Connecting the dots of life and business

In 2006, I had the pleasure of meeting Seth Godin and while I read most of his books, I don’t regularly keep up with his blog. However, I ran across his post last week and it struck a chord. The essence is… one person looked for a reason to NOT help and the other continuously looked for a solution. In typical Seth fashion, he used a real-life story with a short and sweet takeaway. Here’s an excerpt from his post…

I don’t think it should matter whether or not you’re trying to make a profit. If you’re out to provide a service, or organized to deliver a product, then look for a yes. At every interaction.

The concept of only a first or second attempt is a pet peeve of mine. I still am surprised when people will give up so quickly. In my opinion, the customer service bar is set pretty low due to lack of effort. Customers have been told no so many times and ignored so frequently, just a little effort can win them over. I’m not suggesting the customer is always right (they aren’t), but going further than whatever that person thinks is acceptable should be the goal. Yes, I realize some customers are abusive, but that’s your fault if you continue to service them.

If you’re starting a business, you must set your company standard on the INTENT of finding a yes. This sometimes requires plan D, E and F, but if it were easy wouldn’t someone else have already solved your problem? Ever heard of barrier to entry?

In running a company you quickly learn many situations don’t allow for a no. With the pressure of customer acquisition and retention (vital steps), paying bills and managing expectations… plan A and B are just are not enough. You learn through tough times to be scrappy, dig deeper and hunt for better answers.

Finally, this isn’t just for startups or those working in customer service. If you want to get promoted, find a way to do what can’t be done. I place a high value (as does every manager I know) on employees being resourceful. If your boss or history say it’s impossible, keep looking to see what could work. Today’s no is tomorrow’s maybe, which *could* lead to a yes. Get digging.

If you work in an office or regularly have meetings, you’ve heard these overused terms. After an unbearable run of cliches in meetings, I offer you my top 5 (and a bonus at no charge).

1- Synergy
2- To build on that
3- Mission Critical
4- Put all the cards on the table (Open the Kimono)
5- Take this to the next level

I know this is only the “tip of the iceberg” (had to throw that in there), but I want to know which of these you’re tired of hearing. Please post in the comments below.

This morning I awoke to several of my pine trees being down, including one that landed on my neighbor’s garage. As could be predicted, St. Matthews lost power, so I packed up my things and drove to stay at a friend’s place off Brownsboro Road. This 15-minute drive took me 45 minutes due to power lines (12 houses down) and trees scattered across the roads.

My sedan didn’t enjoy the ride as a I got stuck twice, but finally made it safely and am glad to be warm. Along the way, I took several pictures, I thought I’d share. If you can’t see the pictures below, look to the right or click here.

After several months of development, Kevin and I have launched our new business, MoneyPath.  If you’re not aware of this new venture, read this post.  We are still adding more banks (starting in the Louisville, KY region) to our lender network, but we’ve started accepting loans and banks will start bidding on these loans in mid-February.

We’re bridging the divide between lenders and businesses, so both can eliminate their search for one another during the lending process.   Banks spend a great deal of money attracting new commercial clients and businesses spend too much time finding a bank to lend money.  MoneyPath brings these two parties together through a proprietary matching algorithm.

Have an existing business loan?  Find out if another bank can save you money with a better rate by entering your existing loan information.  Also, If you need some money to expand or stay afloat, simply enter in your desired loan amount and some current financial figures to find your match.

Kevin and I are really excited about MoneyPath and how we can help save people money and banks find great customers.

Meet Gene!

After numerous discussions this week (it’s only Wednesday) with clients and friends, I recognized a recurring theme… we all accept average effort. For the purposes of this post, I’m naming this status quo behavior as a person, we’ll call Gene. (Disclaimer – If you or your relative’s name is Gene, please don’t take offense. I had to pick a name and ironically the Gene I know best is quite the opposite of this post.)

We’re all guilty for not giving our best effort at all times and truthfully not many (if anyone) expects that from you. For example, I play basketball with a group of friends every Tuesday night. Every time down the court, I don’t run my hardest or play the best defense and no one thinks less of me (ok, fine… they wish I’d play more D). They do however get frustrated at anyone who consistently doesn’t try hard and in a team sport setting, it’s quite easy to spot. In business, I purport it’s easier to blend in the background and rarely have to push one’s self.

I’ll admit some people aren’t motivated professionally and others probably lose drive over time. However, I’m still amazed at how little effort (i.e. – doing your job) gets recognized as a job well done. I typically tell people if you give 70% effort at a job you’ll be a star.

I could write a diatribe about how Gene is terrible for dating and marriage (i.e. – settling for someone), but I’ll stick to business. Here are a few points on how you can spot a Gene, what roles he can play and where you can use him.

Top Characteristics of Gene

1. Clock watcher – 5:01 and they’re no where to be found and don’t even think about a lunch meeting
2. Buck passer – looking for help indirectly related to Gene, sorry… not in his area
3. Social ghost – when the company gets together outside of work, Gene never shows (Hint: that stuff matters)

Top 3 Roles to Gene Shouldn’t Be In

1. Accounts Receivable – Worried about cash flow, Gene isn’t the best choice here
2. Sales – If you let Gene collect your money, you better have a rockstar sales person bringing in more customers
3. Any startup role – In the early stages, EVERYONE is doing heavy lifting and you can’t afford to carry Gene’s weight

When can you use Gene, you ask?
When you don’t truly care about the outcome. If you’re cool that your grass gets a little tall at time or your pants look somewhat pressed, then fine Gene’s Landscaping and Dry Cleaners is the place to go.

Where have you seen Gene pop up in your professional career? I know you’ve seen him. How can you motivate him? Is it possible? I’m really curious of your thoughts.

Flickr credit: Adhamz

I’m not a developer. I have managed a team of developers, partnered with them and employed a few in previous ventures. One thing is certain, developers see the world differently than us “business types” and that can be a very good thing.

Steve Johnson of Pragamatic Marketing‘s presentation (see below) at Business of Software offers direct insight into a developer’s work struggles. His points border on the edge of pessimism, but I can attest many of them are very real. If you’re on the business (especially sales) side of a company you may want to initially resist his points and humorous digs directed at non-tech roles and actions. However, Steve hit on several points that are worth highlighting.

• There is a perceived and sometimes real divide between your technology group and the the rest of the company. Specifically, between those selling, supporting and building the product.
• Communication reigns supreme. Many of Steve’s issues could be resolved with better communication (i.e. – give the dev team access to all parties involved).
• Even if you don’t assign a project manager/leader… someone is still doing it.
• Software/product development cycles don’t have to be adversarial, but it does require time.
• Salespeople need to consult the dev team BEFORE making promises to clients.
• Developers understand quantitative data. Show them the numbers or dollars for feature requests not one solitary prospect’s wish list.

I realize an hour is a long time to watch a video online, but if you work or plan on working with developers it’s worth some review. Steve also has some helpful files on product frameworks and gap analysis.