15 HR Strategies to Improve Your Business Performance

 

Studies show many employees are dissatisfied in their workplaces. Employee dissatisfaction, of course, will adversely affect a company’s performance.

In fact, a 2010 Hewitt Associates study indicated employee engagement is at an historical low – well, at least since the firm began researching the issue in the mid-1990s.

A lack of employee engagement means:

• Higher costly turnover
• Less focus on customer service
• Less productivity
• Weak profits.

In the UK, employees of family-operated companies have better employee relationships than other businesses. A University of Birmingham study concludes family business workers – 21 percent of the workforce – are more loyal. They are more engaged with their employers, show more commitment and have higher morale.

Another consulting firm, Mercer, concluded in its 2011 global study that 33 percent of U.S. workers are thinking about quitting their employers. Forty percent of millennials are also considering a job change.

There are countless other human resources studies with similar findings.

Higher pay and benefits are important to workers. But they’re not the greatest motivators, and employees often have more salient concerns.

So, the key is to take steps that lead to higher employee morale and performance. The bottom-line question for you: Do your employees mirror what you expect?

Assuming you’ve hired the best talent in terms of attitude, to improve your business performance, here are 15 HR strategies:

1. Be authentic, not a patronizing employer.
2. Walk the floor twice a day to engage your staff. Show empathy. Ask questions, such as “How are you?”
3. Demonstrate your listening skills with open-ended questions. (“What is the dumbest thing you are on which you’re working?” or “Where is the company wasting resources – in time or money?”)
4. Communicate what the company is doing and how it’s performing.
5. Help employees to understand how they contribute to your bottom line. Show them your company-wide objectives and how their work contributes to your company’s performance.
6. Give workers a purpose with challenges.
7. Without being verbose, teach them how you think and why.
8. Create collegial teams of workers without micromanaging them.
9. Make employees a CEO of their work. Empower them to contribute ideas and allow them as much autonomy as feasible to make decisions.
10. Encourage each employee to be customer-focused.
11. Immediately, show appreciation for good work and counsel employees following sub-par work.
12. Budget for development and training.
13. Show flexibility to enhance employee balance for career and personal life.
14. Establish an employee assistance program. Do what you can to help eliminate the employees’ stress factors so they can have maximum focus on their responsibilities. That includes financial tips. As my dad once told me: “It’s not how much you make, it’s how much you bring home.”
15. Employees know who their toxic co-workers are. Don’t let the toxic workers hurt your workplace environment.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are more management suggestions:

20 Tell-Tale Signs – If You’re Under-Performing as a Manager

21 Quick Tips to Avoid the Dark Side of Management

Human Resources – Profit By Not Letting Your Stars Become Free Agents

Boss Checklist: 16 Strategies for a Competitive Edge

Human Resources: 12 Errors to Avoid in Evaluations

 

“So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work.”

-Peter Drucker 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

20 Tell-Tale Signs – If You’re Under-Performing as a Manager

 

Whether new or experienced, managers can often struggle. Poor management, of course, leads to poor performance.

As red flags, under-performing managers share one of two common traits with ineffective employees. Such managers aren’t fully aware of their shortcomings. Even if they are aware of deficiencies, they’re afraid to admit it.

Either way, nothing is done about the shortcomings. Accountability suffers. There are 20 typical warning signs.

Here’s a list of questions – 20 tell-tale signs – if you’re under-performing as a manager:

1. Is your department underperforming? It can be attributed to ineffective management.
2. Are you getting positive performance reviews from your boss? If not, that’s an indicator.
3. Do you have a strong image ? If you don’t enjoy employee loyalty or if peers are snubbing you, those are omens.
4. Are you a stress carrier? Whether its personal stress caused by conditions at home or career challenges, it can adversely affect your work relationships.
5. Do you engage in self-doubt? Weak decisions prompt actions leading to poor results.
6. Do your employees communicate well with you? Sometimes employees are distant because they’re unhappy with your style.
7. Are you careful to surround yourself with great employees? You don’t want a lot of yes-people. You want thinkers who will take ownership of their work.
8. Are you clear with your expectations of employee performance? If you’re nebulous in day-to-day interactions, instructions or in formal reviews, employees won’t deliver.
9. Do you make good investment for short-term and long-term success? Whether it’s technology or human resources training, good managers take productive steps and make insightful investments.
10. Are you a go-to person? Does your boss look to you for solutions and projects, or are you overlooked? This means you’re not viewed as being a valuable resource.
11. Are you open-minded? Do you step outside your comfort zone? This means being able to be innovative and assertive, and you don’t settle for mediocrity.
12. Are you a big-picture manager with strong potential for the C-suite? A manager who is good CEO-material has knowledge and ability in all areas of the business, not necessarily a doctorate-level expertise in any particular segment of the business.
13. Are you constantly looking for ways to improve? The best managers are voracious readers, and look for sources of good ideas and processes.
14. Do you instill a customer-focused organization? Task-oriented managers who are not focused on customer needs will not maximize profits.
15. Do you meet goals? If goals aren’t being met – whether it’s your department or your individual employees – performance will not been enhanced.
16. Do you have weak links on your team? It’s possible to have high-performing workers, but prima donnas are a liability if they don’t work well with others.
17. Are you ensuring company policies and values are upheld? If not the culture will be endangered and profits will suffer.
18. Are you on top of budgetary matters? In this business climate, it’s imperative to have a clear view of your department or company finances.
19. Do you regularly assess your business strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? This is crucial for goal-setting and strategic planning.
20. Do you recognize employee and company success? Celebrations are good for everyone’s morale.

From the Coach’s Corner, for effective management, here are more resource links:

Leadership Strategies to Profit from Employee Respect

Human Resources – Power Your Brand with Employee Empowerment

Management Best-Practices Include Solid Operations Checklists

21 Quick Tips to Avoid the Dark Side of Management

“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

-Theodore Roosevelt

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Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

Google Insights – 23 Key Questions about Your Web Site

 

Google has unveiled more vital information about what it considers important for Web site ranking. Without divulging proprietary information, Google emphasized it’s all about value – quality for Internet users. In other words, there are no shortcuts for success.

There’s been a lot of buzz about Google’s 2011 algorithm update called Panda, and how it’s affected Internet sites. Many sites have benefited and others haven’t fared well in their Google ranking. Well, Google has made it clear what it considers important. It issued a formal statement on May 6.

“Our advice for publishers continues to be to focus on delivering the best possible user experience on your websites and not to focus too much on what they think are Google’s current ranking algorithms or signals,” wrote Amit Singhal on the Google Webmaster Central blog.

“Some publishers have fixated on our prior Panda algorithm change, but Panda was just one of roughly 500 search improvements we expect to roll out to search this year,” the spokesperson explained.  In fact, since we launched Panda, we’ve rolled out over a dozen additional tweaks to our ranking algorithms, and some sites have incorrectly assumed that changes in their rankings were related to Panda.”

“Search is a complicated and evolving art and science, so rather than focusing on specific algorithmic tweaks, we encourage you to focus on delivering the best possible experience for users,” wrote Mr. Singhal.

“Our site quality algorithms are aimed at helping people find ‘high-quality’ sites by reducing the rankings of low-quality content,” he added. “The recent ‘Panda’ change tackles the difficult task of algorithmically assessing website quality.”

He indicated that Web site publishers will benefit by evaluating its page or article quality by asking specific questions – the type of questions that Google asks to analyze a site’s quality.

Here are the questions:

1. Would you trust the information presented in this article?

2. Is this article written by an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, or is it more shallow in nature?

3. Does the site have duplicate, overlapping, or redundant articles on the same or similar topics with slightly different keyword variations?

4. Would you be comfortable giving your credit card information to this site?

5. Does this article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?

6. Are the topics driven by genuine interests of readers of the site, or does the site generate content by attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?

7. Does the article provide original content or information, original reporting, original research, or original analysis?

8. Does the page provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?

9. How much quality control is done on content?

10. Does the article describe both sides of a story?

11. Is the site a recognized authority on its topic?

12. Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?

13. Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?

14. For a health related query, would you trust information from this site?

15. Would you recognize this site as an authoritative source when mentioned by name?

16. Does this article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?

17. Does this article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?

18. Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?

19. Does this article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?

20. Would you expect to see this article in a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?

21. Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?

22. Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?

23. Would users complain when they see pages from this site?

“We’ve been hearing from many of you that you want more guidance on what you can do to improve your rankings on Google, particularly if you think you’ve been impacted by the Panda update,” added Mr. Singhal. “We encourage you to keep questions like the ones above in mind as you focus on developing high-quality content rather than trying to optimize for any particular Google algorithm.”

Mr. Singhal also indicated a site’s rankings can be affected by “low-quality content” or “low-quality pages” on just some portions of a site.

“We’re continuing to work on additional algorithmic iterations to help webmasters operating high-quality sites get more traffic from search,” he added. “As you continue to improve your sites, rather than focusing on one particular algorithmic tweak, we encourage you to ask yourself the same sorts of questions we ask when looking at the big picture.”

My sense about Google’s announcement: Amen. It confirms that value counts. There are no shortcuts for ranking success – only high quality content. These are salient questions to ask about your site.

From the Coach’s Corner, if you want to stay current with Google’s webmaster updates, see: Webmaster Help Forum – Google. 

“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.”
- Francis Bacon

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Columnist Terry Corbell is a business-performance consultant and profit professional.  Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?  

 

Checklist for Success in Business Planning for the New Economy

 

Question: How is your year progressing? For many, the year isn’t faring well, and it’s obvious we’re undergoing fundamental economic change.

To be sure, handwringing is to be expected. But productive steps need to be taken for market leadership. This lack of business enthusiasm indicates businesspeople are having trouble focusing on priorities. Many are too preoccupied in fearing failure instead of their strengths. Is this your situation?

It’s important to develop an IQ for keeping an open mind for change and improved competitiveness. Adaptability and flexibility to adopt old and new ideas are keys to success in a dynamic marketplace.

Here’s a checklist of reminders:

1. Daily review your financial reporting. Cash flow is king.
2. Don’t get sidetracked. Take prudent steps for financial balance. Control your expenses but devote enough time for marketing and selling – each day.
3. If you have employees, implement a collaborative environment to execute strategy. Know how and when to delegate.
4. Use the latest thought leadership to evaluate your workers and ensure employee loyalty. Retaining talent is important for keeping your human, intellectual capital.
5. Customers love environmentally responsible companies. Consider how you can differentiate your firm from competitors.
6. Decide on a social cause in cause-related marketing. Enhance your participation in causes,  and in socially responsible management practices.
7. Examine your customer-support practices. Understand what it takes for customer loyalty and for branding in attracting new business via traditional and emerging media.
8. Take steps for price satisfaction, but don’t give away the store. History shows businesses fail when they focus too much on selling at the lowest price.
9. Continually talk with your customers, and read, research and implement strategies for growth.
10. As much as possible, stay current on technology to save you time and money.
11. Whenever possible, keep it simple. That includes everything from your business processes to your value propositions.
12. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Younger businesspeople, in particular, tend to impulsively make unnecessary changes. It’s important to check motives. Consider whether such decisions are fact-based solutions or stem from ego.
13. Explore all options to grow organically before buying other firms. Before you embark on a merger, consider all human resources and cultural factors. Most mergers aren’t successful for this very reason (see If Mergers & AcquisitionsTempt You, Consult HR Pros).
14. Include strategies for multiplying your revenue stream.
15. Speak and act with conviction about your mission to passionately meet the needs of your customers. Execute with authentic optimism. Smile even when you don’t feel like it. Customers, employees and other stakeholders love a jovial Joe or Jane. Make certain your attitude is contagious – that it’s worth catching.

Good luck in your business planning for the new economy.

From the Coach’s Corner, this business portal has countless tips on marketing/sales.

Here are recommendations for hiring the best talent, and how to properly evaluate
employees:

Human Resources – Slow MotionGets You There Faster

Human Resources: 12 Errors toAvoid in Evaluations

Money can’t buy happiness, but  it sure makes misery easier to live with.

Planning – Need a Game Changer? Ford, Seahawks Are Good Case Studies

 

If your business is performing in a mediocre fashion, chances are your company needs an overhaul. A culture change, if you will. For positive case studies in change-management for a game changer, take your pick – either Ford or the Seattle Seahawks will suffice. Such best-practices in cultural change-management work for nonprofits, too.

Game-changing requires an assertive, strong administrator, especially because all such organizations go through humbling experiences. Strong visionaries know how to profit from ego-destroying events.  Effective managers have been the catalyst for Ford and the Seahawks.

First, let’s consider one of the salient Ford headlines, such as: “Ford Makes Comeback From the Brink to Billion-Dollar Profit.

Actually, Ford’s fortunes began to improve when it looked outside the carmaker for solutions to its challenges. The automaker recruited Alan R. Mulally from Boeing.

The irony is that Mr. Mulally had his own ups and downs, of sorts. He had been bypassed twice by Boeing for the CEO’s job. But he was able to put his full talents to work at Ford. 

Not to oversimplify, Mr. Mulally has notably installed a competitive, sustainable business model. He simplified production processes. Managers, in effect, were told to change their perspective on change. He inspired a positive balance sheet by taking strategic steps on Ford’s cash flow. 

Unlike Chrysler and General Motors, he didn’t seek a government bailout. This meant Ford was able to focus on being proactive, for example, development of new vehicles – cars consumers would buy. Ford would not be hamstrung by bailout cash-flow constraints. Chrysler and GM became beholden to the government – bureaucrats called the shots. Ford didn’t have to resort to discounting and incentives to attract car buyers.

Ford’s brand image skyrocketed as Chrysler and GM suffered from poor images – they were only able to survive with the help of bailouts and bankruptcies.

In other words, Ford’s success was summed up by this headline: “Ford Says Culture Change Has Led to Success.”

Seahawk lessons

So why are the Seahawks a good case study? For starters, let’s consider the headlines, such as: “Seahawks stun defending champion Saints.” There were more than 2,800 such headlines on the Internet referring to the Seahawks upsetting New Orleans, 41-36, in the first round of the National Football League playoffs in the 2010 season.

Just as Ford’s comeback was launched when Ford hired Mr. Mulally, the Seahawk comeback started when owner Paul Allen hired Pete Carroll as head coach. Mr. Allen has a good eye for talent.

Previous, Mr. Allen astutely hired Green Bay Packers Head Coach Mike Holmgren. Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Holmgren won at Green Bay, and he’s credited with the development of quarterbacks Steve Young and Brett Favre.

The management mistake, however, was that Mr. Allen installed Mr. Holmgren as both his executive vice president/general manager and head coach. As a Biz Coach, I wrote then that Mr. Holmgren couldn’t adequately handle executive and coaching responsibilities – a classic case of the Peter Principle – people rise to their level of incompetence. Mr. Holmgren is very talented in coaching and developing quarterbacks, but being an entrepreneurial chief executive requires much-different skill sets.

It’s not just a matter of knowing football. Many businesspeople make the same mistake. They only consider hiring people from their industries without regard for all the necessary skill sets. Mr. Mulally didn’t have automotive experience, but his management and manufacturing skills were transferrable from the aircraft industry. Simplly put, solid business principles are applicable in all industries.

It wasn’t until Mr. Allen removed the executive chores from Mr. Holmgren that the Seahawks finally made it to the Super Bowl in 2005 to play the Pittsburg Steelers. Only bad officiating kept the Seahawks from being world champs.

Meantime, Mr. Holmgren appears to be making the same mistakes. He’s been president of the Cleveland Browns since late 2009. Press reports indicate Mr. Holmgren is searching for a new head coach, and may consider being the team’s coach, too.

Mr. Carroll’s initial 7-9 season was judged to be lackluster, at best. But all was forgotten when his team, a 10-point underdog, upset the New Orleans Saints in the first-round of the playoffs. Most fans consider the game to be one of the biggest playoff upsets of all time.

True, I’m located in the Seattle area, but my Biz Coach sense is that the Seahawks are the most-dangerous team in the playoffs. Why? They continue to evolve and will continue to be under-rated, even though the playoffs are, in reality, a new season.

It’s obvious Mr. Carroll, like Mr. Mulally at Ford, has adroitly installed a change in the team’s culture. With the general manager, John Schneider, Mr. Carroll has overseen 275 roster changes on the 53-man squad.

Despite his sub-.500 2010 record, Mr. Carroll is not embarrassed and motivated his team to great heights. Twice, the Seahawks trailed the Saints by 10 points but didn’t give up and stayed with a resourceful game plan. They put 41 points on the board against a superb defensive team.

Not to overlook everyone’s play, among the highlights: Matt Hasselbeck, a 12-year veteran, had his first four-touchdown playoff game. To ice the game Marshawn Lynch delivered the team’s first 100-yard game this season in breaking eight tackles in his miraculous 67-yard touchdown.  

Much has been written about the cacophony of the Seahawks’ twelfth man – their raucous hometown fans at Qwest Field. But guess who motivated the fans in the week leading to the playoff game?

Mr. Carroll made good use of his Twitter account (or at least his representative did) in inspiring fans to be loud and vocal at the game. His boyish enthusiasm is fun. Mr. Carroll’s attitude is contagious and worth catching.

Such passion begins with enlightened management. That’s what I’d call Messrs. Mullaly and Carroll.

Steps to success

Here are the basic ingredients for a business game-changer:

Management – True leaders are strong, knowledgeable, and manage risks. They oversee all fundamentals but delegate – finance, marketing, operations, product management and customer service. Executives must also have a team spirit – an environment of collaboration.

Vision – Top managers possess skills in analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in strategic planning. They avoid complacency and must continually fine-tune the company when appropriate. That means habitually practicing the Principle of Contrary Action, which is a process of learning how to keep an open mind.

Focus – Managers must outline their master plan, stay focused and inspire the staff – the frontline responders to the marketplace – where the proverbial tire meets the road. Nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm and passion.

Best Practices – Senior management must inspire best practices for quality in all areas. Creating value is job one.

Mobility and flexibility –The 21st century marketplace requires quickness and mobility. This also means empowering all workers in decision-making and in being proactive.

Listening skills – Effective managers are approachable. In a proverbial sense, they walk the floor twice a day to interface with their employees. They hire managers and staff members who, too, are effective in listening skills. That’s the first step for a motivated staff and creating profits. Without even looking at financials, an astute outside participant will always be able to ascertain the success potenial of a company merely by watching the interactions between management and staff.

Communication – Good, open communication is required internally with the team members and with the customers and marketplace. In this way, you’ll take great steps in inspiring loyalty from customers.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are related topics:

Solutions to Rejuvenate Yourself and Business

Leadership, HR, Marketing Lessons from HP’s Executive Turmoil

How to Get Results from Your HR Training Investment

Business Got You Down? Tips for a Morale Boost

Leadership Strategies to Profit from Employee Respect

Career Strategies: How to Get a C-Level Job

 

If you’re climbing the corporate ladder and have designs on the C-suite – CEO, COO, or CFO – a Stanford University professor has some excellent advice. In essence, he advises getting a strong, generalist-background in business.

“The higher you get in an organization, the more likely you are to encounter problems from a variety of different areas,” says a Stanford Graduate School of Business labor economist, Dr. Edward P. Lazear.

He believes it’s important to be a generalist, especially for professionals wanting to become a CEO because of the broad issues the job entails. Dr. Lazear contends “those people have to be generalists” according to Stanford GSB News in its Sept. 2010 newsletter.

The economist has won numerous honors, and written 11 books and more than 100 articles. He was an economic advisor to President George W. Bush, and was chair of the Council of Economic Advisors from 2006 to 2009. He’s also counseled the governments of Czechoslovakia, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia.

“A good CEO is someone who’s very good, possibly not excellent, but very good, at almost everything,” he asserts.

“People who are most likely to end up in leadership positions are ones who have had many different roles throughout their career,” explains Dr. Lazear. He points out that successful companies make it a practice to give various jobs to talented employees to groom them for leadership. In other words, the broader the skills –the more desirable a person is for the CEO’s role.

A salient skill: The CEOs ability to hire the right people to fill the senior executive’s gaps in knowledge or experience is very important. CEOs must understand enough about the company’s needs in any given area to evaluate, recruit and hire talent.

“Putting together a team is a generalist’s skill. ‘Just hiring someone’ is not so easy,” says the economist.

He believes specific highly visible jobs, such as banking, high-level finance or marketing, are great catalysts leading to the C-suite.

Dr. Lazear says jobs in “publicly observed decision-making situations” puts ambitious people in the right environment at the right time so that others can watch them in action. He believes it’s inevitable that others will become followers as the leader is born.

But he has a warning for an ambitious person – don’t just go through the motions – don’t assume that a variety of jobs or working in a marketing job is enough. He suggests something akin to physical training for the Olympics – increase your strong points in multiple areas so “you can enhance your probability of going into leadership.”

From the Coach’s Corner, here is additional reading:

7 Tips for a Young Professional to Become a CEO

Leadership Strategies to Profit from Employee Respect

10 Characteristics of a Successful CEO

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

-Dwight D. Eisenhower 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

Leadership, HR, Marketing Lessons from HP’s Executive Turmoil

 

Updated Feb. 22, 2012

A legendary tech company is still on a roller coaster ride. Five months after hiring a new CEO, Meg Whitman, Hewlett-Packard finds it elusive to find profits. Profits dropped 44 percent in the last quarter. This forecast for the current quarter is not bright.

Plus, a court ruling puts former HP CEO Mark Hurd and the company’sproblems back in the spotlight.

That means Ms. Whitman will find it advantageous to solve three salient corporate issues – long after the sudden exit of Mr. Hurd. At issue, are perceived quagmires in leadership, human resources and marketing.

Mr. Hurd was widely credited for HP’s recent success. But his forced resignation over a sexual harassment case and inconsistent expense-account reports is the company’s third tumultuous event involving key executives in just five years. Analysts were unimpressed with his lack of vision.

His accuser, Jodie Fisher, a 50-year-old actress and former reality television contestant who was hired has a marketing consultant, introduced him to key customers and kept him company. She said she was sorry he lost his job.

Especially, this week since a court approved publication of a letter sent by Ms. Fisher’s attorney, Gloria Allred, to Mr. Hurd – the letter detailed his alleged sexual advances toward Ms. Fisher.

For example:

“At times you would behave professionally seemingly ‘getting’ that she was not going to have sex with you,” wrote Ms. Allred. “At other times, not, and you would relentlessly attempt to cajole her into having sex with you.”

The first unsavory HP event, of course, was the 2005 firing of CEO Carly Fiorina following her lack of financial success and her questionable, contentious merger with Compaq resulting in heavy layoffs.

Then, there was the 2006 controversy surrounding Patricia Dunn, who as chair of the board, hired firms that used illegal methods to try to stop leaks of proprietary HP information to reporters.

So, it’s not surprising that published reports indicate employees now have huge morale issues after Mr. Hurd’s tenure.

Ms. Whitman will need substantial leadership skills because HP still has to improve the employee morale and marketplace position.

HP’s share price plummeted by 10 percent in just the first day after Mr. Hurd’s firing. It fell another 8.4 percent the following Monday to a 52-week low. Obviously, many investors are nervous. On Friday’s close, the share price was $25.76.

Certainly, employees feel betrayed. Improving employee morale necessitates a strong internal communications program with empathy and appreciation for the employees’ contributions to the company. Certainly, from the C-suite on down, HP’s HR and training initiatives are being tested.

It might seem like a bit of a stretch, but the marketing should tout the rich, storied legacy of the company’s origins in a garage. That’s what occurred to me after being reminded that Americans love an underdog following release of a 2010 study by the Simmons School of Management in Boston.

“Across contexts, cultures, and time periods, underdog narratives have inspired people,” according to the study co-authored by the school’s Jill Avery. “Stories about underdogs are pervasive in sports, politics, religion, literature, and film.”

In using the term, credibility, she implied in an interview with BusinessNewsDaily that trustworthiness and integrity are salient principles to inspire customers to buy.

“Underdog brand biographies contain two important narrative components: a disadvantaged position versus an adversary and passion and determination to beat the odds,” wrote the study’s authors.

In addition to Dr. Avery, the authors include Neeru Paharia and Anat Keinan of Harvard University, and Juliet B. Schor of Boston College.

They found that the respondents identified with underdog brands and were more likely to buy them.

“The American Dream, the fabled American myth, is built on the stories of underdogs who came to the United States with virtually nothing and pulled themselves up from their bootstraps to achieve success,” wrote the authors.

When the study of products that included the branding term, underdog, they were preferred in 89 percent of the cases by participants. Companies with a humble history are very appealing to consumers.

In fact, as a reward for participating in the study, respondents were given their choice of a chocolate bar. Seventy-one percent chose the underdog candy bar.

Meantime, to be fair — HP makes great products. My firm has had numerous laser printers; both black and white, and color. Some have only lasted a year or two. But two of the most reliable are the discontinued HP LaserJet 4P model printers from the early 1990s. They’ve produced reams upon reams of quality documents without fail. Sadly, they were finally mothballed in 2011 when it the drivers were no longer available for updated computers.

Let’s hope HP finally gets this leadership problem corrected. It’s past time for inspiration and vision for success with customers.

Related link: Are HP’s Board and New CEO Headed in Right Direction?

From the Coach’s Corner, if you have customer loyalty issues, don’t worry because you’re not alone: Bank Woes Provide Lessons for All Companies Seeking Growth.

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

-Colin Powell

 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

Business Got You Down? Tips for a Morale Boost

 

If sales are discouraging and you feel like you’re on a treadmill going nowhere, it’s probably because you’re worried about the future. Trust me, you’re not alone. The trick is taking baby steps and not worrying about the future results. Instead, focus on the positive. Business success and strong sales stem are made possible by enthusiasm, and an attitude of service and gratitude.

This means not focusing on the proverbial “results department.” That department door might not open. So only focus on footwork and simply knocking on the “results department door.” Imagine knocking on one door and then moving quickly to knock on another.

Don’t wait for the doors to open because that’s what leads to despair. It’s true that a watched pot never boils.

Moreover, this is a good time to measure your progress – not your obstacles. Consider the acronym, GO, which stands for gratitude and options.

By way of explanation, sometimes discouragement is so bad a businessperson obsesses about what’s not working instead of relishing what is working. By focusing solely on the problems they become bigger. When that happens, it’s an endless cycle of despair. The person feels trapped.

Conversely, if a businessperson focuses on the positive, such an attitude of gratitude opens the person up to a childlike wonder and creates hope. Hope leads to options. So, with hope, anything is possible. Know that for each problem – I prefer the word challenge – there are 10 possible solutions for options.

But how can you get gratitude and options?

First create hope for growth. Examine the progress you have made and start a gratitude list. Pat yourself on the back for any footwork. Start by asking yourself, “Where, how, when, why and with whom have I made progress?” Write or type your answers. No progress is too small to list.

For some examples of progress to list, ask yourself these 10 sample questions:

1. What networking events, lunches or meetings have I attended?
2. What new acquaintances have I made?
3. What recognition or positive comments have been made by others about me?
4. What free publicity have I received either from my efforts or those of others?
5. Have I created a new Web site or marketing collateral?
6. Any new skills or knowledge?
7. Have I attracted any new clients or retained old clients?
8. Are there any companies or businesspersons indicating interest in my capabilities?
9. Have I done any pro bono or volunteer work?
10. Do I have a support system or mentor?

If you can’t give a positive answer to the 10 questions, then do what you have to do for the right answers. That’s just to get you started. Perhaps there are other pertinent questions you can ask.

Now, it’s time for a new vision for growth – here’s how:

1. Write out your vision plan. One page will do.
2. Set goals for footwork – not results.
3. Periodically, each day ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing right now, productive?” (Chances are it isn’t productive, so focus on what is.)
4. Keep records of your baby steps.
5. Honor your progress with gratitude and keep it going with affirmations.
6. Stay in close contact with your support system.
7. Get exercise, sleep and medical care when needed.
8. Practice stewardship of your assets. Focus on cleanliness and organization.
9. Focus on your favorite hobby and recreation.
10. Ask clients for feedback. If a client complains, don’t get defensive just take notes. When you’re complimented, ask for referrals to two people who might also appreciate what you have to offer.
11. Keep on practicing gratitude. Always handwrite a thank you note when someone considers buying or hiring you. Thank people for their business. In fact, in every e-mail, note, meeting or telephone conversation, remember 98 percent of the time a thank you is warranted.
12. Keep in mind the adage, “What goes around comes around.” Try to listen more and avoid treating others as though they’re invisible, and you will be accorded greater respect.
13. Keep smiling. A jovial Joe or Jane is an attraction to others.
14. Look around for someone else to help. This will help you smile.
15. As you succeed, carry this message to others.

As you go along and think of other pointers, add them to these suggestions.

Now, GO! Good luck!

From the Coach’s Corner, here are 30 Time Management, Stress Reducing Skills. 

“The best morale exist when you never hear the word mentioned. When you hear a lot of talk about it, it’s usually lousy.” 

-Dwight D. Eisenhower 

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

Consultants – 5 Strategies to Build Trust with Clients

 

When a businessperson hires a consultant it’s usually because of brand trust. That’s an emotional decision no different than when a consumer buys a new refrigerator or car but with one major difference – the consultant is dealing with a wealthy client or someone who wants to be affluent.

Wealthy people have a different mindset, which is why they have money in the first place.

What motivates an affluent businessperson to hire a consultant?

Here are the five psychological factors:

Accuracy. Wealthy clients don’t want a cookie cutter approach to their challenges. For clients, my approach is to provide five related and salient benefits: Efficiency, information, innovation, objectivity and productivity.

Case study: One of the greatest compliments I ever received was at lunch when a CEO of a financial institution, and a valued client, and I were talking with the CEO of another financial institution. My client was trying to persuade his colleague to hire me.

My client abruptly said: “Terry’s a pain in the ass – he will fall on a sword to get the job done right.”

I was stunned temporarily. But he was talking in a language his friend understood. What he meant was that I’m proactive, ask lots of questions and deliver strong results. What happened? I got the business.

Acknowledgment. The loneliest job in the world is that of a CEO. They really appreciate credit and respect for their for-profit and non-profit endeavors. I never end a meeting, e-mail or telephone call until I say the magic words, “thank you.” And I let them know I’m thinking of them between client meetings with thank you notes or articles of interest to them.

Comfort. First and foremost, a wealthy client wants to feel comfortable. That usually means security. Do they trust you with their wealth?

They want to feel secure. They want their financial matters treated with the utmost confidentiality. Except for the relatively few who like to be in the limelight, most want to keep their situations private.

What do you have to do for a client to feel comfortable? It’s how you promote your firm. It’s how you talk with the prospective client. It’s about doing your research. They’ll feel more comfortable about you.

Ask open-ended questions about their business, inquire what’s most important to them, and ask about their social concerns. You will gain valuable insights and you will also determine whether you want to work with them.

In general, people don’t care what you have to say until they know how much your care about them.

Meantime, if they respond with a great deal of negativity about society without offering solutions, you will probably want to head elsewhere. Why? They’re high-maintenance. After all, consulting is hard work and it should be fun, too.

Evolving. Keep the relationship fresh. Expose the client to new experiences. Invite them to charitable affairs or cultural events.

Worthiness. Affluent clients also like to be validated in other ways. When a client has an idea that differs from mine, and won’t hurt, I congratulate her or him on a great idea.

To start such dialogues, it’s important to always lead clients with questions. They want to know their opinions matter.

From the Coach’s Corner, more information on client relationships:

60 Ground Rules for Effective Client Service

Your Dream is to be a Consultant? Here’s How to Develop Your Vision Plan.

Consultants / Service Firms: Why Hourly Billing Isn’t Best

“Trust is like a vase.. once it’s broken, though you can fix it the vase will never be same again.”

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Columnist Terry Corbell is also a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services (many are available online). For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule Terry Corbell as a speaker, why don’t you contact him today?

 

How to Win Your Major Marketing Campaign

 

In major marketing campaigns – in business or politics – there’s nothing more frustrating than losing. But a lack of funds or a small war chest is not the salient reason for defeat. It isn’t necessarily how much you spend.

There are many reasons for marketing failure of a campaign.

Here are 14 of the more important reasons:

1. Inadequate analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
2. Drawing incorrect conclusions from the analysis (leading to ineffective overall strategic planning)
3. Unrealistic budgeting
4. Ineffective testing of ideas and messaging
5. Arrogance – over confidence
6. Poor coordination with centers of influence
7. Not developing effective teamwork and communication among stakeholders
8. Targeting the wrong market
9. Lack of job descriptions – who will do what and when?
10. Wrong people in many key positions
11. Poor positioning in attributes and benefit statements
12. Ineffective allocation of promotional funds – wrong mediums preventing top-of-mind awareness in customers, or voters
13. Unproductive evaluation of the campaign and return on investment
14. Unsuccessful responses to negative surprises and failure to capitalize on opportunities

Two basic rules include: “Know thyself” and “Know thy audience.”

Not to over-simplify, in essence, the key is to properly plan but only after you perform a strategic analysis.

Identify your centers of influence and strategic partners, quantify your goals, make a budget, identify your target audience, test your messaging, implement your plan, create a positive image, create a call for action, continually evaluate your progress, and respond to challenges and create opportunities.

No detail is too small: In collateral, from colors to font choices, or in developing centers of influence for the multiplier effect. But don’t get paralysis from analysis.

Plan your campaign to reach each person in your target audience with a positive message for a minimum of five times. That’s the magic number for optimal results. And be consistent to develop trust.

Remember the difference between marketing and advertising, and developing the right message.  Broadcast advertising is all about frequency, reach and cost per thousand. Internet advertising is concerned about cpm, pay-per-click, pay-per-lead, and cost-per-action. Yes, despite what you’ve heard about social media, TV, especially, TV news remains the most powerful of mediums. Radio is still strong. But marketing is not simply creating a radio, TV or Internet advertisement or harnessing social networking tools. Advertising is merely one component of marketing.

Marketing pertains to the big picture. Marketing is the understanding of your target audience for the cost-effective process of selling the right product or service at the right time and at the right price. It’s a systematic development, coordination and implementation of a myriad of initiatives – proactive events to establish a dialogue – not just a bunch of advertisements.

Social media

Make certain to orchestrate and synergize your advertising with public relations, videos, word-of-mouth and social media. Thanks to the new Digital Age, consumers are in charge. Set up a dialogue, not a monologue.

For example, if you’re targeting young adults or teenagers, it’s sad to say, but they are getting their “news” from their social media.

Your communication plan should contain timelines. Press kits are helpful, but in this green age, they are not necessary. Regarding relationships with journalists, here’s a hint: Reporters like to deal with experts. So portray yourself as one.

Choose wisely. Insert and distribute effective videos and provide the right motives for people to share. The right content has to be presented in right place.

Follow the trends to see how to get the most attention. For example, Digg.com can be helpful but remember it’s mostly a young audience – big on tech and off-the-wall stories.

Just like reporters, every generation likes experts and stories. Storytelling holds great power for you. So tell a good story, write a good headline, deliver on your promises, and cite outside participants for proof in your claims.

Value perceptions

In marketing, whether its products or political candidates, people base their buying-decisions on emotion.

To keep things simple, the following explanations refer to business but are applicable or transferrable to politics.

About 18 percent of people – blue-collar and professionals, alike – will only buy your products and services at the cheapest cost in the marketplace.

The most-valued prospects are the people who are affected by their five value perceptions – motivating them to positively respond to your call-for-action.

The five perceptions and their percentage of importance in decision-making:

Employees, Spokespersons – 52 percent. The key characteristics are integrity, judgment, friendliness and knowledge.

Remember, about 70 percent of your customers will buy elsewhere because they feel they’re being taken for granted. And customers normally will not tell you why they switched to your competitor.

Image of the organization – 15 percent. They are concerned about the image of your company in the community. Cause-related marketing is a big plus in forging a positive image. So is cleanliness and good organization.

Quality of Product or Service Utility – 13 percent. The customer is asking the question – “What will this do for me?”

Convenience –12 percent. Customers like easy accessibility to do business with you. That includes your Web site, telephoning you, and the convenience of patronizing your business. 

Price – 8 percent. Price is important, but it’s the least concern among the five value-motivating perceptions.

Seven marketing elements

Once you understand what motivates the customer to buy, there are seven steps you must take for creating a happy buying environment. Fear is a great motivator. But Americans are tired of negativity. Yes, the marketing process goes a lot easier if you can make buying fun.

For marketing in a downturn or not, every PR or advertising message should – as much as possible –contain these seven elements:

1. FEE. This is an acronym for establishing a common ground for a foundation using the principles of event and empathy. Every purchase is an event in the life of a customer – no matter how big or small.  It also helps to show concern about the welfare of the customer.
2. Research/focus groups on attitudes. Use tools to get the prospect to open up.
3. Agreement on Need. Get the prospects to agree on their need to buy a product or service.
4. Generic Value Proposition or Benefit Statement. Here’s where you explain your value proposition. Remember the difference between features vs. benefits to answer the basic marketing questions, such as the acronym, WIIFM , “What’s in it for me?” or “So What?”)
5. Fill Prospect’s Need. Depending on your audience, use more specific benefit statements.
6. Commitment – Ask for the order using a non-threatening, closed-ended question.
7. Seal the Deal. This final step has three components –

• Use the magic words:  “Thank you.”
• Prevent buyer’s remorse – remind the customer of benefits they’re receiving
• Look for an opportunity to provide the person with unexpected, perceived added value without hurting your bottom line.

How to overcome objections: If you’re at a meeting and encounter an objection, be careful with your response. Always empathize. Your first statement should be a note of empathy even if you disagree.

If you don’t know how to answer the person, explain you need more information and will get back to them later ASAP: “How about if I call you at 4?”

If you do know how to respond and in order to overcome an objection, it’s still important to use empathy.

Here are the three steps to overcoming objections:

1. Get the prospect to restate his/her concern. Then repeat the person’s words:  “If I understand you correctly, you feel…?”
2. Empathize:  “I can see how you feel that way”…or “You know, someone said the same thing last week.”
3. Overcome the objection with facts.  (Then recap the seven steps.)

After you’ve won, best-practices also call for follow-up and laying a foundation for an infrastructure that promotes long-term success.

From the Coach’s Corner, do you want a fun look back at the top 100 advertising campaigns of all time?

Here are the top 100 campaigns: http://adage.com/century/campaigns.html

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