, you may miss it. Occasionally, someone will say, “I hate mistakes.” That’s a red flag that cannot be ignored, but it’s rare. Behavior can be seriously destructive without being that obvious.

It is an essential management skill to determine when a staff member’s behavior calls for intervention. Good managers are very sensitive to the difference between respecting individuality and permitting destructive practices.

There are shades of difference in the attitude, short of the true mistake-hatred practitioner. Some people are as demanding of themselves as they are of others, and as publicly critical of themselves. Some are motivated by a fierce devotion to the organization. Some of just really short on relationship skills. No matter what shade it is, it still damages productivity and job satisfaction.

My conviction is that the manager should get involved long before negativism has a chance to infect the group’s collaboration and creativity. In fact, it is your business to devote yourself to getting to know each of your people from the moment you meet him or her. Workstyle problems need to be nipped in the bud.

Those you work with need to know the values that underly your leadership. Relationships must be open and honest. Avoidance is unacceptable, and so is a destructive attitude. The manager understands a person’s tendencies, and provides the right guidance and discipline to direct each contributor toward building and maintaining productive relationships.

Shaw Had It Right

Successful organizations understand that growth means integrating innovation into regular performance – accepting and managing an error rate as high as 40 percent in truly advanced groups.

They know mistakes are inherent in the pursuit of continuous improvement. They learn how to make them with minimal damage to the operation – and maximum payoff in organizational growth and staff development.

Individuals, in their own context, should be encouraged to function in a similar way.

Playwright George Bernard Shaw had a crisp way of putting it: “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful, than a life doing nothing.”

Project Politician

James Milliken — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:37:58 GMT

The project manager is the designated expediter of unrealistic expectations.

That calls for superb political skills, and an extra gear for creativity.

If this thing is a real project, the stakeholders with the hammer – the ones high in the sponsoring organization – are sure there’s a pot of gold somewhere in that fog of uncertainty, and they’re often impatient for the project manager to deliver it to them.

They are both the investors and the customers of the project. You can’t expect them to pour unlimited resources into the effort, and it’s not their job to figure out how to get the desired result. But they sure do want that payoff.

Elsewhere in the project, there are numerous dependencies – required supporters -- without whose vigorous participation the outcome cannot be achieved. Few of them have reason for spontaneous enthusiasm about the relationship.

There are managers whose staff members, materials and facilities must be withdrawn from their functional operations to support this project of yours. Those resources were there in the first place because the operating managers needed them to meet their own performance requirements. Now the resources must be surrendered, and there is not a commensurate return for the functional manager.

And then there are the working people at all levels of the operation, often the most busy and burdened, who are chosen to add a new set of tasks – quite frequently tasks that are demanding and disruptive.

Project Manager – the catbird seat in all this -- is not a job for those who prize routine. The Project Manager must be effective at organizing disparate parties and unlike activities that often defy coordination. Those process skills must be integrated with high-level communication and persuasion. And more.

This issue of a wildly jumbled challenge often is obscured in the midst of daily worklife. Projects, real projects run with true Project Management, aren’t as frequent as we might have thought. Many people designated as Project Managers, and seen as being so, don’t have the problem. They actually are managing processes, not Projects.

Process is orderly – the more orderly the better. Process rewards careful, unchanging repetition. The more closely one’s actions adhere to the previously identified center line, the better the process meets its requirements. That’s efficiency, and it’s a good thing. It achieves the predetermined outcome with the least possible deviation from the predetermined process.

If it weren’t for defined, disciplined processes, the toilets wouldn’t flush, paychecks would not arrive. Things wouldn’t work. Process is absolutely, fundamentally necessary. The problem occurs when we embark on a nonroutine Project armed only with the measured practices of conventional management, plus fond hope that they will somehow do the job in this unique, complex new circumstance.

The genius of the Project Manager is in understanding when and how to depart from firm management control and engage situations never seen before, or maybe just never engaged before.

Such engagement is most successfully handled by people who can keep a varying number of unlike moving objects aligned through an unhelpful landscape. Time does not stand still or slow down. The skill set is characterized by some management specialists as being significantly different from that of competent general management.

Project Management, managing real Projects, can’t be done on autopilot. The overall progress of a Project is not orderly. It has significant elements – sometimes dominant ones – that require innovation, invention and trial and error. Yet, it has chunks of routine embedded in its shifting flows of unpredictable challenge. It is easy to select those familiar pieces and overstate their importance in the whole.

The current narrative among the nation’s intellectual leadership doesn’t help. The perceived shortfall in American education must be overcome, we are told, by a crash program in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

We in Project Management say, “Wait a minute: Don’t all these highly skilled STEM people have to come up with ideas, collaborate in problem solving with others? Let’s have some realistic balance here.”

We have seen, especially in Project Management, how brilliantly skilled people can be severely handicapped by inability to function in group and organized settings.

A couple of interesting insights showed up recently in support of organized creativity as an important but undervalued workplace factor.

Here’s one, from Fletcher Kittredge, CEO of GWI of Maine, a telephone/Internet company that has been one of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the United States for two years running. In comments to a legislative committee about the most important skills for workers of the future, Kittredge said:

“Start out with an arts degree. Being able to be creative, to interact with people, is more likely to be important for someone’s career. . . . A lot of what we think of as STEM – that’s out of date. . . . Machines are getting smarter and smarter. What computers won’t be good at is judgment, reasoning. That’s where getting a liberal arts degree comes in handy. It teaches you to think.” (Portland Press Herald)

Economist Chuck Lawton sounded a similar theme in a Maine Sunday Telegram column summarizing the skills required in the successive eras of Maine’s economic history. Looking to the future, he concluded: “The central skill is creativity – making connections and seeing the unknown, the perplexing, the out of order, the unexpected as challenging and fun.”

That reads like Project Management, with the possible occasional exception of the fun part. Achieving general satisfaction among all those competing Project stakeholders is a political challenge of the highest order. Sound management is essential but never enough. You have to see possibilities no one else sees . . . and make them come true.

That’s politics.

Envision Maine

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 19:02:28 GMT

An interesting article and timely following Perry Newman's recent presentation.

http://www.pressherald.com/opinion/the-next-economys-many-parts-need-unifying-force_2013-04-25.html?fb_action_ids=4154257475169&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%224154257475169%22%3A479273988807331%7D&action_type_map=%7B%224154257475169%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Are You a Good Manager or A Strong Leader?

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:00:00 GMT

A good manager has intelligence, is efficient; a strong leader has intellect; is effective.

A good manager continually demonstrates the ability to grasp and complete those tasks that are within a limited, predictable framework, and clearly stated goals. A good manager is practical; re-orders, re-adjusts, and filters away information that does not seem important in completing the task. We admire those who through their intelligence get things done, they are efficient.

A strong leader is one who with intelligence as a foundation; examines, theorizes, contemplates the meanings of situations as a whole. A strong leader sees the big picture, understands the impact downstream, connects the dots; all terms used to identify intellect. We admire those who through their intelligence get things done, and through their intellect insure the results have a more far-reaching affect than the specific task at hand; they are effective.

How Does One Become Effective?

It begins with involving others, by building a strong team, having the confidence and a sense of appreciative attachment to depend on them. Many have tried; none have succeeded in knowing everything about their area of responsibility, it is impossible. Those who claim to be fully conversant, talking endlessly without assistance, involvement from others are using their bravado and actions as a wall to hide a lack of confidence. These actions generate long-term negative impact on team morale resulting in decreased long-term team productivity; far outweighing benefits of any completed task.

A strong leader demonstrates confidence in their position through collaborative decision making; where with a good decision, everyone shares in the recognition; a bad decision, responsibility rests fully with the leader to correct, and working with the team demonstrate how a future reoccurrence will be prevented. A strong leader when needed or helpful will interact as a peer, available as a sounding board, devil’s advocate, with one’s team or with others.

Next carving out time for reflection is essential. President Lee C. Bollinger of Columbia University in his 2008 Commencement Address states “The battle over beliefs is increasingly dominating and threatens the possibilities for a reflective mind. Busyness is the first problem. Multi-tasking is the arch-enemy of reflection. Technology gives us too much information too much of the time.” (Emphasis mine)

A leader’s strength is not demonstrated by being continuously over-scheduled, over-worked, beyond exhaustion. If you have no time to think, if you do not seek opportunities to clear your head (a walk, lunch with a friend from outside of work, a trip to the gym); then how will you set your team’s direction, if not you then who?

Strong leaders look for what others have done well, and seek to build on that success. Rather than focusing on what has gone wrong, strong leaders expect competence creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of team success which becomes the norm. Celebrating success is required; recognizing and firmly correcting failure and incompetence is critical.

Conflict

James Milliken — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:30:43 GMT

The very idea of conflict is awful. It causes discomfort, sometimes pretty intense discomfort.

If I give in to a contentious person, or back off because I don’t want to get into an argument, I feel like dirt afterward – the doormat syndrome. Anyone who witnessed the attack and defeat/retreat may well sympathize, but they often lose respect for me anyway.

If I fight back, I join in the ill-tempered exchange, maybe descending into loud, personal and petty insult. I say things I may be sorry for later, and I deepen whatever antagonism caused the situation to start with. Maybe I trigger antagonism where there actually had been just thoughtlessness or impatience. And anyone within earshot will have an even lower opinion than if I had just stayed silent.

Conflict can be awful. That’s why it actually happens so infrequently – most people avoid it at all costs. The few people who live life in the attack mode frequently get away with it because of people’s acquiescence. Most of those around them see no way to win, and/or just flee the tension.

We’d all be better off if there were more conflict.

Not the poisonous conflict of the failed situations just described, but constructive disagreement in which competing good ideas contest in an open forum. Failing that, we need to get competent in squelching the ugly ones.

Mature people should feel free to say what they think, and should in turn be fully open to hearing ideas they don’t agree with. They commit to participating seriously in the development of consensus outcomes. Creative progress and problem solving make for a healthy organization, and the more free participation there is, the better.

There will be disagreement in such a place, and it can become heated. Bruce Tuckman’s famous formula for development of high-performance teams (Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing) tells us that conflict is essential to getting full benefit of the talents and knowledge of the members of a group.

For the individual, conflict management is a matter of specific behaviors driven by forethought and discipline, the same personal virtues that we should try to cultivate as a general philosophy of our worklife.

Start with the thinking: Get rid of any hope or expectation that conflict avoidance is possible, or even desirable. Not that you should go looking for fights. You should, though, go assertively into situations that show promise in the matters you care about. Focus on the idea, and follow a constructive, collaborative process toward it.

At the same time, study and practice the skills of relationship management. Be prepared for what other people may say or do, and for the constant possibility of unpredictable objections and misunderstandings. Remind yourself that some people are going to erupt in emotional reactions, often at unexpected times in surprising ways. Try never to get caught off guard.

Once there is human engagement, the prime demand is for listening. The universal solvent of human barriers is active listening, the continuous focus of the mind on the other person. What is really meant, whatever the visible manner and stream of words? Where is the ground, however narrow, that provides a base of common interest and potential agreement?

My body language is a top communication tool in any personal exchange, and most definitely is important in conflict situations. Visualize a person standing in the face of a tirade, looking calmly, steadily at the attacker, speaking soothing words you can’t even hear.

I am alert and respectful. I am not uptight or threatening, nor am I worried or fearful. I’m not going to preach or lecture about behavior – I am persistent in encouraging constructive movement toward a mutually useful outcome.

If things get to the point where nothing good can be accomplished, I have prepared myself with the words and actions to suspend the exchange with a plan to resume after a suitable period for cooling off, reflection and maybe some homework or consultation. I am neither insulting nor patronizing to the offending party. I act almost as if nothing untoward had happened.

I try to make sure, as we part company, that I have planted a useful thought or two about what we might talk about when we meet tomorrow afternoon.

Knowledgeable preparation and competent engagement. So much better than avoidance and discomfort.

The full spectrum of management challenges and skills is explored in dozens of posts at JimMillikenProject.blogspot.com.

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business As Usual

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:08:01 GMT

“A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter - and getting smarter faster than most companies.”

This is an excerpt from Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business As Usual, written in 1999 by Chris Locke, Doc Searls, David Weinberger, Rick Levine. At the time I don’t believe this excerpt was taken very seriously. Today, I don’t think anyone is challenging it…OK, there are always a few Neanderthals out there in marketing land.

The authors’ prescience way back then was the wakeup call that is informing marketing in the 21st century. The old “push” standard of marketing has become “pull” measure of brand value and product value. Features and benefits play second to ‘what’s in it for me’. And consumers have gotten very good at the game.

Consumers can be a brand’s best friend or worst enemy. Brands that promise value and deliver consistently have an advocate (as long as they keep delivering). Brands that sell hard but don’t deliver are disappearing at a faster and faster clip.

The Cluetrain Manifesto observed prepubescent Social Media and the speed with which consumers began the conversations. The jury was (and I think still is) out as far as SM being an effective marketing tool. What is understood in 2013 is that if it is a tool at all, it is in the consumer’s hand. The onus is on the marketer to become part of the conversation in a way that partners with consumers’ interests and needs, and delivers value – consistently.

The Cluetrain Manifesto is a good read and reference. Its 95 theses receive validation daily and provide insights into the control assumed by consumer and its impact on organizations, brands and marketers.

Jim Casey

March 1, 2013

Marketing ROI in the Upturn

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:42:34 GMT

February 3, 2013

Marketing ROI in the Upturn -

My last post covered this subject in broad strokes: my ideas on what MROI is; why it will be an absolute requirement of marketing very soon; what metrics need to be understood and what tools are available.

This post I want to use this space to look into MROI and the purchase decision process. Moving consumers along the purchase continuum should be a deliberate and informed process, and recognize that consumers will base their buying decisions on considerations like:

– Differentiation

– Relevance

– Credibility

– Likeability

– Perceived Quality

– Intent

Insight into the process is necessary to understand ROI.

The graphic below is another way to view the process - and the challenge - for marketers. Think about how you go about making the decision to buy a product. It is probably similar. From initial awareness, to buying, to recommending, you fit somewhere along the line. Of course, you can drop out at any point. So, understanding the prospective buyer is necessary to making the smartest marketing choices.

Awareness = receive information

Familiarity = seek information

Consideration = purchase intent

Purchase = ownership

Repurchase = positive experience

Advocacy = recommend

At each stop along the continuum the size of the target audience should be quantifiable. It is not always easy to calculate but the value of this information is clear. Knowing the size of the audience will make it easier to plan the communications. Since not everyone in the TA will be a buyer, for lots of reasons, the TA becomes smaller as it moves closer to the purchase decision. Armed with this information, the tactical communications choices have a better chance of being effective. And the marketer is better able to calculate ROI – the cost of customer acquisition and the likely value of the customer over time.

Find a way to gather the data. If your budget can’t afford all of the tools, be creative. Your marketing program will benefit from the thought you give. And your accountability will be based on reasoned input.

Jim Casey

Marketing Strategist

Casey Communications

www.caseycommunications.biz

jim@caseycommunications.biz

www.linkedin.com/in/jimcasey2

Marketing ROI

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:53:43 GMT

February 1, 2013

Marketing ROI – The New Accountability

Recently, there has been pretty consistent noise about the emerging recovery. It may be true. I hope so. But the truth depends totally on your business. Let’s assume it is true and that it will continue. What does is mean for marketers who need to shift into a more aggressive mode?

First, it means ratcheting up marketing investments. And for the companies that are prepared to make an investment, I believe they will do so with a new with much more demanding justification. For those of us in the marketing business it will mean much greater pressure from our clients and bosses to demonstrate that every nickle invested in marketing is working hard. Proof of performance is not new but as businesses gain the confidence to spend more on marketing they will want ongoing assurance of payback.

To what should marketing investments be accountable? Sales of course, right? Not necessarily. In looking only at sales results one sees only the outcome of many variables, but by themselves sales results give little insight into the sales drivers. And there are many: R/D, product development, brand equity, marketing communications, sales, customer service. Every prospect touch point is a sales driver. How does each of these variables contribute to the sale? How cost effective are investments in awareness building, promotions, discounting, direct sales? And what is the role of Brand goodwill and loyalty in the sale?

Marketing ROI (MROI)

MROI goes beyond sales figures as the sole variable for ROI measurements. Measuring MROI brings more than traditional awareness and image measures to the table. It demonstrates the impact on intermediate behaviors that are necessary precursors to sales. So to measure MROI, it is necessary to take a close look at the customers who drive revenue, not just the cost of reaching them.

Some of the questions that need to be answered to assess MROI include:

Which customers drive the greatest revenue? Why?
Which products and services drive the greatest revenue? Why?
What marketing programs have driven the greatest revenue?
What do customers think about the company?
What do customers think about the competition?
What do my competitor’s customers think about my company?

Other measures that will help you understand if your marketing is working:

Recognition
Response
Inquiries/Leads
Purchase

– Differentiation

– Relevance

– Credibility

– Likeability

– Perceived Quality

– Intent

Satisfaction
Advocacy
Retention
Preference
ROC (Return on Customer)

But before getting into these measures, great attention must be given to the starting point - the strategy. This is the plan of action that drives all of the reasons why the consumer should care about your product. If you haven't got this right, the cleverest tactics on the planet won't deliver.

Strategy begins with validating the basic value of the product. What is it about your product that 1) separates it from competitive offerings and 2) makes it more desirable?

Validation can be partly judgment but also requires a true understanding of the audience for your product - your target audience (more on this in a future blog). You will also need to know your competitors, cold. And don't forget that competitors come in different forms.

Armed with this knowledge you can more accurately understand where your product fits: how desirable it is; what consumers might pay for it; factors influencing positive - and negative - perceptions, etc.

Strategy is the key. Measuring ROI begins with the assumption that your product has a market, and given smart marketing communications has a good chance of success.

So, in the post recession recovery marketers will have to be more accountable. Understanding what is working, and how, will make a company more competitive will mean a bigger top line and more impressive bottom line.