RUDE, according to Dilbert

RUDE, according to Dilbert

GROSERO, según Dilbert

Created by Scott Adams, Dilbert is about the world's most famous -- and funny -- dysfunctional office

A PATH TO SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS GROWTH.

Sustainable Business Growth comes from doing more of what really creates growth and less of what you get pulled into in the name of growth.

Your business doesn’t care how you spend your day – only you can determine the most profitable use of the only unrenewable resource available – your time.

But the incredibly tricky part is determining what should and what should not get your attention. There are many things that seem important, feel important, and look important that simply shield you from what is important.

If you are ever going to grow your business beyond what you can contain in the grasp of your outstretched arms, you’ll have to let go of a great deal of what you do to fill each day.

Take a mental trip back over the last few days at your business. Or better yet, create an hour-by-hour time sheet and recount the activities that consumed your day. If you can’t remember what you did, other than the fact that you were busy, start today and jot down notes about the activities you engage in over the span of the next few days.

Now for the fun part. Try to assign a dollar value to the work you did. In other words, what would it cost if you had to pay someone else to do the work. Experience suggests that your list contains plenty of $10, $20 and $30 an hour work.

The problem with this reality is that to make a decent living you need to earn about $125 an hour for every hour you put in.

So, if you are making a decent living from your business then what’s really going on is you are doing a bunch of $10/hr work mixed in with the occasional $500/hr payoff.

I know this is pretty simple math and I also know that all this stuff you’re doing needs to get done. But, it also robs you from doing more of the highest payoff work.

The equation for true growth is pretty darn simple. Do more high payoff work and less low payoff work.

The path to adopting a high payoff mindset is understanding and creating the priorities for your work, defining the highest payoff activities and then letting go and allowing yourself to focus on them.

Define your activities

Sit for a while and sift through everything you do in your business and see if you can highlight the three of four highest payoff activities that you do. You know, the place where make your money. Think about what it would mean to your business if you focused on little else in your business but those activities. It doesn’t mean you know right now how you could free up the time to them, but acknowledging them is the first step.

Every business is different, but generally the highest payoff activities are things that fall into the strategic work in categories such as selling, creating new products and services, and marketing.

Note the word strategic above – mining LinkedIn for leads, proofreading copy for the new service agreement and designing ads all fit into the categories above, but as tasks better handled as low payoff work.

Create your list of three of four activities and lock down your commitment to find a way to focus more time on those activities while delegating or outsourcing everything that frees you to do this.

Get serious about getting free

As you make your to do list today mentally make note of this question and pose it each and everyday. Could I get someone else to do this task?

Once you get serious about this mindset you’ll start seeking ways to get it done. There so many ways to get tasks accomplished by people more proficient and less costly than you that it’s almost a crime not to do it.

Find virtual assistants experienced in proofreading, bookkeeping, social media management, blogging and research and get these things off your plate. Explore project based services like Fiverr and Fancy Hands to do those things you’ve been meaning to get around to.

Create and protect space

The final step in your high payoff transition is to take your priority list and, well, make it a priority. The best way to do this is carve out a day or two each week and make those your “high payoff activity only” days.

That means during those days you map out a plan to work on the highest payoff work and leave the rest alone. No email, no tweaking your website, no meetings – unless these are truly high payoff.

For some, two entire days for this might seem like more than they can afford, so start with two afternoons. The point is if you don’t create a protect time for this, it won’t happen.

What you work on during your high payoff days will change based on what’s going on, but when you identify the priorities you can plan each week with these days and priorities in mind and know that you are growing your highest payoff work space and ultimately growing your business with a high payoff mindset.

Fuente: Duct Tape Marketing

HUMOR: PROBLEM SOLVING, according to Dilbert - RESOLUCIÓN DE PROBLEMAS, según Dilbert.

Created by Scott Adams, Dilbert is about the world's most famous -- and funny -- dysfunctional office

GOOD LEADERS KNOW WHEN TO BE PASSIONATE.

In the business world, management and leadership positions are sometimes confused as one similar entity, but when looked at more closely, it becomes clear the two are not one in the same. A manager’s duties is focused on organization, coordination, and delegation.

Great leaders go above and beyond their duties, ultimately motivating and inspiring the entire team.

While not all managers are great leaders, all leaders are great managers.

Recently, DJ Patil, data scientist from Greylock Partners, was briefly featured in Fast Company and gave an intriguing response to changing the strategic direction of a business. “People think they have to grab the steering wheel and turn the car. I think a better way to think about is, actually, how do you lead through inspiration? Who do you look to for inspiration? ” he said.

Great leaders who inspire their teams have the following traits:

1. Passion

The kind of passion involved in leadership isn’t overbearing and loud; it’s a deep unwavering commitment to an overall mission. A truly great leader is deeply passionate in the company vision, mission, and values. This sort of passion portrayed by a leader is easily shared and emulated by employees, co-workers, and any other individual that comes in contact with a leader. A passionate leader easily connects the dots of the big picture for their company and helps to reinforce the message of its existence to employees.

2. Integrity

No great leader is without integrity. Honesty and consistency of values are vital to the functionality of a company with inspired, innovative employees. An individual who leads with integrity doesn’t need to boast about beliefs and values because they are woven through every action. Companies that value integrity often have a workforce that deeply believes in company values and strives to represent them to the fullest.

3. Engage, listen, empathize

Strong leaders place a high value on the people of their company. Whether it’s by showing interest in their day-to-day activities or by listening to their needs, leaders respect and inspire their employees by remaining connected. The standard for internal communication is generally set by the leader; their personable stance on employee engagement allows for the building of a strong company foundation.

When inspirational leaders aren’t communicating, they’re taking time to listen to the feedback of their employees. True leaders are valued for their ability to empathize.

4. Innovation

If a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, then a company is only as innovative as its leader. Inspiring innovation throughout a company is a task that many managers often fail to accomplish. A truly innovative leader doesn’t just stay ahead of the times with an open and forward-thinking mindset; he or she sets the standard for employees by being a thought leader. This alone is sure to create an awe-inspiring movement toward internal innovation.

5. Energy

An inspiring leader leaves employees feeling motivated and confident. This kind of energy isn’t something that can be created or faked. It’s something that can be felt through an entire brand. Truly passionate and driven leaders are more than motivational speakers, their workforces are usually positive, level-headed, and oozing with passion.

A workforce inspired by excellent leadership is sure to be creative, forward-thinking, and motivated toward the company mission. While not all employers express great leadership qualities, it’s important to take time to recognize and learn from those who do.

What leadership traits do you feel are the most successful when it comes to inspiring innovation?

Fuente:  Leadership traits that inspire and innovate, by Joanna Riley Weidenmiller para SmartBlog on Leadership

HUMOR: RELY ON INTUITION, according to Dilbert - CONFIAR EN LA INTUICIÓN, según Dilbert.

Created by Scott Adams, Dilbert is about the world's most famous -- and funny -- dysfunctional office

Strategy Without Change Is Pointless

by John Jantsch

Next week my staff and I will hole up for an entire day of planning. We do this quarterly, but once a year, we “really” do this. This is our chance to step away from all of those seemingly meaningless little things and think bigger. It’s our day to say what if and why not. It’s the time to set the course for next year and perhaps realign with the vision for the next three to five years.

Below are five outcomes and benefits from holding our annual growth strategy planning day.It’s a day to ask tough questions, explore new opportunities and embrace changes we need to make in order to realize our growth strategy. For me it’s one of the most exciting and exhausting days of the year, but it’s a practice that I would not do without and one that 

I suggest every business, no matter the size, commit to doing.

Fewer Priorities

By thinking bigger and then thinking realistically about what it might take to overcome the things in our way, we naturally start eliminating things we should not focus on in an effort to make room for only the highest priorities. Our goal is to identify no more than three priority objectives for the year that make us aim higher and stop doing low priority things.

Embrace Results

One of the ways we get to our short list of priorities is by identifying the results of achieving an objective. By creating a list of “what we gain” if we win and by contrast “what is costs” if we lose, we create the motivation to overcome constraints and stay focused on results as a team. In most cases our stated ideal results become the goals by which we measure our priority objectives.

Commit to Change

Here’s the thing I know for sure. Strategy without change is worthless. If your stated objectives for the year don’t have you asking – “what needs to change in order for us to actually do this?” – then you are thinking way too small. All growth involves change and you have to commit to how that’s going to happen or your objectives will dissolve into frustrating reminders of failure.

Create Owners

Every objective will naturally spin off a list of projects: The things that need to be done, the new products, the new positions, or the new processes. It’s essential that part of your planning day include identifying these projects and assigning an owner to each. That doesn’t mean this person is going to do all the work, they are simply going to be the one that cares the most about the project and carries the responsibility of moving it forward.

Focus on High Payoff

The final step and benefit involved is to identify the highest payoff work for everyone in the organization. This is how you properly assign tasks and stay focused on what matters most. The three or four high payoff tasks will differ for everyone in the organization, but they become a “go to” as you plan your week. For me, the execution of these stated high payoff tasks becomes the basis of two entire days of focused activity each and every week.

The One Page Plan

Finally, we take our goals and projects and align them on one page each in support of the proper topline objective. We assign each project an owner and charge that person with assembling the team, resources and plan for tackling the project related tasks.

When it comes to keeping our entire business focused on what matters most this is the most important day our organization has in search of day-to-day alignment and focus.

Fuente: Duct Tape Marketing

THE MARKETING GUY, according to Dilbert

EL MARKETINERO, según Dilbert

Created by Scott Adams, Dilbert is about the world's most famous -- and funny -- dysfunctional office