Daily Biz Solutions

Article Contributed by Chris Woodward, My PR Tools

An important part of any public relations and marketing campaign is to be where your clients are. Becoming active in high-profile professional, business, and civic organizations builds your firm’s visibility and increases your networking opportunities.

In deciding which groups you or your top employees should become active in, the trick is to carefully pick and choose among the myriad organizations out there.  Focus on the ones your key customers belong to—the people who buy your products or make the decision to hire your firm. Your time is valuable and limited, so make the most of it.

You can start by asking yourself which organizations the key players in your target market belong to. What are the high-profile organizations in your industry, in your community? Take the time to do a survey of your clients and associates to find out what organizations they are active in.
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People aren’t born with time management skills, but they can be learned. The more you can get out of your day, the better you will feel and the more you will have accomplished. In this modern society full of distractions such as 200 channels on the TV, it can be difficult to manage our time well.

The first, most important daily time management tip is to make lists. This is a basic thing and it can be very helpful. Get a notebook and make a to-do list everyday. Keep the notebook somewhere where you will see it, not in a place where you will completely forget about it. Every time you finish something, mark it off and also make a note on what you didn’t get to.

Lists are a great way to get motivated, to remind you of what you need to do, and they give you a sense of accomplishment when you check tasks off.

Another of the important time management tips is putting a limit on everything from Internet time to TV to video games. These are the classic time-killers and can zap hours out of anyone’s day without them feeling it and in the end, nothing was gained and valuable time was lost. Try to watch as little TV as possible. Nothing kills hours more than sitting around staring into a box.

Getting and staying organized is another important tip to help you use the hours in your day more effectively. The less time you spend searching for items and looking around for stuff, the more time you will have for more important things.

Some women will spend hours trying to decide what to wear. They’ll look around their closets, search to see if their favorite clothes are clean or dirty and look through that big pile of clothes to see if a certain shirt is there. This is one example of how being disorganized can take away time from your day.

Having things in a certain place where you know they will be will keep you from having to search for them. Remember the saying, “A place for everything and everything in it’s place”? That’s something to remember when getting organized.

Tired of feeling like you are running on a treadmill? Discover more effective time management tips that will take your time management skills to a new level. Take back your life! Get one powerful time management tip in your mailbox for 7 days with this free time management course.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maureen_Oliver

By Steve Adams

There is an old adage in the business world that says, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” In other words, if you are a junior copywriter in an ad agency, or an associate at a legal firm, or an assistant buyer in a manufacturing or retail company, don’t wear your old faded jeans and world peace t-shirt from college, even though the company dress code says you can. Instead, take a look at what the creative director, or the partners, or the merchandise manager wears every day and make that (or better, in some cases) your guideline.
It’s all about making a good impression on the people who can decide your fate. If you look happy to be where you are now, you’re likely to stay there. But if you look like you aspire to something more, you might just catch the eye of someone looking for an ambitious go-getter and start moving up the company ladder a bit faster than those who dress for comfort, or appear to prefer fashion sense to business sense.
The same thinking applies to business communications. Things that may have been expedient or cheap when you started out can make you look pretty insubstantial or unstable as a potential business partner – especially if you’re aspiring to going after bigger fish.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Just as there are stores where you can purchase good quality business clothes that don’t cost an arm and a leg, there are many tools out there now that can help you dress up your business without breaking your budget.
Take your e-mail address, for example. Many consultants when they first start out will use an e-mail address with the domain @hotmail.com, @gmail.com, @aol.com, etc. They do it because it’s free, it’s easy, and they can count on those providers to manage the back end.
The problem is it also says “this e-mail is coming to you direct from my couch, where I am watching Oprah while writing it.” That may not be true, but that’s what it says – just as surely as that beat up old pair of Birkenstocks says “I’d rather be kicking back at the beach sipping Mai Tais than stuck here at work.”
Instead of settling for those generic e-mail identities, tell people you’re a substantial business by purchasing a domain name that ties into your business and routing your e-mail through it. Domain names through some providers cost less than $10 per year, and they’ll give you the e-mail address (or sometimes several variations) for free. Odds are you spend more than $10 a year on breath mints so you make a good impression. Isn’t it worth that much for customers and prospects to see your business’ name every time they receive an e-mail from you?
Then there’s your phone system. Again, nothing says “I’m doing this until I can find a real job” like a telephone that gets answered by you when you are there, and goes to an answering machine you bought at a big box retailer when you’re not. When that happens, it sounds like you’re not planning to be there very long – even if starting a business has been your lifelong dream.
What you want to look at instead is a virtual public branch exchange (PBX) phone service. This is a service that provides you with all the benefits of a standard PBX – such as a professional greeting, auto-attendant, multiple extensions, voice mail, company directory, call forwarding, etc. – without the huge investment in capital equipment. – all of the PBX work is done at the service provider’s end.
A virtual PBX is particularly good for companies with workers who are out of the office a lot, or who work outside the main office (such as out of town or even out of state). Unlike a standard PBX, the reach of which is limited to the four walls of the building where the equipment is housed, a virtual PBX extension can be forwarded to any phone anywhere. If the main office is in Iowa and one of your employees is in California, you can have extension 101 and 102, respectively, and no one will be the wiser.
For mobile workers, the same feature extends to cell or home phones. In fact, you can set up the phone system to ring the office, mobile, home, branch office, or anywhere else all at once or in sequences, so you’re always available to your customers and prospects (if you want to be). If not, or if caller ID shows it to be someone you don’t want to speak with at the moment, they go to a professional voice mail system that can then notify you by e-mail that you have a voice mail waiting. It can even e-mail a voice file so you can hear the message without dialing in to the office. All of this can be yours for $10-$50 per month or so, depending on your needs. Some people spend more than that a month just on shoes.
There’s still something to be said for having professional-looking letterhead and envelopes with pre-printed logos and address information. While most communication in business is handled via e-mail these days, more formal communication (such as letters of agreement, formal welcome letters, thank you for your business notes, etc.) make a better impression when they come on a quality paper stock that has been professionally printed.

Local quick-print houses can create all of that for you at reasonable prices. There are also online companies that will do the same. It’s a small investment that can make a huge impact on the people you’re trying to impress. Like a nicely pressed silk tie or earrings that sparkle, it’s often the little things that make the difference.

One last thing to consider is the content of your messages itself. If business writing has never been your strength, or spelling is to you as spaghetti sauce is to a white shirt/blouse, consider upgrading your skills in these areas. Many community colleges offer business writing classes that can help you learn to write better. You may not end up being William F. Buckley, but you also won’t have people wondering how you ever passed your sixth grade English class.

On the spelling front, don’t trust it all only to the built-in spell checkers in popular office software. They can’t distinguish between “to,” “two” and “too,” but there’s a good odds-on chance your readers can. Use the wrong one and again you’ll sound foolish.

Either shore up your capabilities in this area or find someone to proofread your materials before you send them. If there’s no one in your business to help you with it, English majors at local colleges or junior colleges make good candidates for this type of work. Most will be happy to earn a few extra dollars – it beats working the all-night shift at the Quik-E-Mart. And if they catch one major gaffe a year, they’ll likely have paid for themselves many times over.

In today’s electronic world, the odds are your business communications will be seen and/or heard many times more than you will personally. Make sure you’ve dressed yours for success.

Leave the impression your business is the one you aspire to be and you’ll inspire confidence in customers and prospects alike. And they’ll help you get where you want to go a lot faster.

Architecture/engineering/construction industry faces distinct challenges

By Sandy Blaha

Just as talented top stars are key to the success of any theatrical production, the strength of a company’s top stars – its management team – determines up to 30 percent of its value.

Although most business owners know that sales, target markets, competition and other factors contribute to valuation, many don’t realize the bottom-line value of management teams. Fewer still understand that the most effective way to strengthen their management team – and ultimately achieve their goal of increased estate value – isn’t necessarily through expensive classes, trust-building ropes and ladders courses, or highly paid execs; rather, business owners who learn how to ally human and organizational capital – in other words, people and strategy – are the ones who will see valuation skyrocket.

Take the case of one local architectural design firm. Three years ago, the business sported revenues of $2.5 million with 26 employees, generating a 10 percent net profit. The owner wore all the hats, and struggled to attract and retain top-notch employees. The business’ valuation stood at $1.2 million.

Jump ahead to 2007. The same business generated $4.5 million in revenues and a 20 percent net profit with 30 top-performing (and happy) employees and five new minority stockholders. The owner is working in areas that provide the best fit – and fulfillment – for him. The business’ valuation now stands at $2.5 million.

The road to these kinds of results can be especially bumpy for companies in the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, as leaders in those companies typically have limited business training. Yet owners who can learn to weave five basic steps into their systems will see significant changes to the bottom line.

1. Star search. To develop a top management team, business owners must become talent scouts and learn to assess the true strengths of their employees. True entrepreneurs – those who can take over and eventually run firms – are not always obvious. Generally ambitious, willing to take risks, and able to push others to move quickly, they look at the bigger picture rather than only execute on direction. To a business owner, this can show up as difficult behavior that belies the corporate setting.

Leader style assessments, administered by trained professionals, can help identify entrepreneurial talent, and assess the strengths of the other three key employee groups: operations, technical and teaching/managerial.

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2. The show must go on. In the theater, every key role has an understudy. Business should be no different. Educating individuals in the four key employee groups on how to delegate and develop understudies – and then making sure it happens –this is critical to creating a management team.

The hardest part of understudy development falls to the owner, as he or she must be the first to learn to let go of some responsibilities. With so much emphasis placed on completing projects to perfection for clients, this area can be particularly challenging for the AEC industry. From owners to entry level staff, trusting someone else to perform a given task is inherently very difficult.

Role transition exercises, leadership development workshops with teambuilding focus, and individual coaching can help. Most businesses will find that they may need to fill some positions, make some structural changes, and incorporate strategic planning between the owner and identified leaders.

3. Practice makes perfect. Once the cast is assembled and the roles are assigned, it is crucial to define expectations for leaders and their understudies in clear, quantitative, and qualitative terms. This creates a climate ripe for success and makes it easier to establish accountability. Regularly scheduled peer and managerial evaluations, along with continual conversations, will lead to a strong management team – and directly enhance estate value.

The ability to hold these often-difficult conversations is the skill set most often lacking in the AEC industry. In professional service industries such as architecture and engineering, it is common to avoid these conversations altogether, resulting in the retention of poor-performing staff.

4. The critics are raving. The theatre has critics to gauge how successful a production will be. In the business world, key performance indicators (KPIs) serve as early indicators of a company’s performance. Whether it’s a gauge of how much work is in the pipeline or client satisfaction ratings, these predictive measures will help an owner determine if the business will stay healthy. Smart owners will make sure the leadership team focuses on only one key area each quarter, working as a team toward a singular goal.

5. A box-office hit. When it comes to overall financial management, including performance compensation, AEC firms historically have had a hard time given owners’ traditionally limited business backgrounds. Developing and implementing sophisticated systems incorporating opportunities for minority stock purchase and company-wide goals will take a management team into true leadership – a sure sign of growth.

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Undertaking these types of systemic changes is not quick, simple or natural in the AEC industry. But the results speak for themselves. When owners and leaders move into their highest-value roles and work toward identified, specific goals, it is common to see 20-40 percent annual revenue growth. The owner’s estate value has nowhere to go but up, putting the business in the spotlight.

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Sandy Blaha, president of Denver-based Sandy Blaha Performance Consulting, is an exit planning expert specializing in leadership development and succession for the architecture, engineering and construction industry. Reach her at [email protected] or 303-260-6480.

Avoid common transition perils, problems, pitfalls: Part 2 in a series

When it comes to the planning for the transition of a business, good things do not come to those who wait. Those who do often find themselves feeling the pressure of a ticking clock, caught between needing to move quickly and immobilization.

If you are thinking about, and planning for, the next phase of your life – and your business’ life – taking the following steps will help you move quickly toward your goal, and assure smoother sailing in the process.

1. Know your ABCs
Every owner I have ever talked with says that the company started to move forward once she/he learned to let go of the “C” players and develop an effective performance management and coaching process. You may find it difficult to do at first – and it will mean development of your conflict resolution skills – but it will pay off.

2. Pay attention to the alpha dog
You also may want to say goodbye to “A” players, where “A” stands for “alpha.” Alpha employees interact well with clients, are high producers, and work hard, but are abusive within the firm, can be bullies, and often serve as stumbling blocks to your succession success.

Identify these individuals, give them a chance to change, and then help them to separate with ease if it doesn’t work out. The people you will want to become buyers of your firm will not be interested if it means inheriting alphas.

3. Understand that the proof is in the…projects
Grant ownership only when a person has proved his or her leadership abilities. The proof is in strategic learning projects for your up-and-coming next-generation individuals. These projects will give them the opportunities to prove that they can move from project managers to company leaders.

4. Become a decision-maker
Your next generation of leaders will need a methodology for making decisions, practice in making difficult decisions together, and a model to follow. It is important to set a good example for decision-making, so if you are not a decisive person, it is a good idea to obtain coaching in that area. If you don’t? Expect stagnation, delays, and discouraged personnel.

5. Be a talent scout
You may be missing the right talent mix in your next generation team. How is the world changing? What kind of leaders will your firm need? The next-generation leadership team may need different skills, sensitivities, and attributes than you to succeed in the future. Focusing on the vision of your company, think carefully about what you need now in leadership as well as three-five years from now. Professional assessment tools can go a long way to help identify the best talent.

6. Consider a sale
If you aren’t ready to let go and share authority, or if you’ve tried several times and failed (perhaps losing key employees in the process), you may be better off being honest with yourself about a legacy. Think about selling your firm to a third party.

7. Take your time
Once identified, the future president or your company must be a leader – someone people will follow. This person needs time to demonstrate his or her abilities, judgments, leadership style, and interactions with people. Be humble enough and vulnerable enough to listen and change, and recognize that you will need to hone your change skills during this process.

8. Avoid parity of power
While the next-generation team must make decisions and learn together, avoid trying to be equal to all. Each person should not necessarily have the same amount of stock or the power as the next. The executive team will eventually pare itself down to the two or three people everyone trusts. Ideally, a next-generation president should be appointed by consensus, based on his or her track record of leadership and ability to gain peer confidence.

9. Identify and correct fatal flaws
Check your behavior and leadership ability for these three fatal flaws in transition planning:
• The inability to set direction.
• The inability to align critical constituencies.
• The inability to adapt to changing circumstances.

If you notice any of these in yourself, it is important to work through them now. The ability to grow beyond your flaws is an important part of leadership – one that needs to be part of your work as well as your next-generation team’s. Be a role model and make sure you’re not committing a fatal flaw.

The steps discussed here may appear challenging, but paying heed to them now can set the tone for a smooth and effective transition in leadership. Managing a company and handling development of new leaders is a challenging task with risks and rewards to match. Don’t be afraid to seek the proper tools and advisors to ease the process and ensure a smooth sailing.

Sandy Blaha is president of Denver-based Sandy Blaha Performance Consulting, providing comprehensive leadership development and transition planning services, including consulting, training, and executive coaching. Serving the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry since 1994, she has worked extensively with business owners to plan for retirement, develop exit strategies, and insure their companies’ legacies.

Sandy is the author of two major leadership development works: Passing the Torch: A Toolkit for Leadership Development and Transition, and Stepping Stones: 5 Essential Steps for Transition Success.